nibble and nosh

so my adorable and intelligent (NOT FAIR!) cousin, brooke, mentioned my food musings. so did dawn (also adorbs and smart. i'm a lucky girl to know these ladies!). and i've been thinking, too.... is this blog the place for food ramblings?

it's taken me over 10 years to get to a point where food was nutritious, creative, and interesting (and sure, at times, soothing) and not just something that makes me fat or that i "deserve" as a "treat." so it's sort of a big deal i can talk about it. also, i come from food families. both my grandmothers are excellent cooks and always made sure their families were full and nourished even in the leanest of financial times. my mom also always cooked. even catered a few years. i don't think i had a birthday cake that wasn't made for me until i was 16 or 17. there was no need for me to cook, really, until i met harper (and i wasn't keen on his bologna and white bread diet). and since then i've really come in to my own learning more about nutrition and why flavors taste good together, using fresh foods and herbs. learning from others. and these are the reasons i like to give love and appreciation to those i love through food. and for me it is a source of creativity and order.

so poll: do my food ramblings need their own place? do i need a separate blog for them that you could read or not? have you been thinking "leah, SERIOUSLY, enough about the joys of farrell family breads and your love/hate relationship with risotto!" OR do you accept it as part of my life and interests and can tolerate it under "you should probably..."

because i really want to give you the recipe for this bomb ass white bean soup i made tonight and tell you the joy that was the cream cheese and raspberry goop i smeared on my french toast this morning.

thanks lovies! you should probably share your opinions....

sleep. pout. gobble.

i'm sicky. and when i'm sick i mope and want to shove my face full of yum food until i feel better. how is this different than most days? exactly...but it is friday. i vow to not leave the house.

pout = why are you people my friends again? i force you to watch movies and youtube clips when you come over. or i force you to wear my scarf in a variety of unscarfish ways. you put up with my zaniness to no end and i'm lucky to have you.

gobble = steak for dins. mmmm...got a good lookin one to split with harpstar at whole foods and since i'm sick and hungry i also picked up an artichoke and an avacado. in no relation to my planned dinner. had to get cheese cuz wf has the tiny hunks for cheap and i like to try new. got a small hunk (like two bites) of blue cheese to melt on my steak and a teeny hunk (we're talking 1 bite) of something insane called Fromage a Trois Bourbon Chocolate Torta. the (cheese!) ingredients include goats milk, belgian chocolate, bourbon, sugar, cocoa butter, raisins, and pecans. um, yes please. smear it on toast. smear it on me.

bed time. thanks again for being my friend. when really you should just hide.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"still feel the butterflies"

my fast and furious trip to nyc was just that. time flew by. most moments were jam packed. most wonderfully i got to spend time with jb and get to know his joh.

after dropping off my bags we went to the cutest hipster burger joint (after a cold walk of course. constant car driver me had to get used to this notion). best burger EVAR. sunday promised more culinary delight with a trip in to manhattan for brunch at Essex. the wait was long (and rightly so) and required a pre-meal snack at the cupcake shop across the street. best pistachio cupcake, nay, simply best cupcake EVAR. a perfect precursor to one of my top 10 meals EVAR. a perfectly fried potato cake topped with smoked salmon, two perfectly poached eggs (SWOON) and salmon caviar all on greens. i stifled food induced moans with the seemingly endless free mimosas. cheers!

it was rainy and cold but didn't keep us from a rambling walk, and a bit of mimosa haze shopping (the kind where $30 plain t-shirts and circle scarves sound like a good idea).




johanna and i prepped boss oscar worthy eats including three dips (roasted eggplant and red pepper, olive tapenade, white bean). grocery place didn't deliver the bread she ordered, so crafty johanna deftly baked two loaves. No big whoop. we also made an improvised empanada filled with crab and creamy goodness inside puff pastry plus german chocolate cake balls.


their friends came over and unfortunately the oscars were not entertaining the group. drinks, food and my new scarf became a distraction. there were claims this one scarf could be worn 12 ways which demanded testing:
a few of our trials:

other trip highlights included a walk through central park, the jimmy eat world concert (performing their album Clarity in it's entirety. Hot.) and johanna's midnight treat of the best homemade hash browns probaly EVAR. It went by fast and of course work has been uber hectic this week distracting me from recent happy memories. but as pictures prove, it was good times. thanks jj and jb!

veg out

Hi Bloggie friends. Work is hard and my brain is fried. I’m dreaming of warm summer mornings at the farmers market and the smelly of dirt and grass from the bags full of yums I just bought. I know, I know, I owe you a NYC trip report. Laters. I promise. Until then, enjoy my dreamy top ten list of things I love about the Cherry Street Farmers Market.

