Getting Inspired...

I stopped into a small Mediterranean Market last week.  (For those of you in the local area, it's on the corner of Ellsworth and Stone School in Ann Arbor)  I go there often for homemade pitas, hummus, spinach pies and more as it is all homemade in the shop.  I'm planning on making Shish Tawook sandwiches for tonight.  (Recipe will follow tomorrow) Of course while awaiting my goods to be packaged and weighed, I poke around the treasure trove of middle eastern goods.  I am always surprised and fascinated by something unexpected and unusual.  Here were my surprises for the week;

CHICKPEA FLOUR;  I'm going to make a pita recipe using the chickpea flour and deep fry them in a bit of canola oil.  We first tried this in southern Italy with sundried tomato pesto and olives as an appetizer!  The pitas are quite delicate and melt in your mouth!  Also great if you're needing a gluten free alternative.

ORANGE BLOSSOM WATER;  I've been keeping this stocked in my kitchen for baking and cocktails.

POMEGRANATE MOLASSES;  I have NO idea what I'm doing with this yet, but I just read a feature (I think Fine Cooking or Saveur) on it and thought $3.99 was worth the discovery.

WHOLE SLICED COCONUT;  What a weird bag of coconut slices containing the woody husk/shell too!  I'm not sure what I'll do yet with this either, but it's so beautiful, I could always toss some on a plate with a new coconut shortbread recipe I'm playing with!

GREEN ALMONDS;  Another memory of Italy and pulling green almonds off the tree in the afternoon.  Dipped into a tiny pot of finely ground sea salt, it's a refreshing snack or lovely palate cleanser!  I shared them with my cooking class and everyone was quite surprised at how tasty the almonds were!  Similar to a fresh bean. 

DRIED BLACK OLIVES, HARISSA PASTE, COCONUT MILK; Cabinet staples

GUAVAS; Since these are still a LOT green, I'm letting them ripen in the fridge and am planning a guava curd for next week.  I've never worked with fresh guava before, so this should prove interesting.

GREEN APRICOTS;  Huhn.  They were there at $2.99.  Searching frantically for recipes and ideas.  So far, NADA.  Worst case, I thought I would pickle them like peaches in a really sweet syrup and see what happens!

CANNED IMMATURE BLACK WALNUTS IN SYRUP;  I originally tasted these from an Armenian preserving company and sold them at the Boulevard Market.  These are from Greece, so I'm hoping they will be as delicious.  I also have a walnut tree and am going to try my hand at making my own this year...I foresee black fingernails for all involved.  And possibly an ugly argument or two about all of the weird junk I have hanging around.

I had my eye on dried tiny golden plums and barberries, and I usually buy a good supply of pistachios as they stock every style and they are really fresh.  But I have to leave a little something for next time!  John reminded me I still have a bag of dried whole lemons from about 3 years ago, that I've never been able to find a recipe to use them with! 

Any ideas and suggestions for these items would be greatly appreciated!!  I'll share the results as soon as possible!

Visiting Norfolk Virginia

John and I took a mini vacation to Norfolk VA a couple weeks ago to visit our daughter and do a bit of sightseeing.  This was the first time either of us had vacationed on a large, working river near the largest Navy base in the world.  It's the Elizabeth River and quite an active shipyard/working river. 

Our daughter, Gina, provided an in depth history of the area as she works for the Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways project near Norfolk in Chesapeake and part of her job is to share history of the area.  More about the Great Bridge can be found here www.gbbattlefield.org/ .  I learned it was a pivotal moment  during the Revolutionary War and America's history.

We so enjoyed Norfolk's downtown area that offers tons of local art and some really great dining spots!  The river walk at Town Point Park was marvelous and southern hospitality was apparent!  (The Waterside Mariott had an amazing view and piano lounge that allowed for some relaxing and cocktails!)  It was sobering to seeing the original city limits of Norfolk and St Paul's church with a cannonball still lodged in the brick wall.  It brought us a better understanding of America's birth and a resolution to learn more!

