Writing with 5 Senses - The Lemon

Finding ways to improve my writing was one my goals of the International Food Blogger Conference. Here is a sample of what I worked on during the workshop "Writing With 5 Senses" with Kathleen Flinn, author of "The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry."

Sight - describe what the lemon looks like
This yellow fruit has a shallow pitted surface. It ranges between an oval and teardrop in shape, with the end that attaches to the tree more pointed. When sliced, a white fleshy rind holds wedges of translucent pulp full of juice. Pale seeds are found within the segments.

Tactile and Texture
The cold lemon feels heavy in my hand. I can feel each small dimple, creating a mini-massage for each of my fingers. The soft inner rind leads to a fresh wet pulp. A slight pressure releases a burst of juice that splatters and lands like a kiss on my skin.

Sound - start with closing your eyes and listen, describe without saying "chopping with a knife"
A thud of a basketball thrown against the wall repeats. As it continues, the thud blends into the crunch of biting into a fresh cucumber slice. What is this? Has Girl Talk sold out to the FoodNetwork and the NBA? No, a lemon is being sliced.

Smell - describe without using "lemon" or "citrus"
I enter the room and the smell of sunshine hits me full force. The brightness and freshness of the scent cleanses my lungs with happiness.

Taste - describe without using lemon or citrus
Burning acid washed over my mouth. My lips puckered, the taste reminding me of licking the flap to seal an old envelope. The taste of exposed flesh, the beginning of a canker sore, remained in the back of my throat.

Put It All Together - when writing, go beyond visual and taste, pick at least 3 senses to describe something from last night's reception

The lamp chops danced into the room to the sounds of oohs and aaahs. If you weren't looking, you would have thought they had jumped off the serving plate doing Rockette kicks. I couldn't stop staring at the moss covered meat. As the server approached, I picked out my over-sized lamb lollipop and asked for a not-so-red one with an apology. Holding onto my chop, reminiscent of a renaissance fair turkey leg, I took a bite and tasted spicy heaven in the garlic wasabi coating.

Summary - Pay attention to everything. Life is short. Challenge yourself to embrace the things you love. Slow down, live the moments, and use your five senses.

Lunch Assignment - write about your lunch experience using all 5 senses. Tweet link to #all5 and #IFBC


Writing Homework:
MFK Fisher - take a page of one of her books and extract verbs - write on separate page. Review for variety, sound, visions

Raw Courage in Steak Tartare

As I walked past the lunch food options of torpedo shaped raw hamburger with baguette and reclined whole octopus sleeping on garbanzo beans, I thought "Yuck. I have no claim on the foodie label." A grilled zucchini dish, the most Cassie-friendly dish available, did not satisfy the rumblings in my stomach. I had to build courage to try something new but somewhat familiar - Steak Tartare. When I was younger, I loved to eat raw hamburger. The thought of that now makes me shudder and question the sanity of my parents and babysitter who are not foodies either. But perhaps that was just the infancy of my developing palate.

Today, the rose colored raw meat with a faint marbling sat in a large metal bowel waiting to be portioned out onto an eco-friendly camel colored bamboo plate. Using two soup spoons, the chefs measured out my 2 ounce portion and formed a oval shape with a clang-clang. The meat football was placed with a bed of greens and two baguette blankets.

I pulled at the tartare to spread it evenly across the first slice of crusty baguette. I searched my brain for an analogous food distraction in preparation for the first bite. Peanut butter? No, not savory enough. Ah, nothing. There is nothing like this. I silently coached myself, "I can do this. It's the gourmet version of my strange childhood love." I took the first bite and continued eating it. I felt comfort. The meat was smooth on the roof of my mouth as I crunched into the baguette. I prepared the second piece of bread. Working through my challenge of trying something unappealing and trying to eat the appetizer without making a grimace, I completely forgot to take note of the taste or smell. Three out five senses ain't bad. If he was a food writer instead of a song writer, Meatloaf would approve. I, however, do plan to keep working on my writing.

