As I type this, I am sitting at about 980 Twitter followers, which surprises me to no end.  For those who have stumbled on this post and do not use Twitter, from what I can tell reaching 1,000 followers seems to be a big hallmark in Twitterdom with a number of Tweeps (Twitter slang for other Twitter users) talking about what they going to do to celebrate their 1,000th follower.   (For more on Twitter and food blogging, check out Why Food Bloggers and Foodies Should Enter Into the Twitter World.)

Initially, I had the idea that for my 1,000th follower, I would offer them their own cookbook.  Find out their favorite ingredient or favorite type of cuisine and put together 10-15 different recipes, get it printed up and offer it to them as a gift for following. 

However, not to take anything away from that 1,000th follower, but what has made being on Twitter such an enriching experience personally and professionally is the relationships I formed with all of my followers, not just the yet to be determined 1,000. While I sincerely hope that I form a deep relationship with whoever 1,000 is, for the time being I want to celebrate the people I’ve already met and joked with and DMed with and gotten into Twitter wars and pun contests with.

Why I Called You Here

So here’s my deal.  First and foremost, I am a food writer.  It was what I love to think about and write about and share about.  So, for anyone who calls me a Twitter friend or who maybe I have touched in some way via Twitter, I humly beseech you to do me a favor.

Send me a recipe and a little story about Twitter.  The recipe can be anything you want.  It can reflect you or your blog or it can be something you like to eat.  (Pictures would be nice, too.)  Then send me a little reflection (maybe one paragraph) about Twitter or about something dumb I said or about how social media brings us all together.

If I get enough recipes (say maybe 50), I’ll edit them and combine them all into a book, add in my happy reflections of the Tweets we’ve shared, add whatever contact information you would like, and I’ll pay to have them published.  Then anyone who wants can sell them.  My goal is to sell enough that we can take the profits from the printing and make two donations in all our names: one to Share Our Strength and other to a technology charity (thoughts?) so that we can help others experience the joys of food and social media, too. 

Keep Reading

A couple other thoughts. 

First, if you don’t have a recipe, but want to contribute, that’s fine.  Send me your story and I will select a recipe that makes me think of you.  I want this to be about fellowship, not cooking skills.

Secondly, if you are wondering if you are a person who has made a difference in my Twitter experience or in my life, you probably are.  Submit something.  If you don’t, I’ll probably DM you at some point and ask anyway.

Third, I hate to do this, but I feel like I must.  Only submit recipes for which you legally own or have permission to share or else I have to turn them away.

If you are in, DM me or leave a comment here.  I’ll make a follow up announcement when we reach a critical mass.

Thanks!  I hope you all participate.

PS Whoever you are Mr. or Mrs. 1,000.  I will pay for a copy of the book for you for free.  I did not want you to feel too left out.

Filed under: announcements | 14 Comments »

One of my Tweeps, Felicia Slattery, responded to one of my pleas for inspiration with the suggestion of talking about what you can do with pumpkin other than make pie.  Since the appearance of pumpkin en masse in grocery stores, I’ve taken an interest in this myself (see my recipe for Pumpkin Baingan Bharta) and  I have fallen in love with pumpkin as a savory ingredient.

Recipe: Pumpkin Risotto

For some reason, there is just something right about combining creamy risotto with pumpkin.  I think it has to do with the fact that even though I have been cooking with pumpkin a lot recently, in my head, pumpkin is still synonymous with pumpkin puree, which is creamy itself, especially when combined with eggs, butter, and sugar.

How to Cook Pumpkin

However, before we get into the recipe, let’s take a minute to talk about cooking with pumpkin.  It’ll be painless I promise.

There are a number of ways to cook pumpkin: boiling, steaming, and stir frying.  However, the method that always works well for me is roasting it in the oven.  Every time it produces well-cooked, juicy, and delicious pumpkin.  Roasting is also easy, but it is time consuming.

To roast all you need to do is cut your pumpkin in half, clean out the seeds, cover in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and bake in a 450 degree oven for 45 minutes.

How to Pick a Pumpkin

One other note.  Then recipe, I promise.

When you are looking to eat pumpkin, look for sugar pie pumpkin or organic pumpkin from a quality grocery store like a Whole Foods.  Most of the pumpkins that you find in a pumpkin patch or in a lot of grocery stores were bred to be hardy and stay together as scary faces are cut into them.  This makes for tough, stringy pumpkin and not good for eating.

