Farmers’Market Foray – Or What to do with Ramps and Fennel

I find the challenge for us as a busy family is incorporating local foods into a busy lifestyle. Our neighborhood Farmer’s market is only open on Saturdays, and we don’t live near enough to Union Square to go there on a regular basis during the week.

And then, of course, there is the fact that Mr TBTAM likes to go to Fairway on the way home from work to see what’s there to inspire tonight’s dinner. So it was a bit of a tussle between us on Saturday as I convinced him to change it up a bit – see what’s at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday when we have time to go together, and plan the week’s menus around that.

We decided to start small. Really small. With a bunch of lovely garlic ramps and some baby anise from the Union Square market.

Our first dinner tonight with Victor, who is with us for two weeks from Barcelona on an exchange student visit, provided the perfect opportunity to use these ingredients in a meal that would show him some traditional American cuisine – Chicken and potatoes. “Ramped up” a bit, of course.

Ramps n’ Taters

Ramps, or wild leeks, are quintessentially American. Appalachian to be more specific. Native to North America and growing wild in the woods, they provide spring sustenance for early Native Americans and mountain folk for generations. Ramps with potatoes and bacon is a traditional Appalachian dish. We cut back significantly on the bacon, but traditional recipes will use up to a pound of it. Add eggs at the end to make it a complete meal.

3 slices Bacon
1 bunch of garlic ramps, thoroughly washed
6 potatoes, washed and cut into bit sized pieces
Salt, pepper and paprika to taste

Wash the ramps well. Cut off the tip of the root and slice into 1/4 inch pieces. Spin or towel dry

Fry the bacon in a skillet till crisp and remove to a paper towel to drain.

Add the potatoes to the bacon fat and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the ramps and fry till done. Crumble and toss in the previously fried bacon and serve.

Sauteed Chicken with Fennel and Rosemary

This is a modification of a recipe from Food and Wine. I know it is probably a bit more Mediterranean than American in flavor, but we used the Farmer’s Market fennel and that made me proud. This dish has a very light and delicious sauce.

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 bunches baby fennel, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 organic chicken legs, split into thighs and drumsticks
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil is a large saute pan over moderately high heat. Add the fennel, 1 tbsp rosemary, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the fennel is golden brown and almost done. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer until the fennel is tender. Remove the fennel and the cooking liquid from the pan.

Wipe out the pan and heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over moderate heat. Season the chicken with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper. Add the chicken to the pan with the remaining 1 tbsp of rosemary and cook until brown, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook until almost done, about 3 minutes longer. Add the garlic; cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the fennel and its cooking liquid and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cover the pan and remove from the heat. Let steam 5 minutes. Serve, scattering parsley atop the plate.

Short Stories and a Shortbread Crust

I love baking any day, but Saturday afternoons are my favorite time to spend in the kitchen. That’s because I get to listen to Selected Shorts while I work. The Saturday I made this tart was no exception, as I listened to “Enough” by Alice McDermott and “Just a Little More” by V.S. Pritchett, both stories about food and life.

I have to admit I am not a short story reader (although I am looking forward to reading Olive Kitterage for my book club this month), so Selected Shorts has pretty much been my main exposure to this genre since I graduated from college. The show is recorded here in New York City at Symphony Space, but occasionally goes on the road as well. Not all of the stories at the live performances make it to the radio program, so it feels pretty special to be there. Not to mention seeing some pretty amazing folks reading – famous names like Signoury Weaver, Alec Baldwin, Leonard Nimoy, Steven Colbert, and John Lithgow, just to name a few. We saw Ann Patchett when we went to hear the show commemorating the stories of Eudora Welty. Pretty cool.

Oh, yeah. Here’s what I was baking –

Apple Crumb Tarts

This recipe from Epicurious has a wonderful shortbread crust that I’m hoping to find additional use for in the future. It is also yet another use for the wonderful homemade breadcrumbs I’ve been making lately. My kids have declared this dessert my “best ever”.

