Kelsey and her pickles

This little peach needs no introduction, so I will add some things about Kelsey you may not know: She is the chief editor of this blog, alerting me to embarrassing typos or if I accidentally publish a post four times. She first came to Philly for a summer job with Center for Student Missions and (providentially) went on to endure the long Northeast winter as part of the full-time staff. Her leap of faith made mine much easier. I am really proud of her, and I love her a lot. Plus! She gardens like a pro and I wanted to showcase some of her domestic prowess here. This will not be the last you see of her.

I love all things pickled. Always have. So much so that for several years my grandma would give me a giant jar of pickled okra for Christmas. I was always thrilled. So when the cucumber plants that I started last spring as a project to fill my newfound free time flourished beyond expectation (I credit coffee grounds and this lady), I knew exactly what to do with the surplus. My Aunt Jana makes delicious homemade pickles, so I went straight to her for the recipe. It’s just a few simple ingredients (which I love, because I am terrible at grocery shopping) and really isn’t as hard as one might think. My setup was pretty amateur compared to some of the pickling kits out there. I didn’t scald myself with brine, but if I start gifting them at Christmas I might have to invest in some more professional tools.

So, without further ado, let’s pickle.

 First, you want to find wide mouth, quart-size canning jars. Little did I know in a city of 1.5 million people how hard this first task would be. If you are ever in Philly and on a wild goose chase for jars, as I was, forget about Lowe’s and head straight to Fante’s in the Italian Market. Friendly service and everything you could ever want for the kitchen. Make sure you sterilize the jars before using them (ie-wash them in the dishwasher).

Gather enough cucumbers to fill your jars. The recipe I will pass along to you is for seven jars. I did some division and started small with just two, but by all means—go for it! I found that about 2 or 3 cucumbers filled one jar. The cukes should be cold and washed.

 In each jar, put two cloves of garlic and one head of dill weed.

Stuff each jar with cucumbers. You can slice them or leave them whole.  Personally, I prefer a good spear.

For the brine, combine water, salt, and vinegar and bring to a boil. If you would like, you can also add 1 Tbs. mustard seeds to the brine after it is boiling and before pouring it over the cucumbers.

Cover cucumbers with the boiling brine, leaving about a half inch at the top. Put the caps on the jars, making sure to leave them loose enough to allow excess pressure to escape while they process but tight enough to get a good seal when cooling.

Process in a large pot (or a canner if you happen to have one on hand) in a boiling water bath for ten minutes. Remove jars (carefully!) and allow them to cool. Tighten the lids once they have popped down.

Now the hard part—Wait four weeks to eat them!

After the long wait, I was able to celebrate the finished pickles with Jim and Whitney during a Labor Day cookout. I must say, and I think my taste testers would agree, they were a delectable way to celebrate the summer. There’s nothing much better than a crisp, cold pickle, and even more so when you’re enjoying the fruits of your labor. 

Whitney's note: Truth be told, the three of us ate a full jar in two days. The pickles were delicious. And Kelsey used her cucumber bounty in other creative ways. I'll have her do a follow-up post with those details. It involves cocktails.

With love.

Manifesto

I have seen this on a few blogs recently and feel that it came into my life just when I needed the reminder. Can I get an amen.

http://shop.holstee.com/

With love.

Commuter

There is a reason I haven't posted in a few days. It's not for lack of time or fodder; I have plenty of those. It's because of this: 

This spectacular sangria-colored Jamis Coda Femme is my new vehicle and most prized possession. I do not have a car here (ever since that fateful day in July -- may the Mazda rest in peace) and I don't want to rely on Kelsey's car all the time, so I will instead rely on this little commuter to get me to work, Trader Joe's, church and virtually anywhere in this big, bike-friendly city. No limits!

There also are some lovely riding trails easily accessible from our house.

I have traded the Kansas River...

Photo credit Cody Edwards via Google Images.
I guess I never took the time to photograph my beloved levee trail.

...for the Schuylkill River. 

It's no wheat field, but I suppose it will do. Full disclosure: I love it and have spent a lot of time there already. People here sure don't smile at each other as often as they do in Kansas, and nowhere is that more apparent than on this trail. I am trying to start the movement, but I can't take it personally when it is not reciprocated. Some runners look like they couldn't smile through the pain if they tried.

I did get a warm welcome from the greater biking community. I was fortunate enough last night to happen upon a parade of naked cyclists (there are no photos on this link), who were making their way through downtown. I was stopped, waiting for the group to pass and enjoying their jubilant liberation. A few friendly riders invited me to join, which was a tempting offer -- varying levels of modesty were welcome, but I had to decline this time. I would have been late for church. 

