Garden, Grocery, Gadget Girl

Fast, Fresh, & Flexible: Freestyle Meal Planning System

2012-01-25T07:04:00.002-05:00

New Year, New Food Plan

Let's face it, the new year always brings the urge to retool your eating plan, and most likely drop a few pounds. All those fresh fruits and vegetables that seemed to be absent during the holiday season turn into the things you crave the most.

I'll admit I didn't start right at the beginning of the year, because I was fortunate enough to score tickets (yes, you buy a ticket and pre-pay, like a sporting event or theater show) to the hottest restaurant in the country, Grant Achatz's Next Restaurant in Chicago. The menu changes completely several times a year, and this iteration was called "Childhood". It was hands down the most inventive, playful, and delicious meal I've ever enjoyed.

The course pictured below, served in a hollowed out log filled with juniper branches and hot rocks which released the juniper's fragrance, was intended to evoke a feeling of walking through the woods. And it did!

Walk in the Woods course from Next Restaurant

After a great weekend of eating my way through Chicago, I knew it was time to get back on track. I stocked up on fresh fruit and vegetables, and pulled some chicken and pork tenderloin from the freezer. I've switched over all of my containers to clear glass. And despite my enormous cookbook collection, I started cooking pretty much on the fly, after a little prep after shopping.

I always have something ready to turn into a meal quickly, and unlike the marathon freezer meal sessions, I'm not stuck eating the same thing over and over. It's reduced waste (I can clearly see what needs to be used first), it's increased my vegetable intake, and it saves me time.

I'm calling it - Fast, Fresh, & Flexible: Freestyle Meal Planning System, and I'm doing seminars to teach you how to set up the system for yourself. The Basic class will cover how to set up your pantry and fridge, along with basic knife skills, and some basic formulas for recipe free cooking. Future sessions will focus more on techniques like steaming, sautéing, roasting and braising, and advanced sessions will cover equipment like pressure cookers and vacuum sealing, that complement the system, but aren't necessary to make it work.

First session will be held Saturday, February 11th at my kitchen from 1-3 pm. Cost is $55. Email me at dineindiva(at)yahoo(dot)com to reserve your space (subbing @ and . of course).

Since You've Been Gone

2011-12-30T06:44:00.000-05:00

January 4th, 2002 seems like a lifetime ago. And it seems like yesterday. It's hard to believe, sometimes, that I left work a little early on that Friday, stopped at the store for a few things, and came home and discovered that you'd had a massive heart attack and died on the kitchen floor earlier in the day.

I called 9-1-1 and hoped they'd somehow breathe life back into you, even though through my shock, I was pretty sure it was too late. The paramedics, including a fire truck, soon filled our tiny street, and got the neighbors buzzing. Turns out, Ritchie, our neighbor the paramedic, was the one who confirmed what I'd feared the most.

Hours passed waiting for the coroner's office and whatever paperwork needed to be processed, while you laid in the kitchen. Police and detectives arrived in succession; searched outside, walked around with notepads, and sequestered and questioned me several times. The juvenile division detective with the bad toupee asked me several times, several ways, when was the last time I saw you. Finally they took you away. But left the sheet carelessly tossed in the corner of the kitchen floor. Calling your parents was the hardest phone call I've ever made in my life.

People came. Brought food I couldn't eat and answered phone calls I couldn't take. It's a sobering reality when someone 46 years drops dead with no warning.

Who knew that a few weeks earlier, when we had a conversation after your father drug you to the funeral home to pre-plan your parents funeral, when you told me that you thought the whole process was ridiculous ("Fuck that. Cremate me and have a big fucking party."), that I'd be doing just that. My mother picked out the ugly urn that looks just like a Kleenex box; don't blame me for that. We had the big F'in party in May, around our anniversary, which I still can't remember if it is the 24th or the 25th. I haven't seen or heard from most of those people since.

People came. Brought food I couldn't eat and answered phone calls I couldn't take. It's a sobering reality when someone 46 years drops dead with no warning.

Your father showed up the next day, and true to his completely self-centered nature, started immediately whining about who would take care of them and administer the Living Trust he had made his personal pet project. He went into high gear torturing the lawyer (and me) re-writing the Trust, which entailed near weekly phone calls and visits. I could barely deal with one deceased Mitchell and he couldn't stop drilling me about what I'd need to do when the last two died.

I drug myself back to work but the 'career' I'd worked hard to climb the ladder in had already become a mind-numbing, boring series of repetitively stupid meetings, conference calls, and the corporate babble du jour threatened to drive me crazy. My contempt filter switch flipped and progressively got worse. Working with stupid people pulling down six figure salaries while constantly being told to whittle budgets and lay off the those at the bottom of ladder wasn't working really well with my current state of mind.

In April, your mother got breast cancer. I found a lump the day I was taking her for surgery. A big one. I cried, by myself, while the doctor said I needed a mammogram ASAP, and I told him I was busy that day. (Turned out after a biopsy, that mine was benign).

After the surgery, it became apparent your mom could no longer stay at home. Turns out not planning a first floor bath and bedroom in that Dutch colonial was the fatal flaw that sent us scrambling for assisted living accommodations in an urgent, need it now situation - just like I figured it would go down. You can just imagine how much fun it was touring places with your father. We found a place close to the house in Wadsworth where he could visit every day. She complained bitterly about the food, which I found mildly ironic, since she wasn't the best cook. Then I discovered that complaining about the food is one of the main activities in nursing homes.

I tried drowning my sorrows and it turned out that, like stuffing one end of a pool float in the water, the other end just kept popping out of the water. Your parents had no one else, so they just couldn't help calling me constantly, not really to ask how I was doing, I don't think they ever did actually, but to constantly test me to make sure I was going to take care of them to the bitter end.

I did stupid things with inappropriate people, all the while trying to tread the water of sanity while your parents constantly grabbed me by the ankle and pulled me back underwater. Mostly I was just numb. All of the time. No one apparently understood; no one offered to help. I thought about suicide. A lot.

I finally couldn't take the bullshit of my corporate life. On almost exactly my tenth anniversay, I quit. Regardless of what a couple of the self centered assholes I worked with think, I did not get fired. I could have have made them work at firing me; I didn't have the energy to stay that course, so I called bullshit and left.

I gardened and cooked and tried to get some sense of calm in the never ending undertow of need of your parents. Then I remembered the gift certificate for the personal chef that we bought your parents as a gift, and my new career was born. Then I chickened out when I was offered a chance to go back to the corporate life.

The first few days back in the office your father ended up in the hospital, taken in by an ex-employee of the assisted living your mom was in, who was 'helping' by driving him to appointments and cleaning the house. He had two tumors taken out of his brain and was never the same afterwards. Was lucid for a few days, then totally out of it. The 'cleaning lady' caused extra trouble by telling them I was just trying to take their money, when in fact SHE was, and I eventually had to have the hospital staff ban her from visiting then reporting back to your mother with tales that made her hysterical. None of this worked out very well with my new job. One of the first few days I had to leave to change the locks and figure out what to do with Bob, the cat, who had apparently from the smell, decided the house was his litter box.

The stress really threatened to kill me. With the federal privacy laws, your mother would call the hospital where your father was and they would say he wasn't there. She would call me hysterical. The only way I could stay on top of it was to camp out at the hospital trying to talk to a doctor, then go to your mother in assisted living.

My cousin, an Air Force veteran, who had a bunch of young kids, was killed in a tragic car accident right before Good Friday in 2006. I took off work to go to the funeral and when I returned my boss called and told me I was fired. To be fair I'd already told her I wanted to quit so I wasn't too broken up. I'd hated every single second of being back in corporate prison. I went back to the personal chef plan. It was easier to launch a new business while juggling your parents than report to a boss that wasn't me.

Your dad lasted two years in the nursing home, completely unaware of who he was, or anyone else, including me or your mother. Most of the time he thought he was back in the Navy. Once he flirted with me, which was a little creepy. He was violent and prone to falling out of his wheelchair, which prompted calls to me nearly every night. He was in hospice and when he was taken off all of the drugs he'd been put on when he made going to doctors his main hobby, he actually got better physically and they eventually kicked him out. I had to clean out the house and auction it; it was in such bad shape I was happy to get anything out of it.

The economy took a shit and fortunately he was out of it when his portfolio took a massive hit when the markets started to tank. Your mother was blissfully clueless as I wrote huge monthly checks for their care.

Pneumonia finally claimed your father, and by then your mother was at peace because he'd really been gone for over 2 years by then. She ended up in the hospital nearly every year, usually around Christmas, and turned into a completely different, crazy person. Finally a nurse told me there was a condition called hospital psychosis. The minute she was wheeled through the hospital door she'd start hallucinating. She'd spin fantastic tales of parties and being taken to the roof for testing and telling me how the swans in the picture in her room where constantly changing direction. Her neighbor's phone would ring and she'd grab her call button and scream into it "Stop calling me!". Then she'd return to her room at the facility and melt back into her old self with barely a memory of being in the hospital.

Then she fell. Injured her shoulder, and that was the beginning of the end. I sat with her in the hospital all day. It was the Indians home opener; they couldn't pull off a win for her last game, sadly. She was out of it and I told her it was ok to go. She went peacefully in her sleep that night.

I've honestly lost track of when I became the last Mitchell standing, but roughly seven to eight years. I cleaned up the paperwork, which not surprisingly, did not go as smoothly as your father had hoped, including a six month battle with the IRS to get back a sizable refund, which resulted in me having to start a totally pointless probate process, that unfortunately, is still not closed.

Finally I had some time to release the stress and live my life without the constant weight of having to make sure someone else was ok. Played in the garden, ate better, went to the gym every day. Built my business and met a lot of fun people. Turned down jobs that just weren't appealing. I felt happy for the first time in a long time. I made lots of chef and foodie friends.

Then a year ago I went for a slightly overdue mammogram. Then got the 'come back for more tests' call. And as those tests progressed, I found out this time I wasn't so lucky. I suspect the years of constant stress probably gave the cancer cells a helluva kick start. Had surgery, then chemo, and radiation. It was a long winter.

Jake, who will always and forever be my favorite cat, snuggled close the entire time I was in treatment. He was either on my lap, or he started burrowing under the covers with me in bed. At seventeen, he wasn't a kitten anymore, and right before my last chemo he stopped eating and I knew it was time. So I sent him to keep you company. It nearly tore my heart out. I still miss him.

I'm better now. Older, fatter, grayer, probably wiser. I've shed all of the things and people that don't add any joy to my life. I try not to add anything or anyone that doesn't make me happy. I finally got the kitchen of my dreams. I am blissfully debt-free. I am happy.

I now know that you only get one soulmate. I think about you, and miss you, every single day. I sometimes think back to that conversation a few weeks before you were gone, when I begged you to take better care of yourself because "If you drop dead before you're fifty, I am going to be really pissed."

I wish I'd said instead "Because if you die before me, you're going to take a piece of my heart with you forever." xoxoxo

Dine-In Diva's Guide to Buying Pots & Pans

2011-12-03T06:56:00.001-05:00

As the holiday season approaches, new pots and pans (and other kitchen gadgets) often appear on wish lists, but how do you decide just exactly what are the right pots and pans for you? With a myriad of finishes, sizes, types, and manufacturers, the task of selecting a workable collection can be daunting, especially for the beginner cook.

Whether you are purchasing them as a gift, or for yourself, the first question you should ask, is 'What do I cook?' The number of people you cook for also can influence your purchases.

Should you buy a set? Besides the expense of buying a collection, vs. individual pieces, there is a likelihood that some of those pieces are going to go unused, so it wouldn't be my preferred method.

I think there is a tendency to lean towards the set your mother used, and my first set was the same as my mother's, a heavy duty Club Aluminum set consisting of a dutch oven, a large frying pan, and two sauce pans, each with a heavy lid with a large plastic handle. Club Aluminum is apparently out of business, no doubt due to the persistent reports that cooking in aluminum contributes to Alzheimer's Disease, but a quick search on the internet reveals there are still plenty of devotees, with sources to buy replacement parts, and plenty showing up on EBay as collectibles. And I am sure my mother's avocado green pieces are still in service.

Since I really didn't know how to cook when I got married, I graduated to a set of completely non-stick pans, probably Calphalon. I really think non-stick everything was invented because people didn't know how to cook and freaked out when something stuck to a pan; in fact I overheard a couple complaining in Williams Sonoma that things stuck to the Le Creuset they were browsing and I wanted to shout at them - "IT'S BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T GET THE PAN HOT ENOUGH AND THEN LEAVE THE FOOD ALONE". But I decided that probably wasn't going to change their minds and kept that information to myself.

I had the dark anodized set and it was hard to see what was going on in the pans most of the time, which wasn't totally critical, since I wasn't that proficient anyway. The set itself, was functional enough, and like high thread count sheets, until I cooked with some stainless All Clad, you probably couldn't have convinced me it was THAT much better. Of course now I am ruined for both the All Clad and the high thread count sheets.

Attempting to create and use fond, the delicious brown flavorful bits, left in the pan after browning and sautéing, is virtually impossible in a non-stick or anodized pan. You're cheating yourself out of an important flavor component by not learning the technique properly, using the proper equipment.

Thanks to the twice yearly All Clad factory sale, coincidentally that is going on this weekend, I have accumulated quite a collection, but there is a core collection of pieces that I use most frequently, and the winners are:

1 - All Clad French non-stick skillet 7.5" - about the only thing I want non-stick for now is my morning eggs, so this one gets used nearly every day. Get a larger one if you are making more than 2 eggs at a time

2 - A large, heavy bottom stock pot - this doesn't have to be a fancy brand, but it does have to be heavy and feel sturdy, stainless steel preferred. I've tried cooking with the cheap, thin ones, and it's just no fun. You'll use this for boiling water for pasta, making stocks & soups, blanching water for veggies, so get a minimum of an 8 quart size, bigger if you can afford it and store it. You can also use a larger one, fitted with a rack or towel in the bottom, as a makeshift canner for small batches of jams.

3 -Large Saute/Skillet/Frying Pan Stainless Steel - there are a variety of sizes available, you are looking for something in the 10" - 12" range (14" if you have a big family, and a big stovetop). The sauté pans have straight vs. sloped sides in the skillets, and will hold a larger quantity of food, so I am recommending this 3 quart stainless steel sauté pan, over the others because you will get the most use from it. Make sure it can go directly into the oven - the All Clad is safe to 500 degrees. Use this pan to sauté or sear roast meats and vegetables. A lid is nice, but honestly I very rarely use a lid with this pan, and when I do I use a a universal lid or foil.

Caramelizing Onions

4 - 2 or 3 quart saucepan with lid - for making grains, heating soup, making sauces. I am, of course, partial to my All Clad, but as long as you find a sturdy one, you'll be fine.

5 - 5 to 6.5 quart enamel covered cast iron dutch oven - The best in this class is Le Creuset, which is pricey, but if you don't get too hung up on getting your preferred color, and there are lots of pretty ones, you'll find them often at TJ Maxx or Homegoods.

In fact my first Le Creuset was a beautiful lime green 9.5 quart that I scored at Homegoods. I loved that pan so much that I started using it as often as possible. Shortly after I got though, I was shopping for a personal chef client, and when I opened the hatch of my truck, the pan shot out, barely missing my foot, and bounced off of the asphalt, leaving it with a pretty sizable crack. While they are warrantied for normal use, I am pretty sure this would not have been considered normal. I couldn't bear to throw it out, so it is now a flower pot on my front porch. I bought the Lodge version to replace it, but I never fell in love with it like I did the Le Creuset, which I eventually replaced with an orange version at Homegoods.

For soups, stews, and braises, including tender pot roasts, this is my go to pan. I also use them when I make jams and jellies. It is also an essential tool for the popular no knead bread. If you are getting one mostly for the bread, make sure you get one with a metal handle (there was a rash of handle thefts when the plastic ones melted, and Le Creuset now sells the metal lids separately), and I probably wouldn't use a Le Creuset for it, because the high heat will discolor your pan. (You can see the discoloration on my green one below from baking bread in it) I saw a nice one at Sams Club for about $40, and TJMaxx and Homegoods have knockoffs.

Stock Pots and Le Creuset hard at work on soup and stock day

6 - 2 to 4 rimmed half sheet pans and parchment paper - I am partial to the ones from Sams Club, sold in a 2 pack for around $12. They are a little more heavy duty than "cookie sheets" and are probably my most used pans - I can get 6 at a time in my oven if need be. Even with the parchment liners, which I buy in bulk and pre-cut to fit, they will turn ugly in no time, but at that price when they get too nasty, I just replace them.

My other preference, is to keep your most used pans on a hanging rack; mine was custom designed at a sheet metal shop to fit over the window. They also crafted the hooks. You have to use the pans though, otherwise you've created a dusty, sticky centerpiece. I like a tiered rack for the Le Creuset because they are heavy and bulky to store.

*Disclaimer: I have an Amazon affiliate account and your purchases through any of my links will put a few pennies in my account. I earn enough to buy a couple of cookbooks a year. I promise there isn't enough for a nice vacation or I'd already be gone.

Pastured Pork Chop with Spiced Pecan Apples

2011-12-01T06:45:00.001-05:00

A few simple ingredients

If you've stopped eating pork chops because you think they're too dry and flavorless, you probably have two issues: Overcooking, and factory farmed meat. Both are easily correctable. The USDA has lowered the temperature for cooking pork to 145 degrees (vs. the previous 160 degrees), which cooks it to a a juicy, tender, lightly pink, medium rare. (And despite what my mom says, you are not going to get trichinosis) This is when your Thermopen really comes in handy. You can get pasture raised pork at your nearest farmers market. Mine came from my CSA farm, Brunty Farms.

Take your pork out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before dinner and let it rest and lose it's chill a bit while you prep the rest of your dinner. Super cold meat plus super hot pan equals cooked on the outside, but not the inside. Pat the chops dry and rub with some Penzeys Bicentennial Rub on each side. (rub has salt, sugar, black pepper, orange peel, turmeric, and coriander)

Core and chop your apple while a couple of teaspoons of butter melts in a skillet. Add the apples and sauté until they soften and turn a nice golden brown. Add a splash of apple cider if you have some, and drizzle with a spoonful of Pecan Praline vinegar. There is a commercial brand available at large supermarkets, but I got mine at The Olive and The Grape at West Side Market. It's an infused, thick, slightly sweet balsamic with a spiced pecan flavor.

Remove the apples to a bowl, then wipe out your skillet with a dampened paper towel. I did not do that you can see that my fond got a little too dark to be usable for a finishing sauce. This is a stainless pan, which I prefer to a non-stick when searing meat. Never fear, the pan is as clean and shiny as new - I added a bit of water and scraped most of it out while it was warm, and finished cleaning it with a bit of Bar Keepers Friend.

Brown the chops in a bit of butter and bit of olive oil. These chops weren't that thick and probably only took about 5 minutes a side. If my fond had been usable, I would have deglazed the pan with some cider and scraped the brown bits from the pan with a wooden spoon. Maybe added a bit of butter and a little more of the pecan vinegar.

I garnished the chop with some chopped Sweet and Spicy Pecan from Trader Joes. You could use this recipe if you don't have a TJ's nearby.

Pastured Pork Chop with Spiced Pecan Apples
Serves 2, can be easily doubled

1 - 2 teaspoons Penzeys Bicentennial Rub
2 pasture raised, bone-in pork chops2 teaspoons butter
1 tart apple, such as Granny Smith, diced
1/4 c. apple cider
1 teaspoon Spiced Pecan Balsamic Vinegar
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup of Sweet and Spicy Pecans, roughly chopped

Pat chops dry and rub with Bicentennial Rub. Let rest at room temperature at least 30 minutes.

Melt butter in large skillet, then add chopped apples and sauté until softened and golden brown. Add cider and reduce until glazed, then add vinegar and toss to coat.

Wipe skillet with damp paper towel. Add butter and olive oil and heat to medium high. Add chops and cook approximately 5 minutes on each side for thinner chops, until center temp, not touching bone reaches 140 degrees (will come up to 145 while resting).

Serve pork chop atop apples and garnish with chopped pecans.

10% Discount, Free Shipping on My Favorite Shopping Totes

2011-11-22T14:42:00.001-05:00

I get a lot of compliments while shopping because I almost always have a least one of these Reisenthel Shopping Totes with me. I love them because the construction is sturdy, the single handle makes it easy to carry, there is a small zippered pocket for your keys and cash, and it's easy to clean and disinfect.

I have a few knock-off versions, but the Reisenthel's are my favorite, and are really worth the $40 price tag.

