Restaurant Widow

Lifecycle of Praying Mantis, in Pictures, Brought to You By the Chez Widow Zoo

May 27th, 2006:

May 29th, 2006:

June 4th, 2006:

August 31, 2006 (about 4-5"):

August 31, 2006 (photo courtesy Husband, aka Bug Boy):

Sweet Corn + Blackberry

Late each summer, Jeni's Ice Creams searches high and low for the best Ohio sweet corn and blackberries.  The result is a mix of sweet/savory, light as a feather ice cream and rich, dark blackberry contrast.  I, and many others in Columbus and beyond, wait for it with longing every summer.  It's one of the last things in summer to look forward to, and it's always worth it.  This year's take was a little different - the blackberry sauce is not frozen with the ice cream, but comes on the side.  This is nice because you can have the frozen ice cream melting into the slightly tart sauce.  And, you can put the sauce on other things, if you like; I can personally attest to the fact that it is very good on pork chops.  Enjoy it while it lasts!

Info: Jeni's Ice Creams in the North Market (59 Spruce St) or in Grandview (1281 Grandview Ave)

August 26th CSA & Market Report

Pictured is my CSA box before being loaded into my shopping bag.  This week's take included 1/2 dozen eggs, lettuce mix, head lettuces and chard (I really need to start making some chard gratins or something), potatoes, a cute little head of red cabbage (at right), some giant red bell peppers (I think I'll stuff these sometime this week), a cute little pumpkin gourd, onions and tomatoes.

Market shopping was a little light this week, as we have dinner plans every night that don't include being at home.  From the Worthington market, I was happy to be told that we still have a month left for nectarines, since I have been eating at least one nectarine a day for the past month or so, however peaches will be over in about 2 weeks.  The folks at Gillogly orchard told me the peaches are suffering from a lack of rain this summer - who knows if all the rain we've had this weekend will be enough to improve them?  I bought my first apples of the season - Gala apples, also from Gillogly.

I also bought the Giant Sungold hybrid sunflower at Sundog products, which I posted Saturday.  Those sell out quick, and I knew it was about time for them to come in, so after parking I head straight for my Sungolds!  They're a steal at $6 for 6 giant sunflowers - I mean giant; they're probably about 8 inches across.  Here's another picture, just because they're so pretty.

Then it was off to Pop & Judy's Patch for more ruby red popcorn - 5 pounds, to be precise.  I have to stock up before it's gone, and Husband and I eat it almost as fast as I buy it!

At the North Market Farmer's Market, I bought my usual weekly dose of shitake mushrooms from Toby Run Growers, and I also bought some lima beans, fresh kidney beans and edamame from Cottage Gardens.  Thanks for shelling all those beans for me so I don't have to!  We are coming into grape season as well, and it's nice to see the selection of seedless grapes increasing - I bought these sweet "Candace" seedless grapes from the Orchard of Bill & Vicky Thomas.  They have that tart, slightly tough skin I remember from the grapes our family grew growing up, but no seeds! 

WCB #64 - Good Pictures of Neighborhood Tinies

Our poor neighborhood Himalayan stray, aka Fluffernutter, as Husband and I call her, finally brought her tinies to play in our yard - one is a little shy, but one let me pick her up and give her a little love.  As always, if you have room for some adorable fluffies and you are in the Columbus area, please let me know.  I don't want these tinies to end up like their Mother!!  They are half Himalayan, but they only have partial pin-cushion faces - the best of both worlds.

The shy one, before he notices me:

Can you even believe how cute I am?

Giant Sungold

From Sundog at the Worthington Farmer's Market.  How can you look at this and not be happy?

Scenes from an Urban Yard

This isn't really a food post, per se, but I thought I'd document a few scenes from the waning summer while I still can.  I was staring out my office window today thinking how soon the leaves would be turning brown and falling, the sun is setting earlier and earlier every day, and I'm about to start writing about apples.  My brother-in-law, a sophomore in high school, just started back to school on Wednesday.  Yes, dear readers, Autumn is breathing down our necks.  I haven't eaten nearly enough sweet corn, and I still haven't canned anything (mom, please don't be disappointed in me!).  I guess I'd better get out there while I still can, before the gray Ohio rain takes over the green of my tiny urban (cat & tomato) farm.

Monarch butterfly, newly emerged.  Being a late hatchling, this Monarch will probably be one to migrate South for the winter (click for more information about Monarchs):

Marigold - marigolds and tomatoes are good garden partners, because marigolds help to keep pests at bay, and they are pretty and edible to boot (click for source):

The simple beauty of the alba vinca, or common periwinkle:

Yet another tomato picture:

Picture of Moth larvae whose name I can't remember, will ask Husband the Bug Boy and update:

A Few Things I've Eaten in the Past Week

*Correction - I originally posted the bistro menu as 2 courses for $21 - it is, of course a much better value than that, at 3 courses for $21.  I regret the error.*

I thought I'd throw in a few pictures of unreviewed food from restaurants I've talked about a lot - there isn't a lot of cooking in our house this week as Husband and I are busy working . . . in addition to my usual job, I will be playing wine goddess this week at a wine tasting, where I will pretend to know something about wines from Austria - should be fun!  What the tasters don't know is, 90% of what I will say I will have learned over the next 24 hours.  Oops - I guess I just let out my secret.

