Alice Waters is big fat snob!

The Internet/blogosphere is great. Example: this morning. I checked out The Amateur Gourmet, which led me to the FN Dish (the Food Network is running a contest, by the way, so get over there and leave your URL!), which led me to this post on EaterSF, which led me to this blog at KQED, which led me to this oldish article at the New York Times. (Funny the way that a series of blogs led me right back to a print publication, right?) I've been watching the food crisis develop in the pages of the Economist lately (we haven't seen it on our own supermarket shelves...yet). I guess that (serious rice-aholics aside) Americans are pretty well insulated from the crisis in the greater world, but it should be just a matter of time before the shock wave ripples through our own heavily subsidized food system. When it does, I certainly hope (Ms. Waters* and Mr. Pollan) that it will help even out the now-yawning chasm between subsidized, processed food and what, in simpler times, might have been simply called "real" food. And like Pollan and Waters, I'm a big fan of my local farmer's market. But I'm not sure that we're coming from the same place... ...The reigning farmer's market in the Bay Area (and maybe in the country) is at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. The market may send a beautiful perfume of fresh lilies, spring greens, and deep-fried asparagus wafting down the pier, but the breeze on market days also carries the not-so-subtle odor of bourgeois self-importance. Well-heeled foodies from Pacific Heights and gawking tourists well outnumber serious bargain hunters, and a pound of new potatoes is hard to between the lavender-honey face scrub and $7 bahn mi. Seriously, there is WAY more fancy prepared food and specialty gourmet schwag than real, staple produce. And that produce is frequently twice the price of similar stuff in a supermarket or at many other farmer's markets. A lovely place on a Saturday afternoon, but I find it difficult to believe that the masses will flock there to stretch a food dollar that is already on the rack. I know that Waters probably spends more time at the Berkeley Bowl, and that she's done exceptionally good things in East Bay public schools. Still, I can't help but think that, for all their good intentions, Waters and a lot of the local food movement has created a culture (or at least an image) that drives away the very people who could benefit from it most. I guess what I'm saying is that I believe in the Simple Food, but I prefer a more understated sensibility and a healthy sense of humor. This weekend, we're headed to the Maker Faire on Saturday, but we'll try to bring you pictures of our own, more proletarian, Alemany Market. That's where I suspect the real answer lies. Fight the good fight, Comrades! *I'm remembering with relish the scrap I got into this recently-past. I called Alice Waters a stuck-up, poncy snob and some guy got all pink in the face. He maintained she was "at the forefront of an exciting culinary revolution." I think I eventually conceded that she was at the forefront of an exciting culinary revolution of stuck-up, poncy snobbery, and ducked into the kitchen for another Murphy's. Hmm...I guess that says a lot about what kind of parties we go to.

Royal Foodie Joust: Arroz con Leche!

Our friends over at the Leftover Queen hold a "Royal Foodie Joust" every month. It's a virtual Iron Chef sort of thing; the last winner picks three ingredients and to participate each food blogger creates a recipe highlighting the three ingredients, posts the recipe on their blog and crosses their fingers while they await judgment by their fellow food bloggers. Further information, this month's entries and more can be found here. Now, for this month, we were all given the challenge of using mangoes, cardamom and brown sugar in a recipe. Our first thoughts were of savories - salsas, kebabs and fish. On a rather random night, when it was cold and covered in that San Francisco fog, we had a serious hankering for arroz con leche, rice pudding, a dish that was always available back in New Mexico. We realized that mangoes and brown sugar are both classics in Latin deserts and that cardamom appears in cream based deserts in India and Iran. With a bit of fine tunning and a little help from Rick Bayless' Authentic Mexcan, this version of arroz con leche, was born. We promise the recipe and some sweet food porn shots after the jump.

