Cookin' in the 'Cuse

MiLA in New Orleans

 

So the quality of this photo (taken with my iPhone in a darkened dining room) stands in inverse proportion to the quality of the meal we dined on at MilA last night in New Orleans.  This was a hickory smoked lamb chops on black eye puree--perfectly done. 

Thanks so much for the restaurant recommendations in the comments--we chose MiLA because they were great about sourcing locally when possible (it is still Eat Local Challenge month, after all) and the the menu was just too delicious to resist.  There were seven of us and everything was absolutely first rate from the cornbread with lima bean spread (think southern hummus) that came in the bread basket, to the crispy sweetbreads atop creamy grits that was the first course to the caramel laced apple slices with baby beignets and ice cream that was one of the desserts we shared--it is now lunch time in New Orleans and my friends are still raving about last night.  Oh yes, the red snapper and the tea-brined duck were also hits.  Barely open a year yet, this restaurant has certainly hit its stride and makes the concept of eating local, seasonal, and still with that southern/Lousiana flair, not just a dream but a reality.   

If I get a chance to have another meal in New Orleans, MiLA will be my first choice.  Thanks for the recommendation!
 

Help! I just landed in New Orleans...

...where should I go out to dinner?

I'm here for a conference for work and have a free night on Tuesday.  I haven't been to the crescent city since 2002 and can't even remember the excellent place I dined at last time--not even sure if it is still open.  So...what do you recommend???

It's never too late--to help reduce poverty

Blog Action Day is nearly over but it isn't too late for me to join the thousands of bloggers across the world who are blogging about this year's theme of poverty.  As a food blogger, poverty and its impact on hunger, food access, and health, are always on my mind.  Our current economic crisis has no doubt brought the topic closer to home for many of us. 

The question of how to get enough food on the tables of people who are struggling to make ends meet is a constant concern for me and the people I serve at Grace Episcopal Church.  Our food pantry is the oldest church-run pantry in the city of Syracuse and every month we get a report that tell us what we already know--more individuals and families are needing help than ever before and we are hard-pressed to meet the needs.  We are thankful for the good work and resources of the Food Bank of Central New York  and the Syracuse Real Food Co-op who make food accessible to our Pantry so we can give it away to those who need it most.  We are also grateful for the farmers--such as Stones Throw Farm, Black Brook Farm, and Common Thread Community Farm who have generously donated surplus produce so that our Food Pantry guests can partake of delicious, organic vegetables. 

I guess if I was going to make one point today it would be this:  poverty and hunger is not a "them" problem, and the solution to ending poverty and hunger won't come about without collaborative partnerships.  It will take all of us--folks picking up extra cans of beans and growing an extra row of food in their gardens and public policy advocates who can track on the Farm Bill and its relevance for benefiting women, infants, and children who live below the poverty line; non-profits providing educational resources to help those in need (re)learn the skills of food preparation and economical shopping and an economy and policies that support fare and adequate wages. 

Though not a solution to the problem one of the other things we can do is to remember to be grateful for the food we are able to eat.  I'm thankful for the days when I can enjoy a nice meal--either prepared out in a restaurant or at home--because the faces of those who are hungry are ever before me and I remember the "corned-beef hash days of my childhood when my family struggled to make ends meet.  I dream of the day when everyone can set their table and be assured that everyone will have enough and that there will be more tomorrow. 

To Write it Down is to Remember

I learned this years ago when I began keeping my first journal back in elementary school--I'm sure that is where my obsession with paper began.  Ever since then, I've been taking and keeping notes to help me remember what I've done and remember what I want to do.  I've carried Moleskine notebooks since 2001 but have grown to love so many others too.  I currently use a Moleskine for my food writing journal--adapting it to meet all my needs for tracking recipes, blog ideas, wine tasting notes, and places I hope to visit. I use Rhodia pads for shopping lists and for keeping track of messages and announcements for church.  Imagine my delight, then, when Quo Vadis--the folks who make the planner I use--announced the debut of the Memoriae series of notebooks--"to keep the memories of your life".

