Rare “Prehistoric” Shark Photographed Alive. (Buzzfeed)
Good eatin’
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Monthly Archives: January 2009
Obama’s chef
Obamas Bring Their Chicago Chef to the White House. (NY Times)
Sam Kass, a private chef for the Obamas while they were living in Chicago, is now working in the White House.
A spokeswoman for Michelle Obama, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, said Mr. Kass will not be the only cook preparing the family’s meals, but “he knows what they like and he happens to have a particular interest in healthy food and local food.” He will work alongside the White House executive chef, Cristeta Comerford, who was promoted to that job by the Bushes and is being kept on in that role by the Obamas.
Mr. Kass’s appointment signals changes at the White House that should please chefs like Alice Waters, who have lobbied the Obamas to set an example for the rest of the country by emphasizing food that is healthy, local and sustainable. It further suggests that a vegetable garden on the White House grounds, another of Ms. Waters’ dreams, could be on the horizon.
Mr. Kass, one of the new breed of chefs who are concerned about the environment and about poor eating habits in this country, has been quoted as saying people in his profession should take the lead in tackling public health issues. “Not only is there an unconscionable amount of people who remain hungry,” he told “In These Times” magazine last year, said, “there’s even a larger population, mostly poor, who are faced with obesity, diabetes and various other problems from overabundance.”
Surely another harbinger of a failed presidency barely one week old.
I want to eat Joey
Red meat, Down Under. (Culinate)
The kangaroo’s move from the outback to the dinner table has been touted as an environmental coup, since the animals don’t produce atmosphere-clogging methane gas like cows do. In fact, ’roos neither burp nor fart. And their big soft feet are suited to Australia’s terrain and do far less damage to the fragile topsoil than do the hooves of cattle and pigs. Two different studies at the University of New South Wales have even suggested farming — and eating — kangaroo instead of sheep or cattle as a way to lower Australia’s total carbon output.
As Australia’s harsh scrublands have been transformed into grassy cultivated fields for sheep-raising, the kangaroo population has boomed. Tender green grass ripe for the grazing is easier pickings than foraging for rare vegetation in the outback. The population explosion needs to be checked, and the lean, healthy meat of the kangaroo seems like the ideal dinner fare for Australia’s meat-loving yet increasingly health-conscious citizens.
It really is a travesty that Outback Steakhouse has co-opted Of Montreal for their theme song AND they do not serve kangaroo.
Scenes from an Hmart
Late last spring I visited Hmart when it opened in Tigard, and even snapped a few photos. Since then, I’ve been back a few times, and it has become one of my favorite stores in this universe.
Here are some photos from a few recent visits.
That sliced beef ribeye incidentally went into bulgogi marinade and was sprinkled with sesame seeds, and became a wonderful dinner with rice, grilled king oyster mushrooms, and cucumber kimchi.
Those stir fried vermicelli noodles were immediately combined with chopped pieces of the cucumber kimchi and some leftover grilled tofu. At $2.99, it came out to nearly two hearty, full portions and was much more satisfying than the single serving of glass noodle Pad Thai I paid three times as much for a few nights earlier at Thai Herbs in Multnomah Village.
Scallop Ceviche
Here it is, in tostada form and sprinkled with Bufalo Jalapeño hot sauce.
- One pound bay scallops, halved (or quartered if somewhat largish)
- 2 limes
- 1 smallish meyer lemon
- 2 small clementine tangerines
- 2 fresh roma tomatoes, finely diced
- ½ small red onion, finely diced
- 1 smashed and finely minced garlic clove
- 2 green onion stalks, chopped
- (½ combined bunch) of fresh chopped Italian parsley and cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil
- Sea salt, to taste
Combine scallops, onions, herbs, tomatoes and oil in a large mixing bowl. Using a citrus press or juicer, extract juice from fruit and pour over mixture. Season with a few pinches of salt. Cover and allow to sit in fridge for three or four hours, stirring occasionally to mix things up a bit, you know?
