A Cure for the Grumpies

So, I have a little confession to make...I get grumpy when I am hungry and when my blood sugar gets low. And when I say this, I don't mean "grumpy" as in a little testy or sad or cute-when-you're-mad sort of grumpy. No, when I say "grumpy," I mean full-on, ready-to-battle, talk-to-me-or-look-at-me-sideways-and-I-will-rip-your-head-off grumpy.

This confession will come as no surprise to LB (in fact, I think the last moniker he mumbled under his breath for me after a recent *episode* was something like "mean devil woman" - I heard you by the way, LB). Poor LB has been the recipient of my grumpiness on the way home from work on more than one occasion when I had salad for lunch (I actually refrain now from having only salad for lunch - I'm convinced that salad is not really "lunch"...it's only lettuce leaves and therefore disappears from my belly quickly - or it has a secret compound that activates my grumpiness in 3-4 hours). I know, however, that this is not a phenomenon that is unique to me and me alone. In fact, I know it happens to many other women out there because I have seen and heard their husbands/boyfriends/parents chime in when LB starts describing this particular trait of mine to friends - just why he feels the need to share this information with them in the first place is beyond me, but that's another discussion. Does it happen to men too? Probably. But not LB. Which only makes me grumpier when I am already grumpy.

"Why the hell aren't you grumpy too? Aren't you starving? I'm starving. And stop looking at me like that..."

Well, if you happen to be one of those women (or even better, if you live with one of them - because when we're like this, we're practically incapable of doing anything but being grumpy, trust me!) or if you happen to be a man that is not like LB, then this recipe is a good one to have on hand. It's also just a great dish if you've just come home from work and you're tired, you're hungry, (you're grumpy), you don't have anything specific planned for dinner, and you're supposed to be somewhere in an hour (or, maybe not). This is a great dish for when you want something that will fill the empty void (or, perhaps, the enormous abyss) in your stomach, that tastes delicious and doesn't take a lot of work. This is the kind of food that is hearty, comforting and easy...and heck, it's just simply good. And it will certainly cure even the meanest case of the Grumpies.

In fact, I can't even take credit for this little beauty really - the idea isn't even my own. I saw a coworker eating her version of this dish and it looked so delicious that I asked what was in it, then went with what I had on hand (okay, I'm totally lying - I went right out and bought the broccoli because it looked so darn good on her version and the potatoes because I didn't have any, and then went with what I had on hand). So, you can (and should) switch up the ingredients if you don't have the exact ones that are listed here. You can add spices as you feel like or go with your intuition. Mine didn't even need any because the sausage had so much flavor (and heat - the good kind of heat) by itself, but if you don't choose flavored sausages, a tsp. or so of red pepper flakes or a few fresh herbs (thyme, maybe? or basil) would be a nice addition. This would also be an easy vegetarian recipe, and probably be just as tasty - add tempeh maybe or just go with the veggies and potatoes (potatoes are fairly filling on their own I suppose), using vegetable broth instead of chicken and adding a few spices for extra flavor. Either way, you have a meal in minutes to enjoy with hardly any work required at the stove...and who knows, it could even save your spouse from cowering in the closet for most of the evening.


Simply Good Sausage and Potato Supper, serves 4

4 sausages, sliced on a bias - I used Aidells Habanero and Green Chili
cooking spray or olive oil spritzer
2 tsp. olive oil
1 small head of broccoli, florets sliced into 1/4"-1/2" slices (add the stem too if you'd like)
1 medium sized yellow or sweet onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 medium sized carrot, sliced on a bias
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
6 red potatoes, cut in quarters
1 - 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock or broth, divided (preferably stock because it has more flavor)
salt and pepper, to taste

Spray a large saute' pan with olive oil or cooking spray and allow it to heat up over medium high heat. Add the sausages and cook until browned on both sides. Remove the sausages with a slotted spoon and place aside. Add 1 tsp. olive oil to the pan, then add broccoli, onion, red pepper and carrot to the pan and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds. Add the potatoes to the pan, and about 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Cover and cook until the stock has reduced and nearly disappeared, and stirring the mixture occasionally. Keep adding stock, 1/2 cup at a time until the potatoes are tender and unctuous. Add the sausages back to the pan, season with salt and pepper and mix gently. Serve.

Protecting Your Heart While Preserving the Harvest (HotM 18)

After worrying for years about a family history that involves prevalent heart disease, I finally bit the bullet recently and got a total work up of all of my important "numbers" - HDL, LDL, triglycerides (TC), TC/HDL, blood pressure, etc. - that would help me assess my "actual" cardiac risk. For those of you here in Hawaii on Oahu, The Windward Heart Center is offering a free cardiac risk assessment that I highly recommend taking advantage of. No matter where you live, and even if you don't have a major concern for heart disease right now, it's good to have a baseline for all those numbers so that if they do change over the years, you know by how much.

For instance, the last (and only) time I had my total cholesterol checked was three years ago, and it was considered "borderline." It's dropped a whopping 40 points!! Not only that, but my ratio of triglycerides to HDL (the *good* cholesterol) is below "average." According to the cardiologist there, all this together means that I've got less than a 1% chance of having a heart attack in the next 10 years. Yay! That made my day (and prompted me to go immediately and buy myself a snickers ice cream bar to celebrate - one of my biggest weaknesses from the shop at work - everything in moderation, no?)! Keep in mind that this was a huge surprise - I have lost all but one grandparent to heart attacks when my parents were young; the last one has had a quadruple bypass and my father has a stint; and that's not including uncles and great aunts and uncles, many with major bypass surgeries or heart attacks themselves.

Now, I'm not convinced that doctors have figured out how to accurately diagnose the risk for heart disease (check out this book if you want to be intrigued, as it has a lot of interesting food for thought), but I can't deny that for whatever reason, my cholesterol has certainly dropped significantly. And since I don't exercise on any normal basis (still a constant struggle and goal for me), I can only attribute it to what I've been eating - and a lot of that has to do with all of you and the recipes that you've been creating and submitting on a monthly basis to our little brainchild and pet project, The Heart of the Matter (HotM).

So let's keep it going! The theme for September is Preserving the Harvest. We want your heart healthy recipes that stretch out the foods of the season to last you for the days to come. Do you dry apple slices, rub them with your special spice mix and keep them for afternoon snacks all winter long? Do you make low-sugar jams and jellies? Or do you prefer pickling and brining the goods from your garden? Do you make your mother's spaghetti sauce and keep it in the freezer for those cold winter days or make batches of uniquely flavored vinegars? How about turning extra chilies into chili pepper water?