Yes, I got the Waffle Chicken @ The Public House

"Pig Pickin" plate

We traveled the Hamptons Roads area of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Portsmouth.  I fell in love with Wisteria (which has a hard time this far north) and fresh crabs, old brick homes with black doors and the entire city's public dog water dishes!!  (you'll find one available at The Market asap :))

We toured the USS Wisconsin and Nauticus Museum, which was an absolute treasure trove of maritime history!  German U Boats off America's coast in the 40's....brought a whole new recognition of "you sank my battleship"!!

USS Wisconsin

We mostly loved spending time with our daughter and experiencing the successful independent woman she has become and the life she is making in Virginia.  We've missed everything about her!  (except maybe sharing a bathroom)

Great Local Food & Wine @ Vintage Kitchen Norfolk VA

Adventures in pasta making; I am not Italian...

Don't let the dark hair/eyes fool you...I am not Italian.  If I thought I could pass for Italian, the pasta making has stopped me short!

I have tried to make pasta once before, using a rolling pin.  Possible, but deadly on your upper body muscles.  Not to mention, you cannot believe how much pasta 2 cups of flour makes until you begin rolling it out!!  I even had an Italian chef once tell me "Just buy the rolling machine....".

Each year as my birthday rolls around, I make a list in my head of things I need to try/do.  It's kind of how some make New Year's resolutions, only I really feel it as the digits of my life clock roll ahead.  Pasta was on my list this year, along with growing watercress, learning to smoke cigars, setting up a lovely cocktail table in my living room complete with some unusual liquor bottles and crystal decanters (possible now that our youngest daughter is graduating from high school), reading the weekend edition of the WSJ every week and publishing a cookbook.

So, I bought the pasta rolling machine as a gift to myself!  Shiny red, rolls as smooth as silk with just a small twist of the handle!  I attached it to my cutting board (note to self; buy a piece of granite) and I was off rolling out tagliatelle made with eggs!  I set John to work creating a Bolognese sauce to simmer away for the remainder of the afternoon.  

I always get a kick out of Italian directions.  They are printed on fabulous quality paper (none of that white filmy booklet you get in most imported goods) in a small booklet, complete with drawings.  The instructions are totally complete on how to do everything, except actually putting it together/changing the dough sizes!!  With only one knob and 2 holes, John and I figured it out....

I went a bit overboard with the flour dusting!  Whew, still cleaning!  I hoping with a fair amount of practice, I can churn out some wonderful stuff!

 

I would LOVE any tips you might share for making pasta! 

I see Macarons in my future...

On a recent  trip to Virginia, my daughter took me to her Ghent neighborhood shop, Le Marche.  A treasure trove of French/French inspired home goods, she understood the clear and present danger.

The only thing that slowed my shopping instinct was the size of my suitcase.  However, the merchant was quick to assure me that they would be "delighted" to ship any of their goods to Michigan!

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to purchase Laduree's new cookbook.  I first experienced their Macarons in Paris and have re-visited the memory frequently.  Laduree put the recipe in this cookbook and even made the cookbook look like their beautiful cookie boxes!  A fuzzy, gold embossed cover, gold leaf pages and purple tissue completed the package, so we are down to the baking itself now!

I will be making my macarons this week and posting as I go.  I would love any tips and techniques from you to make my endeavor more successful!  

Homemade Frosty Paws Recipe

I was so excited last week to receive this recipe from Patti, a friend and fellow dog lover!

My sidekick, Pierre, loves the Frosty Paws treats from the freezer section of the grocery store.  However, at 11.9 pounds (12 #s would be overweight) I'm stuck splitting the cup in half or taking it away midway through the enjoyment...downright mean in everyone's opinion.

I purchased some small silicone baking cups at the local dollar store and they are perfect!  The baking cups are also non-stick, dishwasher safe and colorful!  I got 8 cups for $1. 

Knock off Frosty Paws; Peanut Butter Flavor
32 oz vanilla yogurt
1 large jar baby bananas or 1 ripe banana mashed
4 TBSP Peanut butter

I did a little whirl in the food processor with the banana and yogurt.

