The Sage of Discovery

Saskatoon Berries by shareski on Flickr

Lately, a friend of mine returned from a trip to Alberta, CA. When I asked her about it, one of the things she mentioned was eating elk steaks with saskatoon berry sauce. I was pretty sure I could figure out the source of elk steak, but what the heck was a saskatoon berry?

A saskatoon berry, sometimes known as a juneberry, can refer to a fruit-bearing shrub or its small, purple fruit. Saskatoon berries are native to the Canadian Prairies, the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, Alaska, British Columbia, and the northwestern and north central United States. The indigenous people of  North America have been consuming the berries for hundreds of years. These people, along with early European settlers, often included the fruit as an ingredient in pemmican, a durable food provision consisting mainly of dried meat and melted animal fat.

Today, saskatoon berries are more likely to pop up pies, wines, sauces, ciders, and jams. In fact, check out Chocolate & Zucchini’s recipe for Saskatoon Berry Tart. Commercial saskatoon orchards started popping up in Canada in the 1980’s.

Saskatoon Berry Jam by quack-a-duck on Flickr

According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan derives its name from the Cree word for the shrub’s berries.

If anyone has had saskatoon berries, or has a good recipe, please leave a comment. I’m still waiting for my own taste of saskatoon berry pie!

NYC - Chelsea: Chelsea Market - Ronnybrook Dairy Milk Bar by Wallyg on Flickr

Today as we were munching on our cereal and oatmeal, my husband asked “do you know why organic milk lasts so much longer than regular milk.” Embarrassed, I confessed I hadn’t ever noticed. “Sure,” he said, “it’s like way longer.” Well, I’d just have to look into it.

Luckily, Scientific American had some good answers: apparently it’s got nothing to do with the inherent properties of organic vs. non-organic milk, it’s how the milk is processed for preservation. Since organic milk is not as ubiquitous, it often has to travel farther to supermarket shelves. Therefore, manufacturers have to make sure it stays fresh longer.

Conventional milk normally undergoes pasteurization at temperatures below boiling. In other words, milk is heated to 145 degrees F (63 degrees C) for at least 30 minutes, or 160 degrees F (71 degrees C) for at least 15 seconds in order to slow microbial growth. That means that after you add some time for milk to be shipped and shelved, you have a couple weeks before the stuff is ready to be poured down the sink.

In contrast, organic milk typically undergoes UHT, or Ultra-high-temperature processing. In this case, milk is heated for a couple of seconds at temperatures exceeding 275 degrees F (135 degrees C), effectively killing off all microbes. As a result, UHT milk has a shelf life of up to 6-9 months before being opened!

The downside of UHT milk is that it tastes different due to some of the sugars caramelizing during the pasteurization process. In Europe, the taste of long shelf-life milk is often enjoyed, but many consumers in the US  dislike the flavor.

In stark contrast to UHT milk, in roughly half the states of the US, residents can buy their milk to consume raw. Like it sounds, raw milk is milk that has not undergone any type of pasteurization process. Many opponents of the dissemination of raw milk products cite incidents of harmful diseases, like dangerous E. coli outbreaks, which have been traced to raw dairy consumption. In direct contrast, many proponents of raw milk consumption tout the supposed health benefits of “natural” bacteria. Perhaps others just like the taste?

Stone Tools by Grady Semmens, University of Calgary on Eureka Alert

In a recent article in Science, Julio Mercader, of the University of Calgary, discusses his discovery of “starch granules” on surfaces of stone tools dating back to 105,000 years ago at a cave site in Mozambique. In other words, in contrast to the idea that Homo sapiens relied on a cereal-less diet of nuts, roots, and fruit until about 12,000 years ago, humans were probably eating grains way way earlier than was previously thought.

Study area and site location

For his search, Mercader took  a sample of stone tools at the site, focusing especially on types that would lend themselves to “processing vegetable matter.” He counted the number of starch granules on the surface of each. Mercader found that 80% of the tools contained starch granules and that the concentration of granules on the tools was much higher than (~270 times) the concentration of granules laying around in the surrounding dirt.

Another compelling detail, is that Mercader found the tools deep in a cave — an unlikely spot for plants to hang out. Given the evidence, it seems very likely that the Middle Stone Age group from Mozambique collected starch plants and deliberately brought them back to the cave site for processing.

Also interesting to note, almost 90% of the starch granules found came from sorghum, a genus of grasses that includes many species still raised for grain, sugar, or liquor.

