This article was passed along to me and I felt that I needed to respond in some way:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-perspec0104mcgovernjan04,0,1762931.story
I think McGovern & Matz bring up good points here. We cannot completely stop farming on a commercial scale at this time, and any change away from industrial agriculture has to be incremental.
Having said that, I do disagree with the unstated assumption in this article that U.S. industrial agriculture's goal is to feed the world. Agribusiness is just that: a business. When food is viewed as a commodity to be sold and purchased (not as a basic human right) it will go to those who can afford it. We can increase production 100-fold in this country, and the basic fact remains that only those who can afford it will have access to food, those that cannot afford it will go hungry.
The article quotes Norman Borlaug, the "Father of the Green Revolution," a revolution that significantly increased food production. But the number of hungry throughout the world remained either static or (especially more recently) has greatly increased since this "revolution." Yes, population has increased as well and I am unsure of the actual rates of growth comparatively, but I think we just need to question the assumption that more technology equals progress. The green revolution has brought increased crop yields but the number of hungry increases every day. The profits are not shared through equal distribution of food; rather, profits are concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. Monsanto, for example, dominates the GM seed industry. And while GM seeds have brought increased yields (in some, but not all instances) there has been no decrease in the total number of people without food worldwide. Monsanto has seen record profits (http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2009/01/05/daily36.html) for a while now, as a global food crisis continues to exist. At the same time, GM crops may actually be hurting U.S. agriculture significantly (http://www.organicconsumers.org/patent/exposed091702.cfm), and also has brought a dramatic rise in farmer suicides throughout the developing world, environmental damage due to increased pesticide and herbicide use, and unknown health effects that have yet to be tested on humans.
Another argument that is always used by industrial ag folks is that the U.S. is the largest donor of food aid, something that can only be done with our chemical and technological inputs. U.S. food aid is first and foremost a foreign policy tool & a way to help powerful interests at home. Legally, U.S. food aid must be purchased from U.S. sources and it must be shipped on U.S. ships. This often causes food aid to arrive anywhere between a few weeks and 6 months after it is first requested. U.S. packagers and shippers are often more expensive than foreign companies, causing up to 75% of all money spent on food aid to go to U.S. corporations, leaving only $0.25 to the dollar to actually buy food. Another problem is that once the food finally gets there, it is often sold by aid non-profits (to those who can afford it, not necessarily the hungry!) to raise money for their other programs.
In terms of aid undermining local farming, I recommend looking into the recent Niger famine. Basically, they had a surplus of food in the country that was stockpiled. People couldn't afford it so it just sat there. U.S. aid was shipped from the U.S. It took months to get there because U.S. food aid 1) has to be bought from U.S. sources 2) has to be shipped on U.S. ships. By the time the food got there, the famine was coming to an end. Farmers were able to grow again. But there was U.S. food aid sitting around that needed to be used, so they dumped it on the market, prices fell again, and farmers and the people suffered because of it.
Celia Dugger of the New York Times has really good coverage of U.S. food aid policy if you are interested in reading more. Below are a few articles that helped me understand the system a lot better:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/03/washington/03food.html?_r=1
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/world/africa/02malawi.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/29/world/29food.html
What I think the authors do not see if that, for many, creating a more sustainable, localized food system is about more than just crop yields and productivity. (Even so, organically grown crops have shown to be as productive if not more than industrially grown crops. The reasons for this are many and I would be happy to expand on them later on). Rebuilding our food system is about redefining how we see food. It is taking food as a commodity and turning it back into a basic human right - what connects us to the land, the environment, our communities, our culture, and our own nutrition. Business as usual may increase production, but at what cost? If the food is not going to feed the hungry but only helps to increase profits of the Monsanto's of the world, why must Americans support these corporations through our tax dollars in the form of billions of dollars in subsidies? If industrial agriculture continues to destroy our environment while being one of the MAJOR contributors to greenhouse gases and the climate crisis, is it worth it? (Climate change is going to hurt the people that are most in need throughout the world most, further damaging the land that is already being exploited for cash-crops to be exported to the West). We must ask, What is the bottom line? Is it corporate profit? Or is it human well-being?