However you do it, whatever your favorite way to do it is, help the rest of us come up with new and unique ways to make the bounty last by sharing your recipes. Remember the special challenge of HotM recipes - each recipe should follow hearty-healthy eating guidelines - you can find more information here, here and here. If you've never joined us, this is a great time to start! Post your recipe on your blog and send me the permalink at phillipslayden AT gmail DOT com (or if you would like to participate and you do not have a blog, email me your picture and your recipe and I'll post it for you with the round-up). All entries will be due Sunday, September 28, by midnight (Hawaii time), and I'll post the round-up a few days later on this blog, and on the HotM blog. Thanks ahead of time for participating and I hope we'll all continue on our way to a heart healthy future together!

Resources:
The Windward Heart Center
641 Kailua Road
Kailua, HI 96734
by appointment only - Tues. or Thurs.
808.261.2441

Adventures in Breadbaking

Someone, somewhere, must have used a similar title for a post such as this - playing off the theme of Adventures in Babysitting; a movie from the late 1980s that chronicles the trials and tribulations of a babysitter who ends up having to take two teenagers into the big city while she is babysitting them and everything turns into chaos. It's a great movie. I'd almost go so far to call it a classic comedy. In the movie, nearly everything that can possibly go wrong, goes wrong. Well, I felt just like Elizabeth Shue in that movie while I was baking my first real loaf of yeasted, kneaded bread.

Now, I've talked before on here how afraid I am of baking bread. Not of the yeasty parts of it, but the kneady parts of it. Now I know why, and I feel that my fear was grounded! While I had visions of following in Cookiecrumb's footsteps, making beautiful bread in less than 5 minutes a day, at the time I just couldn't justify buying myself another cookbook (Yet. I still have to work my brain around that silly married joint account thing...). Instead, I reserved myself to pull out the two remaining packages I had of dry active yeast (much cheaper than a new cookbook), and give it a whirl. I raided my cookbook collection (it looks so meager these days, after storing so many of them before the move), and I finally settled on Molly Katzen's Basic Bread recipe, from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest - one of the first cookbooks I bought on my own (when I joined my first CSA, I had absolutely no idea to do with the strange vegetables that came in my box that I had never heard of - like chard and kale and dandelion greens). I chose her recipe because it had cute little drawings of the whole process (like a good scientist, little cute drawings and pretty-colored bubbling waters always get me).

Well, I learned a few things during my endeavour. First of all, I did everything wrong.

I added the flour before whisking together the yeast and the water and the honey together in the "sponge." Oh, wait, and I realized after about 20 minutes that I forgot to even add the honey. It said "a drop" of honey (take a second here to go see Cookiecrumb's great little narrative on the use of words like "a drop," a "smidgen," a "dash"...), so I stuck my fingers in the honey (don't worry, that stuff is sterile) and swirled them around in the mixture to get it off, and then I gave it a bit longer. Did I mention I also lost some of the yeast? Yep. Because apparently, a PhD doesn't qualify you as a good yeast-package opener. A bunch of yeast got stuck in the package and I simply could. not. get. the. little. suckers. out. I eventually gave up, after much cursing.

After about 45 minutes, it looked like this...a little doughy volcano gently starting to ease out of the liquid mess:

Okay, so it didn't seem like that big of a deal that I had screwed up the beginning. I added the rest of "the mix" of molasses, honey, salt and oil (this time I did have the foresight to mix that together before adding it to my sponge). Then, I started adding the "additional" cups of flour and quickly learned that:

You should wear deodorant when baking bread. Sure, I normally wear deodorant (while I may be from hippy dippy Eugene, I'm not a hippy dippy type myself...well, at least not the non-shaving, non-deodorant wearing hippy dippy type...though I do loves me some hippies sometimes). But kneading? That shit is some tough work! I was sweating. My wrists hurt. It was nearly impossible to avoid sprinkling/throwing flour all over everything. Including my camera. And my shoes. And the floor. And the ceiling. Leading me to realize that I should have worn an apron. Did I mention that I also forgot to take the all-purpose flour out of the freezer prior to using it? I'm sure Molly Katzen would have had a heart attack if she knew. I got about 6 of the 7 cups of flour that was supposed to be in it before the darn dough just wouldn't accept anymore. So I started kneading.

After kneading for what felt like an eternity (5 minutes), I kneaded for another 21 minutes. I eventually got most of that last cup of flour in there. Molly - yes, we were on a first name basis after she put me through all of that - says you can't over knead if doing this by hand, only under-knead (which, apparently will turn your bread into solid bricks, something I'm quite good at, but hadn't realized why). So I figured what the hell? If I was going to do this, I might as well knead my little heart/arms/fingers out and see if she was right. Once I stopped pushing so hard that I was tearing the bread (I'm a rock climber! I couldn't help it! I have burly biceps!) and relaxed into it, it seemed like things were going along fine. Until I read Molly's description of what properly kneaded bread is supposed to feel like when it's done: an earlobe.

An earlobe, huh?

I felt my ear with my (sort of) clean fingers. Nope. No earlobe in my bread. So, I kept kneading. After another eternity (5 minutes), I finally gave up, shaped it into a round sort of thing, put it back in my (dirty, floury) bowl and graced it with a few glugs of olive oil. Then I let it rise, trying not to peek at it lest it decide to thwart me further for doing so, and set off to do some work for a while, trying to ignore the thing growing in my kitchen.

After an hour, I went back and peeked under the tea towel (I knew those things had to be good for something after arguing with LB that we absolutely had to put them on the wedding registry). And my bread had somehow - risen. Bringing me to my next lesson.

Punching bread is a far better way to get out your frustrations than punching your significant other (in the arm, of course, after they make a smart-ass remark). And almost as satisfying.

But you have to restrain yourself and only punch it once (or twice). Until it deflates, really. Sort of how your significant other would when you showed him how much you appreciated his smart-ass remark. Then, you have to knead it some more (WHAT?! You've got to be kidding me!). Another 10 minutes. Ug. I thought to myself: Maybe I should take up bread baking instead of rock climbing. It's a similar work out, and you don't get sunburned. I've decided that Grandmas, the ones that used to do this daily, those are women who are far more womanly (and burly) than I.

I also discovered that granite countertops are awesome for kneading bread - nothing sticks to it - and this is all fine and dandy unless you are five feet tall. Like I am. And your counters are a good 4'5" at least. I did most of my kneading standing on a kitchen stool so that I could put my weight into it. Please, don't picture that. Please. Suffice it to say my elbows were reaching far above my head. I divided my bread into two round loaves (I no longer own loaf pans), rolled it just like the pretty little drawings said (well, one of them like the pretty drawings, but I never was good at following directions, besides this way I could tell if my way was better than her way, and...well, her way won), and then I put it on the counter and let the loaves rise again (Oh!! So that's why they use those wooden peels! So that it doesn't stick to the counter and deflate! Oh!! ...oh, sheeeet!!). So much waiting, and sadly...

