Corn-bred and Raised

I’m no stranger to small-town rural life. I’ve spent many hours stopped on the road while the neighbors move their cows to a pasture across the street and I know spring has arrived when the smell of manure is in the air. In order to pass eighth grade I had to learn how to drive a tractor in my required agriculture class (what, you didn’t?). I’ve probably heard every small town or redneck joke there is.

But this doesn’t even compare to my friend Bill who hails from Jackson Junction, Iowa, population 92 (8 of these people are his immediate family).

How many people can say that they’ve had a meal where they are personally responsible for growing, cultivating and slaughtering everything on their plate? Not many. But if you grew up on a farm in the-middle-of-nowhere, Iowa, like Bill, then this is a pretty standard way of life. I asked Bill to run me through a typical day of his childhood growing up on the farm:

5:00am - Get out of bed, do morning chores: feed animals, let the chickens out, clean

7:00am - Eat breakfast, get ready for school

8:00am-3:00pm - School

3:00-5:00pm - Football practice

5:00-6:00pm - Music practice

6:00pm – Dinner

7:00-9:00pm - Evening chores: feed animals, collect eggs, clean eggs, coop up chickens

9:00-11:00pm - Homework

And during his childhood summers, while most of us were taking swim lessons, singing around campfires, and selling lemonade by the side of the road, Bill was working 12-16 hour days on the family farm, bailing hay in the summer heat and “picking rock” (picking limestone from the fields so it didn’t damage the farm equipment).

It’s hard for most of us to imagine getting up at 5:00am every morning to do chores (especially in the Iowa winters where temperatures can drop to 30 below!), but Bill only talks about his experience growing up on a farm with fondness. He credits his firm work ethic and physical health to his agricultural background. Everyone in Bill’s family is fit and healthy because they believe in working for the food they eat. In fact, there was a running joke in his football league about country boys like Bill being “farm-strong” from working year round moving cattle. Growing up in a rural area myself, it was not hard to tell who spent their summers working on a farm. My friend Betsy used to come back to school in September tanned and jacked from bailing hay in the sun all summer long.  

Working on the farm gave Bill a deep appreciation for the land he cultivated, the animals he raised, and for the fresh food that was grown or butchered with his own hands. “Food just tastes better, and is more satisfying” says Bill, “when you know exactly where it came from and how much work went into it.” He also learned the importance of earning a living by selling the family’s produce at local markets.

 His family’s farm is mostly self-sufficient. They plant their own vegetables, butcher their own cows, pigs and rabbits, hunt their own deer and pheasant and fish bluegill bass and catfish from their pond. Growing up, Bill was used to homemade ice cream made from fresh farm cream, pumpkin bread made with the pumpkins grown in his back yard, or ground beef burgers made from a recently-butchered cow (with homemade ketchup made from fresh garden tomatoes). He misses the convenience and the satisfaction of having his food available in his own back yard. “There’s a uniqueness to being able to walk into a chicken coop and gather a couple of eggs to make yourself an omelette,” he says. “You can’t do that in the city.”

Bill's Family Farm

It’s true. It is tough to do that in the city, but there is a large movement in the DC/MD/VA area and across the country to get back to our farming roots in order to promote self-sustainability and enjoy better quality food that you can have a hand in producing.  

Organizations like DC Urban Gardeners, Field to Fork Network and Neighborhood Farm Initiative are educating DC residents on how to start their own gardens, grow their own food and eat seasonal nutritious meals. DC Farm to School Network is an organization that forms partnerships between local farms and DC schools to help kids learn about where their food comes from and give them healthier food options at school.

For those who want to work in a community garden, City Farm DC is a non-profit urban gardening collective that will link you to community gardens in your area. They also offer growing and gardening workshops for beginners and “plot-luck” dinners and picnics where you can socialize with other area gardeners. Sharing Backyards DC is a similar organization that links you with neighbors who are willing to share gardening space in their own yards.

If you aren’t able/don’t have the time to participate in a garden share, there are still plenty of ways to access fresh meats and produce from the farm. Fresh Farm Markets are sprouting up all over Washington, DC with a recent addition right in front of the White House. Shopping at these markets is a great way to support the local farmers of the Chesapeake Bay region.

If you’re just looking for a way to eat a farm fresh meal you can visit area farms that have their own restaurants right on the property. Potowmack Farm in Lovettsville, VA boasts seasonal organic cuisine. “The concept is farm to table,” says Chef Christopher. “Each course draws its inspiration from the seasons and harmony with the earth.” Menu items right now include truffle roasted Jerusalem artichoke, Hedgeapple Farm beef short ribs and maple crème beignets.

Quail with Herb Waffles from the Potowmack Farm Restaurant

And if you can’t get directly to the farm for a meal, you can still support farms by dining at restaurants that partner with them. DC Restaurants like Equinox, Founding Farmers, and Farmers and Fishers all serve seasonal foods from local family farms and fisheries. Partnering with local farms is a smart move for these restaurants. Not only do they strive to support sustainable agriculture, but they know that this will guarantee the freshest and most delicious ingredients!