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
In Case You Needed More Proof Corn Syrup's Evils
This article is from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy:
Much High Fructose Corn Syrup Contaminated With Mercury, New Study Finds
Brand-Name Food Products Also Discovered to Contain Mercury
Minneapolis – Mercury was found in nearly 50 percent of tested samples of commercial high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), according to a new article published today in the scientific journal, Environmental Health. A separate study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) detected mercury in nearly one-third of 55 popular brand- name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first or second highest labeled ingredient—including products by Quaker, Hershey’s, Kraft and Smucker’s.
HFCS use has skyrocketed in recent decades as the sweetener has replaced sugar in many processed foods. HFCS is found in sweetened beverages, breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS. Consumption by teenagers and other high consumers can be up to 80 percent above average levels.
“Mercury is toxic in all its forms,” said IATP’s David Wallinga, M.D., and a co-author in both studies. “Given how much high fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the FDA to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply.”
In the Environmental Health article, Dufault et al. found detectable levels of mercury in nine of 20 samples of commercial HFCS. Dufault was working at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration when the tests were done in 2005. She and co-authors conclude that possible mercury contamination of food chemicals like HFCS was not common knowledge within the food industry that frequently uses the sweetener. While the FDA had evidence that commercial HFCS was contaminated with mercury four years ago, the agency did not inform consumers, help change industry practice or conduct additional testing.
For its report “Not So Sweet: Missing Mercury and High Fructose Corn Syrup,” IATP sent 55 brand-name foods and beverages containing HFCS as the first or second ingredient to a commercial laboratory to be tested for total mercury. Nearly one in three products tested contained detectable mercury. Mercury was most prevalent in HFCS-containing dairy products, followed by dressings and condiments. Attached is the summary list of the 55 products and their total mercury content.
In making HFCS, caustic soda is used, among other things, to separate corn starch from the corn kernel. For decades, HFCS has been made using mercury-grade caustic soda produced in industrial chlorine (chlor-alkali) plants. The use of mercury cells to produce caustic soda can contaminate caustic soda, and ultimately HFCS, with mercury.
“The bad news is that nobody knows whether or not their soda or snack food contains HFCS made from ingredients like caustic soda contaminated with mercury,” said Dr. Wallinga. “The good news is that mercury-free HFCS ingredients exist. Food companies just need a good push to only use those ingredients.”
While most chlorine plants around the world have switched to newer, cleaner technologies, many still rely on the use of mercury cells. In 2005, 90 percent of chlorine production was mercury-free, but just 40 percent of European production was mercury-free. Four U.S. chlor-alkali plants still rely on mercury cell technology. In 2007, then-Senator Barack Obama introduced legislation to force the remaining chlor-alkali plants to phase out mercury cell technology by 2012.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Chocolate Peppermint Ice Cream
I had leftover cream that needed to be used, and while I still have coconut ice cream (and coconut curry) left, I decided to make some more! Going through my cabinets looking for things that needed to be used before I leave in a month for DC (working with the National Family Farm Coalition for the policy part of the fellowship!!...more on that soon) and I found coco powder and peppermint extract, so I thought hmmm...chocolate peppermint ice cream! i also used extra crushed up peppermint candies left over from the chocolate bark (and peppermint bark ice cream). I was going to use actual peppermint bark to make chocolate peppermint bark ice cream, but I forgot to crush up the chocolate pieces in time...but this still works!
I kind of combined two recipes for this. I mixed the basic fresh vanilla ice cream recipe and the chocolate recipe, since there were things I didn't love about the chocolate recipe itsself, mainly using more milk than cream (a big no-no I have found), and using more eggs than I normally use. So I used:
1.5 C whole milk
3/4 C sugar
1/3 C coco powder
3 egg yolks
2 C heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 Tbsp peppermint extract
1 C crushed up peppermint candies
For the extract, I recommend going by taste here. I kept adding it in teaspoon at a time and it continued to need more! After a while, a good amount dripped onto my hand and then my skin felt an odd cooling/tingling/burning sensation for a good two hours. Try not to do that...But I would say after about 3 Tbsp, you could really begin to taste the peppermint and chocolate at a nice balance. (For ice cream making procedure, follow one of the other ice cream recipe posts!)
This was a really rich and creamy batch of ice cream. So good!!
