The new film Julie & Julia opens tonight, and if you have even a passing interest in food and cooking I highly suggest you catch it. If you haven’t seen the trailer (or book or blog), it’s a Nora Ephron film about a girl, Julie Powell, who decides to cook and blog her way through Julia Child’s masterpiece, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It’s an ideal girls-night-out film with splendid acting by Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. It’ll also give you a glimpse into the high-stress juggling act of working by day and food blogging by night, like yours truly, though Julie had only a cat watching, not a hungry child calling for attention every other minute. There’s a catch-22 for food bloggers in discussing this film, as any negative criticism is quickly dismissed as jealousy over the fact that Julie successfully blogged her way to a book and film deal; something that is surely the dream of many food bloggers around the world. I had never read Julie’s blog or book but was familiar with the tale; my main complaint with the movie is not directed at Julie’s character but just that I would have loved to see much more of Julia.

At any rate, my sure-fire pitch for a book deal is also a blatant rip-off of based on Julie’s challenge: my soon-to-be-3-year-old will cook his way through Julia’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking before his 4th birthday. Okay, maybe we’re not quite ready for that, but in honor of his impending 3rd birthday I decided it was time to teach him to crack eggs. We set out to make the ubiquitous Julia Child clafouti(s) — for some reason Julia omits the “s” — but since cherry season here has come and gone I opted to use the last of July’s blueberries, which the husband and the boy picked up at the Del Ray Farmers Market on Saturday.

Recipe: Blueberry Clafouti, adapted from Julia Child

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 – 2 cups blueberries
1/3 cup sugar
powdered sugar

A few words of advice for baking with younger kids: measure and prep all ingredients before hand, then arrange them in the order needed next to the mixing bowl. Have them crack the eggs first and into their own bowl to make fishing out pieces of shell a little easier. Clafoutis is simple to prepare and kids can take charge of mixing all the ingredients but the fruit together in a large bowl. We whisked the eggs together first, then vanilla and almond extracts (almond is my addition), sugar, flour, salt and milk.

I wouldn’t dare criticize Julia, but I find it amusing that she speaks so condescendingly of using a blender to make mayonnaise and yet uses one to whip up her clafouti(s) batter. If your child over eagerly dumps in ingredients before the prior ingredients are fully combined, here’s an easy trick to smooth the batter: pour it through a fine mesh sieve, pressing with your spoon to dissolve the lumps.

To bake the clafoutis, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour a thin layer of batter into the bottom of the buttered, wide and shallow baking dish and cook it until it just begins to set, about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the blueberries over the batter, and the 1/3 cup reserved sugar over the berries, then top with the remaining batter. Return to oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until custard is puffed and a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!

The boy scored a bite before bed and declared it “mmm, good.” If you want to introduce your kids to Julia without messing up the kitchen, head over to the American History Museum to see her complete kitchen, including her very own French copper pots and pans which were recently returned by Ephron after being used in the movie. (At the donation event, Julia’s niece Phila Cousins relayed Julia’s incredulous reaction to the Smithsonian’s request for her kitchen. One can only imagine what she would think of the film!)

In the film, Julia writes to her sister, “I think I’m the only American woman in Paris who has as much fun shopping for food as shopping for a dress.” I’m with her, but for a less foodcentric review check out my friend the DC Fashion Gal’s take on the film. Seen in? Love it? Let us know!

I’m sharing this post with the Mastering the Art of French Cooking round-up hosted by La Cuisine d’ Heléne (and #MTAFC on twitter); and sending it over to Fight Back Fridays at the Food Renegade, because Julia wrote MTAFC to empower “American women without cooks” to get into the kitchen, something my fellow real food advocates believe in as well.

The first week of the One Local Summer challenge coincided with our first CSA (community supported agriculture) delivery of the season, from Virginia’s Potomac Vegetable Farms. Our farm is “ecoganic” — meaning they follow organic practices but are not certified — and has one of the few remaining farms in Fairfax County just west of Tyson’s Corner, as well as a second location in Purcellville. We love visiting our farm for the semi-annual CSA member potlucks, and as I mentioned previously, they will be hosting the newly-crowned RAMMY Rising Culinary Star of the Year Anthony Chittum for a Summer Solstice Farmland Supper later this month.

