Eating Across Kansas

This week the weather has been cooler and I've be craving comfort food. Last night I made a casserole. Actually, I assembled it on my lunch break then baked it when I got home. The concept had been floating around my head for a few days, so I finally put it into action. My version was a little bland, so I increased the amount of salt, pepper and minced onion in the recipe written below. Chicken Veggie Noodle Casserole ‎8 oz egg noodles 1/2 stick butter 1/4 c. flour 2 c skim milk 1 c. chicken broth 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (add more for cheesier casserole) 2 c. broccoli pieces 1 8-oz package of mushrooms, sliced 2 c. chopped cooked chicken 1-2 teaspoons of salt, depending on taste 2 teaspoons ground black pepper 1 tablespoon dried minced onion (or 3 tablespoons finely minced fresh onion) Topping: 1 c breadcrumbs 1 tablespoon olive oil Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook egg noodles. Drain. While noodles are cooking, melt butter in a large po

Since moving to Hutchinson, I have lamented the lack of brunch. There are many places that serve breakfast, and several that serve breakfast all day long, but no one serves brunch - that delightful combination of both breakfast and lunch at a place that typically does not offer one or both of these things. Before I get too far in, let me go ahead and mention my bias. I prefer to order my brunch from a menu rather than cobble it together from a buffet. Buffets tend to be pricer than ordering off a menu and I, like many others, tend to overeat at a buffet so I prefer to order off a menu. For a buffet, Jillian's does well. The price is $12.95 - a bit steep, but cheaper than Flatrock Grill in Wichita ($14.95). They offer a wide variety and most items are well executed. Some items were a litle bland, but since they've only been at the Sunday Brunch game for 4 weeks, I expect some improvement as they work out the kinks. To start, there was a variety of salads - quinoa with cran

So, its been a while since I posted anything here on Eating Across Kansas. This summer was adventurous, engaging, interesting, and depressing all at once. I got the opportunity to do some great things like visit Chicago, work on a political campaign, and travel to Panama. I also came to the realization that when I quit my job in April, I had no clue what I was doing, and spending 6 months watching videos on Netflix, traveling randomly and generally doing nothing got me no closer to figuring out what I want to do with my life. It did, however, get me a lot closer to broke. This summer I also realized that depression doesn't magically disappear when you get rid of a stressful part of your life. Other things begin to fill that void, and depression can suck you into it very easily. Although I've struggled this summer, I do feel like I am generally happier than I was before. I am currently in the job search phase, trying to find something just to help pay the bills. I am quickly re

The latest trend in American cuisine is to eat everything - all sorts of vegetables, previously unpopular fishes and cuts of meat, and "offal" - organ meats, pig trotters, ears, snouts - everything. I commend this outlook, and I've drastically expanded the foods that are in regular rotation in my diet since high school. Just since moving to Kansas I've added turnips, brussels sprouts, and raw milk. However, every foodie/food nerd/chowhound/whatever-you-want-to-call-someone-obsessed-with-food has some dislikes, and a couple of closet "likes" that you know are culinarily taboo. Things you are supposed to like, but just can't stomach, or foods (usually overprocessed memories of childhood) that "real foodies" would scoff at. These are my confessions: Dislikes: Beets - taste like dirt, can't eat them in anything despite trying many varieties and prearations Radishes - see above, but can handle them if chopped fine and mixed in something Orga

Passions don't magically appear. They are learned over time. My love of food and cooking started early. I've actively nurtured these loves for many years, at some times more actively than others. My earliest memory of cooking is from age 3 or 4. On weekends my dad would cook breakfast for Mom and me. I remember him letting me beat eggs with a fork to make scrambled eggs. He would pull a kitchen chair up next to the stove so I could "help" him flip pancakes. My earliest memory of the holidays is making peanut butter fudge and decorating sugar cookies with my mother, sometime around age 4 or 5. Around the same time I remember a Thanksgiving dinner with my aunt and uncle in Georgia. I don't remember anything except a big turkey leg and my uncle showing my how to blow up surgical gloves like balloons. At age 10, I would watch Martha Stewart on Saturday mornings. She came on at 10:00 and my horseback riding lessons were at 11. I would watch Martha while Mom & Dad

