persimmon murder

The other day, Gerard and I did all of our grocery shopping in our general neighborhood. My friend Sarah has written well about the glories of small, local non-corporate groceries, so I won’t expand too much, but I will second and applaud paying a fraction of what one pays at Whole Foods or (gasp) Trader Joe’s to get better, cheaper, and more authentic ingredients; while at the same time participating in a worthwhile local economy.

The plan was to go to Kurowski’s Sausage Shop at Milwaukee and Kimball and the Chicago Food Corp at Kimball and Belmont. On the walk up there, we discovered an awesome Hispanic market, whose name I can’t recall. It was on Milwaukee between Kimball and Central Park and had amazing produce (normal sized, not huge) organic greens (!!!) and a wide selection of other goods. We picked up some pipian, a couple of delicious lemons, and some sardines which we’ll eventually use for savory fritters.
When we got to Kurowski’s, Gerard was impressed (or grossed out) by the vast selection of goods including sausages and many root vegetables. Among other things we got beets, sauerkraut, horseradish, my favorite Amish Butter, and a pound of Polish rye bread. I also bought two sausages which I am eager to try. Our bag was starting to get heavy, but at this point we had only spent about twenty dollars. This is fantastic seeing as when I go to Whole Foods, it’s depressing to find both my pocketbook and grocery bag lighter than I’d like.

After our adventure in Poland we walked over to Kimball and Belmont. On our way we discovered a mystical sandwich shop/ bar that apparently stays open until 4am. Some hot night in the summer, it might warrant a date post midnight, provided that said sandwich shop has air conditioning. We arrived at the Chicago Food mart with a mission- we were making curried squid over coconut rice for a late lunch (unfortunately, I did not have my camera that day). We got all the necessities for that culinary adventure (who knew that the butchers at the Chicago Food Mart spoke Spanish? Not me!) While there, I spotted two things I knew I needed to have: Kewpie Mayonnaise (which we will find our more about later- I know it’s been featured in a lot of popular food press for the past few months, but my curiosity has been piqued and I’m jumping on the bandwagon) and Persimmons.

Persimmons are that weird looking orange tomato-ish thing that you’ve probably seen a few times and wondered or worried about.

I get a lot of flack for growing up in the “land that time forgot,” ahem. But the food in Indiana is good. Persimmons became popular in Indiana for some reason. I do believe one of Indiana’s founding fathers had a penchant for all things Asian, specifically Japanese, because the state tree is a ginkgo and the state flower is a peony, go figure. Persimmons are also Japanese. I imagine his wife making persimmon pudding for the first time back in 1818, when Indiana was a young state. This is probably entirely false, but it sounds cool. Anyway, my friend’s mothers were not pioneer women, but they could make food that stuck to your ribs. My parents are not native Hoosiers. Seeing as my parents were foreigners in a strange land and their only daughter was really skinny, I was always fed by people who take skinniness as a personal affront, which most people in Indiana seem to.

Persimmons might be an acquired taste, but it is one worth getting. The fruit is sweet and when ripe the taste is not unlike that of a plum with a more drippy texture. On the package, persimmons are called “Nature’s Candy”. On another rocking Friday night with the most happening young woman in all of Chicagoland, I decided to make some persimmmon pudding in honor of my Hoosier roots, thorugh truth be told I was born a southern bell in Charlottesville, Virginia. Whatevs, Indiana is a state of mind.

I based my recipe on one I found in the “Joy of Cooking” except that I halved it and tweaked the ingredients.

I used:

1 cup persimmons, skin removed

2 eggs

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup cream

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and took the persimmons out of their skins

Then I mixed the ingredients

Then I put it in a casserole dish

Next I placed it in the oven

In 45 minutes I had a a delicious persimmon pudding!

It was pretty tasty, and everyone who had a piece confirmed it.

