French farmers fantasy

We are supremely lucky to have a fantastic farmer's market in Falls Church, just a few miles up the road from our house.  I love building a trip there into my Saturday morning to grab locally grown veggies, artisanal cheeses, sausage, even occassionally some locally made puppy treats for my favorite canines, Jager and Zoya.  I've loved it since we moved to this part of town last year and I discovered it.  But I love it more now - because it makes me think of good travel memories and eating our way across France - with the advent of a brand new Creperie booth.  B, the crepe critic in our house, tagged along with me this weekend to check out these delicious anytime treats.

Watching the crepes being made

B's crepe, filled with bananas, nutella and coconut (it was great for my waistline that he chose nutella and coconut, which I can't eat. He says it was delicious!!)

While B was waiting for his crepe to be made, I was checking out all the gorgeous produce at the stands around us.  While pricier than the grocery store, there is something to buying produce from the same person who grew and picked it that makes it taste better.  And the colors in mid-summer when everything is ripe lend themselves so well to photos that I couldn't resist taking some to share.

VA grown zucchini and yellow squash

Eggplants everywhere!

Since the line at the Creperie was long, I had plenty of time to browse the rest of the market.  I was thrilled to find that not only were our French travels represented, but also many summers in Greece.  The very last booth, a nursery, showcased not one, but two of the native Greek items I've long associated with summer - olives and figs. 

I've yet to figure out where I'm going to plant a fig tree, but before the summer is over, it will be mine.  Join us next summer for figs and brie, wine poached figs and vanilla bean ice cream, you name the fig dish and we'll be serving it!

Beef and Mushroom Sloppy Joes

This is a super easy, filling and good for your recipe courtesy of Cooking Light.  A caveat though - the magazine claims this makes four sandwiches.  Maybe I make wimpy sandwiches, but B and I can get six to eight good size sandwiches out of each batch of this quick, healthy recipe.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounces ground sirloin
2 (8-ounce) packages presliced cremini mushrooms
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon molasses
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
Hot sauce to taste
4 hamburger buns, toasted in the oven

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add beef; cook for 4 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. While beef cooks, place mushrooms in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until finely chopped. Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic to pan; cook for 3 minutes or until onion is tender. Add tomato paste and next 5 ingredients (through salt) to pan; cook 5 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and liquid evaporates. Stir in pepper and hot sauce. Spoon about the  beef mixture on bottom half of each bun; top with top halves of buns.

Happy 60th, Mom!

While my prior week in Michigan had been fun, I hadn't originally planned for it to be so long since B and I had already booked tickets to come back the weekend of June 17th to help my dad pull off a surprise party for my mom's 60th birthday.

The plan was simple.  My dad was to take my mom to Stratford, Ontario for the Shakespeare Festival, one of her favorite things to get her away from the house and B, my brother T and I were to swoop in and make a party happen.  And that's exactly how it went - with a LOT of help from family and friends.

Our arriving flight was delayed on Friday so that we didn't hit the ground in the Detroit until nearly 8PM.  Too late to go to Costco or do any of the other shopping necessary until the next day.  Therefore, we spent Friday night getting everything set up around the house and making sure anything that could be cleaned or prepped was done. 

Saturday dawned early as B and I hit what felt like every grocery store, florist and variety store imaginable.  And then we cooked. Our day was spent marinating 25 lbs of lamb, prepping salads and cooking appetizers for 50 people.  B and T took care of all the pick-ups (cupcakes, etc.) and our family friends K and P joined us to break down vegetables and grill off peppers and lamb souvlakia by the dozen.  With 30 minutes to go before everyone was due to arrive I was worried we were a little behind.  Enter the aunts.  My two aunts from Windsor showed up early, anticipating that we might need help.  Add to them two cousins and a family friend and by 6PM everything I was worried about had been completed in a firestorm of aunt directed activity.   I can throw a party with the best of them and while I'm certain we'd have been fine without their help, I am so glad they were there. These women are in their 70s but they make it look effortless.

Every last bit of work was worth it to see the look on my Mom's face when she walked through the door to see 50 of her closest friends and family standing in her kitchen while my brother and his two super helpful friends (one had been there helping most of the day) set of confetti cannons.  She actually had to hold on to the door to steady her shock as my dad leaned in to say, "Gotcha!"

It was a great party. Everyone chatted and enjoyed each others company, the pounds and pounds of food, cupcakes, and homemade Greek sweets courtesy of my aunts. Although I was too busy running around to get pictures, I did get just one of my Aunt V and B cleaning up the aftermath of the confetti cannons.  The paper quantity was so great they decide a snow shovel would be more effective than a dust pan - hilarious!

