The Gospel of Michael Pollan

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
- Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food

Last Wednesday at Unity Temple on the Plaza, after eating a delicious dinner of quinoa ("Pollan's Perfect Food" according to the menu) at Eden Alley, I got to hear Michael Pollan preach. Rainy Day Books hosted him on this visit - his first to KC since Botany of Desire (I was there for that one, too). He, like his books, is clear and compelling, and his notion of "nutritionism" from In Defense of Food, is a refreshingly straightforward and essential way to think about food in our world of mixed marketing messages and competing interests.

We Americans, according to Pollan, have obsessed about health but cannot get healthy. We over-emphasize nutrition but don't eat nutritionally rich food. We have limited our understanding of foods by breaking them down into individual components and processing out everything healthy and natural in order to fixate on one element.

Marketers have been "feeding" us everything they think we need or want to know. Even as consumers become more savvy, marketers step up their game by catering to our health concerns. (Like the ice cream that is called "5" because - in response to consumer concerns - it has no more than five ingredients.)

But the majority of those tidbits and "facts" about food that are going around in the public are as empty and hollow as high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated soy bean oil themselves. And they miss the importance and value of what really matters which is whole foods in their naturally nutritious state. I liked Michael Pollan's final admonition, after his long and entertaining exposition on nutritionism, in which he encouraged us simply to not buy anything you see advertised on TV. That - to me - seems the best way to know you're buying food that has your best interests in mind.

Buffalo Grass

Friday night at the Badseed Farmers' Market, there was a new vendor on hand - some folks who forage and call themselves the wild alchemists. They had several wild herb tea blends, some mushrooms, and some unique greens. In addition to the edible goods they had a few extra natural elements for sale as well.

For a dollar, I bought this grass bundle that they couldn't identify - a couple of farmers agreed that it was buffalo grass. One farmer even offered to take a sprig home so he could check in his book of prairie grasses to confirm. This bundle is already dry, but still has such a poignant aroma - something nostalgic, but I don't know what. At any rate, it is standing tall on my dining room table and looking so beautiful.

A Good Morning

I often hear of asparagus and eggs together: Nigella Lawson's asparagus soldiers with soft boiled eggs, asparagus sprinkled with hard boiled eggs, etc. But for some reason I never think to eat them for breakfast, even though it makes perfect sense.



So today's breakfast was Eggs in a Frame - one of my all time favorites. I remembered the few lonely asparagus stalks standing by in the fridge, and it occurred to me that they would go quite nicely with my egg. I sauteéd the spears in olive oil and dressed them liberally with salt and pepper. And I brought out some of last year's tomato jam for something sweet and red.

Peach Mint Smoothie (in honor of Magazines and Coffee)

A while back there used to be a delightful place called Magazines and Coffee. It was a small, endearing deli-type spot that specialized in (you guessed it) magazines and coffee. It had Kansas City's most thorough array of periodicals, it had delicious coffee, it had TWA decor that gave the whole place great charm. But it also had food and other drinks, too, and I loved to go for lunch and get a Provolone and Basil sandwich and a Mango Mint Smoothie. Mango and mint? I hadn't seen that combo before. But just one sip and I was sold on it.

I was heart broken when Magazines and Coffee had to say good-bye and it's been a long time since I had a Mango Mint Smoothie. When yesterday's CSA share came with a big bunch of mint, I remembered I had frozen peaches (local, from last summer) and frozen peaches make great smoothies. So I made a mostly-local Mango and Peach Mint Smoothie in honor of Magazines and Coffee. It was divine.

Mango and Peach Mint Smoothie

I did not measure anything (rare for me) and had to call on Master Smoothie Maker Sergio for advice. But here's how it goes, roughly:

frozen peaches (local!)
frozen mango (from an undisclosed location - optional)
honey (local!) or agave nectar
milk (local!) or soy milk
mint (local!), chopped very finely
a blender

I used two kinds of mint - last week's and this week's. One has smaller leaves and is thin, the other has larger, thicker leaves and stalks. The two flavors afforded by using both types of mint offered a range of mintiness that was quite nice.

