Sharp knives

a knife and an onion. 

I got a new knife.  Everything is different now. 

Buying Club 2012 - The Goods - Week 17 and CSA News!

It's February, so it's time to start thinking about how I'll be getting my groceries in the summer.  Summer seems so close, especially with the warm weather.  We've actually picked a CSA! I'll get to that in a minute. 

Totally Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

I'm not posting step-by-step photos on chicken soup.  It's a classic, and I think mine probably looks like the same one you'd find in that old cookbook you inherited or picked up at the thrift store, with a couple of tweaks.  It's chicken soup.  I don't need to tell you it's good. 


Chicken soup is actually not among my top 12 favorite soups, but it's one that comes in handy sometimes.


Here's what I did (it's a two-day process). 

Hot Tip: Fluffy Pizza

I really like the pizza I make at home.  We're pizza people, and having it available on-demand without delivery is fantastic.   I make big batches of dough in advance and divide them into pizza-sized baggies and then there's almost always dough around. 

Parsnip Fritters with Indian Spices

The parsnip is underrated.  I don't give it much attention, and then we're in mid-winter and I'm tired of squash and there's not a lot else going on, and then, there it is, the parsnip.  It's a stand-in for potatoes.  It's perfect roasted.  It's fragrant and slightly peppery but still mild and almost creamy.  

Buying Club 2012 - The Goods - Week 16

I think we're finally really in the groove of this thing, after nearly four months.  I mean that in the beginning, I'd get all excited and tell you about my super-short grocery list following the buying club pickup.  But in reality, when it came down to it, we'd get an idea in our heads and own none of the ingredients and go out to the store and get a whole menu of food we didn't already own, and then pick up more just-in-case stuff and it seemed like I was spending as much time/money at Whole Foods as I used to, but also doing the buying club.  

Strawberry Balsamic Salad Dressing

This is the only salad dressing I make (so far) that I actually cook at all, but it's totally worth it.  It's just five ingredients, and yes, I'm using frozen berries, but you can use fresh when it's fresh berry time.  I'm clearly missing the sweet goodness of summer. 

You can use raspberries too.  Of course, you can do whatever you want, it's your salad. 

Back to the Start - That Chipotle Ad about Factory Farming

I didn't watch the Grammys, for several reasons.  The primary reason is that I've never watched the Grammys, and the next one I can think of is that I was very busy watching a goofy soap opera on PBS.


But I heard a little bit about them.  Well, mostly that the kids today don't know who Paul McCartney is, and of course, about the Chipotle ad that aired.

Amazing Local Ice Cream

Just a note, I don't have any pictures of ice cream.   But it just wouldn't be right to pretend it didn't happen. 

ok, I tried to take a shot of the whole table and really just ended up with a photo of a bowl of cilantro.  

My friends made this awesome dinner the other night.   Chili and cornbread, perfect for snow.  And like fools, they asked me to bring dessert.  Ya'll know I don't make dessert. 

Buying Club 2012 - The Goods - Week 15

A good week for the buying club.  Nothing super-exciting, but I got plans. 

Milk, eggs, that amazing yogurt, awesome cheese and some experimental baked tofu.

Flour.  I'm going to fill my freezer with pizza dough. 

Salad and onions. 

Vaguely Italian Couscous with Artichokes and Dried Tomatoes

It's weird how little I talk about couscous.  Couscous means quick, easy, vegetarian dinner here.  So we were having one of those nights where you sit on the couch and go back and forth with, "I don't know, what do you want to eat?" And I listed off ingredients we had handy and Sous Chef Brian was like, "Couscous!  With artichokes! And spinach!"  All irritatingly enthusiastic, and I was like, "Ok, with sundried tomatoes?" And he was like, "Yeah!" All irritatingly enthusiastic.   And ten minutes later, we had dinner.  Couscous is what we do around here when we're dangerously close to saying, "There's nothing to eat."  Are there veg in the freezer?  Is there couscous?  There's dinner. 

Checking in

Hey there.  How are you?  You're awesome, aren't you?  Thought so.

No exciting recipes right now, but here's what I've been up to.  (Food-wise, that is... I do other things too.)

Buying Club 2012 - The Goods - Week 14

I think I forgot to order food.  I'm not quite sure what happened.