This weather's got me craving a big steaming mug of broth. Luckily enough I have four and a third pounds of smoked pork chop ends ($7.81 on clearance at Stripling's ), two pickle jars full of vegetable scraps in the freezer, and a full-sized slow cooker begging to be used. I'll report back in 48-72 hours, when it's finished cooking.

Didn't make it, but brunch today was a fresh bagel with homemade lox and a mixed greens salad from a placed owned by a jewish transplant from NYC.



Dinner's going to be hand pies from a new restaurant opened by a South African family.

I ate there for the first time on Thursday night. Food was delicious; definitely lived up to the hype.

Fresh shrimp salad on a ciabatta roll with lettuce from my girlfriend's garden:



And while I was at the bakery picking up the roll, I had to have my morning cup of coffee and one of the fresh peach danishes:



Oh, and just put about four pounds of fresh cherries away to cure. Two quart jars in bourbon and a couple smaller jars in homemade overproof Meyer limoncello with a nice splash of homemade vanilla extract.

Kitchen sink chicken soup:



My little 1.5 quart slow cooker is perfect for one or two person meals, with just a little left over for the next day, so I've been experimenting with different meals. This one was just kinda tossed together from whatever I had lurking in the fridge and freezer: a big chicken breast, a couple carrots and potatoes, half an onion, a glass or two of white wine, some bacon ends and parm rinds, some questionably old shredded mozzarella, and seasoned with a heapin' helping of italian seasoning plus a couple spoonfuls of dijon mustard and chicken stock concentrate. Turn it on low at lunch, dish it up for dinner.

This kinda thing is why I wish I had a slow cooker. The parm rinds sound like a brilliant idea.

Have $17 and either an Amazon Prime account or $3.99 for shipping? Then here you go: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008GS ... ge_o01_s00

A quart and half is good for dinner for two plus seconds, three meals solo, or lunch for four if you add some sides. I just ordered a second one so I can make a side and a main at the same time. In addition to the chicken stew I've made

venison chili from half an onion, a couple tablespoons of my mother's chili seasoning, two beers (one for me, one for the pot), a can of mexican-seasoned stewed tomatoes, a pound of ground venison, and a couple smoked porkchop ends

baked potatoes, came out wonderfully nutty and excellent with some leftover chili

overnight baked sweet potatoes, served for breakfast split with a nice dollop of greek yogurt,

and I've currently got a batch of shredded "mexican" chicken cooking. An extra-large chicken breast, three-quarters of a jar of (expired) fire-roasted salsa, a couple shakes of red pepper flakes, and a hearty dose of blackened/mexican spice rub on the chicken beforehand. At about 30 minutes prior I'll strip the kernels from a fresh ear of sweetcorn and thrown that in. For dinner I'm going to shred the chicken and mix it with the pot then serve it over leftover baked potatoes with some chopped romaine, shredded cheese, and a dollop of greek yogurt.

And of course there's always the cold lunch option:



Some cheeses from the $5 bin at Kroger, a couple good salami, one of the first fall apples, a slice of multi-grain from around the corner, a spoonful of Lusty Monk and my aunt's homemade pickles.

"Sonny, true love is the greatest thing in the world - except for a nice MLT - mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomatoes are ripe "



"They're so perky, I love that."

^ "Have fun storming the castle!"

Fried Black Sea Bass, which I caught yesterday off Fisher's Island.

My friend an I both caught our limit of keeper Bass, I caught a few Summer Flounder that were shorts, and he caught a nice keeper Summer Flounder.

Dinner with fresh pesto from the garden, italian sausage from my favorite gas station/butcher, multi-grain bread from the bakery around the corner, pasta from a box:



Breakfast of fig cobbler with greek yogurt, figs from the tree in the backyard:

Split pea soup and sausage rolls: