Inspired Idea: Pay-it-Forward Meal

Photo via Only Eat…

Washingtonian’s Best Bites blog has the story on an awesome D.C. dining concept: FREE.

That’s right:

“Instead of a bill, diners receive a note explaining that their meal is a gift from a previous patron. The only request: Leave what you will to cover the next person’s meal.”

What to do with Your Farmer’s Market Tomatoes

Are those shiny red orbs taunting you from the windowsill?   (I know you’d never put them in then  fridge, right)?  Well, you’re in luck.  Here’s the perfect snack to enjoy them at the height of their summer sweetness.

Please, go eat this.

Now.

Cake, Raised, Custard, or Glazed?

Photo via Talk with the Preacher

Today is National Donut Day! Admittedly, I’ve never been a huge fan (except for Entenmann’s cake and Boston Creme donuts). But if you like the confections, today’s your day. You can get a free donut at many of the national chains.

Washingtonian Magazine has all the details.

Shortcut Jambalaya

You know those nights when you stumble home after a long day’s work, wearily open the fridge, and nearly cry from exhaustion and lack of inspiration? The nights you’d call for takeout, but feel embarassed because the person taking orders can recognize your voice? Those cereal-for-dinner nights?

Me?

I’ve had a few of those lately.  My husband and I pulled off our DIY wedding a couple weeks ago and have been slowly recovering.  Mostly by refusing to do much of anything aside from gorge ourselves on wedding cake (more on that later).  Apologies for the blogging hiatus.

I’m not entirely back up to speed, but tonight I dipped a toe back in the cooking water with a one-pot dish that was on the table in under 40 minutes.  It’s amazing how a few fresh ingredients can transform ho hum packaged rice mix into a savory, delicious meal. The results are worth the little bit of effort.  No claims as to the authenticity of this jambalaya, but it sure beats General Tso’s when you’re worn out.

 

Term of the Day: “Food Desert”

Image credit: theworld.org

That’s desert, not dessert.  Click here (audio) to find out what a “food desert” is. Full transcript here.

Food deserts are something you definitely notice in certain neighborhoods in Washington, DC.  In the past few years, gentrification in Columbia Heights has radically changed the selection in grocery stores and even takeout food.

To (Maybe Not) Try: Heinz Ketchup Cake

Credit: Canadian Family

This is just the weirdest thing ever.  I found this recipe for ketchup cake via a friend of a friend’s twitter (how web 2.0 am I?).  The whole concept borderline grosses me out,  but it’s also intriguing.  Red velvet cake with a Great Northern makeover.  Maybe ketchup is to spice cake what mayonnaise is to chocolate cake—a strange bedfellow, but surprisingly delicious.  Just imagine if Americans were to take a tip from the Canucks and embrace ketchup cake—and universal health care!  For anyone who wants to give it a try, here’s the recipe reprinted from Heinz:

-2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour

-2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder

-1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) cinnamon

-1 tsp (5 mL)baking soda

-1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground nutmeg

-1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground ginger

-1/2 cup (125 mL) Heinz Tomato Ketchup

-1/2 cup (125 mL) water

-2 tbsp (30 mL) red food colouring

-3/4 cup (175 mL) butter, softened

-1 1/2 cups (375 mL) packed dark brown sugar

-2 eggs

100 Foods to Try Before You Die

#59 on Top 100 List.  Credit: FritWit

This list has been making the rounds on the internet and first came to my attention thanks to Andrea of Food is to Love.  I’m willing to bet it was written by an American, since it includes Hostess fruit pies, Spam, and McDonald’s Big Mac Meal.  Anyway, scanning through the list, I feel grateful to live in a time when it’s easy to sample such a wide variety of food.  Which ones have you tried?  What’s missing from this list?

Here goes:

 

1. Venison – y
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros – y
4. Steak tartare -y
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue -y
8. Carp
9. Borscht -y
10. Baba ghanoush – y
11. Calamari – y
12. Pho -y
13. PB&J sandwich – y
14. Aloo gobi – y
15. Hot dog from a street cart -y
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle -no, but I’ve had truffle oil
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes – y
19. Steamed pork buns -y
20. Pistachio ice cream – y
21. Heirloom tomatoes – y
22. Fresh wild berries – y
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans – y
25. Brawn, or head cheese -y
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche -y
28. Oysters – y
29. Baklava – y
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas – y
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl – not together
33. Salted lassi -
34. Sauerkraut – y
35. Root beer float – y
36. Cognac with a fat cigar – not together
37. Clotted cream tea -
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O shot – y
39. Gumbo -y
40. Oxtail -y
41. Curried goat -y
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Single malt whisky – y
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala – y
48. Eel – y
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut -y
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone -y
54. Paneer – y
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal – y
56. Spaetzle – y
57. Dirty gin martini – y
58. Beer above 8% ABV – y
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores – y
62. Sweetbreads -y
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst -y
65. Durian -y
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake – y
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain – y
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho -y
72. Caviar and blini -y (OMG mmmm)
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie – y
78. Snail – y
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini – y
81. Tom yum -y
82. Eggs Benedict – y
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash – y
88. Flowers – y
89. Horse
90. Criollo
91. Spam -y
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa -y, I’ve had harissa…not sure if that’s the same
94. Catfish – y
95. Mole poblano – y
96. Bagel and lox – y
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta – y
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
100. Snake -y

Toasted Treats for Biscotti-Haters: Russian Sukhariki

I’ll never forget the first (and last) time I made biscotti.  I was a budding young bakestress of 16, eager to whip up some of those exotic-looking cookies I’d seen at the new Starbucks in my town.  I slaved all afternoon, digging out the anise seeds from the pantry depths and laboriously stirring the thick dough, toasting almonds, baking, slicing, and baking again.

