Where have they gone?

For those of you who are beginning to wonder why you bother reading this blog if we aren't going to do more diligence in providing interesting (or self-serving) tidbits on a regular basis, I promise you (former girl scouts honor) that more food fun is on it's way.

We have mouth-watering marvels and gross goodies to share (with photos!)...just been a tidge busy. This is what happens when you mix two social butterflies with 40-hour work schedules together with a needs-to-be-blogged blog.

More to come...and soon! Now, I'm just thinking aloud here, but as we've both obtained the nod from the paycheck powers-that-be to skootch off early tomorrow for a Friday jaunt to the NC State Fair, perhaps a tribute to the wonderful world of deep-fried goodness will be in the asking.

So SERIOUSLY, stay tuned, and until then, keep your bellies full and your minds open!

Ciao,
k2

Bean vs. Legume: The Title Throw-down

Okay, John, to answer your question about the "difference between a legume and a bean"? Well, really, there is no difference. “Bean” is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae – thus “legume”), so basically, beans are a subset of legumes.

Legumes are plants that bear pods that split when mature and the pods or seeds are used for food. According to Wikipedia (which I love to use for learning new stuff), although "beans" usually means the seeds of bean plants, it can also mean (especially in the US) the whole young pods of bean plants, which if picked before the pods ripen and dry, can be tender enough to eat whole, whether it’s cooked or raw. So the term "green bean" literally means green in the sense of unripe, as the beans inside the green bean pods are really too teeny to be considered a significant part of the cooked fruit.

Bean are considered to be among the most versatile and nutritious foods available. Typically low in fat, contain no cholesterol, and are high in folate, potassium, iron and magnesium. And to boot, depending on the type of bean you use, they can be a great source of protein -- a very healthy alternative for meat (which has way more fat and icky cholesterol).

Protein-enriched legumes come either dried or canned, and some of the more common types are azuki (asuki) beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), edamame (new personal favorite), fava beans (I hear they go well with chianti), lentils, lima beans (aka butter beans), red kidney beans (mmm, chili), and soy nuts (yuck).

So there you go. And thanks for the question! I can hardly wait to break out my new bean small talk at the next cocktail party.

k2

And so it begins....

Wow, awesome, we actually got some questions. So just to drag this out and fill in space, we will address your questions one day at a time, in the order in which they are received, of course, just to play fair. Oh, and to be able to give each of your questions the time and consideration they deserve. :)

Question #1 comes to us from Sprocket the Dog (side note: totally frickin' cool name) -- "How would you make the world's most perfect ice cream sammitch?"

Well, Sprocket, while I tend to enjoy the classics -- squiggy chocolate cake-like coverings with genuine faux "vanilla" ice cream substance melting out the sides -- Wendi and I both agree that the "perfect" ice cream sammitch, broken down to the most basic elements, consists of two homemade cookies with a plentiful helping of creamy, more-natural-than-not ice cream tucked in-between. If you have purist tendencies, then the cookies would be slightly chewy chocolate chip with a natural vanilla bean ice cream center.

But you know, there are SO many options out there, and so many opportunities to personalize your dreammitch of choice. Me, in the winter, I can see cozying up by the fire with a gingersnap and peppermint ice cream sammitch or spice cookies with pumpkin ice cream (drool). Or for all you Reese's fans out there, what about peanut butter cookies with chocolate ice cream? Hmmm, tasty.

So Sprocket, it comes down to this: Whatever palate-pleasing elements you use to build your dreammitch, well, it's always going to be perfect if it makes you happy.

k2
Q&A Smarty-pants

Q & A

Since K2 and I are between gigs (we are getting ready for a small Halloween/zombie gathering, and also have a really quiet fall meal in the works) we have little to post in terms of food or pictures or witty comments. Although, we can be witty, snarky, sarcastic, or whatever else you may request... it's just easier to do if there is food involved.

So, this is what we decided... ready for it?? Q & A. If anybody has culinary type questions, that you might want to ask, we want to be able to answer (using all of the above mentioned writing techniques). If you know of anybody who may have questions, who does NOT read the blog, you can pass it along to them (note: that was a fairly shameless plug, it's true).

There are two ways you can ask. Feel free to send an email to us at theculinarycreative@gmail.com or you can post as a comment.

We look forward to questions!! We might even succumb to begging!!! :)

-Wendi-

Fall Menu Preview

I have two inspirations when it comes to "creating food":

1. Bouncing ideas around with K2 (which, of course, produces the best results), and
2. Being insanely bored and distracting myself with a game of WWFE (What Would Foodies Eat?).

Door #2 is actually what helped me come up with a potential meal for the fall menu coming up in a few weeks. K2 and I haven't had a real chance to sit down and discuss so the menu is not finalized (good thing the clients are friends). In fact, I believe I've only mentioned the food in passing to her, so we haven't been able to really dive in and come up with the ideal menu, but I really wanted to post something today, so below is the beginning of a menu.