Based on the evidence from his recent find, Mercader concludes that humans were consuming grass seeds at least as far back as 105,000 years ago!

Personally, I’m looking forward to the discovery of even more sites that shed some light on what our very ancient ancestors chowed down on for breakfast.

[via Rachel Laudan]

Mercader, J. (2009). Mozambican Grass Seed Consumption During the Middle Stone Age Science, 326 (5960), 1680-1683 DOI: 10.1126/science.1173966

Yesterday, the Chicago Tribune posted a list of Top 10 college cafeteria favorites. The list was compiled from a survey by Sodexo, a company providing food service to roughly 600 campuses nationwide.

Restaurants and Institutions posted a corresponding list of college food trends, an eye-opening comparison of new crazes in 2009 vs. 1989. Having been in college in 1999, I would say that the typical fare was closer to the 1989 end.

Along with the top picks and general food trends, the survey turned up some additional surprising finds, including a University of Illinois craze for kimchi? Apparently it’s a good topper on a Chicago dog…

[via foodnewsjournal]

Kimchi by Nagyman on Flickr

This video-recipe appeals to my craze for all things pumpkin during this Holiday Season. This Pumpkin Drink can be served with or without rum and is sure to be delicious either way.

Find more videos like this on FoodTube.net

Interestingly, this video comes courtesy of FoodTube.net, a new site dedicated to recipe sharing in video format. Part social networking/ Part Blog/ Part Youtube, FoodTube.net invites you to “Find Video Recipes, or Add Your Own!” This will be an interesting site to watch over the coming months.

ifood.tv, offers up a similar format. Poke around both and maybe upload a video or two.

Not only is Neotorama displaying an assortment of elaborate gingerbread palaces (courtesy of Web Ubanist), but incredible gingerbread creations are popping up all over the net this month.

Gingerbread Castles courtesy of Neatorama

For example, the Disney Theme Parks are pouring their usual over-the-top enthusiasm into the magic of Christmas decorating, and the Disney Blog offers a time lapse video of the creation of the life-size gingerbread house in the lobby of the Grand Floridian Hotel.  The video, also on Youtube,  is included below:

Over 400 hours are spent baking the gingerbread pieces for the 16 foot, Victorian mansion, and each year, the staff uses approximately 1,050 pounds of honey, 800 pounds of flour, 600 pounds of powdered sugar, 600 pounds of chocolate, 140 pints of egg whites, and 35 pounds of spices in the houses’ construction.

You don’t have to be a Disney chef to excel at the art of gingerbread construction. A annual competition for amateurs (and for those that want to work on a smaller scale), is held at the Grove Park Inn, in Asheville, North Carolina.

By Billy Mochow of Burns, TN (courtesy of romanticasheville.com)

And for those of us who are not as gingerbread inclined, I liked this fresh idea from NotMartha: tiny gingerbread houses! What a great idea for hot cocoa!

Mugs Row, courtesy of NotMartha

If you’re really gingerbread inept, or just don’t want the mess, and have small children, HightlightsKids.com has a nifty little game that let’s you decorate your own virtual gingerbread house. The main catch: you don’t get to eat it.

Personally, my preference for convenient, make-in-a-jiffy, gingerbread structures are graham-cracker-gingerbread house. PBS’s Zoom has instructions for kids (adult supervision recommended). Be forewarned, parents may want to make their own…I doubt the kids will want to share…

Gingerbread House by MoToMo on Flickr

How exciting…last weekend, I left the Rockies for a trip to New Orleans to see the sights and, most importantly, to eat the food! As a U.S. city that serves up a unique style of very American cuisine, New Orleans certainly offers eats worth mentioning here.

Personally, I visited some of the best-known,  but least-expensive places (sorry Emeril). Here’s where I ate (in chronological order).

On the first night, we headed straight to the Acme Oyster House, but the line was out the door and onto the sidewalk — we settled for Felix’s across the street. Although Felix’s lacked ambiance and the water tasted terrible, the food was terrific. The oysters were super fresh and had a fine texture that slid down my mouth. The fried calamari was also superb. Afterward, we headed down Bourbon Street to join the revelry.

Raw oysters by missayumi on Flickr

My friends snagged hand grenades, (mixed drinks composed of rum, gin, vodka, grain alcohol, and melon liquor), which they claimed were super tart and quite strong. The best thing about them is their shape; they come in neon-green grenade-shaped plastic bottles — instant souvenir!

by Quicksilver1850 on Flickr

Late the next morning, we enjoyed a breakfast of beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde. Cafe du Monde, which is famous for its chicory-roasted coffee, was established in 1862, and, as far as I could tell, is a popular locale during all 24 hours a day that it’s open. The beignets at Cafe du Monde are, essentially, squares of fried dough, served hot and fresh, and smothered in confectioners sugar.

