Culinary therapy

The past few days and weeks, I've been trying to reconnect with the kid. Long-time readers may wonder why I say "reconnect," but the truth is that the effects of the PTSD as well as other life experiences lately have made me realize that I've been disconnected from life in general for a while now. In particular, I've been lost to some of my closest relationships.

One of those relationships, I now realize, was with the kid. To wit, I spent some time the other day trying to remember when something happened this spring. And then I realized it was last spring. Then I caught a picture of her earlier from her birthday two years ago. In it, she was showing off the new earrings I'd had made for her. In my mind, the gift had happened last year. Time has vanished in scary ways.

That said, I've been waking up lately and beginning to reconnect with her and others in my life. As part of this waking up, I took the kid and her best friend since they were three to Water Country USA yesterday. The past two years, we've had adult company on the trip — the first year another friend's mother and last year L. This year, I decided to go solo. Not only am I trying to reconnect with her and other people, but I'm trying to reconnect with myself. It was a brilliant trip — and as always full of horrible food. Afterward, though, we grabbed sushi at our favorite Richmond sushi place. It isn't the best, but it is good enough. And then the kid was treated to dessert at Secco with much of the restaurant singing "Happy Birthday" to her. It was a brilliant moment, thanks to some good friends.

The real therapy began in the morning, however. I finally started cooking again. And by that I mean something other than prepping the simplest pasta dishes. Nope. The girls had a sleepover, and in the morning, we capped things off with homemade buckwheat waffles from my grandmother's 1929 waffle maker. Then, this evening, I had crab from the farmer's market, corn, and beautiful heirloom tomatoes to use. And despite the impending storm outside, I was determined to do crab cakes and corn on the grill.

I winged it on the crab cakes. I took in pieces I'd used from Joy and from Alice Waters, and made my own take on the cakes. Mayo, grain mustard, smoked paprika, lemon, parsley, sauteed carmen peppers and garlic in butter (sauteed in one of my new pans), and panko. A touch of salt. Just enough flavor to round out the crab and let it shine at the same time. Follow this by slow-cooking on foil over a wood-fired grill, add grilled corn and a simple tomato salad. Brilliant summer meal, right?

And it was, except for one thing. I changed the recipe with a tired kid in the house. Half a crab cake in, and she said they didn't taste good. At least she ate the half. Next time, I don't change the recipe if she has tired eyes.

a few notes and a brief cooking note

First, the notes.

Note 1: I began using a chimney this summer to start my grill. I love it, but I haven't gauged the fires properly yet. Between the chimney and the hardwood charcoal (not briquettes!) that I've been using, I get amazingly hot fires. Too hot, really. I've had a devil of a time figuring out timing and heat, as a result.

Note 2: I need to branch out while at the farmers market. I bring home a nice harvest and prepare it well (usually!), but I don't change up my game nearly enough. I don't buy many new ingredients. I don't challenge myself to stretch my wings beyond some of my tried and true preparations. If all goes well, we will take part in a winter CSA, and I will expand my cooking repertoire.

Now a cooking note:

In midsummer, I found myself with locally raised lamb steaks, corn, and peaches. I'd also snagged a loaf of parmaggiano and red pepper bread. The lamb went in with a chili-, sage-, and rosemary-spiked rub. The peaches were drizzled with a good balsamic. The corn was soaked (in husks) in salt water. The bread was sliced and drizzled with good olive oil. We were using my neighbor's gas grill. The corn went on first. It roasted for close to half an hour on the upper rack with a low convection fire. The fire was brought up and the lamb and peaches went on the grill. The peaches were to the side and the lamb spent 4 minutes on either side. The bread went on for the second half. The ingredients were stacked — bread first, lamb second, peach on top. We pulled an arugula salad with shaved parmaggiano on the side and called it dinner.

The flavors mixed beautifully. The lamb was perfectly medium rare and its juices infused the bread. The sweet and caramel of the balsamic-drizzled peaches countered the chili and spice of the other ingredients. With the salad and the corn, the meal was a damn-near perfect explosion of local, summer flavors.

weekend round-up, pt. 1 — the market report

The market trip this weekend needed to be abbreviated to accommodate an errand down to The Weekend Brewer in Chester, particularly since we arrived a little later than had been planned. (Non-Buttercup weekends sometimes slip off schedule.) That said, market trips are increasingly hard to abbreviate since the market has become a complete scene. The evolution is not at all surprising, particularly as it grows. What it means, however, is that it is more difficult to get a survey of all the good stuff.

