Deep thoughts of the day.

As hard as it has been for my body to adjust from Los Angeles to Seattle in the cold months, I must say when the weather warms up, the Californian in me comes out rather quickly. As I sit outside and eat a cookie, the sun reminds me that sooner or later I will have to be putting a bathing suit back on.

I'm not sixteen anymore. What I eat makes a difference.
Today I was thinking about a conversation I overheard last summer. I was sitting on the beach at the Seattle Tennis Club near a woman and her friend.

Ok, I was totally eaves dropping.
I had seen the woman before. She's in her mid forties, totally gorgeous, has 3 beautiful older children and and infant. I'm sure her husband is a Microsoft exec or successful lawyer or something. Oh, and did I mention that she is very petite and has probably .5% body fat? The bee-yotch made me feel like a hippo tromping around on the sand.

I'm sure she's very nice. I don't know her at all.

My ears perked up when she started talking about how she stays fit.

"I only have to work out sixteen hours a day..."
She didn't say that, but she did say, "I eat pretty healthy, I don't starve myself or anything...but I haven't had a cookie or ice cream in about ten years."

Hold the phone...excuse me, ma'am, I was rudely listening in on your conversation about how you manage to stay perfect. Did you say what I think you just said? Mmhmm, that's what I thought.


No thanks. I think I'd prefer to keep my less than perfect, sugar filled life, if you please.

Thanks for listening.

Love,

Annika

It's time! It's time!

Disclaimer -don't go to Seattle farmers markets to save money on groceries. If you do, you will most likely be disappointed.

And now that we've gotten that out of the way, let me tell you how much I love farmers markets. There's just something so old-worldly about them- like I am some lovely Parisian woman* in the 1920's strolling around speaking French** and picking out only the freshest of what the wonderful season has to offer.

Farmers markets are one of my favorite summer activities. Sure, Seattle has a few year round, but most would consist of me waking up at 6am on a Sunday and driving 30 minutes...we all know how likely that is...Anyway, May through June is about the time where all the other markets begin opening up again. Here is the schedule:

University District (Saturdays, 9am-2pm, Year-round.)

West Seattle (Sundays, 10am-2pm, Year-round.)

Broadway (Sundays, 11am-3pm, May 9 - December 19)

Columbia City (Wednesdays, 3-7pm, April 28 - October 20)

Phinney (Fridays, 3-7pm, May 28 - October 1)

Lake City (Thurs, 3-7pm, June 3 - October 7)

Magnolia (Sat, 10am-2pm, June 5 - September 25)

I actually can't go as often as I would like. Many run on week days, and since I am constantly always usually working, they prove difficult to get to. As wonderful as they are, I need to remind myself that it's worth prioritizing.

*'cause you all know that's my dream

**People usually look at me like I'm crazy when I do this

VIYM

On a note completely unrelated to food, a few other ladies and I have started another blog. I am advertising for us, because I think we are collectively hilarious.

Here we are.

The star of mother's day...

Was my mom, of course.

Runner up was the lunch we had. Grilled bratwurst, fruit salad, and this asparagus salad.

It's amazing, fresh, easy, healthy, and fast. Just like mom....kinda....

1. Chop 2 bunches of asparagus into millions of tiny coins (slice not-lengthwise).
2. Crush a clove of garlic into a few tablespoons of olive oil.
3. Mix salt and squeezed lemon (teaspoon, perhaps, each) into oil.
4. Mix everything together.
5. Stir in about a quarter cup of parmesan cheese.

The best ways to spend $5 (on food) in Seattle

Is that all you have? No problem! Despite what you may think (and you know who you are), I'm a fairly low maintenance girl. I do not need (nor do I usually like, actually) extremely posh dining. I just like good food, and as that is the case, I have managed to move my way around the city, discovering all the best $5 treats as I go. That's not easy to find 'round these parts, so I have done all the hard, delicious work for you. I tried to find a few things for the list that are not sweet. So, It's not all sweet, anyay...

The Best Ways to Spend $5 in Seattle:

1. Pulled pork sliders at Sazerac's happy hour- $4 I can't really tell you what I love so much about the pulled pork at Sazerac, but I can tell you that once I got there when happy hour was over and begged the waitress to make them up for me anyway. I love them that much. Add the $4 organic greens and $4 house syrah, and you've got the perfect meal.

2. Croissant and cup of tea at Le Fournil- $2.95 This little bakery does one of the best 'take me back to France' croissants in the city. Add a cup of Harney and Son's Paris tea, and I'm almost there. I think coffee is included in this deal as well. Also, for $4.95 you can have the same deal but with a croissant sandwich rather than a plain croissant.

3. Mangodilla from Agua Verde- $5.25 I cheat, yes, but this used to be $4.95. Trust me, it's worth the extra 30 cents.

4. Hot fudge sundae from Coastal Kitchen- $4.95 House made hot fudge, whipped cream and pecans in just the right individual size that you don't want to share.

