A Food and (Once & Future) Travel Blog
This is going to seem like a very simple post on cooking a steak but I think it’s one which needs to be written based on A LOT of pandemic cooking photos I see on social media channels. Also, because my mom asked.
Continue reading “Salt & How to Cook A Pretty Near Perfect Steak”
Spring is springing and soon we’ll be segueing from winter oven cooking to summer grilling. This carrot salad is another one of our more popular market sides and while it’s fantastic in summer when good carrots abound at your favorite farmers market, it makes a great side for spring dishes. For example, this will pair nicely as a light side dish for your Easter lamb (if that’s your thing).
Continue reading “Grated Carrot Salad (Carottes Râpées)”
It’s been a month since we moved in and despite the little things left to do, (like hang pictures) I’m settling into the layout and nuances of the new kitchen…although I do miss my stove and convection oven. Anyway, this Shepherd’s Pie (or is it Shepherds Pie?) is a twist on an old classic, actually a twist on an already upgraded version I would make for our market customers.
Continue reading “Sweet & Savory Shepherd’s Pie”
Ok so I don’t necessarily want this to become all fermenting all the time but but it’s what I’ve been playing with and believe me now that we’re all moved and settling back into life I have a lot of goofy things I want to try. Like last week’s post I tried the lacto-fermentation technique for mushrooms and with a slight variation the results have become another workhorse of my kitchen.
Continue reading “Fermented Mushrooms – Triple Threat of Flavor Enhancing”
Over the past few years I found the more I prepared food and cooked for people the more I wanted to bring new experiences and flavors to them. My first dive into the fermentation world was this: Shio Koji. It’s become a staple in the kitchen and one I reach for to add another layer when I want to make people say “why was that so good?”
Continue reading “Shio Koji”
Hello again! Yes it HAS been a long while since I posted anything here. Long story short, the three of us have moved from Chicago back to the DC area. What’s that, you say? Three? Yes, three. Last October Cheryl gave brith to our baby boy. He’s quite something and we’re very happy. Anyway, back to the recap, clearly there’s a lot to catch you up on.
Continue reading “New Beginnings!”
Happy New Year, hope you had a great holiday season. January is a quiet time for us so it gives me a good opportunity to do some creating and test out a few techniques and recipes. One I’ve been really excited to give a try is this pork belly confit. I will say, as good as duck confit is, I think I may like this better. I mean, it’s the part of the pig bacon is made with, and since everything is supposedly better with bacon…this is an easy winner!Continue reading “Pork Belly Confit – Something You Need in Your Fridge”
Hellooooo!!! It’s been a long while since posting mostly because summer and autumn were occupied with the sausage business and farmers markets. Life intervenes. And then once the markets ended I had to start getting ready for the holiday season. Hopefully we’ll get some quiet-er time starting next week. As a result of all this we didn’t travel to many new places this year (New Zealand being the big exception) but did revisit Tuscany on a celebra-cation of sorts for my in-law’s 50th wedding anniversary. Being in Tuscany you of course eat and drink fairly well and one treat I loved was a whipped mortadella we had in Florence. Decadent yet simple to make, this is a perfect bite for holiday parties or just plain old snacking.Continue reading “Whipped Mortadella – Perfect Holiday Appetizer”
Ok, if the last post wasn’t enough to make you jealous, then this one could: the first appearance of wine! Oh and a little bit about Auckland. For the record these posts are in no particular order. The mountain phase in the last one was about 3/4 of the way through the trip. This post is all about our arrival, initial impressions, and day trip to “Wine Island”. Continue reading “Auckland and Waiheke Island – New Zealand Journal Pt. 2”
We have wanted to go to New Zealand for a long time but knew we’d need at least 2 weeks to really do it correctly. Last summer was ridiculously busy, being the first time we participated in farmers markets with the sausage business, so we promised ourselves a lengthy vacation this year before things started to get busy. Everything fell into place and we headed to New Zealand at the end of January for a fortnight of adventures. Continue reading “Hiking in the Southern Alps – New Zealand Journal Pt. 1”