Crab Cakes from Equinox

Butternut Squash Ravioli from Founding Farmers

Pepperoni Pizza from Farmers and Fishers

Bon Appetit!

This summer Ryan and I travelled to Belgium to visit his family & family friends and to do some sightseeing, but most of all, to eat. We stayed with our good friends Valerie and Marc who live just outside of Brussels. On the plane ride over I gave Ryan a crash course on useful French words and phrases like “hello,” “thank you,” and “where is the bathroom?” But when I peaked over at the vocabulary list he was generating, all he had written was “biere,” “saucisson,” “fromage,” and a list of fifty other things he planned to eat and drink on our European vacation.

Most of our itinerary revolved around finding waffle stands to hit up near Le Grand Place, locating the brasseries with the best beer selections, or finding a place where we could get our next Speculoos ice cream fix ([spek-yuh-lohs] – noun. A delicious, gingery, cinnamony, graham crackery-like cookie that can be found in ice creams and chocolates or ground up into a nutella-like paste to make other things taste more delicious). We also spent countless hours wandering the aisles of the Belgian grocery chain Delhaize picking out fresh breads, creamy cheeses, and Belgian chocolates & beer to “bring home to our friends.” 

  

Thankfully, Valerie and Marc appreciate food just as much as we do. Valerie owns and works at a deli in downtown Brussels where she makes delicious sandwiches with fresh ingredients. According to Valerie, we (Americans) don’t have any “real” bread, milk, cheese or chocolate in this country. I don’t want to be unpatriotic, but when I thought about it I realized that most of the brands I like best are actually European: Cote D’Or chocolate or any brand of Brie cheese I buy at the store, for example. And I have to admit that the sandwich Valerie made me was one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had (much tastier than most of the deli sandwiches I've had over here): Spanish ham with mozzarella cheese, tomato slices, olive oil, and salt & pepper on a fresh baguette.

 Valerie and Marc also made us some delicious Belgian dinners during our stay: foie gras (goose liver), moules frites (mussels & fries), boudin blanc (white sausage made with breadcrumbs & cream), & lapin a la Gueuze (rabbit stewed in Gueuze beer). Most of our meals consisted of three or more courses starting with breads and salamis and inevitably ending with a cheese platter that I was always too full to eat, but accepted anyway. We were also given an endless supply of incredible French wines and Belgian beers (my favorites: Hoegaarden, Leffe Blonde, Moinette Blonde & Boon Kriek). Among one of the more decadent meals that Valerie and Marc prepared for us was foie gras stuffed ravioli in cream sauce topped with more foie gras … followed by a cheese platter.

The best cheese I've ever had!

Foie gras ravioli

  

Valerie’s philosophy on food is: “We have to enjoy every single meal because we really don’t know where we’ll be tomorrow.” Marc & Valerie certainly make sure to make every meal count. Almost every night of our visit they hosted a party of ten or more people for lunch and dinner. Their meals were drawn out for two or three hours so people could drink and visit between eating. And although Ryan and I couldn’t understand most of the conversations at the dinner table, there was something nice about not rushing through our meals. Many American families sit for about 15-20 minutes for a meal and this might be the only time they spend together throughout the day. But Marc and Valerie, and many Europeans, like to savor their food and use mealtimes to engage in good conversation. For them, eating is about socializing and enjoying life.

One of our first nights in Belgium Marc and Valerie prepared this recipe for us:

Moules, ail, crème et vin blanc (Mussels with garlic, cream and white wine)



Marc cooking mussels

 1L Mussels/person, some butter, onions, parsley, celery, white wine, garlic, cream, salt, pepper

Put the butter in a big pot, chop the onion and let them cook slowly. Chop the celery and add it to the onions. Add some salt and pepper. When the onions are transparent, add the mussels (you have to rinse them several time beforehand in cold water to avoid sand). Add a glass of white wine, garlic and parsley. Cover the pot and shake the mussels so that they all mix with the vegetables. It will take only a few minutes for the mussels to be cooked. The mussels are cooked when they have all opened. A few seconds before stopping the cooking add the cream.
You can serve the mussels directly in the pot with some French fries. The best part, when you have eaten all the mussels is to drink the “mussel soup.”
You can also mix some mayo and some mustard to dip the mussels.

Bon appétit!!
 

Valerie and me getting ready to eat!



The Healing Power of Food

Kundalini Yoga & Yogi Bhajan

My roommate Joanna practices Kundalini yoga, which is used to raise the energy of the soul. It is believed that there is a coil of energy that rests at the bottom of the human spine and that through breathing techniques such as pranayama, mantra, and physical exercises, it is possible to release and use this energy. Yogi Bhajan brought the practices of Kundalini yoga to the West, including the use of food to help support yogic practices and heal the human body. Joanna likes intense, spicy and pungent foods that energize her for practicing yoga. It’s not unusual for me to see her sneak spices into conventionally non-spicy foods (i.e. jalapeno pancakes).



