Category Archives: food

Tale of Two Tomatoes

Posted on August 9, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

So I sat at work realizing I had no topic for today’s blog post. I finally told myself I would just have to go home, do something, then write about it. Then I racked my brain for something to do. Then I thought I would save time later by writing now about what I intend to do.

I have two rather large tomatoes I purchased last week at a local farm stand. I intend to make a salad with them, utilizing, among other things, chives and basil growing in my lawn and container garden respectively.

The farm stand probably rates a blog post all its own. It’s in Herkimer, NY on the corner of German Street and Route 28. Unfortunately, I did not pick up a business card (if they had one) or even ask a name. Which was kind of silly of me, because I stood there and had a nice conversation with the lady, all about vitamin water, Gator Ade and staying hydrated in the heat.

I had meant to purchase one tomato for the specific purpose of putting it on some sandwiches I had abruptly planned for dinner that night, utilizing chicken salad and onion rolls which I obtained at Hannaford Deli and In-Store Bakery, respectively. I saw the farm stand as I was driving home and said, “Ooh!”

The tomatoes were sold in lots of three of four, and they were HUGE! We used one on sandwiches that night, the sandwiches we had Sunday night and the sandwich in my lunch on Tuesday (didn’t think of it on Monday; silly me). They were yummy! I LOVE farm stand tomatoes!

So for tonight’s salad, I will chop up the remaining two huge farm stand tomatoes. I will add a can of black beans (drained, rinsed and drained), which Steven is picking up for me at the store. I will chop some chives from the garden. I may slice a can of black olives, which I believe I have in the pantry. I may thaw some frozen corn and add that, if we have any. Oh, and some feta cheese, if Steven remembers to buy it along with the black beans. I will make dressing in the blender with oil, vinegar, garlic and fresh basil. Maybe some fresh dill as well. And perhaps some other non-fresh spices I usually have on hand.

How does that sound? I have not decided yet if I will make it before or after I type this in, so I may not be able to report results until tomorrow, if at all. I mean, if I have something more compelling to blog about, why bore on about tomatoes? Stay tuned.

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The Meating Place

Posted on June 14, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

The other day as I was driving home, I remembered that Steven and I had not planned anything for dinner. This has happened a lot lately, and we’ve either gotten delivery or just not eaten very well. Then I remembered that I drive right by Mohawk Village Market on my way home. We still had macaroni salad that I had made earlier in the week. All I needed was some meat.

A long time ago in this blog, I noted that on the outside of Mohawk Village Market, they advertise themselves as “The Meating Place.” Another sign declares, “You Never Sausage a Place.” I do love a good pun (although some sources say there is no such thing). I had heard from several people that the Market had a good butcher section. I would check it out.

The meat counter runs across the whole back wall. The selection was excellent. I had barely started pondering my choices when a man asked if he could help me. I had been thinking sausage (because of that sign), but some quite beautiful pork chops caught my eye (Steven loves pork chops).

“But they’re so big,” I said.

“So only eat one,” he suggested.

I could probably eat half of one and be content, but I got two. I don’t think our finances are so bad that Steven and I need to be splitting a pork chop for dinner. While the man was wrapping them, I noticed some Spiedie Beef and Pork Chops. I love Spiedie meats! (Although I’m not clear on how to spell “Spiedie” and we have since thrown away the package.) I got the beef, so as not to be getting too much pork.

When I got in line to check out, the other customers were making funny jokes with the cashier. They were obviously all acquainted. I do love a small town atmosphere. I was quite pleased with my purchases. We fried up the Spiedie Beef right away and froze the pork chops for future consumption.

Mohawk Village Market is located at 24 West Main Street, Mohawk, NY. Phone number is 315-866-3344.

Final note: I searched “spiedie meats” on my computer when I typed this in. Spiedie is the correct spelling.

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Yummy End to the Evening

Posted on March 2, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

As Steven and I left the cultural, intellectual lecture (see previous post), I mentioned that there was very little to eat in the house.

“I saved you the last of the pastrami and provolone,” I offered. He knew as well as I did it would make a fairly small sandwich.

