It's Nice
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Guess what? There were a few brave souls at the North Market this morning! I bought some great (greenhouse) carrots, spinach and eggs from Just This Farm, and some catnip and radicchio from Combs fresh herbs. 
With winter greens this delicious, you need only drizzle them with some very good extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt. It made the perfect salad to go with my roasted chicken.
As the title of this post might suggest, this is a little series I am starting called "bentos in parks." Since the weather is so beautiful today, I thought I'd go ahead and start. Columbus has a lots of great parks, and I would like to highlight some of them while still talking about food. Today's bento came from Tensuke, and today's park was North Bank Park, which is located just west of downtown at 311 W. Long St. This is one of our great urban parks, within easy walking distance from many downtown office buildings, and it would even be a nice walk from the North Market. I wouldn't necessarily recommend getting your bento from Tensuke and driving all the way to North Bank, it's just how my day was.
About the Bento: Tensuke's "Traditional Japanese Bento" $6.95, will easily feed me for lunch and dinner. Contains rice with salted salmon, teriyaki pork, tempura shrimp and squash, some panko-crusted fried mackerel, two tiny little hot dogs, some tomago, edamame, and shredded cabbage. Dotted with pickled veggies. Very tasty and good for you, too.
About the park: North Bank sits right on the water, so you can sit and watch the geese swim by. It's quiet and peaceful with the ambient noises of the city surrounding you. There is train trestle nearby, and two trains went past while I was enjoying lunch.
Tables? yes. There are many tables and benches.
Place where I can walk off lunch? Yes, there are lots of trails being used by runners and walkers alike. The trails connect to the Scioto trails and go all the way to Bicentennial park on the south edge of downtown.
What if I want to kayak? Yes, you can even go kayaking there; in fact, a man was kayaking while I was there. Now I want a kayak.
How's the view? See for yourself:
Can anyone believe the week of beautiful weather we are having? I like to write things like that every now and again so that in the future I can read through my archives and recall the ghost of weather past. It was so nice on Sunday Husband and I had our inaugural dinner on the deck, and when it came time to choose a wine later at Spagio Cellars, this bottle of Alvarinho was like a beacon of the coming summer. If a wine could be the very essence of summer, it would be Albariño (Alvarinho) (all-buh-REEN-yo).
Once thought to be a derivative of Riesling, the name comes from "alba" meaning white, and "rino" meaning from the Rhine; the white grape from the Rhine. Grown primarily in the Rias Baixas (Rhee-hass BUY-hass) region of Spain (in the Northwest) and across the Minho river in Portugal, where the varietal is known as Alvarinho. Albariños typically have floral and citrus aromas, and are characterized by their "laser sharp acidity," says Husband. This growing region is cool, wet and verdant, which helps the wine retain its acidity and keep the wine rather low in alcohol.
Albariño is also used to blend with other grapes in Portugal's Vinho Verde, a light, crisp, and frequently slightly effervescent summer quaffer. Albariños and Vinho Verde are usually consumed shortly after bottling.
Albariño is produced in coastal regions, and the cuisine provides the perfect match; Albariño's crisp lightness makes it a fantastic partner with shellfish, particularly scallops.
The bottle above is Dorado Alvarinho from Portugal, here's what Husband has to say about it, in cork dork speak:
"Marcial Dorado set out to make Spain's finest Albarino. However, the old river-side terraced vines he needed couldn't be found in Spain. He was able to find them across the river in Portugal's Melgaco region. The fruit is sourced from a 70-year old Alvarihno vineyard. All fruit is hand-sorted, the entire winery is gravity fed. Time on the lees gives a feeling of roundness and fat to the palate. I've had them up to 5 years old...i would guess they could drink well for up to 10 years."
There is a small amount of Albariño produced in the United States - Haven's makes a nice one, fleshy and acidic. This is a wine which can be hard to find, but it should be demanded for patio dining - the acidity makes it refreshing on hot summer days - with or without food - and its crisp fruitiness makes it a winner with even the most hardened overoaked California Chardonnay fan.