Kundalini Energy Rising Through the Body



A Short History of Ayurveda

The use of food for healing purposes is a very old idea. The ancient Indian medical system known as Ayurveda was recorded as far back as 1000 B.C. It is closely connected to both Buddhism and Hinduism and is often used in conjunction with yoga and meditation. Ayurveda literally translates to “the science of life.” According to Angela Hope Murray in her book Discover Ayurveda, “health is defined as perfect balance between body, mind, spirit and the environment; ayurvedic techniques focus on achieving that balance.” Key principles of this system are that the patient is involved with his/her own well-being and there is an emphasis on preventing instead of treating illnesses. This can be done by determining which foods are the most beneficial for your body type.

The Three Doshas:

In Ayurveda there are three main doshas, or energies, that define what kind of physical makeup we have: Vata, Pitta and Kapha.

Vata is a combination of air and ether. The nature of this energy is erratic, unable to retain mass and  dissipates energy.

Pitta is a combination of fire and water. The nature of this energy is intense with a tendency to dismiss control of both energy and mass.

Kapha is a combination of water and earth. The nature of this energy is laid back and retains mass easily with poor expression of energy.

According to Hope-Murray, all bodies are made up of a combination of these elements and require certain foods to help them balance their energies. What body type are you and what does it mean? Click here to take the quiz.

Food as Medicine

Dr. Dharma Singh Khalsa also recognizes our “biochemical uniqueness” in his book Food as Medicine: How to Use Diet, Vitamins, Juices, and Herbs for a Healthier, Happier, and Longer Life. In this book, he includes specific recipes that can be used for every type of ailment imaginable. He suggests eating raisins for those who are trying to quit smoking, and mint tea and garlic juice to relieve a hangover. From allergies and acne to attention deficit disorder and chemotherapy, Khalsa has foods that will help ease the body through minor difficulties and major trauma. Yogi Bhajan used the same healing practices in the seventies when he opened up a drug treatment facility in Arizona that used food therapy and Kundalini yoga as a path to recovery. His center had a staggering 91% success rate.       

Joanna’s Favorite Recipes & Diets from Food as Medicine:

Jalapeno Milk

Exactly what it sounds like: blend two or three jalapenos with 8 ounces of milk for about 20 minutes. The milk and the blending help to take the spiciness down a notch. Jalapeno milk is used for staving off colds, since jalapenos are one of the highest natural sources of vitamin C.

The Melon Fast

The Melon fast is a detoxification and cleansing diet that goes as follows: Eat only cantaloupes for three days. The following three days, eat only watermelons, followed by three days of papayas, followed by three days of lukewarm lemon-honey water. On the last day, drink only water at room temperature. Then reverse the diet, starting with one day of lukewarm water. This diet offers a total cleanse. Cantaloupes have a mild laxative effect, watermelon cleanses the liver and kidneys, and papayas help the intestines and aid digestion. The lemon-honey water is used to rid the body of excess mucus. In theory this diet sounds like a great idea and I’m sure my body would feel amazing afterwards, but I can’t imagine myself being able to get through a whole day of my life without a few hearty helpings of carbohydrates and protein.

The Green Diet

For an entire week last year Joanna ate only green foods. I watched with interest as she sipped green tea and snacked endlessly on kale salads and cubes of honeydew melon, certain that she would run out of ideas and just abandon the diet altogether. But the green diet forced Joanna to get creative and she ended up inventing some unexpectedly delicious and completely satisfying recipes such as asparagus with pistachio-parsley pesto. The green diet is used to obtain balance in the body. It is detoxifying and is great for the liver.  

Yogi Tea

The first week that I was living with Joanna I remember being drawn out of my room by the sweet and spicy aroma of yogi tea. Leaning over the pot on the stovetop I peered in at the dregs that looked like a bunch of wet sticks and plants. But the smell was so enticing that I had to try a cup. Maybe it was the lesson that Joanna gave me on the properties of each of the ingredients, but I immediately felt cleansed and invigorated from this powerful drink. I’ve been a tea drinker for a while, but there is a big difference in flavor between the dry little teabags that sit on grocery store shelves for long periods of time, and tea brewed from fresh spices.  

Yogi tea is a version of chai tea made with black pepper, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, black tea and milk. You can also add a little bit of honey if you like. According to yoga therapy masters, the black pepper acts as a blood purifier, cardamom is good for the colon, cloves support the nervous system and cinnamon is good for the bones. Ginger is good for digestion, controlling inflammation or fighting colds or physical weakness. Milk aids in the easy assimilation of the spices and avoids irritation to the colon and stomach. The tea can be made without milk however, for a more detoxifying effect.

