bbq tofu & rice bowl

I had a few things to use up last Friday and the heat had broken just enough that I could bare to think of cooking over the stove. Plus, my end-of-week reward was a trip to the theater to see Midnight in Paris had me motivated to cook up something nice instead of having buttery popcorn for dinner. As I may have done when I saw Harry Potter the week before. Can't quite remember. (Midnight in Paris, by the way, was wonderful. It was one of those movies that as soon as it ended, I was tempted to buy a ticket to the next showing just so I could keep absorbing it all in. The synopsis on IMDb sells the film short, so have a look at this movie cheat sheet from The Atlantic instead.)

I needed to use up a package of tofu, half a jar of homemade swapped BBQ sauce and leftover whey (from the cheesemaking! Ouy, let's schedule that recap post right now, shall we? How about... next week. I will tell you about making cheese next week. Tuesday.) The result was much better than I anticipated, and I credit the rice-cooked-in-whey and the BBQ sauce with that. I'd never cooked rice in whey before and to tell you the truth, was a little skeptical because boiling leftover milk remnants sounds a little strange. The resulting rice was so smooth and flavorful, though, that I was completely won over. Of course, you could follow this recipe and just cook the rice in water or vegetable broth without a problem. And the BBQ sauce! At the June food swap in 'Toga, I had traded the lovely Sarah Without A Blog For Me To Link To some strawberry-rhubarb muffins for a jar of strawberry-rhubarb BBQ sauce. (Super seasonal, eh?) Her strawberry rhubarb BBQ sauce was phenomenal. Unless you can persuade her to make you some, you may have to settle for regular ol' run of the mill sauce. Still delicious, but maybe not quite as delicious as what I had on hand.

BBQ Tofu Bowl with Peppers & Onions
Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked brown rice
• 2 1/2 cups whey (water, or veggie stock)
• one package extra firm tofu, sliced into one-inch chunks
• olive oil for sauteing 
• 1/2 onion, sliced into thin strips
• 1/2 green bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
• salt and pepper 
• 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce*

Directions

1. Start your rice! I always forget this part until too late and am waiting forever for it to finish cooking. In a medium saucepan, bring 2 1/2 cups whey (water, or veggie stock) to a boil. Add in the uncooked brown rice, return to a boil and then simmer, covered, for about 40 minutes or until water is completely absorbed. As always, watch it carefully in the last few minutes and stir to avoid scorching. I cannot even tell you how many times I've scorched rice. Like really badly. Keep an eye on it.
2. Dry-fry that tofu in a skillet (see step 2 in this post). Once much of the liquid has been pressed out, set aside the tofu on a plate.
3. Using that same skillet, cook the onion in a bit of olive oil over medium heat for about ten minutes. Add in the green pepper with salt and pepper. Cook for another 7-8 minutes until the pepper is softened. Next, add in the cooked tofu along with the BBQ sauce. Reduce heat to low, stir and simmer for about five minutes so the flavors can absorb.
4. Serve tofu and veggies over rice. Yields about four servings.

The beauty in this recipe is that ingredients in the BBQ sauce were local, the whey was from local milk and the pepper & onion were from our CSA. Not too bad for a dish that, at first glance, may not seem completely seasonal. This tofu bowl makes for a great lunch too because I have no problem eating the leftovers up cold. If you wanted to kick up the tofu, you could dredge it according to these directions from my sesame tofu recipe. It takes an extra step, but the result is a crispy, crunchy tofu that tastes like it's been decadently deep-fried, but isn't actually all that bad for you.

Update: This recipe was a winner in the 2011 Homegrown.org Cook-Off!

cut those jeans up

Another pair of cut-offs. If you have old jeans that still fit alright around the waist but you don't really wear, CUT OFF the bottom. You know, authentic style. Don't buy cut-offs. I made these longer cut-offs a few years ago from consignment store jeans and I still love 'em. A few weekends ago, my two favorite pairs of shorts were dirty, it was stinkin' hot and I had a party to go to. I took this pair of jeans, which had already undergone a transformation from boot cut to skinny and were now sitting sadly in the donation pile, and I hacked them up. This was a real haphazard job, surely careless enough to make a normal seamstress cringe. With nary a ruler in sight, I eyeballed the length and went at them with scissors. Yes, they were a little wonky when I wore them that first night but I fixed 'em up the next morning. Cut up your jeans. Breath a little life into those clothes at the bottom of your closet. Another favorite of mine is cutting up pants to make a skirt, a la this super crazy old post. Maybe I'll revise that tutorial soon so I don't have to link back to awful hand drawn sketches anymore.