Patience is not one of my finer virtues.

Finally, finally, I felt it had doubled in size again. Well, close enough. I put my trusty baking stoneware baking sheet in the oven to heat up and tried to find something to "spritz" my bread with so I could get that crispy crust everyone talks about. Well, there are no spritzers in this house. At least not any I can use with food. So, I gave up and decided I would have non-spritzed semi-crusty bread and that that would be just fine with me. I stuck it in the oven. 425F for 15 minutes, then turn it down to 375F. Another 25 and it was done (besides that elusive "thumping" thing).

And what to my wondering (impatient, flour-stained) eyes did appear? Lo and behold, after 40 minutes, I had two crusty, handmade, wrist-demolishing, sweat-producing, patience-testing, almost beautiful loaves of nearly crusty bread, fresh out of the oven - smelling of molasses and yeast and warmth and tradition. And they weren't even as dense as I thought they would be...in fact, they were less dense than the Irish Soda Bread I made a while back. And you know what? They tasted pretty darn good for a first try. Somehow, like Elizabeth Shue in the movie, it all seemed to turn out all right.

But I think maybe I'll go buy that cookbook now.

Forget Meet and Greet, Let's Meet and Eat!

Whew - after weeks of not having a computer, and then running into network problems once I did have one, I think I am finally back in the technological world once and for all! So I want to tell you about something exciting that recently went on in my "food world." Stay tuned, because with all that computer down time on my hands, my pictures have been piling up and I now have lots of "food fodder" ready for the days to come!

Not long ago, I got an unexpected email from a San Jose blogger, Nate, one of the masterminds behind the fabulous blog House of Annie. Nate was inquiring if I wanted to get together with some fellow food bloggers for dinner at a well-respected Japanese restaurant in Honolulu, Tokkuri-Tei. Would I? Of course! Thanks to Nate, I was able to meet and eat (even better than "meet and greet" as far as I'm concerned!) with count 'em 4 other food bloggers! Thanks to Foodbuzz.com we were all able to take advantage of a special program called "Dine on Us" that they provide for their Featured Publishers. Basically, if you are a Featured Publisher (FP) and want to get together with other FPs in your area, Foodbuzz will graciously foot the bill (once each year) for an evening of good food and good people so that you can network and meet the other foodies in the area (if you're interested in becoming a FP yourself, more information can be found here and you can sign up by filling in this little survey) - how cool is that? One other note about this company that I find a big bonus: they're green! They support other environmentally friendly businesses and care about the recent loss of honeybees (they even sent out seeds for bee-friendly flowers). If you don't know about Foodbuzz yet, be sure to check it out - it's a great site for networking and finding new blogs; sort of like Facebook for Foodies!

Nate and his wife, Annie, were in Honolulu visiting family. The other food bloggers that joined us were Albert, from Pizza Therapy and my new foodie friend, Deb, from Kahakai Kitchen.
Like most food bloggers, we could talk the entire night away about our favorite subject of food - which, I have to say, is so nice (normal friends start to tune me out after a while...)! Nate and Annie were both truly enjoyable - Nate's a whiz at the technical stuff and got us all up to date on the newest blogging features. Albert is a whiz with the technology too, and also one of the most genuine people I have ever met. And Annie and Deb and I had a great time discussing favorite dishes and cooking styles.

from left: Albert, me, Annie, Nate and Deb (photo courtesy of Albert)

Tokkuri Tei has an enormous menu, and those of us unfamiliar with Japanese cuisine were a bit daunted at first, but Annie swooped in to the rescue and offered to choose a smattering of several different dishes for the table to share family-style. The wait staff was also friendly and offered several suggestions, including the incredible "spider-poke" (pronounce po-kay) roll, an award-winning combination of ahi tuna, spider crab, and ikura fish roe. The salmon-skin tofu salad with silken tofu and topped with nori strips was also amazing. As was the salmon belly and the hamachi - all of the fish served was excellent and very fresh. All of these dishes were favorites around the entire table. One tip: Don't order everything you want at once - it will all come out at once and there won't be room on the table! Order a few things, then if you are stilll hungry a few more. You can read the other blogger's take on the evening and enjoy their fabulous photos here, here and here (my camera was also having issues, so I'll have to let them do the food porn...).

So, while it's coming a bit late due to the computer issues, thanks to Nate, Annie, Deb and Albert for an incredible evening of good food, new friends and tons of enjoyment. And thanks most of all to Foodbuzz for allowing it to happen!

Resources:
Tokkuri Tei
611 Kapahulu Avenue
Honolulu, HI
808.739.2800
Lunch: 11 AM- 2 PM, daily
Dinner: 5:30 PM - midnight, daily

A Different Kind of Picnic

How do you imagine the perfect picnic?

Sitting on a brightly-colored blanket covering soft, green grass? Enjoying an unbelievably sunny day - blue sky and just enough white, fluffy clouds to make things interesting? You, sitting and laughing with friends or family (or both), relaxing in the sun-shade border (must be able to get to both depending on the temperature, right?)? Perhaps each of you with a glass of crisp, chilled white wine or rose in hand? Of course there will be delicious, refreshing food, but is it all part of the experience to share your bounty with the requisite ants in attendance? Does your picnic happen on the beach, at sunset? In a mountain meadow under a gorgeous oak tree? Or does it happen in the local park, next to kids playing baseball or friends throwing a frisbee? Does your picnic include fried chicken and potato salad, burgers grilled on a portable grill, or gourmet cheeses, crackers and fresh fruit? Perhaps a bit of all of them?

All of these sound like the perfect picnic to me, but my first real picnic in Hawaii - one where we packed up the most portable food we could find - was not even close to any of these idyllic picnics. Was it better? No, but it was certainly different!

We took our picnic to The Sandbar.

We arrived by kayak.

The Sandbar is located in the middle of Kaneohe Bay. It's a small "island" of sand (yes, only sand) that is exposed at low tide. That is to say, the sand is exposed when there is a tide low enough to actually uncover it. The day we went there, the tide was not low enough to expose the sand, but that doesn't stop the locals (or us for that matter) from heading out there in boats, kayaks and jet skis to play and picnic for the day because the water is still shallow enough that you can stand on the unexposed sand and it will only come up to your waist, or in the shallower places, your shins. We'd heard the hype about it, we just happened to have a couple of kayaks in our garage, and well, we wanted a piece of the adventure too.

