Za Vas! Eating and Drinking My Way Through the Russian Festival

Because why wouldn't you put a creepy big-eyed baby head on your bite-sized chocolate??

The gravity-defying moves of the Ukrainian Dance Troupe

Anyone who reads this blog knows just how much I love a good festival. I get ridiculously worked up about them, really. Latino, Korean, Greek - just put a fork in my hand and point me towards all that  food.   So you can only imagine how excited Poppa Trix and I were for the Russian Festival. Just think: Vareniki!  Babka! Blinis! Vodka.  And even though the festival took place in a relatively small space - under a tent and an  adjoining room, part of a Russian Orthodox church - there was no shortage of goodies and fun.

Sweet & Spicy Lavender Honey Quickbread for the International Incident Lavender Party

Hey lavender! Are you ready for the party?

Have I mentioned how grateful I am for these monthly International Incident Parties? So often these days, my life gets overwhelmingly busy and I find myself neglecting (and missing) both my blog and the many, many food blogs I love to read. But these parties give me an assignment (the theme) and a deadline (the party date). And I always make my deadlines! Best of all, they help me stay connected with many of my fellow food bloggers. So many thanks (as always) to our awesome hostess and founder Penny aka Jeroxie!

Truthfully, at first I was a bit at a loss when I found out that this month's theme was lavender. Ironically, I had just used culinary lavender for the first time in the recent Incident Scones Party, in my lavender, cardamom, and cracked black pepper drop scones. Eek! Just how many lavender dishes can one person come up with?

Spaghetti Squash with Sage, Roasted Garlic, & Gruyere

 

 Why do I always forget about spaghetti squash until someone or something reminds me of just how awesome it is? This time, my memory was jogged thanks to fruit and vegetable day in culinary class. As a demo, Chef whipped up a wickedly tasty dish of spaghetti squash and cheese and fresh herbs. (And I'm not singing the praises of Chef's cooking  just because he happens to know that I write this blog and may in fact read this post  ... That's like asking for extra credit points just for flattery. Which I would never, ever do. Ahem.)

Korean American Fest: Colors, Music, and Fab, Fab Food

Yes, yes, I know this is a food blog, but the traditional costumes at the recent Korean American Festival - held in downtown Baltimore on a broiling hot September Sunday - were just too gorgeous, too colorful, and too darn pink for me to resist.

Ei Candy: Viennese Eiersalat, Two Ways, for the International Incident Eggs Party

 

Welcome to the September International Incident Party!  Because this is my birthday month, I'm thrilled to be co-hosting with the fabulous Penny aka Jeroxie. These little shindigs she started back in February just keep growing - not only is this the biggest party yet, but Epicurious just did a write up about the Incidents. Cool stuff.

In the past, party themes have included gnocchi, noodles, pizza, and tacos, but I don't think we've ever had a party with such a wide-open theme as this one: eggs. Eggs! The sheer number of possibilities made this one tough to nail down. I had so many ideas: a souffle? eggs en cocotte? a cake for my birthday? Too bad I already made Julia Child's gateau omni omelette!!

But then I remembered those tiny little sandwiches I fell in love with in Vienna.

It's an Eggs Party, and You're Invited!

 

Have you joined in on an International Incident Party yet? If not, now is the time! Who wouldn't want to come to an eggs party, after all? And September is my birthday month, and that means I get to co-host the shindig on September 26th with the awesome Penny aka Jeroxie, the founder of these monthly soirees.

A Tale of Two Tortes: Brown Sugar Fig & Lemon Plum

plum torte

a slice of plum torte

fig torte

If you were to look over some of my recent posts - gooseberry tartlets, sour cherry compote, lavender drop scones - you might begin to doubt the truth of my past claims that I'm not generally the biggest fan of dessert.  While it remains true that I don't eat much of it, I have been on something of a sweets-making bender lately. I suppose it's because baking is so therapeutic - it forces you to slow down and only think about what you're doing, not about the million-and-one other tasks clamoring to be finished (or begun).

Gourmet Grilling Tips for Labor Day, a Philadelphia Hoagie-Eating Marathon, the Best Fish on the Planet Earth ... and More

Veggie banh mi from Ba Le Bakery in Philly

Crab Ravioli at Brewers Art in Baltimore

The "Best Fish on Planet Earth" at the downtown Baltimore Farmers Market

Welcome to another recap all of the crazy things I've been eating, doing, and writing about as online food editor for the Urbanite.  Looking back at all the writing I've been doing over the past 5 weeks or so makes me wonder how I've even managed to find the time to post here once a week, which is my self-imposed absolute, guilt-inducing minimum. Really! I think it's time to stop beating myself up about being a bad blogger.  And did I mention that culinary classes started again? I love my class this semester - more on that in future posts - but whew, it's all a lot of work.

Speaking of work ... people, eating as much food as I've been shoveling into my face, all in the name of doing my job, is not for amateurs or the faint of heart.  It really takes a lot of stamina, dedication, and sheer will power to maintain this level of gluttony. Thank goodness for my discount treadmill.

Farmers Market Salad: Fresh Field Peas & Corn with Basil, Scallions and a Garlic Tarragon Aioli

 

Little bowl, big flavor

Believe it or not, until recently I had never  tasted a fresh field pea. Can you imagine? It's enough to make my Southern great grandma roll over in her grave.  But thanks to my local farmers market, that sad state of affairs has ended and I am now acquainted - and madly in love - with all things fresh pea. I could never choose between the earthy crowder pea and the nutty black eyed pea, so for this salad I used both.  You could use canned or dried peas, but if you can get your hands on fresh ones, by all means use them.

Lavender, Cardamom & Cracked Black Pepper Drop Scones: International Incident Scones Party

When the theme for this month's International Incident Party was announced  - hosted as ever by the lovely Penny aka Jeroxie, along with August birthday babies Anh of  A food’s lover's journey and  Cherrie of Sweet Cherrie Pie - I must admit that at first I wasn't terribly inspired. Scones. What to do? Unlike many of my fellow party goers,  scones are not a cultural reference point for me. I didn't grow up enjoying scones at tea time.  I don't even know when "tea time" actually is.  I take coffee breaks and eat bagels.  Of course I wanted to make fun and creative scones, but I had no idea where to begin.

But then one day I was flipping channels on the TV, and I caught the end of a cooking show - I don't remember which one - about something called "drop scones." Hmmm. They looked like little pancakes. Ah, pancakes! Now that I can work with. Indeed,  a bit of research taught me that drop scones are also called Scottish pancakes. They differ from typical American breakfast pancakes in that they're smaller and not necessarily sweet, which I found appealing.