AntSaint

Our Cookbooks: What We Use and Why

New (Occasional) Blog Series

I love cookbooks. Sitting on the couch on a Saturday or Sunday morning, coffee in hand and NPR on the radio, there'll most likely be a cookbook on my lap. Friends and loved ones know how much we love cooking and cookbooks, so they often ask us about recipes and cookbooks. What do we use? What do we recommend?

Workhorses, Auxiliaries, Hobbies, Acquisitions

The more I've thought about those questions, the more I've wondered about the cookbooks we have and use. That's an important distinction, too. We have 28 cookbooks, but regularly use only 12. These 12 are our workhorse cookbooks. The other 16 are auxiliaries, references, used occasionally for a recipe or inspiration.

That's not all, though. There are also the 8 hobby books for brewing, cheese making, canning and food preserving.

All told, that's 36 food-related titles on our shelves right now. And don't even get me started on the cookbooks we want to get...

That brings us to this new series on Antsaint: "Our Cookbooks".

In this occasional series, we'll discuss the cookbooks on our shelves. Why do we have the cookbooks that we have? How do we use them? What do we like about them? Where do we find them lacking?

This occasional series will run throughout this year and 2011. Don't worry, every week won't be about cookbooks; I plan to post about cookbooks no more than twice a month.

Here's how it'll break down.

• Our 12 Workhorse Cookbooks: From their permanent spot overseeing the kitchen, I rely on 12 cookbooks day by day, meal by meal, nom by nom nom nom nom…
• Our 16 Auxiliary Cookbooks: Shelved in the living room, 16 reference cookbooks are great, ahem, food for thought. We also bust out these cookbooks for special occasions, new dishes, entertaining, seasonal cooking, etc.
• Our 8 Hobby Cookbooks: In addition to regular cooking, Jodie and I brew beer, make cheese, and dry, freeze and can foods. 8 books help us out.
• Our Uncountable Acquisitions: I don't need (or want) to snag every cooking title in print, but there are other cookbooks I want to add to our library. Here we'll discuss which titles, and what sets them apart from what we currently have.
• Our Individual Cookbooks: Where relevant, I'll also discuss and review specific titles in individual posts.

It's going to be a fun, droolworthy nom-nom-nom time. If you have particular questions or titles you'd like me to address, comment below or drop me a line.

Bon appetit, and happy cookbookery!

24 Hours in Portland: Beers, Movies & Secret Diners

Photo Credit: richtpt

"How about we meet up at the Brew Fest in Portland?" asked my Seattleite friend Matt. Such an innocent question.

From free-flowing taps to a full-moon movie in the park, plus a you-don't-know-about-it-yet diner, our Saturday-to-Sunday 24 hours in Portland turned into one of the highlights of our summer.

Oregon Brewers Festival

Saturday afternoon at the Oregon Brew Fest was a hot, dry day, amidst a massive crowd thirsty for excellent beer. Under 2 massive tents, each at opposite ends of a fenced-off area at the Portland Waterfront, 10 trailers poured a steady stream of beers from 80 craft breweries from all over the U.S.

And oh my, did they pour.

I must admit, Saturday was not the optimal day for quiet introverts such as us to go to Brew Fest. Did we have an amazing time? Oh yes. We also know how we'll have a better time next year — but we'll get to that. (BTW, Kevin at Beer and Coding in Eugene has a great write-up on his 2010 OBF experience.)

The madness of a Saturday at Brew Fest can be summed up easily: tapped-out taps, and the random primal scream.

Timing matters, too, and we knew ours would not be optimal. Our schedules only gave us Saturday afternoon, the heaviest day of the festival. We read the program, and roped in recommendations from friends. Sadly, many taps were out.

It's an ugly truth: there's no way to always have enough beer. Brewers can only bring but so much, and we can always drink more.

We easily found alternates, but I'll wag my finger, Colbert-style, at 2 breweries: Great Divide, your Hoss sounded like one of the most unique, fascinating beers of the entire fest. Yet when I got to the front of the line, Hoss was out, with Hopworks Organic Rise Up Red pouring instead. But the sign still said, "Hoss". I'll gladly drink Hopworks Red — it's a good beer, and after that bloody wait, I certainly wasn't leaving empty-mugged. But change the signs, folks. Just change the damn signs.

