A Food Dilettante's Musings: February 2011

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Heirloom Carrots and Hummus

On my recent trip to Central Market, I saw a bunch of beautiful heirloom carrots and couldn't help buying some and tasting them immediately when I returned home. I bought some Purple Haze, Purple Rain, White, Yellowstone, and Atomic (orange) carrots.

Variety of Heirloom Carrots

I wanted to eat the carrots raw so that I can taste the difference between the different colored carrots. I made a mid-afternoon snack plate composed of these heirloom carrots, the Oregon-based Lilly's Hummus, sliced gourmet baby cucumbers,soy-wasabi toasted almonds and honey roasted almonds, and UnieKaas Parrano, a gouda-parmesan hybrid cheese.

Lilly's Roasted Jalapeno Hummus

A Mid-afternoon Feast!

The Yellowstone and White carrots were a bit dull; the Purple Rain and Purple Haze (purple on the outside, orange on the inside) are the sweetest varieties of the bunch. The roasted jalapeno hummus is really spicy. The heat hits you mid-throat. It's really good though!

Gorgeous Multi-Colored Carrots

I decided to make my mid-afternoon snack into something of an afternoon tea, complete with Central Market muffins!

Chocolate, Pistachio, and Cherry Muffin; Blueberry; Apricot and White Chocolate; Strawberry and Goat Cheese

The creative combination of ingredients were intriguing, but the muffins are way too sweet. I appreciate that Central Market packed the muffins with a bunch of stuff, but the abundance of chocolate chips in the Chocolate, Pistachio, and Cherry Muffin and the Apricot and White Chocolate was overkill.

Leftover Carrots for Tomorrow's Work Snack!

Monday, February 21, 2011

Shopping at Central Market

I love going to Central Market to simply look at food products. My eyes soak up the vibrant colors and fun shapes of the fruits and vegetables. I get to learn some of their faraway origins and imagine what they taste like. Sometimes, I'll even treat myself to buying a couple of rarities. Thank you Central Market for expanding my sensorial knowledge of food!

Here are some photos I've taken in the past. From now on, I will try to bring my camera with me everytime I go to Central Market and continue to add more fun pictures to this post. Enjoy!

Kishu Mandarin

Brussel Sprouts

Golden and Red Beets

Watermelon Radish

Maroon Carrots

Heirloom Carrots

Siamese Twin Heirloom Carrots

Buddha's Hand Citrus

Pepino Melons from Ecuador

Golden and Red Raspberries

Pixie Tangerines

Baby Pineapples from South Africa

Fiddleheads

Purple Peppers

Peppers

Macarons

New Muffins Counter with AWESOME Flavors!

Cherry Chocolate Pistachio Muffins

Mammoth Cheddar

Friday, February 18, 2011

A Tribute to My Half-Semester Stint in Michigan Pre-Recession

I made a wonderful mistake of going to graduate school in art history a few years ago. I say "wonderful" without sarcasm, and I say this because I was given the opportunity to finally understand why I decided to study the arts as an undergraduate in the first place. I didn't come to this realization while still in Michigan. My decision to leave Michigan was based on intuition and a lack of will to follow-through a possible mistake. I could not vocalize why I needed to leave, how I knew I was making the right decision, and what I wanted to do afterwards. My lack of justification and inability to explain myself made me feel like an utter failure. Through all of this, I was fortunate to have really supportive parents, who took me on a road trip throughout the entire State of Michigan to help me let out my frustrations. It has not been easy for me to talk about Michigan, and I feel like that part of my life will always remain a sensitive spot for me. In the beginning of this year, I was finally able to undust this memory and appreciate what I had originally felt was time lost.