More FAQ and Things You Should Know

I occasionally receive questions, often sent to me under the hats of the flying monkeys from Oz (the monkeys are smaller in real life), by the shouting newsies of the 1920's or, occasionally, through an electronic media.  I would like to answer a few of these questions in some common forum so that all may participate in the blessings I offer.

Q1. "I know you have a lot of amazing recipes.  Where can I find the full list of everything you've published?"

A1.  That's a great question!  While it's not a list of EVERYTHING I've published (some of those pictures I'm not proud of), you can look at the text beneath the header Beyond Viand on this page.  There is a string of links:

Home

What is "Beyond Viand?"

Index of Recipes

What Others Are Writing

I'm willing to bet you've already figured out the solution.  On a mobile device, you have a drop down menu that has the same links.  The one that says Index of Recipes.  That's the one you want.  Do look around there.  I even amaze myself with some of the recipes I've written.

Q2.  "As a child I used to ride my bike without a helmet, and I kept my mouth open.  I loved the feeling of wind through my hair and teeth.  Sometimes bugs flew into my mouth and down my gullet. As one who eats bugs, are there any lasting repercussions I should investigate more thoroughly?" 

A2.  Wow! What an unusual question.  While you really should have worn a helmet, I will still answer your missive.  Yes!  You probably know that insects are pound-for-pound higher in protein than almost any other animal protein, but you may have noticed from your bike ride, bugs can be hairy, sticky, gooey or crunchy.  The good news is, if you survived, you probably didn't eat anything poisonous, and even though they are toxic, Monarch Butterflies or Blister Beetles won't really hurt you until you eat a lot of them.  Unfortunately, the biggest concern about eating bugs from the wild are the pesticides.  The little bugs eat a surprising amount of leaves and grass while they grow and if those plants have pesticides on them, the toxins get into bodies of the bugs.  Eventually it will kill them, but in the meantime the toxins concentrate and become hazardous to anything that eats the bug: birds, lizards or kids riding bikes with their mouths open.  If you plan on eating bugs, it's probably best to buy them from reputable dealers who specialize in edible bugs.


Q3.  "Why don't you review more restaurants?"

A3.  I get that question a lot.  It's a good question, and the answer is nearly the same as why I don't want to work in a restaurant.  If I do it all the time, it becomes work.  I don't want to do work.  I do want to have fun.  This writing is fun, because people have very few expectations of me.  Besides, I have readers from all over the world.  Is someone from Morocco, Argentina, Russia or Malaysia going to want to hear about my latest crawl to the pub or diner?  (Well, maybe they would.) 
Besides, instead of a review, I write about the experience.  Good and bad restaurants can each have bad and good experiences. I cherish the good and I try to let the bad slip from memory.  Unless I get salmonella and rotavirus.  I remember that kind of thing.  (Remember: Wash your hands!)


Q4. "What's your favorite thing to cook?"

A4.  This is another common question, which unfortunately, doesn't have a very good answer.  I don't really have a favorite thing to cook.  I'll  get on a kick and dive deep into some themes, but that passes in time.  Occasionally, I return to old dishes I haven't tried in a while and they become my new favorite for a few days.  Most often I like variety so I seek to explore different methods, different flavors, and different ingredients whenever I can.  In fact, that may be my favorite thing to cook: the thing I haven't tried to make, or the dish I think I can improve. 


Q5.  "Are there any foods that are off limits?  Anything you refuse to try?"

A5.  You cut to the quick, don't you? 
There was that one time when I was flying with the Uruguayan rugby team over the Andes Mountains..... 
I think given the right circumstances, I could eat nearly anything edible. 
There's a lovely little book from the University of Virginia Press, Unmentionable Cuisine. It explores the taboos of foods from animals in cultures around the world and why some can eat one thing and others can't.   It's a fascinating read and when one pays attention to the premise and extrapolates to its conclusion one can get to the heart of the argument between vegans and omnivores.  What is right to eat?  Why is eating animal proteins good or bad?  If it's ok, why are some better than others?  Is it circumstantial?  I love asking questions like this.  My conclusion: while I've started eating many more vegetables, and with infinite respect to my vegan friends, I'm still firmly in the omnivore camp. 


Q6. What's for dinner?

A6. Tonight, try this:

Stovetop Meatloaf
1 1/2 lbs Ground Chuck
1 cup Bread Crumbs
1 Egg, beaten
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
1 clove Garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons Tomato Paste
2 tablespoons Mustard (I like good brown mustard, but yellow also does fine)

In a large bowl, combine ground meat, bread crumbs, egg, and Worcestershire sauce.  Mix by hand.