Anderson Valley, and your Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema, I'm watching you. Twice you've evaded me now — once at the 2009 Sasquatch Brewfest in Eugene, and again at the Oregon Brewer's Festival. But you can't run out forever, Cerveza Crema, with your delectable name and well-written beer descriptions. You will be mine. Oh, yes, you will be mine.

Then there was the scream.

Random, primal, defying logic or even Bones-level anthropology, the scream would begin with one drinker, spread like a virus, and shake the tent like a verbal vuvuzela.

We never knew when it would happen, much less why. At first we tried to observe, anticipate, hypothesize. "I got it! The scream happens when a new keg is tapped!"

Nope.

"OK — it happens when someone spills their beer!"

An excellent guess… but no.

The primal scream rang, and rang, and rang — and we understood.

The primal scream happened, because on hot July days where thousands of people are off their nuts on well-crafted beer, primal screams just happen.

Notable Pours

Here are some of the beers I'll gladly welcome back to my hand and mouth:

• Buckbean Brewing Original Orange Blossom Ale — good summer sipper, light on the palate, and a hint of Earl Grey tea-like flavor.
• Natian Brewery Destinatian — Kevin at Beer and Coding wasn't fond of Destinatian, but I respectfully disagree. The added honey contributed complexity and depth to the dark roast malt tones, and the hops were refreshing and lip-smacking good. I'll be curious to see what else comes out of Portland's 1.3-barrel nanobrewery.
• Upright Brewing Reggae Junkie Gruit — now this is different. I won't comment here on the "Northwest hops arms race", except that I find over-hopping pretty damn boring. Portland's Upright bucking the trend by eschewing hops completely in this gruit ale. Their "gruit", a catch-all term for the blends of herbs and spices used for beer before hops became the dominant bittering and preservative agent, was light and deep on the palate. Some gruits can be too medicinal; Upright's had tartness, sweetness and texture. As a brewer interested in trying my hand at gruit ales, I'm looking forward to more pints of Reggae Junkie.

Better Luck Next Year

As we people-watched, read the program and pondered, we realized what we can do to ensure a more successful (for us) OBF experience.

Let's qualify this, though. Do you love a crowd? Do you love screaming and rowdiness? Then have at — Saturday is for you. And probably Friday evening, but we weren't there to observe.

But.

Do you want smaller crowds? No "we're out" signs? Maybe even some more specialty beers?

Here's what we're going to try next year, and it may work for you too.

• Go during the day Thursday or Friday. Earlier means smaller crowds, especially on business-hour weekdays while people work.
• Hit the specialty "Buzz Beer" tent. Packed with 48 limited release and specialty beers, there'll be fewer people, and this is where to be for some truly unique beer-tasting.

Portland Pandora

Beered up? How about a movie for a nightcap? Parks all over Portland show movies during the summer (free to the public, for places and showtimes see the Portland Parks website).

For our weekend, we left the Beer Fest and headed up Sandy Boulevard… and up… and up, from downtown Portland to Wilkes Park, way out on NE 154th Street. A lush green park full of friends and families patiently waited for dusk — and for Avatar. At 3 hours long, I was impressed with the number of kids who stayed up till midnight to watch the entire movie. One friend among us was seeing Avatar for the first time. Back at her house post-showing, we stayed up until nearly 4 a.m., discussing the movie, its social commentary, and the many ways its story can be interpreted.

State Secret

This ends, as many good things should end, with a damn fine meal.

Making plans for a Sunday brunch, a friend mentioned a new diner near her apartment. Our 7-strong, sleep-deprived group rolled in to City State Diner at 10:30 a.m., and were amazed: no wait for a table. On a late weekend morning in Portland, this is unheard of.

After a palate-tastic brunch, though, we know this will change.

Located at 128 NE 28th between (Couch and Davis), the newbie City State opened not 2 months ago, on June 4, 2010. (The address listing in Google Maps hasn't even updated, as of this writing.) I will suggest that word has not yet gotten out about their homemade muffins, reasonable prices and fill-you-up-but-not-overstuff-you plates. When our server set down my wife's Challah French toast, Jodie noted the jealous looks around the table, and offered up some pieces for all to savor.

As for me, I tucked into a plate of 2 eggs over-easy, hash browns, rustic white bread toast… and oh god, those sausages. Split lengthwise, mixed with a touch of orange zest and topped with feta cheese and sauteed green and red peppers, the Loukaniko Greek sausages were a Sunday morning delight. Not too greasy and with a savory-tart flavor, even if I had wanted lunch I would've skipped it to savor the memory of these sausages.

