Pruden's Purple

Perfect! Delicious! I can't wait until more of these ripen! By the way, that plate is a rough chop of just a single tomato :-)

The First Orange Bloosom

Our first Orange Blossom tomato is in (excluding the one E "accidentally" pulled off a few weeks earlier). We haven't grown this variety before, and can't say did much research before planting it, but it's a gorgeous fruit. We generally like the dark, richer heirlooms but this has a great upbeat taste, however the meat is a bit softer/less fibrous then we like.

Hello Summer.

Lobster Bisque

Cook two medium, chicken lobsters in salted, boiling water. Add a tied bunch of parsley and sachet of black peppercorns and a few fennel seeds. Cook until lobsters turn a bright, happy color. Let cool, and reserve the cooking liquid. Take out the parsley and the sachet and strain the liquid free of solids.

Break apart the lobster, separate out the tail meat and claws, and set aside. If you're lucky, and you get a girl lobster, take out the row (that's what gave mine the bright color, but it does add a bit of texture too, even when blended) and throw it back into the liquid, otherwise put a bit of the meat back in.
Peel and cut into pieces, 1 large potato, 1 parsnip and 1 leek. Add to the lobster boiling liquid and cook until ready. Blend with an immersion blender, and add cream to taste. Serve hot with cut lobster meat and decorate with some lobster legs.

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes and Veal Chops in Tomato Butter

I stumbled across fresh veal chops at WF. They looked so perfectly pink, and smelled of fresh milk. You know, that smell of good, open air markets that you get first thing in the morning (versus later in the day). This smell always makes me think of home; even when I visited recently, it's still amazing to me how a granite countertop without any modern refrigeration can keep the meat smelling like that.

Well...there was that, and then there was the astronomically high price. It made me wonder if I've been missing something with the other, cheaper veal chops I've purchased before. This was definitely a tease. So I decided to pick up a few, if for no better reason then to review the WH veal value.

Rosemary outside is getting bushy with all the hot weather we've been getting so I wanted to use it. I roasted potato wedges with olive oil, sea salt and the herb (see picture of the humble beginning). I then made the tomato butter to serve with the veal to balance the saltiness of the crispy potatoes. Veal was rubbed with salt and pepper, a little lemon zest and cooked in butter (I know, no picture! I'll add one a bit later). I deglazed the pan with cognac.

My humble opinion...the chop was good, tender, but butchered in a sloppy way. I couldn't tell when it was getting weighed, but when I got home, a few of the chops were in parts. All in all, a great cut, but not worth the price.