Foods

Tonight I consulted my blog because I remembered writing about burning my hands on hot peppers years ago. Since then, I've been good about wearing gloves when I cut chilies, but tonight David used the knife I'd used on the jalapenos to cut tomatoes--and then apparently touched his temple near his eye, as suggested by the burning he noticed moments later. It turns out the blog post wasn't that helpful; I'd already had David smear sour cream on the spot, and I don't think he was too inclined to add more condiments!

We're back in the height of CSA season. Friends here in HR are farmers, and we got in on their first attempt at a CSA. Because they're new to it, they're calling it the "Black Market CSA" and it's limited to only a few people. It started a bit slow, but has been great fun--and the past few weeks, has provided a TON of veggies. New (or at least newish) to me discoveries this year have included collard greens, bok choy, fresh fennel, fava beans, and rainbow chard. We've been eating the greens in two primary forms: earlier in the spring, cooked in homemade peanut sauce and served over brown rice; and recently, whizzed into green drinks with fresh and frozen fruit. David is a good sport about the latter; I haven't really relished them yet but choke them down because they're good for me.

I do, however, relish meals like the ones I made Monday and Tuesday nights:

Monday: Salad with roasted beets, spicy candied pecans, sweet onions, and chevre; fava beans with caramelized onions and fennel; baba ganoush; and a whole roasted clove of garlic, served with French bread, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and kalamata olives. For dessert (not pictured), baklava! I'd never made baba ganoush, and wish I hadn't put in as much garlic; we got more eggplants yesterday, so I'll probably roast them and throw them in with the existing dip to tone it down a bit. I also screwed up the baklava by pouring the syrup over it before it had cooled; thankfully, 35 minutes in the oven the next day at 275° crisped it up.

Tuesday was more familiar territory: Zucchini and pattypan squash patties (with the aforementioned jalapenos), steamed string beans, and Greek salad. Patties like these (which I've mentioned here before) are one of my summer standbys, especially when we have a CSA. They're great for using up everything from squashes to sunchokes--I just grate/process the vegetables (squeezing out the excess liquid), and throw in a chopped onion, a binder of some sort (eggs, flax seed gel, and/or--as I had to last night--sour cream), something starchy (crumbs of crackers, bread, cereal, chips, etc.), cheese if I have it, and seasonings (including herbs). It's good fried or baked like a casserole.

I have more beets, heirloom tomatoes, and chilies to use. The first two will be easy; anyone have a good recipe for Anaheim peppers?

Thanksgiving

This year, I'm thankful for:

-David's family, who hosted Thanksgiving here today and invited my family
-My family, including my mom and P&T,who were here; my talented and beautiful siblings, who were here only in spirit; and my dad, who's in Indiana with his parents
-My SIX living grandparents
-Living within easy driving distance of both of our families
-My wonky, charming house and mushroom-filled yard
-My sweet kittens, even Pobbes, who destroyed another (silk, a gift transported from India) scarf this week
-Scarves, Capilene longies, and SmartWool socks
-My two online classes and the technology that lets me teach remotely
-My phone, on which I'm tapping this
-My few, but tenacious, readers here

Happy Thanksgiving!

Twilit

Tonight a whole crew of us--four girls and three guys--went to see the new Twilight movie. It wasn't awful; their highest budget to date (I can only assume) didn't hurt at all, and neither did my movie theater nachos. I only discovered movie theater nachos a year or two ago, and they're now one of my favorite guilty pleasures.

Also: David's home!

Shroomin'

We spent last Sunday in the woods, hunting mushrooms. In the rain. It doesn't get much more Pacific Northwestern than that!

My prize chanterelle

Scientists, identifying

Fall foliage

Tree slide

Friday

Tonight:

Sushi (veggie for me, of course) at Masu in Northeast

Bonfire with the downstairs neighbors (we're still snow-free here... at least until tomorrow)

Date

Tonight David and I hit up Cheap Date Night at one of the many venues that make Mpls so awesome: the restaurant/bar/theater/bowling alley Bryant Lake Bowl. We were actually doubling with one of my good friends and her new man-friend, so it was especially exciting. We all had fabulous squash ravioli in tomato sauce (there are two menu options for the cheap date, vegetarian and carnivorous, and even though they are carnivores, they went for the ravioli over the chicken something-or-other). My friend credited me with being the reason for her choosing the squash! This makes me unreasonably happy.

