tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55876253938660696162023-04-13T08:39:25.208-04:00CornucopaseticNever Eat Anything Bigger Than Your HeadBradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.comBlogger134125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-66519679293508806922010-10-30T12:14:00.010-04:002010-12-20T08:46:52.795-05:00Weekend Wreckage, Part VII<div style="text-align: left;"><b>Locally (sort of):</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/TMxE27iH9cI/AAAAAAAAAe4/yt8M1sw0_Hg/s400/farmersmarket.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 308px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533873752615941570" />[Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/coreytempleton/3578436615/">Corey Templeton</a>]</div><div><br /></div><div>Civil Eats, <a href="http://civileats.com/2010/10/27/farmers-markets-transparency-is-our-model/">in an article about misuse of the term farmers' market nationally</a>, features a shot of Gallit Sammon and Chris Cavendish of Fishbowl Farm.<div><br /></div><div><b>Everywhere Else:</b></div><blockquote><span><span>The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders lists seven criteria, any three of which makes a substance addictive. Salt has four of them: withdrawal symptoms, the development of tolerance, inability to control level of usage, and difficulty quitting or restricting (even with full knowledge of health hazards).</span></span><div></div></blockquote><div>"<a href="http://ecologyoffood.blogspot.com/2010/10/whats-inside-doritos-late-night-all.html">What's Inside: Doritos Late Night All Nighter Cheeseburger Chips</a>," <i>The Ecology of Food</i> (October 27, 2010). </div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/TMxMO5-kyqI/AAAAAAAAAfA/tDk9fjmy9Jk/s400/mine-grill.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533881861096655522" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(187, 187, 187); line-height: 15px; "></span></div><div>That's a grill <a href="http://www.marinemine.com/#various">crafted by an Estonian artist from a deep sea mine</a> made in Russia in 1942. [Via <a href="http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/10/charcoal_grill_made_from_recycled_n.html">Make</a>.]</div><br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eOHAUvbuV4o?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eOHAUvbuV4o?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br /><blockquote><div><span><span>Check out Daisy she’s a proper cow /A pedigree Friesian with know how /Her and her girls they have their own name / We treat them good / They give us the cream</span></span></div></blockquote><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOHAUvbuV4o&feature=player_embedded#!">Yeo Boyz</a> (Featuring Lil' Massey).</div><div><br /></div><blockquote><span><span>… a judge in Brazil has ordered McDonald's to pay a former manager $17,500 based on his allegations that he gained 65 pounds during his years with the company, due to such dastardly corporate practices as offering employees free lunches.</span></span><div><span><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span>In addition to forcing this free food down his gullet, the company also went so far as to hire inspectors who would show up randomly and send back reports on food, cleanliness and service. As a result of these invasions by what he called "mystery clients," the man alleged he was effectively required to sample his restaurant's food every day to make sure it was up to par, also adding to his girth.</span></span></div></blockquote><div><span><span></span></span></div><div>"<a href="http://www.loweringthebar.net/2010/10/mcdonalds-ordered-to-pay-fat-manager.html">McDonald's Ordered to Pay Fat Manager</a>," Lowering the Bar (posted October 29, 2010).</div><div><br /></div><div></div><blockquote><div>I think the best way that everyone could eat is to be at home and cook and eat with your friends and family. Ideally—again, how ideal is this world?—there wouldn’t be a need for a restaurant.</div><div></div></blockquote><div>Leslie MeEachern of <a href="http://www.angelicakitchen.com/">Angelica Kitchen</a> in New York (quoted in "<a href="http://civileats.com/2010/10/12/community-supported-restaurant-in-conversation-with-angelica-kitchens-leslie-mceachern/">Community Supported Restaurant: In Conversation With Angelica Kitchen’s Leslie McEachern</a>," Civil Eats (posted on October 12, 2010)). The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Angelica-Home-Kitchen-Rousings-Restaurant/dp/1580085032/">Angelica Home Kitchen Cookbook</a> is a favorite of mine, unfortunately the recipe for Oden at the end of the interview is, in my opinion, the weakest in the book.</div><div><span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><h3 class="entry-header" style="font-weight: normal; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; margin-right: 25px; margin-left: 25px; font-size: 22px; color: rgb(25, 47, 115); "></h3></span></span></span><div><div><br /></div></div></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-47456596123109362102010-10-27T10:32:00.013-04:002010-10-27T22:41:17.727-04:00Tempeh and Root "Crumble"; Also, A Cornucopasetic TV Show Review: River Cottage [Anything].<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/TMjcv6AM94I/AAAAAAAAAeo/lSeObQdzYWk/s1600/TempehTomatoesShrooms.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/TMjcv6AM94I/AAAAAAAAAeo/lSeObQdzYWk/s400/TempehTomatoesShrooms.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532914857806722946" border="0" /></a>[Ok, I realize it's not a particularly appetizing photo, but it tasted wonderful.]<br /><br />That's my new favorite tempeh preparation for <a href="http://www.lalibelafarm.com/">Lalibela's</a> tempeh. The tempeh is marinated and cooked in the manner described in <a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/tlt-sandwich-recipe.html">Heidi Swenson's TLT Sandwich recipe</a>. And then it's a matter of roasting a bunch of mushrooms in the oven until they brown and look yummy. I also roasted some cherry tomatoes I bought from Mary Ellen at <a href="http://www.greensparkfarm.com/">Green Spark Farm</a> with garlic and olive oil. All that combines really well.<div><br /></div><div>The root crumble was an idea from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's current show River Cottage Everyday. I wasn't really keen to try it after seeing it on the show, but our CSA had given us a big surplus of rutabaga, celeriac and potatoes so we gave a vegan version of it a go and it was quite good. This is an excellent vegan replacement for a dairy rich gratin.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Hugh's Root Crumble, Vegan Version<br /></b>Adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, <span style="font-style: italic;">River Cottage Every Day</span> (Episode 3, October 7, 2010)<br /></div><div><ul><li>Equivalent amounts of rutabaga, potatoes, parsnips and celeriac, peeled and cut into a bite-sized cubes. You want to pay some attention to cooking time when cutting them, obviously. So make your rutabaga bites a bit smaller than your potato bites, for example. You should have enough to file a large roasting pan.</li><li>1 – 2 yellow onions, sliced.</li></ul><div>Those are the veggies; go ahead and put them in the roasting pan. Now make a sauce for them by whisking together the following:</div></div><div><ul><li>3 Tbs. of Dijon mustard;</li><li>1 – 2 Tbs. of honey;</li><li>4 Tbs. of some kind of vegetable oil; and</li><li>plenty of salt and pepper.</li></ul></div><div>Pour the sauce over the roots and mix them up. Cover the roasting pan with foil and put them in an oven at 375 for 45 minutes or so. The roots will give up their moisture and everything will steam in the pan under the foil. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now make a rosemary cashew cream from:</div><div><ul><li>1 Cu. water;</li><li>1 Cu. raw, unsalted cashews; </li><li>1 – 2 Tbs. of chopped fresh rosemary;</li><li>some lemon juice; and</li><li>some salt.</li></ul><div>Whiz these ingredients in a food processor. You'll have to do some experimentation here to achieve the consistency of a thick cream and get a pleasant creamy flavor. Note that it takes a long time in the processor to fully break down the cashews so they become creamy. Don't be tempted to add more cashews in order to thicken it until you have really given the initial amount hell.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Take the roots out of the oven and remove the foil. Then put them back in for twenty minutes or so. The water in the bottom of the pan will boil off in the oven and the roots should be tender by the end of this, but be watchful and don't let them dry out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now make a crumble topping from some whole wheat bread crumbs and any combination of nuts you think would work: hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, pecans would all be good. Chop the nuts with a knife rather then in a food processor. Mix some olive oil into the topping, enough so the bread crumbs will brown rather than burn. Season the topping also.</div><div><br /></div><div>When the veggies are ready to come out again, drizzle the cream over the top, then add the crumble topping and put the whole thing back in the oven until the top browns.<br /><br />You can take the leftovers from this and mash them up and add an egg and some herbs and make little cakes to fry up.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>TV Show Review: Anything By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>I see Hugh's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/River-Cottage-Meat-Book/dp/1580088430/">Meat</a> book has been getting some mention on the local blogs and that's great. Are you watching his TV shows too? Maybe everyone is already into these shows, but I'll mention them anyway because if you haven't seen them you really ought to.</div><div><br /></div><div>After getting the boot from the <a href="http://www.rivercafe.co.uk/rc_page.php">River Cafe</a> in London, Hugh made a TV show called A Cook on the Wild Side. That was in 1995, but watching it now, the show only seems in dated in rare moments (that are ridiculously funny).</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238);"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/TMg_uuz-7yI/AAAAAAAAAeg/uQMJV3zRT3Q/s400/hugh-wildside.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532742214297251618" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" border="0" /></span></div><div>In Wildside, Hugh drove around in a beat up old Land Cruiser (the "Gastrowagon") that was converted into a sort of roving kitchen and foraged and gleaned food from London to Glasgow. In the second season, he swapped the Gastrowagon for a canal barge (the "Bain-Marie").</div><div><br /></div><div>Some years later he followed up the show by trying his hand at a bit of semi-homesteading. That effort led to a series of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Cottage">River Cottage </a>TV shows that have been produced regularly since the late 90s. At this point he seems almost a bit overblown, with his "River Cottage" idea having turned into what appears to be a big company with branding, cantinas, classes, multiple sites and a torrent of handbooks and cookbooks. None of that has affected my enjoyment of the shows, however.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/TMjgOdUdYjI/AAAAAAAAAew/uYKINuNIqj4/s1600/EscapeToRiverCottage.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 235px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/TMjgOdUdYjI/AAAAAAAAAew/uYKINuNIqj4/s400/EscapeToRiverCottage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532918681217884722" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div>Watching these shows is a bit tricky; they aren't exactly on Netflix if you know what I mean. I'll leave you to your own devices, but I'm sure you'll easily find them.<br /></div><div><br /></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-89859321835326134422010-10-27T09:24:00.012-04:002010-10-28T08:16:27.512-04:00[Several weeks worth of:] Weekend Wreckage, Part VI<div style="text-align: left;"><b>Locally:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/TMgtvzw6E_I/AAAAAAAAAeI/RDUhkLHcD7Y/s400/carrots.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532722441597096946" /><div style="text-align: left;">A sort of <a href="http://littleridgefarmmembers.blogspot.com/2010/10/week-21-oct-12th-and-15th.html">carrot revue was apparently held</a> at the <a href="http://www.littleridgefarm.com/">Little Ridge Farm</a>. I wanted to join this CSA but it was just too far to drive. Looks like they had fun though and the farmers' website had excellent recipes each week. I wonder if they held a <a href="http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/stuart/FullSizeArt/ast_id/25438/image_id/452001/imageno/9">rude carrot contest</a> too and just didn't post about it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Globally:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/TMgpojvKHgI/AAAAAAAAAd4/6Zio4hi7apU/s400/nooch.