Fresh Lobster often conjures up memories of a seaside lobster roll at Lunch off the Montauk Highway in the heat of an east coast summer. Thanks, to I Love Blue Sea, I no longer have to travel across the country to fresh Lobster or wait until next August for a dreamy succulent crustaceans.

With the leaves changing color in the tree line and the air cool and crisp, I looked to some Indian spices to add some warmth to a lobster dish. I took a trip to Viks Chaat Corner and Market for a Lassi and some shopping. I had in mind to create something inspired by  Chef Ludo Lefebvre , who introduced me to Kokum, a dried Indian Sour Plum.

Making a Ghee infused with Kokum & Patchporum, I poached lobster tails for a super simple, but RIDICULOUSLY good recipe. A little pureed cauliflower, with  roasted baby carrots, a little cumin (more butter) and you will have yourself a 5 star fall meal in less than 30 minutes! You no longer have to drive to Montauk for great lobster.

Most Indian markets carry Kokumb (a dried sour plum) and PatchPorum, or you can find them online. We used a Ghee, which is similar to a Beurre Monte to poach the tails and used the poaching liquid as a sauce.

2 Lobster tails

1 pound Butter or Ghee (butter with milk fats removed)

2 Garlic cloves whole

1 Cup Chopped Kokumb

2 Teaspoons PatchPorum

Remove lobster tails from refrigerator or freezer, and bring them to room temperature before cooking.

To make the Ghee

In a saucepan, melt butter completely. Allow butter to slightly cool so that the milk solids come to the top. Remove all of the milk solids.

Bring the Ghee back up to heat (you can use a thermometer – the temp should be at least 160° degrees, but not over 190° degrees) and add the garlic and spices in.

Add the lobster tails to the mixture to poach, the size of the tails will determine how long to poach them; it usually takes from 5 to 7 minutes. Use a small saucepan so that the tails are fully emerged in the Ghee. The tails should not be rubbery but of a soft consistency (almost as if not completely cooked). The lobster should be white and not very opaque in color. When done, remove Lobster from the Ghee and to serve with poaching liquid spooned over.

The wonders of these little creatures never cease to amaze me. I love me a panini loaded with goat cheese, but it never occurred to me that their milk, butter and cream cheese might mix well with sugar. . .

Until, I met a little number like this, made exclusively with goat dairy. It goes a little something like this: brown butter salted cupcake, goat butter in the batter and goat butter + goat cream cheese in the frosting; a dollop of HappyGoat Vanilla Caramel Sauce in the batter, and topped with a drizzled with HappyGoat Scotch Caramel Sauce.

Oh, least I forget a carrot cake with cream goat cheese frosting, the Sidedoor in Corona Del Mar, threw down.   A Salty + Sweet delight like no other.

It was no accident but, by sheer design, that James Collier, Kelly Landrieu and I, found ourselves at the Petaluma Seed Bank on our way to Anvil Ranch for Eat Retreat. Our stop set the tone and provided some fodder on what the weekend was all about. In our quest for super cool food stops along the way, we wound up in Petaluma. An un-named cheese stop proved a disappointment, as none of us reached for our cameras.

Just as we are leaving the picturesque downtown, I spot the Petaluma Seed Bank out of the corner of my eye. EUREKA – this is it. You don’t find stores like this just anywhere.  James quickly pulls over. The Seed Bank is an extension of Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co., that carries one of the largest selections of seeds (over 1,300) from the 19^thcentury. The company has become a tool to promote and preserve our agricultural and culinary heri­tage. Back in 2000, Jere Gettle, the founder of Baker Creek began hosting festivals as a way to bring gardeners, homesteaders and natural food enthusiasts together to exchange thoughts and seeds, listen to speakers, and enjoy vendors, old-time music and much more.

It was only when Paul Wallace, the manager of the Seed Bank spots our three SLR cameras walk through the door, that it bacame clear our happenstance stop was fate.  While Seed Bank may be on the edge of a sleepy town Petaluma, Sonoma County, its mission is a valuable one. It is also the thread for what all of us share at Eat Retreat, the core of what connects us. What he gives us is a seed. A little seed of purpose to our creativity.

Our friend Paul has deep reflective eyes, a craggy Irish accent and an infectious smile. He wants to know what the cameras are for. I explain that we are going to a retreat . . . I stumble a bit on my words. He leans in closer. How do you explain what Eat Retreat is to an outsider?  He listens intently, hanging on my every word. His eyes grow so large with awe, that I think they might explode. “It’s a creative retreat for foodies”. Paul beams with excitement; as I explain, I can see he gets it. He is one of us. He too has something he would like to share with us; he is organizing the National Heirloom Exposition. It’s the first one. It will be like the world fair. There will be seeds, farmers, produce, plants, tools, lectures . . .he explains as he gestures over for a friend to come meet me.

