Such a splendid Sunday

The gramps picked Jack and Ol up at 10 this morning and headed off to the Nationals' last home game of regular season. The boys were dressed in the "official Nats uniforms" they got at Nats camp this past summer and the plan was to go early in the hopes of getting an autograph voucher. They missed that but romped delightedly on the stadium playground for hours and ate a wide array of ballpark food. So much in fact that pretty much as soon as Jack stepped in tonight, just after 6p, he threw up everywhere. Horrid, stinky piles of what looked like upchucked chili. Maternal adrenaline is a good thing because that was disgusting. After the first hurl -on our bedroom floor- he managed to get his pants off. Then, rolling around the carpeted hall, moaning about how he would NEVER eat junk food again unless it was a holiday, he booted for the second time. Between that one and finally taking his shirt off and making it to the toilet, he asserted that birthdays do not count as holidays, a declaration I found baffling.

Poor kid. I drew him a hot bath and got him some seltzer and a couple Tums. When I asked him what he'd eaten he replied, "two hot dogs, Dippin Dots, cotton candy, Orange Crush..." It was revolting, but I dare say he's learned his lesson. He actually learned it once before, during his 100th-day-of-school celebration when he was three. He ate about 400 chocolate chips. When I picked him he said he felt awful and furious and would never overeat dessert again. He hasn't even come close, until today, which I think was really just way too much crap in way too short a time. Like I said, I think he's learned.

In the meantime, I went to the farmers market and then spent several hours cooking and having a solo dance party/concert as T had to work. It was great. I made a double batch of spiced rhubarb-apple butter and some roasted tomato jam, froze a bunch of fresh raspberries and shelled a ton of borlotti beans. I can never get over just how pretty they are.

Peach cobbler has been calling my name, and since I had to use up a half-dozen from last week's market, I decided to get right to it. That'd make a fine dessert for dinner. We had some King salmon I needed to use, and I'd bought some gorgeous okra and arugula this morning too. An embarrassment of riches, really. And the foundation for quite a fine meal.

I love grilled okra, especially when you've got a steel bin full of good wood chips adding a bit of smokey flavor to the chopped pods. I'd tossed these with olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon juice and salt, and then later, T made a drizzling oil spiked with chili powder and champagne vinegar that was awfully nice.

I oven-roasted the salmon but first spread some fresh rhubarb-apple butter on top as salmon and apples go so very well together. Sa.tis.fying!

Figgy Flatbread

Last night, I had after-dinner plans with dear friend, M, to drink champagne and look at each other's wedding albums. As I had not laid eyes on mine in years and have only seen one of M's wedding pics, I knew it'd be a lovely way to spend a Monday evening. But first, migraine elimination and dinner. I pretty much gave up on the former but was determined to make a lovely meal regardless. During my writing class on Sunday, Lili told us about her son's new job as a line cook at one of John Besh's new spots in NOLA and in doing so dropped word of some ridiculously amazing pizza that included mascarpone, fresh figs and prosciutto. As I had just bought some figs and could not stop thinking about this pizza, I took a break from Jack's room yesterday afternoon to make a batch of Peter Reinhart's Neapolitan pizza dough.

After letting it rise for several hours, I pulled off about a sixth of the dough, shaped it into a thin crust and spread it with a film of mascarpone, some caramelized shallots I'd just made, sliced figs, salt, bacon (I just can't find the love for prosciutto; I do love speck but couldn't find it yesterday.) and a bit of fresh mozzarella. Once the pizza stone and grill were adequately heated, I popped this baby on until just done, spread some fresh arugula on top and dove in.

Today, my migraine is largely gone, Jack's room is finally clean, last night was so lovely and fun and I have two small wedges of figgy flatbread left!

It is SO hot, article, misc

Wow, peeps. I like to be hot, but this 100+ weather is excessive, even my my standards. Dios! Have been in the kitchen all day in preparation for a bridal shower tomorrow. The menu is absolutely beautiful: Chardonnay-poached salmon; arugula salad with roasted peaches, mozzarella and pistachios; MB's potato salad; an array of breads; grapefruit tart; milk chocolate-caramel-hazelnut tart; watermelon-mint lassi. Aah! The salmon is poached and both desserts are made, the peaches are bundled together just ripening away, the watermelon is chopped and awaiting a trip through the blender tomorrow. Unfortunately it's supposed to be even hotter tomorrow, but it makes me all the more glad that this is such a light and lovely amalgam of dishes! ``````

I'm not sure if any of you follow Mark Bittman on twitter, but I do and found this article he tweeted recently to be interesting and sad. What a state we're in regarding food production, eating, obesity and health in this country. We are NOT healthy, we are NOT eating well, and it shows. Literally. Why change to our food policies -the Ag Bill and such- are so dreadfully slow/non-existent is beyond me. It is so short-sighted and irresponsible.

Along these lines, if you'd like to further encourage the FDA to ban unnecessary use of antibiotics in food-producing animals -a serious problem- you can sign this petition that's being circulated by the Center for Food Safety.

And, I've just signed on to a national movement in support of fair and humane treatment, pay and rights for the workers, many of whom are migrants, who enable Florida's enormous tomato industry: "From November to May, 90% of tomatoes sourced domestically and consumed in the United States are picked by farmworkers in and around Immokalee, Florida." The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a community-based organization of migrant workers, has partnered with the Fair Food Standards Council to implement the Fair Food Program. Tuesday, July 24 will be Slave-Free Tomato Day: before, on and after that Tuesday, consider purchasing your tomatoes from farmers markets and/or supermarkets and restaurants who've signed on to the Fair Food Program (such as Trader Joe's and Whole Foods). On the 24th, I and a number of other food bloggers will be dedicating a post to a recipe utilizing slave-free tomatoes and offering ways for you to take action and encourage responsible purchasing. Visit The Giving Table for more information or to sign on.