But, at least there are plenty of reasons to eat ice cream for breakfast.
Lavender almond milk and chocolate coconut milk ice cream from The Hop, to be specific.

Aren’t those flowers gorgeous?? $3 bouquets from the N. Asheville tailgate market make me smiley.

The happy consequence of alla this hot, hot, heat is that I’m experimenting with mixed drinks. Of course, they don’t stick around long enough for a picture, so you’ll have to take my word for it that they are as pretty as they are tasty.

Please, take my word for it. And make these drinks immediately.

Blueberry-Basil Martini
makes one drink
Fresh is your friend.

3 fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
5 large ice cubes
1 oz simple syrup
1.5 oz vodka
1 oz fresh lemon juice
a drop or two of vanilla extract (or use Stoli Vanil)
frozen blueberries

To make simple syrup: combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan and heat over medium-low until the sugar completely dissolves and the mixture is clear. Cool before adding to a drink. Keeps well in the fridge.

Fill a martini glass with ice and set aside.
To a cocktail shaker, add the basil leaves, berries and ice.
Muddle as if your life depends on it, until the ice is broken up into small pieces.
To the muddled mixture, add simple syrup, vodka, vanilla extract, and lemon juice.
Shake until well blended.
Dump the ice out of the martini glass.
Pour mixture through a strainer into the glass, add some frozen berries and serve!

Watermelon Margarita
makes one drink
modified from an Emeril recipe

1 lime wedge
1 cup watermelon puree
2 T simple syrup
1/4 cup fresh lime or lemon juice
1.5 ounces tequila
2 T triple sec
lots of ice

To make the puree: de-seed, chunk and blend watermelon. (4 pounds of watermelon will yield approximately 4 cups puree.)

Fill a margarita or martini glass with ice and set aside.
To a cocktail shaker, combine all ingredients listed above.
Shake until your arms want to fall off and your hands are numb, at least 1 minute.
Dump the ice out of the martini or margarita glass.
Strain into prepared glass and garnish with a lime wedge.

I also have it on good authority that this drink is magnified to an awesome power of ten if you freeze the watermelon chunks before blending them…

Enjoy, and stay cool!

Nope. Durham.
It seems Durham has a bit of a reputation.
Poor. Run down. Devitalized. Found a non-BBQ sit-down restaurant? Count yourself lucky.

Well. Have I got a secret for you.
Durham is rising like a phoenix out of the ashes. New restaurants are popping up everywhere.
The culinary scene in Durham has focus, creativity, and drive, no doubt an intentional response to the city’s close proximity to more established foodie havens Raleigh and Chapel Hill. The competition is strong. But Durham isn’t doing anything by half-measures, and that was apparent in my short time there last week. I had several uniquely positive experiences, and I’m going to share them here, with you.

Banh’s Cuisine

As I’ve ranted before, it’s a shame that Asheville lacks a good Vietnamese restaurant. Whenever I travel to a larger area, I seek out a pho place and get my fix. I’ve been to Rice and Noodles, Pho Cyclo, Pho Real, and during my last trip to Durham, Saigon Grill. I was excited to hear of another place in Durham, Banh’s, and went to investigate upon arriving Monday evening.

Duke University is just a few clicks away from downtown Durham, and the University District is where we found Banh’s, on a crowded block nestled between a tailor shop and a taqueria. Two doors down was Charlie’s, a biker bar. Unassuming from the front, Banh’s interior was downright desolate at 7:43 on a Monday night. A faded canopy proclaimed “Chinese and Vietnamese food.”

Save for one gentleman picking up his takeout as we entered, the place was empty. A slight woman in a striped shirt and canvas ball cap stood behind the counter. One of those ancient plastic Pepsi pushboards was on the wall, with the standard spring rolls and vegetable fried rice on offer. A sign to the right announced the nightly specials, but there was no pho. No banh mi. No bun. Cash only.

What the pho…k?
On the Pepsi sign was my answer - “More traditional Vietnamese dishes served on Wednesdays and Saturdays.”
Damn.

I looked at my companions. They shrugged, road weary and hungry, though with less of a pho craving. For them, any food would do. So I went ahead and ordered the tofu with ginger, $5.29. “Take out?” Yes, please. The woman nodded, and disappeared behind a door. Immediately, I heard the sizzle of something being fried in hot oil. Now 7:48 PM, I was acutely aware of the fact that Banh’s closed at 8:00 PM. We gathered our chopsticks, soy sauce, and plastic utensils, then sat down to wait on our food, which took a while. I was hoping that meant cook to order. Our food came out just after 8:00 and we beat a hasty retreat, in search of some outdoor seating. An iron cafe table outside of a nearby Ben and Jerry’s sufficed. We sat down and tucked in to our takeout, no doubt amusing the ice cream shop patrons.

To our surprise….it was good! The vegetables were crunchy, the tofu was firm with crisp skin, all bathed in a light sauce with fresh ginger matchsticks generously sprinkled on top. The rice was a little overdone, but hey - it was the end of the night, and likely the bottom of the rice cooker. The dish was far from the greasy, overly sweet-n-soured mess I was expecting.

Fast forward two days, and we’re facing the question of “Where to eat in an unfamiliar city?” again. S had heard of a Mongolian restaurant called Bali Hai, but after my (frankly) odd experience at Crazy Fire a few years back, I was hesitant to plunge back into that particular culinary fray. Fortunately, it was Wednesday. “Let’s go back and try that Vietnamese place.”

We did, and as we approached the same block crammed shoulder to shoulder with shops and bars, noticed some differences from Monday night. For one, there was no parking readily available - we had to go a block down, past the biker bar - which was now overflowing with shiny Harley and Victory bikes, blondes in black heels cuddled in laps, beer, and laughter. Walking up to Banh’s, we couldn’t believe it. Was this the same place? The line to order was nearly out the door. Every table was filled, including four outdoor ones that magically appeared. The same slight woman was behind the counter, taking orders and delivering food, in four places at once.

Customers, mainly older hippie academic types - lots of sandals and hemp purses and some awesome tye-dye harem pants - slurping away at steaming hot bowls of noodles. As promised, the specials had changed to more traditional Vietnamese dishes. S got the Vegetarian Plate, with tofu and broccoli in a spicy black bean sauce, while K and I opted for hu tieu, a pork and shrimp noodle soup. When our food came out and was handed off to us, I thanked the woman who took our order, saying I was sure it would be delicious. Her eyes lit up with pride, and an impossibly wide grin split her face.

We claimed an outdoor table, and the first question to enter our minds was “Why don’t they do this every night?” There is clear customer demand, but whether a result of scarcity or desire remains unknown. Maybe they don’t want that kind of business every night - it takes effort to make good noodles.

As I opened my plastic bowl, I knew right away my hu tieu would be good. Wide rice noodles topped with crispy caramelized shallots, scallions, garlic, shrimp, cabbage and two kinds of pork, all carefully arranged. The chicken broth was rich and not too salty. Together, it was heaven in a bowl for $6.29. K wandered down to the taqueria and returned with two mango margaritas. The food, the drinks, sitting outdoors in the springtime, a great combination.

If you go:

Banh’s Cuisine
750 9th Street
Durham, NC 27705

Remember: Cash only, they close at 8 PM, only serve authentic Vietnamese on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
It is well worth moving your schedule around to check this place out.

A bit about Audrey and Daniel, from their website:

We have been described as adventurers, adaptable professionals, and – most recently – as full-time travelers. Our passions: creativity, personal development, technology, public diplomacy and street food. And yes, we do believe there is a common thread woven between them all.

In December 2006, we left our secure jobs and comfortable lifestyle in Prague, Czech Republic for a creative sabbatical: traveling the world, taking photographs and sharing stories about people from all walks of life.

Uncornered Market – our blog, photo gallery, videos, and audiocasts – is where we share our experiences. We aim to humanize the places we visit, drawing our readers in through photographs and stories, so they connect with people and places they might otherwise never hear about or actively disregard.

You traveled to Antarctica via Gap Adventures - a 14-day round trip beginning from Ushuaia, Argentina. What were the meals aboard the ship (the MS Expedition) like? Were they tailored to the trek (high-caloric and sustaining), Argentine, or more cruise-like? I can’t imagine there was shipboard entertainment, a cash bar, or an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet.

The meals aboard the MS Expedition (120 passengers) to Antarctica were surprisingly diverse and satisfying. Each dinner was a four-course served meal with at least one fish, meat and vegetarian option. As one of our fellow passengers said, “Oh, too many forks!” Examples of some of the mains included New Zealand lamb chops or grilled salmon with roasted vegetables.

You can see a sample meal here.

Breakfast was buffet service, but you could eat something different each morning - from muesli and yogurt to hash browns and fried eggs. Lunch was also buffet service, but it usually included some sort of Asian influenced dish (the restaurant and kitchen crew were Filipino) which we loved. We were also surprised at how much fresh vegetables and and fruit were available on board. Towards the end of the trip, we noticed more canned and frozen produce, but the kitchen staff did an especially good job keeping things fresh at the beginning of the journey.

You’ve mentioned several times that you both rarely if ever get stomach sick - and you make a point of eating food from street stalls and other places frequently touted as unsanitary. How do you ease in your digestive system to the cuisine of a different country - are there any rituals or consistencies you hold?

At this point we likely have a sea of bacteria swimming in our stomachs that help us tackle street food in different countries. Usually, we try to ease ourselves into local street food by starting first with canteens or simple cafeterias and soups (boiled=killed bacteria) and then moving on to the more adventurous stuff. What usually gets people are the fresh unpeeled vegetables, herbs or fruit. We shared some more tips on how to travel the world without “hugging the bowl” here.

Many of your posts on food get right down to business - what was in it and how did it taste compared to something more widely available. I love that. Your writing conveys both a broad and deep, almost instinctual knowledge of food - how was that knowledge cultivated and shaped over time? Were you both always adventurous eaters, or is your openness to food a result of your travels? Is there anything you won’t eat OR are there foods you actively seek out?

Our understanding of food is fueled almost entirely on curiosity — trying new cuisines, exploring different taste combinations, and understanding the connection of food to culture. Not to mention, food can be at the same time both scientifically and artistically complex and also astonishingly simple. And to appreciate it in full is often an exercise in marshaling all of one’s senses.

We were relatively adventurous eaters before this journey, but our travels have definitely made us more aware, more open, and perhaps even more intrepid when it comes to exploring local cuisines, especially those that feature a street food element. We often ask street food or market vendors about what they are selling and how they prepare certain dishes. Not only do these conversations provide more context about the cuisine, but they often mark the beginning of a longer conversation that wends its way through food to culture to family to politics. Food is a terrific — and non-threatening — way to start a conversation with locals.

We are less adventurous when it comes to trying every part of an animal. Our mantra is: “mystery vegetables are safer than mystery meat.” If we can’t identify animal bits and parts in a dish, we’ll usually opt for vegetarian fare instead. And at the end of the day, it has to be tasty and satisfying. We’ve tried our share of animal mystery bits that haven’t passed that test.

How was it for you both to eat in the States again? Did you go out of your way to cook your own meals and not eat at restaurants, or was there some specific food craving right away to be sated?

When we return to the States we usually crave ethnic foods that we haven’t been able to get. For example, after spending the last 15 months in Latin America, we wanted Asian foods (Indian, Thai, Japanese, Afghan). But, we also really miss good deli sandwiches when we travel. And, of course, bagels. In so many parts of the word, breakfast includes some sort of bread, butter and jam and we start to miss cereal for breakfast.

What surprises us each time we return to the States is the diversity in available cuisines. Particularly in urban and suburban population centers you can usually find a dozen different cuisines within several blocks. This is definitely one of America’s culinary strengths.

What we don’t like about eating in restaurants in the U.S.: the size of the portions. They often border on the absurd and unhealthy.

What was one of your more challenging eating experiences?

A Ramadan goat feast in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan eating something called five-fingers.

On the lighter and more pleasant side, Dan once ventured into eating bugs in Battambang, Cambodia. He expressed an interest in some locals eating bugs and so they invited him over to share their bag of palmetto bugs and sugar cane juice. Before we knew it, Dan had become an honorary member of the family and we were invited back to their house for a Buddhist wedding blessing family the next day. The bugs weren’t particularly tasty, but the whole experience made up for it. Here’s the full story.

It seems you’ve travelled quite a bit throughout Central and South America. How widely does the cuisine vary region to region? Are there across the board staples owing to geographic location?

When we traveled throughout much of Asia, the cuisine changed noticeably as we crossed borders (e.g., Nepal to India or Thailand to Vietnam). Not so in Latin America - there are a lot of similarities throughout the region, particularly between the sub-regions (e.g., Central American countries vs. Andean South American countries).

In Central America, Guatemala stole the culinary show (note: we did not travel through Mexico so we cannot compare) with local dishes like pepian and delicious street tacos. Homemade corn tortillas were available on almost every corner. Rice and beans were a staple, but you could find other dishes to vary things up. And Guatemala’s Caribbean coast features Garifuna (Afro-Caribbean) favorites such as tapado.

In Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua the cuisine became less varied and relies on tortillas, fried chicken/meats and rice with beans. The sheer quantity of fried food can make the culinary scene seem a little bleak at times. We highlight some of our favorite dishes from Central America, including pupusas and baleadas in our Central American food roundup.

In South America, Andean areas of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia rely mainly on corn, meat and potatoes. It makes sense of course as these products are easily grown - Peru boasts something like 2000 varieties of potatoes! Once you get into Argentina and Chile, you find more steaks, empanadas, pizzas, pastas and other European-influenced Italian-style food.

Without a doubt, the culinary highlight of South America is Peru. While many people know about ceviche, many are not aware of other delightful dishes such as tiradito (raw fish “cooked” with lime with a bit of ginger, chili pepper, and sometimes served with creamed pepper sauces), causa (mashed potatoes stuffed with seafood, avocado and a creamy cocktail sauce), scallops parmesan, rocotta rellano (stuffed hot peppers) and so much more. Peru’s geography encompasses coastal areas (great for seafood), mountain ranges (good for potatoes and other vegetables) and Amazon areas (fantastic fruit), meaning that the selection of ingredients is impressive. More information on Peruvian cuisine.

You frequently mention enjoying wine - hello, oenophiles! Your post on Bolivian wine was so interesting - I’m keeping my eyes out for Bolivia to give Chilean carmenere a run for its money! Any other standout wines you’ve encountered on your travels that you would recommend, if available stateside?

We’re not certain that Bolivian wine is ready to give Chilean carmenere a run for its money, but it was accessible (read: not absurdly expensive like Uruguayan wine-tasting, for example).

During our visit to Argentina, we made a point to visit three major wine regions - Patagonia, Cafayate and Mendoza. Each area had it’s own specialty - Pinot Noir in Patagonia, Torrontes in Cafayate and Malbec in Mendoza. Although Malbec is not our favorite varietal, we found the range of wines available in Mendoza to be the best in Argentina. Argentina also helped us to become more familiar with varietals like Petit Verdot and Bonarda. Though those are often used in blends, we actually enjoyed them in single-varietal bottles. The 2005 Amauta II Cabernet Sauvignon - Merlot blend from El Porvenir vineyards in the Cafayate region is impressive. From Mendoza, check out Carmelo Patti or on the more accessible end of the range, Alta Vista wines. We’ll be doing a multi-part series on tasting and selecting Argentine wines soon, so stay tuned!

I completely agree with you about the versatility of sweetened condensed milk. What’s one of your favorite ways to use it in an everyday way?

When your only choice for coffee each morning is Nescafe powder, condensed milk can really make a difference. When we traveled throughout China, we packed a tube of condensed milk (yes, they have tubes of condensed milk!) and a container of Nescafe. It’s not as sophisticated as Vietnamese or Thai coffee, but it does make Nescafe drinkable. This may gross out coffee connoisseur - and we’d also prefer regular espresso coffee if we had a choice - but this does the trick when you’re desperate.

Magic Bars (or 7-layer bars) — one of whose layers is condensed milk — is a favorite dessert.

Want to know more? Click here for an interview with Daniel and Audrey about their travel photography.

May is Food Allergy Awareness Month.

Last year I wrote Food allergies 101, and my friend Rachel guest posted Eating well with food allergies. I recommend them both if you are interested in learning more about this confusing and often frustrating topic.

This year, Rachel has issued a challenge: Eat a Mile in My Shoes. Pick a food, something in the allergen Top 8 - peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy - and avoid it for an entire week as though you were life-threateningly allergic. Read labels, talk to restaurant staff, do some research. Experience the challenge of what being food-allergic to one food feels like, and gain some perspective. Click through to Rachel’s blog for more info, and if you do decide to take the challenge, I’d love to hear about your experience.

Mark your calendar - this is big news!

On Thursday, May 27 at 7:00 PM, the folks behind Uncornered Market (couple Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott) are coming to Black Mountain Presbyterian Church to share their story about the last exciting 3-4 years of their life. In the last year+, they have traveled to Peru, Bolivia, Antarctica, Thailand, Chile, the Galapagos Islands, Guatemala, Burma, and more. Our area is home to some of their family, so Asheville is doubly lucky that they are stopping by during their time in the States. I can’t wait to hear them speak about their travels. Help get the word out. You don’t want to miss this!

And, in less-big news…

I discovered a new favorite party/potluck dish - bacon-wrapped, cream cheese stuffed Medjool dates! I made 20 of them for our housewarming on Saturday night and they were gone in no time. Sweet, salty, hint of caramel, chewy texture…pairs well with Riesling.

So, I’m moved. We’re moved. I’m still adjusting to the ‘we.’ To everything, really.

Penguin didn’t take long to get settled. It took her a minute to get the hang of the stairs, but once she realized it’s basically her personal play space AND that she can announce her presence by stomping down them, she relaxed.

What I wouldn’t give to be a cat some days.

While Penguin lazes in the sun, I’m over here being exasperated with the harsh reality of an electric stove. I keep telling myself - “But Leigh - you have a full-sized oven now! That cookie sheet you bought six years ago finally fits somewhere!” Then I burn eggs or overcook spinach and feel like an idiot. People used to tell me how intimidated they were by my gas stove, and here I am - stymied by electric. If 9 is boiling, then 6 should be a simmer, right? Wrong. More like 7.75, but only after the water re-boils after adding whatever it is you’re cooking to the water. Stupid numbers. Give me straight-up fire any day.

During the move, as I was breaking down my old kitchen, I realized I wasn’t about to take 200+ word magnets with me. I never messed with them, but friends would, and I’d find cute ditties on the front of my freezer door that made me smile. Some sweet, some inspiring, many downright dirty. I took pictures of the ones that were left so I could remember them.

Here’s one, origin unknown. (If you’re the author, fess up so I can give credit.)
Makes me smile every time.

The new set-up feels awkward. I’ve bumped my hand on the fridge many times reaching for spices that aren’t there. I’ve forgotten about the spices above the stove so often that I now have some duplicates. I’ve had to move things around, merry-go-round fashion, until they fit and feel right. Here. No…here. There. Well, that’s inconvenient. There? Yes.

Two weeks in, I’m mostly familiar with where things are, even if it’s a little strange to me that we have two silverware drawers and not a single junk drawer. We have junk baskets. Don’t ask.

On Cinco de Mayo, I made mango margaritas (yum!) and tried artichokes two ways - one steamed and served with lemon butter, one stuffed with a thyme/carrot/celery/breadcrumb mixture and broiled.

More recently, I made something that began as spinach and chickpea curry, inspired by a straightforward Saveur recipe. It turned into something completely different when I couldn’t find all of my spices. Something completely delicious. I served it over buttered toast, which was the perfect companion for such a textured and savory dish. Simple, hearty, but still light enough not to feel like a weight in your stomach. The edges of the bread staying crunchy, while the middle soaked up the savory sauce. Oh…so good.

Spinach and Chickpeas on Toast (apologies to Saveur - this is way better)
serves 2

Ingredients
1/2 bag frozen spinach or 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
1/2 sweet onion, sliced in thin half moons
2 T butter
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika, hot or sweet (more to taste)
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 14-oz. can tomatoes, undrained
1 14-oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Balsamic or red wine vinegar to taste
Good, thick bread for toasting

Directions
Mix spices together in small bowl and set aside.
Cook spinach using your desired method (I boil in 1/2 cup water for ~ 2 minutes). Drain and squeeze out all excess liquid.
Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Saute onions until translucent.
Add garlic and saute 2 more minutes, until fragrant.
Add tomatoes, chickpeas, spice mixture and water. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper, taste.
Stir in spinach, lemon juice and red wine/balsamic vinegar. Taste.
Turn off heat and set aside, covered.
Make your toast, buttering liberally.
Spoon spinach chickpea mixture over toast, breathe deeply, and enjoy.

At the beginning of April I jetted (well, drove) off to Chicago for a whirlwind indulgent vacation. Upon returning, life flipped upside down as the decision was made to move out of my cozy, adorable apartment and into a two-story townhouse with my boyfriend. If you’re at all curious about my thoughts on that, you can read more about it here.

So.

Moving.

I hate moving.

The second I started packing things into boxes, whether to give away or take with me, I stopped cooking. I made one halfhearted effort last Sunday when I roasted some asparagus and plopped a fried egg on it, calling it dinner. Food has transformed from something I strongly desire and appreciate to a necessity if I’m going to have the energy to pack another damn box. For example…

Things I have eaten in the last 48 hours:

~ kind of bad pad thai
~ really good saffron rice and black beans with sweet potatoes and cabbage made with love by someone else
~ breakfasts at Corner Kitchen and Rise ‘n Shine
~ copious amounts of coffee from wherever I can get it
~ Greek stromboli and a caesar salad from Marco’s
~ several Julie’s Organic ice cream sandwiches
~ chocolate peanut butter Haagen Daaz
~ tortilla chips, salsa, hummus, crackers

Life will likely continue in this vein until next week at the earliest. Happily, I’m moving to a space with an excellent kitchen - decent counter space, lots of cabinets/storage and a full size oven.

