The Hunger Games

Could not put this book down.

The author does an exceptional job developing the characters with complicated and emotional personalities that I could really relate to.  I felt myself constantly asking "what would I do in this situation" and being sucked into the high-tech, ruthless, and voyeuristic society that replaces North America in the future.

Honestly, the whole premise of the book is uncomfortable.  Here's an excerpt from Amazon.com:

In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch.

Fortunately, the story follows the struggles, triumphs, and coming-of-age of a 17-year-old girl and doesn't really focus on the horrible (but frighteningly relatable) world that she lives in.

Love.  War.  Sacrifice.  Plot twists and turns.  Absolutely engrossing.

The Hunger Games is young adult fiction and sci-fi woven to give us a glimpse into the barbaric, selfish, competitive... compassionate, loving, beautiful sides of human nature.

I'm going to put it up there with The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo and give it a 7 out of 10.

Quick and Easy Spaghetti with Sun-Dried-Tomato-Almond Pesto

This vegan recipe is so easy and delicious, it's a perfect mid-week meal served with a salad!  Yum!

It's no surprise that this recipe's from Food & Wine...

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (3 ounces)
1/3 cup salted roasted almonds
1 large garlic clove, sliced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
12 ounces spaghetti
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

In a food processor, pulse the tomatoes, almonds and garlic. Add 1/4 cup of the oil and puree. Season with salt and pepper.

In a skillet, toast the bread crumbs in 2 tablespoons of the oil, stirring, until golden. Transfer the crumbs to a plate; season with salt and pepper.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. In the pot, toss the pasta with the pesto, reserved cooking water and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until the sauce clings to the pasta. Transfer the pasta to bowls, sprinkle with the bread crumbs and parsley and drizzle with olive oil. Serve.

Salt-Crusted Snapper with Eggplant-Raisin Puree

Michael has been dreaming of doing a whole salt-crusted fish for a long time.  So when he saw this in Food & Wine, it was a dream come true.

I wasn't too sure about the eggplant-raisin puree but it turned out really good!  Plus we used our Chinese eggplants and bay leaves from our balcony garden to make it extra fun!

The fish was moist, juicy, and not very salty!  And the bones were really big and easy to pick out so not to get stuck in your throat like smaller fish.  Great summer dish.

INGREDIENTS
Three 4-inch cinnamon sticks
1 medium eggplant (1 pound)
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Cayenne pepper
3 pounds kosher salt
2 cups water
One 2-pound cleaned red snapper
2 bay leaves
1/2 lemon, preferably Meyer lemon, cut into wedges

Preheat the oven to 400°. Poke the cinnamon into the eggplant. Roast the eggplant on a baking sheet until tender, about 50 minutes. Transfer the eggplant to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool slightly. Discard the cinnamon and peel the eggplant.

In a microwave-safe bowl, cover the raisins with water and microwave at high power until plumped, about 30 seconds. Drain the raisins and transfer them to a blender. Add the roasted eggplant and the olive oil and puree until smooth. Season the puree with sea salt and cayenne.

In a bowl, mix the kosher salt with the water until it is the consistency of moist sand. On a parchment paper–lined baking sheet, mound one-fourth of the salt slightly larger than the fish. Lay the fish on the salt and fill its cavity with the bay leaves and lemon wedges. Poke a short skewer into the thickest part of the fish, just behind the head. Pack the remaining kosher salt over and around the fish to enclose it; leave the skewer visible.

Bake the fish for about 35 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the skewer hole registers 135°. Let the fish rest for 5 minutes; crack and remove the salt crust. Serve the fish without the skin, with the eggplant puree alongside.

Serve With Arugula salad.

DIY Terrarium: The Perfect Gift!

We were invited to a housewarming party for our friends Matt and Meg this weekend and I thought it would be nice to put together a little terrarium for their new place.

As most people know, I'm never lacking in plants and always more than willing to share my collection (to make room for more plants, of course!)

The only thing I had to pick up at the garden center was the glass container... but I'm an impulsive plant shopper and picked up this little fuzzy green plant  in the back because I thought it was cute.

Terrariums are super easy: layer of pebbles, layer of charcoal, layer of dirt, and then start decorating!  I pinched off some succulents from the mama plants on my windowsill, threw in a miniature african violet that I propagated last year, then put some moss, rocks, marbles, and whatever else I could find to make it look cozy.

I also like to personalize terrariums using a paint pen and/or sharpie pen.  Just makes it a little more special.

