Cooking With Ideas

Bread -- Something Good This Way Comes

Dustin Cutler's bread bakery, Normal Bread, has opened in Geneva. Hurrah! We had samples of various breads earlier, but can now attest to wonderful bread available in the mornings at his Washington Street store. (You can get a cup of coffee too, I think.) Most recently, we tried sour dough olive bread. Let's just say it is gone and we bought it Saturday. This is a truly great bread. Lovely kalamata flavor. Organic flour. Nice balance of flavors. Nice texture. Cuts well. Works well with no butter, no olive oil, no nothing. Just eat it. Wow. We also tried cranberry rye bread. The tartness of the cranberries illumines the rye, which avoids the sweetness of many rye breads. Little explosions of redness in your mouth. I liked it a lot when I tried it in the bakery. I admit it: I bought some and brought it to my office where I am not so subtle in my efforts to ensure this bakery is highly successful. The other option was a 7 grain bread, warm from the oven. Each one priced reasonably -- and substantially more weighty than Wegman's pseudo-bakery breads. (and, okay, I admit it, I like Wegman's breads.) My point is: Dustin's bread is a very good value for your money and buying it means you can support local business at the same time. Rumor has it Madderlake will be serving Normal Bread. And, rumor also has it that on Saturdays Dustin will make something sweet. More danger even than all this bread?

Not only is the bread tasty, but the venue is wonderful. The light woods. The ovens. The people. Those oh so lovely smells. Go there. Buy bread. Eat it in slices. Make it into sandwiches. Try a bread pudding. Go back for another variety. And, let others know what you think right here, including whatever punning you are driven to my the very notion of normal bread, any fears of widespread normalcy that keep you up at night, your favorite day to eat normal bread, and/or . . . . . more.

Click here for an interview with Dustin from this summer.

The World Is a Kitchen -- Really It Is!

The World Is a Kitchen is a blog in a book really. Each entry is written in a fairly casual style and many are followed by recipes (though not all). A few pages each. A little pause in the day to travel in your imagination -- and cook -- and eat. All in your imagination. Yes, imagination is a good thing. And laptops cannot go everywhere. So, if you are in search of a more traditional form of reading and arm chair travel, this is one option. It's not challenging but it might inspire you to further explorations (literal or figurative) of the various cuisines examined here only very briefly. The book's subtitle is "cooking your way through culture, stories, recipes and resources" and that is just what you get for your $16.95: 37 first person essays, 30 recipes, and a resource section with research tips, culinary tours and related materials. Part 1 looks at North/Central and South America. Part 2 offers tastes of Europe. Africa and the Middle East appear in Part 3. Parts 4 and 5 focus respectively on Asia and then Southeast Asia/Oceana (is that right? It is how the book spells it. Hmmmm).

Latkes

Coconut Bread

Pelmeni

Gumbo

Hor Mak Pla

Beaches and European capitals. Restaurants and friend's kitchens. College students on terms abroad, roaming intellectuals and restless foodies. Most of the pieces are previously published, alas. But, if you yearn to get out of town and cannot, read a few pages. Better yet: offer your own first person narrative here. Or a recipe. Or a resource -- web link, book, idea. Change the world by blogging your way through culture, stories, recipes and resources.

Princeton Murders

Ann Waldron has a series of murder mysteries set at Princeton; Unholy Death in Princeton, for example, was set at Princeton Theological Seminary. And the most recent one I have read, A Rare Murder in Princeton features rare books and manuscripts, librarians, and related matters. This one is set at Princeton University. All sorts of rarefied terms and examples fly -- autographs (i.e. hand written manuscripts) of Trollope's The Eustace Diamonds, the Bay Psalm Book (which turns out to be the first book printed in America), finding guides and incunabula. The food, though, is not so rarefied -- more like comfort food, prepared by the chief character, McLeod Dulaney, who hales from Florida but visits Princeton now and then to teach a semester. Like McLeod, the author is a southerner (though from Alabama) transplanted to New Jersey, a journalist and book author. For those interested in religion, Henry Van Dyke, author, among other things of The Other Wise Man, appears as a running theme in this mystery (unrelated to the puzzle of who is murdering people, though it provides McLeod a rationale for spending time in the Rare Book Room, reading boxes and boxes of material). This Princeton mystery is more a book with recipes than a mystery based on food. The recipes appear on the last few pages -- for pork chop, apple and sweet potato casserole; chocolate mousse; and scallop chowder. Each sounds delightful -- hearty comfort served up by a main character who thinks food can accomplish a lot to ease the soul, to set the tone of a conversation, to make life more full and more fun, to persuade folks to answer her none too subtle questions. She may be right. The book was just the right antidote to the tensions of real life -- and just the right length to provide a hearty comfort food for the mind. I admit, I read it more for the academic mystery than the food -- but still, it does fit under Murder on the Menu.

