We Are Eating Well

Although some of our belongings are still in boxes and the house is still missing some important pieces of furniture, worry not, we have been eating well. One has to have priorities after all. Being in a bigger and more diverse area has unlocked many recipes that were previously off-limits because of hard to find ingredients. I have been able to make new recipes every week since we've been here and I'm just scratching the surface. Here's a few of the highlights of the past month or so. Why? In the hopes that your salivating will inspire you to fire up the grill this weekend.

August 1st: Grilled Spiny Lobster with Basil Butter (French West Indies). The inaugural Sunday grill had to be a big one and Stew Leonard's $4.99 lobster fit the bill. Grilling pastries still elude me (polenta was the huge embarrassing failure this time) but the dignity of the meal was upheld by the aperitif (Strega) and digestif (Fernet).

August 8th: Grilled Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches with Basil Aioli (U.S.A.). Pairing grilled mushrooms with any type of garlic or herb butter is a sure hit but more importantly, I made an entire delicious meal that did not include the slaughter of any innocent animals.

August 22nd: Brazilian Swordfish Kebabs with Coconut Milk (Brazil). The Brazilian food was an obvious choice but the swordfish was a pleasant surprise as we discovered it's actually affordable out here. It is a delicious and meaty fish and I recommend it highly with charred vegetables.

August 24th: Provençal Dagwood (France). What's this? Not only a grilled meal during the week but the second meal within a month that did not contain meat and yet maintained my standards of tastiness (or so I'm told). Our vegetarian guests inspired these French sandwiches of goat cheese, grilled eggplant, squash, zucchini and red peppers on some crusty bread. Sounds great--I had a pastrami sandwich.

At this point you may be concerned about the complete lack of red meat in our diet. This is mostly due to the ridiculous Brazilian churrascaria just down the street that charges by the pound and has an indoor grill with about twenty spits of beef, pork and chicken rotating at all times. You point to the meat, they slice it from the outside until you say "when," and then return the spit to the fire with a fresh basting of oil. Saying "when" is the hard part. The beef is among the best I've had and the price is just right.

Even if difficult times, we're managing to find ways to maintain our waistlines.