04.29.08
How long can I store…
One of the tips in today’s stories about saving money on your grocery bills was to stock up on staples when they go on sale. But how long can you let those stockpiled items sit around in your house? Here are some guidelines for commonly stockpiled items from consumer magazine ShopSmart:
- Butter: 4 months in the freezer. Wrap it airtight because butter can pick up the flavor of other foods.
- Canned goods: 18 months for acidic foods (like tomatoes) or 2 to 5 years for low-acid foods (like vegetables) in a cool, dry place. Check the expiration date for more exact times to toss. Read the rest of this entry »
04.28.08
Notes from Portland
I spent most of last week in Portland, visiting some old friends and their new baby. And their kitchen.
The good news: In my month without a kitchen of my own, I haven’t forgotten how to cook. (Though I did manage to fill the entire first floor of their condo with smoke while making Peach-Spiced Lamb Chops on a skillet instead of a grill pan. Again, really sorry guys.)
The other good news: I did make it out into the city for one really great meal (fresh oysters, some wine and buckwheat crepes stuffed with leeks, shrimp, crab, fiddleheads and cheese at Higgins, a contemporary Pacific Northwest restaurant that uses fresh, seasonal ingredients)…. And a doughnut.
The donut was from VooDoo Doughnut, a tiny bakery that looks more like a divey punk-rock bar than a bakery and is known for it’s unusual, experimental doughnut recipes. Including what’s got to be Homer Simpson’s dream food: a bacon donut.
I’m sorry to say that I went for something that sounded slightly less artery clogging. I’m already regretting it. I mean, just because the name of the doughnut included a fruit — it was ”strawberry lemonade” — doesn’t mean it was really any more healthy than that crazy breakfast mishmash. Now I’ve missed my chance! D’oh!
*image is from Jocelyn | McAuliflower on flickr
Who do you read?
Tomorrow’s column is all about food blogs. So I’ll send out the query here, too: Which food blogs do you read? Any favorites that you’d recommend I check out? Any Eastern Iowans out there with food blogs?
04.22.08
What’s your favorite Mexican restaurant?
Fellow Gazette staffer Todd Dorman is looking for some recommendations for great Mexican food over on his blog, 24Dorman. So, foodies, where do you like to get your south-of-the-border fix? Recommended so far: Villa Patio in Marion (one of my favorites), La Salsita, Gringo’s (really?!) and Hacienda/Casa las Glorias. Hop over and add to the comments on his post.
04.15.08
Peanut butter cookies win Bake-Off
I’m thinking maybe I should stop writing about food, and spend more time baking it. Specifically, cookies. More specifically, cookies like Carolyn Gurtz’s Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies.
Her simple recipe — it uses refrigerated cookie dough as its base — took the $1 million Grand Prize in this year’s Pillsbury Bake-Off. Oh, and she also won an additional $5,000 for having the best recipe that uses at least 1/4 cup of Jif Peanut Butter.
According to a news release from Pillsbury, “contest judges agreed that Gurtz’s recipe surpassed the 99 other competitors as the grand prize winner for its simplicity and approachability, allowing the home cook to take a convenience product and turn it into an unexpected cookie that bursts with layers of peanut butter flavor. Contest judges described Gurtz’s Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies as a delightful taste that combines two classic cookies – a snickerdoodle and a peanut butter cookie.”
Do Gurtz’s Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies really taste like 1 million (plus 5,000) bucks? I can’t say. I’m still kitchenless. But if any of you are inclined to whip up a batch of cookies, leave a comment and let me know what you think. Here’s the recipe.
To see other winning recipes, visit www.pillsbury.com/BakeOff/
04.07.08
Rebuilding the kitchen
Lessons learned in the first week of remodeling:
1. Just because everything in your kitchen has been working OK for the last 5 years does not mean your wiring is up to code. Budget for an electrician. That includes both time and money. Double both estimates.
2. Eating dinner on the couch is fun for one day. Maybe. Then it’d be nice to have a table to sit at and cut things on and, at the very least, keep your food away from a grumpy stressed-out cat who won’t hesitate to try to swat that turkey sandwich right out of your hand.
