Cooking With Ideas

Murder of a Chocolate-Covered Cherry

When I was growing up, I loved chocolate-covered cherries. When you bite into them, there is a sort of liqueur which floats out. Not the oddly whitish goo that is in some filled candies. A sort of clear, sweet/savory, semi-alcoholic seeming juice surrounding the cherry. Mmmm. So, when I was treated to a murder mystery entitled Murder of a Chocolate-Covered Cherry, I was looking forward to reading it. The book, by Denise Swanson, is a bit silly, maybe even frivolous, with a sort of wry comic tone. Think a bit like Charlotte MacLeod with a twist of lemon. In this case, the main character, Skye Denison, is a school psychologist with the usual uncertain (heterosexual) romance (usual for the genre) with the local police chief. Her job allows for some stereotyping of teenagers -- though SPOILER ALERT they turn out well in the end. And, as is also often the case (think Stephanie Plum and the Evanovich series), Skye's family provides some chuckles as well.  Yes, her mother wants her to get married and has a need to match make for Skye. Yes, she has odd uncles and a taciturn father. Yes, her boyfriend too has a peculiar family and there is a family in town known for its particularly extreme level of dysfunctionality. Perhaps most interesting, possibly because Swanson was a school psychologist herself for two decades, are the depictions of small town schools. Yes, the principal seems a bit of a twit and the school newspaper gets some attention. But when you look beyond the risk of stereotyping for the sake of humor, the young people are personable -- and quite different from each other. One of the morals of this story, then, might be for us geezers to be reminded that it is well worth remembering that teenagers are, all joking aside, very very human. Their parents? Well, that you'll have to judge that for yourself. Murder of a Chocolate-Covered Cherry is one of ten mysteries the author has written set in a fictional Midwest town called Scrumble River. Each has a silly title (think botoxed blondes and pink elephants) -- a trend which also seems de rigeur for series fiction these days.

Having said all this, the novel uses formula and conventions to great success. Mix together a cooking contest (and yes, a bad cook), a cash prize of some substance, a company that employs most of a small town, and add a soupcon of silliness -- and you get Murder of a Chocolate-Covered Cherry. There are a few recipes included, and the plot allows for cooking to actually take place -- not always successfully. Even the chapter titles keep the cooking theme alive -- from the opening "Preheat Oven to 350 degrees" to the epilogue entitled "Makes Twelve Servings." Yep, to push the pun -- reading this is a recipe for a chuckle, a giggle, and a slide away from the monotony -- or irritation -- of whatever is keeping you awake at night. 

For another blog's review, click here. Swanson herself participates in a blog called The Deadly Divas so stop use the link to see what she has to say if you want! And, for a totally unrelated side note I came across looking some of this up, check out this fascinating new-to-me blog: the blog of death.

Dyke Chefs

Viewers of Top Chef know that there was a lesbian couple in the mix this past season (Season 4): Jen and Zoe. And, they were on the cover of Curve (a magazine subtitled "the best-selling lesbian magazine") in their June 2008 issue. And the cover story is called (double entendre likely intended): "GIrl Chefs on Top" and features an interview with the two contestants. One of the things I liked was that, though asked the same questions, they did not give the same answers -- or joint answers. Having said this, I was not all that big a fan of the duo when they were on the show; I confess to thinking their inclusion a bit of a marketing lark on the part of the show's producers. Who knows. Jen's hair is better in the magazine than it was on the show.

Most crucially, the article is followed by another with a foodie/chef focus: "cat's got her tongue" by Colleen M. Lee about "the reserved lesbian Iron Chef" Cat Cora  -- described in the article as "the ouzo-slamming Greek girl from Mississippi" who founded Chefs for Humanity.  (Cora, by the way, is a 2008 recipient of an HRC award for her work.) 

Neither article was shockingly informative -- neither had recipes -- but it was nice to see foodie headlines in Curve. Check it out. 

How to Cook Your Life

"How to Cook Your Life" (2007) was on our movies on demand channel. It was one of those days to avoid things -- hotter than ever, humid beyond belief, and well, reading in bed took up most of the day. It was one of those days to embrace things.  This documentary about Edward Espe Brown -- about zen and food -- cooking and cooking one's life -- was perfect. The director -- Doris Dorrie -- is German and a former judge at Cannes. The film includes footage from the Zen Center in San Francisco and its Green Gulch Farm and Tassajara, and of a Zen Center (I think) in Germany (I think). It highlights Brown in various circumstances showing people how to knead bread, washing rice, roll cutting carrots, sitting in full monastic gowns teaching, reading aloud from a book, among other things. He's a bit odd, I confess to thinking as I watched. But then again, who's not? The film includes beautiful shots of plums and of risen dough. Not to mention the most wonderful radishes with faces on them that seem to leap from the screen. Along with Brown one meets what some might call a freegan (someone who gets her food from dumpsters and fruit trees from which she gets permission -- or does not -- to pick) and watches a youngish boy eat with pleasure what he helps to make. 