Beyond the social explosion and the lines waiting for Nate's tacos and breakfast burritos, the growing season is bringing all sorts of bounty to the market. Asparagus has given way to squash, and broccoli has given way to cucumbers. There are a whole range of beets, radishes and turnips showing up. We even have a lamb producer added to the meat vendors.

This week's roundup included:

• Arugula


• French Breakfast Radishes


• Cucumbers


• Fennel


• Purple cabbage


• Eggplant


• a duck (!) from Faith Farms

There were a few other random items too, but it's the duck that has me perplexed. I've never cooked one before and plan to smoke it today or tomorrow. Stay tuned...

In coming weeks, I hope to stretch the market report a bit. It will probably take a little more focus and punctuality, however — especially if I want to get there before Blanchard's sells out of whole beans.

market round-up

When we got to the market this weekend, the air was still cool. In the course of an hour, however, the temps shot up. This made poor Buttercup a little wilty since she'd decided the purple velvet dress was proper market garb. It also nailed me a bit since we'd enjoyed a neighbors gathering late into the evening.

As a result, we hit Victory Farms for a nice smattering of lettuce, cucumbers and squash. Asparagus was on tap from one of the other farms — and thankfully we were there early enough to get the nice small shoots. There was a new pound of Yrgacheffe beans from Blanchard's Coffee. There was a chorizo taco from Nate, who makes his own chorizo and so much more. And then that was the point at which the heat and the rest got to me. The cup of coffee I'd bought disappeared and was in none of the places it should have been. Buttercup lost steam — not a good omen on the day of her ballet recitals.

More's the pity since the pickings around the market are really picking up steam. Lettuces are giving way to squashes. More fruit should be coming in soon, and tomatoes and peppers can't be far off. Hopefully, the next market trip will have a little more vigor and a little less yawn behind it.

catching up — the market edition

The market is certainly picking up steam these days. We're up to three goat cheese vendors — 2 dairies producing some interesting varieties and Faith Farms who sells another farm's excellent chevre. In addition to the regular meat producers, a new one had arrived selling bison. Had I not already decided to pick up a fresh chicken, I might have added some bison to the week's purchases, just for kicks and giggles. Greens, broccoli, squash and the tail-end of the asparagus are popping up all over the place. Strawberries are still in — and deliciously sweet — for another week or two. There were plenty of plant vendors and flowers, but I opted not to pick up any since I have just begun to get my garden (now only in containers) in decent shape. The crowds were strong, which was particularly heartening to see on Memorial Day weekend The only problem with such strong crowds, however, was that Blanchard's Coffee was completely sold out of beans by the time I got there. Then again maybe arriving a little earlier than 10:00 might have made the difference...

The other highlight? Our little friend here. And, boy, did the crowd part when he came running out, squealing.

Market report

Thanks to a rather late evening Friday night, I was late getting to the market this weekend. Compound that with having to run back for Buttercup's ballet pictures and the Strawberry Street Festival, and my trip was a bit quicker than I had hoped for. That said, the turnout still seemed excellent. Berries are beginning to come in, as are early season squash. The tastes I had of goat cheese from the dairy that is coming in this year were good, but I'm very spoiled about my goat cheese and haven't fully committed to buying any.

Looking around at the plants, I realized I need to spend some time thinking about the garden this week. The seedlings are a little beaten up after the torrential rains this past week, and given that Buttercup was a little random in her planting, I am not certain what we actually have coming up at the moment. So the goals of the week will be determining what can be salvaged versus what needs to be supplemented with plants and whether we will be able to do the garden bed versus containers.

That rambling aside, here's the quick rundown...

• beautiful lettuces
  
• carrots
  
• asparagus
  
• arugula
  
• strawberries
  
• wheat bread
  

If we make it on time next week, the list should be a little more interesting...

Market wrap-up

Saturday was the opening day for the growers market at Forest Hill Park. The market's formal name is "the South of the James Market" which still strikes me as an unnecessary level of branding for a community market — but we like to give names and brands to things here in Richmond.

