Fiddlehead:

Graveyard Dust Brownies

2010-10-31T13:39:00.000-04:00

As I write this, they exist only as ghostly remembrances of what they were in life. I'm talking about brownies. Brownies that were devoured so ravenously at the revels last night that I failed to take a picture in time.

I've made reference before to the joys of the 1946 Joy of Cooking cookbook. Several years ago, my boyfriend at the time used one of the recipes in the book as a template for a cake-like-yet-still-fudgey brownie. I can't remember which recipe he followed (sort of), but I remember that the results were fantastic. Yesterday, I concocted these "Graveyard Dust Brownies," borrowing heavily from the cookbook, S's innovations and my own inspirations.

Graveyard Dust Brownies

Preheat oven to 325. Yup, a little bit cooler than your usual baking temp. Line with wax paper or oiled parchment, 2 med. baking dishes (you could probably do a 9x13, but I feel that I get better results with smaller pans -- less burning around the edges).

Melt and then let cool:

* 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate squares

* 1 oz. black cocoa (an intensely dark cocoa powder that is great to use as an accent to regular chocolate. You'll need more for the graveyard dust)

* 1 stick or 1/2 c. unsalted butter

Beat until light:

* 4 eggs

1/4 tsp. salt

Add in gradually:

2 c. sugar

Continue to beat until light and creamy. Fold in the melted chocolate and:

* 1 tsp. vanilla

* 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour

Beat until smooth. Fold in (as desired):

* 1/4 c. walnuts

* 1/4 c. chunky peanut butter

* 1/4 c. shredded, unsweetened coconut

Pour mixture into prepared pans and bake until set, about 40-45 min. Remove from oven and dust with Graveyard Dust:

Graveyard Dust

Mix in a small bowl:

* scant 1/4 c. sifted powdered sugar

* 1/8 c. or a little more of black cocoa

Sift together until gray.

Chipotle-Infused Butternut-Miso Soup

2010-10-17T15:57:00.000-04:00

I'm so glad this came out as well as it did. I was a little worried that I was trying to force together too many elements, but the concoction actually achieves a delicious harmony. I made my own veg stock, which I then infused with a large, dried chipotle pepper. I roasted the winter squash, which I then pureed with the miso paste and a ladle or two of broth.The salty-sweetness of the miso raises the profile of the smoky chipotle and the sweet butternut. The soup tastes rich and satisfying.

Chipotle-Infused Butternut-Miso Soup

Preheat oven to 400F. In a med. to large baking dish, toss together:

1 small-medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Roast until softened and golden. In a large saucepan, heat:

3 1/2 c. of vegetable broth
1 large, dried chipotle

Cook until the chipotle starts to soften. Add:

2 large shiitake tops, diced

Cook for a few minutes. Meanwhile, puree the squash with a ladle or two of the broth and

2-3 tbs. of white miso paste

To the broth, add and only cook until wilted, under a minute:

5-6 leaves of swiss chard or other green, cut into ribbons

Add the pureed squash to the broth; stir and heat through, but do NOT allow the soup to boil, or the miso will "die." Serve garnished with toasted squash seeds.

Baked and Roasted: Warm Inspirations for a Cool Season

2010-10-14T12:15:00.000-04:00

My niece and I made this pie about a month ago. When baking with a six-year-old, decorations may be required:

Apple pie with butterfly and heart-shaped cutouts. Recipe for pie and crust in Joy of Cooking, 1994 (?) ed.

Since I usually cleanse around this time of year (early spring and fall are good times to clean it out), I don't really eat stuff with butter or refined sugar. But, I can substitute coconut oil for the butter and real maple syrup for the sugar and bake myself a pretty awesome apple crisp:

Delicious apple crisp made with no butter and no refined sugar!

My favorite way to eat vegetables is to roast them with a drizzle of olive oil and a little seasoning. This is a nice way to make some hearty veg for both the cleansers and non-cleanser crew. I put beets (skins intact), quartered onions (stem intact), and halved thin-skinned potatoes in a single layer in a roasting pan. I wedge in a few peeled whole garlic cloves. I added olive oil, salt on the vegetables I wasn't going to eat (which is the potatoes -- not on the cleanse), pepper, fresh chopped fennel fronds and dried rosemary. The vegetables emerge from the oven looking like jewels:

Can you see the juices bubbling?

October Feast or Famine

2010-10-10T13:07:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, I made my last harvest of the plot in the community garden. Since I moved, it has been chronically difficult to get down to Jamaica Plain (it's at least an hour away), not to mention emotionally difficult. It's hard to see something that I once put so much energy into, something with so much potential, grow wild with neglect. I had a good yield from what I planted, but not nearly as much as I could have gotten if only I'd been there to tend it on a semi-daily basis.

I made the ex come and watch me.
I pulled out weeds with the chard, hacked down the basil plants and the fennel, and wrenched the tomato plants from the earth. The squash plants, mine and my neighbors', had grown so monstrous that I had no idea which spiny tentacles belonged to my squash and which were theirs. What fell upon my plot I ripped up and carried over my head to the compost pile, a vegetal Medusa with a grim will.

He still wants to be in my life despite the fact that he ruined it. Despite the fact that in two weeks he'll literally be living on the other side of the planet. What could I say? He picks the yellow tomatoes off the vine and pours them like treasures into my hands, but what am I supposed to do with them? I'm sick of grape tomatoes. I want more.

So, I distract myself. Today, I'm cooking a few things, using up as much stuff as I can. First, I started up a pot of Cuban Black Bean Soup from Daisy Martinez's cookbook, Latin Flavors that will Rock your World. I just put in the habenero, and I accidentally touched my fingers to my mouth, so now my lips are all tingly from the capsaicin. I don't think it's an unpleasant feeling. I must be getting used to the sensation of pain. Out of the oven, I just pulled out something like a tartine with chard, egg and cottage cheese in a brown rice "crust." In the works is a Szechuan Eggplant-Tofu Stir-Fry, a salad, a tabbouleh with quinoa, and some roasted beets. Additionally, I have two butternut squash, a pumpkin and a gigantic squash of unknown variety that need to be dealt with. I'm considering a winter squash-miso soup. Not sure if that will be good or if it will be terrible, but uncertainty is a common harvest for gardeners. So much bounty. I know I should be grateful, but I can't help the niggling feeling that somehow it's all going to waste.

I gave him back his bathing suit and some other personal items. I returned to him the large Hershey's Kiss that he gave to me quite some time ago. I said, "You gave this to me while I was on a cleanse [I didn't tell him that even then I instinctively knew that it was a guilt-gift]. I didn't eat it, and then all this shit happened, so I didn't eat it because I was saving it for a time when things got better, but things never got better, so here it is." I had made a ritual sacrifice out of that piece of chocolate, denying myself the pleasure of it, so that when I actually did eat it, it would be the sweetest thing I had ever eaten.

He almost didn't take it. "You should have it. You should take it," he practically begged me to take it back. He just didn't want it to mean what it meant, and if I took it back, he could play pretend (some more). I had so few words. I just said, "No. I don't want it anymore." But is that true? When he hugged me, I was distinctly aware of how much I wanted and wanted.

I knew that if I tried to give him back the FOUR signed Lydia Bastianich cookbooks that he'd given to me recently [another guilt-gift] that I would have been going too far. Kicking a man when he's down. Chucking fresh food upon a compost pile. So, I still have them. They're in my car, but I'm afraid for anyone to know that I still have them. Afraid that they'll think I capitulated to him and didn't stand my ground. Which is true, I suppose.

But am I not supposed to satisfy any desire? He gets to be feted and sent off on his adventures with a grand party and the good wishes of all his friends (who used to be my friends). It makes me want to choke -- the only feast he should be getting is one that ends with a wicker man. Okay, I know that's too much, but I'm full of bitterness, dark and green. I will try to eat all the food I've gathered, making sure to freeze and dry and save as much as I can.
Traveling a path of sacrifice, we eat only our own famine, our own desire.

Soup is ON

2010-09-29T13:15:00.001-04:00

Less than a blurb, this is just a link to a great-sounding recipe in today's NYTImes for a vegetable soup: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/dining/29appe.html?_r=1&th&emc=th

I promise I'll be back. Been depressed. Broke up with the *&^% boyfriend. Knew you'd understand.

Late Summer Fruit Round-Up and a Recipe of My Own

2010-08-07T20:33:00.002-04:00

I haven't done a round-up in a long time, so it seemed like the thing to do on a lazy summer day.

Well, maybe not so lazy. I'm spending the weekend in Wells, Maine, and the first thing I did when I got here was go blueberry-picking . . . which gradually turned into blackberrying as I found more and more of these tiny blackberries:

Got up early this morning, did the whole yoga then yogurt thing, then headed off to the Maine Diner just up the road. See my review here at Yelp.

After that, we went to Kennybunkport to look at the shops and not buy anything (well, I don't buy anything, but my mom bought some jewelry). Came back to the campsite and immediately replaced my lemon-limeade with a new batch, this time adding some freshly squeezed green grape juice. Here's the recipe for that:

Grapeade

32 oz. of cold water
juice of one lemon
juice of one lime
juice of one cup of green grapes (squeeze them through a sieve)
3 tsp. of real maple syrup or to taste

Strain the juices through a sieve into a bowl and stir in the maple syrup. Add to the water and refrigerate.

After making my drink, I went out and found another horde of blackberries, so I'm thinking that I'll have to do something with them. Burgundy pie? Blackberry cheesecake? Jam? Tart? I'm not sure what i should do, so I've been looking around the blogosphere for some inspiration. Here's what I found:

Smitten Kitchen has a recipe for a lime yogurt cake with blackberry sauce that sounds really good. The blog's author suggests that the recipe can be adapted for different citrus and fruits -- lemon cake with blueberry sauce, for example. I'm thinking an orange cake with chocolate sauce or frosting for Halloween (yes, I'm already thinking about it).

It's been a hot, humid and dry (as in not rainy) summer. Need to stay hydrated! I'd like to try this blackberry limeade recipe from 101 Cookbooks.

Gin and I have a real love-hate relationship. I love the taste of gin, hate the insta-migraine it produces. I can usually get away with one gin drink as long as I don't drink any more or anything else. Anyway, I think a blackberry gin cocktail might be a good use for my rather tart, wild berries.

This recipe for a blackberry tart with walnut crust uses fresh blackberries. It might not be the best choice for sthe berries I picked, but I'm feeling nostalgic about living in FL, and thi is from a Florida gal, so I thought I'd send y'all her way.

Here's another blogger who will call y'all y'all: The Pioneer Woman Cooks a blackberry cheesecake. Not sure it's the recipe I'd use for a cheesecake (shouldn't cheesecake be made with marscapone?) but I like her style, and sometimes that matters more than picky details.

But I'm a picky, detail-oriented person (Virgo) and I've always been sweet on Michael Chiarello anyway. Here's his marscapone cheesecake. The link has more links to several other cheesecake recipes.

Oh, shut up! A Georgia peach pound cake? Go on!

Okay, so technically not a Northeastern fruit, but the lemon is an icon of summer fruitery. I bring you Chef Chuck's Lemon Ricotta Pie -- which looks like the closest thing to heaven that I've seen in a long time.

But what about savory summer fruit recipes? Do we have to reserve all this fruity goodness for dessert? I'd like to enjoy it all meal long. Any recipe that uses bacon, cheese, mushrooms and plums (all faves) wins. . . guess this is it.

And then there is the fig. God, I love the fig. So ancient. So pagan. So good with goat cheese. Thank you, Tartelette, for reminding me of my true religion: Goat Cheese Custards with Fig and Balsamic Syrup. Amen. Blessed be. Namaste.

The Earth bloomed with fruit and there was much rejoicing. Yay.

Yeah, I've been drinking. Why?

Butter the Size of an Egg: Inferring Blueberry Cake with Hard Sauce

2010-08-01T07:51:00.010-04:00

I love to read old cookbooks. I've mentioned here before that I own a 1946 edition of The Joy of Cooking, which belonged to my grandmother, which I've used mainly for canning recipes and brownies. Those of you who have that book, will recognize its familiar format, which lists ingredients as they are called for in the recipe. However, styles, tastes and technologies change over the years, making following an old recipe a challenge to later cooks who have come to expect certain flavors and cooking methods. In times before supermarkets and industrial agriculture, people got their vegetables from home gardens or from local producers; people ate seasonally, so sometimes that meant they had a tremendous amount of something, zucchini, let's say, and had to invent clever ways to use it up, including canning it for eating in winter months. The availability of meat was also quite different. For example, chicken never used to come cut up the way it is now, so most recipes for it accounted for the whole chicken and the methods it takes to prepare it (removing gizzards, cutting through bones to separate into fryer pieces, etc.). And of course, cooking times and temperatures are a new invention -- when our grandmothers first cooked, their oven could not achieve the high temperatures our modern ovens can, and sometimes they couldn't even be sure of a consistent temperature, making cooking times a guestimate.

These issues are compounded when one reads not a published cookbook, but an old, personal recipe book. These books are written to suit the needs of the individuals who keep them -- they are not necessarily for anyone else's eyes. The powers of inference are required to discern what the cook means when she writes, "cook until done." Done? Done how? The writer knows what she means. She elides over details or completely ignores procedures if she considers them so basic to cooking that to describe them would be a waste of her time. Sometimes, there are no instructions, just a list of ingredients -- and those ingredients may or may not have quantities

given, or they are described instead of measured precisely. In the recipe that follows this essay,

the cake batter calls for "butter the size of an egg." You should have seen me in the kitchen with a stick of butter and an egg, thinking, "Now, were eggs the same size in the 30s as they are today?" We have come to rely on our culinary mathematics, as if it was some holy magic that needs to be prepared in just the right way or everything will fail. Well, some recipes are quite delicate, but consistency is in the relationship between the food and the cook. If a cook really knows her ingredients, she develops an instinct for combining elements for successful dishes.

My great-grandmother kept a day book in which she added her special recipes. The book is in pieces; the binding is completely broken, and the pages are stacked delicately atop each other like crepes. There is no organization to the arrangement, even though it's a day book (she apparently had no intention of adding recipes in on the days she used them). It's handwritten

and fading a bit, further compromising its readability. And just as I described above, many recipes do not have instructions -- no cooking temperatures or times, no directions for beating, mixing, frying, etc. If someone hasn't made a cake before -- several times before -- they will

likely panic to see a list of ingredients that ends with, "milk to make a batter,"* meaning, just add enough milk to make a batter. Assuming of course, that you know what is the correct consistency for a cake batter and what to do with it after you've achieved it.

In some ways, food blogs are reminiscent of the old, personal recipe books. Publishing our recipes and stories at will, we make up our own rules about what we write. And I have seen blogs that avoid giving "recipes" with measured ingredients and instructions; instead, they describe what the achieved product should look and taste like and list the ingredients and basic methods as it suits the story of their writing (See Marc Matsumoto's blog No Recipes). However, most

food bloggers do list quantities and instructions. We have come to rely upon them -- and since we are writing for an audience (unlike grandma), we assume the same about our readers.

Still, we live in an exciting time for all things food. Our wealth and industry have made it easy to get almost any ingredient from anywhere in the world. Food is a hobby for many. Restaurants have exploded in popularity as more and more people elect to eat out, developing a finer sense of what they like each time they do. And although our agricultural system is full of issues, many are mobilized to discuss those issues and call for change. Farmers' markets, CSAs, organic food, and the growth of sustainable farms and home gardens are all efforts deriving from high levels of

interest in food. I didn't even mention the Food Network, Create, and, of course, this and all the other food blogs out there that daily serve up tips, recipes and discussions for the food obsessed.

Yet, despite all of this, I wonder how much more exciting it would be to have lived and cooked in my great-grandmother's time. To live and eat seasonally -- and dependent on not only the weather and flukes of season (from blights to bumper crops) but also upon one's own skill. It's amazing to me how many people today survive without cooking themselves, constantly relying on others (and those others might be factory workers) to prepare their meals. This dubious luxury was not afforded in 1924, the year printed on the broken binding of Mrs. Osgood's day book. How easily we take it all for granted, the power to transform ingredients into food. And to be able to make it taste good, is that not an art? Despite all our current food obsessions, I wonder if we rightly respect this life skill for what it is -- an alchemical art, a form of magic upon which our most basic physical needs and desires depend.

I remember my grandmother made Blueberry Cake with Hard Sauce when I was a child. The

recipe comes from my great-grandmother's day book, which she handed off to her daughter-in-law (my grandmother) when she married my grandfather. I remember the cake was thick and dense with yummy blueberries and a sweet sugary glaze-like sauce on top. My mother especially makes a big deal about it.

It's blueberry season now. My parents have a camper up in Maine year round, and all around the back, blueberry bushes fill in the spaces between the manicured lawn areas and the wild woods that float behind and beyond. My mother came home with a bowl of berries a couple weeks ago and asked that I make the cake. I've made it twice now -- the second time making some improvements that I think are necessary for our "sophisticated" modern palates.

Blueberry Cake

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a square cake pan.

Beat together into a batter:

* 3/4 c. sugar

* "butter the size of an egg" -- Think about it: back in the old days, butter was made in crocks -- it didn't come in sticks with measurements written on the paper. They probably scooped the butter out of the crock like ice cream; hence, the "size of an egg." I've measured this out to be about 3 1/2 tbs. Butter should be softened.

a whole egg and the yolk of another

* "2 cups reliable flour" -- My mother tells me that flour used to come with baking powder in it to make sure it would rise; hence, "reliable flour." All-purpose flour lacks this addition, so use 2 c. regular flour and add (as my grandmother suggests in between my great-grandmother's lines):

* 2 tsp. baking powder

* "spk. allpice" -- a speck of allspice

* a dash of salt (not in original, my addition)

* 1/2 tsp. lemon zest (optional)

* "milk to make a batter" (see above)

Once you have a batter, fold in:

* 1 cup blueberries, washed and floured (to prevent sinking to the bottom of the pan).

Then, pour into baking pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly and serve warm with hard sauce.

Hard Sauce

This recipe makes just enough hard sauce for the cake size above.

Beat together on high speed. In a stand-up mixer, it will take 3-6 minutes, but could take longer with a hand mixer:

1 stick butter (1/4 lb.), softened but still cool

1 1/2 c. sifted powdered sugar

1 tsp. good vanilla or 1/8 tsp. fiori di sicilia (really makes a difference, but vanilla is fine)

1/2 tsp. nutmeg, preferably freshly grated

You're looking for a consistency that is light and fluffy, but still thick enough to hold a shape. Then, very slowly add:

1/8 c. spiced rum, brandy or citrus juice

If not using the fiori or alcohol, you can add a bit of citrus zest.

This is the consistency you're looking for:

It's important to serve this sauce at room temperature, but remember that it is mostly butter and will spoil if left out too long. Refrigerate if you're not going to use it right away, but let it return to room temperature before you try to spread it, or it will "deflate."

This is really good on a hot dessert (traditionally, it is used on plum pudding); it melts partially, forming a buttery glaze while other parts still retain a whipped, frosting consistency.