Crostini with Prosciutto, Goat Cheese and Fig Jam

Here's a appetizer that we intended to serve at our dinner party but we ran out of time and HAD to eat them all ourselves!

I found this recipe on a fun new blog The Italian Dish while looking for fig recipes.  If only I could find fresh figs in DC to accompany these delicious little bites, this presentation would have been perfect.

Although sweet basil is probably easier to find in the supermarket, we used thai basil from our balcony garden instead.  It gave it a little more punch and the leaves were the perfect size!

INGREDIENTS
1 fresh baguette
1/8 cup olive oil
sea salt or kosher salt
4 ounces goat cheese, plain, at room temperature
6 tablespoons fig jam
3 slices prosciutto, each cut in half
6 fresh basil leaves
(makes six crostini)

Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.

Slice six 1/2-inch slices of bread from the baguette. I slice mine slightly on the diagonal. Place on a baking sheet and brush generously with the olive oil. Sprinkle a little salt on each slice. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until crisp and slightly golden. Watch that they do not burn. Remove from oven and cool slightly.

Spread some goat cheese on each crostini. Spread about a tablespoon of fig jam on top of the goat cheese. Fold the half slices of prosciutto and place on top of each crostini. Lay a fresh basil leaf on each and serve.

Gazpacho

Another summer favorite that we served at our dinner party this weekend was gazpacho using the tomatoes and parsley from our balcony garden!  Our favorite recipe is in Joy of Cooking, but the only thing we tweak is substituting the green bell pepper for red bell pepper.  I just don't like the bitter taste of green bell peppers.

Here's the recipe on page 99:



Note: It's delicious with a couple slices of garlic toast.  Just press as many garlic cloves as you want into a bowl, mix some olive oil into the garlic, spoon it onto some sliced baguette, and pop it in the oven or toaster oven until it's toasted!

Tarte au Citron

This weekend we hosted a 9-person formal dinner at our apartment to welcome yet another Class of '98 Campolindo High School grad (and her husband) to DC!  We had to pull out both leaves of our table, turn it sideways a tad, and pull over the desk chair to fit everyone, but it turned into a great night of good food and good friends.

One of the highlights of the night was the new dessert recipe I tried: Tarte au Citron (French Lemon Tart).  I found the recipe on Saveur and it looked simple enough, so I thought it would be a great dessert on a hot and humid DC summer evening.

Truthfully, it wasn't as simple as I thought because the crust didn't roll out as neatly as I expected, but I can honestly say that it was worth it!  The crust was like a delicious shortbread cookie surrounding this light, refreshing lemon custard.  The filling was super quick and easy to throw together and I garnished it with fresh mint leaves from our balcony garden and raspberries for a splash of color.



INGREDIENTS
For The Pastry:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup superfine sugar
Pinch salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
16 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces

For The Filling:
6 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tbsp. heavy cream

1. For the pastry: Preheat oven to 375°. Sift together flour, sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl. Beat together 1 of the eggs and the yolk in a small bowl, then add eggs, along with the butter, to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter or 2 knives to work butter and eggs into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a clean surface and, working with a handful at a time, knead mixture with the heel of your hand into a smooth dough. Gather together and knead briefly to form a smooth ball, then dust with flour.

2. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 14" round, then carefully ease into a 12" false-bottomed tart pan. (Pinch dough back together if it tears or cracks.) Run rolling pin over the top of the pan to cut off overhanging dough, then prick crust with a fork. Line dough with parchment paper, add pie weights or dried beans, and bake on a cookie sheet until edge of crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Beat remaining egg in a bowl. Remove parchment and weights from crust, brush bottom with egg, and continue baking until crust is golden, 5–7 minutes more. Set aside to cool.

3. For the filling: Reduce oven to 300°. Beat eggs and sugar in a medium bowl until thick and well mixed. Gradually add lemon juice, then cream, whisking constantly. Pour filling (you may have a little extra) into prepared crust and bake until filling is set, about 40 minutes. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Pasta With Anchovies and Arugula

I saw this recipe on the NY Times this weekend and Michael quickly determined that we would make it that day!  Now it's one of his favorite go-to recipes.

The Minimalist posted a quick and easy video that will convince you to make this tonight too!

Pasta With Anchovies and Arugula
INGREDIENTS
Salt
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and slivered
8 anchovy fillets, or more to taste, with some of their oil
1/2 teaspoon or more crushed red pepper flakes
6 cups arugula
1/2 pound linguine or other long pasta
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it.