In a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat, warm up the olive oil.  Add the onion, garlic and salt.  Sauté until translucent, then add the skillet's contents to the meat bowl.   Add the tomato paste and mustard to the meat and mix it all by hand until it is uniform. 

Put the mix into the cast-iron skillet, press into the edges of the pan, and pat down so it's even everywhere.  Cook, covered, over medium low heat for 45 minutes. 

If you want to brown the top for a more appetizing appearance, pop the whole skillet under a broiler set on high for 5 minutes.  Serve hot.  Save the leftovers for sandwiches tomorrow!

Mysteries Around the Corner

We've driven past them.  We've wondered about them.  And maybe we were afraid to step inside.  This is the start of a series of blog posts about the ethnic markets in our (and most likely your) neighborhood and the adventures to be found there.  

I consider Denver rather cosmopolitan.  My lovely wife and I have lived in Santa Fe, Toronto and Denver.  We've traveled around the world and we love to explore our own back yard.  And I can say with confidence, Denver is cosmopolitan (as well as perfectly homey.)  People come to Colorado from all over the nation and from around the world.  We have a long history of booms and expansions that required labor--sometimes mental, sometimes back breaking.  During the early years of our state, mining and the railroad industry required many workers, and while the pay was often too little for most Americans, the wages still attracted immigrants looking to start a new life in the US.  In most metropolitan communities, these same immigrants settled to create their own ethnically unique neighborhoods.  It's curious, then, that Denver and its suburbs do not have a Chinatown, even though thousands of Chinese immigrated to Colorado during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. According to a recent article in the Denver Post, racism played a big part in the destruction of our local Asian community during the 1920's.  But thankfully, we still have an extraordinary Asian presence here.

Which is not to say that I've soaked any of it up through osmosis.  Yes, I minored in Chinese in college, and I studied Asian literature and religion extensively, but I do not know what the hell I'm doing in the Pacific Ocean Market. Yes, I've been to the Market on many occasions, but really only ever to buy ingredients.  I never really explored with the intention of pushing my boundaries and then writing about it.   

On entering the supermarket (and it really is super!) it looks very much like a King Soopers or Safeway or other big chain supermarket that you may know and use regularly.  There is a bakery, a produce section, aisles arranged in common thematic elements, frozen foods, etc.  But getting in close, you'll notice some significant differences.  Glazed pork and whole ducks (including heads) hang in cases.  The vegetables often don't have English writing on then, but rather Chinese (or Korean, Japanese, Thai or Hindi, as appropriate).  When we asked what certain vegetables were, neither staff nor customers seemed to know.  (I found out that one of the items was Bitter Melon, and as the name implies, was absolutely horrible.  More later.)  But for the day, we found more gems than things we loathed.

As discussed in numerous previous blog entries, I seek out culinary adventure.  So I intended to try things that I had never tried before.  I confess, I chickened out in a couple of instances, but I pushed myself as much as I reasonably could.  And not knowing what I was doing, I made the most of my experiences. 

 

A Sample of the Haul: seaweeds, dried mushrooms, candies, unusual beverages, vegetables and a cuttlefish

We picked up dried seaweeds (seasoned laver and something I couldn't understand), dried mushrooms (shitake and black fungus), fresh vegetables (leeks and lotus root), dried noodles (rice, bean and mung), sauces (coconut milk, fermented fish).  We explored the frozen foods and found fish balls (go ahead--insert joke here), chicken parts I don't normally associate with food, whole fish and squids and octopuses, shrimp, scallops and other shellfish and many things we couldn't identify.  I picked out a large cuttlefish for dinner.

We journeyed down aisle after aisle of canned foods, pastes, broths, jellies, dried noodles and vegetables and preserved fauna and flora of all types.  I picked up a tin of Fried Bamboo Caterpillars, which I love toasted in a hot skillet with a dusting of chili powder.  We lingered for a long time looking at the marvels of the teas and cookies and candies.  What a celebration of flavors!

We asked questions of people who looked like they knew what they were doing, but just the same as if someone in King Soopers asked me, "Do you know what this is?" or "How do you prepare that?" I'd more likely than not be nonplussed. 

With all of the exploration, and all the amazing things we brought home, I wasn't sure what to do or what to try.  I started off with something I know: technique.  As Chef Michael Symon says, "Learn a recipe, you can cook a delicious dish; learn a technique and you can create a meal out of almost anything."   My beloved wife and my brother were kind enough to let me experiment on them.  Here's the result.

