Case of the Mondays

Yesterday I had a case of the Mondays, mainly due to the fact that I had beautiful weather and a long weekend. Searching various food blogs I came across the perfect way to cure my Monday blues: FRIED FOOD. A great way to avoid the guilt of eating fried foods is to eat fried veggies rather than meat. "It’s fried but atleast it’s a vegetable”

Parmesan-encrusted Zucchini and Summer Squash Medallions

My rendition of the above recipe did not come out as fancy as the Besotted Gourmet's but still did the trick. My long work day deterred me from going to the grocery store to pick up parm and flour (how does one run out of flour?). To componsate, I made sure I kept the little guys in the pan extra long to get that sought after crust and didn't hold back on the seasoning of sea salt right at the end. I made a side of sweet and red mashed taters and washed it down with a delicious Rogue Dead Guy Ale that magically appeared in my fridge- just in time to cure my Monday Blues.

Sweet and Red Mashed Taters
4 medium sized red potatoes- cut in to quarters w/ skin on
1 Large sweet potato- peeled and but into quarters
Butter- amount depends on the chef
1/4 cup veggie stock or milk
Chopped fresh parsley & chives
Salt & Pepper
- I think you know the drill: boil the potatoes then mash together with remaining ingredients.

The REAL Italian

I know mad Crowz were in Maine last weekend, so I'll give a shoutout to the 207 and it's official state sandwich, the Amato's Italian. Though you can get it with salami, turkey, capicola, pepperoni, sans meat, etc., the Original calls for ham, green peppers, olives, onions, tomatoes, picles, then salt, pepper and oil.. And American cheese, not that fancy provolone stuff. My version: no tomatoes, extra sour pickles. Sour pickles and kalamata olives are key.

To be eaten while looking at the ocean or at some NEBS winding their way down a cobblestone street in search of the next Miller Lite draft.

I'll take my summer with a side of political turmoil

This was an interesting weekend that lacked the normalcy of weekends past. Sunny weather, goodbye parties, and a sighting of someone who looks like me reading the book I'm reading (In Defense of Food) on BART.

....and I feel asleep last night to a room of 3 boys trying to explain why they can't just get their hands to go through the table : /

Thanks Whiskey. More thanks to the Monks Kettle.

I don't know how I have let this place slip my sight until last night- I'm guessing it is because the average beer price is somewhere above $10. I suggest checking out the beer menu now so that when you(I'm looking at you crows and family members) come out to SF you know what you'll order before walking in the door!

Also of note- I saw several patrons ordering very large pretzels served with country mustard as their bar snack! I will defiantly check that out next time I go.


******************

On the food front I just made the delicious summer squash gratin c/o the New York Times, and, Wow. Wow. Wow, it was so delicious (gracias crow Vanessa). I used fontina and Parmesan, and ate it with a fresh salad and some yummy chopped peach.

Now I am off to try and make myself some smashing aprons! The fabric store by my house has incredible sales on dress fabrics...Polka dots and flowers anyone?

This Crow Has Landed!

My apologies on the lack of posts, this crow was busy soaring around Scotland for the past week enjoying lots of tasty morsels along the way. It was refreshing to go to a country that doesn't cram the phrases "fresh ingredients" "local" or "grass fed" down your throat; in most Scottish dining (as well as other European countries), these labels are not boasted, they are implied.

Nick and I treated ourselves to one fancy shmancy dinner while we were in Edinburgh at Maison Bleue (Its that first blue building shown in the picture above). It was classic french dining with some subtle Scottish flare. To start, we split a bowl of Shetland Mussels in a white wine and garlic sauce. I know this sounds sacrilegious coming from a Maine gal, but these were the best mussels I have ever had. To top it off they even brought over some tea cups with warm water and lemon slices so we could rinse off our grimy seafood hands (usually a reason that prevents me from ordering messy seafood in restaurants). For the main course, Nick ordered the special of the day- freshly caught sea bass served whole over roasted vegetables and prawns. The seasonings were very basic to not mask the fresh fish flavor. I was feeling a bit carnivorous that night, and I also knew I could peck at Nick's Sea Bass, so I went for the fillet of beef with potato gratin, roasted vegetables and a delicious creamed pepper sauce to top it all off. Meat was cooked perfectly to a pretty pinkish red, and I could cut through it with a butter knife- now that's perfection.

