Everyday Photos by Jodi Anderson: Food

this was tuesday.

And, so, this was Tuesday ... staying home, being productive, making pasta e fagioli. I am okay with not having anything exciting to share. I think that means that I really lived this day, absorbed most every moment, was entirely present in duties and in joy.

I am always amazed by pasta e fagioli. (I always use the recipe from the Veganomicon.) It is so simple and so satisfying; I think it is perfect for February. Truth be told, I tired of most roasted root vegetables last month. I have a few new soups that I want to try and that should scratch the itch that I have for something new, different, not roasted root vegetables.

I have to admit that I'm looking a bit forward to local spring asparagus in around two months from now.

I finally took out my seed catalogs today and put them in a pile with my graph paper. (I love plotting out my gardens on graph paper. Do you??) I hope to have theother23 build two more raised beds. Plus, I'd really like to take advantage of a little more container gardening, but ... I don't know. I'm not known for remembering to properly water things outside in pots. That reminds me: I hope to get some sort of rain barrel system set up for some of the beds, at least the ones alongside the garage and house.

I had nothing to say. Look at how I rambled. Please, someone else pipe in and tell me what's going on in your life and/or in your mind.

February 24, 2010 in Food, Home and Garden | Permalink | Comments (20) | TrackBack (0)

head cheese :: straka meats

Okay, it is no secret that I am basically a vegan. I wanted to get that out there right away lest anyone be confused by the photos above and the ingredient list at the bottom.

I focus a lot on my Scandinavian lineage, but on my maternal side, I am German-Irish. (Surnames = Grauvogl, Shanahan and Conley) Today, I went to pick up a treat for Grandma ... head cheese.

Ingredients: Vinegar, pork broth, pork skin, beef heart, beef tongues, onions, sugar, salt, and spice.

February 19, 2010 in Food, Local Flavor, Wisconsin, duh! | Permalink | Comments (23) | TrackBack (0)

linkage :: 23 january 10

Here's a bunch of links that have captured my interest this last week:

Daihatsu Basket concept car -- Cute, cute. This will be perfect for when I live on a large expanse of land again. (Don't burst my bubble.)
Icoeye jacket + bookmark -- Cute AND clever. I want to buy one for X, but I'm not sure which title yet.
Looklet -- I've only scratched the surface of this design site. If I spend too much time there, I might get sucked in really far. Hrm...
Maria Alexandra Vettese -- Have some fun poking around at MAV's newest site. I did.
Junior Society -- If you have children (or nieces and nephews), this is a fun and informative site. I think that I found some good birthday gifts for some children in my life. It's not just links to shopping, but also lots of family ideas, education and entertainment.
Roasted Chickpeas -- I am SO making a version of these this weekend. My stomach tells me that sooner is better.
Maple Syrup Taffy -- And, if you're braver than me, make some maple syrup taffy with snow and let me know how it turns out for you. Send samples, if you insist!

January 23, 2010 in Food, Kibitz, Linkage | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

oremay oastingray.

I'm not saying anything else ... except, I just can't help myself. I hope you understand.

Regretfully,
Egetablevay Oastingray Addict

January 05, 2010 in Food | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBack (0)

an end to the beginning of roasting vegetables

If not for fear of alienation, I would probably talk about roasting vegetables every chance that I get from, oh, a few weeks ago until well into this coming spring. Around that time, I'll be hungry for at-room temperature salads and other things.

In an attempt to perhaps get a bit of it out of the way all at once, I want to talk about roasting vegetables right now.

The most amazing thing about this process, to me, is that I have managed to take pretty much every vegetable that I hated as a child and instead found a way to absolutely love them. Sometimes too much. Asparagus, parsnips, cabbage, and brussel sprouts. Oh, how I abhorred the sprouts of Brussel! For the asparagus, it was the Ina Garten recipe. I've played with it quite a lot and now make it in a variety of ways. Or, I stick with the bare essentials -- olive oil, kosher salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and almost any vegetable. Roast until desired tenderness versus crispness ratio is attained.

I have also learned to like quite a lot of new vegetables. Turnips were a complete surprise for me. They can be nicely caramelized, yet there's a burst of tasty juice when you bite into them. And, kale. Oh, for the love of kale. I drizzle a few drops of olive oil onto a pile of roughly torn leaves, rub it in with my hands, and then add a touch of salt. Spread out leaves, put in a hot oven and watch closely. I eat these like potato chips.

Oven temperature. I don't have an exact one to share. I keep my oven somewhere between 400 and 450 degrees Fahrenheit for roasting. With most items, I flip them over about halfway through cooking, so that would be around the time that you notice caramelization. (I don't flip the kale.)

There are a few vegetables that I've yet to roast and that would mostly encompass the squash family. I have a squash fear based upon some sort of experience that I had as a child in which it was paired with brown sugar and butter. I'll take care of that situation next autumn.

Parsnips and carrot sticks with sage are really good. I like my roasted potatoes with a lot of thyme and maybe some rosemary. I also like to toy with spicy varieties containing lemon, mustard, and/or cayenne. Adding shaved grana and a bit of breadcrumbs before roasting asparagus makes it a hearty side dish. If in doubt, start with the basics (in italics a few paragraphs back).

So, roasting vegetables ... I'm doing a lot of it. I will try not to litter the page with all of my experiences.

This is also my chance to ask if you are roasting anything that I should try. I'm really up for some new recommendations. (Vegan, please.)

December 27, 2009 in Food | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBack (0)

a vegan salad for the season

My taste buds were thinking about pasta e fagioli, but I was in the mood for something a little cooler. I googled 'tomato' 'bean' 'salad' and ended up with THIS WINNER from the Martha Stewart website.

I think that it would be delicious chilled with pasta as well.

Of note, I doubled the garlic.

June 20, 2009 in Food | Permalink

vegan cookbook recipes :: three

Book: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
Authors: Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero

I endorse this book wholeheartedly.

So far, I've made golden vanilla and basic chocolate cupcakes as well as rich chocolate ganache topping and vegan cream cheese frosting. (Our favorite combo is the chocolate cupcake and cream cheese frosting.)

There are so many more cupcakes in this book that I intend to try ... apple cider cupcakes, coconut lime cupcakes, and green tea cupcakes, just to name a few.

Besides being vegan, this book also offers up some gluten-free, sugar-free, and low-fat options.

April 04, 2009 in Food, Kibitz | Permalink

crouton recipe for X

This shall be boring to most everyone, I am sure, but it's meant as a reference for X ... lest she forget how to make croutons, which I taught her how to do the day that I took these photos.

Peel garlic, we use quite a lot, and then smash with it with the side of a knife.
Preheat pan with desired amount of olive oil and then gently cook the garlic. You don't want to brown the garlic, just infuse the flavor. When done cooking, I set it aside with the garlic in it while I ...
Cut up bread, your choice. I like big pieces of a soft bread, especially the crusts. In these photos, we used cracked wheat. Rye is super yummy.
Put bread in bowl or, if you like, simply put it in a foil-lined or parchment-lined pan now. Drizzle the bread with the oil, tossing it gently to coat the pieces as much as possible. If you used a bowl to coat the bread, now transfer to a cookie sheet.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme (or whatever spices you like, such as onion powder or rosemary).
Cook in a preheated oven at about 400 degrees. I flip them around four minutes, and check them again in another four minutes. I generally cook them for ten minutes total.
Try to remember to have some salad or soup with them, and not just eat the entire batch, which I am inclined to do although I don't generally eat bread otherwise. Go figure.
Never purchase croutons again and realize that all others fail in comparison to these ... THAT YOU MADE YOURSELF!