Eating Animals

It was with much trepidation that I decided to go see Jonathan Safran Foer speaking about his recent book, “Eating Animals”, at the Philadelphia Library. I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to hear someone expound on the horrors of animal husbandry. I’ve spent many a day thoughtfully justifying my choice to eat meat and didn’t necessarily want someone contradicting my decision. However, given that I was feeling confident with my current approach of eating meat that I know how it was raised, I was curious to hear his points against this ideology. What I heard in advance from the book referenced factory animal farming not sustainable farming techniques.

After a short reading from the book about his grandmother’s values, the discussion focused on questions from the audience, which in the end didn’t significantly address this approach. I came away feeling as if nothing very new on the topic of eating meat was revealed, particularly on the wake of Michael Pollen’s “Ominvore’s Dilemma”. But as I sat there listening to the conversation I was reminded of my own earlier thoughts that gave me pause about eating animals for both ethical and environmental reasons. The first, which first came to light while reading Pollen’s book, is that we may be able to say with a fair amount of confidence that our animal food was raised humanely, but the weak link comes in the slaughtering of pigs and cows which are processed at the same slaughterhouses as factory farmed animals due to USDA requirements. (It also applies to poultry, however the regulations are such that birds may be processed where they were raised if proper licenses are obtained). This was confirmed during my recent trip to Stone Barn Farms, the ultimate example of a sustainable farm where their livestock (other than chickens) is sent to NJ for processing.

While I haven’t read Foer’s book, I understand it covers the inhumane treatment in the typical slaughterhouse. In the book “Humane Livestock Handling” the author, Temple Grandin, illuminates how her autism has helped her understand animal instincts and behavior and has been able to use this awareness to develop recommendations for humane animal slaughtering. So while I know the capacity and knowledge for creating humane slaughterhouses is there, I don’t have much faith that is the standard practice and I have know idea how and where my locals farms are processing their meat. It made me recognize that this is a point I should be inquiring with the farmers, to show that it is important to me as a consumer.

The second personal reminder was that we Americans, including myself, eat too much meat / fish and to have an impact we should be focusing the discussion on moderation. There simply isn’t enough farm space to sustainably raise all the meat and fish at its current rate of consumption, never mind the health implications. I do believe that humans are genetically developed to eat meat; but not in American’s current quantities. Having access to sustainably raised meat has made me lax about the amount of meat I personally consume. While living in Berkeley with a biweekly subscription to a produce box from a Central Valley CSA, Farm Fresh to You, my effort focused on cooking tasty vegetarian meals at home and treating myself to meat on the occasions that I went out, particularly as many of the more sophisticated eateries were identifying the origin of their meat and fish right on the menu. I am aware though that there were many times that I ate meat out when I had no idea of how it was raised, but made the decision simply because I craved it. Now living on the east coast, with less access to an abundance of fresh local produce year round, I find myself infilling my menus at home more and more with meat while offsetting that by eating mostly vegetarian meals out. Part of the justification for this comes from the ease of ordering locally, humanely raised animals through Mugshots’ local buying club. In the days after the discussion, I made a personal commitment to eat less meat and fish.

I believe that more restaurants need to increase their efforts at offering several menu options of dishes that use little to no meat in order to encourage others to minimize their meat intake. Many will argue that people won’t order it; however, restaurants can be leaders in this arena if the creators believe in the mission. Just as Chez Panisse inspired a legion of diners to realize that they create simple, tasty dishes at home using local, seasonal ingredients without being overly complicated; dining establishments can also inspire a minimal approach to meat and fish, one where these ingredients are used to season a dish rather than being the central focus. This approach is very much in keeping with most home cooking of cultures outside the US. Here in Philadelphia, a recent edition to the restaurant scene, Horizons has gained attention for its exceptional all vegan menu while Zahav provides a stellar example what is possible with an emphasis on vegetables and grains without being vegetarian.

There seems to be a fair amount of attention on the topic of meat eating in the media recently. In the NYTimes alone in the month alone I’ve come across three articles expressing differing perspectives, in part inspired by Foer’s book. The first one is titled Carnivore’s Dilemma from a sustainable cattle farmer, followed by the review of Foer’s book and concluding with one from a vegan’s perspective, Animal, Vegetable, Miserable.

In the most recent seasons of Top Chef and Top Chef Masters, challenges included all vegan and vegetarian dishes. The resistance from the young chefs, the uncertainty from the masters and the fairly uninspired outcomes, had me realizing we have a long way to go to modify eating habits; but I appreciate that it was given high profile attention, along with other challenges involving sustainable fish and small, local farming.

While I may not feel that much new on this topic is coming out of Foer’s current book, that these topics have been discussed in well researched detail in “Omnivore’s Dilemma”, before that works by Marion Nestle, and before that “Diet for a Small Planet”, I appreciate the reminder to pay attention to my food choices and their impact on the earth. It is all too easy to forget this when confronted with the smell of bacon, the desire for a hamburger, or the appeal of inexpensive spicy chicken wings at the nearby pub. As Foer is younger than I am, I realized that with each generation comes a need to explore age-old topics from their own perspective and express those thoughts in a contemporary way that appeals to their peers. During the discussion, Foer made note that dictatorial expression of ethical choices is not likely to change behavior; that the most inspiration comes from those who are living examples of what is possible. This I truly believe.

Simple White Bean Soup and Spinach Quiche

Fall is upon us evoking the desire for a comforting bowl of warm soup. I love making soup. It can run the gamut from very simple to quite elaborate, but no matter what, the outcome is a meal in a bowl. There is lots of room for experimentation and it’s pretty hard to completely screw it up.

Recently Erika invited me over to dinner using ingredients she had sourced from Mugshots which included a quiche, sautéed green beans and peanut butter bacon cookies. I offered to make a soup as my contribution. In my cupboard I had several cans of different kinds of beans, including white beans. I grabbed the can of beans, a box of vegetable broth, some onion and garlic, a spring of dried rosemary, bay leaves, a jar of truffle olive oil and one of my favorite kitchen tools, the hand emersion blender. I am not one for fancy kitchen appliances and particularly ones that only do one task while taking up room in your cupboards. My very first immersion blender actually belonged to an ex boyfriend. I made all sorts of fun of him for what I deemed a useless appliance. Yet, but the time we split up I was a convert and got to keep his blender which lasted me nearly 15 more years. There’s a lot to be said for a small appliance that saves you from having to pour a vat of hot liquid into another appliance; it saves on the cleaning and is less hazardous. Having an option to make a blended soup adds a level of refinement to the dish and provides for more variations.

Arriving with all the ingredients, I was able to make the soup in 20 minutes. Here’s how to make it. Saute some chopped garlic and onion in olive oil and then add the can of beans. Don’t bother draining them as the liquid makes a great base for the soup. Add 3 cups of broth, a sprig of rosemary (a shorter sprig if fresh), 2 bay leaves and some salt. Let every boil and then simmer for 15 minutes to absorb the flavor of the herbs. Remove the whole herbs. Blend the soup until creamy. Add more broth if necessary for your desired consistency. Then ladle into bowls and serve with a dash olive oil (I used the truffle oil) and fresh ground pepper.

Since the soup was so quick, I was able to help Erika with the quiche. The quiche was so delicious and surprisingly quick that I want to share the recipe for that as well. The original recipe from Gourmet magazine but the filling we completely changed to winterize it as it was a recipe for a summer squash quiche. Erika pulled a recipe off the web for a quick easy crust and whipped that together while I was making the soup, so I don’t have that information to share. I was impressed by the recipe though as it was quick and the end product tasted flakey and crisp. I’ve typically been using the Pilsbury pre-made dough for my pie crusts, but seeing how easy this was I might have to reconsider next time. She didn’t have a rolling pin, but a full bottle of wine works pretty well for rolling out the dough. Once the dough was rolled out, she laid it in the pie plate. In order to save some time, we did not pre-cook the crust as the recipe indicated. It still turned out wonderfully. We sautéed onions together chopped bacon (about 1/3 lb) in the same pan and then drained off the excess fat (saving it for use at another time). Then we added a bunch of chopped spinach to the pan, cooking briefly until wilted. In a bowl we mixed 3/4 c of gruyere cheese, 3/4 c of whole milk, 3./4 c of half and half, two eggs, along with a pinch of nutmeg and cayenne and whisked together. We then added the spinach mixture and poured into the pie crust and baked at 375 until set and the crust was browned, about 30 minutes. It needed a little time to cool before cutting during which time we enjoyed the soup as our first course. The bacon could have easily been eliminated from this dish for a vegetarian option.

I brought over a bottle of Root (mentioned in previous post, Reinterpreting Pedestrian Dishes), so we mixed up an appropriately autumnal cocktail using 1/3 Root and 2/3 fresh apple cider (from a local farm and pesticide free as apples are particularly prone to retaining the chemicals). It was served over ice with fresh ginger slices.

We ran out of time and steam to bake the peanut butter bacon cookies. Erika did bring me a few the next day. I was dubious about the concept, but if you think about carmelized bacon or honey ham it’s not that far off the mark. I enjoyed the smokey flavor in conjunction with the peanut butter; although was a little less thrilled about the pieces of chewy meat. I wondered what the cookie might taste like if only bacon lard was used and not the meat….it gives me another option of something to do with all my saved bacon fat.

Reinterpreting Pedestrian Dishes

I recently had the opportunity to dine at two relatively new Philadelphia establishments, Village Whiskey and Midatlantic Restaurant and Tap Room. Both places share a similar approach to their menu, which is to take traditional, pedestrian dishes and elevate them to a finer dining level. Village Whiskey’s spin on this borrows from southern, style comfort food while Midatlantic’s interpretation comes from typical Pennsylvania Dutch fare with influences from surrounding mid-Atlantic regions, such as crab from the Chesapeake.

Village Whiskey is the brain child of Jose Garces who is the hot chef du jour with 6 restaurants, 5 of them here in our city of brotherly love and one in Chicago, and a contestant spot on the most recent Next Iron Chef. My first encounter with Garces’ food was merely by chance. Passing Amada on the way to a show, a friend and I noted how appealing the place seemed with its dark wood interiors, candlelight and Spanish tapas menu. We returned after the play, took seats at the bar and were treated to an unexpectedly wonderful meal beginning with the tuna and caper amuse-bouche all the way to the almond tuile finale. For quite some time it’s been my favored restaurant here and the go-to place for friends from out of town. I was super excited to hear about Garces’ latest endeavor, especially given my penchant for whiskey.