The original recipe called for honey, but since I used the vanilla yogurt, I omitted it.  The vanilla yogurt is a bit sweetened and tasted great.  I also didn't mix in the peanut butter entirely, but made a little swirl in the yogurt, kinda like people ice cream.

Here is my sidekick in action....

  Bring on the Spring and ice cream season, we're ready! 

Wild Violet Vinegar

 Spring has come extremely early to Michigan this year.  Nearly 3 weeks of 65+ degree temperatures have given us blossoms, lush green grass, BUGS and many smiling faces! 

Over the course of a few years, I've come across several recipes for wild violet vinegar, sugared violet blossoms, violet liquor and more.  It seems like I usually find the recipes in September though and have never made anything with violets.   We have an abundance of wild violets under a large stand of pine trees that were just begging to be made into something delicious!  I spent a most enjoyable 20 minutes sitting on the dry pine needles, a tiny breeze scented with pine, earth and violet.  Surrounded by violet blossoms, pine cones, tiny feathers and our orange cat,Otto, I experienced a calm that's been absent for a while now.

I filled up a shallow dish with flowers, dug through the pantry to find a couple bottles of rice vinegar and a glass container with a lid.  I rinsed the violets in a colander and laid them out on kitchen towels to dry.  Once they had dried I used about 2 cups of blooms to 24 ounces of vinegar and put the cap on the container.  (My container has a metal top, which is a no-no with vinegar.  However, there was no chance the vinegar would come into contact with the metal, so I used it anyway.)

  



I placed the vinegar in a dark pantry for a few days and just brought it out to find the most exquisite pink color and floral notes to the aroma!  I'm planning to let mine rest a few more days before I strain and bottle it.  (2 weeks total infusing time)

I will strain the vinegar using cheesecloth as it really catches little no-see-ums the best.  I will sterilize my jars in boiling water for a few minutes and recycle some wine corks for stoppers.  A cute-sy vintage tag will complete my presentation and we will be feasting on a unique vinaigrette dressed salad in another week!  I made enough for us to use throughout the spring with fresh salad greens.

I think this would make a lovely Mother's Day gift tied with a beautiful length of ribbon!

I am also planning on making violet jelly and a sweet violet liquor (this excites me on SO many levels) to share with my April Preserving Class at The Boulevard Market!  I'll let you know how they turn out!

I would love other recipes for violets if you've got them!  Happy Spring!   

Thoughts on Food Styling & Photography

So, last year I purchased a fancy camera with intentions and high hopes for doing some food styling for this blog.  Yeah, well....

I had an epiphany this morning.  I like to eat and cook food, I like to grow it and pick it.  I like to read about it and try new things.  I am not a food stylist nor do I think I want to be.  I look at blogs that have lovely half eaten dishes, cutesy tableware and hands holding the "bounty" of whatever and think "THAT is just not me".  I am a real person that is trying to keep the dog out of the trash, a complete meal (hot, please) on the table that everyone enjoys, laundry, gardening, a blog, running multiple businesses, paying bills and possibly time for romance in my 23 year old marriage.  I won't mention children, parents, employees or political telephone calls.

I've decided I just want to share our food with you.  Recipes that taste great and get you interested in new foods, flavors or techniques.  I won't "highlight" any words for my recipes that will take you on a wild goose chase, I won't have perfectly plated dishes or perfectly grown vegetables, we have dishes that don't always match, weeds and bugs.  I will snap a photo with my hands holding the camera, not a "staging" area with lights and "props"....it's like human modeling for food.  Beautiful, but probably unrealistic in my realm.

I have a multitude of photographer friends that are amazing with a camera.  I don't think I love photography  enough to spend too much time on it, and I love food too much to let it grow cold or limp in pursuit of a lovely picture. It's all about balance.
 
If you're into food styling, great, go for it!  I love to look at cookbooks, magazines, etc.  Isn't life always about choosing what works and is right for you?  I hope you enjoy my less than perfect attempts at food styling and the recipes I share.  (Notice I didn't put any photos in this one! :))