Take two channa masalas and call me in the morning
Hospitals will take meat off menus in bid to cut carbon. (Guardian UK)
Meat-free menus are to be promoted in hospitals as part of a strategy to cut global warming emissions across the National Health Service.
The plan to offer patients menus that would have no meat option is part of a strategy to be published tomorrow that will cover proposals ranging from more phone-in GP surgeries to closing outpatient departments and instead asking surgeons to visit people at their local doctor’s surgery.
Some suggestions are likely to be controversial with patients’ groups, especially attempts to curb meat eating and car use. Plans to reuse more equipment could raise concern about infection with superbugs such as MRSA.
Dr David Pencheon, director of the NHS sustainable development unit, said the amount of NHS emissions meant it had to act to make cuts, and the changes would save money, which could be spent on better services for patients.
“This is not just about doing things more efficiently, it’s about doing things differently, because efficiency is not going to get us to big cuts,” said Pencheon. “What will healthcare look like in 2030-2040 in a very low carbon society? It will not look anything like it looks now.”
Choripdong Jjambbong
I picked up these “fresh noodle” Korean soup packs during a recent trip to Hmart. As you can see on the package, that broth is red. Red = good.
Choripdong is proving themselves to be quite the reputable brand of imported Korean foodstuffs, so when they were on sale it was a no-brainer. Plus, there was a demo table set up, dishing out small cups of jjambbong that I found it to be tasty enough, ungussied and overboiled, to purchase for home consumption.
As you can see, this version of “instant” ramen does not have the inflated fat content, due to the freshly frozen noodles.
The noodles are packaged separately in a frozen block. Seems straightforward enough, until you flip it over…
…and witness the bounty. The most impressive part of Choripdong’s Jjambbong is the breadth of companion garnishes included with the noodles. There’s an abundance of seaweed and woodear mushrooms, slices of spicy fresh chili, strips of squid meat…
…and even an entire shrimp, head and all. What a wonderful time to be alive.
The sauce/soup packet is quite impressive in its heft and the fact that it’s sludge-like and most-likely perishable, which is why the product is sold frozen. And check out that first ingredient (well, after “Sauce”): Squid Extract!
Gussied up with fresh veggies and shrimp and garnished with fresh scallions, this is one of the better instant noodle soup preparations available on the market today. The noodles are fantastic, thick, toothsome, and slurpable. And that broth…it’s red. Korea’s foodstuff manufacturing industry is really something to behold.
Chef on chef
Anthony Bourdain Talks Alice Watersgate. (Gothamist)
How fitting that Anthony Bourdain’s controversial interview with DCist, in which Bourdain called organic food proponent Alice Waters’ agenda “very Khmer Rouge,” took place in our nation’s capital. Welcome to Alice Watersgate, a brewing chef on chef scandal that (potentially) has the unexpected benefit of bringing ideas about our country’s food policy to a much wider audience.
Judging from the DCist interview, general timing seems to be part of Bourdain’s overall gripe: “We’re all in the middle of a recession,” he told interviewer Jamie R. Liu, while complaining about the priciness and preachiness seemingly inherent to going green, “like we’re all going to start buying expensive organic food and running to the green market.” Last November, Waters wrote a much-publicized open letter to the newly minted President Elect offering advisory services on choosing a new White House chef. It turned out that the old White House chef had a lot to offer.
A dawning of a new era
As we usher out the current administration, we officially start the next era of bitching and moaning. But it’s worthwhile to revisit the prescience of America’s Finest News Source:
During the 40-minute speech, Bush also promised to bring an end to the severe war drought that plagued the nation under Clinton, assuring citizens that the U.S. will engage in at least one Gulf War-level armed conflict in the next four years.
“You better believe we’re going to mix it up with somebody at some point during my administration,” said Bush, who plans a 250 percent boost in military spending. “Unlike my predecessor, I am fully committed to putting soldiers in battle situations. Otherwise, what is the point of even having a military?”
On the economic side, Bush vowed to bring back economic stagnation by implementing substantial tax cuts, which would lead to a recession, which would necessitate a tax hike, which would lead to a drop in consumer spending, which would lead to layoffs, which would deepen the recession even further.
…
“Finally, the horrific misrule of the Democrats has been brought to a close,” House Majority Leader Dennis Hastert (R-IL) told reporters. “Under Bush, we can all look forward to military aggression, deregulation of dangerous, greedy industries, and the defunding of vital domestic social-service programs upon which millions depend. Mercifully, we can now say goodbye to the awful nightmare that was Clinton’s America.”
“For years, I tirelessly preached the message that Clinton must be stopped,” conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh said. “And yet, in 1996, the American public failed to heed my urgent warnings, re-electing Clinton despite the fact that the nation was prosperous and at peace under his regime. But now, thank God, that’s all done with. Once again, we will enjoy mounting debt, jingoism, nuclear paranoia, mass deficit, and a massive military build-up.”
An overwhelming 49.9 percent of Americans responded enthusiastically to the Bush speech.
“After eight years of relatively sane fiscal policy under the Democrats, we have reached a point where, just a few weeks ago, President Clinton said that the national debt could be paid off by as early as 2012,” Rahway, NJ, machinist and father of three Bud Crandall said. “That’s not the kind of world I want my children to grow up in.”
(Originally published: JANUARY 17, 2001).
Oh yeah, and one more, this time with feeling: Dick Cheney can suck the swollen and diseased hemorrhoid currently festering near the inner cavity of my crusty anus and rinse from a bottle of acidic mouthwash filled with my own caustic urine backwashed from a dozen lepers. See you in hell, you grimacing homunculus.
Life saver
Five Guys
A Beaverton location of D.C. metro-based Five Guys Burger and Fries opened last fall to much fanfare.
The simple, no-nonsense interior imparts a bit of the faux-retro vibe that Southern California’s venerable In-N-Out Burger captures so well. The place was absolutely packed on a recent weekend around 2pm.
Similarly, the menu is pretty simple. You won’t find any sandwiches featuring onions with anger management issues.
Stacks of sacks of potatoes suggest their fries are freshly cut. Or these could I have simply been bags of river rocks from Home Depot’s garden section. They look about the same size – I had to pour a walkway one time. That day sucked. The pride of home ownership is way overrated.
Want something fun AND value-added? Boxes of free peanuts are situated at either ends of the dining (including like right in front of the bathrooms), and you’re free to help yourself and make a mess.
This large order of fries came in its own bag. There were nearly as many fries in the bag than in this large styrofoam cup–enough to feed three of us.
One great thing about Five Guys is that you get to accessorize your burger with whatever toppings they offer. Here’s a “Little Cheeseburger” (the normal burgers double up the patty) replete with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mustard, ketchup, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, and jalapenos.
Verdict? It’s a solid fast-food burger. In terms of satisfaction, I wouldn’t put it on the same level of In-N-Out. I was pretty stoked that the jalapenos were freshly sliced, as opposed to pickled. I really think it took the burger to the next level.
I will say, however, that the fries I had that crisp winter day in aught nine were better than any potato ever churned out by In-N-Out, and were flat out the best fast food fries I’ve had to date. I enjoy skin-on, freshly cut fries, and these were crisp and delicious.
Consider me a fan.
Five Guys on the WORLD WIDE WEB
Save a fetus: buy a Cinnabun instead
Pro-Life Group up in Arms over Krispy Kreme’s Abortion Doughnuts. (Miami New Times)
Krispy Kreme, being the genial purveyor of glazed goodness that it is, decided to get in on the Obama inauguration craze and is offering one free doughnut to every costumer on January 20, Inauguration day, and released this seemingly innocuous press release:
“Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD) is honoring American’s sense of pride and freedom of choice on Inauguration Day, by offering a free doughnut of choice to every customer on this historic day, Jan. 20. By doing so, participating Krispy Kreme stores nationwide are making an oath to tasty goodies — just another reminder of how oh-so-sweet ‘free’ can be.”
Well, The American Life League noticed the liberal use of the word choice and decided to blast the chain bakery for producing abortion doughnuts.
“The unfortunate reality of a post-Roe v. Wade America is that ‘choice’ is synonymous with abortion access, and celebration of ‘freedom of choice’ is a tacit endorsement of abortion rights on demand,” the group’s president, Judie Brown said in a statement.
Foods that contain peanut butter
Consumers urged to use caution eating peanut butter. (CNN)
Federal officials are urging consumers to put off eating foods that contain peanut butter until they can be they are sure they do not contain products manufactured by the Peanut Corp. of America, some of which were found to contain salmonella.
I’ve been slowly going through a small package of Nabisco brand Nutter Butter Sandwich Cookies all week. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Freedom cheese
US roquefort tariff angers French. (Guardian)
Less than a week before it leaves office, the Bush administration has sparked anger across the Atlantic by tripling the import duty rate on roquefort cheese to 300%, a move which the US hopes will “shut down trade” in the sheep’s milk product by making it prohibitively expensive.
From the annals of dumb criminals
Another entry: Man accused of selling daughter for cash, beer.
Police have arrested a Greenfield man for allegedly arranging to sell his 14-year-old daughter into marriage in exchange for $16,000, 100 cases of beer and several cases of meat.
Police said they only learned of the deal after Marcelino de Jesus Martinez went to them to get his daughter back because payment wasn’t made as promised. The man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of human trafficking.
NBC News’ Dara Brown reported that the deal specifically involved 100 cases of Corona beer, 50 cases of Modelo, six bottles of wine, 50 cases of soft drinks and 50 cases of Gatorade.
(Emphasis mine).
In his defense, the several cases of meat turned out to be Steak-Ums.
Whole Paycheck
Mr. Bog reminds us of the implications.
Comments are icing on the cake.
I’m still vacillating on my boycott of Whole Foods. They do have a nice olive bar. And it’s one of the few places where you can see some prepared food available by the pound, figure you’ll just get a little snack, and then end up paying more than you would if you decided to sit down at a proper restaurant.
Man v. Wild
Bear Grylls is about to eat a 20 foot boa constrictor. As soon, of course, he gets rid of the parasites and feces.
Jin Wah
Jin Wah in Beaverton serves dim sum.
There’s a lot of brisk cart action at Jin Wah. This motion blurred photo implies as such.
Feet. These came from several chickens.
Pork shu mai.
BBQ pork buns.
Shrimp har gow.
Tripe. I guess tripe’s ok. It’s like eating the floor mats to a late model European luxury sedan.
Congee. Much like how my wife thinks of me, I find Chinese-style congee to be a middling bore.
Kai-lan with oyster sauce.
Savory doughnuts. I’m not sure why, but Asians are crazy about this shit.
Shrimp balls topped with braised black mushroom.
A split shot, perched atop plenty of Chinese red vinegar spiked with chili oil.
Turnip cake.
Squid dusted with rice flour, flash fried and stir-fried with onions, scallion, salt, pepper, and chilis. I enjoy their particular rendition of squid.
Jin Wah Restaurant
4021 SW 117th Ave # E
Beaverton, OR
(503) 641-2852
Come again?
IKEA sells this wood treatment for its kitchen butcher block.
IKEA tells me it’s approved for use on surfaces that come in contact with food.
Home, sweet home
Portland, Oregon’s Front Yard Taco Truck. (Serious Eats)
How ’bout this? Portland, Oregon, taco truck owners Gabina Lopez and Chencho Martinez parked their mobile kitchen on the street next to their home and then built a dining area in their front yard for customers.
Taco truck is legal; city steps up inspections. (Oregon Live)
El Nutri Taco owners Gabina Lopez and Chencho Martinez are pleased to have achieved a successful business literally in their front yard. Although the majority of properties on Woodstock east of 50th are single-family residences, this family has permission from the city for the setup.
Now free of debt, Martinez had borrowed from his brother to buy the truck and used a Home Depot credit card to build out his porch to the street. “My American dream is starting to take shape,” he said.
Love me
Cheney: I’m actually ‘lovable. (Politico)
Cheney conceded in an interview with CBS radio that he sometimes expresses himself “rather forcefully toward some of my compatriots, like Pat Leahy from Vermont” but dismissed as a caricature the idea that he is a “Darth Vader-type personality.”
“I think all of that’s been pretty dramatically overdone,” the vice president said. “I’m actually a warm, lovable sort.”
You’ll agree if you’re the sort that finds rectum tumors lovable.
Asian markets
A World of Bargains. (Washington Post)
Lower prices make the Asian superstores an alluring alternative in tough economic times, but it’s the breadth of otherwise tough-to-find ingredients that makes them an invaluable resource for adventurous home cooks and some of the District’s top chefs. H Mart and Super H Mart customers include Michel Richard of Citronelle and Central, Haidar Karoum of Proof and Scott Drewno of Wolfgang Puck’s the Source.
Diversity is the draw. Although Karoum gets most of what he needs for the restaurant from his purveyors, he has long shopped for himself at H Mart and did so when he was testing dishes while Proof was under construction. “You get inspiration from stuff that you don’t see regularly,” says Karoum, 34, who was chef at Asia Nora before opening Proof. “You get a taste of other cultures.”
For the Source, Drewno shops for Asian herbs, noodles and other dry goods at the Merrifield store on Saturday mornings. “H Mart! I love this place,” says Drewno, 33. Ever since he was a 22-year-old cook in Las Vegas at Puck’s Chinois, he says, he has relied on Asian markets.
Restaurant power
Garage Invention Could Turn Restaurants into Power Plants. (Wired)
A new garage-engineered generator burns the waste oil from restaurants’ deep fryers to generate electricity and hot water. Put 80 gallons of grease into the Vegawatt and its creators promise that it will generate about five kilowatts of power.
That’s about 10 percent of the total energy needs of Finz, a seafood restaurant in Dedham, Massachusetts, where the first Vegawatt is being tested. At New England electricity rates, the system offsets about $2.50 worth of electricity with each gallon of waste oil poured into it.
Vegawatt’s founder and inventor, James Peret, estimates that restaurants purchasing the $22,000 machine will save about $1,000 per month in electricity costs, for a payback time of under two years.
Lifestyle change
Drinking and driving: The way we live sucks. (William Brand@ContraCostaTimes.com)
The American problem – our problem – is the way we live sucks. I mean we’re totally auto-oriented. Most of us live in places where mass transit doesn’t exist or is sucky.
For instance, I live three miles from the closest BART station; there’s only bus service 9-5 weekdays and it’s five blocks to the damn bus stop. So I drive, usually to BART. Coming home, I don’t get back in the car ’til I’m certain I’m sober. It’s a hell of a way to live.
In fact, it changes where I go. I hate visiting friends where we’re going to drink good beer, but the only way to get there is driving. I envy my friends who live in San Francisco, Oakland and other cities, where a trip to the pub is a short walk.
For the rest of us, the whole system is loaded against us. We love good beer, but the laws are tough and cops are relentless. What to do? Drinking at homne is one solution, but nothing beats the warmth and friendship of a good pub. It’s a dilemma, isn’t it. One thing we need is better transit.
In praise of cauliflower
Cauliflower Shines in Winter. (NY Times)
Cauliflower can seem drab if served plain and, like its cousins cabbage and broccoli, downright unappetizing if overcooked. But from the Mediterranean to India, this versatile vegetable shines in salads and pastas, gratins and soups, curries and risottos. Cauliflower is at its peak now, from December through March, when produce markets often are otherwise spare, particularly if you happen to live in a northern climate.