I get asked about lots of stuff here (mostly about where I do my shopping (nearly all local, including CSA, farmers’ markets & neighbourhood grocers)). Another frequent question is about which recipes have been the most popular over time; here then is the list of the top five most popular posts of the past year..
Roasted Corn Chowder with Scallops and Bacon (all-time most popular) Roasted sweet corn with poblano peppers, onions, seared scallops and smoked bacon..
Tamatem Ma’Amrine(all-time 2nd most popular) A Moroccan dish of roasted tomatoes stuffed with albacore, capers, olives and preserved lemon..
Queso Flameado (all-time 7th most popular) White cheeses with chilies, onions, garlic and homemade chorizo..
Lechon Asado (all-time 6th most popular) Mojo-marinated, slow-roasted pork shoulder with sour orange juice, cumin, oregano and fresh peppers..
Kentucky Bourbon-Glazed Chicken (all-time 3rd most popular) Garlic, peppercorns & lemon peel, mustard, wild honey, fresh tarragon and Kentucky bourbon..
While most of us are enjoying the holiday season, many of our hungry neighbors are going without. Growing numbers of the working poor in central Texas simply cannot provide for themselves and their families, even if they work two jobs.
For many of our neighbors, there will be no decorations, no wrapped packages, and no holiday meal shared with family and friends.
In fact, there may be no meal at all unless..
Your gift goes a long way. For every $25 contributed, $125 worth of nourishing food is provided to our hungry central Texas neighbors. Please help if you can!
Capitol Area Food of Texas
8201 S Congress Ave.
Austin, TX 78745-7305
www.austinfoodbank.org
(512) 282-2111
Deep crimson in color with a slightly fruity flavor and mild to medium heat, Kashmiri chiles (Kashmiri mirch) are in such demand that there just aren’t enough to go around. Combined here with ghee-fried onions, garlic, fresh ginger, Ceylon cinnamon and diced sweet potatoes..
Sweet Potato Curry with Aged Cashew Basmati
2 tablespoons ghee (substitute raw coconut oil)
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1-2 small green chilies, stemmed, seeded and minced
1 large ripe tomato, diced
1 4″ section fresh curry leaf
1 3″ piece Ceylon cinnamon
2 tablespoons Kashmiri mirch
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut cream, plus extra for garnish
1/4 cup fresh coriander leaf, chopped
sea salt and black pepper
Melt the ghee in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add onions and chilies and gently fry until tender. Add cumin, curry leaves and cinnamon and cook 5 minutes, stirring often.
Add Kashmiri murch and turmeric and stir to form a paste. Continue to stir and fry for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, sweet potatoes and stock, partially cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in coconut cream and coriander. Season to taste and serve immediately over aged cashew basmati.
Like fine wine, basmati rice tends to improve with age. High quality basmati may be stored for up to 10 years to enhance its flavor, bouquet and cooking characteristics.
“How much longer should we defer to a governmental agency that has consistently failed to perform its duties? The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is charged with protecting the American food supply, yet not a week goes by without another food-related health scare seizing headlines across the nation: listeria in pasteurized milk; spinach contaminated with E. coli; and potentially unsafe meat from “downer” cattle (animals which are sick or injured and unable to stand).”
“These outbreaks are the results of decades of USDA policy decisions which favor corporations and industrial agriculture over small family farms and local production. Intensive animal and crop operations can lead to sick animals and tainted vegetables entering the food chain, and regulations which would prevent these incidents are often overlooked when corporate interests are at stake.” –Linda Faillace
Wild Alaskan sockeye salmon is pan-seared with hulled hemp seeds, then finished in a hot oven with a sauce of freshly-squeezed yuzu juice, organic tamari and fresh ginger, scallions and shichimi tōgarashi..
Put yuzu juice and sugar into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a low boil. Lower heat and simmer until reduced in volume by about a third or until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add remaining ingredients (except scallions and coriander leaves), reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes.
Coat salmon fillets with hemp seed then place in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Heat coconut oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat until shimmering, then place hemp-coated salmon in the hot oil, presentation side down.
Sauté until light golden brown then gently turn over and pour yuzu-ginger glaze over the top. Place pan with salmon in a 400 degree oven and roast until just done, about 8 minutes depending on thickness.
Transfer cooked fish to dinner plates, then add scrape pan juices into the yuzu-ginger glaze, add scallions and coriander leaves, stir and pour back over the salmon. Serve immediately.
From Red Gold
“The Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska is home to the Kvichak and Nushagak rivers, the two most prolific sockeye salmon runs left in the world. Foreign mining companies Northern Dynasty Minerals and Anglo American have partnered to propose development of what could be one of the world’s largest open-pit and underground mines at the headwaters of the two river systems. Mine backers claim the Pebble exploration site is the second largest combined deposit of copper, gold, and molybdenum ever discovered, and has an estimated value of more than $300 billion.
Despite promises of a clean project by officials, the accident-plagued history of hard rock mining has sparked deep concern from Alaskans who love and depend upon Bristol Bay’s incredible wild salmon fishery. Red Gold documents the growing unrest among Alaska Native, commercial, and sport-fishermen. It’s a portrait of a unique way of life that will not survive if the salmon don’t return with Bristol Bay’s tide...”
