A Foraging We Will Go, Mushroom Hunting in Oregon 82

Here in the Pacific Northwest we are lucky to have such lovely forests, as I mentioned in an early post, I found a mushroom hunter from Eugene, OR - who was interested in guest posting here on Renaissance Culinaire. Please note the orange icons with skull & cross bones, these reference poisonous or un-edible species of mushroom. Here is his post:

Hello, chanterelle hunters! The problem with yellow footed Chanterelles (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca^W) is that when they are plentiful, the price falls.

Everyone with a vehicle is suddenly a Chanterelle hunter. Get 'em while you can, because soon you will not see a chanterelle until next fall. I love hunting chanterelles, but making money with them is hard. When Chanterelles are abundant, more people go picking and the price drops.

For me, mushrooming is not about money. It is about finding those perfect beautiful patches in the forest. Hunting is about finding one chanterelle and then looking around and seeing a hundred more chanterelles. It is a beautiful sight. Hunting is about getting our side in the rain and being active. There are easier pickings in the mushroom patch than chanterelles, but this takes more knowledge.
　

 In the fall, what  I go after is the Common Meadow Mushroom (Agaricus campestris ^W -) that grow on lawns and fields. Meadow mushrooms are abundant between rains when the soil humus takes off.

(photo right - credit Lee Norris)

The Meadow Mushroom is listed as choice by the National Autobahn Field manual. The manual says that they grow in late August and September, but I have found meadow mushrooms much later in the season in late September throughout October.

The National Autobahn manual does not say anything about meadow mushrooms growing in rings, but I have seen them growing that way.

                                                       
Do not confuse the Meadow Mushroom with California Agaricus (Agaricus californicus). Both are similar in appearance but California Agaricus will make you sick.

 (On  left Photo by Lee Norris; Right, Photo  Credit © Fred Stevens)


As you look at the two pictures, the left has older  California Agaricus mushrooms and the picture on the right features a  younger version of California Agaricus - this species  has a very noticible identifier - a ring (looks kind of like a skirt) higher on the stalk (which may appear broken or ragged as the mushroom matures), this is the best indication as to what variety they are. The Meadow Mushroom has a half ring, faint ring or even no ring, where the California Agaricus' ring is much fuller.

The Felt Ring Agaricus (Agaricus hondensis Murr),Yellow-foot Agaricus(Agaricus xanthodermus^W)and Western Flat-topped Agaricus(Agaricus meleagris) are other species confusable with the Meadow Mushroom that are poisonous.

Sometimes mushrooms can be identified by the odor, feel and even the mass. Some grow on in fields and lawns and others only in wooded areas. If you go out and identify, you will get to know what they are.

(photo credit Wikipedia)

I like Waxy Caps. (see: Hygrophorus Agaricales ^W, Hygrocybe coccinea, Hygrophorus chrysodon, Hygrophorus occidentalis). Waxy caps favor colder weather and grow much later in the season. Waxy caps have a slimy cap to the touch and there is no other species confusable with the same cap. Waxy caps are not too tasty, but waxy caps kill my appetite and are good for weight loss. I like to cut up a few waxy caps and put them in scrambled eggs in the morning. I can go until supper without feeling hungry.

(photo credit Wikipedia)

Slippery Jacks (Suillus luteus^W) are edible, but their appearance in the field is unappetizing. Slippery Jacks grow mainly later in the season when it is cold and wet. I always think that I will build a dryer and dry a lot of them because they are so abundant. The manual says that you can get diarrhea from eating the slime on the cap, so it is best to peel the skin off after they are dried. I have put dried Slippery Jacks in meatloaf, and they have a sweet taste.

Bon appetite, But do not believe anything I say about wild mushrooms. This article is not meant as a field guide and do not trust anyone else’s word for identification. Years ago, a knowledgeable mushroom hunter died in Eugene. He did so because he trusted the identification ability of one of his students. The student was a knowledgeable hunter who got a   Destroying Angel, a.k.a Death Cap (Amanitaceae Agaricales see: Amanita phalloides , Amanita virosa ) ,a very poisonous species, confused with a Western Lawn Puffball, which is edible. He did not check out what he was eating.

“Know thy mushrooms for thyself!” There are people that know what they are doing with mushrooms but there are also many that think they do. Research your wild mushrooms for yourself, and leave alone what you do not know.

This brings me to the second axiom of mushroom hunting. You can generally trust field manual like the Autobahn Society, for what mushrooms are edible. I say generally but not always. For example, many people really like the Yellow Footed Chanterelle. I am a person that can not eat Chanterelles. If I eat Chanterelles, they will likely come right back up. Go slow with any wild food that you do not know.

