New York City Health Department Interactive Map

This map lets you click on any restaurant and see what grade they got, with explanations of any violations and much more ...

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/dining/new-york-health-department-restaurant-ratings-map.html?hp

Project Crevette

Snails breed parasites called schistosomiasis.  Snails are usually eaten in great amounts by river prawn, excepts in rivers where dams or other environmental disruptions have occurred killing off the prawns and leaving all the snails resulting in wide spread, rampant, deadly schistosomiasis.   

This is a very promising and inspired project that if it works, and I see no reason why it won't, would provide a solution/cure to the 4th largest cause of mortality in the world the parasite schistosomiasis abby simply restoring the ecosystem back to what it was before it was altered.

Watch the video below, they explain it much better then I can. If you want to help out or more information check out their site here.

What is so exciting to me about this solution to such a horrible public health issue is how in keeping with nature it is and that when these bodies of water are safe to go into again not only will they not be fill with schistosomiasis they will provide a source of food.

Tuscany, White Truffles, Cooking Classes and Great Wine

What more could you ask for?  Lots of well sourced naturally made wines? Organic pork, exquisite goat cheese and hosts who live in Italy half the year and are passionate about its food and culture.  The annual Tuscan Gastronomic Tour is run by a friend of mine who has a house that she and her husband open up for 8 lucky guests every November.  

In addition to three meals cooked comunally, at home, the week is filled with wine tours, lots of eating out at local restaurants, and truffle hunting.  Word in the street has it that this is the primo place for white truffles in Tuscany.

Don't take my word for it: check out the site and see what you think.  What I think, just in case you haven't already guessed, is that this is a trip of a lifetime and a food lover's heaven and, at $2750 for double occupancy and $3100 single occupancy, very fairly priced.  Hell! That's how much a large white truffle would cost you here!

Remember there is only room for 8 people, so this is going to sell out quickly.  The only stipulation is that you have to come with an open and eager appetite; it's not really good for fussy eaters or people who have food restrictions. And truffle hunting requires an ability to hike for a couple of hours (gotta build up an appetite for those truffle dishes!)

When you go to the website be sure to click on the PDF file.

Dr Huber Explains

On January 17, internationally recognized plant pathologist Dr. Don Huber, wrote a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack warning of the discovery of a new pathogen and a possible link between Roundup Ready® (GMO) corn and soybeans and severe reproductive problems in livestock as well as widespread crop failure.
Here he is explaining his discovery to David Murphy from Food Democracy Now.  A must watch and after you have seen it please go here and sign the letter to Secretary Vilsak.

Dr. Huber Explains Science Behind New Organism and Threat from Monsanto's Roundup, GMOs to Disease and Infertility from Food Democracy Now! on Vimeo.

Reminder: Today at Zuchotti Park at Noon

Occupy the Food Supply is today start at Noon at Zuccotti Park ending up at La Plaza Cultural where I will be there with my co-gardener Margo to greet you!

Here are the details.

Portlandia: 1890s

It's kind of embarrassing to admit, but I don't find Portlandia very funny,  a lot of my friends think it's hysterical and send me clips and I just shrug.  So it's nice to see a piece that genuinely makes me smile.  This clip could just as easily be about Williamsburg...or any other neighborhood where hipster artisan types have moved in.

Dream of the 1890s - Portlandia from Para One on Vimeo.

Titanic Menu

This first class menu from the Titanic dated  April 14th 1912 is being auctioned off - I want it!  It is estimated to fetch about $157,000

Homemade Tortillas

I'd always wanted to try making my own tortilla, even though they are available in every grocery store, home made is almost always better.

As most of you who are familiar with me you know I am not a big fan of "shortening"  mostly because it is so highly processed and even the organic onces seem to be filled with ingredients I can't pronounce.  Mostly though it's because I don't like the flavor and I don't think that shortening is even necessary unless you are taking a long journey into the dessert with out refrigeration.  Butter is pure, easy and is made from one very pronounceable ingredient:  Milk.

It is admittedly kind of radical to make tortilla with butter, mostly they are made with lard or shortening, so I was a bit worried. Turns out my worry was un-necessary.

