Cooking With Ideas

Coffee A Go Go

I have reviewed other murder mysteries featuring coffee and/or coffee bars here -- most crucially, Cleo Coyle's mysteries. (Click here for a review of Cleo's books on Cooking With Ideas, including that she acknowledges this blog in a recent book!?!?!?!?) But, today, when I say coffee mystery it is all about a new author -- and, thus,  a new mystery. Yep, another version of the "I left a high powered job to pursue my dream" and, in this case, opened a coffee bar." (In this case, like the author, who left PR to write mysteries, the series character, Maggy Thorsen, did so to open her coffee bar.) These are, of course, hard to run and even harder to make profitable. Not surprisingly, there is an "evil" chain coffee guy who is opposed to the good guy eco-friendly type. There is a cop (in this case a sheriff) love interest (heterosexual); and an amateur mystery solver who fears she is in the running as a suspect in a murder. There is a pierced barrista with real skill (with a kind heart) and a barrista contest. (The contest itself is pretty interesting, but does not get quite the level of detail I'd have liked. Here's a link to the world barrista championship. And here to a site on the USA version, focusing on the southeast.) There are loads of characters in Grounds for Murder with interesting features, including friends who are fairly caustic and more. And, yes, there is a body.

In this case, the mystery is more or less obvious, though the punch line is a bit nastier than I expected. And, the reasons are pretty ordinary, hidden behind loads of more extraordinary potential rationales for murder. I liked this book. It was not high literature (are there any real high lit versions of murder mysteries?) but it was readable and reasonable and . . .

Title? Grounds for Murder. It is actually the second in a series, which has seven out already. Who knew? Author? Sandra Balzo. She also writes something called the North Carolina High Country series. Hmmm. Here's an interview with her.

Other reviews? Well, this is one for a book later in the series, which may have spoilers in it for those of us who have not yet read the others. And ditto here.

Microclimate

Microclimate is a terrific word. It is really a terrific word. I thnk of it as a word to describe campus climates (really, most campuses have places that are wonderful and places that are. . . .well, awful). I think of it as a way of saying the ecology we live in is very varied and the variation is meaningful. And, of course, it is associated, in my mind, with the microclimates -- and ecologies -- of food and wine. In the latter regard, it is not unrelated to the notion of terroir that is used to speak of the ways the land itself affects the wines we drink. (And, once I read about terroir and cheese -- how what the cows eat and how the live, altitude and related climate matters, appears in cheeses. Not sure how that works - or if it is true -- but I am not writing about cheese or cows but a lovely new place that has opened in Geneva called, you guessed it. Microclimate. Here's their facebook page, but really, don't visit only virtually, visit.

Why? For two reasons. The ambience is absolutely wonderful. who would have guessed on tiny Linden Street in Geneva, NY that there could be such ambience. There are windows that open on to the street (which is only a block or so long) and you can sit at the window and hang out (literally and figuratively). The place is really designed using reclaimed woods and things, including a wall which is reclaimed from the way wine bottles are produced. The chairs are absolutely swell -- copper and etc -- so much so that I asked where they came from sicne I am in the market for a few bar stools. (No such luck.) The tables are, for the most part, made by the folks who run the place or their friends. I love some of them -- especially the orange ones. And the ambience also features quiet; a lovely bathroom; and a back room that is more sofa-filled than bar stool filled. All in all, a nice place.

And the wine? Very smartly, this place places a few local wines alongside global wines -- I had a totally amazing german pinot noir (who even knew there was such a thing) that could also come in a flight with a wide array of pinots, including one from the finger lakes. What a brilliant idea.

Also brilliant is that other local dining establishments and the Smith Opera House are sending folks along there if there is a wait. Smart. Cool. Tasty. All in one. They do serve a little food I think -- but have not tried it yet. More or less cheese plates I think -- and if they are as good -- wow!

So, all in all, I would recommend the place -- you should too.

Key West -- An Appetite for Murder

Imagine my surprise when i discovered a murder mystery on my kindle just when I needed one. One I had not already read, and one I had forgotten purchasing. Hurrah. I was saved. What from? All the things I should want to do but do not? All my ambivalence? Work? No: insomnia. I almost never have insomnia. And I have had it a lot lately.

The book, by Lucy Burdette, is set in Key West and features an ex-patriate New Jersey woman who has moved south following a guy, and of course, this did not turn out well. Entitled An Appetite for Murder, the author depicts a character who is trying to get a job as a food critic -- and has fun with the openings (not terrifically well written, I have to say) of articles she is prepping for submission as a candidate for the job. Meanwhile, she is suspected of murder, and wanders about (well, there is some implication that she is trying to free herself from the suspicion that the police seem to have that she has done in the victim) doing that kind of amateur sleuth kind of thing. I enjoyed it. Now, this may be because I sort of needed just this sort of formula fiction, but I did enjoy it. And not least because Key West is one of those places I have always wanted to go and never have. Another one for the bucket list?

