Cooking With Ideas

Single Topic Cookbooks -- Again?

Yes, more cookbooks by mail (and all free from publishers).  And this time, I have grouped them together because each of them focuses on a single food item made in a variety of ways or which can be an ingredient in many things. Each is a delightful book, though I am unlikely to use at least one of these (You can guess which one at the end.) And yes, I do love single topic books; and I have written about this general theme before. But these are different single topics. Paradoxically, that of course means they are multiple topics. But hey. This time it is lard, corn and ribs. Hmmm. I wonder what happens when you google that combination? Here's the first thing that comes up. If you try the same thing in epicurious, you get five recipes. And they all look good, especially the green mole. . .

Anyway, this is all about cookbooks, right? And yes, there is a wikipedia entry for cookbooks. Here it is. Wowzers. everything is in wikpedia, right. (No, there is no entry for bibliochef. So maybe not everything. Not yet anyway.)

So: let's start with lard. Lard, if you do not know it, is pig fat. And we all know I love pig fat if it comes in the form of bacon. But lard, of course, is not bacon. It is lard. (And yes, there is a wikipedia entry. And no, I have no idea why I am on and on about wikipedia today. Hmmmm.)  So, the cookbook? 100% Natural LARD: The Lost Art of Cooking with Your Grandmother's Secret Ingredient comes from the editors of Grit Magazine. What is Grit Magazine? I had no idea until I saw this book. Here's their site. Seems to be a magazine about rural living, and has (according to the back of my book) been publishing every other week (or maybe bimonthly) since 1882. And all the recipes in this cookbook (all 150 of them) come from the magazine.

I admit it. The idea of lard kind of grosses me out. But: I do know pie crusts are flakier made with lard. So, I read around in the book. Here's what I think:

 First: there is a limited bit at the start of the book on lard.This was actually my favorite part of the book, learning that lard was the lubricant of chocie before the petroleum business took off. As it says, early on in the book, lard lubricated the machines that first brought fossil fuel to the surface. Who knew?

As a side note, this book indicates that the corn industry (see below) is part of what pushed lard out of our pantries. Turns out, the book claims, some of the health scare tactics were just that -- tactics. And highly exaggerated ones at that. So, several pages are devoted to the healthy aspects of lard.

And then, 15 recipes, ranging across all possible parts of the meal, including desserts.

The second of the single topic cookbooks focuses on ribs. Its title? You guessed it. America's Best Ribs by Ardie A Davis PhB (which I think refers to expertise in barbecue) and Chef Paul Kirk CWC, PhB, BSAS (which I assume all refer to expertises of some sort). Kirk has a barbecue school; see this site. And a blog. And can be seen on youtube. Wowzers. Ardie Davis, it turns out, has a wikipedia entry. Who knew? And even more, who knew that barbecue judges could be famous? (Ok, I have received rib-related books in the mail before so I actually did know this.) He actually founded something called Greasehouse UNiversity which awards the PhB. Who knew? (Check this site out for further info.) And yes, these guys are into kansas city style barbecue and ribs, whatever that means.

Finally: to corn. I remember, in my youth, going with my father to buy corn from stalls along roads I cannot remember. Summers meant corn (and fried tomatoes in his style). And corn. I can remember what it means to eat corn with dentures and how hard that was for the folks I knew. And butter dripping down chins. So: a corn cookbook seems just right (even though sometimes corn does not seem like corn any more and on occasion I find it indigestible).

But. somehow I have misplaced the corn book in the house, so that one we'll have to discuss later! SOmeting to look forward to, unless it is a big advertisement for the monoculture of . . . corn. I am hoping it is more like my memory of my father and corn. We'll have to see.

Now, my really favorite kind of single topic book is not actually a cookbook; I have seen many single topic cookbooks (from bacon to ribs to . . . .) but the monographs on spice or salt or. . . well, those are my real faves. And you? 

Spring Brings Fiddleheads

Fiddleheads are, in fact, a spring delicacy I was introduced to by my favorite Canadian. I had never even conceived of eating bits of spring ferns. And now, I look forward to them every year. Yes, you can get them in Wegmans sometimes; but really, the best ones are from the outdoor market in Ottawa. They look like little curled fern bits -- and they taste like -- fiddleheads. (Thanks to this site for the picture, above. THe site also explains exactly why you must not eat these raw or undercooked.)  If forced to compare, perhaps a bit of asparagus and a bit of greenery, and, well, spring.