Recipe for Yogi Tea (for one 10-ounce cup)

4 whole black peppercorns

4 whole green cardamom pods

3 whole cloves

½ stick cinnamon

½ inch slice fresh gingerroot

Cover and let boil for 15 to 20 minutes. Then add:

½ cup milk

¼ teaspoon black tea

1 teaspoon of honey

Yogic Principles of Eating and Preparing Food

Prepare Food with Love

Both Dr. Khalsa and Joanna swear by this principle. “Haven’t you ever noticed that when your mom cooks for you it’s always better?” Joanna asked me. She claims that the energy you put into your food while making it effects how it tastes. Food is always better when made with love and positive intentions. Yogi Bhajan encouraged the use of mantras while cooking. Mantras hold the vibration of their meaning, and it’s a very good way to imbue food with positive healing energy for whoever is consuming it. Joanna likes to sing “Raj job takhat deean Guru Ram Dass” while cooking, using the chopping of vegetables as her percussion. Yogi Bhajan claimed that if you say this line 40 times while cooking, your dish will have healing powers.  

Acknowledge Where Your Food Comes From & Give Thanks

Before she begins a meal I always hear Joanna whisper “Satnam” and stare thoughtfully at her food, breathing it in. “Satnam is a prayer affirming the trueness in every person and everything,” she says. Before eating, Joanna likes to experience interconnectedness with her food. She thinks about where it came from, about the farmers that grew it, or the animals that contributed to it. This is a practice I’ve come to adopt myself. It’s not easy to slow down and remember to do this every time I eat, but I believe that recognizing the human labor and the effort that went into getting food from the farm to my plate is a small but important way to show my respect and appreciation.

Joanna Drinking Yogi Tea

Opa!

My college friend Jamie came to visit me this past weekend and it was no surprise that she chose Taverna Cretekou in Alexandria, VA, as the destination for our first meal out. We happened to arrive at the restaurant in the middle of a birthday celebration for the daughter of one of the owners. After ten minutes of standing in the doorway waiting for someone to acknowledge us and wondering if the restaurant was even open for business that night, a woman with a fabulous head of fake red hair and a thick Greek accent let us know that a table was available for us in the corner. She pointed to it and then went back to the dance floor where some of the wait staff were already drunkenly swaying to the bouzouki. I looked at Jamie in disbelief, but she only laughed, shrugged her shoulders and said “so typical.”

Jamie studied for four months in Athens, Greece, where she became well-acquainted with the relaxed, uninhibited, Mediterranean attitude. It was not uncommon in Athens to spend three to four hours each night eating and drinking at one the local tavernas.

Well before her trip abroad Jamie became familiar with Greek cuisine through her mother’s side of the family. She grew up eating dishes like spanakopita, tomato and cucumber salads and stuffed eggplant.

Jamie has always seen cooking and gardening as going hand in hand. She credits her green thumb to her Greek heritage. Greeks like to cook fresh, simple and seasonal and the best way to find fresh ingredients is by picking them from your own back yard. Jamie grew up gardening with her mother, worked at a nursery in high school and for a landscape designer through college. She finds it gratifying to grow her own food and sees it as an artistic pursuit. In Greece it was very common for people to have vegetable patches in their yards and farmer’s markets with fresh produce could be found a few blocks from her house almost every day of the week.

The tavernas in Greece usually didn’t have a set menu, explains Jamie. They cooked from what was available and in season. They usually prepared a dish or two a night and if you didn’t like what they were cooking, you went somewhere else. “Most of the tavernas also make their own house wines, which range anywhere from delicious to unfiltered vinegar,” says Jamie.

Unlike Athens, where the streets are sprinkled with olive and orange trees, Jamie now lives in Colorado, where short summers, cold nights and high altitudes make it more difficult to grow some of the produce she loves. But she has adjusted to growing cooler weather crops and has been whipping up glazed carrot dishes, arugula salads, and French onion soup, with the vegetables from her garden. According to Jamie, meals are tastier and fresher when cooked with homegrown ingredients and she can feel good about eating locally and saving money. Her attitude is: "If you have the space to plant yourself a garden, then you might as well."

Jamie and I enjoyed our meal at Taverna Cretekou this weekend: fresh bread dipped in basil-infused olive oil, saganaki (fried sheep’s milk cheese that they set fire to right at your table), Greek salad, grilled octopus and a roasted leg of lamb with lemon and oregano. And at the end of the night as we sat sipping our complementary wine, we watched a seventy-something-year-old Greek woman climb on top of one of the party tables during “Zorba’s Dance” and start gyrating her hips at a group of young men. We decided to stay for another half hour and watch the spectacle. Jamie shrugged again and said, “Greek people just like to have fun.”

