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By Emily, February 6, 2010 1:53 pm

I live in the mountains of western Massachusetts.  Our winter’s been pretty uneventful, we’ve had one snow day.  That’s fine with me: I hate winter, except for the eating soup all the time part.  Still, it seems awfully unfair that the mid-Atlantic is being covered in snow while we don’t have any in our near future.

In honor of my friends in Virginia and Maryland and the fact that spice was super popular in the blogosphere this week (perhaps it’s super bowl related?), this week’s Highlights from my Reader are all about spicy foods to keep you warm while you’re snowed in.

Highlights for January 31-February 6: Hot Stuff

Want to spice up your computer?  Download this desktop background featuring chili peppers from Chow.

Mental_floss has a list of 4 amazing things that chili peppers can do.

Slashfood has 5 tips that will make your “recipe from the back of the can” chili taste even better.

The LA Times (on their surprisingly bad looking website) has an article on the history and various versions of chili.

Serious Eats posted 2 chili recipes this week.  This spicy one and a vegetarian chili recipe that has rice in it.  I may have to try that one soon.

Another recipe that looks worth trying is Cajun Chicken Pasta from the Pioneer Woman.

If you want to know more than you ever thought possible about oven-fried buffalo wings, Serious Eats has the analysis for you, as well as a fried vs. baked wing taste test.

Into taste tests?  Slashfood put chips and salsa to the test, just in time for the big game.

Finally, Endless Simmer noted that people in DC were hurrying to the store to stock up before the storm hit.  Gansie posted her list of the 5 things she really needed to weather the storm.  If I was going to get 30″ of snow, I’d probably stock up on: soup, pasta, tea, chocolate and fruit.

What’s your snow five?

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By Emily, February 4, 2010 6:58 pm

It’s a good thing I got married to someone who really loves me, because I think my parents and my sister might disown me.

I made baked tofu the other night.  And Brian and I both really, really liked it.  This would have never happened in my house growing up.  Never ever.

At the beginning of the month “learn to cook with tofu” was on my list of New Years Resolutions.  At that point, I had no idea how I was going to do it, but a recently PETA’s VegCooking Blog posted a recipe for All-Purpose Baked Tofu.  It looked really good.  When Brian said he wanted to eat stir-fry this week, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to try making it.

I was pleased to discover that the 14 oz package of extra-firm tofu I bought only cost $1.99.  Having never worked with tofu before, I had no idea how much it would cost.  The recipe was easy to follow and turned out great (though 20 minutes total cooking time seems like plenty, not 15 minutes per side).

So, at the risk of being disowned by my meat-and-potatoes family: I made tofu from a PETA recipe.  And I liked it.  A lot.

More tofu recipes are probably in my future.

An update on my other resolutions:

• Go to the gym at least twice a week- After a couple weeks of insanity that kept us from working out, Brian and I have figured out a schedule that works well for us and have been visiting the gym 3 times a week.  Oddly enough, I’ve suddenly started to enjoy going.

• Drink more water-Probably the simplest of my resolutions and yet establishing a new habit is harder than it looks.  Most days as I’m running around my classroom, it doesn’t occur to me to pick up my water bottle.  But I’m working on it.

• Add new posts to Relishments at least twice a week- Clearly, some weeks are better than others.  But lately I’ve felt more interested in blogging and I’m hoping things stay on an update swing.  At the same time, work keeps me awfully busy and sometimes dinner’s nothing to write home about.
• Learn to bake really good bread/Create Original Recipes/Learn to Make Things I Usually Buy-I have recipes I want to try, I just have to find the time.  Those resolutions are more lifestyle goals than anything, so they’ll always be a work in progress.
• Maximize my freezer space-I haven’t gotten around to organizing my bedroom, nevermind my freezer.

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By Emily, January 31, 2010 1:09 pm

Every Saturday I highlight items from my Reader to share with the readers of Relishments.   Enjoy!

Highlights for January 24-30

Comic courtesy of Toothpaste for Dinner

I’m a self-professed tea addict.  With the weather as cold as it’s been, my interest in warm beverages is on the increase.  I know some of my readers love coffee and tea as much as I do, so I thought it’d make a good theme for the week.

Check out this really cute Submarine Tea Infuser (via Serious Eats)!

Slashfood has a piece about what we put in our coffee:Milk and Coffee: A Match Made in Heaven

If this brief post isn’t enough for you, Katrina’s blog Tea Pages is all about tea!