These Tortilla worked out great, where easy and have kept well in the fridge for over a week.  The only thing to watch out for is to make sure as you cook them you keep the cooked ones covered in a warm slightly damp towel so they don't try out and lose there flexibility.  But even if that does happen as did to me, when you put cheese on them and put them under the broiler they regain their wrap-ability.

Homemade Tortillas

Line a baking sheet with parchment.

In a large bowl add 3 cups of bread flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour (or all bread flour if you want white tortilla).

In a separate bowl add 1 cup of warm water, add to this 1 teaspoon of salt, stir until the salt dissolves. 

With your fingers mix in 1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) of unsalted butter into the flour mixture until it is completely mixed in.  Gradually add, a little bit at a time, the salty water.   Mixing it well with you hands as you go.  When all the water had been incorporated you should have an easily workable ball of dough.  If it is too stuff add more water.  

Ned the dough until it becomes elastic and is very easy to knead.  About 5 minutes.

Conversely you can make the tortilla in a standing mixer with a paddle attachement.  You could swap out a dough hook after the water is added but I find the paddle works just fun.

When the dough is kneaded roll out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a large sausage, using a sharp knife or a dough cutter divide the dough into about 20-24 pieces, roll each into a perfect ball the size of a large walnut.

Place these balls on the parchment and cover with a barely damp cloth.  Let sit at least an hour if not longer.

Place each ball onto a lightly floured surface and roll out into 6-8' rounds.   

When ready to make the tortillas put a large cast iron skillet on the stove over medium high heat, when the pan is hot place dust off your tortilla and place it into the pan and wait for it to bubble up like below:

It should take about a minute or so.

Using tongs, or your fingers, turn the tortilla over and cook on the other side for another 30 seconds or so, you want both sides to be browned a little.   

Place in a pile on a plate covering them with a barley damp cloth.

I melted cheese on top of each under the broiler and served them with guacamole, peach salsa I had put up in the late summer and some black beens I had made in my new favorite cooking pot my Olla from Mexican.

Funny how everything in our house somehow ends up being a version of pizza.

Bon provecho!

I Want My Organic Farm Bill

The folks at Food Democracy Now are trying to make the farm bill better, in part by emphasising the importance of sustainable, organic farming practices.  Here is their text:

In order to meet the serious challenges of the 21st century, U.S. agricultural policy in the farm bill must shift from its focus of creating cheap commodities and artificially propping up income for farmers, toward implementing best agricultural practices for sustainable and organic production methods.

Fortunately, while much of mainstream agriculture has focused on an increasing reliance on chemicals and biotech engineered seeds, over the past 40 years a new breed of farmer has developed highly sophisticated ways of farming with nature that promote soil health, higher nutrient value of food and increased farm income.

Please join us in the call for an Organic Farm Bill and share your ideas of how to make the Farm Bill better serve farmers, eaters and the environment!

Go here to add your voice.

This Chipolte ad has been around for a while and I am surprised it has taken me so long to post it.   A real
heart tugging piece of advertising, from a fast food chain (Chipolte) endorsing locally sourced food over mass produced factory food.  What got me thinking about it today is Grist's article about how big AG responded to this ad when it ran recently during the Grammys.

Corporate Americas pig headedness (pun intended) about this is not surprising, given it's myopic focus on profit, but what is really clear is that more and more people are realizing that torturing animals to get cheap meat isn't worth it, ergo the ban in several states on the uber cruel pig gestation crates.

Occupy the Food Supply: GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION

My friend Margo and I will be La Plaza Cultural (our community garden where we have plots) to give tours and welcome the marchers.  If you are free Monday please join in the action!

Here is the Occupy the Food Supply Press Release:

On Monday, February 27th, 2012, OWS Food Justice, OWS Sustainability, Oakland Food Justice & the worldwide Occupy Movement invite you to join the Global Day of Action to Occupy the Food Supply. We challenge the corporate food regime that has prioritized profit over health and sustainability. We seek to create healthy local food systems. We stand in Solidarity with Indigenous communities, and communities around the world, that are struggling with hunger, exploitation, and unfair labor practices. 

