E's Butterscotch Floral Scarf

With all the leftover yellow yarn, I decided to practice some more crocheting by making a scarf, which will not be worn until next winter. I made this up as I crocheted except for the florals, which I learned here. 

Begin with a long chain, which will determine how wide the cowl-style scarf is around your neck. Then double crochet a bajillion times until your scarf is at the thickness that you want. The Husband called it a "mobius scarf" because it is perpetually twisted like a Möbius strip (for all you nerds out there). 

I love the texture of the florals and how the petals grow based on the number of stitches. Although it is already spring (feels like summer!) and hardly scarf weather, this mustard yellow scarf will make any drab winter day POP.

Durham Food Trucks: Part 1

I've been hoping to try some of the Durham food trucks for months now, but never had the time to track them down. Since then, I've been stalking Pie Pushers on twitter and we finally found them on Saturday night in front of Fullsteam Brewery. 

The Husband called it a "perfect symbiotic relationship" between this new brewery and the pizza trucks. 

I had been reading about the potato, bacon, and brussels sprout pizza, but they ran out by the time we arrived. Instead, I had the Pacecar and The Husband had the Sausage and Mushroom.

The Verdict: The Husband is very particular about pizza crust even though he's from Texas. He pines after a pizzeria in Austin, TX with thin, crispy yet chewy crust. After taking his first bite, he looked at me with satisfaction and said, "This is it." The Sausage and Mushroom was delicious. The Pacecar was missing some salt and could use some additional flavor, but again the crust was super good. 

Of course, nothing goes better with pizza than beer. Fullsteam's Sweet Potato Brew. Yum. 

Klausie's pizza truck was right outside of Fullsteam and since we only had a slice each of Pie Pushers we decided to give them a try as well. This is of the "pan pizza" style. Imagine farm fresh toppings, homemade sauce, and generous portions of cheese, all sitting upon a thick, foccacia-style bread. 

The Husband had the "The Meat" and I had "The Greek." They were fabulous. The sauce was super flavorful with hints of garlic, onion, and herbs. The crust was thick and chewy smothered with sauce and cheese. The overall reaction was "OMG." 

We overheard the owner saying that he is currently trying to source some local bacon. We'll definitely be back. 

Overall, we found some of our favorite food truck eats this weekend. Can't wait to return to Pie Pushers for the brussels sprout pizza! To locate these two roaming trucks, follow them on twitter and you'll be able to track them down. 

Have a great Monday! 

Dining In: Asheville, NC

My weekend in Asheville was filled with time at the gorgeous spa at Grove Park Inn, leisurely walks around eclectic little shops (where I found a sun hat!), and lots of yummy food. (The Husband was there for a conference so he probably had much less fun than I did :P).  One of our stops was Bouchon Street Food, which is a more casual version of the full-on French restaurant next door (called Bouchon, of course). 

The food was undeniably French with country style pork and duck pate, a ham and cheese crepe with a duck egg, and escargot! It was SO good. 

For a late brunch, we braved the long lines at Tupelo Honey Cafe. Luckily, we got seated at the bar where we could watch while our food was being prepared. After the long wait, the biscuits and black raspberry jam hit the spot. So did the fried green tomatoes with goat cheese grits. YUM.  

The Eggs Beddy was delicious, although I wished my yolk was a little more runny, and The Husband's fried chicken and biscuits were surprisingly good for fried white meat!

We then ventured to Chocolate Fetish for some scrumptious chocolate treats. Flavors pictured include Champagne, Dragon's Breath (wasabi and sesame), Basil Pistachio, and Pistachio Frog.

Final stop before heading home was at Ultimate Ice Cream, which reportedly is some of the best ice cream that some reviewers have ever tasted. The Flaky Coconut and Butter Pecan were true to flavor and wonderfully creamy. 

All in all, Asheville is a little treasure in the mountains. We'll definitely be returning for more. 

Have a great weekend! 

Weekend in Asheville

Some of my favorite things from our trip to Asheville this weekend. You'll notice there are no pictures about food since that deserves its own post! 

Hope you find some beautiful things to look at this Tuesday.

Momma P's Polish Perogies

A friend's mother came to visit this past weekend and I got to learn how to make traditional polish perogies with them. Polish food is something I still don't quite understand just because I've never really had much of it. But nothing beats homemade polish food from your friend's momma.

Ingredients:
4 cups of flour, unsifted
6 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
5 tablespoons melted butter/margarine

Filling:
Cottage cheese
Shreaded Velveeta cheese or mild cheddar
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mix all perogie skin ingredients together either by hand until formed into a ball or with a stand mixer with a dough hook.

2. Roll flat and fill with cottage cheese mixture. You can make the perogies as large or small as you'd like.

3. Fold skin over.  We used a cup to cut the shapes into the half moon perogies.

4. Use the prongs of the fork to make pretty hash marks. Make sure they are tightly sealed otherwise the cheese will try to escape.

5. Boil perogies for 10 minutes.

6. When ready to eat, perogies are cooked in a pan with some butter and sliced onions.

7. Remaining boiled perogies can be packed and frozen for future meals.

The filling was cheesy, but mild and creamy. The skin was chewy, but tender. Pretty good for a polish food novice.

Have a wonderful weekend!

White Fish in Tomato Fennel Broth

Fennel bulbs are one of those things that I have very little familiarity with. It's not commonly used in the foods that I grew up eating, but it has such an interesting smell much like licorice before it's cooked. I picked up 2 bulbs at TJ's and resolved to use it in something for dinner this past week.

Mark Bittman recently wrote a feature in the NYTimes called "White Fillet a Dozen Ways" and my recipe came from the poached section.

Ingredients
2 white fish fillets
2 fennel bulbs, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 pinch of saffron
1 tablespoon fennel seeds (which I didn't have, so skipped)
1 cup diced tomatoes

Directions
1. Put a large, deep skillet over medium heat; add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil.

2. When oil is hot, add 1 chopped onion and 2 chopped fennel bulbs; cook 5 minutes.

3. Add the fish, a pinch of saffron and 1 tablespoon fennel seeds and 1 cup diced tomatoes.

4. Add 1 cup water and keep at medium boil until fish is fully cooked and flaky.

5. Add salt (and pepper) to taste.

6. Garnish with chopped fennel fronds and serve with toasted thick bread. 

The flavor was clean, yet aromatic and next time I'm thinking about adding a dash of white wine for a bit of acidity. The texture of the onion and fennel paired with the soft, flaky fish and crunchy bread was divine. It was so delicious that I contemplated eating The Husband's portion. 

Food that nourishes the soul is the point of cooking. No? 

SEEDS Pie Social

Yesterday was a gorgeous Sunday and a perfect day for the SEEDS Pie Social, which is a fundraiser that benefits the Durham Inner-city Gardeners program. Local restaurants and bakeries donated dozens of savory and sweet pies. We were lucky to arrive before the savory ones ran out. The pictures speak for themselves in this case. 

Savory plate: The Hobbit and Vegetable Pot Pie

Sweet plate: Chocolate Bourbon Pecan and Sorghum Pie

If you missed out this year, be sure to check this out next Spring. The garden is nestled in a downtown urban space and really shows the potential of community gardening. 

Have a great Monday!