Need to buy some tea?  It’s not secret that I’m a huge fan of Harney and Sons. I’ve also been happy with purchases I’ve made from Adagio Teas.

Meanwhile, as I give you links about coffee and tea, Matt over at NoMeatAthlete is working to give up caffeine.  Good luck Matt!

What’s your favorite kind of tea?  Anything I should be trying?

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By Emily, January 28, 2010 7:56 pm

My husband and I just had a discussion which ended with him sighing and rolling his eyes.

Before that, it went like this:

Me: Hmm…
Him: What?
Me: Dairy.  Factory farms.
Him: So?
Me: Why do I not eat meat?
Cue sigh and rolling of eyes.

If you’re still confused, you probably didn’t watch ABC’s Nightline on Tuesday.  Actually, I didn’t either, but some of the blogs I follow are all a-buzz about it.  There was a segment exposing the horrible conditions that cows endure on dairy farms.  You can watch the segment or read about it on Change.org or Huffington Post.

Another moral dilemma.  Caring about what I put into my body certainly is a lot of work.  I drastically cut my meat consumption last year primarily because of the dangers of eating meat (bacteria, chronic health conditions) but also because I don’t agree with the practices of the meat industry (cramped quarters, sick animals, antibiotics, crappy feed,  etc).  I’m not a vegetarian, and I always swore I could never be vegan because I love cheese and yogurt too much.  But if conditions on dairy farms aren’t any better than on meat farms, should I be consuming dairy either?

Now, before Brian gets all annoyed about my latest crusade, let’s be real.  The chances of me cutting out dairy are slim to none.  Nevertheless, its amazing what we don’t know (or choose to ignore) about where our food comes from.  Again, education is the only way we’re going to change the opinions of the general American populus and create real change in our food system.  Once we’re educated, we can make smarter choices about what we eat.  Check out the Eat Well Guide (linked from the HuffPo article) to find out where you can buy local, sustainable, organic food.  I know its a lot of work (trust me, I know), but think before you eat!

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By Emily, January 27, 2010 8:46 pm

I’m a big fan of the idea of veggie burgers, but the price and taste of the ones at the supermarket, not so much.   As a result, I’ve been keeping an eye out for veggie burger recipes that I could make myself.  I tried a recipe from A Food Coma a few months back, but they didn’t stay together very well.  I have good intentions of trying them again and making them work, however.

This week I tried a burger recipe from Cheap, Healthy, Good.  Brian and I were both pleasantly surprised by how well they came out.  These burgers taste good, stay together, actually get a little crispy and have a texture more similar to hamburgers then some meat substitute creations I’ve tried.  They also hold up great in the fridge for a couple days (or, according to Cheap, Healthy, Good, in the freezer)

Veggie Burgers

Adapted from Cheap Healthy Good, Makes about 12 small (3″ diameter) burgers
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 tbsp adobo spice mix (<–well worth following CHG’s directions to make!)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Put the beans, minced onion, garlic cloves and oats into your food processor.  Pulse until just blended.
2. Add the rice and spices.  Use the food processor to blend, but not puree.  (Though some of my mix was pretty pureed and they still came out great!)
3. Add water or more rice to thin or thicken the burger mixture as needed.  It should be about the consistency of meatloaf mix.
4. Let the burger mixture rest for 15-20 minutes.  Form into balls and flatten into patties about 1/2 an inch thick.
5. Bake burgers on a parchment lined baking sheet for 30 minutes at 350°.  Flip burgers after 15 minutes.
6. Enjoy!

We topped our rolls with 2-3 burgers and ricotta cheese.  And Brian added ketchup to his, but we know how I feel about ketchup.

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By Emily, January 23, 2010 8:55 am

Brian and I were both sick all week.  That’s my excuse for lack of posts this week.  I wonder what my excuse will be next week :)

This week I got the really cool opportunity to show one of my classes Food, Inc.  Obviously, I was really excited about showing it and even more excited that it was what they’d chosen to watch (from the limited choices I’d offered).  Of course, I wasn’t surprised when they began to freak out a little bit at the information they were receiving.  To me, the information in Food, Inc is kind of old news, but its so cool to see someone hear it for the first time.

In honor of my students and their expanded awareness and the start of a new semester on Monday, this week’s highlights from my Reader are related to schools and the issues presented in the movie.

Highlights for January 17-23: Education

Tom Laskawy has a good opinion piece on Grist this week: Lessons for Schools: Sweetened Junk Shouldn’t Count as Food.  No kidding…and yet, it does!

Obviously some people agree with Laskawy, because Ontario schools will ban junk food starting in September.  Go Canada!

