Faves No. 199

favorite finds from the front lines of food

Smooth, creamy and totally worth the hype. No, I’m not talking about Mr. Hollywood.

Yes, I’m talking about the pastel de nata.

Pastel de Nata performed by Blue Dot Sessions in their album Orange Cat. Please support the artist by listening and sharing their songs. Thanks!

Bloomberg takes a look at why this simple yet amazing pastry is getting so much attention. It has become so popular that it has earned a spot on the Great British Bake Off contest, can cost as much as $4 in fancy cafes all while Lidl reported selling 2,000 nata an hour (in the UK) in 2018. (Bloomberg)


And while we are on the subject, this little jazz piece is just a smooth as nata from Belem.

What crop will be likely to do well in the face of climate change? The humble hazelnut, of course. In short - ‘Their deep roots search out nutrients and water, making them less susceptible to drought. Orchards hold dirt in place and keep fertilizers from washing off and fouling waterways. Nuts are also slow to spoil — which means they could be a year-round staple, rather than a seasonal treat.’ (Grist)

Impossible….Beyond….the fast food nation finally got the memo! A slough of burger brands, like Burger King, have embraced the Impossible Burger and later this week Del Taco will be launching a meatless “meat” taco line. (Vox)

Faves No. 198

favorite finds from the front lines of food

The Cannabis Edition

A glass bong full of porcini mushroom broth and smoke at the French Laundry in Yountville.Photo: Soleil Ho / The Chronicle

A glass bong full of porcini mushroom broth and smoke at the French Laundry in Yountville.

Photo: Soleil Ho / The Chronicle

Its not just my opinion…..chefs have identified cannabis infused foods as a smoking hot top trend for 2019. Time to look into those private supper clubs and maybe a trip to Canada. (CNBC)

Firmly planted tongue -in-cheek creativity is on deck for insiders at the French Laundry. Amazing food writer Soleil Ho had the pleasure of being served “dirty bong water” and I am jealous. (SFGate)

But what to drink? CBD beer is making waves in Colorado and will hopefully lead to impactful change.

“The biggest challenge, by far, has been the convoluted legal environment,” says Mason “Dude” Hembree, president and co-founder of Dad & Dude’s International, an Aurora, Colorado-based company that operates a brewery and restaurant. The father-son pair make the CBD-infused beer General Washington’s Secret Stash, a 6.5% abv IPA brewed with 4.2-mg. of CBD per pint ($7 a draft pour at their restaurant; $16 a 6-pack of 12-ounce cans). The company debuted the product in 2015 at the Great American Beer Festival and faced legal repercussions soon after. They re-released the beer this past December, when the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill passed with provisions that officially removed hemp and its extracts from the controlled substance list. (Shanken News Daily)

Who else is in the mix? Lagunitas Brewing Co., owned by Heineken, has also experimented with CBD and THC brews. Southern California’s Two Roots Brewing makes alcohol-free, cannabis-infused beers, including an IPA, lager, stout, blonde ale, and wheat beer, all of which come in 2.5-mg. and 5-mg. THC varieties (all $8 a 10-ounce can; $38 a 6-pack).Keith Villa, creator of Blue Moon, is taking aim at the THC beer category with his Ceria brand. Ceria’s flagship Grainwave Belgian White Ale has 5-mg. THC per 10-ounce bottle. Launched in Colorado last year, Ceria partnered with Growpacker Inc., a contract manufacturer of cannabis edibles and beverages, to enter Southern California last month. Villa also plans to debut Ceria in Nevada and Massachusetts looking ahead. (Shanken New Daily)

Martha Stewart knows “A Good Thing” when she see it. She has hooked up with Canopy, the largest cannabis company in Canada. (CNN) Know what else is good? The chocolate cake trailer she did with Snoop. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! (YouTube) Here is Martha’s Snoop page (MarthaStewart.com)

The cannabis/food tipping point is HERE people!

Faves No. 197

favorite finds from the front lines of food

Do you really understand chopsticks?

