I love gifts.  Giving, receiving, shopping for and making them, it doesn’t matter.  Outside of Christmas and birthdays, getting a gift makes you feel loved and appreciated and has the ability to brighten a bad day instantaneously.  For me, giving gifts is even better because I’m the one who gets to make someone else’s day!

The best gift in the world?  Easy….food. (You had to know that one was coming!)  Seriously, how could anything beat the gift of food?  After all, diamonds may last forever but twinkies will outlast a nuclear holocaust.  Food fulfills all the requirements for the perfect gift: it’s handmade, thoughtful and easily customized for each intended recipient.  It’s part of our culture to bake or cook for any major event or life change.  Anniversary dinners, a box of chocolates for a breakup and mourning dishes –these are all examples of the ways in which we use food to recognize important life events.

So why do we give food as a gift? Well, because it sustains us and our relationships with each other, physically, socially, emotionally and culturally. But more specifically, it is often a practical offering or tangible notice of something major happening.  When families lose someone they love, it is custom to give them a casserole or some other dish.  While there is often nothing we can do to help them emotionally during this time, we can help to ease their minds over what to make for dinner.  Conversely and strangely relatedly, when a baby is born, we want to acknowledge and share in the joy of the new parents. Giving them food lets them know we’re thinking about them, while allowing them to begin to set up their routine without having to worry about putting together the next meal. These types of practices have been in place for many centuries, as can be seen from the Jewish tradition of food gifting for Purim and the Chinese New Year tradition of giving blessed or lucky foods to friends.

By this time in my life, I’ve got my equation figured out for which life event warrants what type of food.  Gift of choice for a new job or promotion? Definitely flavored specialty bread.  An engagement notice? Needs a cake. A pregnancy? Definitely a batch of cupcakes. Now, if I have to bribe someone….cookies. Finally, for that special time when you need to bring a hostess gift or send a chic thank you present, I send whole vanilla beans.  They’re pretty, fragrant and elegant. What more could you possibly want?

As you can see, food makes our social worlds go round. So what recipes do you use when you are gifting family or friends?

Thanks to MarcinMoga, SlamEye and Melanie_Hughes for the photos!

~Laura

It was an ordinary day and an extremely ordinary situation.  I was out to lunch with my husband and the in-laws and we were at a steakhouse that promised to disappoint.  Peanut shells littered the floors and televisions tuned to ESPN were propped precariously in the ceiling corners.  Using massive amounts of adjectives, wonderful superlatives and a strong font, the menu described dishes that were highly fanciful versions of the food that would actually be served.  Resigned to the inevitable, I ordered my salad and salmon and settled in.  When our server brought warm rolls to the table, I resisted at first.  But then, I saw it: the cinnamon honey butter.

Right then, all my cynicism and (I’ll admit) food-snobbery vanished.  I am a sucker for doctored butter.  Butter by itself is simply beautiful but add a little more flavor to it and BAM!  You have the recipe for world peace in a shallow bowl.  Exaggeration?  I think not.

While cinnamon honey butter is one of the most common flavored butters, it is not the only way to take this simple spread to the next level.  I had a sage butter once that would have brought tears to your eyes.  I’ve also had mint butter, blue cheese butter and a sundried tomato butter. All created fond, lasting memories.  Lost in my creamy recollections, I barely noticed when our food was brought.  What would have been a mediocre meal was saved by the whipped flavored butter.  Who cares if the lettuce is wilted or the fish is dry when you have flavored butter within knife’s reach?

Later that same evening, I was in a checkout line at the store and saw the latest issue of MixingBowl.com’s magazine.  On an impulse (hey, the three-tier chocolate cupcake on the front cover beckoned to me) I purchased a copy.  Flipping through it on the short walk from the store to the car, I was stunned to find a recipe for Vanilla Butter.  I was so pumped to learn that my favorite ingredient could be added to enhance another of my favorite ingredients that I sprinted to the car, careened through the streets and then rushed into the kitchen to give it a try.The recipe is simple and obvious: 1 lb of unsalted butter (softened), ½ of a vanilla bean (scraped) and 2/3 cup of powdered sugar.  Combine all and beat until fluffy.  (The original recipe was a little too subtle for me, so I ended up using a whole bean and adding a tablespoon of extract.)

The result is divine: a light and sweet spread that has beautiful vanilla bean flecks in it and is pretty much perfect.

Now that I had the butter made, I needed to have something to put it on.  You can’t eat butter by itself as if it was ice cream and I didn’t have the patience for something too time-consuming or finicky.  Fortunately, Joy the Baker posted this recipe (thanks Joy!) and it was the solution I needed.  While my vanilla butter mixture chilled in the refrigerator, I worked up these rolls.  Afterwards, I had a dinner of warm rolls slathered with vanilla butter that was infinitely more satisfying than the steakhouse lunch.

