Sunday lunch...

Today I enjoyed my provolone panini and grilled asparagus as I sat down to watch a movie ("The Men Who Stare at Goats", from Netflix - hysterical so far, in a dark and very "odd" sort of way).



My movie continues and I am on the computer to do a little blogging, plan out the afternoon and the rest of the chores I have to do today, this week.... and when I'm going to run all of the necessary errands, etc.


We have house guests next weekend... and I'm looking forward to it! But I've got a lot to do between now and then.


First... I'll watch the rest of this movie and try to figure out what it's talking about ... but first I need to take the cookies out of the oven.


I love my life!!!




enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Introducing the Horned Melon...

The Horned melon is also known as the African horned cucumber or melon, jelly melon, hedged gourd, English tomato, melano, or kiwano, and is an annual vine in the cucumber and melon family.

It's Sunday and you know what that means... I had a bit more time to play in the kitchen.

But let me back up a little. I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into my regular grocery store this morning (Albertsons) and there was a renovation project under way. Walls had been moved, linoleum tiles had been pulled up and now some temporary shelves were in place. And then.. and then I walked around the corner to the produce section (where I begin my Sunday journey), and ... it had a whole new feel. It was like walking right into a farmer's market downtown! (Minus the bad jewelry tent and cheesey pots and pans salesman, of course!)

I stood there for a minute, I looked around and then before I knew it I felt a smile coming on!

There in front of me were nicely arranged rows of apple varieties, oranges and tangerines (too many varieties to count)... the list goes on. Lining the wall on the left side of the store were new produce shelves. The new spray system was freshening things up a bit... and as I walked closer I saw piles of fresh herbs: bundled stacks of chives, mint, cilantro, basil, bay leaves (and more) welcomed me to their new home.

I saw 3 or 4 different types of broccoli... even in different colors! There on the wall, standing at attention, was regular and white asparagus, baby artichokes and regular artichokes, tarro root, fresh ginger, lemongrass sprouts... oh, the list goes on and on.


This was a step above my normal produce section! Boy have they been busy since last Sunday! And how blessed I felt in that moment...


In the middle of the produce section were round, elevated displays holding market baskets full of goodies: heirloom tomatoes, star fruit, 3 types of avocadoes, mangoes, passion fruit, coconut (and white coconut too!), kiwis, Bosc pears (and several other types)... and then I saw this strange, prickley-looking thing... the bright orange hue was inviting me to pick it up!


So, let's take another look at it...



And so I did... of course I did! I had never seen anything like it before! It was almost like a dream... am I becoming a little too melodramatic now?!


The spikes are a little prickley... but the outer flesh of this melon is a little tougher than a tomato. I could press on the skin and feel the "meat" inside the fruit was soft. It didn't smell on the outside.

I read the label on the market basket... "Horned Melon, product of New Zealand". And now, for the life of me, I can't remember what else the label said. Wow... but whatever it said, I was buying it and taking it home with me. I needed to know more about this intriguing melon!

Come with me on my journey...

The rest of the groceries were put away, the laundry started, the windows thrown open (it's such a beautiful day today - and by "beautiful" I mean "cold and blustery" and I'm in love), the classical music on... it's time to learn something new!

Here I go, ready or not... it was time to cut into the melon...

Immediately it made a mess...



The consistency of the "meat" inside is more like jello that hasn't quite set yet...



Next? I smelled it... but it didn't really smell like anything...



When I took a closer look at the inside of this melon I found a million tiny sacks, and inside were the seeds.



By squeezing the fruit, the sacks pop right out ... and careful, they really pop out!





Using the end of a spoon could help them out from hiding, if needed. Or cutting another slice could help too... scrape again with the spoon...





And voila...

Since the seeds are inside the sacks there's no point in trying to get rid of the seeds. They can be swallowed... in fact, this is so liquidy that there is no chewing involved. I swirled the jello-like substance around in my mouth ... and what was it like?

It tasted like a combination of kiwi and a mellow lime and cucumber... with a hint of banana. Not only did it LOOK like something I'd never seen before but it also had a whole new flavor profile... like something I'd never TASTED before...

It was kinda slimy, kinda gooey... and really YUMMY! And I've set aside the other half of it to take into work tomorrow... I just know that a certain friend of mine is going to love to try this...

Enjoy your adventures with new ingredients...

enjoy your time in the kitchen...

My Sunday routine...

By far, Sundays are my favorite day of the week - for many reasons!

I'm up before the sun rises and enjoying my coffee at home... see I only get to enjoy my coffee at home 2x a week. The rest of the week... I'm sipping it while driving to work. And at that point, it's more of an act of survival than enjoyment... so I cherish my coffee-at-home mornings. But that's just the beginning...

Then I head to church, catch up with some friends and hug a few necks...

Then? The next few hours are all about food... need I say more?!

You can find me at the same grocery store at the same time every Sunday (and it's so much of a ritual that I run into the same couple every Sunday morning who are there at the same time as me - we ARE creatures of habit, apparently...)

Above is an example of this week's produce bounty... interestingly, the weekly bounty doesn't change much from week to week. Every now and then there will be something different in this mix... but this is what it usually looks like. Bell peppers, green onions, garlic, crimini mushrooms, avocadoes, yellow onions and cilantro. I bring them home, unwrap them from those nasty plastic bags and prep them for storage... wanna see what I do?


Green onions:

They don't usually need to be washed. I just wrap them up in a paper towel (to catch their moisture and keep them fresh). From here - they go right into the veggie drawer.

Cilantro:

Same thing as the green onions. I wrap the bunch in a paper towel to catch the moisture - which keeps the bunch fresh.

Crimini mushrooms:

Personal note: I prefer these to button mushrooms because they seem to have a bit more flavor when sauteed...yum!

Cleaning - Someone once told me that if you rinse mushrooms they soak up water and get rubbery when cooking. Instead, I wipe off the caps and sides of the mushroom with a SLIGHTLY damp cloth. This helps to remove the grit and dirt without allowing them to soak up water. Then I store them in a bowl lined with a paper towel (to soak up any additional moisture).

Storage - The mushrooms then get stored on a shelf in the refrigerator - not in the veggie drawer. Not sure if that's the "right" or "wrong" thing to do - not sure that I care either way.



What I do with other veggies:

Whole green pepper - store loose in the veggie drawer (most definitely NOT in the plastic produce bags). Once they are cut open and partially used, they get loosely wrapped and put back in the veggie drawer until I use the rest of it.

Celery/Carrots - in the bags they were sold in, in the veggie drawer.

Lettuce - wrapped in a paper towel, in the veggie drawer. I was the leaves once I get ready to use them.

Poblano peppers - these may be the only item that stay in their plastic bags once they get into my veggie drawer. Reason? I use them rather quickly... and I need that big to steam them in once I've roasted them over the flame.


At room temperature, but in a cool, dry place...
Avocadoes, yellow/red/white onions, garlic, shallots, potatoes, squash, etc...


And my citrus/fruit?
At room temperature, typically like this or on a platter as a kitchen table center piece.




Isn't this pretty... I love these colors...


The rest of the afternoon usually consists of assembling/making breakfasts and lunches for the work week... trying out a new recipe for dinner (or making a good "comfort food" dish, like Sundays at home used to be)... napping... watching football or baseball or whatever the season may be... being creative in the stamp room or reading or more napping...

I love Sundays! I'm sure you can understand why...



enjoy your time in the kitcen...