Japanese Tea Ceremony

The Japanese Tea Ceremony has fascinated me, probably since Karate Kid. I'm not sure why. The discipline, the ritual, the sacredness perhaps. It's just beautiful. I guess when you don't have those kinds of rituals in your life, you're fascinated by it in others. I again became fascinated by the ritual after reading Memoirs of a Geisha. Japanese society and their rituals became even more intriguing. To top it off I love Maccha. I'm not a huge tea fan. I have lots of it in my cupboard, because I'm always trying to make myself like it. I figure it would be better to drink it in the morning rather than coffee, in order not to raise my blood pressure. I should drink chamomile in the evenings rather than wine, but I just can't enjoy it the same. But! The one tea I do enjoy is powdered green tea, or maccha. The flavor is just so intense. It's got a brightness to it that I can't explain and it goes so well with something slightly sweet. So, I began my hunt for Maccha, both here in Humboldt and on line. I had no success, until on my and my husbands anniversary we walked into a little shop called All Under Heaven on 212 F St. in Eureka CA. They had little tins of Maccha along with tea bowls and bamboo whisks. I told my husband, "that's what I want for Christmas". Well he couldn't remember the whisk, but he did remember the Maccha. Yeah Me!
So, last night I pulled out my tin of Christmas Maccha served up the girls, me and my husband an impromptu Japanese Tea Ceremony. This is what you do:

First you clean the serving bowls and boil the water. Serve a sweet treat before serving the tea (I served dried figs) You mix the Maccha and water and whisk it until it's frothy. The contrast of the bitterness of the tea and the sweetness of the treat served before represents harmony. (I just love Japanese traditions - they're so cool).

When you receive the tea or chauwan take it in your right hand, place the cup in your left palm and turn clockwise three times before you drink. When you're done, slurp loudly to express how good the tea was.

Wipe the cheuwan where your lips touched with our right hand, turn counter clockwise and return to the host.

This type of tea ceremony is called a chakai and will take from 20 minutes to an hour. (We probably squeezed it into 10 minutes - that's about all you can manage with a 10 and 5 year old.) We were no where near honoring a traditional tea ceremony. That would take years of practice, but it was fun introducing our children to another culture's traditions. One that can be centering, artful, even religious. The Japanese have so many beautiful traditions that are artful and centering. I think it's wonderful that many of them center around food and drink, such as this tea ceremony. I think our culture could use more sacredness around our food and drink. It would make eating more precious, and less of a sport, and more of a wholesome part of our lives, rather than an issue.

I think I'll consider making more of my own sacred traditions when it comes to food in my and my family's lives. Maybe you should too?

Back from vacation

Ten days later and we're back home in Humboldt. We enjoyed our trip a great deal. The first 5 days were spent mostly with family swimming and relaxing in Chico. We did enjoy some tasty meals. When we arrived John's sister had grilled shrimp cooked and ready for us to snack on. What a welcome snack after 4 and a half hours on one of the windiest roads in California. Especially with a cold glass of Chardonnay. That evening John's sister fixed a simple and enjoyable stewed chicken dish. A perfect family meal that our girls very much enjoyed. For the Fourth my brother in law roasted a pork loin on the BBQ. I'm not sure what the rub was, but it was damn good. I spent the rest of the weekend finding excuses to eat the leftovers. It didn't matter if it was breakfast, lunch or snack, I was into that baggy of leftovers and into the leftover cole slaw. Yum. The next night we had a Hawaiian fish chowder prepared by John's sister. Again another hit, and a good meal with the temperatures getting hotter and hotter. Sunday John's sister and husband headed home in the wee hours and we had John's parents to ourselves. We gave them a break and took off for a bit of shopping then back to the house for dinner and a heat wave (thank God they have a pool). Sunday evening we had the pleasure of sharing ling cod that John had caught in Trinidad recently, fresh lettuce from our garden for salad and our delicious artichokes. Man! Am I proud of our artichokes. I've never had such a meaty choke. John's mom boiled them in water, vinegar, peppercorns and a bay leaf. They were wonderful. I didn't even need to dip mine in anything.

On Monday we headed north to Redding to check out Turtle Bay for the day. Great place, but don't hit up the gardens when it's over 110 degrees outside. I ended up with heat stroke. Also, if you go to their cafe and order a sandwich, be prepared to get a sandwich big enough for 3. They weren't spectacular, but they were pretty good. Fresh ingredients, not a lot of spice, and just way too much food. Next time I'll order one sandwich for me and the girls. That evening John's mom needed a break and threw in a frozen lasagna for dinner, which was very good, and I made another salad from our home grown lettuce. Perfect end to the day, well, no the swim in the pool in the over 95 degree evening was the perfect end.

Tuesday it was on to Monterey and more adventures, eating and non eating. First stop, Williams California.....

To be continued

Anthony Bourdain raps "Lisa"

A video put to Tony's rap tribute to female chefs.

Corned Beef

Saint Patrick's Day is coming! My once o' year chance to eat Corned Beef and Cabbage. I know that Corned Beef isn't actually the traditional meal eaten in Ireland for St. Paddy's day. Corned Beef is an every day food, the food of the working class. The Irish are far more likely to eat a good Lamb Stew, which sounds good too, and I'm always tempted every year to make Lamb Stew instead, but I always break down and do the Corned Beef and Cabbage, because it's the one time of year I eat it, and it is incredibly delicious comfort food.
This year, I have decided to take the Corned Beef to a new level. I happened to see a Bon Appetite magazine for the month of March, and there was this mouth watering picture of a corned beef sandwich on the front. The image drew me to the magazine and made my stomach growl. I had to buy this magazine, I couldn't be stopped! It must be mine! I was so excited when I got home

So, I saw the recipe for brining your own corned beef, and thought, "I can do this!"

The Bon Appetite Recipe was simple. A 6 lb Beef Brisket being brined in beer, water, sugar salt, pickle spices, and, if available, Cure Number 1, which of coarse was not.
Thankfully, the cure is not necessary. It's merely the agent that makes the corned beef red. So, my corned beef will be gray, not red.

Ruhlman's recipe (from his new Charcuterie book that I recently bought) was also simple. The only difference was that he did not include beer, he called for a little more salt, white sugar instead of brown,garlic, and the cure was not optional in his recipe. So, when he said cure for 5 and Bon Appetite said 8, I went with 8, since I couldn't get the cure. Just a safety thing I guess.

So Kim's recipe is: a 5 1b brisket brined in 4 cups water, 2 cups Bass Ale, 1/4 cup pickling spices, 2 garlic cloves 2 cups course kosher salt, 1 cup brown sugar. I would have put in the cure if I could have acquired some in time for starting the cure. Oh Well, A gray brisket is better than no brisket.

So, the brisket is currently out in the garage fridge brining away. This is day two ( and the garage smells like Corned beef! It's Awesome!). On Wednesday I'll take it out, and stir up the brine and turn over the brisket and let it brine for another 4 days. Sunday it should be done, which means time to cook it up with potatoes, carrots, turnips, and, of course, cabbage Monday afternoon.

I'm so excited to see what my cured corned beef tastes like. Will it be similar to what I buy, or very different, and if so, how will I feel about that? I'm not sure what to expect. So we shall see. I hope it's good.
So, I'll let you know, and in the mean time. Top O' the Mornin' to ya'

And in the words of Yeats:

"Irish poets learn your trade
Sing whatever is well made.
Scorn the sort now growing up
All out of shape from toe to top,
Their unremembering hearts and heads
Base-born products of base beds.
Sing the peasantry, and then
Hard-riding country gentlemen,
The holiness of monks, and after"
Porter-drinkers' randy laughter;
Sing the lords and ladies gay
That were beaten into the clay
Through seven heroic centuries;
Cast your mind on other days
That we in coming days may be
Still the indominitable Irishry.

W.B. Yeats, Under Ben Bulben

Offal

I've found a new favorite web site
Offal Good.com

Written by Chris Cosentino, a chef at
Incanto in San Francisco.

As you can see by what he's holding in his hands here, he's all about cooking offal. Actually, what he is about, and I think this is really cool, is using the whole animal. No waste. He's also about humane farming of these animals as well. So, now that we're venturing into our own world of raising animals for food, I find this guy to be a real inspiration. I would like to follow his credo; no waste. I'd like to show respect to the animals we are raising for food, by using all that I can to feed us. That's how my parents grew up, and I'm thankful that I have the opportunity to try to live that way and teach my children to respect the animals that feed them and to feel a connection to their food. When they get that hamburger at McDonalds, they'll be able to picture the cow it came from, unlike so many Americans who don't have a damn clue.
We've recently slaughtered a pig, and we will get our first chance to try cooking/eating offal soon, starting with the heart. So let's hope Chris will have a good recipe and some how to's posted for our adventure into the world of offal

La Chaparrita

We found a new treasure in Eureka. I've decided the best Mexican Restaurant Eureka has to offer is La Chaparrita. It's still not as good as Mi Rancho in Fortuna, but it's definitely a great restaurant. Check out this review from the Humboldt Review while you're enjoying some Barbacoa con Salsa Verde (Traditional lamb meat sauteed with green tomatillo sauce - and lots of cilantro) It went in sweet then slowly warmed the back of my throat with each new bite. It was addictive. I couldn't stop eating, and am still in pain from the amount of food I stuffed in my poor belly. If you're not a big eater, be prepared to ask for a box. Here's the review: http://www.humboldtsentinel.com/051202j.htm

Check them out at 210 4th St in Eureka

Artichoke Heaven

When I was a kid my dad decided to grow some artichokes. I loved artichokes, but I remember getting sick of them that year, because we ate them with every meal for weeks straigt. I also remember we always dipped the leaves in mayo. I'll never forget when Mom and Dad left me with Mom's best friend Josephine when they went on one of the very few trips they ever took without me. Josephine said, " we 're having artichokes tonight!" I was so excited! I was feeling homesick, and this was going to cure it, until I saw what she served. It was artichokes alright, but where was the mayo? No mayo! Only vinegar and oil. I was dismayed!

Well, I've recovered from all of that, and I still love artichokes, as does my husband and kids. My girls are like me, they must have mayo. John on the other hand is like my mom's Portuguese friend....vinegar and oil. But, last night, we had artichokes fresh from the garden that needed nothing. I boiled them in salt water. They were still young enough to not have to cut off their thorns. I served them up with ham and cheese sandwiches. I don't remember an artichoke tasting so fresh. My oldest daughter said, " These are the best artichokes ever! They taste like water, like good water. Fresh, like the earth. They're so good! I don't even need the mayonase." She was right. No mayo or vinegar and oil required. These things were heavenly!
I don't know if I'll ever be able to enjoy an artichoke from the store ever again. Last night's chokes were pure earthly heaven.

First Post

Welcome!
This page is going to be about every aspect of food you can think of. Tonight, I'm starting simple. What's for dinner.

Dinner is steamed broccoli (why ruin the flavor with anything else) Baked beans (Bush's is the best if you don't feel like making your own) and BBQ'd chicken legs covered in my made up dry rub......lets see I put sage, thyme, celery salt, garlic powder, allspice, coriander and salt and pepper on it. I'll let you know how it all comes out. The troops are hollering for me!