Anna Blume

Lentil soup begun w a homemade vegetable broth which incorporated stringy mess of seeds scooped out of two butternut squash. Leeks, shallot, garlic, fresh ginger, orange peel, coriander, whole clove & peppercorns...semi-puréed and poured over baby spinach and garnished with whole-milk yogurt in the corner of the most convenient museum where we were allowed to bring in food and picnic.* Butternut squash hummus w za'atar & pumpkin seeds. Crackers and sliced radishes to scoop. Hard-boiled eggs Delicious satsumis from WFM World Peace cookies *Hirshhorn doesn't even have lockers for the general public, let alone a cloakroom!!!

I continue to be puzzled by why WFM's policy concerning seafood and sustainability seems exemplary. It's probably the most blatant case of hypocrisy in the company. If there is a general agreement that Species X is over-fished and your buyer knows this, why is she ordering it by the boatload and distributing it to regional stores? Why are members of the seafood team not passionate about issues related to the commodities they are selling? Why are they under-educated about seafood, farm-fishing and endangered species and what many view as an important food source that is dwindling? Those yellow seals displayed in seafood cases kind of remind me of "SMOKING CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH" on the side of cigarette packs in terms of the efficacy of labels and corporate sincerity. I can't blame WFM alone. I also blame Dr. Oz and other professionals in nutrition and health care who continue to promote salmon as a source for reversing signs of aging and fish as something everyone should eat several times a week.

Thanks for the suggestions. Wanting something I can purée and pour from a tall Stanley thermos, I am riffing off a recipe form Dorie Greenspan that is scented with fresh ginger and orange peel. Should complement a butternut squash hummus (Michael Costa's recipe, though there is one in Ottolenghi's Jerusalem, too).

Okay, I love making a variation on Lulu's simple, thin lentil soup w lots of garlic and croutons, aged a day. Italian version with chesnuts and pancetta, yum. Deborah Madision's lentil minestrone is a delicious change, though I wish I could find a new source for the tiny pasta stars that made it special. Whenever I am cold and need only a little something to tide me over, a cup of curried lentil soup from Teaism is just the thing. In the mood for something new, I am asking you all for suggestions. It has to be vegetarian. No mushrooms, no wine; kid-friendly. I have Le Puy, Beluga and a handful of little brown Spanish lentils. Shallots, leeks, garlic, onions, parsley, carrots, sweet potatoes, Parmesan rind, celery dot dot . Plan is to spoon leaves of baby spinach in when serving.

What, only six and a half years later?

DanielK: I can't seem to quote only a portion of Post #7722 above. Claudia Roden's recipe for blood orange olive oil cake is one of my favorite recipes ever; I don't know if DP of Smitten Kitchen names her source. I baked mine round and bought extra blood oranges to make a simple syrup. Poked holes in top and poured the hot syrup in the warm cake before glazing thin slices of reserved oranges to decorate top, though thin strips of zest would be nice, too. Recommendation was originally from a friend in Maine when consulted about what I should bring to a dinner celebrating Chanakah. As a result, it's become the go-to dessert for families in at least one corner of Sweden.

Since I plan to make naan this week, I am heading to Home Depot soon to buy a couple of $4 marble tiles measuring about 10" x 10". Reading through these comments, I will be sure not to purchase anything glazed. What I've read online suggests soapstone, granite, marble and terra cotta are all recommended, though concern about food safety factor into questions about finishes and the exact nature of minerals in tiles intended for construction vs. cooking. One comment indicated that marble tiles might explode in oven, yet most cautionary remarks are about cracking. Two pizza stones I've bought cracked, though, so I prefer to spend less than I have in the past.

FWIW I didn't post because Albert Yi's synopsis was dead-on as was eventual praise of wonton. Beef soup with noodles: didn't think much of noodles, but the large morsel of beef in my bowl was delicious. Tendon reminded me of the overcooked roast (very well done) at British stepfamily's, only three days later: cold, dry, characterless. Soup dumpling: first one was great with lots of soup shooting out. Dough not exactly thin, but not doughy or tough. Second one had only 1/4 t. of soup at most, so there's a little inconsistency. Since I was late, I didn't get to try everything, but Mr. P graciously shared the last two bites of a wonderful salad of tiny cucumbers.

"According to What?" , the current exhibition featuring both the subversive and reverent work of Ai Weiwei runs through February 24 at The Hirshhorn. This means you have only one more week plus an additional weekend left to see it if you haven't already. Pedantic proselytizing forthcoming, but for now let me just say that given the artist's training in New York and the provocateur-political nature of much on display, this proves an incredibly accessible show for Western viewers. Extraordinary sense of history, craftsmanship based on a love of materials, passion, intellect, sensuality, and profound engagement in the contemporary world: all there amidst the lingering scent of tea.

Better than frosting? Happy Birthday, hillvalley!

Go back one. His dad was the first farmer: Adam's punishment for Original Sin was to dig the earth. Eve's punishment was giving birth to the son who offered the rejected grain; the accepted offering was from the son who grass-fed his humanely raised animals.

Very cute, both. According to my source, it's pronounced more like "snart" than "snert" and sure enough, here's a Native's demonstration. Okay, whose braise is turned down low?

