Quips, Travails and Braised Oxtails

Policy Point Wednesday - Grocers in the food desert

2012-01-25T09:00:00.000-06:00

There are many, many strategies that have been applied to the Food Desert in Chicago, but none more controversial than the opening of Wal-Mart stores. Recently, Appetite for Profit writer Michele Simon went head-to-head with the study I quoted in the above link, saying that a recent study by Loyola University showed that agglomeration did not, in fact, occur when Wal-Mart moved to Chicago. In fact, the study found that "the weight of evidence suggests that the Wal-Mart opening on the West Side led to the displacement of a range of businesses. There is no evidence that Wal-Mart sparked any significant net growth in economic activity or employment in the area."

That being said, the study does not find a specific relationship between the closing of food stores and the opening of a Wal-Mart - so, setting aside for the moment the issue of economic development, does it mean that a Wal-Mart can still have a positive impact on the diet of its neighbors? Not necessarily, says a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine and reported in the Los Angeles Times. While access to fast food does measurably increase consumption of fast food, "Greater supermarket availability was generally unrelated to diet quality and fruit and vegetable intake, and relationships between grocery store availability and diet outcomes were mixed."

According to a published comment on the study by Jonathan E. Fielding, M.D., M.P.H., and Paul A. Simon, M.D., M.P.H., from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the University of California, Los Angeles "In many disadvantaged communities, the food environment is more swamp than desert, with a plethora of fast food; convenience stores selling calorie-dense packaged foods, super-sized sodas, and other sugar-loaded beverages; and other nonfood retail venues selling junk food as a side activity." They suggest that public policy restricting access to junk foods may be more effective than increasing access to healthy foods.

The Food Desert Project: Mứt Tết - Vietnamese New Year Snacks (Soy-ginger peanuts and sunflower seeds)

2012-01-18T09:00:00.000-06:00

When I was a little girl, our local church sponsored a group of Vietnamese refugees. Many families, including our own, offered their guest rooms to people from these families, whose stories we never really knew. I don't even know what became of the quiet young woman who stayed with us.

Since my parents offered room and board to foreign exchange students in exchange for some housework, this arrangement was hardly unusual for us. What made it different was that the young woman's entire family was spread throughout families we knew. One day, as was my parents' custom, we asked them to come together and teach us about Vietnamese culture with a meal.

I grew up in a small Midwestern city that likes to think it's more sophisticated than it is. While it holds a large Asian population from all over the globe, we had only a few Chinese restaurants, and we had little or no other examples of the varied and delicious cuisines from many immigrant groups who lived among us. Our one chance to sample culture was the local "folk festival," an event I looked forward to every year - but there was so much to choose from, I never got a chance to immerse myself in another culture's cuisine.

That meal was an eye-opener for me. I loved all of it (in particular, I have never forgotten the Vietnamese "egg rolls" chả giò; nothing like their Chinese takeout counterparts) I hardly thought about this for years - although I am glad to now reside in a place where phở is readily available and cultural immersion is steps from our door - until Sparky's book list included the excellent I nside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai; the story of a Vietnamese refugee in Alabama. I read the story with great interest, wincingly grateful for the opportunity to see the other side of the story...and, remembering that special meal from my past, I realized I was HUNGRY.

Tết Nguyên Đán, mentioned often in this book, is the Vietnamese New Year, which falls this year on January 23. Like many holidays, it involves preparing all kinds of delicious dishes, including an assortment of fruit and nut snacks called Mứt Tết, which typically includes fried crimson watermelon seeds, but can include other kinds of nuts and fruits in a beautiful display. I found this recipe on White On Rice Couple (a blog I recommend you peruse) and realized it would not be too difficult to fit into the parameters of this project.

Ginger Garlic Peanuts or Sunflower Seeds

Ingredients:

1 lb Dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts OR 1 lb dry-roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried ginger
1/2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp Soy Sauce

2 tbsp neutral oil
1/2 an anchovy filet, or 1 tsp Worchesershire sauce (anchovy filet preferred)

salt & pepper to taste

Equipment: Mixing bowl, microwave-safe cup, small pot or frying pan, cookie sheet

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix the garlic, ginger, sugar and soy sauce into a microwaveable container and microwave for 15 seconds until warm. Set aside. If using an anchovy fillet, fry it in the oil in your smallest skillet or saucepan until it dissolves (this is the closest Food Desert analog for fish sauce.) Pour the peanuts or seeds into a bowl, and add both liquids, tossing well to make sure every peanut or seed is well coated.

Pour the coated peanuts or seeds onto a cookie sheet and spread them out into an even layer. Bake for 15 minutes, until your home is incredibly fragrant, taking care not to burn the nuts or seeds. Stir once, and return to the oven until the moisture has evaporated completely and your snack is beautifully glazed. Salt and pepper to taste.

Snack!

Sundays with Sparky - Fried Elvis Oatmeal

2012-01-15T09:00:00.001-06:00

What do Vegans and The King have in common? Well, I know Elvis wasn't exactly known for healthy eating, but you have to admit the combination of pan-fried peanut butter and bananas is brilliant - replace the fried bread with whole grains, and you've got yourself a healthy breakfast!

We buy a lot of bananas, Sparky loves them - but his banana window is pretty small: he needs them ripe, but not beautifully spotty and soft like I like them, and we wind up with a backlog of frozen ripe bananas. I use them to bake, but, let's face it - most baked banana recipes are really desserts.

I turned to google and searched for something healthier. In the vegan community, I found lots of references to a "Banana Scramble"; sort of vaguely like egg-free scrambled eggs. Sparky was already a fan of "Elvis" oatmeal using these ingredients - I realized pan-frying would bring the dish into a whole new dimension.

So, now we have a quick breakfast staple that seems really decadent, but is still pretty healthy, considering it has only 4-5 ingredients, including the garnish. Plus, it's simple enough that Sparky can make it on his own. I've discovered that we like a more oat-y version than the recipes I found online, so the cakes hold together better (truthfully, I rarely measure - I just toss the ingredients together, mix, and cook.)

Ingredients (1 serving)
1 frozen banana
1/4 cup plain oatmeal
2 tbsp milk (for a vegan version, substitute a nut or soy milk)
1 heaping tbsp peanut butter
A tiny amount of butter for the pan (if you have a non-stick pan, you just need a whisper)
1/8 tsp vanilla sugar for garnish, if desired

This is pretty simple: the hardest part is removing the frozen banana from its peel (if you are hasty, like me, and freeze them whole, just run it under warm water, peel, rinse again to get any stringy bits off.) Mash the banana in a small bowl, and add the oats, milk and peanut butter. Mix thoroughly until the peanut butter is well distributed.

Drop onto a hot buttered skillet in small dollops, slightly less than 1/4 cup each. Cook until the edges start to brown, and then flip carefully (they don't hold together very well until they're ready for the plate, so keep them small, and if you break one, just turn it into two cakes.) Cook until the cakes are crisp on the outside and are still creamy but give slight resistance when poked in the middle (you want the escaping steam to thoroughly cook the oats.)

Place on a plate and sprinkle with the vanilla sugar.

Thank you. Thankuhvehrymudjch!

Policy Point Wednesday: Video guest post by Dr. Mike Evans - 23 1/2 hours

2012-01-11T09:00:00.001-06:00

Follow Dr. Mike on Twitter @docmikeevans
Facebook/docmikeevans

Conceived, written, and presented by Dr. Mike Evans
Illustrated by Lisa Sorsa
Produced, directed, and filmed by Nick De Pencier
Picture and sound edit by David Schmidt
Gaffer, Martin Wojtunik
Whiteboard construction by James Vanderkleyn
Production assistant, Chris Niesing
©2011 Michael Evans and Mercury Films Inc.

