Last Crumb

It is finally, fully, fall in San Francisco. The days crisp and mostly clear, the wind sharper. This year, as usual, fall has been chaotic and crowded. We’re overwhelmed with projects and visitors and holiday plans. We can’t seem to get enough sleep or find time to nurture the writer selves that are an important part of us. Even our bird has learned a piercing new screech that is sending me to my wit’s end. And for once, I haven’t welcomed the switch to standard time. For days straight now, I’ve been knocked out cold before midnight, but I can’t seem to drag myself up in the morning, despite the “hour gained.”

We’re lucky here, to have dry farmed early girl tomatoes still in the farmers markets, but I have to admit, I’m pleased to see the new autumn bounty nudging out the abundance of summer crops. Two weeks ago, I bought some of the last fresh green olives at the farmers market, then last weekend harvested a heavy bag of ripe black olives from trees we discovered on a drive through Lake County. I pickled both in a salt brine and hid them at the back of the pantry to be leeched free of their bitterness.

Fresh olives carry a compound called oleuropein, which is responsible for their extreme, lingering, bitter flavor when uncured. The bitterness fades as they ripen, but black olives retain enough bitterness to need several months of curing. Oddly, these were some of the first foods humans cultivated, though they need long treatment to be edible. Olive cultivation began in both Crete and Syria independently as far back as 2,500 B.C.

Home Cured Black Olives

There’s very little to curing black olives. They can be soaked in a salt water brine until ready to eat, then rinsed and seasoned as desired. Many olive growers will not start selling ripe black olives until December, but in much of California, trees are abundant and laden with unused fruit. Make sure to pick olives that are still firm to the touch.

3-5 lbs ripe black olives
sea salt
water
1 egg, washed well

1. To prepare the brine, add salt to water until the egg floats to the surface. Depending on the salt you use, this could take anywhere from 1 tablespoon per quart of water, to 2 tablespoons per cup. I used a natural sea salt and found that it took a little over a tablespoon per cup of water before the egg really floated.

2. Rinse olives gently and remove any soft or bruised fruit. Place them in a clean crock or large mason jar and cover with the brine. Use a small plate or other weight to make sure all of the olives are submerged. One trick is to fill a plastic bag with a little bit of water, tie it up, and use that as a weight.

3. Store olives in a cool place out of the sun, and stir once a week. After about 30 days, remove and taste an olive, but be aware that the curing process may take up to 90 days. Olives will continue to cure as long as they are in the brine. If they become too salty, drain and rinse them, then cover with a less salty solution. At that point, they should be stored in the refrigerator.

Posted by: Rose on November 8th, 2007 © Filed under: Preserves | 10 Comments »

As a reward for helping out my dear friend Sarah with her new dance website she bestowed upon me this rare and ancient bartender’s guide written back in 1934. Though many of the recipes are impossible to recreate due to the now defunct ingredients they call for, there are a few simple gems which I actually had the ingredients for on hand.

One such recipe was the “New 1920 Cocktail” which looked like a worthwhile variation on the Manhattan (my all time favorite cocktail). Unlike your Classic Manhattan though, which generally calls for a 2:1 ratio of whiskey to sweet vermouth and a dash of aromatic bitters, this one calls for a 1:1 ratio of whiskey to vermouth (half sweet/half dry) and a dash of orange bitters. This half and half combination of sweet and dry vermouth in any drink is commonly referred to as a Perfect (insert drink name here, e.g. Martini, Manhattan, etc.) these days, but perhaps this book was written prior to that terminology catching on. The orange bitters are the other biggest difference, and they have the potential to match very well with the peppery rye whiskey I plan to use.

New 1920 Cocktail:

Tasting Notes:

I prepared this recipe using Wild Turkey Straight Rye Whiskey paired with Noilly Pratt sweet and dry vermouth, topped off with a generous dash drizzle of Regan’s Orange Bitters. The only liberty I took while following this recipe was to squeeze the lemon peel over a lighted match in order to further enhance, and bring out the aromatic oils of the lemon. The results were quite tasty! The drink was dryer than your typical Manhattan, but not overly so, and it had a lighter, spicier, more zesty personality than its somber, buttery, sometimes cloying brother. Don’t get me wrong, I love a balanced, well made Manhattan. This is just a nice change of pace when you’re in the mood for something a little more bright and bitter.