(Cut-off shorts made Deanna's list of summer essentials! Get on it!)

win some, lose some

Well, our wee kitchen was not a finalist for Small, Cool Kitchens 2011. We came in third and the top two of each category advanced. I loved being able to show it off proudly instead of mutter about how small it is and throw stuff around in a tizzy. It helped me to appreciate its charm and be okay with having a 40 square foot kitchen with 10 square feet of walkable space, at least for the time being. Thanks to all who voted and commented here and elsewhere. Our kitchen has gained a little bit of celebrity, which must have been weird for Chris to come home to. He left a tiny box of a kitchen and came back to a famous tiny box of a kitchen. Ta da! Welcome home!


However, in a really freakish turn of luck, I won two other contests last week! My Summer Veggie Wrap with Spicy Mayo post was a Brown Bag Challenge winner over at Small Kitchen College (small kitchens are so en vogue!) and I now have a Mini Gourmet Getaway and a Spicy Relish Lunch Tote from BuiltNY. Neat.



I was also named last week's "Chef-Herdess" at Homegrown.org for my garlic scape pesto recipe, originally posted at From Scratch Club. They host a weekly Cook-Off of recipes in which at least half of the ingredients come from a CSA share, farmer's market or garden. I got the cutest package in the mail from them with how-to cards, a mixed Homegrown Summer cd and a pretty rad t-shirt that actually fits. So in terms of online contests, I really can't complain.

Stop over to The Kitchn today to vote for your favorite finalist! I've got a personal favorite, can you guess which one it is? And if you can't get enough of our small kitchen, read my tips for surviving in such a tiny space here and take an extended virtual tour of the kitchen right over here.

inside the cooler, week no. 8

SUMMERTIME! Look at this bounty. Carrots, tomatoes, garlic, potatoes, herbs, greens, lettuce, bell peppers and even a little jalapeño. I've been trying to work my way through these veggies by myself the past few weeks and I am so very glad my partner-in-crime is back to help with this one. Chris had been volunteering on an organic farm in Nova Scotia since the beginning of the month so I valiantly tried to eat my way through three entire coolers of fresh produce. I ended up giving away a few summer squash, cukes, beets, scapes & cabbage that I just couldn't polish off. I used others in dishes to swap, share or pawn off on friends. It all worked out. He came back in time to celebrate our anniversary last night with a fancy dinner and a stroll around the neighborhood. Now we're soaking up the rest of summer and enjoying a break in the heat wave. And eating our vegetables. Always.

Bonus: We got our CSA member shirts last week! You can see a glimpse of it above, but I'll be modeling it real soon. Promise. I can't promise that we'll both be modeling our shirts, but you know I'll try.

july food swaps, plus a few tips

Swappity swap. We had our first FSC Swappers: Albany event on Sunday. Our generous host, All Good Bakers, provided a great spread and location for our first "go" in Albany. The place was packed with swappers and tons of new faces. So for any swap-curious folks out there, know that it is 100% awesome to show up by yourself. You will leave with good food and good friends. I got to meet so many people that I follow online- it's so nice to have an actual face to associate with a blog or Twitter account! Check out this Flickr group for WAY more photos of the swaps, including some particularly excellent ones from Renee, our quasi-official photog at the Albany swap.

Yup, I made it a booze swap. I brought strawberry-raspberry infused tequila with honey and a twist of lime. JEALOUS? I also made some biscuits using fresh dill and the leftover whey from the cheesemaking party that I still need to tell you about. The tequila was more popular than the biscuits. Guess that should have been obvious.

The spread! Salads, slaws, croissants & quiche.

Swapmaster Chris lays out the ground rules and sets the swappers loose.

Albany Swap Scoreboard

Brought: Strawberry & Raspberry Infused Tequila, Whey Biscuits with Dill
Scored: Corn salsa, beet hummus from Sarah, samosas from Liz at Brown Betty Farm, lavender tea cookies, hom-a-rah (Syrian red pepper dip) with pita chips and I even snagged Leah the Nosher's sample jar of pickles.

***

And then we had the Saratoga swap at The Common Thread on Wednesday...

These FSC 'Toga swappers BROUGHT it. There was challah, English muffin bread, pear butter, homemade sour cream, fermented half-sours, garden veggies, Asian slaw, quiches, granola, zucchini muffins, strawberry sauce, pull-apart cinnamon bread, ginger simple syrup, whole wheat hamburger rolls, avocado-feta salsa and lots more. It was really incredible. I felt like a kid in a candy store.

