Palate cleansing (still cleansing)

I have the option to shut down this blog while I'm revamping it, but I don't want to because (a) I may get lazy again and never return and (b) I'd like input while I'm working on it, so please let me know what you like/dislike about the changes.  Be back soon...

Palate cleansing

Please excuse the inordinate amount of time that's passed since my last post. I'm in the process of revamping this site, but wanted to keep it open to readers since there's a lot of good info on here. Feel free to browse in the meantime and check back on September 1, 2010 for the new and improved version.

Flex your mussel

Welcome, class, to today's Fresh Pick: MUSSELS

The term "mussel" is used for several families of bivalve molluscs inhabiting lakes, rivers, and creeks, as well as intertidal areas along coastlines worldwide. The freshwater and saltwater mussels are not closely related, and are grouped in different subclasses, despite some similarities in appearance. The freshwater Zebra mussels and their relatives live attached to rocks in a manner similar to marine mussels, but are classified with the Heterodonta, the taxonomic group including most bivalves referred to as "clams."

Archaeologically, there is much evidence for humans having utilised mussels as a source of food for thousands of years. Nowadays marine mussels are still a popular seafood item, especially in Belgium and the Netherlands, where they are consumed with French fries (mosselen met friet or moules frites). In Italy, they are a popular dish, often mixed with other seafood, or eaten with pasta. In Turkey, mussels are either covered with flour and fried on shishs (midye tava) or filled with rice and served cold (midye dolma). In France, the Éclade des Moules is a mussel bake popular along the beaches of the Bay of Biscay. In Cantonese cuisine, mussels are cooked in a broth of garlic and fermented black bean. In New Zealand, they are commonly served in a chili based vinaigrette.

Mussels can be smoked, boiled or steamed. As for all shellfish, mussels should be alive just before they are cooked because they quickly become toxic after they die. The mussel shells open by themselves when cooked. (Discard any that remain closed after cooking.) Months with an "r" in their name (September to April) are said to be the in season for mussels.

Intertidal herbivorous shellfish such as mussels and clams can help people reach a healthy balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fats in their diets.

For some great recipes, click here or here or try this delicious dish:

2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 med shallot, minced
1/3 c white wine (or white cooking wine)
2 lbs mussels, rinsed, drained, and debearded
6 oz prewashed baby spinach
3 plum tomatoes, deseeded and diced
2 tsp tarragon

In a large pan over low heat, sauté garlic and shallot in olive oil until soft and translucent. Add white wine and mussels, cover pan, raise heat to medium-low, and steam mussels until shells open, about 7 minutes.

Uncover pan and transfer mussels to a warming dish. Turn heat to high and allow liquid to reduce (by boiling) for about 5 minutes. Lower heat back to medium-low and add remaining ingredients, cooking and stirring frequently until spinach wilts, about 5 minutes. Remove mixture from heat and pour over mussels. Serve with crusty bread and a salad.

Leftovers

Oui, je sais. Je suce pour n'écris pas régulièrement, mais j'ai été dépouillé des sentiments de l'inspiration récemment...en outre, j'ai été affligé avec mes accès réguliers de la léthargie dans lesquels pour que je prenne un stylo—ou, dans ce cas-ci, placer mes mains sur un clavier—s'avère être tout à fait un effort accablant mieux sauvé pour un autre jour. Hélas, un autre jour a arriver encore. Jusque-là, je vous ai offert manger heureux.

Olive you.

Welcome, class, to today's Fresh Pick: OLIVES & OLIVE OIL

The olive branch has long been a symbol of peace, and the silvery-leaved olive tree has been considered sacred at least as far back as the 17th century b.c. Native to the Mediterranean area, the olive is a small, oily fruit that contains a pit and is grown both for its fruit and its oil in subtropical zones including the United States (Arizona, California and New Mexico), Latin America, and throughout the Mediterranean.

Olive varieties number in the dozens and vary in size and flavor. All fresh olives are bitter and the final flavor of the fruit greatly depends on how ripe it is when picked and the processing it receives. Underripe olives are always green, whereas ripe olives may be either green or black. Spanish olives are picked young, soaked in lye, then fermented in brine for 6 to 12 months. When bottled, they're packed in a weak brine and sold in a variety of forms including pitted, unpitted or stuffed with foods such as pimientos, almonds, onions, and jalapeños. Olives picked in a riper state contain more oil and are a deeper green color. The common black olive or Mission olive is a ripe green olive that obtains its characteristic color and flavor from lye curing and oxygenation. Olives that are tree ripened turn dark brown or black naturally. The majority of these olives are used for oil but the rest are brine or salt-cured and are usually packed in olive oil or a vinegar solution. The Greek kalamata and the French niçoise olives are two of the more popular imported ripe olives. Dry-cured olives have been packed in salt, which removes most of their moisture and creates dry, wrinkled fruit.

Both domestic and imported olives are available bottled, canned and in bulk year-round in a variety of forms including whole (pitted, unpitted and stuffed), sliced and chopped. Unopened olives can be stored at room temperature for up to two years. Once opened they can be refrigerated in their own liquid (in a nonmetal container) for several weeks.

Olives are a smart snacking alternative. When reaching for chips or nachos, you might want to consider olives as a tasty change of pace from the run of the mill snack items. With only seven calories per extra large olive and 2.5 grams of fat per serving, not only are olives a low fat food, but they are an excellent source of the good fats that help lower the bad cholesterol.

The oil from the olive was one of the very first products manufactured by mankind. It offered light itself when ancient cultures used to fill the continuously burning lamps in their sanctuaries because it burned so slowly and emitted little smoke.

Olive oil became the base for the most highly prized soaps and perfumes, and was indispensable for dressing wool before spinning. The versatile liquid was used as a salve on chapped skin as a shield against bacteria on wounds, and was an effective remedy for an upset stomach. Most importantly, those first olive crops provided endless culinary possibilities for enriching food with the marvelous oil they yielded.

Cold-pressed, extra virgin is the best you can buy, but olive oils of that type vary greatly in taste. The nuances of flavor can only be determined by sampling a number of extra virgin oils from different countries. Olive oil is like wine in that it derives its flavor from the environment in which the trees are grown. Just as in ancient times, this wonderful commodity is now practically indispensable in our diet.

Olive oil is earthy, it is complex, and a superb culinary partner for countless foods and shouldn’t be taken for granted. After all, if it was the crowning touch for kings, it has to be something special.

For some great recipes, click here or here or try this simple vinaigrette:

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
Pinch Kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly gound pepper
1/4 tsp brown sugar
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil

In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except the olive oil. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while continuing to whisk, until fully combined. Spoon over your favorite mixed greens, pasta salad, or serve as a dip for crudités.