Now if only I had a Provolone and Basil sandwich and the newest issue of something to read.

Young Turnip, Sweet Potato, and Leek Soup

One of my favorite cookbooks - out of which I have never cooked until tonight - is Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters. I love it because it has gorgeous illustrations and is organized by vegetable, A to Z; and it gives you great insight into each vegetable and tells you everything you need to know about growing and preparing each one.

So tonight I wanted to make Sweet Potato Leek Soup. I had a leek from last week's CSA share; I had a sweet potato I bought from Steve Mann at last Friday's Badseed Farmers Market, but I couldn't find my old recipe, so I went hunting for a new one in Chez Panisse Vegetables. When I couldn't find anything in the Leeks section (except a notation that the French call leeks the "poor man's asparagus") I somehow managed to stumble on this recipe for Turnip and Sweet Potato Soup in the Turnips section. And it just so happens that I had young, tiny, radish-looking turnips on hand also from the Badseed Farmers Market.

Perfect.


The soup works just fine with only sweet potato, even though the recipe calls for a white potato, too. I didn't think it needed one. And I used green onions instead of onion since that's what I had. I love that trick with the sautéed or wilted turnip greens pureed; that pungent concentration was a really nice touch. I suspect it would work well with a number of different kinds of greens.


Young Turnip and Sweet Potato Soup
from Chez Panisse Vegetables
by Alice Waters

2 leeks
1 medium onion
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 1 teaspoon
salt and pepper
6 bunches small young turnips with greens (2 to 3 pounds)
2 russet potatoes
1 small sweet potato
2 quarts chicken stock

ingredients for my vegetarian version for just 2 people using just what I had on hand:
1 leek
3 green onions
olive oil
1 sweet potato
1 bunch of small turnips + greens
4 cups of vegetable broth
salt and pepper
2 drops of liquid smoke

Remove the coarse outer leaves and dark green tops from the leeks, rinse thoroughly, and dice. Peel and dice the onion. Sauté the leeks and onion over medium heat in the butter and cook until soft. Season with salt and pepper.

Trim the greens from the turnips. Reserve the greens of 2 bunches to garnish the soup, and save the rest for another meal. Peel and dice the turnips and potatoes. If the turnips are tender, it is not necessary to peel them. Add the turnips and potatoes to the onions and leeks and stew gently for 5 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. Add the chicken stock and simmer until the potatoes and turnips are fully cooked, about 15 minutes.

Purée in a blender until smooth or pass through a food mill. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Wash the reserved turnip greens and chop roughly. Sauté over high heat in the teaspoon of butter until just wilted. Purée the greems in a blender or pass through a food mill. Serve the soup warm and add a spoonful of the puréed greens to each bowl. Stir the greens into the soup to turn it pale green.

Serves 6 to 8.

Savvy

Sergio was headed down to do laundry tonight when he realized he was completely out of quarters. Uh oh! we said sarcastically. Guess we'll have to run to the grocery store and get some. The truth is we were both looking for any reason to drive our new car. We jumped at the chance to run an errand, be it ever so short a trip.

So off we went to Cosentino's, the happiest place on earth, which is just down the street from this new place we've been eying for a few weeks called Savvy. And it just so happened that tonight was Savvy's opening night; we decided to pop in for an espresso before our grocery store jaunt.

Savvy is a coffee and wine bar and has a full array of both on their menu. This little spot is a welcome addition to downtown, and I fervently hope it will balance out the pulsing Power & Light party vibe. It is a stylish and hip place but simple; the menu is plain and straightforward and presented in a slender binder. The coffee menu, however, isn't printed but rather is written in bright neon marker, of all things, on the board above the bar; it stands out like a sore, unstylish, illegible thumb amidst the otherwise coordinated decor.

lemon lime pound cake, espresso torte, and espresso con panna

There are a few appetizers on the menu and some pastries in a large case. Those looked very inviting indeed. Well, while we're here, we might as well have a dessert we figured. And we did. We opted to sample the sweet side of the menu, rather than the savory, though I am curious to return for their cheese flight and wine. In the meantime, I highly recommend the lemon lime pound cake. It is light, tiny, and fresh. It was a welcome morsel to enjoy with my espresso con panna, which was not bad at all; quite a bit of panna, but that's okay.