Last week two Hutchinson restaurants rolled out new menu items. Summer's coming, vegetables are fresh, and people are looking for lighter fare. Both Jillian's and The W have added new, seasonal items to their menu that will satisfy your craving for something fresh and different. Change has been underfoot at Jillian's for a while. After months of planning, their outdoor patio will open tonight. I've heard the owners and staff talking about upcoming menu and wine list changes, which I've been greatly anticipating. Last Thursday, I stopped in for dinner, and to my delight, they happened to be rolling out their new menu items! As far as I can remember, Jillian's has added 1 appetizer and 3 entrees to their menu. During the first Taste of Hutchinson event last fall, Jillian's concocted a 4-cheese stuffed toasted ravioli . The dish went over so well it earned a spot on the appetizer list. The new entrees are very diverse. Eggplant Parmesan is the newest in the p

Pig? Not today. Today is the first day of the 2010 season of the Reno County Farmer's Market. I got there shortly after the 7:30 opening. I woke up at 5:45 from a strange dream and couldn't go back to sleep, so I figured I'd get my butt out of bed and head to the Farmer's Market for breakfast, produce and whatever other goodies I could find. There were quite a few booths for the first day, and a lot of good-looking produce for so early in the season. There were lettuces, spinach, asparagus, strawberries, green onions and radishes. Several farmers were selling vegetable and herb plants. There seemed to be many more baked goods tables than last year. I was planning on selling baked goods a few times this year - might be more difficult than I thought with all the competition! One of my first stops was at the Red Fence Farm booth to visit my friends Tracy and Kate. They make rain barrels, rain barrel stands, and rotating compost bins. They also sell fresh eggs from their

So, eating is great - it can be an adventure, a way to bond with friends and share memories. However, as I've come to learn, if the focus is always food, especially high-fat, high sugar and processed food, eating can be an unhealthy habit. A good way to deal with the negative effects of unhealthy eating is to eat healthier. However, diet alone does not good health bring. I'm learning more and more how essential physical activity is for both mental and physical health. It can be a pain to get started on an exercise program - the key is finding an activity that you find enjoyable that doesn't put too much stress on unused muscles too soon . For most of us, if a workout is too boring or if we're too sore the day after, we won't keep doing it. If you live in the Hutchinson, Kansas area and you want to try some different ways to get fit, this Sunday, April 18 is the perfect opportunity for you to try different fitness lessons. The Don Michael Field Community Workout wi

Each year for Easter, my mom sends me 2 types of candy: Peeps and Cadbury Crème Eggs. Over the years, I have grown to be fond of stale peeps. However, a recent discovery has changed my outlook on Peep consumption. I can’t remember which website I got the idea from, but somewhere on the interwebs, there was a posting that detailed how to have a Peep War. 1. Place two Peeps approximately 2 inches apart on a microwave safe plate. 2. Have each person choose a Peep and place a toothpick in a sword-like position approximately where the Peep’s “arm” would be. 3. Place plate in microwave on High for about 2 minutes. If you have a microwave with a rotating table, be sure to mark which Peep is which, because when they’re spinning, it can be hard to remember which Peep is which. 4. Watch carefully as the Peeps swell. The first Peep to stab the other “wins.” If the Peeps get much bigger than an orange, turn the microwave off. I’m not sure how big a Peep will get before it explodes, but no

Everyone knows one, everyone wants to be one, but only some people get treated like one – VIP. You don’t necessarily have to be a high-roller to be one, but it does help. I was never too concerned with being a restaurant VIP until I moved to Kansas. In Hutchinson and most other places I’ve visited in central Kansas good service is hard to find. I grew up in the south, where “Southern Comfort” was not just bourbon and “Southern Hospitality” wasn’t a cliché but a way of life. Couple that with 4 years at college in a southern tourist town, and I was spoiled. I rarely saw a glass less than half full, I never had to ask for silverware, and I never, EVER started a meal without knowing my server’s name. Once I moved to Hutch, I learned that there are places where the service industry is less of an industry and more of a state of limbo for people who are waiting for a better job. I knew my fair share of people in college who were waiting tables just to get by, but almost everyone was always “

