Tag Archives: food

{pickled gherkins}

30 Oct

when i say, “gherkins” – what is the first thing that comes to your mind?

for me, it’s the movie dirty dancing.  weird, right?!  there’s the scene where neil is asking baby if she is hungry, and he’s looking in the fridge… “leftover cabbage roll, fruit salad…?  sweet gherkins?!”  😛

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anyway… i don’t really like sweet pickles. but i do love dill pickles. and when i found these *adorable* baby gherkins, i literally squealed in excitement! apparently, they are also known as “cucamelons.” {teehehee}

they are slightly sour, and very juicy!  which, i admit, was a little surprising.  i also read that they are very easy to grow… which makes me totally want to try to include some in the garden next year!

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they look like little watermelons!!  eep!  so cute. Continue reading

{seasonal eating : wild chanterelle mushrooms}

27 Oct

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i looooooove mushrooms, did you know this?!  it was amazing to discover that some mushrooms grow WILD up here in the high country. morels, boletus, and chanterelles, to name a few. and they are all something special.  when we received some wild chanterelles at the store, i eagerly nabbed some up so i could try them for the first time.  they are only available for a short time, and many of the “professional” foragers are extremely secretive about their “finding spots”  – and who can blame them!!?? – they sell for upwards of $20.00 a pound! we had a very rainy august here in the valley, and that made for some ideal mushroom hunting-and-gathering!

the peak season for chanterelles is in the fall… we have had a little frost in the mornings lately, so i’m kind of assuming they’re done for the year… but i could be wrong. i’m also just a little late in posting this blog 😛

i most likely have had chanterelle mushrooms at some point in my life and not realized it.  i’m sure at some fancy dinner in NYC, i had a couple in a dish once… but i wanted to truly truly taste the mushroom – being a purist and all – so i simply sauteed them in some awesome local pasture butter.

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i sauteed the golden fungi for about 15 minutes, until they were nice and aromatic… then poured the whole mixture over a yummy baked russet potato…

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it was a taste of heaven…

do you like mushrooms? have you had chanterelles? what is your favourite mushroom?? 

{the smallest veggies ever}

20 Oct

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super cute and tiny veggies to enjoy!   Continue reading

{foto friday : “snake melon”}

17 Oct

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have you ever seen such a thing?  i sure hadn’t… but thanks to my awesome new job, i have been exploring all kinds of new produce.  this is called a “snake melon” but also formally known as an “armenian cucumber.”  the one i bought looks kind of like a question mark… yeah?

these interesting melons can grow up to 3-feet long!  and did you know that all cucumbers are melons?!  i sure didn’t.  something else new i learned, recently.  makes sense, though – right?!

😉

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this cucumber was more like a melon, for sure.  had a similar texture to an english cucumber, but with a little less “crispness” and a much sweeter flavour.  not too sweet, but noticeably different than a regular cucumber.  i totally chowed down on some!  i hope you all get the chance to, as well!  😉

{homemade sauerkraut}

13 Oct

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i’ve been wanting to try to make my own sauerkraut for a while now… as i’ve mentioned in the past, i’ll get on these kicks where i’m all like, “i can make that!” and i think that i can make TIME multiply and have more of it so i can actually MAKE all the stuff i say i can make… silly me.

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anyway, luckily this whole sauerkraut making process is super easy and not nearly as time consuming as one may think.  well, the actual “making” of it takes a little while, but preparing it does not.  it’s quite fun, too. you get your hands involved and you get to “play” with your food, which i always enjoy. 😉  plus, it’s oktoberfest!! and i’m part german, so it’s high time i learn how to make this amazing stuff so every october i can eat it. just kidding, that’s not my only motive.  sauerkraut is one of the oldest fermented foods out there.  and it’s one of those things that is actually pretty inexpensive to make on your own, but for whatever reason, can be kind of expensive to buy. this small batch didn’t cost me much. i had the salt at home, and this head of organic cabbage was $2. it’s loaded with probiotics and because it’s cabbage, it naturally contains a prebiotic as well. it’s just really awesome stuff. we should all eat more sauerkraut… in my humble opinion.

i digress.

