tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53842551342418063362012-01-26T21:08:19.506-05:00due the greatness of the sandwich, please allow 10 minutes for constructionAdriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.comBlogger2861100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-70925264440080335272012-01-12T21:21:00.000-05:002012-01-12T21:21:57.294-05:00

Fish with pears? Fish with pears. But more on that in a second - first, let's recap New Year's Day Epic Brunch 2012. Citrus salad, to make you feel virtuous. I put it on the meat table (bacon, corned beef hash, sausage rolls) because I thought it was funny. Tyler (he of the family smoke house) brought oatmeal, there were two quiches (mushroom and goat cheese, poblano and monterey jack),

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-9949536576944349102011-12-31T18:30:00.000-05:002011-12-31T18:30:03.281-05:00

While I'm currently scrambling to find room in my fridge for everything on the menu tomorrow - it's time for our Third Annual New Year's Day Epic Brunch - I wanted to pop in and say Happy New Year to all of you lovely people. I don't know about you but 2011 has been a banner year for me and I'm raising a glass tonight to 2012 being even better. May your evening be bubbly and sparkly and your

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-16701275133287070022011-12-22T20:58:00.000-05:002011-12-22T20:58:46.251-05:00

Our friend Tyler has an grandfather in Vermont (and, you know, a mom and a dad and a whole family). But the grandfather is the one with a smokehouse where he smokes, among other things, Vermont cheddar cheese. Cheese so smokey it imbues its woodsy flavor on anything else you keep in near it in the fridge, so you have to keep it double bagged. Cheese that, it turns out, is completely brilliant

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-10545934156853923492011-12-06T20:20:00.001-05:002011-12-06T21:03:56.323-05:00

Saturdays at work are crazy busy this time of year. Usually there's someone representing one of our favorite producers tasting wine or ice cream or something delicious, and this week was no exception. Dave's Cape Cod Smokehouse was there this weekend selling EXTREMELY DELICIOUS smoked fish. I was particularly fond of the smoked bluefish (and the bluefish spread, yum) so I brought home a big

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-11487900204934486892011-11-30T20:23:00.000-05:002011-11-30T20:23:24.722-05:00

All right, friends. This is it. The last day of NaBloPoMo. AND I FREAKING DID IT. I admit there were some filler posts (sorry, but my nephew is really cute and so are dolphins) but we learned things this month, didn't we? One: leftover shellfish doesn't always stink. Two: Fermentation is our friend. Three: Texas loves Texas. So what did you think? Do you prefer the recipes-only format or do you

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-53700061258016011642011-11-29T20:18:00.000-05:002011-11-29T21:00:20.686-05:00

I get quite a few food magazines, and even though sometimes it's kind of overwhelming I really do try to cook out of each of them at least once every month. Occasionally Adam will pick up a Fine Cooking or Food & Wine off the coffee table and mention that something looks good, and the man has a good eye. So when he perked up over this recipe in October's Bon Appetit, I put it on the list of "

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-48744090260748340562011-11-28T19:52:00.001-05:002011-11-28T20:07:09.583-05:00

Well here it is, folks. The end of the Thanksgiving leftovers. I know I just told you not to mess with them, but then this idea popped into my head and I just had to use the last bits of turkey to make soup. It's not the standard post-holiday turkey soup, I don't think. First of all, it's more vegetable than turkey: onion, celery, carrot, turnip, and garlic. I didn't put any rice or noodles

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-26203122355397203792011-11-27T16:42:00.001-05:002011-11-27T16:47:29.734-05:00

An underutilized and underappreciated combination, if you ask me. PS, Mom, can you send me your cranberry bread recipe?

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-7998879496124030392011-11-26T19:29:00.000-05:002011-11-27T16:41:35.816-05:00

I have mentioned before that Adam is in charge of weekend breakfasts at our house (but in case you didn't catch it before: pancakes! Adam's have no sugar, so they don't fight with the maple syrup. Yum). When we have eggs (most of the time I want eggs. For some reason I do not like to diverge from routine at breakfast), he often makes home fries. He's been working on this method/recipe pretty

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-5327439677805500132011-11-25T19:47:00.001-05:002011-11-25T19:53:51.207-05:00

You guys know how much I like to turn leftovers into something else, but Thanksgiving leftovers don't get messed with, just eaten.

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-58184922949720250972011-11-24T20:47:00.001-05:002011-11-24T21:05:40.726-05:00

Fun thing #1: look at this cute cat hiding in the pillows! Hello, Spike. Spike isn't allowed in the house during dinner because he will climb up on the counter and nom on the turkey carcass. Sorry, Spike. Fun thing #2: cheese plate! I swear it was prettier before we attacked it. From top left: Sage Farm Sterling, unidentified manchego, Bayley Hazen, and Moses Sleeper. I had a whole Vermont

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-82755997260587849012011-11-23T15:36:00.001-05:002011-11-26T18:35:49.326-05:00

Hi, friends! We're heading up to Maine in about five minutes to spend the holiday with my parents, but I wanted to check in and say Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, whether you celebrate with a Turkey, a Tofurkey, or anything in between. Thanks for reading!

