smashed goods

the love-hate continuum.

2012-02-12T18:02:00.001-05:00

soon, maybe this week, i am going to explain my underwhelming adventure to the other ashley's fried chicken joint, beasley's. for now, let's just say i was less-than-impressed. and will likely not return. and that i do not usually do restaurant reviews.

birthdayed out.

2012-02-08T15:23:00.000-05:00

ok, so it wasn't like this photo. this is a picture of me eating a burger at minetta tavern in 2010.

but the birthday girl consumed: a 1000-seed date and banana muffin, coffee, a raspberry-filled cupcake with passionfruit buttercream, a diet dr pepper (which tastes NOTHING like the real thing), a handful of fries, half a sandwich (that's all i packed; i knew what i was in for), a carrot, a handful of potato chips, a pint of stout, a burrito, and a negra modelo.

OH yes, i did. people just kept feeding me.

without proof.

2012-02-06T11:10:00.001-05:00

friday night = spinach and mushroom enchiladas with tomatillo salsa. recipe from homesick texan (from the book, not the website). no photographs of any of it. the messiest masterpiece i've made in a while.

stuffed.

2012-02-04T21:42:00.001-05:00

i might have just consumed the biggest bowl of pasta i have ever had. it's also probably smaller than most bowls of pasta consumed in america. i am sure there's data on pasta.

dubliners.

2012-02-03T08:45:00.001-05:00

OMG. have i mentioned the demise of the dublin dr pepper? it's over. totally over. as in, it is no longer being manufactured. (although apparently there is a fight but i think it is pretty hard to beat coca cola.)

let's talk about a love. a soda love. made with imperial sugar. from sugar land, for christsakes. a delicious, delicious treat without the high-fructose corn syrup i detest. and now, it's over. oh my holy hell.

yeah, so.

2012-01-30T10:35:00.001-05:00

i've been totally slacking at this blogging, wearing my "driving googles," as casey calls them, mostly to drive his dog (who seems to have a thing for australian shepherds) back and forth to the dog park while he vacationed in jackson hole. YEAH, seriously.

however, last week, he returned and so i am back in action, crafting it up with miss alex and baking sage biscuits and drinking dark beers and eating fried eggs. not all at one time. but mostly.

i swear i will tell y'all more things. sometimes life just gets in the way, which is kinda sorta why you can just read my twitter and know all of the minutia of my eating life.

just like.

2012-01-16T09:53:00.000-05:00

all the necessary food groups: coffee, fried egg, beans, greens, tomatoes, fruit.

one more.

2012-01-12T17:45:00.002-05:00

the last week before class included cooking, reading, reading cookbooks, eating greasy beans, carrots, and peanut butter sandwiches, and drinking too much coffee brewed in the chemex.

oh yeah.

2012-01-12T17:42:00.001-05:00

these are the photos i tried to post last week.

would you believe

2012-01-06T14:47:00.001-05:00

that this little blog turned 4 in december? that we are in year 5 of it? all the eggs i've consumed? or beers? that i started it to ramble about food and policy and now i never write about policy because it is what i do for school?

holy hot bananas.

when in rome.

2012-01-06T09:41:00.001-05:00

drink beers with buffaloes on the labels.

annoyingly.

2012-01-04T15:27:00.002-05:00

blogger has been giving me trouble. it doesn't want to post things with too many (as in 2) photographs. so, the last post currently has none, which i will try to fix. but i am frustrated and giving up for now.

back to beans.

2012-01-04T14:21:00.000-05:00

we know i love a greasy bean, possibly too much. what is a greasy bean, you ask? well, when it's not a coffee bean (which i also like greasy, rather than dry), it could be any bean, even a bit overcooked (as i sometimes forget the slow cooker is cooking, but i've been gifted a handy kitchen timer for christmas this year), with a generous helping of olive oil, sea salt, and crushed red pepper. it's really the most delicious thing out there. forget pastries and tales of molecular gastronomy, it's mostly a greasy bean i want.

and we're supposed to eat black-eyed peas for new years. i managed a couple of days without them, mostly due to the fact that we were driving from ithaca to north carolina (11 hours in the car) and then spent monday watching the aforementioned football and doing laundry.

so, yesterday: collard greens (also apparently lucky for new years) with mushrooms, garlic, and onions (so much garlic that casey said it was seeping from my pores); a salad of radish and tomato, a fried egg on wheat, and a bowl of greasy black-eyed peas. OH yes.

and today's lunch: a bowl of greasy black-eyed peas (hey! i am alone in this house so i am eating them all), carrots + hummus, and a salad of spinach, tomatoes, and mushrooms, with a hunk of almost-stinky french cheese.

with some coffee from the chemex (more on that later).

the greasiest.

new years day.

2012-01-04T00:00:00.002-05:00

started off the year in an ithaca diner with a fried egg sandwich with american cheese on rye. and coffee, obviously.

and all in a collapsible seat that seemed like a booth from afar. oh, yes.

all the football.

2012-01-03T23:53:00.000-05:00

in the last 2 weeks, i have not only been to a professional football game, but also tailgated it (defined as drinking beer behind and/or near a parked car) while wearing team gear. on christmas eve day, i witnessed the buffalo bills beat the denver broncos OUTSIDE. they are also one of losing-est teams in the NFL. but that's neither here nor there.

more importantly, i purposely went to a bar to watch another football game YESTERDAY. the university of houston played penn state in the cotton bowl and i was happy to see the ol' alma mater kick some ass. with a 23 oz miller lite. 2 of them. and a plate of nachos and potato skins.

with casey, of course. i could never have done it alone. friends don't let friends football alone.

also, hello, 2012.

fox liquor.

