What the hell do i do with kale?

2007-06-25T10:31:00.000-05:00

Erg.

Blah. Ick. Argh. Meh.

Too much work. Not sleeping well. Can’t get my “going to the gym” shit together.

Eating too much, eating bad food. NJ and I out last week deciding that there are no good places left to eat in DC. Have to move to a new city. Have to never eat anywhere I have already eaten again. Am only eating the things I know, specifically, that are specifically good:

The biscuits at Acadiana
Tater Tots at Bourbon
Duck confit at Café Atlantico
Ahi Tuna Mignon at Café Deluxe
Doughnuts at Colorado Kitchen
Plain Cheese Pizza at Comet Ping Pong
Truffled Mushrooms at Crème Café
Elvis Sliders at Jackie’s
Bacon wrapped date fritters at Jaleo
Anything at Komi
Grilled Cheese at Luna Grill
Steak Tartare at Montsouris
Dim Sum at Oriental East
The Burger at the bar at Palena
Four cheese pizza at Pizzeria Paradiso
Crispy fried spinach at Rasika
Duck Tacos at Taqueria Poblano

Eh.

2007-06-14T12:06:00.000-05:00

Adventures in Raw

First, I am not giving up my omnivorous ways. I am not giving up cheese, or steak tartare, or foie, or chocolate. Or bread. Or anything else.

But sometimes I get bored. Being a foodie is hard work. Once you have eaten llama and crocodile and made your own pasta, and cheese, and whatnot. And traveled to a few different cities to eat butter poached lobster and bison in granola and eaten nearly everywhere at home, what is there left to do?

Well. You apologize for having such an indulgent life and you start reading about raw foods.

Now. The whole enzyme living foods yada yada thing, I can’t say I buy into that. But the whole eating raw, fresh, natural unprocessed food thing, that doesn’t seem like a bad idea. And no matter how many fruits and vegetables I try to eat, I never eat enough fruits and vegetables. (Plate of bread and cheese versus plate of broccoli. No contest I’m afraid.)

So I’ve been reading all sorts of crazy things about nuts and seeds and greens. I was inspired by this recipe for a Fuzzy Navel Smoothie which is oranges, pecans, dates and vanilla. It is simply delicious. And with the fiber from the whole orange and nuts and dates is ridiculously filling (which is good when you are trying to lose weight – like I am.) I also found that you don’t need a $400 blender to do this, in fact you don’t even need a $60 blender to do this, you can use your $20 200 watt stick blender to do this.

But, duh, fruit and nuts blended together taste good, and even if they are filling, they aren’t exactly low calorie. What I need is vegetables. So. I tried a green smoothie from GoneRaw (which seems to be down at the moment.) Strawberries, apple juice, a date, and a bag of baby spinach. Yup. A bag of baby spinach. Blended all up, it’s the most fabulous shade of green, and tastes like a strawberry spinach salad. It tastes good.

The green spinach smoothie tastes good.

Really. I drank it for breakfast.

Feel free to be as shocked about this as I am.

And eat your vegetables.

2007-06-04T21:22:00.000-05:00

Um.

I want one of each of these:

Zotter Schokoladen

There are 63 of them (I counted.)
At 2.90 Euro each, that’s about $245 (before shipping.)
And we have to hurry, chocolate season ends June 10.

Care to chip in? I promise I’ll share…

2007-06-03T16:52:00.000-05:00

Sunday Foodie Fun: Tortillas, Cheese Crackers, Butter

Lo, being the only one speaking English in the local grocery store.

However, need a tortilla press? My local Safeway has ‘em! I used this recipe for Whole Wheat Tortillas. Easy. Taste good. But I don’t know if it is a limitation of the press I bought or what, but they weren’t as thin, and therefore as large, as I wanted. I think next time I’ll press them and then go one or two passes with the rolling pin. But there are 24 fresh tortillas safely stashed in the freezer now.

I also bought a pasta maker (for $5 from Craigslist! Whee!)
This is not a non sequitur so stay with me for a minute.

I have been making Cheese Crackers now and again for many years. This go around inspired by the fact that I have been eating those 100 Calorie Pack things of cheese crackers lately, which not only have all sorts of stuff in them, but again Lo, this time with the packaging.

I used some Cracker Barrel 2% cheddar, King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour, some salt and water to hold it all together into a dough. Then I ran it through the pasta maker a few times (see, I told you it would all make sense.) Rolling cracker dough is a bitch at best, the pasta maker makes easy work of getting the dough nice and thin, which you have to do if you want a crisp cracker. And believe me, you want a crisp cracker. 1 pound of crackers made which I will break down into my own 100 calorie packs. (I use Recipe Calc 4.0)

Finally. I need a cow. Do you think my tenants would mind if I raised a cow in the back yard of the building? It could be a small cow. No?

On the heels of the recent cheese adventures, I decided to make some of my own butter. Again, not hard. But, in spite of what the internet says, you cannot make butter in a blender. (Not in my wimpy blender anyway, which can be added to the list of why I am currently coveting one of these.) You can however make butter with your stick/immersion blender, just the like pioneers used to do!

Ok fine I didn’t churn it myself, but I did make butter from scratch. According to the internet you need to wash the butter to get the buttermilk out so it won’t go sour. Who knew? So one pint of local heavy cream turns into 8oz of butter. 4 for the fridge, 4 for the freezer, which should last me a while since I ixnayed my buttered toast habit a while back in the interest of there being less of me.

2007-06-02T22:22:00.000-05:00

Gloria in excelsis Deo.

I don’t really believe in God. I like Zen, I’ve always been into Tao. I do think the Ten Commandments are pretty good suggestions, but the whole Western God thing just doesn’t do it for me.

But.

I do believe, wholeheartedly, without exception or reservation, in Making a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord. Especially with 140 voices, and a gaggle of violins, and cellos and trumpets and a timpani.

Tonight was the National Philharmonic Bach's Mass in B Minor at the Strathmore.

Thank you Johann. Thank you SB.

Amen.

2007-05-27T21:32:00.001-05:00

Rotten Quiche

What you get when you find yourself saying:

“I don’t give a flying fuck how wilted this spinach is or how slimy these mushrooms are I AM NOT throwing out any more vegetables!!!”

See also: Rotten Gazpacho.

(I should mention, for those of you who might be eating my cooking in the future, that both the quiche and the gazpacho were delicious.

And non-poisonous.)

2007-05-27T09:29:00.000-05:00

Saturday Foodie Fun: Cheese Making, Day Two.

Well then.

You can’t make cream cheese out of 2% milk.

You can make vaguely cream cheesesque tasting very dry cheese crumbles.
Anyone have a recipe that uses vaguely cream cheesesque tasting very dry cheese crumbles?

(Yes. Ok. Fine. For my first shot at cheesemaking I should have just followed the recipe exactly and used full fat milk. I need to come to some middle ground between “making it myself” and “saving calories.” Perhaps the energy spent making it from scratch would cancel out the extra calories from full fat milk?)

2007-05-26T14:27:00.000-05:00

Saturday Foodie Fun: Cheese Making!

Every few years I go through a fit where I decide I am not going to eat anything unless it’s (almost completely) made from scratch. In the past this has meant homemade crackers, ice cream, and mayonnaise, amongst other things. The latest incarnation of this fit has played out in three ways:

I have gotten back on the weight loss bandwagon. I refuse to give up eating things I enjoy eating, so the key to this for me is exercise and strict portion control. In the pursuit of portion control I find myself buying/consuming a lot of pre/individually packed things. This leads to more “junk” food than I would care to consume, and huge amounts of packaging going into the trash.

While I have no intention of giving up my omnivorous ways, I seem to have developed an interest in raw foods (and am currently searching for a Vita-Mix high speed blender for less than $400 (!!))

Making cheese! I love cheese and have dabbled in making Paneer in the past (very very easy.) I splurged and bought two cheese making kits from the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company, the 30 Minute Mozzarella & Ricotta Kit and the Gourmet Home Dairy Kit (for some reason I got it in my head that I should be making my own cream cheese, which I eat on a mini-bagel for breakfast nearly every morning.)

So this morning I went to the Co-op (and I hiked the mile up the hill and back instead of driving!) and bought 1.5 gallons of local, organic 2% milk (in returnable, reusable glass bottles) and set off on making some cheese.

As I don’t have a microwave I used this recipe for the Mozzarella. And as a first go, I think it turned out well. I used 2% in an attempt to be diet conscious, and while I was looking for that soft creamy “fresh” mozzarella, what I got was more like an excellent “hard” grating mozzarella. I need to use a little more salt in the future as it provides all of the flavor for the cheese (and I need to experiment with some Lipase.) I made one large ball, but I think I will shape it into homemade string cheese sticks in the future (one of my favorite (if redundantly packaged) snacks.)

In my stumbling around with the Mozzarella for the first time I lost half of the whey down the drain. But I used this recipe to make a very small quantity of yummy traditional whey only Ricotta.

