Spicebush

I ate an acorn today and it tasted terrible. I had already worked my way through the shell and pulled out a bit of the meaty inside. As I bit in I could feel the astringency filling my mouth, and immediately I realized - I know what this tastes like! Of course this prompted spitting and cursing on the ground. I have been reading Stalking the Wild Asparagus, a foraging book by survivalist Euell Gibbons from 1962 to get back to my roots as a kid digging in the dirt and eating rotten acorns. So far so good.

For anyone curious of the titles of the butter-smeared-dog-eared pages piled on my kitchen sill, stacked in my bookshelves, or strewn across the coffee table, I’ve somewhat painstakingly and categorically arranged them on a page just for you.

“Wild fermentation is the opposite of homogenization and uniformity, a small antidote you can undertake in your home, using the extremely localized populations of microbial cultures present there to produce your own unique fermented foods. What you ferment with the organisms around you is a manifestation of your specific environment, and it will always be a little different.” - Wild Fermentation, Sandor Ellix Katz

“‘Ingredients are the new chefs on some level,’ Steve Sando, the founder of Rancho Gordo, summarized with a naughty chuckle as he bounced around Napa in his messy pickup truck recently.” - “Bean Counterculture” in The New York Times

I am rereading Kitchen Confidential mostly because it rules. I also had a desire to get back to that so-badass-it’s-cute depiction that Anthony Bourdain nailed before the whole food celebrity TV thing happened. Yes, it’s all fornication, knives, and dirty food, but with all the rock ‘n roll you could possibly conjure up in a small space with a bunch of illegals, a couple white dudes, and some pots and pans. In short: magic.

I am also enjoying his tips on eating out. Although the books is years old, it’s probably more poignant with New York restaurants closing or going over to the dark side. Eating out is an adventure, but it’s good to know your surroundings. Understanding the kitchen can give you a better chance of taking part in the pleasure and avoiding serious illness. For those who have forgotten (or are allergic to Anthony Bourdain), I have made simple, easy-to-digest bullets for you.

“Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride. Sure, it’s a ‘play you pay’ sort of an adventure, but you knew that already, every time you ordered a taco or a dirty-water hot dog.” - Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential

Recipes have a secret history. They’re filled with wisdom, tradition, stories, and many shared meals. They can help stir creativity, and make us bold enough to try something new. Most times, however, we see a page full of words broken out into descriptions, ingredients, measurements, and clinical instructions to be followed OR ELSE.

While we do follow them, we are also fond of thinking of the cuisines of the Mediterranean, where fresh ingredients dictate the daily menu. We think of spending the afternoon walking to local purveyors, sniffing lettuce, sampling cheeses, and cracking open fresh bread. And we all have the perfect image in our minds of learning something by hand from grandma.

Even those willing to work for free are having a hard time. “Everybody’s on the edge, and I don’t need people hanging around my kitchen messing with the morale of the paid guys,” said Michael White, the chef and an owner of Alto and Convivio and, soon, Marea. “Let them go to Italy, learn to make pasta, and wash their clothes in a bucket like I did for seven years.” - Michael White for Julia Moskin’s “With Fewer Pots to Stir, Competition Rises Among Cooks” in The New York Times

“Recognizing that meat consumption/production has a large environmental footprint and negative human health effects (in terms of carbon emissions, water footprint, pollution of habitats) we’ve decided to serve a vegetarian entrée with a sustainable duck option.” - Global Environment rep for Grub Street

“A perfect bunch of radishes is almost too pretty to eat. A freshly cured head of garlic is a world apart from a dry Chinese clove. A leek split in half along its length. I believe that this moment, recognizing beauty and curiosity of what is before you ready to be cooked is an essential part of the cooking process. It’s also why it becomes harder and harder to eat conventionally grown food. In addition to being questionably grown and nutritionally inferior, it is positively unremarkable.”
- Caroline Fidanza, “Ribollita” for Diner Journal No. 10