No Cream Here

I love heavy cream and in my culinary ventures I have found that it can NEVER negatively affect a dish.  From pasta to pastry cream to coffee...cream is always good.  Now, the bad side- it's like 40% fat.  I love it in all sauces, especially on pasta so I was enticed to see that Gourmet had a recipe for a pasta dish that was covered in a thick white sauce absent the cream.   For the base, they call for blanched almonds, garlic, and water pureed together into a paste.  yes, it sounds very unusual, but the recipe did not disappoint; it was great and there was no pungent almond flavor that could be odd.  I must say, that we did not have all of the fresh herbs it called for so I added some red pepper flakes and garlic pepper spice blend to kick it up, but when herbs are plentiful I'm loading it up.  

PASTA IN GARLIC-ALMOND SAUCE

SERVES6 (MAIN COURSE) OR 8 (SIDE DISH)

• ACTIVE TIME:20 MIN
 
• START TO FINISH:20 MIN

• 3/4 cup whole blanched almonds (4 oz)
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 lb cavatappi or other small tubular pasta
• 2 tablespoons extra-virigin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 (10-oz) package frozen peas
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus additional for serving
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup basil leaves (torn if large), divided
• 1/3 cup mint leaves (torn if large), divided
• 1/3 cup chopped roasted almonds (2 oz)

• Purée blanched almonds and garlic with water and 1/4 tsp salt in a blender until smooth.
• Cook cavatappi in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 Tbsp salt for 6 qt water) until almost al dente. Reserve 3 cups pasta-cooking water and drain pasta.
• Meanwhile, heat oil and 1 Tbsp butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet (preferably straight-sided) over medium heat until foam subsides. Add almond purée and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Add 2 1/2 cups reserved cooking water, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper and simmer, whisking occasionally, until slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in remaining 2 Tbsp butter until melted. Add pasta and peas and cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta is al dente (sauce will be thin), 2 to 3 minutes. Add cheese and lemon juice and stir until combined well. Remove from heat and stir in half of basil and mint and salt and pepper to taste. Serve pasta in bowls topped with chopped almonds, remaining herbs, and additional cheese.

This sad, sad food system

Food recalls have become an everyday occurrence as they slide across the bottom of CNN. In a study conducted by Rutgers University, only 60% of people search their home for recalled items though.

"Getting consumers to pay attention to news about recalls isn't the hard part. It's getting them to take the step of actually looking for recalled food products in their homes," said William Hallman, a professor of human ecology who led the study.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 76 million people become ill from food each year with 325,000 of them going to the hospital and 5,000 dying. These numbers are truly ridiculous and absolutely preventable. This country's food policy has got to be overhauled.



Know how I keep myself safe? I grow my own:

-spinach that is not poisoned by an exploited immigrant worker who did not wash their hands after taking a dump

-tomatoes that don't grow in dirt that is lathered with sewage sludge(yes, what you flush), which industrial farms call compost

-strawberries next to my house, not next to a CAFO(concentrated animal feeding operation) where huge vats of feces poison the water.

Come on America, let's do something about people dying from eating! It's just too damn enjoyable to be deadly...

Ohhhhhh honey, honey...

I love to make oatmeal for breakfast, specifically on Saturdays for some reason. Oatmeal, is of course a blank canvas for whatever I want it to be. Keeping seasonality and prices in mind, I do an apples and cinnamon, blueberries and vanilla, peaches and lemon mint. These ingredients as well as a sweetener.


Although I always just used plain table sugar, I have since transitioned to more nutritious alternatives. Honey, made by our disappearing friends, the honey bees, is an excellent option and my favorite. Although I put it in everything from PB & Js to cookie dough, it goes very well with the simplicity of oatmeal. Not to mention the different options- wildflower to clover to lavender, all of which cannot be written in stone (you try following a bee around and making sure it only goes to lavender flowers). Even more appealing, though is the fact that honey contains micro nutrients and minerals that aren't present in processed table sugar. As does turbinado sugar, which I learned about in bio; it too is not processed totally, giving it a brown color and all those awesome nutrients.

FYI: The Obamas even included some hives in their organic garden- the white house carpenter has to take care of them

Mutiny echoing in the halls of the "World's Premiere Culinary School"

I don't like to get political, but when people politicize the food world, I jump in ready to fight.

At the JBH I met a lady who graduated CIA with Sara Moulton back in the 70's. She was talking about a rumor she heard that the CIA is really pissed about their President, Tim Ryan. Sure enough, it's true:
See the full story @ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/dining/07culinary.html

Last spring (2008) the faculty at the CIA voted "no confidence" in Tim Ryan as president and stated that he has mismanaged the school and cultivated "a prevailing climate of oppression at the Culinary Institute of America." Faculty were quoted as saying that they "live in fear of retaliation," if they disagree with Tim Ryan or his cabinet.
For months, some teachers have been expressing their frustrations to students, who had their own complaints about crowded housing, the quality of classes and food. Tuition, supplies and fees total about $25,840 a year, and some say they are not getting their money’s worth.