I’m going to use the other ½ gallon of milk to make some Cream Cheese (tonight, as it needs to set for 12 hours)…

2007-05-17T23:17:00.000-05:00

Musical Interlude

Lest you think my hedonistic lifestyle is limited to culinary indulgences, here are some audio and visual indulgences I have enjoyed recently (or will be enjoying soon):

As previously mentioned, BM and I went to the Modernism show at the Corcoran. As I was trained in the Bauhaus tradition, this show felt like home. Lots of clean lines and open spaces. They were playing Erik Satie and had works by Laszlo Moholy Nage. The show was broken down into geographic regions and it was interesting to see how Modernism played out historically in difference places (and political climates.) And as an added bonus, BM was able to translate the Russian stuff!

Mom and I went to all sorts of interesting places in Chicago including the International Museum of Surgical Science (we had to the place to ourselves, surprise, surprise) and the Lincoln Park Conservatory
We went to see the Blue Man Group (and much to my chagrin, ended up being IN the show…) We had a Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues (Praise Jesus and Pass the Biscuits!) and saw very large art being installed at Millennium Park.

Back in DC I saw the Asylum Street Spankers (bawdy bluegrass) at Iota and Son Volt at the 930 Club.

I have plans to see the movie Waitress, I was graciously gifted tickets to see the National Philharmonic play Bach’s Mass in B Minor at the Strathmore, am going to see the comic Steven Wright (Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?) with AD, and have Smithsonian tickets to hear the Preservation Hall Jazz Band .

I want to see Peter & Wendy at the Arena Stage, The Polyphonic Spree at 930, Bodies..The Exhibition, and Rasputina in Baltimore. Wanna come?

It’s a wonder I have time to eat at all…

2007-05-12T19:12:00.000-05:00

My. God. Time. Flies.

Ok. I’m gonna scan over my calendar from the past few months and jump back in the pool here:

At the end of February there was a Happy Hour at Dino with NJ et al. Cheesy polenta with pork belly. Be still my heart (literally and figuratively.) In search of ever more food we headed over to Palena afterward for dinner. I had the burger. This was the first time I ever ordered a hamburger in a restaurant. Really. I didn’t eat red meat for a really long time and was never that interested in hamburgers when I did. But it was supposed to be the best burger in DC, so what the hell. And now? Now I am ruined and will never be able to eat another hamburger unless I am at Palena. It was eyes-roll-back-into-your-head good. Oh, and the fry plate on the side, with batter dipped slices of meyer lemon? Falls into the category of “things you thought you’d never eat and now crave.”

JH and I had brunch at Colorado Kitchen. I have been wanting to try Colorado Kitchen for a long time as I need a good brunch place and it’s in the middle of nowhere, but not too far from Takoma Park. But I also have been leery of Colorado Kitchen because they have a bit of a “reputation” of having a bit of an “attitude.” But we followed the rules and showed up 10 minutes before they opened and got seated without a wait. And we started with the doughnuts. Homemade doughnuts. Warm homemade doughnuts. A chocolate glazed, a powdered sugared, and a honey and nut (!!) I would happily follow any and all rules to get more of those doughnuts. JH had the eggs benedict and I had the orange french toast and we shared a side of grits. Everything was delicious and I really need to go back for dinner.

In March there was a DR book club meeting at the Pizzeria Paradiso in Georgetown (I like the Quattro Formaggio)(Good pizza. Awful book.) ANOTHER dinner at Dino with NJ (they changed the mushroom pasta. I am not a happy camper) and a quick dinner at Moby Dick (yummy cheap kabobs) with a different JH. There was an unremarkable brunch at the Corcoran with BM, but the Modernism show was fabulous. The different JH and I also had an excellent (and large) dinner at Ray’s The Classics (If you want meat, go here. Yes, the service is weird. Remember I told you that as the service will be weird. But the food is good) as well as dinner at Black’s Bar and Kitchen (remember what I said about being ruined by Palena’s burger? Yeah.) I took my dad to Oriental East for his first Dim Sum when he was in town for the Smithsonian Kite Festival, both of which he seemed to enjoy. BM and I had sushi from Whole Foods whilst sitting on the Mall at 9pm. The sushi was simply awful, but the Mall is lovely at that time of night.

In April my mom and I went on an eating trip to Chicago. I will work up a post on Chicago, as it deserves its own post.

RL and I had surprisingly WONDERFUL thin crust smoky pizza at Comet Ping Pong, the original JH&E and I had Dim Sum (again) at Oriental East (again) and I had brunch with LP at Bourbon I need to keep this place in mind, if for no other reason than they will serve you $5 worth of tater tots in a metal bowl, just like you got in the cafeteria in elementary school.

And we are nearly up to speed! May brings Happy Hour with BM at the Leftbank (cheap and sushi are not usually two words you want to see together, but it was good.) AZ from Food and Friends had a few of us over for a lovely homemade dinner with delicious Mushroom Barley Soup, White Spinach Lasagna and homemade(!) Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (my favorite.) I got to see JI’s new house and we had an “edible” dinner at Rosemary’s Thyme Bistro And I finally finally got to the Bar at CityZen with PH where the food and drinks were almost as satisfying as the conversation, but just barely.

So. Um. What have you eaten lately?

2007-02-05T21:51:00.000-05:00

Lately:

Montsouris with NJ. I have officially become a steak tartare addict. Strange for someone who doesn’t eat meat, no? And his venison was fabulous too.

Luna Grill with BM, birthday lunch. He liked the sweet potato fries (If you are into that kinda thing. Which I am not.) They make an excellent grilled (not girled) cheese sandwich, and are happy to give me mashed potatoes instead of French fries, just like old times…

Komi with Mom and M and NJ, birthday dinner. Oh, Komi. Where to begin? How about the house cured olives? Or the baked dates stuffed with mascarpone? Maybe the truffled potato ravioli with almonds? The whole roasted bronzini? Don’t forget the chocolate with olive oil gelato for dessert. A birthday dinner with wonderful food and wonderful company which will be remembered fondly for a long time to come.

Dino with SH, girls night out. Dino extended their Restaurant Week offer for the whole month of January! Curses! More Calamari Fritti and Orechietti ai Funghi for me. (And her venison was fabulous too…)

PS7s with AL and HJ. So much food to talk about, so little time!! The Warm Foie Gras Custard With Cool Granny Smith Apple and Roasted Duck Gelée is what Café Atlantico’s Hot & cold foie gras and corn soup wishes it could be…

Malibu Grill with JM. A meating!! (Meeting. Get it. Ha.) Good conversation. Meat “seasoned with salt.” Um, enough said.

I won one of these at the Food and Friends Volunteer Banquet the other night. We will be putting it to use for our potluck on Wednesday. Nothing like making smores over a grill when it is 5 below outside…

2007-01-11T16:24:00.001-05:00

An Observation:

Music good to have sex* by:

Led Zeppelin
Nine Inch Nails

Surprisingly, music NOT good to workout by:

Led Zeppelin
Nine Inch Nails

*Please note: while I did just return from the gym, I only vaguely remember having sex, so take this observation with a grain (or six) of salt.

2007-01-04T11:21:00.000-05:00

To get the new years diet started off right...

My mom and her husband have sent me 6 pints of Capogiro Gelato for the holidays. You may remember me raving about this stuff this summer. They are a small company from Philadelphia and SH and I went to their shop back in July. The gelato is every bit as fabulous as I remembered. I picked the following flavors:

1. Black Walnut - Straight from Lancaster County , these nuts are strong and incredible. Perfect match with all the fall flavors.

2. Melograno - Seed by painstaking seed. Glorious pomegranate.

3. Nocciola Piedmontese Gelato - 100% Hazelnut paste from the Piedmont region of Italy .

4. Mint Stracciatella - Fresh sharp mint gelato with flecks of bittersweet chocolate. We make our mint gelato with swiss mint from an herb farm in Lansdale . My genius farmer is greenhousing the mint so we are not deprived throughout the winter.

5. Cioccolato Scuro - Dark, rich and bittersweet chocolate gelato.

6. Lime Cilantro - Hand squeezed Persian limes with Lancaster cilantro. Excellent!

Gelato tasting party anyone?

2006-12-19T21:34:00.000-05:00

Of Potatoes and…..Potatoes.

Ah yes, tis the season. The season of “Pass the cookies!” and “Gym!? What gym?”

I will be heading home this week . This year Hanukkah bumps right up against Christmas. Which is great as it means I only have to make the long trip up I95 once. And which is horrible because it means I will consume more carbs in the next week and a half than any human who isn’t about to run a marathon (or two) really should.

And what form will these carb take? Why the potato, of course.

