Zinniacide, Biscuit Day and other notes

Look at that. Just look at that. There was a big zinnia bud just starting to show its color. This is right by my back steps so it really was Zinnia #1 in terms of importance. A clear cut case of zinniacide (oh, yeahhh).

The first BLT of the season.

Another great cake by Ernie the cakester. We do seem to end up with cracks in the top. Bakers??? It’s called Seedy Zucchini Cake which amuses me a bit given that I am fond of seedy motels and seedy bars.

BISCUIT DAY! This was a particularly good batch. A very thin schmear of honey, some Dijon mustard, a bit of bacon and some slices of a gruyere cheddar hybrid that Ernie gets at Aldi’s.

Now, in important news, we went out of the house and it wasn’t for work or for a doctor’s appointment. Well, ok, it was a work appointment but Ann and Bob were there so afterwards we went to my beloved Fries and Peanuts for a drink with them. It is the first time I’ve been out, at least to the best of my recollection, since I got sick on April 3, 2024. It felt good.

My beautiful friends.

I’ll grant you that I was stupid tired last night but it was oh so worth it.

We even managed to make a good dinner. There’s been a lot of eggplant in the CSA box of late. I don’t think my mother ever cooked eggplant when I was growing up. I remember vividly having eggplant parmesan for the first time in the Allen Hall dorm cafeteria as a freshman and falling madly in love with it. Then my cute new boyfriend took me to Dom’s. The old Dom’s back off of First Street. I have such a clear image in my mind of sitting at a table in the back, the waitress, a large, older woman, coming up to our table with a carafe of red wine tucked under her upper arm, a wineglass in each hand. And of course I ordered the eggplant parmesan.

Eggplant parmesan was not in the cards last night however. Ernie cut up a globe eggplant into one inch cubes (unpeeled), tossed it with a bit of olive oil and roasted it at 450 for 30 minutes. In the meantime he diced two tomatoes and tossed them in a skillet with some olive oil (a normal person would have added garlic and onion at this point) and cooked until it was breaking down. He stirred in the eggplant, gave it a bit of salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and mixed it all up with spaghetti we had just cooked. The eggplant kind of disappears into the sauce but gives it a fuller meatier texture than the tomato alone would have. Fresh basil and parmesan on top and I gotta tell you, the basil MADE it!

Ok, that’s all for now, except for a few pictures of the Busters. I sound pretty perky, don’t I?

Onward.

Love,
Cynthia