pickled grapes

i made pickled grapes last weekend.  they sound strange, but believe me--they're good.  if you like vinegar, you'll love these.  they're a little sour and a little sweet...great alone or in a salad. recipe is here

misc thoughts on food

pickles. i used to hate pickles. i always picked them off my burger and gave away the ones that came with my sandwiches. i could never shake the thought that i should like them. i love cucumbers and vinegar and salt (loooove salt and vinegar chips). and pickles are basically just cucumbers soaked in salt and vinegar. i also associate pickles with sauerkraut and i eat that stuff right out of the jar. a few months ago i decided to eat the kosher pickle that came with my sandwich and the jewish deli. and it was delicious! i keep a jar of little kosher pickles in my refrigerator now and pull them out for snacks. the best part about pickles is that i don't immediately think of them when i want a snack. so when i open the frig to see what i have in there, i'm always pleasantly surprised to see the pickles and remember that i now love them.

oatmeal / raisin / walnut / choc chip cookies i'm on a continual quest to perfect my cookie recipes and i discovered a fantastic one last week. smitten kitchen eliminates some of the sugar found in the quaker oat recipe and only uses brown sugar. i made the recipe as listed with about 1/4 bag of choc chips. the best part about these cookies is that they're crispy on the outside and soft / gooey /chewy on the inside. i even convinced my "i hate raisin" coworkers to try them and they declared them "the best cookies i've ever made". but they say that about every new recipe i try. i think it's their strategy to get me to bring them new baked goods every week.

Bali Black Raspberry

I don't remember how I first discovered Bali Black Raspberry or when I first tasted it.  I started to drink it during a time when I was first discovering the wonderful world of warm, caffeinated beverages.  I started to drink it during a time when I was first discovering my need for warm, caffeinated beverages in the morning.  College.  

I drank tea every morning because I had not yet entered the world of coffee.  Coffee was still too bitter, but Bali Black Raspberry was perfect.  During my sophomore year of college, I made a cup of Bali Black every morning and often drank it in the afternoon and evening.  

When I smell and taste the tea, it reminds me of chilly fall mornings in Philadelphia, walking from the Quad to Steiny-D for my 10:30am Financial Accounting class.  It reminds me of the room I shared with Marla and the electric tea kettle that I used to boil the water.  It reminds me of the stainless steel Wharton travel mug that I used to transport the tea.  

As time went on, coffee began to overpower tea and became my warm, caffeinated beverage of choice in the morning.  I still had Bali Black in my pantry, but I drank it infrequently.  I was more likely to be sipping a latte or a Starbucks black coffee than Bali Black in the morning.  Afternoons and evenings were usually reserved for decaf tea.  

But this fall I have rediscovered my love for Bali Black Raspberry.  All of a sudden, coffee started to make my stomach hurt.  And the acidity began to bother my taste buds.  Little by little, coffee lost its appeal and sent me back to tea.  I have had a cup (or two!) of Bali Black each morning this September.  And I am in love with it all over again.  The aroma, the taste, the memories.  Mmmm.  I still use my Wharton mug when I make it at work.  

Maybe my warm beverage drinking is cyclical and I've returned to the time of tea and Bali Black.  My sophomore year began during the fall of 2002 and Bali Black has returned in the fall of 2008.  Check back in fall of 2014 to see if I'm blogging about my return to Bali Black Raspberry again...

[Note: Bali Black Raspberry cannot be found at most stores.  It is a Celestial Seasonings Tea that can be purchased in bulk here] 

plain yogurt

my new recent food obsession is with plain yogurt.  it is so versatile.  i've used it to make blueberry smoothies and muffins and as a substitute for sour cream in many recipes.  my recent favorite is the above creation.  it's so simple and yet so tasty. 

ingredients: thinly sliced cucumbers, red onion, salt, pepper, and plain yogurt

prep: thinly slice the cucumber and lay the slices on a paper towel to dry, generously sprinkle cucumbers with salt.  thinly slice a red onion.  combine the cucumber with the red onions and some yogurt.  then grind some fresh pepper all over it and mix together.  then eat!  yummmy!  

it may sound a bit strange, but it's really light and fresh and full of flavor.  i might go make some right now...

kitchen klutz

i'm a fairly clumsy person.  i often trip, bump into things, hit my funny bone.  i'm always stubbing my toes.  while my clumsiness can be annoying and often results in minor bumps, bruises and cuts, i have found it to be even more irritating and dangerous in the kitchen.  

my kitchen klutziness can be separated into two categories based on the end result of my clumsy action.

