Ketchup and fries for someone with a sweet tooth

Posted May 10th 2008 8:57AM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Candy, Food Oddities

Because we as a people don't eat enough french fries, Kandy Kastle has created a candy version of American's favorite vegetable. These fries are made of marshmallow and are sculpted to look like steak fries. To increase the resemblance, they come packaged with a little packet of Kandy Ketchup Sour Candy Gel that looks like ketchup when squirted on these "fries." If you need the experience to be a little bit more complete, the Kandy Kastle company also makes a hamburger out of dyed marshmallow, so you can have your burger and fries and your sugar high, all in one.

[via Neatorama]

Ways to celebrate Mother's Day without a reservation

Posted May 9th 2008 6:59PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Mother's Day

You've called around and every brunch place within a 20 miles radius is booked up solid for Mother's Day. How can you salvage the holiday and make your mom feel special without a reservation?

• Take her to a local Farmers' Market on Sunday morning. You can buy her a cup of coffee or tea and the two of you can wander around, fondle the fresh produce and taste jams and honeys. If you get there early enough, you may be able to grab a dozen local, free range eggs (those babies sell out fast). Poached and served on top of a bed of tender baby greens and you won't (even for a minute) miss the hassle of the restaurant.
  
• Pack a picnic and head for a local park. Who says a celebratory meal has to be eaten in a restaurant? Gather up an assortment of sliced meats, a couple of good cheese, bread or some good crackers and quickly blanch a pound of asparagus. Strawberries or grapes can take care of dessert.
  
• If your mom is a chocolate lover, put together a chocolate tasting for her. Hit the candy aisle at your favorite natural or gourmet foods store (I've found that they have the best assortment of chocolate) and buy four or five good varieties. The two of you can munch on chocolate to your heart's content and when she figures out which one she likes the best, promise her that you'll get her a few more bars of it next time you go to the store.
  
• Even an outing to a local bakery or coffee shop can be a good way to celebrate your mom. Often, the thing she wants most is time alone with her children. This doesn't even have to happen on Mother's Day, if you can't sneak away, schedule a time to get together over coffee and a scone or muffin for some quality mother/child time.

The deliciousness that is pimento cheese

Posted May 9th 2008 5:02PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Cheese, On the Blogs, Retro cookery

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the Philly-area food blogger potluck. I love these gatherings, because it is an opportunity to taste a huge variety of foods, all prepared by people who more than usually interested in such things. At the last potluck, someone had brought a tray of what looked like plain tea sandwiches. Triangles of white bread, crusts removes, and a thin layer of orange-y cheese in the middle.

I steered clear of this particular tray for sometime, a little appalled that someone would have brought something so seemingly basic. Then, as I was talking to a friend, she said, "Have you tried the pimento cheese sandwiches? They are amazing!"

Upon her urging, I walked over to the food table and picked up a triangle and bit in. I discovered that what I had taken for soul-less white bread was actually a bit chewy and sour, with a fresh, newly baked aroma. And the cheese that was holding the slices together? Pimento cheese that was pungent, sharp, tangy and wonderful. These were not my Aunt Doris's tea sandwiches.

Earlier this week, Cookthink ran a post about the many ways that it's possible to reinvent pimento cheese, which made me start thinking of those potluck sandwiches. I think that there is pimento cheese in my very near future.

Feast Your Eyes: Blueberry apricot crumble

Posted May 9th 2008 8:31AM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Dessert, Fruit, Feast Your Eyes

Earlier this week, I looked up harvest dates at my favorite u-pick farm in New Jersey, to make sure that I won't miss blueberry season. Last summer, I nearly missed it, and when I finally did get out into the field, it was slim pickings. One of the things I love about picking summer fruit is that it gives you the opportunity to have enough to freeze for the winter and make a batch or two of jam.

In today's featured photo, Lelonopo uses her frozen summer berries in February, to brighten the winter doldrums with a Blueberry Apricot Crumble. Delicious!