The Food Desert Project - Mediterranean Tuna Panini

2012-01-04T09:00:00.002-06:00

Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention...but commerce is all about taking mother's simple tricks and turning them into a bunch of junk we don't really need. So it is with the panini press - which started out as a simple brick and became a $49.95 invention. If you want to make a delightfully crispy sandwich, you don't even need a brick - two pans will do the job just as well.

So, for this recipe, you will need two pans - I am employing my two favorite cast-iron skillets, Bossy and Dahlia. - So I name my cooking tools - don't you? ;-)

Ingredients
1/2 can artichokes, rinsed and drained
1 small jar pimiento peppers, rinsed and drained
1 can tuna, drained (I've found I prefer salt-free albacore tuna, but use what you have)
1 heaping teaspoon of capers, with some brine
2 tablespoons jarred pesto sauce
EVOO
4 slices of hearty bread, homemade if possible
3 slices cheese of your choice

Making the filling is simple: either using a food processor or by hand, chop the artichokes and pimientos and drain them again. Combine them with the tuna, capers, and pesto, taking care not to break up the tuna too much.

Heat two skillets (or a skillet and a wide pot) on your stovetop. Lightly oil each skillet and place two slices of bread in each one.

Drizzle the tops with olive oil. When the bread is fragrant and feels warm, flip the two slices in the larger skillet so the crusty side is facing up.

Pile the filling on top of each of the slices and top with the cheese. Take the two slices out of the second skillet and place them, crusty side down (this will help heat the sandwich) on top of the cheese.

Making sure that the top of your sandwich is well oiled, take your small skillet and squash it down on top of the two sandwiches,

allowing the weight of the skillet to squash everything together in a motley layer of deliciousness.

Cook until the cheese melts and the sandwich is fragrant. Enjoy!

Sundays with Sparky - Candied "Puppet Noses"

2012-01-01T09:00:00.020-06:00

Once upon a time, back in the days when the millennium was only an imagined nightmare for the computer-savvy, my only aspiration was to work for Sesame Street. I used to think to myself, "If I could help them make a difference for just one kid..." For some years, I tried to make a go at this career, but the closest I got was to be able to work with some exceptional people with far more talent and focus than I.

So where did I wind up? Well, with Just. One. Kid.

Very funny, universe - but I got it: the difference I make is behind the scenes, with my own family, in my own community.

Of course, having said kid meant I kept in touch with the work of said talented people, as their dedication and skill paid off. Every time I see a familiar name float by on big screen or small, I think about how their work spreads glee and tolerance, silliness and understanding to all kinds of people all around the globe. Sooo...this recipe is an homage to those friends and that past life. It's inspired, in part, by this song on Sesame Street (I wish I could embed this video - but, understandably, Sesame Street doesn't allow that.) Do click the link and play the video, because otherwise the connection may not be as obvious to you as it is to me.

Sparky's buddy Meep joined us for this particular olfactory adventure. (Hi, Meep!)

Ingredients:
Kumquats
Berries: blueberries, blackberries, cranberries
Pomegranate pips
Clementine sections
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1-3 cups additional sugar

Equipment:
1 heavy saucepan,
1 spider or slotted spoon
1 rimmed cookie sheet, covered with a thick layer of about half of the additional sugar

We began by making a simple syrup - one cup of water and one cup of sugar in a saucepan. I managed the heating, because hot sugar is extremely dangerous stuff...so the kids dumped their ingredient and I took it to the stove and brought it to a boil. While I waited for the sugar to melt, I had the kids peel and section the clementines and the pomegranates.

After the sugar had dissolved, I turned off the heat and added our hard fruits first: the cranberries and kumquats. I allowed these to sit in the syrup until a few of the cranberries started to split, and then fished them onto the cookie sheet with the spider, allowing them to drain well.

The boys then played tug-of-war with the cookie sheet, thoroughly rolling the berries in the sugar until they were well-dusted and sparkling.

Without reheating the syrup, we added the softer berries and fruits to the syrup and allowed them to sit in it for a minute or two. We cleaned the cookie sheet and repeated the process with fresh sugar, using some to pour over the top as these fruits had more juice to absorb.

Ideally, after being rolled in the sugar, the fruits should be laid in a dry layer of sugar or dried on a rack for a bit, but we were impatient to taste the...um, fruits of our labor. They are delicious, crunchy, sour, sweet all at once.

Sparky and Meep decided to pose for Muppet-Nose Mug Shots:

Mr. Big Round Nose, a nose to smell a rose:

Mr. Turned-Up Nose, just give me one of those:

Policy Point Wednesday: Commercialization and Education

2011-12-28T09:00:00.002-06:00

A recent report, released by the National Education Policy Center via the University of Colorado, Boulder, discusses the educational cost of commercialization in schools. According to their report: "It is not in the interests of corporate sponsors to promote critical thinking: Far from it, their interest is in selling their products or services or 'telling their story.'...For this reason, sponsored messages will necessarily avoid touching on anything that might lead to thinking inconsistent with the intended message."

The report found that when there is commercial activity in schools, critical thinking is less likely to be encouraged. In schools, teachers and administrators may avoid "biting the hand that feeds the school" by deferring to the corporate advertiser's worldview and censoring, either consciously or unconsciously, even if this worldview is not in their students' best interest. This can happen directly, as when marketing of food products directly undermine nutrition education efforts in the school - however, even if there is no immediate marketing, educational materials from a corporation do not encourage children to evaluate its biases or to consider alternative points of view.

Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood reports that 67.2% of students are exposed to advertising for foods of minimal nutritional value in their schools, and some of that advertising is disguised as corporate-sponsored literacy, character education, and fitness educational programs. "Eighty two percent of schools have corporate ads. Advertising appears on textbook covers, on school buses, on interior and exterior school walls, gymnasiums, scoreboards, and at athletic events."

The Food Desert Project - Rosemary Raisin Pecan Crisps

2011-12-21T09:00:00.000-06:00

Every once in a while, a recipe pops onto my radar that is perfect for this project; this one thanks to the online food magazine the Kitchn - one that takes only a little bit of adaptation to suit the needs of the Food Desert. As I read through the recipe, originally posted at Dinner With Julie, I realized that these crackers could accompany my Labneh and Fig Jam for a perfect holiday snack.

Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp ground rosemary

1 1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup yogurt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 cup raisins (I mixed in some dried cranberries, too)
1/4 cup sherry
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup ground flax seed (check in the nutritional supplement aisle)

Spray two 8x4 loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine the raisins and sherry in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds on high. Stir thoroughly and set aside.

Mix the flour, baking soda, rosemary, and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the brown sugar, honey, yogurt and milk until it is smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the flour and mix lightly, then drain the raisins, (discarding any remaining sherry) and add them to the batter with the remaining ingredients. Blend lightly (you don't want to wake up the gluten in the flour) until no dry flour remains (batter will be lumpy). Pour into the two prepared pans and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes until the loaves are a deep rich brown.

Remove the loaves from the oven, cool slightly and unmold. Cool completely, and stick the loaves into the freezer to firm up for at least 1 hour (after 1 hour you can wrap them securely and continue freezing them until you want them; you can slice and bake from frozen.)

Slice with a serrated knife as thinly as possible, and put on a cookie sheet. (I have to admit, it's kind of tasty stuff even before the second baking.) Bake in a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes, then flip and bake for another 10 minutes (the exposed surfaces of the nuts should be golden when you flip, and the edges may curl slightly.) Cool thoroughly (the raisins will be really, really hot!)

These rich, earthy crackers are tasty with both sweet and salty toppings. Enjoy!