2011-12-22T11:43:00.000-05:00

i wanted to hate this place. but it's delicious. that cocktail is called THE CHAMP.

*photo courtesy of alex. nails courtesy of yours truly.

this year.

2011-12-20T19:57:00.001-05:00

new years in ithaca means moosewood is on the horizon.
OH YES.

(and christmas in buffalo brings niagara falls, beef on weck, and maybe a chicken wing, as they say.)

the oiliest holiday.

2011-12-18T13:23:00.000-05:00

hanukkah means latkes and donuts. the holiday of fried greasiness. shira fried up her mama's latke recipes this morning: sweet potato and regular potato. yeah, she did.

it was that kind of sunday morning, when people just sorta stop by and join you for breakfast. and the kind when i don't do all the cooking. awesomepants.

fuck yeah, christmas.

2011-12-18T13:13:00.004-05:00

so we threw a little christmas party with the above title. it might be a little vulgar for the birth of jesus, but my holiday spirit is high. it is. i even made an ornament this week. and holiday decorations. and cookies with candy canes in them. and i am traveling all the way to buffalo for what casey keeps referring to as "catholic christmas," which apparently does not include midnight mass but instead a buffalo bills game (against whatever team tim tebow is on).

so, yes, a little party. with the fanciest cheeses. alex and i made a special trip to southern season to pick the most perfect ones: sheep, cow, and goat. and rosemary bread. and peach bitters. that place is really something.

casey actually hosted/bartended this fête: three kinds of bourbon, as well as gin and sparkling wine. and punch, of course.

i am working my way through damon boelte's catalog of punches--this is his ruben's cooler no. 2, a concoction of gin, elderflower liquor, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, cucumber, and soda water.

always a smash.

ask and you shall receive.

2011-12-16T09:33:00.002-05:00

a mention for gf cheez-its means that's what we are cooking at casa smash this morning.

remember, i've done this before.

one-two punch.

2011-12-16T07:50:00.003-05:00

casey and i are throwing a christmas party. he is going to make old-fashioneds. i am picking out a punch recipe. so much good to come.

the drink-maker.

2011-12-09T08:46:00.001-05:00

casey is making all the whisky drinks these days. we spent much of thanksgiving drinking a concoction of bulleit rye and dublin dr pepper, with a lime, in these incredible glasses at my parents' house. and last night, he made what i have dubbed "the gentle lumberjack:" bourbon, maple syrup, soda water, and lemon. a wintery cocktail for sure.

reee-col-aaah.

2011-12-04T08:49:00.001-05:00

i am writing about food corps, food stamps, and farmers' markets. there is math and econometrics involved. additionally, there is the growing pain that is my sore throat; i have been eating ricolas like there is no tomorrow. needless to say, i will write more exciting things soon.

for now, a photo of the chalupas i forgot weeks ago.

meta.

2011-11-21T11:42:00.001-05:00

in which i post a simpsons episode about bart, lisa, and marge as food bloggers.

i sort of hate the episode. but sort of love it, too.

yeah.

2011-11-18T17:42:00.001-05:00

we made chalupas last night. fried up the tortillas at home and all. tasty photos to come.

wait. pizza?

2011-11-17T07:36:00.001-05:00

can you believe congress declared pizza a vegetable? to begin, tomatoes are a fruit.

i might need to get working on school lunch policy. this is a disaster.

fridays = saddle shoes.

2011-11-14T09:51:00.001-05:00

a gift certificate to the starbucks meant a little coffee date with casey on friday morning. also included were saddle shoes, stripey socks, and sparkly tights.

always and forever.

2011-11-12T15:59:00.001-05:00

parks and recreation takes on the world food crisis in a model UN episode.

i love this show. SO much.

monday, monday.

2011-11-10T14:33:00.001-05:00

i always eat at home on mondays, as my class is late and my office is musty.

stinky-awesome french cheese, pea shoots, tomatoes, and cucumbers on 9-seed wheat bread from ninth street bakery, tortilla chips, and chickpeas with olive oil, salt, and pepper. the cutest lunch.

multiple.

2011-11-08T16:45:00.001-05:00

why yes, i am eating tacos multiple times per week.

sunday morning: corn tortillas with spinach, eggs, tomatoes, onions. and garlicky-salty roasted potatoes (on the side, because the tortillas can't hold so much).

lamentation.

2011-11-06T08:57:00.003-05:00

reading glasses and hot tea. too many pieces of paper, things misunderstood. lots of tacos, 'cause they are easy. ready for the semester to end.

it's all like this.

2011-11-01T19:10:00.004-04:00

but mostly everything i eat is a variation of this meal. on the weekends my sandwiches have eggs and i am able to cook potatoes and eat complicated salads. on a weekday, there would just be a carrot or two on the side. maybe some pretzels.

ciabatta with cheddar and a fried egg, roasted rosemary potatoes with olive oil and sea salt, and a salad of carrots, radishes, cucumbers, and basil. oh thank you, north carolina, for the diversity at your farmers' markets.

free-form.