Anyway, the market had a stellar opening. Buttercup (aka the kid formerly known as Banana) and I were only able to make for an hour, but it was a busy hour. Vendors like Norwood Cottage and Blanchard's Coffee were already starting to run out of items. Victory Farms and Faith Farms both seemed well-stocked, but knowing our propensity for over-buying I stayed light on the purchases. Pleitez Produce (or whatever they are calling themselves these days) had been bumped from their anchor location at the end to a side stall where they continued to shill out-of-season items like huge grocery-store-ready strawberries for $5/quart and bouquets that were almost certainly not grown in the area.

The plants and other items available were beautiful, and I hope to pick some up to plant next week. We'll have to see what's actually coming up in my initial plantings, however. There were many, many craft vendors back for the season, and I suppose we'll see how the actual mix holds up.

That said, this week's finds included:

• lettuces (several beautiful heads of mixed varieties)
  
• carrots
  
• italian raab, which Buttercup wanted but did not like when she tasted it later
  
• scallions
  
• pork chops
  

I tapped all of the produce for dinner that evening. I recommend sauteing the raab on an extremely hot griddle with scallions and a bit of olive oil and chili. Beautiful!

Forest Hill market, this week - and more

We had a small, but productive trip to the market this week. We came home with some nice lettuce, broccoli, peppers, amazing carrots, some bread, and apples. A few of the vendors reacted with dismay, however, when I mentioned in casual conversation that I had begun to trim my market purchases. Why, they wanted to know, would I do that?

The answer was simple: through the early and middle parts of the summer, I overbought. This meant I spent money on food I ended up throwing away. The simple and sad truth is that, as a single parent with a (small) commute and a demanding full-time job, I can manage only so much meal preparation during the course of a week.

With various fresh vegetables and fruits that go bad at unpredictable rates—from the lettuces that can last three weeks when stored properly to the strawberries that suddenly go bad in a day—it is hard to base your entire meal planning around a market trip. And when things get busy and exhausting by the middle of the week, going out or making a quick, simple pasta dish takes precedence over the creative use of that eggplant that seemed like such a good idea at the time. Add the unpredictability of a six-year old's palate—one week zucchini is great, the next week it is devil-spawn—and you have a tough juggling act.

Too often, the result of that juggling act was food that went bad. (For example, there is currently chicken in the refrigerator I may have to throw out because the past few days ended up being busier than expected, and some unfinished pac choi from last week went into the trash.)

Given that August and September were extraordinarily difficult on the Impolitic Eye bank account and given the strange and difficult financial straits internationally, I've decided to pull back a little bit. There are still a few things that I will buy at Whole Foods, but we will return to stocking our cupboards heavily with Trader Joe's items that are inexpensive and easy to prepare. It's a tough thing to accept that I can't always afford either the money or the time for everything I'd like to make or do, but the reality is I have two hours in the morning to get us both showered, fed and out the door and three hours between picking Banana up from after-school care and her bedtime. And dinner needs to be on the table in that first hour and a half.

My life falls into some pretty narrow constraints. No matter how I try to game my own system, those constraints don't appear to be changing any time soon. Time to live with in my means. And those "means" are financial, chronological, and physical.

To some extent, this is the ultimate lifehacking.

Notes from the weekend - South of the James Market edition

The balance of the market vendors this week fell disproportionately to craft and prepared-food vendors. I hope this trend does not continue. The market is a gem and should aim to be the premiere source of locally grown and produced food. The bowls and blouses need to be secondary.

The market return

After a few weeks off, I made it back to the market yesterday. There is no doubt that Whole Foods has cut into my market purchases. Nonetheless, I came away with some absolutely beautiful produce.

The heirloom tomatoes and peppers have continued to come in. Lettuces are back, and I can't wait for the fall weather to bring more varieties. The pac choi was in again, and I plan to stir fry some with locally made tofu and bamboo shoots tomorrow. Tart and crisp apples have finally appeared. There were a few hawkers trying to rid themselves of watermelons, getting the price down to two melons for three dollars. I was tempted, but I had to remind myself that Banana and I rarely make it through half a watermelon—never mind two. So it was a good, if smaller than usual, trip to Forest Hill.

That said, Banana and I had a couple of long days. She was slated to have the weekend with Banana Mère, but it was a little mixed up with a party with some pool friends yesterday afternoon and a block party on our street this afternoon. It made for a grand, tiring time.

Fast forward to this evening when I was facing down dinner preparations with a tired, potentially-cranky girl on the couch. I looked at the beautiful array of veggies on the cutting board, and came up with a perfect, easy solution.



