LowellR

First week's delivery was yesterday. A nice selection of early growers - green onions (scallions), red and green romaine lettuces, Red Russian kale / Siberian kale, Chinese Cabbage (Qingmeng ), and Spring mix. The items were individually bagged and placed in a larger bag for transport. All the lettuces were in very good shape - not wilted - and had been washed. The spring mix barely even needed another rinse while the loose-leaef lettuces did, probably due to the recent rains. Last night we ate the spring mix with a simple vinagrette - it was very good, with a nice blend of spicy (arugula and watercress) and slightly more toothsome (cabbage- or kale-like) greens to complement the standard mixed greens. The big surpise, though, were the thick stems of the Chinese Cabbage, which I had cut out for washing and bagging - they were surprisingly tender and had a faint cauliflower-esque-ness to them. All in all, a great start to the season.

Stockyard Oatmeal Stout, from Stockyard Brewing in Chicago. Rich flavor, good mouthfeel, nice bitterness and only $5.99 for a six-pack at Trader Joe's. (I know the economy's on the rebound, but still. . . ) Edited to add - I know this sounds like an ad, but I have no affiliation with Trader Joe's. On the other hand, I love Trader Joe's, so it probably won't be my last reference to them. . .

Not as exciting as Al Dente's wine bargin extravaganza, but still of interest is the new habit of my local Whole Foods (Tyson's Corner) of setting out a bin of "cheese ends" for sale. They're small or odd-shaped leftover bits that they must think are too miniscule or weird-looking for "normal" public consumption. There's no per-pound discount, but it's a great way to set put a small cheese course for those of us without enough mouths (or a separate cheese refrigerator) to warrant a five-pound wedge of gruyere. They've been doing it for a couple of months or so now, and, interestingly, I haven't seen the same on offer at some of the other stores I've visted (P Street downtown, Fair Lakes), since they started.

The concept is very interesting, especially since I live nearby and my oven can't hold all the bread I often want to bake. I'll reserve judgment on the chances for the Bistro aspect, however, until I see the inside. The building used to be pretty nasty, inside and out, but it was just gutted and remodeled (although, in an attempt to maintain the '70's office park feel of the building, the preexisting exterior panels were reinstalled). Hopefully, they can decorate the interior well enough to make customers forget they're in a bad office park building.

The Oceaniare creamed corn has become a must-have at all of our family's holiday meals (we got the recipe from a magazine in Minneapolis that will track down restaurant recipes). The "secret" ingredient, as it usually is, is nutmeg (the nutmeg, some leeks, and a lot of cream is pretty much the dish). The advantage to making it at home, obviously, is that you can cook it down to a consistency that's just to your liking (I think Treznor would be pleased with our chosen degree of creaminess.)

I know that, this being my fourth post, I've got little inherent credibility, but here's my recipe (It obviously goes a bit beyond minimilist seasoning, so YMMV, or change it to suit). The egg, mayo and bread is just enough to bind together a pound of crabmeat. 1 egg 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon crab seasoning, such as Old Bay or Phillips’ 1 heaping tablespoon mayonnaise 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard 1 pound lump crabmeat 2 slices potato or white bread, crumbled 1/3 cup Vegetable oil and ½ stick of butter, for fying Combine eggs, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice crab seasoning, mayonnaise and mustard. Place the crabmeat in a large bowl. Gently stir in the egg mixture and then gently fold in the breadcrumbs (so as not to break up the lumps). Shape into 6 slightly flattened balls and chill for at least 1 hour. Pour approximately oil and place butter in small skillet and heat on medium-high until butter melts. Cook approximately 4 minutes each side, turning down heat if it looks like it’s cooking too fast (i.e., going to burn).

Thanks! I'll have to stop by.

I agree. I had lunch there a week or so ago, and while lunch may not give the kitchen it's best opportunity to shine, I thought the starters were very good and the mains a bit more meh. As I'm writing this, though, maybe we weren't adventurous enough on the mains. We had the tiny dumplings and the shrimp shumai to start. Both had good flavor and perfect texture, with accompanying sauces that significantly enhanced them. For mains, I had drunken noodles, and my companion had the chicken salad. lekkerwijn perfectly summed up my feelings on the drinken noodles: Although I'd also say that they weren't as good as Rahbieng's version and were about twice the lunchtime price ($24, I believe, although the Source included a fair number of large shrimp). The noodles has the sweetness and spicieness I expected, but they didn't have the same depth of flavor as Rahbieng. As for the chicken salad, it was a chicken salad. A step up from Applebee's, but nothing special. For $75 before tax and tip, I agree that next time I'll stick with the appetizers.

This has become one of my favorite recent beer discoveries. While I like brown ales in theory, I find many to be a bit too sweet for my taste. The addition of the India "hoppiness" overcomes any lingering sweetness and leaves a nice, medium-bodied beer that works pretty well on its own or with a variety of foods.

It's probably a bit late, but a little more information can be found at http://www.localharvest.org/csa/M12941 (both on that page and on the "Visit our lisiting" link). I've signed up for this year and will report back as the season progresses. . .