Chic Pea or Meat Loaves & Matzoh Ball Soup

The Food Nanny
March 30&31, 2010
Meal 1: Chic Pea or Meat Loaves, Shredded Carrot Salad, Roasted Root Vegetables
• Heat the loaves and root vegetables at 350° - about 10 - 15 minutes.
• Serve the carrot salad chilled.

Meal 2: Matzoh Ball Soup, Green Salad, Fingerling Potato and Kale Frittata
• Warm the soup on the stovetop and allow to simmer a few minutes to heat the matzoh balls through.
• Warm the frittata gently at 325° for about 10 minutes
• Dress and serve the salad.

Molé: The Golden Path to Aztec Delight

One crucial step to becoming a good jazz cook is the preparation and storage of condiments. These can be as diverse as differently flavored and rendered fats, salts, or dressings. For example I rendered and have on hand bacon fat, soffrito infused pork fat, ham fat, banana leaf roasted pork fat, and schmaltz. Each of these has a unique flavor profile and not only saves me time when I need to get flavor up fast, but they are a frugal use of special ingredients. The huge Christmas ham I got from the Moore’s was not cheap, so getting a stock from the bone (which I froze), stew from the simmered meat bits (dinner that week), and a pint of smoky rendered fat (on hand in the fridge) in addition to the initial delectable holiday roast is the way to really make this food investment pay dividends. To do otherwise is wasteful on many accounts. For more on this philosophy I recommend How to Cook A Wolf by M.F.K. Fisher. So, having flavor punching ingredients on hand is key to getting great meals together on the fly. As implied, it takes a small investment of time initially, and overcoming inertia is the hardest part. So you will have to motivate yourself a bit. It’s worth it.
Molé is one such condiment that fits this description. I think that molé derives from the Spanish word molido meaning ‘ground.’ Guacamole is ‘ground’ avocado. Get it? So, molé is simply a ground spice paste used to flavor Latin dishes. These condiments are traditionally ground with a coarse mortar and pestle, but we will use a blender. There are two key phases to making and using molé. First you must assemble and simmer the paste. Molés are diverse so make them however you feel but there are some basic components: whole spices, chiles, fatty seeds, and liquid. Pictured you see cumin, coriander, star anise and cinnamon as whole spices. I also recommend annatto (achiote). But use whatever you like.
Any type of chiles may be used, and a mixture is best, but milder ones make up the bulk as the chile contributes a significant amount of volume, flavor, and texture to the molé and using many fiery ones can create an overpowering sauce. Pictured are guajillo chilles (dried red Anaheims)- an outstanding workhorse dried chile. Consider 8-12 in a 1qt batch of molé. Also look for Anchos (dried poblano chiles) and Pasillas for their sweet herbal notes. Chipotles are dried, smoked jalapenos and offer outstanding smoky, meaty flavor as well as high heat. Yes, you can use fresh chiles in season to make molés and they are correspondingly bright from their fresh ingredients.
Any nut can work as a fatty seed for molés. The pictured pumpkin seeds (pepitas) are a classic staple of Latin food and work great. You can also use sesame or sunflower seeds, or even peanuts. These create great body in the sauce and offer excellent nutrition to boot. I would include the famed chocolate in this category. Often added to dark molés, bitter chocolate is grated into the sauce towards the end of the cooking process to add smoky, savory, and earthy complexity to the sauce. Tomato puree, stock, water, or combinations thereof are obvious candidates for liquid sauce bases.
Now, assembly:
1). Heat some oil on medium and fry the whole spices and dry chiles. Crack up the cinnamon first if using. After a minute or two add some chopped onion and garlic. Be very careful to not burn the spices. Your goal is to flavor the oil with the spices. Cook the whole thing over medium high heat until the onions are browning. 2). Add the seeds and allow them to toast in the hot oil. Add some fat if necessary. Again be careful to not burn the seeds. These are volatile ingredients and easily overdone.
3) Add the liquid – a quart or so is a good volume, but remember your goal is a thick paste-like sauce so proportion your ingredients accordingly. Simmer until the chiles are tender and the sauce has reduced 25%.
4). Allow to cool a bit and then transfer the whole thing into a high power blender and purée. Transfer to a convenient jar or package into zipper bags and freeze flat.
5). Use as a rub/marinade, to finish cooked beans, or best of all to make taco filling. Just sauté some onions, add the meat (or vegetarian substitute ), and when brown, add a little oil and a few dollops of molé. The seasonings will fry in the oil and infuse the dish with the complex flavors of authentic food.
Just keep some on hand and I guarantee you will find uses for it from grilled corn to fish tacos.