The Farm to Table Cookbook, Cookbook of the Day

Posted May 8th 2008 5:57PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Cookbook of the Day, Local Eating

Farmers' Market and CSA season has finally started here in the Philadelphia area. The beginning signs of vegetal abundance and warmer weather has me delighted. Where I was once, just recently, totally uninspired by food and cooking, I am now itching to spend every free minute in my kitchen. Ivy Manning's new book, The Farm to Table Cookbook: The Art of Eating Locally has played a large role in this resurgence in food energy, as her books is filled to bursting with gorgeous pictures and accessible recipes.

In the past, I have often found that when I'm presented with glossy, beautifully bound cookbooks, I never want to actually cook out of them, because I'm afraid that I will ruin them with a single trip into the kitchen. However, I've had no such hesitations with this book, despite its beauty, because the recipes are just so appealing.

Manning has arranged her recipes by season and begins the book with Spring. Tucked in between each of the section title pages and the recipes is a two-page spread entitled Meet the Producers. In each of these four essays, Manning takes her readers out to the farms, homes and markets of the people who grow, raise and make the foods she buys. It is a lovely addition to the cookbook, as it builds an emotional connection between the reader and the food.

I would definitely recommend this cookbook for those of you who are excited to shop at Farmers' Markets this summer or who have joined a CSA, as it offers lots of good inspiration.

The Philly Inquirer in 60 seconds: Artisanal pizza, vinaigrettes and lost recipes

Posted May 8th 2008 4:34PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Newspapers, On the Blogs, in sixty seconds

• Osteria pizza chef Jeff Michaud recently taught a workshop at Foster's Homeware on how he makes his smoky, thin pizzas (that start at $15 and go up from there). Inquirer food columnist Rick Nichols attended the class and thinks the best way to learn Michaud's secrets is through osmosis.
  
• We all know that salads are best tossed with a simple vinaigrette. However, we don't always think of applying those oil and vinegar emulsions to other foods. Philly chef Erin O'Shea has come up with a series of simple vinaigrettes to pull together other dishes.
  
• Food writer and historian Laura Schenone, author of A Thousand Years of a Hot Stove and The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken, has launched Jellypress, a website devoted to lost recipes.
  
• The Rush Hour Gourmet changes up the traditional Bearnaise sauce to make it lighter. The new one still uses onions and tarragon to capture the familiar flavors, but without the fat.

The above image is courtesy David Snyder (aka Philafoodie). To read his review of Osteria, go here.

Feast Your Eyes: Moroccan spices

Posted May 8th 2008 8:00AM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Spices, Feast Your Eyes

I spent some time in Indonesia when I was 22. I wasn't particularly interested in food back then and so I didn't do anything interested like go to open air markets or travel to the places where spices are grown and sold. These days, there's nothing I'd like to do better than travel to a country where I could wander marketplaces and take gorgeous, vibrant pictures of foods, lentils and seeds. Until that time, I'll have to live vicariously through the experiences of others. This image from Endless Simmer makes me want to go to Morocco, quite a whole lot.

Thanks guys, for adding your image to the Slashfood Flickr pool.

Create less clutter with your Mother's Day gifts

Posted May 7th 2008 5:29PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Real Kitchens, Mother's Day

In recent years, my mom has become increasingly difficult to shop for. She has been working at reducing the amount of stuff in her life and so doesn't want the knick knacks and gadgets that we once plied her with. So I've had to get creative and find ways of letting her know what I appreciate all that she does for me without filling her house up with things she'll just get rid of. Here are some of the ways I've given her clutter-free food-related gifts.

Bake! My mother tries to eat healthfully, but she can't resist certain homemade, chocolate-based treats. This is a great way to go if you live far away from your mom and still want to put a personal touch on her gift. A batch of freshly baked granola (packaged in an easily recyclable plastic container) is also a good way to go.

Jams and jellies make good Mother's Day gifts (as long as your mom likes that sort of thing). You can either make up a batch yourself (Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam would be seasonal and delicious) or head to a local farmers' market to pick up a couple of jars.

Draw up a personalized gift certificate for a food-related service. I realize that this might sound like an idea straight out of the third grade, but the offer of a pot of soup, deliverable on demand or a monthly loaf of freshly baked bread is something that is certain to make many a mother swoon.

