I was looking for a crisp cracker (or something) to go with the olive tapenade and homemade hummus I had at home.  I was in the bakery section, and saw this lovely package beckoning me from its cozy space on the butcher block display:

Ines Rosales' Tortas de Aciete - Sweet Olive Oil Tortas

Having neither eaten nor seen these items before, they appeared at first glance to be the perfect complement to the tapenade and hummus.  I placed one of the packages into my cart, and didn’t give it another thought until later that night, when I had a hankering for a hunk o’ cheese a savory snack (ten bucks and my undying admiration to the person who can identify the reference).

I removed one of the delicate tortas from its waxed paper wrapping, and was immediately struck by the fact that it was oily and liberally sprinkled with white sugar.  OK, that’s the sweet part, I thought.  Too sweet for olives or hummus, I guess.  Then I bit into the thing, and was immediately transported.  The texture was a bit crunchy – almost like a cookie – and a tad crumbly, not unlike a shortbread.  Thicker than, but nonetheless reminiscent of, a toasted pita.  And, oh, the flavor.

Torta de Aciete, unwrapped. These little delights are imported from Seville (Spain), and made from 24% extra-virgin olive oil!

I was not expecting what greeted me upon first bite – a beautiful burst of anise, much like the Italian cookies you get at the authentic bakeries.  But, sugar sprinkle notwithstanding, the tortas are not overly sweet.  It was all I could do to not eat the entire six-torta package at once.

I ate another one tonight.  Maybe I’ll even try one with some coffee one of these evenings…

Kitchen Tools

This is a list of some cool tools – some essential, some whimsical, some probably ridiculous.  But they will no doubt make your foodie smile!

• If money is no object: your foodie NEEDS a KitchenAid Stand Mixer.  No self-respecting foodie should go without this essential tool.  It can be used for everything: kneading bread, mixing cookie dough, combining meat loaf mix, whipping cream.  And, if your foodie already has a stand mixer, you can always get them an attachment or two: meat grinder, sausage stuffer, grain mill, citrus juicer, pasta roller, ravioli maker, slicer/shredder, ice cream maker….
  

  Onion Goggles

• A powerful blender.  My pick is the KitchenAid 4-Speed Blender.  It REALLY crushes ice!  About $99, available in four colors.
• Onion Goggles (available at ThinkGeek for $24.95, at other places for various prices).  Tears no more!  These nifty little goggles prevent the noxious sulfur compounds from reaching your eyeballs, so you can finally chop onions without crying a river.
  

  The Beverage CADDi

• Nutmeg Grater (under $20).  My fave is this one by Cuisipro.  I no longer buy ground nutmeg, following a harrowing incident with a moldycontainer bought in the grocery store.  I now buy whole nutmegs from Penzey’s, and grate them as needed using the grater.
• OXO Electronic Kitchen Scale (around $50, available at kitchen stores and at www.oxo.com).  Every kitchen needs an accurate food scale that can measure in pounds and kilograms.  This one is great  – measures up to 11 pounds.
  

  The Happy Man Bottle Stopper. He sure is happy!

• The Beverage CADDi – it allows you to hang on to your coffee with one finger!  Price: $5.50 (“the cost of your last spilled latte,” according to the Beverage CADDi website).  I haven’t seen it in stores, but it’s available online.
• The Happy Man Bottle Stopper.  I think the picture says it all.

