Where is the Spinach in Providence?

I've checked both Whole Foods and Eastside Market, and none of them have whole heads of spinach!! They have bins or bags of baby spinach, but no whole bunches. What is going on? Is there a spinach shortage? My favorite salad is shredded whole spinach with a little bit of parm and vinaigrette, and I haven't had one in nearly a month - usually I eat three or four of these a week. The horror! I have one last hope: the Stop 'N Shop in Rumford on the way to work. Keep your fingers crossed!

100 Mile Diet

I just finished the book that started the movement of the 100 Mile Diet. The book is Plenty by James MacKinnon and Alisa Smith. These two live in Vancouver, BC, which is just about 100 miles north of Seattle, and true to their pledge, they spent exactly one year eating only foods from within a 100 miles radius of Vancouver. The farmer's market was a main source of local foods, and luckily seafood was close by, much like in Seattle. They gave up olive oil, lemons, pepper, and avocadoes. They even gave up wheat for 6 months until they found a farm on Vancouver Island that was growing it. They ate a lot of potatoes, local eggs, chicken, butter, and cheese. Vancouver has some great wines nearby, but they did have to give up beer, since barley and hops were foreign substances. They did a lot of canning which produced jam, tomatoes, and sauerkraut. The nice thing about the web site is that it will draw a 100 mile radius around your zip code. Unfortunately, it almost seems like the rest will be up to me. I don't know where to get local wheat, nuts, etc. And unfortunately, if I tried to start this strict diet now, it would pretty much be the wrong season. I'm not prepared for winter! Nevertheless, it was a good read (if you can ignore the relationship gobbeldy gook they include) and got me thinking of the ways I can better eat locally. Now I have to learn to give up Tader Joe's!

Take-Out Art

The waiter at Fez drew this on my take-out container. Cute!

Orzo with Brown Butter and Cinnamon

Not much to look at, but boy is this flavorful! The cinnamon is subtle enough to not make this taste like a dessert - it's just a nice, unexpected flavor with the butter and black pepper. A new comfort food is born! Recipe here.

Browning the butter.

Hummus

Hummus with parsley oil and toasted chickpeas, from this recipe. I don't have a food processor so I used a blender, which didn't really work. It came out a bit chunky, but it was still good. The parsley oil and toasted pine nuts are a nice touch, although the pine nuts will get soggy after a day or two in the fridge.


Hummus snack plate with cheese, bread, and red wine (not pictured - it's probably in my hand). I still have a big can of tahini in the fridge, so another batch of this stuff will be on the way at some point.

Sparkling Sparkling

Just had to point out that this is exactly what I wrote about a few months ago, when I was trying to figure out how to drink sparkling water without filling landfills with plastic bottles. I think I should be writing for the New York Times.

On Eggs, Etc.

I bought my first carton of truly Organic Free Range eggs today. I had been buying the Free Range Eggs at Trader Joe's, and felt ok about it, but then I read The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. It was really a wonderful book, one of the first books in years that I literally couldn't put down. I learned that Free Range eggs aren't really free range; rather, they have "access" to the outdoors for the last two weeks of their lives via a small door that they wouldn't think to open. In general, egg-laying hens are the domesitcated animal that is really treated the worst. They are in a cramped cage their whole short lives, and they often rub their chests up against the cage until they bleed. Mr. Pollan is not a vegetarian, but he grapples with the idea throughout his journey exploring where our food comes from, and how it can be sustainable. His account of his week on a sustainable farm in Virginia is the best part of the book. Through his experiences, he points out that in nature things grow and die and feed themselves, and there is no such thing as waste. Polyface Farm has the same theory of farming. By using plants and animals in a harmonious and symbiotic way, the farm has almost no expenses, and huge profits. The cows eat the grass, then leave behind manure. After 2 days, the hens are brought in to eat the fly larvae in the patties, which makes them very happy, and creates strong, protein-filled eggs. The pigs, cows, chickens, and rabbits rotate the land and keep it alive. And they are allowed to be pigs, cows, chickens, and rabbits, until the end. It was pretty cool.

