Ran across this great short-cut to great food. This time it’s Carolina-style Pulled Pork. Mmmmm. Check it out:
Before tackling a major BBQ project, here’s a much easier way to get really tender, juicy, smoky pulled pork with an old-timey Eastern North Carolina vinegar sauce. The method: rub it, smoke it, braise it and pull it — that’s it. And, if the rubbing & smoking are done the first day, then braising and pulling it the next; not only do the tasks seem more manageable, but, the rub & smoke more fully permeate the meat.
Twitter is a great tool, and although there are some terrible spammers out there, some businesses are also using it in interesting ways.
Close to our hearts here at Feed The Girl are the new batch of food twitters, including @chezspencergo, just profiled on sfgate.com:
Laurent Katgely of Chez Spencer (82 14th St., San Francisco) is taking his escargot on the road. Jumping into the fray of the street food craze, he’s turning a former taco truck into a mobile kitchen to serve his French fare at a few San Francisco locations.
“I’ve been wanting to do this for years. I love taco trucks and always thought, ‘There’s only Mexican food. Why not French?’ ” says Katgely.
Laurent twitters about new dishes on his menu, and about where and when his escargot truck is serving. The way he uses twitter, it’s a useful service to those who follow him. If you like this sort of thing, there’s also @cremebruleecart, although he seems to be out of town for a little while.
My friend Loic LeMeur (@loic) posted a list of these food-cart twitter accounts to follow if you live in San Francisco. Do you know any of these? Got pointers to the best ones? Know some from other areas that you can share?
Our local CSA is owned by Ned and Ryan, a couple great guys who has been involved in sustainable agriculture for years. This is our third season in their program. For $25 per week, 25-week season pre-paid, you get a box stuffed with farm fresh organic veggies. We pick up ours at their farm in Pescadero, but they also have pick-up locations in Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Kings Mountain, La Honda, and Half Moon Bay. Check their website for details and subscription availability – they are filling up fast!
http://www.bluehousefarm.org/
The quality from any CSA should be excellent. It’s rare to find farm-fresh produce even in the best stores. But what I like best about belonging to a CSA is the surprises. What the heck do you do with fennel root? What are these weird spears… oh, garlic scapes, huh? A lot of experimenting in the kitchen has been driven by these fun new discoveries, and it’s resulted in some great new recipes. Some of these things, like the garlic scapes, I’ve never seen in stores, and others I’ve been walking past for years.
Like with music, when you’re cooking it’s easy to just go straight for what you know. Regular grocery stores make it easy to stick to what you know by never presenting you much different. CSAs, farm stands and ethnic grocers can really help you expand your palette.
Got a favorite CSA? Ethnic market? Farm stand? I’d love to hear about it!
Of course, I highly recommend this book. Pollan’s simple prescription:
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.
To many of us, this is an elegantly phrased version of what we already believe. The real magic is that Pollan does such a brilliant job of making it all sensible and understandable to people confused by labels and all the marketing claims – which is most of us. We’ll all be healthier if we follow his simple rules, but we’ll also be eating better, tastier meals that we enjoy more.If you haven’t read it yet, then get a copy and start. Consider getting a few copies for friends and family.
Cooking (and eating, my wife reminds me) should be a joyful experience! So why not fill the kitchen with the ones who really know about fun! I love the idea, and just found out about Junior Kitchen, a blog about cooking with kids…
http://juniorkitchen.com/
There are some fun recipes and cute photos. Check it out and let me know what you think!
My wife and I really love cooking and eating fresh local food. But in our busy lives, it’s just not always practical, but we do try to find ways to eat well even when we don’t have a lot of time.
Last night we had a wonderful and very quick and easy dinner. Ravioli is a simple tomato sauce. This little sauce experiment turned out so nice, I thought I’d share it:
Simmer coarsely chopped garlic & slivered shallots in olive oil
I use several cloves and a couple medium shallots
don’t brown it… turn that heat down!
add some sage, oregano, and marjoram
Add 1 can of diced tomatoes (we like Muir Glenn Organic)
simmer for 10 minutes,
add black pepper and herbs to taste and simmer 5 more minutes
If you’re quick with a knife, this is dinner on the table in under 20 minutes. which is about how long it takes to boil the water and cook the ravioli. While the ravioli and sauce is cooking, you can fry up some greens or make a nice green salad.
Our raviolis come (fresh or frozen) from Lucca Deli in San Francisco. We like trying out whatever is made locally by small companies and have had great luck.
If you like your sauce thicker, add a small can of tomato paste.
Yes, brand does make a difference in canned food… but that’s a post for another day.
The Amateur Gourmet is one of my favorite food blogs, and this list of their Best of 2007 is full of great stuff. Don’t miss all the fun in the comments!
