Theres no place like...well...a farmers market :)

A long long time ago, I can still remember...wait, no I can't! Not too long ago, I was introduced to farmers markets. I was shocked and surprised at the idea of being able to go to a closed off area and pick out some of the freshest and finest produce, meats, cheese, breads, plants and whatever else from the region. And get everything at a lower cost to what the grocery stores had to offer. Most of the time I got a better selection, without the hassle of the stores just slopping items into the shelves.Around my area, we have two main markets. One is called the City Market and has been running for YEARS! It has cute little shops all around and vendors come from near and far to share the fruits of their labor. I went to this market back around June with my dad, who is also a foodie like me. Hell, he is the one who taught me to cook! Mom was the baker and I still struggle with that side of my cooking. But I digress.
Dad and I had a pleasant morning. If you want the good stuff, you should be there by 6AM when it opens on the weekends. We unfortunately did not get there until 9AM and met the traffic. After driving in circles for about half an hour, we got to finally go walk the promenade. At first, your nose just tingles with the new smells being sucked in and your eyes pop at the array of colors that are presented before them. Not to forget the drooling that soon follows. To my disappoint though, a lot of the produce that was being sold was not farm grown. It was purchased off of places like Dole for a lower cost and being resold to the market goers. Seriously, if I wanted it that bad, I would have just driven the mile and a half to the store. Thanks. But once you get past the pushy sales people with the same ingredients at each stand, one reaches what I consider mecca. Row after row of farm grown items. Bison meat, fresh eggs, baked breads and cookies from that morning, not to mention the pies, honey from different regions (you get different flavors depending on the area and flowers), plants, produce...oh the list goes on and on for me! Thank goodness for the little samples! I probably would have started eating half of the items I saw had I not seen them. HA! That day, I left with some cookies from a nice Mennonite family and a belly full of cheese curds, bread and fruit. I had pictures...but those are on the other camera and I am waiting for my new USB plug in...grrr...As for our second market, it is called the Overland Park Farmers Market and is right in old Overland Park. This is convenient for us since it is only 15 minutes away, vs City Market which is around half an hour or more in the art district of down town. (Still very worth the drive, just once in a while). I got to go to the OP market with our buddy Justin. I was up early and ready to go. Upon arrival, it is clear this is a smaller market, but you do not see one mention of a Dole product along the two lines that run at least 100 ft. Peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, herbs, garlic, peaches, melons...oh man. I did not know what to do. There was an absence of bison meat and fresh eggs, but I think I can live without those two things. Instead I had homemade jams and jellys, breads, mixes, treats, and again my favorite, fresh out of the dirt produce. This time, my hands could not stay away from my wallet. I got two onions, two green peppers, a huge garlic bulb, a basket of raspberries and some chocolate chip cookies (organic mind you) all for under $10. And the size of the onions, garlic and peppers...wow. I would have expected to pay more elsewhere for them! Like these were all softball sized! It was crazy! True test...would be taste. We left that day greatly satisfied in our purchases and were even more pleased to see that right next to the market was a new restaurant (which will appear in the future I am sure) that works with mostly local and seasonal ingredients. That is soooo awesome and I can not wait to check it out. This time, the line was around the building and we both had other things to do that day.
Once I got home, I was whipped and instead of putting my ingredients to use, I grabbed the cookies and a glass of milk.

Mmmm...the cookie monster in me lives on. Or is that the baby wanting those cookies? I can never tell anymore...

A day away from the computer screen

Work. Career. Slave labor. Whatever you want to call it, we all do it. Thank goodness for hobbies or you know most of us would be behind our desks day in and day out trying to meet the 'man's' requirements for getting stuff done.

But I am lucky. I have a career where I am allowed to wear whatever I please to work (I really just need to wear clothes, nudity not an option), do what I want to do and be creative as I please. I love coming in to work and slipping on my black fuzzy slippers each morning. Comfort :)

On those few occasions, we are lucky enough to be given a day out of the office, away from the droning effect of the computers and headaches caused by client/account demands. And boy are they fun!