What type of breads do you think would go best with vanilla butter?

Laura

Ever since I started writing about vanilla, I’ve been asking this question: How can vanilla be used in a savory dish? After all, countless blog recipes feature vanilla as a mainstay in cookies, cakes and other sweet delights. Few, if any, coax vanilla into serving as a flavor foundation for main courses.

Enter Sarah Tomsic and Jan Findlater, proprietors and chefs of the Fly By Diner, an innovative commercial kitchen come gourmet order-and-carry eatery that is parked every Thursday at the entrance to the employee parking lot of New Belgium Brewing Company. I figured, if anyone could take vanilla and do something savory with it, it would be Sarah and Jan!

This dynamic duo met five years ago through Whole Foods Market where Sarah, a former chef at Beauregard’s in Wellington, taught cooking classes that Jan coordinated. Their mutual affection for healthy, flavorful and inspired cooking eventually led them to entertain a partnership resulting in the Fly By Diner, which opened for business in September 2009.

The Fly By Diner represents everything I aim for in my own cooking. Each week, Sarah and Jan create a thematic menu inspired by the season’s freshest ingredients (sourced locally when possible), whole grains, the weather (if it’s going to be freezing out – warm food choices may rule the day), even holidays. Think on this. Most restaurants create a menu that you might eventually learn by heart – because it never changes. Sarah and Jan create a new menu, usually three to four main dishes offered in small and regular portions, plus a baked goodie or other dessert creation, every week.

What spurs such change?  “We look at each menu as a balance between vegetarian and non vegetarian options,” Jan – the vegetarian of the duo – explains. “We’ve also been recently looking at menu options for people with dietary restrictions. The vast majority of what we make is from scratch down to our pestos, chutneys, and spreads. Love for great food – and international flavors – is a daily inspiration for us.” Vanilla is no exception.

When I asked her if she could incorporate vanilla into a savory dish, Sarah didn’t bat an eye. “No problem,” she said. “This will be fun.” When I opened Sarah’s email the following week (she sends each week’s menu to Fly By Diner fans), I wasn’t prepared for the level of creativity that my savory vanilla challenge had birthed.

In just a few days I was going to have the pleasure of tasting Chiles en Nogada (which includes real vanilla bean seed) with Walnut Cream Sauce (which includes real vanilla extract). Oh, and just to give a confident nod to the traditional use of vanilla as a baking ingredient, Sarah and Jan decided to offer triple vanilla cupcakes for dessert snacking. Dazzled yet? I was.

As it turns out, Sarah knows her vanilla. “Vanilla is versatile – it can be tropical or seductive or rich,” she told me later that week as I shoveled her triumphant Chiles en Nogada into my toothy, greedy funnel of chewing. “It adds a dimension of depth and completion to a dish – whether savory or sweet. Try making chocolate chip cookies without vanilla. They still taste good, but you know something is missing. I think consumers tend to take vanilla for granted. It comes in a little bottle and you put a teaspoon in baked goods. But, it can be so much more. A dash of properly made vanilla in a savory meat dish creates a surprising effect.”

Surprised I was. And just so very pleased. Or maybe drugged. While Sarah prepared me a plate of the Chiles en Nogada, I took a healthy bite of the triple vanilla cupcake she placed in my hands for safekeeping, presumably, until the end of my meal. Duh! Dessert first! The butter cream frosting, flavored with vanilla and sprinkled with vanilla infused sugar, had a thickness and appeal to it that when eaten with the cakey portion of the affair made this girl forget that there was any other reason to be standing outside a brewery parking lot on a Thursday afternoon with a daunting to-do list burning a hole in her pocket other than enjoying a triple vanilla cupcake.

Oh, and the Chiles en Nogada? One look at the recipe (see below) and you’ll see why I make it a goal to enjoy culinary treats from the Fly By Diner as often as possible. The combination of the walnut cream sauce with peaches, pears, pork, poblano peppers, cinnamon and vanilla was like licking the inside of Christmas, Easter and autumn treats all at once.

You can find the Fly By Diner at (insert address here) on Thursdays from 11 am to 2 pm. The Diner hopes to travel to other locations in Fort Collins this upcoming summer. Check their website for weekly menus and upcoming events.