1) MKK (messy kitchen klutz) during a MKK moment, i create a huge mess in the kitchen with my clumsy actions.  

example 1:  while cooking and drinking a glass of wine, i turn around and knock the wine over with my elbow.  the wine spills everywhere.  it also spills on my jeans, socks and shirt.  (note: this can and has occurred with a seemingly endless variety of ways to spill the glass of wine.  in several cases, the wine glass broke.) 

example 2: the kitchen aid mixer should not be turned on while the mixing blade is sticking out of the bowl.  i often turn in on when it is sticking out and covered with dough.  usually, i turn it on by accidentally bumping the switch.  a few days ago, this resulted in cooking dough splattering all over my kitchen and kitchen floor. 

(many other similar examples exist, but you get the point...)

2) BHKK (bodily harm kitchen klutz) a BHKK occurs when my clumsy actions lead to bodily harm.  generally, bodily harm in the kitchen is in the form of a burn or a cut.  

example 1: while i sometimes burn myself on pots and pans, most of my burns occur while baking.  i often burn myself while taking things in and out of the oven.  and most recently (tonight), i burned myself on a cookie sheet.  i somehow managed to give myself a 2 inch burn.  

example 2: accidents with knives usually don't happen when i'm actually cutting something.  they happen when i'm washing dishes, putting knives away or doing something totally unrelated to cutting.  i barely avoided a serious injury a few days ago when i dropped a knife on the ground and it almost pierced my foot. 

sometimes the BHKK can cause a MKK.  when i burn myself taking cookies from the oven, i may drop the cookies on the floor as a result of the pain from the burn.  

i think i'd rather stub my toe or trip in public.  those cookies i baked better be worth the 2 inch burn i have on my hand...speaking of which, i better go eat a few of them to make myself feel better.  they'd probably go well with a glass of milk if i can manage not to spill it...

ukrainian easter

traditional ukrainian easter eggs (these were my two 2008 keepers)

i also baked paska, the ukrainian easter bread.

nutella and a spoon

you know how there are some foods that you just can't get enough of? the taste is familiar. the taste is delicious. the taste leaves you wanting more. for me, one of those foods is nutella. i love the taste of nutella.

nutella tastes good with everything...bread, apples, bananas, cookies, ice cream, crackers...but the best part about nutella is that it tastes good with just a spoon (or your finger for that matter).

today was a crazy day at work. it ranged from career reviews (good!) to being attacked on the phone (bad!) to last minute deadlines (stressful!) to the joy of friday (yay!) i needed a snack after getting home. and i had the perfect solution--nutella and a spoon. yummmm.

baking!

a few recent baking successes.

1) i have a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. the secret ingredient is pudding mix. it makes them super moist. and ultimately delicious. i made them 2 weeks ago for a co-worker's birthday. and then i made them again last week for my boss' birthday. my co-workers now are addicted to my cookies. just like at mercer. (let me know if you want the new chocolate chip recipe!)



2) i made mini pies for our church picnic. i wanted to make pie, but i didn't think it would be very easy to eat at a picnic. so i made the crust and pushed it into cupcake pans and made little mini pies. they were REALLY good.

bento

my newest idea for bringing lunch to work is inspired by the idea of the bento box. bento boxes are single-portions of a takeout or home-packed meal common that are common in Japan. Traditional bentos have rice, fish or meat and some veggies as a side dish. my first bento has quinoa, veggies, italian sausage and some salsa (in the red thing). the red thing is actually a teflon cupcake holder. i have 12 of them and they're really helpful for separating sauces and such from the food.

fresh : organic : local

fresh, organic blueberries, rhubarb, and strawberries

delicious, juicy, red, all cut up

makes excellent cobbler!

a colorful meal

i made this creation for dinner last night. the salad in the front has corn, shelled edamame, onion, tomatoes, chick peas, basil, oregano, parsley, lemon and lime juice. i ate it the next night mixed in with some quinoa and it was wonderful.

i can't take credit for the rolls on the top of the plate. they're a trader joe's special. but were quite tasty. especially dipped in ponzu sauce. ponzu sauce is quite possibly my all time favorite sauce. mmmm.

pizza and beer

tonight wasn't a cooking night...it was definitely a pizza and beer night. yummmmm.

fresh italian pasta

i tend to be a fairly type a person, so it might surprise you to learn that i 110% hate cooking with recipes. i don't like following the directions, measuring, reading the instructions, etc. recipes actually stress me out. making sure to buy all the ingredients in them, wondering if you mixed right, finding out you skipped a step; all stressful. i like making up recipes as i go along. the benefits to this method are many fold: 1) you can be creative, 2) you can use the ingredients you already have 3) you can use the food/ingredients you like, 4) you can cook without the stress. disadvantages are that 1) sometimes it doesn't turn out so well, 2) you have to remember what you did so you can recreate it (without writing it down in a formulaic way that makes it into an evil recipe), 3) the food/ingredients you like/have may not always go so well together...

that being said, i had a big success in my dinner creation tonight. it is pictured above. some of the ingredients include freshly diced tomatoes, italian sausage, portabella mushrooms cooked in balsamic vinegar, fresh herbs from my garden, and some garlic. it was better than i even thought it would be. and i like to think it looked pretty tasty as well.

why have i started blogging about food recently? well, it combats disadvantage #2 above. and also, i don't think more than 3 people actually read my blog...so it's more of a reminder/journal for me. and i like writing down my two cents whether or not anyone else likes reading them or not.

i love pie!

