Science Fair

Hey guys, Joanna here, announcing something big in the Fried household, Joel’s new tool. Yep, that’s right, he got a brand new tool. And, it’s big.....and handy....... What? It’s a burr mixer, geez, calm down. For those of you not in the industry, a burr mixer is a giant stick blender that can very quickly turn the rowdiest and roughest of vegetables into beautiful soup. Joel is so happy he smiles when he burrs. Production at the VCSC household has been greatly enhanced and we are getting things done way quicker.

This week in the VCSC we’ve been focusing on eggs…eggs in coke, eggs in coffee, eggs in apple cider vinegar, wine, grape kool-aid and orange crush. Yum, I know you guys are ready for some of that, EGGS, yummy. No, not for the VCSC, it’s Brentwood’s Science Fair. We now know that apple cider vinegar does some wicked stuff to egg shells. Drop a raw egg in the shell in a cup of apple cider vinegar sometime and see what happens. Here’s some pictures for entertainment.

And here’s Joel……
Thanks again to everyone who showed up last time around. It was good to be cooking again. We appreciate the business and hope you liked what you bought. I enjoyed sitting around the table talking food and music with people from different angles in my life. It's all about the sign posts. I love the way a kitchen can bring people together. It probably has something to do with why we dedicated about 40 percent of our house to the kitchen.

SOUPS
I would like to start off with the soups because that is the section I am most excited about. Fred requested the Spinach Asiago soup and I was happy to oblige. It is delicious and doesn’t require much chopping. I like easy. One of our discussions last week involved mushroom soup and how good it is on cold winter days. So we will also serving the Creamy Crimini with Marsala, one of my favorites. The Cauliflower with Goat Cheese soup brings it altogether. This is a soup I made over the holidays. Same recipe as the Cauliflower with Gouda from awhile back, but sub in the goat cheese.

SIDES
The Roasted Cauliflower and Sweet Peppers with Lemon and Coriander makes a return, signaling a week concentrated on lovely cauliflower. Like the Brussel Sprouts, I hated cauliflower as a kid, but this dish made me change my mind. Just heat it up in a sauté pan or the microwave. There were a few requests (Joanna says demands) for the SpagheThai, a whole wheat noodle dish with sesame ginger sauce, cilantro, and green onions that can be served hot or cold. I couldn’t find any whole wheat spaghetti so I bought an organic whole wheat linguine instead.
I figured it would be similar to pad thai noodles. I am going to leave the name the same but if you can think of a cool name using words that rhyme with linguine and thai without getting naughty, go for it.
A Sweet Potato Salad completes the veggie section. This is a version of the Three Potato Salad we did a while back, but with only two potatoes. There were some red creamers at Costco that looked pretty so I bought some to add with the Sweet Potatoes. Like the SpagheThai, this dish can be served hot or cold. The potatoes are mixed with corn, sweet peppers, cilantro, hard-boiled egg white, whole grain mustard, olive oil, and a bit of mayonnaise for creaminess. This is a much healthier alternative to the traditional potato salad.

SNAX
The Cranberry Almond Chicken Salad leads off the Snax. Joanna was so offended by the cinnamon in the nuts that she didn’t talk to me for a few days and then she would mutter cinnamon in disgust when she would see me walking through Tacodeli. I went back to the old ways and hopefully this batch will appease her. We also brought back the Sun-dried Tomato and Feta dip with Basil (a favorite). The Roasted Red Pepper dip completes the trio. This dip is a good excuse to eat raw vegetables or can be used as a sandwich spread as well.

SALAD
The Salad this week is a classic downtown version of mixed greens, blue cheese, lightly sweetened walnuts and sherry balsamic vinaigrette. I used to call it the Mathis because Kathryn Mathis was my chef at the Bitter End and we served something similar. I think I can pay a more fitting tribute to her than this salad. It’s a well-known and popular salad because it tastes good.

