by tyler
I had big plans for the kitchen yesterday. I was going to make some granola for the week and try my hand at making homemade pita bread (both will get their own posts soon). So yesterday morning I rode my bike down to the coop to buy everything I didn’t have in my pantry: cherries, almonds, coconut, maple syrup, as well as a few other staples to get me through the week: eggs, milk, bread, spinach… you know… the staples.
So, after I came home and put everything in its appropriate place, I set out to start making granola. Well, I forgot the maple syrup (this wouldn’t have been a problem if Devon didn’t finish the last bottle of syrup in her coffee the other day). Since I couldn’t make granola, I thought I could get a start on the pita bread. However, when I started for the flour, I realized I had used the last of it when I made pancakes days before. This meant that I lacked the ingredients for the granola and pita bread—how frustrating.
I didn’t have enough cash on me to go back to the coop, so I submitted to the idea of shopping at the local Associated market. Its not that I’m against shopping outside the coop, rather I can’t afford the price of organic products at retail prices. At Associated I bought 2 yellow onions, a bag of flour and maple syrup. The only option I had for both the flour and onions were non-organic. I bought Gold brand flour rather than Pillsbury. As I was standing in front of the maple syrup, I was confronted with an array of choices… organic/ non-organic, grade A/ grade B, Vermont/ Canada and real or artificial. Did I want to pay 10 dollars for an 8-ounce bottle of Vermont organic maple syrup? Of course I want to, however, I just don’t have enough money for that. Well, I did anyway.
When I got back home, I was able to make my cherry-almond granola completely organic, however, the pita bread would not be. This was the first time I really had some anxiety about not buying organic. While the bread dough was rising, I took a look around my kitchen to assess what was on the shelves. The only non-organic products were fish sauce, wheat germ, and red curry sauce. My chocolate, tea, grains, spices… all organic. My eggs, cage free, organic; milk and cream, grass fed organic; and my butter… this is the real dilemma.
So I just switched butter. I had been buying Organic Valley butter for quite a while now. However, when I was at the coop a couple weeks ago, I noticed Kate’s Homemade Butter. Instead of buying Organic Valley, I went with Kate's. However, Kate’s is not organic. Sure they don’t use artificial growth hormones, yet their cows are not on a grass fed diet nor are they fed organic grain. I thought it would be nice to support a small, butter-specific company from Maine rather than support a rather large, prospering, widely available farmer coop. So that is my question, while I think both are worth supporting, which should get my dollar? For now, I think I’ll continue supporting Kate’s—the consumer in me is really drawn to the packaging.
Side note: I hope I don’t sounds like an elitist by “bragging” about my need to buy organic. It’s just that I feel that small farms and independent food producers need as much help as they can get, and I want my dollar to be used wisely.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
b to the FAST
by caitlin
this morning i was in the mood to do muffins, but i didn't have all the ingredients at hand (i used all the eggs yesterday in a really good onion-pecan-thyme scramble. it was worth it, eggs are pretty much my fave) so i decided to go for cheese grits. i don't make this very often because it's very filling, but it's so delicious and easy.. a good way to spice up the basics, as devon observed. you just cut up 3 or 4 cloves of garlic and saute those in some oil before adding 1/2 cup of grits and 2 cups of water and cooking that as you normally would. once it's done, stir in about 1 cup of cheese and some salt and pepper. creamiest, cheesiest grits ever..
i think ideally you would serve these over some wilted greens, but i didn't have any (the closest thing i had was frozen greenbeans, which aren't quite the same thing), so pat and i enjoyed them with coffee.
cute. last night we all went to katie's birthday at the katie-amanda-crystal apt for dancing and fun. instead of having one cake, they made tons of little cupcakes: chocolate, vanilla and marblized, with assorted icings (chocolate peanut butter, chocolate with candy, coconut strawberry..). i thought it was such a fun idea(at least until people started throwing them)! if i ever rise to the high ranks of martha stewart, i'm totally selling them that idea.