Robert and I headed over there on a Friday night during his recent visit. Village Whiskey is located on a corner in Center City right next to one of Garces’ other establishments, Tinto. The place is small. The long, narrow space with its high booth seating and whiskey wall display has more of a cozy bistro feel than formal restaurant. Robert had a beer while I ordered a classic old-fashioned highlighting their signature alcohol. I think Robert preferred my beverage choice. The appetizer menu is rife with comfort food; tater tots, cheese puffs and spicy popcorn shrimp. We ordered the deviled eggs which did not disappoint. The most unique starter options however, are the pickles; baby carrots, golden beets, cherry tomatoes, artichokes, and even white anchovies. I would have liked to try the anchovies while Robert’s choice was the beets, so we compromised on the artichokes. All the pickles are served in a glass pickling jar with whipped marscapone, tapenade and bruschetta on the side – definitely refining the notion of pickles. The starters also include raw oysters. Next time I think I will try the Cape May Salts.

Burgers and specialty toppings figure prominently on the menu. As my deconstructed bacon cheeseburger raviolis, previously blogged about, didn’t really satisfy my craving for a hamburger, we ordered a burger with carmelized onions, blue cheese and bacon to share. Not for the diet conscious, but so satisfying. The beef is from sustainably, farm-raised cows in Maine.

The menu includes a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw, but I had read so much about their short ribs with Sly Fox cheddar sauce and duck fat fries that we had to order that. With the current trend of embracing fat rather than avoiding it, duck fat potatoes don’t seem so unusual these days. Tasting the dish, which comes to the table in a black cast-iron skillet, I had a strong sensation of eating a familiar food. The intensely rich cheese sauce is made with local beer from Sly Fox and a special ingredient, Cheese Whiz! It finally came to me that the plate was reminiscent of eating a gourmet, baked potato with bacon and cheese toppings. The dish was so rich that between the two of us we couldn’t finish it. We asked the waitress to box it up for us and she gave us the great tip that this particular left-over is delicious for breakfast, which indeed it was with eggs over easy and sautéed tomatoes with harissa.

Even the dessert options are refined variations on low-brow, kid-appealing choices – sundaes, strawberry shortcake and smores. With all the rich food we had earlier, I don’t think we could have handled the chocolate dishes, so we went for the shortcake, which didn’t have any difficulty being consumed.

The Midatlantic Tap Room’s interpretation on pedestrian dishes is similar, but the concept goes farther with the seasonal, local and sustainable effort marrying well with the regional dish theme. Being with a larger group this time was a plus as it meant we were able to try more dishes on their substantial menu. The notably, unique option this time came from the cocktails, particularly those using Root. Root beer when first crafted, pre-temperance, was an alcoholic beverage called root tea made from birch bark, sarsaparilla, and other roots and spices. A small Philadelphia business collaborative consisting of mostly artists has now reformulated this old recipe and it is distributing it commercially in PA and online in some states. The alcohol at 80 proof, is not for the faint of heart. It smells sweetly but has a very herbal, almost medicinal taste when drunk straight over the rocks. It does pair well in mixed cocktails. Their website has a wonderful collection of drink recipes. The cocktail I ordered was the Root mint julep, which tasted very much like it’s namesake mixed with traditional root beer.

The menu is so full of comfort food options and dishes with unusual items, like salsify (a native root vegetable) and spicy pig wings and welsh rarebit fondue and broccoli steak that it was impossible to know what to order, so we asked our chatty waiter. He was definitely a pork man and recommended several dishes with pork. Scrapple, a famous Philadelphia dish, figures prominently on the menu in several variations; traditional pork, crab, chicken and veggie style. Liz recalled having welsh rarebit fondue growing up and recommended that as one of the starters. I still don’t really know what the name has to do with it, but it’s basically a fondue that was served with soft pretzels for dipping. The gravy fries, more like fried hash browns, were extra rich when dipped in the fondue. The spicy pig wings were like eating szechaun pork but the molasses gave it a specific regional flavor. The broccoli steak was not a steak but a whole, sliced broccoli plant, grilled and shaped into a patty and served with a cheese sauce and a spatzle like noodle casserole on the side. It was a very comforting, fall option. Others ordered the seafood stew and the crab scrapple cakes. The stew was more like a casserole than a stew, but still hearty. Crab scrapple is in essence a crab cake, just shaped differently. It’s good, but with so much on the menu to order it might not be my first choice other than it’s uniqueness. The pork is sourced from Berks county and so based on the waiter’s recommendation Liz and I both ordered the roast pork with apple fritters and sauerkraut. The flavors of the dish were very complimentary, but my issue was with the ratio of the ingredients. The amount of meat to the sides was a little overwhelming for my taste. I hadn’t been expected a thick pork chop, but something more like sliced, slow-roasted roasted pork. There were hardly any apples or fritters on the dish and the sauerkraut was really more like sautéed cabbage. Despite that, I really liked the concept of the dish. I ended up taking home half my plate and reinventing my leftovers into a something more like what I envisioned when ordering. I sliced up the pork and cabbage, added some more butter sautéed apples from the farmer’s market and heated it up in frying pan then served it on baked puff pastry shells topped it with raw, organic sauerkraut from Wills Valley Farm in Lancaster.

They also have prix fixe options and specials that correspond to the night of the week. Some in the group were commenting about coming back on Wednesdays for the hot dogs or Tuesdays for the chicken and dumplings.

The desserts were really fun…and humorously named. We had a good laugh about how the root beer sticky buns are really meant to be ordered with the apple long john. The table shared a Peach Buckle, which is like a cobbler, served with buttermilk ice cream and a “Philly-style” butterscotch bread pudding. The latter brings in its local flare as it is made using Tastykake’s Krimpets for the bread base. Tastykake is a homegrown Philadephia company making products similar to Hostess cakes. Apparently the restaurant scrapes off the icing from the Krimpet, cooks it into a bread pudding and adds its own butterscotch icing and maple dipping sauce. Again I loved the concept but was a little less wowed by the actual product, which was a little dense and bland. I was surprised that shoo-fly pie, so traditional of the Pennsylvania Dutch, was not a dessert option.