At the farmers market with my tote

I am now an official affiliate of A Touch of Europe, which sells the full line of totes, in a lot of fun colors and prints, plus their line of bottle carriers (I have the lime green one, of course). The link to shop is to your top on the right side.

Because I believe Black Friday should be spent in your jammies (at home please), eating leftovers, here is a an on-line code for you to get 10% off your order, and free shipping on over $50 orders, from Thursday through Tuesday. Happy shopping.

New Twists on Thanksgiving Sides Class

2011-11-15T14:19:00.001-05:00

Showing class how to mince a shallot

You may notice something different about the blog, I'm excited to debut my new logo and banner designed by the talented Margaret Chayka, who has designed all of my logos and graphic design pieces. Depending on when you read this post, you might not be seeing the final design, I just loaded a draft on today, and there will be a few tweaks. What do you think? Leave me a comment. The start of more new things to come, including a new camera and better photos.

Back to the business at hand, Saturday marked my first hands-on cooking class at The Cucina at Gervasi Vineyards. As you saw from the last post, there is a big beautiful commercial kitchen space for the students to work.

The class featured new twists on Thanksgiving side dishes, plus a few of my most requested holiday recipes (red ones have links to the recipes):

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Nuts
Pumpkin Pie Dip with Pie Crust Cookie Dippers
Celery, Date, Walnut Salad with Pecorino
Chinese Five Spiced Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Toffee Topping
Green Beans with Lemon Vinaigrette and Toasted Parmesan Breadcrumbs
Roasted Cranberry Sauce with Herbed Candied Nuts
Savory Pumpkin & Herb Bread Pudding

We had a nearly sold out class of fourteen students, and everyone got to take part in creating the recipes. I brought along some fun gadgets, new cookbooks, and some of my most useful kitchen tools, to give everyone a head start on making their holiday wish lists. Here's a shot of one of the students modeling my onion goggles, which were a gift from one of my clients. Especially in late spring, when all of the onions have been in storage all winter and are extra pungent, they come in handy and actually do work.

Karen modeling Onion Goggles

We had a five hour class time, so I invited my friend Scot Jones, formerly of VegiTerranean, to come and do a demo. Scot made a delicious Celery Root and Parsnip Soup featuring cashew cream, which can be substituted for heavy cream in recipes to make them dairy free. The class really enjoyed Scot's demo and soup, plus some inside scoop on his new restaurant venture in California with Chrissie Hynde, Ellen DeGeneres, and Portia DeRossi. We'll miss him here, but it's a great opportunity, and I can't wait to hear more about the menu and new restaurant.

Scot Jones soup demo

After all of the dishes were completed, the class plated everything and a buffet was set up just outside the kitchen. While the class enjoyed the fruits of their labor, Cucina Director, Jennifer Wolfe Webb, provided some helpful information on pairing wines with the Thanksgiving meal, which can be a tricky one to pair, given all the different flavors involved, as the class sampled Gervasi's own versions of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Jennifer recommends the book What to Drink With What You Eat (I do too), which includes beer and other beverage pairings in addition to wine, by simply looking up what you are planning to eat. The same authors, Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, have also just released their newest book, The Food Lovers Guide to Wine, which is definitely on my to buy list.

The class was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to my next one, which features all mushroom recipes, including some client favorites, Mad for Mushrooms, and by popular request, Fighting Cancer from the Kitchen, which will feature ingredients shown in studies to help fight cancer, plus some nourishing recipes and tips to help those currently in treatment. I am working on a few more classes for the March - May calendar potentially, including Cook Like a Personal Chef, and Cooking a Farm Share & Farmers Market Finds. If there are specific classes you'd like to see, please leave a comment or send me an e-mail.

With the Student's Dishes

*All photos courtesy of Jennifer Wolfe Webb

Gervasi Village & Cucina Sneak Peek

2011-10-15T09:25:00.002-04:00

Entrance to Villa Grande

You know the saying, "Go big, or go home?" That pretty much epitomizes the ongoing development of Canton's popular, Gervasi Vineyard and Italian Bistro. I was fortunate enough to meet the Swaldos a few years ago at a local wine bar where I prepared a tapas tasting menu for them. They told me about their plans to build a winery in Canton across from Rice's Nursery, which would include a small casual dining menu.

I know that what actually was built in the form of the Bistro and marketplace far exceeded what I'd envisioned from those early conversations , and I think it's safe to say at this point, it's exceeded what the Swaldos originally envisioned as well.

The destination complex, which really does feel like you've escaped Northeast Ohio, has evolved to include a hugely popular outdoor gazebo for weddings (60 held this summer), an outdoor patio with bocci courts, a summer farmers market, and now an event center, Villa Grande, with a professional kitchen which will host hands-on cooking classes from fall to spring, as well as provide catering for the weddings that were previously outsourced, plus 24 luxury suites for overnight stays.

Chandelier with over 200 wine bottles

This stunning custom made chandelier made with over 200 Gervasi wine bottles hangs high above the entrance and check-in area for the Cucina and villas. A cozy fireplace with comfortable chairs is situated across from the desk, and a dining area where the cooking class students will enjoy their creations with a glass of wine, is framed by a beautiful hand painted mural by a local artist.

Four six burner stove station

There are four six burner professional range stations, and the cooking classes will be set up with a maximum of sixteen students, each with ample work room, and access to brand new, state of the art equipment.

Larger view of the kitchen

The kitchen also houses a pastry station with a professional pasta machine imported from Italy, and a rotating oven. In addition to taking in-house the currently outsourced bread and pasta doughs, specific pastries will be made there which will be available exclusively to the Villa guests.

Queen Suite

There are six four bedroom villa suites with fireplaces, each with a common area and patio. You may rent an individual room or the entire suite. Luxury linens, large flat screen televisions, plush robes, and beautiful bathrooms are in each suite.

Gorgeous Bath with Walk-In Shower

The villas feature geo-thermally heated and cooled flooring. The bathrooms have huge double showers.

Four Poster King in the 2 level suite

Each villa features one two-level king luxury suite with a sitting area on the first floor, and the bed on the second floor.

Wet Bar in King Suite

Greenhouse

One of the other unique features is an on-site greenhouse which will be used to grow heirloom vegetables and herbs in the cooking classes as well as the kitchen. I've already provided the gardener with a list of my requests - how cool is that?

Back patio view overlooking the villas

Executive conference room

There are several conference rooms, including this beautifully appointed one on the second floor of the event center.

Water Wheel at the entrance

The water wheel at the front entrance pays tribute to the property's former use as a sawmill. Wetlands on the property have been preserved, and there is a portion of the Stark County bike and hike trail that runs along the edge of the property.

You can see for yourself at the upcoming public open houses, which are free but require registration:

Wednesday October 19th, 1 PM- 4 PM

https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventInner?oeidk=a07e4vm0ac9546e0f70&oseq=#

Saturday October 22nd, 10 AM -1 PM

https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventInner?oeidk=a07e4vm0ahq39e11b9d&oseq=#

Sunday October 23rd, 1 PM -4 PM

https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventInner?oeidk=a07e4vm0ak7eee8792e&oseq=#

The cooking classes, along with instructor bios (including mine) are listed on the website and can be signed up for the links there. I'm one of ten instructors, including the fabulous Bev Shaffer and author Carla Snyder. Some of the classes are set up as weekend workshops specifically geared towards the upcoming holiday season.

My first class is New Twists on Thanksgiving sides, plus I am including two of my most popular fall items, Pumpkin Pie Spiced Nuts and Pumpkin Dip with Pie Crust Cookie Dippers. It's a five hour session which will give you plenty of hands-on time in that gorgeous kitchen. Sign-up quickly, because I'm pretty sure there are only a few seats left.

Hope to see you there soon.

I've been Jamming

2011-09-08T07:55:00.000-04:00

So I've been a blog slacker. It's been nearly a month since I posted. But I have a good excuse.

First, I went back to work with bang with an annual all day client event in August, which thanks to my friend, Mary Beth Brinkerhoff, of For Goodness Taste, who was the best sous chef ever, everything went great and the client and guests were all very happy.

The event, between the planning, shopping, execution, and clean-up consumed the better part of ten days. I didn't check my garden for a few days, so imagine my surprise when I went out and discovered this:

Baby Chuck

Chuck Jr., went into the live trap, which wasn't baited at the time, so I hadn't checked it. Originally I put in an ear of corn, which the chipmunks promptly feasted on without tripping the trap. He looked hungry (well, and a little pissed off), so I gave him some shredded squash. Then I took him to live on a nice farm. Unfortunately as far as the garden goes, the damage is done.

Moving to the indoor critters, apparently stocking up on cat food on sale turned out to be a bad idea. It must have been a bad batch, because the entire crew turned up their noses at most of it, including the resident pig, Bubba, and what little they did eat appeared on the living room carpet. It was like having an undiapered baby running loose for a few days. Not pretty.

So a Saturday morning discussion with my handyman, as we were compiling the most recent list of things we needed from Lowes to keep this place from falling apart, turned to the living room floor. As in "Hey, let's measure the room and take a look at the hard flooring options and price it out". Which turned in to this:

New cherry laminate flooring going down

This cherry laminate, which was perfect, was on clearance for about $1 a square foot. And they just happened to have enough boxes, plus a few spares, so rather than debate it and lose it, I bought it on the spot. Monday, the carpet and seven billion staples on the floor came out, and by Tuesday, the new floor was going down.

Of course you can't have new floors without painting the walls. I spent a long winter curled up in the recliner riding out the post chemo weeks. Especially towards the end, I really wished that the walls were a little sunnier, so I finally made that happen. The living room is now "Arizona" (Behr), with the far end is a few shades darker, "Crispy Gingersnap", the same as in the kitchen. The mantel got a nice coat of "New Leaf".

Welcome to Arizona

New Leaf

Is it finished? Uh, no. But it's getting there. New drapes, furniture slipcovers and pillows purchased, trim and a little more painting, and it's a new room. Even partially done, it makes me happy.

Since I hadn't actually planned to tear out an entire 400 square foot room and redo it, just to make things more fun, in between coats of paint and trips to Lowes and Home Depot (speaking of which - hey Home Depot, I'll gladly ring and bag my own purchases, just let me know when my health insurance benefits kick in), I had a kitchen full of ripening fruit that was destined for jam. Peaches, nectarines, and figs. Lots of figs.

This Fig Jam with Fennel Pollen is my favorite of the fig recipes I made. And this Tomato Jam with Bourbon was the most surprisingly delicious - I made three batches, and gave away a lot of them already. Highly recommended. The Peppered Peach with Rosemary is pretty awesome too.

Figs from West Side Market

My Jam Session

Pretty Pickles

So that's my excuse. I've been jamming.

Fresh From the Garden Bread Pudding

2011-08-14T21:03:00.001-04:00

The weather has been picture perfect beautiful this week. Mild temperatures, low humidity, gentle breezes - it's what everyone wishes the weather was like more frequently around here. My garden looked lush and full of promise with ripening fruits dangling from the tomato plants and the squash seemingly producing new fruit, ready to eat, every day.

Then Chuck showed up.


What's left of my squash plants


Chuck's Hidey Hole Behind my House

In a single day, Chuck managed to eat most of the leaves off of my squash plant, the tops of my cucumber plants, 2 entire parsley plants, a lemon basil plant, and what few tomatoes the chipmunks haven't already eaten. We ran into each other three separate times that day and neither one of us was none to happy to see the other.

On day two I headed to Copley Feed for some fox urine, which as one of my friends so aptly put it, is supposed to give groundhogs the heeby jeebies. Sold out. As was the garden center. Apparently Chuck had been fox peed out of other gardens leaving me as the hostess of his new favorite salad bar. I ended up buying a couple of other spray concoctions one of which contained herb oils and putrescent eggs. Mmmmmm.

Day three as I headed to gym I spied some road kill. Apparently Chuck headed down to the gas station for a six-pack and some smokes and didn't look both ways before crossing the road. Unfortunately as I started typing this post I spied out of the corner of my eye one of his kin bolting across my back yard. Sadly Bill Murray was not behind him with a golf club.

Tonight's supper was inspired by a stale partial loaf of ciabatta bread I bought at the farmer's market, one of my few remaining yellow squash, and survey of garden and CSA bits and pieces that need to be eaten.

Bread puddings aren't just for dessert. A savory bread pudding is the perfect way to use up stale bread, some vegetables, meat and cheese. With milk and eggs as on hand staples, you can pretty much come up with a different combination every time.

Fresh From the Garden Bread Pudding

Fresh From the Garden Bread Pudding

Sturdy leftover stale bread - cut or torn into approximately 1" pieces - enough to cover the bottom of a buttered 9 x 13 or 1 1/2 quart oval dish
1 T. olive oil
Chopped onion, shallot, or leeks - a cup or so
Couple of cloves of garlic, chopped
Other fresh or leftover cooked veggies (I used a small pepper, an ear of corn, stripped off, a small yellow squash, and four chopped plum tomatoes)
Meat, if you are in the mood - bacon, pancetta, ham, leftover roast beef, pork or chicken
Fresh herbs - I used basil
Cheese - a cup to a cup and a half of shredded cheese of choice (I used smoked mozzarella tonight)
1 c. milk (half and half, cream, whatever you've got)
6 eggs at room temperature (or put in a bowl of warm water while you prep the rest)
Salt and Pepper

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of your dish with butter. Put the bread cubes in the dish.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Saute the onion and garlic a few minutes until it begins to soften. Season with salt and peppers. Add your other raw veggies and saute for a few minutes. Season again. Put the vegetables (and any cooked meat you're using) on top of the bread cubes in the dish. Top with desired chopped herb(s).

Whisk the milk, eggs, and a teaspoon of kosher salt and several grinds of fresh pepper together.

Pour the milk mixture over the bread and add the shredded cheese. Toss to combine everything.

Bake on the center rack from 25 - 35 minutes until the top is puffed and golden brown. Insert a knife blade in the center to check if custard is set.

I'll Have What She's Having: Oven Fried Duck Fat Frites

2011-08-12T07:45:00.000-04:00

Oven Fried Duck Fat Frites

I've been back on Weight Watchers for about a month now. My original plan to start at the beginning of July derailed pretty quickly when I celebrated the 4th with some delicious duck fat fried wings and finished the first week at the amazing Brunty Farms plated landscape dinner. I actually gained 3 pounds the first week!

It hasn't been too difficult once I got in the groove, but I derailed a bit with three long work days in a row last week, which turned into non-gym days coupled with a few less than stellar food choices. On the first day the wheels came off I just decided to go for break even for the week, which is exactly where I ended up.

I did take measurements when I started, so I decided to check them this week. Even though the scale only shows a seven pound loss, I've lost a inch on my thighs and hips, and an inch and half on my waist. Not too shabby. It feels good to be sweating it out for an hour at the gym and to be back at my weight training class.

So, back to the duck fat. Not surprisingly, the WW site doesn't list duck fat in it's on-line point calculator. Should you eat it every day? Uh, no. But I'd rather see WW acknowledge it rather than spending so much effort encouraging members to eat fake foods because the points are low. I looked it up elsewhere and calculated that one tablespoon is 3 points, which is not bad in the big scheme of things. A cup of raw potato is 2. Five point frites - I'm in!

I thought about grilling them, since I was grilling a Black & Blue burger, plus a small yellow squash from the garden, and a few thin stalks of broccoli, but I ended up going with an oven fry. Here's how it went down.

Oven Fried Duck Fat Frites
One Serving

1 medium russet potato, peeled, and sliced into 1/4" fries
1 T. duck fat,
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
sprig of rosemary, chopped

Soak the peeled potato in hot water while the oven heats to 450 degrees. Go ahead and stick a half sheet baking pan in the oven while it preheats.

Melt duck fat inn a covered dish in the microwave for a minute. Drain potatoes and rinse with cold water. Pat them dry.

Toss potatoes in a bowl with the duck fat and season generously with kosher salt and pepper.

Remove baking sheet from the oven and add the potatoes. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then turn them every five minutes until they are crispy and golden brown on all sides.

Toss them in a bowl with the garlic and rosemary and check seasoning.

Eat. Enjoy every crispy bite. Moaning is optional, but recommended.

Lazy Days of Summer Cooking: No Recipe Summer Pasta

2011-08-09T08:56:00.001-04:00

My Latest CSA Pick-Up, Week 8

After a slow start to the CSA season, the veggies are coming fast and furious as we near the halfway mark in the season. This week brought another bag of dragon tongue beans, pickling cucumbers, a couple of onions, a couple of tomatoes, a zucchini, a yellow squash, new potatoes, cabbage, blackberries, lemon zucchini cookies, plus a chicken and a half dozen eggs.

I had a crazy busy week last week. I did my first food styling gig for one of the many movies that are filming in town. Lest you think that sounds glamorous, rest assured that I spent the better part of 18 hours over a two day period tucked in the back of garage waiting to crank out as many identically decorated pancakes as it took to get the scenes on film after multiple takes.

To complete the rest of my glamorous week, I fulfilled a five year old gift certificate by flipping crepes for 70 guests. There were so many people in the house, that I set up in the driveway. Which was fine until it started raining. The toppings bar was whisked inside, but I remained outdoors, and finished cooking my crepes standing at the back of an mini-van, sheltered by the opened hatch. Makes you want to sign up to be a personal chef, doesn't it?

The good news is that I had the foresight to add most of a quart of buttermilk to the bag containing my cut up chicken, so that when I got home from crepe fest a little earlier than I anticipated (and soaked down to my undies), I only needed to drain the chicken, pat it a bit, give it rub down with some mixed spices, and get it on the grill. Twenty five minutes later, and a kiss with some BBQ sauce the last few minutes, and dinner was nearly ready.

Buttermilk Brined Chicken

I haven't been to the Saturday farmers market for several weeks since I was either purging during the last ever garage sale, or helping prep with Dave Martin at Veggie U. So I was excited to finally get to go this past weekend. The booths were positively bursting with summer goodness! I traded a new never used juicer for some tomatoes (chimpmunks have decimated most of mine in the garden), lettuce, broccoli, red onions, and some beautiful eggplants. I also scored some sweet and juicy yellow sugar plums and freshly pulled corn on the cob.

Sunday night I made this recipe from Eating Well - Provencal Summer Vegetables, with a few twists of course. I didn't have any leeks on hand, so I thinly sliced the CSA onions on a mandoline and used in place of the leeks. For the cheese topping, I used a delicious local cheese from Blue Jacket Dairy. I made a perfect side for a leftover grilled chicken leg/thigh.

Provencal Summer Vegetables

Of course there were leftovers. And the extra veggies that didn't make it into the above recipe I roasted after tossing with a bit of Olive Tap's Basil Olive Oil. So as I began thinking about Monday's dinner, I knew there were leftover roasted veggies, fresh corn, beautiful small broccoli with tender stems, plus nearly a pound of ricotta cheese leftover over from crepe fest (I made a crazy good filling with ricotta, cream cheese, fresh orange juice and zest, and a bit of powdered sugar).

It's hot, I don't really feel like cooking much, and that is exactly where having a plan and some big picture concepts of how you are going to tackle that CSA share before the next week rolls around, come in handy. So consider this a sneak preview to one of my "No Recipes" in my book Seasons to Savor: Eating Locally, Seasonally, and Simply.

No Recipe Summer Pasta

2 - 4 ounces per person of whatever pasta shape you have on hand (reserve some pasta water)
1 c. or so of cooked or roasted vegetables, leftovers basically
fresh raw veggies of choice - something you can toss in the pasta water to cook briefly, like fresh corn or broccoli
'sauce' - a bit of butter, or olive oil, or ricotta or cream cheese
fresh herbs of choice - I used basil
grated cheese for topping
Salt and Pepper

Cook your pasta as directed on package in salted water. Reheat your cooked veggies in microwave (or oven) to heat through. Toss in your raw veggies the last few minutes the pasta is cooking.

Drain, reserving a bit of pasta water. Return pasta & veggies to warm pot, add desired 'sauce' components (one or more) including a spoonful or so of reserved pasta water, tear some herbs and add, season, then toss with tongs to combine.

My No Recipe Summer Pasta

Gadget Love: Strawberry Huller/Tomato Corer

2011-08-07T18:59:00.000-04:00

I'll admit, I was skeptical, but I read several glowing reviews of the Chef'n StemGem Strawberry Stem Remover in magazines this spring, so I sprung for one on my last visit to Sur la Table.

I gave it a workout yesterday with two huge Sam's Club containers of strawberries. It took me awhile to figure out the best way to insert the claw, and I ended up pulling off the green caps, then aiming the open claw, and plunging it over the stem, then letting it go. A gentle twist, and viola, out comes the bitter hull. A push of the button and it pops right out into your discard pile.

