scary & scrumptious?

Besides the pile of sweets for trick-or-treaters, does anyone have exciting food plans for Halloween?

There are plenty of despicably delicious foods from Martha, truly the queen of crafty Halloween. Seriously, have you seen how seriously she takes the holiday? And how it brings out her less-OCD side? Love her at Halloween.

Swamp Sips

Brain Cupcakes

If you don't have Halloween food plans this year, please share any fond memories of Halloween treats or meals.

pretty darn swell photo blog

Sometimes, given the busy pace of life, a lady needs a break. Since I adore food and pretty pictures, I have found a perfect online spot for me to stop, look and refresh my spirit - the swell photo blog, run by Indianapolis' own Stacy & Mary. This dynamic photographic team take pictures of important events and, most important for me, of wonderful food and restaurants, and they feature highlights from their film (or digital files, probably) at their blog.

Check out the shot below of rolls from Naked Tchopstix (a place I like in almost every way).

photo used by permission, copyright Stacy & Mary

There's plenty more, just hop on over to the swell photo blog to see marvelous pictures from R Bistro and The Best Chocolates in Town and Cafe Patachou and Iaria's and Stone Creek. You get the point, right? There's also plenty of happy couples, if you get all doe-eyed or water-works-y about that sort of thing.

breaking in the ebelskiver pan

You knew it was coming, the logical conclusion to my ebelskiver obsession and the most lovely surprise gift from Holly & Stamatis - on Sunday, I broke in the ebelskiver pan.

I used the recipe that came with the pan (almost just like the ebelskiver recipe on the Williams Sonoma site), halving it because 40 little pockets of filled pancake goodness seemed excessive. 20 is just about right for two people, right? I also tried something that, for some reason, always seemed like too much of a chore - I hand-whipped my egg whites. And it was pretty easy and certainly worth the little effort for the feeling of accomplishment.

look at those hand-whipped egg whites!

For the inaugural ebelskiver pan outing, we used an array of fillings, to try out a variety of options. Among the contenders: preserves of lingonberries and strawberries, bittersweet chocolate, peanut butter, and walnuts mixed with Peachy Keen butter from Country Mouse City Mouse (which, in all honesty, the CMCM crew would not allow me to purchase - so, heads up, that was also a gift, a delicious gift!). We brought out the maple syrup, as well as powdered sugar and lemon wedges for topping the little pockets of breakfast goodness.

each ebelskiver is like a little present for your piehole

The verdict: Ebelskivers are awesome! Despite my fears, the effort did not outweigh the benefits. Flipping the ebelskivers was surprisingly easy. Ben described their crispy exterior and creamy interior as a cross between a donut hole and a pancake. Ebelskivers are buttery and cakey, but not overly sweet, making them ideally suited for the taste-surprise of filling in each pillowy puff.

Planning has begun for this coming weekend's fillings. While the winners from last weekend - lingonberries with powdered sugar and lemon topping for me and the walnut-Peachy Keen butter combo with maple syrup for Ben - were delightful, we're pretty sure that pumpkin and apple fillings will figure predominantly in our next ebelskiver adventure.

creepy packaging highlight

Bread & Honey, a blog that otherwise has some sassy and fun (and autumnal!) recipes, focused on a special case of, well, frightening food packaging in action.

Check it, a detail from a box of Cascadian Farm organic frozen broccoli:
See the little faces on those florets? This reminds me of my dad trying to convince my sister and me that vegetarianism was a silly choice. His reasoning: (1) alleged "studies" indicating advanced nervous systems - and therefore feelings - in broccoli and (2) Hitler avoided meat.

Really, though, this kind of makes me want to go as broccoli for Halloween.

Ben says, "Who wouldn't put their friends' faces on nationally distributed images of broccoli if given the chance?" Apparently, if he were a dentist, he would also inscribe his initials (BS) into crowns and fillings. That's my guy. (Don't ask him what he would do if he were a plastic surgeon or a tattoo artist. I don't want to know.)

taste's pomme frites

Question: Who among Indianapolis-dwellers has ordered the pomme frites from Taste Cafe & Marketplace on College Avenue as a side and successfully eaten the whole thing?

picture from the old-school Taste interior, the frites remain unchanged

I routinely get an order to share with lunch companions and, after eating their huge salads, we never get to the bottom of the cup. And then I feel like a jerk, wasting all that good fatty starch.

By the way, if you haven't stopped by the renewed Taste, the dark but dapper interior is quite nice. My lunch mate today remarked that it would make for a good brunch location - you know, easing into the day in a non-bright location after an exciting Friday night.

Locally Grown Gardens blog = fabulousness

[I am suspending my hunger-awareness campaign for the time being.]

