Epic Sandwich

I am fortunate to live in a metro area which has a Trader Joe's. We actually have a couple of them here, and one is quite close to where I live. To be honest, what really draws me to Trader Joe's is the fact that they sell Cabot Cheddar, and at a reasonable price. However, once I'm there, I often make good discoveries - this time, in addition to my beloved cheddar, I got a package of San Francisco salami, and a loaf of french bread.

When I got home, and realized that the salami, the bread, the cheese, and the ripe tomato on my counter would make one heck of a sandwich, things really got rolling. As I was assembling things, I grabbed some fresh basil that had recently arrived in my CSA box, added a layer of brown mustard, and sliced up a banana pepper (also from the CSA box). I had some leftover goat cheese in the refrigerator (fresh, from a local farm, purchased at the Seward Co-op), so I added that, too. And then I remembered that when I visited France more than ten years ago, the sandwiches that looked rather like this (and were available at any corner shop for a quick lunch), often had sliced hard boiled egg on them, which was delicious. So I boiled up some eggs (also from the Co-op, and completely unaffected by recent egg recalls), and sliced those up for the sandwich, as well.

It was epic. I encourage you to make a sandwich similar to this one, as soon as possible.

A Meal to Follow a Road Trip

As some of you may know, Elspeth and I just went on a fabulous road trip. I flew to Seattle, we rented a car, and we drove back to Minnesota, meandering through Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, the Black Hills, and the Badlands (also a National Park) along the way. We slept in a tent all but one night (we splurged on a bed and breakfast in Douglas, Wyoming - which may, as it happens, have the saddest downtown in the western United States), and not even one bear tried to eat us. Growing up in Maine, I suspect we didn't imagine that in 2010, driving between the two cities that we feel so comfortable in would involve seeing most of Washington, some of Idaho and Montana, most of Wyoming and South Dakota, and a pretty serious chunk of Minnesota, as well. There are a lot of mountains along the way, and deserts, too. There are cowboys and rodeos and some rolling plant that may have been tumbleweed. There are some particularly grand rivers, and a whole lot of empty fields. I highly recommend the route that we took (which was cleverly planned, down to the very last detail, by Elspeth!).

We ate well along the way (Elspeth brought along homemade chili, and pasta, and risotto(!!) for campsite dinners), and our only fast food stop was a "lunch supplement" as we called it, at an Arby's in central Wyoming on Thursday. In South Dakota on Saturday morning, we ate sourdough pancakes from a recipe that claimed to use a sourdough starter from frontier times, "over a hundred years ago"! All the same, when we arrived in Saint Paul on Saturday night, we were hungry. We swung by the Seward Co-op to get a few essentials, and when we got home, I whipped up a quick dinner. Tortellini (cheese-filled, from the grocery store freezer), with garlic scape pesto (homemade, and stored in my freezer... I'll have to blog about that recipe later), and lots of shredded parmesan stirred in.

What we really wanted, though, after driving 2500+ hours in 6 days, was a salad.

Fresh greens, with an heirloom tomato sliced on top, dressed with an easy and delicious recipe - it's one I wrote down a few years ago from that Everyday Italian show on the Food Network, and as you can see here, I wrote it on cute recipe cards that Elspeth decorated for me as a gift one year for Christmas. As you can also see here, I make this dressing often enough that there's a smudge on the recipe card!

In case you can't quite see it: that is 4 Tbsp of white vinegar, 2 Tbsp of dijon mustard, 2/3 cup of olive oil, and 1 tsp oregano. In this case, I put in a pinch of dried oregano and a pinch of dried basil. And it's true - the recipe makes plenty of dressing. I have a small jar of it in the refrigerator now, which will last through the week!

Pasta with Tomato, Bacon, and Onion

As has recently been discussed here, the America's Test Kitchen recipe booklet that I have (issue 2, 2008) is a source of recipes that does not disappoint. I've made other versions of this recipe in the past, and the bacon tends to be soggy. This recipe eliminates that problem - and also advocates the use of pasta water in the sauce, which I keep seeing lately.

I should mention that for over a year now, most of the meat I've been cooking with has been local and organic, purchased from the completely fabulous Seward Coop, of which I am a member. This is true of the bacon used here.

Pasta with Tomato, Bacon, and Onion

Serves 4 (and generously, at that). I halved the recipe without any problem, and still ate it for two dinners and a lunch.

6 slices bacon, chopped

1 onion, chopped fine

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes

salt

1 lb spaghetti or linguine

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Bring water to boil in large pot. Cook bacon (already chopped) in large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate and pour off all but 2 Tbsp fat. Add onion to skillet and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

Add 1 Tbsp salt and pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, drain pasta, and return to pot. Add tomato sauce, parsley, and cooked bacon to pot and toss to combine, adding reserved pasta water as needed. Season with salt. Serve, topped with grated Parmesan cheese.