10. No list! I take $20 and buy whatever looks good. I can always use onions, peppers, yellow squash. Might treat myself to something unusual and work these things in to my weekly menu. My favorite is fresh lettuce covered in soil or the hot summer months when peaches and berries are perfection.

9. Opening weekend. The first weekend in April. There is nary a string bean available. Mostly potted plants, fresh cut flowers and some herbs. Only half the vendors are there. Have to settle on some fresh bread, a coffee then stopping a Reasors on the way home.

8. Acting like I fit in. Bring my own (reusable! renewable!) bag. Sniff things. Pick things up. Make small talk with the vendors.

7. The two or three Asian families that have booths. The parents don’t speak English and the small children expertly make change. They always have tiny Japanese eggplants, crazy looking peppers, lemongrass and the best (huge!) bunches of basil.

6. The “other booths” like the lady who makes soap and lotion. The spice people with all their crazy combos of seasonings and rubs. The organic meat truck. The catering lady with her delish looking flatbreads and baked goods. The Farrell Family bakery peeps!

5. Going alone. I try to wake up and be there by 8:30 a.m. Otherwise all the hot items (basil, tomatoes, blueberries) are gone easily by 9:00 a.m. I like parking down by Coffee House on Cherry street and enjoy a hot drink while I window shop my way to the market. It is especially nice after a morning rain.

4. Going with a friend. Share a snack from one of the vendors. Catch up on gossip. Make plans for the evening. How’s the family? A great way to catch up.

3. Seeing the regulars. I wouldn’t consider myself one. By I love seeing how many customers and vendors recognize each other. There are several other farmers markets these days. But Cherry Street is certainly the oldest and highest attended. Vendors remember people’s pets, kids, jobs, vacations they took, favorite produce. Heart. Maybe I’ll be one this year.

2. The newbies. I was one. You can always tell they need to get the feel for how things work. And there is a method. The newbies always buy at least a bunch of fresh flowers. Maybe a muffin or scone to ease in. Soon they’re greeting vendors and new friends.

1. And the number one thing I love about the famers market is the anticipation! From the day it closes in October until the day it opens in April I pine for the warm morning walks and knowing I’m not only buying food people took true care in producing, but that they did it in my community. Cheese but truth.

Hope you’ll join me in a few weeks! You should probably tell me you favorite thing about the famers market.

shake me

sitting in on media training for some of our college reps today. i'm not leading it. just observing. they asked me if i wanted to practice on camera interviews. i did. i am actually rarely on camera. i find people that are experts on the topic to be on camera. so i did it....and i was probably the worst one....and i'm sure they (those leading the training) will mention it to my boss.

i.

freaking.

rule.

want to go home. want saturday to be here quicker.

send a postcard

last post for a while, friendies. even i am getting tired of me. so rest up. blogs from the edge when i return. and i leave you with one last dish.

i love when i look in the fridge and i happen to have all the ingredients for something great. no planning. just do.

i've been eyeing a tomato and egg tapas (tapa?) from my book. essentially an egg baked inside a tomato. too big for a bite sized treat so i'm not sure if it is, say, a popular bar food. but it was just what i wanted. very comfort food. minus the gravy.


you cut the top off a ripe tomato. gently scoop out the seeds then set upside down to drain a bit on a paper towel. salt and pepper the insides (i forgot this important step). gently crack an egg into the hollowed out egg. top with one tablespoon of cream and one tablespoon of shredded cheese. i used some leftover manchego and i think a similarly medium hard to hard cheese would be a good choice. bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes until the egg sets and cheese is bubbly brown. the result is like a well done poached egg inside a well seasoned tomato. would be a great addition for a brunch. or lazy night dinner with some toast and a breakfast meat of your choosing.