The film connects to a book I read and reviewed here, Instructions to the Cook: A Zen Master's Lessons on Living a Life that Matters by Bernard Glassman and Rick Fields. Like this book, the documentary refers to Zen Master Dogen (13th century) and a book entitled Tenzo Kyogen (Instructions for the Zen Cook). Turns out there are various commentaries on this -- and it influences a whole range of Soto Zen practices. 

If Brown's name seems somehow familiar, he is the (1970) author of The Tassajara Bread Book and co-author (with Deborah Madison) of The Greens Cookbook. (For those who do not know it, Greens is the well known vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco run by the Zen Center.) Brown has also written a book with a great title (that someday I will find and read) -- Tomato Blessings and Radish Teachings. (Maybe that explains the delightful radishes in the film?) 

How do Zen and cooking connect? Well, partly it is about being present in what you do. Walking while walking. Cooking while cooking. Partly it is mindfulness in cooking. Partly it is just that zen and cooking have a history in US Zen centers that reaches across decades and then from American Zen elsewhere and elsewhen. Something worth being mindful of. And the film is worth watching -- slowly and, perhaps, repeatedly. 

For a discussion of the film, and the Zen of both Brown and the film's director Dorrie, click here. 

For an interview with Brown, click here and, for my idea of a meditation article, click here  for "A Potato Chip Meditation" by Edward Espe Brown. 

Side Dish

Ithacans and others who frequent that lovely town know a lot of interesting things. One of those is that the Ithaca Bakery and Collegetown Bagels are  the same folks. Here's their web site  (Collegetown Bagel) and here's another one (Ithaca Bakery) in case you feel a need to click! Oddly similar, eh, despite different web addresses. 

Another fact to know and share is that they have a free newsletter entitled "Side Dish."  In my pile labeled "read some day" is the Spring 2008 issue which just rose to the surface. Beyond some local advertising, what's in it? An article by Derek O'Brian (assistant managerat Ithaca Bakery) on NY cheese; some information on the Bakery's soups; and other thises and thats. My favorite is the ad for WEOS -- where you can occasionally hear Fisher Center Lectures (not to mention talk of the nation and things like that since it is "Public Radio for the Finger Lakes.") Most crucially, their is a relatively long article on going green as a commitment of Collegetown Bagels/Ithaca Bakery. 

All in all, worth the read. And, I do indeed like their bagels. . . . 

Geneva 13

For those of us who live in or near Geneva, NY, you have noticed a newish 'zine entitled Geneva 13 and subtitled "a zine of the local." Edited by Kevin Dunn and Doug Reilly, it has articles, photographs,poetry and other, often thematically-linked, writing focusing -- you guessed it -- on local Geneva-area. Why Geneva 13? As they note themselves, at the time they named the magazine, Geneva, NY came in 13th in an alphabetical list of places named Geneva. Think Geneva, Illinois, for example. Each issue they also contact another one of the Genevas -- in Issue #4 it is Geneva, Nebraska. 

So, other than flogging a local commodity (hmmm-- it's free; can commodities be free? or is that priceless), why write about it here? Because Issue #4 provides a variety of local food-related articles. Because Issue #4 provides a variety of local food-related articles including an inerview with livestock auctioneers at the Livestock Exchange on 5 & 20 half way between Geneva and Canandaigua as well as an interview with Andy Fellenz of Fellenz Family Farms. There is also a brief piece looking at "Geneva's Secret" by John Marks. What are those secrets? For some of us, not-so-surprisingly, Geneva is embedded in an agricultural area. Nor so surprisingly, we have a history with nurseries (think William Smith) and an agricultural station. (John does more with this than my lack of surprise may suggest.) More surprising to me:

• "Geneva had 13 distilleries in the first decades of the 1800s." (p. 48)  

For foodies and locavores, this 4th issue is worth picking up. And, worth more than that. For a review of Geneva13, click here or here. Wanna email them and make a contribution? Their address is geneva13@gmail.com and what's the deadline? Deadline: August 8, 2008. And they have a web site too: here it is. 

