Two Dog Diner

Two Dog Diner is a retro-chic establishment offering upscale versions of diner classics that can be readily tweaked to suit vegetarians and mega-carnivores alike.  Nestled in a corner of the New Urbanist Prospect neighborhood in Longmont, Two Dog is a popular spot for sandwiches, salads, breakfast served all day, and innovative specials like the Roasted Duck Hash that was featured on the board when we stopped in for lunch.  The interior is classic retro with whimsical touches, including the mix-and-match salt and pepper shakers on the tables (ours was adorned with cute black and white pigs, though the pepper pig appeared to be suffering with some sinus issues) and colorful touches throughout.

It's probably just me, but I find the placement of one of those balls to be suspect.

We have visited a few times in the past and have had mostly positive experiences, and on this bustling Saturday afternoon our experience was consistent.  The place was jammed with a diversity of people eating plates of great looking food, and the counter was also a popular spot.

The service on this very busy day was a bit harried and impersonal, though still attentive to the important things like beverage refills and clearing plates.  The menu is extremely vegetarian friendly, with the option of vegetarian sausage as a breakfast side and a wide range of appealing sandwiches and salads that are meat-free.  Harrison ordered the Portabella Mushroom with Fontina and Roasted Red Peppers on the recommended sourdough bread, along with a side of home fries.  The server helpfully pointed out that the home fries are made with red bliss potatoes (presumably because they do not crisp up as much as russets):

The sandwich was really nice, with great flavor from the roasted red peppers and fontina, and nicely grilled sourdough that was not saturated with grill grease, as can sometimes be the case.  I order the Grilled Prawn Club, also on the recommended sourdough, and the server asked if I preferred two or three slices of bread.  I went with her recommendation of three and it worked well, but it would be slightly easier to eat with two:

The shrimp were a little skimpy but were nicely done and were well complimented by the pesto aioli and the sourdough.  I enjoyed the sandwich and would order it again but ask for a little less pesto.  The salad on the side was field greens dotted with thinly sliced cucumber, halved grape tomatoes, and sliced, raw button mushrooms (I am in the camp that hates raw button mushrooms on salads, but I know some people enjoy it--I just push them aside).  I ordered the Balsamic dressing which was nice but the salad was quite overdressed.  Next time I will ask for it on the side.

We also shared a side order of the Potato Pancakes with House-Made Applesauce and Sour Cream:

They were crispy and savory, veering toward standard hash browns, and paired really well with the thick applesauce.  As you can see, the applesauce was a bit of a scarce commodity, and we definitely wanted more to compliment the cakes.

Two Dog Diner is family-friendly and single-diner-friendly, and they offer a range of house-made desserts and coffee drinks, as well as freshly brewed teas.  My iced black tea was excellent, and I will readily mark a place off of my dining list forever if I am served bad tea--so clearly I found that a major selling point.  We have had consistently good food during our visits--sometimes excellent, sometimes just shy of the mark--and I would recommend stopping in and giving them a try.  They are open for breakfast and lunch seven days a week, and dinner every evening but Monday. 

Thanks for reading,

-Angela FRS

Season's Last Market: A Photo Essay with Recipe

Because we have had vegetable, fruit, and egg shares from Grant Farms this season, we have not spent a lot of time at the wonderful Saturday markets in Longmont and Boulder--just a few quick stops for Hazel Dell mushrooms or a snack from the pot sticker stand.  Today was the season's last market, so we went by to look, to snack, to buy some of our favorite turnips and some pumpkin empanadas, and to snap some photos to get us through the winter months:

Harrison's favorite stop--the pie shop

The chile roasters make the place smell like heaven

The most amazing, sweet little turnips

Beautiful loofah soaps, from Dew Farms

We bought one of these tasty stems of sprouts.

Sprouts that everyone will really eat!  See recipe...

Maple-Orange Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Pecans

3 cups sprouts, cut into quarters or halves if they are large

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup pecan halves

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon fresh orange zest

sea salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

In a large skillet or wok pan, toss the sprouts with the olive oil and cook over medium-high heat until they turn bright green--the key to good-tasting sprouts is to not overcook them.  The reason you hated these as a child is they were cooked into sulfurous nastiness.  Don't do that.  You want them bright green, and that is all.  When they hit that, toss in the pecans and let them toast on the side of the pan for minute (I shove the sprouts to one side for this).  Stir in the maple syrup and orange zest, plus salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, tossing the sprouts, just for another minute or two.  Serve and see if you can't get a sprout hater to see the light!