Her name is Ginger Irwin; she is the artist and designer of the famed Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Calendar. She stares at my camera. He is speaking with immense enthusiasm. Hands are flying. Their festival. Our retreat. Music. Food. Getting people back to the land. Barbara gives me a gift, a calendar. They want to meet my friends. Both James and Kelly receive the same heartfelt welcome – “Where are you from? What will you be cooking?” We have met our kindred souls. We are the belles of the ball at The Seed Bank, all dolled up in our Nikon and Cannon gear.

We leave punch drunk. I feel as if I may have drank a cup of magic mushroom tea – the little circus man at the end of the song who chants red wine, red wine is now whispering eat treat, eat retreat. . . and this is how the rest of the weekend goes.

Each of us brought with us some of our most coveted culinary delights for a little “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours”. Home distilled corn whiskey, black onyx coco powder, goats milk Carmel sauce, guanciale, heirloom rice, Harold McGee’s yogurt starter, heirloom coffee beans complete with a vintage 70’s air popped popcorn machine for roasting, yeast fermented fennel orange soda, and handmade ginger beer, Fumee de Sel aged in Chardonnay Oak Barrels, 100 year old aged balsamic, handmade limoncello, coveted family recipes, techniques and more.

What ensued when we all shared our “heirloom” goodies could be likened to a modern day Electric kool-aid acid test. Mike Lee’s time lapse video captures the essence of what happens when you hull up a few neo-homesteaders on a ranch with bourbon and pork. It made the air at the ranch a bit frenetic, in a sunny, country day sort of way. Creative juice was flowing,  oozing like  Cow Girl Creamery Tome, fresh off a Panini press.

Intended as creative retreat for food industry professionals, for many of us it was gentle re-set. Getting in touch with the thing that connects us to food, why we do what we do. The result serves as proof, proof that it is not just a trend but that there is profound  shift in the way we think about food. Many of us write, cook, photograph in addition to other jobs. Yet still, we strive to find a way to eat well and live in harmony with our earth. We are a group of people who eat based on our values and beliefs. Eat Retreat was an amazing show of how seriously our generation takes their stewardship role and how much fun they are  having with it.

Tags: Baker Heirloom Seed Company, Cowgirl Creamery, Eat Retreat, National Heirloom Exposition, Petaluma Seed Bank

The time is here. The place is near. There is nothing to fear unless can’t drink your martini out of a mason jar. What is Eat Retreat? “It’s sort of a more intimate Burning Man for foodies (minus nudity, plus solid wine – via twitter)” set deep in the hills of Sonoma. It’s the type of thing a meat eater’s dreams are made of,  kicking off with a wild boar hunt. A group of well respected foodies are headed north, closing the door and having their way with food! My geek eating heart beats in over drive thinking about the event.

A few years back I went to the Aspen Food & Wine Festival. Oh, I saw the light. Thought I found God. Right there in Aspen. Aspen will be but a dream. Tom Foolery compared to what’s going to take place up at the Anvil Ranch. Think . . . a “crowd sourced” food map from San Francisco to the Ranch. Foodies sharing their secret spots.  An Eat Retreat “Rdio” (whatever that is? I now have an account – one can never have too many social media profiles) play list. Top Chef style “quick fire” challenges involving things like marshmallows and Panini presses. Roll some foraging, wild boar butchering demo’s, discussions on how to save boar blood for blood sausage, who’s bringing the caul fat and how big is your thermal immersion circulator (BIG), throw in a hot tub for bachelor-esq measure and you’ll get the idea. . .

We have teams, there will be lectures, demo’s, and recipe sharing. Oh, and we all were assigned buddies. Mine’s the most famous!!! Well, oaky, from a famous organization. The roster is pretty stellar. Some real smarty pants (like holy grail in my book) and uber creative types in the group. There is rumor of a book ( I was told bring a sharpie – I am laughing on the outside. These people don’t know me. I sleep with a sharpie in my hand). I plan to proselytize a bit on the Lexicon of Sustainability and hope to drum up solutions/ideas/ways we foodies can effect change in our world. Poor Nicola and Twlight will not be getting any sleep if they are roomies with me. Stay tuned for more photos and re-caps. Pleanty of more typos and grammer to be had!

Tags: Anvil Ranch, Eat Retreat, Healdsburg Bakery, James Bear Foundation, Packtub, Rdio, Wild Boar Hunting

It’s 5:30am as I type. I am so eager to share my latest meatless find with the world that I can hardly contain myself. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to take credit for any of the ideas or recipes in this post, but nonetheless I can still wax poetic about the happiness some goat cheese, a bitter chicory, and some orange marmalade has brought me.

