So, as you've probably noticed, Ive been AWOL for a couple of weeks now. Things at work intensified significantly and I had little time to cook, let alone blog. All the delicious products were consumed and none went to waste, but I dont think I really ENJOYED anything because I was working so much. Then I went back to Isla Mujeres for a week and ate locally there and well... you know how it goes. My paper was submitted yesterday so Im hoping to get caught up with the blog ASAP. I hope you're still sticking around.

Soon, I hope to feature my plans to feed the RAW diet to my new dog. Check out this link to read more about it. Im hopi

There's a new family in town and Im buying what they're selling. Murray Hill Market provides delicious Italian deli favorites and a good assortment of grocery necessities including wine in what used to be a wasteland for grocery stores. The proximity of this market to CWRU makes it an easy option for lunch. One of my favorite features is it's Kitchen table where strangers can gather round to eat. They also have outdoor seating available. Aside from all that, I have to tell you, their food is out of this world. So far their porchetta sandwich with swiss chard tops my list and I regularly crave it. I usually end up taking home a pastry or a pint of Jenny's Ice cream- the Lime Cardamom Yogurt is a perennial favorite. If you havent checked this place out, make plans to. I decided I needed some meat but it was too hot to cook it myself, so I stopped by and picked up a half pound of their shaved porchetta. The salty smokiness was perfect with the creaminess of the polenta.

Swiss Chard and Polenta

**Adapted from a recipe on Cara's Cravings
This would have photographed beautifully. But Ive been writing my final manuscript for school, so I havent felt like dragging out the camera.

1 medium onion, thinly sliced (I like to use my mandolin for this!)
1 large bunch Swiss chard, or whatever green leafy veggie you have (Source: FFM)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 C drained, rinsed cannelini beans
1 C soaked, drained dried chickpeas

For the polenta (I used a variation of this recipe from Food Network)
2 TBL olive oil
3 C water or broth
1C milk (source FFM)
1 C cornmeal (Source FFM)
3 TBL butter
S&P
Parmesan or other cheese of choice

Prep your swiss chard by cutting off the thick stems and roughly chop leaves. You might have to remove the rib from the middle of your leaf if it's really thick and woody. Saute onions over medium heat in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and beans and cook for about a minute. Add swiss chard and wilt down about 10-20 minutes until tender.

Bring water or brother to a boil. Gradually add the cornmeal while continually whisking. Once you have added all of the cornmeal, add the milk and cook over low eat for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 min to prevent lumps. Once the mixture is creamy, remove from the stove and add the butter, salt, and pepper. Gradually add the Parmesan.

S&P to taste

As they say, hindsight is always 20/20 (anyone else wondering who "they" is??). This time last year my life was very different. I was going through the beginning of a personal tragedy which culminated on July 1st and struggling professionally. That's not to say that everyday or everything was bad, there were lots of great things about last year. I loved starting this blog and enjoying Cleveland more. And even though it has been immensely painful, I have enjoyed getting to know myself again. I consider myself to be a strong person, but I never knew how strong I was until tragedy struck in the deepest way for me last year. I am still relatively unhappy professionally, but there is an end in sight and hope for a job doing something I actually enjoy. And as for the personal drama, it gets better each day and I cant believe how much I have healed since then. I definitely had more of a love relationship with food during this time (as characterized by my unfortunate weight gain!) but it was really my faith that enabled me to persevere. We dont always get the life we wanted or wished for, but we do get to choose what we do with it. As I reflect on the events that took place in June, July and beyond last year, it is still difficult. I would be lying if I said otherwise. But at least now I can see the beauty in the rain.

Strawberry Upside Down Cake
**I found this recipe on Joy the Baker.com. I (stupidly) made this in a springform pan. I recommend against doing that as the topping drips out of the pan :( !







Topping:
2 TBL unsalted butter
1/4 C brown sugar
1 C sliced strabwerries (source FFM)

Cake:
1/2 C unsalted butter, softened
2/3 C brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cardamom
2/3 C sour cream (or plain yogurt, Velvet View Farms)

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt 2 TBL butter in cake pan (either 9 inch or 8 inch). Once melted, tilt pan around to evenly coat sides and bottom of pan and set aside.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom. Set aside

Cream butter and brown sugar on medium speed with paddle attachement for about 3 minutes. Scrape down and add egg and vanilla and beat for 1 minute.

