I am a big supporter of buying local, especially when it comes to the food I eat. Local food will win out over organic for me every single time. The impact of transporting and storing the food is greatly lessened by eating local. The food is fresher for obvious reasons. You are supporting your local economy. And if you are shopping in the green market you may even meet the producer and learn more about their growing processes, or get special tips on how to prepare the food. So yes, I love local.
But I have a dirty little secret, and you know what? Most of you do too....I love Thai Lettuce Wraps from The Cheesecake Factory, I could eat the spinach-lavosh dip from Houlihan's breakfast lunch and dinner, and yes there are days when nothing but a Quarter Pounder with cheese (no onions) will do. I enjoy chain restaurants. There. I said it. It feels good getting that off my chest.
Look, I love to eat at locally owned restaurants. Bombers on Lark Street in Albany has the best wings, I defy you to find better Thai in the Capital Region than Blue Spice and I swoon a little bit when get the special treat of Debbie's Kitchens sandwiches for lunch. But here is the thing...chain restaurants are NOT the root of all evil. (Just some of it!)
You will not find the most creative menus at most chains, they lack charm and personality, the profits leave our community. I get it, I really do. But I see our local produce purveyors pull their trucks up outside the chains to drop off just like they do the local haunts. Chains are generally larger in size and therefore employ more people. Chains often draw people in and help support surrounding businesses. When PF Changs and Cheesecake Factory opened here in Albany you couldn't get into either of them without waiting 2 hours (yeah, I don't like the lettuce wraps that much....). So some crazy fools waited and the rest of us did some shopping, or ate at Ralph's or Professor Java's or wherever. The point is the chains drove people to the area and helped support the other businesses.
So anyways, I will always recommend the locals first when you ask me for a recommendation. I truly will. But don't act horrified if you hear that I ate at Smokey Bones last night. We dig the wings! And please don't get on your high horse with me either. When we support the businesses in our community we encourage local and national entrepreneurs to take a chance on our community. In the end we all end up with more options, and in reality I am always looking for more of those. Without all those options, what the heck would I have to write about.
So, maybe I will see you at Chipotle sometime soon...it is a chain that is new to our area that I am interested in checking out. If not there then likely at The Hidden Cafe the glorious local gem in Delaware Plaza...where ever I see you it will be delicious!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Ode to Grandma's
Grandma's are great people. Even the cranky ones who don't let you sit on the furniture or the slightly kooky ones who talk to their cats too much are great. Grandma's indulge in whims, and make some of the best food ever.
Currently, my grandma is fighting a battle for her life that she is likely to lose in the next few days. She is older and has a hard life, so this isn't a surprise but doesn't mean it isn't sad. As with most things in my life when I think about the happy times with my grandma I am reminded of food. There are a number of things that stand out for me when I think back on our shared culinary memories...
Strawberries that we used to go pick at Jackson's Farms in Campville. We would walk there and pick about 4 quarts and she would clean them up and put them in a big yellow Pyrex bowl that all grandma's had and sprinkle them with a little sugar for me.
We used to make zucchini bread every summer. At least 150 loaves of it, while I was with her...she made even more than that though. Everyone we knew would give her pounds and pounds of their home grown zucchini and with a grinder that was likely her grandmothers we would grind down the zucchini and drain off the liquid and put it into the spicy moist quick bread mixture that she was known for. She made some loaves with candied fruit (blah!) and the rest with nuts. The house smelled of zucchini bread for days on end, and I got to eat slices of it warm from the oven with a little bit of butter. Pure heaven.
I have only recently begun to appreciate her peanut butter cookies. Most kids are more into chocolate chip or something frosted and covered with sprinkles and I was one of those kids. Peanut butter cookies weren't sexy so they weren't a big deal to me. But now I wish I could have one of her peanutty warm from the oven cookies that had the traditional crosshatch design from a fork on the top. I have the recipe but of course they will never taste the same.
