Veggie - - Page 35

by gansie

The Second Life of Corn Chowder

I don’t know why I had such a limited view of corn usage. Corn = grilled corn on the cob. That’s all. But then I let it pop and brown in hot oil and butter and threw it in with kale and roasted tomatoes for a salad.

I bought another four ears but did not have a plan of attack. And then I saw a corn chowder recipe over at Macheesmo. I never made corn chowder before, and I’m pretty sure I hadn’t followed a recipe all summer, so as the unofficial end of warmth approached last week, I fell in line and replicated a proper summer soup.

With the leftovers, however, I refused to simply reheat. Instead, I recreated a hotter, fattier soup and a slightly soggy frittata.

Corn Chowder Frittata

I think I botched this up, as I rushed to the broiler instead of letting the egg cook longer in the oven. I whipped one egg with hot sauce, salt and pepper. Then poured that over corn chowder leftovers, stirred it together and put the entire mixture into a pre-heated, buttered cast iron pan. Then I added sliced tomato to the top, with more salt and pepper and then slid it under the broiler. And waited and waited and waited. The mixture browned nicely on the top, but remained slightly soggy in the middle. I think cooking this in the oven for 15-20 minutes and then finishing in the oven, with a late addition of crumbled feta on top, would have worked better.

in Veggie 4 comments

by gansie

Artsy Photo of the Day

gansie: This is a seriously beautiful picture
80P: Yea, thanks
gansie: Well, what’s funny about it
80P: I can’t think of any more funny things about food
<<<It is the 103rd Artsy Photo of the Day that we’ve had to think of a caption for>>>
gansie: Well…
80P: I think it looks like the Loch Ness Monster
ganise: Uh…the Loch Ness Okra?
<<<Wow, it really does look like Nessie>>>

by gansie

Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Egg?

Now that I work from home my morning routine is different. Instead of springing out of bed, having waited for the last of the possible “snoozes,” I now roll over, shut my alarm off and open my email. Right there in bed, with the ease of my newly updated (software version 4.0.2) iPhone.

First I check my work email to make sure nothing insane has happened, then my personal email. I receive a few blog posts directly to my email (otherwise I’m really terrible at keeping up with other food blogs that I enjoy). One of these is from Macheesmo.

Yesterday Nick wrote a thoughtful piece on the recent egg recall. As eggs’ number one fan, I knew this sort of danger was coming. But also as eggs’ fan, I know to buy my yolky treats straight from farmers. Farmers (thank you Truck Patch) that raise chickens as chickens should be raised, not cramped in an immoral amount of space and fed, well, I can’t be sure, but it’s not natural.

While most egg buyers tucked their sunny side up desires away, I, instead, dreamed of how I would use eggs in my lunch that very day.

in Eggs / Recipe / Trends / Veggie 7 comments

by Borracho

…And the Living’s Easy

Gansie’s recent post about avocados, citrus trees, and Hollywood celebrity sightings had me envious of all that is SoCal, including the seemingly perpetual 75 degrees and sunny forecast. I woke up this morning and it was 49 degrees outside! You see, I live in a part of Pennsylvania where it also snows or flurries every day from December to March, so my envy was coming from the fact that summer is quickly coming to an end.

School buses are beginning to pop up on every block, some leaves are becoming slightly tinged with yellow, and political ads are everywhere. Fall does have its culinary benefits; things like pumpkin pie, green chicken chili, agave and cinnamon acorn squash, pumpkin ravioli with sage butter, fresh orchard apples and the roast chicken with sausage and apple stuffing that I make with those apples….OK so maybe fall’s not all bad, but I am getting off track.

It is still summer and in the hopes of filling the remaining weeks of it with delectable meals for all those in ES nation, I thought I would post my top 3 “summer” dishes. Summertime food to me does not have to be complex or have exotic ingredients.It is quick, simple, fresh, can often be cooked outside and pairs well with any adult cold beverage (my favorite lately has to be Flying Dog brewery’s Classic Pale Ale). Take a look and feel free to shout out your top summer dishes in the comments.

