Lovely Links {3.13.15}

Seven lovely links to take you into the weekend! Enjoy!

• From Momastery: Your body is not your masterpiece... your life is.

• Spring poked its nose into our neighborhood this week, and it's got me thinking about green and growing things! Here are some great activities and printables for gardening with kids. From Imagine Childhood.

• Some fun St. Patrick's Day printables and a Spotify playlist at Catholic All Year!

• Ana shares from her heart about how her kids are her road to sainthood, and I dissolve into a sobbing mess.

• Broccoli Parmesan Fritters! 

• I tend to fill up my life with noise, intentionally or not, and this post made me a leeeetle squirmy: On avoiding self-reflection, at The Art of Simple.

• I would like these lemon ricotta bars in my mouth RIGHT NOW PLEASE.

For more 7 Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain't The Lyceum.

7 Quick Takes: Rhubarb Roundup

Linking up with Jen this lovely Friday with my favorite favorite favorite things to do with rhubarb! Go forth into the kitchen while the rhubarb's still here!


A gorgeous shot of a sink full o' rhubarb from ksbuehler on Flickr.

1. Rhubarb Syrup! I just made a batch of this, and added a cup of fresh raspberries to the rhubarb while it cooked. Completely amazing. I see some raspberry-rhubarb gin and tonics in my future.



2. Honeyed Rhubarb Cobbler. Take it to a potluck!

3. Roasted rhubarb with white wine and vanilla bean. Perfect on ice cream or stirred into plain yogurt.

4. Overnight guests? Make them this Baked Rhubarb Oatmeal and they'll never want to leave.



5. Rhubarb Streusel Muffins. (Hey Dad! Bebop-a-rebop!)

6. Strawberry Rhubarb Crostata. When you're not in the mood to make a whole pie.

7. Rhubarb Cornmeal Upside-Down Cake.

I'll be back next week with one more rhubarb recipe for you! Have a fantastic weekend!

7 Quick Takes Friday!

I have one very important thing to share with you today, and several small, unimportant things. Read on. :-)

1. Rough Draft Farmstead Fundraiser

A couple of years ago, I worked for several months at Whole Foods in Lincoln Park, where I met Hannah (holding flowers in the photo above). That was around the time when I first started learning about honeybees (and how amazing they are), and Hannah fueled my interest! It was her dream to become a beekeeper someday. Shortly before I left, Hannah moved to Kentucky to work and live on Bugtussle Farm, where she met her husband Jesse. They decided to start their own farm last year, and have been chronicling their adventures on their blog. They had a hiccup and ended up having to start over, and right now they are trying to raise some money with which to build a little off-the-grid cabin. Please head to their site to learn more about them (they are very inspiring!), and most importantly, head to their fundraising page and make a small (or large!) donation to their building project! They have such a reasonable budget, and such honorable life goals - they are people worth supporting. Support them and spread the word to others who might also be interested! Thank you!

2. Pumpkin Spice on a Budget

 

Do you look forward to the coming of the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks? I love them. But at like $3.50 for a tall, that is not something I can do more than once or twice. Enter the new Pumpkin Spice VIA packets. I have not been a fan of the VIA packets in other situations, preferring my coffee to be brewed from freshly ground beans in a French press, but this is an exception. One of these packets + 8 ounces of hot milk = pumpkin spice latte at home. For a fraction of the price. And it's delicious! Put a little whipped cream on top, and a little nutmeg, and you are golden.

3. Um, my shoes don't fit.

I've heard this might be a permanent pregnancy-induced change. I am not a fan.

4. Just Add Spinach!

I posted this recipe for stuffed shells last September. Last night, I made it again, but with the addition of a small box of (extremely well-drained) frozen spinach to the cheese filling. It was delicious. I encourage you to try it - it really bumps up the nutritional profile of that meal.