And then there was the cheesecake. There was some debate (not in my mind) that it wasn't her recipe. Another relative claimed that it was "her" recipe....well, if you never make it and nobody ever asks you to make it I don't think you get to claim it....
The cheesecake was my grandma's command performance. She didn't just make it to have around. It was special. It was a pricey little number to pull together and it took 24 hours to be fully set. Family and friends would give my grandma a brown grocery bag of cream cheese and sour cream and ask her to make them one to take to work or to a friend. It was that special.
Her cheesecake wasn't a round New York Style confection covered in cherries or strawberries. She made hers in a 13x9 yellow Pyrex pan. It had a graham cracker crust and a sour cream topping. To me there will never be another cheesecake as good. In honor of my grandma I want to share her recipe here....I would love to see some of your grandma's recipes too.
Sour Cream Topped Cheesecake by Velma Sansky
Crust:
2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
3/4 Stick Melted Butter
1/4 Cup Sugar
Cheesecake Layer:
3 8oz Packages of Cream Cheese-softened
4 Eggs
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Sour Cream Layer:
1 Pint Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together all crust ingredients and press into a 13x9 pan that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
Combine all ingredients for cream cheese layer and pour into crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Mix together all ingredients for sour cream layer, pour over cream cheese mixture and bake an additional 10 minutes.
Turn oven off and open door pulling rack out slightly. This should help the cheesecake to cook more gradually and reduce the instances of cracking.
Cover cooked cheesecake with foil and chill at least 12 hours to allow it to completely set before serving.
**You can use low fat cream cheese and sour cream with excellent results. Stay away from fat free products. It will be a disappointment.
Currently, my grandma is fighting a battle for her life that she is likely to lose in the next few days. She is older and has a hard life, so this isn't a surprise but doesn't mean it isn't sad. As with most things in my life when I think about the happy times with my grandma I am reminded of food. There are a number of things that stand out for me when I think back on our shared culinary memories...
Strawberries that we used to go pick at Jackson's Farms in Campville. We would walk there and pick about 4 quarts and she would clean them up and put them in a big yellow Pyrex bowl that all grandma's had and sprinkle them with a little sugar for me.
We used to make zucchini bread every summer. At least 150 loaves of it, while I was with her...she made even more than that though. Everyone we knew would give her pounds and pounds of their home grown zucchini and with a grinder that was likely her grandmothers we would grind down the zucchini and drain off the liquid and put it into the spicy moist quick bread mixture that she was known for. She made some loaves with candied fruit (blah!) and the rest with nuts. The house smelled of zucchini bread for days on end, and I got to eat slices of it warm from the oven with a little bit of butter. Pure heaven.
I have only recently begun to appreciate her peanut butter cookies. Most kids are more into chocolate chip or something frosted and covered with sprinkles and I was one of those kids. Peanut butter cookies weren't sexy so they weren't a big deal to me. But now I wish I could have one of her peanutty warm from the oven cookies that had the traditional crosshatch design from a fork on the top. I have the recipe but of course they will never taste the same.
And then there was the cheesecake. There was some debate (not in my mind) that it wasn't her recipe. Another relative claimed that it was "her" recipe....well, if you never make it and nobody ever asks you to make it I don't think you get to claim it....
The cheesecake was my grandma's command performance. She didn't just make it to have around. It was special. It was a pricey little number to pull together and it took 24 hours to be fully set. Family and friends would give my grandma a brown grocery bag of cream cheese and sour cream and ask her to make them one to take to work or to a friend. It was that special.
Her cheesecake wasn't a round New York Style confection covered in cherries or strawberries. She made hers in a 13x9 yellow Pyrex pan. It had a graham cracker crust and a sour cream topping. To me there will never be another cheesecake as good. In honor of my grandma I want to share her recipe here....I would love to see some of your grandma's recipes too.