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-62048499721444194732011-11-22T20:58:00.001-05:002011-11-22T21:17:16.246-05:00

I know Thanksgiving is in two days* but I don't feel like talking about stuffing or sweet potatoes; I've been doing plenty of that at work. So instead... Do you know about pressing tofu? It's an awesome trick, and I think it improves the texture some, plus it definitely makes it more flavorful... or easier to make flavorful. Think of it as a sponge (but tofu isn't inherently spongey, ok? it's

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-47445173953777915252011-11-21T21:38:00.000-05:002011-11-22T05:52:28.236-05:00

You guys, NaBloPoMo is finally getting to me. I'm afraid I don't have anything exciting to say tonight.

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-44732701203126317182011-11-20T20:23:00.000-05:002011-11-20T20:24:20.573-05:00

As you might be aware, Thanksgiving is in about four days. Four days! Some of you already have your menus all planned, and some of you have probably already gone shopping, but for those of you wondering what to put out for noshing while everybody waits for the turkey, I'd like to add this pâté to the list of possibilities. Technically this isn't a pâté, since it isn't a forcemeat. Actually

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-89861783825761620002011-11-19T22:05:00.001-05:002011-11-19T22:09:13.727-05:00

Tonight after my almost-12-hour day at work we ended up at Christopher's in Porter Square. The burgers were solid, but what really stood out to me was this totally weird and delicious cocktail I ordered. The Moxie Mule is made of ginger liqueur, fernet branca, lemon juice, and Moxie. I don't know if you've had Moxie - I know it's from Maine  (like me!), and I think it might be pretty

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-42267386893775651962011-11-18T19:47:00.001-05:002011-11-18T19:53:16.119-05:00

Most of the time, I don't care about the old rule of never cooking something new for guests (errors are usually salvageable and we can always order pizza, right?), but when I was tasked with my dad's birthday pie I wanted to give it a practice run. I overbaked the crust, too, so it's a good thing I did! Last year's cheesecake was such a huge hit, let's hope this chocolate pudding pie is, too.

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-90563677654294782212011-11-17T20:30:00.001-05:002011-11-17T20:37:02.672-05:00

The second Adam walked through the door tonight, I said: "I changed my mind. I'm not making dinner." Which of course, means that Adam made dinner. And it was really good! Kimchi quesadillas and beans and rice. Delicious. Except that I only took one picture it and it did NOT come out well. At all. So instead, please enjoy these photos of dolphins (and my super cute nephew Eliot from the Texas

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-37100180180872918552011-11-16T19:16:00.001-05:002011-11-16T19:29:45.488-05:00

I know, it sounds preposterous. But hang with me for a second! Don't throw away that last dozen mussels nobody could eat (and remember for next time that two people, especially if they are called Adrienne and Adam, really only need two pounds of mussels, not two and a half, because frankly, those two people will just fill up on bread sogged in delicious mussel broth and then use too many commas

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-54231323878576462352011-11-15T20:00:00.001-05:002011-11-15T20:44:49.265-05:00

Do you guys keep animal fat in your fridge? I have three kinds. Chicken fat leftover from roasting, duck fat leftover from my CSCA final and bacon fat. We only have bacon in this house once or twice a year, but I always save the fat in a jar for later use (few things improve the humble potato like smoky, salty pork fat). So when I realized we were half way through November (the THIRD

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-13952390935180560662011-11-14T21:17:00.001-05:002011-11-14T21:31:58.465-05:00

My mom and dad are in town for a pharmacy conference today and tomorrow (my dad is speaking at his alma mater, which is pretty cool) so Adam and my sister and I went out to dinner with my mom. We ate at Restaurant Marliave, which I always want to call either Café Marliave or just The Marliave. It's one of Boston's oldest restaurants, and it's got special significance in my family; my mom's

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-61393366756571587192011-11-13T21:39:00.001-05:002011-11-13T21:57:50.152-05:00

Hi friends! We're finally back home in Boston after quite a crazy week. I haven't cooked much  in the last few days but I thought you all might enjoy a few wedding detail shots. I haven't got any from the actual ceremony because, ahem, I was a bridesmaid, but I got these during the downtime between the awesome rock star style wedding party photos and the ceremony itself, which was completely

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-72310665835808542192011-11-12T09:43:00.001-05:002011-11-13T21:58:17.024-05:00

I won't have time for a real post today (in fact we've already begun primping, hee hee) but I thought you guys might get a kick out of the fact that her something blue is a plaster cast. We'll be gluing on some pearls and things later to bling it up. Wish us luck!

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-86910860832507842762011-11-11T15:46:00.001-05:002011-11-11T15:49:21.077-05:00

One of my best friends from college is getting married tomorrow. She also, ahem, broke her leg playing soccer on Sunday. So she's in a cast. And a wheelchair. Don't worry, we're figuring out how to festoon the chair, and she'll be on a crutch for the 10 minute ceremony, but it's sure been an interesting few days! We've been milking the story for free things, such as this free frozen yogurt at

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-55979643072128625512011-11-10T09:05:00.000-05:002011-11-15T19:59:45.806-05:00

One of the reasons I like grocery store tourism so much is that there are so many foods that are region-specific. For example, Big Red Soda. While we walked around looking for Texas-shaped foods in the beverage aisle (unsuccessfully, though we did find "Texas-style Unsweet Tea"), we came across the various Big sodas (Pineapple, Red, Blue, etc). I had never tasted Big Red before, but I wanted

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-30480763161291682292011-11-09T13:10:00.000-05:002011-11-09T13:10:20.523-05:00

Knowing how much I enjoy grocery shopping, after breakfast today our hosts suggested we check out their local grocery chain. They promised lots of Texas shaped foods, and boy, did HEB deliver. Say you're having a barbecue and you want people to know you're from Texas. You also want to make stuffed jalapenos but you're not sure how you're going to keep them from falling through the grill rack. I

