Category Archives: Food

Eating like wolves

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At a certain point this week, we generated a bit of discussion by posting a 2300 year old quote:

Before looking for something to eat and drink, we should look for someone to eat and drink with, for to dine alone is to lead the life of a lion or wolf.
—Epicurus

Several of you neither mind eating alone, nor mind the comparison to the lion or the wolf. Woad Toad—who prefers misanthropic to antisocial—points

out that both lions and wolves are pack animals—social, that is; toads and polar bears eat alone (and are majestic creatures).
This was an interesting point. I live with a misanthropic (and rather smelly) Cairn terrier who refuses to eat alone. Although his food bowl is there all day, he refuses to eat without somebody nearby. I often end my days standing in the kitchen keeping him company, just so he will finish his meal.
I don’t mind; it’s a small price to pay for another creature’s well-being and happiness, isn’t it?

In case you were wondering, Epicurus was a Greek PhilosopherGreece-Delphi-Oracle-202 who lived from 341 BC to 271 BC, give or take. He was a thoroughgoing materialist—an atomist, really. He taught that the key to happiness was pleasure, but that we must learn to distinguish between healthy pleasures and destructive cravings. He taught that the most gratifying pleasures were simple, constructive ones—simple but good food, maybe a little cheese, conversation with friends, quiet time in one’s library, time to enjoy nature, etc.
But, yes, he taught that time spent with friends was a necessary to a good life and as nourishing as food and drink.
In fact, he bought a big enough house that he could always have his friends nearby.

Life, in general, is made better by having friends. Of course, we are all aware of how important it is to have friends in a crisis—that lost job, failed marriage, lost child, crappy day at work, diss’ by boyfriend, or even just rain. Yet even good experiences are made better when shared—it seems even more fun when done together. In fact, one of the reasons so many people text or upload pictures is in order to pretend that they have Pastis at Les Deux Garconsfriends who are there.

Food is also improved by company—you can talk about how good it is (or bad, if that, and laugh), and the joy of good company adds to the joy of good food, as good food adds to the joy of company.  To sit around a table, unhurried, and eat slowly, and talk for hours is a joy like no other. Companionship multiplies itself—you say something funny, one of your companions says something funny, and that prompts you to say something even funnier you would not have thought of alone. All the while, you are enjoying the closeness of each other, the warmth of the place, and the pleasant sensations of good food.
What could be better?

Of course, my lion friends—such as Kirsten and Rachel Beautiful Living(longtime friends of the Bistro, each)—maintain that it is pleasant to eat quietly, by oneself, perhaps in the company of a book. I’ve realized that I do this a lot—in fact, I eat more meals alone than I do with company. When one works with the public, it is often pleasant, and sometimes necessary, to be quiet and alone. Solitude is not the same thing as loneliness—in fact, if you are with a book, it might not even be solitude. By contrast, chatter for its own sake is no better than cold, greasy fast food.

I guess I’ve given a philosopher’s answer then: both yes and no.

You need time alone, and can enjoy it, but—at least once a week—try to eat with someone else and see what they add to your meal. Some more continental eating places (like Jack of the Woods in Asheville) even have common tables, so that it is unavoidable to eat together.

Food is a necessity, but it can also be a pleasure; why not allow it to be both as much as possible?
Companionship is a necessity, but it can also be a pleasure; why not also allow it to be both as much as possible?
Eating together is a way to combine these necessities and these pleasures in a way that multiplies them; why not?

1114signature company

Monday Night Leftovers: Bistro Bennys

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BennyWhat we have here, is a bed of sautéed greens–chard, mustard greens & arugula sautéed with some garlic, soy sauce & sesame seeds–over that a nest of locally grown and ground corn grits, some cheddar, and then a poached egg. For presentation, we added some tomato, some orange and purple bell peppers, and topped it off with sriracha.
Fine with coffee, tea, or Duck-Rabbit Wee Heavy Scotch Ale.

Classic Pie Crust

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Pies, Shoefly and Apple, Apple 6…and by classic, I am afraid I might mean Crisco®, because they are the ones from whom I garnered this recipe. I have always preferred pie to cake, but the crusts take a bit of practice to make. My mother is an incredibly good pie maker, and even worked for a time cranking out pies for a place called “Mom’s Pie Factory.”