From the Jewish side of the family there will be latkes aka potato pancakes. Not just carbs, but carbs fried in oil! My Jewish grandmother makes these, and I think I have had them made from scratch, and from a box, and a hybrid box/scratch version as well. There is debate about how they should be served, I prefer them straight up with a good bit of salt. Traditional accompaniments include sour cream and apple sauce. (Carbs, fried in oil, doused in cream! It just gets better and better…) But be prepared, you, and your house, and your luggage, and your car, and anything else that was within five miles of the frying latkes will smell like fried food for weeks to come. Just to remind you how much you really need to get to the gym.

From there I will move on to celebrate with the Russian Orthodox side of my family. And the potatoes will continue, this time carbs wrapped in carbs! What the hell am I talking about? Pierogies, of course!! My Polish Grandmother always made pierogies, from scratch, for Christmas Eve dinner. I started helping make pierogies some time long before I remember, and have carried on the tradition since her death.
For me Christmas = Pierogies.

You have to start early with the pierogie making as it takes quite a bit of effort. The dough is made of flour and eggs and water, don’t ask me how much of each, its one of those things you just learn to see, you know it when it feels right. It’s noodle dough, and you mix it up and let it rest while you make the potato filling. The filling is boiled potatoes, mashed with some milk and butter and a large quantity of Colby Longhorn cheese. (Has to be Colby Longhorn. My grandfather is always in charge of buying the cheese, and sources it weeks before Christmas ever arrives.) Salt and pepper, and a good shake of onion flakes (don’t tell!!) complete the mix. Roll out the dough, cut it into squares, put a dollop of potatoes in the middle and pinch them closed, tight, so they don’t leak when you boil them. Boil them and drizzle them with butter and put them in the big big aluminum bowl which then goes in the warm oven to be picked from all afternoon.

Dad and I are the pierogie makers now. I make the dough, and roll the dough, and mash the potatoes. He grates the cheese and he eats the potato filling, and I yell that that there wont be enough. He boils the pierogies and I ask him if they cooked long enough. And my palms end up hurting from my grandmother’s old rolling pin, and the tips of our fingers hurt from pinching the dough closed. And the flour gets everywhere. Its long and hot and tiring work ad we always end up yelling just a little bit. We also always try to count how many we make, and we always lose count halfway through. (200?)

We are talking about making twice as many pierogies as usual this year, so we can stick some in the freezer and then, in July, we can experience all the tradition and trouble and toil, and love, of pierogies all over again.

Happy Potatoes everyone!

2006-12-13T09:37:00.000-05:00

Is it wrong

for me to eat this on toast for breakfast?

2006-12-12T22:45:00.000-05:00

Life is Good

Essential elements which are currently keeping Rachel alive:

Water
Oxygen
Truffle Oil

So. Trader Joe’s carries Truffle Oil seasonally. The season is now. Both White and Black. 8.5 ounce bottles for $8.99. Cheap enough to basically drink out of the bottle.

Which is exactly what I have been doing.

(Now, there has been some debate amongst the foodies as to the quality of this particular truffle oil, but what do you (or I) know about truffle oil anyway? And this stuff tastes pretty damn good to me.)

So besides the IV drip, what do I do with the oil?

I put the Black Truffle Oil on scrambled eggs. Make the eggs a little runny (I know! I know! I used to hate runnyish scrambled eggs too!) Drizzle truffle oil on the top and some Maldon salt and my god, breakfast never tasted this good. I lick the plate every time.

I had never had White Truffle oil before. While the black is mellow and earthy, the white is sharp and tangy and has a distinctly garlicy taste. I’ve been slicing fresh mozzarella, drizzling (read: dousing) it in White Truffle Oil and the aforementioned crunchy Maldon Salt and eating. Sop up the plate with some good bread.

Keep the truffle oil in the fridge, prevents it from going rancid and perseveres the taste. Not that it is around long enough to deteriorate. I bought a few extra bottles to stash unopened in the back of the fridge to hold me over till next season….

2006-12-06T09:38:00.000-05:00

A Request!!

From the comments, W&JS write:
“Tell us about some of your favorite simple sauces for spicing up pasta. We love the peanut sauce, got anything else up your sleeve? A favorite cheese sauce perhaps?”

Whoo hoo a request!! I was so excited about this, right up until I totally choked and drew a complete blank on pasta sauces.

Ok. So.

First thing I thought of is Spaghetti alla Carbonara AKA Pasta with Bacon and Eggs. Now I happen to know that W&JS are vegetarians. I have made this recipe successfully by browning some soy bacon in oil instead of using the pancetta or bacon. Also, I do a more basic version of this particular recipe leaving out the onion and wine. This pasta is rich, not something you are going to eat every day, but it’s delicious.

Secondly, Pesto Pasta. Quick and easy, especially in the food processor. Leftovers are great as a sandwich spread as well.

Pasta with Fresh Tomato-Olive Sauce is more of a summer tomato recipe, but if you can find decent tomatoes now, go for it.

Chipotle Macaroni and Cheese is more involved but worth the effort on a Saturday afternoon (make a double batch at stick one in the freezer for later.)(WARNING: I am remembering that W&JS don't like spicy stuff. Chilies in Adobo sauce can be REALLY hot. Use with caution. I bet this would still be good even if you left the chilies out completely.)

Also baked, an old family favorite my mom’s Spaghetti Casserole:

16 oz cheddar, shredded
16 oz fine egg noodles, cooked
40 oz red pasta sauce, your choice
32 oz meat, soy or otherwise, mix with sauce

Layer into a 9x13 pan and bake at 325 for one hour. Simply, yummy, and freezes beautifully as well.

I think that’s it. I have to confess, I don’t eat that much pasta. When I do, I am a big fan of DeCecco Penne with Trader Joe’s Vodka Marina Sauce with their frozen Turkey Meatballs.

So. Readers? Favorite pasta recipes to share??

2006-11-30T19:45:00.000-05:00

Oh, right! THAT’S why I started this blog…

I am still getting produce delivered. I have settled in a nice bi-weekly delivery schedule that allows me to both cook and eat out without ending up with lots of slimy vegetables in the fridge. This is what came this week:

Portabello Mushrooms
Spinach
Broccoli
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Butternut Squash
Carrots
Gala Apples
Bartlett Pears
Navel Oranges
Bananas

A few things before the recipes: I now crave bananas. How odd is that?? As most of you know I was never a banana eater. I am now a banana craver. Craziness. Secondly the butternut squash that came this week are the smallest, cutest butternut squash I have ever seen. Butternut squash for one. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them (there are two) as I still have soup in the freezer leftover from the dinner party, but they are damn cute.

Besides the produce delivery I have bounty from Trader Joes this week. (I am usually a shrewd shopper, I always have a list, and limit myself to one or two “treats.” Last night though? Last night every freaking thing that had a colorful/shiny package ended up in the cart. Cookies, crackers, cheese, soup, vanilla paste. Vanilla paste!?)

This is what I have/plan to cook(ed):

Cucumber Tsatsiki
(use fage greek yogurt in this and you don’t have to strain it)(I love this stuff, eat it by the bowlful)
Zucchini Pie
(repeat recipe, very good.)
Braised Red Cabbage with Sausage and Apples
Tilapia in Mustard Cream Sauce
Turkey Tonnato
(Repeat recipe, also very good. I know Turkey in Tuna sauce sounds weird, but try it, you’ll like it.)
Spinach with Dried Cranberries and Pine Nuts - MOB’s aforementioned recipe.
The Rainbow Room’s Carrot and Peanut Salad from Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson
(I’m going to learn to like carrots if it kills me. This recipe is helping.)

2006-11-27T23:12:00.000-05:00

50 pounds of carrots

I have been meaning to post about my volunteer work with Food and Friends.

Someone way back commented asking about how much cooking one gets to do at Food and Friends. In my experience there hasn’t been much cooking. But then I volunteer mid-week, mid-afternoon and it seems like most of the cooking is done in the morning and in the evening.

So what do I do if I’m not cooking? Well, I individually package food (apples, scones, frozen omelets) (On that note- frozen omelets = scary.) I package meals (they put together multiple kinds of meals depending on the preferences and nutritional needs of the clients, vegetarian, diabetic, etcetera.) And I have gotten to do some prep work, cleaning and chopping things. In fact, last week I was handed a 50 pound bag of carrots to peel, trim, and halve.

Yes indeed, 50 pounds of carrots is a lot of carrots. And they weren’t your run of the mill grocery store carrots, but restaurant supply industrial size carrots! But I have to say, I was working alone, and it was very satisfying work, and actually kinda meditative.

In short while being at Food and Friends hasn’t really given me professional kitchen experience or vastly improved my knife skills, it has been fun, the people are very nice, and I feel good about doing something other than (constantly) indulging my own personal whims.