2. Put the oil in a deep skillet, and turn heat to medium. A minute later, add the garlic, and then the anchovies and red pepper flakes. When the garlic sizzles and the anchovies break up, turn the heat to its lowest setting.

3. Cook the pasta until it is tender but not mushy. Reserve 1 cup cooking liquid, and drain. Add pasta to skillet, along with enough reserved cooking water to make a sauce. Off the heat, combine the pasta with the greens. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss, taste and adjust the seasoning and serve.

Creamy Peach Tart with Smoky Almond Crust

Seriously yum!

It's like an easy cheese cake with delicious fresh peaches on top!  Perfect summer dessert from this month's issue of Food & Wine:

INGREDIENTS
2 cups vanilla wafer cookies, such as Nilla Wafers (5 ounces)
1/2 cup smoked almonds
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
2 firm, ripe medium peaches, peeled and cut into thin wedges

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a food processor, combine the vanilla wafers with the almonds and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and process until fine. Add the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the side of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes, until the crust is set.

Meanwhile, wipe out the food processor bowl. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, egg and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and process until smooth. Pour the custard into the crust and bake for 15 minutes, until set. Let the tart cool slightly and transfer to the freezer to chill, about 15 minutes.

In a bowl, toss the peaches with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Arrange the peaches in 2 concentric circles over the custard. Remove the ring, cut the tart into wedges and serve.

Ming-Cee and Patrick's Wedding

We just returned from my sister's amazing wedding in gorgeous Sonoma, Calif.  Here's the sneak peak from the photographer's blog.

More photos to come...

Mussels Saint-Ex with Easy Strawberry Arugula Salad

One of our favorite new recipes from For Cod and Country is Mussels Saint-Ex (referring to Cafe Saint-Ex in DC) and the only thing Michael substituted was fresh chorizo for dry chorizo because we couldn't find that dry type.  The broth was amazing and the spiciness was perfectly balanced.

We've learned from the book that farmed mussels are delicious and very sustainable.

Like oysters and clams, mussels leave the water cleaner than they found it. Because they're relatively disease-free, they don't require treatment with antibiotics, and they're grown on ropes hanging from rafts, so they have no impact on the ocean floor.

Mussels are also super healthy, even though they are a shellfish and linked with high cholesterol.

Mussels are a rich source of many essential vitamins and minerals, such as the B vitamins, vitamin C, folate, iron, phosphorus, manganese, selenium and zinc. They outshine most other foods when it comes to their vitamin B12, selenium and manganese content.

And because you shouldn't just eat a bunch of mussels with a baguette dipped in broth (as much as you'd like to), I threw together this super easy summer salad with 4 ingredients.

Sliced strawberries
A bag of baby arugula lettuce ("rocket" salad)
Chèvre (I used a half log)
A bag of candied pecans

That's it!  Then just put some balsamic vinaigrette on top and toss. 

Herbed Chèvre with Honey

So what to do with all the beautiful herbs you have grown your garden?  Mix it with cheese, of course!

Just purchase a log of chèvre, cut up the herbs, mix it together with your hands, and shape it in a ball! Then drizzle some honey on top and serve with sliced baguette or crackers.

I used chives, oregano, thyme and winter savory.  I chopped up this whole handful but only mixed in a little less than half.  Honey is also optional... the herbed chèvre is good by itself too.

Cherry Pie for the 4th of July!

As you can see above, my cherry pie is cooling on the windowsill with the pick-up truck in the driveway and Dad Merschat coming in after a hard day's work setting up for the 4th of July bonfire.  If that's not all-American, I don't know what is.

My brother-in-law searched high and low for traditional New England sour cherries but couldn't find them so he brought down these sweet pie cherries all the way down from New Hampshire.  And this is a new pie crust recipe passed down from our friend Nathan's sister up in Maine (and I had never made a cherry pie before) so this was quite an experiment.  Fortunately, it was a huge hit at the dessert table and got rave reviews from everyone at the 2nd Annual Merschat Family Garden Party & Bonfire!

All in all, it took me a little over an hour to put together and then another hour to bake but if I were organized enough, I could have made the crust up to a week in advance, pit the cherries the day before, and then assembled the pie in no time on the day of the party... but no, as usual I threw everything together at the last minute and poor Michael sat pitting cherries for an hour while I made the crust.  But it was worth it and I'll definitely make this again!

