Homemade Marshmallows

After hearing on NPR just how easy it is to make homemade marshmallows, I decided to give it a go. I went with one of Alton Brown's recipes on FoodNetwork, but most recipes are about the same - heat up some sugar and corn syrup to 240-300 degrees, add to gelatin and water along with some flavorings (salt, vanilla extract...) and beat in a stand mixer until the whole thing turns white and puffy. Then pour the entire thing onto a silpat or sprayed non stick pan and let it cool for a few hours. The marshmallows can be easily cut into squares with a pizza cutter then rolled in powdered sugar. The result?

Delicious. Fresh. Marshmallows.

They taste just like regular marshmallows, but maybe a little creamier. In any case, I'd call this recipe an easy win - great in hot chocolate or for making s'mores. Imagine if you made your own graham crackers and THEN made s'mores...amazing...

~flutterbyblue

The Muppets!

Food Stamp Challenge

In total, I managed to follow the Food Stamp Challenge rules about 2/7 days. Not the greatest track record. It's hard when you work long hours and don't have extra money for snacks. It's also hard to stay on track when working at a job where they all but throw free food in your face. Even so, the exercise was an interesting one. On $31/week one can either eat very unhealthily (ramen every meal) or spend all of your time planning ahead with a slow cooker (rice and beans every meal). In order to have a well-balanced diet it helps to have more than one family member to pool resources (allows the flexibility to buy fresh fruits or vegetables).

At the very least, I have a better appreciation for just how well I can eat. I love being able to walk downstairs to the cafeteria in order to buy a bag of swedish fish or a latte now and then. I love going out to dinners with friends and family and not having to worry (too much) about my budget. Most of the world does not eat the kind of variety of foods we enjoy in the U.S. As someone who likes to eat something different every meal, I'm definitely spoiled when it comes to food.

And now, about that latte...

~f

Food Stamp Challenge: Day 3

So I'm going to go ahead and say that today's attempt at adhering to the Food Stamp Challenge rules was a total bust. We met family at the Tabard Inn in Dupont circle for brunch. The Tabard Inn, by the way, is a fantastic place - adorable, in an old-fashioned-slightly-off-kilter kind of way. The food is fantastic (the homemade donuts are killer).

Day 3:
Brunch - Basket of baked goods (muffins, banana bread etc...) Poached eggs, fried oysters, cheese grits, pork belly confit. Lots of hot coffee.

Lunch - Grilled cheese sandwich.

Dinner - Tomato and butternut squash sauce with poached egg on spaghetti.

Dessert - TBD.

So far my batting average isn't that great. We'll see how things go tomorrow...

Cheers,
flutterbyblue

Food Stamp Challenge: Day 2

Today was tough. There were pastries at a morning seminar, munchkins in the break room, and cookies at a going away party. I'll admit, I had a scone during the seminar (they were homemade...) Otherwise, I stuck to the plan.

Day 2:
Breakfast - Oatmeal with milk and brown sugar, spiced with cinnamon and ginger. Hot tea.

Lunch - PB&J (all store brand items).

Snack - banana and second PB&J.

Dinner - Tomato sauce with poached egg on spaghetti.

Dessert - Bananas foster on yogurt.

I have to say, the pasta dish was particularly good...

Food Stamp Challenge: Day 1

This week, my husband and I agreed to enroll in the Food Stamp Challenge:

The SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge gives participants a view of what life can be like for millions of low-income Americans. Most participants take the Challenge for one week, living on about $4 per day worth of food – the average food stamp benefit. Challenge participants are forced to make difficult food shopping choices, and often realize how difficult it is to avoid hunger, afford nutritious foods, and stay healthy.

We started our week with a shopping trip and $30 each. Our goal was to stay within the rules (~$1.50/meal) while still eating healthy.

Day 1:
Breakfast - Oatmeal with milk and brown sugar. Hot tea (Lipton was cheapest).

Lunch - PB&J (all store brand items).

Snack - banana and second PB&J. Hot tea (I brought a thermos of the stuff to work).

Dinner - Lentil soup (blended with sweet potato and a little apple).

In the end, my first day of the Food Stamp Challenge was a fail. I succumbed to a bacon wrapped date stuffed with blue cheese at a reception event (the rules specifically say no free food at receptions!) Ah well. Tomorrow is another day (of oatmeal and PB&J).

Wish me luck!

~flutterbyblue

Baked and Wired

Having just moved house, my first order of business was to stake out some good espresso. After two years of Java House glory I wasn't sure that DC coffee shops would be up to snuff. Fortunately for me, a fantastic shop can be found right in Georgetown.