'Toga Swap Scoreboard
Brought: Strawberry-Infused Tequila.
Scored: sweet potato & zucchini muffins, a kombucha SCOBY, asparagus and goat cheese mini-quiche from Ashley (owner of The Common Thread), ginger syrup (for homemade ginger ale!) and pear butter from Jen. Boo yah.

Now that I have a few swaps under my belt, here are some thoughts. In bullet point form, because it's been a long week.

• Label your swap items! It's helpful to write out a list of ingredients so peeps know what's in 'em, but I think it's really nice when items are also labeled with the person's name and blog/twitter/whatever, if applicable. That way when I get home with my goodies, I'll remember exactly who I got things from and how I can track them down to get more.
• Don't be afraid to bring some "weird" stuff. These swaps tend to draw a happy, foodie crowd that loves experimenting. Meals that are ready-to-go are awesome... almost every one of my lunches this week was a swap item. But keep in mind that a lot of people (though not all!) are pretty creative home cooks, so jars of homemade ingredients are also a big sell. Think jams, sauces, dressing, starters etc. Personally, I tend to go after savory stuff versus the sweets. Which is crazy, because I have an insane sweet tooth but even I recognize that it's not a very smart idea for me to come home with a dozen cupcakes, a batch of cookies, three pies and a ray of brownies. I like to stock up my pantry or supplement my planned meals for the week.
• Finish strong and don't give up. Even if it seems like the swapping has wrapped up, I guarantee there are people out there with some swap items yet. Maybe they'd like to take them back home, but maybe they are looking for a swap buddy! Stick around, chit chat and scope out the scene for closing call swaps. And if you aren't able to trade all of your items, that's actually pretty great because you get to take them home and enjoy the fruits of your labor! I couldn't get rid of my last set of biscuits at the Albany swap but they happened to be delicious so I didn't mind bringing them back with me.
• It's ok to bring a lot of different things. I haven't done this, but I love when one person lays out this crazy spread of things. Also, it seems to be easier to swap when you have some variety rather than 40 jars of jam. Then again, if your jam is crazy awesome or you have a famous recipe for something, go ahead and bring 'em all.

Phew, what an insane few days it's been. Meetings before work, meetings after work, swap prep, kitchen voting, my Facebook giveaway and to top it off, we're rocking near-100 degree temps here. I will admit to hiding out at the mall last night for a bit of heat relief and walking away with four or five new dresses. They were on super-sale! Couldn't help it! Blame it on the heat.

I've shared a few tips for surviving a tiny kitchen over at From Scratch Club today so if you are also lacking some cooking space, check it out. If you are so inclined, you can vote for my 40 square foot kitchen at the Small, Cool Kitchens contest! It would mean so much to me. Chris has been away on a little trip and I'm excited to surprise him this weekend by welcoming him back to a now nationally-famous kitchen! Ha. "Ta-da! Strangers everywhere have seen inside our apartment! You're welcome." I think it would be a better surprise if I could announce that we were at the top of the Rental category... we shall see :)

kinfolk magazine

(Styling and concept: Chelsea Fuss

Photo: Lisa Warninger)

I know this has been blogged a million times over, but it's such a beautiful project that I wanted to share it here as well. A group of mega-talented people have gotten together to create Kinfolk: A Guide for Small Gatherings. It takes the shape of both an online magazine and limited edition print edition filled with inspiring stories, gorgeous photos and a thoughtful manifesto that shouts directly to me, daring me not to get swept up in the simple magic they've captured. Even their promo video is breathtaking.

(Photo: Lily Stockman)

From the Kinfolk website:

Kinfolk is a growing community of artists with a shared interest in small gatherings. We recognize that there is something about a table shared by friends, not just a wedding or once-a-year holiday extravaganza, that anchors our relationships and energizes us. We have come together to create Kinfolk as our collaborative way of advocating the natural approach to entertaining that we love.

Every element of Kinfolk – the features, photography, and general aesthetics – are consistent with the way we feel entertaining should be: simple, uncomplicated, and less contrived. Kinfolk is the marriage of our appreciation for art and design and our love for spending time with family and friends.

(Photo: Carissa Gallo)

When the project was announced, it was like I had suddenly been let in on a secret gathering of so many of my blog crushes: Kinfolk founders Nathan & Katie of Hearblack, Youngna Park, Chelsea Fuss of Frolic!, Lisa Warninger of Urban Weeds and Ryan Marshall of Pacing the Panic Room.I felt the same way when I saw the speaker lineup for last year's Alt Summit; just overwhelmed by awesome. How did all of these brilliant people find each other?! When I first heard of Kinfolk, I almost bought a print copy (for now they are limited edition, but the online magazine is completely free) but hesitated and it was sold out before I knew it!