2006-11-12T16:24:00.000-05:00

Saturday Foodie Fun:
Dinner Party!!
(dinner for 28,
Saturday November 11, 2006)

Roasted Shallot Custard
Caramelized Fennel with Celery Root
Forest Mushroom Terrine
(These recipes are from the book
Amuse-Bouche by Rick Tramonto)

Butternut Squash Soup with Brown Butter, Sage, and Nutmeg Crème Fraiche
(from Bouchon by Thomas Keller)

Spinach, Pine Nut, and Pomegranate Salad

Oven-Braised Cornish Hens with Cider Vinegar and Warm Vegetable Sauce

Maple-Walnut Shortbread and Burnt Carmel Ice Cream

Chocolate Earl Grey Cake

2006-11-09T10:01:00.000-05:00

Vermont

The lovely W&JS hosted me in Vermont for a vacation at the end of October. We indulged in many different ways. We slept in, we sat and talked for hours, we watched Grey’s Anatomy (This doesn’t sound like an indulgence but consider this: neither of us have TV. So we watched Grey’s Anatomy on DVD. Er, DVDs. Plural. Many hours of very satisfying brain rot to make up for lost time.) And, of course, we ate!

We did some cooking and discovered that a pumpkin is not always a pumpkin. (Apparently there are decorative pumpkins and eating pumpkins. If you want to make pumpkin soup, you need the latter, not the former. However, with enough heavy cream, even the former can be enjoyable.) I also dragged an old favorite recipe from the back of my brain: officially “Peanut Butter Spirals” from the Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook. Basically pasta with a nice, not too heavy peanut sauce, served with broccoli. Also on the pumpkin theme, this time with an appropriate pumpkin, we made a pumpkin pie with a delicious cinnamon graham cracker crust.

And we shopped, and ate out:

Laughing Moon Chocolates, Stowe - The perfect little one room chocolate shop. So much handmade chocolate, so little time.

Cabot Cheese Annex Store, Waterbury – Not the actual Cabot factory, but close enough. I think the Horseradish Cheddar was our favorite that day.

The American Flatbread Company, Burlington - Great flatbread “pizza” (and I had a yummy Allagash White to drink.)

Boyden Valley Winery, Cambridge - A tiny little winery with all sorts of interesting fruit wines. We arrived an hour early (Daylight savings! Whoops!) and got a quick wine tasting and tour.

Lake Champlain Chocolates, Burlington - So much mass produced, yet handmade, chocolate so little time.

Sakura Japanese Restaurant, Burlington - Sushi. Yum.

Thank you to W&JS for an interesting, entertaining, relaxing, and delicious vacation!

2006-10-25T20:16:00.000-05:00

All Manner of Dead Things
or
What I Had For Dinner

More Please!!
Pink Peppercorn and Wattleseed Crusted Ostrich Leg Roast with Diablo Hollandaise
Barolo Braised Veal Cheek with Shropshire" Orange" Blue
“Bacon and Eggs": House Cured Berkshire Pork Belly with Fried Quails Egg
Llama Slider with Bleu Cheese and Rosemary Red Onion Jam
Crostata di Formaggi. Erborinato di Pecora Cheese Tartlet: cave aged raw sheep's milk cheese with natural bluing. Robiola La Rossa Cheese Tartlet: Cow and sheep mixed milk cheese wrapped in cherry leaves that are macerated in grappa

Surprisingly Good.
Veal Kidney with a Dijon Mustard Sauce
Hindbeh Bil Zayt (sautéed Dandelion Leaves in olive oil with garlic, parsley, and caramelized onions
Nut Crusted Sweetbreads with Pomegranate Syrup
Stuffed Squash Blossoms, Braised Pigs Feet, Xerez Gastrique
Grilled Cayman Tail (crocodile) with Smoked Tomato and Basil Butter
Polipo: Olive Oil Braised Octopus with Cici (garbanzos) and Lemony Vinaigrette

Indifferent.
Rattlesnake Gumbo with Sassafras Scented Rice
Buckwheat Blini with American Caviar and Crème Fraiche
Jerk Frog Legs with Jamaican Spices
Smoked Duck and Fried Squash Blossom Salad with Port Reduction and Pumpkinseed Oil
Beef Bone Marrow and Liver Parfait
Terrine de Tête de Veau

Never Again!
Caribbean Tripe Stew with Grilled Bananas
Boudin Rouge, Black Mission Fig and Goat Cheese Strudel

Any Questions?

2006-10-24T20:11:00.000-05:00

Why One Should Not Stop In Balduccis After Working a Twelve Hour Day And Having Not Eaten Since 9AM:

1. John WM Macy’s Cheddar and Asiago Cheese Crisps (for the ride home)

2. French Bread, Half loaf (bread)

3. Chopped Chicken Livers (to go on the bread)

4. Burrata Di Bufala (note to self: don’t buy really delicate cheese from a grocery store. Ugh.)

5. Barcelona Exotic Candy Bar (Hickory smoked almonds + fleur de sel gray sea salt + dark milk chocolate)

Random?? Nah…

(I went into Balduccis looking for Pomegranate Molasses and Truffle Juice for my dinner party. I had a purpose. I did.)

2006-10-21T10:18:00.000-05:00

Still Eating…

So. Last weekend was the DonRockwell foodie picnic. There was a chili tasting. And a pig roast off (2 pigs!) And side dishes, and cornbread (with foie gras in it!!) and cheese and dessert and and and and . Food Coma.

I had dinner with BM at W. Domku. B, who knows about these things, says that Domku means something like “homey.” And it was. Very comfortable, tables and couches and whatnot scattered about. The menu is an interesting combination of Scandinavian and Slavic. He had the Pickled herring 3 ways (white wine vinegar, matjes, mustard) – I tried the mustard. It was really good, the fish was firm with a nice creamy sauce. I had the House Cured Gravlax which was also excellent. (The knackebrod (dry cracker bread) nearly killed me though. A small piece got stuck in the back of my throat and I nearly died. Literally. Right there at the table. Embarrassing.) We tried the pierogi for our mains. Now, anyone who knows me knows what a significant roll pierogi have played in my life. No one makes them as well as my grandmother did, and now I carry on the tradition. Pierogi are serious business. I had the Potato, farmer cheese, & bacon and he had the Saurkraut & mushroom. And I have to admit, both were done very well. Dessert was problematic, I’d avoid it in the future, and the service was a little off, but all told, I suspect we will be going back here…

I met NJ for a midweek dinner (what the hell was happening on Connecticut Ave on Thursday late afternoon?! Jeeze..) We went to Lex Cajun Grill, which isn’t exactly fine dining, and isn’t exactly Cajun, but its cheap, and filling, and they make “Cajun Chicken Curry” which is pieces of fried chicken, covered in a creamy curry sauce and, while I know it will kill me fast, I could eat gallons of it. It was the perfect place to sit and contemplate what the hell is wrong with everyone (except NJ and I, of course.)

Next week AD and I will be going to the TasteDc.com Washington's First Unique and Unusual Food and Wine Festival.
I, no doubt, will have MUCH to report from this event…

2006-10-21T09:58:00.000-05:00

Saturday Foodie Fun:
German Pancakes - Dutch Babies
(Lazy Man’s Pancakes)

With inspiration from LM:
German Pancakes - Dutch Babies

Quick. Easy. Delicious.

Now. If only there was someone to share with (and pawn the dishes off on…)

2006-10-11T21:17:00.000-05:00

My adoring public

So. You start a blog about food. And you write about things you’ve cooked and places you’ve eaten. And then it starts happening. It goes like this:

“Hey! I read your blog! And, hey! I had dinner with you. And, well? You didn’t write about OUR dinner!! Why didn’t you write about OUR DINNER?? HRM??”

So. In order to satisfy some people who I like, I present:

Places Rachel Has Eaten Recently with People Whom She Likes

Urbana
I had dinner with JI here a few weeks ago. First off this place is hip. And they want you to know it. The place screams HIP HIP HIP HIP (thanks RL) when you walk in the door.

Now. I am not hip. JI can pull of hip in that metrosexualish-I-live-in-the-city kinda way. But me? Not so much. They let us eat anyway. Also, I don’t think I have ever used the word “doofus” before. But our waiter was a doofus. Seemed totally baffled that we wanted to order food.

I had the brandade "beignets" (salt cod croquets) to start, which were really really salty. (And unfortunately really really hot.) But perhaps you get what you ask for. JI had..um…there were figs (help me here..) and there was some bruschetta. Mains included his roasted chicken with wine sauce and potatoes, which was actually really good. And my pasta. Er. “Pasta.” I got the “small portion” of Pea Agnolotti with Chorizo and Lobster which was a long, rectangular plate with (literally) four pieces of pasta, a small handful of each lobster and chorizo, and a creamy/slightly spicy sauce. It was delicious. I would have been happy with an actual serving of it rather than this oddly plated tease. Dessert was fine, but unremarkable. And that would be my overall review. This place is fine. The food was fine. (The company was excellent however.) I have no major complaints, but am not itching to go back.

Montsouris
Montsouris with MK (I am still shocked every time we get together at how much we have in common.) French Bistro in the former Johnny's Half Shell space on Dupont Circle. I was never there when it was Johnny’s Half Shell, but I’m told it looks nearly the same.

