May 25

The Amsterdam Coffee Shop Culture

I know what some of you are thinking: “Dude, you visited Amsterdam…” Yes, we did. (I’ve had more traffic from that one post on the Seattle pot shop than anything else. What does this say about web surfers these days?) Here is a product we saw at the Flower Market. Imagine the US Customs officer finding this in your suitcase.

Kids, don't try this at home.

Kids, don’t try this at home.

Amsterdammers call cannabis outlets “coffee shops”, whereas cafés are stores where you consume only food, coffee, or tea. Sometimes coffee shops and cafés are next door to each other, which undoubtedly magnifies the confusion for elderly tourists from Sheboygan or Saskatoon.

I’ll answer your next question before you ask it: No, we didn’t go into a coffee shop. Truth be known, it’s not necessary to enter a coffee shop and purchase product to get a buzz. All you have to do is stand on the sidewalk outside the entrance and inhale. We saw plenty of twentysomethings from Sheboygan, Saskatoon, Strasbourg, and Siena going in them, however. One tour group, which seemed to be focused on Amsterdam’s “alternative cultures”, parked itself prominently in front of a coffee shop. The guide told the tourists they could go inside if they wished. Was the coffee shop giving the tour guide a commission??? Did he do the same in the Red Light District???

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/25/the-amsterdam-coffee-shop-culture/

May 17

Edible Thoughts Goes on the Road

Lafayette, here we come!

Lafayette, here we come!

Later this week Julian and I leave for Europe for a long-overdue vacation. We first land in Amsterdam to visit his cousins. We then take a train to Paris for a week in a rented apartment. Our friend Roger will be joining us, which means much silliness will ensue. We’ll rent a car and hightail it to the southwestern part of France, so we can visit tiny medieval towns en route to our final two days in Lyon.

Preparations for this trip were only slightly less complicated than the D-Day invasion. We (rather, Julian) booked our plane and train tickets and reserved hotel rooms months in advance. We have two catsitters lined up, as one will be out of town Memorial Day weekend.We had a scare last week when we hadn’t heard from the apartment owner to arrange the key handoff. Luckily, that got reconciled. One of the last loose ends was getting transportation to the airport. Our current home is off the beaten path for most taxis and shuttles. We finally found a driver who will take us to and from the airport for less than the usual limo service.

Expect periodic posts from us, with photos and commentary on food, current events, and general hilarity.

 

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/17/edible-thoughts-goes-on-the-road/

May 16

Bike to Work Day

Taking five from the trail.

Taking five from the trail.

May 15 was Bike to Work Day in the Seattle area. The weather was ideal–cool in the morning, with a high in the mid 60’s. I rode to a nearby park and ride, caught the bus to the main hospital, and then rode to the satellite hospital where I work. Assorted organizations set up rest and swag stations around town. My officemate, who rode to work from West Seattle, stopped at so many stations his pack was getting heavy from all the goodies he picked up. The station at my hospital offered free bike tune-ups. I took the opportunity to get my front derailleur degrunged and adjusted.

I did, however, ride all the way home. It’s a 16-mile trip, but a good portion of it is downhill. An early highlight is Interlaken Park, an old-growth forest surrounded by a residential area. The road switchbacks down a steep hill. Fortunately, the traffic is pretty low on that road even during rush hours. Over half the ride is on the Burke-Gilman Trail. This former railroad right of way runs through the University of Washington campus and ends about a block from our home. It offers stellar views of Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains to the east. Although the trail is heavily traveled, it’s rarely gridlocked–unless you have people riding two or three abreast.

The festivities continued for many on the commute home. There is a brewpub and beer garden in Kenmore across from the park and ride where I caught the bus, which is just off the Burke-Gilman. They had a serious party going on as I rode past, complete with a band. The tables in the beer garden were packed with Spandexed and helmeted revelers. Their bikes were locked up on any available fencing. I didn’t stop, since I was only a mile from home at that point. (It was also my night to cook, and it was nearly 6 pm.)