It started like this: I was walking through the kitchen at the 5 Crowns/Sidedoor in Corona del Mar the other day, and nearly stopped dead in my tracks. The Charcuterie attendant was deftly breaking down a large wheel of cheese that appeared to be covered in tread marks from a tire, of some sorts, and slapping the slices of the cheese over thickly cut wholesome looking pieces of nine grain bread. . . let’s just say, if looks could kill, this cheese had me down on the ground. I was instantly smitten. I’d never seen a cheese with such a presence. It feels strange to describe this cheese as “cool”, but I’m thinking about adding a photo of it to Wikipedia under the definition or creating my own line of Melodie t-shirts and hoodies.

Goat Cheese + Orange Marmalade + Treviso

Melodie, made in France exclusively for Laura Chenel, tastes as good as it looks. This mild, creamy cheese has a lustrous ivory sheen with a beautiful silver ash-coated rind and a buttery richness that is not typically associated with goat’s milk cheese.  Melodie also lacks some of the pungent barn-yard flavor sometimes present in goat cheeses of a similar type.

And if this Melodie alone melted on bread were not enough for a Raison d’être, the Sidedoor, doubles up on the goat cheese and puts a little Boucheron in the mix. That’s right, a grilled cheese sandwich with DOUBLE goat’s milk cheese. The addition of Treviso and hand cut orange marmalade made it a pretty square meal that should fulfill the new healthy-eating food pyramid.  A little spice in the marmalade and some bitterness from the Treviso balance out the richness of the cheese, as does the earthiness of the 9 grain bread.

For me, this sandwich sent me to a meatless nirvana. And, luckily, my friends over at Medlock Ames Winery shared their hand-cut orange and lemon marmalade that will work well with the delightful sandwich.

I’d highly recommend this recipe as an appetizer: cut the sandwich into small triangles for “mini grilled cheese”, throw them on your favorite platter, serve with a glass of Medlock Ames Sauvignon Blanc, and totally impress your guests – meatless Monday or any other day of the week.

After a brief detour last week, I was able to set myself straight with my meatless program. As I always suggest to fellow carnivores, who are trying to curb their consumption to better the environment and their health, keep it simple. For me a grilled cheese is an easy way to eat something so delicious, that I forget there is no meat involved. And, believe it or not a grilled cheese can also be nutritious. The right bread, the right cheese with some greens in the mix make for a perfect meatless entrée such as, the idyllic combo, I found @The Sidedoor in Corona Del Mar. 

Their  totally unique Panini, utilizes the Cypriot cheese Halloumi (and an Arugula pesto). Made for centuries on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Halloumi is part of daily eating on the island; it is eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner. For many Cypriots, a meal would be incomplete without it. It’s a mix of sheep’s and goat’s milk. Fresh curd is submerged in hot whey to soften and stretched, along the lines of mozzarella making. The young cheese is then aged in baskets and folded into wedges about the size of a large wallet. It’s flavor is mildly sheepy, slightly tangy and salty from the brine. What is most unique about this cheese is that it has a very high melting point, and it often used for grilling. . . or an open face Panini in this case.  

On Cyprus, the salad green of choice is arugula, eaten all the time with Halloumi. The Sidedoor’s twist on this national pairing, uses Arugula and toasted almonds for a pesto that is killer with Halloumi and totally meatless! Here is a recipe for the pesto, top with cheese and toast!

Aruglua Pesto

2 Cups – arugula leaves, stems removed

1/2 cup –  slivered almonds

1/2 cup –  fresh Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup –  extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbs.  -  chopped green garlic

Salt – To taste

Pepper – To taste

Coriander – To taste

Method

Blanch and Shock Arugula

Toast Nuts

Combine the arugula, salt, almonds, roasted and raw garlic into a food processor. Pulse while drizzling the olive oil into the processor. Remove the mixture from the processor and put it into a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.

Tags: Halloumi Cheese, The Sidedoor Corona Del Mar

As Abraham Lincoln said . . .  “I cannot tell a lie”.  I journeyed to San Francisco last week on Meatless Monday. It was the first Monday since November that I have been away from home for my weekly event. Typically I spend Sunday thinking of a topic, planning a menu, and shopping/cooking for Meatless Monday on Didi’s Eats. And as you might guess, things went a bit awry with my meatless program when I stepped outside of my routine.