What about you? How do your eating habits change when you move? Any suggestions?

Toasted baguette and olive oil

Entrée
Spaghetti carbonara
asparagus, peas, portobello mushroom, seared tuna

2009 Sauvignon Blanc, Cupcake Vineyards, NZ/CA

Dessert
Crepes
Meyer lemon curd, strawberries, powdered sugar, brown sugar, chocolate drizzle

After about the eighth post I saw praising the taste, the texture, the variability, the near sainthood status of kale chips, I reluctantly decided to try them. Why? ‘Cause I love kale. I really love kale with a ton of garlic, lightly sautéed, with a squeeze of lemon. Cooking greens to death is fine for collards, if served alongside some barbeque, but I like my kale barely wilted, eaten from the pan while steaming hot. Kale’s a one trick pony: heat and eat, which is fine by me. Add it to soup, sure, but you’re not going to find me pureeing kale and mixing it into lemonade (looking at you, Greenlife). Given that, I understand the urgent desire of some to elevate kale beyond its humble, reliable role.

Enter kale chips.

To make them, wash and thoroughly dry your kale, emphasis on thorough. Any amount of water on the kale leaves once they hit the oven will complicate the process and the leaves won’t crisp as nicely. Drizzle or spritz with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place in a hot oven (~350°) for 8 minutes or less, remove to the sound of angels singing and the feel of your virtue being restored. Cool briefly, but eat right away.

You’ve seen those Snapea Crisps at the store, right? Those just-as-bad-as-any-other-snack-food posing as something more healthy. They are pretty fun to eat, with a crunch balanced by a hint of salt and vague green taste. But satisfying? Nope. That was my initial impression upon eating a kale chip, “Damn. This tastes exactly like a Snapea Crisp.” Light as air, redeemed only by its pointyness, the kale chips disappeared into my stomach. I kept expecting the taste to improve, but it didn’t. Everything I love about kale, the dense fiber-y texture, the mmm-inducing chewiness, was absent. I probably used more olive oil making the kale chips than I do in sautéing.

At the last, I frowned at the remaining chip. “You’re a disappointment. I’m going back to the old way of eating kale.”
The kale chip said nothing, smug in the way of someone who says, “I’ll just have a salad. Dressing on the side.”

Bitch, please. Have a cupcake.

Thanks to FB @ Fabulously Broke for not drinking the Kale Kool-Aid (Lemonade?) and causing me to question those that have gone before.

As this week unfolded, my hope shifted from cautious to insistent. Spring? Spring! There are trees with buds on them, ready to bloom into a riot of flowers. Daffodills are up, turning their brief, eager faces to the sun. Restaurants are attending to their neglected outside patios, with servers scrubbing, sweeping and rolling up the heavy plastic insulators. People are filling Asheville’s sidewalks again, and the excitement is tangible. After such a long, dreary winter, everyone is ready to put the s-word behind them and get out and about doing spring things.

Here’s what I’m most looking forward to about spring:

~ Farmers’ Markets! - North Asheville Tailgate Market and Asheville City Market open for the season on Saturday, April 17. If you can’t wait that long, Greenlife Grocery is hosting their pre-season tailgate market THIS Sunday, March 28 from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM. They’ll also be sampling goodies, including beers from Pisgah Brewing from 2:00 - 5:00 PM.

~ Spring produce - Green, fresh, bright, local produce - Ramps, asparagus, strawberries, fiddleheads, radishes, delicate spring leeks, arugula and more! The thought of my counter overflowing with green, leafy abundance makes my mouth water.

~ The return of creativity - Spring vibrates with liveliness, encouraging me to put down the butter and focus on ingredients. Thinly sliced radishes, dusted with salt. Roasted asparagus with a fried egg. Strawberry arugula salad, dressed in balsamic vinaigrette and topped with shaved Parmesan.

~ Happy people, sweet babies and friendly dogs - Everyone is ecstatic, and it shows. Bikers zoom along, babies head out with their mommas for walks and dogs on leashes have their noses in the air, wagging excited tails. I can’t walk a block without my face breaking into a grin after passing yet more adorableness or asking to pet a cute puppy. Daww…warm fuzzies, Asheville.

~ White wines and bubbly - The minute the weather warms, I start looking at the other half of the wine list, craving pinot grigio and fantasizing about porch-sitting and rosé drinking. Bellinis and mimosas, too.

~ Ice cream! - The Hop just introduced Mango Balsamic ice cream with some help from Nine Mile. I can’t wait to try it. And, sweet serendipity, they have Salted Caramel ice cream too! Ever since I tried Molly Moon’s Salted Caramel in Seattle, it was love at first bite.

~ Eating outside - Breakfast at Sunny Point, a glass of wine at Sante, dinner at Curra’s, even drinks and dessert at The Admiral…

~ Outdoor events - The Asheville Herb Festival is coming up Friday April 30, Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2. Still two months away, but Downtown After Five returns on Friday, May 21! And mark your calendars now - on Saturday, June 19 and Sunday, June 20 Mountain Farm is hosting a Lavender Festival! Mmm…

What’s got you all “ramped up” about spring?

It was my friend Dan who enlightened me to the difference between short ribs and spare ribs. One blustery night last fall, he called excitedly - he was Braising! Short Ribs! Dinner that night would represent a pinnacle of achievement in terms of the taste : effort ratio.

As he continued on about the ease of braising, how tender the meat becomes, etc., I bit my lip. Dan’s a natural talent in the kitchen, keeper of the world’s best creme brulee recipe, a creative bartender, and a repository of all kinds of useful culinary knowledge. I was about to embarrass myself horribly and lose whatever credibility I’d gained over the last year.

“Dan…?” I said hesitantly. “What are short ribs? Are they like bone-in pork chops?”

To his credit, his silence was brief. The answer came readily, with no laughter behind it. “No! They’re beef - short ribs come from cows. You’re thinking of spare ribs, which come from pigs.”

Short ribs. The conversation stuck in my mind long after it ended. I don’t cook much meat at home, beyond an occasional roasted chicken (Goop style!), meatballs for pasta, or a bit of bacon or pancetta. When a red meat craving hits full force, typically a cheeseburger will satisfy. But something about short ribs appealed to my inner food philosophy, kind of perfectly. In a way, short means little. And a little goes a long way.

Leafing through Bon Appetit a few weeks later, I lighted on the recipe I had to try - Braised Short Ribs with Red Wine Gravy and Swiss Chard. I snipped it and stored it away safely, waiting for the right time.

The right time took its sweet time, but during the last freak snowstorm (please let the snow be over), I was fortunate enough to be housesitting on top of a mountain. And you know how much I love borrowed kitchens. The timing couldn’t have been better - I had just finished reading Tea Austen Weaver’s The Butcher and the Vegetarian, wherein she details her journey through the land of meat, begun for health reasons. In the book, Tea toggles between the observation and the experience of selecting, handling, and cooking meat. I unwrapped the short ribs (Hickory Nut Gap Farm!) from their brown paper package, and an understanding of Tea’s position dawned immediately. The word visceral flashed through my mind as the first challenge presented itself - the short ribs were a slightly longish rib. I hadn’t been paying close attention at the butcher counter and thought that short ribs would come pre-sliced.

Somewhere in Charlotte, Dan is laughing.

I picked the slab of meat up and turned it over, examining it from every angle, pondering my plan of attack. In the end, it became a hack job and I had six rib-like hunks of varying size. Fortunately, when it comes to braising, size doesn’t matter. Braising is ultra low-maintenance and difficult to screw up. All the work is front-loaded, more so if you spread the prep over two days, which I would recommend if you’re making this a weeknight meal. This stands as one of the tastiest meals I’ve made to date, and I’m glad to share it as a success. It’s hearty without the “Ohmigod I just ate a whole cow” feeling. Bonus: Works as a great compromise meal if one person is a meat lover and the other is a meat tolerator.

This recipe is adapted to make 2 servings, the original serves 6. So if you’re cooking for a crowd, just click the link. And if anyone has any advice on cutting up short ribs, please drop me a line.

Braised Short Ribs with Red Wine Gravy, Swiss Chard, and Garlic-Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
adapted from Bon Appetit (October 2009)
serves 2, with minimal leftovers

Ingredients

Short Ribs:
1.5-2 pounds short ribs
Coarse kosher salt
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 cup olive oil, divided (1/8 cup = 2 Tablespoons)
1.5 cups onions, chopped
1.5 cups turnips, peeled and cubed
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
4-5 fresh thyme sprigs
2-3 fresh sage sprigs, or one Tablespoon dried sage
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
4-5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Balsamic vinegar (optional; strongly recommended)

Swiss Chard:
olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 bunch Swiss chard, center ribs removed, leaves cut crosswise into inch-thick ribbons

Garlic-Cheddar Mashed Potatoes:
4-5 Red or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
2-3 Tablespoons butter, cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup whole milk

Directions

Short Ribs
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place ribs on baking sheet; sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Sprinkle flour over; toss to coat.

Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in a large, heavy, wide pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook ribs until browned all over, about 8 minutes per batch. Return ribs to sheet. Wipe out pot.

Add remaining 2 Tablespoons oil to pot. Add onions and next 4 ingredients; cook until tender and slightly browned, stirring often, 10-12 minutes. Add sun-dried tomatoes and next 3 ingredients; stir to coat.

Return ribs to pot, placing atop the vegetables, on sides (vertical/narrow) to fit in single layer. Add wine. Simmer until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Add broth; cover and bring to simmer.

Transfer pot to oven and braise until ribs are tender, about 2 hours. Remove from oven and let stand, covered, 15 minutes. Carefully transfer ribs to large bowl, keeping meat attached to bones if possible (some bones may separate from meat). Remove herb sprigs.

Pass all braising liquid and vegetables through food mill into large bowl; return to pot.

(If you don’t have a food mill, don’t despair! Just use a metal mesh strainer and a big spoon to extract as much of the liquid from the vegetables, then discard vegetables. Gravy won’t be as thick, but it will be just as tasty.)

Spoon fat from surface. Season gravy to taste with salt and pepper and a few drops of balsamic vinegar, if desired. Rewarm gravy. Return ribs to gravy; cover and simmer to rewarm, about 5 minutes.

Dan starts his short ribs the night before, refrigerating them overnight and finishing them in the oven the next night. The standout benefit of that to me is it allows you to easily skim the fat off whatever gravy you make when you take them out of the fridge. Skimming fat from hot liquid is a straight-up pain in the ass.

If you want to finish these the next day, finish the initial braise and make the gravy, then refrigerate uncovered, until cool, then cover overnight. The next night, skim the fat, preheat your oven to 300 degrees and simmer ribs and gravy uncovered for 30 minutes until warmed through.

Swiss Chard
Heat olive oil in large pot or skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; stir 30 seconds. Add half of chard; toss to wilt, adding water by tablespoonfuls if dry, about 1 minute. Add remaining chard. Toss until wilted but bright green, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Garlic-Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt. Add the potatoes and boil until fork tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain the potatoes, add garlic and mash. Add the milk and butter slowly as you mash. Mix in cheddar cheese, add salt and pepper to taste.

Divide ribs among plates. Divide chard among plates. Spoon gravy over ribs and serve, passing remaining gravy alongside.

I used to skip breakfast more mornings than not. An extra-strong cup of coffee would get me through to lunch, if in a jittery way. When I started listening to my body, I heard loud and clear that this was no longer acceptable.

Most days, breakfast is an english muffin, toasted and spread with Earth Balance and peanut butter. Sometimes I treat myself to a blueberry spelt or bran muffin from Greenlife. Much to my dismay, I cannot eat cereal or granola or anything in the morning with milk. Milk in the morning makes me nauseous. Really. No idea why.

So yesterday, I was motivated. I wanted out of my breakfast routine rut. Something different, something homemade. I had plenty of oats. Oatmeal? No, I needed something more texturally substantive…

The first time I made granola bars, I used Alton Brown’s recipe, and they were a gross, disgusting failure. Something over-toasted and lent a brown, gritty taste to the whole batch. Dutifully, I wrapped them individually and brought them to work with me in the morning, but they were far from satisfying. Instantly put off, for a long time I refused to believe that homemade granola was a) easy or b) worth my time. But when I saw Wit and Whistle’s recipe, a lightbulb went off in my head. No toasting? Mix + Bake? I can do that! Portable breakfast? Heck yes.

All you need is a bowl, your hands, and the odds/ends of your pantry. I discovered a few handfuls of pecans and walnuts, plus some coconut and currants.

I had a bar for breakfast this morning and felt fueled up until way past my normal lunchtime. This recipe makes enough for one-two people for a whole work week. Give it a try!

Pantry Raid Granola Bars
makes 9-12 bars
(inspiration due Wit and Whistle)

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup dried currants
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9″ × 13″ baking pan.

To a very large bowl, add oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, salt, nuts, berries and coconut. Mix well with your hands. Make a well in the middle, then add the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Still using your hands, mix well.

Firmly press the mixture into the baking pan. Don’t spread the mixture all the way to one edge of the pan. This makes it easier to scoop out the finished bars. (Best. Tip. Ever!) Bake 25 minutes until the edges are lightly browned. Cool 10-15 minutes, then, while still warm, cut the bars into squares. Store the granola bars in an airtight container, and enjoy.

There are nine ten different kinds of vinegar in my pantry.

Ten.

White distilled vinegar (For egg poaching, general cleaning, etc.)
Apple cider (A go-to acid for most dishes.)
Red wine (Another go-to - but different from apple cider. Truth.)
Balsamic (Unique and earthy - good in tomato sauces.)
White Balsamic (I was curious. Not much different from regular balsamic.)
Pinot Grigio (My ‘fancy’ vinegar - bright and zesty, it’s great in pretty much everything.)
Blueberry Basil (From Blossom Vinegars - so tasty!)
Lemon Dill (also from Blossom)
Malt (for tofu/fish ‘n chips, of course)
Rice (I cook a lot of Asian dishes. It comes in handy.)

Of the 10, the only ones I could do without are the two Blossom vinegars (but they’re fun to have!) and the White Balsamic.

Which leaves me with a rationalized need for 7 different vinegars.

Is this weird?

My laptop has the white screen of death. It’s either static electricity, an excess of cat fur, or my graphics card.

Either way, it is far beyond my ability to fix. So until I get this sorted out, no new posts.

Stay with me! I’ll be back as soon as I can.

Diedra!

Diedra inspired me with a lovely story about her grandma, and a pie crust recipe that I have to try. Diedra, shoot me an e-mail at fullgtilt AT gmail DOT com - we’ll make a date for coffee or I’ll get your address so I can mail off your winnings.

Thanks so much, everyone. Looking forward to another great year!

One year ago today, I dipped my toe into the blogging waters. Part lark, part creative outlet, I originally titled this blog Saffron and Lavender. That name did not begin to hint at any aspect of my personality - mostly joyful, slightly unpredictable, and filled with energy to spare. Didn’t know what I was doing (still don’t), but I knew I wanted to share some part of myself with the world.

75 (!) posts later, all I know is that I want to keep going. Keep sharing, keep learning, keep trying new things. Thanks to each of you, my readers, for your insight, humor and commentary.

Since gift giving is traditional on birthdays and anniversaries, I thought I’d shake things up a bit by doing my first ever giveaway post here at Full Gastronomic Tilt!

Up for grabs, to be given to one lucky local winner selected at random, is a $10 gift certificate to French Broad Chocolate Lounge!*

photo credit Locavoracious Weblog

Who doesn’t love the French Broad Chocolate Lounge?? To enter, just leave a comment on this post with some inspiration: link to or tell me a story about your absolute favorite recipe - ever or of the moment, doesn’t matter. Thread will be open to comments through Saturday, February 20. Winner will be chosen on Sunday, February 21.

A few restrictions:

~ One comment per person, no more. Break the rules, lose your chance.
~ Residents of Western North Carolina only, please. Jill made a good point. Let’s broaden that to two hours from Asheville in either direction, as long as you make it to our fair city occasionally. Statesville to Knoxville, bring it! (Apologies to my respective posses in Raleigh, Brooklyn, Portland and Atlanta.)
~ You must be contactable and willing to either meet me for a cup o’ joe to pick up your winnings or provide me with a mailing address I can send it off to.

Good luck, much love and thank you!!

*Gift bought and paid for with my own hard-earned cash. FBCL did not approach me in any way or provide me with any incentives to do this.
I give because I love…you!

Dinner plans, via text message:

“Have leeks & potatoes. Thinking something rustic/French. Ideas?”
“Gratin! With thyme and carm. onions.”
“Perfect. Gruyère?”
“I’ll get it. Bringing wine, too.”‘

Gratin: n. French origin, from grater (to scratch), typically refers to any dish with a lightly browned top crust of crumbs, butter and/or cheese. A base of potatoes is traditional. (see also: delicious)

Many gratins are heavy and rich. Soaked with cream and liberal amounts of butter, gratins make for a filling dinner on the coldest evenings. I was aiming for something more complex. This gratin allows the individual vegetables to shine through and complement one another, from the delicate butter-sauteed leeks to the densely sweet caramelized onions. Everything soaked up the fresh flavor of the homemade vegetable stock. Topped with a salty cheese layer, browned to perfection, this dish is good!

It should serve up to four….the two of us made it disappear quickly.

Saturday Night Gratin (Samedi soir gratin)
serves 3-4

6-8 Red Bliss or Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed
1 red onion, diced finely
3 leeks, trimmed to white and light green parts, sliced thinly
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) vegetable stock
1/4 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme
1 cup shredded Gruyère
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-low heat. Add the diced red onion to the pan and stir, spreading the onion across the bottom of the pan. Add a pinch of salt and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. They will shrink considerably and turn a deep reddish-brown color. Transfer onions to a prep bowl.

Combine broth and cream. Set aside.

Slice the potatoes thinly (but not too thin!), about 1/4 inch. We left the skins on, but you can peel them if you desire.

In the same pan you prepared the onions in, melt the butter over medium heat. Add leeks, carrot and a pinch of salt. Cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in thyme.

Butter a 9×13 pan and arrange the potatoes in a layer on the bottom. I overlapped them around the outside into the middle. Spread the carrot, leek and thyme mixture over the potatoes, followed by the caramelized red onions and one more layer of potatoes. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and more thyme.

Pour the broth and cream mixture over everything and sprinkle the gruyère on top. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender but not soft.

Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes to brown the cheese.

Serve immediately, with some chewy bread spread with butter.

$25 for a softcover (what I got)
$50 for a hardcover

Interested? You can read more about the journey here and purchase the cookbook here, through the Blurb website.

Also neat: The Canadian government will double all money raised through Friday, February 12, and proceeds go directly to Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross.

One night, it came up that I had never attempted homemade sushi.
“Really?” asked my friend. “It’s so easy. I’ll teach you. The trickiest part is making the rolls, but that comes with practice.”

I was skeptical about the easy part. Many Japanese dishes have a short ingredient list but a long list of steps, as the food is lovingly arranged or incorporated just so for a pleasing aesthetic and surprisingly complex taste. Not hard to make, but involved. Truth be told, I hadn’t given much thought to the creation of sushi prior to that night. My sushi thoughts are reserved for the eating of it, which I do frequently and with gusto.

So one night soon after that conversation, my friend and I set out for the store and gathered all the ingredients we’d need. Back home, I was unsure where to start and waited for some direction.

“How can I help?”
“Hmm…julienne these vegetables, please.”

Red pepper, green pepper, carrot, cucumber. I cut, scooped and sliced until I was surrounded by piles of veggies. Cooked baby shrimp and snow crab legs rounded out our ingredients. I was reminded that I dislike handling raw seafood, but pressed onward with only the lightest shudder. This was going to make a lot of sushi! Meanwhile, my friend busied himself with making nishiki rice, a specific variety of on-the-short-side-of-medium grain rice that lends itself perfectly to sushi, becoming plump and sticky when cooked. After the rice finished cooking, he dumped it into a large bowl and let it cool slightly before making slashes in the rice and dribbling in a goodly amount of seasoned rice vinegar, then folding it in with a wooden rice paddle.

“Okay. Do you have the mat?”
I did. I made room on a countertop, setting out the mat and the sheets of nori.
He turned around, reaching for the veggies…and stopped.
“What? What is it?”
“…Nothing.” He picked up my knife and started re-julienning all of the vegetables I had so neatly cut minutes ago.
I sighed, frustrated. I reminded him I had never done this before. If it was imperative the vegetables be sliced that finely, why didn’t he say something?
He turned around and smiled, not taking my bait for the sort of argument that only happens when two foodies (each with their own well-developed approach and rituals) cook together.
Instead…”When you’re making sushi with this many fillings, each has to be sliced pretty finely so it doesn’t make the roll too large. If it’s too large, it will fall apart.” Oh. Right.
Specificity.

At last, it was time to roll. I watched as my friend laid a sheet of nori on top of the bamboo mat, rough side up. Did you know nori sheets have a shiny side and a rough side? I didn’t. Rice always goes on the rough side, as I soon learned. Shiny side out makes for a more attractive presentation. He scooped some rice out of the bowl with the rice paddle and, turning the paddle over, began to spread the rice. Shiny side, rough side. Front of the paddle for scooping, back of the paddle for spreading. Specificity.

He placed the vegetables in a line along the edge - alternating and layering up as he went. The shrimp (sliced) and the crab (shredded) went on top. Then, lifting up the bamboo mat and pressing firmly, he confidently rolled the sushi tight.

