Foodista Blog

Veggie Valentine’s Day

February 8th, 2010

helen. 3 Comments

Every year, we worry about what to make for Valentine’s Day. Magazines and food blogs advise us to create unpronounceable French dishes, elaborate concoctions of aphrodisiacs, or foods you and your sweetie feed to each other… with your hands.

Like many food-centered holidays, Valentine’s day often leaves vegetarians and vegans out in the cold. Classic French dishes rely heavily on meat, cheese and butter. Oysters are the most popular aphrodisiac. And those little red boxes of candy? Dairy, eggs and sometimes gelatin.

My Valentine’s Day recommendation is simple: prepare the delicious things you already know how to make, only make them heart-shaped. Fancy foods are wonderful if you have the time to plan out and cook an exotic dinner, but really nothing conveys the Valentine spirit like hearts.

Perhaps this is an overly simple and juvenile approach– some might even say corny– but its the little things that make life grand. Imagine how you would feel if your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/lover surprised you with raspberry-studded pancakes on Sunday morning. Now imagine if those pancakes were heart-shaped.

That little bit of extra thought goes a long way, right?

All it takes are a few heart-shaped cookie cutters or some fancy cutting and shaping skills. Pat veggie burgers into hearts. Use a large cookie cutter to make tea sandwiches or brownies a la mode. Use a small cookie cutter to cut out toppings for pizza, form heart-shaped ravioli, or make deep-fried tofu.

Here’s what a vegetarian Valentine’s meal might look like: fried polenta and marinara sauce on a bed of sauteed kale with raisins and pine nuts. It’s quick, budget-friendly, and elegant in its simplicity.

If you really want to go all out, Williams Sonoma sells cute heart pocket pie molds; these are great for sweet or savory hand pies, though I have on good authority that they also make excellent stuffed French toast. Sur la Table has a plethora of cute heart-shaped doodads.

Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter what you cook. The best part of Valentine’s day is just turning the TV off, lighting a few candles, and eating together.

But it’s better if the food is heart-shaped.

Other heart-shaped ideas:

Jumbo Empanadas: Heart-shaped Pierog ies
Ezra Poundcake: Conversation Heart Mini Cakes
Courtney’s Vegan Journal: Individual Heart-Shaped Apple Galettes

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3 Comments

Drink Inside the Box

February 3rd, 2010

Jameson. 1 Comment

I have extolled the virtues of all wines esoteric, obscure, and bizarrely named and packaged. An Austrian Zweigelt in a one-liter bottle sealed with a bottle cap? Check. A German Riesling called Dragonstone? Done that. Carmenere from Chile? Naturally.

Now it’s time to get really crazy, just in time for the big game on Sunday. How about trying a Pinot Grigio (how insipid!) from California (pedestrian!) and in a box (the horror!).

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the 2008 Bandit Pinot Grigio. A $7ish one liter of crisp, dry white that is good. Now, there are varying degrees of good. But for a big 1L box of white wine (which really makes the 750ml bottle price around 5 bucks) it’s easy to drink and very refreshing. Naturally there are also some benefits carbon-footprint-wise of shipping a Tetra Pak vs. a bottle. I don’t get too wrapped up with that, as I walk to work and I will drink imports until I die, but it’s an added bonus from an environmental (and marketing) standpoint.

This is the kind of wine you toss into a cooler, break out at a party (like Superbowl Sunday), on a boat, at the campsite, in the pool (be careful!) or the (ahem) hot tub, and don’t have to worry about shattering glass. And you can smush it down when you are done for easy disposal.

And if you have any hangups about pouring wine from a box? Just get an empty wine bottle, rinse it out, float off the label, fill from the box to the bottle via a funnel, and tell your guests they will be enjoying a simple, refreshing white.

So how do you feel about box wine?

PS: It was very tasty with some salmon, quinoa, and a little cool cucumber/lemon salad. It was not so tasty with my sub-par broiled asparagus. The tips were nice and crispy but the ends were a little fibrous and woody. I didn’t trim them well enough. I am a terrible person.

Jameson Fink is a wine buyer at a bustling grocery store in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. He moved to Seattle from Chicago, where he dabbled in the restaurant and wine industries, five years ago to pursue a full-time career in wine. He’d rather be drinking Champagne and eating popcorn right now.

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Environmental • wine

1 Comment

Interview with Top Chef’s Robin Leventhal

February 2nd, 2010

Melissa. 6 Comments

We ask Top Chef “chef testant” Robin Leventhal of Seattle, about latest food trends, her obsession with poached eggs and how she gets inspired in the kitchen.

When did you start cooking?

As a child my parents went out ALL the time. We occasionally were invited to join them but typically were left to our own devices. My favorite dinners to make for myself (because my brother lived on Fish Sticks & Tartar sauce– yuck!) were Omelets and twice baked potatoes (I grew up in Idaho) I still love omelets but rarely do I eat potatoes now (never baked, and only occasionally roasted & fried)

What can you suggest for someone just starting out who wants to learn how to cook?

Scrambled eggs teach you a lot about pan temperature and inclusion of seasoning & Moisture to understand soufflé-esque qualities of an egg. BUT, hands down my favorite thing to cook is SOUP! It is also an idea dish as it enables you to clean out the fridge & eliminate waste. As a chef it teaches you how to maximize the flavor of your ingredients and is an unlimited canvas for flavor profiles. It offers a new cook the opportunity to learn other cultures versions of both the starter broth or the one pot meal.

We all know chefs don’t eat gourmet every night. What is your ultimate comfort food or quick meal?

Omelet! funny how my childhood still plays a role in my eating habits ; )

BUT of recent I am obsessed with poached eggs….As a young child I was fed too many sunny side up eggs and was grossed out by runny yolks for the longest time. That has changed in the past couple of years, now the gooier the better. Perhaps I can thank Uni for this!

