the first one

I am going through a photo slump lately, the kind where I hate the places I usually use and hate the new places I try, so all of my photos are turning out just O.K., and I’m afraid to even submit them to Foodgawker or Tastespotting because a little more rejection is just not what I need right now; nonetheless, there’s nothing wrong with my eating, as you can probably guess, so let’s focus on that.

I’ve joined a CSA. This is a fairly big deal. You probably already know what one is, but I didn’t—not until June, when one of my favorite bloggers mentioned a shipment from hers, and I said something about being jealous, and she said, Doesn’t Chicago have Community Supported Agriculture? And I said, Well, I guess we do.

Here’s how it works: you pay a flat upfront fee (mine was a reduced $180 because of a rough growing season in Chicago), like you’re buying a share in the farm, and, in exchange, the farmers give you regular shipments of fresh produce.

Actually I think it was fate that I learned this in June, because Broad Branch Farm (located in central Illinois, four miles east of a town named Wyoming) was only the second farm I contacted, and, would you believe it, they still had openings for the vegetable half shares, delivered every other weekend for a total of eight shipments, beginning in July.

I got my first shipment Saturday, and, people, I am so excited. In the box (again, pay no attention to the overexposed photography) were peppers, garlic, Swiss chard, lettuce, turnips, parsley and, oh my gosh, was all I kept thinking to myself while I pulled packages like presents out of the cardboard: how am I going to eat all this?

So I started with soup.

Having had such success with vegetable-based soups (celeriac, carrot, spinach) in the past, this was a natural choice for the turnips, but, I am sorry to say, a disappointing one. While the soup was edible, it lacked flavor, of any kind, enough so that I was shaking additions on top (more salt! some parsley!) in an attempt to help things. It was creamy, it was hot, but it was nothing much else. I’m half-tempted to add the leftovers to some mashed potatoes (do any of you have thoughts on that?).

On to the greens. There was a little brochure with my share that gave news about the farm and included a recipe for a quick breakfast—Swiss chard and eggs. What you do is this: saute the Swiss chard (stem and leaf, which I chopped up roughly), crack some eggs on top and cover until cooked through. I added a step in scrambling and pouring in a little milk, as well as seasoning the whole thing with salt and pepper, but, let me tell you, I loved it. I ate it for dinner Saturday and then again for breakfast Sunday. Swiss chard is similar to spinach and from the same family as the garden beet, so you could use those if they’re handy. It will be ready in 15 minutes, and you’ll feel totally satisfied when you’re done.

Then, the peppers. I found five or six of them in there, in different sizes, some fat and short, some skinny and long like jalapenos, but they were all sweet, and so I searched a little online and found something perfect: Potato fritters with sweet pepper relish.

In the Pink Sangria

We made this pink sangria for our friend Blondie’s Birthday Potluck in Prospect Park.* We drink a lot of sangria around here and find that for outdoor picnics, a pretty diluted sangira is preferable and more refreshing on a hot day out in the sun. That’s why this recipe calls for 2 liters of seltzer. If you’re serving this at night at a party, drop the seltzer down to just one liter or less (you know, depending on what kind of party you’re having, nudge, nudge.) The raspberries and pineapple with the rose wine give this one a nice bright, fruity taste and the bright pink color, punctuated with the yellow pineapple, just screams “Birthday Party!” And, of course, blondes and pink always have gone together splendidly!


Ingredients

• 1.5 liter bottle Rose wine (NY $6.99)
• 2 shots Crème de Cassis (NY $1.77)
• 2 pints strawberries (NY $2.49)
• 1/2 pint raspberries (NY $2.49)
• 1 pineapple (NY $4.99)
• 2 liters seltzer (Free (to other sangria post) or NY $1.04)

Directions


Pour wine and cassis into a large pitcher. Wash strawberries, remove leaves, quarter vertically and toss into pitcher. Wash raspberries and add to raspberries. Chop pineapple into approximately half inch chunks and add to wine/fruit mixture. Put into refrigerator and allow to chill for 3-6 hours. Immediately before serving, add seltzer. (Either pour into pitcher if yours is large enough, or top off individual glasses with the seltzer.) Be sure to scoop lots of fruit into each glass, digging down for the non-floating raspberries: picking out the boozy fruity flotsam** is half the fun!


* The economy being what it is, Blondie still hasn’t found employment, but she’s had some encouraging interviews. Keep your fingers crossed for her!

