Looking at this inviting bowl makes me feel even more disappointed about how little cooking I've done since making this soup, and subsequently, disappointed by how few truly satisfying meals I've had in the last few weeks. While food is always such an important part of the holidays in my family and to me personally, I have found myself eating poorly in these weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I don't mean eating lots of sweets and holiday foods. Restaurant-eating and processed and ready-made foods have seemed to invade my diet in the last few weeks. As much as I'm looking forward to my holiday plans (spending time in the kitchen and dining room of my sister and brother-in-law, who taught me what it meant to be a foodie), I'm also anxious for life to get back to normal so I can get back in my own kitchen.Turkey Soup for the Stressed Holiday Soul
This holiday season is proving to be particularly stressful for me: travels, festivities, families, friends, finances ....deep breath...which is why I haven't been cooking or blogging. Luckily before things got crazy, my housemates and I hosted our annual Pre-Thanksgiving Potluck the week before Turkey Day. We had an enormous amount of food for our enormous amount of friends. There was very little leftover except....turkey! In the days following the potluck, I whipped up this tasty soup with a bunch of fresh and frozen veggies, thyme, and Chinese five spice.
Looking at this inviting bowl makes me feel even more disappointed about how little cooking I've done since making this soup, and subsequently, disappointed by how few truly satisfying meals I've had in the last few weeks. While food is always such an important part of the holidays in my family and to me personally, I have found myself eating poorly in these weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I don't mean eating lots of sweets and holiday foods. Restaurant-eating and processed and ready-made foods have seemed to invade my diet in the last few weeks. As much as I'm looking forward to my holiday plans (spending time in the kitchen and dining room of my sister and brother-in-law, who taught me what it meant to be a foodie), I'm also anxious for life to get back to normal so I can get back in my own kitchen.
Looking at this inviting bowl makes me feel even more disappointed about how little cooking I've done since making this soup, and subsequently, disappointed by how few truly satisfying meals I've had in the last few weeks. While food is always such an important part of the holidays in my family and to me personally, I have found myself eating poorly in these weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I don't mean eating lots of sweets and holiday foods. Restaurant-eating and processed and ready-made foods have seemed to invade my diet in the last few weeks. As much as I'm looking forward to my holiday plans (spending time in the kitchen and dining room of my sister and brother-in-law, who taught me what it meant to be a foodie), I'm also anxious for life to get back to normal so I can get back in my own kitchen.
Greens!
Last weekend I bought beautiful rainbow swiss chard and kale at the farmer's market. I've never cooked swiss chard before, but I have cooked beet greens (and stems) back at the beginning of the CSA season when I was inundated with beets. The verdict on swiss chard...tastes like beet greens, i.e. like dirt, in a good way.
Swiss Chard with Almonds and Raisins
Adapted from Epicurious
medium onion, sliced into long strips
extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika
1 large bunch of Swiss chard, center ribs discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
1/2 cup? golden raisins
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup? sliced almonds
1. Cook onion with 1/4 teaspoon salt in 2 tablespoons oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over medium heat, stirring, until softened.
2. Sprinkle with paprika and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
3. Add chard in batches, stirring frequently, until wilted, then add raisins and water.
4. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until chard is tender, about 7 minutes.
5. Season with salt.
6. Cook almonds in remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in a small heavy skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until golden, 3 to 5 minutes.
* I didn't do this step, out of pure laziness, the recipe also called for coarsely chopped almonds with skins, I used sliced almonds.*
7. Sprinkle almonds over chard.
I originally made the chard to eat with these tasty pork chops that Wednesday Chef talks about. A very paprika-heavy meal. But then I ate the leftovers hot and cold, as a side, a snack, and the main event; I'll eat just about anything with golden raisins.
Tonight I finally got around to the kale. Luckily, this was a bit of a fridge clean-out meal, too. (We'll get to that fridge later...)
Penne with Kale, Tomatoes and Feta
1. Cook 1 lb. penne.
2. Toast pine nuts. Don't burn them like I did.
2. Remove center ribs, coarse chop kale.
3. Put kale in pot with hot olive oil and two chopped cloves of garlic. Cook until kale is wilted.
4. Add crushed tomatoes (about 3/4 of the large can size...this dish isn't one for specifics) and cook for a few more minutes (Stir!)
5. Pour kale and tomato mixture on cooked and drained penne. Toss crumbled feta cheese on top.
6. Top with pine nuts.
Here's that fridge....as you can see the freezer's not any better.
And I'll be needing a place to put a 25-lb. turkey in a few days, hmm...
Swiss Chard with Almonds and Raisins
Adapted from Epicurious
medium onion, sliced into long strips
extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika
1 large bunch of Swiss chard, center ribs discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
1/2 cup? golden raisins
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup? sliced almonds
1. Cook onion with 1/4 teaspoon salt in 2 tablespoons oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over medium heat, stirring, until softened.
2. Sprinkle with paprika and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
3. Add chard in batches, stirring frequently, until wilted, then add raisins and water.
4. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until chard is tender, about 7 minutes.
5. Season with salt.
6. Cook almonds in remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in a small heavy skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until golden, 3 to 5 minutes.
* I didn't do this step, out of pure laziness, the recipe also called for coarsely chopped almonds with skins, I used sliced almonds.*
7. Sprinkle almonds over chard.
I originally made the chard to eat with these tasty pork chops that Wednesday Chef talks about. A very paprika-heavy meal. But then I ate the leftovers hot and cold, as a side, a snack, and the main event; I'll eat just about anything with golden raisins.
Tonight I finally got around to the kale. Luckily, this was a bit of a fridge clean-out meal, too. (We'll get to that fridge later...)
Penne with Kale, Tomatoes and Feta
1. Cook 1 lb. penne.2. Toast pine nuts. Don't burn them like I did.
2. Remove center ribs, coarse chop kale.
3. Put kale in pot with hot olive oil and two chopped cloves of garlic. Cook until kale is wilted.
4. Add crushed tomatoes (about 3/4 of the large can size...this dish isn't one for specifics) and cook for a few more minutes (Stir!)
5. Pour kale and tomato mixture on cooked and drained penne. Toss crumbled feta cheese on top.
6. Top with pine nuts.
Here's that fridge....as you can see the freezer's not any better.
And I'll be needing a place to put a 25-lb. turkey in a few days, hmm...