At the Refectory last week for the bistro menu (you should really try it if you never have - 3 courses for $21), Husband and I started of with the chilled lamb loin appetizer from the regular menu.  Rare lamb loin sliced thin and served on a bed of roasted peppers with pepper coulis - you should really try cold lamb sometime, it's wonderful:

From the bistro menu, we chose a seafoud coulibiac, kind of a mixed seafood pate in a pastry shell.  Very tasty.  Sadly, at that point the LCD display on my camera started to go a bit wonky and we had to cease taking pictures.  Nothing serious, thankfully, just a low battery.

Later in the week, we went to Kihachi to celebrate our anniversary.  Yea us!  We had house made pickles of cucmbers and cabbage:

I had my first (and probably last) sea cucumber:

We had this scary-looking loach (I hope that's right):

We had pregnant, caviar-filled fish:

We had a (flower? vegetable?) I've never tried, called mioga, kind of like a floral onion, which chef Kimura grew in his own yard, and then boiled and and lightly pickled in mirin:

And we had this lovely and simple plate of broiled Japanese peppers:

I'll share more eating escapades as they happen - if they happen what with all the work and the like. . .

Info: Kihachi  2667  Federated Blvd  Columbus (Dublin)  614.764.9040
The Refectory 1092 Bethel Road (Arlington Area)  614.451.9774 website

Gnocchi with Rich Chicken Broth and Summer Veggies

This recipe uses all local ingredients (well, in my memory it did, but upon further consideration, it really didn't - see below), with the exception of the gnocchi, which I purchased from Trader Joe's.  If you live in the Columbus area and would like to use all local ingredients, you can buy gnocchi from Pastaria Seconda in the North Market, who sells Pasta Ditoni's gnocchi.  Now that I think of it, I also used extra virgin olive oil, which is from Italy, and until olive groves are found somewhere in the South of Ohio, I guess you could use bacon, lard, or local butter. . .

At any rate, to start this recipe off, you can use my favorite roasted chicken, and prepare this side dish during the last 10 minutes of roasting and while your chicken is resting.  I used the poulet fermier (a French Heritage breed) I purchased from Speckled Hen Farm at the Worthington Farmer's Market last week.  How was it?  Well, it's different, and I overcooked it.  It cooked in about 25 minutes flat; I cannot afford to overcook a $10 chicken, so, for the time being, I will stick with my good old $3.50 organic, local, hormone-free, free-range Amish birds from Weiland's.  But, by all means, go out and buy one yourself - support our local farmers - I'm sure you won't overcook your chicken.

But on with the recipe.  It's a little hard to tell from the picture, and I will admit this is not one of my better pictures, but there really are nice summer veggies and fungi under the chicken.  The technique I used to make this sauce is one I haven't tried before in a pasta and it just kind of came to me on a whim.  I have to admit it was quite tasty, and added a lot of delicious, rich, chickenyness (I have an English degree, and am therefore qualified to make up words) to the dish.  It's also something which would be good and hearty on a cold winter day, and could easily be adapted using winter squash and thyme, which are still lovely with chicken.

Gnocchi in Rich Chicken Broth with Summer Vegetables - serves 2

Olive oil
1 medium red onion, cut into small dice (Elizabeth Telling Farm CSA)
2 medium shallots, cut into small dice (Cottage Garden, North Market Farmer's Market)
salt & pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced (Elizabeth Telling CSA)
1 cup (2 handfuls) shitake mushrooms, washed, stemmed and cut into slivers (Toby Run Growers)
2 ears sweet corn, kernels cut off and cob "milked" with back of knife (I like to do this right over the pan)
1 small red chile, seeded, ribs removed, and cut into a very small dice (Pop & Judy's Garden Patch)
1/2 cup chicken stock (North Market Poultry and Game)
1/2 cup white wine (you got me!  This was riesling from Australia!! of the *gasp* grocery store variety!)
pan drippings from roasted chicken
2 balls fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes (oh dear!  got me again!!  From Italy!)
2 large red tomatoes, peeled and seeded, if desired, and cut into 1" chunks (from my yard)
about 15-20 basil leaves, cut into chiffonade (also from my yard)

If you are going to serve this with chicken, begin the process about 10 minutes before your chicken is done.  Cook the gnocchi according to package directions in salted water, drain and set aside.  In a large saute pan over medium heat, sweat the onions and shallot, with a little salt, in a little olive oil until they start to become transparent, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and stir for about 1 minute, being careful not to burn it.  Add the shitake mushrooms, corn and the chile, stirring frequently.  If your pan becomes dry, deglaze it with a little chicken stock.

