things I eat

roasted potato salad

On the first Monday of each month some members of EtsyMetal write blog posts around a central theme. This month the questions are, "What do you eat? What won't you eat? Do you suggest any interesting pairings? What is your favorite studio snack? Optional: Include a favorite recipe."

For starters, I don't eat anything with a face, I've been a vegetarian for 20 years. I do eat eggs and dairy products, but not meat, poultry, or fish. I'm not fanatical about it - I don't mind picking pepperoni off of my pizza, or if my eggs are cooked on the same grill as a hamburger.

fresh fruit with homemade ricotta

I don't like to cook much, so I eat takeout more than I should. Some of my favorites are Vietnamese, Mediterranean, Ethiopian, and a local place that has the best BBQ tofu burrito ever. I do make my own yogurt, and have tried a few other soft cheeses at home. I love my carbs and cheese, they are my downfall. I never eat when I am in the studio.

As for unusual pairings - strawberries dipped in sour cream and then brown sugar are pretty damn heavenly. I like a nice cream cheese and green olive sandwich every once in a while. The last time I saw my mom she served me vanilla ice cream with some crazy-expensive aged balsamic vinegar poured over it, not bad.

spring rolls

I enjoy making vietnamese-style spring rolls. There is a local Asian grocery that carries fantastic fresh tofu, and I grow Thai basil in the summer. If you've never used the dried rice paper wrappers, they are pretty simple, you just soak them in a bowl of water for 10 seconds or so to soften them up. Starting with two wrappers overlapped really helped me in the beginning.

For fillings, I use any combination of tofu, mint, thai basil, cilantro, sprouts, seeded cukes, grated carrot, scallions, or cold rice noodles. Usually I keep it simple with 3 or 4 ingredients. I mostly use prepared dipping sauces, sesame garlic and peanut flavors are good, often they need to be thinned with water.

fried green tomato napoleans

I also eat a lot of fried green tomatoes in the summer. I slice them about 1/4" thin, coat with cornmeal and pan fry (or saute, I don't use a lot of oil). They're great served with a little remoulad sauce. When I want to get fancy I make Napoleans by layering fresh mozzarella and basil between the tomatoes and pouring vodka sauce (from a jar) over the top. Yum.

Now I'm really, really hungry.

Please visit my EtsyMetal friends to read about their culinary choices:

Victoria TakahashiStacey Hansen
Ann Hartley
Cynthia DelGiudiceNina Gibson
Caitlyn/discomedusa
Inbar BareketLauren/Creative Dexterity
Beth Cyr