“I could always have a bowl of cereal,” he said.

“Of course, Carney’s Corners is right over there,” I mentioned casually.

I’ve blogged about Carney’s corners before. They are a convenience store and deli, offering subs, pizza, wings, and more. We usually order delivery, but they are quite handily located, especially if you are coming from the court house (um, not that we are frequently at the court house).

We ordered a chicken bacon ranch sub. I know, turkey breast or even roast beef might have been more conducive to my weight loss goals, but I can’t always do the sensible thing. While our sub was being made, Steven found an Oreo brownie he wanted for dessert. I looked longingly at some puddings and cheesecakes in a cooler but ultimately decided the sub was decadence enough for one night.

“I’ll only eat half of my half and save the rest for breakfast,” I said.

“After all, it has bacon on it,” Steven said.

Once I started eating it, I knew I would do know such thing. It was yummy! And, really, a hot sub is better when eaten hot. I had something sensible for breakfast.

The sub was the perfect ending to our evening. I highly recommend Carney’s Corners for those evenings when you’re headed for home and realize there’s nothing good to eat in the house. They are located at 222 N. Washington St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-866-7191. They are open Sunday through Thursday till 10 p.m. with orders taken till 9:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday till 11 p.m. with orders taken till 10:30 p.m. Delivery is available Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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Hubba Hubba Hummus

Posted on February 25, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I realized I had a cooking adventure on Sunday that I forgot to share. I think it’s a pretty good one, but you can be the judge.

I had been wanting to make hummus for a long time. I had an extra large can of garbanzo beans (some people call them chickpeas, but garbanzo beans is so much more fun to say; try it). Much later I finally picked up a jar of Tahini. Tahini is a sesame seed paste found in the international food aisle. It’s not something I usually stock in my pantry. In fact, I had never bought it before. So, you see, this was a true adventure for me.

Full disclosure: the Tahini sat in my pantry for a good few weeks while I wondered in a vague sort of way where my food processor was (all the while being pretty sure it was in the basement and completely sure that one question to my husband would solve that problem). Sunday I started thinking how I had these whole wheat pitas, and hummus would taste pretty good in them for a snack at work.

I started by washing the parts of the food processor in hot water. Now, about this food processor. I don’t use it very much. There are so many parts, and I believe the instructions were written by somebody who said, “Oh, nobody reads the instructions anyways, just put some words down.” I can just about figure out one attachment and how to click it into the base by looking at the pictures. Further experimentation will probably solve the mystery of the other attachments, but I haven’t gotten that far yet.

Then I pulled out the recipe. It is in a book called Recipes Bless the Heart and Home, published by Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, Herkimer, NY. Steven bought it for me years ago, and it is a wonderful cookbook. I noticed the church was still selling it when Steven and I were there for a community event (I don’t remember exactly what it was, but we ate some delicious food and purchased some yummy cookies).

The recipe calls for a 15 oz. can of chickpeas. Oh dear. No, not the chickpeas/garbanzo beans thing. But my can was 1 lb. 13 oz. How many ounces are in a pound? Oh, hell, I’m not doing the math. I just dumped what looked like a goodly amount of the ingredients in and whirred them around a bit.

It turned out yummy! Now I’m a little afraid to get the right size can of garbanzo beans and actually follow the recipe. I’ll probably continue to use the “dump a goodly amount” method. But for anyone who wants the actual recipe, here it is:

Hummus Appetizer
4 cloves Garlic (or more to taste) (You bet I used more! Who do you think you’re talking to?)
6 Tbsp Tahini (sesame seed paste) (I probably used less proportionally)
1/4 cup lemon juice (I know I used less)
1 – 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 tsp paprika (probably used more)
1/4 tsp pepper (completely forgot this)
Blend all ingredients in food processor or blender. Chill well. Serve as dip with small wedges of pita bread or vegetables.

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Valentine Dinner

Posted on February 18, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

Valentine’s Day I did not run, because I had it in mind to cook my hubby an excellent dinner.

