Food'n'Such

My friend Becca works at Reddstone and invited myself and some fellow Cleveland bloggers out to taste their new menu this past week. The rain cleared up just in time for us to enjoy it on their very awesome patio in the Battery Park neighborhood. It was my first time to the restaurant and I will definitely be back to spend the evening there. Executive Chef Josh Kabat prepared us five courses of summer fare:

First course - Rare Salmon Lettuce Rolls

Salmon carpaccio, radish sprout, sweet soy, with a side of chili-miso dipping sauce. This was definitely a favorite. The plating doesn't do the flavor justice. The wrap itself was dressed with a very tasty vinaigrette and the dipping sauce was a bonus. A light and lovely way to start a meal.

Second Course - BBQ'd Duck Confit Sliders

BBQ'd duck confit sliders with daikon slaw, and poblano creme fraiche. If these sliders didn't have duck confit in the name I would have assumed I was eating pulled pork. Which is delicous, but not it you are looking for duck confit . I love slaw with BBQ and the creme fraiche was a nice touch. A very delicious slider and something I would gladly eat again.

Third Course - "Slice of America" All American Burger

I was very surprised that this was my favorite taste of the evening. I mean its a burger, nothing new, but this was just so good. Becca said that Josh's inspiration for this burger was a Big Mac, but the secret sauce was the only thing slightly resembling the flat paper-wrapped fast food staple. This was a juicy patty of grilled sirloin, American cheese melted over top, crunchy pickle slices, and Josh's own special sauce. It was the perfect burger, and there is nothing better to eat on a patio in the summer.

Fourth Course - Shrimp & Soba Noodles

Shrimp and soba noodles with mixed veggies, creamy peanut sauce, and pickled napa cabbage. To be fair, this isn't a new dish; it is actually one of their most popular dishes. But I understand why and don't blame Josh for wanting to showcase it. It is really really satisfying. I could have eaten a huge bowl of this.

Fifth Course - Braised 5 Spiced Short Ribs

Braised 5 Spiced Short Ribs on a kim chee potato latke, topped with crispy leeks and a side of plum sauce. This is the dish I would be most likely to order from the menu based on the description, but I would have been disappointed. This is a new dish for Josh and it isn't quite right yet. The kim chee was too subtle and the dish was on the salty side. We gave Josh our feedback on the dish and he said he still playing around with it. It will be really good once he balances the flavors.

Overall I was very impressed with Reddstone. It is priced as upscale bar food but is much better than most. The patio is worth the trip alone. It was a wonderful and delicious evening spent with new friends!

Adventures in Nashville

2010-05-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

Anne is my adventure friend. It started in college when we studied abroad together in Luxembourg. It continued after college when we started running races together and completed the Marine Corps Marathon in DC together. In August we went back to Europe to visit our friend Emily in London. And each May I look forward to visiting with her and her family in Nashville for the Iroquois Steeplechase horse race.

After our first Sprint Triathlon at Miami University in April

This year's Steeplechase was a little different because we invited the boys to join us. We were also there the weekend after Nashville was severely flooded. The flooding didn't get a lot of National news coverage with the Times Square bomb scare, the Greek bail-out, and the oil spill in the Gulf monopolizing things. But water covered the downtown 12 feet above flood level and left thousands without power and destroyed homes. The Opryland Hotel will be closed until the end of the year. Basically it was really bad. But Nashville is filled with kind people and they had an outpouring of volunteer support. They picked themselves up and got to work helping their neighbors clean things up.

Race day was gorgeous and sunny. This year we paid a bit more attention to the horse races than we have in years past. Each of us placed our bets and the whoever picked the winning horse got to make a rule for the rest of the day. The rules didn't really stick, but whatevs. Here is a video of the day. Music credit is Anne's jam of the day "Young Forever (feat Mr. Hudson)" by Jay-Z.

While we were in Nashville this year, Anne took us to an adorable handmade ice cream shop called The Pied Piper Creamery. They have amazing flavors and I loved their Mint Grapefruit Sorbet. With all the mint growing in my yard, I had to try making it for myself. Not only was it incredibly simple to make, it turned out amazing. I have to thank Anne for that as well because she gave me an ice cream maker for my birthday this year!

Grapefruit Mint Sorbet

1 1/3 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
2 1/2 cups fresh squeezed grapefruit juice (the juice of 3 grapefruits)

In a small saucepan, heat half the water and the sugar over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, swirling occasionally. Once the mixture comes to a boil, move it off the heat and cover for 2 minutes. Add the mint and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Combine with remaining water and grapefruit juice and chill completely. Strain before preparing according to ice cream maker’s instructions.

This is a fabulous summer sorbet. It is fresh and light and cleanses the palette. I'm sure other fresh fruit juices subbed for grapefruit would turn out lovely as well.

2010-05-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed I took about a 2 month blogation. I started lots of posts within those months, but just never did get around to posting them. One such posts I started a few weeks back when ramps made their first appearance at the farmers market. I'll spare you the portions which are no longer topical (which would pretty much be this whole post since ramp season is over), but I have to share these pics and I highly recommend you pick up some ramps next spring.

Ramps are a wild leek that look like a green onion with two big green leaves. They can be found in the woods in the spring if you know where to look. Unfortunately I don't - I found mine at the Farmers Market. Maybe next year I will learn to forage.

I picked up a few bunches and would have probably used them the same way I use a green onion if one of the vendors hadn't had a sample of ramp pesto to try. It was amazing; spicy, green and super garlicy. But to my surprise, it contained no garlic at all. It is the leaves of the ramp that provided all the garlic kick, and I'm so glad he told us that or I probably would have sent the leaves into the compost for the worms and centipedes to enjoy. The ramp pesto is simple and I whipped up a big batch in the food processor.

The recipe is simple: ramp leaves, walnuts (could also use pine nuts but they leave a funky taste in my mouth), pecorino romano cheese (optional), olive oil, and kosher salt. We enjoyed it on pizza with fresh mozz, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms and green olives, on Ohio City fresh pasta, and I froze some for later.

Ramps

Ramp Pesto

Ramp pesto pizza

I tried two things with the bulbs. First I pickled some:

Pickled Ramp Bulbs - sweet and tangy

Second, I used the ramp bulbs instead of onions and garlics in a beef chili recipe that turned out delish.

Springtime at Wildwood

2010-05-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

Springtime at Wildwood has been full of change and projects. My nesting instincts hibernated all winter and I had no desire to do more than spend the dark evenings on the couch wrapped in two blankets and an Olive and hope our gas bills wouldn't put us in foreclosure. But with the warmer weather and budding leaves has come an outpouring of ideas and a list of projects a mile long. The yard that made us cringe every time the snow melted this winter has erupted in green. In the mornings I survey the yard and find measured changes in the evening when I check back. The front yard is a menagerie of lady's mantle, day lilies, azaleas and hostas, all of which I couldn't have named a year ago. The back yard's ivy hasn't sprouted new leaves, but the vines are still tangled all over and need to be ripped out as soon as we can clear all the kitchen rubble that was temporarily piled here. The kitchen has made a lot of progress in our eyes, but is still a long way from finished. The walls and ceiling are long gone. The electrical is about finished and Chris built a new soffit above the peninsula. We should be insulating and dry walling very soon and after that it is all down hill (or so I tell myself).

crazy green yard

tangled ivy vines in the backyard

I'm not much help in the kitchen reno, so I have taken on some other projects. I won't touch a room unless I am 100% committed to it, so many of the rooms in our house are being lived in and used without a single attempt at sprucing them up. I've started with the two main rooms in the downstairs - the living room and the tv room. We spend the most time in the tv room and I can finally say that I consider this room completely done. Its been painted, rearranged many times, pictures on the walls and blinds and curtains are hung. It is the first room I can say I am happy with. I've moved my focus now to the living room which is well on its way. Its been painted and blinds and curtains are hung. Yesterday we purchased a new sofa table and lamp from World Market. I'm working on the accents and we need to get the new range which has been sitting in the corner of the room since November out of there, but it is really getting close to done. My next projects are the master bedroom and the guest room. I have ordered wallpaper samples and have been doing lots of searching for furniture. I'm enjoying the process, but would like to have a guest room in time for summer visitors.

tv room - first room done

Living room - on its way.

This surge of inspiration has been 2 parts spring weather and 1 part design blogs. If you are looking for inspiration, this is a great place to start:
Apartment Therapy

Not entirely my personal style, but LOTS of good ideas for rehabing and do it yourself without going broke:
The Lettered Cottage

Lots of do it yourself tutorials and ideas. This blog inspired me to buy a grotsky chair on craigslist and attempt a total rehaul. It is in process, we shall see...
Centsational Girl

Great wallpaper selection:
Walnut Wallpaper

I sent this to Chris to prepare him for this future in wainscoting:
Just Beachy

An my favorite Mid-Century Modernizers. I'm only slightly bitter that they started after us and finished their kitchen already. But mostly I'm proud:
Mid-Century Modernize

St. Patrick's Day Green Post

2010-03-17T18:36:00.000-07:00

Last week was Birthday Week here at Wildwood. Chris turned 28 and I hit 27 and we celebrated with lots of good food, including an amazing dinner at Flying Fig, and food related presents. My mom got me a food scale that I am really excited to bake with and I got Chris the Soda Stream. He drinks multiple cans of flavored carbonated water each day, but now he can make his own! It doesn’t even need electricity, just a CO2 cartridge and a splash of flavoring into one of the reusable bottles filled with water. It is more economical and very green. It is also great if we are entertaining cuz we don’t typically have pop in the house, but now we can make our own sprite or coke or ginger ale or tonic or whatever in like 5 seconds. I highly recommend it!

Chris also got a jar of maple syrup from his boss who taps on his family’s property in Chardon. We went to his sugar house to pick it up and it was so fresh that it was actually sap in the tree earlier that morning. Nothing smells better than a sugar house and if you don’t know someone with one, I recommend you visit Chardon Square. The Sugar House is open at noon every Sunday in March and the Maple Festival is April 22 – 25. And while you are in Chardon you can pick up any maple product you can think of at Richards Maple.

So speaking of green products and food (go figure) I have to share some things with you and apologize if I get long winded, but I am kind of obsessed. (Warning: I do get long winded, but you should read it anyways)

I am no stranger to the concepts of the local or Slow Food movement, but I have really been immersing myself in it the last few weeks. It was all brought on by this lovely spring weather and the book I’ve been reading: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. She is the author of the Poisonwood Bible and this book is about her family’s pledge to eat locally for a year. They live on a farm in Virginia and raise their own poultry, have a huge garden, and barter with other local farmers to supply their entire food supply for one year. It has really sparked my craving to become a farmer and now I can’t stop thinking or talking about gardens, backyard chickens and bees, mushroom hunting, raw milk, cheese making, preserving, and urban farming in general.

I kid you not, yesterday I had two separate 45 minute discussions with relative strangers about milk.

The first: I was at Whole Foods comparing the Hartlzer Dairy milk and the Snowville Creamery whole milk (both local dairies). A man came up next to me to buy two cartons of Snowville and sparked up a conversation by showing me the pictures of his trip to the dairy last spring on his iphone. And then we both started gushing about our love for real milk and how good it is for you and how wonderful Snowville’s is because it is pasteurized at the lowest temperature allowed and it isn’t homogenized and it is fresh from grass-fed cows and on and on. He said the first time he tasted it he actually had an auditory hallucination back to his childhood and heard the clinking bottles of the milkman’s delivery. And he had others tell him they heard the same thing. That is a serious taste difference. The conversation took a few turns: to butter (I bought the Irish pasture butter he recommended), kosher meat, maple syrup, and a study about the effects of light on brain chemistry (turns out he was a psychiatrist) and it ended with him giving me his e-mail address and a pamphlet on sleeping like a baby. All because of a carton of really good milk.

The second: I live in a very diverse and interesting neighborhood. We have a list serve that keeps the block informed of various things, and last week we got an e-mail from a neighbor offering kefir grains to anyone who was interested. Well I have been wanting to try out cheese and yogurt making, so I couldn’t pass on free kefir. I was a little late arriving at her house after my long milk conversation at Whole Foods, and little did I know I was walking into the house of another kindred soul and a second 45 minute milk discussion. She gave me the kefir and showed me how to use it. Basically, you place the grains (it looks kinda like cauliflower) in a clean jar and pour in about 8oz. of milk. You let this sit uncovered on the counter until it has fermented to your desired level. She lets it ferment overnight, then strains it and combines it in her morning smoothie. The grains go back in a clean jar and begin fermenting the next batch of milk. Well now I have a batch going on my counter, so if you want some kefir grains, let me know. I am eagerly awaiting another book from the library, Wild fermentation: the flavor, nutrition, and craft of live-culture foods by Sandor Ellix Katz and hoping cheese and yogurt making are in my future. And maybe some canning, pickles, and sauerkraut, we shall see.

On Saturday I convinced Chris to go mushroom hunting with me. We asked the mushroom man at the farmer’s market to recommend some field guides and then we went straight to the library to pick up The Audubon Society field guide to North American mushrooms by Gary Loncoff and A field guide to mushrooms, North America by Kent McKnight. We are still a bit early in the season here in northeast Ohio, but we found two types of (unfortunately) non-edible mushrooms. We are planning some additional trips this spring, I hope we find some morels!