In Closing
We look forward to seeing you guys this time around. There is lots of fun and activity going on in the household this week, and changes and some new beginnings. We look forward to sharing it with you. Menu, sizes, dietary concerns and pricing will be posted in the email going out Wednesday evening.

Again, thank you so much. We’ll see you on Thursday.
The VCSC.

Here's to another year.......

Hello Again! I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season. Ours was sweet, filled with snow, homemade sugar cookies, fun evenings chatting with friends and family and plenty of celebrating. I had the opportunity to cook a lot and traveled into this New Year with some cool ideas. Some, like the Holiday Veg Mix and the Creamy Tomato Soup, made this week’s menu. We are happy to get the VCSC going again. We are going to experiment with organizing our offerings, unless we deviate of course, which we can do. Every week we will offer three snax, three soups, three sides, and one salad. Lets see how it works.
(Joanna’s quick notes) It’s been a long time and we’ve enjoyed the break but missed the fun Thursdays seeing all of you come and go. I think Jake really missed his little VCSC parties. With the New Year a more interested Jake has offered to help and showed interest in what we do as the VCSC. He’s currently watching TV and peeling carrots. Can’t beat that….and now, on with the show…….

SNAX
The Cranberry Almond Chicken Salad and the Mom’s Insulted Tuna Salad will be offered. These are all familiar to you old timers and if you are new to the VCSC we will happily offer a tasting when you get here. The veggie cream cheese my mom used to make for our Sunday Brunches growing up served as inspiration for the Goat Cheese and Roasted Chili Dip. I have great memories of watching football games with my dad and brothers while snacking on cold cuts, smoked salmon, bagels with the cream cheese and sliced tomato and onion. There was also a green chile pie which was almost the same as quiche but called something different because back then, “Real men didn’t eat Quiche.” I loved the way the green chiles tasted with the cream cheese. Sub in goat cheese for the cream cheese and I think this dip should turn out great.

SIDES
I have my friend Brady to thank for the inspiration for our Holiday Veg Mix because he brought over some brussel sprouts in Dijon for a potluck one day. I used to hate brussel sprouts growing up, but I have discovered a way to cook them so they become delicious. I toss them with olive oil, salt and roast them at a high heat (420 degrees) until they are soft and starting to caramelize. This has become my standard cooking method for many vegetables and it works great. Cauliflower, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots all come out great when cooked this way. We had Christmas dinner at my brother’s house and my job was to cook the veg. Since he hates brussel sprouts and it was his house, I added butternut squash to the mix (because they are his favorite veg), red bells (for color), and turnips (because it sounded cool). To finish, I added a soy Dijon sauce. It was very good and I am happy to be serving it this week.
The Carrot Cakes with Thai Chile Sauce is also on the menu as requested by Joanna. They have been a popular item both with the supper club and catering events we have done. Again, I am going to sell them uncooked for maximum freshness. Just fry them up in a pan in a good amount of oil on medium high heat until golden on both sides and warm in the middle. Just like cooking a crab cake.
We are also going to do a Whole Wheat Orzo with basil walnut pesto, sun dried tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella. This dish can be served as a cold pasta salad or warmed like a traditional pasta dish.

