annaliesemaree Boston, Profiles

Bon Me in the Making

This past weekend I had the privilege to spend some time with Asta Schuette, Alison Fong and Patrick Lynch, owners of Bon Me and one of three finalists from Boston’s Food Truck Challenge last October. Below is a brief write-up I did on their business: look for them next Monday serving up “inspired Vietnamse cuisine”  near the Government Center stop on the green line.

The truck parked in the driveway of eleven Osborne Road is easily concealing half of the garage behind it. On a cloudless day, the trucks’ mustard and marigold brilliance is exaggerated, cooled slightly by the powder blue lettering and gray accents dotted along the vehicle. A meager line is forming; some pull out their cameras and lean back to attempt to capture the entirety of the situation, falling slightly into the neighbors’ flower beds still awaiting spring. After seven months of anticipation, Asta Schuette steps up to the large glass window on the right side of the truck, stoops down with her small notepad and addresses the accumulating line of people: “Thanks so much for coming! What can we get for you?”

On April 4th, Asta, along with her partners Ali Fong and Patrick Lynch, will officially open their food truck for business in City Hall Plaza, across the street from Boston’s famed Faneuil Hall. Today is a unique celebration for Bon Me held at Patrick’s mothers’ house; and the eager trio of entrepreneurs are serving family and friends Bon Me’s first batch of, well, bahn mi. Other than the price tag, offerings today mimic the soon-to-be menu: a choice of the the bon me sandwich ($5), rice bowl ($6), or salad ($6); filled with grilled pork, satay chicken, or bbq tofu, topped with tangy carrot and daikon pickles, cilantro, cucumber and their secret Bon Me sauce.

“I love the rice bowls with either chicken or pork. (It) provides great satiety in these cold spring months… come summer I will be more in favor of chomping on a noodle salad, lighter in flavor and feel.” Asta’s thoughts turn from her stomach to the line, which has begun to snake around the front of the truck in the driveway. She gingerly leans on the frame of the refurbished DHL truck, waves hello to her friend Sarah, then resumes her dance back and forth between the window and prep line, announcing to Ali “three chicken, one rice bowl and two sandwiches.”

Although Asta has become accustomed to her jack of all trades role, serving won’t be her primary responsibility in the future. Learning to manage truck operations, staffing, beverages, and sourcing, like the “pork liver from Jen and Pete’s Backyard birds in Concord… and seasonal and local vegetables from the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project in Lowell” has challenged, but not overwhelmed her: “It is really exciting to be on the cutting edge of something new in Boston. Gourmet food trucks are about to explode here.”
Bon Me will operate at City Hall Plaza, Monday-Friday 10am-4pm. www.bonmetruck.com, 617-410-6288

annaliesemaree Uncategorized

back in january

 

these are a few photos from the first weeks i was in boston. even though its still cold, we’ve come a long way since those january storms. in the meantime, i’ve cooked an impressive amount of soups, stews, and pasta-fagiole-esque recipes; shuttled myself between my apartment and boston university’s library bundled in multiple layers (and a down jacket); and not spent near enough time outside.

needless to say, the past four days we’ve had blue skies, and it’s been fantastic.

annaliesemaree recipes

meyer lemon bars.

meyer lemons made my day yesterday.

the idea for making lemon bars first presented itself through a seasonal cooking assignment i was given for my food writing class.  i felt fortunate that my afternoon taken up by grocery shopping, scrubbing lemons, measuring flour and taking photos could be written off as homework, but leisurely afternoons have been few and far between lately, so i’ll take them when I can.

meyer lemon bars

adapted from smitten kitchen

CRUST
1/2 cup (one stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Set the oven at 350 degrees and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking sheet.
2. In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed for 4 minutes.
3. In a bowl with a wooden spoon, combine the flour and salt. With the electric mixer on low, add the flour to the butter until just mixed.
4. With your hands, gather the dough into a ball then press it into the greased baking sheet, building up 1/2 inch edge on all sides.
5. Chill the crust for 15 minutes.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, until the edges are lightly brown. Cool the crust to room temperature.