Sunday afternoon with the oven
I feel like I've been reunited with an old friend!I finally got around to some baking this weekend. After scouring my new favorite blogs--why did it take me so long to start reading The Wednesday Chef and Orangette?--I found this perfectly appealing recipe for Apple Walnut Bundt Cake. It was exactly what I was looking for: autumnal, simple, unique yet classic (a bundt!), versatile (dessert or breakfast!), and delicious-looking. It whipped up pretty easily. I probably spent more time greasing and flouring all the nooks of the bundt pan than I did mixing up the batter. It came together nicely with some basic ingredients, two small local apples, one bowl and a spoon, no electric mixer. SIMPLE.
I pulled it out of the oven moments before I had to be on the bus to my book club/potluck. I didn't have time enough for it to cool in the pan before turning it out so I packed the pan and the cooling rack and brought it on the bus. It warmed my lap and gave off its tantalizing aroma; I think I made a few friends on the bus! When I arrived at book club, it turned out of the pan with ease
How about that bolognese...?
I wasn't supposed to be involved in the creation of this, but I was too hungry to sit back and let someone else toil over it all alone. I must be clear though that this was not my vision, a beautiful, well-executed vision, but not really something for which I can take credit.Onion, garlic, ground beef (the 80/20 at my suggestion), hot Italian turkey sausage (to balance the fattier beef), then crushed and diced tomatoes, tomato paste, red and green pepper and mushrooms, Italian seasoning and fresh basil. It thickened up nicely as lunch leftovers 2 days later.
Monday night quickie
Whipped up this attractive plate on Monday night. Roasted the (purple!) broccoli with garlic, olive oil and salt. Boiled the potatoes and browned them in the pan with the portobello mushroom chicken sausage. Mixed grains from Trader Joe's on the side (cooked in broth instead of water). So what if I ate potatoes and grains, there was a green vegetable!
Generous Amounts of Kale
As the days of my neighborhood farmers' market season dwindle, I'm trying to indulge in the convenience of its location and its delectable fall produce bounty. Last week I bought some Empire apples, a few squash, and a GIANT bunch of kale. I'd been meaning to make this soup and the Sam's Club size bunch of kale seemed to be made for this recipe: Cannellini Bean Soup with Kale. I'll admit, however, as delicious as it was, now that I ate it...7? times in one week, I don't think I'll be making it again anytime soon. It was especially good with a grilled cheese at Serving 4 or 5. I also made The Barefoot Contessa's Saffron Risotto with Butternut Squash....to.die.for. Even without the saffron, for which I couldn't bare to shed $18.99 at Giant. I remember the first time I ever made this recipe (my first ever risotto) with a dear old friend; we
hunted down saffron threads at Treasure Island grocery store in Chicago, then sweat over the stove for what seemed like hours before devouring the creamy richness. Sorry no pictures...I ate it too fast!
Return to the kitchen, return to the blog
I whipped this tasty dish up last night with some butternut squash and a sweet potato (the last pieces of my last CSA share a few weeks back). This dish came together pretty quickly because I roasted the squash and sweet potato and steamed the kale last night. My diet has been severely lacking in the vegetable department, not to mention the green, leafy kind, and the kale has me feeling like Popeye...he ate spinach, but same idea.First I sauteed some garlic and pine nuts in olive oil. Removed them from the pan and heated the roasted squash and potato, tossed in the kale and seasoned with allspice and salt. Mmm...tastes like fall.
Parsley chopping...bane of my existence
Made it. So good. And then I realized that citrus isn't really good for you when you have a cold, which I do (I think it tends to cause/contribute to congestion.) Ah well, this is tasty!
The only thing that might keep me from adding this recipe to any kind of Cauliflower Socks Best Hits list is the amount of fervor with which I hate chopping parsley. I don't mean to rant but, well, here goes...
1) it's gritty and so must be rinsed,
2) but then it is wet and sticks to everything.
3) I have found no effective way to dry rinsed parsley and so, attempt to chop it while it's still wet.
4) The little tiny pieces stick to my hand/finger/knife/implement. No matter how few of these things I get involved in picking up the chopped parsley, half of it seems to be attached to me or a kitchen tool.
But this salad is delicious!
Edit: All that ranting and did Bittman's recipe call for parsley? No, cilantro. D'oh! Also, I forgot the red pepper. This head cold is crowding out my brain cells.
An Autumn Potato Salad
Apparently I'm really into potato salad. I'm not sure exactly when that happened.
This sounds amazing to me...The Minimalist's Sweet Potato Salad, "presumably delicious."
This sounds amazing to me...The Minimalist's Sweet Potato Salad, "presumably delicious."
Zee zaftig zucchini
I set out to make some zucchini recipes this weekend. The kind of recipes that you turn to when you have a garden full of submarine-sized squash. I, of course, do not have a garden, but, as is frequent when it comes to food, I was feeling nostalgic. In the good old days we used to pick zucchini at least twice a day, but they still grew to absurd sizes. Somewhere in one of my parents' photo albums, there's a shot of me hawking zucchini and cucumbers off a wooden bench in our front yard. Barefoot and squinting into the sun, with a zucchini in either hand, my 5-year-old back is arched to support the hefty zukes.
In one of my favorite parts of one of my favorite books, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver coins the term "zucchini wars" to describe the position in which the typical zucchini grower finds him or herself at the end of the summer. Here's an excerpt from an excerpt published in Yes! magazine:
I made the Kingsolver family recipe for Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies. They took longer to cook than the recipe said; it probably didn't help that I kept opening the oven door impatiently while baking the second batch at 1:30 am last night. (There were kittens to be playing with upstairs!) I also forgot to flatten the dough with the first batch, but they seemed fine. Oh, I also didn't have any baking soda. Through my cursory research I think the baking soda would have improved the texture of the cookies, but considering they are cookies with vegetables in them, I think the texture is appropriate.
For my book club get-together tonight, I made a chocolate (and chocolate chip) zucchini cake. It's a recipe from my mom, probably from one of the millions of magazine clippings she's amassed over the years. It comes together in a jiffy and is deliciously moist and sweet. My book club friends each took home a big chunk. I might eat my piece for breakfast tomorrow!
*On shredding zucchini: We grated it by hand when I was a kid, but I'll take any excuse to use my Cuisinart food processor. I used the shredding blade and I'm convinced that it saved time and the skin on my knuckles.*
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Cream:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup sugar
Add:
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour milk (add 1 tsp lemon...I used lime juice, because it was on hand)
Mix together dry ingredients then add gradually to wet:
2 1/2 cups flour
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
Add to batter:
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/4 cup chocolate chips
Pour in a greased and floured 9 x 13 inch pan.
Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
In one of my favorite parts of one of my favorite books, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver coins the term "zucchini wars" to describe the position in which the typical zucchini grower finds him or herself at the end of the summer. Here's an excerpt from an excerpt published in Yes! magazine:
Sometimes I just had to put down my knives and admire their extravagant success. Their hulking, elongated cleverness. Their heft. I tried balancing them on their heads, on their sides: right here in the kitchen we had the beginnings of our own vegetable Stonehenge. Okay, yes, I was losing it. I could not stay ahead of this race.