As much as I love all things food——-this is just a hard pass! Ugly sweaters can be charming I guess, but no, keep the food themes off them! I mean - all I want for Christmas are tacos…no! (Food & Wine) (fine, tamales….maybe)

These do not look ugly! And, I now know what kind of cookies I plan on making this holiday season. Let the ugly frosting begin! (Williams Sonoma)

The road to hell is paved with….awww who cares! This road in Germany was paved with more than good intentions, it was covered with a literally a ton of milk chocolate. It took 25 firefighters armed with shovels to pry off this little “technical difficulty”. (Guardian)

The latest unfortunate Climate Change Round-Up (NPR the salt):

  1. Fishermen

  2. Raw Oysters

  3. Maple

In the DUH files - James Bond has a drinking problem. (Munchies)

Want to eat fries and stay healthy? No problem. But you can only have 6. Not six handfuls, not six orders, just 6 singular fries. Like this is going to happen! (Forbes)

And finally- the most googled foods in 2018:

  1. Unicorn cake

  2. Romaine lettuce

  3. CBD gummies

  4. Keto pancakes

  5. Keto cheesecake

  6. Necco Wafers

  7. Keto cookies

  8. Keto chili

  9. Keto brownies

  10. Gochujang

(The Take Out)

Faves No. 196

Halloween Horror Stories - 2018

The Museum of the world most disgusting foods….The museum of “Disgusting Food” has opened in Malmo, Sweden and the Guardian has a super gallery of some of the offerings. But, I have had quite a few of these and like them. Which ones have I enjoyed you ask? Guess…(Guardian)

 
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Unless you are Iceland temporarily hosting 6000 service men and women….

US troops visiting Reykjavic recently drank so much beer that they nearly depleted the entire city's sudsy supply. 

While en route to Sweden and Finland to participate in a NATO military exercise, roughly 6,000 US sailors and Marines made a pit stop in the port of Reykjavic last week and quickly overwhelmed the bars in the relatively small capital city of 122,000 residents. The troops were only there from Wednesday through Sunday, but managed to drink several establishments dry of their beer supply and even forced others to take drastic measures to replenish their stock. (Thrillist)

 

Sorry Not Sorry

This didn’t exist when I was a kid, nor did it exist when I was a mom shepherding my kiddos door to door, but DAMN! this could be a nightmare for some or a complete dream for others. You decide.

But I am curious- what is the exchange rate? (CNN)

 

And last but not least a creepy cocktail round up. TBH, there are some good ideas here but some real nasty looking libations as well. One person’s heaven is another one’s hell I guess. (HGTV)

Faves No. 195

Faves No. 194

favorite finds from the front lines of food

The Olive Oil Edition

Olive oil tasting at Long Meadow Ranch in Napa, California

Olive oil tasting at Long Meadow Ranch in Napa, California

Right now, in the middle of summer, there is really no better time to enjoy "simple" suppers that refresh and help beat the heat...for example a perfect heirloom tomato with a sprinkle of salt and a drizzle of good quality olive oil. Ahhh, so peaceful. So easy. Right? What? No....

Put simply, climate change is having a huge effect of olive production in the Mediterranean olive producing regions.  (New York Times)

In addition, the incredibly fast spreading disease, Xylella fastidiosa, I attacking olives, grapevines, citrus, almond, oak trees and more, across the region. According to the European Commission, "is one of the most dangerous plant bacteria worldwide, causing a variety of diseases, with huge economic impact for agriculture, public gardens and the environment."  

But you can't fight it is you can't see it. There has been a recent tech development which is giving some hope to farmers. A hyperspectral camera is being used to identify infected tress so they may be culled. The camera is flown 500m over the groves and each tree can be analyzed (250 bands of infrared light) to see how the trees are photosynthesizing.  Because there is no cure for this disease, it is vital that farmers be able to identify infected trees in order to cull them from the orchard.

Xylella fastidiosa is a bacterium, not a virus, and some farmers in Puglia are not happy with the practice of uprooting otherwise healthy trees to curb the spread of the infection. Some of the older farmers are looking to natural remedies such as fertilizing with cow manure, pruning and using copper and iron sulfates during the farming process. 