By Lee Norris^*

Lee Norris can be found contributing on http://www.stimulusbike.com/ and on Helium. His personal website - Sadlebutts Corner is a cycling website.

For More Info On Forgaging - Check Out These Great Guides:

• Part 1 - Publications on Truffles
• Part 2 - Publications on Mushrooms
• Part 3 - Publications on Foraging Edible Plants 
  
  
  

^*This article has been edited, formatted and embelished with links & additional pictures by Renaissance Culinaire's Owner. All text & photos, copyright stays with the respective author(s) .

Quick Party Eats - Plus Enter to Win $3,000 7

Holidays. No matter what culture or faith you practice, the end of the year, and into January, tends to be a whirl wind of errands and visits with friends, family and co-workers.

Photo Credit: glam.com

If you are not cooking that big feast, or baking up a storm - you may be expected to bring something to a party, or there is always the possibility of having unexpected guests.

Recipes for easy appetizers are always a nice thing to have on hand - and they allow you to tend to other things while a time saving recipe is ready in no-time .

Heinz & Ocean Spray teamed up to create a website geared just for that - easy, simple recipes that free up time, and tips for entertaining . They are even hosting a Sweepstakes to help you throw the Ultimate Party: Grand Prize is $3,000 in gift cards. 20 second prize winners will win a Rival 4 Quart Slow Cooker , to help with your future party plans. You can fill out an contest entry until January 31th, 2009.

Ultimate Party Meatballs

These Ultimate Meatballs are super simple to make - for any cooking level.

Ingredients:

• 1 16-ounce can Ocean Spray® Jellied Cranberry Sauce
• 1 12-ounce bottle Heinz® Chili Sauce
  
• 1 2-pound bag frozen, pre-cooked, cocktail-size meatballs
  

Procedure:

Combine sauces in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth. Add meatballs. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until meatballs are heated through, stirring occasionally.
Makes 30 appetizer servings.


**Slow cooker Preparation: Place meatballs in a slow cooker. Combine sauces and pour over meatballs. Cover and cook 4 hours on HIGH.

*---------------------------------------------------------------*

Now you could really do these "Ultimate Meatballs" up right - make your own meatballs using prime cuts, create some fresh cranberry sauce (which is soo easy to do), etc - but the whole point of this recipe is to simplify and free up time in your kitchen. This recipe would make great snacks for Super Bowl on Feb. 1st 2009, (which falls on my husband's Birthday this year - hence even more reason for us to host a party).

When I was thinking about the meatballs, I wanted to include a vegan version. On the net there have been allot of different versions thrown around including what I call the trinity of vegan meat substitutions (tempeh, tofu , or textured vegetable protein). By far this recipe seemed the most pleasing to the eye, and it got some great write-ups on Josh & Chelsea's Blog. This recipe might be a little work, but these will definitely please. If you really want to save time look for Vegan meatballs in your grocer's freezer.

No Whey Jose Vegan Meatballs

2 cups TVP (textured vegetable protein)

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 stalks of celery, minced

1/2 cup onion, minced

1/2 cup mushrooms, diced (4-5)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon oregano

1 tablespoon basil (if making Ultimate Meatballs, omit & use 1/2 tsp thyme)

1 teaspoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons tahini

1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Procedure:

In a large bowl, combine TVP and broth to rehydrate. Add all other ingredients except nutritional yeast and oil.

Stir well to fully combine. Use your hands to roll golf ball-sized balls and press slightly to shape. (if you are having trouble forming into balls - add a little more broth and toss some nutritional yeast into the mixture)

Put nutritional yeast on a plate or shallow bowl and roll each meatball to cover. Spread olive oil on a baking sheet and arrange meatballs in a single layer.

Bake for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes or so, until golden brown. If using in a tomato sauce, add to the sauce 5-10 minutes before serving and carefully spoon them onto a plate to serve.

**If using with Ultimate Meatball recipe , add to the sauce 5 minutes before serving, strain extra sauce from meatballs gently by using a slotted spoon - arrange on serving tray.

Recipe © 2007 . No Whey Jose Blog. All Rights Stay with Original Author.

Related Posts:

• Vegan and Vegetarian Friendly Recipes featured on this blog

Love Your Veggies Mom? Chef Art Smith Wants to Know! 13

Art Smith is a twice named James Beard Award winner, Executive Chef, co-owner of Table Fifty-Two restaurant based in Chicago, Ill. - an establishment dedicated to serving and highlighting seasonal organic, farm raised produce. His latest restaurant endeavor , opened in October 2008, hails from Washington D.C, Art and Soul, which lends a southern twist from his roots:

Art and Soul offers guests a chic setting in which to meet and connect, while enjoying “food for the soul” – food made with love and special attention. With celebrated two-time James Beard-Award winning Chef Art Smith as chef/owner and Culinary Institute of America-trained local Ryan Morgan as executive chef, this 221-seat dining destination serves up fresh and modern regional cuisine with southern accents.