This weekend Jamie was nice enough to cook me some Greek “meze,” the equivalent of tapas in Spain. Her favorite is a dish called kolokithokeftedes (zucchini fritters).

Kolokithokeftedes (zucchini fritters)

Ingredients

3 or 4 zucchinis

1/2 cup of diced yellow onion

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (less if using dried oregano)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 egg

1/2 cup bread crumbs (more if mixture is really wet)

4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup crumbled feta

Flour for rolling shaped fritters

Grate the zucchinis on a fine grate setting and place in a strainer. Set strainer over a deep bowl to catch the zucchini juice.  Place a heavy bowl on top of the grated zucchinis and use a bottle of wine, soda, juice etc as a weight to help press the juice out of the vegetable.  Leave for at least 30 minutes. 

Once a good deal of liquid has drained (sometimes up to 16+ oz) mix the grated vegetables with all other ingredients, adding more breadcrumbs if the mixture is very wet.  In a frying pan, heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan, but not enough to drown the fritters.  When the oil is hot, shape the zucchini mixture into flat, round discs about 2-3 inches in diameter.  Cover in flour and set directly into the hot pan. Cook until brown on both sides.  Remove from heat and place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.  Makes 16-18 fritters.

Serve with immediately with tzatiki.

Tzatziki

one large container greek style plain yogurt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cucumber, peeled, seeds removed and roughly grated

salt and pepper to taste.

Grate cucumber and let drain in a strainer for at least 30 minutes to remove excess juice. Combine all ingredients and serve with zucchini fritters  

 

Do It Yourself

Six years ago, while spending a summer with my sister in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, a guy I barely knew asked me if I’d like to “float down the Susquehanna River” with about twelve of his friends on a raft that he had built out of plywood and empty beer kegs. I had to admit, I’d gotten wind of this project and was a little skeptical that he would actually be able to pull it off. But on a beautiful Sunday in July, the raft that Ryan built, equipped with a mini barbeque and a half-keg of beer, floated smoothly down the Susquehanna River for four hours while we sipped Yuengling, ate hot dogs and soaked up the Pennsylvania sun.

My boyfriend Ryan struck me immediately as the do-it-yourself type of person. Whether it is building a raft out of kegs or teaching himself how to play guitar, he is always in the middle of tackling some project or another. Right now he has twenty gallons of Dortmunder lager, English strong ale, raspberry nut brown beer and Belgian abbey beer, brewing in his basement. Just for fun.

Lucky for me, Ryan’s do-it-yourself mentality translates to the kitchen as well. I am never surprised to find two or three jars of something pickling in his fridge or a container of cabbage fermenting into kimchi on the kitchen counter. When he comes over, it is often with Tupperware containers filled with some delicious homemade soup or stew, a pound of salmon that he cold-smoked himself, or some sort of baked good that he made without ever looking at a recipe. Right now in my fridge, is a jar of his homemade pesto, made from the last of his summer basil. Although his backyard consists of a plot of concrete, this hasn’t stopped him from growing an herb and vegetable garden in a series of pots on his deck.

Whereas most of us probably think there are some foods that are best made by experts, Ryan never hesitates to try out a new recipe or cooking technique. While sampling unfamiliar dishes like ahi poke, char siu, and loco moco on our recent vacation to Hawaii, I heard him exclaim several times, “I have to make this when we get back!” This trip also inspired his resolve to start making his own jams, salamis and a hot sauce. And why not? Most of us would never think about making our own hot sauce when we can easily pick up a bottle of Tabasco at the store. But Ryan enjoys the laborious processes of brining, smoking, stewing, pickling, roasting, brewing, and growing his own food.

Ryan also likes cooking because he says it is “a mixture of science and art.” He finds the scientific processes involved in different cooking techniques fascinating and approaches them at the molecular level. When we’re cooking together we’re not making a salad dressing, we’re “emulsifying,” and we’re not browning the onions we’re “carbonizing” them. When I ask Ryan how to brew beer I don’t get a set of directions, I get a lesson on microbiology. Understanding not only how to make something using the do-it-yourself mentality, but also the scientific reasoning for why it must be done that way, is important to his cooking experience.

Ryan's recipe is braised lamb shank:

Braised Lamb Shank

4 lamb shanks

2 large onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 tbs chopped fresh rosemary (3 or 4 tbs if dried)
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 cup red wine
stock or water
2 cups mushrooms, chopped

Season the lamb shanks with salt. Brown each side in a Dutch oven or large pot at medium high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil. Remove the shanks from the pot. Add onions and celery and sauté until tender or until the onions begin to brown. Return the shank to the pot. Add next 5 ingredients: tomatoes through red wine. Add stock or water until shanks are two thirds submerged in liquid, bring to a simmer, and cover with low heat. Mix periodically and adjust heat if not simmering. Add fresh black pepper and salt to taste.
While simmering the shanks, bring a large sauté pan to medium high heat with two tablespoons of olive oil. Add mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms are brown and slightly crispy around the edges. Add to lamb shanks.
Add fresh black pepper and salt to taste, but remember the broth will appear saltier as the liquid evaporates. Simmer lamb shanks until fork tender but before the meat falls easily off the bone (approximately 90-120 minutes). Simmer uncovered for the last 20 minutes if a thicker sauce is desired.
Serve with potatoes. Garnish with rosemary.

