I should subtitle this post "Oops, I did it again." Brought home a great haul of farmers market goodies this weekend, plus a plethora of bread in anticipation of Battle Sandwich for the August Culinary Smackdown: Battle Sandwich, hosted this month by DoggyBoggy at Chez What? Details here, plus he's offering a $100 gift certificate to this month's winner.
Thanks to all who commented on my last post featuring links to recipes for eggplant/aubergines and contributed to my growing list of recipes to try - especially my brand new international commenters! And a big thanks to my sister, who sent me Iowa sweet corn!
The tastiest new thing I made this weekend was Mexican street corn. I'm borrowing this pic from DoggyBloggy because I still haven't gotten through all 200+ photos I somehow managed to take this weekend..
More to come this week, including a possible round-up of corn recipe ideas. What are your favorite and different ideas for preparing in-season corn? I didn't think corn could get much better than fresh, simple, and straightforward until I finally tried this street corn version I keep reading about. But now I'm a convert.
I always like starting the week out on a sweet note. In exchange for offering some ideas to inspire you over the weekend, I need your suggestions on how to use this local honey from Bee Hill that I picked up at the Anderson Farmers Market.
The young man who sold it to me, profiled here, is probably in his teens now, and apparently still in the honey-making business!
I don't cook with a lot of honey, but want to do justice to this one. So please, share your suggestions.
When I lived in NYC eons ago, a favorite affordable pleasure on my meager publishing salary was to while away a few hours at a West Village cafe over cappuccino and cannoli. Cannoli are hard to come by in Cincy, but I stumbled on one at Capri Tavola Calda today!
I love this little restaurant downtown on Walnut between Fourth and Fifth (and blogged about its hauntingly good porchetta and a few of its panini here). I can't recall the last time I purchased dessert for a weekday lunch, but I was not about to let this slip past me. Although my lunch hour was cut short, the universe had good things in store for me today. So I'll be celebrating tonight with cannoli.
Had to come back and edit after eating: Chocolate, cherry, pistachio (and probably some other ingredients I'm forgetting). What a remarkable cannoli filling. Unlike any I've had before. Bravo, Capri!
A few of you asked whether that building shaped like a picnic basket I featured a couple of weeks ago was for real. Yes, it is, located in Newark, Ohio, and home of the Longaberger Basket Co. I have no Photoshop skills, nor could I think this up on my own. Here's an aerial photo of the real deal:
Meanwhile, one of our recent lightning storms smote what was possibly the most enormous and garish Jesus statue in existence (known around these parts as "Touchdown Jesus"). You couldn't miss him driving up I-75 between Cincinnati and Dayton. That's TJ on the left, and the remaining steel structure on the right.
I shook my head when I heard the church was committed to rebuilding the sculpture at a cost of something like $700,000. Surely that kind of cash could be put to better use to help people, causes, or clean-ups that really need it?
But I was truly taken aback when I read that PETA offered to provide the church money to rebuild the gigantic statue in the form of a Jesus with a lamb in his arms and an inscription that reads: "Blessed Are the Merciful. Go Vegan" (I shudder to think how large a font would be required to make that message visible from I-75.)
PETA's letter of offer said, "As thanks for working with us to spread this lifesaving message, we will also send your congregation free copies of our 'Christianity and Vegetarianism' pamphlets, vegetarian/vegan starter kits and children's stickers showing a baby chick declaring, 'Jesus loves me too!'"
Yikes, Eggy happily enjoys and prepares many vegetarian and vegan dishes. But forcing extremist views down anyone's, er, throat, not so much.
It makes me sad when the city where I've lived so many years, and which has many admirable arts and culinary traditions, plus increasing revitalization, makes the national news for things that make us look like a hick town, or worse, and apparently TJ has made the national news. (I'll redact what I was going to say about some of our former embarrassments.)
Nonetheless, I am hopeful about a couple of new developments. It looks like food trucks might officially be allowed soon, at least at specified locations. (Cincinnati has only about 3-4 food trucks so far, but as soon as these entrepreneurs appeared on the scene, regulators got hot and bothered about regulating them.) For goodness sakes, we have a Purple People Bridge, why not have food trucks to feed the people on the bridge and elsewhere?
