Owner: Forest Street Kitchen URL:http://www.imagineannie.wordpress.com/ Join Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2007 08:48:29 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Recipes, menu plans, and musings about food, cooking and feeding a family. A great place to find support and inspiration if the daily dinner grind is getting you down. Site statistics:Click here
Menus: Week 5 2007-07-19 19:05:36 This week, an astonishing thing occurred to me. I could actually take the bulging binder of recipes I had clipped from magazines and newspapers, and downloaded from the internet, and sort them. Due to the high volume and rapid growth rate of this recipe stash, it was very difficult to put it to any good use - I might have a vague recollection of a tomato tart using the kind of heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil that are just about to appear at the Farmer’s Market, but the idea of digging through the huge pile of clippings was more than I could bear. I could also start looking through it if I saw that a certain food was on sale for that week, but I might grow old and die before locating even a single recipe containing that ingredient. I also knew that there were recipes I would never use, either because I am just never going to be a Velveeta kind of girl, or because I had already tried serving a meal with a certain ingredient once, only to be told that my regular audience NEVER wa Read more:Menus
Italian Grilled Chicken and Pasta Salad: A No-Oven Twofer 2007-07-18 19:09:24 Last night I made a festive dinner for 12 people, including my childhood best friend who was in town visiting from California. Due to the presence of five little boys, it was necessary to make food that they would eat, but I didn’t want to serve beans & weenies and potato chips, particularly since my friend’s father is French, and although I don’t know the extent to which he is actually a gourmet, he is, well, French. So no beans and weenies, but also no Coq au Vin or other classic French cuisine that would tend to highlight the distance between my own skills in the kitchen and those of, say, Jacques Pepin.
So, I marinated chicken with Italian
dressing to be grilled, made a big pasta salad dressed with a vinaigrette, steamed a lot of green beans and made focaccia as outlined in last week’s menu planning edition. The food was good, the party was wonderful, and I was left with a lot of leftover chicken and pasta salad. Its beastly hot here again today, so I to Read more:Grilled
, Chicken
, Pasta
, Salad
Crockpot Barbecued Beef Sandwiches 2007-07-16 20:00:12 At this time of year, I often make barbecued, shredded (or “pulled”) beef in the crock pot to serve on buns. Aside from the fact that it tastes good and fits well with barbecue-y occasions like Memorial Day, Fourth of July and summer potlucks, I like crock-pot pulled beef because round steak is cheap and I can cook for a crowd without blowing our food budget for the week. Also, using the crock-pot lets you go outside and play while the food cooks, and doesn’t heat up your house when its already feeling like Calcutta in August. (Actually, I have never been in Calcutta at any time of the year, but I have a vivid imagination).
I have made this many times before, using a bottle of barbecue sauce and a large, hunk of red meat from which I divest the greatest possible amount of fat before cooking. I have used both top round, round steak, and various other tough, inexpensive cuts of meat for this. Sometimes, I make the barbecue sauce from scratch using the same recipe I Read more:Sandwiches
Ginger Cutlets 2007-07-15 19:07:38 Those of you who favor food blogs with lovely photographs of food should now avert your eyes and move on. Quickly. I’m dedicated to telling the truth about my culinary experiences, and the truth is that some things that taste wonderful look absolutely vile. It doesn’t help that I am not a gifted “plater,” although I’m learning. I actually have quite a way with setting cookies on platters, and have created some adorable fruit plates. Tonight, however, I could not find a way to arrange the (delicious) dinner I made that did not make it look, well, like “icky chicken” as my son immediately christened it.
It really was delicious, and I recommend it highly. I adapted it mainly to make it feasible as a week-night family dinner. The original recipe called for only two breasts, which were to be pounded until “paper thin,” which would have made for much quicker cooking time, but would have added a lot of pounding time. It would also have ma Read more:Ginger
Mexican Cheese Dip and Topopo Salad 2007-07-14 20:17:53 There is a restaurant near our house called “El Azteco,” that has been in this town, in one incarnation or other, since I was in elementary school. Suffice it to say that I have not been in elementary school since Richard Nixon was in the White House.