While I would not trust this book as far as I could throw it as an accurate depiction of much, (why?  just because I have too often been fooled into thinking things were true in historical ficion, let alone this sort of peanut book), there are hints of what it might be like to be a food critic; even here on Cooking With Ideas I have a hard time writing bad reviews. Hmmm.I like it that the restaurants she visits include dives with great food rather than just the expemsive places. And, I also like her attitude toward being a new "native" in a touristy place.

Any way, the characters are kind of fun -- the main one, the aspiring food critic, keeps doing stupid things and/or having bad things happen -- one kind of imagines a dark cloud over her head? And her friends, especially the gay friend from her youth, are remarkably tolerant of her range of faux pas, stupid decisions, and accidents -- but hey, this is formula fiction at its best. Here's a very short review -- which reveals that the author also writes golf mysteries and "advice column mysteries" whatever those are. I guess if you can do one genre you can do any of these themed murder mysteries?  And I kind of like it that the main chaacter is named after Haley Mills. remember her? What was that movie in which she played twins? Or am I making that up?

Need a more substantive review? Try here.

Eating In New Hampshire

I was recently on a jaunt (a not so good reason which turned out not for the worst) to New Hampshire which I never really thought of as a real foodie place. In any case, after several nights of consuming the cheese and etcetera we brought along to one of the worst hotels ever (a Comfort Inn near Merrimack; avoid it; stay in the nearby Residence Inn which is great or . .. ) Anyway, we ate loads of places so here are a few comments:

1. The Cafeteria (it has a name, but who can remember something life that?)  in the Catholic Medical Center in Manchester is actually good. The omelets are made as you watch, and I can vouch for the way comfort food kind of works in the place. They also make a pretty good breakfast sandwich (I love an english muffin in every conceivable form) and have a good salad bar. I do not recommend traveling to NH just to go there, but hey, things could be worse.

2. In Manchester, I can actually truly recommend one place:Chez Vachon on Kelly Street. First, I have to say, that driving here was kind of fun, because there is a kind of gate to the neighborhood (wrought iron maybe) which really defines this francophone neighbourhood in Manchester. And second, the place has good food and people are actually kind. We were early the first time we went there, and they did not push us despite the fact the place was utterly and completely packed. The coffee is pretty good. And, the greek omelet was swell. They forgot my bacon, but I survived. Others at the table got a) home fries with a poached egg on top; b) some kind of crepe. The locals seem to love the crepes. We went back. Definitely a good place. Here's urban spoon on this neighborhood kind of wonder.

3. What about further south? Nashua, NH? I was not responsible for finding any of these places, but was glad to be taken off to them to try to cope. Each was pretty darn good. And, we discovered that Nashua is kind of a nice place, with a kind of foodie culture.

First: Coffee. The first coffee place we found was called River Walk Coffee.This place entices us via the web, in our desperate search for coffee other than that in the (at the time) awful hotel we were in. We drove south and discovered it. And, it had a nice ambience, good raspberry/chocolate scones, a good dark roast and . . . The biggest challenge was figuring out how to work the parking meters outside -- can you tell we were a little fried? Anyway, they also served breakfastsandwiches, which I did not try, even though I was tempted since one had feta (and I will eat anything with feta in it). I had my usual caramel latte (which had a name there which escapes me). They roast their own coffee, which is great, though it can make he place a tad wam sometimes, especially as it is not a huge place and the roaster is right out there with those of us hanging out. Nice objects to buy too, like french press coffee makers. Nice ones.

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On our last day, we tried another coffee place, recommended to us. It was called Dietrich Bonhoeffer Coffee  and yes, they mean that Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Here's an interesting piece about them.They are in a pretty big location, with a huge fireplace in the middle, and serve less wonderful coffee than River Walk (in my estimation) but also give a proportion of their money to good stuff and are a not for profit. Not a surprise given their name. (If you do not know who the guy is, click here for the official site,  here for wikipedia, or here for what the US Holocaust Museum has to say.)

We just picked up coffee and ran, unlike when we went to River Walk, but that was just a matter of timing. It too seemed like a good place to hang out.

We ate in Nashua too, for two dinners. Here's what we found, well, ok, I did not finding, I just ended up at these places because my partner was kind.

