"Dying for a biscuit"

Read this horrifying exposé on palm oil and how it's killing orangutans by destroying rain forest. I've noticed palm oil listed on some products in the UK, including a lot of peanut butter (why the heck would you want another oil in peanut butter when it has its own natural oil?!), but I didn't know that they aren't required to list it as such. It can just be 'vegetable oil'. Apparently some companies like Sainsbury's are making an effort to highlight it on their own products and declare that it's sourced from sustainable sources, but it looks like we consumers could do more to make ourselves aware of what we buy.

BBC News - Panorama - Orangutan survival and the shopping trolley

You can watch it on iPlayer in the UK as well for the next week:
Panorama: Dying for a Biscuit

Food Harmony

A Carew Pigs Dinner, 22 Feb 2010

A lapsed 'Jew', 'Muslim', and 'Catholic' sit down to a dinner of pork ribs during Lent.

Clearly our religion is food, uniting us in our blasphemy.

"We need a food revolution"

As annoying as Jamie Oliver can be, he's got it right on here.

"I wish for everyone to help create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity."



Why we should know how to cook our own food... God...

Sausage making - learn all about it!

This looks like fun! Learning how to make Italian sausage. :-)

From the Guardian - A family affair: Italian sausage-making

And you should watch Four Men and a Pig, too. It's the first part of the series. Enjoy!

I hate McDonald's and the Italian govt.

Dig this:
The 'McItaly' Burger Row
Gross!

Tales from a D.C. School Kitchen

Read this series:
http://www.theslowcook.com/2010/01/19/tales-from-a-d-c-school-kitchen/

Comments later if I can get my act together.

Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all (all five of you reading the blog...)! I hope it's a wonderful long weekend full of family, friends, and of course lots of glorious food. Plans here in London are shaping up nicely. The turkey will be ready to be picked up on Saturday morning from the butcher and I've got my menu planned and the shopping list drawn up. Besides the traditional Italian Christmas turkey, we're having an Ottolenghi salad and their delectable broccoli recipe in addition to some cute croquette canapés and a friend's to-die-for 'pumpkin' butternut squash pie. I'll report back! Enjoy your meals everyone!

Anyone eating something exotic? I have a friend whose mother is steaming crab. Wonderfully inspired and gets my thumbs up.

Canapé Chic

First, just so you all can relax, I've found bags of 100g of star anise - for only 60p. You may all breathe a sigh of relief. My saviour? Longdan supermarket, 25 Hackney Road, E2 7NX. I love you guys...

Now, onto the subject of this post. Thanks to a college friend who sent this to me this week with the only text of the email being, "Me want."



And here's the link: Party Accessory: Fingerfood Plates from FRED (www.thekitchn.com)

They're pretty stupid, I have to say. I know the whole drinks and canapés thing is a bit awkward, but having to balance food on my finger would be even worse! Think if you suddenly forgot about your accessory when your conversation got a bit animated (especially for those of us who talk with our hands) and you flung a bacon roll onto some lady's silk dress?

Also, just randomly I found this:
London Gastrowalks

Looks kind of fun.

staring... anise!

OK, who knew that it is impossible to find star anise on the Tottenham High Road?! I mean, WTF? Doesn't anyone appreciate the glorious taste of liquorice? Not even flavouring could be found! I realise that star anise is a Chinese thing, but seriously now... They have nigella seed and sumac coming out their ears in these shops, but no anise!

Good news is that our local, wonderful butcher (as mentioned in the previous post) is now open on Sundays. Now that's just awesome.

Off to cook an entire meal out of the New York Times Jewish Cookbook, a substantial tome of over 800 recipes that I highly recommend.

Turkey

Amusing moment of the day:

I walk into my local butcher shop on Tottenham High Road (a traditional English establishment with wood shavings scattered on the floor, run by three or four men in white coats and pink, plump, smiling, mischievous faces) and the main guy smiles and says, without saying hello, "Isn't it about time to order your turkey for Thanksgiving?" Slightly stunned that he has remembered this for the forth year in a row, I stopped and replied that yes, it was about time. I told him the date of my dinner and he instructed me to come by the week before and it would be fine.

It's nice to know that you can still have these kind of interactions, even in the biggest city in Europe. I know he's just looking for business, but that takes some skill to remember! I guess in my neighborhood of African, Turkish, Eastern European and Roma immigrants, I'm probably the only American in the area. Or at least the only one who wants to buy my turkey unfrozen, free range and from the local butcher. Let's hear it for local shops.