I just got notification from the library that two other books I have been eagerly awaiting are in, Farm city: the education of an urban farmer by Novella Carpenter and The backyard beekeeper: an absolute beginner's guide to keeping bees in your yard and garden by Kim Flutton. The second is recommended by the Greater Cleveland Beekeepers Association. Ever since I closed on the house I have been plotting my backyard chickens and now I have added a desire for beehives. I live within the City of Cleveland and based on my research thus far I am allowed 6 chickens (no roosters) and two beehives as long as they aren’t within 500 feet of my neighbor’s house. This topic has been getting a lot of discussion lately and according to the NY Times Sunday Magazine this is quite the trend with stay at home moms. So I’m not on to anything new. If anything, I just want to get back to eating the way humans have been eating for thousands of years.

When I was reading this wonderful blog and she mentioned the book Real food: what to eat and why by Nina Planck I couldn’t resist yet another perspective. I highly recommend it if you are at all interested in getting back to your roots when it comes to food. She provides excellent research on the benefits, but still makes the book very readable. She has really been inspiring me to eat as seasonally, locally, and real as possible.

If you are actually still reading, maybe you too are interested in this topic and have read one of Michael Pollan’s books (Omnivore’s Dilemna, In Defense of Food, etc). I haven’t actually read either, but they are both on hold for me at the library. And after watching Food, Inc., in which Michael has a big part, I know he will be preaching to the converted for me. If you haven’t seen Food, Inc. I highly recommend you watch it and get as many other people as you can to watch it. Here is a link to 10 ways you can get involved with their movement.

I’ve never listed so many books in one post, so I am going to save the gardening ones for another post.

Some Cleveland notes:

The Cleveland International Film Festival is screening a film called Ingredients about the Local Food movement on March 19-21. Great Lakes Brewing is also offering a free private screening on March 23 that I will be attending, all you have to do is call and make a reservation and added bonus you get a free voucher to see another film at the festival.

This Sunday I will be attending the Greenhouse Tavern’s Chef School Series class called Butcher. We will be butchering a 300 LB farm raised pig from Aaron Miller’s Livestock. The Class will include chef’s tasting of dishes made utilizing the whole animal. You should totally join me cuz I’m a little nervous…

Saturday night is my birthday party at Happy Dog in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. Good (and cheap) food and beer, come celebrate! It isn’t a snuggie pub crawl, but it will still be a good time.

Baby Mania

2010-03-03T19:05:00.000-08:00

I have entered this stage in life called “All your friends are having babies”. It came a little sooner than I had anticipated, since the “All your friends are getting married” stage is still in full swing. And I am a little like, “Hey can you guys wait until the rest of us get married? Like, let us catch up before you move forward. Are we all sure we are ready for this???” But alas, the babies are coming one after the other. There is no stopping these babies.

This new stage means learning baby etiquette. Similar to wedding etiquette, there is this whole set of rules about what is polite and what is expected when it comes to expectant parents. I will let you in on what I have learned so far:

Baby Etiquette

It starts with The Announcement – you can’t tell anyone you are preggers until you are through your first trimester. And when a friend tells you that they are indeed prego, keep it to yourself, cuz you don’t want to be ruining the surprise for anyone else. But its hard, cuz you are really excited too!!! And secrets are hard to keep… but don’t do it - keep a straight face and wait your turn.

Next, it’s the Showers. This one is similar to weddings; RSVP in a timely manner, offer to bring something, stick to the registry and no one gets hurt. Also if there are games involved, be a good sport, you may even get a prize. It may be baby themed prize, but hey, free stuff, no complaining – just eat your cake and muster as much enthusiasm as you can over baby gifts.

The Waiting Game. You are getting close to the big day. Be sure to check in on your friend and offer to help with whatever they need. They are likely uncomfortable and stuck in the house with no alcohol privileges, so don’t be bragging about your social life. Also, don’t take pictures of expectant Moms without permission. And tread lightly – these women could burst at any second.

The Delivery. You don’t have to do much here. Unless you are a very close friend you aren’t expected to go to the hospital. Just wait for texts and updates and spread the news. Offer your congratulations and be thankful everyone is healthy and has survived the messy miracle of birth.

Meeting the Baby. Offer to bring your friend dinner (more on this below) or wait to be invited to meet the baby. Once invited, make sure you are not sick (if you are sick, politely decline) and be sure you are as clean as possible. Prepare yourself to ooh and ahhh and remark on how cute the baby is and how much you like the name. Again, keep your real opinions to yourself and no one gets hurt. Ask general questions about the delivery, but don’t dig too deep here, you probably don’t want to know the answers.

Success – baby etiquette has ended. Enjoy having a baby in your life that won’t keep you up at night. Now you can return to treating these friends like normal - if you ever see them again.

But lets return to the post-baby dinner delivery. My friend Hannah and I were discussing this over the weekend because we both have dinners to deliver this week. Hannah text her sister (mother of 3) to ask what is the best food to eat when you are breast feeding? The answer: Fish. So we asked, what is second best? The answer: Broccoli. Ok, broccoli I am a little more comfortable delivering to someone’s house. But I asked my friend Jessica (mother of 2) and she said broccoli could give the baby gas (which equals crying and no sleeping for Mama) so, not too much broccoli. Jessica suggested anything bland, reiterated that fish is good, and no garlic. And also deliver the dish in something disposable. This is getting complicated…

Here is what I have decided upon – Chicken Divan. A simple, fairly bland recipe that involves some broccoli, some protein (chicken or turkey and I suppose you could use fish if you are sure the mother would enjoy it), and no garlic. It calls for a 12x8” pan, but I split it between two 8x8” disposable pans so they can eat one and freeze the other. I am going to deliver both without baking, but with directions attached to each to bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes so they can enjoy it fresh and warm ( I have been assured this is appropriate). Phew! – this baby stuff is crazy!

Chicken Divan

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

3 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon

2 cups milk

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 boxes (9 oz. each) frozen broccoli

3 cups cubed chicken or turkey (I poached 2 breasts and 2 thighs)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Toppping:

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

1/3 cup bread crumbs

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In 2-quart saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and bouillon granules. Gradually stir in milk, cooking and stirring constantly with wire whisk, until mixture boils and thickens. Stir in mayonnaise and mustard until well blended.

2. In an ungreased 12x8-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish, arrange broccoli spears. Top with chicken. Spoon sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with cheese.

3. In small bowl, mix topping ingredients; sprinkle over top. Bake about 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

You Most Watch This

2010-03-03T18:58:00.001-08:00

If you haven't seen Jamie Oliver's TED presentation, you must watch this video. And if you can't watch it, read the transcript below. And then lets talk about starting a Food Revolution here in Cleveland. I have some ideas. And we need to get started.

Sadly, in the next 18 minutes when I do our chat, four Americans that are alive will be dead from the food that they eat.

My name's Jamie Oliver. I'm 34 years old. I'm from Essex in England and for the last seven years I've worked fairly tirelessly to save lives in my own way.I'm not a doctor. I'm a chef; I don't have expensive equipment or medicine. I use information, education.

I profoundly believe that the power of food has a primal place in our homes that binds us to the best bits of life. We have an awful, awful reality right now. America, you're at the top of your game. This is one of the most unhealthy countries in the world.

Can I please just see a raise of hands for how many of you have children in this room today? Please put your hands up. Aunties, uncles, you can continue ... Put your hands up. Aunties and uncles as well. Most of you. OK. We, the adults of the last four generations, have blessed our children with the destiny of a shorter lifespan than their own parents. Your child will live a life ten years younger than you because of the landscape of food that we've built around them. Two thirds of this room, today, in America, are statistically overweight or obese. You lot, you're all right, but we'll get you eventually, don't worry.

(Laughter)

Right? The statistics of bad health are clear, very clear. We spend our lives being paranoid about death, murder, homicide, you name it. It's on the front page of every paper, CNN. Look at homicide at the bottom, for God's sake. Right?

(Laughter)

(Applause)

Every single one of those in the red is a diet-related disease. Any doctor, any specialist will tell you that. Fact. Diet-related disease is the biggest killer in the United States, right now, here today. This is a global problem. It's a catastrophe. It's sweeping the world. England is right behind you, as usual.

(Laughter)

I know they were close, but not that close. We need a revolution. Mexico, Australia, Germany, India, China, all have massive problems of obesity and bad health. Think about smoking. It costs way less than obesity now. Obesity costs you Americans 10 percent of your health care bills. 150 billion dollars a year. In 10 years, it's set to double. 300 billion dollars a year. And let's be honest, guys, you ain't got that cash.

(Laughter)

I came here to start a food revolution that I so profoundly believe in. We need it. The time is now. We're in a tipping-point moment. I've been doing this for seven years. I've been trying in America for seven years. Now is the time when it's ripe -- ripe for the picking. I went to the eye of the storm. I went to West Virginia, the most unhealthy state in America. Or it was last year. We've got a new one this year, but we'll work on that next season.

(Laughter)

Huntington, West Virginia. Beautiful town. I wanted to put heart and soul and people, your public, around the statistics that we've become so used to. I want to introduce you to some of the people that I care about. Your public. Your children. I want to show a picture of my friend Brittany. She's 16 years old. She's got six years to live because of the food that she's eaten. She's the third generation of Americans that hasn't grown up within a food environment where they've been taught to cook at home or in school, or her mom, or her mom's mom. She has six years to live. She's eating her liver to death.

Stacy, the Edwards family. This is a normal family, guys. Stacy does her best, but she's third-generation as well; she was never taught to cook at home or in school. The family's obese. Justin, here, 12 years old. He's 350 pounds. He gets bullied, for God's sake. The daughter there, Katie, she's four years old.She's obese before she even gets to primary school. Marissa. She's all right. She's one of your lot. But you know what? Her father, who was obese, died in her arms. And then the second-most-important man in her life, her uncle, died of obesity. And now her step-dad is obese. You see, the thing is obesity and diet-related disease doesn't just hurt the people that have it; it's all of their friends, families, brothers, sisters.

Pastor Steve. An inspirational man. One of my early allies in Huntington, West Virginia. He's at the sharp knife-edge of this problem. He has to bury the people, OK? And he's fed up with it. He's fed up with burying his friends, and his family, his community. Come winter, three times as many people die.He's sick of it. This is preventable disease. Waste of life. By the way, this is what they get buried in. We're not geared up to do this. Can't even get them out the door, and I'm being serious. Can't even get them there. Forklift.

OK, I see it as a triangle, OK? This is our landscape of food. I need you to understand it. You've probably heard all this before, but let's just go back over it. Over the last 30 years, what's happened that's ripped the heart out of this country? Let's be frank and honest. Well. Modern-day life.

Let's start with the Main Street. Fast food has taken over the whole country. We know that. The big brands are some of the most important powers,powerful powers in this country. Supermarkets as well. Big companies. Big companies. 30 years ago, most of the food was largely local and largely fresh.Now it's largely processed and full of all sorts of additives, extra ingredients, and you know the rest of the story. Portion size is obviously a massive, massive problem. Labeling is a massive problem. The labeling in this country is a disgrace. They want to be self ... They want to self-police themselves.The industry wants to self-police themselves. What, in this kind of climate? They don't deserve it. How can you say something is low-fat when it's full of so much sugar?

Home. The biggest problem with the home is that used to be the heart of passing on food and food culture, what made our society. That isn't happening anymore. And you know, as we go to work and as life changes, and as life always evolves, we kind of have to look at it holistically -- step back for a moment, and re-address the balance. It ain't happening. Hasn't happened for 30 years. I want to show you a situation that is very normal right now. The Edwards family.

(Video) Jamie Oliver: Let's have a talk. This stuff goes through you and your family's body every week. And I need you to know that this is going to kill your children early. How are you feeling?

Stacy: Just feeling really sad and depressed right now. But, you know, I want my kids to succeed in life and this isn't going to get them there. But I'm killing them.

JO: Yes you are. You are. But we can stop that. Normal. Let's get onto schools, something that I'm fairly much a specialist in. OK. School. What is school? Who invented it? What's the purpose of school? School was always invented to arm us with the tools to make us creative, do wonderful things, make us earn a living, etc., etc., etc. You know, it's been kind of in this sort of tight box for a long, long time. OK? But we haven't really evolved it to deal with the health catastrophes of America, OK? School food is something that most kids -- 31 million a day, actually -- have twice a day, more than often, breakfast and lunch, 180 days of the year. So you could say that school food is quite important, really, judging the circumstances.

(Laughter)

Before I crack into my rant, which I'm sure you're waiting for ...

(Laughter)

I need to say one thing, and it's so important in hopefully the magic that happens and unfolds in the next three months. The lunch ladies, the lunch cooks of America ... I offer myself as their ambassador. I'm not slacking them off. They're doing the best they can do. They're doing their best. But they're doing what they're told, and what they're being told to do is wrong. The system is highly run by accountants. There's not enough, or any, food-knowledgeable people in the business. There's a problem. If you're not a food expert, and you've got tight budgets, and it's getting tighter, then you can't be creative, you can't duck and dive and write different things around things. If you're an accountant, and a box-ticker, the only thing you can do in these circumstances is buy cheaper shit.

