Bits and Pieces

It's been a sluggish start to summertime blogging over here in Hungry Times Two-Land, so apologies are in order.

We have, however, been enjoying the bounty of the season, with lots of fresh veggies to cook up and enjoy. One of Scott's coworkers blessed us with a cucumber from their garden yesterday and last night we enjoyed it in a salad, tossed in a sweet and spicy dressing from Sara Foster's Fresh Everyday cookbook that includes the zest of a whole lemon. How did I zest this time? (My first attempt zesting with key limes was a little out of hand.) Well, with my fabulous zesting micro plane gifted to me by the fabulous friends at Peaches n Curry.


Last night I made a Black Bean Chilaquile, a casserole of black beans, chopped tomatoes, salsa, onions, crushed tortillas, cheese, and some amazing blanched rainbow-colored chard.

The evening prior, I broiled a steak (grass-fed hormone free beef from Trader Joe's) marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, crushed garlic and Montreal Steak seasoning) scattered with onions, made a batch of rosemary mashed potatoes, and sauteed some excellent local yellow squash and crimini mushrooms.


As our fridge was a wasteland after our return from a holiday camping trip, on Monday we dined at Anatolia on White Bridge Road. We enjoyed a starter of Ezme, a roasted red pepper spread with crushed tomatoes, onions, walnuts and spices, and warm pitas, and we both ordered kebab platters - mine was chunks of lamb, while Scott had ground lamb formed into patties and then skewered. The cucumber yogurt sauce (similar to Greek Tzatziki) was tasty and the rice was pilaf-esque (couldn't quite tell what they did to it).

There's so many middle-eastern types of restaurants here due to Nashville having the largest Kurdish population in the US, so a kebab is never far out of reach. Most places I've tried are lacking a little something, but I like Anatolia. It's quiet, very clean with fresh white table linens, and their well-described menu doesn't require much circumnavigating, guessing or awkward "What's in this, exactly?" conversation with the server.

Speaking of which, a friend of mine experienced that very issue during our weekend camping trip. On our one night out on the big town of Bryson City, NC, we ate at Pasqualino's, one of the few places open for business in BC on the Fourth of July. My friend asked the waitress what was in the chicken cacciatore and she replied, "chicken, peppers, and stuff."

Now, I know servers work hard, but a little elaboration was in order. "Stuff" could be any number of things, from mushrooms to mutton. Throw in a dog biscuit, a couple artichoke hearts, maybe some imitation bacon bits for flavor. Luckily my friend wasn't afraid to boldly go there - she asked her to define the "stuff."

The stuff in question turned out to be awesome, as was my blackened chicken pasta. A day of hearty whitewater rafting makes creamy Alfredo sauce okay, right?

It feels nice to be back typing in this space. I hope to do more of it soon. Meanwhile, here's a link to the story I wrote for Local Table on the divine Sweet 16th Bakery. If you're ever in East Nashville, check out what sweet creations the Einsteins have to offer.

Have a sweet rest of the week, what's left of it, and a fabulous weekend!

Food Film Festival, every Tuesday June 16-23

We and some friends of ours saw Tableland, the first of several food-related films being shown as part of local food film series. We're not pure Slow Food members or anything like that .. yet .. but we do strive for local food via the Farmer's Market, etc. (saw Jeff Themm, Nashville Farmer's Market Exec. Dir. in audience).

The film festival's running 6:30 p.m., every Tuesday, from June 16-23, so check out a film or two if you live in Middle Tennessee. One of the best characters from the film is an B.C. oysterman named Brent Petkau. He not only hauls in some tasty looking bivalves, he waxes poetic on them and "The Oyster Revolution." Seriously, he's great, as are all of the chefs, farmers, etc. in the film. There's also the guy from Soiled Reputation that also had some notable quotes. Lastly, I finally saw a face behind a name, something of a food celebrity sighting: Pete, of Pete's Green's. Somehow, I'd heard the company name before, so like all local, organic or otherwise small-scale food producers, it was nice to put a face to name.

Next week's film (Tues. June 23) is King Corn, which will look a things on the opposite end of the spectrum from small-scale, local agriculture. This film's supposed to be staight-up high-fructose corn syrup, cheap livestock feed and ethanol out the wazoo - all results of BIG CORN. : )

In the meantime, I'll do my best by composting our food waste (Good on ya' San Francisco, : ) and tending our Thai basil, Sweet basil and mint plants on the front porch.

What's cooler than being cool? Ice-cold...

Yep, it's yet another rant about the malarial heat of Nashville, when you just want to lay around without any clothes on...oh wait, that's not appropriate for this blog.

Instead, how about when you just feel downright maniacal as the temps reach 90 degrees and the mosquitoes are out and you just don't look too cute with those visible beads of moisture crowding your temples and upper lip.

Yeah, it's so hot. And not in a Paris Hilton kind of way. Thus, it's time to make some iced tea and chill the hell out.

For tea, I like to use my blue pitcher, formerly used by my beloved late Grandmother Coxey to make her fruit tea - a disgusting mix of brewed iced tea and whatever fruit juice happened to be accessible, such as orange juice or the remaining syrupy juice from the canned peaches, pears or pineapple in her oh-so-1950s style ubiquitous fruit salads.

Don't get me started on her favorite throwback of a salad, the half of a chilled canned pear nested on iceberg lettuce with shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of mayo and a maraschino cherry tucked in the pear's center. Though to tell you the truth, I kinda miss it, the same way I miss seeing her overflowing Estee Lauder makeup bag in our guest bathroom when she visited or the haphazard way she parked her mammoth "hoopty" Chrystler Fifth Avenue anywhere she pleased. Lord help the ninety year-old woman who tightly held on to her car keys, speed and safety be damned!

I digress.

Anyway, the tea. Yes, it's tea time at the Adams house, where all things Anglo are awesome. This weekend we're forgoing the cucumber tea sandwiches for gyros, however, and guzzling it down with iced tea brewed with PG Tips tea bags.

To achieve incredible, cooling tea Adams-style: brew five bags in boiled water for five minutes, add a third cup of sugar and fresh cold water to fill, and if Scott has his way, a couple leaves from our mint plant. Bring to room temp and tuck it in the fridge for a while. Pour over ice and have a moment of refreshing calm before you have to move again and break a sweat in this forsaken oppressive heat.


I honestly forgot about iced tea for a couple of years - we went on a limeade kick last summer and we're not really cola/pop/soda/whathaveyou drinkers, so it was usually water/beer/cranberry juice/wine for a while. Now we're onto tea and so far it's been a sublime relief from the pre-summer swelter.

Check back soon to see if the tea is truly a panacea for what I like to call "When Scott Really Loses His Shit" due to the oppressive heat. The phrase "I need something cold and fruity. Now!" is legendary in our relationship. I'll save that one for another post.

Too da loo for now.

E