Brunch at City State Diner boils down to this: It will be worth the wait, once there is one. So go now while it's easy — and spread the word. City State Diner is a secret just dying to get out.

Homeward

All this, in about 24 hours.

As always, Jodie and I are glad to be home.

That way, we're always ready for more in Portland.

Homebrewing: The Curse of Brown Ale

The culprit

Split batch: Ol' Dillydally English-style Brown Ale & Parchcrusher Nut Brown Ale

Ever since I began homebrewing in 2007, I've felt a wee bit cursed when it comes to making brown ales. The cursed feeling began, as these things often do, with a sub-par batch (admittedly, our second brew ever). The feeling has lingered all these years, but now it seems our new batch of brown ale has removed that feeling. Mostly.

The flaw in the plan

Fine so far

The error in the first batch was simple: temperature. Our house was chillier then, especially in the area of the kitchen where we store bottled beer developing its carbonation. That first batch hardly fizzed, and while drinkable, it was just barely so.

The flaw in this most recent batch was also simple: too much damn hazelnut extract.

The plan itself was decent: Brew a 5-gallon batch of English-style brown ale, somewhere in between an American-style brown (for hoppiness) and, say, a Newcastle Brown Ale (for smooth maltiness). At bottling, bottle half the batch as-is, but before bottling the second half of the batch, add 1 oz. of hazelnut extract.

Things are about to go awry

The logic was common sense. The bottle said to add the full 2 oz. of hazelnut extract to a 5-gallon batch of beer. Naturally, obviously, of-course-ed-ly then, for 2.5 gallons of beer, add one ounce.

While common, common sense is rarely sense. The bottle should read: "For a beer-colored liquid that just happens to taste completely like nuts, add 2 oz. For a beer-colored liquid that tastes almost completely like nuts and somewhat like beer, add 1 oz."

The error was clear: I should've added, say, 1/2 oz. At the most.

Salvaged

The remedy

While drinkable, the resulting nut brown ale has been very, very nutty in flavor and aroma. Too much so, but not so much that we can only bung the batch on the compost heap. The batch is salvageable. And the joy of a salvageable batch of beer? It can be mixed.

Results thus far are pleasing: 1/4-1/3 part nut brown ale mixed with 3/4-2/3 part brown ale results in a nicely nuttied brew, with good hop and malt coming through.

Next test? Mixing the nut brown ale with some of our Jubilation Chocolate Porter. After all, what better than hazelnuts and chocolate?

The curse

I now consider my brown ale curse half-removed. While the second half of the batch, which on a wild hair I named "Parchcrusher" is so-so, the first half of the batch more than makes up for it. "Ol' Dillydally" chases away curses, woe, frustration and any daft sense of need-to-hurry.* It is a fine summer beer.

Who knows? Perhaps next year I'll be able to brew away the rest of my brown ale curse.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, CDC, AMA, AA, AHA, Skull & Bones, Bull & Scones, the Illuminati, or the Order of the Phoenix.

Brown Ale (split batch)

Ol’ Dillydally English-style Brown Ale & Parchcrusher Nut Brown Ale

Source/Based off Brown Ale Recipe #4. Home Fermenter Center.

• Brew Date: May 23, 2010
• Initial Gravity Reading (O.G.): Forgot
• Bottling Date: June 19, 2010
• Split Batch
  • Black Cap Plain: Ol’ Dillydally English-style Brown Ale
  • Red Cap Nut: Parchcrusher Nut Brown Ale
• Bottling Counts, Black Cap Plain Brown
  • 22 oz.: 5
  • Flip-top: 1
  • 12 oz.: 12
• Bottling Counts, Rep Cap Nut Brown
  • 22 oz.: 6
  • 12 oz.: 15
• Final Gravity Reading (F.G.): 1.018
• Alcohol: probably ~5%
• Open Date: July 9, 2010

Ingredients

• 6 lb. Dark malt extract
1/2 lb. Crystal malt, amber
• 1/4 lb. Chocolate malt
• 2 oz. Willamette hops, boiling
• 1/2 oz. Cascade hops, finishing
• 1 packet Safale S-04 dry ale yeast
• @15 minute 1/2 tsp. Irish moss
• @ bottling: 1-1/4c. dried malt extract
• @ bottling: 1 oz. 1/4-1/2 oz. hazelnut extract (for adding to half of batch)

Brewing & Fermentation

Place crushed grains in 2 gallons of 150-160ºF water and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain out and sparge with ~2 quarts hot water. Bring to a boil, while adding malt extract. After 30 minutes, add Willamette hops.

