March 9, 2008 - March 15, 2008

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Govt stifles growth of local food

Filed under: Food

Farmer Jack Hedin of Featherstone Farms in Rushford recently published a New York Times opinion piece about his efforts to expand his production of organic produce being stifled by the Agriculture Department's commodity farm program.

If you buy local, organic fruits and veggies, you've probably eaten Featherstone's food as the farm supplies all of the Twin Cities co-ops, Whole Foods, Lunds/Byerly's, Kowalski's, plus restaurants like the Birchwood Cafe, Lucia's, and Common Roots. But the demand for local foods is growing to include a much wider distribution network, and when I checked in with Hedin this week, he told me that's why he’s been trying to expand his operations. When a wholesaler asked him to supply melons for large supermakets such Cub Foods last year, he says, he simply didn’t have enough product. "They wanted twice or three times what I could produce," he says. Hedin has been trying to raise awareness about the Farm Bill in the midst of trying to recover from last year's flood, which he estimates caused about half-million dollars worth of damage to the farm. "The Federal Farm Bill is something that anyone who eats in this county has an enormous stake in," he says.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at March 14, 2008 10:00 AM | Comments (3)

 

Off the Menu: Noah Barton's Chilaquiles

Filed under: Off the Menu

One of the attendees of my "brunch for dinner" party late last year was Chino Latino's executive chef, Noah Barton. His contribution to the gathering was a dish that — frankly — didn't sound that impressive, in theory.

But then, it turned out that it was good. Really good. "Guests competitively scraping the bottom of the pan" good.

"Chilaquiles don't sound as good as they are," concedes Barton. "They're basically tortilla chips that are softened in a salsa and topped with eggs, and sour cream, and queso fresco — sometimes they're made with chicken or chorizo, depending on your preference."

"My first encounter with chilaquiles was when I was in Southern California. You could always tell when one of the line cooks was hung over, 'cause they would show up to work and start making chilaquiles right away. They're the typical Mexican hangover breakfast."

"I believe firmly in having them any time of the day, but they're typically a breakfast food. This recipe comes from one of the employees at Chino Latino who showed up hung over one day and showed us all how to make them."

Chilaquiles Rojas
Serves: About 8

1/2 pound chicken breast
2 cups chicken stock
2 tomatoes, cored
2 Guajillo chiles
1 jalapeno chile pepper, stemmed, halved
1/4 yellow onion, peeled, halved
1/4 yellow onion, diced
1 T. minced garlic
1 T. cilantro, chopped
1 T. epazote, chopped
pinch oregano
salt to taste
6 ounces tortilla chips
4 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 pound queso fresco
1 T. cilantro, chopped

1. In large stockpot, combine chicken and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer until chicken is tender, remove chicken and cool. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken and hold in refrigerator for later use.

2. Add tomatoes, guajillos, jalapeno and halved onion to chicken stock. Cover and bring to a low boil for 30-45 minutes.

3. Saute onions and garlic in large saute pan until translucent and slightly browned. Set aside.

4. Remove simmering vegetables from heat, add oregano, epazote, and cilantro. Completely puree with mixer to make salsa.

To make chilaquiles:

1. Heat chicken, salsa and tortilla chips over medium heat in large saute pan, stirring frequently and tossing to mix well.

2. Heat non-stick saute pan and spray with Pam or add clarified butter. Add eggs and cook over easy.

3. When tortillas are beginning to soften (not soggy), remove from heat and place on large serving platter. Add over easy eggs and top with queso fresco, sour cream and chopped cilantro.

4. Kiss that hangover "adios."

Posted by James Norton at March 13, 2008 11:24 AM | Comments (0)

 

5 common coffee mistakes

Filed under: Food

Brothers Miguel and Aaron Meza of Paradise Roasters point out five common coffee-making mistakes and how to avoid them:

1. Over-roasted beans. While dark roasting can mask bad beans' imperfections, it can smother the subtle flavors of good ones. Also, coffee tastes bests within a week or so of roasting: some serious coffee drinkers have taken to roasting at home.
2. Pre-ground coffee. Once beans are ground, there's a lot more surface area that can oxidize and make the coffee stale. Be sure to grind just before drinking.
3. Too little coffee. Miguel recommends using 10 grams (about 2 T) per 6 oz. water--twice what most people are used to.
4. Water that's not hot enough. Most at-home coffee makers don’t get the water up to the necessary 200 degrees. If you use a French press, use water just off the boil.
5. Impure water. Tap water is usually too hard or contains minerals that can taint flavor. Use spring or drinking water instead.

Oh, and if you like to dope your coffee with milk and sugar, the brothers definitely wouldn't recommend doing so with premium beans. “It'd be like going to Manny’s and ordering your steak well-done,” Aaron says.

Posted by Rachel Hutton at March 11, 2008 4:33 PM | Comments (4)

 

Kitchenwarez : Garlic Zoom

Filed under: Gadgets

In the kitchen, there are gadget people and then there are knife people. Gadget people are never content to rely upon a traditional, elegant solution to a food preparation problem, and instead use various colorful and wittily named gadgets. Knife people want to turn their sharpest knives on the gadget people resulting in a colorful and satisfying plume of blood and a cascade of the ever-intensifying screams, but do not ultimately do so for fear of somehow damaging the blade.

I have always thought of myself as a knife person, and, in fact, actually enjoy the vast majority of the tedious chopping / mincing / peeling / slicing / trimming that gadget people are happy to farm out to whatever piece of plastic is most colorful and readily available.

That said: sometimes garlic gets to be a little bit of a drag. At every meal — yes, just about everything including some sandwiches — garlic must be peeled and chopped. A garlic press just isn't suitable for many applications; sometimes "chopped" or "diced" is better than "pressed into a juicy, undifferentiated mass."

While walking through Kitchen Window the other day, I stumbled upon a garlic chopping device that was sensibility-defyingly interesting. The Garlic Zoom ($9.99) has all the Euro-plastic appeal of old-school Capsela toys, and much of the same geeky mechanical charm; its little rubber wheels turn an internal blade, thereby chopping up your (peeled) cloves into tiny little bits. The more you zoom the tiny garlic death car around, the smaller your final product becomes.

It works like a charm. And the clever plastic trapdoors very quickly release the chopped garlic and allow for quick rinsing. As an added bonus: the tactile stink of the plant is kept clear of your fingers.

The GarlicZoom is pleasurable to use, but — and this is a real testament to its actual usefulness — it's also a pleasure to reuse. You'll keep it on a counter somewhere, and when you think "garlic," you may well think "GarlicZoom!" shortly thereafter. Take it from a knife guy: As gadgets go, this thing's OK.

Posted by James Norton at March 10, 2008 10:34 PM | Comments (3)

 

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