I doubt it would be effective on the small, ripe, local berries, I prefer, but on the standard supermarket ones, it works well, and leaves you with more edible berry than slicing off the tops. I had to use the knife to trim a few particularly large ones, but once I got the hang of it, the tool did the job.

Lest you scoff at yet another uni-tasker, I tried it this evening on some heirloom tomatoes, and it worked great on those as well.

The plump shape and bright color will make it easy to find in the drawer. It's a keeper.

BBQ Bonanza With Chef Dave Martin at The Culinary Vegetable Institute

2011-08-02T17:17:00.001-04:00

Me with Chef Dave Martin

What do you get when you combine beautiful, freshly picked seasonal vegetables, herbs, micro greens, and gorgeous proteins with an energetic, crazy-fun chef with a gift for combining seasonings and flavor profiles that honor the ingredients without overwhelming them? Simple, you've got season one Top Chef favorite, Chef Dave Martin at the amazing Culinary Vegetable Institute in Milan, Ohio.

I met Chef Dave at the CVI last year when he was in town for the monthly CVI Earth to Table dinner, coincidentally held on Mother's Day weekend, so his mother and sister were in attendance at the dinner, which was so sweet. It was refreshing to see that he was just as much fun in person, and that focusing on his true passion in food - doing events and teaching vs. restaurant work, just like it did for me, really makes him happy.

We subsequently became Facebook friends, and I was really touched when he sent me messages occasionally during my cancer treatments to check in and see how I was doing. When he was in town about a month ago for a dinner at The Wooster Inn with Certified Angus Beef Brand, he invited me to be his guest and we had a great time.

I wanted to repay his kindness by offering to help prep for his BBQ Bonanza class at CVI. The written menu blew me away, and I looked forward to working with the stunningly gorgeous produce of Chef's Garden.

The Menu
Getting Started...

Cool French Green Bean Salad with Purple, Green & Yellow French Beans with Sherry & Pomegranate Molasses Vinaigrette

Heirloom Tomato Caprese with Berkeley Tie-Die, Big Yellow Zebra, Cherokee Purple, Copia, Dr, Wyches, Great White, Pineapple & Velencia Heirloom Tomatoes stacked with Lime and Lemon Basil Leaves, Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella and sprinkled with Rogue River Bleu Cheese, Nueske's Cherry wood Bacon and Thai Basil Oil

Summertime ‘Pickle Me This' -Ver 2.0  A medley of pickled garden veggies to include Cherry Bomb & French Breakfast Radish, Dragon, Red, White & Pink Carrots, Romanesco Broccoli, Orange Cauliflower and more

‘Crave' House Salad-Bibb & Lolla Rossa Lettuces , Olive Leaf Arugula and Gold Leaf Spinach dressed with a Fresh Lemon & Chive Vinaigrette and topped off by Roasted Mushrooms & Shaved Parmesan

Animals, Animals, Animals....

Grilled Buttermilk Marinated Free Range Chicken with Dave's Roasted Poblano BBQ Sauce

Smokey Rubbed Certified Angus Beef Brand Hanger Steak with Groovy Gorgonzola

‘Out of this World' Chimichurri Marinated Certified Angus Beef Brand Skirt Steak

Hoisin and Apple Cider Marinated ‘Duroc' Pork Tenderloin served with Dave's Killer Peanut Sauce

All About the E2T....

‘Hells Bells'-Fire Roasted Cherry Bomb, Green Jalapeno, Hungarian Wax and Poinsettia Peppers

‘Don't Cry for Me, Milan'- Bianca DiMaggio, Candy Apple & Red Cippolini Onions marinated overnight in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Greek Oregano , Thyme, Sea Salt and Green Peppercorns and Grilled to perfection

Roasted Fingerling ‘Tata Salad' SANS Mayo- Enjoy this tasty Salad of Roasted Red Thumb, French,

Purple & Peanut Fingerling Potatoes with a Tasty Asian Lime & Ginger Vinaigrette (without any mayo in sight)

Summer Squash & Eggplant Medley- Santana, Lao White, Kermit & Bambino Eggplant along with Magda, One Ball, Gold & Green Zucchini with secret sauces for dipping

The Sweet Stuff....
Butterscotch Pudding with Nutmeg Cashews and Salted Cream

House made Crème Fraiche Ice Cream Sundaes with ‘from scratch' Hot Fudge & Caramel Sauces with Banana & Penny Royal Mint

The CVI Kitchen

After an hour drive, most of it on the turnpike, I arrived at the Culinary Vegetable Institute bright and early at 9:00 am to help prep for the 4:00 class and dinner for nearly 80 guests, which included the family of one of Dave's Make a Wish kids.

The menu started with Dave's demo on making a beautiful caprese salad, using some of the amazing heirloom tomatoes from Chefs Garden. Garnishing the salad was an amazing cherry wood smoked bacon from Nueskes, which would tempt even a vegetarian.

Trays of Heirloom Tomatoes

So beautiful

Dave Martin's Stacked Caprese

To complete the lesson on salads and vinaigrette making, Dave's Crave Salad with Mixed Greens, Spinach, and Shaved Parmesan, plus a beautiful Grilled Green Bean and Mushroom Salad was also served. The mushrooms, which I shot with my phone, and lost the shots, were breathtaking. Two large boxes contained 3 different types, including a golden Chanterelle, that tasted like bacon when they were roasted.

Colorful Mixed Beans & Shrooms

On every table were platters of pickled vegetables:

Pickled Vegetables

There are no photos of the proteins - there was way too much going on in the kitchen during service to even think about taking any, but there were four, including chicken, pork with an amazing peanut sauce, and two kinds of beef. Dave has a new line of delicious rubs and BBQ sauces, and everyone got to try them in meat courses, along with some skillfully made sauces that perfectly complimented each protein.

The vegetables that accompanied the meat courses were these melt in your mouth tender grilled onions with fresh thyme:

Onions with Herbs

And a duo of baby eggplants and baby squash punched up a bit with a spicy Asian dressing:

Baby Eggplant

Baby Squash

A selection of roasted peppers that Dave called "Hell's Bells:

Hell's Bells

I think my favorite vegetable dish was the roasted fingerling potato salad. The multi-colored potatoes were sliced thin, roasted until crispy, then tossed with a spicy Asian dressing accented with fresh lime juice and ginger.

Roasted Fingerling Potato Salad

There were two desserts - a butterscotch custard topped with a salted whipped cream and nutmeg cashews, and a creme fraiche ice cream sundae, topped with a two sauces that will be available from Dave's Flavor Quest line this fall - one chocolate and one caramel. Both are amazing. Micro mint from Chefs Garden completed the desserts.

Creme Fraiche Ice Cream

After the dinner, Dave posed for photos, sold copies of his second book Flavor Quest, Volume 2 (guests received a signed copy of Flavor Quest, Volume 1 with their ticket price), as well as his BBQ Sauces and rubs.

Flavor Quest, Volume 2

Chef Dave Martin in the CVI Kitchen

If you missed this fantastic meal, you'll be pleased to know that the Culinary Vegetable Institute holds monthly Earth to Table dinners, featuring a different chef and menu each month.

On August 27th, one of my favorite local monthly events, Dinner in the Dark, will be held at CVI (on a Saturday vs. the usual Monday). There are still tickets available, and I guarantee you it's worth the drive and you won't be disappointed. (the 'dark' part is that you won't know which 6 local chefs will be cooking that evening, nor what they are making, until you arrive; don't worry, the lights will be on and you won't be blindfolded). Go to Eventbrite to buy your tickets, which include the six course meal, beverage pairings with each course, plus tax & tip. Just show up and feast! I'll be there, will you?

Also, be sure and visit Dave's website to buy the BBQ sauces and rubs, and stay tuned for those delectable chocolate and caramel sauces. (there are also some tees with his Top Chef signature phrase...)

Gadget Love: Microwave Omelet Pot

2011-08-01T10:55:00.000-04:00

Sure it's super simple, and quick to make an omelet on the stove, but this handy ceramic pot is perfect for the dorm room, or for kids that aren't quite ready for the stove version. I bought it to use during chemo (when my egg consumption became life sustaining), when I wasn't quite up to using the stove. You can even pre-mix your ingredients right in the pot and stick it in the refrigerator until you're ready to microwave.

I like it because it's ceramic; I just don't think it's a good idea to microwave anything in plastic. Pros of the ceramic is that is dishwasher safe, cons are it gets hot quickly in the microwave, and oven mitts or potholders will be needed to remove it.

To make a quick omelet, rub the inside of the pot with a bit of butter, add chopped veggies, herbs, or other cooked ingredients, add one or two eggs (or whites only), season, whisk with a fork, cover, and microwave 1-2 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven using potholders or mitts, and either eat it straight from the pot, or pop the omelet out onto a plate.

Brunty Farms Plated Landscape Dinner

2011-07-15T08:23:00.000-04:00

Fresh Landscaping

Last Friday, on a perfect summer evening, I was one of the lucky forty one guests who scored a ticket to one of Spice of Life Catering's Plated Landscape dinners, this one held at my CSA Farm, Brunty Farms. Jeff and Mel, and many of the CSA members worked very hard to get the farm in tip top shape, including finishing some landscaping in front of the farmhouse, where we were greeted with a refreshing welcome cocktail of Blueberry Lavender Lemonade with Watershed Vodka (from Columbus, OH).

Blueberry Lavender Lemonade w/Watershed Vodka

While we were sipping our cocktails and waiting for all of the guests to arrive, spicy cold Carrot Ginger Soup shots were passed, and a delicious pork terrine with crostini and coarse mustard were our pre-tour appetizers.

Ginger Carrot Soup Shots and Pork Terrine

Jeff Brunty and Melanie Schenk led the group on a tour of the farm and showed us where the meat chickens were being raised in tractors in the pasture, where they are moved frequently after grazing on the grass and fertilizing the pasture.

Chef Ben Bebenroth, Jeff & Mel

We then moved on to meet the laying hens, who were getting ready to roost for the evening, and this poor lost lamb, who got separated temporarily from the flock and cried plaintively, until she figured out how to get back to the group.

Mel and the Laying Hens

Lost Lamb

We then trekked up the hill to the greenhouses housing the older chicks and baby turkeys, next to the the pig pasture. The pigs figured we might be bearing food, so they moved their way from the back towards us. This tiny red one escaped the farm for a few days, and Jeff and Mel assumed she'd met her fate at the hands of one of the coyotes roaming the park. Then there was a knock on the door, and a neighbor holding the wayward pig, who had wandered quite far from the farmhouse.

Lil Red

We then headed to sheep pasture, where a long table was set for dinner, flanked by tents housing Spice of Life's outdoor kitchen. The temperature was perfect, humidity low, and bugs virtually non-existent.
We were greeted with an appetizer of Brunty Farms Chicken Wings, fried, with some fiery spices.

Table set-up in sheep pasture

The first course was an earthy, chilled beet soup that was perfectly accented by a touch of tangy goat cheese. A salad course followed, which was perfectly balanced, which I forgot to photograph.

Cold Beet Soup with Goat Cheese

There was lively conversation at the communal table, as strangers became friends. Farm dog, Riley, fresh from the groomer, was transfixed by the band, whose cello rested on an unattainable tennis ball, and violinist kept taunting him with a 'stick' he wouldn't throw.

Riley the Wonder Dog

The tables were decorated with cattails and other greenery foraged from the farm.

Farm Fresh Centerpiece

The sheep grazed around the table, led by the feisty ram, Caesear, who, did indeed ram a few guests, but could be deterred with a firm shove.

Sheep, wondering why we were grazing in their pasture

The next course was amazing - Pappardelle made with Brunty Eggs and mushrooms from Killbuck Valley Farms.

Pasta with Mushroom

When I saw Ben Bebenroth manning the fryer, I was a happy camper. When the Buttermilk Fried Chicken Thigh with Garlic Gravy and farm fresh green beans was served, I was even happier. The thick delicious crust had a beguiling combination of spices that the Colonel could only dream of.

Fried Chicken Thigh, Garlic Gravy, over Farm Fresh Beans

As the sun began to set over the table, the final savory course, a Brunty Pork Loin, over ratatouille appeared.

Dinner Underway

Pork Loin atop Ratatouille

By the time dessert appeared, a creamy vanilla custard with cherries, darkness had descended, and the table was aglow with candlelight.

Candelit

Vanilla Custard with Cherries

Each course was paired with a wine, and the pairings for the most part were spot on. My only criticism however, involves the wine service. There was only one stemless wine glass on the table per guest, and it seemed like every time I turned around a server appeared with the next wine before the last was finished. Putting out two glasses would have solved the 'dump or come back dilemma' and made the wine service seem less rushed.

Jeff and Mel

I've really enjoyed working with Jeff and Melanie the last few years. At 25 and 24, respectively, they have wisdom beyond their years, and the youth and energy required to take care of an astounding number of animals in a caring, sustainable way.

Everyone had a great time. I'd highly recommend getting a seat at one of Spice of Life's remaining dates if you can. And getting your hands on some of the most delicious eggs available locally, from Brunty Farms.

Blueberry Pork Tenderloin with Blueberry Chutney

2011-07-14T20:28:00.000-04:00

Pork Tenderloin with Blueberry Chutney

Lean pork tenderloin and sweet/tart fruity sauces are a match made in heaven. A trip to the farmers market yielded a quart of sweet, juicy, local blueberries, and a farm fresh pork tenderloin from Brunty Farms was defrosting in the fridge, and this was the flavorful result.

You can find The Olive Tap at many farmers markets, including the new Peninsula Farmers Markets on Wednesdays. (I am back on the Weight Watchers wagon so I was stingy with the oil; you can be more generous). You can also adjust the sugar depending on how sweet your berries are.

Pork Tenderloin with Blueberry Chutney
4 Servings

Chutney:
1/4 t. Meyer Lemon Olive Oil (The Olive Tap)

1/3 c. chopped red onion
1 T. Blueberry Balsamic Vinegar (The Olive Tap)
1 t. Coconut Vinegar (The Olive Tap)
1/4 t. cardamom
1 T. dark brown sugar
1/4 c. red onion
1 pint blueberries, rinsed, picked over
salt and pepper

For Pork:
1 pork tenderloin - trimmed
1 t. Penzeys Mural of Flavor Seasoning
salt and pepper
1 t. Meyer Lemon Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 1/4 t. lemon olive oil in medium saucepan and saute onion a few minutes until softened. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer over low heat while preparing the pork.

For pork - heat 1 teaspoon of meyer lemon olive oil in medium oven proof skillet. Rub seasoning and salt and pepper on pork, then brown on each side in hot oil. Finish cooking in preheated oven, about 15 minutes, until internal temp reaches 145 degrees. Rest, then slice, and serve with sauce.

WW Bonus Tip: I steamed my crinkle cut squash, (easy, with a crinkle cutter) then tossed in the pan juices left from the pork since I already counted the oil in my points tally.

Grilled Scallops with Corn, Bacon, Tomatoes & Dill

2011-07-10T21:34:00.001-04:00

Smoked Salt with Lemon & Dill

I love discovering new salts and seasonings, especially if I can purchase them from small, preferably local vendors. I met Nathan, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, with a line of artisan salts, dry rubs, and marinades at the farmers market at Gervasi Vineyard. (If you haven't checked out Gervasi yet, with it's delicious rustic Italian dining and wine, with beautiful grounds and an outdoor patio - get there as soon as possible!)

I purchased a tantalizing smoked salt that is combined with preserved lemon and dill. Doesn't that sound delicious? I'm sure it will be tasty on salmon. Yes, salmon, after many false starts on the road to loving salmon, the Copper River has converted me.

Tonight, however, three large, beautiful sea scallops from Kate's Fish at West Side Market, were in the fridge, along with an an ear of fresh corn, fresh dill, garlic scapes from my Brunty Farms CSA. With a slice of apple smoked bacon from the freezer, and fresh pasta from Ohio City Pasta, and a handful of grape tomatoes, inspiration for dinner struck.

I fired up the grill, then rubbed the shucked ear of corn with some Meyer Lemon Olive Oil from The Olive Tap. I put the ear of corn on the grill while I prepped the other ingredients. I pressed the shallots between paper towels to get all of the moisture out, then sprinkled them with the smoked salt and some coarse black pepper.

You know what a pain it is to slice those tiny grape tomatoes in half one at a time? Here is a great trick: Put the washed tomatoes on a small plastic lid like this:

Then cover them with another lid, put your hand flat over the top, then run a serrated knife through the tomatoes to slice.

And, viola, quick and easy, sliced tomatoes.

Grilled Scallops with Corn, Bacon, Tomatoes & Dill
1 Serving

1 slice of Applewood Smoked Bacon
3 Large Sea Scallops, cleaned, dried between paper towels
1 ear of fresh sweet corn, shucked and silk removed
1 t. Meyer Lemon Olive Tap Olive Oil
smoked sea salt with preserved lemon and dill
freshly ground black pepper
1 large garlic scape, minced
10 grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 # fresh pasta
fresh lemon juice

Heat grill to medium high. Put large pot of water on to boil from the pasta.

Rub corn with a paper towel dipped into the Meyer Lemon olive oil, then place on the grill to char, turning occasionally. Cut the kernels from the cob.

Cook the bacon until crispy, then remove the bacon to drain, reserving the grease in the pan. Add the corn kernels, chopped garlic scapes, and grape tomatoes to the bacon grease and cook over medium for a few minutes, then set aside off heat while you grill the scallops a few minutes on each side.

Cook the pasta for a minute or so, then drain and put in serving dish. Add fresh chopped dill and season with salt and pepper to the corn mixture, then toss with the pasta and top with the scallops. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over and crumble the bacon on top.

Adventures in Chicago Part I: Bloch Cancer Survivors Park

2011-06-30T07:54:00.001-04:00


Cancer Survivors Plaza, Chicago

I can't remember the last time I had an actual vacation, but I can tell you that I was really looking forward to a weekend with friends in Chicago, and it was fantastic. Four of us arrived on Friday and checked into the chic WIT Hotel in the theater district. After a glass of wine on the 26th floor roof top bar, we headed to Lincoln Park for some fabulous Thai food at Aroy Thai.

We could see the famous "Bean" in Millennium Park from the hotel, and Saturday morning, a couple of us headed off to see it up close. Purely by accident, we came across a beautiful garden, with Bloch Cancer Survivors Plaza at the entrance. Kismet?

From the R.A. Bloch Cancer Foundation website: "In 1978, Richard Bloch, co-founder and honorary chairman of the board of H & R Block, Inc. was diagnosed with “terminal” lung cancer. With the help of his wife, Annette, doctors who said he could beat the cancer, and his own determination, Bloch waged a bitter two-year war on the insidious disease. So dramatic was his fight and recovery that Bloch and his wife devoted their lives to helping others stricken with cancer."

They've built these gardens throughout the country, see a visual tour here.

Entrance to Cancer Survivors Garden

The entrance to the garden is framed by two large Gothic columns and an iron arch of triumph.

Beautiful View from the Garden Entrance

Row of Column Planters

Close-Up of Flower Column

In between the column planters were inspirational plaques:

Damn Good Advice

One of mine was the trip to Chicago!

The garden continues towards Lake Michigan and Lakeshore Drive.

View from the end of the garden

And ends with this odd installation of orange and yellow sprayed trees.


Looks like where dead trees go instead of the landfill

It was a beautiful day and a pleasant stroll through the garden. I'll have to look up where the Cleveland garden is. I spent yesterday weeding and deadheading my own garden, and said a prayer of thanks that I am around to see it bloom another year.

Hair's Looking at You!

2011-06-17T09:19:00.000-04:00

Here comes the hair again

I haven't written an update on my life as a full-time cancer patient for awhile for a couple of reasons. First, I am tired of it already. The six weeks after chemo were pretty brutal. It all seemed to catch up, and I felt weak, exhausted, and totally beat up. I lost my favorite cat, Jake, who spent the last six months constantly on my lap. At nearly 17, he did his best to stick it out to the end, but after my last chemo, I knew it was time to say goodbye. Even though it nearly killed me.

