All posts by Stephanie

cooks, uncategorized, vegetables

CSA Longing

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For the last two years, we’ve participated in Zephyr Farm’s CSA.  If you’re not familiar with a CSA, it stands for “Community Supported Agriculture” and is basically a vegetable subscription.   Ours started mid-June and ran through the end of October.


Pickups from the beginning of the season (6/22/2010) and end of the season (9.15.09)

I looked forward to my Tuesday pickups, when I’d walk down the street with my IKEA bag and come back with an Iron Chef-like challenge to imagine a week of dishes with the bag’s contents.  Every second week, we got the most delicious assortment of multi-colored eggs.

This year, we won’t be doing the CSA.  We moved to a new neighborhood, and since J works late and I take the bus, it would be very hard for us to pick up our weekly allotment.  Instead, we’ll be putting aside money to spend at the Saturday farmers’ market, which is luckily in walking distance.  I’ll miss it – maybe one day we’ll be able to join again.

eats, kansas

Kansas Donuts

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Just got back from a 5 day trip to Kansas, a brother-in-law richer (J’s sister got married).

While we were there, we ate more than our share of fried food.  I ate donuts three times, chili cheese fries twice, and two hot dogs (three if you count the A&W corndog bites).  That’s not to mention the nachos, jalapeno poppers…the list goes on.

Donuts from the Donut Whole

The donuts above are from The Donut Whole in Wichita.  It’s a cute shop with an Austin vibe.  Our flavors: triple chocolate, caramel sea salt, peanut butter cup, Homer J (mixed berries and sprinkles), chocolate cherry cordial, key lime pie.  The caramel was my favorite, and not only for the icing – the fresh, wholesome dough stood out.  Even though we ate almost three donuts a piece, these were almost healthy tasting and not heartburn-inducing like most of their fat-laden cousins.  According to the Donut Whole website, they’re made with Kansas buttermilk, flour and eggs.

Daylight Donuts

Earlier in our trip, we had these donuts from Daylight Donuts in Wellington, KS, a medium sized chain with 900 franchises.  My husband’s favorites are the chocolate Long John, the eclair-like creation on the left (but unlike an eclair, it’s not filled).  I had the pine cone, a clever creation which maximizes the donut surface area.  The giant strawberry fritter just right of center is apparently made from four smashed donuts – it’s a dense challenge to finish.  Except for the fritter, these donuts were sweet and fluffy.

crafts, makes

WikiPeeps

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For the last five years, I’ve admired the Washington Post Peeps diorama contest and its colorful entries.  This year, I wanted to give it a try.

I decided to tackle the convenient pun “WikiPeeps”.   A few sketches came to mind, but ultimately, it was the image of Julian Assange interviewed while on house arrest at Ellingham Hall that seemed the most iconic and timely.

WikiPeeps' Julian Assange

I started with a small shoebox which I lined with paper, felt, and a cutout of the mansion.  The mug and camera are made of polymer clay, and I wove the scarf out of embroidery floss on a tiny makeshift cardboard loom.   I recreated the December 2010 Time magazine cover and sewed a miniature version.

The Peeparazzi

Is this a bit silly? Maybe.  Was it fun to make? Definitely.  But I wasn’t just trying to be absurd; for me, WikiLeaks has been one of the most thought provoking things to happen in years.  And what better way to immortalize a moment than with marshmallow?

eats, providence, rhode island

Kitchen Nightmares

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After a long break from blogging, I feel like I have so much to say, and I want to say it in more than 140 characters (sorry, Twitter).

Us on Kitchen Nightmares
In the photo above, my husband and I are the ones with our heads turned.

Our episode of Kitchen Nightmares aired last week – we were diners on the show at DownCity in Providence.   Filming was a fun experience.  We dined on re-opening night, so we didn’t experience quite as much drama as diners on earlier nights.  

You can watch the episode on Hulu – most of our footage was about 37 minutes in.

