Nah. The photo was cc-licensed (CC BY-NC 2.0), so while it should have been attributed itâs just not something I could get riled up about. In other words it met the miffed test, but not the riled up test.
today i made myself proud.
i made Yotam Ottolenghiâs recipe for âspicy burnt aubergine flatbreads with tahiniâ and i have no words for just how fantastico it was.
first, the recipe:
now my showing. first, the lovely homegrown aubergines:
they were grilled over charcoal, along with the plum tomatoes. these get blizzed together with the toasted, ground cumin and allspice, harissa, olive oil. made the flatbreads on the comal, âquickledâ the thin-sliced shallot in sumac seasoned lemon juice and made the tahini sauce.
spread the oil, aubergine mix and top with shallots, fresh mint and cilantro, then drizzle the tahini:
served these with stuffed homegrown âmad hatterâ peppers (reminiscent of sweet red peppers/red bell pepper) filled with cream cheese and my own habanero jelly.
the peppers:
it all made for a handsome platter and some happy, full bellies!
flatbreads are vegan, not gluten-free the peppers are not, but whatever could be subbed for cream cheese could make the whole dish vegan (for anyone keeping score).
tomorrow, blackened mahi tacos with mango slaw. homegrown mango, fresh-caught mahi. stay tuned.
Is it possible to get to the Keys without having to go through actual Florida to get there? I mean, other than by private yacht or such!
I promise to bring wine, and excellent chocolate!
one could fly into Key West and avoid the I95 and mainland nastiness, and one would be met with welcome! (wine and chocolate would complement the affair nicely!)
New foods at the MN State Fair this year (gift link, no paywall)
Iâve never had an interest in trying lutefisk (dried cod, rehydrated with lye) but
[lutefisk] baked with hoisin sauce then stuffed inside a lotus bun, along with cabbage, carrots, cilantroâŚtopped with what theyâre calling yum yum sauce
sounds good to me! Also the fried green tomato sandwich (Iâll take it with the bacon, thanks), and the dill pickle lemonade.
Lots of the new Fair foods look good to me this year. What would you try?
would most definitely try the lutefisk lotus bao. that intrigues me! always up for some fusion cuisine!
- Any and all of the sambusas from Afro Deli.
- Pickle fries.
- A taste of someone elseâs order of lutefisk bao.
(Fixed Autoincorrects)
I thought it was an interesting autocorrect*, though!âspeaking of fusion foods, you know?
When I moved to Minneapolis in the late â70s, it was Scandinavian EVERYTHING. Waves of newer immigrants have really changed the scene hereâsoutheast Asia, East Africa, Mexico, and now Afghanistan come to mind immediately, along with others, plus Native American voices. Itâs heartening to see the foods showing up at the Fairâand no surprise to see that they are, at the same time, Americanized in some ways (though of course all foods would be simplified and streamlined, and brought into a more moderate taste profile to feed a huge crowd from all over the stateâand beyondâthat may have more mainstream tastes). To see lutefisk and hoisin sauce on a lotus bun is kind of mind-boggling, and at the same time itâs âOh yes, of course they did that!â
*I think the autocorrect was something like âSamb US asâ. I was pondering whether it was an intentional reference to immigration/assimilation or a typo, and then Wayward editedâŚ
Cheese curd stuffed pretzels doesnât even sound all that weird. Absolutely would try!
The Ba-Sants sound interesting, basil hummus, Cloud Cooler (although Iâm sure itâs way too sweet), dill pickle & cheese curd taco, fried butternut squash ravioli, fried green tomato sandwich (of course!), and hot honey halloumi cheese sticksâŚoh, wait, thereâs lots more! Yeah, the options are getting much more interesting (and international). My guess is that I wouldnât fair so well at the Texas State Fair.
My favorite Wisconsin state fair shirt said âIâm only here for the foodâ. I would try plenty of those.
So many good choices, but those sticky ribs for the win!
Neither have I, and I live in Norway!
(Thatâs actually not true. Iâd like to try it, but it is sold only in whole sides of fish here, which is a bit too much for such an experiment. One of these days, my work will have a Christmas party that I can actually attend, so that I will hopefully be able to try it in a restaurant setting)
Looks like @FloridaManJefe has a ready source near to him:
seafood:
https://willysproducts.com/?post_type=product&s=&product_cat=seafood
and a nice big pack of yummy-looking lutefisk:
Finally went to visit this place on Saturday:
Theyâve reinvigorated the Maine grain market, and reinvigorated what was, when I was a kid, yet another dying lumber mill town. Very cool. I had a pizza, there was a robin nesting in the tree right near our table, it was like a freaking fairy tale.
And there also just happened to be a farmerâs market going on when we got there.
Check out the timeline on their site, and join me in cursing car culture. And if youâre coming to central Maine, definitely plan a visit.
From this piece in The Norwegian American I learned why eating lutefisk remained important to Norwegian Americans although for a while it fell out of favor in Norway. And TWO reasons why the dried fish is reconstituted by soaking in a lye bath.
(Before posting that link I wanted to learn a little more about The Norwegian American. Ha! Itâs published by Norway House which is right here in Minneapolis 
)
Ok folks, whatâs your best recipe /method for chicken wings? I can always do the bake-brush with BBQ-bake some more but Iâm rather bored with it.
Thereâs the âmake them crispierâ bit with a bit of baking soda, if you want to change them a bit.
