ciao samin

my lovely friend jennifer kicks off her farmer's market this weekend. so anyone out there, within a hundred miles of new haven, get out to her market and support the local farmers!

i'm pooped. i got to work the grill today, which was a thrill. i've realized that i tend to panic right before service starts. it seems like every cook has his or her panic point--some people panic when they make their lists and realize how much they have to do. i, like most everything else in my life, tend to procrastinate with my panic and freak out right before i have to be done, and still have a million things left to do with about three minutes before the customers arrive.

i love making salads, and that might always be my favorite thing to do, but right now i'm on a honeymoon with the grill. i want to do it a million times in a row, until i get really good at it. today, i had tuna confit sandwiches with tomatoes, cucumbers, spring onions and basil, and chicken grilled under a brick with green polenta. it was simple, but enough to make me want to die for about 15 minutes around noon. i think the first thing i need to figure out, though--the thing that's going to make things a lot easier for me--is how to control my fire better. my lovely coals kept on bursting into flames at the most inappropriate times, and i was nearly drawn to tears. then, another cook walked in with a pair of blublockers, and once i put them on, i felt much better (not to mention how cool i must have looked with the combination of my dishwasher's shirt and aviator glasses).

i can't believe it's july 14th! where did the summer go?

it's pretty much official: i've found an apartment! and an awesome deal on a great couch. i think i might leave temescal for my new hood next week. we'll see....