We celebrated the airing last Friday with a little viewing party. A few of us brought food inspired by DownCity’s menu – we chose to recreate the truffled goat cheese dip, probably my favorite dish of the night.  Ours was tasty too but sadly lacked the homemade potato chips for dipping.

My interview with Abby (the co-owner of DownCity) can be found in the latest Providence Monthly.

cooks, meals

Halloween 2009 Menu

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Halloween is a favorite holiday in this house, so we hosted a dinner party last night – 8 spooky courses!  One of the advantages of this menu was that much of it could be prepared ahead, so we didn’t have to stay hidden in the kitchen for long.

Halloween 2009
The table setting, my favorite chef with 3 Liter Duvel, and Escargot

Aperitif: Unicum (drank out of test tubes)
Snack: BBQ Spiced Meal Worms

1: Chouriço Assado -Chouriço set aflame in a terracotta dish (ours is shaped like a pig)
Duvel – we got a GIANT 3 liter bottle!

2: Escargot
White Wine

3: Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
White Wine

4: Blood Red Romaine Caesar Salad
White Wine

– Intermezzo Spoon of Rhubarb Sorbet –

5: Black (squid ink) fettuccine with lemon and caviar
White Wine

6: Roasted spindly carrots and squash
Red Wine

7: Steak Tartare
Red Wine

8: Chocolate Ganache Mini-Tartlets with white chocolate tombstones
Port

– Coffee –

grows

Garden Shopping Spree

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The Southside Community Land Trust plant sale was this weekend.  Knowing how well the plants did last year (some have even happily returned after their winter sleep), I went even crazier this time and loaded up a couple of flats.  Here’s what we found.

Herbs:
Dill
Parsley (Giant, flat leaved)
Borage
Epazote
Marjoram
Sage
Thai Basil

Fruits:
Yellow Alpine Strawberry
Raspberry
Ground Cherry

Misc Veg:
Mexican Sour Gherkin
Purple Tomatillo
Tomatillo
Golden Chard
Ping Tung Eggplant
Red Spinach
Champion Collard

Tomatoes:
Green Zebra Tomato
Cherry Roma
Sun Gold
Red Pear

Peppers:
Lemon Drop Pepper
Serrano Chile
Black Czech Pepper
Volcano Hot Pepper
Bulgarian Pepper
Hungarian Hot Wax Pepper

Here’s how the garden looked in March, April and May. I’ve only planted a few of my new purchases so far – it’s such a cold, grey day and I’m having a hard time leaving the house.

Garden 05.09

cooks

Regifting

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I got a funny call the other day – my mom, sounding slightly alarmed, asked me if I had time to talk.  She said she’d gotten a call about something I’d written in my blog.  My first thought was “Someone is still reading my blog?” and my second, “Did I accidentally write something offensive?”

It turned out that in my post about Indian Cauliflower I mentioned that I’d gotten a spice kit/cookbook that a family friend didn’t want.  The only problem was, the kit was a gift from his daughter, then he gave it to my mom, and then she gave it to me.  And all three of them read the blog post.

At least everyone got a good laugh out of it, and I’m still enthusiastic about the gift, even if it wasn’t for me!

eats, massachusetts

Cafe Polonia

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You’re about to read a tale with a tragic ending, but a very delicious beginning.

It happened two Fridays ago.  For Christmas, I had given Jeremy tickets to Beer Advocate’s Night of the Barrels, a sampling of wood-aged beers in Boston.

Trips to Boston are always a good excuse to explore a slightly different culinary landscape.  Rhode Island is lacking in European restaurants (except, of course, Italian), and cold weather is the perfect time for potatoes and sausages.  So Cafe Polonia seemed like a great dinner choice and was even convenient for travel (right off the Andrew T stop).

We planned to get enough food in our system that the beer wouldn’t go to our heads – what we didn’t expect was eating such delicious and plentiful food that we’d hardly have room for beer.  That, my friends, was the tragedy.