Add dry ingredients, beat on low speed while adding sour cream (or yogurt). Beat until the batter just comes together- batter will be pretty thick. Remove the bowl from the mixer and finish mixing ingredients with the spatula.

Sprinkle 1/4 C brown sugar into pan over melted butter and sprinkle strawberries evenly. Spoon batter over the strawberries and carefully spread batter evenly with spatula.

Bake for 35 minutes. Let cool and invert onto a cake plate.

Not that anyone asked, but I thought Id share what photography equipment I use and some tips that have helped me along the way. I by no means consider myself an expert, more of an advanced hobbyist so take what I have to say with a grain of salt. But I hope this encourages everyone that you too can take awesome pictures of your food! Everything Ive ever learned about shooting I learned from Rachel and Ted Linczak. They inspire me daily and I wish I had even a microgram (haha, nerdalert) of their talent in my pinky finger. I study many many photography blogs in order to continue to learn. And shooting is always the best way to get better! Just get out there and do it!

Camera of Choice: Well, maybe camera of choice is a bad term since if I had my choice, I would upgrade to a full frame Canon 5D Mark II or higher. But the camera I shoot with the most is my Canon 40D. I got it used a few years ago from a professional photog who used it as his backup- ie: it had hardly been used so I got it about 75% off! But you dont have to have an expensive DSLR to take great food photos. I will post a tutorial for taking awesome shots with point and shoot cameras later this summer.

Lenses: For a while, I only had a 50mM 1.8 lens. It's a great workhorse lens and I was pretty attached to it because of its versatility, the bokeh (that pretty blurred background stuff) and its cheap cheap cheap price (most run about $90!). But then I realized how limiting a 50mm lens was. I then invested in a 24-70mm which I recently sold because although it was a versatile lens, I had a sort of love hate relationship with it. I upgraded to a 70-200mm which, while expensive, is my current obsession. I also invested in a 35mm lens last fall which is probably now my most used lens. But for shooting food, I find myself going back to my 50mm time and time again. Im sure that as I continue to mess around with my new 70-200mm it will become my go to lens but most of last years pictures were taken with the 50. Although I dont presently have a full frame camera so Im not getting the most out of my lenses, glass holds value far more than bodies do. So while I had the cash, I invested in lenses until I spot a 5D Mark II full frame on sale (probably used!).

Lighting: You may or may not notice that I rarely, if ever use my external flash. I just dont like the way it makes things look and I much prefer natural lighting. This sometimes means I have to put my plate (or subject!) in strange places to get the best light. But if you shoot tight, sometimes you dont notice I actually took some of my pictures on top of my bed near a window. And other times, the unique locations make for great interest in the photograph. One of the things that has made the greatest difference in my photography is figuring out how to set a custom white balance. It helps the camera calculate colors based on what white/gray look like in your light. It basically adjusts for any weird casts to the light etc. You can easily shoot a wall, a plate, a shirt, etc as your white sample image. But I invested in a "pocket rocket" and have never looked back. Some PAS also have a custom white balance feature which I encourage you to experiment with- it will make a HUGE difference in the quality of your images.

Tips: Shoot multiple images from several different angles. Move around your plate (or subject) to get different perspectives and make your photography interesting. Make your food look pretty- certain foods will photograph better than others, but by taking the time to set up your plate nicely or taking your food closer to a window to get better light. I cant emphasize the importance of lighting enough- bad lighting can make food look unappealing just like taking a portrait of someone in poor lighting can make them look bad. Experiment and have fun. 

The first time I went camping I was 26 years old. We just weren't the camping type of family and I was always somewhat perturbed by the idea that you packed up your junk, drove it to the woods, unloaded and then slept in said woods. It just didnt make much sense to me and I didnt really get the appeal. But once I finally went camping, I *got* it. Now, as long as the weather is agreeable, I love me some (car) camping. This weekend I had grand plans to go camping in Portage Lakes State Park and go see a movie at the drive in. It was a little hotter than I expected so we decided to leave the rain fly off since our super cool tent has ventilation screens on the top- like a skylight. Of course, this was a horrible, awful rookie mistake. On our drive back from the movies- it was a double feature, so it was late- it started to poor. We had vague hopes that the dense trees would protect our tent. Alas, it was not to be and we had a veritable lake inside our tent. So at 2 am we packed our sopping gear and headed back to Cleveland. In bed at 3:30 am and I woke up feeling hungover but without the "fun" part.