Rise of the Foodies

When I was in eighth grade, my history teacher introduced me to a little show called Iron Chef. This poorly-dubbed, but highly entertaining Japanese cook-off show had little to do with history, but my teacher decided that it simply must find a way into the curriculum. So after our examination on the Revolutionary War one day, our class watched Takeshi Kaga take a rapturous bite out of a red bell pepper to signal the start of a riveting competition where three chefs would compete for the title of "Iron Chef." A dark cloth was ripped away to reveal the secret ingredient of the episode: a tank of octopi waiting to be baked, stuffed, grilled, and sautéed into thirty delectable gourmet dishes in the course of just 90 minutes. 

I was hooked.

Now most TV networks have at least one show dedicated to the food genre. Bravo has Top Chef, Fox has Hell’s Kitchen and TLC has BBQ Pit Masters. Some of the chefs and hosts of these popular shows have reached incredible celebrity status. Chefs like Emeril, Gordon Ramsay, Bobby Flay, Jamie Oliver, Rachael Ray and Anthony Bourdain have become household names and terms such as “EVOO” and “BAM!” are echoed in every kitchen across America.

Food Network now broadcasts almost a hundred different shows including classic cooking competition shows, reality restaurant and bakery shows, shows exploring diners and dives across the country, and a show that explores regional food rivalries, like who has the best cheesesteak in Philadelphia. There’s even a show that busts common myths about food, like whether or not celery has negative calories (no, it doesn’t).

Food and cooking have recently started to dominate other media outlets as well. The magazine rack at my local Whole Foods displays at least ten different food magazines at the checkout line. This month’s issue of Cooking Light shows us twenty different ways to cook pumpkin, including an intriguing recipe for pumpkin ravioli with gorgonzola. It also gives its readers a useful guide for cooking apples: which apples are best for eating, which are best for baking, and which are best for making soups, salsas and sangria. And the October issue of Bon Appetit offers tantalizing recipes like “Peppered Chicken with Pomegranate-Darjeeling Jelly.” I don’t even know what Darjeeling jelly is, but it sounds delicious.

Recipe websites and food blogs are sprouting up all over the internet. In blogs like like Orangette and Zucchini & Chocolate, thousands of followers tune in daily to read the culinary musings and view the mouth-watering photography of food enthusiasts. I think it’s safe to say that our modern culture is obsessed with food. Our epicurean obsession is also manifesting itself in popular literature.

Food has always been a theme in children’s stories, but is just now gaining popularity in adult literature. One of my favorite childhood stories was Strega Nona. Strega Nona is an old Italian witch who owns an enchanted pasta pot. When she casts a spell on the pot, it produces as much pasta as she wishes. Her assistant Anthony witnesses Strega Nona performing the spell one day and decides he will try it when she is gone, but he does not witness her performing the spell that stops the pot from making pasta. So when Strega Nona leaves town and Anthony performs the spell, the pot produces so much pasta that it floods the whole town. When Strega Nona returns, she forces Anthony to eat every last bite of pasta as punishment.

This story is reminiscent of many other childhood stories: take Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory for example, where the children who become carried away by greed and gluttony end up turning into blueberries or nearly drowning in a pool of liquid chocolate. Similarly, in the classic story of Hansel and Gretel, a brother and sister are lured into the home of a cannibalistic witch whose house is made of gingerbread. Then of course there’s Alice, who eats strange mushrooms, and Snow White, who eats a poisonous apple given to her by a stranger.

Unfortunately, most of the children’s stories I grew up with that revolve around food tend to focus on danger and temptation. Only the protagonist in The Very Hungry Caterpillar is rewarded for his propensity to binge eat. Interestingly though, the food books that come to mind for adult readers often portray food in a positive light, symbolizing things like reward, power, healing, happiness and liberation.

In the “Eat” section of the book Eat Pray Love, recently divorced Elizabeth Gilbert tries to rediscover pleasure in Italy by gorging herself on pizza and gelato. She celebrates every pound she gains and every pant size she goes up. In Julie Powell’s book Julie & Julia, a young woman named Julie, who is trying to distract herself from a job where she talks to victims of 9/11, decides to cook every recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking and write a blog documenting her experience. In Joanna Harris’s novel Chocolat, a woman named Vianne opens up a chocolaterie in a small, conservative village in France. The shop is opened during the season of Lent and the priest in the town forbids his congregation to patronize the shop. In this story, chocolate becomes both a symbol of sin and overindulgence (in the eyes of the priest), and a symbol of pleasure, magic and liberation for those who dare to try it.