Sundays with Sparky - Sweet Potato Fluff Pie

2011-12-18T09:00:00.006-06:00

Doesn't that sound decadent? A truly sinful dessert that will have you joyfully leaping off your diet? I thought so, too, but when I read the ingredients list, I realized that this dessert wasn't all that different than your average marshmallow-and-pecan-topped sweet potato side dish. Of course, said holiday side dishes aren't exactly calorie conscious, either, but just think, you're getting over 300% of your Vitamin A! (Relax, kids, I know better than to say that pie is a vegetable!)

At any rate, one of our traditions is to take pies to our local firehouse on holidays, and Sparky and I decided that this one would be fun to make, so make it we did. It has the added bonus of being a meringue-topped pie that uses the yolks in the filling, so there's no odd egg-parts left in your fridge.

3 large sweet potatoes
pastry for a 9-inch pie crust (see here for a number of recipes)
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 eggs, separated

1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

First, scrub your potatoes thoroughly in the sink and then prick them all over with a fork, or in our case, a retro corn pick. Then bake them in the microwave until they are completely cooked, and you can easily slip a fork into the center (8-12 minutes on high, if you don't have a nifty "potato" button like we do.) Scoop them out of their skins into your mixing bowl. Add the butter.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line your pie plate with piecrust, and crimp a high edge as you allow the potatoes to cool slightly and the butter to melt. Add the remaining ingredients up to the eggs, and start your mixer on low speed. Separate the eggs, and add the yolks to the sweet potatoes as they whip, carefully reserving the whites for the topping.

When your potatoes are smooth and fragrant, pour them into the piecrust, and pop the pie into your preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. About 10 minutes before your filling is done, put the egg whites into a clean mixing bowl, and beat them with a clean whisk attachment until stiff. Add the remaining sugar and vanilla, and beat until you have glossy, stiff peaks.

Remove the pie from the oven when it is set and the piecrust is beginning to brown. Place it on a stable trivet or folded kitchen towel, and top it with the egg whites, making peaks and valleys (this will give you a variation in color.) Put the pie back in the oven until the meringue is browned and beautiful, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

Enjoy!

Policy Point Wednesday: Food Labels and Consumer Motivation

2011-12-14T09:00:00.000-06:00

The European Food Information Council (EUFIC) recently partnered with several research teams, food corporations Tesco Stores Ltd and Euro Coop (European Community of Consumer Cooperatives,) and other organizations to study food and nutrition labels, calling this consortium the FLABEL project (Food Labelling to Advance Better Education for Life.)

In all research on nutrition labelling, there is a shortage of research actually testing the salience and use of nutritional information at the moment of choice (Point-of-Sale). To fill this void, the work package will investigate in-store use of labels and how much it can be increased by implementing an “ideal format” nutrition label.

Researchers tested different kinds of labeling, packaging, and ways of offering information to consumers to help guide their choices to better foods. It found that, in general, consumers are capable of using existing nutritional information to rank foods from most to least healthy. The most important finding of the study? Consumers just...don't.

While consumers preferred to have complete nutritional information on products, their behavior most often showed that their preferences were driven by convenience rather than the information. FLABEL researchers found that consumers spent between 25 and 100 milliseconds looking at the nutritional information, but that information did not change their buying behavior.

The Food Desert Project - Lightning-fast Tomato Soup and Toasted Cheese Soldiers

2011-12-07T09:00:00.001-06:00

This is a week where, like most of you, I'm behind, frazzled, can't think straight and really, really need dinner on the table ten minutes ago. Once upon a time, on a day such as this one, I sent my husband to make dinner, fully expecting to find cold bowls of cereal and glasses of water. Less than five minutes later, the scent of glorious hot tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches was wafting through the house.

"Where did you get the soup?" I queried, knowing I never buy the nasty stuff that blops out of the can - and which was nothing like the rose-colored goodness set before me. My face must have been the picture of puzzlement, because he modestly replied, "I made it," with a twinkle in his eye. He showed me!

Upon further interrogation, I learned he had, indeed, made it from scratch, and it was as simple as this: he'd taken a can of plain tomatoes, added an equal amount of milk, and heated it, carefully keeping it from boiling so as not to curdle the milk. It was delicious. I tried several times without success to repeat this feat, but invariably heated the soup too much (without my tweak below, this soup really needs to be served warm, not hot) and then, grumbling, tossed the resulting curdled soup in the blender (which is a good fix for curdled milk.) I'd serve it, glowering, and soon learned nobody likes soup with glower.

However, I later learned from my Mac and Cheese recipe: a little gelatin is really good insurance against curdling. Some recipes also add a pinch or two of baking soda to raise the PH, but I've found that gelatin does the trick (Indian recipes often use a cornstarch slurry for this purpose as well.) So, here is MY my beloved husband's dead-simple dinner-in-a-flash:

1 can tomatoes (strained, pureed, chopped - however you like them best - any size)
1/2 to 1 can milk (whatever's in your fridge; fyi, lower fat milk curdles easier. You can also combine evaporated milk and an equal amount of water and omit the gelatin)
1/2 packet plain gelatin per 15 oz of tomatoes (approximately)

Optional garnishes:
Parmesan cheese
Chili flakes

4 slices of bread
4 slices of cheese of your choice (we used a combo of cheddar and provolone)

Simply whisk together the tomatoes and gelatin in a saucepan, and then bring to a moderate boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Dump in milk, whisking constantly, until the soup reaches the consistency you desire. Unless you like your soup at blood temperature, put the pan back on the stove on low to medium-low heat, stir constantly until the soup is warm (165 degrees, if you've got an instant-read thermometer. This whole process should take you less than 10 minutes, five if you've got a good heavy saucepan that heats quickly. Believe it or not, even if you use salt-free tomatoes (sadly, probably not available in the food desert,) the recipe doesn't really need salt!

As you wait for the soup to heat, put the bread in the toaster oven and toast lightly (or, if you've got a pop-up toaster, start by toasting it there.) Cover half the slices with cheese. Place them in the broiler (or toaster oven) and heat until the cheese is bubbly, and top with the other toasted slice. (Butter if you think it's absolutely necessary; we don't, since it will be well-lubricated with delicious soup.) Slice each sandwich into long, dunkable strips.

Top. Serve. Dunk. Slurp. Enjoy. :-)

Sundays with Sparky - Stuffed Pumpkin (vegan)

2011-12-04T09:00:00.002-06:00

I know, I know - the holiday is over - but since many of you do similar meals over the winter holidays, I thought this might interest you. Jack-O-Lantern size pumpkins are hard to come by in the winter, so keep in mind that any large-size squash with a large seed chamber will work. Larger pie pumkins, kabocha, hubbard squash can all work well, and you can even do individual versions with acorn squash - just make sure to cut yourself a flat surface for the squashes that don't naturally sit nicely.

I first got this idea from Epicurious, who got it from the book Passionate Vegetarian. I also like that this recipe can be made vegetarian or even vegan (use vegetable oil instead of butter, and check that your wine and bread are vegan.) and gives you a centerpiece dish that's accessible to everyone. Keep in mind that this recipe is a ratio, but the amount of stuffing you will need depends largely on the size or number of squash.

This is one of those dishes that sounds more complicated than it actually is; really, the major work is prepping the pumpkin which you do every year for Halloween! I did a lot of the initial prep work, as it's a multi-step recipe and that can be a bit much for a novice cook. First, the bread. I like to buy a loaf of whole-grain French or Italian-style country bread, one that has big holes and a lot of chew - this year I was lucky to find that our local baker had Miche, a large whole-grain sourdough loaf that worked especially well; I used a quarter for this recipe. I removed the crust and cut it into large squares and put it in a 200 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until they were nicely dry and a bit hard.