Mirbeau Inn (and Spa)

Mirbeau Inn and Spa is located in Skaneateles, NY -- the single most difficult-to-spell location in Upstate New York. (Correct me if I am wrong.) Once in a while, since initially going there, we have driven the relatively few miles to Monet's Giverny. Yes, I said Monet. No, I am not losing my mind. The Inn and Spa are organized around the theme of Monet's Giverny (his home in France) -- I assume because of the trendiness of that particular bit of art history when the owners created the Inn and Spa. Located right on Route 20, the Inn manages to be hidden a little from the road, down some hilly bits -- and the rooms (and restaurant) are turned in on themselves, oriented toward lovely Giverny-ish gardens which at this point in the year are filled with blooming lavender and peonies and even some roses. Across the middle there is a curving bridge, clearly in imitation of the well-known Monet bridge. The color blue is delightful. And yes, if you do not know it, the Inn has rooms (as well as less expensive ones across  the street), a spa for use of guests and day visitors, and a restaurant. While named after Giverny itself, the restaurant is not actually particularly French (at least in my opinion) but is a lovely place to dine (though a bit price-y). 

While we have eaten dinner both from the menu and catered especially for a group of us, this time we went to the Spa in the morning and then joined the ladies that lunch. Unlike some of others around us (regretfully), we finished at the Spa first (and thus were not dining in their lovely white robes) and had the three course lunch tasting menu. I had the mexican chicken soup, the organic greens salad with local goat cheese, and the "fish of the day" -- which was scallops.I confess I had a Cosmopolitan to start andI also had a glass of Irony Pinot Noir.  Yes, I ended with croissant chocolate bread pudding to end along with an espresso. The second order also included the salad, but came with wild mushrooms risotto with truffle oil, and crispy sauteed farm chicken as wellas a glass of champagne and a finale of espresso. The food? The soup was swell -- just the right heat for me, though it came with a tiny bowl of sambal for anyone who thought it too cool! The goat cheese was particularly light. And the scallops were cooked very lightly. The bread pudding, too, was lighter than I had imagined (or remembered?) and was quite a good thing to share. My few complaints: (1) it is truly a bit expensive in the end; (2) they serve the three courses at the same time; and (3) they serve too much for a true tasting menu. In fact, they served so much that I did not finish everything. 

What else to say? We dined inside, because the seats outside we filled. We did, though, have a nice view of the gardens. And the ambience was nice -- despite one table which seemed to be staff (or? discussing menu revisions. The cosmopolitan was a particular treat in mid-day. Not to mention the spa itself. . . . We heard there has been new management for the past year. They seem to be doing well.  

For a Frommer's review which is focused on dinner, click here. for more thorough reviews of the Inn and Spa, click here (for many traveler's reviews on a site which ranks it as the 3rd of 4 hotels in Skaneateles). 

Spanish Dagger

Spanish Dagger is not the first Susan Wittig Albert book featuring China Bayles I have written about here. (For others, see the typelist on the left hand side bar OR click here and/or here). And likely it will not be the last one (especially since part of the plot developed in this book continues on after this novel according to the note the author provides early on in the book). Albert is great at bringing together aspects of herbs/gardening with food-related matters. In this case, the title refers to varieties of yucca, including a somewhat different plant, agave, most famous for being an ingredient (read the ingredient) in tequila. Recipes at the end of this volume are intriguing, including gingerbread waffles.  And this book made me say  -- once I read the book, the ending seemed obvious, but I could not have guessed it. But what really makes me write about this particular one (which I did like) is something entirely different, something surprisingly coincidental. 

I love Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. (Click here for their web site.)  I am a loyal subscriber, though I do not necessarily read it from cover to cover the day it arrives as I used to. Anyway, it came a few days before I started reading it. Besides the stories in the August 2008 issue (why oh why are the dates of magazines so totally unrelated to the actual date? The magazine arrived in June), I, of course, turned my eye on to "Blog Bytes" by Bill Crider. I skipped right over this newish part of the magazine until I entered the blogosphere myself. No wI check it out. Andwhat did my wondering eyes spy this time" A discussion of Susan Wittig Albert's blog Lifescapes (which, by the way, she does on typepad). From there I discovered a whole raft (not literally) of wonderful things, some of which I must have once known,such as China Bayles' website, (Bayles is the main character in one of Albert's mystery series.) The site includes, among other things, podcasts by Albert and a recipe index. Albert also has a site for her other series which features Beatrix Potter. But, more importantly, she has a site where she is writing about writing her 17th book in the China Bayles series. The title, Pecan Springs Journal, refers to the (fictional) town in which much of the series is set in Texas. No Spanish Dagger is not 16; it is 15. The 16th is NIghtshade and is only out in hardback. Dang. 

