...art, food, and life...right?

My family and I enjoy traveling together.  We especially enjoy a road trip.  When traveling by car, we enjoy stopping at regional super markets checking the aisles for unique products or by farm stands peeping through lush local produce.  We thought we'd share some of the neat things we found and tell you what we did with them--just in case they should ever cross your eye.  Some items were unique and some were simply above average old standards.

Red Radishes:  we found a bright red bunch of perfect radishes at a road side stand in Maryland.  The flavor was oniony with the right amount of spiciness.  We decided to dice it and make it a part of a marinade for a fresh asparagus salad (2 tbsp each of radishes, shallot, and sweet red pepper; cap full of apple cider vinegar; 1 tbsp of evoo; salt).

Pear Infused Vinegar: we can't recall where we originally found it.  One night when making a dressing, we wanted a break from the usual balsamic or apple cider vinegars, and there she was, a fresh unopened bottle of pear infused vinegar.  The vinegar was slightly sweet with the perfect vinegary bite in the background.  We simply replaced it in our standard dressing making the salad feel like a new treat.

Vine Ripe Roma Tomatoes: while tomatoes do not seem all that special, lovers of the veggie fruit know how exciting it is to come across that perfectly ripe sweet delight.  These beauties needed to be added to something more special than a regular salad, but left raw so as to not mask the taste.  We prepared a salsa with tomato, onion, and basil adding a hint of oil, salt, and sugar and placed it as an accompaniment to grilled chicken breasts seasoned with herbs de provence.  

Lavender Salt: we found this unique treat at CowGirl Creamery in DC on Inauguration Day 2009.  Fragrant and calming, we initially thought we should bathe in this salt.  But, we decided to use a heavy dose of it in boiling water mixed with aromatics for poached chicken from which we prepared lavender chicken salad (lavender poached chicken diced and mixed with onion, celery, and sweet relish bound my miracle whip salad dressing).

Red Beets: at a market in South Carolina, we came across a huge basket of fresh rose red beets.  We peeled them, sliced them thin and marinated them in herb seasoning, a pinch of salt, and evoo.  We then lightly dredged them in flour and fried them in canola oil until the beets were crispy on the outside and warm and fleshy on the inside.  

That's just a few of the fun things we've come across in a trek for tasty treats.  For us, it all about making meals special and memorable.  After all, it is art, food, and life....right?