Monday, January 31, 2011

Soul food, is it only in the south?

It is interesting to think of food as having a soul, being something that has a power, something that is transcendent, isn't it--especially when many people think that animals don't have souls? I think that food is the back bone, the core and the commonality of life.

So that being said, is there just food on one end and the soul on the other? Is it the food that has the soul, or the person/people who prepares the meal with the soul, or is it the effort that goes into the preparation that the food develops a soul after being stirred, seasoned and gently bubbling for hours?

The term Soul Food became popular in the 1960's but its origins go back to slave trading in the 15th century. When the Euro-African exploration was taking place in the 14th century, the Europeans brought their food staples with them (corn, turnips, and cabbage to name a few). This would end up playing a very important role in what the slaves where cooking on the plantations a century later- for the knowledge of different ingredients allowed them to begin to understand and develop a palate for a new cuisine. The slaves were usually given the left-overs, or the unused parts of the animal from the main meal on the plantation (oxtail, pig ears, feet, tripe, etc.) this was paired along with new foods such as kale, collard greens and chard. Their food had to be simple, needed to be delicious as possible, and it had to be filling. This was the way of life for many Africans in the south. Their recipes were handed down orally from one generation to another and became the common thread that connected people who were sorely abused and taken advantage of.

Today, I doubt that when the term soul food is mentioned that enslaved Africans on plantations is conjured up in the mind. I think that it is more in lines of food that is full-flavored, tended over for hours, and inspires happy and convivial thoughts...and yes, a flavor profile from the south. But that being said, and always remembering what thousands of slaves had to endure and what their sacrifices meant, is there food that is created far from the south that can still have a soul, that it could possibly be called... "Soul Food"?

I am not intending to diminish the southern cuisine at all, I find it absolutely delicious (ummmm....GUMBO to name just one). I am just thinking that I know what my husband and I cook on a regular basis and what many of my friends cook (Lauren) and there is soul there, there is life that pours into the food and the ingredients. When I make risotto and I am stirring constantly for 22 minutes there is love in that dish, there is my effort being stirred into that arborio rice to make it creamy and starchy wonderfulness. I therefore ask, can food that is made with passion and love (even with 5 ingredients) be "soul food."

Since I believe in the power of food I don't think it off to think of it as having a "soul." In my opinion food is the common thread of people throughout the world and in that commonality there has to be a soul. And for many, food conjures up memories, for some happy, for some longing, but the bottom line is that food connects. And when it is, and it often is, made with love I think that that too can be "soul food."

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Supper vs Dinner? Is there a difference?

A great friend of mine asked me to talk about this topic for my next blog because she is really curious about the differences. I never really thought of there being enough substance for this to evolve into a topic. A challenge perhaps, and everyone who knows me knows how competitive I am! So here it goes. The difference totally depends on where you live, south, north, England, etc. and what time of day it is. Simple... there you go.

Well that seems simple enough, but...there has to be more to it, like the history behind it, the cultural differences, the effects on the word because of television, etc. I personally rarely, if ever, use the word supper (unless we are on our annual trip to Door County, WI and are eating at a Supper Club). My siblings, my in-laws, and my husband all use the word dinner to describe the largest meal of the day, which for us is consumed in the evenings (unless we are on our annual trip to Door County, WI and where every meal is our largest of the day). My 65 year old father (sorry for the age shout out) , however, does occasionally uses the word supper. My amazing 97 year old grandmother does use the word more frequently. So there IS something interesting here. When, why and how did the change happen here in the USA?

In England, the term supper is used more often than it is where I live. "Supper", across the pond, can refer to a light meal which is consumed after dinner (which may be served in the middle of the day). In the 18th century, the British definition of "dinner" was different depending on what class you belonged to. If you lived comfortably in the upper middle class and middle class then "dinner" would be a formal meal at the end of the day, but conversely if you were poorer then "dinner" would be your main meal served around noon and perhaps followed by a light, informal meal, "supper", at the end of the day. Today, this no longer is the case and the words are used interchangeably.

In America, the two are basically synonyms and the usage depends on where you live. In the south they use supper more often than in the north, where perhaps they have a bigger meal at noon making it more like a "dinner" and then a lighter fare, "supper" in the evening. It is interesting, however, that older generations and more rural based people use the word supper more frequently. My grandmother uses the word with some frequency and she grew up on a rural Illinois farm where the main meal was served in the middle of the day. Somewhere and somehow the term supper faded when you got closer to a large city. This to me is interesting. Perhaps it was the effect of modernization, industrialization, more education, diversity of people. I don't know the answer to this. But it is clear that younger people rarely use the word supper and the older generations tend to use the word more frequently.