 

The finished meal.  Mung Bean Noodles, Seaweed Salad, Poached Cuttlefish, Stir Fried Lotus Root and a tasty beverage

So whenever you feel like you may be in a rut, when you need to try something new or when you seek inspiration, look no further than your own neighborhood and find a world of adventure.

For dinner:


Cuttlefish Poached in Coconut Milk and Lemongrass
I first had cuttlefish, stuffed and grilled in Little Portugal in Toronto.  The flesh is meaty, fleshy, mild, yet flavorful.  I didn't have the opportunity to stuff or grill it, so I took a different approach.
20oz Cuttlefish, cleaned and prepared (innards, beak and cuttle bone removed; talk to your fishmonger, if you'd like)
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon Salt
16oz can Coconut Milk
3 stalks Lemongrass

Sprinkle the cuttlefish on all sides with the salt and slide into a large plastic bag.  Add the olive oil and squish it around until the cuttlefish is completely covered.  Let stand for 45 min to an hour.

Trim the lemongrass.  Using a heavy, sharp knife, remove the root-end, up about a 1/4 inch.  Cut about 4 inches up from the root side of the stalk, or about where the flesh goes from firm to loose leaves.  Then split that shorter stalk length-wise.

Get a skillet large enough to hold the whole cuttlefish and get it hot on the highest heat your stove has.  Slide the cuttlefish (and its attendant oil) into the skillet and sear the cuttlefish for 2-3 minutes.  Using long tongs, flip the cuttlefish and sear the other side. 


Reduce the heat to low and immediately add the lemongrass.  Add the coconut milk.  Cover and let simmer for 45 minutes.  Really, now is the time for low and slow.  If you cook it too hot, you will be chewing on rubber. 

Slice and serve.

Seaweed Salad
Turning dried seaweed into salad is far more palatable than it may sound.  And pretty darn easy, too.
1/2 cup Dried Seaweed, chopped into 1/2 inch lengths (I know there are many different kinds of seaweed, but for the life of me I cannot discover what type or species this one is.  It simply says "Contents: Dried Seaweed."  The Inuit reportedly have a whole slew of words for snow, and I have to believe that the Japanese would have more than one word to describe seaweed, but the translators of the packaging will only offer us the one word I already know.  "Seaweed.")  (And this is a good example of me having some good-natured ribbing.  Did you even click through the last link and read the article?  Well, go ahead.  I'll still be here when you get back.)
4-6 cups cold Water
3-4 tablespoons Sesame Oil (I used chili-infused sesame oil for a bit of kick)
3 tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Scallions, sliced thin
Sprinkle of toasted Sesame Seeds

Immerse the dried seaweed in the cold water until it completely hydrates (about 30 minutes). In the meantime, combine the oil, vinegar and sugar in a blender.  Blend for 20-30 seconds.  Taste it and add salt, pepper, more vinegar or sugar, as needed.  Blend again, to combine, right before using the dressing. 

 Drain the seaweed thoroughly.  Toss with the dressing and serve.  Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.



Stir Fried Lotus Root with Black Fungus
1 Lotus Root, Whole
A large bowl of cold water (2-3 quarts) with 2 tablespoons vinegar mixed in

1 cup Dried Black Fungus (or other mushroom)
A similarly large bowl of near-boiling water (or a pot--you want to have a cover for it)
1 Leek, trimmed, cleaned and sliced into very thin rings
1 clove Garlic, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
A drizzle of Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (more or less to taste)

Using a sharp knife, remove the outer skin of the lotus root.  Slice the root into 1/4-3/8 inch slices.  Try to keep the rounds intact, as the visual elegance is part of the appeal.  Put the slices into the vinegar water.  (This helps to keep the lotus root from discoloring and removes some of the alkali taste.)  Add the dried fungus to the hot water and cover.  Wait on both of these for 30-45 minutes. 

When the fungus has completely rehydrated, drain it and chop into bite-sized pieces.  Drain the lotus root.  On high heat, get your wok (or large frying pan) very hot.  (A drop of water should sizzle and evaporate almost instantly.)  Add the vegetable oil to the wok and wait 30-45 seconds.  The oil should start to smoke.  Carefully add the lotus root (the oil WILL pop so be very careful!) and saute for 2 minutes.  Add the fungus.  Saute for 1 minute.  Add the leek, garlic, pepper flakes and toss to combine.  Add a little soy sauce for flavor, toss to combine and serve.

