Archive for the ‘Information’ Category

Readers, my apologies for such a long absence without even a short explanation!

Summertime has proven to be lazy, hot and deeply introspective for Yours Truly. Emerging from my humid-induced mental solace, I have decided–after much internal debate–that I want a break. So I am leaving The Passion Fruits.

It’s been a great joy being in this space and I would like to extend my thanks to our readers for commenting, sharing and, well, reading. You have all helped make this a very rewarding experience. Do know, my decision to leave was not an easy one.

Luke, I want to thank you, too, for being my partner in crime for the past year. I am not sure how we managed to pull this all off, but we did! Thank you.

I will digitally-regenerate, soon. For now, you may follow me on Twitter and Flickr.

Thanks again.

So, yes, while the only sounds coming from the PF kitchens of late have been the chirp of crickets, I do have a post up on my lovely friend Laura’s blog, JourneyChic. I discuss the importance of champagne and how to create a Bellini Bar, one of my favorite drinks setups for a truly festive time. Et voila!

After much hemming, hawing, and hauling, I’ve managed to plant out my little herb garden. Very exciting to (potentially) have a bounty of fresh herbs right out on the balcony. Being quite the novice at this whole plants-that-grow thing, however, I am aiming less for perfect and more for minimal casualties. Hopefully my mom and Mrs. T will send me some of their considerable garden mojo. I’ve got sage, chives, Genovese basil, parsley, tarragon, thyme, and Thai basil in the below planter, and last year’s mint that needs repotting too. Hooah for a summer of succulent herbs.  What’ve you got a-growing this year?

Mother’s Day is upon us, it seems, and this Sunday will find innumerable matriarchs around the country being gifted with bubble bath, flowers, and jewelry–of both the macaroni and the more luxe varieties. They’ll most likely also get taken out to brunch. Now, the gifts I have no problem with–though I think Tiffany & Co. is missing a trick by not introducing a sterling silver pasta charm collection. I am talking to you, Elsa Peretti.  Brunch, however, is more problematic. Specifically, the going out part.

For starts, much like Valentine’s Day, everyone’s out doing the same thing at the same time, and reaping the predictable results of upcharges, downgraded service, and overflowing dining rooms. What makes Mother’s Day brunch even worse than a Valentine’s Day dinner are the very reasons that I generally think that brunch should be held at home in the first place. First of all, eating out on Sunday morning is just a bad idea. All the best chefs will have worked the Saturday evening before and will not be willing to give your mother’s eggs Benedict the cosseting they deserve the following morning–especially on the busiest brunch day of the year.

Second of all, brunch foods are, I think, best made and consumed at home. For the most part, brunch foods are either easy and can be done in advance, or are highly persnickety and must be done a la minute to ensure Mom-worthy results. In the former category are luxurious, eggy casseroles and stratas; tender, sweet-salty baked hams; prettily glistening fresh fruit salads; and golden coffee cakes streaked with tender fruit and crunchy crumble toppings. From the latter are made-to-order omelets, bacon crisp from frying pan, crepes, and hot, flaky biscuits. Regardless of which end of the brunch spectrum you land on, if you do it yourself with proper care and attention, you’ll have a meal fit for mom and perhaps the good karma to counteract a year of leaving your socks on the floor.

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So, having spent all of yesterday evening laboring over little pots of quinoa, I’m kind of done with the miracle seed. Big take-away? Rinse it and look to other ingredients for flavor. The quinoa is a fine grain substitute that adds fun, crackly-popping texture and supremely ethical protein, but not big taste. At least, as far as this round goes. I’ve only used one brand of the regular quinoa. The red, as suggested, might be an improvement.

Rinsing get the thumbs up, irritatingly. Not only does the manufacturer recommend it, so too does the Wikipedia. FINE. My tests also confirmed that the unrinsed quinoa–both toasted and not–definitely possessed an unpleasantly bitter edge. (A noteworthy comment from someone who’s been dubbed “Bittermelon” due to his taste for the astringent veggie.) My question, then, is why the hell don’t the producers do this? They’re already harvesting the friggin stuff, picking out the rocks, and putting it in little plastic baggies. Hmph.

