Vanilla Bean Pot de Creme

I'm alone tonight.

John is in Vancouver for work and I'm chillin' like a villain with my bottle of wine and a movie. 

I don't talk too much about my relationship here. It isn't food and this is a food blog. That being said, my relationship does nourish me. And in the theme of "nourishment", I feel the need to share something:

I've been reading a lot of stuff lately about people and their relationships. And while I think it's great that so many people are finding worthwhile companionship, I think it's important to remember your self before you met said person or persons, if that be the case. 

I'll be honest, sometimes I miss having an occasional evening to myself. I like lazing about in my onesie - yes, I have a onesie. With feet. - a bottle of wine in hand, half on the couch, half off, and just eating way too many of these.

That's right, dear readers. I. Am. Sexy. Crumb city, population right here!

Aside from sexy though, I am also highly independent and while I heart my John with everything that I am, he also knows that this chick likes her alone time. 

It gives me time to feel like me without being anyone else for anyone else, as well as time to miss him. And just because I'm head over heels in love with someone doesn't mean I want to spend my every waking moment with them. He knows that. And he respects it. Just as I am sure he'd be driven god awful bat shit crazy if I was in his face all the time.

It's all about balance. And love. And making sure you give each other the opportunity to miss one another. Just because you're part of a couple doesn't mean you stop being you. That person should make your life better. And supplement your authentic self. Not dissolve who you are.

So - a toast. To deep fulfilling loves (romantic, friendly, self, or otherwise) and the people who fill our lives with so much goodness.... and of course, to half eaten cookies, almost empty bottles of vino, Ryan Gosling, sofas you can really sink into (and off of) and full bodied jammies. And of course, to John. Who loves me and accepts me better than anyone else ever could.

Now, with that being said, something else you should room for in your life? Vanilla Bean Pot de Creme. Pot de creme is a thick custard with eggs, cream, and flavourings. It's good shit. Think of it as fancy pudding. Sort of. 

I was inspired to make this as a dipping apparatus for this month's SRC assignment, homemade churros. Good lord! Creamy, sweet, uber vanilla flavor. Give. Me. More.

....who ever said balance was everything anyway?

Vanilla Bean Pot de Creme
Modified from Food.com

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

1 Cup Heavy Cream.
1 Vanilla Bean.
4 Egg Yolks (save the whites for breakfast the next morning!).
2 Tbsp White Sugar.
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract.
1/2 C Whipping (Heavy) Cream, very cold.
2 Tbsp Confectioner's Sugar.

What to do:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F & bring a kettle of water to a boil.

Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the sticky seeds inside with a small sharp knife or the curve of a teaspoon. Add the seeds and the shell to the cream. Heat until small bubbles form around the edge of the saucepan.

Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and sugar with an electric hand mixer on medium-high speed until pale and light, approximately 2 minutes.

Add 1 Tsp vanilla extract to the hot cream. Remove and discard the shell of the vanilla bean. Whisking the yolk/sugar mixture constantly, drizzle the hot cream into the bowl.

Divide the custard among 4 ramekins. Place ramekins into a square baking dish. Pull out the rack of the oven and set the baking dish on it. Pour boiling water into baking dish until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully slide the rack back into the oven and close the door; bake 30 minutes, until the center of each ramekin is barely set and wiggles slightly when shaken.

Carefully move the baking dish to a rack and allow custards to cool to room temperature in the water bath. Cover each ramekin with plastic rap and refrigerate at least 2-3 hours or over night.

In a medium-large bowl, beat the whipping cream at medium-high speed until it achieves soft peaks. Add the other tsp of vanilla extract and the confectioner's sugar. Beat a further minute or so, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.

Serve pot de creme with a dollop of whipping cream, and if desired, a little orange zest and a cinnamon stick for looks.

Eat.
 

This post is linked up with Tuesday Talent Show; Tasty Tuesdays; The Hearth & Soul Blog Hop via the 21st Century Housewife; Slightly Indulgent Tuesday; This Chick Cooks; Cast Party Wednesday; Full Plate Thursday; Tasteastic Thursday; Seasonal Inspiration Saturday; Seasonal Celebration Sunday

SRC: Loving Life (& you must be smarter than the pastry bag)

Happy SRC reveal day Group D! 

You've read right. It's time for another interlude of Secret Recipe Club (SRC). We took a bit of a break over the month of January and I'm going to be completely honest... I felt a little bit like Christmas slapped me in the face and poo-poo'd all over my month. Not that it has anything to do with the actual holiday of Christmas but SRC feels like Christmas. Turns out, I love my Secret Recipe Club!

