LNKitchen

mad cheap: hot and sour soup

2009-11-03T18:03:00.002-06:00

as the weather turns towards autumnal chill, one thing to remember about lincoln is that there is an upside to so many strip malls: so much chinese takeout.

you don't need to live near the restaurant-laden n. 27th corridor to get a bowl of hot and sour soup (or egg drop soup) for a dollar if you're lucky-- and two dollars if you're not. a bargain anywhere on that spectrum. ready on the spot, too; no need to call ahead. this bowl is from ming's. i can recommend theirs for sure.

not for vegetetarians, and i don't know i'd trust a place that said otherwise.

more last minute halloween treats

2009-10-31T14:15:00.003-05:00

cupcakes from le quartier. aren't they beautiful? tasty, too. use that coupon i wrote about the other day-- expires 10/31!

last minute halloween cookies?

2009-10-31T13:02:00.004-05:00

even though conroy's bakery is in college view-- and on the prescott street strip of businesses near union college-- they are open on saturdays, not being seventh-day adventist themselves. (i'm going with irish catholic because of the name, and the posters in the windows for friday night fish fry events, and being closed on sundays.) they're right across the street from the mill, which is, of course, also open on saturdays, and every other day of the week. coffee takes no holiday.

you need to visit this bakery just to experience how fabulous it smells in there, but it's also the place to go for a variety of decorated cookies on any holiday.

le quartier coupons, half-loaves

2009-10-26T18:00:00.004-05:00

found a coupon for le quartier on p. 2a of the ljs today. not sure how often they run them. look for them in the paper version of the paper if you have paper access.

a recent picture of their black walnut sourdough is above-- look how purplish and gray the meat of the bread is, because of the nuts. so delicious. almost beats the blue cheese bread, but not quite.

the $2 half-loaves are up for sale on the glass counter at meridian park, and on the east wall (by the croutons on the wire rack) at the pine lake location. keep an eye out for that to change with extra holiday business; who knows what that will bring.

open harvest member meeting tonight-- 5pm-- potluck-- great location-- triggertown!

2009-10-25T15:11:00.004-05:00

how's this for some late notice for you? open harvest co-op grocery is having its 34th annual membership meeting today (sunday, october 25th) from 5 to 7:30 pm at auld recreation center. that's in antelope park, and the actual address is 3140 sumner but just go to 32nd & a and you'll see it. it's that mysterious looking building you can see from the bandshell or the fabulous rock island trail. i haven't been in it since i was a kid, for a science fair.

one of my favorite local bands, triggertown, is playing at, supposedly (you know how events go), 5pm and again at 6:45. there's food to share. if you're a member and learning of this from this post, looks like you're bringing "fruit or a beverage" to share.

From 6:45 to 7:15 there's a q&a with the board of directors. there's an interesting debate going on about those new "impulse purchase" shelves by the registers. it's my understanding the co-op bylaws have clearer guidelines about the purchase/selling of food items, but not so much about non-food items. there's going to be a petition asking some changes along those lines.

i can see the point of those who want clearer structure-- believe me, in a co-op, if there's not already a procedure and a set of guidelines, there will be someday so you might as well go ahead and do it--

but in my little magpie grocery shopping brain, my first reactions to the new impulse racks were: well, that's certainly an unattractive display. then i thought, i bet those aa duracell batteries are twice as much as they are across the street at walgreens. (by the way, they're 4.99 for a four-pack at open harvest. outrageous!) then i thought, some people are going to be mad those aren't the rechargeable kind. (I didn't even notice the notebooks made of non-recycled paper, or the ashtrays.)

i think they should put the magazines up there. i would love to browse the magazines while in i'm in line there.

anyway... should be an entertaining meeting. if you're a member, go! i hear they had horrible turnout last board of directors election. you've got equity in this business.

there are all kinds of holidays in grocery shopping

2009-10-23T19:31:00.005-05:00

on november first, grocery stores discount all the halloween candy and paraphernalia until they sell out (which doesn't take long). same happens the day after christmas, valentine's day, easter, and... husker football games. it's a different sort of candy after husker games, of course. it's candy for the heart and arteries!

earlier this week at the 70th & pioneer hy-vee, i bought the 3# potato salad for a dollar, the 5-layer dip for a dollar-- and that was also buy one, get one free. and then the bacon-wrapped, stuffed chicken breasts for a dollar apiece. so all the food in the top picture cost four dollars total.

if you and your household don't like potato salad, this would be a silly buy, even at a dollar. i passed up the pasta salad at the same price for that reason. and i was happy with the dip (with a little heat added), because there is this other sport called baseball that you really should check out sometime, nebraska.

oh, and the husker tissues are are $2 at the same hy-vee. i hope i don't need them tomorrow. no more post- traumatic- sports- depression for me, thanks.

leftover review, new restaurant: toast

2009-10-21T22:51:00.005-05:00

I'd never heard of the fallbrook neighborhood, so if you're like me, you're going to have to mapquest directions to 570 fallbrook blvd to find toast, a new place that calls itself a cafe, serves deli food, and looks like an expensive restaurant inside-- except for the two giant flat-screen tvs in the (full) bar area. it would be a good venue to watch a game. between that and complete coffee service, using beans from the mill, this should become quite the neighborhood hangout.

what you see here is half of a deilicious sandwich. what you don't see here is a club sandwich, as it's called on the menu-- they usually look more like this. this sandwich, however, was very tasty, and i'd go buy it again. it comes with salami, roast beef, smoked ham and turkey, and cheddar and mayo. i added (at no cost) lettuce and tomato. the meats were all excellent quality and the flavors blended wonderfully.

i've included a picture of the food side of the menu. it's limited but a great starting point.

today only, half-off everything at south street dairy queen-- closing for season

2009-10-18T14:13:00.005-05:00

the tiny dairy queen on south street near capital parkway is closing for the season today. everything is half-price! they're open until 10pm. go enjoy an unusually warm day-- compared to the weather we've been having-- with some half-priced sweets.

this location doesn't serve hot food (except for hot fudge) so don't go in expecting a cheap hamburger like i did. oh well!

there's a bunch of signs saying there's going to be some lane closures, but not street closures, in the area from 2-5pm for a road race. i'm not sure what that's about and a cursory (literally and figuratively) search of the journal star website came up with nothing, but i'm not used to their new setup, so maybe it's just me.

free pizza (or beer) on your birthday month for signing up for an email list

2009-09-23T17:02:00.004-05:00

so right where antelope creek runs near 48th & normal, on the west side of 48th, there's an establishment that is both a barbecue place called buster's, and a pizza place called ramos, and then a sports bar on top of that. i confess i have been here in the past, when i lived within walking distance, and they had some sporting events on their televisions that i didn't have on mine. anyway, it had been a while.

but i signed up for their email list here once, and so just got an email for either a free personal size pizza or a free draft pint. considering the value, i went for the pizza. i mean, do the math here.

deep dish, not at all spicy-- and i do prefer spicy-- but tasty nonetheless. pretty doughy and good for the chicago style.

they have maybe a dozen televisions for sporting events, two pinball machines (spiderman and addams family), and i've heard rumors of karaoke-- though not witnessed it myself. and according to the menu, they deliver until 2am! holy cats.

the thrift store in lincoln where your dog can accompany you. and wayne thiebaud.