5. HOMEMADE ICE CREAM... Coming SOON!

Photo from aplumbyanyothername.blogspot.com

Back when it was so hot that I could hardly move (and by that I mean the entire summer), I saw this recipe (and the photo above... so lovely) for black raspberry ice cream. I just happened to be setting up a baby registry at the time, and I thought... well, the baby would eat ice cream if I made it... And so I half-jokingly put the KitchenAid ice cream attachment, and this book that I've been drooling over for months, on the registry (that is one of the beautiful things about registering on Amazon). At the beginning of August, my sweet sister bought me... the cookbook. Which was great, except that now I had hot weather, awesome ice cream recipes... and no ice cream maker. This week, that all changed. Some dear friends of ours (who we got to see briefly over Labor Day weekend) sent us the ice cream maker! I could not care less that summer is over. We are going to have ice cream all winter. Flavors I can't wait to try: pumpkin, apple pie, and ginger, which I had in Maine last fall and haven't been able to find since. I. Am. So. Excited.

6. Smitten Kitchen Book Tour

Deb is coming to Chicago (well, the burbs at least) on Monday, November 19. The estimated due date for the baby is November 7. I can imagine myself going with a week-old baby, and I can imagine myself going if I'm still pregnant. I just hope I'm not in labor that day, ok? Ok, baby girl? Can we make a deal? I want to go have Deb sign my Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. Please arrange your travel plans accordingly. 

7. Make this salad, while the tomatoes are still at the farmers' market.

Trust me.

Have a great weekend, and go see Grace for more quick takes!

7 Quick Takes: Pregnancy Edition!

In case you didn't read yesterday's post carefully enough, that's right! I'm pregnant! And so today, 7 random things that I've wanted to say over the past few months, but haven't been able to lest I prematurely spill the beans! Go see Jen for more quick takes!

- 1 -

There is no sweeter sound to a pregnant lady's ears than to hear someone say, "You look great." No matter how excited I am to be sharing my body with this little person I'm growing, there are times when I just look in the mirror and can't muster a happy thought about what I look like. To hear someone else tell me I look nice really makes my day. (Side note: I don't know how people go back to wearing regular pants, after having worn maternity pants. I'm just saying.)

- 2 -

You can eat soft cheese all you WANT! I am really not good at following rules if I don't understand the reasoning behind them, and since there are some things you're supposed to avoid while pregnant (and I will not take your word for it), I decided to read the fine print. Fact: soft cheese is fine, as long as it's made with pasteurized milk. Do you know how hard it is to even find soft cheese that's made with raw milk? Almost impossible. So indulge in that bacon and bleu cheese burger, or the goat cheese salad, or crackers with Brie, or whatever it is that you're craving. It's perfectly safe. Sushi? Still no. Deli meat? Only if you heat it up to steaming beforehand. All of this is to avoid exposure to Listeria, a bacteria that is easily fought off by adult immune systems, but is a threat to a growing fetus.

- 3 -

Another thing you can have? Coffee. When I was so tired that I could barely make it through the morning without taking a nap under my desk, my morning coffee was an absolute life-saver. The last thing you need when you're more exhausted than you've ever been, and nauseated on top of that, is to have a caffeine-withdrawal migraine. Of course, if you drink coffee all day long, you should probably cut back. But a cup in the morning is perfectly fine and poses no risk to the baby.

- 4 -

It's possible that crackers will not be the best relief for morning sickness. In my first trimester, I had to eat about every 30 minutes to keep nausea at bay, but anything carby or sweet made me feel sicker. No crackers or bread or other things you think you should eat when you're nauseated. Nope, this baby of mine wanted scrambled eggs, cheese, and chicken. Weird, I know. As soon as the constant queasiness went away (Hallelujah!), I started balancing my diet back out again. Lots of fruit, veggies, whole milk dairy (I'm planning to dedicate a whole post to why later), and fatty fish, like salmon. And tons and tons of water.