Jake's final resting spot overlooking the garden

Then followed seven weeks of daily visits to the hospital for radiation (some days, two trips, if an infusion or follow up visit was scheduled). The treatment itself doesn't take but a couple of minutes, and AGMC conveniently lets you park right by the door, so you're in and out. I was the last appointment of the day, 4:40, and was on time except for one day when there was an hour back-up, which is pretty remarkable when you think about it. (They changed appointment intervals from 15 to 20 minutes, which really helped)

The first five weeks were no big deal. Then it started to look like I'd laid out in the sun with one of the girls exposed. It started to itch. And then by week six it was burnt, raw, and weeping underneath. A bra was out of the question. I didn't make many public appearances that week. Of course, every time I did, I'd run into someone I knew. A giant vat of cream was dispensed to prevent infection, but it didn't really do anything to address the pain.

One of my radiology techs explained it like this: Radiation is like getting kicked by a little girl. It doesn't hurt much at first, but after six weeks, it starts to get bad. Then after she stops, it still hurts for a few weeks.   Which about sums it up.

Just about when I was ready to yell "Uncle", they switch from from full breast radiation to a booster that targets just the area where your tumor was removed on the theory that is where the cancer is most likely to return. I got a big green sharpie X (they'd noticed green was my favorite color after say, 26 trips) to mark the spot. By the last week I was wearing stretchy workout bras 24 hours a day.

So radiation is over. I got a hug from one of the valets on my last visit. And all in all, it wasn't that bad, but it sucks up a huge chunk of time, because even though the round trip and treatment amounted to a hour a day, you have to plan everything around that hour, then multiply by 35 days. So it's a drag.

I'm still on the 21 day infusion schedule for Herceptin. I had one this week. No real side effects, which is refreshing.

The other reason I just didn't feel like writing about it, is that I've already gotten a "It's baaaack" scare. I have to say, honestly, until that day I was pretty much whistling on the sunny side of the street. The tumor is gone. It hadn't spread. And they have been bombing the ever loving shit out of me for six damn months. How on earth could there be any more?

I had an ultrasound on an area that my surgeon wanted to check before radiation which everyone agreed was most likely some scar tissue. Then I had a pre-radiation CAT scan.

A couple of weeks into radiation, my radiology oncologist, who is as sweet as can be, but doesn't speak English very well, poked me in a new area, and all I caught was "New tumor...I'll talk to your surgeon...Biopsy".   She was gone before I started connecting the dots and my head started spinning. I decided (after a very expensive bottle of wine - hey, why not?), to call my surgeon the next day and ask her what was going on.

Which I did, and she was out of town for a week. You can imagine how much fun that week was for me.    I did a few "can't take it with you" shopping sprees. Thankfully I did it at the garden center, where the worst damage was a $60 peony.

I stopped by the surgeon's office to ask to have her call me, and ran into her, so she saw me right away. I told her what happened. She said she'd check the films and talk to the other doc. When she pulled up my files, she noted that I'd had a CT in 2007. Said she'd check that film against the new one.   But we also discussed the possibility of it being a chemo-resistant tumor (WTF, is what I was thinking), and the possibility of mastectomy and reconstruction. She promised to check everything out and call me the next day.

Turns out whatever the hell it was, which is not even really on my breast, it's in between, was there on 2007 film, and after discussion all around, was determined nothing to be worried about. Thanks, can I get the two years just scared off my life back?

So I am grateful that it is indeed not back. Can you imagine running the marathon, getting past the side stitches, puke your guts out phase, almost getting to the finish line and being told to go back to the starting line? Me neither.

My appetite is back, my taste buds have returned from hiatus, and I am no longer a stranger at the gym. And my hair is coming back, as you can see. Some days I forget that I am still nearly bald, but the looks I get in public, ranging from that half pity smile, to confusion, remind me. I think the two bald by choice ladies competing on The Voice are feeding the confusion - lol.

There was an article in the New York Times this week with a list of what not to say to the sick. I don't totally agree with his list. "What can I do for you?" was his number one, and he suggested just plunging in and cleaning the fridge, doing the dishes, etc. My number one is "Call me if you need anything". It's nice, lots of people say it, but it's a chip that never gets cashed in. Even the night I was laying on the floor after a bout of dry heaves and vertigo.

The one person who called me regularly and asked "What can I do for you?" is the one that helped me the most. And I'm really going to miss her when she moves to Chicago.

The article author also dissed "Sending you thoughts and prayers". I appreciated those; can't hurt, might help. The shiny new bible and unsolicited supplements, not so much. "You look good", he hates as well. Doesn't bother me. Even if you are lying.

Through this journey I have learned that there are always people who stun you with their ability to kick you when you're down (Quote from ex-relative: "Dude, chemo....that's so rough....Does someone have to take you (meaning: not me)?" Adult woman, in case you were confused by the "Dude"), and that there are people who will delight you with their presence and support when you need it the most. Fuck the former and bless the latter. Amen.

Where's Grandpa? A Gardening Story

2011-06-16T10:27:00.000-04:00

Low Hanging Fruit - Boughton Farms Strawberries

I'm just back from my second picking session at Boughton Farm, conveniently located about a mile from my house. Strawberry season is brief, so you need to fill up while you can and tuck some away in the freezer, or make jam. Fresh, local strawberries are nothing like the giant, hollow, vaguely tasteless ones available year-round in plastic clamshell containers.

As I was picking, I remembered a funny story from my childhood. (Aunt Alice - you'll remember this one!) My grandfather had a fairly good sized vegetable garden. There were a few rows of strawberries, mulched with straw, like the fields at Boughton Farm. The berries were small and sweet, and tasted like sunshine.

Family gathered on the long front porch, relaxing on the aluminum lawn furniture (I was partial to the glider) on a warm, summer day. Cocktail hour was regularly rung in with a Highball for each of my grandparents. (My grandmother had a large collection of crocheted glass cozies that she referred to as pants, as in "Bob, don't forget to put pants on your Highball", which prevented the dreaded ring on the end table).

My grandfather was a slight man, and he had a big backpack garden sprayer, which at this stage, I am pretty sure I don't want to know what it contained, but he strapped it on and disappeared into the garden somewhat regularly.

On this particular occasion, after he'd gone missing for awhile, someone said "Where's Grandpa?" A search ensued. Turns out Grandpa might have had an extra strong Highball and was flat on his back like an overturned turtle, backpack attached, tucked among the garden rows. The memory still cracks me up.

Simply Smoking Good Summer Meal

2011-06-12T10:46:00.002-04:00


Copper River Salmon & Local Asparagus on Cedar Plank

I tried many times to feel the love for salmon, but it always had a weird, dirty aftertaste, and I just couldn't get into it. I decided to give it one more shot when the Copper River Salmon started arriving in stores. Oh my - what a revelation! It's delicious!

I first tried it a week or so ago, and sought suggestions from my salmon loving friends. I ended up drizzling it with olive oil, topping it with some chopped garlic and fresh herbs, and baking it in a foil packet.

This week it was time to find the cedar planks someone had gifted me many moons ago, that had luckily not made it to the yard sale pile yet. (I swear it looks like I am auditioning for Hoarders; can't wait to get this stuff out of here).

I hit the West Side Market for the first time in a long while on Friday. It was nice to see the smiling faces and chat with my favorite vendors, including the Kate's Fish Crew, where I got this lovely piece of Copper River Sockeye, and Basketeria, where I scored the last of the local organic asparagus.

I decided to go with a Lemon, Vodka, Dill Marinade from Diane Morgan's Grill Every Day: 125 Fast-Track Recipes for Weeknights at the Grill. I tossed the asparagus in too since there was plenty of marinade.

Here is a video of Diane making the recipe (I did mine directly over the burner at medium heat; she uses indirect heat in the video. My plank was thin, but can be reused):

Earlier this week I picked four heaping quarts of local (as in a mile from my house) strawberries at Boughton Farms. The strawberry aroma in that field on a warm, sunny day was just amazing. Fresh strawberries call for shortcakes, don't they?

I decided on this Sweet Corn Shortcake recipe from Midwest Living. I didn't bother doing anything to the berries other than than rinsing, hulling, and slicing. I used dried buttermilk powder, reconstituted, and 2% Snowville Creamery milk. I only managed to get nine, not the dozen called for, when I spooned them onto a parchment lined sheet.

I really loved the crunch the cornmeal provided, plus they were light and a perfect complement to the sweet berries. I also skipped the whipped cream and just ate more berries. Ok, and another shortcake.

Sweet Corn Shortcake & Fresh, Local Strawberries

Chicken and Egg: A Memoir of Suburban Homesteading with 125 Recipes

2011-06-09T17:25:00.000-04:00

Brunty Farms Chickens

Ever fantasized about keeping a few chickens as pets and enjoying a bounty of fresh eggs? I have, but fortunately Jeff & Mel from Brunty Farms do all of the hard work, and I just get to enjoy the eggs and chicken as part of my CSA. CSA and farming season is off to a bit of a difficult start this year due to the nearly constant rain for most of the spring, which has pushed back farmers ability to get plants into the ground and thriving.

But the chicken and eggs have started coming, so I was delighted when I found Janice Cole's new book, Chicken and Egg: A Memoir of Suburban Homesteading with 125 Recipes, for sale in a "real" bookstore, Fireside Books, in Chagrin Falls.

Although her husband wasn't as excited about the idea of having chickens as pets, Janice ordered an Eglu chicken house, got three baby chicks, and let the adventures begin. Between the seasonally arranged recipe chapters, she shares hints & tips for future backyard chicken keepers, and documents her first year with her "girls", Lulu, Cleo, and Roxanne.

The recipes, featuring either chicken or eggs, are mouth watering. I selected the Charred Tandoori Chicken with Mint, and the Blueberry Sour Cream Tart as my first recipes to try from the book, but I have several others tagged to make soon.

I contacted Janice, and she generously agreed to allow me to share a recipe with you.

Charred Tandoori Chicken with Mint - Used with permission from Chicken and Egg: A Memoir of of Suburban Homesteading with 125 Recipes, Janice Cole, Chronicle Books, 2011

8 oz plain yogurt (I used my last jar of homemade yogurt)
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1" piece of ginger, coarsely chopped
3 T canola oil
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T ground cumin
1 T ground coriander
1 T paprika
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t cayenne
1/4 c chopped mint, plus 1 T
8 pieces of chicken

Measure all ingredients, except mint and chicken, in blender and blend until smooth. Stir in 1/4 c mint.

Cut three 1/2 = 1" deep slits in each piece of chicken to allow marinade to penetrate. Drop chicken in bag and pour mix over and massage to coat. Marinate 6 hours or overnite.

Preheat grill to medium. Oil grill grate. Grill chicken, covered, turning every 5 minutes, til cooked thru, about 25-30 min. Move to cooler area of grill if browning too quickly.

Serve with chopped mint for garnish.

Here is the Sour Cream Blueberry Tart. It was delicious! The recipe called for orange zest, but I didn't have one on hand, so I subbed a teaspoon of orange flower water. Janice glazed her berries with warmed red currant jelly; I used the Blackberry with a Hint of Bourbon I made last summer. Awesome!

I am looking forward to trying more of the recipes, and there are plenty in the book to choose from.


Blueberry Sour Cream Tart

Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Rhubarb-Onion Sauce

2011-06-05T10:41:00.000-04:00

I haven't eaten a lot of rhubarb, except in pie, but 'tis the season, so I picked up a bunch at the farmers market, along with fresh pork tenderloin from Brunty Farms. I turned up a promising sounding recipe at EatingWell.com for Roast Pork with Sweet Onion-Rhubarb Sauce, but thought I might tweak it a bit by grilling the pork and the rhubarb and onions.

I cut the the onion and rhubarb into fairly large pieces, but in retrospect, I should have cut them much smaller. I tossed them with a couple of tablespoons of dark brown sugar and a couple of tablespoons of turbinado sugar and let things macerate while I prepped the pork and heated the grill.

Here's my version of the recipe:

Grilled Pork with Grilled Sweet-Onion Rhubarb Sauce

1 t. ground coriander
Salt & Pepper
1 pork tenderloin, trimmed
2 T. dark brown sugar
2 T. turbinado sugar
1 bunch of rhubarb, chopped into 1/2" pieces
1/2 large sweet onion, chopped into 1/2" pieces
1/4 c. water
2 T. Olive Tap Passionfruit Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 - 1/2 c. brown sugar
chopped chives for garnish

Heat grill to medium -high.

Rub pork tenderloin with coriander and salt & pepper. Toss rhubarb and onion with dark brown and turbinado sugars in a large bowl and allow to macerate at room temperature.

Oil grill grate on side where you will be cooking the pork, then add pork, sear on both sides, then reduce heat and cook to 145 degrees. Meanwhile, on other side of the grill add the rhubarb and onion to a grill basket and cover grill. Toss or stir the rhubarb mixture every few minutes, cook until tender.

While pork is resting, put the rhubarb mixture in a saucepan (either on grill burner, or stovetop) and add a little water, the vinegar and brown sugar. Simmer until softened and the rhubarb is broken down. Taste and add more sugar if too tart.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin w/Grilled Rhubarb-Onion Sauce

Jeni, Jeni, Who do I turn to? Salty Caramel, of course.

2011-05-29T09:09:00.000-04:00

After sampling the case, my selections

Ok, so don't blame me if you walk around humming the '80's Tommy Tutone song all day. May I suggest a cure for your earworm? You need to get your hands on some Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream. And thanks to the invention of dry ice and efficient overnight shipping, you don't have to be in the great state of Ohio to indulge.

Until recently, in order to sample the amazing collection of flavors in person you needed to visit one of the scoop shops in the Columbus area, but a new scoop shop in the charming Western Reserve town of Chagrin Falls, has put the in-person experience a little closer to home for Cleveland/Akron residents.

The 'scoop' on Jeni, according to their website:

Jeni Britton Bauer became inspired to make artisan ice creams while working at a French patisserie. Drawing on the practices of a traditional pastry kitchen, Jeni created her own techniques to make American ice creams that are less sweet and more flavorful.

Each batch of Jeni's ice creams is carefully tended to; each flavor artfully achieved with fresh ingredients found in the Ohio countryside as well as responsibly-raised exotics from around the world. All of Jeni's ice creams, sauces, pralines and marshmallows are handcrafted in Jeni's production kitchen in Columbus, Ohio.

Jeni's is family-owned and operated. Jeni Britton Bauer and her husband Charly Bauer co-founded the company in 2002; Charly's brother Tom Bauer became a partner one year later. Together with their small team, they make every batch of ice cream that is served in their four (soon to be seven) stores in Columbus or shipped to doorsteps nationwide.

Flavor Selections at Jeni's

Probably the most well known flavor is the Salty Caramel, which is one of my favorites. It has the perfect sweet/salty balance. There is a line-up of signature flavors, such as the Brown Butter Almond Brittle, which has a shelf life of two days or less at my house, and a seasonal line-up that takes advantage of ingredients at their peak.

The goat cheese, featuring Mackenzie Creamery goat cheese, for example, is paired with a Cognac-Fig Jam in the winter, and with roasted cherries in the spring. Both are awesome!

The Backyard Mint - armfuls of fresh peppermint steeped in Snowville Creamery cream for 48 hours, reminded me of picking mint at my grandmother's house. Snowville, my favorite local dairy, is the basis for all of the Jeni's ice creams.

If you like a little spicy kick, try the Queen City Cayenne, a rich chocolate with tingly, peppery spice finish, or the Bangkok Peanut with features toasted coconut, peanut butter, and wait for it - a spicy finish that doesn't appear until after the other flavors have gone.

Even the most 'normal' of flavors are layered flavor bombs Jeni style. I was pretty blown away by the Ugandan Vanilla Bean.

Don't expect your taste buds to be gently caressed; expect a roundhouse full-on punch. The Rhubarb and Lime Cardamom Yogurt made me quiver every time I bit into a particularly citrus bombed bite.


Sundaes at Jeni's

I am pretty sure you need a partner if you are going to indulge in one of the sundae selections, like "One Night in Bangkok' which features caramel sauce, banana, whipped cream, Spanish peanuts, cilantro and lime topped with a fortune cookie.

Premium priced at $10 a pint, but once you taste the premium ingredients, handmade and handpacked, (they still hand write each label), you'll be convinced it's worth every penny. My three half scoop sampler above (Backyard Mint, Strawberry Buttermilk, and Rhubarb Lime Cardamom) only set me back $5.

Akronites, the only place locally currently selling Jeni's is Deviti's Market, but I have put in a request with the manager at EarthFare.

Hosta Haven Farms = Hosta Heaven

2011-05-28T14:50:00.000-04:00

Hosta Haven Farms Entrance

Hosta Haven Farms is a little off the beaten path, but worth seeking out, especially if you have shady areas in your gardens that could use a little perking up. Located at 1906 Wright Road, in Akron, it's about a mile and half from the I-77 Copley Road exit. Wright Road is off of Collier.

With over 400 different varieties to choose from, including over 50 dwarf species, there are a lot of different colors, shapes, and sizes to choose from. Those with more yellow in their leaves may also be grown in more sunny areas.

I love hostas for their versatility, beauty, and tough nature. It's difficult to kill a hosta, even for the brownest of thumbs. The clumps grow larger over the years and submit nicely to being divided, so when you invest your plant dollars in them, keep in mind that they'll pay dividends in the form of free plants in the future.

Display Gardens

Next to the shaded plant sales area is a large display garden containing mature specimens, each marked with a concrete name marker. After you've wandered through the display gardens and selected your favorites, you can easily find them in the sales area in alphabetical order. Here are some shots of my favorites:

Cheatin Hearts and C Wiggles

Green Eyes

2011 Hosta of the Year - Praying Hands

Here is the one I purchased, Fire Island. I love the reddish stems against the chartreuse.

Fire Island

Some of the dwarf varieties

Inside Sales Area

Concrete Markers

Display in sales area

Be sure to check out Hosta Haven Farms - closed Mondays and Tuesdays, open Wed - Sunday 10 am to 4 pm, from May 1st through mid-September.

Tom & Jerry Scare the Bald Lady

2011-05-23T07:53:00.000-04:00

Garden Shed

Oh what a spring. Which until this past weekend just really seemed like a rainy extension of winter. Most of April and May were filled with endless chilly, dark, rainy days, giving the weeds way too much of a head start on this gardener. This weekend we skipped spring, and went straight to summer heat and humidity. Remember last year when we were crabbing about having to turn on the A/C in April?

One of the annual rites of spring is cleaning out the garden shed. As the patio furniture, watering cans, hoses, shepherd's hooks, and garden decor disgorge from what is usually a haphazard fall stuffing, a bucket or two usually reveals the unlucky bodies of a mouse or two who fell in, but couldn't manage to escape. And every once in awhile, I pull out something containing a live nest.

Baby White Footed Mouse

Yesterday was one of those days. I heard the tell-tale signs of life when I took a big stack of flower pots from the shelf. Mama made the nest pretty far down in the stack; I don't think they would have made an escape. Even though I knew it was coming, it was still like taking the lid off the popcorn popper when I removed the layer of pots containing the nest - at least 8 baby mice, and mama, went running in opposite directions.

Tiny, baby mouse

I'm sure it was plenty funny watching the bald lady shriek a bit and do a little dance. A few didn't look so good, and I moved them behind the compost pile. Later, when I came back, I was surprised to see mama, who was larger, and a couple of babies still hanging out, barely bothered by my presence.

It seemed extra silly to be frightened by a bunch of tiny mice about an hour later when I surprised a large dog I'd never seen before, who fortunately barked at me for a few minutes then left.

Another rainy week is predicted. Let's hope it moderates enough so the farmers can finally get some crops planted.

Homemade Snowville Creamery Yogurt Using Slow Cooker

2011-05-16T14:41:00.000-04:00

I love, love, love Snowville Creamery's delicious milk. Their tagline is "Milk the way it used to be", and from the first time I tasted it, that is exactly what I thought. What makes their milk different? Grass grazed, with a herd switch in winter when the local cows are on maternity leave, it's not homogenized, so the cream stays on top, and it's pasteurized at the lowest legal temperature. Even the non-fat has body and tastes good, but the 2% tastes even better. (I believe life is too short to drink cheap wine or fat-free milk).

The only thing I don't love, is that it only comes in half gallon cartons (including the heavy cream, which calls for a party if you are buying a half gallon), and I usually can't finish it before it goes bad. Solution - make yogurt!

One of my clients regularly makes yogurt, and she has one of the commercial yogurt makers, but honestly I really don't need another unitasker around here. I'd seen several articles on different ways to incubate yogurt without a maker, using heating pads, leaving in a turned off warm oven overnight, and in a slow cooker.

Then the latest issue of Cuisine at Home (June 2011) arrived, complete with a several page spread with step by step instructions that are a little different from the others I've seen. Cuisine at Home is a nice magazine with no advertisements, recipes that are geared a little more towards experienced cooks, and most of their recipes are not available on-line, so it is worth subscribing in my opinion.

