Tag Archives: corn

Summer Side Dishes

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For Victoria.

I quit. That’s right, for reals yo, I quit my job. It’s a long story, and y’all knows I have no problem telling long stories, but I’d rather not get into it. In short, a year and a half ago I sold my company to a larger firm. We had big plans for the next stage. But it never really happened. I became disenfranchised, so a couple of months ago I decided to move on. Step out into the great unknown. Surrender.

As a result, life could not be better. Sure, I have real concerns about finances and building a new future. But without the heavy responsibility and [perceived] burden of work (for the first time in 20 years) I have found a level of calm and peace that has never existed in my adult life. I’m learning to listen to myself, the universe, my community. I’m diving head-first into the psyche of my 6-year old son. I’m getting caught up with the little things, taking naps, working out, lot’s of yoga and really having fun. Plus, it’s summertime.

Growing up at the beach, I always loved summer, which I suppose I took for granted. Now, living in a place where summer only peaks it’s head out on rare occasions, I’ve realized how precious summer is to me. I’ve always been the host of the backyard BBQ and show up to potlucks with my summery salads and deviled eggs. But in this state of awareness I’m noticing that it’s a deeper experience of connectivity to my childhood and freedom-by-way-of-beach-and-surf that signifies summer. It’s about getting a little high on wine and talking with friends over the grill. It’s about shucking oysters and steaming mussels, chasing waves, body surfing and time spent building sandcastles with my son. It’s about that magic hour around sunset when the heat of the day starts to vaporize off of your body, ice rattles in the glass while sweat beads down your fingers  - I sink deeper into chairs, conversations, life.

I might not be able to help you get to this place. But what I can do is share with you a few recipes that will make the experience that much better if you happen to find it.

Grilled Radicchio with Anchovy Vinaigrette
I love this earthy salad that comes together so easily and wows your guests. Soak some bamboo skewers for an hour. Take 3-5 medium heads of radicchio and cut them in half along the white center. Cut the halves into thirds lengthwise. Stack 4 wedges on to the skewers and soak them in an ice bath for at least an hour (this removes bitterness). To make the vinaigrette start with some coarse mustard and 4-6 anchovies. Mash them between the tines of two forks until they are near a paste. Add some minced shallots, black pepper and some thyme. Mix it all together with some sherry vinegar, enough to get it wet but not runny. Slowly drizzle in some good olive oil while whisking with the two forks until it emulsifies. Taste as you go and odd more oil if necessary. Drain the radicchio on some paper towels. Coat them lightly with olive oil and a little sea salt. Place the skewers on a hot grill for a minute or two, turning once. The leaves should just start to char, but not be close to burning. Pull them off into a wooden salad bowl. Toss with the vinaigrette, salt and pepper to taste and serve warm.

Lime-Pepper Corn
A few tricks to making yummy corn. In fact, I may never go back to butter and salt again. Start with the husks on and soak them in water for an hour. Peel back the husks and bunch them together at the bottom (essentially turn them inside out to form a handle), wrapping and tying them with butcher’s string. Soak them a little longer until they are ready to grill. Slice some limes and have your pepper grinder handy. On the hot part of the grill, place the corn and turn so that 1/4th of the kernels get color. Don’t let it burn. You’re just looking for a little smokey flavor and sugar sweetness from the grill. Pile them on a cooler spot on the grill until they are done cooking, just a couple of minutes, if at all. Rub the corn with fresh limes and then grind pepper right on to them. Serve hot.

Deviled Eggs
Don’t expect these to sit long. I’ve never made Deviled Eggs that weren’t gobbled up before all my guests arrived. The secrets is to use farm eggs, of course. They just have a deeper egg flavor, rich and earthy. You’ll want to use eggs that are at least a week old. This allows you to peel them easier because there is a membrane that loosens over time. Put the eggs in a pot and cover with water. Turn the burner to high. After it comes to a gentle boil take your pot off the heat and let sit for 9 minutes. Remove the eggs from the water and peel while running under cold water. Hold the eggs on their side and slice a tiny segment on left and right to provide a base when they are sitting, stuffed. Cut them in half and remove the yolks into a bowl.