I learned two other things from from Lifescapes. First: Albert has a non-mystery book due out in 2009: Landscapes of the Heart: A Memoir of Marriage and Place (due out from the University of Texas Press). This links to her links -- place sites, fiber sites, family sites. And second, though I knew that Albert had been an academic and a vice president of a university I did not know where. Here's what she says on Lifescapes: "I've been writing full-time (by that I mean: writing has been my day job, the way I make a living) since 1985, when I left Southwest Texas State, now Texas State University, where I was a vice president and an English professor."  Ok, I was I confess terrifically curious. 

For a review of the earlier book which initiates the story about China Bayles' father continued in Spanish Dagger, click here.

Eating Local is Bad?

Oh no. Just when I thought I had the ethics of things straightened out. Or at least I knew what to feel guilty about. As you already know from an earlier entry on this book. Peter Singer and Jim Mason have a book out entitled The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter. Published originally in 2006, the book includes a chapter entitled "Eating Locally" and then a chapter entitled "Trade, Fair Trade, and Workers' Rights." The first of these two chapters examines such arguments for the ethics of eating locally as "you'll strengthen your local economy"; "you'll support endangered family farms"; and "you'll protect the environment." Read alongside one another these two chapters definitely raise some questions. Most crucially: when does the potential of agricultural production and export from very poor countries to help people trump eating locally as an ethical imperative. Singer and Mason argue that at least in some instances the potential to improve the lives of impoverished people elsewhere wins out. Elsewhere in the book there are contrasts between locally grown (out of season, hot house) tomatoes and tomatoes trucked from Florida to the Northeast. Turns out the local hot house tomatoes cost more in petroleum products than shipping from Florida. Again, sometimes local is not the best thing. 

On the other hand, SInger and Mason do write a bit about NY State. Three examples (ok, this is about all they have to say about our neck of the woods, but it is worth knowing if you did not already):

(1) They write about Peter Lovenheim who lives in Rochester. (See their pages 56 and following). Lovenheim did what Michael Pollan did only he did it (I think) before Pollan did -- buy a few calves and follow them. In Lovenheim's case, they were dairy cows raised at Lawnel Farm. Since our state is one of the largest for dairy production, you don't know local unless you know dairy in upstate. Lovenheim's book, Portrait of a Burger as a Young Calf: The Story of One Man, Two Cows, and the Feeding of a Nation was published by Random House in 2003. It's on my to do list now!

(2) Singer and Mason do discuss the growing green market phenomenon, including Union Square in Manhattan. As they put it: "New York City's Council on the Environment, which organizes the markets, allocates stalls only to regional farmers who produce the food they sell. No middlemen are permitted. Between them, the 175 farmers who regularly sell their goods in New York produce 120 different kinds of apples, a similar range of tomato varieties, and 350 kinds of peppers." (p. 137)

(3) And, the two authors discuss Elizabeth Henderson -- a board member of the Northeast Organic Farming Association -- who grows "70 different organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs on the 15-acre Peacework Cooperative Farm near Rochester, New York." (p. 216). for more on Peacework and their related CSA, click here. 

All of these are swell in terms of both information and options. So, no, eating local is not bad. But it is not uniformly the best choice, depending on what you are posing it over against. Local and seasonal, for example, may be key. And you can always know more about local circumstances. Here's a blog I like a lot that focuses on not-quite-our-local-but-still-upstate-New-York local, for example. 

So: When do you eat locally? When not? Why not? 

A Woman's Place is in the Kitchen?

Yes, I am reading another book I received as a gift. It's title? A Woman's Place is in the Kitchen: The Evolution of Women Chefs by Ann Cooper. Now most known for her lunch programs to ensure healthy eating among kids, Cooper was at the time of this book of the Putney Inn in Vermont. And now she is also the author of several additional books, including Lunch Lessons, In Mother's Kitchen, and Bitter Harvest. And, like some of us (too many of us?) she has a blog and a nickname (Renegade Lunch Lady). Somehow this 1998 book feels a tiny bit dated even now, only a decade later. Edna Lewis, for example, is described in loving terms -- and now she is, alas, gone. Having said this, the book's main point remains too true: chefs are too often male and women have too difficult a time in the professional culinary world. 

