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Good and Lovely Christmas Ice Cream

Last night I had the great fortune of not only seeing The Good Lovelies in concert during their Christmas tour , but making dessert for the band. I wanted to make something holiday-ish to fit with the theme of the night and came up with this. The word is that the band loved the ice cream, hence the name. The method for the ice cream is from Homemade Vegan Pantry , and the method for sugaring the chestnuts comes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World . The recipe works best with a high powered blender like a Vitamix. If you don't have one, just make sure your cashews are nice and soft before blending INGREDENTS Ice Cream - 1 cup whole raw cashews - boiling water - 1.5 cups non-dairy milk of your choosing - 1/2 cup packed brown sugar - 1 tsp cinnamon - large pinch of salt - 1 can coconut milk (light, or regular) - 2 tsp vanilla Sugared Roasted Chestnuts - 1 cup chopped roasted chestnuts (about 3/4 lb whole chestnuts) - 1/3 cup sugar - 3 tbsp maple syrup - pinch of salt METHOD Ice C
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Bison Rib Roast

For a big celebratory meal, a rib roast is very impressive, especially with the bones in. While beef might be a common choice, bison is also available in a rib roast. I’ve shared my experience cooking several different cuts of bison and how much I enjoy it. I like the texture and flavor but also really appreciate how environmentally sustainable and how healthy it is, particularly when compared to beef. It's lighter and less fatty so I find I'm able to enjoy it more. When Durham Ranch offered me the opportunity to try one of their products I decided to go with a rib roast. Durham Bison Ranch is one of largest bison operations in the US, with a 55,000 acre ranch in Eastern Wyoming with around 3,000 bison. Unlike some producers, the bison from Durham is not completely 100% pasture raised. It’s finished on a feed lot where it is fed mostly grass based silage and very little grain, since it is not part of their natural diet. Why are their animals finished this way? Drought condition
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Moringa Chia Pudding with Raspberry Recipe

A current food trend is the emergence of exotic superfood ingredients such as elderberry, aronia, haskap and moringa. Moringa is a plant native to South Asia and grown throughout the tropics. It's considered a superfood because the powdered leaves provide protein, calcium, iron, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Peace Corps volunteer Lisa Curtis discovered it when she was living in West Africa and suffering from malnutrition. Now back in the US, she is the founder of  Kuli Kuli Foods , a company that sells moringa based product in the US and helps to improve the lives of women like the ones she worked with, in Africa. When I met Lisa I was inspired by her story and also curious to try experimenting with moringa, which comes in a powdered form, looking a bit like matcha but tasting more herbal with a slight bitter but not unpleasant edge. Aside from adding it to smoothies or using it bars, I thought it might be good in a chia pudding.  Lots of chia pudding recipes use coconut or almond milk
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2012 Food & Dining Trends

In no particular order, here are my predictions with a tiny sprinkling of wishful thinking... Yes, please! More transparency and labeling in the food system Have you been to a supermarket lately? All the seafood is now labeled so you know where it comes from and whether or not it is farmed and if color is added. That is amazing considering that not long ago seafood had barely any labeling at all, but it's just the beginning. I believe consumers will demand labels on produce and meat too. Food contamination and security issues are only a few of the issues driving this trend. Foraging, hunting and wild food Wild and foraged ingredients are showing up on more and more menus and there are classes and books to help you learn about this return to a more primal way of eating. The poster boy for this trend is Hank Shaw. The poster Girl? Georgia Pellegrini! Local culture on the plate Rene Redzepi the chef at NOMA , (the world's number one restaurant according to one survey) has inspir
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Unusual Cookbooks of 2015

Looking for something different? These are some of the more unusual cookbooks I came across this year.  The Food of Oman  is one of the most exciting cookbooks I saw this year, because I am so unfamiliar with the cuisine and the influences are so varied. The book includes Bedouin meat and rice dishes, South Asian curries, East African vegetable dishes and Indian style tandoori seafood as well. There are recipes for quickly made flatbreads, Sweet Vermicelli with Salty Egg, Yemeni Style Roasted Chicken and Saffron Rice, Swahili Coconut Shrimp Curry, some hot tea-like beverages, and plenty of snack foods like Chile-Lime Chickpeas and Chili Spiced Potato Chips. For the cook who seems jaded and world weary this is the perfect book to inspire.  Who’s it for? Anyone looking to cook something different, but expecially fans for Southeast Asian and African food. Do you need a book about what to serve on toast? No. But  Better on Toast  is a really fun book loaded with cool ideas for snacks, ap
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NOMA: My Perfect Storm movie review

Even after reading the NOMA:Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine cookbook and going to see chef Rene Redzepi speak , I am still curious about the restaurant and the chef. Short of flying off to Copenhagen and dining at the restaurant (it’s on my bucket list!) I really enjoy reading anything I can about this restaurant that has been chosen “ #1 in the world ” four times. The latest attempt to dig deeper into the Noma phenomenon and psyche of chef Rene Redzepi is the feature length documentary, Noma: My Perfect Storm. Towards the beginning it’s easy to fall under the spell of the chef and his concept for the restaurant. It’s a concept which has had and will continue to have a ripple effect. Because really, this is more than just about one chef or one restaurant, it’s about a philosophy that is changing food, cooking and how we approach it everywhere. It's about creating a cuisine that reflects time and place in the most authentic way possible. Not surprisingly, it’s also about the proc
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New Dessert Cookbooks Winter 2015

