Hello again!

Well, I've learned that you can burn out on blogging!  From now on, I'll be posting on a variety of food-related topics as I fnd the time.  I hope I'll find some readers out there to stick with me!

I've been exploring a lot on where my food comes from lately.  It is something I often have thought about, and I go through phases of focusing on it a lot.  The last time I chose to live on a vegetarian diet for about 5 months.  This time, I'm focusing on finding locally grown meat, and dairy that I feel is raised in the best way possible. 

Eric and I are not big meat eaters anyway, but I'm consciously looking at reducing the amount of meat I eat in order to buy better quality meat on our budget.

First attempt: Milk and eggs.
Went to a local ice cream store that is known for raising their own dairy.  My mom grew up near there, and I had been before.  They have a small dairy store on site so I figured I could get milk there.  To my surprise I also was able to eggs from a farm down the street.  The prices were about 20% more than the grocery store, so again, I was pleasantly surprised. 

I went home, fried up an egg, enjoyed a glass of milk. and generally patted myself on the back for being so socially conscious.

Then Monday came.  I called the farm that the eggs were raised on, just to get some info.  The eggs weren't organic or anything but they were very local, from a neighboring town.  I'm not a big subscriber to the labels that regulate food- certified humane, certified organic, etc. Overall I'd rather make the judgement myself on how the food and animals were treated. 

So anyway, I got the farm phone number, and called.  The very nice woman who answered the phone informed me that this was a "contract farm" (I have not been able to figure out what that means) and the eggs were raised in Amish Country.  Pennsylvania. 

So... I thought about driving to the farm, but realized that it wouldn't make sense to bother, and chalked it up to experience.

But now my "local, farm fresh eggs" mock me whenever I look in the fridge. 
 (from http://www.etsy.com/shop/asherjasper)

Have I ever mentioned that eggs are just about my favorite food?  I never get sick of the incredible, edible egg. 

So anyway, I'm still working on sourcing local, farm fresh eggs from happy chickens. 


Coming up:
Sourcing local ingredients
My foray into the CSA (yes that rhymed)
New recipes we've been working on
Books, blogs and podcasts that inspire my food journey

Best. Cookies. Of. All. Time.

OK, I found it!

The BEST COOKIES EVER!  (If you like peanut butter)

I love this recipe for a few reasons.
1. It's gluten free, which is great for some of my friends
2. It's ridiculously easy
3. It tastes amazing!
4. Freezes beautifully ;)

The cookies this recipe makes are golden brown on the bottom, uniform, crispy on the edge and soft in the middle.  So pretty much the greatest thing ever.

Here it is:

2 c peanut butter
1 1/2 c white sugar

Combine these until smooth (I stirred for about 5 minutes)

Beat in 2 eggs (one at a time)

Add 1 tsp of vanilla extract, 1 tsp of baking soda, a pinch of salt

Mix well

Form into 1 inch diameter balls.  Do that cute crisscross thing with the fork.

Bake 10 or so min in a 350 degree oven.

Seriously, try this one.  I froze the batter for Christmas baking, and I plan on doing plenty as gifts because they are definitely impressive!

More adventures with the slow cooker

Well, we had an excellent two meals in one from our faithful slow cooker last week.

First, "roast" chicken.   I love a good roast chicken, but unless it's the weekend, it's not possible to cook it up during the week.

I did a little research and found that some people will throw a roaster right into their CP and it cooks up deliciously.

Here was our variation:

1 5 lb roaster
3 white potatoes, cubed
1 yellow onion, chopped
a bit of rosemary
salt and pepper

We literally threw all this in the CP, put it on, and 12 hours later, the miracle happened again!  We pulled out the chicken, it fell off the bone, and we served it (the potatoes were yucky so we tossed them) with broccoli and brown rice.

Then, we had so much meat left that I pulled it aside and made 2 different soups- Tortilla soup (see earlier post) and good old fashioned chicken noodle.

Now my freezer is totally stocked with soups, and they are DELISH!

This week I'll be performing my CP roast chicken trick again...but I think I'll make up a chicken pot pie with the leftovers.

Have a great day!

How we avoided polygamy, or, our discovery of the Crock Pot!

Hi all!

I will have to push blogging higher up on the task list- sorry for the delay!

I have been busy getting ready for the holidays, and experimenting in the kitchen.

Eric and I have discovered that we need a wife.  Not in a 'Big Love' kind of a way.  We need someone to cook, clean, manage the household, make martinis, etc.

We came one step closer these past weeks in discovering an unused indentured servant.  The CROCK POT!

We have had a slow cooker since we bought our first apartment.  Other than a failed soup attempt on my part, it had never been used.  

I guess we both felt about the CP like we felt about the microwave- so seventies, lazy...the kind of thing we didn't want in OUR kitchen.   (We do have a microwave but we never use it.)

Well.

The first experiment was on a pork sirloin roast I bought at a local butcher (love Hilltop in Weymouth!)

Into the CP it went.  We looked doubtfully into the pot numerous times on that Saturday.  Could it really work?  Could it really taste that good?

Sunday morning I awoke to a smell.  It wasn't exactly the kind of smell Yankee Candle would emulate, but it smelled...good.   I checked on my little piggy, and there she was,  cooked to perfection, falling off the bone, and simmering in it's own juices.

I drained the pot, took the meat off the bones with 2 sets of tongs, and put it back in the CP with a bottle of hickory smoke BBQ sauce.

That was it!  It cooked for about 8 more hours on low, and Sunday night, we had pulled pork.  Real live pulled pork (Not actually live, that would be gross.)  I bought some Portuguese rolls, toasted them up, and we had pulled pork sandwiches.

AND, I brought some into work and got rave reviews, even from my friend Mark who is a BBQ aficionado!  Easiest thing ever.