There's not a whole lot more exciting than finding out who's blog you'll be secretly assigned, eagerly scavenging their content, and trying to choose just one recipe to re-create; except maybe reveal day. The day when everyone posts their chef-d'oeuvre and mouths start aching for tasty deliciousness. Seeing your recipe translated and posted on someone else's site is a bit of treat in and of itself, but seeing what everyone else made isn't so bad either. 

Did I mention I love SRC?

This month I was paired up with a fellow Pacific Northwesterner, Kirstin @ Loving Life. Her blog is packed full to the brim with great story-telling photographs and functions as a journal for her every day life. I really felt like I was getting a sneak peak into her family and her kitchen. And judging by the prevalence of reality t.v., that's what we all want, right? Sneak peaks! 

My most excitable sneak peak? Her recipe for churros. Those who know me know that I am an avid lover of Spanish culture and cuisine. Especially crunchy outside, cozy inside, cinnamon & sugar sweet rolled Spanish fried cuisine. So when I saw a churros recipe, I got all giddy in my heart-soul and totally swept aside the list of healthier recipes I had tallied from her blog thus far:

• Zucchini Noodles
• Stuffed Zucchini 
• Quinoa Squash Pilaf 
• No Stick Grilling: Elk Burgers 

Oh yeah. Who needs dinner when you can go straight to dessert? And not only desert, but with the amount of batter that it calls for, snacks for about the next 4 days as well.

FYI: You must be smarter than the pastry bag. I went out and bought a pastry bag set from Cook Culture for this project. As I assembled the bag and squeezy tip, I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to get the pieces to fit. I fumbled with the bloody thing for ages until I finally called John in for reinforcements. Luckily, his PhD in theoretical physics served my pastry bag (and me) well. How embarrassed would I have been to return the set to the store claiming it didn't work only to have them unscrew the little plastic bit at the end? Aye. 

Churros

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

1 C Water.
1/4 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt.
1 1/4 C White All-Purpose Flour.
2 Free-Range Organic Eggs, room temperature & lightly beaten.

1 Tbsp Butter, unsalted & at room temperature.
Peanut or Canola oil for frying.
1 C Sugar.
1/4 C Ground Cinnamon.

What to Do:

Pour the frying oil into a large wok, no more than 2/3rds full and in a shallow bowl combine the sugar and ground cinnamon.

In a heavy saucepan bring water, oil and salt to just a rolling boil over medium-high heat.

Remove from heat and add flour, stirring until combined.

If there is excess moisture, return to the heat for 30 seconds to dry out, stirring continually then remove from the heat.

Mix the beaten eggs in with the "dough". Mix well. 

Meanwhile, turn on the frying oil and heat over medium heat.

Stir the butter into the eggy/flour mixture & combine thoroughly.

Place your dough to a piping bag fitted with the largest star shaped tip you have. Mine was actually a bit small but it just ended up being that we had mini-churros. And everyone likes things in mini!

Test the oil. It will be ready when a piece of white bread or bit of batter is carefully dropped into the oil and browns in 30 seconds. If it browns too quickly, turn down your heat. If not quickly enough, wait longer. BE VERY CAREFUL when deep frying! DO NOT BURN YOURSELF or START THE HOUSE ON FIRE! A good site that tells you how to deep fry safely can be found here.

Pipe dough into hot oil, cutting off pieces at about the length of your thumb and pointer finger at it's longest extension with a small knife, and cook until golden brown. Be very careful it doesn't splatter because you will burn yourself! I actually used John to pipe the dough and I cut it to make things easier.

Remove from oil, drain on a paper towel briefly, and then roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Serve with some melted chocolate, or coffee, or my fabulous vanilla bean pot de creme!

Eat.

 This post is linked up with The Hearth and Soul Blog Hop via The 21st Century Housewife; Slightly Indulgent Tuesday; Tuesday Talent Show; Tasty Tuesdays; This Chick Cooks; Cast Party Wednesday; Tastetastic Thursday; Full Plate Thursday; Seasonal Inspiration Saturday;
 

Film Friday - Flow: For the Love of Water

We sure talk about food a lot on this blog... But what about the natural inputs that get the food to grow nice and big and ripe so we can eat them? What about water? Where does your water come from? What is the quality of your water? Do you drink tap or bottled? Is it pure water or is it contaminated by thousands and thousands of human produced chemicals? Do you get most of your water from soda?

What. About. Water?