Named for its nationally renowned chef and the genuine welcoming feeling guests experience when they walk through the doors, the cuisine will be presented with southern-style hospitality. - Art & Soul website

Chef Smith truly encompasses what most people
envision as a successful chef, with hosts of celebrity
clients, including Oprah, who he served as personal
chef 10 years, and still heads her special events;
Smith also served as a former special events chef
for Martha Stewart Living. Television appear-
ances on popular shows like Iron Chef America,
The Today Show and Oprah.

Among his literary accomplishments - Chef
Smith is contributing editor to O, The Oprah
Magazine, And author of three award-winning
cookbooks: Back to the Table; Kitchen Life Real
Food For Real Families ; and Back to the Family .

Art Smith is a true philanthropist, spreading the
wealth of not only funds to disadvantaged children,
but knowledge about food and helping them find
the joy within their selves and those around them.
His labor of love Common Threads started in
2003 and continues to touch children in Chicago.
In the spirit of his philanthropy, Chef Smith has partnered
with the makers of Hidden Valley® Salad Dressings to find
moms who are true vegetable advocates through the Love
Your Veggies™ Search for Veggie Champions Contest. For 10 lucky moms whose essays are selected, Chef Smith will lead a two-day all expense paid retreat ,aimed at learning and sharing tips and tools on planting, harvesting, cooking and eating vegetables with children. These moms will also receive $5,000 to start or maintain a community vegetable garden in their hometown. Follow this link for complete prize winnings : whole prize package.


What an awesome way to spend 2 days - a retreat with a celebrity chef who wants to share his passion for organic produce and encouraging children to enjoy them too! This is a great opportunity for your community - $5,000 in seed money to create a sustainable source of food for your neighbors, what a great way to offset the rising food costs and strengthen the bond you share with both people & the garden.




When you visit http://www.loveyourveggies.com, not only can you enter the contest for a chance to win by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time January 15, 2009, but you can also check out kid tested recipes from Chef Smith, and activities to do with children.

Guest Post: Modern Woman's Guide to Holiday Cooking 18

As the months start to spiral onward, Fall 2008 has arrived and Thanksgiving is fast approaching. I think that any one of us - regardless of cooking level or knowledge can remember sometime in our holiday past when dinner was anything but perfect and kitchen errors were left ingrained in our memories forever.


Post Forward: Awhile ago I put out a call for interesting stories related to cooking, that would be featured on Renaissance Culinaire , and one of the responses I received was from April, who is a resident of Portland, OR.

This is what she wrote:

It is a humorous piece. I did not know if you wanted only articles that were written by 'real chefs'. Obviously, I am not, but I thought you might enjoy it anyway. - April M Whidden

April Whidden's Guest Post:

This year I did something I had never done before. I hosted our families traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Since the tragic salmonella poisoning of 1997, my family had voted (68-1) that I should never again be allowed to set foot inside a kitchen. Determined to redeem my inner domestic goddess, I crafted an ingenious plan to ensure that I would be the one cooking the bird this year.

Quite surprisingly, saying "please,please,please,please" for three hours straight works as well on my mother now as it did when I was a kid.

"This will be the best Thanksgiving ever." I told my husband as I happily planned the seating arrangement. Having only four chairs I had worked out a course by course rotation schedule to accommodate all of the guests, provided Aunt Tessie could not make it who would take up two seats alone.

"We need new placemats?" I reminded him, eying the plastic Easter Bunnies that still graced our table.

"We just got those." He said, gripping his wallet. "Just color in some feathers and a waddle."

I narrowed my eyes at him and he changed the subject.

"You inviting your brother?" He asked nervously.

"I had planned to." I replied. My brother was an anti-consumerist vegan who owned a million books and dvds which explained why shopping and holidays were wrong. My husband sighed helplessly.

"You know, you've never cooked a turkey." He informed me, as if this was something I had not considered.

"How hard can it be?" I asked him. "After all, it's just a big chicken. If the colonel can do it, then so can I."

Even so, his ominous words had me a bit worried, and reluctantly I sought out the wisdom of my mother.

"How were you thinking of preparing it?" She asked.

"I was thinking of brining it." I informed her, feeling knowledgeable.