5. Ice cream cone from Scoop Du Jour- $3 Sure, for that price you could get a pint of the exact same ice cream at the grocery store, but this is about the experience. On a (rare) warm and sunny day in the summer when the sun is up til 10, it's so fun to go after dinner, pick out your flavor, and then stroll around the beautiful Madison Park while eating. It's also the perfect date.

6. A meal at Ezell's Chicken- somewhere around $5 For health reasons, I wouldn't recommend eating at Ezell's more than, say, once in a decade. However, there's a reason Oprah likes this place- it's dang good!

7. Two donuts and two cups of coffee from Top Pot- a little more than $5 But definitely less than $5 for one. It's another great cheap date, especially when you have time to sit around and chat in the cafe.

8. Nutella strawberry panini from Volunteer Park Cafe- can't remember the price, but it's less than $5. I don't need to tell you how toast, nutella, and strawberries taste together. Especially when it's made by someone else.

I know I have more, but I have to think about it for a little while. Be ready for part 2!

Current obsession: the apple

"If you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you're not hungry."

We live in a world where everything has been done somewhere at least once. Chefs try desperately to think of new and inventive ideas to keep people on the edge of their dining chairs. Restaurants plow through fads the same way Dior and Gucci circulate fashion- lemongrass flan, curried chocolates, you name it. And just as the present dominance of leggings, denim dresses and clogs prove, everything comes back around at some point.

If there was an official least cutting edge and creative food the apple would be it. How is it, then, that I am just discovering how wonderful and apple can be? Is it coming back around?

Even as a child, I didn't prefer to eat them when I had the choice. Most of what I know about apples I learned in my seventh grade science project "Does an apple a day really keep the doctor away?" In this research, I gleaned that apples are about 80 calories and that they may better help keep the dentist away, because they can serve as nature's toothbrush.

Why, then, am I suddenly in the past couple of weeks reaching for a Pink Lady every time I feel hungry? I'm not talking about tarts, or pies. I'm just eating fresh, juicy, crisp apples. My fruit bowl is overflowing with Fujis and Braeburns, which I am grabbing every time I leave the house. I have no explanation for this. But as long as my prevailing choice of snack food costs roughly 75 cents apiece, I think I will ride the wave and enjoy!

I feel like this guy:

Solid Potato Salad

No, I don't have a recipe for potato salad. I just wanted to make sure that everyone I come in contact with for the rest of my life sees this video.

Take my plate, fill it up, and bring it right back!

This is why we can't have nice things.

If our ceramics could talk, they would have called dinnerware protective services long ago to report rough treatment, neglect, and general abuse on our part. When I was a budding bride, I, in my naivety, chose our dinnerware from Anthropologie. At that time, I didn't realize 2 things: 1) How badly we would mistreat our dishes and 2) Anthropologie merchandise cannot be replaced 6 years down the road.

I gave up on nice glasses a long time ago. We break them so often that every few months when our collection is waning I just go buy more of the 99 cent glasses from Ikea (come to think of it, I think it's time for a trip there for more).

Our plates and bowls last at least a little bit longer. However, recently as I was looking at our sad little collection of cracked and chipped pieces- of which about 2/3 of the originals are even left- I realized that the time has come to perhaps find us a real live dinnerware set of matching plates, bowls, and maybe even serving dishes (did I mention that our dinner plates don't match our salad plates, and neither match our bowls?). My hope is to find some sort of set that shows that we are real, working grownups now. This isn't as easy as it sounds.

My criteria is specific, and the first and most important thing for me to remember is how much of what we buy will get ruined at some point ("Know thyself"...) In other words, we can never buy $50 a plate sets, because I think every time one broke I would sit on the floor and cry. Second, you all remember the whole "lead might be in my dinnerware incident" of a few months ago. This significantly lowers my options of brands to choose from, which in a way is a good thing because my choices are less overwhelming.


I've narrowed it down to a couple of very neutral sets that would hopefully stand the test of time, and my very fickle taste.

These two sets are about as neutral and inexpensive as you can get. They're both from Ikea (it's all lead free, can you believe it?), and not that bad if someone is looking for a cheap set. I'm not sure about Ikea's stock availability and if I would be able to replenish my collection years from now.


"Fiesta" doesn't usually describe my decorating style, but I have to hand it to Fiestaware. They have made themselves a classic name, and I know they'll be around until Armageddon. Most of the colors are entirely too bright and wouldn't work unless I made Mexican food for dinner every night, but I've always like this turquoise color. It's pretty well priced and durable, also.

Most of the Pfaltzgraff patterns I saw should not appear in the kitchens of anyone not registered in the AARP (or lovers of Peter Rabbit), but the company does make quality products. I love the variety of sizes they have for plates and bowls. This pattern is "cappuccino," and it's doable, but it's not....
Heath dinnerware. Which, of course, is my favorite and, of course, the most expensive by far. (Is anyone surprised at this?) If I wanted to justify myself I could say that it was a STEAL considering that each piece is hand thrown. I still worry, though, about our lack of care when handling breakables. If we invested in these and then broke them all, I think I would then just give up and go all Carrie Bradshaw and just buy random plates from thrift stores. Everyone wants to be her anyway, right??

