So...whats for dinner?

Last night, Lacey and her husband B. drove to my house, parked their car in our driveway [Somerville requires a permit to park on the street] and walked down to Sarma, our local Turkish-inspired restaurant. We were seated immediately and began to review the menu. There are lots of things on this menu. The font is rather small. There are a lot of foreign words. B. suggested that I just order for the group. Mr. 02143 couldn't agree fast enough, and so it was left to me to make our choices.

At Sarma, they do passed dishes in addition to the items on the menu. Almost immediately, we were presented with pickled peaches with basil. I think we were all hungry. The group said "yes." The peaches were from Georgia, and were a tad underripe even for pickling, but there was a lot of pickle flavor, some tumeric, hot peppers, possibly some Sumac. There were four peach halves in the dish, so we each had something to get us started. We ordered a bottle of a Lebanese wine for the other three, while I had their roasted lemon vodka cocktail. [I am rather fond of that cocktail, and my current drug doesn't like wine very much.]

And now it was time to order. We had the same waiter as our last visit, and clearly he remembered me. It feels nice to be in the regular category, and it served us well later.

The first item to arrive at the table was some homemade pita with zatar. For some reason, the olive oil quantity in the cute little pitcher was minimal, but I found the bread had enough oil already so it wasn't a real issue for me. I have no idea how others felt.

Our next dish that arrived was the Seven Layer Hummus with Falafel Crackers. The portion size has gotten a little smaller, but I love the hummus variations on this plate. My favorite was the fava bean hummus. What a treat! And the falafel crackers are a new thing, and I thought they were marvelous. I have no idea how they made them, but I would LOVE to reproduce those at home. They were a great hummus to mouth delivery system, with just enough sesame seeds to enhance the tahini in the hummus.

The cauliflower fatte arrived next. The menu says "cauliflower fatte- black garlic tahini, green chickpea stew, pinenuts." I just love this dish, and I am not even a huge lover of cauliflower [and when did it get so expensive? All those no gluten people are messing with my food budget.] To be honest, I have no idea what black garlic tahini is but it is delicious, and the pine nuts were both delicious and added a nice texture to the dish.

The Morrocan friend shimp with charred cabbage slaw, pickled carrots, and pistachio arrived next. Due to my allergy, I don't know how this tasted. Mr. 02143 loved it, especially the slaw. I will let Lacey chime in with her reaction.

Our next dish was actually a double order of the Harissa BBQ Duck with a carrot purée. The duck was a perfect rare. Neither the duck nor the purée had as much harissa as it can, and has. In fact it was a fairly tame dish overall, but I still enjoyed it. We each had one skewer of duck, and whatever carrot we could slurp up off the bottom of the plate.

We then had a double order of lamb kofte sliders, so one slider per person. It is served on cute little buns which Lacey said she liked a lot. Though the menu stated tomato, brown butter and pickles, what we actually had on the burgers was a tzaikis like topping which I much prefer. The yogurt had herbs, pickles, and some spices and the lamb kofta had harissa worked into the meat. They were really delicious. Rather like a merguez sausage in patty form.

The "asparagus- avogolemono, egg katayif, black truffles, dill" arrived next. The egg is slowly soft boiled just until the white is firm, peeled, rolled in shredded phyllo and then deep fried. The idea is that you break open the egg which sits jauntily on top of the asparagus with lemon sauce, and the yolk runs out to create a complex sauce. Unfortuantely, the egg was just a bit over cooked so we had a almost-medium egg which didn't run much at all. I can assure you, this did not stop us from eating every bit of this item. Oh fresh asparagus. how I love thee! I didn't really taste the truffle with so much lemon in the sauce. Maybe Lacey did?

We were pretty full at this point. They took away our dinner dishes, at which time I did let our waiter know that I was disappointed that the friend chicken with sesame had not made an appearance. We had refused the passed deviled eggs and fried soft-shell crab always hoping that the chicken might appear. Our waiter apologized as the dishes went away. And then-- it happened. The chicken starting going around the room. But the young lady wasn't looking at our table. We didn't have plates! It went by once, then twice, then three times, and it was gone. Or so we thought. Our waiter had spotted the fried chicken and grabbed that last one for us! Clean plates and silverware were brought to the table, and we all indulged in that lovely chicken goodness. Since it had been passed for some time, it was a bit less crunchy than usual, but it was great.

Lacey ordered some ricotta donuts with a warm cherry ouzo and black pepper topping to go.

We walked back up the hill at a pace that allowed my feet to not go on strike, and they headed off to their own home with their dessert. I will let Lacey fill you in on her thoughts about fruit and black pepper!