On the day of our picnic, we donned our suits, packed up the most portable, eating-in-the-water-friendly (but still fun) food we could think of, loaded up the kayaks and set off to see what this Sandbar place was all about. And let me just say: it lived up to they hype. It was a great day - we threw frisbees and water footballs, drank lots of beer (in cans, because they float!), basked in the Hawaiian sun, and huffed and puffed our way there and back - burning off the calories and struggling not to want to kill each other in our two person kayak.

The Sandbar is crazy, as you can tell by the pictures in the link above (though it wasn't quite as crazy as the day in the pictures, as that was a holiday). There are beautiful people everywhere , from every age group. There are lounge floaties (connected swimming pool floaties that have spots for drinks for each person), floaties with umbrellas, water volleyball, water frisbee and water football games. People bring tables to set up in the water (the water reaching only a few inches below the surface of the table) so that they can set up their grills and grill their hamburgers out there in the middle of the bay. No one arrives without some kind of water game to play, their swimming suit and a bunch of food (and ahem, copious quantities of alcohol). And everyone stays 'till the tide comes in (or the clouds hide the sun for too long - it's kind of chilly to sit in the water all day long with no place to get out!). It's a truly local, Hawaiian adventure. It was a blast, and a perfect picnic.

What did we bring for our picnic? Simple food, good food, portable food. It was the perfect time to participate in this month's Heart of the Matter, where the theme is...you guessed it: Picnics. I scoured the Internet for ideas, and while there seemed to be a plethora of ideas for picnics in all of the major magazines in July and August, many of them simply would not work for our type of picnic - standing, in water that could be up to our waists, in the middle of Kaneohe Bay (and keep in mind that I am a 5'0" woman). Even a cheese and crackers type meal was too complicated. I needed food for 3 people - food we could either eat individually or pass around in a single container. Food that could handle a 35 or so minute kayak trip out to where the picnic would take place. Food that didn't make much waste we would have to cart back and didn't take up too much space on the way out there. Worse, we didn't have time to go shopping beforehand and had to go with what we had in the house, whipping everything together the hour before we were supposed to leave.

I finally found Mark Bittman's 101 Ideas for Inspired Picnics. He had some wonderful and simple ideas that I adapted to work for my picnic, and to be heart healthy for HotM. I made whole-wheat wraps with chicken and an arugula/sun-dried tomato/basil pesto - so that we could eat them, standing in the water, wrapped in waxed paper and not worry about any of the "good stuff" falling out. We had fresh veggies passed about in baggies with homemade hummus, and my adapted version of his three-bean salad. I also took the last of my latest (and much adapted) batch of homemade granola and mixed it with a small amount of brown sugar and honey before forming it into bars and doing as Bittman recommended: calling it "dessert." These granola dessert bars were great too - wrapped up in wax paper, they made a very portable (if sticky - but that's what all that water is great for - you don't even need a napkin!) ending to our picnic.

While everything was delicious, the three-bean salad was the winner of day. And it's so adaptable that you can make it with nearly anything you have on hand. I had a few cans of different beans (oh Costco, you're such a good friend here) and used everything I had that needed to be used up. If you haven't already, please join us in creating an archive of heart-healthy picnic recipes over at HotM's home site. My lovely co-host Joanna, from Joanna's Food, is collecting all of your recipes and will post them together on her site, and on the HotM site, after all the entries are in. There's still plenty of time to join, just send your entries to her by August 25th. Details can be found here.


Heart Healthy 3-Bean Salad, serves 6
inspired by Mark Bittman's 101 Inspired Picnics

1 can of black beans, rinsed
1 can of garbanzo beans, rinsed
1 can of kidney beans, rinsed
kernels from 2 ears of corn, cooked
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered if large
1 jalepeno, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
juice and zest from 1 lime
1 tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped finely (or 1 1/2 tsp. dried)
1 tbsp. good fruity olive oil

It's easy: Just mix everything together and put in a portable container. And don't forget the forks!

My Computer Went Kaput, Kaboom, KABLAM!

Sorry I've been delayed in responding to your comments. Sadly, my computer crashed (um, died is a better word) and we have been unable to revive it as of yet (I haven't even been successful in getting it to turn on, although LB was able to at least get it make that *hello* chime finally - yay LB! - but still, no picture). When did we all suddenly become so dependent on our computers? How did we ever live without them?! And email? I used that computer every single day, for many hours a day - and now I feel so disconnected! It's a strange electronic world, but I can't help but love it. And I miss it! I keep trying to tell myself that maybe this will be good for me. And for getting more work done...maybe...

Hopefully I'll be back up blogging soon, but since I have no where to download my pictures or even a computer to check your wonderful blogs on regularly (work is busy too, but lucky for me today is a holiday so I have the lab, with all its free computers, nearly to myself. Hawaii has lots of extra holidays...I love Hawaii.). I guess what I am saying is: it just might be a little while until I can get a new one. Hopefully not too long. I'm going to try to get my post up for this month's Heart of the Matter (you should join in too - there's still another week left before the entries are due on the 25th!) even if it is sans picture and I hope to be able to at least come around to your blogs and say hello a few times in the meantime. A hui hou, my friends! (until we meet again!)

Got Figs?

Figs are definitely on the list of my five top favorite food and they are certainly one of my favorite fruits. My first taste of a fresh fig occurred while living in northern California when I was house-sitting for my (then) boss - he and his wife had a huge Black Mission fig tree in their backyard and told me to "help myself" to as many as I would like. I did. I had never seen nor tasted fresh figs before then. In fact, the only figs I'd had any contact with previous to that little fig tree and its hanging jewels were (gasp!) Nabisco's Fig Newtons.

But after eating that first fig, I couldn't get enough of them. I cleaned the tree out in a few days flat.

Yep, every last fig.

And that was only the beginning of my affair with figs. They had soft, succulent flesh that went with everything from honey to goat cheese to blue cheese to port. Sweet or savory, the figs fit the bill. They were fabulous whether roasted, baked or scraped off the inside of their tender skins with my teeth. They were like sex: even a bad fig was a good fig. And there were no bad figs that time of year. Later, I remember wandering aimlessly, hopefully, into a tiny, out of the way Mediterranean market in October that year to ask if they ever had fresh figs. The proprietor of the tiny store laughed. He told me to come back next August.

Next August? But that was a whole year away!

And so, there was nothing I could do but wait. The next year, I loaded up again. When I moved to Oregon, I bought my own tree. It was small, and it didn't produce many figs, but each one was like a prized possession. Every August and September, I bought them in quantity at the market, from Freeman. I even went so far as to preserve them in rum.