I also am a big fan of doctored up Ramen…with pan fried onions, garlic, sesame oil, chili flakes and an egg white streamed in like egg flower soup. A few slivers of sausage if available, cabbage, julienned carrots, broccoli florets & slivered stems take it one step further! However, I NEVER use the enclosed MSG packet to season the soup.

How do you get inspired in the kitchen?

Often I am driven by what is in the fridge and needs to be eaten. This of course ties into the season, what is fresh and delicious. That in turn informs how I approach my preparation. Say it’s summer and there is corn around, am I going to cook corn chowder, a thick heavy cream based soup or am I going to grill it, cut it off the cob and serve it on Grilled Romaine with an Avocado Vinaigrette? Season dictates how I eat. Inspiration comes from flavor combinations and techniques that I utilize in making the dish.

What cooking tool can you not live without? What tools would you suggest every home cook invest in?

My hands are the tools I use most, then a SHARP knife is the second most important tool!

What food or restaurant trends do you see for 2010? Do you think cupcakes or everything bacon will stick around?

I am not a cupcake fan and they cannot ALL survive. But I am a HUGE bacon freak…and it seems to become only a more diverse ingredient so unless someone else invents a food crack better than bacon and caramel, neither are going away anytime soon! Cupcakes, they might just go back to being at the kids table, and then they may not!

As for trends…it’s all about trying to find the next big unknown. Guanciale is starting to show up, I see that being a star ingredient in the next year! And how convenient it is in keeping with the Bacon theme!

Arugula was chosen as a must-have green for the White House garden. What is your must-have ingredient in your fridge/garden?

My top 5 that I chose when asked by Top Chef were Shallots, butter. Eggs, thyme and salt! As for Greens, I am a huge Escarole fan!

Most people say that you never stop learning when it comes to cooking, do you agree with that? What it something you recently learned even after all of your experience?

We hopefully never stop learning when it comes to life! And cooking is a skilled married with our personal experiences. If we continue to live, we are hopefully continuing to explore, expose ourselves to new foods and flavors and even revisiting some old ones we have shunned to see if our old ideas are still valid. Case in point, runny yolks from question #3~

What restaurants, pubs, or bars are you currently frequenting?

I AM A SUCKER FOR ETHNIC FOOD AND CHEEP EATS. But, that being said, love me some Dustin at Art of the Table, Seth at Emmer and Rye, Renee Erickson at Boat Street Spur Boys rock my world! And have enjoyed some tasty food at Toulouse in the past few weeks. As for pie, I live next door to Veraci and Delancey is in my hood as well!

What local farms, foragers or gardens are you currently sourcing from?

I am not cooking in a professional capacity right now so I forage at the Farmers Markets, especially Ballard since I live here. I did a 5 course Oyster dinner the other night with Oyster Bill, that was a blast! He brought the Bivalves down from Taylor Shellfish of course!

What’s the next big thing you are working on? Where can we currently find you to taste what you are working on?

HAH! The question of the year! Have a few product ideas I am working on developing but I also have a VERY exciting job interview on Wed…and I cannot talk about that at all so do not even ask! : )

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American • Chefs • Uncategorized

6 Comments

Twitter for Food Bloggers

February 1st, 2010

helen. 7 Comments

Why should you join Twitter if you haven’t already? For starters, it’s a great medium for sharing and discovery. I’ve discovered countless new food blogs, trends and restaurants (and plenty of worthless/fascinating celebrity gossip too) through my interactions with the Foodista Twitter community.

Using Twitter also helps your writing. As Shakespeare said, ‘brevity is the soul of wit.’ Can you convey a point in 140 characters or less? Twitter forces you to chose your words wisely. In writing, many of us are much more verbose than we need to be, and many users find that practicing conscious selection makes their blog writing tighter. Continue reading…

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tools

7 Comments

A Look Inside a Portland Food Cart

January 29th, 2010

Melissa. 9 Comments

I interviewed Brian and Lisa Wood, the proud owners of a new food cart in Portland called Big Ass Sandwiches. I was curious to know how two people suddenly decide to stop what they are doing and make the leap into the Portland food cart scene.

Okay, so who’s crazy idea was this?

Well, kind of both of us. We really wanted to open a pub, but even with stellar credit, no bank was loaning anything and it put it so far out of reach. So we started thinking about what a step towards that could be. I (Lisa) thought it would be awesome to open a food cart, seeing as the culture has started evolving into something so great. Brian was hesitant at first, but warmed up and eventually came to love the idea.

Previously, to Big Ass Sandwiches, what were you both doing?

I (Lisa) spent about 10 years in the music and radio industries. While I loved it, 2 layoffs in 2 years was enough to make me re-think things. Brian, having tired of working for not-so-great restaurant owners moved into a maintenance job at Nordstrom to take a break. After the 2^nd layoff we decided it was time to work for ourselves.

What is a Big Ass Sandwich?

The $5 sandwich is a quarter pound of homemade roast beef, turkey, ham or vegetarian Field Roast slices and a half pound of home made fries. We then give you the option to add homemade béchamel cheese sauce, grilled mushrooms, onions, peppers, horse radish, jalapenos, coleslaw, Secret Aardvark hot sauce or bacon. It’s really up to you to make it what you love.

Brian, I know you have an extensive cooking background in a variety of restaurants, and even ran your own ship; what was it like to build your own cart with your wife Lisa from scratch?

It was incredible. We got to build the entire concept together, which was a lot of fun and once we nailed down the concept of what we wanted, the building of the trailer was very linear. We knew what we needed to execute what we had planned, so it gave us the ability to fine tune our game before we even started playing.

Was there a moment when you were building your cart when you stood back and thought, “What have we done?”

