I just disappeared for almost 2 months. I don’t know how it happened. I switched jobs, no longer had a computer, went away on vacation, battled with my internet connection. Excuses, excuses.
Don’t worry: the whole time, I’ve been nibbling on things that I’d like to write about.
Please accept my apologies and stay tuned for a post very soon!
Before I launch into my weekend I wanted to point you to a new site addition – the “What’s Cooking” item on the right. This is pulling from a Twitter page which I can use to make quick updates without getting into a whole blog entry.
The Memorial Day weekend found me in New Jersey. We first shot over to New York City where we visited Loreley for beer and pretzels and Pasticceria Bruno for dessert and cannolis to go.
Berry tart from Pasticceria Bruno. Photo by Jeremy May
Back in New Jersey we poked into an Indian grocery store in Parsippany called Subzi Mandi, where I picked up rosewater and some jars of spicy condiments and marveled at the unusual produce like Luffa (aka Chinese Okra).
Lobster and corn, eaten outside at my parents’ house
Later my family made lobsters using my dad’s new method – a turkey fryer (filled with water, of course). It’s a great way to cook a lot of lobster while keeping the mess and smell out of the kitchen. I love eating steamed lobsters at home. Not only are they much more expensive in restaurants, but they definitely don’t taste as good if you can’t make a mess. Hope you all had a great weekend too!
One of the only amenities missing from my condo is outdoor space. Providence’s ban on overnight street parking has forced my building, as well as everywhere else I’ve lived, to pave over what once was a backyard.
In early spring, when the first hints of green started poking through the soil, I was getting itchy fingers. I looked into community gardens and was excited to discover one hidden just a block away! The first harvest happened even before I started planting: while weeding my plot, I discovered it was full of delicious arugula and chives and cooked up an outstanding pasta with blue cheese. The plot also has a peach tree and mint, cilantro and oregano plants.
Garden progress: from weeding to planting
We got a head start thanks to the Southside Community Land Trust‘s annual plant sale. If you live in the area and haven’t been, put it on your calendar for next year. It’s a great organization and they have some unusual and exciting plants. I picked up four varieties of tomato (red pear, sun gold, pink brandwine, and prudence purple – which really are purple), some herbs (sacred basil, purple opal basil, tarragon and epazote), alpine strawberries, and sweet peas.
A trip to the library was also fruitful. I’ve been reading Cultivating the Cook’s Garden
I’m not an expert gardener: my experience consists of container gardening in apartments and helping my mother in the garden as a child. Jeremy hasn’t gardened a lot either, but garnered some great intuition while growing up in the midst of farmland. I’m sure we’ll make mistakes here and there, but hopefully we’ll end up with something delicious and fresh on the dinner table.
A few days of bland food finally helped me recover from the Wings from Hell, and I was ready for another food adventure. Jeremy caught a segment about Parker’s Maple Barn, a southern New Hampshire sugar house and restaurant, and once we saw ribs on the breakfast menu, we decided it would be the perfect Saturday morning outing.
After a surprisingly short and pleasant drive, we arrived to find the giant barn hopping. We ordered two huge breakfasts: him, the Maple Baby Back Ribs and Eggs with a side of pancakes, and me, the Mini Parker’s Special. My breakfast was anything but mini, with pancakes (I loved raspberry – the flavor of the month), an egg, bacon, sausage, ham, large pieces of toast, and Maple Baked Pea Beans in place of the usual home fries. As for the ribs, I’ve never had ribs cooked outside of the barbecue style, and these were good, but we both agreed that once is enough and our next visit would probably be for a “normal” breakfast.
Maple Baby Back Ribs and Eggs at Parker’s Maple Barn
After breakfast we stopped in the store and picked up some maple syrup. I love the more flavorful Grade B syrup, especially because its flavor holds up better in baking. The next day, I discovered it made my maple granola even more delicious than usual. I can’t wait to return to Parker’s Maple barn during sugaring season next year.
As a 10-year-old tomboy, I always rose to the dare of eating something spicy. I’d chomp a hot pepper and try to convince everyone that it was nothing, even if the steam circling out of my ears belied my suffering.
I guess that part of me hasn’t died, because last night I went to Providence’s new BBQ joint Rick’s Roadhouse and insisted on finishing their Wings from Hell so I could get my picture on the Wall of Flame.
The waiver we had to sign hinted at how hot the wings would be. And they were HOT. My dining companions were only able to get through one or two, but once I hit four I became one with the pain and made my way through the rest. These weren’t tasty wings for spice lovers – they were a potent weapon slathered with as much capsicum as a wing could hold. Strangely enough, they were so hot that the Beamish Stout we were drinking tasted like pure sugar. I managed to survive, though we canceled our movie plans for the evening so we could all go home, clutch our stomachs and feel sorry for ourselves.
