Just Foodies

Greek Style Giant Beans

We loved the giant beans in Athens.  Here are two options for enjoying this tasty treat at home. 

1. Canned Giant Beans

2. Make your own: 

2. Enjoy!  

Home Barista Training

 

 

 

When you are a coffee lover, your morning latte takes on new meaning after you have trained to pull the ultimate brew at Barista School. There are intensive coffee classes for professionals and fortunately there are also consumer-based classes that teach the basics of making the best expresso drinks and latte art at home. 

Here is an overview of coffee schools that provide home barista training:

The American Barista Coffee School in Portland, OR has a one day class that includes brewing and purchasing expresso.

The Seattle Barista Academy has a three hour class that will help you discover how to get the best coffee flavors. This class is in Renton, WA. 

In Melbourne, Victoria Australia, The Expresso School gives private lessons in your home (within 15 km of Melbourne CBD) on coffee making and Latte Art classes. The classes last about 2 hours. They also have books and DVD's available. 

The Canadian Barista Academy travels to several cities in Canada to present a 1/2 day home barista class.

In the Sydney, NSW region of Australia, there are two barista schools that have offerings for a home barista: Danes Gourmet Coffee Institute or Toby's Estate's . Both offer half day courses.

In Holland, MI The Midwest Barista School has four-hour Home Barista training sessions available. The hands-on sessions are held atJP's Coffee House.  

 

Ann Arbor Cooking Classes

Zingerman's is an Ann Arbor Institution. They make my favorite Chocolate Cherry Bread!  It is hard to beat this bread as a special Michigan treat, especially served toasted with cherry preserves. So I was thrilled to find Zingermans' has cooking classes. 

I signed up for Mambo Italiano class.  It's a full day of hands on bread making training and you take home some classic Italian Breads. It will be fun to try a wood fired oven.

At BAKE! there are a variety of classes at varying intensity levels. Some classes last several hours or you can opt for a full weekend or week of training. 

Greece is a Paradise for Foodies

Rich historical icons and ancient relics are enough to draw visitors to Greece, however, the food and friendly people make the trip complete!  

While there are local variations, most restaurants in Greece serve Greek salads topped with thick slabs of rich feta.  Also, chicken and pork soulvaki, and spicey kebabs are traditional favorites. Eggplant dishes such as mousaka and a dip called  Melitzanosalata. The sweets are also rich and wonderful. Here are my favorite local Greek dishes that can not be missed:

Athens: Giant baked bean called fassolia gigantes are tastey butter beans baked in tomato sauce with oregano.

Ancient Olympia: Greek yoghurt with quince and local honey.

Santorini: Fava dip, fried tomatoes, Santorini Pistachios, Greek salads enhanced with local giant capers, fresh delightful cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes and local honey.  Santorini is most famous for fantastic sunsets and there are many local restaurants and taverns that feature fantastic food with panoramic views.

The local wines are excellent.  The white wines are exceptionally good, and have a crisp, dry, refreshing finish. Greek beers Mythos and Alpha are readily available and refreshing. Another excellent local beer is Mitypa. These are brewed with the clean finish of lagers, and perfectly compliment gyros or soulvaki.

Must-try greek specialities include ouzo and tsipouro. These high alcohol content drinks can be mixed with ice or water. I enjoyed sipping an anise flavored ouzo after long day of sightseeing, however the tsipouro was a bit strong for my taste. The sweet Santorini dessert wine, "Vinsanto", was a pleasant after dinner treat presented by the restaturant.

Our September visit hit several fruits at their peak. The watermelon and green honey-dew type melons melt in your mouth. Fresh figs were available. The grapes were the best that I have ever tasted.  We were able to purchase the fruits through local stores or traveling farmer's markets.

I'll be looking for Greek cooking classes and Greek cookbooks to help preserve the memories of a fantastic vacation! 

 

 

 

 

 

Emperor, Fish and I

As most of us know the fatty acids contained in fish are considered critical for a healthy body and mindm but if you've been eating fish either canned or fresh you might have more in common with this guy than you ever would've guessed. So, what exactly do you, the health conscious fish eater have with the first Qin Dynasty emperor? Simply put, mercury.

The early Qin Shi is thought to have died from mercury poisoning after consuming mercury laced tonics in his fruitless effort to become immortal. Unless you want to retry his fateful immortality experiments it is important that you make informed decisions on the amount and type of fish you consume.

Although there are very specific guidelines given by the FDA that track average mercury levels in commonly eaten fish that you should look at, a simple rule you can follow is to eat fish at the bottom of the food chain. Although the mechanism by which mercury accumulates in fish contains several variables such as location, diet and levels of fatty tissue, in general fish that eat other fish will contain higher levels of mercury than fish that don't.

