The Garden Apartment

A tasty evening at Tallula

Charred Spanish Octopus with chick peas, pearl onions, sundried tomatoes and sherry vinaigrette

Sometimes being a food blogger has its perks. 

Last week I was fortunate to be among a group of DC food bloggers invited to a special dinner at Tallula in Arlington. 

Tallula is an American bistro known for its informal setting, extensive wine collection, and menu driven by seasonal ingredients from local farms. In April the restaurant introduced Barry Koslow as the new Executive Chef. And just recently, The Neighborhood Restaurant Group (of which Tallula is a member) welcomed Wine Director Juliana Santos on board.  

Most recently, Chef Koslow served as the Executive Chef of Mendocino Grille and Wine Bar. During his tenure, the restaurant was listed on the Washingtonian's 100 Very Best Restaurants list three years in a row. 

Wine Director Juliana Santos brings both culinary and sommelier experience to the Neighborhood Restaurant Group. Santos is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York and a certified sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers. She has worked as a meat chef at Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, and most recently hails from City Zen, where she worked under sommelier Andy Myers.

The four course dinner was meant to showcase Chef Koslow's creativity and versatility, as well as Juliana Santo's ability to pair each course with the perfect wine. 

To sum it all up: every bite was memorable. Each dish included an inventive or unusual element-- such as the halibut encrusted in lentils and smoked bacon complimented by the sweet spiciness of a curry sauce. In each course, creativity met with positive results. The flavor combinations were well balanced and very pleasing to the palate. 

Perhaps the most impressive dish was the octopus. Previously, I have eaten octopus mostly to prove my adventurousness with food. Each octopus experience was memorable just because it was octopus, and also because its texture was so rubbery.

Chef Koslow's octopus was a different experience altogether: tender, flavorful, and wholly enjoyable to eat. 

To finish our dinner experience, we were served chocolate-toffee brownie cake with pistachio ice cream. The description "brownie cake" doesn't do the dessert justice. It was more like one large piece of decadent candy-- finished off with a a 10 year Tawny Port.

Delicious.

And as if that wasn't enough, Chef Koslow surprised us with nutella beignets as a final hurrah. 

I left satisfied, a little happy from all the wine, and ready to come back to Tallula very soon.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

For more about executive chef Barry Koslow, check out the District Domestic's interview with him here.

Happy at the Falls Church farmers market {and grilled eggplant, beans, and shitake mushrooms in an Asian marinade}

Our move to Falls Church is finally over, our boxes and bags are unpacked (well, mostly), and we are settling into our new neighborhood. I spent my weekend exploring my new farmers market, and grilling up some fresh vegetables in an Asian marinade. Read on to hear about the market trip, or scroll down for the recipe.

After many busy Saturdays of hosting friends and relatives at our home, I finally took some time for myself and visited the Saturday morning Falls Church City Farmers Market. 

Nothing quite makes me feel at home like discovering my neighborhood farmers market. And lucky for me, the Fall Church Farmers Market is a real gem. Set near a quaint park and historic buildings on Park Street, the market is open year-round and hosts around forty vendors during the summer season (dropping to about fifteen vendors during the winter). The variety and quality of products available is outstanding, with many of my favorite farmers and producers participating.

Strolling through the market, here are some of the things I found:

Locally grown and milled flour from Moutoux Orchards in Loudon County 

Locally grown wheat is very difficult to find in our area. Moutoux Orchard is now selling rye flour, wheat flour, wheat berries, oats, and barley at the Falls Church Farmers Market, the Arlington Farmers Market, and the DuPont Circle Farmers Market. I bought a bag of the rye flour, and am looking forward to making some homemade rye bread soon. 

I was delighted to find seckel pears, each pear fitting snugly in the palm of my hand.

Tree and Leaf, a farm utilizing sustainable and organic farming practices, had a wonderful variety of produce including these late summer tomatoes . . .

and these interesting long purple beans called "asparagus beans."

Sunnyside Farm and Orchard had these adorable Hungarian eggplants, which I would have mistook for tomatoes, had I not read the sign. 

Toigo Orchards still had some of their delicious peaches. I snagged several with the hopes of introducing them to my grill, a little butter, and some rum.

And finally, to make the boys in my household happy, Cibola Farms was at my service with their buffalo meat products. As fate would have it, a few buffalo patties would also be making their introduction to my grill in the form of a family burger night.

In fact, the grill seems to be the main method of food prep in our new house. Perhaps after years of living in an apartment where grilling produced more hassle than pleasure, we are catching up on lost time. 

