Simple Pleasures

It's November. I never got those garden pics posted, and my digital camera is on the fritz. My chiles did well though. I've several baggies of roasted, peeled anaheims and poblanos, some of which have been selected to go into tonight's advance batch of machaca. The act of picking, roasting, sweating, and peeling chiles is one that I find very relaxing. I also grew some serrano chiles this year, as I did last year. One batch I pickled as escabeche, and the next batch I dried over hickory smoke. Funny thing about chiles, the same botanical pod will go by any number of names depending on what's been done to it. For example, jalapenos, smoked and dried, are chipotles. A poblano chile, when dried, is called an ancho chile. I don't know what you call a smoked serrano chile, so I'm calling it chipotle. I do know that they're very tasty, and add a fantastic dimension of flavor to a lot of dishes, and I'm a little bit proud to have grown and made my own.

My best friend was down this past weekend for a visit. It was good to see him. It's always good to spend time with him. I busied myself Friday morning with sundry errands, and on the way home stopped by the local fish market, and got a pint of shucked oysters, and a dozen blue point oysters. They had Chincoteague, Choptank, Prince Edwards, and Blue Points. The locals here can be particular about their oysters. Seriously. And I'll admit, I've never had an oyster that can compare to an east coast oyster. The blue points I bought came from Long Island, so they're not exactly local, but they're close enough that the trip didn't bother them much. I love it when the fish monger taps the shells, I leave much more confident that all 12 will be good. Next to the fish shack, there's a liquor store. I stopped in and got a 6 pack of Belgian white beer.

That evening, Joe and I stood over the kitchen sink, shucking and slurping some of the most delicious oysters I've had in a while, and washing them back with some delicious white beer. Here's the beauty of these oysters, -- they don't require anything. No sauce, no condiments, nothing but the oyster -- heck, it even comes in it's own dish! It's the essence of simplicity. Good friends, excellent food, no fuss. Friday was good.