More on my recent trip to the States with some foodie recommendations coming soon.

Wishing I was here...

Could there be anything as desirable as spending a morning at the Santa Monica Farmers Market?
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-sm-farmers-market-pg,0,4438445.photogallery

OK, maybe the Mountain View Farmers Market? :-)



Also, el Día de los Muertos is coming up, so check out this special from the LA Times on yummy things to cook at this time of year. Bring on the pan de muertos!

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-halloween-recipes-pictures,0,7983260.photogallery

Photo from the LA Times by Ricardo DeAratanha

How to cater a Roman orgy

It's been a while, but I miss posting the weird and the wonderful of the press about food. Thanks to a friend for the following.


The Atlantic: How to cater a Roman orgy. By Corky White

Enjoy.

This is kind of cool too:

Tutti fruity

If you're in the UK, check out Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour this week. It's up for a few more days. It's all music based on the theme of fruit!

Thursday 26 March 2009 - Theme Time Radio Hour - BBC Radio 2

A sea of double entendres... Don't squeeze my peaches!

My worst nightmare

A friend had this posted on their gmail:

http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/

I think I'm not going to sleep well tonight.

It's the cheese

As I sit here contentedly digesting some French cheese I bought in Paris yesterday (Tomme Fermière):

Apparently Bush put a 300% tax on Roquefort imported to the USA?! Repeal, repeal!
Video: French anger at US cheese tax - BBC News Online

More in French food news... Norway wins the Bocuse d'Or, kind of the Olympics of cooking.
Norway Wins Bocuse d'Or Competition - NYTimes.com

I ate at Chez Janou in Paris this weekend (check out the film they made on their site). For the entrée I had Toastades de Saint Nectaire (two generous slices of crusty bread smothered in melted Saint Nectaire cheese, surrounded by a salad) and for a main I had an extremely tender leg of lamb with the biggest heap of mashed potatoes I've ever seen - they also happened to be exquisitely creamy with a bit of garlic. This was surrounded by various red wines. Their crème brulée was not very good - 'like scrambled eggs' was what a few people said - but they also had chocolate mousse on the 'honor system'. You are served a huge bowl enough to serve an army and then are expected to take a reasonable serving for yourself. A round of exotic liqueurs was ordered and sampled and we were then given a smooth melon liqueur on the house. Prices are reasonable, the portions generous, so the next time you're in Paris, check this place out. It's cozy and in the classy 3rd arrondissement.

Other things I consumed in Paris: croque monsieur, the best hot chocolate ever, rucola salad with chicken gizzard, quiche lorraine, croissants, and confit de canard.

Obamalove

This sorely neglected blog needs some work, but today is Inauguration Day, so I thought I'd make a small effort. We celebrated here by watching it live and then eating a great meal of guacamole, artichoke dip, clam chowder, pear-goat cheese and pine nut salad, banana cream pie and cupcakes. I was tickled to see that my alma mater was serving the following menu in the dining rooms tonight!

John F. Kennedy's New England "Clam Chowda;"
Obama Hawaiian Burgers;
The Bush Family Zuni Stew;
Jimmy Carter's Homemade Spicy Sweet Potato Wedges;
George H.W. Bush's Favorite Fresh Broccoli;
Bill Clinton's Avocado & Tomatoes with Tropical Fruit Salsa;
Malia & Sasha Obama's Peach Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream
Ronald Reagan's Jelly Beans

Bring on the new era. I'm ready.

"Mush me all up!"

I know, you're waiting for Thanksgiving updates!

While I compile that - and boy was it good - listen to this cool show (if you're in the UK).  It's words and music all about food.  

Words and Music on BBC Radio 3 - A culinary theme!

Here are the producers' notes from the BBC iPlayer website:

This edition of Words and Music is about Food. Mussels, Chocolates, Anchovies, Peaches, Whipped Cream, Oysters, Trout, Pies and Eggs are just some of the ingredients.

Alison Steadman reads Moules a la Mariniere by Elizabeth Garrett, Mushrooms by Sylvia Plath and Blackberry-picking by Seamus Heaney.

Timothy West's poems include Hillaire Belloc's On Food, Elizabeth Bishop's The Fish and Ben Jonson's Inviting a Friend to Supper.