I thought one of the comments on the epicurious website was intriguing – to add a layer of apricot jam under the apples to prevent the bottom of the crust from getting soggy. Maybe I will try that next time, though have to say the simplicity of the flavors in this tart is very appealing, and I don’t know that I’d want to muddy things with another strong flavor like apricot.

The original recipe from Epicurious is for two tarts, enough for 20 people. I was afraid to cut the pie crust recipe in half, so I made the whole thing and used the leftover dough to make some little bar cookies that I pressed and cut out.

Shortbread Crust (enough for two tarts)

This recipe makes two 9-inch tart crusts – You can cut it in half if you want. Let me know how it turns out if you do.

1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1-tablespoon pieces
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Combine the ingredients in a food processor and pulse till it starts to form a ball. Take the dough out and press it onto a greased 9 inch tart pan. Bake at 350 degrees till light brown (about 20 mins). Remove and cool.

Filling (for one tart)

2 large Granny Smith and 2 large Macintosh apples
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cups + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
3/4 cup homemade fine dry bread crumbs (make them this way, but don’t add the olive oil)
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

Peel, quarter, and core apples. Cut quarters crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices and toss with flour, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup sugar. Toss bread crumbs with melted butter.

Assemble Tart

Add apple mixture to tart pan, arranging prettily and overlapping slices in circles. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over tarts and sprinkle remaining 2 tbsp sugar over crumbs.

Bake tarts in middle of oven until apples are tender and crumbs are golden brown, about 1 hour.

Shakespeare on the Run

So last week, I’m riding the loop in Central Park with Mr TBTAM, and a woman dressed in period costume crosses our path. I follow her and find a production of King Lear taking place under a nearby tree!

Its the New York Classical Theater doing their annual free Shakespeare production in the park. The show is an interactive experience, as the audience follows the actors as they move about the park from scene to scene. (Don’t worry – they never go very far afield..).

I wish we had had time to stay, but we were in a hurry that day. Good thing we can still catch Lear in Battery Park between now and July 7. Look for us there…

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This is part 2 of a special TBTAM post series (Shhh! Don’t tell the tourists!)

The WHI through the Restrospectoscope

There is a concise, well-written discussion of the findings of the Women’s Health Initiative in this week’s Jama by Steven Hully and Deborah Grady. It’s the best short summary of the issues I have read to date, and I would encourage you to read it. I find that I agree with almost all of it.

As a practicing gynecologist caring for women in menopause, however, I find myseld a little more critical of the original study design, which enrolled primarily asymptomatic women on average 10 years post menopausal, which is not how HRT is generally used.

A residual loose end stems from the fact that the average age of women at enrollment for all 3 trials was the mid-60s, whereas the majority of women who use hormone therapy for treatment of vasomotor symptoms are in their early 50s. Hormone therapy among women aged 50 through 59 years in the WHI trials tended to have more favorable effects on CHD rates than in older women, but even if this finding is confirmed, the concerns about increased risk of stroke, venous thromboembolism, and breast or endometrial cancer remain.

This is a lot more than a “residual loose end” – it is a major flaw in the study design that understandably resulted from the good intentions of the investigators not to do harm by randomizing symptomatic women suffering from hot flashes to a placebo. I would agree that in younger women there remains a concern about thromboembolism and stroke, but the use of transdermal lower dose preparations may mitigate much of this risk. (Notice I say “may” – we still don’t have the clinical data we need.) The other big “loose end” is the issue of bioidentical hormones vs horse estrogens and medroxyprogesterone acetate, the drugs used in this study. Both these issues will require another large randomized clinical trial before we can say we have done this issue justice for menopausal women. Fortunately, such studies are now being conducted, and hopefully we will have some of the answers we need in a few more years.

