Our Cod is an awesome Cod

Waterzooi: the Belgian bouillabaise.

While this was leek-ier than I intended--note to self: recipes probably do not intuit that you're buying massive farmers market leeks when they call for "three leeks"--it was also incredibly good. The soup is traditionally thickened with heavy cream and egg yolks. I slimmed it down a bit by going for olive oil instead of butter and just a little whole milk and egg.

Professional chef I am not. It took awhile to messily
julienne all these vegetables... and the unpictured leeks.

Best paired with a local Hudson Valley dry cider!

I slimmed it down for the wallet by buying on-sale cod instead of the halibut or mixed seafood traditionally used in the dish. The stew was definitely less rich than a waterzooi should be, I suppose, but it got the point across. I still put in saffron, so it still counts as fancy! Other reasons to use the cheap fish: dropping $15 on many, many apples at the Greenmarket. Crazy? Maybe.

I bought enough for a dense, moist apple cake based on a recipe from the Talk About Good Louisiana Junior League cookbook*...

Hard not to eat off the crispy top before even turning out
the cake. Sort of wish I'd glazed it with honey, too.

Warm, moist, spicy delicious.

So. Much. Chopping.

..and still have enough for my newly annual apple tasting. I'm holding myself back to two or three apples a day, so here's the progress so far (with quarters for size reference).

Ashby: Meh. The thick, tart skin was the best part, but the flesh was rubbery and the taste not all that distinct from a Golden Delicious.

Baldwin: Aside from being quite pretty, this one had an interesting, creamy undertone with hints of melon.

Black Twig: Generic, but not in a bad way. It was... an apple, but as fresh and apple-y an apple as you could ever wish for. Unfortunately, it looks like a Mackintosh, which puts me off because those are mushy and gross.

Winter Banana: I've mentioned these before, and they were just as delicious this time around.

*Nope, not kidding whatsoever.