My life has been one series of experiments after another. What I always think are carefully formulated hypotheses and sets of plans usually ends up completely backwards from the way I intended. But then again research science is all about 90% failure! Much like my job in the lab, this frustrates me to no end in real life. Which is one reason why I'm not really sure if this is what I should really be doing for the rest of my life. Being a results driven person is both a blessing and a curse in that regard. However, when it comes to cooking, somehow I just don't have the same OCD compulsion that things should work out exactly how I planned for them to be. I think it would be good for me to be able to translate the same easy come, easy go, somewhat laissez faire, what will be will be attitude to the rest of my life. It usually serves me pretty well in the kitchen and even in the event of a cooking "failure" I find myself learning lots and having a great time doing it. Learning to enjoy the process is one of the greatest lessons in life, I think. Even when your mixer bowl spins wildly out of control, splattering batter all over the place, you forget an important ingredient or you cut yourself chopping veggies, life is still all about the process. It may not always be fun in those stages, but the end result, even if it's not particularly tasty, is that you will always be full. And that is just what I am trying to do- Live a Full Life!

Cornmeal Hotcakes with Heirloom Tomatoes and Farm Fresh Eggs
**Not wanting to rely on the old standby of a caprese salad (though I will be making one later this week!), I was looking for a way to use some more of the organic cornmeal we received a few weeks ago. I had been toying with the idea that cornmeal and blueberry pancakes would be great on Saturday morning, and then I realized they would probably work better as a savory dish. No real recipe here, it was a no brainer on a hot August day.


Make your favorite pancake recipe, substituting all but 1/4 of the flour for cornmeal. I added a little extra baking powder to my mix and it gave them a great texture. If you're feeling particularly adventurous, toss in some fresh corn off the cob. I would also recommend adding some cayenne or chili powder to your mix to just kick it up a little bit as mine were pretty bland without it.

Fry up some eggs, don't forget to s&p them while they cook! Slice up some heirloom tomatoes and sparingly S&P.

Pile up the hotcakes, tomato and egg and sprinkle some cheese on top. Serve with salsa made from heirloom tomatoes if you dont want just a slice of tomato on top. A little sour cream (or plain yogurt!) wouldn't hurt if you have it.

You can eat the leftover hotcakes with honey- just like eating a cornbread muffin!

My Greek grandfather always had some ingenious way to deal with any problem you might have. Duct tape can fix anything wasn't just his motto, it was his way of life. Born to a Greek immigrant and grew up in South City St. Louis working at the family grocery store, Grandpa became a machinist and worked almost until the day he died. A man of few words but the ones he did say were very memorable.

I remember the story about how they were jealous of the new color TVs that had just come out. Ever the innovator, my grandfather decided to upgrade his just as good ole black and white TV with strips of colored cellophane. Blue at the top for the sky, orange in the middle for people's skin, and green at the bottom for grass. And no, I am not making this up! Another instance when my aunts were very young they were complaining about the muggy, hot St. Louis summer my grandpa said, "Girls! Just think cool thoughts." That saying became one of the family's running jokes even to this day and it was what I was thinking the other day when it was so hot and muggy here in Cleveland. I guess God was listening because he has blessed us with some cool days since then. With today's dish you wont need to think cool even if it was hot!  (Again, I've been too lazy to get the camera out and too focused on eating. I'll try to do better next week :)

Cool as a Cucumber Pesto Pasta
***Add celery for more crunch

1 C orzo pasta, cooked to al dente, optional
1 C shredded chicken
1 English or regular cucumber (Source: FFM)
1 lb flat romano green beans, blanched (Source: FFM)
1 C chickpeas
Basil pesto (Source: garden)
Olive oil
S&P

Cook your pasta to al dente if using, drain, coat with olive oil and set aside to cool. Poach or roast your chicken and shred- I used leftover roasted chicken that I had stored in the freezer for a time just like this! Blanch your green beans in salted water just until they have lost some of their bite and plunge into an ice bath or run under cold water to stop the cooking process. If you get heartburn from regular cucumbers like I do, remove the skin and seeds from the cucumber and slice into 1/4" thick half moons.