Other Foodie Gift Ideas

• Cooking classes – many local kitchen supply stores offer cooking classes, teaching a wide range of topics.  Here are a few:
  • Different Drummer’s Kitchen (Latham Cooking School and Northampton Cooking School)
  • Spoon & Whisk
  • Saratoga Restaurant Equipment Sales
  • Mimmy’s House Personal Chef Service (offers one-on-one classes)
• Wine Course from Wine Spectator School.  The Wine Spectator, a recognized name in wine culture, offers online wine education courses, on a variety of topics.  I’ve taken a few of these courses, and I think they’re great.  Courses last about 6 weeks, students set their own pace, there are guided tastings, and after passing the course exam, the student receives a certificate and a cool graduation gift (I got a mousepad last time)!  Cost varies, from $39 up to about $149.
• Gift Certificate to Penzey’s, the only place to buy spices.  I will never ever buy grocery-store spices again.  Penzey’s is the best quality, ships fast, and they’re inexpensive.  Plus they’ve got awesome gift collections, if you’d rather buy a pre-boxed set.  They also have cool catalogs, which arrive *very* frequently.
• Foodie DVD’s – Julie & Julia, Chocolat, Sideways, SuperSize Me, Food Inc., Eating Alaska.  And those are just the ones I saw.  There are many more – check out this Amazon.com list for other suggestions.
• Omaha Steaks – Bob and I are big fans of ordering meat online.  Their beef is outstanding, pork is great, chicken is okay, desserts you shouldn’t bother ordering (except the Caramel Apple Tartlets – delicious!).

Well, that’s it for now.  If I think of anything else, I’ll let you know.  Deck the Halls, and all that jazz.

Peach-Blueberry Cobbler

Our Daily Bread's booth. I bought some whole wheat bread and some challah.

Plums from Migliorelli Farm in Tivoli

Peaches for making Peach-Blueberry Cobbler tonight.

Basil from Migliorelli Farm. The smell is divine...

Broccoli and Cauliflower from Barber's Farm in Middleburgh

Squash! Barber's Farm.

Beautiful Leaf Lettuce

Radishes from Migliorelli Farm

Lisa Zaccaglini of Mu Mu Muesli in Sharon Springs

Lots of good stuff at the markets this week – berries, stone fruits, greens, potatoes, tomatoes, radishes, all kinds of lettuces, potatoes, herbs, and a lot more. 

Just a reminder: Schenectady Greenmarket happens every Sunday from 10am-2pm, around City Hall in Downtown Schenectady.  Their website is www.schenectadygreenmarket.com.

And, if you happen to work in Schenectady, you’ll want to check out the Thursday farmer’s market, from 9:30am-1:30pm, also at City Hall.   Info on other Farmer’s Markets in Schenectady County here.

Keep your eye out for next week’s Market Report!

• Make a package of sugar-free, fat-free vanilla instant pudding, with skim milk, according to package directions
• Add 1/2 tsp of coconut extract
• Let it sit for a few minutes in the fridge, til it thickens a bit
• Stir in 1/4 cup coconut flakes (toasted if you want) and 1 cup of Cool Whip Lite
• Divide in to 4 small bowls.  Let sit in fridge overnight, if you can wait that long

That’s it!!  You can add a little whipped cream or Cool Whip on top.  If you’re feeling especially frisky, you can add some crushed vanilla wafers or vanilla snaps on top, for a bit of “crust”. 

And, I have to offer this brief product review of another coconut-filled delight: Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut Bars have absolutely blown my mind!  They have so much gooey dark chocolate on top of them that you’ll be amazed.  At 120 calories, these bars are da bomb, my friends.   Get some.

Kashi Dark Chocolate Coconut Bars

First, the exterior – the “glamour shot”:

A Sight to Behold!

Pretty, isn’t it?  It’s so shiny that it caught the flash from my camera. 

 And now for the piece de resistance, the interior – the “money shot”.  I made sure to take these photos the day after grocery shopping, so you can get a glimpse into what makes me so Wendalicious.

A Diagrammatic Look Inside My Fridge

 

The Meaty Deli Drawer: fake bacon, real bacon, bratwurst, chicken tenders, sirloin steaks, hot dogs, ham, and some other stuff I don't remember putting in there. I think there may be some gingerroot in the back.

Sesame tahini (for hummus), ground pork and turkey (for Swedish meatballs), leftover Chinese, homemade creamy black bean tomato soup, and A&W Root Beer Floats.

