The summer evening was a perfect time to walk to the Wharf for a relaxing dinner. The wharf has been developed with new apartments and restaurants but I headed to the traditional end. The fish markets there are huge with an amazing array of fresh fish. They also cook fish, mostly fried but also raw oysters. I ordered this wonderful fried seafood assortment from Jessie's Cooked Seafood. The stands are arranged to be well below sidewalk level, an interesting configuration that I haven't seen before. After a few minutes, the fish emerged from the fryer: red snapper, crab cake, onion rings, corn pudding. The fish was extremely fresh and wonderful to eat. The corn pudding was sweet, almost dessert-like, and very much a treat. I sat near the stand to eat my fish, then moved near the water to enjoy the view and the people.
I made candied ginger a few years ago. It's not something I would do every day but I had a lot of fun doing it. I recently acquired a pressure cooker and it inspired an interesting idea to me: why not make candied ginger in the pressure cooker? It should be very soft and flavorful. Here is the result. I peeled two large ginger roots, cut them into small cubes, and put them in the pressure cooker with heavily sugared water. The traditional method first boils the ginger in plain water to soften it and then again in sugar water to candy it. The resulting candy was very tender but still with the characteristic ginger texture. It was also sweet without being overpowering. The traditional method leaves a lot of sugar crystallized around the ginger. The pressure cooker gives a much more subtle result. The ginger stays moist even after it cools but you can dry it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. That inspired me to dip it in chocolate. While I was in the b...

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