Girl Detective

We received our first half box of vegetables last week from our fall as part of their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. It took all week, but I used it all, including the greens from the radishes and the kohlrabi, and the stems from the kohlrabi and chard. I crammed in three recipes in the last 24 hours: pan-fried greens with tofu last night, frittata with greens for breakfast, and “tabbouleh” for lunch. Taboulleh is in quotes because I had to use couscous instead of bulgur, but it turned out well in any case, and was a perfect vehicle for the odds and ends left in the fridge–salad dressing, radishes and greens, cucumber, olives–all of which I served over the last of our lettuce.

I didn’t have to throw anything away, but many of the greens were looking quite tired yesterday and today. Running out of produce (which I doubt will be an issue as the summer waxes) by using it sooner is a much better problem than using it up at the last minute. Running out means I buy anything else I need from our grocery cooperative. Rushing to use it at the last minute almost ensures having to throw something away. And the thrifty housewife in me (goddess knows where she came from–I didn’t get it from my mother) can’t stand that. So I’ll try to use more produce sooner this week. My veg bin stands empty and waiting.

Yesterday was my first day with a CSA share, or half of one, to be precise. I was lucky enough to inherit a few weeks of veggies last summer; the freshness and variety convinced me to invest this year. Today’s box included the following. After some research, I’ve added storage tips and probable recipes.

Spinach: Surprise! Don’t wash right away. Keep in loose bag till ready to use, then stem and clean. I’ll make Tofu with Spinach Sauce.

Kohlrabi: remove greens and store unwashed in loose bag till ready to use. Store bulb in vegetable drawer (cold and moist). Peel and cut up bulb raw to use in salads. I’ll use greens with chard and bok choy in Pan-Cooked Greens with Tofu and Garlic*.

Arugula: wash, dry, and store in plastic bag with paper towel to absorb extra moisture. I’ll make Tuscan-Style Steak with Arugula and Parmesan.

Radishes with greens: Remove greens, wash and store like arugula. I’ll use radishes in Tabbouleh*.

Broccoli: cut off bottom of stem. Store upright in shallow water. I’ll make Stir Fried Beans with Broccoli*.

Bok Choy: Don’t wash till ready to use. Keep in loose bag till ready to use, then wash and dry stalks. For Pan-Cooked Greens with Tofu and Garlic*.

Swiss Chard: Like spinach. When ready to use, trim stems, then remove leaves from them with a sharp knife under running water, letting the leaves fall into a bowl; rinse off additional dirt from leaves and dry. Roughly chop stems, then add to recipe a minute or two before adding leaves. For Pan-Cooked Greens with Tofu and Garlic*, and More Vegetable Than Egg Frittata*.

*From Food Matters by Mark Bittman.

The article “Birds in Hand” from the March issue of Gourmet intrigued me. Roast two chickens at once, it said, to produce a chicken dinner for four, then use the leftovers for three more meals. Something about this kind of one-stop all-week shopping appeals to the thrifty housewife in me, so I decided to give it a go.

What I didn’t know, though, was that I’d be seeing those chickens for quite some time. My sons, 5yo Drake and 3yo Guppy, are picky, though improving, eaters. So the meals for four sometimes stretched out to lunches and leftovers, as the boys sometimes opted for PBJs, cereal, and other kid-friendly dinner substitutes.

I began with Roast Chicken with Pan Gravy and served Panfried Smashed Potatoes on the side.

I used the leftover roast chicken to make Cheesy Chicken and Mushroom Lasagne. The kids wouldn’t touch it, but G and I devoured it.

Next up were Chicken Gyros with Cucumber Salsa and Tsatsiki. Again the kids were suspicious of such a multi-layered meal, but I thought it was delicious.

With still more roast chicken to use, I made the Chicken Tostadas again. Drake pronounced them, “Spicy, but awesome!” And if you know what kind of eating struggles we’ve had with him, you’ll know I just about broke down and cried.

But I still had leftover chicken and tomato sauce. So I put that over tortilla chips, covered it with cheese, topped it with the leftover iceberg lettuce and radishes for Chicken Nachos, recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated.

