Fun Playing with Mother Earth and Slow Food on Terra Madre Day

Every since I gave my first volunteer day to World Hunger Year as a follower of the late singer Harry Chapin, in 1977, I have been involved in the food movement. The "food movement" takes many forms - some fun and tasty,  some serious and life-or-death, and some in between these extremes. The organization that best embodies this movement for the "average American,"  IMHO, is Slow Food. Founded internationally by delegates from 15 countries in 1989, Slow Food in the US

seeks to create dramatic and lasting change in the food system. We reconnect Americans with the people, traditions, plants, animals, fertile soils and waters that produce our food. We inspire a transformation in food policy, production practices and market forces so that they ensure equity, sustainability and pleasure in the food we eat.

Slow Food USA Mission Statement.

Slow Food designated Thursday December 10, 2009 as Terra Madre Day. Members were encouraged to celebrate eating locally, and to celebrate 20 years of Slow Food activism. Events raised the voices of small-scale farmers, fishers, breeders and all those who uphold good, clean and fair food production and traditions in their region, and are working for food sovereignty. And so, in this spirit, Bob and I partook in two fabulous eating adventures that celebrated the locally owned and smaller-scale food producers and providers. And we had fun playing with all of this food, too.

We began with lunch delivered from Mister Brisket to a diverse group assembled in our office conference room - a few of the firm's attorneys, friends, and Slow Food members.


BBQ Brisket on White

Two people ordered this - the perfume was amazing!


The Charles Barr

Since I couldn't decide between corned beef and pastrami, I decided to enjoy both! On rye, of course, with deli mustard. Yum.

And as if this feast wasn't enough - local farmer Courtney McLeod (also known as Herbthyme on the local chat boards) brought us two lovely dessert choices from her farm kitchen  - banana bread and chocolate pumpkin bread.

Sorry the banana bread got short shrift - I was shooting across the table.

After about 5 hours of digestion, it was time for part 2 of the festivities, which would include many of the same folks who shared our lunch - a Meet the Farmers' Dinner at The Greenhouse Tavern.

Our evening began in the intimate downstairs room, with the farmer-guests seated at the Chef's Table alongside the open kitchen.  The tables were set with bread from On the Rise Artisan Breads and the most creamy looking spread - I thought for sure it was cheese or a dip from Lake Erie Creamery (one of the featured farmers) - but the server informed us that it was butter churned in-house! And a delightful start it was!

The amuse was served to each diner, then a platter was set on the table for anyone who wanted more!

Arincini with Parmesan & Chives

This succulent bite was served with an Aperol Cocktail with Prosecco. As we enjoyed, Chef-Owner Jonathon Sawyer welcomed us.

Our first course featured Lake Erie Creamery cheeses:

Endive Tarte Tatin with Fresh & Aged Goat Cheeses and Roasted Grapes

 

I've never thought to roast grapes - but what a wonderful idea! The tatin melted in the mouth - it was a shame that farmer Mari Ann Janosko was unable to join us, so she could hear those lip-smacking sounds for herself!

Old Overholt Rye & Pimm's Highball

Chef Jonathon decided to go all over the map with the drink selections - after the prosecco cocktail that began the evening, we enjoyed Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale with our first course, and this cocktail with our second. The rye liquor complimented the rye flavors in the salad course perfectly.

Caraway & Rye Roasted Seed Carrots with Assorted Greens, Pumpkin Seeds and Bacon

The greens and beets were supplied by Farmer Peter McDermott of Urban Farms and they were simply marvelous - the carrots had an extra shot of sweetness infused into them by the recent frigid weather snap, and the greens conversely had been harvested "just in time" to avoid being frozen.

The next two courses were served family style:

40 Clove Garlic Chicken, Whole Fryed, with Lemon, Thyme & Pomme Puree

The chicken, from Hickory Acres farm in Oberlin, was incredibly crispy and moist, and the deep fried lemons added a new taste twist. Farmers Fred and Chris Thaxton delivered with the most heavenly organic garlic, which was roasted to perfection.

Eat your heart out, Colonel Sanders - the herbs and spices complimented the fresh poultry  to a tee.

Thaxton's garlic was especially wonderful mashed into the pomme puree:

Sorry - too busy eating to photograph the combination - but you get the idea!