"Brining?" Her voice grew louder, filling with alarm. "Do you even know what brining is?"

I hated to admit that I did not. I had read about it in a recent copy of Better Wives magazine while I was in the Super Cuts last week. Unfortunately, I had only read the part that said "Want to start a new Thanksgiving tradition? Try brining your turkey this year." before the stylist called me up to the chair.

"I'm starting a new Thanksgiving tradition." I told her simply, offering no more.

There was a long pause over the phone, followed by my mother's voice uttering an old Catholic prayer.

She is not catholic.

According to a google on the Internet, brining, as it turned out, is a very laborious process of salting the inside and the outside of a turkey, letting it sit overnight, and then rinsing the whole mess off again before baking it. This was way more work than I had intended and I really did not look forward to polishing a turkeys innards. Fortunately for me there were a gazillion other turkey recipes on the net and I found one that was not too difficult, after a bit of personal tweaking.

"Mom," I said, calling to report the change in turkey status, "I decided to use a recipe instead."

"April, I'm so glad honey!" She sounded so proud of me, as if I had just discovered the cure for seasonal hay fever. "What does the recipe call for? Rosemary? Sage? Thyme?"

I blinked and tried to recall where I had heard those words before. Weren't they the gifts from the wise men? I glanced up at my three-gallon bottle of Albertson's Season All and told my mom I had it all under control.

"Would you like me to make the stuffing?"she asked. I could tell in her voice that she was afraid I would, heaven forbid, use a boxed mix. "I can have it ready in the morning and you can swing by to pick it up and stuff the turkey before baking it."

"I wasn't planning on cooking the turkey with the stuffing. It will ruin my recipe." I looked at my meticulously written notes, scribbled in crayon, which hung on the refrigerator door.

Defrost turkey 2 hours...bake for four.

Any variation to this recipe and I knew I was in trouble.

The morning of feast day I woke up bright and early, eager to begin our families newest Thanksgiving tradition. It was almost 11. Wanting to be in a positive frame of mind before I started the actual cooking process I lounged about in my pajamas for a few hours catching up on Desperate Housewives via my trusty Tivo. At 1 PM, during a very good Susan scene, my mother called me to ask how the dinner was coming along. "Fine, mom." I told her absently, trying to read Susan's lips.

When I was little my mom used to get up at 5 AM to start preparation for the day. She began by making the pies, cutting the vegetables, setting the table, and then baking the turkey. She was busy from the moment she woke up until the time she went to bed, attempting to make our meal as wonderful and perfect as a Norman Rockwell painting.

But my mother had lacked the vision, not to mention the modern conveniences I had at my disposal. There was really no reason to waste one's entire day cooking one meal that would be eaten in less than fifteen minutes, when you could achieve the same results in a few hours. At 2 PM I removed the turkey from the freezer and let it sit on the counter to thaw while I tried out bold new hairstyles profiled in Celebrity Monthly. I certainly did not want guests coming over when I had my everyday hair on.

"Mom, turkey's still frozen." my son called to me from the kitchen. Glancing up at the clock I realized he must be mistaken. It was 4:30. It had had a good two and a half hours to go from solid to liquid form. I scratched my head, perplexed. Perhaps I had done a bit too much tweaking.

I put it in the microwave for an hour, using the popcorn cycle repeatedly.

Viola! Like magic, at 3 PM it was thawed, thanks to my incredible foresight to buy the microwave with the popcorn cycle my husband said we would never use.

The bird was small. It had been the Charlie Brown tree of turkeys and I had bought it because I was sure that no one else would not. I had imagined it, cold and alone in the store, wanting desperately to be a part of someone's special dinner this holiday season. I had created a whole Thanksgiving movie about it in my head, a heartwarming tale in which I had given it love and a home...The Littlest Turkey.

Somehow the popcorn cycle had done more than defrost the turkey, it had aged it. It was no longer cute and sweet, but shriveled and old.

"This thing okay to eat?" Asked my husband, uncertain.

"It's fine." I said. "That's how all turkeys look before you cook them" He shrugged and held open a turkey bag and I dropped it in.

Thwak!

That is the sound that turkeys make when they fall through turkey bags onto the floor. It is also interesting to note they do not make a sound at all when they slide across that same floor.

"Catch it!" I cried, panicked. My dogs had entered the room and were circling the bird like bandits on a wagon train. The only thing that kept them at bay was they could not reconcile the smell of turkey with the look of the leather-skinned bird that lay sadly on the linoleum. That would not last long.

My husband hurdled the chairs and seized the turkey just as three hungry canine jaws snapped shut behind him. It was a close call.