You can make your pesto or buy it- I wont tell. I processed fresh basil, garlic (3 cloves!), S&P, olive oil, a touch of lemon juice and pistachios in a food processor to make mine.

Toss orzo, veggies, chicken, and pesto together in a bowl. Top with crumbled feta cheese and S&P to taste.

In less than three weeks I will be basking in the delicious sunshine of Isla Mujeres, MX, enjoying my 2 for 1 mojitos and huevos machaca for breakfast. I have always had a soft spot for what I thought was Mexican food and margaritas. After my first trip to Isla last year, I realized I had never really had Mexican food, but some relatively tasteless goop on a plate. Although we don't have great traditional Mexican food in Cleveland, we do have great modern takes on the cuisine at Momocho. I crave their cucumber margarita with chile lime salt regularly, and although I never seem to get over there as much as I would like, it's still one of my favorites.

I've waxed poetic about my love for quinoa on this blog several times already, but I'm always on the hunt for new ways to prepare it. About three years ago I got sucked into the vortex that is the Pioneer Woman Empire and found many quinoa recipes on her new recipe site, Tasty Kitchen. I can think of no better way to enjoy the farm fresh sweet corn, cilantro and cherry tomatoes than to make this dish. Even if you aren't a Pioneer Woman fan, you have to try this recipe. I almost think it's better than the "real" thing.

**Sorry for no pictures. I was under the weather yesterday and I just was too hungry to get the camera out!!

Quinoa Taco Salad
***I always make extra of this as it makes great leftovers, with the flavors deepening over time. The recipe originally appeared on Tasty Kitchen and for once, I have made few alterations to it.

1 cup Quinoa
1 whole Red Onion, Chopped
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
½ cups Red Bell Pepper, chopped- I omitted all the peppers as I didn't have any on hand
½ cups Yellow Bell Pepper, Chopped
½ cups Green Bell Pepper, Chopped
1-2 C fresh corn, cut off the cob (Source: FFM)
1-½ teaspoon Cumin
½ teaspoons Oregano
1 teaspoon Chili Powder, Or More Depending On Heat Preference
1 dash Cayenne Pepper
15 ounces, weight Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed
¾ cups Diced Tomatoes, Fresh (Source: FFM)
2 whole Limes, Divided (or lemon juice if it's easier)
Salt And Pepper, to taste
8 ounces, weight Baby Spinach
1 cup Cilantro (Source: FFM)
⅓ cups Cheddar Or Feta Cheese, ** I used the raw milk Gouda cheese from this week's share (Source: Mayfield Creamery, FFM)


Cook the quinoa according to package instructions. I usually do this in the microwave- 5 minutes on high uncovered, 10-15 minutes on medium covered. Use a 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water. Let cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Meanwhile, swirl a bit of olive oil in a saute pan. Heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and saute for 3-5 minutes, until translucent and tender. Add garlic, cumin, oregano, chili powder, cayenne and peppers and saute for an additional 2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in the black beans, tomatoes, and the juice of 1 lime. Stir in the quinoa. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill. I often skip the chilling process as I'm just too impatient!

Roughly cut baby spinach into strips like you would shred iceberg lettuce for tacos. Remove about 1 cup of cilantro leaves from the bunch, rinse and pat dry, and toss with the spinach. Divide spinach and cilantro mixture evenly among 4 salad plates. Top each plate with a scoop of the quinoa salad. Top each salad with your choice of cheese and diced avocado. Cut the remaining lime into slices to garnish the plates.

To say that graduate student life is stressful would be a vast understatement. The long hours, the failed experiments, the anxiety over papers and grants, it's all a big ulcer waiting to happen. Somehow, I have avoided bad frozen dinners, greasy takeout (save for the few times Mama Santa's pizza was just what I needed), Ramen noodles, and bowls of cereal for dinner. I think it's because coming home from a place where you almost have to be perfect in your precision and being able to leisurely dice up some ingredients and toss them together to create something delicious but far from perfect is a great stress reliever. Plus I often make a giant mess and something about that is quite liberating compared to the sterile environment of working in a lab.