3. Grilled Sweet Corn with Chili-Lime butter

Variations of this have popped up more and more on many a cooking show, but for good reason; it may be one of the simplest and tastiest sides out there. Corn’s flavor doesn’t last long. As soon as it is picked, the sugars in each kernel start turning into starch, so the key is to get it fresh. Whether it is a farmers market or a roadside stand, you can find it almost anywhere during the summer. I have seen recipes suggest that you should soak the husks in water and other such steps, but I firmly believe that down and dirty is the way to go. Husk the corn, toss it on a hot grill and turn regularly until the kernels have a slight char. While the corn is cooking begin melting a stick of butter and add the juice of 1 lime. I leave the chili powder for everyone to sprinkle on themselves because some like it hot and some don’t. If you are feeling up to it, you can always make your own chili powder, which far outshines any store-bought option. For this dish, I recommend toasting dried chipotle peppers (smoked jalapenos) in a skillet for a few minutes on medium heat until they become nice and fragrant. After that, just grind them up, sprinkle and serve. If the citrus and heat doesn’t do it for you, make your own butter. Some ideas for flavors to incorporate could be roasted red pepper, green goddess, raspberry, almost any herb….the possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

in Recipe / Veggie 4 comments

by gansie

Top 9 Foods Found Only at SoCal Farmers’ Markets (and Not in DC)

While I didn’t catch a glimpse of an avocado orchard, or even an avocado tree, I did find a farmers market, Local Harvest at Marine Stadium, on my last day in Long Beach, California. The first stall displayed all fruits and vegetables that I easily find at my neighborhood far mar: zucchini and onions and peaches.

Jujube

But then I looked to my left and saw jujubes. The vendor had a sign proclaiming unattainable health benefits (cancer prevention, Zen-filled life). I bought a half pound. Frankly, though, jujubes may grant me 109 years on earth, but they still taste like blah. Total blah. At first I thought they were dried chilies but then I thought, hey, a sickly sweet candy is named after the dried fruit so it must be sweet. ERRRR. <buzzer sounds> It tastes like absolutely nothing.

Lime

What a radical notion. Citrus fruit is not only in white cartons marked with styles of “some pulp,” but apparently grow on trees. In California.

Dragon Fruit

Total alien fruit. Was this the punk rock cousin of an artichoke with its round shape and spiky leaves? No. It’s a beautiful fuchsia-fleshed fruit. The color, however, is more exciting than the taste.

Almond

There are some edibles out there that I have zero concept of how they grow. Nuts are one of them. Fresh almonds from the farmers market are particularly nutty and do have more flavor than their encased-in-bulk-bins selves.

in Lists / Veggie 14 comments

by BS

Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

– Matthew weighs in on the surprisingly difficult debate about how to make kale chips:

As a private chef, I’ve been cooking for some vegan yogis lately, and they freak over kale. 350 degrees, SINGLE LAYER in the pan, 10-11 min. Totally dry leaves before you start, just a little bit of oil, salt & pepper and you should be good to go. That is, if you ever want to try it again.

-While VeggieBoss is kind enough to share some secrets of dal:

in Veggie 1 comments

by gansie

ISO: Avocado Orchard

When I was planning my trip out to Southern California the number one item on my to-do list was to see an avocado tree. I receive press releases from the California Avocado Commission regularly—and once even was mailed a shipment of the fruit—so I decided to re-engage to see if I could schedule a trip out to an avocado orchard. At first they said yes, and that I could even interview a grower, but then they returned saying no, not at this time, and they were planning a “blogger” event next year. Heartbreak ensued.

So with one day left in Long Beach I’m really trying to make it happen. Although I will be in San Diego over Labor Day, I was hoping to knock that off my list during this trip.

While I am patiently waiting for an avocado tree sighting, I have laid my eyes on some pretty other cool food stuffs out here.

Satsuma.

This citrus tree (at top) grows on my friend Thresher’s balcony in Santa Monica. My friend Jon has a Meyer lemon tree and a blood orange tree growing in his back yard. Are you fucking kidding me? That’s all I have to say.

Sea Vegetables.

I’ve only seen sea vegetables called for in Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Diet. Even in Japan I couldn’t identify them. But that was the least of our communication problems. I tried them at Real Food Daily, a vegan restaurant open since 1993. My dining partner, Thresher, a PETA employee, warned me that they’re funky. I was determined to try because it’s something I just couldn’t easily find in DC. And the shit was weird. Slimy. Bland. Blah. But cool looking. (Next to the sea vegetables: mashed potatoes with a kick ass nutritional yeast gravy.)

in Veggie 8 comments