Sour Cream Topped Cheesecake by Velma Sansky
Crust:
2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
3/4 Stick Melted Butter
1/4 Cup Sugar
Cheesecake Layer:
3 8oz Packages of Cream Cheese-softened
4 Eggs
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Sour Cream Layer:
1 Pint Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together all crust ingredients and press into a 13x9 pan that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
Combine all ingredients for cream cheese layer and pour into crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes.
Mix together all ingredients for sour cream layer, pour over cream cheese mixture and bake an additional 10 minutes.
Turn oven off and open door pulling rack out slightly. This should help the cheesecake to cook more gradually and reduce the instances of cracking.
Cover cooked cheesecake with foil and chill at least 12 hours to allow it to completely set before serving.
**You can use low fat cream cheese and sour cream with excellent results. Stay away from fat free products. It will be a disappointment.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Meatloaf, smeatloaf, double-beatloaf
I have never been a meatloaf gal. It wasn't something my mom made growing up. While other mom's made it quite often I can't think of a single time that my mom did in fact make a meatloaf.
My husband enjoys meatloaf, and because I like for my cooking to be pleasing I have made a few in my past 13 years with him. Some have been in the loaf pan and others have been free-form. I have always preferred the free-form variety as it isn't stewing in it's own fat that way. Either way haven't ever been a big fan.
Recently I got it in my head to try a turkey meatloaf one last time....It turned out amazing, we all loved it and Michael said it was the best he has ever eaten. Here is the recipe (makes 1 reasonably sized meatloaf for a family of 4 with a little leftover)-
3 Portabella mushroom caps cleaned and finely diced
1 yellow onion finely diced
2 Teaspoons olive oil
Pinch of Thyme, Salt & Pepper
2 Tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 Cup Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
1/2 Teaspoon Tomato Paste
1/3-1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs
1 pound Ground Turkey Breast
1 Tablespoon Crushed Garlic
1 egg lightly beaten
For Topping/Dipping Sauce-
1/2 Cup Ketchup
1/2 Cup of your favorite mustard (I used a stone ground variety from Trader Joe's)
2 turns of Cracked Black Pepper
1/4 Brown Sugar
2-3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In saute pan over medium heat cook the onion and mushroom in the olive oil with salt, pepper & thyme for about 5-7 minutes-until mushrooms are cooked through and onions are translucent. Add Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste & chicken broth and mix it well. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
While this mixture cools down, mix turkey, garlic, beaten egg, 1/3 cup breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl with your hands. Knead the entire mixture together, so all ingredients are incorporated together (just as you would when making meatballs). Add more breadcrumbs if the meat is still "wet". You want to bind this together so you can form a loaf eventually. Mix in the onion-mushroom mixture.
At this point make a little slider patty out of some of the mixture, quickly pan fry and taste to check seasonings. You can decide if it needs more salt or pepper etc and go from there.
Grease a cookie sheet or baking dish. Form meat mixture free form into a loaf. Try to keep it the same width and thickness all the way through for even cooking.
Mix all of the ingredients together for the sauce until combined over a low heat on the stove top. Add a bit more Worcestershire if you want a little more zip, or more brown sugar for more sweet.
Baste some of the sauce onto the top of the meatloaf. Set remaining sauce aside to use as a meatloaf dip with the meal. ( The sauce is so good-you will want to do this!)
Bake meatloaf until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees-about 40-50 minutes.
This recipe is a meshing of about 10 different recipes that I considered trying, and it worked for us. Remember ground turkey isn't that flavorful on it's own and needs the herbs and spices. I thought the mushrooms added some extra smoky meaty flavor.
You can personalize this a million different ways though-use different veggies (like sauteed spinach or diced tomato and maybe a little grated cheese for an Italian version)...
Enjoy!
My husband enjoys meatloaf, and because I like for my cooking to be pleasing I have made a few in my past 13 years with him. Some have been in the loaf pan and others have been free-form. I have always preferred the free-form variety as it isn't stewing in it's own fat that way. Either way haven't ever been a big fan.