(How crazy neat is this picture?)

Moving the roll to a plate, he wet the edge of the seaweed and pressed down to make a firm seal. Taking a knife with the tip dipped in the water, he sliced up the roll, and circles of perfect sushi appeared.

I was impressed. My turn didn’t go nearly as well. As effortless as he made it look, it was challenging to roll the sushi. At one point, I confess I wanted to fling the sushi mat across the room. My sushi was more oblong than spherical. But I did it! Now I have a better understanding why there are chefs out there completely devoted to the art of sushi and have even more appreciation for those beautifully presented rolls I get at Wasabi and Zen Sushi.

Have you made sushi? How many tries did it take before you got the rolling part down? If you do make it at home, does it diminish your desire to go out for sushi? My inquiring mind wants to know!

Speaking of inquiring, do you have a burning question for me? Ask away, anonymously, at my Formspring page.

A little over three years ago, Mark Bittman, via Jim Lahey, turned the bread baking world on its ear and gave it an impolite finger (I’ll let you imagine which one). Bittman’s New York Times column, The Minimalist, published “The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work” and included a recipe for No-Knead Bread. This was about the time the food-blogging world started to grow exponentially, so everyone and their mother tried this technique. And whaddaya know, it actually worked.

Now, before you wince and turn away to comfort your bread machine or indignantly defend your kneading abilities…hear me out. No-Knead Bread may not be for everyone, but it certainly works for me.

Why I Like No-Knead Bread:

1. Prior to trying no-knead, I was afraid of yeast. Baking chemistry freaks me out. So precise, with many things that can go wrong. I hate the thought of abject failure, even though it’s an integral part of the learning process.

2. I still fear kneading, perhaps irrationally. This gives me something to work up to.

3. It’s easy, but not without thought. Three ingredients and time, that’s all you need! Mix, stir, rise. Flop, fold, sit. Add cornmeal. Let rise again. Slide into pot, bake. Remove lid. Bake some more ’til brown.

4. You can make it in or on practically anything. I used an 8-quart Lodge cast iron dutch oven and it worked beautifully. I’ve heard you can also flop it on a pizza stone. Just be sure to warm up your surface in the oven as you are pre-heating!

5. It makes neat crackling sounds as it cools. Perhaps all bread does this. I have no idea.

6. It’s my favorite kind of bread. Crunchy, chewy crust, speckled inside with lots of air pockets, made for lots of butter. I find it sooo satisfying.

Check this out:

The Original No-Knead Bread
makes one 1½-pound loaf
shamelessly reprinted in full from the NYT website
(Hey, who knows how long they will continue to have older posts available for free? Death of print, pay-per-view, advent of the iPad, all that?)

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack. Cool completely to room temperature before cutting!

So, a few notes:

This dough is sticky! You can kind of tell from looking at the above picture, taken after I dumped the dough onto the counter. It can be a little challenging to work with, but as long as you lightly (I said lightly!) flour your hands, you should be okay. The below picture is immediately before the second rise. As directed, I shaped the dough into a ball, which is a (fruitless but not pointless) battle. Don’t expect a perfect sphere, more like a flattish oblong. This is totally okay. Just move quickly and use a LOT of cornmeal on the towel and all over the top. I’ve made this exact recipe twice. Once a year ago and once yesterday. Both times resulted in a tasty loaf. Crackly outside, nubbly from the cornmeal, springy inside texture. Whether you’re a bread-baking novice like me, or just pressed for time, No-Knead Bread is worth it.

Of course, an easy, inexpensive recipe resulting in homemade bread in no time at all was just the beginning. As the recipe made its way around the blogosphere, no-knead bread started getting fiddled with and adapted. Below is a small sampling of the many, many experiments bravely attempted:

* Steamy Kitchen makes Rose Levy Beranbaum’s adaptation, with success (and zero effort - she had her 4-year old make it!)

* Mark Bittman made No-Knead Bread even faster, two years later. And this is where my foolproof caveat comes in. I tried this recipe after my first no-knead success and it was a total disaster. The dough stayed goopy, impossible to shape and it baked up terribly. Should try it again.

* The Pink Peppercorn makes a cinnamon-raisin version! Yum!

* In 2007, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day was published, to rave reviews, further increasing the popularity of no-knead bread. No-knead challah? Yes, please.

* More recently, The Kitchn hacks No-Knead Bread to make a sandwich loaf!

One additional note: Due to the extended rise (12-18 hours), you do have to think ahead a little. I started this loaf on Friday evening around 7:00 PM. Fresh bread was cooling on the counter by 12:30 Saturday afternoon. Remember that the second rise takes about 2 hours. I’d advise starting it on a weekend evening, Friday or Saturday, but feel free to make it suit your schedule.

Flip. flip. Flipflip. flip. Cookbook after cookbook. I had agreed to whip something up for a 10 person gathering - mostly vegetarians, one vegan, one gluten allergy. I thought something hearty, warming and fulfilling would be appropriate before extended discussion involving, among other things, community building.

What’s more communal than soup? What’s more friendly, vegan and gluten-free than lentils? Just as Laurie Colwin says - there are hundreds of ways to make lentil soup, and they’re all good.

Dish decided, I pondered strategy. My beloved Red Lentil Soup with Carrot and Coconut Milk seemed fussy, so I nixed it. Hmm…my recipe binder had a rather good, straightforward lentil soup recipe. But Casual Kitchen’s Easiest Lentil Soup caught my eye - whole cloves? In the end, I went with my recipe (included at the end), but tossed the cloves in as a lark. The effect was subtle but noticeable, an undertone of sweet warmth. Happily, the soup was met with raves, served with gluten-free cornbread, sesame kale and a spinach salad. I always forget about cornbread - so delicious spread with butter or Earth Balance, a fabulous complement to hearty soups.

Remember: Soup makes people happy. Unless they aren’t soup people. (”I just made a huge pot of fragrant, rich, zuppa toscana! It has BACON in it. Why aren’t you grinning from ear to ear and gripped with ecstasy? Sigh. Here, have some chicken.” True story.) Heathens.

Less than a week later, I discovered a glass jar of (I think) duPuy lentils. Small, dark, almost blue-green in color. Beautiful. Time to try a recipe that’s been kicking around in the back of my brain and making noise, mujadara.

Pronounced Moo-jzah-dra and not moo-jah-dara, it has just three ingredients: lentils, onions and half a cup of basmati rice. Dead simple. The only unique aspect of this dish is that the onions are finely diced and caramelized. Mujadara is RIDICULOUSLY delicious. I used Orangette’s recipe, because Molly’s blog introduced me to this dish, years ago. There are tons of variations on this dish out there, as it is a Middle Eastern staple. Some cautioned against using duPuy lentils, but I found they retained their shape and texture much better than green lentils. Phooey to them.

Why, why, why did I hold off making mujadara for so long (almost three years)? Because I was a doubting Thomas. There was no way a three ingredient dish could be that tasty. I was wrong. Please don’t make the same mistake. Serve it with a generous squeeze of lemon and a bit of salt. I lightly sauteed some baby spinach and stirred it in at the end. Yum. This dish will get you through to spring, I promise.

Lentil soup, a pantry dish if there ever was one
(original inspiration due Giada De Laurentiis)
serves 8-10

Ingredients

5 cups vegetable broth
5 cups water
1 3/4 cups green lentils
1-2 T olive oil
2 sweet or yellow onions, large dice
1 28-ounce can diced or crushed tomatoes
4 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
4 carrots, diced
4 garlic cloves, pressed
6 whole cloves
3 sprigs fresh thyme (~2 tsps dried)
2 bay leaves
at least 1 tsp salt
lots of black pepper
up to 1/4 cup cider vinegar and/or lemon juice
Parmesan cheese, optional

(More options, you say? Add white wine, balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes, sausage, spinach….)

Directions

Heat the oil in a very large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and saute until softened, about 8 minutes.
Add the garlic and saute 1-2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes with their juices and simmer about 5 minutes.
Add the lentils, water/broth mixture, bay, thyme, whole cloves, stir it up and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes -1 hour.
Add salt, pepper, 2 Tablespoons of cider vinegar and the juice from one wedge of lemon. Stir, taste and adjust as your palate desires. I needed more salt and more lemon, but your mileage may vary.
Sprinkle with Parmesan if you like.

Serve to a hungry crowd!

That’s New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey for you non-Yankees.
I am cautiously optimistic, but with high expectations.

Though I’ve not had the opportunity to eat at Savoy, I’m familiar with Scheffer’s focus on flavor and creative approach to upscale dining. Among other ventures, he developed the uniquely marketed New York Jew wine. But how challenging will it be to transition a restaurant with nearly a decade-long track record of being both phenomenal and phenomenally expensive to one that’s affordable and drop-in casual? The Citizen-Times article mentions that entrées at Vinnie’s will be $22 and less. On Savoy’s current dinner menu, entrées range between $16-26, small plates (no doubt a recent addition) between $4-9. A $4 decrease in the upper tier of the entrée selection isn’t very much. Will the median entrée price at Vinnie’s be below $16? Granted, it was mentioned that pasta will be between $10-14, but will it be designed as a primi course or suitable for an entrée? We will see…

Anyone who knows me knows how I’ve longed for a true Italian joint. Asheville overflows with upscale Italian (Fiore’s, Vincenzo’s, Pomodoro’s, Cucina 24) and pizza (Digable, APB, Marco’s, Nona Mia’s, Circle in the Square). While Marco’s satisfies the red gravy urge to an extent, their focus is pizza and it is what they do best. While the food is good, Nona Mia’s is frequently busy, loud and due to its location, more destination than neighborhood. There’s Eddie Spaghetti…they have the right idea, but the quality is just not there. Iannucchi’s is pretty good, but a bit too far away for me to be a regular.

When I think corner Italian, I think of my favorite restaurants from up north: Elegante’s, Two Guys, Arcaro and Genell’s, Cafe Rinaldi, Revello’s…I could go on and on. What these places have in common are GREAT sauces with fresh ingredients, large portions, fresh (and free) crusty, chewy bread with butter and what can only be described as the feel - cozy, unpretentious, maybe not always the greatest service, a subtle encouragement to linger and a check that makes you think ‘Hey, I could be a regular here.’ You don’t need to have a special occasion to eat there, but they’ll certainly accommodate one. Oh, and they always have cannolis. Made with ricotta, studded with chocolate chips and dusted with confectioner’s sugar, the way God intended.

I can only hope that this is the direction Scheffer is thinking of taking.

If you’re curious about Savoy, Asheville Foodie has a post which reprints Savoy’s history in full from its website.

Speaking of foodie, the word itself came under heated debate earlier this week over at Serious Eats and The Kitchn. People argue that the f word has a cutesy connotation, is pretentious, imprecise, implies too much responsibility and is overused and misapplied.

All of these things are true.

Humans make a habit of classifying, overgeneralizing and pigeonholing things. But it’s also just a word. I don’t mind it so much, as I find it convenient for distinguishing between persons with different perspectives about food, which could in itself be considered snobbish or classist.

I’m reminded of a discussion about the labels which define us. Everyone identifies as something to someone - mother, sister, friend, book lover, student, foodie.

What do you think? Is foodie past its prime? What word would you use to describe yourself?

I started this blog in 2009, which I still feel was a crazy thing to do. But it has been a lot of fun (thanks, guys!), and I’m keeping it going in 2010. I’m taking the spring off from grad school and want to use the free time to do more in-depth posts, perhaps with a bit of research and footwork thrown in for good measure. We’ll see.

For me, 2009 was the year of two simple ingredients I had never cooked with before, and are now staples in my pantry: quinoa and risotto. Relatively quick-cooking and with endless variations, I’m glad to have them both in my repertoire.

2009 was the year I cozied up to the humble egg, after discovering some of the best-tasting eggs in the world. I made buttery fried eggs, deviled eggs, omelets and perfectly fluffy scrambled eggs at every opportunity.

2009 was the year I went from 4 cookbooks to 17, heaven help me.

2009 was the year this dairy lover started doing some vegan cooking and surprised even herself.

2009 was the year I realized that ponzu, dijon mustard and coconut milk qualify as staples in my book.

2009 was the year I picked up a DSLR and started learning about photography, with a little help from my friends.

The best meal of 2009? The stellar, seemingly endless, sustainable sushi dinner at Bamboo in Portland, Oregon with nine friends.

Some of the best things I cooked never made it into the blog - pad thai and gai tom kha among them. And chilaquiles from Almost Meatless, which are easy and oh my gosh delicious.

Baking is still a secondary craft for me. I baked bread a total of twice and need to do it more. Made at least three failed batches of muffins, but my quick breads were tasty and reliable. I made scones and discovered I have a talent for it. My favorite cookies are still Heidi’s triple-ginger, followed closely by my white chocolate cherry oatmeal.

As far as drinks go, I’m lucky to have several amateur mixologist friends, because I am no bartender. If I had to choose a favorite drink from this year, I’d stick to that 2006 Folie a Deux Cabernet Sauvignon. Yum.

For New Year’s Eve, I made my first multi-course dinner for friends. Simple, delicious dishes: my spinach-artichoke dip (will share soon!), a salad with sliced pear, gorganzola, dried cranberries and toasted pecans, smitten kitchen’s mushroom bourguignon, and sorbet for dessert. It was terrific, hitchless and a milestone for me.

2010 will be a year in which I stretch. Short ribs are on my list, as are crepes. Puff pastry and phyllo dough. More yeast-raised doughs. More buttermilk. I will go back to Cucina 24. I will try Nepalese food and continue to lobby the gods for a pho place in Asheville.

And one more thing - I’m going to figure out how to change that banner up at the top.

How exciting.

Ha! Little did we know…

One weekend, we gathered our baking arsenal and set to work. One thing led to another, and I had to duck out early. We managed to whip up the dough for Martha’s Chocolate Gingerbread cookies, as well as some jelly thumbprints and almond crescents.

We’ll just let this dough rest overnight and come back to it in the morning. No problem.
Flattened into discs, wrapped in saran wrap, the dough sat.
For a week.

Oh, life.

And so we came back to our dough the next weekend, having complete faith that everything would turn out as promised. What we got was a now-obvious lesson in food chemistry and common sense.

Lesson #1: Baking even one batch of cookies is a serious undertaking with a wide berth for error. Baking 4-6 batches with the intent to parcel and deliver is madness.

It also cannot be achieved in one or even two days if you have anything remotely resembling a chaotic life.
Unless you are Martha Stewart. Or my mom.

Lesson #2: If you are attempting, for the first time, your mom’s tried & true, 40-year-old, 2 sticks of butter, tricky as hell almond crescent cookie recipe that she makes look effortless year after year, acknowledge that you must, must, must follow the recipe exactly, NO substitutions.

Except for that part about dipping the cookie in the chocolate. Whatever.

The crescents turned out okay, but were nowhere near the apex of flaky, buttery, melt in your mouth with a bit of crunch awesomeness that I was aiming for.

These jelly thumbprints? Beautiful picture, awful taste. The dough had a few Tablespoons of milk in it. Left for a week, well…by the time I baked them there was a sour note to them. I couldn’t justify feeding those cookies to my cat. And the jelly was a lingonberry jam. Great idea in principle, but a sweeter jam is needed to balance out the not too sweet cookie.

Lesson #3: Dough rests overnight so fats can emulsfy, gettin’ right with God down to some tasty business when they go in the oven. Dough resting for a week creates new lifeforms.

It over-emulsifies, leading to a sticky chocolatey gingerbread mess of goo. Still sorta tasty, really ugly.

After the first batch came out of the oven looking so frightening, Nikki cut her losses and busied herself flinging the rest of the gingerbread dough balls into the trash. Exactly as fun as it looks.

Lesson #4: By the time you bake, cool, taste and/or wreck five batches of cookies in an afternoon, you will never want to look at a cookie ever again.

Except for Heidi’s Triple-Ginger Cookies. Cookie Hall of Fame right there. Last batch of the day. Healthiest recipe of the bunch. Of course they came out perfectly.

These green-tea shortbreads were tasty. Except we ran out of green tea powder. So we ground up some green tea in a spice grinder. NOT THE SAME THING. I mean, it is the same thing, except…

I don’t know. Didn’t work. NEED MATCHA!

All in all, a great lesson learned, blah blah blah.
Kinda bummed about the epic disaster this became.
Then again…

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. ~Albert Einstein

Sorry folks. No cookies in the mail this year. Maybe in January.

I stumbled on this recipe while flipping though a friend’s copy of Bon Appetit. It caught my eye because of the ras-el-hanout, which I am still trying to use. This dish has a…simple elegance to it. The sauce is a little sweet, a little tangy, a little rich, a little ‘what’s that?’ - not too much anything. The figs, bland straight out of the fridge, plumped a bit in the sauce and were a nice compliment. Could be a weeknight meal, or something a bit more special. I made it as a ‘last meal’ for a friend who is moving away from Asheville and it was just right.

A few notes:

~ I swear by the brining and marinade method for chicken breasts/thighs. It makes them juicy and tender, ready to soak up whatever sauce you create.

~ Couscous was the suggested pairing for the chicken. Alas, my Israeli couscous was nowhere to be found when I opened (uh, tore apart) my pantry cabinet. Basmati rice with butter and a squirt of lemon juice worked just fine.

~ Sauces are my kryptonite. The concept of reduction gives me fits and I hover neurotically over the saucepan. Then, the moment I turn around, the sauce threatens to scorch on me. Shockingly, this one turned out okay, but any sauce-related advice would be greatly appreciated.

Chicken with Figs in Ras-El-Hanout
adapted from Bon Appetit, September 2009

serves 6

Ingredients

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound carrots, peeled, chopped into fourths
4 large shallots, peeled, halved
3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme
juice from half a lemon
2 tablespoons ras-el-hanout
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup dry white wine
14 Brown Turkey figs, halved
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
grain of your choice, cooked simply

Directions

The night before:
Brine chicken in a solution of 1/4 cup kosher salt dissolved in 1 quart warm water for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from brine and rinse well. Marinate chicken in olive oil and 1/4 cup lemon juice overnight.

The night of:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Transfer chicken to skillet and sear until nicely browned, 5 to 6 minutes per side.

Remove chicken from skillet and place in high-sided roasting dish. Set aside.

To the skillet, add carrots, shallots, garlic, thyme, lemon juice, ras-el-hanout, chicken broth, white wine, and remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil to skillet. Bring to boil and whisk. Pour mixture over chicken in roasting pan.

Cover with lid or foil; place in oven. Braise 1 hour, until tender.

Transfer chicken, carrots, and shallots to baking sheet; discard garlic. Pour pan juices back into nonstick skillet. Spoon off fat from surface. Boil juices until reduced to 1 3/4 cups, whisking occasionally, about 18 minutes.

Add figs and vinegar; cook until figs are just heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Place cooked grain of choice on large plate. Top with chicken, vegetables, and figs. Spoon sauce over chicken and figs. Enjoy immediately.

Then, this morning, I strained some homemade chicken stock into a glass jar and some into an ice cube tray. I had just enough left over that I thought I’d heat it up and have a warm cuppa chicken tea for breakfast. Nutritious, savory…you know.

I walked into my bedroom to iron a shirt. 10 minutes later…my kitchen was a little smoky and smelled oddly of pad thai. I had turned the burner to HIGH without thinking and it boiled the stock away and scorched the pan.

Sigh.

Stay tuned for this weekend’s holiday cookie adventure.

Let’s face it - task completion is awesome. Who hasn’t, at some point in time, written something on their to-do list that’s already been done, just so they can cross it off and feel a small rush of accomplished satisfaction?

In that spirit, and with the knowledge that I’ve picked up a few readers here and there who have not been following along since the beginning, I give you 10 posts - half recipes, half essays (some are photo essays, some are words) - from this blog. A top 10 list of sorts. The recipes are all dishes I made for the first time this year. Some I’ve made many times since, some are overdue for making again. The essays are a reflection of how I see and interact with the world…

Everything in the universe is a pitcher brimming with wisdom and beauty. ~ Rumi

Recipes

Pierogi - The recipe that started it all.
Much obliged, Twitter: Shepherd’s Pie - Oh, the things you can do with mashed potatoes. I had no idea.
Asparagus and Caramelized Onion Risotto - Risotto and caramelized onions by themselves are more than worth the time it takes to make them. Together? Heaven.
Blackberry Buttermilk Ice Cream - a) You do not need an ice cream maker to make ice cream. b) Photo composition is fun.
Superlative Chocolate Mint Pudding - What else do you need to know?

Essays

A Borrowed Kitchen
Arugula-Eating Liberals
Tomatoes and Cupcakes
Food Allergies 101
Contemplating Summer

Thanks for reading.

Listening: Toubab Krewe, Live at the Orange Peel
(A favorite)

Vegan crab cakes. Ponder that for a second. Consider also the fact that Vegenaise tastes enough like mayo to fool even the most hardened sandwich spread devotee. Which I am not. But if I were, I’d be converted.

Vegans are a creative bunch. I mean, they have to be - given the no meat, no dairy, no animal byproduct tenets of their culinary religion. Years ago, in college, like so many meat eaters humans - I scorned what I didn’t understand. No cheese?! Nutritional yeast? Sounds like something I don’t want to put in my body, nutritional claims aside. I saw veganism as a disruption of the natural order of things.

I now realize I had that backwards.

The older I get, the less meat I eat. These days it’s once or twice a week max, often less. I’m choosy about the types of meat I put into my body and how much of it I eat at a time. (as local as possible with vetted humane practices and no more than 4-6 ounces)

But I do eat meat. And I enjoy it.