also, here's one of the only food photos i took while we were away. incidentally it's also of a big breakfast my mom made on saturday morning. asparagus eggs, bagels, fruit, veg sausages and gallons of fresh coffee. freak yeah, i love breakfasts so much! i'm really glad that i decided to start liking eggs two summers ago, it was one of the best things i've ever done.
btw, i just bought the new ted leo album and i've been having a pretty good time with it.
this morning i was in the mood to do muffins, but i didn't have all the ingredients at hand (i used all the eggs yesterday in a really good onion-pecan-thyme scramble. it was worth it, eggs are pretty much my fave) so i decided to go for cheese grits. i don't make this very often because it's very filling, but it's so delicious and easy.. a good way to spice up the basics, as devon observed. you just cut up 3 or 4 cloves of garlic and saute those in some oil before adding 1/2 cup of grits and 2 cups of water and cooking that as you normally would. once it's done, stir in about 1 cup of cheese and some salt and pepper. creamiest, cheesiest grits ever..
i think ideally you would serve these over some wilted greens, but i didn't have any (the closest thing i had was frozen greenbeans, which aren't quite the same thing), so pat and i enjoyed them with coffee.
cute. last night we all went to katie's birthday at the katie-amanda-crystal apt for dancing and fun. instead of having one cake, they made tons of little cupcakes: chocolate, vanilla and marblized, with assorted icings (chocolate peanut butter, chocolate with candy, coconut strawberry..). i thought it was such a fun idea(at least until people started throwing them)! if i ever rise to the high ranks of martha stewart, i'm totally selling them that idea.
also, here's one of the only food photos i took while we were away. incidentally it's also of a big breakfast my mom made on saturday morning. asparagus eggs, bagels, fruit, veg sausages and gallons of fresh coffee. freak yeah, i love breakfasts so much! i'm really glad that i decided to start liking eggs two summers ago, it was one of the best things i've ever done.
btw, i just bought the new ted leo album and i've been having a pretty good time with it.
Friday, March 23, 2007
long time coming
by caitlin
it's been a while since i've written on here.. i had big plans to write about everything i ate while i was away for spring break but unfortunately those plans fell short. we did have a really nice time visiting pat's family in connecticut and my family in north carolina. we went up to asheville one day and ate at a really wonderful vegetarian restaurant that i've been to before. if you're ever in the area, i highly recommend it. otherwise, we had a great time at allison's beautiful wedding and now we're back.
so the other day, tyler and i were having a little discussion about whether or not soup is appropriate after the first day of spring. i say, there are so many beautiful, delicate springtime vegetables that make delightfully light soups, either for a main dish, or not. also, if your worry is more about temperature.. well, at least here, in the northeast united states, spring is usually chilly and rainy, with some pretty days sprinkled throughout. a couple summers ago, i don't think it even got warm until july.
anyway, we were both pretty set on our individual arguments, so i googled spring soups just to spite him, and i found this recipe that i decided to make last night. i changed it a little (added a potato, some garlic, left out the astragalus, and used leeks instead of shallots because i'm really into them right now), and i always forget how quick and easy soup is to make!
in fact, i think the worst part of making soup (at least in my case) is whenever you taste it as you're cooking.. you burn your mouth. maybe i should just be a little more patient. in the end, it was really good, and definitely appropriate for the drizzly spring evening.. i added some more chopped ginger, toasted cashews, and cheddar cheese to the bowls.
jen and pat came over to enjoy the feast. tyler and devon missed out because they wanted to be fancy and go out for brooklyn restaurant week. boo.
i even tried my hand at baking again (i don't know what's getting in to me..) with some buttermilk biscuits! they came out alright, i think they could have been more buttery and a lot lighter. then again, tyler's really into dense baked goods, so i don't know..
it's been a while since i've written on here.. i had big plans to write about everything i ate while i was away for spring break but unfortunately those plans fell short. we did have a really nice time visiting pat's family in connecticut and my family in north carolina. we went up to asheville one day and ate at a really wonderful vegetarian restaurant that i've been to before. if you're ever in the area, i highly recommend it. otherwise, we had a great time at allison's beautiful wedding and now we're back.