This is enough for one single crust. For two pastry shells or a pie with a top crust, double the recipe. Not rocket science, folks.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 pinch of sugar
  • 1/3 cup ice cold solid shortening
  • 2 Tbsp ice cold butter
  • 3 Tbsp ice cold water

Step 1, sifting the dry ingredients: In a large bowl sift (mix if you don’t have a sifter) the flour, sugar, and salt. Mix thoroughly.

Step 2, pastry cutting: Cut in the ice cold shortening and sliced butter,Pies, Shoefly and Apple 4 using either a pastry cutter or a knife. I suppose some processer thingy can do this, too, but I don’t own one. The result should be crumbly.
(Just a note: with pie crusts and crackers, you are, in effect, using the oils to fry the flour, this is what makes it crispy and flakey)

Step 3, adding the water: as simply as possible–working pie or biscuit dough too much makes it tough–add in the water. It needs just enough to make it a dough, not any more.

Step 4, roll with it baby: Flour a clean, smooth counter surface (tables, desks and Pies, Shoefly and Apple 6sarcophagi will do, too, just so it is smooth, cool, and has plenty of space), and a rolling pin. flour the ball of dough, and pat it down to spread it out. Roll out the dough gently, a little at a time, starting from the middle and moving outward. if the edges become raged, moisten them, fold them in, and roll them again.

Step 5, into the pan: transfer the rolled out crustPies, Shoefly and Apple 7 into the pan. You might roll it onto the pin and unroll it, or a variety of strategies–I loosen it from the counter with a spatula, and then slide it to the edge and over/into the pan. Pat it down, trim or fold the edges of the dough over, and then crimp the edges. some folks like fork prints, I like to pinch a wavy zig-zag edge meandering around the pan.

Step 6, baking: Bake the shell by itself if you are going to fill Pies, Shoefly and Apple, Shoefly 1it with something, or insert your ingredients here. (to be continued…)

Biscuits & Gravy

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I had never tasted biscuits and gravy until I was in my teens.
Biscuits and GravyWhen I finally did, I believed I had discovered ambrosia, the food of the gods (there is a dish commonly served up as “ambrosia,” but it is a sickening, gloopy abomination). In fact, one of the reasons I originally chose to move to the South was that it was a place that I could get biscuits and gravy.
If done right, the biscuits are crisp and buttery on the outside, but soft and either flakey or cake-like on the inside, and the gravy is creamy and warm, but also spicy.
When my daughter became a vegetarian, the gravy had to be re-invented.
One of my proudest moments came one Easter a few years back. A friend of ours, Tyler, had given up meat for Lent, and piled up a big plate full of my biscuits and gravy and was digging into them talking about how glad he was to finally be able to eat meat again. We had to tell him he was still keeping his Lenten vows.
The key to biscuits is several things: Don’t over-work the dough, and have a good blend of baking soda or power, fat, and a little bit of something acidic.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups TVP (texturized vegetable protein)
  • 2 tsp. Onion Powder
  • 2 tsp. Garlic Powder
  • 1Tbsp Sage
  • 1 tsp. Paprika
  • 1 tsp. Worcester Sauce
  • 2 tsp. Soy Sauce
  • 1/2 cup Red Wine
  • a bit of Vinegar
  • 1/4 cup Oil
  • 1 cup Yogurt (this began as buttermilk, but I like the viscosity of yogurt better; if you are vegan, use some substitute, but add a dash of an acidic, like vinegar or lemon juice; if it is a liquid, use less)
  • 1 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 2 cups Flour (pastry flour might actually be better, but suit yourself)
  • 1Tbsp Baking Powder
  • 1  tsp. Salt
  • 6 Tbsp cup cold Vegetable Shortening
  • a bit of cold butter
  • Extra Oil
  • Extra Flour (maybe half a cup?)
  • Extra Milk (maybe 2 cups, maybe more)

Step 1, gentleman, start your sausages: In a jar or bowl, combine the TVP, seasonings, wine, vinegar, oil, and whatever else suits your fancy. Leave it to soak a bit, you that the TVP absorbs the moisture.

Step 2, start leavening: In a bowl with some extra room (it could expand), combine the yogurt and the baking soda. Let this sit.

Step 4, turn on the heat: Pre-heat the oven to 475 degrees.

Step 5, sift & cut: Sift the flour, the baking powder, and the salt together. Cut in the shortening and the butter, allowing it to form a crumbly mixture.

Step 6, mix: Add the yogurt to the flour, just enough to get it to all stick together; mix it to get this, but as little as possible–only enough to get it all moist & sticking together.

