DIY Pantry Staples - Mustard

Lately I've been super into making my own groceries when I can instead of buying them. Today I made my own mustard. It's super easy and I'm dorkily excited to see how it turns out.

1. You add 1 cup Powdered Mustard - I like Penzeys Regular Mustard which is 1/2 yellow seed and 1/2 oriental seed - to a jar. Then add 3 fl. oz. vinegar, 3 fl. oz. cold water, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tbs honey to a glass jar.

2. Shake until smooth then let mellow at room temperature. Note: As soon as you put it in the fridge the mellowing process is stopped. Try 6 weeks for a medium spicy mustard, 4 weeks for a spicy, and 8 for a mild.

Weekly Obsession - Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and the Whipping Cords Will Serve You More than the Ropes Will Ever Do

Ever since my high school English teacher asked us to bring in music that would relate to JD Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, I've been obsessed with Fiona Apple. I brought in Never is a Promise on Tidal and spoke of realization and phrasing and mood shift - at 17. The point is Fiona Apple produces real fans - she has a way with words and the fans - myself included - have been waiting for this album.

She's done this before - gone into hiding and hasn't produced music. She leaves the fans that love her most puzzled because she is a real person. This new album is worth the wait. Unlike her last it is not covered with ambitious instrumentals experimenting with her sound. It is as if she has has finally come into her own and has said to all of us - Yes, I am weird. I no longer care to make music that will be main steam. Yes, that line of thinking produced amazing music in her teens - but as a woman she has seemingly let go of this and embraced her inner sarcastic, bitter weirdo. In my opinion she has finally come into her own and produced the best music of her career - see Anything We Want.

Obsession of the Week - Ballet Boys

So apparently there is a new trend of boys only ballet classes and I am LOVING it. There was a great article in last week's culture section of TIME describing the trend and interviewing one teacher in a poorer section of Maryland. The teacher ingeniusly bills the classes as a way to strengthen boys for other sports like wrestling and football. He also incorporates more "manly" exercises like chin ups and push ups. Is there a sweeter way for boys to try a new sport, socialize and get fit?!

Thank you Glee.

Sunday Supper - Summer Salad & Roasted Asparagus with Lemon and Dill

With so many veggies in season I decided to do two small portions of vegetables for lunch this week. I've been dying for some tomatoes for weeks and with heirlooms popping up at the market I decided to make an old family favorite.

There are certain recipes that just remind you of home and this tomato salad is one for me. It's super fresh and really easy to make.
1. Dice one half red onion, one clove of garlic, two cucumbers, 5 tomatoes, and one can of pitted black olives.
2. Mix all components together with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, pepper, and salt. Top with fresh basil.

Asparagus also looks great right now so I decided to roast it with dill and lemon.
1. Preheat oven to 350. Chop one bunch of asparagus into 1-2 inch pieces. Drizzle olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
2. Add wedges of lemon, dill and one clove minced clove of garlic. Roast for 20 minutes.

Where to Eat - Out the Door (Bush St.)

I've long been obsessed with Out the Door's wonton soup - it comes with pig cracklings sprinkled in! The last time I went with my brother for dinner I promised myself I would try some new stuff. PS - The Bush St. location has an unexpectedly awesome brunch.

Out the Door has my favorite peanut sauce in the city so we started with the old standby - shrimp and pork springrolls. I could literally eat these everyday. I promise here's where the repetition ends.

We felt like some dumplings so we tried the hue dumplings next. Filled with mung bean, scallion oil and spicy soy. The wrappers were a little gummy for my taste but the filling was delicious. I would definitely get these again.

We saw the above fried squid being delivered to another table and decided to order it because it looked so good. The squid was lightly battered and fried, which I always like over heavily battered and fried. I like to actually taste the squid. The pairing with grilled pineapple was interesting and actually really delicious. The sweetness was set off with some hot peppers. As of now it is my favorite new fried squid in the city.

We had the dirty girl farm roasted cauliflower with red onion, roasted chilies and sweet soy. This was kind of bland for me. It's possible that it fell a little flat because I compare all cauliflower to Delfina's with chili, capers, and breadcrumbs. It's hard to stand up to that! From now on I will be sticking to the hodo soy beanery tofu sides.

I ordered the clam and sausage soup for my main. It was really tasty. In fact my brother took the leftover broth home with him! It was heavy on the yellow and green onion so keep that in mind if you're on a date. All in all trying some new dishes paid off. Maybe I'll keep branching out.

Where to Eat - Beast and the Hare

I took Andrew here last year for his birthday and we had an awesome meal. Great oysters and I could eat the avocado toast with boquerones everyday. I recently went back with my brother and had another solid meal.

Since I was with Chris we obviously started with a selection of the house charcuterie. Of the impressive 13 options we chose the coppa - pork shoulder with smoked pimenton and garlic, nduja - semi cured and smoked with paprika, cardamom and garlic, and rillette - whipped pork shoulder with chilies and fennel. It came with house made pickles and toasted bread. My favorite, as always, were the pickled veggies followed by the nduja. It was like a cross between chorizo and pepperoni - two of my loves in life. The copa was also great - super flavorful and not too fatty. I wasn't super into the rillette, but whipped meats and I have a complicated relationship.

