A collection of food-related links.
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By Chef Carole, on January 1st, 2011
In many cultures throughout the world, New Year is an important occasion to celebrate luck, prosperity, a long life, and goals or resolutions for the coming year. The Preparation of New Years foods occurs in many New Years celebrations. The date of New Years celebrations varies for Western New Year, Chinese New Year and New Year celebrations in other cultures.
New Years dates
New Year is celebrated on January 1 in countries using the Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western or Christian calendar that is based on the Roman calendar. Several other calendars are used throughout the world and New Year is celebrated on other dates.
Chinese New Year is the most important traditional Chinese holiday and begins on the first day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar. In ancient China, palace dignitaries were presented with eight Buddhist symbols. Today, the lucky tradition of “eight” is carried on in several ways, by serving dishes composed of eight Ingredients. If not eight, then other even numbers may be used (four, six, twelve, etc.).
Jewish New Year is celebrated on Rosh Hashanah, the start of a new year in the Hebrew calendar, occurring sometime in September-October in the Gregorian calendar.
Islamic New Year also does not come on the same day of the Gregorian calendar every year. The date of New Year is determined by astronomical calculations. New Year is not an important Islamic holiday, but resolutions are typically considered.
Hindu Lunar New Year is celebrated at different times of the year in different locations. The first day of the Hindu month Chaitra, which marks the onset of spring is considered New Year in several places and bears resemblance to Roman and Chinese traditions, including wearing new clothes and preparing special foods.
New Years food traditions
Beans or legumes are a tradition in many cultures, symbolizing coins. money, riches, and prosperity for the new year. Hoppin’ John is an American soul food or southern dish made with black-eyed peas, cowpeas, or dried red peas cooked with pork—originally pigs’ tails, pigs’ feet, chitterlings or jowl, but in modern times bacon or salt pork. Hoppin’ John may be accompanied by buttered rice. Lentils are another legume symbolizing prosperity, such as Brazilian Sausage and Lentils or Lentils with Italian Sausage. In Japan, a group of symbolic dishes are eaten during the first three days of the new year, including sweet black soybeans called kuromame.
Cookies, cakes, or other sweets are created to guarantee sweetness in the new year.
Italian Pizelles I
Jewish honey cake
Chinese New Year Cookies Kueh Bangkit
Donut rings or round cakes. Round shapes symbolize money (coins) and riches. Ring shapes symbolize the completion of a year.
Greeks bake St Basils Day cake with a silver or gold coin inside for one lucky recipient
Alton Brown’s yeast doughnuts
Giada De Laurentiis Italian Dougnuts
Fish is eaten in several cultures, symbolizing luck, prosperity, or fertility. In China a whole fish symbolizes prosperity. German or Polish Americans often eat pickled or creamed herring for good luck, while other Germans eat carp. In Denmark the fish of choice is boiled cod; in Italy it is salt cod. In other north and west Europe countries, fish is a symbol of fertility.
Grapes are eaten for luck in Spain, Malta, Cuba, Portugal, Italy, Venezuela, Peru, and elsewhere. In some places, 12 grapes are eaten, finishing on the stroke of midnight. In Italy, you just try to eat as many grapes as you can!
Greens, including cabbage and collard greens may be braised and buttered or used as a wrap. Cabbage and collards resemble money and bring fortune.
Noodles. In Japan, there is a New Year’s tradition of eating long noodles called toshikoshi soba. This long, buckwheat noodle is to be swallowed without chewing or breaking to enjoy good luck and a long life.
Pork in several forms is eaten by many cultures around the world, including Cuba, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Sweden and Austria. In old Europe, a wild boar was often hunted and killed on the first day of the New Year. Pigs are associated with plumpness and getting plenty to eat; also, a pig uses its snout to dig in the ground in a forward direction symbolizing a move forward as the New Year begins.
Pork and cabbage dishes represent wealth and fortune. Pork and cabbage dumplings are traditional in many Chinese homes as well as pork meatballs called Loin’s Head Stew—large meatballs served with a “mane” of cabbage, making them look like lions heads.