(Photo: Nikole Herriott and Tara O'Brady)

The entire publication is spot-on with incredible attention to design, typography, layout, photography and the written word. And best of all, it celebrates the role of small gatherings with friends and loved ones. It even celebrates very small gatherings of one. You should really check it out. For a quick fix, the creators also maintain an online journal frequently updated with real parties, tips and inspiration.

fb giveaway reminder

Today is your last chance to enter my FB giveaway. You could win a copy of the incredible summer read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and a set of homemade drink cozies! The book is so very awesome. No need to be bashful. Just wander over to my Facebook page and leave a comment on the giveaway post :) Contest closes at 11:59pm EST tonight and I'll announce the winner on my page tomorrow morning.

small, cool kitchens 2011

Want a sneak peek into our infamous wee kitchen? Scoot on over to The Kitchn for a virtual tour because our kitchen is in the running for the Small, Cool Kitchens 2011 contest!

From the contest website:

The smallest kitchens are often the ones that work the hardest, yet get the least attention. At The Kitchn, we know that terrific food can be cooked up in the smallest of spaces. Small Cool Kitchens is a chance to show off those tiny yet creative kitchens.

If you are so moved, will you "favorite" our teeny kitchen? You can choose your favorite entries through Monday, July 25 in the Own, Rent & International categories. You have to create an account in order to vote, but you really should have one anyway because about 70% of my recipes and meal ideas are inspired by things over at The Kitchn :)

It looks like ours is the second smallest kitchen in the entire contest! Ha! And the smallest kitchen shared by two people. It's been a real challenge to spruce up this little nook. We are renters with an almost non-existent budget set aside for making major improvements to a property that we don't own, ya know? Longtime readers already know about our kitchen pegboard, but you have to see the hilarious (to me, anyway) pulley system that Chris rigged up so I can lower our three-tiered hanging basket to within reach and then hoist it up out of sight afterwards.

Vote for our wee space in the Small, Cool Kitchens 2011 Contest here.

Updated: Thanks, everyone! Our wee space came in second in the Rental category :) Not a prize-winner, but not too shabby :) If you'd like to take a virtual tour of the space, head on over here.

inside the cooler, week no. 7

Greens, rosemary, summer squash (I will never get sick of summer squash), beets (At some point I'm sure I'll get sick of beets but it hasn't quite happened yet) and cucumbers! You know your CSA delivery rocks when your delivery gal sends you a text notifying you that not only are your veggies there, but that your Zappos order came too. Fresh produce & new shoes! Perfection.

I had a nice four-day weekend. Did some stuff, did some more stuff, laid around outside, went to a barnside movie party & swapped some infused tequila for really awesome things. More about the food swap later. Albany swappers really brought it. It's a crazy double-swap week for me, with Albany's yesterday and the 'Toga swap on Wednesday. Yowzas. Will report back... say, Friday? Yes, Friday will be a food swap round-up. If you aren't on board yet with strangers swapping food, you will be soon. It's so fantastic. Actually, if you are a local reader, just sign up for the Saratoga Swap and see for yourself. You don't even have to swap anything if you don't want to, you can just chit chat and check it out.

Don't forget about my giveaway on Facebook! Click here and comment on this FB post for a chance to win Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle plus two homemade beverage cozies! So easy. You have until Wednesday night...

a giveaway for my facebook buddies

I'm hosting a giveaway for my FB buddies and thought you might want to know. In celebration of hitting 100+ Facebook fans, I'd love to give away one of my favorite summer reads plus two homemade beverage cozies. Grab a beer/soda/whathaveyou, a blanket & head outside to dig into Barbara Kingsolver's awesome tale of eating locally with consciousness.

All you have to do is wander over to my Facebook page, "LIKE" it if you haven't already and then comment on that post. Not THIS post, but the one over on FB. I mean, absolutely say hi here if you'd like (I always love the company!) but in order to win you've gotta be part of FB frenzy. Enter to win right over here.

Don't be shy! All are welcome... friends, family, strangers, etc. Contest will close on WEDNESDAY, JULY 20 at 11:59 PM EST and I'll announce the winner the following day. Good luck and thanks for sticking around this place with me :)

PS- If you are so inclined, you can also join this site by clicking the button at the top of the right sidebar. That will automatically add the blog to your Google Reader so you don't miss a single post! I think that might also integrate with the new Google+ thing, whatever the hell that is. I'm so cutting edge over here.

my big blue jug of sangria

I feel like I've been dragging a jug full of sangria around all summer. Like a kid with her teddy bear. It's been to the lake, to last night's cheesemaking party (I KNOW. Recap to come next week.) and all around town. In the past, it's been brought downstate for Spring Fever Festivals and other such events and came along for the ride to Mystic for a gals weekend. If you see me carrying this blue cooler, you can be assured that good things are on the horizon.