The restaurant itself is in a beautiful space with tall ceilings, reclaimed barn wood panels on the walls and inventive light fixtures made from old fluorescent light tubes to create the outer barrel casings befitting of the local and sustainable food theme. The service was top notch as well. I sure hope it thrives despite being on a rather under-populated stretch of Market between 37^th street and 38^th. I’ll definitely be back – next time with my mother to celebrate her birthday.

In uncertain times, it’s nice to have restaurant options that offer comforting foods reminiscent of growing up and particular to a certain region. And something even nicer when their presentation, ingredients and flavor profile are refined but still recognizable as that satisfying dish that you find yourself craving.

The Food Trust Fundraiser

The Food Trust is a Philadelphia based non-profit that has achieved national recognition for its efforts to promote and ensure access to affordable, healthy food for everyone, particularly low income individuals and school-aged children. The Comprehensive School Nutrition Policy and Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative are two of the organization’s well-known efforts. The latter initiative centers on encouraging supermarket development in communities with little to no access to nutritious food. It also provided me direct experience with the organization as our firm, Re:Vision Architecture, was selected by the non-profit to develop a report on Greening Grocery on which I became the primary author. This involvement gave me personal insight to the group’s vision, dedication and energy while reinforcing my personal beliefs and efforts around sustainable food practices.

So, I enthusiastically accepted Erika’s suggestion that we attend a wine, chocolate, and cheese tasting class, featuring all local products, and fundraiser for the The Food Trust’s farmers’ market at Headhouse Square in Philadelphia. Initially the class was scheduled to be at the shambles, the covered outdoor plaza, at Headhouse, but with the forecast northeastern storm heading in, The Food Trust scrambled to find another location. The restaurant, Supper, generously offered free use of their communal dining area on the second floor for the event. With its warm, and inviting interior, a bit like a contemporary farm home, Supper, was the perfect location for the event. My boyfriend, Robert, and I sat at the bar, sipping wine while we waited for the first class to finish. I’ve never dined at the restaurant, which serves New American cuisine, but after experiencing the space, it’s definitely on my list. I am particularly excited about their Sunday Suppers, a family-style, prix fixe meal served on the first Sunday of each month also benefiting The Food Trust.

The class was run by Rolling Barrel, an event planning group, that focuses on showcasing food and drink of the Philadelphia region. The very effusive host, Corey, explained the various items we tasted. We were served a plate with an assortment of cheeses and chocolates aligned on the dish to correspond with each of the five tasting courses, that were also paired with a local wine. The cheeses included a raw cow’s milk cheddar and a creamy goat feta while the chocolate range included a solid dark, truffles and fudge made with blue cheese from Birchrun Hill Farms. My favorite cheese was the raw cheddar, while the most remarkable chocolate was the madras truffle that had a creamy center flavored with cardamom. I wasn’t a big fan of the wines, finding them to sweet or too young, although I appreciate the concept of pairing the food with local wines. I am not quite convinced that we have a region conducive to growing wine grapes. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and the family style seating was conducive to conversation with the other attendees. I was floored to find I was seated across the table from the mother of very good high school friend!

Both before and after the class, most of the vendors were selling their products that we had sampled. As with a farmer’s market, it’s nice to have direct contact with those creating the products. Ironically, Shellbark Farms, makers of chevre and feta cheeses, can not get a stand at the West Chester Farmer’s Market, even though they are located in that very town, as the market is so popular. That’s a good sign for farmer’s markets I suppose. I purchased an assortment of spicy fudges from Betty’s Buttons, the blue cheese that was used in the fudge and a raw milk horseradish cheddar from Hillacres Pride. Perhaps the cheddar will make a hearty macaroni and cheese or a grilled cheese with jalapeno peppers.

Below is a list of the cheeses, chocolates and wines and their makers that were sampled during the evening.

First pairing:

Crossing Vineyards Blush NV, Washington Crossing, PA

Hillacres Pride Cheddar, Peach Bottom PA

LoveBar 68% Dark Ecuadorian Chocolate, Philadelphia, PA

Second Pairing:

Pinnacle Ridge Blanc de Blanc NV, Kutztown, PA

Patches of Star Dairy Cream Feta, Nazareth PA

Marcie Blaine Artisanal Chocolates Madras Truffle, Philadelphia, PA

Third Pairing:

Chaddsford Pinot Noir 2007, Chadds Ford, PA

Shellbark Chevre, West Chester, PA

Fourth Pairing:

Stargazers Dornfelder 2007, Coatesville, PA

Birchrun Hills Farm “Fat Cat” Raw Cow’s Milk Cheese, Chester Springs, PA

John and Kira’s Starry Night Truffle, Philadelphia, PA

Fifth Pairing

Chaddsford Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Bettys Tasty Buttons Blue Sue, Philadelphia, PA

Roasted Vegetable Burritos

At my last visit to the Manayunk Farmer’s Market, I picked up a large sweet potato and some red bell peppers at the Amish farmer’s stall. My thought had been to make some stuffed red peppers. Stuffed peppers have always struck me as a dish popular in the 70’s; at least I recall my mother often experimenting the dish with us as her guinea pigs. I have never liked cooked green peppers – whether they were served baked and stuffed or frequently found as filler in dishes served at cheap Chinese eateries, so I initially thought I wasn’t a fan of stuffed peppers. Once I figured out it was not actually the medley filling the edible container, but the pepper itself, I have been trying different variations of peppers for this dish. Most of my success has come with stuffed poblanos, the mildly spicy green pepper used in chile rellenos. They are both smoky tasting and healthy when roasted first and then stuffed and baked. So I mistakenly thought the same logic should apply to the red bell pepper. They completely lost all semblance of shape and tore after roasting and peeling; the problem being both that they contain more water than a poblano and that I roasted them too long. So I cut them into strips thinking I'd figure out something to do with roasted red peppers, a common Italian antipasti dish.