Irene Salina created a film called Flow in 2008. Have you seen it? In it, she addresses the world water crisis. Did you know we are even in a water crisis? It might be difficult to tell in wealthy countries. The only sign you may see are the mandated water restrictions come high summer as your poor grass turns an evil, Winter shade of brown.... have I mentioned before how much I hate grass? But that's another post.

In Flow, Salina develops an interesting and valuable argument against "the growing privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel" (from official website).

Some things to keep in mind:

Of the 6 billion people on earth, 1.1 billion do not have access to safe, clean drinking water.

While the average American uses 150 gallons of water per day, those in developing countries cannot find five.

Californiaʼs water supply is running out – it has about 20 years of water left in the state.

The cost per person per year for having 10 liters of safe drinking water every day is just $6 USD. Think about what funding a war costs. Hm...

To see where these "facts" came from and to see more statistics and interesting water trivia, click here. And to do something about the issue, here.

In essence, the film is really asking, can anyone really own water?

Vegetable Invasion Quiche

It never fails to make me giggle when I say I haven't made something before and people have a bloody hernia. 

This has happened twice to me in as many weeks. This most recent one was about how I had never made quiche. What? Has everybody in the world made quiche at some point before me? How could I possibly be so out of the loop? I jest with love, of course. 

In fact, I had one dear friend actually exclaim (tweet) "really? I assumed you've made everything, ever".... Um, no. But I do love you for the vote of confidence. 

So apparently there's a rule that quiche is something that just has to be made. And as it turns out, it's true. 

The ease and simplicity of quiche is undeniable. So is the fat content when you add up the pastry, the cream and the cheese. That being said, I love being fat! Okay, that's not true. But I do adore my curves... To a point. And I love to eat fat. For those of you who want to minimize the fat content, I've read that you can substitute milk for the cream and venture sans crust. Personally, I'm gonna fat it up, my friends!

Additionally, the flavor and lightness of this dish make it the perfect weeknight supper. 

And on that note - ah ha! Not all my meals take 2 hours to prepare! See?! Again, something I hear from friends on a regular basis is that my food takes too long to prepare. My response to that? I make slow food from whole ingredients. It's rare that a labelled food product makes it into my kitchen and when it does, it's used minimally. We need to take the time to make and savour our food. Period.

Man, I sound a touch defensive in this post, don't I? On with the quiche!

Vegetable Invasion Quiche

(printable recipe)

Ingredients:

1 Crust.
4 Large Free-Range Organic Eggs.
3/4 C Cream (or Milk).
3/4 - 1 C Swiss Gruyere Cheese, grated.
1 Medium Onion, sliced.
2 Leeks, cleaned, cut in half, and then sliced.
1 Head Bok Choy, cleaned & chopped.
1/2 Head Radicchio, chopped.
Small Handful of Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley, roughly chopped.
1 Tbsp Fresh Thyme, chopped.
Pinch of Nutmeg.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Kosher Salt & Fresh Cracked Pepper.

 What to Do:

Lay crust in a 9" dish & heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat with a good glug of olive oil. Once hot, add the onions. Allow to begin to caramelize quite a bit, stirring often, and then add the leeks. Stir well. You may want to add a little bit more oil at this point or a tad of butter - your call. Make sure they don't burn though!

Once both leeks and onions have a good deal of color on them, remove from heat and place in a bowl. Return the pan to the burner and carefully pour in 1/2 C of water and then toss in the bok choy, covering with a lid. Allow to steam for about 3-5 minutes or until wilted. Drain well. Set with the leeky onion mixture.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream or milk, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well to combine.

Pour into the prepared crust. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is golden and delicious looking.

Remove from the oven and let set for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Eat.

This post is linked up with The Hearth & Soul Blog Hop via the 21st Century Housewife; Tasty Tuesdays; Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays; Tuesday Talent Show; This Chick Cooks; Cast Party Wednesday; Full Plate Thursday; Tastetastic Thursday; Simple Lives Thursday; Fight Back Friday; Fresh Bites Friday; Seasonal Inspiration Saturday; Seasonal Celebration Sunday.

Winter Panzanella + a Giveaway Winner

Can you believe it? My 100th Follower Giveaway Extravaganza is over! And not only is it over, but I got a whopping 77 more followers as a result! It's difficult to say whether all these new followers were always around or if they'll continue to be so now that the giveaway is up. But I sure hope so. I've made contact with so many incredible readers and joiners and lovely people, I just want to keep you all!

