1. The time when my little brother got scared by a possum on the porch and had my dad shoot it in the balls with a BB gun.
2. The time my sister threw all of her ex-husband’s belongings off the balcony and locked him out of the house.
3. The time when my Nana and great-uncle Lowell were forced to eat rhubarb pie at the Cabot family home when she was a little girl.

So you are probably humming to yourself ♫One of these things is not like the other♫. While the first two stories evoke a certain, ahem, Texas-ness, the story of my grandmother dining with the Boston Brahmins though different in local color still enjoys at least one revival a year. In a nutshell, my great-grandmother, who worked for the Cabots, was invited to an employee lunch at their home. My Nana and great-uncle were under strict orders to eat every bite of every dish they put on their plates, or else. So of course when they saw the lovely pink rhubarb pie they each got a huge slice and dug in, only to be assaulted by a bitter, sour goop that they had to choke down until it was gone, lest the incite my great-grandma’s ire. You should see my Nana’s face when she tells this story, it’s like she’s still trying to swallow it. This story has been told so many times and with such theatrics that it has left an indelible mark on my culinary sensibilities: rhubarb is the most vile thing you could put in a pie crust.

Pretty in Pink

Rhubarb has made several recent appearances at the farmers market and realizing that there must be some redeeming quality to it, I decided to give it a try. Further encouragement arrived in the June Food411 newsletter “Romancing Rhubarb“. While I’m only interested in friendship [giggles nervously], this article is a great intro for those of us who have never cooked with the vegetable before.

The easiest thing you can do with rhubarb is make a compote, which is basically simmering it in sweet liquid until it breaks down to the consistency you desire. Rhubarb is fantastic for compote because it takes about 10-15 minutes to render a chunky compote, and roughly 30 minutes to get a smooth applesauce texture. BTW, check out cookthink.com if you fancy yourself a food nerd. I ♥ it.

The basic recipe for compote is simple enough: chopped rhubarb, water, sugar. I wanted to make it a little more special so added an herb that has been finding its way into many of my dishes lately: tarragon. You have to go easy with the T, man, or it will kick your dishes’ ass. But when done with subtlety it lends a sweet anise flavor that is hard to match with any other herb. Of course you could leave it out of this recipe altogether and it would still be delicious.

You read that correctly, it said “DELICIOUS”. Mixed with some greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey, this rhubarb compote makes an elegant and refreshing dessert perfect for completing a summertime meal. I feel that I have vindicated this vegetable to my family…if only I can undo the years of conditioning and get them to try this recipe.

haha! I attempted to correct the white balance...

I got a Canon Rebel XSi this week and I’m still figuring it out, but whoa is it an improvement over my little point and shoot (not that this photo is an example, I just like the macro effect on it). I took about 50 shots of this frozen pizza, fiddling awkwardly with all the knobs and buttons like a high school boy making out with a girl for the first time. I was probably just as giddy and excited.

Hence forth, I promise to provide you with marginally superior photography from previous posts. No more half-assed photography here, no siree.

Other changes are afoot in Miggy Country. I am hoping to launch a new site design early next week. Those cheesy header photos will be a thing of the past, too.

The pumpkin bread, also from The Joy of Vegan Baking, was such a miserable failure that I threw the entire loaf out. I underestimated the cooking time and over mixed the batter, resulting in a super dense and chewy brick. I learned from it, though, and I think the next time I attempt the recipe the bread will come out better.

Earlier this week I had the Tofu Quiche Salad from Field of Greens, and ever since I’ve been hankering for mini tofu quiches. I quick google search pointed me to The Fat Free Vegan Kitchen’s version. Off I went to Whole Foods in search of nutritional yeast and tahini. Exotic ingredients be damned, I had to have those quiches.

When life gives you failed quiches, make scrambled eggs

The coolest thing about this recipe is that it actually tastes like egg, and the texture is spot on. I think most folks would be surprised, and many would ask for seconds.

When I first started shooting pro, I was told “get down close and shoot it like porn”…and natural light is best.

Check out Laura’s tasty food photos here.

She was right. Is this too much? It is, isn’t it.

