Meta tags:
description= First we eat, then we do everything else. --M.F.K. Fisher;

Headings (most frequently used words):

we, about, food, do, town, to, the, eats, gastronomical, three, first, eat, then, everything, else, fisher, man, brad, greenhill, chef, without, restaurant, redemption, duck, revival, asparagus, what, with, fava, beans, accidental, pasta, baby, steps, months, in, condensed, version, panade, ain, pretty, this, post, is, not, returning, blogging, ann, arbor, news, mediterranean, grilled, fish, who, are, archives, recent, posts, friends, and, neighbors, se, michigan, resources, where, re, cooking, from, shana, maria, email, subscription, meta,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (321), and (315), with (84), that (65), for (64), about (45), was (44), food (43), you (43), this (40), some (37), from (36), but (34), there (32), are (28), good (26), all (26), been (25), like (24), have (24), not (23), out (21), little (21), time (21), one (21), kitchen (20), #cooking (20), ann (20), beans (20), then (20), when (19), over (19), now (18), arbor (18), what (17), brad (17), cook (17), into (17), few (17), dinner (17), maria (16), shana (16), 2009 (16), until (16), had (15), can (15), our (15), two (15), while (14), oil (14), more (14), will (14), his (14), three (13), blog (13), eat (13), fresh (13), way (13), them (13), well (13), fava (12), duck (12), 2007 (12), may (12), 2008 (12), olive (12), minutes (12), salt (12), water (12), could (12), first (12), spring (12), mint (12), old (11), posted (11), really (11), even (11), year (11), small (11), heat (11), onions (11), has (11), comments (10), market (10), pasta (10), night (10), town (10), fish (10), share (10), just (10), let (10), here (10), they (10), full (10), know (10), back (10), bit (10), sauce (10), things (10), spinach (10), your (9), new (9), farm (9), grilled (9), both (9), which (9), bread (9), went (9), day (9), those (9), around (9), dish (9), cheese (9), cooked (9), email (8), where (8), down (8), december (8), who (8), grill (8), because (8), than (8), last (8), were (8), its (8), bonn (8), big (8), pretty (8), lot (8), long (8), find (8), these (8), greens (8), much (8), favas (8), get (7), other (7), table (7), something (7), without (7), restaurant (7), june (7), 2010 (7), also (7), green (7), above (7), favorite (7), before (7), don (7), own (7), almost (7), too (7), right (7), local (7), great (7), late (7), hope (7), panade (7), oven (7), top (7), thing (7), butter (7), com (6), gastronomical (6), posts (6), chef (6), four (6), home (6), friends (6), asparagus (6), september (6), tagged (6), recipe (6), see (6), life (6), say (6), herbs (6), garlic (6), simple (6), how (6), although (6), post (6), blogging (6), ingredients (6), cup (6), work (6), add (6), many (6), most (6), after (6), again (6), made (6), their (6), squash (6), mustard (6), started (5), wordpress (5), farmer (5), michigan (5), sweet (5), man (5), april (5), july (5), august (5), anne (5), best (5), lemon (5), better (5), side (5), used (5), cut (5), flavor (5), would (5), rather (5), summer (5), onion (5), days (5), quite (5), gone (5), looking (5), place (5), forward (5), saturday (5), never (5), warm (5), myself (5), doing (5), whole (5), should (5), same (5), chicken (5), self (5), tell (5), wanted (5), fine (5), years (5), egg (5), weeks (5), hand (5), else (5), blossoms (5), got (5), pan (5), room (5), through (5), later (5), pepper (5), wine (5), site (4), website (4), comment (4), log (4), sign (4), came (4), 2012 (4), eaten (4), sit (4), light (4), sides (4), squeeze (4), paste (4), mediterranean (4), conversation (4), hot (4), only (4), felt (4), start (4), tomatoes (4), end (4), sure (4), thinking (4), people (4), books (4), fun (4), family (4), bright (4), twitter (4), morning (4), winter (4), meal (4), being (4), months (4), space (4), recipes (4), broth (4), use (4), saute (4), happy (4), making (4), domestic (4), readers (4), keep (4), smoked (4), still (4), everything (4), since (4), soon (4), trying (4), once (4), penne (4), feta (4), chili (4), bowl (4), interesting (4), medium (4), think (4), didn (4), hands (4), ago (4), need (4), call (4), want (4), yes (4), dinners (4), pairings (4), bar (3), subscribe (3), already (3), account (3), create (3), feed (3), shanaeats (3), splendid (3), zingerman (3), pine (3), dining (3), garden (3), suddenly (3), grow (3), baby (3), steps (3), greenhill (3), january (3), february (3), march (3), menu (3), tossed (3), gazpacho (3), coals (3), coarse (3), hours (3), between (3), preparation (3), italian (3), spirit (3), very (3), red (3), quick (3), bonus (3), cubes (3), away (3), each (3), did (3), produce (3), gourmet (3), week (3), love (3), attention (3), uncategorized (3), weekend (3), eating (3), least (3), kind (3), feel (3), nice (3), missed (3), brown (3), remove (3), set (3), dutch (3), golden (3), going (3), toss (3), aside (3), inch (3), makes (3), soup (3), freezer (3), glad (3), always (3), lovely (3), moments (3), box (3), nothing (3), maybe (3), rabbit (3), talking (3), pressure (3), eggs (3), nick (3), boy (3), chops (3), aka (3), run (3), off (3), blogger (3), short (3), girl (3), goes (3), tonight (3), plate (3), next (3), might (3), pot (3), fat (3), tried (3), possibly (3), happened (3), along (3), hello (3), improvisational (3), though (3), gin (3), tonic (3), moment (3), prosciutto (3), why (3), mouth (3), does (3), shelled (3), enough (3), under (3), skin (3), pop (3), period (3), season (3), breasts (3), horseradish (3), black (3), breast (3), accident (3), partner (3), said (3), shall (3), boston (3), braun (3), court (3), jefferson (3), required (2), collapse (2), view (2), reader (2), report (2), subscribed (2), free (2), address (2), tweets (2), mariaeats (2), eats (2), epicurious (2), chowhound (2), tantre (2), slow (2), foods (2), york (2), locavorious (2), pour (2), detroit (2), community (2), simmer (2), everyday (2), dog (2), accidental (2), redemption (2), revival (2), october (2), november (2), older (2), overhead (2), blanched (2), quickly (2), point (2), wrap (2), fillets (2), refrigerator (2), minced (2), mix (2), basil (2), kaspar (2), swordfish (2), amazingly (2), inspired (2), she (2), sea (2), restaurants (2), concept (2), frozen (2), turned (2), recommend (2), seems (2), deliciously (2), crumbs (2), cilantro (2), points (2), bottle (2), chilled (2), isn (2), tomato (2), glory (2), deep (2), beginning (2), slip (2), school (2), news (2), events (2), city (2), growing (2), smart (2), mention (2), michael (2), panel (2), culinary (2), kerrytown (2), music (2), magazine (2), treat (2), agreed (2), knew (2), bon (2), appetit (2), notice (2), won (2), photo (2), taken (2), sipping (2), afternoon (2), equally (2), comet (2), coffee (2), taking (2), cookbooks (2), folks (2), follow (2), brief (2), adventures (2), kinds (2), past (2), comfort (2), temperature (2), degrees (2), leave (2), another (2), liquid (2), cover (2), edges (2), come (2), usually (2), followed (2), handful (2), layers (2), stir (2), lots (2), variety (2), sliced (2), cups (2), packed (2), southeast (2), stuffed (2), bags (2), likely (2), posting (2), exposure (2), blogs (2), online (2), afraid (2), critic (2), picture (2), homely (2), ever (2), appear (2), air (2), pleasurable (2), surprises (2), apple (2), son (2), special (2), certainly (2), look (2), flour (2), throw (2), john (2), produced (2), pizza (2), read (2), cakes (2), citrus (2), lamb (2), chocolate (2), thanksgiving (2), chance (2), palates (2), please (2), omelette (2), delivered (2), pickles (2), house (2), trout (2), ate (2), braised (2), try (2), meals (2), ourselves (2), whether (2), actually (2), style (2), goat (2), halibut (2), cake (2), second (2), half (2), noticed (2), feeds (2), writing (2), form (2), step (2), salad (2), cracks (2), real (2), possible (2), knows (2), seem (2), any (2), stems (2), mushrooms (2), learned (2), seemed (2), mind (2), fill (2), vast (2), job (2), bunch (2), improvisation (2), such (2), make (2), combination (2), wrong (2), boiling (2), five (2), filled (2), frying (2), turning (2), sun (2), dried (2), thin (2), shake (2), fridge (2), plan (2), slices (2), course (2), cold (2), noodles (2), vowed (2), internet (2), thought (2), sense (2), shallot (2), fold (2), sometimes (2), couple (2), coming (2), goodness (2), turn (2), current (2), inside (2), bean (2), gently (2), foot (2), quarter (2), finished (2), quart (2), anything (2), halfway (2), done (2), thick (2), third (2), morels (2), fiddleheads (2), hooked (2), blossom (2), darn (2), guide (2), instructions (2), giving (2), times (2), give (2), together (2), tablespoons (2), freshly (2), ground (2), wait (2), helpful (2), tasty (2), left (2), especially (2), flavors (2), beautiful (2), headed (2), ride (2), bikes (2), dying (2), thank (2), loved (2), living (2), her (2), web (2), friend (2), during (2), cocktail (2), kerisik (2), challenging (2), hard (2), venues (2), business (2), rbor (2), aleppo (2), rojo (2), fisher (2), design, name, write, loading, manage, subscriptions, content, privacy, wpthemes, entries, meta, join, subscribers, enter, receive, notifications, subscription, wednesday, smitten, orangette, cookstr, huron, valley, morgan, gang, group, dente, resources, voltaire, una, buona, forchetta, marketer, juniper, roos, roast, mom, chick, obsessions, forest, street, snob, tuesday, fast, weeds, wines, eco, junkie, close, hill, neighbors, recent, 2006, archives, women, dine, contact, gastronomical3, gmail, crickets, carry, stars, shine, fleur, sel, marjoram, spent, part, despising, ready, charcoal, fire, burn, covered, grey, ash, approximately, six, inches, depending, thickness, serve, grind, using, grinding, apparatus, choice, mortar, pestle, processor, pride, shallow, slits, rub, herb, plastic, clove, flat, leaf, parsley, ratio, firm, fleshed, recommends, bluefish, mackeral, tuna, caused, halt, every, sentences, lynne, rosetto, book, reports, classic, execution, soak, piece, trader, joe, brightly, flavored, wonderfully, succulent, speculate, drool, taste, fancy, sitting, citronella, surrounded, deck, downtown, patio, overlooking, dolce, vita, utterly, seeded, cucumber, sherry, vinegar, given, swirl, blender, serious, dent, pinot, grigio, watermelon, eatin, mosquito, swattin, fightin, cicadas, winding, themselves, frenzy, reveling, eggplant, ice, cream, firing, painfully, aware, buy, blasters, displaced, supplies, autumnal, refusenik, digging, heels, against, stretching, length, temperate, zones, california, talk, faint, worthy, sunday, includes, talks, main, tent, likes, ari, weinzweig, owner, jane, stern, authors, roadfood, frequent, contributors, featuring, probably, bloggers, star, historian, jan, longone, bookfest, closer, gearing, celebration, homegrown, festival, features, article, laura, shapiro, unlikely, revolution, named, reviewer, million, epi, mailates, alfajores, runner, foodiest, award, describes, starting, flurry, example, spots, towns, argued, necessarily, eateries, notblogging, cappuccino, caffeine, fix, bracing, esque, finds, comforting, hang, photos, reacquainting, planning, woefully, practice, related, update, beyond, links, ideas, apologizes, remorseful, stopping, dispense, seasons, returning, uncover, raise, 375, allow, serving, low, stovetop, bring, parchment, paper, lid, foil, baking, sheet, bake, bubbly, pale, darker, remaining, slowly, assembled, drizzling, nearly, layered, assemble, souffle, smear, loose, scattering, repeat, continuing, incorporated, aim, component, fuss, peasant, mentioned, massage, cubed, tbs, pinches, large, skillet, sprinkle, saucepan, stirring, frequently, lower, amber, color, mins, preheat, 325, fahrenheit, lbs, yellow, preferably, thinly, cloves, slivered, kale, chard, favorites, wide, ribbons, ounces, chewy, artisan, rough, loosely, quality, swiss, gruyère, gruyere, yep, levels, assure, lacks, beauty, oozy, hearty, stuff, decadent, somewhere, casserole, perfect, wintery, weather, undeniably, upon, bits, ends, throwing, eases, conscience, wasting, tensions, regarding, relieving, means, less, assaulted, projectile, paths, nonetheless, reasons, entails, deal, putting, oneself, risky, transaction, blessed, gracious, commenters, spaces, aren, lucky, terribly, censure, audience, typically, harsh, humble, hush, instead, dishes, digital, pages, throat, clearing, return, inspiring, ain, holidays, stand, curled, arm, chair, snow, strongest, memories, sameness, csa, crisp, delight, sharp, cheddar, autumn, reliable, deliciousness, cafe, japon, baguette, watching, strike, independent, friendships, vendors, complaining, except, stop, pizzas, flours, conferred, judges, determine, purposes, verdict, tipo, birthday, christmas, crab, aoili, rack, risotto, molten, laughter, assemblage, men, tradition, dates, foie, gras, seelbachs, celeriac, stilton, toasts, die, tart, cherry