Indyfoody's Blog

Legislation against local farms?

indyfoody — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:02:24 +0000

While I normally try to avoid anything political like the plague, this issue has me very worried.

I am talking about H.R. 875, also known as the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. With all of the recent incidents of salmonella contaminated produce and tainted peanut butter, it is no wonder that something like this is being introduced into legislation.

On the surface, this bill is supposed to help “protect the public health by preventing food-borne illness, ensuring the safety of food, etc.” That sounds good and logical, doesn’t it? Of course it does…at least until you actually read the full text of the bill and it’s definitions.

(Read the full text here )

Two of the stated purposes of this bill are: “To regulate food safety and labeling” and “ensure that food establishments fulfill their responsibility to process, store, hold and transport food in a manner that protects public health…” While all of that sounds great, the particular fly in this ointment comes in the form of the bill’s definitions.

This bill lists the following definition for food establishments:

“ (A) IN GENERAL- The term ‘food establishment’ means a slaughterhouse (except those regulated under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Poultry Products Inspection Act), factory, warehouse, or facility owned or operated by a person located in any State that processes food or a facility that holds, stores, or transports food or food ingredients.“

The bill also states “(14) Food Production Facility — The term ‘food production facility’ means any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal feeding operation.”

And this bill would require all ‘food establishments’ to register annually with the Food Safety Administration.

So, basically, any place where food is grown or cooked (like your back yard garden and your home kitchen) will have to be registered with the government and can expect to be fined up to $1,000,000 if you don’t comply with the regulations. Oh, and you can completely forget about trying to earn a couple of dollars by letting your neighbors buy up your extra zucchinis and tomatoes.

If this bill gets made into law…where is that going to leave farmer’s markets, home gardeners, the Amish (and other religious groups), the eco-friendly Green movement, etc.? The only people that will benefit from this bill becoming law will be the big AgriBusinesses (like Monsanto & Cargill). And where will this end?

Okay, maybe I am overreacting a bit, but I honestly don’t think it’s too much of a stretch of imagination to foresee this type of legislation leading to a George Orwellian/Big Brother future. It’s already within reach, what with so many people not knowing where their food comes from and the introduction of genetically modified foods on the market (anyone remember the movie, ‘Attack of the Killer Tomatoes’? ). And am I the only one that wonders why it is that food allergies are seen *only* in developed countries?

Regardless of this legislation, I am going to continue to grow as much food as I can. If that means that I will be breaking the law, so be it. I come from a long line of rebellious Scots-Irish hillbillies and thumbing my nose at the government is practically a genetic imperative.

Maybe I should go ahead and have a t-shirt made, with a picture of a farmer holding a pitchfork, that says “Public Health Menace” . Now, where did I leave my copy of Judas Priest singing “Breakin’ the Law”?

Fionn MacCools Irish Pub

indyfoody — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 20:49:17 +0000

In a state that goes crazy over March Madness basketball, a phenomenon has been building steam and is threatening to take over! That phenomenon is none other than the craze known as Kilt Rock!

Kilt Rock , in a nutshell, is an energetic mix of traditional Irish/Celtic music fused with modern rock-n-roll, with a little bit of folk, blues and bagpipes thrown in for good measure. Try to imagine that ’80′s dance classic “I’ll Stop the World and Melt with You” , originally by Modern English, done with bagpipes. It’s out of this world!

And at the forefront of Kilt Rock is the local band Mother Grove. This band has been around for over six years and their following keeps growing and growing. With five super talented and award winning musicians, it’s no wonder that they have taken the Indy music scene by storm. Unlike most “bar bands” Mother Grove play mostly their own original songs and their shows are so energetic that it is quite common for members of the barstaff and members of the crowd to get up and dance on the bar.

Since this is supposed to be a food blog, I suppose I should mention the food at Fionn MacCool’s, Mother Grove’s home away from home. Fionn MacCool’s menu has a good mix of traditional British/Irish fare and some modern American favorites. Some of my personal favorite dishes are the Shepherd’s Pie, the Full Irish Breakfast (black pudding included) and the Cashel Blue Cheese soup. Probably the most popular dishes however are the Fish & Chips and the Guinness Beef Stew.

If you are ever in the Indianapolis area, be sure to check out either Fionn MacCool’s or Mother Grove…or better yet, check out Mother Grove *at* Fionn MacCool’s!

Links:

www.mothergrove.com

www.maccoolsirishpub.com

Shepherd’s Pie

indyfoody — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:07:31 +0000

Cast of Characters

In an effort to expand my cooking repetoire, and inspired by a recipe in the January issue of Food & Wine magazine, I made my very first attempt at making Shepherd’s Pie. Because I tend to be an intuitive cook (which is a nice way of saying that I’m not good at following directions), I made a few alterations to the magazine’s recipe from the very beginning. Not to worry, the changes that I made weren’t bizarre and I firmly believe that I stayed faithful to the humble origins of the dish. So, let me show you what all I did.