**Of course, since raspberries don't float, I guess we can't call them flotsam, can we? OK, then, jetsam it is!

Market Matters- Big Flavor Light Lunch Summer Squash

It's summer. It's hot. You may not feel like cooking. Especially in the heat of the day.

But people are still going to stop by aren't they? I have friends coming by this afternoon. We plan to beat the heat by laying low by the pool. I would not really call this sort of event entertaining because everybody will probably have his or her noses tucked inside a book. But I am still going to have to feed them aren't I?

You betcha.

So this morning I walked down to the Hollywood Farmers Market. I needed to do Market Matters post and I needed to put together a light lunch for my friends.

I picked up these sweet little summer squash. They are a bit bigger than a golf ball. But not quite as big as a tennis ball. Look how round and perfect they are. They are a great jumping off place for the light poolside lunch I have planned. Stuffed Summer Squash di Alici.

But just because my lunch needs to be light and easy to make ahead does not mean it can't be big on flavor.

So I am going to stuff these squash with the big bold flavors of the Amalfi coast. When I think Amalfi coast I think winding seaside highways snaking drunkenly through the hills and valleys hugging Italy's southwest seaside. But, I also think anchovies. So you can bet these stuffed squash will feature anchovies and Colaturo di Alici in a big way.

Colatura di Alici is like an Italian fish sauce. Similar to the concoction that transforms Thai cooking into fabled lore.

It is still made much as it was in Roman times. Sardines, anchovies or pesce azzuro are left in wooden vats to decompose.

The subsequent concentrated fish oil is filtered and bottled.

I will start by cutting off a little lid and hollowing out each of my summer squash. For 4 people use 6 or 8 squash, depending on size. The interior flesh I will sauté in olive oil with shallots, plenty of garlic, 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (maybe more) and 8 to 10 anchovies.

If you can find salt-packed as opposed to oil-packed anchovies try and get them. They usually come in an intimidatingly large can. But they keep forever in the salt so there is no need to worry about them. Plus you never have to wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night terrified that there are no good anchovies in the house. The can is that big. It will last months (if not years)!

The salt-packed variety needs to be soaked to remove the salt and reconstitute them somewhat. I often do this in milk. But I am not sure why... I must have read it somewhere or maybe learned that tip on my travels (Croatia??). Because it's something I do with out giving it much thought.

Anyway the anchovies will cook down and practically disintegrate into the vegetables. To this mixture I add chopped parsley and freshly toasted coarse breadcrumbs. Take the time of starting with a few slices of good rustic bread (crusts and all), chop them up and pulse them a few times in a food processor before drizzling them in olive oil. Then spread them onto a lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F, 6-7 minutes until toasty golden brown.

Once the breadcrumbs are mixed into the anchovy mixture add the 1-teaspoon or so of the Colatura di Alici. Taste and adjust for seasoning. It probably won't need salt, but you may want to add additional red or black pepper.

Next mix in about 1-cup ricotta and 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Scoop this mixture back into the hollowed out squash. Pack the mixture in tightly and mound the squash a good amount too. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan evenly across the tops of all the stuffed squash, and put the top back on at a rakish angle (optional). Then bake them about 30 minutes in a pre-heated 350 degree F oven until browned and bubbly.

You may serve them hot as a side-dish or at room temperature on top of a bed of simply dressed salad greens.

I baked them hours before my friends got here, then set them aside at room temperature.

This way when someone finally peeks their head up from their book and says. Is anybody else hungry? Won't I look like some kind of genius when I run into the kitchen and come back with a big platter of tossed greens and 6 or 7 of these delicious stuffed squash perched on top. All this lunch needs is a good drizzle of olive oil and as much fresh squeezed lemon as you'd like.

And, while we are at it maybe some wine. Click here or on the wine notes box above to read about the pairing from my brother Grant!

"Oh Garçon!" Grant hates it when I call him Garçon...

Rotini with Corn and Tomatoes Cruda

This is a great recipe for the dog days of summer, when tomato and corn are at the ripest and the mere thought of having the stove on for more than a few minutes makes you want to whimper. As you can probably tell from the ingredient lists, this is one of those recipes that you’re only going to want to make when you can get burstingly fresh produce. I like this best with extremely young kernels that are pale and tiny. We prefer rotini or rotelle for this dish as the tiny corn kernels get caught in the grooves of the pasta. Serve hot or at room temperature.