Wandering, Wondering, Working, and Word Block

The last few weeks have been busy and distracting. I've been traveling (a week in Vermont, a weekend in San Antonio, a few days in Vancouver and then a weekend in Seattle). I've also been putting a lot of time into helping to bring a food co-op to South Philly. It's a 2+ year process that will hopefully end with a member-owned food community shopping center. What is a food co-op? It's a grocery store that is owned, operated and financed by its members. By being member owned, the hope is to provide members lower prices or discounts, more control over what's on the shelves and a community for sharing and learning about food, sustainable practices, and the neighborhood we live in. We are well on our way with a website and are currently conducting a organizing feasibility study to learn more about the shopping habits and opinions of the people in our neighborhood. It's exciting, but a lot of work.

I got some disappointing news about some upcoming cookbooks - some other people had my boozy recipe idea and will launch their books this fall. I feel this is a bit of a set back, and has made me rethink exactly what I want to do with this blog. Like a pair of skinny jeans, it's restrictive and confining to only write about recipes that contain alcohol. And now that I'm working on the food co-op, I'm entertaining the idea of have segments to highlight a theme...there would be The Soused Chef segment with alcohol, the In Season segment focusing on things being harvested locally, and maybe a Bake Sale segment which would feature things that could be sold at a bake sale, or easily wrapped up and given to friends and family. That is just a start and I'm still working on the idea. I'm going to the Food Blogging Conference this weekend and hope to find some more inspiration.

I also just learned of a Philly Blog Tax...apparently I'm suppose to pay a yearly $50 for a "privilege license" plus I'm required to pay the appropriate taxes on the income I earn from the advertising on the blog. Considering that I've only made 80 cents in the last few months. This really isn't a good deal for me. I'll probably need to remove the ads until I have the 100,000 followers to make it profitable. Sometimes Philly sucks.

With all of this uncertainty and rethinking my approach to the blog, I've had a little bit of a word block. In addition to all of that, I spend my entire work day at a computer, so it's tough to sit down in for another hour or two to put out a blog post. I'll also blame the beautiful summer days/night for my writer's block.

So here I am, about to get over my word block - one of the food blog conference homework item was to let our readers know about it....and we also were challenged with doing some real time blogging/tweeting/facebooking. Beginning Friday evening, I'll try to do all of that! It's going to be a great conference, if for the food alone. All the meals are catered by local chefs. I'm especially looking forward to the lunchtime cart scavenger hunt. Morgan Spurlock of Supersize Me fame will be the opening speaker. To learn more about the conference, check out the foodista website or get real time updates by following me on twitter/facebook. If you are not already following me via social media, well shoot me a comment and I'll friend you in the medium you prefer. I can't seem to figure out how to put the "follow me" widgets on the blog.

Until Friday......

Gettin Figgy With It

Figs are in season, but for a very short time. I was not aware of how fantastic this fruit is. But now I am. If you want to impress someone, seek out fresh figs and serve them up. A real simple way is to add them to a cheese plate, paired with some goat cheese. Slice the fig, top with goat cheese and drizzle a little honey on top and carefully shove into your mouth. No need to say how it tastes or how you feel, your expression will make everyone say "I'll have what she's having." You'll inevitably get honey on your hand - licking it off is part of the experience. Mmmmm, figs are good.

I also recently saw this video about mixing figs, peaches, honey, and rum to make a tasty summer fruit salad. I haven't tried it yet, but no doubt it is as easy as she says it is...and I doubt I would make any changes. Enjoy..... Boozy Figs and Peaches from Tamara Reynolds

Beards and Cooking Classes I Don't Love: Mussels Steamed in Beer

For my birthday, my friend bought me a "Cooking With Beer" class at the The Restaurant School in Philadelphia. I was super excited about the class. I thought I would be learning some great culinary techniques and learning some secrets to selecting the right beer to put in whatever savory dish I was making. I could finally stop making desserts for a few months and blog about the savory things I learned in class.

Honestly, I was a little disappointed. First, after registering for the class, we were sent a list of items we had to bring to class - knives, spoons, tongs, dish towels, aprons. I guess they were worried we'd steal these things? I dunno. Schlepping these things across town was annoying. And it was more annoying that I ended up leaving a wooden spoon and my tongs there because they were being used as serving utensils.

