Plain and fancy

[Dave Grubb]

Last night was fancy

I got a lb. of fresh sea scallops (dry) at the market on Wed., which I made last night. I seldom order scallops in a restaurant because I am too often disappointed by a poorly prepared dish---most often overcooked.

I sautéed these in garlic infused EVOO for 3 min. on the first side and then 2 minutes on the reverse with medium high heat. After sautéing the scallops I put them in the air fryer at 175 F to keep them warm while I sautéed a large shallot, sliced, with a TBS of capers, lemon zest in 3 TBS of butter---then the juice of 1/2 a lemon. That I spooned over the scallops when I plated dinner.

To that I added steamed snow peas and white rice with broccoli.

The scallops were excellent---and they made the bride happy as well.

Tonight the plain, as a nor'easter moves up the coast (and it is snowing now) dinner will be a pot of ham and bean soup.

I started two pounds of pinto and northern white dry beans soaking before going to bed last night and in a few hours I will start building the soup----it looks to be a perfect weekend for a pot of soup

[Dave Grubb]

And the transition to soup begins.

The greenery on top is bay leaf, cilantro and fresh tyme. I am going to add black beans, but they are still soaking.

[Honda]

We did lamb chops with sauteed wilted fresh spinach and garlic bread. Pretty good grub tonight.

[Dave Grubb]

Results were grand I did add one tbsp. of white pepper and the same of dry mustard close to the end.

Grand enough that I had bean soup for breakfast---and dinner tonight will be a repeat of last night

It made me recall bean soup of years ago.

We would camp, with tons of friends, in one of the back fields right after cutting hay. We would take our trailer back there to serve as a base and anyone else with a camper of any sorts would do the same. Those who did not camp would go home at night and rejoin us in the mornings.

The focus of the weekend was always the food---and one which became a staple was bean soup---in a 40 gal cast iron pot over a wood fire. I can't be sure, but I think I used 24 lbs of dry beans plus a full ham, about 10 lbs of carrots and onions, as much garlic as I had time to peal, handsful of thyme and 5 lbs of celery.

Another staple for the weekend was standing rib roasts over an open fire , baked potatoes in the coals and cherry cobbler in cast iron Dutch ovens, also on the fire.

When not cooking there was always a baseball game or horse shoes---or pour a cup of boiled coffee from the pot hanging on the spit

...all of that while our copious progeny ran about carefree (and safely)