Baked and Wired is pure delectable heaven. Walk into this hippie/hipster style coffee/bake shop and look to your left - gorgeous baked goods abound - from enormous and creatively flavored cupcakes (I had the "Tessita", a vanilla cake with dulce de leche filling and chocolate hazelnut satin icing) to an impressive assortment of bars and hand pies (the Bee Sting is a perfectly crisp shortbread topped with just the right amount of honey caramel and sliced almonds). As if that weren't enough, look to your right and you'll find a fully equipped coffee and espresso bar. Baked and Wired takes coffee seriously, sourcing their beans via Direct Trade from Stumptown Coffee Roasters and Intelligentsia Coffee. Their organic milk comes from Trickling Springs Creamery in Chambersburg, PA. I love a place that tells me exactly where they source their food, don't you?

I ordered an iced latte to go with my pastry treats - it was fantastic. The true test, of course, will be the quality of their cappuccino. Is it up to Java House standards? I'll just have to go back again to find out.

Until next time,
~flutterbyblue

Baked and Wired
1052 Thomas Jefferson Street NW
Washington, DC 20007

Image from yelp.com.

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap

As strange as it may sound, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap really is, well, magical.

Supposedly, one can use this liquid Castille soap for anything - from everyday body and hair washing to heavy-duty household cleaning. You can even (so they claim) use it as laundry detergent (1/4-1/3 cup per regular load plus a dash of baking soda).

Interestingly, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps is embarking on an "edutainment" tour, which includes (but not limited to), a giant bathtub, a fire truck, and of course, their famous fair trade organic soap. David Bronner, Brand President calls it an "interblastive Foam Experience."

What's with the firetruck?

Well, according to David Bronner,

My grandfather Emanuel Bronner created the liquid soap that people love today, but what is less well-known, is that my father, Jim Bronner, invented the leading Class-A firefighting foam used by firefighters in structure and forest fires across the country. The ALL-ONE Ark Interblastive Foam Experience brings together my grandfather and father's visions and allows us to share the joy of foam with thousands of people.

Foam Tour participants will have an opportunity to be blasted by soapy foam as part of an ecologically friendly spa experience.

If only I lived on the West Coast.

My curiosity peaked, I headed to the nearest co-op to find some of this magical miracle soap to test out for myself.

Thus far, I would have to say that Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap is pretty awesome.

It works great as a body wash and did well as a shampoo (only requiring a few drops for either task). I tried a load of laundry using 1/4 cups of Dr. Bronner's plus a dash of baking soda (as suggested) - works great and smells minty clean. Some have recommended Dr. Bronner's as a toothpaste as well. Being the brave soul that I am, I spotted a few drops on my toothbrush and gave it a go.

Bleh.

I'll admit, it does the job - cleans the teeth and smells like mint. Tastes like...well, soap. I ended up gargling with Listerine post brushing just to get that awful soapy taste off my tongue.

I have yet to try Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap as a general household cleaner, but I suspect it will work just fine. The drawback to this magical miracle soap is that it's on the expensive side. Probably if one were really devoted, a $50 gallon bottle would be the way to go. Any of the cleaning options (except for the laundry) requires a minimal amount of Dr. Bronner's, so a little goes a long way.

Something to consider perhaps after we move cross-country...?

Happy scrubbing!

Cheers,
~flutterbyblue

Summer Goals

For some reason, despite being relatively conscientious about composting and recycling, I have always had plastic bags in the house. We bring our own grocery bags to the store, but still use those thin plastic bags for produce and bulk foods. Not to mention the fact that when we go shopping for non-grocery items, we often end up carrying home a plastic or paper bag along with our purchase.

Inspired by Bea's Zero Waste blog, I've decided to make two summer goals:

1) Stop using plastic bags
2) Stop using paper towels

According to Citizens Campaigns,

Every hour, approximately 200,000 plastic bags are landfilled and may take 1,000 years to break down. For the plastic bags that become litter, rain washes them into bodies of water where they threaten the lives of avian and marine species that can die from consuming or choking on the bags. Plastic pollution travels through our local waterways, eventually reaching the global oceans. On average, 46,000 pieces of plastic are swirling in each square mile of our oceans.