Cafe Polonia
Tripe soup, the Polish Plate, and a Gypsy Pancake at Cafe Polonia

When we saw the menu, we couldn’t help ourselves. There were so many choices I’ve never seen on a US menu, even in Polish restaurants.  We started with soup – tripe (me) and forest mushroom (Jeremy), and had to share the blood sausage appetizer,  and of course it was impossible not to get two entrees.  Jeremy got the Polish Plate, a good sampler with kielbasa, stuffed cabbage, hunter’s stew and pierogies.  I was intriuged by the Gypsy pancake, described as a potato pancake stuffed with goulash. The menu did say “giant”, but I didn’t expect the two dinner-plate sized potato pancakes with goulash.  It was so delicious I finished half (which is probably twice a normal dinner portion), and was pained that I didn’t live close enough to take home a doggy bag.

You can imagine how full we were when we got to the beer tasting.  But would you have been able to resist?

Cafe Polonia
611 Dorcester Ave.
South Boston, MA
http://www.cafepolonia.com/

cooks, sides, vegetables

Indian Cauliflower

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Cauliflower is like a blank canvas which takes beautifully to strong flavors. I like it roasted with bold spices, in a soup with blue cheese, raw with spicy hummus. Recently I discovered this Indian recipe in an out-of-print book called “Cooking with the Spices of India”. A family friend gave me the book, which came with a box of spices, because he wasn’t so fond of Indian food. I’m very happy he thought of me!

This recipe is out of this world. It might sound involved, but after you make it once, you’ll find it’s totally worth it (and not actually that complicated).

Panch Phoran is a spice mixture composed of fenugreek, nigella seed, mustard seed, fennel seed, and cumin seed.

Cauliflower

Braised Cauliflower with Panch Phoran Yogurt Sauce

  • 1 small onion, peeled and coarsely copped
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • a 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup lowfat yogurt
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 head cauliflower (about 2 lbs), separated into bite sized florets
  • 3 tbs vegetable oil
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 2 green cardamom pods
  • a ¾ inch piece cinnamon
  • 1 tsp panch phoran
  • salt, to taste
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

In a blender, combine the onion, garlic, ginger and 2 tbs of cold water. Puree and transfer half of the paste to a large bowl with the yogurt, salt and sugar. Stir to combine. Mix in the cauliflower florets, turn the florets in the marinade to coat thoroughly and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until very hot, but not smoking. Add the cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon and panch phoran, stir and allow the spices to sizzle and pop, about 30 seconds. Add the remaining half of the garlic-ginger puree and stir for 2 more minutes. Add the cauliflower-yogurt mixture and cook for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, cover and let the cauliflower simmer for 5 minutes. Uncover the pot and finish cooking until the cauliflower is tender, about 12-15 minutes. Check for salt, stir in the cilantro and transfer to a serving dish.

breakfast, cooks

Muesli

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What is Muesli?  For many people, it’s the lonely imported box of oats and dried fruit at the end of the cereal aisle.  But I’ve always known it as a real treat – a mixture with oats and yogurt that my mom would make on weekend mornings.

Muesli was popularized by a Swiss physician at the turn of the 20th century as part of his regimen for healthier eating.  It’s one of my favorite power breakfasts, perfect after the gym or before a long day.

Muesli
Muesli made with dried figs and cherries

Muesli (makes 2 small or 1 large serving)

Vary the amounts based on your mood – I often use an apple per person and very little of the other ingredients, making it more of a breakfast fruit salad.

  • 1 apple, cored but not peeled
  • 1 tbs lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup yogurt
  • 1 tbs honey
  • 1/3 cup oatmeal or granola
  • 1/4 cup chopped nuts, such as almonds or pecans
  • 1/4 cup dried fruit, such as raisins or dried cherries

Grate the apple using a box grater and toss with lemon juice.  Stir in yogurt and add honey to taste.  Mix in remaining ingredients. If you prefer softer oats, allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes before serving.