Thanks for reading,

-Angela FRS

Guest Blogger for Marx Foods

I had an opportunity to put my kitchen skills to the test with some great samples from Marx Foods, and I did a guest blog for them with the delicious results.  Hint:  the kitchen looked like a flour bag had exploded by the time I was done testing:

Harrison, the hand model, works for very little dough

Want to find out the results?  Check out my recipe by Clicking Here.  I think you will like it.

Thanks for reading,

-Angela FRS

Adventures in Gardening

If you have been following along with our story, you will recall that Harrison put together a mini greenhouse several weeks ago, and there was much rejoicing.  We immediately seeded the ground with some cold-weather crops--radishes, various types of lettuce, and some spinach.  We watered and waited patiently and were thrilled when a huge flush of green began to emerge.  Days went by, and that field of green turned into a field of something that looked nothing like lettuce:

Hmmmmmm...I picked a few and tasted:

Yes, just as I suspected--we had been nurturing two large swaths of baby dill.  The dill had gone to seed in the garden and when we moved in the soil we had inadvertently planted lots and lots and lots of dill.  No lettuce seed had managed to win the fight, just dill and a few lonely radishes.  Sigh.

Well, at least we like dill.

I have been reading the lovely book A Homemade Life, by the author of the acclaimed blog Orangette, and last night I went to sleep with sensory images of her meatballs in yogurt sauce dancing through my head.  We don't do meatballs around here, and the recipe called for cilantro and cumin, but I thought, hey, how about chickpea croquettes with dill?  Not much like the original recipe, but I thought it sounded like a great way to use up a bunch of volunteer baby dill.  I started by rinsing and draining a 25-ounce can of chickpeas and putting them in the food processor with a third-cup each of pine nuts and golden raisins, along with a good fistful of dill fronds and a sprinkle of salt. 

I pulsed this to a chunky paste--you want some texture left, so don't go too far with this:

If the golden raisins sound strange, please trust me and try them--they add a burst of sweet, slightly citrus flavor to the croquettes and you will not be thinking "raisins" when you taste these.

Stir a whole egg, a teaspoon of olive oil, juice of half a lemon, and a half cup of breadcrumbs into the chickpea mixture, then refrigerate for thirty minutes to let it firm up a bit.  Form into small balls (I made eighteen):

Working in two batches, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and brown the croquettes, turning to brown on all sides. Repeat with the other half and another tablespoon of olive oil, if needed.  They will flatten a little as you move them around, but this is charming, right?  You don't want them to look like they came from a falafel factory.   Place the first batch in a warm oven or on a warm plate tented with foil while you cook the second batch.

When they are nice and golden they are ready to eat.  I doubled my dill usage by serving these with an easy yogurt-dill sauce, made with plain yogurt seasoned with some garlic, a little lemon juice, some ground white pepper, and another fistful of snipped dill.

We will need to eat about another 38 batches of this recipe to use up the rest of that dill, so fortunately they taste pretty good.  They would be good cold, too.

The annoying part, of course, is the total lack of lettuce in the greenhouse.  Ah well, this is a lovely recipe.  They would also be nice tucked into some pita bread or tossed with some buttered egg noodles and sprinkled with more dill.  If you need some dill, let me know--I can hook you up.

Thanks for reading,

-Angela FRS

Red Frog Coffee

Last weekend we were both swamped with papers to grade, and as any teacher will tell you the best thing to do when this happens is to head to a coffee shop.  Trying to work through a pile of papers when you are at home is almost impossible--too easy to get distracted by more appealing tasks, like cooking, gardening, scrubbing the bathroom grout...

We have tried most of the free wifi hot spots in town and find most of them lacking on some level, so we keep looking, and next on our list was the recently-opened Red Frog Coffee, a little ray of light nestled in the corner of the big-box haven that is the Harvest Junction center in Southeastern Longmont.  Red Frog took over a spot previously occupied by a failed Starbucks, so in theory it seems like a bad move.  However, they offer so many of the things that Starbucks does not, including very personal service, locally-sourced bakery items and sundry goodies, local events and a Saturday "market," and some really killer beverages that stand out from the crowd.