2011-11-01T19:07:00.000-04:00

things are happening. too fast. i am always behind and always working. and casey is attempting this whole gluten-free life, at my suggestion, no less. so eating is weird altogether.

but i wanted to make this tart. and i don't always love mark bittman, as i think he seems to not-really-love vegetables. yes, i know he has a whole cookbook to vegetarian cooking, but i was always under the impression that he eating the veggies because he should, not because they are delicious. and it just puts me off. but, yes, i do follow him on twitter.

so i made the tart, which casey thought was some sort of dessert pizza, and i guess it is. you only need 2 apples, not 3-4. i added an extra tablespoon of sugar and some shakes of cinnamon to the crust mixture, as i was using the gf flour and it tends to get dusty, as april and i might say.

it's pretty delicious. and easy. i already had all of the ingredients at home, which is the key to cooking these days. and i made it while doing homework. and it's fall and cold and i want to eat hot things with apples.

oh, frito.

2011-10-24T21:52:00.002-04:00

i introduced casey to frito pie. i mean, he had been missing this incredible texan delicacy. for those of you who don't know, it's a bowl of fritos with chili poured over it, and often cheese. actually, traditionally, it's a bag of fritos opened, with the chili (beef, no beans) poured into the bag. but there were only big bags at the store. while casey and i can eat a lot, it seemed absolutely ridiculous to pour a whole pot of a chili into a huge bag. so we did not. we just ate tons of it.

huck, on the other hand, was less than interested.

trust me.

2011-10-24T21:43:00.000-04:00

thursday.
ciabatta with cheddar and fried egg, roasted rosemary potatoes, and a salad of carrots + radishes + basil.

it's amazing i am writing this post. i've got a crazy amount of schoolwork. luckily, i am watching the third season of parks and recreation and it actually makes me laugh out loud. that takes some serious dry humor.

crushing.

2011-10-12T09:52:00.001-04:00

work. work. work.
everything is about panel data and farmers' markets and food stamps and the food history of houston. and more. i'll be back once i find my way out from under this pile of articles.

underneath.

2011-09-24T16:15:00.001-04:00

don't worry. i am still here. just under a pile of journal articles and garden safety tasks and a million other things worthy of my new laser printer. posts to come.

lewis.

2011-09-11T12:29:00.001-04:00

alex and i witnessed the magic of the lewis bag at the crunkleton on derby day. it is a pouch made of sturdy fabric which is loaded up with ice, only to be smashed to make perfect mint julep ice (which is a lot like sno-cone ice). of course, once we saw it, we wanted it. and wanted to make it ourselves.

yes, she set up in front of her only-a-little-scary sewing machine and guided me through the process of sewing straight lines on rectangle fabric. needless to say, it was not so hard.

but then what? THE JULEP. casey was back in action last weekend with the juleps and actually put the lewis bag to the test. i didn't have a mallet so he used a frying pan. adorbs.

and delicious, as always.

in it.

2011-09-11T08:51:00.005-04:00

this semester has already begun to eat me alive, to make me feel like what i am doing is both important and useless, to allow me to forget about writing here because there is just no time for anything. but i am still eating like a champ, obviously.

seen above: steamed broccoli, buttery + garlicky potatoes, black beans and onions with serrano pepper, topped with a fried egg.

we have also given up the CSA for the fall and have committed to weekly farmers' market shopping. we wanted more variety and not feel so tied to large bags of squash and watermelons. so far, so good. yesterday's $15 yielded tomatoes, japanese eggplant, arugula, cucumber, red potatoes, spicy peppers that look like bell peppers, and a cantaloupe. i am also now the proud owner of a purple pepper plant that i was promised would have spicy peppers AND would be hard to kill. we shall see.

a trillion bazillion.

2011-08-31T21:59:00.002-04:00

a trillion years? a bazillion? i have not uploaded a breakfast in so damn long.

so, here we go with sunday brunch: cantaloupe slices, sauteed mushooms + okra +green beans, buttery yukon gold potato halves, an absolutely perfect fried egg, and half of an everything bagel. and coffee.

back to school means never going to a restaurant. not like i was regularly eating outside the apartment anyhow, but still.

not at all like in shag.

2011-08-31T21:17:00.002-04:00

did you ever see shag? i have been thinking about this movie. the girls (with awesome southern names like carson and melaina) throw their mama's jam out of the car and skip fort sumter and go to myrtle beach. and dance and have sex (one with a guy named buzz) and drink beer. well, they were a little crazy. but it was 1963. and a movie.

and a million years (well, 21 years) after i saw that movie in the theater, i can remember it all. and finally set foot in charleston. after months of rambling about it to casey, whose age at the time of shag's release i will not calculate.

