Edible/Usable

Blog Review - Smitten Kitchen

I think I have fairly standard blog reading habits.  I have several favorite blogs that I visit every day (some several times a day), and a few others that I visit when I remember to or when I have time to.  I've never been a big user of RSS - or rather I subscribe to RSS feeds (via My Yahoo just because that's where I started doing RSS years ago) but I actually never visit My Yahoo page and see what's there.  RSS never really gave me enough information or context.  Twitter has changed my blog reading behavior somewhat - I will now go a read a blog post that has been mentioned on Twitter.  I also rely on del.icio.us to keep track of and categorize my favorites.

I've bookmarked a lot of food blogs in the past few months.  In general, I find that there are three different types: blogs about dining, food and food issues (locavore blog , NYTimes Diners Journal ); blogs by chefs, 'food personalities' or more professional publications or organziations, (Dorrie Greenspan,  Martha Stewart, David Lebovitz , the kitchen - a food spin-off of Apartment Therapy ) and 'amateur' blogs - ones that are written by non-professional cooks and feature recipes and thoughts about the recipes (big girls, small kitchen,  Much Depends on Dinner , Orangette).  It's a lot of writing, recipes and thoughts to keep up with.  But I've found a few that have been really inspiring - not only making me want to cook, but making me want to write in my own blog.

My most recent favorite is Smitten Kitchen.  It has all of the things I value in a blog:  great content that is well written, really nice photos and there's a personality behind it that comes through not only in the writing, but in the choice of topics and recipes.  Other things: unlike many food blogs, it has a categorized recipe index. It has a conversions and equivalents page!  There is also a very extensive links page (a blog roll) "Good Reads" that provides links to many different food blogs and other blogs of interest.

Another Favorite Summer Fruit - Sour Cherries

When I started writing this blog, I signed up for a bunch of email newsletters from different sites and publications.  Some of them have been good (Serious Eats) but some have been really inspiring.  One of the most inspiring ones has been the "Gourmet Weekly" from Gourmet Magazine.  And according to the email I got today it's Sour Cherry season! 

I haven't seen them yet at the farmers market, but I'm keeping my eyes peeled and will grab them when they come in because the season is very short.  Last year I got a few pounds, froze half of them and used the rest to make sour cherry and rhubarb compote - a delicious treat with granola and Greek yogurt, ice cream or almost any kind of cake.  It's definitely helpful to have a cherry pitter, (I have one of these, which also works for olives) but apparently you can also pit cherries with a paperclip.

The High Cost of Good Food

I think I'm a little behind on picking this one up, but my ire was triggered yesterday and it got me thinking. The place I'm working now recently moved offices to 20th and 6th ave. I was really excited about moving back to this 'hood for several reasons, all of them having to do with food. First the Union Square Farmers Market. Second, Rainbow Falafel. Third The City Bakery . Since I've been on 'the diet,' Rainbow Falafel has been a no-go. The farmers market is a thrice weekly stop. And besides the delicious tempting baked goods at City Bakery, I remembered that they had a really nice cold food/salad bar at lunch. I specifically remembered that they had a delicious baked tofu with tahini sauce, and I also remembered that it was kind of expensive, so you had to choose with care.

I went a week or so ago for lunch. I didn't feel like I got a lot of food, but right as I was closing up the box, I saw one of my favorite things: watermelon salad with mint and feta. I had to get a few (2) slices of melon with a little bit of cheese. I waltzed up to the counter, put it on the scale. "That will be $18.56 please." I'm sure I made a funny and surprised face. $18.56, for food I served myself in a box? Really? I paid and left. I was a little hurt and angry. I felt like I'd been ripped off. My food didn't taste quite as good as it should have. I blamed myself - I'd taken too much food. But I decided not to go back for awhile.

But yesterday, I broke down.

Cold Butter, Soft Bread

I've been on a low glycemic index diet for the past few weeks.  This means eating beans, meat (or eggs) and vegetables for pretty much every meal, limited fruit, dairy, and no sugar or white carbs like bread, rice or pasta.  One of the best things about the diet is that you get a cheat day once a week - one day where you can pretty much eat anything you want, including all of those delicious carbs you've been avoiding all week.  Last week I was really craving biscuits, so we went out to breakfast at Maggie Brown on Myrtle avenue where I had the Maggie Brown (eggs scrambled with cheddar cheese, chives and horseradish) along with a biscuit with raspberry butter, and a virgin Bloody Mary.  This week it's been more about craving fruit, rice, and a lovely french baguette with nice creamy butter and homemade jam.

Which brings me to what this blog post is really about:  a butter bell or butter crock.   I don't remember when I saw one for the first time, but they are now one of my favorite gifts to give to people as a house warming or 'thanks for letting us stay' kind of gift.  The idea is old and simple: before refrigeration, there needed to be a way to keep butter fresh at room temperature.  Often, butter would be kept in a clay or porcelain crock, and the crock submerged in cool water.  New butter crocks work the same way.  You fill the lid with 1-2 sticks of butter, fill the crock with a few inches of cool water, then turn the lid into the crock.  The water forms a seal, keeping the butter fresh, but allowing you to keep the crock on your counter at room temperature, so you have soft butter to spread on your bread or measure for recipes.  Change the water every 3-5 days, and your butter will stay fresh for weeks.

Pickled Daikon

 

Update:  A photo!

I love Korean food, partly because of the mix of sweet, sour and spicy condiments or Banchan that many Korean restaurants give you with your main dish.   Especially places like Han Bat on 35th  street - my favorite cheap Korean place.  I recently got some Kimchi from the people that sell different banchan and greens and things at the Ft. Greene farmers market, but I was inspired to make my own pickled daikon when I noticed they hand some nice fresh organic daikon for sale.  I had ordered a new cookbook "Well-Preserved" by Eugenia Bone, which promised lots of pickle recipes,  but hadn't gotten it yet, so I looked around online for a good pickled daikon recipe.