Too darn hot to sing while cooking!

But here's the menu from tonight :)

Perfect Pork Cutlets

organic pork cutlets (or whatever grass-fed, friendly ones you can find)
kosher salt
brown sugar
molasses
black peppercorns
bread crumbs
olive oil

In a medium sized pot, boil 1-2 cups water with a generous amount of salt and brown sugar, a dollop of molasses, and some black peppercorns.  stir occasionally until salt and sugar are dissolved.  pour into a large, preferably shallow dish, and add ice cubes (about a dozen or so).  stir until melted.  let cool to room temperature.  add pork cutlets and marinate for 1-2 hours.

in a skillet, heat a few tsp of olive oil.  dredge marinated cutlets in bread crumbs (seasoned or unseasoned, your choice, i used a mixture).  cook until brown and cooked through ( a few minutes on each side, tops, these are THIN).

Stir Fried Spicy Green Beans

Garlic and Goat Cheese Smashed Potatoes
small red or yukon gold potatoes (organic if you can get them), roughly chopped in equal sized pieces
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic
light cream
goat cheese (i used chive goat cheese from a local vendor)

chop potatoes and peel garlic and cover with cold water in a pot.  cover until boiling.  salt water generously when it begins to boil, and cook potatoes until fork tender.  drain and return to pot (including garlic clove).  add a generous splash of cream (you could use milk) and a knob of goat cheese (maybe 1 to 1.5 inches of the log).  mash to your desired consistency.

Links


Mass Farmers Markets

Farmer's Market Season is in Full Swing

Charles Square Farmers Market, Friday 12:30 pm

1 pint raspberries
1 pint blackberries
1 giant bunch basil
1 green zucchini
1 yellow zucchini
1 loaf cheddar-pepper bread
assorted heirloom tomatoes
3 peaches
1 cucumber
1 bunch garlic
3 yellow squash
4 ears corn
green beans

Here's the breakdown so far:

Last night's dinner - 2 ears of corn with a burger served on cheddar pepper bread instead of a bun and raspberries for dessert
This morning's breakfast - beautiful slices of plum tomato on a bacon and egg sandwich on cheddar pepper bread
Prepared for later - simple panzanella of cheddar pepper bread torn into 1 inch chunks, 1 red and 1 yellow tomato, red wine vinegar, basil, and olive oil

Next up:

Fresh Tomato Salad

Planned for later:

Stir Fried Spicy Green Beans

green beans
sesame oil
red chili flakes
garlic
canola oil or other light oil (peanut, sunflower, etc)

Boil a large pot of water and blanch green beans just barely.  Drain.  Heat canola oil in a large pan or wok until shimmering.  Add 1-2 cloves of crushed garlic, and a generous pinch of red chili flakes.  Add green beans and sesame oil.  Cook until tender and fragrant.  Serve with your favorite protein (I like to serve with some sweet and spicy tofu)!

And of course, with the giant bunch of basil, I'll be making some pesto.

My tomatoes have sprouted on the windowsill and survived the heat wave.  Maybe this summer I'll have tomatoes of my own!


Soundtrack

No music while I was cooking - in this heat, I want out of the kitchen as fast as possible, no matter how yummy the food. But the Spring Awakening soundtrack is on repeat in my head!