This was a magnificently fun giveaway. On top of meeting all you lovely people, I got to meander around Silk Road and buy more tea than I have ever allowed myself previously. Heck! I'm temped to just keep this prize! What I wouldn't give for my own little set of these teas, a wicked cool Scandinavian steeper mug, some home baked chocolate chip cookies, and a copy of my first "published" cookbook ever. And apparently all of you felt the same way!

That's right. Momma takes care of her readers. 

Ew. Did I just call myself "momma"?

Let's just get on with this reveal business, shall we? Apparently I need to stop talking...

So, thank you very, very much to everyone who participated. I do hope you'll stick around and I'll hear from you from time to time. There will be more giveaways in the future...as soon as I can think of one. If you have any ideas for giveaways or would like to sponsor one, feel free to drop me a comment (with a way to contact you back) or email me at onewomansadventures [at] gmail [dot] com. It's much easier to do a giveaway from a craft or art blog than it is a food one. It's pretty tricky to ship something like Winter Panzanella Salad across the country! Keep reading for that recipe....

I'm still talking... The winner is: 

Amanda 

of

Once Upon a Recipe!

Congratulations Amanda! I'll be contacting you shortly to get your mailing information! 

Again, to everyone thank you for taking the time to stop by my little blog and taking the time to enter & comment. We all know how much I love my comments!

Now, how about some Winter Panzanella salad? Honestly, if you didn't win the giveaway, you're gonna want some of this to make up for it! 

I was reviewing some of my old recipes the other day and came across Ensalada de Panzanella. I thought, man, I love me some panzanella salad! But it's Winter time and a severe lack of fresh tomatoes, basil, and bell peppers haunts me. So I thought, how do I enjoy the deliciousness of Summer in the middle of Winter? I want bread salad! This... is what I came up with. 

Winter Panzanella Salad

(printable recipe)

Ingredients for the Salad:

1 Loaf Sourdough Bread, roughly torn into 1 bite pieces.

Large Handful of Pearl Onions, peeled.

I Head Garlic, peeled.

1 Winter Squash, peeled & chopped into 1" segments.

1-2 Roasted Red Peppers, julienned.

Approx 20 Brussel Sprouts, cleaned, well dried, & halved.

4 Medium Sized Golden Beets, cleaned & well dried.

2 Large Carrots, cleaned & sliced.

Couple Handfuls of Winter Salad Greens.

Grana Padano or Parmesan Cheese, shaved.

Some Fresh Goat's Cheese.

Handful of Fresh Sage, roughly torn.

Handful Toasted Pecans.

1 Tbsp Capers, rinsed.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Kosher Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper. 

Orange Slices for Garnish.

3-4 Red Snapper Fillets + 3/4 C Flour + 1 Tbsp Butter (optional).

Ingredients for Dressing:

1 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

1/3 C Red Wine or Balsamic Vinegar.

1 Garlic Clove, minced.

Juice of Half an Orange.

Kosher Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper.

What to Do:

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F. 

In a roasting pan, throw in the onions, squash, garlic, brussel sprouts, carrots, and sage. Toss well with salt and pepper and a good glug of olive oil. Arrange as a single layer - try to make sure brussels are cut side down) and roast uncovered for 20 - 30 minutes or until just tender. Remove from heat.

At the same time, toss the beets in a separate roasting dish with a bit of oil and salt & pepper, cover, and roast for approximately 30-40 minutes or until fork tender. Remove from the heat, allow to cool enough to touch and then peel. Chop into quarters and set aside with the rest of the veg.

To add extra flavour to the bread, you can grill it on your BBQ over medium-high heat to give it a smoky essence. If not, turn your broiler to high, arrange as a single layer on a baking sheet and toast slightly. Watch though - they'll burn quickly. Remove from heat & set aside. 

If using fish, heat a non-stick pan over medium heat with a good glug of olive oil and the butter. Pat dry with paper towels, season well with salt and pepper, and dredge in the flour. Place in hot pan and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side or until fish flakes. Remove from heat.

Assemble! 

Throw all the ingredients for the salad into a bowl save for the fish and orange slices.

Throw all the ingredients for the dressing into a mason jar. Put the lid on and shake baby shake!

Pour 1/3 of the dressing over the salad, toss well, and add more if necessary.

Serve on a giant platter or on individual plates, top with the fish and orange slices & serve.

Eat.

