WRPC Community Garden Update

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I'm serving as the sales coordinator for our church's community garden, and I wanted to give a little update on how things are going.

The garden is doing really well. We're growing zucchini, yellow squash, English cucumbers, tomatoes (including Roma and Lemon Boys), okra, butter beans, green and red bell peppers, and green beans.

Sales are also going well. We're selling on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings at the Suffolk Farmers' Market, and on Sunday mornings after each service at a picnic stand by the garden. Both WRPC members and Mercy Ministry clients have been helping with sales. Come visit us!

Fresh tomatoes, anyone?

Reading List for July 26-30

1. "Unsafe at Any Meal"

Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation and co-producer of "Food, Inc.", writes in the New York Times about the food safety bill now languishing in the Senate.

"Food processors reluctant to oppose the bill openly will be delighted if it dies a quiet death. That’s because, right now, very few cases of food poisoning are ever actually linked to what the person ate, and companies that sell contaminated products routinely avoid liability. The economic cost is instead imposed on society. And it’s a huge cost. According to a recent study sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the annual health-related cost of food-borne illness in the United States is about $152 billion."

2. "The Future of the Sea"

A book review of Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food by Paul Greenberg, from The Economist

"Four wild fish species [salmon, seabass, cod and tuna] dominate the world’s seafood markets, but that might not last much longer. As Paul Greenberg observes in a sharp and occasionally lyrical book, we are at a significant moment: farmed fish now make up around half of all the fish consumed by humans."

3. Odes to Oysters

"Memories on the Half Shell" and "Where Oysters Grew on Trees" - both published in the NYTimes - read like short stories.

"The names of the oysters stayed with me — each one representing a distant, mysterious seaside community, where fogs settled over serpentine estuaries and men repaired their fishing nets around lantern-lighted tables at night. I felt that somewhere far outside the city (Pemaquid? Apalachicola?) there existed a briny, muscular life that had more meaning than mine, if only because it was aligned with the tides. I wanted to grow up and become part of a place like that. "

4. Teaching Kids to Eat Healthily

"School Lunches in France: Nursery-School Gourmets" from TIME

"[A brochure] lists in great detail the lunch menu for each school day over a two-month period. On Mondays, the menus are also posted on the wall outside every school in the country. The variety on the menus is astonishing: no single meal is repeated over the 32 school days in the period, and every meal includes an hors d'oeuvre, salad, main course, cheese plate and dessert."

"[I]n a country where con artists and adulterers are tolerated, the laws governing meals are sacrosanct and are drummed into children before they can even hold a knife. The French don't need their First Lady to plant a vegetable garden at the Élysée Palace to encourage good eating habits. They already know the rules: sit down and take your time, because food is serious business."

Valentine's Weekend in Charlotte, NC

For Christmas last year, we gave Topher's parents a getaway to Charlotte, NC over Valentine's Day weekend - with us! I know, how romantic, right? But it actually was a great trip: Topher and his dad took a cooking class together on Saturday at Johnson & Wales University's College of Culinary Arts, while his mom and I got facials at a local spa.

We drove separately - Topher and I from Hampton Roads, his parents from their home in NC - and met at the hotel in Charlotte just in time for dinner. True to form, Topher had picked out a delicious restaurant for us to try: Mimosa Grill. Their menu, which they describe as "global cuisine with a southern twist," features meat, poultry, and produce from local and regional farms.

That particular evening, a freak winter storm dumped 4-6 inches on snow on the city. It started just as we were walking to dinner, so by the time we left to head back to the hotel, everything was covered with a soft white blanket. It was really beautiful; I only regretted not bringing more suitable shoes!