And if you see this (10 gallon) cooler coming, well, hold onto your hats people. Things are about to get wild.

brown bag challenge: summer veggie wrap with spicy mayo

I've been looking forward to a good summer veggie wrap for months. I'm guilty of occasionally buying out-of-season, non-local, crappy produce at the grocery store during the winter months, hoping to recreate favorite summer meals. It's not worth it, it's not rational and so I cut back this past year. Now that I have farm-fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, summer squash and greens... I had to wrap it all up.

If I had a grill, I would have grilled these vegetables, but alas I do not. I sauteed a handful of sliced mushrooms and summer squash in a splash of olive oil and added them to a wrap with a few quartered cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumber, arugula, a chopped hard-boiled egg, sprinkle of shredded cheddar and a dollop of spicy vegan mayo, the idea for which I totally ripped off from All Good's Bakers incredible Sriracha mayo.

The result is an easily-transportable, protein- & nutrient-packed wrap that will keep you full and alert throughout the rest of your work day. This is one of those "no-recipe" recipes, because you can add anything you'd like to it. A few slices of turkey, bell pepper or sauteed onions, a completely different dressing, swap the egg for a handful of chickpeas... anything you like. Just wrap it up. If you are traveling to work, package it up tightly in plastic, foil or a small reusable container and wait until lunchtime to cut it in half. Bring along a piece of fruit and a bottle of unsweetened home-brewed iced tea with a squeeze of lemon and you've got yourself a satisfying midday lunch break.

This post is part of the Small Kitchen College Brown Bag Challenge. All this week the ladies from Big Girls, Small Kitchen/Small Kitchen College are celebrating the brown bag lunch and all of its nutritious, convenient & money-saving glory. They are partnering with BuiltNY to share recipes, tips & giveaway goodies for brown baggin' your lunch. If you've got a tasty homemade lunch-on-the-go to share, head over there and enter the challenge! I'm always on the prowl for new lunch ideas that travel and will keep well in the refrigerator for a few hours. Which reminds me, I still need to recreate that delectable lunch from Portland's The Whole Bowl food cart :) 

More lunch ideas:

• Beet & Brown Rice Veggie Burgers
• Pita with Veggies & Roasted Garlic Hummus
• Simple Rice & Veggie Bowl
• Recreate this Delightful Smorgasboard
• Cornish Pasty with Butternut Squash, Parmesan & Sage
• Tempeh Deli Salad
• Salad with Feta Vinaigrette
• Summer Orzo Salad
• A PB&J with Homemade Peanut Butter
• In the winter, leftover Sunday Soup

And check out my post up on From Scratch Club today for a kicky Garlic Scape Pesto recipe. It's garlic scape week over there with garlic scape info, recipes and growing tips!

inside the cooler, week no. 6

Well, what do you know... another look inside the cooler! And summer veggies are here, big-time. I was surprised to see cherry tomatoes already! Summer squash & cucumber too, along with lettuce, garlic scapes, cucumber, dill & beets :) I'm going to make a loaded vegetable pizza, some fresh dill bread and a few wraps for lunch stuffed with the rest of this beautiful haul from KFF.

Part two of the cooler & running posts: Yesterday, I woke up nice and early to drive out to Utica for the Boilermaker. You run 9.3 miles and then they give you some food and beer. There are bands and radio stations and entertainment all along the course plus thousands of rowdy spectators. Not so bad as far as races go. After I got back home, I laid out in the park for awhile and then ordered celebratory Indian food. That's how I roll.

choco-beet cupcakes

Yup, I put beets in these cupcakes. And they were awesome, so stop rolling your eyes. There are only so many ways you can eat beets before you start wondering how you can make them into a dessert food. I'd heard rumors that beets (mandrakes, anyone?) could be put into chocolatey things without disaster, and I do love chocolatey things, so I started looking around. I found this great recipe, originally concocted by Straight from the Farm and then adapted slightly by Eggs on Sunday. Unfortunately, my baking process wasn't as whimsical or magical as in this gorgeous video.

I've gotten really lazy about frosting cupcakes recently. That leads some people to believe that they are muffins, but no, they are just unfrosted cupcakes. I sprinkled a little powder sugar on some, but that only lasts for a little while before it melts right into the cake. I'm trying to make things from scratch these days (even though I love store-bought cake mix and frosting!) and making frosting after making a cake usually seems like an unnecessary bit of extra work. These would be great with a whipped cream cheese frosting, though, if you are so inclined.