Clean/sanitize carboy and other equipment during this time. Add 1 gallon cold water to sanitized carboy. At 45 minute mark, add Irish moss. At 2 minute mark, add aroma hops.

Remove from heat and cool wort to 90-100ºF.

Strain wort into carboy, sparging through hops. Add cold water until total amount of liquid in carboy is 5 gallons. Shake to aerate. Take a sample for initial gravity reading.

When wort temperature is between 68-76ºF, pitch yeast. Cap carboy and set in a warm, quiet place.

Ferment at approx. 72 degrees F for 3-30 days. Bottle with DME solution. Bottle first half of batch as-is. For second half of batch, add 1 oz. 1/4-1/2 oz. hazelnut extract and bottle. Age one month.

Notes

5/23/10 — Brew went well. Thermometer fell into wort during cool-off, but I vodka-sanitized some tongs and got it out. Hopefully no harm done. Name — Neukie Nut Brown Ale?

5/28/10 — Ferm almost done. Krausen cleared, some bubbling remains. May bottle next weekend?

6/19/10 — Bottle day! Going to bottle 1/2 batch as-is, and half w/ 1 oz. hazelnut extract. Black Cap: plain brown (1st bottle, flip-top, with gold star on cap) Red Cap: hazelnut brown Bottle prep: 42 12-oz., 12 22-oz. (inc. 1 flip-top). Beautiful medium brown, caramel color. Hints of red and copper. Mild flavor, good sweetness. A good, refreshing warm-weather session beer.

7/13/10 - More nut flavor in the Parchcrusher than intended. Will mix it with other beers at serving. For future brews using these types of fruit, nut, etc. extracts, always remember to use far, far less than what label recommends.

Eugene Summer Fun

Almost despite itself, by degrees Eugene is warming to summer. The rain fades — or at least skips a day.

We must look ahead, though. We must get out the summer clothes, tuck away the bulky winter wear — leaving an obligatory fleece nearby, of course.

And we must allow ourselves to surrender to the bliss of a Eugene summer. Festivals. Outdoor cafe seats. Concerts. Camping. Romping outside, with squelchy mud now just a memory (or something to look forward to in a few months).

What to do? How will you make the most of this glorious time of year?

Here are a few ideas, and some links to inspire you more:

• Oregon State Parks - Campgrounds
• Oregon Brewers Festival
• Portland International Beer Festival
• The State of Beer in Eugene – Summer 2010 Report from Beer and Coding.com
• Eugene Saturday Market
• Eugene Hult Center for the Performing Arts
• Outdoor Concerts - Eugene Cuthbert Amphitheater
• Oregon Coast Visitors Association
• Oregon Country Fair

I won't even pretend that this list is comprehensive. It's just a start.

The joy of Eugene summer

As for me and my wife, we will revel. Last summer we were in the end days of wedding planning. This year, we have no such pressing responsibilities.

For us, this summer will be all about raucous outdoor dinners with friends, camping and more camping, breakfasts on our patio, and in general glorying in wearing only one layer of clothing.

There are few things I love so much as I love a Eugene summer. It's even part of why I appreciate, even have affection for, the fall and winter. The gray, cool and wet days give me calm, reflective pause. When June comes and the last rains fade, I am ready for brightness and activity, ready to glory in the sun.

Eugene's summer is the finest I've ever known, and with gusto I continue to make it mine. Perhaps some other place in this world has something better; I know not and care less.

The sunlight of my adopted home is shining in me now, and it is time to revel in the days of warmth and brightness.

Shall we celebrate together?

Summer Food and The Changing Palate

Sunshine, you make me want berries. And salad. And grilled meat. This far-too-wet, far-too-gray spring finally brightens into a nascent summer. I'm sure that, like me, you Dear Reader are feeling the palate shift, feeling a hunger, a need, for comfort, sustenance, and conviviality that comes only from summer food.

The sky clears and the stomach rumbles. Appetite shifts like the weather, and with the weather.

It seems so long ago now, when summer dimmed and cooled to fall and winter. I remember my hankering increase for thick stews, chewy bread, rich meat, citrus fruit, root vegetables and dark beer (sometimes all in the same meal). To stew and roast and bake was divine, preferably with the wood and pellet stoves gently warming our home, our skin, our bones, right down through our thick hand-knit sweaters.