New Orleans - French Quarter: Café du Monde - Beignets by Wallyg on Flickr

Like beignets,  New Orleans’ signature, chicory-flavored coffee was brought to Louisiana by the Acadians (French immigrants who had originally settled in the maritime provinces of Canada). According to the Cafe website, chicory is added to “soften the bitter edge of the dark roasted coffee.” Traditionally this coffee is cut with milk and served as cafe au lait. Although the beignets were good, they eventually didn’t agree with my stomach. I had two (they come in packs of three), but I think one would’ve sufficed.

Still plenty a little full from breakfast, I headed out to Mid-City for lunch at Mandina’s Restaurant. Mandina’s, which serves Creole and Italian dishes, was founded by Italian immigrants over 100 years ago. After a brief, natural-disaster-induced hiatus, the restaurant re-opened in 2007 as the Mid-City neighborhood began recovering from heavy damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina. Immediately upon entering, I could understand why Mandina’s had become a neighborhood favorite. It emanated a laid-back, kid friendly atmosphere, and the interior was light and colorful.

Mandina's sign by Scrunchleface on Flickr

Fortunately, the prices were reasonable and the food was fantastic. I enjoyed the perfect texture of my seafood gumbo (not too thick and not too heavy), which was happily–though I warn some finicky eaters–chock full of okra. One of my friends had the tasty fried shrimp and another offered me a bite of Shrimp Creole, which was smothered in a delightful, spicy tomato sauce. We also devoured an appetizer of breadcrumb-and-butter-smothered crab legs. Although they were good, I actually thought the crab legs would have stood better on their own.

At night I attended a wedding, which had its own delightful collection of gumbo, seafood cakes, muffulettas, etc…I was happily getting used to eating this sort of food…or so I thought…

The next morning I made a terrible mistake and ate an entire po’boy between breakfast and lunch. It was expensive, and I didn’t want to waste it, but I should have stuck with half — it was so rich! The affronting sandwich came from Johnny’s Po’boys, a long-standing, diner-style shop in the French Quarter. Essentially the po’boy was constructed of French sub bread and freshly fried oysters, dressed (or topped with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise.) The po’boy was absolutely delicious…it just didn’t sit well in my stomach afterward. If you visit the French Quarter, my recommendation is not to miss Johnny’s, just split a sandwich with a friend!

New Orleans - French Quarter: Johnny's Po-Boys - Fried Oyster Po-Boy by wallyg on Flickr

To make matters worse, more fried food was on the menu for dinner at Deanie’s Seafood. I started with an appetizer of mixed greens, lest I get scurvy from all the lack of produce on the trip. My husband ordered the soup of the day, which was corn and crab chowder — yum! Then, we split a shrimp platter, which was PLENTY big enough for the two of us. It was good, but by the time I polished off my allotted shrimp, I realized how foolish I had been; I spent the rest of the night with stomach upset.

Deanie’s is well known for its heaping seafood platters. Being fried seafood they are, naturally, delicious, but should be consumed after a light lunch and split among friends! (the picture below shows the HALF seafood platter)

Deanie's by Fuzzy Gerdes on Flickr

Now vowing to avoid fried food for the rest of my life, the next day, I insisted we lunch at the Gumbo Shop. This French Quarter cafe had some good press from a couple of my guide books, so I was eager to try it out. Overall, the dining room was dim, the service was poor, and everything smelled like a wet dishrag (and was mildly sticky). The tossed salad was okay, but the gumbo was unpleasantly goopey. The taste was not so bad though, and I did manage to eat a good deal before that gave me a stomach ache as well! I would not recommend the Gumbo Shop: steer clear.

Seafood gumbo by Lorenia on Flickr.

I couldn’t risk another stomach upset, so I wimped out and ordered pizza delivery for dinner.

It’s not worth mentioning what we ate in the airport, but I certainly wish I had brought some pralines on the plane. Pralines, which are quite prevalent in the French Quarter’s touristy shops, are a type of candy comprised of cream, brown sugar, and pecans that melts in your mouth in sweet, pecan-ey goodness–sounds yummy, huh? My favorite were the rum-flavored pralines. If anyone has a recipe for pralines that they would like to share, please share!