I’m not sure why the risk for endometrial cancer are mentioned in the editorial – it did not appear in the WHI results, and should not be an issue if progesterone is taken according to recommended HRT protocols.

Still, the WHI answered many important questions about HRT. In particular, the decline in breast cancers that has resulted since hormone use dropped after the publication of its results more than supports this trial as one of the most important in the history of American healthcare.

In conclusion, the story of HERS and WHI is an excellent illustration of the evidence-based medicine tenet that practice guidelines should be based on rigorously designed research—preferably 2 or more randomized blinded trials with disease end points—even if consistent observational and mechanistic evidence suggests that such trials are not needed. Animal studies and clinical trials of surrogate outcomes can be misleading, and epidemiologic studies of preventive treatments are particularly susceptible to confounding because healthier individuals are more likely to seek and adhere to preventive measures. Weighing benefits and harms is especially important when considering the use of preventive interventions in healthy individuals, in whom there is a special obligation to do no harm. (italics mine)

It is so important to remember that before the WHI, we were prescribing hormone replacement to women just because they were menopausal. When a drug is being used in healthy individuals, the bar is raised to its highest in terms of safety.

Primum non nocere.

Folic Acid Supplementation – Too Much of a Good Thing?

Folic Acid

Folic acid supplementation of breads and cereals has led to a decline in the incidence of neural tube defects like spina bifida and anencephaly in the United States and other nations that have implemented similar measures.

But too much folic acid may lead to an increased risk for colon cancer.

So says UK researcher John C Mathers, who summarizes the current evidence for this conundrum in a well-written review article in this month’s Genes and Nutrition, and highlighted in the Chicago Tribune.

Folic Acid and Neural Tube Defects

Folic acid deficiency is a leading cause of spina bifida and other neural tube defects in newborns, and can be prevented by taking folic acid supplementation during pregnancy. The problem is that the vitamin must be repleted early in pregnancy when the neural tube is forming – a time when many women may not even know they are pregnant. While women attempting pregnancy are advised to get enough folate or take an supplement, almost half of pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, and less than a third of pregnant women get adequate folate

So in the late 1990’s the FDA mandated the addition of folate to bread and cereal products in the United Sates. Other countries worldwide have followed suit. The result has been a decline in the incidence of neural tube defects.

Given early data that folate might prevent colon cancers as well, studies were done to assess the use of higher doses for that very reason.

High Dose Folic Acid and Colon Cancer

Randomized trials of high dose folate supplementation were performed in individuals with a history of precancerous polyps of the colon. Not only did the supplementation fail to protect against polyps (in the absence of aspirin, a known protector against polyps), it doubled the risk of recurrent polyps. In addition, there were more prostate cancers among those who took high dose folate.

Epidemiological data from the US and Canada show a blip up in colon cancer cases after the introduction of folate-fortified foods (mostly breads) in these countries, further supporting the idea that high dose folate supplementation may not be such a good idea.

When it comes to vitamins, more is not necessarily better

Along with recent data on the risks of high dose Vitamin E, this folic acid data is yet another warning that when it comes to vitamins, more is not necessarily better, and can actually cause harm. It’s something to remember as we watch Vitamin D come into vogue as the vitamin to end all vitamins.

What should you do?

Stick with the current recommendations for Folic Acid intake, which in pregnancy and in women trying to conceive is 400 ug daily. ( In women at high risk for having a child with a neural tube defect, the recommended daily dose is 1 mg. ) Your maximum daily intake should not exceed 1 mg.

Read the labels of the foods you buy to be certain that you are not exceeding the daily recommended dose. I checked my bread label, and it only has 2% of the RDA for folate per slice, so I’m not concerned. Cereals can be be higher (especially Total), but vary significantly.

If you are already taking a multivitamin with folate in it, you might want to avoid high folate cereals and breads. And vice-versa.

Folic Acid Supplementation – Too Much of a Good Thing?