so think on these things...gravy. lazy. and miss me lots.

puke in your mouth a little

then write a sad song

first ben and zooey. and now this. i have no words.

sing along

if you have access to streaming on your computer, check this out today:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100411956

npr has a streaming mix up, like a million song (maybe 50+) of fun, up beat and some lovie songs called "the make-out mix." listen if you have time. the simple act of having it on in the background has made me finally appreciate jeff buckley's "hallelujah."

what song(s) are you singing along to today?

laugh...with me. not at me.

typing...hard...when...injured

the hubs and i made a pizza. there was a recipe for crust on the back of the whole wheat flour box. and i had some sauce. and some cheese. and some garlic. and some zucchini. and some chicken. so hubs (past pizza dough tosser) worked on the crust (which was ADORABLE) and i worked on toppings. i have a shitty cheese grater and managed to grate my knuckles TWICE. please buy me a new one? a proper box grater? though dripping blood i persevered. the pizza looks great (still baking). and i had to ask harpstar "can i be your bloody valentine?" GROAN. i'd include picts but i love you too much.

i'm sort of nervous about cooking saturday. i'll stash a frozen pizza just in case. red baron....or tombstone....red baron....or tombstone. ah! i have so much anxiety over decision making. it's a wonder i get myself dressed each day.

you should probably share a laugh. what was funny today?

besos.

take it easy

harper told me i should "take it easy" this weekend right after i offered to make dinner last night. ha! "as in, i shouldn't cook?" i asked. "yeah..." he said or something along those lines. i know he meant don't stress...including not worrying about cooking. but it was funny. i ignored orders again tonight by roasting a chicken, making (low sodium, mais oui) quesadillas and am working on a pot of scratch chicken stock which i've never done before. the result is a full belly, a delish smelling house and a sink full of dishes. by the way, how much sodium is in 3 cans of pbr? :)

the sodium will be ignored, nay, CELEBRATED when the peeps come over for vcb / tapas night. so what is it and where did it all come from...i'm glad you asked.

TAPAS
my tapas interest began in college when jennegui and i ventured to austin for south by southwest. or sxsw. or "southby" as the cool kids say. granted, we went to the film portion which runs the week before the music portion. while this meant we didn't see the 900 or so bands we still got to see c and d list movie stars, attend viewing parties, had less competition for tables at restaurants and there were fewer hot girls to detract from us. and everyone looks cool with a pass on a lanyard. we chose a tapas bar one night and it was the real deal. you ordered two or three items to nibble. the concept is 1) it's spanish, from spain, spanish. 2) it is just a few bites of something delish to accompany your drinks. then you move along to the next bar or function. it's more experience than sustenance.

later, lola's in tulsa opened. called it's self a tapas place. it isn't. but it is tasty and they do have some popular tapas items like roasted almonds and olives. maybe some spanish influenced flavors if you want to go out on a limb.

even later, someone gave me a tapas cookbook. one of those nice hard back ones with lots of pictures for $9.99 on the sale table at borders. i didn't make anything in it for years. rather, i studied it. the flavors sounded great to me. olives and olive oil. salty cheese. garlic. paprika. fried things. and the focus really is on small bites.

the history is either that a spanish king (in like 1300) was recovering from an illness and doctors recommend he have wine and small meals rather than large ones as he recovered. he liked it and the fashion of eating the small meals caught on. AND / OR that in taverns (maybe 1400, i don't know) pieces of bread topped with cheese, ham or chorizo were served with glasses of wine or sherry. the bread was actually served on top of the glass. tapas means loosely "to cover" or "lid". and today it's basically fancy bar food / appetisers.

my spanish kick caught on again when mario batali made paella on oprah. this coincided with the launch of his show "spain...on the road" with gwyneth paltrow which i didn't get on my cable. i downloaded a few episodes on itunes and got hooked as they traveled from city to city highlighting the culture and food of spain.