1) Yes and no. This was perhaps the third time I've made snert and each time, I've done things differently. Main allegiances to the recipe include: ratio of split peas to water; tons of vegetables cut into tiny little pieces by hand; length of cooking and restraint in waiting a day before consuming. I cut back on amount of pork and have until now, disregarded what Klary says about not adding smoked meats right away. I started out with ham steaks, exclusively, adding meat at the beginning. Next two times, the soup was a way to dig a ham hock/pig's foot out of the freezer. This time I decided to start out with Cedarbrook's fresh pork sausage that is seasoned only w salt and pepper. After two hours, I plopped in a small ham hock from the same farm. Vegetables pretty much the same, if in different proportions; I resorted to a few dried celery leaves vs. fresh celery and added just a little leftover, blanched turnip. 2) Not much work, really, less than making a ragu. Just a lot of dogged chopping interspersed with peeling. You do need a long stretch of time which can mostly be spent dong other things like laundry. Same as making stock and worth it in the end. Klary's tutorial on Dutch home-cooking is a real treasure and she's right about what it's like to smell the soup come together. You almost need shipmates to tie you to the mast--or bannister--to keep you from devouring the thickening glop before it's ready. I once made it while sharing a house with two diehard pescatarians who mostly prepared vegetarian meals. They timidly confessed about the effect the snert was having on them and licked their bowls clean the next day.

Snert

The ad celebrates a certain kind of farmer: the one that benefits from the Farm Bill and not the small, family farmer of organic vegetables down in North Carolina. Look at the types of fields and farmlands depicted. Ranches with calves to rustle, not the space for pasture-raised chicken separated from greens by barbed deer fencing. No one's harvesting fava beans that nurture soil, throwing cuttings on the compost heap or sitting on a front porch strewn with muddy Bogs, sipping kombucha and reading Wendell Berry to the dog.

Wait list? I could be there early.

No personal experience, but I got curious and searched briefly. Wear red, yellow or black. Playing games is traditional on Tet, so perhaps a cool, family-oriented board game; I would imagine only family give children red envelopes w money. Here is a guide developed for elementary-school students. And here's a party in New Jersey for inspiration (click links on bottom to see previous pages of same party).

The title of Mackey's book strikes me as incredibly ironic for the very reasons Zora mentions.* Conscious capitalism suggests co-existing with competition: distinguishing oneself and complementing like-minded sources for food in a campaign to offer the US better options for meals. Then again, a store that calls itself Whole Foods while selling more value-added products than whole foods is well-versed in that kind of self-fashioning. As an intellectual snob, I found most of my reasons for disrespecting John Mackey in his response to Omnivore's Dilemma. Neither he nor his PR team showed signs that they really understood the concept of "pastoral idyllic" and the CEO could not stand up to his challenger's eloquence, substantiality, intelligence and reason.** sings about no one calling Pablo Picasso an asshole, though maybe because the women and children in his life probably used other nasty French and Spanish words. I still like his art and like Alec Baldwin, I stayed put even though... So, despite Mackey, I continue to buy most of my supermarket-type groceries at Whole Foods because they are less expensive than they are at other stores. Butter, dairy, spices, Meyer lemons, bulk items that I don't get at Trader Joe's. Friday specials now and again. I have a great deal of respect for Customer Service. Sometimes quality or preferences are factors. I personally loathe the company's two-faced attitude towards seafood sustainability issues. Sell fish that is endangered, but let the shopper know what they're getting? Consequences are graver than selling heirloom tomatoes in February. What makes their salmon "responsibly farmed"? No one could tell me, except for the fact that diets are vegetarian unlike those of wild salmon (I am guessing). I am fortunate in having an abundance of superior alternatives at farmers markets. I suspect I don't want to know what Dean knows, preferring the low-grade wariness that allows me to justify shopping at WFM, but steer clear of the bananas and Horizon "organic". *I miss Wild Oats and witnessed the beginning of its end in Boulder. **Most of us watching a well-publicized debate online were disappointed that Michael Pollan decided to be more friendly than adversarial.

To compensate for low supply of chicken stock, I prepped a vegetable stock for a curried winter-squash soup which calls for a T of tomato paste to be sautéed w chopped ginger, spices and shallots before adding water, etc. So, I added some of the dehyrdrated tomato slices to the stock. Nice.

Cara-cara orange halved and sliced into thin half-moons Coffee Toasted whole wheat English muffin w chevre, spiced figs and toasted walnuts

Curried Red Kuri soup w baby spinach and lime Garlic naan Gold Rush apple

Salad of mixed greens, fennel, avocado and golden beet w Meyer lemon vinaigrette Poulet rouge from Evensong, Zuni-brined w lemon and rosemary Golden Ball turnip gratin

Raw carrots and turnip slices Cedarbrook's spareribs braised w stock and a pint of an apple-cabbage choucroute (still emptying freezer) Mashed rutabaga w black pepper and wizened mushroom bits Dried apricots w herbal tea Not to worry. Kale and arugula at lunch. *********** Monavano: You ought to pick up some freelance assignments from local restaurants, glossy print and related online sources (NPR Salt...). You and Fishinnards shoot the most appealing images of food around.

The Zoroastrian deity? As I told saf, I was impressed by my conversation w Dodge Chrome. Project would be costly, but the work definitely worth the price.

La Brea Tar Pit Wings You'll need finger bowls, though.