Chef’s been delving a bit more into savory again.  Part of that means continuing to source herbs and spices.  We order a pretty wide variety actually, and currently buy from World Spice Merchants here in Seattle. 

If you look closely, you’ll see some red peppercorns just below the cardamom seed.

Being summer (really, it is!) we added a second barbecue sandwich.  This one is smoked pork shoulder cooked down a little with a Carolina style gold sauce (Dijon mustard, a little bite from apple cider vinegar, a touch of sweet and depth from molasses, and a little bit of heat).  It’s served on a Viennese roll, and garnished with a little provolone and cilantro.

And now I’m hungry (well cooked pork shoulder beats bacon, which is hard for me to admit)…

Digressing…

Large copper pot?  Check!  Cheesecloth?  Check!  Strainer/chinoise?  Check! 

It’s still the season for making jams and preserves.  The last round was a selection of nectarines with white wine, and then fig:

This year the fig is just the fruit by itself (a previous year saw a peppery fig and bay-leaf).  The first time I had fig jam was in the south of France, so it’s a pretty strong food-memory association for me, and still one of my favorites. 

On a completely separate note- yes, our gelato case went down over last weekend.  The compressor was working hard and ended up tripping.  It seems to be back on track right now, so expect to see the gelato macarons and chocolate covered bars out heading into this weekend. 

So, just a short note for this sunny Thursday.  Have a great evening everyone!