Folic Acid

Folic acid supplementation of breads and cereals has led to a decline in the incidence of neural tube defects like spina bifida and anencephaly in the United States and other nations that have implemented similar measures.

But too much folic acid may lead to an increased risk for colon cancer.

So says UK researcher John C Mathers, who summarizes the current evidence for this conundrum in a well-written review article in this month’s Genes and Nutrition, and highlighted in the Chicago Tribune.

Folic Acid and Neural Tube Defects

Folic acid deficiency is a leading cause of spina bifida and other neural tube defects in newborns, and can be prevented by taking folic acid supplementation during pregnancy. The problem is that the vitamin must be repleted early in pregnancy when the neural tube is forming – a time when many women may not even know they are pregnant. While women attempting pregnancy are advised to get enough folate or take an supplement, almost half of pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, and less than a third of pregnant women get adequate folate

So in the late 1990’s the FDA mandated the addition of folate to bread and cereal products in the United Sates. Other countries worldwide have followed suit. The result has been a decline in the incidence of neural tube defects.

Given early data that folate might prevent colon cancers as well, studies were done to assess the use of higher doses for that very reason.

High Dose Folic Acid and Colon Cancer

Randomized trials of high dose folate supplementation were performed in individuals with a history of precancerous polyps of the colon. Not only did the supplementation fail to protect against polyps (in the absence of aspirin, a known protector against polyps), it doubled the risk of recurrent polyps. In addition, there were more prostate cancers among those who took high dose folate.

Epidemiological data from the US and Canada show a blip up in colon cancer cases after the introduction of folate-fortified foods (mostly breads) in these countries, further supporting the idea that high dose folate supplementation may not be such a good idea.

When it comes to vitamins, more is not necessarily better

Along with recent data on the risks of high dose Vitamin E, this folic acid data is yet another warning that when it comes to vitamins, more is not necessarily better, and can actually cause harm. It’s something to remember as we watch Vitamin D come into vogue as the vitamin to end all vitamins.

What should you do?

Stick with the current recommendations for Folic Acid intake, which in pregnancy and in women trying to conceive is 400 ug daily. ( In women at high risk for having a child with a neural tube defect, the recommended daily dose is 1 mg. ) Your maximum daily intake should not exceed 1 mg.

Read the labels of the foods you buy to be certain that you are not exceeding the daily recommended dose. I checked my bread label, and it only has 2% of the RDA for folate per slice, so I’m not concerned. Cereals can be be higher (especially Total), but vary significantly.

If you are already taking a multivitamin with folate in it, you might want to avoid high folate cereals and breads. And vice-versa.

Terrace Garden Salad

I am so proud of myself.

I needed to eat dinner. And fast. Mr TBTAM and I had exactly 2 1/2 hours between dropping my daughter off at the cruise boat at Battery Park for her 8th grade class prom (Don’t get me started on why an 8th grade graduation dance now has to be called a Prom…) and picking her up. We wanted to ride the loop in Central Park.

What could I make quickly?

First, to the herb garden – my container lettuce crop was bursting from the pot, and there was basil, parsley and mint.

Next, to the fridge. There were still artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes from Costco. Those chickpeas I had drained the other night and only used half. A scallion. Two eggs. A few measly almonds in a bag in the freezer. Some leftover homemade lemon vinaigrette in a jar

Finally to the cabinets – Cous Cous! The wonder grain that cooks in 5 minutes! Yes!

Within 10 minutes, I had a meal fit for a king and queen.

I love my herb garden and the opportunities it give me to cook and eat healthy. And fast.


Terrace Garden Salad

You’ll make a batch of couscous, but will only use 1/4 cup for this salad, which serves two. Save the rest of the couscous for tomorrow and make it again. I needed to make this quickly, so I browned the chickpeas on the stove top. But if you have time, roast them instead. Add as many greens as you want for this salad

I had some leftover, so the next day I tossed in some melted Haloumi cheese that I found at the Farmers Market (after melting it in a saute pan with olive oil), refreshed the salad with new lettuce and herbs from the garden and more tomatoes and artichokes, and had a fabulous lunch.

