Kitchen Art

What's that? You say you want cute art for your kitchen? Well, here's what I would get if I didn't already have my Keep Calm & Carry On print.

Eat Your Greens from Keep Calm, Ltd.


Trust Your Gut Instincts from advice to sink in slowly
via More Ways to Waste Time


Yellow Bartlett Pear print from Studio Lyon


It's Teatime from Sea Spray Blue

Nikki's Black Bean Soup

The Naptown Soup Swap Saga never ends.


So, all soup swappers received an open invitation to post their recipe on this blog. Nikki was the first to share. But before I post the recipe, here is how Nikki described the soup:
"GOOD! ADD LIME."
Simple, to the point, just like this soup.

Nikki's Black Bean Soup
4 Servings
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Total Time: 35 Minutes

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeño chile, finely chopped (seeds removed for less heat, if desired), plus more for garnish
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 3 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
• 1 lime, quartered

Heat oil. Add onion, and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add jalapeno, garlic, cumin, and oregano; cook, stirring, until fragrant and garlic is tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Add beans and 4 cups vegetable broth. Simmer 10 minutes.

Remove from heat; stir in cilantro leaves. Using an immersion or regular blender * (work in batches so as not to fill regular blender more than halfway), purée soup until smooth. Add water to thin soup, if desired.

Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with jalapeno, cilantro sprigs, and Lime wedges, as desired.

* NIKKI’S TIP
It is much easier to use an immersion blender. A bit dangerous with the hot soup to use a regular blender but it can be done. I always did it until I got the great gift of my very own immersion blender for x-mas this year!

Kirsten's response to Nikki's tip: Immersion blenders may be the best kitchen invention, if only because they help Ben get extra-excited about making soup. His excitement always results in my happy belly.

40 Pounds of Pasta!

The Naptown Soup Swappers contributed 40 pounds of pasta to Second Helpings. Big, ups, swappers - thanks for helping to fight hunger & empower good folks in central Indiana!

photo courtesy of Nora!

Fun Reads & Listens

Just so you can never be 100% sure: NPR's Here & Now has a little listen about how Locavore-ing it doesn't always leave the smallest foot(food)print. Lesson learned: it's hard but also sort of fun to try to assess the best, greenest, most ethical, most every positive descriptor way to eat. (via treehugger)

The Minimalist on Meat-Guzzling: Mark Bittman explores the environmental impact of meat production. A great tidbit: Gidon Eshel, a geophysicist at the Bard Center, and Pamela A. Martin, an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago, calculated that if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan — a Camry, say — to the ultra-efficient Prius.

Chow on the Candidates: No, not political cannibalism, just a fun little feature from Chow on the candidates for the US Presidential nominations and their tastes in food.

Key Lime Cheesecake at Smitten Kitchen: Worth if for the pictures alone! I can't resist a miniature version of anything, but if you add citrus and mango, well, I'm in love. I'm not saying anything, but if my husband happened to be reading this and wanted to do something special for me sometime, just getting me the molds and the ingredients for this recipe would be an amazing gift. I'd also love some kitchen-company during the making of them, but I don't want to ask for too much...

The January Swap Is Complete!

More information will follow tomorrow, but a quick swap wrap-up:

• So many soups, so many people... We had 18 soups, with 25 people in attendance. Eighteen soups!
• The longest Naptown Soup Swap ever, it took over 20 minutes for the telling of the soup, never mind the swapping.
• Good snacks, good wine. Mushroom pate, white beans with rosemary, goat cheese with pepitas, nine bottles of wine, one bottle of beer, two burritos, and plenty of vanilla cupcakes with chocolate glaze were consumed.

A quick fun-down of soups (let me know if you'd like to post your recipe):

• French Onion Soup with Special Four-Cheese Blend (buy your own bread!) - Jen and Mark
• 5-Alarm Veggie Chili - Beth
• Sadie's Vitality Broth - Rachel
• Butternut Squash with Goat Cheese Croute - Andy
• Creamy Corn and Roasted Red Pepper Chowder - Lani
• Great Northern Chipotle Soup - Megan
• Spicy Veggie Chili - Amy
• Autumn in Jamaica (Squash & Black Bean) - Leanne (aka Mom)
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Soup with Black Currant Glazed Onion Garnish - Richard
• Fountain Square Peasant Soup - Suzy
• Veggie Chili, Chunky Style - Mark and Jen
• Oxtail Soup - Nora (and her Papa)
• Queimar a Bota (White Bean Kale Soup - Portuguese-ish Fart Soup) - Ben and Kirsten
• Carrot Ginger Velvet - Chris
• Black Bean Soup - Nikki
• Nutty Beet Soup - Mitchino
• Portuguese Potato Soup with Chorizo - Tammy
• White Chicken Chili - Tammy

What an impressive crowd of soup-swappers!