Now, the reality is, the food that your kids get every day is fast food, it's highly processed, there's not enough fresh food in there at all. You know, the amount of additives, E numbers, ingredients you wouldn't believe ... There's not enough veggies at all. French fries are considered a vegetable. Pizza for breakfast. They don't even get given crockery. Knives and forks? No, they're too dangerous. They have scissors in the class room but knives and forks, no.And the way I look at it is, if you don't have knives and forks in your school, you're purely endorsing, from a state level, fast food. Because it's handheld.And yes, by the way, it is fast food. It's sloppy joes, it's burgers, it's wieners, it's pizzas, it's all of that stuff. 10 percent of what we spend on healthcare, as I said earlier, is on obesity. And it's going to double. We're not teaching our kids. There is no statutory right to teach kids about food, elementary or secondary school. OK? We don't teach kids about food. Right? And this is a little clip from an elementary school, which is very common in England.

Video: Who knows what this is?

Child: Potatoes. Jamie Oliver: Potato? So, you think these are potatoes? Do you know what that is? Do you know what that is? Child: Broccoli?

JO: What about this? Our good old friend. Do you know what this is honey? Child: Celery.

JO: No. What do you think this is? Child: Onion. JO: Onion? No.

Jamie Oliver: Immediately you get a really clear sense of do the kids know anything about where food comes from.

Video: JO: Who knows what that is? Child: Uh, pear. JO: What do you think this is? Child: I don't know. JO: If the kids don't know what stuff is, then they'd never eat it.

(Laughter)

JO: Normal. England and America, England and America. Guess what fixed that. Guess what fixed that. Two one-hour sessions. We've got to start teaching our kids about food in schools, period.

(Applause)

I want to tell you about something, I want to tell you about something that kind of epitomizes the trouble that we're in guys. OK? I want to talk about something so basic as milk. Every kid has the right to milk at school. Your kids will be having milk at school, breakfast and lunch. Right? They'll be having two bottles. Okay? And most kids do. But milk ain't good enough anymore. Because someone at the milk board, right -- and don't get me wrong, I support milk, but someone on the milk board, probably paid a lot of money for some geezer to work out that if you put loads of flavorings and colorings and sugar in milk, right, more kids will drink it. Yeah.

(Claps)

And obviously now that's going to catch on. The apple board is going to work out that if they make toffee apples they'll eat more apples as well. Do you know what I mean? For me, there ain't no need to flavor the milk. Okay? There is sugar in everything. I know the ins and outs of those ingredients. It's in everything. Even the milk hasn't escaped the kind of modern day problems. There's our milk. There's our carton. In that is nearly as much sugar as one of your favorite cans of fizzy pop. And they are having two a day. So, let me just show you. We've got one kid, here, having, you know, eight tablespoons of sugar a day. You know, there's your week. There's your month. And I've taken the liberty of putting in just the five years of elementary school sugar, just from milk. Now, I don't know about you guys, but judging the circumstances, right, any judge in the whole world, would look at the statistics and the evidence, and they would find any government of old guilty of child abuse. That's my belief.

(Applause)

Now, if I came up here, and I wish I could come up here today, and hang a cure for AIDS or cancer, you'd be fighting and scrambling to get to me. This, all this bad news, is preventable. That's the good news. It's very very preventable. So, let's just think about, we got a problem here, we need to reboot. Okay so, in my world what do we need to do? Here is the thing, right. It can not just come from one source. To reboot and make real tangible change, real change, so that I could look you in the white of the eyes and say, "In 10 years time, the history of your children's lives, happiness -- and let's not forget, you're clever if you eat well, you know you're going to live longer, all of that stuff, it will look different. OK?"

So, supermarkets. Where else do you shop so religiously? Week in, week out. How much money do you spend, in your life, in a supermarket? Love them. They just sell us what we want. All right. They owe us, to put a food ambassador in every major supermarket. They need to help us shop. They need to show us how to cook, quick, tasty, seasonal meals for people that are busy. This is not expensive. It is done in some. And it needs to be done across the board in America soon, and quick. The big brands, you know, the food brands, need to put food education at the heart of their businesses. I know, easier said than done. It's the future. It's the only way.

Fast food. With the fast food industry you know, it's very competitive. I've had loads of secret papers and dealings with fast food restaurants. I know how they do it. I mean basically they've weaned us on to these hits of sugar, salt and fat, and x, y, and z. And everyone loves them. Right? So, these guys are going to be part of the solution. But we need to get the government to work with all of the fast food purveyors and the restaurant industry. And over a five, six, seven year period wean of us off the extreme amounts of fat, sugar, fat and all the other non-food ingredients.

Now, also, back to the sort of big brands, labeling, I said earlier, is an absolute farce, and has got to be sorted. OK, school. Obviously in schools we owe it to them to make sure those 180 days of the year, from that little precious age of four, til 18, 20, 24, whatever, they need to be cooked proper fresh food from local growers on site. OK? There needs to be a new standard of fresh proper food for your children. Yeah?

(Applause)

Under the circumstances, it's profoundly important that every single American child leaves school knowing how to cook 10 recipes that will save their life.Life skills.

(Applause)

That means that they can be students, young parents, and be able to sort of duck and dive around the basics of cooking, no matter what recession hits them next time. If you can cook recession money doesn't matter. If you can cook, time doesn't matter. The workplace. We hadn't really talked about it.You know, it's now time for corporate responsibility to really look at what they feed or make available to their staff. The staff are the moms and dads of America's children. Marissa, her father died in her hand, I think she'd be quite happy if corporate America could start feeding their staff properly.Definitely they shouldn't be left out. Let's go back to the home.

Now, look, if we do all this stuff, and we can, it's so achievable. You can care and be commercial. Absolutely. But the home needs to start passing on cooking again, for sure. For sure, pass it on as a philosophy. And for me it's quite romantic. But it's about if one person teaches three people how to cook something, and now they teach three of their mates, that only has to repeat itself 25 times, and that's the whole population of America. Romantic, yes, but, most importantly, it's about trying to get people to realize that every one of your individual efforts makes a difference. We've got to put back what's been lost. Huntington Kitchen. Huntington, where I made this program, you know, we've got this prime time program that hopefully will inspire people to really get on this change. I truly believe that change will happen. Huntington's Kitchen. I work with a community. I worked in the schools. I found local sustainable funding to get every single school in the area, from the junk, onto the fresh food. Six-and-a-half grand per school.

(Applause)

That's all it takes. Six-and-a-half grand per school. The Kitchen in 25 grand a month. Okay? This can do 5,000 people a year, which is 10 percent of their population. And it's people on people. You know, it's local cooks teaching local people. It's free cooking lessons guys, free cooking lessons in the main street. This is real, tangible change, real, tangible change. Around America, if we just look back now, there is plenty of wonderful things going on. There is plenty of beautiful things going on. There are angels around America doing great things in schools, farm to school set-ups, garden set-ups, education.There are amazing people doing this already. The problem is they all want to roll out what their doing to the next school, and the next. But there is no cash. We need to recognize the experts and the angels quickly, identify them, and allow them to easily find the resource to keep rolling out what they're already doing, and doing well. Businesses of America need to support Mrs. Obama to do the things that she wants to do.

(Applause)

And look, I know it's weird having an English person standing here before you talking about all this. All I can say is I care. I'm a father. And I love this country. And I believe truly, actually, that if change can be made in this country, beautiful things will happen around the world. If America does it I believe other people will follow. It's incredibly important.

(Applause)

When I was in Huntington, trying to get a few things to work when they weren't, I though if I had a magic wand what would I do? And I thought, you know what? I'd just love to be put in front of some of the most amazing movers and shakers in America. And a month later TED phoned me up and gave me this award. I'm here. So, my wish. Dyslexic, so I'm a bit slow. My wish is for you to help a strong sustainable movement to educate every child about food, to inspire families to cook again, and to empower people everywhere to fight obesity.

(Applause)

Thank you.

(Applause)

Heavenly Hots

2010-03-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

On Sunday I had brunch at my house with two of my best friends, Hannah and Rachael, to celebrate 21 years of friendship. Considering I am turning 27 this week, pretty much as long as I can remember, these two have been with me. I am so lucky to have them!

Good old friends!

I had pulled this recipe out of the NYT a few weeks back and thought this would be the perfect occasion to try it. The results were true to their name. We tried them with maple syrup, honey, and sprinkled with lemon juice and sugar, but they were amazing just on their own.

1987: Heavenly Hots

Published courtesy of the New York Times: January 14, 2010

This recipe appeared in The Times in an article by Joanna Pruess. The recipe came from Bridge Creek Restaurant in Berkeley, Calif. A few tips: Don’t cook the pancakes all the way through. You want the center to be a pocket of cream. The pancakes are so fragile that it may take a few tries to flip them. I used the thinnest, most flexible spatula I own, wedged it halfway under the pancake, letting the other half hang, then turned my wrist and gently laid it down on the other side. I recommend this over more aggressive flipping, which will tear the pancakes.

Heavenly Hots

4 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

4 tablespoons cake flour

2 cups sour cream

3 tablespoons sugar

Solid vegetable shortening for greasing griddle or skillet.

1. Whisk together all the ingredients except the vegetable shortening in a large bowl; beat until smooth. This can also be done in a blender. Chill the batter overnight. (The batter will keep, refrigerated, for up to one week.)

2. The next day, heat the griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Beat the batter to re-emulsify it. Lightly coat the griddle or skillet with shortening. Drop small spoonfuls — I used ¾ tablespoon — of batter onto the griddle, making sure that when they spread out they measure less than 3 inches in diameter. When a few bubbles appear on top of the pancakes and the bottoms are browned, turn and cook the second side briefly. (You don’t want to cook the pancakes all the way through because you want the center to remain creamy.) Serve with syrup or honey on the side. Makes 50 to 60 small pancakes.

Better Butter

2010-02-25T17:24:00.000-08:00

Growing up I realized early on that the food in my house was very different than the other houses in our small town. This was before Heinen’s had moved to town and before Giant Eagle had an organics section. My mom was in a food co-op that would order all the health foods and exotic ingredients that are easy to find in grocery stores today. The co-op met at a local town hall to unload the truck. I don’t know exactly how the whole process worked, I just know the place had a very distinctive smell and we were left to play in the basement with all the home school kids while the grown-ups divvied up the food. And we came home with crazy foods; brown foods with words like “natural” and “organic” all over them and produce that wasn’t waxed.

I thought we were such freaks. I loved going to friends’ houses and eating Skippy peanut butter on white bread and cheetos for lunch. We were totally deprived of all the processed sugar and foods that were being marketed to us on Nickelodeon. Fruit snacks. Frosted Flakes. Slim Jims. Not in our house.

Looking back I wish I would have appreciated it more. This is totally the way I eat now, but at the time it was torture. My taste buds were very different back then – I didn’t like cheese, eggs, potatoes, tomatoes, yogurt, beans or most veggies. Today these foods constitute like 90% of my diet. But my mom was persistent and our family dinners turned me into the food adventurer I am today.

One thing that was always different was our butter. Ours was in an old jelly jar and we called it “better butter”. I would forget this was different until a friend would come over after school and when we fixed some toast for a snack they would look at me like “I’m supposed to do what with this?” when I handed them the jar of butter. I suppose this isn’t really too weird compared to other stuff we were eating. And I’m not sure how much “better” this butter actually is for you. But I grew up on it, so to me, this is what butter on toast or mixed in basmati rice should taste like.

Ready for me to blow your mind? Here is the super complicated recipe for Better Butter:

Equal parts butter and oil.

Boom. You’re welcome.

So when you are diluting butter with oil I’m not sure exactly how much healthier you are making the situation, but the whole spreadable thing is nice. To elaborate on the recipe a bit, the way my mom makes it is just to leave the butter on the counter until it is nice and soft. Then put in the food processor with equal parts oil (whatever kind, I use canola cuz it is cheaper, but olive oil would be lovely and probably healthier) and combine. Then pour into a container and refrigerate. It will harden to a more butter like consistency, but it is much easier to spread than regular butter straight out of the fridge. And it melts into a more oily spread that I prefer.

I have some exciting news about the basement kitchen that I have been keeping from you – we got a fridge!!!! My parents are remodeling their kitchen and decided they wanted a counter depth refrigerator, so we got their old one for the basement. It is wonderful to have it down there. It has an ice maker! Major bonus for ice cream making. And I was running up and down the stairs constantly, which was good for my glutes, but annoying in the middle of making dinner. My mom’s fridge just felt empty without the jar of better butter in there. So I made a batch with some local butter from the farmers market. It’s not from a food co-op, but its close.

Oh yeah, oh yeah

Cheering Up February

2010-02-24T18:21:00.000-08:00

If the display at Heinen's is any indication, we are in the peak of citrus season. I would have let it pass me by and just picked up my usual 5 navel oranges, but there was so much orange filling the shelves that I had to take a minute to look around. There were signs up with a description of each fruit's flavor and venturing out of my comfort zone I picked up 3 Cara Cara navel oranges (only 1 made it long enough to be in the pic below), 4 blood oranges, 3 honey tangerines, and meyer lemons. Sometimes you just have to indulge in citrus.

Speaking of indulgences, I got two fun presents in the mail yesterday. The first was a giant box from Zappos with these Sorel boots. They were on sale and considering how HAPPY I am in Cleveland, I know they will get plenty of use around here. I had been on this quest for rubber wellie boots and even ordered these Hunters, but they didn't fit my "athletic" calves. These Sorel boots are much more flexible and still water-proof, so no rubber for me. Just in time for another winter storm warning.

