A Real Rhody Bfast

You know what I love to do? Wake up inappropriately late, saunter around in my snowflake jammies, yell at my cats who are sitting on the counter when they are not supposed to be and make an insanely delicious breakfast. Since I am a student at URI and I live on campus, (which means a tiny room and no kitchen) I rarely get to do this. Yet alas! It is spring break and I have the luxury of using my mother's kitchen. I have only been home for three days, (I was skiing in VT for 4) but you better believe I've been cookin' up a storm.

Sunday while I was making breakfast, I realized everything I was using was local. This just proves to people (like my skeptical parents) there IS INDEED local food you can eat in the winter and it is NOT HARD. Check out the Farm Fresh RI website for a winter market near you. Valen and I hit up the Costal Grower's market at the mills in NK. We try to go every Saturday- we always come home with treasures.

Anywhoodle. Lets cut to da chase.

Yeah did I mention I found a food setting on my Nikon camera? Its like they knew or something. I will try to not post anymore crappy pictures (refer to post one) anymore.

Bread is multigrain bread from Olga's cup and saucer based out of Providence RI. Jam is some that my friend Alyssa gave me over Christmas, made last summer from grapes she picked right near her home in South Kingstown, RI. The greens are greens I bought at the market (sorry not to give credit to the farm, I can't remember the name) and the eggs are from my best friend's cattle farm right here on the island of Jamestown.

Local AND tasty. Aint nuffin' betta dan dat.

Happy eatings.
-Cate

Taste the Rainbow

I was first introduced to rainbow carrots by my good friend Alyssa. She is a food obsessed girl such as myself. Check out her blog Absolute Ambrosia for some fantastic recipes.

Anywho.

For our club Slow Food URI we decided to have a local foods thanksgiving dinner, complete with local donated vegetables and a turkey we "processed" ourselves from Pat's Pastured Poultry Farm in Jamestown, RI.

Along with Rhody Fresh milk and cream, Windmist Farm cider and eggs, Sonowski Farm potatoes, Watson Farm beef and Moonstone Garden buttercup squash were oodles of carrots courtesy of the URI Agronomy farm- and they were purple. I had never seen purple carrots before, so I was a bit shocked. Alyssa informed me that there are actually many varieties of carrots- some purple, violet or even a reddish color. These are heirloom breeds, and are usually not sold at your local Stop&Shop. These carrots are delicious. I concocted a vat of carrot soup with them of which went down very well at the  Thanksgiving Dinner. Valen was eating the leftovers for weeks and said he was glum when he ate his last bowl.

These carrots are hard to come by. The only other time I stumbled across them was through a roasted vegetable dish at Local 121, but they always have amazing local food.

So when I saw them at the farmer's market in North Kingstown, I grabbed a whole bunch. MmmmmM!

Aaaaaand you guessed it. I made carrot cake- one of my favorite, favorite, FAVORITE desserts. Whenever Valen and I are out to eat and carrot cake is on the dessert menu I can guarantee you we will be trying it. The mixture of nuts, carrots and spices in the cake create an intense flavor but the cream cheese frosting always helps it go down smooth. Along with olives and those really, really addicting sweet potato chip things, it is one of our top foods. Anyways, I am a huge fan.

-C

The Last Supper

Valen was leaving for San Francisco.
I was leaving for Vermont.
How do we celebrate our last evening together?
By eating lots and lots of food.

I'm going to use this post to give my my little speech on how important I believe local food is. After this I won't bother you with it again (I could go on and on).

 In a nutshell- local food rules. It is good for the environment because it uses way less petroleum than shipping produce halfway around the world (ahem greens grown in South America that can be grown right here in Little Rhody). It is an economically sound practice as well because it keeps your dollar in the state and supports the dwindling population of small farmers (30+ years ago we had about 70 dairy farmers in the state- now we have 11). Local food is fresher, and often grown organically. Most importantly however, IT IS THE MOST DELICIOUS FOOD YOU WILL EVER EAT. I am a huge, huge advocate of it. If you want to know more about local food, visit my other blog at Slow Food URI or just leave a comment and ask.
Our dinner contained 2 local ingredients: Rainbow Carrots (again) and Rainbow Chard.

