Two weeks ago, I mentioned the rising cost of food around the world. It’s been a hot topic lately, and reports are becoming more grim. Costs are starting to hit home in our supermarkets, and warehouse retail chains are even beginning to restrict volume (20 pound) rice sales due to supply issues.

Most sustainable food activists believe that the price of food does not reflect its true price, and that subsidies for crops like corn and soy create artificial prices that keep the price of junk foods and processed foods artificially low. This means unsubsidized, whole foods like farmers market products are more expensive but that they are actually the real price of food.

In an article in the New York Times recently called “Some Good News on Food Prices,” Michael Pollan and Alice Waters made the argument that rising food prices will equalize the playing field that is our food system — organic, local, pasture-raised foods will become feasible options when all food prices are high. “Higher food prices level the playing field for sustainble food that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels,” said Pollan in the article.

As most know, I am an active voice for voting with your fork and making conscious decisions about where your food dollars go.

However, I have trouble with this argument. And I especially have trouble with Waters’ claim that food budgeting in this current climate is simply a matter of reprioritizing:

“It is simply a matter of quality versus quantity and encouraging healthier, more satisfying choices. ‘Make a sacrifice on the cellphone or the third pair of Nike shoes,’ she said.”

While many of us are privileged to be able to make that budget decision or reprioritize, we, in the sustainable food movement, are only alienating those who cannot make those choices with statements such as Waters’. Many are having to make very difficult decisions about their food budgets at the moment, and now may not be the time to make them feel guilty about the decisions that they are facing.

I’m not the only one who was rankled by this article. Tom Philpott, in an article at Grist, called the Pollan and Waters argument an oversimplification.

“I have a hard time imagining people who are struggling to put food on the table rambling off to the farmers’ market on Saturday to fill cloth bags with the sort of fresh, local, organic produce so beloved by Pollan and Waters (and me). Indeed, higher food prices are likely to send many time- and cash-strapped people in quite the opposite direction.”

I agree with Philpott. Now is the time for sustainable food activists to make sure that there is great access to farmers market, great promotion of CSA’s, and to continue to talk about sustainably sourcing our food. But it’s not the time to bask in the fact that our nation’s food prices are reaching crisis levels.

The return of fava beans, the dinosaur-looking, rather ugly shelling bean, to the market is a sure sign of spring. Fava bean season is ridiculously short, and during fava bean season you will find me in front of the television doing the tedious work to clean the beans as often as I can. Unlike some who find the work to prepare them to not be worth it, I personally find the nutty, sweet, unique flavor of a fresh fava bean to be worth every moment of work.

Favas come in a rather large pod from which they must be released. Once pulled from the outer pod, each bean has an inner pod that is usually peeled off as well (some recipes call for some of the shells to stay on for the bitterness that they impart). Most people remove the inner pod with a quick blanch — 30 to 60 seconds in boiling water and then dropped into ice water — however I find it nearly as easy to peel the pods raw with my hand or a small knife. I started this method after reading the Zuni Cafe Cookbook, in which Judy Rodgers tells us that the quick blanch changes the texture of the fava bean.

While I am not sure of the exact yield of the fava bean, casual observation finds the yield to be about 1/2 cup of edible beans per pound.

Fava beans do really well when little is done to adulterate the flavor. “The less you do tho them, the more beautiful they are,” says chef Jody Adams. “I feel they are one of those foods that should be treated with almost ritualistic simplicity.” Favas can be eaten raw in a salad, sauteed, added to a risotto, pureed, or put into soup among other things. The photo you see above is of a side dish I made this weekend — I quickly sauteed the peeled favas in olive oil (only 2-3 minutes), added salt, tossed with mint, and then added pecorino romano once the dish had cooled a bit. It was addictively good, and a great addition to an already full table of spring treats.

Favas will soon be widely available at the markets — I bought my first this weekend from the Star Route Farms booth at the Marin Civic Center market.

If you’ve never had fava beans, please heed this warning (taken from Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini): “Fava beans should be avoided by anyone taking antidepressents of the MAO-inhibitor type. In addition, the beans can cause sever anemia in a small number of people of Mediterranean origin (and some Africans, Arabs and Asians) who suffer from glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, an inherited imbalance. One hopes they know who they are before they sit down to your table.”

