Since i am lucky enough to live in the West End, I have certain advantages not available to those who reside in less fabulous areas of Portland (or even-- gasp!-- in the wilds of South Portland or environs). These advantages include Caiola's; the convenient proximity of Fresh Approach and Cumberland Farms for last-minute purchases; and most importantly, the OhNo! Cafe.

All of the food at the OhNo! is fresh, delicious, and affordable. Chris, the owner, is a great guy who is always coming up with new recipes to wow our tastebuds. I have to admit, though, since I am a terribly boring creature of habit, especially when it comes to breakfast, that I almost always get the same thing: the Number One!.

This is a sublime combination; the maple syrup and the tabasco balance each other perfectly, and the prosciutto's salty porky goodness brings the two together. The only change that I make is substituting a bialy for the bagel; the onions and poppy seeds are a nice addition (the "default" bagel is plain).

Lunches and dinners at the OhNo! are great too-- I am a devotee of the BBQ pork sandwich, while Otis loves the crab cake sandwich-- and there's always a few yum specials chalked on the board.

However, to my mind, breakfast is where it's at-- at least, if you've never checked out the OhNo! before I'd start with that. Don't worry, non-locals are welcome too. While you're waiting for your meal, check out the rental and real estate listings!

Here's the digits:
87 Brackett Street
Portland, ME 04102
(corner of Gray & Brackett)
(207) 774-0773

As I've mentioned before, I worked at Jimbo's Pizza in Grinnell Iowa for a couple of years during college. I mostly worked in the kitchen making pizza and prepping for the other stuff on the menu.

I've been nostalgic about the whole Jimbo's experience recently because there's a new group on Facebook dedicated to the restaurant. It was a really fun place to work, with lots of yummy fatty foods to enjoy; but one of my favorite flavor combos is one I've been making at home ever since-- the Angry Samoan. This was a pizza (not on the menu) invented by one of the mangers there, a riff on the Hawaiian pizza-- it featured pineapple, ham, pickled jalapenos, and crushed red pepper flakes. It's best hot with each bit dipped in a dab of ranch dressing (the ranch is one of those weird Iowa foodways I picked up in my four years there).

I used to make my own dough, but for the past few years I've taken to buying the pizza dough at the grocery store. It's really easy to make your own pie, even if you don't know how to throw. And then you can make your own ridiculously spicy pizza, and load it up with as many toppings as you like.

I have a pizza stone, which I highly recommend.

Heat the stone in a very hot oven (450+). Meanwhile, lay down some flour on a large surface. Place the dough down and punch it down into a circular shape, and then push it slightly apart with your fists. Lift it up on your two fists underneath and move around slowly, pulling your hands slowly apart but mostly letting gravity do the work. Once the stone has been in the oven for 20 minutes or so, remove it (carefully) and dust with cornmeal. Place the dough down once it is the right size. Top it with canned crushed tomatoes, shredded mozzarella, and the toppings of your choice. Put it into the oven and bake until it's slightly brown and bubbly.

In addition to the above, I love to top with crushed raw garlic and chopped onions, or sundried tomatoes and fresh spinach (in the case of spinach, put it under the cheese). Easy as pie. Heh.

Good morning all. I can't wait for daylight savings to kick in, how about you? As I sit here it is 6:30, I've been awake for 40 minutes, and it's still pitch black out. I can never remember whether the "fall back" is moving the clocks to the right setting it would have been if we didn't have daylight savings at all, or vice versa. But I do wonder whether getting up before the dawn is good for anybody. In my case it requires coffee, and a swift perusal of the internet. Today I came across this interesting article about whether belonging to a CSA is bad for the environment if you throw out some of what you get. The answer is a) stop throwing so much out, silly, and b) no, the environmental benefits of buying from the CSA outweigh a small amount of waste.

Sadly, we're in a bit of a quandary for next year-- Wolf Pine, our CSA, has announced that it will no longer do a Portland delivery. We used to drive to Alfred weekly, and frankly, it's a huge pain in the butt, even if you don't include the cost of gas.

