Logo assistance?

I have mentioned here before that I have a big ol’ shiny site re-design in the works. In pursuit of that project, I’m looking for a budding graphic designer who might be able to draw me up a nifty logo.

I don’t have much in the way of extra funds these days to hire an artist, BUT I can cook! So in exchange for your artistic services, I’m happy to invite you over for a home-cooked meal (if you live in the Walla Walla, WA area) or I will mail you a huge and tasty care package of your favorite kinds of treats.

If you think you might be willing to put your skills to work for the new and improved Kitchen Illiterate, and get some good eatings for your labor, please either leave a comment here or email me at lkrier@yahoo.com.

Potato Cauliflower Gratin Redux, Redux.

I have been messing about with this here food blog for two years now today. I’ve averaged about 2 1/4 posts a week over those two years, and cooked even more meals than that. It’s pretty amazing to realize how little I knew about cooking just two years ago, and how much I’ve learned. You just have to read about my first adventures with shrimp to see how little I knew about much of anything food-related back then. And now? Cooking is my favorite thing to do, second maybe only to reading. I’m afraid of nothing in the kitchen (ok, that’s probably a bit of an exaggeration), and I’ve eaten things I never thought I would eat (rabbit? chicken livers? delicious!). I’ve learned more than I thought I wanted to know about our nation’s food culture and industry, and become something of an advocate for sustainable agriculture and healthier food choices (though I do seem to have an inordinate affection for heavy cream…). Who would have thought starting a food blog because I was bored would have lead to my current near-obsession with food and cooking?

And out of all the many, many things I’ve cooked, one of the posts on this blog that gets the most visitors is still my first Potato Cauliflower Gratin. Potato Cauliflower Gratin is one of my favorite side dishes: creamy, cheesy, comforting, decadent…but hey, still vegetables! And therefore healthy, right? Right? I’ve made this dish a number of times in the last two years, and every time it’s a little bit better than that first attempt. I’ve been meaning to post an update for ages, because frankly, that original recipe isn’t very good. The cooking times I wrote were way off, and the potatoes were still crunchy, and, hm, it just wasn’t as spectacular as I knew, even then, it could be. Well, I think I’ve finally created a gratin that is pretty spectacular, and I’m finally ready to update that earlier post, with all that I’ve learned over the last two years.

Pizza is Back! Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Pizza, to be exact.

Last fall, I worked in Harvard Square for a semester and fell in love with a crazy vegetarian pizza place. What’s up with that? I’m not even vegetarian. What did me in was their delectable and inspired Lunch for Henry. Forget the ridiculous inside-story name, and think butternut squash, caramelized onion, goat cheese, and sage, and a crispy, thin pizza crust. I craved this pizza, and I’ve been thinking of re-creating it ever since I stopped working in Harvard Square.

Well, last week I tried to re-make it, but silly Laura didn’t think to check the website, and she forgot the caramelized onions. But even without them, this was so delicious I made it for dinner Thursday night and again for lunch on Friday. Yes, the girl who rarely repeats a recipe made the same thing for two meals in a row. Now that is a commendation if I’ve ever heard one.

Moroccan-style Sweet and Smoky Chicken, as advertised

Recipes from friends, recipes from family. Recipes with stories, recipes with memories. Recipes from food bloggers and food magazines and food television. Recipes from ads? I usually get recipes from any source imaginable, but I think this chicken dinner might be the first time I’ve cooked something from an ad in a food magazine (and Green Bean Casserole doesn’t count, because in my mind it’s a recipe that my mom created, not a soup company). In fact, I’m such an anti-advertising fanatic that I’ve mostly trained myself not to see advertising, or at least to pointedly ignore it when I do see it. But flipping through an old issue of Bon Appetit, my eye was caught by a McCormick ad featuring this recipe for Sweet and Smoky Chicken, and I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to make it.

I will have you know, though, that no McCormick spices were used in the preparation of this meal.

Canning Tomatoes, Feeling Domestic

About a month ago, I got it into my head that I wanted to try canning. It seems like canning has been all over the place lately, and that makes sense, as it fits right into the burgeoning local food movement. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a sucker for the domestic arts, and also a sucker for trying things that seem very time consuming and complicated. So of course I was thinking about canning.