What I Ate:

• appetizer: local organic greens with mandarin oranges
• entrée: salmon over grits with mussels, shrimp, & crawfish in tomato & onion broth - now these were some good shrimp & grits!
• dessert: pecan pie with vanilla gelato
• to drink: one mojito, and a few sips of Drambuie - kind of like a second dessert

The Scoop:

Mimosa Grill is located in downtown Charlotte at 327 S. Tryon Street. They're open M-R 11am-10pm, F 11am-11pm, Sat 5pm-11pm, and Sun 5pm-10pm. Reservations can be made online or by calling (704)343-0700. Get information about their cooking classes, wine dinners, and other special events via Facebook or Twitter.

Disappointing #2

I've decided to bite the bullet and write a second negative restaurant review (here's my first). This meal was particularly disappointing, since it was part of our anniversary weekend in Chicago. Thankfully there were several other culinary experiences that saved the weekend.

On Saturday evening, after a less-than-enjoyable afternoon at the Field Museum, we got all dolled up and walked to Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill, winner of a 2007 James Beard Foundation award.

My first issue with Frontera is that they don't accept reservations. I understand that once a place gets famous (via Food Network, PBS, etc.), the owner wants locals to still be able to come and eat without getting totally shut out by the reservation process. But when you walk in at 6:30pm and are told that your wait will be three hours, there's something wrong.

Still, we had it on good authority that this place was ah-maz-ing and would be worth whatever wait we had to endure. So we found a place to stand at the bar (all the seats were taken) and began our three-hour wait. Thankfully a couple at a side counter were taken to their table about half an hour after we arrived, so we were able to grab their seats.

We finally flagged down a bar waiter to take our drink orders. Upon his return (20 minutes later), he asked if we'd like to order food. Appetizers, right? we asked. No, he said, we could actually order dinner there, if we'd like. Great! Our three-hour wait just got cut in half.

What I Ate:

• for the table - corn chips with guacamole, chipotle salsa, & tomatillo salsa
• appetizer - Flautas de Camarones: crispy taquitos filled with wild Mazaltan shrimp, Prairie Farms goat cheese, poblano chile, and sundried tomatoes, served with roasted tomatillo sauce and frisee-watercress salad
• entree - Trucha al Guajillo: crispy guajillo-marinated Rushing Waters trout with quajillo-lime salsa, served with garlic-poached fingerling potatoes and Three Sister Garden "shoots" salad
• drink #1 - Topolo Margarita: Sauza Conmemorativo tequila, Gran Torres liquer and housemade limonada, shaked at the table
• drink #2 - Vampiro Fronterizo: El Milagro Silver tequila and Maraca bloody Mary mix, spiked with fresh lime juice - this drink was so tart & strong (read: disgusting) that I almost couldn't finish it

It all sounds so good, right? Well, the dishes just weren't as flavorful as the menu descriptions made them out to be. And Topher's entree wasn't hot; it was barely lukewarm. And imagine trying to balance on a bar stool to eat while being elbowed in the back by people trying to get to the bar - fun times. Apparently we're not the only ones who have had a subpar experience here, either.

Another tip: don't order the Trago Bravo (100% Blue Agave Silver tequila with spicy sangrita chaser and serrano chile) - it's downright painful.

Bottom line: For the money, and for all the hype, we expected much better. Mediocre food + poor service = disappointing.

Goin' All Ivy League on Ya

I'm constantly in search of well-researched and well-written online sources for nutrition information.

By now I shouldn't be surprised by the amount of misinformation that's circulated on the internet, but somehow I still am. I'm especially shocked at the number of writers claiming to be nutrition experts, and there are days when I simply throw up my hands in confusion and disgust at the contradictions and hidden agendas of so many "expert" opinions.

So imagine my delight when I found TheNutritionSource.org and learned that it is actually a division of the Harvard School of Public Health.

Some of my favorite features on the site include:

• The Healthy Eating Pyramid: a new take on the old government-issue food pyramid (which means that industry & special interest groups didn't have a chance to tinker with it)
• What Should You Eat? : a la Michael Pollan, this section offers 8 tips on how to choose healthy foods (not what foods to avoid!)
• a full page of recipes to try at home

An article that I've found especially helpful is "Choosing Healthy Drinks." I don't know about you, but sometimes Topher & I find it hard to come up with things that we like to drink (i.e. taste good) that aren't sugar-laden or alcoholic. Sure, there's milk and water, but those can get pretty boring after a while -- or downright painful, if you're lactose-intolerant. This article offers some good alternatives that won't inflate your daily carb/calorie intake.