These are best boiled -- or sometimes boiled and then sauteed. Some sites say you must cook them for a minimum of 12 minutes (Due to a peculiar chemical in them which is poisonous if they are eaten raw or undercooked). But the lovely quebecois man from whom I most recently purchased them said 3 minutes of boiling and 3 minutes of sauteeing. From his point of view, I likely overcooked them. from mine, better safe then sorry.

So: Here are two recipes and a few links to others I have not tried.

Recipe #!:

Wash the darn things and trim a tiny bit off the ends (I do not know why I do the latter, but the former is because they need it. Wash them a lot, or soak them in cold water.)

Boil for about 12 minutes (or 8).

Drain.

Add a big bit of butter til it melts.

Serve.

Recipe #2:

Buy some fiddlheads and ramps. Yep, they are sometimes in season at the same time.

Boil your fiddlheads for 3-5 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, thinly slice the ends of your ramps and then chop finely. (I just used white ends).

Saute ramps in loads of butter.

Add fiddleheads and sauteed for a few more minutes. MAKE SURE THEY ARE DONE.

Eat.

Here's Canadian Living on fiddleheads. And here are some recipes I have never tried. And really, fiddlhead and saffron soup? Or fiddlehead chowder? Who knew?

 

Ottawa Dining

Ottawa is a delightful city, around 950,000 people, filled with lovely neighborhoods and more. I am spoiiled because I get to go there. The canal is delightful -- and for the first time I was there for tulip festival. The above is sort of an iconic Ottawa tulip festival picture, connected to the history of the tulip festival which is connected to the presence of the royalty of the netherlands in Canada during WWII and the fact that one of the royalty was born in Ottawa as a result. (Thanks to this site for the picture.) The brief walk we took among the tulips was itself worth the trip. The beds were huge and hte colors amazing. And, during the few days we were in Ottawa, we dined well.

First: We dined at Murray Street Charcuterie and Kitchen. This is one of our favorite places. At first, we risked really serious disappointment as the poutine is not gluten free. Hence, no poutine. But, we both ordered the duck confit. And, it was simply the best duck I have ever had in a restaurant and possibly ever. The confit was boneless, succulent, and the lentils it came with were so good I considered ordering a second whole meal. I knew I liked the place -- but wow. This was as amazing as the first time, when I had poutine for the first time -- and duck poutine at that. We had some nice cheeses for dessert -- and we left very very happy. I have reviewed Murray Street before (see here) but wanted to mention it again because this meal was also absolutely wonderful. (I am still touched that they include my earlier review on their website.) We sat at the bar -- and were very happy. This particular restaurant is not a place for vegetarians (of course) as it features meats and cheeses and the like - but, if you want protein in a meaty form -- and you want to smile a lot, this is the place for you. Also: their food is entirely Canadian -- and they have the mst humorous array of pig kitsch I have seen in ages.

Murray Street is, surprisingly (she said smiling) on Murray Street which is a burgeoning set of dandy little dining places. Here's what urbanspoon has to say:

Where else did we eat? Well, in our wanders we went to a place we had not been to before, Taylor's. And, again, we loved it. This was for lunch. Taylor's is a small-ish place, on Bank Street, and has a wonderful ambience. The food is also good -- really good. Perhaps most terrific was a gluten free dessert which we shared -- involving quinoa and an espresso marchmallow. Also equally wonderful was the daily soup. Not to mention the wine.   (is this where I had the tomato salad? Yes, it was. And it was delightful.)

Here's urbanspoon's view(s):

Somewhat thereafter we headed to Domus, one of our regular haunts. (For prior commentary on our delight at dining there, click here.) Wherever we dine, the soup to compare soups to is the soup at Domus. They are terrific. Invariably, they are silky smooth, and unexpectedly complex in their flavor profile. This time, we were amazed for a different reason-- and felt very silly for not having figured this out What? That Taylor's is a sister restaurant to Domus. Why should it have been obvious? The chef at Domus (and now we knew the reason for the name for our lunch spot) is John Taylor. Has always been John Taylor. So, not surprisingly, in addition to a dandy meal, we were able to get a . . . gluten free dessert. In this case, the cake was more or less the same, but the accoutrements were different. Dandy.  What else did i have? Toasted israeli couscous with rabbit confit as a starter and old fashioned chicken balloutine (wrapped in bacon) for my main treat. Both were wonderful. And neither is something I could ever imagine successfully making at home, one of my chief criteria for ordering in restaurants. Though some day I may try making a balloutine. I love that word.

