Thursday, February 25, 2010

Seeds of change



This has not been a foodie week. Big projects at work plus a paper due meant many hours in front of the computer -- not blogging. I won't embarrass myself by discussing last night's dinner in detail, but it's amazing what edible things one finds in desk drawers at 8pm.

Fortunately for my food-oriented sanity, I found a few moments to combine my favorite distractions: food and shopping. Behold, the seed catalogue. For only $2.75, companies with old-fashioned names like Burpee, Gurney and Johnny offer happiness by the packet. Bored with bagged carrots and blah beets? Take a look at some heirloom varieties: bright-colored and leafy promises of summer.

I absolutely love this Chioggia beet:


A dead houseplant or four could have killed the gardener in me, but the dirty appeal of outdoor vegetable-growing is different. A long conversation with my mom regarding pole beans, leaf lettuces, and other varieties of easy-to-grow vegetables spurred my interest for spring.

While I haven't ordered yet, I think I'm going with Seed Savers Exchange. This non-profit co-op offers most of the standard varieties found on commercial sites, plus an array of heirlooms in some categories, particularly tomatoes and lettuce. Below, the Hillbilly Potato Leaf and Nebraska Wedding -- called "The ultimate love apple."


The heirloom trend has great benefits to gardeners and cooks. But with variety comes the need for moderation. My mom gave me a copy of Square Foot Gardening, which emphasizes starting small -- as in, 4x4" of vegetables, and only a few seeds of each. (If anyone wants my other 245 tomato seeds, email.)

A bushel of greens, beans, and root vegetables would certainly improve this week's crackers-and-beer diet. So maybe next weekend, work done and spring forming brightly on the horizon, I'll move past Weekend Weed-Puller and take another step toward Real Gardener.

Friday, February 19, 2010

New uses for food

Perhaps you're the DIY type. Or maybe you're on some crazy restrictive diet, and need new uses for food. Or you just enjoy novelties. Apartment Therapy offers a couple options for your afternoon snacks, other than eating:

Feeling dimly-lit and over-dosing on vitamin C? Turn your clementines into candles! Apartment Therapy offers an extensive how-to photo gallery for this "hack." Looks relatively simple, though I'm not sure how well a "wick" of that fuzzy white citrus membrane really stays lit. Try it and let me know.


Got an excess of nuts and some beat-up wood? Rub a walnut over furniture scratches -- voila! I have not tested this, but the website provides the photo below as evidence.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Pasta with beets, greens, and goat cheese



So I had some beets, and I wanted some pasta.

Unfortunately, I found no beat sauces in my many cookbooks, and "beet pasta" search results returned recipes for creating pink noodles from scratch. While enticing, I rarely have motivation to use that Marcato pasta maker I received so many Christmases ago. My enthusiasm for kneading and flattening and cutting and drying does not match my enthusiasm for fresh, hand-made pink pasta.

But finally I found a couple recipes that outlined roasting beets, then cubing them and tossing into a little stock with garlic, and simmering down to saucy consistency. Steam or blanch a leafy green, like kale. Toss together your cooked pasta, kale, and sauce. Don't be skimpy with the sauce -- since it's quite thin, the pasta will absorb much of it. Reserve extra stock or pasta-cooking water to add if the final mixture is too dry. Sprinkle with goat cheese just before serving.



Friday, February 12, 2010

The Sweetest Valentine Gifts

As much as I love a heart-shaped box of assorted chocolates, sometimes a small gift is sweeter. Below, a few treats for your Valentine. Or for yourself.


Plop a syrupy magenta bud into your champagne flute, and watch it bloom in bubbles. These flowers make any prosecco or champagne sparkle pinkly. (Under $10)

I have not tried this fig and chocolate spread, but it sounds delicious. I imagine dabbing it on pear slices, with a glass of port. Or maybe as a more-interesting filling for thumbprint cookies. Or just eaten by the spoonful. Is that allowed? (Under $10)



Crystallized Ginger
Wanna spice it up? Ginger gives a kick, crystallized or in candy form. I love the Ginger People's Ginger Chews, but this honey-colored pot of candied cubes is a prettier present. Also check out ginger spread, syrups, and confections. ($6.50)




Coppola mini Blanc de Blancs
Planning a V-Day picnic (hopefully in warmer climates than Seattle), or a rom-com evening with lady friends? Pop a pink box of these cute, canned sparkling wines, insert teeny straws, and sip away. Alone on Sunday? At least this single-serving size keeps your wine bubbly. Cheers! (Around $15)

Thursday, February 11, 2010

I Heart Hearts


I took this photo while honeymoonin' in Hawaii. Now, I know I was probably in a love-induced haze the entire trip and probably could have made hearts-and-flowers shapes in just about anything, but come on, what are the odds of getting a heart-shaped sandwich on your honeymoon?

2 Teaspoons survey time.

What are your Valentine's Day food plans? Submit your answer to our survey on the right!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Confessions of a Blogger


I've never been a good journal writer. In fact, I think growing up I had about 5 diaries, all of which probably only had about 1-3 entries total. It's not that I don't like writing (well, perhaps that's not entirely true) I just find it difficult to keep up with, and have trouble finding the motivation to write for any length of time. This would probably explain why I decided to become a designer. I'd much rather spend hours fussing over a the perfect color or font than sentence structure and adjectives. As such, regularly keeping up with this blog has been a stretch for me (though, a good stretch) and while I love cooking, I don't always feel like writing about it.