They were a disaster: dense, rock-hard, anise-heavy, floury, and altogether not very good.  At first, I thought it was me, but the store-bought variety were equally disappointing.  What exactly about this stuff was supposed to be appealing?

I’d given up on enjoying toasted treats with my tea until recently.  My colleague Elena brought in sukhariki, or “Russian Biscotti.”  I didn’t expect much, but hey, I’d skipped breakfast and couldn’t afford to be picky. 

What a revelation!  Light and crisp, the sukhariki were closer to super-toasted raisin bread than their doughy Italian cousins.  Elena explained that the name simply means “dried bread” in Russian, but these were something special.  Thin-sliced and toasted to an appealing dark amber, studded with raisins, and dusted with sugar, sukhariki were the perfect crunchy complement to breakfast tea.

Feed the Dog that Bit Ya…Bacon

You could chase away a hangover (temporarily) with the “hair of the dog that bit ya,” but some scientists (apparently not cardiologists) suggest another remedy.  The Daily Telegraph reports that a bacon sandwich is just the right elixer to boost amino acids, speed up metabolism, and whet your queasy appetite. 

Shortcut Pasta alle Vongole (with Clams)

Credit: Jean Allsop

I’ve been trolling the internet for low-cholesterol recipes and recently discovered that clams are heart-healthy, especially if you’re not restricting your sodium.  The following is a quick recipe that hits the spot when you don’t have $20 to drop on a restaurant dish.  It could be improved with a splash of white wine and fresh clams, but is still delicious in this shortcut preparation.  Plus, it’s a refreshingly cheap break from the jarred red sauce routine.

Today: Free Frozen Butterfat (mmm, butterfat)

That’s right—today, April 21, is free cone day at Ben & Jerry’s.

“Around the world, Scoop Shops are opening their doors from noon to 8:00 pm, to serve up a free scoop of your favorite flavor.”

Stop by for your share of Chunky Monkey or Cherry Garcia.

Credit: Ben & Jerry’s

Guess the Dish

A D.C.-based friend of mine sent in this shot of dish he recently enjoyed.  Any guesses on what it is and where it was served?

Thanks, CK!

Passport D.C.: Taste Your Way through Embassy Open House Day

My lovely cell-phone “action” shot from the Polish Embassy last year.

For a few weeks every spring, the embassies in Washington, D.C. open their doors and invite visitors to sample the music, dance, crafts, and food native to their countries.  Yours truly has attended Passport D.C. twice and always enjoys the quickie tour around the world.  One of the constant highlights of the festival is the cuisine, which (I think) conveys as much about the history, geography, and values of a place as its wikipage.  Besides, when else can you justify consuming baklava, pilau, and rum punch on the same day?

To cut to the chase: here’s a handy cheat sheet for eating your way through Passport D.C,  which will be held on Saturday, May 2, from 10 am-4 pm.  For more information, check out the official website.

• Embassy of Australia
  Time: 11 am - 3 pm
  Location: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
  Metro: Dupont Circle (Red line)
  For more info: www.usa.embassy.gov.au

Sample Australian eats to the sounds of the didgeridoo.

• Embassy of Bangladesh
  Time: 10 am - 4 pm
  Location: 3510 International Drive, NW
  Metro: Van Ness-UDC (Red line)
  For more info: www.bangladoot.org

Bangladesh’s cultural heritage and vibrant people will be on display through dance, film, music, literature, and cuisine.

• Embassy of Benin
  Time: 10 am - 4 pm
  Location: 2124 Kalorama Road, NW
  Metro: Dupont Circle (Red line)
  For more info: www.beninembassy.us

Enjoy delicious local food and learn to prepare it!

Julius & Rachel’s Fennel Sausage Pasta

I’ll be the first to admit: this is not the most photogenic dish to ever appear on Culinspiration. But although it’s not much to look at, this sauce is so good it had me pestering my friends Rachel and Julius for the recipe for weeks. Weeks! I couldn’t get the perfect melding of flavors out of my head: the caramelized shallot and fennel, the tender sausage, the kiss of tomato. I—who thought I didn’t like fennel!—was obsessed. And my pleading, borderline harassing e-mails requesting the recipe weren’t getting much response. Sheesh…you’d think they have a life or something.

Frankly, I was getting a little desperate. For pasta sauce.

Finally, I invited myself over we all sat down for dinner again, and I grilled my friends. Triumph! I got the recipe and am happy to share it with you. This is a brilliant dish to serve company— just a few ingredients, minimally prepped, which can simmer away while you uncork a bottle of wine. Just be prepared for the plaintive recipe requests from admirers later.  

Tuxedo Strawberries

My colleague, Tammy, is super-creative and made an adorable twist on chocolate-covered strawberries:

Better yet, she brought them into the office to share!  Did I mention I love my job?    Tammy agreed to share her recipe here: