Category Archives: Food

Dinner for one and full moon ride

After weighing options, including Shakespeare in the Park, for last night’s baby-free entertainment, I settled on a talk hosted by the St. Louis Ecovilliage Network on building intentional communities.

Once I’d made up my mind, I planned my bike route.  The event was held just east of Carondolet Park, a part of town to which I’d biked several weeks ago for a job interview.  On that occasion, a bike lane along most of the route I picked marred what should have been a straightforward, pleasant trip.  I was not comfortable in the bike lane (with the door zone danger, intersection conflict zones, etc.), but motorists tend not to understand or have patience for cyclists shunning bike lanes.

With the foreknowledge of the bike-laned roads, I carefully mapped my route to avoid them, making for a much more pleasant ride.

I can’t remember the last time I rode at night, so before heading out, I hunted down my front and rear lights and made sure they were in working order.  The rear lights were a bit tricky to find — after searching and coming up empty in the bags on both of my bikes, as well as in the garage, I turned to Matthew’s bike gear bag.  Turned out someone was hoarding bike lights!

Lights found, I turned to putting together a quick dinner for myself.  I’ve had reuben sandwiches on the tentative menu to quite some time, and Matthew recently bought Swiss cheese, but we were quite low on kraut (must make more!).  However, while not enough for multiple sandwiches, the remainder of the kraut was perfect for one.

It was also definitely time, as the Swiss cheese had a few small moldy spots.  I scraped them off with my finger nail and carried on (as much as I’m really particular about food safety in some ways, in others I’m quite a bit more relaxed — a confusing dichotomy to be sure!).

Photo05241740

‘Twas a simple and delicious dinner, if a bit veggie-light for my preferences.

I headed out on my bike immediately after eating.  Other than heavy squinting due to lack of sunglasses, I enjoyed the ride there.

A few sentences won’t due it justice, but the talk on building intentional communities was very inspiring — so glad I attended!

Afterward, I headed home, biking into the tail end of a sunset, the colors gently fading to darkness, while the full moon rose behind me.  After a few blocks, my slight apprehension about riding unfamiliar streets in the dark faded as well, and I thoroughly enjoyed my own little full moon bike ride.

One possible change for the future — Matthew has been encouraging me to upgrade my front light (after doing so himself).  I’m still not sure it’s worth it for very infrequent night riding, but there were some stretches last night, where the trees blocked out the streetlight almost completely, where I would have benefited from more illumination on the road ahead of me.

Mother’s Day weekend by bike

This year, we moved our Mother’s Day celebrations to Saturday to accommodate some Sunday gardening.  We enjoyed beautiful weather (sunny and 60s) all weekend long.

We started with a bike trip to Tower Grove Farmers’ Market.  Given the size of our garden, farmers’ market trips are fairly rare for us these days, more so for Matthew and Gabriel, who usually spend Saturdays at the garden, so being there as a family, soaking up all of the beauty that is local, small-scale produce, was a real treat!

We purchased asparagus and rhubarb in quantities to freeze, and then I headed to the playground with Sir, while Matthew biked a little farther for some goodness from La Pastisserie Chouquette: a bourbon pecan sticky bun and an almond and cheese-filled [pastry] pillow, shared three ways.

On our way home, we chose “the road less traveled [by bicyclists],” continuing south on Kingshighway (a major north-south arterial in StL, two lanes each direction with a center turn lane) for most of our return trip, rather than diverting to smaller neighborhood streets after using the bigger road for a short stretch, as is our habit.

It’s not what I’d do every time, but for duo biking, it worked like a charm, and was much more pleasant than our route on the way there.  Plenty of space for us and other road users, two stops at stop lights as compared to over ten stop signs . . .  what’s not to love?

As we neared our turn, we heard a honk (the only honk we received in over a mile).  I would have thought nothing of it, shrugging it off as a the proverbial “territorial barking dog motorist,” but the man pulled up next to us with his window down and very sincerely praised our good work “claiming the lane.”  Talk about a great end to a lovely bike outing!!!