If any of you have any suggestions for a more local CSA or one that does delivery it would be much appreciated. I know Broadturn Farm is supposed to be good, but I think they have a waiting list.

I hope all my Canadian readers had a lovely Thanksgiving. Coincidentally, I roasted a half turkey on Monday, with herb butter (savory and sage I grew in pots) under the skin and chunks of celeriac in the bottom of the pan. I do love Fall foods.

A couple of weeks ago, I was a bit down in the dumps, and perhaps a wee bit whiny. Happily I have great friends who instead of thinking I was being a pain in the butt, instead gave me a homebaked apple pie! There's really nothing as cheery a warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream...and what a pie it was. I've always been proud of my apple pie, but this one was the best I've ever had by miles. Thanks Heidi and Ira!

Heidi (the baker) was nice enough to share the recipe with me. It's her mom's recipe. Try it!

Apple Cranberry Pie with crumb topping
(Recipe makes 2 pies)

In bowl, toss:
14 sliced apples
2 t. lemon
1 t. cinnamon
dash of salt
3/4 c brown sugar
4 t flour

In saucepan, heat:
1 can jellied cranberry sauce
1/3 c. water
1 T tapioca
3/4 c brown sugar
reduce, stirring often

Cool cranberry mixture and combine with apple mixture.

Pour into 2 pie crusts

Make crumb topping:
1 1/2 c flour - I use a mix of whole wheat and white
3/4 c brown sugar
1/3 c sugar
dash salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1 1/2 butter - cut up
Mix together with your hands and squeeze some crumbs together.

Sprinkle on top of pies.
Place on cookie tray covered with foil.
Bake 15 minutes at 400
Then bake 35-40 minutes at 375.

YUM

by Ravinder Kingra
This is the first column of many that I'll be writing for Accidental Vegetables. Each week or so, I'll provide readers with a cocktail recipe and some musings on the finer points of boozy quaffs.

Cocktails & Ice. The former rendered nigh unpalatable without the latter. You can never have too much ice in your freezer, especially when a party looms on the calendar. And the ice shouldn’t be the kind you buy at the 7-11 or the grocery store. That ice has a lot more surface area and therefore melts quicker, watering down drinks in the process. Use the largest ice cubes you can and make sure they are frozen solid. If you don’t have that glorious contraption known as the automatic ice maker you can stockpile ice in a plastic bag or Tupperware container that you keep in the freezer.

Unless a drink has a carbonated component (i.e. gin & tonic, dark & stormy, etc.) I always use a shaker. I am not a member of that crackpot club that believes shaking drinks “bruises the alcohol.” It is true that a shaken drink will be a bit cloudy, but a perfectly clear martini makes me think of rubbing alcohol. Shaking results in a thoroughly blended and chilled concoction; with a slight frothiness into which one can sink one’s teeth. I tend to shake cocktails for at least 20 seconds. The shaker frosts over and the fingers start to go numb, but a small towel enlisted as a shaker cozy will spare the bartender some discomfort.

THE BABY SADIE

Named for my niece. Yes, my niece. No, I don’t think it in bad taste to name a cocktail after a tiny little child. When I heard I was going to be an uncle I decided a drink was in order...to celebrate the momentous news, steady the nerves, stop the tears of joy streaming down my face, and so on and so forth. Celebration indeed.

4 oz. bourbon
2 oz cointreau or triple sec
2 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon vanilla
vanilla sugar (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice. Shake until very cold. Strain into frozen martini glasses rimmed with vanilla sugar, if using. Enjoy.

p.s. To make vanilla sugar, add 1 cup of sugar and a one inch piece of vanilla bean to a food processor. Process for a minute or two, until the vanilla has been chopped into tiny little pieces. You can store any extra sugar in an airtight container in your pantry for months and months.

Yields 2 cocktails