Vanilla brings people to the table

Of all the Kickstarter campaigns I've seen so far this is one of my favorites. Time at the Table is selling all-natural, hand-crafted vanilla extract to raise funds for their documentary film. I've written about Time at the Table and love their mission of helping more people get around the table for dinner. So when Bill sent me some of his vanilla to play around with I decided use it for dinner.

I've been tinkering with this vanilla cream scallops recipes for a few years and this is my favorite version so far. I'm liking the combination of coconut oil with vanilla lately -- there's something about it that really works. And the tarragon added in at the end seemed just right.

Scallops in vanilla cream sauce

1 pound scallops

1/2 cup butter or coconut oil

3 minced cloves garlic

1 cup cream

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon

Melt butter or coconut oil in a wide, shallow pan. Sear scallops until just done, about one minute per side. Remove from pan and set aside. Add cream to pan and heat, stirring, until sauce thickens slightly. Add vanilla and tarragon, stir to incorporate, then add scallops back into sauce and stir just until coated. Serve over pasta or rice. I like this with black jasmine rice.

Now go get some vanilla!

How not to answer the "isn't sustainable food elitist" question

Hey, sustainable food advocates, foodies, locavores, gather 'round here a minute. Let's get our stories straight, okay? I'm sitting indoors here just a few minutes longer on a gorgeous sunny day because I can't stand to hear this question answered ineptly one more time. So let's walk through this.

Isn't it eating sustainable/local/organic food elitist?

You know this question, right? Okay, quick raise of hands, how many of you answer with something along the lines of "It's worth the cost. I'd rather spend more money on good food."

BZZZZT! Wrong answer!

You know what you just did? You played inside someone else's framework, not to mention the only people this answer will appeal to are other upper-middle-class EEEE-LEETS! Jesus help us all if I hear one more person say this out loud! On the radio! On TV! In an article! Anywhere! This question is about personal choice -- but what you need to do is reframe the question from one of personal choice to one about the food system. 

Local/sustainable organic food should be affordable and accessible to more people, and I'm working hard to make sure that happens.

Our culture can't afford to keep feeing people food that makes us sick. We have to find ways to make clean, healthy food a part of everyone's diet.

It's elitist to defend a food system that exploits farmers, farm workers, and other food workers.

That's how you answer that question. Maybe some of you have some great answers, too. If so, please share your wisdom and leave a comment below. See also Eric Schlosser's excellent but unfortunately titled essay "Why being a foodie isn't 'elitist.'" (It's not actually about foodies, but whatever.)

Birria tamales

I've always had a problem with tamales. They tend to be a little bland, no? Too much flavorless dough, not enough filling, and maybe the filling is some overstewed meat with some chili thrown in that adds heat but not much flavor. You always have to add something to your tamale to make it more palatable. I decided to take matters into my own hands. Be the change you want to see? I'll start with tamales.

Bob's Red Mill makes a pretty good masa flour, yellower and with more of a corn taste than Maseca. And then I splurged on Flying Pigs Farm lard. Then I poured in some of my homemade chicken stock. I'm not saying every tamale should be made this way, but why not see how much better they can get? Next time I'm trying coconut oil.

For the filling I made some birria, a lamb stew from Guadalajara, where my dad was born and raised. You marinate lamb braising cuts (with some pork, if you want) in chiles and spices, then roast for hours and hours. Not all of my cooking experiments work, but this one did!

Jasper's requested some carrot cake for dessert -- as in, literally looks like a carrot. I ended up with something that resembles a stubby Colorado clay-soil-grown carrot.

What Spring Tastes Like

Discover Donuts

It take a lot to drag Jasper out of the apartment on weekend mornings. When most kids are bouncing off the walls demanding to be taken to the playground Jasper just wants to hunker down with his blankets and watch cartoons. Not that I'm complaining -- I don't want to spend my weekend mornings at the playground, either. But there is one thing that will get all three of us out of doors on a weekend morning: donuts.

This past weekend my friend Nicole Taylor organized Discover Donuts, a donut crawl through Brooklyn and the Lower East Side. Lane, Jasper and I joined several friends and new faces on a quest to find the best donuts in town.

First stop, Dough in Clinton Hill.

This is the blood orange glazed donut. I couldn't even wait to take a decent picture. You're missing the candied orange slice, paper thin. These yeasty donuts are lusciously soft and not too sweet. I also got a plain glazed for Jasper and some of their little cinnamon donut holes.

Next was Peter Pan Bakery in Greenpoint. Don't these windows look promising?

I took a bite of their red velvet donut, which was not bad at all. We also got a jelly donut to share. It was fine -- pretty old-school, fresher-tasting than Dunkin Donuts but cut from the same cloth.

This is the pistachio from Doughnut Plant. Many people liked these best and they are impressive, but I found them dense and chewy compared with Dough's, which remains my favorite.

Then on to BabyCakes. I've had treats from this vegan, gluten-free bakery and they've been surprisingly tasty, especially the cookies. But the donuts? Blank stare. I forgot to even photograph one. It's not that they're not good -- they are. We just need to call those disc-shaped cookie-like things something else besides donuts. Moving on.

By the time we made it back into Williamsburg I was a bit donut-ed out. We all were. So at Traif I had some salad, shared some chilaquiles, and had a perfect, warmly spicy bloody Mary. Someone did buy a few of their bacon donuts (dear god!). I tried a bite and nearly fell through the floor--no regrets.

You would think that would be enough donuts for us, but no. The very next day Lane did a little thinking: have scooter, have knowledge of delectable donuts... And he scooted out to Dough for MORE DELICIOUS DONUTS FOR THE FAMILY! I hope he does it again.