Like water bottles, plastic bags harm the environment and are easily replaced by reusable alternatives. Seeing as we already have enough cloth grocery bags to last us through the next several years, I've now turned to produce bag alternatives. On the Zero Waste blog, Bea suggests Flip and Tumble reusable produce bags and organic cotton muslim bags. The produce bags are light so if the cashier forgets to tare the bag it's not a huge loss. The muslim bags are perfect for bulk dry goods (pasta, rice, nuts etc...), which we buy anyhow. These come with the tare weight written on a sewn in tag, which can easily be subtracted at checkout.

Paper towels have always been a hard thing for me to let go. I don't like using old rags on my countertops, but I clean so frequently that using paper towels each time is wasteful. My goal is to start using microfiber cloths that are machine washable. Eventually I'll be able to eliminate most purchased household cleaners as well (there are effective homemade cleaners that are cheaper and less toxic).

We'll see how well I can stick to my no-plastic-bags-no-paper-towels regime, but in the long-run I expect that it will save money, space and the environment. All good things.

Cheers,

flutterbyblue

Image from www.citizenscampaign.org.

Zero Waste

As we count down the months until our last days in Iowa (how we will miss this place!) I am faced with the prospect of whittling down our spacious and fully furnished midwest home to fit into a compact little apartment in DC. Fortunately, my husband and I are not of the packrat variety, even so, things do collect. For example, over the past two years we have amassed a decent collection of kitchen appliances (you will have to pry that ice cream machine from my cold fingers), two couches, an obscenely large flat screen TV, and other items too numerous to list.

This is why I was so excited to find an article in Sunset Magazine about a family who lives a "Zero Waste" lifestyle. More on this in blog posts to come.

In a lot of ways, city living will be far more sustainable than suburbia. We'll drive less, use less energy to heat and cool our home, and we'll have less stuff.

Stuff.

Working on reducing it...

Already we have started to downsize. Books we no longer want to keep are sold at a wonderful local used bookshop, The Haunted Bookshop was always one of our favorite spots downtown. Filled with a great selection of fiction, non-fiction, and children's books (along with a few friendly cats), the shop is a quiet, relaxing respite from daily life. Since the shop has recently expanded they have been especially happy to buy used books that are in good condition.

Clothes that are cute and seasonal can be sold at my favorite clothing shop downtown. Revival has a wonderful mix of new and vintage pieces. Sorted by color and always fun for perusing, the racks inevitably have some treasured skirt or adorable top to try on. The shop recently set up a back area filled with adorable clothes for children and babies.

And of course there is always craigslist or Goodwill for giving away furniture or other household items that we no longer want or need. Better to have someone actually use our stuff than to throw it away or haul it with us halfway across the country.

We'll see how this goes...

Image from becominglds.blogspot.com.

Is this heaven?

It's Iowa.

Now there's a hilarious quote to contemplate when you are spending another winter here in the Corn State. Remarkably, despite the weather, people remain as friendly as ever. After spending 24 hours in the black hole, otherwise known as the Detroit airport, the friendly and empathetic gate agent at Eastern Iowa Airport - Cedar Rapids was a welcome sight. In a matter of minutes, the memories of sullen and surly (Delta) employees notifying us of cancelled flights, lost luggage, or equipment malfunction, had all but faded.

Not to say that I didn't rip (Delta) airline a new one when they requested a "feedback" survey regarding my delayed flight. Best not to get on my bad side, that's all I'm saying.

~flutterbyblue

Cleanse and Detox

On a post-Thanksgiving whim, we opted to attend a Saturday morning session of Anusara Flow yoga. This weekend's theme was "cleanse and detox" - fitting given the time of year and the ridiculous amount of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pie I managed to consume on Thursday. After a full hour and a half of faux-religious, but well-meaning inundations of Tantric philosophy (I was told to "dance with my breath", whatever that may mean) and some serious ass-stretches, I was ready to take on the mindful-healthful tenants of yogic thought. With my husband snoring peacefully beside me during savasana (aptly translated as, "corpse pose"), I did my best to open my mind and be at one with my "life's energy." It wasn't until after I had downed a freshly made glazed donut and coffee not 5 minutes after class or even after I had purchased a Stouffer's Swedish Meatballs Homestyle Classics in Large Satisfying Size for lunch that I realized just how short my memory span really is. It's true, we can all do better.

Yes, I did just spend a full day at work on a Saturday.

No, I don't get paid overtime.

Yes, I could have eaten TWO Stouffer's Swedish Meatballs Homestyle Classics in Large Satisfying Size for lunch,

but I only purchased one.

There is hope. May the life force be with you.