I’ve read The Food Revolution (strongly recommend), Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (ditto) and two of the Pollan books (first half of Omnivore’s Dilemma is a good read, In Defense of Food gets a resounding meh. Do not recommend. The tagline is the gist of it - Eat. Not too much. Mostly plants. Common sense stuff). I’ve thought long and hard about why I eat meat - and I accept it. I could give up eating meat tomorrow and miss very little. While that may eventually happen, today…I like having the choice.

Anyway. I have more vegan/vegetarian cookbooks in my kitchen than any other type. The ingredient choice and recipe creativity can be counted on to stimulate me into trying something new, a little different, perhaps even a bit out of my comfort zone. I’m reminded that there are uses for nutritional yeast and Bragg’s beyond sprinkling on popcorn, that most anything calling for red wine vinegar AND tamari is quite tasty, and that tempeh is not just a brick of texturally odd, tasteless protein.

This brings me to Isa Chandra Moskowitz, whose cookbooks I don’t actually own. This will soon change, because I do lust for them…particularly Vegan With A Vengeance, Veganomicon and Vegan Brunch. Her punk rock DIY aesthetic and honesty speak to me on a level I can’t easily get to with cookbooks, which I deeply appreciate.

Long way around the kitchen table, I found myself in a position to make brunch one weekend morning. I’m known to fall back on staples at breakfast time when I’m cooking - omelets, french toast, tofu scramble, fresh fruit, juice, coffee, mimosas if I’m feeling perky. Sick of the staples, I wanted to make something NEW.

Enter the Post Punk Kitchen, the blog of Isa Chandra Moskowitz herself. I had Googled Vegan Brunch, because the name of the cookbook was all I could recall and I thought perhaps some lucky blogger had scored a recipe to share. Look no further than the source. This ‘teaser’ recipe did its job supremely well. Vegan Brunch will be mine!

The recipe is not difficult or all that time intensive, but it is intentional. You first have to boil/steam the tempeh to alter the textural composition (did I just use a variant of texture twice in four paragraphs? yeah, I did…), then let it cool before you form the cakes so they stay together. No Old Bay here, but you don’t even miss it thanks to a neat blend of ginger, oregano, mustard, hot sauce and nori.

And the Vegenaise. Yumwow. Give these cakes a try. Loads easier than cracking some over-fished, unsustainable crab or dealing with the fishiness on your hands or picking pesky bones out of your lunch.

Recipe here.

Squash! Squash, squash, squash! Pumpkin, acorn, spaghetti, winter squash and kombucha! You can bake it, cook it, steam it, make it sweet or make it savory. Squash helps us survive the chilly fall and cold winter, reminding us that everything has a season (turn, turn, turn). And (surprise)…squash is healthy and packed with lots of good stuff.

Hooray squash!

What brings us here today: In the past, I’ve tried to make two variants of chocolate chip muffins, one with banana and one with pumpkin. With each attempt, I was reminded that I lack the right equipment. The muffin tin I have is all wrong. Lined or unlined, sprayed or unsprayed, my muffins always turn out sticky or a crumbly mess.

I’ve sworn off muffins until I can invest in a proper tin.

Which brings us to cake. Cake, I can make. Sheet cake, bundt cake….we are friends who understand each other.

I say: bake what you know.

Before I share this terrific recipe, I want to sincerely thank the creator: Joanne Choi of Week of Menus, who was kind enough to allow me to repost it so soon after she made it. Joanne is a wonderful cook with lots of great ideas. Check her out!

Joanne is right. This cake is so much better the next day. Try and you’ll see.

Two significant changes that I made to this recipe are that I subbed in whole wheat pastry flour in the topping and part of the cake and I also omitted a 1/4 cup of the white sugar. My spice profile is different as well - more cinnamon, significantly less clove. That’s just a personal preference. I love cinnamon with pumpkin anything. I used fresh instead of ground ginger, which made for a subtle yet noticeable difference. I also cut back on the amount of chocolate chips used - I wanted the pumpkin to stand out a bit more. If you’re a chocoholic, feel free to include them.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
adapted from Joanne Choi at Week of Menus

Serves 12 (at least!)

Ingredients

Topping:
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 stick (4 T) unsalted butter (cut into small pieces, at room temperature)
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger (or fresh!)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2-3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli semi-sweet)

Cake:
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 T) unsalted butter room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 15-ounce can of pumpkin

Directions

First, preheat your over to 375 degrees, then butter and flour your baking receptacle - I used an 11 x 8.5 x 2-inch baking dish and it worked great.

Next, prepare your topping. In a small bowl, combine the flour, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and salt. With your fingertips, mix until the consistency of breadcrumbs. Add in the chocolate chips and set aside.

Then, sift 2 cups of flour, baking powder, and the salt into a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and the entire can of pumpkin.

Gradually add in the dry mixture. With a wooden spoon, stir to mix until just blended.

Note of caution before this next step: batter *is* a little sticky! Spread half of the batter into the bottom of the pan. Over the batter, sprinkle half the topping mixture. Spread or drop the remaining batter on top. Sprinkle the rest of the topping evenly over batter.

Bake for 40 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out clean and topping is evenly browned

Cool completely and serve at room temperature. (Better the next day!)

“Where can I find meringue powder in Asheville?”

Dude, I have no idea. I don’t even know what meringue powder is.
…or do I? Meringue is pretty much egg whites whipped with a bit of sugar, right? So would it then be logical to conclude that meringue powder is powdered egg whites?

Let’s ask Google….

(Logic win!) WiseGeek has the answer:

Meringue powder is a pasteurized egg product which is designed to replace beaten egg whites in recipes. The primary advantage of meringue powder is that since it is pasteurized, it does not contain potential sources of food borne illness such as salmonella. This trait makes it ideal for recipes which call for uncooked egg whites. Many baking supply stores sell meringue powder, and it can sometimes also be found at more general markets.

…It is also important to stress the fact that meringue powder is not a replacement for eggs in recipes, merely for beaten egg whites, and it may be helpful to know that despite the name, meringue powder does not actually make very good meringue.

So…it’s an over processed food product designed to allay people’s fears of salmonella and food-borne illness? You can just as easily save the time you’ve probably spent looking for this somewhat obscure ingredient by buying local pastured eggs from a farmer you trust. If you’re determined to find the stuff, I don’t know what to tell you. To my knowledge, Asheville does not have a specialty baking supply store. Good luck!

Another search that caught my eye was “Paris Bakery closed 2009″ - can anyone confirm this? Paris Bakery is still open at the far north end of Merrimon, past Marco’s as far as I’m aware. I hope they haven’t closed - it’s the only place you can get a good almond croissant around here! And those little fruit tarts are so good! Oddly, Paris Bakery has terrible coffee, but I don’t hold that against them.

13-hour days don’t lend themselves to involved cooking. Especially when watching the latest episode of House on Hulu takes significant precedence over fueling your body.

I know, I know. Based on my last post you’d think that I always make feeding myself a priority.
My caveat: after 9 PM.

If I’m just getting home at 9 PM or later on a weekday, I’m doing one of two things:

1. Drinking my dinner (A glass of wine, people), then going the hell to bed like a reasonable person.

OR

2. Foraging for leftovers.

Tonight was different.

I knew the lemons on my counter weren’t going to last much longer.
I knew Date Night was tomorrow night.
I knew Halloween Weekend would not translate to cooking and eating IN.

I wanted to make Red Lentil Soup with Lemon but couldn’t find my tomato paste. My second choice was Melissa’s Lemon Lentils with Kale, Cumin and Tumeric, but I lacked kale and turmeric.

Punting seemed my only choice.

So I dug into my spice cabinet and found some Syrian Za’atar, unopened, from my trip out west.
Do it, my inner punk whispered.

I did it.

Good choice. Za’atar, like most Middle Eastern spices, varies based on who is putting the spice together, but you can feel reasonably assured that Za’atar contains oregano (savory), sumac (bitter/tart) and sesame.

After sauteeing some onion, garlic, carrot and celery together, I added a cup of red lentils, 3 cups of water, some salt, paprika, more garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and 2 Tablespoons Za’atar. Simmer for an hour-ish and serve over rice. Success! The sumac imparted a tangy taste that the lemon juice and the red wine complemented.

Delicious and different. Try it. Asheville has a new spice shop, you know. They might even have some Za’atar.

I hear this refrain a lot from friends and colleagues.

Granted, we are a busy bunch: young professionals, moms of one, two or even four (!), musicians, artists, writers, comic-ers, teachers, undergraduate and graduate students knee-deep in thesis authordom, volunteers and overall world-changers. We rush from meeting to project to networking event to class to home, where we grab a few winks if we’re lucky. Weekends are spent socializing, soaking up the amazing natural beauty and indulging in creative pursuits. Come Monday, the cycle begins anew.

With the understanding that I cannot possibly ensure that the entire internet eats regularly, here is my short list of snacky things I keep on hand/in rotation at all times. I am definitely in the three meals a day plus frequent snacks and lots of water camp.

- Tamari almonds (or any nuts for that matter…so good for you)
- apples (mmm…Honeycrisp)
- dried tart cherries or cranberries
- a bar of good 70%+ dark chocolate
- Vinta crackers, sharp cheddar cheese and hummus (I LOVElovelove Flying Frog’s Roasted Red Pepper hummus)
- hard-boiled eggs
- good, strong, dark coffee (Larry’s Beans Frank Sumatra or anything by Stumptown Coffee Roasters) for the morning and class nights
- tea (I love Yogi Green Tea with Kombucha) for the afternoon, stuffed in my desk drawer
- Soup (I keep Thai Kitchen Lemongrass and Chili noodles and packets of instant miso on hand)
- Avocados (slice, sprinkle with salt and some lemon - quick, filling, healthy fat)
- occasionally, Twizzlers (my one concession to empty calories - we all have a vice!)

What sorts of foods do you keep on hand to stay focused/stave off an afternoon blood sugar drop?

This began as me wanting to make the mother of all pizzas - roasted red peppers, swiss chard and smoked goat cheese. I got as far as making the pizza dough before my plans shifted, as they too often do. The dough went into the freezer and I promptly forgot about it.

During this past weekend’s clean out of the pantry/fridge/freezer, I found two links of andouille sausage and a bag of frozen spinach next to the dough. Ooh. Calzones instantly sprang to mind and I pulled out the dough to defrost.

Oh yum. Little make-ahead pockets of deliciousness. (see also: pierogi, Bryant Terry’s Jamaican Veggie Patties)
I have a thing for food that comes in its own package. Empanadas, calzones, burritos. Love them all. And making them is serious fun.

Calzones are simple. Dough + filling + 450 degree oven for 25 minutes. You can pull dinner together in less than an hour, especially if you have some pizza dough handy.

Deb’s pizza dough is my go-to recipe. It’s slightly sweet, crunchy, flavorful. If you love crust like I do, make 1.5 times the recipe.

For the calzone filling, I mixed together:

- the sausage, sliced into 1/4 inch half moons
- the cooked, drained spinach, an egg and a can of diced tomatoes, also drained
- one Tablespoon each thyme and oregano, plus one teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper
- approximately one cup each part-skim ricotta and mozzarella

Ever wondered what the difference between a stromboli and a calzone is?

1. Calzones are shaped like a triangle or half-moon. Strombolis are rolled or shaped into a rectangle.
2. Calzones have ricotta AND mozzarella. Strombolis are mozzarella only.

Now you know. (Source here.)
Pepperoni bread is another story.

Originally I called these spinach-ricotta calzones with sausage, but if all calzones have ricotta, that’s kind of redundant, right?

I traced a soup bowl on some parchment paper and made six dough balls. Roll them out (aside: I use a paper towel holder - can you believe I don’t own a rolling pin?), stuff, wet the edges and seal, press with a fork and (this is important!) cut three slits vertically through the calzone to let air escape. Brush the top of the calzone with olive oil or beaten egg and bake for 25 minutes (or a little longer if you like super crunchy dough) at 450 degrees.

Now, the most important part - the tomato dipping sauce! Again, Deb is a terrific jumping off point. Muir Glen (no salt added) tomato sauce is a good base. Add a few minced garlic cloves, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon sugar. Some white wine if you have it. Simmer over low heat for at least 30 minutes, to allow the flavors to develop and the sauce to thicken.

Simple, easy, good. Plus, they freeze well. They do NOT reheat well in the microwave. Use an oven or toaster oven. Chewy crust is a textural nightmare.

**This is me stepping on my soapbox.**

Local politics is as important as (if not moreso than) national politics. All government is accountable to the citizens they govern. Decisions that have a direct impact on your life (specifically your quality of life) as a citizen are often made at the local level, where you have the greatest opportunity to be heard and to affect decision makers. Yet so few get involved.

Two big misconceptions that I hear floated about are that the effort involved in speaking up is too great or people feel like anyone in a position of authority isn’t going to listen to what they have to say anyway. At the local level, this is incorrect and just plain wrong! By having an opinion and NOT voicing it, you cut your nose off to spite your face. By not casting a vote, you cede any control over the outcome. Local government (particularly Asheville’s) is designed to be accessible to citizens. It cannot function properly without them. Whether you have a question, a suggestion or something to bitch about, there are people willing to hear you and possibly make a change.

This year, the Asheville mayor/city council primary had a less than 10% voter turnout. That’s low. Really low. The Asheville City Council race has actually been an interesting one, what with folks dropping out unexpectedly, dropping in, bowing out (gracefully and for good reason) and becoming write-in candidates. It hasn’t exactly been a clear race to the finish line. With the election coming up in a few weeks, candidates have amped up their visibility and are getting out into the community to talk to voters and make clear their platform, hopefully sewing up votes in the process.

In case you aren’t the avid follower of local politics that I am, the Mountain Xpress has had excellent coverage of the race up to this point. Check their voter guide here.

Back to food. Next week on Thursday, October 29th from 6:30-8:00, one of those candidates is mixing up my two favorite things, and it looks like it’s going to be fun. Gordon Smith is partnering with the amazing Laurey Masterton of Laurey’s Catering to host a Fall Harvest Cooking Class. For the price of a good meal, you get a great meal, plus you support a progressive candidate and learn something about food in the process. Win-win.

For more information, click here.

**This is me stepping off of my soapbox.**

There’s even a category for Best Food Blog. *cough*
Check my left sidebar for some other interesting local food blogs.

BlogAsheville is putting on Spookyblogapaloozananny on October 30 at the Pump Gallery (Phil Mechanic Building). More details here.

Tix for the event are $10 AND it’s a benefit for one of my personal causes - AHOPE/Homeward Bound. Homeward Bound provides much-needed services to the Asheville homeless community, with limited funding and a dedicated staff working under at-times challenging circumstances. Supporting them is a good thing to do.

Curious about your voting options? Check out Jen Saylor’s picks here. There’s a Twitter section and everything.

Speaking of Twitter…I had to take a break from tweeting. My info junkie tendencies went into overdrive. I’ll likely return in some form at a later point, but right now I’m focusing my creative energies.

And, speaking of creative energies…as I mentioned in my previous post, my creativity is back! I have a few posts lined up about a whole host of things, and I’m going to try and split my blogging topics more evenly between delicious recipes and Asheville-centric food news. A lot is happening in the Asheville food scene, and I want to bring awareness. A special thanks to friends and random folks who scolded me severely for even entertaining the idea of quittin’ the blog. I’m not going anywhere.

Much love and happy fall!

It is truly fall here in the North Carolina mountains. The temps have dipped below 40 degrees and I’ve added a few more blankets to the bed, stubbornly resisting turning on the heat. The drop in temperature has jump-started my cooking creativity. I’m still obsessed with perfecting risotto, and found a large container of arborio tucked away in my pantry, just begging me to cook with it. Friday night’s dinner was roasted sweet potato and caramelized onion risotto, a riff on spring’s asparagus version and just as tasty.

Dessert was Heidi Swanson’s Triple Ginger Cookies, my absolute favorite not-chocolate-chip cookie recipe. The cookies paired deliciously with hot bourbon apple cider.

While cleaning out my pantry, I also found a quart of seafood stock nearing its best-by date, so I decided to make the two recipes below and feed some friends. While I feel like these recipes are not yet perfected they are plenty tasty enough to share. Enjoy!

New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients:

2-3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and diced, skin on
1/2 sweet onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound or more fresh clams (or two 6.5 oz tins canned clams, rinsed)
2 cups seafood stock
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 T dried thyme
1 T butter

Directions:

Over medium heat, melt butter in a saucepan. Add onion and saute until soft but not translucent,
Add celery, saute 5 minutes or until soft. Add garlic, saute until fragrant.
Add flour or cornstarch and mix well.
Add thyme, stock, milk and potatoes. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
If using fresh clams, add them at this point and simmer for another 10 minutes or until cooked through, then stir in heavy cream.
If using canned clams, add together with the heavy cream, simmer until cooked through, and serve.
Add salt and pepper to taste. I add a lot of pepper while the chowder is cooking and even more after.
You might need more salt than you think.

Thai-inspired Shrimp Risotto
adapted from several sources, including Leite’s Culinaria and Mark Bittman.

Coconut milk is amazing. That is all.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound frozen shrimp, defrosted and tails cut off
2 T olive oil
2 T butter
3-4 cloves garlic, minced and divided
2 T ginger, minced and divided
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 cups seafood stock
1 can lite coconut milk (+ 1/2 can water)
1/2 sweet onion, finely diced
1 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
juice of 2-3 limes
2 teaspoons red curry paste
salt to taste

Directions:

First, cook your shrimp:
Over medium-high heat, add some olive oil and butter to a pan. Once melted and foamy, add garlic and stir until fragrant.
Add shrimp and ginger and cook until done, about 5-6 minutes. Sprinkle the shrimp with cilantro, remove from heat and set aside.

Next, make the risotto:
In a saucepan, add the coconut milk, stock and water and heat until simmering.
In a large pot, heat more olive oil and butter until melted and foamy. Add onion and cook until translucent.
Add remaining garlic and ginger, cook for a minute, then add the arborio.
Saute the rice for 3 minutes, stirring to coat with the delicious butter/garlic/ginger/oniony-ness.
Add the white wine and stir quickly until absorbed.
Start adding the broth/coconut milk mixture one cup at a time, stirring occasionally until absorbed, then adding more. When half the mixture has been added, stir in the curry paste and lime juice.
Taste to see if the rice is al dente. Add more water if necessary (it usually isn’t - 4 cups should do it)
Stir in the shrimp mixture and heat through.
Add salt to taste and serve hot!

When buzz of a new restaurant hits Asheville, people want to know about it.

In the last five days, eight people ended up at this site after searching for some combo of Chai Pani and Asheville.

Chai Pani, to the best of anyone’s knowledge, will be an Indian restaurant serving Indian “street food” in the old Uptown Cafe location on Battery Park Avenue just up from World Cafe. They are slated to open in September. Here’s a link to the Citizen-Times blurb on it.  And here’s the Ashvegas mention.  http://www.chaipaniasheville.com has been registered as a domain, but there’s nothing there yet.

Stay tuned and stay patient, folks. For your Asheville Hot News Fast! fix, read Ashvegas.

Meanwhile…the other search trend is for Asheville food and restaurant reviews.
I’m working on it!  Keep checking back.

Oh, and to the person that found me via “Can I leave zucchini bread out on the counter?” - the answer is yes, but I would keep it tightly wrapped in saran wrap. Zucchini bread also freezes beautifully. Hopefully, you’ve found these answers already, but I’m just doing my part to inform.

And…one more. To the “Kathy Taylor Asheville” searcher. Kathy is awesome. She owns and operates (along with Les Doss) The Usual Suspects. She wears gorgeous dresses and sensible sneakers. Her drinks are strong and reasonably priced. And The Usual Burger is my vote for best in town. What are you waiting for? Go now. 791 Merrimon Avenue.

I don’t like eating watermelon by the slice, but I love watermelon juice! The watermelon in the photo above was $.50/lb at the North Asheville Farmer’s Market…all of $2.25. 4.5 pounds of watermelon will yield approximately one quart of juice. Drink it over ice, mix it with simple syrup and lime juice or add a splash of vodka for a yummy martini.

Super easy and only a little messy: De-seed, blend, strain, chill.

I love this late-summer/early-fall dish. Tarragon can be so dramatic and ill-placed, but it works great in this tomato sauce, plus eggplant and chèvre pair incredibly well together. I like this dish to feel a little more rustic, so I don’t peel the eggplant, preferring the chewy contrast the skin gives the dish. I also use Spinning Spider Creamery’s herbed chèvre, generously dabbed onto the eggplant.

Eggplant-chèvre stacks
adapted from Food and Wine

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
4-5 shallots, sliced
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons dried tarragon
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan
2 eggplants, sliced in 1/2 inch rounds
3 eggs, beaten
Canola oil, for frying
Chèvre of your choice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°.

In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tarragon, other 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and pepper and the sugar and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes.

Dip each slice of eggplant in the eggs and then in the Panko mixture, coating well. In a large frying pan, heat about half an inch of cooking oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Fry the eggplant in batches, 2 minutes per side, turning once, until cooked through. Drain on paper towels.

Place half the eggplant slices in a single layer on a baking dish. Put a dab of goat cheese on top of each and then top with the remaining eggplant slices. Top with another dab of goat cheese. Bake about 10 minutes. Put the sauce on plates and top with the eggplant. Serve with pasta if desired.

I served this dish with thick slices of tomato sprinkled with Bacon Salt (so not kidding) and it was a good choice.

Sometimes I do things the hard way. My friends and family will attest to this. A great example: it took me 45 minutes and 6 dirty dishes to make a half-cup of pesto. Normally, this is a 5 or 10 minute job AND you end up with about a cup of pesto. But no. I had to try something different, just to see. Why I did this with a tried and true recipe…well, see above.

