By Leslie Having been a private music teacher for several years now, I’ve seen my share of tantrums, crankiness, and general misbehavior. These students usually behave well and excel academically, but the problem comes when they are hungry, sleepy, or both. Lesson time then becomes a bit challenging, to say the least. Enter two super moms Dr. Sarah Fox and Julie Stephenson. They are going to publish a book called “Super Snacks for Super Kids”. It contains recipes, tips, and guides to help super parents make the healthiest and tastiest snacks. Help them by contributing to their Kickstarter project. They’ve got 21 days to go to reach their goal of $10,000. Happy children equals happiness for everyone, right? Below is one of my favorite snacks.
Eggy Soldiers
(fresh eggs from my friend Chris, asparagus from Bures, platter from Windy Ridge Pottery, and
Yellow Egg Cup by Aaron Weaver)
Continue reading Snack Time
By Leslie A few weeks ago the whole town was perfumed with lilacs. The purple and white flowers were blooming all around and I wondered if they were at all edible. It turns out they are! I found some recipes to make lilac jelly, lilac scones and bread. A few sights even suggested burying some flowers in sugar to get lilac scented sugar. I decided to make some jelly but there was just one little problem, I didn’t have any lilacs growing in my yard. I thought about stealing some flowers when Ollie dog and I went out on a walk but I felt really really guilty. They were everywhere. People wouldn’t miss a few blooms I thought. Next I thought I should just ask my neighbor for some because their lilac bush was hanging over my fence but I could not remember their name! Then I called a few friends. It turned out that most of them do not have lilacs except for C and B. B went a little crazy and brought me a huge bag of the stuff. I guess I finally got what I wanted. So let me tell you how to make lilac jelly.
Continue reading A Lesson On Lilacs
By Leslie This morning we visited our first farmers’ market of the season, the Mineral Point Farmers’ Market. We got some spinach, leeks, butter lettuce, and asparagus as well as two packages of bacon (don’t judge) and all beef hotdogs for grilling out from Marr’s. It was wonderful to see familiar faces again and to meet some new ones.
Spring Greens
Continue reading Market Season Is Here!
By Leslie April is National Grilled Cheese Month. What better way to celebrate than to attend the first ever Wisconsin Grilled Cheese Championship in Mineral Point on Saturday April 21st. I’m especially excited about the event because my friend Caitlin and I will be competing in the amateur classic category. I think we’ve got a pretty good shot at winning  Pictured below is something I concocted for lunch (nothing at all like what we will be making at the event). That is a closely guarded secret!
Sourdough Bread, Brunkow Cheddar, & Abate Fetel Pear
Continue reading Two Words, Grilled Cheese
By Leslie Last Sunday, I was invited by my friend J (owner and manager of the Silverstar Inn) to forage for morel mushrooms on their land. I was very excited since it was my first time to forage for anything. Many people in the Driftless Area look forward to this time of the year to enjoy this seasonal treat. In the years past, Keith and I have usually received morels from friends or have randomly bought them on roadsides or gas stations.
Morel Hunting
Continue reading Into the Woods
By Leslie This dessert is popularly known as brazo de Mercedes (translation, the arm of the Virgin Mary) in the Philippines. With the population consisting of about 90% practicing Christians (mostly Catholic) it’s no surprise that religion has influenced the food. Or could it be the other way around? Maybe brazo is that good! Filipinos love to get together and eat, a lot. I don’t think I can remember ever going to a Filipino party with less than 50 people attending. If you wanna be in the know they are called prayers not parties (but of course they have those too). I kid you not, it’s possible to never have to cook for a month if you just go all the prayers and parties. I am speaking from experience living in Champaign, Illinois where there is a huge Filipino community. With Easter coming up this weekend, this dessert is sure to show up on many tables.