Still not done, I took a last serving of the chicken nachos, heated them up in the cast iron skillet, added in two eggs, and had a Mexican chicken scramble.

After all this, I still had Leftover Roast Chicken Stock to make. I threw in two carcasses and the odds and ends in my veggie bin, then made a Leek and Pea Risotto. The recipe called for calamari. I tried trout instead. Bad call. Better to have skipped the protein entirely.

Then I was done, right? Alas, no. I still had a cup of Pan Gravy from the first recipe. So I heated up a bag of frozen fries, topped them with Wisconsin cheese curds, melted them in the oven, then covered them in gravy to make Poutine, a staple of Canadian diners.

That, my friends, was finally the end of the two roast chickens. Thirteen days. Eight different recipes, nine if you count making the stock. Everything but the trout was good, some things were great. But it was an enormous undertaking, and continually reusing all the food was tiring. It’s not an experience I’ll be repeating anytime soon.

Next up, I think, lots of small, simple, meals that I’ll try to make both veggie based and kid to friendly. Yeah, those aren’t mutually incompatible, are they? I can but try.

We had dinner at a friend’s house recently, and she served smashed potatoes from a recipe in a recent issue of Gourmet magazine. I’ve subscribed to Gourmet magazine at two points. The first when I was just learning to cook in the early 90’s, and again when Ruth Reichl took over as editor, in 2000. I liked the magazine, but after a two year subscription the first time and one year the second, I felt I’d had enough. The trouble of a monthly magazine, of reading it, testing recipes, was more burdensome than the recipes were good. Since I also subscribed to Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country at the time, I was fine with giving up Gourmet. (I’ve given up on Cook’s in the meantime; their overzealous solicitations did me in.)

Yet my friend’s potatoes were simple and delicious, so I thought I’d check out Gourmet again. My local library has it, so I checked out a few issues. Once I began to page through them, I found myself marking a very high number of recipes I’d like to try, many of which were simple, yet didn’t seem to skimp on quality ingredients and taste. It’s been several weeks, and several different issues, and I’m once again a fan of Gourmet. It has some great articles, like recent ones by Amy Bloom on Italian food, and Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl on little known treasures of the St. Croix River Valley in the WI/MN area (not available online). And it has a great selection of recipes, from simple to complex, from everyday to special occasion, that are well-written and turn out well.

A few of my family’s favorites have been Butterscotch Pudding, Chicken Tostadas, and Lasagna Bolognese with Spinach. I’m going to keep checking out the magazine from the library, rather than committing to a subscription of my own. Apparently it’s time for my once a decade go-round with Gourmet. Maybe it’ll last, this time.

Back when I lived on the east coast of the US, I had a ritual when I visited NYC. I’d stop in Hudson News after I got off the train, buy a can of Dry Grape Schweppes and the New York edition of the New York Times, two things I loved and couldn’t find anywhere else. I did the same thing before I got on the train home. Then I moved across country, and visit the east coast much more rarely. During that time, Dry Grape Schweppes has gotten even harder to find. Hudson News no longer carries it. Grocery stores might, but I have a hard time seeing myself hauling around a 2L bottle on a day trip to the city.

I was reminded of this loss recently when I did a google search for a lip balm, and saw there was a Dry Grape Schweppes flavor. I Googled the soda, and saw that it was still available, but only in very limited areas in the Northeast US. Instead of going through mail-order shenanigans, my usual MO when a strange craving like this arises, I decided to craft a facsimile. I bought a 2L bottle of Canada Dry (which I prefer to Schweppes as a not-that-gingery ginger ale; in general I like my ginger ale very strong, like Natural Brew’s) and some grape soda. I used Blue Sky’s Natural Grape Soda. I mixed them in a glass. Voila. Grape ginger ale. Right here in my zip code.

Once upon a time, I was a show-going fan of the Grateful Dead. My then-boyfriend was a Deadhead who introduced me to the music and the culture. We played “name that singer” listening to tapes on the way to the stadium. Was it a Bobby song? Jerry? Or a trick question–the rare Phil tune, and the thankfully even rarer tunes by whichever poor keyboard player hadn’t yet exploded?

