A Food and (Once & Future) Travel Blog
On Sunday we went to our local farmers market and Cheryl, who hadn’t been to it with me in about a month, was kind of amazed at the sight and state of things. We keep reminding ourselves the spring growing season comes earlier here in the DMV and with it more options. I mean my tomato plants are probably two or three times the size they’d be in our Chicago backyard at this time of year. About that rhubarb…
Continue reading “A Sweet Rhubarb Treat: Pickled – No Strawberries Required”
One of the simplest things you can do to preserve seasonal seasonal flavors is make compound butter and freeze it. Chive blossoms have been abundant the past few weeks so you know what I’ve been up to.
Continue reading “Chive Blossom Butter – Take Advantage of Seasonal Herbs”
So you’ve reached that point in your home cooking where the tricks and flavors you’ve been using are now like that lonely end of the loaf of bread you baked 5 days ago…a little stale. Guajillo pepper paste (and its broth) is another of my go-to’s which can be added to almost anything year round.
Continue reading “Pepper Paste – An Alternate Paste”
First off let me say: this is NOT a sourdough bread recipe. It’s not a no-knead recipe. It’s not a Dutch oven recipe. This is just straight up mix it all together, rise, shape, bake free-form post. You want a consistent loaf of bread for toast, sandwiches, etc.? Here you go.
Continue reading “Pandemic Bread – NOT a Sourdough”
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!”