May 30, 2005

So, what's for dinner tonight? I picked up a whole black sea bass at Whole Foods, and I'm planning on roasting that with a salsa verde I made to use on skirt steak, which never got grilled. We'll have that with some roasted Yukon Gold potatoes tossed with some persillade (finely chopped parsley and garlic) and some sauteed zucchini and carrots.

I got the recipe for the salsa verde, which is almost a pesto, out of the current issue of Fine Cooking, which also had a great recipe for a Berry Buttermilk Cake. I made that yesterday for a party we were going to last night...it was really good, served with some sweetened creme fraiche. The only bad note was the vanilla I used in the cake and the creme fraiche. I had run out of the good stuff and the only thing I had in the cupboard was McCormick's, which smelled unpleasantly chemical. I stopped at Sur La Table today to pick up some Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon vanilla extract, which has a much nicer flavor.

I didn't do a lot in the garden today, either here at home or in the community garden, which is where I am growing my vegetables. I put my name in for a plot at the community garden last year, fully expecting that it would take a while before I ended up with a space. Much to my surprise, I got the call this year. Apparently there is a new regime in charge, and it kicks people out if they aren't taking proper care of their plots. Use it or lose it. Needless to say, my plot was just about the worst looking one in the place; the weeds were dense and tall. I'm doing my best to make the desert bloom, but I think that it will take a few seasons to really get things going, especially since I have a lot of work to do around the house. I am focusing this year on the big things, e.g., tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini, with some green beans thrown in. Next year I'll work on establishing some of the more permanent things, like berries and maybe asparagus. I tried asparagus in the back yard a couple of years ago, when I had raised beds, but it was choked out by the over-aggressive roots of a maple tree.

The community garden is in an interesting spot, cheek by jowl against what is either a reservoir or (according to the conspiracy theories) a missile installation. Glen and I live in Northwest D.C., just a stone's throw away from the Department of Homeland Security and not much farther from the Vice-President's house. Who knows what sorts of security installations are around? Nothing would surprise me.

Well, time to go check on the potatoes...