the arugula files

Dim Sum at The Source: Seriously Delicious Plates

I remember the first time I tried dim sum, like it was yesterday.  Only it was 1994 and I was in in the middle of my undergraduate experience, wearing flannel shirts, buck shoes, and jcrew jeans.  I basically looked like this.  A friend and I skipped Humanities 101 for a stop in Downtown Crossing to have the top of our earlobes pierced.  Ouch.  After what seemed like surgery without any anesthesia, my friend suggested we get dim sum.  Dim sum?  What's dim sum? I didn't want to sound like an ignoramus, so I casually said that "I loooove dim sum."  It should be noted that at that point in my life I called myself a sketchatairan, refusing to eat most meat.  Typical meals:  Celeste pizza and cheese sandwiches from Subway.  To say I had a limited palate is an understatement.  Obviously, I had never tried dim sum.

My friend, a Chinese American, guided me through lunch proudly, quietly boasting about food that was a part of her family's roots.  Dishes arrived at our table: brown blobs stuffed in dumplings, chicken feet, fish roe, and other unrecognizables wrapped in leaves.  Did I feel cosmopolitan?  No, I felt quesy.  The food was good, if I could get past my psychological limitations, but as an ignoramus trying new things it was unsettling.  Plus my earlobe was killing me.

My taste buds have grow up since then, and I can truly say that "I looove dim sum," but finding a great dim sum restaurant in the DC area has been difficult.  A few weeks ago, I tried the Saturday dim sum brunch at The Source, where Scott Drewno is serving up some seriously delicious plates.

Canned Peaches

 

I don't like being the bearer of bad news, but you know those peaches you are enjoying from the farmers market?  They won't be there for long.  By all means, buy as many as you can.  Stuff them in sandwiches and put them on pizza.  What about saving some for later?  Canned peaches are certainly not as tasty as fresh peaches, so don't eat them side by side.  But in the dead of winter, when snow has blanketed the streets, there's nothing better than eating a bowl of peaches with light, sweet syrup.  You can top them with chocolate sauce, or add more wood to your fireplace and serve them over vanilla bean ice cream. 

In Season: Tomatoes

  
A trip to Dupont Farmers Market will tell you that it's high season for tomatoes (and a lot of other gorgeous produce).  These tomatoes taste so good, there's no need for fancy recipes.  Eat them whole, unadorned, with a dash of salt or a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.  Make your favorite pesto and top them on pasta.  Bake them with thyme and bread crumbs.  Slice them to use as a topping on pizza.  Marry them with a sharp, nutty cheese and serve with pasta.

 Yum.  What's your favorite way to celebrate in season tomatoes?

Eating Well and Sitting on the Beach On the Outer Banks (Plus "I Forgive the Shark")

Last week I spent seven lovely days in Hatteras on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  I had never been to the OBX, as the locals like call it.  What a lovely place.  Hatteras surprised me in so many ways.  Unlike most east coast beaches, including the favorites of my youth, it was not overdeveloped.  Most days it was us, the beach, and a few hyperactive sand plovers. 

Oh, and sharks, too.  A week prior to our arrival there was a shark attack on Ocracoke Island, the next "bank" over from us.  A shark ATTACK.   On a small child.  Named Lucy.  Although the shark took a big chomp on Lucy's foot, she's ok and reportedly forgives the shark.  Turns out, she always liked dolphins "way better."   Who can blame her, really.  I'm terrified of sharks.  Usually my love for floating among the waves outweighs my fears.  This time, 8 months pregnant, I felt a little more nervous.  I was swimming for two and found myself defensively covering my belly with my hands and arms while I floated.  In the event of an attack, I would probably lose my hands and arms, but no shark was feasting on my pregnant belly.  Absurd?  Probably.