Assorted

Home again after about a month in Kampala for work - a very nice month, but it is inexpressibly fine to be in my apartment again. Maybe I'll have some notes on Kampala later, but for the moment, here's what I just had for lunch:

- Pick up CSA; note that of course there's a head of lettuce, challenging for someone who doesn't exactly feel inspired by romaine.

- Stagger to Berkeley Bowl, feeling jet lag sink into your marrow. Decide on squid, blithely say that you'll take a pound of the uncleaned variety.

- The next morning, unwrap the squid.

- Stare in bemusement at all the glazed eyes staring back at you.

- Experimentally, seize one by the cap and pull on the legs.

- Start back in horror - what is all this white gunk?

- Chop off legs, hurl eyes and attached gunk away.

- Pick up cap, decide that the sharp bit probably needs to go. Give it a yank, feel it slide out, and bring with it MORE mucus*-looking gunk.

- Briefly consider retching and ditching the whole enterprise.

- De-eye and de-spine and de-gunk remaining squid, rinsing each of the little critters at least 4 times each during the process, decide what the hell and rub the skin off too. Chop caps into rings.

- Wash furiously and then check internet to make sure improvised procedure was not totally incorrect.

- Chop up 3 heads green garlic (reserve half for another use.)

- Chop up a handful of parsley.

- Zest and slice a lemon.

- Drain a tb or so of capers.

- Use mortar and pestle to grind some chiles de arbol, inhale pepper fragments, decide that a... coarse grind is appropriate here.

- Wash, dry, rip up head of romaine.

- Heat some olive oil, dump in pepper flakes and garlic, stir til fragrant, add squid, delight as ever in how the legs writhe as they cook, add capers, turn off heat and stir in zest and parsley.

- Put some romaine in a bowl, top w/ a portion of squid, squeeze lemon slices over, eat w/ a glass of white wine.

Verdict: good, although a little insubstantial - more vegetables or some bread would have been nice. And cleaning the squid was kind of a nuisance but probably the kind of thing it's good to know how to do. Altogether a nice return to the kitchen!

* Or possibly pus. Really not awesome, and I am not particularly squeamish. Maybe part of the high distress factor has to do w/ the non-mammalian factor? B/c it looked alien, not comprehensible, profoundly perplexing.