This post is linked up with The Hearth & Soul Blog Hop via The 21st Century Housewife; Tasty Tuesdays; Slightly Indulgent Tuesday; Tuesday Talent Show; This Chick Cooks; Cast Party Wednesday; Full Plate Thursday; Tastetastic Thursday; Fight Back Friday; Fresh Bites Friday; Seasonal Inspiration Saturday; Seasonal Celebration Sunday

Film Fiday: Save The Rich

 Here at Gastronomical Sovereignty, we strive to bring you hard hitting, thought provoking, critical videos referential to the important food issues of our time. This week's Film Friday is no different.

Okay, maybe it's a little different. And perhaps the film I'm featuring doesn't speak directly to food. But it is a wicked video and I think with a little common sense, you my dear intelligent readers can put the pieces together.

I give you two of my most favourite lady singers/writers/actors in the world.... Garfunkel & Oates, Save the Rich.

 

Guest Post - Sam & Cooking My Way Through My CSA: Brooklyn Locavore Cheesy Greens & Mac

Good morning sugar muffins! We are graced by Sam @ Cooking My Way Through My CSA today! Enjoy her post and also check out my guest post at her blog by clicking here. Horray for Mac & Cheese swaps!

Hello Gastronomical Sovereignty readers!

I’m Sam. I live on the complete opposite coast from Kristy and blog about my adventures trying to eat locally in Brooklyn, NY (and get my partner to eat something other than white bread, cookies, and dry raman) over at Cooking My Way Through My CSA. I started blogging, as you might be able to guess from the blog’s title, to document my adventures eating locally after joining a CSA. I am particularly lucky that my CSA extends into the winter, which is not always the norm in the Northeast. Kristy and I “met” through blogging and seem to be on the same page about almost everything food and ecology related. We’re definitely “blog-friends” now. If we lived on the same coast (or country), I’m sure we’d hang out. But since we don’t, we’ll just do guest posts.

So, like most ideas now days, the idea for this swap materialized on Facebook. Kristy asked what she should have for dinner. I commented that I was thinking about making mac and cheese with butternut squash and collards. Long story short, we both had mac and cheese for dinner. And thus the idea for a mac and cheese blog swap was born. We would both make a mac and cheese that highlighted what was in season (or, in my case, local and preserved) near us. It had to include at least one veggie. Easy.

The mac and cheese I made that night was the thick, gooey, bechemel-based cheese sauce topped with bread crumbs and baked in the oven kind my mom used to make. Well, the American cheese slices were swapped for cheddar and Parmesan and half of the macaroni was swapped out for vegetables. It was absolutely delicious, but there’s only so many times you can eat that in a two week period. Or maybe it’s more that there’s only so many times you should eat that in a two week period. Then inspiration struck, as it often does, nestled at the bottom of my CSA box and in the bulk section in the back of Choice Greene Market.

A bag of frozen Lacinato kale.

An 8 oz container of cheese curds.

Another (sigh) giant bag of onions, but with two tiny surprise heads of garlic inside (woot!).

and...(at the market)

Flour City Pasta Radiatore!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have dinner. A simple cheesy pasta-bake--heavy on the greens, light on the pasta. Toss in a couple of chopped up oven-dried tomatoes I made in a mishap-riddled tomato preservation attempt. Amazing.

The thing about cooking locally in the northeast during the winter months is that you do rely a great deal on either locally preserved foods or foods you’ve preserved yourself. There actually are a lot of farms that do grow greens all winter. Dark leafy greens tend to do quite well in cold weather. My farm just happens to preserve them. There are plenty of other veggies available locally during the winter months; however, the nature of the CSA is that (just like in a classroom) “you get what you get and you don’t get upset”. So I worked with what I had. 

 

Brooklyn Locavore Cheesy Greens & Mac

½ lb of Flour City Pasta Tomato-Basil Radiatore (or other short pasta)

olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large onion, cut into quarters, then into thin slices

2 cloves of garlic, minced

12 oz kale, chopped

1 T dry white wine (I had some from Long Island in my fridge, though apparently someone has a rooftop vineyard and makes wine in Greenpoint)

3-4 oven dried tomato halves, chopped (or sundried tomatoes)

8 oz cheese curds (or torn fresh mozzarella--it may have been less, I ate a few curds while cooking)

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a large oven-proof skillet, heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions. Season with a bit of salt. Cook, stirring, until the onions are softened and beginning to take on a bit of color (about 5 minutes).

Add the garlic, tomatoes, kale, and wine. If you’re using frozen kale like me, it will take about 10 minutes for it to thaw and cook through, covered. If you’re using fresh kale it will take between 3 and five minutes to collapse and cook through, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Add the pasta to the pan with a bit more olive oil. Toss. Add the cheese. Season with salt and LOTS of freshly ground black pepper. Toss again.