What I got from reading the book was that I will now be buying eggs for $3.29 a carton. And, I need to find a farm in Washington state like Polyface if I'm ever going to eat meat.

Pumpkin Polenta with Tofu

When I saw this recipe in Edible Rhody, I got very excited. I had never used pumpkin in anything but a dessert, so I was excited to try it in a main course. The original recipe called for chorizo, but I replaced it with tofu. I did, however, buy some Niman Ranch chorizo to cook separately. I also used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. Also, I only used about a cup and a half of the pumpkin, not the whole can (the recipe I'm linking to is slightly different than the one in Edible Rhody, which says it is adapted from a Rachel Ray recipe, probably this one).

The manchego cheese is a wonderful, creamy addition to the polenta. I had never eaten manchego before, and now I love it!

I made the tofu, onion, and bean mixture ahead of time, then when I was ready to eat I made the polenta so it would be fresh. The polenta seems to be keeping well in the fridge, though. I had some this afternoon with some of the chorizo. I had never had chorizo before either, and the spiciness really completed the mellow pumpkin. I will use some red pepper flakes in the tofu version the next time I make it.

Another wonderful fall meal. Highly recommended!

Biscuits

Got this biscuit recipe from the November 2007 "Food and Wine." It was included with this tiny article called "Perfecting Biscuits".


This was the first time I made homemade biscuits, and they came out really good! This recipe was really easy, and the biscuits were super buttery, hence very delicious!


Mmmm...flakey!

Perfect Fall Dinner

George whipped up this very white, very delicious creation last night totally off the cuff. I forget exactly how he made it, but he roasted some red bliss potatoes with onions and tofu, seasoned with salt, black pepper and thyme, and rosemary. He roasted some garlic as an accompaniment, which is what knocked this dish off the charts. Spreading the smooth, creamy, mellow garlic all over the tofu and and potatoes was so incredibly delicious! He is so good at cooking spontaneously; I always need a recipe. I am so impressed by people who cook like this.


My beverage for this meal was a Weyerbacher "Imperial Pumpkin Ale" from Weyerbacher Brewing Company in Easton, PA. Pumpkin ale is like liquid autumn, and this spicy, caramel-y brew did not disappoint.


For desert, pumpkin ice cream from The Daily Scoop in Barrington, RI and Archway "Windmill" cookies, an obvious riff on the Dutch spiced cookie called "speculaas".

The best meal I've had in ages!

Just Because You're On A Farm, You Don't Have to Look Frumpy

That's what Elizabeth Hurley said today when she was in Seattle for a benefit for breast cancer at Nordstrom. She chatted with the Seattle Post Intelligencer for 10 minutes, mostly about her 400 acre organic farm north of London. "We're certified organic," she says about the farm she owns with her new husband Arun Nayar, and they have started selling eggs and free range meat. She's given up acting for now, she says, to farm and raise her kids. I think she might win a contest for the hottest organic farmer.

BTW, in totally non food related news, here's a blog about Liz's wedding including a video of massive paparazzi hysteria out front, and pictures of her not so attractive husband.

Metropolitan Home Magazine

I picked up the new issue of Metropolitan Home to get some ideas for renovating our condo, and lo and behold, they have an entire food section! This issue's spread is Sundays in Provence. Gorgeous photos of food, table settings and the French countryside, plus 8 recipes. I might have to subscribe!

Pasta with Chickpea Tomato Sauce

Broccoli and pasta with a chickpea and tomato sauce, sprinkled with fresh parmigiano-reggiano. I made this for dinner tonight for G and I. I made sure and used ample olive oil and a hefty pat of butter for the sauce. Boy, have I missed cooking with butter! I can't believe all the flavor I have been missing out on all these years!

Toast

This is probably the most perfect-looking toast I have ever made. The bread is pullman bread that my mom got for me at the farm stand near her house; they got it from Jessica's in Woburn, Ma. It not only looks good, it tasted good too! This is definitely on the menu for tomorrow morning!