I had purchased some Gretna from Blue Jacket Dairy when I picked up my share on Thursday. It's billed as a grilling cheese so I was pretty pumped to cook it over a hot fire while camping. But it was just as good on my grill pan over a hot stove. I grilled up some tomatoes, sausages and the cheese. Fry up a pasture raised egg and you have an awesome breakfast even if you aren't in the woods to enjoy it! Now, to get my hands on more of this cheese....

    I sometimes think that happiness is overrated and that contentment is what we should all be striving for. Perhaps this is because of an unfortunate cultural definition of happiness that's dependent on getting what you want, when you want it, and how you want it. But I've come to learn in my own life that what I want isn't always what I need. Finding joy and contentment in what I have is far happier than living dissatisfied with my circumstances. Since the fallout last year, I have tried to embrace contentment in the ordinary and live each moment with gratitude. It hasn't always been easy, that's for sure and there are many days I completely miss the mark. But life is a marathon, not a sprint so I think that's just part of the process of life.

    It is almost unnatural how much joy I find in cooking. And how much more joy I get out of eating. I only wish I had more time and a better metabolism to do both. For now though, I remain simply grateful. Pasta makes me happy, what can I say?

Pasta Carbonara with a twist
**I have a love affair with bacon, but upon receiving chicken bratwurst I thought Id substitute them in lieu of bacon.



1 lb whole wheat linguine (Source: FFM, Ohio City Pasta)
1 lb chicken bratwurst, removed from their casings and browned (Source: FFM)
2 egg yolks (Source: FFM)
1/2 medium onion, diced
garlic scapes, diced
tomatoes, diced
cheese
milk

Brown up your sausage (or bacon) and set aside. Get rid of all but 1 TBL of fat from sausages and saute garlic scapes and onions until tender. Towards the end, toss in the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.

Boil your pasta for 1-3 minutes in salted (like the ocean people!) water. Drain pasta and toss with egg yolks while still hot. Add cheese and 1/4 C-1/2 C milk. Mix pasta with bratwurst, onions, scapes, and tomatoes. 

Last year I was intrigued by garlic scapes but disappointed with how few I received. This year, the floodgates opened and I had more garlic scapes than I knew what to do with!! Of course, this made me very happy, so fret not- I did find places to use them. Unlike like year, however, we are getting fewer greens (which does make me sad) and more corn products. I'm not much for corn, other than dripping with butter fresh off the grill, so I had to get creative. Elly Says Opa is one of my favorite places for Greek inspired and vegetarian dishes. I liken this recipe to a briam (or Mediterranean style ratatouille) and the flavors were so incredibly fresh with all the produce I had on hand from this week's package. I enjoyed this dish, but I think Id rather use the sauce over a pasta next time. Stay tuned for another unusual cornmeal recipe soon!

Cornmeal Veggie Pie
Originally appeared on Elly Says Opa!








Crust:
3/4 C cornmeal (Source: FFM)
3 TBL flour
1 TBL melted butter
1 1/2 TBL olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4-1/3 C water, milk or broth

Filling:
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
1 small tomato, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced, divided (I used my garlic scapes- Source: FFM)
1/2 tsp herbs de provence
1 TBL balsamic vinegar
1 tsp butter
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
3/4 C asiago cheese, divided
1/2 lb asparagus spears

Preheat oven to 400 and spray a pie or tart pan with a little oil.

To make the crust, whisk together cornmeal, flour, butter, oil, and salt and pepper. Add a little liquid until you get a dough that sticks together when pinched (like a graham cracker crust). Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and set aside.

Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and saute for about 3-4 minutes before adding the red pepper, tomato, 1 clove garlic (or scapes), and herbs de provence. Continue cooking about 5 more minutes until vegetables are tender. Add balsamic vinegar, scrape up bits stuck to pan and allow to evaporate., Move the mixture to a food processor pulse until smooth.

Wipe out the pan and add the butter. Cook mushrooms and the remaining clove of garlic (or scapes) until the mushrooms have given up all their juices and they are reabsorbed.