Parsnip Bisque & Butternut Squash Tamales

The Food Nanny
March 23&24, 2010
Meal 1:Parsnip Bisque, Baked Orzo with Spinach, Chevre, & Mushrooms, Whole Wheat-Quinoa Batards
• Warm Orzo at 350° until hot - about 20 minutes. Toss in the batard for the last 5-10 to toast it.
• Warm the soup on the stovetop.

Meal 2: Butternut Squash Tamales, Adobo Black Beans, & Rice Pudding
• Remove the tamales from atop the beans and heat the beans in the microwave, on a stovetop in a pan.
• Place the tamales in a steamer basket and steam through for about 10 minutes. A microwave is also effective. If you do not have a steamer insert, use a sauce pot with some water in the bottom (<1/2”). Next place a small bowl in the pot and place a plate atop the bowl. Now place the tamales atop the place, bring the water to a boil, lid the pot and allow the tamales to steam.
• Heat the rice pudding by also steaming it (unwrapped, for about 5 minutes) or at room temp.

Grilled Kale Enchiladas & Sesame Noodles

The Food Nanny
March 16 &17, 2010

Meal 1:Grilled Kale Enchiladas with Black Bean Molé and Yellow Rice, Green Salad

• Warm the enchi and rice casserole at 350° until hot - about 20 minutes.
• Dress and serve the salad.

Meal 2: Whole Wheat Sesame Noodles with Stir Fried Broccoli, Grilled Tofu, and Miso-Braised Hakuri Turnips
• The noodles etc. may be served at room temp or warm the whole thing up in the microwave. Alternately, remove the tofu and vegetables to side plates and heat the noodles in a non stick pan with a little oil and than a splash of water. Transfer them to a serving dish and heat the vegetables, and then the tofu in similar manners.
• Also heat the turnips in a sauté pan and serve on the side.

Three Bean Chili & Potato Leek Soup

The Food Nanny
March 9 &10, 2010 Meal 1:Three Bean Chili, Johnnycakes, Anatto Rice Salad
• Heat the chili on the stovetop or microwave. Thin it a little, but be conservative.
• Heat the rice in the microwave, or steam it in a pan with a little oil and a splash of water. Alternately serve it simply at room temp.
• To cook the johnnycakes heat a little oil in a pan. When the oil is hot use a tablespoon to dollop the batter into the pan to form individual pancakes. Lightly flatten the cakes a bit. Turn the heat down some and let the cakes cook on one side. After about 3-4 minutes, flip them and use a spatula to flatten them further to about ¼ inch thick. Allow to cook 4 more minutes. Flip back to the original side and cook another 2 minutes. Serve with or under the chili. Meal 2: Potato Leek Soup, White Bean Casserole, Whole Wheat Pain d’Epi
• Heat the soup on the stovetop.
• Heat the casserole at 350°until just bubbly.
• Warm the bread in the oven.