Then spring buds began greening our gray world, and lighter fare became acceptable again. Beef stew gave way to salmon chowder. Dense wheat and rye breads became more interspersed with Italian-style semolina loaves. The occasional salad, topped with a simple oil and balsamic vinegar, returned as a piquant delight, bright in color and flavor.

Now summer is calling. So too does the appetite change again.

The other night, Jodie and I dined with friends. We grilled chicken, Hungarian sausages, flat breads, and asparagus. Porter, red ale, and ciders accompanied. Dessert was a simple majesty of fresh red strawberries and ice cream. We basked in sunshine and fresh air, free to be outdoors in t-shirts again. It was our prelude to summer, to all the warm days and nights to come. These warm memories will enliven the warm season, yes, but so too will they sustain us when the world turns cold and dark again.

There is nothing like summer dining in the Northwest. The world is green, the sky is blue (well, at least it was when I wrote this, but we're not in the all-clear yet), and the food is coming from farm to table again. Let us revel in fresh fruit and grilled meat. Clink with me a glass lager, pale ale, or weiss.

Let us dine in the Northwest summer, and know what it is to be truly alive.

Homebrewing: Ella Puppy Red Ale (EPR) 2010

July 1, 2007, turned out to be more than just an ordinary brew day. It was also the day my wife and I brought home our dog, Ella.

An early shot of the ever-puppyish Ella, from summer 2007.

We'd been planning to brew a red ale. Red ales, often associated with some Irish ales, get their characteristic color from a light toasting of malt (pale 2-row for our purposes). We'd planned to call the beer "Drop Spindle Red" in honor of Jodie's new love of spinning wool into yarn.

However, when we got Ella we realized some changes would be needed. (And no, it wasn't to include some real "hair of the dog" in the beer.)

Getting Ella was momentous — Jodie and I had chosen and adopted our first pet. (We already had a cat, Jasmine, but Jodie had gotten her years before I was ever in the picture.) The brew somehow needed to commemorate this relationship milestone.

Then we noticed.

Ella has some red notes in her coat.

We were brewing a red ale.

A hint from the brewing gods? Definitely.

So "Drop Spindle Red Ale" became "Ella Puppy Red Ale," or just "EPR".

It's been nearly 3 years since that most tasty red and momentous day, and I was excited to brew EPR again.

And as for Ella? Puppy has grown to dog (more or less — she's still very puppy-like in adorable ways), and is cuter, smarter and sweeter than I could have imagined a dog could be.

The beer's not too damn shabby either.

EPR Ella Puppy Red Ale 2010

It all starts with toasting.

1/2 lb. (225 g) toasted whole/cracked malted pale 2-row barley, ready to toast

Based off "No Sham Shamrock Irish Red Ale." Papazian, Charlie, The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. 3rd Edition. p. 173-174. Collins, HarperCollins Publishers, 2003. Papazian describes this red ale as “full of toasted malt flavor and aroma, yet truly awesome and drinkable.”

Specs

• Brew Date: Mar. 9, 2010
• Initial Gravity Reading (O.G.): Forgot to take reading, assuming O.G. lies within target rage of 1.042-1.046
• Bottling Date: Apr. 5, 2010
• Bottling Counts: 40
  • 22 oz.: 11
  • Flip-top: 1
  • 12 oz.: 28
• Final Gravity Reading (F.G.): 1.010

Approximate Target Values

(per original recipe, may vary due to alterations)

• Target Original Gravity: 1.042-1.046 (10.5-11.5)
• Approx. Final Gravity: 1.010-1.014 (2.5-3.5)
• IBU: Approx. 30
• Approx. Color: 15 SRM (30 EBC)

Ingredients

• 4 lbs. amber dried malt extract
• 1 lb. (450 g) crystal malt
• 1/2 lb. (225 g) toasted whole/cracked malted pale 2-row barley (see “Toast grain” below)
• @60 minute boil, 5/8 oz. Perle hops (8.2 HBU)
• @60 minute boil, 1/4 oz. Zeus hops (16.4 HBU)
• @15 minute boil, 1/2 tsp. Irish moss
• @1 minute boil/aroma, 1/2 oz. (28 g) Zeus hops (16.4 HBU)
• @yeast: dry packet, Danstar Nottingham Brewing Yeast (Jim’s tag described it as: English strain, rapid fermentation, excellent flavor profile, superb floculation). Yeast is product of Denmark, Lot # 1007117102. www.danyeast.com
• @ bottling: 1-1/4c. dried malt extract