On this day, in New York City, community gardeners, activists, labor unions, farmers, food workers, and citizens of the NYC metro area, will gather at Zuccotti Park at noon, for a Seed Exchange, to raise awareness about the corporate control of our food system and celebrate the local food communities in the metro area. 

At 2pm, this event will take to the streets, to educate the public about the effects of GMOs on our health and environment, with GMO labels and GMO buying guides. Also at 2pm, the Seed Ball Bike Ride will depart, launching seed balls to remediate soil & green NYC en route to the La Plaza Community Garden, where Lower East Side Community Garden Tours will commence at 3pm. 

Join us throughout the day in this community celebration, and help us realize our shared healthy food future together!!

CREATE: Local, Just, Fair Solutions

RESIST: Corporate Control of our Food Supply

The NYC Events ...

Noon - Symbolic presence at Stock Exchange

Noon - Seed Exchange at the "Stock Exchange" (location: Zuccotti Park)

2pm - GMO labeling (leave from Zuccotti Park)

2pm - Seed Ball Bike Ride (leave from Zuccotti Park)

3pm - LES Community Gardens Tours - (meetup location La Plaza Community Garden)

Monsanto Guilty of Chemical Poisoning In France

"French court decided today that GMO crops monster Monsanto is guilty of chemically poisoning a French farmer. The grain grower, Paul Francois, says he developed neurological problems such as memory loss and headaches after being exposed to Monsanto’s Lasso weedkiller back in 2004"

Good news from the French court in Lyon who found that Monsanto did not properly warn farmers of the dangers of using their pesticides. Of course I am rooting for the farmers and see this as a positive trend as the nasty and aggressively litigious Monsanto usually wins.

In this country of course we have a big problem, former Monsanto legal counsel Clarence Thomas sits on this countries highest court and in his first ruling which gave Monsanto the right to own and trademark nature that he did not see fit to recuse himself from.  Currently Monsanto is back trying to get the highest court to give them a favorable ruling in there third attempt in their case against Geerston Seeds.  Of course Mr. Thomas has not recused himself, because, well why would you actually do something actually legal and respectful when you are a supreme court justice whose seat on that court was bought for you by...what was the name of that company? Oh right: Monsanto.

Vietnam in a Nutshell

I'm so envious of the Perennial Plate folks who got asked to go to Vietnam care of Intrepid Travel to check out the food scene and make a video.  Here is what I can only imagine is their teaser video. The the images of Vietnam make me long to go back, it's a place I visited many times (when I used to have my import business) and got to really love.  Ho Ch Minh City is not a City that I ever need to return to, but Hanoi is magical.

Warning if you watch this you will want to go visit Vietnam.  The food, like in most of South East Asia, is awesome:

A Taste of Vietnam from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.

Farro and Root Vegetable Salad

This Winter I have been eating more grains and I have become a real fan of this salad, well I call it a salad you could call it a side dish or really you could call it dinner.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Peel and chop into bite size pieces 3-4 cups of Root Vegetable. I used heirloom carrots (red, golden, orange) Parsnip (a nice big one, I love Parsnip) and a sweet potato you can use anything else that strikes your fancy that is at the Market in February.

Toos the vegetables with 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil and roast until nicely brown and soft.


While they are cooking boil 3/4 cup of Faro in 6 cups of salted water for about 20 minutes or until the grain is soft, but still has a little chew don't over cook mushy Faro is not a pretty thing.

Drain the Faro and put back into the pot you cooked it in.  

Chop Two Shallots finely and toss them with the Faro, add salt and fresh ground black pepper.  

Make a very simple Red Wine vinaigrette 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar and 1/2 cup Olive Oil salt
and pepper maybe a dash of grain mustard.  If you want to do this wine lemon juice or another kind of vinegar go for it.

Toss into the Farro 3/4 cup of roughly chopped Parsley and 2 Tablespoon of fresh herbs - I used Rosemary but Sage, Winter Savory or Thyme all would be great.

When the root vegetables are cooked toss them into the Farro mixture.  I left it in the pot and left it sit on the stove until I wanted to serve it.   If you think you want to wait and reheat this add the fresh herb/parsley at the end before serving.  When you are ready to serve add the vinaigrette a little at a time tasting as you go.  Feel free to add more vinegar or lemon juice if you want the salad to have more punch.    Ditto for the Rosemary if you want to have a more herbaceous salad.  

