happy thanksgiving!

i'll just run down the short list of what i'm thankful for this year. or this morning.

an awesome husband who, among other things, makes me coffee every morning. it's good today, babe.

not having to cook today.

being back in portland, with friends to go out with wednesday night, and family on thursday.

friends and family who might happen to be in other places.

rollerskates.

crisp apples.

apple pie.

portland farmer's market.

being temporarily employed.

having the opportunity to buy organic, fresh foods.

dry november days in the willamette valley.

the portland trailblazers' season.

president-elect barack obama.

what are your highlights?

lemon sticks?

when these candied citrus peels are made out of oranges, you call them orange sticks or orangettes. what about lemon? lemon sticks?

i intended to make orangettes last weekend, but the organic oranges at our local store looked terrible. yellow, sickly, sad...no go. please, if you're going to go candy some citrus, make it organic. poisons aren't going to get blanched out. or, maybe they would, but would you take that chance? anyways, i got a few lemons instead for my little experiment. i got the basic recipe from the smitten kitchen, but blanched the peels three times. by the second time, the blanching water started turning yellow.

yum! there was still a little bitterness to the lemon, but just enough to keep it sophisticated. bitter enough that you wanted to eat one, but not 5 at one sitting. they also mellowed quite a bit in the next few days.

does anyone have any super-cool dipping tricks? i just used my fingers, not having given it any thought whatsoever, and being in a hurry. i'm definitely going to do this again, probably with meyer lemons and oranges, so any tips would be much appreciated.

thanksgiving is coming!

yep, your turkey has to die before you can eat it. who wants salad? i'm in the process of blanching some peels for candied lemon right now - i'll let you know if it turns out!

davd lebovitz to the rescue!

if you're looking for an interesting idea for a fruit dessert, you might as well go to the source. we have a quince in the kitchen that's a few days away from being ripe, and i wasn't quite sure how to dispose of the thing.

note: do not eat quince raw. i've never tried one, but my googling makes that quite clear.

mine hasn't filled our kitchen with a delightful scent just yet, but i've learned that it's about to do so. right now, it just kind of smells like a pear if you sniff hard enough.

brian: "it has a smell."

yep. it does.

i think that i'm going to do is class up my normal apple crisp by grating in some raw quince with the apple slices.

anyone have experience with quince that they'd like to share?

i kind of just like the name of it. quince. or that they eat it in old novels.

i'm a nerd that way.

getting in the swing of things

even though i've been unemployed, and therefore should technically have all the time in the world to figure these things out, i've had a terrible time getting into a good grocery routine since we've moved back to portland. we have so many more choices, though none quite so convenient as the co-op across the street from my office in bloomington.

for a while, i was making occasional trips to the store without a real plan, and grabbing things for dinner every day or two. bad plan. the more trips to the store i make, the more i spend. and unfortunately, the most convenient store is very overpriced. with groceries as expensive as they are, that habit had to go.

so, last week i made up a monthly grocery list and spent a couple hours and a couple hundred dollars to get our staples for the month. first stop was the grocery outlet, a discount store, which luckily has an organics aisle. i scored cereal, crackers, beans, and was glad to walk away with 2 big bags for under $25. next up, trader joes. their packaging can leave something to be desired, and i don't buy that produced all wrapped up in plastic, but they have some great prices on organics. and damn if i don't love that cornbread mix. it's not really budget-friendly, but at least the bag is paper! stocked up on canned pumpkin. filled up a cart for something like $110. last on the trip was fred meyer, for staple produce and bulk bin items.

after i FINALLY got to the farmer's market this weekend, i have a house full of food stocked away, and it feels great. we don't have a lot of storage, so i took what didn't fit into our cupboards, and placed it in a bin under the kitchen table. man, i feel so organized. i even went to the farmer's market for the first time in weeks this weekend. pretty soon, we'll see what you're supposed to do with quince. it's not quite ripe yet.

so, long story short, i hope this new monthly shopping system will save us some money in the long run. yes, i'll run to the store for coffee and milk about once a week, but that should be in the plan as well.

how do you save money on your grocery budget without sacrificing food quality?

a vote for barack obama is a vote for the environment.

a vote for ralph nader is a vote for john mccain. it's too close for protest votes. http://www.lcv.org/campaigns/endorsements/ i've already voted. it was awesome. . in food-and-election-related news, i'm working at the county elections office, and i verified the signature of a prominent vegan cookbook author (cough, who recently moved to portland, cough) today. go vegan vote!

