Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Earth Day Local Food Celebration...Grecian Style!


Parsley, thyme sprigs, peppercorn, bay leaf, a few cloves and a garlic clove or two nicely round out almost any stock. This lamb stock became the base for one of the bechamel sauces (I made 3 versions of moussaka for this occasion, detailed a little more in a caption below).


Saturday, April 16, 2011

Spring Risotto, albeit with "winter" squash


On November 6th of last year, we picked up a beautiful speciman from the pumpkin family from a farmer attending the last "summer" farmers' market in Portsmouth.  Intended to be eaten at some point, it was just too beautiful to hack into with my 8" chef's knife.  Needless to say, up until 15 hours ago it had been sitting on the counter as a reminder of all things fall and winter.  And, yes, you read that right: November 6, 2010.


Monday, April 11, 2011

Sustainable Seafood on my mind. Again.

What does sustainability mean for seafood?
Visit www.FoodandWaterWatch.org for lots more on important food and water topics

"A certification program should be transparent and should represent a clearly defined set of standards that are publicly vetted and easily accessible to everyone.  Its primary motivation should be providing neutral and straightforward guidance to consumers.  A label that makes vague claims of 'sustainability' or being 'ecofriendly' should not do so without being able to clearly define and support those assertions."


I bumped into the above publication while searching for info on fish hatchery use of antibiotics.  Went searching for that info as a result of obsessively watching the Decorah, IA, eagles who hunt regularly from the fish hatchery right next door to their nest.  Anyway, while I would love to get into an engaging discussion on the eagles, it's best that I keep to the subject matter for this blog and post on this provocative sustainable seafood info I just found.

Don't have time for a 22-page read?  Jump to page 3 of the document (page 7 on the pdf toolbar).

Friday, April 1, 2011

Homemade French Fries


I was convinced to give a new method of making homemade fries a chance, and I have to say, what a breeze!  Easy peasy!