Next, prepare your squash. If you have room to refrigerate it, you can do this a day ahead (and you can prep all your ingredients ahead and assemble them just before baking,) but it's best to parbake the squash while you're assembling your stuffing. Cut the top off so you have a "lid," and then scoop out the seeds (we usually discard them, but they can be fried or baked if you like.) Place the whole thing on a cookie sheet and set it in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until it just starts to cook and your lid is nice and brown (you can put the lid in the fridge after this point and reheat it later.)

Ingredients:

1 large squash
1 loaf wholegrain Italian or French bread, crusts removed, cubed, and dried
2 leeks
2 ribs celery
2 firm sweet-tart apples (fuji, macintosh, cortland, gala, braeburn)
1/3 cup mixed dried cranberries, cherries, and chopped dried apricots
1/3 cup sherry or port
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup whole pecans or walnuts
3 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (I use parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme and not just because I'm a fan of Simon & Garfunkel. About 2:1 parsley to other herbs)
1/2 cup apple cider
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup stock (vegetable or turkey, as desired)
4 tbsp light-tasting vegetable oil or butter, as desired
Salt to taste (at least 2 tsp)

The sherry and dried fruits were mixed together in a small bowl, and microwaved for about a minute, until the spirits were quite warm. We set this aside to plump up while we prepped the vegetables.

So, Sparky cleaned and diced the celery and leeks, both of which tend to get a little sandy in between the layers and thus need to be washed thoroughly. With both of them, you cut the root end to release the layers. The tough green parts of the leeks are cut off (we slice these off at an angle, because the center light-green parts are tasty) and then they're cut in half and rinsed carefully in between the leaves. Celery stalks are rinsed - and leaves are carefully hoarded for this dish! Both celery and leeks were coarsly chopped and set aside in our largest bowl. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Then the apples were peeled and diced and set aside in a bowl of acidulated (a splash of vinegar, lemon, or other acid added) water.

Then we diced the onions and minced the herbs and began to assemble our dish: the dried fruit with its juices, vegetables, nuts, and herbs were added to a bowl and the dried bread was crumbled into it. The liquids were all combined together, salted, peppered, and whisked (it should taste fairly salty, as it's you're only seasoning for the dish) and poured over the bowl in three additions. Everything was tossed together until the bread was thoroughly coated - you may not need all of your liquid and you may want to add more. The idea is that the bread should retain its structure and not get squashy, but be thoroughly damp.

The whole thing gets packed into your pumpkin; it's best if you have the pumpkin sitting on a bit of parchment in a large baking dish that can double as a serving dish - sometimes it gets a bit, well, squashy. You want the stuffing to be firm, so that everything is in contact without air gaps, but not so tight that you won't be able to get a spoon in there to scoop it out.

Bake it, uncovered, at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until your pumpkin appears to be about to collapse (you can use your meat thermometer to make sure the center of the stuffing - optimally, it should reach 165 degrees.) You may want to reheat the pumpkin lid for the last 10 minutes of cooking.

You should have a delightfully crunchy top and delicious stuffing that can be served with scoops, or even wedges, of pumpkin flesh. Mmmm.

Policy Point Wednesday: Occupy the Food Desert

2011-11-30T09:00:00.017-06:00

So much is happening in the food world, I had a really difficult time deciding what to write about today. Between the Farm Bill , pizza, vegetables and Congress, midnight food sale spikes and food pantry cuts, German courts ruling against Nutella labels, and all kinds of other policy and food craziness, this small local news item might have escaped my notice.

Any article entitled "The Worst Food Desert in Chicago Strikes Back," however, reminds me of the reason I started this blog in the first place. I hope to amplify their call to action here:

Occupy Altgeld needs help. Occupy Altgeld needs legal advice. Occupy Altgeld needs financial support. Occupy Altgeld needs an action plan to solidify their list of demands with acceptable solutions, and most of all, they need support from all communities in and around Chicago.

They plan to march through the holidays. You can help too. Talk to anyone you know who lives in the above areas, participate in the protest, contact Cheryl at PCR, 773.840.4618 (office) to find out how you can help.

What is this group protesting? Their neighborhood grocer is 3 or 4 miles from any larger grocers, and serves a largely captive community. A protester reported the following cost a total of $59.51: 1 roll of toilet paper, 1 gallon vitamin D milk, 1 jar salad dressing, a ham butt, 1 small pot roast. I input the same groceries into Peapod.com (an upscale Chicago-area grocery delivery service that isn't available in Altgeld) and came up with a total almost twenty dollars less ($40.89.) The group reports that this grocer does not honor WIC coupons; they believe this is because their prices are higher than the WIC reimbursement amount. They have been unable to reach the store's management to discuss these issues or ask questions.

Why does this matter to me? Where I grew up, in Southern Ohio, we had two locations of a major grocer within driving distance of our house. The closer one was located in a poor neighborhood, and the slightly farther one was in an upscale, affluent area. Guess which one had security guards and rotten produce? Guess where things were ever-so-slightly cheaper? This disparity persisted until a different chain moved into the poorer neighborhood and offered some healthy competition. I didn't realize this was a national concern until I saw this portentous episode of the Cosby Show (streaming on Netflix and worth a watch.)

Special thanks to Grub Street Chicago and Chicagotalks for bringing this to my attention.

If you're able to help Occupy Altgeld, please post here and let me know!

In Gratitude

2011-11-24T09:00:00.001-06:00

I am well aware of how terrifically lucky I am, and in the last few weeks I've had all kinds of reminders that I have plenty to be thankful for. First of all, I'm thankful for YOU, who have given me someone to write for over the last year! Thank you for reading and hanging in there with me!

For another example, while I felt silly and a bit selfish bothering people to vote for my pie, vote you did - as of now, my pie has over 700 votes! I know many people went above and beyond to get me there, posting on listserves, sending it around Facebook and Twitter, posting to forums, getting the word out and voting, voting, voting. Friends got involved. Neighbors got involved. Family got involved. Friends and family and neighbors bothered their friends and family and neighbors to get involved.

At this point, I could care less whether I win the actual contest, every one of those votes is like a pat on the back or a warm hug. For this and a thousand other reasons, I could not ask for better friends, family and neighbors - thank you all.

I'm also thankful for this terrific virtual community out there in the blogosphere with whom I've been so lucky as to form a mutual admiration society. Please allow me to introduce some friends:

First and foremost, LTHForum.com, where I first learned I wasn't the only person who goes on and on about food, cooking, grocery shopping and eating.

Next, some truly lovely people, some of whom I've met in real life, others I've "met" online, but all of whose work I appreciate; just visit them and you'll see why:

About cooking and eating:

Moveable Feast: Chicago

Horto In Urbs

Sky Full of Bacon and Grubstreet Chicago

The ABC Food Journal

Spatulatta.com

Stay at Stove Dad

Veal Cheeks

About nutrition and health:

Julie's Health Club

It's Not About Nutrition

Fooducate

The Science of Mom

Dog-lbs

Hip Circle Studio

About school lunch

Fed Up With Lunch

Little Locavores and Purple Asparagus

Spoonfed

The Lunch Tray

The Organic School Project

Better D.C. School Food

About food policy and politics

The Accidental Hedonist

Food Politics

US Food Policy

The Rural Blog

Appetite for Profit

Not least of all, I have to tell you about how very much I appreciate my own family, whom you may have met just a bit on the pages of this blog. I have no idea what I did to deserve them, but here they are: the very expression of gratitude.

Thanksgiving Special - I might be a Ginius* or A Better Way With the Big Bird

2011-11-23T09:00:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving has got to be my favorite holiday of all: not only is it focused on gratitude, family, and a big meal - but the foods of Thanksgiving are some of my personal favorites - in particular, turkey.