hello, world!

new posts forthcoming! sorry, i've been living other parts of life lately, but it's time to put more energy back into the kitchen.

here's what i've been doing:

now that the rainy season seems to have set in for the year, i'm starting to feel a little more domestic. it was just too beautiful there for a while.

off to the midwest

yep, i'm flying away tomorrow to play some roller derby in indiana. ready for my game day bagel and salad... ...see you back here early next week!

review: soy curls rule!

so it took me a while, but i finally made it down to food fight to pick up soy curls. (among other things, like vegan vitamins.) and, guess what? i love them.

sorry for the bad picture - i wasn't expecting to blog this, but it was really tasty.

good things about soy curls:

• since they're dry, they're easy to keep on hand.
• you can cook a lot or just a little at a time without worrying about the leftovers (i'm looking at you, half-blocks of tofu).
• they're fast - 10 minutes to rehydrate
• easy to flavor and use. just saute with a little sauce, and voila.
• they're local (to me), made in grand ronde, or.
• available in bulk. at least at food fight.

neat. their texture is kind of like fajita meat - chewy strips. i liked them a lot with the teriyaki sauce, especially. mmm. the teriyaki soy curl/roasted cauliflower meal was borne of desperation, but turned out really great.

it's my new food crush. you come here to me, soy curls.

shelling bean mania

the shelling bean is something new to me this year, but i've become pretty enamoured of them. just look how pretty!

i've seen them described as "teenage" beans - not young enough to eat the pod, ala edamame, or old enough to keep like dry beans, but just old enough to mouth off and get into trouble. i mean, old enough that you just simmer them for 20 or so minutes for creamy delicious beany delight.

at first, i thought i'd do a soup with these tonight, but i couldn't think of any grains we had on hand that would go well. so i decided on beans and rice, but we were out of rice. so pasta it was. the pictures don't really do it justice - we had green spinach, red peppers, and these purple-ish beans that held their color fairly well. throw in some garlic, red pepper flake and lemon juice, and you've got yourself a meal. all the produce was from yesterday's farmer's market except the lemon. yum.

help: compost.

help me. we have tons of kitchen waste that's going straight into the trash these days, and i'd like to compost. but i'm a city girl, meaning, i get grossed out by creepy-crawlies. i have considered worm composting, but never for more than a few minutes at a time. go ahead and tell me it's not gross. it's probably not. but it's not happening in my house.

also, i live in an apartment, so i'd need to have something contained that won't attract pests. we have some room outside for something that could get rained on.

has anyone used the envirocycle? it seems like something that would be

a) easy to use, and
b) low on the gross-out factor for my dainty sensibilities.

any opinions?

weekend update: i found the camera!

a really, really big head of red lettuce

prepping fruit to make leather - recipe forthcoming, pending tweaking

croissant and homemade jam....

welcome, foodies! or, weekend tidbits.

hi, there! a bunch of people are coming over to the almost sustainable kitchen from the foodie blogroll today. it's nice to have you. stick around!

another lovely weekend of food and friends around here. the weather was fantastic, too. august and september are typically warm and dry in these parts. it's supposed to be 87 today. holy cow! better eat my breakfast so i can get out and exercise before it gets too late/hot. i'm a real baby about sweating it out in the sun.

saturday morning's farmer's market haul: strawberries, baby bok choy, a gigantic head of red lettuce, a croissant, summer squash, shelling beans (tongue of fire, i think), tomatoes and red peppers. i'm still reeling from the fact that strawberries and red peppers are available at the same time here. nuts! and they're both good!

i made a new chocolate and peanut better no-bake recipe for a potluck yesterday. these are really rich, and could even be cut smaller. which i rarely advocate. another hint: natural peanut butter doesn't seem to want to "heat until runny." save yourself the trouble if you're using the freshly-ground type.

i seem to have set our camera down somewhere that made sense at the time. ahem. so, it's temporarily out of service. but can i mention that i took that farmer's market croissant from fleur de lis, and we that enjoyed the first taste of my blackberry jam with it? wow. the fresh and punchy blackberry meeting the soft and buttery croissant was just out of this world.

sunday morning, it was whole wheat waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. man, life is good!

