Pescatarian: An almost vegetarian with a dark penchant for brutality towards seafood

Last September, on impulse, I decided to give up all meat with the exception of seafood. I can eat shrimp pad thai, but not chicken pad thai. I can chow down on clam chowder, but not dumplings. The reasons I gave for my decision were several. Depending on who asked me, my answers were a) I did not want to eat any meat that I could not kill myself if I were stranded on an island, b) I had always wanted to become a vegetarian and was simply taking the first step in that direction and c) just because.

Through the past five months of limiting my diet, I’ve experienced several things. First, the most irrelevant and aggravating fact is that whenever I say that I am a pescatarian, some person will say “Presbyterian”? No. Presbyterian is a religious denomination while Pescatarian is not.

Secondly, a week into my change, I developed a sinking sensation when I realized how many foods had meat in them. Goodbye chicken nuggets. Goodbye steaks and fajitas and chicken noodle soup. The most tragic moment of my pescatarian experience was on a cold November day when I saw the Don Memo’s food truck between 38th and Sansom. I ran up to it, excited that I caught the elusive truck before it left for the day and then, realized that there was nothing I could order.

I have also come to understand that a pescatarian is a halfling of herbivore and omnivore. However, shifting into this position has helped me discover delicious alternatives to meat. Before, I was a strictly meat, carbs and vegetable girl. Now, I have learned about the beauty of beans. Chickpeas, kidney beans, black beans, all of these members of the legume family add flavor and protein in place of meat.

While I am still adjusting to and contemplating about my newfound pescatarianism, I have learned to love beans. One of the best recipes I’ve tasted all semester is for vegetarian chili. My friend Melissa used a recipe from allrecipes.com, and the chili was so good that sometimes, I dream about it. So even if you are not a vegetarian or pescatarian, give this recipe a try; you will love it.

RECIPE

Ingredients

* 1 (19 ounce) can black bean soup

* 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

* 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

* 1 (16 ounce) can vegetarian baked beans

* 1 (14.5 ounce) can chopped tomatoes in puree

* 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

* 1 onion, chopped

* 1 green bell pepper, chopped

* 2 stalks celery, chopped

* 2 cloves garlic, chopped

* 1 tablespoon chili powder, or to taste

* 1 tablespoon dried parsley

* 1 tablespoon dried oregano

* 1 tablespoon dried basil

Instructions

1. In a slow cooker, combine black bean soup, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, baked beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, bell pepper and celery. Season with garlic, chili powder, parsley, oregano and basil. Cook for at least two hours on High.

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Distrito Now Serves Brunch

MODERN MEXICAN BRUNCH TO DEBUT AT DISTRITO

Beginning on Saturday and Sunday, March 6 and 7, Chef Jose Garces’ modern Mexican restaurant, Distrito (3945 Chestnut Street, 215-222-1657), will debut a Weekend Brunch.  The menu will include a host of fun Mexican flavors, served in Chef Garces’ signature small plates style, every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. 

“One of the meals I enjoy the most in Mexico City is breakfast because of all the flavorful options,” says Chef Garces.  “This menu will bring our interpretation of those dishes to University City and offer new place for brunch in the neighborhood.”

Distrito brunch menu items include:  Chilaquiles, fried egg with Mexican crema, queso fresco, grilled red onions, green chile sauce and micro cilantro;  Torta de Huevos, eggs, queso Oaxaca, Benton’s bacon, avocado, tomato and crema;  Steak and Eggs, Kobe beef with two eggs any style, refried or black beans and chimichurri sauce;  Huevos Rancheros, eggs with roasted tomato and green asparagus;  and Torrejas, French toast with cajeta, berries and Chantilly cream.  Prices range from $8 to $15.

An assortment of brunch-friendly cocktails, playfully nicknamed “Vuelvo de la Vida,” or “Return to Life,” will also be offered, including:  Distrito Bloody Maria, chipotle infused vodka, fresh tomato, horseradish, lime and cilantro;  Sparkling Margarita, Hornitos Plata tequila, orange liquor, lime juice and sparkling wine;  and Ojo Rojo or “Red Eye,” Mexican hot chocolate, coffee, Patron XO, whipped cream, and caramel.  Distrito’s popular Fresh Juices will also be available during brunch.