My garden haiku

By: Annika

Tho' in Seattle...

Plants can grow with no effort...

I still feel so cool.

Last year I didn't plant until late June, so some of my efforts didn't turn out too well (a few did). Needless to say, I am so proud of myself that I was on the gardening ball this year. I never realized how powerful gardening could make me feel. I stuck to mostly herbs to be economical, but also planted sugar snap peas because they grow well and strawberries just for fun.

My least favorite things

As a follow up to all of my favorite foods, I thought I'd list my least favorite foods to eat. I'm not saying these foods are not good, just that they don't sizzle my bacon, if you will. They are not my cup of tea. They don't toast my cookies, you know? This list is much shorter than the list of what I love. Here they are:

Any candy that's not at least partly chocolate, walnuts, dark bitter greens, radishes, oatmeal, almond/soy/rice or any other non dairy milk, gravy, pretzels, big pieces of steak, and extremely pungent blue cheese. Also, I haaaate shelling and deveining shrimp. Even though it's not as fresh, I usually by my shrimp with this already done.

Lastly, I do not like scary movies. So let's change them to happy movies, shall we?

And speaking of cookies...

These coconut macaroons from the Barefoot Contessa are so easy and so delicious. You should make them this weekend.

The cookie problem (and solution)

Believe it or not, too much cookie dough can be a problem. (I know, I know...whaaat?? But yes, it can!) Often when I make a full batch of cookies, my husband and I sound eerily similar to the classic Frog and Toad story:

Toad baked some cookies. “These cookies smell very good,” said Toad. He ate one. “And they taste even better,” he said.

Toad ran to Frog’s house. “Frog, Frog,” cried Toad, “taste these cookies that I have made.”

Frog ate one of the cookies, “These are the best cookies I have ever eaten!” said Frog. Frog and Toad ate many cookies, one after another.

“You know, Toad,” said Frog, with his mouth full, “I think we should stop eating. We will soon be sick.”

“You are right,” said Toad. “Let us eat one last cookie, and then we will stop.” Frog and Toad ate one last cookie. There were many cookies left in the bowl.

“Frog,” said Toad, “let us eat one very last cookie, and then we will stop.” Frog and Toad ate one very last cookie.

“We must stop eating!” cried Toad as he ate another.

“Yes,” said Frog, reaching for a cookie, “we need willpower.”

“What is willpower?” asked Toad.

“Willpower is trying hard not to do something you really want to do,” said Frog.

“You mean like trying hard not to eat all these cookies?” asked Toad.

“Right,” said Frog. Frog put the cookies in a box. “There,” he said. “Now we will not eat any more cookies.”

“But we can open the box,” said Toad.

“That is true,” said Frog. Frog tied some string around the box. “There,” he said. “Now we will not eat any more cookies.”

“But we can cut the string and open the box.” said Toad.

“That is true,” said Frog. Frog got a ladder. He put the box up on a high shelf. “There,” said Frog. “Now we will not eat any more cookies.”

“But we can climb the ladder and take the box down from the shelf and cut the string and open the box,” said Toad.

“That is true,” said Frog. Frog climbed the ladder and took the box down from the shelf. He cut the string and opened the box. Frog took the box outside. He shouted in a loud voice. “Hey, birds, here are cookies!” Birds came from everywhere. They picked up all the cookies in their beaks and flew away.

“Now we have no more cookies to eat,” said Toad sadly. “Not even one.”

“Yes,” said Frog, “but we have lots and lots of willpower.”

“You may keep it all, Frog,” said Toad. “I am going home now to bake a cake.”

Another option is to figure out exactly what to do with all the extra cookies you have on hand. I looove frozen cookies, and that's easy enough. My boss prefers to have cookie dough on hand so that she can bake fresh cookies whenever she wants to. Either way, all recipes has a great little summary of how to freeze cookies and cookie dough properly, including which doughs are good to freeze and how long they stay good. I also like eHow's idea of scooping and then freezing the raw cookie dough in little, easy to bake balls. This is what we did quite a bit in pastry school.

Now you, too, have willpower! Lots and lots of it.

A few of my favorite things....

Stone ground mustard, candied ginger, olive bars, cheese and bakery samples, jarred New Mexico green chilis, honeycomb, fresh Mozzarella balls, expensive crackers, smoked salmon, smoked salmon spread, Muscat grapes (in season!), fennel, garnet yams (I have yams at least every other day), crusty bakery fresh bread, duck, leeks, caramelized onions (you can't really buy those), San Marzano (sp?) canned tomatoes, good olive oil and balsamic vinegar, chevre, ezekiel bread (for breakfast), rooibos teas, english breakfast teas, jasmine green teas, almond butter, pink lady apples, clementines, bulk dried beans, high quality maple syrup and vanilla extracts, whole nutmeg, wedges of parmesan, jerusalem artichokes, and rhubarb compote.