Yea, that happened a lot. Not even so much over the fact that it was a food cart, but over the fact that we were putting everything we had into a business which was up in the air if it would succeed or not. There just comes a point where you plan and plan and plan and you have to finally jump in and hope for the best. We wanted it badly enough that we just had to have faith that people would dig it.

As a couple, how has it impacted your life? Why do you think you two are the type of people who are meant for this?

We think that we’re the type of people who’re meant for this because we are smart, strong willed, hard workers who not only want to succeed personally, but who want to see good things happen to the community and people around us. With a combo of Brian’s 10+ years as a Chef and my (Lisa) 10+ years in media/marketing, we thought we had a perfect balance to get it done.

Okay- who came up with the name?

Also a joint effort. We wanted very much to have something unique, something that wasn’t being done already. In the many brainstorms and discussions, once we settled on the sandwich, we agreed it had to be huge. Somewhere in there “it needs to be a big-ass sandwich” was uttered and that pretty much sealed it.

Hours and location? Where can we find you on a given day?

We are on the corner of SW 3^rd and Ash Street, downtown by Kells, The Ash Street Saloon and Voodoo Doughnuts. Right now it’s just the 2 of us and we’re open 10am-3pm Monday through Thursday, 11am-3pm Fridays and Thursday, Friday, Saturday late night from about 11pm – Late (1amish on Thurs, 3amish on Fri/Sat).

I see you on Facebook and Twitter, how has social media helped you out?

Hugely. Honestly, we were both a bit skeptical about social media in general, but for a business, we’re now singing it’s praises. There’s no way we would have been able to reach the amount of people we have, without it. It’s also been a great way to share the ride of getting a business open and the ups and downs of it all. People seemed to really enjoy that.

Lisa, from your history at KEXP you already have a huge fan base- do you think that has made an impact on your business from the get go?

There’s no denying that over the last decade I’ve met a ton of people in a wide array of pockets of the community and I think that has been beneficial for us. We try so hard to be good people, good to our community and we think the connections we’ve made over the years with the same kind of people have really come through for us in getting the word out. We also have some AMAZING friends who have helped us greatly. Rachel Moss did our website pro-bono, Killorn (killorn.com) has done all of our design, logos, etc., Jeff Chiquette printed up our menus, Falco is a man of so many trades, he’s been invaluable from hauling to welding to building, Rick Emerson, Cort & Fatboy, Byron Beck, PDX Sucks and Funemployment Radio all gave us media love & Samantha at Media Maison is a PR genius who’s been great to us. OK this sounds like a freakin’ awards speech, but really, we couldn’t have done it without them.

Have you two always been into big ass sandwiches- what food are you both in to?

We definitely both love a great sandwich. There are so many amazing spots in Portland for sandwiches, we feel really lucky to be a part of it now. We are total foodies, if it’s good, we will try it and PDX is bursting with delicious restaurants and food carts. Some of our favorites are 3 Doors Down, Iorio, Nick’s Coney Island, Wild Abandon, Whiffies, Yarp, Potato Champion, Brunch Box, Rick’s Wild Seafood, DC Vegetarian and Locos Locos.

I know you have only been open a short amount of time, (when was your first day?) Do you already have a following?

Our first day was December 21, 2009. We have seen a very humbling amount of people become regulars in that span of time and we couldn’t be happier. Great people & such fun to serve them. It’s pretty amazing to see so many of our sandwiches sent out on Twitter and Facebook. It’s a food town, so many cartivores and we love it.

Who is likely to show up at your window?

Anybody who loves a sandwich. We see the college crowd, the Monday through Friday office crowd, bartenders, moms with kids and of course the late night drunk and hungry crowd who’re just happy to have something in their stomachs.

What are the top three things that got you into starting Big Ass Sandwiches?

Wanting to feed people an awesome sandwich
Working for ourselves
Getting to spend more time together

Portland is a huge foodie town, you’ve got a pretty tough crowd. What does Portland think of Big Ass Sandwiches?

So far, so good. The response has been fantastic, people are coming back, coming because their friends told them to or because they read about us online. We know that we will never please everyone, but we are very happy to see the sandwiches being embraced by so many, so far.

How is Big Ass Sandwiches different from other street carts out there?

We don’t know if we’re much different from the other street carts out there. Part of what’s so amazing about the Portland food cart culture is having such a great array of carts to choose from, all with killer food. Aside from the obvious, which is that we put fries on the sandwich, we’re just a couple of people who have the same goal as the others…feed Portland great food for not a lot of money.

Photos courtesy of Lisa Wood. From the top: One of the Big Ass Sandwiches- “The Pork Hammer,” Lisa smiling with a customer outside the cart, Brian and Lisa Wood inside the Big Ass Sandwich cart.

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9 Comments

Hunger Challenge Week Day 3

January 28th, 2010

Carrie. 3 Comments

In my house we like Asian flavors. Pad thai, swimming rama, coconut curry, and teriyaki are frequent visitors on my plate. In the spirit of Hunger Week, I’ll share my curry recipe that only costs $1.30 per serving, including brown rice.

Total Cost for Breakfast: $1.25

Now then, I started off my $7 day with a slice of .16 oat bran bread with a .15 slather of pure peanut butter. On the side I had one 1/2 cup of defrosted frozen strawberries (.25 from $1.69 package) in one 1/2 cup of plain yogurt (.31 from $2.50 quart). I drank 1 cup of organic milk for .37 (from a $2.99 half gallon).

Total Cost for Lunch: $1.46

For lunch I had a citrus salad made from a grapefruit (.20, bought on sale for 5/$1), a navel orange (.33), and 1/4 cup organic arugula (.50). I also had 1 pan-fried egg (.20) with a negligible sprinkle of sea salt and some baked potato wedges (.10 for 1/2 pound) with ketchup (.08). I had water with lunch.