Chicken and Ramps!

Around the Twin Cities this spring, ramps were the trendy "new" vegetable to be aware of, as far as I can tell. It seems that they are a variety of wild leek, and in certain parts of the country in the early spring, you can purchase them in the sorts of produce sections that pride themselves on carrying such items. Since I happen to frequent a produce section of that sort, I purchased some ramps and went about learning what they are and how to cook them. Turns out, it was easy. I washed them, chopped them up, and sauteed them in butter. They were delicious.

Ramps are not what one would consider to be a hearty vegetable, so I definitely needed to eat some other food along with this buttery ramp concoction. And so, I bring you, the chicken recipe off the Hellman's Mayonnaise jar. Don't be alarmed. In fact, if you can, just ignore the source of this recipe entirely, because I'll tell you right now that it results in some very delicious chicken, quickly and easily. I should mention that I halved this recipe, and eyeballed the ingredients, and it was still delicious:

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

4 tsp seasoned dry bread crumbs

Combine mayonnaise and cheese. Spread on chicken, then sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.

Easy! Also, I'm a sucker for egg noodles, so I cooked some of those up to eat with the ramps and chicken. The next night, I chopped up the leftover chicken and stirred it in with the leftover ramps and leftover noodles, and I have to say that this was even more delicious than the original meal, when the components had been kept separate!

Apples and Cheese

I am currently having some troubles getting my computer to acknowledge that my camera has photos on it, so that's holding up a few good blog posts (namely... I went to the arboretum... I got some awesome vegetables from my CSA... and I went to an orchard!). So, this is mostly just a quick hello.

As I say hello, I should tell you that I am eating a Cortland (if you aren't familiar with this type of apple, do yourself a huge favor and go find one to eat), alongside some Cabot Cheddar. Omigod. I have recently been able to obtain Vermont's delicious Cabot cheese here in the mighty midwest, and their funny ad campaign here is something along the lines of "lucky New Englanders have been eating this cheese for years and years - here's some for you to enjoy!" and I must say that they have a point. It's $9.99/lb at my chain grocery store and a bit cheaper than that at the one Trader Joe's that had it, last I checked. It makes midwestern cheddar look so silly. Like thickened milk. That someone dyed orange. If you can access Cabot Cheddar, I highly recommend that you do so. As soon as possible.

PS If you are a lucky New Englander, you know that Cabot cheese is simply the non-generic cheese option at the grocery store. And that it is significantly less than $9.99/lb.

Minnesota State Fair

Having grown up in Maine, I moved to Minnesota with the general understanding that fairs were kind of small county events, with lots of farm animals and some cotton candy circulating. Thankfully, I have come to know better. In Minnesota, as with many midwestern states, the fair is a very very big deal. I generally go at least twice a year, and eat as much food as possible while I am there. This year, though I only went once, it was all I hoped it would be and more - as usual! I have some fair-going rules, and one of them is that I only go with people that will split every food order with me. In this way, I get to try tons of food, avoid feeling sick, and it all costs half as much.

On Tuesday evening, my friend Kate (who is a tried and true fair companion) joined me on a Minnesota State Fair adventure. We shared an order of each of the following:

- Fried Green Tomatoes

- Cheese Curds

- Swedish Egg Coffee

- Corn Dog

- Lemonade

- Hush Puppies

- Mini Donuts

Most years I also eat a Scotch Egg (a hard boiled egg wrapped in sausage, dipped in bread crumbs, deep fried, and presented on a stick), but

we ran out of steam before we made it to that vendor. We also were serious about finding the Funnel Cake Fries (new this year!), but the stand had closed by the time we located it. We skipped the chocolate covered bacon (it's apparently kind of gross), Martha's cookies (a bucket of 'em costs $14), and all the deep fried candy bars (melty and delicious, but we filled up before we got over to that corner). I usually make a stop at Custard's Last Stand, mostly out of appreciation for the vendor name, but a gi

rl can only eat so much food in one evening. The twittersphere was all abuzz regarding the smoked salmon on a stick, but I wasn't coordinated enough to seek out that vendor, either. So many things to eat, so little time! It's no wonder that some people make a habit of going 4 or 5 times a year!

Somewhere along the way we stumbled upon some live music: Rock It Science was to

tally rocking out, and we stuck around long enough to see them perform Total Eclipse of the Heart - followed closely by Sweet Child of Mine.

