I was in Oaxaca a few years ago and I remember cactus soup, market tamales, mole amarillo broth, squash blossoms stuffed in peppers, rose petal sorbet. There’s a new restaurant here, Espita Mezcaleria, which is suggestive of the region but doesn’t reproduce its unique and unparalleled cuisine. They really can’t; we don’t have the ingredients…

Asparagus sauce. Blend asparagus peelings, water, and a little maple syrup, and pour it over roasted asparagus. The flavors didn’t really soak through, and it may be that just throwing asparagus in the oven and rubbing it in some olive oil or lemon juice cannot be improved upon. (Photo: 16th Street, Washington, D.C.) >> April…

Chicken pot pie with sriracha. Whatever you were thinking about earlier, eating this dinner is a good way to forget about it. The oak tree leaves are out and the neighborhood is green. (Photo: Brookside Gardens, spring.) >> April 29 << April 27

Beef in hard-shell tacos. A peppery California “red blend” wine which toned down the heat of the sriracha, which in turn covered up the sugariness of the wine. Soft flour tortillas with honey: a dessert that tasted like baklava. (Photo: Azaleas, Brookside Gardens, 2015.) >> April 28 << April 26

Pork sliders. Something spilled in the fridge when we were about to leave in the morning, so we had to throw out the sauerkraut, which would have tasted nice on top of the sliders. Other things we threw out: leafy vegetables, sour cream, blueberries, milk. What’s left we will really eat. (Photo: Mount Pleasant neighborhood,…

Chicken and Pringles with rice. Viet used a marinade to make the chicken lemony-oniony, and I added mustard. (Photo: Azaleas, U.S. National Arboretum.) >> April 26 << April 24