I took a little drive yesterday and ended up vaguely lost somewhere in Braddock, where the street was lined with older, slightly run-down homes and a few boarded-up storefronts. As I turned on to a gravelly road in order to go back in the direction I’d come, I was astonished to see that it led to an absolutely stunning set of murals. If I hadn’t picked that particular street in which to turn my car around, I would have missed them completely.

One of the squares was painted to promote the local aviary, but I can’t imagine why this place was chosen — it didn’t seem to be a very high-traffic area, and the adjacent underpass was littered with broken beer bottles, cigarette butts, and various bits of detritus. I would love to know the story of how they got there. Are people in Braddock especially fond of the aviary? Was this part of an outreach endeavor? The art was in vivid, flawless condition, so I’m inclined to guess that the work was done recently (within the past year?). Whatever the case, I was thrilled to have discovered them.

General | 2 Comments »

I spent a recent weekend in DC for the cherry blossom festival, and was fortunate to have absolutely splendid weather and even lovelier company. Although it wasn’t necessarily a food-centric trip, I did get to visit the Dupont Circle farmer’s market (next time I’m bringing a cooler!), and an adorable bistro called Montmartre that had excellent moules with chorizo. One of the friends that I stayed with also gave me some containers of duck fat that she’d brought back from her home in Bordeaux. Let me say that it is wonderful to meet someone new who within four hours knows me well enough to understand why I would get excited about a jar of fat. Duck confit, anyone?

Before my little retreat, though, I made a big batch of caramel bars to liven up some stressed-out, anxious-for-spring moods. These are probably rich enough to be called candies, but who says you can’t celebrate spring with rich caramel and dark chocolate? The recipe was particularly interesting in that that it uses some ingredients that are a little atypical for me — the base is made with saltine crackers (!) and the caramel layer uses condensed milk — not from my normal camp of obsessively-made-from-scratch endeavors. But I was sweetly rewarded for not turning my nose up at these little gems. They are hardly less elegant looking (or tasting) than the usual make-your-own caramel bars, and so bloody easy it’s practically a crime not to have them in your repertoire, especially for holidays or times when you need to feed a lot of people on short notice. Perhaps if forced to choose, I’d admit a slight preference toward the make-you-own version, but that’s not to say I wouldn’t make these again in a heartbeat. I squirreled a container away in the freezer to nibble on, cold, when my caramel jones strikes at odd hours.

The bars are very rich, so I recommend cutting them into quarters. The recipe makes quite a bit — around 40 bite-size bars — so they really are perfect for a crowd.

(more…)

Baking, Candy Land, Eating Elsewhere | 6 Comments »