My Farmer's Market Adventure

So, the real reason I haven't been posting much this week is because I have discovered the joys of bread. Yes, bread. My diet has mainly consisted of cheddar sourdough and fresh banana bread and spicy raspberry-chipotle preserves that I bought at the farmer's market last week, with some fresh mozzarella thrown in for good measure. I tell ya, it's the ultimate snack food. Perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and light enough for a midnight snack. So. Good.

What makes it great, though, is the jam. It's made by a company called Piper's Peck and it's sold at local PA farmers markets and online at http://www.piperspeck.com/hot_pepper_jellies.html. My favorites are the raspberry-chipotle preserves and the Cayenne Pepper Jelly. There's just spicy enough to cut the sweetness, but not enough to send you running for the hills. She also makes spicy chocolate fudge and a line of salsas that I've been meaning to try.

Another great local find is Fasta Ravioli & Co., affectionately called "Fasta Pasta" in our house. Last Friday was free pasta day and Brian and I each snagged a free pound of fettucini - mine was egg and his was wheat. It's all fresh pasta that's made on-site at their downtown State College location. Fasta Pasta has actually become a tradition for Brian and I - we've had their ravioli and vodka sauce on almost every special occasion for over a year, including our birthdays, Christmas (he's not Jewish), my college graduation, our anniversary, Valentine's Day, and a few times just because it was Tuesday. We always love seeing what they're going to come up with next!

We decided to turn Brian's whole wheat pasta into Chicken Picatta a la this recipe from Rachel Ray: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/chicken-piccata-pasta-toss-recipe2/index.html Now, most people who know me know of my incredible dislike for Rachel Ray, so it's a pure coincidence that this recipe is from her. To be honest, the only reason we used it was because somehow, without planning for it, we managed to have everything we needed on the ingredient list (except shallots, but we didn't miss them).

Grilled chicken with a crispy crust

Brian coating the chicken in sauce

The finished product

I never would have found any of this if I hadn't gone to the famer's market. Which is my way of telling all of you that farmer's markets are the best part of cooking in the summer and you should definitely make sure that you don't miss out!

Indian Spices Giveaway

I checked my facebook page today and discovered that more than 100 people have "liked" my page! I can't tell you how happy and excited I was to see that, it's a great feeling to see that so many people are supporting me on this journey.

In honor of this great milestone, I've decided to do a giveaway!

One winner will receive a set of Indian Spices that includes Curry Powder, Garam Masala, and Tumeric. They come in these cute little jars and make a perfect gift for your favorite cook (especially if it's yourself!)

To enter, please leave a comment below or on my facebook page with your favorite food to cook (recipe optional but greatly appreciated!) In one week I'll use a random name generator to pick the winner!

Good luck and thank you again!

**Please note, all entries must include a valid email address so that I can notify the winner. If the winner does not respond to my email to claim their prize within one week of notification, a new winner will be selected.

It's Bacon! It's Pineapple! It's Dinner!

Remember that commercial with the dog who runs around the house screaming "it's BACON!!!!!!"? Well, consider me that dog. Because my house smells like bacon and it's utterly fantastic.

For those of you whose ears didn't just start ringing with the sound of a hyper-active, annoying pooch, here's a link to the commercial on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CErapf79rqM

I don't usually eat bacon, but while I was combing the internet for more resources, I came across a recipe I just couldn't resist. It's a modified turkey club with an avocado sauce and I was really excited about it because I've been wanting to try my hand at de-pitting an avocado. And did I mention the bacon?

Here's the recipe I used: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/turkey-avocado-clubs-recipe/index.html

I really like this version because I hate mayo (almost all condiments, actually) and this one uses plain greek yogurt instead (mmm....fage). I added some cayenne and garlic powder to the avocado mixture to ramp up the flavor a little bit, and I used hickory smoked turkey. I also grilled the bread in a little bit of bacon fat (a real little bit - I barely coated the pan) to add cohesiveness to the sandwich.