, beauties, aux, cracked, dragonwood, snipped, calder, dairy, thirty, understood, french, centuries, discovery, cornichons, obsessed, trade, asks, wistfully, bent, pounds, guidance, smokin, hero, durham, sad, seafood, cookbook, bunny, kept, asking, pork, rosemary, polenta, caught, outside, beat, trailer, gremolata, pie, clean, breakfast, dessert, raspberry, buttermilk, far, favored, technique, decade, present, ten, written, cat, hadn, tongue, hemming, hawing, column, gustatory, bites, speak, learning, narrative, sort, finding, communal, latter, travel, thirteen, leaves, raked, dogs, walking, pleasure, fall, sudden, shock, evenings, hauled, weary, bed, truly, precious, condensed, version, pulling, head, perhaps, radishes, lardons, board, frankly, imported, salami, heavy, scent, lilac, tomorrow, warehouse, sale, words, kitchens, pleasant, midwestern, gained, locally, grapenuts, lord, failed, eyes, glued, computer, screen, shoulders, hunched, ears, tomuken, noodle, cecelia, pastries, flowers, puppies, beginnings, number, babies, born, colleagues, alive, densely, compacted, promise, intrinsic, newborns, toddlers, amusing, intriguing, legs, fumbling, note, potential, inherent, spindly, ugly, plant, yard, realize, rhubarb, fleshy, compost, awkward, fingers, guitar, strings, suggest, plain, swath, dough, fragrant, pastry, department, month, carcasses, subsequent, devouring, true, mined, pesto, lingering, tossing, pebbles, catch, echo, pings, quiet, darkness, high, sole, meuniere, empty, requires, planes, places, gallivanting, southwest, van, kids, increasing, amount, desert, sand, none, elk, utah, indian, vancouver, testing, test, anyone, extolling, virtues, pantry, ingenuity, humbled, okay, reminded, haphazard, carelessness, blur, lines, humbling, occasions, riff, theme, sorry, avoid, received, grating, parmesan, promptly, devoured, leavened, sophistication, virtuous, pain, presence, skill, waiting, cleaned, rinses, willing, put, ripped, tough, tore, pieces, normal, size, accommodate, boil, spare, details, filmed, bottom, paused, marvel, immediate, grateful, previously, occupied, berries, slid, slicing, strips, tipped, eleven, drained, holding, slim, moistened, identity, inexorably, doesn, unused, hunting, gathering, expedition, yielded, clutch, tissue, hanging, fit, firmly, believe, omnipresent, confidence, sat, result, experiment, weird, mush, battled, saltiness, balanced, soft, slurp, raw, shell, crept, yoke, bloodily, unappealing, quarters, pushed, scarfed, spider, inwardly, browbeat, cock, stray, dead, huh, emerged, hunt, smug, satisfaction, bitter, check, yup, creamy, shaping, nicely, slide, softly, fried, building, blocks, overestimate, talents, flare, ability, combine, sais, quoi, respectably, called, found, alone, young, parked, front, peas, poured, rummaged, midsummer, dice, mince, softened, sprinkling, peeled, purees, dips, pancetta, shavings, pecorino, tender, fifteen, blanching, blanch, minute, drain, loosened, outer, often, protrude, fussy, knife, easiest, fingernail, slit, fly, distances, amuse, olds, tedious, wander, reinforcements, fifty, supply, smaller, lovers, overflowing, reduced, ample, however, needs, removed, heart, giant, simply, pull, string, seam, open, pods, thumb, pod, loosen, heard, search, memorable, quotes, inspire, hunger, british, broad, sounds, plainer, boarding, feast, sauteed, mmm, immediately, delicate, tenderness, annual, ritual, ritualistically, scurry, recall, supposed, future, reference, offer, coaxing, wonders, silence, lambs, summers, essay, keeps, neglected, flock, recently, graphed, seasonal, trend, viewing, hits, curve, vertical, returned, helps, remember, sensible, advice, working, pick, enjoy, circulation, drip, rendered, flip, continue, grilling, doneness, rest, diagonal, drizzle, whisk, dijon, grain, prepared, chopped, extra, trimmed, serves, comes, recommended, father, spoil, dad, either, deprive, yourself, normally, commentary, letter, easy, verty, meat, bobby, flay, took, dominant, chopping, crimp, dragoon, someone, chop, assume, figure, pass, praise, wouldn, yummy, mine, exaggerated, must, overgrowing, decided, celebrate, explore, stocked, aspargus, yeah, rioja, fists, mortality, regular, withe, hung, page, happen, woke, usual, consultation, joy, hopped, toward, corner, speed, pedal, clipped, curb, seconds, bike, damaged, brain, snapped, clavicle, shattered, elbow, ambulance, emergency, surgery, died, recovering, victims, appetite, ill, despite, ferrying, balance, hospital, grub, flash, intact, slower, hopeful, partners, couldn, conspirator, moved, east, coast, exotic, enjoying, fabulous, restauraunt, confab, drinks, talked, conclusion, road, remain, miss, section, tells, professionally, various, joining, berardino, team, behind, carmen, north, tenure, cuisine, featured, addition, receiving, awards, seven, chosen, radar, hosting, underground, catering, private, parties, weddings, influences, cuisines, america, southern, bbq, asia, mcdonald, mac, served, seatings, linger, encouraged, seating, tickets, available, price, option, beverage, icoming, partaking, known, considered, roam, surprise, mixologists, bitters, fruit, juices, tall, order, cocktails, novelty, consider, asparaguswith, lime, bite, diners, studying, phones, looked, coconut, turns, suggesst, familiar, tastes, venture, jaded, perk, patronizing, businesses, sources, attractive, floral, decorations, dsupport, chat, bout, reminisced, began, getting, burned, queestioned, societal, brought, needed, cool, cultural, cache, level, career, acceptance, soul, confidential, network, bloom, anyway, terms, college, questions, answer, led, kinda, works, drank, chatted, ull, loud, townies, live, 327, cases, fervently, weren, lasts, onsen, petit, gateau, caramel, sage, porchetta, coronas, arugula, sheep, ass, gnocchi, ewe, milk, ramps, rillette, celery, root, hay, shrooms, charred, carrots, quail, pea, tendrils, anchovy, saigon, toast, pig, face, pâté, pickled, roots, sriracha, aioli, joined, several, hobby, stalking, luckily, hasn, himself, located, lamented, including, trademark, ran, introduced, recovery, struck, idea, wonderful, helped, roughest, cohost, sold, chatting, plates, counting, vegetarians, standing, calm, collected, miracle, drop, sweat, brow, spite, carrot, hazlenut, nigella, yogurt, ceci, dressed, sesame, jalepeno, meyer, scallion, omg, ravioli, rib, patented, fiore, sardo, devil, shown, salsa, verde, glaze, guests, generous, bringing, friendly, repay, amazing, generosity, ended, feeling, fuly, laden, list,

Text of the page (random words):
irst need to be shelled this is a fine job for small hands those in the picture are four and three quarter year old hands so favas are not quite as giant as they appear simply pull the string along the seam and squeeze gently to pop open the pods then run your thumb along the pod to loosen the beans when you are finished your overflowing quart of favas will be much reduced but still ample you are however only halfway done that thick light green skin needs to be removed so you can get to the heart of fava goodness blanch the beans in boiling water for about a minute then drain and run under cold water the beans will now be loosened inside their outer skin and a bit of bright green will often protrude from one end if you re fussy you can use a knife but i find it easiest just to slip my fingernail inside the slit and then squeeze to pop out the bean squeeze gently as the beans can fly vast distances or at least a foot or two under pressure this will amuse four and three quarter year olds for short period of time but they will soon find this step tedious and will wander away you will need to call in some older reinforcements see fifty three year old hands above when you are finished your supply of favas will look smaller still i find a quart really only enough to feed three or four fava lovers as a light side dish or me if no one is looking and i don t cook anything else for dinner once you have your fresh favas all shelled and peeled there are many things you can do with them purees dips a quick saute with pancetta toss them in olive oil and add some shavings of pecorino cheese some recipes will tell you that you need to cook the shelled beans until tender for as many as fifteen minutes but i find the heat of the blanching is more than enough to cook fresh beans my current favorite fava dish is this simple preparation with mint dice a small red onion and mince a good handful of fresh mint warm some olive oil over medium heat add the onions and cook until softened about five minutes add the fava beans and heat until warm