And off we went to get groceries and quarters. Not bad for laundry night.

KC Symphony: Beethoven, Shostakovitch, and Brahms

Our last season tickets for the symphony were last weekend, so Saturday we went to hear Beethoven, Shostakovich, and Brahms. We had spent the majority of Saturday shopping for a new car and all that haggling with sales people left me drained and ready for a relaxing evening of music.

The primary piece at this weekend's concert was Shostakovitch's Violin Concerto No. 1, performed by Baiba Skride, a young Latvian violinist, and conducted charismatically by guest conductor Grant Llewellyn. Skride stepped out on stage wearing a sparkling red dress, red like the color of the first car we test drove that morning; Skride has a youthful appearance and looked, for a moment, too young to even have a license to test drive a car. The rest of the orchestra were clad in the usual black which, on that day, reminded me of the color of the car we did end up buying at the end of the day.

Sergio loves Shostakovitch. I, on the other hand, can appreciate the intricacies, the depth, the rich range of sounds ... but as with much of 20th century classical music, I often have a hard time getting my bearings. Skride's intense solos seemed pitted against the orchestra's full voice; the tones seemed uncertain or uneasy. Shostavotich seemed troubled. All a fitting soundtrack for one who is mulling over the negotiations of a sale. I spent all day Saturday trying to get my bearings on the car purchase, never quite finding that plumb line of truth. Much like this concerto.

Skride is a skilled and passionate performer who is, by far, old enough to have a drivers license. (Watch a great video here.) She comes from a thoroughly musical family; she plays the Stradivarius "Wilhelmj" violin (1725), generously on loan to her from Nippon Music Foundation; when she came out to sign her CDs at intermission, she had changed from the sparkling red dress into a plain green shirt and jeans. She looked, simply, like one of us. But none of us are anything like her.

After intermission I savored the Brahms: stable, reliable, metered, and sure. It's music I can see on the page and music I can tap my toe to; music that signifies a world where I can always get my bearings, where I always know what's what and who's who, where I don't have to guess so much. A world that doesn't necessarily exist, I know, but that I take comfort in imagining nonetheless.

Thus ends the 2008-9 season for Sergio and me; we will unfortunately miss the Season Finale with Peter Serkin next weekend. But we will see you in the fall, KC Symphony.

"Symphony of Steel" - Construction is underway for the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts: here's an interesting video of the work done so far - with a curious soundtrack of music and sledge hammering: http://www.kcsymphony.org/video/steel.html

Lemon Orzo with Roasted Asparagus

our first share of the year

At last the season has begun and what better way to start than with asparagus. I picked up our first share gleefully last night and came home to parcel out one third of the share for our friend Nina, with whom we are sharing our share this year. Then, I cleaned and chopped one head of lettuce for a salad for dinner, and have I mentioned yet my miraculous new kitchen gadget, the salad spinner? I love it more and more every day.

I roasted my asparagus for this, one of my all time favorite dishes. I got it from The Star a couple of years ago and I make it all the time, with green beans when asparagus isn't in season, which is most of the year, of course. But it's superb with asparagus during that slim window in spring. (I used arugula instead of parsley - I wonder if it would work with lovage?)

The salad I made to accompany the orzo and asparagus is comprised of Fair Share Farm lettuce and spring onions, Root Deep Urban Farm arugula and Goatsbeard Farm Walloon cheese (both from Badseed Farmers Market), and almonds from an, ahem, undisclosed location.