When I was in high school and college, “El Az” as it is called by us hip natives, was located in a basement. Since we live in a large college town, the lines to get in on cheap Margarita night frequently snaked up the stairs and onto the street. Aside from the Margaritas, there was a full menu of “New Mexican
” food including burritos, enchiladas, enchiladas, and flautas. Nothing was fancy (except maybe the Blue Corn Enchiladas and the Enchiladas de Jocoque which are splendid), the cups were red pebbled plastic, and the floor was always a little sticky. The radio was usually tuned to the All-Janis-and-Jimi-all-the-time station. It seemed very glamorous to me when I was in high school because smoking was Read more:Salad
, Cheese
Squash and Barley Faux Mexico 2007-07-13 19:24:06 Okay, so my cooking skills perhaps outshine my facility for making up names for recipes. All the good names have been taken, though - how could I hope to top, say, “Ouefs a la Neige,” or “Spanikopita?”
Anyway, I am having some sort of summer crud involving a sore throat and a stuffy nose, and so I convinced myself that some healthy food would help me get better faster. Never mind the fact that I had several zucchini, summer squash, and sweet onions on the edge of death from last week’s trip to the Farmer’s Market.
My original plan was to use up the instant barley in my cupboard and combine it with a vaguely Italian combination of the squashes, onions, garlic and some fresh Basil and Parmesan. I still plan to try this some day, but making it today would have meant dipping into the Parmesan I need to make Carbonara for dinner, so I changed continents and found a can of black beans and some cumin seeds. Here’s what I made, which was actually qui Read more:Barley
, Mexico
Menus, Week 4 2007-07-12 19:02:06 Having tired of pointing out to all of you that it is once again “Thursday,” I’ve decided to start numbering the weeks of menus. Here’s what we’re eating on Forest Street this week:
Saturday
Gazpacho and Turkey, Provolone, Basil Panini
The Panini is described here, and the Gazpacho is a recipe from my current cookbook obsession, Memoirs of a Cook: Yesterday and Today by Mildred Knopf. I’m going to check out the gazpacho before I share the recipe; I’m pretty picky about my gazpacho….
Sunday
Ginger Cutlets, Sticky Rice and Steamed Green Beans
The Ginger Cutlets are another recipe from Mildred Knopf; the sticky rice is sushi rice, and the green beans will be steamed in the microwave and tossed with a bit of soy sauce, sesame oil and a few sesame seeds.
Ginger Cutlets
(Serves 4)
Adapted from Memoirs of a Cook: Yesterday and Today by Mildred Knopf
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt, Pepper and Flour
1 tablespoon butter
Sauce (re Read more:Menus
Cooking with Mrs. Knopf 2007-07-11 19:49:19 I am currently obsessed with a cookbook I found at the library. Written by Mildred O. Knopf and published in 1986, its titled Memoirs of a Cook: Yesterday and Today. Given the fact that Mrs. Knopf was 88 when she wrote the book, “yesterday” covers quite a lot of ground. Married to Edwin Knopf (brother of publisher Alfred Knopf) Mrs. Knopf had an extraordinarily rich and full life, and her stories range from plucking and cooking chickens with the wife of pianist Arthur Rubenstein to dining in Switzerland at the chalet of Audrey Hepburn’s mother. A “foodie” before the phrase was coined, Mrs. Knopf’s book (one of many she wrote) reads like the blog of a beloved, sophisticated older friend - the recipes are charming and a bit old-fashioned, the stories about her life are fascinating, and her love of good food and gracious entertaining shine throughout the pages.
I will be using Mrs. Knopf’s recipes (I can’t call her “Mildred;” s
Too Hot to Cook 2007-07-10 19:01:52 “It’s hot, Africa hot, Tarzan couldn’t take this kind of hot.”
-”Biloxi Blues”
Its really too hot to cook, or move, or really to do anything other than drink iced tea and give thanks to the Lord for the inventor of air conditioning. I would personally skip all food other than yogurt, melon and popsicles when the mercury tops 90 degrees, but I am still responsible for feeding the rest of the family. They are not quite as delicate as I am. For days when I can’t stand the idea of even a little, tiny bit of boiling, frying, sauteeing, broiling or even just “warming over,” as any of these activities would lead to the necessity of consuming hot food. Gack.
Over the years, I’ve developed several dinners for nights like this that are cold and “assembled,” contain good quality ingredients, and involve enough food that my guys will not be ransacking the kitchen at 8:00 looking for “some real food.” There’
A Breath of Fresh Air 2007-07-09 19:54:57 It is hot here these days, hot like when you step off the plane in the Caribbean and find yourself wrapped in hot, wet air. In weather like this its hard to have much of an appetite, and the things that appeal to me most are those that are light in texture, and a little sharp or spicy. Things like gazpacho, or icy cold shrimp with a spicy sauce. Foods that are a breath of fresh air, like a “souffle,” which can be translated to mean “breath.”