My boss, Connie, took us out to Pizza 51 and the Nelson Atkins Art Museum. YEA!

Now, the museum just got a new building about 2 years ago and it is a whole modern section. Really cool pieces and the building is a piece of work itself!
But to start. We got to leave at one...and boy were we hungry...and head to Pizza 51 which is off of Oak and 51st across from the UMKC campus dorms. This is a cool restaurant and I like how they used the original setting to their advantage. The once gas station makes for a great pizza shop! And the pizza is amazing, granted not D'Bronx, but still awesome. We got the cow special, veggie special and a simple cheese and pepperoni pizza. (I also like to call this heartburn city, as I experienced that joy an hour later. :P )I am sure you are asking, did we eat it all? Not even close, but it was soooo delicious. We savored the beef, canadian bacon, pepperoni, sausage and cheese with a delicate tomato sauce. The crust was surprisingly crisp all the way through! I like crispy crusts :) Add a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and I am set! I stole your picture of the pizza Cari, hope you don't mind :)
Full and satisfied, we headed off to the museum...only after jumping into Russell Stover's and grabbing a handful of free samples. Chocolate covered cherries are the bomb!

The museum itself was awesome. I have one favorite statue that I see each time I go there, but I never remember the name or who the artist is. Silly me.While in the new building I found some food pop art that made me laugh. It was a whole bunch of pieces taken from billboards around Coney Island and placed together. Pretty cool. The corn looked so yummy. I was full, but show me food and I am ready to eat again!
Our day ended at 4 with a group picture. Are we not the cutest group you ever saw? (The boss man for my studio is missing, he had to stay and finish something in the office...boo!)
It was nice and relaxing and something we needed. Now, to only think how high the pile of work will be on our desks tomorrow morning...booo!!!!

So, the question appears...when is our next day out? Maybe a massage? hehe...

'I am fogging...'

Hehe, I told you Justin, I will make you famous :)

On Saturday night, Mike and I were very lucky to have our vegetarian/vegan buddy over to cook for us! YEA! *My disclaimer is that though I like veggies, I was never huge on the idea of vegan/vegetarian dishes until I met this man. He has opened a new line of cooking to my eyes!
I had been a lazy toad all day anyway, and this was going to be a nice evening to just kick back, relax and let someone else dirty the dishes!

Menu was: Corn chowder with corn fritters and a pineapple mint lemonade. Dessert was a banana bisque. Which we still have a debate on the title because Webster defines 'bisque' as a cream soup made with lobster or shell fish. But a minor detail none the less.

I wish I could quote the ingredients, but I sadly can not. I just know that when he was making the corn stock, it was to die for! The leeks, onions, carrots, celery, corn cobs....all simmering with water...OMG!

I kept sneaking the fresh corn, so that is probably why we only hadafter 5 cobs two cups left. It was so crisp fresh and amazing. To keep me busy, Justin had me help with toasting croûtons for the dessert. That kept my hands, and mouth busy. I was shocked we had some left to be honest. We actually ended up making a second batch because Mike and I could not resist the tiny morsels covered in sugar and cinnamon :)
My main goal was to catch Justin in the act of cooking. The top photo was as close as I got. I was not fast enough for this chef. Grrr...I will get you my pretty. hehe!

Once we got to sit down, I can barely describe the smell that floated in the air and filled our noses and lungs. All the mixtures of fried goodies (the corn fritters) and the soup with all its herbs and spices. Not to forget the sweet after smell of cinnamon sugar on toasted bread. *drool*

Justin was nice and let me fry the fritters :) I take pride in my fascination with oil and all its goodness. HAHA! *smacks chest to make sure heart is still pumping blood* we are good.

As for the flavor of everything, it was so clean...so fresh...so...AMAZING! I cheated and added cream to my soup just to test it out. It was good, but I should have left the soup well alone. The fritters had a nice crisp shell and a bite once you hit a pepper and this snap when you found a piece of corn!

