The Epic Noms Collective

It’s possible to make your own crème fraîche by adding cultured buttermilk or sour cream to heavy cream and letting it sit for a day at room temperature. We didn’t have a day, so this is store bought stuff. It goes well with strawberries and dark sugar (turbinado here).

Proof that the previously posted salad was tasty.

In a large bowl combine: half of a head of Romaine lettuce (cut up), 1 sliced cucumber, 1 grated carrot, quartered cherry tomatoes, shredded Parmesan cheese.

In a tiny bowl combine: 1-part red wine vinegar (or balsamic vinegar) & 2-parts olive oil, salt, pepper, tiny bit of oregano, pressed garlic. Stir up with a fork until the two liquids combine well.

Pour the dressing into bowl of stuff. Mix! Have your friend Nick take a photo of it. Eat. All. Of. It.

Some delicious mustard like my favorite, Boetje’s Stone Ground Dutch Mustard (Made in Rock Island, IL), and hummus can spice up a standard grilled cheese sammich. I like whole wheat bread and Colby-Jack cheese with liberal amounts of butter for the grilling (frying) process. Serve with a pickle.

Nomtastic!

This has quickly become one of my favorite epic noms. With olive oil, sauté red and green bell peppers in thin strips then add Boca chick’n patties (after microwaving) cut into thin strips after peppers are almost done. Sprinkle with cumin. Lightly toast small corn tortillas in a separate pan. Top with Tapatio hot sauce, avocado slices and fresh home-made pico de gallo (mine usually consists of onion, cilantro, tomato, lemon or lime juice- depending on what I have available, and salt) Just keep toasting new tortillas until there’s nothing left to fill them with. This photo is from the first time I made these and I only had onion and cilantro and lemon juice to make up my pico and didn’t have an avocado on hand- it still tasted great, but is better with the extra fixins.

NOM IT UP!

We set out to make grilled cheese and then wanted soup. The soup shifted from canned to homemade, so I tried my hand at a tomato soup.

Tomato and Vegetable Soup w/Thyme

• 1 medium onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 leek
• 2 red potatoes
• 1 carrot
• 1 stalk of celery
• about 4 cups of vegetable stock
• 28oz can of crushed tomato (pureed tomato would be better)
• Thyme, salt, and pepper to taste

Grilled Panccetta and Gruyere Cheese

• 2 slices of Sourdough bread(buttered)
• 2 slices of Panccetta
• as much gruyere as you like

*Special Note: Worcestershire Sauce would have been perfect but we didn’t have any