There is a lot to love about making your own yogurt, including total quality control of the ingredients (no added sugar, gelatin, pectin, cornstarch, artificial flavors and colors), you can control the thickness and tartness, plus you avoid the waste of both spoiled milk and packaging. Plus it saves money; I calculated my cost equivalent at about 40 cents per 6 ounces. (I used 8 oz. jars, but commercial cartons are usually 6 oz).

Plus, it is easy. I probably checked the temperature more times than a new mother with feverish baby, but now that I see how it works, I will likely be less compulsive in the future.

For the full article, grab a copy of the June 2011 issue of Cuisine at Home, but here is what I did:

Sanitized 8 oz jelly jars and plastic lids

I ran 10 eight ounce Ball Deluxe Quilted Jelly Canning Jar 8 Oz., Case of 12 and Ball 36010 Mason Canning Jar Plastic Storage lids, Set of 8 through the dishwasher with a sanitize cycle. The instructions don't call for sterilizing the jars as for canning, but I like to keep the good bacteria in and the bad out.

Heat Milk in Double Boiler & Have an Ice Bath Ready

I heated a half gallon of 2% Snowville Creamery milk which I whisked in 1/2 c. of nonfat dry milk powder (optional, but I prefer my yogurt thicker, and the milk powder replaces the commercial pectin, cornstarch and gelatin thickeners), over a makeshift double boiler consisting of a medium sized stockpot with a couple of inches of water, with a 4 quart saucepan with inserted inside. Heat the milk to 185 degrees (so you will need a thermometer, and I dearly love my Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen (Purple) Instant Read Thermometer, Perfect for Barbecue, Home and Professional Cooking, and after ruining untold cheaper thermometers, truly believe it was a worthy investment). You need to stir pretty often, and it takes about a half an hour to come up to temp.

Ice Bath

As soon as it reaches 185 degrees, move the pan over to an ice bath. I used my 7 1/4 quart Le Creuset pot with ice and some water. Don't put too much water in the pan or you will have water overboard. Cool to 115 degrees. I stirred a few times while it was cooling and it didn't take too long. Remove from the ice at 115. When it reaches 110 degrees, stir in 1/2 cup of plain yogurt (one that has at least 3 active cultures - I used Stonyfield; it has 6).

Filled Jars in the Slow Cooker

Ladle into jars - I got nine, but only 8 fit in my 6.5 quart slow cooker, so rather than get out another slow cooker (yes, I have a half dozen...), I dumped the jar that didn't fit. (If I was smart, I would have checked how many fit before I started, but hey, I didn't) Add warm water half way up the sides of the jar, and put it on the warm setting.

The optimum temp for the bacteria to feed on the sugars in the milk is 122 degrees. You don't want going above 130 degrees, which kills it, or below 98 degrees which renders it sluggish, and neither of which will result in yogurt. The instructions said to check the water every few hours in the cooker and keep it between 115-125 degrees, and to shut it off if it went over 125 and wrap the cooker in a large bath towel.

Newer cookers seem to get hotter faster, and I have only used this All-Clad 99009 Stainless-Steel 6-1/2-Quart Slow Cooker once. Speaking of All-Clad, the next factory sale is coming up the first weekend in June.

I might try an older cooker next time, because this one heated the water over 125 within the first hour. I preheated it while I was finishing the cooling and filling the jars. So I shut it off and wrapped in a towel and after an hour or so, it was under 110. So started the cycle of checking it probably too often. Lid on, lid off, heat on, heat off, etc. At one point I turned it back on to heat up a bit, forgot for awhile to go back and check, and it was up to 130 and I thought I killed it. Then I realized the milk temp was lower than the water. It probably would have been perfectly fine if I'd checked about 10% as often.

I pulled it out around 8 hours, cautiously screwed open a lid, and was slightly amazed when I was looking a yogurt. It needs to finish ripening in the refrigerator for 8 hours, so I waited until this morning to taste test.

Fresh Yogurt & Blueberries for Breakfast

There is just a bit of whey on top, which you can either pour out, or I just shook the jar. It isn't nearly as twangy to me as store-bought plain yogurt. If you like it twangier, you can increase the incubation time. The longer the bacteria party, the twangier it gets. It's tart, but pleasantly so. I just added a sprinkle of organic sugar.

Looking forward to trying some with a bit of homemade strawberry jam stirred in.

Lemon-Herb Grilled Chicken

2011-05-14T17:29:00.000-04:00

Earth Fare Fryer

The Earth Fare store in Fairlawn opened this week, and one of their promotions when you sign up for their emails is a coupon for a free dinner for four which consists of a whole fryer chicken (or a package of veggie burgers) a container of prepared mashed potatoes, and a package of organic baby carrots.

The package said the chicken was from Springer Mountain Farms, while they aren't local, their farming practices, including an American Humane Society certification, are respectable.

Since many people are now conditioned to purchase boneless, skinless parts, a whole chicken sometimes presents a challenge. So here is a super simple, delicious way to tackle it.

Breast Side Down, Remove Back Bone with Shears

Remove the bird from the package, fish out the neck and giblets (loose in this bird, not in a packet, so make sure you get them all. Rinse, inside and out, then pat dry. Put it breast side down, as shown, and use a pair of sturdy kitchen shears to cut along each side of the back bone (feel around with your fingers, you'll be able to tell where it is).

Backbone Removed

Remove the backbone. Don't throw it away! Put in a freezer bag, then add future backs and you'll have a nice basis for homemade chicken stock. (Trust me, it's easy to make and tastes better than store bought).

Flip, Flatten, Season

Fresh Herbs and Lemon

Flip the bird over and flatten it with your palm. You have just spatchcocked (otherwise known as butterflied) the bird. It's more fun to say spatchcocked though. Prepping it this way cuts down on the cooking time. Season generously on both sides with salt and pepper.

Chop a big handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, and a handful of whatever other herbs you fancy - I used golden greek oregano and thyme from my garden, and a couple of big basil leaves. Toss in a bowl, squeeze in the lemon juice (you are looking for about a half a cup - so 2-4 lemons depending on how juicy they are), then whisk in a half cup of olive oil.

Marinade with Herbs, Lemon, Olive Oil

Pour over the chicken in a glass baking dish, and flip the chicken over and back, to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least a couple of hours; all day is fine, flipping it over a few times during the day to make sure both sides soak up the marinade.

Hot Grill

Get your grill screaming hot. Oil the grates - I use grapeseed oil, a wadded up paper towel, and long tongs to accomplish this, then put the chicken skin side down and cook for about 15 minutes, before turning over. Probably about 20 minutes on the other side, but use a digital thermometer to check - the thigh, not touching any bone should register 180 degrees. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn, you can move it to the cooler side of the grill to finish if the temperature doesn't come up in a half an hour so the outside doesn't overcook.

Looking good

My leg and thigh quarters came off on their own when it was done, leaving the breast and wings for carving.

Dark meat with Roasted Fingerlings and Corn on the Cob

I know it's out of season, but I couldn't resist this nice looking ear of Southern white corn at Earth Fare. I also roasted some fingerling potatoes tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Earth Fare, The Healthy Supermarket, Comes to Town

2011-05-10T16:14:00.002-04:00

Earth Fare Fairlawn Produce Department

After months of construction and anticipation, the grand opening of the 22nd, and first midwest, Earth Fare Supermarket, located at 3737 West Market Street (in the plaza with Sears Hardware), is tomorrow, May 11th at 8:00 am. I was invited for a sneak preview tour, and can confirm that they are busily putting on the finishing touches for tomorrow's big day.

Earth Fare offers everything from ready-to-go meal options, local and organic farm fresh fruits and vegetables, and full service meat, poultry and seafood departments. It is a nice sized store, neither too large nor too small, and I was impressed with what I saw.

Their food philosophy, which greets you on a large sign as you enter the store, lists the things they don't carry :

"What really sets Earth Fare apart from other stores is the list of things we don't offer...like any products containing high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, artificial colors and sweeteners, and synthetic growth hormones in meat and milk. We believe food should be as close to the ground as it gets, and we are proud to read the labels so you don't have to!"

The sign above will list organic produce available each day as well as 'family local' items, which include items within a 100 mile radius of any of their stores, which are primarily located in southern states. Local, within 100 miles, of this location, items will be marked as such. Until they become more established in the local market, I wouldn't expect to see a lot of truly local produce.

Nice Selection of Bulk Items

The bulk item selection looked comprehensive, and includes a do-it-yourself nut butter station with different flavors:

Bulk Nut Butter Station

And a nice selection of grains:


Bulk Grains & Beans

I asked if they were set up to allow people to bring in their own containers and have the container weighed prior to filling (a new trend to avoid using throwaway plastic bags), and they aren't yet, but are working on it.

They don't have a special section for gluten-free items, but they have labeled the shelves with tags. I can also confirm that they carry Udi's products and have some store branded gluten free products.

Gluten Free Shelf Tags

They have a refillable olive oil station:

Refillable Olive Oil Station

There are some unique self service stations that I think will be especially appealing to singles and smaller households - a scoop your own shrimp and a scoop your own ravioli, featuring several flavors, will allow you to get just enough for a single meal rather than waste part of a larger package.

The cheese selection is enormous - nearly as big as West Point Market, and I am looking forward to diving into it more deeply, along with some lovely pate. Oh how I've missed cheese these last few months.


Mmmmm Pate

It's well worth signing up for the e-coupons, one of which is a free chicken dinner for four people (or a vegetarian burger equivalent). There will be plenty of giveaways and specials in honor of the grand opening, and there will be coupon booklets available.

There is a prepared take-away foods counter, a juice bar, and a pretty large eat in cafe area. A big draw will be the family dinner night (Thursday) where kids eat for free with the purchase of an adult meal (note to self: do not shop on Thursday evenings). Or if I do, just swing through the wine department, which has a nice selection, including many reasonably priced selections, as well as a nice selection of artisan beers.

Wine Department

So Earth Fare, Welcome to the Neighborhood! I am sure that the store will be busy in the coming days, and I am looking forward to returning and doing some shopping.

*Disclosure: I was offered, and accepted a $50 gift card. I would have reviewed and posted regardless, and honestly, I haven't worked in 6 months, so I could use the card.

Field Trip: Local Roots Market & Cafe

2011-05-08T22:07:00.000-04:00

Local Roots Market & Cafe, Wooster, OH

I've been wanting to visit the Local Roots Market in Wooster for awhile, and this weekend I finally headed south to check it out. Local Roots is a co-op (although you do not have to be a member to make purchases) which connects local food producers with consumers, and is a lot like a year round farmers market.

In addition to local foods, like this impressive display of syrups (I bought the Lemon Verbena), there is also a station for food demos, an area for live music performances, and they are currently expanding the cafe for on-site dining.

Local Syrup

On a lower floor was a nice selection of live plants (I loved the stamped labels on these), as well as handcrafted pottery and other items for sale.

Fresh Herb Plants for Sale

There was a nice selection of baked goods, natural meats, handmade noodles, and jams & jellies. The fresh produce selection was reflective of the early spring offerings - ramps, stinging nettles, rhubarb, and some greens. Each producer's station has a nice placard with their photo and information about them, which I thought was a nice touch.

Stinging Nettle

It's easy to find in downtown Wooster, the storefront is across the street from the library. There is on street parking, plus parking in the rear (look for the large carrots painted in the spots).

It's behind The Everything Rubbermaid Store, which you can walk to, and a short walk to a nice new kitchen store, Today's Kitchen Store, which is across the street from Rubbermaid.


Everything Rubbermaid Store

Plastic Paradise

Happy Earth Day 2011!

2011-04-22T10:39:00.000-04:00

Ever since grade school when we were given tiny Dixie cups filled with dirt and a handful of seeds, I've loved to watch something so tiny spring to life and grow. I don't plant tomatoes or peppers out in the garden until the end of May, so I usually don't start my seeds much more than a month ahead of time. Over eager seeders usually end up with leggy plants that don't perform any better in the garden.

I've had this plant stand built many years ago. It's a simple A frame with plywood shelves with regular shop lights on chains that can be moved as the plant grow. There are three levels, and it holds about 10 flats. I have a heating mat to to help get the tomatoes and peppers germinated. I use jiffy pots in the trays; they are easy to use and you can pop the whole thing in the garden when it's time to plant.

One of the tricks that I use to help the seedlings develop into sturdy plants is to run a small fan to gently blow across the seedlings once they've developed a true set of leaves. It helps prevent damping off, a sad fungal affliction that causes the seedlings to wilt and keel over.

I recently purchased this counter top compost bucket with a charcoal lid insert. Egg shells, coffee grounds, and all fruit and veggie scraps go in here before moving to their new outdoor composter (from Sam's Club - $40) that I just got set-up this week:

But I am most excited about my new 12' x 3' cold frame right outside my office.

Inside Cold Frame

I'll be able to start spring greens much earlier now, harden off my inside flats without constantly moving them in and out of the garage, plus extend the fall season probably until Thanksgiving.

My next projects include emptying my basement dehumidifier into a watering can instead of putting it down the drain, and installing a rain barrel to collect the water from the downspout.

Hello, Goodbye

2011-04-19T08:46:00.000-04:00


Cold Frame - Almost

Raise your hand if you thought this was the longest, darkest, coldest, snowiest, most depressing winter you could remember in a long time. Now think about how much less fun it would have been if you went bald, lost your appetite, and basically felt like shit on a stick for the duration.

I'd like to say "Hello Spring, Goodbye Winter', but it just keeps hanging on. Enough, already. I'd also like to say that post chemo, I slept off the the usual post period, then suddenly awoke like a hibernating bear, hungry and ready to go. Unfortunately, it didn't quite go that way. My appetite has been replaced with a crapetite (you wouldn't believe what I've subsisted on), and the accumulated fatigue can knock me out at any time, like a cranky toddler.

The good news is that I passed my heart echo test with flying colors. The bad news is that I can barely do anything without having to take a break to catch my breath. It's both physically and mentally exhausting at this point.

Jake eating corn on the cob last summer

I did have to say goodbye to my oldest and favorite cat, Jake. At nearly sixteen, he was showing plenty of signs of aging. He had lost weight, had thyroid problems, and failing kidneys. He'd always been a great lap cat, but when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, he seemed to sense it, and he rarely left my lap, and he started sleeping practically on my pillow.

He held on through chemo, but was not doing so well the night before my last one, and I took him to the vet expecting the worst. She said he needed fluids and an enema. I left him overnight and picked him up after chemo. While I gutted out the last round, he got worse as the days passed, and I knew it was time. It's just not the same around here without him.

Hellebore aka Lenten Rose

I'm slowly spring cleaning from the top to bottom of the house. Every time I hit a tag sale in the neighborhood and see a house full of junk housed in rooms stuck in a time warp, like the brightly colored, shag carpeted place a few blocks away, it spurs me into action. I predict a really big yard sale next month.

Also discovering all of the home repairs that are in my future - leaking roof, crumbling front stoop, crack in the basement foundation, and finally why it's so cold in the kitchen - apparently the duct in the crawl space is disconnected, as discovered by the guy who replaced my gas meter.

I'm looking forward to my new 12' by 3' cold frame located right outside my office. As you can see, there was a little problem with measurement in the last frame. Oops. I can probably start enough plants in there for the entire neighborhood.

Green and Pink Hellebore

I said hello to these beautiful Hellebores. They are one of the first spring bloomers. I've long admired them, but they are usually hard to find and very expensive, and I feel fortunate to have found some at a reasonable price.

My daily trek for radiation treatments technically begins today. I've been measured and tatooed, and survived the dry run.

I also forgot until yesterday that I was due for a new driver's license. Fortunately, you are permitted to wear a scarf for the photo. I was kind of surprised, that all things considered, it turned out pretty good.

Chemo Conquered!

2011-03-23T10:13:00.000-04:00

Final Chemo - Happy Spring!

This week marked the official start of spring, with some welcome sunshine and warmer temps, (although more snow and cold is due this week!), and my sixth and final infusions of Taxotere and Carboplatin. I still have twelve shorter infusions of Herceptin, on the same 21 day cycle, but it is more like a smart bomb and just heads for the estrogen positive cells and doesn't bother making your hair disappear or ruining your appetite.

Round five was pretty uneventful, and definitely the least horrible. I bounced around the next day on my steroid high, and when it wore off, I went to bed and mostly stayed there for about four days, coming up to drink as much water as I could and pop an anti-nausea pill. I didn't have the fire belly, but I had no appetite - it pretty much always felt like I was full, and it lasted pretty much the entire three weeks.

I've still managed to put on about five pounds, which people helpfully try and blame on the drugs, but I'm not kidding myself that it's self inflicted. They don't put as many Girl Scout cookies in those boxes anymore and it seems silly to not finish the sleeve when you open it. Among other less than stellar dietary choices I've made.

I succumbed, thanks to a 30% off Kohls coupon, and just bought some bigger clothes for now. Once I get back on my regular gym schedule (I was so happy to at least get 30 minutes each day this week on the bike after nearly two months off), and return to a normal diet, it'll go away.

So while the end of chemo and it's crappy side effects is definitely reason to cheer, it's only like completing one leg of the Iron (Wo)Man race. Swimming is done, but I still need to bike (7 weeks of daily radiation), and run (12 more Herceptin infusions). And in my spare time get another ultrasound, mammogram, and heart echogram, and further contribute to my support of the medical system which is heading towards the three quarters of a million dollar mark easily. (Why is there no cure for cancer? Simple - it's a freaking cash cow!)

On the upside, my eyebrows and lashes have hung on like troopers, and it looks like I may keep them. On the downside, my seasonal allergies have returned with a particularly nasty vengeance. I can only imagine what my itchy, swollen eyes would look like sans lashes and brows.

I lucked out and have not gotten mouth sores, although I did have a little fever blister last round, which is not usual for me. I did not get the numbness and tingling in my hands of feet, and although I was a little afraid this was starting, my nails have not lifted and fallen off. I can not seriously imagine attempting to cook in gloves with no finger nails. Shudder....

All in all, it wasn't a whole lot of fun (obviously, duh), but it could have been a lot worse. I am a little afraid of the side effects from the radiation. I've talked to people who couldn't finish the schedule due to the skin burns, and I am not looking forward to any more cumulative fatigue. I'm tired of being tired, frankly.

So I am ready for spring. While my stylists may think I overdid the accessories, I couldn't resist busting out my watering can purse because it went perfectly with this awesome spring hat sent to me by Patti Anastasia. Also pictured is Tom Noe, of Exploring Food My Way. Check out his blog for the photos of the Dinner in the Dark that was my pre-chemo last supper. Tom and Edsel, who took this picture, have far better cameras than me, so I just ate and enjoyed.

Photo courtesy of Edsel Little

A Little Wood Pulp for Breakfast?

2011-03-07T07:32:00.000-05:00

Freshly Made Wood Free Bread

I ran across this article yesterday, and I have to say I was a little surprised. It reveals a variety of fast food and packaged foods that contain cellulose, which is basically wood fiber. Turns out the FDA says it is perfectly safe to add it to food, with no limit on how much except in meat.

The food manufacturers love it because it's a cheap extender for products and it extends the shelf life. Well sure, unless you have a termite attack you can probably keep some of this stuff in the pantry forever.

As a fallen member of the Weight Watchers flock, whose mantra until the recent change to allow fruits and veggies to be consumed points free, was 'Fiber Up!', I now realize I had been buying packaged bread whose labels proclaimed "Double Fiber!", "Triple Fiber", and "No High Fructose Corn Syrup", only to be served a heaping helping of cellulose. Good grief.

So here's a reminder that it just takes a little planning, and virtually no work, to make your own no knead bread.

Pork Tenderloin Stir-Fry with Tangerines and Chili Sauce

2011-03-02T07:48:00.000-05:00

Mise en Place

I knew when I first saw this recipe for Pork Tenderloin Stir-Fry with Tangerines and Chili Sauce that it was a perfect winter combination of bright citrus paired with the crunchy baby bok choy and a little kick from the chili sauce.

When I managed to get my hands on a freshly butchered pork tenderloin from Brunty Farms this weekend, I knew that I wanted to make this dish for my "Last Supper". There will be another pig butchered in a few weeks if you want your chance to get your hands on some lovingly raised, unadulterated, delicious pork.

One of the cruelest things about chemotherapy for someone who loves food and cooking, and cooks for a living, is the post chemo week when food, with it's normally beautiful textures, flavors, and aromas, turns completely on you and becomes the enemy.