To avoid having this ever happen to you, I pass along two pieces of advice:

1. Do not blanch/ice bath the basil. A quick rinse and pat dry is fine.
2. Do not try to make pesto in a blender. Use a food processor or a mortar and pestle.

I really need to get a food processor.

Traditional Pesto Genovese has just six ingredients - basil, garlic, pine nuts, salt and olive oil, with Parmesan stirred in just before serving. Pesto is delicious and versatile. You can toss it with some orechiette or fusilli, smear it on bread or crackers or serve it next to fried eggs.

Basil Pesto (Pesto Genovese)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups packed basil leaves, rinsed and pat dry
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup olive oil
up to 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Freeze in ice cube trays or small container. You can also refrigerate pesto for up to 10 days. Remember to stir in Parmesan just before serving. Do not add Parmesan if you freeze your pesto.

Alternate method:

Blanch your basil leaves in boiling water, then transfer to an ice bath. Drain and pat/squeeze dry. Add all ingredients to a blender, twist to secure, then scream in frustration as you realize the base of the blender was not secure. Rescue your ingredients and transfer to a tray while you tighten the base. Try again. Pulse, scrape. Pulse, scrape. Pulsescrapepulsescrapepulsescrape. Transfer ingredients to a mortar and pestle and pound the ever living hell out of it.

Presto, pesto.

Yes, superlative.

It peeves me when I see recipes labeled THE BEST because invariably I try them and…they aren’t THE BEST. Superlative sounds a little snooty, but I find it an easier descriptor to swallow than THE BEST. Damn good, mighty fine, scrumptious or amazing would also be acceptable. Anything but THE BEST.

So. Sometimes chocolate pudding is the only answer.

When it’s the middle of August and you’re sick of ice cream and chilled fruit. When eating a piece of dark chocolate doesn’t quite hit the spot and creme brulee is sweet enough but too much work. When you’re covered in mosquito bites, the days are long and your car breaks unexpectedly. Then you find out the animals have fleas and epoxy flies from the heavens, splattering onto your car in the middle of a rainstorm and you’re late and it’s hot and your dinner guests bail and you wonder why you cooked at all.

(Epoxy reference = true story. A multi-storied hotel is being built around the corner from my office. A co-worker was driving by and a bucket of what we now assume to be roofing epoxy bounced off her windshield, covering her car in sticky yellow gunk in the process. Ew?)

When things go wrong and staying positive requires herculean effort, chocolate pudding IS the only answer.

After leading me down rabbit holes and to various dead ends, Mark Bittman nails it with his instructions for basic pudding, which appears to be the only pudding recipe out there that doesn’t call for “four ounces of highest-quality bar chocolate, chopped.” When I made pudding for the first time earlier in the week, I only had a 1-ounce mini bar of Scharffen Berger and some Green and Black’s cocoa powder. My own family recipe for chocolate mint mousse calls for melted Toll House chocolate chips (not to mention a container of Cool Whip), which has worked well enough in the past but is generally looked down upon by purists connoisseurs.

Bittman’s recipe called for just 2 ounces of chocolate. Conveniently, a quarter cup of cocoa powder weighs in the neighborhood of an ounce. I decided to give it a whirl and was impressed with the somewhat unique results. The cocoa nibs provided textural contrast and the peppermint extract flavored the pudding just enough to leave no question whether it was chocolate mint pudding or not. Follow this recipe exactly and you’ll see what I mean. When I made the pudding again this afternoon, I tried it with 1.5 ounces of bar chocolate and 2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder, which also worked beautifully.

Two minutes prep, ten minutes on the stove and a few hours in the fridge (or freezer…decadent) - presto! Delicious chocolate pudding. Do it. Now.

[insert positive descriptor here] Chocolate Mint Pudding
adapted from Mark Bittman’s basic Vanilla Pudding

2 1/2 cups whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ounce dark chocolate, chopped (strongly recommend Scharffen Berger 62% Nibby Dark Chocolate)
pinch salt
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine 2 cups of the milk, the sugar and salt. Add vanilla pod and seed. Heat mixture until it begins to steam.

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch, cocoa powder and the remaining milk. Whisk until smooth.

Remove the vanilla bean pod. Add the cornstarch/cocoa/milk mixture and the chopped chocolate to the saucepan. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mixture thickens. Reduce heat to low and cook another 5 minutes, stirring.

Stir in butter and peppermint extract and remove from heat.

Pour pudding into ramekins (fills 4 6-ouncers perfectly) or a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled and eat right away!

I’m here. It has been ungodly hot and I’ve been living off of raw vegetables, stone fruits, quesadillas, deli sandwiches, pasta, water, hummus and beer. I think I’ve eaten my weight in stone fruits alone (peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries) this past month.

Really. Hardly foodie-grade stuff. No foie gras or truffle butter or $300 bottles of wine. One exciting bit of news is that one of my photos was featured as Food Porn on the Internet Food Association, here. It was a nice surprise! In an attempt to improve my photography and get some feedback, I took a friend’s advice and joined a few Flickr groups.

As far as being in keyboard absentia, I’m not the only one. Omnomicon has checked out for most of this summer, as has Orangette. Then again, one of them is getting married and the other is opening a restaurant with her husband, so I guess they get a free pass. A Mingling of Tastes moved across the country and is still getting settled, but Eat a Beet has completely vanished.

Of course, there are some awesome bloggers slogging through the summer slump and putting out new, delicious content. Accidental Hedonist, Closet Cooking, Ezra Pound Cake and Herbivoracious are all delivering the yummy. Locally, our own Hendersonville Epicurean keeps us posted on an array of foodie events (and we love her for it).

Earlier in the summer, a flurry of food bloggers descended on Asheville for a long weekend. It was neat to read some outside perspectives on many of the local foodie things I take for granted, like Spinning Spider chevre. Mmmm. Tartelette, White on Rice Couple and Humble Gourmand sung the praises of our fair city and the food gems to be found within. Go take a look and build up an appetite.

I haven’t completely quit cooking, but the dishes I’ve made are ones I do not recommend attempting in the middle of summer. Especially when your apartment (like mine) is not air-conditioned. Chalk it up to stubborness. Sometimes, I get an idea in my head and have to make it rightthissecond, no matter how impractical. Which is how I ended up roasting a whole chicken and making stock from the carcass in August, accomplishing two goals I set for myself a while back. And damn if I didn’t make risotto with the stock yesterday afternoon. Yum.

After the terrific zucchini bread I attempted to make mini peach bundt cakes with a honey cream cheese frosting. Baking FAIL. The adapted recipe (Paula Deen’s Hummingbird Cake served as inspiration) came out too dense and chewy and possibly not cooked all the way through.

Pretty pictures, though:

Once school starts back up I’ll have more of a set schedule and will likely be posting more. Odd, I know. The busier I am the easier it is to keep myself on task.

P.S. I’ve sung the praises of fresh, local eggs before, but here’s a visual reminder:

The two large, sunny yellow yolks at the bottom are from Bill’s lovely eggs. The yolk at the top is from an Earth Fare egg. Interesting, yes?

And then I ran out of ideas. Which meant it was time for zucchini bread.

I turned to 101 Cookbooks, thinking that Heidi would have just the right recipe, or at least admonish me to use whole wheat pastry flour. She did have a delicious-looking zucchini bread recipe, which called for either curry powder or ras-el-hanout. I just happened to have some ras-el-hanout from my trip out west, and was excited at the prospect of using it in something besides a meat-based dish.

Ras-el-hanout means “head of the shop.” What’s in it varies widely depending on who is making it. You can read more about it here or here.

I tweaked the recipe a bit further, adding sour cream and applesauce in place of the third cup of zucchini she calls for, saying yes to brown sugar and swapping out walnuts for pecans. To be perfectly honest, I hate walnuts.

The results were interesting. First of all…

Do you see it?

The bread came together easily enough (I ended up with three mini loaves and one big one) and I had to bake the large loaf just a bit longer than the suggested time of 40-45 minutes, about 55 minutes, while the minis took 33 minutes. After they had cooled on my counter I cut into one of the mini loaves and it absolutely crumbled. Second slice, same story. Third slice, only a corner crumbled. I put the large loaf right in the freezer after cooling, so I’m curious to see what happens after it thaws. I was told that one of the reasons this was happening was because I used a recipe that called for butter and not oil. Hm. Noted.

Tested out the mini-loaves on friends and co-workers. Everyone loved the savory hint and that the bread wasn’t too dry. People normally say the word moist here to indicate that the bread has the desirable not-dry quality. The m word squicks me, so I rarely use it, except when no other word will do, like in this case where you could interpret “wasn’t too dry” as “still a little on the dry side.” Not so. Now you know.

If you’ve got a lot of mid-summer zucchini piling up and have a yen for quick bread, try this out and let me know what you think.

Zucchini Bread
inspired by Heidi Swanson

1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup applesauce
1 1/2 cups white all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon ras-el-hanout (Optional, strongly recommended. Can use any exotic savory spice blend to similar effect. I think.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine pecans and lemon zest. Set aside.

Combine zucchini, sour cream, applesauce and vanilla extract.

In separate bowl, combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and ras-el-hanout.

With a hand mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Add sugars and beat until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

With a spoon, stir in zucchini mixture, then add the flour mixture, stirring well to combine. Gently fold in the pecans and lemon zest.

Fill loaf pans about two-thirds full with batter. I gently rap my pans against the counter to settle the batter and make sure it is evenly distributed. Bake for 40-45 minutes if using full-size loaf pans, about 35 minutes if using mini-loaf pans.

Let the loaves rest in the pans for up to 20 minutes before removing them from the pans to finish cooling on racks.

His posts are concise, interesting, fun, reliably tasty-sounding and consistent.
I’ve yet to make anything he’s recommended, but I always find myself nodding my head in agreement with what he’s chosen, or getting excited and putting something in the To-Make pile.
Incredibly random, I know. But I dig this guy.
He just does his thing over at Closet Cooking and does it well. You should read him.
Kevin is curious and straightforward about food, two qualities I’m appreciating more and more by the minute.

As food takes up an increasing chunk of my spare time and thought process, I’m forming concrete opinions about what turns me off (and on) about foodies, food culture, food blogging and the like.

Kevin’s all the good stuff. Trust me.

That is all. Happy Sunday.

When I tumbled down into the rabbit hole of serious cooking and farmers markets and menu planning and seasonality and methodology and the history of food, I didn’t expect to feel any extremes, but I do. The joy felt in creating something, the pleasure in learning and the embarrassment at how little I do know.

Here I am. Far from expert, easily amused and generally pleased by the little things. I find cooking with fruit particularly novel. Tarts, scones, cobblers, cookies…ice cream.

Ice cream always fell into the category of “Best Left To Professionals,” as I do not own an ice cream maker and was put off by the thought of purchasing one (as well as the necessary rock salt). However, ice cream kept popping up here and there in some blogs I read. Then I saw David Lebovitz’s straight-forward How To Make Ice Cream Without A Machine.

“I can do this,” I thought. “Sure. No problem.”

So when I picked up the blackberries at the farmer’s market yesterday, I knew it was time. I found a recipe for Blackberry Buttermilk Ice Cream over at The Kitchn. Lacking buttermilk, I simply placed a Tablespoon of white vinegar in a measuring cup, poured whole milk up to the one cup line and let it sit for five minutes before putting it into the freezer, per the recipe.

As near as I can tell (having never actually used it), when a recipe calls for buttermilk, it is because the recipe stands to gain something from the unique, tangy flavor OF buttermilk. Vinegar-soured milk can’t possibly have the same flavor profile, can it? I’ve been wondering this for awhile.

This was a custard-based ice cream recipe, which apparently is better to use when you don’t have an ice cream maker. Egg yolks + sugar + hot milk, then heat until custard-y. I liked that this recipe specifically stated to heat until the temperature reaches 170°. I’ve had trouble with custard before in my tart-making experiments, where it doesn’t thicken to the right consistency.

Fruit puree was much easier in practice than I had originally thought. Berries + sugar + heat, puree in blender, than strain through sieve to remove seeds. Perfectly sensible.

After you combine the custard, fruit puree and chilled buttermilk, you let it sit untouched in the freezer for 45 minutes, then stir it vigorously with a large spoon. I used a wooden spoon at first since I poured the mixture into a metal bowl. Every 30 minutes or so, you take the mixture out of the freezer and stir it. After the first time I used an electric hand mixer, which worked GREAT. It breaks up the ice crystals and gives the ice cream a good texture. I did this maybe four or five times, then let it sit overnight.

When I was ready to serve it, I just dragged an ice cream scoop across the top a few times and it clumped together easily. Not perfectly smooth, but really damn good for not having the assistance of a machine. A great first try.

I can make ice cream. Neat.

are a poor substitute for eggs.

Yesterday morning, Nikki and I went to market. It was early, around 9:00 AM. I was feeling pretty good, especially since we were getting to the market before 10:00 AM. Surely Bill would have some eggs for me.

We stopped first to look over the blackberries. $7 per quart, cultivated.
Next table over they were $5 per pint, wild.
2 pints = 1 quart. Hm.

Unsure how to evaluate which blackberries yield maximum tastiness, Nikki convinced me to purchase the wild ones.  Next we wandered over to Farm and Sparrow for one of their savory pastries - squash, tomato and mozzarella. Crispy, chewy, perfectly browned and a little salty. I love breakfast at market.

Approaching Bill’s table, I was relieved to see a dozen eggs sitting innocently next to the amazing leeks and huge zucchini. We exchanged pleasantries and I began to select my purchases. Suddenly, before I could react, a woman swooped in beside me, grabbed my eggs, paid and left.

It was defeating, not to mention annoying. Now I’m left wondering, was that rudeness or simply the law of the jungle? My Saturday market shopping is meant to be a relaxing experience — I’m certainly not going to tussle with someone over a dozen eggs. But could she not have at least asked before taking them? Would I have done the same? Has something like that ever happened to you?

The lesson learned here is to always lay claim to the item you want most, first.

My desire to be at market evaporated instantly after that interaction and we left shortly afterward. Yes, I could have picked up some eggs elsewhere, and likely will before the week is out, but I considered the mission a failure. (No, I’m never accused of being melodramatic. Why do you ask?) I did pick up some green and purple beans, the leeks and zucchini, some wonderful garlic and a strange looking cucumber, in addition to the blackberries. Once home, the apricots (found at Ingles earlier in the week) were turned into scones, using a recipe adapted from Jacqueline’s at sweet beet and green bean.

Regular milk in place of soy, but I did try using Smart Balance. I am a fierce advocate of butter, especially in baked goods, so I wanted to see if the taste would be different. Happily, the texture wasn’t compromised and the flavor was excellent. It was my first time experimenting with fresh apricots as well. I found them easy to dice and that they held their shape well during baking.

As for the blackberries…

To be continued.

I’ve been going to the Asheville City Market every Saturday I’m in town, sometimes alone, usually with a friend in tow. Bill the Egg Man and I are on ever-increasing friendly terms. He shares my pain when I get there just a shade too late for his lovely eggs, and plies me with baby leeks instead. (Which are amazing IN the eggs) Yesterday he had a variety of potatoes on display, and some of the biggest zucchini I’ve ever seen. I picked out some purple potatoes and oohed over the zucchini. “Go ahead,” said Bill. “Two for $1.”

Little things.

I’ve been slowly teaching myself, with the help of two talented friends, how to take real pictures. When I started this blog I made an adamant declaration: “No Food Photography For Blogs 101.” And while I’m not going to share any tips and tricks, being such a novice myself, something magical happens when you are behind the lens of a real camera. I’ve been enjoying the process. Friends laugh at me when I exclaim over a picture that turned out reasonably well. “Look! It’s actually in focus! And it looks good!”

On that note, take a look at what I’ve been doing in the kitchen:

There have been nights where I’ve worked late, and Red Quinoa with Avocado and Nori has been my savior. Quick and satisfying, now a staple. I eat it at least twice a month.

Remember that Hippie Corn Chowder? I’m such a slacker…

One Saturday at the Farmer’s Market I encountered a basket of squash blossoms. Remembering something about how you can stuff, batter and fry them, I picked a few up. Later that afternoon while cleaning out my fridge, I found a black bean, corn and tomato mixture I had used for quesadillas earlier in the week. I stuffed the squash blossoms with the mixture layered with some monterey jack cheese and fried them in canola oil. Squash blossoms have an earthy sweet tang, and were quite enjoyable.

When Nikki showed up one day with a large bunch of rosemary, we adapted Amanda Hesser’s Vanilla Bean Loaves with a lemon glaze and incorporated chopped rosemary.

So far, the best meal of the summer has been this blackened tofu over sauteed beet greens. We tried two types of blackened seasoning - Bryant Terry’s from Vegan Soul Kitchen and my mom’s own mixture. Any type of crusted tofu is easy to make: press the tofu really well before using, brush with an egg wash or bit of olive oil and press into whatever mixture you’re using. Pan-fry in a dry skillet, five or so minutes per side. For the greens, just shred into bite-size pieces and saute in a Tablespoon of olive oil for several minutes, then add minced garlic, salt, and black pepper. The greens wilt but retain their structure.

We enjoyed the blackened tofu with some toasted sourdough bread and a semi-soft cheese, along with glasses of the best summer wine ever: Cristalino Brut Rosé Cava, a sparkling rosé that retails around $8 per bottle. Thanks to the Committee For The Advancement Of Rosé Drinking (i.e., Nikki the Francophile) and the guys at Appalachian Vintner, I’m keeping a bottle of this in my fridge at all times for the duration of summer.

Not treading a lot of new ground and sticking mostly to safe, simple and easy, but that’s okay. Food does not have to be complicated in order to taste good. The rest of the summer is yet to come.

How’s your summer going?

WARNING: This collection of images caused a friend to reflexively gnaw on an antique desk.

Clockwise in a spiral from top left:

• Sweet onions from the Portland Farmers Market
• Sushi at Bamboo (Ring of Fire, Spicy Scallop and Ume Shiso Roll)
• Tri-color peppers at Limbo
• An enormous cornucopia of fiddleheads!
• Bee pollen. There was a guy selling…no, hawking honey near the Portland Farmers Market entrance. Asked if we wanted to try some bee pollen then proceeds to give us a “Bee Pollen is a Miracle Elixir” spiel. Slightly annoying (and riddled with falsehoods), he redeemed himself by having the tastiest honey in the world. Three words: Meadow Foam Honey. It tastes like toasted marshmallows. Amazing.
• The largest snap peas I have ever seen. Delicious.
• Homemade dessert: Forelle pears poached in red wine and brown sugar served over Ben and Jerry’s Cinnamon Buns ice cream with a cardamom meringue on the side.
• Homemade dinner: tamales stuffed with an asparagus/morel/red pepper/shallot/polenta mixture (recipe to follow)
• Pre-dessert dessert at Belly Timber: Strawberries served with Roquefort mousse and crispbread.
• Entree at Belly Timber - (TBD - the website is down and I took poor notes. Too busy eating!)
• Entree at Belly Timber - Pork belly topped with a poached egg. Mmm.
• Bread course at Belly Timber - crusty bread served with sweet cream butter and flavored salts: chocolate and beet coriander. They tasted exactly like their names. I must learn how they did it.
• Entree at Belly Timber - Seared scallops with red pepper aioli.
• Me, with a handful of polenta, belatedly realizing that in order to pat the polenta into the corn husks we were going to need to coat our hands in olive oil.
• The best risotto of my life. Truffled, with picked radishes and a Parmesan crisp.  Belly Timber.
• ROSEMARY cheddar cheese from Rogue Creamery. Oh, it works. Beautifully.
• My very first morel mushroom! (FYI - Always soak morels briefly–about five minutes– in salt water before using. All kinds of crazy stuff floats up. They’re hollow in the middle and bugs like to hide there.)
• A drink at Belly Timber - (TBD…Sorry!)

PS — Yes, Belly Timber is getting a post to itself.

I managed to get me and my luggage home safely, without breaking anything, which is a feat in itself as I purchased many delicate and/or breakable items over the course of my trip. (Thanks, Delta!)

Here’s a short list of goodies that I’ll be going into detail about soon:

Lemon Dill and Blueberry Basil Vinegar from Blossom Vinegars
1 bottle 2004 Maias Dao
1 jar Harissa from Mustafa’s Morrocan (wine and harissa purchased at The Spanish Table)
1 jar Thai and True Massamun Curry Paste
Too many spices to count from the ultra-fabulous World Spice Merchants
1 jar instant ginger tea
1 box Hibiscus Spice tea
Genmaicha green tea
2 packets ma po tofu sauce (all from Uwajimaya)
1 Oregon Black Truffle
A foodie crush on Tom Douglas

You can read part one of my Atlanta Adventure here.

Breakfast - The Silver Skillet and The Flying Biscuit

Friday morning wanderings…We stumbled on The Silver Skillet quite accidentally. An IPhone/Google search for “Atlanta breakfast” turned it up, we had already been lost once that morning and it was close to our current location. The Silver Skillet is a diner steeped in Atlantan (Atlantian?) culture, with memorabilia on the walls along with the occasional picture reminding us of the famous patrons that had come before. We settled in a booth with a window, and soon enough Carolyn came over - what’ll you have, hon? Carolyn is a career waitress: cheerful, fast, funny and knowledgeable. Carolyn sizes people up immediately and reacts accordingly. She has no doubt, seen all kinds. I order a cup of coffee (bad, but with endless refills) and a vegetable omelet. It was good. It was diner food. I’d go back. I liked the atmosphere.