- 5 -

Prenatal yoga is amazing. I went to my first class last week, and plan to try to take a class once a week until the baby comes. I took one regular yoga class a few weeks ago, and there were a fair number of poses I couldn't comfortably do, so I enjoy a class that's geared toward pregnant women. It also helps keep me in a calm mental space, so that when people start bombarding me with their well-meaning advice and compulsive labor and delivery war stories, I can just let it roll right off.

- 6 -

The book Baby Bargains is a great resource to help you wade through all the many, many brands and styles and types of things people will tell you you absolutely must have in order to safely and adequately raise your baby. It's part guidance from a close friend who's been where you're going, part deluxe all-inclusive Consumer Reports. A huge help as we were starting to put together our registry.

- 7 -

Here's what I looked like at 17 weeks :)

7 Quick Takes: Ode to my iPhone

Happy happy Friday! This week, I finally traded in my crappy, falling-apart Palm Pixi for a shiny new iPhone 4. I've been playing with it almost nonstop since I got it, so my quick takes this week are going to be iPhone-centered. What are your favorite iPhone apps? I'm all ears!

1. RIP Palm Pixi.

Please tell me you can see why I thought this would be a good way to transition into smartphone-land. I mean, it's cute and tiny (which I liked), has a keyboard (since I was worried I would hate touch-screen typing), and has that little touch screen. If it had performed as promised, it would have been fabulous! ALAS. There's a rubbery layer on the back that just peels off after about 6 months of use. The battery life was atrocious. And about 5 months ago, the button on the side that controls the ringer broke, so I haven't been able to hear call or text alerts since January. Unacceptable. The iPhone is better than my other phone in basic ways: it makes a sound when I have an incoming call. Wow.

2. Pandora!



Wednesday after work, the sun was shining, and it was warm for the first time in weeks! I decided to take my Vibram FiveFingers (which I got on sale a couple months ago) and my Nickel Creek Pandora station for a little spin around the neighborhood. The combination may well change my life. The way I run (even though, let's be honest, I was mostly walking) in the barefoot shoes is completely different, and feels like the way you used to run around when you were a kid playing tag. It didn't feel like jogging (which might as well be called slogging) - it felt like play!

3. Twitter + Instagram!

I started using Twitter on my computer a while ago, but now that I'm using it on my phone, I feel like I'm getting more out of it. I'm able to scroll through and interact a little at a time, which makes it more fun! If you're on Twitter, follow me @elizaraxi.



Instagram was one of the apps I was most excited to start using. See a beautiful thing during your day? Share it. It's a lot of fun, and reminds me to stay present to all the lovely things I see (and delicious things I eat!) in the course of my daily life. If you use Instagram, follow me @elizaraxi there too!

4. I know, I know.



Maybe this is lame, and maybe it's a waste of time. But Angry Birds is pretty dang fun, and my husband and I have been fighting over who gets to play when he gets home from work. Judge away.

5. Redfin + Mint + other apps for grown ups.

Redfin allows you to search for and track real estate listings. It has a great map feature, which is great if you're out and about and want to see if there are open houses happening nearby. Mint keeps track of all your financial accounts in one place. What apps do you use to keep track of your life?

6. Prayer on the go.

The iBreviary app lets me pray in the rhythm of the Church wherever I am. I open it up, and I instantly have the Liturgy of the Hours (prayers for different times of the day that are prayed by religious communities worldwide), daily readings, and lots of common Catholic prayers at my fingertips. I did morning prayer on the train this morning! Super convenient.

7. Quick and easy food sharing!



Sometimes great things happen when you look in your fridge and get creative with what's in there. This was basically my thought process:

I'm starving. Hmmm... I kinda want a burrito. I really don't want to leave the house again, and I don't want to spend any money. I don't have any chicken defrosted. What do I have? A few flour tortillas and a giant bag of broccoli from Costco. I wonder if I could turn that into tacos? Broccoli cheddar tacos? People make broccoli cheddar soups and casseroles! I bet it could be tacos...  Oh! Oh! Let's make them Asian flavored.

And BOOM. One of my new favorite quick dinners was born.