One of my favorite parts of the scene, though, was the parking lot. Before and after the show, people tailgated, and sold wares from the back of their cars and trucks. Sure, there were drugs and alcohol around. I was more interested in the other stuff: T-shirts with beautiful designs and lyrics, bootleg tapes of classic shows, beaded jewelry (I once bought a lavender ankle bracelet with bells), and food.

Once, after a show at Buckeye Lake, we made our way through the parking lot. I was sweaty and thirsty from dancing; the shows lasted at least two hours. I was also very hungry, and thrilled when a girl in a swirly dress wandered by calling, “Bagels! Veggie bagels! Cruelty-free, love-filled bagels!” I remember that bagel as one of the best foodstuffs I’ve ever eaten. Whole wheat, with cream cheese, dill, cucumber, fresh tomato, salt and just a few thinly sliced red onions. It was heavenly.

I just tried to recreate the dish. I didn’t have tomatoes, and I skipped the red onion. It was tasty, but lacked a little something. Perhaps it was the joy and the camaraderie of the parking lot.

Lifetime and Bravo have finally settled their lawsuit over season six of Project Runway, which will air this summer on Lifetime.

Meanwhile, Bravo comes back swinging and doesn’t bother to pretend it’s not a rip off, with The Fashion Show, with judges Isaac Mizrahi and Fern Mallis.

For those of us left with a bad taste in our mouth after Top Chef Season Five, no date has yet been set for Season Six, though casting took place earlier this spring. Better yet, at least two Twin Cities chefs auditioned!

Meanwhile, though, Bravo keeps the culinary reality goodness alive with Top Chef Masters, kind of like an American Iron Chef a la Top Chef. (link from ALoTT5MA)

Phillip Becht, of Minneapolis’ Modern Cafe, at the City Pages, on three types of food:

1. Work eats
2. Kid eats
3. Family eats

His simple approach reminds me of Mark Bittman’s Mimimalist recipes.

I wish my kids ate a lot of broccoli. They do like the gingerbread spice cake and pizza sauce that I hide pureed broccoli in, though. Heh.

In the New York Times op ed, Mark Bittman explains why organic isn’t always better.

At Slate, Catherine Price asks Bittman and Deborah Madison for ideas to combat vegetable fatigue. Both are refreshingly honest, and Bittman’s final piece of advice is a winner. (Link from The Morning News)

The name, ChinDian, is pretty self explanatory. The chef, Nina, is Chinese. Her husband is Indian, and the cuisine at their restaurant is a blend. Friends and I visited recently and had a fabulous meal. We sampled five appetizers and devoured them all. The shrimp toast was crunchy on the outside with some chew in the middle with toothsome chunks of shrimp. The fried wontons were pleasantly non-greasy and utterly craveable. Crispy eggrolls and the chicken-chive dumplings were warm and savory, while the soft spring rolls tasted fresh and herbal.

To drink we tried the hot ginger tea, the cold ginger tea and the berry lemonade. All were pronounced excellent, though I favored the hot tea because it was a cold, wet night. I had the chow mai fun, fine rice noodles, with tofu. It was well seasoned, with excellent contrasting textures and flavors from sliced onion, carrot and the tofu; this dish easily can be gummy and lumpy. I also tried my neighbors’ mock duck broccoli and General Tso’s chicken; both had deep, rich flavors.

Chef Nina reminded us when we began to save room for dessert. It was hard with such a tempting array of items, but I managed, and was glad I did. The crepe with cream in berry sauce was not too sweet, topped generously with berries, and a wonderful complement and finish to a very good meal. I look forward to dining there again.

Rick Nelson of the Star Tribune recommended ChinDian along with Obento-Ya recently.

From the NYT, “When Economy Sours, Tootsie Rolls Soothe Souls”

The recession seems to have a sweet tooth. As unemployment has risen and 401(k)’s have shrunk, Americans, particularly adults, have been consuming growing volumes of candy

I can relate: on today’s Target trip, I bought pretzels, potato chips, Dots, spice drops, red Swedish fish, Hershey’s Special Dark bars and Orbit gum in Bubblemint and Sweet Mint flavors. No party or anything. Just ’cause. (Link from The Morning News.)

