Housewarmings Make Your Kitchen Feel Small
Over-flowing pile of canned goods collected for food bank.
There’s nothing like a party to make your living quarters feel tight. And we thought our two-bedroom home was way too spacious for us. Our neighbors, Dan’s economics colleagues and other Corvallis folks we’ve befriended made merry with us for several hours this evening.
But with Oregon’s growing hunger crisis (third highest rate in the nation), all celebrations are tinged with sadness this time of year. We asked folks to bring donations we will deliver to the Linn-Benton Food Share. It was a simple gesture people really seemed to respond to. Our guests also came bearing gifts of Oregon pinot noirs. We will enjoy those over Thanksgiving!
We served those lamb meatballs I mentioned, chanterelle mushroom and delicata squash pizzas, pecan goat cheese balls, other cheeses and pickled grapes and prunes. Tangy, spicy brines really transform those fruits, which go nicely with a cheese plate. Read more about making the unusual pickles here. They were a cinch to make!
Pickled grapes and pickled prunes
Chinese Delights in Corvallis and Baltimore
Sesame Tempeh.
We grabbed a late dinner at China Delight here in Corvallis, since we had a two-for-one coupon. And we heard the Sesame Tempeh was incredible. And it was: a heaping portion of sticky-sweet, crispy coated perfectly fermented cubes of soy that pack as punch of a protein punch as meat. China Delight’s wait-staff was super-friendly, they served local draft beers and the eclectic menu (from Szechuan to Cantonese) featured ample vegetarian options.
Funny, because perhaps our favorite Chinese place in Baltimore was similarly called Chinese Delight. We went there for the Peking Duck. Neither place should be judged by its non-descript, tucked away exterior.
Oaxaquenas en Oregon
- Juices at Oaxaca market (by Michael R. Swigart/Flickr/Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/swigart/1387537986/)
Open-air market in Oaxaca (by nunavut/Flickr/Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowcat/455315605/)
Last night I learned that among Oregon’s predominantly Mexican farm workers, some 70 percent hail from the indigenous state of Oaxaca, the one state we’ve visited in Mexico. Half of those Oacaquenas speak languages other than Spanish, like Zapotec. That makes organizing the workers to stand up for their rights quite the logistical challenge, said Ramon Ramirez, president of PCUN, Oregon’s only farmworkers union, during this talk sponsored by Slow Food Portland and Ecotrust (scroll down).
Sure, organic labels ensure an absence of pesticides but they don’t reveal labor conditions under which the produce was grown: whether the farmworkers were paid legal wages, for overtime and under safe conditions. The movement is just now starting to push for fair trade or union-approved agricultural products in the U.S. We will have to pay more for this. But what about the indigent farmworkers, who then ironically can’t afford to purchase the wholesome produce they themselves help grow? And what about the small farmers who often barely make minimum wage themselves and live in fear that an immigration raid will shut their livelihood down.
You can read more about these weighty issues that the food community is just now starting to wrestle with, even here in oh-so-progressive Portland. See “Hand Picked, Row by Row, Day After Day” in the Summer 2008 issue of Edible Portland.
A Taste of Southeast Asia
Red Curry Chicken, Green Papaya Salad, Peking Duck and Pho. We had this Asian feast tonight for just $7. The catch? The meal was served in an OSU dining hall, to celebrate the university’s International Education Week.
The meal wasn’t quite restaurant-quality or perfectly authentic, but it was well worth the $7. The best part? The feast included full-size Vietnamese coffees, made with local Allann Bros. Coffee and condensed milk. The worst part? We weren’t allowed to go back for seconds.
What to do with ground lamb
We picked up a frozen pound of ground lamb last minute at the Saturday market. The folks at the Bald Hill Farm stand recommended sauteeing it with quinoa.
But I needed more inspiration. So I turned to this Lamb and Prune Meatball recipe reprinted on the Culinate website. Better yet, I had all the ingredients (the lamb, prunes, shallots and allspice) already waiting at home.
