Rational Jar of Honey » This Paper Ship’s Food Blog

Imaginary shops of love

Friday, August 27, 2010

We’ve been talking about owning a physical store front for years now (especially since we first started This Paper Ship) and watching our favorite movies/shows just fuels the fire all over again, especially when it involves an adorable, whimsical, imaginary bakery or cafe we dream of stepping into. If we ever opened a physical store front we would want it to be a combination bakery/coffee shop/art haven/studio and have all of our passions merge into one big happy dreamland! Oh the possibilities!

Our top three imaginary dream shops (and one non-shop for good measure) are:

1. The Pie Hole— Ned’s pie shop from the short lived (but amazing and whimsical) show Pushing Daisies
2. Uprising Bakery— Anna Pascal’s bakery from Stranger than Fiction
3. Cafe des 2 Moulins— The cafe Amelie Poulin works at in Paris, France
4. Penelope’s bedroom— From the movie Penelope (because let’s face it, the set is incredible in that film)

We have a list a mile long of ideas for our own make believe shop and we find ourselves constantly asking the question, “Why does nothing like this exist in real life yet?” Sure, there are some amazing shops out there, but there’s always something missing whether it be on the menu, in the interior design, or in the overall shop aesthetic and design. We would love to be the first (we’ve seen) to create a whimsical world where people can gather to partake in all things sweet, tasty, colorful, happy, and inspiring.

In the meantime we’ll keep our wheels spinning, our sketchbooks and recipe books filling with ideas, and hope that one day we’ll find our opportunity and make it real!

Posted in Beverages, Dessert, Guilty Pleasures, Inspiration, Restaurants

by Joel and Ashley

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Cake + wine

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Last night we spontaneously craved cake so we paused Netflix (we were watching Pushing Daisies… our favorite show EVER), threw on our shoes, jumped on our bikes, and dashed to The Iron Hen a few blocks away just as they were closing up for the night. We would have taken the car but it was out of gas so we had to fill up a plastic gallon gas can while we were out too. Joel ran in and snatched a delectable slice of buttermilk strawberry, as I ran into the quick mart next door and grabbed a white zinfandel (Barefoot to be exact) to round off the cake nicely (oh, and incense because Indian people own it and happen have our favorite kind, Nag Champa). We came home and indulged ever so carefully. These spontaneous food moments are what keep us sane in a crazy, crazy week. Thank you Iron Hen for having tasty homemade cakes. Thank you Latham quick mart for having wine. Thank you world. Goodnight.

Posted in Dessert, Guilty Pleasures, Restaurants

by Joel and Ashley

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The perfect afternoon cuppa

Friday, August 20, 2010

A cuppa is comfort in a cup, a little wonder we picked up from all of our many trips to Scotland (mostly because of Ashley’s Scottish brother-in-law and ties to family/friends there). A perfect cuppa depends on three main factors: 1. Steeping, 2. The amount/type of sugar, and 3. The ratio of milk to tea. Oh, and then the more obvious factor, what brand of tea is best (for us Typhoo comes in first place and then British Tetley close behind).

Joel prefers his cuppas slightly darker (with less milk) and Ashley prefers her cuppas slightly lighter and creamier. The key is steeping just long enough to get all of that earthy goodness out of the tea leaves but not so long that it’s bitter and overpowering. We’re convinced Scottish people make it better no matter how many times we try to make it ourselves. It’s just in their blood. It’s also crucial to use good sugar. We find the best results happen when we use sugar in the raw or plain sugar. Other sugar options seem to take away from that lovely cuppa flavor. And finally, you have to use a good milk. None of that sissy skim stuff! Definitely never creamer or any other milk substitute (believe us we’ve tried).

The perfect cuppa may vary slightly from person to person but the effects are all the same. A cuppa will offer comfort on a terrible day, warm chilled bones when it’s overcast and rainy outside, and give a tiny pick-me-up to those late afternoons of work. Sometimes our survival during stressful weeks depends on cuppas! So go out and get yourself a bag of British tea, put on the kettle, and sit back and let the cuppa do the rest.