While I love our CSA, I only get a half share to allow for plenty of farmers market shopping each week as well. This first OLS/CSA dinner featured garlic scapes, chives and kale from the farm, and sausage, eggs, cheese and broccoli from the Upper King Street farmers market. Our CSA pick-up is on Wednesday, so the first meal is usually something simple involving eggs or pasta. This week it was a sausage and kale frittata, with a side of steamed broccoli. Quick, fresh and delicious.

Recipe: Buffalo Sausage and Kale Frittata

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. or 4 links buffalo sausage
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 garlic scape, thinly sliced
• several stems of chives, chopped
• 1 cup kale, cut into thin ribbons
• 6 cage-free eggs
• 4 thick slices cheddar cheese, diced

Instructions: Heat olive oil in saute pan or skillet over medium high heat. Crumble sausage into pan and cook until browned, about 5-6 minutes. Drain excess oil. Add kale, scape and chives and cook until kale just begins to wilt, 1-2 minutes. Whisk eggs in mixing bowl and pour into pan. Fold in cheese and season with salt and pepper. Cook until eggs are fully set, and serve immediately. Makes 4 servings. Enjoy!

Farms of Origin

• Potomac Vegetable Farms (VA), kale, garlic scapes and chives
• Cibola Farms (VA), buffalo bourbon fennel sausage
• Tom the Cheese Guy (PA), eggs and cave-aged cheddar
• Long Meadow Ecological Farm (VA), broccoli
• bread from Breadline (DC)

One Local Summer is an annual challenge in which people around the world join together for 13 weeks of seasonal eating, supporting local farmers and exploring their local foodsheds. Visit FarmtoPhilly on Tuesdays for the weekly round-up.

I was thrilled to hear of a new market opening this year in Crystal City — conveniently located on my way home from the office — that takes place on Tuesdays from 3pm – 7pm. Smartly located on the stretch of Crystal Drive closest to the Metro station, the Crystal Farms Market is geared towards office dwellers on their way home and residents returning home from the District. The bright flowers and first May strawberries are a welcome burst of color amidst the concrete high rises.

Some familiar favorites — Bigg Riggs of WV, Cherry Glen goat cheeses (MD), Westmoreland Berry Farms (VA), Atwater’s Bakery and Toigo Orchards (PA). New-to-me were Mount Vernon lamb and several other bakeries, including Alexandria’s Great Harvest Bread Co. The dueling charcuterie hawkers advertised as participating (Red Apron and Meatcrafters) were nowhere to be found, but this market had a great selection of vendors for opening day and is sure to be a popular draw as the season progresses.

We picked up some lovely shitake mushrooms from Bigg Riggs which went into a fast scramble with eggs and an aged goat cheese (local but not from the market). Yum!

FoodieTots @ the Farmers Market Week continues with a field trip to the Vienna/Oakton Farmers Market to sample The Copper Pot by Chef Stefano Frigerio.

It’s opening week at the Fairfax County Farmers Markets, and perhaps the most publicized new vendor in local market history was the Copper Pot Food Company by Chef Stefano Frigerio. An Italian-born chef-turned-stay-at-home-dad, Chef Frigerio turned to home preserving to stay connected to the kitchen and the local farmers he developed relationships with during his days cooking at DC’s Maestro and Mio restaurants. We really enjoyed Chef Frigerio’s cooking at Mio, so I was eager to check out the new product line of jams, pastas and sauces. One of the nice things about markets further out in the ‘burbs is the more leisurely pace and ability to actually converse with the farmers and vendors. Chef Frigerio explained that he started making jams out of concern for his kids’ love of sweets. “I can’t feed my kids high fructose corn syrup every day,” he said, describing his son’s ability to slurp down an entire jar of jam at once (if allowed). Jam flavors include orchard fresh apple, white fig & balsamic, peach & prosecco “bellini,” and strawberry & vanilla bean. Now despite my foray into jam making last summer, I actually don’t eat a lot of it as I find so many jams are too sticky sweet for my taste. The strawberry & vanilla, in contrast, tasted just like strawberries at peak ripeness and was not at all cloying.

Chef Frigerio also offers fresh, handmade pastas and tomato sauces. When asked how the reception was at his first market this weekend (14th & U in the District), he expressed surprise at how quickly he sold out of his braised rabbit ravioli – something he claimed people rarely ordered at the restaurant. I picked up some of the rabbit ravioli and a jar of the roasted shallot Barolo tomato sauce for a quick dinner. Sure, at $10 for 8 ravioli it was a little pricey, but having an Italian chef in your pantry is a nice treat for a busy weeknight! The tomato sauce was richly flavored and will definitely make a repeat appearance on our table.