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as i said, the process is very simple.  and so are the ingredients :

– one medium head of cabbage {organic, if possible}

– 1 1/2 tbsp salt {i chose himalayan pink salt}

– large glass container or fermenting crock {as clean as you can get it}

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begin by quartering cabbage and then chopping into “ribbons.”  add salt and begin to work in the salt using your hands.  this is the fun part.  you can literally {with clean hands, of course} squish and squeeze the cabbage all around. this will eventually cause the cabbage to wilt from working the salt in.

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it’s quite amazing how it works, and it’s just oh-so-fun. Continue reading

{just some pics from my week}

11 Oct

happy october!

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happy non-gmo month!!!  yay!

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lovin’ these gloves i scored at a thrift shop…

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they are perfect for halloween! 😉

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stewin’ maters…

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and makin’ ’em into a meaty sauce… nom nom.

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pretty radishes!

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scary spider… but not really that scary.

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frost in the mornings… it’s a regular thing, now.

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feathers on eggs… not a regular thing, but i think it’s SO COOL!

{foto friday : for the love of leeks}

10 Oct

i recently had a random and brief discussion with a stranger about leeks.  he mentioned that leeks are prominent in french cooking, which i found intriguing.  he also said something like, “they have a lot of some magic property that is super good for you…”  which made me giggle… and which i later discovered was polyphenol – the super antioxidant we all love so much.

i’ve always been attracted to leeks, though i never really cook with them much.  i want to start using leeks more often in the food and foto kitchen.

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i plan to add them in a frittata… yum!  which actually, i do believe i’ve done before…

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{fall is for…}

4 Oct

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wearing beanies…

{crazy over-exposure!}

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and aspens… !

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and buying yourself flowers…

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and eating tomatoes…

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and squeezing in final trips to the farmers market…

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and seeing snowfall above 10K feet…

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and enjoying breezy landscapes…

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and making {chicken tortilla} soup…

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and eating {chicken tortilla} soup!

🙂

hope you all have/had a terrific weekend!

{fried green tomatoes}

1 Oct

happy october!  are you loving the fall colours where you live?! this is my favourite time of year – i just love autumn!  it’s also when i was born, so i feel most alive during this season.  i’ve also been feeling very lethargic and sleepy… but i suppose that just comes with the change in season and light.  i kind of wish i could just hibernate all winter… snuggle with callee more and eat tons of comfort food.

i’ve been wanting to make fried green tomatoes for a while now… what, being born in the south and all, it only seemed fitting.  i can’t believe i had never tried to make them before!  have you?!  when i spotted these perfect tomatoes, i was inspired and excited. so – i practiced the KISS method :

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oh.so.simple.

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and beautiful.

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AND delicious!!!!

i fried my green tomatoes in real sweet cream butter after slicing them about 1/3 inch thick, then dipping them in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs with a little S&P.  i finished the ‘maters off with a topping of freshly-grated parmigiano reggiano. super simple, super easy, and super yummy!

{i’m lovin’ it…}

27 Sep

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…this random hash with onion, garlic, potatoes, bacon, tomatoes, and kale.

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…this. *giggle*

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…subtle reminders.

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…these $5 birks i scored at a thrift store in moab – never been worn!  

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…fresh halibut – worth the splurge!

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…fishin’ somewhere near paonia.

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…creating farm-to-table meals with elk meatballs, wild boletus mushrooms, sauteed swiss chard, fresh salad.

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…my new job.

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…a perfect tomato from a friend’s garden.

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…making wishes at the wishing tree.

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…a beehive, right by my house!

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…the fact that peach season is officially over… i enjoyed one final one for desert after the bronco game. 

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…my tomatoes are finally taking off.

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…tomato bounty!

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…glowing sopris… {and the fact that it’s still been nice enough to even wear sandals!}

enjoy your weekend!

{september bounty – eat the rainbow!}

19 Sep

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between farmer’s markets, my new job, and cool new people in my life – i’m one blessed {and grateful!} lady!  ❤

{speaking of peaches…}

14 Sep

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…what is it with things growing together lately?!  😉

{peach pickin’ in paonia}

13 Sep

i totally fell in love… with this great little town… paonia.  i actually considered moving there before i moved to my little neck of the mountains… but i hadn’t yet visited and i’m super glad i had the opportunity to this week! i had heard that there were farms up in paonia where you could pick your own produce for a nominal fee… and obviously – i was all over that!

the season for peaches is almost over, but orchard valley farms still had plenty of trees to harvest from! i had never done anything like this, it was quite the experience! ❤

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i left my camera at home, because this was sort of an impromptu trip… but i had the trusty iphone.