The fillings are endless. Much like other recipes here, a lot is up to your creativity. Your base is typically mayonnaise, but I often use greek yogurt or even ricotta to fill or substitute. One of my favorite fillings is using Boar’s Head Horseradish sauce mixed with the yolks. Plain and simple. But for a basic Deviled Egg, try this. Put a little dollop of dijon mustard, a dash of
Worcestershire sauce, a dash of Tabasco and a shot of white wine vinegar. Mix half mayo and half greek yogurt until the filling is creamy. Salt and pepper to taste. Use a small spoon or pastry bag and fill the eggs generously. Top with smokey paprika or cayenne for a little heat or chives, fried basil or fried parsley for some herbaciousness.

Enjoy your summer and these side dishes. I’ve got a ton more where this came from, so if I can take a break from actually enjoying myself, I’ll try to write more.

Sustainability Overhaul: Step One

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As I mentioned in earlier posts, I was very effected by Michael Pollan’s books and would like to make changes to our current diet. Julie and I actually eat somewhat close to the prescribed ideal. But Judah is another story. We’ve been very lazy with our approach to child food and, as a result, have been feeding him far too many non-whole-food products.


 

Without getting too soap-boxy (I’ll leave you to read the books and get specifics for yourselves), the problem is that much of the food we (as in Americans) consume each day is not actually food. Our “food system” has become a a vehicle for the delivery of processed ingredients, mostly corn-based, via food-like products. If you read the labels on your foodstuffs and it has more than five ingredients, or you don’t recognize most of the ingredients (don’t be fooled by words that sound familiar – broccoli is broccoli, tomatoes are tomatoes) chances are you are eating the very stuff that has made our nation so unhealthy and overweight.

Equally, if not more, troubling is that when we choose our meat, we must remember that we aren’t just getting nutrition from the meat itself. Rather, we must consider that we eat what our meat eats. Again, corn is a major culprit. You can read Pollan’s history of how corn became the defacto diet of our livestock, which is only part of the disturbing story here. Feedlot conditions, disease and antibiotics all paint a very scary portrait of industrial meat production. But most importantly, the negative effects have made their way into our diet. Cows were meant to eat grass and the dietary effects of that are tantamount to creating a more sustainable and healthy diet for my family.

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What also surprised me, and is prompting my change, is that even if you are shopping at Whole Foods, you are not exempt from these problems. I’ve been a holier-than-thou Whole Foods junkie for years. Unfortunately, organic corn-based processed foods are very present in much of the offerings on their shelves and their meat, eggs and dairy are not necessarily all that pious. I thought that WF was watching my back but sadly it seems that they are not terribly distant from the same problems that plague the likes of traditional supermarkets. Being “organic” just isn’t enough.

So what does all of this mean for me and my family? As I said, I have to trust that you have read or will read the books to understand the breadth of reasons why we are making these decisions. And, I am not a person of extremes. Our lives are simply too busy to eat every meal from more-than-organic farms and pastured 100% grass-fed meats. This is the goal, but the reality needs to be more flexible.

With that, I’d like to chronicle my attempts by posting the specific trials and tribulations of a family attempting sustainability. Today we’ve made the first step. We used to receive a weekly delivery from Planet Organics, which we are now resuming. I am trying to vette them as much as possible, which is not an easy process. From what I can tell, they support local, sustainable farmers, including Marin Sun Farms Meats, which is 100% grass-fed. Still, I’d like to know more about the specific farms they support and the processes of those farms. The devil is in the details.

 

 

Additionally, I will still need to shop at Whole Foods or Rainbow Grocery, but with a much keener eye than before. Gone are the days of believe the low-fat hype. No longer will I grab boxes with health claims and food-like substances just because in-Whole-Foods-we-trust! I feel empowered and will not fall pray to the bullshit that has encumbered our society, unless I choose to (which those who know me, know that I have a soft-spot for junk food and am fully aware of my shortcomings!).

Lastly, the farmer’s markets of the Bay Area provide the best way to connect with my food sources and I plan to expand my horizons to include Alemany (yeah Nicole!) and Berkeley (yeah Cristina!). I’ve been a Ferry Building fan since inception, but my wallet suffers each week and I need additional resources.

It won’t be easy to break Judah of his chicken-dinosaur, fish-stick, hot dog, pizza, spaghetti and macaroni & cheese diet. But if we learned anything from Greece is that with patience and the right timing, he’ll open up to other foods. In the interest of his carbon and nitrogen composition, and avoiding the epidemics of type-2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer, we need to break out of the corn-based diet and bring real foods into his life. Our lives.