2009-09-23T14:59:00.006-05:00

i might not have noticed cause for paws if it weren't right next to my vet, namc, whom i also recommend--but that's talk for a dog blog i don't have (yet). cause for paws thrift is within that south 56th/old cheney/ highway two snakepit of busy streets, all with a morass of lanes-- an area where, once again, one appreciates the general gridlike nature of most of the urban planning in lincoln. the quickest hint i can give is: same building as juice stop, other side. so it might take you a minute to find it the first time. or two. but it's worth it.

website here, with hours that have changed recently--but now include sundays, on the limited side. and yes, you can take your well-behaved dog into the store with you-- even off-leash. and the money earned (check their website for current information, and hours of operation) goes to pet-related causes.

they're doing that summer/winter switch of clothes and housewares, and most things are half-price if not less. i bought some good work clothes that were quality and inexpensive. the shoe selection stands out, and i generally avoid second-hand shoes.

of course i looked for a kitchen item so i could write about this store here, and found something that i had already wanted: a sheldon cookbook, which made me quite happy. (of course you should buy a copy at the sheldon gift shop given the opportunity yourself; the sheldon needs your money too! i invite any of my friends in other cities to show me a better free museum. and the kaneko exhibit right now is fantastic, so at least go see that.)

somehow haven't bought it before, but like i said, always wanted it. the picture on the cover-- from the sheldon's permanent collection-- is of course by wayne thiebaud, who was one of my first favorite modern artists as a child. of course he was! look at it! he painted cake! and bubblegum! with those thick, frosting-like strokes! he was my introduction into appreciating pop art the way the beatles were my introduction into appreciating pop music. they catch your eye, they catch your ear, and it goes from there.

the cookbook was a dollar at the thrift store. go buy some some stuff there, or drop stuff off! and you can take the dog along.

i hope there's something in there i want to make...

good news for local vegetarians: college back in session

2009-09-16T18:59:00.005-05:00

yes, school back in session changes the dining options on the weekends downtown. it also changes take-out options in the college view neighborhood, with the hours at the union college dining hall going back to regular (longer) hours.

their dining hall site is here. the college is seventh-day adventist, which means traditionally vegetarian. and anyone from the public can go get a tray of food either to eat there or take with them. one aspect of the religion that makes this dining option more convenient for vegetarians in town is that the religion's day of rest is saturday-- meaning, pretty decent hours on sunday around mealtimes.

the salad bar, represented up top, is fantastic (yes, that's edamame) and 3.99/#. they cut the broccoli and cauliflower into bite-size, which is a basic standad for any salad bar. i put the dressing on at home, you know, even though they have nice choices. so the salad was just over three bucks.

the middle pic is some bread from their bakery which turned out to be quite delicious and not too carrot-heavy in taste at all, and obviously cheap. they have a large baked goods selection. you can tell some has been frozen and re-thawed, which bothers me; but i also understand the reasoning. i would just like to be able to decode their sale-date a little better. they have many many sweets for those wh0 seek those out-- i hear good things about the cinnamon rolls.

the last picture is some food from their hot bar, which still confuses me-- as i apparently always pick out sides (in this case: brown rice, asparagus, cheesy steamed cauliflower, some semi-spicy garbanzos and a spoonful of something that looked tasty), and i seem to avoid the meat-like but meatless entrees; and this causes confusion at the register. i'll get it worked out. that plate was just over $5. right now i'm wondering why i didn't just just load up with steamed asparagus.

they also have a sandwich-to-order bar, a pizza-to-order bar, and a coffee bar. not sure about the selections there. also a huge fruit bar that i wished i had grabbed a plate from, just to show here. to-go containers cost 25c but they'll let you re-use your own.

so, don't be frightened-- they're friendly and no one's tried to convert me. and it's seriously the healthiest option in college view, when they're open-- check that website.

until saturday 9/19 at target: buy 5 kashi products, get $5 target gift card

2009-09-15T19:34:00.003-05:00

most of the kashi products at target are on sale for 2.88 as well-- again, just through saturday. (if you aren't familiar with kashi as a product line, you might be interested to know about their whole-grain approach to convenience foods.) also, look for some coupons on some product boxes themselves... and at their website... and from their facebook fan page. i got $2 more off the purchase using those today.

the 2.88 price provides the biggest savings on the frozen foods. which, as frozen dinners go, are probably some of the tastiest available.

the sale price applies to (again, most but not all) cookies, crackers, cereals, energy bars, and other products. and if you buy five items from the brand, the target cashier hands you that nice little "thank you" gift card you see there. you don't have to take your receipt to customer service, you don't have to take the card there to get it activated, and you don't have to wait for a $5 rebate check in the mail 6-8 weeks from whenever you get around to maybe applying for it.

so once, again, target amazes me with taking a racket (like rebates) and making it cusotmer-service oriented. and then, also, the design of the gift card itself-- tell me no one's going to re-gift that as an actual thank-you present. brilliant.

this should be at all targets nationwide, i believe. if you're in lincoln, the one on south 40th has the biggest food section.

answer to kfc's double down: lnk's trouble town, pierogi pwn?

2009-09-14T21:44:00.008-05:00

i wrote about the fabulously tasty, and nutritionally fantastic, double down sandwich from kfc on another food blog i have (a blog that i haven't used in a while. taking pictures of food that wouldn't work together was fun, but the options were frighteningly limitless and potentially dangerous).

whichever way, the double down is a sandwich from kfc that uses fried chicken as bread. so i used leftovers to make a couple of these little sandwiches that i called trouble towns in homage to the original unimaginable sandwich:

bread-parts: waffle fries
protein-ish: cheese & potato pierogis
dressing: what the watering hole serves with pierogis. blue-cheesy. not bad.
extra layer: some caramelized onions.
side: sauteed mushroom caps.

thanks to t for bringing me back to the watering h0le for the first time this century, and thanks to j for the waffle fries!

the eagle is abierto: d'leon's at 27th & randolph open

2009-09-12T15:19:00.007-05:00

finally open. i'm not sure why d'leon's remodel of the old drive-thru seemed to take so long. perhaps because i drive past so frequently? they just come into the neighborhood, paint the building bright yellow and throw up "opening soon" signs; and then, nothing for weeks. i was going to stage a sit-in.

just south of randolph on south 27th (on the northbound side of 27th street), the locally-owned, seemingly-unstoppable d'leons has finally opened this location. open 24 hours a day. drive-thru 24 hours, walk-in 6am to midnight (if i remember, 5 tables).

yes, this is within seeing/hearing/smelling distance from the amigo's at 27th & capital parkway. the two locations are so close, they are within wrapper-wafting distance of each other (not that anyone in lincoln, nebraska would ever litter). amigo's-- another locally-owned, seemingly-unstoppable mexican fast food chain. odd choice of location for d'leon's? perhaps not, considering how little one wants to deal with a u-turn on 27th st.

given the opportunity to seize upon an impulse burrito at this intersection, you will not be provided with much of a dilemma, if you practically consider each establishment. amigo's is cheaper, your choices are more limited (this can make it much faster depending on who's in your car), and the palate presented is one step more complex than taco bell. d'leons is what people like to call "authentic"-- can we get a better word for that, please?-- slightly more expensive but quite resonable for the quality. and while more inconsistent-- still ten times better. your wallet and taste buds, and which direction you're heading on 27th, will work it out for you.