Please note: in the picture below, I had used a different recipe for the hard sauce and hadn't quite mastered the consistency. I don't have a good picture of the "new" sauce on the cake -- that's why I provided the one above so you can see what it's really supposed to look like. Still, the picture below does show you a little of the melting effect. This sauce was made with cognac and orange zest.

Best Banana-Walnut Muffins are Made with Coconut Oil

2010-07-13T11:05:00.003-04:00

I was tired of the same old breakfast options this morning, so I decided to see what we had in the cupboards. I had a large, slightly over-ripe banana and lots of walnuts that need to be used up, so voila, banana-walnut muffins.

I just used the basic banana-walnut muffin recipe from The Joy of Cooking and used coconut oil instead of butter or vegetable oil. Coconut oil seems a little less stable than other oils. One time, I made oatmeal cookies with it, and as the hot day progressed, the cookies melted into each other on the plate. Tasted good, but weird texture.

On the other hand, the coconut oil is a great substitution for these muffins, especially since I only had one banana (though quite large) and the recipe calls for 2 or 3. This oil not only adds a nutty taste and fragrance, it also helps keep the muffins moist.

Now, I have to unload these on someone or someones so I don't eat them all!

Crab Tacos

2010-07-12T19:28:00.003-04:00

Went to Ole Mexican Grille in Innman Square with a friend yesterday and had a to-DIE-for meal. Read my review (and some of my other recent reviews) on Yelp.

Today, I was so inspired by the amazing shrimp tacos with chipotle-mayo and pesto that I decided to try to play with the same flavors using stuff I had around the house. The recipe below is the result. Sorry no picture -- as you can see, I've been off my blogging game lately. :(

Anyway, this is just a slapped together recipe, so be sort of loose with the quantities and trust your own taste buds.

Crab Tacos with Chipotle-Mayo and Avocado Pesto

Makes 3 tacos

Preheat oven to 300.

Place in foil:

3 corn tortillas

and place in oven. Check them, and pull them out when they are soft, but hard around the edges. It doesn't take long.

In small saucepan, heat to boiling:

2 c. water

Add:

1 small dried chipotle pepper

and let simmer for 3-5 min. or until soft.

To make the chipotle mayo, chop the chipotle and add to a blender/food processor:

1/4 c. mayonnaise

2 tbs. tomato sauce

1 spring of parsley

1 tbs. chopped basil

1/8 tsp. cumin

salt and pepper

Blend until smooth. Set aside.

For the pesto, blend together until smooth:

1 sprig basil

1 clove garlic

1/4-1/2 chopped jalapeno pepper

1 sprig parsley

1/2 avocado

squeeze of 1/2 lime

Set aside.

To make the crab filling, heat over medium heat:

2 tbs. oil

Add:

1/4 c. finely chopped onion

the rest of the jalapeno, finely chopped.

Cook until softened and add salt and pepper. Add:

1 can fancy crabmeat, drained

a dash of cayenne pepper

Season with salt and pepper to taste and sautee lightly 10 minutes.

To assemble the tacos, lay out the tortillas and add:

chopped iceberg lettuce

Then, add a layer of crab and a dollop of each of the sauces. Top off with:

grated cheddar cheese

Wild Risotto with Fiddleheads

2010-05-18T10:18:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, I had jury duty in downtown Boston. I had to be there by 8am, and the new courthouse has no parking lot. Daytime, weekday parking in Boston is the same as it is in any major city: expensive. So, I had to take the T, which was no hassle at all, really. But, it did sort of turn me around a bit, since I'm more used to driving. I definitely got a different picture of my city traveling on the bus and T.

We were given a generous lunch break -- 2 hours. I really don't know the Haymarket area too well, despite the popular farmers' market that populates the area every Saturday (it's not that great -- not necessarily local produce, kind of a rude atmosphere). AND despite the fact that I've been here plenty of times before. I guess I was just so nervous about getting there on time and getting on a case that I wasn't paying enough attention.

I completely spaced out on how close I was to the North End. Yes, THE North End. The oldest neighborhood in Boston. The one with all the Italian restaurants. WAH! Instead of eating THERE, I ended up at some crappy sub joint that served me the worst eggplant parm sub I've every had. Flavorless. Not enough sauce, limp, milky bread that nonetheless cut the roof of my mouth. Bleck. Oh, I could have done SO much better!

When I got home (didn't get picked for a jury, btw), I decided that I needed risotto to make up for my missed Italian opportunity. I recently bought some fiddleheads, so I decided to add them to a basic risotto recipe with some wild mushrooms and other wild/garden herbs for a hearty, wild-crafted version of the Italian fave. I also used short grain sweet brown rice, which I find has great flavor and will get creamy if you make a commitment to stirring. This recipe serves me about 3 times; double it for a family.

Wild Risotto

2 tbs. unsalted butter

1 small onion, diced

4-8 oz. chopped wild mushrooms

4-5 c. simmering turkey stock (or chicken, or veg., etc.)

1 c. short grain brown rice, arborio, or other short grain rice (never long grain)

1/2 c. washed, blanched fiddleheads

1/4 c. dry white wine

1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese

1/4 c. chopped snow pea sprouts

1/4 c. chopped herbs -- go wild with sorrel or "classic Italian" with basil. I used both.

salt and pepper to taste

chive blossoms for garnish

1. Make sure you've washed and blanched the fiddleheads, dunking them in ice-water after a minute of blanching to ensure that they do not over cook by the end of the cooking process.

2. Set the stock to simmer. You can add a bit of water to stretch it out.

3. Melt 1 tbs. of butter in a heavy, large sauce pan.

4. Add onions and mushrooms and cook until they become soft.

5. Add the rice and stir to coat the kernels in butter and juices. This will burn easily if you don't pay attention. Keep the burner on medium. You want the risotto to cook gently -- high enough so that cooking does not stop when you add liquid, but low enough for the rice to break down and release some gluten, which is what makes the dish creamy.

6. Add the wine and stir. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the rice starts to look chalky. If using brown rice, this might take a bit longer (I do a blasphemous thing with brown rice -- I cover the pan for a few minutes, just to speed up this part. Then, I remove the lid and make sure I stir well throughout the rest of the cooking).

7. Add 1 c. of stock at a time, stirring almost continuously, until the stock is almost completely absorbed. You can tell it's ready to add more stock when you drag the spoon across the bottom of the pan and it leaves a "path" that slowly fills back in with the risotto. You'll probably add liquid every 10-20 minutes, depending on how high your burner/patience is.

8. When the stock is nearly finished, add the fiddleheads and stir gently.

9. When the stock has been used up, add the last tablespoon of butter and stir. See how magically creamy it is! Remove from heat.

10. Add your cheese and fresh greens -- the snow peas and herbs. Taste and then add salt and pepper to adjust seasoning.

11. Garnish with chive blossoms!

Hello, Cheese. It's been a while.

2010-05-16T20:27:00.002-04:00

A favorite dinner: raw veggies, a ripe, red Bartlet pear, Robusto Gouda and a little Pinot Noir.

Good quick guide to many different cheeses: http://www.forkandbottle.com/cheese/mastercheese.htm

I could probably live on good fruit, Pinot Noir and sharp cheese. :)

Food Poem: Canning

2010-05-15T19:29:00.002-04:00

Canning

We spent last summer

canning pickles –

I dug up old recipes

for putting love and sweetness into jars;

you did the hard work of sealing the jars,

making sure no air could come in.

Together, we chopped up what the earth had given us,

we salted, sweetened, and boiled our concoctions

to purify them and preserve them forever.

Those pickles were so good.

We ate them right up.

(I still have one jar of peaches

that I’ve been saving

for when you come back to me.)

Since then, you have preserved all manner of my accomplishments:

my tomato sauce, my chicken stock, my pumpkin soup,

about which you raved to our friends,

holding me sacred between the tongs,

sealing me in love.

So, I cannot comprehend

how one jar of curry

quietly exploded

in the pantry –

you must not have

sealed it tight enough.

It leaked down the wall

and started to stink –

our kitchen

that contained our love –

stunk like rot,

our efforts turned bitter

weeping down the wall.

Gazpacho: a flavorful, raw soup

2010-05-12T20:36:00.002-04:00

I'm finishing up the spring cleanse just as the semester grinds to a halt. It's a great way to finish up this cycle of my life. A lot is going to change within the next year -- even within the next few months -- so I feel that it is appropriate to clean, lighten, and finish projects with clear intentions and calm perspective.

Like last year's spring cleanse (which I did a few months before starting this blog), I spent 6 weeks eating a macrobiotic diet of whole foods, lightly cooked, supplemented with things like probiotics, enzymes, greens powders, whey powder, and lots of herbal tea. Also like last year, I lost a bunch of weight -- this time I dropped about 11 lbs. Of course, I had put on at least 8 lbs. over the stupid winter (can I just say that I wish Xmas would go away and never come back? Call me Scrooge -- w/e). So, I'm feeling thin and healthy, which is nice. I also had the chance to do a lot more with stinging nettles (I made a pesto with it! -- just steam or boil it until it's soft and then use it as a basil replacement), which are so good for cleansing. I made a strong tea with them and added some fresh peppermint for a fantastic cleanse tea. Really good for those "gaseous" times during the cleanse. ;)

I also experimented a bit more with raw food and liquids, which leads me to the title of this post. Gazpacho is such a great soup; it's pure vegetable and spoon-licking good. It's a great, light food. This is a really basic recipe -- feel free to experiment with different vegetables -- maybe some greens or carrots or some different herbs.

Gazpacho

1 lb. of ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 spanish onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded, chopped

2 cups tomato/vegetable juice (use one that is a medley of vegetables for more complex flavor)

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar (so good for you, esp. when cleansing)

1 tsp. of ground cumin (adds depth; makes the soup feel more "substantial")

1/2 c. chopped cilantro

1/4 c. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste (or use Bragg's)

Honestly, this is pretty easy -- everything ends up in the food processor or blender and is pureed until the desired consistency is achieved. Start with the tomatoes and then just add the ingredients, pretty much in the order given. Add the oil last, however, and pour it in slowly as the blender is running so it will incorporate well. Chill. Serve nice and cold.

Stinging Nettles Soup with Leek Base and French Sorrel Garnish

2010-05-06T19:45:00.005-04:00

Haven't got the time for a proper post, but I'm excited for the community garden this summer. I've got an additional plot in a really sunny location. I'm going to try some lemon cucumbers and rainbow quinoa amid the old standbys, tomatoes, squash and eggplants. In my old plot, the sweet woodruff and hyssop took off beautifully, as did the French sorrel that appears in the recipe below. In that plot, I'm going to plant an herb/greens garden. I've already put in some rainbow chard mixed in with the Japanese mustard greens.

Picked up a copy of the Farmer's Almanac and will be doing some experiments with planting by the phases and signs of the moon!

So, last week I went over to do a little planning, and picked up some rhubarb, mint and stinging nettles. Here's a link to the recipe I followed for Stinging Nettles Soup: http://www.siennese.com/~prentice/recipes/nettles.php

I didn't use the creme fraiche because I'm cleansing, but I so wanted to! I did add a garnish of French sorrel, which I think really helps the flavor. The tangy, lemony sorrel is so bright and cheerful with the super-green goodness of the soup base.

:-| Where are all the fiddleheads?

2010-04-14T13:55:00.005-04:00

Where did March go? I have to apologize for not writing in such a long time. My PhD program started in March, and with all the usual semester craziness, I've just been either too busy to blog. What is really unfortunate to me is that this seems to be a pattern -- midsemester is just a bad time for me to try to keep up with the blog. In addition, I feel badly that I let the challenges wane, not to mention the fact that I haven't published anything from or about my Food Ethics students. I also want to do a redesign, but perhaps that will be best accomplished when school lets out in May.

So, to tide readers over until I post more, check out this page on tumeric from Joyful Belly. I'm doing my annual spring cleanse, so this article is well-timed. Seth has been making some fantastic Indian food with lots of tumeric, so I'll see if he would be willing to post a recipe.

Speaking of Seth, he and I went looking for fiddleheads last weekend! Alas, they were too small to be of any use to us, but to all of you out there, this is the time when they are starting to become available, so get out into that woods behind your yard and get some fiddleheads!

The Simple Desires of Spring

2010-02-23T23:00:00.003-05:00

Here's a rule and a twist.

First, the rule:

* never go to the supermarket hungry. Why? Because you never buy potato chips -- gave 'em up for Lent or for some diet. But there they are, strangely, sitting in your pantry. And you're eating them because, well, you bought them. . . when you were hungry in the supermarket.

And now the twist:

* never read the blogs in my blogroll when hungry. Why? Because they are AWESOME and full of delicious foods that I now need to go make.

What I'm really loving is the strange way that the blogs will be in sync with each other. Sometimes, it's a cheese; sometimes a grain or a particular vegetable that everyone is grooving on. For a while there, it was truffles.

Right now it seems as though people are lightening up, getting more greens. The shift is happening . . . can you feel it? It's been a bit warm (and by "warm" I mean in the 40s) for a few days now. There's a desire for lightness and brightness that seems just too good not to explore. It's making me think about the spring cleanse, which is coming up in just a few weeks (which reminds me that I need to start weening myself off caffeine again).

Here are just a few recent posts from fellow bloggers that have stimulated my curiosity:

This recipe for Veggie Chili and Beer Bread seems like a great late winter feast-- hearty enough for winter, but vegetable-based, so somewhat springy. From Simply Life.

Although I'm not sure about all this "paleo-dieting," (seems like a fad) more fresh salads are always good. And if that salad is a Thai Salad with Spicy Dressing from The Nourishing Gourmet, I'm intrigued.

Or, for something completely different, we could have lots of grains and cheese from No Recipes! The Black Truffle and Cheese Grits looks like the kind of Valentine's Day breakfast that would win me over and over again.

101 Cookbooks plays with one of my favorite winter squash, the delicata, in this dish, Roasted Delicata Squash Salad.

Cucina Panzano always entices with something delectable. I'd like to add some pancetta to this recipe for Tuscan Blueberry Port Chicken Breast.

And finally, Tartelette reminds us of what is to come: sweet berries and ripe rhubarb. I'm loving the looks of these Rhubarb and Red Berry Crumbles (the photography on this site always makes my mouth water). I love that this recipe uses millet and brown rice flour as well as honey for sweetening.

Seared Sea Scallops on a Bed of Baby Arugula and Kumquat Salad with Balsamic Dressing

2010-02-20T13:23:00.005-05:00

If memory serves me correctly, my first seafood experience as a child involved fried scallops from McIntyre's, a seafood take-out/dine-in restaurant that was a popular stop for beach-goers and seafood lovers in Massachusetts' north shore area. Scallops are wonderful for their sweetness and their firm yet juicy texture. A great choice for introducing kids to seafood. Scallops are less fishy-tasting than even haddock, and unless you cook the hell out of them, they are hard to screw up. I really love them seared -- the crunchy crust is an attractive and delicious complement to the soft interior.

This recipe brings together some long-time favorites of mine, such as scallops, with some more recent loves, such as kumquats and whole grain mustard.

Favorite foods are often so because of the memories associated with them. I don't remember much of those meals at McIntyre's -- the scallops stand out as the most important detail. With ketchup, lots of ketchup. I also remember the excitement I used to feel whenever we would go there along with the agonizing anticipation as we listened for the girl at the counter to call out our number. My parents often bought me some fried chicken from the children's menu, and then they'd share their scallops with me from their fisherman's platter. I'd dip them into the ketchup (of which there was always a copious amount -- my dad and I are real ketchup hounds) and savor the fatty little chunks of fried goodness. I liked their juiciness and their fun, round shape. Even now, scallops remind me of day trips to the beach, riding the familiar back roads of my New England stomping grounds.

Kumquats are also sweet, juicy and pop-em-shaped . . . but they're also TART! Super-sour, kumquats really only appeal to those who enjoy a little pain with their food. I must be a masochist because I love them. Again, memory creates a special place for these tiny citrus fruits. I was living in Florida and going to school at the University of South Florida in Tampa. The decision to move and go to school in Florida was a bit of a whim -- I remember thinking, "I like summer [here at home in Massachusetts!], so I should love Florida!" Yeah. Summer in Mass isn't even October in Florida. Florida introduced me to such delights as heat index, fire ants, sand spurs, alligators at the bus stop, mega-churches with neon signs, and my personal favorite -- cockroaches.
Depending on how I look at it -- am I in a good mood or my usual mood? -- it was either the Year of the Cockroach or the Year of the Kumquat. I am a clean person, but here in New England, the threat of roaches is not nearly so threatening as to require immediate containment of all food waste. I shared my apartment with three other women, and we were all pretty clean, but the building became infested, and we suffered our share of unwanted guests. I was mortified and GROSSED OUT. We instituted some strict rules in our apartment: leave NO food out, ever; package up all grains and cereals in plastic; wipe counters down with bleach after cooking and take out the garbage nightly. We contained the critters, but I never wanted to eat in my own kitchen, I was so disturbed.

To escape, I visited the botanical garden on campus. Along with all the plagues I experienced in Florida, my displacement, my sense of inconguence, presented me with the greatest personal challenge. I was lonely and out of my element. Before Florida, I had been an avid gardener and spent lots of time outdoors in the sunshine. Now, it was so hot that I could hardly stand it outside -- I remember spending hours indoors in the A/C watching whatever was on TV just to keep cool. So depressing.
I started going to the garden regularly after a visit to learn about their community garden. It was the end of January and the fruit trees were approaching the ripe stage, and even though it wasn't peak, many flowers were in bloom. There were two places in the garden that became my fast favorites: the orchid house and the citrus grove beside the lake. If I had to do some reading for class, I'd sit in the orchid house for hours, my mind as airy and rootless as the air plants all around me. If I just needed to chill or I wanted to write poetry, I'd end up by the lake. There was always so much wildlife and beauty there. And when I was hungry, I'd wander over to kumquat tree and eat a few pieces. I was so attracted to their "cute" size, and the squat little tree itself was so inviting. This may seem excessively romantic (I was studying English Romanticism at the time . . .), but I felt as though Mother Nature herself had brought this tree to me for my solace and nourishment. Even though I was almost always alone there, I always felt a sense of welcome and peace in that grove.

The botanical garden saved my sanity. It gave me a place to be where I felt relevant and connected, and the kumquats, with their assertive flavor, stand out as particularly imbued with the spirit of the place. Their flavor, at once aggressively sour and at the same time surprisingly, blessedly sweet, seemed to symbolize my overall experience in Florida. And, they are one of my favorite memories of that time.

****
The Recipe: This is a meal that I feel is actually too easy to give a recipe for. Of course, the dressing can have several ingredients, but since I only made enough for myself, I'll have to just point you to the recipe that I sort of used as a guide. Here it is: http://www.grouprecipes.com/35534/sensational-seared-sea-scallops-over-baby-greens-and-balsamic-dressing.html

To the above, I added thinly sliced kumquats to the salad, and I have to say that the addition really takes the dish to another level. There is a startling contrast between the fatty succulence of the scallops and the bold sourness of the the kumquats and the balsamic vinegar. I loved it.