If your maternal figure is a gardener, a collection of herb seedlings from a local nursery would surely delight her (in my family, this particular gift is reserved for my dad on Father's Day). It is a gift that produces all spring and summer long, and when the season ends, can be uprooted and delivered to the compost pile.

Many a mother likes to entertain. Tell her that next time she wants to throw a cocktail party or backyard cookout, you'll be there to be head shopper, chef, server and cleaner. It might just be the first time in years that she'll get to enjoy her guests at her own party.

What other ideas do you have for clutter-free, Mother's Day gifts?

Tim McGraw's Spicy Jalapeno Fritos

Posted May 7th 2008 4:03PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Snacks, Raves & Reviews, Celebrities

My father's college degree is in the History of Country Music (truly). I grew up with a lot of country, bluegrass, folk and other roots music playing in the house. Because of this early childhood conditioning, to this day I am a huge fan of old-timey music. However, I've never had much of a tolerance for currently popular Country music (although, Dolly Parton can do no wrong in my eyes).

So, when a PR person for the Fritos company offered to send me a couple of bags of Tim McGraw's new Spicy Jalapeño Fritos, I was skeptical. I was curious what the chips would taste like (being a lover of all things spicy) but had a scornful reaction that went something along the lines of,"What's a Country music star doing lending his name to chips? Jimmie Rodgers would never have done something like that!" It did nothing to elevate my opinion of current Country music.

However, after tasting the chips, I am forced to admit that they are darn tasty. They aren't actually all that spicy, but they capture the heat and greenness of a jalapeño pepper in a way that is addictive and delicious. And, they can't be that terrible for you, since the Frito was originally invented as a health food!

These chips are currently available in select areas around the country and will be for sale nationwide soon.

Vintage Recipe: Potato Custard Pie

Posted May 7th 2008 2:56PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Vegetables, Recipes, Books, Retro cookery

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Fran invited me to help clean out a house in which friends of hers had grown up. Their mother passed away recently and they were in the process of clearing out to make way for the new owners. It was a large home that had been happily lived in for many years, and even after lots of work and multiple weekends of packing, sorting and trashing, there was still a whole lot left.

I was invited to come over because there was a substantial vintage cookbook collection, and Fran, knowing my interest in old food writing, figured I'd be happy to take a few boxes of books. I actually ended up with four grocery bags and two boxes of books (as well as half a dozen old canning jars).

The pamphlet you see above was tucked in among other location-based cookbooks (the previous owner was meticulous in her cookbook organization) and when I finally sat down at home to sort through the books, it grabbed my attention. First of all, I've never really thought of Maine as a state that produces a lot of potatoes, but apparently, at one point they did. Second, who knew that you could make desserts based on plain, old white potatoes? The recipe for the Potato Custard Pie is after the jump.

Continue reading Vintage Recipe: Potato Custard Pie

The Pauper's Cookbook, Cookbook of the Day

Posted May 7th 2008 12:31PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: British Isles, Books, Cookbook of the Day

First published in 1971, The Pauper's Cookbook continues to be relevant today, especially in these times when we're all trying to make our food dollar stretch to cover increasing food costs (I went to a local bakery yesterday to buy some sandwich bread, and nearly had a heart attack. They were selling half loaves of my bread for $4.95. In the past, I would be able to get a full loaf of that bread for $3.75).

Written by Jocasta Innes, this book came to be when she couldn't find the cookbook she wanted in her local bookstores. She says, "It stood to reason that there must be a good few other people in my situation, trying to conjure good food from limited cash, battered old pots and pans and kitchens more nightmarish than dream. What a blessing for us all such a book would be, I thought, and waited for some highly qualified expert to leap in and write it." When no expert stepped up, she traveled into the void herself, creating a highly readable and deeply useful cookbook.

The book is written in a narrative style, without the traditional recipe formatting that we are all used to. However, instead of being frustrating, it makes for an entertaining read and easy experience, almost like having a friend or relative talk you through the steps of the dish.