Now, turkey and I have not always been on speaking terms. My Argentine mother, who could turn a chuck steak into something approaching filet mignon, was hopeless with the big bird. Not surprising, since she came from a culture that once used fowl in its spectator sports - and, yes, our Thanksgiving turkeys invariably had the interior texture of a soccer ball. I thought I didn't like turkey, and restricted myself to the dark meat smothered in as much gravy as I could muster.

One day I was at a friend's house for dinner; and her Midwestern-born-and-raised mother had roasted a turkey just for the heck of it. I'd never tasted anything like it: the breast meat was delicate and toothsome, not the slightly-turkey-flavored asbestos fibers I was used to. The dark meat was slipping gently off the bones, iron-y and delicious. None of it needed gravy, though gravy there was. My epiphany in poultry had to wait until I had my own kitchen and enough guests to help me eat a whole bird, but I never forgot that first non-dessicated bite and resolved to imitate it as soon as possible.

Of course, the issue with turkey is that the breast meat cooks at a different rate than the dark meat: you want to pull the breast at 155 or 160 degrees, but the dark meat is best if cooked to about ten or fifteen degrees higher. There are a million ways that people address this issue, but all of them have their drawbacks: butter doused-cheesecloth or aluminum foil heat shields on the breast leave you with soggy skin; brining requires a dedicated space and container, and spatchcocking or cutting up the bird takes away from that Norman Rockwell moment I really don't want to miss on Thanksgiving day.

Generally, my personal method was to cook the turkey to around 160, pull it, serve the perfectly-cooked breast, curse at the pink dark meat, put the dark meat back in the oven, forget it until it was dried out and later, smother it with sauce in some way (apparently David Rosengarten espouses this method, though he probably remembers to pull the dark meat in time) Of course, this method wasn't working for me, and I wished there was a way to separate the breast from the dark meat...but the more I thought about it, the more I thought I'd have a flat-chested turkey, and no girl wants that. I kept imagining inventing an aperture to replace the ribcage, so you could drape your breast meat over the thighs after they'd finished cooking.

Our grocery started offering very nice smallish every-day sort of turkeys, and as I love the bird, I'd purchase one now and again. A quarter-turkey is about exactly right for a meal for three people, so I'd quarter them, cook one portion, and freeze the remainder. My turkey epiphany had waited for this moment: I suddenly realized that the turkey's torso naturally separated the white and dark meat: the ribcage is attached to the thighs only by some skin and a thin strip of tissue. Even better, the spine of a turkey is unexpectedly easy to snap, just make the turkey do a pas de poisson and keep going until it breaks apart.

Thus, when we got our 14-pound turkey for Thanksgiving last year, I treated it this way (note, if you're not squeamish about raw meat and meat juices, there's more pictures here.)

There's just a little tissue to cut after the spine is snapped; I left the legs trussed together and would recommend tying the drumsticks securely first, as this shape is going to be necessary later.

I cut the skin carefully so it was longer on the breast side, and I stretched the skin down over the gap and pinned it in place with skewers. I also cut off the big glob of fat that you find at the neck, cut it into two pieces, and stuffed a piece under the skin on each side of the breast.

After this, I dry-brined both sides, rubbing them well with well-seasoned sea salt until they were completely crusted over, and put them in the fridge, uncovered, until we were ready to cook (you can do it overnight, I did it in the morning and was happy with the result.)

I made a little "rack" of leeks and onions, and set my dark meat in the roaster by itself in a 350 degree oven (I figured I wouldn't mess around with the raised and lowered temperatures, though in future I think the skin needs the higher temp to brown) rinsed off the dark meat, and cooked it for 30 minutes with its own thermometer set in the thigh (I just came up with the time randomly, since this was my first effort.)

When the time passed, I rinsed and dried the breast meat, stuffed the cavities with aromatics and herbs (onion, orange, rosemary and thyme) and plunked it down on top; it came together surprisingly easily.

Perhaps the most exciting thing I discovered was that the two separate parts of the turkey were very easy to remove; we thought the dark meat was done too early and were able to pull it without disturbing the breast; after checking it, we replaced it, no harm, no foul. So, when we decided the beast was done we pulled each part and reassembled them on the platter. After roasting, skewers were removed, skin stayed in place nicely. You would never know the turkey was in two parts:

* Back when I originally wrote this for LTHForum.com, when Sparky got 100% on his spelling tests, (as he did and does often) he would write "I'm a ginius" in response to the teacher's gold star. The world lost just a little bit of its charm when "genius" finally made it to the spelling list.

Sundays with Sparky - Stompin' Savoy Cabbage Rolls

2011-11-20T09:00:00.001-06:00

I’ve been thinking about giving Sparky a cookbook as a Christmas present, compiled from the pages of this site, so I took a gander at the Recipe Index to see where we were: Hmmm—we’re a bit dessert-heavy, don't 'cha think? Because most desserts involve baking and chemistry, they're a really good starting place for novice cooks, as there are clear, concise rules and a good bit of hands-on, crafty things to do—plus you wind up with a tasty reward at the end!

However, those of us eager to make our kids at home in the kitchen often forget to teach the very foods we’re trying to get them to eat: fruits and vegetables. If you are even a moderately skilled cook, this may well be because its not rocket science: almost all vegetables can be prepared in four ways: steaming, roasting, sautéing, or blanching/boiling. Once you get past basic prep techniques (remove tough skins if they’re inedible, wash, cut into similar-sized pieces, cook.) and then a few basic cooking techniques, most of the plant-based world is your...oyster.

We had an absolutely gorgeous head of Savoy cabbage, and I realized this was a chance to combine techniques and kill a few birds with one vegetable.

Ingredients

One head of Savoy cabbage

Two large carrots

Two cloves of garlic

A small knob of fresh ginger

2-3 slices bacon, cut in small strips

I started by having Sparky peel the large outer leaves off the cabbage until we had about 8 whole leaves. Then he cut the cabbage into quarters and sliced it thinly off the core. We then used a vegetable peeler to make "carrot noodles" so our carrots would be about the same thickness as the cabbage - keeping vegetables relatively the same size and shape ensures everything cooks at the same rate.

Sparky peeled the ginger by scraping it with a spoon, and then we used the microplane to grate about a half-tablespoonful of ginger and two cloves of garlic into a fine pulp.

Sauté: We preheated our cast iron skillet until it was very hot, and added our bacon. When the bacon had rendered out its fat, we poured off the excess so that there was just enough fat to coat the pan. (For a vegan version of this dish, omit this step and use olive or canola oil.) Then we put the pan back on the heat, let it warm up a bit, and added the garlic and ginger along with the carrots and cabbage. Sparky stirred it around and kept it moving until all the cabbage was slightly wilted.

Blanch: At the same time, we brought a few inches of water in our big pot to a rolling boil, and dropped in our whole cabbage leaves. When they were a gorgeous bright green and slightly wilted, we fished them out and set them aside to cool a bit on a cutting board.

Working with one leaf at a time, Sparky put a small pile of cooked cabbage stir-fry near the stem, and then folded the sides over, and rolled the leaf up from the bottom like a burrito. We then speared the bundle with a wooden skewer to hold it together.

Steam: once all our bundles were completed*, we put the steamer basket in our same pot of water and covered it tightly with the lid. We steamed the bundles for about 5-10 minutes, or until the cabbage was tender at the stem. These make a delicious, light side dish - and they're beautiful to boot.

(*We found that the rolls could be put in the refrigerator and steamed later.)

As we'd only used about half our cabbage filling, we opted to postpone steaming the rolls as outlined above and had them for dinner instead. I made a delicious, quick lunch by searing some tofu in the skillet with bacon grease, and then added back the remaining cabbage and carrots along with some cooked spaghetti and soy sauce.