Brewing & Fermentation

Barley post-toast. Note some reddish tones; a few more minutes of toasting may have provided a more even color

Toast grain (for red color, per instructions on p. 173 for Palilalia India Pale Ale): Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spread 1/2 lb. whole/cracked malted barley grain (not crystal malt, just barley) on a cookie sheet. Within 7-10 minutes a wonderful aroma will emanate from your oven and the malted barley will have turned a slight reddish color. Remove the grain at this time (toasting grain longer than this will lead to darker brown color and more roasted flavors). The nutty malt aromatics of a 10-minute toast are desired for this recipe.

Place crushed grains in 2 gallons of 150-160ºF water. Steep for 30 minutes. Strain out and sparge with ~2 quarts hot water. Bring to a boil, while adding malt extract and 60-minute hops.

Clean/sanitize carboy and other equipment during this time. Add 1 gallon cold water to sanitized carboy. At 45 minute mark, add Irish moss. At 1 minute mark, add aroma hops.

Remove from heat and cool wort to 90-100ºF.

Strain wort into carboy, sparging through hops. Add cold water until total amount of liquid in carboy is 5 gallons. Shake to aerate. Take a sample for initial gravity reading.

When wort temperature is between 68-76ºF, pitch yeast. Cap carboy, set in warm, quiet place.

Ferment at approx. 72 degrees F for 3-30 days. Bottle with DME solution. Age one month.

Notes

3/2/10 Recipe as-written calls for 1 oz. Northern Brewer for boiling hops and 1oz. Santiam or Tettnanger for aroma hops. Since I have Perle and Zeus on hand, however, I’m going to use 1 oz. Perle (similar to Northern Brewer) for boiling and 1/2 oz. Zeus for aroma.

3/9/10 Brew Day! Once I measured out hops, I modified recipe accordingly. Used up remaining Zeus and Perle hops, which is great, they needed using up. Modified amounts are listed in ingredients. Brew went great, I enjoy toasting malt and may try that in general in some other future brews. Got to remember to aerate, THEN TAKE A SAMPLE FOR GRAVITY READING AND INITIAL TASTING, then pitch yeast. After setting up carboy, I didn’t insert blowoff tube deep enough, and it popped out, spilling jar of sanitized water. We got everything cleaned up, refilled and resanitized; I reapplied tube much deeper. We should be ok, I don’t think we’re at risk of infection. Dry yeast had clumped and not yet distributed; that should be a matter of time. Initial temp ~66-68ºF. Left pellet stove on overnight to aid in warming.

3/10/10 As of 6 a.m., fermentation is beginning. Temp. had increased to 68-70ºF. As of 5 p.m., good krausen and fermentation. Temp. 70-72ºF.

3/11/10 As of 6 a.m. ferm much stronger, very thick krausen taking up most carboy space.

4/5/10 Bottle day! Good malty flavor. In tasting glass and hydrometer, not as red as I wanted, but color and flavor are overall promising.

Clips: Sunset Magazine, May 2010, The Hunt for the Best Burrito

Sunset Magazine's May 2010 issue included an awesome piece by Jan Newberry on "The hunt for the best burrito". Readers all over the West sent in their suggestions, and my recommendation, Eugene's Lonches to Go, was one of the places published in the piece:

The Hunt for the Best Burrito by Jan Newberry (Sunset, May, 2010)

Cookbook Review: Eating Close to Home

Helpful guide for anyone trying to eat seasonally and regionally (but especially Northwesterners)

Title: Eating Close to Home, A Guide to Local Seasonal Sustenance in the Pacific Northwest

When you live in Oregon's Willamette Valley, good, locally/regionally produced food is so easy to come by you almost feel like you're cheating. As for eating seasonally, don't get me started on the variety of foods we have available, even during winter. I almost feel nearly guilty. Almost.

Still. Yes, there's produce and meat and grain galore here in the Willamette Valley, but how do you make use of all this good food? How do you know what to look for, and when you should be looking for it?

Enter Elin Kristina England's excellent wee cookbook, Eating Close to Home.

The how and when of good food

England lives in Eugene, Oregon, and has a small family farm. She's used her knowledge of Northwest agriculture and cooking to compile a 228-page guide to seasonally shop, cook and eat in the Pacific Northwest. Cooks and foodies in both Oregon and Washington will find this book highly useful, but anyone interested in cooking and eating more in in-step with season in their own region will find Eating Close to Home helpful.

