Fabulous Fourth - New Yummy Project in the Works - The Kraut Works!

Update dateline August 22.  How did the Kraut Turn Out? It is divine. Crunchy, flavorful and really homey.  Since I used only sea salt, water and cabbage, it doesn't have the tang of processed krauts.  I've already started a new batch
*************************************************************

We've been keeping it simple this weekend. Staying close to home and enjoying some much needed rest. 

I do have a project up my sleeves for tomorrow. I gathered the necessary equipment and ingredients yesterday. And tomorrow I will give it a go.  Drum roll please. . .

I'm going to make a big batch of sauerkraut. The recipe is amazingly simple: cabbage, sea salt plus anything else you care to include. I'm going to throw in some garlic, some fennel, some caraway seeds and a little orange peel. 

The recipe takes from one week to one year. (I don't think I can wait a year!) 

I bought one of those old timey crocks yesterday at the hardware store.  If I had some ready cash I would have bought my crock from Ogusky Ceramics. See what I mean here:
Handmade Ogusky Ceramic Crock

Anyone have some tips on successful kraut making. I'm all ears!

Buffalo Wings

We're here in Buffalo to visit Niagra Falls. Wow, but we made a great detour to enjoy the best Buffalo Wings I've ever had - right at the point of origin. If you're ever in the neighborhood, you must go to Frank and Teressa's Anchor Bar. It is the self-proclaimed site of the original buffalo wing. These babies will melt  in your mouth. The blue cheese dipping sauce, the spicy sauce. They were divine. Planning a trip, check out Anchor Bar. Frank and Teressa also share their fantastic recipe on the website. Hungry for wings, check it out.

Locavores - TV-vores

I ran across this funny ad from the 1960s. Maybe you remember these like I do. Didn't you always crave the glamour of TV dinners. My parents would serve these as a treat whenever they had a night out and we had a baby sitter.

Ahhhhhhh Swansons Frozen Dinners.  With all this talk about Locavores and Meatless Mondays, you'd have thought we'd all forgotten our past.

Compartmentalized food. Processed within an inch of its life. It's no wonder we've gone back to appreciate the natural fare of locally grown food. (But don't you miss that brown gravy?)

Upclose View of Ad

Back to IKEA We Go!

Well, as you'll remember we had a very successful trip to IKEA last month. But, of course, like going to Home Depot, you can't do this shopping all in one trip. We'd bought the wrong shelves for the discontinued shelving unit. And my daughter now wants something pink instead of something practical.  The good news is that we got to have lunch in their cafe - and because it was Friday, we didn't have to fight the crowds.

I enjoyed the yummy shrimp and hard boiled egg sandwich.  The kids had various pasta, carrots, cookies, chocolate milk and french fry combinations.

We left IKEA with a pink table, a night light, some picture frames, some bins from the last chance room and a red door for Jamie's storage unit.  We still need to return the shelves, so I can look forward to another shrimp and sliced hard boiled egg sandwich.

Magical Modern Muffins

I admit it - I'm the lone health nut in the house. 

My other half snarfs down red meat as though there is no tomorrow. My 10 year old son could live on a diet of Cheetos. Well, you get the picture.

I'm on the eternal quest for healthy foods that can pass.  Mark Bittman's recent column is a find.  How to make tasty whole wheat muffins that aren't 40 pound lead weights.  The magic ingredient is whole wheat pastry flour - such a revelation.

Check this out.Find Yum Here

Asian Eggplant with Shrimp and Scallops

Get the Receipe

I had the most wonderful dinner the other night.  This was a medley of eggplant, shrimp and scallops combined with some Asian chile sauce and spices.  I added in some Asian fish sauce, which is totally addictive.

I'm not sure what the source of the magic was - but it was wonderful.

Tractors and Pumpkins

Today I took the kids out to the Tractor Farm, which most people call Wilson's Farm in Lexington Mass.  Jamie has called it the Tractor Farm since he was a baby - and the name has stuck (like most things Jamie has created names for).  Wilson's does a great Halloween festival month - with tractor pulled hay rides, and mummies, and scary displays, and free apples and candy corn.  After the hayride you can buy candy apples, apple cider donuts and all the fresh produce you can carry away in your car.  We did it all!  Can't wait for next year.

Mad Men - Calvin Trillin Remembers the 60's

Watch this video clip of Calvin Trillin, former food columnist and New Yorker contributor, remembering his Mad Men past.

What Was It Really Like?

A Thousand Points of Light

Junk Food Nation

I wish there were a CSA map like this. . . but instead we get the ugly reminder of the ubiquity of junk food in our lives.  Hello Junk Food My Old Friend.

Farewell Gourmet!

The end of a foodie era. Ruth Reichl interview in the NYtimes today.  How can Si Newhouse let it go?  And just when Ruth had discovered healthy food - waiting for her next book, Gourmet Today.