Posted in Beverages, Guilty Pleasures

by Joel and Ashley

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Capturing summer in little jars

Saturday, August 14, 2010

This week Ashley’s ma came to stay with us for a few days and while she was here they canned corn relish together from local ears of corn, peppers, and onion. After busting out all of our canning gear (and feeling Fall fast approaching) we were inspired to keep stocking the pantry. One of the most comforting things in the middle of a cold Winter month is cracking open a jar of something summery and flavorful.

Chopping pears (a gift from a lady and her pear tree in Jacksonville, NC) for pear jam.

Simmering the pear jam…

Making jalapeño jam with peppers from our own pots on the front porch.

The fruits of our labor.

Posted in Canning/Jamming, Home-cooking

by Joel and Ashley

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SWEET EATS: Giacomo’s Italian Market in Greensboro, NC

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Where to start with Giacomo’s…

First of all, we would need many, many photos to encapsulate even a fraction of its scrumptious glory (so stay tuned for future posts). This place is like stepping into a tiny market in Italy, not only because it looks and feels like an Italian market, but more importantly it TASTES like one. It originated with Sr. Giacomo in NY and then carried on through Jr. Giacomo in Greensboro. It is a small unassuming place with BIG flavor, the kind of food that makes you sink into a food coma and long for more.

We go there to buy dried pastas imported from Italy (even Bucatini, our favorite from our honeymoon in Florence), homemade sausages (among tons of other imported meats), cheeses (especially parmesan), and freshly made snacks and sandwiches prepared daily.

The other day we tried some of their stuffed breads (the one in the photo has peppers and sausage) and they were to die for. They heat them up and bring them out all melty and steaming with flavorful marinara to dip in. YUM YUM YUM! Our mouths water just thinking about it.

This place is definitely a local gem and we have definitely made it one of our regular haunts.

Posted in Restaurants, Sweet Eats

by Joel and Ashley

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Sweet Eats: Sushi Republic in Greensboro, NC

Monday, May 31, 2010

For the majority of this blog, we’ve been documenting our adventures in home cooking and growing our own food (with the exception of our post on guilty pleasures in which we raved about cheeseburger-flavored Doritos & cake-flavored Fruity Pebbles), but we also LOVE eating out. We can’t do it all too often on a freelance budget, but when we do, we want to start sharing our experiences here in a post series called Sweet Eats!

This past week we frequented our (so far) favorite sushi place in Greensboro, Sushi Republic. After we left Shepherdstown about a year ago, we lost our favorite place to get sushi and pad thai, and we feel like we definitely gained an awesome sushi place when we moved to Greensboro. It’s got the feel of a slightly fancy, trendy urban place, but they won’t look at you weird if you come in and order a single roll and an appetizer, which we did this time. And oh buddy, they were delicious:

Shrimp tempura roll

Appetizer: Crispy ginger chicken with cilantro mayo

Dessert: Cherry tempura bomb ice cream

They’re located on the little strip where Tate St. intersects Walker Ave, near UNCG. Check out their menu at sushirepublicgso.com.

Posted in Sweet Eats

by Joel and Ashley

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Spaghetti & meatball (strawberry) cupcakes

Monday, May 10, 2010

My cousin Steph & her husband Jake (our best friends) came down from Johnson City, TN over the weekend to pick up their new kitten (we rescued from under our house) and visit with us for a few days. We had a blast riding our bikes around the city, picnicking, chatting, and baking while the guys were away. My mother-in-law, Tammy, who also shares the joy of gawking at all things cute, recently bought me the book “Hello Cupcake!” that’s filled with the most adorable and complicated cupcakes you ever did see. Steph and I chose to tackle the spaghetti and meatball one (with slight alterations of course). We had a blast making them and they turned out DELICIOUS and moist!

For the cupcake part we used the “Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes” book and followed the strawberry cupcakes recipe using about a pound of fresh strawberries from our local farmer’s market. It was a simple recipe (basically a plain vanilla cupcake with chopped strawberries folded in). The strawberries ended up making the cupcakes stay really moist after baking. They were so yummy we saved half of them as muffins and left the icing off completely!