My wife and I received Eating Close to Home as a wedding gift, and during the 2009-2010 winter season this book has proved invaluable. If you saw my Winter Bean Soup Mix post, for example, you were seeing this cookbook in action (you can even see the cover in one of the photos).

The cookbook

For the cook interested in learning more about the benefits and positives of eating seasonally and locally, England begins with a section called "Eating Closer to Home." This introduction combines research, commentary and personal reflection into excellent food for thought on the benefits of eating regionally and seasonally.

The next section, "The Seasons, What Is Available, What To Do With It", is a Northwest-specific chart that breaks down the seasonal, month-by-month availability of 52 common fruits and vegetables.

From there, it's on to the good stuff.

What I like about Eating Close to Home

Much of what I love about this cookbook can be summed up in 3 points:

1. The seasonal organization makes it easy to plan a menu and grocery list. The seasonal main sections are broken down into sub-sections including "Nibbles", "Salads", "Soups", "Main Dishes", "Side Dishes", and, last but not least, "Baked Goods and Tasty Treats".
2. The recipes are easy to prepare, focusing on simple ingredients and techniques. These recipes reinforce that you don't need the Food Network or a culinary school certificate to cook well.
3. The recipes can be used as-is, but they also are great creative fodder for variances on main or seasoning ingredients.

Some caveats

For all the things I like about Eating Close to Home, I do have to serve up two caveats:

• Feel free to decrease the amount of meat/seafood. I love meat, but of the recipes we've prepared so far, my wife and I noted we could decrease the meat called for with no taste impact on the dish. Two cases in point are the Pasta with Sausages and Greens (p. 65) and Mom's Favorite Salmon Chowder (p. 53). In each case we felt we could halve the amount of sausage or seafood, and save it for another dish. Your mileage may vary, but if I can use 1 pound of salmon or meat instead of 2 pounds for a dish, to me that's just stretching the family food dollar further.
• Occasional errata, such as an omitted ingredient or instruction. Read through recipes thoroughly before you begin, as there are some omissions and inconsistencies. An example is the Mom's Favorite Salmon Chowder mentioned above. The instructions mention adding wine to a skillet, but wine isn't listed in the ingredients (btw, pencil in "1/4 c. white wine" and you'll be just fine). This is worth noting, but not a big deal (and can be remedied in a revised edition.)

Conclusion

Eating Close to Home is a damn good cookbook, and I'm most grateful to have been given a copy. While definitely focused on the Northwest and the Willamette Valley, any cook can benefit from England's recipes and advice on shopping, cooking and eating seasonally and regionally. Eating Close to Home's simple, tasty recipes have certainly brightened up our winter table. Now that the season has changed and farmers markets are returning, I can't wait to tuck in to the spring recipes!

Get the book

Eating Close to Home, A Guide to Local Seasonal Sustenance in the Pacific Northwest

• ABE Books
• Amazon
• Powells

Homebrewing: 2010 Jubilation Chocolate Porter

Chocolate Porter Homebrew

Now that's what I like in a woman!

Every year since 2007, I've brewed Jodie a batch of beer for her birthday. The style is up to her, and we've brewed Belgian witbier (2007) oatmeal stout (2008), and a Magic Hat #9 clone (2009). My wife has excellent taste.

This year's choice was easy. "I'd like a chocolate porter," Jodie told me, so I got to work.

Brewing a chocolate porter is easy, and by and large it's pretty simple.

Research before brewing

Molasses and Dutch-process cocoa (it's stored in a Hershey's container, but the cocoa actually came from the bulk foods section in Winco)

To develop the recipe for Jodie's birthday chocolate porter, I first cracked some books and hit up the Internets. Here are links I used as food-for-thought.

Now all this in mind, it was a bit anti-climactic when I ultimately decided on a porter kit from my local brew shop. I've had success with this recipe in prior modified porters though, and it makes a good baseline for when I brew a beer like this. I've used the research below to develop further changes for subsequent batches, and those ideas are noted at the end of this post.