Build the pie by placing zucchini in concentric circles, slightly overlapping over the crust. Spoon the mushroom mixture on top of the zucchini, followed by all but 2 TBL of the cheese. Spread the roasted red pepper sauce across the pan. Layer asparagus spears in a radial pattern on top of the sauce. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for 30-35 minutes.

(Hopefully you get the reference to "El nino is spanish for, the nino") I've never considered myself to be much of a writer. I often have one or two lines of a paragraph that I think would be attention grabbing in the opening of a book, but that's where the creativity ends. Perhaps that's why I've developed a love of photography because a snapshot can contain a story in the blink of an eye. Despite my obvious lack of writing skills, I have been a voracious reader since I can remember. With the advent of the e-readers, my reading activity has sky rocketed now that I am no longer limited to reading what I can comfortably lug around. Case in point, on my vacation last summer, nearly half of my luggage was books... yes 25 lbs of books. I read all but one. Reading has always been a place of solace and comfort for me. Growing up, I was not always well received by my classmates so I often found myself secluded on some part of the playground reading. LM Montgomery's "Story Girl" was a huge comfort during the difficult 8th grade year. Even to this day, when my life feels out of control or too stressful to manage, I lose myself in a book. I read just as much fiction as I did back then, I am almost ashamed to admit, but I do find myself reading many memoirs. Recently, I read "Unbroken" by Lauren Hilldebrand and was enraptured by the story of struggle, resilience, and survival. Another non fiction book that has had a huge impact on my life in the past year while struggling with tragedy in my personal life, is "Bold Love" by Dan B. Allender. I highly recommend you read it.

Given my love of reading and cooking, I have begun to collect certain cook books that incorporate personal stories behind the recipes. I received "How to roast a lamb" by Michael Psilakis a few Christmases ago and not only have I enjoyed cooking from the book, but I especially enjoyed reading his story of growing up Greek. Spanikorizo was not something I grew up eating, but once I read the ingredients list I realized it was just spanikopita minus the filo plus the rice. Since I've been feeling lazy lately, this sounded like something right up my alley.

Spanikorizo
*Adapted from Michael Psilakis' "How to roast a lamb". Since spelt berries have a lot of great nutrients, I thought they would be a delicious substitution for rice. Turns out, I was right- this was a grand slam!






1-2 C spelt berries, soaked overnight (Source: FFM)
fresh spinach
feta cheese
scallions
shallots (if you have 'em, if not, use garlic)
lemon juice
good olive oil

Soak your spelt berries overnight so they dont take as long to cook. Boil soaked spelt berries for about 20-30 minutes in salted water until tender. I cooked mine until they had a little bite left just because I like that sort of texture, but cook them to your liking. Meanwhile, over med-low heat, saute your shallots (or garlic) and scallions briefly. Toss in the fresh spinach and cook until wilted, but still bright green.

Toss drained and still warm spelt berries with the spinach mixture and add feta. Season with fresh squeeze lemon juice and a generous sprinkling of fresh cracked pepper and kosher salt. Serve while still warm.

What is it about strawberries that make them taste like a mouthful of sunshine? The time spent languishing in sunny fields before being plucked for delivery, perhaps? Whatever it is, I love me some strawberries. I have been known to sit down and eat an entire quart without really thinking about it. Although my favorite way to enjoy strawberries is fresh and plain, I decided to make up some strawberry bread with my Honeyoye Strawberries. I was hankering for something a little sweet and dessert-ish but not wanting to pack on the pounds. This was just perfect to satisfy the craving. Stay tuned for another recipe featuring strawberries.

Strawberry Bread
***I got this recipe from an old roommate of mine. We <3 strawberries!









5 TBL unsalted butter, softened
1 pint strawberries, husked, mashed with a fork (Source: FFM)
1 3/4 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 C sugar (can be cut in half if you like!)
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Butter 8x 4" loaf pan. In saucepan, bring strawberries to boil over medium heat. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, then set aside to cool.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Set aside

With a mixer, cream butter, sugar, and eggs until light and fluffy. Add 1/3 of the liquid mixture at a time to the dry mixture, alternating. Fold in strawberries. Pour batter into pan and bake for 1 hour. Tent with foil after 45 minutes if top is getting too dark. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

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