so the other day, tyler and i were having a little discussion about whether or not soup is appropriate after the first day of spring. i say, there are so many beautiful, delicate springtime vegetables that make delightfully light soups, either for a main dish, or not. also, if your worry is more about temperature.. well, at least here, in the northeast united states, spring is usually chilly and rainy, with some pretty days sprinkled throughout. a couple summers ago, i don't think it even got warm until july.
anyway, we were both pretty set on our individual arguments, so i googled spring soups just to spite him, and i found this recipe that i decided to make last night. i changed it a little (added a potato, some garlic, left out the astragalus, and used leeks instead of shallots because i'm really into them right now), and i always forget how quick and easy soup is to make!
in fact, i think the worst part of making soup (at least in my case) is whenever you taste it as you're cooking.. you burn your mouth. maybe i should just be a little more patient. in the end, it was really good, and definitely appropriate for the drizzly spring evening.. i added some more chopped ginger, toasted cashews, and cheddar cheese to the bowls.
jen and pat came over to enjoy the feast. tyler and devon missed out because they wanted to be fancy and go out for brooklyn restaurant week. boo.
i even tried my hand at baking again (i don't know what's getting in to me..) with some buttermilk biscuits! they came out alright, i think they could have been more buttery and a lot lighter. then again, tyler's really into dense baked goods, so i don't know..
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Too much fennel?
So here is a picture of the oatmeal currant cookies with fennel (whats a food blog without pictures?). I think i might have overdone the fennel.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
The Microwave Has Left The Building
by tyler
I always think about how wonderful it would be to have every grain in your kitchen, in bulk, waiting for you for when you need it. Spelt or millet, its there (and so would be the quinoa flour). How great it would be to look into your recipe index, pull something out of the blue, and only need to go to the market for fresh produce and cheese. I imagine my home will be something like that one day. For the time being, I usually have to go to the market for just about everything (I usually have enough flour to get the job done but that’s all I can count on).
Overall, this past month has been pretty high stress—worrying about my teacher certification tests, my thesis, bike racing, Spanish, ComD research, and where I’ll end up teaching (or if I’ll end up teaching) next year. So today I decided that after I finished my Spanish midterm (something I was not excited about), I would take the day off. That means no Art of the Book. So, I went home and worked on my thesis for a while (not really work) and watched West Side Story (amazing!). After I ate some chili and leftover white bread (from the cucumber sandwiches) for dinner, I thought I would spend the rest of the night reading The Road (book club meets this Sunday). However, I had a bit too much energy so I had to think of something to do. Well duh, I’ll bake something. That idea hit me at about 8:30. Now remember folks, I’m usually in bed by 9:30-10 and asleep soon after, so this is a little crazy for me. At first I thought I would use that package of dry yeast in my baking box, but who has time for that, even on the weekends? (Megan, don’t answer that). I didn’t think there was much I would be able to make with what I had (see above). Then it hit me…oatmeal cookies.
So I decided oatmeal cookies would be perfect for tonight. I always have plenty of oats, enough flour for any last minute project and ample butter (always organic, unsalted). It so happened I had enough brown sugar and everything else to accomplish this mission. Wait… hold the phone… not enough raisins. What is a boy to do? Well, improvise. I’m sure many of you (how many people read this thing?) have heard me talk about (and maybe even tried) my scone experiments. Well, if you haven’t, as a constant, I only make currant scones. I figure how can you know if the basic scone recipe is a success if one day you make currant scones and the next day you’re making cheddar cheese and mushroom scones? Point being, I had plenty of currants in the house. So I made oatmeal current cookies with fennel seeds.