for me, it's also a question of, "do i want my nostalgic fast food from high school, or do i want a burrito?" pictured: their lincoln breakfast burrito (breakfast served all day). potatoes, bacon, sour cream, and cheese. 3.99.

take-out review: caffe italia

2009-08-04T19:45:00.004-05:00

tossed arugula with reggiano and walnuts, dress-it-yourself with their oil and vinegar. five bucks. all excellent ingredients, the combination of which i am completely fine buying already thrown together, new york times.

i'm told they know on wednesday afternoon what the friday night dinner menu will be. going to find out tomorrow. have you been to the friday night dinner at caffe italia?

mad cheap: tired produce at open harvest

2009-07-26T15:36:00.005-05:00

i'd heard that open harvest was putting out bags of "tired" (read: "one day left to use") produce at a discounted price. i never thought i'd get a bag of sweet and hot peppers for $1.27. the cashier seemed pretty surprised, too; so i think i was in the right bargain bin at the right time. other bags yesterday had squash, eggplants, bananas, pears, and apples.

open harvest is in the process of expanding its physical space as well. stop in and check it out. the bulk section (one of my favorite parts of the store) has been moved to the west side of the interior. i think that's temporary.

you can sign up to receive the membership newsletter through e-mail here.

mad cheap: pickled herring at sun mart

2009-07-26T14:57:00.003-05:00

for those of you that love pickled herring, or love someone that does, 99c at the sun mart at 48th & van dorn today.

pickled herring is one of the quintessential love-or-hate foods. if you don't know where you stand, you might want to spend a dollar to try it out. adventure-cize your palate!

mad cheap: portobello 3.88/lb at super saver

2009-06-29T18:16:00.003-05:00

great for grilling, my favorite non-meat burger substitute. at 3.88 a pound, these two cost less than a dollar. receipt more for scale than proof.

strawberries should not be the size of a child's fist, unless you hate the flavor of strawberries

2009-06-23T21:25:00.003-05:00

i bought these weekend before last at the old cheney road farmers' market. it was so nice to taste strawberries again.

strawberries that taste like strawberries, that is.

mad cheap: ten cent kiwi fruit and more

2009-06-23T18:32:00.004-05:00

today, and while supplies last, at ideal grocery.

gold kiwi for ten cents apiece. they're ripe; and taste like green-fleshed kiwi, and they're actually still fairly green in hue. and ten cents each. i asked the produce guy about them being so cheap. they got a deal and want to move it out the door. make that work for you!

in the close-out close-dated basket, some sopapilla mix for fifty cents. i like sopapilla but can also imagine using this mix for something else. if i don't use it soon, i'll throw it in the freezer for the future.

last day: yellow bell peppers for 77 cents, hy-vee

2009-06-21T17:19:00.003-05:00

i bought one and now i'm thinking i should go back for more... 77 cents is a great price for yellow bell peppers.

i went to the 50th & o st. location. they also had organic yellow baby carrots for 1.50 for a 16 oz. package, and manzano for 99 cents a pound... the little guy in the picture was sitting by himself on the display, i didn't peel him off a bunch, i swear... he was twenty cents.

a dollar's worth of lychee

2009-06-21T13:41:00.003-05:00

$3.48# at russ' right now. what would you do with a dollar's worth of lychee fruit?

and this is what a pulled pork and pea shoot salad looks like

2009-06-08T19:58:00.008-05:00

my favorite two-ingredient salad ever. the smoky, spicy sweetness of pulled pork teams up perfectly with the bite and crunch of pea shoots. any more ingredients would just confuse the palate.

so let's say you're lucky enough to go to a summer event and you get sent home with some pulled pork. if you bought pea shoots at the farmers' market that same summer weekend, you're set for the best monday lunch of anyone in your building.

toss the two ingredients together with a non-metal implement to avoid bruising the pea shoots. you're better off combining right before eating.

this is what a quarter of a pound of pea shoots looks like

2009-06-07T17:12:00.003-05:00

so don't let the $10/# price tag scare you.

(not a serving suggestion! please rinse and dress first.)

the yellow cherries are back, super saver

2009-06-07T15:43:00.003-05:00

three dollars for a pint, which seems more than reasonable at this point of the season. and a practical thing to pick up on the way to the party or barbecue or lunch or reception (when you're not supposed to bring anything, but you want to bring something).

another farmers' market: thursday afternoons, 4:30 to 7:30.

2009-06-02T20:01:00.004-05:00

the first day for this farmers' market is this coming thursday afternoon, june 4th. it's at pentzer park, 2 blocks north of 27th & holdrege. 4:30 to 7:30.

since this market hasn't started yet, here's pictures of stuff i bought at the community crops stand at the old cheney market a couple weekends ago. some red-spined spinach, similarly-stemmed baby chard, and chives.

the other six dollars at the farmers' market

2009-05-31T20:01:00.003-05:00

1/4# of arugula, two dollars.

an already-bagged, very clean bunch of dinosaur kale, two dollars. (a great price on this, my favorite green. you see one of twenty leaves in this picture. would have been the highlight of the day, except for the next item on the list.)

which is:

purple and orange cauliflower! sold by weight measure, around two dollars total for both heads.

six dollars at the farmers' market

2009-05-31T19:36:00.003-05:00

one pint of snap peas, three dollars. one bunch of purple green onions, one dollar. one bunch of baby bok choi, one dollar. three "salad" tomatoes, one dollar.

sixty-three cents-worth of kumquats from super saver

2009-05-31T19:19:00.002-05:00

what would you do with them? throw them on a cheese plate? make a cocktail garnish? incorporate into a dessert? go hog wild with some crazy entree, like a kumquat-pistachio pork chop?

2.89# at super saver now.

my favorite cupcake so far

2009-05-23T18:47:00.004-05:00

from the cup, of course. a carrot cake cupcake. the cake was very light, and the cream cheese frosting complemented the texture perfectly.

99c while supplies last. green beans, salt pork.