Unfortunately we didn't have time for dessert because we had to meet up with our Hostel's nightly pub crawl to catch some drink specials. Speaking of Specials, the hostel we stayed at had great deals with the surrounding cafes and pubs (which was desperately needed due to the awful dollar to pound conversion rate). This cafe was our go to spot for cheap, but delicious food and drink, they also had some Internet we could tap into. They offered backpackers Two for One Burgers and Panninis and Two for One Selected Beers and Mixed Drinks.

Overall the food was fantastic in Scotland, usually your diet suffers when you're on vacation but definitely not here! They could however use a couple of microbreweries- their national beer, Tennets, was quite possibly weaker than Budweiser ick!

I know this doesn't have much to do with food but this is the Castle we stayed in for Sarah and Jared's Wedding (the reason for our Scottish Adventure)

On Recycling

a guest post by Lady of the Nacht

We've all been imbued with the importance of recycling. And when you enjoy beer as much as I do, it becomes crucial to dispose of all those cans bottles in an environmentally-friendly manner.
Thank Goddess for the Jamaica Plain outpost of Blanchard's, our local liquor store and recycling center, where the triangulating arrows of the recycling symbol manifests: return PBR Ten Fidy cans, buy (with those nifty recycling machine print-outs) some 40s a fine chardonnay to be enjoyed as a spritzer, with an ice cube (Hi Mom!). Rinse and Repeat.

It was a nice little JP Saturday: I purchased a refurbished bike at Bikes Not Bombs (finally!) with the help of one of the Crows and my Steady Gentleman Caller (SGC). Although my errands for the weekend included obtaining new running shoes, doing laundry, and cleaning my apartment (I know, my life is hard), after the bike purchase I really only had time for one more task. As the entire entrance of my apartment was filled with beer bottles and cans, I prioritized recycling and enlisted SGC and his trusty JP steed (a Subaru, natch) to help me cart the detritus down Centre Street. Conveniently, SGC is as much of an enjoyer of fine wines as I am, so he had quite the collection of soldiers littering his room as well. If we're going to emit some carbon, might as well kill two birds with one stone--trust, we needed the car, and I was feeling smug over my BNB buy--so we added his recycling to the pile.

A stalled parallel parking attempt and a shopping cart wedged at the entrance later (we forgot they have a turnstile at the entrance, whoops!), we were ready to recycle. Now, I know most of my friends put their recycling out with the trash or otherwise don't really deal with it beyond rinsing and sorting, but we wanted that refund, and seriously, guys, there is something SO SATISFYING ABOUT THAT CRUSHING PULVERIZED GLASS NOISE THOSE MACHINES MAKE!!!

Recycling recycled, receipts printed, we ventured over to the beer section of the store. Our goal was to have enough of a refund to purchase a decent six-pack, and we had met this goal. However--and maybe it was the warm weather, but who really knows where ideas come from (they just appear)--we were inexplicably drawn to the few big, sad 40 oz beers tucked back on the bottom cooler shelf. Like rained-on, kinda hungry cows, they blinked at us with big brown eyes from their lesser pasture, begging to be bought. "Drink me," they stated, "and ignore the taste."

They really weren't that bad. And now the empty 40 bottles perch in my vestibule, waiting to be buried by a mound of what is sure to be more bottles and cans, all so that the circle of life triangle of recycling can begin again. Only this time, I'll try to haul it all on my recycled bike.

Counterpoint.

Holly, what is wrong with this label? Some poor art student SLAVED over it, and all you do is crap on his/her work. Sure, the color pallet reminds me a wee bit of a 3rd grade classroom. But I like it.

And here is why:

1) The design is simple and straightforward. It kinda looks like something I could pull together with a pack of crayola markers and a basic knowledge of Microsoft publisher. Its not pretending to be all fancy big city beer. It's a beer of the people damnit.