Already leaning towards full, I still had to squeeze dessert in. Yes, I said DESSERT! The bisque! It was creamy, cold and crunchy with the croutons. I tried to finish it, but my tummy and baby girl said 'no more! you are going to explode!'.I could not thank Justin enough for doing this. It was so cool to see a different form of cooking but also to munch on it for the evening :) That is the best part.

But I will have to keep Justin on speed dial. For those mornings/evenings that cooking is just not going to happen by my hand and calling out for pizza is not an option. Be prepared man :) Be prepared... hehehe...
P.S. - Mike cooked too :) Now kids, do not follow his lead and use a knife to stir. HAHA!

I went Top CHEF!

Ok, so the title might be a tad misleading. But I attempted to be a Top Chef by creating my own quick fire challenge. My challenge, use ONLY what I had around to make dinner, without going to the grocery store for one single item. And as of yesterday, that was a tough challenge for me. As our fridge was empty!!!A And the pantry, well, that just had a ton of spices and dried ingredients that I did not have a craving for.

So I set to work, knowing that I had half an hour before hubby would come walking through the door going 'fee, fii, foo, fum, I am hungry as an englishman!'. Hehehe..can you tell I have read jack and the bean stalk lately?

The menu in my mind: Roesti with green peppers, onion and garlic. Followed by a nice day old french bread split and toasted, filled with a runny egg, topped with cheese and bacon bits. I mean, lots of bacon bits. *Again, i cook for the joy of food, not to avoid heart attacks people, but in moderation, this is all ok :) We do not eat bacon so often nor processed meats.

With plan in mind, I set to work. Grating potatoes, slicing and dicing the peppers, onions and garlic. Getting the bread together and ready to go, grating the cheese, heating the skillets and by the time that I hear the door handle turn with a soft click, I was off! I would not be disturbed! I had to complete this challenge in the next 15 minutes upon his arrival!

The roesti was a new thing for me to try out. I had read up on it once and fell in love with the idea of a giant potato pancake. Now, I do not like potatoes so much, but this was one recipe that hit my exception list. It was super easy too! One potato, skinned and grated (your choice, some people find that the skins of the potato add flavor or vitamins), veggies of your choice grated/chopped/diced and added (as I said, I used green pepper, onion (white) and garlic) and to add American flair to it, I wanted to add cheese, but thought that might be a tad bit of overkill on the dairy portion.The important step is to remember to use a tea towel or cheese cloth and ring out some of the moisture from the potatoes! Otherwise you will have wet and oily potatoes...Ewww... In a mixing bowl, you put the now 'dry' potatoes and add about 1 tablespoon of oil and mix together. Then add all the other ingredients and mix. The smell is amazing...mmm. In a medium sized skillet, heat a very small amount of oil. I did one rotation of the pan. You could also use just a tablespoon of butter, that would add some amazing flavor if you let it brown a tad too. Then throw in the potatoes and just start to brown slightly, this will help the inside be a little crispy too, but also cook off some of the oil, since I notice potatoes are like sponges (granted not as bad as mushrooms, but just as bad). Once the potatoes start to brown a bit, form them into a pancake shape and let them sit. I cooked mine on medium heat, about 5 minutes on each side. Allowing them to brown nicely and get super crispy.

In the meantime, while those were cooking up, I went for the next step, the main portion. My hungry hubby is not a fan of runny yolks like me, so I made him a scrambled omelet instead. To add a small amount of mystery and flavor, I added about 1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard with the eggs and for some richness, a bit of cream (since I was out of milk). Omelet complete, I got the toaster oven going to make a perfect piece of french toast. HAHA! sorry bad joke, i know.

While the toast was going, I had to flip the roesti. This is complicated, as it needs to be flipped at once and is not as firm as an omelet. You are supposed to take a plate, place it over the skillet, flip the skillet over the plate, then slide the uncooked side back into the skillet. WOO! That was more challenging than I thought it would be! But so so worth it! Now to let that cook for another 5-6 minutes.