Need more ideas for fava beans?
The Food Section has grilled fava beans.
Lucullian delights has raw fava beans with pecorino.
Exploring the Silver Spoon tells us about fresh fava bean puree.

Next week, the Center for Urban Education and Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA) will be hosting a discussion called “Agriculture in a Warmer World.” The discussion will include presentations from two different researchers and will focus on how climate change will impact food supply, food distribution, and food security.

Dr. W. Michael Hanemann is Director of the California Climate Change Center at UC Berkeley, and Dr. David Lobell is a Senior Research Scholar at Stanford’s Program on Food Security and the Environment.

We’re already seeing changes in our food supply due to global warming. Just this past weekend, an international conference was held in Barcelona to talk about the effects of climate change on the wine industry. And in August, a top UN official warned that climate change could have devastating effects on food production in India.

CUESA’s last informational panel was on food safety, and covered topics ranging from genetic engineering, food recalls, and the leafy green industry in California.

“Agriculture in a Warmer World” is part one of a two-part series. The second, to be held in about a month, is called “Climate Friendly Eating” and will focus on how our personal food choices affect the climate.

When: Thursday, February 28
Where: Port Commission Hearing Room, Ferry Building
Time: Reception at 6:30, Program at 7:00 pm

With a decidedly new take on the happy meal, the folks over at GOOD have filled their upcoming March/April issue with stories and photos about food along with their usual provocative round-up of art, politics and culture from around the world. Excellent visual design and a refreshingly straight-forward take on sustainability distinguish their pages. My friend Stewf introduced me to GOOD last year, on a camping trip no less, and since then I’ve been a loyal reader.

Be forewarned: this is not meant for the patchouli posse nor the bake-your-own-bread-after-grinding-your-own-wheat camp. Expect to see glints of flashy ads here and there. That said, my favorite sections include Statement, where the editors give an artist free rein with several pages at the beginning to set the theme and tone of the magazine. As a bit of an information wonk, I love Transparency for its always creative graphical exploration of intriguing, important data.

This food issue has a somewhat predictable feature on organic, free-range meat that will not be news to most who read this blog. Other pieces, though, offer interesting takes on what people are eating now in the U.S. Adam Leith Gollner’s predictions for “the next sushi” includes bibimbap and dosa. Photographer Vanessa Stump’s in-your-face layouts of everyday meals highlight the healthiest school lunch the magazine could find (Pasadena High School), military rations with squeezable apple jelly and a $250 pizza (wine not included).

With a bent toward revealing the power structure behind our consumer world, GOOD often highlights writers, photographers and graphic designers who can find new patterns in old realties. In this issue, Phil Howard shows which multinationals actually own your favorite organic snack. The magazine is based in New York, but the editors do manage to look west for stories on public housing in Chicago and an urban deer hunter in Los Angeles. There’s definitely an emphasis on stories from big cities, though.

One section’s title says it all: Provocations. Should we harvest the organs of death-row inmates? Should anthropologists be more involved in current military psyops? Do kids really need to learn handwriting with graphite and ink anymore? Read opinion pieces that are not afraid to take highly unpopular stands.

Finally, Good Project, the page that closes the magazine, invites readers to contribute their own ideas and creativity. The food issue ends with a call to send in photos and recipes for the best possible lunch that you could carry to work or school. It has to fit into a brown paper bag. And extra credit if you make all the food yourself.

My friend Ed works crazy long hours making sure people are fed well. Fortunately, he also knows how to party. More to the point, he knows how to throw down one hell of a spread and mixes generous, powerful drinks.

Thus, I blame him for my momentary lapse of politics. It’s been roughly a year since I gave up shrimp, confused and frustrated and devastated. Then, at a recent bash, Ed laid out platters piled high with buttery, herby, perfectly poached shrimp. My powers of resistance were strong for a good half hour, then slowly, steadily, the other guests’ swoons of delight and the potency of sangria convinced me to try one…just one….

Two dozen plump prawns later, I remembered my boycott. I ate another dozen while contemplating their deadly deliciousness. I convinced at least two other guests to consider not eating shrimp while finishing my last plate. And when I got home, I emailed Ed for the recipe.

