Last Thursday, TXI played hooky. Actually, the majority of TXI went to watch the Twins vs. the White Sox. While many of us are fans of baseball (and even more of us are fans of the beautiful weather we had), the main reason we all went was to support Marlene Ho (my wife) and her singing of the National Anthem. Marlene won the ESPN Zone Star Spangled Sing off and as a result, she got the chance to sing before the game in front of everyone. All in all, a great day of baseball (my hometown Twins won 20-1), beautiful weather, and a great job of singing!

A classic Monte Cristo sandwich, with a Spanish twist: filled with Manchego cheese, Serrano ham, membrillo (quince paste), and dijon mustard.  A salad with sherry vinaigrette and peppadew peppers completed the lunch.

I wasn’t a purist this time – the corn and tomatillos, and jalapenos came from outside the Green City Market.  But the enchilada filling of baby leeks, green garlic, aged goat cheese and morel mushrooms, as well as the chive blossoms and baby salad greens, are all from yesterday’s rainy market.

So this is a recent find that has made my life much easier, at least the farmer’s market shopping aspect of my life.  This rolling tote is from Sur La Table and can hold a ton of stuff.  It rolls really smoothly over the uneven terrain and has enough structural integrity to stand on its own, whether partially filled or packed.  I avoided rolling it through the terrible mud today, but it’s nylon and seems to be easily cleaned.  It folds up into itself very easily, making it easily stored in a car or carried along until needed:

It comes in a few patterns and solids, and best of all, it’s on sale right now - only $15.  Highly recommended – I imagine this being useful all summer long!

A really nice combination that made the whole office smell gooood.  The pork was seasoned with a spice rub consisting of cinnamon, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper and glazed with a brown sugar/garlic/tabasco mixture.  The salad was dressed with a mixed citrus/curry vinaigrette.

Wish I thought to take a picture of the beautiful pains d’epi that I bought at the Green City Market this morning – next time.  And for those of you keeping track, I’m doing market cooking tomorrow – probably something southwestern.

This is a Creole recipe that originates at one of the Brennan restaurants in New Orleans, passed along to me by my friend Alyssa.  It is rich but very unusual – it really needs the accompanying rice pilaf to absorb and compliment the piquant sauce.  The sauce is comprised of a reduction of lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce, combined with butter and cream.  Finally, sauteed Gulf shrimp, mushrooms, and scallions are stirred in.  Flavorful and very different.

Found the recipe here.