I’ll be commuting by bike more as the summer goes on; however, Edible Thoughts will be posting from Europe for the next couple of weeks. More to come.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/16/bike-to-work-day/

May 11

Words to Live By

Never work anywhere that doesn’t have good potlucks. I don’t mean Doritos, Skittles, and diet soda in the break room. I’m also not talking about the boss ordering pizza to be consumed at a team meeting. This move is at best a bribe, and at worst a way to circumvent wage-hour laws by imposing on hourly workers’ lunch breaks. I mean real food prepared (or at least purchased by) coworkers and shared in a break room or other venue without a work-related meeting attached. The occasion can be a birthday, holiday, or any random Tuesday.

Why are potlucks good for the workplace? Sharing food encourages conversation and boosts morale. That “awesome culture” that most online job postings boast is just a bogus buzzword unless there are spontaneous human interactions to get acquainted and spark creativity. You learn about your coworkers’ backgrounds and cultures through their food contributions. My current department has numerous immigrants and first-generation Americans, along with some who can trace their ancestries in North America back before the Declaration of Independence was signed. You also learn who the good cooks and bakers are in the group. One coworker is from the South and makes a mean sweet potato pie. Conversely, you learn those who lean on other purveyors for their excellent offerings. A former colleague of mine in North Carolina specialized in bringing Boston cream pie from the neighborhood Harris Teeter. A current coworker has a source for killer lumpia (Filipino egg rolls). Those coworkers who wouldn’t know real food if it bit them back can always bring plates, cups, cutlery, and drinks.

Holidays are always a good excuse for a potluck. In the old days, our floor at the medical center where I worked had a legendary holiday party. One of the gastroenterologists would concoct a punch from Austrian wine, fruit juice, soda, and Everclear. The rest of us brought food of various kinds in a vain attempt to sop up the alcohol. My first year we entertained the masses with “Rudolph the Rachitic (vitamin D-deficient for you non-nutrition folk) Reindeer”, accompanied by my friend Karen on the accordion. We also wrote “Another One Passed a Stone” for the occasion, but didn’t perform that number.

The most memorable potluck from those days was a birthday party for one of my coworkers. At the time, I was in the hospital next door recovering from a serious auto accident. It had been a rocky two weeks, most of which I can’t recall (fortunately). That morning a box of Froot Loops appeared on my breakfast tray. Hospital cuisine is not known for being highbrow, but that was a new low. My coworkers, including the aforementioned Karen, dressed me up and smuggled me out of the hospital for the potluck. Although my appetite wasn’t very good, I do remember enjoying a decent-sized plate of food at that party. The company of my coworkers (including my boss, who rarely attended our potlucks) went a long way toward improving my resolve to get back on my feet.

If you truly want to promote interactions between your coworkers, consider regular potlucks. They can nourish the bodies and souls of the group. Bon appétit!

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/11/words-to-live-by/

May 03

The Cookbook Cull

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Guess what? That’s not all of them!

From time to time even the most pack-ratty among us has to trim a collection. There’s only so much rearranging one can do to accommodate more books; thus, some must go. My most recent major cookbook cull was at the end of 2012, when we moved into a townhouse that didn’t have built-in bookcases as our house in Seattle did. Previous culls coincided with cross-country moves, as when we moved to Seattle from North Carolina in 2003.

Culled cookbooks come in several categories:

  • Obsolete. The recipes may have been fine in 1979, but don’t match the way I cook or eat now. In the case of ethnic cookbooks, the authors may have substituted or eliminated ingredients that were hard to find back in the day. I got rid of an early edition of Charmaine Solomon’s Complete Book of Asian Cooking because it didn’t have lemongrass or other ingredients we now take for granted in Southeast Asian cuisine. (Years later, I bought a more recent edition of the book because it’s such a great reference.) I also had a small paperback Asian cookbook by the 1960’s author Myra Waldo that I culled back in the 1990’s. She eliminated fish sauce from the Vietnamese and Thai recipes because of its “distressingly fishy” smell. Vietnamese food without fish sauce is like white chocolate–the key ingredient is lacking, so why bother eating it?
  • Duplicates. Sometimes I’ll receive gifts of cookbooks I already have from family and friends. Or I’ll buy what I think is a revised edition of a cookbook, only to find that it’s the same edition with a different cover–and a higher price.
  • Purchase in haste… Impulse buys can sometimes be real treasures; other times, they’re wanton wastes of trees. Some restaurant or celebrity cookbooks fit in this category. Sometimes restaurant recipes don’t translate well to a home kitchen. In addition, some suffer from sloppy editing. Where’s Judith Jones when we need her?
  • Diet books. I never had many of these, mostly because I never succumbed to the low-carb/Paleo/gluten-free fads. I have bought a few over the years, sometimes for legitimate reasons and often for comic relief. Most diet books fall into the aforementioned wanton waste of trees category.