Ingredients

• 2 ears of corn (NY $1.00)
• 3 tomatoes (NY $2.29)
• 1 bunch scallions (NY $0.59 for one bunch)
• 1 clove garlic (NY $0.24 for one head)
• ½ lb. rotini (NY $0.33)
• 4 tbsps olive oil (staple)
• 2 tbsps balsamic vinegar (staple)
• Salt (staple)
• Pepper (staple)

Directions
Put a pot of salted water on to boil. Husk and silk the ears of corn. Wash under cold water to
remove any remaining silks and clean the cobs well, trimming if needed. When the water comes to a boil, add rotini and set a timer for five minutes. After 5 minutes, add the corn. After approx. 3 more minutes, both the corn and rotini should be done. Keep an eye on the corn though: if your ear is especially young and tender, use tongs to pull it out early if needed.


Meanwhile, whisk together olive oil, vinegar and salt and pepper to taste if a large bowl. Mince garlic, add and stir. Chop and seed the tomatoes and thinly slice the white and pale green parts of the scallions.* Stir to combine.


Once rotini and corn are cooked, drain and add the pasta to tomato mixture in the bowl. Remove the corn from the cob by standing it upright on a cutting board, holding on to the cob with a towel as it will be hot, and slice off the kernels by running your knife vertically down the cob. Add the corn kernels to the pasta and tomato mixture, and toss well.



Nutritional Facts
Amount Per Serving

Calories 202.8	Protein 8.9 g	Magnesium 6.0 %
Total Fat 1.9 g	Vitamin A 13.7 %	Manganese 8.2 %
Saturated Fat 0.1 g	Vitamin B-12 0.0 %	Niacin 16.0 %
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g	Vitamin B-6 6.8 %	Pantothenic Acid 2.9 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0.1 g	Vitamin C 21.5 %	Phosphorus 5..8 %
Cholesterol 0.0 mg	Vitamin D 0.0 %	Riboflavin 14.8 %
Sodium 416.7 mg	Vitamin E 1.3 %	Selenium 1.0 %
Potassium 314.3 mg	Calcium 3.3 %	Thiamin 29.3 %
Total Carbohydrate 40.1 g	Copper 4.2 %	Zinc 2.8 %
Dietary Fiber 5.0 g	Folate 36.3 %
Sugars 3.4 g	Iron 14.8 %

Black Forest Cake

Ingredients

1 tsp baking powder
1 oz cocoa powder
2 oz butter
2½ oz flour
3 eggs
4 oz sugar

For icing

1 tin cherry
1 tin pineapple (optional)
1 packet cream
1 bar of bitter chocolate
4 tbsp icing sugar

Method

Melt butter and allow it to cool. Sieve flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Beat eggs and sugar till thick and creamy.

Fold half the flour in the mixture and the remaining flour with melted butter. Grease pan and pour the mixture in it. Bake for 25-30 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180°c.

Beat cream with icing sugar until thick and fluffy. Cut the cake into half horizontally, pour cherry syrup on it and then spread the cream. Place a few cherries and pineapple pieces. Cover the cake and decorate with cream and grated chocolate.

Jack in Box - Mini Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwiches

Jack in the Box announced this week the launch of their Mini Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwiches.

It's an expansion to their Mini Sirloin Burgers, which according to the company, has proven popular.


The new sandwiches come with homestyle chicken fillets topped with Frank’s RedHot sauce, ranch sauce and shredded lettuce on toasted mini buns.

The Mini Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwiches are available now for the suggested price, excluding tax, of $3.89 for three sandwiches at all participating Jack in the Box restaurants.

Brown Sugar Sandwich Cookies Recipe

My intention was to bring a little baggie of these snappy, chocolate-stuffed sandwich cookies on the plane to Philadelphia last week. Unfortunately, I ran out of time (having clean clothes trumped having cookies this time around) and had to wait until after my trip to bake them off. That being said, they are an effective travel tool, perfect for establishing goodwill with the stranger(s) sitting next to you. The poppy-flecked, brown sugar dough has a mellow sweetness, and it is my feeling that the butter browns just enough in the oven to bring the flavors together full circle. The chocolate functions as binding bridge between two wafer-thin coins.

There are a couple tricks to making these cookies extra good. The first is simple - roll the dough out very, very thin. Not parchment thin, but certainly Saltine cracker thin. The resulting cookies will be crisp, elegant, and lovely to look at. You want just a bit of chocolate sandwiched between just a bit of cookie. Too much cookie and the ratio gets thrown off.

