Wild Squash in Zion Nat'l Park

It's a foragers dream come true! (except that you shouldn't really forage on national park land)

This squash was growing all around the park. I'm not exactly sure what species this is -- something in the zucchini family, I suppose. Maybe one of those Wwoofing Pattaps can help us identify it...

I Grew a Cherry Bomb!

That cherry pepper was born on a farm, adopted at the Union Sq farmer's market and raised on my window sill. It was my most exciting plant of the summer and now it's chopped up and infused in some T-Jo olive oil.

I tried a nibble and it honestly wasn't so hot... but I chopped it up, threw it in a jar with some fresh Cayenne's from Spot's Pop's garden and some extra virg. Stay tuned for a tasting report...

Sail the Salmon Seas

Attempt number 1 at making my own lox came out just ok.

The Recipe:

-Start with fresh Salmon - the fattier the better
-Place Salmon on a plate and cover all sides with salt
-Leave in Refrigerator for 24 hours. Drain the water off the plate.
-Re-Salt
-Leave in Refrigerator for another 24 hours. Drain water off the plate.
-Wrap salmon in tin foil and leave it in the freezer for 48 hours.
-Slice off the piece you want to serve. Defrost that piece for 20-30 minutes until it's soft enough to slice thin.

It tasted delicious when Beau and I tried it, but it is way too salty, to be honest. There was still a good amount of water after the second salting so I actually salted it a third time. This might have been where I went wrong...

I will try again... Trekking through the bacon fields, across the salmon seas, to the mountains of cheese on the distant horizon...