Locally, you can find Albariño at Spagio Cellars, the Anderson's, Weiland's, the Burgundy Room, and other good wine stores and restaurants. Try some today. Cheers!
Special thanks to Husband for assisting me with this piece.
Yesterday, while I was having lunch at Lac Viet in the North Market (a Number 10, if you must know), a very reliable source stopped by to say I should really try a new ice cream flavor at Jeni's. Butterscotch and Cocoa Nib. For the uninitiated, cocoa nibs are roasted bits of cocoa beans. They have a dry, nutty chocolate flavor with is rich and slightly fatty without being sweet. It sort of reminds me of a chocolate covered espresso bean in texture and style if not in flavor.
But on with the ice cream: if, like me, you aren't a huge fan of the fakey "butterscotch" flavor familiar in certain pudding products, you needn't fear. The butterscotch flavor here is loaded with burnt sugar (in a good way, think of creme brulee tops) and brown sugar notes. The sweetness, however, is completely tempered by the dry crunch of the cocoa nibs, leaving you without that weighed-down, over-sugared feeling.
Although I am a huge ice cream fan, I am ashamed to say I am not usually a cone-finisher; I get through the ice cream, nibble the cone, and then I've reached my sugar fill and pass it on to Husband, who by this time, has been finished with his Strawberry and Rose Petal for a good 10 minutes. But this time, about halfway through, I said "Husband, I think I'm going to eat the whole thing." And I did. And later, we visited the Grandview shop for a pint. Which Husband ate for breakfast.
So I think you now have your task for the week. Go forth and enjoy ice cream. We are having a record temperature day, so I can't really think of a better way to ceebrate it.
Info: Jeni's Ice Cream in the North Market or at 1281 Grandview Ave in Grandview.
Yesterday we talked about planting; today let's talk about having someone else plant for you. I've been getting a few requests for CSA suggestions, and I thought it would be good to discuss choosing a CSA. It might be too late to sign up for some of these, I have not contacted them to see if they are full or not, and some of this information might be out of date; the best thing to do is contact them for yourself.
So, what is a CSA? CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, you pay a farmer at the beginning of the season, and they grow a variety of foods for you, called a "share." You will be picking up your share weekly, sometimes at a Farmer's Market or a local Co-op. Pictured above is one of my boxes from Elizabeth Telling Farm, taken in mid August last year. If memory serves, I also had tomatoes which came in a separate bag.
What should I expect from my share? Different farmers provide different things. You should discuss this with potential farmers. If the farmer sells at a farmer's market, you can also get a good idea of what they will offer in the CSA by seeing what they sell at the market. Keep in mind, however, that many farmers keep their best products for their CSA subscribers, and may frequently grow things just for their subscribers. This is true of my CSA; you can only get eggs from the farm as a CSA subscriber.
How many will the share feed? This is another thing to discuss with your farmer, and it is very important to consider before paying in to the farm; you don't want things to go to waste. I have found from my experiences and those of my friends that there is rarely too little. There is almost always some amount of waste or sharing with friends. I found halfway through that I had a coworker who would take any of my uneaten salad greens. I like my CSA because it is perfectly geared towards my living situation: adventurous eating small families. There is about the perfect amount of veggies for 2 people who don't cook at home every day. The boxes feature small amounts of various items; some CSAs have loads and loads of things like green beans and kale; suitable for bigger families, or for really dutiful canner/freezer/cook once a monthers. You might want to consider going in with a friend on a share, especially if this is your first year or you are single or have a small family.
Be aware that your share might start out small. If you are unfamiliar with the growing season in Central Ohio, you might be disappointed to find your first few shares; expect a lot of leafy greens and radishes. Once the growing season is well under way, however, there will probably be no shortage of tomatoes, sweet corn, and other veggies.
It's nice to plan ahead. This Central Ohio growing calender is a good tool to use when planning menus, whether based upon your CSA share or the Farmer's Market - or both. You will probably be surprised to find that things like leafy greens last a lot longer when purchased from a farm than the ones you buy at the supermarket, which traveled here from California. Last year I had bags of lettuce which lasted 2 weeks with only the slightest sign of browning.