After our carrot cake (for David and me) and flourless chocolate torte (for them), we bowled--part of the date night deal. David is an excellent bowler. I am a terrible bowler, but make up for what I lack in style (and points) with enthusiasm!

But now it is late. I teach tomorrow (only three meetings left!), and am not prepared, so it should be a good time. Thankfully I'll have several hours in the morning and early afternoon to get myself ready.

Oh, also! Here are my words of wisdom for the day: if you are in doubt, at all, ask the bus driver. Otherwise, like me, afraid to look dumb/convinced that the campus connector must stop at the student union, you might, like me, end up on a bus ride to Saint Paul and back, miss your 8:00 appointment, and lose an hour of your morning. And THEN won't you look dumb, when you get off the bus at the same place you got on, an hour ago. Seriously. Five years on this campus, and a little (massive) road construction (and complete restructuring of the shuttle routes) totally threw me off. Sigh.

Pancake

Recently, I've been making German pancakes almost every weekend. We were getting half a dozen eggs in our CSA every week until two weeks ago(!), so the ingredients were always on hand. The recipe is also ridiculously easy: throw everything into the blender, bake for 35 minutes, and you're golden.

Alton Brown's recipe (I use regular sugar + vanilla, rather than vanilla sugar; regular salt; and soymilk)

David has gotten rather tired of them, though, and even my passion is cooling, so I'll try to find a different delicious brunch staple. Any ideas?

Cake Pops

In response to my last post, Mari asked about my recipe for cake pops, so I thought I'd give a quick rundown.

Hastily decorated party cake pops

Bakerella's basic formula is super simple: bake a cake, crumble it up, mash in frosting, form into balls, insert sticks and dip into candy. I think this is her most detailed tutorial.

The first time I tried this, I made several mistakes:

1. I bought some Fancy Deluxe Super Moist cake mix that called for something like half a cup of oil; even though I didn't add that much, the cake was still kind of greasy--probably fine for regular eating, but not great for cake pops. The second time, I bought a cheap store brand cake. Much better!
2. I used Wilton's white candy melts, which had a dreadful, hypersweet cheap candy flavor. The second time around, I used their chocolate ones, which were far better; they tasted like candy I would actually want to eat.
3. I used homemade cream cheese frosting at nearly full strength sweetness. Paired with the white candy shell, that was way too sweet. The second time around, I whipped the frosting left over from my first attempt--maybe a cup?--with another block of Neufchatel and some more vanilla. That made for a less sweet frosting and a far tastier pop.
4.  I didn't let the balls chill sufficiently before dipping them, and this is probably the most important thing. If they're not nice and cold--the second time, mine were pretty much frozen--the candy coating won't stick well. I had mine in the freezer for probably at least an hour before dipping them, and I wouldn't go with any less than that.

The second time, thanks to the knowledge gained from my first failure, things went much better. The pops actually tasted good--rich, more like dense brownies or even truffles, but good--and were superfun to eat. I wish I'd had a bit more time to decorate them; as it was, after all that fussiness, I was really pressed for time, and ended up slapping on some extra cream cheese frosting piped from a Zip-lock bag. I think I did all 31 (I think that's the number I ended up with, unintentionally!) in about four minutes.

They were a fair amount of work, but a big hit--so festive! I'd love to give them another try sometime, and do fun decorations. There is lots more inspiration over at Bakerella; check it out!

Golden

August 31st was my golden birthday, so I threw myself a party. I'd been wanting to have a party on the lawn of this house pretty much since we moved in; I may actually have been scheming about it even before the snow melted.

When August finally rolled around, I sent out invitations on sparkly gold paper left over from our moving announcements. I discovered cake pops and was inspired to make other foods on sticks: caprese salad skewers with garden cherry tomatoes, garden basil, and fresh mozzarella pearls; Greek salad skewers with garden cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, and feta; and fruit skewers with pineapple, grapes, and strawberries. In the non-stick category, we had Martha's carrot-ginger mini-cupcakes with orange cream cheese frosting; hummus with pita and crudités; and sparkling cocktails.

I set everything up on cream and gold tablecloths I'd found at the thrift store, with little gold napkins. We had golden balloons, candles in ornamented jars and lots of hanging lights--strands of regular mini white lights, some tiny Japanese paper lanterns, and even a random strand of spiky Ikea lights.