One of our friends gave us a vegetable grilling basket as a housewarming present. After picking up a load of fresh veggies, I wanted to try grilling vegetables in a sauce I would usually use for stir-frying. For the stir fry, I selected two skinny Japanese eggplants with pale green skin. I know these to be particularly mild, absent of the bitter flavor eggplants sometimes have, and possessing a flesh which becomes very creamy when cooked. I tossed the eggplant with long purple asparagus beans, some red onion, and a large cupful of shitake mushrooms.

While the grill was heating up, I sliced the vegetables and then tossed them in a marinade of garlic, ginger, lime juice, fresh basil, chile paste, soy sauce, and sesame oil. They marinated for about thirty minutes, then sizzled in the grill basket, transforming into a tasty concoction perfect over a bit of Jasmine rice. We prepared this as a vegetarian dish, but it would also be delicious with chicken or shrimp.

Grilled eggplant, beans, and shitake mushrooms in Asian Marinade

Serves 2 as a main course

Vegetables:

1 Cup beans (I used asparagus beans, but green beans or sugar snap peas would work well)

2 small eggplant, preferably Japanese 

1/2 red onion, sliced

8 ounces shitake mushrooms, sliced in half

Marinade:

1 clove of garlic, finely minced

1 tsp fresh ginger, finely minced chiffonade

1 TB fresh basil, cut into a

1/4 tsp red chili paste

2 tsp soy sauce or tamari

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1/2 tsp sugar

zest and juice of one lime

1 tsp mirin or rice wine vinegar

3 TB canola oil

For serving:

soy sauce

lime wedges

fresh basil 

Directions:

Prep the vegetables and set aside.

Prepare your gas or charcoal grill.

In a large bowl combine all ingredients for the marinade, except the oil. Slowly whisk in the oil until the mixture is well combined. Add the vegetables to the bowl, and toss thoroughly with the marinade. Allow to marinate for 30-60 minutes, mixing often.

Place the vegetables in a lightly oiled grill basket, or on a grill grate lined with aluminum foil. Grill for 10-15 minutes, tossing often. Vegetables should be slightly blackened and beginning to soften.

Serve over rice with soy sauce, lime wedges, and fresh basil.

As you can see, we were a bit anxious and did not wait for the grill to cool down before throwing the veggies on. Some of our vegetables were more than adequately blackened. Fortunately, they still tasted delicious, and we finished every last bite. 

25 Pounds of Tomatoes {and canning pasta sauce}

After canning pasta sauce as a work assignment, I decided it was absolutely necessary to do at home. 25 pounds of tomatoes later, I had fresh tomato sauce and several cans of simple tomato sauce to enjoy. Read on for the story, or scroll down for the recipe.

 

Seemingly, a work assignment involving a very large garden with a lot of tomato plants and several days spent canning everything tomato (ketchup, crushed tomatoes, sauce, and whole tomatoes) would deter most people from continuing to can tomatoes during time off at home. 

Seemingly.

But, after processing fresh tomatoes into a delicious simple pasta sauce (inspired from Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Vegetable Miracle), I knew I had to make some at home. 

I urgently emailed my friend Calvin of Bigg Riggs Farm. "Can you sell me some seconds tomatoes?"

An affirmative reply was quickly rendered, and I made plans to pick up my tomatoes from the Wednesday afternoon King Street Gardens Park Farmers Market. When I arrived for the tomatoes, I only planned to buy about ten pounds.

Calvin scoffed at this idea. "10 pounds? You should really get more like 20-30."

Having never been one who avoids purchasing excess produce, I agreed. The 25 pound box of tomatoes (all for $12) was so heavy that I was unable to carry it to my car without assistance. 

When I arrived home, the tomatoes found a nice cozy spot on a kitchen chair making my husband ponder what on earth I had gotten into now.

The next morning, I woke up early and got my supplies ready. Canning takes time and careful preparation, and most importantly a zealous belief in sanitation.

With this in mind, my first steps are always to get my glass jars out, and to separate the jars from the lids and rings. The jars can be sterilized in the dishwasher (mine cycles for around two hours), while the lids need to be sterilized just before processing the cans. 

The next step is to set up the following equipment: 

• a pot of boiling water
• a large bowl filled with ice and cold water  
• a large cutting board and knife
• a discard bowl 
• a strainer perched atop another bowl 
• a large stock pot for making the sauce 

Since my recipe calls for two chopped onions, I decided to get all that chopping out the way before getting my hands into the tomatoes. Once the onions were chopped, they went right into the large stock pot and softened up so that they were ready when the tomatoes joined them in the pot. 

With the onions out of the way, the assembly line began. 

Each tomato first needs to have its skins removed. The easiest way to do this is to blanch them for about one minute in boiling water. . . 

 

And then plunge them into an ice water bath for at least the same amount of time.

Next, the skins easily slide off into the discard bowl. 

At this point, I like to cut them in half to remove the core and the seeds. 

