Tea Time!

 

 

 

I stopped by The Old Company Store this morning to try out some new tea. The Republic of Tea  is turning 20 and having a tea party at the store.  I tried four teas, my fav was Hibiscus. It has a natural sweetness to it, is caffeine-free and Marissa from Republic of Tea says it helps lower your cholesterol too. I also liked the Pumpkin Spice - it smelled great and is perfect for fall. Tea is very soothing - try a cup of decaf tea the night before school starts or enjoy it in the morning before the bus comes.

 

Stop by The Old Company Store and pick out your favorite flavor - tell them Julia the Child sent you :)

 

http://www.oldcompanystore.com/         http://www.republicoftea.com/                  

Lemon Puff Pancake

This morning I ate a delicious, puffy, lemony pancake!  We found the recipe at King Arthur Flour website and we wanted to try it out.  I mixed all the ingredients and my mom was in charge of the skillet and oven.   The pancake puffs up in the pan and that's the sign that it's just about done.  It's light, airy and you can put almost anything on it - fruit, berries or chocolate chips!  The lemon topping is best with the fruit.  I would use whipped cream with chocolate chips.  It's a simple recipe and one pancake feeds two people.  Try this out at home.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/lemon-puff-pancake-with-fresh-berries-recipe

Family Day in the North End

My dad had business in Boston yesterday so he asked if we wanted to go with him.  We said YES and decided to have lunch together in the North End.  The North End was very busy on a Wednesday afternoon.  We ate lunch at Trattoria Il Panino Express on Hanover St. which was great because we got a table that was open to the street. We watched the world go by while we ate. My mother really treasured the moment because it was one of the last times we would be there before my brother leaves for school.

The food was yummy.  We all got something different.  Thomas got an enormous slice of cheese pizza.  He can be a picky pizza eater but he ate the whole piece and really enjoyed it.  My parents had a panino - which is a sandwich usually made with cheese, vegetables and meat.  Mom had the Panino Lady with tomato, basil, mozzarella cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.  Dad had the same but with prosciutto.  I had the kids penne pasta, which was cooked just right and it left me room to try my parents' sandwiches.  I liked them both - but I liked my Dad's better with the prosciutto.  The bread was awesome!  It was very fresh, and had a good chew to it. 

After lunch we strolled down Hanover Street to Mike's Pastry www.mikespastry.com for a cannoli.  On our way, we ran into friends from our town that were on their way to lunch - you never know who you might see in the North End!  When we walked into Mike's there was a crowd of people looking up at the cannoli menu.  There were a lot of choices!  Dad got pistachio, I got double chocolate and my brother got double chocolate mousse.  We were still full from eating lunch, so we got them to go.   The cannolis were calling out to me in the car ride home, but we saved them to have that night for dessert. It was soooo good but too big for me to eat all at once.  I still have half of my cannoli left, I think I'll have it now!

Pictures by Julia The Child Foodie

A trip to a spring - Simpson Spring!

My favorite flavors to go!

I met the people from Simpson Spring at the Old Rochester Farmer's Market last month.  They invited me and some other food bloggers to a tour and tasting at their plant in South Easton, MA last Saturday.  My Dad came with me and we had a great time.

First we taste-tested three different waters - tap water, a popular bottled water and Simspon Spring water.  The spring water was our favorite.  It has minerals in it and felt good on the back of our throats.  The spring water had a pinch of sweetness in the after-taste that I really liked.  The spring water is special because it has oxygen added to it (the oxygen kills any bacteria without killing the taste).  I thought the spring water had much better flavor than the bottled water which was tasteless and the tap water was really flat.    We also got to see where the water comes into the plant from the spring and how it gets bottled and labeled.  Then it's ready to be sold all over Massachusetts.

We also got to see how they make their soda.  Simpson Spring adds syrup and bubbles to the spring water (15% is syrup - Coke has about 8%) so the taste is more powerful.  They make 11 flavors of soda: birch beer, root beer, orange, fruit punch, cream soda, sparking water, grape soda, sasparilla, ginger ale, lemon-lime and coffee.  The coffee soda was a big surprise!  We thought it sounded kind of weird but my dad tried it first and it was actually really good.  They added half and half to it and served it over ice and it was surprisingly tasty!   Dad liked it so much he bought a six-pack of coffee soda to bring home.  I picked out 3 orange and 3 root beer sodas to share with my brother. 