By Chef Carole, on December 8th, 2010
I don’t remember why I went on a hunt for information about huitlacoche. I get sidetracked pretty easily sometimes. Since I’m not a huge fan of mushrooms, I don’t plan on trying “corn mushrooms” anytime soon. I’m not afraid to try them. I’ve had everything from durian (“that stinky fruit from Asia”) and lamb brains to escargot and caviar (I like everything but the escargot—as any Pacific Northwest gardener would. If you need this explained, well, just go dig around in the yard some wet, soppy day in fall or spring and you’ll figure it out).
But like I said, I’m not a huge fan of mushrooms, so corn mushroom isn’t high on my list. There’s stuff like sustainable caviar and Chinese spinach to try that is way higher on my list of things to do. But I digress…. Like I said, I get sidetracked.
Anyway, I found out what huitlacoche is, where to try it in Seattle at a restaurant (that sounds like fun!), where to buy it locally and online, and recipes for preparing it.
If you give it a shot before I do, lemme know whatcha think.
Huitlacoche (wheet-lah-KOH-chay) is a mushroom or fungus that can grow naturally on corn cobs, especially during rainy periods. The fungus, called corn smut and “devil’s corn” in the U.S., is considered a blight on most farms growing corn. In Mexico, corn fungus is a delicacy that is sold fresh in markets. Huitlacoche is also sold canned and frozen. Huitlacoche, also referred to as Mexican truffles is prized for its earthy, sweet, smoky, mushroom-like flavor. Corn fungus is nutritious, being loaded with beta-glucans that enhance the immune system and lysine, which helps to build or repair muscles and other metabolic benefits.
Photos of huitlacoche aka corn mushrooms
Where to try huitlacoche in a Seattle restaurant
- El Sabor De Oaxaca, 452 SW 153rd St (between S 4th Ave & S 6th Ave) , Burien, WA 98166. (206) 242-2326. (Google map)
Where to buy huitlacoche in Seattle
Where to huitlacoche buy online
Recipes using huitlacoche
By Chef Carole, on October 16th, 2010
I think of clay pots as history’s crock pot or slow cooker. The types I own and use include a Chilean bean pot, tagine, Spanish cazuela, Japanese donabé, and others. I haven’t written down very many recipes, rather use recipes from the booklets that come with them or find recipes in books that are suited to clay pots. Soups ‘n stews ‘n the like. Tasty stuff.
However, not all clay pots are slow cookers. Here examples of several types of clay pots with recipe ideas. These dishes represent cuisines and cooking methods from Japan, Morocco, Chile, Spain, and France.
 Japanese donabé (Cancler) A Japanese donabé, which can be used for yosé-nabé, a hearty soup meal with meat, fish, egg, tofu, vegetables, and noodles. I first enjoyed yosé-nabé in Japan while on a business trip. Our group was tired and jet-lagged, but hungry. We went to a restaurant featuring nabemono (one pot dishes). They bring you a portable gas grill, a gigantic donabe teaming with simmering broth, and a large platter of sliced foods. You begin by cooking and eating vegetables, then the meats, and finish with noodles in broth. While cooking, everyone contributes ingredients to the pot and to the conversation around the table. It is a wonderful, comforting, satisfying meal in every way.
 Tagine from Morocco (Cancler) A tagine refers to the vessel as well as the dishes cooked in them, like Moroccan Chicken with lemon and olives. Paula Wolfert wrote Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking: Traditional and Modern Recipes to Savor and Share, which I don’t own but is highly rated. I do have Ms. Wolfert’s cookbook, Mediterranean Cooking and have enjoyed many recipes from this book, including a tagine with chicken and zucchini (after all, I live in the Pacific Northwest). I’ve made my own preserved lemons, but confess I didn’t care for the flavor when added to dishes. But I’ll try preserved lemons again just to be sure.
