Building a
Triad food
community
Forsyth County Library has figured out a rather clever way to get people to pay back their DVD and CD fines and collect food for a good cause - throughout the month of November, bring in cans or other non-perishable foodstuffs, and get $1 taken off your bill for each item. All food will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank.
Beans for Beethoven, anyone?
I had a great therapy session last weekend. And it didn’t cost me $150 an hour.
In fact, I figure it cost me less than $2.
Once upon a time, I made bread about every other week. I fell out of the habit a while ago, though.
But I’ve been thinking for months that I wanted to make bread again, at least once if not on a regular basis.
I finally got my chance last weekend on a day when I was hanging around the house without a long list of chores.
It was nice to drop right back into the rhythm of kneading after so much time: push, fold, turn, push, fold, turn.
Working yeast dough just feels so good in your hands. It’s not a bad workout for shoulder and arm muscles, either.
I just made a simple whole-wheat bread. My kids were not terribly impressed because it wasn’t sweet bread. And here I thought they’d be all over bread-making!
That’s OK, though. I actually would have been bummed if they had wanted to do all the kneading themselves.
Now I’m thinking about what to make the next time I need a little bread therapy.
Even while I was waiting to vote this morning, I was thinking about food.
That’s because in honor of Election Day, Krispy Kreme and Starbucks* are giving away (not together, but in their individual stores) donuts (star-shaped) and coffee to anyone who comes in and asks for it today. If we had Ben and Jerrry’s in Winston-Salem, we could free scoops of ice cream, too.
I don’t buy a cup of coffee every day, and when I do, I think Krankies is the best in Winston-Salem. I’ll especially go out of my way to get an iced coffee there in the summer. But free OK coffee is free OK coffee. Also, beyond the allure of free stuff, there’s something festive about Election Day and this one especially. Maybe it’s because so many people are participating. At my polling station this morning, I saw college students, neighbors, parents with their kids, a woman who had roused her brother out of bed, a cross section of races, ages and classes. I waited in line about 45 minutes, and I after I voted, I felt absurdly silly with pride as one of the precinct workers slapped an “I Voted” sticker on my coat. Now, I wonder how many of those people I’ll see at Starbucks.
*except the downtown Starbucks, the one located closest to the Journal’s newsroom. Apparently that one is owned by the Marriott and they’re not participating in the patriotic giveaway. So I bought my coffee - elsewhere.
The Journal’s Creative Collard Greens Contest at the Dixie Classic Fair may be long over, but I’m still thinking about fun and different things to do with collards.
So a recipe in The New York Times, from Melissa Clark, caught my eye last week.
This isn’t anything terribly new. But beans, sausage and collards are a darn good combination. And I like how Clark saves some pot-washing by cooking the greens and beans together.
Note that Northerner Clark cooks her collards a mere 30 minutes. Most Southerners will want to throw them in the pot much earlier.
Also, I’d just as soon have pintos and cranberry beans, but choose whatever beans you like.
In my mind, the rice is kind of optional, but I suppose it does help sop up the pot likker if you don’t have any cornbread handy.
I also would add some onion. Either add chopped onion in the beginning, or serve some raw onion sprinkled atop each plate — or both.
And if you don’t like this Yankee recipe, well, send me a better one!
Braised Collard Greens With Cranberry Beans and Andouille Sausage
Recipe adapted from The New York Times.
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ pound andouille sausage, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 quart chicken broth
1¾ pounds cranberry beans, shelled
2 bunches collard greens (about 2 pounds), ribs removed and leaves cut into 1-inch strips
Salt to taste
Hot sauce, for serving
Cooked rice, for serving
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and garlic, and cook, stirring, until sausage is golden and garlic fragrant, about 3 minutes.
2. Stir in the broth and beans. Bring to a simmer, then cover, and cook for 1 hour, reducing heat as needed.
3. Stir in the collards and continue to simmer, uncovered, until beans are tender and liquid has thickened, about 30 minutes longer. Season with salt, to taste. Serve with hot sauce, over rice.
Makes 4 servings.
In tomorrow’s relish you’ll be able to read about my thoughts on Ombu, an ambitious and beautifully-done up restaurant that opened late last month in yet another new shopping center along Hanes Mall Boulevard.