Food culture is currently permeating every branch of the media. From TV and magazines to food blogs and fiction, we love reading, watching and hearing about food. And it’s not just because it appeals to our senses. Food is a part of our identity, a symbol of culture, ritual and family. And cooking is a therapeutic and creative process that generates much more than just something to eat.

Ginger and Ganesh

“Please teach me Indian cooking! I will bring ingredients and pay you for your trouble.” This is the advertisement Nani posted on Craigslist three years ago when she was struggling to capture the authentic flavors of Indian cuisine in her own kitchen. She had prayed to the elephant-god Ganesh, who is known as the remover of obstacles, and “slowly,” she says, “the obstacles fell away on this journey, and the doors flew open, leading me into a path of discovery, love, and coconut chutney.”

The bonds Nani formed with the women who responded to her ad, and the recipes they shared, became the substance for Nani’s book Ginger and Ganesh. Her book is a reflection on womanhood across cultures and includes tasty Indian recipes such as homemade cheese cubes in cilantro and almond curry, potato-curry dumplings and coconut stuffed okra.

As a writer, Nani believes that food is an important part of creating convincing fiction. She describes the images, smells and flavors of food as a powerful way to bring a person into a scene. Nani says, “I feel memory is a vital ingredient of fiction. Perhaps it is the main thing--how we process and remember our lives. Food ties in to memory. It is embedded in our sensory recall of life.” Food plays a focal role in each of Nani’s five published books.

Indian food is Nani’s favorite thing to cook and eat “because of its variety of spices and amazing depth.” She finds the masalas (the mixtures of spices) in Indian cooking fascinating. Masalas often include the following spices in varying ratios and combinations according to region: black & white peppercorns, ginger, fennel, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric, nutmeg, cardamom, cumin, star anise and coriander. In addition to their many and varying ingredients, Indian dishes often require complicated and time-consuming techniques to bring out just the right flavors. For instance, there are three methods of adding spices to an Indian dish, Nani explains: The first batch of fresh spices are dry-roasted and ground into a paste (which creates a much richer flavor than using pre-packaged spices); the second set of spices are added to an onion and tomato base, a method known as “burning in spices”; and the third way to add in spices is by creating a tadka, spices browned in hot oil and poured over the dish.

Nani relishes in the meticulous processes of cooking and believes that it is therapeutic for the soul, a way to fully appreciate and enjoy a meal. She is disappointed by the growing popularity of microwaveable, pre-packaged meals. “What are people doing with the time they save on cooking anyway? …probably watching TV.”

The recipe Nani chose to share is palak paneer:

Palak Paneer

Ingredients

¾ of a store-bought paneer block, cut into chunks (I like Nanak)

1 bag of washed spinach

1 red onion, chopped

1 green chili, chopped

2 garlic cloves

1-inch piece of ginger, chopped

2 teaspoons coriander

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1 cup plain yogurt

1 cup water

Salt

Directions

Cook onions, garlic, chilies, and ginger in oil. When softened, add spinach and

spices. Cook until spinach softens down, about 5 minutes. Place all in a blender

with yogurt and water. Blend well and return to pan. Bring up to heat and let

cook down, about 5 minutes. Add paneer and let it warm through and puff up

a bit. Taste for salt.

Who’s Your Mama, Are You Catholic, and Can You Make a Roux?

Margaret is from Louisiana and damn proud of it. If you can’t tell where she’s from by the Saints jersey that she’s wearing, or the Who Dat license plate on her car, then maybe you can tell by the giant fleur de lis that’s tattooed on the front of her right leg, or the pair of red crawfish claws tattooed on the back. Margaret’s whole house is a shrine to the New Orleans Saints football team, complete with framed newspaper articles, Sports Illustrated magazines, autographed pictures, cleats and gloves worn by Saints players, and a piece of turf from the Superdome where the Saints played their 2009 season. And then there’s her yappy little Pomeranian named Deuce after Deuce McAllister.

Margaret and her family are serious about football, but they are also serious about food. People in Louisiana like to eat. A lot. All social gatherings revolve around food and cooking, and when Margaret goes home for the holidays, she can expect a banquet. Even when her dad picks her up from the New Orleans airport Margaret knows that there will be a messy shrimp po-boy from Danny & Clyde’s waiting for her in the car.

A cousin on Margaret’s mom’s side of the family is the author of the cook book entitled Who’s Your Mama, Are You Catholic and Can you Make a Roux? which Margaret translates roughly to: I know who your daddy is because of your last name, but I want to know what family your mom comes from; are you Catholic because I’m Catholic and I can’t marry outside my religion; and can you cook? This family cook book includes recipes for the authentic Cajun food Margaret grew up eating: red beans and rice, gumbo, shrimp stew, crawfish, jambalaya and smothered pork chops.