After the skins, cores and seeds were removed, my tomatoes went into a strainer set atop another bowl. This allowed the excess juice to strain out-- a process that takes around thirty minutes. The juice can be saved and reused in other cooking. 

 

Messy, messy tomatoes.

Finally, after straining all those tomatoes and simmering them with the onions and spices for over two hours, I processed them in a water bath for 40 minutes.

The end canned result canned was a simple pasta sauce which I doctored up to make even tastier with a little fresh basil, garlic, and grated parmesan.

Canned Pasta Sauce:

 

Note: Be sure to read and follow all instructions carefully. Safe home canning requires careful adherence to guidelines and the use of properly sterilized equipment.

Ingredient List

• 20 pounds of tomatoes
• 2 onions, roughly chopped 
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 2 TB dried oregano 
• 2 TB salt  
• 2 TB pepper 
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 

Equipment List

• 1 stockpot 
• 1 smaller pot  
• 6-8 pint sized canning jars 
• 1 pair of jar lifters 
• 1 cutting board 
• 2 large bowls 
• discard bowl (another medium- large sized bowl) 
• 1 strainer 
• 1 large canner 
• funnel 

Prepare the ingredients

 
Have ready and set up: a cutting board, one large bowl filled with an ice and cold water, and one large bowl with a strainer set on top of it. I also like to keep a discard bowl handy for the tomato skins, cores, and seeds.

Chop the onions and place in the large stock pot. Warm over medium heat until they are softened. If necessary, add water to prevent sticking. Important: Do not add oil! Once onions are softened, turn off heat and wait for tomatoes to be added before continuing to cook. DO NOT add other vegetables or garlic to the recipe as it will change the pH level of the tomatoes and increase the risk of contamination.

In the meantime, fill the smaller pot with water and bring to a boil. Once the water has come to a boil, begin blanching the tomatoes in the boiling water. After one minute, immediately transfer the tomatoes to the ice bath (they should stay in the ice bath for at least one minute).

Bring the tomatoes to the cutting board and peel off the skins. Cut the tomato in half and carefully remove the core. Cut each half in half (quarter) and remove the tomato seeds. Place each tomato quarter into the strainer set over a bowl. Allow tomatoes to strain for about thirty minutes to remove excess juices (this will help your sauce thicken better).

Note: At this point, some people like to puree the tomatoes in order to have a smoother sauce. I prefer a thicker sauce with tomato chunks, so I keep the tomato pieces in quarters and break them up while the sauce is simmering.

Add the strained tomatoes to the large stock pot. (Tip: You will have to do this in batches because the amount of tomatoes is so large. I keep an assembly line going to increase the efficiency of the process.)

Once all tomatoes have been added to the stockpot, add the sugar, oregano, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring from time to time. Allow to simmer for 2-3 hours, until the sauce has thickened to your likeness.

Preparing the canning equipment:

Once the tomatoes begin processing, it is a good idea to get the canning equipment ready. 

Most importantly: it is essential that everything you are using is clean and sterile.

I like to sterilize the canning jars in the dishwasher, and since the cycle takes around 2 hours, it works out perfectly with the timing of the sauce.

The jar lids and rings can be sterilized by running boiling water over them. This should be done right before the sauce is processed in the boiling water bath canner.

Make sure all of your kitchen surfaces have been cleaned and sanitized of any tomato seeds and pulp that may be leftover from working with the ingredients. Set up your water bath canner on the stove top, fill it with water and bring to a boil.

When your sauce is ready, place your sterilized jars on a clean kitchen towel. Place a funnel over the jar mouth; ladle sauce into the jar leaving 1/2" head space. Carefully wipe off any excess sauce which may have gotten on the jar rims. Seal each jar with a lid and ring, tightening them just past the point of resistance. Repeat this with the remaining jars and sauce.

Process all jars in a boiling water bath canner for 40 minutes.

Remove from the canner using jar lifters (this will really help prevent burns- believe me) and set on the counter undisturbed for 24 hours.

After 24 hours, check the seals to make sure they are firmly shut. The seal should not move at all when it is gently pressed down on. Any jars that did not properly seal should be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Garlic-Basil Pasta with Parmesan

I enjoy pasta sauce so much that I didn't process all of my tomato sauce in mason jars. I just couldn't wait to eat it. 

Instead, I kept about four cups of sauce in the stock pot. I simmered the sauce a little longer, then added some of the ingredients I couldn't during canning: two crushed cloves of garlic, some fresh basil, and a little olive oil. This delicious sauce was spooned over a heaping bowl of pasta with some freshly grated parmesan cheese.

And now, whenever I pop open a jar of my homemade sauce, I can look forward to a delicious bowl-- just like this one.