Chili Pepper, Popcorn, & Inuit Tea

What, you ask, could chili pepper, popcorn, and Inuit tea possibly have in common? Well, these are all goodies I got as part of the new Foodie Exhange program, a Google group which you should totally check out. You get to share $10 of your favorite local (non-perishable!) grub with fellow bloggers, and they'll do the same for you.

From Felice in the Kitchen in Arizona I got some  hot Southwestern goodies:  New Mexico chili powder, Arizona Gunslinger Hot Sauce and Smokin' Hot popcorn. Have you ever found a red pepper in your popcorn?  I'm talking hot.

From Cheap Ethnic Eatz in Montreal I got steak spice (which I plan to use on salmon since I don't eat steak), Inuit tea, yummy golden fudge - sucre a la creme - an unfortunately exploded maple syrup, and ice cider. Let's just say it's a good thing I don't live near a store that carries this stuff ... hic!

 

And what did I send them? Well, to find that out you can either check out their blogs or do an exchange with me! I'll give you a hint: chips and cookies were involved.

Homemade Butter, Radishes, & Salt: A Love Story

This isn't so much a recipe as it is a love story. You see, I used to think that radishes were useless. Sure, they looked cute enough, but their red round cuteness belied their inner hatefulness. What good were they? Just a watery afterthought, a bitter, unimaginative addition to salads, mere space wasters on trays of crudites.

But my relationship with radishes has undergone a radical transformation. You might even say we're in love. It's all due to butter, salt, and of course, the French. As in the best love stories - or perhaps more accurately 1930s screwball romances - the dramatic conclusion was not reached without some initial animosity, some madcap misadventure, and (hopefully) a good dose of witty banter.

Rigatoni with Cauliflower: A Traditional Sicilian Dish with a Touch of Moroccan Influence

I've written here before about my unfortunate lack of culinary heritage or familial culture of food, and how I love to find and create meals that could have been cooked for me by my fantasy grandmother or imaginary mom.

Well, my friend Salvatore de Simone never had to worry about any of that.  He grew up eating this rich and comforting Sicilian pasta and cauliflower dish, a meal his grandmother used to make and one that his mother, Luisa, still cooks for him - with just a few additions of her own.  Yes, I am a bit jealous! 

Awards Season ... and Introducing the Tasties!

When I started Tasty Trix a mere 4 months ago, I had no idea there would be prizes involved.  But I suddenly find myself the shocked and humbled recipient of not one, but four awards from fellow bloggers. Apparently we are in the middle of awards season, kids, and I have caught the fever! (I've even created my own award, The Tasty, as you'll see below.)

A Spicy Bloody Mary ... Because I'm Sure It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere

It's Friday afternoon,  and I keep daydreaming about cocktails. Not such a strange occurrence, I assure you!  But perhaps it's the rain and the sudden chill in the air that has me already looking forward to my Sunday brunch drink.  I love  the warm kitchen, the smell of onions and frying potatoes and eggs and toast ... but most of all, I love kicking back with a good brunch cocktail.

In the spring and summer, I gravitate towards light, fizzy cooling drinks. Think pomegranate juice and Prosecco, mimosas,  or a Bellini.  But come fall I want the hearty heat of a spicy Bloody Mary.  The thick vegetable juice, the celery stick, the tangy pepperoncini - it's practically a meal in a glass!

Kaddo Borawni ... Kind Of

What do you do when one of your favorite go-to restaurants lets customer service go right down the drain and the staff starts treating the clientele like cattle? Simple: You figure out how to recreate your favorite dishes at home.

Nabeyaki Udon ... Aaah, That's Better

The other weekend, Poppa Trix and I felt like total garbage: sore throats, dizzy, achy, sleepy, runny noses - the works.  Fortunately, we had made a trip to Asian supermarket extraordinaire H-Mart before we got too sick to go anywhere, and so we had all the makings for a blissfully soothing nabeyaki udon soup. 

Beer Batter Quick Bread with White Bean & Tomato Soup

It was 6 pm on a weeknight. I am (almost) ashamed to admit that I had already changed into my comfy pajamas.  In contemplating dinner, I realized that all I really wanted in the entire world was some home baked bread and a hot bowl of soup.  Running to a bakery was out of the question, and I was too hungry to wait. What to do?

Who Wants Banh Mi? Me! Me! Me!

Calling a banh mi a Vietnamese sandwich and leaving it at that is a bit like saying a po'boy is just a New Orleans sub. It's not wrong, but it doesn't exactly convey the full splendour  of the thing.  

Like a po'boy, a banh mi is made with a light, airy baguette that's soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside.  Fillings and proteins can vary, but some of the flavor combinations that make a banh mi so distinctive and addictive include preserved daikon radish and carrot, mayonnaise, jalapeno, cucumber, and fresh cilantro.

Olive & Herb Focaccia

People who know me well tell me that I'm dramatic. That's a nice way of saying that I can get worked up over just about anything. I don't just like things, I adore! them. If something isn't quite right, I despise! it. The nuns tried to beat the crazy out of me for many years, but (partly just to spite them) I have learned to embrace the fact that I am a bit of a spaz.

I have found ways to harness and temper my spazziness - yoga, boxing, and cooking are all good outlets for my obsessive compulsive tendencies. But I was never really drawn to baking.  For one thing,  I'm just not into making sweets. On the savory side of things, even though I love fresh baked breads, the whole notion of working with dough seemed incredibly intimidating. I think the degree of necessary precision is what made me so wary. It just didn't seem like someone with my level of nervous energy and lack of patience would take to it. In other words, I was certain I would make a huge mess.