It was a fun evening! Never any lull in the conversation at all. Mr. 02143 and B. spent the much of the evening discussing basketball games from the 1970's through the present.

And just because the picture made me actually laugh out loud, I present Olivia. She is ready for her first Red Sox game on Sunday!

Is that the funniest thing you have ever seen? My daughter wants to protect Olivia's ears both at the game, and on her first plane ride at the end of the month.

*susan*

What a cutie Olivia is! I love it!

I agree with you Sandy, eat what works for you. My DH and I tried the Altshift diet which is good fats for 5 days then good carbs for 3 days. We were on it for about 2 months and we both gained weight. We went back to the Cut the Crap diet and we are both losing weight now. Thank goodness:-)

For dinner tonight is baked raccoon and muskrat over a bed of carrots and sweet potatoes. My DH's buddy is here for a visit and that's what he wanted. I'll probably have left overs from dinner last night! We ate out at a Mexican restaurant, veggie fajitas... yummy!

Wench - I thought you were kidding about the racoon & muskrat, but I've decided maybe you're serious. Eeek. I eat snake & alligator & snails & feral hogs & deer, but racoon? So.... do they taste like chicken? It sounds like you were cooking to make other people pleased but weren't eating it yourself.

I thought you were kidding too. I've heard my mom talk of eating muskrat, but I've never tried it, nor the raccoon. So, the raccoon tastes 'beefy'. What does the muskrat taste like?

The freezer repair turned into a freezer clean, which turned into a refrigerator clean, which became a kitchen cabinet clean. I'm even going to move the refrigerator out (!) and get under it as part of the general floor sweep/mop. Actually Sharon just got the vacuum cleaner out. She said she'd take care of the sweeping/mopping since I've been "going at it most of the day".

I fed the sourdough starter--maybe tomorrow morning I'll make some sourdough pancakes. I'm still not hungry for dinner.

Oh, it's starting to cool off. It's almost 7:30pm and it's down to 110F.

Yes, the dinner at Sarma was delightful...as was Susan's review of it. Thank you for that! And no, I barely detected truffle oil in that otherwise tasty asparagus long named dish. Such interesting and delicious food, and good company! Susan, I've seen other babies decked out in ear protection at sports games. Olivia looks particularly adorable in it!

Yesterday, after a haircut, I shopped at three stores in that town for produce, spices and nuts. So I am all produced up, and barely have space in the fridge for anything from tomorrow's farmer's market. So, I will limit myself to my favorite oak leaf lettuce (they call it salad bowl lettuce) which seems to be an early lettuce and is so sweetly tender. Hope they have it!

Tonight DG grilled chicken I'd marinated in a evoo/garlic/rosemary/balsamic blend. For sides, ratatouille, a big romaine salad, and a sweet potato for DH.

I have never eaten muskrat or racoon, but since my brother used to trap muskrats in the winter on our lake, we often had them in our garage before taking them to the fur guy. I doubt that my mother felt an urge to cook any...tho I think, as an Italian, she had prepared rabbit.

And my brother had a pet raccoon! DH just unearthed an old pic of "Rackie". Obviously we did not eat him either....but he met his demise one winter day when he escaped from his cage and approached some kids in their yard (probably looking to be fed!). The local police thought he might have rabies and shot him. Not a great pet choice, but it was the 50's.

Speaking of wildlife, we have an overabundance of chipmunks this spring...cute, but intrusive. In my gardening shoes in a locker in the garage, I found a whole stash of seeds and other hoarded items. Ick! I would have guessed that the many neighborhood cats that regularly patrol our yard, might have reduced the population. But instead we found a mauled dead robin...so sad. We have enjoyed watching Mr. And Mrs. Robin frolicking in our birdbaths, with careful turn taking. Felt like a family death!

I have noticed, though that we have more birds this past week. I think our population of feathered friends has increased due to the sudden lack of huge trees across the street, and in addition, some new homeowners behind us just cut down a long row of 50 year old hemlocks. Not sure what is going on here, but we are upset for the wildlife....especially since it is still nesting time. DH went to town hall yesterday to learn about the house that will be built across street, and learned that no permits have been pulled. So the ravaged lot will just stay that way indefinitely, we guess. Oy! End of "destruction for progress"rant!

I fill the bird bath and within a minute or two of going inside, the birds are noisily jostling for position.

DD saw the starter out on the counter and must have been reading my mind because last night she asked if I would make waffles for breakfast. She even had picked out a recipe; King Arthur's "Classic Sourdough Waffles or Pancakes".