I didn't change this recipe much because it was pretty great as is. I used about 4 ounces of chocolate because I like chocolate. I made cupcakes instead of a cake because they are easier to share. I used Straight from the Farm's genius space- and dish-saving method of mixing the dry ingredients in a plastic bag, instead of dirtying another bowl.

Choco-Beet Cupcakes
Ingredients

• 2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 4 oz dark chocolate
• 2 cups pureed beets (for me, this just took 2 gigantic beets, but 4-5 medium beets should do the trick too)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup bread flour or all-purpose
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Directions 

Note: To make the beet puree, first you'll need to trim the stems and roots off of the beets and quarter them into smaller pieces. Place those beets in a medium sauce pan filled with water, bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 50 minutes. As I write this, I'm realize that you could absolutely just microwave those beets in a bowl, because I've microwaved beets before and it's fine. Especially since you will just be pureeing them and baking them into a cake. Once you've cooked the beets and let them cool a bit, peel off the skins and add to a blender or food processor. Pulse until a puree forms with no large chunks. It's ok if there are small chunks though, they will melt when baked. This step can be done a few days ahead of time.

1. Using a hand- or stand-mixer, cream 3/4 cup of the butter together with the brown sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one. In a small bowl, microwave the chocolate with the rest of the butter. I set my microwave to "low", kept an eye on it and it took about 45-60 seconds for the chocolate to melt a little. I took it out and stirred it rapidly to mix the butter and chocolate together. Don't over-microwave it! Just get the chocolate softened a bit and when you mix it up it will continue melting.
2. Stir the chocolate mixture, beet puree and vanilla into the creamed mixture.
3. Next, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a separate bowl (or a gallon-sized plastic bag, to cut down on dishes!). Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix well.
4. Fill greased or lined cupcake pans about 2/3 full with cake batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test. Let cool (really, it helps the flavor of these) and serve to people without telling them the secret ingredient. When they are begging to know how these cupcakes could be so delicious, scream "mmmm I'M DROPPIN' BEETS YO!", throw a few beets on the ground and then walk away with as much swagger as you can muster. Let me know how that goes for you, by the way.

Makes about 16 cupcakes, which is a strange number. I filled them fairly unevenly so maybe it should have made 18. Who knows.

You don't taste the beets at all in these cupcakes, and nothing else about them is hippie-healthy so don't be nervous. Beet-phobes, take a deep breath. Just know that you are getting a healthy serving of beta carotene and veggies with your dessert tonight. As a sidenote, I just googled "droppin' beets" and there are a lot of hilarious vegetable-eaters out there. You can buy this t-shirt, this needlepoint, and this other awesome shirt. I love the internet. One day I found a website where you can type something in, and it will spit it back out to you in LLAMA FONT. Which is just what it sounds like. Like I said, I love the internet.

albany (& saratoga) food swaps!

What?? I thought people might want to know what the muffins looked like that were hidden inside the paper bags. So I took a picture, printed one out and taped it on.

Food Swaps are taking over the nation. What were at one time isolated, underground happenings are now spreading to a slightly less underground (though still subversive) and highly-connected audience. At the Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking party, I participated in a lite version of a food swap. Then last month, I went to an all-out swap hosted by From Scratch Club (FSC). I brought some muffins and walked away with strawberry rhubarb bbq sauce, a vegan cookie sampler, garden-fresh radishes, garlic scape pesto, banana scones and a few new super cool friends. Pretty good bounty, no?

This swap was held up at the wonderful local yarn shop The Common Thread in Saratoga Springs. Ah, pretty pretty yarn. There were drinks and potluck snacks and swaps and giggling and a general vibe of excitement and friendliness. And the swap itself? Easy peasy. I was worried about feeling rejected every time someone opted against swapping with me, but that was not the case. At all. Since I am so enamored with this swapping idea, I asked FSC Chris if I could show up early & learn the insiders' secrets. And since Saratoga is so very lovely but a bit of a drive from my homebase in Albany, we decided that I'd help host an Albany FSC Swappers event! Squee! So, you awesome locals, here it is:

FSC Swappers: Albany!

Date: Sunday, July 17

Time: 4-6pm

Location: All Good Bakers (160A Quail Street, Albany)

Space is limited and interest is high so reserve your spot RIGHT NOW! Only 14 spots left.=-

And here's the info for the monthly Saratoga event:
FSC Swappers: Saratoga!
Date: Wednesday, July 20
Time: 7:30-9:30pm
Location: Common Thread Saratoga (55 Beekman St, Saratoga Springs)
Reserve your spot today!

