Over the years, I've become quite fond of the kimchi recipe I developed and always feel slightly saddened when I see my reserves get lower and lower. Kimchi easily takes the leaderboard amongst the several varieties of fermented vegetables I prepare each year.
This past weekend family and friends from Maine and Connecticut came to celebrate back to back birthdays for Wilder and Camille. Since their birthdays are 1 day apart, the festivities tend to go on for a few days. With Camille turning 30 and Wilder turning 4, this was a special weekend for the family.
My first culinary school experience I can recall was cutting mirepoix for soups and stocks. Myself and a small group of students stood around the prep tables, nervously cutting carrots, celery, and onions while our chef instructor took notes on our knife skills.
We love our coffee program here. In fact, we couldn't imagine starting off our day with anything other than a cup of coffee. A few months ago we decided to take a week off from coffee. Yerba mate, Camille's mom's famous Red Tea, and of course chaga made for perfect alternatives yet after 1 day we were back sipping on our butter brew. You can say we are addicted to the caffeine, but quite frankly, it is the morning ritual and damn good flavor that keeps us coming back for more of this sacred drink.
We eat a lot of eggs here. From chickens to fish, any way we can get more eggs into our diet the better. Several times a year I stock up on flounder roe, available locally, freshly frozen, and for a fair price too. There are many preparations I adore, but non as much as pan fried, which gives the outside a nice crunch to complement the soft textured interior.
I've recently fallen in love with preserved lemons and have been incorporating them into my meals as much as possible. If you've never had preserved lemons before, they are best described as mildly tart, but intensely lemony. As the salt draws out the tartness, it enhances the lemon flavor which combines well to traditional African or Indian meals where it is commonly used.
For the past month our kitchen has seen a lot of small, oily fish. With the onset of spring, our diet sees a natural shift. As storage vegetables run low, so do our cravings for red meat and slow cooked preparations. To assist our cravings for lighter meals and simple sources of proteins, Camille and I have been adding in a lot of sardines and other canned fish to the mix.
I love making updated and upgraded versions of childhood classic dishes. This recipe was always made by my father and he and myself were usually the only ones in my family who would eat this Italian seafood salad. This dish was always made for Christmas and if I was lucky, he'd add a can of chopped conch, or as we called it, "scungheel".