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-85155101291786595452011-11-08T22:49:00.001-05:002011-11-09T09:03:53.633-05:00

I brought three different food magazines with me on this vacation; the November issues started arriving at my house a few weeks ago but I saved them for the plane. I also knew I wanted to cook for Amy and Matt while we were here. (Eliot is still a little young for grownup food, but he does do this fantastic joy wiggle when you get a spoon of pureed whatever near him.) I salted a chicken on

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-86156754811940423372011-11-07T16:04:00.001-05:002011-11-07T16:04:40.890-05:00

This morning Adam dropped me and my sneakers off by the beach and I went for a run down on the Ocean Drive walking path. It's easy for me to forget how much fun running can be when faced with cold, dark Somerville winter mornings, but 80 degree, sunny Corpus Christi is very inviting. Added bonus: everyone I passed was so friendly! Every single person smiled, plus I got three "good mornings" and

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-55872180914548797742011-11-06T22:09:00.000-05:002011-11-06T22:09:05.531-05:00

Ah, travel food. Why is it so difficult to find good food at airports? Cold, refrigerated pumpkin cake. Shoddily constructed bagel sandwiches. Home fries drowning in paprika and... citric acid? And then the kicker: we stopped at Chili's on the way out of Austin because I was getting hangry. You may wonder how I ended up ordering the Quesadilla Explosion Salad, but I think when faced with

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-36182630412311382432011-11-05T21:17:00.003-04:002011-11-05T21:17:58.780-04:00

Did you ever come home from a trip out of town and realize immediately upon opening the fridge that you REALLY should have eaten that/thrown that out/somehow taken care of that... before you left? Well, we're heading out on vacation tomorrow morning (leaving for the airport at 4:30am, oof) and I'm trying to avoid stinky fridge syndrome when we get back next week. We had half an onion and some

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-52028723759253999782011-11-04T21:11:00.000-04:002011-11-05T21:18:17.983-04:00

When I shopped for kimchi supplies, I bought two cabbages. The second one I bought, and the one I ended up using was a medium sized grocery store napa cabbage. But first I bought an ENORMOUS (as in 4 pound) savoy cabbage at a farmer's market. And then I had to figure out what to do with it. As has become my routine when I have excess veg in the house, I turned to Deborah Madison. This Savoy

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-2837029126740754752011-11-03T20:37:00.000-04:002011-11-05T21:18:17.965-04:00

I don't know if you guys have seen this post on decorative gourds at McSweeney's Internet Tendency, but it makes me laugh every year. I'll warn you though: foul language ahead. PS, yes, these are on my dining room table. A carnival squash (edible!) and two (non-edible) decorative gourds. Welcome to autumn!

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-41428783735061531172011-11-02T18:17:00.001-04:002011-11-05T21:18:17.974-04:00

After making kimchi on Friday night, I started to think about ways to use it. I know I like it on hotdogs, and I've used it in tacos, but I had never made kimchi fried rice before. I googled around on it a bit and found an approachable recipe over on Rasa Malaysia (which has officially become my go-to site for easy Asian recipes). I changed it up a bit based on what I had around, but I did cook

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-76389784647555888242011-11-01T21:42:00.000-04:002011-11-05T21:18:17.992-04:00

I was talking to my friend Sunny at school a few weeks ago (I graduated back in June but I'm a TA on Mondays) and I mentioned that I wanted to try making kimchi. Sunny is from Korea, and she offered to help me, and THEN she started to ask if I had the right ingredients. She wanted to make sure I had the right brands of fish sauce (yep, two different kinds) and where I bought my red pepper

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-87479609227493125502011-10-27T19:11:00.001-04:002011-10-27T19:11:45.381-04:00

I made another one of those so-called rice bowls for dinner tonight. This time: wild rice, roasted cauliflower (400F, olive oil, salt and pepper, 30 minutes - you'll never want to eat it any other way), sauteed kale. And I threw a few of these pickled mushrooms on, too. Yum. Oh, and to really change things up, I put it on a plate instead of in a bowl. So crazy!

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-46974902798380614322011-10-23T16:50:00.001-04:002011-11-01T21:45:06.555-04:00

I'm never really sure what to call this kind of dinner. It's really a shame that there's no good name for it because I eat this sort of thing all the time. Cook a grain. Cook some vegetables. Put them together in a bowl. I think some corporate lunch spots refer to it as a "rice bowl" or something, but that makes it sound like something... from a corporate lunch spot. Hm. So I'll just say it's

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-16805450272846518522011-10-20T07:58:00.002-04:002011-10-20T07:58:52.271-04:00

I've made these jam filled buttermilk biscuits several times now, but this is the first time I've ever put jalapeno jelly in them. Dudes. Find some hot pepper jelly. I recommend it.