A warm shout-out goes to my roommate Nick who did the actual cooking of the bacon. He had no idea what he was doing but he soldiered on anyway, leaving tastiness in his wake.

Sizzlin'

I've never cooked with avocado before (judge's ruling - can that count as a new food alert???) so I was really excited to whack at the pit with my chef's knife. Apparently I wasn't excited enough, though, because that bugger wouldn't budge. For anyone who's unfamiliar with avocado anatomy, avocados have a dark green skin, light green flesh, and an annoying pit right plop in the middle. The way everyone tells you to cut it is to cut into the flesh and make a big circle around the pit, then open it up and use your knife to grab the inedible bit. In the end, I opted to just dig it out with my spoon. It was just easier that way. Speaking of easier, I threw the yogurt and avocado into the food processor because I was too lazy to mash with my spoon. It came out really good though.

Picture from these instructions on how to cut an avocado!

Avocado yogurt sauce with cayenne and garlic powder!

And here's the finished product:

Are those pineapple chucks, you ask? Why yes, yes they are! And not just any old pineapple chunks, but  chunks from the first pineapple I've ever cut up! Nick and I used our trusty dusty friend google to figure this one out. We ended up on Instructibles.com: How to Chunk a Pineapple Like a South Seas Island Boy. The instructions themselves were great, but it was annoying to have to click "next" to view each step because it took a little while to load each one on my iPhone and some of them were pretty repetitive.  It was effective though, and it helped me turn my pineapple from this:

Hi Pineapple!

To this:

Yumm.

This method of cutting up the pineapple reminded me of slicing a honeydew or cantaloupe. First you cut off the top, then you cut it in half. Then you keep halving your halves until you have eight slices, like so:

Gotta love a big knife!

Then you use a smaller knife to separate the fruit from the skin and the core from the fruit. The smaller knife (like a paring knife) is really helpful because it's easier to control. This is what that step looked like:

Oh yea...fancy knife skills

I never realized that there was a core I had to cut out, so I'm glad I had some internet guidance before I dug right in. There are tons of other how-to guides out there if this one doesn't strike your fancy. The internet has been very helpful throughout this whole process because it's sort of like your cooler older cousin - it knows everything, gives great advice, and isn't afraid to be goofy to get its point across.

Cooking with avocado and pineapple made me feel very accomplished. Even though they're not "new" foods, it's always fun to learn new ways to prepare some of your favorites. And this sandwich is definitely going to be a new favorite.

Lists (Part 2)

Like many places, my town has two types of grocery store: the normal kind and the fancy-shmancy one. Considering that 2 months ago I was buying what little groceries I had from Walmart, both of these places would have been a huge improvement. But I chose to get to know the the fancy one better because the selection seemed better, the food seemed fresher, and it had a cafe area that I could sit at while I finalized my grocery list. This has worked well for me on all but one level - it's coupon prospects sucked. Luckily, Brian is more skilled in couponing than I am, and he agreed to show me why he has always favored the other grocery store.

The reason is, in a word, DOUBLE coupons.

And they seriously rock. All told, we saved about $50 on items that we would have bought anyway. Consider my mind blown.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the grocery list is the best way to protect yourself from expensive impulse buying. Brian took it a step further by going on the store's website and helping me match items on my list with discounts he could get with his bonus card. Then we used the weekly circular to look for extra deals on items we were already buying and other things that we need relatively soon (like aluminum foil - we're not out yet, but it's close enough that a coupon would come in handy). Once we got to the store, it was more about finding things than perusing the aisles, which helped make things go faster. It also helped me say no to the cookies I found....

Honestly, this "in and out" style of shopping isn't really my thing (I like to go aisle by aisle and get inspired) but it was very useful, especially for basic items like milk and cereal. Since Brian is the exact opposite, we decided to make a habit of splitting the shopping between us and the two stores. I really liked how we were able to work together to save money and still come up with a shopping style that makes us both happy.

Please hit the comments section below or email me at nomoretakeout@gmail.com if you have any suggestions for this couponing newbie. I'd love to hear from you!