And finally, "Fish: Friend or Foe?" is a great read about the benefits and possible risks associated with eating seafood on a regular basis. I never shy away from sushi, fried flounder, crab cakes, steamed shrimp, or raw oysters on the half, but some people do have serious hang-ups about eating anything from the ocean. The bottom line: "Fears of contaminants make many unnecessarily shy away from fish" and miss out on its numerous perks, which include omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, selenium, and protein.

Happy reading, and eating!

Reading List for July 19-23

1. A two-part NPR story on nutrition & obesity in low-wage America
- Part 1: Eating Nutritiously Is a Struggle When Money Is Scarce

"Hunger in America isn't about starving children with bloated bellies, as much as it is about having to calculate everything, down to the penny, to get through the month."

- Part 2: A Daily Fight to Find Food: One Family's Story

"[L]ow-income families might know milk is better for their kids, but when it comes to filling a hungry stomach, a cheaper high-calorie option can look pretty good."

2. Foraging – the latest trend in haute cuisine?

- "Into the Woods" from TIME

3. Can You Eat Well on $1 a Day?

- Jeffery Strain has done it for more than 70 days already, with a technique called coupon "stacking." Check out his blog.

4. From @MichaelPollan (on Twitter)

- "Here's a cool graphic attempting to visualize entire food system."

- "Fascinating study that suggests why processed food might be more fattening than whole, even when calories the same."

And this is just disgusting: Friendly's introduces a Mac & Cheese Quesadilla for kids.

Fun with Watermelon

Corn, blueberries, peaches - the fruits of summer are definitely sweet. Watermelon is one of the sweetest, and healthiest.

As its name suggests, watermelon is mostly water - 92% actually. Some days I find it hard to drink enough water to stay hydrated in this heat, so I eat my water instead: Water-rich foods like watermelon, cucumbers (95% water) and strawberries (91%) can help prevent fatigue and headaches caused by dehydration.

And watermelon contains lycopene, an antioxidant also found in tomatoes that may protect against heart disease and some types of cancer.

There's nothing wrong with eating a slice of plain, fresh-cut watermelon on your back steps with juice dribbling down your chin, but if you want to dress it up a little, try this recipe from Food & Wine.

The first time Topher made this, I thought it was a tomato salad, so the first bite was a sweet surprise!

Watermelon Salad with Feta & Mint

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• One 8-pound seedless watermelon, scooped into balls with a melon baller or cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks (10 cups), chilled
• 1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled (2 cups)
• 1 1/4 cups pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped (optional)
• 1 small sweet onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 cup coarsely chopped mint leaves

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk the oil, lemon juice, salt, Tabasco and pepper.
2. Add the watermelon, feta, olives and onion, and toss gently.
3. Garnish with the mint, and serve.

More ideas: Here are four more fun watermelon recipes from EatingWell.com. The NYTimes Diner's Journal suggests grilling a watermelon steak.

Note: The image above was found here.

Feeding the Tarpon at The Wharf

On the last night of our Grand Cayman trip we went to The Wharf, a seafood restaurant recommended to me by a coworker. It did not disappoint! We were joined by my cousin Brad & his wife Heidi and our friends Andy & Bonnie McNabb.

We were seated outside on a huge white deck overlooking the ocean. From there we could see the lights of the cruise ships docked in Georgetown - it was gorgeous.

At 9pm, a staff member brought out some fish scraps to feed a school of tarpon swimming below the dock - what a frenzy! We couldn't believe the hundreds of tarpons, all jumping over each other and out of the water to catch the leftovers.