Here's urbanspoon on Domus --

We also ate Thai. The place? Khao Thai. And yes, it is on Murray Street, almost directly across from the site of the amazing duck confit. It was actually poor planning that led us to this restaurant as we did not make reservations for our second visit to Murray Street and, of course, it was packed. So, off we went for Thai, having once been told it was a good restaurant. We ordered green papaya salad  and a green curry, along with some jasmine rice. I was on gingerale to drink. Hmmm. Anyway, the papaya salad was nothing to write home about; in fact, it verged on being bland. It definitely needed some heat and some fish sauce. Having said that, the green curry was actually sublte, well heated, and tasty. The ambience was ok; one thing I liked as a photograph of a huge buddha's hand, with a monk before it. And, the bathroom actually had a lovely set of flowers in it. (Perhaps most oddly, for Ottawa, where all bathrooms seem to be underground and far away, this one was neither!)

Here's urbanspoon:

And, finally, we ate at Urban Pear. We had seen it before, when visiting one of our other favorite Ottawa insitutions, Octopus Books. It is a totally great poltically oriented independent bookstore. Anyway, kind of across through the parking lot is a place called Urban Pear, which we have always been curious about. And, I have to admit it: I like the name. Anyway, despite being discouraged a bit by the bookstore folks, we headed off and had a dandy lunch there. We both ordered a porchetta sandwich, though one (due to the need to avoid gluten) came instead atop some "candied" red cabbage. Mmmmm. Not to mention a few cosmos on my part. Also, we had a lovely dessert which was a kind of take on lemon meringue pie -- the shortbread cookie went to me, and the lemon and meringue got shared. Quite lovely.

Also: the service was really friendly. Our waiter told us at some length about a place in Ottawa to obtain freshly made gluten free bread. We did not get there, but still, it was nice.

 Here's urbanspoon on urban pear:

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 And, here's a toast to Ottawa. Where the ramps and fiddleheads were in season, and the visit was wonderful.

Dining in that Toddling Town Again: Two Syllable Restaurants in Chicago

So, on a recent trip to Chicago, I ate at two high end places, with two syllable names: Naha and Boka. Both were swell, if a bit price-y -- and to be honest, I especially liked Boka of the two. Here are a few more details.

On Boka: Part of what made me make the reservation was the following menu item: oysters with cherry granita and cucumber (as a starter). No, I am not a huge oyster fan, but I make granita and love it, and I was pretty sure that the person I was dining with your like this. I said nothing; and yes, she ordered it!  I was equally predictable -- I had braised pork belly, which came with pickled beech mushrooms, cocunut marshmallow and green curry. It was dandy -- and the pesentation was delightful. For my entree I had rabbit (also sort of predictable for me) -- in this case rabbit roulade with rabbit loin, served with another of my favorite things: gnocci. In this case, it was bee pollen gnocchi. Yep, pretty darn good. The loin was a tad dry, but the roulade was really tasty. I have no memory of what we had for dessert -- though I think I had an espresso. But, I can tell you -- I can still recall the taste of the two things I have described here that I had. So: I think Boka gets a positive review -- although it is a tad price-y.

Where is it? It is in Lincoln Park, on Halstead.

Here's urbanspoon on Boka:

Several nights later we were off to our second two syllable restaurant: Naha. To be honest I had wanted to go there for a while, but it was not really anything to write home about. I had a great opener (why are appetizers and starters always so dandy and then sometimes the rest feels awfully boring?). No, it is not a bad restaurant, it just did not wow me. I ha a really nice take on a greek salad, which I really liked a lot. My dining partner had a very nice rich mushroom soup, which came with some smoked pheasant. It was a very very nice soup -- and indeed, got rave reviews. Here's what we both had for dinner: "Lacquered Aged Moulard Duck Breast with Caramelized “Thumbelina” Carrots, Broccoli Rabe and “Hakeuri” Turnips, NAHA Honey, Licorice Root and Port"  I admit this is where I was not wowed; it was nice, but not spectacular (and that may be prejudiced by my expectations; I love this kind of turnips and I love broccoli rabe, and neither of those was really exciting either). I liked it; don;t get me wrong -- but it was not great. Having said that, I loved the warm baked cookies I got for dessert -- there was a real assortment and they were each dandy. There were lots of them and I carted them off with me when I left and actually ate every single one of them.

Here is urbanspoon on Naha, which is in River North:

One other positive on these restaurants: they coped with gluten free dining in nice-ish ways. Boka served some toasted bread and crackers; Naha, if I recall, had some really nice flatbread.

