Stop Blogging and Cook

Imitation is the most sincere of flattery. ~Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832)

HELP!
I need an assist.  Running dry on food topics, fearing my audience will tire of the drone about legislation and big bad food behavior.  Today I’m surfing the web in search of ideas, things I’ve known but never seen fit to remember to mention, and things that have not occurred to me.  Here are my discoveries:

Mark Bittman‘s Kerri Conan talks about making stock from garlic scapes.  I talked about scapes earlier this month but making stock of the hearty tops of garlic plants makes so much sense.  Freeze and use as a soup base, as she says, or to cook  potatoes to mash.  Makes perfect sense.  Wish I’d thought of it.

Real Food Rehab makes the case for an appetizer – or dinner – of buttered bread with sliced radish.  I’ve long admired radishes in green marketplaces, and have occasionally bought them on sheer eye appeal.  Hating to see good food go to waste, a bunch of radishes is a quantity not given to cooking for one, and I like the idea of eating radishes more than actually eating them.  I put them in salads, but have yet come up dry on what else to do with them.  Except put on a bagel with cream cheese, which is a crunchy delight I must say.

Dana talks about the French breakfast radish as being more delicate (the spicy-averse may prefer that flavor), but she goes further in recommending a butter made from grass-fed cows as an element that will put this taste sensation over the top.  I know such butters to be hideously expensive, but it sounds as if buying a bit just to savor this combination would be well worth it.  She writes:

There are also local creameries making small-batch butter with sweet cream from cows grazing on pasture! Once you taste pasture butter you will never go back. And ahem, this butter is loaded with good fat!  Did you know that milk from pastured cows also contains an ideal ratio of essential fatty acids or EFAs including Omega 3s and 6s? Read it and weep, people! It’s healthy for you! Consider yourself unshackled.

I did not know that, and only too happy to discover it.  She makes a luscious sounding case for and starting with a loaf of artisinal bread, slicing the radishes thinly, and adding a sprinkling of sea salt.  My shopping list for the next green market is made.

In another post, Dana talks about the wonders of greens from the local green market, and I couldn’t agree more.  She extols the advantage of using the best ingredients you can find/afford to enhance the salad-eating experience, and likes to add lemon zest to her salads.  Good ideas, all.

AUSTRALIAN TEEN COOKS UP DINNER
Proof that most anyone at any age can learn to cook given the desire to dig in and practice, repeat and keep at it.  Wondering what to do with that pork chop to keep it from humdrumming your dinner?  Try Daniel’s Pork Chops with Pasta.  You could even substitute leftover meat or chicken; just add the cooked leftovers at the end.  See?  There’s no end to the variations you can bring to your dinner table.

MORE ON A BREAD NOTE
Gluten-Free Goddess makes a gluten-free baguette, but that’s not why I’ve mentioned this post.  Scroll down and you’ll find a preparation for Greek Olive Tapenade.  Yet another reason to head to the bakery for a loaf of memorable bread that provides actual whole grain goodness.  Also good as an appetizer or for lunch.  And that’s quicker and better than any fast food any day of the week.

Tags: appetizer, breakfast, good for you food, lunch, party, raw food, snack, tapenade, thoughtfulness, vegan, vegetarian, whole food