It’s fire season here in Central Kansas. Before moving to Hutchinson, I was not aware of a fire season. I had never heard of a “controlled burn” and I’d never seen hundreds of acres of land purposefully set ablaze. Where I come from, if you see a big column of smoke in the sky, it means a building is on fire. Someone’s home is gone. 300 jobs lost unexpectedly. Local schools evacuated because of haz-mat fumes. Before moving to Kansas, a big column of smoke on the horizon was a weeknight tragedy, in retrospect, an event marking the end of my childhood and the loss of my religion. It was a Thursday evening the summer after my freshman year of High school. Classes had just ended for the year, and I had just gotten my restricted license. Those first hot days of my first summer as “real” teenager were full of promise and temptation. My parents had just gotten home from work, and we decided to go get something quick for dinner. As we drove out towards Woodruff Road – a major comm

In Hutchinson, Kansas at 13 W. 6th there lies a place where few people go. Well, I assume that few people go there because I’d never been there, and aside from a co-worker and a friend who recently started working there, I’ve never heard anyone say “Hey, you should go to Jackson’s.” What exactly is Jackson’s? I’m not exactly sure. The sign out front says “ Jackson Frozen Food Center ,” as does a Google search for “Jackson Meats” or “13 W. 6th, Hutchinson, KS.” This is part of the reason I never went in. I’m not a huge fan of frozen meat. I keep some in the freezer for times when I’m “in a pinch,” but, like many people, my preference is definitely for fresh meat. I know that a co-worker swears by their hotdogs and has procured them a couple times for cook-outs and retirement lunches. Other than that, I knew nothing else about them until I ran into my friend Ben last Thursday. Over the course of conversation, I found out that Ben had started working for Jackson’s. When I asked

Last Tuesday, my roommates and I went to Lyons, Kansas for dinner. To you non-Hutchinsonians, it's about a 45 minute drive. Lyons is significantly smaller than Hutchinson and only marginally closer to Hutch than Wichita, so why on earth would we go there for dinner? Empire China Restaurant, 105 West 1st Street is why. I discovered the Chinese place in Lyons several months ago when I went out for a drive with my friend Danielle and we just happened to stumble upon the place. The food was excellent and the service was great. There are two Chinese restaurants in Hutchinson. They both center around dismal buffets with inexcusable amounts of American food. Really, if I wanted to eat ham, I'd go to Sirloin Stockade. Mikaela and David (aforementioned roommates) wanted Asian food, I made the suggestion. It was a sunny daylight-savings-time early evening. We surrendered to wanderlust and the quest for good food and hopped in the car. Once at the restaurant, we started off with egg roll

The other night I made a run to the grocery store (which, here in Hutchinson, Kansas means Dillons - in this case, 5th Avenue location) to pick up a few things - bread, milk, eggs, fruit, cold medicine. As I was rounding the corner up by the eggs and butter, I happened to glance over at the organic foods section. That's when I saw it. THE juice. I'm talking about R.W. Knudsen Family Organic "Just Tart Cherry Juice." I've been a fan of this juice for about a year and a half. It used to be available only at the 30th Avenue Dillons, then all of a sudden about 6 months ago they stopped carrying it. No more Just Tart Cherry juice. There were other cherry juices, even cherry cider, but they no longer had THE juice. Why all the excitement about a 32 ounce, $6 bottle of juice? The flavor of this stuff is great on its own, but it is also incredibly versatile. It has this great balance of sweet, tart and bitter that is almost reminiscent of a ruby port or a fruity-sweet ba

I love food. I love food of all varieties - street food, fair food, greasy spoons, ethnic dives, fine dining restaurants, cutesy cupcake bakeries - I love them all. That is not to say that I love all food. There is a great amount of food out there that is runs the gamut from very unpleasant to passably good, but truly great food is a rare find, whether it be in a restaurant, at a friend's house or in your own home. I'll be honest, most of the food I eat on a daily basis is mediocre or good. Actually, unfortunately I eat more bad food than I should. I'm not just talking about unhealthy food, but food that just plain tastes bad. I'd like for you to join me on my quest for good food both in the home, on the road, and at restaurants. Let's eat our way across Kansas and see what flavors we can find.