Vote With Your Fork

Michael Pollen on Oprah reminds us we have to change agricultural policy and the way we support farmers. When we vote with our forks, we get three votes a day.

Remembrance

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, a designation given to mark the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau 65 years ago by the Soviet Red Army. When I first saw the Holocaust Survivor Cookbook, I was momentarily taken back. It was hard for me to associate a time of food shortage, unthinkable starvation and terror with food and a collection of recipes. Finally it came to me that my first reaction was precisely why such a cookbook was needed.

Our first reassurance is being fed. Held in loving arms, our basic needs are met and all seems right with the world. Cooking and preparing food is an act of generosity and an expression of love. We grow up remembering the cookies lovingly baked, the soup that was made for us when we were sick, the celebratory meals and special dishes made for holidays and family get-togethers. In my heart and memory, the world's most perfect sugar cookies belong to my Aunt. Vegetable soup always makes me think of my mother and although I've never tasted any to match, pan-fried chicken always brings loving memories of my Grandmother.

Many of the survivors of the Holocaust who contributed to this cookbook were able to honor the families they lost by the contribution of family recipes. The dishes and the hands that prepared them were a part of their family's time of togetherness and a statement of their love for one another. There is no doubt those memories played a part in survival of many. Food related traditions are as important of a legacy as any memento and they need to be preserved. The cookbook does exactly that. All proceeds of the cookbook go to charitable organizations.

Mad for crazy cake - latimes.com

Cooking and wine making share the all important, if unanswerable question - is it an art or a science?

Some will tell you it is both. I might answer that it is science that is the art. Meanwhile check out this recipe and article from the LA Times.

Mad for crazy cake - latimes.com

Posted using ShareThis

Braised Short Ribs Recipe - Tom Colicchio | Food & Wine

I love this recipe; especially because you can make it up to two days ahead and it only makes it better. Try it with a parmesean polenta. Yum.

Braised Short Ribs Recipe - Tom Colicchio | Food & Wine

Polar Chill

As many gardeners, farmers and vinters well know, the United States Department of Agriculture has given us this nifty little tool called a zone hardiness map. It divides the US into eleven hardiness zones; each zone ten degrees warmer or colder than the next. The designations are based on the average annual minimum temperature or the coldest temps that can be expected in that area.

I've long been interested in grape cultivar selection and breeding as they relate to the Missouri climate. In 2006 the area where I live increased from Zone 5 to Zone 6 on the USDA hardiness map. This map at the National Arbor Day site demonstrates the changes that took place nationwide. The most familiar wines on store shelves such as chardonnay, merlot and cabernet, come from grapes that belong to a family called vitis vinifera. They're grown in milder climates such as California, Italy or France. Up until recently, these vines were almost unheard of in Missouri but there have been many vineyards in the Midwest pushing the envelope with good success.

As in many other parts of the country, 2010 has brought record breaking cold to Missouri. With temperatures hovering near zero, last week we went to -4F in Boone County. Last night set a record -12F. The last time it came close to this low was in 1962 at a full six degrees warmer. St. Louis experienced its first below zero temperatures in a decade. Other areas of Missouri have recorded even lower temps. While there are many factors that influence how well a vine might fare through a difficult winter, there are no doubt many grape growers anxious about this extreme weather. Research indicates hybrid grapes can experience bud injury below -5F and once temperatures drop to below -10F, things can become critical. On the other hand, vitis vinfera is a different story. Some report Cabernet Franc and Riesling as two of the most hardy, yet they are only considered so down to about -5F. Once you reach around around -12F to -16F there may be significant injury.

I am concerned about my fledgling vines. I planted rooted cuttings in nursery beds last spring but I also planted some in pots. Those pots are mulched in frames which will afford them some protection. I can only hope that protection is enough. There's really no use in being consumed by anxiety. We can't control the weather nor can we change the cold.

Who Doesn't Love A Blended Deal?

Other than reading up on viticulture or wistfully browsing seed catalogs, the January cold and cabin fever affords the opportunity to sip and tell on a few fortuitous wine finds.

Its going quickly, but the 2006 Bleasdale Langhorn Crossing is something to snatch up by the case. Offered for around a mere ten bucks a bottle in many locales, this Cab/Malbec/Shiraz/Petit Verdot blend offers a superb drinkability with fruit and mineral notes that belie its oh-so-modest price tag. Plainly, for the price you won't find much better. Hate me, but I found it for $9 a bottle.

Another blend that offers a lot of wow for the buck is the Chilean 2006 Concha Y Toro Winemaker's Lot. It boasts a meld of Cab, Carmenere and Syrah grapes. Word is that Robert Parker gave it an 89. I'll call it a deal simply because its a wonderful wine for a reasonable price at less than ten bucks a bottle.

Oh and not to forget is the 2006 Jumilla Altos De La Hoya. It may be the hardest to find of the three but its far from third place in the trio. At less than $12 and made from Monastrell (Mouvedre) grapes, this Spanish gem speaks of bramble fruits and something deeper, like dark chocolate. Simply a really good wine at a great price.