Here are a few CSAs I am aware of, and any details I could find:
Elizabeth Telling CSA - of which I am a subscriber, designed for smaller families, Sandy knows a lot about vegetables and is particularly fond of greens. She plants continuously and picks greens when very small. Superb eggs, 1/2 dozen every week. Also makes lots of fun things like woodland wreaths and onion garlands, occasionally sells goat's milk soap made by her neighbor and helper. Shares are $350 and go from Memorial Day to Thanksgiving, roughly, and are picked up at the North Market Farmer's Market Saturday mornings. Call 740.484.0243
Green Edge Organic Gardens - organic, relatively new, these shares are picked up at the Bexley Natural Foods Co-op on Tuesdays (508 n. Cassidy Ave) Shares are $475 for 20 weeks or $250 for 10 weeks (every other week) Call Becky Ronde 740.448.4021
Kame Farm - Shares can be picked up at farm or at Worthington Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. Shares are $450 for full or $250 half. Call Karen Johnson 419.566.4268.
Paiges' Produce - CSA subscription includes plants and flowers as well as produce. $275 half share or $475 full share. Call Brian Helser 740.477.7291. Shares can be picked up at numerous local farmer's markets - Athens, Clintonville, Lancaster and the Pearl Alley markets.
Sippel Family Farm - Shares are $545, and pick up is either Clintonville Farmer's Market or Worthington Methodist Church. Call Ben or Lisa Sippel 419.946.1394.
For more information about eating locally in Ohio, please visit the Local Harvest website, which contains a wealth of information. If you know of any other CSAs in the Central Ohio area, please e-mail me and I will add it to the list.
If, like me, you are itching to get your green thumbs in the dirt, here's a bit of good news - it's almost time to plant a few things, like radishes and lettuce, which like to be planted before the last frost. The average last frost in Central Ohio is around April 20th, so I plan to start these babies in the next week or so. I purchased these from Heirloom Seeds; my first purchase from them, so I can't really guarantee the quality at this time, but the website is very informative, telling the history of almost all of their varieties. Shipping is fast, they sent me some free seeds! and they also have a lot of nice garden-related things, such as soil pH testing kits and enzymes for adding to compost piles, which we plan on starting this year.
If you are looking for more unique seeds, such as Asian herbs and vegetables, try the Kitazawa Seed Company.
Wish me luck!
There's nothing unique about this soup. Nothing revolutionary or particularly exciting. It's not original. In fact I believe I might have posted something similar a long time ago. The truth is, it's just soup. But it's good soup, and can be made in a flash; I imagine it could even be prepared in a slow-cooker and left to mingle while one is at work. I wouldn't know, since my slow cooker died recently - a very slow, burning death on New Year's Day, whilst making pork and kraut. But, I digress. Why should I post such a boring recipe? Well, because it's easy, it's wholesome, it's fast, and it's very good for you. It's also very tasty. You can reinterpret it as you see fit. It's the sort of very easy soup you could even make if, say, you were a healthy, organic and local-food sort of fast-casual restaurant which refuses to serve soup. You can even take this recipe and keep it as your own. For free. This soup can have as few as 4 ingredients, minus salt and pepper. Stop making excuses, Northstar. I even used chicken sausage to make it extra healthy.
This soup is even better in the early fall, when local greens just start to become really good - after the first few frosts, and there's a slight nip in the air, or when it's supposed to be Spring but instead it's cold and rainy. This is a great time to use those Parmesan rinds, if you save them like I do. Of course, you could buy them at Whole Foods, but I don't know if it's important enough to spend the money.