I made the Kingsolver family recipe for Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies. They took longer to cook than the recipe said; it probably didn't help that I kept opening the oven door impatiently while baking the second batch at 1:30 am last night. (There were kittens to be playing with upstairs!) I also forgot to flatten the dough with the first batch, but they seemed fine. Oh, I also didn't have any baking soda. Through my cursory research I think the baking soda would have improved the texture of the cookies, but considering they are cookies with vegetables in them, I think the texture is appropriate.For my book club get-together tonight, I made a chocolate (and chocolate chip) zucchini cake. It's a recipe from my mom, probably from one of the millions of magazine clippings she's amassed over the years. It comes together in a jiffy and is deliciously moist and sweet. My book club friends each took home a big chunk. I might eat my piece for breakfast tomorrow!
*On shredding zucchini: We grated it by hand when I was a kid, but I'll take any excuse to use my Cuisinart food processor. I used the shredding blade and I'm convinced that it saved time and the skin on my knuckles.*
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Cream:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup sugar
Add:
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour milk (add 1 tsp lemon...I used lime juice, because it was on hand)
Mix together dry ingredients then add gradually to wet:
2 1/2 cups flour
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
Add to batter:
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/4 cup chocolate chips
Pour in a greased and floured 9 x 13 inch pan.
Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Gourds, gifts and Grandma
A collection of thoughts as the autumn rolls in (maybe).
...Think there might be a little bread baking on tap for this weekend.
...I've been looking for a ragu/bolognese recipe and missing my dear grandma. Wish I'd been old enough to really study her cooking.
...Also in search of a cheesecake recipe, but feeling slightly less desperate about this search because my mom makes a wonderful cheesecake and I need only replicate her recipe to find success. I'm just a researcher/shopper by nature; I like to see my options before I commit.
...Planning a celebration/gift meal has had me feeling a plethora of emotions: 1) confidence in the thoroughness of my research, 2) insecurity about my ability to actually choose the "best" recipe, 3) apprehension about choosing a dish that will end up being fussy, 4) excitement about eating the meal, and 5) a positive, yet to be fully understood feeling such as what a gift giver feels when s/he has considered so carefully what will make the recipient most happy.
...Feeling a bit more legit for actually having made the effort recently to read interesting/well-known/charming/witty food blogs. And so...
...Cauliflower Socks is due for some beautification.
...I might be on my way to accepting the whole ornamental squash thing--OK, they are attractive in an odd sort of way and oh, so fall-ish--but they remain lodged in the category Stuff-That-Doesn't-Serve-A-Reasonable-Purpose, which is to say the Stuff-I-Try-To-Keep-Out-Of-My-Life category. I've amassed a vaguely charming collection of gourds, etc. on the mantel in my dining room. Sorry, housemates!
Introducing this week's share...
...Think there might be a little bread baking on tap for this weekend.
...I've been looking for a ragu/bolognese recipe and missing my dear grandma. Wish I'd been old enough to really study her cooking.
...Also in search of a cheesecake recipe, but feeling slightly less desperate about this search because my mom makes a wonderful cheesecake and I need only replicate her recipe to find success. I'm just a researcher/shopper by nature; I like to see my options before I commit.
...Planning a celebration/gift meal has had me feeling a plethora of emotions: 1) confidence in the thoroughness of my research, 2) insecurity about my ability to actually choose the "best" recipe, 3) apprehension about choosing a dish that will end up being fussy, 4) excitement about eating the meal, and 5) a positive, yet to be fully understood feeling such as what a gift giver feels when s/he has considered so carefully what will make the recipient most happy.
...Feeling a bit more legit for actually having made the effort recently to read interesting/well-known/charming/witty food blogs. And so...
...Cauliflower Socks is due for some beautification.
...I might be on my way to accepting the whole ornamental squash thing--OK, they are attractive in an odd sort of way and oh, so fall-ish--but they remain lodged in the category Stuff-That-Doesn't-Serve-A-Reasonable-Purpose, which is to say the Stuff-I-Try-To-Keep-Out-Of-My-Life category. I've amassed a vaguely charming collection of gourds, etc. on the mantel in my dining room. Sorry, housemates!
Introducing this week's share...
CSA, what?
After all that hemming and hawing yesterday I made a meal utilizing one measly CSA share vegetable--a sweet, not hot as assumed, red pepper. Despite the non-local-ness of the food, it turned out looking quite nice (good colors) and not bad tasting either. It was my variation on and combination of Bittman's Stir-Fried Chicken with Broccoli and Stir-Fried Spicy Beef with Basil. I was mostly looking to the recipes for technique. The ones I picked up being, parboiling the broccoli for 2 minutes and quick marinating the beef with the basil and some oil. The basil was really over-powered here even though I used a hefty handful. Basil you can't taste= a darn shame. Speaking of basil, I have a hankering for some pesto. I'd love to find a creative way to use it (read: not on pasta).
Desperately seeking inspiration...
I want to cook! I want to make something delicious! Then I want to eat it!
But I can't find any recipes/ideas, even ingredients, that seem a worthy outlet for this enthusiasm.
In an attempt to seek inspiration, I've spent the last hour diving into the food blogosphere. Man, there are a lot of people writing (well) about food out there. I could spend a million more hours reading about food. Also, I should learn to take better photos. But that's a goal for another day.
I bought a big mango at Whole Foods last week. I can't remember what variety it was and I forgot to take a picture of it before I cut it up, so that detail will remain a mystery. It was bigger than most grocery store mangoes and all green. I don't buy mangoes often because they seem expensive, you have to cut them (versus other easier fruits), and they travel from far away to get to me, but I can see this becoming a habit. Eating this super ripe, super sweet mango was a delicious way to start my two weekend mornings.
But I can't find any recipes/ideas, even ingredients, that seem a worthy outlet for this enthusiasm.
In an attempt to seek inspiration, I've spent the last hour diving into the food blogosphere. Man, there are a lot of people writing (well) about food out there. I could spend a million more hours reading about food. Also, I should learn to take better photos. But that's a goal for another day.
I bought a big mango at Whole Foods last week. I can't remember what variety it was and I forgot to take a picture of it before I cut it up, so that detail will remain a mystery. It was bigger than most grocery store mangoes and all green. I don't buy mangoes often because they seem expensive, you have to cut them (versus other easier fruits), and they travel from far away to get to me, but I can see this becoming a habit. Eating this super ripe, super sweet mango was a delicious way to start my two weekend mornings.
