Two Quick, Easy (and Healthy?) Meals

I’ve never really been crazy enough to cook meals because they are HEALTHY, but recently I’ve been noticing myself cooking and eating meals that are indeed what some would call “healthy.” These meals are usually healthy by virtue of being fresh, unprocessed, vegetarian and sometimes mostly-raw. But let’s be serious: meat is expensive, and raw meals can be delicious and usually don’t require that much work. And while I’m not trying to lose weight, it seems that I’m not the only one find him or herself eating this way. Did you see that article in last week’s food section about less people dieting and more people just enjoying good food? I think that’s really super, but the article stops short of talking about people who aren’t dieting, i.e.: the not-so-middle class. I’d like to think that this national trend extends to people who aren’t able to spend more money at farmer’s markets and Whole Foods, but really, it doesn’t. Obviously there are big changes needed here (many in legislation like the Farm Bill), but in the mean time I’ll still be enjoying pita pizzas, zucchini and carrot pasta, and shrimp in cous cous.

Soup’s On: Late Summer Minestrone

Just a quick note: I’m a bit late on this, but last in last week’s NYT food section, I cut out the recipe for Mark Bittman’s “Late Summer Minestrone.” It’s easy enough to saute veggies and then add a lot of water, but I’m not sure I’ve ever had a minestrone so light and so sweet. The flavor reminded me how delicious zucchini flavored water is (don’t knock it till you’ve tried it). It also occurs to me that is nothing like the soup I had in Florence, but then again I think this is another thing entirely. Now that fall’s approaching—and it made a bit of gesture today—we all have to step up our soup game, and that’s REAL.

The Last Day of Summer

Well, senior year starts tomorrow. I’ve had a pretty good summer. Good times all around. I’ve been back in DC for about a month now, working at my beloved Cowgirl Creamery and dispensing cheese to the rich and hungry. I always love summer for what it promises (swimming, walks, BBQ, etc.) but not what it costs (poison ivy, working in the heat, etc.). Above is the nice end of summer meal I made tonight for some guests. The chicken was fried in crushed corn flakes (crispy!); the pasta salad is tossed with carrot, bell pepper, shallot, parsley, basil; the artichoke was just boiled soft. I intended to do more with that ‘choke, but you can only do so much some times, you know?

Towards the end of this past week, a friend and I descended into Shenandoah National Park for a hike and overnight camping. We saw two black bear cubs and fantastic summer stars. The above picture is a view almost identical to what we enjoyed the first day. I used to go camping a lot more. I missed it — but frankly wondered if I would still enjoy it. But there are wonderful things that you can forget, like the raw feeling on your hands at the end of the trip.

And still, it’s even easier to forget that I was traveling around Europe at the beginning of summer. Today in CVS, a French girl asked me if all American notebooks were line ruled, and not squared like she was used to. “Sorry,” I said, “that’s not how they do it here.”

Photo of Shenandoah courtesy of flickr user PatrickMMoore.

Winnemere and a Dark ‘N’ Stormy

Sometimes really great eating happens by accident. You have some really good items of food, and maybe in the back of your head you know they would work well together, but sometimes it’s only after you’ve tasted the combination that you know you’ve hit it right on the head. At Cowgirl this week, we’ve been featuring Jasper Hill Farm’s Winnemere. I really love this farm, and this cheese is fantastic. It’s based on a somewhat similar style French cheese called Vacherin, but in Greensboro, Vermont, they wash the cheese with their own raspberry lambic beer and wrap it in strips of spruce bark. The inside turns to a delicious “paste” with spectacular flavors.

Tonight, I brought home the store’s last available piece until winter, and coincidently decided to make myself a Dark ‘n’ Stormy. We happen to have a particularly good Bermuda ginger beer right now, and so I wanted to take the box’s advice and make this interesting sounding drink. It consists of pouring a shot or so of dark rum (couldn’t afford Black Seal so I opted for Barcardi instead) over ice and filling the high ball glass to the top with ginger beer. They are both non-alcoholic, but unlike the more common ale, ginger beer is more smooth and has less of a burn. The combination of the cheese and the drink was really just right: the slight buzz from the washed cheese carried over to the crisp ginger flavor of the drink. I would say go out and buy these foods but the real message is to take risks and perhaps be rewarded!

Making Limoncello

Limoncello is a delicious aperitif, but it is not for everyone. When I first tried it in Naples, I was surpised by how alcoholic it tasted and how refreshing it was in spite of that. I was more than willing to shell out ten euros for the bottle you see below in Herculaneum, but I was blown away when I found out how easy it is to make. I took the bottle home filled it with my own batch, which I’m now enjoying.

I celebrated the fact that I can now legally purchase a bottle of Everclear (you need a really high proof vodka) with Dr. Fankhauser’s awesome limoncello recipe. This recipe is really straightforward and easy and all you need is vodka, sugar, lemons, and water. Drink limoncello in freezer-frosted shot or aperitif glasses and savor the Vesuviana flavor.

Gorgonzola, Pears, and a Brief Spring Moment

First thing’s first: last night David and I made a fantastic meal we are both quite proud of. It was fresh orecchiette pasta in a gorgonzola cheese sauce with sautéed pears and a little arugula (rucola here and rocket in England) on the side. It was really great. It’s not really a spring dish, but it was really delicious.

So, it’s been a few days and I thought I’d leave a kind of a general post before David and I leave for spring break in Prague and Berlin tomorrow. This trip is looking like it’s going to be really fantastic, and I’m hoping to post, at least briefly, from our friend Charlotte’s place.

It’s been raining a lot this weekend, but it’s been starting to get become really nice out in general. Last night I went to a club called Le Maison. Admittedly, I haven’t done much clubbing here, but this place was pretty much everything I could want or expect from a European club. There was at least an hour featuring only my favorite 90s alt-rock hits. I didn’t get Euro-trashed, but we did stay until it closed. Walking back to trastevere, the streets were empty, the air was crisp but not chilly, and the sky was out of rain as if recharging for dawn.

Here’s a poem for you; “The Last Word of a Blue Bird” by Robert Frost. Read it out loud, and remember that trough is supposed to rhyme with cough.

As I went out a Crow
In a low voice said, “Oh,
I was looking for you.
How do you do?
I just came to tell you
To tell Lesley (will you?)
That her little Bluebird
Wanted me to bring word
That the north wind last night
That made the stars bright
And made ice on the trough
Almost made him cough
His tail feathers off.
He just had to fly!
But he sent her Good-by,
And said to be good,
And wear her red hood,
And look for the skunk tracks
In the snow with an ax-
And do everything!
And perhaps in the spring
He would come back and sing.