Apr 28

Sunday Foodways

The Sunday brunch has become a dining institution, mostly in cities and suburbs. The Washington Post published an article on brunches titled, “You can never have too many mimosas“. The lede of the article described the chaos that ensued at one brunch where the restaurant ran out of orange juice for mimosas. My minister in grad school (see my earlier post,  We Are All Okies) said that his competition wasn’t other churches in the area. It was Sunday brunch and the New York Times. This was when you had to buy a brick of newsprint at Mayer’s Smoke Shop in downtown Ithaca on the way to brunch. However, brunch is not the only Sunday foodway found in the United States. Below are three examples.

Dim sum. This tradition is found in cities and suburbs with large Asian populations. For those unfamiliar with the concept, wait staff wheel carts of assorted dumplings, potstickers, and other nibblies through the dining room. Customers point at what they want, and the bill is calculated on the number and variety of dishes. Sometimes you need to pay careful attention to what you point at on the cart. One time in New York City we thought we were getting chicken wings and wound up with fried chicken feet. Dim sum done properly requires company. A solitary diner would stop at one or two offerings. While the restaurant would be happy to turn over that table rapidly, they’re more likely to sell more with a large party. Dim sum is food- rather than booze-oriented. Some restaurants have taken dim sum to 7-day menus. Witness the Din Tai Fung chain and conveyor-belt sushi restaurants in the Seattle area. The latter gives you the advantage of seeing what  you grab off the belt as it goes by. There used to be a restaurant in north Seattle that offered Filipino-style dim sum (Fil-Sum), but it went out of business. It might have done better in a more visible location.

Cafeteria culture. This is a Southern tradition, because Mama deserves a Sabbath from cooking. I think my former church in Greensboro, NC timed  services so its members could beat the Southern Baptists to the cafeteria queues. Folks congregate at cafeterias after church for the “meat and three” plus dessert menu. The three refers to side dishes. Family members line up with their trays and point at what they want from the steam/cold tables. The meats usually include fried chicken, pot roast, fried catfish, barbecue (beef or pork depending on the state), and ham. Sides include green beans cooked beyond dead with salt pork, macaroni and cheese, corn, hush puppies, and mayonnaise-based salads. Desserts include cakes, pies of all kinds, and the occasional pudding. As with dim sum, cafeterias are focused on food instead of alcohol. This is especially true in the Deep South, where one is not seen in public with an alcoholic beverage on the Lord’s Day. (One waits until one is ensconced in the easy chair at home watching football to imbibe.)

Diners. Now we’re talking East Coast, especially New Jersey. While some diners have special brunch menus, you go there for the variety of offerings that will satisfy everyone. Maybe Mom wants a Greek salad, while the kids want burgers – no problem. Unlike dim sum and cafeterias, alcohol consumption is acceptable in diners. Just don’t order a lobster, as this Saturday Night Live skit advises.

I’m not much for Sunday brunches. The farm girl genes mean that I can’t sleep much later than 7 am. If I want an omelet, I’ll make one for breakfast. By the time I get home from church, most Sunday brunches are finishing service. We’ll often go out for lunch on Saturdays once Julian gets out of bed. No mimosas required.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/04/28/sunday-foodways/

Apr 27

Warming Trend

Thursday was the first 80° day in the Seattle area this year. Layers of sweaters, fleece, and wool were shed. Birkenstock sandals were worn without socks. People were blinded by the preponderance of pasty exposed skin on the University of Washington campus and on the Burke-Gilman Trail. (Let’s just say that tanning parlors are not a big deal here.) Naturally, a cool front came in overnight and temperatures got more seasonal again. The warm days will return.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/04/27/warming-trend/

Apr 23

Neighborhood in Need of Help

Pioneer Square is the oldest neighborhood in Seattle, dating back to pre-Alaska Gold Rush days. After years of being best known for dive bars and sketchy characters, the neighborhood is on the rise. Unfortunately, Pioneer Square and its businesses are in danger of closing due to clumsy construction.

We had tickets to a symphony concert Saturday night, and Julian needed a fresh supply of coffee beans. As we walked down First Avenue to Caffe d’Arte, we noticed something unfamiliar: QUIET. Normally on a Saturday afternoon/early evening in spring the streets would be full of people. The coffee shop was relatively quiet. The most people we saw in one place was a line of men waiting on line to get into the Bread of Life Mission for dinner and a cot for the night. Clearly the holes in the street had depressed car and foot traffic considerably.