The last six weeks haven't seen me, usually at least a three to five day gym, regular, there more than a couple of times. They were even nice enough to cut me some slack on my fees. Coupled with that, I discovered the half price Halloween candy stash, an 'Entertaining" collection of Pepperidge Farm cookies, to whom I was the only guest invited to consume the entire package in a few short days. Easter is shaping up to be my favorite holiday since eggs and sweets seem to be things I am craving the most.

I managed to tip the scales with a five pound weight gain this round, and I am still ambivalent about eating whatever I feel like, when I feel like it, knowing that it's going to be harder to get rid of it than to pack it on. Plus I am a little afraid that even entertaining that thought will bring on a fury of nausea and appetite destruction that will strip me of the five pounds in the fastest, but most unpleasant way.

Since it's hard to predict how long post infusion the effects will last, I make it point of having, preferably cooking, a nice meal the night before, and I have to say this was one of my favorites.

Pork Tangerine Stir-Fry with Tangerines and Chili Sauce

The peels are left on the tangerines; some people aren't going to like that, but I enjoyed the extra pop of texture with punch of citrus. I did cut them smaller than the recipe called for, though. I used Ginger People Sweet Chili Sauce and Dip. It added a little kick, but wasn't overpowering. I'd double the sauce when making this again.

Ginger People Sweet Ginger Chili Sauce

The night before I'd made some coconut rice to go with a Turkey Snow Pea Stir-Fry (that used some leftover roasted turkey from the night before), and it was perfect with this dish.

I had leftovers today during chemo for lunch and leftovers for dinner this evening. Tonight I added a quick stir-fry of chopped Napa cabbage in sesame oil with salt and pepper, which will probably be the last crunchy, green thing I find palatable for awhile.

Green Eggs & Ham Frittata, Plus Announcing My Upcoming Book

2011-02-25T12:51:00.000-05:00

From the kitchen window

After a February thaw last week, which erased months of snow and revealed the muddy, dull ground beneath and brought a much needed glimpse into the future spring, this week brought the snow back with a vengeance.

Monday, I'd planned to be at the monthly Dinner in the Dark, but it started snowing hard around 3:00 in the afternoon, and in a couple of short hours, the roads were nasty. After a brief attempt, I abandoned the idea and came back home. I happened to have the ingredients on hand for this delicious roasted cauliflower, prosciutto, pasta on hand, including some delicious fresh arugula from Red Basket Farm that I snagged at the last indoor farmers market, and that's what I ended up having instead of a six course, wine paired meal.

Chemo #4 was mostly unremarkable, with one minor exception. On day three, when things start really percolating internally, I was hit with a pretty intense nausea wave. Ok, at the time it felt like a tsunami. While I was going back and forth between the bathroom and my bedroom, I pretty much collapsed in a heap in the hallway, and twisted my back when I hit the floor.

My poor fifteen year old cat Jake, who rarely leaves my lap if he can possibly help it, and I were eyeball to eyeball while I was horizontal, and he let out a scared little meow. Then I turned my head a little and discovered I had literally scared the crap out of him.

I managed to get myself to bed, and it wasn't a particularly fun night, but the upside is that I didn't have nearly as much of an acid stomach this round, and my appetite returned more quickly than last time. A heating pad, Aleve, and another couple of weeks not exercising, and finally today I don't feel like wincing every time I have to bend or stand up.

Thankfully I got out the last couple of days to shake off the cabin fever. Restocked at The Olive Tap. I am looking forward to playing with their newest - a Mango Passion Fruit Balsamic Vinegar. You must visit the store or look for them at a farmers market. Great stuff.

Hit the Borders closing sale in Medina. Ironic I think, considering they drove all of the independents out of business, that they are now bankrupt. I still like to touch and smell books before I buy them. I wonder how long that will even be possible.

Good thing I got it out of my system, because overnight another snowstorm arrived and has been at it ever since. Some of the highways are closed, all of the schools, and there's a snow ban in my county.

Herb Garden - Buried Again

I was supposed to meet the lovely ladies from Shop Your Closet for breakfast this morning. (I was dressed and halfway to the restaurant yesterday before I realized it was a day early - darn chemo brain!) My road has yet to be plowed, nor has my driveway, so I had to move to Plan B.

A fridge forage turned up a bag of fresh spinach that I'd purchased from Breezy Hill Farms at the farmers market. If you need any more convincing that you need to buy your food from local sources, I am going to confess that the spinach isn't from last Saturday's market, it's actually from the prior market three weeks ago. Other than a little frost on it because it got jostled around in the fridge to a cold spot, it was perfectly fine. A couple of quick rinses and spins and it was ready to go.


Breezy Hill Farms Spinach

Some Brunty Farms eggs, a few slices of Honey Baked Ham (I had a gift certificate that I redeemed this week for a small package), onion, garlic, cheese = Green Eggs & Ham Fritatta.

Frittata Ingredients

Garden, Grocery, Gadget Girl Green Eggs and Ham Fritatta

8 farm fresh eggs
Penzeys Fox Point Seasoning
Salt and Pepper
EVOO
Small red onion or large shallot
2 cloves of garlic
Bag of Farm Fresh Spinach
1/2 c. diced ham
1/2 c. shredded cheese (I used a mixed Italian Blend that was in the fridge)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees with the rack in upper third of the oven. Whisk the eggs with a few shakes of the seasoning and a few grinds of salt and pepper in a large bowl.

Heat a good drizzle of EVOO in a large non-stick oven proof skillet. Saute the onion for a few minutes, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the ham and the spinach. (Don't worry - it's going to look overflowing at first - use tongs to toss until the spinach wilts).

Spinach before it wilts

Spinach after it wilts

Add the whisked egg mixture to the pan. Let it cook a minute or so, then lift the edges so the uncooked egg can flow underneath. Cook a few minutes on the stovetop, then sprinkle the cheese on top and transfer the pan to the oven for around 6 minutes, or until the eggs are set. Let stand for a few minutes before sliding a spatula under the frittata to loosen it, then you can slide it onto a plate or cutting board to cut into wedges.

Leftovers are tasty at room temperature, or reheated gently in the microwave.

Did you see the article on Farm Shares (aka CSAs) in the Akron Beacon Journal this week? There are a few quotes from me, and DRUM ROLL please, the news of my upcoming book is now out.

I am hard at work on Seasons to Savor: Eating Seasonally, Locally, and Simply. It is a guide to buying and using local foods, particularly CSA shares. It will feature sources, profiles of some of my favorite vendors, and off season guidance.

There will be recipes, but more importantly I think, there will be a plan of attack for you to get the most of out your CSA share by providing you with flexible base recipes and techniques. I know that in the middle of summer when I am faced with a beautiful, bountiful box of fresh veggies that I don't want to be tied down to specific recipe most of the time, I want to be able to have an idea of what I might be able to create, then let the vegetables dictate the result.

Think of it as turning yourself into a vegetable artist vs. a slave to the recipe. Case in point, you can take the fritatta recipe here and make it your own by changing the green (Swiss Chard, Broccoli, Asparagus, Arugula), the seasoning to your favorite, the meat (or not), and whatever cheese you have on hand. You can do it, I promise, and it will turn it just fine.

Bernard Pivot Blogfest

2011-02-16T13:15:00.000-05:00

Thanks to One Significant Moment in Time for giving me something to blog about today that doesn't involve my current state of mind. It's the famous questions most familiar to those in James Lipton's guest chair on Inside the Actors Studio, but was originally created by Bernard Pivot, a French journalist.

Here are my answers:

Okay, here's Bernard Pivot's famous questionnaire:

What is your favorite word? Verdant
What is your least favorite word? Scrumptious
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Freedom
What turns you off? Rude, ignorant people
What is your favorite curse word? Love the good old F word
What sound or noise do you love? Kitty purrs
What sound or noise do you hate? Automobiles crashing
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Botanist
What profession would you not like to do? Game Room Attendant at Chuck E Cheese
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? What took you so long?

Stovetop Cassoulet with a BBQ Twist

2011-02-06T12:28:00.002-05:00

Stovetop Cassoulet with a BBQ Twist

Cassoulet is a usually a hearty oven baked dish featuring rich meats and beans. My inspiration - a couple of leftover boneless chicken thighs from a client cookdate, a package of turkey kielbasa that needed to be used up, and a weird craving for baked beans. Alas, there were no baked beans in the pantry, but here's what I came up with.

You could sub pork for the chicken, or toss in leftover roasted chicken, or leave out the meat altogether. Use whatever beans you have in the pantry, and any color pepper you have in the fridge.

The mustard gives it a great spicy kick. Really delicious! It would be good served over rice or polenta to catch some of the savory sauce.

Stovetop Cassoulet with a BBQ Twist

olive or canola oil
1 small onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
Salt and Pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" pieces
1 package of turkey kielbasa sausage sliced in half, then cut into 1/2" slices
1 cup of low sodium chicken broth
1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
1 T. grainy dijon mustard
1/2 c. BBQ Sauce

Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add oil and saute onion and pepper for a few minutes while you chop the meat. Season with S&P. Add the sausage and chicken, stir to brown thoroughly. Season again with S&P. Add the stock, beans, mustard, and BBQ sauce.

Bring to boil, then reduce and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and sauce reduces and thickens a bit.

Lenore's Egg Salad

2011-02-06T12:05:00.001-05:00

Lenore's Egg Salad

I love egg salad. I like a little crunch - celery, onion, shallot, fennel, pickles, all work for me. And I like a little zip - in this case, I used my favorite Tony Packo's Sweet Hot Pickles and Peppers, including some of the juice from the jar, and Old Bay Seasoning. (Tony Packo's is the Toledo restaurant that Klinger always waxed poetic about on the TV show M.A.S.H.)

Have you seen the hydroponic lettuce in the stores? It's perfect for pulling off a few leaves at time for sandwiches, and since the roots are still attached, it holds for quite awhile in the fridge. Perfect for smaller households.

Hydroponic Lettuce

Lenore's Egg Salad
6 eggs, hard boiled
6 T. mayo or salad dressing
1 stalk of celery, chopped fine
1 small shallot, chopped fine
6-7 Tony Packo's Sweet Hot Pickles & Peppers, chopped, plus a spoonful of juice from the jar
2 - 3 t. yellow mustard
Salt and Pepper
Old Bay Seasoning

Chop eggs, then add the rest of ingredients and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Pork Tenderloin, Black Bean Chili with Roasted Corn and Farro

2011-02-03T16:31:00.003-05:00

Pork Black Bean Chili w/Roasted Corn and Farro

Here's a quick and tasty bowl of warmth inspired by a leftover roasted pork tenderloin and some leftover cooked farro that I had in the fridge. No leftovers? I've got you covered.

Pork Black Bean Chili with Roasted Corn and Farro

2 teaspoons of cilantro and roasted onion olive oil
1 small red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced
chili powder to taste
1/2 bottle of beer
1 can diced tomatoes with adobo (I used Muir Glen)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup Fire Roasted Corn (Trader Joes)
1 leftover roasted pork tenderloin (or season and brown in skillet on all sides, then finish in 400 degree oven about 20 minutes until 160 degrees), diced
water, as needed
1 cup of cooked farro (or rinse 1 cup then cook in 3 cups of water about 15 minutes, until tender)

Garnishes:
fresh lime
sour cream or plain greek yogurt
chopped cilantro
crushed tortilla chips

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium high heat. Saute onion, garlic and red bell pepper until softened. Add seasoning and cook 1 minute. Add beer and reduce by half.

Add tomatoes, black beans, corn, and pork, bring to boil then simmer for a minutes. Add farro before serving to warm through.

Spoon into bowls and serve with desired garnishes.

Book Report: A Bird in the Oven and Then Some

2011-02-02T14:37:00.001-05:00


Red Quinoa, Roast Chicken Salad with Tart Apple & Fresh Basil

Most of the time when I pick up (or buy) a cookbook, I'm lucky if there are a handful of recipes that I'd actually try, so if I find one that page after page I am thinking 'Yes!', 'mmmmm', 'wish I was eating that right now', well I am pretty much resigned to adding it to my collection.

I did manage to restrain myself from buying it at retail, and instead used my accumulated Amazon points to purchase A Bird in the Oven and Then Some: 20 Ways to Roast the Perfect Chicken Plus 80 Delectable Recipes, but I didn't get as good a price as you will with this link. (I also like that it has the "Look Inside" feature - perfect for arm chair shopping).

In preparation for another Brunty Farms CSA season, which includes 22 chickens, I am looking for a little inspiration. Most of the time I just brine and roast them, simply seasoned. The first chapter has 20 different variations on the roasting theme, including Roast Chicken with Green Olives, Fennel Seeds, and Thyme, and Sweet and Spicy Korean Roast "BBQ" chicken. Doesn't Roast Chicken with Basil, Scallion, Lemon Butter and Potatoes sound good?

The next chapter features side dishes ranging from Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes with Coarse Pepper and Wispy Scallions, Roasted Cauliflower with Dry-Cured Black Olives and Parsley Leaves, to Farro with Spicy Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Feta Cheese. Yum!

The next two chapters help smaller families and singles use the inevitable leftovers from a roast chicken, or larger families use up a second chicken (it's just as easy to roast two as one). One features salads, such as the Red Quinoa Salad with Roast Chicken, Tart Apple, Ground Pepper and Fresh Basil, pictured above, that I made today for lunch, and other delicious sounding versions including Roast Chicken Salad with Smoked Paprika Mayo, Serrano Ham, and Olives.

Not in a salad mood? How about soup? Maybe with Roast Chicken, Wheat Berries, Parsnips, and Kale or Thai Coconut Soup with Roast Chicken?

Pasta and Rice Dishes also merit a chapter. I can't wait to try Perciatelli with Shredded Roast Chicken, Sweet Onions and Pancetta and Farroto with Roast Chicken and Herbs.

The final chapter is Brunch, Lunch and Dinner ideas. How about Roasted Cherry Tomato, Chicken, Chevre and Ciabatta Breakfast Sandwich? Or Roast Chicken and Fresh Herb Summer Rolls?

I think you get a lot of bang for your buck on this one.

Third Time's a Charm: Chemo #3

2011-01-28T08:06:00.001-05:00

Halfway there! There is something to be said for having some experience, not that I am recommending you earn a chemotherapy notch in your belt unless truly necessary. Rounds one and two were dramatically different in how I felt afterward, but being the bald (mostly, I still have some fine baby hairs and a few funky tufts in the back that look like a bad day at the Hair Club for Men experiment) optimist I am, I figured I'd weather round #3 without a hitch.

The week before this treatment I ate like I was going to the electric chair. Seriously. When the funky period passed I craved cheeseburgers: Skyway Drive-In - Jimmy Buffet's favorite, plus B-Spot, Michael Symon's joint, and I went to a Red Robin for the first (and possibly last) time. Refrigerated ready to bake chocolate chip cookies, whole batch just for me, check. Wine tasted normal (yeah!) If it sounded good, I ate it (or drank it).

I capped it off with the 6 course feast at Dinner in the Dark on Monday. I would have been terrified to eat that dinner before round one, but that's where experience comes in handy. I knew I could live off the memory of that meal for at least a week. Which sadly, I have.

The day of (Tues), and day after chemo (Wed), I ate this this detox soup from the Guten-Free Goddess. Despite it's terrifying color, it was actually pretty tasty, and probably the last thing resembling anything green and healthy I've eaten since.

Thursday, I was starting to feel a little wobbly, but decided to go to my strength training class. My usually small class has had a few male additions, plus a visitor, and I barely lasted through the warm-up before the overly crowded room combined with claustrophobia and growing vertigo, sent me to the bikes instead. I managed to eat a bowl of soup with a friend at Panera afterwards. I think I had a Lean Cuisine Mac and Cheese for dinner.

Friday the fatigue was really setting in and my stomach was an unhappy, sour, knotted mess. I decided to try and sleep it off and spent most of the day in bed. After hours of mental debate - because at this point every possible thing resembling food sounds disgusting, tastes disgusting, and smells disgusting. Even opening the refrigerator to get to my filtered water dispenser gave me a little wave of nausea. I settled on a small cup of organic applesauce and a small cup of tapioca for dinner. And a handful of Tums for dessert.

Saturday I'd hoped to go to the monthly indoor winter farmers markets, but despite the sunny, but bitterly cold day, I was still more than a little wobbly. I managed a mini-rally to attend to the mounting cat hair on the carpet, dishes collecting in the sink, garbage that needed taken out, and sheets that needed changed. I can go about 4 days maximum in a semi-comatose state before it looks like there has been a party I missed around here that really needs cleaned up.

Sunday I went out for a mediocre breakfast because I was craving pancakes but didn't feel like making them myself. This town could really use a decent weekend breakfast place that uses organic, local ingredients and puts a little thought into the menu. Even better if if it doubled as a commercial kitchen incubator where local food artisans could crank out their wares during the week. I've had high hopes for a couple of restaurants that have opened nearby that serve breakfast (and aren't the ever popular Bob Evans or Cracker Barrel), but the food has been insipid, and the service pretty awful. I'm not naming names because this isn't a restaurant review blog, but check out my friend Tom's blog for the local low down on restaurant eats, good and bad.

I went early to beat the hordes of seniors who favor the place I usually go, where if I'm lucky I'm not seated near the nearly deaf ones who alternately complain about the weather, then describe their medical issues in detail, but the near zero temperatures kept most of them at home. By the time I got home I was back to feeling pretty much like crap, and decided to go back to bed.

There's a few days that are a blur as far as what I ate. I think over the weekend the Wendy's burger and baked potato craving hit. Why Wendy's over the superior Skyway Drive-In? Because squishy white buns are preferred at this stage to buttered and grilled buns. I got a couple of potatoes (I've baked them myself the last few rounds, but the smell of them baking made me queasy), the burger (which was dried out and basically sucked), and a large chili. At one item a meal, this covered me for three days. I didn't realize the chili had green peppers in it until now. Chili wasn't the best idea, but I could only manage a few bites anyway, so it wasn't a deal breaker. And I detest their new fries. Not that I was a huge consumer of fast food ever, but I didn't mind a jr. burger and small fries every once in awhile.

I keep getting up each day expecting to feel better. The best way I can think to describe it is that it's like in the Wizard of Oz when it turns to color from black and white. Halfway through the cycle, and it's still black and white.

My stomach is a mess. It feels like there is a handful of sour apple Jolly Rancher candies melting in there with some Atomic Fireballs thrown in like the ball bearing in a can of spray paint. Not being able to eat is only the tip of the iceberg. It also makes watching TV challenging, particularly cooking shows and gory medical dramas, and it's difficult to read, which basically leaves lying around covered in happily snoozing cats as about all I'm good for.

Early in the week I woke up craving turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, which I took as a good sign. A friend was kind enough to pick up the family size feast I ordered from Bob Evans that I thought would last for days. I warmed a big plate for lunch, but after a few bites, the craving passed. I couldn't stomach anything that night for dinner.

I was pretty much living on my two scrambled eggs for breakfast and a piece of toast. One night I thought, a couple of over easy eggs for dinner would work. Except I didn't quite get the whites fully cooked, which I discovered after the first bite, and resulted in a piece of toast for dinner, and the eggs in the trash. So there's no danger of me becoming the Forest Gump of eggs; I'll stick to scrambled. On the really bad days I can't even stomach the thought of ketchup on them. On the good days, I consider the condiment a vegetable.

My ten day oncology check-up was yesterday, and I was still feeling less than spectacular. But my bloodwork was good, I even got a full copy of my post results side by side from all three rounds, and she went over them with me. Appointment for round four made.

I was almost out of eggs (!) and headed straight to Brunty Farms to stock up, and hit the market for a few things. I finally started feeling better in the afternoon, but after a solid week of struggling to eat anything it wasn't like all the sudden I was starving and couldn't wait to shovel in food.

I'm not proud of my Lean Cuisine, Wendy's, Bob Evans craving ways, but despite the best laid organic, free ranging chicken soup plans (I've got a freezer full of it), the reality is that when you are rocking in that little post chemo boat trying to keep your eyes on the horizon, you do what you have to do to get to the shore.

Dinner in the Dark: Palate Restaurant

2011-01-18T09:04:00.022-05:00

Beverage Pairings

Last night I attended my first Dinner in the Dark, held at Palate Restaurant in Strongsville, with a group of local foodies and bloggers. A - MAZ - ING.

No, we weren't blind folded and served scary foods; the 'dark' part refers to the fact that until service starts you don't know what you are going to be served, or the chefs that are going to be be preparing the six course, beverage paired menu.