I pulled down my nice, new, nickel Kitchen Aid stand mixer and got to work. Up until now, I had kept my stand mixer on top of my microwave, which is on top of my refrigerator. And like my scone recipes, you have probably heard me talk about how I want to get rid of my microwave (as I do my television). I mean I only used it for melting butter and bringing cream cheese to room temperature. Well, I did it. I took it down and put it by my door for starters and currently it’s sitting in the outside hall waiting to be brought downstairs. So I cleaned the refrigerator and realized how much more room I have. I feel like my kitchen is now 10% more efficient. I was able to move the slow cooker onto the fridge and use that room for other dried goods.
Now back to the cookies. So I had made cucumber sandwiches for Pats opening Monday night and used one of my cookie sheets to bring them over. Well, I didn’t take it home. So, I’m stuck with one 13x9 cookie sheet to bake these bad boys. That means batches of 6 at a time. Oh well, I just put the second-to-last batch in… in a half hour they should all be done.
Anyways, I just ate one and they’re pretty tasty. The cookie is dense like an oatmeal cookie should be while the currants are a bit sweeter than a raisin would be, and the fennel seeds bring that nice… um… fennel flavor? They’re good, okay? Its just too bad no one can join me in eating them.
I plan on bringing them into work tomorrow so I’ll post pictures then, I promise.
I always think about how wonderful it would be to have every grain in your kitchen, in bulk, waiting for you for when you need it. Spelt or millet, its there (and so would be the quinoa flour). How great it would be to look into your recipe index, pull something out of the blue, and only need to go to the market for fresh produce and cheese. I imagine my home will be something like that one day. For the time being, I usually have to go to the market for just about everything (I usually have enough flour to get the job done but that’s all I can count on).
Overall, this past month has been pretty high stress—worrying about my teacher certification tests, my thesis, bike racing, Spanish, ComD research, and where I’ll end up teaching (or if I’ll end up teaching) next year. So today I decided that after I finished my Spanish midterm (something I was not excited about), I would take the day off. That means no Art of the Book. So, I went home and worked on my thesis for a while (not really work) and watched West Side Story (amazing!). After I ate some chili and leftover white bread (from the cucumber sandwiches) for dinner, I thought I would spend the rest of the night reading The Road (book club meets this Sunday). However, I had a bit too much energy so I had to think of something to do. Well duh, I’ll bake something. That idea hit me at about 8:30. Now remember folks, I’m usually in bed by 9:30-10 and asleep soon after, so this is a little crazy for me. At first I thought I would use that package of dry yeast in my baking box, but who has time for that, even on the weekends? (Megan, don’t answer that). I didn’t think there was much I would be able to make with what I had (see above). Then it hit me…oatmeal cookies.
So I decided oatmeal cookies would be perfect for tonight. I always have plenty of oats, enough flour for any last minute project and ample butter (always organic, unsalted). It so happened I had enough brown sugar and everything else to accomplish this mission. Wait… hold the phone… not enough raisins. What is a boy to do? Well, improvise. I’m sure many of you (how many people read this thing?) have heard me talk about (and maybe even tried) my scone experiments. Well, if you haven’t, as a constant, I only make currant scones. I figure how can you know if the basic scone recipe is a success if one day you make currant scones and the next day you’re making cheddar cheese and mushroom scones? Point being, I had plenty of currants in the house. So I made oatmeal current cookies with fennel seeds.
I pulled down my nice, new, nickel Kitchen Aid stand mixer and got to work. Up until now, I had kept my stand mixer on top of my microwave, which is on top of my refrigerator. And like my scone recipes, you have probably heard me talk about how I want to get rid of my microwave (as I do my television). I mean I only used it for melting butter and bringing cream cheese to room temperature. Well, I did it. I took it down and put it by my door for starters and currently it’s sitting in the outside hall waiting to be brought downstairs. So I cleaned the refrigerator and realized how much more room I have. I feel like my kitchen is now 10% more efficient. I was able to move the slow cooker onto the fridge and use that room for other dried goods.
Now back to the cookies. So I had made cucumber sandwiches for Pats opening Monday night and used one of my cookie sheets to bring them over. Well, I didn’t take it home. So, I’m stuck with one 13x9 cookie sheet to bake these bad boys. That means batches of 6 at a time. Oh well, I just put the second-to-last batch in… in a half hour they should all be done.
