I'm exhausted. I'm biking home from work and then laying low tonight with some beer, Arrested Development and Pete.
It's been a week of fascinating experiences.
I had the opportunity to visit a local organization called Compass Center, which serves homeless men and women in Seattle. I ate dinner and went to the evening worship service. We were at the location that provides services for men (women's services are at another location), and I enjoyed chatting with a few of the men while we had dinner. They had all been employed until recently and had basically slipped off the bottom of the employment ladder - and now there's no work to be had. It was a good dose of reality in terms of what the new face of homelessness looks like.
At the end of the evening a man talked to us about his life, and I thought his words were simple, but incredibly true and poignant:
"When you're faced with change, it can cause fear.
And the fear can paralyze you.
That's when you need help, from other people.
Now I'm not afraid.
I don't know what's next. But I'm not afraid."
And, I saw an amazing multimedia art show by Peter Becker Nelson called Former Best Friends at the Pioneer Square First Thursday. It was a cool blending of audio, visual and experiential art that examined his relationships with four former best friends from childhood. It made me reflect on how relationships evolve and how men and women differ in their experiences of "best friends."
We checked out a few other artists that evening and I love, love, love this work by Erin Kendig called Alphabet Pile (she's sitting on a pile of letters):
I have a slight fascination with Martha Stewart, and I think she totally rocks. Case in point: She just got a new batch of one-day old chicks for her farm, to give her fresh eggs. Don't I wish! Maybe someday . . . when I live on the imaginary farm in my head. (That farm also has goats and llamas, in case you were interested.)
My neighbors have chickens. They're a very pretty golden brown and I like to hear them clucking when I walk to my car. But sometimes they get out and stand in the middle of the road like a bunch of dummies. I've tried to herd them back a couple times without much luck. Maybe I'll be an urban chicken owner someday, since Lord knows I'm too lazy to actually take care of a real farm.
I rendered lard last night. It didn't turn out perfectly, so I'll try again tonight and post a longer rundown later this week. Most people have been at least interested, if not supportive, of this new experiment. My mom just thinks I'm crazy.
Many other culinary adventures are in the works - including canning! I bought the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving and have referred to my most reliable source - my mom. We're starting with peach jam, and we'll go from there.
Besides working with lard and learning about canning, it was a lovely weekend with the highlight of attending our fifth wedding this year! It was a beautiful evening and a lovely service. I caught up with longtime friends, drank wine, did a little dancing and ate cake. What more can you ask for? Here's wishing happiness and adventure to all the couples I saw get married this year!
P.S. A couple tasty recipes that I made last week and I think are worth passing along:
Steamed Eggplant and Mushrooms with Peanut Sauce - Quick and healthy. A good way to use all the eggplant at the farmers markets right now. I served it with brown rice, just don't over-steam the eggplant like I did.
Pork Chops with Bacon and Cabbage - The perfect fall meal. Pete and I both really liked it. I mean, just look at the picture! I can't wait to eat leftovers tonight.
Photo source: MarthaStewart.com
P.P.S. There are SO MANY blog posts and YouTube videos about rendering lard and canning. So very helpful. Thank you technology!
Something's changed in our relationship. I used to put down your cupcakes, calling them dry, tasteless and over priced.
But, I take it all back.
A plate of your cupcakes was placed in front of me at a meeting recently. At first I resisted, but eventually gave in. And, to my surprise, the cupcake was moist and tasty, and the frosting was creamy and flavorful! Was it a fluke?
Then, I saw your sign about the cupcake of the month: Blue Mountain Huckleberry. My internal response: "Must have huckleberry cupcake. Immediately."
Would I be let down? Disappointed? No! It was delicious!
Plus, your Capitol Hill location is so cute and cozy, I kind of want to hang out there every day - drinking coffee, eating a cupcake and reading. Oh, and your employees are all very helpful and friendly.
You've won me over! I'm a fan, and I will now be singing your praises in Seattle. And I'm dying to trying your Salted Caramel cupcake. Watch out - I'll be back!
-Katie
P.S. I also admire the fact that you provide employees with healthcare and advocate healthcare for all!
(Cupcake Royale has bunch of locations in Seattle, you can find them and see the cupcakes at their Web site.)
That's right people: Lard. In case you haven't heard, it's in. This is mostly because transfats are out of favor, which includes vegetable shortening. So, we went old school by re-embracing butter. And, now we're going real old school with a renewed interest in lard.
I have a suggestion for those Old World cooks who are wrestling with New World advice: take another look at the fat profile of lard. It has half the level of saturated fat of palm kernel oil (about 80 percent saturated fat) or coconut oil (about 85 percent) and its approximately 40 percent saturated fat is lower than butter's nearly 60 percent. Today's miracle, olive oil, is much lower in saturated fat, as everyone knows, but it does have some: about 13 percent. As for monounsaturated fat, the current savior, olive oil contains a saintly 74 percent, yes. But scorned lard contains a very respectable 45 percent monounsaturated fat - double butter's paltry 23 or so percent.
As with all dietary advice, the fat of the day will change. But eternal truths will remain: food is always best with little or no processing and eaten as close as possible to where it is grown. This goes for lard, too. The artisan pig farmers whose fortunes have been revived by a new market for pork with real flavor should look into selling lard because the supermarket kind is processed and dismal.
(Side note: I had a fascinating conversation with a local artisan pig farmer, which has inspired me to try rendering my own lard. But, stay tuned for more on that in a later post.)
Lard's fat is also mostly monounsaturated, which is healthier than saturated fat. And even the saturated fat in lard has a neutral effect on blood cholesterol. Not to mention that lard has a higher smoking point than other fats, allowing foods like chicken to absorb less grease when fried in it. And, of course, fat in general has its upsides. The body converts it to fuel, and it helps absorb nutrients, particularly calcium and vitamins.
So with all this hype about lard, I was super excited when my friend Maggie sent along a recipe for pie crust that was supposed to be to-die-for and suggested we have a pie baking party. It involves a mix of half lard and half butter. And, the trick is to use high quality, leaf lard. It's the most tasteless and the best for baking.
We convened at Maru's house on Saturday to find she had whipped up five different varieties of tamales. WHICH ALSO INCLUDE LARD! Do you see where I'm going here? Lard was the theme of the day! LARDFEST 2009!
Lardfest then got underway in ernest, with lots of pie-making.
The star of the day: Lard. Maggie ordered it from Minnesota.
Measuring
Peeling - Peaches were still in season, so Maru and I made peach pies. I'm looking forward to making an apple pie a little later in the fall.
Fruit was prepped and crust ingredients were combined and chilled - and we were ready to roll out the dough! One handy trick from the recipe - thump the dough before rolling it out!
Can you tell I'm excited?
A series of pre-baking photos:
And, the finished products:
We all agreed they were the best pies we'd ever made, and maybe the best pies we'd ever had.
So, Lardfest 2009, in summary:
Final note: I also got a quick lesson on making tamales, so I'll have to attempt that on another day and report back.
It was a weekend of culinary adventures, time with friends, football, farmers markets, eating and more eating. And it all ended with a sunset sailboat ride.
Lots more to come about the weekend and our adventures into the exciting world of lard.
You can see it better on her Flickr page