Meanwhile, I had cooked brown rice and prepared the sweet potato by cubing, rubbing with oil and salt and roasting that. That was to be the majority of the filling. I put everything in containers and decided the next day I would make a Mediterranean fried rice; ie the filling for the peppers with the roasted peppers mixed in.

That next day Sam called and asked if I wanted to come over to watch a Phillies play-off game. If so, what food did we have that could be cobbled together and enjoyed while watching baseball. Well, I had the fried rice ingredients while she had chicken and tortillas. Great, we decided to make a variation on burritos. Sam diced the chicken and marinated it in taco seasoning, cayenne and garlic. It was then fried in a skillet and doused with lime juice and cilantro.

For the rice portion, I fried it in olive oil with chopped onion, garlic and half a habanero pepper from my co-worker, Chris’ garden. I would have added the entire pepper, but thought it was better to err on the mild side as those things can be bloody hot, even for me. Some people suggest seeding hot peppers; however in a cooking class that I took in Oaxaca the instructor stated that the seeds are the heart of the pepper and that one should just use less of it rather than throw out the seeds. The roasted sweet potato and red peppers and fresh, diced tomatoes were added next. After the mix was heated through, the heat was turned off and fresh local feta from Apple Tree Goat Dairy and cilantro completed the rice filling.

On the side I made fresh guacamole using Haas avocados, garlic, cayenne, salt and lime juice. (I know, I know…avocados are certainly not local. It’s one of the produce items I have a hard time giving up). Other condiments also included a yogurt sauce with dill and homemade tomatilla salsa prepared by Sam. The flour tortillas were heated and we were ready for family style assembly. The meal also included fryer peppers with a stewed tomato topping that Sam’s friend Jeannie made. The most satisfying meals usually involve a group effort.

It was an international twist on a burrito – a bit Mexican, a bit Indian, and a bit Mediterranean with a kick. A healthy, simple dish that is easily eaten while enjoying baseball. Unfortunately the game that night was cancelled due to rain and extreme cold in Denver, but good food, conversation and company was still enjoyed by all.

The Flying Pig Saloon

Discovering and sampling the eateries unique to the neighborhood is another enjoyable part of sourcing your food locally. It’s the combination of the atmosphere, the food and the people that come together to make the location a memorable experience rather than a predictably forgettable one, typical of chain operations.

One would not say Malvern is a hot spot of dining activity, but even sleepy little towns have their jewels. Although most would probably describe Malvern as a suburb, it does have a charming little historic main street, typical of most towns in the greater Philadelphia area. On a work related drive through Malvern, I noticed a corner pub with an eye-catching sign, one with a painting of a pig with wings and made a note that it would be a fun place to check out one day. So The Flying Pig Saloon came to mind last week when Erika and I were looking for a place to eat after seeing a play there in town at the People’s Light Theater.

It was as fun and unusual as the sign made it appear. The interior is a typical pub style place with lots of wood – wainscoting, tables, bar and stools. The crowd on a Thursday night at 10pm was pretty low key and mixed in age. The large picture windows, sparkling cord lights and various flying pig ornaments hanging everywhere made the place feel both welcoming and cozy. While there are tv’s running in the place (it is baseball play-off season after all), their audio did not overhwhelm the space. The best part about the place is the beer selection and the menu. There is a beer for everyone there – from locally brewed, to Belgian and other European specialty beers, to the inexpensive and vastly brewed American lagers. There’s quite a decent variety on tap as well. Being the start of fall, trying a seasonal autumnal brew seemed like a good idea. They had a pumpkin ale from Smuttynose on tap. We were told that it was “from around here”. I later discovered that it’s actually from New Hampshire. I suppose when you serve beer from Belgium, New Hampshire seems nearby. It was nicely spicy and mildly sweet, like many a pumpkin ale, and went down well with our food selection.

Of course, being in an eatery with a pig as its icon, how could we not order a pork dish. Erika decided on the Tipsy Pig which was a toasted ham and cheese sandwich on a ciabatta roll served with a beer “au jus” dipping sauce, while I chose the bbq pork sandwich on a French roll with coleslaw. I ordered it with hot pepper toppings. The bbq pork was reminiscent of the bbq I had in North Carolina. It’s served chopped with a vinegary bbq sauce and includes the crispy bits also known as “outside brown”. I enjoyed eating my sandwich with the coleslaw inside it as the cool, crunchiness of the slaw was a nice balance to the soft, spicy bbq meat. Both choices were flavorful and comforting. All in all the experience was definitely pleasing. I’ll be back to The Flying Pig Saloon should I find myself in search of a place to hang out in Malvern again.