My Dad and I  also learned a lot about the history of Simpson Spring and their soda business.  It was really cool seeing all the old bottles and machinery.  They even used to sell soda to Macy's and bottled Moxie too.

You should definitely try Simpson Spring sodas and their water - check out their website for stores that sell their soda and water at www.simpsonspring.com , the Marion General Store or the Old Rochester Farmer's Market.  Be sure to tell them Julia the Child sent you!

Thanks to everyone at Simpson Spring for a great visit and for letting me take pictures for the blog :)

Crusty Cod

 I wasn't much of a big fish eater 'til I had crusted cod.  When my mom told me that we were having fish for dinner I thought I'd rather have a hotdog.  But then I tried the fish and I LOVED it!  The crunch of the panko crumbs went well with the smoothness of the cod.  A squeeze of lemon added a little splash of tang to the fish.  The chopped parsley combined with the panko crumbs gave the dish a burst of color.  It's not hard to make, even a kid can do it!

Crusty Cod

1 lb cod fillets
1 cup panko crumbs
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp chopped flat parsley
1 lemon
salt/pepper to taste

preheat oven to 375 degrees

Combine panko crumbs and parsley
Add melted butter and mix with a fork
Place fish in baking dish
sprinkle cod with a little salt and pepper
completely cover the fish in the panko crumb mixture
add a little dab of butter on top and a squeeze of the lemon into the baking pan
Bake in oven about 10 minutes

(Turn on the broiler for a minute or two if the bread crumbs aren't crunchy)

My Adventurous Vermont Vacation - I ate a cricket!

While I was in Vermont visiting my grandparents we went to the Farmer's Market in Burlington. 
Video

It was huge!  We spent two hours tasting all sorts of interesting foods.  I was really surprised to try a lavender cake.  Lavender in cake?  Farmhouse Kitchen  at www.almondcakesvt.com makes a mean organic lavender cake.  You could really smell the lavender and it tasted so sweet and fragrant.  I was surprised I liked it so much. 

I was also surprised to try a cricket!  Cricket Delights sells dry-roasted crickets.  They take off the wings and legs (so they don't get caught in your throat) and roast them up.  I tried one and I thought it was fantastic.  It was salty, crunchy and tasted like a sunflower seed.  They put them in snack mix and my favorite, LOLLIPOPS!  I bought my mom and I a clear vanilla lollipop with a big cricket in the middle.  She was a little grossed out when she opened her eyes and saw the cricket right smack in the middle - but she said she would try it.  We'll see!

Beth, at The Red Maple Granola company (www.redmaplegranola.com)  was really nice.  She made me guess all the ingredients in the granola and we had a lot of fun.  Her granola is delightful because it has all my favorite ingredients: apricots, blueberries, cranberries, maple syrup and oats.  You should check it out.

We also stopped by Samosaman Natural Foods and I had their apple somosa.  It's shaped like a triangle and the dough is stuffed with different fillings.  They can be stuffed with vegetables or fruit.  When you bite into it, it's like a warm apple pie that you can hold in your hand.  The dough was soft and moist and the apple filling was warm and tender, but not mushy.  They were awesome!

I had a lot of fun at the Farmer's Market in Burlington.  I tried a lot of new things and I never thought I'd eat a cricket - but as I always say "Try it, you'll like it (maybe!)"

Summer Experiments

I've been inspired to try different foods that have popped up in my summer reading book "Summer of the Gypsy Moths" by Sara Pennypacker.  Food is important to the main characters, Stella and Angel (both age 12) as they take care of themselves with no adults around one summer.  Chili, capers, shrimp salad, fried clams, limeade, and pad thai are just a few of the leftovers Stella and Angel find that are calling out from the book saying "Try me! Try me!".  I think I will.

I will also be cooking authentic Greek, Brazilian and Indian recipes with my friends and their parents this summer.  We'll be making baklava (Greek), Rice and Beans with Pork (Brazilian) and Curry (Indian) and I can't wait to share the photos and  recipes with you.

http://www.sarapennypacker.com/