Remember a couple weeks ago when I was wishing the vintage biergarten table* on our patio wasn’t rotten? Well, now it isn’t! E restored the whole dang thing. Spray painted the legs, added new screws, hand planed and sealed a beautiful wooden top. I texted a photo to my two best friends when he was almost done and said, come over soon and sit on this thing! So tomorrow they are. Here’s what I’m cooking:
Vegan hot dogs, grilled
Store eggplant and yard zucchini marinated in mint chutney, grilled
Crystal is bringing pickles and condiments and giardiniera and potato chips because, and I quote, she is a food industry professional
I’ll also make a salad with watermelon and the first sungold tomatoes of the year. Did you know that if you freeze watermelon, it will lose water and therefore taste more…watermelony? All you do is place big, flat slices of it in a freezer bag, press or suck out as much air as you can, and freeze it overnight between two sheet trays with something heavy on top. It takes longer to defrost than you’d think, so plan accordingly— 30 minutes to an hour. I’ve already made a dressing with the dregs of a jar of eggplant garlic spread, honey, lemon juice and olive oil and I’ll toss everything with lots of parsley and mint and flaky salt.
And finally, tonight after work I’ll prep dessert: chewy molasses and ginger cookies rolled in crunchy turbinado sugar. Tomorrow I’ll run to the store and grab mango sorbet to smush in the middle. I’ll also take a picture and share the recipe! Come back then, won’t you?
*I think my Mom bought it used in 2003 and gave it to me in 2010. Many of Nashville’s finest have sat around this table late into the night, what memories!