Sunday farewell...From what I can tell, The Flying Biscuit has a reputation among Atlantans as one of “the”* places to eat Sunday brunch. Even though we had a larger party (6 plus a wee one), they sat us fairly quickly. The food was delicious. I had the tofu scramble (mushrooms, baby spinach, peppers, the seasoning was amazing!) and a biscuit and we ordered some baked brie for the table. Coffee was the best I had during my trip. The restaurant was packed and bustling, with a bright eclectic decor. They have a cookbook I now covet. Of course.

If you go:

The Flying Biscuit has multiple locations around Atlanta.
This is the one we went to:
3515 Northside Parkway NW
Atlanta, GA 30327
(404) 816-3152

The Silver Skillet
200 14th Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
(404) 874-1388

Lunch and Dinner - Spoon (Mid-downtown), R. Thomas (Buckhead) and Cafe Bombay (Decatur-ish)

Fast and easy...Spoon is Thai-fusion. Extremely good Thai fusion. Spoon (Westside) is located near Georgia Tech, sort of in a warehouse district with various other businesses. Though we came near the end of the lunch rush (11:30-3 pm), it was still quite busy. Lunch is pretty straightforward - your choice of several noodle, rice or curry dishes, priced between $7-8, a little extra for your choice of protein. I ordered the pad thai - nothing extreme, nothing fancy. It was delicious, with very fresh ingredients. Not oily, not dry, just right.

Late-night munchies…R. Thomas, a cross between Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville and Rosetta’s Kitchen here in Asheville, is a 24-hour health-focused, vegetarian and vegan friendly restaurant. I had my absolute favorite meal of the trip here! Based on the recommendation of our server James, I had the Lucky Green Tea Bowl. It had quinoa, snow peas and fresh veggies mixed with a green tea and miso sauce. Filling and healthful, it made my belly very happy. Also tried a Blue Moon iced latte, made with soy and rice milk, maple, chamomile, lemongrass, peppermint and ginger - out of this world! My mission in life is now to recreate it.

Celebration...For the official birthday dinner, we headed over to Cafe Bombay. My friend, native to the area, let me in on the challenge of finding good Indian food in Atlanta. Word of mouth is best, as there tends to be a little bias showing up on boards like Yelp and Chow - friends and family of the restaurant owner tend to flood the boards with positive comments. This makes it more difficult to understand how good (or not) the food is.

Cafe Bombay was excellent. Our table of six split three of their dinner combination plates - they offered a veggie and a non-veggie option. The non-vegetarian dinner (which I had) was comprised of Lamb Rogan Josh and Chicken Tikka Masala, basmati rice, naan, papadum and kheer for dessert. It was delicious and the service was fast. While I didn’t feel rushed, we were in and out pretty quickly.

If you go:

Spoon
768 Marietta Street
Atlanta, GA 30318
(404) 522-5655

R. Thomas
1812 Peachtree Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30309
(404) 872-2942

Cafe Bombay
615 Briarcliff Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30329
(404) 320-0229

Note: Not one of these meals was over $35 for one person, including drinks, tax and tip. Most were around $25. We typically split an appetizer and shared food among us. Had I forgone alcohol (Ahem. I was on vacation, bring on the drink!), that number would have dropped to around $20. I find that to be completely reasonable in a large city like Atlanta. And the quality? Outstanding, with one minor exception.

*Does that qualify as Unnecessary Quotations?

More often than not, I Twitter my dinner plans. A bit of participatory food geekery, if you will. I get instant feedback: “What ingredients?” “Which recipe?” “What else ya makin’?” and people reply with their own dinner plans. Seems silly, but it’s an interesting way to connect with people.

Tuesday night all I said was “Hippie corn chowder.” Interests were piqued around the Twitterverse: “What makes it hippie?” at least four people asked. Now you’re probably wondering, too. Ha!

Years ago, at the corner of Lexington and Walnut Street there was a vegetarian/health food restaurant called Café Max and Rosie’s, much beloved by me and so many others. Their smoothies and fruit juices were fresh and invigorating, and most Saturdays there was a women who sat by the window offering tarot card readings and fortune telling. I had my first bite of brown rice at Max and Rosie’s, in their amazing brown rice and avocado salad. The restaurant closed about two years ago, after being in business since 1992; another casualty of the shifting food landscape that is Asheville. I think they retired, but I’m not sure.

Anyway, in 2000 they published a cookbook, Café Max and Rosie’s: Vegetarian Cooking with Health and Spirit, and I was lucky enough to snag a copy off of Half.com last year. I say lucky because the cookbook contains all of the amazing recipes they served up at the restaurant. Most (if not all) of them are absolute gems, recipes you’ll make over and over again, including the corn chowder recipe I’m about to share with you.

I don’t normally get all twitterpated over soup, but this corn chowder is incredible. Thickened by rolled oats and flavored with nutritional yeast and tamari (hence the “hippie”), it contains only one cup of milk and a few tablespoons of olive oil. Incredibly, it tastes like it contains a stick of butter and a pint of cream. And it’s so easy to make! Just keep in mind that in order for the oats to work their magic, the soup has to simmer over low heat for an hour.

Hippie Corn Chowder
adapted from Café Max and Rosie’s: Vegetarian Cooking with Health and Spirit

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 to 1 sweet onion, small dice
5 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
2-3 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
2 russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, diced (skin left on)
1 Tablespoon dried basil
1 1/2 Tablespoons dried oregano
2-3 Tablespoons tamari or shoyu
5 cups vegetable stock or water
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 cup whole milk (can sub plain soy milk)
lots of salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a large pan over medium heat saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute.
Add the carrot, celery, corn and potatoes and saute 4 minutes.
Sprinkle with the basil and oregano and stir to combine.
Add the tamari, stock/water and oats and stir well.

Bring soup to a boil. Reduce to low heat and simmer, covered, about one hour. Stir occasionally so the oats do not stick to the bottom of the pot.

Add the nutritional yeast and milk, along with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Serve hot!

I’m preparing for a vacation to the Pacific Northwest and trying to use up as many ingredients in my fridge and cabinet as possible so I don’t come home to spoiled or stale food.  Happened to have three very ripe bananas on hand and half a bag of chocolate chips left over from last weekend’s “pantry cookies” (chocolate chip, pecan, coconut and rosemary cookies – delightful!), so I decided to make these muffins to use up the last of my flour.  Already out of white flour, I used all whole wheat pastry flour.  Next time I’ll definitely use half white, half whole wheat, as these turned out slightly too dense.  Good flavor, though.  The agave nectar worked as a great substitute for regular old sugar and resulted in a muffin with just the right amount of sweetness.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
(inspired by Mark Bittman’s “Muffins, Infinite Ways”)
makes 12 medium muffins, or 6 medium and 12 mini muffins

Ingredients

3 very ripe bananas
scant ¼ cup agave nectar
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
½ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
¼ cup milk
½ cup chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease your muffin tin(s) with butter or oil.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
Mash bananas and agave nectar together in a medium bowl.
Add the egg, milk and melted butter to the banana agave mixture and mix well.
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add the banana mixture and, using a wooden spoon, stir quickly, folding in the ingredients. The batter should be on the lumpy side, but moist.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.

Enjoy still-warm, with a dab of butter.

Food allergies make cooking a challenge–all the more so if you’re dealing with more than one.  It’s not too hard to find information on cooking without nuts, or eggs, or wheat, or dairy, but for anyone who’s allergic to all of the above–or any other combination of common ingredients, especially one that includes both a common allergen and one or more of its most common substitutes, i.e. peanut and soy–cooking becomes a balancing act of substitutions and exclusions to challenge even the most versatile of culinary mavens.

“Culinary Maven” would be a modest description for Shannon Long of Food Allergy Support. Over the course of a conversation, I challenged her to design a meal that would be safe for everyone in both our households, with no obvious allergy-based substitutions (i.e. soynut butter or rice pasta).  That meant a full meal free of peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, shellfish, sesame, sunflower, garbanzos, and lentils–and vegetarian-friendly.  What I had in mind was maybe a main course, a vegetable dish, and a dessert. What she came up with was a multi-course feast, complete with multiple options for each dish–and a menu you’d never guess was designed to work around allergies unless someone let you in on the secret.

These recipes have been chosen with a casual summer dinner party in mind.  Enjoy!

(In addition to being free from Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Eggs, Sesame, Sunflower, Shellfish, Soy, Garbanzos and Lentils, most items also flexibly accommodate gluten-free and milk allergic guests. Amazing!)

Main course options

Grilled Salmon

Ingredients

Local farmed salmon (best purchased through a Kosher fishmarket or from a direct source in order to avoid shellfish contamination)

For marinade/glaze:

Orange juice concentrate (or fresh)
Olive oil
Minced garlic
Salt and pepper (to taste)
a dash of Tabasco or Chipotle (optional)

Directions

Note: You can also add alder or apple wood to coals for additional ‘smoky’ flavor.

2 hours prior to grilling, place salmon fillets (skin on or off) into a large freezer bag containing marinade. Turn the bag about every twenty minutes.
Place a sheet of aluminum foil over the grill rack, to protect both the grill and allergic guests.
With tongs, gently transfer salmon from bag to the grill.
Grill 5 minutes per side over indirect heat; fish should be firm and pink, with light caramelization from the glaze.
To add additional flavor, fish can be brushed with excess marinade during last two minutes of grilling.

Chipotle Buffalo Burgers

Ingredients

1 pound ground buffalo (can use grass-fed natural beef if preferred)
Dash of Tabasco (Chipotle)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon finely minced onion
Salt and pepper

Directions

If substituting grass-fed natural beef for the buffalo, omit the olive oil. The additional fat is necessary for grilling very lean meats like buffalo and poultry.
With your hands, combine the meat with salt, pepper, olive oil, onion and Tabasco, if using and allow mixutre to rest ~ 1 hr before grilling.
Gently form patties with the meat —1 pound should make four very good sized burgers, and the recipe can easily be doubled.
Grill burgers over direct heat, medium hot coals, as desired, keeping grill covered during grilling.
For precision, use a meat thermometer to judge done-ness and remove burgers from grill when they are approx. 2-4 degrees Fahrenheit from desired doneness, as they will continue to cook after removal.

Serve with condiments such as mustard, relish, sweet onion slices (also excellent when placed on the fire for a minute) and blue cheese.

Particularly excellent with sourdough rolls, but they can be enjoyed by themselves, too.

Grilled Portobello Caps

(Perfect for your vegetarian friends who want to enjoy savory grilled fare.)

Ingredients

Portobello mushrooms (caps 3-5” diameter should be good)
olive oil
minced garlic
salt and pepper

Directions

Remove stems and brush clean.
Brush mushroom gills and cap with a mixture of olive oil, minced garlic, and salt and pepper before placing on the grill.
Turn only once, after about 2 minutes over medium coals, and remove after another 2 minutes or so.

These are also excellent when topped with a local blue cheese. We enjoy Rogue Creamery’s classic blue for a real splurge.

Sides

Flame-roasted Summer Vegetables

Good candidates for fire roasting include zucchini, small heirloom tomatoes (which can be done whole), sweet peppers, onions, eggplant, green beans, fennel, cauliflower, small carrots, mushrooms, asparagus spears, and pretty much anything else that your farmer’s market has to offer that is reasonably firm and/or fleshy.

Directions

Chop mixed summer vegetables into ~1” chunks.
In a large bowl, toss together 2 Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar, 3 Tablespoons olive oil (use a good quality oil for this), and 1/2 teaspoon kosher/sea salt with the vegetables.
Allow the vegetables to rest for 30-90 minutes before grilling.
Using a ‘grill pan’ or grill BASKET, grill the vegetables about five to seven minutes over medium-high direct heat.

They should be lightly charred and tender-crisp, and may be seasoned lightly with salt and pepper to taste.

Foil-Packet Red Potatoes

Ingredients

2 pounds small red potatoes, scrubbed
Handful of fresh chives, snipped into small pieces
1 Tablespoon minced sweet onion
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Blue and/or Sharp Cheddar cheeses from the region such as Rogue Creamery Blue/Cougar Gold (optional topping)

Directions

On a double thickness of foil about 24” X 14”, pour ~1/2 teaspoon of olive oil, add about half of the potatoes, sliced into ~1/4” thick slices, and add more olive oil, salt, pepper, and about half the chives.
Top with the remaining potato slices, onion, and more olive oil.
Fold the edges of the foil together along the long edge of the foil, enclosing the potatoes, then fold the ends over repeatedly (at least three times) crimping the edges carefully.
Turn the packet over a few times to distribute the seasonings and oil within.
Roast on indirect heat for ~25 minutes (as burgers and fish are cooking).

Bruschetta

This is an ideal appetizer for a casual gathering, as the tapenades are suitable for vegans and can be prepared ahead of time, and the bread can be grilled and set on the patio near the grill while the coals are being prepared for the slower-cooking food. (Gluten-free guests may appreciate corn tortilla chips prepared ahead of time, and separated stocks of the tapenades that haven’t been used with bread.)

Slice a robust day-old bread such as sourdough, Italian or French bread thickly (~ ½ inch slices are ideal) and grill lightly over VERY hot coals for a few seconds, topping with one of the following tapenades:

Olive Tapenade

In a food processor, combine 1 can black olives with a handful of sun-dried tomatoes, basil or oregano leaves and about 1 c of green olives with pimiento. Process VERY lightly, so that the mixture is still chunky.

Roasted Pepper and Garlic Tapenade

With a fork, mash together 2 roasted red bell peppers, 4 roasted garlic cloves, and 1 can diced tomatoes (or 2 medium garden fresh tomatoes, chopped with juice), and salt and pepper to taste.

Fire Roasted Corn on the Cob

Remove only the outer layer of husks only soak ears briefly before placing on a tray near the grill.
Place directly on grill over medium coals.
Allow to roast about 6 to 10 minutes, then remove to a tray/cookie sheet.
When corn has cooled enough to handle, allow guests to shuck the cooked corn and silk into paper bags for composting.

Salt and pepper near the Bruschetta tapenades means that guests can enjoy these as appetizers as they wish while the host grills.

Desserts

Black Forest Trifle (Parfait)

Ingredients

1 recipe of a very intense chocolate cake
2 cans cherry pie filling
1 can whipped cream

Directions

First, make the cake.

Mix cake as directed (except as noted below for egg substitution; milk may be substituted with water).
Replace eggs in a boxed cake mix with 1 egg = 1/3 c applesauce or preferably 1/3 pureed plums/baby fruit. The Cravings Place, Namaste, and Betty Crocker all have good examples of prepared cake mixes that will meet a variety of allergy needs and have good labeling practices.

In a greased, foil-lined jelly roll pan, bake until cake is distinctly firm to the touch and feels dry.
(A boxed mix will fill a 12 X 24 pan quite easily.)
Be aware that egg-free baked goods may require some additional cooking time.

Cool on a rack, then cut the cake into cubes about an inch square.
The cubes should feel quite stiff for cake—if they are too soft, you may return them to the jelly roll pan and crisp them in the oven on low heat.

To assemble the trifle:

In a tall glass bowl or other container (to show off the layers), place about 1/3 of the cake cubes, then spread about 2/3 of one of the cans of pie filling on top, then add more cake, then more pie filling, then more cake, then more pie filling.

The middle layer may also be saturated with a small amount (a tablespoon or so) of a cherry liqueur such as Kirsch.

To serve, top the trifle with whipped cream as desired, and chocolate syrup or shavings of fine chocolate (Scharffenberger, for example).

Sparkling foil picks/other décor may be used to embellish the trifle when serving as a birthday cake (though it won’t support candles).

Do not assemble the trifle more than about an hour before serving, and top with whipped cream just prior to serving (If using real whipped cream, note that it does not behave as Cool-Whip does in a structural sense).

Other variations on this parfait/trifle include lemon cake with blueberries, angel food cake with strawberries, blackberries/marionberries/raspberries with vanilla cake, etc.

Watermelon Sorbet

1 med ‘personal’ watermelon (the seedless round types)
approx. 1/2 cup cane sugar
1/4 cup canola oil

Scoop watermelon into blender, add sugar and oil, and liquify.
Chill very thoroughly in the freezer, until the texture of soft-serve.

Can be eaten immediately, but is best when frozen hard for another couple of hours.

The oil will prevent it from freezing rock solid.

Lemonade Sorbetto

1 can pink lemonade concentrate (or regular lemonade concentrate)
2 c crushed ice
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tbs canola oil
1 tbs heavy cream/1 tbs soy coffeemate/tbs Vance’s DariFree or Rich Whip* {optional– if omitted, increase oil to 3 tbs}

Liquify in blender, then freeze in ice-cream maker, according to directions.

Peach Gelato

2 packages frozen sliced peaches (about 6 c)
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c cream/soy creamer/DariFree/Rich Whip

Liquify in blender (be patient, as extra smooth texture is very important), then freeze in ice-cream maker, according to directions.

Party Sangria

1 liter box wine (cheap and red with no ‘foxy’ taste are about the only criteria here)
100% juice frozen juice concentrates: we like Welch’s pineapple juice and White-grape Raspberry, about 1/3 c each
½ c brandy (optional)
1 L sparkling water or soda, VERY lightly sweetened if at all.

Stir and pour over ice in water goblets or sangria glasses.

May be garnished with citrus or other fruit.

All the recipes provided were developed or adapted by Shannon and Greg Long of Oregon.

What?! No recipes??  C’mon Leigh, it’s already been a month!
Yep, I know.  They’re coming.
Be patient, and read on to feed your brain.

As one who passionately enjoys food in all forms, not being able to eat something because it might kill me is an uncomfortable thought. Depending on the research being cited, an estimated 12 million Americans (including between 4 and 8% of children) have some type of food allergy. Many people associate food allergies with children, as a condition outgrown once one reaches adulthood, and for good reason: doctors and researchers around the country have noted a significant increase in children being diagnosed with food allergies over the last decade. However, adult-onset allergies are also becoming more commonplace.

Food allergies were a topic I knew painfully little about until it became a factor in some of the work that I do. Shortly thereafter, one of my close friends was suddenly diagnosed with a complex food allergy. While I consider myself a sensitive person, I shamefully admit that my initial reaction was “Oh, well she can just avoid the food and everything will be okay.” She was quick to point out that her allergy was a severe one, and that even exposure to particles of the food could cause a reaction requiring a hospital stay. This was a wake up call for me, and I realized that a total shift in my thinking was in order.

I thought I would put on my grad student hat for a bit and share some of what I have recently learned. Feel free to chime in with additional questions or insight.

What is a food allergy?

A true food allergy occurs when your immune system mistakenly identifies a specific food or a substance in food as a harmful substance. Your immune system triggers cells to release antibodies to fight the culprit food or food substance (the allergen). The next time you eat even the smallest amount of that food, the antibodies sense it and signal your immune system to release histamine, as well as other chemicals, into your bloodstream. This results in the physical manifestation of an allergic reaction, which presents as a range of symptoms ranging from mild (rashes, hives, itching, swelling) to severe (trouble breathing, wheezing, loss of consciousness, anaphylactic shock). An allergic reaction to food can take place within a few minutes to an hour. The process of eating and digesting food affects the timing and the location of a reaction. Both raw and cooked foods can cause allergic reactions. Cooking a food does not prevent it from causing an allergic reaction.

There is also a particular type of food allergy known as pollen-food allergy syndrome or oral allergy syndrome. When a person suffers from a condition like hay fever (a colloquialism for seasonal allergies - allergies to something in your environment, like pollen, grasses and/or trees) certain fresh fruits, vegetables and even nuts and spices can trigger an allergic reaction. This is called cross-reactivity.

The allergic reaction in this instance is caused by fruit and vegetable proteins which are similar enough to the allergy-causing proteins found in certain pollens, grasses or trees. As an example, if you’re allergic to ragweed, you may also react to melons or bananas; if you’re allergic to birch pollen, you may also react to apples, hazelnuts, peaches and other stone fruit.

What is the difference between an intolerance and an allergy?

More common than food allergy, a food intolerance is not caused by the immune system. The symptoms may be similar, if less severe. A common food intolerance is lactose intolerance, or when a person has difficulty digesting the milk sugar lactose. Symptoms include abdominal cramps, bloating and diarrhea. Not life-threatening, just aggravating.

Other types of food intolerance include: food poisoning, histamine toxicity, food additives (like MSG), sulfites (commonly found in red wine), gluten intolerance and psychological intolerance.

What is anaphylaxis?

In some, a food allergy can trigger a severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a systemic (as opposed to localized) allergic reaction and is dangerous for a number of reasons, including:

* Airway restriction
* Cardiac arrest
* Sudden, severe drop in blood pressure (anaphylactic shock)

Symptoms and affected systems vary widely from person to person and incident to incident. Emergency treatment is critical for anaphylaxis. Untreated, anaphylaxis can cause a coma or death. In the United States, there are approximately 30,000 episodes of food-induced anaphylaxis which occur per year, associated with 100 to 200 deaths; most deaths occur in adolescents and young adults. Food allergy is the most frequent single cause of emergency room visits for anaphylaxis.

What foods are most likely to cause an allergic reaction?

In children, six foods cause almost all food allergy reactions: Milk, egg, peanuts, wheat, soy, and tree nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc.) Children often outgrow allergies to eggs, milk and soy post-adolescence.

In adults, four foods are to blame for nearly all food allergy reactions: Peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish

So, why the sharp increase in food allergy diagnoses?

This was a question to which I was eager to undercover the answer. Unfortunately, the answer is: “No one knows.” In fact, no one can say for sure if the total number of allergy cases are rising as fast as some believe. Numerous theories have been bantered about, from the impact of environmental changes to the effects of genetics, as well the “hygiene hypothesis,” which holds that children are being exposed to fewer micro-organisms and thus have weaker immune systems. A strong consensus has yet to be reached, and it is not known how much of the observed increase is due to an actual increase versus how much is due to increased diagnosis as a result of higher cultural awareness (i.e. fewer parents now assume that their kids’ severe aversions to foods are just pickiness, and doctors are more likely to consider food allergies as a possible cause of things like eczema in infants and toddlers); the best guess is a combination of the two.