Asian Broccoli Cheddar Tacos

about 2 cups broccoli florets
1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sriracha (or more to taste)
a couple dashes toasted sesame oil
2 fajita-sized flour tortillas
grated sharp cheddar

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and add the broccoli. Toss for a minute or two, and then add a couple splashes of water to help steam the broccoli. Season with the soy sauce, sriracha, and sesame oil, and continue to cook until the broccoli is bright green with some crispy brown areas on the edges. Place the flour tortillas over a medium flame, flipping every 5-10 seconds, until hot and blistered. Fill each tortilla with half the broccoli, and top with the cheese.

Have a great weekend, and go see Jen for more quick takes!

7 Quick Takes Friday!

A random smattering of delicious or delightful things that have been in my life lately!

(Visit Jen for more quick takes!)

1. Lemon-Raspberry Cupcakes with fondant buttons!



Becky brought these adorable and delicious treats to Meg the Grand's second sewing class! I may or may not have gotten frosting on my sampler. I am proud to say that under Meg's tutelage, I now know how to sew two-hole, four-hole, and shank buttons, how to make a covered button, how to attach snaps, and how to sew hems using a slipstitch and a catch stitch. I feel very accomplished, and I have already used my new skills to repair some items that were waiting patiently in the closet. Sewing = useful life skill. Fact.

2. Vanishing of the Bees + Bee Treats!



Last Saturday night, we walked over to the Logan Square Kitchen to watch the Vanishing of the Bees, a fabulous documentary chronicling the hazards of modern beekeeping, narrated by Ellen Page. The event benefited the Chicago Honey Co-op, and there were some amazing treats! I had that incredible-looking piece of honey candy, and the Guy had a bee cookie. The movie is available on Netflix Instant, and I highly recommend it.

3. Excuse me... where are the quinoa flakes?



I love it when a recipe calls for something I've never heard of! It's so exciting! Where will I buy this mystery item? What will it look like? How will it taste? What will it act like in recipes? I love it. This week, I got sunflower seed butter, sucanat, and quinoa flakes for this recipe, curry for a lentil soup recipe I've had in the hopper for a while, and pickling spice for homemade corned beef. Also chia seeds! I've been reading this great book about ultrarunning, Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It is completely fascinating. The author had experienced nothing but injury and pain in his experience of running until he discovered a hidden Mexican tribe called the Tarahumara. They live in the Copper Canyons, and are some of the world's greatest and most joyful runners; they run hundreds of miles at once, practically barefoot, just for fun! But back to my point: their idea of an energy drink is called chia fresca, which is just chia seeds soaked in water or fruit juice. The seeds are full of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids, protein, fiber, B vitamins, and essential minerals. I'm excited to try it!

4. Sushi and a mojito are a totally appropriate work lunch.





Chicago Restaurant Week was a blast this year. There's only so much decadent eating out that you can cram into one week, especially when that week corresponds with two fast days at the beginning of Lent, but I did my best. Some girls from my office went to SushiSambaRio on Fat Tuesday for their $22 3-course prix fixe. The last time I was there was for my bachelorette party, and this was quite a different story. We were almost the only people there! The food was delicious. Gyoza, a sushi plate (including a spicy shrimp roll which was to die for, and an unusual but tasty piece of kobe beef sushi), apple crisp and mochi. Saturday night I had a lady date with a friend at the Bristol, a local seasonal gastropub with a knockout menu. Unbelievable.

5. Bridgeport Coffeeshop





I'm a big fan of Bridgeport Coffee, as I've said before, and I was recently able to make it down to their coffeeshop, where I was greeted by skilled, knowledgeable, and friendly baristas, a warm neighborhood vibe, and a pitch-perfect latte. I'll be back.

6. Boys and girls have different ideas about tea party fare.



Tea and cake for me, giant pile of tater tots for him. Married bliss.

7. Spring has sprung!



This doesn't mean we're totally out of the woods, but these little sprouts are such a happy, hopeful sight!

Have a fabulous weekend!