This is a very diverse and tasty salad. If you don't want to use a vinaigrette you could try a pesto (sage?) and omitting the rosemary or maybe Chermoula for a Moroccan spicier dish or even 

Try it and make it your own!

Crocus in Bloom: February 20th

Neil and I went to  our community garden today and were amazed by how many flowers were in blown.  These Crocus where the prettiest, but there were many more not to mention all the Kale and Sage that never died back.  Very strange to have such a non-Winter.  We still have march to look forward to, who knows it could be freezing.  

Even though it's much nicer for us humans to have a mild Winter a lot of plants need a good long cold snap to go dorment and do there thing. Grist has a great article on this subject which will have you wishing for a very cold March.

Everything You Wanted Know About Potatoes!

Episode 32 - Eagle Creek Seed Potatoes from Kevin Kossowan on Vimeo.

Spider Street Art

The Rivington street between Chrystie and Bowery has become a hot bed of street art over the last couple of years.  Yesterday on my way to Whole Foods to get some last minute groceries for last night's dinner party I saw these new red spiders which I thought rather handsome:

Last Nights Menu: Chris's 60th

It's a bit blurry which is exactly how I feel today. Thanks to my friend Debbie helping me in the kitchen I was able to pull this off.  One day I will learn to not be so overly ambitious....

More on this later with my new root veg and farro salad recipe 

Transgenic Pollution = Monsanto

I was here:



You can help by going here and adding your voice.

Food Rules

Dobos Torte

This Saturday we have throwing a sixtieth birthday party for a dear friend who we have know for 25 years.   Although it seems insane that I would be sent into a tizzy about a dinner party, as we have one or more a week, every now and again I feel like I need to up my game and make something really special.

In this instance special was an over the top traditional "fancy cake" a Dobos Torte, 7 layers of hazelnut butter cream topped with caramel.  The recipe I used was Lindsay Remolif Shere (one of the founders of Chez Panisse and the original pastry chef there).  It seemed straight forward enough, an fairly easy cake, or 7 cakes, some butter cream all topped off with caramel.  The only thing that really worried me was that the cake had to be divided into 16 equal pieces so I went to NY Cake store in Chelsea and bought a kit that had a template you place your cake on and it tells you where to divide it.

First thing that went wrong was I over heated the eggs white so they wouldn't fluff up.   Then I over cooked them because I thought they should be browned which indeed they didn't (and the recipe didn't call for it).  Then there was the butter cream, which had to have sugar syrup at the thread stage mixed into eggs yolks - there was an ice bath involved and a thermometer and butter - then the amount of chocolate used wasn't enough or was it that I used 63 percent coca and it should have been more like 76% she did say bitter.  Anyway I added 2 extra tablespoons of coca and all was well.

The cake rounds were formed on parchment paper that I had drawn 8' circles on so they were more or less the same, but they were not exactly the same, and I only got 6 not 7 like the recipe called for.

Then there was the caramel which was too hard. In the end it wasn't too horrible.  I could have used more icing and if I had made the rounds thinning I would have gotten 7.  The second time around I had no problem with the egg whites, but I also didn't heat them.  If they are really ate room temperature you will get the volume you need.

This cake if you should dare to try it is way better the next day or even two after.

Here is the thing though, I was lucky to have the time to try this first before I made it for the actual event.  What came to me after a day of cake experimenting was that this kind of cake is something that maybe if I took a course and made them a lot more that I might be good at, but at the end of the day it's not something that really reflects me or how I cook.  I want to make honest food that taste good.  This kind of cakes seems like fancy for the sake of fancy.  It tastes good, but it doesn't taste any better than chocolate pudding upside down cake which looks a mess and is almost impossible to fuck up.  No water bath or thermometers required.

So next time you have to make a dinner where you want to impress people and make them happy I have some advice, which hopefully from here on in I will listen to as well, make what you know and that you know works.  Special occasions are anxiety provoking enough no need to make a 7 layer cake.