What I Ate:

• appetizer: seared yellowfin tuna w/avocado salad - some of the best tuna I've ever eaten
• entree: basil & pistachio crusted sea bass in champagne sauce
• for dessert: mango cheese cake w/blueberries & raspberries
• to drink: Cakebread Cellars sauvignon blanc

The Scoop:
The Wharf Restaurant and Bar is located on W. Bay Rd. in West Bay on Grand Cayman. They serve dinner daily from 6pm to 10pm. Reservations are available online.

Heidi, me, & Bonnie at the Grand Old House

Four Days of Summer in February

Ah, summer! The absolute best season of the year, IMHO. I love the sunshine, the warmth, the long days, the fun cocktails, and the joy of wearing flip-flops all the time.

This past winter, only a few weeks after an unusually harsh snowstorm, I was granted a few much-needed days of summer in the middle of February: a four-day trip to Grand Cayman!

This fabulous getaway (courtesy of Topher's company) came at the perfect time, when I'd almost given up hope of ever seeing the sun again. As soon as I heard we'd be going, I began planning snorkeling excursions and picking out sundresses; Topher, of course, began researching restaurants.

Company dinners were scheduled for two of the four nights, but on the other two we ventured into Georgetown, the capital of Grand Cayman. For our first evening out, we were joined by four other couples for dinner at the Bacchus Restaurant & Wine Bar.

What I Ate:

• amuse-bouche: ahi tuna & cucumber
• appetizer: conch fritters
• entree: chicken breast over carrots & zucchini, polenta, & Italian bean ragout
• for dessert: bites of apple pie, lava cake, & crème brulee - why order my own, when I can sample everyone else's? :)
• to drink: The Prisoner meritage - we drank their last bottle :)

The Scoop:
Bacchus Restaurant & Wine Bar is located on Fort Street in downtown Georgetown. They're open F-R 10am-1am, F 10am-2am, and Sat 11am-midnight; they're closed on Sundays.

A Blonde Moment at 456 Fish

Topher and I stayed in Norfolk after work this afternoon to do some shopping, and afterwards we decided to use a gift card that my aunt and uncle gave me for birthday for dinner at 456 Fish, another place that's on my summer "to dine" list.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal, knowing that we had a gift card for half the bill. The check came, we gave the waitress the gift card and our credit card, and away she went. She returned to the table less than a minute later and said very apologetically, "I'm sorry, but this gift card is for a different restaurant."

Sure enough, the gift card is for One Fish Two Fish, a nice seafood restaurant in Virginia Beach near my aunt & uncle's house. OOPS! Needless to say, I was mortified, but Topher thought it was hilarious. I think his exact words were, "Baby, you're the smartest dumb blonde I've ever met."

What We Ate:

• appetizer: fried calamari with plum tomato sauce and basil aioli - the basil aioli was amazing: it tasted like a pesto cream sauce, only not as spicy - yum!
• Topher's entrée: Pan roasted red snapper over spaghetti squash, topped with herb malted pomme frits and applewood bacon crumbles
• my entrée: Catch of the Day (red snapper) pan roasted in olive oil, salt & pepper, with sautéed garlic spinach, over coconut risotto (to drink: Lagaria pinot grigio)

The Scoop:
456 Fish is located in downtown Norfolk near Waterside, at 456 Granby Street, Norfolk, VA 23510. They serve dinner on Sun-R 5-10pm, F-Sat 5-11pm; brunch is served on Sun 11am-3pm. Reservations are available by calling (757)625-4444. Find them on Facebook here.

Quinoa - Take Two

I co-hosted a baby shower luncheon today, and as part of my contribution to the meal, I decided to try out another quinoa salad recipe. My first attempt was pretty good, but it was a little dry after sitting in the refrigerator overnight; so this time Topher suggested that we add a little extra olive oil to the dressing to keep it moist. The photo above doesn't do it justice at all - it actually turned out quite well! This is definitely one that I'll make again.