I finally put the turkey into the oven and was relieved to actually turn the dial to 325 F °. My job was done. I suppose it would have been wise of me to have preheated the oven, but I was already straying dangerously away from the recipe as it was.

With that, I went off to pick up my vehicular-impaired family. I loaded in my brother and his wife, laden with the traditional vegan goodies, and my mother and dad, carrying so many pies it looked like a circus juggling act. How we all fit in I will never know. The only sound on that still Thanksgiving night came as my dad yelled for me to slow down as we approached speed bumps at a dizzying three-miles-per-hour. Somehow we made it back to my home, safe and sound.

When we arrived, I hesitated at the door. I tried to imagine what my mother would encounter and I felt a pang of guilt. Thanksgiving and holidays had always been important to her. No matter how terrible the times had been for us as a family, she had always made holidays special. Somehow I felt like I had ruined this for her. I admitted to myself that perhaps I had not given the care and the love to the meal that she had. I wanted to warn her, to apologize for what might come. She seemed so happy, I could not do this to her. I would let her find out on her own.

The ghost's of holidays past were with me that night. The house, which only hours before had smelled of burnt leather and wet dog, felt warm and welcoming. The smells that came from the oven made my stomach lurch with hunger. My husband and son had cleaned in my absence and had even lit some scented candles. It felt like a real Thanksgiving.

There is this a part of me that hoped for some drama that night. Drama is always fun to write about. I had hoped that my brother would go on his traditional rant about the wrong-doings of the pilgrims. I had hoped that my mother would yell at me for not following turkey protocol. I had even hoped to burn the bird. None of that occurred. Everyone was happy and merry and the turkey turned out tender and delicious. It was a perfectly lovely night. I had not ruined Thanksgiving after all. Perhaps they will even let me cook dinner for Easter. After all, how difficult can baking a ham be?



This original article is authored by April M. Whidden , who resides in Portland, OR , who is a freelance writer. Permission was given to republish this Article. 2005 © April M. Whidden. All Rights Reserved and stay with the Author.

Children's Book Review: Sunny's Adventures 57

I love to find children's books with a baking tie-in. It gives me such joy to expose children to the wonderful warmth and quiet passion that is following a recipe. In todays world, not as much time is spent watching the skilled rhythms of well versed hands whipping up tasty baked goods in the well used kitchens of our homes, at least not as much as in my childhood or those before me.

...Kid Mystery?

Sunny's Adventures
will intrigue
your budding Sleuths...

Sunny's Adventures delivers that warmth that only
whispers of childhood could bring forth. The words
upon the page awaken the innocent ramblings and
romping we all shared with our neighborhood
friends on bright sunny days. When our back-
yards were jungles. And time spent with
family baking was a special treat.

Book Specs:

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
• Paperback: 52 pages
• Publisher: Jabberwocky Books (June 13, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0980245605
• ISBN-13: 978-0980245608
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.2 inches
• Author : Leketha Marie Johnson
• Author website: http://www.sunnysadventures.com/
• Author's blog entry: New Book - Sunny's Adventures

Contents:

Sunny's Adventures has 5 chapters, or 5 mystery stories within the main story. Even though the reading level claims to be for 9-12 year olds, I was able to read this to my 5 yr old and it held her attention - with a bit of enthusiasm and voice play on my part.

The main character Sunny, is a young girl, determined to get to the bottom of every mystery that unfolds around her. From missing puppies, to turtles to diamond rings and dolls - she gets the clues and leads her friends to the scene of the crime. And once solved she finds herself a big helping of her grandmother's cake, a tribute to her grandmother's seeming tireless baking.

I especially liked the 3rd chapter "The Mystery of The Cooking Contest", where Sunny and her grandmother enter a pie contest, and the pie ends up missing!

My daughter loved the animals and the fact that this girl was solving mysteries by putting the clues together and baking too.

There are quizzes at the end of the 5 chapters to encourage critical thinking, and my 5 yr old was pretty excited to come up with the answers.

There are black and white illustrations throughout the book that are very whimsical and kid friendly. My daughter couldn't get enough viewing them and connecting them with the words being read in parts of the story.

Summary:

Sunny's Adventures is a wonderful children's mystery which celebrates the joys of baking with family and the value of friendships. Your children from ages 5yrs+ will delight in following Sunny on her journey to find clues and solve each mystery, all aided with whimsical illustrations, and chapter specific quizzes which will stimulate your child's critical thinking and problems solving abilities.