As you may have noticed, we didn't spend time in the animal barns... and the reason for that is simple: a few weeks ago I visited Kate in Milwaukee, and we went to the Wisconsin State Fair. In addition to enjoying such culinary delights as Cream Puffs

(made by the Wisconsin Bakers Association) and Loaded Baked Potatoes (made by the Wisconson Potato Association), we visited tons of animal barns AND we won a trivia game. I love fair season.

A Splendid Summer Day

Lest I mislead everyone into thinking that Minnesota is simply

a place where the winters are cold and the storms unpredictable, I want to share with you the tale of my splendid summer day.

Around noon, I decided that this was an ideal day to leave the metro area and explore a state park. A proud state park permit holder, I have not actually had many state park adventures yet, so I was overdue. I hopped in my car and headed northwest, to Lake Maria State Park.

The park was lovely. The hiking loop I followed was three miles long, doubled as a horseriding path, and took me through some old growth forest as well as some areas of prairie. I met a few other people on the path, so it wasn't the entirely isolated afternoon I had expected, but that was fine. Being surrounded by the lush green of the park was calming, and I left my cellphone in the car so that I wouldn't know the time, be tempted to contact anyone, or be startled by any incoming calls or messages. I ended up wandering around for nearly two hours, doubling back at one point to lengthen the hike.

On my drive home, I stopped at a public access beach, threw on the swimsuit I had brought along, and jumped in for a swim. It was perfectly refreshing and cool after my rather hot and buggy wanderings. As I sit here on Sunday evening, preparing to wrap up my weekend and begin a new week at work, I feel as though I experienced a truly splendid summer day.

Minnesota Weather

I’ll never forget my first tornado warning. Growing up in Maine, we had the occasional thunderstorm or hurricane, but never a tornado. I had no idea what to expect, and didn’t even realize that tornado sirens existed.

One warm day in May of 2001, I was happily sitting in the grass with my friends, soaking up the sun and enjoying the blue sky. Dinnertime rolled around, and we went into the dining hall. Suddenly there was hail falling, and before I knew it, we were being told to leave our trays on our tables and get down to the basement. The tornado siren went off, and the sky had changed dramatically since we’d been outside, less than an hour before. We weren’t downstairs very long before they released us, and by the time I finished my meal and went back outside, the sky had cleared and the temperature was lovely again.

Now I know that tornadoes can – and often do – appear on an otherwise lovely day. I know that on the first Wednesday of each month, at 1:00pm, every tornado siren in the Twin Cities gets tested. Usually, this means that every once in a while I hear a tornado siren, look at the nearest clock, confirm that it’s 1:00, and realize that another month has passed.

Yesterday was cloudy, raining heavily, and quite cool. It was about 64 degrees around 2:00 when I saw someone on Twitter comment that winds were strong in Minneapolis. By 2:15, a tornado had touched down in downtown Minneapolis, and by 2:30 there was news that a few highways were underwater, an office building had the windows blown out, a music shop was missing a big chunk of roof and wall, and trees and power lines were down in various neighborhoods in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. By 3:00, tornado warnings were sounding in Saint Paul and western Wisconsin.

The tornados and winds materialized so abruptly that there were not any sirens, storm warnings, or tornado watches broadcast until the first tornado hit. Someone reported exiting a building into what they thought was a tranquil and rainy day, seeing a trash can fly past at eye level, and opting to stay inside. The energy company released a statement that at one point in the afternoon, more than 7,000 customers were experiencing power outages.

Driving east on highway 94 at 5:30, I took a few pictures. Even then, the clouds were moving fast and changing shape, size, and color right before my eyes. I’ve included those pictures here – I took all of them within ten minutes, along a stretch of highway about 1/4 mile long.

Prairie Home Companion

Well, if ever there was a way to celebrate the 4th of July a few weekends ago, I found it. And most of the over 60 crowd in central Minnesota would agree with me, I think. I attended the 35th Anniversary show of Prairie Home Companion, along with 10,000 other individuals, in the small town of Avon, Minnesota. Here's what I wrote while attending the event:

"If the public radio audience is narrow, and the Prairie Home Companion audience narrower - those that show up for 4th of July celebrations in Avon, MN - to celebrate an otherwise generally debaucherous holiday amongst families and a live brass brand... it's that much narrower. In a very complex Venn diagram (how do you spell that?) these families match mine. Sitting in rural Minnesota, surrounded by strangers, I am home.

"Rhubarb pie sold out first, then brats (bratwurst sausages, to those of you that are not midwest-based). They can't get rid of the pizza. The only beverages being purchased are water and beer. Every kid in sight is nibbling on carrot sticks, raspberries - and that one has a hunk of brie cheese.

"Children old enough to be irritable at the world are coping with their frustrations by quietly reading books, propping up spare layers to create shade for their huddled reading nooks."

I ask you - does this sound like your average American crowd? I think not. Get your Venn diagrams started.