CHARLESTON, south carolina. i just knew i would like this place. it was like the time i read about portland (in like 1995) in the magazine on the airplane and i was like, OH MY GOD I HAVE TO LIVE THERE. and then spent many years trying to get to portland, which i loved absolutely.

and charleston was perfectly old. older than the civil war. old, old cemeteries messily arranged everywhere, but beautiful gardens draping through them. and a jewish cemetery dating to 1762. seriously.

and fort sumter is right there. in the water. with confederate declarations and statues and history throughout the city in a way that is completely acceptable, with no "stars and bars" flying around.

you just feel like you are in another country. just like that.

and oh yes, the eating was good.

within minutes of arrival to our rented apartment from 1840, we were at hominy grill. yeah, it won a james beard some years ago. it was lovely and homey and full of tipsy arnold palmers and buttermilk pie and boiled peanuts snacks and i swear, i don't know what i ate for most of the weekend, but it was all amazing.

we spent our mornings with the dog (also on vacation, sleeping all day in luxury) caffeinating at hope and union. it was seriously incredible single-brewed coffee. each morning i chose coffee (all fair trade, of course) from a different country, based on the descriptions on the chalkboard. and a pastry.

you can see the remnants of the nutella-banana turnover. there was an almond croissant the next day. and a very relaxed casey.

yes, we continued on to other meals soon after. but how would we get to them without delicious, delicious coffee?

we spent our saturday afternoon on a fancy drinking tour. starting in the husk bar, i had 2 different peach-bourbon cocktails. and after the chef brought in AN ENTIRE LEG OF PIG, proceeded to trim it, and then offer a bite, we could not refuse. it was frightfully exciting and decadent. and i knew it had to be something special when casey put a piece in his mouth.

soon after romantic stories of george washington, we went to mccrady's for another cocktail and deviled eggs, followed by the gin joint for 2 more drinks with homemade pretzels and fancy cheeses. and blissfully asleep before 11.

what else? fried-green tomatoes benedict. belgian fries. a huge pile of thai food, because you can't eat southern all the time. lots of strolls through the college of charleston and surprising parks. with streets of houses that are more than 250 years old. that is old old old for america.

and the tree.

about 10 miles outside of charleston, this tree: the angel oak. on someone's property. just growing like crazy. this photo barely does it any justice, but it is the best one i've got.

you have got to go there. next time, i swear i am staying for a week. and beaching and all.

oh my holy hot damn.

2011-08-28T11:09:00.001-04:00

it was only this morning that i remembered that i haven't posted in forever. i was in charleston looking at old things. and confederate things. and eating delicious things. and then thinking about school things and hurricane things.

posts en route.

a peck of pickled peppers.

2011-08-16T15:25:00.000-04:00

ok, so it wasn't a whole peck. but i did pickle peppers on saturday, a variation on this recipe.

we aren't supposed to eat them for a week so it's just waiting waiting waiting. eating all the other pickled goodies in the fridge instead--okra, radishes, bread-n-butter pickles.

and then we talked about how much we cried in the movie.

2011-08-15T15:32:00.001-04:00

a HUGE bag of green tomatoes this week in the CSA meant i had to fry them. i just had to do it.

alex is staying with me temporarily so we cooked up a meal centered around these fried goodies, which we batter-fried using cornmeal, flour, eggs, milk, cayenne, pepper, salt, and garlic. with a little lemon-yogurt dipping sauce. and some salad and roasted squash, because not every part of the meal can be fried.

the bean.

2011-08-15T15:27:00.003-04:00

pounds of edamame in the CSA = lots of bean snacks.

greasy bean.

2011-08-14T11:30:00.000-04:00

yes, this meal is from july 22nd. yes, that's a long time ago. yes, i love a meal like this one; it has all the components of awesomeness. yes, it is a perfectly fried egg on toast with cheese and lima beans in olive oil with parsley, sea salt, and crushed black pepper.

i love a "greasy bean," as casey calls them: a well-cooked bean with enough olive oil for it to taste somewhat olivey and earthy and doused with coarse salt and pepper (could be red or black, i don't care). seriously, it's the small things.

cobbled.

2011-08-14T11:24:00.000-04:00

after i was sick (and unsure of what made me so), i felt i had to be cooking everything in the fridge to kill the pathogens. while not everything (or potentially, anything) in the refrigerator was "tainted," i made a peach cobbler, which was delicious.

there's no recipe. i can't remember how i did it.

the truth is out there.

2011-08-11T09:28:00.001-04:00

i've been waiting for this to be true. amy sapkota, thank you.

from food safety news:

Poultry farms that transition to organic and stop giving their birds antibiotics have significantly lower levels of drug-resistant bacteria, according to new research out of the University of Maryland's School of Public Health.

The authors of the study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives this week, say it's the first to demonstrate lower levels of drug-resistant bacteria on newly organic farms in the United States, adding credence to what environmental and public health advocates have been saying for years: antibiotic usage needs to be curtailed in American agriculture to combat growing antibiotic resistance.

Most experts agree that overusing antibiotics in both human medicine and animal agriculture is contributing to the problem -- more than 100,000 people in the U.S. die from bacterial infections, 70 percent of which are resistant to antibiotics. Recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration data indicate approximately 80 percent of all antibiotics sold in the U.S. are given to food animals.

i knew it. thank you to those who study the hard sciences that can make this information a reality.

an addendum: here's a link to the study if you want to read the whole thing.

slurpee.

2011-08-10T19:58:00.001-04:00

yeah, i did. all i wanted for our road trip to the beach was a slurpee. coke + cherry, just like my hermanito.

casey made the stop just for me. and i got a bag of chex mix, too. road trip food all the way.

to return.

2011-08-08T14:08:00.000-04:00

casey and i are at the beach for a couple of days. he's conferencing and there's work happening on my side but there's some beach + pool happening, too. i just returned from the very hot outside (feels like 103F) to work on the gardens document. and watch TELEVISION while i do it. (seriously, i don't know how y'all watch tv. i think i am losing brain cells. this can't be good for anyone.)

rock rockin' it.

