Meatloafing: gmd
Benjamin: Gmd
Meatloafing: is “deskfast” a good term for breakfast eaten at one’s desk?
Benjamin: Its a little awkward to say but it works
Meatloafing: ok

Recipe: Oatmeal, a little brown sugar, cinnamon, flax seeds, bananas, and a spoonful of Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams (peanut butter blended with rich dark chocolate).

As many readers of this site know, we’ve been homebrewing kombucha for over a year now. After enjoying GT’s kombucha a few times, we quickly realized it made more sense to brew our own; GT’s costs roughly $4.50 per 16-oz bottle, and a gallon of homemade kombucha can be produced for mere pennies—water, sugar and a few tea bags are the only ingredients. Homebrew also tastes better! We’ve always been self-taught in the kitchen, but due to the weirdness of the beverage, we decided to take a kombucha class from good friends The Brooklyn Kitchen. The class was really helpful, but we’ve fine-tuned our recipe and process a bit since then. This EZ Guide will help you make the most delicious, refreshing and fizzy kombucha. If you need more detailed instruction or want to learn about the history of the beverage, there’s plenty of info out there (warning: the Wikipedia entry is pretty gross). This guide is suited for people who are comfortable in the kitchen and can follow simple, clear directions from the Meatloafing perspective.

Part One: Supplies

You will need:

• One-gallon pickle jar (and lid) from your local deli or bodega. Wash it out with soap and water and then give it a vinegar rinse to remove soap residue (pour white vinegar and a little water in the jar, swish it around, and dump out.).
• Regular white sugar. Buy Krasdale or Key Food brand. It doesn’t matter.
• Organic black, green, oolong, or white tea bags. I use the Whole Foods brand of green and black and also another brand of organic white tea. You can also obviously use loose tea, which I may try when the tea bags run out, but the bags keep the process simpler. Don’t use Earl Grey, herbal, or anything else that’s not real tea (Camellia sinensis). Just don’t.
• SCOBY* (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. the pancake-y blob, aka starter, mother, etc.). LMK if you want one. You can also make your own (will explain later, or just Google it).
• Starter tea. One cup of finished kombucha for each gallon you’ll make. If you get a scoby from me, starter will be included.
• Unbleached coffee filters or a small piece of clean, breathable cloth (like linen)
• Rubber band

*Tip: The SCOBY will keep for several weeks (or more, probably) if refrigerated. Just put it in the jar with the starter liquid (use extra if you’ll be storing for awhile, because the SCOBY will start to absorb the liquid and you don’t want it to dry out) and cover with lid.

Next up: Part Two: Fermentation! (coming soon)

Greenpoint: We recently dined at popular (?) NoGre Mexican restaurant Papacitos. PROS: byob, casual outdoor seating. CONS: Fish in fish tacos not fried, and not even really seasoned; unsalted tortilla chips and no salt on the tables!; the world’s slowest service (over an hour passed between ordering/receiving); Meatloafer Ben’s burrito was an enormous quasi-marinara-esque–covered blob. SADNESS FACTOR: They were robbed last week, so maybe that’s why they sucked. In fairness, we’ll return someday to report on the (unconfirmed) $1.50 lunch tacos. Papacitos, 999 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

Midtown: In Bryant Park news, the Harrison Ford (/McAdams/Keaton/Goldblum) comedy Morning Glory was filming this week around 43rd and 6th. We didn’t see any of the stars, but we noticed that Grace Plaza was renamed IBS Plaza for Monday’s filming. Coincidentally, the Trini-Pak cart on the north side of Grace/IBS Plaza has recently expanded their offerings. (pics of today’s Trini-Pak lunch TK)

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Smokra. Better picture TK.

Sorry for the lack of updates. Meatloafing is technically a “seasonal lifestyle website.” Basically, that means we don’t write much—at least not when laziness or SAD kicks in.

But we’ve been out and about lately, spending quality time with good friends and spreading the good word of pickling. Our latest project was inspired by Rick’s Pick’s Smokra, a product we’ve never tried but have read good things about. In this economy (ok, in any economy. we’re thrifty.), though, $12.99 for a 15 oz. jar seems rather steep. Meatloafing’s version of Smokra cost a mere $4 and yielded at least twice the amount of the lightly fuzzy* pentagonal fruit. The recipe is a variation of our basic dilly bean recipe; main differences include the lack of dill and the generous heap of pimentón de la vera (smoked paprika). We also only used white vinegar (ACV just didn’t seem right in this case) and added some cumin seeds to complement the smokiness. Read on for the complete list of ingredients:

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Today Mat asked us “What are Meatloafing’s tips to fight the recession?” His own tips included bringing lunch to work, composting, and gardening. We couldn’t agree more.

Our answer? Pickling: a simple luxury that’s cheap, low-stress, and extremely fulfilling. And lately we’ve really been into the kind of cooking where you just throw some stuff into a jar and let it sit for a couple weeks. Inspired by Yossi—who recently pickled some beets!—as well as the recipes in Arthur Schwartz’s Jewish Home Cooking: Yiddish Recipes Revisited, we finally picked (heh) up some green beans and made these deliciously snappy pods. Yep, it’s true: pickling is the new plaid.

Filling the jars with brine:

Pickling from Mollie Lauffer on Vimeo.

Continue reading for photos and recipe!

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The quiche, fresh out of the oven

Quiche is easy, delicious, and attractive. This recipe—our first stab at quiche, although we used to make a mean frittata—is both versatile and forgiving. Swap out the bacon and ’shrooms for broccoli. If you want to make your own crust, by all means, go for it. Forgo the half & half and just use milk if you want a lower-fat (and less tasty) quiche. And so on.

Ingredients

• 1 frozen 9-inch pie shell from Whole Foods
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 6–8 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced (I used cremini)
• 1 cup good swiss cheese, sliced or grated
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup half & half
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• Dash of cayenne and nutmeg
• s + p
• Herbs of your choosing

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• Brad Pitt with a mustache: hot or not? We asked Meatloafing readers this all-important question, and they were quick to respond. Bryan, 32, says it best:
  

  Bryan: always hot
  a little goofy looking
  but it’s ok
  if redford can do it pitt can do it
  that is the general rule
  Meatloafing: you are a wise man

• Want to start 2009 the healthy, thrifty way? Have you packed on the holiday pounds? Feeling doughy? Want to save money for a trip to Morocco? In January, we’re brown-baggin’ it every day, and you can read all about it on the Loaf.
• Check out a preview of our new redesign! It’s sizzling!