Policy Point Wednesday: What to do with Halloween Candy

2011-11-16T09:00:00.001-06:00

My son Sparky is actually much better about his sweet tooth than I am about mine. I've mentioned before that he will put down a half-eaten cookie if he feels full - something I'm entirely unable to do. However, he is just about the most industrious kid Halloween has ever seen - he and his Dad hit the neighborhood for four hours straight, and he brought home a truly frightening amount of candy.

Of course, in every haul there are duds - every person has their own take on what a "dud" is. Following a suggestion I read on the excellent blog It's Not About Nutrition, I had Sparky sort out all but the candy he likes best (I have to say, he still has a surprisingly large stash!) I told him we'd be sending it to soldiers, who will either appreciate having a treat, or who will hand it out as a goodwill gesture to kids who might otherwise never see American candy. (We had a momentary hiccup when Sparky wasn't sure that the "fruit snacks" were enough like candy to go to soldiers.) He thought about it, and added some packets of M&Ms and a few of his candy chocolate bars - his favorites, but the cause was important to him.

We packed the candy carefully in a grocery bag, printed out forms from Operation Buyback and headed to the post office, where we dumped the entire thing in a prepaid envelope. We then double-checked the weight, bought postage, and off the candy went, out of my house to somewhere it could do some good.

The Food Desert Project - Pumpkin Almond-Cream Soup (vegan)

2011-11-09T09:00:00.012-06:00

Every year, we host the Neighborhood Watch for Halloween. A while back, our neighborhood was plagued by teens who thought egg-throwing was mischief and good fun, but who didn't realize that eggs permanently stain masonry and fabric awnings, and etch the paint on cars. Over 40 dozen eggs (we retrieved the cartons,) or 4 full cases was thrown in a four-block area, and the damage was intense.

Ever since that night, the Neighborhood Watch has worked with the two municipalities that span our neighborhood and with local police to make sure everyone has a safe and fun Halloween. We have a special radio-patrolled watch on that evening. Since Halloween is Dad and Sparky's special night, and I have to stay home to hand out candy - and it falls to me to be the Watch's "home base." Naturally, for me this means putting out a spread.

In past years, I'd put out chili and cheese and crudites - but I found that many of our Watch members were following a more principled diet, and couldn't enjoy what I offered. This year, I resolved to come up with a vegan option (as vegan foods, in general, are accessible to a wider variety of dietary restrictions.)

I happened upon this recipe for a savory vegan pumpkin dip, and realized it was just about two textures away from cream soup. As an added benefit, most of the ingredients seemed food-desert friendly...and off I went!

Now, there are several ways you can replace cream (without making some horrible faux-creme sort of thing) without animal products. The easiest is Almond Cream, or Cashew Cream: simply put the nuts and the same volume of water in a pot, bring it to a boil, allow it to soak for 15 minutes and then blend it in your blender. I add salt and a small amount of olive or vegetable oil to mask the "woody" nut flavor - you'd be surprised how well the result works as a substitute for cooking cream. Rolled oats will work if you have a nut allergy on your hands, but after trying both I found I preferred almonds.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup slivered blanched almonds (or oats, or unsalted cashews)
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 of a 15 oz can of pureed pumkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup water (additional)
1/4 cup fortified wine like Sherry, Port or Madeira (check and see if vegan wine is important.)
Paprika to garnish if desired.

As described above, put your nuts or oats in a small saucepan, cover with the water, and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, turn off the heat and allow to soak for 15 minutes, then pour the entire thing into a blender and blend until smooth and fluffy. It will look something like whipped cream cheese (oatmeal will look a bit browner.) You can add a bit of your second 1/2 cup of water if it isn't blending smooth.

Add the pumpkin, salt, sage, apple cider and nut or oatmeal cream to the saucepan, whisk thoroughly and bring up to a light simmer. Reduce the heat and add the fortified wine (I like mine to taste slightly boozy, but if you simmer slightly and boil off most of the alcohol the soup will taste a bit nuttier.)

Serves 4. Enjoy!

Sundays with Sparky - Slightly-faster Boston Baked Beans

2011-11-06T09:00:00.000-06:00

As I'm sure I've said before, sometimes a recipe will pop up in the most unexpected possible place! Sparky - who has an insatiable sweet tooth - had asked if I would teach him to make Baked Beans from scratch, and so I trolled the internet in search of acceptably healthy recipes. I happened upon this one from, of all places, the Mayo Clinic!

Of course, we had to make a few tweaks, as is our modus operandi. I have two cheats for dried beans - one, I've told you before, is that I always soak double or triple or quadruple the amount of beans I plan to use in a recipe, portion out the remainder into single-serving packages, and freeze the soaked beans so they're ready when I need them. This recipe just will not work with canned beans, so if you don't have time to soak - don't bother.

My second tweak is to start the cooking using a pressure cooker. Boston Baked Beans start with lightly-cooked beans - which means nearly an hour on the stovetop. You can get them to the same state in 8 minutes in a pressure cooker on high pressure. If you're in a rush, and you don't mind slightly soupy baked beans, you can do the entire recipe from start to finish in your pressure cooker - just dump the whole recipe in and cook at high pressure for 20 minutes (you can also dump all the ingredients into a slow cooker and leave it cooking for 8 hours.) As always, Sparky was on board with using any kind of technology - especially if it had the potential to explode!

Ingredients:

2 cups dried small, white beans, rinsed and soaked overnight in twice the volume of water
4 cups water
2 bay leaves

3/4 teaspoon salt
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup light molasses
1 1/2 tablespoons dry mustard
3 strips thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

So, to begin, Sparky put 4 cups of pre-soaked, thawed white beans (beans double in size when soaked) in the pressure cooker with 4 cups of water and two bay leaves.

We locked the lid, pressurized, and once steam started escaping from the top vent, we turned the heat to low and set the timer for 8 minutes. When the timer rang, we took the pan off the heat and let it rest until the pressure gauge showed it was ready to open.

In the meantime, Sparky sauteed the onion in the bacon.

Once the pressure dropped and we were able to remove the beans, we poured them into the onions and bacon to deglaze the pan. We then poured the entire thing into an oven-safe casserole dish.

Sparky added the ground mustard, salt and molasses to the casserole dish, which we covered and put in a 350 degree oven and left it alone for four hours, checking occasionally to see that the beans were neither too dry nor too wet (if too dry, add a bit of water - if too wet, remove the lid.) It filled the house with an absolutely delicious smell for the entire time it cooked.

When the beans were done, we served them with a simple chicken salad. They were creamy and delicious, and each bite was smoky, sweet, salty and lightly spicy; they are vastly superior to the canned kind and well worth the time. Enjoy!

Policy Point Wednesday - Sesame Street Can Get To You

2011-11-02T09:00:00.003-05:00

Last week, Sesame Workshop and Feeding America hosted a Twitter chat about hunger in the US. As you may know, Sesame Street recently introduced the character Lily, a seven-year-old girl whose family is struggling financially and sometimes needs help from the local food pantry.

Sesame Workshop's program doesn't stop at increasing awareness. While it does discuss the importance of charity, the program is not aimed solely at those of us in a position to help, but offers specific information to the estimated 14.5 percent (17.2 million) of U.S. households that are food insecure.

They offer an online toolkit for struggling parents that includes topical videos for kids featuring the Sesame Street muppets, and also for adults to learn how other families manage food insecurity. The website includes tips for managing food on a budget, recipes, and shopping lists. There is information on how to access food programs such as SNAP, WIC, and food at school, and also how to find local charitable resources like food pantries and soup kitchens. When financial disaster strikes a family, many don't know where to turn for help - but now, help is right around the corner, on Sesame Street.