Total Cost for Snack: $0.47

For snack I had 1 cup (after popping) air-popped popcorn (.15), with a little olive oil (.32) and sea salt.

Total Cost for Dinner: $1.67

Dinner was a delicious Pineapple Coconut Chicken Curry, but I warn you that it is a rather untraditional recipe. It includes 2 cups brown rice (.90), 3 chicken tenders (.90), 2 potatoes (.15), 1 red bell pepper (.69), coconut milk (.99), pineapple chunks (.79), 1 tablespoon yellow curry paste (.08) and broccoli (.70). Total cost of all these ingredients is $5.20, but it makes 4-5 servings. At 4 servings it is $1.30 per serving. This will be lunch or dinner for a few more days. I had 1 cup of organic milk with dinner (.37).

If you would like to make Asian food for cheap, I suggest buying ingredients at an Asian grocer. The yellow curry past only cost me $2.29 for 14 ounces and the coconut milk was .99 for 14 ounces. The vegetables were not organic, but I picked those up from a discount produce stand. I could have added more meat, but it’s expensive and I don’t always need to eat that much of it. This recipe is very flexible and forgiving, to find a variant of it click on the widget below.
Untraditional Pineapple Coconut Curry

To read more about the Hunger Challenge, visit the United Way Hunger Challenge website.

Total Cost for the Day: $4.85

I surprised myself that I spent so little, but I also found a lot of these things on great sales, like the grapefruit being 5/$1 or buying frozen fruit instead of fresh. Planning your meals around produce that is in season is one of the best ways to eat on a $7 per day budget. Incorporating cheap proteins, like eggs and peanut butter, and buying in bulk will also cut costs.

One last tip, learn to cook a few fast and healthy meals that use fresh ingredients (like curry). Then you will be more willing to cook a fresh meal (benefiting your health and budget) than choosing convenience food.

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Categories:

Hunger • Indian

3 Comments

Ramen Gets Old Fast – Resources for Cheap Recipes

January 28th, 2010

Kate. 2 Comments

How much can you handle?

We at Foodista have spent the week considering what it would be like to subsist on $7 a day. A week of $7 eating is difficult, but sadly many have to do it every day of their lives. To have to think of a new meal to cook every evening is difficult anyway – to think of one within a rigid budget is even more challenging. Fortunately, others have already done it. Here are a few places to find great recipes for cheap, cheap meals.

Five Dollar Dinners has an extensive repertoire of five dollar meals, as well as excellent instructions and great photos.

Dinner on the Cheap has fantastic, affordable week long shopping lists and corresponding recipes.

Smith’s Simple and Frugal Life has a section devoted to five dollar meals. Most are hearty and relatively healthy.

Cheap Cooking is packed with not just great recipes like curried chicken salad, but tips and tools to help you spend far less.

Good Housekeeping offers flexible menus, ways to use leftovers, and recipes you’d want to use even if they weren’t extremely affordable.

And, of course, keep an eye out for daily tips and recipes here on the Foodista blog.

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Hunger

2 Comments

Check out Foodista’s New Widgets

January 27th, 2010

Melissa. 7 Comments

Pomegranate

If you haven’t been to Foodista for awhile, well, you are in for a treat. We have some pretty awesome new widgets that our engineers and designers have been tinkering with and they were thinking of your blog when they designed them! I’m not kidding, just like before, each page on Foodista has its own widget, but now you can customize them specifically for your blog. With our new widgets, you get to choose the color, the picture, and the size of the widget before embedding it into your blog post.

Besides increasing traffic to your blog, there are other reasons people choose to post widgets.

•How many times have you forgotten to take a picture of your dish before you ate it? If you need a picture in a pinch, you can embed a Foodista widget from a similar recipe or a food page to add a little color to your post.
•Not a fan of your own photography? We can’t all be great food stylists and let’s face it, sometimes another person’s photo of lasagna really does look better than the one taken from last night.
•Want to share your incredible recipe with the world? Okay, we might not be able to reach everyone overnight, but adding your recipe to Foodista can help expose you, your recipe and your blog to a lot of different users. I can’t tell you how many cool recipes and blogs I have found that I didn’t even know existed because I was skimming the Related Blog Posts listed under each recipe or food page.
•Embed your profile widget! Create a quick link for people to quickly find you and your recipes on Foodista.

New Widget Instructions
Let’s say you want to post the Pomegranate widget into your blog post. Simply click on the widget tab and follow the instructions to customize your widget.

1. Choose a color: Red Green Orange Grey White

2. Choose an image:

3. Decide on a size and copy the code and paste into your website or blog’s HTML editor. That’s it!

Size:	Code:
Pomegranate	<a href=”http://www.foodista.com/food/TL5WTDYT/pomegranate” style=”display: block; padding: 10px 0 0 0; width: 260px; background: transparent url(http://cf.foodista.com/static/images/widget_red.png) no-repeat scroll 0px -10px; text-decoration: none;”><span style=”display: block; padding: 0 10px; background-color: #C44F50; overflow: hidden; text-indent: 0;”><img src=”http://dyn.foodista.com/content/images/82c97d6a3f0b84de4912f3d69ebbce367cae0f7c_240×180c.jpg” alt=”" style=”width: 240px; height: 180px; border: none; padding: 0 0 5px 0; margin: 0;” /><span style=”text-align: left; float: left; overflow: hidden; color: white; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; background-color: #C36C6D; width: 155px; padding: 5px; -moz-border-radius: 5px; -webkit-border-radius: 5px;”>Pomegranate</span><img src=”http://cf.foodista.com/static/images/widget_logo.png” style=”float: right; border: none; width: 70px; height: 25px; padding: 0; margin: 0;” /></span><span style=”display: block; padding: 0 0 10px 0; background: transparent url(http://cf.foodista.com/static/images/widget_red.png) no-repeat scroll 0px 0px; clear: both;”></span><img src=”http://dyn.foodista.com/content/embed/z1.png?foodista_widget_7MSRB6K6″ style=”display: none;” /></a>
Pomegranate	<a href=”http://www.foodista.com/food/TL5WTDYT/pomegranate” style=”display: block; width: 200px; border: 5px solid #C44F50; -moz-border-radius: 2px; -webkit-border-radius: 2px; background-color: #C36C6D; text-align: left; overflow: hidden; color: white; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; padding: 4px; text-indent: 0;”> <img src=”http://cf.foodista.com/static/images/widget_logo.png” style=”float: right; border: none; width: 70px; height: 25px; padding: 0; margin: 0;” />Pomegranate <img src=”http://dyn.foodista.com/content/embed/z1.png?foodista_widget_7MSRB6K6″ style=”display: none;” /> </a>