He obliged me with his secrets, which I offer now verbatim for anyone looking for easy holiday party food:

Ed’s Party Shrimp

• I filled a stock pot with water and about enough salt for it to taste like the sea (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup).
• I added about 3 cups of dry vermouth. (It’s what I had left over after a night of martinis).
• I then threw in one tin of the fish rub that I found in the spice rack at the grocery store. If you are morally opposed to using pre-packaged fish rub then I suppose you could substitute with about 1/2 cup of the following chopped/ground and combined: rosemary, thyme, sage, marjoram, parsley, onion, garlic, pepper, celery seed, oregano, basil (basically a mystery basket of cupboard spices)
• I quartered 2 lemons, squeezed the juice into the broth..and then threw in the rinds too.
• Here’s the secret…..two sticks of butter (sshhh!). Just throw it in too.
• Bring to a boil…then simmer for 15 minutes.
• I used frozen shrimp. Cook the shrimp in the simmering liquid in small batches for about 3 minutes each.

Voila! Yummy…BUTTERY shrimp!

THE DARKER SIDE OF SHRIMP

As someone raised happily on my mother’s spring rolls, black pepper shrimp, caramelized shrimp, shrimp dumpling soup, shrimp fried rice, and just plain ol’ spicy stir-fried shrimp, giving them up has been one of the most difficult diet changes I’ve tried to make. They’re so succulent and versatile and easy to cook. And they’re everywhere — which is, unfortunately part of the problem.

It was during one of my early trips back to Vietnam that I first realized the devastating effect on my homeland as rice farmers and fishermen moved to the lucrative, fast, easy promises of shrimp farming. I could hardly blame war-torn, embargo-crippled families for trying to make a living. Through the 90s, though, shrimp and prawns became a standard item on every restaurant menu, and as Southeast Asian food became popular, so did one of its staples. Jumbo shrimp became gourmet rather than simply an oxymoronic joke. They became affordable and, for the home cook, approachable.

However, that popularity came at a steep price. Nearly 40 percent of the world’s mangroves, crucial to the health of the oceans, has been destroyed because of shrimp farming along coastal areas. In Thailand, it takes roughly three years for a shrimp farm to ruin the local ecosystem; many farms simply pick up operations and move further along the coast, hopscotching until there’s no clean coast available.

Inland ponds require heavy use of chemicals to clean the water and kill the viral invasions endemic to intensive farming. The European Union bars all shrimp from China, where carcinogenic chemicals appears frequently in farmed shrimp; the U.S. still imports it.

Another heavy impact comes hidden in the shrimp’s feed: while in the wild they scavenge, on farms they’re fed fish much higher on the food chain.

THE SILVER LINING

Fortunately, there’s a tiny tiny bit of light for shrimp lovers.

The strongest among us have already become vegetarians, but for others like me, with weaker wills tied more directly to emotional and sensual cravings, searching out good shrimp is possible.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch lists a few options for those who still crave a taste of shrimp now and then. Currently best on the list are wild-caught prawns and spot shrimp from British Columbia, and wild-caught ocean or cocktail shrimp from Oregon. Small, cold-water shrimp are the most sustainable. True, they’re not as sexy as those big, lusty, warm-water prawns. However, anyone even remotely worried about the future of our planet should avoid these oversized, striped crustaceans.

Wild-caught is no guarantee, as by-catch is always a problem, but look for those from domestic companies. Small pink or white shrimp are generally — very generally — a safer bet for the conscientious eater than large, brown, imported shrimp.

Sustainable shrimp farming is still in its infancy. That said, Ecuador has surpassed other countries in developing organic, nonpolluting shrimp farms. EcoFish imports it under the name “Henry & Lisa’s Natural Shrimp.” Look for their bags of cooked or raw shrimp in the freezer section of naturally-minded, full-service markets.

I was dreading lunar new year without my family’s recipe for spring rolls. The tofu version is fine the rest of the year, but it never inspires me to heights of celebration. So, I’m very glad to know that, come February, I’ll be able to make my mom’s cha gio.

MORE INFO

Some links for those interested in learning more:

• NASA’s Earth Observatory shows before and after Landsat images of shrimp farming effects along the Pacific Coast of Honduras, one of the largest importers of the crustaceans to the U.S.

• The Environmental Justice Foundation created a short film about shrimp farming along the eastern coast of Brazil.