And making non scary movies look scary.

My Thing

I wouldn't consider myself an environmentalist by far. Like most, though, I try to do my part by reusing and recycling. More importantly, our household has done quite a bit to reduce consumption and the amount of waste we produce. As a matter of fact, I have finally gotten into the habit of remembering reusable bags when I go to the grocery store.*

With that said..no one is perfect, and everyone, no matter how eco friendly, needs their "thing." I have two: paper towels and zip lock bags. Yes, we plow through both, and no, I feel no personal shame or guilt. Both items extend far beyond the reaches of my kitchen, and make my life easier. Think about it- a paper towel can be a napkin, plate, sponge, rag, tissue, or toilet paper,** to name a few things. The organization help that zip lock baggies provide (especially the gallon sized ones) proves to be limitless. Especially for travel (you can thank the FAA for that one).

One must be prudent, though. I only buy the paper towels that come perforated into smaller sheets. Also, we do reuse the baggies as long as they're not soiled. I can't say we reuse paper towels. Does anyone, really? I mean, who actually does wring out a paper towel and then use it again.....anyone?



*Although, this habit was formed more out of sheer terror of the judgmental eyes that peered down at me during my shopping trips to health food stores. Healthy eaters, as a group, are usually also very environmentally conscious. It goes with the territory.

**You know you've all done it.

Random egg facts and pictures that I like.

I am surprised to hear that the egg still has a bad reputation. I thought that all anti-egg facts had finally been renounced by people who care and the FDA (notice the distinction...). From what I hear, apparently people still think that the consumption of eggs should be limited. I don't blame them for being confused, as the recommended amount of eggs per week seems to be ever changing. The official statement is now this: As long as you get healthy eggs from healthy hens, you can now officially eat as many eggs as you want. DON'T SKIP THE YOLKS AND EAT ONLY WHITES!!!! All the nutrition of an egg is in the yolk (here are the hard facts, if you would like to see them).

The proper way to hard boil an egg: put eggs in cold water, bring to a boil and turn off heat. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain.

I get my eggs from a farm and they look like this:


For some reason, it makes me really happy.

Another fact: Dying brown eggs will result in a richer, jewel tone color.

Last fact: I'm almost never into holiday decor, but for some reason these alabaster eggs from Williams Sonoma really appealed to me:
They are sold out online, but I found a set of six at a local branch on sale! I put them on top of a cute little nest I bought at a garden store. TOO CUTE!

Thank you Seattle Times for giving me something to write about

On Sunday, the Seattle Times headlined with an article about raw milk. As a raw milk drinker myself, I was all over it. I will give you a chance to read it over before I opine. Here is the link again.

I may not agree with the article- it is obviously biased and facts are skewed to prove a point. However, I must commend the author. Writing out against raw milk in a city of local and organic eating, nature loving, health food freaks is as good as writing a piece on why you support the Bush Doctrine in an insanely democratic city (which also defines Seattle). Around here, to be liberal is not controversial, but rather the opposite. I've yearned to hear someone speak out in a way which the population of Seattle might not agree with rather than just confirming the same ideals over and over again in, say, a rag like some particular papers. But I am getting off topic.

Back to milk. I for one am glad raw milk is not popular. When food becomes in high demand is when one needs to question the quality of what he or she is eating. Diseased cows make diseased food, and unfortunately pasteurization is able to mask that. The fact is that large dairy plants cannot keep track of their thousands upon thousands of cows to ensure that each one is in tip top physical condition. I agree completely that this milk that is being pasteurized needs to be.

When a farmer of a raw milk farm has only 60 cows, however, each one can get the nutritional and medical attention it needs. These cows don't live and sleep in their own feces. The farmers take pride in what they do, and from much of what I've heard they "are not in it for the money." From a nutritional standpoint, here is a good article supporting raw milk.

As far as price goes? Yes, $3.50 for a quart of milk is expensive. This is fine by me for two reasons: 1. It will keep the market small (as I mentioned above), and 2. Humans don't need nearly as much milk as the dairy industry would like you to believe. This keeps our household consumption in check. I would like to hear your opinions, if you have any.

Project of the week: candied orange peel

The internet has no shortage of food blogs that at some point or another have published a recipe for candied orange peel. Let the records show that I thought of this subject matter on my own before I knew that. I may not be the quickest with my ideas, but at least I know they are all my own.

My inspiration actually came from finding one of these.* I had to put it to use immediately. For those of you who must have an actual recipe here is one for you, but I find that much too fussy and just made one on the fly. If you use the proper peeler, you can scrape off long, candy sized strips of orange peel quite easily. You can try to do it another way, but I'm sure it will give you a great headache.

