The Thunder At Which I Am Not

Thunder Over Louisville 2012 is/was tonight. I is/was not there.

I'm actually not that big a fan of fireworks spectaculars. Stretching my imagination, if I had a "special someone", attending Thunder could be a wonderful experience.

The afternoon air show... now there's something I could get my teeth into. A few years back I did go to see the air show. On my bird watcher's list I was able to check off: B-1 bomber, F-22 fighter, and (Holy Kawonga!) B-2 bomber.

Had I been so inclined, there was a perfect setup for me to view the fireworks display. My company's new offices are basically right on the river, fractions of a mile away from the Second Street Bridge, which is is the focal point of Thunder Over Louisville. The owners decided to have a party--mostly for employees but also for a few "fun" clients. They also went all out to entertain the kiddos. I'm talking about one of those inflatable castle thingies that kids can jump around in. (My dad would have done that for me. NOT. End editorial.)

Anyway, since I'm not a huge fan of firework displays, and since I don't have kids, and since I don't like to get drunk with friends and try to drive home, I elected to stay home.

It's the safe thing to do... on so many levels.

Grasshoppers Pickups Number 25

This week's basket contained:

• 1 pt. strawberries
• 1 bunch Swiss Chard
• 1 head lettuce
• 3 stalks baby green garlic
• 1 bunch cilantro
• Bone-in pork chops

I've been enjoying the strawberries with plain yogurt as a dessert. Nice!

The lettuce... yeah... salad.

I don't know what to do with chard! Maybe it goes into salad or maybe I cook it as a side. Research.

As for the baby garlic, I have a fave recipe for "Leeks In Olive Oil" that could accommodate this baby garlic (which looks like young leeks). That would make a faboo side.

The cilantro may be an excuse to go Mexican. Salsa, enchiladas... you name it.

As for the meat... I am so behind schedule with the meat. Who knows. BBQ pork chops? Protein supplement to a bean dish? It's in the freezer for now.

Grasshoppers Pickup Number 24

This week's basket contained:

• 1 bunch kale
• 1 head Bibb lettuce
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 bunch ramps
• 1 bunch thyme
• 1 lb. asparagus
• 2.25 lb. whole chicken, cut up
• 1.75 lb. chicken wings

The asparagus has already gone into making quiche. It's quite delicious and it will make 5 meals for me (including one meal of excess filling as the entree).

The kale, as usual, will be cooked with a couple of (non-CSA) turnips and some pork ribs and be served over cornbread. Can't be bad. The lettuce and tomatoes will be salad.

Ramps are apparently along the lines of wild onions with garlicky overtones. I don't really know since I've never had them before. I'm sure they could go into a stir-fry, but since I also need to find a use for the thyme, maybe I'll simmer a cut of beef with the ramps and thyme.

The cut-up chicken could go into any of a bazillion recipes. Gumbo or curry sounds nice.

The chicken wings would be fun to cook as uber-spicy Buffalo wings.