Several blogs have picked up on Fed Up: A School Lunch Project which follows an Illinois teacher as she buys school hot lunch every day.  If you’re not aware of what kids are being served, check it out.

NY Times has a great piece on the dangerous prevalence of snack time, especially among kids.  It is sort of ridiculous when you think about it…

Watching Food, Inc again sent me into another debate with myself over what I should really be eating.  It was really comforting to see that Holly was having a similar debate over a box of Special K bars.  And I probably would make the same choice she did.

Some of my students expressed the suspicion that there’s nothing we can do to change the food system.  I told them that I disagree and I believe the biggest way to create change is to educate our friends and families, one person at a time.  So, if you find any of these links helpful, share them!

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By Emily, January 18, 2010 1:05 pm

Fabulously Broke did a post a few days ago featuring her Confessions of a Foodaholic, which she got from eemusings and Asian Pear, who got it from Not Quite Nigella.  (I love the internet!)

I thought it’d be fun to share my own.

I go through phases where I don’t eat any breakfast

I know that breakfast is the “most important meal of the day” and I believe it.  But when I get up at 5:15, I’m really not hungry.  Of course, by the time we’re headed out the door, I’m starving, but the thought of food when I first wake up just isn’t appealing.  At the moment, I’m trying to make sure I eat a bagel or something before I leave, but we’ll see if that lasts.

I am a tea addict

Even if I’m skipping breakfast, I never skip my tea.  I usually start the day with a cup of black tea, but as the day progresses I’ll consume a few more.  Brian and I have a whole drawer full of tea.  I don’t think the caffeine has much of an effect on me…I just love the taste.  And the warmth.

I deconstruct my sandwiches

Whenever I’m eating a sandwich, I stop eating it normally when there’s somewhere between a quarter and a couple bites left.  Then I take apart whatever’s left and eat just the filling, leaving the bread behind.  I don’t know why, it’s just one of those weird habits.

I get bored of food easily

One of the reasons I started cooking was to escape the boring lunches I’d been taking to school every day.  I like eating left overs, but I can only eat the same meal 2 or 3 times before I can’t eat it again for a month or so.  I don’t understand people who’ve eaten the same thing for breakfast or lunch for years.  I just can’t do it.

I really don’t like salad

I love vegetables.  I love healthy eating.  But I really don’t care for salad.  I can’t remember the last time Brian and I bought lettuce.  I’ll eat it if it’s served to me, or comes with a restaurant meal, but I never make it for myself.

I get really frustrated when I don’t plan an awesome menu for the week

Cooking and blogging are my hobbies.  People know this is what I do.  I’m really Type A and set really high standards for myself.  Between the internet, magazines and my cookbooks, I have tons of recipes.  So when I don’t have a lot of time during the week to plan a great menu or cook impressive meals, I get frustrated.  Sometimes I wish I had a job that didn’t require prep outside of the work day so I could spend more time in the kitchen.

I’m not sure I’ve ever had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich

I’ve always said that I don’t like PB&J, but I’m not sure I’ve ever actually had one.  Nevertheless, the idea grosses me out.

I would rather eat lunch/dinner food for breakfast and breakfast food later in the day

That’s just the way it is.  Give me a sandwich, pizza or pasta for breakfast and I’ll be happy.  Eggs and pancakes make great dinners.

I get annoyed when people at the supermarket have carts full of processed foods

Over the past year I’ve realized how easy it can be to make healthy, cheap food at home.  It makes me sad to see people with carts full of TV dinners, packaged snacks and soda.  I wonder if they know what they’re eating and how much better tasting and healthier food can be.

That said, what I think I should be eating and what I actually eat don’t always line up.

Nevertheless, I’ve still got processed food in my pantry.   How could I not?   I still eat meat, though I frequently debate with myself about whether I should go vegetarian.  I have to keep reminding myself that I’m doing better than I used to be (Soda is an extreme rarity in my life, we almost never eat fast food, I do cook at home every night of the week, many of our meals are vegetarian).

What are your food confessions?