2) I enjoy the subtle ode to Maine via way of the lobster buoy. I like Maine and I like buoys.

3) I like how the bottle caps are all different colors. I find it whimsical and adorable.

4) Geary's Summer Ale is the most delicious beer of all time and drinking it makes it truly summer. Like all precious gifts, it does not matter how it is wrapped.

I rest my case.

Sweet Nectar

Tis the season for Summer Ales!


Everyone has their favorite summer ales- they mostly correlate with the area you grew up. For those Jersey/New York folks it's probably Brooklyn Summer, the New Hampshirans will grab a Red Hook Sunrye, for us Maniacs it's that sweet nectar we call Geary's Summer ale.

I'm not sure if its the long snowy winter, or the fact that we're deprived from it for 9 months, but once you have that first sip of the sweet nectar in late April instinct kicks in to either lounge on the beach or turn on the grill.


Not only do I get excited for the taste of Geary's Summer, I also can't wait to see the new bottle/ box design that is picked from a group of contestants each season. Maine College of Art (MECA) collaborates with Geary's Brewery to offer a $5000 scholarship to the student who comes up with the best label design. The past four years have been pretty on point with creating a design that captures the delicious summer taste, my favorite being the summer of 2005 (if anyone has their hands on a pic of this design please send to me, it's a sunset over pretty marsh grass). Here is a little peak at year's past:







Last year's winner is the middle picture with the lobster. Lobsters definitely scream Maine but I peaked the MECA website to see what it was competing against and there are about 5 other designs, that in my opinion, totally beat out the Lobster (I really dig #18 and 20).

2008Competition

That brings us to the new 2009 label.

My immediate reaction was "Chucky Cheese Raunch". I'm not sure why those words formulated in my head- maybe its the cheeriness of the label and the fact that it looks like its advertising to little children, i really don't know. The buoys look too much like balloons and there is a total lack of Maine feel to it.

There are some people who disagree with my opinion of the 2009 label and actually enjoy it, one of them being a fellow kitchen crow (Vbar). Maybe her wise words will have an impact on me and sway my harsh opinion to a more neutral ground- the important thing here is that the contents of the bottle remain the same and will always be the sweet nectar of summer.

Our First Beach Adventure-Singing Sands

Sunday Morning we embarked on our first beach visit to Singing Sands at Manchester by the Sea (Take the Newbuyport commuter rail from North Station to Manchester)

For once we actually brought enough food and bevy to sustain us all for the long haul. Some items included:

• Port Salut & Baguette- absolute staple for picnics and beach excursions


• Pasta salad with fennel- for Vbar to post


• Barley Salad- unfortunately on this trip got a bit water-logged from melted ice


• Geary's Summer/ PBR


• Saussy Sangria

Saussy Sangria

There are numerous variations on the beverage but this is a version i enjoy

Dice up whatever fruit you have on hand (apples, kiwis, strawberries, pears, oranges, etc)

Add fruit to a pitcher and cover with a half cup of booze (brandy works nice but i've even done this with tequila!)

Add a bottle of vino verde and a bottle of red table wine

Top of the mixture with San Pellagrino or if you have it Trader Joe's Sparkiling Grapefuit Juice

Let Sit overnight- or for as long as you can hold out.

Barley Salad

I got the idea of this salad from a food and wine recipe- but I switched up the ingredients to fit my palate, feel free to try either version

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/barley-salad-with-parsley-and-walnuts

Cook one cup of pearl barley in boiling water for 15-20 minutes

In a large bowl whisk together 1/2 tsp honey, 1/2 tsp grainy dijon mustard, juice of one large lemon, quarter cup of olive oil, 1 large minced garlic clove, salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes

Add 1/4 C finely diced red onion, 1 diced tomato, diced feta cheese, 1 diced carrot, chopped basil, and a handful of baby spinach to mixture and let marinate while barley continues to cook

When barley is tender, strain under cold water add to the mixture.