Here's the recipe (from Food Network):

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup frozen green beans, defrosted
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup green onions, sliced
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Combine quinoa with 2 cups water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and continue cooking until all water is absorbed.
2. In a medium bowl, combine cooked quinoa, dried cranberries, green beans, walnuts, and green onions until well mixed.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and garlic until well blended. Pour over the quinoa mixture. Toss until well blended. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Note: It's best to let the quinoa cool almost completely before adding any of the other ingredients.

On another note entirely, I am envious of food blogs with spectacular photography. A few of my favorites are Smitten Kitchen, The Pioneer Woman, and From Me To You. I dream that maybe one day my pictures will turn out that well ...

Reading List for July 12-16

1. "Advocates run ads urging Senate to pass food safety bill", from The Washington Post

"A year after House Democrats and Republicans overwhelmingly approved legislation to improve food safety, public health advocates are growing frustrated that the Senate has yet to take up the bill."

2. "A Humane Egg", from The New York Times

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law requiring that all whole eggs sold in [California] conform to the provisions of Proposition 2, the humane farming law that was [passed] in 2008."

3. "A more healthful mayonnaise? Maybe", from The Washington Post

"The time seems ripe, then, to reevaluate mayonnaise. Is it worth eating? And, if so, is one kind better for you than the others?"

4. "Online grocers: Keep on trucking", from The Economist

"Internet grocery shopping is booming. If only it were profitable"

Dinner with Friends

As I've mentioned before, I am a lucky/blessed woman because my husband likes to cook and is very good at it. I couldn't resist writing about the meal that we shared with our friends Randy & Kim this past Sunday evening. Randy made the first course, and Topher made the second.

What We Ate:

• Appetizer: Roasted garlic and two types of French cheese, Fol Epi and Morbier - paired with Buena Vista Carneros Rosé of Syrah
• First course: Sweetbread marsala served over polenta - paired with Franciscan Chardonnay
• Second course: Homemade potato gnocchi & ribeye steak, topped with mushroom gorgonzola sauce and served with sautéed spinach - paired with Buena Vista Carneros Syrah

Suffolk Spotlight: Amici's Pizza Cafe

The second place on my summer "to-dine" list that I visited this week was Amici's Pizza Cafe, a locals' favorite in downtown Suffolk.

I must admit that I wasn't too impressed with Amici's the first time I ate there, earlier this summer with two girlfriends: the food was delicious, but the service left a lot to be desired. Last night, though, my friend Meredith and I had a great time. We sat out front on the shaded patio, munched on bread with garlic butter, and sipped pinot grigio (well, I did at least; she's preggo) while we waited for our entrees. Thankfully, the wait wasn't nearly as long as last time.

What I Ate:

• The first time: Penne ala Vodka - spinach & andouille sausage over penna pasta in a tomato cream sauce
• The second time: Veal Piccata - veal cutlets with capers in a light lemon-white wine sauce over spaghetti

Amici's menu also includes a great selection of pizzas, a huge Greek salad (which my friend Kim got on my first visit), and salmon & artichokes over asparagus risotto (which I plan to try next time). Bottom line: Amici's is good, and I'll probably eat there again. But it's more casual than Primo 116, both in atmosphere and in cuisine; so for a special occasion or fancy night out, Primo 116 is still my favorite Italian in Suffolk.

The Scoop:
Amici's Pizza Cafe is located in downtown Suffolk at 157 E. Washington Street. You can reach them at (757)923-5300. They don't take reservations.

A Speakeasy in Old Towne Portsmouth

This week I checked two places off my summer "to-dine" list, and I can happily report that I enjoyed both.

On Tuesday evening, I met my friend Stacy in Old Towne Portsmouth for dinner at Still. This place definitely gives off a 1930's speakeasy vibe: You enter at a street-level door located on a side street with almost no signage and then immediately walk down a half flight of stairs to the dimly lit bar and lounge, which features leather arm chairs, low tables, and exposed brick walls. The only windows are small ones near the ceiling. All dishes are served in small, tapas-sized portions, and the cocktail menu is extensive.