Last night I had my parents to dinner because Rob is out of town and I wanted to make a recipe I’d saved from “Real Simple” that served four. Although Sam had a “no thank you bite” followed by much theatrical gagging, the other three of us were completely delighted with our souffle.
Skillet Souffle
From “Real Simple,” January 2007
6 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup chopped, fresh chives
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 ounces goat chees Read more:Breath
On Bacon 2007-07-21 19:08:46 When I see am extra busy day looming on the horizon, I often plan a low-key, easy meal that manages, despite its ease of preparation, to seem quite festive. We call it “Breakfast Dinner,” and usually it is prepared by Rob. I cannot tell you what an immense life pleasure it is, as the Mom and Head Chef of the family, to have someone prepare my dinner to order and serve it to me on the couch. Breakfast Dinner, by the way, is traditionally eaten in the living room while watching anti-educational television. It just tastes better that way.
Recently, I had planned Breakfast Dinner for a day when I was up to my eyeballs until dinner time, and Rob was coming home from an out-of-town business trip. Despite his plan to stay awake until our “real” bedtime, he collapsed as soon as he got home, first in bed, and again on the living room couch after a valiant struggle to wake up and walk down the stairs. When I heard him snoring gently on the couch, I knew that this Read more:Bacon
“Before” Cookies 2007-07-20 20:09:16 These are my go-to cookies when I am not baking because I am obsessed with making a recipe I have just come across in a book or magazine. They are reasonably attractive, very yummy, pretty portable, and decidedly un-fussy to make. They also have the advantage of helping to clean out the dribs and drabs of things, like the half a bag of white chocolate chips left over from another recipe, or the handful of nuts left in a jar in the pantry.
The ironic thing is that I originally found the recipe for these cookies, well, the recipe that grew into these cookies, in a &ldquo
;before and after&rdquo
; magazine where classic recipes were de-fatted, un-cholesteroled, and generally made more healthy. There, on page 79, was the evil “before” recipe with its 3/4 cups of shortening and 2 eggs, and next to it was the virtuous “after” made with less butter, sugar, and only egg whites. I made the “after” version once, feeling my arteries becoming more patent as I n Read more:Cookies
Goodness, Gracious, Great Blobs Of Roux 2007-07-24 21:03:50 Tonight, I hit a culinary home run. Well, almost. I made an allrecipes five star recipe, called Cheese and Broccoli Chicken Soup. First a flour and butter roux is made in the pan, then cut up chicken and broccoli are simmered in broth until they are very tender, and finally the roux, as well as some cream and shredded cheese are stirred in. The result is a thick, creamy soup with chunks of tender chicken. It’s a bit bland, but next time I will use sharp cheddar and add a few dashes of hot sauce. I also plan to use fat free half and half, which I think will add a nice, creamy mouth-feel without adding millions of calories.
The great thing about this meal was that my son, who often seems to subsist entirely on candy and water, ate four bowls of soup. Four bowls!! As I beamed with pride at Sam’s endorsement, my husband made a strange gagging sound accompanied by a pained grimace. After a few moments of wondering whether he had bitten a bone, or swallowed some sort of Read more:Goodness
, Great
Anyone Can Bake, Too 2007-07-23 19:33:06 Yesterday, I posted my list of pantry and refrigerator staples, and some simple meals that could be made using mainly those ingredients. I have a separate list of ingredients that should be kept in the house for baking, which overlaps the list of basic staples a tiny bit. If you have all of these things, you will be able to bake (from scratch) a variety of things including cookies, brownies, cakes, pancakes and biscuits. Here’s what you need:
Butter (on regular staples list)
Eggs (on regular staples list)
White Sugar (on regular staples list)
Brown Sugar
All-Purpose Flour
Self-Rising Flour (This is really just flour with some baking powder in it, but its convenient for scratch-cooking in a hurry)
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Quick Oats (not the kind in tiny packets; the kind in the cardboard canister)
Vanilla Extract
Cinnamon
Cocoa Powder
Chocolate Chips and/or baking chocolate
Peanut Butter
Cooking Oil (I use Canola)
Here are six things you can make with just these ingredients; Read more:Anyone
“Anyone Can Cook” 2007-07-22 19:08:12 Two interesting things happened last week, which have brought me to this post. (Actually, lots of interesting things happened last week, but they are irrelevant in this context). The first was that I was the movie &ldquo
;Ratatouille&rdquo
; with my son, and the second was that I discovered that a bright, young thing was reading this blog in the hopes that she might learn to cook. Since the message of “Ratatouille” is that “anyone can cook,” and I tend to believe that, I thought I’d see what sage advice I have for a willing, but inexperienced cook.
