Eating on Jitneys

I really didn’t want this to turn into a pastry school blog photo show-off…but honestly, that is all i have been doing lately. That and scrounging for food. So here are pictures of pastry school, and explainations of what it’s like to be someone that loves grocery shopping that hasn’t had time or means to go grocery shopping in three weeks.

First, the sad stuff. Literally, I haven’t been grocery shopping in three weeks. I accidentally went to Costco with FVD two Saturdays ago which was probably the biggest mistake of the New Year. Costco…sucks if you don’t have at least 4 people in your household. I bought some Diet Coke because yes, I like Diet Coke. I am no longer ashamed. I also bought Orange Juice. Everything else just seemed like a rip-off. Also, driving to Costco on a Saturday is definitely the worst possible idea that could ever happen.

On to other topics. Since I have been working and in school I have had about 1-3 hours of personal time a day. I usually like to spend those hours showering, checking email, having some red wine, and watching TV. That sounds lame but when you only have a very small amount of free time in your day and it is 1 degree outside, please try and tell me that that is not what you would do too. Come on. Because of this lack of time, you might wonder…Eating on Jitneys…what are you eating? Well, I ask myself that every night while I’m walking back from the train. I have realized that it’s all about stocking up and hiding food from yourself. If I hadn’t bought that sweet potato 3 weeks ago or hidden those toasted (whole!) almonds from myself this summer I would be starving tonight. Being busy leaves to to make small egg sandwiches (scrambled eggs inside toasted bread, spread with mustard and cream cheese and sprinkled with diced artichoke hearts) and have boiled sweet potatoes for dessert.

Speaking of dessert…here are some pastry school pictures. I tried not to include these, but I am so proud:

First off, I am the proud owner of eatingonjitneys.com. I took the $15 plunge last week and haven’t looked back once. Not once! You don’t need to update any bookmarks, though. Because of magic.

Now, down to business. While in Pittsburgh with FVD over New Years I went to a restaurant that was library themed. It was called…The Library. I wasn’t expecting too much but it was great! They did a good job with not overkilling the theme. The tables had book pages under a layer of envirotex. Their menus were made of old books, but they didn’t tear out the pages. The books were still there! We got a Golden Book Encyclopedia for the drink menu and felt lucky.

The menu also utilized the Dewey Decimal System. Holla!

Each meal is inspired by a book, such as Wings of Icarus, One Fish, Tofish, Where the Wild Things Are, Peter Pan Fried Provolone, and the Hunter S. Thompson.

Dark Green, Bright Red. A scallop dish that was really good, but not as good as the scallop dish that Ellen and I made. I’m just sayin’.  

Animal Farm (Turkey, Bacon, Cheese, Fried Egg. Pickle.)

Salmon Salad Sandwich (really tasty but actually not certain how this pertains to a book. Nevertheless, Salmon, Dill, Cucumbers, Almonds, Dates, Yogurt.)

They call their sweet potato fries “Edgar Allen Sweet Potatoes.” Aww. We were really excited about our food before, during, and after the meal. I would call that success.

Anyways, this Stone Soup business crossed with going to The Library crossed with some conversations with my brother crossed with reading a lot more lately have gotten me seriously thinking about the possibilities, rather than impossibilities, of Imaginary Food Menus. I don’t want to give too much away, but for now, think about it. Streganona style.

I have been really self-conscious about my food photos lately.  Sometimes if I’m lucky I’ll get a good one, but more often than not my pictures make my food look gross/soupy/yellowish/bland. The same is true for this one, but tonight I am feeling brave. I don’t care that the melted cheese looks like uncooked egg whites, or that the shot is slightly out of focus. This frittata tasted so good I really don’t care. Plus, words about food without pictures of food are boring.  Here, don’t barf!

I highly recommend baking a frittata when you feel like having eggs for dinner. I made this in a little iron skillet because I didn’t want a ton of leftovers, so these instructions will make one, one and a half, or two servings, depending on how much you eat in one sitting.

My friend made an awesome frittata a while back that used potatoes as a base layer, so I copied. Thanks Ellen!

Mini Baked Frittata
1/4 cup red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic
olive oil
1 small red (new) potato, thinly sliced
1/2 cup asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced (I used crimini but that’s only because that’s what I already had)
1 tomato, diced (or you might want to use cherry tomatoes)
Mozzarella, or goat cheese, to taste (I used about 7 small balls of mozzarella)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
3 eggs
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Sautee the garlic and onion in some olive oil for about 5 minutes in a small cast iron skillet. Leave about a quarter of the garlic/onion mixture at the bottom of the skillet, layer the bottom of the skillet with potato slices (cutting them further so that they will fit), and spread the other 3/4 of the garlic/onion mixture on top of the potatoes.

Layer the asparagus, mushrooms, and tomato on top of the potatoes. I was going to use red peppers but ran out of room in the skillet. I think they would add a nice sweetness that I hoped for from the tomatoes (but the tomatoes were from the local corner store and were pretty bad). If you are using fresh mozzarella, cut it into small pieces and scatter it over the top.

In a small bowl, mix the eggs well. Add the yogurt and mix some more. If you are using goat cheese, you could add that into the egg mixture. And maybe some chopped spinach?? Add salt and pepper to taste and pour the mixture over the top of the vegetables and potatoes.

Now cook. About 35 minutes.

When this delicious treat comes out of the oven it should be slightly browned on the top, but not burnt. Obviously. Let it cool for about 5-10 minutes in the skillet. This will let the cheese set and make it much easier to cut.

I went back home on Sunday and my mom made lunch. We even ate at the table! I took a picture of the spread because it is such a typical summertime Sunday lunch at our house: a bowl of corn, bratwurst, potato salad, chips, grapes, etc. The fiestaware is pretty crucial too.

The potato salad was one I had completely forgotten about. It has pickles and shredded carrots in it. I need to get the recipe from my mom. For now, I’ll leave you with this: my brother’s plate.

SWEET POTATO PIE:
What else to make on a hot summer day? I love sweet potatoes so figured it most appropriate if I make sweet potato pie with whatever I have available in the kitchen. Oddly enough, I had just about all of the ingredients.

ALMOST PRIMARY COLOR PANCAKES:
I usually add lots of fruit to pancakes so that they don’t taste like the breakfast equivalent of white bread. Since I was in Texas with my brother, and not in my own kitchen full of fruit, we decided to make them more awesome with food coloring. So that they weren’t too plain, I also added a lot of sesame seeds. MMM.

PICNIC:
Featured here are the fruit of my Saturday night labor: curried potato salad with green beans, spiced nuts, and homemade butter (I went crazy) with dill and lemon.

BBQ PINEAPPLE+BANANA FLOWER SUMMER DRINK:
This little number was created very late into the night of a BBQ that was eventually stopped by Lindsay’s landlord (human pyramids in the backyard aren’t as quiet as you might think). If memory serves me, it includes vodka, juice, bbq’d pineapple, strawberries, bananas crushed into flower shapes, and a certain amount of bravery.

Since I don’t want to live too far in the past, I felt I needed to add these little summer treats into one scrunched entry so that I could get them out of my system and move on. Not pictures are lots and lots of BBQ creations. This summer is the summer of BBQ’d potato packets: Add potatoes (all kinds), dill, garlic, oil, fennel, onion, and anything else you want (spices? yes.). Wrap them up in tin foil and wait wait wait while they cook slowly on the BBQ. You will never be disappointed.