It's a recipe for uniting opposite poles, for remembering all our "homes," and for growing accustomed to foreign lands.

January Challenge is Wrapping Up; February Challenge is ON!

2010-02-18T21:44:00.005-05:00

I extended the January Challenge for a bit to accommodate our late start with the first Fiddlehead Challenge. Entries are coming in now, so make sure you get yours in by Monday, Feb. 22.

For February: What do you do with leftover rice? There are lots of possibilities with this one. Your recipe can be for any kind of rice: brown, white, long grain, short, glutinous (that's the Thai sticky rice).

My favorite thing to do with leftover Thai sticky rice is to make breakfast out of it. Just heat it up with a drop or two of milk or water -- try coconut milk! -- and mix in some fresh strawberries, honey and some shredded coconut. This simple but delicious breakfast will make you order extra rice to take home!

First-Ever Fiddlehead Challenge: What to do with One Black Banana

2010-01-24T12:28:00.006-05:00

This year, Fiddlehead will be celebrating its one year anniversary during the month of June. To help us celebrate, I'm asking you, the readers, to participate in a series of monthly challenges. I'll post a challenge each month -- a suggestion to try a new ingredient, a call for your best healthy meal in under 30 minutes, etc. -- and you send me your recipes, suggestions and stories and I'll pick the winner to be posted here on Fiddlehead.

In addition, I'll be serving up some new content and will be doing some "redecorating" of the site soon!

Here's your challenge for JANUARY:

Most banana muffin or bread recipes call for 2 or 3 mashed, ripe bananas, but what do you do when you only have one? Send me your recipes and suggestions for ONE BLACK BANANA, or follow the recipe below and send your comments!

Chocolate-Nut-Banana Mini Muffins

Preheat oven to 375 and grease one mini muffin pan.

Dry Ingredients

3/4 c. all purpose flour

1/4 c. whole wheat flour or wheat bran

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

dash of freshly grated nutmeg

Mix these together well in a bowl.

Add

1/4 c. chopped walnuts or cashews

In a separate bowl, mix

Wet Ingredients

1 egg

1/3 c. honey

1/4 c. light brown sugar

1 mashed BLACK BANANA

1 tbs. vegetable oil

1/2 tsp. vanilla (or, try fiori di sicilia. It's a blend of vanilla and citrus flavors.)

Mix the dry into the wet with a few light strokes. Add

1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Scoop the batter into the muffin cups and bake for 18 min. or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let sit in pan for a few minutes before removing.

Out of the Desert (and into the Dessert!)

2010-01-17T15:08:00.002-05:00

Holy crap, I've been gone a long time! My computer is working again, I've finished my syllabi and classes start this week! I've been doing some fun and delicious cooking, but can't post right now. Will do! I'm hoping to somehow integrate this blog into my Food Ethics class, so stay tuned.

BTW, I just found this website on French cheeses: Fromages.com. It seems really well-organized and easy to use (big fan of that). I like that it gives wine suggestions.

Props to the Closet

2009-12-14T13:37:00.000-05:00

Last night, I made this great dish(Roasted Butternut Squash with Caramelized Onions, Gorgonzola and Crispy Fried Sage) from Kevin at Closet Cooking. Go make it. So good.

Computers are from Satan, or Sent from God to Test Our Faith

2009-12-14T13:32:00.001-05:00

Hi. Fiddlehead might be quiet for a while. My computer is being stupid. Grr.

The Twelve Days Before Christmas Cleanse

2009-12-11T16:10:00.003-05:00

If holiday eating was confined to the actual date of each holiday, then it wouldn't be a problem. No one would gain any weight because one or two days of feasting is not enough to overload the body.

I have a confession to make: I don't like the holidays. I know, I know . . . food bloggers are supposed to lovelovelove this time of year. We're supposed to be full of the magic of Christmas, the light of Hanukkah, the spirit of Yule, and, apparently, that means we're supposed to spend all our time baking and eating special holiday treats. Well, "special treats" don't come without calories, and, honestly, I find the two months of gorging -- from Halloween candy to swanky New Year's Eve hors d'oeuvres -- a bit too much to digest. Last year, I felt so run down after Christmas that I couldn't wait for spring cleanse season to arrive.

Of course, this doesn't mean that I don't like any of this festive food; I just don't need it every single day. Really, how many cups of hot chocolate, pieces of pie and cookies can a person eat and still have energy for the holiday shopping, the parties and the stress that comes with it all (not to mention the possibility of catching a cold or flu bug)? In addition, I've noticed that since I've been eating in the school cafeteria again, I've been munching on a lot more cookies, slices of cheesecake and other nibbles. It's time to stop the insanity. These "treats" aren't even all that good, so why am I eating them? It's just habit -- bad habit.

However, according to an old New York Times blog article that ran back in 2007, the average person only gains one pound during the holiday season. Despite this fact, most people feel as though they have gained more than that -- and I think the feeling is just as important as the actual weight (the article also states that overweight people tend to gain more than one pound). Considering that the average person does not actually lose that one pound, over the course of a lifetime this could easily add up to significant weight gain -- or at least several days/weeks of digestive discomfort.

For this reason, I have decided to hold off on Christmas goodies until it's actually Christmas. From tomorrow, the 12th, until Christmas Eve, I plan to cut out refined sugar (that's white and brown, but not things like brown rice syrup, raw honey, or agave nectar), reduce the white flour and eliminate anything excessively processed (which I tend to avoid anyway). This plan will effectively cut out most, if not all, cookies and desserts, sweetened drinks, and white breads. It's not really much of a cleanse; I mean, I could also cut out dairy, alcohol, caffeine, etc. I'm planning on going out tomorrow, so I don't want to cut out the alcohol just yet -- maybe I'll start that on Sunday. I really could start cutting back on the caffeine, too. I just want to feel as though I can go to my holiday parties and not feel as though I've already over-indulged and that I should watch what I'm eating. What fun is that?

However, this does not at all mean that I am giving up cooking and fun food -- quite the contrary! Since the semester is winding down and my workload is lightening up, I plan to do a lot of cooking in the next few weeks, all of which will be blogged.

I find myself really interested in getting creative with sweet potatoes, winter or butternut squash, kumquats and cranberries.

Y'know, now that I think about it, I tend to cook more often and eat better when I'm not stressed out from work. When I have a ton of papers to grade, I tend to not cook, not go the the gym, not do my yoga. I tend to eat pizza, subs and crap because it's easier when I don't have to make it. So, maybe the key to this holiday eating thing is learning to just chill out, make time for myself, and be prepared to say "no" to obligations that will unnecessarily upset my contentment and, possibly, digestion.

So, I'm going to start going over some recipes I've been dying to try, go to the market, and get started tonight!

For tonight, I'm thinking about homemade pasta and sauce -- really basic, really good. We'll see.

Book Review: Chocolat by Joanne Harris

2009-12-06T22:15:00.004-05:00

I just finished my reread of this book in preparation for my food and lit. class next semester. I read it several years ago . . . and was disappointed by the movie despite its featuring Johnny Depp (how that went wrong, I'll never know). I feel that the book is more powerfully magical, more epicurean in its philosophy than the film attempts to be. The book takes aim not only at the priggishness that can dominate small town life, but also at the "cold comforts" of the church and the fundamentalism and/or classism that can distort one's view of natural desires. The book's alignment of epicureanism with an appreciation of a gypsy lifestyle (although somewhat tempered by Vianne's desire to stay put in one place and not get bandied about by the winds of change) advocates for enjoyment of all of life's pleasures -- culinary and carnal.

If this book does not make you yearn for chocolate, there is no hope for you. Get thee to a nunnery.

A Day of Food

2009-12-06T21:43:00.005-05:00

You've likely heard of those spa packages called, "a day of beauty." A manicure, a pedicure, a massage, and some other weird, unnecessary vanity treatment. Today was a day of food. One of my housemates is leaving in a month to work for World Teach in Costa Rica, so she is having a couple of get-togethers with family and friends to say good-bye. This noontime, she had a brunch, featuring some eggs, corn muffins, a delicious, spicy tofu scramble and some "homefried" potatoes that she bakes in the oven (she really makes magic with potatoes). We had coffee, juice and cider. Someone brought cinnamon crumpets and I made (can you believe it?) pet de soeur. Yep. Nun's farts:

Pet de Soeur

Ingredients:

1 ready-made pie crust (or make your own. Go ahead. You won't die, but in a pinch a store-bought one is fine, too)

some real maple syrup for drizzling

approx. 1 tbs. cinnamon

1/2-1 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces

1/3 c. finely chopped pecans

powdered sugar for dusting

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Roll out pie crust and drizzle with a little syrup. sprinkle with cinnamon and dot with butter. Sprinkle on the pecans. Roll. Cut into 12 pieces and place on cookie sheet and bake up to 20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp on the edges. You may need to place a pan underneath the rack if the butter spills over the sides of the pan. I used almost an entire stick of butter and it got pretty smoky in the house. Remove to a rack to cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Later, another housemate was in the mood to make Lebanese food (she was entertaining a gentleman this evening. :-) ). She makes the most amazing pumpkin kibbee and serves it with homemade hummus, tabouleh and lebeneh.

And the Winner of the World's Worst Name for a Pastry Goes to . . .

2009-12-05T16:06:00.002-05:00

"Pet de Soeur" -- in English, "Nun's Farts."

Want one? I didn't think so.

Apparently, there are different kinds of nun's farts (I'm having flashbacks to those fart books that they used to sell in Spencer Gifts and other junk novelty stores). Serious Eats highlights a variety that is made from a dough similar to pie crust, rolled up with butter, cinnamon and sugar.

And just WHO do you think is responsible for this abominable name? My people, of course -- French Canadians.

Dreary Saturday Mornings Were Meant for Lemon-Poppy Seed Muffins

2009-12-05T11:42:00.005-05:00

They're in the oven right now, plumping up into pillows of delicious, lemony sunshine. I follow the recipe in The Joy of Cooking and substitute plain non-fat yogurt for the milk or cream. I feel that the yogurt adds a pleasant tang, which naturally harmonizes with the zing of lemon.

The taste of lemon reminds me of summertime, of all those times when the heat just begs to be quenched with refreshing, cool lemonade. Oddly, the taste of lemon is warming to me on a cold day. Not hot chili pepper-warming, but a sort of subtle, cleansing and stabilizing warmth that makes me glow from the inside out. Lemon is the taste of happiness.

And then there's the poppy seeds -- dark, mysterious, slightly earthy/nutty-tasting. Some say the poppy seeds are just there for texture and that they have no taste at all, but if you've ever had a poppy seed hamentashen, you know that's not true. Like all dark things, the flavor of poppy seeds stays somewhat underground -- hidden just beneath the surface of conscious taste (of course, the sweet darkness is more pronounced in a hamentashen, which measures the poppy seeds by the cup, not teaspoon). Of course, we all know that they are opiates; remember The Wizard of Oz? "Poppies . . . poppies will make them sleeeeep," coos the Wicked Witch of the West. Was that the extent of her magic, the worst she could do -- making people fall asleep in a bed of flowers? Doesn't really seem so dangerous . . . in fact, I'd say that getting snowed on without a winter coat on is probably less healthful than a nap.

So, like a fairy tale, lemon-poppy muffins mix together the dark and the light, the sleepy and the fully conscious.

Lemon-Poppy Seed Muffins

Ingredients:

Dry

2 c. flour

1 tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 1/2 tbs. poppy seeds

Wet

2 large eggs

1 c. nonfat yogurt

2/3 c. sugar

1/2 - 1 stick butter, melted, warm, but not hot (hot butter will cook the eggs or be curdled by the lemon)*

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tbs. lemon zest

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 and lightly spray a muffin pan with cooking oil.

Whisk the dry and wet ingredients separately in separate bowls. Pour the wet into the dry and mix lightly. Do not overmix, or the muffins will be too dense and spongey. Spoon into muffin cups; makes about 10-12.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. To make the tops golden, turn off the heat for a minute before you take them out. Wait 2 or 3 minutes before removing from the cups. Eat as soon as possible.

* According the The Joy of Cooking, muffins that will be eaten right out of the oven are fine with 1/2 stick of butter, but if you intend to have them around for several hours or overnight, it's best to increase the butter by 2-4 tbs., for a total of 6-8 (8 tbs. is a stick of butter).

Ah, they're out now. I gave one each to a couple of housemates, and I've already eaten two myself! :) There's a few left; better get here quick!

Enjoy these muffins while listening to my "French Bistro" radio station at Pandora: http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh161644100736782897

I Love Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T17:05:00.005-05:00

This year, I didn't think I had much to be thankful for. I've been dreading the holidays, dreading spending them alone, or surrounded by well-meaning family and friends, fielding questions about what I'm doing right now and feeling awkward about the significant absence by my side.

But, he invited me to Thanksgiving, and it wasn't awkward at all. In fact, it was probably the best Thanksgiving I've had in a long time. We cooked together and chatted with his mother and siblings. Seth did a great job on the turkey:

Everyone was in a good mood, and the food was great -- nothing fancy, just well-seasoned and delicious. My pecan sticky buns came out PERFECTLY and were a big hit:

Check out this fantastic cheese platter that Alicia put together:

Alicia's boyfriend and his mother came over, and we chatted with amicable dismay about the strange allure of the deep-fried turkey. To most of us, that just seems like an abomination. Our friend Kavita came over too and entertained us with news about her upcoming Indian wedding taking place in a few weeks in Bombay (with a guest list of 800!!). It made me a little sad, of course, because I won't be going to India for the wedding, though Seth will be there for the entire month of December. Maybe the spirit of India will heal what ails him . . . .

After a romantic evening (which included cuddling and watching "Dead Like Me" -- who says dark comedies can't be romantic?), we made crepes sucrees this morning. I used Julia Child's recipe from her famous work, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. We filled the crepes with bananas, melted semi-sweet chocolate and meringue. I didn't have any orange liqueur, rum or brandy, so, since I was using chocolate anyway, I used Godiva chocolate liqueur. I was nervous, but the effect was brilliant. The crepe batter had a wonderful, indulgent scent, but the cooked crepes were not "chocolatey" tasting in a gross way. They were incredibly delicate and sweet. Unfortunately, I don't exactly have the best pan for crepes, and this was a very experimental, virginal fumbling, so the results, though decadent, filling and luscious, were not really photo-worthy.

Now, I'm in the process of making turkey stock. I've boiled the carcass, strained in, and now I'm simmering the stock with onion, garlic, and herbs. The last time I made turkey stock, I used it in my pumpkin soup and it was the best soup I've ever made/ate. I highly recommend making your own stock.
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So. What will be the result of all this good cheer and effort? Sometimes, you just don't know, and you wonder if all your effort is worth it. Will it pay off? I'm trying not to think that way. It seems that that just isn't very productive, to worry about being productive or having some kind of goal. I just want to enjoy the times I spend with my loved ones and hope that there will be many more.

Thanksgiving Breakfast UPDATED

2009-11-25T23:19:00.003-05:00

I'm going to my sweetheart's house tomorrow, and HE'S doing the cooking; this time, I'm just doing the helping. We'll see how that goes. He's a great cook, but sometimes he gets a little ambitious and plans too many complicated dishes all at once. Well, I do that too, sometimes.

The pecan sticky buns have been rolled, cut, covered and set to rise. Tomorrow morning, I'll get up, pop 'em in the oven at 350 for 25-30, and we'll have a delicious treat to keep us full while we cook. The recipe comes from Christina Pirello, a vegetarian cook who is sometimes featured on PBS. What's great about this recipe is that it's rather wholesome; it uses whole wheat flour and NO WHITE SUGAR. Brown rice syrup instead. I've tried this one several times, and it's always been just as delicious -- even more delicious -- than the "regular" sticky buns. Because of the rice syrup, the buns have a lower glycemic index than many other breakfast treats, and the whole wheat flour is better for you than white flour, too. The only thing I refuse to do is use soy margarine -- quel horreur -- so I use good, old-fashioned butter. This time, I've used Cabot's farmhouse butter, which is a speciality they only sell at their farm and a few other locations.

Well, it's off to bed for me. I'll let you know how the sticky buns turn out and will try to post some highlights from our meal tomorrow. If I don't hear from any you out there before the end of the day, have a great Thanksgiving!

Fluffy Eggs

2009-11-21T11:28:00.005-05:00

No one seems to be able to make them anymore. People seem to be more into omelets and fried eggs, both of which are fine in their own way. But, omelets are really all about the filling, it seems, and the eggs are often crispy, which is, in my opinion, overcooked. And fried eggs are, for me, all about the runny yolks into which I dip buttered toast, leaving the whites to be hastily eaten without much pleasure. When I get scrambled eggs in a restaurant or at a friend's house, they're usually stiff enough to cut with a spatula, or they've been made into a watery "scramble" with all kinds of vegetables, perhaps to cover up an ignorance of proper technique (well, maybe I'm being a tad critical/hypocritical here -- I've had some good veggie scrambles, but once again in each of those cases, the eggs were just there; it was all about the vegetables).
And very often, we forget the techniques we learned from our moms and grammies because, as we watch the cooking shows and read the cookbooks, the proper technique isn't reinforced at all. It's all about new and fast and weird. Just watch an episode of Top Chef or some such show. Everything that wins is weird. Oh, excuse me, haute cuisine. Apparently, there's a difference. The message seems to be that the old styles of cooking are boring, flavorless and were probably bad for you anyway. "What do they know? Your mother hates cooking, and your grandmother never used a clove of garlic in her life. What did they know?" I've never said these words to myself exactly, but it seems to capture a feeling I've had or picked up on in others - a distrust of the past, a disdain for the plain. It's almost as if the trendiness of food has made food worse.
Well, my grandmother did boil chicken and my mother eats out too often to cook, but at least they used to know how to make fluffy, scrambled eggs. The kind that don't need cheese or vegetables to make them taste good. The kind that form soft, buttery curds in random shapes and sizes and not those that can be cut into uniform blocks and have the texture of a cleaning sponge. The kind of eggs that are on their own on the plate as the humble stars of a perfect breakfast.
There are still places to learn the technique of cooking fine oeufs brouillés. Last night, I was reading Julia Child's My Life in France and I was inspired to read about her experience of learning to make truly good, scrambled eggs while studying at the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. Of course, this was back in 1949; my mother hadn't even been born yet. Child writes,

Bugnard watched intently as I whipped some eggs and cream into a froth, got the
frying pan very hot, and slipped in a pat of butter, which hissed and browned in
the pan.
"Non!" he said in horror, before I could pour the egg
mixture into the pan. "That is absolutely wrong!"
. . . With a smile, Chef Bugnard cracked two eggs and added a dash of salt and pepper. "Like this," he said, gently blending the yolks and whites together with a fork. "Not too much." He smeared the bottom and sides of a frying pan with butter, then gently poured the eggs in. Nothing happened. After a long three minutes, the eggs began to thicken into a custard. Stirring rapidly with the fork, sliding the pan on and off the burner, Bugnard gently pulled the egg curds together -- "Keep them a little bit loose; this is very important," he instructed. "Now the cream or butter," he said, looking at me with raised eyebrows. "This will stop the cooking, you see?' I nodded, and he turned the scrambled eggs out onto a plate, sprinkled a bit of parsley around, and
said, "Voila!"

