What happened was this: I had been emailed a heads-up that as part of the summer farmers’ market opening weekend, my CSA (a.k.a. One Straw Farm) would have garlic scapes on the table. As my own garden garlics seems to have mysteriously keeled over and quit where they lay (victims of wild urban animals or overly strong rain storms, I’m not sure which) I was excited to still have a chance at this seasonal treat. Paging through my pickling books, I got excited for the brined version, so I brought home two hefty bunches and prepared to stuff them in jars. I also picked up a few other things. On reflection, I realized that I was already somewhat overstocked in… Continue reading »
DIY: Housemade Bitters and the Wonderland White Manhattan
I tossed “how to make your own house bitters” into Google’s search engine so many times, I’m no longer sure where the original impulse came from. Given my love for odd ingredients, science experiment-like kitchen activity, and small jars, however, it’s not difficult to see why the fascination stuck. After combing through some online instruction, this recipe published in Food + Wine (and contributed by Brad Thomas Parsons, the man who literally wrote the book on bitters) seemed a manageable place to wade into the pond. Recipe selected, it was time to go shopping! I don’t know about your kitchen, but my pantry wasn’t already stocked with devil’s club root and wild cherry bark. Online retailers such as the Dandelion… Continue reading »
Grilled Fresh Caught Trout (Gone Fishin’ Edition)
I’ve recently been dipping my toes here and there into seafood eating. Having been a lacto-ovo vegetarian since I turned 15, however, I’m confronting a few issues as I break this streak. First, psychologically, I can get hung up on the idea of meat eating when a plate of otherwise well-prepared food is set down in front of me, all made worse by the fact that my stomach sometimes balks in parallel sympathy. Secondly, however, like that one girl freshman year who had never done her own laundry, I have zero meat cooking knowledge and experience. When B asks me how long to roast a chicken or how to make a meatball, I panic, my eyes reflecting that “deer in… Continue reading »
A Roasted Potato or Two (Fermented Mustard Edition)
This roasted potato recipe has been copied, adapted, and praised all over the internet, so I wouldn’t have bothered posting about it myself if I hadn’t also been looking for the chance to tell you about this fermented mustard. Of course you may use store-bought (I’ve always made it that way before) and it is a very satisfying way to quickly prepare simple red skinned new potatoes (I promise you), but this variation–a unique mustard, a brightly colored mix of purple fingerling and sweet potatoes, plus a few sliced shallots–made it an especially fun dish. The fermented mustard was a recent kitchen experiment of mine inspired by this post on Well Preserved. We’ve been enjoying the resulting condiment on sandwiches… Continue reading »
Spring Pea and Asparagus Soup
It’s time again to play “Last Week’s Supper Is This Week’s Soup”! It’s not quite as desperate as it sounds. I like this game because it’s teaching me a lot about combining various in-season vegetables and neatly preventing me from having to waste any leftover produce even after the first or second dish I needed it for has long since been consumed. This week I was also able to introduce a new player into the basket–peas! As I have been not hesitant to mention, the debut of fresh peas at the local farmers market is particularly exciting to me. I quickly claimed 2 lbs., as if the ladies standing around me were a threat and might snatch them all away… Continue reading »
Pretty in Pink Week: Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit Cake with a Hint of Mint
And so we come to the close of pink week in Wonderland with this lovely, perfect-for-spring bundt cake. While I swear it looked a little pinkish in the original recipe picture, it was, in fact, not pink at all. However, I’m having trouble getting too broken up about that because this cake is fantastic. I don’t usually get terribly excited about sweet treats; I do not often find myself considering cake for breakfast. As soon as my fork hit a slice of this one, restraint crumbled. The cake itself has a spongy, almost angel food-like spring to its crumb but a rich flavor since in this case the yolks also go in the batter along with grapefruit juice, lemon zest,… Continue reading »