It was easy to say yes, so last night the buttermilk/sourdough sponge mixture was in the microwave oven--didn't want to tempt the dogs or cat by leaving it out on the counter... :-)

So, this morning, she made the coffee and I cooked up the waffles. The Coleman white gas stove and the old Griswold waffle iron "strutted their stuff" yet again.

sorry imjust checking in quickly. Stupid kidney stones. Missed my neices graduation. Her siblings from out of state were there to. I really wanted to go.not this time.

Wanted to wish Erics daughter a Happy Graduation too..

Ill read when i can concentrate. Not tonight. The antinausea pills make me sleepy.

Much love to all. May you all be doing much better than me right now. LOL

Oh Moon.... kidney stones are the worst! Hope they pass quickly and you are back to your old self.

Dinner tonight was the leftover Indian. Today I made mini Cinnamon Swirl breads. New recipe that was really odd. The dough was more batter-like than dough like which made for interesting rolling. We had one and a half for our "brunch" with some scrambled eggs. While Mr. 02143 was at the Red Sox game with my daughter, son-in-law and Olivia, I made Sesame Noodles, a NYCity thing. They are wildly easy to make. Some soy sauce, noodles, scallions, peanut butter, chicken stock, and sesame oil. You then dress them to your liking. I roasted some chicken thighs to shred into the noodles, toasted sesame seeds, scallions, and chopped roasted peanuts. Sent this home with the kids for their lunches tomorrow, but I just learned that they had this for their dinner! There is enough in our fridge for my lunch. Mr. 02143 doesn't love these noodles, so I will make him an alternate lunch tomorrow. Clearly, my New Mother Catering company is still needed!

I am watching Olivia tomorrow since her mother has to attend a four hour class. She will start at my house. If she is having a good day we will go to the farm to get vegetables and some farm-fresh eggs. Either way, I will take her back to Arlington for her mother's return.

She was not impressed by the Red Sox today. An odd game that didn't produce a win.

*susan*

Here is my Olivia 😀

I want one auntienance! Adorable!

Let me talk to my daughter and see if she'll agree to that lol

What a varied bunch of adorable Olivias!! Lori, your little one is quite beguiling!

Moon, I, too, hope those stones pass, and you are relieved of pain.

Eric, sounds like a sweet breakfast

Leftover grilled chicken tonight with some baba ganoush, pita, and a salad with the lettuce, etc.,I got from Farmers' Market. I do love my new favorite horseradish vinaigrette, which is fast becoming our daily salad dressing.

Tomorrow I'll marinate more chicken...probably in a Greek style marinade.

All the Olivias are (if I may use the word) cute. :-) I smiled at the "ear muffs". I don't like loud stuff, so I keep a set of ear plugs in my pants pocket and use them often. Sporting events are just below target shooting for times I wear the ear plugs.

The waffles were good. As usual, the first waffle wasn't worth saving--I use that one to gauge how hot I have the waffle iron. So, I save that for after us humans are finished eating. Dog 1 gets the waffle, dog 2 gets the almost empty bowl of batter and the cat gets the 1/2 cup batter scoop.

I also made sourdough bread. The starter of mine is fairly sour and just as fast as commercial yeast.

Off to the store. Sharon has asked I get bell peppers, and mushrooms....

Today was an Olivia Day. She arrived at 9am sound asleep. She woke at 10:30 with a few screams. HUNGRY. Feed me NOW!!! She drank her Mom's milk slowly. Such a lazy sucker! I changed her and she began to scream yet again. She drank another 2oz of milk!!!! She needed some help getting happy again. Lots of bouncing in her Grandmama's lap before falling asleep once again. I took her to her Mom at 1:30 and then continued to Lexington and Wilson Farms. Bought lots of great produce and some chicken breasts. Half the bag was for the kids; half for us. It is strawberry season in MA, so I had to get some of those along with the local asparagus and spinach. A few leaks and some cream finished the bag. I drove back to Arlington to deliver their food and then came home and immediately fell asleep!

Dinner was a cauliflower gratin, roasted asparagus, green salad with a mustard vinaigrette, and some of the left over flank steak. My daughter sent a picture of their dinner.... asparagus, pasta and sautéed chicken breasts, made by her husband; the man who couldn't cook a thing three years ago!

My daughter is covered with a rash/hives that are itchy and ugly. She thinks she is allergic to a medication that her midwives' gave her. They are less convinced. She has decided to go see her PCP tomorrow to get her opinion. I highly suggested that she not take Olivia to a hospital, filled with sick people. So, I get another Olivia day! We have to go to the bank and maybe we will visit the fish store as well. All depends on Olivia's state of mind.

lacey, LOVE LOVE the song book that you gave to Olivia. Baby Burrito may be a classic.

*susan*

I"m glad she's not in Arizona right now. There have been several reported cases of measles and the public health folks are busy....