Appetizer -- Tempura root vegetables (with some sort of dip)

Salad -- Baby spinach with granny smith apples, dried cranberries, and shaved Parmesan cheese with a warm maple, bacon vinaigrette.

Main course -- Inside out Paella (and this is the one I remember running by K2... I know we need a new name, I know) which is basically a chicken breast stuffed with paella goodness!

I'm having trouble with side dishes, I thought of roasted cauliflower, and crunchy cheese twists. Unfortunately, putting all that on a plate actually creates a bit of a problem... no sauce (it's always good to have a sauce on the plate).

Dessert -- Gingerbread pudding with a side of homemade pumpkin ice cream.

The other reason I decided to post is, I think it's important to show a developing menu. Like, here's the Before, and wait until after the After (the After will even come with pictures!!). You never know, could be a completely different menu come meal time!!

This is where I hope K2 chimes in (you know, to show the bouncing ideas aspect!! Some day, this process will be videotaped).

-Wendi-


Videotaped? Ah, that's right, Wendi's plan for us is (1) overnight business success, (2) our own cooking shows (you know, one for each of us), and then (3) take over the world! Oh wait, #3 is really mine, but Wendi's always game for new things.

So here is where I chime in now with a what we can do with the base menu (do you feel like you're at Oz yet, peeking behind the curtain, can we interest you in a heart or perhaps a dash of courage?).

Menu, Part Deux --

Tempura Root Veggies with various squashes would be good and maybe a beet-infused vinaigrette for dipping. Something light since tempura is not a heavy fried coating, tangy with a nice vinegar base, and "beet"ed to keep with the root veggie theme, plus would add a nice touch of color to the course.

The salad is everything wonderful, but for some extra crunch I would suggest tossing in some toasted walnuts. Walnuts are very fallish and would add a savory crunch to offset an already sweet-heavy salad.

Chicken stuffed with paella...how about calling it Pollo Paella? We can use a menu to describe the inside-outyness of the dish, but at least the title will give people a pretty good sense of what the basics are. And I'd like to do it with a chunky tomato sauce...not tomato sauce like "where's the pizza crust," but a rich thick sauce with heavy diced tomatoes, some fresh oregano, and some burgundy wine (oooh, here comes the drool).

As far as sides go, I'd only have one since your starch will actually be tucked inside the chicken and you've already fed them root veggies as an appetizer. Now I wouldn't eat it, but what about steamed asparagus (bleck!) on the side, a tidy little stack, done simply with no sauce? Then you've got green to go with the brown/yellow of the bird/paella and red of the sauce -- very fall-like colors.

And for the dessert, how about drizzling the whole thing with a pecan syrup or caramel sauce (secret is not in the sauce, it IS the sauce).

And this is how it begins -- Ta-Dahhhhh! (insert bow here)

k2

Buying Miss Buttercup

I'm very pleased to announce a new arrival in the Kay household -- Buttercup, weighing 22 lbs 8 oz, almost 14 in tall. She arrived on Saturday after much painful deliberation (5-qt? 6-qt? lgt yellow? drk yellow?), but she was finally brought home safely on Saturday afternoon. We've very happy and though refurbished, she's in perfect condition.

She's just beautiful (tear).

:) k2

Gluten intolerant? Here, have a brownie!

That could very well be a cruel statement... teasing somebody who has a gluten intolerance with a nice big hunk of warm chocolaty brownie... that's just mean, UNLESS... the brownie happens to be gluten free!! That's right, I took the plunge into making a dietary-friendly brownie for a co-worker who cannot eat flour or, if she does, I assume she suffers quite a lot!

K2 and I have been fairly "fortunate" (and there are quotations, because it's not really the right term, but it's what my brain came up with this morning) in not having had any events where there are a lot of dietary restrictions. In fact, the only one I can recall is having a guest who could not eat anything raw that was in the onion family. Easy enough to get around, just cook them. When I think about it, I don't think we've ever done an event where we HAD to provide even vegetarian alternatives, although we always do! I assume as the business builds, we will come across these challenges more frequently. Personally, I look forward to it... I think it's fun coming up with alternate food that under 'normal' (there are those pesky quotation marks again... oh, and parenthesis... that's a different topic all together) circumstances may not come up in the menu planning stage.

For this reason, I took on the quest to find a gluten-free brownie that would not only satisfy somebody who did not eat flour, but also those who more accustomed to eating a flour-packed goodie. I came across a recipe for Black Bean Brownies. I have not yet tweaked the recipe, because I wanted to get a sense of what it would be like as written. They aren't bad at all! I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. All the ingredients go into a blender, then come out of the blender looking like runny pudding, go into the oven, and *POOF* come out looking like brownies. They are moist, and fudgy-like, not very cake-like, but very good nonetheless. I plan on tweaking a little bit, maybe trying for more of a cake-like consistency, and playing around with flavors.

I do not currently have pictures of these little fudgy gems (that's right, fudgy gems), but hopefully when I get back to the pan of brownies tonight, I will remember to snap a couple of shots.

That's all for now ...

-Wendi-