Between the steak at Spoleto Thursday, barbecue Friday from a place I’m hoping to review in the next few weeks, kielbasa at our friends’ Jack and Jill party Saturday and a birthday cookout Sunday, I feel like I might have eaten a cow and a pig all by myself. This is rare for someone who – at least in the past – has gravitated toward chicken and seafood. Obviously it was time for something fresh and healthy.

On the way home from the Sunday party, we stopped at the brand-new ShopRite in town for a few supplies. I was really impressed by the store’s clean, easy layout; beautiful produce and warm, friendly service. Prices seemed considerably lower than Stop n’Shop, let alone Big Y.

I wandered around produce for a while and happened upon the herb section, where I picked up a vibrant green, fragrant pile of fresh mint. Inspiration struck. Earlier this year, I came upon a recipe for grilled watermelon and feta salad, tossed with chopped mint and citrus juice.

Watermelon isn’t my favorite fruit (I like tangier ones; pineapple, strawberries, mango) but I figured anything topped with feta had winning potential. Rather than buy a huge melon, I grabbed a pre-wrapped package containing four slices.

At home, I perused a few recipes online and finally settled upon this one from Fine Cooking:

1 small red or yellow watermelon (3 to 4 pounds), preferably seedless and not too ripe
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing the melon
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
Juice of 1 large navel orange
Pinch of sea or kosher salt, or more to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper; or more to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)

As I was only working with four slices of melon, I estimated a smaller amount of juice, mint and oil. And since I didn’t have any fresh oranges, I threw in a splash of Tropicana.

Once the resident grillmaster finished the melon (2 to 3 minutes per side) I sliced off the rinds, chopped the fruit into small pieces and tossed it in a bowl with the juices, olive oil, mint and spices. Don’t be afraid of the cayenne, it gives it an intriguing kick.

And then it was time for my favorite part – the cheese.

This salad is a fascinating study in flavors and textures. The watermelon caramelizes ever so slightly when grilled. The mint provides a cool bite. Citrus juice adds sour tang. The feta contributes creamy saltiness, and depending on how much cayenne you add, you get that heat in the back of your throat. It’s wild. And healthy. Wins all around.

I had “eggplant fries” at Hartford’s Taste of the Nation event May 6, courtesy of Joey Garlic’s Pizza. They were crispy, savory, cheesy sticks of heaven, especially with accompanying pomodoro sauce for dipping. But when fried, these can be heavy, as eggplant is a virtual sponge for oil.

At home, I improvised my own baked version. I peeled an eggplant, sliced it into skinny “fry” shapes, tossed the sticks in flour, dipped them in egg white and rolled them in seasoned panko crumbs.  Baked at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, these came out as crunchy and irresistible as their fryolator counterparts. I gave them a small drizzle of olive oil, a small shake of garlic powder and a shower of Parmesan.

A healthy and interesting alternative to potatoes, for sure. I love eggplant, but until now, I haven’t done anything with it beyond baked eggplant parmesan.

We made these last night to go with a pineapple-chipotle marinated pork tenderloin. To drink: Boutari Moschofilero, which I picked up at Table & Vine last week. It’s been seven-plus months since we arrived home from Santorini and I miss it Every. Single. Day.

P.S. Boutari loves Fun With Carbs. Though I’m not sure I’d call it a “healthy eating blog,” based on my multiple KFC Double Down posts alone.

(Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Strawberry season is upon us in Connecticut. The crop is a couple of weeks early, due to beautiful spring sunshine.  By the end of June, they’ll be gone. So I made sure to stop by a local farmstand this afternoon. They weren’t cheap – a quart cost $4.99. But just one bite will turn you against the 2 for $4 California-born clamshell boxes at the grocery store. These berries are bursting with juicy sweetness – good enough for dessert on their own.

I also bit the bullet and finally bought a basil plant. I don’t have a yard with planting space, so any ‘crops’ of mine have to be of the potted-plant variety. And since I unintentionally murder any plant in my possession, I’ve been reluctant to do this. But I decided I’d be damned if I bought another $3 container of basil from the grocery store. (I know. I should be slapped.)

Pesto, pizza, tomato mozzarella sandwiches, salads….here I come.

My story for the Courant’s Flavor section ran June 3. I spoke to several bloggers across the state about their experiences documenting restaurant visits, cooking adventures and finds at specialty food stores and farmers’ markets.

Here are links to those mentioned in the story:

• Emily Cahill, A Change of Eatery: Emily focuses mostly on dining experiences and food and wine events in the greater Hartford region.
• Dave Sacerdote, Dave’s Cupboard: Original charcuterie recipes, odd food finds, local restaurant reviews.
• Jan Ellen Spiegel, CT Food: Jan, a professional food writer, focuses on fresh food, local farming and Connecticut farmers’ markets.
• CT Bites: A multi-author blog covering the food scene in Fairfield County: dining, cooking, kid-friendly eats. Stephanie Webster serves as editor-in-chief; ‘taco specialist’ Amy Kundrat contributes (she also authors MotoAmy)

I also spoke to Zoe of Nutmeg Kitchen and Michelle of Fun and Fearless in Beantown, but was unable to include the interviews because of space limitations. (my apologies!)