2011-08-07T09:24:00.000-04:00

ok. so i know it's been slow going here at smashedgoods. too much work and then the foodborne illness and then catching up on all the work just makes for too little blogging. by the time the work slows, i'll have to go back to class. UGH.

but i am eating real foods again.
wednesday's lunch: black-eyed peas with parsley + olive oil + sea salt + pepper, sourdough toast with leftover shakshuka sauce + grilled eggplant + parmesan, and pickled dill okra.

yes. yes.

the dunnies.

2011-08-01T22:44:00.000-04:00

my two dunnies now live in the best spot on the shelf--in front of the food books. adorableness.

grossness.

2011-08-01T22:42:00.000-04:00

i've been really sick. like ironic foodborne illness sick. don't worry; i'm on the mend and eating solid foods that are mostly white and bland. shira brought bagels back from new york so that's been incredibly helpful in my recovery. and i've got good-looking photographs of food to post.

on another note, i really suck at poaching eggs. and farrell explains how to do it perfectly. and i read the whole section about it in the joy of cooking. and it's still a total fail. i'll get there. farrell will have to walk me through it again. he just doesn't know it yet.

the worst.

2011-07-24T16:44:00.000-04:00

i burned my left hand so terribly this morning that i am beyond behind in my work (don't worry; i am fine, i swear). and casey had to help me cook. seriously, the project that ate my summer just gobbled it all up.

melting.

2011-07-23T14:46:00.000-04:00

it's hot as hell. i've been making LOADS of sun tea. pictured is darjeeling in the small jar and black apricot in the french press.

hell yeah.

2011-07-22T15:41:00.000-04:00

the best salsa. straight from texas. in a six pack. it's most exciting thing to happen here in a while.

grilling + chiling

2011-07-22T09:13:00.000-04:00

i bought a grill. it's charcoal, not propane. yes, yes, i realize that blake and hank hill are cringing as i write this post. but i don't have space (or money!) for propane.

it's small. portable. there's some "natural" charcoal. shira is really taking this on as a personal challenge. (on that note, i think that because someone always wants to take charge of the grill is the reason i barely know how to use it.)

anyhow, we grilled it up last night: corn (finally in the CSA!), potatoes, squash, heirloom watermelon. yes, watermelon.

with some beans + rice. and a belgian beer. sounds like summer to me.

going way back.

2011-07-20T09:09:00.000-04:00

june 30th. tacos with shira. plus beer tasting.
flour tortillas + black-eyed peas + avocado + mushrooms + onions + salsa

i am incredibly behind in this blogging. and have tons of work to do. i'll catch up in august or something.

chubby chubby.

2011-07-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

casey bought a groupon for chubby's tacos, which meant we could have twice the amount of tacos for half the price. we had both heard lovely things about chubby's so it just seemed right. there was quite a bit to choose from, so i just started ordering all the vegetarian goodies until i thought we'd had enough.

3 kinds of tacos (including a chile relleno taco), a spinach gordita platter with rice and black beans, a couple of mexican beers. we were so full of greasy goodness that we had to take a little walk around the neighborhood before we could get back in the car.

overall, it was pretty delicious, but nothing to write home about, though casey says i write home about everything (e.g., this blog, the postcards, and the like). i wanted spicier overall, though i must say that the salsas were awesome. and there were like 8 from which to choose. insanity.

we've got another groupon so more treats are to be had.

**that incredible face he's making is because he's hungry and all i want to do is photograph the food. adorable, huh?

doctor, doctor.

2011-07-18T16:47:00.000-04:00

working at the morning times in raleigh last week = dr. brown's cream soda. LOVE.

but i would've taken whichever one they had. they make me think of houston + the bagel shop.

queened.

2011-07-18T12:41:00.000-04:00

preceded by a night of rollerskating: dairy queen blizzards with amy, shira, and alex. yes, 4 different ones on the table! i had banana split, a spillover from roadtrips to port aransas in the minivan. but the other girls had various chocolately who-knows-what. and of course, the server flipped over each one to prove they were thick enough.

***and let's just say july might lack huge descriptions, but can be full of photographs.

like this.

2011-07-18T10:45:00.000-04:00

working working working on this crazy literature review. the part i am dealing with now is mostly like this diagram.

finally.

2011-07-18T10:36:00.000-04:00

my first growler of beer since i got to north carolina: aviator warthog wheat.

the rules governing the growlers are different here than in new york. they come already-bottled, with the name of the brewery emblazoned on the front. the beer inside must match the brewery on the bottle. you put a deposit and then just return it for another. or you get the deposit back.

of course casey and i drank it all in one night.

yeah. so what?

2011-07-12T22:51:00.000-04:00

i ate pasta with cuttlefish ink in new york.
i wanted to eat the ink. it was the most interesting thing on the menu.

it was delicious. and not fishy at all.

mhmm.

infused.

2011-07-09T13:41:00.000-04:00

gin infused with cucumber.
oh yeah we did. and it was delicious, too.

(a recipe: slice up some cucumbers and put them in a jar. pour gin over cukes. wait 2 days. drink.)

yep.

2011-07-05T15:05:00.000-04:00

i've got things to tell you: things about goat and cuttlefish, about gardening and composting, about pies and ice cream, about gin and st. germain. THINGS.

soon.

off.

2011-06-30T09:41:00.001-04:00

by the way, we're off the sprouts. you should be, too. details from bill marler and suzanne hobbs.

easy-peasy.