Happy 60th Birthday, Mom!!

Pure Michigan (with a side of Ohio)

I was fortunate to be able to tag up a personal trip with a work trip the first full week of June.  While I was there for some fun and some serious reasons, there were a few highlights that just can't be overlooked in my blogosphere.

I arrived in Michigan on the evening of the 6th of June in time to spend a night with my family before heading back to the airport to pick up my boss and a few coworkers for an event taking place in Sandusky.  As the once-local, it was incumbent on me to make a good restaurant selection for our Tuesday evening dinner in advance of our Wednesday work.  I scored big with Gratzi! in downtown Ann Arbor.  I'd been there several times when I was living in the Ann Arbor area, but hadn't been back in years.  But Italian is always a crowd pleaser, especially in a crowd of great, fun coworkers who happen to like food and wine as much as I do.

We got a bit of a late start, not sitting down to dinner until about 9PM.  We began our meal with a bottle of red, chosen well by my boss (I wish I could remember the name, but when I don't do the ordering I don't pay attention, let's be honest) and three primi plates.  Our first course included calamari fritti, sacchetti, and a risotto special that wasn't meant as an appetizer but that we were all curious to try.  The calamari was crispy and well-prepared, served with saffron aioli and the risotto was packed full of nutty, salty parmesan and fresh spring vegetables.  But the highlight for me was the sacchetti.  Handmade pasta pouches filled with porcini mushrooms in a light cream sauce, these were phenomenal.  The next time I go back this is all I intend to order.  Any maybe some dessert, of course.

Our mains included a variety of dishes, including Cinghiale (boar stew), Ravioli con Caprino (Ravioli with goat cheese), Penne con Pollo e Pumate (Penne with Chicken, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes), and Tonno alla Griglia con Porri e Aceto Balsamico (seared tuna with crispy risotto cake and white balsamic syrup).  The stand outs of this course included the Cinghiale, served over homemade parpadelle and the seared tuna with its sweet balsamic reduction.

We ended our meal with dessert, because if you're going to go for Italian, you have to go all out.  Tiramisu and a dark chocolate crepe filled with white chocolate mousse, drizzled with raspberry sauce and dotted with fresh raspberries.  The crepe is a long-standing favorite of mine and one I was happy to share (or hog).  By the time we finished our meal and made it back to our hotel in Dearborn, it's amazing anyone was able to get up the next morning to work.  But we did.  I even have photographic proof - we didn't even look bad doing it!

Following my Wednesday work, I was able to spend the remainder of the week and weekend in Brighton and Ann Arbor, spending time with family and catching up with friends.

Wednesday evening my dad and brother decided they needed to purchase and "test" a new fire pit for the backyard. A quick trip to Home Depot later and there it was, being assembled on the back patio.  This in an of itself is fairly unremarkable.  What is remarkable was that until that night my 61 year old father had NEVER had a S'more.  I don't know how that's possible.  We didn't camp much when I was a kid, but it just seems unfathomable to me that this right-of-passage type food had never been his before.  And, the best part? My super picky, no junk food eating dad actually liked it.

My dad enjoying his very first S'more

Even though we stayed up way too late enjoying the fire, I was able to get moving on Thursday morning and by lunch time I was in Ann Arbor to meet up with three of my favorite college girls and two of their little munchkins that I still hadn't had the pleasure of meeting.  We met up at No Thai, a walk-up style place that was perfect to allow us to sit and chat for a long lunch.  I was great to finally get to spend some real time with these ladies, J, S and F and even better to finally get to meet their little ones.  I did the best I could to capture pics of our lunch.  That was easier said than done with S's gorgeous girl M - she's super active.  F's daughter, P, was a little easier since she's just three months old and not quite as mobile.

Miss M, reaching for her water cup

P snoozing during lunch

S getting big kisses from her girl

New BFFs, P (and Momma F) and M

Miss P scoping out the camera

We rounded out or lunch with a little shopping in Kerrytown before we all went our separate ways.  It was great to see these ladies (including the little ladies) and even better that I got to see S and M again on Friday, this time with G, who's expecting her first little girl in October!  Thanks for a great visit ladies.

Lemon Yogurt Cake Redux

The day our President took his oath of office, B and I enjoyed an Inaugural brunch at our house to watch the events unfold (because we were not crazy enough to go downtown).  As a part of that brunch, I made a lemon yogurt cake, the recipe for which I blogged way back then.