Pumpkin Risotto

Phew!

Okay, now without further ado…Pumpkin Risotto.

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup cooked pumpkin (1/5-1/8 of a cook sugar pie pumpkin) finely diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cups arborio rice
• 4-6 cups of veggie or chicken broth
• 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese (optional for non-vegans)
• 4 tablespoons of butter (optional for non-vegans)
• Nutmeg for garnish

Put a high sided skillet or sauce pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Wait until the olive oil is hot and add the garlic.  Saute for 30 seconds and add the pumpkin and a good pinch of salt.   Saute for about three minutes and set aside.

Add the remaining olive oil and wait until it is hot.  Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook until translucent, 4-5 minutes.  Then add the arborio rice.  Stir well, making sure the onions and rice are covered in oil.  Toast the rice for another 3 minutes.

Bring the heat down to medium.  Using a soup ladel or measuring cup, add about two ladels (somewhere between a half cup and a cup) of broth into the rice.  Give the rice a stir.

The broth should start to boil and will soon be absorbed into rice.  When the rice is dry, ladel in more broth.  Repeat until the rice is no longer able to absorb any more liquid.  (It’s better to over do it, in my opinion, than under do it so don’t worry about adding too much.  If the risotto is too runny, just cook the risotto a little longer.)

When the rice is at capacity, let it cook for another minute, then stir in the cheese and butter.  Once the cheese has been incorporated, add the cooked pumpkin/garlic mixture and stir well.

Serve immediately with some nice crusty bread and side salad.

Enjoy!

Filed under: techniques, vegan, vegetarian | 1 Comment »

Okay, here is big entry number three in  Cate and Sarah’s $7 Dinner Challenge.  If you have not heard of the $7 Dinner Challenge, these two amazingly talented food bloggers have challenged the rest of us still pretty talented food bloggers to create a  two-course meal for four including a full serving of vegetables for just $7 total.

Today, I decided to do something because last time I checked, it’s November.  And it should be cold or at least cool or something.  Hrmm…

Anyway, when it does get cold, here’s a $7 Dinner for you:

Tomato Vegetable Soup with Garlic Bread

Every Christmas, my mother makes tomato vegetable soup, so for my family this meal has come to mean cold winter nights and family togetherness.

The good thing about the soup is that it is packed full of vegetables, it is hearty, and it comes with garlic bread.  Everyone loves garlic bread.

It is also the one dish that I have made for the $7 Dinner Challenge so far where I have not had to reforumulate a recipe because of the dollar limitation.  Still, had this been the $8 Dinner Challenge, there would be some fresh celery and maybe some garlic thrown in the soup, but as it stands I like this soup just fine.

Recipe: Tomato Vegetable Soup

• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 1 pound, onions 1/4 inch dice
• 1 bottle low sodium V8
• 2 bags frozen mixed vegetables, thawed to room temperature

This one is really easy.

In a soup pot over high heat, add the vegetable oil and let it get hot.  Add the onions and a teaspoon of black peper and saute until the onions begin to brown around the edges, maybe 4 minutes.

Add the V8, the mixed vegetables, and a good pinch of salt.  Bring to a boil.

The soup can be served anytime after the vegetables have gotten warm, though I like to let it thicken so I boil it on medium for about 20 minutes.

Recipe: Garlic Bread

• Half a loaf of Italian Bread (I like day old for garlic bread), sliced into eight pieces
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon, garlic salt*

Preheat the broiler.

This one can be easy, if you are up to the challenge.

Arrange the bread on cookie sheet and brush or drizzle the butter on the slices.  Sprinkle with garlic salt.

When the broiler is hot, put the bread on the shelf nearest the coil and broil for about 90 seconds.

Now, here’s where things get difficult. It may take a little longer than 90 seconds, but while you are broiling bread, you do not want to make any plans.  Don’t look at the TV.  Don’t answer your phone.  Ignore your children, your dog, and your friends because the minute you forget about that bread, the quantum mechanics that rule the universe will char the bread to a crisp.  Something about Schrodinger’s Cat or something.