The view expressed here are mine & mone alone. I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Parent Reviewers on behalf of Leketha Marie Johnson. In addition, I received copy of Sunny's Adventured in exchange for my honest feedback.Please read more about Renaissance Culinaire's Disclosure Policy

Food Blogger Blogoversary Calender 16

I had an idea I thought would be a fun way to support our fellow food blog authors. And help create a even closer community.

I started a calender for listing food blogger blogoversary dates. The date of your food blog's official launch or first post, is your blogoversary.

The calender will allow for clickable links in the description, so you can put your blog's title in the event title, and a description of your food blog, then any links you'd like such as : your blog's link, twitter account, face book page etc. If you click on the image below, you can view an example calender event.



I used google calender to create it. It's easily searchable in the google calendar database. So your readers can follow all of their fav foodies. All public calenders are indexed by google.

You can view it by clicking this link - food blogger blogoversary. There is a small button at the bottom right you can click to subscribe/ add it to your google calender account.

You don't need to have a google account to view the calender, or get updates for upcoming or newly added food blogs :

Click on this link to subscribe with any calender that supports iCal format. Here is a list from wikipedia of apps that support iCAL.


I also burned it through feedburner. So you can subscribe or use it to add to another feed you are aggregating on your sidebar etc.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/FoodBloggerBlogoversaryDates

If you would like to be added to the calender, please fill out this form:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pqxVEg3ssIfUbtGXjEx8DEg

If you have more than one blog, please fill out form for each blog.

I will set each event to continue to be celebrated yearly, so you will get updated every year.

I hope this can be something that is fun and usable for everyone . It gives another way to celebrate and promote your wonderful food blogs.

Guest Post With Kate Jacobs : On Food Memories From Childhood 4

I got a chance to ask Kate Jacobs, author of The Friday Night Knitting Club; And her most recent foodie geared novel Comfort Food , a very personal question.

RC: How do you feel food memories from childhood shape us into adults?

Image © Kate Jacobs.

KJ: We all have wonderful memories of meals shared with families, sitting around the table with the Thanksgiving turkey and summer barbecues eating corn on the cob.

I love birthday cake,

just like the main character Gus in my new novel Comfort Food, and I remember my sister decorating a cake that looked like a pizza with all the toppings for my fifth grade sleepover party. That was the birthday I got a puppy, Pepsi, who was my first Springer Spaniel and one of my dearest friends ever.

It’s all connected for me: the cake, the friends, the puppy. That was one of the best days of my life!

And I love to recall having fresh fruit pie at my grandmother’s house

Made with cherries that my brothers and sisters had just picked off the trees in her yard. Amazing. Those are the meals you wish you could fly back in a time machine and savor again and again, and also enjoy the company of family who aren’t here anymore.


But sometimes food isn’t just about family. Sometimes it’s about culture and identity.

I remember how, growing up in Canada, I always thought of S’mores as being particularly American, and as such I was fascinated by them. Now, I was never a Girl Guide (that’s Canadian for a Girl Scout) and so I didn’t go camping and so on. Instead, I saw Archie & Betty talking about them in the comics: It was just this American cultural go-to that seemed so different to me. Well, this was something I had to get in on, you know?

I recall trying to make some in the microwave on July 4: I was always a very pro-American Canadian. (And now I’m American and Canadian, so it’s really worked out for me.) But, anyway, back to my little experiment, which even involved a trip biking to the corner store to use some allowance money to invest in some very American Hershey chocolate. I took some graham crackers from the cupboard, put on several squares of chocolate, little mini marshmallows because that’s what we had at home, and topped it off with another graham cracker. I wrapped up the whole thing tightly in waxed paper and cooked the hell out of it the microwave. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad. Definitely gooey, definitely sweet. Though a S’more lacks a certain something something when it doesn’t have the roasting from the open fire.

I must say my early culinary tastes were quite influenced by comic books

I read a lot of and all types of comic books as a kid. I also saw a Dennis the Menace that had an activity page that included a tip on pickling carrots. The whole gist was that if you put carrots in a jar of pickles and let them soak overnight, the carrots would taste pickled. Well, duh: That’s what my 34-year-old self says. My 8-year-old self was utterly entranced as though Julia Child herself had made the suggestion. I would get very upset if my mother did not save the juice when we finished a jar of pickles. After all, I needed that for my Dennis-the-Menace carrots! Making those pickles felt like a sign of independence and worldliness: I had my own special “thing.”

Food is so much more than just calories and nutrition.
It’s also captures a moment, an emotion, with taste and aroma. And feel. Think of the sensation of a melting Popsicle running down your fingers on a hot summer day and try not to smile. Food can be good times, you know? And that’s what I wanted to capture in Comfort Food. This feeling of laughter and celebration and happiness.










