I Always Say, I'll Never Move Again.

And then I do. And even though this was a virtual move, it was really no less of a pain the the you-know-what. But I've done it, and I've put away most of the books, and found space for all my bundt pans. So please stop by and visit me at my new home. Now, where did I put that power cord?

http://www.thewriteingredients.com

OR

http://thewriteingredients.wordpress.com

Introducing Ethicurean. And Lots of Chickens.

Not that it's new, but it's new to me. Here's a bit of what they say about themselves:

The Ethicurean was founded in May 2006.... What we have in common is that we spend a lot of time thinking about food. Not just about how to prepare it, or how it tastes — although those things are very important to us — but to exploring where and how it was grown and by whom, how it got to our plate, and the less obvious effects of our consuming it. Being an Ethicurean means simply trying to "chew the right thing."

A site/blog dedicated to food. And sustainable food at that. I gotta get a gig like that. Oh, yeah, I kind of have one. Or something trying to be like them. At least I've got a role model, and another site to fill my days.

A few weeks ago, Husband and I went to the Weisman Art Museum on the University of Minnesota's East Bank. The museum was finished while I was a student and it created quite a buzz. A piece out of their collection has always caught my eye, and now I know why. It reflects everything that is wrong with this big, huge, industrial food world.

It's one of the largest pieces the museum has, along with a phenomenal Motherwell.
It is called Untitled, by Doug Argue and it shows rows and rows of chickens in cages. I included a photo of the details because they shouldn't be missed.

So, this painting led me to Ethicurean. We all have a responsibility to the environment. And that includes in what we eat. Most of the chicken that's lining the shelves of Rainbow and Cub was raised like the chickens in this painting. Hormones, chemicals and the risk of salmonella and all reasons to hunt down hormone free, organic, local chicken. It's not hard to find, and it's not expensive, and the flavor is out of this world.

If you don't believe me, read the Omnivore's Dilemma. That'll convince ya.

Mushrooms, Truffle Oil, Strawberries and Chocolate. Must Be Valentines Day!

Going out to dinner on Valentine's Day is overrated. Restaurants are crowded, expensive and the staff would rather be home with their sweeties instead of bringing me plates of overpriced goods. So, this year, we stayed at home and cooked. And man, it was good. (Oh, and the photo? That's Dog, with his V-day gift. Stuffed chocolate-covered strawberries. Woof!)


We started with Crab-stuffed mushrooms. Yes, I found them in the produce department at Lund's, but still, they were darn good. The cashier at the store jumped out of her skin when he rang them up, demanding to know exactly where in the store I was able to find them. They were good, especially with some of the Ginger-Habanero hot sauce from St. John Spice.

Then we moved on to the main dish. The Truffled Shrimp and Crab Risotto from Cooking Light. The only change I made was to add just a bit of Parmesan cheese at the end. But I have to admit the reviewers were right and that the crab was barely noticeable in the dish. Next time we'll scrap the crab and add more shrimp. And for those that think Risotto is intimidating, it's not. It's tedious. but really easy, and really hard to mess up. Just keep stirring. With it, we sliced up a tasty baguette from the Birchwood Cafe. I started my day with one of the special Strawberry, Banana, Chocolate Chip muffins and grabbed the bread while I was there. Can you imagine a better muffin to start Valentines Day with?

And then there was dessert. Almost as good as chocolate-covered strawberries, I made these great little (light) cakes from Cooking Light. The batter is made on the stove-top and was really easy. It calls for some chocolate chips, but I couldn't help imaging how it would have been with cinnamon chips and a dash of cayenne. They're so different, and so light, I think we'll be trying that next time. Regardless, there are two more in the kitchen, waiting for tomorrow night. Hello Friday!!

Moroccan Chicken Thighs
Yum.

So for dinner the other night I chose an easy new recipe from Cooking Light. Husband had a hockey game, so I started it while he was gone and let it simmer for an hour. I don't usually cook with chicken thighs because of the whole bone-thing. But these were boneless, skinless chicken thighs, and really easy to work with.

This dish is inspired by North African Tagines. I don't have a Tagine, (a north-african cooking vessel) but my sister does and we used it last time I was in Colorado. I liked this recipe, because I was able to do the whole thing on the stove. It would be great in the summer to keep the oven off.

I think the distinct flavors of cinnamon, cumin and coriander really came through. I used organic dried apricots which had a much softer consistency than other non-organic ones I've used. I made both couscous and white rice to serve with it because someone under this roof does not like couscous. You'll also see I served some Naan. I picked this up at SuperTarget (not where I normally shop, just had to mention that) a few weeks ago and just kept it frozen. It was the hit of the meal. Huh.

Relief, and Some Wine

I spent last night in the town of Mankato, before a colleague and I spoke a student group about Sustainable Graphic Design (that's what I do for my day job). And if you know me, you know that I don't really do the public speaking thing. Maybe it was the public speaking class I took in college, where the professor criticized us for every little thing we did wrong. He was an old toastmasters loyalist, so maybe that's why he rubbed me the wrong way. Regardless, it's not my favorite thing to do, so I made an effort to at least relax a bit the night before.

So, we found a wine bar. Their website's not working right now, but the url is:

www.winecafebar.com/

I ordered the Woop Woop chardonnay, becuase my brother-in-law is a fan of the brand and I knew it would be good. She ordered the Chateau St. Michelle Pinot Grigio. For dinner, we shared the cheese plate, which actually lacked cheese per se, but had some wonderful toasted bread and a cream cheese spread, along with some fresh fruit and cucumber slices. Not what we expected, but it still hit the spot. We also ordered a greek pizza, loaded with tomatoes, olives, feta and mozzarella. The place was really hard to find (then again, I've never been to Mankato, so the whole town was foreign), and didn't look to hold much promise when we walked in. But we were both pleasently surprised. Oh, and there was live music. Pretty good live music at that.

And just so I don't forget, the presentation was well. We got a few laughs, and I think the students learned something. I know I did.

I also know I'll have more time now to post. Sorry about the delay, I was pretty distracted.

It's Time For A Soup Swap!!

Just about every other month, my friend Jen hosts an Art Party, also known as pARTy. Coming in February we're combining pARTy with a SoupSwap!

There are some rules to be official, and since our Swap will be quite a bit smaller (about 4, versus 40), most of the rules will not apply. Once we get a head count, we'll know how many quarts we'll each have to make.

1. Bring a quart of frozen soup for each person participating.
2. Let's be nice to our host and bring vegetarian soup. That means no chicken stock.
3. Cream soups don't freeze well, nor are they're friendly to our hips, so lets avoid that.
4. When you know what you plan to make, please post it so we don't have four people bringing Curried Butternut Squash Soup.
5. Please include the recipe with the frozen soup.

Those are the rules, be creative with the choices!