How lovely are composed salads?!
One of the goals I had when I signed up for my CSA share and started this blog was to broaden my repertoire in the kitchen--to try new recipes and to be more successful with my improvisations. I can't say I've been doing a stellar job, but when I thought about making potato salad yesterday, I started to feel like a bit of a failure for repeating a dish. But I made it anyway because there were just too many potatoes! ...And guess what?
...I think it might be the best potato salad I've ever eaten. (Humility was never a goal of this blogging CSA endeavor.)
I consulted the Barefoot Contessa (I'd made her French potato salad before.), Bittman, Jacques Pépin, and Alice Waters. I really tried to seek inspiration from some new (and respectable sources) but Pépin and Waters had nothing to offer in this particular department. Here's my variation on Bittman's Double Mustard Potato Salad. I used a combination of Dijon and brown stone-ground mustards and a bit of port and apple cider vinegars. A big difference in the technique department between Bittman and BC was cutting the potatoes before boiling them (Bittman's), which I have to say worked out much better for me.
Maybe I was feeling inspired by the beautiful plating Mr. Bacon does (see below) when I decided to incorporate the salad into a Provençal-esque salad with green beans, grape tomatoes, tuna and a delicious hard-boiled egg. (P.S. this is one of the best hard-boiled eggs I've ever eaten). I think composed salads are so gorgeous. I should do this more often.
Speaking of gorgeous...my friend Mr. Bacon put my watermelon to good use in this jicama-watermelon salad. Oooo! Ahhhhh! It tasted good too.
...I think it might be the best potato salad I've ever eaten. (Humility was never a goal of this blogging CSA endeavor.)
I consulted the Barefoot Contessa (I'd made her French potato salad before.), Bittman, Jacques Pépin, and Alice Waters. I really tried to seek inspiration from some new (and respectable sources) but Pépin and Waters had nothing to offer in this particular department. Here's my variation on Bittman's Double Mustard Potato Salad. I used a combination of Dijon and brown stone-ground mustards and a bit of port and apple cider vinegars. A big difference in the technique department between Bittman and BC was cutting the potatoes before boiling them (Bittman's), which I have to say worked out much better for me.
Maybe I was feeling inspired by the beautiful plating Mr. Bacon does (see below) when I decided to incorporate the salad into a Provençal-esque salad with green beans, grape tomatoes, tuna and a delicious hard-boiled egg. (P.S. this is one of the best hard-boiled eggs I've ever eaten). I think composed salads are so gorgeous. I should do this more often.
Speaking of gorgeous...my friend Mr. Bacon put my watermelon to good use in this jicama-watermelon salad. Oooo! Ahhhhh! It tasted good too.
Why does all my food look the same?
Another Thursday, another CSA share. As far as this week goes I've eaten (some of) the cantaloupe, the tomato (eh), the squash and some eggs. The eggs were absolutely gorgeous with really deep-yellow yokes that looked almost orange when beaten. I made a quick scramble with some tomatoes and curry powder. I have four more, with which I feel compelled to make prepare something more inventive that will really highlight the quality of the eggs. Egg'deas?
I've been lazy/busy this week and didn't do much cooking, but did do a lot of veggie eating by roasting eggplant, green and yellow squash and red pepper with olive oil early in the week. The eggplant went in the 400 degree oven first for about 20 minutes with the other veggies being thrown in for about 5 minutes at the end. I didn't peel or salt and press the eggplant, but I think it was delicious (some may say slimy, but weird food textures rarely bother me.) I also roasted big cloves of garlic and diced them up after everything cooled, mixed the garlic with olive oil and juice of a lemon and poured that on top of the cooled veggies. On top of greens with some feta, this cooked-itself meal wasn't half bad (the....3? times I ate it!). Tonight I cooked up some quinoa and broccoli and ate the last of it with feta and a giant tomato from last week's CSA.
I have some serious work to do with my potato stash since more spuds came in this week's share. A slow cook in foil under some hot campfire coals this weekend might be good, but that'll only knock off a few. I also now have two hot(?) red peppers and some cabbage (what the..?!). And this week's share included a HUGE chunk of watermelon. Since it's already been cut, I feel a serious race against the clock to eat the sucker. Come over and have a piece!
Speaking of racing against the clock to eat produce...Listen to this hilarious excerpt from my favorite NPR program "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" featuring author, food'spert and James Beard Award winning Michael Pollan.
Oh, and here's this week's share:
I've been lazy/busy this week and didn't do much cooking, but did do a lot of veggie eating by roasting eggplant, green and yellow squash and red pepper with olive oil early in the week. The eggplant went in the 400 degree oven first for about 20 minutes with the other veggies being thrown in for about 5 minutes at the end. I didn't peel or salt and press the eggplant, but I think it was delicious (some may say slimy, but weird food textures rarely bother me.) I also roasted big cloves of garlic and diced them up after everything cooled, mixed the garlic with olive oil and juice of a lemon and poured that on top of the cooled veggies. On top of greens with some feta, this cooked-itself meal wasn't half bad (the....3? times I ate it!). Tonight I cooked up some quinoa and broccoli and ate the last of it with feta and a giant tomato from last week's CSA.
I have some serious work to do with my potato stash since more spuds came in this week's share. A slow cook in foil under some hot campfire coals this weekend might be good, but that'll only knock off a few. I also now have two hot(?) red peppers and some cabbage (what the..?!). And this week's share included a HUGE chunk of watermelon. Since it's already been cut, I feel a serious race against the clock to eat the sucker. Come over and have a piece!
Speaking of racing against the clock to eat produce...Listen to this hilarious excerpt from my favorite NPR program "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" featuring author, food'spert and James Beard Award winning Michael Pollan.
Oh, and here's this week's share:
Post-Traumatic Eating
I got trapped in a stairwell today. The whole ordeal only lasted a few minutes, and shortly after making my way out (actually phoning my out), I watched a woman and her two school-age children nearly struck in a crosswalk by an aggressively rude driver making a right turn on a red light. These two slightly traumatic experiences got me thinking about post-traumatic eating. What food might one crave after surviving such harrowing events? As in, "Man, that sure was close. Sure glad I'm still alive. Let's eat some lobster." Similarly, what kind of food would you hope to have on hand the next time you find yourself stuck in a concrete, windowless stairwell or a similarly dismal dungeon-like setting? I, myself, have been carrying around a bag of raw almonds for at least a week in my cavernous purse. I didn't get hungry in the stairwell today, but I'm convinced that I was prepared with the ideal sustenance.