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532717918989196802" /></div><div>[Image from <a href="http://theppk.com/2010/10/post-punk-kitchen-is-the-only-kitchen-for-me/">PPK</a>.]</div><div><br /></div><div>It's <a href="http://www.worldgoveganweek.org/">World Vegan Week</a> this week, but you'll just have to take my word for it because official website is not responding. Obviously, it has been hacked by aggressive, carnivorous plants.</div><div><br /></div><div>According to the chart below [via <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2010/10/22/the-candy-hierarchy.html">BoingBoing</a>], "whole wheat anything" is the lowest form of candy (although it is equivalent to a hug and some acetaminophen, which is just about what I need this morning) …</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/TMgqp6v925I/AAAAAAAAAeA/CoPb_lv_nzQ/s400/candyhierarchy2008.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532719041858100114" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 293px; height: 400px; " /></div><div>… but <a href="http://twitter.com/goodappetite">Melissa Clark</a> has nonetheless bothered to <a href="http://www.melissaclark.net/blog/2010/10/whole-wheat-pasta-the-taste-test.html">compare brands of store bought whole wheat pasta</a>. She came to exactly the right conclusion about which brand is best in my opinion.</div><div><br /></div><div>I looked everywhere for a picture of this, but apparently none of the gadget obsessed locals bothered to whip out their phone cams: a <a href="http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/classified-odd/09/28/10/mayonnaise-spill-causes-highway-pile-japan">MAYONNAISE SPILL on a highway in Tokyo</a> caused a multi car pile up. What are they calling this, the Kewpie Crash?</div><div><br /></div><div>This one is old, but I enjoyed <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/police-raid-organic-co-op-raw-milk-guns-drawn-colbert-video.php">the coverage of cops busting raw milk dealers in California</a>. I dream about getting a defense case like that.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/TMgwafEZq8I/AAAAAAAAAeQ/uWzTZa2kJUw/s400/pacmanboard.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532725373799345090" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 230px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div>[Also old:] Proof that there's a blog for everything,<span class="Apple-style-span"> <a href="http://insideinsides.blogspot.com/">here's one devoted to doing magnetic resonance imaging of food</a>:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/TMgyIfJ1UMI/AAAAAAAAAeY/Jlhl-L4jMcA/s400/peas.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532727263607738562" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 286px; " /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Also, Paleovegan discusses taxonomy, <a href="http://paleovegan.blogspot.com/2010/06/whatever-happened-to-omnivora.html">specifically the removal of the sub-Order Omnivora</a>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div>The paleolithic diet wasn't, <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/10/18/130654483/starchy-wild-plants-added-carbs-to-ancient-man-s-meaty-diet">new evidence suggests</a>, just about meat. Apparently there were some "potatoes" involved after all (except not potatoes at all, but starchy cattails). [Was this really news to anyone? Seems like this comes up every once in a while. The article led to interesting discussion on the <a href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ForageAhead/">Forage Ahead</a> Yahoo group in any event.]</div></div>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-88513789382003406872010-09-08T15:25:00.002-04:002010-09-08T15:27:11.888-04:00WTFSIMFD.comWhen in doubt there is always <a href="http://www.whatthefuckshouldimakefordinner.com/index.php">whatthefuckshouldimakefordinner.com</a>, which even has a vegetarian option.Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-46104614040534475112010-05-14T15:00:00.012-04:002010-05-14T15:24:26.183-04:00Haiku Review: Ten Portland Area Lunch SpotsMy best buddy Tyler and I have been doing the rounds at various Portland area luncheries for some not very cornucopasetic, but very fun, eating. Here are our reviews in <a href="http://willbraden.wordpress.com/2008/06/15/cat-haikus-part-13/">haiku</a>.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><a href="http://www.portlandfoodmap.com/ElRayoTaqueria.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">El Rayo</span></a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cornucopasetic</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><br />Rating: 6 jumping green lizards.<br /><blockquote>Two little tacos<br />failed to excite my taste buds;<br />ah, but the refresco.</blockquote><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Tyler</span><br /><br />Rating: 5 effervescent cucumber bubbles.<br /><blockquote>Simple beans and rice<br />sparkling cucumber cocktail<br />fusing fares falls flat</blockquote><a href="http://www.portlandfoodmap.com/NoshKitchenBar.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Nosh Kitchen Bar</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cornucopasetic</span><br /><br />Rating: 7 bacon dusted fries.<br /><blockquote>This time it <a href="http://mazirian.blogspot.com/2010/02/ukoy-squash-and-sweet-potato-fritters.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">was </span></a>a<br />sandwich to tell tales about;<br />bacon dust fries win.</blockquote><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Tyler</span><br /><br />Rating: 9 gusts of freaky cold wind.<br /><blockquote>Who would have thunk it?<br />Garlic jam and egg burger<br />good? You're damn skippy!<br /></blockquote><a href="http://www.portlandfoodmap.com/SkinnyCartBBQ.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Skinny Cart BBQ</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Cornucopasetic</span><br /><br />Rating: 8 G-spots.<br /><blockquote>G-spots, bacon bongs:<br />Is this really barbecue?<br />Oh hell yes it is!</blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Tyler</span><br /><br />Rating: 9 wasp's nipples.<br /><blockquote>Pork chop on a bun<br />grilled to perfection, quickly<br />enjoyed on the prom.</blockquote><a href="http://www.portlandfoodmap.com/Mr.Sandwich&Mrs.Muffin.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Mrs. Muffin & Mr. Sandwich</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cornucopasetic</span><br /><br />Rating: 5 macadamia nut and white chocolate chip cookies.<br /><blockquote>Bread too thick to eat<br />Is not so yummy a treat;<br />thanks for the cookie.</blockquote>[N.B. <span style="font-style: italic;">Tyler's</span> friend Breana and her family opened a bakery and sandwich shop on the corner of Congress and Deering. My sandwich was held back by a french roll that was too dense and hard, and by orange american cheese. Some of the other sandwiches I saw there looked a lot better, so give them some custom to help them work the kinks out. As a further aside, Breana and Katie are really beautiful (and they're twins), so—with all due respect to their mother—the picture that was used for the <a href="http://www.pressherald.com/life/go/eat-and-run_2010-05-13.html">PPH article</a> is kind of baffling.]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Tyler</span><br /><br />Rating: 8 "she's MY friend, jackass"'s.<br /><blockquote>turkey, pickle, rye<br />spicy avocado sauce<br />sandwich nirvana</blockquote><a href="http://www.portlandfoodmap.com/Po%27Boys&Pickles.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Po'Boys & Pickles</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cornucopasetic</span><br /><br />Rating: 7 tablespoons of bacon praline.<br /><blockquote>Fried oyster Po'Boy<br />and crazy bacon topping—<br />this place doesn't play.</blockquote>[N.B. This refers to when I asked for the hot barbecue sauce at a soul food place in Oakland, California. After the sauce cause smoke to come out of my ears, the waitress said, flatly: "Honey, we don't play."]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Tyler</span><br /><br />Rating: 8 used napkins.<br /><blockquote>sweet potato fries<br />very jubilant taste buds<br />I hanker for more</blockquote><a href="http://www.portlandfoodmap.com/Bogusha%27sPolishRestaurantandDeli%282%29.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Bogusha's Polish Restaurant and Deli</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cornucopasetic</span><br /><br />Rating: 5.5 hot pierogis.<br /><blockquote>The Polish Platter:<br />Five forms of starchy goodness.<br />Oh gods, I'm so full.</blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Tyler</span><br /><br />Rating: 7 tins of pork<br /><blockquote>nice Polish accent<br />yummy home-cooked Polish food<br />Brad is a lousy tipper</blockquote>[C: Am not!]<br /><br /><a href="http://www.portlandfoodmap.com/158PickettStCafe%28SouthPortland%29.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >158 Pickett Street Cafe (f/k/a One Fifty Ate)</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cornucopasetic</span><br /><br />Rating: 8 cowboy cookies.<br /><blockquote>In the back clearing<br />A sandwich epiphany;<br />Mustard on my shoe.</blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Tyler</span><br /><br />Rating: 9 flat punchlines<br /><blockquote>five napkin sandwich<br />loved every minute; still<br />licking my fingers</blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.portlandfoodmap.com/BazkariCatering.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">Bazkari</span></a><br /><br />Cornucopasetic</span><br /><br />Rating: 8 parma hams.<br /><blockquote>Very special rice.<br />So very very special.<br />And a ham sandwich.</blockquote>[N.B. Building on the street food presence started by Skinny Cart BBQ, Bazkari will soon be bringing "Spain to Maine" from their street cart at the Wednesday Farmers' Market at Monument Square. Her "Very Special Rice" was amazing with bits of prosciutto, egg, shrimp, pork and scallion. The sandwich that day was ham, manchego and a "special sauce" that I couldn't get very much information about. This place is excellent. For now you can catch them on Wednesdays inside the Portland Public Markethouse. Also, if you phone in your order to them in the morning they'll deliver your lunch to you without charging you a delivery cost.]<br /><br /><a href="http://www.portlandfoodmap.com/StarEastCafe.html"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Stareast Cafe</span></span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cornucopasetic</span><br /><br />Rating: 7 kebabs (pronounced "keh-babbs" like Jamie Oliver or Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall would pronounce it).<br /><blockquote>Lamb kabob, rice and<br />samoor baked in a tandoor;<br />I love cardamon.</blockquote>[N.B. This place got robbed by Nancy English's <a href="http://www.pressherald.com/archive/stareast-cafe-satisfies-hunger-for-middle-east-flavors_2008-08-02.html">review </a>a few years back. The rice served with the kabobs is really excellent—basmati with small threads of vermicelli that have been fried with cardamon and tumeric. He sprinkles ground sumac over the lamb kabob. The lamb is tender. The bread is baked in a tandoor to order, so you get it still crispy and hot and the hummus sort of melts into it. Why don't we hear more about this place on the food blogs? Sure the decor isn't much, but so what.]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Taste of Tampa</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cornucopasetic</span><br /><br />Rating: 6.5 conch fritters, in transit from the Bahamas.<br /><blockquote>Manly ham sandwich<br />produced amidst purses<br />and dresses: still good.</blockquote>[N.B. This place had a soft opening today. The interior is pretty crazy. I wasn't really sure they actually offered food until I found my way to the back past all the purses and clothes and giant, fake plants dominating the several central tables that each, oddly enough, have just one chair. Today they only had their cubana sandwich and a pulled pork sandwich. I know there's a whole cult following for the cubana sandwich and that it's supposedly impossible to get one made correctly outside of Miami or whatever—I've never had the real deal so I don't know the difference—but this sandwich was pretty good: crispy on the outside, not unmanageably large, nice sauce, although it could maybe use some better ham. Starting next week they'll have conch fritters, bean fritters, corn fritters, crab empanadas, fig empanadas, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I'd suggest getting it to go and eating it in some nice, sunny place.]Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-46985793008148356572010-05-06T10:23:00.005-04:002010-05-06T10:56:45.607-04:00No Queso "Quesadillas" and La Bodega LatinaI was sure I read somewhere that <a href="http://www.portlandfoodmap.com/permalink.html?/LaBodegaLatina.html">La Bodega Latina</a> didn't serve hot food anymore. I remember being really, really sad about this. But yesterday I went there to get some yuca root and they had the usual compliment of fried chicken and empanadas and potato balls and even those amazing strips of pork belly with the super crispy skin on them [how do they cook that?].<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S-LR25Jtg2I/AAAAAAAAAdo/SoKFJIOHhGg/s1600/yuca.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S-LR25Jtg2I/AAAAAAAAAdo/SoKFJIOHhGg/s400/yuca.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468163638565897058" border="0" /></a>[Image from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassava">Wikipedia</a>.]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">No Queso, "Quesadillas" With Yuca, Chard And Other Stuff In My Refrigerator </span><br />[I'm sort of mashing/mixing-up/channeling <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Veganomicon-Ultimate-Isa-Chandra-Moskowitz/">Veganomicon </a>here, I think.]<br /><ul><li>1 yuca root</li><li>1 bunch of chard with the largest part of the stems removed [Isn't silverbeet a cooler name for it? Why is silverbeet not used more often?]<br /></li><li>2 – 3 cloved of garlic, roughly chopped</li><li>About one pepper's worth of red and yellow bell peppers, diced</li><li>1 cup of frozen corn</li><li>1 good handful of cilantro, roughly chopped</li><li>Juice from one lime</li><li>Whole wheat tortillas</li></ul>Peel the yuca and cut it up into chunks and boil it in water until tender. While the yuca is boiling, which takes about 20 minutes, bring another pot of water to a boil for the chard. Boil or steam the chard for a few minutes until its tender and done, then drain it and squeeze the water out of it and roughly chop it. Also while the yuca is boiling away, saute the garlic and diced peppers.<br />Take the yuca off the heat when it's done, but before you drain it you can toss your frozen corn in there and let it sit for minute or two to thaw it. Now drain the yuca and corn, put it in a bowl and mash it up gently (meaning, without creating a giant, homogeneous starchy mess). Add the sauteed garlic and pepper, the chard, cilantro, lime juice and some salt and pepper and that's your "quesadilla" filling. I use a mixture of olive oil and Earthbalance for grilling the quesadillas.Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-29530135366582388452010-04-05T21:16:00.005-04:002010-04-06T15:04:54.769-04:00Good News: Black Bean Tempeh From Lalibela Farm<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S7qOIQLShrI/AAAAAAAAAdY/_W7QPb3A0vw/s1600/BlackBeanTempeh.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S7qOIQLShrI/AAAAAAAAAdY/_W7QPb3A0vw/s400/BlackBeanTempeh.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456830170945193650" border="0" /></a>Andrew from Lalibela Farms offered me a sample of their new black bean—that is, soy free—tempeh. I tried really hard to resist the obvious approach of just putting it tacos, but that's exactly what we did with it tonight and it was really excellent. I rubbed in oil and spices and grilled it.<br /><br />I'm told the black bean tempeh will be available from them in a few weeks after certain tests are completed by the state. Other not-soy-bean-bean tempehs in the offing: possibly chickpea or navy bean.<br /><br />EDIT: Scooped again by <a href="http://communetestedcityapproved.blogspot.com/2010/04/spring-sandwich-with-black-bean-tempeh.html">Avery</a>.Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-34898470392377737602010-04-05T08:37:00.003-04:002010-04-05T08:47:18.456-04:00Sad News: Mother Oven Bakery Closing Down<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S7nZrDZJy4I/AAAAAAAAAdI/xTSpe7xlRPE/s1600/MoOv.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 183px; height: 183px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S7nZrDZJy4I/AAAAAAAAAdI/xTSpe7xlRPE/s400/MoOv.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456631757204474754" border="0" /></a>Dean Zoulamis is closing down <a href="http://www.eatmainefoods.org/profile/MotherOvenBakery">Mother Oven Bakery</a> on May 1st of this year. This is sad news indeed. He is taking special orders for the month of April for those who want to stock up on Mother Oven items and freeze them. Fortunately, I understand that he may be teaching some baking classes in the area after the bakery is closed and also helping people build their own wood fired ovens.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S7nbO-8PeyI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/n3vqX5YdO6U/s1600/MoOv2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 264px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S7nbO-8PeyI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/n3vqX5YdO6U/s400/MoOv2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456633473996389154" border="0" /></a>[Photo from Peter Smith's <a href="http://www.thesundaybest.net/2009/06/mother-oven-bowdoinham/">Sunday Best</a>.]Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-62157421361972800732010-04-02T10:35:00.000-04:002010-04-02T16:07:55.689-04:00Weekend Wreckage, Part V<span style="font-weight: bold;">Local</span><br /><br />VoterVale Farm's <a href="http://www.votervalefarm.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22:lamb-cam&catid=2&Itemid=2">Lamb Cam</a>!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.votervalefarm.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22:lamb-cam&catid=2&Itemid=2"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S7IRwi9u8dI/AAAAAAAAAc4/Hrx0x0JIGsg/s320/lamb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454441624416219602" border="0" /></a>Rabelais Books reminds us that there are <a href="http://rabelaisbooks.blogspot.com/2010/03/new-farmers.html">some really interesting stories</a> behind Maine's latest crop of of organic farmers.<br /><br />Food For Maine's Future's <a href="http://savingseeds.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/register-today/">5th Annual Local & Sustainable Food Conference</a> is coming up on April 10 and 11.<br /><br />Peter Smith's <a href="http://www.thesundaybest.net/2009/12/will-bonsall/">piece on Will Bonsall</a>, "a self-designated Noah," posted late last year, was really interesting.<br /><br />Portland Cook's second post is a <a href="http://portlandcooks.blogspot.com/2010/03/blog-post.html">radio interview</a> with Randy Lautz of <a href="http://www.mefoodtrader.org/">MeFoodTrader.org</a> (and <a href="http://meagtrader.org/">MeAgTrader.org</a>).<br /><br />I've been enjoying <a href="http://twitter.com/Permaculture_ME">LisaF's permaculture related twitter feed</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://littleridgefarmmembers.blogspot.com/">Little Ridge Farm's blog </a>has a lot of good recipes for anyone who gets overloaded with veggies from their CSA this summer.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">From Away</span><br /><br />Mollie Katzen recasts the detestable word "flexitarian" as "<a href="http://civileats.com/2010/03/18/the-radical-necessity-of-cooking-mollie-katzen-vegetablist/">vegatablist</a>."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/9327/oliver-schwarzwald-breakfast.html"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 314px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S7IPEbqa8gI/AAAAAAAAAcw/OFD_Wp1XzMw/s400/breakfast.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454438667518669314" border="0" /></a>Maciej Cegłowski, who came up with the term <a href="http://idlewords.com/2006/04/argentina_on_two_steaks_a_day.htm">steakation </a>and who's blog includes the excellent <a href="http://www.idlewords.com/2007/04/the_alameda-weehawken_burrito_tunnel.htm">Alameda-Weehawken Burrito Tunnel</a> post, writes about <a href="http://idlewords.com/2010/03/scott_and_scurvy.htm">the discovery and loss of the cure for scurvy</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecologyoffood.blogspot.com/2010/03/lettuce-persuade-you.html"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 313px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S7IOmcRalWI/AAAAAAAAAco/3pC9anGQHzk/s400/lettuce.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454438152286147938" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1112115/">King Corn</a> was a great movie, but it pulled a lot of punches when it came to environmental issues. They take up that topic in a sort of sequel: <a href="http://livingliberally.org/eating/blog/Our-Toxic-Waterways-Flushing-Away-Our-Future">Big River</a>.<br /><br />No, I do not have a lettuce fetish:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S7IWR0JZgTI/AAAAAAAAAdA/KsWx9d20M20/s1600/lettuce2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S7IWR0JZgTI/AAAAAAAAAdA/KsWx9d20M20/s320/lettuce2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454446594010743090" border="0" /></a><a href="http://coilhouse.net/2010/02/vegeterrible/">Vegiterrible</a>!!<br /><br />Finally, as a sort of follow up to the interview with Jeff from Heiwa Tofu, I should mention the <a href="http://trueslant.com/kimodonnel/2010/03/31/tt-minus-2-still-time-to-sign-up-for-tempeh-tofu-challenge/">Tempeh and Tofu Challenge</a>.Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-32366836436790411182010-03-30T09:09:00.011-04:002010-03-30T10:20:51.302-04:00Cornucopasetic Interview: Jeff Wolovitz of Heiwa TofuI used to live near a tofu "factory" in Sacramento, California, that made the best tofu I had, up to that time, ever had. Before discovering that tofu, I just couldn't understand why anyone would bother with the stuff. The place also made really good soy milk. Unfortunately, I have yet to find any soy milk as good, but there is a local option for tofu that is even better than the stuff I used to get in California: <a href="http://heiwatofu.com/about.php">Heiwa Tofu</a>.<br /><br />Heiwa Tofu is run by <a href="http://heiwatofu.com/about.php">Jeff and Maho Wolovitz</a>. Jeff was kind enough to answer some questions about Heiwa Tofu for Part II of our interview series (read <a href="http://mazirian.blogspot.com/2009/10/local-tempeh-part-ii-ingredient-review.html">Part I</a> with Jaime Berhanu). Now, I'm no photographer—as this blog constantly proves—but <a href="http://katehassett.wordpress.com/">Kate Hasset</a> is. She created a <a href="http://katiehassett.webng.com/HeiwaTofu/publish_to_web/">gallery of images</a> she took on her visit Heiwa's "mini-factory," so you can take a virtual tour after reading the interview.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://katiehassett.webng.com/HeiwaTofu/publish_to_web/"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S7IEadENM5I/AAAAAAAAAcg/0w4mOhQ_mcs/s400/heiwa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454426951224472466" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">I only discovered your tofu sometime last year. How long now has Heiwa Tofu been in business and how long have you been making tofu?</span><br /><br />The business turned out its first batch in September 2008. During the year the leading up to making tofu in the "mini-factory" in Camden, I practiced making it at home maybe a dozen times. It was very messy and time consuming. I'd spend four hours and end up with like three pounds of tofu. It tasted so good!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">How did you come to start Heiwa? I saw on your website that you bought your tofu making equipment from a man named Rob Lovell, who had it in his barn for twenty years. There has to be a good story there. Why did he have tofu equipment in a barn in Maine for twenty years?</span><br /><br />I was in my fourth year of teaching high school science and wanted out. I wanted to get back into the local food systems. I spent three years apprenticing on organic farms before becoming a teacher. I tossed around a handful of niches that I thought I could fill. The tofu one seemed the safest. I talked to a lot of people about it and eventually, someone mentioned that Rob used to make tofu in Rockport in the 1980's. I connected with him and he still had a lot of his equipment. Just as he was getting ready to move! He was glad to get it out of his garage and to see it getting used. He had many fond memories of his tofu making years.