7 Quick Takes: Meatless Meal Ideas

It's the second Friday in Lent, and people all across the country are pulling into the drive-thru at McDonald's for a Filet-o-Fish, packing up the kids for a fish fry in the church basement, and dusting off their trusty tuna noodle casserole recipes. Today, I would like to share some ideas to get you out of your fishy Lenten rut! Enjoy!

1. ...But we like fish!

Photo from YumSugar

I totally understand! Fish is delish! But there are more interesting (not to mention healthier and more sustainable) ways to enjoy this tradish (oh no, somebody stop me) Friday option. Before I go all crazy and suggest things like lobster and king crab, let's remember that we are abstaining from meat for a day for purposes of penance and self-denial, not as an excuse for a different type of feast. So here are some non-feasting, non-tuna-noodle options: salmon with sweet chili glaze, lemony white bean, tuna, and celery salad, sardine sandwich with horseradish cream, or smoked salmon pizza with red onion and capers.

2. Pasta

Photo from Eat, Live, Run

Tired of spaghetti and marinara? Try wintry pasta al forno, stunning stuffed shells, gnocchi with goat cheese, grape tomatoes and basil, or broccoli-basil mac and cheese.

3. Go vegan for a day!

Photo from The Shiksa in the Kitchen

Since we're not eating meat, why not just go all the way and not eat anything animal-based? Try a deconstructed avocado roll; all the sushi flavor, none of the raw fish. These wintry tofu spring rolls look amazing. Roasted kale and coconut salad over brown rice or farro is totally craveable. Never made your own falafel? There's no time like the present. How about this for easy: Italian white beans with Meyer lemon and tarragon piled on top of toasted crusty French bread. Now we're talking!

4. Wait... that's not meat?

Photo from Peas and Thank You

Peas and Thank You is an awesome blog (and cookbook!) for meatless cooking. And also for real-life stories of motherhood that often make me laugh out loud. Some of Sarah's popular, can't-believe-it's-not-meat recipes: Tempeh Spaghetti, Curried Sweet Tater Tot Casserole, Seitan Fajitas, Tamale Pie.

5. Breakfast for dinner

Like we needed an excuse. Scrambled eggs with caramelized mushroom and onion biscuits. Waffles with maple-cinnamon poached pears (no bacon!). Chiles rellenos breakfast burritos!

6. Soup it up.

Roasted tomato and white bean soup with grilled white-cheddar sandwiches. Green lentil soup with curried brown butter. Borscht. Winter squash soup (make it with vegetable broth) with gruyere croutons.

7. Tradish (sorry).

My girl Sarah's got you covered with a great tuna-noodle casserole recipe, as well as one for chipotle bean burritos and caesar salmon wraps. YUM!

Visit Jen for more quick takes. And have a fantastic weekend!

Seven Quick Takes: Valentine's Day Edition

There is so much adorable pink stuff floating around the internet this week! I thought I'd use today's post to round up a few of my V-day favorites in a linky list for you, in seven categories! (Visit Hallie for many, many more quick takes.)

1. Treats:
- Hot pink glazed doughnuts? Yes please.
- Lavender buttermilk pancakes (use heart-shaped molds for an adorable V-day breakfast)
- Chocolate covered rice krispie hearts
- Want to make someone fall in love with you? Make them this chocolate cake.
- Heart-glazed cornmeal cookies.

2. Romantic Dinners:
- Roast chicken with (magic) dijon sauce.
- Crab cakes!
- Baked pasta: do-ahead = more time for romance.
- Braised short ribs and parsnip latkes.

3. Libations:
- Nothing says "I love you" like oranges and bourbon.
- ...except maybe blood oranges and gin.
- Special juice, perfect for brunch.

4. Gifts:
- Loving the new album by Audrey Assad. Also loving her dress in this video!
- Adorable custom journals from Minted. I won one from Tracy (thanks!), and am still thinking about which one I want - there are so many great ones!
- Joy the Baker cookbook! Available for pre-order (it comes out on Feb. 28).
- A new book by your favorite Catholic women writers, which comes out on March 2.
- How about a donation to a great cause?
- This deal has actually ended, but would be easy to recreate for an intimate at-home wine tasting.
- Some people might be excited that he went to Jared, but I'd rather he went to Etsy.