Penne burro e parmigiano with garlic, fresh basil, a few tomatoes, and olives. Seven ingredients to make for a simple and delicious meal.




(P.S. — Excuse the poor-quality photos. The phone, not the camera, was handy at the moment I needed it.)

market report

So, there's really nothing unusual to report about this week's Forest Hill Market run. I got many of the usual items... except for a hunk of raw cow's milk cheese from Avery's Branch Farm. Named Sevenwood, it's a very nice hard, washed-rind cheese. The flavor tends more toward sharp and grassy rather than nutty and creamy. A good cheese, but not necessarily a local cheese, I suspect. I don't have firm confirmation on this, but evidence from their web site and other information suggests that they haven't entered the cheesemaking business, just the cheese-selling business. It's unfortunate; after all, the pleasure of buying at the market is buying from a direct connection to the soil on which something was created. Minus that the market simply becomes a bastardization of shopping at a nice grocery store.

Mind you, I'd have no problem if the folks at the dairy readily admitted--the way the Faith Farms people do--that they are not the direct producers of certain products. We'll leave it at that for now.

market report

In the past few weeks, Banana and I have been slower to get going on Saturdays. We've arrived at the market close to 10, almost an hour and a half later than usual. Thankfully, the produce has been so plentiful we've been able to come away with a decent haul. Admittedly, we've missed out on some cuts of meat, shiitakes, raspberries, and some other excellent market purchases of which the supplies are less plentiful. What we have not missed out on are the crowds. The little market that could has become the the monster market. When the decision to start the market was made, the manager of the year-old Byrd House Market put up the money to rent the space out of her own pocket. She should be deservedly proud of her contribution to the community, and it would do the city good to see that a market can succeed—and thrive—without being micromanaged by the powers-that-be.

Now, stepping down off my soapbox, here is the week's haul:

• Sungold tomatoes and peppers from Amy's Organic Garden
  
• Basil and heirloom tomatoes from Victory Farms
  
• Cantalope, cucumbers and corn from two farmers whose names escape me
  
• Peaches—the last 3 at the Saunders Farm stand
  
• Amish Roll Butter and Chicken from Faith Farms
  
• coffee beans from Blanchard's Roasters
  
• Whole wheat bread from Newtowne Cottage
  

For lunch, I made a salad with cukes and tomatoes, garnished with basil. One of the tomatoes I cut up was the one below. It was the only one of its kind among the heirlooms, and now I really wish I'd asked the people at Victory Farms what kind it was. First of all, I'd like to be able to find it again; second, heirlooms have some really remarkable names. Anyone who can identify the variety, please let me know in the comments.

weekend round-up, and/or a few quick updates

Without further ado...

• Banana passed her swim test on Friday night and celebrated by going off the diving board for two and a half hours. We subsequently spent a significant chunk of the weekend at the pool. I also got a clinic—from our barber—on how to care for fine blonde hair at the pool.
  
  
• The Forest Hill Farmers Market was just as busy and interesting as usual. I stepped back a bit on our purchases this week because we've built a surplus. There were no wildcards on my purchases, but a dairy had arrived this time. Banana was cranky, however, so I needed to scuttle the trip. My hope is that they return next week.
  
  
• I've acceded to Banana's wish for a kitten for her birthday. G-d help us all.
  
  
• Chilled pinot noir is surprisingly good.
  
  
• John McCain will do everything he can to destroy Obama. It's going to be an interesting few months.

More later.

Forest Hill market, this week

Today's market brought a nice yield...

• More tomatoes
  
• cucumbers
  
• lemon cucumbers, which are small round yellow balls
  
• arugula
  
• green beans
  
• cantalopes
  
• asian eggplants
  
• purple, yellow and orange peppers
  
• pork chops and ribs

Oh yeah, and there was the small matter of balloon animals. For the second week running, a woman was making the most extravagant balloon creations. Banana got a ballerina and our friend Devin got a mermaid. I should have taken pictures, because even a nice descriptive paragraph wouldn't do these creations justice. Steve Martin might, however...

forest hill market, this week

So, thanks to some friends and neighbors, I barely made it to the market this week. It was boiling hot, and the mojitos from the night made for a woozy wake-up. The little bit of fruit and yogurt before leaving certainly didn't cut it, and I had to give in to the urge to try some of the barbecue sold at the market.