Secondly, there really wasn't much instruction. The first part of the class was a tasting of 4 different beers - Sam Adams Summer, Sam Adams Boston Lager, Bass Pale Ale, and Guinness. The instructor claimed that she wanted to pick beers that anyone could find in the store, but I found the selection quite boring. I did enjoy the tasting part, trying to identify the different flavors found in the beer. But there isn't much going on in these beers, a hint of apricot, and some caramel were the only surprises.

In the second part of class, people were paired up, recipes were handed out and each pair selected a recipe to make. All of the recipes were pretty straight forward: Shrimp in Beer Batter, English Pub Mustard, Beer Crab Dip, Mussels Steamed in Beer Chupa de Pescado (a seafood stew), and Shaker Style Chicken Breast.

And that was it - each team ran around the kitchen collecting their ingredients. The head chef, Chef Latona ("Just call me Chef" - really? are we being secretly taped for a Food Network show?) and his two sous chefs provided bits of instruction to each pair as they got stumped - but mostly it was instruction about which kind of pan to use and where to find it in the foreign kitchen.

There were some positives to the experience - we feasted. The beer battered shrimp and the Chupa de Pescado were delicious as were the Mussels that my friend and I made. And we didn't have to do any shopping. Today, in trying to put together ingredients for stuffed peppers, I realized that I don't enjoy shopping for a new recipe. There is always one ingredient that only comes in a package that is 5 times what you need (tomato paste!) and there is always one ingredient that you can't find in the store or that you miss or forget on your shopping list. Sad face.

I should also mention the benefit of bonding with your "partner." We had fun jousting with our knives and gushing about our love of bacon.

Even with those benefits, I'm going to pass on taking another cooking classes, with the exception of classes that focus on a particular technique. In February I took a pasta making class from La Cucina at the Market in the Reading Terminal Market. I learned how to roll out dough for the perfect puffy gnocchi pillow and how to work a pasta machine to make liguini. Definitely worth my time, money, and taste buds. I plan to take a cannoli making class from her some time.

Below is the recipe for the Mussels Steamed in Beer .... it was quite tasty and easy to make. Although this cooking class wasn't a wealth of new information, I did learn something. In this class, I learned that Prince Edward Island (P.E.I) are the best mussels available. They are typically very easy to clean and do not to have beards. The beards on a mussel are the little rubbery bit that attaches the shell to the rock or pole...hmm, that is a beard I will avoid.

Mussels Steamed in Beer
Servings: 2
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
3 Strips bacon, small diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 oz. leeks, white part only, julienne
1/2 jalapeno pepper (seeds and pith out, unless you want it really spicy)
12 oz. beer (we used the Bass Ale, but I think most any beer would be great)
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 pounds mussels, debearded and scrubbed (get P.E.I and save some time)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste
parsley, minced for garnish
French bread, sliced (to mop up the yummy broth)

Instructions
1. In a large saute pan, cook the bacon over medium-low heat until golden brown.
2. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
3. Increase the heat to medium-high; add the leeks and jalapenos. Saute for 1 minute.
4. Add the beer, crushed tomatoes, sprigs of thyme, bay leaf, and mussels. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes or until mussels open.
5. Remove mussles from pan and keep warm.
6. Simmer the liquid until reduced by half.
7. Add the butter to the liquid and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer the mussels to a warmed serving bowl and pour the hot liquid over top. Garnish with minced parsley. Serve with a sliced French bread on the side.

One Hot Mess - Kim Chee, The Other Side of Fermentation

Fermentation is the process of using yeasts and/or bacteria to convert carbohydrates to alcohol and carbon dioxide or organic acids. This blog has been focusing on the alcohol side of fermentation but this week I explored the organic acid side by making Kim Chee (or spelled Kim Chi), a traditional Korean vegetable dish. There are many varieties and recipes for Kim Chee, perhaps as many as there are kinds of beer you could brew? The most common varieties of Kim Chee are fermented. Kim Chee is made with a main vegetable ingredient such as cabbage, radishes, green onion or cucumber, plus plenty of spicy!