Another worthy visit: CT Museum Quest. Steve Wood has taken on the daunting task of documenting Connecticut’s museums, attractions, parks, trails and other noteworthy spots. Along the way, he eats. His archive of visits to diners, pizza places, burger joints, clam shacks, bakeries, cheesemakers, dairies, wineries, breweries is vast and extensive. He’s also making his way through two “eat before you die” lists, compiled by the Sterns of Roadfood and Connecticut Magazine.

If you’re looking to add to your blogroll, check them out. Fun, interesting, vibrant writing and some excellent photography.

That should have been it. But of course my eyes wandered to the shellfish on display. Among excellent-looking  jumbo shrimp and lump lobster meat rested two Dungeness crabs, on sale for $5.99/lb.

I first had Dungeness on a 2004 trip to San Francisco, where it was everywhere, from street carts to fancy restaurants. The meat is sweet and tender. Suddenly, the halibut wasn’t enough – I needed that crab.

(Rob is the master of going to a store and getting exactly what he needs, no deviation. The look on his face was nothing short of “Are you serious?”)

But what to do with it? Thankfully, the crustacean was pre-cooked. The seafood clerk advised us to toss it into boiling water for a few minutes before eating. I decided we’d eat it like boiled lobster – crack open the body and legs and hunt feverishly for meat.

As an homage to Homer Simpson, we nicknamed the crab “Pinchy” before we gave it a very hot bath.  It wasn’t until I took this picture that I realized Pinchy had a face. Oops.

But the crabmeat was delicious, especially when sprinkled with Old Bay seasoning and dipped into melted butter, then washed down with a 2007 Bonterra Chardonnay. California wine for our West Coast seafood. Yummy.

There’s bacon mayonnaise. Bacon salt. Bacon chocolate bars. Bacon cupcakes. And in Boston, event organizers even dreamed up a Bacon and Beer Festival, held last month.

Now, devotees of the salty, greasy breakfast staple have another reason to celebrate. Torani has added a bacon flavor to its line of beverage syrups. Which means that now, you can literally have your bacon and drink it, too. Bacon lattes, anyone?

Too bad Starbucks doesn’t carry this brand of syrup. Can you imagine if this was an option for the new “However You Want It” Frappuccino items? Bacon syrup, chocolate sauce and sprinkles of bacon bits… (Local coffee shops, if you’re reading, I want credit for this concoction.)

A while back, I bought a box of Casbah brand falafel mix in the natural-foods section of Stop n’ Shop. I figured it was worth a try. My first attempt at homemade falafel was a mess.  I’m not sure if it was because I had no food processor in which to blend the chickpeas – or because I forgot the baking soda, causing the lumps to fall apart in the deep fryer. Moving on…

It doesn’t get much easier than this. Add water to the all-natural mix of garbanzo bean flour, enriched flour, baking soda and spices and let the mixture stand for 10 minutes. Use a melon baller or ice cream scoop (I used a stainless steel 2-tbsp measuring spoon) and form the mixture into balls. The box provides both frying and baking instructions.

I love my falafel crispy but I didn’t want to roll out our CoolDaddy fryer. Since it makes the whole house smell like a carnival, or a low-rent fish n’ chips shop, we only use it twice a year or so. Instead, for some crunchiness, I chose to first pan-fry the patties in vegetable oil to give them a nice crust. Then I baked them through for a bit at 375 degrees. It worked beautifully, and I’m sure I saved (a few) calories by not fully immersing them in boiling oil. I’ll continue telling myself that.

Tahini sauce is my absolute favorite falafel topping, but laziness and a time crunch stopped me from traveling to a bigger grocery store to search for it. Instead, I improvised with nonfat yogurt, fresh cucumber, chopped garlic, lemon juice and mint to make an easy tzatziki sauce. There’s something about the tanginess of yogurt that goes well with this.

I served the patties on fresh pita bread with the yogurt sauce, sliced plum tomatoes, mesclun greens and slices of raw white onion. Delicious and easy, and just as good as my favorite Tapas mainstay.

I’d planned panko-crusted cod with grilled asparagus and some starch, maybe brown rice. But then I saw the potatoes on my counter and they were looking a little…spiky. I determined that they weren’t rotten, but I figured I’d better use them.