We had some pork chops and some cream of mushroom soup we wanted to use up (for some reason we had gotten a big can; we used half when I got a yen for tuna noodle casserole). A lady at work told me how her mom used to cook pork chops with cream of mushroom soup. She’d brown the chops, add the soup, then lower the heat, cover and cook for an hour and a half. I had two hours between when I get home and when Steven was expected. I was gold, as long as I didn’t go running.

I did, however, take my dog, Tabby, for a walk. Well, one must walk one’s dog, after all. And if I was not going to run, my legs at least needed a walk. Sometimes Tabby only wants to go for a short walk. Lately she’s been into medium walks, about 20 to 25 minutes. Tuesday we went for a 35 minute walk. What can I say, the pooch was into it. No matter, dinner would just still be cooking when Steven got home.

I started by sauteing yellow onion in olive oil. I thought caramelized onions would taste yummy in the recipe (plus, caramelized is a fun word to say, although a little difficult to spell). Naturally I crushed some garlic to add as well, carefully letting it breathe for 15 minutes to reach its full level of health benefits (I tend to use garlic on all possible occasions). This took a while. I kept a nervous eye on the clock, wondering how long Steven would mind waiting for his dinner when he finally got home.

At last the onions were soft and some of them were brown. I put in the pork chops. Those took longer to brown than I had expected, but I suppose I had an exaggerated notion. At the last minute I remembered some fresh mushrooms we had and tossed those in. Finally I added the soup, stirred well, covered the pan and lowered the heat. Nothing to do now but wait!

Since the heat was lowered I felt safe in going upstairs to the computer room to make my blog post for the day. I still had not showered. Luckily my vision of the evening did not include greeting my husband at the door clean, nice smelling and in satin pajamas. My vision did include gracious table settings on the dining room table, which we hardly ever use. I was too tired.

In fact, I was too tired to do much else at all. By the time Steven got home I had put water on the stove to boil for the smashed potatoes. I asked him to cook the potatoes while I showered. He nicely did.

Dinner actually turned out pretty yummy. We consumed it, as usual, in the living room in front of the television (COPS followed by World’s Dumbest, if you wanted to know). So you might say I owe Steven a real romantic dinner, in which I cook all the courses and for which I set the dining room table. Don’t worry, though, I’ll be sure to blog about it when I do. A belated Happy Valentine’s Day, all.

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Cooking with Crime

Posted on February 6, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was going to title this “Cooking with Cindy,” but I thought two hard Cs sounded better. I was going to add that crime is more interesting than Cindy, but quite frankly, that is not always the case.

Saturday I did not get out of the house to do fun Mohawk Valley things. In my defense, I was not free till the afternoon and by then was tired and low on ambition (this after a bad-ass if unblogworthy morning). Well, I think I am allowed to watch crime shows and crochet on a Saturday afternoon (or almost any other time; it is one of my favorite things to do). I decided to also write in the TV Journal, because writing is always a good thing to do.

I found a feature called Weekend Mysteries on HLN. The first show was Body of Evidence: From the Case Files of Dayna Hinman. I had seen shows featuring Dayna Hinman, she is a famous profiler. Today’s episode featured a wealthy Texan. Did he die of natural causes, suicide or murder at the hands of his gold-digger wife?

Of course I also needed to start cooking. Steven was hard at work, and I had promised him a good supper. I started by pouring myself a glass of Chardonnay, so I could cook with wine, then peeling and garlic-pressing several cloves of garlic. I set the timer so they could breathe for 15 minutes (a friend sent me a link explaining that; it has to do with cancer fighting compounds). This also gave me an excuse to watch 15 minutes more of the show.

It was a disappointing case, but I don’t like to give away the ending in case you like to catch it sometime.

The next show was called The Investigators, and the case had also been covered on Snapped. I love those! A husband is gunned down on the beach during a romantic stroll with his newly-reconciled wife. Surely the grieving widow could have nothing to do with it.

During commercials I made it back out to the kitchen. I put the garlic in the blender with olive and canola oil and some basil out of a tube I had found in the produce section (I can’t wait till summer and fresh basil out of my container garden). I tossed some onion in this mixture and put it in a 350 degree oven. Later I added eggplant and much later fresh mushrooms. I normally do this in a 400 degree oven but thought I would try the effects of baking over roasting. It was quite successful.