The FDA requires detailed ingredient labeling, so accommodating a food allergy can’t be that hard, right?

In spite of recent legislation aimed at empowering the consumer to buy with confidence, accidental exposure remains a leading cause of allergic reactions to foods. The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA) required new labels on packaged foods containing major food allergens (defined as milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts and soybeans, or any other ingredient that contains protein derived from one of these foods or food groups). Unfortunately, while this legislation was a major step in the right direction, on its own FALCPA is not enough to protect American consumers, for several reasons:

1. While manufacturers are required to label the top eight allergens in plain language, labeling for possible cross-contamination is strictly voluntary and not regulated. Much like the words “all-natural” and “pure,” terms like “allergen-free,” “nut-free,” etc. are not regulated. A company can claim that their food is “peanut-free” and list peanut flour as an ingredient without violating any labeling laws.

2. As part of the legislation, labels have to include plain-English descriptions of ingredients and possible allergens. For example, “milk” is used instead of “casein.” But the issue of “may contain” labels was not addressed. I’m sure you’ve seen them - “may contain peanuts,” “processed on shared equipment,” or “manufactured in a facility that processes peanuts or milk.” May contain labeling gets confusing quickly because it is not FDA regulated. Acting as a sort of loophole for food manufacturers, the “may contain” label is used because a small number of food products labeled as such do contain an allergen. Astonishingly, about 2 percent of food products without the “may contain” claim also contain allergens.

3. Food labels are required to list the vast majority of ingredients in any given food, with exceptions made for “spices” “natural flavoring” and the like. I find it to be generally good practice, whether you have food allergies or not, to read the labels if you are purchasing packaged food. If you have an allergy, and see one of your allergens listed, then you don’t purchase or eat the food. The problem with this seemingly straightforward approach is that a food protein can have more than one name. Examples of different names for some food ingredients appear below:

Milk proteins:

• Casein, caseinates, rennet casein
• Lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate, lactoglobulin, lactulose

Egg proteins:

• Albumin (also spelled albumen)
• Meringue or meringue powder
• These items also may include egg protein: artificial flavors; lecithin; macaroni; marzipan;
marshmallows; nougat, and pasta. Read the label of these products very carefully.

If you are allergic to peanuts, avoid the following ingredients:

• Artificial nuts, beer nuts, ground nuts, mixed nuts, monkey nuts, nut pieces
• Cold pressed, expelled or extruded peanut oil or arachis oil
• Mandelonas
• Peanut butter, peanut flour
• These items may include peanut protein: African, Chinese, Indonesian, Mexican, Thai and
Vietnamese dishes; baked goods; candy; chili; egg rolls; enchilada sauce; flavoring; marzipan;
nougat, and sunflower seeds.

I sourced my information from the following useful sites:

The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network
Medline Plus (a service of the National Institutes of Health)
The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (PDF pamphlet on food allergies)
The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (Tips to Remember: Food Allergies)
Mayo Clinic guidelines on food allergies
Health Day article: Food Allergy Labeling Not Always Accurate
NYT article: Food Allergies Stir a Mother to Action

More interesting food allergy-related sites:

Allergic Cascade - the biology of allergic reactions
Glossary of food allergy related terms
A guide to how food labels do and don’t work

Many thanks to Rachel, for her insight and inspiration.

This week, May 10-16, is the 12th Annual Food Allergy Awareness Week. An important topic, and this week I hope to contribute to bringing awareness - not only to the sharp increase over the last decade of food-related allergies but more importantly how it impacts the lives of those that live with them.

I am fortunate not to have any food allergies or intolerances, aside from a slight intolerance to pears (which is why you likely will not ever see any pear recipes on this site, sorry). But, I have friends that struggle with everything from a mild gluten and lactose intolerance to a peanut allergy so severe that opening a jar of peanut butter around her causes anaphylaxis, resulting in a trip to the ER.

This week you’ll see several posts covering a variety of topics, from an introduction to what food allergies are and how they differ from an intolerance, to steps that everyone can take to reasonably accommodate someone with a food allergy, including my first guest post, which is quite exciting. I encourage participation and conversation - share your questions, even your personal stories if you feel comfortable. This is a topic I am still learning about, but one I feel is important and that I encounter on a daily basis.

Stay tuned!

photo courtesy C. Riddle

Remember those strawberries?

Last Saturday I woke up, sat bolt upright and declared “I’m going to make a tart!” Never before had I made a tart of any kind. My inspiration stemmed primarily from Paris Bakery and the adorable blueberry-marzipan mini-tarts that I love.

Thankfully, tarts are easy to make if you have some time.  Three distinct steps, infinite variations.  Plus, beginning of May is prime strawberry season.

First order of business? Acquire some local strawberries.

May 2, 10:50 AM

Admittedly I was off to a late start, but obtaining a simple pint of strawberries proved more of a challenge than I thought reasonable for in-season fruit.  I headed first to the French Broad Co-op.  No strawberries, but they did have globe artichokes for $.99 apiece. (Which I did not purchase. Still kicking myself.  Artichokes are nearly $3 each at all other grocery stores!)

11:30 AM

Next to the North Asheville Farmer’s Market.  They were already closing down and eats were scarce.  I was surprised, though it makes sense.

Farmer’s market motto: Go early, go often.   Early bird gets the worm is never more true than when it comes to seasonal produce and astute Asheville market-goers.

11:45 AM

Heading back down Merrimon Avenue I stopped into Greenlife, where they had Driscolls strawberries. Organic, but alas not local. The produce manager was kind enough to let me know that they would be on sale next week for $1 off. Good to know, but strawberries are in season, dammit! There had to be some local strawberries around here somewhere!

12:15 PM

Nearly ready to admit defeat, I head over towards the WNC Farmer’s Market, where the herb festival happened to be in full swing.

Total. Chaos.

I managed to snag a slightly unorthodox parking spot and headed down to the stalls. Thankfully, my (im)patience was rewarded: Dozens upon dozens of strawberry pints, even quarts, hailing from just down the mountain - Boiling Springs, SC. Handed over my $4.00 and was in and out in 5 minutes.

Back home, bounty in hand and with a borrowed tart pan, I pondered where to begin.

Tart shell, tart filling, tart topping.

Fortuitously, David Leibovitz had just that day posted about a bizarre French twist on tart dough. No kneading or chilling necessary, just a few minutes in the oven and a quick hand. Still slightly intimidated by dough, I figured it to be a safer route. Verdict? Success! Though I spread the dough a bit thin in spots, the shell held things together nicely and was quite buttery. Might take a friend’s advice and add ground almonds next time.

For the filling, a simple pastry cream. Browsing for inspiration, I found someone (aptly named Confessions of a Tart) who had already hit on perfection, a recipe from a cookbook I’ve coveted for some time and not yet acquired, Tartine.

She also succumbed to the tart craving. Perhaps this is what strawberries do to crazy foodies in spring?

I think the pastry cream could have used a few extra minutes of cooking time to thicken a bit more. The sweet and the eggy was perfectly balanced and a great complement to the fresh strawberries. I would also recommend thoroughly chilling the pastry cream before spooning it into the tart shell.

Delicious. Simple. Light. Flavorful. Devoured by my guests later that night in minutes flat. Quite a compliment. Make your own! Strawberry season only lasts a few more weeks at most.

For another take on the strawberry tart, check out this recipe by Simply Recipes.

I was originally diverted into a certain stall at the city market yesterday because of some kale. The kale was a jewel, standing out from the veggie crowd, a deep shade of green with purple stems. (Dark green veggies, like kale, chard and spinach, are an amazing source of folate and antioxidants. I tend towards “the greener, the better.”)

As I picked up the kale, some arugula caught my eye - delicately sitting in its own bag, water droplets still clinging to the leaves after the morning’s wash. I watched Nikki’s hand reach for it at the exact moment I realized I wanted a strawberry-arugula salad for dinner. Content with the thought of veggie excess for the next few days, I prepared to hand over my money…then spotted the tatsoi. I looked up at the man running the stall, “Tatsoi? I’m not familiar. What’s that?”

He smiled (fresh blood to the tatsoi cult, he likely thought) and proceeded to tell me that tatsoi is an Asian green, also called spoon mustard due to its spoon-shaped leaves and mild, distinctive flavor. You can use it the way you would use spinach: eaten raw in a salad, lightly sauteed, or in soups. I began to get an idea for a tatsoi-white bean soup later this week and promptly bought some.

Once home, I decided to take care of my vegetable prep all at once, so I’d be more inclined to cook later this week. When I reached the tatsoi, there was a brief dilemma: What do I do with the stems? A quick internet search showed that you chop them up finely, so that they saute easily without remaining tough or fibrous. Ah. Easy enough. I sliced through the bottom half of the stems, just above the rubber band holding the tatsoi together and held the bouquet to my nose. Strong scent of horseradish, followed by a green, this-was-just-harvested-from-the-earth smell. Ahh.

At last, surrounded by nature’s many gifts and the company of a good friend, another semester successfully behind me, I began to relax into the beauty of spring.

Edited to add: Made a pizza Sunday night topped with a mixture of artichoke hearts, mushrooms and a big handful of the diced tatsoi stems that had all been sauteed in a butter/olive oil mixture. Amazing!

Kale, tatsoi, English cucumber, strawberries, arugula and asparagus.(Hi, veggies!)

Nikki, eating from our sack of arugula:
(Hi, Nikki!)

Nikki, feeding Biscuit a piece of arugula. Who knew?
(Hi, Biscuit!)

Penguin, watching the goings-on from safely inside the house.

(Hi, Penguin!)

So. How’s your weekend going?

Local. Delicious. Strawberries.
What did I make with them?
New post, coming soon…
After finals. Two days to go!

I am still knee deep in papers and tests (two weeks to go!), but after missing last week it is a slippery slope. Food in brief must go on!

~ Funny: xkcd skewers Twitter and the mass hysteria building around swine flu.

~ After a successful trek to the Asheville City Market on Saturday, I had a bunch of super-fresh asparagus straight from Flat Rock and a dozen glorious local eggs to use. What better way to showcase two flavors of spring than with a simple dish? I chose to make Asparagus with Fried Egg and Parmesan, a dish I first saw at Cucina 24 last year. The egg cooked so beautifully, it was inspirational. Avoiding going back to mass-produced eggs if at all possible.

Pretty, yes?

~ As a bit of distraction from my paper, I made granola bars yesterday. While in Atlanta, I watched an episode of Alton Brown’s Good Eats where he demo-ed them and (of course) made it look easy. As I have been battling the breakfast question lately - sick of cold cereal and store-bought bars, why not try it?

I checked the Food Network site for the recipe, and scanned the comments, seeing many dissatisfied cooks, for one reason or another. Browsing around, I finally hit on this recipe from Joyful Abode. It worked relatively well, with me substituting the wheat germ with half wheat bran and half ground flax seed, and doing half almonds and half peanuts while reducing the amount of brown sugar by 1/4 cup. Although something toasted up funny which did not appeal to me, overall the bars are tasty.

Next time I might try this recipe from The Kitchen Sink Recipes.

~ This weekend’s wine finds from Appalachian Vintner, both from their Saturday tasting.

Santa Julia Organica Torrontes - An Argentinian white that was fruity and sweet, almost but not quite fizzy. Lots of peach flavor. I drank it by itself, as well as with some (yes, more) risotto. Lovely.

Mas Igneus Barranc Dels Closos - A blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Carignan from Priorat, it has been aged for 3 months in French oak. Full, full, full. And 100% organic. Looking forward to drinking this one.

Oh, and that Folie a Deux 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon I mentioned? AMAZING. It knocked my socks off. My tasting notes are a bit fuzzy, but take my word for it. It’s around $20, which edges into sort-of-pricey land, but if you’re looking for a red to wow some folks, this is it. Look no further.

Asheville City Market
9:30 AM
Saturday, April 25, 2009

Short Street Cakes
West Asheville
11:30 AM

Home
1:00 PM

This trip was a special one, as a dear friend was turning 30. So a plot was hatched and plans were laid, mostly involving food and live music, the key elements of any successful vacation, in my opinion. Lisa, the birthday girl, was traveling all the way from Pennsylvania. Myself and several other friends made the trek from Asheville for a long weekend that turned out to be the first real Springish one, with the weather in full cooperation.

The story of our intersecting, overlapping friendships is lengthy and most likely amusing only to us, so I’ll spare you the details. Except to say that over the last near-decade, on multiple occasions, these ladies (and one gentleman) have proven to be the best friends I could ever hope to have: thoughtful, compassionate, hysterically funny, talented and forgiving. I am humbled and grateful to know each of them, and any excuse to see them thrills me. Best of all, no matter how much time passes between visits, we just pick up where we left off and keep going.

On the night before my departure, the boyfriend asked me, “So…what are you doing this weekend?”
I paused, looking him square in the eye before replying: “Eating.”
He waited for me to finish my sentence, but that pretty well summed it up.

And eat we did. From Decatur to Midtown, Vinings to Buckhead, we ate our way around the grand city of Atlanta. While the area boasts many top-notch (read: expensive) restaurants, we were cost-conscious, given the length of our trip and size of our group (6 plus a wee one). As it turns out, there are many affordable culinary gems in Atlanta. But hearing my friend wax rhapsodic about one of her favorite Atlanta restaurants inspired me, and I’ve started a wishlist of Atlanta restaurants I will someday visit, starting with the Watershed. Owned in part by Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls, with Scott Peacock (Scott Peacock!) as the Executive Chef, the Watershed offers a unique take on southern cooking. Butternut Squash Pancakes with Braised Cabbage and Gingered Beets? Yes please, but another time.

Without further ado, I give you the tale of my culinary adventures in Atlanta, the city with 52 streets named Peachtree.

First stop: PF Chang’s, Cumberland Mall

This was my first trip to a PF Chang’s, a chain that just opened in Biltmore Park (Asheville) a few months ago. I had been curious, having heard pretty good reviews all around. We headed over there as soon as I arrived in Atlanta late the first night. Thankfully, PF Chang’s is open until 11 most nights. Our server was terrific, very attentive and unobtrusive. The food, alas, left a lot to be desired in my book. My takeaway impression was cornstarch and sugar. The fried items we ordered were chewy and not crisp. Everything seemed to be coated in the same sweet and shiny mixture. It was almost too much for me to take, and I felt unpleasantly full afterwards. Tasty pear mojito, though. In PF Chang’s defense, it was a large restaurant and late at night. Could have been a fluke. Will try again.

The next morning dawned early, with Lisa and I headed in the general direction of Decatur without a plan. First stop? A cup of coffee at JavaMonkey. Can’t visit Decatur without stopping into JavaMonkey. It’s a rule, somewhere. We wandered the streets a bit, browsing this shop and that, catching up on a year’s worth of news. When our stomachs declared “Lunchtime!” we ate at Cafe Alsace, which proved delicious.

Dark and quiet, the specialty at Cafe Alsace is their croissants. Certainly some of the best I’ve ever had - warm, flaky and tender with just the right amount of chewiness. I tried one of their lunch sandwiches, croissant aux epinards - a croissant stuffed with baby spinach, sauteed mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese, with a side of french onion soup. A perfect amount of food for lunch, and their french onion soup was creative. It had a knob of baguette sprinkled with gruyere floating exactly in the center of the bowl, instead of the usual coat of cheese on the top and soggy bread at the bottom. The baguette was crisp, buttery and fun to eat.

Of course, we ordered some croissants to take back with us for breakfast the next morning. Cafe Alsace had almond, chocolate and plain varieties, so we got two of each. An excellent plan.

If you go:

Cafe Alsace
121 E. Ponce De Leon Avenue
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 373-5622

Next we found a Trader Joe’s, admittedly at my insistence. An exotic creature, this TJ’s. I had spent far too much time browsing The Kitchn and hearing of bizarre finds. I had to experience it for myself. And I did, returning with whole flattened bananas, chile spiced mango, mixed grains, grapeseed oil, and bourbon vanilla extract, all at a very impressive price. Lisa indulged me, bless her.

Later that night, an interesting combination of events took place: Dinner at home (pasta carbonara) followed by a trip to Paris bar for karaoke night, topped off with my first Wendy’s experience in three years. Oh, yes - Wendy’s, part of the fast-food trifecta of awfulness. But to those that scoff, I say: never discount the pleasure of a single mini-cheeseburger eaten from the back of a vehicle after several gin and tonics at 1 am, in tandem with two unabashed friends. With fries, eaten only after being dipped in a Frosty.

Thus concludes part one of the Atlanta Adventure. Stay tuned for part two!

I am off to Atlanta for the weekend, for a much deserved vacation with some dear friends. On the menu: Cafe Bombay, a stroll through downtown Decatur, Kudzu Antique Market and IKEA.

If you have any IKEA kitchen suggestions, please let me know! Definitely picking up some DROPPAR spice jars and SLOM bottles (for storing homemade mead and sangria as well as infused vinegar, several projects I’m determined to tackle this summer).

Anything else at IKEA that you’ve found particularly noteworthy?

Also, your task while I’m gone? Introduce yourself! Part of my goal for writing Full (Gastronomic) Tilt is community building. I would love to connect with each of you. Comment and e-mail to your heart’s content.

~ Who loves cilantro? I do! I do! So does this guy. (Warning: site uses unabashedly crass language. If you’re offended by such language, don’t clicky the link.) This Tumblr site made me laugh so hard I snorted. Food + innuendo will do it every time. I have been putting cilantro on everything lately (well, everything even remotely Thai or Latin-inspired), and find it to be an herb that can go a long way to make a one-dimensional dish pop.

~ Baby chicken photography! Future egg makers of America! Adorable! Poop!

~ Books at the Farmers Market? What a terrific idea. Go Powell’s! Hey Malaprop’s, what do you think? Think you could team up with Asheville City Market and do the same? Speaking as a loyal customer of both, the combination would rock my world!

~ This weekend’s wine finds from Appalachian Vintner:

2007 Bidoli Pinot Grigio - I’m not great at conveying wine tasting notes, so here’s what Geoff has to say about it:

100% Pinot Gris from Friuli, Italy. In this beautiful wine region, three generations of Bidolis have been crafting exquisite wines from the picturesque hillsides surrounding their winery. Weighty and plump, this is not your bistro Pinot Grigio, honestly I would prefer to call this wine by it’s Alsatian name, Pinot Gris. It has tons of ripe tree fruits on the palate with a rich nose of pear, spice, minerals and a little salt. The fruit carries through on the clean and flinty palate with good structure and balance. Finishes fresh and tasty. Perfect for your Easter meals, or just a slow day with sunshine, clouds and Asheville.

I enjoyed the wine with a large helping of Coconut Sweet Potato Fries, if that’s any comfort to you. Since Easter is over and all.

2006 Folie a Deux Cabernet Sauvignon - I can’t vouch for it yet, except to say that this wine was recommended by a guy named Spoon after App Vintner’s wine tasting and multiple games of Connect Four…only in Asheville. I am taking it with me on a long girls’ weekend to Atlanta and willl return with a full report.

Hey, speaking of…I’m going to Atlanta for a much needed vacation. No posts until I return, but when I do, they will be good ones (lots of pictures, restaurant reviews and possibly a haiku about interstate traffic).

Be good, y’all.

Mother Nature’s snow blow-by earlier in the week left me craving springtime food all the more. With one week left to go until the farmers’ markets open, I was thinking (and seeing) green, everywhere. As a stopgap, I picked up some peas, some green peppers…and asparagus!

Sweet, delicious asparagus, so glad to make your acquaintance once more. How I’ve missed you lo these past few wintry months.

One of my favorite vegetables, asparagus has a fairly short growing season: late March through early June, with peak being mid-April to mid-May. Asparagus brightens up any dish, lending a sweet (almost nutty) taste and a unique texture.

Some nutrition facts, via Healthy Eats:

One cup of chopped asparagus has only 30 calories, but a bevy of nutrients. Asparagus is an excellent source of folate and thiamin (important B vitamins) and also a good source of fiber, iron, vitamin C and beta-carotene. It also has asparagine, a special plant compound, which gives asparagus a diuretic effect. Blame that guy for the mysterious odor your urine gets after you eat asparagus.

If you ever hear anyone yell “Curse you, asparagine!” now you know why.

One bunch of asparagus is enough for two meals. To keep your asparagus perky between dishes, store it upright in the fridge, in a mug with about an inch of water in the bottom and cover the tops with some plastic wrap.

I had originally planned to make asparagus and lemon risotto, but I also had two huge sweet onions to use up, plus another half an onion in the fridge. For some reason, a quote from Tea (author of a favorite food blog of mine) popped into my head:

“Caramelized onions are the bacon of the vegetarian world.”

Indeed, Tea. Indeed.

I put the lemon down, and instead hauled out my trusty Lodge dutch oven. Seemingly within minutes, my kitchen was heavy with one of the yummiest scents in the world. It took about 30 minutes to caramelize the onions (using cast-iron and a gas stove), but if you don’t have the time they are a great ingredient to make ahead, as they freeze rather well.

While the onions were caramelizing it up, I prepped and steamed the asparagus. I set both aside and stirred them in at the very end, asparagus followed by the onions. The boxed chicken stock I used to make the risotto was salty enough that I absolutely did not need to add any more, and would probably sub in some water next time.

The resulting dish was so incredibly tasty, I nearly ate it all. By myself. Add lollipop lamb chops and a green salad, and you have an excellent meal.