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-59866099428395724902011-10-12T20:08:00.000-04:002011-10-12T20:08:40.784-04:00

You know what I love about fall? It's not too hot to bake a loaf of bread. I mean, I like the pretty leaves and I like sweaters and boots, but is there anything better than the smell of bread baking? The loaf you see here is the one I've been baking every week or two for the better part of a year. The recipe is from Peter Reinhart's book The Bread Baker's Apprentice, which is tied with

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-35217966548990302682011-09-21T08:00:00.001-04:002011-09-21T08:00:21.608-04:00

You can feel it in the air now, this week. Fall is just about here. I shut all the windows and I'm just about ready to put the heavy blanket back on the bed. I'm not, however, ready to give up tomatoes. There are still tomatoes in the markets, and as long as they're around I will keep buying them. I'm getting excited about the delicata squash and the kale and the brussels sprouts. I like fall

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-25770928477110140452011-09-13T21:54:00.000-04:002011-09-13T21:54:27.748-04:00

Adam's birthday is at the end of August. It falls right around Labor Day and Boston's unofficial everyone-switch-apartments day but we usually squeeze in a get together. This year instead of a cookout, we had a hurricane tropical storm. Irene wasn't really so bad in our neck of the woods, we just sat on the couch and played a lot of cribbage. It felt like something was missing, though, so on

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-46934422978247068692011-08-25T09:44:00.000-04:002011-08-25T09:44:55.671-04:00

Hi friends! My sincere apologies for the abrupt disappearance. You see, I've been awfully darn busy: first I catered my cousin's bridal shower (well, technically, my cousin's fiancee's bridal shower, but in like 6 weeks Kate will be my cousin, too). Part of the spread was the quiche parade you see above. And then I got a job! Hooray! I've been working a couple of days a week until the woman

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-6060369887600043792011-08-16T11:13:00.000-04:002011-08-16T11:13:35.700-04:00

Man oh man I have been bad at blogging this year's CSA share from Stone Soup Farm. For the first few weeks of pickups I was still in school and Adam picked up the share, so I never photographed it, then I sort of forgot about photographing the shares at all. Last week's pickup, however, was so beautiful that I remembered! Yay! We got: two cubanelle peppers, two pounds of tomatoes, three ears

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-7516060493818932372011-08-12T07:17:00.000-04:002011-08-12T07:17:20.450-04:00

Incidentally, since Adam's pancakes have no sugar, they make a pretty good canvas for savory things, too. This one is hummus, chopped cucumber with salt and pepper, and a drizzle of garlic oil. It made an excellent afternoon snack.

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-23786864713855018652011-08-11T11:39:00.001-04:002011-08-11T11:42:12.431-04:00

This salad was an afterthought. Monday night I roasted a chicken, Zuni style, and we had some CSA potatoes that I cooked up and dressed with a simple vinaigrette and some garden chives. Everything on the plate was sort of the same color so I dug some arugula out of the fridge and sliced up a nectarine (the fuzzless peach!). I was pleasantly surprised when the salad turned out to be the best

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-59378635850680496432011-08-10T13:11:00.000-04:002011-08-10T13:11:01.405-04:00

But wait, what's in it? All de berries.  This is totally my friend Kate's joke, and it's significantly more effective when told in a Vermont accent. This particular pie contained blueberries, raspberries, sour cherries, and blackberries.

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-91712342192239035112011-08-08T13:26:00.001-04:002011-08-08T13:33:57.123-04:00

Apparently I have been using the word scrounge incorrectly. There's no begging or mooching involved for me; I've been saying I could "scrounge something up" for dinner when I guess what I really meant was more along the lines of "rustle up some grub" or "throw something together." But you know the kind of cooking I mean, right? Not so much cooking as assembling, easy to put together meals that

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-62376043372822892772011-08-03T11:53:00.000-04:002011-08-03T11:53:44.093-04:00

I was going to tell you about bread today since the weather has finally cooled off a bit, and I've got a loaf in the oven right now. BUT. Squash blossoms are in season. I saw them Monday at the Central Square farmer's market and I'm sure there are a couple of weeks left, but guys... it's August. August, meaning that it'll be September before we know it, meaning that we must gorge ourselves

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-38522709366321020692011-08-01T19:01:00.000-04:002011-08-01T19:01:04.927-04:00

I did it! I successfully grew an eggplant! Three of them! Aren't they just the cutest little buggers? This variety is called Fairytale, and they are quite wee as far as eggplants go, growing not much bigger than 4 inches long (that middle one is nearly ready to harvest, in fact). As a bonus, the flowers are beautiful.

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-38685905109514377132011-07-28T11:45:00.000-04:002011-07-28T11:45:09.390-04:00

I find myself with a tremendously full freezer. I still have a TON of duck fat leftover from my finals, plus three different kinds of stock. Also half a recipe of pie crust from a month ago, half a bag of cherries from some recipe testing I'm doing, some ground lamb and beef, a little bit of pesto and the odd banana. It is ridiculous, and I'm trying to clear it out a little bit... so I can

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-25631881008771363192011-07-27T10:28:00.000-04:002011-07-27T10:28:19.616-04:00

Monday evening my friend Jeremy came over (hi, Jer!) and we finally embarked on a cooking project we'd been talking about for, oh, about two years. Jeremy brought some pork belly he brined for a couple of days and cooked Monday morning. I mixed up a strange but pleasant dough that included both yeast and chemical leaveners. We made super quick pickles and minced some scallions. We set up a

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-78875611873302522142011-07-26T09:14:00.000-04:002011-11-27T16:41:54.840-05:00

First, a disclaimer: I am not the breakfast cook in my house. I have exactly two breakfasts on my weekday rotation (but honestly I have eggs and toast 9 days out of ten) and Adam takes over the kitchen on weekend mornings. I don't have much of a sweet tooth in the morning, but he has finally won me over with these pancakes. Oh, and the secret to a pancake-ready kitchen is this stuff, dried

