This post is not about Seattle’s annual Hempfest, although it did occur this weekend. The wildfires in the western US and Canada have resulted in high levels of smoke. My hair stylist said that she and her husband encountered smoky conditions throughout their road trip to California. The air quality in Seattle last Wednesday was worse than in either Beijing or New Delhi. On that day I could barely see West Seattle from my office. Mount Rainier has been shrouded in smoke for nearly a week. There is no rain in the forecast until maybe next Sunday. Welcome to life with global warming.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/08/19/up-in-smoke/
Aug 18
Proximity Pays?
Over the years I’ve noticed a curious phenomenon in retail businesses. Often competing businesses are located close to one another. A few examples:
- When I was in grad school, Wegmans opened a supermarket next door to Tops Friendly Market in Ithaca.
- Cell phone service providers can be in nearby buildings or mall kiosks.
- Car dealerships are routinely clustered together. This is probably the oldest example in the list. As consolidation occurs, the effect is even more obvious. Many of the dealerships on a particular stretch may have the same ownership.
- In the new Totem Lake Shopping Center in Kirkland, Whole Foods opened literally next door to Trader Joe’s.
In some cities, this proximity also extends to health care. Three of the largest hospitals in Seattle (Harborview, Swedish, and Virginia Mason) are on First Hill, also known as Pill Hill. There were a couple of other hospitals in the neighborhood, but they were bought out or closed. One has been converted to a same-day surgery center.
The question arises: Who benefits from this? In cell phones and groceries, the consumer is probably the larger beneficiary. If you don’t like the deal one carrier has, you can walk down the street to the next one. If you can’t find arugula in Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods may have it. In the case of cars, the benefit is definitely in the dealer’s corner. (One could say that it’s always in the dealer’s corner.)
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/08/18/proximity-pays/
Aug 12
The PSSST Game
I’ve played a game with my cats over the years that I call The PSSST game. The rules are simple:
- Hide around a corner from the cat.
- Peek around and say, “PSSST!”
- If the cat doesn’t come the first time, repeat.
- Often if the cat doesn’t come after two or three times, peek around the corner and give a Bronx Cheer. Usually that brings the cat running to you.
I’ve noticed that my male cats are more likely to play The PSST Game than the females. Roscoe would come after three iterations. Jasper would come after one or two. Luka is in between his predecessors. While Chubbette would play, Phoebe would have no part of it. Neli follows the lead of the other females. Maybe the females understand object permanence better than the males.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/08/12/the-pssst-game/
Aug 12
Baking Between the Lines
I decided to make the One True Cobbler® for this year’s Spiediefest. Since several of our friends have wheat or gluten allergies, I decided to try a gluten-free (GF) version. This experiment was potentially fraught with peril, but I forged ahead anyway.
The most important thing in baking side-by-side versions of goodies like cobblers or cakes is segregation. I measured all of the GF ingredients for each cobbler into separate bowls, then cut up the peaches and mixed them with brown sugar and lemon juice. While the butter was melting in the individual pans, I stirred together the batters with separate whisks. I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour mix for the GF batter. When the butter was melted, I poured the batters into their separate pans and topped the batter with the peach mixture. I started off with the GF pan to prevent cross-contamination from glutenous batter splatters. I used a Pyrex pan for the GF cobbler. I figured the dishwasher would have rid it of specks of gluten from previous baking adventures better than the metal pans that we’d hand-washed.
As I was mixing things together, I noticed on the GF flour bag that, for best results, one should add xanthan gum to batters and doughs. I wasn’t about to run out and buy a separate package of xanthan gum. That stuff is quite pricey for a single use. (I’m not into molecular gastronomy. I like my cuisine to look like the food of its origin.) Besides, the 1:1 ratio of flour to milk in the batter wasn’t going to be much affected by the lack of xanthan gum.
One of my GF friends was intrigued that I’d used the flour mix I had, since she’d had trouble baking with flours high in chickpea before. I was more concerned that the legume flours would add an off-taste to the cobbler. Fortunately, she and the other GF revelers enjoyed the final result. I tried a little myself and was relieved at the texture and taste. It’s amazing what peaches and sugar will do.
