Apple Pie Bites

When making pie crust for apple pie (every Thanksgiving), I trim a bit of the extra dough around the edge to form into a heart to place on top. For the pie I made yesterday, there was enough for the heart and also for extra treats. I didn't want to waste the dough and the gooey goodness that was left in the bowl used for the apple mixture, so I improvised by making some apple pie bites. First I pressed the leftover dough into cookie-sized pieces. Then I took an apple slice and dipped it in the coating from the bowl, placed the slice in the center of a dough piece, and folded it over. I placed them in the oven with the pie and baked for about 40 minutes. Because my mom insists that we wait to cut the pie until after Thanksgiving dinner, this gave us a chance to preview it and curb the temptation to cut into the pie anyway. Yum.

Graffit Wall: Girl with Green Hair

Photo taken in Venice Beach, CA.

Depression Cooking Videos

Via Boing Boing: I discovered Clara's cooking videos of meals from the Depression. She reminds me of my late grandmother, who taught me to make the best marinara sauce and stuffed artichokes and shared her own stories with us about growing up during the Depression in Brooklyn. Below, an episode featuring peppers and eggs sandwiches--something I remember when I was growing up--and another one with sugar cookies and coffee with condensed milk for Sunday breakfast.

Perfect Discovery: Persimmons

The persimmon is a fruit I've ignored. It wasn't that I disliked it--no, it was a simple case of ignorance. Maybe if I'd known it was called the "fruit of the gods," I wouldn't have waited so long. Then, suddenly, it was in my face, when a friendly vendor at the Ferry Building Farmers' Market in San Francisco held a piece out to me, imploring me to try a fresh-cut persimmon. At dinner that night, I ordered a salad with persimmons and knew I would be searching for recipes. Food & Wine has a salad recipe for root vegetables and persimmons and my friend Rebecca, who was with me at the Farmers' Market for a-ha moment, adapted it to work with what she had on hand. I've had it three times in a week. The photo above shows Sunday's version, with some purple carrots.

Root Vegetable and Persimmon Salad with Butter Lettuce

Head of butter lettuce
2-4 carrots
1 persimmon
2 parsnips
Vinaigrette

For the vinaigrette:
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. orange juice
1 tsp. ponzu
salt and pepper

Cut the carrots and parsnips into nickel-sized pieces and place them in roasting pan.

Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for approximately 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened but still firm. Remove and allow to come to room temperature.

Cut the persimmon into the same nickel-sized pieces.

Toss butter lettuce with cooled root vegetables and persimmons and dress when ready to serve.

Enjoy.

TCHO: Good to Go

A walk along the water during a visit to San Francisco brought me to a compelling message on the side of a building (see photo). "We make CHOCOLATE from scratch. Right here." Of course I stopped. Inside they were selling TCHO chocolates and I saw this on a sign: "Dark chocolate is truly The Last Great Drug." The company expounds the benefits of dark chocolate and markets a "daily dose project" for its proposed prescription. A chocolate a day keeps the doctor away? Okay, I'll bite. I tried the fruity chocolate and liked it a lot; it's not filled with fruit or flavored with fruit--the bean simply gives off a very subtle fruity finish. The video below shows the makers on a mission to obtain the organic beans from farms in Peru.

Sweet Treats: Candy Corn and Fondue S'mores

A friend made her own candy corn for Halloween. I pulled out the fondue set to make s'mores with melted chocolate, marshmallows, graham cracker crumbs, and bamboo skewers. Quick and easy chocolate fondue: I didn't bother with a double-boiler and simply broke two bars of bittersweet Scharffenberger chocolate into a saucepan and covered it with heavy whipping cream, then melted it, stirring constantly, over low heat.

Graffiti: Halloween 2009

Photo taken in Venice Beach, CA.

Mermaids: People in the Mix

The land of the mermaids received a visit by some little people. Find out more about the little people at Personne Trouve.

Halloween Treat: Mallomar Lollipop

Every fall, a package arrives on my doorstep from New York -- sent by my mom -- and it contains a box (or two or three) of Mallomars. It's always a good day. The cookie is not sold during the hot and muggy summer months and I've discovered it's hard to find the cookies at all in Southern California. Mallomars are like the cookie version of s'mores: marshmallow, chocolate, graham cracker. Yum, yum, yum. I have not attempted to create my own version of the cookie yet, but I'm going to start with a Mallomar lollipop (pictured). This delicious bite-sized confection came in a package of chocolate treats that was sent to the office this week and I'm going to try my own version for a Halloween party this weekend. Pre-making them like this, I'll call it a Mallomar Lollipop. If I bring out the fondue set for guests to make them to order so they're warm and gooey, they'll be S'more Lollipops.

Recyling Jeans

I've always been a Levi's jeans girl and loved back-to-school shopping because it meant a new pair of Levi's jeans and a pair of cords. I still wear my favorite pair of 501s from high school (faded now to white and long ago transformed into a pair of cut-offs) and, even with a shelf full of denim options, I favor the skinny pair I have from their Levi's Eco collection, made from organic cotton. Two new cheers go to Levi's for encouraging wearers to line dry (to save energy) and donate unwanted jeans to thrift stores (to prevent overfilling of landfills).

Moody Morn

Photo taken in Venice, CA.

Leftovers to Love: Bolognese Sauce

My biggest problem with leftovers is that I'm not always in the mood for the same dish the next day. Another issue: some food should not be reheated, like burgers. But because I try not to waste good food, I look for ways to re-invent.



Leftovers: Burgers made from chopped beef and chopped pork

Leftover recipe: Bolognese sauce

Ingredients:
Leftover burgers
2 tbsp. olive oil
1-2 cans of whole tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
1 shallot
1 carrot
1 cup of mushrooms
1/4 cup red wine
Salt & pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute chopped garlic and shallot in olive oil

Add 1 cup of sliced mushrooms

Add a splash of red wine and simmer

Add whole tomatoes and chopped carrot

Add crumbled burgers

Simmer for at least 1 hour

Scoop onto your favorite pasta, season, and eat

Leftover Bonus: The leftover buns from the burgers were used as croutons in a salad. So simple: roughly cut pieces of bread tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika then toasted.