Bring to a boil equal 3:2 parts sugar to water. Boil the strips of orange peel for about 10 minutes, then remove them from the water using tongs. Spread them out on wax paper until cool. When the peel is cool but still sticky, taste a bit. If it still seems bitter you can toss the strips in fine granulated sugar. Dip half in chocolate, if you wish.

Ps. For coffee and tea drinkers, you can save the boiling mixture and have orange flavored simple syrup for your drinks all week. Just store in the fridge in a normal tupperware. Yummm!

Current obsession: slow cooked meats

For the first twenty five years of my life I didn't have a very good view of braised meats. I don't recall my mother ever really making it when I was little- perhaps that's a Southern California thing? My first exposure to it wasn't until I was in college in Indiana, which is probably swinging to the most opposite extreme possible. Seeing so many overweight middle-Americans scarfing down badly made beef for nearly every meal is not the best way to put a (if you'll humor me) "good taste" in one's mouth.* I left Indiana thinking that all slow cooked meats tasted like pot roast.

About a year and a half ago, I began watching a friend of mine braise meats over and over again for her family for dinner. She did mostly beef as well, but she is a good cook and I noted the delicious dinners that can come from a 5 pound brisket. That was the tipping point I needed. I began to research this technique- remember about this time last year when I first made coffee braised lamb? It was so exciting watching a piece of meat become a shredded, tender, melt in your mouth dish with very little effort on my part.

Over the past year I have been a student of braising. I realized any meat will do, and to date I have prepared many different cuts of beef, lamb, pork (just last week if you recall), and duck legs. The mastery of it is not difficult, as long as you have a good recipe, and it's oh so perfect for the cooler days of the year. Slow cooked meats, especially when done on the bone, are great for your immunity- so long as you use high quality, grass fed, farm raised meat, but doesn't that go without saying at this point?

And let me reiterate how simple it is: you just brown the meat on all sides (sometimes you don't even do this), throw in some flavorings, and put it in the oven, covered, for a few hours or more. Other than the coffee braised lamb, here are some of my favorite recipes:

Edna Lewis' Oven Brisket or Rolled Chuck

Braised duck legs with shallots and parsnips

White bean and ham hock soup
(That's not the bean soup I make, but I don't really use a recipe when I do it. This one sounded good, and uses basically the same technique, except I put the beans in at the very beginning and cook for about 5 hours.)

Pulled-Pork Barbecue
(Doesn't that picture just make you want to reach your hand into the computer screen, pull out the sandwich, and eat it? Or am I just really weird?)

*I know, I know, you're not all overweight.

Just because it's organic...

...doesn't mean it's healthy.

This is what I've been telling myself for the past four or five days, twice a day, when I pour myself a bowl of my newest discovery.

You all know I'm a sucker for cereal.

It's no surprise that I couldn't contain myself when I found Cascadian Farms Organic Cinnamon Crunch: AKA the organic knockoff of my favorite cereal. I bought three boxes (they were on sale). Still packaged, still refined, still processed, still fortified,* but it's ORGANIC! So at least it's not filled with artificial ingredients and dried with formaldehyde, right? RIGHT?

It's like my childhood in a box. I even prefer it to the original. It tastes more....whole, I guess. A little more oatey and a little less eye-crossingly sweet. Oh, and it has 2 grahams more fiber per serving. Does this justify that it's healthy? No. It is not a plant, whole grain, or anything that I would be able to make in my own kitchen. But I just can't stop myself. I get munchy and my body reaches out and pours a bowl before I even know what has happened.

Luckily I never actually eat cereal for breakfast. I would be in trouble if I did. I suppose as long as I keep it for dessert or a small bedtime snack (or both) I'll be okay. I probably shouldn't keep three boxes in my house at a time, though. If I let myself I could probably eat them all in a week. Just kidding. No I'm not. Yes I am.

*BTW, my sister says I don't need to take a multivitamin if I eat this much cereal. Haha.

How stupid they were...

For your viewing pleasure, here are some old advertisements:

Now let's all marvel at how stupid doctors and scientists were fifty years ago. Hahaha, they thought they knew EVERYthing, and yet they knew so little....hahaha....the fools. It's a good thing we are now soooo much smarter and that people theses days are soooo much healthier than they were during the time when these ads were made....(can you tell I'm being sarcastic?)

Wait a second! We're not healthier! Far from it, we are fatter and more diseased as a nation than we've ever been. How is this possible when the pictures above are proof of how misguided people used to be? I believe the answer lies in day time television.

I often work evenings, and as a guilty pleasure on these days I often enjoy morning talk shows. I don't know if I was just paying attention for the first time the other day, but my jaw literally dropped and I started laughing out loud when the commercials came on. I then got a piece of paper and began writing what I saw. The ads (I swear I am not making this up) came in this order:

Splenda

The American Cancer Society

The Olive Garden

Weight loss supplements

Honey Bunches of Oats

Miralax

Yoplait Lite

Healthmart Pharmacy

Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice

Diabetes medicine

If you don't know what I'm getting at, read that list again, in order, very slowly. If that's not the most self-evident list of cause and effect you've ever seen, I don't know what is. And yet we think we know what makes us healthy!