We had the mixture over angel hair pasta, which I had also tossed in the basil/garlic oil. I put grated Parmesan on mine. Steven had dilly bread from the Ilion Farmer’s Market with his (ooh, so I do have a local connection after all. Yay!) (actually, if you want another local connection, I drank my wine out of a glass obtained at a fundraiser for the Herkimer Crusaders).

During cooking and eating, I also viewed a couple episodes of Sins and Secrets, one of which was also seen on Snapped. Mixed in with all this, I also got some crochet done. Crime, cooking, crochet, three of my favorite things. Not a bad Saturday in the Mohawk Valley.

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Fishy Friday

Posted on February 1, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

As we’ve been going to breakfast at the Elks Lodge on Sundays, we’ve noticed a sign for Fish Fry on Fridays. We love fish fry so decided to check it out.

Now last Friday, regular readers may recall, is the day I had my woozy experience after giving blood. I was feeling much better by the time I left work but still did not feel I should over-exert (like for example by cooking). Accordingly, when I got home I laid down on the couch and called my Mom to tell her about the whole sordid experience. It does not matter how old we get, some of us still like to talk to Mom when we are not feeling well.

I exerted myself to the extent of making coffee for when Steven got home. We had a cup together, which is our favorite way to drink coffee. I had not showered yet, because we had not made a definite plan to go out. I did not want to get dressed twice if I guessed wrong, and I was not into hanging out in my bathrobe till we decided.

We had a slight worry in that I could not remember if the sign said 4 to 7 or 4 to 8. We managed to leave the house by 6:20 so thought we’d be all right. Imagine our relief when we saw the sign said 5 to 9 (I think they changed it). They were doing a booming business. We had to wait while a gentleman cleaned off a table for two.

The menu offered several choices, not just fish. We both got fresh haddock baked with lemon pepper and white wine. We chose baked potato for our side. Steven got ranch dressing on his tossed salad while I asked for Italian. First I asked was it homemade Italian. I always feel a little bad asking; I can see a chef getting huffy and saying, “Of course it’s homemade!” But I like to be sure about these things. It was excellent Italian dressing.

The cooking is done by Dominick Scalise of Dominick’s Deli in Herkimer, NY (another place for Mohawk Valley Girl to check out). It was a delicious dinner. We will probably return to the Elks Lodge on Mary Street in Herkimer for future Friday night dining.

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Third Breakfast’s the Charm?

Posted on January 24, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I threatened to write another blog post about the Lady Elks Sunday Breakfast if we went again, and naturally we went again.

Once again, the Lady Elks put on a breakfast on Sundays in January to support various projects for the year. Since I love community events and I love food, it is not surprising I would be there every week, schedule permitting, which it has so far.

I decided to mix things up a little: I got my eggs over medium instead of scrambled and said yes to pancakes. I also got whole wheat toast, bacon, baked beans and potatoes with onion, as I previously did. So Steven and I had identical breakfasts this week, aside from our juice (orange and tomato, respectively). Do I even have to mention we also had coffee? I thought not.

Once again Steven got his breakfast first. The ladies delivering the meals were not calling out the numbers this week, so I did not get the chance to laugh heartily as every number surrounding mine was called first. It wasn’t that long of a wait in any case.

I hadn’t had pancakes and eggs in a long time. It used to be a big favorite. Steven would even fix it for dinner sometimes. Too late I realized I should have asked them to bring me only one pancake. I felt bad to not eat everything I had asked for, but you can only stuff yourself so full.

“Are you not gong to finish that?” Steven asked.

“Do you want it?” Now I did not have to feel guilty. I only left some of the beans. I got up to search for some water to take ibuprofen, and when I got back to the table our plates were gone.

“The lady said if you weren’t finished, it was my fault,” Steven told me.

I made like I was going to pound on the table and holler, just to be silly. I guess they just would have told me it was Steven’s fault, or maybe gotten a big Elk to throw me out.

