Wednesday June 20, 2012
Doug Ferguson exudes positive energy!! He cracked me up and touched my heart with the story about his Mom's turquoise pot. Imagine knowing that when that pot was on the stove, it would yield a not-so-great attempt at Cincinnati Chili!! Doug has now perfected the recipe and honors his Mom by cooking it in his newly acquired turquoise dutch oven.
Doug has taken his love of cooking, of being in the suburbs and being a Dad and a neighbor and translated it into both a tongue-in-cheek and serious journal in his blog, The Suburban Cookbook. I think you will enjoy listening to Doug as much as I enjoyed interviewing him!! Thank you Doug!!
Listen to his show HERE. And we apologize that the sound quality isn't the best :-(
Friday June 15, 2012
Happy National Lobster Day! In honor of the holiday I thought I would share my Lobster Risotto recipe, which I concocted. The beauty in this particular recipe is that you only need 2 lobsters, and it serves around six people. I think it's pretty amazing that this recipe is a tasty and affordable way to have lobster . When I asked my team of interns about why they liked Lobsters they replied:
"I like crushing the shells with the nutcracker, when I was younger I would do this to get to the meat for my sister." --Michelle Anderer
"Once you have made it to the meat, that's the best part, it was something about this delicacy that made family time that more enjoyable." --Mia Moorehead
With that being said, I hope you all will try out my Lobster Risotto recipe, or at the very least enjoy National Lobster Day!
Wednesday June 13, 2012
Carole will be cooking up her Dad's favorite Father's Day Meal! Tune in around 8.30 am if you are in Albany, NY or the Berkshires or catch it on YouTube.
Wednesday June 13, 2012
Grace Young touched my heart when I first heard her speak at a cookbook conference in February. When Grace decided to spend time with her Mom and relatives in San Francisco chronicling the family recipes, she got the unexpected - stories, wisdom, lore and love. Her journey to preserve her family recipes yielded a far richer experience. In addition, while the original intent was to keep the recipes alive for future generations, another unintended consequence occurred. Grace's Mom has aged. And it's when Grace makes her Mom a treasured family recipe that her Mom perks up. The smell and the tastes take her Mom back to a happy place. So, a project started to help future generations has actually touched an older generation. And now you see why Grace's talk brought tears to my eyes!! Her cookbooks are an amazing chronicle of not only her family recipes and stories, but also Grace has traveled and collected many other Chinese recipes and stories. Grace, like me, believes that the story is what gives a recipe context. It's what connects us to our past and bridges us to the future!
Grace has shared 2 recipes from her books. Chinese Trinidadian Stir-fried Shrimp with Rum from Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, with Authentic Recipes and Stories
and Vegetable Lo-Mein from The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen: Classic Family Recipes for Celebration and Healing
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Thank you Grace Young for all you wonderfulness!! I am happy to have met a kindred spirit who shares the same joy of the story!!
Listen to her interview here.
Sunday June 10, 2012
We've added a second garden so we can grow lots of food to eat now and to put up for the winter. Jim was aided by one of the chickens. I just love the chickens. They crack me up with their antics!!
Who needs a rototiller when you have chicken?
Friday June 08, 2012
It's World Ocean's Day today and it's all about cherishing the oceans and encouraging us to eat "sustainable seafood." But that's where I have a problem. What is sustainable? Marion Nestle defined it in my radio interview with her as "What you take out, you put back?" I can't get my head around that one as it relates to seafood.
And I think we all get confused by the latest nutrition mantras - eat lots of salmon because it has the most omega-3's. All of the sudden, everyone wants salmon which in turn leads to over-fishing, poorly farmed versions and a conundrum for deep thinkers like me. So, I basically avoid salmon for the most part and "vote with my fork."
I think we should look for local catches or in-season fish whenever possible. But that's a simple, over-generalization that I don't really understand. When I visit my parents in Rhode Island it seems that Atlantic Cod would be a great choice, or perhaps lobster. Are these sustainable? SO I do my homework and find out that "local" Atlantic cod is not sustainable, but Maine lobster is OK. Well goodie for me because I LOVE lobster!! But I love cod. What to do? So confused!! One the best resources I have found on the subject is the Monterey Bay Aquarium website. They have apps and information on better choices.
So for today, I decided that we'd have scallops which are for the most part a good choice - phew!! And, believe it or not CLAMS are sustainable, too. Here's a recipe for Linguine with Clam Sauce.
I'd love your thoughts about the sustainability of seafood issue. I doubt our grandparents had to think much about it.