Well, it really is true: the best things come to those who wait. Figs are one of the few produce items that you simply cannot get in the grocery stores the whole year. And often, many grocery stores don't even carry them. Figs are sweet, fragile and ephemeral. Like a coy lover, they are here one moment and gone the next - leaving your tastebuds longing for more. No wonder they're considered aphrodisiacs. Consider yourself lucky if you have them in your grocery store (and if they're ripe). Scour the farmer's market for them or scout out the neighbor's tree...bring the neighbors cookies or pies if you have to, for trade. Or, seek out a tree near the sidewalk that you can snatch a few from in desperation.

Figs are also somewhat finicky - they don't grow well everywhere. They require wasps to pollinate them. They don't grow in Hawaii.

Or so I thought.

That was until I received a tip from a couple of foodies in LB's office that there had been figs at the Farmer's market in town (Honolulu). I didn't know who the vendor was, but I told LB we were going. And we went. We arrived at 9 AM (it begins at 7:30) and finally found the vendor in question: Blue Lotus (Organic) Farm. We asked if they had any figs.

They laughed at us. They asked us, "What time is it?"

We said, "Almost 10," looking down at our watches. They said, "Come back next week, early. We've been sold out for hours."

And so, we did. We arrived the following week at 7:35 AM and went straight to the booth. No figs. He was already sold out. We got the last 3, very bruised specimens for half price. But oh, they were tasty - heady, even. The first bite transported me back to all the other Augusts when figs had touched my lips for the first time each year...I instantly wanted more, needed more. I put the charm on and worked out a deal with the farmer and he offered to set some aside The next weekend, I called and he was going be out of town...he promised the following week he would be there, figs in hand.

So it took me three weeks to get my figs, but it was worth every moment.

The figs are here, friends. And they're organic!

Go see Greg Yee, at Blue Lotus Farms. Get them while they are still here because before you know it, they'll be gone. Go early and bring something to place these jewels in - a safe, gentle resting place - while you do the rest of your shopping. It'll be worth it when you get them home, perfect and unblemished.

Most of the figs Greg has are Calimyrna figs. They are more subtle and delicate than Black Mission figs; and not quite as sweet or rich as their darker cousins. With the two pounds of figs I bought, I ate many of them simple, fresh and unadulterated. Then I topped these mini mascarpone tarts with them - a modified version of this tart, but scented with Grand Marnier and honey and with a toasted hazelnut and graham cracker crust. I also made a fresh fig, date and ginger (mascarpone) ice cream. Delicious. Seductive. Heavenly.

Resources:
Greg Yee
Blue Lotus Farms
KCC Farmer's Market (Row E - over by the boiled peanuts)

Consequently, Greg also sells organic chicken and duck eggs (prices dependent on size) and even better - whole, free-range local chickens. The chickens are about 6 lbs each and come out at approximately $20 per bird. He didn't have any chicken the day I was there last, but he says he usually does. On an island where local eggs are rapidly disappearing and local chicken is even more rare, farmers like Greg are a blessing and need your support. But trust me, my friends, nothing - and I mean nothing - compares to the figs.

***Update, Jan 9, 2015***

Courtesy of a commenter: Greg Yee passed away January 8.  He was a beautiful person who loved life and always had a smile to share with others. It brought him great joy to see people enjoy his fruits, vegetables and eggs. He will truly be missed.

Rest in Peace, Greg.  You were a blessing to all at the Market and we did enjoy your products!  Thank you for the light you brought and the beautiful things you shared with us. You will be missed.

El Premio Arte y Pico

I feel so honored and humbled...the lovely Deb, at Kahakai Kitchen just awarded me, and four other lucky bloggers, the El Premio Arte y Pico award (and this was even before we met each other! I promise!). I have never received an award before, so I'm blushing, shuffling my feet back and forth, looking down at the floor and just completely beside myself that someone out there would choose to give little ol' me and my little ol' blog an award. Thanks so much, Deb! Since I've been gushing a lot recently about Deb's site, I'll just say go and check it out on your own if you haven't already - and I can tell you from experience that she's as great in person as the posts on her blog and the sweet comments she leaves on other's sites would have you believe. You can see her award and the other bloggers she chose on her post.

Upon trying to figure out what El Premio Arte y Pico translated to in English, I came upon the original site. I'm adding the link to that and the *rules* of the award (though I condensed them...which I probably wasn't supposed to do, but oh well, nobody is perfect, eh?), since they seem to have gotten lost amongst all of the passing on. The phrase itself supposedly translates to something like: "Wow. The best art. Over the top!" The rules are as follows:

Rules:

1. Choose 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community.
2. Each award should have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone, and a link to the blog which bestowed it upon them.
3. The award-winner and the one who has given the prize should include a link to "Arte y pico"blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

Now the best part of receiving the award: getting to choose 5 other bloggers whose sites and posts are a creative inspiration to me. There are so many wonderful blogs out there, and so much amazing photography, but I also wanted to pick bloggers that not only had great photography, but inspired me in other ways too. So here are my 5:

1. Cookiecrumb, at I'm Mad and I Eat. I've been reading Cookiecrumb's blog now for years (she was, in fact, one of the first blogs I ever read) and she never ceases to inspire me in so many different ways...to eat locally (this woman made her own salt, people!), to cook without recipes, to make the most of what's available to you (even if it's 100 pounds of pears), and recognizing the beauty in the ingredients of the food as much as the food itself. Plus, she makes me laugh every day and there's nothing better than that!
   
2. Karen, at Rambling Spoon. Karen's photos and descriptions take you all over the world from New Mexico to Laos, Thailand, India and beyond. Plus, she's a Gourmet contributor, an author of two books (I'm planning on buying both as soon as I get my budget figured out here), and an incredibly humble, intelligent and sweet person to boot. She not only inspires me to cook, but makes me want to travel the world!
   
3. Ilva, at Lucullian Delights. Ilva and I started our blogs around the same time and have been visiting online ever since. I love the simplicity and clean lines of her blog, making her incredible pictures center stage. She lives in gorgeous Tuscany and shows her readers a little of her life every day, along with simply prepared and delicious food - showing that even with a few ingredients, you can make a masterpiece. Her site and her ideas are always inspiring!
   
4. Tanna, at My Kitchen in Half-Cups. Not only do I love having Tanna visit my site because she leaves such warm and supportive comments, but Tanna's site seems to be different than most of the other blogs I visit. Her background always has to do with what she's cooking up in the kitchen that day, and every post is filled with great quotes, thoughts and often the most beautiful breads. She inspires me to want to bake my own bread every time I read about hers!
   