But not everyone agrees with this natural approach. Giovanni Martelli, a plant virologist at the University of Bari, who has conducted studies for the authorities and supports uprooting, said: “People who claim that Xylella can be treated with natural remedies are not right. There is no cure for Xylella. The immediate removal of infected trees and surrounding healthy trees is an indispensable measure to block the spread.”

So what to do?  from a recent article in the Guardian: 

“I am very encouraged by this new research,” said Richard Buggs, a plant health research leader at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the UK, and not involved in the new study. “Plant pests and pathogens are on the increase around the world, and we desperately need new tools.”

“Xylella can infect a very large number of plant species, including cherry trees, plum trees, lavender, and rosemary,” Buggs said. “When you buy a live plant for your home or garden, you should make sure you know where it has come from and avoid buying a plant that has not been grown [domestically].” (Guardian)

So folks, as you eat that tomato with the drizzle of oil, just remember the challenges that the farmers face to bring it to your table. Don't take any of it for granted.  That means, the oil, the tomato, the salt or the dining companion you might be sharing it with.  Enjoy all of it. Give thanks and eat with awareness and recognition because these are changing times.

Faves No.193

Favorite finds from the front lines of food.

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This brings meal planning to a whole other level! Recently visionary chef Dan Barber and his partners launched a new seed company, Row 7 Seeds.  Instead of ability to be transported, uniformity and yield, these plants are bred for flavor.  "The beginning isn't the farm," said Dan Barber. "The beginning is the seed, because that's the blueprint that sets the stage of what the farmer is able to do with good farming."  (Eater , New York Times )

Possibly the coolest thing you will see this week.....or longer! A WATER WHEEL POWERED SPIT!!!!

In other crazy news, LIDL is now selling a new product at their check out counters.....locally grown cannabis.  It's a good thing they have all kinds of deals on munchie-able snacks!  (Guardian)

Michelin Stars? James Beard? What is the difference? Well, here you go - a handy dandy guide to restaurant awards! (Eater)

Fresh? Frozen? Fresh Frozen? Most consumers don't go for items down the frozen aisle, but why? Is it time to become an arctic explorer? (NPR The Salt)

Faves No. 192

I am changing the Friday Faves to just Faves since there is really no reason to keep on a Friday schedule. So here we are. Enjoy!

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Globe warming? How about Global Hotting! The Guardian has a great story on how climate change is affecting an American icon.

From the article: A geologic oddity, Avery Island rises to 163ft above sea level, making it a towering giant amid the supine flatness of Louisiana’s coast. The 2,200-acre island – more accurately a hill of buried salt surrounded by bayou and marsh a couple of miles inland from Vermilion Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico – has long provided a sturdy home to Tabasco but now faces the danger of being marooned.

The Avery Island marshes are retreating by around 30ft a year as salt water seeps in, ushered in by canals dug by the oil and gas industry and the level of the land itself, which is gradually sinking by around a third of an inch a year. The salty brine kills off vegetation, loosens soils and accelerates erosion. 

Fierce storms clatter into what’s left of the marsh, which is also being slowly drowned by a warming ocean that’s rising faster than almost anywhere else in the world. A further sea level increase of 2ft, almost certain given the warming that’s already occurred, will leave only the lofty core of Avery Island dry, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“The marsh stands between us and Vermilion Bay, and we don’t want to be right on the bay,” Simmons said. “We have to be very aggressive about dealing with the land loss. We almost can’t work fast enough.” (Guardian)

NOT GIVING IT UP! A judge recently ruled that Coffee needs to come with a warning.....but hey the real warning should be about what could happen if I don't get my first cup in a timely fashion! (Refinery29)

Chef Rick Moonen is definitely on to something. For hard core food lovers this is not new news, but regardless we need to voice our support for tinned fish.  Her pin Madrid we are luck to have some amazing choices. Check out the images below to see what we are talking about. (Lonely Planet)

Sing Along Snacks: Special Thanksgiving Edition

It's never too early or too late for a snack so turn up the sound on your computer!