Arroz con Leche

What's Guerrilla: Arroz con Leche is a classic, economical way of transforming a starchy staple (rice) into a custardy treat. In this respect, it resembles it's gringo cousin, bread pudding. While both cardamom and mango can be pricey ingredients, this recipe utilizes the smallest amounts possible and brings the fullest flavor to each bite. What's Gourmet: This is a classic Mexican dessert, enriched with egg yolk and browned a bit like it's other, more distant, gringo cousin, creme brulee. Cardamom is an expensive spice, and this dish highlights the unique spicy flavor, leaving you craving more. The attractive lime zest and dried mango "flower" pattern on top adds a touch of class too. The Minutiae This recipe happily serves two insane people, like Schaefer and I. Both servings are, probably overly, generous and satisfying. Yet, you could stretch these same proportions to serve four very gleefully. Another great aspect of this recipe is how easy it is to double, triple or even quadruple, if you wanted. Simply keep this ratio: 1 part rice : 2 parts water : 4 parts milk : 4 (yolks) parts egg And you'll be good to go! The Means: 1 cup water 1 cinnamon stick, roughly an inch long ½ tsp unground cardamom 1 inch strip lime zest, ¾ inch wide - colored section only ½ cup of rice- we used jasmine 2 cups milk - we substituted soy milk ¼ cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons white or brown sugar 1/8 tsp salt 2 egg yolks ¼ tsp vanilla extract 1 ripe mango, chopped into cubes The Method: 1. Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan - we used a 2 quart all-clad saucepan. 2. Once the water has boiled, add the cinnamon stick and lime zest. Cover and simmer on medium heat for five minutes. 3. While the water is boiling, rinse the rice in warm water. 4. Drain the rice and add to the boiling water. Return to a boil, stir once and cook over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. You want all of the liquid to be absorbed, leaving the rice tender but not sticky. 5. While the rice is cooking, grind your cardamom. We used a mortar and pestle, since the amount is so small. You could consider using a coffee grinder if you’re doubling, or tripling, the recipe. 6. Combine your minced mango, ½ of the ground cardamom, and the 2 tablespoons of sugar. Set this mixture aside. 7. Combine your milk, sugar, salt and remaining cardamom and add to the rice mixture. 8. Simmer over medium to low heat until the liquid starts to thicken, stir occasionally to prevent sticking. You don’t want to over cook the rice or milk at this stage, so you should err on the side of caution. Ideally, you’re looking for a thickness similar to steel-cut oatmeal. It should still be soupy, but the milk and the rice should just be starting to grow in size and viscosity. 9. Remove the mixture from heat, and discard the cinnamon stick and lime zest. 10. Beat the egg yolks till creamy, then beat in the vanilla extract. Egg proteins function best when they are tempered, so you’ll want to add a small bit of the hot rice mixture to the yolks to bring everything into sync. 11. Mix the mango, cardamom and sugar you set aside earlier into the rice mixture. 12. Stir the egg yolks and vanilla into the rice mixture. 13. Spoon into small oven proof dishes. -- At this point, the dish can be saved for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator, how dinner party perfect is that? -- 14. Preheat the broiler and dot the pudding with butter. 15. Place the dishes under the heat just long enough to brown the top. In our broiler, this takes about 3-4 minutes, but please keep in mind that broiling times can vary greatly from oven to oven. 16. Allow the pudding a few minutes to cool and and garnish. In our photos, we chose to garnish with a bit of ground cinnamon, and flowers made with julienned lime zest and dehydrated mangos. 17. Serve it up and enjoy!

Viva la Bacon Dogs!

I read Reason magazine in the library whenever I want a stron dose of unappologetic libertarian medicine, but I only today found out that they run an online "television" site and that Drew Carey was a prominent corespondent. In years past the brave folks have fought the good fight on states' rights, the trillion-dollar-and-counting Iraq War, and the war on drugs, but I had no idea they would ever step up to defend the noble cause of bacon. On a hot dog. I'm a more frequent customer of the venerable tamale lady, but I know that there are bacon dogs in San Francisco. Supposedly these true guerrilla gourmets prowl the clubs in SoMa at closing time, ambushing innocent drunkards, and smothering their shattered yanqui systems in cholester-alcoholic bliss. I believe packs of vicious, feral bacon dogs also roam the streets of the Mission. (I saw one last month, near the Make-Out Room, and I only narrowly escaped its razor jaws.) Has anyone actually tried this delicacy? Has anyone seen the health department harrass a cart? Photo nabbed from Eric. W., via Yelp!

Getting back to blogging.

Between a trip to Vegas, a busy week at work and a lot of weeding, I haven't had much time to write. If only I had a blogging sweatshop at my disposal, I could kick back and really relax...

Back from Vegas and back to blogging

We’re back from Vegas and we had an amazingly good time. After watching Eric win relatively big at the craps table, I convinced him to teach me how to play. I had a great time and realized that at the end of the night I had lost less money playing craps than I had playing the slots! All in all we had a great time, but more on that later. Right now, it's time to cue up the drum roll kids, here's your weekly Writing’s on the Wall: How much your groceries will cost in 10 years – Times Online Everyone seems to be talking about the price of food, one UK paper takes a different approach, looking at the further consequences the newest food prices may have on our budgets, and our diets. Cheap Thrills Cuisine I’m so disappointed that the Chronicle doesn’t care this excellent food comic, however you (and I) can read it online here. Cheap Thrills is part comic, part cookbook and combines irreverent humor with a dash of cooking know-all. You just might learn something. Meet some Meat Clubs, Farmers and Fungi after the jump. Announcing the Bay Area’s newest meat CSA: the Clark Summit Farm Meat Club! Say hello to the new kid in town – CSA’s are a great way to offset rising food costs without compromising on the quality of the meat you’re eating. The city-dwellers who are becoming front garden farmers A wide look at the UK’s approach to urban gardening – something very near and dear to mine and Eric’s hearts. Pesto Portobellos Recipe So amazingly yummy looking and perfect for this time of year! I can't wait to try it at our next barbecue.

We're off!

We're headed off on our fact finding, research trip to Las Vegas! See you all in a few days.

Pasta!

What's Guerrilla: A pair of reasonably strong forearms can turn eggs and flour into great fresh pasta. What's Gourmet: Tender and tasty, fresh pasta is the third biggest religion in Italy (after catholicism and futbol!) I've had the itch to try my hand at fresh pastamaking since I read Bill Buford's excellent Heat last year. I also had a chunk of ox tongue to use, and figured the squigzilly texture that makes it a chore to eat by itself would make for a fine ravioli filling. First I took on the vagaries of flour; should I use my last bit of Italian soft-wheat "Farina Tipo 00", or bike to the store for high-gluten, American durum semolina? This is the kind of argument that Italians seem to love tearing each other up over. (The one thing that they could agree on is that King Arthur doesn't have the cazzo for it.) Eventually I settled on making a half-order of Jamie Oliver's recipe (five cups Farina Tipo 00 mixed up with six eggs.) better to roll with abandon, then made a mound of flour, pushed a volcano-like the entire counter, then I cleaned off hole in it, and cracked the eggs straight in and beat them lightly. Then I started gently pulling the "sides" of my flour "bowl" into the egg, turning it slowly into a doughy ball. Then I kneaded the crap out of it for, like, 15 minutes. Give the dough at least a half hour to rest under a bit of plastic (you gave it quite a workout). I took the time to cook up my ravioli filling and find a big stick to roll the pasta with. But you could watch an episode of Samurai Jack and yell "AKUUUU!" really loud while fighting imaginary zombies with a carboard giftwrap tube. Your call. When my dough was rested and ready (I poked it and it didn't bounce back) I floured up the surface again and got out my rolling pin. I found a four foot, inch-diameter wooden dowel in my garage and cleaned the cobwebs off of it. A nice, long rolling pin lets you roll out plenty of dough and also has a variety of self-defense applications. This is where things started getting a little tricky. I didn't flour the board enough and my sheet ended up sticking. That forced me to keep rolling and pulling, which reactivated the gluten in the flour and made it elastic, which made it even harder to roll nice and thin. So my pasta ended up thicker than I had hoped. But I soldiered on, cut it into squares, dabbed in the center, painted the edges with water, and stuck them together. Fearing that my ravioli would come undone, I rolled the outside edges of each little packet. These thick edges were unecessary, and took forever to cook. I will forgo them next time. I tried a couple of different sizes, but the regular ravioli shapes seemed to work best. It took about three hours to make these twenty ravioli. Not really worth the effort this time around, but I can do better with practice. I don't think I'm ready to succumb just yet.