through toss in the mint and fold through the beans then turn off the heat and add a good sprinkling of coarse sea salt this year we ve eaten favas and mint with smoked duck and grilled lamb chops and those were both good things but all on their own these beans are a pretty good thing as well it s a small bowl of goodness for rather a lot of work but one full of midsummer flavor posted in from maria s kitchen recipes tagged fava beans 7 comments the accidental pasta june 30 2010 by maria bonn sometimes i overestimate my talents my improvisational flare my ability to combine a few fine ingredients with a little je ne sais quoi and produce something that can be quite respectably called dinner one night a couple of weeks ago i found myself alone with young nick with dinner coming on and not a menu plan in site so i parked the boy in front of a bowl of butter noodles and peas poured myself a gin and tonic and rummaged in the fridge i emerged from this hunt with full hands and a smug sense of self satisfaction fresh bitter greens check egg delivered from the farm the day before yup and some really creamy feta and a bit of shallot everything shaping up nicely saute the greens with the shallot stir in a little of the chili sauce fold in the feta and slide a softly fried egg on top great building blocks what could possibly go wrong well maybe my confidence was the gin and tonic talking because when i sat down and tried it the result of this experiment was just well weird the greens cooked down too quickly into mush the sweet of the chili sauce battled with the saltiness of the feta rather than balanced it the egg was too soft even for me who will pretty much slurp eggs raw out of the shell and the chili sauce crept into the yoke in a bloodily unappealing way three quarters of the way through i pushed the plate aside and scarfed the last of the cold butter noodles from nick s spider man plate and inwardly browbeat my cock sure culinary self thought you could cook huh maria i vowed never to stray from my many cookbooks or the internet again improvisation was dead to me until the other night when dinner came again it inexorably does that doesn t it the fridge was full of unused farm share i had no plan and something had to be cooked this time my hunting and gathering expedition through the kitchen yielded rather a lot of spinach a big bunch of spring onions a small clutch of sun dried tomatoes in olive oil and two tissue thin slices of prosciutto hanging around because they didn t fit on a pizza and of course penne because i firmly believe penne should be omnipresent so i started a pot of water boiling and while i was waiting cleaned the spinach really well two more rinses than really i was willing to put up with ripped off the tough stems and tore it into pieces a normal size mouth could accommodate then i sliced up the spring onions when the water came to a boil i tossed in the pasta i know you know how to cook pasta i can spare you the details and filmed the bottom of a saute pan with olive oil when the pasta had been cooking about five minutes i tossed the spinach in with it and paused for a moment to marvel at the immediate collapse of the spinach and to feel grateful for all the room in the refrigerator previously occupied by spinach that could now be filled with more interesting things like berries then i slid the onions into the frying pan and cooked them over medium heat while turning my attention to slicing the sun dried tomatoes and prosciutto into thin strips then tipped them in with onions after about eleven minutes of pasta cooking i drained the pasta and spinach holding back a slim cup of the pasta water then the pasta and spinach went into the frying pan got moistened with the cooking water and the whole thing got a good shake and a moment to think about its new identity after that moment it went into a pretty bowl received a good grating of parmesan cheese and was promptly devoured it had moments of comfort food leavened with a little sophistication from the prosciutto and tomatoes and made virtuous without pain by the presence of the spinach fine ingredients on hand and a little skill what could possibly go wrong why nothing at all make this or riff on the theme mix it up you won t be sorry just maybe avoid feta cheese and sweet