So to my friend, there is some food for thought and something to ponder tonight as you are eating a wonderful vegetarian meal! How I miss you! For the rest of my readers, think about if you know anyone who uses the word supper and perhaps how and when that word faded and the term dinner came forth. All in all, if it is dinner, supper, lunch, tea enjoy your food and the company with whom you are eating.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Am I crazy? I hope not!

I received a comment today on a food related website that my idea of food and what has happened to our relationship with ingredients, land and people is because I am food obsessed and out of touch with reality. This is insulting but I honestly think deep down HE is the one who is out of touch with reality. He told me "food is not meant to be obsessed over, it is meant to be enjoyed...and all these types of comments come from crazy, organic, hippies... you obviously have no life and no children... and know nothing about the real world and what it takes to make it... you should learn what it means to sacrifice yourself for another [meaning his children, I am assuming]..." Interesting, huh?

At first I didn't really give this much thought but the longer I pondered what to write today his comments kept coming back to me. And I actually feel bad for this person because while it may seem "crazy and obsessive" how much I think about food it certainly does not mean I don't enjoy it. It's quite the contrary, I deeply and profoundly love it.

To me food is something that should not go by the wayside when you have children or when you work two jobs or when basically life gets hectic. Meals, cooking and eating together should NEVER be compromised. Work is very important, it allows us to have a livelihood and to pursue other interests. However, it is the obsession with success in work and its demands on us to work late hours, have your blackberry on, always be available that it stripping away the things that truly matter in this world. It is the stresses of life that are toxic. Getting back to family, returning to a simpler way of life one where every minute of every day isn't planned or managed. Where people sit, talk and listen to what has to be said. There is a lack of human relationships these days and coming back and returning to the heart of the house (aka the kitchen) with reunite us with ourselves, our family members and to food.

Tonight, cook something as a family, turn off outside distractions, sit together, enjoy being united and being an active listener to one another throughout the meal.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Getting back to what really matters

I am often struck by how many families, no matter how large or small, are not eating together. When I mean eating together, I mean truly sitting down, all televisions are off and everyone in the family is physically and mentally present. I understand that people are busy and that having outside activities are vastly important in the development of a person, both young and old, but the sacredness of meal time, especially dinner has dwindled throughout the world. I think in this modern day we are plagued with the immense pressure of success at all costs and family time has consequently diminished and therefore the family as a unity is under stress. It is important to be successful in your career but balance is a necessity. To help bring the family together I feel very strongly in the power of eating together. I know it is not possibly to eat every meal with all members of the family but there needs to be a return to the dinner table. A renaissance of the American eating habits, perhaps.

What brought me to this today was reminiscing about my time living abroad in Florence and thinking about their traditions (which I know and understand are changing just as they are here), the healthy way Italians look at food and its history. They revere their food and traditions as something to be savored. But times are changing there as well, with more families having two incomes there is less time to cook, less time to eat together. In 1986, Carlo Petrini, along with other patriots, wanted to stop the building of McDonalds near the base of the Spanish Steps in Rome. By 1989, a treaty was signed by delegates from 15 other countries, a manifesto created and the Slow Food Movement was born:

"We are enslaved by speed and have all succumbed to the same insidious virus: Fast Life, which disrupts our habits, pervades the privacy of our homes and forces us to eat Fast Foods...Our defense should begin at the table with Slow Food. Let us rediscover the flavors and savors of regional cooking and banish the degrading effects of Fast Food... In the name of productivity, Fast Life has changed our way of being and threatens our environment and our landscapes. So Slow Food is now the only truly progressive answer. That is what real culture is all about: developing taste rather than demeaning it." (Slow Food Movement Manifesto)
I think there needs to be a change in all of our lives to take time, slow down and to savor the moments with your family around the dinner table. Perhaps you don't excel at cooking, or do not find chopping a soothing activity at the end of a long day, but somehow there is a desperate need to return to proper ingredients, ethical food and a morality in eating. Take a pledge to slow down and to eat as a family, to prepare something that not only nourishes your families' body but also their entire well-being. Here is a simply delicious pasta that cooks in 15 minutes. I made this last night and it truly was spectacular. Enjoy!