Want to know more? Send me an email at melissa@foodista.com.

See the new widgets in action on these blog posts:

See Michelle’s Matcha Green Tea widget from Taste As You Go
Check out the simplistic Cupcake widget choice from Sasha’s A Kitchen In Brooklyn
A great option for Wordless Wednesday-Amy uses two widgets on her blog, The Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom

Above photo by JOE M500

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Uncategorized • tools

7 Comments

Hunger Challenge Week Day 2

January 27th, 2010

Melissa. 4 Comments

For yesterday’s $7.00 hunger challenge, it was all about purchasing a couple items and re-purposing those items for multiple dishes. I was talking with someone about the beauty of using leftover spelt and polenta for breakfast, say as a warm cereal or even added on the side of some fried eggs. So the day before, I made a pan of polenta to use for two or three meals this week.

One pound of bulk cornmeal was $1.75. There are 16 ounces in one pound, approximately two cups, therefore, one cup would come to approximately .90 cents. To make the pan of polenta, (with four servings) I used one cup of polenta and four cups of water and four tablespoons of butter (I’m allotting .25 for the butter). I spread the mixture into a shallow pan, covered it and refrigerated it for the next day. The next morning I made an over-easy egg with a reheated slice of polenta. One dozen organic eggs cost approximately $2.50. One egg would come to about .20 cents. I also bought a 12 ounce drip coffee: $1.75

Total cost for breakfast $ 2.18
$1.75 coffee, .20 cents 1 egg, .23 cents for 1 square of the .90 cent pan of polenta and butter (This did not include my salt and pepper.)

Next, I packed my lunch with another square of the polenta, .23 cents and 1 cup of a $3.00 26 -ounce jar tomato sauce, (I used approximately $1.00 of sauce). I heated the polenta with the tomato sauce in the microwave for lunch.
Total cost for lunch: $1.23
(.23 cents polenta and $1.00 tomato sauce)

With my remaining $3.41, I purchased a $2.00 package of sliced white mushrooms and one yellow onion for .33 cents, to make a frittata with some of my remaining eggs at home for dinner. I sauteed the sliced mushrooms and the chopped onion with two tablespoons of butter, (.15 cents). Next I scrambled three organic eggs, (.60 cents) in a bowl with salt and pepper and poured the eggs over the mushrooms and onions. I baked this pan in the oven for 10 minutes. While that was cooking, I made myself a cup of tea, (.25 cents) to have with dinner.

Total dinner cost: $3.33, not including salt and pepper.
($2.00 sliced mushrooms, .33 cents onion, .15 cents butter, .60 cents eggs, and .25 cents tea)

Total cost of breakfast, lunch and dinner: $6.74

As challenging as it seems, $7.00 for three meals can be done. It’s all about getting creative with the resources that are available. The luxury of picking up a roasted chicken at the grocery store on your way home from work just isn’t an option when you have to make your dollar stretch. When it comes to nutrition, it is eye-opening to know that the price of good food, meaning fresh and organic fruits and vegetables and quality fish and meat are often out of reach for families looking to simply provide “enough.” When a liter of soda or a fast food cheese burger costs the same price or less than an organic apple or a can of tuna, it’s not too hard to see why so many people choose the convenience of instant, hot food over taking the time and effort to plan and cook a meal for the same price.

Above photo: by Kykyru2

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4 Comments

Possibly the Best $10 Wine in the World

January 27th, 2010

Jameson. 5 Comments

As a wine buyer operating in a recession/depression/meltdown, my mantra is: Cheap and Cheerful. I want my salespeople to bring me fun, eclectic, tasty, interesting wines for under ten bucks. Very rarely, however, do I find what I call a WOW wine that I feel is not just good, but great considering it is below the ten dollar threshold.

The 2008 Viu Manent Reserve Carmenere, from Chile, is my pick for those looking for an amazing ten dollar wine. Carmenere is a fairly obscure grape from Bordeaux that has made its way to Chile, where it is the country’s signature grape. (Although they thought it was Merlot for years before identifying it as Carmenere.) It has the one-two punch of truly interesting aromas and flavors. Now what are those aromas and flavors? Here is where I must demure. Why? I read endless reviews of wines from such publications as Wine Spectator and The Wine Advocate stating that wine X has aromas of scorched earth, tar, leather, bramble, boysenberry, kirsch, blah blah blah. When you try a Carmenere, I want you to come to your own conclusions rather than predispose you towards certain results. I also find most wine reviews to be exercises in ego-stroking (and astonishing redundancy and arbitrariness), where the writer wants their laundry list of descriptors to become a self-fulfilling prophecy when the wine is consumed. (“Oh yeah, I do get whiffs of tobacco and spice box.”)