I treat my meat habit like any other sort of addiction. It is with great thought and purpose that I stick to my resolve each Monday. I dedicate my practice to the integrity of my blog, the future of food and our environment and perhaps a paid writing spot somewhere on the internet. I took stock in the morning and gave thanks to my higher power (who is the God of food), for all the natural beauty and bounty that California has to offer (given the current climate condition of our earth) and dedicated my day to eating nuts and berries . . . knowing that by forsaking my beloved pork just for today, the earth will continue to offer up luscious figs in the fall and delectable nectarines throughout the summer and hopped on a plane to SF.

It was going to be a glorious day of eating. My meeting, in the dogpatch area of Potero Hill, was in the same building as Kitchenette. I’ve obsessed over Kitchenette for a good long year now. Never managing to get there before they run out of food, and shut the landing dock door that serves as their store front. The food God, indeed had shined her divine light on me. I arrived at 958 Illinois Street at precisely 11:58 am, every item on the menu is still in stock and there is no line.

I knew I would be in trouble if the dogpatch millionaire (indian-inspired fried chicken sandwich, garam masala honey, spicy cabbage, meyer lemon mayonnaise) appeared on the menu. What I was not prepared for was a pork belly sandwich. But, it was there. At the top of the menu for all to see. I stared at it, it stared back at me. My olfactory system kicked in. HARD. I began to sweat. I shook, as I stepped to the counter. I ordered the oatmeal pecan scotchie first, in hopes that a sweet treat would quell my insatiable desire for MEAT. . . 

At this point, I believe I sort of blacked out. When I came to there was remnants of a beautiful baguette, bejeweled with delicate fatty little slabs of kakuni belly, cucumber salad, shichimi mayo, cilantro, jalapeno, right in front of me. I wiped siraccah from the corner of my mouth in disbelief, as I scrolled through the photos on my digital camera, looking for evidence of the sandwich in its entirety. Yup, it was there alright. In all its glory. Three months of once weekly meat abstinence, down the drain.

What happened with me and the rest of that sandwich is a private matter. Let’s just say I lost my meatless resolve for a brief moment.

I am starting a-fresh today, Monday Febuary 27^th 2011,  with a bucket of nettles and a bowl full of faro hoping to make it a meatless day, one day at a time. 

Tags: Meatless Monday

Meatless Monday

Meatless Monday is IN. You read it here first and now the HuffPost is onto the trend that has help curb meat consumption in the United States by 15%. It’s hard to believe, but I  have forsaken my beloved meat one day a week for almost 3 months now. I recently told my bff, Chef Jamie Sydney, of Stork Suppers that I had quit eating meat on Mondays via a Skype conversation. The video monitor went blank at this mention as she had fallen off her chair. “WOW, that’s crazy?” she said.

Mentally, I’ve come to peace with Mondays. I was able to wean myself off meat without the help of a 12 step program. Easing into MM, I ate only white meat the first couple of weeks – chicken, turkey, fish. After that I ate only fish on Mondays, somehow rationalizing that fish was not technically meat. . . Now, I am able to make it through an entire day without eating anything with eyes, which in and of itself is cause to celebrate.

Typically a great deal of time and research goes into meal planning for Monday’s and ends with me eating a super indulgent Grilled Cheese. This week I found something new that totally satiates me mentally and physically. I am slightly OBSESSED with my discovery.  It’s called Amaranth. Similar to Quinoa, in that it is an ancient grain and is also a perfect protein. I un-intentionally created a little Jook or Amaranth porridge. The photo is a bit unsightly but, trust me this sh*t is good! Cook Amaranth the same as you would rice (2 parts liquid to 1 part grain). I added apples, raisins, toasted almonds and mint for mine. On the side, Arugula with shaved Parano cheese, a splash of walnut oil and I am pretty happy! Simple, d-lish and MEATLESS.

Tags: Amaranth, Lexicon of Sustainability, Meatless Monday, Stork Suppers

Most people start resolutions after the first of the year but, my meatless resolve got an early start for 2011. I found a great website that list 10 great Ted Talks for Total Foodies, one of my favorites is by Graham Hill of Tree Hugger. He talks about the “binary” dilemma, many of us carnivores face: which is to be a meat eater or vegetarian. Like myself, he knows the facts and the harmful effects of eating meat yet, the options seem so rigid it can feel too daunting to address. Hill presents a third solution and that is the weekday vegetarian – one who does not anything with a face Monday through Friday. Now that is a bit much for me at this stage. For me, one day a week is a good start. Today I’m thinking about reward myself for not eating meat with the most sinful ooey-gooey-crispy crusty grilled cheese that I can find.Graham Hill Weekday Vegetarian

Tags: Graham Hill, Lexicon of Sustainability, Meatless Monday, Tree Hugger