Coming Soon to a Blog You Read --

Not really. I just thought this image (which came from here and I appreciate that!) was kind of a funny way to indicate what this post is all about. And so, here's what's coming to Cooking with Ideas:

**********Dining in that Toddling Town Again -- or, Two Syllable Restaurants in Chicago (Boka and Naha)

********Dining Above the 49th -- or, Ottawa Dining Delights

******Spring Foodie Delights: Fiddleheads and More

*****And, yes,, definitely yes, much much more.

 

Having said that, if you read this far -- leave a comment. Please?

 

AGONY OF THE LEAVES

Yes, I capitalized the title of this entry, which is also the title of a book which arrived in the mail a while back: Agony of the Leaves by Laura Childs. And, thanks, by the way, to this site for the wonderful picture of. . . you guessed, it, tea leaves (on a tea plant).

I like Laura Childs' mysteries -- they are entertaining, not too demanding, and the characters are generally believable. This particular one begins with a drowning and SPOILER ALERT the dead person is a series character (a former boyfriend of the sleuthy/ tea shoppe owner, Theodosia). Yep, Parker dies. And, it all starts in an aquarium.for the book trailer, try clicking here. It is truly goofy.

While investigating, of course, as is Theodosia's tendency, she is surrounded by pals -- and interesting tea trivia and serious information. In this case, there is even a bit of coffee trivia sprinkled in, due to a coffee and tea expo which is part of the plot. There is, of course, more. For example, there is a Japanese tea ceremony. (Yep, it is the tea chap for Theodosia's Charlotte tea shop, Granville, who does this.) Also, in this case, one of the attempts at murder is what might be labeled murder by bees, which I found endlessly entertaining since everyone I know seems to have decided to take up beekeeping. Also, there is some hilariously over the top descriptions of driving as well as a pretty loony left turn that reveals the murderer, who is also pretty loony.

Turns out, by the way, that agony of the leaves is not a phrase invented by Childs. It actually has a meaning within the cultures of tea, referring to the way tea leaves unfurl. See this site for a fuller definition and this one if you want to see it actually happen.  I am 100% sure Childs knows this. Also, Childs includes tea periodicals, websites, and etcetera at the end of her book, which is one of the most fun things ever. (Frankly, I do not care really about the recipes at the end of such books; I do like to leanr a tad more, if only because it somehow makes me feel like I know the author a bit more? Not sure why.)

All in all, worth a read.

Want someone else's opinion? Try here. Or even here.

And, if you like mysteries iwth tea shoppe or coffee shop (no idea why one gets two ps and . . . ), try here for a list. And, if you wander around on that site, you can find all sorts of cozy mysteries organized by theme.

 

Haven't Blog Watched in Ages -- So Here are a Few Bloggy Comments

(Thanks to images.businessweek.com for the lovely watches -- so yes, this will have to attend to multiple bog watch(es)!)

So, the real phrase for my murders on the menu kind of book is "culinary mystery" and when you google that you come across some interesting stuff. Here's a site for an author who writes them.  I have not read any of her books yet. But, who knows? She writes murder mysteries featuring food and has won an award for "LDS authors" -- which means it is a two-fer -- religion and food. In some way or other.

In case we forget how wonderful the Finger Lakes region is, and indeed, Geneva, NY -- click here for one vacationer's take.

And, there are occasionally interesting tidbits of local blogs -- here's a news article on a blog started by a Hobart student.  And, here's the site.  Style. Hmmm.

And in case the web means more than blogs to you,  here's an open course offered by Yale on food. The course title is The Psychology, Biology and Politics of Food and the faculty person is Kelly Brownell. He is described on the site as follows:

    Professor of Psychology, Epidemiology, and Public Health, and Director of the Rudd Center for Food     Policy and Obesity at Yale, where he also served as Chair of the Department of Psychology and Master     of Silliman College. He has published 14 books and more than 300 scientific papers and received     awards from a number of professional organizations. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine and     in 2006 Time magazine listed Kelly Brownell among "The World's 100 Most Influential People" in its     special Time 100 issue featuring those "...whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the     world."

You can not only look at the syllabus, you can watch all the classes. And get the books. And, all in all, take a free course. Cool.

And, in case you think I no longer care about religion, here's a bit on food as. . . .well, religion. Or not.