I will say this about Carmenere: once you smell and taste it, you will be able to pick it out of a lineup of red wines. It is distinct and delicious. This rich, complex red would be lovely with grilled meats and/or mushrooms.

So what is your pick for the world’s best $10 wine?

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wine

5 Comments

Hunger Challenge: Day 1

January 25th, 2010

helen. 5 Comments

The United Way Hunger Challenge kicks off today in King County, and I’m excited to participate. As a budget-conscious student, I usually start the morning with a bowl of organic oatmeal ($0.19) from the bulk bin at the grocery store; it’s cheap and filling, and I actually love the taste. Sometimes I mix in a tablespoon of peanut butter ($0.04), but today I went with blackstrap molasses ($0.18) for calcium and iron. Because no morning is complete without caffeine, I drank a cup of Tetley’s black tea ($0.06) with a teaspoon of organic sugar ($0.04). My midmorning snack: a handful of bulk bin almonds ($0.34). Continue reading…

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Meatless Monday • vegan

5 Comments

Hunger Challenge Week

January 25th, 2010

Melissa. 2 Comments

Starting today, Foodista is participating in the United Way Hunger Challenge week. For the next five days we are getting creative with only $7.00 to cover breakfast, lunch and dinner per day. Seven dollars a day is what you can expect if you are on food stamps in Washington state. You can count on a couple more dollars per day, depending on the number of people per household.

Knowing when and where we will get our next meal is a luxury so many of us take for granted. Do you think you can do it? In fact, one appetizer or drink alone can cost $7.00 (before tax) in most Seattle restaurants; now how about turning that $7.00 into three full meals?

United Way of King County Hunger Challenge

Take the Hunger Challenge by only spending $7 a day to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Share your thoughts, stories, photos, recipes and more on United Way of King County’s blog. Encourage everyone you know to get involved.

Want to participate in another way? Volunteer. Serve a meal, stock a food pantry—find hundreds of ways to get involved by searching the United Way of King County’s volunteer matching tool.

Stay tuned this week for creative recipes from Foodista. What have you done to get creative on a food budget?

Above Photo by Mr. Kris

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Hunger • News

2 Comments

The Treasures Beyond Victoria, British Columbia

January 23rd, 2010

Sheri Wetherell. 1 Comment

Editor’s Note: We’re thrilled to introduce features writer Deborah Stone to the Foodista Blog readers. Deborah specializes in arts/culture and travel/leisure pieces, for three weekly newspapers in suburban Seattle. For the past ten years, she has written travel articles on destinations within the Pacific Northwest, throughout the U.S. and all across the world. Her pieces have focused on women’s travel experiences, family vacations, couples’ getaways, soft adventure travel and educational/cultural trips.

“Pteradorphria is long, lean, tenacious and suffers a bad hair day,” says Diane Bernard. “It’s like me.” Bernard, who is commonly referred to as the Seaweed Lady, is in the process of describing one of the 250 varieties of seaweed that exist on the West Coast of Canada. I am standing on Whiffen Spit in Sooke, British Columbia, listening to Bernard extol the attributes of what she readily labels the elixir of the sea. To hear her wax poetic about what most folks view as slimy, green gunk is initially amusing and highly entertaining. I briefly entertain the notion that this woman is an eccentric kook with a bizarre obsession. Bernard, sensing a challenge, is not put off by my humorous eyebrow-raising reactions and apparent doubts. Like the Pteradorphria she so vividly describes, she moves forward, undaunted and determined to change perceptions, dispel stereotypes and transform disbelievers into strong advocates of this often misunderstood plant from the sea. It doesn’t take long before my amusement and skepticism turn into amazement and respect, as Bernard awes me with her extensive knowledge and opens my eyes to the wonders of seaweed.

A self-taught expert on all things seaweed, Bernard makes her living as a “wild crafter.” She is an official licensed harvester, who hand gathers seaweed in her wild ocean garden in Sooke and uses it to create natural beauty remedies. “The seaweed is the treasure and I’m the treasure hunter,” comments Bernard. Seven years ago, she started Outer Coast Seaweeds with the intention of changing the prevailing image of seaweed. She began operating her own seaweed tours by offering a sensory immersion experience of the “garden,” and educating enthusiasts around the world. Her tours take interested and curious participants through tidal pools, where they learn to distinguish some of the different multi-colored and textured species of seaweed, while discovering its useful qualities, from the edible properties of crisp sea lettuce (surprisingly tasty!) to the proper way to wear a nourishing Alaria skin wrap. According to Bernard, of the 250 varieties on the West Coast of Canada, only one, Desmerestis, is inedible. Her favorite of the plants is Iridaea Cordata, known locally as the rainbow seaweed. She describes it as an elegant gem, gleaming with iridescent colors, and loaded with vitamins A, E and C. “Seaweed is one of the healthiest plants on the planet,” explains Bernard. “Though they’re referred to as weeds, they’re actually sea vegetables that are rich in vitamins, minerals and other compounds that benefit our physical health inside and out.

Throughout history and in cultures around the world, seaweeds have been used as food, medicine and in cosmetic and body treatments.” Bernard’s love affair with seaweed can be traced back to her family’s roots, which hail from the Gaspe Peninsula, where seaweed was swept up on the coast to be gathered and stuffed in mattresses, added to soups and stews and used to wrap the local catch in. She adds, “I’ve been exposed to seaweeds all my life. My parents used them as an edible food source, as well as for healing. Early on, I became aware of their high vitamin and mineral content and the calming and soothing effects they have on the skin.” After founding Outer Coast Seaweeds, Bernard continued her research and experimentation with the plants, eventually developing a line of skincare products which are now produced and sold under the name of Seaflora Wild Organic Seaweed Skincare. The products, which use the entire seaweed plant, rather than an extract, include body wraps, face masks and serums, and serve to detoxify, heal, hydrate and rejuvenate, while promoting healthy skin cell regeneration.