Take for example the diet of swordfish versus sardines, the FDA cites the mercury concentration in swordfish at 0.976 parts per million compared to sardines at 0.016 parts per million. As you could guess the diet of a fish that has a sharp pike attached to is generally predatory with its staple diet including octopus and mackerel, compared to the sardines, who often have no teeth at all and instead filter feed plankton. The same comparison can be done with shark and anchovies, with similar results.

Besides diet, another important factor that contributes to mercury levels in fish is the average life cycle of the species. The longer a fish has lived the greater the chance for high levels of mercury accumulation.

This information is especially important for women who are either pregnant or could become pregnant in the future. Just as in fish, mercury levels in humans can take years to naturally dissipate once consumed, potentially causing harm to a fetus.

So next time you are looking for a fishy treat, remember two things, mercury won’t make you immortal and do your best to always eat fish with short life cycles at the bottom of the food chain.

Taza Chocolate – Chocolate Mexicano

 At my local Whole Foods I spotted a type of chocolate I’d never seen in ready to eat form before, Stone Ground, Organic Chocolate Mexicano with added Cinnamon. Delicately packaged in wax paper, this chocolate is, as you can imagine delicious and yet is distinctly different from the classic Hershey’s milk chocolate bars many of us grew up with. Each portion of the wheel shaped chocolate block contains subtle earthy flavors along with a perfectly balanced splash of cinnamon so that neither of these flavors overpowers the satisfying texture and taste of the chocolate. The texture must be imparted from the stone ground process used to create it, with a grainy texture that doesn’t melt in your mouth as conventional milk chocolate would and instead provides a satisfying crunch 

While delicious as an on the go treat, this chocolate is also made to quickly and easily dissolve into any hot beverage for an intense chocolate infusion. I put two portions of a wheel into my morning latte and was very pleased with the results imparting a complex sweetness along with a mild and pleasant hint of cinnamon.

As a added bonus this chocolate is certified organic, with the only 3 ingredients being cocao beans, cane sugar and cinnamon. This treat can be purchased directly from the Taza website. While Taza Chocolate on its site advertises a feature to track the exact process by which your exact chocolate bar was made through a tracking number on the bar, my bar contained no such code. If the bar you purchase does contain a tracking code, the site provides every imaginable detail of the process that took the original cocoa beans to the finish bar, including maximum roasting temperature, the specific grower and even who wrapped the packaging. Even without this advanced tracking this bar chocolate definitely provided a delicious, unique and versatile experience.

  

Sweet Potatoes an American Tradition

[8:02:36 PM] brian: Potatoes have long been a staple food and can be used in nearly every course as a complement for meat, vegetables or even sliced with a little bit of salt to make delicious french fries. If you love potatoes and haven't given their delicious and nutritious sibling the Sweet Potato, also commonly known as "Yams" a try, you are seriously missing out.

If you've taken part in the American tradition Thanksgiving, you've undoubtedly seen sweet potatoes served along with that golden turkey. Often served with a heavy topping of sweetener  such as marshmallow or honey to bring out a caramel like taste and texture, yet this is only a single way to serve sweet potatoes and far from my favorite. Besides the delicious taste, sweet potatoes keep well when protected from light are durable and can quickly be prepared as a delicious snack or meal.

You can find sweet potatoes in almost every grocery store that would stock potatoes, and while they are a bit more expensive than a normal potatoes, they bring unique flavors and textures that can add complex sweetness and starchiness to any meal far beyond a normal potato.

When purchasing sweet potatoes there are some key things to look for in order to pick perfect potatoes. Skin color is generally a good indication of the flavor that the potato will have, lighter skin indicates less of the distinct sweet potato flavor, with a flavor more like a regular potato, while a darker skin sweet potato will have a darker orange flesh which will provide a smooth sweet taste when cooked. Besides skin color you should choose potatoes that are free of mold and damage, with the potato feeling firm and heavy when picked up with smooth not wrinkly skin. You should also be aware that potatoes and sweet potatoes when frozen or chilled can develop "hardcore" which is a tough center that cannot be softened even with intense cooking.

Once you've purchased your stock of sweet potatoes you can use them interchangeably anywhere you'd use normal potatoes, including complementing steaks, stews and fries, often adding a delightful and complex savory sweetness to the dish. Although there are many exotic new recipes involving sweet potatoes, some of the best and my favorite are the traditional classics:

Sweet Potato parmesan garlic baked fries

This recipe is a favorite of many college students I know because it is simple, fast and cheap.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 Large Sweet Potato, thinly sliced as desired
Olive Oil
Parmesan cheese
Powdered Garlic
Medium pan

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Wash sweet potato in warm water
Slice sweet potato thinly to ensure even cooking
Oil cooking pan with olive oil to prevent sticking
Spread sweet potato evenly over pan to ensure even cooking
Sprinkle Parmesan over sweet potatoes as desired
Sprinkle powdered garlic over sweet potatoes as desired
Cook for 20-25 minutes or until browned and crispy

Enjoy!