Lemon Orzo with Roasted Asparagus + salad

Lemon Orzo with Roasted Asparagus
Makes 4 to 6 servings (as a side dish, 2 to 3 as main)
from The Star

1 cup orzo
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of coarsely ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 roasted asparagus spears
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley (also works with arugula)
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Combine lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Slowly add oil to juice mixture, stirring constantly with a small whisk or fork, until well blended. Add to pasta and toss to coat. Cool to room temperature. Cut roasted asparagus into 1-inch pieces. Stir in asparagus, parsley and pine nuts.

tips:
• One medium lemon equals about 3 tablespoons of juice and 2 to 3 teaspoons zest.
• If you can’t use asparagus the day you buy it, store the stalks upright in a container of water as if it were a flower bouquet.
• To toast pine nuts, bake at 350 degrees 5 to 7 minutes or until just golden. Watch closely so they don’t over brown.
• Roasting is a simple way to prepare asparagus for maximum flavor. To roast asparagus, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Snap ends from asparagus and, if desired, remove scales with a vegetable peeler. Spray baking sheet with nonstick vegetable spray. Layer asparagus on baking sheet and spray generously with nonstick vegetable spray. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until asparagus is tender. If you prefer, roasted green beans would be a great alternative to roasted asparagus in this recipe. Prepare the same as asparagus but bake about 10 to 15 minutes or until tender.

Per serving, based on 4: 224 calories (25 percent from fat), 6 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), no cholesterol, 35 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams protein, 139 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber.

Pesto Pasta with Pea Shoots and Arugula

Everything I brought home from the market was green, green, green. So when 9:00 rolled around last night and I realized I hadn't had dinner and needed to whip something up quickly, I decided to make something green. A salad yes, but something more. I brought out some pesto from the freezer and made this pasta as the side dish for the giant salad of a million mixed greens. Everything tasted so clean and green. It was the closest a meal could come to tasting like a glass of water.

Pesto Pasta with Pea Shoots and Arugula
4 oz rotini pasta
1 ice cube of pesto
4 strands of pea shoots
4 strands of arugula
Prepare pasta as directed; drain; return pasta to the pot and cover; add the ice cube of pesto and allow to melt; add the pea shoots and arugula and allow to wilt. Top with a tiny, tiny bit of cheese.

Salad of Million Greens
several kinds and colors of lettuce
spinach
herbs
mixed greens
microgreens
pea shoots
arugula
chinese radish sprouts
green onions
garlic chives
Top with a tiny bit of cheese and a superfluous splash of dressing if you must.

Fresher than Fresh Snow Cones

Snowie the mascot

I found out about this charming idea last fall at the end of their season and have waited all winter to try one. These are snow cones made all naturally - no artificial, chemical, dubious, specious, untrustworhty, unpronouncable flavorings here. Instead, owner and snow cone doyenne Lindsay Laricks uses real food with real flavor to flavor these real snow cones. ("I think high fructose corn syrup is the devil," says Lindsay). And really, why shouldn't the world include all-natural fun food?

the trademark trailer

The best part of ordering your Fresher Than Fresh snow cone is that the little ice-shaving machine that makes the snow sounds like a drum roll from inside the minty 1957 Shasta trailer. Standing outside the trailer, you hear a tiny, tinny, toy-drum drum roll that prefaces the delicate circus trick that is the snow cone. We ordered one blackberry lavender and one ginger rose and I couldn't believe the flavors; an astonishing performance. The lavender was clear and fresh and brought the blackberries down to earth; the ginger rose was pastel and smooth. No harsh tang, no cloying artificiality. Just pure flavors paired perfectly.

ginger rose and blackberry lavender in 100% compostable cups made of corn

The good news this year is that FTF will have a permanent location on Saturdays in the garden across from Blue Bird Bistro at 1700 Summit. Lindsay will also be dishing up her unique treats on First Fridays in front of Hammerpress. Check out schedules and flavors - including daredevil flavors - on the FTF blog, become a fan of FTF on Facebook, follow FTF on Twitter ... and be sure to stop by in person for a very nice treat in real life.