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Where do you get your soy beans? Are these the same beans that <a href="http://www.lalibelafarm.com/">Lalibela Farm</a> is using to make their tempeh?</span><br /><br />Bob Reisner in Skowhegan. I'd like to diversify. I've talked to Henry Perkins about growing this coming year. Also, Donnie Webb in Pittson. Donnie cleaned Bob's beans for me this year and would like to try growing soybeans for me. They are all great folks. I've really enjoyed getting to know them all. We'll run out of the beans Bob grew sometime in the late spring or early summer. When that happened last year, I got beans from another Bob (Bob Crowe) who is near Albany, NY. I like and trust him a lot, too. The beans aren't certified organic, but the are tested non-GMO and pesticide free. I have so much to learn about soybeans and tofu making. I use a lot. At least 20,000 pounds this year. That takes roughly ten to twenty acres of land and will make 35,000 pounds of tofu!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Your process for making tofu is <a href="http://heiwatofu.com/process.php">described pretty thoroughly on your site</a>. How many beans do you go through in a given production cycle and how much tofu do those beans make?</span><br /><br />Currently, each batch of tofu is twenty-five pounds of dry beans. My current yield is 1.6. For every pound of dry beans, I get 1.6 pounds of tofu. Bob Crowe's beans had a yield of 1.8. Same seed source, but maybe the New York summers are warmer and dryer. Over the course of a year, that small difference in yield adds up to a lot of tofu and money.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Is Heiwa Tofu a full time business for you?</span><br /><br />By the end of the summer, we were up to six hundred pounds a week. Then things dropped off quickly once September hit. I worked hard at marketing through the fall and picked up a few biggish clients at fifty pounds a week and I've been making eight batches—320 pounds—twice a week pretty steadily since New Year's. But the business keep growing. I've begun some nine batch days to keep up with the demand, but physically, I am near my limits of production. It is such physically demanding work. I get the shop at 5:00am and work straight through till 4:00pm or 5:00pm. Go, go, go practically the whole time. I've made a couple of small changes to my process recently and actually get some time to breathe in there. Did you notice some of the very soft or rock hard tofu over the past month as I was figuring it out? [<span style="font-style: italic;">Ed.: Yes, actually, I did.</span>] Mainly, I changed how I add the coagulant, the amount of water I cook with, and the temperature to which I heat and curdle the soymilk. I am ready to make some other changes because I won't be able to keep up with demand once summer rolls around and there are more people in Maine. I'll increase my batch size a bit. A I am hoping to get to a place where I can make 450 – 500 pounds in a twelve hour day.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">It is nice to see a lot of small producers in Maine making wonderful ingredients. There seem to be more and more people trying to make a living that depends on the growing interest in eating locally produced food. Do you have any suggestions for someone who wants to start up a small food production business in Maine like yours?</span><br /><br />Number one is to keep it simple. Also, when you are planning, figure what your average, absolutely best and worst years might looks like. I used to plan that things will take twice as long as I hoped and cost twice as much I as thought. Over the past year, I've changed them both to three times as long and three times as much!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">My family drinks a lot of soy milk. When I lived in Davis, California, we were near a fantastic tofu and soy milk factory. But there is no local soy milk—as far as I know—available in Maine. Have you ever considered producing it too? Do you make soy milk at home?</span><br /><br />We don't really use soymilk and I don't sell it. I am not convinced that it is really part of the traditional diet, but a newer trend in Asian countries. Commercial soymilk in this country is cooked at a high enough temperature to destroy most of the trypsin uptake inhibitors, but I don't cook that high of a temperature (I'd need a pressure cooker). I'll admit I haven't done much research concerning it. I've also heard that soymilk is a very strong/concentrated food<br />and that by not going through the chewing action when drinking it, it is harder to digest.<br /><br />[<span style="font-style: italic;">Ed. </span><span style="font-style: italic;">I was not going to include the next question at first, but Jeff's response was just too right to pass up.</span>]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">I understand that there is, or has been for some time now, a group of people suggesting soy products, particularly unfermented soy products, are not healthy for a variety of reasons. We feed our kids (and ourselves) a lot a soy in any given week, so we looked into this issue quite thoroughly; it seems that the soy detractors have not closely read the research they refer to and have no real scientific basis for their arguments. Do you have any comments about this issue?</span><br /><br />I try to stay out of soy politics. I believe in moderation and avoid food dogmas. You've got to feed your soul and eat what feels good.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Where can we find Heiwa Tofu in the greater Portland area?</span><br /><br />If you look on our website, there is a <a href="http://heiwatofu.com/places.php">current list</a> of where you can get our tofu. For Portland, you'd find Heiwa Tofu at <a href="http://www.portlandfoodmap.com/permalink.html?/GreenElephant.html">The Green Elephant</a>, <a href="http://www.portlandfoodmap.com/permalink.html?/NorthStarMusicCafe.html">North Star Music Cafe</a>, and <a href="http://www.portlandfoodmap.com/permalink.html?/AuroraProvisions.html">Aurora Provisions</a>. I am hoping to get our tofu into <a href="http://www.portlandfoodmap.com/permalink.html?/Silly%27s.html">Silly's</a> soon. Also, you can get it at the <a href="http://www.thefriendlytoast.net/">Friendly Toast</a> in Porthsmouth and in Northwood, NH, at <a href="http://www.happycow.net/reviews.php?id=3167">Susty's</a>.<br /><br />[<span style="font-style: italic;">Ed.: Also, you can buy it at <a href="http://www.rosemontmarket.com/">Rosemont</a>, of course, and through the <a href="http://www.portlandfoodcoop.org/">Portland Food Coop</a> via <a href="http://www.crownofmainecoop.com/">Crown of Maine</a>.</span>]<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Any Parting Comments?</span><br /><br />In this country, tofu is used in so many different ways—smoothies, vegetarian chili, etc. How does it fit into the traditional diet? In this country, it seems like tofu is a food for vegetarians and vegans. Its a meat substitute. But in Japan and China (and probably other Asian countries) almost everyone eats it regularly. In Japan, people might have small amounts of tofu everyday. It's just another protein source, rather than a substitute for meat. [<span style="font-style: italic;">Ed.: Check out the seafood and soft tofu dishes at Happy Teriyaki, for example, although it's not exactly a local, whole food haven.</span>]<br /><br />I am so happy to be involved in the local food economy as a processor. People have been so supportive everywhere I go.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Thank you, Jeff!</span><br /><br />Jeff also left me with a recipe for "neatballs."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Italian Style Tofu Neatballs</span><br /><ul><li>12 – 16 ounces tofu;</li><li>1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped;</li><li>1/2 cup peas or grated carrot (optional);</li><li>1 medium onion, minced;</li><li>1/4 to 1/3 cup bread crumbs;</li><li>1 egg beaten;</li><li>1.5 Tbsp red miso; and<br /> </li><li>Dried herbs such as oregano, basil, thyme, and so forth.</li></ul> Squish up all the ingredients with your hands. Really work it so it oozes out from between your fingers! Form into balls and deep fry or bake in greased casserole at 350° until browned. Cover with tomato sauce and bake for 15 minutes.Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-35105042207046565552010-02-19T20:31:00.014-05:002010-02-22T12:10:20.629-05:00Ukoy (Squash and Sweet Potato Fritters); Nosh Mini Review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S4Gv864CrYI/AAAAAAAAAcI/NBHR59TSJIw/s1600-h/ukoy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 278px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S4Gv864CrYI/AAAAAAAAAcI/NBHR59TSJIw/s400/ukoy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440823285971594626" border="0" /></a>Birthday lunch for Stephanie this weekend included Ukoy—a Filipino fritter traditionally made with shrimp. Steph is not very omnivorous, so the above is a picture of the vegan version we made her. The recipe below is based on one given to my mom by a friend of her's from the Philippines.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ukoy</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Traditional</span><br /><ul><li>A handful of Maine shrimp, bought fresh and in their shells. [Hurry, the season must almost be over!]</li><li>2 Tbs. annato seeds</li><li>About 3/4 lbs. of squash, grated. We used an acorn squash, but you could use butternut or red kuri, or just about any squash. See my comment about butternut squashes below.</li><li>1 sweet potato, grated</li><li>1/2 Cu. corn starch</li><li>1/2 Cu. flour</li><li>Scallions, the green tops, sliced thinly</li></ul>Shell the shrimp, reserving the heads and shells. Simmer the shrimp heads and shells with the annato seeds in one cup of water for a while, then drain, reserving the water. Poach the shrimp meat in the reserved water very lightly (not until cook through). Drain the shrimp, reserving the poach water. Now make the fritters by combining the grated squash, grated sweet potato, cornstarch, flour and enough of the reserved poach water (maybe 1/2 Cu.) to make a batter just barely hold together. [N.B.: These amounts are all really approximate, so you may have to play with them.]<br /><br />Heat a half an inch or more of oil in a wok or some other pot suitable for frying the fritters. Make a small patty out of the mixture on a plate and press a few shrimp into the top of the patty together with some scallions. Slide the patty into the oil. You can baste the top of the fritter with some oil to cook the shrimp into the fritter before flipping it. Cook the fritters until crispy and yummy. Sprinkle with salt, of course.<br /><br />You can optionally serve the fritters with a sauce made with 1 Tbs. mashed garlic, salt and 1 Cu. white vinegar. I think they are fine without the sauce, however.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S4G7grtuw7I/AAAAAAAAAcQ/8ysKpa-PJys/s1600-h/littleridge.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 175px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S4G7grtuw7I/AAAAAAAAAcQ/8ysKpa-PJys/s400/littleridge.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440835995005010866" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Featured Farm: The Best Squash I Have Ever Eaten …</span><br /><br />… was a waltham butternut squash from <a href="http://www.littleridgefarm.com/">Little Ridge Farm</a>. Seriously, it was amazing. Little Ridge will <a href="http://www.littleridgefarm.com/shares-pork.php">raise pigs if you pay a deposit up front</a>. I'm considering doing this, but I'm not sure I eat enough pork to justify it. You can also place a down payment on turkey or join their CSA.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cornucopasetic Micro Restaurant Review: Nosh</span><br /><br />I went to <a href="http://www.noshkitchenbar.com/">Nosh</a> for a business lunch last week. I ended up with the pork belly reuben, which is a massive overkill of a sandwich: thick slices of braised pork belly, caramelized onions standing in for the sauerkraut, cheese and russian dressing. From those ingredients it should have been a legendary sandwich to tell my grand children about, but it somehow ended up being just okay. The fries were a major disappointment, however, because they were probably really good fries but they were coated in some lime flavored "dust" that was just horrible. The chipotle mayo that went with the fries was harsh and similarly horrible. In spite of all that, there were enough interesting sounding sandwiches on the menu that I'd like to try it one more time and see if my meal was just a fluke.