Happy Holidays and Food Adventuring!

Happy holidays everyone! No matter how you celebrate, we hope everyone is enjoying their time with their families and friends. I just wanted to take some time from our holiday activities to give you a wrap up of our latest food adventures!

Recent food discoveries!

• Better vegetarian dumplings! - I didn't have tofu on hand, so I used grated tempeh in my vegetarian dumpling recipe. Little did I know that the tempeh takes the dumplings to new gastronomic heights! Astoundingly, they were the best dumplings ever. I surely will post the improved recipe when we get a chance.


• Bean pie! - Growing up, I'd seen bean pies in the local African American Muslim communities, but I never took the chance to buy one myself. My curiosity was rekindled when I saw a bean pie for sale in a Muslim owned by the slice pizza joint in DC. Thinking I'd rather make my own than buy a pie from a pizza joint of all places, I searched and decided to try this bean pie recipe. AMAZING! After tasting the results and seeing how easy it was to make, bean pie is now one of my favorite pies.


• Piñon nuts! - Piñon nuts are simply pine nuts from a pine species native to New Mexico. On our big trip out west, we spend a couple days in Santa Fe where we had sampled some piñon nut ice cream, and man those nuts pack quite a pine nut punch. They are so much more flavorful and nutty than the everyday pine nuts used in Italy. We promptly popped into a grocery store and bought some piñon nuts (and hot sauce!) to take back. When we got home, we made the piñon nut brittle recipe on the back of the package, which turned out very well. Part of me wishes that I set some of the nuts aside to try the nuts in a pesto. That will be something new to try for next time!

Recent book discoveries!

• What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea - Even Water - Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers - This book does exactly what it says it does. Perhaps Kevin and I go about things a little backwards sometimes, but whenever we leave the store with a bottle of wine, we usually have no idea of what to cook to pair with it. Now we at least have a reference.


• The New Food Lover's Companion - Basically a dictionary for most any food terms you may come across. I'm actually a big nerd and am trying to read it front to back, but I keep getting distracted with all the cross-referencing. I'm discovering that I know very little about cheese, alcoholic drinks, and Japanese cuisine, and there are so many interesting fruits and vegetables that I may never eat unless I travel the world extensively. Speaking of which, anyone know where we can get some salsify?! It sounds so delicious!