My second present was the first issue of my subscription to Gastronomica. My aunt and uncle gave me some money for Christmas and I decided to use it to subscribe to this beautiful magazine. I had kind of forgot about it and then I found this lovely in my mailbox.

A Tale of Cooking: In 3 Parts

2010-02-22T18:32:00.000-08:00

Part 1. My Big Fat Southern Pigskin Super Bowl Party

Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon. ~Doug Larson

Superbowl Sunday. I don’t care much about the game, but an excuse to cook a meal centered completely on pork is a holiday in my book.

A pigskin theme party needs lots of bacon, so to start things off I made chorizo stuffed dates wrapped in bacon. I use this recipe from Cleveland Foodie, but I no longer make the sauce cuz I find that people don't use it and there is plenty of flavor in the appe's three ingredients. These are ALWAYS a hit and added bonus, they are shaped like little footballs with toothpicks stuck through them.

I wanted to keep the main course fairly simple. I used this recipe from the Splendid Table for the Ultimate Cheater Pulled Pork. The “cheating” is using liquid smoke to mimic the flavors of a smoke house. I bought my 5 pound pork butt from the Westside Market. You should try this recipe mostly cuz it is fun to say pork butt. The pork butt is chopped into chunks, placed in the crock pot, sprinkled with a rub and the secret ingredient - liquid smoke (surprisingly easy to find, right next to the BBQ sauce at Heinen's for $1.79), and set on low to cook overnight. Twelve hours later I woke to the sweet smells of smoky pork that had filled the house. So yeah, I’m kind of a big deal, I can cook while I sleep.

In the morning I took the pork chunks out and placed them on a baking sheet to cool. I poured the leftover juices from the crock pot into a cup and placed them in the fridge. Once the pork was cooled enough to handle, I began pulling it apart with my hands. Little know fact - food always tastes better when someone’s hands have been all over it. I threw out any fatty pieces, but mostly it was steaming pink shreds of yummy smokey goodness. Place it back in the crock pot and in the fridge until game time.

By the time we were close to kick-off, the leftover juices in the cup in the fridge had separated enough that I could skim the neon layer of orange fat off the top and throw it out. I took the pork out of the fridge and set the crock pot back to warm along with some of the now skimmed juices. The rest of the juice I mixed with some store bought BBQ sauce and warmed it up to serve with the pork on rolls. This pork is a crowd pleaser – if cheating is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.

I couldn't leave bacon out of the dessert. Last year I saw an episode of Throw Down with Bobby Flay about bacon desserts. Bobby lost (Spoiler alert – Bobby always loses on Throw Down) to this recipe for bread pudding with a bacon creme anglaise (which I also really love saying) from Chef Jerome Chang of New York City's Dessert Truck.

Sidenote: I want to start this dessert truck phenom in Cleveland, we are missing out on convenient sugar!

Bread Pudding (before the Bacon Creme Anglaise)

Ok, so this recipe uses 10 egg yolks, 4 slices of bacon, 3 cups of heavy cream, and 2 cups of half & half, so it really should only be made once a year for the fattiest of feasts. But my goodness it is delicious. I made the creme anglaise on Saturday and the bread pudding on Sunday. The bacon flavor is very subtle and the final product was rich and chocolately and very decadent. And you get to say crème anglaise.

Keeping with the southern theme of the party I also served coleslaw and sweet tea vodka with lemonade. Friends pitched in with guacamole and lots of desserts. It was a wonderful Sunday night feast!! Oh and there was a football game, too, score!

Part II. Adventures in Ice Cream Making

My family came over after work on Friday night for dinner before heading over to JCU to see Seth Myers from SNL perform a comedy show. My whole fam is pretty into SNL and the show was hilarious. The funniest bits were his off the cuff audience interactions, asking couples how they met and the craziest thing they ever bought on e-Bay has never been so funny.

My house isn’t too far from JCU, so I offered to fix a quick dinner before the show. I made Turkey and Hominy Chili with Smoky Chipotle the night before so it could just be quickly re-heated after work. It was spicy and excellent with a dollop of sour cream to cool it, some shredded cheddar and a bit of fresh cilantro. I also made two quick side breads from mixes I had, but couldn’t help adding a little something more to each. The first, a sweet and spicy cornbread made with Jiffy Cornbread mix plus half a minced jalepeno and a few big glugs of local orange blossom honey. And the second, cheddar and chive biscuits made from Tastefully Simple’s Perfect Parmesan Biscuit Mix, subbing cheddar for parmesan and adding some fresh chives. My mom brought chips and guac and a salad to round out our dinner.

The grand finale was Goat Cheese Ice Cream and Blueberry Sauce from David Lebowitz’s The Perfect Scoop. Jenny was kind enough to let me borrow her ice cream maker and this was our third attempt with ice cream making.

Goat Cheese Ice Cream with Warm Blueberry Sauce

My first attempt was a vanilla gelato that turned out tasting like snow ice cream. Are you familiar with snow ice cream or did we make this up? Growing up in Chardon meant a LOT of snow without a lot of snow days. The snow plows were just too used to it, so unless the timing was just right, we always had school. So to make the most of the snow we would mix it with milk, sugar and vanilla in a big bowl and eat it like a giant ice cream sundae. Until one time we made it too late in the season and Becky found a slug on her spoon. No one really ever had a craving for snow ice cream again after that. So the first attempt at gelato making was ok, but didn’t conjure the sweetest of memories.

Chris took a turn with the machine making rosemary and honey ice cream that came out with a soft serve consistency and a fantastic flavor. It was very sweet and the rosemary and honey were a lovely pairing. But Chris also decided to put little flakes of the chopped rosemary in the ice cream which I didn’t like and did my best to eat around.

The third time was a charm. Under David’s tutelage the goat cheese ice cream turned out beautifully and topped with the warm blueberry sauce tasted like a warm creamy cheese cake. I can’t wait to try more of his recipes.

Part III. Learning to cook with Eggs

Each batch of ice cream made with a custard base calls for 6 egg yolks. This leaves you with an abundance of egg whites. My first batch of custard for the goat cheese ice cream turned into a icky scrambled eggs mess due to many rookie mistakes I made: 1. used skim milk, 2. forgot to add the sugar, 3. did not temper the yolks properly, 4. let the mixture boil. Fail, fail, fail, fail.

I took my time the second time, following David’s instructions as closely as possible. I remembered to use whole milk and sugar, I tempered the yolks by ladling some of the steamy milk into the yolks very slowly, whisking the whole time, and I used a candy thermometer just to be sure I wasn’t coming close to a boil. Sometimes cooking reminds me of chemistry class (which I secretly loved). The results were perfect; a smooth custard. While the custard was still warm I strained it over the crumbled goat cheese and stirred until it was nice and smooth. Custard success!

On Sunday afternoon I met up with my S-3 work girlfriends for lunch and to see the movie Valentine’s Day. That movie has the cutest cast and worst script of all time. It was long and weird and hard to follow. But it was great to catch up with my friends. We also celebrated Jenny and Morgan’s birthdays and since I am always looking for an excuse to make cake, I volunteered to supply. My two batches of custard making left me with no eggs and 12 egg whites in the fridge. So I really only had one option – angel food cake – which is one of my favorites. I like Ina’s version, called Black and White cake, with a semi-sweet chocolate glaze drizzled over top. In fact, it is the very cake I made for my own birthday last year.

Black and White Cake

More fun with eggs, this time whipping the whites into a foam with high peaks. Last year I made rookie mistakes with this cake and it took me literally 45 minutes of holding my hand mixer over the bowl before the eggs were the right consistency. Not this time. The trick is to make sure the eggs are very fresh and at room temperature. Check and check – eggs from the farmers market and I let them sit out on the counter for an hour before I attempted the whipping. They were forming peaks within a few minutes. I may have even gone too far because when I went to fold in the flour, the eggs were almost the consistency of marshmallow and the flour wasn’t mixing in well. But it came together and baked up like a dream. A glorious chocolately dream.

And we all sang happy birthday and ate cake and lived happily ever after.

The End.
(for now)

Mystic Weekend

2010-02-01T18:34:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night, Rachael had the girlfriends over to celebrate her birthday. In total Rachael style, the birthday party was also a Pure Romance party and she had a tarot card reader upstairs reading fortunes. I was reluctant to participate at first, but a few glasses of wine and some gf coaxing and I was totally into it. I don't put complete faith in fortunes or horoscopes, but there seems to be a nugget of truth in them. Well, truth or selective hearing. All in good fun though. I am a total newbie to tarot, so forgive me if I get any of this wrong, but here is what I learned:

There are 16 difference personality types and I found out that I am a Queen of Cups. Most of the girls at the party were also Queen of Cups because they tend to gravitate to each other. Here is a personality description from learntarot.com:

Loving. Tenderhearted. Intuitive. Psychic. Spiritual. The personality of the Queen of Cups combines the positive water energy of the Cups suit with the inward focus of a Queen. Because she has a sweet, loving and sensitive nature, the Queen of Cups has a kind word for everyone and never reacts with anger or impatience. There is a gentleness about her that soothes and calms. Compassion is her watchword. Her reactions to the world are guided by her feelings. In all matters, she lets her heart lead the way. She senses emotional currents and knows what others are experiencing without having to ask. She is never moody, but understands moods and their influence. She trusts her intuition and so is more open to knowledge that comes from within herself and beyond. She is often moved by the beauty and tragedy of life. The Queen of Cups feels deeply and has a reverence for all aspects of God's creation. Her love includes and embraces everyone and everything.

I definitely consider myself a feeler as opposed to a thinker, but the part about not being moody is way off. The reader also told me that Queens of Cups are old souls, social butterflies, have deja vu, and are best matched with a King of Wands. She described the King of Wands as hard-working gentlemen, which Chris definitely is.

She asked me to think of some questions for her. I asked about my love life, my future career, and whether she saw me moving anywhere. And in the cards she saw....

I am with the right man, but she does not see marriage in the near future. If I move, it will not make me happy. I got the higher education card, but it won't be for a few years. I am well liked and respected at work and will be successful in what I do. Money will not be an issue and the Wheel of Fortune card came up, so in four months I should consider gambling because I could win some money. The Tower Card was reversed (I think) meaning that my worst fears won't be realized (not sure what those even are). I should pray more because my prayers will be answered. And the kicker card was the Empress. Basically she told me that I need to be very careful if I don't want to have a baby and I may even be pregnant now. It doesn't necessarily mean I will have a lot of children, but it does mean I am very fertile. And to drive that home, the only other girl at the party who got that card already has 3 kids, gulp.

I am Pretty Sure Chris is Not a Serial Killer

2010-01-26T19:04:00.000-08:00

When it comes to tv relationships I fall hard and fast. I have sacrificed a lot to my love for shows like LOST and Arrested Development. The same cannot be said about romantic relationships. It took Chris and I at least six months of "talking" or dating" or whatever before we would use the terms "boyfriend" and "girlfriend". But tv, now that is a different story.

I was really bored on Sunday and I was mildly hungover from too many mojitos at Paladar and there was nothing on television. I had already been dragged out of bed at 8am to spend $24 to see infomercial booths at the world's worst home and garden show in Euclid. Seriously if you are considering going, DON'T. DO. NOT. I cannot stress this enough. There was however this great Peruvian musical ensemble playing that was by far the highlight of the show. So if you decide to ignore my advice, follow the sounds of the bamboo flute and if you can watch that performance with a straight face you are a better person than I.

Anyways, I shouldn't say there was nothing to watch on television because I did watch this great SyFy movie called Ice Spiders. At first I thought it was going to be a discovery channel type thing about spiders in the arctic. And then I checked the info and found out it was actually a movie about a lab in Utah where giant mutated spiders have escaped and are now terrorizing an Olympic ski team training at a nearby ski resort starring that one dude from Melrose Place and someone named Vanessa Willaims that is not who you think it is. Those spiders were big and nasty and were tearing everybody up. There was a snow mobile chase, god-awful dialogue and lots of blood. I watched about an hour of it cuz it was just too campy to change the channel and if you stumble across it, I would say it is worth a bit of your time (UNlike that Home and Garden Show - RIP OFF). Come to think of it, I am curious how the movie ends. I'm sure somehow the Olympic skiers figured out how to take those spiders down, but not before their coach lost his bottom half to a giant spider. Words don't do justice:

Fighting a spider with a ski pole

Starring "Vanessa Williams"

One of the spiders reeling in his prey

That was a long way to say that on Sunday I started watching Dexter Season 1 on netflix on-line and I have watched the first seven episodes in the last two days. That is a lot of time watching tv about serial killers. Like seriously way too much time thinking about murder scenes and blood spatter. And every time Chris lures me into the kitchen to see what he has accomplished, I get a little nervous cuz the room is covered in plastic like one of Dexter's murder scenes. I took Olive in with me to protect me in case Chris made any sudden moves. But, I am pretty sure he is not actually a serial killer. He doesn't display too many Dexter-isms and he doesn't work in a lab where they mutate spiders. So that's good news! Glad I've ruled that out after three years.

If anyone in this house is trying to kill me, it is definitely Olive. She follows me around everywhere like a total stalker. She hides around corners and when I walk by she takes a flying leap attack at my leg. And last night she stared me down, and as stealthily as she could, while maintaining complete eye contact, very slowly crept towards me and then pounced. I was laughing hysterically, but was also a little creeped out. I'm definitely being hunted by someone.