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By Emily, January 16, 2010 7:51 am

Highlights for January 10-16:

Things That Fascinate Me

1. Why Paula Deen has deep fried so many random things.  7 Things Paula Deen Fried, from Food Network Humor.
2. People who run marathons.  Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s awesome.  I just can’t fathom doing it.  Several bloggers ran the Disney Marathon last weekend–Great job Rachel, Meaghann, Kelly, and Caitlin!
3. Ketchup.  I don’t understand why people feel the need to put it on everything they eat.  I never use it as a condiment and only in extremely rare cases as an ingredient.  A Hamburger Today has a piece on The Case Against Ketchup.  “A burger worth eating is worth eating plain.”  Agreed.
4. The ingredients they put in “fast” food.  As though I needed more reasons to not eat it, Change.org has a list of the 10 most common ingredients in fast food.
5. The amazing way in which bloggers are using their blogs to aid relief efforts in Haiti:

The Pioneer Woman did a great giveaway

Chow.com has listed a few ways you can give.

Endless Simmer’s got a list of organizations that are providing food relief in Haiti.

CakeWrecks posted links to Doctors without Borders and a site that tells you which charities you can trust.

Serious Eats and Epicurious also linked to organizations providing aid.

MixMyGranola is giving $5 for each purchase of their pre-mixed cereal to Haiti relief efforts.

Clearly, we all are much more fortunate than those in Haiti, especially now.  Pick an organization and give something–every little bit helps.

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By Emily, January 14, 2010 5:01 pm

I made my first quiche the other night.  Granted, a quiche without crust, which  Brian was a bit skepitical of (can you have a quiche without crust?)  It made a perfect make-ahead meal for 2 of our dinners this week.  Despite the fact that, for some reason, the idea of making quiche seemed a little scary to me, this one was so easy I may try making “real” quiche some day.  Plus, when the recipe for appeared in this month’s issue of Food Network Magazine and I liked all of the ingredients and it was vegetarian and I could get two nights of dinner out of it during a rather busy week, I decided I needed to try it.

This quiche is less dense than many quiches I have had, to the point of being a bit crumbly.  But it tastes really, really great.   Even without the crust.

Crustless Spinach Quiche

Adapted from Food Network Magazine-Serves 4 as a main course

• Olive oil
• 4 ounces smoked Gouda cheese
• 1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 2 large eggs plus 2 egg whites
• 1 15-ounce container part-skim ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon (or more) grated Parmesan cheese

1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven, place a baking sheet on the rack and preheat to 450º.
2. Lightly grease a 9-inch round or 8-inch square baking dish with olive oil.
3. Shred the Gouda in your food processor.  Remove the cheese, put the standard blade in your food processor, add the cheese back to the food processor.*
4. Add the spinach, whole eggs and egg whites, ricotta, flour and nutmeg and process until well combined, about 30 seconds. Add the onions and pulse to mix.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and sprinkle with the Parmesan.
6. Place the quiche on the preheated baking sheet and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the center is just set.
7. Enjoy!

*FNM recommends just chopping the cheese with the standard blade, not the shredding disk.  It probably works, but that’s not what I did so I can’t say for sure.  But it would save time and dishes, so feel free to give it a shot.

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By Emily, January 11, 2010 5:25 am

So…work is still kicking my butt.  I started a new (full time, rest of the year!) teaching job last  Monday and I had this fantasy that I was going to have more time for me (aka this blog, the gym, cooking cool recipes, hanging out with Brian, etc) than I did with my last position.  Keyword being fantasy.  I’m still getting my bearings and getting settled in the new job, so, posting schedule still sucks :)

Nevertheless, I’m chipping away at my New Years Resolutions.  Here I am, posting (again!).  Tuesday and Saturday we went to the gym (must be the beginning of January–that place was busy!)  And last Sunday I made soup –and biscuits, which fall under the category of “learning to make things I normally buy”.

The soup was really satisfying.  It’s really thick and using fresh produce made it even better.  Minestrone is one of those soups that’s easy to alter and update based on what you’ve got in the fridge…this is what I had or remembered to buy and it turned out great.  You know you need another soup recipe :)

Sticking with the above and previously mentioned goal of learning to make things instead of buying pre-made processed foods, I made biscuits to go with the soup.  In short: easy, fast, and really, really delicious.  We may never eat sliced bread with soup again.

Dill, Red onion and Cheese Drop Biscuits
from Everybody Likes Sandwiches
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup red onions, finely diced
1 Tablespoon dried dill
a hearty grind of black pepper
a large handful of old cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk or milk with 1 Tablespoon vinegar or yogurt with a bit of milk mixed in

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, red onions, dill, black pepper and cheese.
3. Stir in the milk and oil and mix lightly until combined.
4. Using a tablespoon, drop blobs of dough on a parchment covered or silpat lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12 – 14 minutes or until lightly golden. Makes about 6 – 9 (really delicious) biscuits.
5. Enjoy!