But there are times when the only ingredients I have in the house, or the only thing that sounds appealing to me. On Sunday I was hanging out with a friend and we were watching Food Network, which is basically a recipe for gluttony even when you aren't hungry. Then a commercial about free waffles at Hampton Inns came on and we both decided that waffles were definitely in order. But when cake covered in syrup  (or in my case, jelly) isn't going to cut it, savory breakfasts are some of my favorite things to make for dinner. Breakfast for dinner is always a good go-to meal when you are cooking for one. But on this night, I was blessed with some pretty good company- thanks A and G!

Patty Pan Squash Hash

2 patty pan squash, chopped into about 1" pieces (Source: FFM)
2 leeks, sliced (Source: FFM)
1 lb romano yellow beans (Source: FFM)
1 lb Berkshire Pork Chorizo (Source: FFM)
2 poached eggs (Source: FFM, I had some left over from a few weeks ago)
fresh basil
S&P

Prep your veggies and heat 1-2 TBL olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Toss in your squash first and saute about 5 min. Add beans and leeks and increase heat to medium high in order to get some carmelization going. While your veggies are working, cook up your chorizo (or whatever you are using) in a non stick pan. Boil some salted water and poach your eggs 1.5-2 min. Toss veggies with chorizo (and resulting fat, it's seasoned from the sausage so don't throw it away!) and serve poached eggs on top. S&P to taste, and you could always garnish with some cheese too.

I slowly peeled myself out of bed this morning, planted my feet on the cool hardwood floor. Another day, another dollar as they say. One foot in front of the other to the shower where I desperately try to scrub away the pain. Cereal poured into a bowl, shoveling spoonfuls into my mouth on auto-pilot. And then in a flash I think of the sweet, fresh corn dripping in butter (though it surely didn't need it) and the juicy grass-fed burger- which needed few condiments because it was so delicious- I enjoyed yesterday with some of my good friends. I am disgusted by breakfast out of a cardboard box; by the fact that I am able to eat it without thinking, without enjoyment. What stark contrasts between these two meals. When we are good to food, food is good to us.

 

After a while- Author Unknown
After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul. And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning and company doesn't mean security.

And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts and presents aren't promises and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and eyes open, with the grace of a woman, not the grief of a widow.

And you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans and futures have a way of falling down in mid flight.

After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much. So plant your own garden and decorate your own soul instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn that you really can endure. That you really are strong. And you really do have worth. And you learn and learn ... with every goodbye, you learn.

I never wanted this blog to become anything more personal than two poor scientists trying to eat locally and sharing my love of photography and food with anyone that would listen. I'm still not entirely sure how personal I want to get, but writing has always been therapeutic to me. Never a regular journal keeper as my thoughts are often too quick for my pen, I find that typing out life's circumstances is far easier for me. Of course there are definite benefits and drawbacks to this approach- one being that it is so fast you can write (and publish for all to see) something out on the world wide web that you might not really want everyone and their mother knowing. On the other hand, that delete key is mighty handy when editing my thoughts.

At any rate, you have noticed by now that there has been significant upheaval in the ChewsLocal home. I'd rather not get into particulars but the good news is that food has still been a comfort to me. Now, grocery shopping on the other hand was surprisingly difficult to do on my own for the first time in years. I had to stop myself from shopping for two instead of one, and at the same time it was exhilarating to purchase only my favorites. I'm not going to lie, some gummy bears and a Kit Kat found their way into my shopping cart, but hey, I figure I deserve it. The life I thought I had came crashing down about two weeks ago, I'm training for a half marathon (and in this ridiculous heat I hear you burn more calories, or at least that's what I keep telling myself), and I had a thesis committee meeting yesterday. A little chocolate and high fructose corn syrup never hurt anyone. Besides, I tempered it with half a pound of grapes. That counts for something right?

