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.