I mentioned my interest it to a friend of mine who grows tomatoes in his yard down on Cape Cod. And when I say he grows tomatoes, I mean he grows lots and lots and lots of tomatoes. Beautiful, bright red roma tomatoes, all grown organically. And one day he showed up with a five-pound flat of those beautiful tomatoes for me, so I could preserve them and enjoy them all winter long. So that clinched the deal: I was going to try this canning thing.

Everything Summer Risotto

I think it’s pretty much official that risotto is my go-to dish whenever I’m cooking celebratory meals for others. It’s easy and impressive, and I can talk and sip wine during the endless stirring process. So when I had the chance to steal the kitchen away from my little brother and make dinner for the family, risotto was a sure bet. Of course, I didn’t steal the kitchen entirely away from my brother, and with both of us throwing ideas and ingredients around, this risotto ended up a surprisingly delicious hodge-podge of deliciousness: bacon, mushrooms, leeks, green beans, manchego cheese, basil, parsley, chives, and homemade chicken stock flavored with fresh thyme and oregano. Served with a big Caesar salad (with Patrick’s homemade balsamic Caesar dressing) and goat cheese crostini, this was a perfect, summery dinner to share with my family on my first night home.

Rosemary Risotto with Grilled Chicken and Green Beans

Risotto is pretty high up there on the all-time favorite things list. So much so that I will stand in front of a hot stove for 45 minutes one one of the HOTTEST DAYS EVER just to have it. Yes, my friends, I am clearly crazy. Yesterday was unbearably hot and muggy (what is with these weather patterns?), but even extreme discomfort could not stop me from a lengthy, stove-front cooking project last night. And after that I baked bread! Lunatic. However, it was totally worth it because this was some absolutely delicious risotto.

Everyone seemed to like the risotto so much when I put cumin in the stock, and I got to thinking of all the other numerous ways you could flavor risotto. One of the first things that occurred to me was rosemary. Rosemary can be awfully strong, and using it to flavor the stock, rather than cooking it directly into the risotto, gave the risotto a more subtle flavor. It might just be one of my best ideas yet (well, after the Mexican pizza, anyway).

Disaster-free Pizzas At Last! Thank You, Smitten Kitchen!

My time back in the kitchen has been inordinately devoted to pizza, and for this, I have to profusely thank Deb of Smitten Kitchen, one of my all-time favorite food bloggers. A few weeks ago she wrote a post outlining 10 ways to make pizza in the kitchen a bit less painful. And the two pizzas I’ve made in the last two weeks? They have been perfect, all thanks to the parchment paper.

Such a simple thing, really, I could kick myself for not thinking of it sooner. Forming the pizza on parchment paper makes it much, much easier to slide into the oven, without that maddening crust-folding, pizza-sticking frustration that caused countless tantrums in my kitchen. And it doesn’t diminish the pizza’s crust-crisping capabilities one bit! It is like my months upon months of experimentation and rage have been wiped away with one brush of Deb’s capable hands and smarty pants kitchen ways. I am so grateful.

Quick and Easy Dinner: Farfalle with Ricotta, Zucchini, and Italian Sausage

I didn’t think I was going to have anything to share until my return from Barcelona. I had no big dinner plans, no fancy ingredients, nothing, in fact, but whatever was already in the refrigerator, waiting to be used up before I left. And yet, I managed to pull together, in less than twenty minutes, an easy, inexpensive dinner that I decided I just had to share. Sure those multiple hour kitchen projects are fun, but sometimes quick and easy is just as delicious.

One Local Summer

Just a short note today: I just read about the One Local Summer challenge, and I think this sounds great! One meal a week (at least) cooked with 100% local ingredients (ok, they do make exceptions for oil, spices, and salt and pepper). I think I’m ready to sign up. The Farmer’s Market should be starting back up here in Boston soon (at least, I hope so!), and I have been thinking for a long time about trying to find local sources for dairy and meat.

If anyone knows about local food production in the Boston area, please share!