Another upcoming effort really makes me smile: An installation of painted pianos throughout Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky "on streets, in public squares and parks, and at other fun locations – for anyone to discover and play" and in conjunction with Cincinnati Public Radio. Called "Play Me, I'm Yours," this is something that apparently has been done in London, NYC, Sao Paolo, and Sydney (paging Diva!). Here's a clip:
I guess they're looking for old pianos to be donated, have artists in place to paint them, and are looking for people to be watchdogs over these pianos in public places. (Hmmm, how could I phrase doing something like that on my resume?) I love the idea of this kind of interactive art. Just can't imagine what the heat, humidity, and rain may do to them. Many people may have old and out-of-tune pianos taking up space and happy to donate to the cause. My mom would not be one of them, although I would love to get her to Cincy during this event and cajole her into playing out in the fresh air!
To get off my soapbox and share something truly goofy . . . from Nebraska, the state where I was born, here is Car Henge (yep, I'm not making this up either):
Car Henge is a bizarre midwestern tribute to Stone Henge (you know, that one in England, where pagans/Druids hung out and worshipped the Sky and the Sun and the Solstice). This one is made of abandoned cars. I can't think of Stone Henge without thinking of Spinal Tap (back during my early manuscript-wrangling days in NYC, I had the odd privilege of getting tickets to film previews via the magazine I worked for; no one anticipated this movie!).
To wish you all a belated happy Summer Solstice, here's a clip that I hope you makes your outlook on the week go up to an "11" - which is always "one better than," isn't it?
Check back for my announcement of July Culinary Smackdown. I promise it's coming soon.
Hmmm. I’ve noticed a bit of a downturn in the outlook of some of my fellow/sister bloggers recently. Concern about the BP oil spill, worry about sick chicks and aging parents, aggravation brought on by computer or kitchen woes – all understandably leaving one glum. For some, this takes the form of an unspecified malaise. For others, a sense of burn-out. For a few, some downright cranky-pants blogging (which can be a delight when it’s laced with humor; otherwise, not so much). [Thanks to the friend I snagged the above image from - it made my day!]
Alas, after an uninspired weekend catching up on sleep and eating leftovers, I almost let today go by without posting. But the whole point of my Positively Monday gig is to attempt to lift my attitude up by the boot straps (er, sandal straps?). After catching up with a friend who just returned from a beach vacation (the planets did not align for me to go with), I have something to look forward to.
From Ohio, which, yes, boasts a giant picnic-basket-shaped building, I am pleased that Team Eggplant will be reuniting for Culinary Smackdown: Picnic. Plans are being made, menu ideas and shopping lists exchanged. Georgia peaches may be involved . . . And I think we’re gonna need a new sign.
Is there anything better than Mom's apple pie? Not much.
Dad agreed and requested it for his birthday dinner.
For anyone new around here, here's what I try to do with my Positively Monday posts. Anyone is welcome to join in, and since the rules are: there are no rules, if I miss a Monday, well, that's just how the blogging rolls.
Hoping everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. Happy Monday!
eggy
A quick pic of the dish I made for this weekend's Slow Food Cincinnati tour of Vista Grand Bison Ranch followed by cook-out at Woodland Mound Park. What a lovely way to spend a Sunday! I'll be back with more later this week. Meanwhile, get ye out and take ye advantage of prime picnicking weather!
Last weekend's lobster-cooking adventure with Cindie and Odie for the Culinary Smackdownwas big fun. Seeing everyone's entries was even better - and a whole lot less work. What a great array of dishes!
Three in particular got my culinary cortex going. The whole concept of a savory macaron from Doggy at Chez What. Troll's lemon relish, which he tells me he makes with lemon, celery, fennel, cardamom, and red pepper (what else could I pair that with besides lobster?). And the shellfish Sabayon that La Diva served with her magnificent lobster souffle.