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-10754448155953729832011-07-21T19:52:00.000-04:002011-07-21T19:52:25.998-04:00

You guys. It is HOT. Like melt your face off hot. So hot that I'm watering the garden twice a day but the tomatoes are still all wilty. So hot that I'm actually considering a field trip to the mall, which I hate, just for the conditioned air. It's much too hot to think about real food; heat like this calls for a tipple that includes snacks. Sarah posted a genius list of ways to stay cool

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-81090088571327675872011-07-19T19:43:00.000-04:002011-07-19T19:43:45.334-04:00

Sunday afternoon Adam and I went on a day date to the Museum of Fine Arts to see the Dale Chihuly exhibit (it closes in a couple of weeks, so go see it if you've been meaning to!). Adam's company makes a lot of the signs for the MFA and I hadn't seen the new wing yet, so we took a stroll through the Art of the Americas. Adam pointed out signs he had made and I looked at really old plates and

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-16381732086857621892011-07-18T13:22:00.000-04:002011-07-18T13:22:12.003-04:00

Summer is truly hitting its stride, now. The markets are full to bursting with fruits and roots and leaves of every color. Last week I had a bunch of bright orange carrots in the fridge and I remembered a quick preparation I had seen in a magazine somewhere recently (I think it was Bon Appetit, again). I roll cut these carrots because I think it's prettier than straight sided chunks: cut

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-47508050830289043882011-07-17T11:03:00.000-04:002011-07-26T13:02:55.827-04:00

Serving duck with cherries isn't ground breaking; people have been serving fowl and fruit  together for ages. I wanted to show you, though, that I did something with my pickled cherries other than just eat them with cheese and crackers! I seared two duck breasts in my trusty cast iron skillet. When they were done I spooned out the excess fat and added two cups of duck stock (chicken stock would

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-19240038939630075192011-07-13T08:07:00.000-04:002011-07-13T08:07:57.185-04:00

I spent half an hour at the end of last week sitting outside pitting a couple of pounds of these sweet cherries from Kimball Fruit Farm. This activity taught me that somebody needs to invent a functioning cherry pitter; I made it through about half of them before I switched to a paring knife. The cherry halves went into a pie of sorts, but the whole cherries (well, except for the pits) took

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-55402991860885229542011-07-08T13:05:00.000-04:002011-07-08T13:05:33.203-04:00

You guys have heard how easy it is to make creme fraiche, right? Fill a pint jar most of the way up with heavy cream then add a couple tablespoons of buttermilk.* Now, wait 12-18 hours. Ignore the heebie jeebies about leaving dairy out at room temperature, it's fine, you're just letting the cultures in the buttermilk do their fine work on the heavy cream. When you're done waiting, take the lid

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-53069220071968014992011-07-07T10:49:00.000-04:002011-07-26T13:02:55.831-04:00

Every fourth of July we head up to my parents' house in Maine to visit and swim and eat too much food including lobster, which we get from Fisherman's Catch, the famous A-frame on Route 302 in my home town. Recently my mom started ordering the lobster steamed so we don't have to cook it ourselves and they always do a fabulous job; all we have to do is melt a little butter and start cracking.

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-67065759766331596762011-07-06T11:59:00.000-04:002011-07-06T11:59:10.071-04:00

When I get an idea for a meal, I have a very, very hard time letting that idea float back into the ether. These meatballs bounced around like a ping pong ball in my head for two weeks (two weeks!) before I had a chance to make them. The thing is, I wanted meatballs, but the traditional type with three kinds of meat, woody oregano, heaps of garlic, long-simmered tomato sauce... nah. It is just

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-84991573306297193992011-07-01T13:33:00.000-04:002011-07-26T13:02:55.834-04:00

Hello friends! Happy Canada Day to those of you from up north, and Happy Long Weekend Beer Drinking Barbecue America's Birthday to my countrymen.  What are you guys eating this weekend? If you have access to a grill, my guess is you'll be cooking on it this weekend. Might I suggest these grilled veggie sandwiches from earlier this week? Or maybe try your hand at grilled pizza? Or go meaty!

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-69519302346702635262011-06-30T15:20:00.000-04:002011-06-30T15:20:26.841-04:00

So, speaking of pizza... I always make more than one, because once I've got the oven all heated up it seems silly not to. I wanted to use eggplant, and I had a huge bunch of oregano in the fridge from last week's CSA. I cubed the eggplant and sauteed it in a little olive oil, then tossed it with about a tablespoon of oregano. Spread the crust with some more olive oil and a bit of mozzarella,

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-70913715576231009452011-06-29T12:32:00.000-04:002011-06-29T12:32:13.201-04:00

This year I planted sorrel in the garden. I tried to start it from seed, but my seedlings were so tiny when I set them out I was sure they weren't going to make it, so I bought a couple of heartier specimens at an early spring farmer's market. The woman I bought them from warned me that it's perennial, which made me a tiny bit nervous because I had never tasted it before, though I was intrigued

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-14864604501326123852011-06-28T15:08:00.000-04:002011-07-26T13:02:55.837-04:00

My favorite summer vegetable is almost here!