OK, now that I've confessed my blogging sins I can get on with this random post. I've never been a big Valentine's Day fan, however, I have always been have a fan of sweets. I will generally choose something sugary over salty any day of the week. As Valentine's Day is all about the sweets, I'm pretty excited. Mostly to try out these two recipes:


Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting (from a newly discovered food blog, Milk and Honey)

and..


Very Berry Sorbet

Do those recipes not look absolutely gorgeous AND delicious?


Other random note of the day. I just started listening to Molly Wizenberg's (of the award-winning blog, Orangette) new podcast, Spilled Milk. There are only 3 episodes, but so far, I've really enjoyed listening to them. The podcast is casual and unpretentious, and sounds like two friends just laughing, experimenting and having fun in the kitchen. Made me remember why I wanted to start a food blog with Raven in the first place.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Sunny morning muffins


Solstice has my favorite coffee on The Ave, along with awesome blueberry bran muffins. While this Classic Bran Muffin recipe don't quite compare, they're light, with good texture and a nice amount of sweetness to accompany your coffee or tea. And these are available free in my kitchen, no jaded barista needed. My tea of choice this morning: Fortnum & Mason's Piccadilly Blend.

I used chopped dates instead of raisins. You could probably throw in nuts or any other dried fruit. Adding cinnamon or ginger could be great, too, but don't underestimate the fabulousness of basic bran -- there's a reason seniors of America are crazy for it. :)


Sunny morning muffins

Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 cups wheat bran
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped dates
Preheat oven to 375. Butter or line muffin tin. Mix wheat bran with buttermilk; let stand for 10 minutes.

Beat together oil, egg, sugar and vanilla and add to buttermilk/bran mixture. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into bran mixture, until just blended, then fold in dates.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, till just beginning to brown around top edges. Enjoy!




Thursday, February 4, 2010

A Drink of Desperation


Four nights in tropical loveliness, followed by four nights of the head-cold from hell. Word to wise: Never (and I really, truly mean "never") fly with a head-cold, sinus infection, or any other nasal or ear nastiness. It's dangerous and oh-so-painful. My doing so created not just one, but two ear infections.

Today is the first day in the past 3 days that I can actually hear breathe without having to first submerge my head in a steam-filled basin (or salad bowl, if you, like me, are lacking in the basin category) of boiling water. Here's a tip: Add 2 Halls Menthol cough drops in a salad bowl full of bowling water, cover your head with a cloth and breathe in deeply. It clears the sinuses like a charm, and also makes for hilarious photo fodder for your husband.

When my self-made salad bowl spa was failing, I remembered a drink I get at one of my favorite all organic vegan restaurants, Chaco Canyon. They have a hot juice drink called the "flu buster" that it supposed to stop a cold before it starts. I decided to try to make my own version with the Black and Decker juicer I got for our wedding. Another word to the wise: Never attempt to make a drink involving cayenne pepper without a solid recipe.

Though mine tasted completely awful and could definitely use some revisions (how's that for an endorsement for you?), both ears are clear today, so maybe the disgusting-ness was worth it. If you're in a state of congested desperation, give it a try. I call it:


Cayenne K.O.
3 carrots -- I would add less next time as it was a little too carrot juice-y
Health benefits: stimulates the immune system and the production of anti-bodies that make good remedy in fighting off bacterial and viral infections.

1 apple
-- Maybe I'd add 2 next time
Health benefit: Helps to detoxify the body and has an antiviral property

2 large halfs of a ginger root
-- I think this was plenty
Health benefit: anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, great for upset stomachs. Ginger’s warming action is also excellent for treating a cold or flu.

fresh lemon
-- Don't put this in the juicer, use a lemon squeezer to get all the juice out.
Health benefit: Lemon has anti-viral properties and lots of Vitamin C

1 fresh orange
-- Don't put this in the juicer, either; cut in small pieces and use the lemon squeezer
Health benefit: Full of immune system boosting Vitamin C

(very, very small) pinch of cayenne pepper -- I probably added 1/8 of a tsp and that went a loooooooooong, spiiiiiiiiiiiiicy way.
Health Benefit: stimulates circulation and blood flow. It's high concentratio of capsaicin also effectively opens and drains congested nasal passages. Read more about the benefits of cayenne pepper here & here.

2 garlic cloves -- I put in 5 and that was way too much
Health benefits: has very potent anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. Raw garlic is a great natural antibiotic.

(I put in tabasco sauce at the last minute for an extra kick, and I'd definitely omit it next time. Flavor doesn't mix with the rest of the ingredients and the cayenne is all the pepper you'll need.)

Heat, serve, and witness the nasal-cleansing magic.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

2 Teaspoons on vacation

Sorry for the break in service, loyal readers! 2 Teaspoons took a very important sabbatical to Mexico last week, with no internet access. And we certainly weren't cooking: the closest we got to preparing our own food was opening a bag of chili-flavored Cheetos(it's true -- even teaspoons like junk food).

Cabo San Lucas does not present many challenges to tourists, particularly in cuisine. Poolside tacos and margaritas aside, we did not encounter a hint of Mexican food at our resort or in the bar-filled town. I returned wishing for a taco truck. Since I have nothing to report on the food front, I'll leave you with some mouth-watering shots of the landscape. Oh, and a mountain of guacamole.