I had the urge to bake tonight and decided to make a pie. I was going to make a blueberry pie (my all time favorite), but when I stopped by the organic blueberry farm on my way home from work, I found out that blueberry season isn't until July 1st. However, I did buy some fresh organic cherries and rhubarb.

One of my favorite things about pie is the pie crust. When I was growing up, I always loved when my mom made pie because it meant not only a delicious pie, but pie crust cookies. (see picture above). Pie crust cookies are made with the leftover pie crust. You put some butter on the crust and then sprinkle on cinnamon and sugar. Roll it up in a log, cut it and bake it and the results are some wonderful cookies. There are only two important things about pie crust cookies: 1) they must never be made alone...only when making pie and 2) they have to be eaten warm, otherwise they aren't good. Maybe that's why pie crust cookies are so special. They only come every now and then...and they're only around for a short period of time. I sure did eat all of those pie crust cookies on that plate.

And then there's the pie.
It looks good. It smells good. But I won't know if it's good until tomorrow. It has to cool...and I'm so stuffed from pie crust cookies that i can't possibly try it.

vegetable meledy

I made this with my fresh herbs...that and the following ingredients: red pepper, orange pepper, yellow pepper, cucumber, onion, tomato, lime juice and lemon juice. It was great inside of a warm pita. I think tomorrow I'll try it with some cous cous or rice.

my garden

I purchased some herbs to grow on my porch last night. One of them has already had a casualty; it fell off the porch into the 'jungle'. I can see it down there, but it's unreachable. I'm pretty excited about the others. I plucked some cilantro and basil for my dinner tonight. Hooray for freshly grown things.

the caffeine curve

sushi extravaganza

The picture above is the best sushi meal I have ever eaten. Just looking at the picture makes my mouth water. The delectable meal was the chef's special; each fish was chosen by the chef from the best they had available. It was a sushi surprise.

Each piece of fish felt like it turned to cream in your mouth. No piece tasted too fishy. Each was uniquely different from the next. Even the ginger tasted amazing. And the sake was smooth, warm, and a delicious complement to the meal.

The best part of the dinner was that I was able to enjoy it with (and courtesy of) a good friend. So thanks to Allison (and Blue Ribbon Sushi) for an amazing sushi dinner.

my latest food obsession

i go through various phases during which i'm obsessed with certain foods. by obsessed, i mean that i crave these foods all the time. it doesn't matter whether it's breakfast, lunch, brunch, dinner or a snack. my latest obsession is what i want.

last spring/early summer it was peanut butter/banana shakes with soy milk. the peanut butter needs to be organic crunchy...and they're best when the PB/banana ratio is such that you can taste the banana, but it doesn't overpower the PB and vice versa.

my late summer obsession were pita sandwiches with hummus, tomatoes, cheese, and ham. the pitas were best toasted and were often too soggy if i made one in the morning and brought it to work for lunch.

my current obsession? veggie burgers. all varieties work. black bean...normal...etc. i like them without a bun. with baby tomatoes sliced on top. and sprouts on top of the tomatoes. then i sprinkle on some Tabasco sauce and lemon juice. mmmmm.

Di Fara Pizza

I had the best pizza I've ever tasted in my life today. I've always known that New York has some of the best pizza in the country, but I now believe that I have found the Holy Grail of Pizza. It's located in a Russian Orthodox Jewish section of Midwood Brooklyn. The place is owned and run by a guy named Dom DeMarco. He is the only person who makes the pizzas. He hand makes each one with fresh tomato sauce, high-quality regular mozzarella, fresh buffalo mozzarella that he imports from Italy, and a dusting of sharp, slightly nutty-tasting grana padana. This is topped off with a drizzling of olive oil.

The small restaurant was packed with people clamoring for a pizza and a seat. After waiting for our pizza for nearly an hour, we ate the first slices of our pizza standing up. It didn't matter, though. That pizza was worth every minute we waited for it. It sounds strange to describe pizza as mouth-watering, but this pizza melted in your mouth. It was glorious.