Special Thanksgiving Edition

Turkey - Mashed Potatoes - Gravy - Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie

 

OK, the lyrics are maybe not spot on when it comes to lauding the proper ingredients, but it will keep the kitchen crew bopping around with a good spring in your step while the table is being laid out!

 

Friday Faves No. 191

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

All about this crazy clear pumpkin pie! Alinea team, you have indeed done it again! 

All about this crazy clear pumpkin pie! Alinea team, you have indeed done it again! 

It's turkey season but what about all the turkey tails? Where do they actually go and why don't we get to gnaw on them here? (Smithsonian Magazine)

Love food puns as much as I do? Well, you are in luck. NBC's comedy  The Good Place is chock full of background shops sporting names as food puns along the lines of: Beignet and the Jets, Lasagne Come out Tomorrow, The Pesto's Yet To Come and so on and so fourth. For a longer list check it out here. (Nerdist)

Looking for Christmas gift ideas for that favorite foodie? Check out the Inspect a Gadget product reviews to match up who gets the Doughnut Mug, the Penneli garlic peeler or the Bacon Express toaster. Important stuff here. (Guardian)

VINDICATED Rule 47 in Jon Bonné's New Rules of Wine says I can drink rosé any time of the year! This is THE book for the holiday season!  (NPR's The Salt)

I have to say I know people who just might wear these....No, no names. Check out the cheesy video. (FoodBeast) 

 

 

Sing Along Snacks: Volver en Vino (Return as Wine)

It's never to early or late for a snack so turn up the volume on your computer.

From Madrid we are sending out our thoughts and prayers to those affected by the fires in California, Spain and Portugal. It's a sad close to a lovely summer. Let us hope that new life sprouts from the ashes to return as wine. (English lyrics translation below)

Return as Wine

If wine comes, life comes: I come to your vineyard, beloved land.

I want to die singing under your ripe vine and to be buried at the dawn my grave watered of wine.

If wine comes, life comes: I come to your vineyard, beloved land.

I'd like to leave my bones under the Mendoza sky, for my blood and my ashes return in the wine way

How sad must be dying and never returning, but life is so beautiful, but the way is so stunning, that if I die someday bury me in Mendoza, in San Juan, there at La Rioja, in the beautiful Cayafate, that I'll return as wine!

And when the vines cry for the men to laugh, I'll be filling the glasses, and I'll be kissing the mouths of the old partners or maybe the one I love and couldn't love me.. and in a party night when you take the guitar if you see the wine crying let it cry its sorrow that a brown tear as never I'll be singing!

Life is a bitter wine, sweet in a shared jar: those who swim inside drown only in life.

If wine comes, life comes:

 

 

 

Friday Faves No. 190

our favorite finds from the front lines of food

"You put so much oil in this, the US wanted to invade the f**king plate!" - so beautiful that it brings a tear to the eye. John Legend & Chef Ramsay duet for the new album: 'Gordon' "...OK It's not new but I love it just the same!  (The Nightly Show)

Speaking of food-based insults....food coming in and out of the UK could come to a screeching halt if there is no Brexit deal. Ummm...duh! (BBC)

Sebastien Bras, third-generation chef based in Laguiole, France, has just renounced the coveted three Michelin star ranking. He will continue to cook, but "without wondering whether my creations will appeal to Michelin's inspectors." According to the Munchies article he is not the first to do so. In previous years Olivier Roellinger and Alain Senderens (who passed in June) gave theirs back over a decade again. And let us not forget the amazing Marco Pierre White who said, "I was being judged by people who had less knowledge than me, so what was it truly worth? I gave Michelin inspectors too much respect, and I belittled myself.  I had three options: I could be a prisoner of my world and continue to work six days a week, I could live a lie and charge high prices and not be behind the stove, or I could give my stars back, spend time with my children and reinvent myself." (Munchies)

Here is a nice autumn read - Fasting and Feasting by Adam Lederman.  This biography of the "almost forgotten culinary star", Patience Gray.  She did Slow Food, off the grid living and self sufficiency before it was a "thing". A must read. (Guardian)

Sing Along Snacks: Ojala que llueva café

With new digs in Madrid, Sing Along Snacks are now being enjoyed in Spanish as well. It's good to have a varied snack menu!