Apparently 5yo Drake and 3yo Guppy can eat at Punch pizza once a week for years and not tire of it. Not me, so I’ve been trying to expand our family-dining horizons and tried the recently opened Black Sheep, whose coal-fired pizza is different enough from Punch’s wood-fired pies to feel like a change.

Black Sheep has two sizes, a handful of menu pizzas, then a long list for making your own. Though not as fast as Punch (what could be?) the pizza was delicious, more evenly cooked, and much less oily. We were in a hurry, so didn’t try any of the alluring appetizers, or the home-made ice cream sandwiches. But we devoured both small pizzas, and will happily try Black Sheep again, though only in good weather. Street parking was sparse so we had far to walk on a day with a vicious wind chill. Rain, especially like today’s, would also be unpleasant for the long walk.

February is a big month in our family. My husband G. Grod and usually pick a date somewhere in the middle to celebrate his birthday, my birthday and Valentine’s Day. This year we went to neighborhood gem Restaurant Alma.

Alma has been doing what more and more restaurants finally came around to doing, which is focus on local, sustainable, seasonal foods. It has a small but flexible menu that changes seasonally. You can do a $45 prix fixe for three courses (salad, first and second), or order a la carte.

I started with the bitter greens; G. Grod had the prosciutto. Next I had the beet and farro risotto. For entrees, I chose the arctic char, which was perfectly cooked, and in a lovely winter preparation with potatoes and hollandaise. G. got the duck two ways, both of which were scruptious. For dessert, he had the milk chocolate roulade and I chose the oatmeal stout gingerbread cake.

Each dish was beautifully plated, with an amount of food that left us full but not stuffed. The service was friendly, attentive and helpful. The dishes themselves were a marvelous mix of complementary taste and texture. Alma is a splurge for us, so we don’t go often. But we’ve gone periodically through the years since it opened, and we’ve had lovely meals every time. I appreciate its proximity, food focus, quality AND consistency.

At Men’s Health, “The 20 Worst Foods of 2009” (link from The Morning News.) What simultaneously entertained and horrified me was the comparisons in the commentary for each selection, like the appetizer that has as many calories as THIRTEEN Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

Made with local Empire and Keepsake apples, using the Cook’s Illustrated recipe for pie dough with vodka, which I rolled out with my new French-style rolling pin.

From Salon’s review of Food Matters by Mark Bittman:

The essence of the Bittman approach is simplicity, ease and quality, but that means he has to walk a fine and constantly shifting line. Americans’ attitudes toward what we eat are laden with class and cultural baggage.

Now Bittman has waded even further into the fray by publishing “Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating With More Than 75 Recipes,” an unusual blend of manifesto, self-help manual and cookbook designed to convince people that they can drastically improve their diets with relatively little discomfort. Not only that, but in doing so, Bittman avows, they can also save the planet and relieve some of the pressure on their pocketbooks. As promises go, that’s a whopper, a super-trifecta encompassing the major obsessions of the current moment: weight loss, environmentalism and penny-pinching.

Laura Miller succinctly notes that Bittman’s book is “applied Pollan”, referring to Michael, who wrote The Omnivore’s Dilemma (reductive summary: eat more local, sustainably created foods) and In Defense of Food (reductive summary: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants”)

I’ve been a fan of Bittman’s since he wrote for Cook’s Illustrated. He’s the creator of the New York Times cooking column “The Minimalist,” advocating real food cooked simply and easily. He has Bitten, a blog at the New York Times, and his How to Cook Everything, which I consult so often pages are falling out, just celebrated its 10th anniversary.