Be sure to check back for more sweet potato recipes, we'll be adding them as we discover them.

CSA's Are Delightful

Spring is in the air and I'm starting to plant my flowers and a few veggies. I've also signed up for a share of the local farmers vegetable garden through a program called CSA or Community Supported Agriculture.  In this program, a local farmer plants a garden that will be divided among shareholders. If the garden does well, everyone gets lots of veggies, if not then we all get less.  There is a shared risk, but also the potential for gain too.  

I have paticipated in two different CSA's one in MI and one in Seattle. In both cases, we received excellent fresh organically grown veggies and enjoyed the seasonal nature of the garden.  I tried a few veggies that I never would have purchased on my own.  For example Fava beans.  Delightful fresh, these beans are also used in italian dishes and soups.  

This picture from last year's harvest higlights the lovely fresh vegetables and bountiful variety of colors and textures.  

Part of the fun is visiting the farm and seeing the garden.  Our CSA has two farm visits a year.  In the spring everyone plants a pumpkin and in the fall we all harvest our own pumpkin. It is wonderful to see kids excited about growing things.

There is a great website that provides information about the CSA's across the USA.

Steven Smith Teammaker - A Unique Tea Experience

Encore!

After creating and selling Stash and Tazo Tea companies, Steve Smith is once again creating delightful teas. Whether you are looking for green, white, black tea or herbal infusions, Steven Smith Teamaker has a product that is right for you. The teamaker has set-up shop in Portland, Oregon.

My favorite, the peppermint infusion is full bodied and so fresh. I think it is the best peppermint tea I've tasted. The uniquely shaped pyramid tea bags contribute to the appeal. Oregon peppermint leaves are the wonderful secret ingredient.  In fact you can learn the source & lot number of every ingredient used in these teas by entering the batch number online.

I've also indulged in a special blend created for Churchmouse Yarn and Teas in Bainbridge Island, WA. The Tea is #512 Church Mouse No. 512. This tea is wonderful!

Check out his complete selection online, these teas are still hard to find locally unless you are lucky enough to live in Oregon.

Southern Exposure Herb Farm - Cooking Classes & Foodie Fun

Spring has finally reached lower Michigan.  I celebrated by attending two great foodie experiences at Southern Exposure Herb Farm. This unique foodie destination is located in the countryside between Battle Creek and Marshall Michigan. It is well worth the drive, plan to arrive a little early so you can tour the grounds and enjoy their flowers.  Southern Exposure holds both workshops and specialty dinners. The workshops are either focused on gardening  or food and usually include a meal. They also have foodie tours such as a recent adventure to North Chicago for a Food Tasting & Cultural Tour.

Workshop

Do You Dream of Chocolate was a fun night focused on CHOCOLATE. Chocolate lovers could  indulge in their favorite food and learn a bit too. As we gathered at the table for dinner, we worked on a Chocolate quiz.  The quiz was interesting and full of fun facts about chocolate including the average  annual chocolate consumption of chocolate in the US (11 lbs) and what country is the largest producer of Cocoa beans (Ivory Coast - West Africa).  After a delightful dinner and decadent chocolate dessert, we traveled to different locations on the farm to extend our chocolate knowledge and tastings.  Recipes and techniques were demonstrated and shared.   

Specialty Dining

Our next experience was a relaxed and exquisite dinner event called An Evening with Mozart. On this brilliant spring evening Southern Exposure Herb Farm was decorated for Spring. A dogwood tree in full bloom greeted us and the garden beds were groomed for spring. A high degree of attention was paid to every detail, as displayed in the beautiful table arrangement.

The menu was based on Mozart's favorite foods:

• Chef Elsie’s Shrimp and Corn Chowder
• Colorful Spring Salad of Cucumber and Feta with Herb Buttermilk Dressing
• Baked Salmon Fillet with Fresh Pineapple and Ginger Chutney
• Oven Roasted Herb Potatoes
• Roasted Spring Vegetables
• Linzertorte with Whipped Cream
• Pinot Noir selected by our Sommelier

Southern Exposure Herb Farm is a delightful experience for Foodies whether you choose to enjoy specialty dining or a hands-on workshop. I hope to join to next Chicago Food Tasting and Cultural Walking Tour!

Read more about Southern Exposure