5. Fun stuff happening this weekend:
- Logan Square Pastry Market, if you're not into baking your own (or even if you are).
- Dose Market, this Sunday: food, fashion, and an incredibly beautiful venue. Win.
- Traverse City Microbrew and Music Festival. Sad that I can't go!

6. I would love to make some of these.

7. Romance on another level.

I'm not entirely faithful in my daily prayer and devotions, but recently a friend shared something that she had heard, and it really stuck: ingesting Scripture daily is as important as ingesting food. I've felt the ripples of that thought radiating through my life this week, and morning prayer today (for the feast of St. Scholastica) is full of the imagery of God as a lover. Reading this scripture, I felt comforted and loved and filled with hope, and I'd like to share it with you, too.

My lover speaks; he says to me,

"Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,

and come!

For see, the winter is past,

the rains are over and gone.

The flowers appear on the earth,

the time of pruning the vines has come,

and the song of the dove is heard in our land.

Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,

and come!

O my dove in the clefts of the rock,

in the secret recesses of the cliff,

Let me see you,

let me hear your voice,

For your voice is sweet,

and you are lovely."

-Song of Songs 2:10-14

7 Quick Takes: Dear Santa...

What's on your Christmas wish list this year?  A fancy electronic doo-dad?  A designer handbag?  Before the whole month of December sweeps by in a giant wave of parties and wrapping paper and baked goods, I wanted to give you some great gift ideas for your foodie friends, no matter what your budget!  Click on the pictures to be redirected to Amazon.com to view details and order these items!

1.

An enameled cast-iron Dutch oven is a perfect gift, especially as we are entering into stew and braise season.  These pots are equally at home on the stove, in the oven, and on a holiday table.  Le Creuset is the most popular and well-known brand, and they come in beautiful colors, but it comes with a designer price tag.  I use a 5.5-quart Martha Stewart Collection pot that I got as a wedding present more than three years ago, and I absolutely love it.  I looked around online, and apparently they've stopped making that particular one, but as long as the pot is enameled cast iron, I'd say go for a deal.  The 5.5-quart size is a great all-purpose soup-stew-braising-baking pot, and I use mine all the time.  It heats really evenly, so you can get a perfect sear on meats without scorching.  I've even used it to make pudding.  Check at your local TJ Maxx, Marshall's, or HomeGoods to find discounts on the Le Creuset brand.

2.

Oh Kitchen Aid, oh Kitchen Aid, how lovely are your features...  This thing is amazing.  It kneads dough, whips cream and egg whites (meringue, how I love thee), and creams butter in the flashiest of flashes.  If you already have a Kitchen Aid, I've heard great things about the ice cream maker attachment.  (I have heard equally lackluster things about the pasta machine attachment, but to be fair, I have never tried either one.)

                                       3.                                                  4.

A couple of different thermometers for you to consider.  On the left is a simple one that hangs from one of the shelves in your oven, and tells you the actual temperature inside!  The temperature gauge on an oven can have a 10- to 15-degree swing, and do you really want to risk that when you're baking?  I didn't think so.  The little one on the right is great for roasting meats - stick the probe in, set the digital part on the counter, and close the door.  No more opening the door and letting all the heat escape while you poke the meat (and release the juices!).  You can even set an alarm that goes off when the inside of the meat reaches the desired temperature.  Done and done.

5.

A Microplane grater/zester.  I finally bought myself one, and used it for the first time last night.  Oh. My. Gosh. I can't tell you how many times I have accidentally grated my knuckles while trying to zest a lemon or grate some fresh ginger.  If only I had known sooner that for ten measly dollars, my fingers could be saved... This thing is a miracle.  Get it.

6.