Figs are said to be an aphrodisiac

Fig and Chile Pasta

Adapted from this recipe on Culinate.com. You should check out Culinate, it’s all about being healthy and conscientious while not totally depriving yourself.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

12 dried figs
2 lemons
1- 6 oz container plain fat-free yogurt
12 oz whole-wheat fettuccine
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 fresh chile, seeded and finely chopped (don’t do what I did and dose yourself with too much chile. Ouch!)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
2. Cut figs in halves or quarters and place cut-side up on a plate. I chose to use dried figs because the fresh ones at Whole Foods looked manky that day.
3. Grate the zest from the lemons and squeeze the juice of one lemon into the yogurt. Stir in the lemon zest.
4. Once you have achieved a righteous boil on the water, add the pasta and cook according to the package.
5. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. I cut the amount from the original recipe in half, just cuz. Add the figs and chile and cook for a couple of minutes. When the mixture looks softened remove it from the heat.
6. Drain the fettuccine, return it to the pot and stir in the lemon yogurt, the Parmesan and the fig and chile mixture. Serve immediately.

Plain yogurt makes a quick and healthy pasta sauce a la alfredo…stop laughing. OK, it’s not exactly alfredo, but it IS tasty. Is there anything yogurt can’t do? The final product is pictured below, next to the Heirloom Tomato Salad I wrote about on Houstonist.

If you go to my shelfari virtual bookshelf, you’ll see what I’m up to. Nevermind “Walter the Farting Dog”, I want you to focus on the last four books I added. See? I’m going to read all of that info and distill it into domestic/scientific geekery the likes of which the internet has never seen!

Photo credit hellochris

Depending on a number of factors, on any given day I will find myself obsessing over some body part in a most unconstructive way. You guys know what I’m talking about. I’ll stand in front of the mirror and poke at the fupa, turn to the side and cringe at the saddle bags, wave my arms around to watch the upper arm jiggle. I spend a lot of time engaging in this behavior, which got me to thinking…why the hell do I do that?

The crap I say to myself I would never say to anyone else, it does little to motivate me to change the “problem areas” and it sure as shit doesn’t make me feel too good. My body image issues may not be serious enough to make me sick, but I feel like I gotta stop this nonsense. I’ve come up with a few ideas to help me develop a more realistic body image:

• Make a cartoon drawing of myself as I see myself on my worst day and share it with my girlfriends. I know this sounds nutz, but hear me out. When I was in grad school one of my best friends and I had a conversation about the body parts we hate. As I listened to her describe her “moon face” I thought how funny it would be to actually draw out our bad body images and share them with each other. You see, I never thought of her as having a moon face, in fact I find her quite lovely. We said we would do it one day, but we never did. I’m totally going to force my friends to do this with me, just to prove how ridiculous our body obsessions are. It may require a few bottles of wine, but be forewarned, I’m coming after you with crayons in hand…you know who you are…
• For every insult I hurl at the mirror, I will also force out one compliment. This one is a little easier. Take the picture above, for example. My biggest complaints are the fupa and jiggly thighs, but dang I got some great cleavage and a super-cute booty. This little exercise is my way of finding some positive motivation within to get my butt to the yoga studio or to give me the will power to stick to my healthy diet.
• When I find myself being overly critical, I will think of one small thing I can do that day to “fix” the “problem”. Tacking on a few extra sit-ups (fupa), taking the stairs instead of the elevator (saddle bags) and avoiding the M&M jar (all of it) are examples a small things I can do that may or may not “fix” the “problem”. At least I’ll feel like I’m doing something about it.

Do you think any of these ideas would work for you? Better yet, will you share your ridiculous body image drawings with me? I can always use a good laugh

I started jumping rope and using resistance bands the past two weeks in preparation for all the traveling I’m doing this summer. Check out my gear:

I know this will fit in your suitcase

That’s a light resistance band, a jump rope with a built-in counter, and medium resistance band. All three weigh less than a pound total and I can fit them easily into the front pocket of my carry-on roller bag. I’ve been working on a routine where I start off jumping rope for a minute, then I do three sets of resistance training, another round of jumping rope, another 3 sets of resistance exercises and so on. I repeat the intervals until I’ve gotten to each major muscle group (legs, biceps/triceps, back, chest, shoulders). I finish off with 150 crunches in five different flavors (30 reps of each). This routine takes me about 40 minutes to complete.

With so many distractions in Chicago, it will be difficult to stay on my routine. I’m gonna try my best and let you know how I fare. Wish me luck!