So how does one cull a collection of cookbooks? Here are a few of my guidelines:

  • Get the book out of the bookcase. Is it dusty? Not a good sign.
  • Crack it open and thumb through a few recipes. Does anything jump out at you as something you’d want to make in the next week? Can you get all of the ingredients at a nearby store? Not everyone has a Wegman’s or Uwajimaya handy.
  • Go ahead and try the selected recipe(s). Were the proportions off? Did the timing not make sense? The recipe may have been tested on a macho restaurant-style gas range where high heat = incendiary; unfortunately, you’re stuck with an aging electric range with iffy temperature control. Most importantly, did it taste good? Would you make this recipe again?

If the answers to these questions are no, it may be time to donate the book to a good home or the local library–or sell it to a used bookstore. And then go out and buy another cookbook that may work better for you.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/03/the-cookbook-cull/

May 02

Opening Day of Boating Season

The first Saturday of May is Opening Day of Boating Season in Seattle. Folks boat here year-round, but Opening Day is another excuse for a party. The University of Washington (UW) crew team hosted a series of races with everyone from local boating clubs to world-class teams. This year’s Windemere Cup featured the UW, Columbia, and the world champion New Zealand men’s teams. New Zealand won, but the UW placed a respectable second. Crowds lined both shores of the Montlake Cut (a passage between Lake Washington and Lake Union that serves as the southern boundary of the UW campus) to cheer, see, and be seen.

After the Windemere Cup race, the crews rowed back to the Boat House; thereafter, the boat parade began. Local law enforcement craft led the way, including a fireboat dispensing water to cool off the spectators–whether they need it or not. (Opening Day has a reputation for foul weather, but today was sunny and in the low 60’s at noon.) The UW Marching Band followed on three boats, playing the school’s unofficial fight song–“Tequila.” Then we had various yachts from local clubs. The members of these clubs stood at attention on the bows, dressed in their Thurston Howell III finery, as they passed the reviewing stand. This meant that their backs were to the crowds on the north bank of the Cut. After the Yacht Clubs go past, it was a mix of old steamboats, Chris Crafts, sailboats, and decorated yachts. These were two of our favorites, “Godzilla vs. the Statue of Liberty” and “Attack of the Giant Squid”.IMG_1179[1]IMG_1173[1] In previous years we’ve seen amphibious cars in the parade, but none this year. Several Canadian boats made the trip down, including the Navy training ship Oriole. This picture is from 2013, but this was the first sailboat through the cut today.IMG_0886[1]

The best part of the festivities is chatting up other spectators. We were invited to the UW Yacht Club wienie roast our first year here. It was a good thing the event was held indoors because the weather was miserable that day. Today I met a woman from Chicago who was in town for a wedding and was told about the crew races, but not the boat parade. She stayed for the parade and had a great time. Two years ago Julian and I were talking to a fellow photographer who told us about a book regarding the 1936 UW crew team’s trip to the Berlin Olympics. This story is “The Boys in the Boat,” which has become a best-seller and will be made into a film within the next year. The book will explain why rowing has such a hold on Seattle and how that heritage has led to the celebration of Opening Day.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/02/opening-day-of-boating-season/

Apr 30

The Life-Changing One True Cobbler®

There is nothing I like better than a good peach in season. Under normal conditions, eating it out of hand (often over the kitchen sink) is sufficient for me. Occasionally you need to embellish perfection. This is where cobblers come into play.

