Challenge: Consider the Orange

As you all know, this month is unprocessed month for me and it's certainly been quite the experience for me and with only a couple days left of this challenge, I'm extending a small challenge to you, my friends: consider the orange.

Next time you reach for a glass of orange juice, stop yourself.  Put the carton back into the refrigerator and walk away.  Grab your coat (it's a little chilly out) and your wallet and go to the grocery store.  Put two-three large oranges into your cart.  Feel the heaviness of the oranges as they plunk down and settle in to your cart.  Pay for the oranges.  Go home.

Grab a big bowl and set it on the counter.  Cut the oranges in half and by hand, and one-by-one, squeeze the juice from each orange into the bowl.  Let your nose twitch with excitement as it takes in the sharp and zesty aroma of the citrus.  Feel the way the orange's insides slide slickly through your fingers as you release the juice.  Get every last drop from that orange into that bowl.  Next, grab a glass from the cupboard and set it on the counter.  If you're not a fan of pulp, (I'm not) grab a fine-mesh strainer and carefully run the juice from the bowl, through the strainer and into the glass.  If you're a fan of pulp, just pour the juice from the bowl into the cup.

Now, take a sip.

Find yourself involuntarily making that obnoxiously loud, lip-smakin' "Ahhhhhh" sound.

Doesn't that taste incredible?  It's so naturally and surprisingly sweet, no sugar is needed.  The orange juice is so flawlessly delightful, you can almost feel your body thanking you for this gift of pure, refreshing deliciousness.  And that's where the appreciation for what's natural starts.  With a fresh, unaltered piece of fruit, freshly hand-squeezed by you.

Then go about your day and eat what you will but remember that brief, blissful moment you shared appreciating a piece of fruit in it's purest state.

Happy Copley Farmer's Market Day!

Today is a big day for Boston.  The C's are playing Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Sox are playing the Yankees (if the rain ever passes) and equally exiting, today marks the start of the farmer's market in Copley Square.  Now isn't that a special combination?  Basketball, Baseball and the Copley Square Farmer's Market.  You don't see that everyday, do you?

I think there's a lot of to be happy about when it comes to farmer's markets.  For one, it means easily accessible produce from local farmers.   From a cooking standpoint, I love the variety.  There is always something new that just makes things exciting and what better time to try something different than when its at its peak?  I also like to meet and support local farmer's and culinary folks alike and talk with them and (when its not busy) ask them to help me pick something out or make recommendations.  It brings about a sense of community that you miss when you go to grocery store giant like Stop and Shop or Shaw's.

There wasn't much by way of fruits and veggies yet, it's still a little too early for most produce, save for some strawberries, spinach and herbs.  However, I know that in no time at all, gorgeously colored tomatoes, sweet raspberries and blueberries will be aplenty and there is no better way to enjoy fruits and vegetables than when they are fresh and in season.

So with that, I excitedly wish you a "Happy Copley Farmer's Market Day!"

And I also, Go Celtics and Red Sox!!

Bringing Grammy's Lemon Bars Back

I don't necessarily remember the first lemon bar I ever ate, but I do remember the last.  It was somewhere around 1988 or 1989 and I was in my Grammy and Pop-Pop's porch in Pennsylvania.  It was in the summer and I was sitting in the corner on a rocking chair that kept time with a sweet little "squeek-squeeeek" sound as it swayed back and forth.  My Mom was sitting to the left of me, in a matching rocking chair and Grammy was in front of me with her legs casually crossed and a giant smile on her face.  The three of us were talking and laughing about who knows what.  Unfortunately I don't remember much of the conversation, but I do distinctly and very vividly remember what was in my hand; a home made lemon bar.

Grammy always had lemon bars waiting for me when I'd come to visit.  They were housed in a circular yellow plastic container and kept in the freezer, which would give the crust this unique firmness while the top miraculously stayed light and lemony.  The whole dessert was then dressed up by a light dusting of powdered sugar.  It was one of the best things that I had ever eaten.

