Indy's Irish Fest

Today my brother and I went to the Irish Fest at Military Park, downtown Indy. It was a very Irishy day - cloudy, drizzly, chilly - appropriate for this event. We got in for "free" by donating some canned goods for a local food bank. Aaron, humorously, bought cans of potatoes - a very Irish touch. We came especially to experience a typical Irish breakfast. As I had guessed, it was a very meaty meal.

A carnivore's delight: bangers (sausage), scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, shepherd's pie, and black and white "pudding". I'm pretty sure that the "pudding" is in the center of the plate under the ham. It tasted good, but I'm glad I didn't know the ingredients. It's probably all organs.... Ahhh, here's a recipe for black and white pudding. The ingredients are listed. Not sure if I'll ever eat it again.

Here's Brother feasting on his plate of meat. I was surprised that there wasn't a bread product with the traditional breakfast/brunch. Another breakfast item offered was sauteed tomatoes. Neither of us got a helping of those though. Bleck. Tasty pulpy orange juice helped wash down all of that salty fare.

What's more delicious that haggis? Canned haggis! My sarcasm couldn't be any thicker.

We found a shirt for Karli. I thought she would appreciate it.

Other than food, the Irish Fest had a few bands playing, many booths full of kitschy things to buy, and a very friendly woman spinning wool. She filled us in on the process of yarn making - from sheep's back to sweater. It was quite interesting. There was also a booth for ancestral information. We found out our Mom's side of the family's origins (Scottish), our family motto ("Love proved.") and our family's crest. Very cool. You can research your own family's origin on this fun website: House of Names. Enjoy!

5 relaxed mornings and 5 breakfasts

My favorite time of the day is somewhere between 9am and noon. This is my quiet, step into the day, time. The atmosphere is serene, the morning light is perfect, I don't have to talk to anyone because everyone is either asleep or at work. I don't get to enjoy this time every day, so I savor the mornings when I do. I try to be inventive with my breakfasts. I love variety and hot tea. Those are must haves. This breakfast consisted of raisin bread toast swirled with mascarpone cheese and lingonberry preserves, baby plums, and a side of Greek yogurt and pumpkin butter.

An unusual breakfast for me. Under all of that milk, banana, and pecan is honey and white rice left over from the previous evening's Chinese take-out. A homage to rice pudding.

A craving for bagles led me to buy what looked and tasted like a bagle loaf. I got it from a wonderful Indianapolis-based deli, Shipiro's. This 'everything' loaf was terrific. I slathered one half with mascarpone and the other with quark drizzled with honey.

Yes, I will eat a grilled cheese sandwich for breakfast. This one had brie and peaches.

Last but not least, this morning's offerings. Raisin bread toast, mascarpone (It's good stuff, you might note,) pumpkin butter, and pecans. Plain yogurt with blueberry jam in a bowl serves as a plate.

I know that breakfast is seemingly mundane, but I highly suggest, at least once in a while, to make a morning of it. Take your time and fix what sounds good to you. If the weather is nice, sit out side and enjoy every bite in the fresh air. Don't start clearing the table after the last bite is in your mouth. Linger and relax.

Art and Such

Slight subject change! I've been inspired by a couple of new-to-me artists, and I'd like to share them with you.

I found one while attending the First Friday Art Walk in Indy. A curious guy by the name of Kipp Normand has an amazing studio at the Harrison Center. (Kipp, you need a website.)

This is one of his assemblages. This is what he does. I wish I had gotten a picture of his studio. It is cluttered, some might say, but I think it's just packed with potential. It's like stepping into an I Spy book. His studio is long and narrow with an extremely tall ceiling. The only window is a stained glass window. One long wall is covered by heavy red curtains probably salvaged from a theater. One small wall was covered with old paintings depicting Christ - probably salvaged from many a church. Along the walls and littering the floor were scads and scads of wooden things, a cabinet filled with unusual objects: a glass jar displaying a preserved hand, dental molds, antique toys, etc. I didn't get enough time to look, and I didn't want to be rude. A random note: Also at the Harrison Center - bike polo. A sport I never knew existed. Please note that there are only two players with helmets and hand guards. Too much coordination is involved here. Too much.

