Hungry Times Two

In my last post I shared that we hauled back lots of apples from the N.C. mountains. Since then I've eaten apples in my oatmeal, cored into slices with peanut butter, in a sheet cake, with cheddar slices, and in a celery and blue cheese salad. Our dog Loretta enjoys wrangling the cores out of her red Kong . And yet we still have SO MANY APPLES. One half of our fridge is completely stacked with apples and one crisper drawer is full. We have a bounty of  "Nature's Toothbrush." (Ew.) Chopped Apple Cake, from the 1987 edition of the Trinity United Methodist Church, Charlotte, cookbook. (My dad was the minister there in the late '80s. The ladies there could COOK.) At night they multiply in our fridge like amoebas. They're taking over. I think I may become one.

Little did I know when I eagerly applied to take part in The Bitten Word' s Cover to Cover challenge that the task would be so...explosive. Learn all about it and my little mishap with Bon Appetit' s Brussels Sprouts Kimchi in their latest post, Cover to Cover 2013: Sides Dishes and Condiments. I'd follow the recommendation by the first blogger featured in the roundup and also slice the sprouts thin. Halves just don't cut it -- you wind up with big crunchy bites of spicy brassicas that find a way to kick your ass later too, if you know what I mean. (Ugh, I felt the need to leave that out of my submission, probably better for it, right?) I cook a LOT from BA these days. Their restaurant features are a bit too " so hot right now " but the recipes are usually right on the mark of challenging enough to be interesting but not so much that I can't find the ingredients or the tools to try them. And lots of vegetables usually, since that's a big goa...

Looking for something different to snack on? Need a break from that cheese tray or chips & dip rut? C'mon, you're better than that. Check out my guest blog post on We The Eaters for a lovely Italian pickled Giardiniera. It's a simple pickle featuring carrots, cauliflower and red peppers, but with enough zing to tell your taste buds to get happy. You know you need to eat more vegetables. So get canning!

Last week I went a bit bonkers for anything a mason jar can contain. Perhaps it's my participation in Bitten Word' s Cover to Cover '13 (they're cooking the entire September issue of Bon Appetit , y'all), or because We The Eaters invited me to share a post for their canning challenges. I just decided I needed some can-therapy, and put my stash of jars to good use on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.

What a coincidence. The very weekend my post on honey and its many cure-alls hits the DC-based  blog We The Eaters , the cold crud hits our house. Scott's got a sore throat and I'm feeling achy and slightly off-kilter. Yay. My contribution lists five ways to use the sweet stuff --  methinks Number 1, the hot toddy,  will be indispensable this week. Bourbon and honey -- now that's comforting.

Many thanks to my step-dad for sending this link ! Who knew you can run a car off bourbon? Of course, even during Prohibition, there was indeed " medicinal bourbon " (check out photo a mid-page, honest to God!).

In addition to my latest read, Keith Richard's Life , (and yes, it's coherent), I'm also reading two food-related works. From SXC/Zsuzsanna Kilian The first is one I snagged via the incredibly helpful Interlibrary Loan at my library branch -- The Essential New York Times Cookbook by NYT food editor and writer Amanda Hesser . Hesser asked for reader feedback and sifted through all the published recipes -- from cocktails to sweet endings -- in the paper's annals and whittled it down to a hefty red doorstop of a compendium.

TGIF, my friends, TGIF. What a long-ass week this feels like. Anyone else agree with me? I didn't accomplish very much in the culinary arena this week, as you may have determined from my earlier post on the evils of bad food. We were busy, we were tired, and I am more than just a little bit lazy due to the winter blues, so I need to work on my motivation. However, I did achieve one of my goals for 2011 , which was not super lofty, nor sexy, but it is what it is: roasting a chicken. (Crappy photos to come!)

Here I sit, typing on this wee blog, with my back to my grandmother's china cabinet (which was originally a pantry for my great-grandmother's pump house , where all the men would go to have a drink 'cause my great-grand didn't allow liquor in her home, thank you very much). Peering into the glass door of the cabinet, I see nine jars of Christmas Morning Marmalade, which I rechristened "Pucker Up Marmalade" after Scott and I spent nearly two hours peeling, slicing, and seeding an ungodly amount of citrus fruit right before Christmas.

Check out Scott's most-excellent post at our friend (and Scott's colleague) Mark's blog Car Free Baltimore . Scott shares our experience saying "See ya, sucka" to one of our cars. Thus far, no worries. Chances are, I'm going to do more of this (below) in the future. Can someone turn up the thermostat for me, though? I'm not crazy about biking in 20 degree temps!

Not to get terribly political or high-minded on this little blog of ours, but while we're planning our holiday gifting, it came to mind that 1) time's running out, and 2) we're both somewhat skeptical now of the consumerist nature of Christmastime. Each year Scott and I usually rally in early December to scour the Internets and Google Machines for silly holiday songs ( like this one ), buy them online, and burn a lot of CD's to gift for friends. We've done this since December 2006, but instead of making this our 5th annual Christmas Mix, we're opting to do something different. Inspired by the good guys over at The Bitten Word , I learned from them about Share Our Strength , a non-profit working to end childhood hunger in America. With the economy as it is, and reports like this one indicating one in seven Americans are on food stamps, it dawned on me that perhaps we can afford to direct our Christmas gifting funds in another direction. The money that would nor...

