Monday, March 9, 2009

The New York Times talk about South Korea, Drinks Are on the Maple Tree


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/06/world/asia/06maple.html?ref=dining

HADONG, South Korea — At this time of year, when frogs begin stirring from their winter sleep and woodpeckers drill for newly active insects, villagers climb the hills around here to collect a treasured elixir: sap from the maple tree known as gorosoe.

Irish Pubs In the New york times

Here is a nice read ,while getting ready for Paddys day .

www.nytimes.com
“A good pub is a place devoted to conversation, with drink as the lubricant,” Mr. Barich said one evening last week. “In an American bar, the minute you finish your drink they say, ‘Do you want another?’ You’d never see that in a good pub.”

In years past, an Irish pub was a family-run business, and the publican more than likely lived upstairs — an arrangement that created an intimacy across the bar.

“A good publican is a person with character, concerned about the welfare of patrons,” Mr. Barich said. That a barman could aspire to one day own a pub himself made for a system of dues paying that also resulted in better service.

But with trophy pubs now commanding as much as $8 million, a shift has been made to partnerships or corporations that may own and manage several bars. At the same time, more Irish are drinking wine, and drinking at home or in restaurants, chipping away at the social relevance of pubs.

The changes are most pronounced in the countryside, where verdant fields gave way to suburban sprawl in a period of rampant economic growth (now considerably tamed) known as the Celtic Tiger. The farmers who once treated rural pubs as community centers are selling off their fields, or else being frightened away from the barstool by strict drunken driving laws. “The loss of those country pubs signifies a huge change,” Mr. Barich said.
I think I have to love this quote the best and strongly agree.

“Nobody wants drunks in Irish pubs because they’re boring,” he said, “and the last thing you want to be called is boring.”

Instead, traditional pubs foster warmth and fraternity.

“For the couple of hours that you’re in there,” Mr. Kirwan said, “you mesh with this community and your personal troubles are shed.”


Eating Down the Fridge - Day 1

Today is the first day of Eating Down the Fridge. EDF is a week long challenge to not go food shopping but instead, eat what you have in your pantry and fridge and freezer. That stuff frozen in a tupperware? Defrost it. The can of butter beans that you bought even though you don't know if you like butter beans? Open it. The fish sauce and curry paste leftover from your one attempt at making Thai food? Use it.
Obviously I went grocery shopping over the weekend, right before the challenge began. I went with the plan to buy ingredients which I could combine with food I already had in the house and for the next 7 days I can't go pick up anything I forgot. (I think it's also part of the challenge to not go out to eat every night.) I'll be out of town for the last few days of the challenge so to be fair, I'll extend it through next Tuesday. I know you can't wait to see what I come up with on those last few days. Probably something made from frozen peas and tofu.
This challenge is about being creative, being frugal and green, not wasteful. It's also about getting my name and blog listed here and having to live up to the deal.
If you want to join me, please leave a comment!

Day 1: Parmesan-thyme biscuits topped with ham and brie, salad with pears, bleu cheese, walnuts, and Craisins, fruit crumble with ice cream

Biscuits w/ Ham and Brie:
Parmesan - fridge
Butter - fridge
Thyme - freezer
Flour, baking powder - pantry
Ham - fresh
Brie - fresh, buy one get one free (this means I have a lot of brie to deal with in the next few weeks)


Salad
Lettuce - fridge
Pears - fresh
Bleu cheese - fridge, leftover from pasty making
Walnuts - fridge
Craisins - pantry
Oil and vinegar - pantry

Fruit crumble:
Apples - fresh
Blueberries - fridge
Brown sugar - pantry
Almonds - fridge
Flour - pantry
Butter - fridge
Ice cream - freezer

Yes, I want those three string beans wrapped up, too

March 9

I recently asked you, dear reader, whether you’re using doggie bags more now than you did a year ago. Most respondents said they aren't, but 40 percent said they are, which is certainly enough to say that doggie bag use is on the rise. Of course, these polls are unscientific, but interesting nonetheless, and the responses corroborate what restaurateurs are telling me, which is that doggie bag use is definitely on the rise (except at Capital Grille, where they say they haven’t noticed any such growth).
Okay, but who cares? Well, in our April 20 issue NRN we’ll run a special section on back-of-the-house strategies for improving guests’ experiences while managing costs. One article in that section will be on how to capitalize on the doggie bag trend (there are ways, oh, you bet your sweet maple syrup there are ways). Stay tuned.