She had the soup and I had house cured salmon to start. Both good. She had steak and mashed potatoes, also deemed good. And me. I had the steak tartar. And hot damn. As someone who doesn’t eat meat, I really couldn’t have enjoyed this more. It was fabulous.

The big bowl of fries that came with it though, not so much. They started out limp and only got worse as they got cold. Dessert was the oddly intriguing chestnut puree. Which was rich and creamy and chestnutty and vaguely citrusy. We were both stuffed at that point so sadly most of it went back to the kitchen.

Acadiana
Acadiana with SK. This is how it went:

“Oh look, a basket of biscuits. Oh. My. God. Faint. Yes, please, could you bring us more biscuits? Swoon. Yes. More Please. In fact, here, you can have this menu back just keep bringing biscuits. Oh wait, you want to bring me a half pound slab of foie gras? Oh, well. If you insist. Eyes Roll Back Into Head.”

It all goes black after that...

2006-10-11T17:41:00.000-05:00

In the oven as I type

I wanted to make this for dinner tonight:
Oven-Braised Cornish Hens with Cider Vinegar and Warm Vegetable Sauce

And I did make it. Sorta:

I (of course) cut the recipe in half. I didn’t have leeks, but I had onions. I didn’t have creminis, but I had portabellas. I didn’t have cider vinegar but I had red wine vinegar. I didn’t have a granny smith apple but I had a red apple. I didn’t have small red potatoes but I had a baking potato. And I didn’t have any tomatoes so I used a squirt of the tomato paste in a tube I keep in the fridge.

Here is the recipe I came up with:

1 (1 1/4-pound) Cornish hen
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoons butter
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup onion
4 oz portabella
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 apple, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
4 oz potato
1 tbs tomato paste

I’ll let you know if its any good…

FABULOUS!!!

The next time you clean out your freezer and find a forgotten Cornish game hen (like I did) I strongly encourage you to make this!

2006-10-03T20:29:00.000-05:00

Angst and Woe

The management apologizes for the post that used to be here
but no longer is.

Occasionally, usually between 2-5am, a rant just needs to get some air.
That one did.
I like men, I really really do.
In fact, if you know of any single intelligent men who don’t mind women who ramble on about food ad nauseum please send them my way.

I am still working on the “Banes of My Existence” book though.

In other news. I was in New York City this weekend.
New York City is fabulous. I suggest, when you are in New York City, you stop here: Pommes Frites.

I am currently collecting donations to be used to open a shop like this in the DC area.

2006-09-24T12:05:00.001-05:00

Shammi Yummi

(Sounds like some strange Japanese teenager thing doesn’t it?)

So the Shammi Kebab were fried up for lunch. And they are really good. And really rich. They would make great hors d’oeuvres (half dollar size patties…dollop of some sort of sauce on top…) I ate two (recipe makes eight patties.) If you are in the neighborhood feel free to stop by and help me polish them off.

(Did I mention I also made chocolate chip cookies yesterday? This isn’t really remarkable, as many people make chocolate chip cookies every single day. But, after many many years of cookie making, this is THE BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe: Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I follow the recipe exactly except for two points: I put the dough in the fridge for 20 minutes before baking. And I bake them for 12 minutes (this will vary, of course, depending on your oven.) And yes, they will look like they aren’t fully baked. But when they cool they are crispy on the edges and soft and chewy in the center and really just perfect. I also only make half a batch, because they are huge, and beacuse I really don’t need one chocolate chip cookie, much less two dozen.)

2006-09-23T21:38:00.000-05:00

Saturday Foodie Fun:
Shammi Kebab (Silky Ground Lamb Patties)

Some people like to party on Saturdays. I’m not really one of those people.
More often than not, you can find me in the kitchen on Saturdays. Gimmie an odd, obscure, and/or complicated recipe and Prairie Home Companion on the radio and I’m a happy camper for a good number of hours.

When my mom and I ate at Rasika during Restaurant Week we had Shammi Kebab, which are not meat on a skewer kebabs, but fried patties made from ground lamb and spices. They had an odd, but pleasant, very fine/smooth texture. I enjoyed them and wondered how they got that texture. I found this recipe: Shammi Kebab.

Ah ha! The texture is achieved by cooking the ground lamb, and THEN putting it through the food processor. (I was proud of my foodie self upon discovering that, besides the lamb and the mace, I already had all of these ingredients in the house.) (Channa dal are chickpeas.)

So the lamb and spices are all cooked and ground and chilling in the fridge. I’ll fry them up tomorrow and let you know how they turn out…

2006-09-22T14:48:00.000-05:00

Still eating…

This week didn’t turn out to be quite as extravagant as originally planned. Don’t worry though, it was still rather extravagant. The business dinner and potluck were both canceled. However, Much fun was had with the foodies at the Circle Bistro dinner. There were many many years in which I did not eat red meat. Now, I can’t get enough of those braised ribs…Yum. Click to see the menu:

NJ (who is a very very bad influence) and I are having dinner at Firefly tonight. What we shall be eating is still in negotiation, although the “Porterhouse of pork for deux with twice baked, pork cheek stuffed Yukon potatoes, haricots verts and dried Mission figs” seems to be top on the list.

(Sidebar: This may be a particular habit of foodies which you lay-readers are not aware of: Every effort is made to review the menu prior to arriving at the restaurant. Then, often elaborate, negotiations are undertaken to decide who will be eating what. The cardinal rule is that no two foodies shall order the same dish. That way the maximum tasting experience can be had by all (by the passing of the plates, of course.))

I also have dinner plans at the previously posted about Dino on Sunday (calamari anyone??)

I did actually make it to the gym this week (where I’m quite sure I picked up the germ which is currently making my throat sore.) Next Thursday I have my first shift in the kitchen at Food & Friends!
(How do you think I will look in a hairnet?)

AND! We shall soon return to the previous schedule of me Actually Cooking. All this eating out is hard on the wallet and the waistline. Bring on the Tuesday Produce Box Delivery!

2006-09-18T11:41:00.000-05:00

Food and Friends

I know what you all think. And I was thinking the same thing. That this hedonistic food thing that I’ve got going is, perhaps, a teeny, tiny, bit out of hand.

In an attempt to counteract all of this self indulgence I have decided to do some volunteer work. The organization Food and Friends seemed like a natural fit.

“Reverend Carla Gorrell founded Food & Friends in 1988 when a friend, sick at home with AIDS, needed something to eat. What began as lunch for one has become 3 meals a day, for nearly 1,000 individuals, six days a week. Over the past decade, we have moved from a cramped church basement to our own state-of-the-art kitchen and pantry facility and initiated new programs to meet the changing needs of people living with HIV/AIDS in the Washington, DC, metropolitan community.”

I went to the volunteer orientation on Saturday morning and hope to start helping prepare meals in the kitchen next week…

2006-09-18T11:18:00.000-05:00

Where am I?

Well, I’m here. And yes, I’ve been eating. Cooking, not so much.
Since the duck post on 9/4 I’ve been running around like a nut and eating all over the place, including:

Lunch with L at Savory Caf e here in good ole Takoma Park. Savory is a nice little loungey coffee shop, that does a fairly good job with food as well. Vegetarian options abound (for those into that kinda thing.)

I had Latino Dim Sum brunch at Café Atlantico with NJ. We had been attempting to experience this indulgence for months and months and the time finally came. And indulge we did. The deluxe tasting, no less than 30 small plates, and 2.5 hours. Things not to miss include: Duck confit with passion fruit oil, Tuna ceviche with coconut, Coconut rice, crispy rice and squid, Cauliflower-Quinoa “cous-cous”, and Potato & vanilla mousse with American caviar. Oh My. (They also do a vegetarian tasting, which does not disappoint.)

This past weekend included Saturday lunch at 2 Amys with ME. If anyone, anywhere, at any time, offers you Burrata di Bufala, eat it. My aversion to Wikipedia will be momentarily set aside, as they do an excellent job of describing this fabulous cheese. Burrata. I usually get the pizza special at 2 Amys and it has yet to disappoint (fontina, tomato, artichoke, and pine nuts this time.) And the bitter orange cannoli are a fine way to finish.

Sunday the grad school gang met for our semi regular dim sum outing at Oriental East. Dim Sum is so much fun. So popular that we line up at 10:30am to get in the first seating when they open at 11. You need to keep your eyes open as they push the carts by, picking what you want before they get annoyed with you “Do you want?!?” Taro Dumplings are my favorite. And the best part? We ate until we could no longer speak, and, after tax and tip, the bill came to $9 each!

This week the eating extravaganza will continue with a business dinner at Tavira Restaurant (I’ve never been), a potluck (if we can get our damn busy schedules straightened out), and the DonRockwell blowout dinner (six courses) at Circle Bistro with AD.

