Best Entree Ever

Fairway is now selling a "chard mix" in the bagged salad section: the reds and greens make it irresistible, so I made this lentil recipe from Epicurious for a second time.

The first time I had French lentils but no carrots; this time I had carrots but red lentils. As we previously learned, the type of lentil makes a difference: while last month's batch was picture pretty, this batch looked like a yellowish mush. I like this batch better though: the carrots add a hint of sweetness that makes it extra interesting, particularly with the sausage flavors and the extra garlic.

This might be my new favorite dish to cook - in slightly more time than it would take for Indian food delivery to arrive, I have a tasty and healthy entree. Seriously: I peeled and chopped a carrot and an onion. I browned the sausage, added the carrot, onion, and 2 minced garlic cloves. 5 minutes later, I added 1.5c of lentils, a bay leaf, a teaspoon each of fennel seeds and rosemary, and 3c of water. I brought it to a boil, then let it simmer for 20 mins. Then I steamed the chard on top for 7 mins and mixed it with a large spoon. Yum! In 360 calories, with 7g of fat, I have a meal that contains >50% of the RDA for iron, with both the heme and non-heme varieties, combined with a third of a day's supply of vitamin C for extra-absorption goodness. Hurrah! Read More......

What's the Chinese for sustainably fished?

It was pouring when I got out of my appointment in Chinatown on Saturday, so I decided to skip my usual farmer's market outing. There are many food stores between the subway and my appointment, so I stopped in to buy my favorite dried plums. I also stopped at the fish store. I could've bought tuna or salmon fillets, but I would've felt ridiculous asking if they were sustainably fished. There were some small silver fish and Bottom Feeders generally recommends eating fish low on the food chain, but I had no idea what kind they were or how to cook them. One of the guys there asked, in reasonable English, "Can I help you?" I asked, "What kind of fish are those small ones?" "Small fish." *head slap forehead*

I think I'll stick to my usual fishmonger, thanks. Read More......

I think we have a winner

"What's good this week?"
"We don't usually have the mahi mahi and you haven't had that one yet."

The fishmonger remembered me! And she was right, I hadn't had the mahi mahi and according to Seafood Watch, it's a good fish to eat.

It also tastes good. I pan fried it with a little pepper and olive oil, just a few minutes on each side. It went perfectly with the tabbouleh my mother left behind yesterday. The combination of flavors reminded me of fish tacos, which are one of my favorite foods, except healthier and more interesting. I think this will have to go into the rotation. Read More......

Mmm... tomato season

I was supposed to make an omelet for my post-run breakfast this morning, but as I was cutting the tomatoes, they were so tasty I couldn't bear to cover the flavor. I wish I'd taken a picture for y'all, bc they were so pretty all lined up on my spoonrest: the grassy-flavored yellow-green one and the thick umami flavor of the vermilion one. I've never had such delicious tomatoes in my life - and I can't wait to get more. Read More......

When Farmer's Markets Strike

On the one hand, I just spent $50 on food and came home with pretty much one grocery bag. On the other hand, it's all fresh and yummy and local.

Personally, I blame the Missoula farmer's market. When a local friend suggested it as A Thing To Do in her town, I was dubious, but went anyhow. It was enormous, with an entire section devoted to produce and a different area devoted to prepared goods. Even with nowhere to cook, I bought huckleberries and heirloom tomatoes, quiche and chocolate and a roll. I finished the huckleberries with granola and a glass of milk at Mammoth Hot Springs (visitor center) in Yellowstone; I couldn't wait with the tomatoes and ate them immediately at the market.

The tomatoes were again my downfall at today's market: this is the first time I've seen them sold at Lincoln Center. Once I decided to buy 2lb of tomatoes, the rest was downhill. I bought swiss chard, round zucchini, turkey sausage, and macoun apples. I love how enthusiastically the fishmongers made suggestions for the flounder I'm currently eating. The acidity of my enormous tomato perfectly sets off the flakiness of the fish, and I'm looking forward to rosemary bread and farmer's cheese for dessert. Read More......

Good thing I had extras

Ever start making something and realize the universe REALLY doesn't want you to do that? Everything was going wrong with my baking last night, from discovering that 3c of flour is a lot - like, most of a bag of flour lot - or breaking the yolk while separating the eggs or running out of vanilla extract while pouring it or discovering the second bag of brown sugar was hard as a rock. I still can't believe I didn't spill the vanilla extract while fumbling for the second bottle and the only thing that did spill was a dusting of flour.

I was baking chocolate chip cookies as a hostess gift for a friend, in large part because she and I had a long discussion about home baked cookies. I was horrified that she'd bought some generic brand of chocolate chip cookies - why not bake them, since they're so easy! Well, now I know: they are easy, but time consuming, between waiting for all 5 batches to come out of the oven (did I mention 3c of flour is a lot?) and washing the mixer. It would've been faster if I had an additional pair of baking sheets, but the end product, while filling the description of large chewy cookie, didn't thrill me enough to go through all that labor. I'm not convinced I could learn to make them so much better than preservative-laden store bought that I should go through the effort. Read More......

Gonna need a bigger lunch box

You know your lunch has jumped the shark when you find yourself packing a tray for the toaster oven to prepare it in the pantry.

On the other hand, my tacos were delicious and cheered me up immensely. Read More......