• Shrimp News International offers a detailed description of shrimp farming. Food wonks immune to industry spin might like scrolling down to see the charts and illustrations showing the life cycle of shrimp (missionary position!) or how El Nino affects the supply of larvae . Be forewarned: the text is a strong reminder that shrimp are, after all, just swimming insects.

• The Chefs Collaborative’s communique with recommendations for sustainable shrimp was directed at restaurants, but the home cook can also use their excellent information.

• The White Boot Brigade, based in New Orleans, is a nonprofit dedicated to developing a sustainable shrimp industry in Louisiana. They work to educate businesses and consumers about the economic, environmental and social benefits of supporting small family fleets that harvest shrimp from the Gulf.

• And, finally, what’s the difference between a shrimp and a prawn? In the U.S., nothing. Though there’s sometimes a vague sense of “specialness” about prawns, the two words appear in menus and markets interchangeably. Australians, however, apparently make a point of remembering that prawns have evenly overlapping abdominal segments and that their females release eggs to currents rather than brooding them. For them, Americans are silly and confusing for calling shrimp prawns and vice versa.

As someone who keeps containers of bacon fat, duck fat, chicken fat, lard and butter along with rank-and-file bottles of olive oil, sesame oil, chile oil, grape seed oil and good ol’ peanut oil always handy by her stove, I was delighted to learn a new term this week: FOG.

No, not the lovely mist that sweeps over our city from the sea.

Fats
Oils
Grease

Unfortunately, in addition to carrying flavor and adding texture, these staples of the kitchen can be as bad for our sewer system as our bodies. Multiply thousands of restaurants by dozens of gallons of FOG and very quickly, the mess builds up.

A program launched this past month by San Francisco’s Public Utilities Commission, SFGreasecycle, will attempt to alleviate the headache of FOG disposal while linking to Gavin Newsom’s mandate to use 20% biodiesel in all city vehicles by the end of the year. There are still a few weeks for us to reach our goal.

Around the world, the dumping of FOG into sewer systems has become a serious problem. New landfill regulations prohibiting the burying of liquid fats and municipal directives on hazardous waste, animal by-products and waste oils make FOG disposal increasingly complex and expensive for restaurants and catering companies (not to mention the much larger amounts from abattoirs and food processing plants). An entire industry has risen up to separate, collect, store, treat, transport, buy, sell and dispose of FOG. The next time you wonder how pet food gets its calories and flavors, well, just remember the deliciousness of french fries and potato chips.

SFGreasecycle hopes, through education and incentives (like free pick-up) to reduce the amount of FOG flowing into the city’s pipes. Reusing it as fuel for its fleet of municipal vehicles is another excellent benefit. Will it cut down on emissions? Well…that depends….

Grease Goddesses’ hatchback.

Bumper stickers aside, the heated debate about whether the use of biodiesel results in a positive impact or a negative one overall confuses most of us. There’s an abundance of mind-numbing technical reports, polarized rhetoric and big-business greenwashing. Much of it comes down to what you measure and how. Another point of argument occurs between those who believe any minimization of petroleum helps slow our current self-destructive spiral and those who, reminding us that gas motors still equal emissions, believe bikes and solar panels are the better answer.

To help you sort out the issues and how they relate to your cooking and eating and driving pleasures, visit these websites:

• Learn more about the SFGreasecycle program, including a participating restaurant list, FOG facts, before and after photos of fat-clogged sewers, and lots of links to sites on climate change, biodiesel facts and supporting organizations. The sound effects of the homepage alone are worth a click. My favorite, though, is the FOG map, showing hotspots in San Francisco where food-service establishments caused the most “multiple grease blockages” over the last two years. (But please, enough with the un-readable, un-typeable web-o-matic compound names!)

• From the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality comes a useful list of ways to reduce FOG in your own home or apartment.

• Scott Gregory, who combines his work from atmospheric science and engineering, offers an admirable summary of diesel history, climate impact and one of the EPA’s studies on biodiesel emissions. His website offers my two favorite sentences in all my reading on the issue: 1) Inventor Rudolf Diesel’s warning, circa 1911, that “The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may become in course of time as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time,” and 2) Gregory’s own pithy conclusion, “There are good reasons to use biodiesel, but emissions improvement is not the most compelling argument. I prefer the ‘thumb your nose’ at the oil industry argument.”