Man, I need to get to the gym…

2006-09-04T16:38:00.000-05:00

Duck, straight up:

Ingredients:

Very very hot pan
Half of a boneless duck breast, skin on
Salt
Plate

Method, with help from epicurious.com:

Pat duck dry.
Pierce skin of duck all over with a fork and score with a knife to allow fat to drain.
Season duck with salt.
Heat a large heavy skillet over high heat until very hot.
Put duck, skin side down, in skillet and immediately reduce heat to moderately low.
Cook duck 20 minutes, or until skin is mahogany-colored and most of fat is rendered.
Remove fat from skillet with a metal bulb baster or by very carefully pouring it off.
(SAVE THE FAT!!)
Turn duck over and cook 2 minutes more.
Transfer duck to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes.
(Duck will continue to cook as it stands until it reaches medium.)
Slice thinly.
Salt.
Eat.

Lick fingers.

(I had duck for dinner tonight. I confess to eating it with my fingers.)

2006-09-02T21:49:00.000-05:00

Even the walls.

I’ve been painting my apartment:

The bedroom is “Grape Vine” (green).
The living room is “Cinnamon Cherry” (red) and “Pecan Sandie” (tan/beige).

I swear I wasn’t looking at the names of the colors when I picked them…

2006-08-24T20:17:00.000-05:00

In direct contrast to the Beet Cake…

the Carrot Cake bars are not only edible, but actually really good.
They are heartier than regular carrot cake with all those oats. And I think that is a good thing.

2006-08-23T08:25:00.000-05:00

Ok, ok, ok.

I got caught up in this internet madness. The blogging! The linking! Wheee!!

So perhaps I was a bit harsh on the zucchini. In my internet madness fit I was basically looking for recipes online. To the exclusion of the multiple hundreds of cookbooks I have sitting on my shelves.

Whoops!

Recipes! From my favorite books and favorite chefs! In print, on paper, rather than in bits and bytes. (I have a small kitchen (read: tiny) and its actually easier to bring a book in there to cook from than my laptop anyway..)

Nigella to the rescue, from her book Forever Summer:

Pappardelle with Zucchini, Sultanas, and Pine Nuts
Zucchini Fritters
The Rainbow Room’s Carrot and Peanut Salad

I can’t link to them, you’ll just have to get them the old fashioned way (ah, books!)

Hrm…I wonder what Keller and Oliver and Katzen have to say about zucchini…

2006-08-22T20:57:00.000-05:00

Enough already with the zucchini already

I have had enough corn. I like corn on the cob, but enough already. How much corn on the cob can one single person eat. Not so much. So I asked for no corn. And I got no corn. Instead I got extra zucchini. When I had enough zucchini to begin with. And I understand the whole “zucchini grows a lot in the summer” phenomenon. But come on!!

So this week’s box:

Roma Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Green Peppers
Carrots
Zucchini
Green Leaf Lettuce
Strawberries
Peaches
Nectarines
Bananas

I also ordered some Avocado, Cilantro, and a dozen really eggcellent (sorry) organic eggs.

I plan on making some gazpacho (the last of the season I’m guessing) and guacamole (See Guac-off 2006 in the Maine post below.) And I think there is a salad in there somewhere, a traditional, old fashioned, lettuce and stuff salad. I’m gonna try Carrot-Cake bars with the carrots, and Zucchini Pie with, yup, the zucchini.

I am open to any and all additional suggestions as to what to do with the rest of the god damn zucchini!!

2006-08-21T14:00:00.000-05:00

Restaurant Week Summer 2006

Eat at these places. The food, it is good.

Dino
(Especially the Funghi e Gorgonzola, Calamari Fritti, Polipo, Orechietti ai Funghi, Lasagnette al Ragu and Tonno)

Corduroy
(Don’t miss the Seared Sea Scallops, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Chardonnay Sauce, Roast Lamb Sirloin with Mini Goat Cheese Ravioli, and Halibut with Potato-Leek Salad and Meyer Lemon Sauce.)

Rasika
(The Palak Chaat. My god. I could eat a gallon or two of this. The Chocolate Pistachio Honey Ice Cream is excellent as well.)

2006-08-21T13:40:00.000-05:00

Philadelphia. Again.

So I was in Philadelphia again two weekends ago, visiting with my sister who was in from Hawaii (where she lives in the lush jungleness.)

We had lots of fun and did the whole family thing, and everyone was on their best behavior, and there was nearly no drama! Wonders never cease. And I didn’t think this would be a foodie trip, but, lo and behold, EVERYTHING can be a foodie trip. Case in point:

Mom, sister, and I went to the Goschenhoppen Folk Festival in East Greenville, PA . Now, this is a road trip back into my childhood. My family went to this festival every year. “The Goschenhoppen Historians was established as an educational society dedicated to learning about preserving and teaching the Pennsylvania German folk culture.” So. Think Colonial Williamsburg, but in Pennsylvania, at the turn of the century, with Pennsylvania German Mennoniteish people. In full costume doing the turn of the century thing.

How is this a foodie thing you ask? Well we had all sorts of handmade turn of the century delights: raspberry shrub (a drink made with vinegar), and sausage and dumplings, and peppermint tea, and peach ice cream, and short tack cookies, and fried mush, and my favorite of all favorites, potato candy. They were sadly sold out of corn pie. And we watched them slaughter a pig. Yup. Really. Did you know that a pig has a more similar anatomy to a human than any other mammal?

Now you do.

2006-08-21T13:20:00.000-05:00

Wherein I post a long overdue post, which I never quite finished writing…

Maine

If you want to see me get a stupid grin on my face and sorta gush randomly, ask me about Maine.

Maine continues to be a wonderful escape for me, with good friends, delicious food, beautiful nature, and just not a whole lot else. I’ll try to sum up my trip without gushing too much:

Thursday: I accompanied L to the MMA Company Picnic, which was on Lake St. George . BBQ chicken, cheeseburgers, and all manner of salady picnicy things, yum. L&L and I had a sushi dinner from Cafe De Bangkok that night. Seaweed salad = delicious and flossy.

Friday: On Friday we dragged ourselves out of bed to catch the boat to Monhegan Island. Monhegan is about an hour long ferry ride from the mainland, and Dramamine is a very good thing. Upon arriving on the island we had Lobster Rolls for lunch. And then we hiked! No, really, I hiked. I did. There are photos. And surprisingly, I really enjoyed it, even the “up” parts, (well right up until I had to pee really really badly, and then we headed back to the village.) And then we had ice cream, which, if I hadn’t been enjoying the hiking up until then, would have made it all worth it. The island is amazingly wild and crashy wavy rocky beautifulness. And we picked wild raspberries as we hiked along the trails. We had the requisite Beer Cheese Soup at the Liberal Cup for dinner that night.

Saturday: Saturday was a lazy day. Hot, even in Maine. L made homemade waffles for breakfast (with homemade Vermont maple syrup); we sped off in the car just in time to catch the Pirates of the Caribbean II (which was not great cinema, but a fun movie.) We had a quick and satisfying “I’m craving this” grocery store dinner, followed by a ride in L&L’s neighbor’s ‘67 Volvo to get yet more ice cream!

Sunday: Brunch at Slates, Garlic Fest Planning, Lobster! From Hallowell Seafood and Produce.

Monday: On Monday L and I went to Reid State Park where we laid on the beach, dipped our toes in the ocean, and read in the sun. A lovely afternoon. That night the Guac-off was held (I won with the Café Atlantico Guacamole recipe), and we had fajitas for dinner.

Many many thanks to L&L. I’ll be back before you know it (I don’t know if that is a threat or a promise…)

2006-08-05T16:44:00.000-05:00

Philadelphia

Much fun was had by me and SH, on our trip to Philadelphia. Only downside: the AC in my new, three week old, car decided to drain into the rear passenger’s seat floor well. Bailing water from your car = not so much fun. But they say that it’s fixed now.

So, onto the food:

Near my mom’s house in Perkiomenville, PA there is a family farm: Hendricks Farm If I still lived “at home” I would make a sincere effort to buy all my meat and dairy from this place. Their Cow Pie cheese is one of my favorites.

Saturday SH and I did the historical tourist thing in Philly (Art Museum, Liberty Bell, Independence Hall) with some foodie stops along the way:

I think the gelato at Capogiro Gelato is the closest thing to “real” gelato I have had since I was in Italy. We tried four flavors: the Dulce De Leche was good, but unremarkable. The Frutti Di Bosco (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and honey preserve in milk gelato) was also good. But man oh man, Lemon Basil and Cioccolato Scuro (bitter chocolate). The Lemon Basil would make a perfect palate cleanser, light, crisp, refreshing and makes me want to cook up a multi-course feast just so I can use it for that purpose. And I don’t know where to start with the bitter chocolate. So dark as to be almost black. Nearly the consistency of cake.
Chocolate gelato heaven.

We took a quick run through Reading Terminal Market. Another foodie heaven. If I lived in Philly I’d shop here as often as I could. Its busy, loud, crowded and perfect.

