Pasta | Gourmandistan

Ramp-a-lama-ding-dong

March 22, 2011 by Michelle

Spring is teasing its way into Gourmandistan, and our nation’s population is bouncing in anticipation of fresh, green things to eat. (These things do include spiders and bugs, but only for the cats.) This past Saturday Steve snagged several bunches of ramps, one of the first local greens to pop up, from the Foxhollow Farm Store. Ramps, like onions, garlic and leeks, are part of the lily family and grow wild in moist forests across eastern North America—especially in Appalachia. […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Italy, Pasta, Ramps, Recipes, Vegetarian

Couscous and Coincidence

December 5, 2010 by Michelle

Yotam Ottolenghi came into Gourmandistani consciousness from two different directions. Michelle, constant comber of media and things food-related, had seen his weekly “The New Vegetarian” pieces in The Guardian and mentioned them to Steve. Steve, adrift in a sea of RSS feeds, forgot the mention—yet somehow coincidentally stumbled across Ottolenghi’s website, mentioning his food to Michelle. Michelle, after graciously reminding Steve that she already knew of the Israeli/Italian/German chef and his stylish London restaurant and take-outs, agreed we should explore […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Pasta, Recipes, Spinach, Vegetarian, Winter squash

And dough-three: Pasta

July 17, 2010 by Steve

It doesn’t take much to make pasta. Just a cup of flour, an egg, and practice. Oh, and if you’re in Gourmandistan, machinery. Actually, several pieces of machinery. Of course, you don’t actually need the machinery. You can, if you wish, use the 1:1 egg:flour ratio and your hands. Mound the flour in a large bowl, making a well in the center. Lightly scramble the egg, then place in the well. Using a fork or your fingers, stir the egg […]

Categories: Basics, Cooking, Food, Italy, Pasta, Recipes, Vegetarian

Damn hippies sure do know how to cook

June 23, 2010 by Michelle

The Summer of 1989 found us in San Francisco with Michelle’s mom, Jean. In that pre-Gourmandistan era, we weren’t really aware of the downsides of industrial food—instead, we were crazy for Asian. The San Francisco dining guide we bought before the trip had so many Asian restaurants marked we realized we’d have to eat about six meals a day to try all that we wanted. Not that we didn’t try to hit every one. We were enjoying siu mai, chicken […]

Categories: Cooking, Fennel, Food, Pasta, Recipes, Restaurants, Tomatoes, Vegetarian

God bless our local farmers

May 25, 2010 by Michelle

Just like last year, we’re participating in two farm shares. Our friends Raphe & Teresa are no longer sharing their bounty with us, having found that increasing their wedding flower business far outweighed the pleasures of driving to Louisville to hear Steve incessantly begging for raw milk. We’re still with our neighbors at Foxhollow, but this year also got a share from Riverfarm Organics, a new CSA up in Goshen. Steve somehow missed the message about our first scheduled Riverfarm pickup. Luckily, we were […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Pasta, Peas, Recipes • Tags: Locavore