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S388Bbt3cVI/AAAAAAAAAb4/tKZ2BWViamY/s1600-h/porkbelyreuben.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S388Bbt3cVI/AAAAAAAAAb4/tKZ2BWViamY/s400/porkbelyreuben.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440132870204518738" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Find of the Week Via The Green Hand Bookstore</span><br /><br />While waiting to sort an order for the Portland Food Coop this week, I visited <a href="http://greenhandbooks.blogspot.com/">The Green Hand Bookstore</a>—which is run by the lady that runs the <a href="http://strangemaine.blogspot.com/">Strange Maine</a> blog—and saw the most awesome book ever: a choose-your-own-adventure version of Staying Alive!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S388BJ4jCcI/AAAAAAAAAbw/a9O8Pe_WJNY/s1600-h/StayingAlive.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S388BJ4jCcI/AAAAAAAAAbw/a9O8Pe_WJNY/s400/StayingAlive.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440132865417480642" border="0" /></a>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-39585923508429580442010-02-16T11:32:00.020-05:002010-02-19T17:04:07.567-05:00Week-end Wreckage, Part IVWe have two great local food interviews in the works. Meanwhile, here's the week-end wreckage:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.tellingroom.org/programs/events.html"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 245px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S38CpideuAI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/mlXQBEZC_vA/s400/moveable+feast.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440069787535194114" border="0" /></a>Heather Davis, who works for the local non-profit The <a href="http://www.tellingroom.org/">Telling Room</a>, wrote in and asked that I mention her organization's <a href="http://www.tellingroom.org/programs/events.html">Movable Feast</a> event on February 24. The Telling Room website describes the event as follows:<br /><blockquote>Please join The Telling Room and friends for a culinary experience unlike any other; one that will take you and your group on a journey in three acts. In one evening, we will visit three acclaimed restaurants—<strong><a href="http://www.local188.com/">Local 188</a></strong>, <a href="http://fivefifty-five.com/"><strong>Five Fifty-Five</strong></a>, and <a href="http://www.davidsrestaurant.com/"><strong>David's</strong></a>—to enjoy three different courses, followed by a last call at Local 188.<br /></blockquote>[Nice correct typographical usage of emdashes, Telling Room.] The Telling Room works with kids to improve literacy and writing skills through story-telling, which is pretty cool, so please consider helping them out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://holycow.webng.com/Black%20Crow%20Bakery/bcb/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 262px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S38CH34s6ZI/AAAAAAAAAbI/A46HWJactDM/s400/blackcrow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440069209170962834" border="0" /></a>Check out <a href="http://katehassett.wordpress.com/">Kate Hasset's</a> amazing photographs of Maine food greats such as Mother Oven Bakery, Heiwa Tofu, Black Crow Bakery and others.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">From Away:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S38Ka9Zb64I/AAAAAAAAAbo/vZvkDkWoafQ/s1600-h/tacoshed.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S38Ka9Zb64I/AAAAAAAAAbo/vZvkDkWoafQ/s400/tacoshed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440078333160975234" border="0" /></a>My new favorite neologism is "<a href="http://rebargroup.org/doxa/2010/02/tacoshed/">Taco Shed</a>." [via <a href="http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/where-does-your-taco-come-from.html">BLDBLG</a>.] I am passing on the coined taco term, T&T&A, for the time being [as reported on Huffington Post recently].<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S38EKi72m5I/AAAAAAAAAbY/9EeLaluCTys/s1600-h/anti-fridge.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 118px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S38EKi72m5I/AAAAAAAAAbY/9EeLaluCTys/s400/anti-fridge.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440071454109899666" border="0" /></a>Behold, the "<a href="http://www.savefoodfromthefridge.blogspot.com/">Anti Fridge</a>." [Via <a href="http://ecologyoffood.blogspot.com/2010/02/thinking-outside-fridge.html">Ecology of Food</a> via <a href="http://www.ediblegeography.com/the-anti-fridge/">Edible Geography</a>.]<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Obi-Wan Canoli</span>: Yes, Cuke. The Farm is what gives us our power; it's a kind of 'field' that creates all edible things. But, alas, the market has been taken over by the dark side of the Farm. [Via <a href="http://ecologyoffood.blogspot.com/2010/02/store-wars.html">Edible Geography</a>.]<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hVrIyEu6h_E&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hVrIyEu6h_E&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Finally, what you've always wanted: a <a href="http://www.weirdasianews.com/2010/02/19/wasabi-smoke-alarm-wakes-deaf/">wasabi smoke alarm</a>. Imagine setting that off accidentally. Calligula's recent "<a href="http://portlandfoodcoma.blogspot.com/2010/02/essays-in-restauarant-debauchery-number.html">restaurant debauchery</a>" post reminds me of the time I won $20.00 by snorting a line of wasabi powder. It wasn't nearly enough money. [What is the statute of limitations on criminal offenses in Illinois anyway?]<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S38I2JSSrZI/AAAAAAAAAbg/9hlt500lfw0/s1600-h/Wasabi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 273px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S38I2JSSrZI/AAAAAAAAAbg/9hlt500lfw0/s400/Wasabi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440076601185447314" border="0" /></a>Also, yes, I know that I never spell dessert properly as has been recently pointed out.Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-21923622110535162482010-02-13T00:47:00.007-05:002010-02-13T01:41:02.510-05:00Week-End Wreckage, Part IIISome new (to me) local food blogs: Karen, who writes for <a href="http://mainelovesfood.com/">Maine Loves Food</a>, wrote in to mention her food blog, <a href="http://mignardise.blogspot.com/">Mignardise</a>, which is nice. Judging from her blog's facebook page, everyone knew about her but me. Also, local (Peak's) author Catherynne Valente has started posting occasional restaurant reviews on her livejournal<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>. She kicks things off with a review of <a href="http://yuki-onna.livejournal.com/565746.html">Paciarino</a>. Her latest book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Palimpsest-Catherynne-Valente/dp/0553385763">Palimpsest</a>, was the best by far of any book I read last year. Sadly, she totally pans <a href="http://www.paciarino.com/">Paciarino</a>, partly for reasons I understand but nonethless I have a real soft spot for the place and I feel pretty sad she didn't enjoy her lunch there.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S3Y_Y114jPI/AAAAAAAAAa4/IKSbDJFO9eA/s1600-h/Palimpsest+Valente.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S3Y_Y114jPI/AAAAAAAAAa4/IKSbDJFO9eA/s400/Palimpsest+Valente.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437603296098946290" border="0" /></a><br />Jamie Oliver won a TED Prize and gave a <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html">terrific speech</a> at this year's TED conference on food and obesity in America. He's a bit over-excited and over-anxious in the presentation, and there is much he says that one must take on faith (although it's hard not to at this point), but it is definitely worth the eighteen minutes to watch it.<br /><br /><!--copy and paste--><object height="326" width="446"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/JamieOliver_2010-medium.mp4&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/JamieOliver-2010.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=765&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=jamie_oliver;year=2010;theme=a_taste_of_ted2010;theme=new_on_ted_com;theme=ted_prize_winners;event=TED2010;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;"><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/JamieOliver_2010-medium.mp4&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/JamieOliver-2010.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=765&introDuration=16500&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=2000&adKeys=talk=jamie_oliver;year=2010;theme=a_taste_of_ted2010;theme=new_on_ted_com;theme=ted_prize_winners;event=TED2010;" height="326" width="446"></embed></object><br /><br />As for the best book I've read <span style="font-style: italic;">this</span> year (so far), it's definitely <a href="http://novellacarpenter.com/">Novella Carpenter's</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1594202214">Farm City</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S3ZEBgAMmFI/AAAAAAAAAbA/oD1ltzl0Lno/s1600-h/farm-city.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S3ZEBgAMmFI/AAAAAAAAAbA/oD1ltzl0Lno/s400/farm-city.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437608392657770578" border="0" /></a>Carpenter started and now runs a small farm in a ghetto in Oakland, California, by squatting on land adjacent to her apartment. [I used to stay at a friend's apartment just half a mile from where her farm is now located, and, yeah, it wasn't exactly a safe place.] The book is divided into three parts, each detailing her efforts to raise a different animal—turkeys, rabbits and pigs. But beyond the immediate story of her urban farming amidst drive by shootings, which is engrossing enough, she takes up an interesting issue in each of the three parts: things like the fate of the 1970s back to the land movement by her (and my) parent's generation and the relevance of that fate with respect to the growing interest in urban farming in America. It's brilliantly literate from the first sentence and just excellently written throughout. I'm really sad now that I missed the signing at <a href="http://www.rabelaisbooks.com/">Rabelais Books</a>. Hey Rabelais, do you have any signed copies? I had to get this by interlibrary loan and I think I'd like to own it.Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-31680511031024689072010-02-12T23:21:00.013-05:002010-02-16T13:05:19.291-05:00Tempeh in Sauerkraut; Also, Two Vegan Cookbook Mini-Reviews and a Cornucopasetic Bonus Recipe: What to Do With Rosario's Whole Wheat BaguettesDinner tonight: tempeh cooked with sauerkraut and tomatoes; roasted potatoes; Rosario's awesome whole wheat baguette in awesome sauce. The recipe for tempeh simmered in sauerkraut in Robin Robertson's Vegan Planet looked ridiculously simple and boring, so overlooked it at first. I'm glad I bothered to give it a try though.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tempeh With Sauerkraut and Tomatoes</span><br />Adapted from Robin Robertson, <span style="font-style: italic;">Vegan Planet</span> (2003)<br /><br />Tempeh, sauerkraut, tomatoes. That's pretty much the recipe. It's almost too simple to post, but it was good and sort of satisfying in some way that I thought was worth mentioning.<br /><ul><li>One package of <a href="http://www.lalibelafarm.com/">Lalibela</a> Farm's tempeh, cut into a 1/2 inch dice;<br /></li><li>2 cups of Thirty Acre Farm's Sauerkraut (the kind with with the juniper berries and caraway seeds, but remove the juniper berries for this recipe);</li><li>Half a 28 ounce can of tomatoes, diced, with their juice;</li><li>1 tsp. brown sugar, maybe a bit more; and<br /></li><li>salt, pepper.</li></ul>Brown the tempeh cubes in oil for a few minutes. I have notice that the <a href="http://www.lalibelafarm.com/">Lalibela</a> tempeh develops a nice nutty flavor when it is browned slowly; the lightlife tempeh I preferred before there was good local tempeh didn't do this at all. Once the tempeh is browned, add the remaining ingredients, cover, reduce the heat and simmer for fifteen minutes. If the result is too watery at the end of the fifteen minutes, remove the cover and let it reduce.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cookbook Mini-Review: </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Vegan Planet</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (2003) by Robin Robertson</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S3YvLr4px9I/AAAAAAAAAao/A0rVrltwyUM/s1600-h/vegan-planet.