Distrito is located at 3945 Chestnut Street and is open for brunch every Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.  For more information, or to make a brunch reservation, please call (215) 222-1657 or visit www.distritorestaurant.com. 

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Winter Harvest

It’s mid-February.  Temperatures are frigid, Fresh Grocer’s most ‘local’ produce items are grown half a continent away, and the farmers’ markets that dot the city during the warm months are closed (rationale: see aforementioned climate comment).What’s a girl (or guy) to do?

Fear not, fellow foodies, for the Winter Harvest Buying Club is here to quell all your locavore anxieties.  Winter Harvest, a buying club organized through Farm to City, the Philadelphia-based program that brings locally grown and produced food items to city residents and restaurants, allows Philadelphians to enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of the labor of nearby farms. 

Winter Harvest allows you to pre-order your food online in two-week intervals, and then weekly, Penn students host a buying club pick up site (On Thursday evenings from 5:15-7:15 PM in Hill College House). 

The list of products is tremendously expansive, spanning from Pink Lady apples to kohlrabi, to pickled kimchee, to locally raised meats and eggs, to organic baby spinach, to Yukon Gold potatoes, to goat cheese spread, to dried herbal teas—and everything in between.  You can get anything you want—as long as it is in season.  Buying from Winter Harvest teaches consumers an important lesson of which we Americans are all too often remiss: what it means to eat in season.  You won’t find any red bell peppers being grown by farmers in the Northeast United States in the middle of winter. Or peaches. Or bananas.  So, despite the plethora of items offered by supermarkets such as Fresh Grocer, be well aware that many of summer-time foods you see during this time of  year are quite unnatural.  They were grown thousands of miles away, picked while still green, boxed, flown thousands of miles, gassed with ethylene to speed the ripening process, and then presented delicately on a stand in grocery store. What's "fresh" about that?

Seek solace in Winter Harvest and know that you can do a world of good by eating food that’s less well traveled than the expanse of positivity emanated out from your food choices.  By participating in Winter Harvest, you support local, small-scale farms and their families, a diminishing breed in America's large scale economy.  You reduce greenhouse gas emissions because your food has only been transported short distances to get to you, not crossed oceans and traversed national boundaries.  Local, small-scale farmers are more likely to utilize eco-friendly agricultural techniques, and they allow their fields to exist in harmony with the environment and climate.  Lastly, it’s important to note the ultra high quality food that the farmers of Winter Harvest produce.  Think you’ve tasted fresh yogurt? Try the black cherry yogurt of local Pequea Valley Farm and you’ll find yourself wondering why you’ve settled for anything less.

Food is something to get excited about, and Winter Harvest lets you do that! Andy Warhol once said, “The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting.”  Luckily, there’s only a short lag time between when you order food through Winter Harvest and when you can pick up your order, but whether it’s the “idea” of the Winter Harvest experience, or the knowledge that you’re supporting local farmers, or just how absolutely delicious the food products taste, Winter Harvest certainly is “more exciting” than an exhausted stroll through the supermarket. Join Winter Harvest today at www.farmtocity.org, click on Buying Clubs, and Philadelphia Winter Harvest.  If you have any questions, please contact pennwinterharvest@gmail.com.

- Debbie Schub

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Curried Tilapia and Raita: A Recipe

Ingredients:

1 five ounce fillet of Tilapia

Tilapia Seasonings

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground coriander

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

Juice of 1 lemon

A tablespoon of olive oil

Raita:

1/2 cup plain yogurt (non-fat, low fat, or greek, just so long as it is plain)

A pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon of cumin

1/3 of a cucumber, seeded

A pinch of cayenne pepper

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 350 F

Cook the tilapia according to the pouch method. I employ the crimping method I learned from the Alton Brown School of Culinary Arts, which can be found here.

