spicy salad greens

Honey Creek Farms spicy salad greens brighten up my snowy day. There is so much variation in each bag. Some greens are six inches long yet some are like delicate little petals. I know Honey Creek Farm comes to the Omaha farmers markets but you can also get the greens at Wohlner’s.*

When I eat the salad by myself I like to eat with my hands. Picking each different leaf up one by one.** I don’t really think the greens are all that spicy. There are just a few real nice, bright, mustard flavor greens mixed in.

These salad greens are nice with just a simple vinaigrette and whatever ingredients you have on had. Tonight I only had chickpea, a red pepper and frozen peas and it was a nice simple meal.

*5205 Leavenworth Street

**Everything taste better when you use your hands.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

Yum! Some lucky co-workers of mine will get to sample chocolatey goodness tomorrow at our bake sale for Second Harvest. This recipe was quite nice. I based mine off of one from allrecipes.com and the recos from the comments to make moister muffins. Of course I had to use whole wheat flour, oat bran, as well as a touch of my favourite cayanne and cinnamon. My chocophile husband withholds comments until tomorrow when he can sample his 6th muffin;) I am a fan of this new recipe and have added it to my collection. Cold milk is a must when sampling these dangerous chocolatey muffins.

Congratulations Mattel

Barbie
Originally uploaded by yellaumbrella

I was on my way to buy some frozen peas.* When I walked past these monstrosities. I was so taken with them. Barbie waffles? I had this deep urge to buy them.

Now, I’m frugal. I say frugal but I might actually be something that rhymes with my favorite marshmallow Easter treat. I almost always buy the store brand. I shop at ethnic grocery stores for better and cheaper vegetables. I, like certain family members wash out plastic bags and wipe off tinfoil to reuse.

But, I wanted these waffles. Barbie what power you have over me! My sister and I loved Barbie.** Maybe that is why I wanted them. It reminded me of the hours spent making up stories and dreaming . I wonder what they taste like? I didn’t get to really look at them. It was busy and people were giving me funny looks for taking a picture of the freezer case of Barbie waffles.

* Frozen peas are my comfort food. A bowl of warm peas with a little butter and seasoning. Mmmm

**We even had a Barbie record the only line of any song I can remember goes “Barbie and her friends. Barbie and her friends.” Over and over

fennel and blood orange salad

fennel and blood orange salad
Originally uploaded by yellaumbrella

This is such a refreshing salad. I love the crispness of fennel. And that soft fennel flavor of herb, citrus and anise. I peeled the outer layer and the stems off. I will save them for stock. Some one told me that Prometheus used a stalk of fennel to steal fire from the gods.

When I can’t get fennel I use jicama. I add pepper, radishes, apples or whatever I have on hand. A shallot orange vinaigrette works best. I change up the vinaigrette too, adding a bit of honey, garam masala or even a nice mustard where needed. I was out of shallots tonight so I added scallions for a mild onion flavor. They added a nice green element too. Thin slices of vegetables work best I think. And of course I like to supreme the oranges.

The fennel I bought seems a little milder. It still has a nice flavor just not as much anise tang as some. This salad goes well with fish or on top of some nice greens for a light meal. I also like it the next day when all the ingredients have had time to combine.

Mexican Oatmeal

This oatmeal was a breakfast highlight for me when Jijesh and I visited the Grand Flamenco Xcaret Resort in Mexico. It was a loose milk porridge strongly flavoured by an intense, perfumy Mexican cinnamon, canela.

supremes of blood oranges

blood orange
Originally uploaded by yellaumbrella

Being in Nebraska in winter makes you dream of things like blood oranges. They are like a magic trick. Your normal orange from the outside and then to cut it open and see its crimson flesh.

One of my favorite knife skills is to supreme citrus. Carving out the perfect little wedges of citrus. I even love the name. It really is the Diana Ross of kitchen tricks.

My boyfriend Harold McGee* says “Blood oranges owe the deep maroon color of there juice to anthocyanin pigments, which develop only when night temperatures are low, in the Mediterranean autumn and winter.”

So they are at their best now and I plan to eat many. Blood oranges have more antioxidants than other oranges so as my winter cravings go, this is a good one.

* Ok, so I don’t even know him but I do read bits from On Food and Cooking all the time. And maybe I do have a fantasy or two of making him a grilled cheese sandwich while he tells me about anthocyanin pigments.