Eat. Drink. Better.

Fuyu Persimmon and Duck Salad with Hazelnut-Sherry Vinaigrette

What in the world is a Fuyu persimmon? The Fuyu (pictured at the right) is a non-astringent persimmon variety. It is sweet and delicious when it becomes orange to orange-red in color and is still firm. The Native American persimmon grown in the southern U.S. and the more common pointed Hachiya persimmon are astringent varieties that do not lose their bitterness until the fruit becomes soft.

Why do we care? Ripe Hachiya persimmons are great for making cooked dishes such as chutneys, relishes, steamed puddings or even pies. The Fuyu persimmon is perfect for this salad because its sweetness will cut through and balance the richness of the duck while maintaining its crisp texture.

Take a look at my post The Persimmon - More Than Pudding for additional persimmon information and recipes.

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Another chef on my personal short list for the White House (Kitchen) Cabinet would be Bryant Terry. He cooks some amazing food as you can tell from his “Eco-Soul Kitchen” posts at TheRoot.com and the pages of his cookbooks, Grub and the forthcoming Vegan Soul Kitchen, but it is Terry’s work in the realm of food justice that makes me want him talking with our next president over dinner.

That work includes his projects such as b-healthy! (Build Healthy Eating and Lifestyles to Help Youth), a multi-year initiative with the objective of empowering youth to create a more just and sustainable food system. Other projects include People’s Grub Parties in cooperation with the People’s Grocery, the Black and Green Fund, and the Southern Organic Kitchen Project, a program that will help bring nutrition education and food justice to historically-excluded urban communities in the South. Along with his knives, Terry would bring to the White House a unique understanding of the negative impacts of our agricultural policy on our nation’s people.

Chef Terry gave me a moment of time to fill out his “application” for the job.

What would you bring to the table as White House Chef?
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…[the persimmon's] bitter power of astringency is surprising, and seems capable of suspending for a time all the faculties of the lips, and binds up the risible muscles of the sufferer to the same extent that it excites those of a spectator.

- Charles Augustus Murray

Most Americans aren’t familiar with this delicious but misunderstood tree fruit. Not surprising, since it’s native to China and more prominent in the Far East, Middle East and Western Europe.

You’ll find persimmons in the market right now since they are usually available from late fall through the winter. There are over 500 varieties planted in the United States (originally introduced to California in the mid 1800’s) - each with a slightly different color, texture, shape and astringency. Persimmons can be classified into two general categories: those that bear astringent fruit until they are soft ripe and those that bear nonastringent fruits

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According to James Poterba, Head of the National Bureau of Economic Research, we are officially in a recession, so it’s more critical than ever to start cutting expenses wherever possible. 

One of the biggest areas in which you can reduce spending — especially in households with children – is right in your own kitchen. Here are some helpful tips for meal planning, food preparation, and grocery shopping that will reduce the strain on your wallet while offering some significant health benefits to boot.

Put on your Planning Cap

Planning your meals at least a week ahead will drastically reduce waste, and keep you from the trap of randomly tossing items into your grocery cart.  Figure out what your menu will be and buy only those key items.  And be sure to stock up on non-perishable goods that have longer a shelf life so that you’re armed with the right ingredients for each meal — dry and canned foods (rice, pasta, tomatoes) and powdered milk.

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What’s the best way to bring out the full flavor of meat? If you want to get those juices really flowing, you need to cook it long and slow, and with the temperature down low.

Love Me Tender by Heston Blumenthal, The Guardian newspaper, November 24, 2001

Trust me, your patience will be rewarded. Besides, isn’t that the point of cooking meat - to bring out its flavor and to render it tender enough to eat.

Long before cooks had ovens, they had braising. They would suspend a heavy, covered pot over a hearth fire or open grate in the kitchen and slowly cook, or braise, their food. Sometimes they stacked embers from the fire on the lid, to provide both upper and lower sources of heat. Inside, a little liquid formed a sauce, as meats and vegetables cooked. This method of cooking yields delicious dishes with considerable character.

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Brace yourself. It’s that time of year again.

I love Christmas as much as the next guy. The lights, the color, the celebration, the sharing, and especially the eating and drinking. The spiritual side of Christmas often goes a little unnoticed amid the mad rush of present buying, decorating and food preparation. Many traditions have played a part in forming Christmas as we know it today but it seem the most important is the spirit of commercialism.

In keeping with the true meaning of Christmas, I’m going to give you some helpful hints in choosing sustainable gifts for those on your list. These aren’t you ordinary boxes with colorful ribbons and fancy bows.

So, let’s go shopping.
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From local turkeys to seasonal root crops, Thanksgiving gifts us with a list of seasonal opportunities to green the holiday. While these all rank tangible, important actions to take, let’s not miss the golden green opportunity rooted in the inherent concept of Thanksgiving: gratitude.

A mindset of green gratitude emphasizes positive abundance, relishing the glass half full perspective. An important concept to keep on the front burner, especially as tanking economies fuel table conversations that tend to serve up sentiments of fear, scarcity and deprivation.

Add a dash of green reflection and gratitude to your Thanksgiving table by throwing these three questions on eating and drinking better into the conversation mix: Read the rest of this entry »

While we are on the topic of enjoying a local turkey day, I’m reminded of the trusty local foods wheel that was created by three brilliant women to help Bay Area folks decide what’s in season at the grocery store.

Hopefully a local foods wheel will be created for each and every spot in the US, but for now they are focused on the San Francisco Bay Area and New York Metro Area. The concept is simple, just choose the month we’re in, and rotate the wheel to reveal the local foods available. They explain: Read the rest of this entry »

The phone rang on Friday. It was our CSA farmer, “Farmer Dan.” We then went through the list of everything he had from the greenhouse and field and how much I needed. Arrangements were made for a special drop at one of the restaurants he sells to. Ten minutes later, part of my menu for Thanksgiving changes, salad is now on, and broccoli, another sweet potato dish, five pounds of late season apples mean a pie and applesauce both.

At the last farmers market of the season, I purchase spinach and more pecans. The pies will now include pecan. My spouse is off picking up our turkey, just butchered Saturday. There, he will get pork sausage and more pecans, both of which will go in the stuffing. Whatever else looks good, more eggs, whatever we can buy, he will get. Read the rest of this entry »

I am a commissioner on the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, an industry-funded agency and part of the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Commission Program. Among our other responsibilities to the fishing fleet, we have been charged with the enhancement of the image of the Dungeness crab industry, and to increase opportunities for profitability through promotion, education and research.

An additional requirement is the sustainability of the industry as a whole. The Oregon Dungeness crab fishery is one of the most sustainable fisheries and the most valuable ’single-species’ fishery in Oregon. The issues of Wave Energy development along with the proposed Marine Reserves off of the Oregon coast have prompted the fishing industries to make sure our concerns are heard and taken into account.

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