Prepare the parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Combine the spices, garlic, lemon zest, half of the lemon juice, and just enough olive oil to make a fairly thick curry paste. Place the tilapia fillet near the folded edge of the parchment paper, and slather the curry paste on. Pour on the rest of the lemon juice, and a little olive oil. You can place lemon slices and some chives on top, but that's mainly for presentation. Crimp the edges and place in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes. It will depend on the size of the fillet.

To make the raita, roughly chop the cucumber(you can peel it and slice it thin, but I prefer the chunky texture on the fish). Place the yogurt, garlic and spices in a bowl and mix well. Then fold in the cucumber, and you are set to enough a delicately flaked and spiced tilapia with raita.

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A Pinch of Home

I was born in the Southeastern European country of Bulgaria, and raised on traditional Bulgarian cuisine, which is heavily influenced by Oriental cooking traditions. This is particularly evident in the endless variety of spices which can be found in the kitchen counter of an average Bulgarian home. One of these spices, however, is used exclusively in Southeastern Bulgaria – the so-called “samardala”, also known as “green salt”. It is a mixture of plain salt and freshly ground young leaves of the flowering herb samardala (Nectaroscordum siculum ssp. bulgaricum). In English-speaking countries the plant is known as Honey Garlic or Ornamental onion.

In the wild, Honey Garlic has been found in Romania, Moldova, Crimea and Turkey. According to the website Dave’s Garden, the plant has been said to grow in regions all over the US, from Maine in the north to Texas and Florida in the south (http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1832/), and forum visitors give lengthy advice on proper growing conditions. The Beth Chatto Gardens of Unusual Plants, located in Essex, England, offer bulbs of Nectaroscordum siculum bulgaricum for 2.95 GBP, or about $5. It seems that in the Western world, Honey Garlic is exclusively used as a flower – it is suitable for beginner gardeners since it hardly requires any special conditions to grow, and blooms in pretty pink bell clusters. However, Honey Garlic fans are in for a big culinary surprise if only they sacrifice a handful of leaves before flowering has started.

In cross-section, the leaf looks like a three-pointed star – legend has it that when God was creating plants, He caught the Honey Garlic leaf with three fingers to pull it out of the ground, giving it this peculiar shape. Fresh young leaves can be used to season salads, but their flavor simply shines when prepared as green salt. Once picked, the leaves are left in a shady place for a day, and then ground to a fine pulp using a mortar and pestle, a blender or even a meat grinder. During the process they emit an extremely pungent, spicy odor, arguably surpassing that of onion or garlic, so efficiency is recommended if you don’t fancy spilling tears over a worthless plant. The bright green pulp is then mixed with salt and spread to dry out in a shady, airy room, and stirred periodically. Once the mixture is sufficiently dry, it can be transferred to a salt cellar and enjoyed with any of the following: fried, roasted, or boiled eggs, roast chicken, potato dishes, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, buttered toast, feta cheese, lamb, and sweetbreads.

As green salt ages, it gradually loses its original bright green color and refreshing spiciness, so it’s very important to keep it in the dark, in a closed container, if you want to enjoy it for a longer time. Once it becomes brownish and tastes predominantly like salt, you can throw it away. Also keep in mind that green salt is, essentially, salt, so if you are planning to season your dishes with it before serving, reduce the quantity of salt in the recipe.

Image, plant information and instructions for preparing green salt are courtesy of http://kulinar.gbg.bg/.

-- Zhana Sandeva

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Pizza, Pizza, Pizza

I recently stumbled across a few interesting tidbits on pizza making.
The first is a pizza-making prodigy recently featured on CNN (what were you doing while you were 9 years old?).
That somehow led me to a video on pizza throwing, which apparently has some physics to it, from the California Culinary Academy.
Check them out and try them with this pizza dough recipe for your next culinary spree.