Never been to a food swap before? Let me walk you through it.

First, go register right this second. (Info & registration are here.)

Then, think about something awesome to bring. Swappers trade everything you can think of... muffins, bread, homemade jam, ready-to-go meals, sourdough starts, kombucha SCOBYs, homemade sauces and dressings, garden-fresh veggies, desserts, etc. Anything that you make or grow yourself is fair game.

Show up & sign in. If you've brought an additional item for the potluck (optional), you can put that on the potluck table. Make some new friends. Say hi to me.

Next you claim a spot for your swap stuff and start setting up! That can mean just throwing your muffins on the table, or maybe you have a more elaborate display for your goodies. Keep in mind that space will likely be tight at your swap. The first 30 minutes are devoted entirely to settling in, setting up and mingling so don't worry, you'll have plenty of time.

After the set-up period, everyone will have some time to walk around and casually check out what is available for swap. You can keep a little list for yourself of things you like, if that strikes you.

After everyone has a chance to check out the treats, you go around the room and when you see something you'd like to trade for, you just write your name down at their table and tell 'em what you can offer. For instance, if I see some cookies I'd like, I'd go to the swap sheet posted near their goods and write my name and say that I can swap a loaf of ciabatta. Easy.

Don't worry if someone turns down a swap with you- it's nothing personal, they just didn't need your chicken stock that night :)

Now the swapping actually begins! You can take a look at your swap sheet and get a sense of who is interested in swapping with you. You aren't obligated to swap with anyone you don't want to; the swap sheets just offer a good starting point. You can also go up to anyone at all and ask if they are interested in swapping. It's a totally practical, business-y, non-personal exchange though... if someone doesn't want to swap for your cupcakes, maybe it's because they have a food allergy or special diet or maybe they just made a huge batch of cupcakes at home! No worries, move onto someone else. Also, all swaps are on a one-to-one basis so package your goods accordingly. You might swap 4-6 muffins for one jar of homemade jam. Or you could trade a big bag of freshly picked garden salad greens for a quart of soup. So if you would feel screwed by bringing a gigantic veggie casserole that serves eight and getting just a small batch of cookies in return, think about resizing that casserole into two or three swap packages. Ya dig? You can bring as many things as you'd like to swap: just one item or maybe a whole slew of them. If you bring four things, you can swap for four things. Bring 12? You can try to swap for 12. One last tip: it's a great idea to list all of the ingredients on your swap item so that those with food allergies or sensitivities stay safe and happy, plus everyone likes to know what's in their food anyway :)

Swap Resources

• FSC has an amazing recap of the June swap in Toga, complete with hints & insiders' tips on food swapping. The post also made me a little teary, as I love being part of this new food-based community. Go read it.
• The always-fabulous Kate Payne, aka the Queen of Food Swaps, has a collection of resources and swap ideas right here. 
• An article on food swaps from Eating Well.
• The New York Times wrote an article about food swaps.
• The Kitchn hosted their first food swap and offered some tips. 

Going back through the archives, my post about the Hip Girls Guide to Homemaking swap party has a few more resources too.

I can't wait to see you all at the Albany swap! Or at the Saratoga swap! Swap-curious? If you aren't so sure about this swap thing, or you'd like to see how it all works first, register and just come to hang out! I guarantee once you see it in motion you'll be brainstorming ideas for the next one. To stay up-to-date on the latest local swap news, like the FSC Swappers page on Facebook. Have questions? Get at us at the FSC Swappers page or right here in the comments. Think your question is silly? I assure you it isn't, but you can still email me privately if you'd like at christine[at]unspeakablevisions[dot]com. I researched like mad before my first swap because I didn't want to show up looking like a dweeb, but I didn't even need to stress because swapping is all done in fun with awesome people.

can i tell you about my nails?

Sorry, menfolk, this post just isn't really for you. Though I appreciate you stopping by & welcome you back later in the week.

I tried those nail polish sticker things by Sally Hansen. And they are pretty awesome. They took about thirty minutes to apply, not including a little bit of nail prep beforehand, and it was easier than I thought it would be. You find the strip that fits your nail shape the best, stick it on, stretch it out so it covers your nail and then file away the excess. I think mine look really badass, if I can be so bold as to say so. They are supposed to last longer than regular polish too, though I did end up applying a clear top-coat as an extra buffer against chips. I'm not dainty at all with my hands, and so far they've held up for four days with nary a chip to be seen. That's already an all-time record for me. I just wanted to share, because at first I thought they looked like a scam, but then Cup of Jo and Amy from Angry Chicken and a friend of mine were talking them up so I gave it a go. Fun summer splurge, if you ask me.