Quick Spaghetti with Sausage
                Ingredients:
·         3-4 Italian Sausage links, casings on (I used spicy.  Please use one from the butcher or the butcher counter)
·         One pound of Spaghetti
·         4-5 Garlic cloves minced
·         Large handful of basil, hand shred the leaves, reserve the stems and finely chop
·         1, 28oz can of whole or pureed tomatoes, no salt
·         Freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino Cheese
Directions
1.     Bring large pot of water to boil, when boiling add a large handful of salt. Add spaghetti and stir.
2.    Meanwhile heat a large non-stick skillet over medium/high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Take one sausage link at a time and squeeze some of the meat out directly into the heated skillet (should look like small meatball). Continue method for all sausages. Stir and rotate to brown on all sides. This should take the same amount of time as the pasta, about 9 minutes. If not enough fat has rendered add 1-2 Tablespoons of butter to the pan.
3.    Heat another skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add minced garlic and basil stems. Saute for 2 minutes. Careful not to let the garlic burn. When nicely toasted add the tomatoes and stir. Add a nice pinch of salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar. Let combine.
4.    After about 9 minutes remove the spaghetti with a spider or tongs (the pasta should really be ALMOST done, a bite still in the noodle) place directly into the pan with the sausage. Stir and combine. If the pasta is too dry add a small ladle of the pasta water to the sausage pan.
5.    Add reserved hand shredded basil to the tomato sauce. Stir.
6.    When nicely combined, about 1 minute, ladle in some of the tomato sauce. Stir. Add another ladle and stir.  It should not be an overly tomato pasta dish. If you need more sauce just add a little more.
7.    Grate cheese on top and toss to combine
8.    Serve in desired dish and add one more grate of cheese





Sunday, January 9, 2011

Getting rid of the spice packet

Who doesn't love tacos, I mean really? A lot of people have and continue to use spice packets when making tacos, we have, I know you readers have. Yes, they are tasty, salty and make you want a beer but they are filled with preservatives not to mention basically a salt lick.  I wanted to develop a taco recipe that will knock the pants off that $1.09 spice packet. Adios spice packet, hola delicious, natural, amazing flavor! I did my first recipe test for the blog today and through creative thought and problem solving in the kitchen I came up with this, and in Mike's and my opinion this is an absolutely delicious recipe. There a lot of ingredients, especially with the mushroom sugo (PLEASE MAKE THIS ONE) but this was truly awesome and something to definitely repeat! To me food, should be prepared with love, good, simple ingredients and with a little time and effort a great meal will be waiting to be devoured. This is the one for today. Totally delish!!!!


Turkey, Mushroom tacos with cilantro emulsion:
These were truly delicious! So flavorful! The pasillo pepper really gave it a wonderful back note of spice. They are addictive so watch out!
(this almost made four generous tacos for lunch. Feel free to double to make enough for a family of 4 for dinner or keep as is for lunch)
Ingredients:
·         ½ lb of ground turkey
·         1 Tablespoon of olive oil
·         ¼ of onion, finely minced
·         One celery stalk, finely minced
·         ½ of green pepper, finely minced
·         ½ of jalapeno, with seeds, finely minced
·         3 garlic cloves finely chopped
·         1 teaspoon of fresh thyme
·         1 teaspoon of dried oregano
·         1 teaspoon of cumin
·         1 Fresh bay leaf
·         1 dried pasillo pepper
·         ½- ¾ cup of beef stock (hot)
·         Salt pepper
·         2 Tablespoons of mushroom sugo (recipe at bottom) (Courtesy of Michael Chiarello)
·         Habenero, jack cheese--crumbled
·         Cilantro Emulsion (recipe follows)
·         Corn tortillas
Directions for Turkey Tacos:
1.     Pan on medium/high heat add turkey meat and brown. Break apart meat well.
2.    After it’s browned add all the vegetables except the garlic. Add a little salt and pepper. Stir and let the veg soften. After about 5 minutes add garlic.
3.    Add herbs. Turn down heat and let simmer and come together.
4.    Add Mushroom sugo mixture
5.    Meanwhile heat a dry small sauté pan over medium heat. Add pasillo pepper and let it come to heat rotating often—do not let it burn it will become very bitter. When you see it smoking slightly it is ready—about 5-7 minutes.
6.    Remove the pepper and put in glass bowl, pour over the hot beef stock and cover with cling wrap. Let steep for 5-10 minutes.
7.    Remove the pepper.
8.    Bring the turkey mixture to a high temperature and then add the beef broth. Stir and combine.
9.    Warm another sauté pan and add a little vegetable oil and place corn tortilla in to become crisp. Rotate every minute or so until nice and crispy. Remove and a little salt.
10.  Place some turkey mixture on the warm tortilla add a little crumbled cheese and top with a little cilantro oil