Chiles en Nogada with Walnut Cream Sauce

6 pablano chiles, roasted, peeled and seeded
1 lb. ground pork
2 T. oil
2 peaches (we used frozen peaches from Ela Farm)
2 pears (frozen from Ela Farm)
1 onion, diced
2 cl. garlic, minced
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 t. cinnamon
1 vanilla bean, split open and scraped
1 t. salt
Pepper to taste
1/2 c. slivered almonds
1/4 c. raisins (optional)
Seeds of 1 pomegranate
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped

Roast, peel and seed pablano chiles and set aside.  Saute the pork, peaches, pears, onion, garlic and tomatoes in a skillet until pork is cooked through and vegetables are soft.  Add the cinnamon and vanilla bean, salt and pepper.  Cool this mixture and add the almonds and raisins.  Stuff each pablano with a handful of filling and fold the chile back together.  Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment, cover with foil and place in a 350 degree oven until chiles are hot.  Drizzle with nogada sauce and top with pomegranate seeds and parsley.

Walnut cream sauce

1/2 c. toasted walnuts
4 oz. Haystack Mountain Chevre
3/4 c. milk
1 t. Rodelle vanilla
pinch salt

Put ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.  Place in a saucepan and heat gently before drizzling over chiles.

Until the next,

Carol

When we decided to throw a Super Bowl party this year, I was a little uneasy.  Not because I was worried that my team wouldn’t win (who’s playing, again?), butbecause several of my guests have specific dietary needs.  Now, I’m no stranger to working around dietary restrictions since I’ve been a vegetarian for all of my adult life and I’m also lactose intolerant.  Working within these bounds has become second nature to me and I don’t have to sit down and consider my menu for a long period of time. But on a big snacking/food day, I need to consider that two of my guests are gluten-intolerant and one guest is allergic to dairy (which is different from merely lactose-intolerant). It’s not uncommon for those restrictions to come together and when they do –yikes!

First thing’s first. I did some more research on gluten intolerance.  I was very pleased to discover that while gluten is in many things, a smart consumer can pin down easy to find gluten-free products that are in most grocery stores. This website lists some commonly used brands that are normally gluten-free, although I’ll make sure to save all packaging and ingredients lists for my gluten intolerant guests to double-check for me.

Second, I did a little math.  After I added up “vegetarian” and “no dairy,” I figured I could kill two (figurative) birds with one stone by making some vegan options.  This way, I could be sure that there were clear options available, and only have to pay special attention to the dead animal carcass meat dishes to make sure no dairy snuck in there.  There are also some fabulous Super Bowl party specific recipes put out by the Vegetarian Times website.

I also found some great standard recipes that I think will help me to ensure all my guests are full and satisfied.  Deviled eggs, for example,  are a fan favorite and friendly for everyone at my party, as long as I stick to a basic recipe like this one. Here is the best guacamole recipe ever, as long as you cut back on the lime just a little bit (and this is coming from someone who is a little bit of a guacamole snob). You can bet I’ll make plenty of it, since it can be eaten by vegetarians and gluten or dairy intolerant people. Hummus has to also be one of the best inventions in the world and it can be eaten by any of my guests as well.

Then there are the next couple of recipes which are great for everyone, EXCEPT those who are gluten-intolerant.  Substituting tofu for the cheese in this jalapeno popper recipe will make an appetizer that I know my friends will love and is palatable by those who have to be careful around dairy. Tofu and pesto vegan crackers, while they sound crazy, are actually quite delicious.  I’ve made them before and even my husband, the carnivore, loves them.

Making sure there are plenty of fruit trays, vegetable trays and gluten-friendly chips (like Mission corn tortilla chips) will ensure that everyone at my party has plenty to eat (and it’s all really pretty healthy!).  For those with a sweet tooth, I figure that I’ll make some of this delicious-looking vegan cake (vegetarian and dairy-free friendly, although I think a little vanilla extract will make it even better) and I’ll have some cartons of ice cream (Breyer’s All-Natural and most of the Dreyer’s brand are gluten friendly) at hand, as well.

Finally,we all know that the Super Bowl isn’t complete without alcohol, so there will be plenty of beer around.  While I don’t like beer and those with a gluten-intolerance can’t drink it either, we’ll mix up some killer margaritas as well, since tequila has no gluten!  Now THAT sounds like a party!

What is your twist on a traditional Super Bowl or football dish?

Thanks to jdanvers, sean dreilinger, mooshee85, xmascarol, nickwheeleroz and Lilia for the great photos!

~Laura

Just about now, foodies and other fine citizens nationwide are taking comfort in the New Year. What other time of year so aggressively sanctions the act of starting all over again? Those innumerable regrets you harbor for locking your hip next to the truffles and cookies at your holiday office party, or indulging in more than your fair share of vanilla bean martinis and apple pie since Thanksgiving rolled around? Poof! They can be magically transformed into a Resolution For What You Will Not Do in 2010.