5. Ann and Jack, at Redacted Recipes. Ann randomly stopped by my site one day and I'm so glad she did because then I was able to find their blog! Their pictures are beautiful (they can make anything look delicious) and they are always trying new recipes and participating in all kinds of events - churning out all kinds of fabulous-looking food. They make me want to jump in the boat and join in everything (if I only had the time). Plus, I'm a sucker for their header - it's so cute!!
   

The Intersection of Blogging and Life: Meeting a Fellow Food Blogger

If you've ever met a fellow blogger, especially one that lives nearby, then you know the scenario...

You've set the date (yesterday), set the time (7PM), and picked the restaurant (Casablanca) - a fairly new Moroccan place in town that some co-workers had recommended. You know you're taking a risk on a restaurant that neither of you have been to, and realize the extent of that risk when you read the reviews and all it talks about is how sensuous the food is and the sexy appeal of the dark, sultry dining room. This is a first *date* of sorts, after all. But, what the heck? Live life adventurously, right?

And you already know they love food as much as you do.

You've picked out your clothes - not too nice because you don't want to seem like you're trying, but just nice enough that you don't seem like a slob. You arrive a bit early, because you don't want to be late the first time you meet. You're not really sure what your dining companion looks like, because they don't have a picture on their blog, but then again, neither do you. But when you get to the mostly empty restaurant and they seat you front and center, you're sure you'll be able to tell when they walk in.

And you can.

You meet, exchange hello hugs (you've been conversing over email anyhow and feel like you sort of know them already), and take your seats at the (very) low tables. It's really quiet in the restaurant, so you find yourselves whispering at first. You're nervous and thinking, what if they don't like me? Even worse, what if they stop reading my blog after this - that would be awful!? You brought your own wine because it's common here in Hawaii to do so since many places do not have liquor licenses - and you're happy to hear they don't charge a corkage fee. As you open it, you silently hope the transit in the shipping containers didn't ruin it (but of course, like would happen on any first *date,* it did). You're slightly embarrassed at how bad the wine is, actually, but you both laugh it off and decide to enjoy extra helpings of the mint tea instead.

There are a few moments when you're not sure what to say, as in any first meeting with someone you hardly know, but you're relieved to find that the conversation flows smoothly for most of the night. Because you're slightly nervous (you really want them to like you!), you accidentally knock your bread from your plate onto the floor (oops). But the soup is delicious, and you can tell that you're both wondering how to recreate the flavors at home. You talk about how much each of you loves soup, but how hard it is to eat warm soup when it's hot out all the time. You discover that you both read some of the same blogs - and it's like discovering you have mutual friends.

Things get even more interesting when you realize that there is no silverware at this place, and that you have a leg of lamb sitting on the plate between you with only your fingers and hands to dig into it with (no wonder they called it "sensuous" food!). The lamb is tender (if messy) and the capers and tomato sauce surrounding the soft calamari rings has a unique depth of flavor to it. After a while, you even forget that you're eating with your hands - until you drop some of the tasty chicken and cinnamon pastry dish from your fingers onto some of the other plates you're sharing. You apologize bashfully for dropping the food that was destined for your mouth on the mutual plates, and you both start giggling when the waitress arrives and tosses (a somewhat hefty amount of) orange blossom water at the top of your head from a tea kettle before she brings dessert.

By that time, the conversation comes easily now. And as it veers to food and restaurants and blogging, and you see their eyes light up and that they understand how blogging gets under your skin and the community becomes a part of your life, you know that you've found a kindred spirit. Neither of you is impressed with the fairly greasy and sticky funnel cake dessert, so you have extra mint tea instead - the honeyed flavor bringing a gentle end to the meal. Finally, you leave the restaurant with more hugs, deciding to take a cooking class or two from the local community college together, and head opposite directions down the street to your cars. You hope quietly to yourself that she had as good of a time as you did.

As you walk towards your car, you turn and take one last look at the front of the restaurant - "Casablanca" is painted in bright yellow letters against an azure background. You smile, and can't help but think to yourself:

"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship..."

* * *

Yesterday, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting a fellow food blogger - Deb, from Kahakai Kitchen. After "stalking" her for the last month on her blog (once I found that there was another food blogger here in Hawaii whose site I thoroughly enjoyed reading every day, there was no going back), I finally convinced her to meet up with me (wink, wink). So I'm happy to report that she's even sweeter and funnier than I imagined she would be, and I love her easy-going personality, which is also apparent in all of the wonderful things she writes on her blog (not to mention the amazing-looking recipes). I'm really looking forward to taking the culinary classes and exploring some of the foodie adventures that Hawaii has to offer with her. It's great to have all sorts of friends to do different activities with, but knowing someone in the same town that is as big a food dork as you are? Priceless! Thanks for a great evening, Deb!

While the food at Casablanca was good (not stellar; except, perhaps, the soup), and the experience of eating with your fingers, washing your hands at the table and having orange-blossom water thrown at you is its own treat, we both agreed that the $34 price tag for the prix fixe meal was not necessarily worth it and that we would probably only go back in a large group.

Casablanca Restaurant
19 Ho'ola'i Street
Kailua, HI

Tag, You're It!

I was recently tagged for a meme by the lovely Deb at Kahakai Kitchen. Deb has delicious recipes and great photography on her blog and is far better at I am at showing people little bits of Hawaii - while she's only been blogging since April, she's been in Hawaii for seven years, making her a fabulous resource! Not only that, she's super prolific and her blog is a joy to read, so it's always fun to see what new she has to say nearly every day.

I discovered Deb's blog while looking for Hawaii food blogs and I'm so glad I did - it's been wonderful getting to know her! I haven't participated in a meme in quite some time, especially with my almost year-long hiatus from blogging while I finished up my degree, so I guess you know you're back in the swing of things when they start coming around to you again! It's been really fun discovering new blogs and I always enjoy reading everyone's answers. Thanks for tagging me, Deb! You can read Deb's meme answers here.

1. Last Movie I Saw In A Movie Theater?
Batman...on the Friday when it opened. No, I didn't dress up. But I thought about it. For about 2 seconds.

2. What Book Are You Reading? 1) Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, 2) Wicked, by Gregory Maguire, and next on the list is The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollen (yes, I realize that I am probably the only foodie on the planet that hasn't read it yet, but I haven't ever seen the movie Trainspotting yet either...somehow when you miss the first boat, the second is a long time coming!). I don't know if I've ever mentioned my book fetish...maybe it's better to keep something to yourself? So many books to read...so little time.