chili sauce in combination so i m back to extolling the virtues of a good pantry a little ingenuity and the improvisational kitchen life while trying to keep in mind that i ll be humbled by that life once in a while and that s okay because it s good to be reminded that improvisation is not the same as haphazard carelessness even though a gin and tonic might blur the lines between the two and for such humbling occasions one should always keep butter and cheese on hand as well as penne posted in from maria s kitchen tagged improvisational cooking penne spinach leave a comment baby steps may 4 2010 by maria bonn testing test 1 2 3 hello hello anyone home so the blog got all big in my mind while i was gone what could i possibly have to say to fill its vast empty space i got a new job which requires um rather a lot of attention and time on email and time on planes because of which i went to a whole bunch of places there was also some pleasurable gallivanting around the southwest in an old vw van packed with kids and dog and an increasing amount of desert sand none of which has much to do with food although some good food happened along the way elk utah goat cheese indian food in vancouver in the food department i made a lot of bread in the weekend cracks of time i got better and better at making chicken broth from the once a month chicken carcasses subsequent to devouring an old pine farm chicken i tried my hand at sole meuniere and learned that it s true that mushrooms are better cooked at very high heat i mined the freezer for pesto and tomato sauce lingering from last summer but writing about any of these seemed like tossing pebbles down the well the most i could hope for was to catch the echo back a few pings from the big quiet darkness but you know it s spring there are flowers and puppies and new beginnings and all that there also seem to be any number of babies around born to friends and colleagues and all alive with that densely compacted promise intrinsic to newborns and soon to be toddlers thinking about trying out their amusing and intriguing legs so in the spirit of spring and of first fumbling steps i ve been trying to note the potential inherent in small things the spindly stems on the ugly plant in the back yard i suddenly realize is rhubarb the fat fleshy mushrooms growing in my compost my son s awkward fingers on his guitar strings that now and then suggest real music the plain swath of dough that blossoms with heat into sweet and fragrant pastry and so back to some words here and there about what goes on in my own kitchen and all the other kitchens of this pleasant midwestern town since i ve been gone we ve gained cecelia s pastries and tomuken noodle bar and locally made grapenuts at the farmer s market and lord knows what else i ve failed to notice while my eyes have been glued to the computer screen and my shoulders have been hunched up around my ears so i m pulling my head up looking around and taking a baby step perhaps from small posts great blogs grow tonight for dinner there was spinach salad with radishes and lardons and a plate of asparagus on the side with a board of bread see cracks of weekend time above and two kinds of michigan cheese and some frankly and deliciously imported salami from the zingerman s warehouse sale tonight the air was heavy with the scent of lilac tomorrow there s dinner at pot and box next week this food blog might even have a real recipe it s spring everything is possible posted in from maria s kitchen 2 comments about 6 months in food the condensed version december 28 2009 by maria bonn not quite sure where i went for the latter half of 2009 i know there was a lot of work and some travel and a lot of four year old boy and thirteen year old girl and leaves that had to be raked and dogs that wanted walking there was the pleasure of a warm fall and the sudden shock of winter and some evenings when i read books and some when there was nothing but email until i hauled my weary self up to bed there was even truly a lot of cooking even if there was precious little blogging about cooking some of you may have noticed me hemming and hawing a bit over in the right hand column of this blog shana and i both started twitter feeds to share some of our gustatory adventures without the overhead of writing