A One-Two Punch... to get in the SWING of things!

Ohhh, I love a good groaner, pun, quip, whatever you want to call it. (Thesaurus online also informs me I could use the synonyms calembour, equivoque, or paronomasia-- good to know!)


So to follow up my first post in a while, I have a second post on the second day; that is my one-two punch, and I am hoping it will get me back in the swing of things, 'Things' being the new name for this blog.


Just kidding.

No, those are not potatoes...

Dinner tonight! (Talk about a fast turnaround.)
So what is so exciting it got me to post about it right away? It has nothing at all to do with the food, per se; the deciding factor was a little time on my hands, a surfeit of reading (heaven forbid!) and okay, I am proud of having yoinked out a new recipe.


I had radishes that were wasting away and I knew I'd seen and heard of a strange thing-- cooking radishes-- so I decided to try this new witchery and taste the results. I used another recipe of Deborah Madison's - she's a good go-to for vegetables that I didn't grow up with - "Braised Red Radishes." I link to the New York Times 'adaptation,' which consisted of doubling hers. I went the opposite way, as well as substituting garlic for the shallot, since I was plum out.
I had to simmer longer than 3-5 minutes, but they did turn tender. I cooked the liquid down, but maybe not long enough. I added a glug of red wine toward the wine, when maybe I should have added it at the beginning of the reducing time. What do you think? The sauce was disappointing, but the radishes themselves were interesting; they'd turned pretty bland, with just a whisper of wine and thyme. Will go for a more gravy-like sauce next time.


While I was waiting for that magic to happen (get it? witchery? magic?), I went in another direction to use the asparagus I'd bought on Sunday (only 2 days ago, but the poor bundle had been in the cold fridge unlooked-after). I steamed half of it under lemon, salt and pepper, let it cool, added oil, balsamic, and draped it with prosciutto. Sexy, hein? This is prosciutto from La Quercia in Iowa, a font of sustainable admirability. I mean, from what I can taste and read. I first tried their cured meat at The Publican, another incredibly amazing spot for foodies in Chicago. Maybe I'll rave more about them later. Back to dinner tonight.

What else is there in that picture? More green? Yep- that would be Trader Joe's Minted Peas, frozen and convenient. Mighty tasty, too. Here's to versatility!

Delicate Rush

Inspired by a great friend who does great things, I'm back. This required substantial force to overcome the inertia, but that's one of the reasons for the inspiration- it can be done, and many a time!
So, here I am, ready to toss off a short review of a recipe from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone without so much as a mention of the weeks and weeks that I haven't posted.
Not so much as a mention..... did you catch that?

So much for thwarting inertia; it had to be acknowledged.

So I'd found not Napa cabbage (excellent for making soy-ginger-dressed salads in a snap) but Savoy cabbage at the farmers' market. Hmph, I thought, that has to translate into something interesting. Well, I didn't do the usual exhaustive research because my internet was down (please click that). But the second cookbook I looked in had an intriguing 'Gratin au Chou' or 'Cabbage Gratin' if that sounds any less fou-fou to you. Lightly boiled chopped cabbage, mixed in with milk, flour, egg, tomato paste and cream, and sprinkled with chopped herbs and pepper.

Only the closest thing I had to cream or creme fraiche was vanilla drinkable yogurt. So in it went! And everything else was thirded down to fit into 2 ramekins instead of a 'gratin dish,' whatever that is. It was supposed to serve 4, with 3 eggs, and I used 1 egg but it was 2 meals. Go figure.
I only put in a smidgeon of the herb I'd picked to substitute, and it duly hid its flavor under a bushel. It did take 50 minutes, even though the quantity was so much less, perhaps because of the depth of the liquid in the ramekins. And of course, probably the most important lesson to impart, I used the toaster oven, in order to 1) decrease heat (it is DC in June) 2) decrease AC necessary (I am saving up for a swish vacation) and 3) waste not, want not.
In the end, I pronounced it pretty good, but it could have done with either more salt or more cheese (which contributes a salty tang). Any thoughts?

Before the 50 minutes

And so, with that, I sashay back into blog world, and let the world of Other Writing recede a little. Next hope up: post pictures and writings of the trips to Charlotte and to San Francisco! Maybe when I get another delicate rush of inspiration.

Local Flora, Part II: QUIZ

Yay! I hope you enjoyed the flower-fest of mobile uploads in the previous post.

For this second piece of the 2-part series, I thought I'd try to provoke some interactive response.

Since I don't carry an Eastern US Flower Book with me at all times, when I catch these appealing flower cameos, I often don't know what I am taking a picture of. Since today is Mother's Day, I will dedicate this post to my Mom- the original flower picture-taker- and probably the one who will come up with the most answers to the Quiz! ;-)

Please leave comments with answers for the numbers you know. Let's see how many I can get labeled and posted to the wall with a stick-pin.

1

2

These things are so cool and alien-looking!

3

These ones I actually know, from asking the house-owner on my block.

4

This one I think I know, but always thought they were something else... haven't tried the wikipedia approach to fact-checking yet on this one...

5

6

Pretty detailing on this one...

7

This red bloom looked like it cute have been stuck on a headband or hair clip, it was that prettily blousy.

8

This isn't a trick- it's the tree! Smells so wonderful! (that's a hint)

9

Now this one is all over, and hard to get a good picture of. It comes in white, pinks, corals, and blooms at the same time as cherry blossoms, but I haven't gotten a name... obviously not a fruit tree with that slender base...

10

Another alien species one, but beautiful butterfly-like coloring.

11

12

Well that's all I have for now, so may the competitive school spirit set your inquisitive hearts afire with curiosity! :-)