I would venture to say (and I really, really hope) that another fifty years from now people will look at these TV commercials and laugh the way we laugh at the ads above. The public in general is still so ignorant to what health means, and the most unbelievable part is that the answer is so simple! In the words of Michael Pollan, "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." When, oh when, will we get there???

Oh, yes it is.

Spring and I have always had a funny relationship. Let me start off by reminding you that I did not grow up in a region with seasons. When I moved away from Southern California, I readily accepted fall with open arms. I love spiced foods, cozy drinks, and looking forward to the holidays. I can tolerate winter for a couple of months, and then I am done with cold weather.

Enter spring.

Spring should be the beacon of hope, no? I know it tries very hard to please me. Trees are blossoming with popcorn bursts of white and pink flowers, and there is a light at the end of the gloomy, mirthless tunnel. Still I find myself hating spring not for what it offers, but for what it is not- namely, warm. I end up not living with spring, but rather enduring it, and that is no way to get along.

I have lived in seasons for nearly ten years now, and one thing I have learned in that they are stubborn, and no amount of defiance will change what is going on outside.* After conceding to this and making some changes in my attitude, I discovered that I can enjoy spring from time to time- those times usually being on my days off. Take today, for instance (yes, yes I know, it's not even really spring yet....so what?). I have no idea when I became this person, but I could not think of a better way to spend a day off work than standing in the kitchen and slowly and methodically shelling the season's first crop of English peas, all the while listening to Easter music.** I have a bean and smoked ham hawk stew slowly cooking on the stove, and later I plan on baking some Easter cookies (not sure what kind just yet).

And again, I realize why I love food, and why I'm so glad I went to pastry school. Eating is so much more than just putting fuel in your body. It is an experience, a journey, a way to stop for a moment and enjoy what is going on around you rather than wishing for tomorrow. And when I look outside and see that on March 8 it is snowing, I close the drapes, make some tea, and still have my peas.

*What I haven't learned is that wearing sandals won't make it magically warm. I still try this from time to time.

**That one's for you, mom!

The dos and don'ts of cauliflower puree

(per my actual experiences this evening)

- DO try cauliflower puree as a vegetable alternative to mashed potatoes

-DON'T expect it to actually sate if you are experiencing a craving for the starchy, comfort food-ness of said mashed potatoes. Especially if you are not used to it.

-DON'T stray too far from the recipe

-DON'T substitute smoked Indian salt if you run out of regular sea salt, else you may get a strange, slightly sulfuric aroma that may remind you of eating pureed hard boiled eggs.

-DON'T try adding whole grain mustard to a little bit of the puree, else you may then get the sensation of eating warm, mashed egg salad.

-DON'T let your husband (or children) believe they are eating mashed potatoes before they spit it out and say "What the [bleepity bleep] is wrong with these potatoes?"*

-DO serve the cauliflower puree underneath barbecue pulled pork. It tastes really, really good together.

-DO mix the leftovers with your dog's food, because I doubt anyone will eat the cauliflower alone once the pulled pork is gone. Besides, your dog will love it! (mine did...)

*My husband didn't say that, but yours might.

What is Tubissime?

The following email was sent to my boss by a local wine importer (this is fascinating and you MUST know about it immediately):

"Dear Friends,

What is Tubissime?

Traveling around the wine road of life, you come in contact with characters that would make Tom Waits* seem boring. These are real people with lives very different from our own but they have one thing in common- passion. They may be passionate about peaches, cigarettes, or newspaper but they share a thread that makes their lives worth living and money is not their motivation- self-fulfillment and the love of life is.** Tubissime is the result of just such a character, one of the new cultural icons of Paris.

Think Wallpaper meets Saveur meets modern Parisian hip culture and you will have an image of Paul Vautin's universe. Paul is intent on bringing Apollo 3 style food, in all its space oddity into your briefcase.***When first led into his lair, it was like a Jim Jarmusch**** movie with past and present folding into one and other - antique bronze presses, strange mustard gadgets that only those deeply immersed in French mustard culture could understand....Orleans vinegar, mustard seed grown in Zanzibar, salt from the ancient Himalayan sea beds or coastal areas of Norway - this was no mustard "factory," this was the home of the Tubissime King, and judging from his success in Paris, he may be set to produce the next cultural slang word that becomes part of our everyday consciousness (like Kleenex or the Ipod): Tubissime.

What is Tibissime? Tubissime is something of a craze in Paris right now- it is a mix of modern day life, form and function (like a Design Within Reach apparatus). It is life on the go with no time to stop for food or to clean up after your mess- you have a suit on, you are in a hurry, you are on the Metro or in your car and you need flavor, flavor from a tube.

That's right, from a tube.