Fat-free sour cream, minced garlic, Greek yogurt, French Vanilla soymilk creamer (the shiny blue box), and cage-free eggs

 

water (all natural - is there any other kind?), milk, caramel syrup, and roasted red peppers. Please note the containers in the back: you should always store rice, whole wheat flour, and flaxseeds in the fridge so they last longer!

Danger lurks in the outer reaches of the deep-freeze...including chicken pot pies (not mine), apple turnovers (not mine), chocolate molten lava cakes (not mine), and fat-free no-sugar-added vanilla ice cream (mine).

I should at least tell you what I’m making for lunch/dinner this week, with all those tasty ingredients:

• Slow Cooker Lasagna (that was tonight’s dinner and it was GREAT!)
• Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs (my MIL is Swedish, and she shared her mother’s recipe with me)
• Bratwurst Pretzel Pizza (from last month’s Rachael Ray magazine, God help me)
• Buffalo Chicken Tenders (I have no recipe – I’m just wingin’ it.)
• Cilantro White Bean Hummus, as a spread on Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich (cukes, roasted red peppers, feta cheese, tomatoes, all on whole grain bread)

I’ll definitely post the Swedish Meatballs recipe, since it’s so delicious.  MIL made it for Christmas Eve dinner, and I’m hoping it’s going to become a tradition.

And the Cilantro Hummus is a pretty good copy of the version that Panera Bread makes.  Their Meditteranean Veggie Sandwich ROCKS, and I wanted to make it at home.  So I did!  The bread I bought for the sandwich is from Rock Hill Bakehouse, called “8 Grain 3 Seed”.  You can buy it in either Price Chopper or Hannaford.  It is SO delicious that I often just eat it totally plain.  It’s sweet, nutty, chewy and perfect for sandwiches.

 I hope you enjoyed the journey into my refrigerator.  More posts as more interesting items make an appearance…

• I joined the YMCA a couple weeks ago, and I’ve been going regularly – Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. I’m taking a Step class, and it’s totally kicking my ass. BUT – I’m not giving it up – it’s actually quite fun.
• I’m working very hard to get myself on a preservative-free and additive-free diet. I refuse to eat anything that contains high-fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated oils. Those items are bad, bad, bad!
• I got a free sample in the mail of South Beach Diet’s “Cherry Almond Granola Clusters”. It’s “granola” with cherry almond flavor – which actually tasted like sawdust liberally coated with cough syrup. Yuck. Here’s the ingredient list: ROLLED OATS, SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, OLIGOFRUCTOSE (FOR FIBER), SOYBEANS, ALMONDS, SUNFLOWER SEEDS, DRIED CRANBERRIES (CRANBERRIES, SUGAR, SUNFLOWER OIL), SOY FLOUR, BROWN RICE SYRUP, SUGAR, CORN SYRUP, POLYDEXTROSE (FOR FIBER), OAT FIBER, FRUCTOSE, CHERRY JUICE CONCENTRATE, FRUCTOSE (FOR FIBER), SOYBEANS, ALMONDS, SUNFLOWER SEEDS, DRIED CRANBERRIES (CRANBERRIES, SUGAR, SUNFLOWER OIL), SOY FLOUR, BROWN RICE SYRUP, SUGAR, CORN SYRUP, POLYDEXTROSE (FOR FIBER), OAT FIBER, FRUCTOSE, CHERRY JUICE CONCENTRATE, DRIED CHERRIES (CHERRIES, SUGAR, GLYCERIN, RICE FLOUR), CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF GLYCERIN, FRACTIONATED PALM KERNEL OIL, SWEETENED CONDENSED NONFAT MILK (CONDENSED NONFAT MILK, SUGAR), TAPIOCA STARCH, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, COCONUT OIL, NONFAT MILK, SOY LECITHIN, BUTTER (CREAM, SALT), CINNAMON, LACTOSE, CALCIUM CASEINATE, SALT, SAFFLOWER OIL, MOLASSES, PHOSPHORIC ACID, CARRAGEENAN, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, BHT AND POTASSIUM SORBATE (TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS), BAKING SODA. CONTAINS: SOY, ALMOND, SUNFLOWER SEED, MILK. MANUFACTURED ON EQUIPMENT THAT PROCESSES WHEAT AND OTHER TREE NUTS. That’s waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many ingredients that I can’t pronounce – and I used to be a chemist!! Plus it tasted disgusting.
  
