Ooh baby

Thanks to everyone who participated in the cheesecake taste test of last week because those little bad boys were a huge hit at Jasmine & Rodney's baby shower!  

The suggestion of crust was a good one.  Trader Joe's ginger cookies were a perfect fit.

This time I whipped the batter with a hand mixer.  The result: silky smooth.

Sign of a good party dessert?  No utensils required and none left over!  I'd say we have a winner.

Stay tuned for more frozen yogurt shenanigans coming later this week!

Ode to Salt

Pablo Neruda wrote that in salt, "we taste infinitude."  I wholeheartedly agree.  Leave it to a Chilean poet to come up with such a sexy way to say that salt is the missing link.  The tiniest pinch makes even the simplest of foods taste right.  This is the reason I never liked candy.  Sugary sweets have no fireworks--just a mild rah with no sis-boom-bah.  It's not that I don't like dessert; it's that I don't like tasting sweet without substance or depth, without salt.  Consider the following minglings of sweet and salt.  Ponder, if you will: Oatmeal cookies.  Green apples with a chunk of cheddar.  Anything involving almond pastry or peanut butter.  Even watermelon slices taste better with a little sprinkle.

Can't decide if you feel salty or sweet?  Oh, who we fooling--join me when I stand and say I refuse to choose!  To emphasize, how about dark chocolate-covered pretzels, chopped up and ready to go in the first batch of homemade frozen yogurt!

Voila!  Allow me to introduce the fabulously smooth treat that spoiled my dinner.  Chocolate fro-yo with sea salt and chocolate covered pretzel chunks.  Oh yeah, it's over.  I surrender.  All resistance is futile. 

Hey, yogurt has calcium!  I'm just looking out for my, er, bone structure.  Yeah, that's the one.

Sufficient Grounds

I work with a Trinidadian woman who has the most amazing gift with plants.  Her squash are the biggest, her chilies the spiciest, and I'm pretty sure she was responsible for the monstrous heirloom tomato that went on this pizza.  One of her secrets?  She mixes coffee grounds in with her soil.  Apparently my Grandpa Sid did the same thing in the Bronx.  The way I see it?  Two garden experts close to my heart can't be wrong.  I had to try it immediately!

The folks at Dana Street generously offered to keep my bucket under their counter for a day and fill it up for me.  I could barely carry it home. And the smell--fantastic!

I added a scoop here and a sprinkle there, but the first real experiment with the coffee method will be with these joi choy plants.  Joi choy is some sort of delicious bok choy hybrid.  This flat came from another coworker, the same one who introduced me to mizuna, amongst other garden goodies.

Oh, I have big plans for this.  Let's just say it involves potsticker soup with lots of ginger!

I'm also trying the coffee grounds with some ornamental Thai chili plants.

So cute.  So innocent.  A little early for chilies but they can keep each other company.

I'm so pleased I've been able to keep up a diverse container garden in a new environment and in a season that's not always the most gentle.  In the last 6 months, I've grown and learned to cook plants I didn't even know existed.  Everything looks great!  Look at Miz Liz Lemon go back there!

Spring visitors always welcome!

Home Fries

That's right, kids, it's potato time.  First harvest of 2011 (other than some collard greens here and there), which is pretty exciting.  I am clearly outfitted for the occasion.

Back in November, Jenn was on hand for potato planting--three different kinds and it's time to harvest the first.  Turns out to be this awesome purple German heirloom that Patt gave me!

Head over heels.

That's the stuff!

They look red in the picture, but the color is more a magenta-purple.  Not sure yet if flesh is creamy or purple as well.  Only one way to be sure...

 

Breakfast for dinner, anyone?  I'm suddenly in the mood for a frittata with cheddar and leek, and of course, these gorgeous potatoes.

Or maybe I'll have one fitted to a cocktail ring and wear it while sipping gibsons in my foyer.  

Nah.  Frittata it is.

Spring Cleaning

I spent a luxurious 6 hours this weekend outdoors working in gardens.  At The Free Farm in the city (seen here in the new greenhouse), I helped secure clotheslines on pulleys, amongst other things.  I knew all those years of knot tying skills at Girl Scout summer camp would eventually come in handy!

Then on Sunday, there was plenty to be done in my own garden.  I took full advantage of the sun.  Hope this orchid is happy in its new container!

 Or how about some new blooms?  I've never grown Gerbera daisies before.

It only looks like complete chaos.  

Baby arugula window box.

New improved chive planter!  The old classic is back.  This was one of my garden originals.  I've added purple violas and pansies, and moved the parsley, sage, and thyme (no rosemary though) to join the chives.

So pretty.

Oh, spring, you cad.  I thought you'd never come.

At the end of a workday, I don't mind coming home to a greeting like this:

Mid Winter Bliss

 Signs of a successful mid-winter break?

Lunch beer as much as I please.  Look at that, you can see the bubbles in the picture--can you stand it?  Eating lunch, period; now that's a luxury.  And on break I can take the careful time necessary for something really savory and fantastic like a burger on green onion focaccia with spicy beans on the side (because when you're craving a burger there is nothing--NOTHING--else in this world that will satisfy).  I don't have a barbecue to cook burgers like my dad, but I must say that searing hot iron and salt does nicely.  That's my grandmother's cast iron grill pan that my father passed down to me.  And as many condiments as I want.  Three different mustards in my fridge and I'll use them all if I want, thank you.

I'll take small victories this year.

Things I can hold, things I can make, things I can change.

I can make lunch.  I can sit down and enjoy it.  I can call my mom while I'm eating.  I can watch foot traffic outside.  I can think about my plans for the day, for the year, for the rest of my life. 

So much in this world is out of my control.  As far as I know, lunch is still mine 

(at least when I'm on vacation).

Sweet Nothings

There was one holiday season back in the late 80's when my sister desperately wanted a Salad Shooter, possibly because the commercial jingle was so catchy.  Of course, my father is the king of appliances and once bought a second blender at Costco after an enthusiastic demonstration--true story.  I am not judging either of them.  Rather, I am giving in and accepting my genetic predisposition for culinary gadgets, an admission that clearly justifies the purchase of my new toy.   Behold:

I swear I didn't pose him like that.

 And now, let's go in for the closeup.

Ah ha ha ha ha ha!  I know, right?  I've wanted one for years and now it's mine--ALL MINE!  I cannot wait to dive in and try my hand at delicious homemade frozen treats.  I thought I'd start with this:

Chocolate sorbet from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa At Home (my favorite cookbook of all time, by the way).

 

You just need a little of this...San Francisco's own Ghirardelli cocoa, cinnamon, salt and vanilla...

 ...and a little of that...wait, what is that?

 Turns out the secret ingredient is two shots of brewed espresso.  The friendly, tattooed folks at Dana Street Roasting Co made mine for me!

 Sorbet mixture and ice cream machine core are chilling overnight.  Stay tuned for the taste test tomorrow!  And if you're in driving distance of my house, you may want to stop by and taste for yourself.