It was a great cake, but like many of the myriad of recipes I try, it just fell off my radar.  But I revived it in this month to help celebrate the birthdays of two coworkers.  And this time, I added a new twist - a homemade blueberry sauce.

Just like before, the cakes turned out lemony and delicious.

Ina Garten's Lemon Yogurt Cake recipe

To take these tasty cakes to the next level I made a blueberry sauce.  Now the disclaimer. Diabetics and people who do not like sweet things should run, not walk away from this recipe.  While blueberries have a nice natural tartness, very little of that comes through here.  Perhaps its the copious amounts of sugar, but this sauce is just straight up sweet.  But it is very, very good and it adds an additional dimension to the lemon cake.  

To make the sauce combine three pints of blueberries, two cups of sugar, two cups of water and two tablespoons of lemon juice in a large pot.  Bring the mixture to boil over high heat, stirring occasionally.  Reduce the heat to low and allow the sauce to simmer for at least 15 minutes or until is starts to thicken.  Cool and serve with lemon yogurt cake (this also tastes awesome served over vanilla bean ice cream!).

Mojitos, my new favorite herbal remedy

With the deck right outside our kitchen door, it's both easy and convenient to grow our own herbs.  This year, we've planted basil, mint, rosemary, parsley and cilantro.  In addition to providing some fresh flavors to add to our meals, they actually provide a lovely green backdrop when we're outside, enjoying the outside space that we were so sorely lacking in our old place.

Our exploding mint plant (left) along with some very tall basil (right)

Parsley (upper left), cilantro (upper right), rosemary (lower center)

As the caption states, within days of planting it our mint plant exploded.  Huge, green and EVERYWHERE.  The parsley has a tendency to do the same thing.  However, parsley lends itself to drying very easily.  So when it gets too large, I just cut down what I want to dry and bring it in.  Mint in any form but fresh just doesn't do it for me.  As a result, B and I needed to find a way to use our mint and fast.  Right about the same time the temperatures in DC were starting to spike considerably, in fact we were well on our way to what a good friend of mine called, "sweaty pits 2011."  B solved both problems (if not somewhat temporarily) in one delicious go - MOJITOS! Crisp, refreshing and mint-filled.  Here's the recipe he used, hopefully you'll find it as tasty and heat-beating as we did!

Ingredients (per glass)

4 mint leaves
Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
2 ounces white rum
2 ounces club soda
crushed ice

Place the mint leaves in the bottom of your highball glass and squeeze the lime juice over them. Add the powdered sugar. Muddle the mint, lime juice and sugar together. Add crushed ice. Stir in the rum and top off with the club soda.

Magic chicken

This one's for you DS.

We stumbled onto this combination just playing with chicken breasts, the grill and spices.  We've fed it to many people and one of them dubbed it "Magic Chicken." Why magic?  Because you would never think that by taking chicken and adding just two spices could make it so unbelievably delicious.  But somehow you can - it's like magic!

To make this super easy and extremely versatile chicken favorite simply buy boneless, skinless chicken breast.  We prefer the air chilled chicken breasts from Whole Foods, but that's just personal preference.  Preheat your grill to very hot (we let ours get up to about 550 - 600 degrees). Lay the chicken breasts out on a plate.  Brush each breast with a thin layer of olive oil to help the spices stick to the chicken and to keep it from sticking to the grill.  Sprinkle liberally with Kosher salt.  Add fresh cracked pepper, also in a liberal amount.  Cover the entire breast with chili powder (the whole thing should be more or less red when you're done).  Finally sprinkle a couple of teaspoons of cumin over each breast.  Pat the chicken to adhere the spices. Flip with tongs and repeat on the opposite side.  When you're done it should look something like this.

Mmm...magic chicken

To get really juicy flavorful chicken, the trick to grilling it is fast and hot.  Preheated to its highest temperatures, the chicken goes down on the grill for about five minutes per side, just until its firm to the touch and cooked through.  Allow it to sit for a few minutes to let the juices redistribute.

 B's pretty grill lines and tasty spice crust

Once you've allowed it to rest you can use it for any number of delicious meal creations.  Our two favorites are fajitas (add oven roasted butternut and yellow squash and zucchini, Trader Joe's handmade tortillas and carcaramelized Vidalia onions) and Southwest chicken sandwiches (whole wheat hamburger buns, sliced extra sharp English cheddar, sliced avocado and caramelized Vidalia onions).