I have found that if I keep my pantry and refrigerator stocked with a few essentials at all times, I can always come up with a meal that is satisfying and reasonably healthy. Here are the things I can’t live without:
Kosher salt
Pepper in a grinder
Good quality extra virgin olive oil
Red or White Wine Vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar
Sugar
Onions (I always have a bag of yellow cooking onions, but I also like the Read more:Anyone
Sauteed Chicken Breast with Country Ham and Summer Succotash 2007-07-26 20:20:30 Often, when I publish my menus for the upcoming week, I write about recipes I have found that I intend to make, but have never made before. I am often hesitant to include these recipes in the blog since I don’t have any idea how they will taste when prepared, if there are any flaws in the original recipe, etc..
Tonight I made a recipe from the August 2006 “Bon Appetit” that was absolutely wonderful. Divine. Summer
y. Fresh. Did I already say divine?! It makes good use of fresh produce, looks lovely on a plate, and is interesting to adults while appealing to kids. Here it is:
SauteedChickenBreast
s with Country
Ham and Summer Succotash
(from the August 2006 “Bon Appetit)
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 cup chopped onion (I used red, for color)
1 red bell pepper cut into 1/3-inch dice
4 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 ounces haricots verts or slender green beans, trimmed cut into 3/4-inch pieces (I didn’
Menu Planning, Week 6 2007-07-26 19:08:35 This week, I am fixated on two things: Tyler Florence’s new cookbook, and fresh produce from the Farmer’s Market. As is always the case, I am trying to plan six meals (we usually eat out one night) with no more than two involving red meat, at least one entirely vegetarian, and all appealing to both my meat-loving husband and my somewhat picky son. I also do this on a fairly fixed budget, and based on what’s on sale at our grocery store and (in season) available at the Farmer’s Market.
Sunday
Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Chile-Coconut Sauce and Coconut-Tomato Salad
I am not always a fan of “Food Network” chefs, or their cookbooks, but I am totally in love with Tyler’s Ultimate, which combines stunning photos with really great-sounding recipes for dishes both exotic and familiar. I have the book from the library, and its already overdue, so I figured I’d better use it this week, return it, pay my late fees, and decide whether I want to buy
The Tuscans of San Franciso, and Their Icky Tomatoes 2007-07-25 21:59:45 Let’s say right off the bat that I am not in a good mood. I have had a headache for two days, and its hot and muggy. All I really want to do is lie on my bed and read magazines while consuming endless lime popsicles.
This evening we went out for dinner at the faculty club of the nearby University. My parents took all of us, as well as my brother and his sons. There’s a pool, it was all-you-can-eat ribs night, and it seemed like a great objective to fill (and cover) the little boys with ribs and then throw them in the pool to get clean before bed. That part all went according to plan.
Although it has moments of pretty-darned-good-ness, “The Club” is not a place one would select for haute cuisine. They make good burgers, a couple of nice salads, and a dessert called a Coconut Snowball that I have been eating since I was a kid. They also do a very nice Sunday brunch buffet. In the summer, I usually order a couple of appetizers for dinner - the Shrimp and Lobster Co Read more:Tomatoes
Tyler Florence’s Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Chile-Coconut Sauce 2007-07-29 19:37:32 Last week I mentioned that I was trying recipes from Tyler
Florence’s latest cookbook, Tyler’s Ultimate. This recipe appealed to me for many reasons, including the use of fresh, ripe tomatoes and the fact that the meat was grilled. Although my version is not as beautiful as the picture in Tyler’s book (I have to remember to wipe the edge of the serving piece before taking pictures!) it was a fabulous, complex, satisfying dinner and perfect for summer. Rob said it was “the best thing I’d ever cooked.”
So far, I am leaning towards buying this cookbook, and suggest that you at least look at it, since it is truly stunning. My only complaint, and its fairly minor, is that some of the Asian-inspired recipes, including this one, call for ingredients that are difficult to find unless one lives in a major metropolitan area. My regular grocery store doesn’t stock lemongrass, Thai bird chiles, or unsweetened , shredded coconut. I was lucky enough to find Read more:Grilled
Crunchy, Cheesy Ice Cream 2007-07-29 08:41:15
Recently, I became entranced with the idea of entering the Royal Foodie Joust, details about which you can learn about here. I reasoned that it would be sort of like a small-scale, low-stress version of competing on “Iron Chef” only with three ingredients. I also thought that the three ingredients for the August Joust (honey, peaches and eggs) lent themselves nicely to the season, and to baking, which I love.