We had dinner at an Italian restaurant, Che Sara Sara. The server told us that their business was down 70% because of construction of a proposed streetcar line. That project is on hold due to protests by the local businesses. Most of the current work is to replace underground utilities. Still, this work may not be done for another year or so. Will businesses like Caffe d’Arte and Che Sara Sara last that long?

Okay, friends, this is where you come in. Next time you’re in downtown Seattle, spend some time and money in Pioneer Square. If you’re a tourist, take the Underground Tour. Buy a Utilikilt. Visit Magic Mouse Toys. Have lunch or dinner at one of the restaurants. Summer tourists may find their way to Pioneer Square by diffusion, but locals need a bit more persuasion. There are several nearby parking garages to make up for those lost to construction. Keep the neighborhood viable and vibrant.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/04/23/neighborhood-in-need-of-help/

Apr 23

This Year’s Garden

I was late in getting the seeds planted for the herb garden this year. I’ve currently got parsley, garlic chives, thyme, cilantro, basil, and oregano seeds in Jiffy Pots thinking about germinating. (Jiffy Pots are compressed peat pucks that expand when wet into baby planters. I’ve used these before to get a head start on basil.) I still have thyme, chives, and rosemary from last year on the upper deck. All should be repotted very soon.

As for the planters at the front entry (see last year’s This Year’s Garden), we went to Molbak’s for advice. When we described the dimensions of the planters to a staff member there, she said, “You’re going to be stuck with annuals.” The planters are only about 6″ deep, which don’t allow much downward expansion for ferns or perennials. In addition, the low depth would put any perennials at increased risk of frost damage. No wonder the previous owners had plastic ferns in those planters. While we were at Molbak’s, I picked up two red shiso plants, a mint plant, and a 6-pack of calendula. The petals of calendula are a key ingredient in Georgian cooking. I’ve been looking for these plants for years.

Saturday we stopped in the Paris-Madrid Grocery to check for padron peppers. They may have some plants next month. In the meantime, I need to get some Thai basil and maybe one or two other plants. Plus we need to get some hanging baskets of flowers to make Julian happy. We might expand our garden to the lower deck, since the landscapers may be getting rid of an overgrown holly plant that’s in front of the deck.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/04/23/this-years-garden-2/

Apr 15

Brewpub Beets

Two of the twenty-somethings in our Friday night group got married last September. Since they’re both aficionados of microbrews, we gave them a home brewing kit as a wedding present. They were thrilled. Last night was the debut of their first product, a light ale, at a potluck. This necessitated some thinking about what would be appropriate for this occasion. I had a hankering for beet salad, so I decided to make a beet salad with a grainy mustard vinaigrette. The twist was using malt vinegar as the acid in the dressing.

I picked up some yellow and red beets at the fruit stand, along with some carrots in case anyone averse to beets showed up. (One of our former rec.food.cooking newsgroup cronies referred to beets as dirt chunks. Never mind that she won several blue ribbons at the Minnesota State Fair for her pickled boiled dirt chunks.) I roasted them in a 400° oven, with the red and yellow beets wrapped separately in foil. The yellow beets were done in about an hour; the red ones took over 50% longer, even though they weren’t much bigger.

While I was roasting the beets, I assembled the ingredients for the dressing and cooked the carrots. I had to run to the store and get another bottle of malt vinegar, as we were low. The dressing consisted of 1/3 cup vinegar, 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, a couple of tablespoons of grainy mustard, salt and pepper. Since the whole mustard seeds don’t add much emulsifying power, I had to use more grainy mustard than I would have used with plain mustard. One the beets were cool enough to slice, I did so and stirred in the dressing. I added some fresh thyme to the beet salad. The carrot salad got some chopped carrot leaves. (They are edible.)

Both salads were a big hit. And the ale? Excellent!

(A feeding between the lines alert: The malt in malt vinegar is mostly barley; therefore, this is not appropriate for persons with gluten intolerance or celiac disease.)

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/04/15/brewpub-beets/

Apr 15

Scent of a Crunch Bar

The New York Times published an essay on the smells that remind one of childhood and home. This elicited a flurry of replies from readers. Here’s my story of childhood aroma.

I was born in Fulton, New York. One block from the hospital where I was born was a massive Nestle factory, known in town as “The Chocolate Works”. It first opened in 1900. The smell of chocolate was probably the first thing I smelled as a baby. The aroma of chocolate was a constant in Fulton when I was small. To most folks in Fulton, it was the smell of money.

