Halloween Weekend and What I'm Reading

Eric and I left Seattle late Friday night and drove down to Portland for an extended weekend trip to visit my brother and friends.
We had known since August that we would be making the trip South over Halloween weekend and thought we had pretty set plans. But last minute, our itinerary changed. We never planned on driving down Friday night. But it's a good thing we did.
You always hear stories about people being in the wrong place at the wrong time; but not as many the other way around. Last Friday night, and the weekend in general, Eric and I were in the right place, at the right time. It wasn't the weekend we had expected, but I left feeling like we made an important impact in someone's life who means the world to me, and that's all that matters.

A Portland trip would be incomplete if I didn't make it to Powell's Bookstore. In anticipation for my upcoming trip, I got a few travel books that I'm so excited about:
Travelers' Tales: Food : True Stories of Life on the Road.
"Many people will tell you that they travel, in large part, to eat, to break bread with strangers and leave the table with friends, and to discover the world through the medium of cuisine. This special edition in the Travelers' Tales series collects stories that further the proposition that humanity is revealed through cuisine just as surely as it is through any other art or social activity."
Is this book not absolutely perfect for me? I love it so far! The stories are so heartwarming and uplifting and the book is littered with amazing quotes, which I adore.
"As the belly fills, so fills the heart." One of my favs.

The other book I picked up is called The Kindness of Strangers. I always get a bit anxious about crime and danger before I travel, so I thought it would help me if I read a book like this. "A timely collection of 26 inspiring tales, The Kindness of Strangers explores the unexpected human connections that so often transfigure and transform the experience of travel, and celebrates the gift of kindess around the world."

I can only hope that throughout our travels, Eric and I make amazing connections with the people of Ecuador and Peru, and others we meet from around the world. I so hope we recieve numerous opportunities to eat and break bread with others and leave the table with friends.


P.S. Eric won the Pumpkin Carving Contest at Kiss Cafe!! The Thursday night before we left for Portland, Eric and I took pumpkins down to Kiss for their annual carving contest, dinner and beers. The place was filled to the brim with people carving - it was so festive and so much fun! Everyone kept commenting on Eric's unique pumpkin and he said he had a good feeling he might win it. Sure enough, upon returning on Monday, we found out he took it home! They spoiled him too - he won a tshirt, a sweatshirt, any beer of his choice (he picked a $16 beer...) and they are sending his personal beer glass in to get a pumpkin engraved in it. I'm so jealous.

Risotto: Two Ways

Due to my recent confusion/uncertainty/insecurities/what-have-yous about my current job situation and my future job situation, I have been trying to read some inspiring or uplifting literature.
My friend Natasha recommended The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch, to me last week when we got together for dinner and conversation. I quickly checked it out at the library and finished it in two days.
In his last few months of life, Pausch, a Professor at Carnegie Mellon, offers some amazing wisdom and inspiration. While his whole "lecture" speaks to me at great depths, a few sections are screaming at me right now, more than others.
Chapter 28: Dream Big. "Give yourself permission to dream."
Chapter 51: No Job Is Beneath You. "No job should be beneath us. And if you can't (or won't) start at the bottom (like sort mail), where is the proof that you can do anything?"
Chapter 53: Never Give Up. He writes, "If you want something badly enough, never give up (and take a boost when offered). Brick walls are there for a reason. And once you get over them - even if someone has practically had to throw you over - it can be helpful to others to tell them how you did it." Never give up. Seems simple enough.
Chapter 55: All You Have to Do Is Ask. "Sometimes, all you have to do is ask, and it can lead to all your dreams coming true. Ask those questions. Just ask them. More often than you'd suspect, the answer you'll get is, "Sure.""
In the coming months, especially after I get back from my South America trip, I'm going to take many of Pausch's words of wisdom and advice into action and just dive in. There's no other way.

