January - Jaune (Yellow)

In conjunction with this month’s theme, please listen to the following song while reading this post. Take this request seriously. It will make your day!  J

My first month is drawing to an end. I’m excited to share that I had several outlets for exploring the creative beauty and flavor of yellow food this month! First, I discovered a new (and dare I say AWESOME) yellow fruit.

There I was, calming picking out oranges, when….WHAT! It was the strangest citron I had ever seen. Bright yellow with long, spiny fingers jutting in all directions. As if a baby octopus had somehow bread with a lemon! I picked it up and was hit by a wave of sweet, lemony fragrance. A flash of memory. This tentacled anomaly was recently featured on Iron Chef. They had called it a “Buddha Hand”. I quickly googled on my phone – ahh… confirmation:

http://www.watchonepiecepoint.com/2011/05/the-heaven-fruit-of-buddhas-hand/

http://www.cafleurebon.com/new-fragrance-review-dsh-perfume-vanille-botanique-the-hand-of-buddah-and-ruba’iyat-botanical-bliss-10ml-reader’s-choice-draw/

http://www.babyluxdesign.com/babyblog/?tag=cooking

With "yellow" on the mind, I couldn't resist buying one! But what to do with it? More googling revealed that, unlike it's basic lemon cousin, the "Buddha Hand" has no pulp. It's all pith and peel, which can be used like zest for countless culinary creations, including everything from cupcakes and creams to sauces and sorbets. I settled on candied "Buddha Hand". The gummy goodness has been a tasty treat for the last several days. And as an extra bonus, I ended up with nearly a quart of "Buddha" favored simple syrup. It's perfect for flavoring teas and mixing in cocktails. Though with so much of it, I think I'll end up repurposing it as a lemon-rosemary sorbet!

Now...on to my Sunshine Supper! I can’t promise this for every color, but really – there are LOTS of yellow foods. It was surprising simple to come up with an entire dinner themed around yellow ingredients. And without even using my “go-to” curry recipes! Here’s what the meal involved (note – linked recipes are just a start; I did a lot of personal tweaking).


APPETIZER: Cheddar Corn Chowder
ENTREE: Panko crusted chicken cutlets with a lemon pan sauce and a side of sautéed yellow squash, yellow pepper, and yellow onion. 
DESSERT: Lemon Soufflé – my first soufflé ever!

So – I’d say this experiment is off to a fabulous start. In January, I discovered 1 totally new fruit and 1 totally new technique! Plus, the overall meal was still familiar/safe enough to be enjoyed alongside a 3 year old and a 5 year old. Next time I meet a kid who’s “anti-veg”, I’ll remember to camouflage the food in a shade of happy, yellow sunshine!

How it began...

It's 2012! A new year! A fresh start! And let's face it - I'm a sap for Resolutions. I've always been a goal-driven person. If I want something, I make it a goal. A formal goal. A step-by-step, implementable, measurable goal. Set up (of course) with lots of accountability. Nerdy, I know. But it's the truth! So I started pondering..."what do I really want to do in 2012..."


Well  - I definitely wanted to start exercising more. Doctors recommend at least 150 minutes a week for a girly like me. I could accomplish that with 22 minutes, 7 days a week. Or maybe 30 minutes, 5 days a week. But man, that's hard. I needed a way to keep myself in check. So...I started paying myself as an incentive! If I do 150 minutes a week, I'll get $10. If I make it the whole month, I get a $10 bonus.


A few weeks into 2012, the exercising was going well. But - geez! It was just.... so.... boring! Of course, I'd still do it. A goal is a goal. That said, I wanted something more. Something that wouldn't require motivating incentives or accountability checks. Something interesting. Something F-U-N!


There was only one answer.


FOOD.


I love food. I mean - I really, really LOVE food. It's thrilling to make, beautiful to behold, satisfying to eat. Flavorful, colorful, seductive. Ubiquitous across time and circumstance. Both the center of wholesome events and the catalyst for wanton nights. If I wanted a 2012 goal to be interesting and fun, it had to be about -  food.


Thus, the "Year of the Food Rainbow" was born. Here's what my goal involves:

1. First, I listed the top 12 stand-alone colors
• Red, green, yellow, blue, orange, purple, black, white, brown, gray, pink, gold
2. Next, I assigned a color to each month. But rather than just doing a blanket assignment, I came up with fun ways to say these colors that also started with the first letter of each month. Took a bit of creativity, but totally worth it!
• January - Jaune
• February - Floral white
• March - Magenta
• April - Ash grey
• May - Mocha
• June - Jungle green
• July - Jet black
• August - Amethyst
• September - Scarlet
• October - Orange
• November - Navy
• December - Dorado
3. Each month, I will cook something I've never attempted before that highlights the month's color.

So - that's how it all began. Now that's it's nearly the end of January, I've only got a week and a half to come up with a killer yellow dish! Something daring that I've never tried to cook before.

http://www.yorkvision.co.uk/lifestyle/eating-the-rainbow/attachment/food-rainbow-300x262/

Stay tuned to see what I create!