Something very excited has happened to the local food blog world. Locally Grown Gardens, a Middle West Meals favorite, has launched a lovely web presence which seems to be mostly a blog. Among the exciting topics of conversation:

• This Saturday's hog roast and salmon grill,
  
• An upcoming class on cooking with real (that is, not canned) pumpkins, and
  
• One of the best Indiana food specialties, persimmon baked goods!
  

oops - Blog Action Day

Yesterday was Blog Action Day, and the theme was poverty. Typical of me, I found out about Blog Action Day the day after it happened. Featuring the food access poster on Tuesday was a happy accident. Clearly, food access and poverty are interrelated problems.

Still, I'm a bit sad that no one shared their ideas about fighting hunger [in response to my earlier post]. A quick visit to the World Food Program's interactive hunger map demonstrates the need for addressing this issue. Begging for comments depresses me, but I really want to know:
What are you doing or what do you want to do to fight hunger in your local, state, national or international community?

If you're stymied for ideas, these sites might help:

• End Poverty Blog
• Stand Up & Take Action Against Poverty and for the Millennium Development Goals
• Moving Up USA
  

food access across the world

Toby Ng's "If the world were a village of 100 people..." poster series has been popping up around the blog world recently. By creating beautiful and graphic interpretations of international statistics, Ng has produced a sometimes startling, sometimes sobering and often beautiful depiction of our world.
The poster that most intrigued me, not surprisingly, focuses on food availability. As we enter a season of so many celebrations, I want to remember to share in the bounty of harvest with as many people as possible. Locally, Second Helpings rescues and reprepares food that would otherwise go to waste, distributes those meals to children and adults and helps unemployed and underemployed people learn the culinary trade.

Internationally, Oxfam does amazing work. World Food Day is October 16 and, like many other organizations, Oxfam has some great ideas to mark the day and increase our awareness of hunger.

Do you have any ideas or tips about decreasing hunger in our world?

the ebelskiver saga continues - pick your filling

It's as if the world is whispering to me every few hours, "Kirsten, purchase and/or share-purchase an ebelskiver pan." Case in point: Hygge House has this little post, including recommendations from readers about what they would put inside those ebelskivers. The ricotta and pear filling sounds the most tempting this morning, though apple butter would put a lovely mid-western spin on the little pancakes.

Additionally, I found this lovely picture, to your left, by cafemama on flickr.

To add to the shopping temptation, I'd love to know what you would put inside an ebelskiver.

gender, dining and gracious gatherings

At the Blog Indiana conference, I met Anna Lisa Gross who writes a great blog that examines popular culture through a feminist lens. She recently added another blog to her online roster, Hospitality in the Coming Age, which highlights local and inclusive cooking and sharing. She's exploring one of my favorite topics - ensuring that each person at your table is welcomed and included - and doing a lovely job.

illustration by Tony Cenicola for New York Times

A related topic, gender equity in fine dining, is explored in an interesting piece at the New York Times, Old Gender Roles with Your Dinner?. Beyond dissecting the impact of gender at a smattering of New York restaurants, the article also explores what seem to me to be some outdated notions of allegedly disparate needs and expectations of men and women in restaurants.

I'd love to hear your reactions... When Mario Batali says “Women are looking for somewhere comfortable. Men are looking for somewhere to show off," is he correct? What about the claim that women are scared to eat meat when it sounds like an animal ("suckling pig") but happy to dine on less obvious allusions to the animal of origin (chorizo)?

ridiculously adorable super short stack

The ebelskiver question remains unanswered for me. But something more ingenious, something teeny tiny (see my miniature obsession all over Middle West Meals - mail-order style, cake style, cupcake style...) and something which requires no special equipment caught my eye over at the always awesome Party Perfect: this tiny short stack of pancakes, the ideal brunch party appetizer, from gastrokid.


I've added this little idea to my must-do list!

Ebelskiver Pan - Will this enhance my life?

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a question for you. A critical question in which you must weigh the relative merits of (a) a clutter-free life and a healthy checkbook against the merits of (b) lovely Sunday mornings spent eating adorable little pancakes filled with preserves.

Despite repeated efforts to eliminate all kitchenware catalogs from my mailbox and product alerts from my email inbox, sometimes a very appealing single-use kitchen item enthralls me to the degree that I mention it weekly to someone - usually Ben - and begin to dream of the improved life that this single-use item will bring me. Never mind that it will cause clutter. Never mind that it probably costs a bit much for a single-use item. Never mind that I already have cupboards full of cooking implements.



That's an ebelskiver pan, the item I've been obsessing about for roughly one and one-half years. According to Williams-Sonoma, the pan has been improved. Thanks, W-S, for spurring on my deep interest in making tiny pancakes filled with jam for lazy Sunday morning. Thanks a lot. Images of Ben and I, knee-deep in the Sunday New York Times and listening to really good music while munching on ebelskivers, fill my head.