Next we had the skewered quail with cranberry greens, gremolata and yogurt. This is one of those things I would never think to get unless my brother pointed it out and I was happy he did. The almonds and yogurt with the beans and quail were such an interesting combination of flavor and texture. The beans were a little under but not starchy so I didn't mind. The quail was cooked perfectly too.

My brother got the fried chicken and waffle with maple syrup and beastmo' hot sauce. It looked great and he said it was. I got the fresh ground burger with agrodolce onions, tomato aioli and Kennebec fries. I added the beechar's flagship cheddar. It was good but certainly not the best burger I've had around town. Perhaps this is because I didn't order it with foie gras option? For as just alright the burger was the fries made up for it. Crunchy and delicious, I easily ate them all. The tomato aioli just tasted like pretentious ketchup though.

DIY Pantry Staples - Yogurt Cheese

I've made yogurt cheese before. It's super simple - you just drain Greek yogurt in a small strainer lined with cheese cloth or a paper towel. I was never completely impressed with the taste until I tried my sister's batch. She had added fresh herbs from her garden and other tasty ingredients to elevate it. So obvious!

I had some leftover yogurt and after straining added garlic, lemon, olive oil, and a Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Base from Penzeys Spice - A mix of salt, bell peppers, garlic, onion, pepper, parsley, thyme and basil. The results were delicious! Try with your own favorites and while you're at it look up Penzeys.

Sunday Supper - Cuban Black Beans with Red Rice

To make the Cuban Black Beans:
1. In a heavy pot heat 1 diced yellow onion, 2 diced carrots, 2 diced garlic cloves and 2 diced celery stalks. Add 1 1/4 cumin and cook in 1 tbs oil until fragrant.

2. Add 1 lb dried black beans - soaked according to package instructions and drained. Add 8 cups of water, and bay leaf and a small bunch of cilantro stems tied together with kitchen twine. Reserve the leaves.

3. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender and liquid has thickened - about an 11/2 hours.

To make the Red Rice:
1. Heat 2 tbs oil in large sauce pan. Add 6 scallion whites and 2 minced cloves of garlic. Cook, stirring until softened.

2. Add 2 cups rice and stir until grains are opaque. Add 2 1/2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth, 1 8 oz can tomato sauce, 1 tsp chili powder, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

3. Bring to simmer and cooked covered for about 30 minutes.

Serve together.

Helpful Hint: This recipe makes about 7 cups of beans so you can use as a dip or spread for sandwiches, filling for a quick tortilla, or freeze for later use.

Adventures in Banking - Blueberry-Orange Cornmeal Muffins

I'm noticing a pattern in my continuing baking quest - The product is tastier but looks increasingly ugly. Oh well! So I decided to make some muffins for breakfast this week. They tasted really good but looked less than perfect - see above.

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Line muffin tray with paper liners. Whisk together dry ingredients: 1 cup flour, 1 cup cornmeal , 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.

2. Mix together wet ingredients: 1 cup low-fat plain yogurt, 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 tsp orange zest and juice from one orange. Combine wet ingredients with dry - make sure to not over mix.

3. Toss 7 oz of blueberries with 1 tbs flour. Fold into batter and divide among muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes.

To make them last longer I freeze them individually and take one out each night to thaw for the next morning's breakfast.

Where to Eat - Twenty Five Lusk

I am super behind on my blogging but the good news is I have an awesome backlog of great dinners I've had in the past month or so. The first spot is Twenty Five Lusk in Soma. This place is huge. The dining room's upstairs with a cool open kitchen and the lower level is a very modern bar scene. The service is great with an equally large and attentive staff.

The kitchen sent the above amuse, which was super refreshing and yummy. It consisted of grilled pineapple with red bell pepper and micro basil. Also worth mentioning - and perhaps my favorite part of the meal - was the amazing goat's milk butter they served with their bread. Simply awesome.

We had the oysters for our first course and they were first rate. They were coupled with crayfish and an avocado sorbet. The creaminess of the sorbet was the perfect compliment to the salty oyster liquor and pepper of the mignonette. My brother was worried the crayfish would overpower the oysters but we were pleasantly surprised it just added another dimension of sweetness without overshadowing.

For my entree I had the soft shell crab with lobster tabbouleh topped with fennel and stewed tomato. The portion was huge. It was a bit excessive but I was able to save one of the crabs and some tabbouleh for a sandwich for lunch the next day. The soft shell crabs were cooked perfectly with a great snap on the outside and juicy inner meat. The crayfish sauce was tasty and a sweet compliment. The tabbouleh was a bit under seasoned but the lobster was tender and delicious.

I love a place that sends you out a little something sweet to munch on with your bill. These cream puffs - yes I had eaten two before snapping the picture - were no exception. Tiny bites of deliciousness. Next time I'm leaving room for dessert.