Getting ready for vacation!

Oh yuck. It is Saturday morning and I am stuck at work. So, in light of this depressing fact, I have to stay focused on what we’re going to do once tax season is finally over. Schaefer and I are planning a sojourn to one of the best places to spend hard earned money – Las Vegas. Whereas many people extol the greater good of gambling, I see Vegas as a mecca of great, unreasonably priced food. We’ve already got reservations at Tommy Keller’s dive and are unquestionably planning a stop at Mario’s little hole in the wall. But where else should we go? Give us your suggestions and we’ll check them out.

Some Writings on the Wall

Week of April 7^th

I would like to briefly call to mention the wonderful photo appearing in this post. This photo is the work of the talented ultraclay who has been kind enough to let us display his work here. You can, and should, enjoy some more of his art here and here. Now, on to the linkage!

What's on Tap: Which pairs better with fine food - beer or wine? The San Jose Mercury’s take on an age old question. So, what do you think? The Burrito Eater What joyus fun! Taqueria reviews just the way they should be. Molecular Gastronomy, Squids and Riots after the jump. You’re Mispronouncing “Achatz” CHOW’s molecular gastronomy cheat sheet Aha – so that’s how you say Homaro Cantu…strange. Octopus Confit No, I’m not sure how I feel about it either…but I don’t think I’ve ever even thought of a recipe this interesting. And for that it wins. Stuffed and Starved: As Food Riots Break Out Across the Globe, Raj Patel Details “The Hidden Battle for the World Food System” An interview with Amy Goodman and Raj Patel. Transcript by Democracy Now. Photo: More Feral Copy Editors, 2/13/2008, courtesy of ultraclay.com

I'll be right back with your ketchup, Wes-ley...

I've been reading Chowhound's recipes and posting on their threads for a while, but I never really got into their blogs until I read this story about menu development on "The Grinder". Guerrrilla cooks like me may not be looking to sell the same volume that a restaurant is, but guerrilla cooking is all about adding value (a bourgeois, reactionary expression, I must think of something else) to dishes for a minimum of cost. Instead of "ox tongue kale and cheese ravioli in herb butter" tonight, maybe we can have "Pillows of ox-tongue, red kale, and ricotta salatta dressed with sage brown butter." What do you think comrades? Is "fluffing" the name of dish fair game or foppery? Discuss! PS: The same blog also ran this story. Personally, I think this whole thing with the rails is weak sauce. I'm holding out for fully android waiters, perhaps with built-in pepper grinders and anti-cellphone missiles.