Stuffed Squash Blossoms

My first encounter with squash blossoms was the summer I was working as an architectural intern in a small hill town, Borro, in Italy. The group of us were measuring and documenting the existing buildings of the village. In exchange for our labor we were provided with room and lunch cooked daily by a lovely older Italian woman, Graziella. What was typical for Italians was gourmet for us and regularly included freshly home-made pasta. I consumed many dishes that I had never eaten in my 22 years – gnocchi, rabbit, wild boar, and fried squash blossoms. It’s hard not to like fried dishes, but who would think to make and eat deep fried flowers in the first place? They were remarkably unique - delicate, light and crispy – not at all heavy like much battered food can be.

It was at least a dozen years before I encountered them again while dining with my mother at Hawthorne Lane in San Francisco. The meal was one of my most memorable restaurant meals to date and I believe it is because of the salad with stuffed squash blossoms that came with my prix fixe meal. Not only did it bring back memories of my meals that one summer, but having them stuffed also made them notably different. At first you encounter the crispiness of the delicate casing followed by the creaminess of the seasoned cheese. Since that evening I have been on a quest to find squash blossoms so that I could try making the dish for myself rather than having to hope they will turn up again on a restaurant menu. Year after year, I requested and was promised squash blossoms from my CSA while in CA, but disappointingly they never showed up in my box. I even recall being out for a walk one evening and seeing the flowers of the zucchini plant growing in the planting strip of the sidewalk. I was so tempted to abscond with them, but then thought better as I might be robbing someone of their rightful treat.

It wasn’t until arriving in Philadelphia that I managed to get a hold of them. Last year I was able to purchase them through the buying club at Mugshots. I ordered them along with the local goat cheese from Apple Tree Goat Dairy. Success! I made my first batch of stuffed, beet batter fried blossoms and shared the bounty with friends. They were a big hit. This year I asked at the Manayunk Farmer’s market if they would be selling them. The woman at the Henry’s Got Crops stand seemed pleasantly surprised someone was asking for them. She said they would have some the following week. Well, clearly someone else has a penchant for these flowers as for the next two weeks they were all sold before I made it to the market. By the third week, they nicely saved a bunch on the side for me.

The summer squash production has been unusually long this year. Typically by this time, they are finished for the season. So I was thrilled when Jenn, my employer, asked if I would like some of the blossoms from her home garden. Last night I made what I am guessing will be my final batch of stuffed blossoms until next summer. Knowing that, makes them even more delectable. I served them over a bed of baby spinach with sliced heirloom tomatoes, a light grating of parmesan, chopped parsley, and juice of half a lemon. It’s a full meal just like that.

Here’s the recipe I have been using:

http://homecooking.about.com/od/vegetablerecipes/r/blv261.htm

And here are some additional tips:

- The stamen is edible in the blossom along with the rest of the flower, so need to worry about removing it.

- It works well if you leave the stem on as it functions nicely as a handle when coating it in the batter.

- It also works best if you fill the flower by using a pastry bag as it is so delicate. I don’t have a pastry bag so I just use a Ziploc bag with the tip cut off.

- Coat the flower just lightly with the batter and shake off excess before frying . That helps keep it from getting too heavy

- Don’t bother to go out of your way to procure celery salt – it tastes good without it.

- I eliminated the cream cheese and used all goat cheese as it was simpler and better tasting.

- Try using peanut oil for the frying in place of vegetable oil (it’s supposed to be the best oil for high temperature cooking)

- Try frying the extra batter like a funnel cake - just drizzle it into the oil at the end. I added some seasoning, cayenne and cumin, to the batter before doing so. It makes a wonderful crispy snack. I learned this one from Sam.

Homemade Pizza; Caprese Style

I do believe in using shortcuts when cooking. Making a meal shouldn’t be so time consuming on a daily basis that people start believing they can’t or shouldn’t cook at all. Yes, most dishes do taste better when made completely from scratch (brownies, corn bread and pasta seem to be my personal exceptions), but the trick is finding the right pre-made substitution. If I cook a whole chicken, I will make chicken stock from the leftover carcass, but I use much more broth than I am cooking chickens, so of course I am going to use a packaged substitution. Typically I was using bullion cubes or paste, until I started to pay attention to what is in them when I was cooking for a friend who is allergic to msg. It’s amazing how many ingredients are in one little cube and how impossible it is to find any without msg. So now I most often use the boxed broth – both chicken and vegetable from Trader Joe’s – at least I recognize the ingredients.

Trader Joe’s has been my food staple savior out here. While they are not typically known for supplying local foods, they have been doing a better job of sourcing and marketing some produce items from the area. Plus, they really can’t be beat for their prices on organic items. Most of my staples, like canned beans, nuts, nut butters, avocados, limes and fresh corn tortillas, all come from TJ’s. The one thing I don’t really like is how they wrap their produce in so much packaging. Fortunately, the Ardmore Farmer’s Market is right across the street from my local TJ’s. It’s a good alternative, as they supply fresh fish, meat and produce. (However, I still haven’t gotten over not being able to stock up on decent, inexpensive alcohol at Trader Joe’s here in PA).

I recently discovered that Trader Joe’s carries frozen garlic naan, which I purchased figuring I would make an Indian dish to serve with the bread. Tonight I wanted to make something quick for dinner and was looking at what I had in my kitchen - left over tomato sauce from the ravioli dish, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, and heirloom tomatoes. That’s when I started thinking the naan might also make a good individual pizza crust – especially with the garlic. The frozen naan comes thin and nicely oven toasted so that it has a wonderful thin crust pizza quality already. All it required was spreading the tomato sauce over the frozen naan, coating with grated mozzarella (1/4 ball) and parmesan (1 tbs) and topping with sliced fresh tomatoes, chopped basil and red pepper flakes. It cooked for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. The entire dish required less than 30 minutes from start to table.