Naptown Soup Swap Tonight

Okay, good folks. Tonight's the night. I'm so excited to trade out our freezer-full of our soup with a freezer-full of friends' soup. I can't wait for tonight's Soup Swap!!!

MLK on poverty & hunger

It's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day! This holiday represents so many things that are wonderful about our country - true patriotism, collective action, efforts to expand social justice, and the potential for positive change. But it is also a reminder of the work that remains to endow each individual, in the USA and in the rest of the world, with the right and opportunity to lead happy, productive, fulfilling lives.

On that note, I want to take a moment to reflect on a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr:

Why should there be hunger and deprivation in any land, in any city, at any table, when man has the resources and the scientific know-how to provide all mankind with the basic necessities of life? There is no deficit in human resources. The deficit is in human will.

Photo: National Archives and Records Administration

If you're interested in helping others in your community and believe that food and that alleviation of hunger is a good way to do that, a good first step is to visit the National Hunger Clearinghouse to search for a local food bank. And, don't forget that we'll be collecting dried pasta at the Naptown Soup Swap for Second Helpings on Wednesday.

good food reads

Facing One's Meal - an article covering chefs' and cooks' expanding interest in humane meat production. Living in a flexitarian (or really, a mixed-niverous) household, this article is of particular interest to me. It also connects to a conversation a little ways back that I had with a coworker that led to some pretty interesting topics including marrying one's cousin and eating other people's arms.

Rogue Chocolatier - wow! Midwest represent! There's a guy in Minnesota making his own chocolate completely from scratch. I mean completely - he roasts his own beans. And he's only 22. This little piece is too brief, but it's also inspiring.

A small rave for pomegranate molasses - Those who are close to me already know that I have mad-love for this amazing condiment. I'm glad to know that others share my passion. (via not martha)

Bay Leaf Overview - For bay leaf newbies, this article gives you the basic information on the leaf. There's also a tip what may end up being a kitchen gem: "Burying a dried bay leaf in an airtight canister of rice imparts a subtle savory flavor to the grain." And a heads-up from our household, my husband works at the Good Earth and the dried herbs, spices, and teas he brings home from their second-floor can't be beat for flavor or price.

Good question!

I got a really sweet email from our friend Andy earlier, telling me that he thought of me when a culinary question popped into his head. How fun is that?! Well, the question went something like this:
I figured you'd be the best person to ask where I might be able to find celery root.

Given the delicious and soup-friendly properties of celery root (also known as celeriac - I can't decide which name I like better), I think this a pretty great question. First things first, here's a picture of the celery root.


The short version of my reply started like this:
I wonder if Saraga would have it.

But then I thought about how lazy an answer that was, decided to do a basic amount of research and came with the following ideas:
I just called the Carmel Fresh Market and they said that they have it. If only they were open around here... [Ben and I live very close to the new store site and I was even on some time ago blathering on about how much I wanted there to be a grocery store after Atlas closed]
Marsh on Broad Ripple Ave. has it, too. I also have to say that Marsh seemed a lot more eager to get an answer for me, while Fresh Market was a bit persnickety. I hope that's not a sign of things to come on College Ave. I hate persnickety!

Seriously, folks: what is up with persnickety produce people? It gives produce a bad name.

eggs are better than cameras

Sadly, our digital camera and/or connector is on the fritz, so I can't share the white bean-spinach dish that I made on Monday. I'll figure it out...

While we wait a day or two for the photofritz to subside, I'll go ahead and share a couple of egg-y things that seem pretty cool to me. Now, I know that Easter and the related parade of egg-related dishes are quite some time away. But that's always seemed wrong to me. Don't we all, except a smattering of dear vegan and egg-hating friends, eat eggs year-round? Yes, we do. So, on to some ovo-enthusiasm.