~flutterbyblue

Leaf Kitchen

Of the many little "gems" in Iowa City, Leaf Kitchen has to be one of my favorites. It is a small little restaurant located on the outskirts of downtown Iowa City, offering wine, beer and sake as well as an interesting mix of small Japanese/Asian-inspired plates. The dinner menu includes simple, fresh and delicious dishes. The Watermelon-Cucumber Salad with cashew nuts, goat cheese, onion, mint and yuzu vinaigrette made for a refreshing starter as did the Grilled Shrimp and White Bean Salad with fresh herbs, tomato, sprouts and pistachio-mint oil. We have had the Korean-style Zucchini Pancakes with spicy dipping soy sauce and the Pan fried Tofu Dumplings with shiitake mushroom carrots, scallion and pine nuts at least a couple of times (both delicious!) and the Cold Sesame Noodles were a light accompaniment. If you are looking for something light, healthy and veggie-friendly, Leaf Kitchen is the spot to be.

In terms of atmosphere, at night, Leaf Kitchen has an adorable charm. One can imagine this is some place other than the middle of Iowa - a hippie cafe in San Francisco or New York perhaps. I have heard the brunch menu is quite good although I have yet to try it out. The afternoon tea was pleasant, but not in the fabulous way of the Taj back in Boston. Service at tea time left much to be desired. While the food was quite good, we were rather rudely berated for having one less person show up for our reservation (a last minute cancellation beyond our control). Pity, since afternoon tea is generally such a pleasant experience.

Despite the latter experience I will undoubtably come back again for dinner (it really is wonderful).

~flutterbyblue

Leaf Kitchen
301 Kirkwood Avenue
Iowa City, IA 52240
(319) 338-1909

How To Be Alone

Sneezy

Twister!

Before coming to Iowa, my only experience with Twisters revolved around wacked out Judy Garland movies or embarrassing party games. I guess there was also that mid-90's movie with Helen Hunt and another actor. In any case, my knowledge was, at best, limited.

My very first day in Iowa City (interview day) happened to be the first Monday of the month (when they test the weather siren). Around 9am the siren went off - a deafening scary-movie sound. My interviewer went on talking as if nothing was going on. I tried to chat for a little while but could barely hear the guy. Finally I just asked about the sound.

Me: "What is that deafening noise?"

Interviewer: "Oh that's just the tornado siren."

Me (trying not to sound panicky): "Uh, should we be concerned about this?"

Interviewer: "It's probably just a test."

Right. Probably just a test.

I believe I was assured that we're not in Kansas so "twisters" really aren't too much of an issue out here. Then again, here is Iowa City in April of 2006:


What I find funny about this video is that a number of the people featured are smiling - they seem excited more than anything else. I love how in the midst of the storm people came out into the streets to see what was going on. There's the frat guy who talks about the cars piled on top of each other, and describes the dumpster "...which is, like, not normally here."

Idiots.

There is at least one home video of the twister itself as it blows through the downtown area. I ask you, who in their right mind would be out on the street holding a video camera?

People have a way of adapting to just about any situation. Earlier this week there was a tornado "warning" (ie a tornado was spotted in a neighboring county). I happen to work in a bunker of a building so everyone just carried on as normal, including myself. I just hoped the warning would go away in time for me to head home for dinner.

I'm no idiot, but I do agree, life goes on.

~flutterbyblue

Sprüngli: I want to go to there

If you haven't already seen 30 Rock, just know that it's brilliant. One of my favorite lines was coined by Tina Fey's three-year old daughter. It sums up a lot of my thoughts (about food) perfectly:

"I want to go to there."

Sprüngli is a fantastic-looking Swiss pastry shop located in Zurich. They serve Luxemburgerli (aka French style macaroons, one of my all time favorite sweets) along with some **amazing** looking Swiss chocolates. Sprüngli may be one of Switzerland's best (or so I hear). It must be heaven if the website displays raining Luxemburgerli. Any doubt and just check out the shop images on the Passionate Eater. Oh my.

"I want to go to there."

~flutterbyblue

Confiserie Sprüngli AG
Bahnhofstrasse 21
CH-8022 Zürich

Tel. +41 44 224 46 46
Fax.+41 44 224 47 35

Kohlrabi

While at the Farmer's Market the other day, I noticed a strange looking vegetable at several of the produce stalls. It came in both green and purple and seemed somewhat like a fennel bulb with multiple branching leaves. Seeing as it (whatever "it" might be) was in season, I decided to give it a try.