Galloping Gourmet

My recent reference to my childhood food hero has made me go on a YouTube journey down memory lane.
My apologies for not having some actually cooking and real content this last week but between my camera breaking and this damn flu I have not been on top of my game, tomorrow I deal with the camera, the flu thing well....my fingers are crossed it will be over by the weekend.  I've been working on a fancy Tobos Torte and homemade Marshmallows....much more soon....

I love the travelog in this episode: Firenze in the snow! I forgot how much Graham Kerr loved to guild the lily, but at the same time is actually very educational for example the dish he is making in this episode ia a gateau saint honore.  A cake that I have tried to make with absolutely no success...given the name I would have thought it was French, but apparently no it's from Florence?  I think I need to Google this, but in the mean time put aside 20 minutes and watch this episode - it was a different work in the 1970's and other then Julia Child this was it for cooking shows (no Food Network back then).

Even now I think he is pretty funny.

Some Joel Salatin Love

Southern Table

This video makes me hungry.  The farmer who is shown with his hogs and his sheep, is touching when he talks about how he has no problem with eating pork or beef, but he won't eat lamb, because ...well watch and find out:

The Perennial Plate Episode 91: Southern Table from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.
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I'm in week 2 of this damn cold and then today my camera seems to have died, ugh.  I have been working on home made marshmallows made from marshmallow root and no corn syrup and a big fancy cake called  a Tobos Torte hopefully I will be up and running by the end of the week with some cooking and recipes!

Toast

Toast is the name of a very poignant movie about Nigel Slater's childhood caught me by surprise. Nigel, as many of you already know, is the charming and chatty British food writer and chef whose articles and videos appear in the Guardian and on the BBC with great regularity (I've posted a far share myself).  His cookbook Tender, which was published in the UK several years back made it's US debut last year and was an instant hit with anyone who opened it.

It always seem like he is speaking directly to you when you read his recipes, he is familiar and friendly in a way that is quite unique in cookbook writing.  He also has the ability to make everything sound mouth watering.

But I digress, the movie focuses on his Dickensian childhood and how in the midst of all this tragedy he managed to nurture his love of food.  Certainly not something his mother or step mother were able or willing to help him with.  In many ways it reminded me of my childhood, I started to cook at a very early age as a way of helping out my widowed mother so she would have less to do when she got home from work. Taking the hamburger out of the oven soon became making the chili, as my mother had little to no interest in cooking.  The one advantage I had over Nigel was Graham Kerr who inspired me every afternoon with his show the Galloping Gourmet.

Here is the trailer:

Last Nights Dinner

The bottom item was chocolate crinkle cookies and the missing snack item is Spicy Thai honey Cashews and Coconut.

Tonight was another dinner party, I'm  experimenting with a lot of different items for a very important birthday dinner next week....so far a lot of things that are working like I'd like!  

What is your favorite fish or veg item to make for special occasions?

Political (and funny) Ice Cream

I love this man.

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Has anyone had one of these ice creams?  I like the idea of chocolate covered potato chips in ice cream....

The Food Stamp President

Apologies for such a slow week here at UFG, my damn flu doesn't want to leave and tonight I am making a dinner party for 18 people, tomorrow it's just 5, but still when all you want to do is curl up in bed it makes it a challenge.

My friend Jane sent this video to me and event though it seems kind of obvious what he is doing in it I was surprised by how moved I was by the end of it.  As much as anything it is about the value of taking care of each other and feeding people is one of the most primary ways of doing that.

Sheep Herding Rabbit

Saw this today and it made me laugh, this rabbit takes away the job of sheep herding from the dog and is very good at his job!  The sounds track is hysterical... for more on this bossy bunny go here.

Burns Supper

The flu has swept in and knocked me on my ass so my apologies for not having more original content and some cooking to share.  Luckily there is Kevin TV to save the day.  Actually I found the process of making  Haggis really interesting - never having eaten it I didn't realize that it is cooked in intestines but that the intestine were not part of the dish.....enjoy:

Episode 30 - Burns Supper from Kevin Kossowan on Vimeo.

