Day 60

Herring Filet in Oil w/Korean Style Carrot & Corn: So today marks my official completion of 2 months for this project. I wasn't even sure if I'd make it this far, and it hasn't always been easy. However, all the positive feedback has definitely helped, and it's made the whole process a lot more fun. So if you've been following along, thank you! Only 10 months to go...try and stick with me if you can.

Today's post comes from a batch of great stuff I bought last week at the BHFM. I was on a serious Eastern European kick (still am, actually), and I spotted this interesting item in the cold section behind the deli. I couldn't figure out a brand name since most of the E. Euro stuff doesn't have any English writing on it, but it appeared to be herring packed in oil with some "Korean carrot" and corn. I don't know what Korean carrot is, or why it would be part of an E. Euro dish, but it looked good.

I finally decided to give it a try today, but was glad I decided to eat it at home - it was a real pain to open the plastic container, and some oil leaked out in the process. The herring filet was sliced thin and packed in sunflower oil with spices, and the "Korean carrot" and corn were arranged along the sides. There was also a blob of some kind of cream in the corner, and I assumed it was for putting on the herring. I'm not a fan of mixing dairy with fishy stuff, so I left that alone. I tried the carrot first, and it was tasty - like carrot salad, but with a strong vinegar flavor. The herring was tender and good, but I let a bit of the oil drip off before eating. The corn was standard - nothing new to report there. I really liked this little dish, and will definitely try the other varieties the BHFM have in stock.

FYI, I found out that "Korean Carrot" is a popular side dish in Russia and the Slavic republics. The name refers to Stalin's mass deportation of Koreans from the far eastern Soviet Union. Interesting.

Day 59

Blood & Tongue Head Cheese: After looking at my last few days of posts, I decided today that it was time to shake things up a bit. I met a friend for coffee today over near Buford Highway, so I decided to swing by the BHFM afterwards to see if I could find anything out of the ordinary. I strolled past the Eastern European deli counter, since I'd noticed a lot of great looking meats/sausages there last week. And then, I saw it: blood & tongue head cheese. Awesome. If you've paid attention to my past postings, you know I love stuff like this, so I told the attendant to slice me off a quarter pound.

If you don't know what head cheese is, do yourself a favor and look it up online. Let's just say it isn't cheese. This one was comprised mainly of congealed blood (not sure if it was pork or beef) and thin slices of tongue. I also noticed some nice chunks of fat mixed in with the rest. I was really excited about trying, so I brought it straight home and tried a slice. Really tasty, believe it or not. Imagine a more savory piece of mortadella or bologna, with a lot more flavor than both of those. I know you're probably thinking that anything made with blood as a primary ingredient couldn't possibly be good, but this definitely was. If you put it on a sandwich, you wouldn't know the difference between this and bologna, texture-wise.

I've learned over the years that appearances and names can be deceiving when talking about food. Sure, blood and tongue head cheese sounds gnarly, but if you can get past that, you'll be glad you tried.

Day 58

Piroshki with Cabbage: After last week's dinner of belyashi from the New Odessa market, I was eager to try more eastern European savory baked goods. It's hard to beat their combo of flaky pastry and meat/vegetable fillings, and I have yet to try one I haven't liked. I was glad that I bought a couple extras last week - they reheat well in the oven. Today's lunch was the homemade piroshki with cabbage that I got from the BHFM. If this one was anything like the others, I was sure to enjoy.

After heating the piroshki in the oven for a bit, I cut it in half to examine the contents. Inside the flaky pastry was a filling of shredded cabbage, much like sauerkraut. Really tasty, and the cabbage filling was a nice contrast to the saltiness of the dough. It was really close in flavor/texture to the kreplach I ate a few weeks ago, and according to online sources, they're considered very similar. I still have yet to see the sweet fruit-filled versions of these, so that's next on my agenda. Considering how well these reheat, I'll definitely have to buy more on my next BHFM trip. Delicious.