Tongs!  Another amazingly useful tool.  Before I had these, I didn't know I needed them.  Now, I find myself reaching for them all the time.  My favorite use for them: tossing hot pasta in a homemade sauce.

7.

This past weekend, I was rolling out the dough to make the butter horns (our homemade crescent rolls), and I was getting flour all over my black shirt (BLACK?!  What was I thinking?).  And then I remembered that old-timey stroke of genius, that item of clothing that has been worn by generations of women, but somehow forgotten by ours, THE APRON.  I have one, but I don't wear it, because it's indecent.  It's me as Venus.  It's...  funny and scandalous.  So it's basically like I don't have one.  But!  I want one and I love the ones they have at Anthropologie.  They're are whimsical and sweet.

Visit Jen for more quick takes!  Have a great weekend, friends!

7 Quick Takes: Things to Eat in New England!

It's been a hectic week around here!  No time for posting!  I'm seriously sad about that, but in lieu of several long, self-indulgent posts about all of the things we ate on vacation, I will translate them into seven little quick takes!

1.

Cannoli!  Mike's Pastry in the North End of Boston has about a million flavors - I decided to try espresso and pistachio ones.  They were fantastic!  I ate a giant dish of linguine alle vongole (omg yum) before we went for cannoli, so I wasn't able to eat them all, but leftover cannoli?  Unbelievable breakfast.  I ate them out on our little balcony overlooking these old brownstones, and writing in my journal.

2.

Dim sum at Myers + Chang.  These are kimchee pancakes.  We also had short rib and pork bao, pork dumplings, noodles with spicy peanut sauce, and  miso-glazed carrots, which I will be recreating for Thanksgiving.  So delicious.  And a great Sunday lunch in the middle of a long day of riding bikes around Boston! 

3.

ICE CREAM!  Maybe it's because famous-for-dairy Vermont is next door, or maybe it's because we were on vacation, but this was some of the best ice cream either of us is ever had.  J.P. Licks.  Believe.

4.

Oysters!  I've been wanting to eat oysters ever since I read Hemingway's A Moveable Feast a couple of years ago, but wanted to wait until I was sure to have a good experience before I did.  I finally took the plunge last week, and I'm both glad I tried them and glad I waited.  Atlantic Fish Co.  in Boston was the perfect place to eat such an amazing food for the first time.  More to come about oysters later, but for now, this is one of the loveliest pieces of food writing ever crafted:

"As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans."  (from A Moveable Feast)

5.

Clam chowder.  I ate it a couple of times, but the most fun chowda stop was this roadside diner in New Hampshire.  The sign outside said, "Come hungry, LEAF happy."  BAHAHAHA!  Gotta love puns.

6.

A lobster roll.  At a lobster shack.  By a lighthouse.  In a place called Cape Elizabeth (in Maine).  On a blustery, rainy, cold North Atlantic day.  Fabulous.

7.

Spit-roasted rabbit at Fore Street in Portland, Maine.  Another first for me.  Actually tastes like chicken, but it's just leaner and more muscley.  It was served with a lentil/cranberry/ginger sauce that made me crazy (and felt like more Thanksgiving dinner inspiration...).  Fore Street is a really cool restaurant, too - the open kitchen is in the center of the restaurant, so you can see the action.  Everything was fresh and seasonal and local and delicious.  So fun.

Have a great weekend!  Hopefully next week will be a little calmer and I'll be posting more often!

Visit Jen for more quick takes.

Seven Quick Takes: Why Eating Local Matters

Happy Friday!  I am more than halfway through the 2-week Locavore Challenge, and having a blast!  After-work commitments and activities are starting up again in my life (happy fall!), which makes dinner a little trickier, but I'm making it work.  This weekend is going to be a big one in terms of food-related activities, including the Slow Food $5 Challenge tomorrow.  We're having a few friends over for dinner to show that great food doesn't have to break the bank.  We'll also be volunteering early tomorrow morning at the Slow Food Chicago booth at the Green City Market - stop by and say hi between 8 and 10:30!

