Dancing Tarts

Shopping

I had planned to work in the yard Saturday, but when it still hadn't climbed to freezing by 11 am, I just couldn't work up the enthusiasm to go out there and be cold all afternoon. In comparison, running errands sounded like a much better idea so I decided to drive to Wild Oats. Now that Whole Foods has purchased the Wild Oats chain, the only difference appears to be the sign on the door, but I found what I wanted.

I could easily spend a fortune at both Wild Oats and Whole Foods, so I had to establish a rule for myself: I can only purchase products that I can't find anywhere else, or those that are a better price. The better price exception doesn't happen all that often, but I did find some beautiful red leaf lettuce that was both much better quality than anything I've seen all winter, and it was about 25% less than I would have paid at the grocery store. I also selected a few things from the bulk bins, including yellow and green split peas. I thoroughly enjoyed the split pea soup, and now I'm looking forward to trying the yellow split pea soup recipe from the same source.

Have you tried fingerling potatoes yet? I'd heard of them but never seen in the grocery store. I added the key for scale, but they really are about the size of fat fingers. I'm planning to roast some this evening and have them along with a green salad.

Nice idea, but...

We bought leeks over the weekend -- it's a traditional vegetable served close to March 1, St. David's Day (patron saint of Wales).  And it's nice served close to spring.  I had plans to make it into potato leek soup on Sunday but really wasn't feeling up to it.  And wasn't on Monday night either.

So yesterday morning I had inspiration.  What about making soup in the crock pot and letting it simmer all day?  I cut up and washed the leeks, peeled and cut up potatoes.  Sauteed the leeks in butter and transferred the leeks to the crock pot.  Deglazed the pan with a little balsamic vinegar.  Added the potatoes and the deglaze to the crock pot, added water, salt, peppercorns and some herbes de provence.  I let it sit and right before I left for work, I added a small packet of wild rice.

Now all of this sounds good together, right?  And it tasted pretty good.  But it looked terrible.  8+ hours of cooking left the leeks pretty much dessicated except for some fibers.  The wild rice exploded, and Joel had to add some water when he came home because the soup was a little dry.

I should have known better and just attempted cooking it all on the stove top.

Things I would like to say to supermarket cashiers

1. Stop asking me if I like yogurt. That's a stupid question which cannot be excused by arguing you were only trying to start a conversation. If I had 14 boxes of Ding-Dongs on the counter would you ask me if I liked Ding-Dongs? No! Or maybe you were concerned that those cartons of yogurt leapt into my basket when I wasn't looking and I mindlessly loaded them onto the belt? Oh, thank you, thank you for saving me from that dangerous yogurt attack!
2. Same goes for apples. It's only six apples for crying out loud, so it's not as though I just wiped out the entire supply of Gala apples in the store. Is it so shocking that someone might eat real food? I'm always tempted to gaze pitifully at the cashier and tell them how sorry I am that they don't have a source for fresh produce. Oh, wait! They do!
3. And while we're on the subject of apples: I spend time picking out fruit that isn't bruised and gouged. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't drop the bag of apples onto the counter from the highest possible distance.
4. Take your thumb off the scale! Yes, there are plenty of stories about unscrupulous grocery store owners who would use the thumb trick to drive up profits, but this is a chain store and the cashiers are not personally profiting. It's just laziness and a lack of training (and courtesy). If I have to ask you to re-weigh something, get a clue and think about why I might be asking. I know you're all of nineteen, this is your first job, and you've never been responsible for the family's grocery shopping, but you'd be mighty upset if you thought someone was cheating you, even unintentionally.
5. Don't bag the apples on top of the on-the-vine tomatoes. The tomatoes are 2-3 times more expensive than the apples, but I am willing to pay the extra cost in order to have tomatoes that taste and smell like the real thing. I don't appreciate having them crushed before I even make it out of the store. The delicate food goes on top of the bag. Or maybe you're also the guy that tries to put watermelon in the same bag as bread and eggs?
6. Pack similar items together! Just as bread and watermelon do not play nice together, I also don't want my frozen food bagged with fresh produce or cleaning supplies bagged with anything edible.

The view is more boring from this end

I've been feeling quite overwhelmed for the past couple of weeks and it seems that one of the first things to go was any and all creativity in food preparation. Seriously, I feel like I've been eating some of the most boring food every day.

I was feeling a bit more inspired on Sunday, however, because it was too cold to work in the yard and everything else on my list seemed too much like work. I was looking forward to trying this recipe for Vegetarian Split Pea Soup. I know Split Pea isn't everyone's favorite--no booing from the audience please--but it is a dish that I've missed since becoming a vegetarian. Not enough to abandon vegetarianism, mind you, but I haven't found any meat-free versions that are palatable. This version looks really simple and has only eight ingredients--I just didn't have all eight ingredients in my pantry. I'll try it after I make another trip to the grocery store.

My backup plan was black bean soup. I threw a pot together a couple of weeks ago and loved it, but this batch wasn't as tasty--the beans weren't tender enough and the texture was better when I pureed all of the onions before adding the beans and tomatoes. I'll keep working on it and post a recipe when it is guest-worthy.

And speaking of guests, I am hosting the Tarts this weekend for Sunday brunch. We're going to eat closer to lunch rather than brunch, but the Tarts are humoring me by agreeing to eat a breakfast menu. I haven't quite finalized the menu yet but I'm sure that I will make way too much food and send my friends home comfortably stuffed, as usual.