FTF season opener at Hammerpress on First Friday, May 1

First Friday

gallery space in the Crossroads

Last night was First Friday in the Crossroads district and everyone was out and about. I've missed every First Friday for months - it was nice to go last night when the weather was decent and the sun was out. We had a full roster of events for the evening. Our first stop was Badseed for the Grand Opening of the Friday Farmers Market. I have been so so eager for the start of the season; I could hardly believe it was here. We bought lemon sorrel (greens), two bags of spinach, rice, steel cut oats, cheese, broccoli sprouts, chinese radish sprouts, and green coffee beans which Sergio intends to roast himself. Lots of food. Even so, we were out for the night, not cooking at home, so we scurried down the street for a quick bite - a veggie burger, actually. Sergio's ceremonial first veggie burger since the VB project ended precisely one month ago.

tea herbs at Badseed

There were so many exhibits, events, and openings; we could have made a number of stops throughout the course of the evening but we had our sights set on just a few. First, "Mañana" at Digital Labrador - an exhibit of photography from Nicaragua by Maria Brenny, whose selected works capture a full and diverse range of Nicaraguan impressions. Across the street we joined the crowd around the Fresher Than Fresh Snow Cones trailer (more on that...) and we hovered briefly outside the interesting things to see at Hammerpress Letterpress Studio while we tasted our First Ever FTF Snow Cones and accepted a piece of paper from a man dressed as a donkey.

artist's statement

fresher than fresh

reading what the donkey gave us

We moseyed to the west side for our next two stops and we happily stumbled upon the urban farm of Lew Edminster, the Herb'n Gardner, whom I had just chatted with at Badseed. Lew wears overalls and farms a corner lot across from the Primitivo Garcia World Language Elementary School on 17th street and Belleview. I said hello to the little lettuces which I hope to buy in a couple of weeks.

baby heads of lettuce and headless bodies of art

the syringe

Up the street then to The Syringe (right next to Mattie Rhodes) where "Mortality" - works by Jessica Dassing featuring needle felting, hand died protein fibers and renderings of birds - was on view. After learning some remarkable things about fibers and admiring a delicate, sheer tapestry comprised of human hair, it was time to go. We had to head out to the last stop on our agenda: "Jutting and Swerving," a show by Jane Gotch and Tiffany Sizemore at La Esquina.

finding our seats

waiting for jutting and swerving to start

Having recently attended my first modern dance event already, I was less unsure and even more amazed. I watched as the dancers worked with fluidity and tension, and I even stopped searching for symmetry. The music and movement cleared my head and aligned my thoughts. The dancers looked so graceful after it was over; exhausted, but graceful. I didn't want it to end and I thought perhaps they didn't either.

espresso

I thought the evening would end, too, until we emerged from the show to find that the Crossroads were still hoppin' so we stopped in at Extra Virgin for espresso and churros with chocolate. Nothing like churros in Mexico, but delicious, and the espresso was just the thing on the patio in the chill.

The only bad thing about First Friday is that it's only once a month.

the patio at extra virgin

"Think Green Eat Blue"*

"Thus, food is a product both natural and cultural,
and good cooking must be said to begin with good farming."

Wendell Berry
"A Nation Rich in Natural Resources"
Home Economics

Blue Bird Bistro hosts a Farmers' Table each month featuring a set menu (vegetarian option available) of all local food ("five courses of all local culinary delight" says the menu) and an opportunity to meet and mingle with local farmers over local aperitifs and local hors d'oeurves. It is a splendid experience that I have had the pleasure of enjoying twice now. Last night's featured farmer was Thane Palmberg from Thane Palmberg Farm in DeSoto, Kansas. Hors d'oeurves were blanched sweet potato slices from Thane Palmberg Farm topped with a gorgeous dollop of cheese and herbs; the aperitif was "Most Wanted" Missouri Whiskey. We enjoyed these treats while chatting with Jane Zieha (the owner of Blue Bird) and Thane Palmberg and his wife, Edith, discussing our favorite vegetables, our favorite dishes, our favorite ways to prepare chard, how best to freeze okra and so on. It was delightful.

All that talk about food whetted our appetites and we headed back downstairs to be seated for the five course meal. I savored, enjoyed, loved, and photographed every course, although these images don't do justice to the complexity of textures or delicacy of flavors.

Oh, and did I mention that it's all local?