White Bean & Kale Soup with Sausage - serves 2-4
3 hot Italian sausages, either chicken or pork, depending on how many calories you feel like having, cut into disks
2 bunches kale, chiffonaded, rinsed in several changes of water
2 cans great northern beans
6 cups chicken stock (I used a mixture of chicken and duck stock, because that's what I had in the freezer)
1 Parmesan rind
salt and pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes or to taste
good extra virgin olive oil
good balsamic vinegar
freshly grated Parmesan, for serving
Preheat a large soup pot over medium heat and add a little olive oil, then add the sausage. Brown very well, preferably getting some good brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. If you are using pork sausage, drain off any excess fat. Add the kale and the beans, stirring a little to scrape up the bits without crushing too many of the beans. Add the stock, again, scraping up any bits. Place the Parmesan rind in, if using, and add the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 30-45 minutes, or until the kale is soft. You might want to add a little more stock, if the soup looks like it's going to be too thick. Ladle into bowls and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and a few drops of Balsamic vinegar, if desired - this is totally optional, but it does give a nice little richness, especially if using chicken sausage. Grate a little Parmesan over and serve with some nice crusty bread. Yum!
This weekend marked the opening for the much-anticipated Rosendales, or Rosendale's, (although I believe there is technically no apostrophe) in the Short North, in the old Winders car dealership building at the corner of Hubbard and High. Chef Rich Rosendale hails from the Greenbriar Resort in West Virginia.
As this was the restaurant's first night in operation, this is not meant to be any sort of review; I just wanted to document my experience. Overall, it seemed as though the folks behind Rosendales were very well-prepared for opening, and they accomplished a feat I haven't witnessed before in a Columbus restaurant opening: actually opening on the day they said they were going to, with a liquor license, full menu and full wine list. Way to go.
The interior is modern without being cold, owing in large part to lots of dark wood lightened with white chairs, two walls of windows, and a few sage colored walls. The restaurant has two levels, the lower level slightly more casual with the bar, many tables and booths. The upstairs, where a tasting menu is offered, is more formal. We sat upstairs which was surprisingly bright, so taking pictures was easier than I've experienced in many restaurants. We were seated at a banquette table, I was facing a celedon green wall, which cast a slightly greenish hue over everything, as was noted by one of my dining companions. The might want to think of repainting the wall with a warm color; I'm no interior decorator, but as someone who takes lots of pictures of food, it looks better with warmer lighting. As do I.
All the food was served on a variety of interesting and super-cool plates, which thrilled me, as I am a sucker for good packaging and presentation.
Without further ado, here's the documentation of my first (of many, to be sure) meal at Rosendales. . .
First up, we had a visit to the bar, which has its own menu of bar treats. A few not tried but coveted were the fries with Bearnaise sauce and the tuna sashimi served on a brick of Himalayan salt. We did try the truffled popcorn, pictured at the beginning of the post. Not greasy but redolent with truffle-y goodness, the popcorn was even dotted with flecks of shaved truffle bits. I washed the popcorn down with a glass of La Spinetta Moscato d'Asti, a sweet sparkler (8.50). Two of my favorite things in one moment: popcorn and sparkling wine. Husband insists this is a divine combination; I'll have to try it again with something drier.
We also tried the tomato water, clam and chorizo shooter with toasted goat cheese sandwiches. Lovely to behold (click on the photo to enlarge, and gaze into the kaleidoscopic beauty of the shots), these shooters are a lesson on the whole being more than the sum of the parts - tomatoes, a clam, a slice of chorizo and a basil leaf are all floating in a shot of tomato water (typically a very carefully strained tomato juice which has an over-the-top tomato flavor, in this case especially intense considering the time of year). The shooter is sharp, cool and summery tasting, while the toasted goat cheese sandwiches - on brioche which tastes practically fried in butter - are rich; the two are each other's perfect foil:
Then it was off to dinner. Here's the butter service - unsalted (alas) butter topped with shavings of sweet paprika spiked compound butter, drizzled with olive oil:
We started off with a bottle of Roche-Audrun Cotes du Rhone, a grenache/syrah blend which is, in my humble opinion, one of the best values in French wine right now ($25 bottle).