Anything but the Kitchen Sink

2010-01-17T19:35:00.000-08:00

A very famous kitchen at the Smithsonian

Good advice!

If you have a kitchen sink, give it a kiss. Here is mine, but not for long.

Chris and I are moving steadily along in the kitchen, can't cha tell?? We actually have a new one, but we'll get to that a little later on.

Chris began tearing into the soffits the first weekend of the year. This uncovered a few obstacles. To begin with, there are hidden pipes in places we were hoping to expose. And secondly, the demo left a terrible film of dust covering the entire first floor of the house. We are new to this and didn't realize that we should have sealed off the room with plastic zip-up doors and covered the hard wood floor with paper before making such a mess. And somehow I didn't realize just how unusable this kitchen was going to be during the project.

To drive this home further, we received our first winter gas bill - $400. N.C. (Not. Cool.) I get a lot of, "so, you gonna replace the windows?" And while we may down the road, I don't think our 92 year old windows are the culprit. Sure they could be better, but the real trouble stems from our lack of insulation. I am going to get some quotes on having insulation blown into the walls, but while we have the kitchen torn up, we may as well insulate the kitchen's two exterior walls. And guess where the kitchen sink is. Yep, on an exterior wall. So say goodbye to that sink.

You don't get too far in a kitchen without a sink and I cannot fathom life without a kitchen for the next few months. We bought a new gas range on Black Friday, but the current electric range is still in fine working order. So why not have an extra oven in the basement? Where there is a sink. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

.... and thus our new basement kitchen was born.

Now it doesn't have a fridge yet, but it has everything else and the fridge will be right up the stairs. Not too bad, eh?

My diligent carpenter & electrician

Tonight we watched the movie Julie & Julia and it got me thinking about kitchens. Neither of those women had sparkling, state of the art kitchens with miles of countertops to work on. They had good tools and a love of food. A kitchen does not a cook make, so I will be just fine cooking from this basement. Similar to Julia Child, there are few things that bring me more joy than eating and consequently, there are few things that give me more purpose than cooking.

The movie also got me to thinking about culinary projects. Julie Powell cooked her way through Julia's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and wrote a blog that led to a book that was made into a movie with Meryl freackin' Streep in it, how cool is that? When I think about what I am really passionate about and how I wish I could spend my time, I always come back to food, not accounting. I just don't know how to get myself from point A to point B, where point B is a place where I can still pay my mortgage. So I am putting it out to the universe - I am in search of a new culinary adventure or project. Suggestions welcome.

Happy 2010!

2010-01-10T19:47:00.000-08:00

We are over a week into the new year so I think it is about time I admit that the holiday break is over and get back to the grind. I think the vacation feeling is lingering because I didn't get to relax as much this year as in year's past. Starting the new job in late October meant I only started with three days of vacation through the end of the year, which was a shift to my normal 2 week Christmas vacation. It wasn't so bad, but the time I did take off was full of family events: my family, Chris's dad, Chris's mom, my dad's side of the family, and then a trip to eastern PA to see my mom's side of the family. And we toted Olive along for all of this since she was only 3 days post claw removal operation and I had major guilt about it.

The trip to PA was a 7 hour drive across the state to spend Christmas in Bethlehem (how appropriate, I know). My aunt Jeannie and Uncle Don were the fabulous hosts to 17 people, 3 dogs, and one Olive - not an easy feat. We had a great time that included a Christmas feast, white elephant exchange, and a birthday fiesta for my cousin Matt. Thank you again Aunt Jeannie (my most loyal blog follower) for hosting all of us!!

Beautiful chocolates Aunt Jeannie shared (like Lily's!!)

We were only 2 hours outside of NYC, so my family decided to make the trek into the city for a day. We just happened to pick the coldest, windiest day of the year. So when we exited the train station we immediately followed the crowd into Macy's to raid their hat and scarf sales.

Modeling winter wear in front of Macy's

Our only real agenda item for the day was to go into the NY Public Library. My mother's grandfather was once the head librarian there and we found his name in the lobby under the benefactors.

Hint: look for my middle name

After that we spent most of the afternoon running around Midtown, including stops at the Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center, window shopping at Lord & Taylor, Bryant Park, Times Square, Grand Central Station, and two stops at the Macy's on 34th. The city was really crowded the week between Christmas and New Years which made me really claustrophobic. But overall it was a fun family excursion.

The holidays are over and I am shifting my body from the feasting gluttony that is December to the shame-filled resolutions of a new year. Well, I don't have resolutions, per se, but I do have some goals for 2010:

Goal #1 Finish that damn kitchen.

Goal #2 My eternal goal of losing weight and getting in shape. I have two motivators to start the year: 1. I joined a weight loss challenge at work. In the vein of the Biggest Loser, we have all thrown $20 into a pot and whoever has the highest percentage of weight loss come March 31 wins the money. I am continuing to use fatsecret.com which I cannot say enough good things about. It is free and awesome. 2. I signed up for a sprint level triathlon at my alma mater Miami University on April 17. It is a 400 meter swim in the rec center pool, followed by a 13 mile bike and a 5k run. Totally manageable, but at the same time means I need to stick to my training schedule. Week 1 has started strong, even though I was slightly side tracked by the massive amounts of snow we have been getting. The snow itself I like, but the slow driving is really cramping my style.

Two goals, totally attainable. I'll keep you posted.

And so we begin a new decade. For myself, the last decade (what do we call it, the 00's, I still have no idea) held high school and college graduation, lots of moving my stuff from place to place, to Oxford, to Chardon, repeat; to Cleveland to new apartment, repeat; and now settled into a house all my own. It was the decade when I became a grown up with a real job and I am starting this decade with an even newer job. It was the decade I discovered a passion for cooking (I've always had a passion for eating) and travel and pushing myself to try new things.

I hope the next decade brings marriage and children for myself and many of my friends and all the excitement that surrounds those things. I hope I can go back to school to find a career that I am more passionate about and where I have more outlets for my creativity. But most of all, I hope this decade (do we call this the 10's, the teen's?) is as happy and fulfilling as the last.

Dough or No Dough?

2009-12-23T19:03:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Hannah and Matt's progress with their mid-century modernize, Chris and I decided to get crackin' on our own kitchen. After getting three quotes which were above what I wanted to spend, I ruled out hiring someone to install the cabinets and we are moving ahead with the project to be completed by us and our generous friends and family who have volunteered their services. Having a kitchen in complete disarray during my favorite baking season has got me thinking about "dough-less" holiday baking. I still have a microwave and a stove, I am just not eager to be rolling dough or cutting cookies in a half demo'ed kitchen. So I've done some brainstorming and heavy-googling and found that there are multitudes of holiday recipes which do not involve any dough. Some are as simple as some microwaving and dipping or stirring. Cookies will just have to wait until next year.

Katie's Caramel Corn

Christmas Corn Flake Wreaths

1/2 c. butter

40 regular marshmallows

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. green food coloring, or more to desired shade

6 c. corn flakes

Melt butter in large saucepan. Add marshmallows and cook over low heat, stirring frequently until marshmallows are melted. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and food coloring to desired shade of green. Add corn flakes and blend, stirring and mixing gently until all corn flakes are coated. With 2 teaspoons or buttered fingers, shape golf-ball size portions into wreaths on wax paper. Put 3 red cinnamon candies at intervals on each wreath to look like holly berries. Makes about 24. Store on waxed paper in tins.

White Chocolate Oreo Fudge

18 oz of White Choc morsels (a pkg and a half)

14 oz can of Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/8 teasp. of salt

2 cups of coarsely crushed Oreo-type cookies

Line an 8X8 square baking pan w/ foil. Then, in a heavy saucepan over LOW heat, stir & melt the choc morsels, Sweetened Condensed milk and salt together. Be sure to watch it closely, just until it is melted uniformly. Remove from heat and stir in oreo pieces. Pour evenly into 8×8, and chill for a couple of hours. Turn fudge upside down on a cutting board, peel off foil, and cut that into small squares. Store tightly covered/cool place.

Olive watching me cook from her perch over the radiator. Notice the crazy walls.

Classic Chocolate Fudge
3 cups sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup (1 1/2) sticks Margarine
1 12 oz. pkg. chocolate chips
1 1/2 cup marshmallow cream
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 t. vanilla

Combine sugar, milk, and margarine in heavy saucepan; heat to boiling.
Stir constantly about 5 minutes over medium heat or until mixture reaches soft ball stage (238 degrees). Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients. Stir vigorously until well blended.
Pour into greased 13 x9×2 inch buttered pan. Cool. Cut into squares. Makes 3 pounds.

Ritz Cracker Thin Mints

1 pound bittersweet chocolate

80 buttery round crackers (I used Ritz shaped like snowflakes)

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Using a double boiler method, melt the chocolate coatings over hot tap water for 15 - 20 minutes. Stir . Do not cook or get water into the chocolate. After it is melted, stir in a couple drops of peppermint flavor into the chocolate. Dip crackers into the melted chocolate and then place onto a cold cookie sheet and put into the refrigerator to set. (A freezing tray to rest the dipped cookies will keep the bottoms neat looking.) I sprinkled them with some crushed candy cane. In a few minutes take them out and package in candy cups. The cookies are best kept at room temperature or a cool dry place away from any odors.

I made all the dishes above and peanut brittle and made tins for my friends, co-workers, and neighbors. Both fudges made a lot and were a big hit! I love the ritz cracker things - they taste just like thin mints! Katie helped by making the caramel corn and those wreath things look more like a grinch face, but taste great. Overall, the dough-less baking was a BIG success!

More dough-less dishes:

Awesome and Easy Peanut Brittle, Graham Cracker / Saltine Toffee, Spiced Almonds, White Trash, Chex Mix, Peppermint Bark, Buckeyes, Holly Jollies, Turtles, Chocolate covered pretzels, Rice Krispy Treats, Watergate Salad, Icebox Cupcakes

Happy Birthday Becky!

2009-12-21T17:41:00.000-08:00

Happy 22nd Birthday little sister! Our little brother made Becky this lovely birthday card:

Today is the winter solstice, the longest night of the year! To celebrate the return of the sun, here are some more fun videos I've been enjoying:

James Franco is such a babe. I love him.

I crack up at the girl at the 21 second mark every time.

These are a few of my Favorite Things!

2009-12-13T07:07:00.000-08:00

When I get together with my college roomies, one of the very first questions we inevitably ask each other is, "so have you tried any good products lately?" It is our duty as girlfriends to share our secrets and best finds with one another. Lately I have been very pleased with different beauty products I have been trying, and while not every product provides the same success to every person, it also may be just what someone was looking for. Oprah isn't doing her favorite things this year, so in case you are looking for some inspiration, here are some of my favorite things (lately), the 2009 Edition. These are the things I would recommend to my girlfriends, and now to you:

Beauty Products

1. Bobby Brown Long-wear gel eyeliner - the $21 tub looks small, but it lasts a long time. It goes on beautifully and never smudges.

2. Trish McEvoy Lash Curling Mascara - similar to Kiss Me, this stuff comes off in "tubes" with a little water, but it is much more dramatic. $28

3. Origins Skin Care Line - made with all natural ingredients and feels fantastic. I use the Checks and Balances face wash, Modern Friction to remove dry, dead skin, and the ultra-rich Make a Difference face cream because my skin is crazy dry.

4. Bare Minerals Moisturizing Mineral Veil Kit- This came with the softest brush I have ever felt and in the winter I need all the moisture I can get

Electronics

1. Flip Video Camera - The. easiest. to. use. device. ever. Ultra-portable, simple to use, great picture quality, and overall great amateur video camera

2. Blackberry - I am late to the game on this, but after two year with the worst phone on earth, my blackberry feels like it is too good to be true.

3. DVR - I can no longer imagine life without it. Because I can't imagine life without Glee, Lost, How I met your Mother, SNL, Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Community, 30 Rock, Modern Family, and The Soup.

Cleveland

Lilly's Chocolates - HUGE fan (literally fat fan) - I won the chocolate eating contest this year and I think I have tried every flavor they offer.

Cleveland Yoga - everyone needs hot yoga in their life.

Vine and Bean for Sunday brunch - cuz Lucky's is too crowded

The North Union Farmer's Market - year round farmers market. come over, we'll walk up

On the Rise Bakery the best sticky bun and coffee in town

C.L.E. Clothing - show some cleveland love

Anything from Room Service or Made in the 216 or Banyan Tree

Media / Websites:

Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebowitz

Cook's Illustrated - home cook's best friend. get a subscription

Lady Gaga - instant dance party

someecards.com - super snark
mint.com - good for budgeting, everyone needs that
fatsecret.com - good for tracking calories in/ calories out, if you are into that sort of thing
barefootfoodie.com - the funniest blog i know

Miscellaneous:

Olive - adopt a pet in 2010

Fage - the plain with fresh berries and honey, or the one that comes with cherry and tastes like cheese cake that is really good for you

GT Kombucha - cuz it is crazy weird and good for you

This is not a thing, but a wonderful way to knot your scarf - Megan shared this with me and says it is European. Whatever it is, I love it. Megan helped me make a video to demonstrate the technique:

Gordon Square Arts District Date Night

2009-12-13T05:58:00.000-08:00

Chris and I had such a fun and quirky date night last night in the Gordon Square Arts District. I have read so many articles and blogs over the last year about how this is an up and coming hip neighborhood in Cleveland and I am fairly familiar with the area with Jenny and Scott living in Battery Park. And the articles and blogs are right, this neighborhood felt like you had discovered something that many hadn't yet. I say "yet" because with all the articles out there, this secret isn't going to last much longer, if we can even call it a secret now. So if you have read about the hype and speculation and you've been there, you know it is all true, and if you haven't been soon, you should make plans to go. We already have plans with Jenny and Scott to go back on Friday.