At this point, remove chicken from the oven.  Place the chicken on a platter, cover loosely with foil, and set aside to rest.  Scrape all of the pan juices and brown bits into your saute pan.  If anything sticks, deglaze the roasting pan with a little wine and scrape everything up, and then add that to your pan.  Add the remaining chicken stock and wine and bring the heat up to high.  Reduce by 2/3.  Add the mozzarella and stir so that it melts into the sauce.  Add the gnocchi and stir to coat, grind a few cracks of black pepper over.  There should be enough liquid to generously coat the gnocchi, with a little more broth for a sauce.  Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.  Turn off the heat and toss in the tomatoes and basil.  Transfer to plates and top with chicken pieces as desired.

August 19th CSA & Market Report

Saturday was a hazy day, as seen in this photo of the Nationwide Building.  First of all, there was a whirlwind trip to the North Market Farmer's Market, where they were having their Market Days festival.  I'm glad they're getting the word out to folks to eat local, but as I was doing my grocery shopping for the week, I didn't have time for any festivities.  I had a lot to accomplish before work.

My CSA box this week included 1/2 dozen eggs, salad greens, hot peppers, sweet corn, an onion braid, eggplant, onions, garlic, the requisite item(s) I forgot, and some tomatoes, including one "Hillbilly Stripe" (a lovely, sweet, red and yellow striped variety) that must have weighed at least 2 pounds.  I was so excited about that I brought it right home and made it into bruschetta and consumed it without even pausing for a pictures.  I'm sorry about that, it really was a beauty.

Also from the North Market, I bought my usual shitake mushrooms from Toby Run Growers, and then I had to whisk away to the Worthington Market.

First stop is for potatoes from Arbor Hill Organics, and then it's on to Garden Patch Produce, which has been one of my Worthington Market mainstays - they sell things like kale and okra which no one else has, and they always have wonderful boxes of mixed cherry tomatoes which I love (seen here in a happy yellow bowl).  They were also selling kits for salsa verde for $4, which included tomatillos, chiles and cilantro, along with a recipe - I thought this was such a great idea.  They also sell tomato sauce kits with herbs and the like.  They also had great bunches of mixed-variety carrots.

Further down the way, I grabbed up more of the baby squash with blossoms still attached at Mead Farms, along with more baby squash, some tiny okra, tomatillos, and eggplant (which I am determined to learn to like one of these days).  I took the blossoms home and stuffed them right away, and they are currently sitting in the freezer, waiting to be fried.

It was about the time I was standing in line at Gillgogly orchard that the rain started; light at first, and then a torrential downpour.  At least it was warm.  It wouldn't have been so bad except that every time the woman in line in front of me moved, a rivulet of rain came running down her umbrella and onto me.  Talk about refreshing. 

But I was undaunted.  Keeping my back to the buildings and stopping under awnings whenever possible, I made my way along the street.  I stopped by Pop & Judy's patch for some ruby red popcorn and a few more chile peppers (I am totally addicted to those this summer, for whatever reason).  Then it was on to Zemnicki, which, although it might sound like a cocktail from the '20s, is actually one of those lovely farms who sell the practical stuff all season long, such as scallions, leeks, sweet and regular onions, peppers - just all those things you really need to have in your pantry to cook something.  They also had some nice plums which I haven't tried yet, and this lovely turnip, which I am hoping to turn into pickles, Japanese-style.

Get out there and see what Central Ohio has to offer!  Or wherever you are!

Weekend Cat Blogging - Neighborhood Tinies

Listen people, I know this is a site primarily about food, but can I just digress for a moment and say this:  Please, get your pets fixed!  Then I wouldn't have this problem.  A few weeks ago, a very shy Himalayan appeared along with our usually clatch of roustabout neighborhood kitties.  Now, our group is pretty standard now, and it is becoming rare to see new face (thank goodness).  As you may or may not know, Himalayas requires a lot of care and care and grooming due to their masses of fur.  This cat has not seen a groomer in many months.  Little by little, she became more friendly and then, lo and behold, she had kittens.  They are very sweet and are living in my neighbor's yard (hence the photos a la distance). 

If you live in the Columbus area and are interested in an adorable, fluffy, half-Himalayan, please e-mail me!!  If you have a soft spot in your heart for a matted, dingleberry-wearing, discarded Himalayan, please e-mail me as well.  She is incredibly sweet and friendly and would make a wonderful lap kitty after a few trips to the vet and the groomer.  Also she had an eye infection which has cleared up but still makes her a little bit of a site of sore eyes.