 Chilean bean pot (Cancler) A bean pot, which can be from Boston or Mexico (called an olla) or Chile…I have a Chilean Pomaire bean pot in which I have made Boston-Midwestern style baked beans with a tomato-ey molasses sauce, as well as “brothy beans” out of Rick Bayless’ Authentic Mexican cookbook, using black beans or Pinto beans. Most recently I made a bean soup using the ingredients in Porotos Granados, a thick Chilean soup of cranberry beans simmered with pumpkin, corn, and tomatoes. I found Maya beans (a creamy, yellow variety that is also called, I believe, canary beans or Peruvian beans) at the Ballard farmers market from Alvarez farms. My version of Chilean Bean Soup turned out delicious. Here are links to a few recipes for Porotos Granados:
Porotos Mixtos: Mixed Bean StewRecipe courtesy Alex Garcia on Food Network
Porotos Granados (Bean Stew) By Kumquat the Cat’s friend on food.com
Porotos Pelados (Beans With Paprika Oil) from Chilean Recipe
And here is a link to a blog about Chilean cooking.
 Romertopf unglazed clay roaster (Cancler) Roast meat and potatoes in a Romertopf baker. You can put a whole meal in one of these unglazed clay bakers. For example, a beef or pork roast, whole chicken (or parts) or skin-on whole salmon with potatoes and carrots. Bake these ingredients together unattended in the oven and voila, dinner in less than an hour! It helps to brown the meat or chicken before putting it in the clay baker, but browning is not absolutely necessary.
 Cazuela (Cancler) My newest purchase is a cazuela from Spanish Table at Pike Place Market comes with cazuela recipes. I think my first dish out of this one will be some sort of frittata, or rather, a Spanish Tortilla (which is more like a frittata than what an American knows as a tortilla). If you are in Barcelona, go to the big market and get a slice of tortilla at one of the food stalls, with a little glass of wine. Yum.
And for dessert…
 Glazed bakers for clafouti or lasagna (Cancler) Clafouti, a French recipe is one of my favorite desserts and very simple to make in an oval porcelain dish. Essentially, you put fruit in a pan, pour batter over it, and bake it. Sortuva right-side-up-upside-down cake. I first made this, oh, 30 years ago or so from the recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume I by Julia Child et al. If you don’t have a recipe, just butter the dish, put fruit in it (plum halves, cherries, canned peaches…), make a pancake batter and pour it over the fruit and bake until the batter is done. Serve with ice cream or whip cream. Of course fresh plums are the traditional fruit, but all kinds of other fruits work nicely: fresh sliced apples (with cinnamon sugar), canned peaches, frozen berries. Etc. Fresh, hot fruit dessert, easy, anytime of year. Double yum.
By Chef Carole, on September 26th, 2010
White Sugar, Raw Sugar, and Organic Sugar from Cane or Beets
 Sugarcane field (iStock_2341100) Brown Sugars
Refined Light Brown or Dark Brown Sugar are refined brown sugars made by mixing white granulated sugar with a light or dark sugar syrup.
Unrefined brown sugars include Demerara (golden brown), Muscovado (dark brown) and Turbinado, evaporated cane juice,, which are all basically produced by evaporation of cane sugar and draining off molasses. The sugar crystals aren’t further refined of color or flavor, giving these sugars a natural taste.
Jaggery = Panela = Raspadura = Gur are also unrefined sugars made from the juice of crushed sugar cane (Panela, Raspadura, Gur) or palm trees (Jaggery) without the use of additives. It can be found in East Indian markets, usually in one of two forms; a soft golden sugar with a spreadable texture and a solid cake-like form. It has a distinctive flavor and is preferred in Indian dishes. Jaggery contains minerals / protein / vitamins and is prescribed for use in the Ayurvedic system of medicine. For more information: http://www.sugarindia.com/panela.htm
Sugar syrups
Molasses is dark colored syrup that is a by-product of making raw sugar.
Honey is produced by honey bees from the plants. Honey contains sugars as well as trace enzymes, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, and phytonutrients. Raw honey is not pasteurized, clarified, or filtered. For more information: http://www.honey.com
“Golden” syrup is a sugar solution that has been treated to ensure that crystallization does not occur during storage.