These lovely little egg cups from Anthropologie would be super cute on a brunch plate or to jazz up chocolate eggs (you can make them or buy them) for dessert.
Another fun egg-related idea: Epicurious has a lovely egg recipe that I've been meaning to try for quite a while. It's "Individual Oven-Coddled Eggs with Mashed Potato and Herbs." Sounds delicious, right? Put almost anything next to mashed potatoes, and I will be very happy to gobble it all up. I'm saving this for a weekend breakfast with Ben, which is when we tend to get a bit carried away, meaning that I take a break from cereal and Ben bothers to eat before lunch. Maybe with the predicted cold front, this Saturday will be the day.

Another Indy Soup Swap!

At another Indianapolis blog, Going Local, you can find some a great soup swap recipe for butternut squash and apple soup. Why are they posting soup-swap-friendly recipes? Because Indianapolis is representing proudly with two, count them, two different swaps, and these kind folks are the hosts of the new swap. The "Indiana Local Food Soup Swap" (otherwise known as the swap that we are not hosting) will be taking place on the 26th. Looks pretty cool!


I love how strongly Indiana is representing! Last year, after our Spring and early Summer swaps, we kind of faded in our swap-hosting duties. Thanks to all this swap-goodness, I'm feeling completely committed to swapping this year.

But maybe we should think of other swaps? Cookies, casseroles, breads??? Thoughts?

Little Pleasures

One of the primary reasons that I started this blog, apart from a general obsession with food, was to highlight some of our fair city's culinary pleasures. Indianapolis may be mid-size and, therefore, pretty easy to navigate, but I still think it's a pretty special place with some unheralded delights. When I began driving at 16, exploring Indianapolis was thrilling and involved finding many cool, unexpected treasures. I want to maintain a bit of that wonder, and food finds seem the easiest way to accomplish that desire.

So, I'll keep working on that wonder, and hopefully sharing it a bit, by featuring a little food pleasure here each week. The pick may be a dish, a drink, a product, an amazing waiter, but it will always be specific. So, here goes...

The jackfruit shake at King Wok always makes me happy. No matter that this place has great vegetarian options, including pho, or that their wait staff is sweet and welcoming or that their summer rolls are full of fresh flavors, the item I most crave from King Wok is the jackfruit shake. Blended with ice and - I think - sweetened condensed milk, the jackfruit is light and not overly sweet. Each refreshing sip calms my palate and prepares me for the next spicy bite.

Soup Swap Shout Out!

The National Soup Swap Guru, Knox Gardner, gave our little Naptown Soup Swap a fun shout out at the national site today.

Here's a shot from one of last year's swaps and just a hint of the soup splendor of it all.


If you haven't RSVP'ed and plan to come, let us know you're coming, why don't you? If you want to come, but don't have all the details, hit me up at middlewestmeals@gmail.com.

Recipes for the Future

Reflecting on the bounty that was the NYTimes Dining & Wine section today, I decided to add a special little section to your right. I am proud to introduce "Recipes for the Future," a link list to recipes that look delicious and that I need to try. If you have suggestions for new listings or comments about any of the links, please let me know.

As soon as I picked the NYTimes links (the lentil soup and clementine clafoutis), I ran across the miso and sweet potato dumpling soup via thekitchn. It being soup swap month and all, they felt very appropriate. Not that I'd recommend a dumpling soup for freezing...

I promise to keep you updated as I try out the recipes!

Oh, one last suggestion about the NYTimes: Check out the Persian Rice recipe. I've made a few similar Persian dishes from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian, and they are possibly the ideal iteration of rice. The crusty exterior - I've made versions with potato and herb crusts - also makes for a fancy dinner party presentation.

Winter Blah Leads to Shopping Awe

Until the past couple of years, I loved winter. I didn't just love the winter holidays, I loved the dreary, gray, cold, rainy, sleety, snowy mix that is central Indiana from January through March. But something in me snapped. The chill has crept into my bones and, even with some extra curve on my frame and unseasonably warm weather, today's gray blah-ness has me down.

So, what to do with winter ickies? Well, post-holiday sales are always great. Even though I don't necessarily plan to buy anything, the great deal on the Marimekko Mitts below from FinnStyle make me happy! The black ones match the floor cushions in our living room, so I'm definitely tempted... If you're interested, hop on over to the FinnStyle site.