I suppose the handed-down Puritan psychology that formed the backbone of our culture’s work ethic has something to do with our obsessive need to feel bad about enjoying All Things Good and then resolve to change our ways. Yet, it’s a lovely idea that we can take control over our choices, make good (or, ahem, better) ones, and purposefully turn ourselves into more enlightened beings.

This year, instead of looking at those places where reality is not measuring up to my ideal (and thereby crafting a resolution born out of a lack or ill-feeling for where I fell short), I’m focusing on what I want to bring into my life – multiple mountain bike and ski trips, my first garden, new yummy recipes, and a dog – regardless of last year’s accomplishments.

For me, there’s no point saddling myself with a painful, daunting task such as: I will only drink coffee once a week. Instead, I might ‘resolve’ to drink more tea! As you can see, it’s a subtle shift, but this approach focuses on what I can bring more of into my life, instead of what I need to cut out. Here’s how this plays out across the board in my essential 2010 Resolutions for Abundance:

1. Bring on Seasonal Eating
In 2009 I embraced local and seasonal produce like never before. I joined Happy Heart Farm CSA as a working member and started learning about our local farmers. I want to expand my knowledge of Colorado farms in 2010, eat as seasonally as possible and start interviewing farmers to learn more about their operations, land and passion for food.

2. Love my Fridge
I’ve been dining out with less frequency on account of the previous resolution, but lately when I open my fridge these days – it’s scary inside. So many cheeses left unloved, so many veggies rotting in the bottom of my drawer. Guess I need to cook more and truth be told, shop with less enthusiasm. The more I cook, the more I can share with friends and the more we can consult on new recipes and ways to use the veggies, cheeses and leftover rice that occupy the dark recesses of said fridge. Of course, with vanilla at my side, there’s always room for creativity, like playing around with this rice pudding recipe by using my precious vanilla beans instead of extract.

3. Muse, Bluegrass, and Dancing
I love to dance, I love music, and I love to be inspired. While I’m no artist, I seek more creative energy in my every day life and I know that music and dancing will help take me there. So, I aim to turn up the tunes, boogie in every corner of the house, and celebrate the sounds and rhythms of life. I just might even learn to play an instrument, go to my first ever Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and start writing a book.

4. Get a dog
I’ve never, ever had a pet. I aim to change that this year. I’m so excited. Woof!

5. Ride, ride, ride, ride and ski, ski, ski, ski
I’m a glutton for mountain biking and backcountry skiing. I can never get enough of both. This year, I want to take more trips to explore new trails and see new mountains. I’m also aiming to ride more at night with my super cool new headlamp.

What will you bring into your life in 2010? More vanilla? More healthy eating? More hikes in the woods? Discovering new cafes and favorite haunts? Whatever makes it onto your list, I wish you great joy in embracing that which enriches your life, expands your heart and gives you new hope in the new year.

With abundance,

Carol

Happy New Year to Legalnonresident, alicepopkorn,  Ed Youdon, and Rob Lee for the use of their spirited photos.

What does your ideal kitchen look like?

I think the character of a home is identified through its kitchen.  This is my kitchen:

I love it.  It’s where I’m learning by trial and error (mostly error, actually) to cook and where I easily re-create cookie and bread masterpieces.   The atmosphere of my kitchen is a natural evolution of the kitchen my family had while I was growing up.

Have you seen that commercial (I think it’s a margarine commercial) that depicts an iconic 1950s kitchen? A happy housewife with a bob haircut and a white apron in the immaculate kitchen, cheerily opening her oven towards the camera, showing neatly arranged trays loaded down with foodstuffs?  Yeah, our kitchen was nothing like that.

Our kitchen was always clean, but constantly in motion; a gathering place.  In the warm and open room, there would be a slight feeling of chaos in the air; Mom would squint at the recipe trying to decipher faded, scribbled handwriting, Dad would take advantage of her distraction to steal a dollop of batter from the bowl and the five of us kids would be teasing each other and trying to “help” until Mom shooed us all out.

The kitchen in my apartment now feels like neither the Stepford 1950s kitchen nor like my childhood kitchens.  Instead of open and airy, it’s small and packed.  The slightly claustrophobic sensation is heightened by the frenzy that I often find myself in when I’m making something for the first time.  Instead of the soothing rise and fall of voices discussing the day, it’s just my voice talking myself through the recipe that I have pulled up on my laptop, occasionally punctuated by an expletive as I realize that I should have taken that one pan off the stove five minutes ago.  My husband mostly stands safely off to the side within easy reach of the fire extinguisher, gently interrupting only to prevent me from forgetting about that same pan again.  Things are often calmer on the nights when he cooks, although I will say that the food he prepares is less adventurous!