Little and Odd
Here's my corn salad, I followed Bittman's recipe except I used a regular onion instead of a red one, and I put some lime on it because I couldn't resist. I was amazed at how many meals I got out of it...
This week's share is a little odd. Or maybe I should say little and odd. I got: a cantaloupe, a red-ish pepper, a tomato, a tiny crookneck squash and one carrot, three potatoes and some kind of hot-looking red pepper, broccoli (which already turned yellow and droopy, and I had to throw away...too bad!). The odd part is the multi-colored corn. Do I eat it? Is it for decoration? The kernels are plump not dried-out like ornamental corn. Confused...
Arganica threw in a half-dozen fresh pastured eggs from Shenandoah Valley Family Farms this week, one or two of which I plan to eat for breakfast when I finish this post.
Last night, I started reading Julie & Julia and the first recipe spoken of is Child's Potage Parmentier (potato and leek soup). I'm not a big soup eater in August, but I do have a serious potato stash right now that probably needs some attention. Any other potato ideas? Perhaps something more palatable in this August heat and humidity?
This week's share is a little odd. Or maybe I should say little and odd. I got: a cantaloupe, a red-ish pepper, a tomato, a tiny crookneck squash and one carrot, three potatoes and some kind of hot-looking red pepper, broccoli (which already turned yellow and droopy, and I had to throw away...too bad!). The odd part is the multi-colored corn. Do I eat it? Is it for decoration? The kernels are plump not dried-out like ornamental corn. Confused...Arganica threw in a half-dozen fresh pastured eggs from Shenandoah Valley Family Farms this week, one or two of which I plan to eat for breakfast when I finish this post.
Last night, I started reading Julie & Julia and the first recipe spoken of is Child's Potage Parmentier (potato and leek soup). I'm not a big soup eater in August, but I do have a serious potato stash right now that probably needs some attention. Any other potato ideas? Perhaps something more palatable in this August heat and humidity?
Eating dinner in a field
I'm feeling oddly drawn to the farm-to-table dinner experience. I'd heard of this before I stumbled upon this event today but hadn't realized that it is really a phenomenon. This one by "Outstanding in the Field" is totally out of my budget, not to mention more than an hour from home and occurring the evening before school starts, but a girl can dream....
I think the heat and humidity of August is going to my head and making me nostalgic. Eating a fresh dinner in the country prepared by a great chef sounds like the summer evenings of my childhood (we were the farmers and the chef was my mom). The Augusts of my childhood included cicadas, garden beds bursting with zucchini and tomatoes, the county fair (livestock, 4-H exhibits, carnival rides, and "Asian bbq" skewers), porch swings and ice cream cones at the little place by the river. Perhaps this explains why I recently considered attending the MD state fair, have been gushing for tomatoes, pining for zucchini to make breads, cakes, and cookies, craving an ice cream cone each evening and relishing the early evening cicada thrum.
Nostalgia aside...I'm curious about the type of people who attend farm-to-table dinners. Since it seems to be a really communal experience and something that appeals to foodies and the socially conscious, I bet the company is as interesting as the food and the venue. The skeptical might ask: What kind of person spends $200 to eat dinner in a corn field? The Answer: Me if someone handed me $200.
Who wouldn't want to eat dinner in a setting this gorgeous?
Smitten with Bitten...
Ugh, please excuse my awful blog post title, but I couldn't resist.
Other things I can't resist: laughing when I see Señor Maize, bacon when someone else prepares it, watching Mark Bittman's videos...
Other things I can't resist: laughing when I see Señor Maize, bacon when someone else prepares it, watching Mark Bittman's videos...
Palena: my humble review
I finally ate at Palena this weekend, about 6 months after hearing about it.
When we arrived at about 8:30, the hostess said it would be a 25 to 30-minute wait. (The café doesn't accept reservations.) We sat at the bar (where you can also order any food from the menu) and ordered gin gimlets. Green and almost frothy, with lime--of course--and mint; they were well worth it, and my favorite color! No sooner had we ordered our drinks than a table was ready. The 25-minute estimate was more like 10. Off to a good start!
The back room at Palena offers a three, four or five course tasting menu while the "café" (seating in the front room near the bar and small booths along the hall to the dining room) offers its own small menu and the opportunity to order any of the dishes from the dining room menu. We ordered "Fritto Misto" (which I refused to pronounce "free-toe" on account of the double 't' and because I was not ordering a corn chip product) and gnocchi. The assortment of lightly fried fish (of course, they were called "cod croquettes" on the menu) and fried summer squash was served with a delicious herb-y tartar sauce and a tomato stuffed with black-eyed peas, tomato and some chili perhaps. The tomato was perfect (and beautiful) and the fish sticks, as I affectionately called them, were great too! The gnocchi was served in a creamy pesto with potato and tomato, adding to the green motif at the table. The rich gnocchi reminded me of the ones my grandmother used to make by hand, covering the entire surface of the kitchen table with their tiny plumpness.
For dessert there was the chocolate hazelnut cake served with a little whipped cream and chocolate sorbet and the cheesecake. To be honest, I was so into the chocolate cake I didn't pay much attention to the cheesecake, but the bite I had was the perfect combination of light texture and creamy rich flavor. The presentation of both desserts was superb. I think desserts look silly with lots of fruity or chocolately syrup dripped all over the place or a dusting of powdered sugar. I don't want my food to look like it came out of a squeezy bottle. The round cheesecake came floating atop a strawberry compote and the whipped cream and sorbet with the cake looked like two little eggs--one white and one brown sitting next to the flat slice of (6?) layer cake. Unique but not pretentious.
The service was efficient and polite enough. I think things started going downhill when the waiter noticed that we'd whipped out the iPhone to illustrate a point in discussion. I imagined him thinking, "Darn kids, can't have a nice dinner without playing with their phones." For the record, there wasn't food on the table then!
Verdict is, Palena is definitely worth the splurge. Though the next time I go back, it might just be for the gimlet.
When we arrived at about 8:30, the hostess said it would be a 25 to 30-minute wait. (The café doesn't accept reservations.) We sat at the bar (where you can also order any food from the menu) and ordered gin gimlets. Green and almost frothy, with lime--of course--and mint; they were well worth it, and my favorite color! No sooner had we ordered our drinks than a table was ready. The 25-minute estimate was more like 10. Off to a good start!