2011-06-30T09:35:00.000-04:00

sourdough toast with peanut butter and strawberrry jam. it never fails.

tuned.

2011-06-30T08:53:00.001-04:00

new rack on my bike. a little tune-up. riding about town with food books (mostly from inter-library loan) on the back: sustainable agriculture, food justice, minimally-processed and refrigerated fruits and vegetables.

seriously, academics couldn't give a book a good name if they tried.

oh yeah.

2011-06-27T10:23:00.000-04:00

i made refrigerator pickles last week. it's so easy and we had pounds + pounds of cucumbers from the CSA. ready for a july 4th BBQ or something.

left.

2011-06-24T10:08:00.000-04:00

i had a jar of egg whites. well, actually i had jars of various random things in the fridge and they are never labeled and i am always telling shira what the hell is inside of them. i had these egg whites because i had been making bourbon-mint(!!) ice cream and it only called for yolks. and there's no way i was just going to throw out the whites.

so i scrambled them with some onions in butter and threw them on a sandwich with fontina cheese and lemon cucumber, on toasted sourbough (which i am really into these days). i ate it with sauteed broccoli + squash.

tuesdays aren't usually the greatest for eating. wednesday is CSA day--and we got peaches this week.

sunday lunch.

2011-06-21T15:42:00.000-04:00

sourdough bread with tomatoes, cucumbers, and fontina cheese, with mustard. plus hummus (sabra!) and carrots.

rosemary-apricot loveliness.

2011-06-19T12:07:00.000-04:00

this week's baked sunday recipe: rosemary-apricot squares.

but, matt and renato, this recipe has WAY too many appliances. a food processor, a stand mixer, and cooking on the stovetop, in addition to the oven?! it's a lot to handwash. and a couple of hours in the kitchen just preparing and cooking.

luckily, they are absolutely delicious.

the pecans were stupid expensive, so i used almonds, which i like better anyhow. additionally, i had no brandy so i left it out, but i think that's ok. the apricot portion is really fruity and full of honey.

the most decadent breakfast.

boozy ice cream.

2011-06-19T11:37:00.000-04:00

bourbon-mint ice cream. recipe courtesy of GQ. like a mint julep.

i felt like this recipe had too many steps for ice cream.

picked tons of mint from casey's front yard, but i forgot to buy eggs. so, i only made a half recipe. in the end, that's probably best because we'll just eat it up really fast anyhow.

shira is going to be pleased. this is a good one.

carolina.

2011-06-18T18:18:00.003-04:00

lemon balm in the CSA this week. what to do with it?

put it in a cocktail, of course.
that's gin and soda and lemon and lemon balm.
the taste of summer.

a hole in the wall.

2011-06-18T16:35:00.000-04:00

after attempting to see the alexander mcqueen show at the met and discovering there was a 1.5 hour wait, yelena, casey, and i walked up to the guggenheim, only to find the museum running at half-capacity. the main galleries were closed due to the upcoming show. disappointed, we left to stumble onto one of the wafels and dinges carts outside.

their waffles are awesomepants. and we ate them (nutella + strawberry and banana + strawberry) in these holes in the walls under the museum. a perfect spot for rain-day waffle consumption.

and sauntered down the street to the neue galerie for its ever-spectacular collection.

two days.

2011-06-18T16:23:00.002-04:00

two mornings of bagels. the second, at la bagel delight, ended with the italian rainbow cookie or tri-color pastry, which casey had never had before. it's an almond extract-laden cake surrounded by chocolate. of course michelle had to make sure he had one immediately. she's a good one, even if she thought it made sense to move to LA.

the shake shack 'shroom burger: a huge mushroom stuffed with melty cheese and deep fried and then put on a soft bun with special sauce of who-knows-what. we ate ours with fries and a rootbeer on a lovely upper west side bench while doing some good people-watching. mainly kid-watching. those museum-going kids are funny ones.

yes, we had already consumed the meal when i snapped this photo. we'd also been awake since 4am.

fancy water fountains that TALK TO YOU on the highline. we received advice on hydrating and skin care and social anxiety.

it was imperative that i consumed a people's pop on that hot hot hot day. i ate mine so fast i cannot remember what flavor it was (it was pink and delicious), but i know casey had a blueberry-chai. holy hell. i am going to have to step my pop-making.

oh, yes.

2011-06-17T16:28:00.001-04:00

a full report to come. lots of drinks with these kids.

and yes, this photograph WAS taken in my post-highline euphoria, drinking a "brooklyn high line elevated wheat" beer at tom colicchio's the lot on tap.

ready.

2011-06-08T18:22:00.001-04:00

new york, i love you. so i am coming to visit. to eat your foods and look at your art and lay in your grass and listen to your noise and drink your cocktails and i don't even care that there is going to be record-breaking heat. my hair fits in a ponytail and i've got my hand fan and there is SELTZER IN EVERY BODEGA. yesiree.

close to bibimbap.