Lactobacillus bacteria ferment the sugars in the cabbage to form lactic acid which gives the dish a sour flavor. There is even a bacteria names for Kim Chee - Lactobacillus kimchii. Kim Chee is thought to aid digestion because it contains these Lactobacillus bacteria that many people seek out in specialty products. Kim Chee is also high in dietary fiber, vitamin c, carotene, and other important vitamins and minerals like vitamin A, thiamine (B₁), riboflavin (B₂), calcium, and iron.

Exploring different types of fermentation wasn't my original motivation for trying this recipe. I had gotten a very large head of cabbage in my farm share. I made some cole slaw, but there was still 3/4 of the cabbage left. In the 100 degree heat wave in Philly, the option of making some kind of baked or cooked cabbage dish was not appealing. That options left more cole slaw, sauerkraut, or a second attempt at Kim Chee, a childhood treat that my babysitter's husband used to make. I have a cookbook from the church I grew up with - which childhood memories of potluck dinners and bake sales. It contains a lot of New England charm, sprinkled with a bit of ethnicity, including this recipe for Kim Chee.

I tried to make Kim Chee about 5 years ago and ended up with a slimy, smelly, unedible mess. I used a large tupperware type container with a snap on lid. I think this was my downfall - this go around I invested in a proper glass container with a screw top lid. I also planned to be more attentive and make sure I mixed it up at least 2 times per day. Finally, I did a little research on Kim Chee and sauerkraut to find out if there were some things that my recipe was missing. Many recipes suggest fully covering the cabbage in water while it ferments - my recipe only calls for 1/2 cup of water. With so many different Kim Chee recipes out there, I really couldn't get a sense of what to change. I thought, if this worked for Warren (my babysitter's husband) so many years, I can make it work - so I just decided that I would stick to the recipe and hope the glass container was the answer to spicy edible success.

And it was a success. But I give fair warning, the smell can be off putting. My kitchen was a little stinky for the week of fermentation - but my boyfriend kindly said that it smelled good, apparently he only could smell the cayenne pepper. And the smell doesn't really go away once you've refrigerated it. I've been taking it to BBQs and it sure does stink up my car - or is that the sweaty ultimate clothes and cleats I have in the back seat, or the wet dog? Hmm, maybe I need to get my car detailed.

So, you can eat this as snack, as I did as kid. Or serve it as a side dish at a BBQ. It would be great as a condiment for a burger, sausage, or hot dog. I've been envisioning trying this with a really hearty veggie burger (i.e. not the cardboard kind). Be sure to give people warning about what Kim Chee actually is. In the dusk of an evening BBQ, one of my frisbee teammates mistook it for chicken and was very vocal about her shock and disgust - Kim Chee isn't for everyone.

Kim Chee
Source: my childhood babysitter

Ingredients
4 - 4 1/2 lbs. cabbage, green or Chinese, diced to 3/4 inch
4-5 tablespoons salt
3-4 scallions
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup water
Optional: tiny shrimp, chopped radish, anchovy

Mix cabbage throughly with salt and let stand at a cool room temperature for 4 to 24 hours. Rinse well 2 or 3 times. Slice scallions diagonally, then add to cabbage. Mix in the garlic and pepper one tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pack into a gallon jar, add the water, and loosely cap with a plastic lid, then set aside at room temperature. One or twice daily, tighten the lid and mix contents. Be sure to loosen the lid again before setting aside or you could end up with Kim Chi all over the walls, ceiling, and floor of your pantry or kitchen. After 5 days, the Kim Chi can be transferred to smaller jars and refrigerated. Kept cold, fermentation is topped and jar lids can be tightened (if caps are left loose, everything in your refrigerator will smell like dirty, sweaty socks).

Yields approximately 2 1/2 quarts (which should last a family of four who are addicted to it no more than two weeks)

Photo Above = Day 1
Photo to the Right = Day 3

Strawberry TIramisu and the Art of Weight Maintenance

One of the unfortunate side effects of this blog is that I have gained weight. It happened the first time I set out to compile recipes for the original cooking with alcohol cookbook project and it's happening again with this blog. But one of the positives of gaining weight is that my boobs have gotten bigger! Granted, there are many factors that are contributing to the weight gain (less activity, dating a good cook, changes in metabolism as I age) and the boob growth (hormones, aging). So what do I change? I don't want to give up the blog or food or the boyfriend.....and I certainly don't want to give up the bigger boobs....so ONWARD.....I present Strawberry Tiramisu!