Instead of just a blank book with great paper (which can be sublime in its simplicity) Memoriae books have different themes for journaling about those things you love.  Books include "My Joys", "My Sorrows", "My Travels", "My Children", and "My Weekends".  Needless to say, when I saw that there was one for "My Cooking" I jumped at the chance to review it.

I really do love this book--from its thick, orange faux leather cover, to its size 4"x6" (larger than a small Moleskine but smaller that the regular Moleskine).  The chef's toque on the cover denotes the cooking theme. The paper is 80g creamy off-white.  The paper seems thinner and more translucent than the birght white Clairefontaine paper I'm used to in other Quo Vadis products but it took my foundtain pens, rollerball, and ballpoint inks just fine--no bleeding through, no feathering, etc.  In fact, though I had an issue with being able to see the printed images on the other side of the page--the words I actually wrote didn't show through to the other side.

 

So what else do I like about this journal?

• The cover is somewhere between a hardcover and a softcover which means it will probably hold up to being tossed around my purse or camera bag.
• With 224 pages there is plenty of room to keep track of all the recipes I come across in newspapers, the web, etc.
• There are blank tabs and pages in the back to create notes for whatever I like--I've made one section into "wine notes".
• If the recipe I record isn't too long, the facing page provides room for notes, anecdotes, that I may want to include--related to the recipe or not.

What do I wish was different?

• The recipe sections don't leave enough room for listing ingredients--you can see where I overflowed into the instruction space.  I often cook complicated recipes with a long list of ingredients--keeping them here might not be as practical.
• I could have used fewer pages for "cooking hints"--but since it's "my memories" I'll feel free to use some of those pages for something else.
• There are no current plans to sell these stateside.  But for those of us in the northern part of Central New York, a quick jaunt to Kingston, Ontario means you can pick them up at the major bookstores there.  (I tend to go there on the my day off--I'll look for them next time I go.)

Overall, I think these are great.  If I can get some from Kingston I'd stock up because they'd make great gifts. 

If you want to see what the "My Joys" journal is like, check out this review.

Thanks, Quo Vadis, for the opportunity to review this journal!

Winding down the season

At this time of the year it can be hard to tell which way the season is going to go by the weather.  Today felt like a beautiful spring day while this past weekend had me prepping for winter.  I'm not all that inclined to rush the season along but the earlier sunsets and the raking of leaves tell me that there is no turning back.

I, however, will do what I can to put it off.  Instead of putting my garden to my bed, I tuck my tomatoes in at night to extend the harvest.  Each night that there is danger of frost I cover the volunteer paste tomatoes growing in the middle of the back yard (where last year's tomato patch had been) with an old bath towel.  In the morning, I wake up, remove the towel and hope for sun and high temps.  I cling to hopes of being able to jar a bit more sauce for the winter.

Other signs that the season is winding down...tomorrow is the last of the four farmers' markets held on the Syracuse University campus.  The last two were on days with tropical storm like weather.  Tomorrow promises to be beautiful so come check out the the fall harvest and get your squashes, root vegetables, and other storage produce to hold you over the coming colder months.  I'll be there from 11:00 - 1:00 pm signing copies of the book I contributed to:  Bread, Body, Spirit:  Finding the Sacred in Food.  The University Community Harvest Farmers' Market takes place in the Waverly parking lot from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Lastly, lovers of all things apple shouldn't miss the annual Lafayette Apple Festival taking place this weekend.  Local apples, cider, the crunch of leaves underfoot, and yeah, I know, crowds.  But it's autumn perfection.  Enjoy every moment.

Dinner at the Farm--Harvest Dinner at Stick and Stone

Back when the notices first went up for the Harvest Dinners to help support Healthy Food For All--a program that makes CSA membership accessible to families in need with partial subsidizing of the fees--I knew I had to make a reservation.  I like to think of it as eating well so others can simply eat. As it happened, the only one that fit in my schedule occurred tonight--right near the start of the Eat Local Challenge month. 

