punkerdoo

Our much beloved Mexican-restaurant-down-the-street suffered and fire and closed almost 2 years ago. Since that time we have been seriously missing our local eatery. A few days ago, without fanfare, they re-opened.

Tonight we went there for dinner. They are obviously experiencing opening pains as it took quite along time for us to see our waiter, let alone order drinks. All was forgiven when we saw our favorite waitress Maria was still working there. In the chaos that was their service, we were unable to get her attention, until we crossed paths as we were exiting. She greeted us with hugs. She is the best waitress EVAR. Maria, you rock!

(No, I did not get a picture of her. What can I say)

How appropriate that on the eve of HR 2749 getting passed in the house we had a dinner almost completely sourced locally from small farms. Actually, it’s not all that ironic, we do it quite often. Wait, no, that would be ironical.

Lunch at our local “shack on the beach” is always a pleasure. Had the delicious chorizo cuban sandwich.

Last Saturday, during our weekly trip to the Athens Farmers Market, we picked up some Scallopini Squash. Initially, we saw them as yellow patty pans.  I have cooked with patty pans only once in the past, and these squash were so interesting we picked some up to give them a try.

I regret not paying attention to the name of farm when buying veggies at the market.  I have resigned myself not to make that mistake next weekend, because all of the growers are so friendly and  helpful I think they should get some recognition.  They grower at the table where I picked up the squash suggested using them in a stir-fry and that was my intention.  However, our schedule has been so hectic lately that I have not done my reqular menu planning and shopping.  Since I am so limited to ingredients, I couldn’t find a stir-fry recipe that I felt would work. Then I remembered making 101 Cookbooks gratin recipe.

The original recipe dresses sliced squash and potatoes with oregano and parsley, mixes in Gruyere cheese, and tops it with fresh breadcrumbs for baking.   This year our oregano has been going crazy, so this would be a good way to use up some of it.  I substituted canned breadcrumbs for fresh and Irish Cheddar for the Gruyere, neither of which improved the recipe (I was using what I had on hand).  The resulting plate was not very attractive thanks to the breadcrumbs, but the taste was good enough that I will probably reheat it for lunch today.  I am also putting it on the menu for next week, because squashis abundant at the market and I think I can do better.