Eggs from a farm in Cardington, Oh.
Bespeckled.
Delicious.
Does my enthusiasm for the return of the farmer’s market show plainly?
15th April 2012
Bread beauty shots. Both specimens from the Worthington, OH “winter” farmer’s market.
Up top on the right: 1/2 loaf “Normandy Rye”. Made with twice fermented apple cider vinegar. Fantastic toasted and slathered with butter and apricot jam.
Up top on the left: the most lovely burnished fig preserve & blue cheese croissant. Buttery, flaky, sweet and tangy.
A few weeks ago I saw the Pioneer Woman at the B&N here in C-bus. I also picked up her newest cookbook. One of the first pages BF bookmarked was Apricot-Chicken Panini. So we gave it a go, with some tweaks (per usual).
Here’s the gist:
Grilled/bake off a single, seasoned chicken breast and then sliced thinly in half lengthwise. Combine equal parts mayo and apricot preserves and spread on bread. Add whatever cheese you have on hand (muenster) and whichever veg you like (spinach, red onion) and then grill (in the George Foreman).
Easy, fresh, gooey, salty, zingy. It really classes up a Wednesday night.
Angel food cake…..toasted. Brilliant.
This luscious thing came home from a regular ol’ grocery store with me last week. She’s an “UgliRipe” heirloom tomato and she not only looked gorgeous, she tasted it as well. Hurray for diversity!
Remember when I was going on about ancho peppers? I just love their leathery, raisin skins. They are lovely in their unloveliness.
Nothing finer.
Is there anything lovelier?! (Newly organized spices in lovely, air-tight jars)
Have you ever come across this brand?
I’m always attracted by unusual flavor combinations; I picked up this one and a lemon version for good measure.
The texture; unmatched. Coats the tongue like a thick greek yogurt, but melts away leaving just the milky tang.
The plum & fig was subtle and almost floral, it had an almost old-fashioned sweetness, like honey or dates. The lemon, similarly delicious.
If you happen to come across this brand, give it a go.
- Camera: Canon PowerShot SD750
- Aperture: f/2.8
- Exposure: 1/80th
- Focal Length: 35mm
Bobby Flay refers to the ancho chili as a “spicy raisin.” I agree 100%. Ground ancho has a deep, smoky plum-raisin aroma. Its heat is very subtle, the flavor outstanding, especially with shrimp. It’s definitely worth finding. I buy the whole dried chili and grind it in my spice grinder (aka coffee grinder). Smoked paprika is an excellent substitute. Barring either, sweet paprika or “regular” chili powder are good as well. Coffee grinders can be used for both coffee and spice grinding; grinding white rice between uses cleans the blades and removes the flavors.
.5 lb thawed shrimp
salt and pepper
1/4 tsp. ancho chili powder
1/2 avocado
1/2 lime
cilantro
1/4 red bell pepper, diced fine
1/2 bunch of green onions, sliced, white and green parts seperated
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp cumin
1 can of black beans or black bean soup (which works surprisingly well)
sour cream
corn tortillas
vegetable oil (your choice; I used coconut)
hot sauce or chili sauce (sriracha is especially delicious)
Prep tortillas (microwave, fry, broil) and keep warm.
Warm 2 tsp oil in a saucepan, saute white portion of scallions, finely diced red bell pepper and garlic for 2 minutes. Add the can of black beans, stir. Add the cumin and simmer over low heat. Add a splash of water and mash about 1/4 of the beans to thicken as a sauce.
Scoop the avocado out of its skin in one piece and slice thinly. Squeeze lime over and season with a small pinch of salt. Clean the shrimp. Season with salt, pepper and ancho chili powder.
Heat a cast iron skillet if you’ve got it, otherwise a small non-stick skillet. Make sure the skillet is very hot before adding a film of oil (about 1 tsp). Toss the shrimp in the skillet and let sear 1 minute. Toss with tongs and cook additional 30 sec-1 minute. Layer a slice or two of avocado in each tortilla, top with 3-4 shrimp, torn cilantro and a dollop of sour cream. Squeeze lime over and add hot sauce if you like.
Serve the beans with the green scallions and another small dollop of sour cream. Devour.
A tasty mess.
The Pioneer Woman (of thepioneerwoman.com fame), Ree Drummond, stopped in Columbus on book tour for the release of her newest cookbook, ”The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier.”
After getting home from work and changing, BF and I rushed over to the B&N by the OSU campus. I pushed through the door, anxious about how to get through the crowd, only to realize that I was standing next to Ree, who was preparing to speak.
How ‘bout that?
I went up to the register and bought a copy of the book, and then tried to strategize how to get as close as possible, through the crush of humanity. I felt very resourceful when I found one of those library step stools; climbed aboard.
Ree described how she’d founded the site back in 2006, shared some photos and stories and even sang “Endless Love” to pictures of Charlie (her beloved basset hound). She stopped at one point and offered to sign the book of “the mom whose baby is crying.” Everyone clapped, and the baby, finally, stopped sobbing.
Finally, she took a seat and began signing books. We walked back and back and back to get in line. I was hot. And really hungry. And I’d worn some fairly uncomfortable shoes. I really wanted to stay and meet Ree, but also, I didn’t.
Does that make me the worst fan ever?
I snapped a few (terrible) photos. Look how lovely she is in person! And her hair; it’s fabulous! Look at her cute tunic! And she wore her favorite Frye boots.
She was so gracious with her fans. I wish I’d had the wherewithal to stay for the hours it would have taken.
We went and got pizza instead though. :(
When we were done we drove past the bookstore and she was there, still signing and smiling. It must have been exhausting but she looked as gracious as when she’d begun.
I just love her dimples.
Anyway, that’s the story of the day I didn’t meet Ree Drummond.
Her cookbook, however, is awesome. Packed with recipes for yummy satisfying fare with her characteristic photo tutorials. BF’s already picked out 5 recipes he wants me to try including chicken-apricot panini, whiskey chicken and shrimp quesadillas, among others. I’m gunning for the iced coffee concentrate for starters, along with the apple dumplings and the Dr. Pepper-Chipotle pulled pork.
Definitely worth the $22.
Now we just have to get Deb (smittenkitchen) and Molly (orangette) to stop by when their new books come out!