I kind of combined two recipes for this. I mixed the basic fresh vanilla ice cream recipe and the chocolate recipe, since there were things I didn't love about the chocolate recipe itsself, mainly using more milk than cream (a big no-no I have found), and using more eggs than I normally use. So I used:
1.5 C whole milk
3/4 C sugar
1/3 C coco powder
3 egg yolks
2 C heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 Tbsp peppermint extract
1 C crushed up peppermint candies
For the extract, I recommend going by taste here. I kept adding it in teaspoon at a time and it continued to need more! After a while, a good amount dripped onto my hand and then my skin felt an odd cooling/tingling/burning sensation for a good two hours. Try not to do that...But I would say after about 3 Tbsp, you could really begin to taste the peppermint and chocolate at a nice balance. (For ice cream making procedure, follow one of the other ice cream recipe posts!)
This was a really rich and creamy batch of ice cream. So good!!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Rosemary Crackers
I went to a co-worker's b-day party last night and they had these delicious rosemary crackers. So I decided to make some myself! This recipe was adapted from one I found online, here.
Rosemary Crackers
1 C flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 C warm water
1/6 C olive oil
1 tsp rosemary, roughly chopped
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
2. Add in water and oil until a soft dough forms.
3. Knead in the chopped rosemary.
4. Spray or lightly grease a cookie sheet. Press dough and flatten to the edges of the cookie sheet. (at first it looks as if it can't be spread that thin, but it will cover a cookie sheet with enough patience)
5. Cut with a cookie cutter into desired size and shape.
5. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until dry and golden brown.
These were good but I would even go for some more rosemary next time I make them! Way more delicious than store-bought crackers and super easy!
Rosemary Crackers
1 C flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 C warm water
1/6 C olive oil
1 tsp rosemary, roughly chopped
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
2. Add in water and oil until a soft dough forms.
3. Knead in the chopped rosemary.
4. Spray or lightly grease a cookie sheet. Press dough and flatten to the edges of the cookie sheet. (at first it looks as if it can't be spread that thin, but it will cover a cookie sheet with enough patience)
5. Cut with a cookie cutter into desired size and shape.
5. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until dry and golden brown.
These were good but I would even go for some more rosemary next time I make them! Way more delicious than store-bought crackers and super easy!
Eating less, eating local and eating better could slash U.S. energy use, CU study finds
This article was passed along to me. This is very important!
Eating less, eating local and eating better could slash U.S. energy use, CU study finds
How much energy we use to produce food could be cut in half if
Americans ate less and ate local foods, wolfed down less meat, dairy
and junk food, and used more traditional farming methods, says a new
Cornell study.
'We could reduce the fossil energy used in the U.S. food system by
about 50 percent with relatively simple changes in how we produce,
process, package, transport and consume our food,' said David
Pimentel, professor emeritus of ecology and agriculture in the College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell.
Pimentel's analysis, co-authored with five former Cornell
undergraduates who were in Pimentel's Environmental Policy course in
2006, is published in the academic journal Human Ecology.
Pimentel says that about 19 percent of the total fossil fuel used in
this country goes into the food system -- about the same amount we use
to fuel cars. His analysis details how changes in the food system
could reduce energy.
For example, the researchers recommend:
* Eat less and cut down on junk food: To produce the typical
American diet requires the equivalent of about 500 gallons of oil
per year per person, says the study. Americans, on average,
consume about 50 percent more calories than recommended by the
federal government for optimal health and get one-third of their
calories from junk food. Eating less and cutting down on junk food
would use significantly less energy, considering all the
processing, packaging and transportation costs saved.
* Eat less meat and dairy: We use 45 million tons of plant protein
to produce 7.5 million tons of animal protein per year, according
to Pimentel. Switching to a vegetarian diet, he says, would
require one-third less fossil fuel than producing the current
animal-based American diet.
* Eat more locally grown food: Food travels an average of 1,500
miles before it is eaten. 'This requires 1.4 times the energy than
the energy in the food,' Pimentel said. A head of iceberg lettuce,
for example, which is 95 percent water, provides 110 calories and
few nutrients. Irrigating the lettuce in California takes 750
calories of fossil energy and shipping it to New York another
4,000 calories of energy per head, according to the analysis.
Locally grown cabbage, on the other hand, requires only 400
calories to produce and offers far more nutrients, not to mention
it can be stored all winter long.