**A quick note about the porcini powder that I use in this recipe. It is quite simply a packet of dried porcini mushrooms that I ran through an electric coffee grinder. The resulting powder resembles black pepper, but delivers a subtle yet complex flavor note that supports meat dishes beautifully. Any dried mushroom can be used this way.**

Now to the recipe:

Shepherd’s Pie

Filling:

2 Tbs vegetable oil

1 lb. ground lamb

8 oz. ground chuck

8 oz. ground pork

1 large onion, diced small

2 medium turnips, peeled and diced small

2 large carrots, diced small

2 ribs of celery, diced small

4-5 fresh garlic cloves, shredded on a microplane or box grater

1 Tbs. fresh thyme leaves

1/4 cup water

1 tsp. porcini powder

2 tsp. garlic powder

2-3 Tbs. tomato paste

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 quart ( 4 cups) beef stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste, optional

Potato Topping:

1 cup heavy cream

3 Tbs. unsalted butter, softened

1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

One 3-inch rosemary sprig

2 bay leaves

2 tsp. garlic powder (optional)

3 pounds (about 6 medium to large) potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks

3 large garlic cloves, halved

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup shredded gruyere cheese, optional

— In a large, heavy skillet (cast iron works best) heat oil over medium high heat. Add the ground meat. You may have to do this in batches if your skillet is not large enough. Season meat with salt and pepper and brown the meat. Remove browned meat to a paper towel lined plate or colander to drain grease.

Drain most of the grease from skillet, but leave 1 or 2 Tbs. of oil in pan. Add onions, carrots and celery. Lower the heat to allow the vegetables to sweat and soften, rather than brown. Add the garlic and turnips. If the pan seems a little too dry, add the water and the thyme leaves. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened.

Return the meat to the skillet and stir to mix the veggies well with the meat. Clear an open spot in the middle of the skillet (creating a *hot spot*), and add the tomato paste. Spread the paste around the hot spot, allowing the natural sugars in the tomato paste to caramelize lightly, for 1 minute. Stir the veg/meat mixture around with the paste, distributing the paste somewhat evenly. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute or so. Add the beef stock, porcini powder, cayenne and garlic powder at this point and bring to a slow boil. Stir well and simmer until sauce has thickened. While sauce is simmering, taste to check/adjust seasonings. I would caution against the temptation to add more salt at this point; as the sauce thickens, the flavor of the salt already present in the stock and the meat may become more pronounced.

While the meat/veg and sauce simmers and thickens, start the potato topping. In a large saucepan cover the potatoes with water and add a pinch of salt and the halved garlic cloves. Bring to a boil and cook until tender then drain. In a small saucepan combine the cream, butter, oil, rosemary, garlic powder and bay leaves… bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Transfer meat/veg mixture to an oven proof casserole dish. Return cooked potatoes and garlic cloves to sauce pan; shake over high heat until dry. At this point you need to use your prefered method of *mashing* the potatoes (i.e. pass the potatoes and garlic through a food mill or potato ricer or mix with an electric mixer) . Strain the cream/butter mixture over the potatoes and stir it in. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Spread the mashed potatoes evenly over the meat/veg mixture. Sprinkle the cheese over top of the mashed potatoes. Bake the casserole for 30 minutes or until filling is bubbling. If the top is not nicely browned and yummy looking, broil the casserole for no more than 3 minutes. Remove dish from oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Finished dish Yumm-O!

*** Now, according to Gordon Ramsay, this dish is more accurately called “Cottage Pie” because a true Shepherd’s Pie contains lamb meat only. Regardless of what name you give this dish, it turned out very tasty and I will definitely make it again in the future!

Vietnamese Noodle Soup

indyfoody — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 01:40:55 +0000

Pho Ga, Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

There are times when you come across a dish that is so simple and sublime that you wonder how you could have lived prior to that first perfect taste. This is how I feel almost every time I tuck into a big bowl of Pho Ga (pronounced ‘Fuh Gah’) at my favorite Vietnamese noodle restaurant, King Wok on Lafayette Road here in Indianapolis.

For those of you that may be unfamiliar with Vietnamese noodle soup, when it is served to you in the restaurant, you get a large bowl of a clear broth with a pile of rice noodles in the bottom of the bowl. In the broth itself are some slivers of beef or chicken (depending on which variety you order), some slivers of green onion, slivers of yellow or white onion and maybe some fresh cilantro leaves. A plate of garnishes accompanies the soup, which contains bean sprouts, a lime wedge or two, some sprigs of Thai basil and some thinly sliced jalapeno or serrano chiles. I also like to add a bit of chile-garlic paste and a squirt or two of Sriracha chile sauce. Now that may sound incredibly hot and spicy, but that is the beauty of Pho. You adjust the heat to your own taste.