Other vendors at the market included Long Meadow Ecological Farm (”no spray” asparagus, radishes, watercress and other greens from VA’s Shenandoah Valley), Kuhn Orchards (IPM fruits, rhubarb and asparagus from near Gettysburg, PA), Garner’s Produce (more VA strawberries, asparagus and plants), Lois’s Produce (Northern Neck VA, strawberries, asparagus, spring onions, flowers – and their website promises artichokes in late summer!), Cenan’s Bakery (Vienna, bread and pastries), Bees ‘n Blossoms (VA honey and soaps), Emine’s sweet and savory baklavas (also available at Old Town Alexandria), Fields of Grace farmstead cheese (and curds, from Remington, VA), and Valentine’s Country Meats with hormone-free, grass-fed/free-range Angus beef, pork, lamb, rabbit, incredible pastel eggs (pictured below), pies and sweets.

As if the first rhubarb sighting of the season wasn’t exciting enough, Kuhn was giving away free sample of asparagus with every purchase. As with most Fairfax County-managed markets, local gardeners were on hand to offer free gardening advice.

This is a great market and I appreciated the detailed signage at most vendors explaining their growing practices; when markets get busy, it gets difficult to ask farmers about their methods so signage is a great way to provide more transparency for market shoppers. (Of course, you should always feel free to ask for more information!) And Fairfax County requires that all vendors be within a 125-mile radius of the county, so you can be assured that the products are truly local.

The Vienna/Oakton Farmers Market is located at the Oak Marr RECenter, 3200 Jermantown Road, and open Wednesdays from 8am-noon, May through November 18. Find Chef Frigerio and the Copper Pot Food Co. at Fairfax (Tues.), Vienna/Oakton (Weds.) and Herndon (Thurs.) markets in Virginia and Georgetown (Weds.), 14th and U (Sat.) and Bloomingdale (Sun.) markets in the District.

We were one of the lucky few, er, 30,000 people to get tickets to the White House Easter Egg Roll yesterday. As promised, it was full of activities to promote healthy, active kids lifestyles. From yoga lessons, soccer, jump roping and basketball activities to cooking demos from District and White House chefs (Art Smith, Jose Andres, and Spike Mendelsohn), First Lady Michelle Obama certainly did her part to shift the focus away from Easter candy binges to healthier living.

Of course, the traditional egg roll took place with enthusiastic children rolling, tossing and/or flinging their hard boiled eggs across the finish line. But beyond the egg roll and photo ops with favorite PBS characters* and a posse of Easter bunnies, other activities kept kids busy and moving around the South Lawn. (*I’m proud to note that the boy identified SpongeBob SquarePants as “Giant Cheese Man!”)

Sam Kass, assistant White House chef and gardener, proudly presented a fresh-picked rosemary sprig for a curious family to sniff. Standing watch at the temporary fencing, he answered questions about the White House organic garden, with herbs, rhubarb, chard and fennel plants springing up behind him. (The beehive was nearby, also fenced off from the crowds.)

Jose Andres (and daughters?) was his usual charismatic self, extolling the virtues of summer’s fresh tomatoes and demonstrating how to make gazpacho. (You can find Jose’s gazpacho recipe – which is actually his wife’s – here. It’s one of my favorite dishes at his local Jaleo restaurants.)

Among the crafts was a recycled egg carton decorating station, and the souvenir egg we took home was green too, and not just in paint color. According to the White House, they were made from FSC-certified wood and the ones available by mail order come packed in eco-friendly paper packaging. (Not sure how sustainable the hard boiled eggs were — a volunteer told us they cooked 100,000, though the White House fact sheet says only 13,000 — and the one commercial product placement came from the “Incredible Edible Egg” people, aka American Egg Board.)

There was an Easter candy display, but no candy available. No food at all, actually — nor were you allowed to bring food or drinks in. They seemed to only be confiscating open packages at security though, as we made it in with a few small snacks. Thank goodness, because five hours without a meal (after our original group was oversold, we had to wait an extra two hours(!) in line to get in) the toddler was feeling more than a little crabby. (More pictures here.)