* Use more traditional farming methods: Pimentel's team also shows
how using methods to reduce soil erosion, irrigation and pesticide
use, through such things as crop rotation, manure and cover crops,
could cut the total energy now used in crop production.
The study's co-authors are Sean Williamson, Courtney Alexander, Omar
Gonzalez-Pagan, Caitlin Kontak and Steven Mulkey, all Cornell Class of
2007.
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Aug08/Energy.Food.html
Eating less, eating local and eating better could slash U.S. energy use, CU study finds
How much energy we use to produce food could be cut in half if
Americans ate less and ate local foods, wolfed down less meat, dairy
and junk food, and used more traditional farming methods, says a new
Cornell study.
'We could reduce the fossil energy used in the U.S. food system by
about 50 percent with relatively simple changes in how we produce,
process, package, transport and consume our food,' said David
Pimentel, professor emeritus of ecology and agriculture in the College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell.
Pimentel's analysis, co-authored with five former Cornell
undergraduates who were in Pimentel's Environmental Policy course in
2006, is published in the academic journal Human Ecology.
Pimentel says that about 19 percent of the total fossil fuel used in
this country goes into the food system -- about the same amount we use
to fuel cars. His analysis details how changes in the food system
could reduce energy.
For example, the researchers recommend:
* Eat less and cut down on junk food: To produce the typical
American diet requires the equivalent of about 500 gallons of oil
per year per person, says the study. Americans, on average,
consume about 50 percent more calories than recommended by the
federal government for optimal health and get one-third of their
calories from junk food. Eating less and cutting down on junk food
would use significantly less energy, considering all the
processing, packaging and transportation costs saved.
* Eat less meat and dairy: We use 45 million tons of plant protein
to produce 7.5 million tons of animal protein per year, according
to Pimentel. Switching to a vegetarian diet, he says, would
require one-third less fossil fuel than producing the current
animal-based American diet.
* Eat more locally grown food: Food travels an average of 1,500
miles before it is eaten. 'This requires 1.4 times the energy than
the energy in the food,' Pimentel said. A head of iceberg lettuce,
for example, which is 95 percent water, provides 110 calories and
few nutrients. Irrigating the lettuce in California takes 750
calories of fossil energy and shipping it to New York another
4,000 calories of energy per head, according to the analysis.
Locally grown cabbage, on the other hand, requires only 400
calories to produce and offers far more nutrients, not to mention
it can be stored all winter long.
* Use more traditional farming methods: Pimentel's team also shows
how using methods to reduce soil erosion, irrigation and pesticide
use, through such things as crop rotation, manure and cover crops,
could cut the total energy now used in crop production.
The study's co-authors are Sean Williamson, Courtney Alexander, Omar
Gonzalez-Pagan, Caitlin Kontak and Steven Mulkey, all Cornell Class of
2007.
http://www.news.cornell.edu/
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Please Act to help Ensure the Future of Sustainable Agriculture!
From Food Democracy Now:
"We've already got Tom Vilsack as the head of the USDA, but the Vilsack USDA will also be incredibly influenced by the Deputy Secretary. And I have bad news about that that requires immediate action by all progressives.
"We've already got Tom Vilsack as the head of the USDA, but the Vilsack USDA will also be incredibly influenced by the Deputy Secretary. And I have bad news about that that requires immediate action by all progressives.
As you know, I've been advocating the "Sustainable Dozen" chosen by Food Democracy Now (go there and sign their petition!) as candidates for USDA Deputy Secretary and Under Secretary positions. Several of these Sustainable Dozen, including Chuck Hassebrook were being seriously considered. And then... a few conservative Democrats (Collin "organics are dumb" Peterson, Ken Salazar, Sen. Conrad of North Dakota) spoke up against him. What??? This election was a victory for CHANGE. So why are Senators like Conrad being heeded when they advocate an anti-change agenda??
The names now up for Deputy USDA Secretary are nasty pro-industrial ag, anti-sustainable ag people like the Big Bad Dennis Wolff of Pennsylvania. Wolff is known for unilaterally deciding that Pennsylvanians do not have a right to know whether their milk has artificial growth hormones in it or not (a policy that was thankfully overturned by the PA governor after much consumer outcry).