There are two such vendors. One is a guy who has a fairly serious tent and truck set up, complete with a generator to run everything. He sold North Carolina-style. The other pitmaster pulls a large smoker behind a gray volvo wagon, circa 1990. He made Texas-style, which should prick the ears of any BBQ-loving NPR listeners. Despite a gift of the gab, he kept the line moving and recognized repeat customers. After a taste of his brisket and a sausage, I can report that it was some of the best barbecue I've tasted. Next week, I'll have to try more—my apologies to my vegetarian/vegan friends.

In the meantime, the market report this week is as follows...

• coffee beans
  
• yard-long beans , which are purple
  
• sweet red peppers
  
• four kinds of tomatoes
  
• cucumbers
  
• cantalope
  
• basil (and the pesto is already made)
  
• shiitake mushrooms
  
• blueberries (close to the end of the season for these)
  
• chorizo
  
• peaches
  
• gnocchi
  
• rosemary and onion focaccia (tasty, but a bit dry)

The only regret? I should have bought butter.

the market haul

Last night, Banana and I hung at our pool for Friday Movie Night. It was a late night, and had Banana so exhausted she slept past nine this morning. Despite that and despite the fact that we got to Forest Hill more than an hour later than usual, we picked a pretty decent haul.

• Honeydew melon
  
• a small, very fragrant cantalope
  
• blackberries
  
• baby carrots
  
• white peaches
  
• corn
  
• green beans
  
• green peppers
  
• gold cherry tomatoes
  
• yellow heirloom tomatoes
  
• cucumbers
  
• basil
  
• chevre
  
• pork chops
  
• coffee beans

Unfortunately, I neglected to pick up eggs. In any case, the salad I made for lunch was simple and amazing--cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, carrots, olives, the last of the feta I'd picked up a couple weeks ago, and a little olive oil and balsamic.

It was a muggy, warm morning, but I still remain amazed at how much the market grows. New farms and craft vendors arrive each week, and the crowds remain steady. There is one vendor that seems to be causing a bit of rumbling, however. They carry produce that is past or a little early for the season, suggesting that they are sourcing their wares, possibly from outside Virginia, rather than growing themselves. It will be interesting to see whether the rumblings grow louder. (And, yes, I've left the specifics out intentionally.)

Forest Hill Farmers Market, again

So, this week's haul was a little smaller since Banana will be staying with Banana mére for the week. That said, the purchases included:

• Raspberries, black raspberries, and blackberries (as Chris Vaughn noted, the latter were probably not grown in VA. Bummer.
  
• Green leaf lettuce
  
• Carrots
  
• Baby radishes
  
• Coffee beans
  
• Sunflowers

My apologies to Jesse at Faith Farms for not getting any of the ribs she pulled out of the cooler for us. I had a moment when I realized, wisely, that we wouldn't be able to use any new meat for almost a month.

Forest Hill Farmers Market, again

The market continues to grow. This week, a new farm and a pasta maker arrived. There were, of course, new craft vendors, but I have yet to be drawn to any of the craftspeople.

We're well into the growing season now, with shifts in what is in season, as well as what has been affected by the intense, early heat. Lettuces, strawberries, and asparagus are going out of season. Cucumbers, summer squashes, various berries, carrots and tomatoes are coming in. The success of the market has, however, taken its toll on some of the vendors. Faith Farms, for instance, has found that they can't keep up with demand. They're not unhappy about it, but it has forced them to rethink their business a little bit. It's a good problem to have. And it forces the buyer to be more creative — rather than coming with a set list of items, sometimes you have to cook with what's available.

That said, our market haul this week:

• baby lettuces, probably the last for a little while
  
• scallions
  
• baby carrots — last week's were phenomenal
  
• mixed basket of squash
  
• cucumbers
  
• sunflowers — Banana's treat
  
• locally roasted organic Yergacheffe — Blanchard's is roasting some really nice beans these days, but as a Rostov's regular, I feel like I'm cheating.
  
• a whole chicken — spoiler alert for vegan friends: it was slaughtered yesterday.
  
• raspberries
  
• the first tomatoes of the season
  
• green beans

It's a decent haul. We're still not being as adventuresome as I'd like, but I'm still limited in my cooking time these days. And it's hard to tell what even a foodie 6-year old will eat, sometimes.