SOUPS
One thing I have learned about being in a relationship with Joanna for 12 years is that I know how to piss her off. I don’t even have to try, it just happens by accident sometimes. But if I make her the Mom’s Creamy Tomato Soup, I also know she won’t stay mad at me for long. I made this on the fly over the New Year’s weekend and it really touched her soul. We had guests over, it was cold, and we needed to eat fast. The stores were closed and I went foraging through the cabinets for something to cook using what I had on hand. It is really nothing more than a roasted garlic béchamel with tomato sauce. It brought back childhood memories of cold panhandle winter days, grill cheeses, and her mom’s tomato soup. I just remember my mom bringing her smooth, creamy tomato soup from a Campbell’s can. In fact, I think a lot of us have similar memories. Even though I was replicating Campbell’s, there are no chemicals, no emulsifiers, and the tomatoes are organic. (Joanna’s notes: My mom made an amazing tomato soup. I’ve asked her for the recipe many times but in classic fashion, I immediately tune her out and just wish she would make it for me….I’m like that. This soup tastes just like hers, so I was so happy that day when I came back from shopping at Macy’s, that’s right, Macy’s, and there was this beautiful bowl of tomato soup, just like mom’s.)
We are also serving a Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder. I had been reading about Sopa de Elote for work and wanted to try a refined, elegant and smooth soup. It has been so cold lately that I felt like cooking something heartier. The base will be a creamy corn soup spiked with whole kernels sautéed in garlic, chunks of sweet potatoes, and roasted red and green chiles.
The Carrot Ginger Soup is back by request as well. The carrots are organic, the veg stock is homemade, and the flavor is delicious. I hope you like it.

SALADS
The new section is salads. The Asian salad I sold last time out fared pretty well. This time we are going to debut the Mediterranean Salad, kind of a take on the Greek Salad. Chopped romaine, garbanzo beans, feta cheese, calamata, roasted peppers, sweet onions with red wine vinaigrette. It is a salad that my Dad would have loved and I hope doesn’t offend my hardcore Greek friends. They hate it when white guys try to cook Greek food.

Thanks again for everything and I will see you guys on Thursday. I know I promised a redo of the white beans and greens because I screwed them up last time. Next time around I promise to rectify that.

O.K. guys…..it’s Joanna, just sign up at violetcrownsupperclub@gmail.com if you are reading this blog and you are not in the club. We look forward to seeing all of you.

Carrots, Carrots and Sweet, Sweet Sleep........

Hey Everyone! So happy to be here blogging, sitting on the floor of my bedroom while sweet Chloe sleeps on our bed. Her dad, Mark, helps us on Wednesday nights, bless him. Last night while I was dozing off with Jake I was pondering a blog entry, fearful that Joel would be too busy to make time. I knew I had to come up with something entertaining in order to distract you guys from realizing that I wasn’t talking about food. I started thinking about putting Jake to sleep. It’s always fun around our house at bedtime as Jake doesn’t like to sleep by himself. There's usually a trade off on who gets to doze off with him while the other finishes housework, reads, watches tv, scans facebook, catches up on sports, etc. Often, I thrill at the opportunity to snuggle into bed with Jake at 8:30 or 9, whenever, fall into slumber and get a good night’s sleep. Other times, I love the opportunity to finish some tidying in the casa and settle into a good show. I think Joel feels the same way. Well, of course, now with the Violet Crown Supper Club, this random pleasure is not as eagerly anticipated. Every other Tuesday and Wednesday, we desperately need for him to just go to sleep so we can both put in another three hours of work. Sadly, one of us (me) has to fall asleep then reawaken to attempt to keep working. The problem is that Jake doesn’t fall asleep easily and often, after I sneak out of the bed, he comes and finds me. Last night was one of these nights. I had woken back up and was in the kitchen washing dishes when Jake came in and said he couldn’t get to sleep. I tuned in some Chet Baker on Pandora, crawled back into the soft sheets and cuddled into him, his head close to mine. He told me, “Mom, I really want to go to sleep so you can help dad, but I just can’t”. Darn. I relaxed into it and fell asleep for the rest of the night. So, I got a good night’s sleep. Needless to say, that whole notion of co-sleeping simply didn’t anticipate the Violet Crown Supper Club nights. We went to the library today to pickup books on cd. Jake has agreed to try to fall asleep to these. I’ll keep you updated. The good news is, that when I woke up this morning, Joel was working on the following, so with that said………heeeeeerrrrrreeeee’s Joel!