This is an incredibly charming song by Juan Luis Guerra. Check out the translated lyrics below (original and translated) and I dare you all to not start swaying around the kitchen with this playing on repeat.

Ojalá que llueva café en el campo
que caiga un aguacero de yuca y té
del cielo una jarina de queso blanco
y al sur una montaña
de berro y miel
oh, oh, oh-oh-oh,
ojalá que llueva café. 
If only it would rain coffee in the fields,
and a shower of yucca and tea would fall,
from the sky a sprinkling of white cheese,
and in the south a mountain
of cress and honey.
oh, oh, oh-oh-oh...
If only it would rain coffee.
 

Ojalá que llueva café en el campo
peinar un alto cerro (d)e trigo y mapuey
bajar por la colina de arroz graneado
y continuar el arado con tu querer.
oh, oh, oh-oh-oh...
If only it would rain coffee in the fields,
combing a high hill of wheat and mapuey,
descending the slope of grained rice
and continuing to plough with all your love..
oh, oh, oh-oh-oh...

Ojalá el otoño en vez de hojas secas
vista mi cosecha de pitisalé
sembrar una llanura
de batata y fresas
ojalá que llueva café.
If only autumn would clothe my harvest
with pitisalé instead of dry leaves, 
sowing a plain with
sweet potato and strawberries,
If only it would rain coffee.

Pa'que en el conuco
no se sufra tanto, ay ombe
ojalá que llueva café en el campo
pa que en Villa Vásquez
oigan este canto
ojalá que llueva café en el campo
ojalá que llueva,
ojalá que llueva, ay ombe
ojalá que llueva café en el campo
ojalá que llueva café.
oh, oh, oh-oh-oh...

So that on the small farms
they won't suffer so much, oh man.
If only it would rain coffee in the fields
so that in Villa Vásquez
they will hear this chant.
If only it would rain coffee in the fields,
If only it would rain, 
If only it would rain, Ay, man,
If only it would rain coffee in the fields.
If only it would rain coffee. 
oh, oh, oh-oh-oh... 

Ojalá que llueva café en el campo
sembrar un alto cerro de trigo y mapuey
bajar por la colina de arroz graneado
y continuar el arado con tu querer.
oh, oh, oh-oh-oh...
If only it would rain coffee in the fields,
sowing a high hill of wheat and mapuey, 
decending from the hill of grained rice,
and continuing to plough with all your love.
oh, oh, oh, oh

Ojalá el otoño en vez de hojas secas
vista mi cosecha de pitisalé
sembrar una llanura
de batata y fresas
ojalá que llueva café.
If only autumn would clothe my harvest
with pitisalé instead of dry leaves, 
sowing a plain
with sweet potatoes and strawberries.
If only it would rain coffee.

Pa que en el conuco
no se sufra tanto, oye
ojalá que llueva café en el campo
pa que en Los Montones
oigan este canto
ojalá que llueva café en el campo
ojalá que llueva, ojalá que llueva, 
ay ombe
ojalá que llueva café en el campo
ojalá que llueva café.
So that on the small farms
they won't suffer so much.
If only it would rain coffee in the fields
so that in Los Montones
they would hear this chant.
If only it would rain coffee in the fields,
If only it would rain, if only it would rain,
Ay, man,
If only it would rain coffee in the fields,
If only it would rain coffee

Pa que to(dos) los niños
canten en el campo
ojalá que llueva café en el campo
pa que en La Romana
oigan este canto
ojalá que llueva café en el campo
ay, ojalá que llueva,
ojalá que llueva, ay ombe
ojalá que llueva café en el campo
ojalá que llueva café...
So that all the children
will sing in the fields,
If only it would rain coffee in the fields,
so that in La Romana
they will hear this chant.
If only it would rain coffee in the fields,
Ay, if only it would rain
If only it would rain, man,
If only it would rain coffee in the fields,
If only it would rain.