This holiday season there are several new dessert cookbooks, here are some of my top picks. Home Baked isn't strictly a dessert book, it also contains savory baked goods, but the vast majority of the recipes are for sweets with just one section dedicated to breads (and a few recipes for dog biscuits). This book is mammoth! It has over 150 recipes for everything from Viennoiserie to cakes, cookies, pies and patisserie.  What sets the book apart is that the instructions are incredibly clear and well written and for the most part feel very easy to accomplish. The photographs are appealing as are the creative flavor combinations like Zaatar, Carrot Banana Cake, Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Grapefruit, Peach and Berry Tarts with Buttermilk Custard and Fig, Apricot, Stilton and Goat Cheese Tart. Who's it for? Any baking enthusiast or as the author says, "domestic adventurer."  Marie Asselin the author of  Sweet Spot : Modern Better-for-You Dessert Recipes, with Clever Tips
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Jewish Cookbooks 2015

Are you suffering from an overload of everything Christmas? Shabbat Shalom! Here are a few books worth taking a look at, whether you are Jewish or not. The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen   is the book that could make anyone fall in love with Jewish food. Amelia Saltsman  has Iraqi and Romanian heritage and manages to take the best from both of those cuisines along with her own wonderfully creative ideas and California sensibility to craft a cookbook full of “keeper” recipes. The photography is fresh and modern.  The crazy good recipes in this book make me think I could actually give up my beloved pork and go kosher! I mean we’re talking about things like Lamb Kebabs with Parsley, Mint and Tahini Sauce, Yemenite Pumpkin and Carrot Soup, Curried Roasted Cauliflower, Freekeh with Kale, Butternut Squash and Smoked Salt. Recipes like Tunisian Lemon Rind Salad condiment and the Blood Orange and Olive Oil Polenta Upside Down Cake are reason enough to treasure this book.  Food, Family and Tradition
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French 75 Cocktail Recipe

Whether you are saying goodbye to the previous year or hello to the new one, Champagne or anything bubbly is traditional for New Year’s Eve. It’s light, refreshing and pairs well with many kinds of festive meals from briny oysters and caviar to rich and creamy cheeses and just about anything fried. Should you happen to have a splash of Champagne leftover or better yet, a bottle, consider a Champagne cocktail for brunch the following day. While the classic mimosa is fine, I am a big fan of the French 75. The French 75 dates back to World War I and is named for the French 75mm field gun, the “Soixante Quinze” thanks to it’s kick from gin. It’s as simple as can be, just gin, lemon juice, sugar or simple syrup and Champagne or another sparkling brut wiine. There are some other versions of the drink and some prefer cognac or brandy, but I think gin is really the way to go. The gin you use is important. I am particulary fond of London dry gin, and Plymouth in particular although you are wel
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Artisanal Italian Pasta

If you go to most grocery stores or supermarkets you can find dried pasta for as little as about $1 per package. At the same time there is “artisanal” dried pasta which costs at least twice as much, and often much more. Is it worth it? Yes, it is and here’s why. Recently I was at an event where there was an in depth discussion about pasta. Big producers like Barilla make in 2 days what a smaller artisanal company like Rustichella d’Abruzzo produces in an entire year. But it’s not just about volume, it’s also about how the pasta is made. One big difference is how the pasta is extruded. Artisanal producers use bronze dies, these create a rougher surface texture which allows the pasta to better absorb sauces or condiments. While sauces are important, so are the noodles! They should really taste good. Extruding the pasta through these dies is a slower process than using the teflon dies that industrial producers use. Bronze dies don’t last as long and are much more expensive. The drying ti
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California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil


California is producing some very good extra virgin olive oil, some using old European varieties of olives, harvested the old fashioned way, and--some high quality extra virgin olive oil harvested in a very modern way, for a fraction of the price. So how is possible to get high quality extra virgin olive oil at a low price? Last week I visited California Olive Ranch, the largest California olive oil producer, and learned just how they do it.


It all comes down to freshness and quantity. California Olive Ranch plants three varieties, arbequina, arbosana from Spain and koroneiki from Greece. Their olive orchards look nothing like what you may have seen in Europe. The olive trees are pruned into a hedge shape that is harvested mechanically, using a harvester specially developed for shaking the trees to get the olives off without damaging them. Less damage means better quality oil.

Here are some numbers for California Olive Ranch:

Their olive trees grow 6-8 feet high

Trees are planted 5 feet apart

There is 13 feet between each row

There are about 675 trees planted per acre

Each tree yields 7-12 pounds of olives

Only 20% of the olive is oil, 55% is water

12 harvesters run 24 hours a day during harvest season

5,000 acres are owned by the company

5,000 acres are managed by 67 farmers who have long term leases

Each truck holds 66,000 pounds of olives

Each truck is unloaded in 35 minutes


Some more facts:

The tree trimmings are mulched

The ground pits and olives, called pomace, is fed to cattle

California Olive Ranch is using bird boxes and buffer zones to minimize the use of pesticides and tests each batch of olives, and has test plots for organic olives


If you ever get a chance to ride a harvester and see the olives jiggle off the trees I highly recommend it! That I got to share the experience with blogging friends Chef John from Food Wishes, Chrystal Baker from The Duo Dishes, Aleta Watson from The Skillet Chronicles, and Jane Bonacci from The Heritage Cook made it all the more sweet!


Speaking of sweet, all exra virgin olive oil should be a balance of fruity, bitter and pungent. The best way to find your favorite, is to taste them...however...California Olive Ranch uses descriptors like intense and bold and mild to help you find one to your taste.


* If you want the freshest olive oil, known as "olio nuovo in Italy, sign up to buy California Olive Ranch's Limited Reserve.

* If you like a buttery mild oil without too much bite, look for their basic extra virgin olive oil

* If you like a fruitier variety, try the Arbequina

* The Arbosana is most complex

* The Miller's blend is bold and balanced (and a favorite of some bloggers, food writers and chefs too.)

My thanks to California Olive Ranch for inviting me up to visit during harvest and letting me sample their fresh oils!
shamila
writer and blogger, founder of The kitchen table .

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