Our server told us the green leaf salad was "absolutely incredible." Because none of us had a salad which came so highly recommended, we had to choose it. A blend of greens with lots of herbs thrown in (fennel, lovage, radishes, tomatoes, parsley, lots of bitter greens and even a pepperoncini), this was an interesting and complex salad which I intend to duplicate as soon as my CSA starts. The entire salad was very lightly graced by the presence of an ethereally light Banyuls vinaigrette (Banyuls is a fortified wine from France) and a few Pecorino (Italian sheep's milk cheese) curls:
We had a creamy and frothy 6 onion soup:
And melt in your mouth "48 hour" short ribs, with some incredible, scallion-butter tossed potato gnocchi of which there were regrettably few. We're fortunate no fork-stabbing-hand wars were started:
We had this cute plate of beef carpaccio on potato fritters:
We had lobster risotto, with no shortage of lobster chunks (although none can be seen in the picture), flanked by soft - chewy, but not rubbery, and not sandy - clams:
We had Scallops Rossini, with seared foie gras:
We had a really great seared tuna appetizer, situated on pressed sushi rice and accompanied by pickled vegetables and mustard ice cream. I'm up for anything, but even I was skeptical of the mustard ice cream, which turned out to be rich with cream but sharp with an almost wasabi-like hotness; I needn't have worried:
For dinner, it was recommended that the three of us with seafood entrees share a bottle of Pascal Cotat Sancerre Rose (Loire, France $49/bottle) , a nice alternative for red drinkers. For the dining guest who opted for the veal, the complex and unusual 1997 Chateau Musar (Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, $48/half bottle) was suggested and declared a triumph by all who tasted the combo.
I strangely ordered scallops for dinner - strange because one scallop at a time is usually my limit. Scallop lovers will adore this. The scallops were served atop some amazing creamy Parmesan potato cubes with an herbed cracker, which I selfishly kept to myself, even though we were supposed to be sharing. I managed 1 3/4 scallops before resigning to my scallop limit:
We had potato crusted grouper, with white and green asparagus and oyster mushrooms. This dish was rich tasting but light at the same time:
We had monk fish and shrimp with vegetables in fata paper. In case you are wondering, fata paper is a clear paper which is capable of withstanding high heat cooking, making for a rather exciting presentation. The package is cut open at the table to release a waft of rich aromas; the dish was heady with fennel and red peppers. Alas, the picture did not turn out.
We had a slowly braised veal shank which could be cut with a spoon, with pearl onions and leak rings. I was leary of the leek rings, as I hate the crispy leek phase and am glad it has faded into oblivion, but these were almost tempura-battered, and they weren't inedible as most crispy leeks are, they were de-licious - this was all served on a fun flying-saucer plate:
Dessert was grapefruit panna cotta, a thin layer of grapefruit gelatin topped with a thicker layer of vanilla panna cotta, topped with pink grapefruit slices:
banana cake, my personal favorite, a comforting banana cake topped with a pretty fried pineapple chip, ice cream and a little puddle of nuts and caramel sauce:
and molten center chocolate cake: 
Comments made by co-diners were that Chef Rich seems to use bold flavors with a very restrained hand; nothing was overly doused in fat or butter (or at least, didn't taste as if it were), and my favorite "I don't feel like I'm in Columbus!" Based upon the success of the the opening night, I have no doubts Rosendales will continue to improve, becoming better and better. This is a gem of a restaurant in the Columbus dining scene, completely uninfluenced by other restaurants in town; a new bar has been set, and I hope it does nothing but improve the entire Columbus dining experience. Be sure to check out the menus - especially the tasting menu - online. I hope to do the tasting menu sometime in the future, and will be back with an update then.
Info: Rosendales Restaurant 793 N. High Street in the Short North. Dinner only, Monday - Sunday. Reservations are strongly encouraged. 614.298.1601.
It's really hard to take pictures of the Tinies. They are really wobbly. Nonetheless, I did the best I could, thanks to Husband for being a hand model. You can click on the pictures to go my Flickr page and see the rest of this week's pictures. Since they've all made it to two weeks, I'll let you know there were SIX! Tinies in this batch. The cutest by far is this one I prosaically call Smudgey Nose; not to mention she's very photogenic, being that she's content to be picked up and cradled in one's hands, whereupon she will promptly resume sleeping, or licking her paws, or whatever she was doing before being scooped. I think I have secure homes for about 3 Tinies; lots of people have expressed interest but haven't committed. If you would like a Tiny, please e-mail me and we can discuss it. 