Sweet Cherry Pie

(edited slightly from Smitten Kitchen)

INGREDIENTS

4 cups pitted fresh cherries (about 2 1/2 pounds unpitted)
4 tablespoons cornstarch
2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar (adjust this according to the sweetness of your cherries)
1/8 teaspoon salt
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits
1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons water
Coarse sugar, for decoration

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Stir together the cherries, cornstarch, sugar, salt, lemon and almond extract gently together in a large bowl.

Roll out half of chilled dough (use larger piece, if you’ve divided them unevenly) on a floured work surface to 13-inch round. Gently place it in 9-inch pie pan, either by rolling it around the rolling pin and unrolling it over the pan or by folding it into quarters and unfolding it in the pan. Trim edges to a half-inch overhang.

Spoon filling into pie crust, discarding the majority of the liquid that has pooled in the bowl.  Top the pie with a lattice pattern.

If you've never done a lattice pie, this step-by-step tutorial was perfect for me. 

Bake the pie in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350°F. and bake the pie for 25 to 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden. Let the pie cool on a rack (or on windowsill).

Pie Crust

INGREDIENTS

4 cups all-purpose flour (or 2 cups all-purpose and 2 cups wheat flour)

1 Tbsp. salt

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 3/4 cup butter/shortening

1 egg

1 Tbsp. vinegar

Up to 3/4 cup cold water (add 1 Tbsp. at a time)

Mix flour, salt and sugar.

Cut in butter/shortening with pastry cutter or pulse in food processor.

Mix in egg and vinegar.  If it needs a little more moisture, add a little bit of water at a time.  You don't want it too wet.

Divide in half.  Roll into ball and flatten into a disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap and leave it in the refrigerator for at least half an hour or up to a week.

Lightly flour surface to roll out dough and put it in the pie pan!

Town House

Just need to share our incredible dining experience in Chilhowie, Va., en route to the Merschat Family Garden Party & Bonfire this weekend.

Our friend Michael Falcone read about it over a year ago and suggested Michael and I stop by on our way down to visit Asheville.  Since Michael and I usually drive down after work, we haven't had a chance to stop in for dinner.  Fortunately, our friend Elizabeth carpooled down to the bonfire this weekend so we had to drive during the day and we decided to finally try Town House.

It has been written up in the NY Times and Washingtonian and well worth the drive.  Our dinner experience was amazing.  Better than amazing.  We had the five course chef's tasting menu with local Virginia wine and I'm still thinking about it.  Check out their blog to see a sample of some of their amazing dishes.  Yum.

Anchovies and Peppers

We've decided that since we love the For Cod and Country cookbook so much, we're not going to post the recipes, but instead feature some of our favorites.  If you want a recipe, just leave us a comment or give us a call and we'll happily share.

Barton Seaver devotes this cookbook to environmentally-friendly and sustainable seafood recipes.  Anchovies are one of the fish that he features and has convinced Michael and I to start eating more because it's healthy, tasty, sustainable and... well... cheap!

This fantastic and beautiful recipe was so easy to make and a delicious appetizer.  Bell peppers, 6-12 anchovies, oil, mint (from our balcony garden), and lemon wedges for serving.  Perfect for summer.

The Bucolic Plague

Fantastic and fun book!  Even for those of you that don't daydream of quitting your job, buying a farm, raising goats, and planting an heirloom garden (like me!), this is a really funny and convincingly honest story of two city boys and their aspirations of becoming Martha-worthy gentlemen farmers.

So what did I learn from this book:
1. LOVE everything on Their Website
2. Realized there's no way I could ever work as hard as a country farmer
3. Complain less about how much work our balcony garden takes
4. Convinced me not to raise goats or chickens anymore (unless I make enough money to hire someone to take care of them)
5. And it's not that I didn't appreciate and respect my in-law's expansive mountain home in the first place, but I cannot imagine managing all that land, tending the garden, chopping firewood, growing mushrooms, tapping maple trees, and all the other chores that come with living in the country.  Whew!

So only a few days away from the 2nd Annual Merschat Family Garden Party & Bonfire, I would highly recommend picking up this hilarious reality check!  I give it an 8 out of 10.

Balcony Garden Update

Michael and I are so proud of our little flourishing garden this year!  As you can see above, our herb table is doing fantastic and even attracting some hummingbirds and butterflies!

The other side of the balcony is doing equally as good!  One big accomplishment this year has been our basil.  I read online that you should plant your basil with your tomatoes because they compliment each other.  At first I was worried that they would crowd one another and the basil would lose out on water and sunshine once the tomatoes got bigger... but au contraire... they are both growing SPLENDIDLY!