Anyways, I just ate one and they’re pretty tasty. The cookie is dense like an oatmeal cookie should be while the currants are a bit sweeter than a raisin would be, and the fennel seeds bring that nice… um… fennel flavor? They’re good, okay? Its just too bad no one can join me in eating them.
I plan on bringing them into work tomorrow so I’ll post pictures then, I promise.
the only real meal i ate today was scrambled eggs and homefries at martino's
the opening yesterday was a great success for all involved, i think. there was a really big crowd to see all of pat's wonderful drawings, installations and videos. the food that i slaved over for hours the night before was really good and disappeared too quickly for most of our friends to try any. i'm sure there will be more opportunities in the future..
i made the pastry dough for the artichoke parmesan turnovers myself, despite my fear of baking. it was great! i used tyler's pastry blender and sieve, since i don't have my own. i was afraid they were going to be too onion-y, but i guess that flavor cooked out in the oven and they were instead infused with a really delightful lemon taste. my experimental leek-asparagus-gruyere mini quiches came out really well, too! i don't have a mini-muffin tin, so i just filled regular cups halfway. tyler's delicious cucumber tea sandwiches arrived just in time to be snatched up immediately by everyone near the table. for more photos of the event itself, check the fbook.
actually, devon cooked a really wonderful dinner for tyler and me the night before the show. she made a spinach salad with goat cheese, candied pecans and dried cherries, brown rice (on which we put butter, in memory of our childhoods), and really delicious baked tofu.
in contrast, today we shared four pieces of valentine's chocolate. after i bit into the first one and saw that it was orange-flavored, i gave it to her. we just kept biting off little bites of the already bite-sized pieces and passing them back and forth and giggling. it was kind of okay.
i've been thinking about food all day for my project but i haven't done any work at all for it. some days you're just so unproductive. i bought some star-gazer lillies and they're making this apartment smell really wonderful, even as our steamheat leaks all over the damn floor and i have to clean it up every couple hours. bleh.
i made the pastry dough for the artichoke parmesan turnovers myself, despite my fear of baking. it was great! i used tyler's pastry blender and sieve, since i don't have my own. i was afraid they were going to be too onion-y, but i guess that flavor cooked out in the oven and they were instead infused with a really delightful lemon taste. my experimental leek-asparagus-gruyere mini quiches came out really well, too! i don't have a mini-muffin tin, so i just filled regular cups halfway. tyler's delicious cucumber tea sandwiches arrived just in time to be snatched up immediately by everyone near the table. for more photos of the event itself, check the fbook.
actually, devon cooked a really wonderful dinner for tyler and me the night before the show. she made a spinach salad with goat cheese, candied pecans and dried cherries, brown rice (on which we put butter, in memory of our childhoods), and really delicious baked tofu.
in contrast, today we shared four pieces of valentine's chocolate. after i bit into the first one and saw that it was orange-flavored, i gave it to her. we just kept biting off little bites of the already bite-sized pieces and passing them back and forth and giggling. it was kind of okay.
i've been thinking about food all day for my project but i haven't done any work at all for it. some days you're just so unproductive. i bought some star-gazer lillies and they're making this apartment smell really wonderful, even as our steamheat leaks all over the damn floor and i have to clean it up every couple hours. bleh.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Y'all ready for th(es)is?!
by caitlin
i think jen was the one to say that originally, but i also think its one of the funniest things i've heard in a while.
so let's talk about finger foods (btw, i really really hate that term, along with fingerling potatoes, it just makes me imagine biting somone's finger. gross). i've been thinking about mini-crustless-quiches, maybe with gruyere and asparagus or something, which i think would just be so delicious and easy. i also found a recipe for artichoke parmesan turnovers, but i'm worried there might be too much baking and work involved if i do both of those things. not that i'm afraid of either one (baking or intensity of labor) but i actually have no time to do this.