3. Favorite Board Game? You know you've finally become your parents when one of your favorite past-times is inviting your friends over for board games...it might be even worse when you start inviting your neighbors over because you just have to find someone to play with you! I love board games! Our most recent indulgence has been a fair amount of Parcheesi, but I also love Apples to Apples, Go to the Head of the Class and any other game that I can beat LB at playing.

4. Favorite Magazine?
I'm with Debbie here: Donna Hay -- food porn at its finest!

5. Favorite Smells? Fresh, outdoor air - be it at the beach or the mountains. And that after-rain earthy smell. Coconut, vanilla, freshly baked bread.

6. Favorite Sounds?
ocean waves, laughter, tropical birds (only past 7 AM).

7. Worst Feeling In The World?
feeling like I've disappointed or failed someone I care about.

8. First Thing You Think of When You Wake?
"It's too early and I don't want to be awake yet - must. go. back. to. sleep!"

9. Favorite Fast Food Place?
I don't eat at fast food places. But I would (and have) eat(en) at Burgerville.

10. Future Child’s Name?
I wouldn't want to jinx 'em! Picking a kid's name is serious business too. I have a theory that your kid turns into what you name them. You have to be careful about that!

11. Finish This Statement—“If I Had a Lot of Money,"
I would open my own gourmet food store/deli.

12. Do You Drive Fast? In my opinion, no, but I have been called "lead-foot" by various people in my life...

13. Do You Sleep With a Stuffed Animal?
Does LB count?

14. Storms—cool or scary?
Cool, unless they are really bad storms that cause a lot of chaos. Safe but big storms: cool, especially if there is thunder and lightning.

15. What Was Your First Car?
My 1st car had a name: The Piece. It was a Nissan Pulsar. I had it for 6 months and was only able to drive it for 2 of those six months because it was broken down the rest of the time. I sold it to a guy; and on the way home, the transmission went out on him. I also accidentally pushed it into a ditch once. But that's another story.

16. Favorite Drink?
Coconut Mojito! Oh, did you mean non-alcoholic? Right now, I'd have to go with coconut water. I'm new to Hawaii: all this coconut stuff is still novel! Plus, it's fat free and cholesterol free and all that good stuff, but still tastes decadent.

17. Finish This Statement—“If I Had the Time, I Would…"
travel all over the world, eating and drinking and laughing. (Guess I would need money for all of that too.)

18. Do You Eat the Stems on Broccoli?
Not usually, but strangely, lately I've been debating that very question.

19. If You could Dye your Hair Any Other Color, What Would It Be?
I like my hair color! But sometimes I would change it from curly to straight just to try something different (and because curly hair is a pain in the ass when it's humid).

20. Name All the Different Cities In Which You Have Lived - Grand Junction & Fort Collins, Colorado; Seward, Alaska; Monterey, California; Coos Bay & Eugene, Oregon; Kaneohe, Hawaii.

21. Favorite Sport to Watch? Not a huge TV sports fan (live sports are entirely different), but probably basketball or football IF it's a team that I have some reason for loyalty to a particular team (ie. it's LBs favorite or from my home town/state of Colorado - and home town/state wins over LB's favorite if they are playing each other). I can also dig on baseball during the world series, IF it's a team I have some reason for loyalty to also (ie. see above).

22. One Nice Thing About The Person Who Sent This To You She lives on the same island as I do out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean! Plus, it looks like she makes amazing food and I want to convince her to be my new friend. ;)

23. What’s Under Your Bed?
Dog hair. Lots and lots and lots of dog hair. I don't go under there; it may have developed its own personality by now and I'm afraid I'd lose a hand or an arm if I stuck it under there.

24. Would You Like to Be Born As Yourself Again?
Um...only if I had a recollection of all of the things I have been through in this life already...and if I didn't have to relive some of the them.

25. Morning Person or Night Owl?
Neither, really. I like to sleep at least 9 hours, but my clock has been all screwed up since I moved here and now I wake up at 6 AM and I'm exhausted by 10 PM - still trying to shift it over. It's embarrassing to be 30 and yawning at 9:30 PM.

26. Over Easy or Sunny Side Up?
Over medium! NO runny whites and there has to be enough toast or crispy potatoes to hold up against the ratio of runny yolk.

27. Favorite Place to Relax?
The beach, baby! With a chair and a good book. Or drinking wine with friends.

28. Favorite Ice Cream Flavor?
Anything with lots of "goodies" or chunks in it. And it has to have chocolate in it somewhere.

29. Of All the People You Have Tagged, Who Is the Most Likely to Respond First?
Good question.

Whew! Now the *fun* part of the meme - tagging 4-5 other bloggers. And I really appreciated Deb letting me know she had tagged me, so I'm going to do the same for my tagged bloggers!

I'm tagging:

1. Nerissa, from Deetsa's Diningroom. Nerissa is currently exploring France with her husband and prince, The Frog, (go read her incredibly rich descriptions of the food and experiences she's having there!)and has been a long-time blog friend...so hopefully she'll forgive me for tagging her and giving her something more to do when she gets back. (xoxo Nerissa!).
2. Melissa at Gluten Free For Good. Melissa is a nutrition expert and her blog is full of beautiful photography and helpful information. Although I see that she is embarking on a trip soon, I'd love to learn more about her and hopefully she won't mind a meme when she gets back!
3. Dawn at Colorado Foodie. Both Dawn and Melissa live in Colorado, so they're my connections to home. Dawn started her blog at the same time I did and she's been away lately and I've been missing her blog, so hopefully the meme will get her going again!
4. Paz at the Cooking Adventures of Chef Paz. It's been amazing watching the evolution of Paz, both in her cooking ability (she claims she started as a novice) and her photography and her site is simply beautiful. She also takes time out on Mondays to show her readers around New York. Having never been there myself, it's fun to see this place through her eyes! ** update: oh no! Paz is recovering from surgery, so this tag will have to wait...I hope you have a speedy recovery, Paz!
   

A Tribute to Sher

I was deeply saddened to learn a few days ago about the sudden and unexpected passing of a fellow food blogger, Sher, who was the author of the food blog, What did you Eat? Sher's circle of friends in the food blog community - her online family - spread the sad news with moving stories of her life, the friendships she formed, and the ways in which she had impacted their lives. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to get to know her as I hadn’t yet had the pleasure of stumbling across her blog, but many of the food bloggers I visit regularly - my own food blogging family - did.

Sher was one of the fabulous Bread Baking Babes, and as a tribute to her they are making one of her recipes and posting it today.  Sher was an active member of the food-blogging community, contributed to BlogHer, and was involved in the long-standing and on-going Weekend Herb Blogging at Kalyn's Kitchen. Today, these bloggers and many others in the food blog community – all across the world - are celebrating her life and giving tribute to her by making and posting her recipes.  She will live on in the hearts and kitchens of all of her friends.