full posts you can follow me mariaeats and shana shanaeats for quick bites so to speak i m a beginning twitter er still learning my way around the short form but really i m a long form narrative sort of girl so i m looking forward to finding my way back into this space and our communal conversation about food and all that goes with it so with far too much to say let me use the most favored technique of the last week of the decade and present my top ten food moments of the second half of 2009 aka the things i would have written about if the cat hadn t run off with my blogger tongue raspberry buttermilk cake simple as well pie and all about clean fresh flavor equally good for breakfast and dessert grilled halibut with gremolata butter best when eating fresh caught halibut outside a beat up trailer and looking at this view restaurant style pork chops with goat cheese and rosemary polenta let me tell you one of those meals where we kept asking ourselves whether we had actually cooked it braised rabbit really not at all good but i cooked bunny and was inspired to try again some time smoked trout two pounds of local trout smoked on the big green egg with a little guidance from the smoked seafood cookbook by local smokin hero t r durham we ate it for weeks and were sad when it was gone nick s discovery of cornichons the boy is i tell you obsessed a four year old who will trade in chocolate for pickles we can t keep them in the house and when they re not here he asks wistfully after the little bent pickles omelette aux fine herbs some day in late september i cracked a few dragonwood eggs delivered the day before snipped a few herbs from my garden and cooked them up with some very fresh calder dairy butter suddenly after thirty years of omelette making i understood what the french have been going on about all these centuries thanksgiving dinner with anne and shana and an assemblage of men not cooked on thanksgiving at all but a few days before and a chance to cook our way without all the pressure of tradition and family palates to please there were dates stuffed with foie gras and seelbachs and celeriac soup with stilton toasts and duck to die for with tart cherry sauce and these little beauties john s birthday dinner our christmas dinner crab cakes with citrus aoili a grilled rack of lamb and lovely risotto molten chocolate cakes and laughter and family until late in the night the great flour throw down in which john produced 7 pizzas from 3 flours and conferred with our panel of judges to determine the best flour for his pizza making purposes verdict italian tipo 00 read all about it these are the moments that stand out when i m here curled in my arm chair on a late december night with a little snow in the air but really the strongest memories come from the pleasurable sameness of my ann arbor days the little surprises of the csa box the treat now and then of a comet coffee on the way to work the crisp delight of fresh apple and sharp cheddar cheese on an autumn afternoon the reliable deliciousness of a cafe japon baguette the fun of watching my son strike up his independent friendships with his favorite farmer s market vendors nothing special and all so special at the same time it s been a good year and not just in food although i m certainly not complaining about the food except maybe that rabbit i hope it has been so too for all of you that stop by this blog now and then i look forward to talking and cooking more in 2010 happy holidays to all posted in from maria s kitchen 2 comments panade ain t pretty december 16 2009 by shana after my last throat clearing post i d wanted to return with something really lovely and inspiring to share with you instead i have one of the most homely dishes ever to appear in these digital pages i m glad i m posting it nonetheless for a few reasons blogging like cooking entails a good deal of putting oneself out there it can be a risky transaction the self exposure g3 has been blessed with gracious readers and commenters food blogs like many online spaces aren t always so lucky so i ve never been terribly afraid of censure from our audience or readers it s that i m typically a harsh self critic so posting a picture of something as humble and homely as this dish is a good way for me to tell that critic to hu...