I had a bout of insomnibaking last night and this morning. I went to bed at a reasonable time, but then woke up at about oh-dark-thirty, thinking about focaccia. Yep, strange thing to be dreaming about, but I have been ruminating on this recipe for a while, so maybe less of a surprise than one would think. It is actually the base for a pizza/focaccia recipe from America’s Test Kitchen, and then I started drawing with veggies and grains. Anyway, believe it or not, I got up, made the dough for this and went back to bed. Then, as I always get up at about 5 AM, before work I made the rest of it and baked it off just before work. It is actually really good, so even though it is “artwork” (it actually looks like a 4 years old’s drawing), you can eat it. I could see an Italian restaurant serving this as a starter with olive oil and sea salt. Nom nom nom.
appetizers
Here’s a quick and easy — and nutritious — snack to make whilst you’re in the middle of Thanksgiving prep, or even if you just need some snacks to watch a sporting event: Rosemary and Thyme Mixed Cocktail Nuts! They are sooooo good: a little sweet, a little salty, herby, nutty, delicious. They are particularly good if you warm them up eve so slightly in the microwave or oven before putting them out to snack on. You can use all types of nuts, but I used almonds, cashews, hazelnuts and pecans which is a great combo!
I’m never sure when something is a “chowder” or when it has become a “stew”. I suspect that it is actually a bit arbitrary, so while I would normally call this a chowder, I’m going with stew this time. Loaded with salmon, jumbo shrimp, lots (!!!) of Maine lobster, plus potatoes, carrots and peas. Yeah, the peas are a little out of the ordinary. Because as Sunday dinner as the temperature begins to cool in Autumn!
Sometimes, your lunch is just so good that you want to share it with the entire world, like today. This is what happens when the garden gives you an overload of fruits (cherry tomatoes are fruits, right?); the thyme is from the garden too. This was amazingly delicious and even the pix came out better than usual. Not bad for a Friday!