The recipes are divided into sections entitled, Standards (which include soups, sauces, cheap veggie dishes, some eggs and classic British comfort foods), Padding (lots of rice, barley, oats and beans), Fast Work (just as it says, a section devoted to getting a meal on the table quickly), Programmed Eating (menu suggestions), Fancy Work (dishes that will impress), Dieting on a Budget (keeping your calories and budget low) and Private Enterprise (jams, jellies, marmalades and quick breads).

It's a fun little book, especially if you are someone living in the US who has a weakness for British cookery writing.

Feast Your Eyes: Orthodox Easter eggs

Posted May 7th 2008 8:04AM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Eggs, Easter, Feast Your Eyes

Easter, both the mainstream and Orthodox ones have come and gone, leaving behind honest-to-God Spring (at least where I am. I hear tell that it's already Summer in some places). However, when I spotted this picture in the Slashfood Flickr pool, the colors and patterns caught my attention and spoke to me.

When I was growing up, my mom had a bowl of wooden eggs that were carved and painted. I loved to play with them, but wasn't allowed particularly often, as they were old and the paint was a bit flaky. They looked just like these Easter eggs.

Thanks Andreea, for adding your image to the pool and for giving me a brief trip in my childhood memories.

Rising food prices impact everyone, not just the nuclear family

Posted May 6th 2008 7:02PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Newspapers

A couple of weeks ago, in my round-up of the Oregonian's FoodDay section, I linked to a story they ran about a budget eating challenge. In it, they asked four Portland-area families to reduce the amount of money they spent on food a week (without making mealtime a joyless experience) and document the experience.

At the time the story ran, I didn't think too much of the families that they chose to participate in the project, but soon after, it was pointed out to me by blogger and Slashfood reader Lelonopo (via twitter) that the Oregonian had only selected families that were white, straight and had children. As a lesbian woman without children, their selection made her feel invisible. Her comment got me thinking about how many different populations FoodDay had ignored when they selected their participants (and everyone has to eat, which would have made diversity in the pool an interesting and valuable thing).

She took her frustration and channeled it in a useful direction, penning a letter to the Oregonian (last one, on page two of the article) that was published today in an article that gathered an assortment of feedback about the article.

What do the rest of you think about the FoodDay's choice to only include white, hetersexual families with children? Who would you have liked to have seen?

Rising food prices begin to impact school lunches

Posted May 6th 2008 4:34PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Culinary Kids, Television/Film, Food News

When I was a kid, I hated buying lunches at school. They were never particularly tasty, you had to waste valuable socializing time waiting in the lunch line and I liked the attention I got for being the kid who brought "weird" combinations to school (like yogurt and granola).

However, I know that for some of my classmates, those lunches that I turned my nose up at were the best thing they had to eat all day. In recent years, many school districts have worked hard at making their lunch offerings increasingly delicious and healthy, to the point where they probably would have tempted a snot like me. Now, with rising food costs, school cafeterias are having to find ways to cut back in order to keep serving up healthy meals, especially since government subsidies for school meals aren't covering the costs.

Some districts are cutting staff in order to make ends meet and others are foregoing pricey items like the ever-popular baby carrots and replacing fresh veggies with frozen. This July, the Congressional committee that determines the federal reimbursement rate to school lunch programs will meet to decide the amount that schools will get for the following year. Schools are hoping that they take rising prices into account and give them the 12% to 15% bump they need to maintain their level of service and nutrition.

[via CNN]

Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally, Cookbook of the Day

Posted May 6th 2008 4:03PM by Marisa McClellan
Filed under: Books, Cookbook of the Day, Local Eating

Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally is another book that isn't quite a cookbook. However, it contains a handful of recipes, describes in detail the process of freezing corn and canning tomatoes and is, on a very basic level, a book about food, cooking and nourishing the human body and mind.

Written by Alisa Smith and J. B. MacKinnon (he's referred to as James throughout the book), it documents the year they spent only eating foods that were grown/raised/produced within a 100 miles of their home (they started a movement, 100 mile and local eating challenges are quite common these days). The chapters alternate narrative perspective, so that James tells half the story and Alisa tells the balance. Divided by month, each chapter begins with a recipe that is seasonally appropriate and local to their home in Vancouver, BC.

If you are interested in incorporating more local, seasonal foods into your diet, this is an interesting read.

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