After a low-key afternoon (and blanching and freezing the asparagus), Matthew made a special dinner — spanikopita, using pie crust (super light and flaky thanks to his pastry chef skills!) instead of phyllo dough.

IMG_1931

I enjoyed some solo time on actual Mother’s Day, which included two more bike rides.  I once again had a nice interaction with a motorist, when, stopped at a light in the through lane, the woman in the minivan in the right turn only lane next to me rolled down her window and very politely said that she just realized she was in the wrong lane and could she get in front of me.  Why, yes, and thank you for asking!

‘Twas a weekend of abundant good, weather, good spirits, and biking!  Hope your weekend was lovely as well.

Broiled asparagus

During the summer between my junior and senior years of college, I worked as a live-in nanny for a family in New Jersey.  Food-wise, it was a summer of firsts for me.  I’d never been big on seafood (perhaps rightfully so, having grown up in the Midwest), but in those months living on the East Coast, I enjoyed trying scallops and various types of fish.

My seafood eating days were short lived, as I became a vegetarian and stopped eating meat and seafood entirely a few months into my senior year of college.  However, not all was lost from that summer, food-inspiration-wise, as the family I worked for introduced me to the joy of broiled (or grilled) asparagus.

While enjoyable (if not overcooked), steamed or boiled asparagus doesn’t hold a candle to the broiled version.  I’ve used this preparation for every single stalk of our delicious, if modest, asparagus harvest this year (minus those stalks nibbled raw).  Sir usually devours his portion and begs for more from our plates.

Asparagus is in-season NOW, so head to the nearest farmers’ market this weekend, and enjoy some fresh, locally grown goodness!

IMG_8329

Broiled Asparagus

Ingredients
5-8 asparagus spears per person
Olive oil
Sea salt
Pepper, garlic powder (optional)

Directions
Break off bottom half-inch of asparagus stalks and discard.  Place clean, dry asparagus in a single layer on a broiler tray.  Preheat broiler.

Brush asparagus stalks with generous olive oil, then sprinkle lightly with sea salt and other seasonings, if desired.

Cook under hot broiler for 10-12 minutes, stirring once to turn the stalks.  Serve immediately.

IMG_8706

Toaster oven vs. Oven vs. Grill
If you’re preparing 1-3 servings, a toaster oven is the perfect tool.  It heats up quickly without heating the entire house.  A counter-top grill functions similarly.  For a larger crowd, fire up the broiler in your regular oven.

A hot grill produces a similar effect to the broiler, with the addition of a smoky flavor. We don’t use the grill all that often, and it’s not worth firing it up just to cook asparagus.  If you’re grilling other food anyway, this is a great option — just toss the spears directly on the grill (perpendicular to the grates so the spears don’t fall into the fire).

Bike lunch date and play date

While I kicked off Bike Month yesterday with a distinct lack of biking (and a car trip at that!), I finished April with three consecutive days on the bike.

Sunday morning I biked to church with Sir for the first time.  The usual timing of services there has not been conducive to biking with him, or really to bringing him at all, but for last Sunday’s ministry fair, they rolled the 8am and 10am services together into a single 9am service — perfect timing for biking there, socializing afterward, and biking back without danger of Sir turning into a pumpkin.

Monday I rode across town to meet Matthew for Gokul’s lunch buffet.  I biked there directly from a dentist appointment, and by “directly,” I mean I was feeling too lazy to backtrack to the route I usually would have taken into Forest Park or to put in the mental energy to figure out another alternative to riding on Hampton Avenue, the most direct route and what I would have traveled without question had I been in car, so I just biked the 2.5 miles north from Chippewa to Forest Park on Hampton.

Most of the time, I only use big roads for short, connecting stretches when I’m driving my bike, but this longer trip worked out quite well (which is rather what I expected when I made my decision).  I pedaled along quite happily in the right lane, while motorists had one to two other lanes to use.

I arrived in good time, and we enjoyed the delicious vegetarian Indian offerings before Matthew biked back to work and I continued on to an appointment.