The tools of the trade have also changed over the years.  I don’t remember my grandmother having any sophisticated kitchen appliances.  Her favorite utensil was a wooden spoon and her hands; even her egg mixer was the kind you used by cranking the handle.  My mother, on the other hand, has several big appliances that dominate the kitchen and force the ingredients into submission, like a beautiful bread machine and a big Kitchenaid stand mixer in that too-ripe avocado color that was popular back in the late 1970s.  I probably own more kitchen helpers than both my mother and grandmother together, although mine are less sophisticated.  I am the proud owner of a rice cooker, an electric hand mixer and a crockpot; I am also the shameful owner of a SlapChop.

Even basic ingredients vary across the generations.  My grandmother swore by boiling all water before using it, milk that came in soft pouches, butter packaged in small tubs and brown eggs. My siblings and I grew up on tap water, powdered milk, shortening and egg-beaters.  Now that I do the shopping, we use a Brita filter, drink soy milk (although I do mostly bake and cook with regular milk), butter is bought in sticks and the eggs are organic.  None of these preferences are inherently better than any of the others but they do give you an idea of each of our personalities and priorities.

But enough about me: I want to hear about you!  What’s your kitchen like?  Send me pictures and memories of your kitchens!  How do your kitchen practices follow or break the mold from your parents’ or grandparents’?  I would love to see the different way you all have individualized this essential room!

Thanks to Roadside Pictures, Limonada, dogs & music, smiteme, xdijo, Danielle Scott, Paul Worthington and Nancy Hugo for the pictures!

Laura

I recently moved into a new (to me) house – a cute ranch with a cozy kitchen. Two weeks ago my mom helped me unpack my kitchen items by finding a home in the bare shelves for dry food ingredients, canned goods, spices, and oils. I didn’t pay attention to where she put what, so I’ve slowly been finding what I need. This morning, however, I discovered I have no vanilla. Horror!

I went in search of vanilla because a spider sat so calmly in my sink. I recently read on Rodelle’s FAQ that spiders and bugs dislike the scent of vanilla. Here was my chance to test-drive such a concept. Amidst my sorrow to find the cupboard void of vanilla, I pondered how the extract became such a useful tool – and who made this discovery? If vanilla could be used to ward off the creepy-crawlies, what else could it do? I consulted The Google (even digital oracles deserve reverence!) and was delighted to find a wide range of remarkable vanilla uses and products. I’ve listed my top five discoveries in order of my level of fascination (I’ll be interested to hear what you all think as well!):

5. Vanilla as Perfume Ingredient: Lavanila founders Danielle Raynor and Laura Girolamo wanted to create a luxury fragrance that was “100% Healthy.” Vanilla fit the bill and became the beauty company’s anchor scent. One of their fragrances pairs vanilla with grapefruit. The combination sounds perfect. Time to track down a Lavanila purveyor!

4. Vanilla as Household Odor Eater: Got a stinky vacuum cleaner? Want to get rid of bugs while enhancing the smell of your living room? Care to neutralize paint odor? Get out the vanilla extract or a few beans and fend off those nasty aromas with a quick vanilla fix.

3. Vanilla as Vodka Infuser: Grey Goose gets the recommend from vanilla vodka fans for being the only distiller using real vanilla. Chowhound had many a mixed drink suggestion for a woman like me? who received a bottle of the GGVV and was dismayed to find she didn’t know how to put the spirits to good work. I’m now intrigued by the “vanilla turnover shots.”

2. Vanilla as Suggested Tooth Ache Cure: The homeopathic medicinal properties of vanilla are stunning – from treating weight loss  and overcoming sleep issues (might have to write more later about Tylenol PM Golden Vanilla in liquid form…) to curing a tooth ache. Next time your tooth throbs, try the remedy that eHow writer Rachel Asher recommends.

1. Vanilla as Possible Blood Disease Warrior: Pharmaceutical company Medinox has discovered that vanillin (the most powerful of vanilla’s compounds) can fight sickle cell anemia – but only in a test tube (our digestive enzymes destroy vanillin). The company is currently experimenting with a modified form of vanillin – MX-1529 – that has shown promising results.

Fascinating stuff, eh? So now that I’ve scoured the Internet in search of all things vanilla, I’m curious to know what fabulous tricks and tips you’ve discovered with your Rodelle vanilla extract and beans? Share on!

Thanks to Darwin Bell, Jon Rawlinson, and assbach for their excellent photos.

In search of vanilla,

Carol