In Lawrence I rode a 10-year-old mountain bike and a 40-year-old cruiser, and it is really fun to have a bike that rides well and fits me well. Plus, it is really cute. That matters! Ken and Jim helped a lot to narrow down my options. It's nice to have cyclists around to point out things like gear shifters, metal options and weight. Since Jim was in town, he was able to give this little Coda his approval.

I have begun to thoughtfully and prayerfully seek out job opportunities. I think I am in this city for a reason, and I am trying to keep my eyes open for it. I found my perfect bike, so now everything else can fall into place.


To all of you who have work or school to take a break from, happy Labor Day!

With love.

Salt and Vinegar Potato Salad

Having moved so many (10!) times in the last seven years, I put great importance on nesting. It's truly one of my favorite things about moving. The nostalgic part of me loves having familiar things in a new space; and the Type A part of me really enjoys fitting those familiar things in the new space. Otherwise I might still be living like this:

But this post is not about my bedroom. This is about the kitchen. My inaugural meal was a delicious team effort with Kelsey and Jim. I think I will like cooking here very much.

I purchased some Old Bay seasoning (because I'm costal now) and made some salt and vinegar potato salad, compliments of Joy the Baker, as usual.


Pickled onions! This was a good find.

Plus new potatoes and green beans. So simple and salty and wonderful.

Team work.

Meanwhile, Jim grilled some pork chops. I appreciated his ambition, knowing how high our standards are set. He gave them his own Philly twist though, with Old Bay. All sentimental bias aside, they were quite good. When in the Northeast...

The grilled bell peppers and corn on the cob turned out really tasty too. (It's probably best that I am behind the camera most often, if these are the photos I get in. Go Cal.)

But I am glad that Kels picked up photography duties where Mom left off. Familiar things in new places.

And I will say it again: I am especially thankful that I could move all the way out here and not have to give up family. Praise God for that comfort. Jim is great too. The kind of great that eats cookies before dinner.

Try this potato salad! It tastes even better the next day, especially if you're sitting on a beach towel in Ocean City, N.J. 


Salt and Vinegar Potato Salad


1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 c. vinegar (I used mostly white and a bit of red wine)
1 t. salt
1/2 lb. fresh green beans, sliced into 1-inch bites
4 lbs. new potatoes, cleaned and quartered
1 T. Old Bay Seasoning
1/4 c. olive oil


In a medium bowl, combine sliced onions, 1/4 c. vinegar and salt. Toss to coat and let sit at room temperature for an hour, tossing occasionally.


Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add salt and bring to a boil, then simmer until cooked through. Add the green beans in the last 4 minutes of cooking. Drain both and let cool.


Chop the potatoes into bite-sized pieces and combine with the pickled onions, another 1/4 c. vinegar, Old Bay and salt. Add olive oil and toss to coat. {I think there must be a better way to get these spices distributed evenly. I just dumped it all together but it did not distribute well enough for this perfectionist. Next time, I might mix the Old Bay and salt into the extra vinegar before coating the potatoes.}


It tasted great warm and greater eaten cold the next day. 


Some beachy food for my dear Midwest friends.


P.S. Before Blogger changed their interface, I knew how to tweak the html to remove the double spacing. Much to my chagrin, it won't let me do that anymore. Do any of you fellow Blogspots know how to do this? These spaces and this lack of control over them are driving me nuts.




With love.

Welcome to Philadelphia; please use caution.

Covering 1,341 miles in two days gave Mom and Dad and I plenty of time to listen to weather reports and take calls from concerned friends and family. As we got closer to the city, we were in the same flow of traffic as utility trucks, going against the flow of cars fleeing the coast. The reminders made it a little eerie, but Philadelphia was not being evacuated and we knew we could stand some rain and wind. We are Kansans, after all.

Thankfully, we reached our destination (my new home) long before the rain did and were able to unload the car and enjoy a ceremonial cheesesteak outside.

Oh, my.

Kelsey's boyfriend, Jim, was scheduled to fly in Saturday afternoon but got notice Friday that his flight was canceled. My mom proposed that he fly into Pittsburgh and we could pick him up there, and Jim was able to re-route his flight. During the family planning meeting, I offered to stay at home, board up the windows and go down with the ship if that's what it came to, and Mom selflessly said she would stay too. On Saturday morning, just before the rain started, Kelsey and my dad joyfully set out to drive 10 more hours across Pennsylvania and back. Fortunately they were driving away from the storm for half of the trip.