What We Ate:

• House bread with bacon jalapeno cheddar butter
• Fresh spinach salad with poached egg, bacon, and tangy tomato dressing
• Panko encrusted oysters with New Orleans remoulade
• Spicy chicken vindaloo over saffron rice, with mango chutney & naan bread - definitely has a kick!
• Shrimp and andouille sausage tossed with penne in a spicy tomato cream sauce
• "Melt in your mouth" bread pudding with whiskey hard sauce - amazing! the bread was much lighter than a typical bread pudding, so the dish overall wasn't as heavy
• To drink: a vodka martini with a lemon twist (me) and a whiskey sour (Stacy)

We also considered the arugula salad with roasted pears, the curry chick peas, the sauteed gnocchi, and the glazed pork over polenta, and we almost ordered a second dessert: peach blackberry cobbler. I'll definitely be back to Still!

The Scoop:

Still Worldly Eclectic Tapas is located at 450 Court Street (at the corner of Queen St.), Portsmouth, VA 23704. Find them on Facebook.

Note: The image above is from the Still website.

Reading List for July 5-9

Wheat Rust and World Farming (from The Economist)
The return of wheat rust: The disease eating away our daily bread
Rust in the bread basket: A crop-killing fungus is spreading out of Africa towards the world's great wheat-growing areas

The Debate about Soda Taxes
"Soda taxes: politics v. public health" - blog post by Marion Nestle (3 July 2010)
"Experiments in soda taxes and pay walls" - TIME blog post (2 July 2010) & related article (dated 12 July 2010)
"To Tax or Not to Tax? States Enter the Soda Wars" - NPR story (May 2010)
"Is Soda the New Tobacco?" - NYTimes article (12 Feb 2010)

Just for Fun
"Both @cookbook and @Maureen are the [Twitter] streams of Maureen Evans, a 27-year-old from British Columbia who is studying for a master’s in creative writing at Queen’s University Belfast," and she tweets entire recipes in 140 characters or less. (from NYTimes, 21 April 2009)

Wowed by Wegmans

Another highlight of our road trip to Pennsylvania this past weekend was the visit (or visits, since we went three times in 24 hours) to Wegmans. That's right, a grocery store.

Topher and his parents were already huge fans and were looking forward to it the whole drive, but I'd never been before and wasn't sure what all the fuss was about - boy, was I impressed!

Wegmans isn't just any grocery store, as customers in the Northeast can attest. It has an amazing array of fresh vegetables, meats and seafood (whole red snapper! live lobster!), plus a café that offers pizza, subs, sushi, pasta, Chinese, Indian, and other hot dishes.

The deli counter tempted me with summer harvest pasta salad (corn & lima beans with either rotelle or fiori pasta) and curry chicken salad.

They had an entire alcove devoted to tea -- literally hundreds of different flavors and varieties.

They had pre-made cheese plates with walnuts and dried apricots & cranberries, and a full case of goat cheese & goat milk, both plain & chocolate!

And the Mediterranean bar featured olives I'd never even heard of: Cerignola, Maddelena, Mantequilla, Piccante, Picholilne, and Nicoise-Coquillo.

The bakery was our downfall: on Saturday my in-laws split a fruit tart, and I shared a chocolate croissant with Topher. On Sunday, we arrived just after they opened and picked up breakfast & snacks for our drive -- fresh baked glazed and sour cream donuts (still warm!), and low-fat blueberry, whole wheat bran, and whole wheat pumpkin muffins. I was eyeing the pretzel rolls and cheese rolls but decided they weren't really breakfast foods.

Too bad the closest Wegmans is in Fredericksburg (northern Virginia), almost three hours away. :(

Note: Both photos in this post are from here.

Solid Picks in State College, PA

This past weekend I traveled to State College, PA, with my husband Topher and his parents for my brother-in-law Bryan's wedding. We were blessed with beautiful weather and a safe, relatively traffic-free road trip.