My family and I aren’t ready to try the “vegan till 6pm plan”, but I was game to give the Food Matters approach a try. This was Monday’s meal plan:

Breakfast: yogurt and cereal
Morning snack: tofu and berry smoothie and frozen waffles
Lunch: Spinach and sweet potato salad with warm bacon dressing
Afternoon snack: buttered popcorn made on the stovetop, and hot cocoa
Dinner: Beet soup with Three Legumes (From Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone)
Dessert: B.T. McElrath chocolates

The downside was the time involved in planning and making things, and having a lot of dishes to clean. The upside was that the food tasted great, the kids even tried the beet soup, and I felt good about the quality and variety, and I didn’t feel deprived or resentful. Now I see if I can keep this up, and if practice makes it easier. (Salon link from Arts & Letters Daily)

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the US. We have much to be grateful for at our house. G. Grod is thrilled to see the Philadelphia Eagles doing well again. He and I were grateful for pie. I’m glad to have finished my book before it’s due at the library. And the kids were grateful that I gave them bread and butter, since they refused to eat anything else I made for our only-veggie-sides-and-pie dinner.

Today’s menu:
Savory Corn Pudding, from Cook’s Country
Gingered Beets, from Sundays at Moosewood
Creamy Cauliflower Casserole with Bacon and Cheddar
Impossible Pumpkin Pie with Maple Whipped Cream

Tomorrow, I’ll attempt:

Roasted Carrots
Sweet and Sour Brussel Sprouts
Apple Pie from Cook’s Illustrated with their Foolproof Pie Dough with its secret ingredient of vodka. I’ll use a mix of local Honeycrisp and Empire apples.

Edited to update the menu. Everything turned out well, though my boys still wouldn’t eat anything. I couldn’t even bribe Guppy with two kinds of pie. I was glad to skip the sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and turkey. G. Grod and I didn’t miss them.

G. Grod asked for an apple pie several weeks ago. I finally worked up the nerve–I don’t think I’ve ever made an apple pie, or a double crust pie. It’s definitely a make-ahead; it takes at least 4 hours to cool.

I used different recipes from Cook’s Illustrated for the pie and the dough, which has a secret ingredient. It’s not a pretty pie, but it smells good. I’ll be serving it with Cedar Summit’s cinnamon ice cream.

Minnesota food critic Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl recommends Porter and Frye for “The Big Birthday” in November’s issue of Minnesota Monthly (Online article doesn’t include P & F.) To celebrate a similar big event–G. Grod’s and my tenth wedding anniversary–my generous family treated us to dinner at Porter and Frye in downtown Minneapolis’ Ivy hotel. Beforehand, the restaurant called to find out our likes, dislikes, foods to avoid, and foods to include (foie gras, for G. and me), then they crafted a menu and an accompanying wine flight just for us.

We were seated at the cozy circular booth tucked into the stairwell. Service was knowledgeable, personable, attentive but never oppressive. And the meal. Oh, my. Chef Josh Habiger (his Flickr page has lots of beautiful food pics to ogle) and his team hit it out of the park: king-crab salad with Japanese pepper and vanilla foam in a martini glass; pressed roasted squash in a brilliant green tarragon sauce with little gumdrop-shaped nuggets of ripe, local pear caramelized on their tiny bottoms; foie gras with concord grape jam and sorbet, with buttered toast to sop up every last delicious morsel; veal sweetbreads with flash fried chard that dissolved in my mouth plus a savory sauteed chard; duck with mustard, figs and duck-fat sauteed parsnips; pork tenderloin and belly with a perfectly non-sweet gingerbread, and a sweet potato puree so light and fluffy I could not fathom the science involved in getting it that way (and they didn’t tell me); raspberry and chili pepper sorbet, and cream cheese ice cream alongside a chocolate, cherry and vanilla pastry.

We had the seven-course meal. It was a lot of food, but I cannot name a course I would have skipped. Our tenth anniversary dinner was filled with beautiful plates of delicious, high-quality food prepared with mind-boggling creativity and cutting-edge techniques. I’ll cherish the memory of this meal for a long time.

Edited to add all sorts of links. Be sure to look at the food photos; they make me awestruck and hungry at the same time.

I love the morning. I look forward to it every night before bed. My current regime is a double short cappuccino (with another waiting in the wings; thanks, G. Grod!), and Nature’s Path cherry/pomegranate toaster pastry. Today’s book, which I finished at breakfast, was David Gilmour’s The Film Club, recommended both at Entertainment Weekly and Mental Multivitamin. Good for film geeks and parents.