Dark Rum and Young Coconut Drink
We found a number of interesting beverages at the Pacific Ocean Market.  Honey and Basil Seed Drink, Aloe Juice, Lemon Soda (with a marble in the bottle) and Young Coconut Drink.  Young coconut Drink is very sweet and has shavings of coconut suspended in it.  It goes great with a fine dark rum.  In this case we mixed rum to Young Coconut Drink in a 2:3 ratio and served over ice in a rocks glass. 

For more photos, please visit my Facebook page.

New Horizons and Common Grounds

"The role of the artist is exactly the same as the role of the lover: If I love you I have to make you aware of things you wouldn't ordinarily see."   --James Baldwin

There are so many things that make me happy that one could confuse me with a pure simpleton, but in all honesty, the littlest things DO bring me joy.  Biting the ears off a chocolate bunny, sipping good whiskey, smoking a good cigar and laughing with good friends.  Those are the kind of things that bring joy to life.  And then there is the adventure of expanding horizons.

Today was a perfect day.  Before I dashed off, I tended to the budding Victory Garden on the dining room table,  worked in the morning (nothing new for a Saturday and I love my clients), then my Beloved and I went to the Butterfly Pavilion to watch a cooking demonstration.  Sushi for lunch then home for a cigar and bourbon (whiskey--see above) on the back deck. 

Today was slightly unusual in a couple of respects, however. 

First, there is the concept of the Victory Garden. From its noble beginnings, today it often implies self-sufficiency and frugality.  Indeed, those are my specific intentions.  I know everything is organic and a measure of pride from the work of my own hands.  I love to save money on the vegetables I won't be buying.  I love the depth of flavors of home-grown vegetables.  And seeing life spawn under the earth and wriggle into existence presents itself as a metaphor of rebirth.  "He who has seeds, has Spring."  (Ben Franklin)  In the last blog entry, I made mention that we want to eat better.  What could be better for the body and soul than to have produced your own produce?

But the second important difference of the day, we engaged in entomophagy.  Quite literally, the eating of bugs. David George Gordon, "The Martha Stewart of the Bug World" or in his words, "The Emeril of Entomophagy" (I think he made that one up while we were there) presented a wonderfully charming tour of food and creepy-crawlies.  He begins by inviting kids to join him up front and sit on the floor.  (He and I agree on the nature of children: children harbor more germs than the bugs we're tasting today.  If you can keep them sitting and not hovering, breathing into the mis-en-place, we'll have an enjoyable afternoon.  And he handled the squirrelly kids better than their parents did!)  He then outlined the role of bugs in food--the bugs we don't think we're eating (think peanut butter), the bugs that we don't know about which are supposed to be there (think natural ingredient, red food coloring), and the bugs that various cultures around world consume for their nutritional value.

Then the fun began.  Asking for volunteers to cook the food, and other volunteers to taste the food, "we" cooked and ate Tempura Mealworms, Panfried Scorpion, Orthopteran Orzo, and Grasshoppers on a skewer.  My wife was the only volunteer to eat all of her Mealworm (I am so proud of her!) and the Scorpion I had tasted like soft-shell crab.  In fact, I can't wait to go scorpion hunting when I have the chance.  I can envision it in a nori roll (think Spider Roll, literally) or with rice and beans served Southwestern style.

Ok--so entemophagy is a little extreme and I doubt it will become a regular part of our diet, but I don't think we're going to shy away, either. 

Adventure has been a regular staple of my spiritual diet for as long as I can remember.  Culinarily speaking, I include it in increasingly regular intervals.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Tonight we're eating vegetarian, with a twist. 

Creamed Dock (or Cream of Wild Greens)

Sourdock is a wild leafy vegetable (aka, weed) that grows plentifully in open fields across North America.  The leaves are best in spring when they are young and tender.  Caution: as with all wild plants, good identification and good growing conditions are essential.  Many plants have natural or pesticide/herbicide toxins that can be harmful (or worse!) if swallowed.  When in doubt, avoid it.

2 pound young fresh Dock leaves, rinsed, blanched twice and thick stems removed

2 tablespoons Butter

1 Leak, tender white part chopped and greens reserved for something else

1 clove Garlic, minced
Salt & Pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground Nutmeg
1/2 cup Heavy Cream

Boil the leaves for 2 minutes, then strain, pressing out any extra water.  Chop thoroughly and set aside. 

Melt the butter in a sauce pan (medium high heat) and saute the leak and garlic until they are tender and starting to turn translucent.  Add the greens and cook, stirring regularly until they start to give off moisture.  Add the seasonings and cream and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the cream is reduced and thickened to how you like it. 

Serve hot with as a side for almost any Southern comfort food!