i'm going to connecticut tonight with pat to stay with his family and see his sister molly's play. we probably won't get back until 9 or 10 on sunday night, and i have class on monday from 12:30 to 3:30. i can't skip it because our prof wasn't there last week and next week is spring break. pat's show is at 6:00. who knows what is going to happen.
also, yesterday i ate a really delicious banana cranberry muffin from joe's coffee by my work. it was a little too sweet for my liking, so i guess i'll have to make my own attempt at it. so far today i've just had coffee. the day is so full of possibilities!
i think jen was the one to say that originally, but i also think its one of the funniest things i've heard in a while.
so let's talk about finger foods (btw, i really really hate that term, along with fingerling potatoes, it just makes me imagine biting somone's finger. gross). i've been thinking about mini-crustless-quiches, maybe with gruyere and asparagus or something, which i think would just be so delicious and easy. i also found a recipe for artichoke parmesan turnovers, but i'm worried there might be too much baking and work involved if i do both of those things. not that i'm afraid of either one (baking or intensity of labor) but i actually have no time to do this.
i'm going to connecticut tonight with pat to stay with his family and see his sister molly's play. we probably won't get back until 9 or 10 on sunday night, and i have class on monday from 12:30 to 3:30. i can't skip it because our prof wasn't there last week and next week is spring break. pat's show is at 6:00. who knows what is going to happen.
also, yesterday i ate a really delicious banana cranberry muffin from joe's coffee by my work. it was a little too sweet for my liking, so i guess i'll have to make my own attempt at it. so far today i've just had coffee. the day is so full of possibilities!
Friday, March 2, 2007
Quite possibly the best 24 hours of 2007 (“He looks like Tom Cruise”)
by Tyler.
So these past 24 hours have been spent eating great food and in wonderful company.
Dinner last night: Café Steinhof with Dev. We split a red cabbage salad with ham and Brie, chicken paprika for Devon and bread dumplings with mushroom fricassee for myself.
This morning: a wonderful country kitchen breakfast: Dutch pancake, apple chicken sausage and an omelet with Gloucester cheese.
A walk to Sahadi’s with Dev to look at the glorious olive bar and cheese… oh, and to buy hummus and a tomato-feta and eggplant-roasted pepper pastry (the tomato-feta was mind blowing). While looking at cheese, a worker told Dev that I looked like Tom Cruise (I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad).
From Sahadi’s, we found Marquet Patisserie and indulged in a white mousse cake, brownie and chocolate chip cookie (while it was all delicious, I wish we walked the extra few blocks to find Sweet Melissa). We ate our treats in a park on Smith Street and watch the kids play on the lovely springlike day.
We walked back through Park Slope where were stopped in Gorilla to get some tea. We sipped our tea until we arrived at the Laurelton.
Now I’m watching my friend Robb’s daughter, Agatha while finishing my beef nagikmaki, miso soup and Kiwi roll from Oshima.
So these past 24 hours have been spent eating great food and in wonderful company.
Dinner last night: Café Steinhof with Dev. We split a red cabbage salad with ham and Brie, chicken paprika for Devon and bread dumplings with mushroom fricassee for myself.
This morning: a wonderful country kitchen breakfast: Dutch pancake, apple chicken sausage and an omelet with Gloucester cheese.
A walk to Sahadi’s with Dev to look at the glorious olive bar and cheese… oh, and to buy hummus and a tomato-feta and eggplant-roasted pepper pastry (the tomato-feta was mind blowing). While looking at cheese, a worker told Dev that I looked like Tom Cruise (I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad).
From Sahadi’s, we found Marquet Patisserie and indulged in a white mousse cake, brownie and chocolate chip cookie (while it was all delicious, I wish we walked the extra few blocks to find Sweet Melissa). We ate our treats in a park on Smith Street and watch the kids play on the lovely springlike day.
We walked back through Park Slope where were stopped in Gorilla to get some tea. We sipped our tea until we arrived at the Laurelton.
Now I’m watching my friend Robb’s daughter, Agatha while finishing my beef nagikmaki, miso soup and Kiwi roll from Oshima.
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