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 328px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S3YvLr4px9I/AAAAAAAAAao/A0rVrltwyUM/s400/vegan-planet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437585477901862866" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Planet-Irresistible-Recipes-Fantastic/dp/1558322116/">Vegan Planet</a> isn't the book to turn to for a cashew cream bechemel or oolong smoked tofu, but it's great for a night when you want dinner in less than an hour and you're too tired to think. The recipe above is about the least of what's in it, so don't let it steer you away from the book, but it does highlight some of Robin's ability to keep vegan cooking dead simple, healthy and yet interesting without going over the top. Robin has a number of other books that I haven't read, and she maintains a <a href="http://veganplanet.blogspot.com/">blog</a> that you might be interested in. Final verdict: highly recommended for vegans and vegan poseurs such as myself.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cookbook Mini-Review: </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (2009) by Bryant Terry</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S3Yy2ZYdX9I/AAAAAAAAAaw/_3BxdrIcEOI/s1600-h/vegan-soul-kitchen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 323px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S3Yy2ZYdX9I/AAAAAAAAAaw/_3BxdrIcEOI/s400/vegan-soul-kitchen.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437589510204252114" border="0" /></a>I'm going to do what I haven't yet seen done in the blogosphere: pan <a href="http://www.bryant-terry.com/">Bryant Terry's</a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Soul-Kitchen-Creative-African-American/dp/0738212288/">Vegan Soul Kitchen</a>. Here's why: Bryant is working on all the right food issues in all the right ways, but he's not first and foremost a chef; he's a creative and effective writer, but he's not (yet) great at writing and testing recipes. We have to back up at this point and talk about why this book made such a splash. It's quirky as hell for a cookbook: it opens with music for a song that he wrote; each recipe is accompanied by recommendations not for wine but for tracks of music and art (and they're right on, too); and he takes on a cuisine that many don't off-hand associate with vegan cooking. However, many of the recipes are poorly written or were just not tested at all (the mafe recipe is a prime example). In places the book offers an interesting perspective and a few clever combinations, but it's not a book that you will learn any new tricks from if you have even a little bit of vegan cooking under your belt. Final verdict: it's a fun read but I'd suggest borrowing it from a library (if it's available) or me (just ask) before giving into to an impulse buy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">UPDATE:</span> This is the age of Google alert after all, so I should not have been surprised when Mr. Terry commented on my post within hours after I posted it. I feel like a bit of a prick after reading his comment so I thought I ought to add this addendum to my review. Not only did I get Mr. Terry's name wrong, but I worried that I may have been a bit unfair. After some thought on the matter, I do stand by my review although I think I may not have expressed myself very clearly. What I was trying to say was that this is an interesting and fun book to read in its own right, but that if you already have some measure of experience cooking vegan food many of the recipes in this book will not be a revelation, although there are a few interesting recipes here and there. If vegan cooking is a new thing to you, this is a good place to start, although I did feel that some of the recipes were not as concisely written as they could have been.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cornucopasetic Bonus Recipe: Better Than Garlic Bread<br /></span><br />I like using Rosario's whole wheat baguette to make garlic bread, but it's even better when you spread on top: olive oil, a few cloves of garlic, a handful of walnuts, some fresh rosemary, salt and pepper all smashed like crazy to a paste in a mortar.Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-66710493109956847712010-02-10T08:26:00.010-05:002010-02-10T10:58:17.610-05:00Portland Farmers' Market Website; Also Portland Winter Farmers' Market<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://portlandmainefarmersmarket.webs.com/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S3K0OgUbY-I/AAAAAAAAAag/vwqVqzz8-2U/s400/marketscene2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436605861476393954" border="0" /></a>Tempeh hero, <a href="http://www.lalibelafarm.com/">Jaime Berhanu</a>, developed a website for the <a href="http://portlandmainefarmersmarket.webs.com/">Portland Farmers' Market</a>.<br /><br />Also, be sure to check out opening day of the Portland Winter Farmers' Market <span style="text-decoration: line-through">this</span> next Saturday, February <span style="text-decoration: line-through">10</span>20, 2010, at 85 Free Street starting at 10:00 am. [Thanks, Kate.]Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-10602976577421311612010-02-04T16:46:00.009-05:002010-02-04T17:09:52.611-05:00Week-end Wreckage, Part II (a bit ahead of schedule)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S2tAa_EKS8I/AAAAAAAAAaI/OCn-eyGuQPM/s1600-h/wtf_tom_selleck.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 258px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S2tAa_EKS8I/AAAAAAAAAaI/OCn-eyGuQPM/s400/wtf_tom_selleck.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434508207702297538" border="0" /></a>Yes, a tumblr exists solely for posting images of <a href="http://selleckwaterfallsandwich.tumblr.com/">Tom Selleck, waterfalls and sandwiches</a>. That shrimp po' boy does looks good though …<br /><br />Also, I had to laugh at the vegan professor in Canada who is <a href="http://www.slashfood.com/2010/02/03/a-vegan-sarah-palin-and-the-greatest-restaurant-in-the-univers/">spamming Sarah Palin by snail mail with daily entreaties to veganism</a>. Good luck with that and let me know if you need any stamps, professor.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S2tB8c6uW8I/AAAAAAAAAaQ/B_mPS_4aoq0/s1600-h/Palin-has-crabs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S2tB8c6uW8I/AAAAAAAAAaQ/B_mPS_4aoq0/s400/Palin-has-crabs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434509882163092418" border="0" /></a>[Image from the <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/11/food-fight-sarah-palin-ticks-off-vegetarians-and-vegans-in-her-new-book-going-rogue.html">LA Times</a>.]<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S2tEafO8MlI/AAAAAAAAAaY/nSEjiLlMSEU/s1600-h/drowns-pigs.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S2tEafO8MlI/AAAAAAAAAaY/nSEjiLlMSEU/s400/drowns-pigs.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434512597204087378" border="0" /></a>Finally, I noted in the wild a few new (to me) Maine food blogs. First, Paul Drowns' blog devoted to chronicling his endeavors in charcuterie: <a href="http://gimmerealfood.blogspot.com/">Gimme Real Food</a>; also, Portland based "Lukaduke's" very <a href="http://localfoodie.livejournal.com/">localfoodie</a>-esque blog project for 2010 chronicling his year in local food named, alas, <a href="http://www.lukaduke.blogspot.com/">LocalroootZ</a>.Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-8051945151727608762010-01-29T15:58:00.004-05:002010-01-29T16:35:25.604-05:00Week-end Wreckage, Part I<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S2NS1Vdo5nI/AAAAAAAAAaA/0x2ta5NXvUo/s1600-h/wyeth.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 318px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S2NS1Vdo5nI/AAAAAAAAAaA/0x2ta5NXvUo/s400/wyeth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432276651786954354" border="0" /></a>[Pride by Jamie Wyeth.]<br /><br />I don't generally like the post-a-minute food sites like <a href="http://www.slashfood.com/">slashfood </a>or <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/">serious eats</a>, but every once in a while they post something that contains an interesting sentence like this:<br /><blockquote>Argentina's president Cristina Fernandez suggested that devouring pork was a viable alternative to Viagra and she had just spent a very fulfilling weekend with her husband after eating barbecued pork.</blockquote>[via <a href="http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/29/pork-is-satisfying-sex-lives-more-than-viagra/">/food</a>.]<br /><br />Closer to this blog's roots, though, I thought I'd mention my new favorite vegan blog name: <a href="http://seitanismymotor.wordpress.com/">Seitan Is My Motor</a>.<br /><br />Things I learned this week include the fact that there is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_fruit">fruit</a> that will cause sour things to taste sweet, and that you only need to be eight years old to hold a recreational (non-commercial) lobster permit.Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-16371874725370628982010-01-25T11:48:00.016-05:002010-01-26T09:03:03.682-05:00Vegan Lasagna Night; Also, Eating With the Bloggers, Part III<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S17dsTouiMI/AAAAAAAAAZw/nbUSYnNGXLo/s1600-h/vegan_lasagna_cashew.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S17dsTouiMI/AAAAAAAAAZw/nbUSYnNGXLo/s400/vegan_lasagna_cashew.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431021953910474946" border="0" /></a>We finally achieved a really satisfying vegan lasagna thanks to the people at <a href="http://tofufortwo.net/">Tofu for Two</a>, and their <a href="http://tofufortwo.net/2008/02/29/tempeh-lasagne-with-cashew-cream-sauce/">amazing cashew-cream béchamel-esque sauce</a>. While their sauce was wonderful, I thought I could improve on their lasagna design a bit.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S17zwoBVrTI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/MqquuIeT-DM/s1600-h/StratColumn.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 215px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S17zwoBVrTI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/MqquuIeT-DM/s400/StratColumn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431046217357700402" border="0" /></a><br />My Lasagna stratigraphic column:<br /><ol><li><span style="font-style: italic;">The Fungus Formation (FF)</span>: A large batch of <a href="http://mazirian.blogspot.com/2009/01/pandalus-pandamonium-pizza-and.html">roasted mushrooms</a> made from about two quarts of crimini mushrooms.<br /></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">The Chard Chert (CC)</span>: Two or three bunches of chard dropped for a minute or two into a pot of boiling water, then drained, pressed and chopped.</li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">The Browned Tempeh Conglomerate (BTC)</span>: Given all the hard work Jaime puts into making <a href="http://www.lalibelafarm.com/">Lalibela Farm's Tempeh</a> stick together in a firm cake, it seems awfully rude to rip it apart in a cheese grater and saute it with garlic and olive oil, but do it anyway. Jaime said so! Also, when sauteing the tempeh there may be an odd smell, but just press on, sauteing very slowly, because the tempeh develops a nice nutty flavor as it browns that makes it all worthwhile.<br /></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">The Massive Marinara Metapelite (MMM)</span>: A tomato sauce made in the usual way from a 28 ounce can of tomatoes, carrots, celery, onions, herbs, wine and a whole head of garlic, given a bit of the business with an immersion blender after it's done simmering.</li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">The T42 Till (T42)</span>: The full recipe from Tofu For Two linked to above; you will probably have a bit left over, which is just fine. You can roll up any left over lasagna noodles with it and any spare tomato sauce for a quick treat.<br /></li><li><span style="font-style: italic;">The Noodle Group (NG):</span> It takes a couple packages of the only whole wheat lasagna noodles I can find since I'm too lazy to make my own.<br /></li></ol>Layer those however you like. Ours from the bottom up in an 8.5" by 12.5" oven dish: tomato sauce, noodles, cashew cream, chard, mushrooms, noodles, tomato sauce, tempeh, noodles, cashew cream, chard, mushrooms, noodles, cashew cream and then some whole wheat panko mixed with a bit of melted earth balance.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eating With The Bloggers, Part III</span><br /><br />[Eating With the Bloggers, <a href="http://mazirian.blogspot.com/2009/02/cooking-with-bloggers-part-ii-four.html">Part II</a> and <a href="http://mazirian.blogspot.com/2008/09/eating-with-bloggers.html">Part I</a>.]