December, time of great nostalgia. Can we all agree that sometimes we need to exaggerate a point to make a point? This is somewhat akin to my thesis that the greatest pioneers often reach for the stars when setting out, knowing that they will have to take a few steps back in the process, perhaps then settling precisely upon their intended objective. https://kitchen-inspirational.com/2014/09/22/food-markets-florence-2/ When is overreaching … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2014
The Night Before – Shrimp in a Spicy Tomato Sauce with Angel Hair a la Ryan
just 15 minutes to delicious! What do you serve on the night before Thanksgiving? It can be a challenge. For many, you have already been in the kitchen all day making plans and beginning some dishes and maybe baking your pies. When dinnertime comes around, you might be tired and, honestly a little uninspired, no? You'd like to sit down and enjoy your family and friends and relax? And truly, you don't want anything that will resemble or … [Read more...]
Last Minute Wonders – Feeling Soufflé-y Today
Not knocking the star of the show here, but, I went to bed last night dreaming of soufflés! (photo courtesy Rambling Tart) Ok so, I just came in from shoveling snow. Really? Ok, I'm not going to go on about the weather today - I'm being festive - enjoying my last few quiet moments of cooking and baking alone before everyone comes home. So, you say - don't make me crazy - not now! You don't want to be tempted with even more recipe … [Read more...]
Hanging onto Dear Life, A Sad Pruning of Hydrangea, and the Saving Grace of Ovens
photo courtesy artisinalbreadinfive.com Wait, shouldn't I be writing a Turkey post? This is a story of complete and total idiocy. It is one that I sadly repeat year after year - and somehow I can't help myself from doing it. As I write this admittance, I re-confirm the complete and total folly in my ways - and the identification with the idiom that a person who repeats his mistakes is indeed ignorant. However, at this age there is some … [Read more...]
Let’s Talk Turkey – The Moral of the Story: To Get the Cream of the Crop at a Decent Price, Must Be Market Savvy
Let's Talk Turkey - there's a lot of subtle manipulation out there ………..Or have lots and lots of time and energy - and a conscience! I got into the shower this morning and I realized how complicated my story had become. I felt I needed to re-focus. This all began several weeks back when I realized that Kings didn't have any Cabot's butter. I asked the man in the dairy aisle and he told me they weren't carrying it any longer - their … [Read more...]
Let the Cold Wind Blow – Hot and Steamy Pasta-free Vegetable “Lasagna”
I'm just humoring myself - you know that. If I never wore a coat again it would be fine with me. But, you must cope, right? One of the hinderances of this season (don't get me started) is the tendency to lapse into old routines with dinner entrées. I am as guilty as ever. While I love a good roast - chicken, pot, beef, lamb or pork, and they are so easy to prepare, they do tend to get a little tiresome. While I'm still barbecuing … [Read more...]
Three Recipes – Thanksgiving Week is Plum Gorgeous
huddling together Perhaps I am just delusional. Perhaps I am in mourning. Well, of course I am both. I'm stuck between being shocked and appalled that just about all of my flowers are DEAD and being excited for Thanksgiving Dinner and the long weekend. In the past couple of days we have gone from Autumn to Winter temperatures here. My body is still in shock after yesterday and I am seriously avoiding going out of the house (it's Wednesday … [Read more...]
Feeding Frenzy Gets Added to the Pricing Puzzle
I am volunteering to be their advocate (photo courtesy visitfortwayne.com and Kuehnert Dairy) So, am I tiring of this story? Even a little? Wouldn't I rather be cooking/baking/posting recipes for Thanksgiving??? Yes, I would, but this story has drawn me in even deeper! I am pretty sure that the biggest grocery-spending week of the year is coming up next week. If you add this to the quagmire, perhaps deliberately constructed, to make … [Read more...]
Market Madness – and, the Plot Thickens – (In)Digesting the Price of Butter in Suburban NJ – Part 3
from Lexington, MA - 15 miles from Boston My brother-in-law, Dave Hanley will often refer to his Situational Ethics class from back in his college days. Funny, I haven't seen this on any registration sites lately. In fact, who even talks about Situational Ethics any more? My kids probably wouldn't even recognize the term, per se. But, aren't we all called upon to invoke this phenomenon on a daily basis? Honestly, we all see things in our … [Read more...]
The Incredibly Non-transparent Price of Butter and other Dairy – Part 2
the price of non-organic butter at Agata and Valentina on University Pl in NYC is $.50/more for non organic and $2.00 more for organic (Sunday 11/16) than in the NJ suburbs the price of organic butter at Dean and Deluca on Prince Street is only $1.01 more than the price of non-organic butter in several grocery stores in the suburbs of NJ. (Wednesday 11/12) There seems to be an awful lot of talk about transparency these days, no? Or, … [Read more...]