2009-05-16T14:32:00.003-05:00

at the 70th & pioneer hy-vee today, they had these close-dated specials: 12oz bags of washed, trimmed green beans for 99c, down from 3.98 each; and 12oz pkgs of salt pork also for 99c, down from 2.49.

also at that location, corn king brand bacon for 69c a package. i didn't get any but some people were buying half a dozen packages. if i had a big freezer or a big family, i'd go in and stock up.

one thing i have to say for the hy-vee at 70th & pioneer: it plays the best in-store "hy-vee radio" of any location in town. in one trip, i heard devo and gary numan. obviously it's just their 80s channel, but i have heard much much worse music while grocery shopping.

mulligatawny at open harvest every saturday

2009-05-16T14:09:00.004-05:00

i'm a huge fan of mulligatawny soup. my favorite in town comes from the oven. i do enjoy open harvest's version, though, and it's nice to know it's the regular saturday soup at their deli.

i hear that open harvest deli is now offering some sushi to order. i haven't tried it yet.

boxes of mother's day candy on sale, a day early

2009-05-09T13:11:00.002-05:00

it's the day before mother's day-- and heartland pantry already has all the boxes of mother's day candy on sale for half-price.

rock island trail? $5 lunch from leon's

2009-05-04T21:15:00.005-05:00

the rock island trail follows an old rail line through lincoln. just south of memorial park on the trail is leon's. here was my idea for lunch-- for two actually, on one recent day, for five bucks:

first, leon's always has bags of salad mix marked down to 99c because of close-date. yet the mix inside always looks great. they're storing these absolutely correctly, apparently.
then, fried chicken tenders from the deli. i cut these up into chunks to toss into the mixed salad. in the caesar-ish salad mix, this works pretty well.
and last and not least, some fruit and a brownie to share.

leon's is open sundays. and open until nine, which is after sundown even now.

buttermilk 59c/qt at ideal this week

2009-05-03T20:14:00.004-05:00

that sale price of 59c for a quart of buttermilk at ideal lasts through friday. if you're not near ideal, but using buttermilk as a marinade (like i wrote about here) still interests you, check the price at the grocery store you frequent. it's probably low there, too. prices in the dairy section of the supermarket are noticeably lower of late. so if you like dairy products, stock up! you could get enough milk for a year for... oh wait, that won't work.

that's some more chicken (skin-on, obviously) marinated in buttermilk, then browned, then baked. very tender and moist.

mask fit. or: if the mask fits, share it

2009-05-02T17:00:00.005-05:00

mask fit opened monday of this past week. 1311 o st. kurdish and mexican food. i'm not sure why the kurdish and the mexican together, but the eventual review in the journal star should clear that up.

they have tacos, burritos and quesadillas; and tamales which are excellent-- a picture of the pork tamale here--and i was wrong about the price there, because tamales are $2 even.

on the kurdish side of the menu, you've got gyro plates headlining. i ate one and i liked it, the meat was excellent... but there are already two places within half a block where you can get a gyro plate. anyway. rounding this out are beef rolls, which i'll try next time; and beef kuba, which i've also seen spelled kibbeh. that's a small fried dumpling filled with minced meat, rice and herbs. i am a fan of savory pastry snacks, and i'll be buying the kuba again. that's it up top.

mask fit also sells cookies, which are labeled "kurdish cookies" and cost $2 for the container you see above-- though i ate a couple before i took the picture. these would be great to take to some sort of office potluck situation if you work downtown. they're light but moist and lemony, with coconut in a supporting role, which is where coconut really shines. i'll buy these again too.

i hope mask fit makes a go of it in this spot which, as mentioned on the ljs blog, seems pretty much cursed. the $2 tamales could really be a hit on that block, which is 90% bar. i also hope they expand the kurdish food offerings. i have a feeling that's in the works.

seventy-five cent cupcakes right now

2009-05-02T09:07:00.004-05:00

lincoln high is having a fundraiser parking lot sale today. that cupcake you see was seventy-five cents and very tasty.

someone out there should be happy to find old theater and auditorium seats? they have donated resale items as well as student artwork and jewelry. also plants. today only, until 3pm.

first friday party dresses, made of food

2009-05-01T19:43:00.003-05:00

i always check out first friday. and by always, i mean: almost always.

here are some sketches of tonight's possible outfits.

credits: pork tamale ballgown from mask fit, 2.50. sashimi dress from wasabi, price on request.

sundays: it's back! old cheney farmers market

2009-04-26T20:23:00.003-05:00

it started today, on this beautifully chilly april morning. there were no morels. it was too soon. there's always next sunday. read more about the market here.

any picture of the tasty treat above signifies this market for me: a beaver tail, from kathy davis' bakery in beaver crossing. always delicious. always easy to eat with one hand. much longer than you can see in the picture. two dollars.

i went to a bacon party

2009-04-26T16:22:00.003-05:00

i went to a bacon party, and i want to make up funny lyrics to the ricky nelson song "garden party" as a result, but that song is too sad.

after seeing the bacon available, i decided to bring the opposite of bacon: a palate-cleansing cucumber and green onion salad, tossed in a keye lime vinaigrette with chili pepper flakes. i only brought this as an antipodal complement to the main fare at hand. i tried four bacon varieties myself, and would have tried more. bacon is a dangerous thing. a dangerous and wonderful thing.

i think the next time i make this salad, i'll put bacon in it. cucumbers are 3/$1 this week at ideal so that might happen soon.

look at the desserts on and around the link above. so good! cake balls!

have the number for possible takeout in your phone

2009-04-26T15:32:00.004-05:00

if your springtime weekend excursions involve trips to the edges of civilization to buy yard & garden supplies, or beyond that into the relative wild...

you will be driving back home past places that have take-out that you like. places that usually seem out of the way. figure this into your plans. prepare yourself by having the numbers/contacts available, without any unusual searching, for anyplace you've frequented twice in the last year. adjust frequency for location.

whenever i'm heading back into lincoln from the south, north by way of 48th, i call ahead an order of the asparagus rolls from o yummy. coming back into town from the north, south on 27th, an order of spring rolls from vung tau (above) is always a good idea. open on sundays.

psychedelic pork-fried rice

2009-04-22T20:37:00.004-05:00

the first time i bought the barbecued-pork fried rice from the hy-vee at 50th & o st, it was because i thought the food would take a nice picture. it caught my eye. why buy fried rice? how hard is that?

about a week later, the second time i bought the same item, it was because the first round was delicious. and i was at that same store buying other stuff. and i looked for it again.

hy-vee apparently built it into their business model to offer american-style chinese take-out at all locations. with the kitchen for this separate from the hot deli kitchen. brilliant.

of course i support my neighborhood restaurants, but i see this 3.49 purchase on a receipt again.

my advice about green beans

2009-04-14T19:43:00.003-05:00

green beans have been on sale lately... my advice: as soon as you get them home from the store, prepare green beans for cooking later by snapping off the ends and rinsing. it's nice to get that out of the way, because it always takes longer than you think it will when you've got other fish to fry... so to speak. if you're making them that night, they'll be fine waiting for you in the fridge.

the days of pawing through a big box of beans and selecting what you want in your plastic bag are pretty much gone. most of the supermarkets in town set up big plastic bags well over a pound each-- that's a lot of snapping!

i filled a casserole dish with green beans and added one can stewed tomatoes and tossed some grated cheese in. then put a couple of bacon-wrapped chicken breasts (they were a dollar again!) on top and baked at 400 for about half an hour. the green beans don't get mushy and overcooked with this method.

orangina haikus for national poetry month, april

2009-04-11T19:03:00.004-05:00

o, orangina.
more refreshing than water.
2% pulpness.

orangina dance!
shake it, shake it and shake it.
best served super cool.

so glad i had an excuse to buy these

2009-04-11T17:40:00.004-05:00

the cup has wonderful pastries and desserts. these cupcakes should be quite the hit. i did "have" to taste the raspberry frosting, and it tasted like fresh berries.

on the other end of the counter, you should know about their new day-old, half-price basket of wrapped pastries. that's the croissant i took home for breakfast.

the cup also has sandwiches, salads and soups; and their coffee beans are from cultiva. and of course they have more tea than you can shake a spoon at.

marinating chicken in buttermilk: bowl or bag?