The back room at Palena offers a three, four or five course tasting menu while the "café" (seating in the front room near the bar and small booths along the hall to the dining room) offers its own small menu and the opportunity to order any of the dishes from the dining room menu. We ordered "Fritto Misto" (which I refused to pronounce "free-toe" on account of the double 't' and because I was not ordering a corn chip product) and gnocchi. The assortment of lightly fried fish (of course, they were called "cod croquettes" on the menu) and fried summer squash was served with a delicious herb-y tartar sauce and a tomato stuffed with black-eyed peas, tomato and some chili perhaps. The tomato was perfect (and beautiful) and the fish sticks, as I affectionately called them, were great too! The gnocchi was served in a creamy pesto with potato and tomato, adding to the green motif at the table. The rich gnocchi reminded me of the ones my grandmother used to make by hand, covering the entire surface of the kitchen table with their tiny plumpness.
For dessert there was the chocolate hazelnut cake served with a little whipped cream and chocolate sorbet and the cheesecake. To be honest, I was so into the chocolate cake I didn't pay much attention to the cheesecake, but the bite I had was the perfect combination of light texture and creamy rich flavor. The presentation of both desserts was superb. I think desserts look silly with lots of fruity or chocolately syrup dripped all over the place or a dusting of powdered sugar. I don't want my food to look like it came out of a squeezy bottle. The round cheesecake came floating atop a strawberry compote and the whipped cream and sorbet with the cake looked like two little eggs--one white and one brown sitting next to the flat slice of (6?) layer cake. Unique but not pretentious.
The service was efficient and polite enough. I think things started going downhill when the waiter noticed that we'd whipped out the iPhone to illustrate a point in discussion. I imagined him thinking, "Darn kids, can't have a nice dinner without playing with their phones." For the record, there wasn't food on the table then!
Verdict is, Palena is definitely worth the splurge. Though the next time I go back, it might just be for the gimlet.
Mark Bittman, you're my hero.
As a faithful and persistent public library patron, I recently realized while logged in to my online library account that the copy of How to Cook Everything that I had borrowed from the library was not actually, according to the library, in my possession. Some computer error was surely at fault. I would never sneak something anything out of the library! I can't say that keeping the cookbook didn't cross my mind ("They may not even know it's gone!"), and I even mentioned this idea aloud to my sister. However, like the moral compass that a big sister should be, she firmly told me to return the book to the library.
Ok, ok, I wasn't actually going to...steal...a library book. What kind of person do you think I am? If everyone stole library books....
So, much to my delight, after returning from vacation, I noticed that my house now owns a copy of this glorious cookbook. (I've found that one of the benefits of living with four people is sharing cookbooks.) Who knows where that library book had been anyway? ick.
In an effort to use some of this week's share, but also make a simple chicken dish, and maybe learn some new (but easy) cooking techniques, I reached for the Bittman bible and found the recipe for sautéed chicken cutlets with a quick sauce of white wine and tomatoes. It's sort of like this recipe from Bittman's NYT blog. The book's recipe called for unseasoned bread crumbs or plain flour, but I used panko bread crumbs because the Barefoot Contessa thinks that they are more crunchy. And if Bittman is some kind of Prince Simple-Food-Know-It-All, well Ina Garten might be the Princess of the same domain.
Along with the chicken, I made a simple salad of greens, cucumber and yellow cherry tomatoes and a vinaigrette of apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, and olive oil. Voilá, a tasty, quick, and uncomplicated meal!
In addition to making something delicious and simple, I also accomplished some culinary skill-building: I dredged, I sautéed, I reduced, I cored, scored, boiled, peeled and de-seeded tomatoes, and I made my own variations to the recipe.
Bittman, I promise, someday I'll buy your cookbook, but for now I think I'm going to spend a lot of time here.
Ok, ok, I wasn't actually going to...steal...a library book. What kind of person do you think I am? If everyone stole library books....
So, much to my delight, after returning from vacation, I noticed that my house now owns a copy of this glorious cookbook. (I've found that one of the benefits of living with four people is sharing cookbooks.) Who knows where that library book had been anyway? ick.
In an effort to use some of this week's share, but also make a simple chicken dish, and maybe learn some new (but easy) cooking techniques, I reached for the Bittman bible and found the recipe for sautéed chicken cutlets with a quick sauce of white wine and tomatoes. It's sort of like this recipe from Bittman's NYT blog. The book's recipe called for unseasoned bread crumbs or plain flour, but I used panko bread crumbs because the Barefoot Contessa thinks that they are more crunchy. And if Bittman is some kind of Prince Simple-Food-Know-It-All, well Ina Garten might be the Princess of the same domain.
Along with the chicken, I made a simple salad of greens, cucumber and yellow cherry tomatoes and a vinaigrette of apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, and olive oil. Voilá, a tasty, quick, and uncomplicated meal!
In addition to making something delicious and simple, I also accomplished some culinary skill-building: I dredged, I sautéed, I reduced, I cored, scored, boiled, peeled and de-seeded tomatoes, and I made my own variations to the recipe.
Bittman, I promise, someday I'll buy your cookbook, but for now I think I'm going to spend a lot of time here.
Just as I've been dreading the end of the summer, this week's CSA share included not just two, but 4 tomatoes. Let's hear it for The King of the Vegetables (shh...we all know it's actually a fruit)! That's an unofficial title of course, granted by....well, me--one of the tomato's biggest fans.I think I'm going to eat at least two of them raw, but I'll have to think of something creative to do with the others. Ideas?
Here's an alternative (less cheerful) take on this week's share...
Just as I've been dreading the end of the summer, this week's CSA share included one of the heftiest veggies of the autumn harvest...butternut squash. Where did the summer go? Don't get me wrong; I love butternut squash, but not until October or November maybe. One of my favorite recipes is the Barefoot Contessa's Butternut Squash Risotto. I have fond memories of shopping for and cooking this recipe with an old friend. We had to hunt down the saffron threads, but we found them at the delectable Treasure Island grocery store (which I just realized I'd forgotten about, but now miss terribly). However, I have no desire to eat risotto anytime soon. Especially not if this hot and sticky weather holds up. Give me more summer veggies...I'm not ready for the hearty squashes yet!
Dinner in the Mountains
While I can't take the credit for finding this awesome Lion's Mane mushroom, 
I did help make it into some delicious mushroom cakes. The cakes were made with an egg, vegenaise (we just didn't have mayo), bread crumbs, dijon mustard, tamari, and fresh chives and thyme.
Here are the ingredients before the "wilted" mushrooms were added.
They had the consistency and taste of really good crab cakes. Of course it helped that they were fried to perfection by my sister (who also gets credit for finding the 'shroom at our parents' farmers' market). We gobbled up the crab cakes...along with some jalapeno elk bratwursts, corn and swiss chard. It's pretty cool to be vacationing in a foodshed that includes elk meat!
Here was the beautiful setting for dinner: my family's deck, cool mountain air, and the gentle noise of the Roaring Fork River behind us.
