The Penguin home soda maker
Do you like sparking water?
Do you like to entertain?
Would you like to make your own soda?
Do you consider yourself to be “green”?
Are you cheap frugal?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you need a home soda maker. We use a Penguin from Sodastream (there are other models, but we will just call it the Penguin). What is a Penguin? The Penguin is a device that quickly, easily and inexpensively makes sparking water at home. Continue reading
This is what breakfast SHOULD look like!
A metaphor for a food blogger indulging all day? Maybe.
A way to get some points with the kids? Possibly.
But a good idea? Yes. HELL YES!
I say we should have ice cream for breakfast any time. Homemade ice cream, at that. OK, at least on weekends.
Now before you go all “healthy”, take a step back and think about breakfast. Dairy? We eat loads of dairy with cereal and in coffee. Sugar? Look at the ingredients of kids cereal or flavored yogurt. Fat? Plenty of fat with bacon or eggs (but no need to give those up). We do eat fruit at breakfast, but that goes in ice cream, too, right? Heck, coffee and ice cream are natural allies. So why not start the day right? Why not feel good? Why not have a breakfast you really enjoy? Continue reading
Please bear with us and comment- we are happy to get feedback. Thanks!
Dress up, drink, repeat.
We are working on some new recipes for this week, including a kick-ass version of Cioppino and some homemade Philadelphia-style ice cream. Asparagus is also in season, and we may have a good dish coming there as well. But the recipes are not quite ready for prime time (or photography) just yet.
We did mange to stumble upon another good cocktail however, and I could not resist posting it now (for all of you Monday cocktail drinkers…;-). The drink is called the Tuxedo. We found it while researching drinks that use Maraschino liqueur. As you may recall, last week’s cocktail was the Rum Crusta, a lemon-based, “tropical”, rum cocktail that uses Maraschino with great impact. The Tuxedo may use a similar ingredient with the Maraschino, but it a very different animal. If the Rum Crusta is an escape to a beach in the Caribbean, the Tuxedo is a night on the town in New York. Continue reading
This Kale is MONEY!
In winter I tend to complain whine about the lack of fresh produce beyond citrus and winter greens like kale. We have certainly covered citrus in desserts and cocktails (and we will continue to do so). But what about the kale? (and other winter greens?) Well, we have been working on it.
It turns out, we all enjoy kale at Putney Farm. Even the kids. Add some butter, cream, bacon and salt- and our kale kicks ass! But that’s just a bit of a cop-out. I can add butter, cream, bacon and salt to tree bark and it would probably taste good. The kids would probably like it, too. Also, the cream-based kale seems less,well….green. When each serving is a thousand calories, I barely classify the kale as a vegetable. While the cream-based kale tastes great, Carolyn and I started working on a recipe for kale or greens that has good flavor, is healthier, but still easy to make. Continue reading
If you want to cook and write about food, it is good to have kids. They lack the same “filter” as most adults and if they don’t like a dish they let you know, often in crushing detail. Such was the case with our Reuben Sandwiches. We had a lot of left over corned beef and I was excited to make the Reubens, but as it turns out details really matter, particularly in a classic sandwich like the Reuben.
Our first batch, while good, had some “issues”. And Sam, our eldest, let me know about it. “The meat is too stringy” and “needs more sauce and kraut”. He thought the flavor was good but I lacked in execution. He was right. I did not cut the meat completely across the grain, and I discounted that Reubens are messy and a lot ends up on the plate. What makes the Reuben so good is the perfect bite; tangy rye bread, nutty swiss cheese, creamy sauce, tart and crunchy kraut and tender, salty beef. This version did not deliver the “complete” bite. Fail (small, but still a fail). But the good thing about making 5 pounds of corned beef, is that you have enough to try again. Continue reading
Putney Farm 