While I've always favored low temperature for eggs, I'd forgotten my mother's advice of not whipping the eggs up too much before putting them in the pan. Reading Child's description of Bugnard's instructions brought back that repressed memory and promptly made me feel guilty for ever doubting my own mother's advice. I was also glad to see that the master chef favors rapid stirring once the eggs have started to form, accompanied by moving the pan on and off to keep the eggs loose. On a camping trip several years ago, I was chided by my new boyfriend and his friend for attempting to do this; they had a "system" of leaving the eggs in the pan until they formed a crust, and then flipping them once to finish cooking. I was told that my method was messy and too much work. I came to understand why they cooked this way -- it makes the eggs come clean out of the pan,. And when you're camping, it's favorable to save your water and effort for other purposes.
Cleanliness and efficency might be high priorities when cooking over a gas stove in the woods, but, to me, fluffy eggs are worth learning Bugnard's simple technique.

Food and Literature Course

2009-11-08T12:04:00.004-05:00

The course description has been approved -- all I have to do now is finalize my book list! Next semester I will be teaching five sections of English 102 (Composition and Literature II -- basically an intro. to lit. class avec research and more substantial academic writing), and one of them will be devoted to food. It's called "Food and Ethics," and will cover a range of topics from identity and the cultural narratives attached to food, to current concerns about agriculture, sustainability, obesity and whatnot, to cannibalism ("A Modest Proposal" is a fantastic use of an eating metaphor for the purpose of raising consciousness about a socio-political issue. ).

But, I kinda haven't really read everything I'm thinking about teaching, and I'm starting to panic a little because I need to order books SOON. Here's a list of everything I'm considering. Please, if you have read any of the following, leave me your suggestions, comments and ideas:

* Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast

* Julia Child's My Life in France

* Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

* Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate

* Joanne Harris's Chocolat

* Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma

* Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation

* Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal"

Cake Wrecks

2009-10-19T19:29:00.001-04:00

Have you seen this blog, Cake Wrecks? It's hysterical. I especially enjoyed the "holiday" cakes.

Red Carrots are Only Red on the Outside

2009-10-19T18:46:00.004-04:00

Some things really are just for show: Hummers (unless you're in Iraq), false eyelashes and red carrots. Really, you peel them, and they're just regular orange carrots underneath. The flavor is the same, too. So unless you intend to serve them unpeeled (which is fine with the beautiful specimens you might get in a farmer's market), their bright red cloaks are just window dressing.

Yesterday, I did a round-up of some recipes from other bloggers that I'm dying to try after the cleanse (ends this weekend when I go to Vermont!), and I indicated that I might just try Simply Life's Spicy Carrot Soup recipe and just tweek it for the cleanse. I just did that and the result is quite delicious. I used some red carrots I got from the CSA (last weekend was the last box. :-( ). I added a few things: some fresh ginger and a tiny bit of honey. Hope you like it!

Here's my version of Spicy Carrot Soup.

Spicy Carrot Soup

Ingredients:

1 tbs. coconut oil

1 sm. onion chopped

1 med. leek or 2 small ones, white and light green only, chopped

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, sliced

3 ¾ cups sliced carrots

1 fresh cayenne pepper

Dash of Bragg’s

1 tsp. coriander

½ tsp. cumin

3 cups vegetable stock

1 tsp. honey

Directions:

· In a soup pot, heat the oil. Add the onion, leeks, carrots, ginger, cayenne pepper and cook over medium heat until the onions start to sweat. Add the Bragg’s.

· Add the spices and stir.

· Add the vegetable stock and bring up to a boil. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes and the carrots are soft.

· Add the honey.

· Allow to cool slightly, and whirl the soup in a blender. Return to the stove and heat back up. For cleansers, serve with a garnish of parsley and/or pumpkin or sunflower seeds.

Apres Cleanse Dreams: What to Cook (from my favorite food blogs) when the Cleanse is finally over

2009-10-18T23:47:00.000-04:00

I'm extremely jealous of all of you. You with your pasta dishes, cheeses and your pies. Just who do you think you are, tempting me this way?! Oughta be ashamed, that's what.

But seriously, I have to say that the fall season seems to have brought out the very best in the food blogs. Here is a round-up of sorts of the foods I am dying to try once I'm off this infernal cleanse:

I, like so many of you out there, have a hard-core pumpkin fetish bordering on the kinky. I'll try anything as long as it involves pumpkin. It's sick. The blogger at Cashews and Hummus writes cleverly about the pumpkin love that dare not speak it's name. She tempts me with a simple jar of pumpkin butter. See here.

Also, from Cucina Panzano, I am tempted by a new twist on an old Italian favorite, a Pumpkin Cannoli. Cucina also writes about the Stonewall Kitchen headquarters and store inYork, Maine, a place that is very familiar to me and reminds me of the summer . . . sniff.

Close in flavor and versatility to the pumpkin is the sweet potato. And there are many, many recipes to choose from. Here, I'll choose a savory and a sweet dish. First, the savory: an unusual take on a favorite Arabic vegetarian food, Sweet Potato Falafel, sounds very intriguing to me. Recipe by ARUGULOVE.

For the sweet dish, I'll go for a pie. But not just any old, sickeningly sweet, marshmallow-infected sweet potato pie, but a Sweet Potato Pecan Pie from Closet Cooking. Sweet potatoes and pecan pie filling? HOW can this go wrong? It can't, I say.

One more from the orange vegetable group: a Spicy Carrot Soup from Simply Life. This one I could probably tweek to make it cleanse-friendly and eat it now!

Umami. It's the "earthy" flavor that you either love or hate. The word comes from the Japanese and basically means "tasty," or "meaty" or "savory." Put me down for a "yes" on all three.

One of my favorite sources for this flavor is the mushroom. Now, Japanese mushrooms are encouraged on the cleanse, but I'm having a hard time finding them, except for shitakes. Anyway, when the cleanse is over, I'll be sure to try Wild Mushroom Soup from Chocolate and Croissants (this is a really cool, French-themed blog. Check it out.).

Recently, I published one of my poems, "The Changeling Maid," in Goblin Fruit, an online poetry journal. In the bio section, all the contributors are asked to tell what is their favorite fruit. Well, who can really choose . . . my own tastes seem to change with the seasons. Anyway, I chose "figs" from which one of the best cookies on the planet are derived. Ciao Chow Linda tells us how to make Fig Jam, a staple for making all sorts of fillings and sauces with figs.

In addition, I picked up some sweet Italian sausage at the farmer's market this Saturday. Their meat is local, humanely raised and sustainable. I'll be enjoying the savory-sweet taste of sausage in about a week or so, and when I do, you can be sure I'll be posting about it.

Massachusetts Relocalization Conference

2009-10-18T10:10:00.002-04:00

Today, I'm heading off to the Massachusetts Relocalization Conference to learn about how to encourage more viable local agriculture and a green economy here in Massachusetts. Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet, will be there, along with Bill McKibben. Those of you who read this blog regularly have picked up on the fact that I subscribe to a CSA and have a community garden, so you know that movement towards more sustainable agriculture and economy is important to me. Hopefully, I will be able to report something of interest here when I get back.

That is, if I ever get there. Seth was supposed to be here well over an hour ago. >:<

"Necessity's" Black Bean Soup with Corn Tortilla (Cleanse-Friendly . . . but don't let that stop you)

2009-10-15T23:00:00.007-04:00

I know this woman named Necessity. She has an accomplished and successful daughter you may have heard of. She is the busiest woman I know, but she is also brilliant, warm and always has the best advice. As archetypal as a goddess and as familiar as your own mother, Necessity knows what you need.

Necessity lives in my kitchen, and she is always there (though sometimes she is silent, or I'm not really listening). She's really good at putting things in their place, in their proper proportion with everything else swirling in the soup. And, boy, does she know soup! She's especially gifted in the craft of "What's in the fridge?"-style soups and other concoctions.

Yesterday, in the middle of all my madness, it occurred to me that I needed to cook enough meals for myself to bring for lunch and to eat after work. Necessity was right there, telling me to cook the brussel sprouts (sautéed with garlic) and the kale (crisped in the oven with a little salt) and to make a black bean soup. Even though I didn't have all the ingredients for the Cuban black bean soup that I like (see Daisy Martinez's book, Daisy Cooks: Latin Flavors that will Rock Your World), I followed the advice of Necessity and invented -- dare I say it -- a black bean soup that was even better than the "authentic" recipes I've followed in the past.

"Necessity's" Black Bean Soup with Corn Tortilla

Ingredients:

1 tbs. coconut oil

1 small onion, sliced thin

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 serrano hot pepper, or hot pepper of your choice, seeded and finely chopped

1 large tomato, preferably fresh from your garden!

1 can. black beans, undrained (or if you really want to drain them, increase the vegetable stock)

1 cup (or more) of vegetable stock

1 cup fresh or frozen corn

Bragg's Amino Acids to taste (or salt and black pepper for the un-cleansers)

2-4 soft corn tortillas, torn into quarters

1 tbs. coarsely chopped cilantro

Directions:

* In a soup pot, Saute up the onion, garlic and pepper in the oil over medium heat.

* Add the tomato and cook it down until it melts.

* Add the beans and stock. Bring to a boil.

* Add the corn and splash of Bragg's. Cook for at least 20 minutes over low heat. The longer the better.

* Remove 1/3 of the soup to a blender and liquefy. Return to the soup and stir.

* When you want to serve, raise the heat to boiling and add the tortilla. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, until the tortilla takes on a pasta-like texture.

* Garnish with cilantro.

I ate this soup tonight, and it was so wonderful. So warm and comforting . . . and rather spicy! It was everything that I've been needing lately -- hearty and sustaining as a mother's food should be.

Chaos, Cleansing and Coffee

2009-10-15T21:47:00.004-04:00

This semester has been utterly chaotic. What makes it weirder than weird is the fact that I've been hyper-organized. I have all the readings done, the questions developed, the activities mapped out, the rubrics, the websites -- done. But somehow, I find myself redoing it all and often on short notice. Guess I really am a Virgo; organization is my "specialty" and also the bane of my existence.

Additionally, this cleanse has really been kicking it up a notch in the emotional intensity department. The other cleansers in my group have been experiencing the same thing. We're calling this one "the angry cleanse." For the past two weeks, I have felt as though I have "no time" to do anything that I "really must do." I feel impatient, worried, hounded. And I feel rather trapped by my thinking. I can't seem to get anything done fast enough, which just feeds the fears and frustrations I have about not being good enough. I feel as though I need to sacrifice my yoga practice, visits to the gym, walks in the Arboretum -- all things that would help me feel more grounded and sane -- in order to just chug away at my work. Add to this a cold and a few days of migraines and I am in need of some serious TLC.

One of the things I am just missing like crazy is coffee. Or, no, not the coffee per se, but the experience of coffee. I love to stop at the Starbucks on the way to work. The one in Brookline is a good one. As soon as I open the door, I'm greeted by that warm, pungent and dark smell. Even if I'm not going to eat them, I like to peer at the goodies in the case. I always tell myself, "Someday, I'm going to get the cheese plate." I never do. But, I wait there, somewhat patiently. Can't hurry coffee. When I get it, it's always good, always just what I want. Sipping a hot coffee fills me with richness and pleasure. It's like liquid gold.

I don't give a rat's ass about caffeine. The withdrawal headaches I get when I stop caffeine before doing a cleanse are not really worth it. If I can get a great tasting decaf, I get it. I know, sometimes the decaf is terrible, but I find that at Starbucks, it tastes pretty much the same. I don't drink coffee for the buzz, anyway. Coffee is more personal, less pharmaceutical than that.

(And tea just isn't the same, although Chai comes pretty close to meeting the same emotional needs as coffee. Coffee is not just more substantial in taste; it also seems to penetrate deeper into me. I know that sounds weird.)

I think I miss the comfort and leisure that coffee signifies for me. Even if I'm stopping before work, it's nice to be able to do that, to have the time to stop. I'm also reminded of how I used to haunt the coffee shop in grad school as I worked on my thesis or graded papers for hours on end, sucking down a Caramel Macchiato (when I was feeling indulgent) or an Americano (when I wasn't). That time, that spaciousness -- I miss it.

I'm also noticing that due to the restrictions on the cleanse, I feel a bit isolated for the social experience of food most of the time. Even though I don't usually hang out in groups when I eat and even though the school cafeterias are full of gluttonous sins, I don't really enjoy eating my weird little concoctions in my cube at work. Can it be that I actually miss a cafeteria?

What is wrong with me?!

The "I NEED CHOCOLATE NOW!" Cleanse-Friendly Treat

2009-10-08T16:51:00.003-04:00

Yes, you can have chocolate on the cleanse. No, none of that Halloween candy is cleanse-friendly (believe me, if any of it was, I'd know).

But, YES, you can have raw cacao, agave nectar (in place of sugar) and coconut oil (in place of dairy). Here's what I do when I need a little decadence:

In a blender or food processor, put in some raw cacao powder or nibs (about a scant tablespoon), 1-2 tsp. agave nectar, 1 tsp. coconut oil, about 1/4 c. slivered almonds, and 4 or 5 dates, pitted and coarsely chopped. Whirl until blended but still chunky. You can form this mixture into maybe 2 or 3 balls, roll in some shredded, UNsweetened coconut and put in the refrigerator for an hour to set. . . or you can just eat it with a spoon, which is what I did today. ;)

Some Excuses, a Soup and Some Cold/Flu Remedies

2009-10-07T17:22:00.006-04:00

You must have thought that I'd starved to death. No, I've been eating. And cooking, too. I've just been so insanely busy this semester, already, that I've been neglecting some of my favorite things.

Like Fiddlehead, for example.

A lot has happened in the few months since I moved. There's been some emotional drama with the (non) boyfriend (yeah, it's complicated). And in terms of the kitchen, it's been hard for me to adjust to living with other people, not being the Kitchen Queen anymore, and having to deal with, in no particular order, burners that run hotter than I'm used to, a fridge that's too moist, messy people, and sharing food in a communal kitchen.

And, oh yeah, I have a cold/flu. Stayed home from work today.

On the positive side, I've made some yummy things, like vegan spring rolls, Banjan Bharta, and an AWESOME Tomato and Jalapeño Chilaquiles.

Tomato and Jalapeño Chilaquiles

Ingredients

1-2 fresh jalapeno peppers

2 large cloves garlic, unpeeled

1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes

some olive oil for frying

1/2 small onion, thinly sliced

3 cups vegetable broth

1/2 - 1 tsp. salt (or Bragg's Amino Acids if you're cleansing)

8 oz. unsalted, whole grain tortilla chips

Directions: Roast the peppers and garlic until blackened and soft on all sides, about 15 min. When cool enough to touch, peel the garlic. Put both garlic and peppers into a blender and coarsely chop. Add the can of tomatoes.

Next, heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the onions and cook until browned, 8-10 min. Add the tomato mixture and cook until darkened and thickened, at least 5 min. Reduce heat and add the broth. Simmer and stir occasionally for 15 min. Add the salt/Bragg's.

Just before serving, bring to a boil and add the chips. Cook until the chips soften, 2-5 min. depending on the thickness of the chip. Serve immediately to happy people (who will soon be your slaves) with cheese, cilantro or sour cream.

The CSA is still going for at least two more weeks, and I still have produce in my garden.

I'm also in week 2 of an autumnal cleanse (I have several "cleanse-friendly" recipes that I'll need to share at some point), which gives me a reason to buy and prepare all my own food (I really missed food shopping, buying the brands that I like and picking up items on a whim or because they are in season or seem special). The purpose of the fall cleanse is to not only bring balance to the body (most cleanses -- real cleanses -- are about that) but also to boost immunity. Since I have a little bit of a bug, I'd like to share a little bit of what I've learned about some of the foods on the cleanse and how they help treat disease.

First, like other cleanses, all seasonal fruits and vegetables are highly favored. This is a great time to cleanse because there is so much abundance that folks won't need to give up their seasonal favorites (of course, we're not talking about sweet potato pie with marshmallows or Halloween candy). I can eat winter squash (pumpkin soup!), sweet potatoes (sans marshmallow and brown sugar) and as many apples as I can fit in my body. Not much beats a good, crisp apple and a dollop of cashew butter.

Other foods that are recommended come from the allium family; in other words, onions, garlic and leeks. These foods contain antioxidants, antibacterial and antifungal agents, as well as ingredients that prevent cancer (See here for more).

In a more "shamanic" sense, this is the time when the sun seems to retreat from our hemisphere; the days grow cooler and darker, making us lose a little bit of our "inner fire." To keep that fire going, foods that stimulate and heat the body are preferred. This is another reason why the allium family is on the list, but other "heaters" include ginger, horseradish (let's hear it for wasabi!), gingseng and most zingy spices that you can think of. Hot peppers are particularly recommended. The capsiacin in the peppers has been used as an anti-inflammatory. Got a sore throat? Stay away from sugary throat drops (sugar is one of the worst things to eat when you have a cold. Ditto caffeine -- reduces your immunity -- and dairy products -- produces even more mucus). Instead, put some hot sauce on it! (Read more here).

So, I spent the day at home taking it easy and eating as much of this stuff as I can get into me, and I feel a whole lot better. I think I'll be able to go to work tomorrow, and I'll be sure to bring some hot tea with ginger and lemon.

I'm off now to go make some arugula pesto (with LOTS of garlic) and some brown rice pasta (can't have wheat) with a nice salad with a zingy, ginger dressing. Tomorrow, I plan on making a cleanse-friendly, Spicy and Smoky Corn Chowder.

Ah, the Sea

2009-09-07T17:51:00.009-04:00

With the recent full moon in Pisces (sign of the fishes, for those out of the know) and the last long weekend of the summer, it was the perfect time to go Maine for a last hurrah and maybe a lobster or two.

The Marginal Way in Ogunquit.

This is one of my favorite places to walk in Ogunquit. It runs for about a sinuous mile along the coast and features beautiful, soul-retrieving views. And, with good eats on either end (downtown Ogunquit and Perkins Cove), the walk becomes a gastronomic excuse.

Mom at Capt'n Hook's Fish Market and Takeout

[Now that the summer is over!] My

quest for a local fish market has been achieved. Capt'n Hook's has a fish

market, fried seafood and an outdoor

lobster bake.

Lobster prices have been really low, so we've been gorging ourselves, shamelessly.

But then there is the Wells Estuary at Laudholm Farm, where you can walk it off.

This was the view today. Notice the almost total lack of humanity. Did I also mention it only costs three bucks to park? Yeah.