1/4 cup cooked couscous
Mixed salad greens
6 basil leaves, 6 mint leaves, and a few sprigs of parsley torn or chopped coarsely
4 marinated artichoke hearts, drained well and quartered
4 large sun dried tomatoes, drained well and sliced into quarters lengthwise
1 scallion, chopped
1/4 cup canned chickpeas, drained and very dry
1 egg
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp almonds
Lemon vinaigrette (I keep this made and in the fridge most of the time)
Salt and pepper to taste

Start the couscous, and while it is sitting off the heat, do the rest.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a small saute pan. Toss in chickpeas and saute over high heat till browned, tossing several times. Lower the heat and add the egg, stirring it around with till cooked softly.

Toss with the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl and serve immediately

Couscous

1 cup couscous
1 cup chicken broth or water
1 tbsp olive oil

Heat chicken broth with the oil in a medium saucepan until boiling. Add the couscous, stir well and remove the pan from the heat. Cover and let sit for 4-5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.
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This post is my submission to Weekend Herb Blogging, a weekly carnival planted at Kalyn’s Kitchen, now being tended by Cook Almost Anything and hosted this week at Erbe in Cucina

Food, Inc. – Everyone Must See this Movie

Mr TBTAM and I saw Food, Inc tonight in a packed audience at the Film Forum, and we’ll be taking the kids to see it as soon as we can. But this movie needs to get out of the art houses and into mainstream movie theaters. Because every American needs to see it. 

If, like me, you’ve read books like Fast Food Nation, the Omnivore’s Dilemma, and Animal, Vegeatble, Miracle, you already know what Food Inc is going to tell you – that we’ve lost control of our food supply to the interests of multinational corporations. That government subsidies have driven food production from healthful farmed foods and meats to corn-based high sugar and high fat mass produced foodstuffs whose low upfront cost to consumers belies a much higher cost to individuals and society in terms of our long term physical and economic health.

But I think I hadn’t really grasped the power and wide reach of Monsanto until I saw this movie.  Nor had I truly understood the struggles of families with limited means trying to feed their families until I watched a mom steer her children away from fruits and vegetables at the supermarket because they were too expensive. The most shocking moment for me was seeing the projected rates of diabetes if we don’t change this now.

What distinguishes this movie from other movies like Fast Food Nation and SuperSize Me is the message of hope and empowerment that comes at the end. We the consumers have the power to change this bad situation and to reclaim the food supply from the agricultural conglomerates who have hijacked the American diet.  The recent introduction of organic and local foods into Walmarts supermarkets are just one example of how consumers can drive production towards healthy foods if that is where we decide to put our dollars.

The Food Inc website has 10 simple things you can do to change our food system. In my family, we are already doing more than half of these, but we could do more. For one, we are going to make Farmers Markets more than just an occasional shopping destination.

What can you do?

Screening for Colon Cancer – CT Scan vs Colonoscopy

A study published in today’s JAMA comparing CT scan to colonoscopy for detection of colon polyps and cancer in high risk individuals found that CT scan slightly underperformed colonoscopy, especially in folks with GI bleeding. But overall it did pretty well.

Of 1103 participants, 937 were included in the final analysis: 373 cases in the family-history group, 343 in the group with personal history of adenomas, and 221 in the FOBT-positive group. Overall, CT colonography identified 151 of 177 participants with advanced neoplasia 6 mm or larger (sensitivity, 85.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 79.0%-90.0%) and correctly classified results as negative for 667 of 760 participants without such lesions (specificity, 87.8%; 95% CI, 85.2%-90.0%). The positive and negative predictive values were 61.9% (95% CI, 55.4%-68.0%) and 96.3% (95% CI, 94.6%-97.5%), respectively; after group stratification, a significantly lower negative predictive value was found for the FOBT-positive group (84.9%; 95% CI, 76.2%-91.3%; P < .001).