Put the pan in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown a bit. 

Serves 4.

This post is linked up with The Hearth and Soul Blog Hop via The 21st Century Housewife; Tasty Tuesday; Slightly Indulgent Tuesday; Tueday Talent Show; This Chick Cooks; Cast Party Wednesday; Simple Lives Thursday; Full Plate Thursday; Tastetastic Thursday; Fight Back Friday; Fresh Bites Friday; Seasonal Inspiration Saturday; Seasonal Celebration Sunday.

CSA Week #6

My boyfriend's back and you're gonna be in trouble, hay-la-day-la, my boyfriend's back! ...and by boyfriend, I mean CSA program, of course.

Yes! You've heard right! It's back! Imagine my excitement when I came home from the grocery store only to find a brand new box of fresh veggies begging to be let in from the rain. Vegetables! Local, fresh, just picked, organic, seasonal vegetables! 

Be still my beating heart!

But how did I know they were a new box and not the old one? The delivery dude that drops off our CSA box always places the new one two racks down on our utility shelf from where I store the old box. And when I took the recycling out I noticed the box had been moved. 

Oooooooh.... Either the CSA delivery man had been here or the crazy homeless people that occasionally inhabit our back yard are getting ballsy.

So! What did the first box of the new year have in store for us? Let's look, shall we?

• 1 great big bag of beautiful Braising Greens.
• 2 massively phallic Carrots.
• 2 leeks.
• 1 big head(?) of Pac Choi.
• Winter Salad Greens (Hells yeah!).
• 1 Bunch of White - maybe Milan? - Turnips.
• 2 Smallish Winter Squash.
• 1 Bag of Frozen Strawberries.

  
What gets you rip-roarin' excited? Is it vegetables? Or something a little more flashy? What gets your heart pumpin?

This post is linked up with the Hearth and Soul Blog Hop via the 21st Century Housewife; Tasty Tuesday; Slightly Indulgent Tuesday; Tuesday Talent Show;

Film Friday: Eat Real. Eat Local.

Do you know where your food comes from? 

Are you able to take a quick drive (or better yet, bus ride or cycle) to the farm where your vegetables and beef are raised? Do you know what the plants and animals are being fed? Is it genetically modified material, dead animal parts, synthetic chemicals or is their feed more in line with their natural and evolutionary habitats? How are they being treated? Do they have lots of room to move around and peck or graze? Or are they penned up against their natural instincts? Are the people who are picking your produce or slaughtering your meat being treated in ways that don't violate their innate human rights? How many pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and/or fungacides are they inhaling? What is that doing to their lungs? Where do they sleep at night? And what about the environmental cost of getting your food to your home? What's happening to indigenous land in the wake of industrial farming? How much fuel does it cost to get your food from farm to table? What about refrigeration and the emissions put out by large transport trucks? Who and what is being affected both positively and/or negatively by the food you eat?

I ask again: do you know where your food comes from?

Local does not necessarily mean good. There are plenty of labour, environmental, and animal abuse horrors right in our own back yards. What local can do however, is give you the opportunity to go to the farms, check out what's up, ask questions, and make choices that do the least amount of damage. 

Small scale. Organic. Local. Free-Range. Seasonal. Happy. Happy. Happy.

What is this interrogation all about, you ask? Why it's the theme of this week's Film Friday, of course!

Eat Real. Eat Local. is actually a television commercial by (GASP) Hellmann's Mayonnaise. I don't like mayonnaise and I certainly don't want to promote a massive brand like Hellmann's on my blog. So let's just ignore that part because it is a great commercial with some very interesting statistical information on Canada's current food economy. It'd be interesting to find out the sources of their information. Either way, it's food for thought...

So, how do you find out where your food comes from? How can you make more informed choices in our consumer culture? 

First, I believe we need to disengage from the chain grocery stores. It just isn't possible to provide consistency across geographical locations like the chain stores require - different regions produce different food. Therefore, we need to shop regionally: CSAs (community supported agriculture programs), direct from the farms, farmer's markets, local "happy" butchers, eat at restaurants that support local, seasonal, organic food. Or better yet, grow some herbs or a few beets or carrots yourself!

Second, we need to ask questions. If you are interested in becoming a more informed consumer - a smart consumer - simply google "farmer's market 'city name'" or "CSA 'city name'". And if you don't find what you're looking for on those sites, email or phone them and ask where you might find what you need. It's been my experience that most people in the small-scale, local happy food industry are more than stoked to talk about this stuff.

