August 19, 2007 at 7:39 pm by Olivia
· Filed under Edibles
My mother warned me when I told her about the tomatoes I had planted this year that yellow pears were lousy. I had already put my plants in the ground, didn’t think about the opportunity costs for the space, and didn’t really believe they could be that bad — I usually love cherry tomatoes! My mother was right; no surprise. One of the farmers at the California Ave. market put it best when I asked her honest opinion on them: “they’re just filler.” She was right too. They are amazingly prolific plants, and they are pretty, but their raw flavor is bland and dull.
Fortunately, they do improve with cooking: so far we’ve made them into a lovely tomato soup and roasted them with curried cauliflower. Next up: pasta sauce.
As for next year: I’ll be using the yellow pear’s spot for a more interesting varietal. Stay tuned for the judgements from this summer’s many tastings.
Some places lend themselves to hyperbole. Anything less fails to do justice to their character. These are the sorts of places you just have to try for yourself so that you, too, can join in the fun and excitement of extravagant statements like this: Di Fara is the best New York pizza you will ever taste. Everything you have read or heard is true. Read the rest of this entry »
Congrations to all the excellent food bloggers featured in Best-Shot Blogs in the August issue of Food and Wine. Their related story “Shoot First, Eat Later” included a tip from one of my favorite food photographers, Heidi of 101 Cookbooks. I was a little disappointed that the ideas in the article were so elementary (wiping the edges? yep, got that one already) so I was excited to find that Heidi also posted a few more technical and specific suggestions than those in the article. I’ve already sent it on to the food photographer in my house, though he’s definitely already got spending more on equipment down. Hopefully we’ll come up with something good enough to entire in the F&W Food Photo Contest. Happy shooting!
July 10, 2006 at 9:15 pm by Olivia
· Filed under Edibles
This post was supposted to start with evidence upholding the adage that the things you work for — in my case this weekend, berries picked in the hot sun and plums I climbed a tree to reach — are more satisfying than something more easily gotten, say, from a grocery store. Then Oren and I got to debating the idea. Then the post became a he said, she said. But the discussion, abreviated, sounded trite. So here I am, left with telling you about the history of what this post almost became.
Quality and provenance being equal, maybe you, like Oren, would choose to buy fruit rather than pick it, or eat out rather than cook, but when time permits, I still find it tremendously gratifying to harvest and make my own food. Maybe it’s my feminine gatherer instincts. Maybe it’s just the mark of my mother, long-time queen of hard labor to produce all manner of edibles. Read the rest of this entry »
May 16, 2006 at 10:06 pm by Olivia
· Filed under Edibles
To help celebrate our recent birthdays, some friends joined us for what evolved into a 50s-themed evening, all the way down to the shrimp cocktail, cocktail sausages (albeit the delicious Spanish ones), and a vintage-styled red shift dress with a flippy hairdo. This crowd could have held their own in the NY Times Style Section, if I do say so myself.
Looks aside, one of the stars of the evening — and of past occasions where they have made an appearance — were (you guessed it) the deviled eggs. Damn good deviled eggs. OK, looks not aside: they were sharp dressers too. I would post a photo, but what happens at the party, stays at the party. You’ll just have to take my word for it and settle for the recipe, transcribed here by popular request. Enjoy! Read the rest of this entry »
May 1, 2006 at 10:03 pm by Olivia
· Filed under Edibles
This is not another depressing post about the problems with our food production current system. (If you’re scratching your head in confusion, read about The Omnivore’s Dilemma, or better yet, read the book itself.) Rather, today’s post is about one positive and rewarding way that I’m dealing with this information: I’m eating what is best described as uber-local, at least for this dinner. Read the rest of this entry »
Following four meals literally from start to finish, it provides an amazing insight into the way the american food industry works. From corn and it’s life, to the meaning and value of organics in an industrialized food production world, he brings a wonderful and informative view on how our food makes it’s way to our stomachs.
I’m now about 1/3 of the way through the book, and felt compelled to post something about it immediately. I don’t know where to begin frankly. It’s so packed with interesting/scary information that any place I start makes me simply want to copy some pages straight. Kate @ the Accidental Hedonist has opened my eyes to the world of HFCS, but I didn’t understand just how strongly tied to corn we were until I read the first meal: a fast food dinner eaten while driving in a car. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of the Village Imports Warehouse Sales. In case you too are looking for tons of chocolate, or fabulous bargain cheeses, or an entire pound of dried morel mushrooms (OK, so you can get just a few ounces), or any of the other great things they stock (the website only has a fraction of their selection), mark your calendar: the next sale in Brisbane will be Friday, November 18th (2:00pm – 6:00pm), and Saturday, November 19th (8:30am – 1:30pm). Apparently they now have a Los Angeles location that will be open on the same dates and times at 6900 Beck Avenue in North Hollywood (off Vanowen Avenue, close to Lankershim Blvd). I’m hoping to pick up another wheel of le Délice, in particular. (I haven’t seen in anywhere else, but I need to start looking.) If you go, just don’t make the same mistake a friend of mine recently did: 3 compact but incredibly rich Petit Suisse yogurts in one sitting is one or two too many.
If ever there was an event to make me feel like a real gourmet glutton–with all the good and bad that phrase implies–it’s a visit to the Warehouse Sale at le Village on a day when not too many other people are out shopping. On such days, I can peruse the goods without being jostled or needing to rush or having to wonder whether my finds are really worth the hour-long checkout line. Saturday was just such a day. My haul: an obscene amount of chocolate, cheese, more cheese, butter, Petit Suisse yogurts, roasted peppers, and dried mushrooms. Read the rest of this entry »