Many years ago, my department in North Carolina hosted a going-away party for a colleague who was moving to Montana. The dessert was a peach cobbler that had appeared in Southern Living magazine that month. (For the uninitiated: Southern Living and the Charleston Receipts cookbook are the main arbiters of foodie good taste in the Carolinas.) The host tried to double the recipe and put it into a baking dish that was too small for the amount of peaches and batter. This resulted in a minor oven fire; however, what was left in the dish was very tasty. I remembered that I had that issue of the magazine at home, and the rest is history. If I opt to try a different recipe, the SO will ask, “Why have you deviated from the path of The One True Cobbler?”

The beauties of this recipe are many. Folks who grew up in the 1970’s will think it’s similar to the old “impossible pies” on the back of Bisquick boxes. You don’t have to mess with making a pastry crust or biscuit dough as with other cobblers. The recipe is easily halved for two-person households such as ours. I often add more peaches than the recipe requires. Although it’s primarily peach, you can gild the lily by sprinkling blackberries, raspberries, or blueberries on top just before it goes into the oven. You can make it with all whole-wheat flour with no problem. I have yet to try a gluten-free (GF) version of the recipe, but it shouldn’t be hard to adapt. I wouldn’t use a GF flour mix that has a large amount of bean flour in it lest it produce an off-taste in the final product.

The One True Cobbler® (accept no substitutes)

The recipe is adapted from one that was published in Southern Living in July 1997 as Easy Peach Cobbler.

1/2 cup unsalted butter (NOT margarine), melted
1 cup flour
2 cups sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
pinch salt
1 cup milk (skim is fine)
4 cups peaches, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp. lemon juice
nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, or crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 375°F. Pour melted butter into 13″ x 9″ x 2″ baking pan. (If you halve the recipe, use an 11″ x 7″ or a 9″ square pan.) I usually melt the butter in the pan in the oven while it’s preheating. Watch it to make sure it doesn’t burn.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk, mixing until just combined. Pour into pan on top of the melted butter. DO NOT STIR.

Stir together peach slices, 1 cup sugar, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan; heat at medium on stove burner until mixture just comes to a boil. Spoon peach slices and juice evenly over the batter in the pan. Again, DO NOT STIR. Sprinkle top with seasoning of choice and/or berries, as desired.

Bake cobbler for 40-45 minutes until top is golden brown. Serve warm or cold alone or with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. The full recipe usually serves 8-10 in our hands.

Note:

A variation of this recipe appears in Molly O’Neill’s One Big Table as Dori Sanders’s Cobbler. In this recipe, the raw peaches (no need to peel) are mixed with 1 cup brown sugar and left to stand for 10 minutes before spooning on top of the batter. Lazy bum that I am, the no-peel, no-cook variation has merits. The peach essence is not diminished by the pre-cooking. In addition, the brown sugar gives it a bit more caramelization. We like this variation even better than the original, so it is referred to as the One Truer Cobbler®.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/04/30/the-life-changing-one-true-cobbler/

Apr 30

Wine Appreciation – The Four Step Program

Cindy is unable to edit a post tonight (for reasons that will soon become obvious), so your intrepid site admin is standing in. This episode presents a basic tutorial on cultivating one’s palate to the pleasures of the noble grape, in its fermented form. When Cindy was an undergraduate, she completed the wines course in the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. Furthermore, her family hails from rural Upstate New York, a region famous for producing women with low morals and hollow legs. So she clearly qualifies as a World Authority on alcoholic beverages.

Step One: Study the Label

 

wine_tasting_1

If you have an interest in oenophilia (and live in a state where it is legal), you will learn to read a wine label like a book. With experience you will learn how to recognize the most important features indicative of a quality product: how much wine is in the bottle, what percentage of it is delicious alcohol, the price, etc. Don’t be discouraged if the text is in a foreign language. For example. the term “appellation” simply refers to certain regions of France. Beverages of similar or superior merit are made by many small producers in the US Appalachians.