The photo is oven roasted leeks, carrots and parsnips over wild rice. The two little guys on the side are goat cheese filled dates. The were not part of the original dinner plan but Valen was fooling around with some odds and ends while cooking and came up with the combo. Delicious.

For some more veggies and protein we made a salad with local Rainbow Chard, fried chick peas, sprouts, tomatoes and some yummy Briana's brand dressing (they make the best).

This supper was vegetarian, local and really, really healthy. Jesus and his apostles would approve. Amen.


Peace 'n blessings. Peace 'n blessings.
-C

Wanna know what I wear as a hat? A lentil

                             


Mmmmmm lentil soup. Definitely qualifies as a top favorite winter meals, probably in a close race for first with a classic Thanksgiving-inspired dinner. Its hearty, warm, rich and best of all CHEAP. A bag 'o lentils runs for about 1-2 bones these days- not bad when it costs 4 dollars just to go over a stinkin' bridge- which these devotees nearly did for a mere lack of carrots. Lentil soup without carrots? Just won't do. Its really easy to make and easy to throw in whatever you have around. We're talking variety here people. Leeks, scallions, celeriac, thyme- you kinda play it by ear, or mouth rather. You can literally add anything you desire into this dish. You can even use 1 month old scallions like Valen did! 1 month old I tell ya! MMmMmM. That's called being green, even if they aren't anymore.

Anyways- the best part about lentil soup? Beer. No, not beer in the soup. Beer with the soup. Let us warn you ladies, beer and lentil soup can be quite the man's meal. We tried pairing it with wine, we really did- and we wouldn't recommend it. But there is a solution to every problem- and that solution is a little thing we like to call HOPS. Newcastle HOPS to be specific. Not so heavy that it will make you lethargic like a Guinness and not so light you will feel like you're at a college frat party. As a wise philosopher called Goldilocks once said, "This one is just right."

Well, were going outside before this snow storm comes.  Of course, we will be drinking again. But you don't drink cold Newcastles when you're going outside in this weather, oh no. Hot toddies- and we're not talking cider and rum here people. Good Earth Tea, 2% Milk and Seagram's Whiskey. Oh yes, we did, and you can't judge us until you have tried it yourself. We just created it from beverages we already had- and turns out its our new favorite thing. (Valen is Scottish- of course he always has whiskey in his freezer.) A night hike is much more intriguing (and warm, and fun) when you have a thermos filled with this concoction.

'Cause you wanna know the best part about cooking? Experimentation. And that is the theme of the night. Sometimes the creations you whip up with things you have laying around can turn into a favored standby. So get in your kitchen and create a masterpiece- if we can do it so can you.

Goodnight Internet people.

Oh and the weird title? If you don't get the reference:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF9-sEbqDvU. Lots 'o laughs here. 

If sushi is made in the forrest and there is no one around to eat it, does it still make a sound?

Note: picture is taken by a lame cell phone camera. Expect better quality pictures in posts to come.

A text I received one cold December afternoon:

"How do you feel about making sushi tonight?"

Make our own sushi? Don't you have to be a famous sushi chef to do that, one who can fillet a fish in one second? Seems complicated. Yet as it turned out, Valen had already bought the fish, not to mention those special bamboo rolling mats. Sushi it was and honestly, I was a bit apprehensive.

But you know what? Its not as hard as it sounds. And once we were done (after a few sushi rice mishaps) well, we were proud. It looked good, really good.

An epiphany was born that very night.

No two people would make 40+ sushi rolls and just act like that was a thing all couples do on Tuesday nights. And might I add- its not just sushi either. I am a broke college student but whenever I do round up some funds, where do they go? Straight down our esophaguses- a splurge on a winter squash perhaps, or a trip to Diego's restaurant in Newport. Maybe some lentils for soup, or possibly eating the best flan ever known to man. Herbs at the farmer's market? Taco night? Or, coconut macaroons anyone? What's that? We've been to almost every restaurant on Thames street? I admit: we are food lovers, okay, food obsessors.

A food blog will be the answer to our undocumented madness.  Here we shall pour our hearts out about the food we already can't stop talking about. Maybe we can give some good restaurant reviews or share a tasty recipe (we do make up our own a lot). Not only that, but maybe we can give you reason to cook with local, healthy, organic ingredients- something very important to both of us. Whatever we post though, we can promise you this: great food. We hope you dig it. 'Cause we certainly do.