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French Bistrot in Philadelphia

Bistros in France are restaurants that serve simple, delicious and unpretentious food in a casual and comfortable atmosphere. Bistrot la Minette prides itself on being an authentic French bistro in the heart Philadelphia. So, when my friend and I stepped into this establishment late one cold, snowy, Friday night, I was pleasantly surprised by the authentic bistro décor. As the General Manager, John Gonzalez, walked us to our table, I surveyed the restaurant. The walls were covered with scenic photos of France, which I later learned were taken by Peggy Woosley, a professional photographer and the wife of Executive Chef Peter Woosley. The room was filled with diners eating at the small, white, marble tables so typical of French bistros. Moreover, the chatter of satisfied clients and the clink of copper pots from the open kitchen muffled the French music playing in the background. As I contemplated the menu, I was glad to see many classic bistro dishes, such as Escargots de Bourgogne and Cassoulet de Toulouse as well as other dishes I was less familiar with; for example, Flammenküche, described on the menu as being an “Alsatian ‘pizza.’”

After ordering, my friend and I were given a complementary gruyère gougère, which is a small, warm cheese puff. Being a fan of cheese, and of complementary food, I found the amuse-bouche hard to resist. When my appetizer arrived minutes later, I was struck by the presentation of my Escargots de Bourgogne ($12). Instead of being served in shells or a small bowl, each escargot was placed in its own individual grey, ceramic terrine. The presentation was impressive, but I found the taste and texture of the escargot even better. This dish was a wonderful example of the holy trinity of escargot preparation: a perfect balance of butter, parsley and garlic. My companion’s Terrine de Campagne ($9), which is sort of like a cold, French version of meatloaf made from pork and chicken, was served with two little brioche buns and ceramic jars of cornichons (the classic French pickle) and Dijon mustard. Although my companion and I both liked the dish, we agreed that we would have liked the flavor of the terrine to have been a little stronger and meatier.

When our server arrived with our main courses, my dinner partner and I both took a minute to admire, and take photos of, our beautifully presented dishes. My Truite Meunière ($23), a miller’s-style trout was wonderful in its simplicity; it was generously covered in a lemon brown butter sauce and served with green beans and fingerling potatoes. The fish was cooked just right—the meat tender enough to cut with a fork and the skin nice and crispy. The sauce was simple, but tasty, in the way only butter can be and the vegetables were well-cooked. However, the most notable thing about the dish was the sprinkling of chopped, toasted almonds, which gave each bite a unique taste as well as a satisfying crunch. Nevertheless, my friend’s Lapin Rôti à la Moutarde ($25), a mustard-braised rabbit with house-made tagliatelle, was the favorite of the two dishes. The rabbit’s sauce, a rich and powerful mixture of mustard, parsley and white wine, exploded in my mouth with its intense flavor. Moreover, the rabbit was tender and moist and the pasta, cooked to an a la dente perfection, was an ideal vehicle for consuming the flavorful sauce. My friend’s only complaint about the dish was that there wasn’t enough sauce or pasta, a testament to how much he enjoyed his meal.

Despite feeling slightly full from our previous two courses, my friend and I consumed our two desserts with gusto; we shared a Tarte Tatin ($8), a type of hot upside-down, caramelized apple tart as well as a raspberry Mille Feuille($8), a classic French dessert of layered puff-pastry, vanilla cream and fresh raspberries. Both deserts were simple, unpretentious and delectable—the defining traits of bistro cuisine. Moreover, after we finished our meal, our server presented us with two pieces of home-made dark chocolate truffles to fortify us against the cold Philadelphia night.

Overall, Bistrot la Minette is what it says it is—a traditional French bistro right off of Sixth and Bambridge. If you are searching for complicated, stuffy and pretentious French food, this is definitely not the restaurant you want. However, if you enjoy eating simple and classic French dishes, in a warm and inviting atmosphere, then Bistrot la Minette is the right place for you.

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Blending Fruit into Your Diet

One of my favorite things to drink are smoothies.  They provide an opportunity for my friends and I to gather over refreshing drinks. They are fantastic because of just how easy they are to make and how flexible their recipes are.

My friend Genevieve discovered that if by adding frozen fruit to the smoothie, you do not have to include ice, and since I know a few people who dislike ice in their smoothies, frozen fruit offers up an ideal solution.

A Tropical Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup frozen mixed berries

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1 cup frozen mango

1 cup frozen pineapple

1 cup of peach yogurt

3 cups of soy milk

Directions:

Put the frozen berries in the blender with 2 cups of soy milk. Use the stir setting on the blender. Then add the rest of the soy milk, frozen mango and pineapple pieces. Use the stir setting again. Then, add the yogurt. Use the stir and mix settings until well blended.