Tuesday morning, Sir and I headed out bright and early.  We quickly covered the few miles to the playground in Tower Grove Park, where we spent the morning with a friend and her son (and saw another biking mama and son duo).  We also swung by Local Harvest Grocery, where my relatively small purchase of broccoli, rice, and celery pushed my cargo capacity to the max!

After biking in the heat on Monday and Tuesday and the slightly higher mileage of Monday, I didn’t mind a break yesterday, though I would have been just as happy to limit our outings to those we made by foot (the playground and the gym).  However, I’ve been meaning to get BUB in for a tune-up for a number of weeks now.  I’ve been loathe to do so, since it means using the trailer with my other bike, rather than our beloved front seat for Sir until BUB returns.

While a well-maintained bike is ALWAYS important for safety, I am extra conscious of it with a little passenger, so I bit the bullet, loaded BUB on the bike rack, and drove to the bike shop.  I could have BUB back as soon as this afternoon, but since I have another bike to ride, I’ll avoid the one-stop car trip and wait until this weekend when Matthew will be in the vicinity of the bike shop for gardening anyway.

As a final Bike Month note, local blogger Jessica at City in a Jar challenged herself to go car free for the month of May.  She’s inviting YOU to join her, even if for just a day, or heck, a single trip, where you try biking, walking, or using public transit.  So what are you waiting for?  Let’s ride!

Umami tsunami: Three ingredients to try today

Over the past several months, I’ve enjoyed playing with some umami-boosting ingredients in various dishes.  Umami is sometimes described as a savory or meaty taste or, more simply, something that makes food taste good.

Despite its association with meat, it is quite possible to build umami flavor in vegetarian dishes — mushrooms or soy sauce are a quick and easy route (the title for this post popped into my head while eating a dish containing both mushrooms and soy sauce) — but there are other ingredients and methods.

1. Dal
I first started experimenting with dal (daal) back in August, when  my food swap with Nupur started an Indian cooking kick.  Dal describes any of a variety of split peas or beans.  I began my explorations with two four pound bags of dal: toor dal (split yellow pigeon peas) and moong dal (split mung beans).

I discovered that well-cooked dal, simmered with bay leaf and seasoned with various spices, makes a rich, savory vegetable stock.  I use the stock for a variety of soups and stews, and the dal provides a nice flavor and texture boost.  I also made one of my best batches of chili ever with a dal base.

Depending on the size of your soup recipe, and assuming you aren’t trying to make lentil stew, start with 1/4 to 1/2 cup dry toor or moong dal (or a combination).  Early in the day, cover the dal with water to soak.  When ready to use, rinse in a mesh colander, add a bay leaf, and cover with water to cook.  When tender, liquify with an immersion or traditional blender and incorporate into your soup recipe.

2. Nutritional yeast
Nutritional yeast is a fairly common ingredient in vegetarian cooking, providing a nutty or cheesy flavor.  As its name indicates, it’s also rather nutritious, a great source of B vitamins in addition to being a complete protein.

I add nutritional yeast to a variety of one-dish meals (grain + beans + veggies) to boost flavor and nutrients.

Look for nutritional yeast in the bulk bins at natural grocers or WF.  The price per pound (~$7-$8) seems high, but the yeast flakes are very light — one pound of nutritional yeast can enhance many meals.

To use, add directly to dishes, or mix with a small amount of hot water to make a sauce.  It also functions as a nice component of salad dressings.

3. Miso paste
Like soy sauce (another fermented soy product), miso paste possesses real umami-boosting power.  Think beyond miso soup and use this flavorful ingredient as part of a rich sauce:

Whisk two to three tablespoons miso paste with one cup of water and a tablespoon (or more, depending on desired thickness) of almond or cashew butter.

Serve sauce on top of a cooked quinoa or millet with sauteed or steamed vegetables for an easy, healthy lunch or dinner.

Mix and match
Try sauces, salad dressings, and soups that include a combination of two or more of these ingredients to really kick up the umami flavor in your cooking.