wheat waffles
modified from the food network

3 tb melted butter
3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup wheat flour *** or up to 1 1/4 cups wheat flour to total 1 1/2 cups total
pinch of salt
3 tb sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs

preheat waffle maker. i like 'em crispy! sift dry stuff together in big bowl. beat milk and eggs together. add to dry stuff until just combined. stir in melted butter. measure scant 1/2 cup of batter onto waffle iron and cook until steam stops coming out, or your little light turns green, or however your waffle iron works.

i cook all the waffles at once, then reheat as needed by placing them back on the iron for 10-15 seconds. this crisps them back up.

enough for two fairly hungry people. great for sunday mornings before roller derby practice - without the whipped cream.

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excuse me if this looks a little funny - blogger is forcing me to learn html on my feet, since it's not behaving very well.

Thanks, Paul Newman

sad news today. paul newman brought natural and organic foods to the marketplace before it was fashionable, and "recycled the profits" to charitable causes. if i could die with that kind of legacy, i could die happy, knowing i did more than my part. thanks.

don't buy fiji water.

hi. the last i checked, there was an ad for fiji water on the top of this page. i'm checking into that, because there aren't supposed to be product-specific ads on the banner at the top. in the meantime, if you're interested, here's an article from treehugger explaining why fiji water is not so great. thanks! *almost immediate update: the foodbuzz people e-mailed back, and said they'd remove the ad right away. aces! thanks, foodbuzz!

preserving summer: blackberry jam

hey! i did it! 3 1/2 pints of blackberry jam. all the jars made their little "thwink!" noises and i can't press down on the top, which should mean we probably won't die when we eat it. i'm not sure if it really jelled (or jammed, maybe), but i don't think i'll care when we have summery blackberry delicious goo in the winter. who isn't down with goo? the 1/2 full jar will be opened tomorrow, so we'll see. maybe, if i'm feeling ambitious, we can have biscuits and jam in the morning. oooh yeah. next: more fruit leather, after the next store run. jam uses up a LOT of sugar.

i-pick blackberries.

here's an upside to being unemployed! you can go berry picking on a tuesday. no crowds, and the crop has had a few days to ripen since the weekend. i went out looking for raspberries, but stumbled on a much heartier blackberry crop. ended up with probably 4-5 pounds of blackberries and a couple pints of raspberries. it was the last week for the last variety of raspberries, at this farm at least, so willamette valley raspberry-lovers take note.

blackberry picking is not a camera-friendly enterprise. a few pints in, and your fingers are covered in dark red-purple berry juice.

so, trust me, i got a lot more than this:

...but what to do with all of them? i got some canning equipment from my mom the other day, and i'd love to preserve some that way. i'll definitely make some more fruit leather. blackberry-infused vodka? the sky's the limit! within a budget, of course.

blackberry syrup?

ideas?

fresh, local weekend.

this was one of those slow burn weekends. somewhat eventful, but definitely low key.

on saturday, i went to the beaverton farmer's market with my parents, who were taking care of my 19-month-old nephew and 5-year-old niece for the weekend. i didn't have any grocery cash on me, so i had fun sharing free samples with the niece. and when brian came over to pick me up, the first words out of her mouth were, "aunt kelley bought an artichoke!"

also:

white chocolate oatmeal cookies. for a barbecue. they turned out better than the last time i attempted this recipe.

the aforementioned artichoke. brian's first! i couldn't resist buying ONE thing at the market.

potato-broccoli-cheddar soup. with a red pepper for good measure.

more roasted tomatoes.

waffles. but that's not too exciting.

raspberry fruit leather. mmm. if you have some raspberries that get compressed, smooshed, or are just starting to look long in the tooth, look into it. yum. i'm hoping to refine my methods and report back on this.