I am not sure if there is an official Italian pizza called “caprese pizza” but since the so named salad uses most of those ingredients, it seemed like a good name for the pizza as well. Making it myself meant that I could control the type and amount of cheese that went on the pizza. I prefer the fresh mozzarella over the drier, more rubbery alternative and it doesn’t need a lot to be tasty. Just because it’s “pizza” doesn’t mean it has to be bad for you. This particular serving has 316 calories, 9.5 grams of fat and 3 grams of fiber (that’s only 6 points for WW followers). Next time I might add roasted eggplant for an even heartier plate.

Interestingly enough, all the ingredients came from Trader Joes’s so maybe I should have called it “my homage to Trader Joe’s”.

Mushrooms 3 Ways

Risotto Ai Funghi

Armed with two paper bags full of a variety of locally grown mushrooms from the recent mushroom festival, I needed to decide what dishes would best highlight their flavor. While studying Italian and living in Rosignano Maritimo the summer before my school year in Venice, we were often fed mushroom risotto as wild “funghi” are commonly found in Italy. At the time, since I was not a fan of mushrooms, I ate the meal with little enthusiasm. Now seemed like a good time to give the dish another chance.

Risotto is best eaten right when it is done cooking while the texture is still creamy. In Italy, when you order risotto, you know they are making it to order as they tell you it will be at least 20 minutes. I’ve not had much success with risotto in the US, so I typically make it at home rather than order it out. Knowing that there would be a big pot of risotto to consume, I invited some friends over for dinner. Sam, having gone to the mushroom festival with me, brought mushroom soup. It was full of flavor and nicely creamy without being too thick. The mushrooms used included the portobellos, baby bellas, and enoki, in addition to potatoes and chick peas which gave the soup a hearty quality.

We started the night with almonds, cubed manchego cheese and local cheddar cheese made from raw milk, olives, and spicy Philly Pickles along with a cocktail that included citron vodka, fresh lime juice, triple sec and pomegranate juice in equal proportions. The first course was the mushroom soup while the mushroom risotto and garlic green beans with tarragon were the main course. The mushroom flavor was very apparent in the risotto while the creamy texture of the rice, broth and cheese mixture was comforting; definitely a dish I appreciated this time around.

The dinner was served with a Chardonnay from Crane Lake in Napa, which is a decent wine for $6. Pennsylvania, with its archaic alcohol regulations seemingly left over from prohibition, is an extremely frustrating place to shop for wine. The selection is very limited and every “State Store” has exactly the same options, which cost more than other states due to the higher liquor taxes.

For dessert, my co-worker, Gaylen, brought tiramisu. What a perfect finish to the rest of the meal! It was excellent and surprising to find something so delicious came from the Acme Supermarket. The density of the cake was ideal – not too heavy and not too airy, perfectly absorbent – so that each forkful with the cream, cocoa, coffee and liquor was transformed into a sublime bite.

Here’s how to make the mushroom risotto:

Ingredients

12 oz of mushrooms (an type will do. I used portobellos, baby bellas, and hen of the woods)

herbes de Provence (or other dried herbs like thyme or oregano)

butter

olive oil

1/2 large chopped onion

1 1/2 cups of Arborio rice

5 cups of chicken broth (or vegetable broth). I like the boxed kind from Trader Joes but bullion works fine to.

1/2 c white wine

3/4 c of fresh grated parmesan

1/2 c of half and half.

Chopped parsely

Start by preparing the mushrooms. Clean them by using a dry paper towel to wipe them off. Don’t wash them with water or they will get soggy. Pull the stems off the mushrooms. If using portobellos, scrape off the dark layer on the underside of the cap. I just learned this at the mushroom festival. I think it’s because the taste can be bitter. Slice the mushrooms and sauté in butter with salt and some dried herbs. I used herbs de Provence that a friend brought back from France. I like how their earthy flavor of savory, fennel, basil, thyme and lavender compliments the mushrooms. Start with about 3 tbs of butter, adding more if needed for the mushrooms to be completely coated. Cook until the mushrooms are soft, about 3 minutes. Set aside. Many recipes have you cook the risotto condiments in with the rice to further the flavor absorption into the rice. I tend to decide based on the ingredient. Since mushrooms can be a bit delicate in form, I add them towards the end so that they maintain their size rather than breaking down in the dish.

On the stove top, heat the broth to a low, continuous simmer. Add salt if the broth is unsalted. Meanwhile, sauté the onion in a little olive oil until soft in a large pot. A cast iron pot is great for this dish as it evenly distributes the heat and helps prevent the rice from burning. I used my Le Creuset 3 quart soup pot which is one of my most valued and used kitchen implements – well worth the investment. Add the rice, coating with the oil, then add the wine and stir often over medium heat. Once all the wine is absorbed start adding the warm broth a half cup at a time – again stirring often and adding more liquid until almost all absorbed. When the rice is nearly cooked (about 18 minutes) add the mushrooms and most of the grated cheese, leaving some to sprinkle over the dish when serving. Then add the half and half and any more broth needed to finish the rice. The stove should be turned off when most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is still ever so slightly al dente as it will continue to cook after the heat is off. Mix in the parsley and pepper to taste then let the dish cool slightly, but serve immediately after while the texture is still creamy and warm. Sprinkle with the rest of the grated cheese. While this dish is best served right away, this is not to say the left-overs are anything to snub!