Thane Palmberg Farm spinach trio - mousse, soup and flash fried spinach

house made cannelloni stuffed with house made Campo Lindo Farm chicken sausage, house made Green Hills Dairy ricotta and Organic Way farm arugula
(vegetarian substitution for the chicken: local Beau Soleil oyster mushrooms)

warm Missouri Northern Pecan encrusted La Ferme du Bonheur goat cheese topped with Beau Soli Farm pea shoots tossed in house made red wine vinegar

Green Dirt Farm spring lamb stew nestled in a house made bread bowl
(vegetarian substitute for lamb: risotto stew)

finish with Organic Way Farm blackberry roulade drizzled with Lisa’s mint puree
(ps: that's Missouri port in that glass)

*"Think Green Eat Blue" was written on the sidewalk chalkboard at Blue Bird Bistro.

Spring Mix

The Brookside Farmers Market has been open for two weeks now and I finally went today. I have a big end-of-semester paper to work on this weekend but I abandoned it for a couple of hours to get my farmers market fix. So I took the bus to the market and read the whole way (Greeting Cards: Individuality and Authenticity in Mass Culture, for my paper).

writing my last final paper

The market, indeed the neighborhood, was bustling, even though the vendors and produce were springtime sparse. I wasn't looking for much anyway - I have no time to cook anything too elaborate this week, what with my paper deadline looming large. I was just craving something - anything - green, green, green.

People who have gardens or yards or at least porches were buying plants and transplants - herbs, tomatoes, nasturtiums, et. al. So promising. But I bypassed all of those and went straight to the food at the KC Center for Urban Agriculture stand: salad greens galore, "micro mix" and scallions, kale that someone else bought, broccoli raab that I bought after Katherine (KCCUA farmer, director) urged me and instructed me on cooking methods (you braise it in olive oil and garlic, by the way, and add some asiago). A couple of bread vendors were there - Bread of Life (I bought a pizza crust) and Roaring River Bread Company (I got the last ciabatta). And I bought Green Dirt Farm cheese and "jumbo" eggs from some farmers that I've never bought from before because they sell mostly meat. I used every last dollar in my pocket and came home with many good things and lots of green. I'm so glad it's market season again.

salad spinning

I finally broke down and bought a salad spinner this year. I usually resist the notion of kitchen gadgetry, but I frequently succumb to the ones that look like they'll save time. The 'smarttouch' Zyliss Salad Spinner functions as a colander and a serving bowl as well so I justified the space it will take in my kitchen and bought the smallest one they had at Function Junction. I broke it out of the box today and took my micro mix and salad mix from the market for a spin. The truth is that if you wanted to dry your greens by wrapping them in a kitchen towel and swinging them over your head slingshot style, you could successfully achieve the same degree of water removal as you can with the salad spinner. But I can assure you that the cheaper, slingshot method will result in a water-sprayed kitchen and a surprisingly wet towel, circumstances which the salad spinner will enable you to avoid.

salad having spun

So now I have a dry kitchen and four servings of salad to last me into the week, until next Saturday's market by which time maybe I'll have more of my paper written and can spend more time at the market and can buy more food and can cook more. Although there is that final final exam to study for.

A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening

As luck would have it, our Friday night plans did not conflict. The film we wanted to see at the KC Film Festival started at 5:15 and finished just in time for us to make it to the 7:00 reading at The Writers Place. What fortune.

The film is called "Crude Independence" one of our co-workers is related to the producer and told us about the film. It's about a small town - Stanley, North Dakota - that had been a long-standing, struggling but happy farming community until recently, when the area was the site of the largest oil find in North American history, and thus the site of many tenuous changes. The film was very smartly crafted and the story was tellingly unrolled. (See this for an interesting review.) It is deserving of a release beyond festivals.

While the credits were running for "Crude Independence," we hustled out of the theater - the Power and Light District's fabulous new AMC Mainstreet theatre, which doesn't officially open for another week but which I've been to twice already - and we hustled to midtown to The Writers Place to hear John Peterson, a writer at Hallmark, and Pat Daneman, a creative director at Hallmark, read their incredible, moving work. I do love to hear people read their work at The Writers Place. And I particularly enjoy it when it's people I know.