I found this weird, pink snail shell with pink seaweed growing out of it. It looked like the snail meant to do that.

Right now I'm wondering, "Why don't I live here . . . ?"

Old School, Back-to-School, Bread and Butter Pickles

2009-09-07T16:43:00.011-04:00

This weekend, I made a batch of Bread and Butter Pickles with the abundance of cucumbers from the CSA. Seth and I had made some last year, which turned out delightful. I figured I'd try it solo this year.

Most cookbooks today don't have a section on canning. That's a shame. Canning is a great way to enjoy produce from the garden or farm

stand long after its season (that is, if it lasts that long). My grandmother's well-used copy of The Joy of Cooking (1946, I believe) is a great resource for old recipes, especially those for preserves, pickles and other canned foods (it also has the best recipe for chocolate brownies EVER).

The only problem I have working with this book concerns measurements and cooking times. Most measurements are given in weight --- which is okay if the weights are small, since I have a small scale. However, when a recipe calls for a gallon of cucumbers or a peck of green tomatoes, I'm not always too sure about what I'm doing. Luckily, there are several measurement conversion websites that can make this an easier task.

Cooking times also vary due to the fact that our ovens and stoves simply get hotter than those back in the 40s (which is weird because the brownies always take LONGER than the books says). So, be prepared to watch your work closely.

There's also the fact that I don't really want to pickle a freaking gallon of cucumbers . . . . That said, I here provide readers with a modified version of the book's recipe for Bread and Butter Pickles (yields 2 24-oz. jars) using the water bath method:

Equipment:

* two large mason jars, about 24 oz. each

* a very large pot with high sides, preferably with a removable, internal rack for the jars to stand on, which will also allow the boiling water to circulate around the jars

* a canning jar wrench or sturdy tongs (and pot holders or oven mitts) for lifting the jars in and out of the water bath (this is tricky and potentially HOT and messy, so the right tools are necessary)

* a large crock to brine the vegetables in

* another large pot to make the syrup in and cook the vegetables in

Vegetable Ingredients:

* 6 c. fresh, firm cucumbers, sliced very thin

* 6 oz. green pepper(about 1), sliced thin

* 6 oz. onion, thinly sliced (small, pearl onions are ideal, but I only had red onion on hand -- about 1 onion should do it)

Layer these in the crock and cover with ice and about 1/8 cup of sea salt, cover with a tight (preferably, weighted) lid and refrigerate for 3 hours. Drain.

Ingredients for the syrup:

* 1 3/4 c. of apple cider vinegar

* 1 3/4 c. of sugar

* 1/2 tsp. tumeric

* 1/8 tsp. ground cloves

* 3/4 tsp. mustard seed

*1/2 tsp. celery seed

Heat this mixture in the pot and keep hot (not necessarily boiling) until the vegetables are ready to pour in.

After adding the vegetables, cook until the vegetables seem to soften a little and take on some color.

Scald, but do not boil the mixture. Stir as minimally and as gently as possible. Add to prepared jars and seal at once.

Preparing the Jars (I used Ball Jars with treated lids that do not require wax)

* Boil enough water in the very large pot to at least mostly cover the jars.

* fill jars with water and place in the water bath for at least 15 minutes.

* just when you are about to start thinking about pouring the pickles into the jars, pour some hot water onto the lids -- do not boil them.

* working quickly, remove a jar, empty the water, and fill it with hot pickles. Seal immediately.

Sealing the Jars

* once the pickles have been poured into the jars, you need to return them to the water bath for about 30 minutes. Make sure the lids are on tight when you put them in the cupboard.

Fried Eggplant with "Pepian" Sauce and Peccorino

2009-09-03T20:33:00.005-04:00

Let's just say, this was a week for paying attention to mental health. With classes starting this week, I had enough on my proverbial plate to keep me in perpetual motion. But a major, emotional drama on Sunday really pushed me to my limit -- and I found myself eating on the run or eating in that furtive way we do when feelings take over.

I was reminded of much I really need to just settle down into this new kitchen and do some cooking. At least when I'm in it, I need to feel that it's mine.

Last night, one of my housemates made a delicious, spicy eggplant-tomato dish with coconut milk -- sort of like a Thai-inspired Bhangan ka Bhurta. Amazing. She served this with sauteed greens and a quinoa and almond pilaf. It was so good, and it motivated me to start thinking about cooking some more.

Today was another busy day (and I didn't even go to work), but I made some time to get over to the community garden. I picked several Isis Candy Tomatoes, some cayenne peppers, some sweet green peppers, a tiny onion, some herbs and a cute, glossy eggplant. We also have green bell peppers in our house garden, AND we have some from the CSA, so I decided to use them up a bit in a very modified version of a pepian sauce.

Pepian, from what I can gather, is a mole made from pepitas or pumpkin seeds. It often features tomatilloes and green peppers. It's delicious over chicken -- see here.

I didn't have any tomatilloes, so I just made it without them. I also didn't have any cilantro for that distinctive Latin flavor, so I used parsely and basil instead. I figured I could make the dish more Mediterranean than Latin -- it worked well. I just kind of whipped this together for a pretty fast and easy meal.

Fried Eggplant with "Pepian" Sauce and Peccorino

Preheat the oven to 425. Spray or oil a baking pan. Cut up some green peppers (any kind) into large pieces, quarter an onion, peel a couple cloves of garlic. Add some cayenne or jalapeno peppers, if you like. Toss the vegetables in the oil to coat. Bake until well-roasted.

So, I don't want to have to tell you how to fry eggplant . . . you know how, right? A little egg wash, a dredge through some flour and into some hot oil for a few minutes each side. Drain on paper towels. Done.

When the roasting vegetables are done, puree them with a generous handful of pepitas, parsely and basil. Add a little oil if you need to loosen the sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.

Usually, you pour the pepian into a pan with the chicken and stew it a bit. I just poured the sauce over the fried eggplant slices and topped it off with some shaved parmesan.

New Home, Old Classics

2009-08-26T17:27:00.004-04:00

The last few weeks have been crazy, busy and emotional as I dismantled my life with Seth and moved into my new house with new housemates. I've been so eager to resume my cooking; not only am I sick of subs, sandwiches and eating on the go, but also I've missed the sense of grounding I get cooking in my own kitchen.

But now, it's not just my kitchen; I'm sharing it with four other people. I've had to pare back, and sharing will be . . . interesting. I'm looking forward to learning some new techniques and recipes from the other ladies. One woman makes traditional Lebanese food (yum!) and another cooks vegan.

In the spirit of learning, I took a cooking class at the Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School in York, ME. With the release of the film Julie and Julia timed perfectly with both Julia Child's birthday (Aug. 15) and the anniversary of her passing (Aug. 13), the Kitchen has been running French cooking classes to honor her.

The name of the class was Venez Sil Vous Plait Pour Diner, which translates as "Please come to dinner." The class featured traditional French favorites as presented in Child's seminal work, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

The first dish was the one I was most looking forward to, Coquilles St. Jacques, and it did not disappoint. Scallops -- fresh, Maine sea scallops -- are one of my favorite foods. This is a great recipe for an intro to French cuisine because it features two classic French techniques (poaching and gratinee), a French sauce, (veloute), and a refined presentation (upon a large scallop shell). The veloute was so tasty, I wanted to lick the shell.

Things I learned about making this dish:

* The name "Coquilles St. Jacques" comes from a legend of St. Jacques whose emblem was the scallop shell and who saved a crusader knight from drowning. When the knight emerged from the water, he was covered in scallops.

* Use the poaching liquid from the scallops in the veloute for extra flavor.

* Some of these French sauces should not intimidate people as they do -- this creamy white sauce is very simple to make.

* Cheeses made in late summer and fall are particularly fine because the cows/sheep/goats have spent the whole summer grazing, and this rich health is inflected in the cheese. Yea cheese!

* Viking cookware is made of 7 layers of metal. I thought that was interesting. Seems a little . . . fussy, but interesting.

The salad was a Caesar's salad. Sullivan (the chef giving the demonstration) told us that Julia Child's recipe comes directly from the man who invented the caesar salad, Caesar Cardini. In the day, this salad was served on whole leaves of romanine so that people could eat it like finger food.

Things I learned about this dish:

* When making croutons, toast the bread before dressing with garlic oil. It prevents the croutons from getting too oily. (When I did this the other day, the croutons were too oily, but I think I had too much to start with).

* Anchovies were not in the original dish. But put them in if you like them. Their flavor is distinctive.

Ratatouille. This is not my favorite dish, though it was very well-done by Sullivan. What I usually don't like about this dish is the way the peppers dominate the flavorscape. However, I learned to layer the vegetables in order to enhance the distinctiveness of each. I enjoyed the soft texture and smokiness of the eggplant, but I still feel that the taste of bell pepper was too strong.

Things I learned about this dish:

* Use regular olive oil (not extra virgin) for sauteeing.The delicate flavor of EVOO gets wasted when cooking with it, and it's senseless to pay extra if the quality of the oil that you pay extra for is going to be cooked away. Use extra-virgin olive oil to garnish or in dressings.

* Like lasagna, ratatouille is better the second day.

For dessert, we had poached peaches in chocolate cups with dulce de leche. Beautiful presentation and a phenomenal dessert. Use excellent chocolate; Sullivan used Callebaut, which is the best there is. Poaching is used here again. This time the peaches are poached in a red wine and cinnamon stick reduction.

Things I learned about this dish:

* the difference between freestone peaches and clingpit peaches.

Hiatus

2009-07-21T09:01:00.002-04:00

I'm going back to Maine tomorrow for a few more days, so once again, posting will be slow. I'm also in the process of moving from my apartment, which means that the book review I promised a while back has been packed, and most of my cooking has become rather basic as I try to use up leftovers and stuff I don't want to cart to the new place. I'm also preparing to write a proposal for a dissertation, and there is a TON of reading and researching to do for that.

While in Maine, I will try to at least write some reviews of the restaurants and cafes.

Vegetable Tart Redux

2009-07-20T15:48:00.002-04:00

We get SO much produce from the CSA that it's hard to eat is all up before it starts to wilt and lose its pizazz. So, I find that it's easy to just throw into a vegetable tart (go here for my base recipe for a vegetable tart). Today, I made one with chard, beet tops, summer squash, and fennel bulb. I also used ricotta, goat cheese and parmesan in the custard. Yum.

Local, In-Season and Old-Timey: Blueberry-Raspberry Muffins with Lemon Glaze

2009-07-19T16:57:00.005-04:00

When I got back from Maine yesterday, Seth came over and delivered my share from the CSA. This week's fruits are blueberries and raspberries, so I made these delicious muffins this morning with Omlette Florentine.

The inspiration for the recipe comes from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest. I combined two recipes with some ideas of my own to create these muffins.

Blueberry-Raspberry Muffins with Lemon Glaze

Ingredients for Muffins

1 c. flour
1/2c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
5 tbs. lemon juice
1/4 c. sugar (I'm going to try agave next time; I think it will substitute)
4 tbs. melted butter
1 extra large egg
1/4 c. sour cream
1/4 c. yogurt
1 c. fresh berries

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Grease muffin pan. Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium-large bowl and leave a well. Mix the wet ingredients, except the berries, and gently combine. Don't overmix muffin batter. It will be lumpy, so don't worry about getting the batter smooth. fold in the berries and scoop into muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick poked through the center comes out clean. Makes about 9 muffins.

Ingredients for Lemon Glaze

5 tbs. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1/4 c. lemon juice

Directions: Heat in saucepan until sugar is dissolved. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Pour by teaspoonful over muffins. The glaze will sink in.

Arugula Pesto with Shrimp

2009-07-19T15:18:00.011-04:00

Spending the week alone in Maine, I found a natural pace for life.

"Maine -- the way life should be."

I hear people say things like this from time to time when they come back from their vacations. You know. You find them at their desks, suntanned and smiling (but not always happy and relaxed), murmuring sadly about how they could have stayed there forever. Isn't it ironic and telling? -- that we discover the way we want to live (or think we want to live) when we step out of our "real" lives and into diversion? What does this say about how we tend to our souls?

My days went like this. Wake up fairly early but not too early. Do an hour of yoga. Eat breakfast and shower. So far, nothing different from any other day, except perhaps for the unhurried feeling one generally has on vacation. But, I didn't just do yoga par usual -- I had the option most days of doing it outside, facing the rising sun. I listened to birds and saw chipmunks gorge themselves on spillage from the birdfeeders. And I could smell the ocean. Then, as I prepared and ate breakfast (a smoothie or blueberry pancakes), I turned on the water heater so I could take a shower and then watched a little television. Yep. There's a cable station that plays The Sopranos pretty early in the day (bleeps all the swears and obscures the nakedness). There's also a French station and a dozen kids' channels, one of which I swear only plays Sponge Bob Squarepants. Yes, I watched Sponge Bob Squarepants. By myself. No one saw me. No one knew until now.

If I didn't watch t.v., I read or planned my day.

Showers are unbelievably brief in the camper, though thoroughly enjoyable. There's a hatch -- like a sunroof -- in the shower that looks up into the sky and really brightens up the space. I could look up and see trees. It was nice.

Next, ride the bike into town or the beach. I would start with getting a coffee -- either in town (Ogunquit) or at the cafe in Wells. One day, I started at the beach, then went into town and did some shopping. Another day, I started in town, walked the Marginal Way, had a late lunch of Maine crabcakes and Caesar salad and then finished the day at the beach.

The beach is about 5 miles from the camper and going to Ogunquit center adds about 2 more miles, so the ride is great exercise. That, some yoga and a little ab work and I was content for a few days. I miss strength training, but I don't miss the obligation. I really liked getting exercise while breathing salty air and the scent of beach roses. Riding past the salt marshes, I watched the mist disintegrate around me, and I actually liked the good-natured hustle and bustle of town.

On Thursday, when I walked the Marginal Way, I had a meditative, creative respite at a lovely vantage point. I texted Seth:

. . . here beach roses,

there sailboats,

in between,

meditation.

Most of the rest of the day is spent reading or writing. I had lots of creative energy and spent it reading from some new books (2 by Mary Oliver: A Poetry Handbook, Twelve Moons; one collection of short stories by women: This is Not Chick Lit; and Fast Food Nation, which I've never read) and starting a couple of stories. We'll see how they go.

Oh, and I also made Arugula Pesto with Shrimp:

* To make the pesto sauce, combine a large handful of arugula in a blender with a clove of garlic, a handful of pinenuts (or almonds -- that's what I had on hand), some grated parmesan and up to about 1/2 c. olive oil. Blend it up until combined but still a little chunky. Meanwhile, boil the pasta. In a pan, fry up a little prosciutto, pancetta or bacon; add the shrimp. When the shrimp are pink, turn off the heat and pour in the pesto. Pour in the pasta, toss and serve.

There's a cute little market in Ogunquit center where you can buy most necessities -- and by necessities I mean extra-virgin olive oil, bottled water (because the water in the camper is awful), wine and homemade pickles (my father pointed out that they also have Spam, which made us roll our eyes and laugh). There's also another cute cafe and market in Wells, where I would sometimes get coffee -- it also had wine and cheese and pastries. Friendly places with good coffee, where the kids at the counters smile and can tell me where to find a bike shop. After one car ride to the Hannaford's, I knew I didn't want to have to go back (all the fish is farmed, with the ocean spitting distance away. The shrimp was from Thailand!), so I had to plan my days so that I could reasonably carry my sundries from the smaller markets in the bike basket. I got on with no trouble, even on the day when I foolishly brought all four books to the beach.

The hard part was riding back to the camper at the end of the day because the way home has more uphills than down. But it is completely do-able and once again, great exercise.

One afternoon, I was a bit hungry so I stopped at one of the restaurants down Beach Street and had a quiet and inexpensive lunch overlooking the water.

So I spent my days exercising (and loving it), reading, writing, and eating. Is there anything else I need to do?

Most nights, I was tired enough to go to bed early (or curl up with a book until I faded). One night I lit a fire, but the mosquitoes were a bit too ferocious to stand it very long.

I really found myself enjoying this pace. The only downside was that I didn't have Internet. I probably could have found wireless access in town, but I didn't feel comfortable bringing my laptop in a basket. But I could probably work on that problem and then . . . then it would be perfect. I'd love to go back up there this week, work on my proposal (yeah, if you're a friend, ask me about it) and maybe venture deeper into Wells and Kennebunkport.

Going to Maine

2009-07-14T09:01:00.003-04:00

Going to Maine for a few days, and internet coverage will be iffy at best. So, I'll be away from Fiddlehead for a bit. However, I have another book review in the works and should have some seafood recipes coming along. The CSA gave us lots of peas and green beans, so I'll be using them shortly and will post when I get back.

Sour Cherry Jam

2009-07-12T15:14:00.004-04:00

A few days ago -- not quite a fortnight -- I made some jam with the sour cherries from the tree in the community garden. I thought I picked enough, but the amount of cherries I picked (about 1 lb. before pitting) wasn't enough to fill a jar.

Yesterday, Seth and I got serious. he hoisted me onto his shoulders and we took turns climbing the tree to get as many as the hot day would allow. I have a few pounds now, so I'm going to make some more after the sun goes down and I won't have to heat up the house.

The recipe -- or rather, the non-recipe, as the case may be -- is from David Lebovitz's blog and can be found here. I like his clear instructions and practical advice about wearing red.

Will post pics and description of results soon . . .

Book Review: The Sugar Queen

2009-07-09T11:23:00.004-04:00

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

"The thing is, books just appear to me." This quote, from one of the central characters in the novel The Sugar Queen, accurately describes how I often stumble upon the books I read. Although I can't say I've had the same kind of magical experience as Chloe, for whom books just "arrive" in her life without having to go buy them at the store or check them out from the library, I often find that I am surprised by how appropriate or timely a book is for me.

This book by Sara Addison Allen very much "wanted" to come home with me; as I perused my other options in the local Barnes and Noble, I kept coming back to the description on the back. I've been wanting to keep my promise of adding some reviews of novels about food to my blog, and I saw potential in this book. I also found the part about Chloe bumping into books that demanded to be read rather intriguing -- as if I was having the same experience with this book.

The Sugar Queen is a book about a young woman, Josey, who loves sweets, but is trapped in a

going-nowhere existence living with her rich, controlling mother. Josey, a plump but pretty

girl, hides her amazing stash of old-fashioned candies and treats and romance novels behind

a false wall in her closet. Since the outside world of the small, cutesy, Southern town of Bald

Slope really holds nothing for her, Josey dreams about escaping from her mother's guilt trip

and travelling the world.

One day, Josey opens her closet -- where a horde of mallowmars and soda pop awaits -- to

discover a visitor. Sitting there is Della Lee Baker, a woman with a shady past but a heart

of gold and a knack for getting Josey to see the dead-end she is in. With Della Lee's encouragement, Josey breaks out out her rut and makes some new friends and discovers the power that comes from admitting her own desires, instead of hiding them in a closet.