This week I plan to try to cook 3-4 dinners. The most I've tried since branching out on my own. I find myself healing through the cooking process, even if it's painful to remember that I don't have a sous chef anymore. There's something very satisfying about taking raw ingredients and turning them into something delicious. In the quietness of cooking for one (and I'm not going to lie, I always have left overs!) there is a bitter-sweetness to the activity. But then I remember something that I said nearly a year ago in an interview about how my college experience had positively influenced my life.

If you open yourself up to the will of God, He will bless you
immeasurably. It may not always be in your time or in the way you asked,
but when He blesses you, it is abundant.

I have not talked much about my faith on this blog, but it is what is sustaining me along with the fresh local ingredients from God's bountiful earth provided through Fresh Fork Market at this most difficult time. I would not have chosen these circumstances for myself, but I know that I will be blessed abundantly for submitting myself to His will. There is no other way to live when something like this happens. There is always hope for a better tomorrow.

This week's bounty includes (sorry no pic, my camera battery was dead! But I will charge it up for the meals this week!!):

6 ears Super Sweet Corn
1 slicing cucumber
2 Lancelot Leeks
1 lb romano green beans
1 lb romano gold beans
2 pieces patty pan squash
1 lb Berkshire pork Chorizo sausage
1 bunch cilantro
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 head red leaf lettuce
6 oz grassfed raw-milk Gouda

And God Said "No"- Author Unknown
I asked God to take away my pride and God said, "no." He said it was not for Him to take away, but for me to give up.

I asked God to take away my illness, and God said, "no." He said the body is only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience and God said, "no." He said patience is a by-product of tribulation. It isn't granted, it's earned.

I asked God to give me happiness and God said, "no." He said He gives His blessings. Happiness is up to me.

I asked God to spare me from pain and God said, "no." He said sufferings draw you apart from worldly cares and bring you closer to Him.

I asked God to make my spirit grow and God said, "no." He said I must grow on my own, but He will prune to make me fruitful.

I asked God if He loved me and God said, "yes." He gave His only Son who died for me and I will be in heaven someday because I believe.

I asked God to help me love others as much as He loves me and God said, "Ah, finally, you have the idea."

I have a unique love affair with squash. In particular, me and butternut are best buds and acorn and spaghetti squash are good friends. I think I ate squash almost every day for weeks last fall when squash was plentiful. Unfortunately, I am just not as big of a fan of summer squash for whatever the reason. I don't know if it's the flavor, the texture, or what but it just really isnt my thing. But I love the golden yellow and deep green colors on a hot summer day so I was pleased to see we received some in last weeks share.

Last night I was dying to cook so I quickly sauteed some summer squash and garlic, tossed it with the garlic chive pasta from Ohio City and garnished with some scallions and cheese. My favorite way to prepare summer squash is to saute it over high heat with olive oil in my stainless steel All-Clad pan. I love the caramelization that happens because honestly, I dont think summer squash has much flavor otherwise. If I had had some fresh cilantro on hand, it would have been a great addition to this light, fresh pasta. I'm loving the sunshine, but not so much the humidity so I was totally in love with this dish. Perfect for a hot and muggy day. I can't wait to eat the leftovers. I still haven't busted out the old camera, so I hope you will forgive me for a lack of photos. Hopefully next week will be better!

I had a reader question the other day about what to do with your excess green beans. Bring a deep saucepan of water to rolling boil, salted so that it tastes almost like the ocean.  Prepare your green beans (snap 'em if you like) and an ice bath. Blanch the green beans in the salted boiling water (water should be boiling the entire time for this process to work, so always leave it on high heat as the addition of the green beans will bring down the temp some) for about 2-5 min. I usually go on the shorter side so when I cook 'em up later they are still a bit cruchy. Immediately plunge the green beans into your ice bath to stop the cooking. Spread the completely cooled beans on a tray and freeze. Once frozen, pop them into a freezer safe bag. Cook just like you would any frozen vegetable you might by from the store. 

*****Note: I made this recipe and wrote this post a few weeks ago before my life completely changed in the blink of an eye. Posting it today is therapeutic to me as it helps me begin to restore a routine in my life that I have really enjoyed. I know other people going through what I am going through may not be able to do much but eat twizzlers in the dark all day. But to me, cooking will save me from isolation and being alone for the first time in 8 years. I know it may seem odd to some of you to take the time amidst the turmoil to post, but some semblance of normalcy is comforting to me during this time. I just wish that I had taken the rest of this cake out of the fridge when I took the rest of my things on Sunday. It was THAT good!