As my tribute to Sher, and the people who knew and loved her, I chose her recipe for Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs and Sun-dried Tomatoes. You can find her post about it and her recipe here. I chose this recipe because she was a self-professed meatball fanatic and her blog is full of delicious-looking recipes for them. And I chose it because I’ve never made them before. Sure, I’ve thrown a chunk or two of Italian sausage in some tomato sauce before, but her meatballs are the kind of soft, melt-in-your-mouth meatballs that come from a careful hand and a lot of love. They were delicious. I didn't have spaghetti, so instead of serving them with crusty bread, as Sher recommended, I put them on the crusty bread instead and had meatball sandwiches. We'll definitely be making them again. And every time I do, I'll think of Sher.

And this is what food blogs are about – sharing wisdom we've garnered and passing on recipes (and sometimes tidbits of ourselves), but more than anything else, it's about connecting with others and sharing a part of our lives that we're passionate about. Food is something that connects everyone in the world, regardless of location, age, job, lifestyle, political views or religion, and it has for hundreds of years.  Anyone who has blogged in this community knows that it is full of incredibly supportive and amazing people. By leaving comments and visiting other's blogs, by reading the posts that others write - the ones we all put our minds and our hearts into - you can't help but begin to know someone, even if you never learn their real names. And one day, you find you've somehow touched the lives of others and that they have touched yours - by encouragement, wisdom, laughter and sometimes just saying hello when you need it the most.

It's truly an incredible thing - the mere thought of the difference that Sher made to so many people, without having ever met them in person. I hope the posts today, which will be linked to the moving tribute by Sher's closest online friend, Glenna, and so that her family can find and read them, will help them to know just how much she was cared about. While she may have made her home in Davis, she touched the world through her blog.

Honey, You Had Me at "Let's Make Crepes"

Barely into the beginning of our relationship – long before I had even discovered just how much I enjoyed cooking – LB and I went with about 20 other graduate students to Sun River, Oregon to partake in a yearly event: Free Ski Friday. On Free Ski Friday, Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort opens its doors and lets anyone ski on their magnificent slopes for an entire day – for the “cost” of brining 2 cans of food to the ticket counter. It’s a fund-raiser for Neighbor Impact, a coalition that raises money and food to feed the needy and less fortunate of Central Oregon. Being that graduate students often have a surplus of canned foods, and are always on the lookout for a bargain, everyone pitches in to get a rental house for the weekend, loads in cars and drives the four hours from Eugene to spend a rowdy three days drinking, eating, skiing, laughing and lauding until we’re all utterly and happily exhausted.

Usually, the cooking gets divided amongst the revelers and people pair up in groups to buy and feed the masses. Newly dating, LB and I ended up with breakfast the last day. In trying to decide what we wanted to make, we came across a worn copy of The Joy of Cooking in one of the cupboards of the rental house. For whatever reason, we settled on making crepes – something neither of us had made before. We drove to the one grocery store in Sun River, loaded up on fruit and Nutella, milk, butter and flour and set off to impress the rest of our cohorts.

Somehow, it worked. We did it without a crepe pan, with zero kitchen skills between the both of us, and with only the rental house's available kitchen tools. And they were fabulous. Ever since then, LB has been the crepe man of the house and we often make crepes for friends and house guests – filling them with homemade jams, seasonal fruit, chocolate wine sauces, and Nutella. A savory crepe or two has even occasionally graced the table (eggs studded with homemade sausage or thinly sliced steak with ginger shitake cream sauce), although the sweet fillings reign supreme in this house. The ingredients are almost always in the cupboard and the refrigerator, and the only garnish needed is a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

In Hawaii, there is no shortage of sweet, tropical fruits to fill crepes with and they don’t even need chocolate sauce to satisfy. There is also no shortage of beautiful weather with which to enjoy a long, leisurely Sunday breakfast of crepes on the lanai with either. The raspberries are not local, and were certainly a luxury at $4 a 1/4 pint (on big, huge sale - they are normally $6.99 or more), but they were a colorful, flavorful addition that helped round out the sweetness of the other fruit - as did the magical, organic starfruit from our CSA, whose gentle astringency was also a welcome addition - plus, how cool is it to have a fruit shaped like a star?! It's just purrty! Just don't stick it in the fridge or it will get mushy and turn brown around the edges - oops.

While we now use our own worn and dog-eared copy of The Joy of Cooking (one of the first gifts I got LB), we make our crepes with whole wheat pastry flour (and sometimes vegan butter) and LB has tailored the recipe to make crepes that are delightfully thin and just lightly crisp around the edges, every time we enjoy them the taste still brings me back to that first shared kitchen experience. Who could have known that nearly six years later we’d still be making crepes together? But then again, maybe I did...

Crepes a la L.B., makes approximately 7-8 crepes
adapted from a recipe by The Joy of Cooking

• 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup lukewarm water
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for coating the pan
• 1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup of cold water*

Mix all the ingredients together in a blender and pulse until smooth (we've also just whisked them together and they turned out fine; plus, less dishes!). Pour into a bowl and cover with saran wrap - let it stand for 30 minutes in the fridge, or up to 2 days. Test the consistency of the crepes and add the cold water, a splash at a time, until it's a very loose batter (LB describes this as "add water until you think that the batter is so loose that it's about to 'break' and then add one splash more" - see note below).

Preheat oven to 200F or just barely on (for keeping crepes warm). Coat a nonstick saute pan or a crepe pan (about 9" across) with butter. Then pour a nearly full 1/4 cup of batter into the pan, circling your wrist and moving the pan about so that the batter completely coats the bottom of the pan in a single, even, thin layer (*note: you can play around with the consistency of the batter here - if your first crepes come out too thick, add a splash or two more of water until they spread easy and come out thin and just ever so slightly crisp around the edges). Cook until the top is set and the underside becomes golden. Turn the crepe over - fingers work best - and cook until lightly browned and cooked through. Place the crepe on an oven-proof plate or dish and put in an oven at 200F to keep warm. Repeat for the remainder of the batter. Fill with yummy fillings of your choice and top with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Some of our other favorite crepe fillings:
Merlot chocolate sauce and raspberries
Homemade strawberry jam and whipped cream
Sliced bananas and a light smearing of Nutella
Apple or pumpkin butter, with a bit of maple syrup
Apples stewed with cinnamon, topped with whipped cream
Lemon curd (or vanilla yogurt) and blackberries
Cherries cooked down with a little sugar, almond extract and lemon zest, then sprinkled with toasted sliced almonds