September 22, let’s see…what happened that week and the one before? The stock market rocked and rolled. Congress was negotiating over the bailout. And companies’ cash flow - their short term loans - locked up, making it impossible for them to borrow money. NPR called the week of Sept. 14 “The Week America’s Economy Almost Died.” Cheerful!
Maybe that explained quite a few empty tables during my recent two visits. On the other hand, it’s hard to tell when your restaurant has nearly 300 seats. It’s not just the menu that I’m talking about when I call this place ambitious.
Ombu probably couldn’t have opened at a worse time, though I’ve had at least one restaurant owner tell me that generally summer is a bad time, too. So perhaps there could always be a worse time…that is, summertime, and the worse economic crisis in generations.
What amazes me is that even given the tough economy, people continue to pursue the very fragile restaurant dream. This fall, several restaurants have or are planning on opening in Winston-Salem. On Fourth Street alone, there’s two - Noma, a casual bar from the owners of Sixth and Vine, and Mozelle’s, a new bistro in that slip of a building near Grace Court Park that used to house Camel City Cafe, and for a blink, Scooters. Sal Bravo, the owner of Las Estrellas, is opening a second Mexican restaurant on South Marshall Street, in the former South By Southwest location. And workmen seem to be making daily progress at Bib’s, a barbecue restaurant across from Central Library on Fifth Street. Journal reporter Fran Daniel talked to several businesses for her recent story on restaurants downtown and the economy. A lot of restaurants have closed in the past year, but it gives me hope - and something to eat - that the restaurant dream is alive and well…or perhaps still coasting off better times.
Ombu may look like a chain from the outside, but it’s not, though Darla Kirkeeng, wife of chef and co-owner Eric Kirkeeng, told me in an e-mail that there are plans to expand. The restaurant’s website says it all - omburestaurants.com, not omburestaurant.com (though that will get you to an early promo for the place).
In my Oct. 29 column, I worked up an appetite for election night. Sure, I’m ready to see the campaigning end and to find out who will be our next president. But I’m also well-stocked with food to keep me fed while I lounge on the couch, waiting for the results to come in.
I included Sen. John McCain’s ribs or Sen. Barack Obama’s chili in my column.
In case those don’t fill you up or suit your tastes, here are some other election-night party ideas. For those who don’t take sides, check out the bipartisan recipes from Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine.
And if you have any other ideas for an election party, pass them along!
Cindy McCain’s Oatmeal-Butterscotch Cookies
From parents.com. This recipe is similar to one at http://www.hersheys.com.
¾ cup(1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 2/3 cups butterscotch chips
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl beat the butter or margarine, granulated sugar and brown sugar together. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well.
3. In a medium-size bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture; stir until blended. Stir in oats and butterscotch chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.
4. Bake 10 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Michelle Obama’s Shortbread Cookies
Recipe from parents.com.
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons Amaretto (almond liqueur)
1 teaspoon each orange and lemon zest
3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
¼ teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg white
Chopped nuts or dried fruit (optional)
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 17-by2-by1-inch baking pan with nonstick foil. In large bowl, cream together butter and 1-1/2 cups of the sugar.
2. Slowly add egg yolks, and beat well until smooth. Beat in Amaretto and zest.
3. Stir in flour and salt until combined.
4. Spread dough evenly into prepared pan, flattening as smoothly as possible.
5. Brush top of dough with egg white; sprinkle with nuts or fruit (if using) and with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.
6. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes or until brown, turn off oven and allow cookies to sit in oven (with door ajar) for 15 minutes. Cut while slightly warm.
Sen. Biden’s Favorite Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Recipe adapted from http://www.yankeemagazine.com, attributed to Mary Ann Kelley.
1 cup shortening or butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup raisins
Nuts (about 1 cup chopped), optional
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, soda, cinnamon and salt together. Beat together the shortenings and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add flour mixture, oats and raisins (and nuts if using) and mix well.
2. Drop (by tablespoonfuls or other desired size) onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown around the edges.
Sarah Palin’s Barracuda Cocktail
Recipe from recipezaar.com.
1½ ounces Southern Comfort (or 1 part)
1½ ounces vodka (or 1 part)
1½ ounces triple sec (or 1 part)
Pour all three parts into a cocktail glass (or another type of glass) over ice. Mix and serve.