Our date night started at the Bizarre Bazar in the 78th Street Studios. This weekend indie craft show showcases local artists and their handmade goodies. We picked up some C.L.E. Clothing t-shirts, Christmas ornaments, cards and admired all the jewelry and creativity. Some of my favorites were greeting cards, including Oddball Press (out of Cleveland Heights) and Candra Squire. I wish this show was here more than once a year, but sadly it is a holiday season phenomenon (a la Christmas Ale), but off-season shopping can be done on etsy or at our next stops - Room Service and Made in the 216.

At Room Service we were handed a glass of wine as soon as we walked through the door. Need I say more? Ok, well this shop is so darn cute I wanted everything in the store. And then I wanted the owner to come to my house and arrange it for me. It is like a smaller version of Anthropology with an emphasis on local. And Made in the 216 - its sister store, down the street next to the Capitol Theater, is all Cleveland based artists. The owner helped me pick out the perfect house warming / graduation gift for Hannah. (Well I think it is perfect, we shall find out this afternoon. Chris and I are going down to see her and Matt's new house and lend a hand in the renovation. You can read about their mid-century modernize here). We also picked up some more greeting cards at Made in the 216 - I have to keep up on my correspondence.

Next stop - dinner at Happy Dog. They don't have a good website, but here is a link to Cleveland Foodie's review. This place is basically your typical Lakewood, townie dive bar, which I say with 100% love because I love me some townie bar. The chef/owner from Momocho in Ohio City bought it about a year and half ago and now the only food they serve is hot dogs (vegetarian option available) with tater tots and fries. The kicker is that there are 50 gourmet toppings and sauces to choose from, all for $5 a dog and $2.50 for tots or fries. PBR's for $2.25 a piece and I am Happy Girl at Happy Dog. And a happy couple walking out very full, slightly buzzed, and for under $30. For my dog I tried the habanero pickled red onions, caribbean coleslaw, and brazilian chimichurri. Chris was more adventurous and had the brazilian chimichurri, hot banana pepper rings, potato chips, and rainbow candy sprinkles. Sounds crazy but it was good. To dip our tots, we tried the house made ketchup, black truffle honey mustard, garlic and herb tomato jam, marcella's grape jelly and chile sauce, and the chipotle hollandaise. Before we even got our food I was texting friends and plotting future birthday parties. The bartender gave us the low down on a karaoke place, Tina's, right down the street. So, yeah, I will be back.

Last stop, was the Capitol Theater to see Fantastic Mr. Fox. This theater is newly renovated and you can tell. It feels like you are in an actual theater and there is that buzz of seeing a real hollywood picture! (say that with a 1940's accent for fun) My only complaint is that the seats don't have as much leg room as today's multiplex's, so I was a bit squirmy. The movie - I loved!! It is unlike anything I have ever seen and Jason Schwartzman's does the voice of the son, Ash, and was just hilarious. We will be back this Friday to see Avatar 3D (say that in a booming echo voice for fun).

So thank you Gordon Square Arts District for a fantastic date night, what a great addition to our city! As we drove home down Route 2 with downtown all lit up on a clear night, I said to myself, "I love Cleveland".

The Holiday Season

2009-12-06T17:44:00.001-08:00

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! This weekend we put up some Christmas decorations including my little four foot tree. Which Olive proceeded to climb, over and over again, and knock down, over and over again. As annoying as it was, it was also the just about the cutest thing ever.

Tomorrow is our Holiday Party at work and I signed up to bring dessert for 24. I wanted to make something simple that would keep well. I had this treat at Jenny's bach party and it was so yummy and easy that I thought I would try it. I used Christmas colors, but they can be modified for any occasion. For example, I saw pink M&M's at the store for breast cancer and thought they would be cute for an upcoming baby shower.

The nameless treat is just a snap pretzel with a Rolo on top, melted slightly in the oven (like 3-5 minutes at 300 degrees). Then while the chocolate is malleable, press an M&M - pick your poison, I did regular and peanut - into the Rolo. Then put them in the fridge to firm back up. Done. Enjoy. Yum.

My Christmas List

2009-12-01T19:14:00.001-08:00

November is over and December, the month devoted to Christmas, has begun. So I have put together my Christmas List for anyone that is interested. Let me know if you need my mailing address :)

Here is my first draft. It is really domestic:

1. Crate & Barrel Counter Compost Pail

2. Yard Compost Bin

3. Cuisinart 1 1/2 Quart Automatic Ice Cream Maker

4. BPA-Free food containers (Rubbermaid Produce Saver, Easy Find Lids, and Lock It are all BPA Free)

Sad. I know. Those are really the things I want though. In case these don't interest people (who isn't interested in composting??), here is a bit more fun list:

1. Eco friendly sweatshirt in Gray/Large

2. Leather Gloves

3. The Game of Things

That's the best I can do. I have searched for more exciting things, but honestly, all I can think about is getting cabinets installed, picking out a sink and a faucet, countertops, a new mattress, repairing walls and painting, a snowblower, blinds and curtains, and that's the short list. It's just gonna be a practical year I guess.

I Did It! The Conclusion of NaBloPoMo

2009-11-30T18:04:00.000-08:00

I completed NaBloPoMo!! 30 posts in 30 days, can you believe it? And this what I earned:

Notice it has taken its place in the right sidebar. I picked this badge mostly cuz she is in a kitchen, but it also pretty accurately reflects how I feel about the month. I am really good at getting excited and into something for like a week, but not so good with the follow through. So I am honestly proud that I was able to finish something I committed to. And I know it was just blog posting, but it felt like homework a lot of the time. There were many nights I really just wanted to go to bed, but I managed to get at least a few sentences up. So that taught me that blogging doesn't always have to be a huge time commitment. There is really no reason to have such long periods of time between posts. But admittedly every post this month was not up to what I consider my usual standards.

So I completed it and I'm glad to be going back to my usual blogging when I feel like it ways. And you know what, I already know what I am going to post about tomorrow!

Dumpster Diving

2009-11-29T18:18:00.000-08:00

Can you think of a worse title for a post on a food blog? Don't worry, while homeownership did bring me to an all time low today, it isn't quite as bad as it sounds. I've mentioned before that our backyard here at Wildwood is completely covered in ivy and we are attempting to make it not so. Chris is a landscape architect, so he has the winter to design something better than all ivy yard, and in the mean time, we are tackling ivy removal. The standard reaction this gets from people is a sarcastic, "good luck", which makes me think this is not going to be an easy job.

I sprayed the ivy with Round Up a month or so ago, which had absolutely zero effect. Chris went on a mowing rampage and mowed down all the perennials in the front yard and all the ivy in the back. Obviously it is going to come back, but it was nice to catch a glimpse of what a clean backyard would look like. My mom suggested laying down wet newspaper over the ivy, cover that with wet leaves and leave it over the winter. In spring, rototill the whole shebang, plant grass seed and hope that it isn't ivy that pops back up.

So here is where the dumpster diving comes into play. This afternoon was unseasonably gorgeous, so we got to the task. We didn't have anywhere near enough newspaper around, so Chris and hit up a few local paper recylcing dumpsters to get what we needed (I also got two Cooks Illustrated and a Elle Decor, don't judge me.) Chris, Katie and took turns laying the newspaper, spraying it with the hose to keep it down, raking leaves on top and then hosing it again. We finished the whole backyard, so I'll get back to you in the spring to let you know if our little experiment worked.

Darna

2009-11-28T17:48:00.000-08:00

Tonight my parents brought my grandma over to see the house for the first time and to have dinner at Darna on Shaker Square. This is my third time dining at the Moroccan restaurant and the flavors are consistently dazzling. Favorites have emerged, especially the trio of salads - one of spicy seasoned carrots, one of roasted beets, and one of eggplant and roasted peppers. Becky's favorite is the monkfish. Dad was adventurous and tried the quail and I went with the langoustine special.

Black Friday

2009-11-27T21:12:00.001-08:00

Chris and I went out this morning in search of a range. We went to Sears, Best Buy, Lowe's, Sears Outlet, B&B Appliance, and Home Depot and decided on a great deal on an Electrolux slide in range from the Sears Outlet. It just makes me so excited to get the cabinets installed and someday enjoy a new kitchen. Patience is a virtue, right?

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T21:15:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for spending the day with family and eating so much my belly hurts. I am falling asleep to the smell of turkey cooking down on the stove. Pumpkin pie for breakfast and I am off to face the crowds in hopes of finding a range. Happy Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Spice Cake

2009-11-25T16:01:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Thanksgiving, here is an easy, delicious, and pretty lo-cal pumpkin recipe. This recipe comes from Megan who made it for a potluck at work and I loved it. She added pieces of Heath bar to the top, so I am doing the same for Thanksgiving. Chris was able to find some pumpkin at Heinen's, but they were out at Dave's and I've heard there is a pumpkin shortage. But if you are lucky enough to have some around, I highly recommend you try this recipe:

Pumpkin Spice Cake

Ingredients

1 box duncan hines spice cake mix

1.5 cups pumpkin (not pumpkin pie, like straight 100% pumpkin...comes in a can at the store)

JELLO instant butterscotch pudding

Cool whip Lite (I usually use all of one of the smaller containers)

Chocolate for shaving on top if wanted

Directions

Preheat oven to 325. Grease an 8.5 x 11 pan with Pam. Mix the pumpkin and the cake mix together (ONLY those 2 ingredients do not mix in any of the ingredients that the cake calls for like eggs or oil). Put mixture in the pan and bake for about 22-23 minutes (it is ok if some of the cake sticks to a toothpick in the center). Remove cake, and let cool completely.

Mix together the pudding like the box calls for, using skim milk (or whatever you drink). Pour the pudding over top of the cooled cake and smooth so the layer is even. Put whole thing in fridge for an hour or so to let that set together. Then take it out and put layer of cool whip on top of pudding and then top with chocolate shavings if desired. (or I used crushed Heath bar)

Wicked!

2009-11-24T20:41:00.000-08:00

Tonight Chris and I went with Gene and Mary to see Wicked. The show was awesome!! Not quite as exciting as the first time I saw it 2 years ago - when I was obsessed with the soundtrack - but still amazing. I was very impressed with Elphaba, but Glinda wasn't as good as the last time and no one will ever touch Kristen Chenoweth (not that I was fortunate to actually see her do it, just watched her performances on YouTube, see below. And I love her on Glee).

I think the other reason I didn't enjoy it in quite the same way is because I recently read Gregory Maguire's novel on which the musical was based. The book and the musical share character names and general similarities, but the book is much darker and more complicated. So I kept finding myself thinking about the differences between the book and the musical and thinking how much simpler the musical is. I have to say though that I don't think I could have gotten into the book without my pre-existing devotion to the characters from loving the musical.

The first act is so much fun and ends with my favorite song - Defying Gravity (which has also been on Glee). My problem with the second act is the song "As Long as Your Mine". It is just awkward and I don't enjoy it. I do think Lady Gaga may have had some inspiration from the Emerald City Wizomania costumes:

Great music, great show, great night!

Icebox Cupcakes

2009-11-23T18:18:00.001-08:00

How pretty are these cupcakes? I made these for a co-workers birthday tomorrow. She said each year for her birthday her mom makes her a homemade 4-layer chocolate cake, with raspberry preserves between each layer, iced with real whip cream and topped with fresh raspberries. I wanted to make something similar in a cupcake form and thought Smitten Kitchen's icebox cupcakes would be a great substitute. So I can't take much credit for the recipe, just adding the raspberry on top. I have made an icebox cake before and the cupcakes are just as easy. Especially now that I have established Heinen's as a reliable source for Nabisco's chocolate wafer cookies.

Once you have the chocolate wafer cookies, these are as simple as whipping some heavy cream with a teaspoon of sugar and a few drops of vanilla extract until the cream stiffens enough to form peaks. Then just layer the cookies with the whip cream, top with a raspberry, place in a cupcake tin and refrigerate over night. It doesn't get much easier than that. The cookies soften to form a cake-like consistency, no baking required!

Pumpkin Carving

2009-11-22T19:46:00.000-08:00

I have two pumpkins sitting in front of the house left over from Halloween. About a week ago I came home to find one of the fatty squirrels that live around our yard sitting on top of one of them and he had taken a chunk out of the side. Everyday I have come home to find the chunk out of the pumpkin has grown and turned into a hole and has now turned into this:

I didn't even know squirrels liked pumpkins, but apparently the fatty squirrel in my yard LOVES pumpkin. Or maybe he is collecting pumpkin for his Thanksgiving dinner. Either way, this pumpkin looks scarier than anything I could have carved.

2009-11-21T20:48:00.000-08:00

What a day. This morning we went downtown for the Pigskin Classic at Blind Pig for the Ohio State Michigan game. Chris ran a 5k while Jen, Brooke, Kelly and I attended the Snuggiefest Tailgate. So cozy!! The collegiate snuggies are even softer than the originals. And you know I love drinking in a snuggie. The Buckeyes of course won and we had a great afternoon!