The French take condiments seriously and I don't mean Heinz ketchup. Ask a you Parisian for some mustard and he or she may just whip one of these from their laptop cases. Packed under pressure in a shiny metal tube, almost like a raw toothpaste tube with very modern Danish graphics, the mustard can be carried anywhere and used on a moment's notice. A small screw cap comes on and off and I've seen people in the Luxemburg Gardens squeezing a tube and then tossing it back into their bug-a-boo for next time. The mustards are made with natural/organic ingredients*****, in very small batches and they are not preserved- the vinegar (or sulfites in the wine flavors) keeps them fresh (although I would still keep them in the fridge after opening- the French do not seem to be as concerned about things like that)- I'm sure these will keep for quite a while but I don't recommend keeping them as long as that jar of Grey Poupon you've had open since 1997.

The inventor/philosopher of Tubissime, Paul Vautin, is intent on keeping his creation at a manageable level and each run is made from scratch with small batch ingredients and hands on care. His desire is to meet the demands of the masses, but I'm not sure how long that will last...for now, the Tubissime Mustard King will make mustard for you (from scratch) but we can only import his wares once a year (due to truffle availability, etc)."



My conclusion: Sign me up! I had always thought it was my dream to be a chic Parisian woman with a French designed purse. Know I know the truth- it was always to be a chic Parisian woman with mustard in her French designed purse.



*Who?
**Really? There are people like that? Please, do tell me how you've done it.
***Why is it that if that was done in the State's it would be disgusting, and yet done in France, it's fascinating.
****Who?
*****I guess that's why.

It really, really works!

Call me a cynic ("You're a cynic!"), but I am always shocked when something actually works as advertised. But I say, give credit where credit is due. And I give credit to good ol' Debbie Meyer. She has solved all my problems (well, one, anyway).

It all started when I decided that pre-packaged sandwich bread was no good. Even the supposedly healthy ones. There's just too much...stuff. Commercial yeasts and preservatives- even if organic- were still putting way more ingredients and processing into my breads than I deemed necessary. What I find necessary to bread is flour, yeast, and water.

I liked bakery bread better anyway, so why not only buy that? I'll tell you why- staling. It's hard to spend $4-$5 on a loaf of bread that may last three days, if you're lucky. After that, I would continue to make bread crumbs to keep from wasting until I had an entire pantry full. Also, not very helpful. The refrigerator doesn't help either, it just makes the bread dry out even quicker. So why not just wrap the bag tight in plastic? Because the mold comes on fast. It seems like bread manufacturers had something going on with their ascorbic acids and other preservatives.

You think you've won, commercial bread makers, but not so!

I thought I'd skeptically try out these Debbie Meyers bread bags on a whim. Day 1 went by and the bread was as fresh as when I had bought it. Not even the outer layer had staled. Day 2...3...4...5! I could slice off a piece as I saw fit, and it was great! It was only until after more than a week that I noticed a little mold growing. In my book, that is excellent. Now I use them routinely. I buy a loaf of challah or olive bread and put it straight into my Debbie Meyers bread bag, and we have good bread all week long.

Win!

ps. I was not paid off by Debbie Meyer to write about this. Nor did she send me any free bags to try. I bought them myself, and it really, really works!

Our world gets even scarier...

The following article comes from www.alsearsmd.com

"Dear Health Conscious Reader,

Your right to make choices about your own body is being challenged.

I seldom, if ever, discuss politics with you. But this in one occasion when something needs to be said.

There’s a new bill in Congress.

If it passes, the FDA will have the right to permanently take away any vitamin or natural supplement it chooses. And once it’s gone, your access disappears…forever.

Imagine CoQ10 becoming illegal? Or if you could only take CoQ10 with a doctor’s prescription at 100 times the cost?

You have the right to choose what you put in your own body. And that includes natural medicine and nutritional supplements.

As the philosopher John Stuart Mill said, “Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.”₁

This is where I stand.

But the bill before Congress intends to lessen, and perhaps take away, your right to have control over your body and mind.

This new “safety” bill would empower the FDA to permanently ban any nutritional supplement it considers “adulterated” or “misbranded.”

On the surface it sounds reasonable, but in practice, it means the FDA can make a list of accepted vitamins and ban all the rest. Europeans already live under such a law. It’s so restrictive; most people in Europe buy their vitamins here in the U.S.

Part of the problem is the way the bill is written. The language is open-ended and subject to broad interpretation.

Even if a vitamin company makes a mistake with their paperwork, or the FDAclaims they made a mistake with their paperwork, they can take that product off the market forever. Even if that product has a clean track record.

Also at risk is the dose of a vitamin or nutrient. That means the FDA could say, for example, “Vitamin C is only safe at a dose of 10mg.”

But here’s the deal: If your vitamin C only has 10mg per tablet, you’d have to take an entire bottle to get a one-day supply. That’s another strategy the FDA could use to kill off a vitamin or nutrient.

This bill is dangerous: Both to your health and to your rights as an individual.

I urge you to click HERE and send a message to your Senator.