I would like to thank all of you guys for the tremendous support. Without you, our wonderful home would be foreclosed upon. This really does help the cause and I hope you are enjoying it as well. It will be obvious this week that I bought a really big bag of carrots. They show up all over this menu, but it’s ok because carrots are good for you. Keep in mind, these items have not been made yet and I am mostly speaking in conjecture. Curveballs could happen tonight when I finish the prep, but lately, things have gotten more consistent. I have actually started taking notes and writing recipes. It’s funny how that helps.

SNAX

The Truffled White Bean Dip makes a return and I am excited about it. It came out so good last time. Great Northern Beans pureed with truffle oil, roasted garlic, carmelized onions and parsley. It could be tasty on a toasted baguette or underneath a grilled chicken breast or pork loin. We also have the Sundried Tomato Feta Dip with fresh basil. If you were buying this from Tom’s Tabooleh it would be called hummus, but I hate bastardizing that term. Hummus is hummus. And speaking of, we are also selling the Roasted Garlic Hummus. I may have just bastardized it myself by including the roasted garlic part, but it sounds cool. It is a basic hummus recipe but I do use roasted garlic instead of fresh. It allows me to amp up the garlic flavor without the harshness that comes from using fresh garlic. I also promise to never put cumin in hummus or make a black bean hummus (Joanna inserts that she wishes for a roasted pepper hummus and would love a black bean hummus). That is so honkey. The Cranberry Almond Chicken Salad is back as well. I will take it off the menu when it stops selling out, but so far it has been a very popular item. One of Joanna’s favorite snax is topping an olive tapenade with goat cheese. This one is for her. It is a Kalamata Olive Tapenade with sundried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and basil. Maybe we should call it the marriage counseling tapenade because it is an obvious attempt to get in her good graces. I hope she is not offended that it came out looking like dogfood. The plan may backfire. Next time I will use a Spanish olive in there as well to get some color and offset the kalamata. The sweetness of the sundried tomatoes and the balsamic soften the saltiness of the olives and it tastes really good. Go ahead and pickup the baguette and goat cheese. I am also pickling some peppers that Annie gave us. I have no idea what kind of peppers they are or how hot they are, but they sure are pretty. We will find out tonight.

SOUPS

The Carrot Ginger Soup was requested and is back. Since I was cooking white beans, I decided to make a White Bean Soup spiked with roasted garlic. I love bean soups and this is one of my favorites. I wish it had some shredded braised pork in it but I kept it vegetarian. I also started using Braggs Liquid aminos in our homemade veg stock instead of soy. Now our soups are more “gluten-free” friendly. The final soup is an experiment resulting from an ordering error with the produce company. I have tons of nappa cabbage. I love sweet and sour soup from Chinese restaurants and this is the inspiration for the Sweet and Sour Vegetable Soup. I plan on making a sweet soy-ginger broth spiked with rice wine vinegar and filled with nappa, crimini mushrooms, scallions, and carrots. It should not suck.

SIDES

The White Beans and Greens are back. These were so wonderful last time, I just didn’t make enough. Apple Cider braised red chard with great northern beans and carmelized onions. This is one of my favorite things to eat and it is very, very healthy. The Whole Wheat Orzo with a Basil Walnut Pesto is a new one. Roasted Peppers and fresh mozzarella round out this dish. Another pasta dish we have is the SpagheThai. Whole Wheat Noodles tossed with a spicy sesame ginger garlic sauce inspired by some of the thai dishes I have eaten. I am a white-boy Jew from Texas so this could hardly be considered authentic, but it is good. I am always very shy about cooking ethnic dishes and feel like a poser. But I have been reading Eat Me, the book by Kenny Shopsin who has the eccentric diner in NY. He has given me the confidence to cook what I want regardless of rules and then call it whatever I want. As long as it tastes good to me, I have no problems selling it. We debut our first salad this week with the Asian Salad, which is similar to a popular dish we served at a café I worked at in Colorado. Nappa Cabbage with shredded carrots, cilantro, scallions, sweet almonds, crispy wontons, and a tangerine miso vinaigrette. The final side is the Carrot Cakes with a thai chili sauce. These are a play on crab cakes but use pureed carrots instead. I was undecided on whether to pre-grill them for you guys or sell them uncooked. I went with the uncooked so you could get maximum freshness and flavor. Cook them just as you would a crab cake. Heat oil in a skillet over med-high heat and brown both sides until well heated through the middle.