Recently I got it in my head to try a turkey meatloaf one last time....It turned out amazing, we all loved it and Michael said it was the best he has ever eaten. Here is the recipe (makes 1 reasonably sized meatloaf for a family of 4 with a little leftover)-
3 Portabella mushroom caps cleaned and finely diced
1 yellow onion finely diced
2 Teaspoons olive oil
Pinch of Thyme, Salt & Pepper
2 Tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 Cup Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
1/2 Teaspoon Tomato Paste
1/3-1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs
1 pound Ground Turkey Breast
1 Tablespoon Crushed Garlic
1 egg lightly beaten
For Topping/Dipping Sauce-
1/2 Cup Ketchup
1/2 Cup of your favorite mustard (I used a stone ground variety from Trader Joe's)
2 turns of Cracked Black Pepper
1/4 Brown Sugar
2-3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In saute pan over medium heat cook the onion and mushroom in the olive oil with salt, pepper & thyme for about 5-7 minutes-until mushrooms are cooked through and onions are translucent. Add Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste & chicken broth and mix it well. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
While this mixture cools down, mix turkey, garlic, beaten egg, 1/3 cup breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl with your hands. Knead the entire mixture together, so all ingredients are incorporated together (just as you would when making meatballs). Add more breadcrumbs if the meat is still "wet". You want to bind this together so you can form a loaf eventually. Mix in the onion-mushroom mixture.
At this point make a little slider patty out of some of the mixture, quickly pan fry and taste to check seasonings. You can decide if it needs more salt or pepper etc and go from there.
Grease a cookie sheet or baking dish. Form meat mixture free form into a loaf. Try to keep it the same width and thickness all the way through for even cooking.
Mix all of the ingredients together for the sauce until combined over a low heat on the stove top. Add a bit more Worcestershire if you want a little more zip, or more brown sugar for more sweet.
Baste some of the sauce onto the top of the meatloaf. Set remaining sauce aside to use as a meatloaf dip with the meal. ( The sauce is so good-you will want to do this!)
Bake meatloaf until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees-about 40-50 minutes.
This recipe is a meshing of about 10 different recipes that I considered trying, and it worked for us. Remember ground turkey isn't that flavorful on it's own and needs the herbs and spices. I thought the mushrooms added some extra smoky meaty flavor.
You can personalize this a million different ways though-use different veggies (like sauteed spinach or diced tomato and maybe a little grated cheese for an Italian version)...
Enjoy!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Different Drummer's Kitchen
I can't believe I didn't write about this immediately, but hey the blog is like 3 days old so cut a gal some slack right?
Different Drummer's Kitchen located in Stuyvesant Plaza Albany just relocated to bigger digs next to Jean Paul Spa. I was in the shop both Friday & Saturday and (I'm a real sucker for prize give-aways and great kitchen equipment and they had both!) and couldn't believe the selection of tools and equipment along with the store layout and the new demo kitchen (more on that in a minute!).
They have everything you need to pimp out your kitchen-from basics like pots, pans and tea kettles to items for the true culinary aficionado-fondue pots, ravioli press, cake pans that look like butterflies. And then they have everything you didn't even know you needed-corn cob shuckers, strawberry stem removers (my technical term not theirs...), spoon rests that attach to the pot! My oh my.....
The store is logically organized with open shelving by category. If you want a fondue pot they are all in one spot (happens to be right in front by the door towards your right...), and along with the fondue pots you will find accessories like fuel and cookbooks. Like I said the shelves are very open and not too crammed so you can have a very touchable experience. The entire store pretty much follows this layout scheme and I applaud them for making it so consumer friendly.
In regards to pricing, I won't sugar-coat this....some of their items are not budget shopper friendly. However, ALL of their items are of high quality and well worth the cost if you can fit it into your budget. This is a great place to shop for the dutch oven that will last you for the next 20 years or a wedding gift. And if you can afford to completely stock your kitchen here I say do it-you are supporting a local business who has great expertise, getting a high quality product and having a pleasant shopping experience...None of those things are true at any of our big box stores, right?
