Jul 03 2009
Oh yeah, that’s me…and that’s the sky. As you can clearly see, there is a man strapped to my back and I’m pretty much hurtling to the ground. I was bat shit terrified on the plane, but I did it…and it was fan-fucking-tastic!
Jul 02 2009
I was lucky enough to get out of work early this afternoon, so I headed over to Penn Quarter Farmers Market. My co-worker James was along for the ride, as he wanted to pick up a few things for himself. I had a list of things I wanted, including the new Ricotta Vanigla from Blue Ridge Dairy and blueberries (oh how I love blueberries) for a weekend batch of crepes. But as often happens whenever I shop hungry, I ended up with a bit more than what was on my list. And thus this quick, yet delicious pasta dish was created.
Jun 30 2009
Let me be honest here: I wasn’t impressed with season 5 of Top Chef. From Leah’s whining to Hosea’s sense of entitlement, it was hard to see the few quality chefs on the show. Sure Carla was overly enthusiastic at times, but her love of cooking was evident from day one. And yes I couldn’t understand half of what Fabio said, but his sense of fun was a welcome respite from Hosea bitching to the camera constantly about Stefano. Then there was Jamie…Jamie who constantly complained whenever she didn’t win a challenge. Yes, I thought there were a few times she may have deserved the win. But her attitude wore on me quicker than Rosie Perez’s voice. I had almost written her off completely as a waste of space until she presented the judges with a wonderful Chilled Sweet Corn Soup with Mint and Chili Oil. The way they cooed over the velvety texture of the soup convinced me it was something I had to make at home.
Jun 28 2009
The local food movement has gathered steam over the last two decades, bringing with it an intent to educate the American public about the food they eat. Considered one of the founders of this movement, Alice Waters has been championing organic and locally grown, in season produce for years. Her teachings have helped to bring about a higher consciousness of agribusiness and how it feeds us. Taking this idea of following the food we eat from its beginnings one step further, Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” showed how corn truly is king in the United States. This movement towards more informed food choices is even the subject of a new documentary, Food Inc. And as more people demand to be better informed about the food they are placing on their family table, farmers markets have become a hot commodity.
The desire to speak directly with those who are growing your food has helped to make the farmers market concept popular throughout the United States. In the DC metro area, there are well over 30 farmers markets (in my neighborhood alone, there are three). These markets not only help to bring healthy, quality, locally grown produce to the urbanites of DC, it also provides the farmers a steady consumer base for their products. The markets also give consumers the opportunity to learn about the farms and the farmers, providing a direct pipeline of information from the farm to the table. This concept of understanding the transition from the farm to the table has been taken one step further with farm to table events. One such event was held in Loudon County, Virginia on the Moutoux Orchard and hosted by Vermillion Restaurant. I was lucky enough to be able to attend thanks to a proposal I submitted for the FoodBuzz 24, 24, 24 monthly blog event. So last Saturday, under a gorgeous blue sky, I headed out to Loudoun County, Virginia to find out where my food comes from.
Jun 23 2009
Is it just me or is Sophia from the Golden Girls the funniest television character ever created? Between her “Picture This” stories and wise cracks about her ex-son-in-law Stan, she has me laughing every time I watch. Which is pretty much every night since I have all seven seasons on DVD (or I turn on the Hallmark channel, which is pretty much just The Golden Girls interspersed with episodes of M*A*S*H now). I was thinking about her as I made this classic Italian dish and laughing the entire way through.