A number of spa professionals from local establishments are now using Bernard’s knowledge and products in their treatments. For example, at The Aerie Resort, a luxurious mountain retreat about a half hour from downtown Victoria, you can have the Journey to the Horizon, a pampering head-to-toe experience that involves an exfoliation, heated wrap, mini facial and massage, all using Seaflora organic products. You’ll quickly become putty in the capable hands of one of the Aerie Wellness Centre’s therapists and when she’s done performing her magic, you’ll leave feeling utterly relaxed, with silky soft and glowing skin. Just don’t give yourself a fright by looking in the mirror during the middle of the process. I mistakenly did and saw what I can only describe as a creature from the deep or a lab experiment gone terribly awry!

After this indulgent treatment, you’ll probably just want to continue practicing the art of R&R by returning to your opulent accommodations for a nap or to simply gaze at the panoramic vista from your spacious balcony. The Aerie’s intimate guestrooms and suites feature old world style furnishings, fireplaces, Jacuzzis, original art and jaw-dropping views of the Saanich Inlet, Olympic Mountains and Gulf Islands. For the most discerning guests, there’s Villa Cielo, with its ultra-luxurious suites and personalized butler service. And at 300 feet above the rest of the resort, you’ll be able to step out onto your private terrace and look down upon eagles and most of the rest of the world. When hunger calls, you can leisurely head down the hill to the property’s award-winning dining room for a sumptuous meal. Executive chef Castro Boateng embraces the philosophy of slow food and makes use of seasonal, regional and organic fare to create his feted rotating tasting menu. Inventive dishes like a grains and sprout salad with Miso dressing or pan seared sablefish with chickpea sauce, seaweed, cucumber and citrus salad show off Boateng’s talents and transform a fine meal experience into a culinary adventure.

Rivaling The Aerie in terms of comfort, ambiance and culinary expertise is Sooke Harbour House. Closer to Bernard’s stomping grounds and just an hour from Victoria, this well known hotel also offers a variety of spa treatments with Seaflora products. Owners Sinclair and Frederique Philip were among the first proponents of Bernard’s work, both in the skincare arena, as well as in the culinary milieu. Chefs at the property have been incorporating the use of seaweed in their cooking for a number of years. Guests at the Sooke come not only for the inn’s scenic seaside locale, but for its charming decor and award-winning restaurant. They tour the organic edible gardens, peruse the eclectic art gallery on site, soak in their private whirlpools by the fireplace or under the stars and stroll along the beach, as they keep an eye out for frolicking otters, sunbathing seals and soaring eagles.

And when dinnertime comes, they embark on a unique gastronomical journey in the candlelit dining room. The restaurant, which is known for its creativity, innovation and quality, shares a focus with The Aerie on local, regional and organic cuisine. The menu changes daily and features seasonal specialties that might include starters of sautéed spot shrimp, grilled quail or Salt Spring Island mussels, with the house salad, a colorful display of wild and cultivated organic greens from the inn’s gardens. Entrees could be grilled spiced pork tenderloin with a meat stock reduction and sour cherry or pan roasted Chinook salmon with horseradish, calendula petal and mint emulsions. You’ll definitely have difficulty deciding on dessert. Maybe you’ll want the decadent chocolate soufflé with red wine poached pears or the Rhubarb Variations, mini bite-sized portions of melt-in-your-mouth rhubarb mousse with raspberry puree, rhubarb jelly, rhubarb mint sorbet, caramelized rhubarb strudel and rhubarb compote. But then your eye goes to a trio of homemade sorbets, inspired from the garden’s bounty and now you’re in a real quandary.

If you think those choices are tough, try selecting your wine (although there is a sommelier who will gladly provide assistance). The Sooke is touted as having one of the best wine cellars in the world with 15,000 bottles and over 2,700 selections, nearly 700 from British Columbia alone. It has been the recipient of the prestigious Wine Spectator Grand Award for seven consecutive years since 2000. Co-owner Sinclair Philip is also the Sooke’s Wine Director and his astounding collection is the culmination of careful purchasing from many of the finest wine producing regions around the globe. Although he searches the world over for new additions to his wine library, he is quick to praise local and regional wines. “Our Cowichan Valley produces some very good wines,” says Philip. “They’re becoming increasingly well known outside of the region.”

The Cowichan Valley, 45 minutes north of Victoria, is considered by many to be Canada’s Napa Valley. Growing conditions for grapes are primo, as the area receives an abundance of sunshine and the warmest temps in all of Canada. The name “Cowichan” actually means “land warmed by the sun” in the First Nations Coast Salish language. As you travel through the valley, you’ll pass by lush farmland, picturesque vineyards and verdant forests. It’s an idyllic setting with a bountiful oasis of visual and culinary delights. In addition to award-winning wines, there are orchard ciders, locally produced cheeses, meats, fruits and veggies, all fresh from the farm and bursting with flavor. Those in the know view the Cowichan as Vancouver Island’s gastronomic destination, where visitors can have a truly satisfying wine, culinary and agri-tourism experience. They can eat and drink their way through the meandering back roads of the area, stopping to tour wineries, visit charming fishing villages and dine in cozy bistros with menus that pay homage to the local seasonal fare grown right in their own backyards.