<br /><br />I had a week recently where I made a lot of things inspired by recipes on <a href="http://www.heidiswanson.com/">Heidi Swanson's</a> excellent blog, <a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/">101 Cookbooks</a>. The real highlights were:<br /><ul><li>I very highly recommend the <a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/a-beautiful-bulgar-and-spinach-pilaf-recipe.html">Bulgur and Spinach Pilaf</a>. I made a number of alterations that I can't quite remember. We omitted the "labneh" certainly, and I think I dropped the spinach in boiling water briefly, drained and pressed it and did not saute it. In any event this is a beautiful dish.</li><li>Tempeh madness continued at Cornucopasetic HQ with <a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/orange-panglazed-tempeh-recipe.html">orange glazed tempeh</a>.</li><li>This <a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/pineapple-rice-recipe.html">pineapple rice</a> would have been really wonderful if I had realized my sunflower oil was a bit off. [N.B.: When the guy that makes the local sunflower oil tells you to refrigerate your sunflower oil, I think he really means it.] I made this with wilted spinach and peas and some other vegetables rather than placing it on a bed of greens, and I served it with the orange glazed tempeh above.</li><li><a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/pounded-walnut-strozzapreti-recipe.html">Pounded walnut pesto</a>! Not really something you need a recipe for, but it was good to have the suggestion, and the pesto—made in just the mortar, which produced an interesting, less homogeneous texture—was really amazing.<br /></li></ul>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-71554595769496825432010-01-20T09:55:00.004-05:002010-01-20T09:59:57.470-05:00God Hates Shrimp<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S1caHy8jhFI/AAAAAAAAAZo/-HXt0hxyXIA/s1600-h/churchsign.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 251px; height: 195px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/S1caHy8jhFI/AAAAAAAAAZo/-HXt0hxyXIA/s400/churchsign.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428836597055587410" border="0" /></a>We are recovering from an extended period of under-the-weatherness here at Cornucopasetic. In the meantime, I thought I should share <a href="http://www.godhatesshrimp.com/">God Hates Shrimp</a> with you, which is worth a short laugh at least.Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-27835842909751188912009-11-20T10:45:00.002-05:002009-11-20T10:46:30.456-05:00Pepper<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/i-lego-ny/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/Swa5qWw5MJI/AAAAAAAAAZg/3gjaTlcRjFM/s400/11pepper.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406212540021158034" border="0" /></a><br />[Via the <a href="http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/i-lego-ny/">NYT</a>.]Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-1298113931054414182009-11-14T20:22:00.007-05:002009-11-14T21:33:39.607-05:00Balti Night, Take Two: Vegan Balti<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/Sv9nsbrlD5I/AAAAAAAAAZY/GKDrnqoNlk0/s1600-h/SnrNnWoEf0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 282px; height: 250px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/Sv9nsbrlD5I/AAAAAAAAAZY/GKDrnqoNlk0/s400/SnrNnWoEf0.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404152090910330770" border="0" /></a>We had Balti (a/k/a curry in a wok— <a href="http://mazirian.blogspot.com/2009/08/mostly-balti-night-take-one.html">see our last post on this for more on what Balti is</a>) again this week. The vegan version is a bit different than the one hundred and thirty seven (minus one hundred and thirty three) step process described last time. The idea is to use whatever veggies you have on hand. We happened to have chard and potatoes, but you could do this with just about any veggies you have.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Basic Vegan Balti</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Step One: Make Some Garam Masala</span><br /><br />See the recipe in <a href="http://mazirian.blogspot.com/2009/08/mostly-balti-night-take-one.html">Balti, Take One</a>. You'll only need 1/2 a teaspoon for this.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Step Two: Make the Balti Sauce</span><br /><br />You can do all this in the wok. Ideally, this is a one pot meal, even though there's lots of shifting things about to make that happen.<br /><ul><li>Some vegetable oil for sauteing the veggies<br /></li><li>1 Tbs. grated ginger</li><li>2 cloves garlic, finely chopped</li><li>half of a 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes together with the juice<br /></li><li>2 or 3 onions, chopped</li><li>1 tsp. ground coriander</li><li>1 /2 tsp. ground cumin</li><li>1/4 tsp tumeric</li><li>1/4 tsp. chili powder</li><li>1/4 tsp paprika</li><li>1/4 tsp. garam masala</li><li>2 bay leaves</li><li>5 cardamon pod, smashed with the flat your knife</li><li>3/4 tsp. methi (dried, ground fenugreek leaves)</li><li>3/4 tsp. salt </li></ul>Toast and grind the cumin and coriander. Heat the oil and then add the ginger and garlic and swirl about in the oil, sauteing them for a short while without letting them burn. Add the onions to the pan and saute for several minutes until soft and translucent. Add 4-1/2 ounces of water and bring to a boil, then add all of the remaining ingredients. Bring the mixture to a simmer, cover and simmer for half an hour. Remove the hard bits (the bay leaves and the stray cardamon pods) and then blend it up with an immersion blender or throw it all in a blender. Reserve in a bowl for use later when making the balti proper.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Step Three: Prep the Veggies</span><br /><br />Just as an example:<br /><ul><li>Boil some potatoes, say four or five medium sized ones, then drain and dice them;</li><li>Boil or steam some chard until tender, drain, squeeze the water out in a towel and chop it;</li><li>Open up an 8 ounce can of chick peas, or cook some up if you can plan far enough ahead to be able to do so; and/or<br /></li><li>Get yourself a cup or two of frozen green peas.</li></ul><span style="font-style: italic;">Step Four: Make Balti Happen Now</span><br /><ul><li>2-1/2 Tbs. Balti Spice<br /></li><li>1 Tbs. grated fresh ginger</li><li>1 jalapeno, seeded and sliced</li><li>2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped</li><li>The other half of that can of tomatoes, juice and all</li><li>The Balti Sauce from Step Two, but not necessarily all of it</li><li>a handful of finely chopped cilantro</li><li>salt, probably</li></ul>Fire up the wok and heat some oil in it. Stir fry the garlic, ginger and jalapeno. Add the chard; keep stir frying to break it up a bit. Add the diced potatoes and Balti Spice and stir fry for a bit longer. Add the tomatoes, chick peas, green peas and enough of the Balti Sauce to make a nice thick curry. Let this simmer for a few minutes, just long enough for all the ingredients to heat through and then stir in the cilantro. The idea is that you can have all the things from Step 1 through Step 3 ready well in advance and then plow through Step Four in minutes and have dinner done on a moment's notice, provided you have your starch sort out (see below).<br /><br />Serve your Balti curry with some nan or chapatis if you want to be all Balti about it, but it's good over <a href="http://mazirian.blogspot.com/2009/04/brown-rice-breathrough.html">brown rice</a> too.Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-59475401616196543122009-11-06T11:47:00.009-05:002009-11-11T14:30:00.384-05:00Vegan Pizza NightVegan pizza can be unsatisfying, but this week we made a good one with some odds and ends:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://mazirian.blogspot.com/2009/01/pandalus-pandamonium-pizza-and.html">mushroom chips</a></li><li>caramelized onions</li><li>tapenade<br /></li><li>roasted cauliflower</li><li>chopped, steamed chard<br /></li><li>sliced red peppers</li><li>not quite white sauce</li></ul>For the not quite white sauce we took two cups of the <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/Cashew-Ricotta-284547">cashew "ricotta"</a> from the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Veganomicon-Ultimate-Isa-Chandra-Moskowitz/dp/156924264X/">Veganomicon</a> (made using silken tofu and enough lemon juice to make it a good bit looser than ricotta) and folded into it about one half a cup of diced red tomatoes with their juices. I'm sure this doesn't seem worthy of a post but it was one of the better vegan pizzas I've had.<br /><br />And because this was a spur of the moment thing, we picked up the dough, which was Rosario's whole wheat pizza dough—it's really good.<br /><br />Can anyone comment on Rosario's in New Harbor? Is it just a bakery, or is it a pizza place too?<br /><br />And because I ate all the pizza before I could take a picture, here's a pizza lolcat:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/SvRbSEsefaI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/EBVMggdOazA/s1600-h/pizzacat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/SvRbSEsefaI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/EBVMggdOazA/s400/pizzacat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401042219180129698" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-27024623517233247952009-11-03T12:48:00.004-05:002009-11-03T13:29:34.865-05:00Little Lad's, Take Three<a href="http://littleladsonline.com/">Little Lad's</a> [warning: worst flash intro to a website ever] in Portland had its third (that I know of) change in management a couple months ago.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pros:</span></span><br /><ul><li>The annoying endless loop of proselytizing, christian vegans has ended. Amen!</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Cons:</span><br /><ul><li>The "buffet" is now behind closed doors, so you can't see what you're getting before you get it and you can't control your own portion sizes. Instead you just order what you want from a chalkboard. On the other hand, the food is exposed to less germs this way, which is just fine with me.<br /></li><li>Patron's are no longer greeted with "Hey Captain!" I really miss that, but not as much as I hated the TV they used to have.<br /></li></ul>The buffet still has the same general stuff in it: sloppy vegan fare a la 1970s. But it's warm, healthy stuff that's mostly Food, and sometimes that's totally enough.Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-66142695164243620442009-10-23T23:59:00.003-04:002009-10-24T00:05:01.903-04:00Agricola!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/SuJ7uqx9SOI/AAAAAAAAAZI/VeoQmQ53c5U/s1600-h/agricola.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/SuJ7uqx9SOI/AAAAAAAAAZI/VeoQmQ53c5U/s400/agricola.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396011345231300834" border="0" /></a><br />Agricola, the farming board game that we can't seem to stop playing here.Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5587625393866069616.post-60393592123103831922009-10-23T08:31:00.018-04:002009-10-23T23:57:18.397-04:00Local Tempeh, Part II: Ingredient Review and Interview with Jaime Berhanu<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/SuJ6hw-pRUI/AAAAAAAAAZA/HLmx1Y-x4Fo/s1600-h/tempeh-package.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 343px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_V1tKtw6JK8I/SuJ6hw-pRUI/AAAAAAAAAZA/HLmx1Y-x4Fo/s400/tempeh-package.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396010024045200706" border="0" /></a><br />Here at Cornucopasetic HQ we are weekday vegans and occasional weekend omnivores; each of us is intolerant of dairy to varying degrees. As a result, we end up eating and drinking a lot of soy. Recently I became frustrated with how dependent we are on soy products from away. Then <a href="http://heiwatofu.com/about.php">Heiwa Tofu</a> became available, which was great, but I've always been much more fond of fermented soy products, particularly tempeh. As you can see from the <a href="http://mazirian.blogspot.com/2009/10/local-tempeh.html">preceding post</a>, I was pretty happy to find that <a href="http://www.lalibelafarm.com/">Lalibela Farms</a> is making <a href="http://www.lalibelafarm.com/tempeh.htm">their own</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempeh">tempeh</a> from organic Maine soy beans. Jaime Berhanu—who runs Lalibela with her husband, Andrew—is one of my favorite farmers to speak with at Portland's Saturday market. It is really hard not to smile when talking with her. She was nice enough to do an interview by email this week about her new tempeh. [N.B.: I added all of the links to Jaime's responses below.]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">1. This last Saturday you mentioned that tempeh was a project you've had</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> in mind for a long time. What made you want to give it a go now?