2011-06-07T10:13:00.000-04:00

saturday was dedicated to terrariums. yes, i have been fairly obsessed with making one for months and finally convinced my friends that it would be cheaper and more fun if we made them as a group. agreement all around.

but dinner. oh, dinner. shira and i received chinese cabbage in the CSA last week and hadn't yet even begun to eat it and now there were more greens and well, it gets kind of crazy in the fridge.

she doesn't eat soy so sometimes stir-frys are less than excellent, but we made do. while cooking the jasmine rice, i sauteed the cabbage with sesame oil and fresh ginger, with a little sugar and salt and sriracha. and she sauteed the green part of the spring onions with red peppers, turnips, and vidalia onion.

but we knew that it was lacking a fried egg. after the onion-turnip-pepper mixture was cooked, we put it in with the cabbage and fried in the eggs in the oily pan. perfect. seriously, shira made the most absolutely perfect fried eggs. she claims it was the sesame oil in the pan, but really, she's just miraculous.

the proudest.

mechanical.

2011-06-05T19:29:00.000-04:00

mechanical problems on my flight from des moines to minneapolis. hours of delay. a re-route through detroit. a meal voucher for $7.

so, i get to detroit (which is a really nice airport, by the way) and have an hour layover and this meal voucher. and i am not hungry. i walk into the nearest bar and ask the bartender if i can buy a beer with this voucher. and, seriously? some guy high-fives me.

but, yes. the answer is yes. you CAN buy a beer with a meal voucher.

back to breakfast.

2011-06-05T15:57:00.001-04:00

lots of delicious meals with this guy, who always allows me to photograph him eating over and over until i get it right. mostly it means that he sometimes finishes eating before me, but that's ok because he always wants seconds. so it works out, y'know?

this is actually last sunday's breakfast; no photographs from this morning.

carrots + hummus
sliced cucumbers
whole wheat toast + alfalfa sprouts + fried egg
roasted cauliflower + dinosaur kale + garlic
some sort of semi-soft cheese (i forget its name; it was last week.)

yes. awesomeness.
(oh! and i am using instagram these days--i love all those beautiful settings and filters.)

snackety snack.

2011-06-03T13:21:00.001-04:00

i have consumed a lot of cheese + crackers lately. a lot a lot.

you cannot go wrong with this choice.

friday night is alright.

2011-05-31T09:52:00.003-04:00

casey is really working on his mint julep. he's got piles of mint in his front yard and seems to think it's fun to use the mortar and pestle. and i've got a bottle of woodford reserve.

this past friday, he got it right. absolutely. i think it's the simple syrup.

we also ate sauteed cauliflower + dinosaur kale + vidalia onion, roasted turnips + beets + yukon gold potatoes, quinoa, sliced tomatoes, and topped with a fried egg. oh, yes, this CSA is a good one.

drive-in.

2011-05-30T13:51:00.002-04:00

alex and i have been going on about sonic for at least a week. we learned that there is one in mebane (pronounced meh-bin, not meh-bane) and have scheduled a visit.

but casey and i went hiking in the uwharrie national forest on saturday and passed one in siler city on the drive down. and he was not so excited about it at the time, but i wanted soda immediately. with all that perfectly round ice that's like sno-cone ice and fancy flavors you can have added. casey had never been to a sonic (they aren't so common in the north) and so he had no idea what he was missing.

i waited. there's no need for a flavored soda at 10am before a planned hours-long hike.

but on the way home, we stopped. for vanilla coke and tater tots and grilled cheese, which we ate in the car like good americans.

now, a dairy queen blizzard and we are in business.

mixed up.

2011-05-30T13:42:00.000-04:00

shira's flight on wednesday was canceled so she was surprisingly home for dinner. it was a CSA pick-up day so there was certainly a bounty of goods! and i had just bought provisions in the asian market. and it was too hot for hot food, which means spring rolls.

and lots of prosecco. (once you open a bottle, you have to commit to the whole thing, y'know.)

small spring rolls with beets, carrots, spring onions, basil, and vermecelli. with peanut sauce and sriracha and lime.

all gone.

2011-05-27T12:21:00.002-04:00

yes, there are no more strawberries. we ate 2 buckets full in under a week!

well, shira made a strawberry-rhubarb crumble, but still.

it's hot.

2011-05-25T17:41:00.004-04:00

i am eating popsicles and drinking mint sun tea. and reading about school gardens and composting and soil, as well as workers in the food system. it's going to be a long summer.

i am also trying to contain my excitement regarding the 2 baby birds in the nest in the bush in front of the house. soon, i'll get close enough for a photograph. but! i have named them.
mama bird = bonnie
baby birds = francesca and mabel

EDIT, may 27: after some research on the internets, i think francesca might really be frank.

EDIT, june 1: i found the third baby bird on monday and named her henrietta lou. but they all flew the nest by tuesday. this is where the story ends.

h o m e m a d e

2011-05-23T18:34:00.001-04:00

absolutely delicious homemade pizza.

we followed smitten kitchen's pizza dough recipe (we'd both made it before and think its the best + the easiest). the pizza on the left has sauteed kale, roasted pinenuts, and burrata, with a bit of olive oil and pepper. the pizza on the right has parmesan, mozzarella, tomatoes, spring onions, herb olive oil, and fresh basil.

you completely missed out.

oh good gracious.

2011-05-22T13:10:00.002-04:00

a short story.

shira and i went strawberry picking yesterday. in effland, north carolina.

there were SO. MANY. STRAWBERRIES.

we came back with 2 buckets full.

and stopped at maple view for (strawberry!) ice cream on the scenic drive home.

the end.

yeehaw.