I kid, I'm not completely ignoring my weight gain. Luckily it's summer which makes being active much easier, so that's what I'm trying to change. I'm playing ultimate frisbee at least once per week, biking to work one or two days per week, and trying the Couch to 5K program. The Couch to 5K program is an interval training program where you start with alternating brisk walking (90 seconds) and running (60 seconds). Every week the running intervals get longer until you are running a 5K at week 9. There are some really great podcasts that play some pumping dance music and provide instruction on when to change your pace. I'm currently using Robert Ullrey's podcast. I haven't lost much weight but I haven't gained any more. I do feel a lot better in general - more energy and less body image conscious. Since my BMI is still under 25, I'll still eat desserts...I'll just make sure I make a trade with some physical activity when I do.

Before you read any further, plan your walk/run, bike, swim, kickball game, or put your name in at the gym for the elliptical machine. And don't forget to pick up the lady fingers, marscapone, heavy whipping cream. and strawberries on the way home!

I made a couple of changes to these recipes to use fresher ingredients and to fit my current pant size. The original recipe called for strawberry preserves, which seemed kind of silly, why not just use fresh mashed strawberries? Also, concerned about having tons of Tiramisu around and taking one step closer to a  BMI >25, I halved the recipe to make a 9 x 9 baking dish rather than a 13 x 9. I've also listed some great variations (Strawberry Tiramisu Bites!) to this recipe at the end.

Strawberry Tiramisu
Adapted fom: Giada De Laurentiis (Epicurious) and Paula Dean (FoodNetwork)

Ingredients
2 cups mashed fresh strawberries (about 1/2 quart)
1/3 cup plus 4 tablespoons Cointreau or other orange liqueur
1/3 cup orange juice
8 oz mascarpone cheese, room temperature (Italian cream cheese available at some supermarkets and at Italian markets)
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons chilled whipping cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

About 28 lady fingers (bourdoirs or Savoiardi) - the crispy kind, which are usually sold in packs of ~60
1/2 quart sliced strawberries (2 cups)

Instructions

Whisk strawberries, 1/3 cup Cointreau, and orange juice in a medium mixing bowl. Place mascarpone cheese and 2 tablespoons Cointreau in large bowl; fold just to blend. Using electric mixer, beat cream, sugar, vanilla, and remaining 2 tablespoons Cointreau in another large bowl to soft peaks. Stir 1/4 of whipped cream mixture into mascarpone mixture to lighten. Fold in remaining whipped cream.

Hull and slice 1 cup of strawberries. 

Spread 1/2  cup mashed strawberry mixture over bottom of a 9x9 serving dish or glass baking dish (Don't use metal like I did - it leaches a funny taste). Arrange enough ladyfingers over strawberry mixture to cover bottom of dish. Spoon 3/4 cup mashed strawberry mixture over ladyfingers - I gently drizzled the mixture on each lady finger. Don't worry about fully covering each lady finger - they will find a way to absorb moisture and become softer.  Then spread about half of the mascarpone mixture over. Arrange 1 cup sliced strawberries over mascarpone mixture. Repeat with a layer of lady fingers, mashed strawberry mixture, and marscarpone mixture. Cover with plastic and chill at least 8 hours or overnight. Or 4 hours if you just can't wait!

Slice remaining strawberries (= ~1 cup sliced strawberries). Arrange over tiramasù and serve.

Variations:

Individual servings: Layer as above in ramikins to make individual servings of Tiramisu. You may need to cut the ladyfingers in half to better fit the ramekins.

Italian Strawberry Shortcake - Use your favorite strawberry shortcake base (angel food cake, sponge cake, or biscuits): Slice cake, top with strawberry mash mixture, dollop mascarpone and sliced strawberries

Layer cake: Make a sponge cake, divide into layers and build your own layer cake with the Tiramisu ingredients

Tarts: Place about 1/2- to 1 teaspoon mashed strawberry mixture in bottom of a tart shell. Spoon about 1 tablespoon mascarpone mixture into each tart shell. Top each with a strawberry half.