• The Hop Vine :: View topic - Chocolate Porter or Stout recipe suggestion? - Extract only!
• Chocolate Porter – Home Brew Recipe | Ask The Beer Guy
• Double Chocolate Porter
• Home Brew Recipe For Chocolate Porter | Home Brew Beer Secrets
• Winter recipes: Chocolate Porter (The author, Melissa Ward, had a great ingredient suggestion that I worked into Jodie's brew: "The ingredient molasses also adds depth to the beer, giving it a pleasant richness.")
• Chocolate Porter
• Chocolate Stout
• Doggers Cherry Chocolate Porter
• Brew Your Own: The How-To Homebrew Beer Magazine - Recipes - Bonus Porter Recipes
• Chocolate Porter? - MR.BEER®
• Brewing Chocolate Porter with Northern Nutwood « Chuck Smith's Blog

Recipe Time

Warm, happy ale.

With a few modifications, here is the extract recipe I used to brew Jodie's Jubilation Chocolate Porter birthday beer:

Source/Based off Entire Porter (Beer #10) Recipe, Home Fermenter Center, Eugene, Oregon.

• Brew Date: Feb. 7, 2010
• Initial Gravity Reading (O.G.): 1.074
• Secondary Fermentation Date: none
• Bottling Date: Mar. 7, 2010
• Bottling Counts:
  • 22 oz.: 17
  • Flip-top: 7
  • 12 oz.: 5
• Final Gravity Reading (F.G.): 1.015
• Alcohol: 5.7%
• Open Date: Apr. 8, 2010 (Jodie’s 28th Birthday!)

Ingredients

• 6-1/2 lbs. amber malt extract
• 1 lb. crystal malt from Home Fermenter Center, Eugene, OR (put in grain sock)
• 1/4 lb. chocolate malt
• 1/4 lb. black patent malt
• 8 oz. molasses
• @60 minute boil, 2-1/2 oz. Cascade hops
• @15 minute 1/2 tsp. Irish moss
• @2 minute aroma/boil, 1 oz. Cascade hops
• 8 oz. dutch process baking cocoa
• Ale Yeast (supplied with kit)
• @ bottling: 1-1/4c. dried malt extract
• 2 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Brewing & Fermentation

Place crushed grains in 2 gallons of 150-160ºF water and let steep for 30 minutes. Strain out and sparge with ~2 quarts hot water. Bring to a boil, while adding malt extract, molasses and 60-minute hops.

Clean/sanitize carboy and other equipment during this time. Add 1 gallon cold water to sanitized carboy. At 45 minute mark, add Irish moss. At 1 minute mark, add aroma hops.

Remove from heat. Once off boiling point, add cocoa and vanilla. Cool wort to 90-100ºF.

Strain wort into carboy, sparging through hops. Add cold water until total amount of liquid in carboy is 5 gallons. Shake to aerate. Take a sample for initial gravity reading.

When wort temperature is between 68-76ºF, pitch yeast. Cap carboy and set in a warm, quiet place.

Ferment at approx. 72 degrees F for 3-30 days. Bottle with DME solution. Age one month.

Notes

Bottling day

2/7/10 Great chocolate aroma!

2/8/10 Fermentation underway; mellow so far, but good constant bubbles. Rich brown color. Thin, brown krausen, but good fermentation.

2/10/10 Much thicker krausen.

2/11/10 Beer settling down and krausen clearing. Temp ~71ºF at 6 p.m.

3/2/10 Ready to bottle!

3/7/10 Bottle day!

3/10/10 Instead of working ingredients into the name, how about a total departure? For example, what about “Jubilation Chocolate Porter”? Jubilation has a J, plus it’s for a happy occasion, and what better to celebrate than chocolate and a birthday?

4/8/10 Opening day! Flavorful, but the flavor is hoppier and the aroma not as chocolate-rich as envisioned. Good starting point though. For subsequent batches, may try "dry-hopping" with cocoa and vanilla. May also reduce hops, or use aged hops (retaining preservative characteristics but reducing hop aroma and flavor). Still, overall a flavorful, enjoyable brew — and above all, my wife is happy with her birthday beer, and that's what matters most.

Conclusion

A fan of chocolate beers from Rogue and Samuel Smiths and more, I've long wanted to try brewing with chocolate. This first experience has gone very well, and I'm looking forward to working chocolate into more future beers.

Happy birthday, Jodie!

Clips: Register-Guard Food Blog Article Profiles Anthony St. Clair

Interested in good food, food blogs, and food in Eugene and Lane County? I had a great time being one of the Eugene food bloggers recently profiled in this Register-Guard newspaper article on area food blogs:

Cyber foodies by Cheryl Rade (March 17, 2010)