Sage Blogger's Note

"Food is a great passion of mine. I try to eat it every day."

(seen on another food blog today; author unknown)

pea shoots and politics

So, at last I'm on the ediPortland scene--thanks, Erik, for starting this blog and saving a space for me. Just so our readers know, I have another blog, The Intentional Aging Collective: www.intentionalagingcollective.blogspot.com. On my other blogspot I write about beautiful food in connection to legacy, inter/cross-generational relationships, and deep development as we travel through the life course. I also write about other stuff related to what I call "intentional aging," and some times I even get kind of political. Most recently, I wrote a two-part series on the pension reform crisis in France. Funny, my readers are like hungry teenagers (but with really good palates) when I write about food, but like ashamed teenagers (who haven't done their homework) when I write about pension reform in France. Go figure.

Well, I know you are all absolutely dying to know what kind of food my 14 year old daughter Isobel and I like to cook and eat. To meet your curiosity, I'll let you in on tonight's supper menu. Are you ready? Are you sure? The menu: Wild-caught salmon (caught by Isobel's dad), sautéed pea shoots (grown by my friend Joanne, my old friend Fred's daughter, who is a C.S.A. farmer), sweet potato fries (thanks, Trader Joe's...!); and, last but not least, homemade French mayonnaise (made by your's truly, in honor of those Frenchies, wherever they come down on the pension reform situation.). Do let me know if you'd like to know more about what I did with the pea shoots. Bon appetite!

--jenny rotten (a.k.a. Jenny Sasser, Ph.D.)

Rainy Day? Kimchi Stew to the Rescue

To warm your belly on a wet and windy fall day, it's Kimchi stew.

Dig in.

'Za on the Grill

Rather than offer a tome regarding last night's grilled pizza dinner, I'll post photos with smidge of description.

Ingredients sprinkled among the four pizzas included Trader Joe's fresh pizza dough, pizza sauce (next time I shall endeavor to make my own), red bell pepper, yellow onion slices, live basil, pepperoni, fresh mozzarella, parmesan and romano cheeses, a small kettle grill and supremely hot coals.

It's difficult to properly cook the toppings in a lilliputian grill such as mine. (For some reason I prefer the intimacy of a tiny grill.) Given a larger unit and ample space to set coals off to the side (best for indirect cooking), thermal convection would work even better -- allowing more thorough cooking of the toppings.

Still, grilled pizza is particularly satisfying -- especially the crust char. Try it sometime. It might just blow your mind.

Pause.

For now I will be taking a break from posting on our nascent blog. I'll return sometime down the line, but life is demanding some attention and it seems that it doesn't want to play nice with blogging.

Souhegan Summer

The ever-accommodating Jeff and Liz hosted me in their New Hampshire bungalow over the past eight days while I was traveling in New England on business. On the second morning of my visit Liz suggested that we have our late breakfast in the back yard.

Their property, which backs up to the burbling Souhegan river, is a relaxing oasis of pine, oak, maple, poison ivy and the nighttime flicker of fireflies (which, because I am a west coast resident, I hadn't seen for over 30 years.)

Liz prepared plates of cherry-filled crepes with slices of peach, iced espresso, olives, falafel chips and hummus. The hummus was later visited by a small spider, but it was noticed, carefully plucked out and sent on its

merry way before we got carried

away and mistakenly devoured it.

I hadn't eaten a crepe since my experience with some quite awful examples in second-year high school French class, and Liz's version was a revelation. I now intend to make crepes an item of my regular diet.

Note: Liz is a fountain of food knowledge and a treasure trove of information about good, healthy eating. I have asked her if she would be interested in becoming a contributor to this blog.

Quick lunch at the City Market

Without enough time for a sit-down and order and be served sort of meal, I needed lunch yesterday, and remembered the City Market on NW 21st. Just walking into City Market makes me happy. The smells on the way in are a glorious confusion of the flowers that sort of spill out the doorway and across the sidewalk in their buckets, and once inside, I inhale deeply, feeling my whole body drinking in the scents of their own specialty meats, the gorgeous produce, and some hard to find pastries, all wrapped up in very little square footage of store space.

But I wasn't there just to sniff appreciatively. I was there for the oddly satisfying Parisiene sandwich and a bottle of Orangina. The sandwich is a very small baguette containing some aromatic prosciutto, some cheese, and some mustard, and that is it. That's all. Nothing else to muck up the flavors, and absolutely perfect for a quick midday pick me up. A good deli is a beautiful thing.

The Remains Of The Day

Nashua, New Hampshire

Sidewalk dining at Martha's Exchange in the soft, remaining hours of daylight. 86 degrees coupled with high humidity. Meeting up with dear friends/colleagues/clients/mentors (all in one stellar husband/wife package) after a long day of cross-country travel and driving/hiking detours through some of the most important sites of our nation's birth.

We sat down, ordered three remarkable beers (my pilsener is the golden-hued glass of goodness in the foreground) and selected our dinners.

In addition to its herbed chicken and pasta salad components, my "Mediterranean Plate" presented something I had never eaten: Spanakopita. This turned out to be an excellent choice and something I will seek out again.

Engaged in conversation and fixated on the, um, street scene, I neglected to take a photo of the meal but did catch its remains for posterity's sake.

Great day, great food, great friends. Looking forward to lots more of this little slice of heaven called New England tomorrow.

Martha's Exchange

My Profile Pic

I chose this photo of my hiyayakko (冷奴) to serve as my profile image, as it fairly well depicts what I would like my contribution to this blog to be: Information about simple and fresh foods that I prepare and serve as a touchstone to my past, a glimpse of the present and a bridge to my future.

Cubed tofu, scallions and a dash of soy sauce served cold over ice. An amazing treat for any sweltering summer day.

Off The Ground

Hello! While we're waiting for all four of our initial contributors to check in, just a few notes from me about this endeavor:

- I took the initial steps to set up this blog, but wish to share admin functions among all of us.

- The look and feel of the blog is merely a starting point from which to create our own, hence the blogger.com stock background image of produce.

- There exists a wealth of knowledge, experience, humor and insight between us all and I'm really looking forward to seeing how those attributes and qualities manifest themselves via our postings.

That's it for now. Here we go!

-Goro