Mushroom Bruschetta

Erika, a friend whom I met through my local coffee shop, Mugshots, when she was coordinating their local food buying club, invited me to dinner last week. We had seen the movie “Julie and Julia” together which inspired her to try more Julia Child recipes. This night she was preparing a pan fried chicken breast cooked, of course, in clarified butter. I appreciate the recent trend back to using fat, particularly butter. One thing I learned from my success with Weight Watchers is to allow yourself the things you enjoy in moderation rather than overcompensating with more of the less caloric but ultimately less satisfying foods. Two bites of cambozola cheese are much more satisfying that five bites of any fat free cheese. And the soft, yellow butter from the local amish farms here is the best I have tasted – truly a treat.

I wanted to bring a dish to share with the meal – something quick and simple that would use a fair amount of the mushrooms that I still had from the festival. An appetizer is usually a good item to contribute as there is less concern about it conflicting with the main meal your host is making. Bruschetta, toasted garlic bread with any number of toppings, came to mind. I prepared the mushrooms the same way I did for the risotto above. For the bread, I toasted slices of pumpkin seed roll that came from Winnie’s Le Bus, so named as they used to sell their bread from a bus in West Philly. It’s now my favorite, local Manayunk restaurant that has comforting, well made and well priced food in a cozy, brick and timber space on Main Street. I had planned on buying a baguette but they were all out. This was actually fortuitous as the seeded bread improved the dish with its nutty texture.

After the bread was toasted in the oven, I brushed the slices with olive oil and rubbed a garlic clove over each piece. After that, I just topped it with the warm mushrooms, some grated parmesan, chopped Italian parsley and a sprinkle of salt. Buon apetito!

“Deconstructed” Bacon, Mushroom, Cheeseburger

The most recent episode of Top Chef had the contestants deconstructing a classic dish such as Eggs Florentine, Rueben Sandwiches and Meat Lasagna. Basically it meant that the participants were to take the typical ingredients of their traditional dish and reinterpret them such that they may no longer resemble the original dish but the taste is reminiscent of it. This seemed like a tough, unfamiliar challenge and you could see a lot of the cooks struggled with it. It made me wonder what I might be able to “deconstruct”.

Recently I have been craving hamburgers, but haven’t given in as my personal policy has been to try to avoid eating beef unless I know how it was raised and processed. I ordered grass fed beef from a local farm through Mugshots, so I could make a burger. In my refrigerator were mushrooms, bacon and goat cheese as I was intending to try a variation on the stuffed mushroom that Miguel Morales made at the festival. I could make a traditional mushroom, bacon, and onion cheeseburger – or I could try make a deconstructed burger. What I came up with was ravioli (the pasta being the bread) stuffed with these ingredients and topped with a spicy red sauce as the “ketchup”.

I enjoy experimenting with ravioli as it offers an opportunity to create “the perfect bite” through variations on fillings, but making the pasta confounds me. How can something with just three ingredients be so hard to make? Plus who has that kind of time? I previously searched out and found pre-made sheets of pasta at the farmer’s market in Ardmore which served me well enough, however I recently discovered an even better option – egg roll wrappers! They have the exact same ingredients as pasta and available at most grocery stores. I like how they are rolled so thin as the filling can really stand out is not overwhelmed by a doughy pasta.

I cooked all the ingredients separately, mixed them together, filled the pasta and made a red sauce. The end product was very tasty – one where the mushrooms certainly stood out, but I don’t know that it REALLY tasted like a cheeseburger, perhaps more of an innovative take on beef stroganoff…so I still need to satisfy the burger desire. In the meantime, here’s how to make the ravioli.

Ingredients

Filling:

1/2 lb grass fed ground beef

3/4 lb of assorted mushrooms (I recommend most anything but button mushrooms)

olive oil

4 oz. goat cheese

1/4 onion, diced

dried herbs

3 slices of bacon

Egg roll wrappers (you can use wonton wrappers as well)

One beaten egg

Sauce

1 28 oz can of tomatoes (diced is easier)

1/2 diced onion

2 to 3 cloves of diced garlic

salt, dried herbs and crushed red pepper to taste

chopped Italian parsley

Wipe the mushrooms clean with a dry paper towel. Dice to a fine crumble or pulse in a food processor. Sautee in oil until coated, add dried herbs (again I used the multipurpose herbes de Provence). Set aside. Fry the bacon until crispy, crumble and set aside. Reserve some of the bacon fat. Saute the onion and ground beef in the reserved fat until the meat is completely cooked. Break down the meat into very small bits while cooking. Mix all of the above and add the goat cheese to coat and bind it all together. Taste and add salt if needed. One can make this a vegetarian dish by eliminating the meat and doubling the mushroom quantity. I would also suggest adding some toasted pine nuts.

Dust a cutting board with flour and layout two sheets of the egg roll wrappers, cut into four equal squares. Remove the top squares from the bottom squares and place a dollop of the meat mixture on each square. Brush the beaten egg around the four sides of each square and seal the top square over the filling and bottom square. The egg will be the glue to hold the ravioli together. Continue doing this until the filling is gone. Then dust the bunch with some more flour so they don’t stick together.

To make the sauce, sauté the onion and garlic together until soft, then add the canned tomatoes, herbs, salt and crushed red peppers. Cook at a simmer while filling the ravioli. Check and stir every so often. When the sauce has sufficiently thickened, puree it. I find an immersion blender is perfect for this task.

Cook the ravioli in boiling salted water for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and serve topped with the red sauce, grated parmesan and chopped parsley.