Furthermore, Joy Philippi, former past president of the National Pork Producers Council, co-chair the Rural Americans for Hillary is being considered for an under secretary position. The National Pork Producers Council is the lobby group for hog factory farms. That means we'd be installing the fox in the henhouse every bit as completely as Bush did during his eight years. Again, this is going against what Obama promised us, as he has promised to have an administration free of lobbyists.
Putting Dennis Wolff or others like him in as the #2 at the USDA would be an end to any hope for change in American agriculture during Obama's time as President. And if this election was a victory for Hope and Change, then choosing Wolff as Deputy Secretary (or another person with similar ideas as him) would directly violate what the people of this great country voted for on November 4.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
- Post about this on your blog.
- Sign the petition at Food Democracy Now.
- Write your Senator and Representative today. The best thing you can do right now is to send an email or a fax (as opposed to calling or sending snail mail). You can find your Representative here and your Senator here. Ask them to speak to the Obama transition team about this. Ask them to support reform candidates like Chuck Hassebrook or others in the Sustainable Dozen for USDA Deputy Secretary and to oppose anti-sustainable ag candidates like Dennis Wolff.
- Email a link to this blog post to your friends and ask them to take action as well."
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
So Much Food!!
Hey Friends! Sorry for the lack of posts the last few weeks. Rose was visiting me in Tucson, and while there were no posts, that does not mean the cooking stopped! I won't write about everything we ate, since there were over 20 meals involved, but I will share the highlights :)
First, I will share our experience having the best pizza in the world. No joke. Or at least according to Food Network and Bon Apetit magazine, Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix is the best pizza in the country. We made the two hour trip to phoenix just for this reason and spent the morning walking through the botanical garden there and their Chihuly glass art exhibit. So beautiful! So we showed up at the restaurant at 4:30opm and they opened at 5. I was told to expect a wait, but never did we imagine we would be waiting until 8pm before being seated! Thankfully we were fully equipped with books and playing cards to keep us entertained while we waited in the bar next door drinking cider and eating "gormet grilled cheese." We were eventually seated at the bar (the wait was long, but quite enjoyable) and ordered bread for starters. The restaraunt is small, holding maybe 50 people at a time, so the chef "Bianco" is able to make each pizza by hand. And he truly is a genius. I heard that he didn't like any pizza ovens...ever...and so he made his own! Rose ordered the margherita pizza with homemade mozzarella and I ordered the "rose" pizza with red onion, parmigiano reggiano, rosemary, Arizona pistachios. Oh. My. God. This pizza truly is one of the best things I have ever eaten. I can't say it enough. If you are EVER west of the Mississippi, go to Pizzeria Bianco. It was well worth the trip! And the pizzas were only $11 each!
Now, ice cream time. Rose had the wonderful idea of making coconut curry ice cream. We were unsure how this would work out so we made a batch of coconut ice cream and used 1/4 of the cream for the actual curry part. We used coconut milk and toasted coconut in the ice cream. While the coconut ice cream tastes wonderful, I put a little too much coconut in, making it more chewy than anything else...The good news is, the coconut curry ice cream is delicious and something I would make again! All we did was add curry powder to the coconut custard before churning and freezing!
For your New Years Eve dinner we made spinach-feta pastries, one of our favorites. This recipe was taken from the Joy of Cooking (since it is amazing. always.)
Spinach and Feta Triangles
Melt in a small skillet over medium heat 2 Tbsp butter Add and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes 1/4 C minced onions Add One 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained (about 1 C) Cook until the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and col. Stir into the spinach: 1 C crumpled feta (4 ounces) 1 tsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp black pepper Lay on a work surface 8 sheets phyllo dough, thawed if frozen Preheat the oven to 375. Melt in a small saucepan 1/4 C butter Remove 1 sheet of phyllo dough and brush it with melted butter. Lay another sheet over the first and cut the sheets lengthwise into 3 strips. Working with 1 strip at a time, spoon 1 Tsp of the filling into the bottom left corner of the strip. Fold the bottom end over the filling to meet the right-hand edge, making a triangle, then continue to fold as if folding a flag, all the way to the top. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining strips. Brush the tops with melted butter. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve hot.
These are surprisingly amazing topped with honey!!