Introducing: The Bacon Milkshake

Just when you thought the unnatural obsession with bacon couldn't go any further fast food chain Jack in the Box has introduced the above. I'm surprised it is garnished with fake cherry and not a piece of bacon, but I guess that might push the food costs up too high.  Turns out that what gives this milkshake it's flavor is bacon fat not actual bacon.  I wonder how long before you see the local version of this on a menu in Williamsburg? Made from sustainable Heritage bacon? 5,4,3,2,1....

These shakes are only available in certain markets : The South and the West coast so if you live somewhere else you are going to have to wait or make your own. Funny thing about this recipe is that mostly it's a maple shake with some bacon fat thrown in for good measure.

And just in case you want more bacon with your bacon, here is one a commercial for Jack In The Box that is truly horrifying (at least to me)...you may now eat the bride?  For real, watch:

Super Bowl Rum Punch?

A lot of food sites like to capitalize on holidays or special occasions to present an array of dishes and recipes suited to what ever it is going on.  Given that tomorrow is the super bowl, I was thinking maybe I should give in and try and come up with something perfect to serve while people who watch the game can eat/drink while they are watching.

Of course this here site is filled with pizza recipes my go to favorite food for casual dinning.  They can be made in advance and warmed up when ready - If you make them on sheet pans I find the squares a little easier to eat.  I am particularly found of goat cheese, thyme, olives and anchovies on pizza and think it is best served at room temperature.

I'm not much for jalapenos poppers or spam Panini cut into eights or cheese dips out of jars served with GMO corn chips.  So if pizza isn't your thing my search has lead me to these videos of the Two Fat Ladies making a Jamaican Christmas.  I'm not suggesting you make the entire meal, but traditional rum punch and jerk pork sandwiches could do the trick and make for a very festive afternoon of food and football.

Jennifer makes the punch and it is as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... she talks about how you should drink the booze of where you are, so in Jamaica it makes more sense to drink rum then the Whiskey you'd have back home.  Punch seems to me to be a perfect idea for any festive gathering and rather suited for a football game as you make a big batch and you don't have to worry about making drinks for the rest of the day.

For those people reading who live somewhere with a back yard the idea of roasting an entire suckling pig on a jerk pit might be a fun adventure or might seems a little ambitious for Super Bowl Sunday, but it certainly would be delicious and as they point out can easily be a leg of pork done in an oven.  Just marinade it the day before.

 I think it's hysterical the way they refer to the whole pig roasting as if it was a pet not an entire dead animal roasting over a fire.  Love these gals, thanks again to Chris and Skip in Asheville for turning me onto them!

Here is the punch:

Here is the pig:

I love her idea of finely chopped ginger...

And finally the feast in all it's glory - you have to watch until the end when the ladies sing carols!

Fake Meat

Above is the Citrus Ribs and below is the Duck.

So I was walking down Hester Street near Center street when I noticed May Wah Vegetarian.    May Wah is a grocery store that sells every kind of fake meat imaginable.  I knew you could get this kind of food at certain Chinese Vegetarian restaurants (Vegetarian Paradise being my favorite place to go for fake meat) but it never occurred to me you could buy it at a store....I was so excited by the idea of fake ham steaks I immediately went in. It's not a big store and most of the good stuff is in freezers that line the back wall.  The selection was overwhelming.  When I finally made up my minde (citrus ribs and duck) I asked the guy at te cash register how long they have been here.  Since 1994 he tells me.  So I'm not sure how I missed them all these years, but I sure am glad I have finally discovered them.  The two packages of fake meat I bought cost something shy of 7 dollars, so way cheaper then real meat.

I fried the duck in hot oil that I had cooked scallions and fresh ginger in and the ribs in dark soy with some sweet chili sauce and fish sauce.  After they were fried I put them in the oven to dry them up in the hopes of making them a little crispier

I made some bok choy and rice to go along with our dinner of fake meat.  Let's face it, it's not meat, but it really is good.

The Bowery is a Changin'

The long awaited Bowery Diner next to the New Museum has finally opened!  It may look like a diner, but from what I can tell the quality of food they are serving is way above your average greasy spoon. I can't wait to go eat there.  They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The other noteworthy place to open on the the bowery (well actually Houston street) is the very Williamsburgesque Bowery Coffee.

 

 Cute dog not included. But isn't he cute?  Wozza Wozza