We spent some real quality time there on Saturday and Sunday (did I mention all of those papers?), which provided opportunities to sample a range of offerings.  One of the unique beverages that I really enjoyed was the lavender lemonade, which was not overly-sweet as so many lemonades can be, and had a nice floral balance to the citrus tang:

After being served up powdered lemonade in too many places, this was really refreshing and delicious (and the fresh flowers on the tables are a welcome touch).

My other favorite was something that is really worth a drive to try, the Mexican Mocha.  In addition to a deep chocolate flavor, it has hints of vanilla and almond and a wonderful cinnamon flavor.  It was most delicious:

So good, I want another one right now.  Harrison, the resident coffee snob, had a cappuccino that he said had great flavor, but was a little heavy on the froth for his taste (of course he likes his coffee dense enough to balance a spoon, so you might like the froth).  Several people ordered chai while we were there, which is on my "to order" list, and they give you the option of telling them your preferred spice intensity level.

Since we were literally camping out at the Frog, we also sampled some of the food.  The bill of fare is pretty standard for a coffee house--bagel sandwiches, Boulder Breggos, various locally-sourced snacks and bottled drinks, and a range of pastries.  Emily Kelly, the very charming and helpful owner and barista, said that they get the pastries from four local bakeries, including a range of gluten-free products:

We shared a berry-cornbread that was moist, lightly sweet, and delicious, along with a small bag of mango-chile spiced almonds:

Really delicious and a great snack to power you through an afternoon of grading.  I also had lunch one day, and ordered the chicken salad sandwich.  Emily asked if I wanted that on a bagel or a croissant--a croissant?  Why, yes. I believe I will.  Now, keeping in mind that it has been years since I have had a croissant (it seems wrong to buy them at Safeway, and our local bakeries tend to focus on things like exotic cupcakes, not croissants), I just have to say that I enjoyed the (heck) out of that sandwich.  The croissant was warm, crispy, melty, and flaky, and Harrison enjoyed some of the chicken-free edges.  The chicken salad was made with large chunks of chicken breast, not overly mayo-ed, and topped with freshly-sliced tomatoes, red onion, and lettuce.  It was made to order, and while I like a pre-packed Udi's sandwich now and then, this was a real treat, as was the iced mint green tea alongside:

If this is sounding like a rave review, it is--this is our new favorite place to hang out and work, or to just get a snack or a caffeinated beverage.  It is a really friendly place and the music is fun but not too loud or obnoxious, and you have your choice of tables or comfy chairs:

Harrison noted that the only thing that would make it better would be a little pond with ducks and geese to watch, a la our "office" in Estes Park, Coffee on the Rocks.  I agree--maybe they can work on that pond.

It is also possible that you will be working and some spontaneous square dancing will break out on the Frog's patio:

 

And honestly, when was the last time you saw a square dance at a Starbucks?

If you live in the area I highly recommend the Red Frog for all of your caffeine needs, as well as a nice sandwich and a pleasant place to interact.  You will enjoy your time, even if it involves a stack of work--and the wifi is speedy, to boot.

Thanks for reading,

-Angela FRS

A Kiwi Quartet

When I am asked what inspires me to create a recipe, I usually stumble and say something inane and somewhat metaphysical--a muse?  What inspires me,  really, is a lovely ingredient.  One of the things I have enjoyed about getting random boxes of produce each week via the CSA is that it makes me look at each item and consider what to do, what to do...how to make it delicious.  So, the ingredient and the challenge.  Those are the things that get me going.

This week I was presented with the challenge of the kiwi fruit, an ingredient that is about as non-local as it gets, but which is one gorgeous piece of produce.  Zespri, one of the largest farming cooperatives for kiwis, and a company dedicated to environmental growing practices, is currently sponsoring a consumer sweepstakes that anyone can enter, to win a trip to New Zealand for four (home of the Kiwi!): to enter,  Click Here.  In addition to the sweepstakes, they have challenged bloggers to create some great kiwi adventures of our own.  How could I resist?

