Thursday, January 20, 2011
Stringless Sugarsnap Peas - Genius!
How to fight climate change on the home front
Until governments decide what to do about global warming, we can take matters into our own hands. Here a UK writer says we can learn lessons from the wartime generation about conserving energy and rationing (but not restricting choices) of food. Growing a 'Victory Garden' and gathering scraps to feed livestock or composting to amend soil, are simple - and enjoyable - steps in reducing carbon emissions and combating rising food and fuel costs.
Mobilising the 'home front' to fight climate change | Caroline Lucas | Environment | guardian.co.uk: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Swine Dining: Going Whole Hog for Heritage Pork
Here’s a true bedtime story to relay to the kids: Back before the health-conscious ’60s and the advent of Wesson corn oil, pork was prized for its, well, piggyness. In those days, the more obese the pig the better. Not only did the animals provide tasty meat, but they also yielded copious amounts of lard, which was used in everything from French fries to pie crust to cakes.
These bygone hogs were raised outdoors, where they naturally developed a thick layer of fatback that helped protect them in harsh climates. Common on the diverse farm-scapes of yesteryear, pigs noshed on bugs and acorns, helped deal with much of the farm waste (discarded vegetables, kitchen scraps, etc.), and rooted around in mineral-rich soils, literally plowing through fields, helping to keep the ground soft and fertile.
At the end of the year, these four-legged garbage disposals would provide a delicious bonus to farm families by way of cured bacon, heavily marbled chops and roasts, ham and buckets of lard, which would sustain them through the winter months ... [snip]
Thankfully, the locavore movement has provided increased support for small farmers who are focused on doing it the Old Way: Raising livestock in pastures on farms with healthy soils, and treating their hogs as humanely as possible from birth to slaughter, allowing them to generally muck around, reproduce and just be pigs. Many farmers are embracing heritage hog breeds like the popular and beloved Berkshire hogs, and the Red Wattle, an at-risk breed that has dark red, marbleized meat. (A heritage breed is one that dates back at least a hundred years – think heirloom tomatoes) ... [snip]
Some miles south, at the appropriately named Animal restaurant in West Hollywood, Niman Ranch pork is prepared by bad-boy chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, who showcase a tour de force of swine from snout to tail. The restauranteurs were once chided by an LA food critic for using too much bacon, but their philosophy, according to Chef Shook, is: “It’s all good.” Pork pickin’s at Animal include a thick slab of house-made head cheese with pickled ramp vinaigrette and cornbread; “LA friendly” brined and braised pig tails “buffalo style” with a fiery sauce, celery, and ranch dressing (think oxtail with a twist); and a slow food specialty, pig ears, which are boiled 30 hours before a quick trip to the fryer. The crispy triangles are dressed in a chili-lime sauce and served with a pan-fried egg. Hog Heaven Part Deux!
If you really want to impress your foodie friends, order the next hot old/newcomer heritage pork known for its seriously heavy known for its seriously heavy marbling, the longhaired Hungarian Mangalitsa. Pronounced MON-go-leet-sa, this lard-type breed can be traced back to early 1900s Hungary. At La Provence restaurant in southern Louisiana (part of Chef John Besh’s restaurant group), the chefs actually help rear these special hogs before they become dinner. La Provence is located on farmland in Lacombe, where the restaurant staff also raises vegetables, herbs and other livestock for use in Besh’s various establishments.
La Provence’s Chef de Cuisine, Erick Loos IV, first researched the Mangalitsas to see how they’d fare in the hot and humid South before he made a road trip to Seattle to bring 10 of them home. The rare breed has been worth all the effort. “They’re like the Kobe beef of pork,” says Loos. “The sheer volume of fat is what they’re known for.”
According to Loos, the fat from the Mangalitsa hogs is mostly unsaturated due to a diet that consists primarily of wheat, barley and alfalfa (typically, hogs are fed corn and soy beans and alfalfa). The unique fat has a cleaner taste, says Loos: “You don’t get that over-stuffed full sensation when you eat it.”
The high-fat hogs, generally slaughtered at a whopping 350 pounds, take almost twice as long to raise as commercial animals do. La Provence and its sister restaurants have no problem dealing with a size XXXL pig. They use it all “from head to toe,” says Loos. Having their own Having their own smokehouse and curing room helps. In addition to making cured sausages, bacon and ham, the chefs use the head for headcheese, turn the tongue and brains into pâté, and incorporate the lard into chicken liver mousse and a pureed apple butter, which is served with house-made pretzels at restaurant Lüke in New Orleans. Unlike some of his peers, Chef Loos has yet to try his hand at whipping lard into high peaks like cream for fluffy garnish. Hopefully when he does, the end product will come with a portable defib.