This week, I wanted to utilize my quick takes to talk about reasons why eating local is important to me, and should be important to you.  This is not an exhaustive list, but I hope it touches on the basics: local food is more nutritious, pleasurable and ethical.  Let me explain...

1.

Local food tends to be more nutritious than conventionally grown supermarket produce.  Most of the varieties of produce found in supermarkets have been chosen for specific genetic traits: they grow to maturity quickly, bear lots of fruit, and can withstand the sometimes global journey to the supermarket.  Farmers that plan to market to a local customer base can select varieties for reasons like superior taste and nutrition, rather than durability.  They also tend to use farming practices that maintain the micronutrient content in the soil, which translates into more nutritious produce as well.  The produce you buy at the farmers' market has usually been harvested within 24 hours before purchase, whereas supermarket produce might take a week or more to get from the farm to your grocery cart.  All of that time (and any additional processing - even slicing!) contributes to nutrient loss as well.

2.

Another thing about travel: it doesn't just cost nutrients, it costs precious fuel!  Think of the difference in the amount of energy consumed and pollution created!  When you buy local, your carbon footprint is drastically reduced.

3.

Image from gossipinthegarden.com

Like I said in #1, smaller farms tend to use better farming practices.  While commercial farms use petroleum-based fertilizers and chemical pesticides to grow giant fields of monoculture crops (and contaminate nearby water sources), smaller farms use methods that improve the soil; fertilizing with composted manure, planting cover crops, and planting a variety of different plants.  These methods also improve the nutritional profile of plants grown in this soil.

4.

Buying locally grown food supports the local economy and provides a better income for farmers!  Farmers take home about 90 cents of every dollar spent at the local farmers' market.  Of every dollar spent at a grocery store, the farmer only sees about 21 cents.  Think about this: without farmers, where would we be?  They should be duly compensated.

5.

Local food tastes better.  It's fresher, and it tastes better.

6.

Cooking with local food is more fun!  If you're going to eat locally, that means you're also going to be eating seasonally.  I find this to be an infinitely exciting prospect.  Variety is so important in food; it helps you to get a full range of nutrition, and keeps you from getting bored!  And the anticipation of seasonal things like rhubarb, peas, strawberries, tomatoes, and peaches makes eating them in season so delightful.  There are also more varieties available locally - when farmers aren't concerned with supermarket demand for uniformity, they can grow unique heirloom varieties and educate us about them!

7.

Image from Roland Bello

Eating locally brings people closer together.  In an age when people are constantly distanced from each other through various forms of social media, local food brings us together in a very basic way.  It brings us close to the very people who woke up before dawn and assumed great risk and worked hard in order to grow our food, allows us to see their faces, gives us an opportunity to talk with them, smile at them, and thank them.  It brings us together in our kitchens and at our tables as we prepare and eat food, connect with each other, and rejoice in the amazing gift that good food is.

Fact sources: 

http://chge.med.harvard.edu/programs/food/nutrition.html
http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2010/04/green-kitchen-why-eat-local.html

Seven Quick Takes: Meals to Spoil Your Man

As you know already, this week was the Coppertop Guy's birthday, and I just wanted to do a quick re-cap of the amazing meals we ate!  I had some pretty intense bouts of heartburn, and I feel like I need a fruit-and-vegetable cleanse for a few days, but it was a lot of fun to show my hubby how loved he is by making his favorite foods!  Thanks for coming along!  Have a safe Labor Day weekend, and head over to Jen's for more Quick Takes!

1.

Grilled Steaks, Cheesy Mashed Potatoes and Green Beans

2.

Steak 'n' Bacon Tacos

3.

Double Chocolate Muffins

4.

"Yankee" Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

5.

Lemony Stuffed Shells

6.

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

7.

BBQ Pork Pizza

Spread BBQ sauce over a basic pizza crust, and top with red peppers, leftover pulled pork, cheddar and mozzarella cheese, and bacon.  Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes until bubbly.