Dinner in the Dark was created by chefs Brian Okin (Verve), Ellis Cooley (Amp 150), and Jeff Jarrett (Palate Restaurant) to bring together Cleveland's chefs and food lovers to share their passion and compassion. Ticket proceeds benefit a local charity chosen by the participating chefs. Last night's benefiting charity was the the Cleveland Sight Center.

Along with my favorite pie baker, Diane Sikorski from Humble Pie Baking Co., and her husband Steve, my dining companions included two fellow local bloggers, Nancy from Fun Playing with Food, and Tom from Exploring Food My Way, so there was a lot of photography at our table (with superior equipment to my toss in the purse camera), so check their blogs for the details I've missed. Expect better photos from them as well.

We started with a cocktail of Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon with Pinot Noir Syrup, Rose Water and bitters. I'm not a hard alcohol drinker, but this was really delicious. The floral notes and the syrup really balanced the bourbon. (I didn't finish it or I probably would have fallen asleep by the third course).

The amuse bouche was a delicious little tart filled with smoky caramelized onions and figs, topped with a bleu cheese ice cream and a crispy sweetbread. Created by Adam Bostwick from Melange.

Amuse Bouche: Onion Fig Tart, Bleu Ice Cream, Sweetbread

The first course was a delicious wild mushroom bread pudding with herb smoked onions, topped with the heady aroma of truffle oil. Even Nancy, a non-mushroom lover, cleaned her plate. This course was created and presented by Jeff Jarrett from Palate. It was paired perfectly with Boffa Dolcetto D'Alba, Piedmont.

Mushroom Bread Pudding

Next up, a clever take on a reuben with slaw, a tasty kimchi with tart Granny Smith apples and a mini calves tongue sandwich on rye created by Matt Mathlage from Light Bistro. The sandwich was wrapped with a piece of parchment paper to give a bit of a 'fast food' look according to Matt, but more than a few dinners were a bit perplexed at first (including) me, thinking that perhaps the wrapper was some kind of edible garnish. Served later, with more drink pairings, the paper may have created some interesting reactions. It was paired with Piedmont beer, quite successfully.

Kimchi with Calves Tongue Sandwich

The salad course was prepared by my favorite Cleveland chef/mad scientist, Steve Schmioler, from Crop Bistro. (Side note - I am so looking forward to celebrating my birthday in Crop's new location near West Side Market). Steve's contribution was a local yellow and red beet salad topped with a spectacular blood orange gelee along with goat cheese with touch of gorgonzola with pistachios. The combination of ingredients and textures was delightful and refreshing. The pairing of Pinot Noir worked well with the earthiness of the beets. There was some serious debate at the table about licking the plates clean, but no one wanted to go for the blood orange mustache.

Beet Salad, Blood Orange Gelee

The fish course, an brown butter poached artic char served atop a smoked corn and truffle risotto with a basil sauce, was Matt Mytro, creator of Stove Monkeys, offering. Not being a fan of salmon (I've tried...), I wasn't sure how I was going to like this, but combined with the risotto and the sauce, it was outstanding, as was the pairing of Demetria Chardonnay (Santa Barbara).

Artic Char, Smoked Corn Risotto

The final savory course was a spicy espresso crusted veal strip loin served atop a jalapeno croquette with a hidden surprise of pepper Jack cheese, along with haricot verts with a cherry glaze whose secret ingredient was Dr. Pepper. The chef was Chris Quinn, the corporate chef from US Foodservice, who generously donated much of the food for the dinner. The steak was smoky/sweet, but well balanced, and paired nicely with a red table wine. The chef posted the recipe on his blog if you want to try it at home.

Espresso Veal Strip Loin

Finally, dessert was presented by Matt Anderson from Umami Asian Kitchen in Chagrin Falls, who said he wanted to make something non-Asian. His dessert of lightly cooked local apples, paired with Lucky Penny goat cheese combined with sorghum and walnuts, was an interesting, light finish to the meal.

Dessert Course

There was a silent auction for $400 in restaurant gift certificates as well as a raffle to benefit the Cleveland Sight Center. Dinner tab - a steal at $65, plus tax and tip.

There were amazing microgreen garnishes on many of the dishes hand delivered from the Chef's Gardens, whose lucky employee Mike and his wife stayed to enjoy the feast.

We'd paid upfront at the suggestion of waitress to make a speedier exit, but as we waited for the silent auction results, a surprise final treat was delivered to our table - Peanut Butter and Jelly Popcorn with Peanuts. The grape jelly had been reduced to it's concord grape flavor, and combined with the peanut butter and peanuts was a delicious, playful combination.

News channel 5 WEWS was on hand to do a story. Check out this clip for background on why the Cleveland Sight Center is near and dear to Chef Jarrett's heart.

Channel 3 WYKC was there as well, their clip here.

To see the secret menu, plus bios of the participating and founding chefs, visit Local Food Service here.

For one of my dining companions photos, including the cocktail and popcorn visit here.

Best Pork Chop Ever

2011-01-11T08:47:00.000-05:00

Tired of dry, tasteless pork chops? Odds are the supermarket versions are cut so thin that you almost can't help but overcook them. Make friends with a good butcher - you want them at least an inch thick; I like 'em even thicker.

These are the first chops from my CSA pig from Brunty Farms.

I rubbed it with a little olive oil, seasoned it and let come to room temp while the grill heated up. I seared it on both sides on direct heat, then moved it to the middle burners which were turned off. Lid down they probably took about 20 minutes to come to around 145 degrees, which is when I pulled them and let them rest.

I made some Blackberry Jam with a Hint of Bourbon from the blog Vanilla Garlic yesterday, so I glazed one a bit with that.

Served with a garden/csa/farmers market collection of veggies.

No fooling, this was probably the best pork chop I have ever eaten in my life. Awesome, truly awesome.

*This is an old post from last summer that somehow never got published. But I still remember how awesome those chops were.

Winter Farmers Market at Lucky Penny Creamery

2011-01-10T07:40:00.003-05:00

Try Before You Buy!

Northeast Ohio winters are long, snowy, and until recently, not known for an abundance of farm fresh food available during the winter months. The Countryside Conservancy winter markets, now held at the easier to navigate Old Trail School, have expanded to twice monthly (except January), and now if you are closer to Portage County, another weekly option is being held at Lucky Penny Creamery in Kent, in conjunction with Salt of the Earth Farm.

The inaugural market, held last Saturday, on a sunny, but briskly cold day, brought plenty of cabin fever suffering folks, including me, out for some food and fellowship. The market will be held on Saturdays from 9 am to noon through May, when the outdoor market season begins.

Vendors will change from week to week. This week there were local apples:

I love this shot of local apples

Grass fed meats and free range eggs:


Grass Fed Meats and Eggs

Pierogies from Posh Pierogies - I got Chicken Paprikash.

Posh Pierogies

Hand made breads:

Waffles and other delights from Ms. Julie's Kitchen:

Some snazzy slate art:

Jams and Jellies:

Cookies:

And let's not forget the delicious Lucky Penny products, plus be sure to check out the goat of the week. This week's is Kayla, a fiesty 3 year old who likes to jump fences!


Kayla

Chevre!!!

Farm Fresh Chevre

And goat milk fudge. The chocolate with a swirl of Cajeta (caramel sauce made from goat milk) is absolutely to die for.

My Personal Fudge Stash

There was also fresh hot coffee and a book swap. I traded a couple of cookbooks headed for the library shop for ones on Cuban cooking and breakfasts.

Looks like a good time, doesn't it? Lucky Penny Creamery is located in the former labor temple at 632 Temple Avenue in Kent.

Baby Arugula, Fennel, Blood Orange and Olive Salad

2011-01-08T08:37:00.001-05:00

Fresh Salad Ingredients!

Yesterday marked the 10 day mid-point of chemo round two, and to say that round two was easier than round one, would be a enormous understatement. The 10-14 period is when the white blood cell count is at the lowest, and is when you go visit the oncologist for a a check on those counts. After a finger stick (I applied the anesthetic cream to my port for naught I found out), the blood tech milked my reluctant to bleed finger like a cow for several minutes, until she coaxed enough blood out for the test.

My oncologist checked me out and actually hung out for a bit while the results were being processed (she usually flies in like a bee, alights briefly, then moves on to the next flower). Someone asked me this week how I would know if all the treatments worked. So I asked. The answer: "We don't". There is no blood test, or exam, that says "Congratulations, we poisoned the heck out of you, and there's no cancer here".

She also confirmed that you have demonstrate your worthiness of getting the Neulasta shot by doing the exact thing it's supposed to prevent, which is crash like the Hindenburg.

My counts were good, and I was declared in good enough condition to head into round three soon.

How did it go post number two? The first couple of days, more or less normal. By the weekend, the fatigue set in. Fatigue is not normal tired. Fatigue feels like every ounce of energy is vacuum sealed out of you, leaving an empty, motionless husk that takes considerable effort to move. When that sets in, the appetite goes, and nothing sounds appealing. Showering seems like a monumental task. You aren't really moving anyway, so an every other day schedule works.

After a few days, the fatigue loosened it's grip, and I just felt kind of low-grade crappy. I exercised at home and didn't go out at all most of the week. If anything sounded remotely appetizing, I ate it. One day a cheeseburger sounded good, another a plain baked potato. Eggs are the only thing that I can consistently count on, and thankfully, you can scramble a couple in a matter of minutes.

Thursday I had a bit of cabin fever and a sudden craving for mall bourbon chicken (!). So I made a brief visit to Barnes and Noble, then swung by the mall for my fix.

Friday, I put on make-up and real clothes (still have eyebrows and eyelashes so far) to go to the doctor, and figured why waste that effort, so afterward I had lunch with a friend (I was actually hungry - really hungry!), and we did a bit of shopping.

Which brings me to the point of this post, that pretty selection of fresh food stuffs. Vegetables and anything remotely resembling fresh items had long been absent, and I was looking forward to dinner.

I got a nice little piece of fresh grouper:

Grouper from Kate's Fish at West Side Market

I opened a bottle of wine. I had a tiny glass when a friend stopped by this week, but for the most part, wine doesn't hold much appeal. I was hoping this lovely bottle I brought back from my favorite Finger Lakes winery would do it, but it was just meh tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

Dry Rose from Red Tail Ridge

Baby Arugula, Fennel, Blood Orange and Olive Salad

1 small pkg of baby arugula, rinsed and spun
1 quarter of a fresh fennel bulb, shaved thin on a mandoline
1 blood orange, peeled and sectioned
1/4 c. pitted kalamata olives, chopped
Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano
White Balsamic Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Saute the fennel in a bit of olive oil until slightly softened; set aside. Arrange arugula in salad bowl, top with fennel, orange, and olives. Drizzle with vinegar and oil. Season to taste.

The salad turned out great. You could leave the fennel raw, but I wanted to take a bit of the edge off, so I sauteed it, then let it cool.

Baby Arugula, Blood Orange, Fennel and Olives

The fish however, was a disaster. I pan roasted it, but I totally overcooked it, and even worse, I made the stupid mistake of not immediately putting the Stay Cool Silicone Pot Holder by Trudeau (Random Colors) on the skillet when I took it out of the screaming hot oven, and you guessed it, went to grab it. Fortunately I only got a tiny blister on my finger for my stupidity. I don't really have spare white blood cells to fight self inflicted infection.

So I was a little rusty in the kitchen, but I am looking forward to getting a week or so back in there before round three. Bon Appetit!

Thank You, May I Have Another? Chemo #2

2010-12-31T08:02:00.003-05:00

Cross Stitch Art at a Vacation Rental House

Although I've never given birth, I've heard enough horror stories and watched enough televised accounts of women writhing in pain, screaming for meds, and evil eyeing the sperm donor while vowing never to put themselves in the stirrups again. That's pretty much how I felt as I was being driven to the hospital after the Great White Blood Cell Crash from round #1.

The great irony of early stage cancer is that you don't feel a thing from the cancer, but the treatment is a royal bitch. The prospect of repeating this scenario another five times made me quickly realize why some people just can't complete the treatments. Who wants to deliver sextuplets, one at a time, every three weeks?

By the time I was released from the hospital and had a day or so to shake it off at home, I woke up and it was like the sicko to human switch was flipped. I got up craving pancakes, was able to drink coffee again, and reintroduced butter and half and half. Thankfully the lactose thing was temporary.

On Christmas I made these phenomenal pancakes, Cornmeal Blueberry with Spiced Maple Butter; unbelievably delicious.

I had a great week. Lots of energy, hit the gym nearly every day, including my twice weekly strength training class, cooked and ate well, had a little wine (the first time the idea sounded remotely appealing, although apparently my cheap wine gene has been chemo zapped). I even felt well enough to work, and did a 3 entree/6 side meal package for one of my favorite clients.

My hair, which did start growing back from the buzz cut, is now falling out at an increasing rate daily; I've got hats full of fuzz. And I am undergoing reverse puberty, if you get my drift. (The Pocahontas artwork was in a house I rented with some friends last summer; clearly I will not need the help of woodland animals with my hair for quite some time).

My face was so dried out and scaly last week it was painful. My Facebook fans suggested about every known remedy, many of which I tried, but it turns out the most expensive solution, a $43 tube of Kiehl's Centella Recovery Skin-Salve, has saved me from looking like an old man. (Thanks to Teresa from The Dog Lived, and (So Will I) , for the tip).

Chemo #2 was uneventful on Wednesday. Yesterday, in what is hoped to be a solution to the Great White Cell Crash, I was given an injection of Neulasta, which is a white blood cell booster. I didn't ask why I didn't get it last time. Maybe because it's about $2,500 a pop. Which is probably cheaper than the 3 days I spent occupying a hospital bed, so I am assuming my insurance had no problem authorizing it. Neulasta's big side effect is bone pain.

While it's listed as 30%, a big deal is made about warning you. I've decided to take the same tactic as for the nausea; expect to not have it, and you won't. (27% of people who got the placebo claimed bone pain - what does that tell you?). Of course, I had a shooting pain in my knee when I stopped at the market on the way home and nearly dropped the $8 Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Bar I was examining. I took it as a sign to buy the chocolate (it's delicious). Just to be sure on the pain thing , I've been taking Advil.

So we'll see how it goes next week. Certainly hoping for a different (uh, much better) result than last time. Two down, four to go.

Pork Chops with Apple Ginger Cranberry Chutney

2010-12-26T19:26:00.001-05:00

Pasture Raised Pork - Extra Thick Chops

I flushed out my vegan fans on Facebook this summer when I posted the photos of the pig who provided these awesome chops, from when I first met her as a baby piglet, through her growth to a happy 300 plus pounder.

But the reality of eating meat, is that first, you have to remember where it actually comes from. The deboned, defatted, hormonally deformed, chemical injected, shrink wrapped styrofoam trays stacked in supermarket grocery cases have made people forget more and more where in fact, their chops came from and how the pig spent it's days.

I enjoyed watching my pig grow, along with five of it's siblings. They rooted every conceivable piece of vegetation in several fields, and dined on a steady diet of scraps from a nearby private school, and pails of vegetable and fruit scraps I dropped off when I picked up my eggs.

I had my chops cut extra thick, and they are so flavorful and tender, they barely need any dressing up, so tonight I made a bit of chutney to go with them, based on this Fine Cooking recipe. I used dried cranberries instead of raisins (I wanted to use fresh cranberries, but mine had gone a bit over and I couldn't risk eating a moldy one). I also gave it a few glugs of red wine in honor of the holiday.

I had some baby Bok Choy from the farmer's market that I sauteed in some Blood Orange oil and sprinkled with Maple Pepper seasoning. A perfectly delicious seasonal meal.

Chop with Chutney, Baby Bok Choy and Baked Potato

Well That Didn't Go Quite as Well as I'd Would've Liked....

2010-12-17T19:37:00.002-05:00


Gizmo my crazy Tortie, Missed Me

Wondering why you haven't heard from me in awhile? Well wonder no more. It went from good to bad in rather record time, I thought, but I lived to tell the tale, and here it is. *Warning: Not for the particularly squeamish. I debated on giving you the details, or sparing you; you're getting them. Abort now, if you must.

Chemo #1 was Tuesday, Dec. 7th, you'll recall. I did not burst into flames, nor did my head spin and spew forth pea soup a la The Exorcist (Extended Director's Cut & Original Theatrical Edition) [Blu-ray], right there in the hospital recliner, as I think my friend who came to gave me a ride home secretly feared.

I woke the next day and I was fine. Took my preventive nausea meds, went to the gym and worked out, ate more or less normally. Thursday and Friday, same. Felt lucky, yet a little scared of when the other shoe was going to drop.

Saturday, other than a few cases of the runs in the morning, I felt good, and I was looking forward to the indoor winter farmer's market, which this year are being held at Old Trail School. Went to the market, got some things, visited with some nice people, and came back home.

Big winter storm was predicted, so I thought I would be a good idea to gas up the car, plus it was filthy and I was willing to wait out a short line at the car wash. Even though everyone in Northeast Ohio seemed to be in Montrose shopping, I managed those two tasks without a problem. Then I hit Giant Eagle for a few supplies and that's when the wheels fell off.

I was almost done shopping, but in the farthest corner of the store from the door, when digestive issues reared themselves (quite literally), with no warning. Hadn't happened since the first grade, when I told my teacher, Mrs. Schick, that I'd 'thrown up in my pants'. A statement that certain members of my family enjoyed pulling out when they wanted to inject a special dose of humiliation.

I bee lined to the self check-out and applied my usual professional speed to the process, while the line grew behind me, and I operated under the veil of denial - maybe it's not that bad. I got home, and well, it was that bad. At least it stayed contained.

I didn't feel too sparkly the rest of the evening, and managed to get a handful of crackers and a small cup of applesauce down, called it dinner, and went to bed. Sunday, I mostly just felt crappy (pun intended) all day, but managed to eat a little bit more, including a delicious quiche I'd gotten from The Humble Pie Baking Company at the market.

Sunday night was bad. I was up at least a dozen times with waves of gassy pains, and I wasn't taking any chances, so I had to get up make sure it was nothing, before going back to bed. The snow started piling up.

Monday I was scheduled for my first free house cleaning (of four total, 2 hour each sessions) via Cleaning for a Reason, whose local business is Jo Ann's Professional Touch. My cleaner, Jim, braved the snow, and was here from 11 - 1 and got the bathrooms sparkling, and swept and dusted.

I called the oncologist's office since I still had the runs, and they called in a prescription, because Imodium was like spitting in the wind. The prescription meds didn't really seem to slow it down either, but I gave it some time to work.

That evening I had some dinner, and I didn't feel any better or worse than I had, when around 9 o'clock I remembered I had some Hartzler Dairy chocolate milk. I had a small glass and some animal crackers. Now I was back to first grade.

Except after a few minutes, I had my first wave of nausea. At first it was intestinal, but then it became quickly apparent that I was going to need to break-in the Chuck-It Bucket. Fortunately, after about 15 minutes, both ends of the devil were expelled. I broke into a light sweat, checked my temp, which was ok, and I zonked out on the recliner for most of the night after taking the last Zofran I had in the house.

Tuesday I definitely felt worse, and I sent a friend for a Zofran refill. The other nausea med that they gave me , which I took one of, knocked me practically out. (Which I was told was normal later.)

I napped on and off, and I was working myself up to a badly needed shower, when my temperature started going up. I did shower, and by three o'clock it hit the magic 100.5, which the number my oncologist has drilled into me is the no fooling, you must call me now number. So I did and was told to get myself directly to the inpatient admitting desk asap, my bed was waiting for me.

A friend picked me and took me in, and got to witness the second time I "threw up in my pants" while I was sprinting to a bathroom that was just a little too far away. And when I wasn't collected in a wheelchair to be hauled off to my room as quickly as promised, informed me she was going Shirley McLaine in Terms of Endearment on them, and God love her, she nearly did. And it worked.

Pluses: Cancer ward has private rooms, mine had a brand new bed that I broke in personally, when the door is closed it's pretty quiet, the nurses rock. The steady supply of Depends were a bonus.

Minuses: The idiots who thinks patient rooms are great places to hold loud reunions and use their cell phones, who nearly always located directly across the hall from me - go home morons and let us rest, the lack of a no fragrance on staff policy; the cacophony of colognes and lotions ran the range from mild to offensive, but in the cancer ward particularly, where people are fighting nausea, your lotion that smells like hard candies melted in a radiator made my stomach a little extra churny, the food, particularly the joyful liquid diet which consisted mostly of high fructose corn syrup (!).

They pumped me full of mega-antibiotics via IV, so that power port came in handy for that, plus the daily gift of blood I delivered.