Related Posts From Renaissance Culinaire:

• Hot Pepper Gingerbread Muffins with Orange-Maple Butter
• Blurb on Big Small Plates : Recipe for Tomatillo - Avocado Salsa
• Recipe: Italian Turdilli
• The things that shape us - Grade school incidents
• Bread or Dead
• Tommorow is my birthday...At 4:10 A.M Feb. 8 th

The Culinary School of Thought : Why Food Blogs should not "tickle-me-emo" 1

Should food blog authors talk about drama in their personal life , in their posts ? What separates a foodie post from an average blog post? Is it the willingness to obsess over food? Or is it the absence of teenage angst?

Something keeps me from describing my year. A year I will never forget. I could divulge the sketchy details...let them consume the page until your eyes grow watery and strained --- but something tells me to move on to less polluted and more food oriented subject matter.

I am really torn on posting events of my private life on this blog. Especially since in 2008, I have committed to being a better food blog author. It is kind of like I've taken an oath to blog food - and nothing but the food.

2007 was a year that did not slip quietly into the realms of ordinary. Not a chance, there was no meager repose. Topsy-turvy. Not only for the rest of the world, these indeed are strange times. Elections. World in Crisis. Fashion disasters. Inventions aimed at making people more lazy. Uncertain economy. Dollar value plummeting.


So I digress. This is a food blog after all, not a "tickle-me-emo ^w" teenager-on-Myspace sob-fest. As Jim Rome ^w would say:

"That IS NOT a reason to GO!" --- Jim Rome

So on a lighter , more nostalgic note - I have had a lot of time to think about blogging and what I am wanting to do with my food blog in the future. I have had this blog since Dec. of 2004 (WOW!) and in that time the blog has gone through many stages of metamorphosis - from template design - as I discover new info on html design ; to advertisements; to the content its self.

The readership has grown (THANKS!) and I think the blog template has become a more mature version of former ones . I have always tried to distance myself from blogging the same content as food blogs that fellow foodie Mahanandi says are:

"....traditional "always-all things-all-purpose flour" corporate promoted cooking..."

and in a way that suits my style of writing very well.

The thing that stays constant is my love of writing and the insatiable passion of learning everything I can about culinary : whether that means food / technique / history.

Merriam Webster lists the term Disciple as :

Main Entry:
dis·ci·ple
Pronunciation:
\di-ˈsī-pəl\
Function:
noun
1: one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines ^MW of another: as b: a convinced adherent of a school or individual.

That is one reason I leave "student" in my blog description --- I will and continue to be a life long disciple of the culinary school of thought.

I author this blog not only to give me an outlet for my writing, but also to make note of things maybe other foodies can relate to, or to offer some info on certain techniques or info that may be more in depth than say that page on "recipes-gone-wild.com", all the while documenting and archiving my school notes for reference at a later date.

I do interlace my love of photography and music throughout this blog and can't help throwing in a smidgen of sarcasm or poetry or irony, it's my nature.

I am here to let you know my food blog is here for the long haul. I will be introducing more content, more frequently in 2008 and hope this is a year to awaken more creativity and foodie fabulous.

Happy New Year!

My Foodie-sense Is Tingling : Greasemonkey for Culinary Pros? 1

What is Greasemonkey you might ask? Greasemonkey is a plugin for the Firefox web browser. Note: If you use Internet Explorer, you can use the IE7 Pro Compatibility add-in to permit some Greasemonkey scripts. If you use Safari, you may be able to run some scripts using the Creammonkey plugin. Opera is also known for being able to run a few scripts on their own.

Greasemonkey allows you to change how your favorite pages behave and look. There are many scripts that have already been written, and if you know javascript you can easily create your own.The Greasemonkey install on firefox is very easy .

You can find the Greasemonkey console,which shows all your scripts, under the "Tools" link on the browser menu bar. The scripts are editable. All you need to do is click on a script from the list and click on the edit button --- to access the script code, which allows for customization (in some cases) or bug fixes (if the script author is not keeping tabs on updating.)

Userscripts.org is a repository to download and install Greasemonkey scripts. You can find a script to pimp virtually anything ---blogger, flickr, gmail, craigslist ect. There is a tag function on userscripts.org for most scripts but unfortunately script authors do not always tag. So I actually scrolled through most of the 300 pages...yikes.

I can't believe I missed out on so many greasemonkey scripts lately. I LOVE firefox and Greasemonkey is icing on the geeky-optimizing-browser cake.

Speaking of cake, wouldn't it be great to create a greasemonkey script that would use specific formulas that apply to bakers or chefs or serious foodies?!