The first place was called Stella Blu and it is kind of a tapas place. One thing to say for this (and for Nashua more generally) is they have a clue about a gluten free diet, and do not make a big deal of it. What was really exciting for my gluten free partner was that they had gluten free pizza! Not the best thing I ever ate -- but it really brought a smile across the table. I had some pulled pork bits served on corn bread (also gluten free) which were dandy. And, we ordered specially some gluten free carbonars which turned out to be truly swell. All in all,  I ordered too much, and liked what I had, including a very nice drink.  We sat at the bar, and though I cannot quite remember what it looked like, I can say the people were swell. Here's urbanspoon on Stella Blu:

The second place was called MTS Local. We had been circling for a while Why? we knew we had seen a Kohls and a Macy's somewhere in our transits from here to there, and we had our iphones (yep. Siri) trying to tell us how to get there, but a) it did not work and b) we were incredibly tired. So: we saw this great sign in a nice looking area and driver said to passenger -- enough. We are eating. And we did. Turned out ot be the best place we went. No, of course, the trip was not principally about food. But food is always important.

I had crab cakes, which were actually swell. More crab than cake, if you know what I mean. And delicious. And then I ordered fried mac and cheee. Ordinarily I love mac and cheese, thinking of it as one of the major food groups. In fact, I usually love every version. I was, though, a tad off my food -- tired, stressed, sad, and so I did not finish these, tossed them the next day in the trash, and would not reorder. The place though? I would definitely go back. Partly I would do so because I did not have the salted caramel ice cream (yep watched the spectacle of it being consumed next to me) and want to have it; partly becaue I actually liked the toasted angel food cake bruschetta I had. Mmmm. Plus it felt virtuous.

Urbanspoon's views? Can't find it on google. Does that strike you as odd? Me too. 

So, new places in NH. For prior reviews of NH places right here on Cooking with Ideas, click here or here. Live free or die. That's what it says on their license plates. I say, eat well or. . . well, you fill in the blank.

Corny -- It's Really Corny

Thanks to this site for the picture. And yes, our topic is corn. A cookbook devoted entirely to recipes featuring. . , corn. No, this is not a diatribe, though it is merited, against monoculture corn. It is, instead, a review of a cookbook, which could be critiqued by discussing monoculture corn, but that is not today's point.

Today's point is that corn -- real corn, rather than the many ways it worms its way into our diet (corn syrup in soft drinks, corn here there and everywhere, Monsanto at its most hideous) -- is tasty in many many forms. Corn chowder.  Corn bread. Even popcorn, which we on occasion get from one of our favorite Upstate NY organic Farms, Italy Hill (described and even depicted here) Real corn is what I ate in my youth, with butter running down my chin, purchased by my father drivingdown back roads and only at very particular times of year. real corn is what I can find once in a while today, and have, in teh past, grilled on a gas grill, and eaten with lime juice drizzled on it, or a mixture of chili powder and anything slathered on it or. . . if it is perfect, just alone. Or, boiled, just a bit. Or. . . . once, in the dim memory, I know I made essence of corn into a clear delectable soup. That was when I learned to run a knife down the cob, cutting the kernels off. And every time I think of corn, in the back of my mind, a tiny bell rings and connects Abraham and Torok's work on the phantom and the kernel and. . . the shadow of all that corn. 

So, I have yet to get to the cookbook I am writing about. It came in the mail, for free (shocking, I know -- I can still remember when I discovered people gave books away when I was a young assistant professor; who knew it actually inflated the costs of textbooks to students?) -- anyway, this one is called I Love Corn by Lisa Skye. Itis a book that comes along with some controversy associated with the notion of loving bacon (oddly, also reviewed here, and no this is not about the wodnerful taste treat of bacon and corn whether in chowder or not); see this link. The book is fileld with poddities -- like corn for breakfast - and recipes that are actually pretty darn corn-centric. My favorite of them all is a toss up between popcorn puding with salted caramel corn and butterscotch syrup fro a place called Dirt Candy in NY and the very idea of corn, cocoa and anything which appears in a recipe associated with venison. The latter comes fro a restaurant called Public in NYC. While I may never manage to cook hese, maybe I will make my way to those restaurants/eateries? And here are Chaing Mai fritters which are gluten free from a place called Ngam in NYC (see a theme here in restaurant locations?) which I may try my hand at since I know (and love) a gluten free person who has even been to Chaing Mai.

Overall, any book with this focus is worth the perusal. And this one will not even make it to the yard sale.

Yep, a keeper.

And by the way, the notion of corny as a slang term, is one with an intriguing history. I that regard, see this or are a podiatrist of foot fetishist) that link. And, if to you, the whole meaning of corny is corny jokes, try here.