I wanted to use up the small zucchini Terra Firma delivered last week and I had a large Marvel Stripe tomato that was starting to go, so I decided to put both of them into a simple pasta dish.

First I dropped 4 ounces of spaghetti into a big pot of salted boiling water. While that was boiling, I sauteed 2 TB of olive oil and 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic with chopped zucchini and then let it all cook, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, I chopped up a large tomato (very large). When the spaghetti was done, I tossed it with the zucchini, added the tomato, and tossed again. I topped it all with some toasted bread crumbs and passed freshly grated parmesan cheese at the table. Served with some sweet crimson flame grapes, it made a simple summer supper.

I don't know when I'll get my computer back, but I would expect it to be in the next week or two. Meanwhile, I'm using a borrowed computer to rewrite the talk I'm scheduled to give in just two weeks.

I'm still taking pictures and plan to return to regular posting once this talk is complete and delivered. Thanks for bearing with me while I get everything back in order and in running condition.

What is the history of your favorite food? That depends upon the food and how deep you want to dig. Take tiramasu. This dish was "created" in the late 20th century. You could find a few magazines articles confirming period popularity/origination and stop there. Or? You could go the next level and research the recipe based on composition. You would soon discover this dish was based on Victorian-era moulded creams which were based on Colonial-era tipsy cakes which were inspired by Renaissance-era trifles.

EVOLUTION VS. INVENTION
Very few (if any) foods are invented. Most are contemporary twists on traditional themes. Louis Diat's famous Vichysoisse was a childhood favorite. Today's grilled cheese sandwich is connected to ancient cooks who melted cheese on bread. 1950s meatloaf is connected to ground cooked meat products promoted at the turn of the 20th century, which are, in turn related to ancient Roman minces. Need more? Corn dogs and weiner schnitzel. French fries and Medieval fritters. New York gyros and Middle Eastern doner kebabs. Hershey's Kisses and ancient Incan cocoa.

So awesome.

At Hampton Court, we spent some time with the Experimental Food Historians in the Tudor Kitchens, perhaps the highlight of my visit. Since learning there is such a thing, I am tempted to become an Experimental Food Historian myself when I get home, working from my own kitchen, and subjecting my poor husband to experimental concoctions. (via br)]]> http://www.rebeccablood.net/thriftyo/2007/06/the_food_timeline.html http://www.rebeccablood.net/thriftyo/2007/06/the_food_timeline.html Food History Mon, 18 Jun 2007 13:30:13 -0800 This was our first dinner at home. I was out of fresh vegetables, of course, having pickled all the carrots before I left for London. But the night we got home, I pulled a container of black beans charros and rice from the freezer so I could warm it for dinner the next day.

I have a backlog of green beans in the freezer, too, and I added some to the meal. I froze these beans two years ago, when my crop did better than I expected—and during the summer, when produce from Terra Firma Farms is most plentiful, to boot. There they still are. The Community Garden is a subject for another entry, but let me just say that it has not been a smashing success. I've been able to grow some things, but not enough to replace the CSA. Nor have I had success in growing the things Terra Firma Farms doesn't provide, like salad in the summer, or plum tomatoes for canning or drying. Anyway, I harvested these green beans an embarrassingly long time ago, and it's time to eat them—what's the use of freezing food, if you never eat it?

The characteristics of a really good...mac and cheese are that it should have a gooey, unctuous, cheesy inside, topped by a crispy, intensely cheesy crust. This version fulfills those requirements. Serve with a plain green salad. You will not need anything else, unless it's a good red wine. Be prepared to compensate with spare eating for days afterwards. To my mind, this is the perfect thing to serve at a casual dinner party with close friends.

With a rich dish like this one, you often eat less than you otherwise would, making it a thriftier choice than you might think. Oh, what a lame excuse. After reading her description, I'm ready to throw thrift (and calories) to the wind one night just to have some of this.]]> http://www.rebeccablood.net/thriftyo/2007/06/makis_macaroni_and_cheese.html http://www.rebeccablood.net/thriftyo/2007/06/makis_macaroni_and_cheese.html Food Sat, 09 Jun 2007 03:59:00 -0800 A reader recipe: "I was going to try your shredded carrot salad recipe last night and when I looked up the recipe I realized that we didn't have any white wine vinegar. So I looked around at what I did have. I ended up shredding raw carrots and raw beets and adding some chopped mint (probably ended up with 2.5-3 cups of shredded plant matter). Then, I put in 1.5 Tbsp of Marsala wine (which I keep in the cupboard for making the gravy that goes into our chicken pot pie recipe). The result was really fresh and delicious. I realize that people on food stamps are not going to have Marsala wine hanging around but wanted to pass on the recipe for another time when you are sick of carrots again and need to try something new."

"Looking around at what you do have" is pretty much the key to eating seasonally, locally, and frugally. Thanks, Erin!]]> http://www.rebeccablood.net/thriftyo/2007/06/shredded_carrot_salad_with_mar.html http://www.rebeccablood.net/thriftyo/2007/06/shredded_carrot_salad_with_mar.html Recipe Wed, 06 Jun 2007 04:30:05 -0800 Ideas in Food, a chronicle of the experimentation of two very accomplished chefs. It's all here, from their quest to make the perfect marine vinegar to a hot tea and milk jelly, to their process of storyboarding food ideas. ]]> http://www.rebeccablood.net/thriftyo/2007/06/food_blog_ideas_in_food.html http://www.rebeccablood.net/thriftyo/2007/06/food_blog_ideas_in_food.html Food Blog Tue, 05 Jun 2007 03:59:00 -0800 Eating Organic on a Food Stamp Budget, reader John Desmond commented that he had developed recipes for whole grain breads using the no-knead method. He has kindly agreed to share them here:

He says, "The directions are the same for all the recipes. Here are the ingredients:"

Whole Wheat Bread

2 cups bread flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp yeast
2 cups water

Rye Bread

2 cups bread flour
2 cups rye flour
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp yeast
2 cups water

Pumpernickel Bread

2 cups bread flour
2 cups rye flour
2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp cocoa
3 Tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp yeast
2 cups water

Lunch today is Tex-Mex Chili from way back in Week 2 via my freezer. I warm the last of the cornbread in the oven, we have it with butter.

Dinner is just as easy as lunch was: I stir-fry the last of the sugar snap peas in olive oil and garlic, and add a little fresh oregano from the plant on my deck before I serve it. For the main course, I just warm up the rest of the White Beans with Rosemary—and then freeze what's left for a lunch when we get back. We use the remaining lettuce for a crisp romaine salad. I finished up a bottle of wine last night, so tonight I drink a beer with dinner, and it's quite good. After months of sampling Jesse's various beers, I think I may finally be developing a taste for the stuff.

I think it's good, but Jesse thinks it's so minty that the green tea taste is obscured. Next time (and it will be weeks before I get through this batch of mix) I'll try 2 parts green tea, 1 1/2 parts mint, and 1 part lemongrass and see how that comes out. Whether or not it is too minty (and I'm not convinced) it really is a refreshing summer drink.

I slice the rest of them and put them on top. The pancakes are both moister and sweeter from the strawberries inside, and the fresh berries on top add a nice burst of flavor with every bite.

I've never added fruit to my pancakes before, opting usually for the classic butter-and-maple-syrup treatment. Next time I'll chop them smaller—about the size of a small blueberry. I think they'll cook more evenly that way, and of course the flavor will be better distributed. But I'll definitely add strawberries again.