The last meat course was sourced from Farmer Aaron Miller and featured his grass-fed beef!

Braised Beef Shortrib with Pearl Onions

 

My portion.

My table-mate's portion.

Unfortunately, I was so fixated on the beef that I didn't photograph the Yorkshire Puddings when they came out, nor did I snag one. Chef Jonathon said that more were coming, so I didn't worry about it. Bob and I finally snagged the last two from the initial batch, that were sitting on a serving plate on the far side of the tables.  Since I knew more were coming, I didn't photograph it (it was already getting pretty cold). Trust me that the puddings were beautiful to look at and delicious to eat - but when the additional batch came out, the emphasis was more on taste than looks:

These were every bit as delicious as (and a lot warmer when I got to taste them than) the first ones!

For dessert, Chef Jonathon combined some of Lucy's Welhausen's magnificant Ohio Honey with Ohio Grenache for a warming glogg, which complimented the honey-based dessert very nicely:

 

Fennell Pollen Panna Cotta with Ohio Honey

A light and succulent ending to a fabulous celebration of some of our finest local farmers and their wares! The flavor of the fennell pollen cut through the rich panna cotta, and brought out the honey notes.

I hope that you found some local food to play with on Terra Madre Day. And it's ok if you didn't - no need for event psychosis - every day can be Terra Madre Day if we take a little time and effort to consider where our food comes from and how it is made. We are very lucky in the Cleveland area to have so many fine sources at the farm, retail and restaurant levels to play with food that is made with love, on so many levels.

More Fun Playing With Food From Mister Brisket

I was most sad to learn late yesterday that Margret Vine (the mother of Sanford Herskovitz a/k/a Mister Brisket), passed away on Friday at the age of 95. Per Jewish tradition, the funeral must be held as soon as possible, but NOT on Shabbat (Friday or Saturday). I had spoken briefly with Hank Kornblutt on Friday about getting some of the Wild Alaskan Salmon, from Alaska 's Taku River, that he had gotten in via Fedex, and he said nothing about it.

I can only conjecture that she had been ill and her passing expected, because no one said a word about it when Bob and I visited the store on Saturday to pick up our fish. Although, Sanford was on the phone the entire time, which is unusual. So, my apologies for not offering condolences while we were there. I learned last night that the funeral is today.

Bob had never tasted a freshly made Mister Brisket Pastrami Sandwich - and we had decided to remedy that this day. We packed our pound of fish, casing hotdogs, and sliced turkey breast into a cooler, and took the sandwiches in another bag. We needed to shop at the Heinen's down the street anyway, so we made that our next stop. Before starting our shopping, however, we picked up a pop in the food court, then went upstairs to the dining room to enjoy our sandwiches. They were heavenly!


Pastrami, Rye, Ba-Tampte Deli Mustard





Every time I eat one of these (which isn't very often - I think my last one was on my birthday last July) I marvel at the punch of the fresh spices - that is what sets this pastrami apart from all others. Bravo, Hank and Sanford! And Bob was most impressed with the pickles - he pronounced them delightfully garlicky (I do not consume cucumbers in any form - so Bob got to enjoy both pickle slices).

Later in the evening, I made dinner. I did NOT split the fish filet - I asked Bob to do that because he can usually cut things much more precisely than I can. Not this time.



This was an exquisite piece of fish. No smell - not even normal salmon smell - it was absolutely pristine. You can see where the butcher got all of the pinbones out, so I didn't have to.

I caramelized red onions and prepared a side dish of Sichuan Green Beans, which I neglected to photograph. Then, I thought I was prepping mai fun, or thin rice noodles, which I was going to make into a simple fried-rice style accompaniment. It wasn't until the soaked noodles hit the wok and it became apparent that I had goofed - and grabbed bean thread noodles and not rice noodles. Oh well - no photo of that mistake, either.

The salmon got the same simple treatment we always give to King fillet - salt and fresh cracked pepper, saute in Extra Virgin Olive Oil to medium-rare, plate with caramelized onion and today, parsley. Simple and delicious.



Neither Bob nor I could finish our fish. Or our sides, for that matter. I had the solution for that!