Friday Faves No. 189

favorite finds from the front lines of food

Looking for disruptive dining? Just go to some dinner theater. No, that's not a cheeky suggestion, it's truly a thing. New productions such as Beauty and the Feast, put on by The Vaults, are offering a fun on three-course delightfully eccentric theatrical culinary performance where the audience participates in the Beauty's journey through the initially bleak foodscape. These are much more than your ol' murder mystery dinner productions!

We kindly request to amuse your bouche with some fine art feasting.It is with the most sincere pride and overwhelming pleasure that eloquent designers Darling & Edge invite you to be their guest for a palatable pantomime.   Your Godmot…

We kindly request to amuse your bouche with some fine art feasting.

It is with the most sincere pride and overwhelming pleasure that eloquent designers Darling & Edge invite you to be their guest for a palatable pantomime.   Your Godmother, Fairy Liquid, has invited you to attend the Beast’s palace to help break the spell. Fairy Liquid is tired of regal dancing, mute dinners and the same old conversations; she needs you to help get the party started. This re-telling sees you follow in the footsteps of Belle, arriving at the Beast’s grey palace where the serving staff, desperate to satisfy, transport you into this modern fairytale. You’re invited through to dinner, where the Beast, and the Feast, awaits. As the booze flows and dinner goes, you are more and more integral to the breaking of this romantic curse. Except, you should expect, this is not a fairytale task. Should you manage to break the spell, the celebration will go on late into the night. The thigh slapping will begin, disco balls will spin and the chandeliers will swing. Forget sipping on soup, abandon regal dances and leave your manners at the door. Come as a beauty, leave as a beast. (Suitable for ages 16+)

official description of the production - The Vaults

Network, a performance put on by the National Theater, based in London, has a ballot system where winning participants will actually dine onstage during the performance (the audience gets to eat too). This production, which stars Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad fame, even has a name for this on-stage restaurant, it's call Foodwork.  Diners will be directed through a secret passage and enter the scene as if entering into an actual restaurant.  You can enter here.

Gingerline is producing the Chambers of Flavors v2.0, where the audience experiences five parallel realities and each is a different course. 

In other food news, Costco is expanding into China through the Alibaba subsidiary Tmall.  While Costco in China is not new per se, this deal almost doubles the number of SKUs. This includes wine and food products as well as furniture, electronics, huge teddy bears and the like. Another aspect to this new arrangement, it now means that Costco is licensed in China and can now set up brick and mortar locations throughout the country.

Interesting note, Costco set a Guinness World Record for selling 7,238 tons of mixed nuts during singles day in 2015.  (Alizila)

The sky is falling! The sky is falling! 

Well, yeah, kinda. We have seen all kinds of disasters these past few weeks, including natural, man-made and political. (the salt - NPR)

Hurricane Irma ruins crops

Smoke from wild fires in the PNW could damage this years vintage

French fishermen who catch 70%+ of their fish in British waters are scared of Brexit

Sing Along Snacks: Man No Sober

It's never too early or too late for a snack so crank up that volume on your computer.

This is in honor of our resident Plaza San Miguel drunkard, wino, whatever you want to call him. We have been living in Madrid for a month now and have gotten to "know", or rather become recognized by, our local beggars and drunks. What that means is that we are no longer solicited for our spare change. Instead we get a snear and they just move on....and I'm O.K. with that.

 

Woooh! Man no sober
The drunkard he staggers around
The alleys of cities and towns
His sorrows he tries to drown
Solution to his problems
Can never be found
Booze is what he choose
Like a gipsy he's tipsy
He drinks too much whiskey
Like a gipsy he's tipsy
He drinks too much
A Mr Winehead stagger deh
Booze is what he choose
Watch him how topples over

Man no sober

In and out of discotheques
In and out of wine bars
Burnt out shell looks a wreck
Got to help him somehow oh
Greets bartenders drink firewater
Dance bossanova he topples over

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