We left the breakfast and headed to the grocery store, for once doing what the magazine articles advise you to do and not shop on an empty stomach. Just to prove my contrary nature, it was not a successful trip. If I don’t shop at least a little hungry, I don’t buy enough food. But that’s a subject for another post.

In the meantime, local readers have one more Sunday to enjoy breakfast with the Lady Elks: January 29, 8 to 11 am, on Mary Street in Herkimer, NY. Hope to see you there.

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Easy Saturday Supper

Posted on January 23, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

Saturday I had planned to sensibly heat up leftovers for dinner, but when Steven got home after a hard day’s work and I made a tentative suggestion to send out for food, there was no turning back.

As usual with us, we were not sure right off the bat what we were in the mood for. Steven grabbed the folder full of menus from local eateries (yes, we finally learned to keep them all in one place). I was positive I had recently found one from Salvatore’s (when I was looking for something else, of course) and added it to the pile. Naturally it was not there. Naturally as soon as I thought of it, THAT was where I wanted to order from. My subsequent search was fruitless.

Regular readers know I am not very computer adept. However, I knew I had liked Salvatore’s on Facebook, because they post their specials every day (usually I see them after I have eaten and say damn!). I got on the computer. A few judicious clicks and I was on their website, http://www.salvatores-herkimer.com/.

We looked at hot subs as it was a cold night, and settled on Stefano’s Chicken (not sure who Stefano is, but apparently he makes a mean sub): chicken tenders, tomato, lettuce, bacon, American cheese and Honey BBQ Sauce. Steven suggested a large antipasto salad, which also sounded good.

They told him 30 to 40 minutes, and it was not nearly that long. I thought I had shut the inner door (we have a kind of an entryway), but of course had not so Tabby came out to greet the delivery guy. He did not mind; he said it happens all the time. Well, she’s a little dog and all she did was put her paws up on his legs in case he wanted to pet her. Her paws weren’t even wet because she’d been indoors. So you see.

The food was delicious. We polished off the sub but have some leftover salad, which I will no doubt enjoy this afternoon. Now I feel we must go to Salvatore’s and dine in, so I can pick up another menu (you can’t count of me finding the same thing on the computer twice). They are located at 650 1/2 W. German St., Herkimer, NY. Phone number is 315-866-2600.

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Lame with a Chance of Meatballs

Posted on January 21, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

When I wrote my post the other day about “Souped Up Sunday,” I originally included some discussion about frozen vs. homemade meatballs. I cut it out for length considerations (it was a long post, even forgetting to mention the frozen spinach as I did), but I thought the subject worthy of consideration, especially on a Friday.

You may notice I took today’s title from a movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I thought that was the best title I had ever heard (even including Snakes on a Plane) and wished I has come up with it myself. I never watched movie, because I was fairly certain I would be disappointed and because I don’t dig computer animation. But I digress.

I never used to purchase pre-made frozen meatballs, but some people swear by them. Some people scorn to make homemade meatballs. It’s too much trouble, they say. Some of them say it in a superior tone of voice. As if they have much better things to do with their time and I am obviously a pathetic twerp with nothing else to do but sit around rolling ground beef and bread crumbs. Hmmm. Now that I write it, I wonder if they were really being all that superior or if I paranoidly read the insult into their perfectly innocent words. Could I need therapy?

I personally love homemade meatballs, if they are made well. My Mom makes the best meatballs. My meatballs and my sisters’ meatballs are all pretty good, since we learned from the best. That said, I appreciate the frozen kind for certain recipes.

Now I suppose that other readers (like I have that many) are huffing about, telling whoever is handy that they scorn to buy the frozen meatballs. What recipes could possibly benefit from the store-bought garbage, they ask. They always make their own and they make very good meatballs, thank you very much. I don’t know where I got all these superior readers with their superior cooking methods. My imagination, probably.

Let us consider the humble meatball. I make mine with ground beef, Italian bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, egg, garlic and spices. I either bake them or fry them before adding them to the sauce or soup. Some restaurants do not have good meatballs. They give you a ball of hamburger. What’s that all about? Put some stuff in it or buy the frozen!

I forgot where I was going with all this. Oh yeah, Lame Post Friday. I hope I have entertained. See you Saturday!

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