Your assignment is threefold:

1. Take advantage of asparagus season while you can.
2. Make a giant vat of caramelized onions.
3. Prepare this dish.

You can thank me later.

Asparagus and Caramelized Onion Risotto
serves 3-4, or one extremely hungry person

Ingredients

1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup Arborio rice
4-5 cups chicken or vegetable broth, warmed (preferably simmering)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
8-10 asparagus spears, snapped and steamed
1/3 cup caramelized onions, or more to taste
salt to taste

Directions for OMGdeliciousness:

Have the caramelized onions and asparagus prepared before you start the risotto.

To caramelize onions: slices of varying size + medium heat + heavy pot + time and occasional stirring until darkened. Or peek at Tea’s blog for a lengthier description.

To cook asparagus: rinse stalks in cold water, bend in half until each stalk finds a snap point, place stalks side by side in a skillet, add enough water to cover and put a lid or plate on top of the skillet. Turn the heat up to high and check after 4 minutes. Drain and transfer stalks immediately to cold water to stop the cooking process. Cut stalks into thirds or fourths on a diagonal.

To make the risotto:

Over medium to medium-high heat, melt the butter and oil in a large pot (at least 4 quart) until the mixture foams slightly.

Add the rice and stir to coat. Cook the rice about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Begin adding the broth a ladleful (or 1/2 cup) at a time and stir until it is absorbed into the rice. Continue to add more broth and stir until it has all been absorbed.

Start tasting the risotto about 20 minutes in. You want rice that is creamy but al dente. When it reaches that point, or when all the broth has been absorbed, stir in the Parmesan until melted and incorporated.

Gently fold in the asparagus, then the onions. Season with salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

Here’s an up close shot of the amazing onions being added to the risotto:

Eat right away!

If you are subscribed to my feed, please un- then re-subscribe using the link at the top of this page.
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Hopefully, this will be the last time I do this.

Many thanks.

Exhaustedly,

Leigh

“Benny - toasted english muffin topped with two poached eggs, spinach, tomato, green pepper
and hollandaise sauce. Served with home fries, grits or fruit.”

Over Easy Cafe, I love you.

(picture courtesy of the lovely and talented Juliana Finch)

So when Aleta announced her idea for a Recipe Round-Robin, I was in, no question. Whether tasting or throwing my Best Damn Whatever Recipe in the ring to be challenged, fun was guaranteed! First up, blueberry muffins. Having never made them before, I was on the tasting side of the fence this time, given two recipes to try and rounded up some help. Two half batches of muffins were made, cooled and tasted. Below are the recipes, along with our “tasting notes.”

Recipe C (Traditional blueberry muffins)

<<deleted>>

Recipe C ingredients

<<deleted>>

RECIPE D (Blueberry muffins, the crunchy hippie version)

<<deleted>>

Recipe D Ingredients

<<deleted>>

The reckoning

Dressed up muffins

And the winner is….

Recipe C!  While I made the mistake of using paper muffin cups with Recipe C, as well as botched the streusel topping, C was more in line with how we felt a blueberry muffin should taste.  While Recipe D was good as a stand-alone, it’s not one we would reach for if surrendering to a craving for blueberry muffins.  Plus, D was a bit fussy in the preparation. Too many ingredients. The entire cup of quinoa lent the muffins a quinoa-y aftertaste that was in conflict with the overall blueberry-ness.

Edited to add: The ladies over at Chemical Dependence have harsher words for the perpetrator of Recipe D. Be kind, y’all!

Muffin carnage

In the end, neither of these recipes won the coveted Best Damn Blueberry Muffin Recipe Award.

Check out Aleta’s blog for the winner AND the recipe!

~ Exciting news! The Red Stag Grill at the brand new Grand Bohemian Hotel is open! Located in Biltmore Village, Red Stag’s dinner menu looks out of this world. The tasting menu is quite tempting and, by Asheville standards for fine dining, affordable.

~ Call for help: Can anyone recommend a quality vegan caterer in the Asheville area? A Google search turns up very little and a friend’s wedding is quickly approaching. Comment or send me an e-mail.

~ From vegan to bacon: Stopped in at L.O.F.T. yesterday and saw that they had a variety of bacon-themed paraphernalia: bacon band-aids, bacon gummy candy, bacon mints. Made me hungry just looking at it. I still want to experiment with some bacon salt. Maybe on some eggplant?

~ Does anyone eat the peel of the kiwi fruit? This article claims that the peel contains a good-for-you antioxidant. I’m not sure that any amount of good-for-me will convince me to eat something with the texture of sandpaper with the mouthfeel of rubbing alcohol, but…

~ A few months ago I made Amanda Hesser’s Vanilla Bean Loaves. Instead of two large loaves I made three mini loaves. Ate two, froze one. Defrosted the lone loaf over the weekend, and I have to tell you - still delicious. The crumb, the texture, everything just as good as when I made them. I own Cooking For Mr. Latte, but if you don’t, you can find the recipe over at The Amateur Gourmet.

It began innocently enough, when a particularly NET-worked friend of mine kept poking at me to join. I had been successful in my resistance up to that point but, y’know how some people just have a way? Resigned, I signed up. At first, I was triumphantly smug. See? I told you this was a dumb idea. Pshaw, Twitter.

Then, it happened. I discovered other food bloggers. And my favorite policy wonks, who also blog about food (Hi, Ezra). And local folks clueing other local folks into local happenings and breaking news. And local restaurants. Plus, I won a ChicoBag in a Twitter-based “Conservation Tip Haiku” contest. Wow, Twitter. You’re cool.

Down the rabbit hole I went.

So when I tweeted about a shepherd’s pie recipe (anyone have one…?) I received a few replies, but after consulting two other cookbooks and assessing what I had on hand, I decided to mash all of them into one awesome recipe. It was rainy and somewhat chilly yesterday, the perfect time to get one last meat and potatoes winter dish in before moving on to dishes comprised of insanely fresh spring vegetables.

Yes, I am posting two mashed potato casserole style dishes right next to each other. The horror! Can you tell I had a 5 pound bag of russets to use up?

Thank you to Woody and CarleeKat for the inspiration!

Shepherd’s Pie

serves 4

On the bottom, meat:

1-1 1/2 pounds ground lamb, or a mixture of ground beef and lamb
1 quart gussied-up vegetable stock (see below)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1/2 cup (or more) frozen corn
1/2 cup (or more) frozen peas
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce
splash white or red wine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp. dried thyme (or fresh if you have it)
freshly ground black pepper

On the top, potatoes:

5-6 medium sized russet or yellow potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4-1/2 cup whole milk or half-and-half
2-3 Tbsp. butter
smoked paprika (optional)

A note on the stock:

Unlike Mark Bittman, I use boxed broth in most of my recipes, mainly for convenience’s sake. This is a habit I’m trying to break. In the meantime, there are plenty of tips and tricks available to make a boxed broth taste a bit better. Below is one. For this recipe, I used a vegetable broth.

Pour broth into a pan and add:

1/2 an onion, peeled
1 carrot, cut into large chunks
2 ribs celery, cut into large chunks
a few whole peppercorns
1 Tbsp dried thyme, or a sprig of fresh

Simmer on low for 30 minutes, remove solids, strain if desired and use.
Obviously, the liquid will reduce. Depending on what brand/type of stock you use, the broth could get really salty. Taste as you go.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make mashed potatoes. Add diced potatoes to a large pot of water, cover with cold water by an inch, add a good pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain the potatoes, return to the pot and cook over medium heat for a minute or two, stirring constantly. This dries the potatoes out some, which I prefer.

Remove the potatoes from heat and mash with a hand masher. Beat in 2 T butter with a wooden spoon, then beat in the milk one-third at a time, stirring vigorously. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the minced garlic.

Make the meat mixture. Brown the ground lamb thoroughly on medium high heat. Lower heat to medium, add diced onion and saute until translucent. Drain the meat/onion mixture and return to pan. Add minced garlic, wine and Worchestershire sauce. Add the carrots, peas and corn and sprinkle in the thyme. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Assuming you followed the steps above, whisk in 1/4 cup flour to the broth until smooth, then add the broth to the meat/veggie mixture. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Make the casserole. Add meat mixture to a casserole dish (I used a 13 x 9 x 2) and top with mashed potatoes. I found it helps to have the mashed potatoes a little warm for this - they spread more easily. Dot the potatoes with butter, dust the top with smoked paprika (Only if desired. I love the stuff!) and bake for 30 minutes.

I am not one of them.

Every time I see a recipe title in French I involuntarily curse, shuddering ever so slightly.
The reason why is anyone’s guess. Maybe there’s a subconscious intimidation factor at work or I automatically assume that there’s some sort of challenge involved well beyond my skill level.

It’s silly, I know. You’re probably laughing.
Go ahead. I’ll wait ’til you’re finished.

Hey, some people have an irrational fear of frying, making pastry dough, or using food processors. Mine is preparing French food. Or perhaps it is just food with French titles. Many dishes that I have made likely have French origins and I simply haven’t realized it. But I see a title in French and I break out in a cold sweat.

I am bound and determined to move past that fear, so I’m starting small. In this case, with oeufs au nid* or baked eggs in a mashed potato nest. Simple, rustic and filling. I added sliced green onion (white and light green part only) and smoked paprika for a fuller flavor, as well as what I thought was too much salt, but in the end it could have used more.

*Not being a native or even secondary French speaker, I asked Nikki how this dish was pronounced. It’s something like ooofs aw nee. We’re assuming that “nid” translates to nest. We are the knights who say…

Oeufs au nid turned out to be easy to make and satisfying to eat. I don’t know what I was worried about!

Notes: Recipe called for a 1 1/2 quart baking dish. I only had a quart-size handy, so I reduced the eggs from 4 to 3 and ended up with some leftover potatoes. Also only used about 3 Tablespoons butter, 2 in the potatoes and 1 to finish the dish. The original recipe calls for a pinch of nutmeg. You can include it if desired, but I strongly dislike nutmeg in anything savory and as a rule do not use it.

(I know what you must be thinking - hm, doesn’t look like anything special.
But if you look more closely you can see the green onion crispy bits and the eggy goodness.
It was tasty. Just trust me.)

Baked Eggs in a Mashed Potato Nest (Oeufs au nid)
adapted from One Potato, Two Potato

serves 2

Ingredients

1 1/2 - 1 3/4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and chunked
Kosher salt
4 T (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup milk or cream
Freshly ground black pepper
4 large eggs
1/4 cup shredded cheese, about 1 ounce (recipe suggests Gruyere or cheddar, I used havarti)
4 sliced green onions, white and light green part
1 clove garlic, minced
smoked paprika

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a medium oval gratin dish or a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.

Put the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with cold water by an inch, add a good pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain the potatoes, return to the pot and cook over medium heat for a minute or two, stirring constantly. This dries the potatoes out some, which I prefer.

Remove the potatoes from heat and mash with a hand masher. Beat in 2 T butter with a wooden spoon, then beat in the milk one-third at a time, stirring vigorously. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in the minced garlic and half the green onions. You would add the nutmeg at this point if you were using it.

Spoon the mashed potatoes into the gratin or casserole dish and smooth them with the back of a spoon. Make 4 deep holes in the potatoes, each large enough to fit an egg. I dug my holes all the way down to the bottom of the dish and it worked well. It’s important that the “nests” are large enough to hold the eggs without spilling over.

Drop a bit of the remaining butter into each hole and then crack an egg into it. Season the eggs with salt and pepper, then scatter the grated cheese and remaining scallions over the top. Sprinkle with smoked paprika.

Bake about 15 minutes - until the cheese is melted and the egg whites are set. The eggs will continue to cook after the dish comes out from the oven. Divide between two plates and serve immediately.

Related: I just finished reading Kathleen Flinn’s The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry, about her experiences at Le Cordon Bleu. I loved it. Her insight into the challenges faced by green culinary school students is remarkable. The French approach to food is marvelously intentional. Whether in the form of a carefully made stock or a specifically sectioned chicken, every dish requires a strong foundation.

~ Mark your calendar: Saturday, April 18th is the opening day of the Asheville City Market! If you do not live in town, not to worry. There’s a full listing of Tailgate Markets around the area here. For an even more complete listing, check out the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project website.

~ Another save the date: May 1-3 is the weekend of the Asheville Herb Festival at the WNC Farmers Market. I go every year, it’s so much fun! Enormous selection of herbs and veggie starter pots, handmade soaps, tinctures, and much more.

~ Will Asheville edge out Portland as Beer City, USA? You have until May 7 to cast your vote, though Asheville is getting the early nod. If you haven’t already, head over to the Charlotte Examiner web page and vote. (No cheating.)

~ I spent the weekend curled up with two new cookbooks, Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry and Almost Meatless by Tara Mataraza Desmond and Joy Manning. I am feeling inspired and invigorated. Both are in line with my personal cooking style: lots of veggies, lots of flavor and spices, either omit meat entirely or use meat to accent the dish and pull it all together.

~ Of course, I couldn’t wait to try out a recipe, so I made Bryant Terry’s Jamaican Veggie Patties. I learned of Vegan Soul Kitchen via 101 Cookbooks, and she reprints the Jamaican Veggie Patties recipe here. The patties were hefty, filling but not at all greasy. They held together exceptionally well. I think I’ll be making some for my plane ride west in a few months.

How was your weekend?

Nikki was housesitting for a family that lives the sort of life I dream about. They live way up on top of a mountain, in a two-story wood paneled house. With a jacuzzi and a greenhouse. And a pond. With a water slide. There is hardwood and tile throughout, with floor to ceiling glass windows and doors opening to a wraparound deck.

They have alpacas, due solely to a month long trip to Ecuador taken a few years ago. They came back to the States and thought, “Hey! We’ll raise alpacas!” And now they are.

That wistful sigh you hear is mine.

There are three females, three or four males and two baby alpacas, called crias.

And two cantankerous guard llamas, because alpacas don’t defend themselves. Llamas do. Llamas get mean and haughty. They kick and spit. Alpacas just scamper and play, act shy, then curious.

Occasionally, they also spit.

When I arrived, Nikki brought me up to help herd the alpacas into the barn for dinner.

How do you herd alpacas, you ask? Simply get behind them. They will run the other direction. See now why they need a guard llama?

We ran up the hillside and shooed the alpacas into the barn. Except they weren’t ready to come in yet, so there was a bit of dodging and teasing on the part of the alpacas. Eventually all were in and fed, and it was time for our dinner.

We pooled our resources (one eggplant, garlic, green peppers, tofu and several potatoes) and set out to make curry in this unfamiliar, but incredibly well-stocked kitchen. There was a walk-through pantry, labeled indiscriminately by region (Mexico, Asia) or type of preparation (baking, cake making). A sort of organization that most certainly was not my own was evident. Mismatched mason jars filled with different grains covered one shelf while four or five different types of flour were rolled closed and stacked atop one another in a corner. Ingredients I had never heard of (see: fufu flour), likely acquired during some exotic adventure, jostled for a place next to Cheetos and melba toast.

“Leigh, they have 14 boxes of matzoh but no ice cream.”
It was fantastic.

We managed to find coconut cream (no coconut milk), Vindaloo as well as Korma curry paste.

It was a Vindaloo kind of night. We cubed the tofu and the vegetables, drank some wine and talked of dreams.

I mixed up the curry, tasting for heat while Nikki sauteed the vegetables in the largest cast-iron skillet I had ever seen. We simmered the curry for about 20 minutes and made basmati rice. The end result was flavorful and filling. I do not see anything wrong with using jarred curry paste, as long as it is a high quality. For example, I always use Mae Ploy brand when I make Thai red curry, because it really is good. I know I’d just frustrate myself if I tried to mix the paste from scratch. Perhaps on a rainy Saturday.

It is true. You can make curry out of anything you have on hand. But there is something special about eggplant and green peppers mixed together. Sweet onion would have been perfect in the curry as well. The coconut cream perfectly balanced the heat of the Vindaloo. I discovered that the main difference between coconut cream and coconut milk is that coconut cream is thicker and more concentrated. Mm, tasty.

In the meantime…

~ As busy as I’ve been, I failed to notice until now the shout out that Ashvegas gave me a week ago. Thanks, Ashvegas! Neat.

~ Have you ever heard of fufu flour? Me neither, until this weekend. It is made from dehydrated tubers of the elephant’s ear plant and cassava. Oh, the wonders of a well-traveled kitchen.

~ While I’m at it, here’s more news straight from Ashvegas: The space that housed (New) Old Europe is being reborn into a (New) New Orleans inspired bar and eatery called The Sazerac. While I don’t care for the cocktail (rye whiskey is not my thing), I love New Orleans and Creole food! Stay tuned…

EDtF, Days 6 and 7.

While I did not fall completely off the wagon, let’s just say that Saturday derailed me a bit more than I liked.

Wagons, trains…whatever.

I am pleased to announce that excepting the few items I picked up on Saturday (goodies from App Vintner, some produce from Amazing Savings, peanut butter) I have not set foot in a grocery store this week, either.

And I did in fact make pork and sauerkraut on Sunday.
But the idea to take a picture only hit after the deliciousness was in my stomach.
I’m sorry.

Monday was leftovers, so no interesting recipes or ideas to report.

A lackluster conclusion to something I was gung-ho about nearly all the way through.

Participating in Eating Down the Fridge did serve as a check for me, a realization of how much food I had “just laying around.” It showed me that I need to rethink my shopping habits, and can probably reduce my grocery bill without too much effort. The reality is, I went two weeks on less than $30 worth of groceries. The intentionality of EDtF is something I would like to recreate every three months.

Added bonus: what I save in groceries, I can make up for in wine. I’ve yet to get to the point where I have enough wine on hand to justify a wine rack. I’d like to change that.

I appreciated the opportunity to participate in something that brought an awareness, to myself and others. A few people have mentioned being grateful for the kick start to look in their own pantries and fridges to see what they have “just laying around.”

So thank you.

See Monday’s entry for the total list of food used up from my fridge.

Why, yes please. A 2007 Tomaresca Neprica, at $18 somewhat lower in price than the bottle we had been considering. (And at a lower markup than I’ve seen around town.) A sip proved delightful, and we accepted her recommendation. She made sure to open the bottle in front of us, pressed stemless glasses into our hands and let us know she’d put our bottle aside until a table came available.

With 12-15 tables in this relatively small space and 3-4 servers, I was surprised that the restaurant was not noisier. I conversed easily with my dining partner without raising my voice.

As we reached the 15 minute mark of our wait, a server came by with a tray of fried ravioli topped with fresh tomatoes. “Compliments of the chef.” Nice. I appreciated that attention was paid to the hungry souls forced to wait. The pace in the kitchen and of the servers was fast, but not frenetic. Another 10 minutes passed and a table opened up. As we sat, our bottle was brought over and our glasses refilled. We ordered the bruschetta as an appetizer. It came out quickly, a plate of grilled flatbread topped with diced tomatoes and onions, drizzled with a rich balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

One curious thing I noticed is that the bread and olive oil that usually comes standard to the table at most Italian restaurants was listed as an appetizer. For ~ $4. Their list of appetizers was tempting enough and their prices so completely reasonable that I wouldn’t count it as detracting from the experience. Keep in mind that this is an independently owned restaurant in an out of the way space, filling what I feel is an important niche in Asheville – casual Italian.

We ordered our entrées, zuppa di pesce for my dining partner and chicken scarpiello for me. It took an effort of will not to order the penne alla vodka, temptingly front and center on Nona Mia’s list of specials.

Next time.

The entrées took some time in coming out, but I did not mind at all. For one, I am fairly certain they cook to order and two, on a Saturday night with parties still waiting for tables and more coming through the door, at no point in my experience did I ever feel rushed.

After I finished my second glass of wine, a server we had not interacted with up to this point stopped by and asked if we’d like some water. Yes, absolutely. So used to water being poured as you sit, I had not noticed this was not the case.

Our entrées came out smelling incredible. Warm, savory, tangy. A good amount of food, but not so much that it was piled together atop my plate. This was not a careless presentation. The chicken scarpiello had capers, potatoes, peppers, chicken, sausage, a few sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts in a thin but tasty sauce accompanied by a wedge of foccacia. The zuppa di pesce had clams and rings of calamari mingling in a spicy broth with three squares of fried pasta. We were asked if we wanted freshly grated Parmesan.

By the way, the answer to this question is always yes.

Our server stopped by to inquire if everything was to our liking, and I responded with an enthusiastic “Excellent, thank you!”

The entrée was almost too much to finish. My partner finished, likely more out of his duty to all things seafood, (being from eastern North Carolina) than there being room in his stomach. I sensibly asked for a take-home container and one was provided.

And then there was the tiramisu.

I never order tiramisu when out to eat. I dislike the standard presentation of a flat cake square dusted with espresso powder, always too soggy on the bottom. It is often too sweet for me and I find other offerings more tempting.

However, my partner insisted. It’s really good, he said. Try it and see. So I did.

The tiramisu came out presented in a tumbler, with three lady fingers spaced around the sides. Homemade whipped cream, not too sweet. The cake at the bottom was perfect, very espresso-y without being soggy and gross. It was delicious, and I would order it again, no question. Consider me converted.

I thought about sharing the total cost of our dining experience, but wouldn’t that be crass? Trust me when I say that for all that we ordered and ate, it was wholly reasonable for a meal out in Asheville. Dinner for two could easily be done for under $40. The most expensive entrée on the menu was the chianti braised lamb shanks, for all of $17. They offer a variety of meat and pasta dishes, ranging from $10-$14.

Go, and enjoy it.

Nona Mia
807 Patton Ave #A
Asheville, NC 28806
828-505-2028