Kiwis have been widely available in the U.S. for a few decades, and they are also known by the less glamorous name "Chinese Gooseberry."  They are ripe when they just yield to soft pressure, and they are a great source of Vitamin C, fiber, and potassium.  I am one of the few people around who likes to eat the fruit with skin on (it is perfectly edible, just wash before eating), but in the recipes that follow I bowed to peer pressure and removed all of the skins.  For the blogger challenge, I wanted to see if I could come up with a multi-course dinner party, incorporating the fruit into each course.  To do this, I began with a salad course that reimagined the Caprese salad.  Behold, The Kiwi Caprese:

This was really delicious!  I used fresh mozzarella slices, tomato, kiwi slices, and fresh mint leaves.  I piled up some sun-cured olives in the center and sprinkled more fresh mint and basil leaves over everything.  Sprinkle on sea salt and drizzle on some extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and you have the start of a great party.  Serve this salad at room temperature for best flavor.  The sweet-tart flavor of the kiwi really complements the astringent tomato and creamy cheese.

For the main course I started by making a basic kiwi butter.  To do this I put a stick of unsalted butter in the food processor with two peeled, ripe kiwis, and pulsed until the kiwi was incorporated.  Don't try to get it to emulsify, as the high water content of the fruit will not make that possible.  Just get it all well smushed together, and it will work just fine.  Spoon into a dish and refrigerate overnight, or until the butter has hardened:

This was the primary component in my Scallops with Kiwis Two Ways, a really easy and elegant main course for my kiwi dinner party.  For this recipe you want to sear the scallops, which means that you want them to be as dry as possible when they hit the hot pan.  I pat them dry on paper towels:

Heat some high-smoke-point neutral oil in your skillet over high heat (I used grapeseed oil, but canola would be fine) and add the scallops. After you place them in the pan, do not move them around!  Let the bottom sear and caramelize fully before you flip them over, and at that point they will be almost fully cooked.  It will take 4-5 minutes to sear the first side, and only 1-2 for the second side, depending on the size.  It is much better to undercook a scallop than to overcook, so watching them carefully is important.  Don't head off to water the begonias while they are cooking:

At this point, turn off the heat and add in a few tablespoons of the kiwi butter along with some sliced kiwi.  You don't want this to cook, just heat through.  Swirl the pan around and the butter will pick up the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan:

Sprinkle on a little sea salt and ground white pepper, and serve:

This is a beautifully simple, light main course that will impress your guests.  The leftover kiwi butter freezes well, and it is really delicious smeared on a warm muffin for breakfast.

Kiwi desserts are not hard to come by, but I wanted to do something simple that would highlight the tart-sweet flavor and would go well with after-dinner cocktails.  I found some kiwis that were just shy of ripe and peeled and sliced them, then cooked them for 20 minutes in a simple syrup solution with some pieces of fresh ginger tossed in for flavor.  Simple syrup is just equal parts of water and sugar, and you want just enough to cover the fruit:

Remove from the heat and use a fork or slotted spoon to remove the kiwi slices to some parchment paper--don't throw away that syrup!  We will be using that for our cocktails later:

At this point, heat up your oven to 225 degrees and place the kiwis (on the parchment paper, which is placed on a cookie sheet) in to dry out for a couple of hours.  You want them to be tacky to the touch but not damp, so the timing will vary depending on the humidity where you live.  In our dry climate it took a little less than two hours, but check about every thirty minutes.  Take them out and roll them in some sugar to coat:

They are delicious and beautiful just like this, but add one more step and you will end up with my Bittersweet Chocolate Kiwi Gems.  Just melt some bittersweet chocolate in your microwave--melt broken pieces on high, stirring every 20 seconds until it is smooth--then drizzle and/or dunk your candied kiwi slices.  Place on wax paper and let them cool at room temperature, then serve:

These would also be beautiful alternated with some white chocolate-drizzled kiwis.

Finally, it wouldn't be a dinner party without kiwi cocktails, so use that leftover gingered kiwi simple syrup to whip up some drinks.  Add some of the syrup to a glass with ice, club soda, and a squeeze of lime for a great non-alcoholic drink, or add some of the syrup to vodka or gin for a Gingered Kiwitini:

And so endeth my at-home kiwi adventure!  I hope you enjoy these recipes, and that they bring a taste of New Zealand into your home.

Thanks for reading,

-Angela FRS

Kiwi Fruit