So, if you’ve never tried Pho I strongly encourage you to give it a shot. But I must warn you to make sure you are really hungry, because this soup is deceptively light but very, very filling. And if you are ever in Indianapolis, please stop by King Wok ( 4150 Lafayette Rd. Indianapolis, Indiana, Phone: 317-295-8090 ). I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Iron Chef Challenge Indiana

indyfoody — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:29:06 +0000

Last night, while out to dinner with friends, we came up with the idea of having our own “Iron Chef” challenge. We are aiming for the last weekend in June, in order to give the contestants (there are 4 of us) time to test drive recipes that we will want to use. We’ve also got two victims….I mean volunteers to act as judges. We are hoping to get two more judges for the big day.

One of our volunteer judges has already determined that the “secret” ingredient is shrimp. So after I got home from dinner, I combed through a bunch of my cookbooks and came up with about 18 different recipes that I think will be worth a shot. Over the course of the next four months I will be test driving each of those recipes and I will be posting my results and thoughts here.

Wish me luck!

3 Cheese and Kale Quesadillas

indyfoody — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:12:42 +0000

Kale is the not so secret ingredient here and is just delicious. It plays off the cheeses just like spinach, but with a little more assertiveness yet it’s not overpowering. Give it a shot, I think you’ll like it!

3 Cheese and Kale Quesadillas (serves 6)

6 oz. semi-soft white Mexican melting cheese ( I used a cheese labeled “Quesadilla”), shredded

2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup parmesan or romano cheese, shredded

1 small to medium onion, peeled and minced

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 serrano chile pepper, seeded and minced (optional)

2 leaves curly kale, center rib removed and sliced ( should look like green ribbons or confetti )

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 Tbs. olive oil

2 Tbs. water (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 (12 count)pkg. soft “taco size” flour tortillas

Garnish:

2 green onions, cleaned and slice diagonally

1/2 ripe tomato, diced

Sour cream, to taste

In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the three cheeses, using a fork to mix well and to break up any large clumps of the goat cheese. Add the ground cumin to the cheese mixture, mix well and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Add olive oil to medium sized saute pan over medium heat. Cook onion and serrano pepper for about 3 minutes and add the minced garlic. Add a pinch of salt and some cracked black pepper; reduce heat and saute for another 2 minutes. When onions and garlic are wilted and just starting to caramelize, add the kale and stir. If your kale is fairly dry, you can add a couple of tablespoons of water at this point to help the kale to wilt. Cover the kale/onion mixture and turn the heat down to low. Allow the kale to wilt and steam in the saute pan for no more than 5 minutes then remove from heat.

Place a griddle or saute pan over medium heat. Cast iron works great for this. Place one tortilla in bottom of pan. Add a spoonfull of cheese mixture to center of tortilla, followed by an equal amount of kale/onion mixture. Place a second tortilla on top of first tortilla and its filling. Grill this tortilla “sandwich” just like you would a grilled cheese, being careful to not let it burn. Carefully flip the quesadilla, allowing both sides to brown lightly. When both sides are browned, remove from skillet and place on a cookie sheet. Continue until you have 6 whole quesadillas on the cookie sheet.

Place cookie sheet of quesadillas into oven and bake for 5 to 10 minutes to thoroughly melt the cheese. When done, slice quesadillas in half or in quarters and serve with your favorite garnishes.

Enjoy!

Umami Discovered!

indyfoody — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:07:23 +0000

I have to tell you, I have probably the absolute best in-laws in the world. One of my Christmas presents from my mother in-law was a big box store gift card which I was able to trade in for a cookbook that has stolen my heart with the very first recipe I tried.

The cookbook is titled “The Fifth Taste; Cooking with Umami” by David and Anna Kasabian ( ISBN: 0-7893-1356-1 ). This book is simply wonderful! Tonight my husband and I made Bradley Ogden’s Roast Pork Shoulder recipe. Words cannot adequately describe how wonderful, tasty, flavorful and satisfying that pork roast dinner turned out. If all the recipes in this cookbook turn out just as well as that pork roast did, then I can definitely understand what all the excitement is about concerning umami.

What’s next? Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger’s Marinated Skirt Steak. I’ll keep you posted.

Hello world!

indyfoody — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:36:36 +0000

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!

Indyfoody's Blog

Legislation *against* local farms?

Fionn MacCools Irish Pub

Shepherd’s Pie

Vietnamese Noodle Soup

Iron Chef Challenge Indiana

3 Cheese and Kale Quesadillas

Umami Discovered!

Hello world!

Legislation against local farms?