Treacle is a syrup made from molasses rather than a sugar solution.
Corn syrup is made from corn starch. Corn syrup is used to prevent crystallization of sugar, as well as to soften textures, add volume, and enhance flavor. Corn syrup is sometimes called glucose syrup. However, glucose syrup can be made from wheat, rice or potatoes as well as corn.
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)is made from corn starch, using enzymes to invert the glucose to fructose. There are several types of HFCS, such as HFCS 55, HFCS 42, and HFCS 90. The number indications the percentage of fructose to glucose. HFCS 55 has 55% fructose and has the approximate level of sweetness as regular table sugar (sucrose) made from cane or beets, which is 50% fructose and 50% glucose. For more information: http://www.sweetsurprise.com. Also, here are a couple of links to infomation about the controversy over HFCS: from the Mayo Clinic, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fructose-corn-syrup/AN01588, and from Princeton University research, http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/
Other Sugars and Syrups
Date sugar is a powder made of dried, ground dates. It is sweeter than sugar and is used in baking or as table sugar. It is high in sucrose.
Palm sugar and coconut sugars come from the sugar and coconut palm, respectively. Because they are not highly processed, the color, consistency, flavor and level of sweetness can vary from one package to the next. Most often, these sugars come in hard, crystallized chunks, which keep indefinitely. To use, cut and peel back the plastic container, place in a bag, and hammer into small crystals. A hand held coconut shredder may also be used. Palm sugar is the preferred sugar in Thai cooking.
Stevia is a granulated sweetener made from a South American herb that is 100-200 times sweeter than sugar but calorie-free, because the human body cannot absorb it. The stevia plant is from the rain forests of Brazil and Paraguay and is now grown in those areas, as well as in Japan, Korea, Thailand, and China.
Maple syrup, made by boiling the sap of a North American tree maple tree, collected in very late winter and early spring. Maple syrup has a rich, sweet flavor and caramel color and is sold in four grades: “Fancy Grade (light amber)”, “Grade A Medium Amber”, “Grade A Dark Amber”, and “Grade B”.
For more information:Sucrose: http://www.sucrose.com/
Cane and beet sugar: http://www.chsugar.com/, http://www.mauibrand.com/, http://www.sugaralliance.org/, http://www.sugaralliance.org/
Palm and coconut sugar: http://www.bigtreefarms.com/coconutsugar, http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/ingredients/palmsug.html, http://www.palmsugar.com/
By Chef Carole, on September 11th, 2010
 Touring Dubrovnik with friends - at the gate of the old city (K.Nakabayashi) I don’t know why I woke up a few mornings ago thinking about Croatia. Back in 2001, my husband and I took a Mediterranean cruise with friends. We boarded the ship in Lisbon, Portugal, and then set sail for 2 weeks visiting Morocco, Spain, France, Italy, and Croatia. I woke up thinking about our guide in Dubrovnik and the words he spoke, which inevitably led to my musing about the entire trip. It’s not surprising that the thoughts entered my head this week, just a little eery. (Twilight Zone theme plays here…doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo.)
In Dubrovnik, Croatia — which if you haven’t been there is a totally charming coastal town on the Mediterranean Sea — we took a guided tour of the town. We’ve found that especially on cruises when you have so little time, some sort of guided tour or bus tour is warranted, followed by free time to go see the things that sounded especially interesting. I also like to research ahead of time for things we might want to see. I knew I liked Croatians when I saw the DONUTS being sold by sidewalk vendors. I still don’t understand why all the donuts in warm weather, but, well, I digress.
At one point during the tour, our guide spoke of war. Serbia had attacked the city in 1991. He said they were devastated to see their beloved city burning, their ancient and beautiful city. “It was unbelievable”, he said, as he shook his head. The Serbians bombed bridges to cut off travel and commerce. They bombed parts of the old city, which has a cherished history. We saw a hotel, a modern luxury hotel (as I recall he said it had been a Hilton), completely bombed out. While UNESCO funds were helping to rebuild the city, there were still remnants of the war everywhere. The guide spoke plainly about these events, and with great resilience and hope. I remember thinking as I heard these stories, “Thank you. Thank you for sharing these words of hope.”