Meanwhile, I drove blindly around Philly with my mom. We accidentally ended up in New Jersey once and had to pay a bridge toll to get back (coincidentally you don't have to pay to drive into Camden), but we did manage to get to IKEA, Trader Joe's, a delicious Vietnamese restaurant and a movie theatre. I learned some valuable lessons about driving here -- be aggressive and avoid bridges, for example -- and I do think I'm getting my bearings a little. Just need to get lost a few times.

The storm picked up around the time we reunited for dinner in Plymouth Meeting, Penn., where my parents were staying. Kelsey, Jim and I took ours to go and had a wild drive home. I love storms and was excited to experience rain after this drought, but driving Kelsey's little VW Rabbit through flood water was a bit tense. I know that many people were much worse off than we were during this hurricane -- I count it as a huge blessing that that drive was the scariest thing I went through. We had a nice, strong row house (with electricity) to come home to.

The rain died down enough Sunday morning that we were able to join the crowds of people surveying the aftermath. It was still pretty windy...

Parts of Philly received a lot of flooding, and one really clear indication was the Schuylkill River, which runs through the center of the city. The water was well past its banks. Jim lived in Hattiesburg, Miss., during Katrina, so he was a little less than impressed with Irene.

Last night we went to one of my favorite churches, Broad Street Ministry. When I have visited in the past, I've been overwhelmed by the community there. People from different backgrounds and economic situations, many homeless and many with homes, meeting together in a beautiful old Presbyterian church in the urban arts district. There is no doubt that God is in that room. Last night there was a heightened sense of thanksgiving for having survived the storm and for having this church service go on as planned. The timing seems bad to move into a new city just before a natural disaster, but I feel blessed to have gotten here in time to band together with my new neighbors. I have experienced something catastrophic, and that has bonded me to this city already.

That said, I am trying to remain calm and courageous about the adventure ahead. Saying goodbye to my parents was reminiscent of when they left me in my Corbin dorm room freshman year. I am so excited to be here, but my life here is still such a mystery. Having visited Kelsey four times, I know some restaurants and museums, but now I have to think about finding a job and a bank and a grocery store. And what will I do for a dentist and a hair cut? Kelsey will help with those things, but I also am looking forward to venturing out on my own and getting lost if I need to.

Thank you for sharing this with me.

With love.

quinoa + roasted veg + balsamic vinaigrette

The real countdown has begun. I have less than 22 hours in Hutch. Less than 25 hours in Kansas. My destination, the place I will soon call home, has experienced an earthquake and a hurricane this week. Meanwhile, I have been whiling away the hours in this comfortable house, whining about the heat. I'm thankful to have so many hours in the car (22!) to read up on natural disaster safety.

But really, as much as I love being home, I am ready and excited to start this new adventure. I'll just need to find a job that allows me plenty of free time in the afternoon to cook. This routine has myriad benefits: I can listen to Talk of the Nation, which started a rousing family discussion about birth order tendencies; I have a great excuse not to pack; and I can show love to my parents, who will spend 44+ hours in the car this weekend to move me across the country.

This time, the love was expressed in quinoa and homemade balsamic vinaigrette...two of my (many) favorite things. Quinoa is a plant-based protein, a power food and a lovely substitute for rice. It is quite versatile, but this is my preferred summertime use: 

Roast a bunch of vegetables (summer squash, red bell pepper, onion), add some fresh ones (spinach and tomatoes), toss with quinoa, dressing and, of course, feta, and serve it cold. The beauty of this dish is that each component can be used on its own or in any number of combinations. This is the recipe post that keeps on giving.

There are a couple things you must know when cooking with quinoa. This grain has a natural insect repellent called saponin that could make your dish bitter. Some brands come pre-rinsed, but if you buy from the bulk section, like I do, make sure to rinse it or you will never want to eat it again. You can rinse it in a fine-mesh strainer or just shake it up in a jar, replacing the water until it isn't so cloudy.

To cook, boil two-parts salted water, stir in quinoa, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes and drain off any water that is left. The result is fluffy grains with little stems (that is not the technical term). 

At this point, you could add anything! You could even eat it for breakfast, if you're feeling really granola. If you decide to use it as a side dish for grilled salmon (yum), try adding some of this: 

Then mix up a little homemade dressing (this dressing thing is a piece of cake!). I also really like taking these bottle photos.

I have made this dressing a few times and love it. I bet you have all of these ingredients in your pantry too! 

{Just as I was adding things to the blender, my dear friend Mitch Voth stopped by and I took a break to hear about his year in Spain. The dressing still tasted pretty delicious.}

When my mom got home, she took some more still shots for my Food Network show.

Mom and Dad would be guests on the show, for sure. They know their way around a grill.