Next up, party, which I am getting ready for momentarily!

also

not going to divulge too much at the moment but i just have to let the world know that
this + http://logansquarefarmersmarket.org/+ this + this =

one hell of a happy ellen.

oh my blog

well it’s 2008. last week was fun that weird week between christmas and new years. it always feels nearly imaginary. and now it’s a new year, at least by my calendar.

on friday sarah and i had a dismal meal at azucar, a tapas restaurant in logan square. i don’t want to knock independently owned businesses, so i won’t, but let’s just say the meal steered sarah and me away from ever really wanting to cook or eat spanish food again. whoops, knocking.

the evening, did however provide for a lot of hilarious photo opportunities, most notably

and

on friday gerard and i had a lincoln park adventure!

followed by a styling session for ms. jodie mack.

it was snowing on new years

tony played the piano until 6 in the mornin’ (or 4)

more soon. new years resolution is to find an actual focus for said blog. (eg, this one)

eating at home is cheaper

than eating at restaurants, and usually more tasty, if you play your cards right.

we started by making the dough on thursday night, using this recipe.

we took the dough out on saturday night. and formed it into flat pies.

i made the sauce using tomato paste, garlic, basil, olive oil, sugar, salt, and lots of hot peppers.

we sauteed frozen artichokes in balsamic vinegar and garlic.

then we sauteed the mushrooms in olive oil

gerard put some sauce on a pizza

i got a pizza stone, because i am serious about making pizza.

it turned out pretty great.

one of my more successful culinary experiments.

i asked mary if she would pay money for it, and she said… yes!

then we played cards after a brief field trip to a home gallery where i watched a cat version of star wars.

it was fun.

we are really competitive.

mary learned how to play rummy

gerard is a cardshark… during sharkweek.

i am pleased it is sweater season, btw.

on turning 25.

last friday, october 5, i turned 25 years old. a few things are changing in my life.
here is a picture of me smoking one of my last cigarettes. i look kind of cool, but totally dumb, because of the smoking.

this was at the burlington. a new favorite neighborhood hang.

natalie was there too.

we ate rice and mushrooms and cheese for dinner. it was tasty.

my bosses at work were awesome we had delicious sushi and everyone said happy birthday all day long. friday evening proved to be even better!

it’s also donald’s birthday! my little (bigger) brother

don and dad love to talk and eat (at the same time!)

aunt sallee and mom are really serious about their dessert. no fun here! chocolate makes you cry! (kidding!)

this was gerard’s early birthday dessert.

here is a handsome man relaxing during dessert. (we ate at lula, surprise surprise)

this was my regular birthday dessert.

christmas card (POSSIBILITY)

better christmas card (POSSIBILITY)

classic!

most hilarious picture ever.

sarah and emily came to visit me at work for lunch on saturday. here is what they got to eat at fan si pan. it was also tasty.

here are my roommates hanging out

on sunday we rode bikes

and wore tennis shoes

it was a good birthday weekend.

omg

i am about to turn 25 in less than 48 hours, more like 36, but whatevs. i just discovered the cutest dog ever. well, i actually found it a few weeks ago, a american blue pitbull.

and even better OUTKAST BREEDS THEM. FOR REAL! CLICK ON REAL! PLEASE. but not at work because the website plays outkast.

surreality

sarah is one of my dearest, and we’ve been having the best adventures for awhile now.

last night might take the cake though.

we decided to meet up as castaways as one ought to do sometime in the summer. there, we heartily enjoyed talking with our waiter — just to prove how creepy the internet is! only sarah will appreciate that, but since she is one of the longest readers of said blog, i think it is ok.

after drinking church lemonade at castaway, we decided to go on a walk. there is a volleyball tournament at north avenue beach this weekend. we sneaked inside and looked at the grounds in all their post event glory. among other things, we saw plates of roast beef that had been left to rot, larger than life gatorade bottles, and really giant fake volleyballs.

then we walked to the break wall and saw between 300-400 geese, who looked like wooden geese sculptures until we were within 3 feet of them and they started to make noise and move.

