Currently enjoying Kitchen Yarns Notes on Life, Love and Food by Ann Hood. This author has taken the essential premise of eatprayreadlife.com and effortlessly written a book around it. Part memoir, part cookbook, Kitchen Yarns is an Italian American girl’s story from a tiny Rhode Island kitchen, to a career as a world traveling flight attendant, through two marriages, motherhood and lots and lots of cooking of comfort food in between.
Thanks to Jan O for this little gem. My own New York Irish mom learned well from her Italian friends and family to make her own spaghetti sauce (we didn’t call it gravy), similar to ‘Gogo’s Sauce’ page 151. This book’s table of contents will have your mouth watering, so don’t read while hungry!
A few notes from this chef’s kitchen. All of these recipes recommend tasting the melon before deciding how much sugar or honey you’ll want to use. Also, each recipe has you toss and then transfer the salad to a shallow bowl and then add the remaining portions of divided items. I made these table-side at picnics and found that step won’t be missed if you need to skip it.
Watermelon Salad with Cotija and Serrano Chiles
1/3 Cup lime juice (3 limes) 2 scallions, white and green parts separated and sliced thin
Combine lime juice, scallion whites and serranos in large bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir in sugar, if using and salt. Add watermelon, 1/2 cup cotija, 1/4 cup cilantro, 1/4 cup pepitas, and scallion greens. Stir to combine.
Transfer to a shallow serving bowl. Sprinkle with remaining Cotija, cilantro and pepitas and serve.
1 cantaloupe, peeled, halved, seeded and cut into 11/2 inch chunks (6 cups)
5 TBS chopped fresh parsley, divided
5 TBS chopped fresh mint, divided
1/4 cup finely chopped pitted, oil cured olives, divided
Combine onion and lemon juice in a large bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir in honey, if using, Aleppo pepper and salt. Add cantaloupe, 1/4 cup parsley, 1/4 cup mint and 3 TBS olives and stir to combine.
Transfer to shallow serving bowl. Sprinkle with remaining parsley, mint and olives and serve.
Serves 4 to 6 Prep time: 20 minutes
Honeydew Salad with Peanuts and Lime
1/3 cup lime juice (3 limes)
1 shallot, sliced thin
2 Thai chiles, stemmed, seeded and minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp table salt
1-2 TBS sugar (optional)
1 TBS fish sauce
1 honeydew melon, peeled, halved, seeded and cut into 1/12 inch chunks (6 cups)
Combine lime juice and shallot in large bowl. Using mortar and pestle (or cutting board using flat side of chef’s knife) mash Thai chiles, garlic and salt to a fine paste. Add chile paste, sugar (if using) and fish sauce to lime juice mixture and stir to combine. Add honeydew, 1/4 C cilantro, 1/4 C mint and 1/4 C peanuts and toss to combine.
Transfer to shallow serving bowl. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro, mint and peanuts and serve.
Sweet memories come back despite quarantine and pandemic realities thanks to Zoom and a slowed down world. One of our free-wheeling conversations among 10 best friends came around to the subject of candy. The important distinction between ‘Buckeyes’ and ‘Bullseyes’ was initially paramount. After that, the memories of buying candy from the penny candy counter came back in sweet little bits. Please share yours.
“I fondly recall the original caramel bullseye candies. And the childhood candy stores, some of which were true blue ‘Mom and Pop’ shops. My fondest memory is of Nate’s on Montrose between Ashland and Paulina, 1/2 block from my grammar school. Our lunch was an hour long at home. After wolfing down pancakes or grilled cheese ‘samiches’ or fried bologna I would head to Nate’s before school continued at 1pm. The line of kids was out the door. Sy and Marianne owned a tiny little store that had a penny candy counter. Marianne had a small change box and watched the candy counter like a hawk. She bossed us to pick fast because kids were waiting. My mom used to tease Nate. One time, she asked Nate for a dozen button holes. He looked all over his store trying to please mom. She told that story a hundred times.”
Larry E.
“There was a small store, (and I mean really small) called The Lee Street Store. It was about 2 blocks from my house. I think it was like a 7 Eleven, but all I really remember was the penny candy. They had everything, Pixie Sticks, black and red licorice, jaw breakers, candy dots on paper, tootsie rolls, Mary Janes, waxed lips, those little bottles that were filled with colored sweetened liquid, Bazooka bubblegum and I’m sure there was much more. I would take my allowance of 10 cents up there and come home with a “big” bag of candy. The owners lived above the store.”
Janet B.
My favorite penny candy store was appropriately called Ma & Pa Candies in downtown La Grange. When you walked in, you could smell the sugar. It was a narrow storefront with counters that seemed to made of planks on sawhorses. There was red gingham fabric tacked around the counters and tilted glass jars of candy with scoops. It was always bustling especially because it was a few doors away from the La Grange movie theater. We’d stock up before the show. I loved rock candy, gum drops and candy dots and nonpareils (aka Snowcaps).
Jan fondly recalls great memories of making this special dish for her Aunt Joan and Uncle Dick during their visit to Peachtree City, Georgia on one of their many road trips. She also advises, it is best enjoyed if you have a great sous chef on hand to share it with, of course! From the state of Bahia in northern Brazil, moqueca de peixe (moo-kay-ka da pay-sha) is a tropical fish stew fragrant with garlic, peppers and enriched with coconut milk. Serve with crusty baguette and a favorite green salad. Bon appetite!
