Monday Night Dinner

I, apparently, need a bowl.

It’s okay, I’ll wait while you all stop laughing hysterically and pointing at my china cabinet with its plethora of bowls.

My problem is that while I have three sets of soup bowls (in a variety of sizes, and quantities); and a large assortment of medium size serving bowls that are the right size for serving two people; and an even larger assortment of very large serving bowls that are the right size for serving Dinner; and a few small condiment size serving bowls; what I only have the one of is a bowl that’s in between medium and very large.  

This is, of course, the bowl that I use most often, and the size of bowl that I spend time every week hoping has magically appeared in my china cabinet while I wasn’t looking.  So far the elves in the basement haven’t provided me with a second bowl . . . maybe they don’t like the kind of milk and bread I leave out for them?

What’s stopping me buying a bowl of the appropriate size and shape?  Nothing except a [ahem] lack of anywhere to put it.  Also, I haven’t actually run across one yet that’s seduced me into forgetting my storage issues.

Speaking of other things I haven’t bought because I can’t figure out where I’d put them, I really want one of these sets of hanging baskets.  Inconveniently, all the spaces in my kitchen that you could fasten a hook to are in the middle of doorways, in front of cupboard doors, or over the sink where you’d whack your head on it every time you tried to wash a fork.  I could put it in the dining room, where the wall space is occupied, but things could be shifted to accommodate a hook and dangling baskets, but to my mind these baskets are much more kitchen than dining room appropriate, plus I want to use them to store things off my counter and having it in the dining room would more or less defeat that purpose.  Anyone who can resolve this vexing situation for me gets to request a special Dinner.

In unrelated news, except that I just got back from the farmer’s market and had to triage my purchases, we have officially entered weight lifting season.  By this I, of course, mean that it’s the season where I go to the farmer’s market, buy everything in sight and then have to try and figure out how to carry it all home – this week it’s being accomplished by staggering what I carry home over the course of several days (corn one night, zucchini, tomatoes & bread the next, the peaches in time for dinner on Friday).

Turkey Meatball Banh Mi
Boston Lettuce Salad w/ Carrot-Ginger Dressing
Edamame
Watermelon

Turkey Meatball Banh Mi
This is shaping up to be the summer of sandwiches.  So far we’ve eaten our way through a variety of tea sandwiches, meatball subs, and pulled chicken.  This week we’re revisiting banh mi at a birthday request.  And rubbing my crystal ball, in the future I see fried green tomato po’boys, and sabich.

Recipe previously given: The Perfect Food

Boston Lettuce Salad w/ Carrot Ginger Dressing
Garnished with creamy avocado, crisp apples and bright pops of pomegranate seeds this go around.  Described at dinner as a salad of sunshine and everything good, which (obviously) is how I’m going to refer to this salad from here on.

Recipe previously given:  On a Mission

Edamame
(serves 8)

We order steamed edamame in every restaurant that serves them, however far and away our favorite version is the one from Wagamama that comes garnished with chilis and garlic and salt.  I’ve never quite managed to recreate their topping, but this is my latest attempt with some minced fresno chilis, lemon zest and garlic salt.

2 (12 oz) packages frozen edamame in pods
2 fresno chilis, seeded & minced
1 lemon, zested
Sprinkle of garlic powder
(generous) sprinkle kosher salt

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.  Add (still frozen) edamame pods and cook for 5-7 minutes (or however long it takes the water to come back up to a boil and stay there for about a minute).  Drain and toss with seasonings.  Serve.

Watermelon

Coffee S’mores Pie
When I asked the Birthday Girl what she wanted for a birthday dessert she said that what she actually wanted was an excuse to bake something ridiculous and fiddly and decadent.  I acceded to this request with perhaps unbecoming alacrity.

She brought a pie that was featured in last month’s Bon Appetit – Coffee S’mores Pie, only substituting peanut butter for nutella in the crust in deference to a nut allergy.  It was varyingly described to me as a candy bar in pie form, and that scientists believe no light can escape from this.

Our only, exceedingly minor, quibble as we dreamily forked pie into our mouths was that if it hadn’t been labeled a S’more’s pie none of us would have been particularly reminded of a s’more, but this is an entirely semantic equivocation.

Recipe available here for anyone who wishes to recreate this masterpiece.