In an accompanying editorial it was suggested that the slightly lower rate of cancer detection with CT may be more acceptable to folks who have to have repeated studies because of high risk (with the multiple studies making up for the decreased detection rate of an individual study), and especially for those high risk patients who would choose to have nothing rather than undergo the colonoscopy.

With the majority of individuals in the United States who meet criteria for colorectal cancer screening and surveillance not undergoing recommended procedures, an imperfect test that has a lower risk profile and greater acceptance among patients seems to be an appealing solution.

In other words, if it’s a choice between nothing and a CT scan, the CT scan is reasonable. But the colonoscopy is better.

Although I am not a gastroenterologist, I did have a colonoscopy last week. The prep was one of the more difficult things I’ve done, but the procedure itself was nothing. I’ll probably have to have another in 3-5 years due to family history, and will choose the prep and colonoscopy over a CT anytime.

New York for the Locals – Movie Night in Bryant Park

Summer Monday nights in New York City are best spent having a picnic in Bryant Park while watching the movies.

Especially if you have teenage daughters and they have friends.

And especially if they all come over to your apartment after school and make chocolate chip cookies, and your husband is finished school for the year so he is home to make great baguette sandwiches and the pouring rain stops and the sun comes out just as you leave the office at 6:30 pm having seen 24 patients and still every chart is closed and every phone call returned and you stroll in the door, change into warm clothes because who would have thought it could be so cold in June, grab blankets, umbrellas (just in case) and bags of food and head to the F train, emerging a few minutes later at Bryant Park where even though the lawn is closed because it is still wet you find great seats and even tables not far from the screen and even though it spritzes a bit just before show time, the sky clears again and they are showing the Sting, it doesn’t get any better than this does it and hey, we’re drinking Newman’s Own Lemonade it must be a sign and my God they are both so handsome which one would you choose if you had the choice, I’d choose Robert, not me, it’d be Paul every time, remember that time we saw him on the street, what a loss he is gone, but what a wonderful movie this is and what delicious sandwiches and cookies these are and can we do this again next week, they are showing Breaking Away?

Mozarella and Tomato Sandwiches (Makes 8 sandwiches)

2 long sourdough baguettes ( We get ours from Gourmet Garage)
16 oz fresh mozarella, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
Fresh Basil
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Cut the baguettes lengthwise. Drizzle olive oil on both halves. Lay the mozarella and tomato slices along two of the halves. Top with basil leaves, salt and pepper. Top with the other two halves. Cut each baguette sandwich crosswise into 4 individual sandwiches. Wrap tight for travel.

Serve with fresh olives, leftover pesto pasta and chocolate chip cookies.

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This is the first post in a special TBTAM Post series. (Shhh! Don’t tell the tourists…)

An Al Fresco Lunch for Al

Al and Darcy in the garden

Al’s last words to me before he hung up his cell phone to join his wife Darcy on board the plane to New York were – “We’re expecting a delicious lunch – I’m thinking maybe something drizzed or reduced?…”

My big brother may be able to pilot a 747, but he can barely make oatmeal, and wouldn’t know a reduction if it was dripping from his nose. But he loves that others know how to cook, and he loves to eat what we love to make for him. Introducing Al to new foods is second in fun only to turning him on to interesting new movies – I sealed my reputation on the latter count when I got him to rent John Sayle’s “Lone Star”, and since then he revels in calling up to tell me about a “Peggy Movie” he has just seen. So I was psyched for Al’s visit and the chance to make him a meal he would not forget.

But what would I serve? Could I top that meal Joe and Rachel put together for Al’s birthday in Athens a few years ago? No – that would be impossible. (I think it was the wine…) Plus, we had to be at my daughter’s show by 2 pm. It would need to be something simpler.

