charcoal, not propane.

in texas, bbq means bbq. there is a particular smokey flavor and sauce on the meat, which is beef. in other parts of the country, bbq can simply mean the "outdoor event with a grill." i have never truly barbequed anything. i do not have a propane grill; i don't really know how to make the charcoal one operate (but have friends that do); i am a vegetarian.

luckily, when i sent out an email last week to suggest a memorial day bbq, everyone knew what i meant. this is not texas.

kim's birthday was the week before, and she, too, had an outdoor event, with a grill. and we had lots of leftover buns, chips, and vegetarian meat products. i decided that i would have a bbq and we would use up the food in the fridge. of course, i was going to make more food to make that happen. but, oh, i was wrong. even though there were more people than i thought there would be, i have a ton of picnic food in the fridge. i am living on potato salad.
so, potato salad a la tina. (i know it's not photogenic, that potato salad.)
this makes quite a bit. i am unsure on servings.
1. boil cut potatoes (4-5 pounds) until they are cooked but not mushy. strain the water from them and let them cool.
2. in a large bowl, mix potatoes with cut celery (3 stalks, maybe), 3 chopped hard-boiled eggs, 1 tablespoon each of sugar, oil, and vinegar. also: celery seed. maybe 1.5 tablespoons. i did not measure. this is a family recipe, damn it.
3. add a little salt. (my family is not so into salt. so it's up to you.)
4. add mayonnaise and mix. (we really like mayonnaise. so, probably about 1/3 cup. maybe more.)

and, pasta salad a la tina.
this recipe makes an enormous amount.
1. cook one bag of pasta. (i used a corn-based pasta this time, gluten-free. and it was still good.)
2. chop 4 peeled kirby cucumbers and 2 big tomatoes. (i used beefsteak. i also added a little bit of chopped onion and green bell pepper, but they are just extra.)
3. italian dressing. tina and i like to make the italian good seasons packet that you put in the cruet. i used 3/4 of it. shake over the veggies and pasta.
4. mix in celery seed. 2-3 tablespoons.

i realize that these recipes are inaccurate but mostly, i went by taste. this is the taste of my childhood, damn it. there is no precision.

so, we still have a ton of stuff left. i have had potato salad with my breakfast for 2 days in a row. what?!? it's just like home fries; no thinks that is weird.

yeah, super.

food democracy reported this week that consumers are slacking in terms of safe food preparation: not washing their hands, cleaning their cutting boards, storing their leftovers properly. jerks.

please, kids. wash. this is stupid.

it goes well with the fact that food companies give complicated and unrealistic directions on food preparation. this video is reason enough to make all of your food, and eat nothing prepared and frozen.

as mentioned, more breakfast.

kim made me breakfast on sunday. it was super, like her.

but, on monday, i was cooking for my memorial day bbq and didn't want to fry eggs or make anything that required a lot of space. so, a sandwich. i mean, why not?

avocado, spinach, beefsteak tomato. a little mustard, a little mayonnaise. toasted baugette.

i really should make these for people. maybe when i have a food truck.

more breakfast. and then, more breakfast.

the farmers' market was so good to me this week. i was there before breakfast on saturday and so we had an incredibly fresh meal to start the weekend: toasted organic baguette, spinach salad with strawberries and gouda, carrots and cucumbers with a ranch dip, and, of course, a fried egg. but this time, i know from which farm the eggs came. yes.
there was other treats, too: yukon gold potatoes, thyme, onion. but the strawberries, the best.

farm kids.

i always had to work; there were no internships in college for me.

but, these kids have some pretty cool internships. maybe i should do one next summer?

citron.

i really enjoy making hummus. it's easy to make at home; the only real tool needed is a blender. we eat it so fast at my house that those packaged preservatives are just unnecessary.

i am up too early this morning, but i didn't want to go the laundromat at 8am. i brewed some tea and made simple syrup (for iced tea later on). of course, i am drinking coffee (from gorilla, my favorite). i decided to make the lemony hummus from the march 2009 cooking light. cooking light has been a bit of a disappointment this year, but i still have hope that it will redeem itself.

i used the juice of an entire lemon in this recipe. and it's quite good. refreshing. summery.

no pictures; hummus is never very pretty.

free for all.

the news this week was so unfortunately informative.

1. i am increasingly agitated when i read about food policy and the lack of rules. i am apparently not the only one. see here.
2. we learned that there is no guarantee of safety. thanks, fda.
3. and the food is more expensive. this is obscene. really.

why can't america get it together already?