• A much better alternative to the chemical sludge above is a nifty little product by a natural foods company called “Bear Naked” – it’s Vanilla Almond Crunch Fit Granola. It’s low in sugar, and is free of trans fats, hydrogenated oils, artificial flavors, and high fructose corn syrup – all the bad stuff I’m trying to avoid. I can honestly say it is one of the most fabulous things I’ve ever put in my mouth (watch it…).
• Tonight’s dinner was a very simple grilled peppercorn-crusted filet mignon with a red wine-mushroom sauce. Took only 8 minutes on the good ol’ George Foreman grill (I’m a medium-rare kind of girl). Wendalicious!

I received a wonderful gift from my wonderful in-laws (one set…I have two great sets of in-laws) – a large butcher-block style cutting board, handmade right nearby in the Catskills, by Catskill Craftsmen. They have a similar one in their kitchen, and I’ve been loudly admiring it since I first met them. They finally took the hint.

It’s humongous – 20″x20″, and it must weigh about 15 pounds. I cannot find a place for it it my kitchen yet – it’s too big to go in any of the cabinets, and it doesn’t fit on top of the pot rack (which would probably collapse from the weight, anyway). I, however, am totally in love with it. It’s going to last the rest of my life, and will travel with me to any and all future kitchens.

I’m glad that it was made right here in New York, and that it comes with a guarantee. I realize that I’m responsible for its maintenance (monthly treatment with mineral oil), but it’s a small price to pay for a lifetime of enduring craftsmanship.

My in-laws told me that they looked high and low for this – they could not find a decent wooden cutting board at Macy’s, Different Drummer’s Kitchen, or even Williams-Sonoma. Turned out they found it at a little place in Clifton Park called Spoon & Whisk, right on Route 9 next to J&S Watkins (another fantasy-inducing foodie destination).

I have made it a New Year’s resolution to hie myself over to Spoon & Whisk, to buy me a chinois, a spider, and a potato ricer. I have many culinary adventures ahead of me in 2008 – stay tuned!

I was headed to the gym after work, running about 10 minutes behind schedule (par for my course). When I arrived at the gym, there was not one parking space in the whole lot. Seriously. I’m not just making up excuses. SO – I figured I’d better just go and get something for dinner before my 6:30pm appointment. I neglected to plan ahead, so ended up getting a salad at a place called Nothing but Noodles (the irony of my food order does not escape me). I hate salad. Even more than I hate tequila (which I don’t hate anymore, incidentally. See my recipe below. Apparently we were just drinking really baaaad tequila in college – duh).

I didn’t get done with my appointment until 8:00, and there’s no way I’m going to the gym two hours before bed.

SO – I’m back to Day One tomorrow. Unlike Gov. Spitzer, I get a do-over.

Recipe of the Day:

A Simply Awesome Margarita

• Juice of one lime
• 1.5oz Sauza Hornitos Reposada tequila
• 1oz triple sec liqueur
• a splash of orange juice

Add to ice in shaker; shake until your fingers freeze. Pour into salted or unsalted margarita glass (or coffee mug, whichever’s handy), and garnish with a squeeze of lime. Drink responsibly.

Wendalicious Must-Buy:

Italian Sausage Seasoning from Penzey’s. It makes 99% fat-free ground turkey taste like sausage – honestly. It’s a miracle spice blend.