So we were converted into Crockpot lovers.  We even upgraded to the larger model that has clips for travel.   What an awesome tool for those of us that work and want a wife at home to cook dinner!

Here's some cool info on the slow cooker:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_cooker

More slow cooker recipes coming up: "roast" chicken, and pot roast.

You may all go to hell and I will go to Texas

OK that was the last cute Texas pun I had up my sleeve.  
Last and final review (at least for now.)
Our FAVORITE can't-miss best thing ever spot in San Antonio is....

The Friendly Spot Ice House


As we ate and drank our way through San Antonio, we heard about a brewery called Blue Star about 1.5 miles out of the tourist area we stayed in.  Being health-conscious (ha) young folk, we thought a pleasurable stroll would be the way to go.  We walked, through the late afternoon sun, down S. Alamo Blvd.  Suddenly, in the distance, something appeared.  (OK not really but I'm building dramatic tension here.)  It was a playground.  And a bar.  In fact, it was three open-air bars!  It looked like the family-friendly center of a neighborhood, and so it is.  
And then, Eric's heart skipped a beat.  The specials board listed Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA for $4 a bottle.  $4! (That's about what we pay at the packie  here in MA)
We fell. in. love.  
Cold beers (over 140!) many of them microbrews from around the world, a cool hip-but-not-pretentious vibe, little kids playing...this is exactly the kind of place I'd love to own.
We didn't eat there, but we did go back for a total of 3 visits, about 15 different beers (Eric promised me he'd write a guest post running down all the IPAs we tried.) 


Only downside? I lost my glasses there.  Or I think it was there.  


BTW, Blue Star Brewery was boss.  I had beef brisket, mac and cheese, and it was perfect.  Along with some excellent beers.  And an awesome bartender named Mary, who rocked.  
  

There's no basement in the Alamo!

No, I'm not out of cute references to Texas, or Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.  Soon, I promise.


Second little review is of the queen of the Riverwalk- Casa Rio.  This was the first restaurant to open up to the Riverwalk and offer patio seating. They also offered the first river cruises. (Now run by an outside company, I definitely recommend the boat tour.)

Casa Rio (literally River House) is a Mexican restaurant that offers an unpretentious atmosphere and good Tex-Mex cuisine.  I got a tip from a local that it was the best chili in San Antonio.  With the history of this dish in San Antonio, that was a tall order! 


As you can see, it was served with onions, cheese, and the traditional Saltine. 


I can't say it was the ephemeral, blissed-out experience I was hoping for as I dreamed of chili in San Antonio.  But for $4.95, it was fantastic. 

Eric ordered a mixed plate that offered a small taste of numerous dishes: Chili con carne, tamales, tacos, refried beans, and I think an enchilada. I think it was about $12.  


Again, like at Achiote, we could have split that dish. But it was the cheapest, and loveliest meal we had.  We sat, drank sweet tea, and watched the river (and the cute ducks, and the not-so-cute pigeons.)  


Adorable-ness abounded.  






Casa Rio = best buy on the Riverwalk.  Huge props for great atmosphere, great service, live music (kind of cliche but whatever.) 

The stars at night are big and bright...

Deep in heart of Texas!

We spent the weekend in San Antonio, TX (and 1 day in Austin.)  What a wonderful place to visit! We saw the Alamo.  It was more moving than I thought it would be.  Pretty amazing to see the real place where 189 people fought and died for their independence.  

On a lighter note, we ate.  A lot.  And drank a lot of great beers.  I threw caution to the wind and ate whatever wonderful, down-home cooking I saw.  (Sorry WW, I'm back on plan today!)

Up first on the review train is Achiote River Cafe and Bar.  We stopped here on our first full morning in San Antonio.  We were looking for a relaxed breakfast, to linger over coffee, and start our mini-vaca off right.  Achiote provided a beautiful patio off the river where we could do just that.  

Here's the meal breakdown:


Eric, in typical Eric-like fashion, ordered smoked salmon on a bagel.  It wouldn't have been anything special, but the salmon was absolutely perfect. Also, it was huge.  


Not much to say- it was fresh, the bagel was very good, and it was exactly what it should be.  Good choice if you're a lox 'n' bagels kind of person. 

Here's what I ordered: chilaquiles (chee-lah-KEE-lehs). I wasn't hungover, but I was interested to learn that this dish is a traditional Mexican hangover cure!

It is also sometimes called a poor man's dish because it is a great way to use up leftovers.

This was probably my favorite meal of the weekend.  What's not to like?  It's a bed of tortilla chips, topped with a mixture of tomatoes, cilantro, onions, peppers, garlic, refried beans, chiles, and scrambled (or fried eggs.)  AND it's served with sour cream.  

I'm not sure how authentic the recipe is, but it was absolutely delicious.   I can't say enough about it.  This may be a poor man's breakfast food, but we'll be making it for diinner for sure! 

Here's a recipe from a fellow blogger: My Sister's Kitchen 

OK so Achiote was fabulous.  Here's what was less than fabulous- the price.

$4 EACH for coffee (the coffee was Starbucks, and it was unlimited, but still.)

$16 for the smoked salmon, $15 for the chilaquiles,

Obviously on the Riverwalk you are really paying for the view/atmosphere.  The food was really impressive, but the prices were a little out of whack, even compared to other restaurants on the walk.

That being said, the portions were out-of-control big.  So my recommend is, definitely GO!  But share a breakfast entree.  The other option they had was a buffet for $18 that looked awesome.  I never find buffets to be that great of a deal- I guess I just don't eat enough (surprising) to make it worth the $$. 

How about you? Do you like gourmet buffets? Any hidden hot spots in San Antonio?

More to come...See ya!