To read the entire story, go see Real Eats at Nomad Editions.
Photo credit: by David Cornwell, courtesy of Niman Ranch
Where to find Heritage Pork
First off, to be as local and carbon-reducing as possible, search “heritage pork” with your zip code at localharvest.org. Or venture to your farmer’s market in search of a pork farmer. Who knows, there may be some Old Spot pork chops with your name on them.
Mail-Order Sources Include:
Debragga.com. This site sells Mangalitsa pork cuts and lard via mail order. Additional products and hams are available in New York, San Francisco and Seattle (see woolypigs.com for more information).
Heritagefoodsusa.com. Heritage Foods is the marketing arm for Slow Food USA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to regional cuisines and products. Heritage Foods USA processes about 150 antibiotic-free and pasture-raised pigs each week, from 20 farmers that hail from the Midwest and Virginia. They have weekly specials and good prices on heritage pork products, including a variety of cuts, hams and cured products.
Nimanranch.com. Niman Ranch is probably the largest distribution network of independent farmers in the U.S., producing antibiotic-free meat products that are served at high-end restaurants like Thomas Keller’s Per Se in Thomas Keller’s Per Se in New York. Niman has a network of more than 500 family hog farmers. They carry many all-natural pork cuts, including chops, ribs, roasts, sausages and cured hams.
Rockhousefarm.info. Located in Burke County, North Carolina, their animals are raised on 390 acres of pasture and woodland without antibiotics, hormones or the use of petroleum-based fertilizers. Farmer Pride Sasser raises Large Blacks, Gloucestershire Old Spots and Berkshire hogs, along with other heritage breed animals. The farm’s USDA-inspected meats are sold locally and via mail order.
Secrets of a local food system
I've just discovered this great new blog by Jane Black. She's writing a book about Huntington, WV's efforts to change the way it eats. As a West Virginia native I've been watching this as well as the Appalachian region's disease and obesity statistic are one of the highest. Check out her blog here: Secrets of a local food system. Next time I head to Charleston to visit my folks I may take a side trip to Athens, Ohio.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Potato pancake recipe
Action shot! 
Oh for a crisp potato pancake. I grew up with them and really looked forward to breakfast (or dinner) the day after we had mashed potatoes. In the UK this type of pancake -- using leftover potatoes along with cooked cabbage or kale -- is known as Bubble and Squeak. I had some leftover mashed potatoes and creamed spinach today and turned them into this a terrific, stick-to-your-ribs lunch. Here's a rough recipe:
Potato and Spinach Pancake
You can use any cooked green veg but make sure
you've squeezed out most of the moisture by wrapping
it in a strong paper towel first. This makes 1 large,
6-inch pancake or 2 smaller ones.
2 to 3 tablespoons canola or olive oil
1 cup creamed spinach (or other green)
1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes
1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and pepper
Place the oil in a medium, heavy-bottom skillet over medium heat. In a medium bowl, combine the spinach, potatoes and flour until well blended.Place additional flour on a plate for dredging along with some freshly groundpepper (but no salt yet; salting after the pancake is cooked will make it crisp,salting before makes it sad).
Form the potato mixture into a large patty, about 1/2-inch thick. Dredge it in the flour and transfer to the hot skillet. Cook, without moving it 3 to 4 minutes until golden brown. Turn with a large spatula and cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate and top with coarse kosher salt to taste. Serve piping hot!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Winter Farmer's Markets: Inside-Outside USA!
Note: Here's a story I did for Real Eats a couple of months ago and wanted to share. It's a great new iPad app, but also works on any smartphone. You can check it out and sign up for a free trial at nomadeditions.com.
I was blown away when fall crept in that first year manning my table at the farmer’s market. In spring, people would crowd the table, ravenous for fresh fare, as if the strawberries, greens and lettuces were marked-down Manolo Blahniks. And I stood behind the table in my apron, dispensing recipes and gardening advice like a human kiosk, tallying up sales and making change in a routine that continued through the summer months. Once the heirloom tomato and corn season began I was jamming bills in my 501s as fast as a two-bit stripper, selling out of veg and berry before high noon. Then, as the first leaves scattered across the parking lot, I realized I was making perhaps a quarter of the $500 an hour I was grossing just a few weeks earlier.
“Daaaaang,” the farmer next to me said as he broke down his tent. Dang is right.