Sadly, in the spring of 1991, Grammy passed away after a long and painful battle with cancer.  It was devastating and still is.  Suddenly, that amazing woman with the infectious laugh was gone and with that, so were her lemon bars.  It wasn't until we were cleaning my parent's house that we found the recipe.  There it was, in her neatly scripted handwriting, preserved on a scrap piece of paper and only slightly stained by age (and use).  I held onto this recipe for years, and for some reason, couldn't bring myself to make them.  Maybe it was fear that they wouldn't taste the way that I remembered them and somehow that would destroy the memory or maybe I just felt that bringing back the lemon bars needed some sort of special occasion and none seemed fitting.  Until today, Mother's Day.

I wasn't really sure what to expect when my Mom and I set out to make these and looking back, it couldn't have been better.  We weren't even halfway through squeezing the lemons before we bringing Grammy back.  Her presence in my Mom's kitchen was so palpable I could swear that she was right there beside us, laughing her hearty laugh and saying my name in that sing-songy way of hers (with rising emphasis on the first part before sweetly fading away on the last syllable, KaAY-tee).

After we made the lemon bars, we cooled them and stuck them in the freezer, the way Grammy used to.  About an hour later, we anxiously sliced into the bars and took the first bite.  And there it was.  They tasted exactly the same as I remembered them, firm crust and all.  I giddily and happily grabbed for another and closed my eyes, savoring the flavors until suddenly, I wasn't 29 and standing in my parent's kitchen, I was 8 and sitting on that porch in Pennsylvania, carefree and smiling with my Grammy.

Ciao North End!

I am not Italian.  Not even a little bit.  But there is something just so wonderful about the Italian culture that I can't help but be drawn to it.  A culture based on savoring divine homemade foods and treasuring family recipes,  I can't help but feel there must be some mistake along the way and I am in fact, Italian.  (My Mother has assured me that this is not the case).

My favorite place in all of Boston is the North End.  Here, I can channel my inner Italian and take my time grocery shopping for the finest Italian imports.  To get the most out of a trip to the North End, you have to wait until the weather is absolutely perfect.  And today was such a day (plus, I was running a little low on extra virgin olive oil, so that is what originally prompted the trip).  In the North End, I can't help but feel delirious happy.  With Frank Sinatra's greatest hits playing on my iPod, I love taking it all in.  There is something so endearing about the old men that sit on the benches smoking a cigar and speaking in a loud throaty hybrid of Boston and Italian accents.  The air smells of fresh bread and there is so much chaos and noise from the mobs of people crowding the street, open air dining, and of course that guy that sits on the corner playing the theme from "The Godfather" on an accordion.  Oh sweet, sweet heaven.

I always stop at two places to get all of my Italian Imports, Polcari's on Salem Street for a wonderful selection of herbs, spices and dried foods (coffee, rice, beans, etc) and J. Pace on Cross Street for canned tomatoes, olive oils, and an exceptional quality of dried pastas.  I love the atmosphere at Polcari's.  It gives you that "old-time" feel as you step into a very small store with herbs and spices galore.  I feel like a kid in a candy shop as I excitedly place orders for ounces of dried rosemary, chives, Spanish paprika, etc.  If you give them a smile, chances are, you'll find yourself with a more generous couple of ounces than you had bargained for.  Practicing my Italian, (yes, I have taken Italian language classes and was dying to try it out) I'd cheerfully said, "Grazie! Ciao!" and was on my way.

At J.Pace (pronounced Pah-chey and not pace) I found myself facing some seriously difficult decisions over what pastas to get.  They have so many to chose from, it's hard to not want to spend a fortune.  I also love their tomato selection.  I can be rather particular about my canned tomatoes and insist on the best.  Here, there sell these beautiful Italian cans of tomatoes at $1 each!  It's almost unheard of.  Naturally, I stocked up. I also bought some extra virgin olive oil and opted for a Sicilian variety because it had a nice dark bottle, which will ensure the oil stays at its peak for an extended period of time.  Below is a picture of all my loot.  I can't wait to get into the Small Boston Kitchen to whip up an Italian feast!