You don't have to be all balls-in. I don't think that's realistic without changing both our individual as well as collective lifestyles. I'll be honest - I still buy bananas, citrus and avocados from the grocer down the street. That being said, there's no reason not to get the bulk of your food in a way that makes you, those you love, the people producing your food, the animals giving their lives, and the planet healthier and happier. If you're going to be a consumer, consume responsibly. Yes?

So, one more time - and all together now: 

Do you know where your food comes from?

This post is linked up with Fight Back Friday; Simple Lives Thursday; The Gallery of Favorites via the 21st Century Housewife; Seasonal Celebration Sunday.

100th Follower Giveaway Extravaganza!

Okay, so maybe "extravaganza" is a bit of an over-statement. It's really just one giveaway. That being said, it's fuckin cool, yo bitches! (do you think it's possible I'm watching too much of this lately?)....

I hit 100 followers yesterday thanks to Tanya @ Lovely Greens and I can't even begin to contain my excitement1 Seriously Tanya, you want some cookies? I'll bake em for you! Followers aren't everything - I know that - but it sure makes you feel good when someone likes you (or at least your blog) enough to click and publicly display their virtual affection. It's the second best thing next to comments. 

So to celebrate.... I have a giveaway. And lemme tell you, this is one sweet deal of a giveaway; not to mention cost some serious cheddar. Aye! 

So here's the deal. School is coming to an end for me. My immediate reaction to that is, "bring on the wine!"... However, I can't ship wine internationally. And so what's the next best thing after vino for sipping in the middle of the afternoon? Well... at the end of every term John gets me a "Floating Cloud" package from this incredible local spa called Silk Road - essentially, it's a one hour full body massage followed by a one hour facial followed by as much fresh brewed tea as I can possibly consume. This place is the shit. So I'm giving away: tea.... but not just any tea.

I'm giving away 9 incredibly diverse and flavourful different varieties (3 green; 3 black; 3 herbal) of their spectacular tea, each one supplying 7-10 cups per package:

A Scandanavian styled, Finnish made steeper/mug that is super fucking cool:

Some home baked chocolate chip cookies:

And of course... a little reading material. John has put together 10 copies of what could be called my very limited edition, very first cookbook ever. Happy Valentines Day to me, yo! And to you! I'll send you a copy along with the package.

So let's review: 9 types (63-90 cups!) of incredible tea, one amazing tea pot/mug, home baked mother ef'n chocolate chip cookies, and something to pass the time with - my first cookbook. Hellz yeah I did yo! 

....yup, too much Breaking Bad. Must. Stop, Watching.

To Enter:

* Contest open to Canadian & American residents only. 

** If you already like or follow me, you can still enter - just comment here telling me exactly that. 

*** For non-bloggers (or people unfamiliar with commenting), you can comment by clicking the button at the bottom of this post marked "comments".

MANDATORY:

1. Click the "follow/join this site" button to the right of my page under the "my friends" heading and simply select login or join, follow publicly and you're done - now leave me a comment here, telling me you've done so. 

Extra (optional) Entries (one for each task):

 2. Like Gastronomical Sovereignty on Facebook, leave a comment here telling me you've done so.

3. Follow gsonblogger on Twitter, leave a comment here telling me you've done so.

4. Tweet this giveaway with a link to this page on Twitter and include @gsonblogger in the tweet so I can see it, leave a comment here telling me you've done so.

5.  Follow Gastronomical Sovereignty on Bloglovin, leave a comment here telling me you've done so.

6. Follow me on Pinterest, leave a comment here telling me you've done so. 

And to support the new blog...

7. Follow Tastebuds the same way you did with this blog, leave a comment here telling me you've done so.

8. Like Taste Buds on Facebook, leave a comment here telling me you've done so.

9. Follow Taste Buds on Twitter, leave a comment here telling me you've done so.

Bonus 3 entries:

10. Blog this giveaway on your own blog and leave me a comment here with the link.

via magisso

This giveaway closes February 19th - so get your entries in! The winner will be announced on February 20th.

This post is linked up with Etsy Giveaways;Contest Girl; Jingle Linkup; My Secret Home; Freebie Friday; Hens Clutch; In It to Win It;Fabulous Friday; Sarah's Blog of Fun; Round 'Em Up Friday;  Table for Five; giveaways for prizes; busy working mama; giveaway gab; mom saves money; weekend win it; Just Another New Blog; Spend Less & Save More; Simply Stacie; Sweeptight; Contest Canada; Can Contests; Canadian Giveaways; Canadian Free Stuff; Blog Giveaway Directory; 
Contest Canada; Canadian Free Stuff.