But! They don't call my Kitchen a Disaster for nothing. I spent all morning and afternoon cooking, baking, and running last minute errands, and David and our downstairs neighbor did yeomen's duty getting lights strung, and still things were crazy until right up to party time. Our other neighbor came up to lend me a hand with frosting cupcakes, and then they both did skewer duty. At one point, all four of us were in the kitchen when we heard a crash; investigation revealed that Brrrrrruno had managed to knock over a tray of cupcakes and consume at least one, liner and all, before we were able to separate them!**

At 15 minutes before the time listed on the invitations, I left my tireless helpers in the kitchen to throw on some make up and my party dress. I was still making little labels for the food and drinks tables when the first guests showed up! So. I don't have many pictures at all, which makes me very sad, because it was such a beautiful party.

It really was. The little lights made everything feel remarkably festive. It was a lovely evening, and the rather brisk breeze was countered by a roaring fire in the fire pit. There were girls in party dresses*** and tasty treats and lovely music, thanks to an iPod Hi-Fi boombox we found at the thrift store for $19 (2006 retail price $349. Oh yeah!).

Anyway, here are the pictures I do have. Try to imagine everything golden and sparkly, the way it is in my memory!































*Which I had to make twice, because the first batch tasted and looked pretty bad
**For weeks afterward when he would come up to our apartment, he would lick the floor and rug at the site of the crash.
***I wore my dress from a few Halloweens ago; how many chances does a girl have to wear a dress like that, anyway?

Cheeseball

I made a cheese ball for a Halloween get-together at our neighbors' last Friday night.

It was really simple: Neufchatel cheese, a shredded colby/jack cheese mix, some green onions, and part of a packet of Ranch dressing (not dip) mix. I stirred it together, rolled it into a ball and left it in the fridge (in nonstick-sprayed plastic wrap) to chill for a few hours. Before the party, I shaped it into a rough pumpkin and stuck the stem of a bell pepper on top.

I'd been inspired by a photo of tiny pumpkin-shaped cheese balls (with pretzel stems and adorable parsley leaves!), but decided one big pumpkin made much better sense on my rushed schedule.

Summer Eating II

Cherry tomatoes ripening in(/taking over) the garden

Dragon carrots!

David preparing asparagus for grilling

Hobo packets with dragon carrots, CSA green beans and sweet corn, potatoes and onions

Waiting for the grill to heat

David managing the grill

Goldfinch?

Caprese! (I reduced an entire bottle of balsamic for dinner with the Wonders; we have lots, to put on everything!) Garden basil and CSA tomato (our big ones aren't ripe yet). And Maldon flaked sea salt!

Summer Eating (& Entertaining Vegans II)

Me in a surprisingly non-disastrous-looking kitchen

Last night we had the Wonders (the entertaining vegans!) over for dinner again. Bradley, who is better at blogging than I am, has already posted about it here. I was quite pleased with how dinner turned out: lemony hummus with crudités (dragon carrots, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers from our garden!--and some celery) and Holy Land olives to start, and then herby sweet corn arepas Minnow-style* with a few tiny chioggia beets from our garden. The Wonders brought over an amazing raw cobbler (recipe linked at Bradley's blog) and some nice wine to round it all out. Sadly, the only photographic documentation of the event is a picture David snapped  as I was still cooking!

Here are a few things I did manage to photograph before eating--some of the other garden- and CSA-inspired meals we've been enjoying this summer:

One of my favorite summer sandwiches: whole grain bagel topped with Neufchatel cheese, garden lettuce, cucumbers (not from our garden yet, at that point), and Vegetable Delight seasoning.

Shortcake with CSA strawberries and biscuits from scratch.**

Corn on the cob with pizza buns (toasted English muffins, homemade sauce, and pearl mozzarella, browned under the broiler and then topped with garden basil)

Roasted vegetables inspired by a kohlrabi in our CSA box: kohlrabi, onion, potatoes, dragon carrots, cherry tomatoes, and fresh corn, tossed with olive oil and garlic and topped with Maldon flaked sea salt. Served with salads of CSA greens and CSA garden peas (and a wedge of aged gouda!).

Corn on the cob with spicy kidney bean burgers and a basil/garlic/yogurt dip. I'd link to the burger recipe, but I didn't really follow it. Beans, oats, almonds, a couple of CSA eggs, seasonings... I was working with what I had in the cupboards!

Brunch this morning: a scramble with CSA eggs; Neufchatel cheese; and garden basil, cherry tomatoes, chives, and green onion.