Sorry, that was a bit of a tangent but Rachel Ray and I have lost enough good loaves to the broiler pan, I don’t want it happening to you, too.  And really, since you already melted the butter, all you are doing is crisping the bread a bit.  It doesn’t need to stay in too long.  In fact, sometimes I’ve skipped the broiler step all together.

And that is dinner.  Okay, everyone, go eat!!

Filed under: $7 Dinner Challenge, vegetarian | No Comments »

Yes, Halloween is upon us and what better dish to serve than deviled eggs?  Everyone loves deviled eggs,  they are great at parties and they are easy to make.

OK, I must admit the idea of serving deviled eggs actually came my friend Skyle who told me she makes them into scary Halloween ghosts and serves them on top of a plate of black beens (using black peppercorns for the eyes, rice for maggots, and carrot strips for feet.  She’s obviously far more creative than me.)

Instead of ghosts, why not pumpkins?  Try adding in a little red food coloring to egg yolk mixture and a dollop of wasabi or a chive for the for the stem.

My personal favorite is to use a lot of red food coloring and a little sriracha hot sauce.  Bloody Halloween hearts with a fiery twist.

Recipe: Deviled Eggs

If you don’t have a family favorite, here’s a recipe I like for deviled eggs.  This one has a lot of greenery in it, so you might omit the celery and green onions to make the recipe a little prettier.  Or you can leave it in because it tastes awful good.

• 24 eggs
• 1 cup of light mayonnaise
• 3 teaspoons mustard
• 3 teaspoons white pepper
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 inch piece of celery, finely minced
• 1 green onion, green top only, finely minced
• Paprika for garnish

Put the eggs into a pot and cover the eggs with water.  Bring the water to a boil, cover the pot, and turn off the heat.  Let the eggs sit for 14 minutes.

Peel the eggs and halve.  Remove the yolks and put into a mixing bowl.  If you are making Skyle’s eggs, cut the bottom off of the egg and pull the egg from the bottom.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir to combine.  Once the ingredients are well mixed, put them in a piping bag or into a plastic bag with a corner snipped.

Fill each white with the egg mixture and sprinkle with paprika for color.

Enjoy!

(Photo courtesy of Skyle.)

Filed under: recipes, vegetarian | 2 Comments »

So in my post Watermelon Wine, I had mentioned that while I had been less than enthusied by the watermelon wine, I had not come away empty handed from Davenport Orchards & Winery on Sunday.  That’s because I found a new sweet red: Charlemagne.

I had to try more than one wine.  Far be it from me to stop at one glass when they are giving wine away.  I tried the Cayuga, the Seyval Blanc, and the Rhubarb.  But it was Charlemagne that really caught my attention.

The Sweet Red Wine Charlemagne

Yes, it was sweet.  Like after-dinner or reduced-to-syrup-and-served-over-ice-cream sweet.  At the same time, though, it had a bolder flavor than I am used to in sweet red wine and it had a nice floral bouquet.  Plus, the sweetness was not overpowering so I actually got to taste the wine, not the sugar.

Plus I found that the United States Marine Corps private labels it and serves it at its galas.  So I figured if it was good enough for them, well it was probably good enough for me, too.

Going to Lawrence

If you are ever in the Lawrence, Kansas area, stop by Davenport Orchards and Winery (it’s about 5 miles East along K-10.)  If you like dry reds, the Chat in the Dark is very good and their Apple Wine is still my favorite desert white ever.  Though don’t tell ‘em that the blogger who didn’t like the watermelon wine sent you.  It probably wouldn’t do you any good.

Filed under: the liquid side | No Comments »

Okay, here is my second entry in  Cate and Sarah’s $7 Dinner Challenge.  If you have not heard of the $7 Dinner Challenge, these two amazing food bloggers have challenged the rest of us to create a  two-course meal for four including a full serving of vegetables for just $7 total. So for today:

Pea and Potato Burritos With Roasted Bananas

To get the evening started off right, our family of four will be dining on pea and potato burritos, a great vegan go-to dish that is hearty and tasty.  Half a bag of peas provide a serving of vegetables to the family (A bag of frozen corn can be substituted instead, though it will change the taste pretty dramatically.)  Desert is cinnamon roasted bananas.