The best dads have a Hutch Cheer shirt.

And, blessings of all blessings, we were able to eat outside!

Goodbye, Hutch. I love you.

Philly, I look forward to loving you, too.

Quinoa with roasted vegetables and balsamic vinaigrette
(Serves six as a side and makes tasty leftovers)

3/4 c. quinoa

1 yellow summer squash, sliced and quartered

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 handfuls of spinach, ripped into bite-sized leaves

1 tomato, chopped and seeded

Feta cheese

Dressing:

3 T. balsamic vinegar

1 T. red wine vinegar

1 t. yellow mustard
1/4 t. lemon juice

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/8 dried basil or 5 leaves fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

3/4 c. olive oil

Bring 1 1/2 c. water to a boil. Rinse quinoa until the water runs almost clear, add to water, cover and reduce heat, simmer for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let it cool.

Season the squash, pepper and onion with salt and pepper, toss with a bit of olive oil and roast at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Let it cool on the roasting pan. 

Blend the first seven dressing ingredients, then slowly add olive oil with blender running.

When the quinoa and vegetables have cooled, combine them in a large bowl with spinach and tomato. Just before serving, stir in the dressing and feta. 

Eat outside.




With love.

I almost forgot this was a food blog.

I didn't really. And for the sake of argument, I never promised it would be strictly food. Okay? And I've been pretty busy letting my parents cook and eating at Jillian's. But today I said 'enough is enough' with organizing my things and I tried my hand at those delicious vinegary cold noodles that I've been dreaming about since returning from China. So I have some food to blog about. Pretty good food. That I made.

I did a little research on trusted online foodie sources, namely Tastespotting and Tasty Kitchen. Having thought so much about these noodles, however, I had very specific requirements so I ultimately took it into my own hands. And, not to toot my own horn (my mother will do that if you ask her for a review), but the results exceeded my expectations.

It was cold and vinegary and perfect. Whole wheat spaghetti (because we had it), lots of vegetables and a dressing used for sesame noodles. The sauce is key.

Mix this up while your parents are at work and you can blast Top 40s radio. That'll give the flavors time to marry before dinnertime. Food Network phrase.

We like things kind of spicy around here, so I threw in the Thai chili sauce (you could use sriracha) and red pepper flakes. This is highly recommended, but you can tone it down if you don't like your mouth burning a little. The raw vegetables do a nice job of cooling it off. My veg line-up included cucumber, carrot, red bell pepper, broccoli and edamame (for protein!). 

I prefer broccoli not to be raw, so I blanched it. Just toss chopped fresh broccoli into boiling water for about a minute and a half, then use a slotted spoon to transfer it to ice water. After a minute there, drain it. Voila.

Feel free to dump those noodles into the broccoli water. I'm all about conservation. River to Well, ya heard me?

While that's cooking, start julienning! (I didn't realize that actually is a verb, but I did verify.) For aesthetic and consumption purposes, it's best if the vegetables resemble the pasta. Babies probably are not the preferred variety of carrots for this dish, but that's what we had and they julienned up just fine.

One recipe I came across used purple cabbage (julienned, of course), which would have been lovely. But I'm not crazy about cabbage, so my rainbow stopped after ROY G.

Now comes the hard part. Drain the pasta and mix it with a bit of sesame oil, then place all the components into the refrigerator and wait until an appropriate mealtime. Grab a beer while you're at it. You're on summer break, after all. (Please note, you may skip this step if you are an average adult with a work schedule and start this process closer to dinnertime. In that case, rinse the pasta with cold water and continue to the next step.)

When your mom returns from slaving away at the office, she can take a photo of you mixing these fresh, healthful ingredients together into a nearly irresistible dish. It's okay if you get some on your shirt...the girl getting your frozen yogurt at Braum's afterward will probably have a dirty shirt too.

If your chopsticks are packed in a box in your garage, feel free to use a fork. And go back for seconds.

Chinese Cold Noodles
(Serves four)

6-8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti (or soba or rice noodles)
1 bell pepper, seeds removed
1 cucumber, seeds removed
1 carrot (or a handful of baby carrots)
1 broccoli crown, chopped and blanched
3/4 c. shelled edamame (frozen works great)
Other protein options: chicken, tofu, shrimp...

Dressing:
1/4 c. low-sodium soy sauce
1 T. sesame oil
1 T. canola oil
1+ T. rice vinegar
1 dash of chili sauce
1 t. red pepper flakes
3 scallions, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and rinse with cold water. Julienne the vegetables. Whisk dressing ingredients together and let set, if you have time. Combine everything in a large bowl. Serve and eat.

Repeat as necessary.




With love.