Komi tonight, One Day Deal tomorrow

Tonight, T and I are going to Komi, a restaurant about which I have heard RAVE reviews for at least 2 years now. It's one of those "call between the hours of 12-5 but just some days of the week and only a month in advance," so I have just not managed to coordinate all this before now. Anyway, we are super excited, and I will post a lengthy review afterwards. The One Day Deal at participating Whole Foods stores tomorrow is: Organic Navel Oranges, $.79/pound (regularly $1.25/pound). Ooh, la la. Fresh OJ, marmalade, candied or chocolate-dipped orange peel, orange curd...I already have my canning pot at the ready and plan to do a blended blood orange-navel-Cara Cara  jam.

Hilarious

Did you see this?

What to do with all that celery?

As I mentioned recently, I have amassed a ridiculous amount of celery. There are only so many stalks you can cut into your salad, only so many times the boys want Ants on a Log. And interestingly, there aren't many recipes with celery -as opposed to celery root or celeriac- as the main event. I wanted something that could be enjoyed warm but wasn't grooving on the idea of a soup tonight. What about a pan saute? Julia Child braises cucumbers so why not improvise on the idea of cooking something you often don't? I had some turnips and half of Stayman Winesap apple; both have a firm flesh, would complement the celery, and I suspected that the Stayman would hold up well on the heat, especially if added near the end. So, OK, there are the primary ingredients...but what to do to give the dish some nice heft? Bacon, garlic, and shallots! I'll post the recipe as this turned out really nicely but will add here as a note that a bit of grated Gruyère over the top is an optional, but nice, addition.