My father-in-law and Topher share the ability to find great restaurants in any town they visit, and they didn't disappoint this past weekend. On Saturday we tried out two local restaurants in State College, and both were solid picks.

For lunch we stopped at The Deli (picture above) at the corner of Heister Street and College Avenue, which borders the Penn State campus. We debated whether to sit indoors or out (they have a cute sidewalk patio) and ended up indoors, in a back dining room with dark wood walls, retro leather booths, and a huge skylight.

It took us a while to order: the menu is more like a book, and everything sounded delicious. I was torn between the macadamia nut & cilantro crusted salmon and the bunless burger plate (both from the Lite, Lowfat, Lowcarb menu), but then I went with something completely different.

It also took a while to get through the beer menu: they had an impressive selection of brews on tap, including one of my summer favorites, Dogfish Head Festina Peche.

What We Ate

• Me: Middle Eastern Roasted Lamb Wrap (hummus, baba ghanoush, tomato, sprouts, onions, spinach, olives, & cucumber sauce in a whole wheat wrap) served with veggie couscous
• Topher: Chipotle Burger (cheddar cheese, spicy chipotle salsa, & a whole chipotle pepper on a kaiser roll) served with sweet potato fries
• Patty: Chicken Fajita Pita (peppers, onions, lettuce, tomato, & sour cream in a pita)
• Jim: Triple Decker Deli Reuben (grilled corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, & Russian dressing on rye bread)

For dinner we went to Otto's Pub and Brewery. A member of the Pennsylvania chapter of "Buy Fresh Buy Local", their menu lists the regional farms, bakeries, wineries, and creameries from which they get their ingredients. My mother-in-law "Miss" Patty was so impressed with the statement about their beef - "local, pasture-raised, hormone-free beef cattle ... their feed is supplemented with the spent barley from our brewery" - that she ordered a burger.

What We Ate

• For starters: Chicken wings w/ two sauces (sweet & spicy garlic and mango habanero)
• Me: Catfish po' boy (blackened catfish with lettuce, tomato & remoulade sauce on a toasted kaiser roll) served with garlicky green beans, and a glass of red sangria to drink
• Topher: Fish & chips - perfectly battered: not too heavy, but not so light that it flaked off the fish
• Patty: Mushroom swiss burger (half-pound pasture-raised beef with sautéed mushrooms, onions and swiss cheese on a toasted kaiser roll) served with green beans*
• Jim: Roasted butternut squash ravioli topped with gorgonzola cream & fried sage

*Patty has a severe allergy to garlic, so we always have to check with the waiter/chef to find out what items on the menu are safe for her to order. Both The Deli and Otto's were extremely accommodating: they made sure that none of the meats were seasoned, and Otto's even cooked her burger on a separate surface to make sure that no stray garlic from the grill accidentally found its way to her plate. And of course, her garlicky green beans were served sans garlic.

Dating in DC: Frickles for the Fourth of July

In the summer of 2008, while I was living/working in DC, Topher & I celebrated the 4th of July by renting bikes from a marina near my apartment in Arlington, VA, and riding the Mount Vernon Trail. The trail goes along the Potomac River, through the city of Alexandria, all the way to Mount Vernon Estate - a 24-mile round-trip route from where we started.

The weather that day was gorgeous; we could see clear across the river to Fort Washington in Maryland. We packed a picnic lunch, which we ate at the estate, and we stopped for ice cream at Ben & Jerry's in Alexandria on our way back.

That evening we both were exhausted and starving. In honor of Independence Day we decided to eat American: upscale Southern comfort food at Del Merei Grille in Alexandria.

What I Ate:

• frickles: lightly fried pickle chips with spiced remoulade
• shrimp and grits: andouille sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms, scallions, and cajun cream served over garlic cheese grits

The Scoop:

Del Merei Grille is located at 3106 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22305. Their dinner hours are M-R 5-9:30pm, F-Sat 5-10:30pm, Sun 5-9pm. They're also open for lunch T-F 11:30am-2pm. Reservations are recommended but not required and can be made by calling (703)739-4335.

