Posts Tagged ‘Food’
Fermented Foods 101: Yes You Do Need Bacteria!
Considering that I have been brewing kombucha for quite some time now, you could call me a bit of a fermented foods addict, so it was fun to get to do a fermented foods guide for Refinery29 and get to interview the fermented foods extraordinaire Sandor Ellix Katz.
“Almost all the fermented foods and beverages we know of are so ancient that they predate recorded history. Humans could never have settled many regions of the world without the benefit of fermentation, and agriculture would not be possible without it.” Ellix Katz explains, “How could people ever begin to invest their energy in crops that are ready at particular times of the year if they didn’t have techniques for preserving the harvest to get them through the rest of the year?”
It’s true: In a world before refrigerators, people had to preserve their food somehow, and often fermentation was it. Those preservation techniques are still used in cultures around the world today, from miso in Japan to cheese in France, and while fermented foods might sound like a fad, you’re probably already eating them. Coffee? Fermented food. Chocolate? Fermented. Wine? Also fermented. In fact, as Ellix Katz points out, “most people in most parts of the world eat or drink products of fermentation every day.”
Read the full article here.
The Culinary Cyclist Cookbook: 3 for $20 Holiday Special
So this year I wrote a book, a cookbook actually, and it’s called The Culinary Cyclist. Yes, food and bicycles all together in one lovely REAL book (you know, those printed things with pages that you flip through?). Want one? You’re in luck. Through December 15, they’re on a little holiday special: 3 books for $20. That’s basically three books for the price of two. Snag a pack now: one book for you, one for your friend, and one that you can keep on hand until you have the “oh no! I forgot to get [insert name here] a gift!”
There’s a lot of good stuff in here, including recipes (all gluten-free + vegetarian) like Baked Egg in Avocado, Raw Walnut Butter and how to make cold brew coffee in a French press. In other words: you need this book.
Click here to buy.
Buy a Copy of My New Book: The Culinary Cyclist
The idea for the book The Culinary Cyclist came about December of last year, so for the last six months I have had bikes and food on the brain. Well, I always have bikes and food on the brain, but this time as I wrote chapters about coffee, picnics and planning a dinner party, it was book related.
And now, after six months, the book is completely written, the illustrations are drawn (thanks to the lovely Johanna Kindvall) and now somehow in a miraculous showing of support, we managed to raise all of our printing funds on Kickstarter in the first 5 days. That’s a lot of love for food and bikes.
What that means is that the book will without a doubt be printed, and for only $12 you can get yourself a copy! So hop on over to Kickstarter and snag one.
Making French Socca
The street food of Nice, the first time I actually ate socca was when my mother made it. Yeah, I don’t have your average culinary family. Since then I’ve had a strange obsession with it, having tracked it down from the one guy who makes it in all of Paris, to trying to master my own recipe.
Traveling to Eat: The Essentials
I am excited to be contributing to Food Republic, and kicking things off with a guide to traveling to eat – ie all the things you should keep in mind if you want your culinary travels to be interesting.
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“If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home.” – James Michener
Michener is right; if you can’t stomach the local fare, you’re not really traveling. Pulling us away from our local haunts, travel is a way to explore new destinations, and what better way to get to know a place than through its food culture? The added benefit of travel is that it allows you to indulge. You might skip out on that dessert at home, but hey, you’re in Greece… you have to try the baklava! And order that third beer.
If you’re a food lover at home, then traveling like one isn’t a difficult feat, but there are a few things to keep in mind to make sure you make the best of your foray into exotic palates.
1. Go off the beaten path
For those really looking for a culinary experience, you’re not going to get it sticking to the major thoroughfares. Take time to explore. Make sure you seek out just as many local dive joints as you do three-star Michelin places. And no matter how hungry you are, try to avoid eating in big chain restaurants.
New Project for 2013: ‘The Culinary Cyclist’ Book
A new year inevitably means new projects, and I have a few already lined up for this year. Planning for 2013 has been a lesson in putting energy into the right places and simply letting things happen… So it’s with great excitement that I let you in on the first one: the forthcoming book, The Culinary Cyclist. Yes, a real book. Remember those?
As these things often do, the idea for The Culinary Cyclist started over a round of kale smoothies (I am not kidding). Portland-based writer, cycling advocate and all around woman-that-makes-shit-happen Elly Blue and I were talking about the latest projects with her independent publishing company, Taking the Lane Media. This of course resulted in a bit of a brainstorm, including a discussion of local food and bicycles.
Glad Lucia!
It’s the day for celebrating light in Sweden: the tradition of Lucia.
As the child of a Swede that was intent on preserving tradition, I always knew what would come the morning of the 13th.
In the midst of the pitch black of a winter morning, my mother would gently knock on my door, the sign that I was meant to get up. Propping it open, she would walk away, leaving only the melodic sounds of Lucia sången coming from the downstairs speakers. I would rub my eyes and sleepily crawl out of bed. Outside of my door, a white robe was carefully hung, a thick red sash draped on top.
A Menu For When You’re Just Not Sure About Turkey
If there’s one thing I don’t like about Thanksgiving it’s the stress that goes into making the holiday “perfect.” Hint: it’s about being with friends and family, being grateful and in the process hopefully eating some delicious food. But too often we’re hung up on what has to be served.
Over on Foodie Underground, a story of why turkey will not be served in my family anytime soon inspired a full turkey-free Thanksgiving menu, complete with eight vegetarian, partly vegan, mostly gluten free recipes to get you from appetizer to dessert.
I could barely get past positioning the wings under the heavy carcass in the roasting rack. I am not a vegetarian, but I rarely prepare meat and quite frankly I was almost convinced that the thing was going to get pissed that I wasn’t treating it well, come back to life and start pecking at my face. Thanksgiving stress level successfully upped a notch.
Bringing Travel into the Kitchen
My latest over on Foodie Underground:
A freakish commitment to perfecting a recipe picked up while abroad might seem off, but don’t we all have food obsessions when we return from voyages? We come back from our travels, whether near or far with stories of “have you ever heard of [insert odd local dish here]?” and “they had the most amazing [insert normal dish] but with [insert oddball ingredient that is representative of the place traveled to here]. I wish we had that here!”
Ask someone which bus line they rode most often during a trip and you’ll get a blank stare, but ask about the best local meal and you’ll be sure to be listening to an animated story for a minimum of seventeen minutes. Food is often one of the biggest takeaways when we travel, be it just a half hour from home or on the other side of the world. That roadside diner with the house special sauce can be just as exotic as sambusas on a street corner in Kabul. Through food we experience a culture a people and a place. We are forced to stop and take things in, listen to our senses. It’s no surprise that the result is memorable.
Read the rest here.
Breaking Down Cultural Barriers with Food in Afghanistan
It should have come as no surprise that my favorite Dari word from nine intro language lessons would have been “lunch.”
The first step to traveling respectfully is to learn how to say “hello” “thank you” and “goodbye” in the local language. The second step is to learn a few things food related, because no matter where you are in the world, you are going to need to eat.
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