ReadyMade: Instructions for everyday life

Last night I hosted my good friend Craig Charland and his friend Graham Meriwether who were passing through town on their farm tour of Iowa and Nebraska. Together, they are the crew of American Meat, a documentary due out in the spring of 2010. Here’s a bit about the film:

American Meat explores the complexities embedded in the highly debated practices of the American meat industry. As the economy drives a contraction of conventional chicken, pork and beef operations, we hear the innovative methods of the charismatic, Virginia-based farmer, Joel Salatin. Joel, who is a leader of the growing niche of people who are opting for animals raised outside and without the use of antibiotics, believes that if more people become sustainable farmers, the movement could fracture centralized commodity production. Conventional farmers argue that small-scale farming can’t expand production enough to adequately meet the demands of the nation. As the dialogue ensues, Salatin signs a deal with fast-food chain Chipotle in a surprisingmove, with widespread implications for the industry.

Having just made friends with my local chicken farmers and as someone who is often overwhelmed by the thought of figuring out how to buy meat responsibly, I was peppering them with questions about what they’ve seen in their travels. Honestly, I wasn’t really prepared to hear details about the process of hog insemination—though Craig’s demonstration of how a male pig acts as it’s being paraded in front of females who are in heat was highly entertaining—but I do think that it’s important for us to have a working knowledge of what goes into exactly how the meat that winds up on our plates arrived there. And it was definitely eye opening to hear about how when they visit larger production facilities, they have to shower in and shower out (and don communal visitor jumpsuits and tighty whites provided to them by the farm) so that they are sanitary and don’t introduce anything potentially harmful to the animals.

Today and tomorrow, they are shooting at a few nearby farms and then are coming back to the city on Saturday to attend Hog Farmers Appreciation Day at the Hotel Fort Des Moines, sponsored by Niman Ranch. I am still learning just how big the pork industry is here in Iowa and I’ve been informed, though I tried very hard not to listen, that the odd scent I often notice is a nearby plant “rendering”…I just can’t think about that any more to find out exactly what that means!

So, check out the trailer of the movie HERE (just click on “video” at the bottom) for a glimpse into what the finished product will be all about. I, for one, can’t wait!

I recently booked a ticket to New Orleans for a friends wedding in October and it, of course, got me thinking about the food. I’ve been to the city twice now and I’m fascinated by it’s strong sense of place and I love exploring it through my meals. I’ve been lucky enough to know, Poppy Tooker, who’s a bit of  a local food legend down there and she’s introduced me to gumbo, oyster dressing, the city’s best po’boy (which is different depending who you ask, but I trust her opinion!), and to the Crescent City Farmers Market. Poppy (pictured below, far right) recently wrote a cookbook (pictured below, middle) filled with recipes from the market— from vendors and producers, chefs who’ve hosted cooking demos, and some of her own—and I thought I’d share one today perfectly suited for late August. (Plus, who doesn’t love a salad that calls for a cup of rum!)

Green Market Watermelon and Summer Vegetable Salad
Recipe compliments of Chef Jaime Shannon, Commander’s Place, via the Crescent City Farmers Market Cookbook, by Poppy Tooker
Vinaigrette
1/4 c orange juice
1/4 c cane vinegar
1 1/2 c olive oil

Salad
1/2 large watermelon
1 c New Orleans Rum
2 pounds seasonal greens
2 yellow squash
2 zucchini
Salt and black pepper

1. To prepare vinaigrette: combine orange juice and vinegar in a bowl. Slowly add oil while whisking vigorously until fully incorporated. Set aside.
2. To prepare salad: cut rind from watermelon flesh, then remove seeds and cut watermelon into one-inch cubes. Place watermelon cubes in a bowl and sprinkle liberally with rum. Set aside.
3. Wash greens in cold water and pat dry. Cut cucumbers, squash, and zucchini in half lengthwise, then cut into thin half-moons. Toss greens and vegetables with vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper. Top with marinated watermelon. Drizzle with a small amount of watermelon marinade, if desired.

Here’s a look into what’s been happening in my food world this week…I had a veritable weekend of food firsts this past weekend. Here’s what I was cooking up!

1.) Roast chicken. This isn’t all that shocking since I’ve lived alone since college and haven’t, until now—thank you Des Moines!— had a full-sized oven. Now, in reality I do still live alone so I was aware going into this that I would wind up with a lot of chicken for just me. But I decided that I wanted to experience the process, so I decided to ignore* that small matter. I used the basic recipe for roasting from How to Cook Everything and basted my bird with olive oil, fresh thyme and rosemary from my deck, and salt and pepper. It was super easy (though I did set off my smoke alarm since you start cooking it at 500!) and the result was moist, flavorful meat. A definite success.

*Cut to…I have too much chicken. So remember when I did A Week Without Processed Foods and I didn’t eat a bit of meat? That’s pretty normal for me, so eating chicken (even a tasty, sustainably raised one!) for a few days in a row—with pesto, in a pasta salad with olives, tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette—is total system overload for me. I have decided that the next time I do this, I’m inviting friends over! (I think I’m going to try to make this Chicken in Milk recipe from Jamie Oliver which sounds lovely!) And I’m happy to have packed some of the shredded meat away safely in the freezer to hopefully use in chicken soup or a casserole and return to my mostly-meatless ways for a while.

2.) Chocolate Chip Cookies. I know! I can’t believe that I hadn’t ever made them on my own up until this weekend either. I’ve of course made them with my mom and with friends, but never on my own. I was very nervous about this endeavor but decided that I just need to know how to bake this classic cookie. I also realized, belatedly, that I didn’t have any granulated sugar, so I went with what I had—raw cane sugar—with the brown sugar that was also called for. I brought the cookies to a potluck and they were a big hit. Actually, someone asked me what my secret was, and after I tasted one, I realized that it was the sugar! The granules of the cane sugar were larger, so they held their shape a bit and took on a slightly caramelized flavor and texture. Totally yum and score for using what I had!

3.) No-Knead Bread. When this crazy trend happened a few years ago (and then again with Speedy No-Knead Bread last year), I, for some crazy reason, only tried making the Fast No-Knead Whole Wheat variety, which, honestly is not so great. I made it about four times and every single time it was flat (like 4 inches high) and dense. But while debating what kind of bread to make for this week and realizing that the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day makes a ton of dough and that I couldn’t find non-fat milk powder at my local gourmet store to make any of the recipes I had my heart set on in the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book, I went with easy. Which meant the classic No-Knead which calls for just 4 ingredients—flour, salt, cornmeal and yeast. It was super simple and while the dough was very wet, the results are pretty impressive. To be honest, once I had a slice toasted and slathered with butter and apricot preserves, it was hard to think about eating anything else.

Though I remain on the hunt for non-fat dried milk powder though because it’s time to have some dense whole grain bread in my house! And, to be very honest with you, I’m a little burned out on cooking. I think I just tried to do too much last weekend with cooking for a potluck and cooking for myself for the week, so I’m going to aim for more of a balance next week. In the meantime, if anyone would like to volunteer to make me one of the following—which all sound completely amazing and delicious—let me know!

PBJ Sandwich Cookies (via the New York Times)
Individual Peach Ginger Hand Pies You Can Pack for Lunch from Apartment Therapy
Breakfast Panini with basil, goat cheese, eggs and lemon pepper from the Sprouted Kitchen
Grilled Eggplant and Olive pizza (From Smitten Kitchen)
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (from Posy Gets Cozy)