Although many farmers have wisely added winter CSA (community-supported agriculture) subscriptions that carry them through the spare months, subscription-free shoppers may not be aware of the bounty available and where to get it. In the past, a lot of farmers I know have simply thrown in the towel and stopped growing fall crops. But the situation is changing for the better in some parts of the country. What’s new these days are late-season and indoor farmers’ markets that provide farmers with year-round opportunities to sell their produce and farm products. Although they’re mostly located in larger cities, small-town markets can easily adopt the model, setting up inside churches, malls and other public spaces from the California coast to Manhattan Island; up, down, and in between.
In Chicago two interfaith organizations, the Churches' Center for Land and People (CCLP) and Faith in Place, sponsor the indoor Winter Farmers Markets offering local producers a venue to extend their income beyond the regular growing season. Held in parish halls of congregations of several denominations, these markets are open from November to April, offering customers an opportunity to purchase cheese, grass-fed beef and pastured poultry, bread, honey, vinegars, dried fruits, milled flours, sauces and salsas, preserves, cider and fresh produce as available. In some locations, farmers offer prepared meals in a café setting. There’s no fee to farmers though they are asked to donate 10 percent of sales (above a threshold amount) to an Illinois farm crisis fund that provides up to $1,000 to farmers in crisis due to illness or unexpected expenses. Which is a very nice incentive for shoppers if you ask me.
In Chicago two interfaith organizations, the Churches' Center for Land and People (CCLP) and Faith in Place, sponsor the indoor Winter Farmers Markets offering local producers a venue to extend their income beyond the regular growing season. Held in parish halls of congregations of several denominations, these markets are open from November to April, offering customers an opportunity to purchase cheese, grass-fed beef and pastured poultry, bread, honey, vinegars, dried fruits, milled flours, sauces and salsas, preserves, cider and fresh produce as available. In some locations, farmers offer prepared meals in a café setting. There’s no fee to farmers though they are asked to donate 10 percent of sales (above a threshold amount) to an Illinois farm crisis fund that provides up to $1,000 to farmers in crisis due to illness or unexpected expenses. Which is a very nice incentive for shoppers if you ask me.
Coastside Farmers' Markets operates two markets along the glorious California coastline in Pacifica (on Wednesdays), and in Half Moon Bay (on Saturdays) from April through the second and third weeks of December, respectively. With a long growing season locals can enjoy a diverse collection of green and root vegetables, fall raspberries, artisanal goat cheese and fresh seasonal seafood such as halibut, cod, rockfish, sardines and November’s crab catch, courtesy of Half Moon Bay fishermen. The market enjoys the support of several outstanding restaurants that boast farm products on their menus, among them Navio (located at the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay), which bases several dishes on Giusti Farms’ globe artichokes and Brussels sprouts, among others.
Because of its local support, San Mateo County actually has more farmers now (by five percent) than it did five years ago, according to market founder and manager Erin Tormey.
“We have been a magnet for a lot of young, first-generation farmers who decided to take a risk with their life and doing something difficult,” says Tormey. “With guidance from older farmers, there are all these tiny little farms that have found their niche by doing a few things really well.”
Never at a loss for great shopping experiences, New Yorkers can select from 18 of the Greenmarkets that stay open year-round in Manhattan. Area farmers (from upstate New York, Long Island, New Jersey and beyond) offer plenty of options for the full-season locavore. Hudson Valley’s Migliorelli Farm brings its homegrown preserved, frozen corn and strawberries, and Evolutionary Organics sells their frozen tomatoes for a burst of summer flavor to brighten those short winter days. On the fresh side, several farmers sell an array of fall cole crops along with winter squash, potatoes, apples, root vegetables and onions. The Greenmarkets’ cheese and milk vendors are out at market even on the coldest days, though milk bottles have to be stored in vans once the temperature drops below a certain point to avoid shattering. “The "off-season" months are really the time for proteins to shine,’ says market manager Jeanne Hodesh. “And our meat and egg vendors do terrific business selling everything from lard for holiday pie crusts to Thanksgiving turkeys and bones for soup and stock-making.”
In addition, says Hodesh, the Greenmarkets entice customers by hosting Educated Eater panels, which draw crowds interested in learning more about sustainable seafood, local grains and multi-generational farms, along with recipes from guest chefs.
During fall and winter the true test of your locavore fortitude will be to fill your pantry with some of the freshest and tastiest food for miles. To find a fall or winter market near you — or just a friendly neighborhood farmer — check out the listings at Local Harvest.
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