Veggie - - Page 33

by gansie

I’ve Made Peace with Summer Produce

“You still have tomatoes?” I whispered to Julia as I scanned what was left at the Mt. Pleasant Farmers’ Market.

She knew I wasn’t referring to what produce was available a mere 30 minutes before closing, but rather that tomatoes still graced the market the first Saturday in November. “They’re from the hothouse, I think,” she whispers back, eyes squinting out of secrecy.

“They’ve all been picked at this point,” Julia guesses, as she only works the stand, not farms the land. (Not that selling vegetables—and making change without a calculator!—is easy on a weekend morning.)

I didn’t try one of the last quarts of tiny yellow tomatoes. I’ve made peace with summer produce. I’ve said my goodbyes. I bought the last of my tomatoes two weeks ago, roasting them in a low and slow oven, and letting them linger in my fridge for just a few more weeks.

Using them sparingly at first—a few in an egg scramble, a few right to the mouth, a few on toast—I now must act fast before mold wins them over.

Cast Iron Snuggle Food

There is something about cast iron that feels like camping in the woods…sleeping bags, pine trees, camp fires, marshmallows and snuggling. These little cast iron dishes found me on a browsing trip to one of those kitchen stores in which one can lose an entire afternoon. A swift credit card swipe and I was their proud owner. My mission? Create comfort food to fill said dishes. So, here is the super delicious creation that makes you want to snuggle up to a campfire with your teddy bear or a cute man, whichever is readily available.

Artsy Photo of the Day

So this is where my Cabbage Patch dolls came from.

in Photos / Veggie 2 comments

by gansie

All For the Chips

I don’t know why but I was craving banana. I haven’t eaten a banana in a while. Oh wait. Actually, I had banana this weekend in my friend Raj’s birthday pie for his 30-year-old girlfriend’s birthday party: a pie filled with Nutella and topped in quarter-sections with strawberries, pretzels and chocolate chunks, apples and then bananas.

I ate a sliver of banana-topped Nutella pie. And it must of still been in my head come yesterday lunch; I craved a peanut butter and banana sandwich. I wanted a gooey mess of a sandwich. I’m sorry. I just did.

Unfortunately we didn’t have any bananas in the house. I sincerely love bananas but I rarely buy them anymore fearing its massive carbon footprint. So I did what I always do: make do.

Seconds to the Rescue

This crazy change in weather has finally invaded my system. I feel like crap. Stuffed-up nose. Irritation in throat. Body droopy. Brain exhausted.

Luckily, this weekend, before sickness fell upon me, I spent all of Saturday afternoon taking care of twenty five pounds of “second” tomatoes. (My second seconds of the year.) It took me about an hour to cut all of the tomatoes up, placing 2/3 of the tomatoes in two roasting pans, and when my oven was full, dumping the rest in a tall pot with onion, 2 bay leaves and salt and pepper.

The tomatoes lucky enough to sit in a 400-degree oven for 3 hours tasted doubly delicious, having been reduced and intensified in flavor. I had no clue what I was going to make with all of the tomatoes so decided I’d just do one big pot of a thick soup/sauce and dumped the roasted tomatoes in with the simmering tomatoes.

I reserved a container-ful of chunky tomatoes and onions and then pureed (with an immersion blender) the rest for a creamy, saucy soup.

And while I was at first not eager to take on all of those tomatoes, I am now glad I have an easy meal to warm up while fighting off this cold.

Chunky Tomato Soup with Ricotta and Egg

In a small saucepan I warmed up the chunky tomato soup, stirred in a spoonful of ricotta, then created a dent and dropped in an egg. I lowered the heat, covered the pan and let the egg “poach” for 5-7 minutes. Once the egg was cooked I topped it with a few strands of fresh oregano.

(Recipe hat tip Eggs in Purgatory)

in Cheese / Eggs / Recipe / Veggie 2 comments

by gansie

How Hard Is It For Restaurants to Source Locally?

I wear slim, light gray pants that stop an inch and a half above my ankle. I wear shoes with a peep toe. It’s a hot fall and I can’t make up my mind, so I split the difference: giving into the season, but remembering that just because we’ve passed the fall equinox, the temperature hasn’t ducked too low.

This same compromise appeared to me at a press lunch last week. Eating outside on a sunny day at Agora, yet enjoying fall’s produce.

House-made pita dough is turned into a soft flat bread and can be found underneath melted feta and manchego cheese, topped with thin slices of a Granny Smith apple.

So far, it’s a happy story for a meatless meal. I can find the joy of fall’s favorite offspring while I dine comfortably alfresco. And my gray pants are adorable, I might add.

While chatting with the chef, Ghassan Jarrouj, a native of Lebanon, he tells me the Peynirli Pide (the cheesy flat bread) receives its fall glow from “Washington state or New York apples, most likely New York.”

Jarrouj assured me that they are in the process of lining up several local growers to supply produce to the restaurant. With such a diverse variety of apples grown only miles away in Virginia, it’s hard to hear that customers can’t enjoy fruits of the Mid-Atlantic.

Now I know how easy it is to supply my own kitchen with farmers market goods (and if you don’t know, check out Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food, a new non-profit with a mission to educate the public on sustainable, local eating), but it is quite another issue to buy enough food for a restaurant.

In fact, there’s been plenty of stories on how difficult it is for restaurants in the DC area to source local ingredients (see The Go-Betweens by ES fav Melissa McCart.) But I’ve got to think restaurants can make it work for a few months out of the year.

Hopefully, Agora, there’s a local winter squash flat bread in my future.

in Cheese / Restaurants / Veggie 4 comments

by BS

100 Ways to Cook a Pumpkin

Pumpkin season is here! Now let’s be honest — for most of us, that means leftover pumpkin season is here, too — because how many times can you make boring old pumpkin pie? Never fear, Endless Simmer is here. Whether you’ve got half-a-can of pumpkin puree sitting around, a cupboard full of pumpkin pie filling, the stringy insides of a Jack-o-Lantern or just a few stray pumpkin seeds, we scoured the web for 100 creative recipes that will help you use up all that beautiful orange goodness.

Click on the photos for full recipes…