Fishin’ Accomplished

Yesterday we had a super-simple dinner of zucchini soup (our friend gave us some of her squash, since ours perished) and penne tossed with local Roquefort-inoculated blue. I’ve been demolishing our entryway, since it’s a way to make the place much nicer for very little money; so far I’ve spent under $100, since it’s mostly been demo and then a bit of framing and drywall to clean it up. Tomorrow begins the mudding, and then some trim and fixtures in the new coat closet, and then it’s up to my wife to paint it.

The zucchini soup was benefited from two ingredients that set it well apart from many an ostensible peer: grilled chicken stock and feta. I added a few pine nuts, too, for extra thickness, and it was a slurpable delight. A little pepper and a flourish of truffle oil gave it everything it needed to become a sublime transubstantiation of summer’s most ubiquitous crop.

Tonight, after my family returned from the farmers’ market with fruit and fish, I kept it simple since I am- to use technical parlance- wicked tiyahd. So I heated the soup, rubbed some of the über-fresh, sweet, fat scallops with salt, pepper, and pimentón, then gave them a good sear in the iron pan. Getting seafood this fresh makes all the difference; it’s like eating a different kind of food. I made a pan sauce with kimchi juice and a splash of wine, adorned each plate with a pile of the just-finished new batch of kimchi, and that was it. Boo to the yah. There was leftover rice and beans, but we didn’t even touch it. If you’ll excuse me, there’s some videographical entertainment waiting for me downstairs.

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7 Comments

  1. The Spiteful Chef
    October 1, 2009

    Truffle oil makes everything better, and also makes for mighty pretty swirls in the soup.

    Aren't you a painter? How come your wife is the one who's stuck painting?

    And my email is kristiecsu@gmail.com

  2. We Are Never Full
    October 1, 2009

    kim chee juice, huh? that sounds both delicious and nasty at the same time. lol. i love your creations. and damn that sear looks good.

    i'm sad that summer is over…that soup would've been awesome last month. now all i can think of is roasts and stews. i'm depressed but kind of excited for the change in cuisine.

  3. Heather
    October 1, 2009

    I love when you type with a Boston accent.

    Speaking of fruit, our pears are sick this time of year – I got a glucose spike just thinking about it.

  4. bb
    October 1, 2009

    That looks quite tasty. way to reward yourself for obviously work well done. Great pic of the scallops, btw!

  5. peter
    October 1, 2009

    Kristie: She's painting it because she wanted it done and I am the one with the mad demolition/carpentry/electrical/sheetrock/mudding/door-hanging/tiling skillz.

    Amy: Summer never even got going. Which is why all our zucchini died. Late at night, I can still hear the screams.

    Blanche: If your pears are sick, ours are retahded.

    BB: Thanks- this new camera is such a joy. Nice to see you back- I hope you had a good summer.

  6. jenblossom
    October 2, 2009

    What you say about the seafood is SO TRUE. I don't think we can ever move away from the coast now that we've tasted the difference.

  7. peter
    October 7, 2009

    Jen: It makes me pine for the coast.

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