A few weeks ago our dear friend Zina from the beautiful Isla Mujeres, MX (originally of the Cleveland PD!) stayed with us a week while she was back NOB (north of the border). We had a great time catching up, helping her stock up before returning to the island, and shooting the breeze over some killer meals. She shares our love of food and while here introduced me  to one of her old haunts, Siam Cafe on St. Clair in Cleveland's "Asian Town." Thanks a lot Zina, I crave the shanghai curry noodles just about every day now. We went for lunch just the other day and shared a plate as it was enough for the two of us. I commented how I could eat these noodles once a week for the rest of my life and be very happy.

One thing I know I could NOT eat everyday are beets. Zina tried to suggest some recipes in light of her Russian heritage but I just wasn't feeling the beet(s). (Inward groan) After she picked up her rental car and drove around the old 'hood she brought us back a piece of Chocolate Beet cake from Johnny O'Neill's Tavern on Lee. We had never been there, somewhat dubious of typical bar fare, but after eating this cake I am sufficiently curious enough to check it out. Their version of the cake was reminiscent of a lava cake and just oozed goodness. After a failed savory beet recipe last week (that I still don't have the courage to post about) I decided with this week's beets I'd try a cake. We know we love the beet greens and I am determined to find a way to enjoy the beet themselves. I can hardly believe I'm saying this, I actually thought this cake could've used more... are you ready for it.. beets. I didn't have enough beets for the full 2 C the recipe recommended and I can only assume that is why the cake came out a little dry. I'm not in a hurry to find out but if I get more beets I'd certainly give it another shot before making my judgment. 

Chocolate Beet Cake
***There are many, many beet cake recipes out there. I chose to combine a few recipes based on my idea that more chocolate would make the beets taste better. The worst part about this recipe is that you have to boil the heck out of the beets before you can skin and puree them. Other than that, it's a breeze!






















1 C salted butter
1 1/2 C packed dark brown sugar
3 eggs
4 oz dark chocolate
3 medium beets, pureed (Most recipes recommended more, but that's all I had) (Source: FFM)
2 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
1/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cook your beets by boiling them for at least 30 minutes. Let cool and slip skins off and puree the beets. I used my mini food processor but thought about using my blender so I'm sure either would work.

Cream 3/4 C of the butter with the brown sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Melt chocolate and remaining butter in microwave for 20 second intervals until melted. Let cool while you prepare the dry ingredients. Mix all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add chocolate to liquid ingredients, then mix in the dry 1/3 at a time. Mix until incorporated- be careful not to over mix!

Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan (9.75" is what I had but a 10" would be fine too) and bake for 30-45 minutes at 375F. I added some chocolate chips to the batter at this point because I was so worried about the beet flavor. In the end, they weren't necessary since we decided we actually needed MORE beets. Let cake cool before turning onto a cake stand and dusting with powdered sugar. 

I was 18 that summer, the summer before I would move out east to attend college. The summer before everything would change. In the true spirit of my family we took one of our crazy  last minute road trips to Memphis, TN for some barbecue and blues. I didn't think there existed a place more muggy than St. Louis, but Memphis sure had the old STL beat. Nonetheless, the food, the music and the company were great. Walking down Beale Street and eating at BB Kings is a memory I wont soon forget, especially considering the crazy street performers that enraptured me. Fried green pickles are still one of my favorite snacks, when I can get them of course. I remember going in and out of kitschy shops and coming across a sign that said "Put some south in your mouth!" My parents quickly herded my younger brother and I along because of the obvious connotation. But when I was planning this week's meals based on our share, I knew I would be using the cornmeal to make some grits and bringing some south to our mouths here in, what I fondly call, the arctic north.

Special thanks to Lucky Penny Farm for generously providing the goat chevre  for this post!