PS- They are called Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips by Sally Hansen. I got mine at either Rite Aid or CVS, I can't remember.

PPS- It's harder than you'd think to take a good picture of fingernails. My hands look crippled and arthritic in every single shot. Well, not true, in one my hand looked like a surgical glove blown up like a balloon. So puffy. I figured I'd try a one of the most natural poses in the world: holding a plastic Solo cup full of sangria.

inside the cooler, week no. 5

We were excited to get some fresh herbs in last week's CSA delivery! This is the first year that we haven't had a window box herb garden so the basil and rosemary were very much welcome. We were also totally pumped about the honey we found in our cooler... I hadn't even known that was an option! For the past year or so we've been getting all of our honey exclusively from local beekeepers and you can really taste the difference. Have I already mentioned here that local honey is supposed to help ward off allergies? Because the bees visit common allergens, grab the pollen and then it goes into the honey, so it's like you are getting a dose of inoculation with every spoonful. This household goes through a lot of honey, so I hope we'll be all set with the allergy treatment this year.

And yes, if you were wondering, I did make chocolate cupcakes with beets in them. And yes, of course, they were completely delicious. I'll post the recipe later this week for all you beet freaks out there.

smashed rutabagas & roasted radishes

There are nights when I just want dinner ready and I want it ready now. I don't want to think about it, don't want to plan it and don't want it to take too long. On other nights, though, I love searching my pantry and fridge for ingredients to throw together and somehow mold into a complete  meal. One night I looked around and saw that we had rutabagas, potatoes, spring onions, and radishes with their greens, all fresh from the farm. A glance in the fridge confirmed that we had butter and cheese. So we made this. Did you even know you could cook a radish? My mom remembered that author/farmer Kristin Kimball of The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food and Love and of Essex Farm in Essex, NY cooked up some radishes once but I had completely forgotten about that by the time I was staring down two week's deliveries of radishes and had no idea how to use them up. Fortunately, Epicurious.com came through for me, as it usually does. Once roasted, radishes lose some of their spiciness and take on almost a sweet flavor and slightly creamier texture.

Roasted Radishes with Brown Butter
(adapted from Bon Appétit, April 2011 via Epicurious)

Ingredients

• radishes, one bunch 
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• course sea salt
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

 Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and brush a baking sheet with olive oil.
2. Cut off all but 1/2 inch of the radish tops and set the greens aside for another meal of your choosing. The recipe call for adding them on top of the roasted radishes raw. I find radish tops to be a tad bitter, so we sauteed ours in the skillet after Step 4 and ate them on the side. Truthfully, they were still pretty bitter. So do what you like with them but don't say I didn't warn you.
3. Cut radishes in half lengthwise and place in a bowl with olive oil. Toss to coat and then place radishes cut side down on baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt, cracked black pepper and a bit of rosemary.
4. Roast for about 20 minutes or until radishes are crisp and starting to brown. When they are done, remove from oven and set aside. In a skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat and add a pinch of salt. Swirl the skillet continuously to prevent scorching and remove from heat as soon as the butter browns. Add in the lemon juice and drizzle over the roasted radishes. Serve warm. Makes 2-3 servings.

 

Smashed Buttermilk Potatoes and Rutabagas

(Adapted from Bon Appétit, November 1998 via Epicurious)

Ingredients

• 2 medium rutabagas, scrubbed and cut into small chunks (1-2" is fine)
• 2 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into small chunks (1-2" is fine)
• 4-5 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• chopped green (spring) onion tops or chives, for garnish

Directions

1. Cook the rutabagas and potatoes together in a large pot of boiling water until tender, about 20 minutes, and drain. 
2. Add butter to the pot and mash, then add 3/4 cup buttermilk and keep mashing until smooth. Next, add in the shredded cheese and stir until combined and melted. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with sliced spring onion tops and serve. Make 3-4 servings.

Do you have any delicious menus ready for Independence Day weekend? Doing a bit of grilling? Making a few potato salads? I'm whipping up a giant batch of sangria, a few deviled eggs and maybe a radish dip (more radishes!) to celebrate the 4th. If you need ideas for your own party, check out this cute "July 4th Stuck-in-the-City Picnic Brunch" from BGSK. Because you can, and should, party anywhere regardless of whether or not you have a perfectly set-up rooftop deck or spacious yard with a grill! This time last year, Chris & I were fleeing the country and missed the 4th of July celebrations so I'm happy to be home to celebrate it in 2011.