seasonal shifts

Above is what I saw as I was driving home from this year's almost last Thursday Farmer's Market. And below is what I did directly upon getting home. Early fall tomatoes roasting with sweet red peppers and loads of garlic. The house smells delicious, and the soup will keep us warm during what will probably be a rainy evening.


Thank you McMinnville Farmer's market and see you next year.

Early fall tomato soup:
loads of roma/plum/san marzano tomatoes
a head of garlic - crush the cloves
sweet peppers/ purple peppers - or none if you don't like peppers
salt
olive oil
vegetable broth or water
-------

halve the tomatoes
cut the peppers in manageable sizes
spread it all out on a roasting pan, throw the garlic in, salt generously
adda pprox 1/2 cup of olive oil and make sure everything is well covered
roast at 400degrees for 30-45 minutes

when the tomatoes are disintegrating, the peppers are soft and the garlic is getting blond, take out of the oven and let cool
combine with 3-4 cups of broth or water (or more depending on how liquid you like your soups)
blend it all using an immersion blender

serve with a nice glass of wine and crusty french bread. maybe watch the rain and definitely cuddle up.

wearing thin

It's been rather thin on the posting here, hasn't it? A million apologies. We've had very good reasons to be lazy here, largely because we have not been lazy elsewhere. For my part, I sent a book off to press, submitted a paper, commented on another one and am fulfilling a series of other obligations too tedious to share. S, for her part, expanded her bookstore and got her nails done. So there.
The pictorial essay of things I did (and ate) this summer is sprinkled all over this post because I still don't know how to control the placement of pics in posts.

i promise, i deliver, sort of

The pot in the front = the most luscious black bean soup I ever had. Served with fried tortilla strips, fried pasilla chile, avocado cubes and queso fresco. It defies descrition - unctuous, savory, a little sweet, a bit smoky and spicy, tremendously soothing.
Left pot = chiles rellenos - these poblanos were stuffed with picadillo - an Spanish inheritance, itself redolent of Moorish influence: ground meat cooked with sliced almonds, raisin, peas and carrots, spiced with cumin and maybe a touch of cinnamon. The chiles were spicy, the stuffing was sweet and the tomato sauce was tart - it all balanced out perfectly.
In the back = white rice. But white rice a la mexicana - the raw rice is fried in oil with onions and a jalapeño, then cooked slowly with chicken stock. Divine.

The are no pictures of the lovely birthay table with the white cotton Puebla tablecloth, because we were too busy eating. But above (bc I still don't know how to control the placing of pictures in blogger!) is a picture of the gorgeous talavera dishes the soup was eventually poured into.

This morning I had spicy green tomato chilaquiles - day old tortillas cut into pieces and cooked in tomatillo and chili sauce, then covered in manchego and roasted in the oven until the cheese melted. Spciy, tart and nutritious (right?). Breakfast of champions!

-J.

Leaving/eating elsewhere for one week

This is where I am headed to tomorrow morning. Amazing, right? Those volcanoes - I love them. Maybe that's what I like so much about Portland - the nearby volcanoes make me feel at home.

Unlike Portland though, pollution is really bad in this city, and there's a fair chance I won't see them at all.

Special prize for whoever can tell me where I'll be. One more tiny clue: there WILL be food, and lots of it.

Orgasm in a spoon

That is the only way I can describe this dish. Unctuous uni, creamy (but not too creamy) risotto, sweet and crunchy corn, a frothy parmesan foam to add just a touch of acidity. I died three times while eating it. Don't ask me who else I was with, I do not remember.
Thank you Sunny Jin (the chef at Jory) - you rocked my world last night.
-J

imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?

is it any wonder i was hoping it would say "you write like MB".

it was not to be - apparently i write like DFW. R.I.P. mad genius.

http://iwl.me/s/d7939cdb

click above and find who you write like!

-J

When in Rome...

I was in NYC last week for a book thing. The weather was perfect, I actually saw the sun! I got lots of walking in and we ate out a fair amount. A few things I discovered:
1. I am OVER pork belly. I mean, I like it and all, but please. Surely there is some other under appreciated part of the pig that can make a renaissance now?
2. Good coffee in New York is hard to find. In fact, I noticed I was drinking significantly less coffee while we were there because it all SUCKED so much. I am sorry about the language, but it was truly disappointing. The last afternoon we were there, we went to the Momofuku Milk Bar after lunch at the Ssam Bar next door. At the Milk Bar they serve Stumptown Coffee. So to get a decent cup of joe, we had to find a place that served Portland coffee. I know, Stumptown roasts in NYC now, but still. I should point out that we never went to Starbucks. Being from the northwest, we are sort of trained not to go there.
3. Cabs are good. I like the subway a lot too, but a quick little cab ride a few miles does wonders for the feet.
4. The hazelnut spread (not Nutella) from Le Pain Quotidien is to die for. I had a waffle with this luscious spread on it. No chocolate in it. I will admit that it was a teeny bit too sweet, but that didn't stop me from inhaling it.

Now I am back in Oregon, waiting for the sun to shine so I can get some fresh vegetables besides lettuce, kale, spring onions and other various greens (i.e. weeds).

-S

Apps (as in iPhone, not appetizers)

Oh Mark, we have forsaken you! But our true love still runs deep, even if the time we have to devote to is has been slim with a side of competely absent.

But lo! Today marks an landmark day, because I just downloaded the Mark-Bittman-is-my-boyfriend iPhone app, also known as the 'How to cook everything on the go' app. That and your videos on the NYT have become funny again. Yay to the psychadelic ninja opening theme!

And I am sorry you don't pick up the phone when I call, but thankfully Matt (from mattbites.com) got through to you and shared the conversation (follow the link to it below).

But anytime you want to talk Mark, you know, just HOLLA!

http://mattbites.com/2010/04/19/mark-bittman-interview-how-to-cook-everything-to-go/