Now, I’d like to ask both restaurateurs and restaurant goers how they feel about restaurant week. if you want to comment more elaborately, feel free to do so in the comment section below this blog entry.

For posterity, below are the results of the doggie bag poll.

DO YOU USE DOGGIE BAGS IN RESTAURANTS MORE NOW THAN YOU DID A YEAR AGO?
yes 13 (40%)
no 19 (59%)
Total votes: 32

jatuh? sy ketawa! haha.

2 hari x sempat sentuh laptop. ape tah lagi on9.
sedara mara dtg menyerang~ huu. sgt leteyh.
esp yesterday, teman kma cousinku berjln more than 12 hours.
yerr. sgt leteyh n da last2 sy penink pale suda.
tman org lain dating n sy nyebok. hua3...untung jgk.
movie d-sponsor oleh mereka. haha XD

and with the super, hyper 6 kids. haih~
they turned my world upside down! huhu.
sampai kalo nak msg pon, ddk dlm blk senyap2!
kalo x mereka serbu blk nih! wahhh... sabar je la.
but. seronok. ia memecah kesepian. eheh.
stock makanan sy sume habis!!! hahahahaha...
x pe. esok g carre4. mama tammo g jj. =P

anyway. hari nih. sy nak cite ttg jatuh.
bkn jatuh cinta. bkn jga jatuh hati. jatuh talak or etc.
tp jatuh. jatuh tangga. jatuh basikal. n jatuh yg sewkt dgnnyer...


sy ingt. wkt kecik2, sy akan bwk basikal yg beroda 4.
ske sgt la main...siap ade rambu ramba d kiri n kanan.
hahaha... lame sy main beskal tuh.
umur 7 thn baru sy belajar naik beskal 2 roda. itu pon terpakse!!!
sy ingt. mama ckp "kwn2 lain dah reti naik 2 roda!
pergi belajar! malu je dgn kawan2 lain"

mama ttp pintu rumah. haha. mama x kasi sy msk umah. sampai ok.
sy pergi dkt kwn2 sy yg lain. sy tgk mereka main.
n sy malu...wawawa.sy cuba bnyk kali dgn mereka.
jatuh! jatuh! n jatuh!
cuba lg...
sampai dpt! terus sy blk umah. n buat tah bape pusingan. haha.
sambil tu. sy jerit, "mama! mama! dah pandai bwk beskal!!!"
mama intai dr tingkap n tersenyum. ptg itu. sy happy.
n dpt masuk umah dgn gembiranye! hahahahaha... XD

ok. ckp pasal jatuh. sebenarnye. sy nak cite ttg tahun lepas.
sy x ingt la bape kali sy jatuh. tp 3x ni mmg sy amat ingt!
3x dlm 2008 nih sy x kan lupe. 2 jatuh tangga.
1 jatuh termsk lubang. mcm mane org lain kalau terjatuh?
sy mcm nih orgnye. kalo sy jatuh...dpn public [selalunye]
sy akan gelak gile3. itu berlaku dgn sendirinye...
sy jatuh! sy gelak!sambil sy gelak...sy tahan sakit.
n ckp dgn kuat "malunyerrrrr" wahahaha.
n kalau dah terlampau sakit, esp jatuh tangge,
sy akan gelak sambil nangis sbb sakit sgt. hahahaha...
kalo de org tgk mmg sy lg malu. tp. ble x de org tgk. cam pelik plak.
rase cam x best gelak sorang2...haha. okay.