I must resist. Right? Or do you think this ebelskiver pan will enhance my life?

spicy pepita-ginger chocolate bark

At this month's first Friday gathering, we kept things low key with grilled hot dogs (beefy and vegan-y), tons of condiments, mulled cider and autumnal beer, a salad, a slaw, some vegan pumpkin cookies that are almost as good as my grandma's recipe and - the big hit of the evening - spicy pepita-ginger chocolate bark. So many people commented on the bark that, after getting a surprise invitation to an amazing dinner party, I whipped some up to bring as a host & hostess gift.


Recipe: Spicy Pepita-Ginger Chocolate Bark
(inspired by this recipe at Chow)
serves plenty for a little dish at a party

Ingredients
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (cut into chunks)
7 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (chips or broken up)
1/6 cup chopped crystallized ginger
olive oil
1/2 cup raw green pumpkin seeds
1/4 teaspoon cayenne - or more if you like it really spicy
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
salt

Directions
Set up a sheet of parchment paper on a large baking sheet. Set aside.

Combine the chocolate in a small saucepan. Over low heat, stir until it melts and is smooth. If you're worried about burning the chocolate, using a double-boiler is a safer method.

Heat a tiny drizzle of olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat, adding the pumpkin seeds once the pan is hot. Cook, stirring often, until some of the seeds begin to toast. Add the cayenne, cinnamon and a sprinkle of salt.

Add the ginger and two-thirds of the pumpkin seeds to the chocolate, stirring until well combined. Spread the mixture on the parchment into a rectangle that is about 14 by 11 inches. Quickly add the last third of the pumpkin seeds to the top of the chocolate. Allow to cool for several hours and break into chunks.

green your grocery - produce bags

The final frontier in the greening of my grocery shopping are those plastic produce bags. I've been using my Envirosax for months, happily rolling and unrolling them at grocery and general goods stores.

It's hard to buy green beans without a bag of some sort. And, even for larger items, I have trouble keeping other people from adding plastic to my bag. Case in point: When I go to Fresh Market and put a head of cabbage in my cart, the checkout folks consistently grab a plastic bag to put around it. Then comes the awkward, "Oh, thanks, but I don't want that plastic bag," conversation.


Today, at shelterrific I found the answer to my problem: handmade reusable bags from amkdesigns, pictured above. I haven't ordered these yet, but they look sturdy enough. They're $12 for a pack of six bags, which seems reasonable enough.

anniversary colcannon

Two years ago, Ben and I wed. October 1, 2006 was a pretty day, warmer than today and almost overwhelmingly sunny. We said lovely things to one another and made some heavy promises.


And, of course, we had some really awesome food. Our friend Becky catered the wedding and among the many selections was a little dish that we chose to celebrate our heritage. In case you can't guess by our general coloring, we share strong Irish genes, with a bit of other stuff mixed in to keep it interesting. To honor our shared cultural background, Becky made a big serving of colcannon. A traditional Irish dish often served at holidays and especially served - with special coin prizes - on Halloween, colcannon is composed of potatoes and kale, cabbage or other leafy greens. The recipe below isn't Becky's, but it's almost as good as the one we ate two years ago today.

Recipe: Colcannon
serves 6

Ingredients
6-7 large russet potatoes (4-5 pounds) - peeled
3-4 green scallions, sliced
2/3 - 3/4 stick of butter, plus more for dotting on top
1 smaller head of green cabbage or 3 bunches of kale
1 cup of milk or cream, if you're feeling sassy, heated either way
salt and pepper

Get to work
Set up a steamer insert in a big pot of boiling water. Steam the peeled potatoes until they are fork-tender and ready to be mashed. Many people will advocate just boiling the potatoes, but this steaming method is worth the extra time - the potatoes taste so much better after steaming. Don't throw out the boiling water - you'll use it for the cabbage or kale. Drain the potatoes, put them in a big bowl - you'll be mashing in this bowl - and add in the scallions and the butter to melt. Cover the bowl to keep warm.

Core the cabbage and cut into thin slices. If you're using kale, just cut in thin slices, removing the bottoms of the leaves. Add the sliced cabbaged or kale to the boiling water and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the leaves are just cooked. Be careful not to overcook them - a little bit of bite in the stocky parts is okay, but overcooked leaves are not. Drain the cabbage, let it cool a bit and squeeze out any remaining moisture.

Mash the potatoes, scallions, and butter with the milk or cream, adding plenty of salt and pepper to taste. Use only a potato masher, not a ricer and certainly not a blender. (The best kind of masher - what we would call a Catholic masher in my family - doesn't have a wiry squiggle for mashing, rather the Catholic masher has a grid pattern and a sturdy construction.) Stir in the cabbage or kale. Top the whole mix with 3 or 4 pats of butter, to form lovely streams of butter over the top of the dish.

Variation: Bump it up a notch and make rumpledethumps by adding some sharp, shredded cheddar and a bit of nutmeg to the top of the colcannon and pop it under the broiler or in a toasty oven until the cheese melts and bubbles a bit. A bit of parsley on top would be good, too.