I am talking about calculators to compute formulations for : Specific gravity,Baker's percent, Turn-over rate of frying oil, Desired Dough Temp, Variances of Mixer per Qt = in F degrees , ect.

Even better --- have temp converters , and an editable interface to add special reference snippets that are pertinent to you (said foodie). I know there are alot of conversion widgets at Chef2chef.net ---It would be nice to see some of them hacked into the widget.

I think that the best way to showcase this widget would to code it to appear as a slide-in menu in the corner of your browser window. The calculators /converters would be linked via small icons, and would feature a link to your reference library (which would be text files, housed in a folder on your pc) There would be a link for "grab formula/ recipe", also.

This would be a great utility to edit formulas found on the web, on the fly. And the best part is that you can take firefox with you anywhere --- just copy it to a flash/thumb drive, and plug into a computer away from home. All your scripts / plug-ins /bookmarks are contained in the firefox interface, which you load via the thumb drive.

Oh, how utterly SWEET!

I will try to compose something out of code and see if I can get the ball - I mean the script rolling.

How exciting!

Run your tooltip over the screenshot to see what subject the screenshot covers. click on the screenshot to view it's pic page on flickr; or click "larger" link to view original.

Greasemonkey
Screen Shots




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Book Review | INTERRED WITH THEIR BONES 1

...The evil men do lives after them
(feminist revision of history) and the good is oft
Interred with their bones
(contrived feminist amnesia) --- William Shakespeare...

Personally, I am especially drawn to old books,
the ones found in archaic corners, exiled for
decades in stuffy dark corners, sheathed in a
cloak of cobwebs and dust bunnies. Those are
the most fun! Almost like a treasure discovery,
if you open an old book or two, you may find
lost love letters or pictures of bygone eras,
hidden in their pages .

This book makes a smooth transition, at once
you feel at home nestled in it's pages. This will
be one of many reviews I will be posting on
this blog, and one of many sponsored by
Mother Talk.


Onto the review of:
Jennifer Lee Carrell's second published
book Interred with their bones.

I picked up my copy of this book. The cover felt smooth.
A very substantial book. Wrapped securely in
its jacket, I was reminded of Shakespeare 's cloak.

On the first page of this work, you realize it is written in first
person, in 2004, through the eyes of Kathrine Stanely, an
American woman who lands a stage production at the newly
erected replica of The Globe theater ^w, in London, directing
Hamlet ^w no less.

Kathrine the main character, is deeply moved by
Shakespeare's ^w writings and is well versed in the
curses and hidden codes that dwell within the
Shakespearian lore ^w. The Globe is hallowed
ground for her. Unbeknown to Kathrine, she
will be visited before the production by her once
celebrated, now estranged mentor - Harvard
Shakespearean Professor Rosalind Howard. The
Professor , a.k.a Roz, brings with her a mysterious
gold boxed gift for Kathrine. Although Kathrine is
at once indignant towards this surprise visit, her
curiosity gets the best of her and she accepts the
strange gift.

That same night, her beloved Globe theater is engulfed
in flames, to her horror she has become a shocked
spectator. Once the flames have been extinguished ,
she finds Roz, dead , mirroring the same manner of
death as Hamlet's own father, in the play Hamlet.
Kathrine is beside herself, as images of Roz's death
and the fire conjure up eerie reminders of Shakespeare's unrelenting ghost.

Kathrine opens the gold box, the last connection to her old friend , and finds a Victorian mourning brooch ^info, with flowers reminiscent of Ophelia ^w, a character also of Hamlet fame.

Alarm bells sound in her head, and spur her on a harrowing trek across the Atlantic and beyond, to decipher the clues and find the truth. Unfortunately a killer lays chase, murdering those who volunteer to testify what secrets they hold, a hurried effort to silence all those who could help uncover an archaic deceitful plot, which would certainly change history.

"In the history of the English-speaking peoples, he has no equal. Tongue-in-cheek propaganda about seriously-meant, split-level propaganda implies a depth of understanding that was supposedly not available to the uneducated masses. But he still entertained them in his own lifetime, even if it was just in a little wood & thatch theater. By the time we began to understand what he understood, he was long-dead." --- quoted from an unnamed Bard Lover

Interred with their bones promises to intrigue even the least schooled in Shakespearean lit. A thoughtful creation that glorifies all that is Bard ^w, this book will entertain. Much as Will's own word smithing, the playful yet dangerous dance with his ghost in this book proves enlightening.

For an interesting author account and the story behind the book visit here.

Find more about the author at her website : http://www.jenniferleecarrell.com/