 

Tomatoland

In my recent pile of wonders which arrive by mail, I got something from one of my faves, Andrews McMeel. For the first time ever, it is actually a monograph rather than a cookbook (they do dandy dandy cookbooks). And yes, it is called Tomatoland. Written by Barry Estabrook, the book is subtitled How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed our Most Alluring Fruit and, yes, like many such tomes, Estabrook's take emphasizes the many ways the tomato has been both detroyed -- and is destructive. The tales of labor laws in Florida are horrifying, and I have only begun the book. It was published in 2011.

What inspired the author? Well, he begins the book with an explanation of how, one fine day, he was driving along in Florida and . . . green tomatoes were flying out of a truck ahead of him, hitting the cement, and -- despite the impact, they seemed fine. No, this is not Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe at all. Nor is the truck pictured above the truck involved, as this one is filled with RED tomatos. Unusual, I think, at least based on this book-- or perhaps in California (yep, just checked the website from which it came, countyofkings.com which is, indeed, a county in California). I guessed this because i have been reading Tomatoland and learned, as you will below, CA tomatoes are in a different situation than Florida. While what follows is actually not from the prettiest book from Andres McMeel, it is definitely worth the read because it is important. For all of us who are tired of the lousy taste of tomatoes in most months, well, that's not all we should be bothered by. Of course, Estabrook is well known for his expose on the abuses of workers in Florida tomato production in Gourmet; his is not the only voice on the politics and problems of tomato production. See e.g., here (where the issue is the water usage in Mexican tomato production and its impact broadly) or here (where you can find out about California tomato racketeering. Who knew?). But, his is a key voice.

Of course, Florida is not the only place where tomatoes are grown. Of course not. There is your backyard and all over upstate New York and, of course California. The main difference between the Florida and California tomato industries -- and that is what they are -- is that California's is primarily for processed/canned tomatoes whereas those hard little red balls in the winter are . . . . snowbird?. No: Floridian (is that a word?) tomatoes. The main issue seems to be that tomatoes really ought not be grown in sand -- which is all Florida is. Hence, the amazing amount of fertilizer and pesticides - an amount that makes California agri-business look reasonable (which quite definitely is not Estabrook's point). 

So, yes, if you thought meat and chicken factory farming was horrible, this is too. If you thought reading The Jungle put you off food because of the meat packing world and that drove you to vegetarianism,  think again. There is no real moral/ethical safety in vegetarianism -- or veganism even. And this is especially the case as the tomato, for example, has less and less nutrients and is more and more . . . . well. . . . dare I say it? Dangerous. We have to stop this somehow. We do. And perhaps most crucially, we have to find a way to treat workers humanely. I mean really -- what was all that work and warfare for in the 19th century intended to abolish slavery -- when this book makes it quite evident that slavery -- and I do not mean metaphorically or slave-like conditions --  continues to exist in the United States. Think about that when you buy a tomato.

(Thanks to foodfirst.org for the picture). Yes, there is resistance. Law suits and more. For a reminder of how to work against this, see this site which is a coalition of workers in one of the areas Estabrook focuses upon, the group represented in the picture above.

Of course, the politics of industrial farming is not all there is to the book. I also found the initial parts about the history/wild tomatoes of Peru, which live in desert conditions and also some of its relatives (or related species?) which look great and taste -- well, awful -- quite enlightening. Also, there is some interesting material on the migration of the tomato to Mexico and in the Columbia exchange. And, the ways science is engaged in all this is very intriguing -- not to mention the education industrial complex with its centers for this and that, funded, in many cases, by the industry itself. One of the most fascinating aspects is the many ways scientists (many using quite old fashioned techniques) are trying to "improve" the tomato, aka bring back tasty and personality to what is now an incredibly bland product. And yes, and perhaps he most important, in addition to the organization noted above, Estabrook attends to other signs of hope, including an organic tomato farmer in Florida -- something peope said could not be done -- who has also moved well beyond piece work i paying his workers. Hurrah. Hope.

While Estabrook is not the best writer ever, I actually like his mix of chatty tone, and atonished outrage. It makes for a highly readable book, even though occasionally it seems strained and hard to sustain.Not to mention making me yearn for the good old days, when my father made fried tomatoes (in his case they were not green) and they tasted like tomatoes. They really did.

For reviews of Tomatoland when it first came out, try here or here. For more on the rights of workers and related matters, see this piece by Mark Bittman and this from the Southern Poverty Law Center. And, think this is not occurring in your state/ Think again. And check out your plate as well.

Yep, on a moralistic entreprenurial tantrum. No clue what I will do -- except make sure to make more tomato sauce and things this summer for use rather than support this industry. What else? Ideas?