Cinnamon rolls are one of my favorites ever, and was one of Rose and my first things we made together so we decided to make some for a New Year's Breakfast. The recipe is from here
Cinnamon Rolls
INGREDIENTS
Our greatest success would have to be palak paneer with homemade cheese! With the help of this palak paneer recipe we made a wonderful Indian dinner. I was frightened to make the paneer. Making cheese has always been a goal of mine and never did I realize how easy it is to make fresh cheese. After some research, I can safely say the process of making paneer is very similar (if not the same as) farmer's cheese and also possibly ricotta.
Paneer
4 Cups whole milk
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Bring the milk to a simmer. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice. Wait 10 minutes, without disturbing, as the curds and weigh. Spoon into cheese cloth over a collander and let the weigh drain out completely (about half an hour). Then place a weight over the curds, still wrapped in cheese cloth, for another half hour or so. Fridge until the cheese firms up and it's ready to use.
Palak Paneer Ingredients:
Spinach - 1, 16oz pkt chopped, frozen (about 1/2 kg)
Paneer - 7 oz or 200 g
Oil - 3 tbsp
Onions - 2 med, minced
Ginger - 1″ pc, minced
Garlic - 4 cloves, minced
Water - 1/2 cup
Tomatoes - 2 large or 1, 14oz can diced (pureed)
Garam Masala - 2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
Red Chili Powder - to taste
Salt - to taste
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Heavy Whipping Cream - 8 tbsp or to taste
Milk - to taste (optional)
Unfortunately, we didn't have a non-stick pan so when we tried frying the paneer it stuck and wouldn't brown correctly, so we just put it in uncooked. It was still delicious. We also found that this recipe needed some extra salt, pepper, garam masala, and I also put in a few dashes of cinnamon, because cinnamon makes everything better. This was a wonderful dish and we had tons of leftovers for lunches throughout the week.
There was much more cooking and baking that occured over the two weeks (including a few tomato, mozzerela, and basil sandwiches - our signature dish- and some amazing brownies, hot coco, rose's coconut meringues, cookies, and a coconut curry dish, not just an ice cream) but those recipes might have to wait for another time!
First, I will share our experience having the best pizza in the world. No joke. Or at least according to Food Network and Bon Apetit magazine, Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix is the best pizza in the country. We made the two hour trip to phoenix just for this reason and spent the morning walking through the botanical garden there and their Chihuly glass art exhibit. So beautiful! So we showed up at the restaurant at 4:30opm and they opened at 5. I was told to expect a wait, but never did we imagine we would be waiting until 8pm before being seated! Thankfully we were fully equipped with books and playing cards to keep us entertained while we waited in the bar next door drinking cider and eating "gormet grilled cheese." We were eventually seated at the bar (the wait was long, but quite enjoyable) and ordered bread for starters. The restaraunt is small, holding maybe 50 people at a time, so the chef "Bianco" is able to make each pizza by hand. And he truly is a genius. I heard that he didn't like any pizza ovens...ever...and so he made his own! Rose ordered the margherita pizza with homemade mozzarella and I ordered the "rose" pizza with red onion, parmigiano reggiano, rosemary, Arizona pistachios. Oh. My. God. This pizza truly is one of the best things I have ever eaten. I can't say it enough. If you are EVER west of the Mississippi, go to Pizzeria Bianco. It was well worth the trip! And the pizzas were only $11 each!
Now, ice cream time. Rose had the wonderful idea of making coconut curry ice cream. We were unsure how this would work out so we made a batch of coconut ice cream and used 1/4 of the cream for the actual curry part. We used coconut milk and toasted coconut in the ice cream. While the coconut ice cream tastes wonderful, I put a little too much coconut in, making it more chewy than anything else...The good news is, the coconut curry ice cream is delicious and something I would make again! All we did was add curry powder to the coconut custard before churning and freezing!
For your New Years Eve dinner we made spinach-feta pastries, one of our favorites. This recipe was taken from the Joy of Cooking (since it is amazing. always.)