Fear not, if money is a little tight right now they have plenty of high-quality inexpensive baking pans, gizmos and gadgets. I personally fell in love with a set of pink and gold cupcake liners that look like princess crowns. They are too short for an actual cupcake but a chocolate dipped strawberry will look lovely in them and my daughter will feel like royalty. My point is, you can easily pick up a little treat for the utensil bin for less than $10, in some cases less than $5.
One thing that I didn't mention was the new demo kitchen. Oh my gravy, is it beautiful! Stainless steel appliances, huge demo area, surrounded by high tables for the students. They have already scheduled a number of 3 hour classes that range from about $55-$75 each. I don't have the list with me but I know they are hosting an Indonesian foods class, croissant making and the one I want the most-Italian Cheeses. I am salivating at the thought of that one. This is a great way to get a little hands on experience on a new topic or just get out of the house for a few hours. I am considering checking to see if they will allow me to do my birthday there and invite my girlfriends to do a cooking class with me. I think that would be a hoot!
Finally, I would be negligent if I didn't mention that Different Drummer's Kitchen has locations in Lenox and Northampton, MA as well! So if Albany is not in your reach maybe the other spots are...
Please check out Different Drummer's Kitchen! You won't regret it....
It will be delicious!
Different Drummer's Kitchen located in Stuyvesant Plaza Albany just relocated to bigger digs next to Jean Paul Spa. I was in the shop both Friday & Saturday and (I'm a real sucker for prize give-aways and great kitchen equipment and they had both!) and couldn't believe the selection of tools and equipment along with the store layout and the new demo kitchen (more on that in a minute!).
They have everything you need to pimp out your kitchen-from basics like pots, pans and tea kettles to items for the true culinary aficionado-fondue pots, ravioli press, cake pans that look like butterflies. And then they have everything you didn't even know you needed-corn cob shuckers, strawberry stem removers (my technical term not theirs...), spoon rests that attach to the pot! My oh my.....
The store is logically organized with open shelving by category. If you want a fondue pot they are all in one spot (happens to be right in front by the door towards your right...), and along with the fondue pots you will find accessories like fuel and cookbooks. Like I said the shelves are very open and not too crammed so you can have a very touchable experience. The entire store pretty much follows this layout scheme and I applaud them for making it so consumer friendly.
In regards to pricing, I won't sugar-coat this....some of their items are not budget shopper friendly. However, ALL of their items are of high quality and well worth the cost if you can fit it into your budget. This is a great place to shop for the dutch oven that will last you for the next 20 years or a wedding gift. And if you can afford to completely stock your kitchen here I say do it-you are supporting a local business who has great expertise, getting a high quality product and having a pleasant shopping experience...None of those things are true at any of our big box stores, right?
Fear not, if money is a little tight right now they have plenty of high-quality inexpensive baking pans, gizmos and gadgets. I personally fell in love with a set of pink and gold cupcake liners that look like princess crowns. They are too short for an actual cupcake but a chocolate dipped strawberry will look lovely in them and my daughter will feel like royalty. My point is, you can easily pick up a little treat for the utensil bin for less than $10, in some cases less than $5.
One thing that I didn't mention was the new demo kitchen. Oh my gravy, is it beautiful! Stainless steel appliances, huge demo area, surrounded by high tables for the students. They have already scheduled a number of 3 hour classes that range from about $55-$75 each. I don't have the list with me but I know they are hosting an Indonesian foods class, croissant making and the one I want the most-Italian Cheeses. I am salivating at the thought of that one. This is a great way to get a little hands on experience on a new topic or just get out of the house for a few hours. I am considering checking to see if they will allow me to do my birthday there and invite my girlfriends to do a cooking class with me. I think that would be a hoot!
Finally, I would be negligent if I didn't mention that Different Drummer's Kitchen has locations in Lenox and Northampton, MA as well! So if Albany is not in your reach maybe the other spots are...
