Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Apostle Islands, Fresh Food Strikes Back
Returned to the Madeline Island againg this year, a few more people in tow. Stayed in the same cabin.
The weather was perfect - PURRRRFECT.
What did we do - we ate...
and we ate...
and we ate...
The weather was perfect - PURRRRFECT.
What did we do - we ate...
and we ate...
and we ate...
Canning failure
Ok, so I failed in canning last weekend.
It wasn't the canning part, it was the tomato sauce that I was making.
So, I get 25 lbs of tomatoes.
I lay them out all nice.
I chop 4 huge onions and end up crying profusely because they were really pungent.
I blanch, peel and chop every single one of them.
I puree them and put them in a pot with the onions and a dozen other spices.
Then I turn the burner on with the intention of letting it simmer for 1-2 hours.
Well, I turned the burner on too high, then walked away, and burned the hell out of it.
I figured I could salvage what was not burned to the bottom of the pan, so I transfer it to a new pot, put it in the fridge overnight (cuz it's like 11pm at this point) and go to bed.
In the morning, I put it back on the stove to heat because it has to be hot when you can it.
I turn the burner on lower, and walk away.
And burn the hell out of it again.
Needless to say, I felt pretty lame.
So this weekend, the fiancé and I are going to get like 75 lbs of tomatoes, and make tomato sauce and can it along with just plan tomatoes.
This time, I hope to actually make it to the canning part.
I'll just try to think of last weekend as practice :)
And, here's a very appropriate comic for our current canning obsession, enjoy.
http://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF226-Preserves.jpg#211
It wasn't the canning part, it was the tomato sauce that I was making.
So, I get 25 lbs of tomatoes.
I lay them out all nice.
I chop 4 huge onions and end up crying profusely because they were really pungent.
I blanch, peel and chop every single one of them.
I puree them and put them in a pot with the onions and a dozen other spices.
Then I turn the burner on with the intention of letting it simmer for 1-2 hours.
Well, I turned the burner on too high, then walked away, and burned the hell out of it.
I figured I could salvage what was not burned to the bottom of the pan, so I transfer it to a new pot, put it in the fridge overnight (cuz it's like 11pm at this point) and go to bed.
In the morning, I put it back on the stove to heat because it has to be hot when you can it.
I turn the burner on lower, and walk away.
And burn the hell out of it again.
Needless to say, I felt pretty lame.
So this weekend, the fiancé and I are going to get like 75 lbs of tomatoes, and make tomato sauce and can it along with just plan tomatoes.
This time, I hope to actually make it to the canning part.
I'll just try to think of last weekend as practice :)
And, here's a very appropriate comic for our current canning obsession, enjoy.
http://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF226-Preserves.jpg#211
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Fabulous foodiness
Last weekend was a whirlwind of fabulous foodiness (or was it foody fabulousness?) here in Madison. Friday night was the Food for Thought Forum with Dan Barber, Leah Caplan, and Scott Williams. Here's a good summary in the Capital Times. Intangibles-wise, I found it an odd mix of personalities, as Dan is definitely a sarcastic New Yorker, Leah is a dry-humored, tell-it-like-it-is kinda gal, and Scott is about a sweet and earnest as anyone I’ve ever heard. Slight oddness in the Q&A part, but a good mix.
Saturday was the Food for Thought festival. I went to set up at 6 a.m. Despite a few glitches with non-functioning electricity for the sound system and a temporarily lost tent, everything went smooth as silk. The weather was fall-tasticly cool, and there was a steady crowd all day. Most of the exhibitors were happily busy throughout. I heard Cooking with the Stars was hilarious, though I didn’t get to see any of it. All of our volunteers were supahstars,and we got some good media coverage. My info tent spiel got shorter and shorter as the day went on, but it was a fun, exhausting, productive day.
After a nice nap, B&M and I attended the Slow Food RAFT picnic, which has a goal of celebrating-to-save some of our country’s native and heirloom food varieties – from produce to animal breeds. The menu featured some of these varieties from all over the country, including American Plains Bison over polenta (my favorite of the night!), a Mulefoot pork sandwich, an amazing wild rice and apple side, marrow fat bean salad with Door County cherries (my second favorite), fabulous Pleasant Ridge cheese, panna cotta, and hickory nut caramels with sea salt. Wow. We ate so much. So, what did we do next? Go to Cocoliquot for wine and chocolates, of course. What a meal!