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-54679909309297872222011-06-27T20:57:00.000-04:002011-06-27T20:57:26.787-04:00

There's a little restaurant in Inman Square Cambridge called All Star Sandwich Bar. Yeah, you guys who've been there, I can see you nodding your heads. This place is ridiculously good and correspondingly popular. Usually when we walk by on a Saturday around lunch time it's packed with a line out the door, but for whatever reason, two weeks ago at noon there were plenty of tables and since we

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-65346221347743493292011-06-24T16:48:00.000-04:002011-06-24T16:48:20.846-04:00

I told you guys I made my first batch of jam this week... well, now I've got preserving on the brain. Last year I started in earnest May and ended up with quite a haul, and I feel like I've started so late this year! I know I need to do more red salsa this year since we finished that up before the tomato season came back around, and I definitely need to do dilly beans again because my friends

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-2851245194324711312011-06-23T15:43:00.000-04:002011-06-23T15:43:39.429-04:00

I don't know if I can even express in words how awesome it is to have vegetables back. Seriously. I forgot how much fun it is to pull together dinner with whatever's around at the farmer's market, and things are finally ramping up. The markets are aaalmost in full on summer mode - I'm just waiting for that first good tomato sandwich! On Monday I bought a couple of zucchini (plus some rhubarb

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-33675967971525352652011-06-22T19:16:00.000-04:002011-07-26T13:02:55.840-04:00

I made wheat berries for the first time today. I bought some on a whim on our last trip to Christina's, and I used them for a stir-fry of sorts for dinner tonight with carrots, CSA garlic scapes and arugula, and some mushrooms I found lurking in the crisper drawer. It was not my best work, so I ask you: what's your favorite recipe using wheat berries? Clearly I need a little guidance.

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-28220447008790528612011-06-21T10:38:00.000-04:002011-07-26T13:02:55.843-04:00

A former colleague at my old desk job gave me a handful of these little alliums a couple of years ago. I stuck them in a pot in the fall and in the spring they popped up cheerily, the first thing out of the ground. Where regular onions have flowers, walking onions have bulblets, little mini onions.  When the stalk bends over under the weight of the bulblets, it hits the ground and the bulblets

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-79921137975353331552011-06-20T10:11:00.000-04:002011-06-20T10:11:19.522-04:00

I know you've all been dying to know, so:  I pulled a card for fruit tarts with almond pastry cream, fruit coulis and a flavored creme anglaise for my final practicum. It didn't go quite as well as I had hoped (my crusts were on the tough side). It seems to have turned out ok, though, because I got a call on Friday from the academic supervisor to tell me I'm the Valedictorian for my class. Eek!

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-50853606907144249132011-06-12T15:27:00.000-04:002011-06-12T15:27:20.857-04:00

Hello, friends. I know I'm not supposed to apologize for how long it's been since I've posted and all that, but I really am sorry. I've missed you guys! Here's the thing: culinary school is almost over. I took the written final on Saturday morning. Tomorrow is the final practicum, where I'll pick a card, any card, and then just... make what's on it. And Wednesday is the creative practicum, for

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-642374211337693872011-04-07T20:10:00.000-04:002011-04-07T20:10:32.829-04:00

My mom is one of those people who can strike up a conversation with just about anybody: in the grocery store, or the dentist's waiting room, or in this particular case, on the bus. A couple of weeks ago she came down to Boston for the day, and made a new friend of her seatmate on the bus ride back up to Maine. Her new friend, as it turns out, has a son, and the son has a brand new butcher shop

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-53522093077849396342011-04-01T10:39:00.000-04:002011-04-01T10:39:15.692-04:00

It's here it's here it's here it's here!! No, not spring, obviously. Sigh. Behold the no-joke April Fool's Day snowstorm of 2011. I mean the first Stone Soup Farm CSA share of the year! Check it out! Lots of storage veg: carrots, potatoes, turnips, cabbage. Fresh spinach and arugula, eggs, and two pounds of local whole wheat bread flour from another farm out in Western Massachusetts. I

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-4404421480679802952011-03-20T21:09:00.000-04:002011-03-20T21:09:13.339-04:00

Is this winter a beast or what? Two days last week it was a balmy and delightful 60 degrees, now there's three days worth of snow and sleet and garbage in the forecast. I am way beyond ready for this to be over; I want to cook with asparagus! and peas! and fava beans! But at least I've got the tail end of citrus season to brighten things up. I first made this salad for our second annual New

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-42022633213863557612011-02-28T20:26:00.001-05:002011-02-28T20:27:15.145-05:00

A while back a friend and I were lamenting a crappy Manhattan. I believe my rant was something along the lines of how there was too much Vermouth and not enough bitters, and she came up with the brilliant idea of carrying a small bottle of Angostura in her purse for emergencies. While I haven't gone quite that far (and I'm half sure she was joking), I do think the bitters family needs more

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-66479731215971502932011-02-10T09:44:00.000-05:002011-02-10T09:44:17.625-05:00

Did you see Grey's Anatomy last week? One character is cooking for another and she says she's adding tarragon, even though she has no idea what tarragon tastes like, but that adding tarragon makes you sound like you know what you're doing. [Aside: Yes, I still watch Grey's, and don't you judge me. Did you know that there are people out there writing Grey's fan fiction? I didn't know until I

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-89651579681245236642011-01-16T21:27:00.000-05:002011-01-16T21:27:07.199-05:00

This is not the pasta I ate tonight. Today I practiced making tortellini for my upcoming midterm and made a big batch of marinara. But what if, say, you're watching your team fumble themselves out of the playoffs and you just don't have time for homemade pasta? Or you have a bunch of brussels sprouts and you're sick of roasting them? Then this is the pasta for you, my friends. This is not a