Note: This place doesn't look like much from the outside - it's located in a nondescript shopping center and not in the cute downtown part of Alexandria - but the food is great, the atmosphere is relaxed, and the prices are pretty reasonable (for the DC area). The Indian place next door - Bombay Curry Company - is also excellent and offers an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet on Sundays.

Reading List for June 28 - July 2

FDA proposes limits on antibiotics use in animals
Check out the FDA's draft guidance. Read the New York Times article and op-ed.

Competition in American agriculture
The USDA & DOJ are focusing on competition in the dairy & poultry industries.
"Slaughterhouse rules: A fight looms over regulations for America’s meatpackers," from The Economist

Red Wine and Weight Control, from TIME
"Resveratrol, a plant compound in red wine, has been touted as the solution to everything from aging to obesity. Now, for the first time, it has shown potential as a weight-loss therapy in primates. In a French lab, taking resveratrol for a month helped six lemurs eat less, boost their metabolism and lose weight. (Previously, the effect had been studied only in rodents.) That doesn't mean gulping red wine will slim you down, but the findings support growing evidence of resveratrol's wide-ranging effects on the body."

Suffolk Spotlight: The Plaid Turnip

The past few weeks have been hectic for me and Topher. Two & a half weeks ago he went to England for work, but only for four days/three nights. While he was gone, I took a quick weekend trip to New York City.

The next weekend we went to visit my in-laws in North Carolina for Father's Day. As soon as we got home, Topher left for Ohio for two days for work, then as soon as he got back from that, we went to Richmond (again with my in-laws) for a Wednesday night cooking class.

Last weekend was my first as the sales coordinator for my church's community garden, so I was busy with that on Saturday & Sunday mornings. And this week has brought some scary medical emergencies for a friend here in Virginia and for my cousin in Georgia.

Needless to say, the laundry was piling up and the refrigerator was looking bare. In the midst of all the frenzy, I'm very thankful that Topher & I had scheduled a date night for last Saturday. We got a little dressed up and went out for dinner at a new restaurant in Suffolk: The Plaid Turnip.

The Plaid Turnip took over the space that used to be Pisces, a seafood restaurant where we went for Father's Day brunch two years ago. The new eatery has a diner-ish feel to it, offering what I would call "upscale comfort food": dishes such as pasta primavera, fried, grilled or blackened flounder, and pork tenderloin in port mushroom gravy. Most entrees come with your choice of two sides (almost a meat & three!), and the list includes cole slaw, pasta salad, seasonal greens, baked apples, and french fries. The appetizer menu also had a few fun things, like fried olives and bacon-wrapped jalapenos, that we'd like to try on future visits (yes, we'll be coming back).

What We Ate:

• To start - fried chicken livers with spicy dipping sauce - when I was little, I loved getting fried chicken livers for lunch at Morrison's cafeteria after church on Sundays with my grandparents; you don't see them on restaurant menus much anymore, but man, these were good!
• Me - 7 oz. flatiron steak topped with melted crumbled bleu cheese, served with steamed broccoli and sweet potato fries - I hadn't had steak in a while, and this one really hit the spot
• Topher - rack of ribs, served with sweet potato fries - the ribs weren't spicy or smoky, but they were tender & flavorful; the chef explained to us that he uses a dry rub, cooks them, uses a dry rub again ahead of time, then adds tomato-based barbecue sauce and grills them when they're ordered

It wasn't a fancy meal, but it was well done and the prices were very reasonable. The staff was great too: we were waited on by our buddy Chris (formerly at Primo 116), and the chef Ed Beardsley (very friendly and approachable) came out to our table to chat and answer Topher's questions about the menu. Another perk: the walls feature pieces from local artists.

The Scoop:

The Plaid Turnip is located at 115 North Main Street, Suffolk, VA 23434. They're open M-R 7am-9am, F-Sat 7am-10pm, and Sun 7am-3pm.