Not Just Chips -- But Definitely Chips Too

Cape Cod Chips. Love 'em. The 40% less fat make me feel hopeful. The russet ones are like all those wonderful brown ones I used to try to get from the bag before anyone else did. And they're so potato-y. (Who knew that was a word?) But Cape Cod. So much more. I was never sure. At high season, its too crowded. But I was converted when we spent a month or more in Wellfleet -- not at high season. So, a recent return visit reminded me of lovely options. So, a few reviews.

Pine Moorings: Pine Moorings is a name for come cottages and other places to stay in Wellfleet. Run , I must admit, by friends. Stay there if you can. Walk to the bay. Walk to the ocean. Look at sunsets. Pick up shells and stones. LIsten to the waves coming in. Wonder why horseshoe crabs look like that.

Women's Week: A Provincetown tradition. We went to see Cris Williamson. What a blast. And there are always other things to do -- mystery authors and parties, sports events and. . . . Chris Williamson was great.

The Bookstore Restaurant in Wellfleet: Notable for its ginger and lemongrass infused vodka and thus its incredible martinis (ok, the pineapple cardamon ones are pretty darn good too. This place also has its own oyster beds so the shucking (and supping and sipping) is wonderful. For those who are not big fans of oysters (that would be me), there are lots of other wonderful options. A sort of homey place, not too too -- but always reliable. Not to mention the view. Fried oysters, fried shrimp, cajun shrimp, scallops and lots of local food. But I go, I admit, for the martinis. Sometimes I regret it later, but they're always great. I asked for the recipe for the infusion. Alas, they said "no."

The Mews in Provincetown: A delight as always, especially if you get a window seat. I've never been downstairs, and always find the cafe wonderful. While they're known for 160 kinds of vodka, their martinis (I go for the Black Orchid which involves pomegranate juice) are not quite up to the standard at the Bookstore, to be honest. On the other hand, the food is splendid. I recommend the lobster dumplings in miso.

The W.H.A.T : Also known as the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, this is a great thing to do, rain or shine. Run, in part, by Jeff Zinn, the acting is superb and the plays chosen are innovative and varied. David Mamet's ROMANCE was a farcical send up of almost everything. And the molasses cookies are splendid. They're in the midst of a capital campaign which would move them from their swell little (quite so get there early since seating is always general) place to newer digs. But even then, they are not going for a huge venue.

Much more, but that will do for today. Cape Cod. More than just chips.

It's His Party, Cry if You Dare?

October 15 is Emeril Lagasse's birthday. Yep, he was born in Fall River, Massachusetts. If his name is unfamiliar, you're not a foodie. So, wannabees, click here -- and wikipedia will help you understand why this Massachusetts guy means New Orleans to many of us (and food network to others). I admit it, I don't own a single one of his cookbooks, I never watch him on television, I don't use his cookware, I have never eaten in Emeril's Atlanta, and I don't care. I've never even read his website. But: it's his birthday. Any excuse for a celebration!

Keep Your Calendar Up to Date. . . .

Watch for the following events:

October (the First Weekend): Ithaca Apple Festival on the Commons

October 24, 2006 Finger Lakes Tourism Institute

October 28, 2006 Smith Opera House Fund Raiser: SWING UNDER THE STARS featuring MY SINATRA starring Cary Hoffman. Click here.

November 11-12, 2006 -- Keuka Holidays on the Keuka Lake Wine Trail. Hearty Winter Foods with Red Wines Galore!

December 2-3, 2006 -- Keuka Holidays II on the Keuka Lake Wine Trail!

December 5-8, 2006 Cider Making Workshop at the Cornell Agricultural Station in Geneva

And let us know of more!

Be a Part of History? Me? Yes, You!

Six local history museums in the Finger Lakes are working on an exhibit

on the history of vacationing in the Finger Lakes and are searching for

stories and information. This unique collaborative effort will explore

topics such as cottage life, childhood, boating and other water

recreation, amusement parks and other entertainment, food, the public

and private use of the lakefront, the ways in which the region has been

promoted, and what it’s like to work in tourism businesses.

To add your story (or that of a friend) to our collective effort, you

can send them via e-mail to [email protected] or add to

our recently created blog on the subject by posting there. The exhibits will open at all six museums in June 2007. For more information, contact John Marks or Anne Dealy at the Geneva Historical Society, 315-789-5151.