I did help make it into some delicious mushroom cakes. The cakes were made with an egg, vegenaise (we just didn't have mayo), bread crumbs, dijon mustard, tamari, and fresh chives and thyme. Here are the ingredients before the "wilted" mushrooms were added.
They had the consistency and taste of really good crab cakes. Of course it helped that they were fried to perfection by my sister (who also gets credit for finding the 'shroom at our parents' farmers' market). We gobbled up the crab cakes...along with some jalapeno elk bratwursts, corn and swiss chard. It's pretty cool to be vacationing in a foodshed that includes elk meat!
Here was the beautiful setting for dinner: my family's deck, cool mountain air, and the gentle noise of the Roaring Fork River behind us.
Dinner Party
I had some friends over for dinner this week and wanted to use up a bunch of veggies but also cook something comfortable and easy after a long day at work and a busy week. I decided on penne with fresh Italian sausage (local! from Baltimore!), zucchini, yellow and green pepper, garlic, onion, basil and fresh tomatoes. I cheated with 1/3 of a jar of store-bought sauce, which helped make it a little juicier since I didn't have that many tomatoes. The sausage sort of took over in all of the photos I took, so I decided not to post any of those, but I'm pretty sure it was tasty since two guests went back for seconds and one of them took home the leftovers.
This plate was filled with caprese salad, but I forgot to take a picture until the plate was half empty and our feeding frenzy had abated. (That's what happens when you don't sit down to eat until 9:45 pm!) When slicing the tomato, I gasped audibly because it was so darn gorgeous inside: a deep blood red. The basil came from the garden of my friend Mr. Bacon.
For dessert I made my favorite brownie recipe--Moosewood Fudge Brownies--and served them with some B&J vanilla ice cream. I'm not sure how others feel about these unique, spongy brownies, but I can't get enough of them. They have a unique consistency due to the 5 eggs in them, but I love their firmness and cake-like quality. They don't crumble when you bite into them and they are so chocolatey. In fact, the smell of the unsweetened chocolate melting over a double boiler tricks me almost every time. I know it's going to be bitter, but usually I just can't resist trying it...I'm like the dog that runs to play with the tantilizing neighbor dog and gets zapped by the electric fence!
This plate was filled with caprese salad, but I forgot to take a picture until the plate was half empty and our feeding frenzy had abated. (That's what happens when you don't sit down to eat until 9:45 pm!) When slicing the tomato, I gasped audibly because it was so darn gorgeous inside: a deep blood red. The basil came from the garden of my friend Mr. Bacon.
For dessert I made my favorite brownie recipe--Moosewood Fudge Brownies--and served them with some B&J vanilla ice cream. I'm not sure how others feel about these unique, spongy brownies, but I can't get enough of them. They have a unique consistency due to the 5 eggs in them, but I love their firmness and cake-like quality. They don't crumble when you bite into them and they are so chocolatey. In fact, the smell of the unsweetened chocolate melting over a double boiler tricks me almost every time. I know it's going to be bitter, but usually I just can't resist trying it...I'm like the dog that runs to play with the tantilizing neighbor dog and gets zapped by the electric fence!
Where did the sum-...
Here was last week's CSA crate: 
I started to feel a little sheepish about reporting about my experiences with this week's veggies, but upon further thought I'm not ashamed to admit that I didn't really do much cooking this week. Sometimes the best thing to do when its 90 degrees outside and you have food as fresh as this is nothing at all. I enjoyed that beautiful yellow tomato, without a drop of olive oil or a grain of salt, and I'm happy to say I didn't miss these accessories! At various times this week I...boiled the red potatoes and served with butter and dill, grilled the green pepper, and ate the carrots and cukes (didn't even peel 'em!) with hummus. The green beans were the only veggies that got heat this week--a saute with oil, walnuts and Parmesan, but I can only take credit for eating them.
I'm thinking about making a pasta primavera for some friends tomorrow night...something comfortable and colorful and filling but fresh, that will use up this week's "leftovers" and some of tomorrow's crate. Wouldn't hurt if it looked good when photographed either.
I started to feel a little sheepish about reporting about my experiences with this week's veggies, but upon further thought I'm not ashamed to admit that I didn't really do much cooking this week. Sometimes the best thing to do when its 90 degrees outside and you have food as fresh as this is nothing at all. I enjoyed that beautiful yellow tomato, without a drop of olive oil or a grain of salt, and I'm happy to say I didn't miss these accessories! At various times this week I...boiled the red potatoes and served with butter and dill, grilled the green pepper, and ate the carrots and cukes (didn't even peel 'em!) with hummus. The green beans were the only veggies that got heat this week--a saute with oil, walnuts and Parmesan, but I can only take credit for eating them.
I'm thinking about making a pasta primavera for some friends tomorrow night...something comfortable and colorful and filling but fresh, that will use up this week's "leftovers" and some of tomorrow's crate. Wouldn't hurt if it looked good when photographed either.
Strawberry Dye!
As if I needed another inspiring idea...I just watched this Daily Candy video about making fabric dye out of strawberries. It wasn't some kind of completely novel idea, but then again, most things yelling "You should create this! " at me aren't really novel at all. How about making next summer The Summer of Creativity? I think that three months of traveling, cooking, knitting, sewing and crafting is exactly what I need to recharge after another school year...
Photos!
All that belly-aching got me a call from the Apple Store...the Powerbook is back and better than ever! So without further adieu...some photos.
Last week's tabouleh
Last week's delivery...the beets (along with all the others that were hanging out in my fridge) found a good home with a friend
Scones with golden raisins. Here with some orange marmalade. I went with Mark Bittman's recipe from How to Cook Everything versus the Barefoot Contessa, even though she has rarely led me astray. These turned out pretty darn good, if I say so myself, and if the friend who received a dozen for her golden birthday wasn't lying when she said they were delicious. My first attempt at scones: I give myself a B+. Definitely made more delicious by the fact that I was making them with gifting intentions.
Variation on one of my favorites (tomato, corn, basil and feta salad). This one has green beans and no corn. Also, I think I put green onion in, but I'd leave that out next time. Delicious, despite the store-bought tomatoes.
I also made a dish with mango chicken sausage, green and purple peppers, onion, two different squashes, and some mango chili sauce. Sausage isn't very photogenic.
Last week's tabouleh
Last week's delivery...the beets (along with all the others that were hanging out in my fridge) found a good home with a friend
Scones with golden raisins. Here with some orange marmalade. I went with Mark Bittman's recipe from How to Cook Everything versus the Barefoot Contessa, even though she has rarely led me astray. These turned out pretty darn good, if I say so myself, and if the friend who received a dozen for her golden birthday wasn't lying when she said they were delicious. My first attempt at scones: I give myself a B+. Definitely made more delicious by the fact that I was making them with gifting intentions.
