Cooking And Eating....“Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es”

                               TEA FOR THREE TIME.....WITHIN EACH OF THESE MINIATURE APPLE TURNOVERS IS ONE OF THREE  MINIATURE PLASTIC PLAYING CARDS.....A ' TEN OF DIAMONDS ', A ' KING OF SPADES ' AND A ' FIVE OF HEARTS '.....THREE TEATIME GUESTS ARE REQUESTED TO SELECT A PASTRY WITH A SILVER SPEAR, THEN REVEAL THE CARD THAT WAS WITHIN; AFTER WHICH, THE TRADITIONAL TAROT MEANINGS OF THEIR SELECTIONS ARE REVEALED....SOME HUMOROUS HOCUS-POCUS, OF COURSE..... IS THAT A 'RABBIT'S FOOT' ON YOUR KEYCHAIN, MR. 1?  DID YOU 'KNOCK ON WOOD' BEFORE MAKING YOUR SELECTION, MR. 2?  AND, MS. 3, DO YOU THINK YOU 'HAD NO CHOICE'?  UNSCREWUP YOUR FACE.... YOU DID GET ' THE KING OF HEARTS ', AFTER ALL,  AFTER SLIPPING IT FROM THE DECK, YOU SUBSTITUTIONAL   CHEATER!    

                          A PRECURSOR TO A 4 COURSE  SALADLESS MEAL,  TO BE SERVED AT 8......

I think it's 'restaurant' or 'take out' time, after dropping a huge crockery bottle of truffle oil, which ran under the stove....then slipping in the oil slick, dropping a bowl of biscuit dough onto the stove's hot burner, instinctively reaching to remove that mess, and pulling a stack of papers from the counter...into the oil........then, of course, having to clean all this up!     The Parmesan baked truffle fries with Charleston style beaten biscuits and apple butter are 'off' the table for this evening......and I had 'plans' for that gorgeous bottle, now in pieces on the kitchen floor.......I was tempted, [having watched a National Geographic program about 'Water'.....wherein women walked miles to a mud hole, soaked rags in the water, then...walked miles back 'home', where they wrung the water from the cloth into large gourds].....to soak up the oil with an old T-shirt, wring the oil out into a bowl and cook with it anyway........

A rolling wheel of Spicy Salmon Tartare with blackberries and avocado,  a crescent of Steak Tartare upon an herb oil with a black caviar  tuille,  &  a Pan-Roasted Beef Fillet, Dauphine Potato, Charred Asparagus & Red Wine Jus A beautifully cooked beef fillet, blushing pink and tender, paired with silky piped potato, smoky charred asparagus, earthy mushrooms, and a rich, glossy red wine jus.

.....WAS MORE INSTANTLY REWARDING THAN THE COMPLICATED BREAKFAST THAT I DESIGNED, WHILE SLEEPING & DREAMING,  STILL ABED, THIS MORNING...... AS I SWITCH UP SUNRISE DINING FOR AFTERNOON TEA.    

....My 'mess o' kale' , skillet-cooked in water, seasoned with red balsamic vinaigrette, hot chili oil, Mike's 'hot honey' and pomegranate dressing.....heated, until no longer 'soupy'....then, sliced scallions, chopped sweet pickled ginger, toasted sunflower seeds, crushed salted dry 'Harvest Snacks' green pea pods, a single strip of broken-up fried bacon, some previously-cooked basmanti rice with pineapple and sliced, boiled okra are added....the concoction is reduced, again, and a bit of yellow corn kernals, three or four chopped cherry tomatos, a dollop of coriander paste and a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds then added.....Did I get this 'right', Grandma?

                                                                 HAVING EVOLVED FROM ITS HUMBLE ORIGINS ON A HAMBURGER BUN, WITH A 'SIDE' OF COLE SLAW.......

                            Always....make Art, when you can.....and don't toss the peelings.....candy them!  

a modest portion of lemon cake with blueberry preserves supplanted the huge slice of leftover, overly-sugary 'white wedding cake' that I was eyeing, earlier this morning...but tossed to a neighbor's 'I'll gobble up anything' dog. The 'blue' beetle brooch, missing its pin back........now, serves its post as a cake decoration, as though it were arranging blueberries....

alternate serving....try these on fresh, crushed basil leaves and stewed, sliced galangal root.....