With the roesti flipped and the toast started, I took chopped bacon and fried it to a nice crispy state. *Ding, toast time!* More like assembly time! Toast on plate, egg, shredded smoked cheddar, toast for a few seconds to melt cheese, add bacon and viola! Master piece done.

My favorite part was unveiling the roesti though. Cutting into that crisp shell to unveil a creamy center. I was in heaven! And so was hubby! He ate it all up! NO KETCHUP NEEDED! MUAHAHAHA!

I succeeded at my quick fire challenge, I fed the masses and they enjoyed it all! My only down side to the challenge was chopping my fingers. Not once, but twice. Damn knife safety. I need to work on it when chopping onions. HAHA! At least this time I had an excuse for crying.

My last comment will be...watch out top chef-ers...I am coming for you...

Salmonella, shamonella...

Everyday it is something new that has to be recalled for salmonella, e.coli, or even listeria! This is getting absolutely ridiculous if you ask me! I am tired of spending good money on a product, have already started ingesting it, only to find out, it has been recalled!

This last scare with the tomatoes was grueling. Especially since the tomato season is quickly approaching. Putting people on edge with everything they ate. Not to mention putting my family and husband on edge as to what I ate with little one. This was hard, because we were unsure of tomato sauce on pizzas, pastas or even soups! This was really distressing.

But now, the FDA is saying that they have found another strand of salmonella. This time it is seen on jalapeno peppers. Granted, I am not a spicy foods fan, so ti does not effect me so much, but what about those days that oging to Jose Peppers for queso or salsa sound so good? How are we to be assured that those are safe? The FDA and media are making it harder and harder to be comfortable eating anywhere but your own home.

Heck, I can not wait until we have a house so that I can try my hand at a garden. That way I will know what is growing in it, what is being used to fertilize it and how it is treated in general.

My reasoning for this little rant is because I would like it if the government would make up their minds as to where this is coming from, why and fix it. I think it is stupid to keep scaring the public and causing caos wihtin a region that is already in a panic due to the economies standing.

Curse you FDA.... If you are interested, here is the associated article from CNN.

Who ever sent the sweet tooth fairy my way...

I shall have to hurt you! Not really, I kind of enjoy the fact that she came to visit.

When I was a kid, it was my favorite thing to sit in the kitchen while my mom would bake. Mostly because I was given the chance to lick the spatula or the bottom of the batter bowl.Well, only after battling with my sister as to who would get that privilege. Just to say, because you are the oldest, does not mean you beat out the cuteness of the younger sibling. BOO!

But now, as an adult, the spatula and bowl are all mine! MUAH HAHAHA! wow...evil cookie monster came to life again...uh oh!

Since cravings have been getting stronger lately, I have had to obey more and more. And this last week cookies just sounded marvelous. I am not talking about just any cookies, these are called chocolate sprinkles. Mmmm...chocolate! Mom used to make these all the time and the smell of cocoa powder combined with butter....then the dough rolled in powdered sugar *excuse me, need to wipe drool from my face.*

This is one of the simplest doughs to make, but the waiting time on it is NUTS! You must wait for the dough to set over night so that it is not too sticky to form into balls.

Add a little sugar, flour, vanilla and baking powder and chill. 24 hours...geeze! might as well tell a pregnant woman that she can not eat for the next 24 hours when she wants something now!

I was fortunate and it was close to bed time. I was able to sleep through it all, only thing is that I spent most of my night dreaming of cookies. And that big fuzzy cookie monster. How I miss him. *sigh*

Upon awaking, I was super pumped that I would get to make my cookies at long last! But my plans were foiled due to heat. Our apartment was at 75 degrees already (it was only 10 a.m.) and to turn on the oven, would be a curse to us both. I had to wait...longer....

FInally, i suckered. Around 3 o'clock, after we had been running errands around town, I turned on our toaster oven and made half a dozen cookies. I watched as the little chocolate balls started to flatten and looked oh so gooey and edibly delicious.