One of the friends is Chloe, a sweet, passionate, yet practical young woman who runs a sandwich shop in the courthouse building. Della augers that Josey and Chloe should meet, so she tells Josey to go get sandwiches from her: tomato and three-cheese, fried egg, turkey on cheese bread. The sandwiches sound tasty, and we even get a description of Chloe making the fried egg and cheese (spoiler! she uses a bit of dill on the cooking egg). Her storyline touched me even more than Josey's for entirely personal reasons. In her tale, her long-term boyfriend cheats on her one night -- a meaningless, one-time thing. Obviously hurt, Chloe turns the man out of his own apartment . . . and then begins to realize how deeply entwined their lives are. This is a couple who makes water boil when they are together (I had reminders of Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate here). However, Chloe also needs to develop some autonomy -- she has given everything to this man. Jake, her boyfriend, for his part, feels awful and is desperate to get Chloe back. While Chloe is trying to figure where her head is at, she is visited by a witty plague of books with titles, such as "Finding Forgiveness," and "A Girl's Guide to Keeping Her Guy." Though she never reads the books -- they seem to irritate her with their embarassing appearances -- Chloe seems to get the message anyway.

Organized into chapters named for candies -- "Everlasting Gobstoppers" and "Sugar Daddy" are

a couple -- The Sugar Queen would seem to put comfort food at the center of the novel. It's not. While the author cleverly dusts this tale with sugary descriptions, I felt that I was getting the "icks" -- a little too sweet, not enough substance. I couldn't help but feel a little grossed out by the thought of a grown woman eating so much junk. By the end, the book becomes a light adventure and a lesson in learning to be oneself. A nice message, but it could have been a little less predictable -- I saw the wrap-up to Della's story coming a mile away.

I hestitate to call the book magical realism because it doesn't really have the substance of the typical offering from that movement/genre even though it does make use of unexplainable events. The strange occurences are not really depicted as "realism" -- they are weird even to the people who live with them everyday. This book falls more into the formula of a romance novel, a light story that uses magical events, like a modern fairy tale. I have to say that after just finishing Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses -- a book that can genuinely be defined as magical realism -- I found this book a little too light and fluffy for my tastes. It is a sweet story, and I found the two storylines of the lonely Josey and the betrayed Chloe to remind me of both my own past as a lonely girl who used food for comfort (in secret) and as a woman who knows the sting of being cheated on, to be a comforting distraction. But I didn't really learn anything, I wasn't moved to think of my world in a different way, and I didn't experience anything significant from a foodie's point of view that would make me recommend this book to other food-folk.

Grade: C+

Mexican Chocolate Fondue (Dairy-free and Sugar-free)

2009-07-07T12:35:00.003-04:00

I wanted to try making a raw fondue for our Solstice Party, but I couldn't get my hands on any raw cacao in time (you can also put nibs in a grinder and get a good result). I resorted to using Ghiradelli unsweetened 100% cacao bar, melted it with 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil and sweetened it with enough agave until it tasted sweet enough to me (a couple tablespoons?). Flavor the fondue with a dash of ginger, cinammon and cayenne pepper.

Sooo good.

More Party Pics

2009-07-05T11:08:00.002-04:00

Ladies! Send me your pics and I'll get them up here!

Here is a view of the table. There's Michelle's shrimp cocktail, my goat cheese tart and the fairy roses I picked for the occasion.

Here's 1/2 of Carey, Carolyn, Jerusha and someone's leg. I think it's Kim's.

My Goat Cheese Tart

2009-07-05T10:43:00.003-04:00

So, the use of goat cheese in the tart was a huge success at the Solstice Party, in my opinion. Heather, Michelle and my sister and her family cam eover yesterday and finished off the rest of it. I've already posted a link to a recipe that helped inspire my own, so here's what I did:

Goat Cheese Tart

First go here and follow the directions for the crust.
The directions for the filling are similar to the one above: Saute 1/2 - 3/4 c. chopped shallots and one clove minced garlic in a couple tbs. of extra-virgin olive oil. Add something green, chopped, about 2 cups. I used yellow-ribbed swiss chard (which is my favorite vegetable for this filling).
In a large bowl, whisk 3 extra-large eggs, 1/2 c. heavy cream, 1/2 c. cottage cheese and 11 oz. goat cheese (use garlic herb blend, if you want). Add a large handful of chopped basil.
Pour the sauteed greens into the egg mixture. Pour into prepared pie/tart crust.
Bake at 375 for about 1/2 hr. or until the top begins to turn golden but is still a little jggly in the middle. Sort of like jello -- set but not hard. It will cook a little more when it comes out. Let cool a bit before serving -- can be served warm or room temperature.

Party Recovery

2009-07-05T10:10:00.003-04:00

Wow. The Solstice Party rocked once again. It was awesome to see everyone having a great time. The idea of having a tea was a great idea. I loved the little sandwiches and the scones were really good (I must get Michelle and Jerusha to send their recipes hither).

As planned, I brought a goat cheese tart (here's Ina Garten's version, mine was a little different -- will post soon), May Wine and some Mexican chocolate fondue. I made a stupid mistake with the dulce de leche, so that stayed home (I sort of forgot to cover it with foil, so it developed a crust). The white chocolate fondue was also good, but that's not really a "recipe" -- simply melt some white chocolate with heavy cream or condensed milk until you get the consistency you want.

Oh yeah, and then there was champagne . . . :D

As promised, here's my recipe for May Wine:

May Wine

Ingredients:

1 bottle of dry white or red wine. If you choose red, avoid Cabernets or anything full-bodied. Go light.
one bunch of fresh sweet woodruff, about 1-2 cups.
up to 1/2 c. sugar to taste. Feel free to substitute agave, reduce the amount of sugar. Play with it.
1 pint of strawberries, washed, hulled
juice of one-half lime

Directions:

Mull the wine with the woodruff and sugar for AT LEAST one-half hour, up to 2. Do not allow the wine to boil; keep the heat very low. I use a slow-cooker.
Meanwhile, prepare the strawberries and place in a bowl that can hold all the wine. Add the lime juice.
When wine is finished mulling, let it cool -- using the fridge is okay.
When cool, pour the wine into the berries and let sit in the fridge for AT LEAST another few hours. I let it sit overnight.
Strain the wine (don't be too worried about crushing the strawberries to get all the juice out. You'll run the risk of getting pulp into the wine, which makes your guests say, "Hey, what is this stuff?" The longer you let it sit, the more the strawberry juice will leach into the wine.). Funnel back into the wine bottle and serve.

Preparing for a PARTY!

2009-07-03T10:43:00.003-04:00

Today is the day of the 20th Annual Ladies Summer Solstice Party! I don't have much time becasue I need to do several things, but I just wanted to give a heads up on the plan. So, unlike past years, we are getting together in the afternoon for a tea, which will extend into the evening (and maybe wee hours). Since some of us have to travel a couple hours to get to the destination, and because some of those people also have small children, we chose to start the party in the afternoon to give us all enough time to really socialize. Those who can stay late and whoop it up will do so! (That will be me!)

Jerusha, the original hostess, has decided to honor the occasion with a classic English tea party, complete with a variety of teas, sandwiches, cookies and other nibbles. What a perfect way to be girly and fancy together! In addition, party-goers will be bringing other edibles and drinkables from our gardens, farm shares and kitchens. Like always, I expect that we will have way too much food!

To mark the specialness of the occasion, I want to bring my laptop and have it available for instant updates during the party! I also plan to bring a journal to have my friends write in, so that we have a keepsake that can be maintained from year to year and so that I can write a follow-up entry here at Fiddlehead. I'll need to come up with a list of questions in the journal to help jump-start the creative process. Prompts such as these might be appropriate:

When did you first start coming to the Solstice party? What were your expectations? What were your first impressions?
Tell one (or more) of your favorite Solstice stories.
What do you usually bring to the party? What do you think that says about you and what people think of you? (hmm. this could be confrontational . . .)
What was your favorite meal, cocktail or dessert?
Why do you think the Solstice party has been so consistently observed for so long?

Finally (I thought I said this would be brief because I have things to do!), here is what I'm bringing (Recipes to be posted later when I have a minute . . . ha!):

May Wine. Red wine mulled with sweet woodruff and blended with crushed strawberries. I bring it every year.
A Rose Cava Brut from Spain -- Conde de Subirats.
Goat Cheese Tart. Similar to the tart I usually make but hybridized with Ina Garten's recipe.
Some steamed golden beets. Simply prepared, served with a little butter and s&p.
Dulce de leche, white chocolate fondue and Mexican dark chocolate fondue, which will be made dairy-free, sugar-free (I'll be using my fave, agave), cinammon, nutmeg and cayenne.

Well, I'm behind on schedule, so I'd better sign off! :*

Busy couple of days

2009-06-30T18:55:00.003-04:00

Hi, I may not be posting for a couple of days. I'm going to be moving around a bit. But I will be back if not Friday, then some day this weekend. I may check in before then; who knows.

I'll be sure to post the details of the Solstice Party on Friday!!

Beef . . . it's what's never for dinner

2009-06-29T11:35:00.002-04:00

ObamaFoodOrama published an article yesterday on a beef recall. The blog's message is pretty up front: "Avoid beef like it's the plague." While I don't go in for alarmist rhetoric or sarcastic hyperbole (I've learned over the years that not everybody gets it), the message of caution should definitely be heeded. The problem is, with no way to accurately track the source of this new e-coli outbreak, how do consumers know which meat to eat and which to throw away?

Maybe we should just avoid beef like it's the plague . . . .

Strawberry Souffles with Strawberry Mousse and Strawberries Dipped in White ChocolateUPDATED

2009-06-29T10:04:00.010-04:00

Why have tired, old cake and ice-cream when you can have souffle and mousse?

The birthday surprise seems to have been a big hit. Unfortunately, the pictures really didn't come out very well, so I'll just have to entice you with the recipe.

First, I'd like to thank a couple blogs for the recipes and inspiration I used to come up with this dessert. Earlier this month, Kevin at Closet Cooking posted a delicious-looking strawberry souffle that I knew I just had to make. With all the delicious, local strawberries we were getting from the CSA and other local farms, I knew it would be good. When my sister's birthday approached, it seemed like the perfect fit

. Kevin's recipe for strawberry souffle was very simple -- but it only served 4 and I wanted to be able to serve at least 6. So, I went to the Joy of Cooking to read up on souffles (I've only made one in my life, a few years ago). The book didn't have a recipe for a souffle with strawberries, but I adjusted the quantities and some of the ingredients based upon what I read there.

I've been watching Joanne Weir lately, and she featured cooking classes on making souffles and mousse, so the thought to combine the souffle with a mousse probably had a genesis there. I did a Food Blog Search for "strawberry mousse" and stumbled upon a sweet little blog called Tartelette. There, I found a recipe for Pistachio and Strawberry Mousse Mille Feuilles. I just extracted the strawberry mousse part from the too-cute recipe (and I mean "too cute" in a nice way!). This mousse was very light, more like a flavored whipped cream -- which made it perfect for this dessert. And can I just say that mascarpone cheese is one of my new favorite things? Yes! So light and smooth -- nothing like its usual substitutes, cream cheese or ricotta.

So, here is now my own recipe for

Strawberry Souffles with Strawberry Mousse and Strawberries Dipped in White Chocolate:

Souffle:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup strawberries, pureed
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 egg whites (room temperature)
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 tbs. sugar

Directions:

Mix the strawberry puree, 3 tbs. of sugar and vanilla extract.
Beat the egg whites until you get soft peaks.
Gradually beat in the cream of tartar, then the next 2 tbs. sugar.
Gently fold the strawberry puree into the egg whites.
Pour the mixture into 6 buttered and sugared ramekins.
Bake in a preheated 350F oven until puffed and golden brown on top, about 12 minutes.

Mousse:

Ingredients:

8 oz mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup pureed fresh strawberries
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, kept cold

Directions:

Mix the mascarpone and sugar until smooth.
Add the pureed strawberries.
Whip 1 ½ c. heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
Fold into strawberry mixture.
Refrigerate until serving.

Strawberries Dipped in White Chocolate

Ingredients:

12 gorgeous, ripe, unblemished strawberries

6 oz. white chocolate pieces (or bar)

mint or lemon balm leaves for decoration

Directions:

Wash and DRY the strawberries. Chocolate will not stick to wet berries.
Lay out a piece of parchment paper and arrange the mint/balm leaves in sets of two so that you can place a strawberry between them and the chocolate will stick and hold the decoration together.
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over low heat.
While the melted chocolate is still warm, work quickly to dip each berry and place down on the parchment.
Refrigerate until serving.

To assemble the three parts should be intuitive enough. Serve the souffles IMMEDIATELY. Plop a dollop of mousse on top (I punctured a hole in the souffle and filled it and then added more on top) and garnish with chocolate-dipped strawberries.

Cherries and a Mystery Bag

2009-06-26T16:55:00.007-04:00

Beautiful sour cherries from the community garden. Would have picked more but they were just too high up for us short people.

Went to Gadgets, the kitchen store on Centre Street in JP, to buy my mystery tools. Whatever could they be, hidden within this bag?

Pretty in Pink

2009-06-26T15:16:00.001-04:00

Warning! This blog has gone pink! Do not adjust your computer screens!

If you don't like it, you'll just have to learn to deal. Blame it on the strawberries. And the cherries. And the raspberries. And love.

;)

Out and About

2009-06-26T14:48:00.004-04:00

Today, I'm in a very good mood, but I'm pretty busy . . . so I may not get a chance to post anything substantial. Looks like tomorrow might be the same.

But it's all good. Yesterday, was my sister's birthday and to celebrate it, I'm planning a special dessert for our get-together tomorrow. I can't give the details or I'll give it away! I'll be sure to bring lots of batteries for the camera and take lots of pictures.

So, today I have to do some preparations. I've already gone to the store to buy the ingredients I didn't have, stopped at the farm stand to pick up . . . something delicious that I will not name! In a few, I'll be heading over to the garden to pick mint and sour cherries (not sure what I'll do with the cherries, yet -- give me your suggestions!), and I'll stop in at the kitchen store in JP to pick up a set of a particular kitchen tool that I do not currently own but need for the surprise dessert. Think you can guess what I'm making? ;)

THEN, I will come home and make some stuff. I won't be able to make all of it because one part in particular needs to be done JUST before serving.

Man, I hope I don't screw this up!

After all that, I'm going out for sushi with my sweetie at our place, Village Sushi, in Roslindale. We're trying to deal with a difficult phase in our relationship, and I find our sushi dates to be so helpful. They remind us why we're together in the first place. We're both a bit sentimental (he refuses to admit this, as most men do), so places have special meaning for us.

And the sushi is just damn good there.

****

Oh! I almost forgot! One of my dearest friends,Heather, flies into Boston tonight from Australia! I'm so excited to see her; she is hilarious and such a joy.

Oh! I almost forgot this too! The 2oth Annual Ladies Summer Solstice Party will be happening on July 3. Yeah, I know the solstice was Monday, but we had lots of schedules to consider and since Heather HAD to be there, this was the best date. What is this auspicious event, you ask? Well, I need to dash, so I'll be brief and fill in later. Twenty years ago, my friends and I, recently graduated from high school, ditched our boyfriends and got together to have a "ladies only" dinner. We had so much fun that the party became an annual event. And here we are; twenty years later, still delighting in the occasion.

I can't wait!!!

Pan-Seared Salmon in Mustard-Tarragon Sauce

2009-06-25T19:17:00.004-04:00

This is possibly the best dish I've posted here so far --

Pan-Seared Salmon in Mustard-Tarragon Sauce

1. First, toast a handful of chopped hazelnuts. Remove to a separate dish.

2. Season the salmon fillet with salt and pepper on both sides.

3. Heat some olive oil (and a pat of butter, if you want) in the pan.

4. Place the fillet, skin side down, in skillet.

5. Cook on each side 3-4 minutes. Do not overcook; you’ll be returning the fish to the pan for a final minute or two in the sauce.

6. Remove fish to a plate.

7. Sweat some chopped onion and garlic in the pan. Add a little butter if the pan is too dry.

8. Add 2 tbs. of mustard. I used up the last of some fancy mustard I received as a gift – Maine Maple Champagne Mustard, or some such thing.

9. Add ½ c. vegetable stock and ½ c. orange juice. Add some lemon zest and juice of ½ lemon. Add some salt and pepper to taste.

10. Cook down until the sauce is reduced by half to two-thirds.

11. Add the fish back in. Add some coarsely chopped tarragon (I added some hyssop as well) to the sauce. No need to stir.

12. Remove fish after 1 or 2 minutes. Do not overcook. Add hazelnuts into sauce and pour over salmon.

I served this dish with yesterday’s seared kale tossed with some quinoa. I think I like the kale cold better than hot. I feel that the flavors came together overnight, too.

Greens, Greens and More Greens

2009-06-24T20:09:00.003-04:00

It's already Wednesday, so I have to start getting serious about eating up the tons of greens I got from the CSA. I think some or all of the kale in the next shipment is going in the freezer for later use.

The first pic is tonight's dinner (from left): seared kale with pecans and raisins, a mixed greens-mesculun salad with shredded chiogga beets, stir-fried chard, zucchini and shitakes with tofu, and quinoa.

The second pic is a close-up on the seared kale.

Restaurant Review: Upper Crust Pizzeria

2009-06-23T20:42:00.006-04:00

Lately, it seems that no matter where I go, there's an Upper Crust Pizzeria opening up (there was one in Waltham when I visited that city last week, one in Harvard Sq. one in Fenway, etc.). With their slick, modern signs and interior decor and the self-congratulatory name, these restaurants promise an above-average pizza experience. With ingredients such as gorgonzola and the option of having any pie made with whole wheat crust, I thought this was going to be my kinda place. Besides, I happen to really like Neapolitan-style pizza. So, I stopped in at the new location on Centre St. in West Roxbury to see if this pizza place would live up to its name.

I found the pizza here to be disappointing. I ordered two slices -- a cheese and a slice-of-the-day, which was spinach, fresh mozzarella and roasted red peppers. Granted, slices are never exactly as tasty as a fresh pie, but I felt that my expectations could adequately compensate for this. Also, with some small pies coming in at $14, I thought I'd save my money for, oh, I don't know, anything else.

The pizza simply should have tasted better. The crust seemed fine, but there was something lacking from the sauce and cheese. The flavor just wasn't fresh and zesty enough for me. On the spinach pizza, there was an attempt to dress it up with some black pepper, which almost worked. But the toppings tasted limp and flat.

Maybe I'm just so old-school it's sickening, but I don't know if I trust a shop that is run by kids. Where's the meaty Italian uncle with the hairy arms and tatoos, who doesn't really speak much English but manages to know exactly what I want (and how to make it)? Prettifying the restaurant with wood floors and cute college students doesn't improve the flavor of the food.

There are so many other gourmet (and not gourmet but still good) pizza shops in town -- Woody's comes to mind.

So, Upper Crust is simply crusty. And though its prices ($3.15 - $3.57 per slice!) are upper class, Upper Crust is a food snob-wannabe.