Biscuits 1Step 7, roll & cut: Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is a half an inch or so thick. fold it over, and roll it just a bit. Cut into biscuits with a biscuit cutter, or a juice glass, or a cookie cutter, or a cutlass, or whatever you prefer.

Step 8, bake: Place the biscuits on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes, more if necessary.

Biscuits & Gravy 3Step 9, the gravy: In a big ol’ skillet with some oil (be generous!), fry the TVP mixture until it gets a bit of texture and brown. Add a few tablespoons of flour and let them absorb some of the oil. Slowly add milk, while stirring, and let simmer.

Step 10, monkey with the recipe: If it is too thin, dissolve some flour in some more milk and add it too it; if it is too thick, add some milk. If it is too bland, add more salt or sage, or pepper; if it is too spicey, add more milk. when it is fine, turn off the heat or put on low.

Final step, serve: The gravy is traditionally served over a split biscuit, Biscuits 2so that it absorbs the gravy, but adds some texture. You can add eggs on the side, or sausage, or whatever you like. You can have extra biscuits to sop up the gravy, or for apple butter. Go out and face the day.

Audio Post, October 10th, 2013: Recipes, Rules, & Realtivism

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As usual, for my friends who have trouble sleeping, or for those who just prefer their Bistro aurally, here is the link to the audio version of tonight’s post.
http://philosophybistro.tumblr.com/post/63675212054/as-usual-for-those-of-you-needing-a-sleeping-aid
Upsidedown Pineapple PieBlue Sky

Recipes, Rules, and Relativism

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It recently occurred to me how odd my recipe collection here in my posts is.
From reading here, one would get the impression that I cook mostly muffins; that is not the case. The recipes that I post are for things that I actually bother to follow a recipe Upsidedown Pineapple Piefor; most of the things I cook–the stews, pastas, potatoes & rice dishes that make up my day-to-day life aren’t necessarily planned, and certainly aren’t measured–and this is what most cooking, as well as most of my life, is like: I look at what’s available, and I make the best of it. I recently had a wonderful pineapple-coconut-upside-down-pie that long time reader and Bistro regular Rachel had made, but she couldn’t have told me the recipe–she just put in what she thought would be good (and it was).

There are people whom this drives crazy–they need to be able to measure everything, and they need to know exactly what to do and when to do it. They need hard, fast formulas that they can follow to the letter to be absolutely certain that it comes out right. Lots of recipes are a good thing when you are still just trying to find your way around a kitchen, but eventually, they just become “guidelines.” Apples, potatoes & carrots don’t come in uniform sizes, flour doesn’t come in uniform levels of moisture, even the difference in air pressure on different days can change food–you are working with food, not forcing it to do something.

Now, there are things that matter:
Proportion matters; in oatmeal or rice or other cooked grains, the amount of liquid will be twice that of the grain. The perfect biscuit has a perfect proportion of flour, leavening, shortening, and moisture. It is obviously possible to have too much salt.
For some dishes, recipes matter more; bread involves a great deal of time letting the dough rise and then bake, as do cakes, and there is really no way to alter the recipe in the middle of baking the way I constantly do with soups, stews, etc. Cooking for large groups, it is also necessary to have some recipe in mind, just because of the difficulties of scale.

But even with things that have no recipe, it is possible to say that you got it right Spatzle(Rachel’s pie, the Seitan Sauerbraten I made up), or that you got it wrong (the first attempt at the spun sugar nests). The balance, the flavors, how well, but not over-cooked things are–these are all there regardless of any recipe, regardless of even knowing what the experiment is supposed to taste like.

Some people need rules the way that other people need recipes.
They are not happy–well, generally, they just aren’t happy–but they just aren’t happy unless they have rigid rules and formulas to order their lives by. Anybody who doesn’t accept their rules is a danger, a challenge, a sinner, or–perish the thought–a relativist.

Rules are fine in certain circumstances.
Small children, like beginning cooks, need clear instructions and clear guidelines. There are also trickier situations, more complex situations where it is good to have worked out standards because the results could be so disastrous, and the long-term results are too difficult to see before it’s too late. In situations involving large groups of people, it is also good to have a clear understanding.

But virtue isn’t always dependent upon categorical imperatives or divine fiat. Sometimes we have to make decisions about how to react in an appropriate way, or how to be a good person, in the circumstances we find ourselves in. This isn’t relativism: a good cook doesn’t need a recipe to know that a dish is awful, and a good person does not need laws to understand that hurting another creature is wrong. A good cook knows that braising and slow roasting will give food more flavor, and a good person knows that patience and kindness make the world better.