 Michael with a stall vendor in Casablanca on Sept 11, 2000 (C.Cancler) Two days later, we were in Casablanca, Morocco walking around the city and shopping. When we got back to the ship around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, the BBC News was relating the story about an airplane that had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. Of course, you know the rest of that story.
The rest of the cruise was, well, strange. We are on a luxury cruise, plying the Mediterranean Sea, enjoying gourmet food, visiting charming towns, and soaking up plenty of history, all with a great deal of underlying discomfort. Do you laugh or cry? Do you dare enjoy yourself? I called my sister. She said everyone seemed to be feeling the same way at home. A little stunned.
In St. Tropez , we celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary by sharing a grand, multi-course French dinner with friends at the restaurant Byblos. (At the time, Byblos had a charming and rustic, though elegant interior. It was remodeled in 2008 with a very comtemporary, edgy style). We thoroughly enjoyed the dinner and we all remember exactly the same thing — the most amazing mushroom soup served as an amuse bouche in a tiny egg cup bursting with ‘shroom flavor. The meal was a fitting event to mark our first year together, with the comfort of good friends and great food.
 Dinner with friends at Byblos, St. Tropez, France for our 1st wedding anniversary (Le garçon) , we were sitting at a cafe overlooking St. Peter’s Square, enjoying an espresso and plotting our day in Rome. A man with little English came up to us and grabbed my husband’s hand and said “American?” We hesitated, unsure of his intent, but nodded and said “Yes, American”. Was he an enemy? Hostile towards Americans? He put his hand on his chest and said “Friend.” With tears in his eyes, he managed to express, very adequately, how sorry he was about the 9/11 attack and ensured us that he was our friend. We thanked him. We cried a little, too.
In Sorrento, many shops had signs in the window expressing sorrow, solidarity, and support for the U.S. At lunch, we wondered about the little glasses of yellow liquid that everyone seemed to have. We were trying to figure out what it was and how to get some—what to ask for—when the waiter simply brought us 2 glasses after our meal. It turned out to be the lovely local lemon liquor, Limoncello. I bought a dish towel with a recipe for Limoncello on it. We still make lots of Limoncello and remember the day in Sorrento with fondness and the enjoyment of finding something fresh and new.
In Taormina, Sicily we rented mopeds from an out-of-the-way shop keeper who was genuinely surprised to see our American credit cards, but of course very happy we were there! We rode the mopeds to the top of the hill and had lunch at a café we chose because it was jammed with locals. My husband had pepperoni pizza and I had spaghetti with garlic and tomatoes. The perfection of those simple dishes remains with us to this day. Since it was mid-September, the tomatoes and garlic were in full season. The freshness and flavors fairly jumped off the plate and slapped you upside the head.
And the cookies! There was shop after shop of cookies. The bakeries were on lower floors. So, you would see a man come up stairs from some-where-under-neath with a cloth-covered tray, bursting with tall stacks of cookies. He’d walk down the street and enter a shop to re-stock their shelves. Yum. I love cookies. More than donuts, even.
I bought a handbag in a shop where the shopkeeper informed me that they made the fabric for the bag. “It is exclusive to here”, she said with pride as she wrapped up my purchase.
So these are my remembrances of 9/11. Uneasy days marked by enjoyment, delicious food, friends, and resilient and kind people who express pride and perfection in their simple day-to-day lives. And always, there is hope.
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Recent Posts
- New Years celebration includes New Years foods and traditions for New Year
- Huitlacoche corn mushroom is corn smut in U.S., corn fungus delicacy in Mexico
- Clay pot cooking, recipe ideas for a bean pot, tagine, olla, or cazuela
- Types of sugar: white, raw, organic, brown, maple, palm, and others
- Remembering 9/11
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