3. Power tools are cool.
4. Parents who invite you over for a hot homemade meal after a week and half with no kitchen are even cooler.
My husband and I spent pretty much the entire weekend working on the kitchen. We installed a nice thick layer of insulation, put up the drywall, and stained our new pre-made unfinished oak cabinets. It’s exhausting, but also really exciting and satisfying to watch everything come together – even in these first early stages.
Green grocery toting
Did you catch last weekend’s Saturday Accent cover story from young adult reporter Carly Weber? She wrote a short article about the BYO bag trend:
Paper? Plastic?
How ’bout neither.
Plastic is out. The petroleum used to make just 14 plastic bags is enough to drive a car a mile, according to a study by the Australian Department of Environment and Heritage.
Paper’s not any better. In fact, from a global impact standpoint, it’s worse. The Environmental Protection Agency says paper bags emit 70 percent more global warming gases and 50 times more water pollution than plastic bags in manufacturing. Not to mention all the trees.
So, what kind of bag will you use on your next shopping trip?
Reusable bags, generally those made of polypropylene, are popping up in grocery stores around Eastern Iowa. Several area business also sell their own bags, like Coralville-based Cart by Cart or Choose Cloth in Cedar Rapids.
Cotton or canvas bags can range from $4 to $25. Find options online at sites like www.reusablebags.com
Polypropylene bags usually cost between $1 and $2. Try www.goagainbags.com or look around next time you’re in the checkout line.
All reusable bags are generally machine washable, last around two years and can hold the equivalent of four plastic sacks full of groceries.
The string bags pictured with the story are bags that I bought a few weeks ago to haul my groceries home. Yes, I was a little self-conscious the first time I pulled them out of my purse and told the cashier that I’d brought my own bags, but I’ve received nothing but positive responses. Hy-Vee even gives me a 20 cent bonus for bringing my own sacks.
I’m loving the fact that I can tote the string bags around in my purse — no more forgetting bags in the car — and that I’ve finally put the brakes on the ever-growing pile of plastic accumulating in my pantry. Even better, the string bags fit tons more groceries than the plastic kind, and they’re easy to carry (no worries about the plastic pulling and breaking before I get to the car). I especially like the ones that have straps long enough to sling over my shoulder.
Anyone else trying to make the switch to reusable bags? Has it been easy? Tough?
* photo by Cliff Jette/The Gazette
Joining a CSA farm
After talking with CSA farmers and supporters for a story that ran last month, I was convinced that I needed to try one out. Everyone was just so enthusastic about the quality of food, the culinary challenges of using the ingredients (rather than the recipe) as your starting point when planning a meal, and the wonderful community around CSAs that it was hard NOT to inadvertently get talked into joining. Plus, the CSA I chose has a pick-up site on the northeast side of town, which where I live, and that should make the weekly grocery run convenient. Also, I figured it was my duty as a food writer to try this increasingly popular way of getting fresh, local produce. (I like to rationalize a lot of food-related things that way.)
Not sure if we were ready to jump straight into the commitment a regular share would bring, young adult reporter Carly Weber and I decided to split a share. When CSA season arrives, we’ll both share some of the ways that we find to put our weekly produce basket to good use.
According to the latest e-mail we received from our CSA – Local Harvest/ZJ Farms – we should get our first share in mid-May. That mailing also indicated that there are still shares available. So if you’re interested in trying a CSA this year too, but haven’t signed up yet, peruse this list of local CSAs (or do a search here) and call around. They may still have shares available. (And if you do join, I hope you’ll share your recipes with us too!)
04.01.08
Pity the (April) fool!
In today’s column, I gave you Martha Stewart’s recipe for a meatloaf cake.
I first learned about meatloaf cake a couple of years ago when a friend forwarded me a link to BlackWidowBakery.com’s meatcake. I love the T-bone frosting. Anyway, apparently the web site made the rounds. Black Widow Bakery has a photo gallery full of pictures of other people’s meatcakes. Click here to see it.
Some other April Fool’s Day food ideas from around the web:
Are you pulling any food pranks today?