Mashed potatoes and I have never been great friends. I always thought they were too boring, unless drenched in sour cream and butter and bacon and cheese and other things that can stop your heart. And so we’d only cook them for Thanksgiving. But I had a change of heart when we made Valentine’s Day dinner at home last month. To go with our beef tenderloin, we made a rich batch of whipped potatoes with fat-free sour cream, roasted garlic and a little FF half-and-half. Bingo. All that velvety flavor with so much less fat.

So I cut the antennae off the five small spuds, peeled and boiled them up, while simultaneously roasting a fresh bulb of garlic in the oven. (That smell is beyond intoxicating, by the way.) Once the potatoes were ready for mashing, they went into a bowl with six big caramelized cloves, about 1/4 cup of fat-free half and half, 4 tablespoons of melted Smart Balance butter substitute and a 6-ounce container of fat-free Chobani Greek yogurt. And if you’ve ever cooked with great Greek yogurt, you’ll never buy sour cream again.

The kicker flavor, though, was the 1/2 teaspoon or so of white truffle oil blended into the mix. I bought this to top our Valentine’s Day fontina fondue, and I’ve been in love with it ever since. I know, truffle oil sold here is faux and manufactured, but I don’t care.

Once the potatoes went into the baking dish, I topped them with fresh grated Parmesan, two twists of cracked black pepper and a few more drops of that truffle goodness.

The end result was 100% ridiculous. Creamy, sumptuous, diabolical. But devoid of too much fat. Rob took one bite of fish, asparagus and potato and then commented, “This is how it should be. Always potatoes.” (I’m guessing the brown rice might get shoved to the back of the cupboard.)

Apologies for not having a good photo of the finished product. But rest assured I will be making this again.

If you’d like the recipe, feel free to comment. I can try to write it down more clearly.

A little work of art...

We returned home last night from a blissful week in the Turks & Caicos Islands, where we did what you’re supposed to do on vacation – eat and drink way too much. (Post forthcoming. It involves lots of conch and lots of rum.)

We were also fortunate enough to come home to unseasonably warm weather – 72 degrees at Logan Airport yesterday. Today was equally gorgeous. So after braving the grocery store, I put together a salad that reflected what’s hopefully going to be a beautiful New England spring.

Baby Spinach Salad with Strawberries, Goat Cheese and Blood Orange Vinaigrette

(As with most of my cooking, I didn’t really use a recipe for this one.  This is entirely estimated. So adapt it to your specifications…)

• 2 cups baby spinach
• 3 or 4 large fresh strawberries, sliced
• 1 1/2- 2 oz. crumbled honey-flavored goat cheese (I find this to be sweeter and creamier than other versions)
• 1 tbsp. sliced or slivered almonds
• 1 twist cracked black pepper
• Fresh blood orange vinaigrette (juice of one fresh blood orange, 2 tsp. olive oil, 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar. I like the dressing to be mostly juice – feel free to adapt to your own taste.)

Top spinach with fruit, cheese, nuts and pepper, then toss with vinaigrette.

Notes:

Blood oranges are only in season winter through spring. BOO. So if you don’t see them in stores in the next month or two, that’s why. I haven’t found a concentrate that I like, to be honest. When I can’t get them, I’ll make a pomegranate vinaigrette with POM juice, balsamic vinegar and a touch of olive oil.

I found the honey-flavored goat cheese at Highland Park Market in Suffield, but I’ve also seen something similar at Trader Joe’s.

If you don’t like goat cheese, like a certain spouse of mine, I’m sure this would be equally good with another strong cheese, like Gorgonzola.

enjoy!

I’m really not against Valentine’s dining. Hell, I’m a restaurant blogger – eating out is my favorite thing to do. I understand people love to plan special dates, and I respect that couples have favorite restaurants that they return to year after year. I just believe that restaurant owners go out of their way to make these diners pay for so-called romance.

Therefore, this post by food blogger Brooke Burton spoke to me. She explains the reasons why couples should think twice about dining out on (or in this case, around) this holiday. Among the rationale: high-stakes dining (with elevated expectations), inflated prices and rushed seating times.

For years, my now-husband and I would go to Chandler’s Restaurant at the Yankee Candle flagship store in South Deerfield, Mass. The dining room is candlelit and cozy, and outdoor lighting reflects off the snow. But on our last visit, two years ago, we were utterly unimpressed by the tiny prix-fixe menu and absurd pricing.

So last year, for a fraction of the price, we stayed home and cooked. We made a seafood casserole and homemade chocolate-dipped strawberries, and I picked up an $8.99 cava at our local liquor store. This year, we’re having tenderloin and I’m going to try to replicate the ridiculous fontina fondue we had at Bin 228 last month. To drink? A gift bottle of Veuve Clicquot we’ve been saving since our wedding. Maybe. I also have a $10 bottle of Mionetto prosecco. Try ordering a martini for under $10 at a restaurant this weekend.

The only problem – I’d really love some fresh raw oysters. and I don’t want to shuck them at home.

And do not even get me started on Valentine’s Day proposals…