It's been pretty hot and humid around here recently, so I haven't been doing quite as much cooking as I might like to--but it'll be cold again soon enough, so I can't complain too much. And in the meantime, the delicious produce keeps flowing! Our garden is a bit of a jungle recently, though slightly less so since we chopped down the massive, bolted cilantro and the surprise sunflower (I planted a "butterfly mix" in one of our square feet, and it grew some really tall flowers!) that had been shading the smaller plants. The tomatoes, though, are starting to riot!

*I used this arepas recipe, using soy milk, omitting the cheese, and substituting EVOO and some seasonings for the margarine. I topped them with Boca's vegan sausage crumbled, sauteed red bell peppers, and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. The Minnow includes spinach, and I'd hoped to serve ours with garden greens on the side, but they've gotten bitter with the heat (and neglect).

**The "from scratch" recipe on this page is amazing, and almost as easy as Bisquick biscuits (which are surprisingly disappointing after eating these!). I cut the recipe into thirds and bake two large biscuits, using soy milk and grating in frozen butter (my mom's trick!) instead of messing with a pastry cutter (which I don't have). I also don't bother sifting or mixing the milk and vanilla separately.

Crema

A few weeks ago, David and a friend and I biked to a cafe about a mile and a half from our house, called Crema. We had brunch on their uber-charming patio, and then, because it was so irresistible, we had some homemade ice cream from their impressive display. Since then, David and I have been back there twice for frozen treats.

Tonight, we stopped in after dinner at the Minnow. We shared a triple scoop(!): strawberry basil sorbet, topped, at the scooper's recommendation, with banana ice cream and pineapple mango basil sorbet. It was amazing. I'm not a huge banana fan, but the ice cream tasted like banana bread batter smells--buttery and creamy and delicious. The pineapple mango chaser had just the right amount of fruity tang--plus the clean, herby hint of basil.

"This place is as good as the Patisserie!" I gushed.
"It's better," David said.
"Better?" I asked.
"It's not in Walla Walla!"

When I recovered from laughing, I said, "I would blog that--but half the people who read my blog live in Walla Walla!"

David didn't care, and here I've gone and blogged it. Walla Walla people, I love you! I love your patisserie! And when you come visit me here in Mpls, I'll take you to Crema and you can judge its wonders for yourself!

Tuesday

Perfect Summer Tuesday Date Night:
Thanks to David for the pictures, off his phone!

1. Ride the Greenway to the Longfellow Grill for sweet potato fries and an apéritif

Longfellow

2. Bike to the Birchwood Cafe for dinner (black bean quinoa burger) and dessert (cornmeal cobbler with peaches and berries)

Bike bridge at sunset

3. Bike to B & E's to pick up this week's CSA share (eggs, Romaine, and strawberries!)

On the Greenway

First carrot!

4. Ride home, admire the garden, and eat the season's first dragon carrot!

Birthday

Lighting the neon crazy candles

Yesterday was David's birthday. He didn't let me plan a party, but he did let me put candles on the apricot cheesecake (with strawberry apricot sauce!) that I made him, and invite the neighbors and one other friend up to share it. Compromise!

Summer Weekends II

Yesterday was a busy day in Minneapolis--Rock the Garden, Twins Game, and the Stone Arch Festival. But it rained all day, so David and I pretty much stayed inside and ate (a fruit pizza with a shortbread crust for brunch, and egg, potato, and black bean burritos in homemade tortillas for lunch). We did get out for a film in the evening: Super 8, which I thought hit the summer-movie mark solidly, with a deft mix of thrills, impressive acting, nostalgic period details, and a great soundtrack.

Today, though, was warmer and dryer, so we biked to the Birchwood for brunch and then over to the second day of the festival. It was pretty crowded--bigger than I remember from my first year here.* David spotted a few friends we hadn't seen in several weeks, though, so that was a highlight. The other highlight was walking down to the north/east bank of the Mississippi at the base of the Stone Arch bridge. I'd never been down there, and the views of the bottom of the massive bridge, and the city skyline across the river, were definitely worth the climb down (and back up) the humidity- and moss-slicked wooden steps on legs sore from this morning's hot yoga.



*Wow; rereading that entry was a weird blast from the past.

April's Visit

Fun times at home

So last month, my seester came to visit us! It was her first time in Mpls and her first time visiting me in my own home in 10 years (I know!). She flew in on a Wednesday afternoon and didn't have to leave until the next Tuesday evening, so we got to fit in lots of fun and fancy things, like seeing a play at the Guthrie and going to a Twins game, and also slow and quotidian things like eating at home.