Campaign Trail Mix
Recipe from the November issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine.
8 cups air-popped popcorn
1 cup roasted peanuts
1 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
7 tablespoons butter
¼ cup dark brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and black pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. In a large bowl, toss together the popcorn, peanuts and pumpkin seeds.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Whisk in the brown sugar and cayenne until bubbling and thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour over the popcorn mixture; toss to coat. Season with salt and black pepper.
3. Transfer to the foil-lined baking sheet. Form small clumps of the popcorn mixture and bake until toasted, 40 minutes. Let cool completely.
Makes 9 cups.
Bipartisan Salad
Recipe from the November issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine.
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper
16 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Cayenne pepper
2 6-ounce packages baby spinach (16 cups)
1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. On a baking sheet, toss the squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Spread out in a single layer and roast until tender and just starting to brown, about 10 minutes; let cool.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, fry the bacon, stirring, until crisp, about 15 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain; let cool.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ¼ cup olive oil, the maple syrup, lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne. Drizzle the dressing over the spinach; toss to coat.
4. In a serving bowl, top the spinach with the bacon on one side of the bowl and the squash on the other side.
Makes 8 servings.
Uncle Sammies
Recipe from the November issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine.
3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1 1/4 -pound pork tenderloin, at room temperature
1 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained (1 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon paprika
16 dinner rolls (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter), split and the insides removed
1 5-ounce bag blue potato chips, such as Terra Blues
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the butter, garlic, salt, black pepper and cayenne.
2. Use a sharp knife to cut a few slits in the pork. Rub the garlic butter over the pork, making sure butter gets into the slits. Place on a roasting rack set in a roasting pan or on a foil-lined baking sheet; roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 150 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest.
3. Meanwhile, using a blender, puree the roasted peppers, olive oil and paprika; season with salt.
Thinly slice the pork. Layer the bottom half of each roll with the potato chips, pork slices and about 1 tablespoon of the red pepper puree. Top with the remaining roll halves.
Makes 16 sammies, or 8 main-dish servings.
(Photo credits: Cindy’s McCain’s Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies and Michelle Obama’s Shortbread Cookies from Parents.com; Campaign Trail Mix, Bipartisan Salad and Uncle Sammies from Everyday With Rachael Ray magazine.)
Sea Products Inc. is a great little seafood shop tucked away behind the Snob Shop on West End Boulevard in a spot where few people probably even know it exists.
A lot of Sea Products’ seafood comes straight from the North Carolina coast, which is one good reason to go there.
The owner, George Streblow, has entered the Digital Age with a Web site and mail orders of such popular items as crab cakes.
George recentlhy started an e-newsletter. He sends them out about once a month. Each is mainly a short little essay on one particular type of seafood, as well as a liist of what’s in season. (Yes, different types of seafood do each have their own season, just like produce!)
Last month, the newsletter was all about scallops. George went into detail about how to tell a good one from a bad one, accompanied by a great photo showing out a natural scallop should be dry enough to stick to your hand.
This month’s he talks about salmon. He includes such tidbits as the fact that salmon dates back to 11,000 B.C. in America and 25,000 B.C. in Europe.
He also gives a very brief summary of the wild vs. farmed question, which I quote here:
“Through all the controversies of wild vs. farmed salmon the facts can be briefly summarized as follows.(1) The same levels of healthy omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish oils are the same for both.(2) The health and nutritional benefits of eating salmon are the same for both.(3) Trace amounts of pollutants are found in the same levels in both and are deemed safe to eat by the F.D.A. and every other regulatory or nutritional body.”
That doesn’t include every single environmental concern, but it does address the major concerns with eating the fish.
George is an advocate of farmed salmon, and he’s happy to talk about why carries it and no other salmon in his store.
In fact, George has definite opinions about all kinds of seafood. Maybe not everybody agrees with everything he says, but he brings almost 30 years of experience to the table.
Restaurant chefs have been making use of George’s expertise and fresh seafood for many years. Too bad he’s a bit of untapped resource for the rest of Winston-Salem.
If you want to learn more about Sea Products, see a goofy picture of George horsing around with fish, and sign up for his mailing list, go to http://www.seaproductsnc.com.