The Food Desert Project - Pumpkin Bao with Creamy Date Filling

2011-10-26T09:00:00.002-05:00

If you live anywhere where there is a Chinese population (and thankfully I do) you have run into Baozi (包子) or bao for short. Bao have traveled all over Asia and are rapidly becoming popular in the US: you've probably run across Char Siu Bao, or barbecue pork buns. They are yet another filling-stuffed bread I love, as they can be stuffed with pretty much any reasonably viscous filling. They have the distinction of being steamed rather than baked or fried (although many bao recipes, including this one, could be baked or fried) which makes them into light, fluffy pillows.

Since we've moved into pumpkin season, and pumpkin bao are not unheard of, I thought I would mash up several recipes and make an autumn Bao. You could also fill this with meat (the chicken b'stilla filling strikes me as something that would work well) or spiced fruit, or just standard pumpkin-pie custard if you like (cook it slightly first so it sets slightly.)

Bao dough:

1/2 cups Oats (quick-cooking will give you a finer texture)
1 cup All-Purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp instant yeast at room temperature

Filling:

6 oz cream cheese, chevre or labneh
6 tablespoons chopped dates, rinsed well with hot water (you may need to soak and drain them if they are particularly dry)
Pistachios for garnish

First, put the oats in the blender and process on high speed until you have a fine dust. In a medium-size bowl, combine the oats, flour, and baking powder. Cut the butter in small bits and add it, mixing thoroughly until the flour looks like sawdust.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients and knead until it comes together. Continue kneading for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with a damp towel and set in a warm place to rise until it is doubled in size.

After the rise, punch down your dough and cut it into 12 equal pieces (first half, then quarters, then each quarter into thirds.)

Take one piece and roll it into a tight ball. Flatten it slightly with your rolling pin, and then curl the outside edge underneath so it has a solid edge all the way around. With quick outward motions of the rolling pin around the perimeter of the disk of dough, flatten it into a circle whose outside edges are thinner than the center. Pile about a tablespoon of dates in the center of the dough, and top it with approximately the same amount of cheese.

Pinch together one side of the wrapper, as shown.
Gather another small amount of the wrapper and pinch it to the first pleat...

and continue until the wrapper is pleated all the way around, and pinch the entire pleated area together.

Top with a pistachio for the "stem." Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Allow the Bao to rise for 45 minutes. Line a steamer basket with coffee filters or squares of parchment paper. Place the Bao in the steamer basket, leaving an inch of space between them (you may need to make several batches.) Steam the Bao for 15 minutes until fluffy and hot. Enjoy!

Sundays with Sparky - Cthulhu Sandwiches

2011-10-23T07:45:00.000-05:00

"In his kitchen at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu simmers...dreaming."

With a gnawing at their vitals, three young men, of apparently sound mind but empty of stomach, resolved to venture into the kitchen for some sustenance. Little did they know the horror that awaited just beyond the sink….

The first of the three first braved the sulfurous stink of one large onion, cut into dice. This he browned in a hot iron skillet with a pound of...raw ground beef. When the beef was well-seared and an enticing smell came from the pan, using arts that he knew, he added an 8oz jar of salsa, which his own mother had canned at the dark of the moon. He reduced the flame and allowed the contents of the pan to bubble and spit together until thick and redolent with the heady scent of peppers and tomatoes. Unbeknownst to him, on the other side of the room, the scent had an unexpected effect on his companions…

...clearly overcome by dark forces, they were spearing innocent grape tomatoes with skewers and (gasp!) poking capers into their sides with a toothpick, thus making eyes with which to offer sight to the innocent beef sandwiches! (Other sorcerers have been known to use sideways pimento-stuffed olives, but our local alchemist was out that day.) Aaaaah!

After the ends of the skewers were trimmed with heavy kitchen shears, and the rolls piled high with the filling, each sandwich was impaled through and through with two of these eyes of horror, and the filling spilled out, screaming with the ghosts of a thousand innocent vegetables. Were they alive? We know not...we only knew that the slightly squashed-in eyes followed us no matter where we were in the room!

Then, oh, then, my friends, the golden-haired but sinister boys turned ordinary skinless sausages into….(sharp intake of breath)... flabby appendages by cutting them in half and then into strips. To add to the potion, they cut a purply-red onion into halves, and then sliced it into half-moon “worms.”

Both of these were added into a cauldron with BBQ sauce to coat thoroughly (although Wilbur later admitted he’d have preferred a sauce of plain ketchup) and were cooked until they were a silky, wormy, red-tinged mass.

But of course, these self-possessed youths did not stop there. They opened a stick of string cheese, and pulled the ‘threads” into...still more worms! The worms in bubbling-hot sauce went onto another roll, and then the pale, flabby cheese-worms went on top. Cthulhu, eyeless and struggling from inside the bun with his many arms, covered with the funk and mold of ages...or at least the funk of a safely-pasteurized cheese stick. Oh, the horror, in sandwich form!

The three surveyed their work, and finally succumbed to the deep despair of it all...or was it the hunger, the hunger that made them swoon?

Me, I think it was the giant basket of unfolded laundry that looms in the distance...

Policy Point Wednesday: Why Advertising Succeeds When Education Fails

2011-10-19T08:41:00.003-05:00

Just recently, I saw the following tweet by food activist Michele Simon, author of Appetite For Profit, a book and blog about food justice, politics, and the food industry:

"Another comment to my blog along the lines of, "just say no" to the food industry's predatory marketing practices aimed at kids."

This piqued my curiosity, so I visited the post in question, where Ms. Simon discusses the FTC's decision to exclude characters promoting junk food from its list of voluntary guidelines on marketing to children. A reader had commented that the best solution was

"not to go to McDonalds or any other business you don’t approve of. There is nothing that says a child (or adult) must have fast food. And why doesn’t that parent choose the healthier item on the menu? Because the child will have a fit? The tail shouldn’t be wagging the dog and the childs fit shouldn’t determine the parents decision. I just don’t get why we have to regulate everything. Make your informed decision on what’s the best food to eat and eat it. Don’t eat the garbage. Why is that so hard?"

To be fair, the ultimate goal is for fewer of our calories to come from foods of minimal nutritional value and for people to make better choices - but, as I've written before, it's often not so simple to do. One assumption to challenge is that parents know how to make better choices.

I decided to enter the debate, and responded:

"You’re implying that all consumers understand or have the level of education needed to refuse unhealthy foods or resist corporate marketing. Let’s put this into perspective: An average of 13 hours (or 780 minutes) per year is spent on nutrition education in our public schools, out of 1,003 total hours per year. Contrasting that, an FTC TV Study showed that in 2004, children on average were exposed to 2,202 minutes of food advertising, and teens 2,193 minutes in television ads alone.

Now, keep in mind that the food industry pays huge sums of money to make the food advertising more appealing than the educational stuff…AND many nutrition education programs in schools are paid for by food trade associations, and thus function as marketing, anyway. Do you see how the deck is stacked in the food industry’s favor?

What I do think: a simpler answer than regulating marketing is requiring dollar-for-dollar matching of child advertising/ marketing monies to be donated to independent education programs earmarked for the areas where the marketing applies (e.g. food marketing to nutrition education, consumerism to consumer education.)

The bottom line: the food industry has no incentive to stop what they’re doing, despite the severe social consequences. The industry has set up the average American to fail when it comes to diet, because it’s in their best financial interest. I don’t see a free-market answer to this dilemma."

The sources cited above do not consider marketing other than TV ads, where over half of the ads involve food. Food companies expose children to their brands in dozens of other ways: expert Marion Nestle points out on her blog, Food Politics, how kids are exposed to ads during leisure time on Ipads, cell phones, and in electronic social networks.