The participating museums are the Geneva Historical Society, the Yates

County Genealogical and Historical Society, the Cayuga Museum, the

History Center of Tompkins County, the Chemung Valley Museum and the

Ontario County Historical Society.

Turkey Sanctuary Movement

Flock with Other Birds of a Feather and Celebrate Thanksgiving with Farm Sanctuary

Farm Sanctuary will hold its 2006 Celebration FOR the Turkeys on Sunday, November 19th in Watkins Glen, New York. Always fun and festive, our annual Celebrations FOR the Turkeys include shelter time with friendly farm animals, special guest speakers, a vegan holiday feast, our famous Feeding of the Turkeys Ceremony, and more. Reservations are required for both events.

New York Shelter · Watkins Glen, NY
The New York Celebration costs $5 per family and features a potluck-style feast. Guests should plan to bring a vegan dish to feed eight people.

AVOID RUFFLED FEATHERS: REGISTER TODAY!
By phone: 607-583-2225 ext. 221
Online: www.AdoptATurkey.org

Reservations are required for both events by November 10, 2006. We regret that we may be unable to accommodate reservations received after the deadline. Ticket(s) and directions will be mailed to all confirmed registrants.

Or, you could actually adopt a turkey. I might eat one myself. Even my best vegetarian friends have been known to sneak a bit of that oh so good turkey skin. But then again, not everyone is as principled as the folks at Farm Sanctuary.

Honey, That Really Stung

There are lots of books out there about honey. And lots of variants on honey. Tupelo honey (Think Elvis. Think Aaron Neville. Think Van Morrison.) Lavender honey. Wildflower honey. Orange blossom honey. Honey in plastic bears with yellow tips that you cut carefully. Little wooden utensils to use to dispense honey. Honey, I'm home. And honey moons. Honey pots into which Winnie the Pooh stuck his head (and with quite a bit of difficulty removed it). Honey combs and honeyed words.

This book, though, is actually about honey bees. Yes, those little insects pictured on Pottery Barn glasses. And many other things. Commodified. Deified. None of your beeswax-ized. ( I have always wondered where that phrase comes from). This is the perfect book for the historian of ideas (the author's avocation is food writing; her vocation -- historian of ideas), with a vague memory of the beehive and political philosophy and just a little sweet tooth. William James's booming buzzing confusion.

A honey of a book. Bee Wilson's The Hive: The Story of the Honeybee and Us (NY: St. Martin's Press, June 2006). Yes, that's right. Bee Wilson. A pretty darn good writer, in my opinion.

Her topics: politics. monarchy. food. drink. sex work. the bee keeper. Shakespeare and political economy. Marx and monarchism. Candles and the impact of the reformation on bee keeping. Medicating -- and poisoning -- oh so sweetly.

Written in a delightful tone. With a few recipes (thank goodness), in the chapter on food. Honey cakes and honey ice cream. and a bit of medical lore (complete with a very short disclaimer -- if you're ill, see your doctor). Lots of ideas. Lots of history. Lots of fun.

More Powe(less) Lunching

Taking on the challenge of Power(less) lunching, I recently ate at the Ramada Inn in Geneva. Yes, the home of the world's smallest swimming pool, a place that has been described as "that architectural monstrosity on the lake," the place we are all surprised to see is busy, that interferes with the lake view, and frankly, has the worst landscaping ever. A sort of modular high rise (perhaps it came complete with residents?). The Ramada. The restaurant is actually called The Pier House. Sometimes they have music after 5 -- especially in the summer. I've never been.

My review of their lunches: not bad at all. I had a burger attack. I ate the whole thing. And, I ate most of the onion rings I got to go along with the cholesterol sandwich. It was a sunny day and I could see the lake without feeling the wind. The ice tea was swell. I felt guilty because usually I eat a salad when I am there -- with shrimp and coconut. Or, on occasion, I partake in the slightly less guilty pleasure of a "philly steak." (I am from a suburb of Philly. My parents were from South Philly. These sandwiches marketed under the name "philly steak" are utter frauds. They are to the real thing what cool whip is to real whipped cream or. . . . I eat them anyway. They give license to my despair. And, as a side note, I cannot find Taylor Pork Roll anywhere in Geneva. Might have to go on line for that. And Fralinger's salt water taffy. And. . . . Now that would be a lunch joint that got my applause.)

Meanwhile, this is the 4th lunch place I have reviewed. How many more are there in Geneva? You tell me. The challenge is still on: send along your favorite lunch spot with your review. And let's keep counting.