Transparency

Recently, a member showed some concern about our consumptive use of plastic wrap. Below is my unedited response:
“Your situation is a unique one in that due to J-'s diligence with our containers and the configuration of the cooler, I choose to usually leave to lids on the pyrex. For most we take the lids with us after delivering the meals into the cooler. I assure you that if I had not calculated the evil to be a necessary one then I would not have chosen it. The wrap is not only a safeguard for transport, but is a cost effective measure for guarding our container investment - an investment that is more than worth its weight in avoiding disposable take-out style containers. Containers are a constant battle for us due to breakage, inconsistency from model obsolesce, and attrition to members. Our investment so far, over 2.5 years is ~$1500. The lids are half again the cost of the containers, at best. So we stock only enough for weekly reuse, and opt for plastic wrap to handle in-home storage. While I am glad that we convey an attitude of attention to detail, pack out is streamlined across all members of a similar share size, with all meals getting the same treatment and handling before semi-randomly being placed into their transport bags. It is this 'sharing' of the labor across the meals that keeps the per meal cost of membership very affordable for its quality level and is a good example of how we are all in this together as a community supported kitchen.”
My attempt here is not to scold members about our containers. Rather, I’d like to consider the footprint of the Community Supported Kitchen, and engage further the concept of membership as it relates to the social/environmental impact of this business.
We do use plastic wrap, it is necessary to prevent spills and provide a lid. Deliveries take 2.5 hours worth of fuel at about 16mpg, I’d guess. We cook with gas and use a ton of water – way above the national household per capita. There is a price for everything. I wonder though, how does our net use compare to the cumulative consumption of every member’s burners and sinks and washing machines and schleps to the supermarket to cook themselves individual ( or family) portions of equivalent meals? Can heating 1 oven for 24 loaves be less efficient than 24 ovens for the same? Maybe.
In a way the calculable results are less important than the quality of the idea itself: Is a CSK a good thing? Does it improve the integrity, stability, and beauty of its community? Or, does it do otherwise? This is the important thing – the crux of what we are trying to do here. We are looking at the unity of business and place within an ethical construct. We don’t use local produce because it uses less natural resources to produce (certainly debatable), but because the food is so very very much higher in food value than that offered conventionally, and because I know that buying it from Jon, and Lisa, and Jim or Dianne, or Stan, or Leslie and Wes is the right thing to do. And, it’s the right food to cook for you. Considering the farms, families, animals and plants themselves – most of which I’ve seen firsthand – it is good food. Ethically good food.
Aldo Leopold, the godfather of conservation and, I would say, environmentalism in this country was a visionary and naturalist of monumental capacity who left a largely unaddressed legacy to help us heal our connection with our place and our selves. It is his definition of good mentioned above upon which we hinge our measure of success. He knew that no amount of policy, subsidy, propaganda, or even education would ever help people solve the “land problem” as he called it. The answer lay in the application of ethics to our decisions. It had to come from within. He called it “The Land Ethic.”
This idea defies calculation, and perhaps this is why his work has been mostly ignored by our established investigative institutions. Yet it contains far more truth than most any peer reviewed journal article I’ve ever read.
So, while I will not accept a business model that is inherently or flagrantly wasteful, our aim is not to count carbon exhaust units emitted or cubic feet of landfill space occupied, but to examine, test, refine, and perhaps propagate an idea. The idea that an intermediary business can be an integral and good member of a local food system. That entrepreneurs can start from relatively accessible means and offer themselves an opportunity and add a significant, stable contribution to local economies. That people can procure food from a market place abundant with options as opposed to one that is concentrated, manipulated, and monopolized – and that all are better off for it. And, finally that talented artisans of all stripes can make a fair living with integrity and opportunity for future generations.

Curried Split Peas with Naan & Winter Stew with Whole Wheat Noodles

The Food Nanny
March2 & 3, 2010

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Meal 1:Curried Split Peas with Vegetables, Whole Wheat Naan & Parsi Kichirri
· Heat the curry on the stovetop or microwave. Thin it a little, but be conservative.
· Put the naan into a very hot oven for ~5 minutes to warm it but keep it soft. A microwave would well too, or over a gas burner like a tortilla.
· Heat the kichirri in the microwave, or steam it in a pan with a little water, or fry it in some oil/ butter – you choose.

Meal 2: Christmas Lima or Braised Beef Stew with Hand-Cut Papardelle and Organic Green, Mandarin, & Fennel Salad
· Let the noodles come up to room temp and place into serving bowls .
· Heat the Stew on the stove top to boiling and portion over the noodles.
· Dress and serve the salad.