Enjoy the beautiful weather!

Mi Piace la Citta!

Buffalo Chip Lovin'

I have a love/hate relationship with these chips.  I love them because they are amazing.  I hate them because I can't stop eating them.  They somehow pack bold and delicious buffalo flavor into a tiny chip without the use of any mysteriously incriminating neon orange powders that most flavor-packing chips have.  In fact, there isn’t really any powder coating on them at all. Upon first bite you think to yourself, “Okay, well this is good but it tastes like any old tortilla chip.”  Then, just as you are about to call their bluff on the emblazoned “buffalo” claim on the bag, it happens.  It subtly creeps up on you and then BANG!  It’s like a kick in the taste buds of deliciously spicy buffalo sauce (without the sauce of course).  Plunge them in a little ranch or blue cheese dip (if you want to be traditional) and you’ve got yourself a party!

I think that this company is doing great things to the snaking world.  Unfortunately no one is paying me to advertise these chips so you know that I mean it.  (However, I will add the subtle hint that if the folks at "Food Should Taste Good" wanted to send me some of these chips as a thank you for the free advertising, I would gladly accept with very open arms.)  They have other great flavors as well which are all very good, but none quite like the buffalo flavor.  I bought these at Whole Foods and I've seen them at my Stop and Shop in the Natural Foods section.  If you give them a try, let me know how you like them!

An Overdue Introduction

It occurred to me that after 40 posts of pure passionate food love, I never stopped to introduce you to where all of my recipes come to life; my Small Boston Kitchen.  (Jeez, where are my manners?)  This little slice of space in my apartment is where I spend most of my time.  It is where I am the happiest.  No matter what life throws my way, there isn't much that can't be made better by putting on some good music and spending some time in my Small Boston Kitchen.  It is there for me, welcoming me home after a long day, inviting me to create, melting any stresses away like butter hitting a hot pan.

Without further adieu, Blogosphere, please allow me to introduce my Small Boston Kitchen:

 
Brightly colored and practically laid out, my kitchen is all mine.  It reflects me and my style.  Bright vintage art decorates this space and everything is bright cobalt blue and sunny orange in color.  I picked these colors because to me, they symbolize happiness and contentment with a hint of boldness.  And I think that mirrors the way one should feel when cooking.  Relaxed and happy but not afraid to take some chances and know that if it doesn't work out, the take-out menus are in the top drawer, on the left hand side.

My Small Boston Kitchen might lack excessive counter and shelf space, might have one of the smallest ovens I've ever seen  and some of the ugliest linoleum around, (and no dishwasher to boot!) but none of that matters.  You don't need a glamorously decked out kitchen to churn out irresistible dishes.  You just need to have some inspiration and the desire to make your own delicious creations.

Oh Boston, you're my home!

If there is one thing I love almost as much as food, it's my city.  Whether you call it Beantown, The Hub of the Universe, The City on a Hill, The Birthplace of America or simply The Best City Ever (okay, that one might not be a typical nickname for Boston, but it's the one that I use the most) simply put, Boston rocks.  Known for tea parties and baked beans, Irish bars galore, the saying, "One if by land, two if by sea", Red Sox Nation, its own vocabulary and specific accent (bubbler, packie, wicked, pissa, jimmies, bangin' a left, etc) and most recently, its burgeoning food scene.

Boston has always been a key player on the food front, claiming fame to The Boston Cream Pie, Baked Beans (as we Americans know them to be) cranberries, Harpoon/Sam Adam's beer, etc. Boston is also known for its walk ability, making it easy to bounce around, sampling the many treats that area eateries have to offer.  However, it seems that with the recent economic shake-down, more restaurants are closing (Icarus, Pho Republique, Aujourd'hui, BanQ) and opening (Coppa, Symphony 8, Market, The Regal Beagle) than ever before, it can all be a little challenging to keep up with.  To help navigate the city's restaurants, I've included a list of top sites to refer to when deciding where to dine.  Some sites even have newsletters that you can subscribe to in order to keep up-to-date with changes as well as food-related happenings and events going on in your area.