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-78578679061440832362011-01-13T15:05:00.000-05:002011-01-13T15:05:36.394-05:00

Hello again, friends. How were your holidays? Things got a little crazy for me (ahem, hence my long absence), working most days I wasn't at school and traveling a lot. We spent Thanksgiving with my parents in Maine and the week of Christmas in Oklahoma with Adam's family (including our adorable nephew Eliot, squee!). This bok choy isn't much like what I've been cooking lately. My midterm

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-33139534024058286222010-11-18T22:12:00.000-05:002010-11-18T22:12:46.294-05:00

I pickled these mushrooms to go with a feast of sorts we had on Sunday. I needed a big project to kick myself off the couch and back into the kitchen, and since it was decidedly soup weather, it seemed as good a time as any to tackle pho. I used a mash up of Andrea Nguyen's recipe, and the interpretation of it over at Steamy Kitchen. (Aside: any Boston area readers know where I can find yellow

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-54082379098049876742010-11-08T19:55:00.000-05:002010-11-08T19:55:56.205-05:00

Ok, yes, I am writing this post because I feel guilty. Guilty because we pick up our first winter share tomorrow, and I never told you about our last two shares of the regular season! First, week Eighteen: onions, garlic, potatoes, tatsoi, leeks, cilantro and salad greens. As I recall, we let the tatsoi rot in the crisper drawer while we were on our honeymoon. Week Nineteen: Finn and Heather

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-25490790904335862312010-10-28T20:14:00.000-04:002010-10-28T20:14:57.527-04:00

I read a lot of blogs. And I buy a lot of cookbooks. Sometimes the two collide, and I read cook-through blogs like Alinea at Home or Momofuku for 2, or, more pertinent to this post, Melissa Cooks Gourmet. These brave souls are channeling Julie Powell and cooking all the way through a cookbook. Melissa started out with the original yellow-bound Gourmet cookbook, but since Gourmet Today came

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-21044471946467267792010-10-21T22:22:00.000-04:002010-10-21T22:22:43.823-04:00

It's true what they say about your wedding day flying by. It was a wonderful day, sunny and warm for New England October, but it seemed like we woke up, put on our party clothes and BOOM, it's over. Who's taking home the centerpiece? Is there any cake left? (No, there was not. I only had about four bites of cake and I WANT MORE.) These wedding photos were taken by our photographer David Barnes.

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-67117210100192862122010-10-01T17:17:00.000-04:002010-10-01T17:17:50.114-04:00

Week Seventeen. You know what that means, right? It's almost over. CSA season is winding down. Luckily we signed up for a winter share, so we'll get a couple of large shares each month in November and December, but I'm trying to reconcile myself to buying grocery store vegetables again, eventually. Speaking of which: have you seen this video from the Boston Public Market Association? Take two

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-82674249891172705882010-09-28T21:56:00.000-04:002010-09-28T21:56:20.363-04:00

This is weird, right? Tofu and tomatoes together? I know, that's what I thought, too. Tomatoes are not the first thing I think of when I think tofu (soy sauce is the first thing I think of when I think tofu). And tofu is not the first thing I think of when I think tomatoes (basil is). And I admit, it took me a few bites to decide that I liked this; it's not clear immediately that they play well

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-14008503419488619152010-09-25T15:57:00.000-04:002010-09-25T15:57:45.059-04:00

If you are like me, the first thing you will notice is the lack of tomatoes in this share. Le sigh... but! there are still tons of 'maters in the farmer's markets, so I'm not quite done with them yet. I bought a huge yellowy pink heirloom whose proper name escapes me now, but I munched on juicy slices of it over buttered sourdough toast all week for breakfast... Ahem. As for what I did with

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-597722472813677252010-09-19T17:32:00.000-04:002010-09-19T17:32:41.651-04:00

It's fall in New England, which means it's time for cider doughnuts. The thing about cider doughnuts is that they're best hot and fresh from the farm where the cider is pressed, so in order to get cider doughnuts, you have to go to an apple orchard. While you're there, you might as well pick some apples. We like Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, MA, though this year we arrived a week too late to

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-38735210829115796272010-09-16T21:12:00.001-04:002010-09-16T21:14:54.323-04:00

I know I said this last week, but I love this part of the year, all the jumping back and forth between fall produce and summer vegetables. Last week we got acorn squash and cabbage, this week eggplant and corn. And also: two pounds of carrots, two tomatoes, three big potatoes, a few onions, a head of broccoli, and a bunch of parsley. It feels like I haven't quite gotten my fill of eggplant yet

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-58612251684878752022010-09-15T22:22:00.000-04:002010-09-15T22:22:32.272-04:00

My first week of classes is already over, can you believe it? On day one, in Food Basics, I learned how to turn on the oven... but only after my "roasted beets" had been in there for an hour decidedly not roasting. Whoops! Tuesday night in seminar I picked out my chef's knife. It's the biggest knife I've ever used - ten inches long with an extra wide blade - not unlike a sword, actually, but

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-5215664075320917862010-09-12T16:02:00.001-04:002010-09-19T17:33:06.931-04:00

I thought about calling this post "What I Did On My Summer Vacation," but I actually only had two weeks off. Ah, but no, I didn't amass this many jars of delicious things in just two weeks. If you don't count the meyer lemon marmalade I made in January (citrus season: the highlight of the colder months), I starting canning in earnest in May with pickled asparagus, which we'll eat with