I called Rachel to brainstorm. I had, after all, these freshly made toasted breadcrumbs. What about crab cakes said Rachel (she makes a mean crab cake…)? No, we decided – the crumbs would take a back seat to the crab. Perhaps roasted tomatoes? Too early in the season for the good ones. I had a recipe for Apple tarts that used bread crumbs – but the afternoon was going to be too warm to serve dessert.

Then I remembered that great pasta Irene had told us about, and that Paul had made a few months back. It’s light and flavorful, perfect for a summer Sunday afternoon. Go for it, said Rachel.

The weather was perfect. We ate in the garden. I served the pasta with a side salad of Mesclun greens tossed with lemon vinaigrette, a small plate of marinated artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes (from Costco), and some cold fizzy lemonade with mint. We didn’t exactly drizzle anything, and nothing got reduced, but there were those amazing breadcrumbs to sprinkle, and the lemonade was great. Most importantly, Al loved it.

And I love my big brother.

Spaghetti with Fried Egg and Roasted Peppers

This recipe is from Mark Schwartz, from his book Naples at the Table, via the New York Times. (Hat tip to Irene.) The original recipe is for 12 ounces of spaghetti, but I adjusted it for a full pound and upped the eggs just a tad. I was tempted to add an anchovy or two, and will the next time I make this delicious pasta.


Timing is everything in making this dish. You can roast and slice the peppers and prepare your ingredients ahead. Preheat the oven and start your pasta water boiling when your guests arrive. Then about 10 minutes before serving, do the rest. Pass the breadcrumbs and Parmesan for guests to sprinkle atop their pasta. This dish reheats beautifully the next day.


3 red peppers
1 1/2 tbsp capers
1 1/2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
salt
pepper
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp coarse bread crumbs
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
16 oz spaghetti (#10)
5 eggs
Extra toasted breadcrumbs
Grated Parmesan cheese
Roast the peppers on a cookie sheet under the broiler, turning them so they char evenly on all 4 sides. Remove to a brown paper bag to cool, then peel them over a large bowl, saving the juices and discarding the stem, seeds and skins. Slice into 1/4 inch strips and set aside. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
Combine the peppers, garlic, capers and parsley in a small baking dish. Season with salt and pepper, top with the breadcrumbs and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and start some salted water boiling for the pasta in a big pot. Just before the water boils, drizzle 3 tbsp olive oil over the red peppers and place in the oven, where they will bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, add you pasta to the pot and cook till al dente, scooping out some of the pasta water about halfway through and setting it aside.
Meanwhile, heat 3-4 tbsp olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Crack the eggs into the oil and fry until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny. (This is the hard part to get right – don’t overcook the yolks!). Remove from the heat.
Drain the pasta and put into a large warm serving bowl. Toss in the fried eggs along with the cooking oil the pepper mixture, and the pepper juices, using the forks to break up the eggs and allow the yolks to make a sauce as they cook up a bit in the hot pasta. Add some pasta water if the sauce is too thick. Season with salt and pepper and serve, passing the cheese and breadcrumbs to sprinkle on top.
Fizzy Minted Lemonade


Make lemonade by heating 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar with the juice of 4 lemons in a medium saucepan till the sugar melts. Pour into a large 2 quart pitcher with 4 cups cold seltzer, lots of chopped fresh mint, and ice to the top. Refrigerate for 30-40 mins and serve. (If you’re lazy, buy a can of frozen lemonade and make it with seltzer instead of water. Add mint and serve.)

I’ll Never Buy Breadcrumbs Again

Inspired by this wonderful video by Gourmet executive food editor Kemp Minifie, I decided to make my own breadcrumbs. I made mine exactly as Kemp did, except that I used my Kitchen Aid food processor instead of a blender – it did a beautiful job.

All I can say is – I’ll never buy bread crumbs again. Stay tuned for a great recipe for using these breadcrumbs.