Interwoven with the poetry is music such as Schubert's Trout Quintet, the chorus in Strauss' Die Fledermaus where the guests look forward to supper, and Biber's Mensa Sonora (music suitable to accompany aristocratic dining)

There's the "Rice aria" from Rossini's Tancredi, which the food loving composer apparently composed whilst waiting for his risotto to cook and Nellie Melba, the soprano who gave her name to the Peach Melba, sings the Melba Waltz.

Plus popular food music by Fats Waller (Hold Tight I Want Some Seafood Mama), The Beatles (Savoy Truffle) and Bob Dylan (Country Pie).

Perhaps the most peculiar choice is a medieval song about eggs.

-Tim Prosser (producer)

The real concern on election night...

from http://whatever.scalzi.com/2008/11/05/well-yeah/

Absolutely brilliant - and real.

And what were they up to in Kenya?

A friend, who happened to be there, reports:

I'm in a Kisumu beer garden enjoying a President lager (renamed from Senator beer in a special release). Obama songs playing everywhere. What a trip!

So I googled it...

Kenyan beer stirs Obamamania - BBC News online

YES WE CAN!

Election night, proud American tribute to Obama meal!

Though a bit belated, here's a tribute to Obama! I'm still haven't lost the feeling of glee that filled me when, sometime in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, we learned that Obama would be our next President. A President with a brain? Oh my, what will they think of next? I wish I could have been there in one of the street parties, dancing, crying and laughing. Instead, I attended a small election night slumber party with American ex-pats and indulged in the most American meal we could think of without compromising quality and not resorting to burgers and hot dogs.  Nothing against hot dogs - I love them - but it was just a bit too easy!  The added challenge was that one of us can't eat wheat or cow's milk, but that didn't stop us from gorging on the following...  You can work wonders with goats milk butter and cheese and spelt flour.

ELECTION NIGHT 'PROUD AMERICAN TRIBUTE TO OBAMA' MENU

Potato salad

Obama's family chili - get the recipe on Huffington Post - click here

Spicy 'Buffalo' chicken wings 

Lemon meringue pie

Oat jam bars

Jelly bellies to munch on and keep us awake

THE MORNING AFTER 

Root beer floats

Artichoke dip with corn chips/crisps

Can you remember the last time you had a root beer float?  Not me, but they are so good.  I know the concept may be inconceivable to non-Americans, but I highly recommend it as an indulgent treat.  You can get Bundagerg Australian Root Beer at Waitrose in the UK.  Add a couple of dollops of nice vanilla bean ice cream and you're all set.  (a spoon helps as well)

The Obama chili was good, but needs more spice and salt than you'd think.  Garnished with sour cream, cheese, avocado and onion.

Oat jam bars take me back.  My mom would always make them for me to take to school when it was my birthday or for school pot luck-fundraising-type things.  They look really healthy and innocent, but they taste naughty.  This is the recipe I used - I think my mom found it online. Don't know who it's from, but I promise I'm not using it for profit!

OATMEAL JUMBLE BARS
Servings: 2 to 2-1/2 dozen

3 cups oats
1-1/2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 jar (10-12 oz.) jar preserves (I used Finnish blueberry and cloudberry preserves)

Pre-heat oven to 400°F. Grease a 13x9-inch baking dish. Combine all ingredients except preserves. Reserve 1 cup mixture. Press remaining mixture into bottom of baking dish. Spread preserves to 1/2 inch from sides of pan and sprinkle with remaining mixture. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Yeah, America! Yes we can!

A lemon meringue pie on election night.

Back to business

Yup, those are purple tomatoes... photo courtesy of BBC News online

Alright, the slacking on my part has got to stop!  I promise we've all been cooking up a storm, but I am ashamed it hasn't been shared.  Thanks to those of you who keep looking at the blog!  To get back in gear, here are a couple of news stories.

Five ways California vintners are weathering climate change - San Francisco Chronicle

A good introduction to how winemaking is going to need to adapt in the next century.  Friend and local winemaker, John Chiarito, who makes some great wines out of Sicilian varieties like Nero d'Avola, is interviewed.  

Purple tomato 'may boost health' - BBC News online

We all knew that purple was better.  Purple potatoes are far superior in taste to their white counterparts; carrots were originally purple; purple sprouting broccoli packs a flavorful and healthy punch; and who can resist blackberries?  Now they've made some snazzy purple tomatoes.  I SO want some seeds so I can make spaghetti with purple sauce!