The sweet basil in the foreground is growing as tall as I've ever seen it... and we've even made 2 batches of pesto already!  We also planted globe basil and Thai basil and they are flourishing as well.  And the tomatoes are popping out too!

If you recall, my "experiment" plant this year was Chinese eggplant.  I planted it with the hot pepper plants (something I also read online) and they all seem to be doing well.  The eggplant's got half a dozen beautiful purple flowers and a glimpse of a baby eggplant already!

Our nasturtium is doing well, but I've only gotten one flower.  I moved it to a less sunny spot so I hope that gives me some more flowers as the season progresses.  The foliage is gorgeous and I can't wait to use it in a salad soon.

We haven't gotten any strawberries yet, but the dill and parsley have been put to good use in some of Michael's fish recipes lately.  

And I'm also happy to say that we've spotted our first raspberry too!

So with our flourishing garden, I will soon post some recipes that utilize our harvest!  Fortunately for my tummy (but unfortunately for my blogging), Michael has been in LOVE with the cookbook For Cod and Country and has been making the most delicious meals but I cannot just cut-and-paste the recipes since they aren't posted online.  But don't worry, I'll write them out so stay tuned... Recipes to come!

And one more thing... I need to brag that the African Violet that I propagated from a single leaf last year has finally flowered.  The little things just make me so happy!

The Forgotten Garden

After reading this delightful book, I not only want to vacation in Australia and Cornwall but I also want to finally start a genealogy project!  Morton's beautiful descriptions of the gardens also spoke to my spring fever and I long for my very own secret garden to tend to... but our balcony will just have to do for now.

Although it's a daunting 560 pages, it's a quick read and never boring.  The mystery spans generations from the turn-of-the-century to present day and reinforces the bonds of friends, family, and romance. 

Quick and easy feel-good novel with well-developed characters and a neat, happy ending.  I'm giving it an 8 out of 10 and hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Pistachio Baklava

Last weekend, we had a Food & Wine vs. Saveur potluck dinner with our good friends Mary and Riz (and their darling 1 1/2-year-old, future sous-chef, Rami).  The theme was middle eastern and it was DELICIOUS!

When I told Mary that I would be attempting a baklava recipe, she responded...

Baklava???? Are you kidding me? You are so ambitious!

So to quell any rumors that this is an ambitious recipe, I'm posting it and hope everyone tries this wonderful and rather simple recipe.  It's worth it!  Thanks Food & Wine... AGAIN!

INGREDIENTS
1 pound shelled unsalted pistachios (about 3 1/3 cups)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 sticks ( 1/2 pound) unsalted butter, melted
12 sheets of phyllo dough (about 1/2 pound)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400°. Butter a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish. In a food processor, pulse the pistachios with 1/2 cup of the sugar just until the nuts are finely ground. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in half the butter.

Stack the phyllo sheets and cut them in half crosswise. Set a half sheet of phyllo in the prepared baking dish and brush lightly with some of the remaining melted butter. Repeat with 11 more half sheets of phyllo, buttering each sheet; don't worry if the pastry tears a little. Cover the remaining phyllo with a towel.

Spread the pistachio mixture evenly on the phyllo in the baking dish. Top with the remaining phyllo sheets, buttering each sheet as above. Drizzle any remaining butter over the top. Using a sharp knife, make diagonal slices 1 1/2 inches apart all the way through the baklava; slice similarly in the opposite direction to make a diamond pattern. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until evenly browned on top.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the remaining 1 cup of sugar with the water and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve; remove from the heat. Stir in the honey and cinnamon. Pour the syrup evenly over the baklava and let cool completely before serving.

MAKE AHEAD The baklava can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Spring Garden... FINALLY!

This year, our herb table includes chives, rosemary, sage, lavender, tarragon, savory, nasturtium, thyme, oregano, and mint.

For the bigger plants, we decided to make the recycled-material self-irrigating planter (SIP) since it worked so well last year!

And Michael helped me finish up our balcony garden while I was out of town this past weekend... isn't he thoughtful!?!

Strawberries, flat-leaf parsley, dill, and oregano.

Raspberries.

Yellow pear tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and two types of basil.

Early girl tomatoes and more basil.

Chinese eggplant, hot peppers, and thyme.

And out bay leaf survived the winter and has started to sprout again!  Yay!

I love spring!