Hope to see you guys on Thursday. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to email us at violetcrownsupperclub@gmail.com and we will respond as quickly as possible. Thanks again.

Crabby Patties and One Night Stands

O.K. guys this thing is gonna be fast and furious, much like life after school starts. Joel wants me to start this off by explaining that last week's blog was written but never posted. I really feel bad about this as it's sitting on my computer desktop, a waste of Joel's time. He wanted to make sure you all knew his intentions for the delicious butter that we all know and love which normally comes with the veggies (patterned after the ever famous "love veggies" from The Magnolia Cafe). He knew that it would be inappropriate to call it the Love Butter (a blatant ripoff) and he also knew that the butter is also a bit naughty as we are always trying to be good and stay away from fattening and dairy type products. So, in response to those thoughts, he called it the "one-night-stand butter". Something you want to spend a fun evening with, but not stay with permanently. It's a good thing that butter and I have nothing in common.
You are all probably wondering "what the hell is Spongebob doing on this blog?". Upon Jake's request, Joel created a new hamburger that we officially call the "Crabby Patty". I have to say that something magical is going on with these burgers. He's got a steak rub that has officially nudged Dirty's into 2nd place on the list. I'm now living with the best hamburger maker in Austin, hell yeah! We crave "crabby patties" on a weekly basis and I'm sure that Ft. Worth will be exposed to these miracles this weekend.
We had a few other cooking experiences over the last few weeks. I had the opportunity to bake in the new kitchen for the first time and what a difference it made having prep tables and a nice big oven. I made what has officially been called "my best cookies ever", a double-chip chocolate-chip cookie cooked to all sorts of perfection and a couple of loaves of bread that were tasty but a little thick, the dough never did rise appropriately. I am thinking that a sourdough starter is in my future and I'm thinking all you bakers will not only get a bit of it, you will also be expected to drop by and feed that baby when I'm out of town.
O.K. guys, enough of my blathering, let's get down to the menu, and hopefully Joel will give you some insight into his offerings some bright and early morning this week. I'll encourage him to pop out some descriptions. I'm so sorry, I know he's better at all this tasty, yummy, fun description of foods.

SOUP
We have a repeat of the Spinach Soup, but he's still wavering on the creme fraiche, I'm working on him. He's also got a Cauliflower Soup with Gouda and on the tail end, a Creamy Crimini Mushroom soup. That Creamy Crimini is really calling my name, I'm sure it will be yelling it as it walks out the door in Sonja's bag......poor me, I never get to eat the food.

SNAX
He's making a favorite of mine, Roasted Cauliflower and Sweet Peppers with coriander and cumin. This recipe if from the Modern Vegetarian and I think it's one of the best ways to serve cauliflower. Anybody have any favorite recipes for cauliflower, please share. There's also Balsamic Roasted Eggplant with basil, mint and feta and Israeli Couscous with sundried tomatoes, basil, green onion and feta. The next two are repeats of some really delicious items. The Red Quinoi with corn, tomato, cilantro and lime is not only delicious and refreshing, it's also super healthy. The "Best Beans" are pinto beans seasoned with jalapenos, corn, roasted peppers and tomatoes. I just asked Joel if he was adding chorizo to the "Best Beans" as it's listed on the menu AND his response was..... "it was too expensive at Central Market, HEB was reasonable but there was way too much lips and anus (ick) and Costco didn't carry it". Geez. I don't think I'll be eating chorizo anytime soon (and that had just become my favorite taco). The "Best Beans" are officially vegetarian.