Okay, here are the rules:

2009-06-23T10:38:00.002-04:00

Please do not attempt to advertise your business through the comments. I understand that some folks have business ventures relating to food and earth-friendly products, which is all good. I also understand the practice of commenting on other people's blogs in the hopes of drumming up readers for one's own. For many bloggers, a goal is to get other blogs to list their blog in their blogroll; therefore, going to other blogs, participating in the conversation is not only part of the fun of blogging, it's part of the "game-plan." I'm down with that. You can do that here.

However . . . .

Maybe I'm old-school, but I believe in the practice of inquiring if it's okay to post a permanent link to someone's blog first, or at least making a comment before assuming it's okay to link to them. Some exceptions can be made; for instance, when linking to the Food Network, let's say. You don't have to ask permission; in fact, they want you to link to them. But for personal blogs, blogs that are largely visited by friends and family and maybe a small network of related-interest blogs, it's just common courtesy to introduce yourself. In some way -- it doesn't have to be formal, just a quick, "Hey, I like your blog. I started my own at http . . . . Mind if I link to you?". Sometimes, it is clear that the blog is designed for people to subscribe or link to it, and in those cases I might not actually ask permission to link to them. But if it's "Dad Cooks" and all the comments are from his family members, I ask. And let me just say for the record, that if you are a personal food blogger like me, go ahead and link me to your similarly personal food blog. It's okay.

If you are a business and you simply leave a comment intended to direct my readers to your business, without having contacted me about it first, you are offending my sense of good taste.

This is my personal food blog, not a business blog. And it is not your free advertising spot. You'll notice that this site is ad free. The content here is produced by me, a person, in my FREE time. Emphasis on "free."

This morning I had to remove a comment from a business on a movie review that I wrote. The comment didn't mention ANYTHING about the movie, its content or my comments about it. It was purely a sales pitch. Disgusting. Deleted.

If you have/work for a business that you feel is related to the content and values of this blog and wish to have me link to your site in my "Other Sites I Read/Follow/Use" section, feel free to contact me at proy912atgmaildotcom. If I list you, I may write a review of your site or products for you here at Fiddlehead at no charge. Or, if you'd like to hire me to edit or write copy for you or to write articles for your publication, I am capable and available for that, too, and you should write to me at the email above to inquire about my rates.

Furthermore, all the photography here is mine or is linked back to the source (if you find one that isn't let me know and I'll fix it. Sometimes I screw it up). The photos are pretty amateur, so I can't imagine anyone stealing them, but stealing bandwidth causes problems for me with Blogger.

Are we cool? Good.

Film Review: Food, Inc.

2009-06-22T13:50:00.006-04:00

On a muggy and misty Friday afternoon, after my macrobiotic lunch at Masao's Kitchen, I finally settled in to watch the documentary, Food, Inc. I've been anticipating this for a long time, and ever since I read The Omnivore's Dilemma about a year ago, I've been waiting to see how that book and others like it would or would not cross over into mainstream consciousness. While chomping on my GMO popcorn (which I thought was "funny" and ironic when I bought it . . . and disgusting when I was about halfway through the film) and a smuggled cookie from Masao's, I and a small handful of concerned citizens -- all "older folks" who have probably read the books The Omnivore's Dilemma and Fast Food Nation -- sat in contemplative, respectful silence to watch a film we likely already knew the content of. Like the dutiful choir, we eagerly accepted the preaching of the latest by director, Robert Kenner, and the authors, Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser. The question for me is: does this film have the power to transcend the faithful and reach the unconverted?

The main point of this film is to show how the vise-like control of the agriculture industry by a very few (4 to 6), huge corporations is rapidly destroying the integrity of the American food supply at every level. The film, like Sinclair's The Jungle in its time, descries the sloppy mess that industrialization and monoculture have brought to the table. Many images of factories with byzantine braids of conveyor belts, pipes and gears, feedlots of previously unimaginable scale punctuate the film to remind viewers of the reality of most supermarket food. For example, with so many steers in such disgusting conditions all funneling through the thirteen slaughterhouses in the country, we see for ourselves how one hamburger can be a composite of a thousand animals, making the ultimate source of food-borne illnesses practically untraceable.

My blood boiled as I watched the heartbreaking and infuriating story of a mother who lost her child to an e-coli infection from a simple hamburger. The mother tells that as the child went into kidney failure, he was denied water as it would have been almost instantly fatal. When the family dabbed a sponge lightly soaked in water on his dry lips, he bit the head off of the sponge in his panicked instinct for liquid. The industry has tried to stop the mother from trying to enact legislation to improve oversight in the meat industry.

The film is peppered with more disturbing stories. One sequence shows a low-income family trying to make ends meet. Despite the presence of diabetes and obesity in the family, they resort to eating fast food every day because it is literally cheaper than real food. The film follows the family into a supermarket where the little girl excitedly begs her mother to buy pears. Not candy or ice-cream -- healthy, yummy pears. The older sister weighs the fruit to see how much they would cost, "Too much," she tells her dejected sister, "You'd only get two or three [for a dollar, the amount she is allowed]."

There is something very wrong when a healthy two-year-old dies from a hamburger and a little girl can't eat a piece of fruit. Unfortunately, I think people hear these stories in a flash on the news and don't really stop to consider what it all means. I'm not sure the average American watching the news imagines the suffering of a boy like Kevin or questions with compassion why a chubby girl is denied a healthy snack.

Probably even more invisible to most Americans is the true plight of American farmers and farm workers. Several farmers are interviewed for this film, some of them with their images obscured because they so fear the businesses who apparently believe they own them. And the farmers can seemingly do nothing except express their outrage at the futility of trying to buck the system. In the current system, the farmers need to have contracts in order to sell the food they grow, and if they fail to follow every whim of the industry giants who offer the contracts, the farmers will be out of luck and maybe even sued.

And for the farm workers, most of whom are undocumented workers from defunct farms south of the border (defunct because they could not compete with subsidized American grains and produce), they are offered no protection from immigration officials by the very companies that recruit and hire them.

Two alternatives to this system are offered by the film, both of which are familiar to readers of OD. The first is Joel Salatin, a sustainable farmer in Virginia. His farm, Polyface, represents the “old school,” local, agrarian ideal. On his farm, the animals live lives that seem in harmony with their instincts: cattle graze on grass, chicken scratch in the fields, and pigs wallow languidly in precious mud. Unlike the industrial slaughterhouses, Salatin allows the film crew to film the slaughter of chickens in his open-air facility that he claims is much more sanitary and humane than any of the industry-standard facilities. Despite the fact that we know Salatin and his sons are taking care to be as humane as possible, it’s still a bit disturbing to watch the slaughter. The chickens are obviously terrified (there’s one shot of a chicken awaiting the inevitable with an unmistakable look of horror on its face). If this is humane, then one is left to wonder what atrocities must be going on down in the factories. Contrasting sequences of animals being kicked and prodded (as in the case of one cow whose legs are collapsing underneath it as it is forced to join the ill-fated rest) in huge warehouses where excrement and sick animals are brought to a messy end are also shown, though without the completeness of Salatin’s operation. It’s actually what we don’t see, but rather hear or imagine– the screaming pigs on the kill-floor, for example – that is shocking.

And who are the workers in charge of the most brutal, messy and dangerous work? Certainly not well-paid industrialists. No, it is the undocumented worker and the marginalized individual with no other skills that is forced to process thousands of animals each week. Doing this kind of work must have a psychological effect. And the fact that we allow for these abuses, both of the animals and the workers, underscores a comment made by Salatin: "How we view animals reflects how we view others."

The other alternative presented is the story of Stonyfield milk and yogurt products. This is an example of “big” organic. Here, we see the efforts of an ex-hippie farmer who concluded that in order to effect real change, his operation had to go mainstream. One result of going big is getting a contract with WalMart. As one of the dairy farmers cheerily tells the awkward, fake-smiling WalMart executives that she and her family have been boycotting WalMart for years, I was left wondering if it is worth it to get in bed with such fellows. One of the execs, standing in front of a green, mist-covered field, waxes reflective: "It's easy to get behind organics when it's clearly what the customer wants." Hmm.

The impact of the dilemma presented by these two alternatives is perhaps not made hard enough. I’m afraid most viewers would come away thinking that Salatin was a bit of a kook (well, he might be) and that the way to go is big organic. Actually, neither system can completely fix the complicated problems of the food industry, but I’m not sure the film makes that point clear enough. Like other reviewers, I feel that the film doesn’t offer very much in the way of a solution. The suggestions that conclude the film don’t seem to be enough to really challenge the enormous power of the industry.

Is it enough? Enough to change the habits of consumers? Make them call for change? Well, as the movie ended and I turned around to leave, I noticed how few people were in the theater – maybe ten people in total. Granted, it was a Friday afternoon, and I’m hopeful that the evening shows were probably more populated. But since this film has such a limited screening schedule, I wonder if it will raise enough alarm. Maybe that’s why the film is so gutsy – the industry officials who could shut this sort of thing down don’t bother, thinking perhaps that it will only reach a handful of “radicals” and old folks with nothing to do on a workday but watch movies.

We shall see. I’ll be looking for news of legislation, increases in organic and local farm sales and litigation against the companies that are the only ones benefiting from the current system. I’ll also be voting with my dollars at the farmer’s market, the co-op and the local and organic markets. I hope it’s enough.

Read my other posts about this film and topic:

10 Things You Can Do . . .

The Future of Food

Rules from In Defense of Food

Morning Edition interview with Pollan and Kenner

Book Review of The Omnivore's Dilemma

Psychopathic French Man Drinks Coffee

2009-06-22T13:43:00.003-04:00

Ah, here we have a film depicting the French love of the bizarre, the violent, and the caffeinated -- c'est magnifique.

Happy Summer Solstice from Fiddlehead

2009-06-20T15:16:00.007-04:00

In the month of June, everyone becomes a pagan. Even the most stern Puritan cannot deny the pleasure of the summer's first, ripe strawberry. Now, so close to the first official day of summer, the fruitfulness of the earth begins to tell us the story of what we have planted and nurtured, what we have invested in and what has grown from our careful tending.

It's now the time for lots of greens: Swiss chard, kale, lettuce, mesclun, arugula. Having lots of greens makes me think of having lots of "green" -- money. Abundance is a wonderful thing, if it's what you want. I especially love "hot," picquant greens like arugula and mustard. Their peppery flavor tastes of good health, vigor and clarity (there's no mistaking a mustard green for iceberg lettuce in your salad!). While some folks crave the bitter herbs, I'm not so inclined. Dandelion greens? You can keep them. I have no love for their bitter, astringent taste. They make me think of all the things that other people say are good for me. What do they know? I follow my own taste buds, and I'm never wrong.

I look forward to a season of chard tarts, seared kale and pungent salads.

It's also the time of the first round of berries: strawberries. Whether we turn them into jam, bake them in pies or simply eat them without adornment, strawberries are among the temperate world's most favorite foods. One of my favorite memories of Canada was eating a bowl of tiny, wild strawberries that my memere had picked herself. She is a big fan of the sweets, so the strawberries had been dusted with sugar -- and she served them in cream. Not milk. Cream. I can't say it was decadent because a breakfast so simple (only three ingredients) defies the sense of the word, but the joy of such a meal cannot be described. And, isn't this what our grandmothers are supposed to do for us -- spoil us silly with our favorite indulgences?

I am happy to say, that from the look of our farm share, abundance and indulgence are in store for us this season. What a welcome sight after such a year of economic (and personal) strife. The question becomes: what will we do with all of it? Some people express despair when they see their box of food from the CSA. They might recognize the produce, but many folks have forgotten what to do with these early vegetables. This is regrettable, since our grandparents and great grandparents certainly knew what to do with fresh, local food. With each week's box, I am reminded of the canning section in my great grandmother's cookbook. I also know that I will now have lots of greens to freeze for a dreary day in winter in need of a hot soup. I know that the compost pile at the garden will start to reap the benefits, too, producing more rich earth from all the cuttings and leftovers from the gardeners' plots and kitchens.

What we do with our abundance is an important statement about our values and our ability to invent. Eating from the CSA box (or the garden) and not the fast food restaurant forces us to look at what we truly have, right here, right now. What if we actually had to live on it? Couldn't go to a supermarket to get more or different? Could we make it work? Make it stretch to the next week? Surely, we could with some inventiveness and will.

Creativity, passion, intention. Clarity, discernment, hope. These are the other green and growing things -- the intrinsic, intangible things -- I receive each week in my box. I hope I am worthy of this plentitude and use it, love it, wisely.

BTW, the image above represents only half of the share. The other half goes to Seth's mom.

Reviews with Views: Masao's Kitchen

2009-06-20T14:20:00.005-04:00

Masao's Kitchen, 581 Moody St., Waltham, MA 02453.

I stopped in at Masao's Kitchen before heading over to the Embassy to see Food, Inc. It's kinda funny: I was going to go to Watch City Brewery and see if their beef is grass-fed and all that, and then I remembered that I had never tried Masao's. Since I was there in Waltham to see a movie about the industrialization of our food supply, it seemed to be a better choice to go with the wholesomeness of the Japanese buffet.

Masao's is the Boston area's only vegan-macrobiotic restaurant. I've been wanting to try this place for a long time, since it has been receiving rave reviews from friends and others.

At Masao's, diners select items from a buffet of fresh vegetables, rice, beans and tofu. There's also salad, soup, and desserts (like an oatmeal-chocolate chip cookie) available. You can drink water for free, or try a Knudsen's spritzer -- 100% juice with light carbonation.

I ate the meal pictured here: (clockwise from left) butternut squash, broccoli, brown rice, carrot and green bean medley, kidney beans in a savory sauce, a complimentary tempeh sandwich, and sauteed tofu. The food tasted very fresh, was only lightly seasoned, allowing the real flavors of the food to come through. For those who want to add seasoning, there is a bar of seasonings with more choices than I would even know what to do with. The light seasoning is great for people who are watching their salt intake or for anyone who wants to re-experience what real food tastes like.

I enjoyed my meal and felt very satisfied. I actually think I took a little too much food. I think my favorites were the squash and the tofu: the squash was bright and sweet, well-cooked but not mushy, and the savory sauce on the tofu was rich and satisfying. The only food I wasn't sure about was the sandwich -- it was good, but it had that "vegan" mayonnaise on it. I could have dealt with a drizzle of olive oil instead.

At $8 per lb. you can eat a very wholesome and satisfying meal for not too much. It's almost as convenient and fast as fast food (just can't eat this one in the car so easily) and much better for you.

Side note: in the back of the restaurant is a book shelf with vegan, macro and holistic health info that folks can browse through or purchase. There's a real intention to the cuisine at Masao's that diners may find inspirational, "cute" or perhaps annoying. I'm somewhere in the middle of this list. Here's what was on the wall in the bathroom:

****

If you're not sure about vegan or macrobiotic food, the first thing I would say is that all the food I ate on the macro cleanse and here at Masao's was real food -- no processed food and lots of fresh veggies and fruit. Whole grains, beans, tofu, tempeh as well. So, you can go macro and still recognize everything on your plate.

Secondly, I would say that there are lots of spices and flavorings that are in alignment with macrobiotic eating (and not all macrobiotic eaters are vegan, btw) that you can experiment with: dulse, Bragg's amino acids (tastes like soy sauce), sesame seeds and much more. I have only just begun to experiment in this way. My favorite is Sriracha, a Korean chili sauce that is unbelievably hot but also tasty. It goes well on lots of things: eggs, greens, corn, beans, meats. Use it in a stir-fry or anytime you would use tabasco sauce (I use it in tacos and burritos).

Matinee: Food, Inc.

2009-06-19T13:01:00.003-04:00

Just bought my ticket for Food, Inc. at the Embassy. I'll let you know what I think of it when I get back! Click on the image above to read the 10 Things You Can Do To Change The Food System.

Simple Favorites, updated

2009-06-19T12:05:00.008-04:00

A breakfast rhyme:

Yesterday's breakfast was so nice,

that I decided

to have it twice!

Cherries and toasted almonds over yogurt with an agave swirl. Yum.

****

Last night, I met with the ladies I will be moving in with in August. It was supposed to be a "tea and cookies" night, so I decided to bring a plate of Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies.

If you've been following this blog, you'll note that I try to avoid white flour, refined sugar, enormous quantities of butter, etc., so I altered the traditional cookie recipe to include coconut oil, brown rice syrup and organic whole wheat flour. Here's the recipe:

Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 c. coconut oil

1 c. brown rice syrup

1/2 c. molasses or honey

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. almond extract

3 c. uncooked oats

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

couple handfuls of raisins

Directions:

Make this like you would any other drop cookie: Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients (oats through cinnamon and nutmeg on the list) in a small bowl. Mix the wet ingredients (coconut oil through almond extract on the list) with a mixer until smooth. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients. Stir in the raisins. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet (I line mine with parchment paper or use a silpat -- my cookie sheet sucks) and bake for 10-12 minutes.

These were a big hit, and I think I made a good impression with them. Notice that this recipe could easily become vegan if you use egg replacer for the egg.

Busy couple of days: random bits, floating, falling on the virtual page . . .

2009-06-18T12:28:00.005-04:00

Sorry, no camera today.

Food for Healing, Food for the Heart . . .

Yesterday, I brought my Food of the Wild Soup to my sweetheart to help him get over his nasty illness (we're not saying it was swine flu, but . . . ). He seemed to like it very much and was able to go to work today. Must have been my curative presence. ;)

Indulgences

You know that feeling you get when you've indulged just a little too much ("extreme chocolate" ice cream from JP Licks on Monday night, a chocolate chip whoopie pie yesterday . . . !) and you just want to clean it out and start over? Well, I learned a good trick from an Ayurvedic practitioner a few weeks ago: in the morning after the indulgence, drink 32 oz. of warm water with 1 tsp. of salt in it. Try to chug it. It won't taste good, and I don't reccommend this if you're already feeling nauseous. Basically, the body can't do anything with the salty water except let it go on through, pushing out any yuck you ate. Obviously, this is for OCCASIONAL use (he suggested no more than once a week, but even that seems often to me), and I almost feel as though I shouldn't write about this lest some anorexic or bulimic person out there reads this and thinks, "Great! A new way to punish myself!" Don't punish yourself. Food is good, and you are beautiful.

BUT, cleansing can be a happy experience, too . . . just a word to the wise.

So, today, I figured I needed to start my day with a good breakfast. I really wanted to finish off the buckwheat I made a few days ago, but I was also craving yogurt. I'm the kind of person who feels that cravings -- unless they are for sugar -- are most of the time to be indulged (I exclude sugar because usually it's just a craving that feeds itself, keeping a person locked in a cycle of gluttony and a lack of control and compassion for oneself). So, I had the leftover buckwheat (I'm not a huge fan, but I don't like to waste food) and a small portion of plain, lowfat yogurt with fresh cherries, toasted almond slivers and a quick drizzle of agave. So simple but so good.

Coffee. I love you. I love you not.