Homemade Toasted Bread Crumbs
If you buy bread, and you’re like me, you’re probably wasting bread. I can’t tell you how many pieces of leftover bread I’ve thrown out over the years. Well no more. Save your leftovers or heels of the loaf in the freezer and use them to make bread crumbs. These crumbs store well in the freezer, but taste most amazing if used right away. You can toss a few fresh basil, oregano or parsley leaves before processing in if you want herbed crumbs.

Leftover Bread, cut or torn into pieces
Salt
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahremheit. Place bread into food processor. Pulse till coarsely ground.
Spread the crumbs evenly out on a baking sheet and bake till golden brown – about 15-20 minutes – stirring them a bit about halfway through to assure even browning. Pour into a large bowl and toss with about 2 tbsp olive oil and salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
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Gourmet Magazine’s Test Kitchen website has more great videos. No subscription is needed.
Cooks Illustrated also has great instructional videos, but they require a paid subscription.

Gas House Eggs

Gas House Eggs were a real favorite in my family while growing up. Eggs fried in a nest that you make by punching a hole in a slice of bread. The name is a common American mispronounciation of the term “Gasthaus”, but apparently these eggs are known by a dozen or more different names around the world

The best part of this breakfast is the small bread round that you cook alongside the egg. In my family, we called that part the “Ding-Ding”. That’s because we kids thought it looked like the Holy Host, and “Ding! Ding!” was the sound of the bells that rang whenever the priest raised the host for us to see during Mass. My kids have never been to a Mass, but they still call it a Ding-Ding.

Gas House Eggs

For each serving, you will need –

1 egg
1 slice bread (I used country white, but it’s just as good with whole wheat)
Butter or olive oil (I use olive oil these days, but butter tastes great…)
Salt and pepper to taste

Using a shot glass (who has shot glasses anymore?) or small jar top, punch out a hole in the center of each slice of bread.

Heat oil or melt butter in fry pan. Add bread to pan. Break the egg into the hole.

Add the Ding Ding to cook alongside the egg, flipping it halfway through so both side get nice and browned. Cover and cook till egg is cooked and bottom of bread is browned and crisp. (Flip the egg for once over If you like the yolk a bit more cooked.) Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

If you cooked your gas house egg just right, the bottom will look something like this –

Call it what you like, I call it delicious!
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More Reading on Gas House Eggs

Mrs Goundo’s Daughter

Don’t miss the Washington DC and New York City premieres of this documentary about one couple’s journey to obtain asylum in the United States in order to save their daughters from the horror of female circumcision.

Mrs. Goundo’s Daughter is the sensitively told story of a Malian mother’s fight for asylum in the US to protect her two-year-old from female genital cutting. To stay in the US, Goundo must persuade an immigration judge that her US-born daughter, Djenabou, will suffer this procedure if Goundo is deported. In Mali, where 85 percent of women and girls experience clitoral excision, Goundo and her husband are convinced they would be powerless to protect their daughter from her grandparents, who believe all girls should be excised. The film bridges Goundo’s two worlds, expertly interweaving scenes from Mali of girls preparing for an excision ceremony and scenes from Philadelphia where those who have survived the procedure share their stories.

Kudos to my good friend Janet Goldwater and her fellow filmaker Barbara Attie for once again taking on the issues of women in their documentaries. Previous films from these two include Motherless, the story of men and women who lost their mothers to illegal abortions, I Witness, the story of the Pensacola Florida abortion clinic bombings and Rosita, the story of a Nicaraguan family’s struggle to obtain an abortion for their 9 year old child, impregnanted during a rape.
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Mrs Guondo’s Daughter is being shown at Silverdocs/AFI Discovery Film Channel Festival in Washington DC on June 17 (12:30 pm) and June 20th (12:30 pm), and at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in NYC on June 21 (7 pm), June 22 (4pm) and June 23 (9pm).