Luxurious Saturday afternoon

A couple weekends ago, we hit a lot of errands in our morning market run. We went to Peachtree Road FM and stocked up. We dropped by Cellar 13 to pick up some wine we had on hold. We checked out the Atlanta Fish Market in search for a new fishmonger. My afternoon had started with wrestling with those oysters. Although they were tasty, more than once, I felt like I was going to injure some part of my body with that crappy oyster knife which I gleefully tossed into the trash (and unpacked the good knife just the next day!). A few hours later, but still when there was a lot of time before dinner (read: I didn't feel like cooking just yet), I whipped up this caprese salad.

It all came together well. I had picked up some house-made mozzarella at Whole Foods, which I delighted in because it is creamy and delicious, but it was also $2.50, a real value. Since then, I have learned that it was a special that week and the same package is still available for $4, but with the quality and taste, I still think it's worth it. We can get two sets of servings out of it. The tomatoes, of course, were fresh from the market. I chose the ripest of what we had. Then I harvested the best looking of my basil on the screened porch (which really doesn't seem to be growing that well), and assembled it. Then I doused it with some of the Il Bel Cuore olive oil. Divine!

For dinner, we had picked up this sea bass. I lightly dusted it with Wondra flour after adding s+p and then sauteed it gently on both sides. It turned out quite well,. However, since it's pricier than Whole Foods, and the quality at Whole Foods appears to be the same or higher, we are going to stick to Whole Foods as our seafood supplier for now. I sauteed up some zucchini in the style my mom did when I was a kid, in a saucepan with garlic, covered. I find it's a nice departure from the usual open-faced saute. I also sauteed up the chanterelles with garlic. Lastly, I tossed together a salad with avocado, tomatoes, and shaved carrots. Yes, those same carrots from the winter CSA. I still have a handful left but I am determined to use them all. For this salad, I added a touch of dried oregano and the wet feta from Whole Foods to the dressing. Then I topped it off with the crumbly Persian feta from Decimal Place. It's become my new favorite salad. And I love avocado. I had originally bought all those pieces for a Greek salad lunch but it just hasn't happened yet.