While this is an important book (and I will tell you about what I learned below), I am put off by a few of the assumptions the author brings to her topic. First and foremost: women have a natural instinct to nurture. And that's why they want to cook. And, despite her acknowledgment of blatant sexism and sexual harassment in the food industry, she seems on occasion to think that "progress" is inevitable and/or located at the level of individual "passion" for cooking, for food, for being a chef. Structural change is only indirectly suggested. And the flow from in the kitchen, to excluded from the kitchen, to returning to the kitchen is a bit facile on some occasions.

Despite all this, the combination of individual stories and survey research is worth reading. It is absolutely wonderful to read a chef/author and have her use the words feminism and sexism. Who knew? Loads of the concerns that are raised are predictable -- what profession involving women does not raise the issue of "balance" of work and life (here represented as career and family -- aka kids). But not all as as obvvious as that. The ways that the(professional)  kitchen is rooted in militaristic discipline, the risks of substance abuse, and the ways culinary education is obtained -- all are topics worthy of substantially more detailed attention. And the discussion of leadership styles -- and delegation -- is likely worth reading even for those who truly do not care about food. Whatever our jobs, gender hierarchies affect us as part of our social condition -- and leadership matters. 

All in all: a fun read. I suggest it for all the fans of Iron Chef or Top Chef who were wondering: where are the women? Yes, Stephanie is the first "female" to win Top Chef. Now, where's number two? Coming right up. 

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for. . . Ice Cream!

I have driven down Route 89 for years, past the Cayuga Lake Creamery and its ice cream signs. NO, I have not screamed. I have been tempted by the signs though. Alas, I am almost always late to wherever I am headed. So, stopping in for the first time was a wonderful pleasure that said "it is summer, slow down!" Posted both outside and inside, their list of ice creams is impressive and fun. In fact, they boast about their willingness and ability to ship ice cream everywhere and have a map posted with little marks indicating where people have come from to get Cayuga Lake Creamery ice cream. They also have a listing of countries from which folks have come! In fact, they even show this on their web site -- for those maps and lists,click here. As their web site notes, Cayuga Lake Creamery is "a family owned and operated business" which uses "all natural products whenever possible" and they seem to get their milk products in upstate NY. The owners are Jeff Kostick and Judy Gronoff who vacationed in the area for years and then hit on the idea of the creamery. 

What did we have? I had a kiddie scoop of mint chocolate chunk in a bowl. The ice cream was not overwhelmingly heavy in mint and had loads of nice chunky chocolate bits. I particularly liked it that it was not the weird green which so many mint chip ice creams are.  The kiddie scoop was plenty for me; in fact, it was actually a large-ish scoop. The second order was for an ice cream sandwich made there; vanilla between two chocolate cookies. It got a good review. We concluded this was the perfect thing to do before going home to make dinner. And we brought a hand packed pint of pistachio home for dessert the next night. By the way, if you cannot get there for some reason, you can always order on line (ok, I find this strange). To do so, click here. 

What else? Cayuga Lake Creamery has maybe 25 or more flavors of hard ice cream as well as a few sorbets and several soft custards. (For a listing, click here.) The ambiance is friendly -- we were offered samples (though we did not have any). And there were pretty many people there. They also serve hamburgers, hot dogs and related foods. I spied a cheese dog, something I have not seen in years which gave me a mild fit of nostalgia. 

On the way home, we debated the question of which is better gelato or ice cream. Our conclusion? Both are swell -- though different -- versions of iced desserts. We particularly like the gelato at Skyland Farm, a hippy-ish artsy/craftsy joint on 414 south of Hector. (Or should I say we like the gelati, since that is the plural and I have eaten many varieties at Skyland and elsewhere?) On iced desserts, we also like granita. For some commentary on those, click here. While writing this, I thought to myself: but what are the differences. Yes, granita is made with no dairy usually; and ice cream and gelato clearly have dairy. Rumor has it there is actually less milk fat in gelato. What else? The question drove me to Wikipedia (I know, I know) where all three have entries: granita, ice cream, and gelato. Hmmm. All this reminds me, too, of my early love for italian water ice. . . . 

Must be summer in the Finger Lakes. And, by the way, if you want ot see the lyrics for the song where my title for this piece originated (ok, I always thought it was some sort of folk invention), click here. Or, if you are not from the Finger Lakes and want to travel for ice cream, you can always try the most incredible place ever, with 218 flavors, in Vancouver, BC -- la casa gelato. Yes I have been there. Yes I would go again. But meanwhile, here in the Finger Lakes there is Cayuga Creamery. 

Location: 8421 Route 89, Interlaken, NY 14847. 

Can;t find them? Give a call to 607-532-9492