Dinner at Buddakan was quite an experience. Huge lovely space, with, um, very very loud techno music blasting. More hip than I actually am. I panicked as we walked in, wondering if my mom, her husband, and my grandmother were up for it. The food was enjoyable, and reasonably priced. "Asian Influence" much like Ten Pehn here in DC. I think we were all most impressed with dessert which included:

“THE CHOCOLATE BENTO BOX warm chocolate cake, dark chocolate panna cotta with cocoa-ginger biscotti, white chocolate-espresso pot de creme, milk chocolate mousse cube atop hazelnut crunch, chocolate almonds and bittersweet sorbet” and

“CHOCOLATE PAGODA triple layer chocolate mocha chip ice cream "sandwich" with frozen chocolate mousse and hazelnut praline.”

Yes, you read that correctly, it was a large ice cream sandwich in the shape of a pagoda…

Finally, before heading home, we stopped at the Russian grocery near my grandmother’s house in NE Philadelphia called "Net Cost Market." SH translated for us, I learned about many kinds of frightening canned things and jellies and jams made from berries I’d never heard of before…and SH ending up buying more than she thought she would. Well worth the trip.

2006-08-05T16:03:00.000-05:00

ACK! Where to (re)start?

I think I’ll bring you up to speed with three posts: Philadelphia, Maine, and This Week…

2006-07-19T22:53:00.000-05:00

VACATION!

Indeed there will be no produce delivered to my house for the next two weeks, as I am going on vacation! First a stop in Philadelphia with SH to do some family seeing and possibly some site seeing, and definitely some food seeing (and eating):

Capogiro Gelato
Reading Terminal Market
Buddkan
And the huge Russian Market in NE Philly, where SH will translate so we actually know what we are eating…

And then for the main event. The MAINE event, hah!
Maine, Maine, Maine, Maine, MAINE!!
Yes folks, I’m off yet again to Maine. To visit the fabulous L&L and to eat the fabulous L(obster).

Will I ever tire of this? I do not think so.

Thankfully L&L are as nuts about food as I am and, aside from letting me nap on their couch all I want, they are happy to indulge in all sorts of culinary adventures. My trips north always include:

Beer cheese soup from the The Liberal Cup
Brunchy goodness from Slates Restaurant
Cute boys and many yummy ugly bugs from Hallowell Seafood and Produce

And, of course, the Great GuacOff 2006. Wherein L and I will be battling it out in the ultimate guacamole cook-off. Mix-off? Mash-off? Whatever. Tons of slimy green fun will be had by all. Check back for further details….

2006-07-16T14:55:00.000-05:00

Yes, I do not like vegetables

Apparently I have been discovered. A few of you have remarked upon the fact that all of my recipes involve camouflaging, blending, mixing, mashing, or otherwise hiding, more or less, the vegetables.

And it’s true. I’m just not a fan. I have two heads of lettuce in the fridge at the moment because salad just doesn’t do it for me (any ideas about how to hide lettuce?) The thought of a big plate of naked vegetables makes me crave a good slab of bread with a thick schmear of butter.

So I blend and mix and mash and hide the vegetables, in really good (usually low fat, lower calorie) recipes, and now consume more of said vegetables than I have probably done in my entire life.

A spoonful of sugar, as they say…

2006-07-15T16:58:00.000-05:00

Notes from the Crazed Chef

1. If the cantaloupe makes your tongue tingle, it’s probably not good. Right?

2. I am in love with phyllo. And the phyllo tarts. But not with the whole cook the milk, gelatin, wait while it chills nonsense in that recipe. So instead I made the shells as directed, mixed 4oz of 1/3 fat cream cheese, and 4oz of 2% greek yogurt, with some sugar and vanilla. Ta Da! Cream, with no cooking or gelatin or blah blah blah.

3. Gazpacho. I have a standard recipe, no idea where it came from, but its yummy. Ditto with the standard Broccoli Puree, and Zucchini Bread.

4. Summer Squash Goat Cheese Custard is good. Tastes like…onions. Hrm. Perhaps a slight modification is in order there.

5. Anyone want some carrots? I think I’m too tiredhotsweaty to make any more soup today.

2006-07-15T14:07:00.000-05:00

Crazed Chef

Ok, last week’s box consisted of:

Sweet Corn
Vine Ripe Tomatoes
Zucchini
Seedless Cucumbers
Broccoli
Red Leaf lettuce
Red Onions
Honeydew Melon
Strawberries
Peaches
Nectarines

So, in a crazy mad rush to clean out the fridge and eat up all this good stuff before I leave for vacation on Thursday (VACATION!), I will be cooking a weeks worth of food this afternoon. The menu includes:

Curried Carrot Soup
Summer Squash Goat Cheese Custard
Gazpacho
Broccoli Puree
Zucchini Bread
Cherry & Lemon Creamcheese Tartlets
Cantaloupe Nectarine Soup

Hrm. Perhaps that is more than a weeks worth of food. (Half of the Curried Carrot Soup and Zucchini Bread are destined for the freezer.) And, coincidentally, it looks like the blender is going to get a workout…

2006-07-10T11:15:00.000-05:00

What to do with leftover phyllo

Cherry & Lemon Creamcheese Tartlets

I have neither cherries nor lemons. But I do have peaches and strawberries, and I think that’ll do just fine.

2006-07-09T17:04:00.000-05:00

Broccoli Mash

This has become one of my favorite things. I have always liked broccoli. But this makes eating broccoli kinda like eating mashed potatoes. And I have always LOVED mashed potatoes. Broccoli Puree.
I do a lighter, lazy version of this as well:

Peel a large potato (6oz.) Chop into chunks. Chop a pound of broccoli into chunks. Peel and chunk a few shallots. Steam the potato, broccoli and shallots until soft (about 20 minutes).
Mash (I do this by hand right in the pot) potato, broccoli, and shallots with 2 oz. of cream cheese, ¼ cup grated parmesan, salt and pepper, and about ½ cup, more or less, of the leftover broccoli steaming water (they say that’s where the vitamins go.) Pretend like you’re eating mashed potatoes when you are really eating broccoli!!

2006-07-08T17:45:00.001-05:00

Saturday Dinner

The swiss chard was rapidly wilting in the fridge, so tonight was the night for Swiss Chard Spanakopita Casserole. It was excellent, just like regular spanakopita. I cheated a bit (as usual): I made the filling and then just stacked the phyllo on a cookie sheet, spread the filling over half of it, and then folded the dough over and tucked in the edges. 15 minutes on the stove, 30 minutes in the oven and crispy crunchy savory spanakopita (and I ate swiss chard!)

The summer craving for lemon squares continues. So does the effort to lose weight. Enter Easy Lemon Squares. They get lightened in this recipe basically by reducing the amount of butter in the crust. Make sure the butter is cold so you still get the flakiness. I reduce the amount of fat and calories further by using those fat-free refrigerated eggs. The squares aren’t as rich as the original (which is the whole point...) but do an excellent job of satisfying the craving. (And are actually edible, unlike the Splenda lemon squares...)

2006-07-06T15:38:00.000-05:00

Improvised Yum

I made the Black Bean, Corn, and Shrimp Salad for dinner today (late lunch for those keeping track). All was well right up until the ¾ cup of salsa called for in the recipe. I always have salsa in the fridge. Grab the measuring cup, grab the bottle, start pouring, and the salsa is….cloudy…and kinda…fuzzy. Um. Ugh.

Right then! No salsa. But! I have some V8 in the fridge. So I dumped some of that in, with some extra onions and other salsa-y bits around, and cooked it all down till nearly dry and Voila!

Black bean, corn, and shrimp salad ala Rachel. (It was quick and yummy).

2006-07-06T13:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's Box (July 6, 2006)

Sweet Corn
Romaine Lettuce
Roma Tomatoes
Broccoli
Swiss Chard
Carrots
Yellow Squash
Nectarines
Cantaloupe
Peaches
Bananas

So. I picked up some shrimp for Black bean, corn and shrimp salad. And I still have baby carrots left from last week, so I’m gonna make Baby Carrots with Curry Sauce and Broccoli Puree (to be served as sides with some grilled Polo Asada from Trader Joe’s.) Other things to try: Swiss Chard Spanakopita Casserole, Cream of Carrot Soup and Summer Squash Goat Cheese Custard.

Upon consulting with my People Who Know About These Things, the recipes are now linked for your clicking pleasure.

2006-07-04T09:46:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Rachel’s Kitchen

Since I’ll been rambling on here about recipes and things I cook and whatnot, I have decided I should clue you in on some habits I have in the kitchen. I don’t usually note these in the comments I make about recipes, because they are just kinda assumed. Well, I know about them anyway, and now so do you:

I am single. I live alone. I have no need for 10 servings of anything. Or even 8. And really, I don’t even need 4 servings of most things, because, as they say, variety is the spice of life and I generally don’t wanna eat the same thing for four days in a row. So I spend a lot of time halving, quartering, tenthing (for gods sake) recipes. And I can never remember how many tablespoons are in ¼ cup, so I use this a lot: Recipe Measurements.