Boiled ox tongue

I've had an ox-tongue brining away in the fridge for the last two weeks or so. Last night, I pulled it out, boiled it up, and served everything with roast roots, and Brussels sprouts a la Leftover Queen. This is how it went down: Tiffany: Ooh, wow! It's tender. Eric: Yes, very. It spent three hours in the pot. Much more flavorful than the tacos de lengua I used to have at El Palenque. The brining really paid off nicely. I wish the horseradish weren't so wimpy. Tiffany: Um, Eric, what's that stuff there. Eric: Maybe...veins? I guess that's where the tongue is, I mean was, fastened to the bottom of the mouth. Hmm... Tiffany: And I think...can you try and get the taste buds off better next time? Or maybe smother things up with gravy? Eric: I don't know, I "peeled" it just the way the cookbook said. And I don't really have any jus for gravy...I guess I could do the whole roux thing, but that's kind of a pain. Tiffany: The tastebuds are kind of nasty looking. Eric: But not without a certain irony... Tiffany: It's great, but I don't know if we should serve it at any dinner parties. Eric: Yeah. I think it will work nicely in the ravioli this Wednesday. Read on for the rest of the story. Boiled Ox Tongue What's Guerrilla: At $4/pound, tongue is not the least expensive beef at the butcher's. But considering it's tenderness and ability to sneak chameleon-like into a variety of dishes, it's a great deal. What's Gourmet: Tongue is velvety tender and, after a few weeks in brine, very flavorful. Ingredients: One ox tongue, brined. They're about three or four pounds each. I got mine here. An onion, cut through the middle. No need to peel it here. A few hearts of celery. A head of garlic, unpeeled. A few carrots. (Again, no need for the peeler, just give them a good scrub.) A bundle of herbs. (I tied up some sprigs of thyme, a few bay leaves, some parsley stems, and the leavy tops of the celery. A pinch of whole cloves and peppercorns. Stud them into the flesh of your halved onions. I didn't use any the first time I made this, but I'm sure a leek or two would be lovely. Method: Cut your stock vegetables in half, the better to fit in the pot. Nestle tongue, vegetables, and bundled herbs snugly together, cover with water, and bring to a merry boil. Reduce the water to a whispering simmer, and let the tongue get acquainted with it's new friends. After about three hours, spear with a thin, sharp knife. If it's tender and giving, pull the tongue out and rinse under cool water until you can just handle it without scalding yourself. (The outer "skin" won't budge if you let everything go cold.) Starting from the root, "peel" the outer membraney skin off and dispose. Put the tongue aside to rest for a moment before slicing. Serve with the British duo of horseradish and green sauce, or the French trinity of sea salt, mustard, and cornichons. A note: When all is done, you're left with some spent vegetables and a decent, tasty broth. I really should have saved or served it, but Tiffany and I already had plenty of food for the evening and the freezer is getting a bit crowded.

Deep-fried lemons, or, Inspiration

Here at the Guerrilla Gourmet, we don't eat out much. We spend more time in our mountain redount (the kitchen at home), saving money and enjoying the process of cooking itself. But last night we, and a huge posse of young alumni from St. John's College, launched a daring raid on Globe, near Jackson Square. Such raids into more "gourmet" than "guerrilla" territory are pricey, but well worth the money in inspirational value. In fact, I would much rather save up for one $50 meal that teaches me something than blow the same amount on five meals that just stuff my belly. I really should have brought my camera. Details after the jump! We had the "Sunday Supper", a seasonal, locally-sourced prix-fixe menu. There were four options for each of four courses. I had beet green and farro soup with beet greens, carrots and barley-like grains in a beety-red broth. Then a salad of potaotes, chopped egg, mint, and olives with anchovy fillets on top. Then braised pork shoulder with brothy gigante beans and sliced baby artichokes. Finally, "Mt. Tam" cheese from the Cowgirl Creamery with toast points and dates. Tiffany had a super-garlicky romaine salad, deep-fried fava beans with deep-fried lemons, seared lamb and bitter greens, and an appley-tarty pastry. The meal was good but not great. My pork was very tender but bland, the artichokes were fibrous, and the soup was rather bland. Tiffany's fava beans were delicious, but she had to pull the strings out of her teeth and the dressing on her salad literally burned with garlic. Also, the highly-recommended Tilamook mac'n'cheese was just not very Tilamooky. But the anchovy salad with potatoes was fantastic and I seriously considered gnawing the bone of Tiffan'y lamb chop when she was finished. Also, the broth with my pork was very rich and great with the beans. I probably wouldn't go back (it's a bit too much for anything short of perfection) but I was inspired by seeing a professional chef play with the same fresh, seasonal material I have at my own disposal. A dish is already taking shape in my mind... The next time I'm at Sun Fat, I will pick up some anchovies (or mackerel or sardines, they're all very cheap fish with similar character). At the farmer's market, I'll be on the look out for inexpensive little potatoes, baby artichokes, and meyer lemons. (I know Meyers aren't remotely in season, but in California they bear at least some fruit most of the year.) Gigante beans shouldn't be hard to find either. Grill the fish; roast potatoes and olives then garnish with fresh mint from the garden; sautee slices of artichoke with beans, white wine and garlic. Dredge and deep fry some slice of lemon (and maybe capers?) and toss over all. Hmm... An intersting note: that afternoon there was an alumni reception at The Waterfront Restaurant on, well, the waterfront. As we were leaving Globe, arund 10:00pm the waiters from the reception came strolling in, presumably jonesing for cocktails. The place is open until one in the morning on weekends, and I gather it's an after-work gathering spot for chefs, waiters, and other industry rogues. Maybe I will go back some late night...