The result is a healthy and fabulous treat. Enjoy!

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Upping the Year with Year Cake

Unlike the regular new year, the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration lasts for about two weeks. Chances are if you hop on SEPTA and go down to Chinatown this weekend, you're still in time to catch some of the festivities.

As the post below highlighted the importance of eating dumplings during the new year, another important food is the year cake or 年糕 (pronounced "nian gao"). Nian gao is more often consumed by southerners in China, whereas dumplings are more commonly consumed by northerners during the new year. Nian gao is a sweet, chewy (similar to Japanese mochi) dessert made of glutinous rice, usually dark yellow or light brown served in thick slices and sometimes pan-fried for a crispy outer texture. (My sister made the dark yellow pan-fried kind in the picture). Some serve it with red bean paste.

Nian gao has significant symbolic meaning to the Chinese. Nian gao is also a homonym for nian gao, meaning "year" and "high" (年高). Nian gao (年高) is strongly related to promotions and improvements often associated with the new year. Working people hope for raises and promotions; students hope to do better in school; and shopkeepers hope for more business to make more money. Nian gao also sounds like a sticky cake 黏糕, so we eat the year cake nian gao (年糕 ) for prosperity and good fortune for the new year.

The original recipe found here calls for steaming, which is the traditional method, but baking works as well.

Ingredients:

1 lb. glutinous rice flour (note: this is not the same as "rice flour")

2 cups water

3/4 c. brown sugar (more or less depending on your preference)

1/4 c. vegetable oil

Optional mixings: sesame seeds, red beans, Chinese dates, nuts

Melt the brown sugar in the water over low heat. Cool the syrup for about 15 minutes. Add the glutinous rice flour and vegetable oil. Mix well and get rid of the lumps. Note that this is a very thick batter.

Grease and flour a baking pan or line with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean. Timing will depend on the size/depth of the pan used.

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Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year!!

February 14 is not just Valentine's Day this year, it is also Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year. 2010 is the Year of the Tiger, and in order to celebrate this occasion I made pork dumplings with some friends.

We cribbed the recipe from the Steamy Kitchen Blog, which also has recipe suggestions for a new year feast. We changed some of the instructions because we don't have a food processor, and we had slightly different amounts of meat, so here are the intructions we followed, but the original recipe can be found here, and there are also folding instructions.

3/4 a head of napa cabbage leaves, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
4 stalks minced green onions
1 lbs. pound ground pork
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 package frozen round dumpling wrappers (gyoza/potsticker wrappers), defrosted at room temperature for 30 minutes (sometimes you can find these in major supermarkets, but your best bet is to head down to Chinatown, where you can also pick up the rest of the ingredients)

Instructions:

Combine the ground pork, soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil and mix until uniform. Then add the ginger, cabbage scallions, salt and pepper and fold to incorporate.
You can salt and drain the cabbage, but we didn't and the dumplings didn't end up soggy.

Filling Instructions:

Put a good spoonful in the center of the wrapper, then use your finger to paint water on one edge of the wrapper, so that they stick together, then you can try your hand at crimping, or just fold over in a half moon style.

Here is a sample of what our's looked like

Our crimping certainly wasn't perfect, but we tried.

Cooking Instructions:

You can either boil or pan fry these. We actually boiled all of them first and then pan fried some of them, because it is easier to do it that way. You will probably have to boil in batches, but you can reuse the same water for a a few batches at least.

Bring a large pot to boil, then add as many as you can as long as they are not piling on top of each other and cook for about 7 to 8 minutes. If you are planning on pan frying them, I would lay them on a paper towel lined plate to make them as dry as possible before putting them in the oil.

To Pan Fry: heat enough oil (vegetable is fine) to line the bottom of the pan, place dumplings in a ring around the pan, and cook until the bottom is a crispy golden brown, which will take about 5 minutes.


You can enjoy them as is, or whip up a dipping sauce with soy sauce, sesame oil a few sliced green onions!!

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