Another random note: Indy Fringe 2009 - a theater and stage festival. I attended this short play, Another Classic of Western Literature. All was seemingly normal in this play, seemingly everyday in a real-life sense. But then a stem cell research baby, appropriately named, F*** You scampered onto the stage. Hilarious, unexpected, and off-putting in a good way. Too funny.

Back to the point! The second inspiring artist I found on Etsy.com. I usually find lots of cool stuff on Etsy, but this artist sucked me in. The illustrations are serene and quirky. I thoroughly enjoyed YouAreConstance's shop.

Possibly more art related blogs to come after two fantastic festivals arrive: The Indieana Handicraft Exchange and the Strange Folk Festival.

Fig, Feta, and Prosciutto Pizza

Hands down this is the most unusual pizza I've ever eaten or made. As strange as it was, the flavor was fantastic! This was also my first time eating a fresh fig. I had to search all over the north side of Indy to get them. I almost gave up on having a fig-topped pizza, but my search ended after the fourth grocery store. My adventurous aunt and uncle shared the pizza with me.
It definitely looks like something straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. Green fruit and ham....sounds about right.
I didn't know how to make it look pretty, so pretty weird is how it turned out. This recipe is less cooking and more assembling. Get a ball of pizza dough, some figs, prosciutto, feta, and balsamic vinegar. So simple, so quick, so awesome!

I found the recipe in the August issue of Bon Appetit. Bon Appetit's pizza called for Gorgonzola cheese, but I swapped that for feta. I prefer my cheese with less mold, thankyouverymuch. Their recipe also suggested to top the pizza with arugula, lightly tossed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I just skipped that part, but I'm sure it would be delicious.

Get the recipe here and make some fancy pizza soon!

Adventures at Jungle Jim's

Where can you find a fortune telling Einstein?

An Elvis-impersonating monkey/bear? A talking, robotic Robin Hood

and the very hairy comrade, Little John?

How about a giant,794 pound phallic cheese?
The answer? Jungle Jim's of course!
Where to start? Ok, I went on a road trip today with my mom and my brother. We trucked two and a half hours to Ohio for two specific places: IKEA and Jungle Jim's International Market. I got wind of the international market a couple of years ago and have wanted to check it out ever since. This 6.5 acre grocery store heaven did not let down. It is like a foodie's theme park, complete with tours and magic. Below are a few items that I found particularly cool.
Fruit, strange fruit! I wish I could have tried them all.

I'd never seen so many unknown-to-me fruit. I felt like I needed a fruit translator.

Baby pineapple! The cuteness is killing me. So THIS is what a water chestnut looks like outside of a can! They are beautiful.

I especially needed my bud, Natalie in the Asian candy isle. Nat, this one is for you.

Fish paste in a tube, anyone?

This is exactly what I need to be looking at while I'm eating my cereal in the morning: a big, brawny man in a kilt. Look at those Scottish muscles.

There was enough jam here to fill an Olympic swimming pool. There were so many flavors, too.

Here's some of my loot: udon noodles, an artichoke & tomato pasta sauce from Italy, whole wheat gnocchi made with sweet potatoes, a meat seasoning from Germany, a guava soda, a grapefruit soda, a pear infused balsamic vinegar, rye flour, graham flour, and (not pictured) raw, dark agave nectar. Hello food adventures!

I thought my excursion at Jungle Jim's was ending until I stumbled upon the cheese section, all divided by country. I got a smoked Gouda from the Netherlands, a Mexican string cheese, spreadable German-style Quark from Vermont, a muenster from Connecticut, and some crappy cheese curds from Wisconsin. They were pretty crappy. Not the usual squeaky, deliciousness of Wisconsin curds.