Epicurean activist Michael Pollan was on today’s Talk of the Nation on NPR - take a listen. An interesting way to think about all the issues our next president will have to handle. Economic, environmental, health care - a lot of it comes back to our plates, according to Pollan.
It seems that cooler fall temperatures are finally here. Who knows how long it will take before we get our first frost, but I’m eyeing the dregs of my summer garden with sad thoughts that all but the lettuce will soon be wiped out. (Update: We apparently had our first light frost the night of Oct. 19; at least I had ice on my windshield the morning of the 20th.)
I have four tomato plants that refuse to call it a day, or a season. I know that the dozen or more green tomatoes hanging on the vines will never ripen outdoors. I hate the idea of picking them, or of tearing out the plants, simply because it’s so symbolic of the end of summer produce.
In other words, I’m procrastinating.
My story will have a happy ending, though, because I know exactly what I’m going to do with those tomatoes. I will fry them in a cornmeal.
Hot and crispy, with a slight grit of cornmeal, and the tart acidity of the unripe tomato cutting through the frying fat, fried green tomatoes are a true culinary wonder, and a testament to the greatness of Southern food.
Maybe that sounds a bit over the top, but these darn things are just so good.
So if you happen to have a few many tomato plants that haven’t given up the ghost yet, pick those tomatoes and get cooking.
Tomatoes that have not matured to full size; immature small ones tend to be bitter.
You can go in a few different directions with fried green tomatoes. They can either be pan-fried or deep-fried.
The coating can vary, too. It can range from just cornmeal, salt and pepper to a full-blown egg batter. I tend to go the middle route, coating them with salt, pepper and buttermilk before coating them in cornmeal.
I also tend to pan-fry them simply because it saves money on the amount of oil used.
Here’s a recipe I like from Hoppin’ John Martin Taylor, a South Carolina cookbook author whose books include The Fearless Frying Cookbook.
Fried Green Tomatoes
¼ vegetable or light olive oil, or more
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk beaten with 1 large egg)
1 cup cornmeal
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
16 slices green tomatoes (4 to 4 medium), cut ½ to 3/4 inch thick
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Pour the buttermilk in a shallow bowl. In a second shallow bowl, combine the cornmeal with plenty of salt and pepper.
2. Dip each tomato slice into the buttermilk, covering the tomato completely, and let the excess drip off. Transfer the slice to the cornmeal, turning it until well coated, again shaking off any excess. Place in the hot oil and cook, turning once, until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Plan to do about 5 slices at a time, be sure not to crowd the pan.
3. As each batch is done, transfer to a wire rack and keep warm in a 200-degree oven while the remaining tomatoes cook. Also check the oil in between batches and add more as needed.
Makes 4 servings.
Today’s Living section includes my story about Tom Brown, a R.J. Reynolds retiree who has spent the last 11 years not golfing, but tracking down old and nearly lost varieties of apples along the back roads of northwestern N.C., southern Va., and Tenn., among other places. (Don’t forget to check out the slide show, too - Journal photographer David Rolfe and I went along with Tom on an apple hunt in early October).
This fall, Brown has been traveling around to area libraries, giving talks about his apple hunts and a tasting of a dizzying array of heirloom fruit. His next two talks will be at the Kernersville Library on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. and Central Library at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 (Election Day apples!). I went to his first talk in Lewisville at the end of September, and it was an amazing experience to see and taste the differences between the apples. Some were bone dry. One, called the Hillside, was dusky-red and lopsided, leaning heavily to the left. My favorite was a snappy, juicy tart apple called the Lacy.
Tom told us apples were often selected by their use, so a tougher, drier fruit would be good for drying apples to use over the winter. And like today, harder, tarter apples are often better for cooking, though I really like to eat them, too.
You can check out Tom’s list of apples he’s found here.
» rebeccasubbiah on 'Beyond Beef Burgers.'
» jessica on 'Cooked Wine.'
» Catherine Dancy on 'Time-Saving Salad.'
» Laura Giovanelli on 'Cream Horns and Almond Cake and Lemon Bars, Oh My!.'
» beth (emily's aunt) on 'Eggstra Eggs.'
Check Out our other food-related offerings:
Journalnow.com Food section
Relish Dining section