Which is why I decided to make ice cream, which I have never done, despite the fact that I have no ice cream maker. Why just make a cobbler, cake, tart or muffins when I could strike out and try something new? Besides, I’ve been reading David Liebovitz’s blog and various articles about him, and it just seemed so easy, so natural to whip up a batch of ice cream to delight family and friends. (Note: this disaster is in no way attributable to Mr. Liebovitz, who clearly would have had the good sense not to do what I did).
First, I found a recipe on-line for i Read more:Cheesy
, Cream
Pork with Prosciutto and Green-Onion Risotto 2007-07-27 19:00:28 We were supposed to be having shish kebabs tonight, but first Sam ate all the pineapple, then the green peppers from the Farmer’s Market went south. Such are the pitfalls associated with the last meal before grocery shopping day.
I evaluated what was still in the house: the pork chops, leftover prosciutto and whipping cream from last night’s dinner, and a bunch of fat, beautiful scallions from the Farmer’s Market that had miraculously lasted the week. I always have onions or shallots, olive oil, garlic, wine, Parmesan, chicken broth and arborio rice, even at the end of the week when we’ve eaten everything else. I had a delicious glass of Prosecco, relaxed, and decided to invent a dish using the pork chops and prosciutto, and to make a recipe for Green
Onion Risotto
that I knew I had stashed away in my file. It worked out well to start the chops at about the time I started adding the broth to the risotto, so that both took about 20 minutes and finished at the sa
Just a Picture of a Topopo… 2007-07-31 22:26:00
Its incredibly hot here and they’re tearing my living room apart tomorrow. No words to describe my mood, but I can still cook. This is what I did with the leftover roast chicken from last night (since I could not find a decent mango to make this, as planned) and here’s the recipe. Please excuse the dishtowel in the background.
Read more:Picture
, hellip
Roasted Chicken, Potatoes and Green Bean Salad 2007-07-30 19:00:27 Tonight we had Mark Bittman’s roast chicken, roasted potatoes and Tyler Florence’s Green
Bean Salad
with Black Olive and Creme Fraiche Dressing. The chicken is a departure from my devotion to Nigella Lawson’s chicken roasting method, but I have been reading Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, and been dying to try one of his recipes, so I made the chicken and potatoes his way, about which more, later.
The Green Bean Salad is from Florence’s book Tyler’s Ultimate, from which I am cooking all week before I have to return the book to the library. I used fresh green beans and dill from the market, but could not find creme fraiche anywhere. I had fully intended to make a substitute using half sour cream and half whipping cream, but I completely forgot to buy the whipping cream until it was too late. So I used sour cream, instead. Then I tasted it, and it tasted sour (by which I do not mean “tangy,” which is intriguing, but plain old “sour& Read more:Roasted
, Chicken
Pasta with Grilled Vegetables and Feta 2007-08-03 19:25:36
Last night for dinner we had this dish, which was penomenally good (and pretty healthy, by the way). the only thing I would change is to either skewer all of the vegetables before grilling, or to place them in one of these grill baskets. We lost a few onions to the fire.
Read more:Pasta
, Grilled
, Vegetables
Menu Planning Week 7 2007-08-02 19:09:08 Three things are on my mind as I plan menus for the coming week:
We’re having a heat wave (which is not nearly as much fun as the song would suggest)
Monday is my husband’s birthday, and
Tomatoes are good right now.
Taking all of the above into account, here’s what we’re eating on Forest Street next week:
Sunday
Gazpacho and Panini.
The Gazpacho recipe is Mark Bittman’s from How to Cook Everything, and I’ll pass it on if we love it. I’ll pick up all of the ingredients (except the bread) at the Farmer’s Market, and turn them into cold, healthy, delicious soup. The paninini will probably be my standard good bread-smoked provolone-sliced turkey with a little mustard for kick.