Shove It in your Face

Week of April 7th This week we’ll be dealing with two very pressing matters. First, I’m going to be working way too much over at the office (last week of tax season!!) so we’ll be doing lots of pre-prep stuff that can be finished up quickly the night we’re going to eat. Since I work late a lot during this time of the year ,we have to be diligent during the weekends, making sure we plan out the menu and get whatever we can ready while we have the time. That very diligence in pre-prep actually brings us to our second pressing matter, remember this little guy? Yup, the tongue is finally ready, and I for one will be glad when Schaefer’s “brine bucket” finally vacates my veggie crisper! Since the tongue is huge, much larger than the two of us can do justice to in one meal, we’ll be using it twice this week. Once as a main dish and then again as a ravioli filling. This will be the first time we’ve attempted homemade (nearly) ravioli, and we’re kind of excited. So there you have it - this week’s menu is going to look like this: Monday: Tongue with Brussels Sprouts and Roasted Roots (turnips and rutabagas) with a decent red wine Tuesday: Red Enchiladas with Black Beans and Coleslaw with Trader Jose dark. Wednesday: Tongue Ravioli with Salad with a decent red wine. Thursday: Blue Cheese Mac with Salad with a decent Pinot Noir Friday: Pizza with toppings tbd with a somewhat decent red wine Saturday Brunch: Giant Omelets with a Pinot Grigio

Some Writings on the Wall

Week of March 31st , 2008 Rabbit & Noodles Casserole Woah, did you just feel that? It was like a hate laser on the back of my neck. Just kidding... but honestly it would probably be best if Damian, or any other vegetarian/vegan/animal lovers that I know, just looked away for a moment. I understand that bunnies unquestionably equal cute, however bunnies also equal tasty, prolific and inexpensive. This pasta dish highlights the very best of that combination. Forgive me… Roulade of Wild Seitan, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes Not just because I feel guilty! Well, maybe a little bit… either way, this is an interesting vegetarian spin on a French classic, which everyone can enjoy! Info about the SF Food Bank, "Guerrilla Shopping" and the answer to what's going on the pizza after the jump.

