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by gansie

A Pain in the Ass, A Pleasure in the Stomach

I’ve heard about these suckers for a very long time. Raves. Raves. Raves. And as diligent as I am in eating what’s in season, I sometimes miss very short-seasoned produce. But this time around, in what one vendor labeled as the last available weekend, I scored a quart of fava beans.

Lord these beans take a lot of work. I didn’t follow a recipe, just the quick advice Mt. Pleasant Farmers’ Market manager Rebbie called out to me before 80P and I schlept back to our apartment.

She commanded that the process required 2 beers and a friend. One beer for releasing the beans from the pod and the next for releasing the bean from its skin. Because of my bachelorette party induced hangover, I skipped the beers but still persuaded 80 to be my friend in the process.

Sesame Enhanced Fava Bean Puree

First I took the fava beans out of the pod. After the de-podding, I boiled the beans for a minute and a half, shocked them, and then removed the skins. A not difficult, but slightly annoying process, especially as waves of hangover fell upon me. In case you’re wondering why I’m going through this multi-step process on what should have been a lazy weekend afternoon, it is because I wanted to bring a snack for the World Cup watching party.

Needed a Little Heat

Oh it is on. It takes a while for vegetables to arrive at market here in DC. It’s a slow start with asparagus, strawberries and garlic scapes. But it’s coming now: I spied four different varieties of plums alone.

This week, however, was different. I came to the market with a specific mission. My friend Katie, who’s blogged here before, is getting married. And with nuptials comes a bachelorette party. The night started with an hors d’oeuvre potluck and then bar hopping in Baltimore.

As a food writer I feel extra pressure to bring something amazing to a special gathering like this. I then freak out because there’s just too many options. What to make! Eek!

I decided to let the newly produce-busting market be my guide. Slices of peppered cucumber and radish encircled chevre. But that wasn’t the star. Neither was my other dish. Some girl shows up with seaweed to roll sushi. FML! (Not to mention the penis cake…)

Top Chef Exit Interview: Episode 4

There were a lot of things to get mad about on this week’s Top Chef: team elimination, Padma’s and Tom’s babies not participating in the challenge and that oven labeling issue.

At least those were my gripes. Here’s what the axed chef’testants have to say.

Artsy Photo of the Day

This was a sign for a restaurant in Japan. I didn’t care what they were selling. I was going.

in Food Travel 0 comments

by gansie

It Never Really Has

Saved your fucking life

It never really has

If people over and stores are closed u can buy a couple 29oz

“It never really has,” he calmly answered.

My mouth opened wide.

Seconds before I finished inquiring, no, delighting, gushing in the fact that my friend Eick of So Good lived in the most luxurious apartment building in the city. In the lobby, just around the corner from the elevator, glowed a vending machine.

Potato chips. M&Ms. Coke.

Luckiest. Renter. On. Earth.

So I asked him:

“How much do you love your vending machine?”
“What’s your best, funniest memory of your vending machine?”
(And I’m now screaming) “When did this vending machine save your fucking life?!”

“It never really has.”

in Personal 6 comments

by gansie

When It’s Too Damn Hot…Make a Hoagie

I think I’ve now seen 5 Facebook updates where someone has taken a picture of their car’s internal temperature and it has read over 100 degrees.

It’s fucking hot.

What should you do? Stay inside and play computer games. Be a hoagie hero. Or mix a fruity cocktail for cartoon duchebags on vacation. Just. Don’t. Go. Outside.

in Drinks / Sandwich 2 comments

by gansie

Jersey Shore: Converting Haters to Defenders

This past weekend I brought a few skeptics down the Jersey Shore. Many of my friends have only driven through New Jersey and bought into the crap spoken about this lovely state. Or believe what they saw from Snookie and crew on MTV.

But through our overwhelming intake of Jersey-style Italian food, I think I may have turned them into lifelong defenders of Jerz.

Speaking of food, with the pounds of pasta and side salads and creamy crab ravioli, we accumulated a ton of leftovers. Dedicating our fridge space to beer, I figured out a way to feed us all breakfast and get rid of the 4 rolls of garlic bread we still had from the night before.

Garlic Bread and Feta Egg Bake

Egg bakes are perfect for feeding a ton of people and anything can be thrown in, as demonstrated by my collection of baked egg dishes. [See here and here.] But this one was just straight awesome and didn’t need much additional seasoning because of the flavorful bread.

I cubed the garlic bread leftovers from Uncle Gino’s in Ventnor. Placed them in a buttered oven-proof dish and then poured over a mixture of eggs, crumbled feta, a few splashes of half and half (don’t make the coffee drinkers mad!) and salt and pepper. Let the bread soak in the liquid for 10-15 minutes before baking uncovered at 375 for about 30 minutes.

in Breakfast / Cheese / Eggs / Recipe 2 comments