For the spaghetti topping we whipped up some home-made frosting using confectioners sugar, butter, water, and vanilla suitable for piping on some nice solid noodles. We piled the stringy icing on the top and then rolled Lindor Truffles in strawberry jam (for the meatballs and spaghetti sauce). The original recipe called for Ferrero Rocher chocolates but Steph doesn’t like them so we opted for the truffles instead. The only problem with that is that the jam slipped right off of them! The Ferrero Rocher chocolates probably would have retained the sauce-like jam better. We still thought it looked pretty convincing! Then you just top them off with some grated white chocolate to look like parmesan cheese! Perfect!

They turned out very rich but oh-so-tasty! I highly recommend you try to make some with your own favorite cupcake recipe! They are so fun. Kids would love them!

Posted in Dessert, Experiments, Home-cooking

by Joel and Ashley

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Urban garden progress…

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

We love May and we love May gardens! Things are starting to grow more rapidly in our front garden and pots. We’re happy when we look out our window and see so much green!

We have a ton of tomatoes and we can hardly wait for them to start producing! We got another one today from CSA as well. Mmmm, summer. Tomatoes just may be the best part about it!

The Urban Harvest CSA tomato plant and bok choy.

Urban Harvest CSA lettuce and fava beans.

Ashley is especially excited about the progress of the ornamental pepper from her wedding bouquet. It has really taken off! It will be fun to see it finally produce!

We hope to begin planting in the community garden this month as well (as soon as we pay for our spot). We have some edamame that could use a good transplant so that it gets more sun and space. The community garden is really looking incredible these days! We’re so excited to be a part of it.

This photo was taken a few weeks ago (it’s even grown a lot since then)!

Posted in Gardening

by Joel and Ashley

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Spring radishes

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Our first tiny batch of radishes came up from the garden! More to come soon! Aren’t they beautiful colors?

Posted in Gardening

by Joel and Ashley

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Italian Strawberry Custard Tart

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

I’ve been really needing to make a tart ever since I got my new tart pan. It’s hands down one of my favorite things to bake! We had gone to the farmer’s market downtown over the weekend and bought some strawberries so it was the perfect excuse.

This tart was based off of a sour cherry custard tart in my Dolce Italiano book. You can see my version of the recipe below.

Sweet Tart Crust (I use this for every tart recipe. It’s a staple!):

2 1/3 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
freshly grated zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted organic butter (cold & cut into 1/4 inch cubes)
1 large egg from roaming/cage-free/local hens
1 egg yolk from roaming/cage-free/local hens
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream (I had to use coconut milk cream because it’s all I had this time)

Blend flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in standing mixer bowl or food processor. Add cold, cubed butter to bowl and process until it reaches a sandy constancy and has no butter lumps.

In another bowl whisk together the egg, yolk, vanilla extract, and heavy cream. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients in mixer (preferably with a dough hook) until the dough comes together.

Remove from bowl and form and smooth with hands. Make a ball, flatten into a disk, wrap in saran-wrap, and place in the fridge to chill for 2 hours.

Strawberry Custard Tart:

Sweet tart crust (from above)
4 large egg yolks from roaming/cage-free/local hens
1/2 cup granulated sugar (and more for sprinkling)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
pinch of kosher salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream (again, I had to use the coconut milk cream instead)
About 1 pound strawberries (preferably local)

On a floured board roll out the dough until it’s slightly bigger around than the tart pan (about an 11-inch circle). Transfer to tart pan (with removable sides and bottom), press into sides until flush with top of pan, and trim as needed. Chill the tart while making filling.

Preheat oven to 325 F and position rack in the center of the oven.

In a bowl whisk the egg yolks with the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add the vanilla extract and beat in with the heavy cream.

Cut strawberries length-wise in half and arrange attractively in a circular pattern in the tart shell. Make sure they touch and fit snug. Pour the custard over the strawberries and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Place tart pan on a large baking sheet to prevent dripping into the oven. Bake tart for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown throughout. You may have to form a pie crust shield out of foil to prevent the sides from getting more brown than the middle.

Allow to cool for a little while before removing from tart pan. Stuff face repeatedly! Great with a nice warm cup of tea and incredible the next day chilled!

Bon Appetit!