My Place on the Wall of Flame
This was my second meal at Rick’s. The first as a bit more modest – a shared deluxe barbecue platter. We thought Rick’s was the best barbecue we’ve had in Providence, but I know barbecue is a very subjective and touchy subject, so you should find out for yourselves. A lot of the menu items are a very good value, like the pulled pork sandwich which is just $5.49. They have a bunch of whiskey flights and you can get pitchers of beer (which is a necessary accessory to wash down really hot wings).
If any of you decide to rise to the hot wings challenge, let me know what happens!
Rick’s Roadhouse
370 Richmond St., Providence (in the Jewelry District)
I’ve been neglecting my blog this week. It’s not that I don’t think “I need to write about this!” every time I eat a delicious morsel or spy some interesting food item – mostly, it’s that I hesitate to post without a picture, and after a day at work, the lighting in my house can most pleasantly be described as “romantic”. So I’m going to tell you about the pot of risotto I made tonight, but you’ll just have to imagine how beautiful it looks.
No food photo, but check out this asparagus napkin I silkscreened at AS220’s print shop yesterday!
Sometimes I gravitate towards recipes with multiple diced vegetables – I read them slowly, thinking of how therapeutic all that chopping will be (I suspect that visions of the beach do this for most people, but I’ll take what I can get). Last night I was reading Ruth Reichl’s Garlic and Sapphires, and when I got to the Risotto Primavera recipe, I knew it was the perfect fate for my Monday night and the extra bunch of farmers’ market asparagus I’d been saving.
While it doesn’t take that long to prepare, it’s the perfect evening “cooking retreat” – an excuse to turn off the phone, the TV and the computer, and immerse yourself in the acts of chopping vegetables and stirring risotto.
Now for the recipe…
It’s inevitable, when you cook more than 4 courses in a night, to make a total mess.
But I’m happy to see how much smaller that mess looks in my new kitchen! (on the right). We cooked a 5 course dinner for 8 of us this weekend and there was still space left on the counter.
You probably think I’m going to write up some little charming food boutique in a hidden corner of the state. Wrong – it’s a store that you’ve probably already seen. Even more, it’s a chain: Ocean State Job Lot.
Job Lot has been around since the late 70s and sells items unwanted by the manufacturer or stores, like overstocks and overruns. This includes everything from clothing to tools and, as you can guess by my title, food.
Since my first visit a few years ago, the store has become a regular stop in my shopping rotation. Sometimes I pick up staples there, but often I go for the unusual and international products.
My top Job Lot food picks (in no particular order):
1. Teddie Natural Peanut Butter – This natural (non-homogenized, peanut only) peanut butter is delicious and usually around $2 a jar.
2. Gnocchi – Vacuum-packed soft gnocchi are available with or without herbs for only $1. These cook up in minutes and are a tasty alternative to the usual pastas.
3. Israeli Couscous – If you haven’t had Israeli couscous, it’s a larger version of the usual small grains. I’ve seen it in restaurants now and then, but it’s pretty rare – and expensive – in stores. Job Lot’s $1 packages disappear from the shelves fairly quickly.
4. Danish Garden Jams – These jams from Denmark come in a huge blue bucket for only $2. My favorites are the blackcurrant and raspberry. The low-sugar versions don’t have artificial sweeteners, just less sugar, so they are the perfect consistency for stirring into yogurt. Lately we’ve found smaller jars with more exotic flavors, like strawberry mango and orange pineapple with lime and carrot.
5. Dried Figs – catch them in stock and you can get the traditional ring of figs for only $1. If you’re even luckier, you might find luxurious bags of soft miniature mission figs. Also check out other dried fruits like dates and apricots.
It’s hard to stop there. Some of my other Job Lot finds include Apfelschorle, crispbreads and crackers, Lindt truffle bars with flavors like cherry-chili and guava, oh…I could go on and on!
Do you frequent Job Lot? What do you usually buy?
Since my post about the Price Rite which opened near me, I’ve returned countless times. I have especially enjoyed exploring new ingredients in the Hispanic foods aisle.
One of my discoveries was Giant White Corn. The dried kernels were definitely giant – about the size of a penny. Inspired by the recipe on the Goya package, I prepared a stew with pork, making a few modifications based on the ingredients I had on hand. The result was delicious and I’ll definitely make it again.
Pork Stew with Giant White Corn
A similar recipe can be found on the Goya site here. The modifications I made were:
Providence has a co-op in its future! Urban Greens, who has been running a buying club for eight years, is going to be opening a cooperative market at 1577 Westminster Street. I’m excited – it’ll be a convenient way to eat local and fresh even if I miss the farmer’s market.
I bought a founding share today. If you’ve been hoping for a market like this, you should too!