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-85649935615220792212010-09-10T08:33:00.000-04:002010-09-10T08:33:55.666-04:00

This week's share is sort of cracking me up: watermelon and tomatoes = summer. Squash and cabbage = winter. It pretty much defines the in-between-season we're in at the moment. Tuesday it was 90 degrees. Yesterday it was barely 70. Either way, we're still eating well. Here's what we've got this week: another watermelon (ick), two acorn squash, two pounds of green zebra tomatoes (mature tomatoes

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-22285098099442741932010-09-07T08:53:00.000-04:002010-09-07T08:53:06.872-04:00

Peaches, you are delicious. The only problem I have with you, peaches, is that people always want to talk about you the same way: as the summer fruit, eaten standing over the sink, juice dripping down arms, sticky faces. Which of course, peaches, is the best way to eat the first of you, early in August at the beginning of your harvest. But what about later? What about in early September,

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-14488199987162076262010-09-03T23:19:00.000-04:002010-09-03T23:19:52.360-04:00

Happy long weekend, my friends! What are you going to do with your three days? Here's what we're working with this week: basil, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, a small watermelon (shudder), and a mystery squash. Those tomatoes are in a jar now, in salsa. I also made some pesto with the basil and stuck it in the freezer. We'll eat the lettuce in salad or on sandwiches, cucumbers can go

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-19318903062885936212010-09-01T10:00:00.002-04:002010-09-01T10:00:01.999-04:00

We go through hot sauce in this house like nobody's business. Adam is a spice fiend, and it's rubbed off on me to the point that I now have preferences from dish to dish. I'll eat a fried egg with a healthy dose of Frank's, a burrito with a splash of Tabasco, or a side of Adam's breakfast potatoes with a sprinkle of Cholula. Speaking of which, somebody remind me to tell you about Adam's

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-31509100996507057822010-08-31T19:32:00.000-04:002010-08-31T19:32:56.426-04:00

People, it is hot. I know it's not considered good form to mention the weather in every blog post ever, but if the weather doesn't dictate what I want to eat, then I don't know what does. Maybe if I call it "micro-seasonal eating" or something? Anyway, last week we had a couple days of rain which was oddly delightful after the very warm, blue skies, humid breeze end of July. The garden loved

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-4913106416484201892010-08-27T15:45:00.001-04:002010-08-28T09:01:58.533-04:00

Whew, you guys, what a week! I know I'm several days late with the CSA post but it was my last week at work so I was there rather late most evenings. I'm all done now, and getting ready for my next adventure. Thank you all so, so much for your support and encouragement! My week off starts with Adam's (30th!) birthday party tomorrow, so I've spent most of today cooking and shopping to prepare

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-77523765408614762092010-08-23T07:00:00.001-04:002010-08-23T07:00:09.132-04:00

Dear friends, I've been lying to you. Not an outright lie (don't worry, my name really is Bruno), but a sin of omission, as the expression goes. I was discussing it with a friend at lunch on Friday and I confessed, "Well, I haven't told the internet yet." She pointed out that I was being very silly and weird (I believe she called me a freakshow, but in a totally loving way), and I agreed. So

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-75936974391801793312010-08-19T21:27:00.000-04:002010-08-19T21:27:32.268-04:00

People keep talking about how summer is winding down, and folks, I'm not having any of it. Nope. Nosiree, not interested. Do not talk to me about back to school sales or beef stew or halloween, because I am not ready for summer to end. I mean, look at that pile of vegetables. Does that say "end of season" to you? We got: a bunch of huge scallions, six tomatoes, two pattypan squashes, spinach,

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-35596847911972941142010-08-16T10:46:00.001-04:002010-08-22T21:29:32.891-04:00

  Did you know that the word pesto in Italian doesn't always mean basil garlic sauce? I mean, sure, sometimes it does, but pesto in its simplest sense just means stomped, crushed, smashed to oblivion. The name of the sauce comes from the act of making it in a mortar and pestle, smashing the garlic and pine nuts into a paste with salt, then grinding in the basil and olive oil (and sometimes

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-77364954350315469352010-08-12T21:26:00.000-04:002010-08-12T21:26:51.517-04:00

I know. I know. Those tomatoes! They're distracting me, too. Well, they would if they were still around. Before I wax rhapsodic, let me run down the inventory this week: beets with their greens (which are really purple), two yellow zucchini, two small pattypan squashes, a bunch of basil, a pound of carrots, two gorgeous onions and a head of red leaf lettuce. On Tuesday (vegetable day! the best

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-1709115747499181112010-08-04T21:18:00.000-04:002010-08-04T21:18:18.824-04:00

Week nine is awesome, guys, and primed for chunky salad making. We got: two ears of corn, two cucumbers, four tomatoes, three peppers, a pound and a half of potatoes, a bunch of parsley and a bunch of chard. That first night we turned two of the tomatoes and the cucumbers into a greek salad. First, I sliced half a sweet red onion and tossed it with a couple capfuls of red wine vinegar. I let

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5384255134241806336.post-7609294803261688042010-08-01T21:03:00.000-04:002010-08-01T21:03:55.442-04:00

When camping, it is very important to bring friends who like shitty beer, pithy t-shirts, and travel Scrabble.  It is also important to be open minded when confronted with a person whose approach to certain campfire cooking methods may be different from yours. I suggest bringing along a pup for company if you can, or barring dog ownership (sad face), you should track down a friend with a

Adriennehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12198436879038391267noreply@blogger.com9