2009-03-14T18:14:00.004-05:00

the answer: both!

most importantly: buttermilk on sale at ideal for 69c/qt through friday, 3/20. if you eat chicken, and you haven't tried marinating it in buttermilk, you should try a cheap cooking experiment.

there's even a recipe on epicurious with only two ingredients. the pieces you see here were dredged in bread crumbs and browned in the grill pan before going into the oven to bake, in the same grill pan.

st. mary's fish fry: limited lenten engagement

2009-03-14T15:01:00.004-05:00

when: fridays, from 5pm to 7pm, through the end of lent. (easter is april 12 this year.)
where: the basement of st. mary's church, on k street across from the capitol building.
what: the best fried fish anywhere.

i was thrilled to remember this from years past. every friday during lent, st. mary's has a fish fry... and i'm serious that it's the best fried fish i've ever had.

it's seven dollars for dinner. you choose one of the following: baked cod, tuna noodle casserole, macaroni and cheese, or two big tasty pieces of deep-fried pollock! then you choose tater tots or baked potato. they offer you cole slaw and bread and pickles. you'll see all the condiments you would expect. there's a dessert table with individually priced items on the other side of the room.

they offer cafeteria-style service and seating. if you eat there, you might look into the all-you-can eat option. if i remember right, it's eleven dollars and sounds dangerous.

have you ever wanted soup from bread & cup on a sunday?

2009-03-01T15:16:00.004-06:00

bread & cup has the most wonderful soups. and a great menu in general, and a very pleasant atmosphere for an affordable sit-down restaurant. and they're not open on sundays. which i completely understand, and yet totally resent in the best possible way.

good news! you can buy containers of soup from bread & cup-- at the mill in the haymarket, which is open on sundays. i assume it's day-old soup... if you have a problem with day-old soup, well, i don't know what to tell you.

a 12 oz container is 4.50. that's soup for one, or if you add a sandwich at home (grilled cheese!), soup for two. i wouldn't assume that they won't run out.

the fat of the matter: good buys now at ideal

2009-02-28T16:10:00.004-06:00

i have wanted to buy the duck fat at ideal so many times, but always resisted. i'm pretty sure that the reason the french fries from dish are the best in the world (i'm not kidding) is because they fry them in duck fat. how have i not written about those fries yet? you'll see something here soon...

so i knew i liked the flavor from duck fat but wasn't sure what i'd do with it, and never quite felt like spending four bucks to find out. today it was 2.49 and i caved. (the sale cooler for close-dated cold stuff is up by the deli counter. check it out!)

also on sale today: clarified butter, or ghee. high-heat cooking with butter flavor, here we come! the cardboard wrapper was banged up but the plastic container was fine.

not even sure what i'm using these exciting ingredients in yet, but i've got plenty of ideas. wanted to pass along the sale news, though. there were several containers of each product at sale price this sunny saturday afternoon.

changes at cetak's

2009-02-28T10:28:00.003-06:00

cetak's (the best meat counter in town) has added more self-serve coolers and is stocking a variety of frozen fish. i haven't tried it yet, but the pieces looked great for frozen fish...

it also appears they're focusing their cheese selection towards a couple artisan domestic suppliers, which sounds wise. this meant their remaining imports were sale-priced to move, which sounded great! i got this hunk of spanish manchego for three dollars. that's a steal.

check out the sticker at the bottom. hard to tell from the photo, but it has an iridescence that leads me to believe someone wanted these stickers to be difficult to copycat. is queso manchego the new champagne?

orange you glad i made cauliflower

2009-02-25T06:28:00.004-06:00

the hy-vee at 70th & pioneer has been stocking orange and green cauliflower for 1.88 a head. that's not a bad price for cauliflower anyway, and the orange variety is just fun. the green doesn't interest me as much; i guess it's not that unusual to find a green vegetable.

according to this article, the orange variety has more beta carotene than the white.

new at the ideal deli counter

2009-02-22T13:07:00.004-06:00

if you're near ideal grocery around lunchtime, it's hard to beat the 3.49 deli sandwich. (it's that price all day.) new to the list of options: sliced sweet red pepper.

this is a roast beef and swiss on dark rye with lettuce, tomato, pepper, horseradish, and vinegar & oil.

also new at ideal: expanded delivery hours. check the website for more detail on that.

chocolate-covered strawberries from the cup

2009-02-18T17:25:00.003-06:00

i'm not sure if the cup had chocolate-covered strawberries for sale because of the recent holiday (presidents' day, of course) or if they'll off them regularly. these were very good, with more flavor and better texture to the fruit than you usually find. 1.50 ea.

takeout review: squid salad from wasabi

2009-02-17T20:25:00.003-06:00

in one word: yes

did you know "penzeys" translates to "approximately twenty"?

2009-01-28T20:26:00.008-06:00

not in another language, but in dollars.

i went to penzeys spices in omaha a while back. it's definitely a place to visit if you're even curious about cooking, or if you like shopping for ingredients. you can get a good idea of what they offer here at their website.

every item they have for sale is available in a wide range of sizes (read: prices). also, every item for sale has a sample out in an openable jar, so you can assess the freshness and quality a little more readily.

i don't usually like "boutique" food stores, but their presentation-- at least at their omaha location-- transcends the seeming, screaming distance from actual consumption that you often find in specialty food shoplets.

anyway, i bought everything in the two pictures for twenty bucks. approximately. i've been happy with my experiments and results, some of which should appear here soon.

new panaderia at 11th & g

2009-01-25T14:53:00.003-06:00

i'd heard about the new panaderia (mexican bakery) at 11th & g and wondered if they were open sundays-- and the answer is yes, open from 10-6. these cream cheese and jalapeno stuffed rolls are only a dollar each! and the grocery store on the block does sell the sunday times.

these rolls are the only thing i've tried from the place, but they have a wide selection of traditional panaderia sweets... at traditional budget prices.

fajita mix from the hy-vee butcher

2009-01-24T12:51:00.003-06:00

you can buy this at the meat counter at any time, but check in the packaged meat section for yesterday's fajita mix for 1.99#. i added the jalapenos and nothing else to what you see here. this tasted so good that i'll probably pay full price for it someday.

waffles, apples and sausage

2009-01-24T12:04:00.002-06:00

i cut up some apples, tossed them with agave nectar, and threw them in the pan with the breakfast links.

if you use beef broth to make the rice...