Two cobblers. The GF iteration is on the left.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/08/12/baking-between-the-lines/
Aug 11
Going Full Upstate
Tonight is the annual Spiediefest. Check out last year’s post, Spiedie 101, as well. This year I’m going full Upstate by making salt potatoes alongside the spiedies.
Some history first. Syracuse, New York is known as the Salt City because of the salt mines in the area. Salt is more than a seasoning in Upstate New York, it’s essential to keep roads clear during the ugly winters. It’s also essential to the livelihoods of car washes, body shops, and rustproofing businesses, as road salt eats away at cars. Six winters in Ithaca did a number on my 1982 Nissan Sentra, despite getting it rustproofed my first year in town. Someone had the bright idea of cooking unpeeled new potatoes in brine and serving them with butter (from Upstate New York dairies, of course). The salt stays on the surface of the spuds, so the result is not intolerably salty. Salt potatoes are commonly served at picnics, family reunions, clambakes, and the New York State Fair. Salt potato kits (potatoes with the right amount of salt enclosed in a plastic bag) are sold in most Upstate groceries.
When I told Julian I was going to make salt potatoes this year, he asked if he should pick up some Genesee Cream Ale to really go Full Upstate. I vetoed that idea. Too much bad brew at frat parties back in the day…
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/08/11/going-full-upstate/
Aug 02
Tuning Out
Sometimes listening to the news on my commute gets very tedious, especially in these times. Fortunately, I have a trial subscription to Sirius XM in Gretta the Jetta. (The name was Julian’s idea, and the Friday night crew agreed.) My preferred channels are the 60’s and The Beatles. I can sing along to my heart’s content and don’t care about the traffic or what’s going on in the other Washington.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/08/02/tuning-out/
Jul 30
Crawdads!
Or crawfish, crayfish, or mudbugs. Call them what you will, these little freshwater crustaceans are mighty tasty. They’re not easy to find hereabouts, but we buy them when we find them.
Crawfish can be found alive on occasion in well-stocked fish stores. We’ve purchased them at Uwajimaya and Mutual Fish. They’re available during the summer. Most of the year we buy them in a frozen brick of shelled meat. Make sure you buy domestic crawfish meat. Once we bought a package from China. It was so vile-smelling that we had to throw the whole recipe out and ate dinner at our go-to Salvadoran restaurant.
A highlight of buying live crawfish is to watch the cats’ reactions. Luka wasn’t sure what to think, but he was interested. Last night we tried to introduce Neli to our future dinner. She couldn’t get out of my arms fast enough when she saw the mass of twitching claws and antennae.
A crawfish tries to make a run for it. Luka’s on the case.
So what to do with crawfish? You can do a traditional Cajun boil. Think of a shrimp or crab boil, with seasonings, potatoes, corn on the cob, and other vegetables in the pot. Because there’s so little meat on crawfish, you’ll need to buy at least 2 pounds of live critters per person. For a tutorial on how to eat whole crawfish, here’s one. We usually make crawfish étouffée, substituting cooked tail meat for shrimp.
Beer is the preferred beverage to accompany crawfish at all steps of the process. A lighter-flavored beer is preferred, although you could try the Dixie Blackened Voodoo ale – if you can find it in your area. So pop open a bottle, twist off some heads, et laissez les bons temps rouler!
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/07/30/crawdads/
Jul 28
Restaurant Criticisms
We eat at restaurants on a regular basis. The food is primary; however, we find some aspects of restaurant ambience annoying. Sometimes these features can negate the quality of the meal. Here’s our list:
Noise. High ceilings and hard surfaces make for difficult conversations, especially for those who have hearing issues.
Music. Our favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Greensboro used to play the same CD over and over in an evening. I think it was a strategy to turn over the tables faster. “Oops, this is where we came in. Time to get the check.” At first it was the soundtrack from Dances with Wolves, then the Titanic CD got worn out. We had lunch today at a new Thai restaurant in downtown Seattle. The soundtrack was slow techno music, which drives me nuts.