Canada’s premiere artisan cidery, Merridale, is located in the valley and definitely warrants a visit. It produces authentic, hand-crafted ciders made from home-grown apples. After you take a self-guided tour of the place, make a beeline to the cidery’s La Pommeraie Bistro to sample flights of ciders with names like Scrumpy, Merri Berri, Cidre Normandie and Somerset. The place also serves up some delicious grub with dishes like cream of apple and parsnip soup, chicken pot pie and three cheese strudel with apple and mango chutney. Cherry Point Vineyards and Venturi-Schulze Winery and Vinegary are two other destinations in the valley that also deserve mention. Cherry Point is the only winery owned by Vancouver Island’s Colichan Tribes and it is home of the famed Cowichan Blackberry Port. At Venturi-Schulze (visitors by appointment only), you’ll definitely hit the jackpot if you get a tour with owner Giordano Venturi. The Italian born and bred gentleman is a wonderful storyteller who will regale you with tales of his youth, the art of winemaking and the ancient method of producing the best Balsamic vinegar I have ever tasted.

Another popular point of interest in the valley is Cowichan Bay Seaside Village, a quaint cluster of shops, restaurants, historic buildings and houses on stilts that hugs the waterfront. Here you can meander along the boardwalk, stopping in to grab a hearty loaf of cracked grain organic bread at True Grain Bread and Mill and some locally made artisan cheese next door at Hillary’s Cheese and Deli to take over to the docks for an impromptu lunch. If you want to dine more formally, check out historic Masthead Restaurant and feast on such delicacies as pan seared Queen Charlotte Island halibut with locally picked stinging nettle sauce or Cowichan Bay Farm duck. Indulge yourself in a myriad of experiences, as you explore the treasures that lie beyond Victoria.

If you go:

Outer Coast Seaweeds: www.outercoastseaweeds.com
The Aerie Resort: www.aerie.bc.ca
Sooke Harbour House: www.sookeharbourhouse.com
Cowichan Valley tourist information: www.visit.cowichan.net

Photo of Sooke Harbour by: Rachel Black

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Travel

1 Comment

A Big Thank You to All Our Foodista Contributors

January 21st, 2010

Melissa. 4 Comments

We want to give a big thank you to everyone involved in Foodista this past year! We’ve highlighted some of our loyal users who have joined us in our online kitchen and found Foodista helpful to them. A link to our testimonial page can be found here. We continue to work hard at creating tools to help all you passionate food bloggers! Here’s to all of us building the best online cooking encyclopedia!

I learned about Foodista shortly after entering this rapidly evolving food blog world and it’s been a great discovery! Not only do I find the information helpful for my posts, I appreciate how easy it is to add my own input and occasional insights. And I really like how easy it is to link the relevant Foodista page to my blog, so that readers can easily jump to recipes and more, from Abiu to Zesting!
Thanks,
Jeremy Warner
http://basiceating.blogspot.com/

Earlier this year I had the chance to attend the International Food Bloggers Conference here in Seattle, sponsored by Foodista and Sur La Table. It was a watershed moment for me. I felt part of a community, both literal and figurative, and left energized and focused. Since then, I’ve sought out folks in the community for guidance both in food and writing, some in person and others only online. Most all are listed in the blogroll to the right, but I want to highlight a few: The folks at Foodista (Melissa, Sheri, Barnaby), who are building community through technology, something I’m fiercely passionate about.
Jenny Richards
http://www.purplehousedirt.com/

Today’s food lover/home chef/consumer, who happens to do just about everything on the Net, has got to find Foodista completely refreshing. Because there’s something beautiful that happens when you stop by Foodista – it’s inclusive. It’s a great place for people (like me) who love “all things food”; people that might plan to stop by just for a minute – and then feel so at home that you just have to go find that old family recipe and leave it with your “food loving friends” at Foodista – the ones that work there and stop by on the Net. You folks don’t try to package it up to be too perfect, like something that the consumer feels like they can’t “touch”.
Carlo Powe-Crawford
http://blog.carloatyourservice.com/

Soon after I started my blog, I heard about Foodista and signed up right away. It’s been great to have the support of the people at Foodista as I have been developing Splendid Market. Beyond the words of encouragement, It has been exciting to watch the placement of my blog improve in the major search engines as I posted my recipes on Foodista. By using the Foodista widgets in my posts, I’m able to provide my readers with printable versions of my recipes! Whether you have a blog or not, Foodista is a great resource for anyone who loves good food – it is loaded with great recipes and information.

Emily Heston
http://www.splendidmarket.com

Above photo by Mykl Roventine

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Uncategorized

4 Comments

Ribs and Rosé: The Ultimate BBQ Match

January 20th, 2010

Jameson. 2 Comments

A drab, dreary January in Seattle (is there any other kind?) could not defeat my desire to indulge in my favorite summer duo: ribs and rosé. I am done with the notion that Zinfandel is the ultimate wine with BBQ. Why do you want a high alcohol, oaky red with your highly seasoned, vinegary, sweet, and spicy meat? All a Zinfandel does is inflame and obscure. A lovely dry rosé is refreshing and compliments flavors such as garlic, cumin, chili powder, and that sweet/tart combo that great sauces have.

I used Alton Brown’s recipe, which is a godsend for making ribs indoors. The sauce (or, rather, glaze) is not some sticky, sweet tomato-based sauce but rather a reduction of white wine, garlic, vinegar, honey, and Worcestershire. It took a lot longer than 2 1/2 hours to cook; more like 4 1/2 hours! And I regret not broiling the cooked ribs longer to caramelize the fat on top more, but, after being over two hours late, the natives were restless. And tipsy.

Once again I am amazed at the versatility of rosé from everything from vegetables to seafood to chicken and, yes, even ribs. Summer on a plate and in the glass!

The rosé of choice was the always reliable 2009 Mulderbosch Rosé, from South Africa. It’s a 100% Cabernet rosé and is absolutely delicious. (I also love the textured label; you must hold a bottle in your hands!)

(Also please note that I am drinking out of a Ball jar. Unless I am drinking bubbles or a fancy-pants wine, I really prefer to drink out of something resembling a rocks glass.)

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