LEMON LAYER
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon zest, grated
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup flour
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

1.  In a metal bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour.
2. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust and bake for 25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, cut into squares, and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

annaliesemaree Uncategorized

wine-braised lentils

a few years ago, I bought deborah madison’s vegetarian suppers. one of the first recipes i tried out of the book was simple enough–some green lentils, onion, carrot, celery, red wine and tomato paste all combined into a wonderful braise eaten atop a slice of french baguette. this weekend i had been thinking about that recipe and wanted to make it again, but sadly, that cookbook didn’t make the cut during my move east. i made-do with the ingredients i had and came up with a slight variation for dinner tonight.

wine-braised lentils

3/4 cup brown lentils

3-4 T. olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

3-4 stalks celery, cut in half length-wise and chopped

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups red wine of your choice

1 cup water

salt + pepper to taste

2 large handfuls arugula

1 T. butter

french baguette, sliced diagonally

in a small saucepan, bring 3-4 cups of water to a slight boil. add the lentils and cook, reducing to a simmer, for 10 minutes. after the 10 minutes are up, drain the lentils and set aside.

meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and saute the onions and shallot for 3 or 4 minutes, then add the celery. keep the heat at medium and cook the vegetables until they’re slightly browned, about 6 to 8 minutes more. add the tomato sauce, salt and pepper, wine, the drained lentils, and water and simmer for 15-20 minutes. once the liquid has reduced by half, cover the saucepan and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. check to make sure the lentils are tender, then add the arugula, stirring until it wilts. top with 1 T. butter and stir, then check for seasonings.

annaliesemaree recipes

a new cookbook + cowboy cookies

after a trip to brookline booksmith on wednesday afternoon and finally deciding to purchase the tartine bread cookbook, i was inspired to bake something. when i say inspired to bake something, i don’t mean that i was quite ready to bake bread. this cookbook purchase was well thought out, and after some careful reading and time to shop for the correct ingredients, i’ll be ready to give it a try.

instead, i decided on making some cowboy cookies. my mom makes something very similar, called ranger cookies, that were what i was thinking of when i started looking for recipes. the difference between the ranger and cowboy cookies are that the chocolate chips in the cowboy cookies are replaced by rice krispies in my mom’s version. whichever you choose, both are delicious!

 

 

annaliesemaree main dish, recipes

quinoa falafel

it all started with my first trip to whole foods in boston yesterday with my roommate, jessica. even when i go to whole foods with a very specific grocery list, (or like yesterday, not intending to buy more than something small to eat for lunch), i am so easily distracted by hundreds of other things on the shelves. my ability to be inspired by a single ingredient could fill a volume of cookbooks–i think all i need now is to clear up my schedule for the next few years to try them all out.

yesterday my extra purchase was a pound of rainbow carrots. this recipe is a slight variation of a really wonderful original from one of my favorite food blogs, sprouted kitchen. the first two times i made the falafel, i followed her recipe verbatim–the only reason this recipe is slightly changed is because i didn’t have the exact ingredients to mimic the sprouted kitchen recipe when i started making dinner last night. so instead of walking to the store, i just made something similar with the ingredients on hand. as i’m writing this, i am finishing some of the leftovers from last night. it’s simple to make & makes about one dozen, one inch falafel cakes.

quinoa falafel

1/2 cup cooked quinoa

15 oz. garbanzo beans

2 eggs

1 cup thinly chopped carrots

1/2 of a small red onion, diced

1 tsp. each of sesame seeds, cumin and coriander

2 T. olive oil

salt & pepper

combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. i’ve found that if i use an immersion blender or food processor to puree at least 1/2 or 2/3 of the mixture, the patties stay together a lot better when they’re being cooked. heat the olive oil in a large saute pan and drop the falafel mixture by spoonfuls into the pan. cook at least 3 minutes on each side, over medium heat, and remove from pan. these are delicious on their own, or eaten in a pita with some chopped tomatoes, parsley, and yogurt-tahini sauce (the recipe can be found on the sprouted kitchen blog). enjoy!