Posted by: Will on November 5th, 2007 © Filed under: Cocktails & Spirits | 3 Comments »

Vegetable haters. They’re all around us. People who’ve had the misfortune of being raised on mushy, canned or frozen things like peas and carrots. People who’s idea of a salad involves nothing more than a pile of wilted iceberg lettuce with some Wish-bone dressing slopped on top. People who’ve never tasted a home grown tomato right off the vine. You know what I’m talking about.

I really can’t blame these people for being such haters. Frozen lima beans and over-steamed broccoli are worthy of hatred, I’ll be the first to admit it. Luckily most of these people are capable of recovery.

My wife is one such person, now undergoing intensive therapy. The following vegetable dish was responsible for a real breakthrough for her, and it’s so simple to prepare. She said, and I quote, “I never liked vegetables before I tried this dish”. If that’s not a good endorsement I don’t know what is.

I believe this dish is of Italian origin, but I was first introduced to it while living in the city of Mérida, Venezuela back in 2003. A couple of friends had invited me over to their home for lunch one Sunday, and I had no idea what a culinary treat I was in for. Señora Rojas, my friend’s dear mother, had prepared delicious homemade gnocchi with pesto sauce, minestrone soup, and this dish using “calabacines”(little squash in Spanish), also known as White Mexican squash, White or Grey zucchini, or Tatuma squash. It was a meal I will not soon forget, and have tried to replicate many times since.

Having only asked Señora Rojas what was in her recipe (in my best Spanish), and not how much of each thing there was, here is my best approximation of her calabacines dish:

Calabacines with Lemon, Mint, and Garlic:

Ingredients:

• 6 medium Calabacines (maybe 2 lbs), sliced about 3/4″ thick
• 1 Tbs. spearmint, minced
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 large clove garlic, pressed
• 1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbs. butter
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• Sea salt to taste (I used a heaping 1/4 tsp.)

Method:

1. Steam squash until just tender.
2. Add all ingredients to a warmed bowl starting with the squash and butter.
3. Mix gently to distribute the dressing evenly.

Notes:

1. Zucchini or any other summer squash can be substituted if necessary.
2. For a less soupy version olive oil OR butter could be used instead of BOTH, but I love the soupy broth at the bottom of the bowl.
3. Be careful not to overcook the squash or mix the ingredients too vigorously or you could end up with a mushy mess.
4. Follow this recipe the first time, then improvise to your own taste the next. Some people may like more or less garlic, mint, lemon, etc.

Posted by: Will on October 26th, 2007 © Filed under: Vegetable Dishes | 3 Comments »

Saturday mornings mean my usual pilgrimage to the San Francisco Ferry Building Farmers Market. I try to go early, before the bulk of gawkers and tourists arrive, but I usually get there just as everyone else does. And truth be told, I don’t really mind. I wander happily through the crowds, Blue Bottle cappuccino in hand, and gawk. This weekend, as Andy stopped off to buy some Fava Beans, I strolled over to Tierra Vegetables to gobble taste some of their famous pepper jams. The jams were as good as ever, but as I made my way from the Mystery Pepper Jam to the Chipotle Jam, I caught a glimpse of what looked like little gold tomatillos. When Andy and I tried them, we found them to be more fruit than vegetable - sweet and tangy, a little like a gooseberry. I was so enamoured, I thought I’d enter them into this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging event, hosted by Susan at The Well Seasoned Cook.

It turns out that, while the fruit is a close relative of the tomatillo and part of the nightshade family, it is often called a Cape Gooseberry. It is also sometimes called Husk Cherry, Peruvian Ground Cherry, and in Hawaii, Poha or Poha Berry. The Latin name is Physalis peruviana.

Native to Brazil, the plant now grows wild in much of South America and Hawaii and is cultivated in many temperate regions, including South Africa, where it has long been popular. It is commonly used in jams and sauces, but can also be eaten fresh.

Chocolate Dipped Cape Gooseberry

According to the friendly folks at Tierra Vegetables, this is a common preparation in France. The golden husks make for a beautiful presentation.