Check it out!

Grocery shopping 101

I love grocery shopping. To me, it’s a sport as well as an art. I love leisurely navigating the aisles with my cart, going up every aisle (at least once) so to properly analyze and select the components of my next culinary creation. And since my local grocery store installed these laser-like scanners, grocery shopping almost feels more like a fun game of laser tag than the chore that it is often associated with. These scanners are available to store card holders and are used to scan items so that they can go right into the bag. To cash out, you just scan your laser, pay, and go. It's really quite brilliant.

That being said, I absolutely hate grocery shopping on Sundays in the city. It seems that my entire neighborhood waits until Sunday afternoon to head in mobs to the one little Stop and Shop. The problem with that is that the store looks like the aftermath of a bad Nor’easter. Vegetables are so picked over if available at all, random yogurt flavors (the kinds that no one likes) are sparsely scattered throughout the dairy case. And you can forget about having any sort of great meat or bread selection. It just won’t happen on a Sunday.
It is the all of these factors that make me deem Sunday’s not appropriate for me to go food shopping. Instead, I prefer to wait for Monday to do my shopping so that I can happily stroll through each aisle, taking my time and savoring the experience. (Yes, I like grocery shopping that much). The only downfall to this plan of mine is the occasional Monday where Boston is experiencing some serious monsoon weather. Fierce wind gusts are slapping the pouring rain around and the streets have partial flooding. On my way home from work, I literally had to pause to hold on to a tree in the middle of Copley for fear of being blown away. This clearly is no night to do cartwheels down the aisles of my Stop and Shop, no this is a night to stay in and enjoy a Spanish omelet and save my grocery shopping for another day.

Since we are on the subject of grocery shopping, I thought that I might take this opportunity to provide you with some grocery shopping tips that I use to help me on my shopping endeavors. Please note that these are in no particular order.

The ghosts of cookbook's past and a peek at what's to come

Last night I left my Small Boston Kitchen and headed about an hour and half west of the city to surprise my Mom for her birthday. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!) Today, having the day off from work, I am left to my own devices in my childhood home. Looking for some inspiration and planning to spend my day on some recipe development, I stumbled upon my parent's vast collection of cookbooks. There were cookbooks of all shapes and sizes. I found my grandmother's cookbooks where the pages had browned and were reduced to a tissue paper consistency. Recipes included ingredients like "lard" and "salad oil" (olive oil I presume?) to serve with a side of post-World War Two conversation topics. There were cookbooks from the 70's that offered innovative "finger food" ideas to serve over some conversation about Watergate scandals and the Vietnam war. Also among the collection were cookbooks from the 80's and 90's where you can follow just about every culinary fad ("5 ingredients, one pan" "Crock Pot Cooking" "Best Ever Low-Fat recipes") that could be prepared with some MTV on in the background. (Remember when they played music?) And finally, there were more recent cookbooks from popular chefs like Bobby Flay and Mario Batali. The list goes on. But my favorite of all my finds were those recipes that were scribbled on the backs of envelopes and random scraps of paper from various members of my family and friends of family.

And that, right there, is one of the very best parts of cooking. Recreating a family favorite that reminds you of someone (my Grammy's lemon bars, my Babcia's (Polish for grandmother and pronounced Bop-shee) pierogies, my Aunt Dot's Rum Cake...) and remind you that the fork is mightier than the video camera when it comes to capturing a memory.

While this weekend will be spent celebrating birthdays, I'm working on some really cool things that I'll be posting over the next couple of weeks:

- A comprehensive guide to the North End
- Some good sources of culinary inspiration (cookbooks, shows, magazines, etc)
- Wine and food pairings
- A Hawaiian themed dinner party to celebrate the return and final season of LOST
- Guinness Stew
- Spanish Tapas
- Homemade pizza
- Another Restaurant Roundup

Just a little taste of what's to come..