White pear, tiny red bananas, and a guava. I haven't eaten a guava since I was 11 or 12. It's going to be a good time.

These are my edible goods I scored from IKEA. Orange and Elderflower marmalade sounded interesting. They also had a gooseberry jam, but how much jam does one person need, really. I hope I can do the bread justice. Bread and I, we have a rocky relationship. I also had a tasty lingonberry frozen yogurt on my way out of the store. I was pleased.

Overall, it was an awesome day of sensory overload, emptying pockets, scoring loot, and lots of walking. I hope to repeat this extravaganza again soon!

Good Ol' Corn Bread

Every year, my family and I go to the Indiana State Fair. We go to get the essentials: a funnel cake, pineapple whip ice cream, sugar coated German almonds, Indiana maple syrup, etc. When I'm there, I have to purchase some sort of flour from Sunny Slopes Farm. Last year I got some wheat bran, and this year freshly milled corn meal came home with me. I've had this corn bread recipe for over two years. It's one of a handful of recipes that Sunny Slopes Farm gives out every year. Today was the perfect time to whip some up from scratch.

I sampled and bought this Indiana sorghum to put into my real, old timey corn bread.

These are my eggs of choice. I get them at the Binford Farmers Market on Saturdays when I'm there with my load of cookies. Jonathan and Lucinda are good people.
The recipe says to turn the oven on to 400 degrees and put butter (it calls for shortening, but I don't believe in that junk.) in the cast iron skillet to melt while you get the other ingredients together. This doesn't mean dilly dally around - AKA taking photos for a blog - because when I pulled the pan out of the oven, I had some BLACK butter. It was not pretty. I had to do a dump and clean, then melt some more. Boo hiss, wasted precious butter. In went the sorghum molasses. I had never made corn bread with this traditional ingredient. I don't prefer it. Honey is my sweetener of choice.

I didn't like the assembly of ingredients on the recipe. Normally when you make corn bread, you would mix the dry ingredients together, then mix the wet ingredients, then add the dry to the wet. This would be my suggestion for you.

This was difficult to shoot. The skillet was dang HEAVY and a HOT. I burnt the palm of my hand during this stunt. The things I do for show business.

Returning it all to the piping hot skillet. Doesn't look appetizing, bare with me.

After about 17 minutes, it was all done. It had to wait a few hours until dinner time. Then came the slicing and honey drizzling.

That's how I like it. Warm and slathered with honey. Some prefer butter and some even molasses. However you take it, enjoy a chunk of corn bread soon.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. Three Ways.

I do love a good grilled cheese sandwich. I also love to make unusual grilled cheese sandwiches. After seeing an episode of Ham on the Street a few years ago, I've been putting all kinds of preserves and jams on my grilled cheeses. The episode featured a sort of "Grilled Cheese Lotto." There were three rotating bingo-type barrels - all with slips of paper listing a variety of each category. The first barrel listed types of bread, the second listed types of cheeses, and the third held a list of preserves/jams/jellies. The hungry volunteers would stick their hands into each barrel to choose their grilled cheese combo. This is a fun game to play. I had a grilled cheese lotto party at my house once. It was delicious.

I got back on the grilled cheese sandwich kick this week and made a different one three days in a row.
This one is a pro biotic cheese, nectarine, and lingonberry preserve sandwich on Italian bread.

Here's my fancy panini/sandwich maker. It's a special edition. Only the best for me.

This yummy is a brie and blueberry jam sandwich on raisin bread.

I'd never heard of "frying cheese" before. It should be called "already fried cheese" because that's what it looks like. It is very tasty.

So I made a frying cheese and pumpkin butter sandwich on nutty whole wheat bread.

I suggest that you play the Grilled Cheese Lotto with a group of friends sometime. Have everyone bring either a bread, cheese, or jelly/jam/preserve. Cut each sandwich into quarters or eighths and have your guests taste them all. Look here to find a few combination suggestions. Have fun!