My father, uncle, stepsister, and numerous other acquaintances worked at the Chocolate Works over the years. The pay was good and the work was steady. The company took good care of their employees.  I remember the gift boxes Dad would bring home from work around Christmas.  They contained lots of plain and Crunch® bars, semi-sweet morsels, Quik®, and other Nestlé products. We were less enamored of the Crosse and Blackwell products in the gift boxes. My siblings and I did NOT do mincemeat or marmalade. When I was 5, we moved to the town next door to Fulton, so the chocolate smell was usually absent; however, if the wind was blowing just right, we could catch the faint scent of chocolate in the air.

The Chocolate Works ceased operations on May 2, 2003, putting over 400 people out of work.  As with many of these closings, Nestle cited corporate consolidation. It was a surreal sensation for years when I’d drive past the factory on my way to and from the Syracuse airport on vacations: No chocolate aroma. Most of the buildings were finally demolished in the last five years. An Aldi grocery store now sits on a small corner of the property. Although the Chocolate Works is no longer in existence, the smell of chocolate is a powerful trigger of early childhood for me.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/04/15/scent-of-a-crunch-bar/

Apr 09

That was Fast

Two weeks ago I mentioned the demise of one of our neighborhood eagles. Animal Control thought it was a female, and I hypothesized that it was Edwina from the nest down the block from our condo. Either a new couple has moved into the nest, or Edwina’s mate Eddie wasted no time finding another lady friend. We’ll have to wait a few weeks to see if they’ll hatch an eaglet or two.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/04/09/that-was-fast/

Apr 07

First In, Last Out

My maternal grandfather was, by his own admission, an ornery old cuss. He dropped out of school as a teenager, but he had the rural equivalent of street smarts. One of his observations that’s stuck with me for decades is that farmers are the first to get into an economic depression and the last to get out. If Grandpa were here, he’d add trade war to that statement.

Let’s look at the present situation. After the current administration proposed tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum, the Chinese retaliated with potential tariffs on US agricultural products such as soybeans. The commodity price of soybeans fell immediately. While this may look like a short term adjustment to people used to stock trades, it will affect farmers for years. Most of them have already bought their seeds and planted,  if not prepared the fields for this year’s crop. If the price continues to fall, farmers may lose money big time on their investment come harvest. They can’t easily plow under the crop in July and switch to planting arugula. This can have a ripple effect on other industries. Farmers may not be able to invest in new tractors and other equipment, or complete deferred maintenance on buildings. Banks could see increased loan defaults. The rural economy is already shaky, and could get worse if the trade war is declared.

Agriculture is the ultimate faith-based occupation. Farmers have faith that bad weather won’t ruin their crops and that they’ll get a fair price at harvest. Unfortunately, the actions of this administration are shattering the latter.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/04/07/first-in-last-out/

Apr 01

A Minor Passover Miracle

The Passover-Easter season is awash in miracles. The burning bush. The parting of the Red Sea. The resurrection of Jesus. I add a small one: I found a vegetable salad that contains neither alliums or nightshades.
I offered to make an asparagus salad for tonight’s Mixed-Marriage Seder. This is one of the highlights of the year, even if it involves gefilte fish. I went through several cookbooks and found Salade Bagatelle in The French Kitchen, by Michel Roux, Jr.  The recipe contains asparagus, carrots, mushrooms, and watercress tossed with a simple mustard vinaigrette. I went light on the watercress, as some people might be put off by the very peppery flavor. It was a rousing success. I left home with two bowls of salad and returned with a small amount left over, which will be eaten with tonight’s Easter lamb chops.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/04/01/a-minor-passover-miracle/

Mar 26

A Death in the Neighborhood

We learned that one of our resident bald eagles had died. I believe it was the one I called Edwina, who nested with her partner, Eddie, in the nest down the street. Her body was found on the street Sunday morning. Our local animal control transported it to a wildlife rehab center for a necropsy to rule out foul play. The initial report found no broken bones or bullets. She probably died of old age.  Eventually the body will be donated to a Native American tribe.  Eagles have a special place in their spiritual beliefs, and the feathers may be used for ceremonial functions.

When we first came to look at the condo, our then-landlord pointed out the nest to us. Since then we’ve marveled at the sight of the birds hanging out in the trees, fishing on the river, and trying to pick off a gosling. We’ve even watched a couple of eaglets grow up and fledge. Julian’s managed to get several pictures of Eddie and Edwina over the years. Below is my favorite photo of the two of them kibitzing away. Two weeks ago we saw three eagles flying around the nest, presumably in search of a hookup.

We have another nesting pair in the neighborhood, Edgar and Edna. I have yet to locate their nest. It’s possible that another pair will move into Eddie and Edwina’s nest, or maybe Eddie will pick up another mate.

Rest in peace, Edwina. You will be missed.

Eddie and Edwina, having an animated conversation.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2018/03/26/a-death-in-the-neighborhood/

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