Pasta musings

Usually on my evening commute, I can be found tucked away and lost in my own world amongst the mobs of people on the t. Ipod firmly in place, I tune out the stresses of the day and focus on what really matters to me: What's for dinner. This is my favorite part of my Monday through Friday. It's my time and in my own nerdy food ways, it's thrilling. I dance around this topic all day but this...this is crunch time! What do I feel like? What do I have at home? Will I need to stop on my way home to pick up fresh basil? These are the important questions that I love answering and it always amazes me that no matter how tiring the day was, I still greet this series of questions with the same level of excitement and anticipation of what's to come.

It seemed that this week was a little busier than usual, making my evening commute questions all the more valuable. I find that on a tough day, the meal at the end of it is even more important than on an average day. With a few chops of a knife and a stir of this or that, I wholeheartedly believe that a ho-hum day seems a little better with some Frank Sinatra, a good glass of red, and a very comforting meal. I think it's fair to say that everyone has their own go-to list of foods that they find comforting. For me, it's usually one of three meals: Cheeseburgers, Pizza, or (and this is the one that usually sits firmly at the top of my list) PASTA, with lots of melted cheese, of course. Tonight, I couldn't take it anymore, I needed some cheesy pasta and I needed it now. I have no idea why this dish is the food equivalent of a giant hug to me, but it is. This concoction changes based on what's on hand and what I'm really craving but it's pretty much the same idea. I make a simple sauce consisting of good quality canned tomatoes (I like San Marzano's the best) add in whatever herbs I have on hand (tonight was a combo of basil, rosemary and oregano), a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil, some lean ground beef, garlic and fresh sliced button mushrooms. The sauce is added to giant fresh-cut dried wagon wheel pasta (my favorite place to buy this pasta is J. Pace in the North End. They have a dizzying selection of pasta choices..) and this is all topped with fresh mozzarella. Then the whole thing goes in the oven until the cheese bubbles and little bits of exposed pasta get a subtle crunch to it. It's so very basic but this dish just does it for me. I like to eat it slowly, savoring each bite of noodley deliciousness and washing it down with a nice Rioja (I'm still on a Spanish wine kick).

I'd like to end my noodle musings with a quote that seems fitting:

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating" - Luciano Pavarotti.

Well that's all for tonight, I'm full.

Happy Eating!

Laying Down the Foundation

A question that I’ve been wrestling with and mulling over for quite some time is, what is my cooking philosophy? Or as it is sometimes referred to, what is my cooking perspective? What’s that constant thread that runs through my culinary creations; a thesis, my objective, what my cooking means and stands for? I think you get the point and I think it is important for me to spell it out and capture it on paper (or I guess in this case, capture this foundation out there in the blogasphere). I think it has taken me so long to make this important declaration because I grappled with that very question: What does all this mean?

And I think I found my answer.

There are many things that I think describe my cooking and provide me with the blueprints for any creation. My cooking is honest. It’s fresh and it’s all homemade and original. It is designed to make you want to slow down and put any stresses aside so that you can savor it. Simply put, it invokes that feeling of “Oh my God, this is good”.

Not to get political on you, but I think that our nation really is in the midst of a food crisis. With fast food intake on the rise and fewer people spending money on what they eat and even less time enjoying it, it is evident that changes must be made. And that is what I am setting out to do, create fresh and easy recipes that can impress as well as nourish the soul and body. Now, before you mistake me for a “health nut” (I’m not) please understand that I am simply out to make good food taste great. While it’s true that you won’t see mounds of butter, oils, sugars, and salts in my creations as that’s a sure-fire way to loose the actual flavor of what’s on your plate. You also won’t find the use of a microwave or any prepackaged, chemically enhanced anything. What you will see is honest food, creatively combined and artistically positioned so that it pleases all of the senses and makes your soul smile. While my cooking naturally leans a little heavily on the Mediterranean side (drawing on inspiration from Italy , Greece and Spain ), I will also infuse these influences into other cuisines found globally as well as pull from ideas that originated domestically, creating a hodgepodge of yummyness.