Kohlrabi, as it turns out, is a cultivar of the cabbage. The name comes from the German Kohl ("cabbage") plus Rübe ~ Rabi (Swiss German variant) ("turnip") (according to Wikipedia). Interesting.

I first sliced it and tasted it raw (recommended by a friend). It had a distinctive turnip-like bitterness, the texture of a crisp apple, and the flavor of a watered down broccoli stem. Hm. Not my favorite.

When it comes to recipes for strange vegetables I turn to Barbara Kafka's Vegetable Love cookbook, a veritable encyclopedia of random non-meat foods. Only one recipe was devoted to the kohlrabi (Kafka states her husband hates it and she can only "abide" it.) Apprehensive, but curious, I read on.

The recipe called for a little water, a simple stuffing, and then microwave.

Microwave.

Given that I couldn't see myself eating the rest of the bulb raw, I figured, what the heck. I peeled off the tough outer layer, added a little water and into the microwave it went. Minutes later the kohlrabi came out a pleasant pale jade green, steamy and smelling surprisingly mild and fresh. I added a little olive oil, salt and pepper then gave it a taste.

Delish.

Steamed kohlrabi has a delicate flavor, somewhere between a cauliflower and a turnip. If you like those two things (I happen to love cauliflower and will occasionally enjoy turnip if cooked properly), then kohlrabi is a worthy early summer vegetable to add to your plate. Who knew that microwaved food could turn out so well?

So the next time you are at the Farmers Market and see something strange, why not give it a try? You never know what you're going to get.

~flutterbyblue

Julia Child's Chicken Fricassee

Despite being a foodie and lover of chicken dishes, I have never made a fricassee. In fact, until I read Julia Child's detailed description in one of her cookbooks I wasn't too sure what a fricassee involved exactly (it's basically chicken in a mushroom cream sauce.)

I had picked up some Kalona chicken at the New Pi the other day and figured this would be a good starting point. The recipe itself was fairly straightforward - a little pan saute with butter and olive oil, then poaching in white wine and chicken broth. I added onions, mushrooms then half-and-half just as Julia suggested. Sadly, my chicken came out on the stringy side (but it was flavorful!) I'm not sure if this was due to my lack of chicken cooking talent (I can roast an entire chicken fairly well, but maybe fricassee takes more finesse?) or to the fact that Kalona chickens probably spend their days roaming the Iowan hillsides rather than cooped up in cramped quarters with the rest of their mass-produced brethren. My guess is that in my efforts to avoid any risk of Salmonella I probably over-cooked the meat. The sauce also had a few gliches. Julia claims one simply cooks the mushrooms a few minutes before stirring in the cream. This resulted in a very thin, but high volume cooking liquid that wasn't very saucy at all. I ended up simmering the sauce down to thicken it up (the end product was very good.)

The upside to this dish is that it reheats very nicely (unlike the shrimp pasta dish I had made the night before). The chicken flavor was intensified and the sauce was a bit thicker - perfect for a quick lunch (or in my case, a second dinner.) I recommend putting the sauce on some pasta (ravioli works really well!)

Yum!

~flutterbyblue

Marcella Hazan's Pink Shrimp Sauce with Cream

Seeing as the Vegetarian is out of town for the next two weeks, I decided to take this opportunity to cook up some of the many meat, fish, and poultry dishes I've always wanted to try. I had just seen Food, Inc, so mass-produced food was out, and organic, humanely raised, or wild caught was in. Fortunately there is a New Pi in town.

I picked up some frozen wild caught Gulf shrimp for my first meal of the week. In retrospect, "Gulf" shrimp may not have been the way to go, but trace amounts of petroleum never hurt anyone, right? And maybe these shrimp were frozen before the last 3 months...

...in any case, the shrimp were bought and all I had to do was find the right recipe . One of my favorite dishes is Marcella Hazan's Pink Shrimp Sauce with Cream. This is a heavenly dish made with surprisingly few ingredients: olive oil, garlic, shrimp, tomato paste, white wine, cream, and some parsley garnish. You basically just cook up the first few items in a pan (2 minutes), blend up 2/3 of the cooked shrimp, add that back to the pan along with the rest of the sauce and you're good to go. SO easy. SO delicious. I could probably eat this dish every night this week.

Of course, cooking for one isn't always the best thing in the world. As it turns out, Pink Shrimp Sauce with Cream doesn't reheat so well. The once creamy, luscious sauce starts to separate when microwaved. Le sigh...I suppose it's still better than cafeteria food so I really shouldn't complain.

Tomorrow's menu: Julia Child's Chicken Fricassee!

~flutterbyblue