Cilantro Emulsion:
            Ingredients:
·         ¼ cup of cilantro
·         ½ of a shallot, coarsely chopped
·         1-2 Teaspoons of fresh lime juice
·         Salt and pepper
·         ½- ¾ cup of vegetable oil
Method:
1.     Place all ingredients in a bowl and using a hand blender mix until combined. Could also use a blender

Mushroom Sugo—courtesy of Michael Chiarello
            I made this earlier in the week for dinner atop toasted orzo and had leftovers. This truly is wonderful and I recommend making this ahead of time—it is really delicious! If you think you don’t like mushroom please give this a go, it will convert you.
For the sugo:
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 cups mixed wild mushrooms, finely chopped (from about 3/4-pound mushrooms)
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
  • 1 tablespoon minced shallots
  • 1/2 cup tomato puree (from fresh or canned peeled tomato)
  • 1/4 cup red wine
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth or water
  • 1 generous tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
  • Parmesan
·         For the sugo:
·         Heat a large saute pan over high heat. When hot, add oil, and then sprinkle in the mushrooms. Don't stir! Let the mushrooms sizzle and caramelize for 7 to 8 minutes. Stir and season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute to release its fragrance. Add the rosemary and shallot and cook for about a minute. Cook briefly to release their fragrance, then add tomato and red wine and simmer until almost evaporated. Add the broth or water. Simmer until slightly reduced, 4 to 5 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Sprinkle with the parsley and keep warm.


Saturday, January 8, 2011

The Sun in Colorado

Today a random person wrote on my blog! It was a BIG day for me. Only two days into it and someone has found what I have to say, I hope, relatively interesting and gave me advice. That advice was to write everyday and to avoid politics and religion--people who know me know I love to discuss those two topics, but that can be saved for a non-food blog. So against my original plan for the day, here I am posting. What am I going to write...what do I have to say three days in row that people care to hear about...?

The purpose of the blog and maybe something greater dawned on me as I was making the dough for the homemade pot stickers. And that was Mountain Sun. What is Mountain Sun you may ask and here is the SHORT answer: a great brew pub that does 90% organic, everything (except bread) made in house as well as homemade, UNBELIEVABLE beers on tap (and yes you can go and do a walk through of their brewery anytime it's just in the back of the kitchen). The LONG answer: it is the place that Mike and I stumbled upon when we found our first place here in Colorado. We went there on Monday prior to returning to Chicago basically to pack our things and move 1,000 miles westward. It is where I lovingly and jokingly emailed my dad to say, "I am not returning, please pack our things and send them to us because this is somewhere I never want to leave." It is the place where we felt such joy, such peace and an unmeasurable amount of love towards each other. We did not want to go back to Chicago because to us, Colorado was and remains to be where we continue our marriage with a view of the mountains, with a life filled with promise and love. Mountain Sun, to us is more than a pub more than a brewery. I think deep down it is a symbol of hope and happiness and that is perhaps why we return as often as we do.

Again, weird that I talk about a restaurant when I encourage cooking at home, but there are important restaurants that cook with passion, adhere to a deep level of moral consciousness and abide by what I believe to be an elevated awareness of the importance of food and their ingredients. To us, here in Colorado there are many of these restaurants, we particularly love and support Mountain Sun. And today we went there. Thank you again, Mountain Sun for being a place where we discuss our next steps in life, our future as well as our unbelievable present.

I encourage all of you to go find your Mountain Sun--the place that speaks to you and your important moments in life. I have many but for now in the beautiful state of Colorado it is Mountain Sun.

Cheers to all! Happy Saturday and happy eating!

P.S. On the menu is homemade dough for homemade turkey and duck fat potstickers, spicy hoisin chicken thinghs and oven-cooked brown rice. Yumm-O.  I almost forgot...Mike's AMAZING Mojito's, God I love them, addictive and totally awesome.

Friday, January 7, 2011

What's on your plate?

