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Day 73/74: Some Good Stuff

Happy Memorial Day, everyone.  I hope you got some time to remember the sacrifices of others, and to kick off the summer in a safe and enjoyable way. 

This weekend was a mix of puttering around the house doing errands and relaxation, as a long weekend should be.  Yesterday, we had socially distant cocktails in the back yard, 6+ feet away from friends Lindsay and Jay.  Baby steps into this new social world.  And we cooked and ate some delicious things.

MONDAY
My dad makes delicious lemon blueberry muffins. Blueberries from his backyard garden keep the freezer at the ready all year round. These days, I usually get them around Christmastime, with our annual holiday visit.  Today? I just felt like a muffin, and they came together nice and quickly.  I followed the cookbook's recipe with just one modification: adding the zest of one lemon and rubbing in to the sugar until the oils are released.

Our oven is split into two parts, with a removable divider. The top is basically a glorified toaster oven, and only does convection bake.  They got a little crispy, but tasted delicious. However, this evening, as I was flipping through my recipe binder, I found his routine modifications of this recipe... turns out there is also a butter melting step I missed!  Looks like I'll be making another batch (with regular bake) soon. 
Blueberry Muffins 
from The San Juan Classics Cookbook.  Dad modifications faxed to me from Riverside Millwork, along with a copy of the cookbook page, March 25, 2005.
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350.  In a large bowl, beat butter, eggs, sugar, and salt until well-blended.  Stir in milk and vanilla.  Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, sift flour with baking powder.  Pour egg mixture over, and stir to blend.
3. Gently fold blueberries into batter.  Fill greased muffin cups two-thirds full with batter.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately turn out onto a wire rack. 

Dad's modifications
1.  Add the zest of one lemon.
2.  Melt the butter and add  to batter after everything (except blueberries) is thoroughly mixed.
3.  Fold in blueberries last
4.  Make 9 muffins instead of 12.  Set oven at 425 for 20 minutes, turning down to 350 if they need more time after the first 20 minutes

Soba Noodle Salad
Lunch was a quick soba noodle salad.  This dish reminds me of my friend Rachel, who served me my first ever when we were interns in DC in the summer of 2002.  By the time the noodles were done cooking, it was ready to go.  I topped it with some cubed sriracha tofu that I picked up from Trader Joe's.  Delicious!

Jeff's Dream Tuna Melt
We've been watching a lot of Bon Appetit Test Kitchen here in the distance.  There is something reassuring watching these wonderful chefs cooking in their home kitchens-- by far the best of the "at home" genre!  Watching them riff is very charming, and goes along with how we've been cooking, too.  The Pantry Sandwich episode got us reminiscing about great sandwiches.  Tonight's dinner was the time!

This was based on a tuna melt that was on the menu at Cambridge Brewing Company, in the early 2010s... maybe 2011 or 2012?  The original recipe, if he recalls, was an open faced tuna melt on crusty sourdough toast. Layered with mayo-heavy tuna salad with a good amount of garlic, a layer of marinaded artichokes, a thick slice of asiago cheese, and toasted under the broiler.  Finally, topped with pickled shallots.  For some inexplicable reason, it was dropped from the menu.  He has dreamed about it every since.

Tonight's version was on multigrain sourdough toast.  This tuna salad was rich with mayonnaise, and studded with leftover pickled cucumber from Sunday breakfast, diced shallot, fresh parsley, salt & pepper, a sprinkle of dried thyme, dill, garlic powder, and ground mustard.  The artichokes at our disposal were water-packed, so he sliced them in half and popped them into the leftover pickling liquid while we finished meal prep.   It tasted just right!
 

SUNDAY
Mezze Brunch Deliciousness
Jeff took care of Sunday brunch, and turned mezze dinner into a delicious treat.  The cucumber slices turned into garlicky quick pickled cucumbers.  The pita was fried in garlic butter, rich and delicious.  Labne was spread on the hot pita, topped with a layer of warmed beef and a poached egg.  I topped it all with fresh mint, thinly sliced green onion, and a sprinkle of sumac.  With espresso and a mimosa, it was a great start to the day.

Hot Dogs/Chili Dogs
Remember on Day 29, when I boldly stated that I was not going to get unitasking bread if I was only grocery shopping once a week?  Well... here we are, and I bought those hot dog buns, darnit.  Toasted in butter, and they were delicious!  With a Tom Collins.  Because it's summer!


--
And that brings us to the end of the holiday weekend.  Back at it for a short week.  We have some good stuff on the menu; stay tuned!

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