Timer! Then the cool down....*tap, tap, tap* Ok, forget that!

Do not fear I only suffered a minor burn to my tongue, the milk helped to calm that. But I will say, it was all worth it just to get to have powdered sugar smeared all over my face and shirt and get the chance to smell sweet chocolate and success fly through the air.

Now, since the sweet tooth fairy left, who wants to go talk to the weather man about taking the humidity and heat down for a day, so I can cook the rest of my dough?

A restaurant review!!! *GASP*

Most of you are probably thinking 'holy crud! You eat out? You cook, but you still eat out?'

I know, I know, shocker, especially with this economy, it is cheaper to just stay at home and make something yourself. Despite how long it could take, it always seems to taste better. But that is my opinion.

While working for the man, I put in a little over time to get a few oextra dollars so we could go out and try one restaurant I knew Mike would really enjoy. He likes seafood, while me, I like those breaded fish pieces you get in the grocery store with ketchup :)

On the Plaza we have a restaurant called McCormick and Schmick's. They are well known for flying in fresh seafood DAILY for their clients. And it is always the good stuff! Ok, coming from a Midwestern girl who would rather eat steak and potatoes, I am sure that sounds funny.
It was a nice surprise that I could take him there though. We started with one of his all timme favorite starters, calamari. I have a little thing against the full baby calamari, but when it is just a tentacle that does not bug me so much. But this stuff was amazing. A simple breading of flour, salt, pepper, and my guess is paprika. Mike thought it might have been chili powder or a creole seasoning of some sorts. We will never know because that is one thing I did not ask about. The sauces that accompanied the calamari though were AMAZING!!! An orange horseradish sauce, sherry mayo, and cocktail sauce (made fresh). Who could go wrong! The horseradish was not overbearing at all! It had a nice sweet tang to it and really enhanced the flavor of the breading and the buttermilk soaked calamari. For once I can say, I enjoyed the calamari IMMENSELY!
Now comes the interesting part of the meal. The main course. I figured Mike would go after shrimp or even something on a half shell. NOPE! I was wrong! Instead he went after one thing that decides to eat us, the shark :) A Mako Shark to be exact. It is described as having a nice clean and non fishy taste to it. Too bad for me, it has such a high mercury count that I would dare not even try it. I did venture to try the red pepper aioli and buttermilk mashed potatoes though. And wow! Did those blow me out of the water! The aioli was very bright and not heavy! I loved it! At first, I must admit it, I thought it was a roasted red pepper cream sauce, but I didn't think that would make sense. Needless to say, Mike cleaned that plate to the last BITE! No shark better mess with him!As for me, I like the simpler things. I went for the classic fish and chips. The cod was being reserved for a dinner dish, so I settled for the haddock. Both are gorgeous white fish that are low in mercury counts, so it made me all too happy to take a bite into the panko breading and taste the clean fish with a bit of malt vinegar and tartar sauce. The chips were gorgeous too. You can tell they had just been cut earlier that day. The coleslaw on the other hand left a lot to be desired to me. It was fairly bland, having no flavor other than cabbage and mayo. I like to have a little bit of a hit from vinegar followed by a sweet touch of sugar. I was not able to clean out my basket though and those fish pieces and chips will become meals later this week, like fish tacos and maybe a form of hash on the weekend. We shall see.Everything was so relaxing on a sweltering 100 degree day. The atmosphere (moose head included) made you feel like you had been taken away to a camp ground and were fishing for everything from the red fin tuna to salmon. The wait staff was attentive, but not overly attentive and really knew what they were talking about when it came to recommendations. That is what can make or break a eating out experience to me. For a business that has been around since 1821 (that is what I read, so do not quote me 100%) it still impresses me to this day.

After such a wonderful meal, it makes me feel guilty that I have a horrible craving for a Big Mac. Oh well, back to the craving board :) or should I just got to the store and buy that cantaloupe that was taunting me. hrmmm...