last year sy jatuh tangga 2x tuh, dlm selang masa 2 minggu je!
mula2 sy jatuh time turun tangga rumah sewa sy. sy pegang kotak.
penuh dgn air mineral. entah time tu pakai kasut yg x seswai kot.
sy turun2, dgn x nmpk tangga dbwh, then terjatuh! wawawa...
terjerit n tergelak. hahahaha...tp sakit. sbb tersilang kaki.
tp nak cpt, so buat bodow dgn kesakitan itu. esoknye. bgn tdow.
haaa...baru rase kesakitan yg amat d bhgian punggung. sembuh?
seminggu lebeyh jgkla. then. x sampai 2 minggu kemudian...

lewat ptg itu. selepas hujan. sy dgn kasut sukan. n 2 org hsmate.
berjln kaki ke kolej. ade kelas ptg. sy jln mcm biase. even jln licin.
sbb pakai kst sukan yg sy yakin tapaknye elok. then. dah nak sampai.
d dpn 5 anak tangga d tgh2 setiawangsa itu, sy terjatuh!!!
menggelosor! dr anak tangge teratas ke anak tangge terbwh!
ia sgt sakit! sbb terduduk n menggelongsor! punggung sy. ya tuhan.
sakitnyerrr. oleh sbb sgt sakit, maka sy gelak sambil nangis!!! haha.
sy bleh ddk je sambil nangis n gelak. kwn2 sy da cuak. n suruh bgn.
sy gelak je sambil air mate x henti2. hahahaha...sy kate. jap2.
mane blh bgn trus. sakit gile ni. haha. sy bertuah. sbb x ramai org.
sbb baru lepas hujan. haha. malu jugakkk...wakakkaa.
pakai kst sukan blh jatuh. mmg nasib la tuh jatuh jgk! haha.
yerr. maka, kesakitan sy itu berterusan hingga 2 minggu~~~

then. sewkt cuti final sem bape tah. sy blk srwk. n mama.
ajak sy tman die ke skola die. sy pon ikot je. saje hari tu.
isi masa lapang. mama ada latihan umah sukan. lgpon. sy rndu.
rndu suasana zmn skola. jd sy ikot! bygkan. sy buat muke cool.
sbb bangga jd anak ckgu. hahahaha...and. budget da beso sgt ah tu.
sy jln blakang skit dr mama. dgn bwk payung. sbb panas. tp.
payung itu masih x dibuka. sekadar tongkat buat sy. sy jln.
melepasi canteen. jln lg d kanan sy basketball court. jln lagi.
d kiri sy gelanggang badminton. dan di dpn..pdng yg luas.
dan trek berlari. mcm skola2 lain. sgt ramai pelajar ptg itu.
main basketball. badminton. kadet2 berkawad. dan. sukan.

sy berjln. dah hampir sampai dkt mama! tibe2...sy yg sengih2 nih.
PAPPPP~~~ payung yg ditongkat termsk lubang n kaki sy skali.
terjatuh! depan org ramai yg sy x kenal okayyyy!!! dan sy.
yakin. lebeyh 100 org ade time tuh. hahahaha...n sume silent!
silent ok! n suare sy je duk gelak2. sy pelik. mama pon diam.
slalunye mama ske gelakkan sy. tp mama pon terkejut. tgk sy je.
sy ttp gelak gile2 n malu yg amat...hahahahah.
sy nmpk muke bdk2 itu. maw gelak tp takot kot. haha. sy bgn.
n blh plak sy ckp... "nape x de org gelak? malu je! haha"
n sy jln straight buat bodow. n sengih2. haha. pastu. barulah.
mama pon gelak. tatkala yg lain pura2 tak gelak. haha.
malu gileee. sampai skrng mama duk menganjing ttg itu. XP