Under the warm lights of Stick and Stone's new barn 100 or so producers, farmers, chefs, coffee roasters, vintners, and lovers of seasonal, fresh, delicious food gathered to partake of an incredible four-course meal.  Wines from Silver Thread Winery were generously poured, while a menu that included home crafted pork sausage, black, navy, and red bean soup finished with arugula  and sumac scented yogurt, roasted delicatta squash filled with root vegetables and green beans, and a spit-roasted lamb and braised goat with honey braised fal greens were passed family style around the table.  A star anise infused white wine candied apple with quince paste and smoked cheddar completed the meal.  Oh yes, Gimme! Coffee was served up as well.  Some of us even took a tour of the Gimme! roastery before the dinner.  What a night!

Special thanks to all the farmers who donated foods (I sat with John and Marion Wertis who supplied the goat).  And kudos to Chefs Hans Butler and Bernie Oshaben of Watercress Restaurant, Ithaca, for turning an abundant harvest into a feast.

New York Livestock from Springbrook Farm, Weedsport

Just in time for the start of the Eat Local Challenge, the legislation for Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) is finally in effect.  Those of us concerned about where our food comes from will have more, explicit information to assist in making our choices.  Not all retailers are required to do the labeling but most large outlets will have to place labels on meat products so you can tell if it came from China, Argentina, Colorado, or New York.  Of course, if you are buying these products at a smaller outfit you'll have more of a chance of asking the staff where the meat comes from if there are no labels.

Information is power and this is a HUGE step to help all of us become more informed eaters.

A Homegrown Experience--Tomorrow in Skaneateles

 
A Homegrown Experience--with Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, Speaker
October 2nd at 6:30pm
at the St.James’ Parish Hall
96 E.Genesee St., Skaneateles

EarthWorks , the eco-ministry of St. James’ Episcopal Church in Skaneateles is hosting an evening in celebration of local food and the people who produce it with a pot-luck supper and presentation on October 2nd at 6:30 pm. We are asking participants to bring a dish to share, prepared from ingredients produced within a 100-mile radius.   
Please join us for this free event. For details, call 685-7600.  

Eat Local Challenge 2008--Central New York Style

Today is the first day of the Eat Local Challenge and I could not be more excited.  We are surrounded by the delicious abundance of the season and there are countless resources for local food and products in our area.  I hope you will join me and people across the country who are attempting to get a little closer to our food and food sources.  Here are few things you can do to get started:

• Sign up at the Eat Local Challenge site.  This takes just a moment and is a great way to help us know where the locavores are for this Challenge.

• Think about how you want to live into this Challenge.  How will you define "local"?  How many meals do you hope to source locally?  Will you take exemptions and, if so, what will you exempt?  You can read about how I hope to do the Challenge further down.

• Check out the Eat Local Challenge archives on this blog and on the ELC site to read about how the Challenge has been done in years past.

• Check out the local resources on the sidebar to source products and locate restaurants that are committed to supporting local producers or practice sustainability.

How I'm doing the Challenge this year:

Definition of Local:  I plan to source as much food as possible from sources within a 150 miles of Syracuse, NY for all home-cooked meals.  I also hope to be particularly intentional of eating in restaurants that support local producers when I do eat out  I also recognize that I'll be traveling A LOT this month and will not be able to eat this way in the hotels and conference centers I'll be staying in (such as the one I'm typing this from in Madison, NY).  This will make my local eating (and cooking!) at home even more precious.

Exemptions:  Ah, yes...I will be exempting salt and spices, cooking oils, sugar, some grains, tea, coffee and chocolate.  Whenever possible I do plan to use these products when they are locally processed (like locally roasted coffee) and fair trade when available--October is also Fair Trade Month.

Goals for the month:  To enjoy the bounty of the season for as long as it lasts; to put up food as I have time; and to put the garden to bed properly.

So have fun--post a comment and let us know if and how you will be doing the Challenge and if you know of any new food sources drop me a line!