Shrimp 'n grits
***I originally found the recipe for the shrimp in this dish on Food Network's website. I should have trusted my gut when I had doubts about the preparation because it definitely not my favorite. So this recipe represents what I should have done and will do in the future when I make this again. Because even though the shrimp was a little bleh, the grits and greens were amazing!


1 C stone ground cornmeal (Source: Stutzman Farms, FFM)
1 C water
1.5 C chicken or veggie stock (Source: homemade from the bones from our FFM chicken)
1/4 C whole milk or cream (Source: Snowville Creamery, FFM)
4 oz chevre (Source: courtesy of Lucky Penny Farm)
1 TBL butter
fresh parsley (Source: fire escape garden)
fresh chives (Source: fire escape garden)

Shrimp- try to find some big tiger shrimp, mine were a little sad
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 TBL butter
1 TBL olive oil

Mustard greens (Source: FFM)
Beet greens (Source: FFM)
2 TBL olive oil

Chevre Grits-
Bring stock and water to a boil and lower heat to medium low. Add cornmeal in slowly while whisking to avoid lumps. Stir occasionally and let grits cook for about 5-10 minutes or so. Whisk in the butter, milk, and chevre and remove from heat.

Shrimp-
Heat oil and butter in a skillet and cook onions and garlic until soft. Saute shrimp until pink. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp as they will become tough.

Greens-
Saute your greens on high heat in a skillet with olive oil. S&P to taste

Serve shrimp and greens over grits.

I'm a collector. Of recipes, of vintage and sometimes antique kitchen items and linens, cobalt blue glass, of good books, of passport stamps and memories. Growing up in St. Louis one of my favorite memories was checking out garage and estate sales with my mom and cousin during the summer. We'd always find something we absolutely had to have. I distinctly remember the day we picked up a vintage black and white pony purse (not a horse, but the pattern) and some gloves. Playing dress-up was never quite the same after that as store bought princess costumes just didn't seem to pack the same punch. My love affair with things old and "used" grew as the years went by, partially because of the frugality of it, but mostly because I love things with history. There's just something about furniture that has endured the ages or as my grandpa used to say, "They just don't make things the way they used to!"

When I lived in Scotland for a semester my senior year of college I collected china teacups from every town that I visited. I always smile whenever I use them because they bring back a flood of memories from that special time in my life. Although the photo of today's meal is less than impressive, the dish I served it in was a piece I collected from an antique mall near where I went to college. Considering one of our first dates when we first met in college was a picnic, it seemed appropriate to use this dish on a picnic at the Tremont Farmer's Market. Here's to things that last- memories and all.

Carmelized Onion Quinoa and Lentil Salad
** When I was preparing this dish to take to the market, I realized I was out of feta. An atrocity of epic proportions in our home, but I knew that Lucky Penny's stand would be there and could rescue us from our feta-less-ness.






1 C organic quinoa
1 C lentils de puy or any lentils you have on hand (I soak my lentils over night to reduce cooking time)
h2o
1-2 onions, thinly sliced 1/4" on mandoline (Source: FFM)
olive oil
butter (Source: FFM- it's the never ending butter roll!)
parsley (Source: Fire escape garden)
Chives (Source: Fire escape garden)
Cilantro (Source: Tink Holl Market)
Feta (Source: Lucky Penny Farm)
Sriracha Sauce
Lemon juice

Cook your quinoa (1:2 ratio) either in the microwave or on the stove top. Meanwhile, boil your lentils until tender and strain. Melt butter and olive oil in a skillet and toss in the sliced onions. Cook on medium heat until tender and reduce heat to medium low and continue to cook until golden. I never have enough patience for this step so I could probably cook mine a little longer than I do. I have also heard you can caramelize onions in the oven- something I will definitely try next time!

Slightly cool your quinoa and lentils and toss with a little bit of olive oil and lemon juice. S&P (keep in mind the feta will add some salt!), and a few drops of Sriracha Sauce (a little goes a long way here!). Chop up your herbs and toss with the rest of the ingredients. Crumble feta over the top and serve. This is great as leftovers either room temperature or cold, though I have warmed it up a little in the microwave before eating and it was great that way too!