green market & kale

i decided after watching FOOD INC. that i was going to try to be a locavore (eat within a 100 mile radius of where you live)...its so hard to do. i imagine its also hard to start in the dead of winter. it also feels limiting and since i love food so much, i didnt want to limit what i could eat, i'm just going to know what i am eating, as much as i can. in order to do this, i have decided to control my produce, meat and dairy as much as possible. i started this week by going to the green market during lunch on monday. what did i see? kale, leeks, carrots, parsnips, and potatoes....LOTS of potatoes. an apple stand here and there and thats about it. not TERRIBLE but also, if i dont want to just consume starch, it seemed daunting. i bought some kale, some apples, onions and eggs. its a start. 

i wasnt going to eat pasta or bread this week (i'm going on vacation and want to look my best). ... well, i'm in the dumps and when you're in the dumps you want comfort food. and pasta, well, its a comfort food for me however it is served. and, with all this kale, i figured i'd put it in pasta! lets talk about this kale. it was beautiful. and i'll show it to you...

i've never had kale that was this crinkly. or schrounched. or gnarled. i'm not sure the right word to describe it. but it was that. whatever that is. and it was tough to cut and the leaves were small, but, it was so so good. now, for the pasta. talk about delish. there's something about a lemon sauce with pasta, its fresh. and it always feels right, especially on a day like today in new york. the weather was wonderful and its as if spring is upon us. i'm sure we'll be hit with something nasty between now and then, but for today, it was nice. 

so please, enjoy!

Kale w. Spaghetti, Lemon and Cheese.

adapted from poppytalk

serves ~3

Ingredients

• 250 g of spaghetti (or whatever you have)
• 1 Tblsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (i say use however much garlic you can handle)
• 2 shallots, minced (i had a med. yellow onion, so i used half of that)
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (again, however much you want)
• 1 bunch of Kale (or swiss chard) tough stems removed and leave chopped into ribbons
• juice and zest from one lemon
• 1/4 C Parmesan cheese

Preparation

1. boil salted water and cook the pasta as per directions. (dont watch the water boil, that wont help it...) in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over med-high heat and saute garlic, onion and red pepper flakes until fragrant. add in the kale and cook until wilted, stirring a bit, not constantly. if it gets dry, add some of the pasta water to keep it a little wet...sweaty, if you will.

2. drain pasta reserving some of the cooking water. about 1/2 cup of it. this will help create the sauce. add the kale to the pasta pot, dump the pasta back in and add some of the liquid.  toss with tongs and add in the zest and lemon juice. when the pasta is well coated, sprinkle with the cheese and give it one (or 8) more tosses. i dont think i added enough cheese, so i sprinkle some onto my pasta when it was plated. 

yum! 

xo

more one a days

the day after

work

the best cake i've ever made

snowed in

spicy clean-up

i made bread, ya'll. i made bread

i have been thinking about making bread for a while. for a real long time. a girlfriend of my embarked on this adventure by buying a baguette pan (!) and she made french bread ya'll. i think i'm a little nervous to try that, but what i wouldnt give to be able to make french bread. i think a crusty warm baguette may be one of the best things in the world. and, for that matter with nothing on it because it just tastes that good. 

i digress. so. i made bread. it was an interesting process. i didnt have active yeast, i had instant yeast, so i was worried about my ratios. but, all in all. i think it turned out pretty great. the bread was a little dense and tough...the dough was tough to knead. i wonder if i kneaded it too much...i will have to do some research on that. i cannot tell you how happy it made me to have made bread. the anticipation as the wet dough rises created this palatable energy in the apartment as i busied myself doing other things....reading lines, surfing the inter-web...i just wanted it to get bigger so i could knead again and wait again, so that it would finally be ready to put in the oven! and the smell! as the bread turned a beautiful shade of golden brown, the whole apartment smelled of wonders! i think i just love bread. i could be a carb-a-vore. seriously.  

please try this. the satisfaction you have when  you bake your own loaf of bread is ridiculous. so, why not, give it a shot.  i cannot wait to start playing around with bread recipes! 

 

Two Crusty Round Loaves

Ingredients

• 4 cups bread flour (the higher gluten content in important)
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups warm water

Preparation

1. Measure out 1/4 cup of bread flour and reserve a the clean counter top.  Place the remaining 3 3/4 cup bread flour in the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment.* Measure the salt and place on one side of the flour and add the yeast to the opposite side of the flour.  Pour the warm water in the middle and mix on low speed (with the paddle attachment) until the dough just comes together. 