</span><br /><br />We’ve had the desire to make Tempeh, for ourselves for many, many years. Because we are vegan, our protein source is close to the last ingredient in our diet that we do not grow/produce ourselves. The idea had just been floating around until we considered it might be a great product to produce in small amounts and sell locally. We’ve been actively working on making it happen, commercially, for about a year.<br /><br />I attended a workshop at <a href="http://www.mofga.org/">MOFGA </a>last winter about starting a processed food business and what is required to do that. That gave us an idea of what our options would be, and what type of kitchen we could use to make Tempeh. I knew there were to be many steps involved with getting all the licenses and having a finished product.<br /><br />We were originally planning on doing it fairly small-scale until this past farming season—it was a challenging one! The rain and disease that was present this year, created a challenge for a good part of the season. We needed to follow through with the commitment we had made to our <a href="http://www.lalibelafarm.com/csa.htm">CSA </a>members, but still needed to bring enough produce to the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Portland-ME/Portland-Maine-Farmers-Market/96729902279">Farmer’s Market</a> in order to meet our personal cash flow needs. Because of the growing conditions, we weren’t able to get things planted on time, and crops that were already planted did not grow at there “normal” rate. We were left with a very small harvest for a large part of the season. It was a bit of a wake up call for us.<br /><br />We realized that we need an additional way to generate income, on our own, that we would be more in control over, could easily be done year round, and we could work into our schedule during the farming season. Also, Andy usually works off the farm in the winter, and we have always wanted to eliminate the need for that, so Tempeh was a perfect solution—still food related, seems to have significant demand in certain areas of the state, plus it would provide our vegetarian community with a quality protein source that has organic and local ingredients, and isn’t heavily processed.<br /><br />We looked at what it would take to make the Tempeh production large enough to make a living, but small enough to handle it ourselves. Combined with the farm, we think we will be able to reach the goals that we have with the Tempeh (We are RIGHT in the middle of discovering the demand for it—so our fingers are crossed)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">2. I thought I'd try to make my own soy things recently, but couldn't</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> find a local source for soy beans. Where do you get local organic soy</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> beans?</span><br /><br />Our soybeans come from Bull Ridge Farm in Albion, where Henry Perkins grows MOFGA certified organic soybeans (as well as <a href="http://www.mofga.org/Publications/MaineOrganicFarmerGardener/Spring2009/Sunflowers/tabid/1065/Default.aspx">sunflowers </a>which he is now selling oil from!)<br /><br />We have not seen any local organic beans available at stores, either. I think a lot of the local organic soybeans are grown mostly for animal feed.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">3. I have a sense for how to make soy milk, tofu and even soy yogurt,</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> but tempeh seems like it requires magic. How is it made? Is it magic?</span><br /><br />The process of making Tempeh is fascinating! Definitely some natural magic involved! The ingredients are simple, and I love that the fermentation process transforms the beans into an amazing food that is loaded with nutrients, including Vitamin B12, which is difficult to get if you are a vegan. I often think about how hundreds of years ago, somewhere in Indonesia, someone discovered the ability to turn soybeans into Tempeh…amazing!<br /><br />Basically, Tempeh is made by cracking, dehulling, and cooking soybeans. Then they are inoculated with a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizopus">Rhizopus </a>spore, which after about 20-22 hours of incubation (when the fermentation & magic happens) at 88° F, mycelium forms and binds the soybeans together into its sliceable form!<br /><br />The process takes us about five hours of fairly passive preparation (a lot of this time is downtime, cleaning and waiting for the cook time or cool time), then the overnight incubation, and the following morning we vacuum seal the individual bags and refrigerate them until they are sold.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">4. With local tofu and now tempeh available, there's still a market for soy milk and may be even <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natto">natto</a>. Do you have any plans for any other Lalibela products?</span><br /><br />We are starting out with a Soybean-only Tempeh (that is what we have at the Market right now). We will eventually have other varieties of Tempeh: multi-grain, and a non-soy Tempeh made with a different Maine grown organic bean, like Garbanzo beans, possibly.<br /><br />Because we don’t own our own farm yet, we are renting a kitchen to produce our Tempeh, which we have had licensed as a commercial kitchen. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. One disadvantage is that we have to drive (8 miles) to the kitchen. While it is not really that far, it being a rented kitchen does mean that we are somewhat limited on when we can be there. When we own our own kitchen, we will be able to expand to possibly other products depending on what volume we are doing. At this point its hard to know, we want to be able to continue our farming, so we’ll have to see!<br /><br />Tempeh does produce a “by-product” called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okara_%28food%29">okara</a>, which is the hulls of the soybeans. I understand you can make soymilk from this, so we might try to produce some for ourselves and see what happens! (Heiwa Tofu also produces this “by-product” and advertises it’s availability, so someone might want to jump on that idea!)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">5. Do you have a favorite tempeh recipe?</span><br /><br />Tempeh Reuben Sandwich!<br /><br />A browned patty of Tempeh with oil and a little Tamari, on toasted Rye bread with vegan Thousand Island dressing (or mustard) and Thirty Acre Farm’s Sauerkraut—delicious and easy!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">6. Where can we find your tempeh other than at the farmer's market?</span><br /><br />We are right in the middle of marketing our Tempeh to local stores and restaurants…we have only been licensed for 1 week! So far we have gotten orders from: <a href="http://www.rrnf.com/">Royal River Natural Foods</a> in Freeport (they already have it as I write this), Lois’ Natural Marketplace in Scarborough, and <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=morning+glory+food+bath+maine&fb=1&gl=us&hq=morning+glory+food&hnear=bath+maine&cid=17470425085118026372">Morning Glory Natural Foods</a> in Brunswick.<br /><br />We are talking with almost 20 different places, so we expect that list to grow greatly!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">7. Will you be selling it at the winter farmer's market in Brunswick?</span><br /><br />We are applying for a booth at the Brunswick Winter Market, and are keeping our fingers crossed! They currently have a moratorium on new vendors, so we’ll see what happens!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">8. Will we see it in any restaurants soon?</span><br /><br />We have brought samples to a number of restaurants, mostly in the Portland area. We should know more by next week.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">9. Was it difficult to bring tempeh to the market? Tell us about some of the obstacles you had to overcome to bring us tempeh. Also, what advice can you give to other artisans who want to bring something like this to the market?</span><br /><br />Because I attended a workshop on processed foods and kitchen licensing, I think I had pretty clear expectations of what it was going to take to make it happen, as well as knowing that the process would take some time. I wouldn’t necessarily call them obstacles, but there were many steps to having a final, “legal product”. For example:<br /><ul><li>Make several successful batches with taste-test approval from friends and family</li><li>Find supplies, supplies, and more supplies!</li><li>Find a kitchen to rent that would qualify as a licensed commercial kitchen, that was fairly close to where we live, work out the details/arrangements with them.</li><li>Send a sample of our Tempeh to the University of Maine lab where they test for pH levels, proper processing procedures, and safety as a low-acid food.</li><li>Apply for 3 separate licenses (Commercial Food Processor(the Kitchen), Food Storage Warehouse (to store it at our Farm), and Mobile Vendor (to sell it at the Farmer’s Market).</li><li>Get general liability and product liability insurance.</li><li>Do test batches in the new kitchen to make necessary adjustments to our new space.</li><li>Design a label, making sure it meets state requirements.</li><li>Send the City of Portland our licenses to sell it at the Market.</li><li>Market the Tempeh to possible wholesale accounts- retail stores and restaurants.<br /></li></ul>As far as advice, I would definitely suggest taking <a href="http://www.mofgastore.org/product.sc?productId=70">MOFGA’s workshop</a> (I think there’s one coming up soon), and taking time to think your idea through. Having an idea of what your own intentions/goals are: do you want to become a big company and sell out of state, or stay small and sell locally? There are different requirements for each.<br /><br />I am thankful for my husband and my ability to work together to be able to balance each other with the workload, and talking through ideas or obstacles. It’s also nice to share the work of meeting our business’ needs and our family’s needs together. Having young children can be challenging when you have your own business, but being able to show them through example, of what it means to contribute positively to our community, and to work together is a blessing!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thank you Jaime!<br /></span></span><br />Also see: Avery Yale Kamila's <a href="http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=290850&ac=Food">article (she scooped me!) in the PPH</a>.<br /><br />I picked up two packages of the inaugural tempeh and tried them out this week. I baked some in a marinade of mustard, soy, apple cider and garlic and made a tempeh <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maafe">maafe </a>from the second package. Just like Heiwa Tofu is much better than any other tofu you can buy here, Lalibela's tempeh is better than anything you're going to buy from away. It's beautifully made and tastes wonderful. It's a bit fresher than say the Lifelight tempeh you've probably had before, and it's hard to describe the quality of that flavor, but it's wonderfully good.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cornucopasetic Bonus Recipe: Vegan Dressing for Tempeh Reuben Sandwiches</span><br />Adapted from Leslie McEachern, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Angelica Home Kitchen</span> (2000)<br /><ul><li>1.2 lbs. silken tofu (so right off the bat I'm not using local tofu in my local soy post …)</li><li>the juice from 1/2 a lemon (or maybe a little less)</li><li>1 Tbs. olive oil</li><li>1 to 2 tsp. dijon mustard</li><li>2 Tbs. rice syrup</li></ul>Puree the above in a food processor or blender until smooth, then add:<br /><ul><li>2/3 cu. sun dried tomatoes, rehydrated in hot water, then drained and minced</li></ul>Puree a bit further, but not so much that it becomes perfectly smooth. It should have a nice color though. Next, stir in the following:<br /><ul><li>1 Tbs. red onion, finely diced</li><li>1/3 cu. diced cornichons and<br /></li><li>some finely chopped parsley<br /></li></ul>Then season it with salt, pepper and any additional lemon juice if it needs it.<br /><br />For the sandwich, I recommend Mother Oven's Greek Peasant bread, kraut from Thirty Acres Farm as Jaime suggests, and, of course Jaime's tempeh. Be sure to slice the tempeh so that you get thin sandwich sized slices. In other words, if the block of tempeh is 3" by 6", slice it so that you end up with two thin 3" by 6" pieces, then cut those into smaller strips.Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14856686157608714558noreply@blogger.com0