Pea and Potato Burritos

• 2 pounds russet potatoes, cut into 1 inch dice
• 1/4 pound of onion, finely diced
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, finely diced
• 1 12.5 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1/2 bag of peas
• 4 tortilla shells
• salt and more pepper to taste

In a sauce pan over medium heat, add the can of tomato sauce, chili powder, the tablespoon of black pepper, and a healthy pinch of salt.  Bring to a boil and simmer to reduce.  This can stay on the stove until dinner is ready.  The longer it has a chance to reduce, the better it will taste.

Put the potatoes into just enough cold water to cover them and bring to a boil.  Boil until fork tender (15-20 minutes.)

Remove the potatoes from the water to cool and put about 4 tablespoons of the starchy potato water into a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions and garlic and boil/saute for about 2 minutes.  Add the potatoes and two teaspoons of black pepper back into the skillet.  Cook for 5 minutes or until the potatoes are dry.

Mash the potatoes with a fork and add the peas.  Mix and cook until the peas become warm.

Take out the flour tortillas and fill each with a quarter of the potato/pea mixture.  Right before you serve, test the tomato sauce for salt, adjust if necessary, and pour the tomato sauce on top the burritos.

Roasted Cinnamon Bananas

• 1 pound bananas
• 1 tablespoon, cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons, powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl, mix the cinnamon and the powdered sugar.

Leaving the banans in the peel, cut the bananas in half lengthwise and then cut each half into two.  Cover with the sugar/cinnamon mixture and bake peel side down for 15 minutes.  Serve warm.

(Now would be a good time to pour the sauce on the burritos.  It should be reduced by now ;))

Well, what do you think?

Oh, yeah, the tab:

Tortilla .75
*Garlic .38
*Potatoes 2.38
Peas .55
Chili powder .57
Tomato sauce .47
1/4 lb. onion .33
——–
Bananas .58
Cinnamon .57
Powdered Sugar .10
——–

For a total of 6.68

If you want, you can add 32 cents of cheap oil when sauteing the onions and garlic.  I just am not smart enough to do the math on that.

Filed under: $7 Dinner Challenge | 5 Comments »

Today, I stopped by Davenport Orchards & Winery today to pick up a few bottles of locally produced wine.

I owe a lot of Davenport.  It is the first winery tour I ever took and strangely enough, I think I still have a bottle of apple wine I purchased that day.  I can only imagine after 7 years, it’s probably lost some of its luster.

I have moved on to new liquid loves, but every year I make it back to pick up a little something.  For the past two years, it’s been apple wine.  Not only is it delicious, but they are always out of what I really want: their watermelon wine.

Not this year!  This year they had several cases of it.  Which could only mean that either I had come at a different time of the year, they had made more of it, or they had sold less of it.  I think they have only had it three years, so it is likely they are finally ramping up the production, although given the economy, it is quite possible that they are selling less.

Still, I was happy that I finally got to try it.

Watermelon Wine in Review

Well, sadly, all in all, watermelon wine is nothing to write home about (though strangely it is something to write a blog post about.  Oh well.)  Honestly, I think they cut the watermelon down too far because it tasted like rind.  Which is never good.

Really, that’s pretty much all I have to say about it.  It was not near sweet enough and it tasted green.  I was saddened, because I figured I’d be taking a small loan out to buy their entire supply and spending the next month drunkenly blogging about watermelon wine recipes.

Still, I didn’t come away totally empty handed.  More on that tomorrow.

But until then, please has anyone else had watermelon wine?  Leave me a comment and tell me your experience?

Photo courtesy of Davenport Orchards & Winery.

Filed under: the liquid side | 1 Comment »

So at some urging from Judy, here is my recipe for fried artichokes, which  was heavily inspired by the same dish at La Bodega in Kansas City, MO.  It is the perfect combination of salt from the “ham” and sweet from the garlic vegannaise.

Fried Artichokes

• 8 large artichokes
• 3 tablespoons corn starch
• 4 slices of tofurkey lunch meat (if you’re not veg, you can substitute ham), halved
• 6 tablespoons of egg replacer
• 2 tablespoons of soy milk
• 1 cup of All Purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• Canola oil for frying

To make the dipping sauce:

• 8 tablespoons of vegannaise
• 1 tablespoon of garlic powder (or roasted garlic)
• Juice of 1/2 of a lemon
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of sriracha hot sauce

Process the artichokes.  I’m going to defer to eHow until I can get some pictures up.  (I know, I know.)