my vegetarian 100

these "100" lists are going all around the blogs these days. and hey, i'm unemployed, so why not indulge myself for a moment? these are all things one certain person thought that everyone (except vegans, in some cases) should eat in one's lifetime. bold the items you're eaten. here we go! 1. Real macaroni and cheese, made from scratch and baked 2. Tabouleh 3. Freshly baked bread, straight from the oven (preferably with homemade strawberry jam) -probably not with jam, but otherwise, sure! 4. Fresh figs 5. Fresh pomegranate 6. Indian dal of any sort -oh no. i have no idea! i don't remember the names of things, and rarely eat Indian. 7. Imam bayildi 8. Pressed spiced Chinese tofu 9. Freshly made hummus 10. Tahini 11. Kimchi 12. Miso 13. Falafel 14. Potato and pea filled samosas 15. Homemade yogurt 16. Muhammara - come again? 17. Brie en croute 18. Spanikopita 19. Fresh, vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes 20. Insalata caprese 21. Stir-fried greens (gai lan, bok choi, pea shoots, kale, chard or collards) 22. Freshly made salsa 23. Freshly made guacamole 24. Creme brulee - weirdly, i don't think i've ever had a classic creme brulee. maybe a bite. 25. Fava beans 26. Chinese cold sesame peanut noodles 27. Fattoush 28. New potatoes 29. Coleslaw 30. Ratatouille 31. Baba ganoush 32. Winter squash 33. Roasted beets -yuck 34. Baked sweet potatoes - double yuck. man, i love summer food so much more than winter food. 35. Plantains 36. Chocolate truffles 37. Garlic mashed potatoes 38. Fresh water chestnuts - they don't grow in the cans? 39. Steel cut oats 40. Quinoa 41. Grilled portabello mushrooms 42. Chipotle en adobo 43. Stone ground whole grain cornmeal 44. Freshly made corn or wheat tortillas 45. Frittata 46. Basil pesto 47. Roasted garlic 48. Raita of any type 49. Mango lassi 50. Jasmine rice (white or brown) 51. Thai vegetarian coconut milk curry 52. Pumpkin in any form other than pie 53. Fresh apple pear or plum gallette 54. Quince in any form 55. Escarole, endive or arugula 56. Sprouts other than mung bean 57. Naturally brewed soy sauce 58. Dried shiitake mushrooms 59. Unusually colored vegetables (purple cauliflower, blue potatoes, chocolate bell peppers…) 60. Fresh peach ice cream 61. Chevre 62. Medjool dates 63. Kheer 64. Flourless chocolate cake -yes. oh yes. 65. Grilled corn on the cob 66. Black bean (or any other bean) vegetarian chili 67. Tempeh 68. Seitan or wheat gluten 69. Gorgonzola or any other blue veined cheese 70. Sweet potato fries 71. Homemade au gratin potatoes - not sure. mom, did you use a box? 72. Cream of asparagus soup 73. Artichoke-Parmesan dip 74. Mushroom risotto 75. Fermented black beans 76. Garlic scapes 77. Fresh new baby peas 78. Kalamata olives 79. Preserved lemons 80. Fried green tomatoes 81. Chinese scallion pancakes 82. Cheese souffle 83. Fried apples 84. Homemade frijoles refritos 85. Pasta fagiole 86. Macadamia nuts in any form 87. Paw paw in any form 88. Grilled cheese sandwich of any kind - since i lived off these when i was newly vegetarian and still partake often, 1000x yes. 89. Paneer cheese 90. Ma Po Tofu (vegetarian style–no pork!) 91. Fresh pasta in any form 92. Grilled leeks, scallions or ramps 93. Green papaya salad 94. Baked grain and vegetable stuffed tomatoes 95. Pickled ginger 96. Methi greens 97. Aloo paratha 98. Kedgeree (the original Indian version without the smoked fish, not the British version with fish) 99. Okra 100. Roasted brussels sprouts wow. i have some eating to do! be sure to leave a comment and a link if you've done your own 100 list. thanks to tiger & strawberries for this one. *Update: Excuse me! My mother has never made au gratin or scalloped potatoes from a box, and is mildly offended that I might think that she did. Sorry, mom!

ciabatt-eh.

eh. my loaf of ciabatta wasn't really worth much type. i have a few ideas up my sleeve about how to improve the next loaf, and have some experimenting to do with my bob's red mill yeast. and bigas in general. hmmph. at least it smelled good, and almost any homemade bread is worth eating.

i spent a lovely evening with my parents, niece, and nephew (and air conditioning) last night, and was sent home with a goody bag of slicer tomatoes, romas, and sweet 100's from the garden.

i roasted the roma and cherry tomatoes, immediately devoured the cherry tomatoes straight out of the oven, and saved the romas for dinner.

it wasn't a lot of work, but brian called it "a treat." a treat! it was - you don't get that pure, sweet, concentrated roma tomato flavor from a can or a jar.