We were packing up our table at a healing and psychic fair when a couple, Jane and Charles, stopped by. I pulled out information to share with them and that was the beginning of an enjoyable and interesting conversation, which wound up with us talking about bagels, lox, and cream cheese. As those of you who have been reading this blog for a while know, lox and cream cheese, especially TempTee cream cheese holds a place near and dear to my heart. Charles and I were talking about how hard it was to find good lox in Rochester and how it inspired me to learn how to make it. “How do you smoke it?’ he asked. “ I don’t, I brine it for three days.” I replied. “Oh, so you’re a loxsmith,” he responded and the seed was planted as I found myself staring at these beautiful wild Alaskan salmon fillets at the store the other day, but knowing this was not the week where I would have the time to pull out all those pin bones. I could have also gone with the farm-raised salmon, which tend not to have the pin bones, but some things are worth paying a little bit more for. Even paying more for the wild salmon is still considerably less then what I would pay for the pre-packaged lox, so I would be saving money and giving myself a special treat to enjoy for the week to come.
Read moreA Different Kind of Valentine's Day Story
I had planned on taking a sabbatical for a few months so I could spend some time working on my book, but after conversations with a few of my readers, I have decided to take something else off my plate so I could reflect her and work on my book. To put it in food terms, I figured out how to have my cake and eat it too.
Today is Valentine’s Day, so I should be reflecting on something chocolate or the spiritual qualities of chocolate (yes there are numerous), but my heart (no pun intended) is just not there today. I have been thinking about how food can bring you back in time to memories and moments that are unique, powerful, and filled with love and emotion. It seems as if ever since yesterday I have so wanted to ask Zoe to take me to the store to get some TempTee cream cheese and smoked salmon. What started this craving was a comment by Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli on Facebook the other day when she wrote, “What's better than a warm toasted bagel smeared with cream cheese so that it melts slightly into the crevices topped with paper thin slices of smoked salmon and a little red onion? On the side, a super thick slice of beefsteak tomato with sea salt and cracked black pepper....”
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