Seesters!

The day she got in was gorgeous, so we ate on the patio at Old Arizona and then had coffee on the patio at the Bad Waitress. We drove around town a little bit, met David at his office and walked down by the river, and had dinner at the French Meadow.

Birchwood biking brunch

April on David's bike over the Mississippi

Thursday, we rode downtown with David so we could have his car, and afterward we drove out to Nicollet Island and around St. Anthony Main before coming home to change and get the bikes for a long ride. We rode to the Birchwood and had breakfast there (this stunningly delicious tofu scramble with carrots, spinach, and a tomato coulis, plus a scone and an orange chocolate bread pudding!) before riding all over town: across the river, to Saint Paul, around Lake Calhoun, and along the Greenway. April was totally a trooper. David was able to come home early, so we picked him up and had dinner at home--sweet potato fries and black beans and rice with all the toppings. That evening was warm, so we drove down to St. Anthony Main, where we walked out to the falls and then had dessert at the Aster Cafe.

Friday was rainy, but we had David's car again, so I took April on an impromptu "Sketchy Minneapolis tour," which most out-of-towners' visits, alas, are too short to include. We started at Chicago Lake Liquors to pick up champagne for mimosas for the next day's brunch, and although Chicago Lake is far less sketchy at 10 a.m. on a Friday than it is at 10 p.m., we definitely go for the prices rather than the ambiance. After that was the St. Vincent de Paul*, where we found eight glass plates and a mini muffin tin for about $3! Then we got pedicures at a little strip mall place. Afterward, we popped home to change and then to yoga in uptown. We got David, had a quick dinner at home, and then went to Arsenic and Old Lace at the Guthrie, followed by fries at Town Hall.

Surrey with the fringe on top

St. Anthony Main

Saturday morning the brunch club met at our house for coconut macadamia nut waffles with homemade coconut syrup, lightly dressed greens, hashbrowns, fresh fruit, and pineapple mimosas. Afterward, the afternoon was sunny and shockingly warm, so April and David and I went to Minnehaha Falls, where we rented a surrey. It was the first time we'd ever done that, but it was such ridiculous fun that we'll doubtless do it again. We got home just in time to get dinner ready for another social occasion, this time with the downstairs neighbors. We did farfalle in a light cream sauce with cherry tomatoes, snow peas, and fresh basil; roasted asparagus; salad; and rosemary asiago bread (not homemade); with individual molten lava cakes with fresh strawberries for dessert.

Sweet potato fries at the Longellow

Sunday I introduced April to hot yoga, and she did splendidly! Afterward we had brunch at the Red Stag, where our table by the window provided a great view of a crashing Midwestern thunderstorm. In the evening we met one of my friends at the Fancy Theater for Water for Elephants, which I found pretty disappointing.

Lilacs at the arboretum

At Target Field for the Twins

Mill City

Monday, I made vegan waffles with fresh strawberries and Nutella and then we drove out to the arboretum in Chaska while listening to Abraham's new CD on repeat. (Have you heard this album yet? It's amazing. Seriously.) On the way back we stopped at Opitz Outlet, home of 70% Off Retail! We got David, had dinner at the Longfellow Grill, and then went to the Twins game. It was an ideal night for outdoor baseball: clear, warm, and perfect! They were even playing the Mariners, though David and I, at least, were rooting for the home team--who lost in the bottom of the 10th. Sigh.

Spoonbridge and Cherry

Tuesday was April's last day, and I made French toast that we ate with leftover macadamia nuts and coconut syrup. It was kind of gray and chilly, but we went downtown and poked around the shops and skyways. We stopped by the Walker sculpture garden on the way back, and drove around the Kenwood neighborhood and the lakes admiring the architecture. Then April had to pack and leave, but we eased the pain with homemade pico de gallo and episodes of Arrested Development before heading for the airport.

Whew! That was long. I guess I was just inspired by re-reading my account of Hathor's visit; I enjoyed the descriptions of all the things we'd eaten, in particular, even if you all didn't!

Some of the sites and activities doubtless sound familiar from descriptions of other visits, but there's always something new--often discovered for the first time with the visitor--so book your trip today!

*I love this place, but it really is sketchy. When we bought our table and David's desk, one of the workers offered us a discount deal, arranged a somewhat shady home delivery in his friend's truck, and then asked for (and received, because we're softies) a tip.