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So, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of quinoa, the amazing Andean wonder… pulse? grain? seed? Seed of extraordinary ability. Packing a amazing amount of protein and a singularly complete complement of amino acids, quinoa is pretty much one nutritional badass. But, you say, does it taste good? Well, I’ve had it several times in restaurants and enjoyed its nutty flavor and tender crunch. When I recently made it at home, however, it was blandly bitter… and so was I.

Even though I’d rinsed it–no small feat given its minuscule size and my lack of fine mesh sieve–to rid the quinoa of the bitter, slightly poisonous saponin compounds that coat the seeds, it was still kind of nasty. In addition, it seems, those in the know rinse and TOAST their quinoa. I’d also forgotten to salt the water. Clearly, I needed a little help. We’re all about data-driven, science-based results here at the PassionFruits, so I set up a little experiment: one bag of quinoa, four variations on the basic preparation.

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Not Springsteen. Or Hogg. Or Hugo. (Though of the three I’d definitely pick the latter.) No, but last week we entertained a few friends for dinner, among them a former boss of mine. A tiny dynamo of awesome with perhaps the best laugh ever, she remains one of my favorite people–and certainly she comes in on my guest list far ahead of Bruce, the sheriff, and even the designer.

It was a Friday night, so I wanted to keep it pretty simple and within my comfort zone. I started with tapenade and chevre toasts that led, Frenchly, into Salade Niçoise and pissaladière–a luxe little onion tart. Since I’d made the tapenade and pre-cooked most of the salad components ahead of time, I had a little more time to invest in dessert. Remembering her penchant for chocolate bread pudding (I’d even scanned an article from Martha on the topic for her at some point…), I thought that was the obvious choice.

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I suppose I should not have been surprised to see the richly textured green leaves of Lacinato, or dinosaur, kale when I opened my latest brown bag o’ mystery from the farmers’ market. It is not only a superfood du jour, it is also a favorite of Joe’s. It’s also–despite the current heatwave–a little early to expect much else from our local farmers. This formerly neglected member of the brassica family has of late leapt to centerstage as foodies turn more to local, seasonal produce.

First and foremost, it’s a tasty, sturdy green that offers an earthy, verdant flavor even during the depths of winter when green can be hard to come by. Kale’s also sturdier than spinach–baby or otherwise–and is thus far more rewarding to cook with; it will cook down, but a pound of sauteed kale will net you a few side servings where the same amount of spinach will have to be served by the thimbleful. It’s much touted nutritional value–packing massive amounts of antioxidant vitamins and phytonutrients per calorie–also adds to kale’s appeal.  

Unsurprisingly, the blogosphere has been abuzz with kale-related postings–so much ink has been spilled on kale “chips” alone that it counts as  meme in and of itself. Given the intense heat of kale’s spotlight, it will be interesting to see what we both come up with for Challenge Kale. Not chips, for sure, and we’ve already done it with pasta. So, check back in soon; we’ll be posting our two odes to kale in the next day or so.

Ah, Easter, that time of green promise, of spring, of regeneration, and knockdown, drag-out food fights. Never ones to shirk the spirit of the season, we present our Easter menus for your delectation. Let us know what your favorite Spring/ Easter/ Passover dishes are, and whose dinner you’d want to attend! Now with pix, after the jump.

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Thanks to everyone–organizers, bloggers, and bakers (Not Derby Pie, Thrifty DC Cook, One Bite at a Time, Adventures in Shaw, Macheesmo, French Twist DC, Pete Bakes!, 1 Tsp Love, One Vanilla Bean), not to mention all the fantastic cookie fiends–who braved Sunday’s early chill to help raise $950.00 for Doctors Without Borders’ Haiti relief efforts. This is particularly kick-ass given that we were open for a mere two hours and faced with competition from some marauding Girl Scouts and THEIR cookies… you know, the ones made in factories in Indiana? Hmph. For those with practical concerns, all unsold baked goods were delivered to the N Street Village.

Below, please find an awesome video of the event, and some lovely pix fresh from the oven… er, camera. Thanks again, everyone!

Bake Sale For Haiti from Thomas Nguyen on Vimeo.

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