then pernah. form 4-5 mcm tuh. sy x ingt. time tuh.
sy tnggl d sg besi. sy ajak mama n abah mkn luar.
dinner d luar. berdktan. tp d restoran thai yg agak exclusive.
mkn mcm biase. borak2. then time nak blk. d luar restoran itu.
penuh customer jgk. mereka yg rase nak mkn dgn open air.
ddk di luar. imagine. kereta abah d park. betol2 d dpn kedai.
sy jln. mcm biase. dgn TIBE2!!! kaki sy lemah sebelah.
n pokkkk~~~ terjelepok. maka. sy jatuh la! sbb x stabil!
dpn org ramai. betol2 d dpn restoran! nak sampai kete da.
mama da gelak gile. hahahahhahaa...sbb sy malu sgt.
sy gelak2 masuk kete terus tunduk! wakakaka.
x nak kasi org tgk muke sy da. malu3!!! wakakakakaka...

ni antare time2 sy jth yg sy x kan lupe. hee.
n da thing is. normal lah kalo kte terjatuh. x yah malu2.
bgn. dan berdiri dgn gembira. x yah lari cam lipas kudung.
sbb, itukan pengalaman yg x dpt dilupekan. =]


The Butcher's Apprentice

Food is a process.

Whether you are eating an apple freshly plucked from a low-hanging branch on a warm Autumn evening or munching through a Big Mac in a harshly lit McDonalds, you are taking part in a process.

An awareness of this should be essential, especially when meat is concerned.

Many of us consume meat without thinking about the full implications of the process required to transform a living, breathing animal into something we can eat.

As a result the process has become convoluted and swollen like a diseased abscess. Now consumers can pick up neatly packaged portions of meat, hermetically sealed and bearing no resemblance to the cow, pig, sheep, chicken or springbok that it was once a part of.

Spending a day learning the basics of animal butchery with a qualified expert is one such way you can restore an awareness of the link between what we eat and where it comes from.

So, that’s what I did.

I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story (full article will appear in due course, once it has been published).



A whole lamb carcass, covered in mutton cloth (meat hates being wrapped in plastic).

I learned the basics of how to butcher lamb, pork and beef but due to technical issues (ahem, did someone say 'memory card'?) only managed to get pictures of the lamb.



The tools of the trade - a boning knife and steel. Knives are sharpened regularly throughout the day. Blunt knives are far more dangerous than razor sharp ones.



Once the mutton cloth is off, the lamb starts to resemble an animal. You can see the kidneys in the foreground like two shiny conkers.



The carcass is then divided into 'primary cuts'...





...before starting to look like more recognisable pieces...



...like this rack of lamb being french trimmed.



The completed rack which went straight into the shop's display, mere metres away, within a few seconds of this picture being taken.

A good butcher doesn't just portion up pieces of meat. Much of the day is spent expertly preparing a range of other items - hams, sausages, brines, bacon or boned shoulder of lamb stuffed with parsley, garlic and olive oil:



You don't get that in a supermarket.

So, what did I learn?

I learned that butchery is a skill, an artform, that is worthy of respect and can take years to master.

I learned that it's hard work.

I learned that there is a world of difference between production line meat of the sort that we buy in supermarkets, and rare breed, well-treated, well-hung meat that is available in butchers' shops.

I learned that butchers have a bigger range and better prices than any of the supermarkets. I came back with cheeks, trotters, tails and lamb breast. Not to mention a promise that anything else I wanted could be ordered in. Sweetbreads, tongue, beef short ribs and many other treats are on their way.

I learned (and I have the sore hands to prove it) how to do a butcher's knot (photo tutorial to follow).

I learned that the anatomy of lambs, pigs and cows is almost identical (no, really).

And finally? I learned that getting your hands dirty is an inevitable and massively enjoyable part of being a food writer.

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The Usual Suspects (or Chicken Run?)

Looking out of the kitchen window this morning, this rather wonderful line-up was just a metre or so away from me.

Hoping they would stay there long enough, I ran to grab the camera and shot this just before they flapped their wings and jumped to the floor in rather ungainly fashion.

Reminded me of The Usual Suspects. Either that or Chicken Run.



Left to right: Eggels, Henin and Marx. The most revolutionary hens this side of Havana.

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