• The environmental journalists at Seattle-based Grist gathered three experts to offer their views on the biodiesel controversy: Ana Unruh Cohen, director of environmental policy at the Center for American Progress; David Morris of the Institute for Local Reliance; and Number One Biodiesel Skeptic, David Pimentel, professor emeritus of entomology at Cornell University.

• Here’s the recent story in SFGate describing the Public Utilities Commission’s launch of the program. In addition to General Manager Susan Leal’s colorful descriptions of the problem of fats in the sewer system (”It’s sort of like a heart attack in our sewers,” Leal said. “It’s like a blocked artery.”) there’s blood-pressure-raising reading in the comments section that illustrates much of the confusion and polarization around biodiesel.

• The crew of the Unifried Bus have put together a friendly, informative website about how they outfitted their engines for oil. In addition to photos that clearly convey the “Julia Butterfly-Burning Man” aesthetic of their approach, there’s a plain language comparison of Biodiesel Emissions compared to Other Fuels Fuel Types that takes into consideration the entire fuel cycle, or a “well-to-wheel” analysis. They also offer tips for other biodiesel drivers from their own experiences.

• For a view from the industry itself, here is an explanation from the official site of the National Biodiesel Board. Their membership includes state, national and international feedstock and feedstock processor organizations, biodiesel suppliers, fuel marketers and distributors, and technology providers.

• And, finally, for the hard-core, here is the 118-page Comprehensive Analysis of Biodiesel Impacts on Exhaust Emissions (Draft Technical Report) that was conducted at Harvard with Ford Motors as part of the EPA’s Biodiesel Emissions Analysis Program.

And you thought your arteries were clogged.

One of the most exciting pieces of food news this year is that “locavore” has been knighted “word of the year” by the Oxford University Press. However, I absorbed the concept of the Eat Local Challenge before I did “locavore,” which, in all honesty, I thought had something to do with the phases of the moon and the lycanthrope society. (It’s possible I’ve watched one too many Frasiers.)

The first time I heard about the Eat Local movement, it was over two years ago, and since I was still trying to ferret out where to buy my favorite French nut oil, Mexican ginger beer, and New England pumpkin ale, I felt totally overwhelmed.

Did I really need to think about each and every food product that came into my kitchen when I was just starting to find my cooking legs in San Francisco? Of course not. If you give the smallest crap about eating local, it’s not necessary to ensure that every food product — salt, coffee, flour, sugar, produce, meat, Diet Coke — in your kitchen is from local purveyors. If you give the smallest crap about eating local, you just think about what you’re buying and wonder if it’s local. Because you care.

That’s all you need to do to effect change: start thinking about it. Start caring about it. Then maybe, you’ll start acting on it. Frankly, if it hadn’t been for Jen Maiser, I’d still be just thinking about eating local and not actually doing anything about it. Not only does Jen blog about eating local at her own site, Life Begins at 30, she’s also the editor of the Eat Local Challenge blog and has worked at various farmers’ stands at the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market.

After my failed first attempt at participating in an Eat Local Challenge, I started following Jen’s efforts more and more. Her passionate, yet refreshingly frank and evenhanded writing style drew me in deeper and deeper, and before I knew it, not only was I examining every tag, sticker, and vittles visa at Andronico’s, but I was delivering earnest, flushed-cheek diatribes to my Minneapolian parents and sister about why they should think to ask, “Where did this come from?” before they stuck anything in their mouths. It got to the point when my mom was collaring the hapless meat guy at Whole Foods and demanding to know why he was offering her lamb from New Zealand and not from Minnesota.

Jen shares her information widely, energetically, and — most importantly — nonjudgmentally. She embodies the sentiment that you don’t have to harvest your own coffee beans, dry your own salt, or refine your own sugar to be a conscientious eater, you just need to wonder, “Where?”

In fact, “Where?” is the sentiment of the newest Eat Local Challenge. According to Jen, the next ELC — set to be unveiled early next year — is: “a challenge focused on where our everyday foods are sourced from. Instead of challenging participants to eat food from as close to home as possible, we will be asking them to take everyday items that their families eat — processed foods like crackers and potato chips, mass-produced products, and fast food items — and try to find out the source of the product ingredients. I think it will be interesting to learn what we can, and can’t, find out about our food.”