SNAX
Well, what can I say, let's just think about this one. What are some of the yummiest things in the world that I never get to eat because we sell out every time? There's the Cranberry Almond Chicken Salad, which we are gonna keep selling this until there is some left over. There is the ever famous, all-time favorite of mine, Mom's Insulted Tuna Salad and not to be undersold, the addicting Chipotle Shrimp and Corn Salad. If you haven't had the shrimp dip, get here early. Joel is mixing it up with some Baba Ghanouj this week. Yummy.

SPICES
Yes, you read that right, not dressings, spices. Joel has decided to flirt up all those husbands out there with a little gift he has, the amazing ability to mix all kinds of interesting things together to make the best damn rubs evah! He's got a Chile Rub, a Tejas Rub, a Sweet Pork and Chicken Rub and the famous Cowboy Steak Rub. He's got something called "Da Rub" which I think might be linked to the Crabby Patties, not sure. He's saying he's not sure if the rubs will happen, so if you are of the prayin' type, get down on those knees and hallelujah, start prayin' for the rubs.

Alright guys, sorry you got a post from me, but what the heck, Joel's busy. I've got to go meet the teacher, so I'm off and I can't wait to see all ya'll on Thursday. Now that school has started back we are cutting the VCSC lounge time back a bit, homework and early bedtimes prevail. Maybe we will have a little VCSC weekend bbq. Soon, I promise.

Ahem!

O.K. wow, well, hmmmm, tweet tweet, whoa, those birds are so pretty, yeah, um, so (hands in pockets, kicking rocks), gee...........and, o.k. well, see you guys soon. Check out that fluffy dog.

That's about it. We have a blog, but I don't have time to edit it. So, later, while we are all sitting around drinking wine and enjoying snacks, I'll set it all in past tense and post it along with Jake's pic of his hearty breakfast of cheetos, strawberries and chocolate milk. Does anybody have a sedative. Hot baths and glasses of wine are my new best friend at 1am after cooking all evening. O.K. guys, new story, we are going to blog regularly, but not on the day of, I think our sanity can handle that better.

Love to all.

Lost in the Supermarket

To start off…. I think the HEB over on Far West (aka the “Heeb” HEB due to its cool Kosher section) is set up in a very weird way. I’m guessing it‘s laid out to promote wandering and pondering that lead to spending. I began to hum the Clash’s “Lost in the Supermarket” to cheer myself up while searching impatiently for the dish soap. I had just started to get a grip on where everything was located then they remodeled it (which I do appreciate). Then again, I get lost often in stores. For the record, the dish soap is next to the magazines, nine aisles south of where they used to be. Brilliant! With that said, I will get started on the food. Right after this quick video....



SNAX
Tacodeli has started doing business with Quality Seafood in an effort to go more local and get fresher products. When was the last time you were there? I had not been since we moved back. Boy, has it changed. There is a full-on restaurant there now. The people are really nice to work with, the customer service is great, and the fish is excellent. I got some Texas Gold shrimp there for the new Chipotle Shrimp Dip with Corn. It’s a dish I came up with a couple of weeks back when I was playing a game called ”What’s in the fridge.” We were having company over and there were no obvious meals around, just scattered leftovers from the last VCSC. It reminded me of Lobster Rolls from Maine, except it had lots of flavor.
The Cranberry Almond Chicken Salad makes a return this week due to its immense popularity last time around. Two more dips round out the snax. . .The Roasted Garlic Hummus which is self explanatory and the Sundried Tomato and Feta Dip with Basil, one of our new favorites.