The second important thing to be (particularly) mindful of is the baking time. You want the cookies to bake until they are beautifully golden, particularly on the bottom edges where the cookies meet the baking sheet. Don't turn your back, cookies this thin will go from blond to burned in a heartbeat.

Oh, Bugger

However, there's a new "Deco Kit" running rampant through our nations bakeries that, quite frankly, must be stopped. In fact, it's not so much a kit as it is a creepy garnish. Let's see if you can spot it in this photo:

"Oh, look at the pretty ca!!!!"

Yes, those are in fact giant, disturbingly life-like, (yet mercifully plastic) ants - or as bakers are calling them, "the new sprinkles."

Which might explain why they're popping up everywhere.

See, two ants are good...

Three are better...

But four equals "display only". Good to see there are limits.

For some reason watermelon cakes suffer the most from these pesky "antics":

Because, really, how else could you make this cake less appetizing?

It's always good to have insects on the brain while eating a cake covered in black specks.

And yes, please, let's put Old Glory on there to remind everyone that only we Americans could produce the double-whammy Wreckage of both a (cupcake cake) AND the GAG (Giant Ant Garnishes). Wouldn't want some other country claiming this one, now, would we?

Christine T., Penny R., Sidney B., Dave K., Kathryn S., Erica H., & Kate B., you know why anteaters never get sick, right? No? Well, it's 'cuz they're so full of antibodies.

Where Dairy Isn't Cruel

Before I even start getting into this post, I want to make one thing clear: I think that factory farmed dairy is just as, if not more, cruel than factory farmed meat production.

But with that said, the fact remains that not all dairy is cruel. I promise you.

I work for the first and (currently) only organic, grass-fed farmstead creamery in the state of Maryland. They produce organic creamline milk, yogurt and cheese that is sold at various farmers markets in the Washington, DC area.

Admittedly, I only sell for the family who owns the farm at farmers markets (and thus, do not actually work on the farm). But I've seen the farm, watched the cows being milked and cared for, and have never seen the slightest hint of cruel or inhumane treatment.

Even though more milk could be obtained with more intensive milking, cows on the farm are milked one time a day. No more, no less. This results in less product for the family, but happier (and healthier) cows.

Also, the cows diets consist almost entirely of grasses, as well as other plants and insects that are found in the fields where the animals are grazing. In years with lots of rain (as we've had on the east coast this year), the cows can survive on practically a 100 percent grass-based diet (as nature intended).

These cows are loved. More than (unfortunately) I've seen people loved in my lifetime. So, how can this sort of production be labeled as cruel or exploitative?

I feel like many of the anti-dairy advocates out there have never stepped foot onto a small dairy farm in their entire lives. If they had, they certainly would not be making blanket statements about how ALL dairy products are cruel regardless of their source. Because, most importantly, its simply not true.

Now yes, this kind of dairy production I don't believe would ever be economically viable on a large scale. There's just a cap on how much you can produce when you take animals out of the confined spaces of industrial farm operations.

So, I will readily admit that dairy you find in the grocery store (and at the vast majority of restaurants) will most likely continue to come from factory farms where cows are not treated with the respect that they, and all animals, deserve.

But at the same time, if I'm getting all of my dairy from a family I trust and who I KNOW for a fact treats their animals well, how am I supporting cruelty?

Instead of advocating for the complete destruction of the dairy industry, I think animal rights activists should also (I say also because I do think their time fighting the injustices of factory farming is well spent) promote and support the small farmers out there who treat their animals as well as they treat their children.

I await your comments.

A Healthy Obsession?

Image credit: www.ok.gov

Sometimes I think my obsession with food and exercise isn’t such a big deal.

Yes, I realize this is my blog about disordered eating, which in most people’s minds equals “bad,” but let me explain.

See, although it’s caused me a lot of internal strife, it seems as though my obsession has almost worked in my favor, in the sense that I’ve not allowed myself to gain more than a couple pounds from my lowest, attained in 2004.

True, I’m not “at goal” at the moment (teetering about 5-7 lbs from it still depending on that time of the month) but it’s attainable, and I am working on changing some unhealthy behaviors associated with disordered eating that drain me.

I really think the reason I haven’t gained more (or “let myself” gain more) is because even under the most stressful of situations (and I’ve had many over the years), I’m naturally hard-wired to be regimented, at all costs. So I still ate well and exercised–two surefire ways for keeping the weight off.

And in spite of the ugly behaviors that began since losing weight, I’ve still been able to maintain a healthy weight–and now I just want to do it in a healthier, happier way.