Ingredients
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
½ tsp salt
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
2 garlic cloves minced
1 to 1.5 lbs of sea bass, or halibut fillet cut into ½ inch strips
1 to 1.5 lbs large shrimp, peeled and de-veined
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
¾ cup minced green onions
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
2 cups chopped tomatoes (2 large, or 5 roma)
½ cup minced fresh cilantro – divided
1 14 oz can chicken broth
2 8 oz bottles of clam juice
1 cup coconut milk (light if desired)
¼ tsp ground red pepper
Instructions
Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; toss to coat. Marinate in fridge for 30 mins.
Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, bell peppers, green onions, garlic and bay leaf…cook 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to med high, add tomatoes, and cook 2 minutes. Add ¼ cup cilantro, the clam juice and the broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf.
Place one third of vegetable mixture in a blender and pulse until smooth. Pour pureed veg mixture into pan. Repeat procedure with remaining veggie mixture (adding to pan when smooth). Add coconut milk and red ground pepper to veggie mixture. Bring to boil over med high heat and cook 3 minutes. Add fish mixture, cook 3 minutes or until fish is done. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve. Enjoy!
Bien sur! Julia gives us the best of ‘eat‘, while we ‘read‘ about the most exciting time in her astonishing ‘life‘ in this, her last published book! She devoted painstaking research and an attention to detail which made Mastering the Art of French Cooking a masterpiece. She also managed to travel, meet and befriend the world’s best chefs, and share in a happy marriage with her dear husband, Paul Child. His photographs grace the pages and his great nephew Alex is the co-author who listened to and guided his 91 year old great aunt as they opened family letters and let this intimate story unfold.
The 2009 film, Julie and Julia was based on this book and managed to cleverly combine Julia Child’s discovery of her talent and dedication to French cuisine with the 2002 Julie Powell blog Julie and Julia: 365 Days 524 Recipes. 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen . Take note what a blog looked like in back then! If you want to follow along you’ll have to click through the calendar to advance to the next day. Nothing fancy, but Julie Powell averaged 10 recipes a week in accomplishing her goal!
Musings on this Ash Wednesday. Why would anyone willingly deny themselves something they enjoy when there a plenty of things they want and don’t have?
I’m not going to proselytize or preach. I only know that after finding out that Lent can be more than Ash Wednesday and fish on Fridays, (which, by the way, the entire State of Wisconsin lives in perpetual Lenten observance), I get it. I give up – a little or a lot. Doesn’t matter. True, some things are harder than others. I’ll keep you posted. Please share your thoughts, support and insight.
‘Small Batch, From Scratch” is a good way to start describing Precinct Tap & Table in Germantown WI. The seats at the counter of this modern eatery are not to be avoided if you want to watch the concentrated, quietly choreographed creativity of the open kitchen. The Thursday night special was a ‘TV Dinner’ serving Chicken & Walffle or a classic French Dip with sides all served in properly compartmentalized trays, dessert and beverage included!
The Crab Cakes were tender with a more moist than crispy coating which was complimented by a light, sweet pineapple chutney/remoulade.
Seared Scallops were perfectly prepared and bedded in a good size citrus salad featuring wedges of fried polenta that looked a little over-fried but were perfectly disguising a warm creamy polenta center.
I’m seemingly always craving salad, especially when someone else prepares it, and the Press Salad was light and fresh with treats of candied bacon, honey almonds and feta. I wouldn’t order it again with the Seared Scallops, only because they were very similar. How did I miss the Maple Roasted Beet & Squash Salad? That’d be the ticket to try next time! Sounds seasonably perfect.
When we asked our server for a next course recommendation, she definitely said ‘The Walleye‘ without hesitation. Great choice and two of us happily split this ‘Main Streets’ dish. The fish comes atop a wild rice pancake with oyster mushroom cream, Brandy Old Fashion apple bacon salad and absolutely shimmering, perfectly cooked green beans. It is interesting how with all that nuanced cuisine, those green beans harkened back to a similar dining experience at ‘The Girl & The Goat’ in Chicago. Seated at the counter, watching a frenetic, well orchestrated crew whip through hundreds of dishes, was a delight. Yet it is the green beans that I remember best. When its simple, it has to be done to perfection, I suppose.
The place is perfectly located for someone like me, new to the area and curious to find her way around. Downtown Germantown had become something of a White Whale for me. I’ve lived in the area for a while now, and it’s existence alluded this geographer’s reasoning. Find Main Street, and you’ll find this gem of a Precinct is tucked away in the former Germantown Police Station on Church Street, where it will welcome you and make you want to return. Let’s say, “Go to Precinct. Go Directly to Precinct. Do not pass Go. Enjoy.”
Sharing book recommendations with friends is a lot like sharing a good joke or a special secret. The problem can be finding a way to remember them. The same holds true for great recipes, restaurant recommendations, spiritual and emotional guidance and well, all good gifts in life!
Hence, 9 years after launching eatprayread@wordpress.com I invite you to this new incarnation of our shared library. eatprayreadlife.com
Musings on this Ash Wednesday. Why would anyone willingly deny themselves something they enjoy when there a plenty of things they want and don’t have?