SIDES
I was thinking of that childhood rhyme, “Beans, Beans they’re good for your heart. The more you eat them, the more you….” Well as it turns out, that song is partially true. I found that out when I was diagnosed with my “condition”. Beans provide a lot of fiber which is good for lowering your cholesterol as well as promoting digestive health. This week we lead off the sides with the “How you bean” Salad. Before I start embarrassing myself with tales of my mom’s cooking that turn out to be untrue, I would like to say I confirmed the story. She did actually make a three bean salad for us as kids. It was one of my favorite dishes even though it had four beans. This is more of a “How many beans look really cool at the Sun Harvest Bulk section” salad. I think there are five, let's count....black-eyed peas, garbanzos, red kidneys, anasazi, and French green beans tossed in a red wine mustard vinaigrette with basil, red bell, and sweet onion.
We also tried a modern take on the peas and carrots side that seemed to pop up every time you ate a frozen dinner from Swansons or encountered Salisbury steak in the cafeteria. I hated that crap and would try to hide them in the mashed potatoes. This version is much better. Sauteed Organic Carrots and Sugar Snap Peas with roasted garlic basil butter. Just sauté the veggies until hot in a pan and add some of the butter at the end. I gave extra for other uses because, well, it is pretty good.
The next dish is the Roasted Sweet Potato Hash with Corn, Peppers, and Cilantro. It is seasoned with not much more than olive oil, garlic, salt and Malabar black pepper. This is delicious and again a pretty healthy option. Sweet potatoes contain some serious health benefits. They are rich in beta carotene, antioxidants and fiber. Just reheat in a sauté pan and you have a great friend to hang with grilled chicken breasts, black beans or just by itself.
The final side is the Veggie Fried Rice, brown rice sautéed with edamame, carrots and red bell pepper in a sesame ginger stir fry sauce. Again, I gave a little extra of the sauce so I wouldn’t use the whole four ounces but save some for something else. The sauce is made with soy sauce, ginger, garlic, scallions, sesame, chile paste and brown sugar.

SOUPS
With respect to summer, we went with two soups that can be served cold. The first is the Cucumber Dill Soup made with English cucumbers, fresh dill, bulgarian yogurt and I am not sure what else because I haven’t made it yet. Last time we had it, it sold out quickly and was very, very good. The second soup is a Spinach Soup with lemon crème fraiche, or at least an approximation of lemon crème fraiche, (buttermilk mixed with sour cream and lemon zest.) It can be served hot or cold. (Joel just had me taste it and there is no way this stuff will be left over, it was like having heaven handed to me on a spoon, yummy lemony spinach.....mmmmmm)

With that, I must now go to work. Hope to see you guys. I really appreciate the feedback and the business. If there is anything I can cook for you, please let me know. I would love the challenge. Take care and see you Thursday.

Joanna’s Notes: I know he has some dressings on the menu. Just not sure what….as we mentioned before, we are planning to set prices this time according to the food vs. the size of the container. It shouldn’t change the pricing too much, it will just give us a more standardized method of charging instead of wish-washing all over the place right in front of you. I’m sitting here in the kitchen listening to Herb Albert’s Tijuana Brass Band and smelling the lovely goodness that is Joel’s cooking. I hope to see all of you tomorrow and I’m like the 3 monkeys covering my ears, eyes and nose to any words of summer coming to a close. Don’t talk about school to me. Take care.

"F THE OVEN"

This week is considered "F THE OVEN" week because it is so damn hot. Really freakin’ hot. Everything we are producing is made to be cold, no oven or stove necessary. I am most excited about the side dishes so I will start with those. I must admit, however, none of these have actually been completed yet and are “in theory” only. Some of it is new and never been tested so there may be surprises. These nights we spend in the kitchen are exciting and experimental. Notice how that last word ends in “mental”. I promise that we never fight and there is never any tension (Joanna smiles with arms crossed). It is just as tranquil, cool, and breezy as a tropical depression about to hit land near a crowded resort.