1/2 lb Ripe Poha/Cape Gooseberry
8 oz dark chocolate

Pull husks away from berries, but leave them attached to form a handle for holding and dipping. With a damp paper towel, gently wipe the berries clean. They must be completely dry before dipping in the chocolate. In a heavy pan, melt chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. When chocolate is fully melted, dip berries until they are about 2/3 covered. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and allow to harden. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate.

Posted by: Rose on October 21st, 2007 © Filed under: Fruit, Sweets | 18 Comments »

So far, we’ve not done any restaurant reviews on this site. Certainly we like restaurants. We eat at all sorts of interesting places and enjoy them. But the truth is, we enjoy the challenge and adventure of kitchen projects even more than we like writing about things like service and sauces. And eating out is something we do more than we’d like, while cooking at home is something we wish we had more time for.

But the opening of Peter Lowell’s, in our home town of Sebastopol, is a special occasion. It’s part of the reason Will ventured north last weekend, and the entire reason we’re posting our first review for you. But rather than a review, maybe we should call it a write-up. We would never send you somewhere we didn’t think was great, but for full disclosure, we should say that Lowell Sheldon, who is one half of the team behind Peter Lowell’s, is a dear friend from our childhood so we might be a little biased.

There are plenty of wonderful restaurants featuring local produce, but what’s remarkable about Peter Lowell’s is their commitment 100% sustainable and organic agriculture, and their focus on vegetarian cuisine (they do offer seafood for the flexitarians among us). We ate a meal almost completely of local organic food, and tasted from a menu of all sustainable, organic, or biodynamic wines. In addition, the building and attached live/work development are LEED Certified green buildings.

We arrived around 1:30 pm and settled in at the PaperStone bar at the front of the cafe. Behind us were about 8 or 10 bamboo wood tables. The room felt bright and airy. Soon we were joined by our Mom and our step dad, Ben. Lowell was admittedly a little frazzled, but really, who could blame him. We put ourselves in his hands, and he expertly guided us through the menu, starting us off with a fabulous 2006 Medlock-Ames Bell Mountain Sauvignon Blanc, and wrapping up our meal with an impressive round of Espressos from Ecco Caffe.

We started off with the Braised Rapini, Broccoli Raab braised in local extra virgin olive oil with whole roasted garlic, chile, and anchovy. We’ve never started a meal with braised greens before, but served family style as a starter it was both comforting and bright.

Next came the Peter Lowell’s Escarole Caesar, one of the best Caesar salad’s we’ve had. They decided to feature escarole because organic local romaine is difficult to come by, and it turned out to be a stroke of genius. The young escarole added just enough flavor and bitterness.

Two thin crust Italian style pizzas followed, the Pepperoni Norma, with heirloom tomato, eggplant, gypsy peppers, and ricotta salata cheese, and the Cipolla, a simple heirloom tomato marinara with slivered red onion and Parmegiano cheese, topped with an oven baked egg. Both were excellent, but we particularly loved the Pepperoni Norma.

We ended with the Macro Bowl, brown rice, heirloom beans, and cooked greens, topped with crispy seitan and a tangy ginger sauce, baked in the pizza oven in a soapstone dish. The Macro Bowl would have made a casual, healthy lunch, but was less of a standout after the other dishes. Rose would have liked to see them serve it with a stickier rice.

On a subsequent visit, Rose also tried a version of the White Pizza, with cannellinni beans, rapini, and fontina cheese, and their Fish of the Day, halibut cooked to perfection in the pizza oven and topped with a spicy heirloom tomato, chile, and gypsy pepper relish. Both were excellent, as were the 2003 Porter-Bass Russian River Zinfandel, and the 2005 Paul Mathews Ruxton Vineyard Pino Noir that she tried.

We suggest you stop in after an afternoon wine tasting in the Russian River Valley (but please keep the wineries there a secret!) Then plan to settle in at the wine bar for a leisurely lunch or dinner. And tell Lowell that Rose and Will sent you!

Peter Lowell’s
7 am - 9 pm daily

7385 Healdsburg Avenue
Sebastopol, CA 95472
(707) 829-1077
www.peterlowells.com

For Rose’s recipe for easy braised greens:

Read more »

Posted by: Rose on October 15th, 2007 © Filed under: Main Dishes, Restaurant Reviews | 4 Comments »