lperry

A romaine salad with baked tofu marinated in a honey-ginger marinade. I'm not usually a big tofu lover, but marinated, baked and basted tofu ends up with the texture of cheese and the taste of whatever you chose for the marinade. Very nice in a salad.

As much as I love Rodman's, it is so far out of the way for me that I rarely go. I wish they would open in Virginia. I'll check our Giant here since it's so close. They have a pretty good stock of things from Central and South America, but I don't know about Caribbean foods, and I so rarely drink sodas that I just don't peruse those aisles. I happened on this at Grand Mart looking for Mexican Coke in glass bottles for Mr. lperry (score on that if anyone is interested), and now that I know it is not only made with real fruit, but tastes like real fruit, I'll get more. I think it would work nicely in a Paloma as well.

^ I first heard about Ting from Tiare on the Ministry of Rum site, but I had never seen it around NoVA. I'm planning to try some of her drink ideas, although I haven't got any W&N overproof, and it is rare that I have all the ingredients she has on hand (phenom is correct). Grand Mart at seven corners has Ting in little glass bottles - perfect for experimentation. Now that I know it's so good, I'll look for the larger bottles. This would make a great summer party drink.

Two nights in a row I mixed gold rum (Don Q) with lime, bitters and Ting. Delicious. Now I need more Ting.

I am on the KA email list, and they sent out an announcement a couple of weeks ago that TJs would no longer carry their flour, and the reason given was TJs wish to carry more of their own brands. I don't know if that means we will be seeing TJ flour or not. The email linked to a page where you could find a store that does carry KA, just in case. Harris Teeter usually has it, and it is frequently on sale.

^ The mint in the ground in my yard is unstoppable, but it's in a place that gets some shade, and the clay soil retains water pretty well. In the pot on the deck, it wilted often, I assume due to the combination of wind and sun. When temperatures got into the 90s during the summer, it needed water every day. Here in the yard, I never water my herbs.

When I grew herbs out on my apartment deck in Springfield, I had mint, sage, rosemary, oregano, and basil in pots, and they all did really well. They loved the heat and the sun, but I did have to water pretty frequently, especially the mint. I had ceramic pots, so if you are less of a hands on person, you might choose plastic pots that retain water better. My herb bed currently has (assuming the perennials come back) rosemary, two types of thyme, oregano, marjoram, three types of mint, sage, catnip, lemon balm, parsley, chives, garlic chives, and the dead remains of several different basils that will be replaced this spring. I want to put in dill and chervil this year.

Whole wheat linguine in a roasted red pepper sauce and a romaine salad.

Last night: The never ending sixteen bean soup. The next time you are in a little general store in the middle of West Virginia and a five pound bag of sixteen bean soup sounds like a good idea, just remember how much bean soup you will be eating. Fortunately, we aren't completely tired of it yet. I have been trying to mix it up a bit and it is awfully good when it's so cold out. Last night was a simple mirepoix with some tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme, and smoked paprika for depth. I was going to put in a box of chopped spinach I found in the freezer, but upon examination, it was found to have moved on to that great garden in the sky. La Brea sourdough bread on the side.

Romaine salad with pecans, dried cranberries, and goat cheese Sun dried tomato hummous with tiny whole wheat pitas from TJs Yali pear

Tonight: Gardenburgers with sautéed mushrooms, feta cheese, and chipotle sauce on toasted whole wheat rolls from TJs Romaine salad with Roquefort and walnuts in a sherry vinaigrette This rids the freezer of the last of a single package of Gardenburgers (two more to go), and takes the last of a bottle of sherry vinegar, another of olive oil, and an odd bottle of Hornsby's cider I found in the fridge. The mushrooms are cooking in it. I'm not sure why it is so satisfying to get rid of the last bits and pieces of things in the pantry, but it is.

^ In the Greens cookbook, Deborah Madison has a recipe for black bean chili that is even better if you up the quantity of chipotles. It may be blasphemous, but, oh my, is it good. Lately we've been having lots of green salads and roasted vegetables. Cauliflower is always a favorite, and Grand Mart at Seven Corners had organic for 99 cents on Friday, and I also have been roasting the little fingerling potatoes from Costco. I have a jar of Rick Bayless' salsa negra in the fridge, and it makes a chipotle, mayo, lemon sauce in seconds with the immersion blender. It's fantastic with the crispy potatoes. This week I'm going to be making an effort to clean the odds and ends out of the freezer.

In an attempt to make some space, I've been experimenting with some of the frozen fruit pulp I have in the freezer. Last night guanabana went in the blender with crushed ice, Cointreau, limoncello, and vodka. This was modified from a recipe I found on the net that called for lemon flavored vodka. I liked how the Cointreau worked with the fruit, it made for a very nice, tropical complexity, but I won't make this one again. OK, but not great. There's about half a package left that I'm going to try with rum, and then I've got some dragonfruit to deal with. Suggestions are welcome.

I get dinner on my own for a few nights, so I'm falling back on the classic triptych of a mixed green salad, a piece of Valentine's day chocolate, and a glass of cheap red wine. The wine is Sacred Stone Master's Blend red, and it's actually surprisingly good for $10.

^ Come on. Everyone knows that the cupcakes grouped in the first column should all have had apples in them.

I enjoy your blog posts on tiki drinks, and wish I had a recommendation other than - mix up something in your hotel room with the ingredients you get at Ace. Have a great trip. Cheers!

I've been making daiquiris lately with Ron Cañita Curao Alambique from Puerto Rico. Delicious with passion fruit juice.

Whole wheat linguine with julienned zucchini in pesto sauce. It's kind of summery, but the zucchini looked really good at Grand Mart.

Grand Mart at LRT and 395 has these fairly often. Fresh curry leaves too. Depending on where you want to drive, there is an Indian food store on Backlick Road near Old Keene Mill, and another by the Harris Teeter in Annandale on Columbia Pike. I haven't been to either in a while. Whatcha making? Aloo methi? Edited to add this link to Indian Groceries in Virginia: Click.

Last night was a Waldorf salad and a bit of other fruit, engineered with the goal of washing out an overly greasy and salty lunch experience. Tonight: baby portobello mushrooms and shallots in a red wine/balsamic/honey reduction, served over pan-crisped polenta. I only had white corn meal, so I added in a tablespoon of dark Indian paprika for color. It ended up looking pretty nice. Mixed green salad Spiced pears Barboursville Brut

I had to look that up. A jelly doughnut-type pastry pronounced... um... I have no idea how to pronounce paczki.

When I lived in New Orleans, we always got the cinnamon cakes from MacKenzie's, but they have, sadly, gone out of business. I wish I had a good recipe. I've even got a little porcelain baby to bake into one. If you find something that looks good, please share!

Mixed green salad with roasted asparagus in a pesto, Meyer lemon dressing. This was deliberately light to leave room for: Apple and bourbon-soaked raisin pie (A Valentine's Day request.)

Last night, pasta and edamame with pesto. I didn't have spinach, so I used a pinch of sour salt, and it stayed bright green and gorgeous. Roasted cauliflower Roasted asparagus Meyer lemon drops

Why does this all look like something Homer Simpson would make? All I can think about is the waffle wrapped around a stick of butter.