Many of these dishes are derived from three main components: seafood, the trinity, and rice. While seafood may be a luxury to those of us who don’t live near the Gulf of Mexico, it is a staple in every Louisiana home and is the main ingredient in many Cajun recipes. “People from Louisiana don’t have barbeques, they have crawfish boils,” says Margaret. “And we have four seasons in Louisiana: crawfish, crab, shrimp and king cake.” Many Cajun soups and stews also include the trinity, a mix of onions, celery and bell peppers that is the Louisiana spin on the French mirepoix (and yes, also a reference to the holy trinity). Finally, almost all Cajun dishes are served with a heaping pile of rice, simply because Louisiana happens to have great land for growing rice.

In Louisiana there is a philosophy that you should have fun any way that you can, as long as you’re not hurting anyone. There is also a strong belief in community and family. “When I call someone my aunt at home, she’s probably not really my aunt,” says Margaret. But when you become close to someone in Louisiana, they become family and will gladly give the shirt off their back for you. “The people of Louisiana are seasoned,” Margaret says, “just like our food. A gumbo is made with whatever is in your kitchen when you cook it, so there’s a little bit of everything in it. And just like a gumbo, people from Louisiana have a little bit of everything in their personality. They are a bit rough around the edges, but still generous, warm, and friendly.” …which is exactly how I would describe Margaret.

To Margaret, cooking and eating are part of what it means to be from Louisiana. “Food, family, friends and good times” are what it’s all about, she says. Many times after work, or on the weekends, or when we are on our way out with a group of friends to have some drinks, some laughs, and some good food, I’ve heard Margaret utter the Cajun French saying, “Laissez les bons temp roule”: Let the good times roll.

Margaret’s favorite recipe is red beans and rice:

Red Beans & Rice

Ingredients

1 pack dry red beans

1 medium yellow onion

1/2 bell pepper (green or red or 1/4 each)

1 stalk celery 

Garlic

1 pack smoked sausage (andouille if you can find it)

2 cups rice

This recipe makes enough for 5-7 people

Directions

1. Soak beans overnight or for 1 day in plenty of water (cover beans at least an inch or inch and a half)

2. Drain and rinse off soaked beans and put aside

3. Cut onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and sausage and saute in stock pot

4. Add beans to sausage and onion mix and add enough water to cover everything about 3"

5. Bring everything to a boil and lower temperature to just a simmer/slight boil

6. Stir often so beans don't burn or stick, cooking for a few hours till beans are almost a paste. Add water a little at a time to keep some liquid (you may have to mash a few beans to thicken them)

7. Prepare 2 cups of rice

8. Add beans over rice and enjoy!

The Big Apple

For many of us, food is an integral part of childhood and a source of many memories. The foods we eat are often a reflection of who we are and where we come from. Growing up in the heart of central New York in a modest one-level country house, my family was surrounded on all sides by acres of cornfields and dairy farms. Tucked away in our family albums are pictures of me (and of my three sisters) tearing the husk off an ear of corn before I’d even learned to walk. Dinners in our home usually consisted of very simple middle-class American food: a cut of chicken or beef, potatoes served one of ten ways, and some fresh farm produce served with plenty of butter.

In the summers, as a child, it was a daily ritual for me to go out to the raspberry bushes in my back yard and pick as many berries as I pleased. Moving to an urban area has changed my perspective quite a bit. Now I go to Whole Foods and spend five dollars to get a handful of the same berries. I often find myself nostalgic for the quality, inexpensive staples that were always in our home.

In the autumn, if you drive for a half a mile out of my hometown in any direction you’ll find a roadside stand with bags of crisp apples and jugs of tangy cider. The orange maples that cover every curve of hill and valley in Madison County during this time of year are often decorated with tin sap buckets. My dad used to (and still does) fix us the richest french toast, dripping in pure maple syrup from these very trees. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I tasted the thick, corn-syrupy goo that is Mrs. Butterworth’s, and realized how lucky we were to grow up with fresh food right at our fingertips.

Most people have a certain dish that is significant to them in some way. My blog will explore the relationship that people have with the food they grow, cook and eat and will share the recipes that accompany their stories.

Personally I enjoy cooking a little bit of everything. I’m always trying to branch out and experiment with new recipes, but there is something beautifully simplistic about country cooking: the smell of bacon on a Saturday morning, apples baking with cinnamon in the oven, or a dab of butter, melting in the pan.

My first recipe, maple apple crisp, is a recipe that resembles my country roots. Enjoy!


Maple Apple Crisp

Ingredients

5 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored, and sliced
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2) Toss apples with maple syrup and place in an 8x8 inch baking dish. Mix flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle mixture evenly over apples.
3) Bake for 35 minutes, until topping is golden brown.
4) Top with Breyer’s vanilla ice cream.