July Review

How time flies!  I can’t believe it’s August already!  If you’d like to catch up on monthly reviews, check out May and June!  So what photos did I capture on my iPhone this month?

We buy some fruits and veggies from the Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market every week.  This week we purchased: blueberry yogurt, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, milk and eggs!  Check out the tomato tart and Lebanese salad with pita chips.

New this year is Gordy’s, they make small-batch artisanal pickles!

A fellow DC blogger, Thrifty DC Cook, introduced me to Saigon Cafe in Falls Church.  This was our 2nd visit in a month- the pho was that good!  So if any of my DC friends have a car, and have a craving for pho, I’ll be glad to introduce you to this new find!

Sam and I are always on the lookout for some great new beer.  I found this one at Cowgirl Creamery.  Baba black lager is from Uinta Brewery in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Love the cute label!

Another week of great finds at the Penn Quarter Farmers Market!  This weeks deliciousness was: eggs, green beans, corn, tomatoes and sweet melon.  Check out the tomato tart and fresh corn salsa we made this month!

A friend, and fellow DC blogger, Emily of Em-i-lis held a canning workshop at the Bethesda Strosniders Hardware Store.  If you’d like to learn more about canning she’s teaching another class on August 25th at the Silver Spring location (it’s free, just sign up!).

Sam and I tried out a new pizza place in Columbia Heights- Red Rocks!  The pizza above is the Funghi (fresh mozzarella, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes), the other we tried was the Boar Sausage (smoked mozzarella, wild boar, scallions, grana, parsley).  Both delicious, we’ll definitely be back!

Our friends Brittany and Ben will be having a baby any day now, we’re all so excited!  To celebrate, Stephanie threw a wonderful baby shower!  These were on all of the tables, with some delicious popcorn in them!  How cute is that?!?

I visited my parents for a week in Chicago- great view of a wonderful city!

While I was in Chicago, Sam went to the Penn Quarter Farmers Market.  What did he buy? Eggs, tomatoes, bacon, butter, blackberries, okra, peaches and peppers.  Check out the tomato tart!

While visiting my parents, my Mom showed me how to improve on my pierogi-making techniques!  We made blueberry pierogi’s- and they were delicious!

I attended a workshop at the Common City Good Farm on composting.  I’ve been wanting to learn more about it, and how to start.  Once everything is in place, I hope to do a couple of blog posts about the process.

We spent a couple of hours at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, and it had a great view from one of the terraces.  Definitely a museum all of you should check out while in DC!

More delicious food from the Penn Quarter Farmers Market!  This week we got: eggs, plums, peppers, tomatoes, cheese curds, peaches and peppers.  Check out the tomato tart!

Lastly, Sam and I began our scuba diving certification!  We got some log books to note all of our dives!  Cannot wait for Thailand to explore the underwater!

Veggie Pancakes with Spicy Mayo Sauce

This week I went to visit my parents in Chicago, and while I was there I got to enjoy a wonderful thunderstorm.  While growing up in the Midwest, I definitely took thunderstorms for granted.  I don’t feel like the East Coast storms are as grand.  It was nice to watch the lightning and listen to the thunder as your falling asleep.

The gloomy weather has spilled into DC this Saturday.  Today has been dreary and surprisingly cool (for mid-July).  To not just waste a cool day sitting on the couch, I signed up for a composting workshop at Common Good City Farm.  The organization grows food, educates and assists low-income DC residents in meeting their food needs.  They have a lot of workshops, hours open for volunteering- you should all check it out!

Do any readers compost?  If so, I’d love to hear about your experiences and what has worked (or not worked).  What kind of composting system do you use?

But for a gloomy, cool day like today veggie pancakes are perfect.  These are not breakfast morning pancakes, rather they are full of vegetables!  Perfect for lunch, dinner or snack.  Once you make them, they can be eaten warm or cold- and they last a couple of days in the fridge.

These are full of flavor, but they went perfectly with the Spicy Mayo Sauce we used previously on fish tacos.

Veggie Pancakes
Adapted from: Vegeterian Times (June 2011)

2 medium potatoes, grated
2 medium carrots, grated
2 medium zucchini, grated
1 onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

In a large kitchen towel (or paper towel), mix together the potatoes, carrots, zucchini, onion, and garlic.  Squeeze access liquid out of the vegetables.  Add the veggies into a large bowl, then add: flour, garlic, eggs, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  With about 1/4 cup of the vegetable mixture, shape the vegetables into patties and lay them out on a flat surface.

In a skillet, heat up the olive oil.  Once it’s hot, place the vegetable patties 2 or 3 at a time on the skillet.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until it is lightly brown and crispy.  Then flip it over and cook it for another 3 minutes.

Serve with Sam’s Special Sauce (mayo & chipotle’s), which can be found here.