Guest Post - Stacy @ Seattle Seedling: Rosemary Apple Pie

Hi friends! It's Stacy here, from Seattle Seedling. As I write this, my urban farm is covered with a blanket of snow – the first snow of the season. The weight of the fluffy powder on the plastic cloche that protects my winter greens is starting to bow. Yes, this is truly the most perfect time for a winter post.

While it snows outside, I'm sitting at my desk near the window, all cozy-like, thinking about pie. If you asked me what I was going to do today, I'd tell you I was going to bake a pie. That's my agenda. You may remember me talking pie in the fall. I've come a long way since then. Since my skills trade, I have made some of the most delicious homemade crusts I have ever made. And I'm not messing around. I don't wait until late afternoon to start making a pie, if that's what I'm planning on serving for dessert. No, I clear my schedule and make a day out of it. I get the big mixing bowl on the counter and go all Like Water for Chocolate on it - putting my love and good vibes into every handful of crumbly dough. I ditch the measuring spoons and instead pour the water on, going by feel, trusting myself to do the job. I turn the light on in the oven and feel a little nervous to look in, fearing I'll see a sagging crust. I peer into the oven wondering if the crust I made by feel, really felt the way it was supposed to. And to my delight, it does.

Truth be told, the last crust I made was beautiful, but a little flat in flavor, making me think I need to up my pinches of salt in the future. But let's be real, even when your pie crust turns out a little this or a little too that, it's usually almost always edible and more times than not, delicious. Of course that's not the ultimate goal, especially as a food blogger, to make something that is merely "edible." But I think it's worth keeping in mind when deciding to put so much time and effort into a project like pie. Chances are, in the end, you'll be the over-critical one like me, while everyone else cleans their plates. Trust me when I say that this apple pie is worth taking on the project.

This is a winter apple pie. It goes well with tweed. It's a man's apple pie. I don't know if I think that because the addition of rosemary brings a little earthy edge to the filling, because I tossed the cut apples in Brandy, or simply because I adapted the filling recipe from a cookbook written by two farmer dudes. Something about it just felt masculine. Had I rolled out the crust in nothing but lingerie it could have easily been something right out of Maxim. Putting a little pie bird in the middle though will soften that masculine edge right up, making this pie the perfect winter indulgence for you both.

Rosemary Apple Pie

Adapted from The Beekman Heirloom Cookbook

I went to the farmers' market and asked an apple vendor for a good combination of apples for a pie, but I think any combination of sweet and tart apples will do. You could even get crazy and add a pear or two. Oh, and cheddar in the crust? Yes, please!

My Favorite Pie Crust (for a top and bottom crust), prepared and ready to be filled (9in pie)

About 8 apples, a mixture of sweet and tart

About 1/4 cup brandy, bourbon, applejack, or dark rum

About 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp tapioca flour

Pinch of salt

About 2 Tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces for dotting

Put the brandy (or whatever other alcohol you choose) in a large bowl. Peel, core, and cut the apples into thin wedges and put them in the bowl with the brandy. As you add more apples, toss them around the bowl to coat.

In another small bowl, mix together the sugar, salt, rosemary, and tapioca flour.

Once all of your apples have been prepared, sprinkle the sugar/flour mixture over the apples and toss to coat.

Pile the apples into the bottom crust, slightly higher in the center. (Unless of course you have an adorable pie bird that will help vent steam, which will then take center stage in the middle of your pie.) Dot the apples with the small pieces of butter.

Place your top crust over the apples, crimp the edges together, and add vents in the crust. Brush the top with butter and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Place in an oven preheated to 450 and bake for 10 minutes. Then, turn down the heat to 350 and continue to make until the crust is golden and the juices begin bubbling through the vents you created in your top crust, about 45 minutes.

Let your pie cool on a wire rack and resist the temptation to cut into it for a few hours. It will be hard, but I know you can do it. Enjoy!

Until next time, friends, when I can finally say it's spring!

-Stacy, Seattle Seedling

P.S. Want to know more about the happenings of my urban farm? Get the latest updates from my blog and other random food and farm musings by becoming a fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/seattleseedling.

This post is linked up with The Hearth and Soul Blog Hop via The 21st Century Housewife; Tasty Tuesdays; Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays; Tuesday Talent Show; This Chick Cooks; Cast Party Wednesday; Full Plate Thursday; Tastetastic Thursday;  Simple Lives Thursday; Fight Back Friday; Seasonal Inspiration Saturday; Seasonal Celebration Sunday.