Ad exposure isn't limited to homes: several states permit advertising on school buses, and even inside schools as part of incentive programs, sponsored educational materials, and placement of ads on school property. Children are a captive, vulnerable audience, subjected to mixed messages during most of their waking hours. It has not escaped my notice that no one in this debate is suggesting that food advertisers restrict their marketing to parents.

The Food Desert Project - Easiest Mac or Godey's Ladies meet Lady Ga-Ga

2011-10-12T09:08:00.005-05:00

No, I'm not going to leap out of the internet wearing slices of cheese held together with spaghetti (I know you're breathing a sigh of relief.) I've combined a vintage recipe with electronics and half quixotic tricks to make a hypnotic dish!

I first laid eyes on this "receipt" or recipe on Simply Recipes (please go there and try that version!) Elise Bauer, the author, is a terrific cook and writer...and she started with a recipe from an 1865 issue of Godey's Lady's Book. The technique fascinated me...any cook worth her salt knows the magic thickening properties of pasta water...but to start with pasta in milk, thus cooking and thickening at the same time? Genius! Our founding fathers were smart!

I immediately began to play with this recipe to find ways to make it even easier. First and foremost, I wanted to master something at which, up to now, I've failed miserably: cook pasta in the microwave - after all, I might be stranded in a remote forest one day with just canned milk, cheese, pasta and a microwave. And a casserole dish. And an electrical outlet, maybe. Or, more likely - all that in a really desolate cubicle.

It could happen.

The result? A one-bowl macaroni and cheese recipe that's easy to scale up or down, and can be made in the microwave (or stove, see the link above) in the time it takes to cook the pasta! No, really - it comes out terrific, it's just a matter of applying the correct techniques. I used evaporated milk and deyhdrated onions to ensure a smooth, flavorful sauce. One caveat: make sure you have a deep enough casserole that it won't boil over...I warned you: don't call me to ask me to clean your microwave if you don't keep an eye on it.

Ingredients:

1 12-oz can of evaporated milk (whole or 2%)
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon minced dried onions
1 1/2 cups small pasta (elbow macaroni, tiny shells, etc.)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I like sharp cheddar - 24 ounces if you want to shred it yourself)
Cooking spray
Salt and pepper to taste
Cheese and paprika to garnish (I use parmesan and cheddar)

For the record, if you don't count the seasonings, the ratio is 1:1:1:1. Scale away! (I'd add about a half-tablespoon of onions per cup, but their flavor isn't overwhelming so you can feel free to estimate.) This makes 4 servings.

In a deep microwave-safe casserole or souffle dish, pour the milk, water and minced dried onions and a dash of salt. Spray the top with a light coating of cooking spray (this will help prevent boilovers - but watch it like a hawk anyway...'cause I'm not cleaning your microwave: I warned you.) and bring to a boil in your microwave (took me about 2.5 minutes, YMMV.)

Add the pasta and spray it again. Return to the microwave - nuke on half-power (50%) for 6 minutes, watching carefully to make sure it doesn't boil over. Remove and stir, then microwave, again on half-power, for another 3 minutes. Check to see if your pasta is al dente (it will continue to cook, so while it shouldn't be crunchy, it should be firm.)

If needed, continue to cook as directed above in one-minute increments until the pasta is the desired texture. It will have absorbed quite a lot of your milk, but should still be partially submerged.

Now, add the cheese - another thing I love about this recipe is that there's the same amount of cheese as pasta! Hey, they don't call it Mac with Cheese, it's Mac and Cheese, right? Fold the cheese gently into the pasta; don't worry, the sauce will thicken. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as desired. Allow to sit for 5 minutes until the sauce becomes rich and creamy.

Nutrition information (don't say I didn't warn you - but do note that while high in fat and calories, it's also high in protein and nutrients.)

Serve, topped with shredded cheese and paprika and then you'll want to...just dance!

Sundays with Sparky - Raspberry Swamp Pie from Food52

2011-10-09T07:24:00.000-05:00

As you may remember from last year, we like to end our summer by heading up to Upberries, my friend Chris's Upick raspberry farm. Her farm is beautiful, her company is lovely, and we always leave loaded down with beautiful huge jewel-like raspberries. Normally, after we have raspberry-covered cereal for a day or so, I can raspberry jam - but we're finding we don't eat as much as I can make.

I was absolutely thrilled when this recipe popped up on my blog reader (and if you don't read Food52's blog, you should.) A pie that's more raspberries than anything else...but still has a double crust AND cream? She had me at raspberries. It's called Raspberry Swamp Pie, with the word swamp being used here as a verb...the entire pie is swamped with a custard sauce. If you're like me, your heart rate went up just reading that.

Normally, I hate the food processor - yes, it makes short work of whatever action you put it to, but cleaning and storing the behemoth machine that normally is doing the work of a knife or a grater has relegated ours to the basement. However, the piecrust recipe used the food processor; Sparky loves machinery, and we needed to get this pie made before bedtime...so off to the basement I went.

I followed the recipe pretty faithfully, so I won't go into too much detail here - please visit the link for the full ingredients list and method - except I made one big emergency change: I didn't have any cream, and our local corner stores don't carry it, so I subbed the same amount of evaporated milk. It worked just fine.

So, Sparky started out by pulsing raw (turbinado) sugar and flour into a powder in the food processor (the crust is a kind of cookie/piecrust hybrid) and then adding butter (I keep butter in the freezer just for this purpose) that I'd cut into small cubes. He pulsed until the butter was broken into little bits, and then added 1/4 cup of water - and, in another minor change from the recipe I added 2-3 tablespoons of vodka (which allows you to make a wetter dough) and pulsed until the dough started to come together.

Sparky then squooshed the dough into two lumps, one slightly smaller than the other. I squashed them flat and stuck these in the freezer for a few minutes as I never have time or patience to wait for things to chill in the fridge (this is another good reason to keep your butter frozen.)

After the longest rest our patience would allow - i.e. a very short rest - we turned on our oven to 375 degrees, and then rolled out the larger lump and placed it in our pie pan (the easiest way to transport a piecrust from table to pan? Roll it around your rolling pin and then unroll it as shown.)

We then started on the first part of baking this beautiful pie: the berry filling. Raspberries, vanilla sugar, and flour went into a bowl and were folded together. At this stage, I would recommend tasting the berries and adjusting your sugar as necessary: we found our pie to be a little on the tart side.

Then the filling was placed in the pie, the top crust rolled out and placed on top - the bottom and top edges rolled under and crimped tightly. We cut a large center vent and four vents around the sides for our cream, and then coated the entire thing with well-mixed egg white and a sprinkling of more raw sugar. The remaining egg yolk was beaten with 3/4 cup of evaporated milk and left on the counter in a gravy boat for easy pouring.

At this point, the pie went into the oven and was left there to perfume the house with raspberry sweetness for 40 minutes. When the timer sounded, we fought back our olfactorily-induced raspberry frenzy, and did not devour the pie then and there (I mean, look at it - and it would have been fine, really. Plain raspberry pie, anyone?)

Instead we gently poured the cream into the vents, sometimes poking them open slightly with a knife to make sure it got inside, and allowing it to flood the top crust until our pie looked sloppily, maddeningly delicious, like this:

Gathering our self-control, we put the whole thing carefully back in the oven for 10 more minutes, until the cream was wiggly but not runny. Nobody will judge you if you open the door to the oven and wiggle your pie, trust me - I know. (At least not this pie.)

The whole self-control thing went out the window when it came out of the oven: it really needs to cool to room temperature, but we had at it in 10 minutes...it was runny, a bit homely - but really, really delicious.