 HERETOFORE, I'D DINED ONLY ON GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES...WITHOUT ANIMAL PARTS, PICKLED OR PRESERVED.... AT TEN, I WAS INTRODUCED TO 'REDNECK PATE'....AKA SOUSE....A SPICY, GELATINOUS 'MEAT JELLY'  LOAF OF DISCARDABLE ANIMAL PARTS, GENERALLY EATEN ON SALTINE CRACKEES..... AND...TO HEAD CHEESE, EATEN ON DARK BREADS... VIA THE GERMAN COMMUNITY, IN HUNTSVILLE......  THEN, EVENTUALLY, DURING A TRIP TO PARIS......TO THE TERRINES OF SMOKED MORTEAU SAUSAGES,  IN PASTRY CRUSTS....WITH COLORFUL VARIETIES OF LENTILS....  THANK YOU, JULIA CHILD!  THANK YOU, 'GOURMET MAGAZINE'....FOR THE HOP, SKIP AND JUMP FROM 'POTTED MEAT' TO TERRINES OF PIG'S EARS AND FEET....THEN, TO VEGAN TERRINES OF ROASTED VEGETABLES AND GOAT CHEESE....   

                       FOLLOWED BY A CHOCOLATE CAPPUCCINO, LATER....HOW ABOUT A SUNDAE OF   QUARTERED BLUEBERRY CUPCAKE, SOAKED IN ORANGE LIQUOR, THAWING FRESH QUARTERED STRAWBERRIES...FORMERLY FROZEN IN COINTREAU.... THEN PEAKED WITH   A DEMI-SCOOP OF SPUMONI ICED CREAM.......

  PERHAPS, THE FIRST 'SOLID FOOD' IN MY DIET, AS A VERY YOUNG CHILD..... OATMEAL IS STILL A REGULAR/FAVORITE ITEM ON MY MENU.....IT WAS, IN MY YOUTH, JUST BOILED OATS, SUGAR OR MOLASSES/SORGHAM, AND MILK......OVER THE DECADES, "OATMEAL" HAS EVOLVED TO STEEL-CUT OATS,  BOILED IN LIGHTLY YELLOW SEA SALTED WATER, WITH YELLOW RAISINS,  POWDERED CINNAMON,  AND A TBSP OF SOURWOOD HONEY....THEN LIGHTLY BOILED FOR A COUPLE OF MORE MINUTES,   UNTIL TENDER, DUMPTED INTO A BOWL & COVERED WITH NON-DAIRY CHOCOLATE ALMOND MILK...MOST OF WHICH WILL BE ABSORBED BY THE OATS, LEAVING JUST A PUDDLE OF ALMOND MILK IN THE BOWL, TO BE SPOONED OVER THE CLUMP........ANY LEFTOVER OATMEAL WILL CONTINUE TO THICKEN AND 'LUMP', AND CAN BE FORMED INTO OATMEAL COOKIES AND BAKED WITH THE ADDITION OF SOME SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS/CURLS....FOR TEA TIME, LATER IN THE AFTERNOON......           

                                I SWEAR......"THERE'S NO TEDDY BEAR MEAT!", MR. BEAR...               IF YOU'D PREFER, I'LL SET OUT A BOWL OF HUCKLEBERRIES AND HAZELNUTS..                      OR SOME SQUIRMY TREE GRUBS, DIPPED IN SOURWOOD HONEY, MAYBE?   

An angusburger with three cheeses on a toasted, seeded bun and...for my meat-loving friend, who 'claims' to be 'gluten-free' and 'lactose-avoidant'....a decorative alternative.....super spicy, with fragrant little tomatoes and purple corn chips....no mustard....just ketchup ....and sweet pickle relish

 

                afternoon 'tea time'.......eggs with scallops, tumeric, herbs and cheeses.....on strips of toasted sourdough bread.......and an obligatory afternoon java with heavy cream.....and a dessert in the making, now ...for another teatime with a visiting friend, in just an hour.......walnut shortcakes with lemon curd, I think...with a reawakening pot of Earl Grey.