After dinner, Bob decided to make a loaf of potato bread. This bread would be an amazing accompaniment to our leftovers omelet. The bread had amazing texture - soft on the inside, with a perfect crust. And specks of potato skin throughout!

We began our day this morning with the following breakfast:


Potato Bread


Breakfast Omelet





I started with a red Hungarian hot pepper from the freezer and a little ghee. Once that got hot, I added the leftover vegetables and noodles, and got them nice and hot. I then added the leftover salmon, and let it get hot. Over the top went two Hensbury Farm eggs. Stir gently.



Hartzler Farms butter on Bob's potato bread completed the plate. Yum!



Once again, Mister Brisket has satisfied our hunger, and given us primo food to play with - first for an amazing lunch, then dinner, then breakfast the next day. And Bob has a pot of beans in mind to accompany those hotdogs we bought . . . and I've got potato bread to make my turkey sandwiches on!

Fun Playing with Birthday Treats

My office subscribes to that delightful American tradition of treating everyone who works here to a cake on or close to their birthday. In recent years, our cakes are custom made by one of our receptionists, who really ought to be in the food biz!

The usual procedure involves a memo from the desk telling everyone the date and time to assemble in the conference room. When I received my memo (I had picked today, a day before my actual birthday, because one of my partners is off on Fridays), the time conflicted with a client appointment. Since I wanted to move the time earlier, into the lunch hour - why not order in lunch for the office? And where better to order in from than Mister Brisket!

Lunch arrived right on time at noon. Most of the lunch menu options were well represented - 1 turkey and swiss, 2 corned beefs, 3 pastramis and 1 BBQ Brisket. I only got photos of mine and the BBQ Brisket - everyone else ate them too fast!


My Pastrami on Rye with Spicy Mustard









BBQ Brisket on Whole Wheat



No toppings necessary. We all agreed we have to try this sandwich soon!

And here is my cake:



I am a longtime Doonesbury fan - I have a Broadway Show poster and a fully autographed cast page from the 1984 Broadway show on my office wall. The cake was spice cake stuffed with vanilla pudding and maple frosting.

And it isn't even my real birthday yet! Play on . . . .

More Fun Playing with Breakfast Food

What a difference quality eggs make! This post shows three recent breakfasts, all made with Kathy Breychak's incredible Blue Eggs.

Saturday June 14, I awoke to realize that we did not have a scrap of bread in the house. And I was hankering for some Blue Eggs for breakfast. So, how to make them? Matzoh Brei!

Of course, the only proper medium for frying Matzoh Brei is Onion Nyafat.



Soak matzoh in warm water, lightly beat eggs with salt and pepper and add to drained matzoh, let soak for as long as you can wait, then fry in hot Nyafat. Add salt after frying, and serve with a big glass of ice cold Organic milk or make an Egg Cream (I did, but didn't get a photo of it).



This Matzoh Brei is "pancake" style rather than "scrambled. I think it gets crispier when you let it sit rather than tossing it around incessantly. But there are times I scramble it.










Yum.

This past weekend, Bob and I enjoyed a number of treats from Cleveland's resident meat maven - Mister Brisket. On Friday, I learned that Mister B had scored some fresh Copper River King Salmon. And at a reasonable price, too (last week, it was well over $30 a pound, this week, it was well under $30).

And of course, once I trundled down to the store (2156 South Taylor Road, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118), I had to get some other goodies from them. So - I loaded up a half pound each of pastrami (best in Cleveland and maybe the world), corned beef, and turkey breast and a package of casing hotdogs.

Saturday morning - Pastrami & Eggs. Knowing how I intended to use it, Mister Brisket sliced the pastrami into thick slices. Add Blue Eggs and a hot pan and . . . magic!


Four Blue Eggs


Pastrami begins to render over a low flame




Now? Not yet.


Now? Yupper!


Lightly Beaten Eggs Poured Over the Meat

And, after a perfect flip:









We served it with Challah and Ghee (and yes, a little ketchup for me).

Sunday, it was the corned beef's turn:




Four Eggs to Start, Again



The Corned Beef was more thinly sliced, and didn't render as much fat as the pastrami had.







Another perfect breakfast. Thanks to Kathy Breychak and the gang at Mister Brisket for providing the ingredients for me to play with!