Faculty members said they wanted different performance evaluations and a greater degree of self-governance. They also said that students are being accepted who don’t have a reasonable chance to succeed in the culinary program. The minimum grade-point average for a student to move from sophomore to junior year has been lowered to a 2.0 from a 3.0.

Many of the students have also been speaking out starting Facebook groups and hanging "Fire Tim Ryan" signs in the dorms. And when the student paper tried to write about the complaints, the President would not allow it. He said the censorship was to keep the students safe from the conflict. The editor resigned in protest and the articles were later allowed to be published.

A lot of students had criticisms of the events. Patrick Dunlea(student gov't president), though, a kid I started with, but who graduated a block (3 weeks) behind me copped out just like how he was voted off the first episode of Top Chef on Bravo last season. Making it obvious he was not taking sides, he said, "It comes down to the fact that everyone is here for a passion, and the kitchen is a very intimate environment." PLEASE- Kids can get in the BA program (which he is in) with a 2.0???!!! Dude, that only makes your degree as reputable as a piece of toilet tissue.

I am on the side of Chef Turgeon (head of teacher's union and great chef) here. Something must be done, and it should start with President Ryan stepping down.

How 'bout them apples?

The other night I was talking to a lot of other students about what I want to do- explaining everything involved with this blog, sustainable agriculture, the slow food movement, organic, etc. One of the girls says (paraphrase), "my roommate is all into organic; everything has to be organic for her. She was so excited when I got organic apples." So of course I ask, oh you bought them recently? Yes, she says. WHAT! That defeats the whole purpose; apples aren't in season for more than 6 months! Does it matter if they're organic if the apples are from friggin' Chile????

I truly do not understand people like this. I guess organic does lack the chemicals though (even though regulations in other countries are as trustworthy as Bernie Madoff). But, I really don't see the point of being all organic without being all local and all seasonal. This trifecta is a puzzle- without one piece there is no meaningful picture. It's spring people--still time to scope out local apple orchards near you!!!!

I do love apples. At the moment, I have my eye on berries and stone fruits, but apple season is always worth looking forward to. Up at school we would go apple picking in Rhinebeck and it was awesome. They would give you one of those tools even and it was all up to you. Definitely some great and delicious times. We would have apples in our dorms for weeks.

Apples originated in Asia Minor, but spread to Europe during prehistoric times where they grew wild. There are an estimated 15,000 varieties (half American) and are generally divided into 3 categories- cider apples (cider), crab apples (gelling), and dessert apples (dessert). They grow pretty much everywhere and they are the most widely cultivated fruit trees in the world.

With such demand, comes an incredible sacrifice as discussed in Pollan's In Defense of Food: Because industrial agriculture has bred plants to produce Quantity, not Quality, apples have suffered greatly. Today, the average apple contains a third of the nutrients of an apple from the 1940's. In other words, you have what can certainly be considered nutritional inflation; so, now, thanks to savvy science we have to eat 3 apples to get the same nutritional intake as some 65 years ago.

So I guess, 3 apples a day keeps the doctor away?

See, I told you it was a real course of study.

At that pivotal moment in life when you have to decide what do facing the pressures of finances, relationships, and personal happiness, I just eat. But seriously, I have been googling every job title I would like to do or I wish existed. Wanting to eventually go back to school, I stumbled upon this silver lining amidst a bunch of dark grey clouds. The Washington Post, a major publication mind you, ran a story last August about the new rise of food within academia. That's right, I told you all gastronomy was a real thing to major in.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/19/AR2008081900599_pf.html

Some of the schools starting programs- UNH, Yale, UC Davis, and UC Santa Cruz. While NYU and Boston University have had programs for years.
A lot of other schools are offering classes incorporating food, an even brighter sign. Food - we all do it and most of us enjoy it, and we actually need it to survive- so shouldn't we learn about it?

um, that's MY bread

I went on a cruise a few weeks ago; quite the gastronomic experience. Anyway, on the boat, you have to go to dinner with other guests and it's set up to be formal. The food was surprisingly good, but I have to clear some etiquette up.

Everyone loves to get overwhelmed at the 8-12 pieces of silverware at their setting and usually it's a great ice breaker-"Oh my, I guess you just work your way in right?" or " I hope they have a dishwasher." Seriously though, you do work your way in. Generally speaking your appetizer/soup/salad utensils will also be smaller than the entree ones. And remember, after each course you let them go...this isn't Applebee's, you have plenty more. If you do not use the utensil (ie. you got a salad, so no soup spoon use) you do not have to put it on the plate at conclusion, but the server will take it away. The dessert and coffee/tea stuff should be on top of your plate-keep it there, they'll move it down when it's time.

Because the settings are overloaded with all kinds of glasses, utensils, and plates it can also be confusing determining what's yours. My mom being the biggest perpetrator, thankfully I was on her right so she only took my bread plate. It's difficult to remember which bread plate is whose and which glass is yours, so:

First of all, put your two hands out in front of you, or under table, and with hands open & palms facing each other, touch each index finger to the thumb of the same hand. The left hand forms a b and the right a d-fittingly because the bread plate is on the left and your drink on the right. Boom, now you are set for executive luncheons, weddings, and impressing that pompous member of your group of friends.