Spinach and Feta Triangles
Melt in a small skillet over medium heat 2 Tbsp butter Add and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes 1/4 C minced onions Add One 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained (about 1 C) Cook until the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and col. Stir into the spinach: 1 C crumpled feta (4 ounces) 1 tsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp black pepper Lay on a work surface 8 sheets phyllo dough, thawed if frozen Preheat the oven to 375. Melt in a small saucepan 1/4 C butter Remove 1 sheet of phyllo dough and brush it with melted butter. Lay another sheet over the first and cut the sheets lengthwise into 3 strips. Working with 1 strip at a time, spoon 1 Tsp of the filling into the bottom left corner of the strip. Fold the bottom end over the filling to meet the right-hand edge, making a triangle, then continue to fold as if folding a flag, all the way to the top. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining strips. Brush the tops with melted butter. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve hot.
These are surprisingly amazing topped with honey!!
Cinnamon rolls are one of my favorites ever, and was one of Rose and my first things we made together so we decided to make some for a New Year's Breakfast. The recipe is from here
Cinnamon Rolls
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup margarine, melted
- 4 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
DIRECTIONS
- Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
- After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes
Our greatest success would have to be palak paneer with homemade cheese! With the help of this palak paneer recipe we made a wonderful Indian dinner. I was frightened to make the paneer. Making cheese has always been a goal of mine and never did I realize how easy it is to make fresh cheese. After some research, I can safely say the process of making paneer is very similar (if not the same as) farmer's cheese and also possibly ricotta.
Paneer
4 Cups whole milk
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Bring the milk to a simmer. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice. Wait 10 minutes, without disturbing, as the curds and weigh. Spoon into cheese cloth over a collander and let the weigh drain out completely (about half an hour). Then place a weight over the curds, still wrapped in cheese cloth, for another half hour or so. Fridge until the cheese firms up and it's ready to use.
Palak Paneer Ingredients:
Spinach - 1, 16oz pkt chopped, frozen (about 1/2 kg)
Paneer - 7 oz or 200 g
Oil - 3 tbsp
Onions - 2 med, minced
Ginger - 1″ pc, minced
Garlic - 4 cloves, minced
Water - 1/2 cup
Tomatoes - 2 large or 1, 14oz can diced (pureed)
Garam Masala - 2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
Red Chili Powder - to taste
Salt - to taste
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Heavy Whipping Cream - 8 tbsp or to taste
Milk - to taste (optional)
Method:
- Cook frozen Spinach with 1/2 cup Water in a microwave safe dish for 7-8 minutes stirring in between.
- Blend cooked Spinach to desired texture (avoid over-blending).
- Heat 2 tbsp Oil in a medium non-stick pan on high heat.
- Once Oil is hot, add in the minced Onions, stir, cover and let it cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add in the Ginger and Garlic and mix. Cook for another 4-5 minutes.
- Add in the Tomates, cover and cook till the oil seperates from the mixture.
- Keep stirring frequently as the Masala (Onion, Tomato, Ginger & Garlic mixture) tends to burn very fast.
- While the Masala is cooking, cube the paneer to desired size…1/2″ cubes work well.
- In a non-stick frying pan, heat the remaining 1 tbsp Oil.
- Once Oil is hot, add in the paneer cubes and let them cook till they are golden brown on all sides.
- Remove from the pan into a plate with paper towel to soak the excess oil.
- In a couple of minutes, pour the Paneer into a bowl of cold water. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, once the Masala is prepared, add in the mashed Spinach.
- Mix and add the Garam Masala, Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder, Salt, Chili Powder & Turmeric Powder.
- Mix well and cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Add in the desired amount of Cream and /or Milk. Mix and cook for another few minutes.
- Gently squeeze the water out of the Paneer and put the Paneer in the Spinach.
- Mix gently and serve hot.
- Serves 4 . Enjoy with Naan, Chapati, Paratha or Rice.
Unfortunately, we didn't have a non-stick pan so when we tried frying the paneer it stuck and wouldn't brown correctly, so we just put it in uncooked. It was still delicious. We also found that this recipe needed some extra salt, pepper, garam masala, and I also put in a few dashes of cinnamon, because cinnamon makes everything better. This was a wonderful dish and we had tons of leftovers for lunches throughout the week.
There was much more cooking and baking that occured over the two weeks (including a few tomato, mozzerela, and basil sandwiches - our signature dish- and some amazing brownies, hot coco, rose's coconut meringues, cookies, and a coconut curry dish, not just an ice cream) but those recipes might have to wait for another time!
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