then we sat down on the beach, and an old man with googly eyes and an open security shirt offered us cold gatorade, fresh from the cooler.

then on the bikeride back to logan square, we saw about 5 million cabs on cortland street, which is weird.

orange you glad?

manicure and pedicure with my ma was just what the dr. ordered.

attracted to the color orange at the moment, which matches my walls, owl painting, and pillows you can’t see on the couch.

ate brunch at the dixie kitchen in e-town. had a delicious meal of poached eggs with artichoke and spinach hollandaise sauce, over fried green tomatoes and corn bread circles… included roasted potatoes and some cheesy grits. delicious.

my wallet got stolen on thursday, and my mom was so generous, i am so thankful.

off to bbqs and biking around tonight.

OH, and if you’re in chicago on the 4th and don’t have plans, come to this:

it’s for the performance collective, happydog, of which i am a proud member.

i am still rocking to mariah. what else is to be expected? her sweet voice with bone thugs’ crazy harmonies? i mean, COME ON!

savory swiss chard tart

summer is the season of farmers’ markets in chicagoland, and i am volunteering at my neighborhood market in the heart of logan square, two sundays a month for its’ duration until the end of october. you can check out the link on your right.

volunteering at the farmers’ market has thus far been a very worthwhile experience. i’m starting to recognize more personalities around the neighborhood and i’m feeling really connected with the community.

the market this year is well organized with farmers and vendors who focus on sustainable and or organic food/ products. yesterday, i bought swiss chard, radishes, baby onions, lemon balm, dill, and six fresh eggs.

when i got home at 1, i was pretty warm, but i knew i wanted to make something delicious with my fresh purchases.

i did some research and found a recipe for a swiss chard tart. the only problem was, i didn’t have any ricotta cheese, pre made pastry crust, or even a pound of swiss chard. in fact, i only had about half of the necessary ingredients. so, i did what any young fiscally bound woman would do and improvised.

the crust? i made it- and although time intensive it was worth it.

the recipe can be found here

for the ricotta-like mixture, i took a brick of queso fresco (which you can find at most corner markets) and blended it with 5 eggs, some chevre, and a cup of parmesan. i also put some thyme and lemon pepper in the mix, and beat it with my very nice one mixer arm blender.

i made sure that mix was creamy and well blended, and then i put it in the fridge to cool for a bit with the pastry crust.

next up was the swiss chard.

i separated the stems and ribs from the chard, and boiled about two cups of it for two minutes.

then, i put the chard on a paper towel to dry it, and drained the artichokes (i know it’s basically a crime to use canned veggies during the summer, but i really didn’t want to ride to the big grocery.)

next, i cut up some spring onions and sauteed them for about 5 minutes, then i added some garlic, which i sauteed with the onions for about a minute- you want to be careful because the garlic can get burnt easily. next, i added the swiss chard and artichoke mix, and let it sautee for between five and ten minutes.

i let the mixture cool for a few minutes, and then i added it to the “ricotta” that was chilling in the fridge. i kept it in the fridge while i was preparing the pastry crust. this is also when i began preheating the oven to 375 degrees.

i took the pastry crust out of the fridge and rolled it into a sheet to put into the pie pan.

i didn’t have a rolling pin, so i used an old triple sec bottle that was hanging around… classy!

i then filled the crust with the ricotta-chard-artichoke filling.

i decided to make a lattice top for the tart, mostly because the triple sec bottle was not REALLY doing the trick for big sheets of pastry dough.

then i put the whole thing in the oven and cooked it for 45 minutes

when i took it out, i had to let it cool for a moment.

it turned out really well, better than i had hoped. the crust was flaky and delicious, and the filling was savory and just rich enough to taste special, but not overwhelming.

it would be a fine meal on its own, but i felt the need for a little extra.

chris brought steaks over and broiled them to perfection.

i also made a salad with turnips, baby spinach, mandarin oranges, and a mustard vinegar dressing. to drink we had sun tea, which i made with black tea and fresh mint and lemon balm. it was a great meal!