It's always fun to find new entries to this category in our not-quite-out-of-the-princess-phase house. (It's how I got salmon down the hatch!) These are cranberry beans, at the market right now, and though they lose their pretty rose color when they're cooked, the kids were intrigued enough to try a few boiled--they're sweet, kind of like peas. My husband shelled a stash that was set aside, boiled them with half an onion, a clove of garlic, one bay leaf, salt, and a dash of white balsamic vinegar for about ten minutes until they were slightly soft but firm. Then he drained them and tossed them with thyme, olive oil, salt, and chopped tomatoes. We served it on toast as a starter for dinner guests.
Check out the dozens of recipes from The Kitchn's Quick Weeknight Meal Contest. We are dying to try Cara's Spinach Pie Quesadillas.
Though it might be best known for Graceland and all things blue suede, Memphis has a pretty incredible dining scene, including the acclaimed new French-Creole Restaurant Iris. After checking it out recently (and experiencing the biscuits-and-grits southern goodness myself), I concur. Rising star chef Kelly English, who opened the restaurant in 2008 and was named Food & Wine's best new chef this year, shared a few of his culinary secrets with us. 
Thanks, Chef English! Stay tuned for his Bananas Foster Buttermilk Pancakes recipe...
Granted, the point of chicken nuggets is that they are fast and easy: Open box and bake. But some friends of ours who are moving gave us some tenderized chicken breasts from their freezer, and homemade chicken nuggets are actually no trouble at all.
I made a mixture of panko, fresh thyme, leftover caramelized onion flavoring, and salt. (The caramelized onion flavoring is basically just onion powder. In fact, you could add any number of spices and flavorings to your panko mixture.) Then I cut the chicken into nugget-size pieces and beat one egg in a bowl. I dipped each chicken piece in the egg, pressed both sides of each piece into the panko mixture, and baked the nuggets in a 400-degree oven on the top shelf. After about 10 minutes I turned the nuggets over and then baked them for another 5 minutes.
I braced myself for that inevitable complaint, "These aren't like my usual chicken nuggets!" But, surprise! Jasper liked these!
During our summer vacation this year, we drove from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Denver, Colorado, passing ranch after ranch of grazing cattle. Colorado has a rich cattle tradition, dating from the 19th century, when longhorns were herded from Texas to Denver to be shipped east by rail. I grew up in Denver attending the National Western Stock Show. So when contemplating an artisan steak tasting by Oliver Ranch Company, I decided we had to do it at my sister's home in Denver.
Oliver Ranch steak tastings are like wine tastings, only with steak. Founder Carrie Oliver is trying to change the way we think about beef: instead of expecting the same corn-fed, marbled, homogeneous taste, she would like more people to discover the wide range of flavor and texture in beef based on breed, region, feed, age, care, slaughter, and butchering. For the artisan tasting she pulls together steaks of the same cut from four very different, carefully selected ranches, including Colorado's own Elliott & Ferris Families.
You might think that including my 5-year-old Jasper in an artisan beef tasting is the height of foodie-parent pretentiousness, but for me it was a valuable lesson in farm-to-fork education. For too many kids, meat is something that comes from a package in the freezer. I want Jasper to realize meat comes from animals, and that how those animals are raised matters--even if that lesson eventually turns him into a vegetarian. I also simply enjoy bringing him along with me on my adventures, and he appreciates being included.
So could he tell the difference? I didn't expect him to, but it turns out he had surprisingly strong opinions about the four different beef samples! His favorite was an Wagyu-Angus cross breed (American-style Kobe), which wasn't surprising to Oliver. She says that that steak, which is wet aged 21 days, has "a certain sweetness to it."
Beyond the food-literacy lesson for Jasper, I also like supporting a business with solid ethics. Oliver looks for ranches with sustainable practices that avoid steroids and preventative antibiotics and that treat their cattle respectfully--stress affects taste. She looks for ranches where breeds fit well with region and slow and steady weight gain is preferred to rapid.
If it sounds like I needed a lot of justification to indulge in a steak tasting, well, I did. It was a bit of a splurge--but so deliciously worth it for an inquisitive omnivore! Trying these four different steaks has made me more curious about a food I eat sparingly, but mindfully and joyfully.
Read what food writer and author Betty Fussell thinks of Oliver's steak tastings.
While recently in Portland, Oregon, I was blown away by the quality of the food. (These Pacific Northwesterners really take that whole farm-to-table concept seriously!) But my absolute favorite meal was breakfast at Mother's Bistro & Bar.
And of course, the locally sourced food was amazing, and the coffee was fair-trade. (The waitress was like a coffee psychic and brought out a French press of an Ethiopian brew of the exact right strength for me without even asking if I liked it strong--which I do.) The menu also boasted a selection of about 30 hot teas, hot chocolate, hot apple cider, and a special Oregon chai latte. Combine all that with the cozy-chic interior, a magazine library, and little playspace for the kids, and you're in breakfast heaven.