2. When the dough forms a mass, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Dough should clear the sides but may stick to the bottom a bit.  If you feel like the dough is too sticky or too dry, feel free to add a touch more water or flour by the tablespoonful.  After 2 minutes, let the dough rest for five minutes.

3. After the five minute rest, mix the dough again for 3 minutes.   Place the dough on the counter and, using the 1/4 cup of bread flour we reserved in the beginning, hand knead the dough.  You may not need to incorporate the entire 1/4 cup.  If the dough feels firm and solid enough, just knead for a few minutes and prepare it to rest.  You should have a satiny, smooth compact ball.

4. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, and turn the dough over to coat the entire dough lightly in oil.  Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and place in a warm spot to rest for 1 1/2 hours.  The dough should double in size.  Remove from the bowl, punch down and reform into a ball.  Return to the bowl, cover and allow to rest for another 30 minutes.

After the second short rest, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 2 pieces.  Form each piece into a smooth, round ball, tucking any haggard edges on the underside of the dough.  Leave to rest, covered with a damp cloth, on the lightly floured surface for 45 minutes to a hour.

5. During the last 20 minutes of the resting period, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place a baking rack in the lower third of the oven and leave either a baking stone or an upside down baking sheet in the oven to heat as well. 

6. Just before the boules are set to go in the oven, slash the top of the loaves with 2 to 4 slashes, using a sharp knife.  This will allow the bread to expand in the oven.  Remove the super hot baking sheet from the oven.  Carefully transfer the dough onto the baking sheets and return to the oven.

7. Here’s some fun!  Just after you put the bread in the oven, take 1/4 cup of water, open the oven door, quickly poor the water onto the hot oven floor and immediately close the oven door.  We’re creating steam here people… it’s exciting.  Wait 2 minutes and repeat the process.

8. Bake loaves for 20-25 minutes.  They’ll be golden and gorgeous.  Remove from the oven and insert a thermometer.  The temperature should be between 190 to 210 degrees F.

You should wait until its totally cool to slice into it...i couldn't, but you should try. 

xo

 * I don't have a stand mixer, so i followed some instructions for another way - You should be able to follow the directions as listed but instead of using the mixer to do the mixing do this instead: Put your dry ingredients (minus yeast) in a bowl. Make a well in that hill and pour your luke warm water into it. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and wait a minute or so. Then start to mix in the flour with the water until you get it together into a doughy gloop. Then knead the dough until it gets the nice smooth consistency and it stops sticking to the bowl as much–you may need to add a smidge of flour to get it to this consistency.

Reviews! NY Theatre Reviews!

we got 2 (!) for julius caesar.  its so exciting. and they both are so detailed and indepth.  i appreciate the time both of these women took to come see our show and the thought they put into their reviews! thank you thank you thank you!

THEASY.COM review

NYTHEATRE.COM review

FOOD INC.

the title should be enough said. but its not. clearly. i cannot right now, b.c i am still reeling from it, describe to you how i feel about this movie. other that the fact that it has affected (to touch or to move) me. quite deeply. i want to do something. 

what i was just thinking about is that its about - not only about - having a relationship with your food. fine, i'll say it, obsess about food. i love it. i love making it, i love eating it, i love looking at it, i love touching it. i love the things i put in my body. the things that give me fuel and energy. but, even i don't have a real relationship with my food. yes, i buy local and organic as much as i can but i dont always read labels and when i'm in a rush, strapped on cash...i dont even thing about it. i want to think about it. i want to be educated. i want to make a small change, even if its just my single self doing something...that'll make a difference some place. and on a friends urging. ... i am going to go out and read some of pollan's books. and, if need be, i will get back on this soapbox. 

xo

whims

i decided to do one of those email forwards with a recipe exchange on a whim. i mentioned my blog b.c i sent it to family and friends....someone who decided to participate in the recipe exchange decided to put my blog in the body of the email that they sent out...my initial reaction was that of, well, fear and shock but then i realized - this is a blog. and blogs are meant for sharing and i'm writing this in part to inspire people to cook themselves and take pictures and be creative in their day to day life...so i got over myself fast. so welcome anyone who i may not know...enjoy. what i am going to do in honor of this recipe exchange, is make all of the recipes sent to me and post about them.

yeah for the next challenge.

in my other life, as an actress. julius caesar is going well. we opened on thursday and have another show tonight then again next weekend. its going well. we needed an audience and though the houses havent been very big, we've had very supportive audiences. i love having an audience there. it makes the stakes you've set for yourself on stage higher and more valid. not that if we didnt have an audience it wouldnt be valid...but it only heightens our reality and i lurve it. come see our show!

sign it!

ya'll should sign his petition! i big hearts his ideas, as seen here.