2009-01-23T20:07:00.004-06:00

it makes your house smell like the best popcorn ever.

i used half/half water/broth. and it smelled so good, i can't wait to do it again.

i like this kitchen basics brand you see in the picture. they have a few flavors (one vegetarian) that all taste more like broth than salt. ideal had this brand for 2/$5 earlier this month. i bought one or two since aseptically-packaged broth lasts a long time, almost as long as canned broth. of course you should check the expiration date on items you buy to make sure.

in my experience, when buying storebought broth, aseptic packaging is the way to go. you can keep any leftover broth in the fridge for a week without transferring to another container, which is something you can't do with canned broth. and if you find yourself with a half-full container several days after first use-- well, you'll probably think of something to do with it right away; but if not, pour into a freezer-safe container and freeze away.

more "fun with leftovers from the oven"

2009-01-22T19:27:00.008-06:00

when i took the leftover lamb madras out of the fridge, the day after dinner at the oven, the color of the sauce said stroganoff to me. i know it's ridiculous to put leftovers from an indian restaurant together with pasta, but hy-vee has this great deal on some whole grain pasta which has at least one of the omegas...

i took a casserole dish and put a couple of cups of cooked pasta in it, poured a cup of chicken stock over that, and then put the leftover lamb madras on top of all of that, and covered. baked at 350 until it smelled done, about half an hour.

this turned out super tasty. it wasn't as spicy as the original plate, of course; unless you want to bite into one of those peppers you see there. good for packed lunch.

so you buy some fancy citrus, and it's crazy tangy

2008-12-04T19:15:00.004-06:00

when winter hits, it's hard to resist unusual citrus fruit at the store. visually appealing, and often so small-- meaning that even if it's a ridiculous price for a pound of them, one or two pieces won't set you back much.

if you do buy the fancy citrus, you will occaisionally get fruit that's more tart than you want to fill a bowl. my advice: peanut butter stuffed pretzels are the perfect companion to small citrus sections in that case. the saltiness of the pretzels complements your reaction to the citrus tang.

what it is about the smell of eggs and cheese in the oven?

2008-11-16T13:41:00.004-06:00

the chopped ham was on crazy discount at sun mart, but after i bought it, i wasn't sure what i would want to do with it. it was a toss-up between split pea soup or this potato casserole, and i chose the option that didn't require buying anything else.

i peeled and chopped two potatoes into coin shapes (and wanted a mandolin slicer for the first time in my life) and set them aside.

in a large mixing bowl, i stirred three eggs and a splash of milk, and then stirred in a handful of shredded cheddar and the rest of a jar of blue cheese (just the cheese, no oil), and the package of chopped ham. then i tossed the potatoes into the bowl to coat. then into a casserole dish, with a handful of shredded parmesan over the top. 425 degree oven until it looked and smelled so good i couldn't stand it, about 45 minutes.

this recipe has great potential for using up scraps from the fridge. with a tossed salad, it makes a nice brunch.

ali baba, you're my gyro

2008-11-09T20:16:00.002-06:00

i hadn't gone to ali baba's in forever, but i picked up a gyro plate yesterday... and then got caught in post-game traffic on the way home, and was tortured by how good this smelled all the way there.

orange and yellow shredded carrots

2008-11-09T20:00:00.002-06:00

organic to boot! these are showing up in some produce sections around town. i threw these in with the baked chicken and potatoes below, but they'd make an interesting variation on the old shredded carrot and raisin salad that you see around the holidays. might make it almost edible!

well, that was fun (and a dollar) while it lasted

2008-11-09T18:04:00.003-06:00

hy-vee had stocked these day-old stuffed chicken breasts for a dollar apiece, as i wrote about here and here, but now they're up to $2 ea. which is still pretty cheap, but it's no longer in guaranteed weekend rotation.

these are the "santa fe" style. here, i baked four in a casserole dish, along with some chunks of potatoes, shredded and carrots and chopped onions-- i covered those with salsa and cheddar cheese. 350 degrees for 45-60 min.

sshhh... halloween brownies will be served in a thanksgiving context

2008-11-03T20:33:00.003-06:00

there are sales on candy after halloween... and there are also sales on cookie dough. these were $1.50 a package, which was less than half-price.

expiration date: 12/14/2008. the packaging says halloween but the brownies themselves are regular brownies with caramel-swirled chocolate chips. so i bought a couple packages to have on hand in case there's a last-minute, thanksgiving-themed opportunity later this month. the day before thanksgiving at the office will do...

bacon-wrapped chicken breasts, stuffed with cheese and jalapenos

2008-11-02T19:23:00.004-06:00

again for a dollar at the 70th & pioneers hy-vee.

i baked these with some of the last produce from last weekend's farmers' market. the chicken went into a casserole dish with some danvers carrots and some brussels sprouts, and a dash of chicken broth. baked at 375 for about an hour, covered for the first half-hour.

falling back an hour, taking out the farmers' market

2008-11-02T18:47:00.003-06:00

so i couldn't go to the farmers' market this morning, since there was no farmers' market.

but i could get a half-price day-old le quartier pastry at the mill, because the bakery was finally getting a weekend off-- since there was no farmers' market. and there won't be another one until the spring season.

also, election season is over on tuesday. don't forget to pay a visit to the polling booth while you can.

bacon-wrapped, ham-and-cheese-stuffed chicken breast

2008-10-27T19:52:00.004-05:00

hy-vee had several packages of these "grillers" on sale for a dollar per piece yesterday. i'm guessing they were left over from the husker home game afternoon the day before. a good meat counter in this town would have a barbecue-friendly blowout on such a saturday.

bacon-wrapped, and stuffed with ham and cheese, the chicken breasts were impossible to not buy for a dollar apiece. i bought three, and wish i had bought more.

i didn't even grill them! driving away from the store, i figured it would be more convenient to stick them in a casserole dish and simply bake instead. i didn't have to worry about the chicken drying out with the extra fat all around and inside of it. and any further preparation would be overkill. so i preheated the oven to 350 as soon as i got in the door, and thereafter baked the dish while i went about the next half hour to 45 minutes of my day.

here's one with some broccoli from the last farmers' market, also on sunday. i washed and trimmed the stalks of broccoli, and then took a carrot peeler to the toughness of the stalk. i tossed that with some italian dressing and baked, covered, for about ten minutes.

the new hy-vee at 50th & o st.

2008-10-26T21:10:00.005-05:00

is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

which means that, no matter what time of week one has a craving for prepared edamame, it can be had. along with some other complementary snacks.

(several other groceries in lincoln are 24/7, of course, but this one has already come in handy [by virtue of location] two sundays in a row... the only two sundays it's been open.)

i've tried the rice crackers out of the bulk section in other hy-vee locations, and ran into staleness. the bulk rice crackers at this newly-opened location are crisp and spicy. buy them while that holds true!

also, park on the east side of the building. there's a second, smaller entry/exit over there; parking is much easier there than anywhere near the main entry.

romanesco, pomegranate, yellow bell pepper and spinach salad

2008-10-22T22:57:00.003-05:00

with slivered almonds. i used annie's pomegranate vinaigrette as the dressing-- i had half of a bottle left that i had bought on sale for three bucks. the bag of spinach was 99c at ideal, the yellow bell was 99c at hy-vee, used about half a pomegranate that was 1.19 at hy-vee, and half the head of romanesco that was three dollars at the farmers' market. it tasted even prettier than it looks here.

three of my favorite cheeses, some of my favorite weather

2008-10-22T21:07:00.004-05:00

from the cheese remnant basket at the 40th & hy-vee "cheese island." (that's what they call it, i swears.) huntsman, manchego, and emmentaler.

i bought and enjoyed these last weekend. i was going to write about how you should stop here and buy some cheese on your way south of town for a snack-picnic in the lovely autumn weather. considering the conditions today, i'll pass on that.

pomegranate, the fruit that took "in autumn, wear layers" very seriously

2008-10-21T20:13:00.006-05:00

pomegranates are back in stores. here's my advice about pomegranates:

relatively soon after purchasing a pomegranate, peel it, and free the arils (like they do on this site). refrigerate. don't wait until you want to throw it in a salad or a dessert five minutes after you get the inspiration to do so.

it's not that it's that bad to prepare a pomegranate... it's no thirty yards of board fence nine feet high... but you could tom sawyer someone into helping you with this. it's fun!

and as soon as you have the pomegranate arils stored in a refrigerated container, your culinary inspiration will be freed up as well.

somewhere, from under the sea; somewhere, waiting for me: romanesco

2008-10-19T17:34:00.005-05:00

romanesco, which i've always been fascinated by, yet never bought, was $3 a head at the farmers' market this morning. i've never seen it approaching anywhere near that price in a grocery store.