Variation on one of my favorites (tomato, corn, basil and feta salad). This one has green beans and no corn. Also, I think I put green onion in, but I'd leave that out next time. Delicious, despite the I also made a dish with mango chicken sausage, green and purple peppers, onion, two different squashes, and some mango chili sauce. Sausage isn't very photogenic.
I miss my powerbook!
A little part of me disappeared to Apple Tech Service headquarters when I shipped my powerbook off for repairs on Saturday. I'm aching for my beloved laptop and haven't been able to blog about some recent cooking endeavors. I have tons of pictures to upload, but alas, that will have to wait.
I finally ate the tomatoes I got in last week's box. I ate them in their purest form...sliced with some salt and bright green basil leaves. It was the highlight of my usual "will-you-open-my-string-cheese?"-"sit-down!"-"can-we-line-up?" camp lunch for the last two days. To be honest, I think I'd be elated to get a crate full of tomatoes rather than a little bit of everything this week. I'm particularly excited about what this week's CSA crate has in store for me as I know for sure I'll be cooking for some friends in the next few days.
I finally ate the tomatoes I got in last week's box. I ate them in their purest form...sliced with some salt and bright green basil leaves. It was the highlight of my usual "will-you-open-my-string-cheese?"-"sit-down!"-"can-we-line-up?" camp lunch for the last two days. To be honest, I think I'd be elated to get a crate full of tomatoes rather than a little bit of everything this week. I'm particularly excited about what this week's CSA crate has in store for me as I know for sure I'll be cooking for some friends in the next few days.
What'll it be this week...
It's been a busy week with family in town and lots of other stuff going on after work so I haven't done much cooking, but I did make that tabouleh I was dreaming about for a lunch picnic with the fam. The cucumber was seedless--which I suppose is a selling point for some, but I don't mind the seediness of cucumbers. More interestingly it tasted like a pickle. Crisper and less watery than the typical cucumber with a vinegar-y kind of taste. I grew up eating "organic" cucumbers from our family garden, but they never tasted like this so I'm guessing it was some kind of interesting heirloom variety. I'm hoping to see more of these in tonight's box.
All this talk about the vegetable gardens of my childhood reminds me of my cat, Bruiser, who--along with other interesting habits that have nothing to do with food--used to lick cucumbers. He never really sunk his teeth in like this cucumber vampire cat...
All this talk about the vegetable gardens of my childhood reminds me of my cat, Bruiser, who--along with other interesting habits that have nothing to do with food--used to lick cucumbers. He never really sunk his teeth in like this cucumber vampire cat...
Variety is the spice of life
Yahoo!After a busy Thursday evening, I thought I might have missed out on my CSA box delivery, but it has arrived! So excited to see a lot of new things this week.
Parsley: Can't wait to make some tabouleh!
To my petite tomatoes: In the tabouleh you go!
Lettuce: I've missed your superior-to-the-grocery-store-bag taste!
Potatoes: A welcome staple.
Scallions: I have already forgotten what life was like with big white onions.
Cucumbers: Tabouleh!
Yellow squash & Zucchini: Here comes the flood...zucchini chocolate chip cookies in a few weeks?!
Green beans: Fat and happy...might be seeing the last of you.
Peppers: Hope this week marked my last grocery store pepper for awhile.
White eggplant: Maybe I'll try some fried eggplant strips and a fresh dipping sauce.
and...what is this?
New Zealand Spinach: Going to have to do some research on this one.
Also got some raspberry sorbet made from wild raspberries, sweetened with hickory bark syrup, grass-fed ground beef from Gryffon's Aerie Heritage Beef, and delicious Piedmont cheese from Everona Dairy. I decided to splurge on these extra a la carte items this week since my lovely foodie sister and niece are coming to town.
Eh bien, tant pis!
But I'd like the pie heated and I don't want the ice cream on top, I want it on the side, and I'd like strawberry instead of vanilla if you have it, if not then no ice cream just whipped cream but only if it's real; if it's out of the can then nothing.No, I want the pie, but then not heated. --my favorite movie ever
I never knew that Nora Ephron (director of When Harry Met Sally and other less awesome romantic comedies) was a foodie, but then again I didn't really know anything about her until I read this New Yorker article about her new Julia Child film. The article had me wishing Ephron would be my older, mom-like friend, so I could go over to her Midtown apartment and eat shrimp scampi and Provençal tomatoes and get a pep-talk from this master of overcoming self-pity.
Then there's Julia. I can't wait to see the film, for one, because Meryl Streep (another favorite!) is playing her, and two, I don't know that much about Child but she sounds equally inspiring. I loved this excerpt from Child's memoir: "Maybe the cat has fallen into the stew, or the lettuce has frozen, or the cake has collapsed--eh bien, tant pis!" Sounds like my kinda broad! And exactly the kind of thing I need to hear (presently and probably somewhat regularly).
Oh, and I think I'm going to start reading food-themed memoirs. So, watch out book club; I got some ideas up my sleeve.
Moosewood salads
I made two salads from my new Moosewood cookbook tonight. I could have just made one, but as much as I enjoy cooking, I prefer to cook a few dishes in an evening (especially in the summer when I'm eating a lot of cold stuff) and then have a few nights off.
I made the Potato Bean Salad with a Curried Mango Yogurt Dressing and I added some fresh corn that I had cooked a few nights ago.
In a creative endeavor to use the cabbage that I seem to be receiving every week in my CSA, I made the very descriptively-titled Cabbage Salad (shredded cabbage, red bell pepper, red onion and a cumin yogurt dressing). They're both pretty tasty, though not terribly attractive given the yogurt-y dressings.
Last night I concocted my own variation on Diary of a Foodie's Pasta with Beat Greens. For someone who professes as much love for public television as I do, I've never watched this program. Might have something to do with my not having an actual tv. Why do I always make too much pasta for the sauce/veggies?
I made the Potato Bean Salad with a Curried Mango Yogurt Dressing and I added some fresh corn that I had cooked a few nights ago.
In a creative endeavor to use the cabbage that I seem to be receiving every week in my CSA, I made the very descriptively-titled Cabbage Salad (shredded cabbage, red bell pepper, red onion and a cumin yogurt dressing). They're both pretty tasty, though not terribly attractive given the yogurt-y dressings.
Last night I concocted my own variation on Diary of a Foodie's Pasta with Beat Greens. For someone who professes as much love for public television as I do, I've never watched this program. Might have something to do with my not having an actual tv. Why do I always make too much pasta for the sauce/veggies?
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