Coffee

One of my favorite things about the weekend is savoring a pot of coffee. It's not that I can't wake up without the caffeine--there are days when I don't even get around to it. Instead I think I enjoy the ritual of it: brewing the coffee and settling in at the dining room table to catch up the news or my favorite blogs. I know there are plenty of things to do--chores or errands or even homework--but somehow that pot of coffee provides a few minutes of insulation against the demands of life. Everything can just wait until I've finished.

Napkins

My friend (and beloved former mother-in-law) Linda came over for lunch today and brought me an incredible gift:

All this talk about napkins and learning how to fold them inspired her to embroider these napkins especially for me. There are three more to follow later and she's looking for other patterns so I have a set for every season.

Seriously, how cool is that?

Recipe for a Party

[Apologies to my dear, beloved, vegetarian co-blogger.]

This is good stuff to make for parties, especially during football season.

Carolina Pulled Pork

1/4 Cup butter

1 1/2 Cup chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon powdered mustard

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 Cups catsup

1/4 Cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 Cup apple cieder vinegar

2 Cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon vegetabel oil

1 whole (5 pound) Boston pork but

12 soft buns

 

Melt butter in saucepan.  Add onion and garlic; cook until softened, 5 minutes.  Add mustard, paprika, cumin and cayenne; cook 1 minute.  Add catsup, sugar, vinegar and water: Simmer, covered, 30 minutes.  Uncover; simmer 30 minutes.  Add salt and pepper.  This can be made two days ahead, then refrigerated, covered.  Before using, simmer 3 minutes.

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat oil in large ovenproof Dutch oven; add pork; brown for 10 minutes.

 

Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes.  Pour 1 Cup of barbecue sauce over pork.  Cover pot.  Lower heat to 250 degrees.  Bake 3 to 3 1/2 hours, basting meat occasionally, until a thermometer inserted in the middle of the roast registers 170 to 180 degrees.

 

Let cool slightly.  Trim off excess fat.  Pull meat apart (and separate from stuff to throw away).Mix pulled pork with remaining barbecue sauce in a large bowl.  Serve on buns with cole slaw.

 

 

Tangy Coleslaw

 

1 cabbage, finely shredded - use a food processor if you can

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

Dressing:

3/4 Cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 Cup vinegar

2/3 Cup vegetable oil

 

Combine shredded cabbage with sliced onion.  Combine dressing ingredients and bring to a boil, then refrigerate.  Pour over cabbage and toss.

Gadget wishlist

I love visiting Williams-Sonoma. I can't afford about 99% of what they sell, but perusing their shelves and bins is inspiring. A few years ago I received one of their stainless steel spoon rests that I use constantly, and  later the same person gave me a pizza wheel. After I started using them I had no idea how I had ever functioned without them. Here's a few items from my running wish list of kitchen tools I'd like to get eventually:

I'm not actually a huge fan of single-purpose tools, but as my knife skills are a bit weak, I find my garlic press to be invaluable after a long day. Slicing mozzarella with a knife isn't difficult, but when I make tomato and mozzarella salad I want it to look pretty as well as taste good.

Again with the knife skills issue, I suppose, but this mincer would have come in handy the last time I made up a batch of marinated goat cheese, or any time I need to use parsley. I hate chopping parsley--it seems endless.

A mandoline. Pretty self-explanatory. And multi-functional, too.

There's a rule in my kitchen that says I will always have a bubbly, messy spill immediately after scrubbing the oven clean. LGG pointed out these oven liners to me before and I think they'd be perfect. You can cut them to the size of your oven floor and even run them through the dishwasher.

Mmmmm. Soup.

Joel made this for me while I was sick.  After a few sips, it really made me feel better.  At least for a while.

Curried carrot soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 med. onion, chopped
1 med. clove garlic, chopped
1 med. jalapeño pepper, seeded, chopped
8 med carrots, chopped into small chunks
1 med. white potato, cut into small chunks
1 piece ginger root peeled and coarsely chopped (recipe calls for a 2 inch piece of the root)
14.5 oz vegetable broth (but Joel used water)
plus... 2.5 cups water
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup yogurt (or sour cream-- what Joel uses)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (the recipe suggests lemon as an alternative)
1 tablespoon minced cilantro or parsley (Joel skips these)

Get out your Dutch oven or large pot.  Sautė the onion in the olive oil for a few minutes, then add the garlic and jalapeño; sautė for a minute.  Add the carrots, potato and ginger, cook for about 5 minutes.  Add a little water if things start to stick to the pan.  Pour in the broth and water; bring to a boil.  Skim off the foam (there's foam??).  Add the spices.  Cover, reduce heat  to medium or so.  Cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are very soft.

At this point the recipe suggests cooling the soup, pureeing it in a blender or food process in batches and adding the yogurt (or sour cream) in each batch.  Then you pour it into a clean pan and put back on low heat.  Then add the lime juice.

Joel does not do this.  He'll cool it, stir in the sour cream, then the lime juice.  And serve.

It smells wonderful.  I'd like to try pureeing it to get a thicker texture -- but it's good at any rate.  I wonder how this would taste with coconut milk???

Mosker has been telling us this,

and Wired verifies it in their January 2008 issue.