ONE MORE SUNDAY, after today, of the farmers' market at 56th & old cheney. buy some of this while you can.

"do you think you could fit some in your carry-on bag?"

2008-10-19T17:31:00.003-05:00

overheard at the farmers' market this morning, in front of a display of asian pears that were 50c ea.

eleven dollars and twelve cents, ideal grocery, yesterday

2008-10-19T15:16:00.006-05:00

1) three indian dinners, on sale for $2, and two of them had 55c off coupons on the front.

2) some philadelphia brand cream cheese spread with jalapeno. i am a sucker for cream cheese with jalapeno in it. this was from the clearance cooler, which is tucked back in the corner just to the right of the deli. it was 99c, because-- you can see this in the picture-- dated a week and a half ago. something this processed and spiced, i'm not too worried.

3) some herbal tea for 1.99 out of the dry goods clearance basket, which is in the frozen section. from a native american owned company... called victory tea... i'm sure i'll write about that when i try it.

4) 2 avocado, on sale for 79c ea, makes $1.58.

5) two seckel pears, on sale at 1.49#; these pears are small, so that was only 67c. they're in the paper bag.

6) 10 oz bag of spinach, on sale for 99c.

"i'm down with shapes."

2008-10-19T15:13:00.002-05:00

overheard in the pasta aisle at ideal.

hy-vee's health food section 10% off this weekend, 40th & old cheney only

2008-10-18T16:44:00.003-05:00

10% off whatever you can fit in a shopping bag out of their health food section, through tomorrow. stock up!

leftover take-out review: risotto from magnolia

2008-10-16T21:40:00.002-05:00

when i dine at a restaurant with several appealing choices on the menu, there are a few filters i use to narrow the scope of that decision.

first, what dish contains ingredients that i wouldn't be able to buy, in a manner as easy or as affordable, for my own preparation at home?

secondly, what dish requires equipment i don't have at home? (honestly, this could be a deep fryer or pizza oven.)

and last, what dish would i be less likely to make at home, because of preparation time or difficulty?

risotto resembles that last remark. risotto requires constant stirring, which takes a lot of time and effort that you wouldn't have to spend preparing another dish. i ordered this risotto as part of a meal at magnolia. it was wonderful. i ordered it thinking some might be left over, and luckily that proved true.

baked garlic: because i finally found some at a grocery store that looked good enough to buy::

2008-10-10T16:14:00.002-05:00

look how nice and well-maintained the garlic at leon's looks. i baked this in the oven with those summer fruits from other other post. i chopped off the tips of the bulb, wrapped the bottom of the bulb in foil, and then drizzled with blue cheese oil and peppered it.

blue cheese is a tasty guy, but he sure does smell funny

2008-10-10T14:10:00.003-05:00

if you like blue cheese but tend to use it sparingly, this is the cheese for you. the jar won't stink up the refrigerator, and the oil that the cheese is packed in is a great addition to salad dressings or on baked garlic...i got this jar at leon's.

summer fruit in autumn ovens

2008-10-08T21:49:00.003-05:00

it happens at the beginning and at the end of every summer: the abundance of spare produce from the gardens and farms of friends and co-workers. during the second go-round, you can use the oven to bake the fruit up.

pictured are a baked zucchini, tomato, and pepper that were all surplus from other houses. i baked them with a package of trimmed crimini mushrooms that were on sale at leon's for 99c. (there's some bleu cheese on top on the zucchini, which i'll write about next.) i baked these at 350 for 45 minutes, and then all of it (except the zucchini skins) went into a processor to be pureed into a lovely soup, which was warmed again before serving.

if you like sparkling water...

2008-10-07T21:38:00.003-05:00

target's own archer farms brand has a most pleasantly lightly carbonated sparkling water, for sale for less than two dollars, for the same size of a bottle of pellegrino.

farmers' market favorite of the week: kathy davis

2008-10-07T21:15:00.004-05:00

just so you know: the farmers' market at 56th & old cheney ends last saturday in october.

the beaver tail (top picture) from kathy davis' stand is always wonderful, and costs $2 there. it's nice to see a baked, ready-to-eat-and-yet-not-sweet item available for immediate consumption, made with such quality ingredients.

that bottom picture is a lavender pound cake, which i had at an event that kathy davis catered, and then bought again at the farmers' market as a result.

more from wise oven bakery: green apple bread

2008-10-07T21:00:00.003-05:00

that little bit of green that you see in that picture is the skin of a green apple, within bread from wise oven bakery in havelock. this bread makes a mean peanut butter breakfast sandwich (bacon preferred) that you actually have for lunch.

take-out review: yia-yia's. the best fast food is a slice

2008-10-07T19:42:00.005-05:00

when one lives in a place like lincoln-- where people drive to their parked car, and often through fast food drive-thrus-- one can miss out on my favorite fast food: the slice.

yia yia's might not look like an inexpensive place to grab a slice. but that slice on the right up there... just a regular plain slice... is $2.59. find me something that tastes that good that isn't twice as bad for you (for that price tag) within walking distance of yia yia's. oh, one more caveat: the place serving this food needs to be open in the evenings, and now on sundays.

yia yia's only has thin crust. they have a bunch of toppings to choose from if you want to create your own slice, as happened with the experiment on the left.

like i implied earlier, it's a nice place to eat in, and they have the biggest selection of bottled international beers that i've ever seen in a restaurant. but don't forget that you can call ahead and get slices to go, if you're already downtown and just want some food to take home.

kung pao shrimp from hy-vee

2008-10-05T18:11:00.002-05:00

it's 3.99 for one entree from the chinese hot bar at hy-vee, with steamed or fried rice, egg roll or crab rangoon, and fortune cookie. i had the kung pao shrimp which was, happily, very spicy and full of peanuts.

one dollar bacon

2008-09-17T13:42:00.002-05:00

super saver at 48th & o has best choice pre-cooked bacon for a dollar a 2.1 oz package. probably so cheap because it's dated 9/23-- but still, i won't have any problem going through this package before then.

farmers' market salad: baby romaine and pea shoots

2008-09-15T21:47:00.004-05:00

i went to the farmers' market a little late on sunday... still managed to get some shoots and baby romaine from shadowbrook. stopped by red clover for some tempeh, where i also picked up some new salad dressing from bragg's, a sesame ginger flavor that has a complete amino profile. did i mention the local tomatoes? i know i didn't leave out the cooked brown rice.

wise oven bakery, havelock

2008-09-14T18:38:00.002-05:00

so this place has strange hours and great bread. i think it's the only green olive loaf in town.