After a good two hour nap, Chris and I cleaned up and met Sarah (Ruby) and Nick at L'Albatros for dinner. It. was. so. good. Sarah I started with three cheeses. The waiter talked us through the whole cheese plate, probably 15 different cheeses, and I don't know how he remembered all the cheese info. We went with a goat cheese, a semi-hard manchego, and a truffle cheese. Mmmm, I love cheese... For dinner, I tried their vegetarian root vegetable cassoulet with goat cheese, Chris had the beef bourguignon, Sarah had the mussels, and Nick had the croque monsieur. The food was awesome, the wait staff very attentive with the water (we really needed it, see above), and nice overall atmosphere. And here is the best part - its really well priced. I would say this food is some of the best value in the area. So cross #2 off the list. Oh and this cassoulet blew Lure's out of the water and it didn't even have any meat in it. So if you are as curious about cassoulet as I am, I suggest you head to L'Albatros very soon to try it!

I love Eugene

2009-11-20T19:11:00.000-08:00

I made the mistake of sitting down at Harry Buffalo tonight and proclaiming that "I love Eugene". Which got me some funny looks cuz my friend Gene was sitting across from me (next to his lovely wife Mary). But while I am very fond of Gene, I was actually referring to my new Home Depot kitchen designer. Most of our kitchen cabinets were purchased from the Kraftmaid outlet, the pantry piece came from Craig's List, and the base mixer stand (that I am really pumped for) was ordered from Home Depot. And after getting some quotes, I was surprised to find that Home Depot was our cheapest option for cabinet installation.

So Eugene has been helping us schedule the official kitchen measurement and has also assisted with some tweaking of the floor plan and design. I get so inspired and excited every time I go to the HD to talk to him. Eugene is not only a very helpful designer, but he is also super friendly. Every time I talk to him he says, "say hello to Chris for me". Which is extra cute cuz he has a bushy mustache and an accent. He's the best. So now you know while I am going around proclaiming my love for Eugene.

I am also in the market for countertops and a new range. I'm saying prayers for a Black Friday miracle on the LG range I want:

The Little Potato

2009-11-19T14:38:00.000-08:00

How cute was yesterday's post? Katie is a natural blogger. She's my little sister so obviously we lived together for the first 20 or so years of life, but living together now is a little different - post-college "adults" and minus the rest of the family. I really like it and not just cuz she will blog and make popcorn for me. So because I love lists, here is my top 5 reasons I'm glad to be living with Katie again.

5. Espresso. She has an espresso maker and she taught me to use it. And on the weekends she makes me lattes.

4. Cleaning. She cleans the house on the weekends and says it is "satisfying". amen.

3. Entertainment Weekly. She has a subscription and she is ON TOP of pop culture. She makes sure I don't miss anything.

2. Needle Point. She makes funny needle point sayings:

nice housewarming gift

1. TV Club. She has the same taste in tv and we have a serious tv schedule that we stick to. Hours of DVR time, couch lounging, Olive cuddling and popcorn eating going on over here. And I love it.

Come and Get Your Popcorn

2009-11-18T14:33:00.000-08:00

Here at Food'n'Such, I'm all about variety (hence the n'such). That's why I've decided to offer you a variety of popcorn recipes in two days. That's also why I decided to let my sister, Katie, guest blog. She's our family's popcorn expert...sometimes you have to call in the big guns. You are in good hands, I promise.

Hello, this is Katie. For those of you who don't know me, let me start with what I am not. I am not a chef. I am not a baker. I am, however, great at pouring wine. Does that count??

So, when Molly asked me to write on her blog I was secretly hoping that I'd be asked to cover the "n'such". Not the case. Apparently, I do make a mean caramel popcorn. It's definitely my go-to for parties and gifts. So, I'm hoping others do not swipe this recipe only to give it back to me for Christmas...

I feel that it is important to note that this recipe is straight from a church cookbook. God-fearing women do many things well but they are especially adept at whipping up guilt-ridden treats. Scroll down and you'll soon understand...anything with this much butter does not come guilt-free.

Caramel Corn

1 1/2 c unpopped popcorn

1/2 lb butter or margarine

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 c Karo or white corn syrup

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

First, pop the popcorn. I use an air popper when I make this recipe but I imagine you could use microwavable popcorn. Just make sure it's plain. This recipe makes A LOT of popcorn so do not be alarmed when you have three bowls of plain popcorn sitting on your counter. Set aside popcorn in large pan(s). I use two roasting pans- like I said earlier, this recipe makes a crazy amount of popcorn and I mean that in the best way possible.

In a medium sized pot, heat butter, brown sugar and white corn syrup. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes stirring constantly. Remove pot from heat and stir in soda, salt, and vanilla. You'll notice a change in color and consistency while stirring. The caramel mixture will become a much lighter brown and almost fluffy in consistency. Pour the caramel mixture over popcorn in the large pans and mix well, spreading the caramel evenly over the popcorn.

Once its completely coated, place the pans in a 250 degree oven for 40 min stirring every 10 minutes. This will ensure that your popcorn comes out perfectly coated and evenly baked. Remove from the oven and move popcorn into a large brown paper bag or several large plastic bags. I like using ziploc bags because they are easy to shake up and will keep your popcorn fresh without moving it from one container to another.

Trust me this caramel corn is worth the effort! It was even requested by one of Food'n'Such's faithful readers.

Ok. So maybe you don't have 40 minutes of your life to dedicate to making caramel corn? Or, are you are so hungry at this moment that you need a quick fix- FAST?! I find myself in this predicament often. In these cases, I whip up a batch of kettle corn. It's super quick, super simple and requires 4 kitchen staples. Love it!

Kettle Corn

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup unpopped popcorn kernels

1/2 cup peanut oil (This is really important. The peanut oil heats to the right temperature and allows the sweetness to come through. Other oils get distracting. The first time I tried this recipe, I used a mixture of sesame oil and olive oil- it was like gnawing on burnt sesame bagels.)

salt

In a large pot heat peanut oil over med-high heat with 3-4 popcorn kernels. You'll know the oil is ready once the kernels have popped. In the meantime, combine the sugar and unpopped kernels together. This will help to better coat the kernels while popping. Once your oil is ready, add the sugar and kernel mixture and shake it like a polaroid picture. Make sure that the sugar and popcorn are spread evenly throughout the pan to keep the sugar from burning. Cover the pot and continue to shake. Listen until most of the kernels have popped and remove from heat.

At this point you could do a number of things to add salt. I prefer to pour the popcorn into a bowl and then add it. The original recipe suggests a large brown paper bag. Or hell, you can add it while you eat. Just make it salty. You cannot have kettle corn without the dynamics of sweet vs. salty. Its a fact. Ask The Church Lady. Or Kate Gosselin...

Sweet & Spicy

2009-11-17T18:42:00.000-08:00

I am a big fan of the sweet & spicy combo. Whether it is Jeni's Spicy Thai Chili ice cream (yes you read that right. Intrigued? Click here for Cleveland Foodie's interview with creator of the fabulous ice cream line and here to find out where it is available in Cleveland) or Lily's Chocolates signature Heather (in honor of Heather Haviland of Lucky's Cafe and my local fave - the Vine and Bean Caf e) filled with spicy cayenne pepper, a dash of Madagascar Vanilla Bean and surrounded by yummy dark chocolate. So when I saw this article in the NY Times combining this winning flavor combination and my favorite food, I knew it would made tonight.

It just so happened I had already planned a dinner for this week that also fit the bill. It is a healthy grilled cheese recipe from Ellie Krieger that doesn't use fakey fake weird fat free cheese. It uses real ingredients and while it isn't exactly what you ate as a kid or what you would get at Melt, this is still a very satisfying sandwich for 350 calories.

Spicy Caramel Popcorn

Nonstick cooking spray

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup popcorn kernels

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 cups sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt.

1. Lightly coat two large, heatproof rubber spatulas and a large mixing bowl with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a large saucepan or pot with a lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the popcorn kernels, cover and keep the saucepan moving until all of the kernels have popped, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the prepared bowl, removing any unpopped kernels.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the baking soda and cayenne pepper.

4. Have two large baking sheets ready. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, salt and 1/2 cup water. Cook over high heat, without stirring, until the mixture becomes a light golden-yellow caramel, 10 to 14 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully whisk in the baking-soda mixture (the mixture will bubble up).

5. Immediately pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn. Working quickly and carefully, use the prepared spatulas to toss the caramel and popcorn together, as if you were tossing a salad, until the popcorn is well coated.

6. Spread the popcorn onto the baking sheets and quickly separate them into small pieces while still warm. Cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Once cool, store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Makes about 4 quarts.

Sweet and Spicy Grilled Cheese

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 large red onion, finely diced

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 ounces sharp Cheddar, thinly sliced, divided

8 slices whole-wheat bread

3 ounces pepper Jack cheese, thinly sliced, divided

1 large or 2 medium beefsteak or hothouse tomatoes, sliced

Cooking spray

Directions

Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lower heat to medium. Add onions and saute, stirring, until edges are browned, about 10 to 12 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Place 3/4-ounce Cheddar on 1 slice bread. Spread 1 tablespoon caramelized onions on top of cheese and top with 3/4-ounce pepper Jack. Top with 1 large or 2 medium slices tomato and other slice of bread. Repeat with 3 other sandwiches.

Spray a nonstick skillet or griddle with cooking spray and heat until hot. Place sandwich on griddle and weigh down with a heavy skillet or plate. Lower heat to medium-low and grill until underside is a deep brown but not burnt and cheese is partially melted, about 5 to 6 minutes. Flip sandwich and grill other side, an additional 4 to 5 minutes. Slice in half and serve hot.

Pork and Brussel Sprouts

2009-11-16T18:52:00.000-08:00

Tonight's dinner was quite autumnal and super tasty. I am a bum blogger cuz I didn't take a photo and I'm not up for writing much more tonight. Here are the two recipes I used and I give them both 2 thumbs up. Especially the parsley shallot sauce. That would be good on everything.

Guy Fieri's Brother Brussels

Ingredients

2 teaspoons salt
3/4 pound Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed, loose leaves removed
1/2 pound bacon, thinly cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups diced yellow onion
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, for garnish

Directions

Fill a large pot 3/4 of the way with water and add 1 teaspoon of salt and the Brussels sprouts. Put the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Let boil until the Brussels sprouts are just fork tender about, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain the sprouts and transfer to an ice bath. Let cool completely, then drain and set aside.

Cut the Brussels sprouts into 1/4-inch lengthwise slices and set aside. Add the bacon to a medium saute pan, and cook until just crisp, then remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Adjust heat to medium-high, add the onions to the pan and saute until they are translucent and just beginning to caramelize, about 5 or 6 minutes. Add the butter to the pan, then add the Brussels sprouts and saute for 3 to 4 more minutes. Season with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter and sprinkle with the reserved bacon and the cheese. Serve immediately.

Herb Roasted Pork Loin with Parsley Shallot Sauce

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage leaves or 1 teaspoon dried sage
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (2 1/2-pound) center cut boneless pork loin, trimmed of all visible fat
1/2 cup Parsley Shallot Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Mash the garlic and salt together with a fork until it forms a coarse paste. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the oil, fresh herbs and freshly ground pepper. Rub the garlic-herb paste all over the pork. Transfer the pork to a roasting pan and roast for 1 1/4 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Transfer the roast to a carving board and let rest for 15 minutes. Carve the pork into slices and serve with the sauce.

Parsley Shallot Sauce:

1 1/2 cups lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped shallot

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree.

Yield: 1/2 cup

The List

2009-11-15T16:58:00.000-08:00

Here is my list of Cleveland restaurants I need to eat at. I am going to cap the list at 10 and obviously it excludes any places I have been to before. Please leave suggestions!!

1. Flying Fig

2. L'Albatros

3. Fire

4. Osteria

5. Happy Dog

6. Blackbird

7. Boulevard Blue

8. Cafe Tandor

9. Sokolowski's

10. Sun Luck Garden

I think I can hit all of these in six months. I will update as I go.

Cassoulet

2009-11-14T19:37:00.000-08:00

The topic of today's blog comes via my mother. When I was home last week to get a new phone and re-join her family plan, she pulled out this article from the News Herald. It is about cassoulet, which I had never heard of, but this recipe describes it in mouthwatering detail. The article mentions two local restaurants that serve this dish, as well as an at home recipe that I will try sometime this winter. The first restaurant it mentions is L'Albatros in University Circle. I haven't been yet, but it just moved up on my list of Cleveland restaurants to try - Right behind Flying Fig, can you believe I haven't eaten there yet? Me. Neither. Anyways, the second restaurant it mentions is one of my old east side root favorites, Lure Bistro. When I was living at home in Chardon during my first year out of college, my girlfriends and I would go on a regular basis to get sushi and eat on their awesome patio. Well the sushi chef has since moved to his own place right up the street, Young's Sushi, which I haven't been to yet, but from what I hear it is the same great sushi at a much lower price. And that definitely puts it on my list of Cleveland restaurants to try. (Side note: that is the second reference to this "list" in one post. You would think an actual list existed somewhere. I think I need to write one down. Maybe an upcoming post?? If you have recommendations, please share.) Ok so back to Lure.