I’m thrilled that “locavore” is being recorded in the annals of history, but without the Eat Local Challenge spurring me to think, question, act, and eat, I have a feeling I’d still be assuming that locavores howled at the moon and stuffed pillows with their own hair.

When an old friend from high school picked me up yesterday in her sparkling rental car, we were still trying to decide between taking in a museum or heading toward some fun shops. And when she finally nixed an afternoon of art and culture, I was more than happy to direct her to one of my favorites, Flight 001 on Hayes.

While she lost herself among their beautiful bags, a smaller but equally enticing travel gadget section kept me busy “researching.” Some things weren’t worth the box they came in — a portable pasta drainer?! — but one item caught my eye. Collapsible chopsticks.

Over the years, I’ve tried my share of portable, reusable chopsticks. My solid metal ones from Korea, engraved with gorgeous birds and encased in silk, are too heavy, too fancy and too difficult to use (note to self: thin metal sticks + noodle soup = stained shirt). All those cute, little plastic ones from Japan aren’t any easier to use and don’t collapse. On the other hand, my lovely white ones obtained from that cult in Macau are simply a pain in the ass to assemble.

So, I was intrigued by the petite size and grown-up look of this set from the folks at Kikkerland (who brought us Moleskine notebooks and Pieter Woudt’s space-bending Spy Clock). These are my favorite travel chopsticks right now for their elegance, lightness of weight, ease of use while actually eating and relatively low price ($12). The plastic case is slim enough to slip into the smallest pocket and offers a protective covering in case you aren’t able to wash your chopsticks until later. I highly recommend a pair of your own, especially if you travel frequently in Asia or if you’re trying to cut back on your use of disposable wooden chopsticks here at home.

For those who’d like to more about waribashi, those disposable chopsticks invented and much loved by the Japanese, here are some quick facts and interesting links exploring the business, art and environmental impact of the ubiquitous, not-so-innocuous little sticks:

• The Waribashi Project is a collaboration between Berkeley artist Donna Ozawa of Berkeley and the Japanese Community & Cultural Center of Northern California. Collecting and washing discarded chopsticks, Ozawa has created art installations in both Japan and California. For one piece, she gathered 15,000 pairs of chopsticks from 11 noodle shops over a period of 12 days.

• The Green Chopsticks Project’s reading room includes a few basic articles. It’s a simple website but a decent start for someone just beginning to explore the issue.

• China, the major producer of waribashi, exports the equivalent of 25 million trees annually so that we can slurp noodles conveniently and swallow sushi hygienically. While bamboo makes up a small number of high-end disposable chopsticks (the bigger, longer ones) most of the break-apart versions come from birch, aspen or poplar trees. Since 2001, universities and entire cities in China have increasingly banned the use of disposable chopsticks. Demand from abroad, however, continues to grow. Last spring, in an effort to slow the deforestation of its country, Beijing imposed a 5% tax on the handy little chopsticks. Japanese businesses, ever adaptive, are now looking to Vietnam and Indonesia for new sources of wood.

• Voice of America takes a softer view of the controversy.

• Ping Mag, an online design magazine based in Tokyo, has an entry on chopsticks with lots of fun photos. NotCot has a great blog entry specifically covering modern versions of portable chopsticks.

• Kim Moser’s color-coded collection of waribashi wrappers offers an aesthetic appreciation for the art of the disposable.

Not long ago I had dinner at a place that specialized in fish. But oddly enough, there wasn’t that much fish on the menu. Weird Fish in the Mission is committed to serving “sustainable” fish and that limits what’s on offer. Catfish and tilapia are mainstays. But sustainability isn’t the only issue. While we tend to think of eating fish as healthy, concerns about PCB’s and mercury have also made choosing fish more challenging.

There couldn’t be a better man to set us straight about fish than Paul Johnson, a former chef and advisor to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program, he is best known for having founded the Monterey Fish Market. He has supplied fish to local chefs and restaurateurs including Thomas Keller, Alice Waters, Michael Mina, Traci Des Jardin, etc.

Fish Forever has almost 100 recipes, but also describes each fish in detail, how they are fished, their health benefits and how to find the best sustainable options. It’s written in a wonderfully clear and engaging manner by someone who is absolutely passionate about the subject. I was thrilled to see sardine recipes, tips for how to make tilapia more tasty, a recipe for albacore confit, and clear instructions for how to prepare every fish for cooking. Consider it a bible for anyone who eats fish.