SIDES
My friend Rol has been on me to do a cold noodle salad asian-style. I cautiously present the Thai Noodle Salad, whole-wheat spaghetti tossed with a sesame chile sauce, cilantro, leeks, and bell peppers. Just like the Indian Curry last month, when I go ethnic, I feel like such a honky. Thai chefs, like my friend Sap, would probably cringe at the cute little white boy’s attempt, but this is going to taste really good. I made the sauce last night. By the way, he opened a third Madam Mam's, up by the Village Theatre, check out the toasted chile-garlic condiment. If you’ve never been there, it’s quality yum!
I had wanted to do an Orzo with sun-dried tomatoes, basil and feta, but I realized that would be two pasta salads. Instead, I present the Mediterranean Barley Salad with sun-dried tomatoes, basil, feta, pine nuts, and extra virgin olive oil. Critics could point out that barley is more of a northern European grain, I don't even know if they have it in the Mediterranean. While I wandered around the bulk section at Sun Harvest, I already had that flavor profile in my noggin from the Orzo fantasy, and the barley was cool looking, begging to join the party. Barley is good for you, too.
The last side I have named “Deans Beans” after one of my culinary heroes Dean Fearing, the chef from Dallas who helped put Southwestern cooking on the map. Black beans, fresh corn, roasted peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, onion, lime, and olive oil. It is something I eat almost everyday at work. I attempted to get this dish on the menu at Tacodeli, but was denied. My boss told me it looked too 1980’s and he is right. I can show you similar pictures of this dish from Dean’s 1987 cookbook where he is holding an acoustic guitar on the back cover smiling underneath his giant mullet. In 1987, I had a mullet too, and it was cool and crunchy because mousse had recently been discovered by the teens in Fort Worth. Damn, is anyone else disturbed by the fact that the 80’s are now considered retro? Have you seen the way the kids dress today, holy Pat Benetar. Nonetheless, it is one of my favorite dishes that is, in theory, very healthy because it is packed with fiber (beans, corn) and antioxidants (tomatoes).

SNAX
The Almond Cranberry Chicken Salad was very popular and has made a return. So has Mom’s Tuna Salad. We visited Fort Worth last week and I told my Mom about the blog and the tribute Tuna Salad. She didn’t seem impressed. Funny thing, I don’t think this is her recipe, but actually an ex-girlfriends. An ex she did not particularly care for. Whoops. So maybe we should rename it Insulted Mom’s Chicken Salad. Now that has a nice ring to it. The Chipotle Black Bean Dip is also on the menu. There might be a surprise as well. I made carmelized onions last night that could go well with blue cheese and the homemade yogurt cheese we are making in the fridge. Now, the yogurt cheese is something I did learn from my Mom.

SOUPS
Joanna has been reading those “healthy” magazines and came upon a watermelon soup recipe and Jen happened to bring by a watermelon yesterday. So, I am going to try a Watermelon Mint Soup. Never done this before, but it could be cool. And if it’s not cool, its free. The other soup is a Gingered Carrot Soup. Normally, we sell this as a hot item. But ginger is so refreshing that I thought this could be a wonderful cold soup as well. If not, heat it up and it is the F THE OVEN exception.
**Editors Note: The previous paragraph has been edited to separate the two soups. I accidentally picked up Watermelon Mint and put it with the Gingered Carrot. So sorry guys! So sorry Joel!

SALAD DRESSINGS
I always try to make salad dressings, but they are not a big mover. I keep on making them because eating salads is important for health and well being. You don’t want to suffer from MY CONDITION. Let me know if there are any types you would want made or if I need to improve my offerings.

Thanks again for being here for the VCSC. We are going to drop to every three weeks for the remainder of the summer, but will pick up for the fall when everything gets back on schedule (Joanna will post dates). Hope the summer is going swimmingly for everyone. With that I leave you . . . . .

You’re a real tough cookie
With a long history
Of breaking little hearts
Like the one in me
That’s OK, I see how you do it
Put up your dukes, let’s get down to it.
Hit me with your best shot
Fire Away
-Unknown

.....and Joanna couldn't resist a favorite. . I think I was at this concert!