Ever get blog envy? Oh, come on, admit it. Here's one you'll go green over - The Bitten Word . Presently, the twosome with taste list a compendium of 175 Thanksgiving recipes from 10 food 'zines. If you're not inspired by their good works, maybe you should check your pulse, yes? I'm thinking my dinner for four is going to be a tinge more interesting this year. Hurray for fantastic bloggers!

"Uh, death please? No, cake, cake." If you haven't seen Eddie Izzard's Dressed to Kill, well, I'm kinda envious, because I'd like to go back to when I saw it for the first time. British male transvestite comedian = good times, I promise you. Sooooo ...tea and cake. It's about to happen here at our house because I have this baking in the oven at the moment. I have to use up my apples, though I know they last a while in cold storage, my Virgo OCD tendencies say food needs to be eaten when fresh. I wanted to make this apple loaf cake from Tennessee Locavore as it looked so healthy - applesauce, whole wheat pastry flour, less sugar, etc. - but I didn't have any nuts or cranberries and after my canning extravaganza last night, I was not about to make my applesauce from scratch. Thus the easy way out with the cooks.com recipe. Maybe for a lazy day when my pantry's fully stocked? I'm now officially out of canola oil and flour!

As I sit here typing, a funny little sound escapes from my kitchen. "Thwack. Pop." Silence...then again, "Thwack." No, it's not Scott taking out his frustrations on a meal tonight. It's glass jars filled with yummy sweet spreads sealing their lids as they cool. Oh, how I love that sound! What did I make, you may wonder. Well, let me tell you. It has to do with these shots, taken during our visit to Homestead Farm two weekends ago: Our host tells us what's up... respect the fruit. We always respect the fruit. The apples we picked -- about 20 - 25 of the Gala and Cameo varieties, were HUGE - nearly twice the size of the typical grocery store kind. I am obviously all about them, as you see below. In addition to acres of apples, the farm also includes a pumpkin patch - pretty irresistible this time of year. Our friend Ryan demonstrates how Mr. Potato Head has been replaced by a much larger piece of produce - MUCH larger. If apples aren't your deal, you...

Serious Eats, a blog I follow, has a poll today concerning the restaurant trend of small plates - debating whether they are a cool, Tapas- esque thing, or a way lame attempt to cheat their patrons. I have to laugh because I'm always a little nervous when Scott and I dine somewhere that offers small plates in lieu of entree-size portions. With the opportunity to taste a variety of things, I love the concept. However, Scott is wary of anything "small" about a meal. The man requires certain amounts of food, and anything less is just a big damn shame. Recently we took two friends visiting from Nashville to a Greek/Middle Eastern place where we each selected two things to try. Between the four of us, I felt we all received enough food and the price was just fine. Scott didn't speak up to say if he was satisfied, and I didn't ask, but his raid of the pita basket to sop up the remaining sauces and bits on each plate indicated maybe not so much. Is it a total racket for ...

This weekend, Hungry Times Two was minus one, as Scott hightailed it to Charlottesville , Va. for a father-son trip. (I was a little, no - make that super - jealous as that's one of the weekend trip destinations on my list). As per ritual when it's just me in the house to cook for, I scaled it down a bit, with the usual stir fry for one that did not turn out well at all on Friday (rice undercooked; zucchini and eggplant overdone and in a salty sauce I didn't care for). What to do? Trash the meal for a snack of homemade popcorn, of course. *An aside: Since my introduction to kernels popped in a big pot with a lid, aided by a little salt (or Old Bay, or cayenne, or whatever seasonings you'd like) and olive oil, I haven't bought any microwave popcorn and have no inclination to do so. Why eat greasy crap imitation butter flavor when you can make real popcorn for pennies? And my tree- huggin ' self loves that there's less packaging.* Saturday, with hopes for find...

Lately I'm obsessing over what to can/preserve next. I'm already thinking about Christmas gifts and I think Scott and I may do what we did last year, which was to hand make everything for friends and family. It was very rewarding, fun, saved us money, and way less stressful than hitting the mall or big box store for the one perfect thing for each person on our list. Like a squirrel hoarding for winter, I'm saving extra jars and food containers that will hold up well for nesting gift goodies and I want to hit up Craigslist and thrift stores to find Ball and Mason jars. Much cheaper than buying new ones, and less waste too. The jars and threads can be boiled to sterilize and reuse - it's the lids that have to be new and replaced. With tomato season about to hit its peak, what could a canner want more than to do some homemade salsa? Chutney? Gazpacho? Vegetable soup? Even Tomato Jam! Marinara? The possibilities are quite endless. I also would like to try out something...