Lighting. Aging eyes and dimly-lit restaurants make reading menus difficult. The most important reason to bring one’s cell phone to a restaurant is the flashlight app.
Seating. Some restaurant chairs may look stylish, but are highly uncomfortable. Think of the hard plastic booths in a fast food restaurant. They’re not meant for dawdling over your french fries. Even some high-end restaurants have chairs that are difficult to sit in for any length of time. The trend of barstool-height chairs and tables are off-putting to folks who are short or who get around in wheelchairs.
We’ve left restaurants because some of these issues. We looked into a new Mexican restaurant near our home. The noise was so overwhelming at the entrance that we didn’t bother trying to be seated. Potential restaurateurs would do well to consider the environment in which their food is served. If people aren’t comfortable when eating, they won’t return.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/07/28/restaurant-criticisms/
Jul 22
From Farm to Fork
Farmers are expanding into processing and serving what they grow. This move can make economic sense. When commodity prices are on the low side, farmers can add value by pickling, pressing, or cooking their crops. This helps their bottom line, provided they can jump through the health department hoops.
Last week we had breakfast at a farm-to-fork establishment in Pemberton, British Columbia. North Arm Farm serves breakfast and lunch, and offers catering and a venue for wedding receptions. It has its own flock of hens for eggs, along with sheep, goats, and pigs. It also has u-pick organic strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. Some of the organic vegetables for sale are from the farm; others are from farther afield in British Columbia. It sells house-pickled items as well. We picked up a jar of pickled garlic scapes there. Our meals were very good. The sausage was made on site. The restaurant was busy, and the berry patches were hopping with pickers. We saw people bring in huge containers of raspberries and blueberries to take home. We’d definitely go back there for a meal. We’ll also look for farm-to-fork restaurants on this side of the border.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/07/22/from-farm-to-fork/
Jul 22
Preferred (Food) Porn
As I mentioned earlier, I subscribe to a plethora of foodie magazines. I have trimmed the number over the years, as some failed to keep my interest or (as in the case of Gourmet) ceased publication. Here’s the current roster.
Bon Appétit. I’ve subscribed to this one longer than any other periodical. My interest in it has waxed and waned over the years. Since Gourmet folded in 2009, Bon Appétit has incorporated some of the soft-focus photography features and articles characteristic of its former Condé Nast genre-mate. Sometimes it lapses a little far into the trendy, e.g., the “cleansing” articles in January.
Cooking Light. I started subscribing when I was in grad school, when a friend introduced me to it. The recipes are middle of the road, tasty, and healthy. The nutrition advice is relatively sound compared to other magazines.
Saveur. I think this would be my desert-island subscription. I’ve subscribed since the pilot issue. It couples cuisine with culture, rather than just highlighting recipes from a particular place. One year its top 100 highlighted our favorite Vietnamese restaurant in Greensboro.
Fine Cooking. I like the step-by-step instructions and the food science articles. It also tends away from the trendy.
Cook’s Illustrated. Again, this publication focuses on the science of cooking and baking. Definitely a periodical for the obsessive-compulsive.
Sunset. While this isn’t strictly a food publication, Sunset has helped orient us to our home on the Left Coast and the culinary opportunities therein. I used to subscribe to Southern Living when we lived in Dallas and Greensboro for the same reason.
Milk Street. This is the only individual-driven publication I subscribe to. Christopher Kimball left Cook’s Illustrated in 2015 to form his own magazine-cum-store in Boston. The concept is similar to his old magazine, but the dishes are more international.
Taste of Home. This looks like the polka-dotted sheep of the lot. My mother gives me a gift subscription every year. I appreciate the baking recipes. To the editors’ credit, it has become a little more cosmopolitan than it was years ago. (Disclosure: A distant cousin used to edit it many years ago).
I’ll pick up random issues of other magazines (e.g., Food and Wine) if they have something interesting inside; otherwise, I stick to what I have.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/07/22/preferred-food-porn/
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