tapas, spanish cooking seems pretentious to even talk about. even my husband thinks i only got interested because of the show. but really, what is so different about cooking or liking spanish food versus any other? i made quesadillas tonight. what some might call a mexican food. but if i told you i made quesadillas or tacos that wouldn't seem strange at all. what about spaghetti and meatballs. not strange. garlic bread. not strange. but if i top that garlic bread with roasted red pepper and roasted eggplant...is that strange? it's pisto manchego. what about a crab cake? not strange. but if it was ham, bread crumbs and egg fried instead of crab and bread crumbs its croquetas and uber popular in spanish bars.

spanish food is accessible and has very few ingredients meaning easier to cook for me. i love thai food, too. i'm just not ready to buy the 14 ingredients to make pad thai.

that said, other than the two or three items i've had or made....it's gunna be new to me. i'm pulling out all the guns (knives?) next weekend and i hope my (brave?) friends enjoy.

VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA (VCB)

another woody-free woody allen movie. and the third with scar jo. i was never a big woody fan. we won't go down that road. now i sort of get it. he's done some different things in the last 5-6 years but has kept the trend of packing his films with stars so someone will want to see them. match point was a very un-woody film, in my opinion. die hards might argue. penelope cruz is nominated for best supporting actress for her role in this one. oscars are coming up and i need to see as many contenders as possible. i like to know who i'm wagering on. it is set in (hold your breath) barcelona and spain so it ties in nicely with my menu.

now you should probably take it easy. that was a lot of my drivel for one night.

think i'm crazy, maybe

be jealous. today was sunny and almost warm. had it not been for the wicked wind it might have been perfection?

so much so that i decided to grill outside. nothing says love like zucchini and squash on the grill. unless of course it's actually summer while you're doing it.

i've pathologically put myself on more random restrictions. this time = low sodium. i looked online for the sodium on subway items. most sandwiches are three times the daily recommended allowance for sodium, people. that jared is satan. after leaving my tasty (low sodium) lunch at home i settled on a (fakeass) chicken breast on salad from s'way. dinner was grilled chicken and squashies with olive oil, garlic and mrs dash which i've come to love plus tiny new potatoes steamed with a lil butter. had i had an ear of corn it would have been sum sum summertime.

not much else to say lovies.

you should probably have rachel send you an email. they're happytown.

you should probably tell me if the carcinogen burn crisps on my food are causing me more harm than sodium.

you should probably get ready. tomorrow i'll do the official vcb /tapas (NOT topless) explainer blog for my friends and guests of said party who don't know what they're in for. other than wowzment.

just stay quiet

1) thank you jesse for talking to me on the way home.

2) 2.5 weeks. i'm just sayin.

3) can't wait until the non-valentine's vcb / tapas par-tay.

4) the 2 martini mac n' cheese:

a. make a bachamel. use too much flour.
b. grate cheese (i used gruyere and cheddar) in to b'mel
c. simultaneously boil water and cook pasta (short, not long. i used macaroni)
d. add whatever spices. a shake of cayenne, nutmeg, salt, garlic powder, two shakes black pepper.
e. mange!

5) i'm missing lost. beeotch.

6) nighty!

you should probably just shut it. or tell me what you did tonight.

take it easy

inspired by van halen's 1982 tour rider, harpstar and i hosted a gathering and played rock band last night. we all dressed up a bit and had a nice time.

i looked like this:



harper looked like this:


and most of the night we were in some form of this:

i got some work done just for the night:




as for the party food, i didn't live up to bobby's sliders. the burgers shrunk way more than i thought but were edible. the leftover chipotle mayo was my fave and i'll be making chicken salad with it for monday dinner. alton's guac was fine but not life changing. and martha's mac n' cheese was also just okay. best when it was hot from the oven, but i think next time i'll try a different cheese combo. the white cheddar and gruyere were actually a bit bland together. but of course i had fun preparing and that's really the point.

you should probably take it easy. it's sunday after all. and watch the super bowl so you'll know all the commercial references people will be making for the next seven days. -besos.