I was salivating for lobster all over again after seeing the Smackdown entries. Couldn't afford another lobster, but I did have those lobster shells in my freezer. I was well into making lobster stock, and intent on making lobster risotto, when the phone rang (as it inevitably does when I try to make risotto). Which is why the lovely photo at the top of this post is not a food picture. However, I'll be back with a risotto post soon (possibly tomorrow night before Bourdain's new food porn episode) if the phone doesn't ring again.
Meanwhile, Cindie was inspired from another corner of the blogosphere and decided to try out MS's chocolate blackout cake. Cindie fiddled with it (she's allergic to cocoa powder), making her a bolder baker than I am. I mess around with recipes in the cooking arena all the time, but baking is a whole 'nother kettle of, er, lobster. The result was a cake that fell apart on her. When I asked her to let me know how it tasted, she said the upside to something this "deconstructed" is that you can stick your fingers into it before serving and no one will notice. Verdict: Pretty tasty.
Proving, I suppose, that silver linings can be found anywhere, and chocolate makes everything better.
With thanks to everyone who stopped by to check out my lobster post, and gratitude to all the Smackdown entrants for your inspiration, I wish you a Happy Monday!
In common parlance, "moxie" connotes determination, initiative, gumption, spunk. "The ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage," quoth Webster's. Couldn't we all use a little moxie, especially when it comes to Mondays?
Turns out, Moxie is also a soft drink - in fact, the official soft drink of Maine (as I discovered while preparing for this week's Culinary Smackdown: Lobster).
Moxie was supposedly invented in 1876 by one Dr. Augustin Thompson, born in Union, Maine, as a patent medicine or "nerve food" he claimed to be effective against "paralysis, softening of the brain, nervousness, and insomnia." Well, now, we mustn't have any brain softening around here!
The Eggplant thinks Moxie tastes a bit like a not-too-sweet root beer. The original, inventor Thompson claimed, contained an extract from a rare but unspecified South American plant (the mythic Amazonian moxie bush, perhaps?). The current version, in addition to carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup and/or sugar (wtf?), caffeine, citric acid, and those oh-so-encouraging "natural and artificial flavors," contains "extractives" of gentian root, which author and Moxie fan E. B. White described as "the path to the good life."
So . . . without suggesting she necessarily ingest this stuff, I'd like to toast blogging buddy Making Space, who is joining me in celebrating Positively Mondays. Here's wishing you a fine spring week free of anxiety, insomnia, or anything you might fret is the early stages of brain mushiness, MS:)
And to all: Put a little pep in your step and a little glide in your stride (as local DJ "Mr. Rhythm Man" likes to say) . . . one foot in front of the other on that "path to the good life" or at least till Friday comes. Here's hoping you face down the beginning of your week with verve and elan, spirit and courage, and a smile on your face.
If you have a Positively Monday post of your own to share, please let us know in the comments. And if you'd like to participate in the future, we'd love to have you.
I hate Mondays. Always have, and probably always will (at least until I retire).
So something I've found myself evolving here are what I now dub Positively Monday posts, a little way to psyche myself up for going back to work, and put a positive spin on my outlook for the week before it has a chance to get the upper hand.
This all started as an excuse to post one of my photos I really liked, without the fuss and bother of coming up with a bunch of words to accompany it, which I titled "Starting the Week on a Sweet Note":
Then I returned from a great weekend in Louisville and wanted to get a photo up of these crazy red penguins at the 21-C Hotel without waiting until I had time to put together the full-blown trip recap I had in mind:
The next thing I knew, I was inspired to photograph even more for my Monday posts.
And realizing I could use them as a creative way to recycle leftovers.
So . . . it turns out I have a blogging friend who's interested in participating in "Positively Mondays." And if anyone else wants to join in, you are most welcome. The rules are: There are no rules. No weekly themes. No lengthy research or web-surfing required. You can include a photo, or not. You can include words - a few, a lot, or none. You are the queen or king of your own bloggy domain, so do whatever you wish. This is just a chance to do something a little different, and bring a smile or a grin to your own face (and maybe a few others). Hey, we can't change Mondays, but maybe we can improve how we look at them.
Check back next Monday, when I have a special post planned for my new Positively Monday compadre. And if you decide to join in too, leave a comment so we can find you.