My cooking is meant to excite and my blog is meant to inspire and to encourage you to stay in for a night, dust of those pots and pans and to create.. I encourage you to try my ideas and to tweak them to align with your tastes. Take it all in. The smells, the colors the sounds of sizzle, and enjoy the journey to the end product.

Julia Child, snow, and a trip to Cambridge

As a New England girl, I truly love my 4 distinctive seasons, especially the start to them. Right now, I'm obsessed with snow (although, ask me again in March what I think about the fluffy white stuff and I guarantee you'll get a different answer). This weekend was spent cleaning, errand running, and of course, watching the snow fall during the first major blizzard of the year. (This weekend was also spent eating my fair share of leftover grilled cheeses and tomato soup. It was a tough job, but someone had to do it). Also, rather randomly, I came across some old reruns of Julia Child's cooking show from the 60's or 70's. Man, I love that old bird. As a cook, you have to admire a woman who stands at about 6 feet tall and has a deep, yet somehow still sing-songy voice and who absolutely loves food and teaching other's just how easy French cuisine can be. I couldn't help but laugh lovingly at her little corny jokes and admire her outlook on food. She was a pioneer in bringing ethnic cusine to our American pallets and made food that used to be thought of as impossible for the common home cook to make, easy. Armed with astonishing amounts of butter, she'd look into the camera and give a great laugh, proving to viewers that cooking even the most challenging of dishes can be really fun.

Aside from my impromptu Julia Childs marathon, on Saturday evening I actually left the city of Boston (gasp!), crossed that bridge, and found myself in Cambridge with some friends. I don't make it over to Cambridge often (it seems like it's easier to get to Mexico) but on this particular evening it was rather wonderful. Laughing and talking with friends, I spend the evening bar hopping around the Harvard Square area. It's funny, from watching shows like "The Phantom Gourmet", reading the Zagat guide and just by being an over zealous foodie, I know of a lot of the places that we passed. I found myself bummed that and already full stomach kept me from taking advantage of being on that side of the world and taking in cuisine from some of Cambridge's hot spots. Just another thing to add to my already long to do list, I guess. It just was a picture-perfect New England-around-Christmas-time evening, coming out of a bar and squealing with delight about the newly falling snow and shimmering Christmas lights hanging above desolate streets. Made you think George Bailey was going to come running out at any moment hollering "Merry Christmas" and reminding us that it truly is a wonderful life.

And it starts..

Hello and welcome to my blog. I have been meaning to start a food blog for quite some time now and on this unassuming Thursday, I decided today was the day. To start, I think it only fair for me to provide a little background on myself and what this blog is all about. I am a twenty-something living in Boston (which I tend to refer to as the greatest city on earth, by the way..) and have recently discovered an undeniable passion and ever so *slight* obsession with cooking and all things food related. Seriously, I'm embarrassed to tell you how often I think about food and how I read cookbooks every night before I go to bed. (Seriously. True story.) The science of it simply fascinates me. The passion of pairings, the slicing and dicing, the whirring and stirring, and all love that goes into creating that one dish...oh the art of it all!

I think the main factor that kept the start to my blogging on the back burner (my apologies for the terrible cooking pun) was my apparent inability to choose a focus. Should this be a resource for new recipes? Can I write a restaurant reviews? What about products and new finds that I find particularly useful to me in my tiny city apt, can I write about those? Or maybe I just want to rant and rave about my current fascination with various cheeses and their melting capabilities. Can I do that? I asked myself all these questions and I think today, my answer was staring me in the face. "YES, Of Course!" Why limit myself to one topic when there is so much ground that I'd like to cover? So I ask you, dear reader, to stick with my varying subjects and to just know that the foundation of every posting will be based upon an unconditional and simply undeniable love for cooking and all things food related.