Food | Gourmandistan

Lifting the curse of CSA chard

June 25, 2012 by Steve

If you’ve ever had a farm share, you’ve undoubtedly shared Gourmandistan’s occasional feelings of basket fatigue. That’s the point where you can’t think of one more thing to do with a bunch of Russian kale, basil or (please forgive us, Pavel) a bounty of accursed beets. Up until recently, one of the fatigue-inducing entries was Swiss chard. Though the chickens always loved the leftovers. Chard is a leafy green vegetable that comes with a variety of stem colors, but when […]

Categories: Cooking, Eggs, Food, Grains, Recipes, Swiss chard, Vegetarian

Peach Cobbler and Prejudice

June 21, 2012 by Steve

Gourmandistan prides itself on its inclusiveness and tolerance of all cultures and traditions, especially the edible ones. But xenophobia seems to be hard-wired into the human psyche, and even those of us who strive to be civilized may still retain traces of irrational antipathy towards certain groups. For Steve, this happens to be people from Indiana—something that did not help when a nascent Gourmandistan decamped to Indianapolis for about a year. Long, long ago in an advertising galaxy far, far, […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Fruit Desserts, Old cookbooks, Peaches/Nectarines, Recipes, Vegetarian

Let’s go pea!

June 17, 2012 by Steve

One of the smaller joys of Steve’s life is his tangential connection to Austin-Peay State University, home of (at least to Steve’s scatologically-slanted ear) the greatest cheer in college athletics. A few seasons back, as Steve giggled at the chants of “Let’s Go Peay!” while the Governors lost to his beloved Wildcats, Michelle’s dad (also a rabid UK fan) revealed he’d attended the small university near the Kentucky border in Tennessee. By the transitive power of shared TV-watching (a right […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Peas, Recipes, Soups & Stews

Nice precedent, damn quail

June 11, 2012 by Steve

Gourmandistan’s freezers hold some dark and shameful secrets, many of them involving foodstuffs not normally found in your mass market cookbooks. Steve’s penchant for odd bits of animals leads to small collections of things such as sweetbreads and pig feet, and Michelle’s lifelong hunter father often gifts us with undated and sometimes ill-described parts of former wildlife such as venison, wild turkey and pheasant and recently, two brace of quail. We appreciate and try to use every portion of meat […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Meat Pies, Old cookbooks, Quail, Recipes

Please welcome our newest partner, Mark.

June 10, 2012 by Steve

Hey, have you heard of this thing called Facebook? Evidently it’s quite popular with the young people, especially this one guy named Mark. Gourmandistan now has a Facebook page, and if you are a member you can “like” us with a button click. If you’re so inclined (we understand some Gourmandistan regulars are Facebook-phobic), please add our page to your “likes.” We’re sure that as our page count swells and Mr. Zuckerberg notices our peppy posts and pictures it will […]

Categories: Food

Blueberry jam with lemon verbena, British jubilee with venom verbiage

June 3, 2012 by Steve

Steve was very happy when Susan of the delightful Susan eats London gave a bloggy boost to his pressure on Michelle for more blueberry jam. Michelle had been avoiding making more for fear it would once again cook out too thick. But when Steve bought a few “extra” quarts at this Saturday’s market, she made another batch, and some sweet cream biscuits to boot. The chopped fresh lemon verbena in this version adds just a touch of herby tartness that […]

Categories: Blueberries, Cooking, Food, Jams & Preserves, Recipes, Vegetarian

Blueberry alarm clock

May 28, 2012 by Steve

Blueberries may, quite possibly, be nature’s most perfect food. According to these helpful folks at the High Bush Blueberry Council, they border on some kind of super fruit—low in calories, loaded with fiber and vitamins, and packing enough antioxidants that one might safely hoover up an entire grill’s worth of free radicals without turning into the picture of Dorian Gray. (Have a great Memorial Day, everyone!) In season, Steve likes to finish his morning routine with a fistful of berries […]

Categories: Blueberries, Breakfast, Cooking, Food, Muffins & quick breads, Recipes, Vegetarian

Short Sour Cho Chweet Cherry Season

May 20, 2012 by Steve

About five minutes after his favorite fruit farmer, Sandi Deutsch, made a facebook post about picking sour cherries, Steve called and demanded her entire haul. The next afternoon we faced an all-to-perishable pile of crimson, scarlet and neon red cherries, perhaps six pounds in total, that needed to be dealt with quickly. We also knew it would likely be our only chance at local cherries in 2012. Tiny sour cherries, also known as “pie cherries,” have a very brief appearance […]

Categories: Cherries, Cooking, Food, Fruit Desserts, Pies & Tarts, Recipes, Vegetarian

The solution: Strawberry Ice Cream

May 15, 2012 by Steve

The problem? A large quantity of soggy, slightly discolored strawberries. We were so excited at the arrival of fresh fruit season that we ordered up several gallons. Unfortunately, between our order and the pickup, there were heavy rains. Rain makes mushy berries, and hard rain gives them bruises. The berries were so beat up even Steve didn’t want to eat them out of hand—and Steve has (in Michelle’s eyes, at the very least) an amazingly high tolerance for damaged fruit. […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Fruit Desserts, Ice cream, Old cookbooks, Recipes, Strawberries, Vegetarian