So, this morning I asked a question that offended some, was thought-provoking to many, and undoubtedly stirred feathers. My question was, "Why aren't Americans cooking?" Looking back, I should have altered the phrasing to not offend people. I do think many Americans ARE cooking and I think many do a fabulous job. However, I do see numerous people not cooking, living mostly off of terrible take-out and frozen meals and not relying on fresh ingredients. So I am pondering this after a multitude of responses to my question. These are the reasons people use for why they have shied away from the kitchen and natural, fresh ingredients:
  • Don't have time to cook
  • Don't have time to go to the store
  • Don't like to cook
  • Don't know where to begin
  • Fear of failure
  • Don't know how to cook
I am sure that are others but these are the most common I have heard. My response is: life is about priorities. Not everyone likes cooking or knows how, I get it, I don't particularly like camping or the great outdoors, sorry Mike, but I still go. But I do think everyone likes GREAT food. How do we get that on a regular/daily basis? I think we have to cook with fresh food, support locally produced ingredients and when we go out to eat make responsible choices. This can be difficult but life is about making those choices. Sometimes there needs to be a paradigm shift not in only your personal life or your family's life but also maybe as a city or a town to where it supports the smaller farms where everyone and everything is treated humanely and it embraces the restaurant which staunchly believes in making everything in house. I know it seems weird to discuss patronage to restaurants when I am encouraging people to cook but restaurants are an important part of food and culture.

So where do we go from here?  I DO want to be realistic, to live a life solely with this philosophy is difficult and unfortunately extremely expensive. We live in a country where we can get things cheaply and quickly without a lot of thought on how that food got to the plate, how it was raised, how it was handled, etc. For now, I want people to start thinking about what goes into that frozen dinner, where did the food come from in that take-out meal, how was the chicken raised, how did that pig die? Do you care? I do. That is why I have chosen a more humane approach to my food and a more farm to table way of life.

So let's everyone dedicate one night this weekend to cooking with something locally produced that was raised humanely. Try something new this weekend. Cook out of the box (pun semi-intended). It might be hard in winter to find something but lets give it a go! Go cook!

P.S. I really want to get some recipes on my site, there is just a learning curve with the blogging thing. If anyone wants a recipe or a suggestion on a star ingredient just ask I am more than willing to help. 

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Want to know what's for dinner...

Do you?  Because it's going to be delicious! This is my coined phrase between my husband and me. But I digress. I should start my first blog with a little introduction. Well...I have done it, I joined the food blogging craze. I have thought about this for a long time and have received some negative feed back such as "does the world really need another food blogger?" and my response was a loud, "YES". Everyone has a unique view on food, some positive, some negative, some obsessive and I hope that some people will find what I have to say and share with the world interesting and thought provoking.

I love food, I am crazy about food, I wake up thinking about what I want to make for dinner. Does this make me crazy...I don't think so....my husband--a little...foodie friends--no...non-foodies--YES. So where do you lie? For me (and my wonderful husband) food is at the center of our lives. I believe in organic and sustainable food that is locally produced. Yes, that is mouthful and beyond that it is a hard AND expensive way to live; however, it is my passion and what I truly believe in.

I was recently asked by my amazing Dad where did this passion for food stem from. My response, in short, was living in Florence, Italy during college. But now as I have thought about this question I think it goes farther back to childhood. My mother was resolute on feeding her children EVERYTHING organic, I mean we had no "real" cookies growing up, our cookies were the whole wheat Carrs crackers! That may sound nuts, and it probably was, but the bottom line is that my mother can really, really cook and that has changed my life. Besides childhood, I also think that throughout life you evolve and change by experiencing new things, places, and people and throughout mine I have welcomed all new ventures and have learned from all of them.

So to put it simply my passion for food came from my mother, was transformed in Italy, made it personally unique as a young adult, and continue to develop my passion for food as a woman who is married, lives in Colorado, owns a crazy puppy and is about to enter into the culinary world.

As for today, I would publish what I am going to cook for dinner, but alas my husband, Mike, is cooking. So homemade (including the dough) turkey and duck fat pot stickers with hoisin chicken thighs and oven baked brown rice will have to wait because Mike has designed a themed dinner (perhaps something with beer?). :-)

So another time you will read and see what I am making and thinking of for our culinary journey through life. As I always say, "want to know what's for dinner, because it is going to be delicious?" will have to wait until another day.