Look for: words like jumbo, economy, costco, fortified

Avoid: words like windex, prestone, isopropyl, welch’s

Step Two: Use Your Eyes

wine_tasting_3

The appearance of a fine wine can enhance your enjoyment. Hold the bottle up to the light, and see how much wine remains inside (especially if it was previously opened). A full bottle will provide much more enjoyment. Note the color. Does it look like wine? A small amount of sediment at the bottom of the bottle is nothing to worry about. But if the sediment is over one half inch thick, or green and fuzzy, you might need to shake up the bottle to evenly distribute it.

Look for: red, pink, clear, or pale yellow

Avoid: cigarette butts, insects (although if it’s a small worm, this might be Tequila, in which case, go for it)

Step Three: Use Your Nose

wine_tasting_2

You may be surprised to discover that wines can smell good, and that this is an important part of the wine experience. Experts tell us to look for fragrances that they describe as floral, fruity, vinegary, or skunky. So stick your nose right in there. No odor at all?  This might be a clue that you need to open the bottle. If you don’t have a corkscrew, a power drill works fine.

Look for: pleasant aromas that remind you of ripe fruit, spring flowers, or the last time that you got blasted

Avoid: if encountering reactions like stinging eyes, shortness of breath, facial lesions

Step Four: Use Your Belly

wine_tasting_4

Finally, we are at the point where we can get down to business. Professional tasters and critics will swish the wine around the mouth, while simultaneously sucking air to create turbulence. This allows them to discern nuances like oak, chalk, leather, musk, and acid – obvious signs that the wine was improperly made or stored. Sometimes these pros will go through an entire day’s worth of tastings, spitting out every sample. There’s a lot of bad wine out there. If you are worried about these off flavors, it may be safer to choose a wine from one of the biggest name-brand producers. Try to swallow quickly.

Look for: wines with natural flavor additives, like cherry, chocolate, peppermint, corn syrup

Avoid: wines that are past their “drink by” date (some stores will leave them on the shelf for years)

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/04/30/wine-appreciation-the-four-step-program/

Apr 20

A Bicycle Biomechanics Question

Why is is that so many men ride bikes bow-legged? It’s not particularly aerodynamic. And they’re not all newbies–I’ve seen plenty of experienced bikers ride bow-legged. Are their bikes not adjusted to the length of their legs? Any input?

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/04/20/a-bicycle-biomechanics-question/

Apr 15

My Drug of Choice

After last week’s post on the marketing synergy of a local pot purveyor, I’m sure that random visitors to my little blog will be disappointed to learn that my drug of choice is Camellia sinensis, otherwise known as tea. I’m probably one of the few strictly tea-drinkers in the coffee-crazed Seattle metro area.

Over the years I’ve become rather particular about the kind of tea I drink: Black, strong, caffeinated, and unadulterated. My mother will ask when I steep tea for longer than two minutes, “Are you going to drink that tea anytime soon?” Julian will observe jokingly that the mug is disintegrating because the tea is so strong. (This from a man who drinks coffee so strong it will grow hair on the palms of one’s hands. More on his caffeine proclivities later.) I rarely drink green tea, although I will occasionally drink oolong. I don’t care for sweetened drinks, especially tea. I usually buy Typhoo, Yorkshire Gold, or similar British teas at the Perennial Tea Room in Pike Place Market.

As doctrinaire as I am with hot tea, I am even more opinionated about iced tea. I lived in North Carolina for several years, where if you ask for iced tea, you’ll get it so sweet that your dentist will be able to send all of his or her kids to Harvard on your bills. I felt as if I was fighting a losing battle with my students and colleagues when they’d have the sweet swill at department potlucks. Here in Seattle, some restaurants serve only tutti-frutti flavored iced teas. “It’s only slightly sweet,” the waitstaff will croon in an attempt to make the sale. Mango and passionfruit are best in a fruit bowl, not in my glass.

And when it comes to herbal tea: FEH! I’ll drink mint tea under certain conditions, but most herbal teas just taste like boiled lawnmower clippings.

Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/04/15/my-drug-of-choice/

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