Brazo de Mercedes
Continue reading Meringue Custard Cake
By Leslie I bet you have been missing our posts about the beautiful Driftless Region. I love this time of the year. Yesterday after a roaring spring storm, I discovered that my patch of daffodils on the east side of the house have started to bloom. Behind the house, the apple tree is pale green from thousands of new buds. It got pretty muddy so I waited patiently until this morning to visit my little garden. I was excited to see the fuschia and bright green heads of rhubard coming up, the dozen garlic cloves I planted last fall have sprouted six-inch leaves, and two of my herb boxes survived the winter. The oregano and thyme are growing vigorously as well as two thick patches of chives. Also delightful were a couple little earthworms and a particularly fast moving chubby slug. All these, accompanied by a sweet cacophony of bird songs.
Daffodil
Continue reading Dear March, Come In!
By Leslie Happy St. Patrick’s Day weekend everyone. Let’s go to Ireland! Last spring, my mom, my brother, and I went on our first trip to Ireland. Mostly we stayed and explored Dublin and its surrounding area. For a couple of days we drove up the east coast and ended up exploring some parts of Northern Ireland as well. The main impression I have of Ireland was that the everyone we met was extremely nice. (Maybe even nicer than my family.) The first thing we did when we arrived was to find the kitchiest pub, listen to some music, eat oysters, and drink some Guinness. It is true that the best Guinness is in Ireland. Guinness in America just doesn’t compare. The same goes for it’s oysters. They were the fattest, most succulent, and cleanest tasting oysters I’ve ever had.
When In Ireland
Continue reading “Drifted” Appetite: Ireland
By Leslie I feel a bit guilty posting this since we just had such a picture perfect winter’s day. I happily shoveled some snow while clumps of fluffy snow showered me from high up the trees. Ollie dog and I went for a long ramble and took a few pictures along the way. After that, I took a long bath and had a late breakfast of fried eggs with a giant cup of latte made with my favorite Kickapoo Coffee and Sassy Cow milk. Today, I’m not so keen on winter again so let’s get some virtual apricity from San Diego, a place where you can barely tell one day from the other. Always sunny with blue skies and the temperature in the mid 70′s (at least during the week we spent there last August), it is a nice and relaxing place to be. My bags are packed, let’s go!
Blue San Diego
Continue reading “Drifted” Appetite: San Diego
By Leslie Hello all, this post will start a short series called “Drifted” Appetite. We will be writing about food and travel away from the Driftless region. Come take a virtual vacation with us. First, let’s go to Chicago.
After waiting patiently for several months, we finally got to eat at Alinea, the premiere restaurant to experience molecular gastronomy in North America. Chef Grant Achatz is one of the experts in the field. The meal consisted of twenty artfully arranged courses, ten pairings of wine, and about four hours of pure pleasure. I decided not to take any pictures (except for the desserts using my cell phone) so I could be fully engaged with the entire presentation. If you know me, I’m very snap happy when holding a camera. It took a few days to get used to the idea but I thought it was a sound decision in the end. I have to admit, I did buy the 400 page Alinea cookbook online once we got back to our hotel room as a souvenir.
1723 North Halsted was a dimly lit two story brick building without indication that it was a public place. There was a small sign for valet parking nearby. We entered a dramatic purple lit hallway that felt as if we were walking through a lens. At the end, a sliding door opened up to a large room. It looked very sterile with the dominant color being white, accented with greys, browns, and green. There was a staircase to our left and the kitchen to our right. The hostess asked if we wanted to see the kitchen in action. The staff was busy, moving around precisely and quietly. It looked like a kitchen with invisible food. Like a mannequin, Chef Achatz stood at one end of an island, a hand at his chin, the other arm across his body supporting an elbow, while seriously staring at something. Keith whispered, “He kinda looks like one of those vampires from the Twilight movies.” I whispered back “I would probably let him suck my blood.” We laughed quietly then a man came by to take us to one of the upstairs dining rooms.
Entrance, Finale, City, Winter
Continue reading “Drifted” Appetite: Alinea
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