Day 57

Fresh Date: Like I mentioned before, I've found a lot of new foods lately just by browsing the produce sections at various markets. The amount of fruits/vegetables I've never tried seems limitless, especially when I'm at a good farmer's market. On my last visit to the BHFM, I noticed these fresh dates in a bin near the front. I've had plenty of date flavored foods as well as dried versions, but never the real, unadulterated thing straight off the date tree. They were extremely inexpensive per pound, so I figured it couldn't hurt to try.

I've had these laying on my kitchen counter for a few days, since I read online that they're best consumed after the skin turns mostly brown. They seemed ripe enough today, so I grabbed one and took a bite.The thin skin gave way to a white flesh on the inside, and the texture was almost like a miniature apple. Interestingly, it didn't really have any flavor at all - almost none. I'm not sure if I ate it before it was sufficiently ripe, but it didn't taste like anything. The date had a small pit in the center, so I ate as much as I could around it before giving up. Maybe these aren't meant to be eaten by themselves, but I could be wrong.

From now on, I'll stick to the dried version until I find a variety of fresh date that's more tasty.

Day 56

Halva: On last week's visit to New Odessa, the Eastern European market, I discovered several interesting items that I'd never seen before. Tonight's post was definitely a surprise, considering that the GF told me it really wasn't that good. I trust her opinion, so I didn't expect to like it. However, I really enjoyed it, and can't wait to buy more.

For those of you who've never heard of it, Halva is a confectionary treat made from tahini (sesame paste) that's dried and crumbly. It apparently can also be made from numerous other ingredients, but this one was the tahini variety. It was also covered with a thin dark chocolate coating, but the GF said it's often served plain. I actually didn't know that this had the chocolate coating until I unwrapped it, but that's nothing to complain about.

I wasn't expecting much from halva, but I have to say I was really impressed. The texture was like a cross between a Butterfinger and malted milk ball - crunchy and nutty, and the chocolate coating added some richness to the tahini. I could have eaten quite a few more of these, but I unfortunately only bought one snack-size piece. On my next trip back to the market, I'll definitely be buying a full bag of these. Yum.

Day 55

Ho Tuk: Even though I made myself take a break from anything Asian this week, I spotted today's item on my last trip to the Buford Highway Farmers Market and couldn't resist trying. It was in the hot prepared foods section, back in the left corner of the massive store. I've bought plenty of great stuff from this area, but never gotten around to trying these. From what I've read, Ho Tuk is a Korean pancake-style pastry, usually filled with a mix of brown sugar, sesame seeds, peanuts and cinnamon.

Since I'd had it at home for a couple days, I decided to heat it up for a few minutes in the oven to keep it from getting soggy. Once it was hot, I cut it in half and tried, and it was really great. The brown sugar/sesame filling was a great pair with the thin dough of the pancake, and I eagerly devoured the whole thing pretty quickly. These would make a great breakfast or snack, especially with a cup of good coffee. I also learned that you can buy a packaged mix to make these at home, but that could be dangerous. Out of all the things I've tried recently, this was one of the best. Highly recommend.

Day 54

Mexican Guava: While browsing the produce section at the Buford Highway Farmer's Market this week, I noticed these Mexican guavas near the front. I recently posted about my first experience with guava, but I wasn't that impressed by it. Despite that, I was curious about the Mexican variety, and tossed one in my basket to try. They were fairly inexpensive by the pound, so what did I have to lose?

The first difference was obviously the size - these were much smaller than the guava I'd tried before, and I  could easily hold 3 or 4 of these in your palm. I took a small paring knife and split it down the middle, and it looked like a smaller version of the standard guava - whitish flesh, with a core of small seeds running down the middle. I cut a piece off one of the halves and tried it. The flavor reminded me a lot of the previous guava, only a little sweeter. I actually liked this one a lot better, since the first one I tried didn't taste like much. This one had that pear-like flesh that I love, but the skin had an almost grassy aftertaste. I'd definitely eat these again, but I'd advise anyone trying  to watch out for those seeds - they don't chew easily!