After the readings, there was mingling over refreshments (John had even made hummus and tapenade - as if writing and reading poetry weren't enough for one evening) and several of us were chitchatting about talented people at Hallmark. Pat said she had to muster up courage to come to work each day and work with such brilliant geniuses. Which I thought was a funny thing for her to say since I think she is one of them and it is I who feels daunted (but pleased) at the thought of having such talented co-workers.

Hot and Cold

It was so dreary and rainy when we got up today, so we decided poutingly to spend the entire day indoors. But as the gray day wore on I developed quite the hankerin' for Thai food. As my craving and hunger grew, the sun actually came out so I suggested we walk a few blocks over to Arun Thai, an all time favorite in our restaurant repertoire. Arun Thai Place Grill is the downtown version of The Thai Place and offers our same favorite menu items from there: Panang Curry and Sen Mee Pad See Eaw. Rarely do we order anything else besides these two dishes and on those strange instances when we have it has always left us with longing. So we stick to our standard.

Tonight we were seated next to an unhappy pair of diners; while we were ordering our comfort food, they were demanding a conference with the manager. When she arrived she received an earful of arrogant complaints and a bitter harangue. She handled everything with grace as the upset customer repeatedly asserted what he believed was his superior knowledge of the appropriate cooking methods for the dish he ordered (and had already consumed, by the way). On and on it went past the point of reason. I had noticed when we came in that the woman with him was wearing a name badge with "Our Lady of Sorrows" on it. I enjoyed imagining this man wearing one that said "Our Lord of Perpetual Dissatisfaction."

Meanwhile, our food had arrived and oh my goodness how does it manage to taste better every time I eat it? We had upped our order from mild to medium as we often do, and both dishes rang perfectly with fire. It was a lovely, welcome burn that made me cry. The Sen Mee Pad See Eaw is a giant collection of noodles, veg, and tofu stir fried to perfection. The Panang is divine, rich, and creamy and makes my heart ache for peanut allergy sufferers. Both meals together are so delightful in their own right and make a nice pairing. As we dug in, Sergio asked me which one I'd choose if I had to choose only one and I honestly could not face the thought.

After dinner we headed the 7 or so blocks south to the Power and Light District. (It's amazing how close everything downtown seems with the sun is shining and the weather is nice.) I requested that we stop in at Yummo for something chill to counter the spice. I've been so anxious to try Yummo since I learned of it last winter, but was waiting until it didn't feel like frozen yogurt outside to try the frozen yogurt inside. Yummo is local, owned by the same folks who own Chefburger (which is right next door) and Souperman (which offers a selection of their soups at Yummo) and features the same well-honed menu, pristine design, and charm that I've come to expect. The yogurt is all self-serve as are the plethora of toppings. Everything is simply 49 cents an ounce. You can get as much or as little as you want and they'll even make you a smoothie. All the calorie counts are listed above the self serve machines and surprisingly aren't that bad. It's a brilliant business model. And on top of it all, the Green Tea, Pistachio, and Cappuccino yogurts that I had were indeed delicious.

I can't wait to go back for more.

Mirna's birthday

Vegan Thai With Nancy Stark - April 10, 2009

Yesterday was my friend Mirna's birthday and her husband Chris had the brilliant idea to surprise her with a cooking class with friends at The Cooking Studio. It was perfect. Mirna was completely surprised and we all had a wonderful time learning and eating. Since it was Mirna's special day, I tried to leave most of the fun to her. But I couldn't help but enjoy myself too. Our chef was Nancy Stark who was such a great instructor; so clear and informative. Everything made so much sense the way she explained it. I learned a lot. And the food was delicious. Everything was precisely "Spicy Sour Hot Sweet" - the requisite flavors for Thai food, so we learned. We had potstickers and lettuce wraps, green papaya salad, pad thai with tofu, and lemongrass ginger sorbet. Even the sorbet was spicy, a remarkable accomplishment indeed. It made for the perfect cap to a lovely evening and birthday meal.

welcome and intro from Chef Nancy

C & M

Chef Nancy and potsticker filling

Thai Coconut Curry Lettuce Wraps and Potato Curry Potstickers

noodles a-glow

Green Papaya Salad

Pad Thai + Sweet Chile-Garlic Sauce

Lemongrass Ginger Sorbet