So, while I was cleansing back in April/May, I got off the coffee habit with almost no withdrawl symptoms. I went from coffee to black tea to herbal tea and didn't have any migraines (I had some after I had been cleansing for about a week and a half, well after the caffeine should have been gone). After the cleanse, I didn't start drinking coffee right away, but in the last couple of weeks, I've been drinking it just about everyday. When I try to go a day without out, the migraine demon pays a visit, and I'm forced to take drugs, which contain, of course, caffeine. So, while I love the stuff, I have to try to get back into balance with it. I don't think I can allow myself to drink coffee everyday.

Maybe I can switch to decaf for a while, then switch to tea? I just hate the headaches so much . . . .

Film: The Future of Food

2009-06-16T21:18:00.005-04:00

I think there is some very valuable information and perspective given in this film, but I am inclined to agree with one of the commentators that the "narrative structure" is uneven and may not be compelling for a wide audience. I was also irritated by the poor sound quality. There was this one guy . . . I couldn't hear a word he said. I did appreciate, however, the emphasis on the science of GMOs as well as the (insidious) politics involved.

Can you imagine a world in which the only food seeds are owned by 4 or 5 companies and all the seeds are "suicidal," meaning that they can't reproduce more seeds for next year? Then, we'd have to depend on the GM seeds. Depending on only a select few species of a plant LED TO THE IRISH POTATO FAMINE. Hello, people -- we have been down this road before and it's not so scenic. We need GMO labelling now, just as they have in the EU.

It's not just biological diversity that is important here, but also intellectual diversity. As the GMO companies continue to dominate the markets, control the research and prevent the labelling that would help educate consumers, our country's ability to make good science and build knowledge is impaired. The narrow interests of companies such as Monsanto have such a corrosive effect on society as a whole. We are, of course, what we eat, but as my description for this blog implies, we are also what we think and say about what we eat.

Interesting Links

2009-06-15T17:13:00.003-04:00

Fiddlehead season will not last much longer. Even though you will continue to find them in supermarkets for at least a few weeks, really, if you take a walk through local wooded areas, the shoots have unfurled and become ferns. There may be a few late stands here and there, but the fiddlehead crop has probably been picked by now. If you're buying fiddleheads a month from now, make sure they are tightly furled and bear in mind that they may have been sitting around for a couple of weeks (at least).

In order to suck the juice out of fiddlehead season, check out these links. The first is an older article about fiddleheads from the NY Times. It was actually published when I was a junior in high school -- hey, what's old is new, right? It's quite elegantly written and reminds me of why newspapers are still so vital to our culture. The second is the blog of a PhD student who is studying, what else, ferns! And the blog is just about ferns. Ah, love. Nothing can compare. ;)

Food of the Wild Soup

2009-06-15T11:46:00.005-04:00

I’ve wanted to make something like this for a long time: collect several wild edibles and put them together into a great-tasting dish. Here, I’ve combined fiddleheads, stinging nettles, shitakes (yeah, well, they’re wild somewhere; I don’t know my wild mushrooms well enough to be safe) and arame (Japanese sea vegetable) for a soup in honor of the wild foods of both land and sea.

Food of the Wild Soup

First, soak about ½ cup of arame in cool water for 10-15 minutes. If you do this first, by the time you finish the other steps, the arame should have plumped up to twice its original size, which means it’s ready.

While that’s happening, please heed the warnings and follow the directions for preparing nettles seen here.

After you’re done blanching the nettles, you’ll need to do the same for the fiddleheads (but a minute or two, once, is long enough).

Next, you need a dashi, which is a Japanese broth flavored with sea vegetable (usually kombu) and bonito flakes. If you don’t have these weird ingredients – I never do – use a vegetable stock and improvise with some dried nori (the seaweed they wrap sushi in) and some fish sauce (or fish stock). Put 4 cups of dashi/stock on the back burner, add some grated ginger if you like (I like) and a teaspoon of soy sauce, and just let it start simmering.

Meanwhile, heat a small amount of oil (not olive oil, here. Safflower, grapeseed, peanut would work) in a skillet. Add 5 or 6 chopped shitake caps and 1 small leek, sliced (white part only). Add a pinch of salt and a dash of sake (optional).

Add the fiddleheads and nettles, season with salt and black pepper and stir to incorporate.

When the shitakes are slightly browned, add mixture to the dashi. Keep heat low. Add the arame.

Before serving, take about ¼ cup of the broth and add to 2-3 tablespoons of red miso to dissolve. Add the dissolved miso back to the pot, stir and serve.

I serve this with udon noodles, which I prepare separately to prevent them from sucking up all the liquid in the soup.

Here are some other articles and comments about nettles:

"The Common Stinging Nettle" by Euell Gibbons, writing for Vermont Weathervane

"Stinging nettles -- I cooked them and lived!" at Chowhound

"Stinging Nettles Need a New Name!" at OrganicMania

"Mini Specialist| Food Found: Stinging Nettles" by William Snyder, writing for WSJ

Check out these recipes:

Nettles pasta with fava beans, from No Recipes

Spring Tonic Nettles Soup, from Wild Food Ways

Today's Lunch Spot: City Feed in JP

2009-06-14T18:51:00.005-04:00

The Boston neighborhood of Jamaica Plain is a funky, artsy, conscious community with a vibrant ethnic presence and a real sense for what is now in food trends. And nothing is more now than the push to "get to know your farmer." City Feed and Supply (now in two locations in JP) is part corner grocery store, part coffee-sandwich shop. But the place proves Aristotle's assertion of holism . . . the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. If you're a vegetarian, a flexitarian, if you've read Pollan's books and you're afraid to eat meat or produce from the big, Gigantaursarus Mart, shop here. If you want red quinoa from a local grower, heirloom tomatoes grown in EASTERN Massachusetts, local, raw honey, shop here. If you want old school candy for a quarter -- Mary Janes, for example -- shop here. Most of the food is sourced locally and is sustainably or humanely produced. The retail store is so small that it defies the current "wisdom" that says consumers want endless variety. Conveniently located on Centre St. in the middle of all the action, it's easy to just pop in for a coffee and a poke about the store. It's the kind of shopping where you aren't planning for the week. More likely, picking up some fresh herbs to top off a pasta dish or a delicious bread, or, "Oops, forgot to get canned tomatoes, so thank god they have it here and I don't have to go to that other place." It's amazing what they do have in such a small space (But, it's probably the same size as the grocery stores our grandparents and great grandparents remember). It seems like it would be a good place to go if you actually cook, not reheat/microwave/assemble, your food.

Or, you can eat from the cafe. Today, I had an amazing, hearty sandwich, the Farmer's Lunch: extra sharp cheddar with whole grain mustard and mayo, granny smith apple, small-batch pickles, and romaine on a delicious baguette. I eat bread rarely, so I was pleased that the bread was so good. I also ordered a cup of chipotle sweet potato soup which was outstanding -- a smokey-spicy kick really stands up to the sweetness of the potato, and the use of (I'm guessing) thyme and tarragon really brightened it up. I loved this lunch, but it was way more food than even a very hungry girl could eat -- so I get to finish it later, either tonight or tomorrow. Yum.

Tricia's Vegetable Tart . . . with Fiddleheads, mais oui

2009-06-14T18:16:00.005-04:00

I have never gone wrong with this tart. I have made it many different ways: with swiss chard and mushrooms, with kale and asparagus, with shallots or onions carmellized in balsamic vinegar, with a whole wheat crust -- it's such a versatile, forgiving winner. Even my dad loved it. I packed up two slices for my parents as they were getting ready to go to Wells, ME for the weekend, and my dad "sampled" a corner of a piece and then proceeded to eat the rest of it.

Here's the recipe for the tart I served yesterday.

Vegetable Tart with Fiddleheads

1 ¾ c. flour

¾ tsp. salt

1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 c. cold water

2 tbs. olive oil

1 med. leek, sliced, white and light green parts only

2 cloves garlic, minced

¾ - 1 lb. spinach, chopped

½ -3/4 c. fiddleheads

salt and pepper to taste

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 c. cottage cheese

1 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 425.

Make the crust. Whisk the flour and salt with a fork. Stir in oil and water. Dough will come together in a ball but will be too sticky to roll – press into pie plate. Puncture a few times with fork and bake for about 10-15 minutes.

Make the vegetables: Heat the oil. Sweat the leeks for about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and fiddleheads, s&p to taste. Sautee until spinach is wilted but still bright.

Make the custard and finish: Mix the eggs with the cheeses. Pour in the vegetables. Pour into the pre-baked pie crust.

Bake at 375 for 25-35 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before serving. Serves 6-8.

Cream of Cauliflower and Fiddlehead Soup

2009-06-14T17:35:00.005-04:00

Fiddleheads make an unusual appearance in a standard cream of cauliflower soup. Just make sure you don't overcook the fiddleheads. Reserve some of the smaller fiddleheads before you puree the soup.

I made this soup at my parents' house yesterday. Mom's been moving away from cooking, sadly, so I didn't have access to a blender -- I had to puree the soup in a Magic Bullet! It only took about a thousand batches (grumble, grumble). It was a little rustic -- really important to clean the fiddleheads and puree them well if you want a super-smooth texture. I think I might even press through a sieve or cheesecloth next time.

Three Favorite Rules from In Defense of Food

2009-06-12T18:16:00.004-04:00

This is the promised follow-up to the discussion of Food, Inc.

Three Favorite Rules from In Defense of Food:

· “Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.”

I have a pretty good idea of what my great-grandmother thought was food because I have two of her cookbooks: the 1946 Joy of Cooking and City Mission Cook Book: Favorite Recipes of the Women of Greater Lawrence. She may not have been exposed to the ethnic cuisines that are popular today, but I’m confident that she could have been educated in this area. Breads with 20-something ingredients, high fructose corn syrup and McFrankenchicken would certainly not have qualified.

· “Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle.”

Most supermarkets are set up so that the fresh foods and foods that require refrigeration – produce, meats, fish, dairy, etc. – are set up along the edges of the market. This is supposed to be for better temperature control (but I always thought it was so you had to travel across the length of the store to get all your typical items, allowing the store more chances to market to you). The middle is where you find the four or so aisles devoted to junk food, soda, and packaged food along with other aisles of assorted crap. The only caveat to this rule would have to be the aisle(s) with the rice and other grains, oatmeal and dried beans. And sometimes you need to buy spices, toilet paper, a mop, etc. Most of the rest is crap, or not-food-your-great-grandmother-would-recognize.

· “Get out of the supermarket whenever possible.”

We are one week away from our first CSA pick-up of the season. Last year, I rarely went to the supermarket. And, there’s a food co-op market down the street from the pick-up site, so I could go there to replenish my supply of rice, millet, black beans, etc. It might be an interesting experiment to see how long I can go without going to the supermarket at all. Hmmm…..

Responding to Morning Edition and "Food, Inc."

2009-06-12T16:37:00.010-04:00

My original post with the link to the broadcast is here.

Here's a link to the trailer (it won't embed for some reason) here.

The film, Food, Inc., premiered last week in NY and comes out today in select theaters in NY, LA and SF. It will be here in Boston (Cambridge, actually) on June 19 at Kendall Square Cinema. As a reader of Michael Pollan and a supporter of locavorism, organic food, humane and sustainable agriculture, I am eager to see this film. It looks like it will be a good depiction of some of the wisdom found in Pollan's books put into an audio-visual format.

There is a book, here, which I haven't read yet. Might have to be next on my list.

In the broadcast, which featured a brief interview with author, Michael Pollan, and the film's director, Robert Kenner, I didn't exactly learn anything that I didn't already know from The Omnivore's Dilemma or In Defense of Food, but a few points from the exchange are worth noting:

the lives of animals in industrial farming are half as long as they used to be before CAFOs and are far more brutal.
most of these farms employ illegal immigrants who are easily exploited -- just like the animals.
90% of Americans say they want some kind of GMO labeling on their food, yet Congress has yet to engage such legislation because of the lobbying success of the big seed companies and food factories (like Monsanto).

Critics of the film and industry spokespeople will make such defenses: that this kind of intense agriculture provides, "a lot of food on a small amount of land for a good price. Now, what could be wrong with that?" Pollan counters this argument well in pointing out that while the industry has been successful in meeting these objectives, they come at a cost -- a cost to our health, to our integrity and values as a nation and to our environment. Industrial farming uses tons of fossil fuels (and I don't need to elaborate on the need to be critical of this, I believe), and lots of antibiotics and genetically-modified organisms. It promotes worker abuse and exploitation of migrant workers. It abuses animals. Furthermore, the fact that the individual industries are self-policing prevents any real oversight and breeds an insular culture of cynicism.

In my follow-up to this post, I'll be discussing my favorite rules from Pollan's In Defense of Food.

NPR discusses new film, Food, Inc.

2009-06-12T11:58:00.002-04:00

Here's the link to the radio broadcast.

More after I finish listening . . .

Recipe Review: De Laurentiis's Hazelnut and Chocolate Pie

2009-06-11T23:45:00.002-04:00

I don't have the Food Network. I have the most basic of basic cable packages, and most of the time, I don't complain.

I don't think I really miss anything by not having the Food Network, anyway. What am I going to miss? Rachel Ray? Paula Dean? Pu-lease.

However, I do enjoy a few of the programs, and one of the first cooking programs that I really took to was Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis. I've made a few of her dishes over the years, mostly seafood, but I did make a spinach-ricotta ravioli one time made from eggroll wrappers. The wrappers are a great substitute if you don't have a pasta maker.

But now that I don't have the Food Network, I only catch De Laurentiis's show (or any others) if I am at the gym, of all places, where I finish up my workout with a spin on the elliptical machines -- and I always make sure I get one with a TV so that I can watch a food program.

I am thoroughly disappointed if it's Ray or Dean. I groan audibly.

A couple days ago, I lucked out and saw the making of this chocolate pie.

(Okay, so it doesn't look like much here, but I'm not really a photographer. Deal. Imagine the moist, chewy chocolate and the nutty hazelnut flavor. Imagine the unusual texture: somewhat dense, like a brownie, but a little more cake-like around the edge. And yet it's called a "pie." Don't talk; eat.)

See De Laurentiis's recipe here.

Ever since I did that macrobiotic cleanse this spring (lost weight, felt awesome), I've been trying to eat more of the foods I ate while cleansing and avoid those that I cut out. I've done a pretty good job (I'll have to publish more about macrobiotics and cleansing later) and have only gained back about a pound.

One of the things I really try to avoid eating is refined sugar. Refined flours, too. So, I decided I would not use sugar or white flour in the recipe above. I used agave nectar and whole wheat flour instead and it still came out great.

Since agave is sweeter than regular sugar, I used less than 2/3 c. agave. Since it's also a liquid, I cut out the boiling water and melted the second batch of chocolate in the microwave instead. The quantities in this recipe are pretty easy to adjust.

The chocolate chips were made with evaporated cane juice -- which I believe is really just a fancy way to say "sugar" . . . but until they start making chips with agave or brown rice syrup, I just have to suck it up.

I am very pleased with the result . . . a little too pleased . . . I'm in danger of eating this entire thing myself! Refined sugar or no, eating an entire chocolate pie by oneself is not going to be good for the waistline. ;) So, into the freezer this pie is going to go!

I think I'll bring it to my parents' house on Saturday to share with my sister, her husband and my niece and nephew and then "forget" to bring it home. That should take care of that . . .

Here's a good link to a page about cooking with agave.

Fiddlehead:

Graveyard Dust Brownies

Chipotle-Infused Butternut-Miso Soup

Baked and Roasted: Warm Inspirations for a Cool Season

October Feast or Famine

Soup is ON

Late Summer Fruit Round-Up and a Recipe of My Own

Butter the Size of an Egg: Inferring Blueberry Cake with Hard Sauce

Best Banana-Walnut Muffins are Made with Coconut Oil

Crab Tacos

Wild Risotto with Fiddleheads

Hello, Cheese. It's been a while.

Food Poem: Canning

Gazpacho: a flavorful, raw soup

Stinging Nettles Soup with Leek Base and French Sorrel Garnish

:-| Where are all the fiddleheads?

The Simple Desires of Spring

Seared Sea Scallops on a Bed of Baby Arugula and Kumquat Salad with Balsamic Dressing

January Challenge is Wrapping Up; February Challenge is ON!

First-Ever Fiddlehead Challenge: What to do with One Black Banana

Out of the Desert (and into the Dessert!)

Props to the Closet

Computers are from Satan, or Sent from God to Test Our Faith

The Twelve Days Before Christmas Cleanse

Book Review: Chocolat by Joanne Harris

A Day of Food

And the Winner of the World's Worst Name for a Pastry Goes to . . .

Dreary Saturday Mornings Were Meant for Lemon-Poppy Seed Muffins

I Love Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Breakfast *UPDATED*

Fluffy Eggs

Food and Literature Course

Cake Wrecks

Red Carrots are Only Red on the Outside

Apres Cleanse Dreams: What to Cook (from my favorite food blogs) when the Cleanse is finally over

Massachusetts Relocalization Conference

"Necessity's" Black Bean Soup with Corn Tortilla (Cleanse-Friendly . . . but don't let that stop you)

Chaos, Cleansing and Coffee

The "I NEED CHOCOLATE NOW!" Cleanse-Friendly Treat

Some Excuses, a Soup and Some Cold/Flu Remedies

Ah, the Sea

Old School, Back-to-School, Bread and Butter Pickles

Fried Eggplant with "Pepian" Sauce and Peccorino

New Home, Old Classics

Hiatus

Vegetable Tart Redux

Local, In-Season and Old-Timey: Blueberry-Raspberry Muffins with Lemon Glaze

Arugula Pesto with Shrimp

Going to Maine

Sour Cherry Jam

Book Review: The Sugar Queen

Mexican Chocolate Fondue (Dairy-free and Sugar-free)

More Party Pics

My Goat Cheese Tart

Party Recovery

Preparing for a PARTY!

Busy couple of days

Beef . . . it's what's never for dinner

Strawberry Souffles with Strawberry Mousse and Strawberries Dipped in White Chocolate*UPDATED*

Cherries and a Mystery Bag

Pretty in Pink

Out and About

Pan-Seared Salmon in Mustard-Tarragon Sauce

Greens, Greens and More Greens

Restaurant Review: Upper Crust Pizzeria

Okay, here are the rules:

Film Review: Food, Inc.

Psychopathic French Man Drinks Coffee

Happy Summer Solstice from Fiddlehead

Reviews with Views: Masao's Kitchen

Matinee: Food, Inc.

Simple Favorites, updated

Busy couple of days: random bits, floating, falling on the virtual page . . .

Film: The Future of Food

Interesting Links

Food of the Wild Soup

Today's Lunch Spot: City Feed in JP

Tricia's Vegetable Tart . . . with Fiddleheads, mais oui

Cream of Cauliflower and Fiddlehead Soup

Three Favorite Rules from In Defense of Food

Thanksgiving Breakfast UPDATED

Strawberry Souffles with Strawberry Mousse and Strawberries Dipped in White ChocolateUPDATED