1010signature rules

Apple Nests

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Spun Sugar final 2The theme of the week is beauty, so I tried to come up with something that was aesthetically pleasing on several levels. I don’t think it is complicated, but it is difficult, and may take several tries to get right.
Be careful with the hot sugar–it is sort of like a cross between super glue and lava if it gets on your skin. This is not a task for multi-taskers.

 Ingredients:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • ½ cup of sliced, toasted pistachio nuts
  • 1 Tbsp kosher salt
  • Several (one per guest?) apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • Spice or flavorings to taste (cinnamon seems obvious, but cardamom is a possibility, as are cider, or rum or brandy, I suppose; I used a tablespoon of my apple butter)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ½ tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp sugar or powdered sugar

Equipment:

  • Clean stainless steel pan
  • Several steel soup ladles
  • Several forks
  • baking sheets and baking parchment

Step 1, Prepare Ye the way: Get all the stuff you will need ready, especially the first three ingredients, and the equipment. Make sure you have a clean, clear work space, and the time to work un-interrupted. Take a deep breath.

Step 2, Heat that Sugar! Put the sugar in the steel pan, and put Spun Sugar 010it over a medium to high heat. At first, it will do nothing, then it will smell hot, and then, the edges will start to melt and to turn slightly brown. The less you can stir this, the better, but it is also good to sort of swirl it around so that it doesn’t scorch or get to burnt around the edges. After 10, maybe 15 minutes, it will be a very thick brown syrup. Take it off the heat and let it cool slightly.

Step 3, Shape it: You will be using this sugar by dipping a fork in it and drizzling the syrup over things to form the nests. If you drizzle it over a wooden spoon dangled over a pan on the floor, it will form long, spider-web like strands. You could drizzle Spun Sugar makingshapes in it on the parchment paper and let them cool and get hard.
What I am doing is making little nests by drizzling the sugar over ladles.
Coat the ladles with cooking spray, and maybe sprinkle a little bit of the nuts and the salt on them. Take a fork-full of the melted sugar and drizzle it in a pattern of your choosing on the back of the spoon. After each swipe, sprinkle a little more of the nuts on the nest.Spun Sugar nest
Continue until you have a solid enough basket to put the desert into. Reheat the sugar mixture if it gets too thick.
Note: you will want these to cool before handling them, but it is best if they are still a little warm, because the pliability will make it easier to peel them off the ladles. If you are not using them immediately, store them in a dry, airtight container, maybe even with Spun Sugar toppingthose little moisture absorbing vitamin packets–humidity makes these really sticky.

Step 4, Another path: After you have enough nests, sprinkle the remaining pistachio nuts and a little Kosher salt on a parchment sheet, then drizzle the remaining sugar mixture over them. this will give you little sheets of pistachio praline which you can use to decorate the dessert (or just to eat).

Step 5, Meanwhile, back at the apples: Fry the apples in the butter. Spun Sugar applesAdd whatever sweetener you like if the apples need it (or if you need it, which is really more likely), and whatever spices or flavorings you would like. I kept mine simple, but you could go whole chai or spiced rum punch.

Step 6, Whip it good: In a largish bowl (4 cups or more), combine the heavy (whipping) cream, the vanilla, and the sugar. Whip with a mixer until peaks form.

Spun Sugar final 1Step 7, Plate: On a small plate, set the nest, then fill it with the fried apples, and top it with the whipped cream. you can set a chunk of the praline on top of the cream, and, if you prefer this for presentation, either draw in caramel sauce on the plate, or dust the plate with pistachios.

Step 8, Serve it up: This Doctor isn’t telling you to feed anybody shortening bread; have some of these and share them with a dinner party.

Pirate Muffins (aka Krakenmuffins)

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Just a reminder:
NTLP Day 2012 - CopyYom Kipper may be Friday, but National Talk Like a Pirate Day is a week from tonight. Now, I could have waited and posted this then–that will be when we will be leaving them unguarded on the counter at the Philosophy Bistro–but then ye filthy bilge-rats would not have the time to be bakin’ yer own.
Should I dress up again?