Monday
Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce, Thai Red Curry, Sticky Rice and The Carrot Cake
Monday is Rob’s birthday, and he has asked me to make a beef curry he often eats at our favorite Thai Restaurant. The curry is called “Penang Neau” on the menu, a
Flexibility in the Kitchen: Sometimes, You’ve Got to Punt 2007-08-01 19:54:22 Say, hypothetically, that last week, when it was reasonable cool in the evenings, you decided that you were going to make pot roast and mashed potatoes using Tyler Florence’s recipes for both. Imagine that you have purchased the meat and the potatoes, as well as some broccoli which was to be roasted with a Parmesan crust. Now picture this: its hot. Very, very hot. Its already 90 degrees, and with the air conditioner on you can only get the house to 75 degrees when you are NOT running an oven for 2 1/2 hours. The idea of pot roast and mashed potatoes, which would make you swoon with delight in December, is just plain repulsive. Its time to punt.
The Meat
I had 3 pounds of top round, which was supposed to be the pot roast. I didn’t want to run the oven, so roasting and broiling were out. I consider cutting it into small steaks and pan-frying with some shallots and garlic and then making a sauce by de-glazing the pan with some red wine, but rejected that idea because top roun Read more:Kitchen
, Sometimes
Thai Beef Curry & Canteloupe Salad 2007-08-06 19:24:18
Today was Rob’s birthday, and he requested a re-creation of the Thai Beef Curry
he usually orders at a local restaurant. I could not find a recipe that was a match in terms of ingredients, so I found the closest recipe I could find, and adapted it. (This recipe, in its original form also appears in last Thursday’s menu planning entry). I had already planned to substitute carrots, and onions for the spinach and mushrooms, but as I actually cooked the dish I made a few other changes. I also had the serendipity of hearing a recipe for a Thai Cantaloupe Salad
on Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s “Splendid Table” radio show, which I was able to get from the show’s website. I made it, along with rice, to accompany the curry, and the birthday boy (”birthday man” just sounds strange) said it met his expectations. Whew!
Here’s the curry recipe again, with the changes I made. I’m sure its delicious made “by-the-book,” but I can abs
Thanks, Tony!! 2007-08-05 19:55:29 Last Thursday was a traumatic day. The plasterer came to reassemble my living room ceiling after its unceremonious removal on Wednesday, to repair damage from leaking pipes. Imagine our delight when, as the plasterer began his work, water began to drip onto his head from a new leak that had apparently been liberated by Wednesday’s house-wrecking activities. He could not finish, the plumber couldn’t come back until some indeterminate time later than next week but earlier than the Winter Solstice, and I am left with sawhorses and plastic tarps in my living room and the customary contents of my living room shoved into my dining room.
Some time after the plasterer left and I convinced myself that I could Just Be a Good Sport, the U.P.S. man came with a package from amazon.com. It was addressed to me, but I hadn’t ordered anything, and there was no special occasion (aside from National Living Room Destruction Day) so I was a little baffled. Expecting to find that a mistak Read more:Thanks
Spelt, Correctly 2007-08-04 19:00:33 I cannot resist anything new at the Farmer’s Market. I have to have the tiny baby eggplants, the “banana” potatoes, the garlic scapes, the handmade sausage with fennel…. I don’t always know what I’m going to do with the things I buy, but I always enjoy the learning process. This week I bought spelt flour from a man who grows and mills grains at a farm about 20 miles from here. He sold a variety of products including corn meal, spelt flour, multigrain flour, something called Hopi Blue and Black Aztec corn flour, whole wheat flour, buckwheat, soy beans, and had samples of several flours made into cakes or breads. I tried the Spelt Flour Shortcake, and was intrigued by both the flavor and the health claims - it seemed that consuming spelt could do everything from boosting immunity to improving Type II diabetes and clogged arteries. I bit, and I bought.
So today, armed with my little sheet of recipes, I baked up some of the shortbread. It had a sort of
Menu Planning: Week 8 2007-08-09 19:18:25 As I do each week, I am planning my dinner menus for next week before I make my Saturday visits to the grocery store and farmer’s market. As always, I am looking for what is seasonal and plentiful at the market, and what is on sale at the grocery store, and I like to plan no more than 2 red meat meals in a week, and at least 1 vegetarian meal.
This week, summer’s bounty makes it kind of a crime not to make meals around tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, fresh herbs, and the transparent apples that make such good applesauce. I still have to include plenty of protein for my football player and his father The Carnivore, but I can at least work in as many of these lovely, fresh things as possible. This week, I’ll be relying heavily on Barbara Kafka’s cookbook Vegetable Love, which I have from the library. As always, if I cook her recipes and love them, I’ll pass them on in the blog with color commentary. (Although, if you can’t trust Barbara Kafka, you&rsquo
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