Marimekko Mitts at Finnstyle
Originally uploaded by keeeks

In addition to more Marimekko products, there's a bunch of iittala on clearance. The goblets that we picked up from TJ Maxx (no shame!) a couple of years ago are the hardiest pieces of glassware that we've got, and cute to boot.

Post-Birthday Joy - Chocolate & Zucchini Cake

My birthday, the Epiphany, was yesterday.

Over at Chocolate & Zucchini, Clotilde (whose book is really great!) might have celebrated the Epiphany with a Galette des Rois, and Nigella Lawson may have been doing the same thing on her January 6th birthday. Or at least she talks about a Galette des Rois in her cookbooks. In case you hadn't caught it in the subtext, I love that Nigella and I share the Epiphany for a birthday. My friend Kyle has the same birthday, too!

But on my January 6th birthday, I like to eat Chocolate and Zucchini cake, baked by my lovely mama-la. And I did.

If you'd like to have the same cake, you'll have to follow the recipe below. But, be forewarned, on my birthday, you really should leave out the nuts and the chocolate chips. I'm not a fan of nuts in sweet breads or cakes. Also, I'm not one of the chocolate-crazy masses, so the optional chips are unnecessary in my cake.

Courtesy of Leanne Anderson, otherwise known as the best mom in the world, here is a recipe for the cake I can always make room for, even after eating a ton of Udupi's buffet...

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

Dry stuff: 2 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, 1tsp soda, 1 tsp salt

Stuff to cream: 1/2 cup Butter, 1/2 cup oil, 1 3/4 cup sugar
The rest:
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour milk (To make sour milk, mix 1/2 cup milk with 2 teaspoons lemon juice and let stand 10 minutes.)

2 cups grated zucchini
1 tsp vanilla

Optional: 3/4 cup chocolate chips & 3/4 cup nuts

Sift together flour, cocoa, salt and soda, set aside. Cream butter, oil and sugar.

Add eggs and beat well. Mix in zucchini, then add flour mixture and milk alternately.

Add vanila and bake in 9 x 13 inch pan. Top with chips and nuts if desired. Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees.

Soup Swap Donation Fun!

An exciting update on the soup swap front:

We'll be collecting dried pasta donations for the wonderful Second Helpings!

Second Helpings is pretty cool place where great work gets done. At Second Helpings, they rescue prepared and perishable food, re-prepare it into nutritious meals, and distribute those meals to organizations that feed hungry people. They also use some of the food they rescue to train adults for careers in the culinary field, helping to eliminated hunger at its source. Pretty freaking awesome, right?

Nora reports that Second Helpings can use as much as 125 pounds of pasta a day. And, what's more, pasta doesn't get rescued very often, since it doesn't really spoil.

So, soup swappers, how many pounds of pasta will we be donating to Second Helpings?

Naptown Soup Swap

I'm kicking off my new food-oriented blog with the first Naptown Soup Swap of 2008. If you got an email or postcard about the party, then this is where you can get the soup-swap guidelines. If you didn't get an invitation and you'd like one, email me to request one!

This is a national movement. Check out the whole scene and other locales at very official national website.

Here are the guidelines for soup-swappers:

1. Decide on the soup you'd like to share, cook it up, freeze it, and bring six one-quart portable containers of it. There aren't rules about the kind of soup you might bring, but there are plenty of vegetarians and vegans on this list... Sadly, we cannot guarantee that individual food needs will be met with each quart you receive. If you are meat free, you may get to share with your meathead friends who will doubtless appreciate your generosity.

2. We all get together at the appointed time and have a little mingle time, then a little "Telling of the Soup" time, and finally we swap. The soup is selected in rounds. Special prizes will be distributed, per the host's and hostess's unpredictable but also lovable whims.

3. Can't come, but want to swap? Send a proxy. Your proxy must bring your soup, but they will have the last pick in each soup selection round.

4. Tastings will not be possible, as soups will be frozen, but each swapper will tell the special story of his or her own soup, to guide our selections. Eat before the party. We'll have some snacks & wine, but not a whole meal. Your soup bounty will be enjoyed at a later date.

5. No cook-y, no come-y. You get one quart of soup for each quart you bring, which means you get six quarts of new, exciting soups. If you don't make soup, you don't get soup, so why come at all?

Email me with any additional questions!