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup TVP
  • 1 cup rum (approximately)
  • 2 cups flour (Whole wheat, white, both, as you wish)
  • ½ cup of sugar
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ cup rolled oats
  • ½ cup walnuts
  • 1 cup diced apples
  • ½ cup chopped golden raisins
  • 2 cup cooked sweet potato (I like it baked, but I assume canned will do)
  • 3 eggs
  • ½ cup buttermilk or Greek yoghurt
  • ½ cup oil (it might work without this; I liked making it with coconut oil.)
  • 2 tsp. vanilla

Step 1: the TVP: This can be done earlier. Measure out a cup of TVP, and cover it with the rum. Let it soak, so the TVP absorbs the fluid. If you are a teetotaler, substitute something interesting.

Step 2, Prepare Ye the way: Preheat the oven to 350°, chop the apple, either grease the muffin tins or put in the cupcake liners (I usually spray a little canola oil in the bottom of these to make things come out easier). I get 2 dozen medium sized muffins out of this mix.

Step 3, sifting the dry ingredients: In one bowl crumble up the brown sugar and the oats, then sift (mix if you don’t have a sifter) in the flour, white sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix thoroughly.

Step 4, mixing the wet ingredients: In another bowl, mix the TVP, the apples, the raisins, sweet potato, vanilla, oil, eggs and buttermilk.

Step 5, combining the big mess: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix well. You want to make sure the individual bits of apple are each coated to keep them from getting too clumpy. The consistency should be much firmer than batter, but a little more liquid than cookie dough.

Europe 2013 007Step 5, baking: Fill two dozen or so muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. See how they look. Stick a toothpick in one and see if it comes out battery.

Step 6, gratuitous pirate joke: What is a pirates favorite letter?
You would think “Rrrr,” but no; a pirate’s heart belongs to the “C.”

MuffinsStep 8, sharing: Oh, make them work for it. Bury the muffins on a deserted beach, leaving the only map in possession of a drunken, cursed first mate. or just tie them to the parrot.

Sensuality, continued.

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We Americans are a rather hedonistic culture, placing a high value upon comfort and pleasure.
The sad thing is, we are not very good at it.
We are not very good at being hedonistic, because we really don’t understand how to use our senses.

Any trip to most American restaurant will prove my point—there are huge servings, and way too much salt, fat, and sugar, but there isn’t really that much sensual pleasure to be had. We have made gluttony a national past-time and, at the same time, a chore. In fact, the reason we need so much sauce (besides the low quality of the ingredients—Damn you food industrial complex! Damn you to hell!….Wode-Toad-color-miffed.jpg

                                                ***SLAP!***

But I digress. Thank you, Wode Toad.

The reason we need so much sauce is that we don’t really taste our food. We don’t take the time to find out what the flavor of each item is. We allow our food, our music, our body washes (Thanx, Axe), our entertainment, our sensual experiences (Thanks, 50 Shades) to be over-blown and way too loud, going for quantity, but not enjoying the full array of sensations each moment can bring us.

Among the problems is that we put so much priority upon sight and sound—the least intimate of all sensations—have we barely are aware of the wide variety of input of our other senses.

I already talked a bit about taste in the recipe section, but what of the others?

Step outside. Feel the sun on your face. Close your eyes, and feel the sunlight soal into you as if you are absorbing it, the way a tomato does. Breathe in, and try to figure out how many smells there are in each breath. Dogs absorb most of their information through smell, whereas we tend to ignore this sense entirely. Is there fresh mowed grass? The early browning of tree leaves? New flowers? The roads and sidewalks baking through the afternoon sun?
Or just exhaust and different cigarettes? Can you smell the different smells of the city? At a distance, even unpleasant smells can be interesting—the faint smell of skunk on a summer night is one of the smells in very good coffee.
Speaking of that, how do you drink coffee? Do you feel the warmth of the cup in your hands, look at the rainbow-mottled surface of the liquid (of course there is oil, ya’ mook! Essential oils provide most of the flavors we enjoy), add sugar, and feel it as you drink it—each cup involves taste and smell and sight and feel.

Stretch.
Take a moment and feel different muscles tighten and untighten as you stretch. Tense and relax, and feel your body.
At work, take a hop and then break into a run; feel your legs stretching beneath you as you dash.
Jump up under a tree, grab a branch, and pull yourself up; you will be aware of each part of your body as your feet hunt for new footholds and your hands swing across branches amd you taste and smell each leaf and bark.

Dance! Throw yourself into wide, wild abandon as you feel the rhythm pounding through your body, and your boots against the floor.