How do you cook with ground lamb, if you do? The Bald Hill meat seems reasonable at $4.80 a pound, from lambs grazed in local pastures, yielding a rich taste that is so much more luscious than ground beef.
Now I plan to serve these meatballs by toothpick at our housewarming party Sunday.
The art of rolling and pinching dumplings
I helped my Chinese conversation partner make pork-celery-green onion dumplings from scratch this afternoon. I’m helping her with her English and she is jogging my memory on basic Mandarin (figure I might as well put in the time while I’m between jobs).
Making dumplings is a painstaking but satisfying process. First, Heli finely minced a large slab of pork steak by hand. Then the ginger, green onions and blanched celery. She has the patience to chop much more finely than I do. I need to gain some knife skills somewhere. Culinary school might be worth it for that alone! I always nick part of my nails off.
She let the simple flour and water dumpling dough rise while prepping and sauteeing the filling. Then we rolled it into a snake, dusted it with flour and cut it into small discs. You do a 360 with the rolling pin to stretch out the discs into dumpling wrappers, leaving a thickness in the center circle so it doesn’t rip. Then you intriquely pinch each filled piece together. Off they then go into boiling water. First boil comes, add cold water. Second boil returns, add cold water. Then the third boil means the dumplings are done! Serve with black Chinese vinegar and chile oil paste.
Davidson…journalism…Minnesota…Oregon
Chambers Lawn at Davidson College.
Spent the evening reminiscing about the good ole days at Davidson College and why I went to journalism school. We have our first house guest here (the spare bedroom is finally getting some use). Minneapolis native Laura Puckett, who graduated Davidson two years after me, is crashing here for the night en route to Eugene to check out the English and journalism grad schools at the University of Oregon. She came seeking advice on this peculiar way of making one’s way in the world as a writer.
Would I do j-school again if I had to do it over? Or should I have gone for a PhD. (but no, I lack the necessary singularity of mind)? Now I wish I’d studied radio at Columbia. Landing an NPR job now seems like a pipe dream. But NPR’s commitment to multi-media innovation and the listen-supported model seems the most sustainable to me.
Davidson should start an alumni network of journalists and non-fiction writers. Our path is the synthesis of a liberal arts education. We write to make connections among disparate fields and remain engaged as life-long learners. This path chose us. But will we prevail?
Pudding-like persimmons
Hachiya persimmons
I didn’t even know I liked persimmons. But boy am I glad I stumbled upon these heart-shaped Hachiya ones at the farmers market. You must let them ripen until deep orange and swishy soft. You will then be rewarded with sweet, creamy flesh that leaves a slight astringent residue on the teeth. It’s a perfect fall fruit. I think I ate them in China but really am trying them again for the fruit time here. The Hachiya kind are much softer and sweeter than the more common, flat fuyu variety.
Here are some persimmon desserts I’d like to try: a semifreddo and this sundae recipe, although I would just use plain vanilla ice-cream, or better yet, vanilla Coconut Bliss, which is all the rage here.
How to peel ginger
Cool way to peel ginger with a spoon so you don’t sacrifice those flavorful little nubs:
http://video.bravotv.com/player/?id=815623
Have ya’ll ever tried this? I’ll never take to the precious root with a peeler again.
Last fall day on the farm
Lunch at Gathering Together Farm before it closes for winter.
- Happiness.
The near perfect weather (nearly 60 degrees with the rare absence of rain) inspired us to head to neighboring Philomath today for lunch at the Gathering Together Farm cafe. They shut down to the public this weekend and will only sell at the Corvallis Farmers Market for a few more weeks. What will we do here come December, January, February and March?
We shared too nutmegy kabocha squash soup, a rabbit-lamb-pork sausage and red sauerkrat plate and a salad with bok choi-like greens. The laid-back garden cafe borders the farm stand and has an open tandoor clay oven.
What will you miss most this winter?
Gathering Together is one of the true gems here. Having brunch there in September right after we moved made me feel more at ease here. Maybe I should try to work there?
BaltimOregon to Maine 