Adapted from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook, the main modifications being a little less sugar, a little more salt, and the omission of peanut butter chips.
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Above is some very tasty quick-pickled okra from Wholefoods. Below is a basic, quick pickle recipe adapted from that of a farmer at the Louviers market in Normandy.
tiny cucumbers (finger-sized is best) – 1 lb
coarse salt – 2 Tbsp
tarragon – 1 large sprig
shallot, cut in quarters – 1
small pearl onions, peeled – 1/2 cup
peppercorns – 10
cloves – 3
bay leaf – 1
white vinegar – 3 cups
In a large bowl, toss the cucumbers with the salt. Turn them out into a tea towel. Gather the corners of the tea towel and hang it from the tap over the sink for 2 hours, or set the cucumbers in their towel in a strainer in the sink.
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Update: See new Posh Nosh links below the first video.
For something a little different in terms of recipe posts, here are two instructional videos to enjoy and… um, be instructed by.
Meat isn’t curtains
Simon and Minty Marchmont explain how sauces are the foundations of dishes. They discuss the importance of using good quality ingredients such as wind-dried water, demonstrate advanced techniques such as wood-creaming stock and terrifying the peel of Seville oranges, and imply that if you don’t have an AGA and a Nigerian jus pot brought back from the slave trade, you might as well not bother.
Here are links to the complete run of Posh Nosh:
Episode 1: Architect’s Fish and Chips
Episode 2: Birthday Parties
Episode 3: Paella
Episode 4: Beautiful Food
Episode 5: Bread and Butter Pudding
Episode 6: Leftovers
Episode 7: Sauces
Episode 8: Comfort Food
It’s the perfect mimosa
And here is Hannah Hart on how to make brunch. In addition to showcasing her mad pancake- and mimosa-making skillz, she offers hosting tips (“At brunch, people whine about problems that aren’t actually problems, so let’s do a little bit of that. This morning the shower was not hot enough… I think Wholefoods has really gone downhill.”) and practical musings (“Part of me is fundamentally against the concept of brunch in that I wake up and I’m immediately hungry, and I also love lunch.”).
No matter what your alatitude, enjoy all the bsunlit hours and cvisible light today:
Fairbanks (64° 50′)a — 21h 49mb — 24h 00mc
Bergen (60° 23′) — 19h 01m — 23h 05m
Toronto (43° 40′ ) — 15h 27m — 16h 38m
Boston (42° 19′) — 15h 17m — 16h 26m
San Francisco (37° 46′) — 14h 47m — 15h 49m
Shanghai (31° 14′) — 14h 11m — 15h 07m
Hong Kong (22° 17′) — 13h 30m — 14h 20m
Here’s a quick and dirty (and very incomplete) guide to Cape Cod — mainly eating and drinking, but a few sightseeing tips are thrown in as well. The towns are listed in approximate order moving from the Upper Cape to the Outer Cape (i.e., as if you were driving along from Boston towards Provincetown). For reference, it takes just under 1.5 hours to get from Boston to Falmouth and just over 1.5 hours to get from Falmouth to Provincetown in normal traffic conditions, which pretty well don’t exist between May and September.
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This salad was inspired by the appearance of Turkish green plums (erik) at the nearby Italian grocery store. The plums are small and slightly tart, and the sign at the market recommended them to be served chilled with a bit of salt for sprinkling.
avocado – 1
basil – handful
Turkish green plums – handful
green olives (Lucques, Castelvetrano, those giant ones with pimentos)
olive oil
salt & pepper
Cut up the avocado and green plums. Toss with a fresh, peppery olive oil. Add basil and olives. Season to taste. Makes lunch for 1 if served with some crusty bread and a wedge of cheese.
Shanghai Dim Sum is a sort of shack sitting in a corner lot in Scarborough. It looks a bit like a converted Dairy Queen from the outside, but the inside is a cosy, old timey slice of colonial Shanghai, complete with faded, sepia-toned photos and background music to match.
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Sample grocery trip in Bergen (exchange rate 5.5 NOK = 1 CAD):
The Korean Air lounge at Incheon International Airport — holy smokes. This is one of the most beautiful, tranquil, calming spaces you could encounter anywhere, much less in one of the busiest and largest airports in the world. A few hours in this lounge and you leave feeling as if you’ve had your chakras realigned. Which you kind of need after the 80 km trek from Seoul city centre, a journey that includes a crossing of the world’s longest self-anchored suspension bridge. The extra-wide “foam” armchairs, large windows onto the tarmac, and swanky washroom (and shower) facilities made for an especially pleasant experience.
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We had a celebratory post-audition dinner at Le Train Bleu, the restaurant that overlooks the train platforms at the Gare de Lyon in Paris. This is one opulent dining room. We’re talking vaulted ceilings, massive banquettes, floral moldings, crystal and gilt everything. We ate very well, the service by the black-tied waiters was friendly and impeccable, and as an added bonus, we were treated to some live entertainment — at the table beside us, a job interview dinner conducted by an authority-oozing business exec where the candidate appeared to be a fourteen year old in a suit (we overhead later that he was 22).
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