Please check out Different Drummer's Kitchen! You won't regret it....
It will be delicious!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Opa!
Every May St. Sophia's Greek Orthodox Church on Whitehall Road in Albany holds their very popular Greek Festival. It seems like most years we are out of town or forget all about it until it is too late. Not this year!
You can go in to their community room and be served a delicous Greek dinner and dessert. It is cool and comfy and a great spot to eat if you want to sit and relax and be waited on. The meals are a bit more expensive, but you get salad and bread with them so it probably evens out.
Michael, Zoe and I opted for the big tent experience. There are tables and chairs in the middle, and at one corner is a Greek band playing music that makes you want to get up and dance. All around the perimeter are food tables-spanakopita (phyllo pockets filled with feta, onion, spinach and spices), antipasti platters of olives, tapenades and other yummy spreads to slather on warm pita bread, gyro's of succulent lamb, chicken and beef, and savory traditional Greek Salads. (Don't even get me started on the pastry tables!)
For $20 we were able to get a large Greek salad with chicken, a chicken soulvaki and a large water.
Zoe and I split the Greek salad, the lettuce was pre-tossed in their oily-oregano filled dressing. I don't find Greek dressings to have a vinegary taste, which usually is a deal breaker for me but the blend of delicious olive oil, pepper and oregano makes it work. I walked down the salad line and said yes or no to each of the toppings offered-yes to tomato, no to anchovies, yes to cucumbers but no to pepperonci's, and a big yes to feta cheese.
Michael got in the gyro line, as he said it is like waiting in lines at Disney-you walk through the maze of ropes waiting for your turn to let your tongue go on a tasty ride. Unfortunately for him they were sold out of the lamb gyro, so he got chicken soulvaki. Same chicken as on our salad, but with fresh sliced tomato, yogurt sauce all wrapped in a warm pita.
I also bought us a dish of Loukoumades-which are essentially Greek Donut holes-puffs of dough are deep fried, tossed in honey, then sprinkled with your choice of toppings-cinnamon, powdered sugar, nuts. I asked for a small, they laughed and handed me a dish that had at least 25 of the little bites of deep fried goodness inside.
It was great to be able to attend the festival. We supported a church in our neighborhood and even more importantly we introduced Zoe to a new culture. She watched Greek dancers, ate piles of feta cheese and saw the Greek flag.
It is so nice to see the entire community come out for St. Sophia's each year. It is a huge undertaking for the church but THEIR community comes together and makes it happen-all with a smile on their faces. The thousands of pastries, the mountains of onions to slice, the lambs to be roasted-they do it all and our community benefits from their pride in the Greek heritage.
It is too bad that we don't see more events of this magnitude in our area. In the meantime, I will put the 2011 festival on our calendar so we don't miss out!
It will be delicious!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Made With Love
We have all heard the phrase "made with love". My husband Michael and my brother-in-law Christopher actually say it even more accurately-"love is what makes it taste so good".
It sounds silly, right? What makes it taste so good is the expensive imported olive oil, or the locally produced artisan goat cheese. Well sure those things count but I think Michael and Christopher are actually on to something here.
When you cultivate a tomato plant from a seedling and harvest your own fruit and share them in a salad they are the best tasting tomatoes around. Can't be beat, right? The family and friends you are breaking bread with are thinking the same thing. They taste fresh of course, but the fact that someone loved that seedling into fruition gives it a little something extra special.
OK, maybe that was an obvious example. Try this one on-Michael's Zia (Zia=aunt in Italian) will throw together a salad for me to eat. There is nothing special in this salad, it actually has far fewer ingredients than I would normally put in if I made it myself. Generally, there is Romaine lettuce, cucumber and maybe some sliced onion. But then the Zia magic happens-she squeezes a lemon over the top, drizzles it with a little olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper.
The result is the most perfectly dressed salad around-lemony tart, salty and fresh tasting. The ingredients in her dressing are just like those in the bowl-simple. So what really gives here? She makes it for us because she cares about us.