it's also hard to find. you have to walk through against the wall art gallery to get there.

hours are listed on the label in the picture: wednesday, thursday and saturday from three to six. you could make the most of a trip to havelock if you went on a wednesday night, when you could also go to the farmers' market and pepe's.

take-out review: pepe's

2008-09-13T15:18:00.004-05:00

ever since i read about pepe's in the ground zero, i've wanted to go. if you read the article, you'll want to go too. havelock, my favorite neighborhood in this town, is not that convenient for me to get to at lunch. so my friends and i went for dinner last thursday... and it turns out they're not open for dinner on thursdays, like it says they are in that ljs piece. dinner only on wednesdays, which happens to be the night of the havelock farmers' market (which runs from 3 to 6:30).

so today i had to go pick up lunch. the interior is lovely. fabulous exposed brick, lots of windows, fresh flowers and potted herbs on the tables. the tables also all have books on them about sustainable food and design. this place would fit right in napa valley... if it weren't affordable and unpretentious.

the menu changes daily depending on what produce is available. this order of black bean and vegetable tacos was 4.50 and delicious.

farmers' market favorite of the week: kohlrabi

2008-09-10T18:27:00.004-05:00

there was a lot of kohlrabi at the farmers' market sunday, and it was cheap! this huge bulb was huge and well-trimmed and one dollar.

you can cook kohlrabi, and i might try some stuffed baked kohlrabi soon... but i prepared this one my favorite, easy way. i just peeled (the skin is less than a quarter-inch thick, and this bulb was the size of two fists) and sliced it, and shared it along with some other snacks. in-season kohlrabi has a fresh, light crunchy texture; and mild flavor. (and it's very good for you.)

tangential points of interest: my guesses about the etymology of the name didn't even touch on germany, but that's what it says on wikipedia, so it must be true. also, doesn't that look like a face where the stem was cut? i can't put my finger on who it resembles. it might be robert downey, jr in tropic thunder. (you can click on the picture to see more detail.)

actually, in this picture, the whole bulb itself looks like a deranged triceratops character from sanrio. have they even done dinosaurs yet? not in the brand's traditional cutesy form, as far as i can tell, but a google search of 'sanrio' and 'dinosaur' did lead to this eye-candy i'll share with you.

green beans, sesame sticks, and steam

2008-09-09T20:30:00.003-05:00

when i make green beans, i like to use bacon and shallots. that wouldn't have worked when i recently got a bagful of garden-fresh green beans (thanks, once again, to the green thumbs around me), with a vegan dinner to go to the next night.

i wrote about sesame sticks in salads recently; and i thought i'd try them here, braised with the green beans in some ginger citrus dressing, and then steamed with just enough water to be absorbed by the crunchy sesame sticks. (i threw some hot peppers in as well, chopped large enough to be avoided on the fork and also sink to the bottom of the pan before this picture was taken at lid-off.)

honestly, i'd thought the sticks would break down to a texture like tvp in the cooking process, but they didn't. however, they had a similar size and complementary (spelling intended) color to the beans, so that was a lucky accident. this was salty enough that i'd mix it with some rice next time, though i didn't hear much complaining.

let us have bread and chocolate

2008-09-07T19:06:00.006-05:00

i've seen these chocolate bars for a while now at the mill, and i finally broke down and bought one. dark chocolate with rather salty bits of baguette. very nice flavor. this doesn't appear to be selling as well as the other flavors. more for me? because i am going to buy this again.

now it's rice cake croutons

2008-09-06T19:45:00.002-05:00

my old favorite: broccoli slaw! now with crumbled rice cakes as croutons.

i tossed some yellow tomatoes and lilac peppers in with the slaw, and dressed with some ginger citrus dressing. then, about a half-hour before the salad would be served, tossed in some crumbled rice cakes. shooting for their absorption of dressing making them not too crunchy, not too soggy.

and yes, i made the salad in a ziploc bag, since it needed to be portable. that worked out well for transport; but if you try this, you have to ask for a bowl to serve it in when you get there.

purple pepper preparation

2008-09-04T21:38:00.003-05:00

make this three times real fast!

so, purple peppers (called lilac peppers, and i've written about them before) are unusual looking peppers; until you cut them up and put them in a salad, when they take on the appearance of red cabbage--with a very different flavor, of course, but they've lost their visual punch. so, i recommend using them for stuffed peppers, if you want whomever you're serving to realize what they're getting.

which i'll remember for next time.

by the way, these were 75c each at the farmers' market, so that's cheaper than green bells at the grocery store right now.

the other thing i was looking for at the farmers' market, and what i bought instead

2008-09-04T20:42:00.005-05:00

i was looking for the yellow cherry tomatoes in the bottom picture, which go for 3.50 a container. but, like i said below, i got there at noon and they were sold out.

another vendor had those peach tomatoes in the photo up top. i think people passed them by because they thought they were sickly-looking peaches (compared to the other ones at the market)... not a yellow tomato with a blush and a good flavor.

they didn't work in the recipe the same way that the cherry tomatoes would have, with their different structure, but the flavor made me remember what tomatoes can taste like. those six tomatoes cost $2.

my favorite thing from the farmers' market this week: heads of baby romaine lettuce

2008-09-02T19:16:00.004-05:00

so i didn't get to the market until noon on sunday, and the two things i had intended to buy were sold out. the shadowbrook stand was out of pea shoots-- which didn't surprise me since i was running late-- but they did have something i hadn't noticed there before. full heads of baby romaine lettuce, about the size of an adult hand.

to use them in a way that maximized their small size, i chose a flavor inspired by the lettuce-wrapped snack you might have had in thai restaurants. i soaked the heads in cold water to release any lingering dirt or critters (i found very little), then took off the outer leaves which i reserved for later use. in another bowl, i mixed together a couple of chopped peaches and half a diced onion with equal parts sriracha and agave nectar. after that mixture (bottom picture) sat for about an hour, i stuffed some into these little heads of lettuce (top picture).

this turned out remarkably well, for taking such shortcuts with technique in creating the flavor. (i wish i had had some chopped peanuts for this.) the structure of the small head of romaine makes a perfect delivery device for whatever filling you choose. i'm going to buy these again to experiment further.

pea shoots as salad base

2008-08-30T16:04:00.004-05:00

shadowbrook hadn't sold out of their pea shoots by the time i got to the farmers' market last sunday. at 10:15. (it starts at ten.) a quarter pound costs 2.50 and fills most of a re-used produce bag.

i like using them as the base for a salad, and without any other vegetables. i tossed these with some citrus ginger dressing and let sit for about an hour before serving. meanwhile, i mashed, not too much, a package of tofu with some of the same dressing. before serving, i layered the tofu onto the bed of shoots, followed by sliced almonds, black sesame seeds, and one last dash of dressing.

this was a healthy salad that served eight (as part of a larger meal, of course) and cost less than five dollars.

mori-nu tofu only 1.29 at wagner's

2008-08-27T19:41:00.004-05:00

still not sure why this is so cheap there; there being wagner's at 33rd & a. i think this is around half the price of anywhere else in town. the tofu is in the produce section; refrigerated, even though it's shelf-stable for a year or two.

i never noticed the packaging had a picture of lasagna on it. fantastic! vegan velveeta!