Sunday consisted of a trip to the Willy Street Fair, where the infamous parade-o-various-ridiculousnesses passed us by several times and we had kettle corn. We also took a leisurely bike ride around the lake. And, across town, some more canning fabulousness that I hope we'll all get to sample.
Even though temperatures are back to summerlike this week, the air has imperceptibly and firmly flipped the switch to fall. I’ve had my first Bailey’s-n-cocoa in honor of the season. Here’s to many more fall-tastic weekends before winter sets in.
Saturday was the Food for Thought festival. I went to set up at 6 a.m. Despite a few glitches with non-functioning electricity for the sound system and a temporarily lost tent, everything went smooth as silk. The weather was fall-tasticly cool, and there was a steady crowd all day. Most of the exhibitors were happily busy throughout. I heard Cooking with the Stars was hilarious, though I didn’t get to see any of it. All of our volunteers were supahstars,and we got some good media coverage. My info tent spiel got shorter and shorter as the day went on, but it was a fun, exhausting, productive day.
After a nice nap, B&M and I attended the Slow Food RAFT picnic, which has a goal of celebrating-to-save some of our country’s native and heirloom food varieties – from produce to animal breeds. The menu featured some of these varieties from all over the country, including American Plains Bison over polenta (my favorite of the night!), a Mulefoot pork sandwich, an amazing wild rice and apple side, marrow fat bean salad with Door County cherries (my second favorite), fabulous Pleasant Ridge cheese, panna cotta, and hickory nut caramels with sea salt. Wow. We ate so much. So, what did we do next? Go to Cocoliquot for wine and chocolates, of course. What a meal!
Sunday consisted of a trip to the Willy Street Fair, where the infamous parade-o-various-ridiculousnesses passed us by several times and we had kettle corn. We also took a leisurely bike ride around the lake. And, across town, some more canning fabulousness that I hope we'll all get to sample.
Even though temperatures are back to summerlike this week, the air has imperceptibly and firmly flipped the switch to fall. I’ve had my first Bailey’s-n-cocoa in honor of the season. Here’s to many more fall-tastic weekends before winter sets in.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Advertising
This is sort of cheating, as I'm blogging about things that are upcoming, instead of reviewing wonderful Wisconsin things already done. But, these things are wonderful, and several of them are very, very important to me. So, check 'em out, and join me if you can!
- REAP Food for Thought Festival, this Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 14-15. An annual celebration of, homage to, and teaching moment about all that is good and great about local, sustainable eating. Come to the forum Friday night or the festival Saturday morning. I'll be at the info tent at the top of the King Street on Saturday from 6 a.m. on - stop by and say 'hi'!
- Eat Local Challenge, September 14-23. Take a challenge to eat at least 10 percent of your food from local sources for a week. Piece of cake! If you sign up and need any help meeting your goal, just send me an email, and I guarantee we can get you to 25% with very little trouble at all, no matter what your current eating habits are.
- Slow Food's RAFT Picnic, September 15. Experience Wisconsin food heritage with a delicious meal of heirloom variety crops and animal products prepared by Madison's top chefs. (This is my reward meal for work on the Food for Thought Festival. B&M and I are going - let me know if you're interested in tickets. I'm sure they will sell out before the event.)
- REAP's Local Night Out, September 27. Eat at a restaurant that is committed to using locally sourced food in their menus. This year's event is also a kick-off for the charter members of the Buy Fresh, Buy Local program, meaning that the restaurants are not only serving locally sourced menus on the night of the event, but have also committed to increasing their use of local goods throughout the year. I'll obviously be going to one of the restaurants that night - just let me know if you want to join me and which restaurant you'd like to visit.
- MACSAC's Bike the Barns Tour de CSA, September 29. Come enjoy the crisp fall air and scenery, experience the glory that is our local CSA system, help raise money to support underprivileged families who want to eat local produce, and, of course, eat some amazing food.
- ALNC's Pipers in the Prairie Event, October 6. This major fundraising event for children's environmental education programs features a prairie burn, bagpipers, scotch tastings, and appetizer goodies. As a fundraising event, tickets are $75 apiece or $150 per family. Or, you can let me know if you want to volunteer and go for free ;)
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