Hungry Times Two

It’s officially eight weeks into the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” directive here in Asheville, NC, and today I had the most epic day of mishaps thus far. In North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper and state officials tout the three Ws as “flattening the curve” practices. I’d like to propose a fourth, inspired by the opening line of most of actor Leslie Jordan’s Instagram posts . “Well, shit.” That’s my motto. Casual, to the point, and very much over it all. (This being said, I am aware of my privilege to work from home and remain inconvenienced thus far, and I send much love and respect to those who cannot.) Ouch First I woke up with a sore neck. What could I have done? I quit doing half-assed yoga weeks ago! Then I remembered last night I washed a particularly gritty bag of romaine lettuce using my salad spinner. I recall thinking at the time, "This is why I don’t use this Ikea spinner that often. This thing is stubborn and churns like a cement mixer.” I must have over-aggres...

Earlier this week, Erin made beef curry and it featured spices that we received from my dad and sister last Christmas. They live in Augusta, Georgia, my hometown, which has a surpisingly large South Asian community and subsequent restaruants and even groceries. Dad and Molly, thanks so much for the collection of spices, plus the cookbook 660 Curries ! That's the fun thing about food and cooking gifts, they make you think about the gifter every time you use them. Thanks again Dad and Molly!

Or is it just my warm Rosemary Walnut Loaves? Yep, I've tried my hand at baking bread, and it looks like I successfully completed my mission! Exhibit A: Before the oven Exhibit B: After the oven A recipe from Cooking Light , it's something one really should take the time to read the entire way through before one proceeds. I scanned the ingredients list and began at 2pm today, while had I read the recipe, I would have known I'd stand in my kitchen four hours later , slicing the bread. A couple of things: Bread takes time, effort, and patience. I know this now. The latter is always my downfall, so this was practice for me. BIG practice. There's the rising of the yeast. Then adding the flour and the rest of the ingredients and letting it rise more. Then kneading - despite the stickiness of the dough, you have to knead it for 10 minutes - that's forever in Erin Time, but just right in Bread Time. I punched it, I poked it, I wrangled with it, and scattered the stubborn ...

I introduce to you our new segment, "We've Got It Made." I know, right - cheesy yet oh-so-catchy. You may now roll your eyes, and continue reading, thanks. It's..wow...almost October, and while the last of the warm weather temps are fleeting and fading, we noticed our basil plants in our communal neighborhood garden are doing the same. Scott and I wanted to take advantage of the lovely herbs while they're still present and accounted for, so on Saturday night after a full afternoon of kayaking up and down the Potomac River, we set out to make pesto. Scott inspected the plants. And picked and picked and picked - two cups worth! I checked out the huge-ass pumpkins growing in the garden. And mourned the sad decline of beautiful sunflowers. Once inside, we combined forces to blend the basil, garlic, grated Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and olive oil, using the ever-handy The Joy Of Cooking's recipe . Indeed a joy. Yum. I boiled some fettuccine regate noodles (th...

Oh, how I lurve you, mint. You lend your refreshing, tingly herbal notes to many a fine thing: tea and tabbouleh, to name a few, and even the nostalgia of childhood, those Star Brights Mints my Grandmother Coxey used to keep in her candy dish. (I'd unwrap them and gobble them in secret, stuffing the plastic wrappers between the couch cushions. But nevermind that.) Our mint plant is doing remarkably well, so I plan on using it as much as I can while it's alive and kickin .' A great way to do so: a Rice Noodle salad with a Vietnamese lean. Yes, another Cooking Light recipe. I swear that cookbook is the best two dollars I ever spent! I made this salad last night, using baked salmon in place of the tofu. It was fresh and light and a great departure from the usual Jasmine rice and veggie stir fry we usually eat. Scott's contribution was trekking out to gather some herbs from our mint plant, currently "squatting" with our neighbors' garden goodness (inclu...

Confessional time: I often have issues with seasoning food. Especially with our friend the Salt Shaker. Somehow I always oversalt the grits and undersalt pots of rice. I should just break down and carefully measure every time, I know. We have a big stainless steel shaker we use like this one and I tend to shake it like a Polaroid Picture a couple times over each dish as needed without much precision. Precision should be a concern for the folks at Mahatma, where they seem to be unaware that they're contributing to a lot of high blood pressure, and swollen ankles and ring fingers. Their yellow rice mix is off the charts with the salt! We made a pot of it last night and I could only eat about three bites of my serving before shoving it away. I know many prepackaged foods are laden with sodium and, conversely, sugar. My sick days last week consisted of a meal or two of canned soup and for the first time I noticed Campbell's Tomato Soup is incredibly too sweet. Of course, my taste ...

Before I met Scott, I was totally unfamiliar with this shaker of seasonings – a mix of salt, pepper, onion, garlic, celery, and parsley. Scott used the seasonings on a variety of things he cooked to impress me when we first started dating back in the Stone Age of 2002, and it wasn’t until I visited his dad’s house and then his uncle’s house, and then another uncle’s house, and finally their family house down on the coast of South Carolina, that I realized that Nature’s Seasons is definitely “A Thing” with this family. This stuff is always around, thus the men in the family jokingly refer to it as “Adams Seasoning.” It really is a great mix of just the right things to jazz up whatever – meat, eggs, potatoes, rice, or pasta. I just never noticed it on the shelves at the grocery store until I entered the Adams’ fold. So here’s to that ubiquitous blue and yellow tube of seasonings on the dinner table or spice rack of every Adams family member’s kitchen. And may there be many meals with the...