ALMOST FORGOT

yea.

GO SEE FOOD, INC.
www.foodincmovie.com/

Yes, i understand the previews are swayed towards the liberals. Fine. The movie is bipartisan in it's accusations. There is nothing political about demanding good, wholesome food that has not been made in a lab and NOT TESTED.

I've been making a serious effort to buy local, fresh, and unprocessed foods to accompany my yoga. I'm a busy person, but I still manage to cook and support my local farmers while spending LESS than I would if i were to buy Lean Cuisines. There is nothing wrong with me eating food that doesn't spend most of it's life covered in it's own shit.

Some comparisons

Krogers Bayou City
White eggplant, $3.50 ea $1
Eggplant $1.50 lb 2 lb eggplant $1
Zucchini, $1 lb 3 lb zucchini $1
free range hen eggs $3 dozen free range hen eggs $3 dozen
Bell peppers 89 cents ea Bell peppers 3/$1
Hormone fed hen $2/lb free range hen, 4 lb - $12 (for this, it's worth it!!!)

Things like blueberries, figs, etc usually cost the same or maybe $1 more... but they are fresh, with bitty carbon footprints, unlike the 2 week old berries in the store.

AAAAND for some supplemental:
There is a farmers market in the inner loop Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. EVERY single day if you count Canino's!

Bayou City Farmers' Market SATURDAYS - Richmond @ eastside Canino's Produce A favorite of local chefs, Canino's is open every day with plenty of fresh produce. not organic though! Central City Co-Op Anyone interested in splitting a share? They are Wednesdays at Taft street coffee and SUNDAYS at Discovery Green Downtown Green Market Saturdays! Houston Farmers Market at Onion Creek Coffeehouse Saturdays! Houston Farmers Market at Rice Village Rice University Parking Lot (along University blvd) on Tuesday nights 4-7 pm. Midtown Farmers Market Saturday AM next to the Breakfast Klub and T'afia

summertime

Apparently i'm cooking-crazy over the summer. I've spent a good deal of my evening looking at bento boxes and cast iron woks (which will be my next kitchen purchase, eliminating 2-3 current pans). Today, i was wandering through Kroger to get bread and some greens of some sort... salmon was on sale... here is the result.

A note on teriyaki sauce: don't buy the stuff in the bottle. Seriously. REAL teriyaki is 3 things - Sake, Soy, and sugar (sometimes a little water too or mirin)...NOT HFC, xantham gum, artificial flavors, soy protein... etc, etc. Not to mention, real teriyaki is amazingly flavorful and glazes nicely on cooldown. Once you taste the real stuff, it is my hope you will skip the stuff in the jar from now on, not to mention, if you make more than needed of your own, it will keep for about a month in a bottle in the fridge.

Salmon Teriyaki and Mustard Greens in Oyster Sauce
Serve both prettily with some jasmine rice. :)


Salmon Teriyaki
1 lb salmon filet
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp sake
4 tbsp water
4 tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Locate a baking dish large enough to put your salmon in. In a sm saucepan, mix sake, water, soy, and sugar until the sugar is dissolved (NO HEAT). Pour over salmon and marinate for at least 30 min in the fridge. Turn it over once in the marinade in that time. Pour off marinade back into the saucepan. Put salmon in the oven for about 15 min, until fish flakes opaque. During this time, heat sauce on medium uncovered until it barely starts to bubble, stirring constantly, then switch to low/med-low. continue to stir and the sauce will thicken.. Coat the fish a few times with sauce in the last few minutes of cooking (in 3 minute increments). When fish flakes, coat a little more and toss in the broiler for about 2 minutes. remove fish from broiler, and coat the fish with the rest of the sauce carefully, a spoonful at a time. When you are out of sauce, tilt the baking dish, and keep coating the fish with this, until you have reduced it about halfway. You don't HAVE to do that last part, but it's just nice and tasty.
mmmmmm



Mustard Greens
1 bunch mustard greens
4 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp rice wine
2 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp water

In a stockpot, heat about 3-4 inches of water to a boil. Trim off the bottom 1' of the bunch of greens. Submerge mustard greens in a full, clean sink for a couple minutes. Un-bunch the greens and rub each leaf gently. remove any bad leaves, etc. Transfer greens to a cutting board and cut across the stems in 2" increments. Add to boiling water and cover. Cook for about 5-7 minutes (taste a stem, they will be nice and crisp/firm, but not tough). While the greens are cooking, add everything else to a small saucepan (or if you are short on saucepans, this can be done in the microwave) and simmer until the greens are done, stirring occasionally. Drain and rinse greens with cool water for a sec. Transfer to a serving platter and top evenly with sauce. MMMM

cranberry lemon scones

Today, we went to the Te House of Tea for a pot of fujian silk and a pastry. We picked a cranberry scone which was fantastic. I remembered that I have a HUGE bag of Crazins in the cupboard. I googled a couple recipes, got the flour/butter proportions, and winged the rest. Needless to say, they turned out awesome, and I will be making these again. I read on one site that the dough freezes well for rainy days. Start to finish was 30 min... by the time these were done baking, kitchen was already clean!

Note: I accidentally "softened" the butter into "melted". Don't do that. traditionally scones are cut like pie wedges and placed onto a pan. I scooped my goopy dough, and i had very flat scones. Result was still excellent, so I'm not complaining!

Impromptu Cranberry Lemon Scones

1 tbsp baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, softened, but not melted (8 tbsp i think)
2 1/2 c unbleached all purpose flour
the zest from 1 meyer lemon
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 c almond milk (or regular milk, i didn't want to kill myself)
1/2 c turbinado sugar, plus some for sprinkling
1 1/2 c crazins (the sweetened dried cranberries)

preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. mix all the dry ingredients together EXCEPT for the cranberries. Add the butter and mix with pastry knives or a couple large forks till the dough is kinda pill-y. add the egg and milk together in a separate bowl and then add to the dry ingredients - scrape the bottom of the bowl, but don't mix really really well. Mix in the zest and Crazins. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (no need to spray or grease) and drop about 2 tbsp worth each amts onto the sheet. Sprinkle a little sugar over the tops. Bake for about 20 min, until tops are slightly golden and the bottoms are golden around the edge.

MMMMM

*update* when butter is just softened to room temp, scones hold shape nicely, HOWEVER, they take 30 minutes to bake. MMM

The Becky-Lini

Oh yes, I have a signature drink. When we got married, we had about 40 bottles of cheap champagne leftover... What to do with them? Make Bellinis! However, the Bellini recipe we found online was horrible, so we dumped the blender, and made our own concoction! Not truly potent (you can pump this up by adding an extra shot of vodka or rum), but tasty and great for getting a little buzz during parades!

The Becky-Lini

1 bottle of champagne. Quality not important, as long as it is alcoholic
Fine sugar. You can use natural sugar if you like, but blend it extra
1 bag of frozen peaches
2 shots of vodka or rum. Don’t skimp here
ice

Put half the bag of peaches, about 1/8c sugar, 1 shot vodka/rum, and a handful and a half of ice in a blender. Top to fill line with champagne. BLEND. When a nice smooth consistency (you may have to stir it a few times), taste for sugar, and adjust sweetness to taste if needed. Pour into a jug/pitcher. Repeat with the rest of the peaches, alcohol, and another dose of sugar. Fill jug again. Cart carefully to your nearest parade route and enjoy!