I had no appetite when I arrived so I didn't protest the liquid diet the doc ordered, but I was rather appalled at what was delivered. Usually a bowl of broth (although I got two chicken broth for breakfast yesterday, which was a real stomach turner), jello, black tea (which to me tastes like motor oil right now), and four 4 oz cups of 'juice', cranberry, apple, grape, and lemon-lime, one of which was usually frozen solid. I swear to you I have not ingested that much HFCS or artificial flavor and colors since I was a kid. This stuff is ghastly! Why in the hell is it being served in hospitals????

Also turns out the chemo has made me lactose intolerant, so that was a little extra fuel I'd been throwing in the digestive fire, before I got that news. Hell, that's probably mostly what I'd been eating. With a chocolate milk tipping point!

Fortunately I sleep like a rock, so as long as they kept the door closed I was good, and when I was awake that iPad came in super handy, allowing me to keep friends apprised of my progress, and I was able to download this week's Top Chef and watch it, since the TV selections were limited.

My blood counts were finally back up enough this morning that the doc couldn't wait to launch me. Seemed she needed the bed for her latest batch of victims.

Next round is on the 29th, and on the 30th I will get an injection of Neulasta, which is supposed to boost the white cells, and hopefully avoid a repeat of this week.

I was joking with someone about losing my dignity today and he wrote back, "I wonder how the stripping of dignity changes people? If at all?", and I promised to reveal the answer here.

I really debated on whether I was going to publicly reveal my 'accident' on Saturday. But I've done it several times since (on the way to x-ray, a few other times at the hospital). What seems mortifying at first, is mildly amusing now. I couldn't have stopped it if I tried, anymore than I could have 40 years ago.

So if you're dumb enough to joke about me 'throwing up in my pants' now, I'll say come closer please. And pull my finger.

It Feels Like the First Time: Chemo Virgin, No More

2010-12-08T07:29:00.000-05:00


National Cancer Institute Booklet

Today was chemo #1 (of 6). Last week I attended a chemo orientation with a couple of guys who have different kinds of cancer. The pharmacist and one of the oncology nurses went through a power point presentation (long time since I've seen one of those, and my auto response is to practically fall asleep when someone reads directly from the slides, but I paid attention).

We were each given thick folders with a print-out of each component drug in our chemo, what it does, and the possible side effects, which was nice. The rest included several booklets from the National Cancer Institute, like the Eating Hints booklet, above, and Chemo and You.

It only takes a quick glance to recognize this is the work of the government, and is possibly illustrated by the original artist who drew the Food Groups Charts you were given to color in grade school. I understand that these things need to be relatively straight forward, but the whole look and tone seems so retro and unnecessarily dull and uninspiring.

I saved this helpful recipe, for Banana Milk Shakes, for the future:

Banana Shake: Banana, Milk, Vanilla - Blend

I thought I recognized it from my Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls: Facsimile Edition, but alas, a far more appetite stimulating version is there, for a chocolate fudge milkshake.

At Chemo Camp, we were given a guide to side effect supplies: Immodium, Senakot-S, Biotene Mouthwash, plus the recipe for a baking soda mouth rinse, and instructions to up the oral care to at least five times a day. The tissues of your mouth and throat are fast growing (like your hair, hence your ability to overcome the dreaded hot pizza roof of mouth burn pretty quickly - which of course makes them vulnerable to the non-discriminating chemo drugs).

Of course it looked like I didn't know if I was coming or going at the pharmacy check-out, and I couldn't get White Rabbit lyrics out my head (One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small).

I bought not one, but two thermometers, that for once are not destined to be poked into cooked meat, because I have to make sure that my temperature does not hit 100.5. Or I could apparently die, as my straight shooting doc informed me. If it does, I am supposed to call and I will be fast tracked to be admitted and pumped full of antibiotics, hopefully bypassing the germ fest and moaning known as the emergency room.

Starting Sunday evening, the dreaded Lake Effect snow started heading this way. If you are lucky enough to live in California and not experience this phenomenon, it works like this: Mass of cold air moves over large body of warm water, drops lots of snow, usually in fairly predictable areas, known as the Snow Belt.

Akron is about 30 miles south of Lake Erie, so it's usually more like the Snow Muffin Top - it really depends on which way the storm sits (so to speak), as to whether we get the big, lumpy inches that our friends in the belt get. Sometimes, with a good Nor'Easter it'll blow over Cleveland and land here instead. It funny sometimes to drive on the highway and see the dividing line between the snow have and have nots.

It fell steadily overnight Sunday, and there was at least 6-7 inches yesterday. My newly hired plow guy didn't show until around 9:00 pm (I called and gave him the heads up I had chemo today and needed out). I did call my rides and debate moving my appointment to Wednesday. I actually called and tried to move it; no dice. This morning there were 2-3 more inches, but it was super light and fluffy, and my ride had 4 wheel drive.

I had already packed my Tami Goes To Chemo bag with so much stuff my friend said I needed a chemo wagon. A couple of new magazines, a notepad, a hand knit scarf/shawl, my new construction worker thermos with hot water for tea and oatmeal, tea bags, milk, cottage cheese, grape tomatoes, a can of lentil soup and a micro mug, napkins, utensils, disposable bowl, a banana and a clementine, and my iPad.

I was told to fast so I could give blood for my clinical trial (which is Acety-L Carnitine or a placebo, which I am now taking 3 times a day), so a friend picked me up so I get it drawn early, then eat breakfast. Since my port had yet to be initiated, they attempted to get the blood from the same vein on the top of my hand as the last time. No dice, well nearly dry, and they barely got enough to make dirtying the needle worth it. After a little hand wringing on the nurses part, I was allowed to eat, and they agreed to get more blood once the port was ready to roll.

I barely finished my oatmeal, when I was summoned to Chemo Land, and weighed, then parked in the first chair by the door. There are two areas, one on either side of the lobby, at the Akron General McDowell Cancer Center. It's arranged cubicle style, each with a recliner, a guest chair, room for rolling/hanging IV stand, and not much else. Including my running away from home supplies. Partial walls offer privacy, and there wasn't a whole lot of action in there today, maybe 6-8 more people came in after I did.

There was some confusion regarding my orders which related to the clinical trial, and that took a bit to sort out, then more first date ice breaker visits by the pharmacist (aka Chemo Camp director), who went over my drug components, Taxotere, Carboplatin, and Herceptin. I will be getting a total of 18 Herceptin injections, which is a targeted drug looking for HER-2 cells like Ms. Pac-Man, and doesn't cause hair loss and puking. Speaking of which, pre-meds were doled out for nausea prevention, and instructions for staying ahead of it with my prescription meds were outlined for the days ahead.

I was also visited by the social worker, who I'd met with briefly before to talk insurance coverage (they checked), and various and sundry programs that might help me out with the bills. Which are mounting. I am hoping I can get some help when I have to meet my $2,500 deductible AND $2,500 co-insurance maximum AGAIN next year. I'll break it all down in a separate post, but there are currently about $35,000 in bills for the surgery in process.

I had remembered to 'butter' my port with anesthetic cream when I first arrived. My main nurse of the day, disinfected the port, then initiated it with a bit of poke, then flushed it out with saline and attached the doohickeys (technical term) for the IV. She collected blood for the trial and blood for pre-testing to make sure I was good enough to poison. Once I was done flirting with the pharmacist and the social worker, and the orders were sorted out, it was time to get down to business.

Drug #1 was hung by the stand with care, a dripped away without incident for about an hour. My friend Lisa hung around for most of this fun, so I really didn't break into my stash as deeply as I'd anticipated, save a bit of surfing on the iPad, until the Wi-Fi got too sluggish.

I had hoped to dig into my Kindle copy of The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, which got great reviews in both the Akron and Cleveland papers, which threatened to suck me in for the duration when I started reading it after I downloaded. Company was nice and made it go faster. I had green tea, and the banana, cottage cheese, and some grape tomatoes.

Drugs #2 and #3 each took about a half an hour each, and I had a friend change-up in between, when my friend Debbie, arrived. I met a few more of the nurses when my original went to lunch. So I am already like Norm at Cheers there.

My variations on the lime green theme, down to my OPI Shrek Forever After Collection Who the Shrek Are You? B92, pretty much brands me as memorable. I got a lot of compliments, but wouldn't be surprised if I was referred to as Kermit behind my back. I sort of brought it on myself, I suppose. I got to show off those toes all day, because in an effort to keep the tootsies cold, and keep the circulation down, to help hopefully prevent a potential side effect of tingling tootsies, I went bare, except for the few times I shuffled to the bathroom, dragging my stand behind me.

Uneventful all in all, made my appointment to check the white counts and 10 days, and was out by 2:30.

We stopped at West Point Market on the way home, and the ready to cook Parmesan Cod looked like a safe bet for dinner. But when we got it home, as soon as I reached into the bag, I was greeted with a not so fresh fish aroma, that permeated the plastic container. At first I had Debbie put them in a freezer bag and put it in the garage fridge, then I defaulted to 'get that smelly crap in the trash'. (Yes, I should return it, but carrying off fish in the car seems kind suicidal after you've just been pumped full of chemo).

So I ended up eating some already cooked pasta and sauce that was in the fridge, and I had a chocolate chip cookie from Mustard Seed, along with some tea and a lot of water. Brushed and flushed with Biotene.

So far, so good. It's still a waiting game. Waiting for the actual chemo is over. Waiting for signs of side effects begins. It's kind of like riding the gondola through the haunted house waiting for the boogey man and the lady with knife sticking out of her skull to pop out and scare the pants off you. Or cranking the jack-in-box waiting for the punch in the face.

December 7th, a day that will live in infamy. (I was actually at Pearl Harbor on the 50th anniversary for my honeymoon; a surreal experience which included taking Japanese tourists photos at their request).

I learned that Elizabeth Edwards lost her battle with breast cancer this morning, probably as I started chemo. She fought a strong, brave battle, and had more than her share of other trials to deal with. God bless her, and her children.

There was also another mouse massacre. Smokey, the elusive, always spooked kitty snagged one by jimmying the brick around a register and plucked one out like a pro. Then disappeared.

Staying pretty zen, and praying for the best. And hey, I've got bananas and non-lumpy milk, if I could only find that shake recipe.

Chrome Dome Chicken

2010-12-07T07:01:00.001-05:00

In the count down to chemo, much guidance is provided on what to eat (and what not to eat). Greasy, fried, spicy, and ice cream are not recommended, nor is it advised that you should eat all of your favorites prior to treatment, lest you develop an aversion. (Think about the last time you vomited; you thought twice about eating that meal again, didn't you? Let me just say, it's been over twenty years since I've had a spinach salad with hot bacon dressing (!) )

I've got the freezer stocked with plenty of benign ready to heat meals. It was kind of nice once to cook up a storm and then get to keep the food, rather than leaving it neatly labeled and stacked in a client's freezer.

Last night I was in the mood for a good old roast chicken with vegetables. I made a quick stop at Mustard Seed Market for an organic bird, and foraged the veggies from the fridge, including these carrots that I grew myself. (My first carrot crop of any note). One of them is called Atomic Red.

Home Grown Carrots

I really wanted to do Michael Symon's Roast Chicken recipe from Michael Symon's Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen, but despite wasting about 20 minutes surveying all of my bookcases, I never managed to turn up the book, and searching for on the internet didn't turn it up either. Thought it would make a nice tribute to our matching haircuts. (See my trip down Follicle Lane, if you haven't already. Note my current resemblance to both Chef Symon, and the above chicken).

So armed with the vague memory that his version calls for shoving a lemon in the cavity, a handful of chopped garlic and some fresh rosemary and thyme, my version, The Chrome Dome Chicken, was born.

I wanted to do an herb butter under the skin and give it a good rub on the top. That's when I had a head smacking, Why Didn't I Think of That' sooner idea. As I piled the rosemary, thyme leaves, and garlic on the board, and added some kosher salt, and started to chop it all together, I decided to slice off a couple of chunks of cold butter and throw it in the pile.

Herb Butter Gremolata! Rather than softening the butter, chopping the herbs, then the garlic, then adding to the butter and seasoning it, my lazy chrome dome said 'Do it all together!". The beauty of it, in addition to the simplicity, is that the chopping warms the butter, without making a melted mess.

I loosened the skin and rubbed most of this on the breasts, and rubbed a little over the veggies. I gave those a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil as well. The organic birds don't have as much greasy fat when you roast them as conventional ones do.

It smelled so good when it was roasting. And it was delicious too!

Twas the Night Before Chemo

2010-12-06T11:45:00.001-05:00

My autographed Chuck-It Bucket

Twas the Night before Chemo Poem

Twas the night before Chemo, when all through the house,

The cats were snoozing, dreaming of mouse.

I wore my ‘kerchief, and doubled up in my cap,

Then settled my brain for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But my newly hired snow plow driver, 'bout time he got here.

With a flick of his blade, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment that I wouldn't be sick.

“Now Carboplatin! now, Taxotere! now, Zofran and Herceptin!
On, Immodium! On, Senocot! , on Phernegan and Lidocaine! (sorry, I can't rhyme this mess)
To the top of the bald head! to the bottom of it all!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of anti-nausea meds, and my Oncologist, too.

I look chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw my reflection, in spite of myself!
I was warned there would soon not be a hair on my head,
and about plenty of side effects I am trying not to dread.

Drinking lots of green tea, glad for my pot with a whistle,
And rubbing my skull that's now like the down of a thistle.
Then I exclaimed, as I dozed for the night,
“Happy Chemo to all, and to all a good-night!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorow....

2010-12-05T20:55:00.002-05:00

In the beginning, there is a baby. Let's face it, babies are either cute, or they're, well, not. You've been shown the photos (or handed the victim, er baby), of the unfortunate, wrinkly, unhappy looking newborn, and searching for something nice to say, exclaimed "Look at that full head of hair!". Sometimes the ugliest babies somehow manage to come out looking like Chewbacca. Not me of course, clearly I had Gerber baby potential.

Then there's the real live doll. Whose hair you can cut. Doesn't matter that you can't get the doll to sit still long enough to get those bangs straight. You can just say "Hold still! Let me even those up." (They never are).

Let the natural curl go for awhile. Let her lick the brownie bowl. With raw egg. Before that was such a near life threatening treat.

After years of bad pixies, uneven bangs, and bowl cuts, let it do what it wants to do.

And then the end of 70's, the era of Charlie's Angels, the 'Farrah', the blow outs, the curling irons. Hot rollers! This photo still makes me laugh because under the sweater and the white shirt - torn jean shorts and flip-flops. And a slightly creepy come-on from the photographer.

And then dear God, the eighties. All I am going to say in my defense is that everyone more or less looked this way. Even the men. I paid to have my naturally curly hair (!) tortured and permed (that smell!) on a more or less regular basis for years, and at the the time the compliments poured in. I don't know what's worse, the hair, or that dress. And let's not forget, I am a good 6' in heels....

With my friend Carl, who died from CF; RIP

I was rocking this version in 1988 when I met my husband to be, and somehow drug him to Olan Mills to record this do for all of history.

In 1991 when we got married it was probably closer to a mullet. Which was the same cut my hairdresser gave everyone. It was Mullet town around here in the early '90s.

Then it started getting lighter (and grayer), and I started moving to a more low maintenance lifestyle. No perms, no appliances. Short hair takes more frequent cutting, and I succumbed to coloring for a long time. And then I stopped.

It was blond...

And when it was silver, I stopped coloring it and let it be. Even my hairdresser was dubious. But a short cut and about six weeks and it turned out the natural color was actually a pretty, snowy, silver. Which requires 'blue shampoo' in order to not turn a weird color. (Pantene - you have a year to bring back a gray hair/blue shampoo).

And yesterday I said goodbye to it. For at least nine months, my oncologist said. Everyone said, 'maybe you won't lose yours...', but doc said 100% chance of gone/no tiny bit of hope . I didn't want to have to deal with tufts of it coming off in my hands. On my pillow. Drifting away.

So I said goodbye. With a glass of wine (in truth, I will miss the wine far more than the hair), with some friends. With a nod to Mark Forgione. See I look just as ridiculous with a mohawk.

Everyone wanted to know if I felt lighter. I felt lighter when the cancer was gone. For sure. I hope for good. Hair, is just hair. It's definitely chilly. But I have lots of hats.

And a few rubs from friends. So it's all good.

I think the earrings really dress up the look (a gift from a lovely friend).

Thanks...and No, Thanks.

2010-11-26T20:47:00.002-05:00

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving feast. I enjoyed the first one I had not cooked in over twenty years. I was the fortunate guest of a fellow personal chef friend, whose bountiful table, and deep fried turkey were delightful.

Obviously, I have a lot to be thankful for this year, not least of which is the fact that I've gone from unknowing cancer host, to cancer survivor, soon to be cancer treatment warrior, in the short span of about 6 weeks. My follow-up surgical appointment Monday went well - everything she carved out of there and sent to pathology came back clean.

I am really glad that I decided to ditch the Aetna Healthy Food Fight Finals. While I am a little disappointed that I didn't even get the courtesy of an acknowledgment from G2, the ad agency, running the campaign on Aetna's behalf (or an autographed Bobby Flay book). In fact, after I left the G2 rep a voicemail saying I wasn't going to go because I wanted to move up my cancer surgery, several days later she sent an e-mail asking about my travel preferences. Overall, my experience with G2 was very poor from the beginning, when they 'forgot' to tell me I was a semi-finalist, and I only found out when I followed up with them.

Anyway, I am glad I moved the surgery up a week, and it's done, it's out, it hasn't spread, it isn't in my lymph nodes, and I am one week further into the treatment than if I had waited. It did turn out to be Stage II based on the tumor size, which ended up around 2.9 cm.

This week I had the port inserted in my left arm for my chemo. Man, am I glad I didn't have that done first, which apparently my oncologist did want. It takes about an hour to have it put in. It's done in the radiology department because they use an ultrasound to locate your veins (I have good ones!), then they take an x-ray after it's placed. It's titanium, purple, and about the size of a quarter. It's under the skin, so it will be a little bump after it heals, and they can poke it to put things in (chemo drugs, CAT Scan dye), and take things out (blood). I now have to have my blood pressure taken in my legs for awhile.

It was an all woman team, and the nurse practitioner who did it has done about 3,000, so she obviously knew what she was doing. And I was wide awake (they use a local anesthesia - like going to the dentist), they tell you all about while they are doing it. Most of the hour is prep time. It really didn't hurt while they were doing it, but it started bruising immediately, and by the time the local anesthetic wore off I was very glad I still had over half a bottle of the 'good stuff' left from surgery. Who knew having something surgically implanted would hurt more than having something removed? (I mean besides Pamela Anderson and most of the Housewives of Atlanta?)

I spent a couple of nights sleeping with my arm on a pillow, and I had a minor freak-out when I saw how much bruising there was when I was allowed to remove the bandage, but it's better now, although still a little sore and a bit annoying. I was excited last night that I could actually roll on to either side while sleeping.

So I have one more week to heal before chemo starts. Six courses, every three weeks. Then daily radiation for 6 weeks. Why still chemo and radiation if it's all out? Well, there is no way to tell if there isn't some sneaky cancer cells lurking somewhere. The type that I have is more aggressive and prone to returning, so the chemo will kill any lurkers anywhere in my body, and the radiation gets them directly in the area where the tumor was.

I also agreed to participate in a small clinical trial which is testing an over the counter medication that is thought to reduce neuropathy (tingling in feet and hands) and may help prevent having all of my finger and toe nails from falling out (!). There are 380 people in the trial - so I have a 50/50 chance of getting the placebo. The male nurse in oncology that is tracking the study is cute, so I figure if nothing else, that's a nice distraction.

I got prescriptions for anti-nausea meds (one of which the brand name is $800, amen for generics!), a 'total cranial prosthesis due to chemotherapy induced alopecia'(WIG), and a handicapped placard. I hit the BMV today and was pleasantly surprised to only have a few people in front of me (and no one hacking up a lung in the waiting area).

The other thing that I am very thankful is my wonderful posse of friends. The flowers (my dentist sent flowers, how sweet is that), cards, hand knit hats and scarves, mittens that look like puppets, Elmer Fudd hat with flaps, tea mug, jams. stuffed buddies, ornaments, gift cards, phone calls, and e-mails, along with offers of help, have really helped make this whole whirlwind of becoming a cancer warrior, a whole lot easier. I love you all.

To those whose behavior has ranged from blase to baffling - no, thanks. I don't have the energy to deal with your issues, your inner child, or your inability to deal with the reality that the world does not indeed revolve around you. Because right now whether you like it or not, the world revolves around me.

I am saving all of my energy to fight cancer, and I'd like to stay as happy and stress-free as possible during the trip.