Visit the San Francisco Food Bank This is an amazing charity which I am proud to advocate for. I don’t think that any of us on a daily basis truly understands what it is like to need the Food Bank. However we, as food lovers, can appreciate the level to which what we eat, or don’t eat affects our lives. If you’re in the Bay Area please consider giving to the Food Bank, or if money isn’t flowing, then consider volunteering some of your time. Also, the Food Bank is hosting a night out at AT&T Park where for a 5$ donation, or 5 non-perishable food items you will receive a 50th Anniversary Commemorative Giants Mug. AND! As if that weren’t already enough, Del Monte is matching all food donations. You can purchase tickets here. Pizza Topping Generator Okay, who hasn’t had this problem? I know that we make and order pizza enough to always be stuck asking what we want on it. This is a cute generator that makes up interesting pizza combinations. The Chicago Tribune's version of “Guerrilla Shoping” While I don’t entirely agree with them, they have some good suggestions. I agree with their idea of shopping around, but I’d caution against blowing gas in order to do it. While I agree with them that buying bulk saves money, I would actually suggest trying to avoid it altogether. Buying in bulk, or cooking in bulk, tends to become a bit of an elephant in the room. “Pasta again?” “Yeah, we bought ten pounds of it.” “Oh…” Instead, buy seasonally and locally if you can. Also, as much as I would love to have a “well stocked” pantry, many of us can’t afford to actually –start- that pantry. When we first started working on our pantry I remember physically wincing everytime I saw what those spices cost – and no, you do not have a “well stocked” pantry unless you have at least one of the following: saffron, vanilla beans or Schezchun Peppers. If you do have those things then you know my pain! Instead of relying on creating your own “well-stocked” pantry, I would suggest talking to friends, family and neighbors, and create a communal or group pantry. That way no one is biting the bullet alone, but of course that does mean that if you ask to borrow some vanilla for a cake, you’ll probably have to share! Photo: Woman Grinding Maize by Diego Rivera, 1924, courtesy of Humanities Interactive.

All the world’s a buzz

As you may have already noticed, things have been changing around here.

Beginning this month, we have partnered with Foodbuzz.com, whose loverly ads you’ll see featured above this very post. “Oh, yucky advertisements, yucky yuck,” you may be thinking. “What are they doing?” You might ask. Well, I invite you to explore Foodbuzz.com a little bit before judging us too harshly. We haven’t sold out, not even close. First off, Foodbuzz.com is a San Francisco based company, and we’re always happy to see food excitement here in the bay. Also, we had a profile on Foodbuzz.com before becoming a Featured Publisher, and we have loved exploring the site. The site is a searchable collection of food blogs, restaurant reviews and recipes. So, go ahead and give them a chance before anyone gets all uppity about consumerism and capitalism, I venture to say you might even enjoy it! In honor of our newest friends, I’ve picked out a couple of my personal favorite finds to share with y’all. As seen on Foodbuzz.com:

• A recipe for Miso Butterscotch Spare Ribs
• An interesting story about Ga Ro Ti (with yummy pictures!)
• A recipe for Toasted Oatmeal and Bushmills Crème Brûlée with Rhubarb Compote
• Musings on Ragu
• A recipe for Jack Daniel’s Drunken Chicken Wings

Shove It in Your Face!

I haven't been posting hardly at all this week. What's up with that? Mostly I've been in the garden getting a compost pile up and rotting, clearing out a deep rooted nest of blackberry vines, thinning out seedlings, and willing my plants to grow tall and be fertile. In other words, I've been bitten by the gardening bug harder than I expected.

But we'll been having fun in the kitchen this week, too. There's more offal AND an interesting vegetarian experiment. I'm also very excited to finally pull the ox-tongue out my brine bucket (actually, it's more of a brine bag.) Monday: Heart of pork stuffed with onion and herbs. Celery root gratin. Beets with their greens. Green garlic soup to start. Tuesday: Tag-team lasagna with (jar) bolognese sauce and roasted mushrooms, carrots, and chard. Wednesday: Persian "polo", a pilaffy dish made with rice, dried fruit, spinach and seitan (rather than lamb). This recipe comes from fellow blogger Taylor. Thursday: Pasta in gorgonzola sauce with carmelized onions and mushrooms. Friday: Unless inspiration strikes swiftly and decisively, it's probably gonna be takeout. Pizza? Chinese? Thai? Japanese? We haven't ordered Indian in a while... Saturday: Ox-tongue with beets, potatoes, and whatever looks good in produce aisle. Haven't had asparagus in a while, but it can be pricey... Cheers!