2011-05-22T13:01:00.001-04:00

i am back, kids. back to the baked sundays. this week, cowboy cookies. with pretzels and chocolate chips. but i bet you could put practically anything in them--potato chips, nuts, candies.

you have to think about these ahead of time, as the dough is to be refrigerated for 4 hours(!) before baking.

also, the recipe calls for espresso powder but i didn't have any, so i just left it out. i am sure they would be EVEN BETTER with it, but they are pretty awesome as is.

and! last night, casey was a super helper in the kitchen, making mint juleps as i got everything ready and decided it was "the night" to learn to use the stand mixer. all very exciting. we're off to a cook-out in a bit so i am taking this trove of cookies with me.

what it's like.

2011-05-19T10:26:00.002-04:00

working at home = articles by dean cliver (a food safety pioneer of sorts) + iced coffee + full-fat yogurt + sesame ryvita and blackberry jam

lunch = quinoa + tomatoes + cucumber + broccoli + corn + lemon vinegar from tina + olive oil.

also, have you noticed that everyone is into quinoa these days? it's in every conservation it seems.

the recipe.

2011-05-17T09:48:00.006-04:00

here's the recipe i made for the bake sale on saturday. it's absolutely adapted from ina garten's and is one of the best scone recipes i have ever made. please enjoy.
****
Maple-Oatmeal Scones

The Dough

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour, plus a bunch extra for the rolling pin

1 cup oats, plus additional for sprinkling

2 tbsp baking powder

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

1 lb unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

4 large eggs

The Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, combine the flours, oats, baking powder, sugar, and salt. (Do this on a slow speed or your counter will end up covered in flour.) Blend in the chopped butter (Sometimes I stop the mixer and reach in and break up the butter bits into smaller pieces with my hands.) Whisk the milk, maple syrup, and eggs and then add to the flour/butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough will be stupid sticky.

Dump the dough out onto a really well-floured surface. Flour your rolling pin (I used whole wheat, but you can use all-purpose as well) and roll the dough to about 1 inch thick. (You might have to keep adding more flour to the surface and that’s ok.) Like most scone dough, lumps of butter will still be visible. Cut into rounds using a cookie cutter or the rim of a glass and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 20 minutes, until the tops are just starting to brown. Use a fork to make sure the insides are done, too.

While they are baking, combine the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla for the glaze.

When the scones are done, cool for about 10 minutes on the counter and brush each scone enough glaze to cover the scone’s top and sprinkle few oats on top. Remember, if the scones are too hot, the glaze will thin.

***
(also, i am working on a blog revamp and am trying/working out some things. please stay tuned for the new and improved version.)

in which

2011-05-15T11:10:00.003-04:00

i eat breakfast and watch nova: secrets beneath the ice. there's nothing like a little climate change and end-of-world discussion to start my day in fear.

mustard greens (my least favorite greens, but they came in the CSA and therefore i have to eat them) with garlic and pepper, a salad of spicy radishes, tomatoes, and israeli cucumber with olive oil and sea salt, scrambled egg whites* and spring onions with gouda on sourdough.

*why egg whites? i made gelato yesterday and used up the yolks. so now i have to find ways to eat the whites. today, i hid them in a sandwich. there are more. ugh.

**also, i took this photo on my new iphone. i am trying to figure out if that's going to be a more efficient way to do this blogging. i am a slow phone typist so it's doubtful it will ever all be done from the miraculous iphone.

just the beginning.

2011-05-15T10:27:00.000-04:00

it's corn season! casey and i had our first ears of it last night. seriously, i love this time of year.

yes. yes. yes.

2011-05-13T15:37:00.000-04:00

maple-oat scones for the bake sale tomorrow. ready.

but, ma.

2011-05-11T18:00:00.000-04:00

i just wanna eat tacos all the time. they are delicious.

thankfully, i've got bon appetit and the CSA keeping me out of a food rut. today, we picked up 2 kinds of lettuce, rapini (which is some kind of broccoli rabe), spring onions, beets, kohlrabi, and peas. a short bike ride to the farmers' market yielded radishes, cucumbers, and tomatoes. the refrigerator is packed with goodness.

and tonight, a variation on this recipe.

yeah, the grape leaves.

2011-05-11T09:43:00.000-04:00

it looks like there are a lot of them. there are A LOT of them. maybe 40 or so. 2 layers of grape leaves!

but, i had to make them. as soon as i saw the recipe in the april bon appetit magazine, i just had to do it. and they took a decent amount of time. while they are certainly not difficult to make, there are a lot of steps and the rolling takes a bit to get down. luckily, i had alex to sit here and laugh at me as i attempted to roll them taco-sized, to no avail.

in the end, absolutely delicious. better than the ones you buy at the store, in the cooperative, wherever. WAY better.

that's me.

2011-05-09T12:46:00.001-04:00

a food blogger baker. i am making scones for this event.

pretty awesome, huh? i bake things and childhood hunger is eradicated. done and done.

when we sing, we begin with do-re-mi.

2011-05-09T10:52:00.000-04:00

perfection: an egg and cheese biscuit from sunrise biscuit kitchen, with hashbrown.

the sunrise biscuit kitchen is a local institution. it's a drive-thru biscuit shop in chapel hill, with lengthy lines of cars every weekend morning. it's greasy and lovely and cheap and is, quite possibly, the best cure for a hangover. most people, after they buy their biscuits (with chicken or bacon or whatever you might want), scoot their cars and trucks into the small parking lot next door and eat the goodies in the car! for the most part, there's no waiting 'til you get home.