Immolation by Canoe and Toxic Cheese...

There are times when I really do love the unique and kind of random things that transpire in and around Washington DC... For example - a flaming canoe, and toxic cheeses. Let me explain.

On Wednesday, a canoe blew up by the Key Bridge on the Potomac. Nothing sinister, and honestly, a bit of a letdown after all of the build-up and hype, but seriously - how often do you see a canoe/kayak on fire?

The explosion was part of the filming for an upcoming CBS television pilot, "Washington Field," about the Washington Field Office of the FBI. We'd actually received advance warning through my work because our floor-to-ceiling window view directly overlooks the Key Bridge and the Georgetown waterfront. They made it sound like a 20 to 30-foot fireball of apocalyptic proportions, so needless to say, we were pretty jacked.

It wasn't really all that, but was still pretty cool to see. I've posted a few more pics on my Flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/southbound_07/sets/72157615984922709/), but here are a few of the close-ups (I didn't get the moment of detonation, but it had been delayed quite a bit so I couldn't really sit there, camera in hand, for the entire afternoon - much as I might have liked).

And then - on Thursday, the Koshland Science Museum held an event titled: "Say Cheese! Understanding the Living Foods We Eat" - where we listened to Dr. Catherine Donnelley, Co-director of the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheeses, as she described the microbial world of cheese. Dr. Donnelly's presentation was paired with a tasting of six artisan cheeses.

All in all, a very interesting and informative lecture, although I do have to say, it was a bit surreal (not to mention slightly disconcerting) learning about the role that mold and bacteria play in the formation and production of cheese - then following that with a discussion of cheese-borne illness and the ways in which it could kill you - and then being invited to tuck into a plate of cheese samples, no matter how delicious...

And I must say, my blue cheese definitely had the "nose of ammonia" that was mentioned. Although I am not sure I picked up the "animal" flavors that the Comte apparently is known for (seriously people, "stable"?)...

In Praise of the Tomatillo...

One of the really easy "tricks" I fall back on quite a bit, especially in the summer, is to roast up and process some onion, tomatillos, and jalapeno and/or serrano peppers.

Tomatillos can sometime be a bit difficult with their papery husks and the sticky residue underneath, but GrandMart out near 7 Corners sells them husked and shrink-wrapped in foam trays - all you pretty much have to do is give them a rinse and rough chop them in thirds or fourths.

To about a pound of tomatillos, add a rough chop of a medium-to-large white onion, and jalapenos, seeded and cored to taste. Toss them with some olive or vegetable oil to coat, salt and pepper, and broil on a cookie sheet until charred and dark. Cool and dump into a food processor along with a chopped clove of garlic (I wouldn't recommend broiling the garlic with the other vegetables, as it is so easy to burn and leave really bitter), the juice of a lime, and a handful (call it a 1/2 bunch) of cilantro.

Puree until smooth, add a touch of cumin, and you have a really tangy and tart salsa verde. It will thicken up on standing in the fridge, so you may have to add some more lime juice/tequila. This sauce also makes a great base (along with some stock) for chili (I'll add some pictures of a pork chili verde I made a little bit ago for a chili cook-off), pozole (same), rice, or even a pasta salad.

LII...

Yes, those are Whole Foods reusable grocery bags...

Yes, there are 52 of them...

No, I'm not responsible...

My ex-roommate, apparently unaware of the theory behind these items, bought 2-3 anew every time he walked up to Whole Foods for groceries. Every time. I knew he was sticking them in the closet, but I assumed he was re-using them each time he went.

Silly me. I think my current roommate was a little frightened... And I can't say I blame him.

I Shall Return... (with Red Pepper Hummus)

Alright - I apologize - the original idea of this blog was to make it through a season's worth of a CSA share from Potomac Vegetable Farms, detailing what was provided, and what I made out of it... Loosely. Mostly about food though. I made it through the most of the 2008 summer and fall share, but I tuckered out towards the end. With work taking up so much time, a lot of stuff seemed to get away from me.

Well, that was 2008. I have tried desperately to avoid any resolutions for 2009, but I'm going to go right ahead and promise more frequent posts for 2009 - I have once again subscribed for a summer mini-share from PVF, but I am going to try and post more often and step away from food-related posts exclusively...

Anyways, I wanted to start with a recipe that I finally think I nailed down - hummus, but a bit lighter (and presumably a bit healthier) than most recipes that lean hard on the tahini and olive oil. I've found that if you can add something that will blend/puree down (roasted peppers, garlic, or eggplant for example) with the garbonzos, you can cut back on a lot of the oil without suffering for flavor.

Red Pepper Hummus

2 15.5 oz. cans of garbonzo beans
2 roasted and peeled red peppers (pictured)
1 clove garlic
1/4 medium onion or 1/2 small onion
1/2 t. salt, pepper to taste
1T tahini
2T lemon juice (1-2 lemons depending on size)
1T olive oil

Basically, toss all of the above in a food processor and process until smooth. Can't get much easier. I'd just make sure to mince or grate (with a microplane) the garlic to avoid any rough patches of chunked garlic. You could use jarred red peppers, but make sure to rinse and drain/blot dry the peppers as much as possible - it's pretty easy to get too much liquid into the recipe, and then you're talking soup, not a puree. I like to roast the fresh peppers under a broiler and then dump them into a plastic-ware container for a while - the skin comes off pretty easy then... Just make sure to remove the seeds.

One thing I did notice, which surprised me - I had two cans of garbonzo beans - one from Trader Joe's and the other from Goya. The Trader Joe's brand was noticeably smaller, harder, and drier than the can of Goya-brand beans, which were larger and much more moist. I don't think the hummus suffered mixing them together, but I think I would have to keep an eye on the TJ brand beans - they might make a chalkier hummus...