The Alliance for Natural Health has prepared the letter for you. All you have to do is fill in your name and address and click “send.”

Your voice counts.

Please take a moment to stand up and be counted."

If you're not angry already, it would do you good to know who the forerunners of this bill are: None other that John McCain and all the other members of congress who have money in pharmaceuticals....shocking.

Ok, ya, I want this

Ok...ya...I want this. I need this. I am totally a sucker for advertising.

I am scared...

It's official...the studies are in...EVERYTHING causes cancer.

Let me tell you my story today...I went on an errand for work today to a lovely little specialty shop called The Porcelain Gallery. These people were as austere about their work as any business I have seen. They were not snobby in the slightest- no pretense whatsoever- just exuding the utmost pride in what they did.

I was working and on a mission, so I marched through the front doors and straight to the back of the store where a prim woman in her early 60's was perched. Without looking around, I began, "Hi! I'm looking for the...{blah blah blah}." She gave me a kind smile and said, "Oh, dinnerware is on the second floor." It was finally then that I looked around and realized that I was surrounded by hundreds or porcelain figurines of any shape you can imagine- $750 - 15 inch giraffes and all.

I took the small, department store style elevator up to the second floor*...ding! There was the polite man I had spoken with on the phone, all ready with the bowls I had previously called about. As he was wrapping them up, I perused the displays of lovely china, admired this dinner set here, and marveled at how someone could spend $94 on a single dinner plate, no matter how beautiful. I commented on how lovely the dishes were...commented I did, to a man with a passion for fine china that is likely unmatched anywhere.

He agreed, and we spoke briefly about what makes their merchandise worth the price tag. As I was walking toward the elevator, he mentioned the health hazards of mass produced dinnerware....WHAAAAT? ding! The doors closed. I considered going back in....please, tell me!...why are my dishes dangerous?...how are these better?....please, give me an entire set!....$15,000 for 14 settings?...of course, you can't put a price on health!

I didn't. I should have. I am dying to know now what he was talking about. I've done some searches online, and what I have found is that while you may be suing Toys R Us for for putting lead paint on your baby's toys, there are no regulations on using glaze with lead on the surfaces in which you put your food. Massed produced stores such as Crate and Barrel and Tar-jay like to carry these products because (unsurprisingly) they are cheaper.

There is nowhere to turn! Now I am eating my meals in terror of what chemicals may be lurking under my organic dinner....right...Conclusion? Solution? No idea whatsoever besides replacing all that is in my cupboards immediately. Everything causes cancer....sigh.

*Did I mention this store was only about 800 square feet...in a neighborhood...with an elevator?

Top 10 Signs You're a Foodie

(Courtesy of the Baltimore Sun of all places)

1. You remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard that Martick’s closed.

No idea. This should be in the "you know you're an old foodie if...." list.

2. You know that basmati is not the capital of India.

Nope, the capital of India is Raita!

3. Your meal is ruined when you’re served from your left (or right – the point is, darn it, it matters).

This is only for foodies with good manners. I would beg to disagree with this one. For a real foodie, a good meal can't be ruined no matter how it's served.

4. You know the real CIA is a school in New York.

But the people who have graduated from that culinary school are as cocky and obnoxious as the government CIA.

5. You can tell by scent as soon as you enter the restaurant which four cheeses they use in their quattro formaggi sauce and in your opinion they went a little overboard on the Asiago.

Oh yeah, baby. 'Cept you can't ever go overboard on Asiago in my opinion. Except on a bagel.

6. You would starve to death if you were trapped for 40 days in a fully stocked Olive Garden.

This one made me laugh out loud, because I basically said this yesterday while watching a commercial for the restaurant.

7. Not only do you know what cuy is, you know where to find it outside Ecuador and Peru.

I know what it is, but I would never try it to find it outside Ecuador and Peru. I would place bets that they are the only people who can prepare it correctly.

8. You sample bread from a wood-fired oven and turn up your nose at the hint of insufficiently aged elm.

I guess lose this one. I would never turn my nose up at bread. (non-commercial, that is)

9. You spell Kryptonite M A R G A R I N E.

YES! YES! YES!

10. You’re keenly aware that the first word in diet is “die."

Haven't I said this in so many words at least once a week?

I Love This- infused sugars

Design Sponge is one of the most aesthetically appealing blogs I have come across. Fitting, as it is a home design blog (and one of the most popular ones on the internet, I might add). After Domino Magazine folded, this was one of the only places left for me to go for home decor style that actually inspired me. My home is more beautiful because of it.

I have had my fun with infused sugars before, but this article on infused sugars is awesome. It immediately made we want to go out an buy a bunch of cute mason jars and make a home display out of my creations. It's so easy and beautiful, why not? I can see myself already, making tea and mulling over which sugar to sweeten it with (hmm...rose petal or cardamom perhaps?)

If you want a less exotic way to try it out, I would go with the ever classic cinnamon sugar and vanilla sugar.