I buy 1% milk. Always. And so I have 1% milk in the house. And so that’s what I cook with. Even if the recipe says skim. Even if the recipe says whole. I use 1%. For things that really need whole: 1 cup skim milk plus 2 teaspoons melted butter equals one cup whole milk. It’s not exact. This is cooking not rocket science. Other good substitutions here.

(Please note: baking is kinda rocket science, so my devil may care attitude does not apply in that arena.)

I almost always use more herbs, spices, garlic, and salt than a recipe calls for. I almost certainly use less onion, curry paste and chipotles in adobo sauce than called for (ask my mom about this.) I’ve taken to buying and using shallots in place of onions as they are more “single serving” friendly. I now, thanks to L&L, generally use King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour. It is especially good in pancakes and applesauce cake. I use ground turkey whenever ground meat is called for. Land o’ Lakes butter is worth the extra money, and I use salted, even though I’m not supposed to. I only use olive oil, extra virgin when I wanna taste it, and extra light for frying and baking. I like Fage 2% Greek yogurt. I gave up canned chunk light tuna in water. Buy the Italian tuna packed in olive oil and forget about mayonnaise. You won’t miss it. (If you need mayonnaise though, buy it from Trader Joe’s. Theirs is the best.) I like the British Maldon salt. I am highly suspicious of the chunks in chunky peanut butter and only eat all natural, salted, smooth, peanut butter (Smuckers is good and comes in the economy size jar.)

Right then. That’s probably more than you wanted to know anyway.

2006-07-02T09:49:00.000-05:00

Of Vegetables and Cars

I’m glad this week is over. Massive quantities of rain, totaled cars, and rotten vegetables.

What did I cook this week? Does toasting a bagel count as cooking?

What did I eat this week? I had Chinese takeout, and I ordered a pizza, I stopped at Taco Bell, had a Panera sandwich, and ended the week with a trip to TGI Fridays.

My God.

What about the fruits and vegetables you ask?
Yeah, what about the fruits and vegetables. I need to clean out the fridge…

Here’s to next week: with clear skies, new cars, and fresh produce yet again.

2006-06-24T23:06:00.000-05:00

What to eat when one’s body and brain (and car) have been significantly addled:

Basic Baking Powder Biscuits, hot from the oven, slathered with butter,
with a side of ice cold chocolate milk (made with Trader Joe’s Midnight Moo.)

Covers the four major comfort food groups:
Bread, Fat, Sugar and Chocolate.

2006-06-23T08:38:00.000-05:00

The Verdict.

Beet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

It’s…fine. It does in fact taste like carrot cake, but instead of tasting like carrots, it tastes like beets (surprise!)

Would I serve it at a dinner party. No.

Will I eat it for breakfast for the next few days and think “I’m eating beets, and beets are good for me, and there is cream cheese icing on this cake”?

Yes, that’s what ill be thinking.

2006-06-22T16:39:00.000-05:00

I just killed someone with my bare hands.

OR

I’ve been grating beets.

You decide…

2006-06-22T12:23:00.000-05:00

Chicago

My fabulous mom is finally (!!) going to take a sabbatical next year. I think after teaching for nearly 25 years a couple months off is not too much to ask for. We have been bouncing around ideas about what sort of fabulous adventure we should have while she is off. (Note: I have not been teaching for 25 years, and therefore, don’t really deserve to take a sabbatical. But. What the hell.)

We talked about Italy. Italy being mucho dollars and long plane flights.

Then my mom, the budding foodie that she is, saw a piece about Chicago’s Alinea and Moto on CBS News Sunday Morning (one of the only things I miss since killing my TV (especially the trumpet bit in the beginning.))

So. I have decided we are going to Chicago. I’m thinking about March 2007. I will start planning immediately and will take suggestions (both food and non-food) about what to do whilst one is in the windy city.

My list so far includes:

Alinea
Moto
Lou Malnati's (for Chicago-style pizza)
The Art Institute of Chicago (for art)

I wonder how far in advance I need to make reservations…

2006-06-20T14:44:00.000-05:00

Today's Box (June 20, 2006)

Red Rose Potatoes
Spinach
Leeks
Baby Carrots
Boston Lettuce
Cucumbers
Beets
Strawberries
Cantaloupe
Nectarines
Bananas

I've been wanting to make falafel, and that would take care of most of the lettuce and cucumbers… From the days of big dogs and small babies: MOB’s sautéed spinach with pine nuts and dried cranberries. (Who knew you could crave spinach?) The beets are spoken for in cake and salad…and it seems like leeks and potatoes should go together to make…something…other than soup…and OH! I can make cantaloupe nectarine soup...yum...

2006-06-19T18:15:00.000-05:00

Dessert

My take on Nigella Lawson’s Caramelized Pineapple with Hot Chocolate Sauce (from her book, Forever Summer):

Cube fresh pineapple. Heat a sauté pan till pretty damn hot. Put cubes of pineapple in pan. Let them caramelize, turning until caramelized on all sides. Put pineapple on plate. Turn off heat. Drop a handful of bitter or semi sweet chocolate chips into the hot pan and let melt. Pour chocolate over pineapple. Eat.
Yes. Chocolate over cooked pineapple. Try it, you’ll like it.

2006-06-19T16:51:00.000-05:00

Beets

So. They tell me I’ll be getting some beets tomorrow (I’ll post the actual contents of the box when it arrives.)Which led me, yet again, to utter
“What the hell do I do with…”

My mom is a great fan of beets, eats them right out of the jar. And I have eaten (and enjoyed) some beet and cheese salads. But. Beets. I just don’t know. So I went to cookinglight.com to look for a beet and cheese salad recipe and found this:

Beet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Beet Cake!! They say it’s like carrot cake, with grated beets in place of the carrots. Suddenly I find myself hoping for enough beets to make salad AND cake!

2006-06-19T16:32:00.000-05:00

Even Better

Turns out that Mashed-Potato Cakes with Onions and Kale are even more excellent with that Greek yogurt and a slice of smoked salmon on top…(Trader Joes wild smoked salmon, of course.)

2006-06-18T19:20:00.000-05:00

Two Other Things

1. I eat bananas now.

2. You cannot make lemon squares with Splenda. You CAN NOT. I speak from experience here. Do not even think about it. Consider yourself warned. Seriously.

In other news: If anyone is interested in some lemonish flavored shoe leather I’ve got an 8x8 pan of it right here.

2006-06-18T19:08:00.000-05:00

Things I cooked this week
(June 11, 2006)

Good things:

The inspiration for this whole blog thing:

Mashed-Potato Cakes with Onions and Kale
Caramelized onionness, yummy, can’t even taste the kale (which I’m thinkin is a good thing.) Excellent with Fage Greek yogurt! (Or sour cream if you are so inclined.)

Cheese Soufflé with Fresh Corn
Mix, pour, oven, puff, yay!
(N.B. I only had a soufflé dish half the size called for, so I put half the batter in that, and baked the rest in an oven proof glass bowl. Worked perfectly.)

Maybe:

Curried Cauliflower
This smelled really good. And it tasted good too. I cut the recipe in half (Aside: I'm chronically single. I cut most recipes in half, beacuse, really, 10 cups of cauliflower? I don't think so.) and used a whole 7oz. container of Fage 2% Greek yogurt (again with the Fage!) But, as the recipe says, the yogurt curdles. I’m thinking of adding some water to the pot to actually cook the cauliflower, and then adding the yogurt at the end so it doesn’t curdle and stays more saucy. I need more saucy things in my life.

Not so much:

Creamed Salmon with Fresh Corn and Dill
I had some salmon in the freezer that needed to be used and too many ears of corn. This sounded like a good “dump it all in” recipe. It tasted fine, but not enough sauce and too much corn. I just ate it out of a bowl rather than over bread (again with the not enough sauce.) In the words of OTB “not my favorite.”

All recipes from http://www.cookinglight.com/
(No, I can't publish them here. Go lookem up yourself. I'm a librarian, copyright and all. Jeeze!)

2006-06-18T18:35:00.000-05:00

I am obsessed with food.

There. I said it.

Surprisingly, I’m not actually involved in any official food endeavors (like being a chef or something). But I do spend most of my non-working, waking hours thinking, reading, talking about, or cooking and eating, food.

Recently in a (read: yet another) fit of health consciousness I started going to the gym (again) and signed up with a local produce delivery service: Washington’s Green Grocer. (http://www.washingtonsgreengrocer.com/)

I’m a fairly accomplished cook and have always enjoyed making things with lots of chocolate and cheese. Note the lack of fruits and vegetables in that sentence.

Washington’s Green Grocer picks what is delivered each week and so figuring out what to do with what is delivered has become an interesting challenge for me. Kinda like the secret ingredient on Iron Chef, or, as I like to say:

What the hell do I do with kale?