In other food-related news, I made risotto twice this week. Risotto gets me thinking about another important life lesson, "Patience is a virtue."
If you don't have patience, you can just go ahead and dismiss the following recipes. BUT if you do have even just a little, you'll come out with two ooey gooey, creamy, flavorful dishes. And let's be honest, who can resist ooey gooey? No one.

Tomato and Sausage Risotto
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen and Martha Stewart Everyday)

1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground hot Italian sausage
1 small onion, finely chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1-2 cloves fresh garlic, pressed (or garlic powder)
1 teaspoon (or so) oregano
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used a pinot grigio)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 bunch baby spinach, washed well, tough stems removed, chopped (about 2-3 cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter
(This risotto is remniscent of pasta/pizza with its flavors, but much more magical. I promise.)

In a small saucepan, combine tomatoes (with their juice), 2 cups broth, and 1 cup water. Bring just to a simmer; keep warm over low heat. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add sausage, onion, garlic, and seasonings. Cook, breaking up sausage with a spoon, until sausage is browned and onion has softened.

Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, then add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed.

Add about 2 cups hot tomato mixture to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed. Continue adding tomato mixture, 1 cup at a time, waiting for one cup to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and tender (you may not have to use all the liquid). This step took me about 45+ minutes.

Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, Parmesan, and butter. Serve immediately (risotto will thicken as it cools).

Sun-dried Tomato Risotto
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1-2 cloves fresh garlic, pressed (or garlic powder)
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used a pinot grigio)
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 bunch baby spinach, washed well, tough stems removed, chopped (about 2-3 cups)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup goat cheese
1 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons butter
*Next time I would add: seasoned chicken breast and asparagus.

In a small saucepan, combine 2 cups broth, and 1 cup water. Bring just to a simmer; keep warm over low heat. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add onion and garlic. Cook until onion has softened.
Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, then add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed.

Add about 1 cup hot broth to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1 cup at a time, waiting for one cup to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and tender.

Stir in sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, (chicken and cooked asparagus)Parmesan and goat cheese, and butter. Serve immediately!

Fried Green Tomatoes

I love reading books that evoke true emotion; I love a book that's so funny I laugh out loud, so endearing that I smile, so intense that I lose track of everything that is going on around me, or so powerful and inspiring that I want to get up right then and there and make a change.
This past week I finished reading The Help, a book that takes place in 1960's Jackson Mississippi. The story is narrated by the three principal characters, two black maids and a young white woman who is genuinely concerned about the plight of the maids working for every white family in town, including her own. It was one of those books that I was torn between not wanting to put down, and not wanting to end. It was funny, endearing, sad and powerful. But it was inspiring in a different way; after finishing it I wanted to get up right then and there and cook a southern-style meal. Throughout the book the maids talk of mouth-watering soul food: caramel cakes, grits, pork chops, butter beans and fried green tomatoes. Southern cuisine is just so comforting and hearty, you can't help but feel warm when eating it, or even just reading and thinking about it.
I have been dying to try fried green tomatoes. Finishing The Help, and just having made grandma's potato salad called for a southern celebration!
On the menu: Fried Green Tomatoes, Potato Salad and Sweet Tea.
Unfortunately, the first and probably the biggest misstep was not being able to find green, or unripe, tomatoes. We searched three different grocery stores to no avail. Not wanting to give up on the main entree, we decided to buy the hardest red beefsteak tomatoes we could find. Between that problem, and the stone-ground cornmeal that was far too course and crunchy, the tomatoes just did not turn out. However, our southern-themed night was too much fun to not remember. It's also a good reminder that not all my recipes will be perfect the first time around!

We soaked the tomatoes in buttermilk, then dredged them in a cornmeal, flour, seasoning mixture.

All loaded up and frying in vegetable oil over the stove.

Fried up to a crispy, golden brown!

I will definitely be on the lookout for true green tomatoes and a better recipe. And so it goes - the wait continues until I sink my teeth into this truly soulful southern delicacy.