Tonight, Rachael (previously Rae Rae) and Theresa (previously Little Monster, I think? This is why I stopped using these crazy names, too hard to remember) and I had dinner at Lure and I of course, had to try the cassoulet. It is served with strings of sweet potato fries and has a ton of white beans. It was very tasty and filling and I would definitely get it again, it's a fantastic winter meal. Lure's atmosphere is wonderful, but our only complaint is that it gets really noisy. It must have been girls night out cuz there were several other tables of all girls and it got very loud. Rach had a lovely watercress salad with hazelnut vinaigrette and the Black Widow sushi roll and Theresa had the grouper which was awesome. I'm excited to try the cassoulet at L'Albatros to compare.

Tastefully Simple

2009-11-13T20:31:00.000-08:00

Could you tell Chris wrote that last post? Kind of cheating, but I was tired and he summed up what I had been chatting about pretty well. Zumba was totally awesome and is definitely taking a place in my workout line-up. And if you are trying to watch your weight, I highly suggest you check out fatsecret.com cuz it is my new obsession - easy to use and the exact tools I was looking for. Plus if you have a blackberry with a 4.6 or higher operating system you can get an app for your phone. Very convenient.

Tonight, Rachael (Rae Rae) had a Tastfully Simple party at her house. Tastefully Simple is like a tupperware or jewelry or pampered chef type thing, but with food. The food catalog is spices, mixes, and sauces that require only a few fresh ingredients to whip-up dips, drinks, baked goods, soup, dessert, you get the gist. I'm not usually into this kind of thing, but the food was really tasty! But the best part was how incredibly simple and fast it all was to make! I arrived about an hour early and between 4 of use, we made 6 different kinds of dip, beer bread, apple cake (well we subbed canned peaches for the fresh apples cuz Rachie forgot to get apples), potato soup, and not part of the tastefully simple line-up: mulled cider, veggie pizza, shrimp cocktail, cheese plate, and olives in one short hour! That is a fast feast.

My ordering strategy was to buy things that would be helpful to have around when I am in a pinch and need something to come together quickly. I got a jar of caramel sauce cuz that makes a great dessert of just about anything, the beer bread mix and the wheat beer bread mix (big time crowd pleaser, especially with the preggo gals. Maybe they are craving something they cant have...), the mix to make the onion onion dip since that is always helpful for unexpected entertaining, and a mix for parmesan biscuits. It all arrives to my house sometime in the next 10 days, very cool. So if someone invites you to a Tastefully Simple party, I would say go check it out. I was pleasantly surprised.

Zumba

2009-11-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight I took my first Zumba class and I now understand why it is such a craze. It was so fun! It was a one hour dance party without the alcohol. I totally recommend it. Plus, don't tell CC, the instructor was really good looking. I'll be back:) hahehaha. Ok enough of that.

Well since I've been on the topic of new things lately, I found a new website. It's called fat secret. com It's similar to weight watchers online, except it's free. It gives you the opportunity to keep a log about what you ate, how many points you ate, calories, and tailors this information to a diet of goal you are trying to obtain.

Pasta Puttanesca

2009-11-11T18:03:00.001-08:00

This is a great weeknight meal because it comes together very quickly. While the pasta is cooking, the rest of the ingredients go in a skillet and then combine. It has huge flavor its an Ellie Krieger recipe so you know its healthy! And I think the pictures that Chris (CC, did you figure that one out?) are better than the ones on the food network's website.

Ingredients

8 ounces whole-wheat thin spaghetti, vermicelli or angel hair
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup pitted chopped Spanish or Greek olives
2 tablespoons capers
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, preferably "no salt added"
3/4 cup chopped fresh arugula
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add pasta and cook according to the directions on the package.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium flame. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the parsley, olives, capers, anchovy paste, oregano and crushed red pepper to the skillet, and saute for 2 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in the arugula and simmer for 1 minute more, until the greens wilt slightly.

When the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the skillet, tossing it with the sauce to combine. Top with grated cheese.

bruuuuce

2009-11-10T20:57:00.000-08:00

This is the first ever post from my new phone. It is not ideal but I have to post and we just got out of the bruce springsteen concert. The man played for three hours straight I was very impressed! I jus wish I knew more of his songs. He has some serious die hard fans and they were having a blast. The highlights for me were the ten year old behind us who kept screaming "bruuuuce I love you!" And the older gentleman in front of who did some aerobic dance moves to pink cadillac. Let's just say we did not fit the overall demographic. It was an awesome show and this is coming from a girl who does not love concerts.

Rustic Potato Leek Soup

2009-11-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

It is really expensive to eat out lunch everyday and hard to think of healthy things to pack that are fast and easy. One solution I've used a lot in the past is buying Smart Ones frozen entries or bringing canned soup with me to work. These are easy options, but I am concerned about eating such processed food on a regular basis. Last week I made a pot of minestrone that easily provided a week's worth of lunch (and when you divide by number of servings, that soup is definitely more economical than canned or pre-prepared). And this week I made a potato leek soup recipe from Ina Garten.

I thought it would take a long time to prepare, but two pounds of potatoes can be peeled and chopped in five minutes and that is the hardest part of this recipe. You do need a food processor or an immersion blender at the end to blend the roasted veggies to an appealing hearty soup texture. I used my Cuisinart and blended in 4 batches. I couldn't find creme fraiche at Whole Foods so I just skipped that, and to make it even healthier you could probably emit the cream as well.

Roasted Potato Leek Soup

Prep Time:

35 min

Inactive Prep Time:

Cook Time:

1 hr 35 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
4 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts, cleaned of all sand (4 leeks)
1/4 cup good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups baby arugula, lightly packed
1/2 cup dry white wine, plus extra for serving
6 to 7 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
3/4 cup heavy cream
8 ounces creme fraiche
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
Crispy Shallots, recipe follows, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine the potatoes and leeks on a sheet pan in a single layer. Add the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss to coat the vegetables evenly. Roast for 40 to 45 minutes, turning them with a spatula a few times during cooking, until very tender. Add the arugula and toss to combine. Roast for 4 to 5 more minutes, until the arugula is wilted. Remove the pan from the oven and place over 2 burners. Stir in the wine and 1 cup of the chicken stock and cook over low heat, scraping up any crispy roasted bits sticking to the pan.

In batches, transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor fitted with the steel blade, adding the pan liquid and about 5 cups of the chicken stock to make a puree. Pour the puree into a large pot or Dutch oven. Continue to puree the vegetables in batches until they're all done and combined in the large pot. Add enough of the remaining 1 to 2 cups of stock to make a thick soup. Add the cream, creme fraiche, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and check the seasonings.

When ready to serve, reheat the soup gently and whisk in 2 tablespoons white wine and 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Serve hot with an extra grating of Parmesan and crispy shallots, if using.

Crispy Shallots:

1 1/2 cups olive oil or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 to 6 shallots, peeled and sliced into thin rings

Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it reaches 220 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Reduce the heat to low, add the shallots, and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until they are a rich golden brown. The temperature should stay below 260 degrees F. Stir the shallots occasionally to make sure they brown evenly. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon, drain well, and spread out to cool on paper towels. Once they have dried and crisped, they can be stored at room temperature, covered, for several days.

Yield: about 1/2 cup

Whole Foods Finds

2009-11-08T18:47:00.001-08:00

I picked up two interesting things at Whole Foods this afternoon, one good, one bad. First, the good is that cute little rosemary tree which smells absolutely amazing. The second, sucks. I got really thirsty while we were shopping so I headed to the water aisle. They are all crazy expensive, but I was really thirsty. This one sounded interesting - Maple Tree Water. It comes from snow and rain water that is filtered through a maple tree right here in Northeast Ohio. Growing up in Chardon, I know exactly what sap right out of a sugar maple tree tastes like. I used to stick my whole glove in the buckets that were attached to the trees in our yard and then suck the sweet sap out of my glove. I was expecting this water to taste something like that. It did taste familiar, but it was dirty rain water. So if you ever thirsty and looking for water at Whole Foods DO NOT spend $3 on this dirt water.

Saturday Recap

2009-11-07T19:02:00.000-08:00

My life really isn't exciting enough to write a blog post everyday. But I am committed to doing it, so I apologize if some of these posts are all over the place.

One of my favorite things to do on the weekends is go to On the Rise bakery in Cleveland Heights for sticky buns and coffee. Their sticky buns are out of this world. This morning I also picked up some cinnamon raisin bread which was awesome. I highly suggest you stop in for some baked goods if you are in the area.

Today I finally got a phone! I had to turn in my phone on my last day at the last job (oct 16) and I had some issues getting them to release my phone number so that I could keep it. After a series of many annoying phone calls and headaches, I was finally able to get things sorted and I am back in the 21st century.

This video was the clip of the week on The Soup. It just doesn't get old. I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful autumn weekend!

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Cookies

2009-11-06T14:46:00.000-08:00

It is officially the weekend! No time for blogging. We are off to Theresa and Tony's new house with friends for the night. Sarah (previously Ruby) made these really awesome cookies that are perfect if you have some mini-snickers bars left over from Halloween. And a picture of Olive cuz she is the cutest. Enjoy the weekend!

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Cookies

ingredients

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon milk
24 miniature chocolate-covered caramel-topped nougat bars with peanuts

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter and the 1/2 cup peanut butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat in honey and milk until well combined.

2. Pat 1 tablespoon of the dough into a 2-inch circle. Place 1 piece of candy in the center of the circle. Shape the dough around candy to form a 1-1/2-inch ball. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining cookie dough and candy bars. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on wire rack. Makes 24 cookies.

master your metabolism

2009-11-05T20:04:00.000-08:00

The other day I flipped through a copy of Jillian Michael’s new book, Master Your Metabolism. I didn’t buy it, which is good considering 1. I’m a sucker, 2. I’m a HUGE sucker for diet/workout crap, 3. I love the Biggest Loser. But I continued to be intrigued by it. Since that day, I have read the introductory chapter on Amazon along with all the reviews and gone back to the book store to flip through it again. I still managed not to buy it (hooray for willpower! it was $26, what a rip) and I am determined to get it from the library as soon as I return the home magazines that are $12 overdue causing a hold on my account.

Through my “research”, I have picked up on the overall gist of this book, which is basically that metabolism is governed by hormones and with all the crazy processed crap Americans eat, most of our hormones/metabolisms have been completely thrown out of whack. On top of this, Jillian (and Oprah) has a thyroid problem and she discusses what foods can help/hurt different thyroid conditions and signs and symptoms to determine if you may have a thyroid condition (I don’t think I do).

Ok, so Jill’s solution to this problem is essentially to rid your body of all these additives and toxins, begin to eat as organically as possible and follow a “diet” that is similar to South Beach or Weight Watcher’s old Core Plan, i.e. 3 meals and one snack a day consisting of lean proteins, lots of veggies, fruits, small portion of whole grains, and non-fat dairy. And staying away from artificial sweeteners and processed foods as much as possible cuz they will cause your metabolism to work against you. These changes will balance your hormones and get your metabolism working the way it is supposed to work.

I can totally get behind this because, really, it’s just common sense. I mean, I would much rather eat a small amount of real butter than whatever chemicals are in spray butter. Jill claims that by following this lifestyle she is able to eat about 2,000 calories a day, exercise about 5 hours a week, and maintain her amazing physique without much thought. Who wouldn’t want that?? It really isn’t too different from Guiliana Rancic’s meal plan on her blog that I wrote about awhile back. You may notice I get on these diet kicks about every 6 months, but I’m over it. I want to get into a routine that sticks.

Changes I am ready to implement: drinking only organic coffee and wine; taking a daily multi-vitamin; avoiding diet pop and sweeteners, eating a big breakfast, working out several times a week.

I will let you know more once I actually read the book and start following its guidelines more carefully. If anyone out there has read it, please share your thoughts!!

Day 4 and I am already scraping the bottom of the barrel

2009-11-04T18:11:00.000-08:00

I am currently watching Modern Family. It is fantastic. You need to be watching this show. If you haven't been, don't worry, you can catch up on Hulu, and trust me it will be worth it. You also need to be watching Glee, but the stupid world series is interrupting my tv schedule. Yeah I said it, I don't give two junks about baseball. Or any sports for that matter. So that's my Wednesday tv schedule. On Thursdays there are also two fantastic new shows - Community and Flashforward. And I missed V last night, but I might start watching that too. Thank you tv people for such good new shows this year.

Here is an Olive update. She is the most adorable tiny kitty in the world. She went to the vet on Monday and she is all healthy! And she has started sleeping on my pillow above my head which I love. She is also getting really playful and crazy. This morning when I was brushing my teeth in my bath robe she snuck up behind me and jumped and hung from the back of my robe. Katie doesn't even like animals and she LOVES Olive.

Oh yeah, my sister's name is Katie. I had previously referred to her as Little Potato but I am tired of using aliases and I can't remember them all and I don't want to come up with news ones. So from here on out I will be revealing the actual names of anyone I mention. I don't think this will compromise anyone's privacy, but if you prefer a fake name let me know.

I bought some organic wine today. Is it true that if you drink organic wine that you don't get a hangover because it doesn't have the sulfites that are in regular wine? I considered drinking the whole bottle in the name of blog research, but I decided potentially showing up to work with a raging hangover was not a great impression for my second week at the new job. Especially considering during my first week I may have had swine flu and adopted a cat. I really know how to make a first impression.