Sand Dabs with Fried Capers, Parsley and Lemon
Serves 4 as a main dish

1/4 cup mild olive oil
2 Tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained and patted dry
8 pan-ready sand dabs
Seasoned flour: 1/4 cup all-purpose flour mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
Juice of 1 lemon
2 Tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 Tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

1. In a large cast-iron skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat until it shimmers.
2. Add the capers and fry until slightly crispy and a shade darker, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.
3. Dredge the sand dabs in the seasoned flour and carefully add them to the hot pan. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.
4. Pour off any oil remaining in the pan. Add the white wine and lemon juice, stirring to scrap up the browned bits form the bottom of the pan. Cook to reduce the liquid by two thirds. Turn off the heat and add the parsley. Whisk in the cold butter, a bit at a time, until the pan juices become silky and thick. Pour the sauce oven the sand dabs and garnish with the fried capers.

Reprinted by permission from Fish Forever, by Paul Johnson. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Copyright © 2007 by Paul Johnson. All rights reserved.

It’s that time of year. When Bay Area markets are jumping with stone fruits. Names whimsical, actual and unpronounceable and downright silly fill signage over mysterious glowing orbs. People want to know, “What’s the difference between a pluot and a plumcot, a nectarcot and an aprium? Why all the funny names? What happened to the straight up plum, apricot, nectarine and peach?”

The full answer is too wordy for this medium. But, truth be told, there are almost no fruits we eat out hand today which are their true selves in their original form. All stone fruits are hybrids of the bitter almond tree, and all have been developed by horticulturalists for hundreds of years to withstand certain weather conditions, soils and various interfering pests. And in the last one hundred years or so, farmers have been juggling/gambling with different trees in an attempt to provide Americans with what appears to be one fruit during the course of a season. The peach you eat in May is not the peach you eat in June or July. But the hope is that on each of these hot summer days, you can find, buy and eat a peach.

It’s almost impossible to keep up with all the stone fruit hybrids once summer begins. They rush at us like stars in a meteor shower. Some varietals last a month, but many come and go within a week or even days! My favorite farm for stone fruit is Blossom Bluff. Ted and Fran Loewen grow dozens of varietals, oftentimes experimenting or sticking with more difficult trees and fruit to provide their customers with a delicious spectrum of complex, aromatic, texturally sensuous fruits.

It’s been as big a surprise to me, as anyone else, that peaches and various plum-apricot hybrids are arriving at the farmers’ market as early as this. It’s May; still spring by the calendar! But here they all are, available for the picking, and in wide sweeping arrays and displays at Berkeley Bowl, Monterey Market and local farmers’ markets.

Unless a farmer has stayed loyal to calling these hybrids their proper names, what you buy here will be named something different there. As of yet there’s little regulation to insure names stay consistent. Train your nose and mouth to recognize new varietals. Pick fruit that has a strong scent when you go in for the smell. All stone fruit can ripen off the tree. Unless your house is very hot or humid, ripen fruit further by setting fruit on its shoulders, stem side down, until, when pressed, flesh has a bit of give. If the fruit you buy is very ripe, be sure to refrigerate it immediately.

Early fruits will be smaller and higher in acid than their later cousins. Fruit whose color bleeds right down into the stem end will ripen sweeter than those whose color is yellow or green by the stem. Look for fruit with saturated color. The sun’s blush is what determines sugar in stone fruit.

But remember, some of these varietals will be gone before you can decide if you’ll like them! Buy a few of each as the season progresses and jot down the name on the placard as well as the name of the farm stand. These notes will help you get a head-start on next years stone fruit onslaught.

If you have an interest in the history of these quirky hybrids, Mr. Floyd Zaiger is the first person to learn about. He has contributed more to stone fruit hybridization than any other person to date.

Short Pieces on Floyd Zaiger:

Your Produce Man
News from The Dave Wilson Nursery (where many California farmers buy these various hybrids.)

And if you are a nerdy (budding) fruit historian (pun intended) like me, you’ll enjoy words written by and about the infamous David Karp, Fruit Detective extraordinaire:

California Heartland . Org
John Seabrook from The New Yorker spends a few days with our man.
Smithsonian Magazine interview.