Dredge the artichokes in corn starch and shake off the excess.  Then wrap the artichoke in half of a slice of the lunch “meat”.  Trim any extra meat so that it wraps around perfectly.   Stick a toothpick through the artichoke so that the lunch meat stays closed.  Let the artichokes sit for 10 minutes to let the cornstarch set.

While the artichokes are resting, mix the egg replacer and soy milk (or eggs and regular milk if you are not vegan) together in one bowl and the flour, garlic, and salt and pepper in another bowl.

After ten minutes, dip the artichokes into the egg mixture and then the flour.  Shake off the excess flour and put on a plate to set.

Bring the frier to temperature while the crust is forming on the artichokes.  Fry the artichokes until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes.

To make the dipping sauce, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Filed under: reviews, vegan, vegetarian | No Comments »

It’s hard economic times.  American families are watching their food budgets shrink as the price of just about everything else explodes.

As Americans struggle to find creative ways to stretch their food dollar, Cate and Sarah have issued the $7 Dinner Challenge to us food bloggers: face what so many other Americans must every day and try to come up with a way to prepare a meal and either a dessert or appetizer for a family of four for under $7.

It’s a challenge and fortunately it is one I find intellectually challenging or else I think I would find it horribly, horribly depressing.

$7 Lentils and Rice Pilaf
with Carrot/Hummus Appetizer

The evening starts off with half a jar of hummus, the brand of which I did not write down.  However, I found it in the Asian aisle for $2.99.  Carrot strips from the dipper.

For the main course, the family will dine on a vegetarian favorite: rice/lentil pilaf.  This dish sacrifices nothing but high price with the addition of frozen peas, a pound of onion and a full stick of butter.

Carrot/Hummus Appetizer

• 1/2 of a jar of hummus
• 1 pound of whole carrots, peeled and cut into sticks

To save money, buy whole carrots, peel, and eat.

Rice/Lentil Pilaf

• 2 ¼ cups white rice
• 2 ¼ cups lentils
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 1 stick butter
• 1 pound white onion, diced
• 1 32 ounce bag of frozen peas
• Salt and pepper to taste

Put rice, lentils, and salt in a rice cooker with 9 cups of water.  Start the rice cooker.  If you do not have a rice cooker, put the rice, lentils, salt and water into a pot and bring to a boil.  Cover and cook until the water is absorbed.

Once the rice and lentils are finished, melt a stick of butter over medium heat.  Turn the heat to high and add the onion.  Sauté until soft.

Add the frozen peas and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the peas are warm and the onions translucent.

Add the rice and lentils to the skillet and mix thoroughly.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

That’s one of the best $7 meals you will ever have.

And to prove this dish meets the $7 challenge:

Balance Sheet
(All prices valid at Target in Overland Park, KS)

1.50 hummus (1/2 of 2.99 jar of hummus)
.45 carrots  (1/2 bag of .89 cent carrots)
.45 white rice (1/2 bag of .89 cent white rice)
.50 lentils (1/2 bag of lentils)
.64 butter
1.29 onion
1.09 peas
————–
6.37 Total

Filed under: announcements | 7 Comments »

Did you know that today is World Bread Day, a celebration of a food that is eaten by nearly every culture in the world?

To celebrate the day, I decided to do what I always do when confronted with difficult baking questions: ask my wife for help.  She is the family baker and she pointed me towards her family’s secret bread recipe.  Which I will now post on the Internet.

Aunt Rita’s Bread 

• 3 3/4 war water (preferrably between 105-115 degrees)
• 1 package yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 10 cups of flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons melted butter

Combine 3/4 cup of water, yeast and sugar in a cup and stir.  The yeast should rise to the top in a minute or two.

In a mixing bowl, add the flour and salt.  In a separate bowl or measuring cup, combine the remaining water with 3 tablespoons of melted butter.  Add the liquid to the flour mixture and mix well. 

Continue mixing and adding flour until the dough is elastic.  Knead 8-10 minutes.  Brush the top with the remaining tablespoon of melted butter and put in a warm place to rise.

When the bread doubles in size, shape into loaves and put into greased loaf pans.  Put in a warm place to rise a second time.

When it it has doubled a second time, bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

Filed under: recipes | 2 Comments »