Zia wants our hunger to be satiated. She wants us to find enjoyment in what we are eating. She wants to share with us the way her own mother cooked for her in her own childhood.
If that isn't love, then what is?
Next time your kids make you breakfast in bed for mother's day or your mom makes you soup when you are sick think about how much better it tastes because of the love.
It will be delicious.
It sounds silly, right? What makes it taste so good is the expensive imported olive oil, or the locally produced artisan goat cheese. Well sure those things count but I think Michael and Christopher are actually on to something here.
When you cultivate a tomato plant from a seedling and harvest your own fruit and share them in a salad they are the best tasting tomatoes around. Can't be beat, right? The family and friends you are breaking bread with are thinking the same thing. They taste fresh of course, but the fact that someone loved that seedling into fruition gives it a little something extra special.
OK, maybe that was an obvious example. Try this one on-Michael's Zia (Zia=aunt in Italian) will throw together a salad for me to eat. There is nothing special in this salad, it actually has far fewer ingredients than I would normally put in if I made it myself. Generally, there is Romaine lettuce, cucumber and maybe some sliced onion. But then the Zia magic happens-she squeezes a lemon over the top, drizzles it with a little olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper.
The result is the most perfectly dressed salad around-lemony tart, salty and fresh tasting. The ingredients in her dressing are just like those in the bowl-simple. So what really gives here? She makes it for us because she cares about us.
Zia wants our hunger to be satiated. She wants us to find enjoyment in what we are eating. She wants to share with us the way her own mother cooked for her in her own childhood.
If that isn't love, then what is?
Next time your kids make you breakfast in bed for mother's day or your mom makes you soup when you are sick think about how much better it tastes because of the love.
It will be delicious.
I am Ms. Ravenous
I am ravenous! When I am full I am ravenous. When I am tired I am ravenous. When I am sad or happy or angry I am ravenous. A great deal of happy times in my life revolve around food. Whether it be baking hundreds (no joke) of loafs of zucchini bread at a time with my grandmother using her antique hand crank grinder, or enjoying a meal at a new restaurant or baking pinkalicious cupcakes with my daughter it brings me joy.
I am always thinking about food-what to cook, how I might want to change up the recipe, what new local cheeses are at the green market, what restaurants I want to try, or what restaurants I want to go back to. There are surely other like-minded people out there who would be interested in hearing my thoughts on the matter, and that is why I decided to start writing a blog.
When I told my husband I wanted to start writing a blog, he said "great, about what?" I said "food." He said "yes, but about what." I said "food." I am guessing he thought I would narrow my focus-a blog about great restaurants, or one about cooking in the kitchen with your kids, or one where I share recipes. Well, I don't want to limit myself. My blog will be about all of those things and many others. I may decide to share a great recipe, or give my unsolicited restaurant review or talk about my favorite food memories...really, you just never will know.
Those of you who know me personally may find some of my entries redundant to stories I've told, but my hope is to put it all down in one collection of riffs on my life as Ms. Ravenous.
I hope you enjoy the taste!
I am always thinking about food-what to cook, how I might want to change up the recipe, what new local cheeses are at the green market, what restaurants I want to try, or what restaurants I want to go back to. There are surely other like-minded people out there who would be interested in hearing my thoughts on the matter, and that is why I decided to start writing a blog.
When I told my husband I wanted to start writing a blog, he said "great, about what?" I said "food." He said "yes, but about what." I said "food." I am guessing he thought I would narrow my focus-a blog about great restaurants, or one about cooking in the kitchen with your kids, or one where I share recipes. Well, I don't want to limit myself. My blog will be about all of those things and many others. I may decide to share a great recipe, or give my unsolicited restaurant review or talk about my favorite food memories...really, you just never will know.
Those of you who know me personally may find some of my entries redundant to stories I've told, but my hope is to put it all down in one collection of riffs on my life as Ms. Ravenous.
I hope you enjoy the taste!
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