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hehehee {not a real person, but totally fooled me!} 😛

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entrance to the garden and grove… {those are “peach pickers”}

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peach trees galore!

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ladder to pick the really big ones at the top!

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like this! 😀

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sipping wine and picking peaches… what a day!

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pumpkins!  {no pickin’ pumpkins, though!}

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no picking wine grapes either… but the merlot/cabernet blend from black ridge winery was just wonderful!

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then i spotted this door on the way out… 🙂

enjoy the weekend!

 

{mini caprese stacks}

10 Sep

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finger food is my favourite!  i believe in touching and playing with your food!!  😉

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and i’m kind of obsessed with tomatoes… i eat them with almost every meal, it seems. i love the colourful variety of them.  little, big, funky shaped, speckled… deep colours, bright colours…

i especially love to make little snacks with tomatoes – any way i can.

and so, i present to you… the most adorable mini-caprese stacks ever.  at least by my standards.

😉 Continue reading

{food photography : watermelon radish}

7 Sep

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how cute are these?!

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i don’t even know what to say about this adorable vegetable. when my new boss {i left the corporate world last week – details to follow!} told me that this looked like a watermelon inside, the first thought in my head was, “well, that would fotograph just perfectly with black lava salt!” 😀

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now, i am not the biggest radish fan on this earth, but i do occasionally get cravings for them. i roasted some once, which totally changes their flavour – almost making the “bite” more tolerable.  radishes are high in vitamin c and potassium, and they are a very low-calorie food.

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these watermelon radishes are so pretty…

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and sure enough, are a bright magenta colour inside!

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watermelon radish…

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so i obviously had to cut them into little watermelon-shaped slices…

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sprinkle on some wonderful black lava salt.. for taste, and for effect! 😉

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hello, watermelon radish!

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nom nom… nom.

{cool as a cucumber}

30 Aug
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cool as a cucumber

 

😉

{zucchini “mini-me”}

24 Aug

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when a friend of mine pointed out this super-cool-looking zucchini squash to me… i exclaimed, “i wanna take a picture of that!” 😉

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i always buy the “weird-looking” produce… mainly for this here bloggy blog, but also because – weird is cool.

{artisan salts : black lava}

22 Aug

perhaps you may know by now, that i have a major affinity for salt.  himalayan pink salt being my top pick… in fact, i love salt so much that sometimes people buy it for me or bring it back from france as a gift… {how lucky am i!?}

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this beautiful salt is called “black lava” and i recently discovered the most interesting thing about it. apparently, it is simply salt from the hawaiian shore that has been “infused” with activated charcoal… typically from coconuts. WHAT!  did you know that??!!  crazy!  therefore, this awesome salt is also very detoxifying and has been used in spas across the country.  furthermore, i discovered that it is considered a “finishing salt”… which i must’ve known instinctively {thanks to my intuitive-eating lifestyle}, because i totally just put some on this delicious tomato the other day and devoured it…

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it has a slight smokey flavour and i just love the colour!

definitely nab some up if you find it in your specialty department or store. it’s worth the extra expense, and the trace mineral content is also very high in this salt, which just adds to its awesomeness.

{beautiful and colourful cherry tomatoes}

13 Aug

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i can’t seem to get enough of these gorgeous locally-grown organic and adorable cherry tomatoes, lately…

i fotograph and write about these amazing little gems all the time… i just think they are so beautiful!  and they are so incredibly delicious! so flavourful and juicy! i just pop ’em in my mouth like candy… nature’s candy!

nom nom…

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and i put them in everything – my salads, my risotto, my frittatas, my sauces, my {awesome} zucchini strips

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these little red ones look kinda like strawberries… teehehe

FOOD IS SO COOL!!!!! 😀

 

{whatever wednesday : wild wild raspberries from the wild wild west}

6 Aug

i think it’s so cool that so many things grow wild up here… asparagus, morel mushrooms…

…and raspberries!

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