Another Cold Weekend , Dreams of Summer Veggies

January 10, 2010

A bit on food,

Its yet another unseasonably cold weekend here in California. A big storm is on its way and should drop another inch of water and mostly likely several feet of snow to the Sierras. That should blow out the bone chilling layer of Tule fog that has gripped the central valley now for the better part of the week. The fog has helped the waterfowl hunting and with that assistance I was able to bag a few geese last week. These birds were slowing rendered down with a piece of smoked pork belly and after salting will become a most succulent rielette. Rielettes is an old world charcuterie preparation most likely stemming from some thrifty French butcher. Basically you can take the trimmings of your pork bellies if you are processing bacon and render them down with a bit of veal stock, a leek, and some aromatics (thyme, rosemary, sage, pepper corns, whole garlic cloves, etc.). The whole thing is slowing cook either on top of the stove on the lowest gas mark or in the oven in at the lowest oven setting. What you are after is a very slow gentile boil. In 4 to 6 hours the meat will basically be falling apart in a soup of rendered pork fat and broth. I should note that it is good to flash boil the meat you intend to use by pouring cold water over the meat and bringing the whole batch up to a quick boil. Then you pour off this dirty water which will have become clouded up with impurities and blood. This will help the end produce be cleaner and fresher tasting. It will also suck out some of that pond bottom flavor from waterfowl that seems to turn off so many people. Once you draw off the impurities you can add the leek, aromatics, and broth just so it covers the meat by a few inches.

After the long slow cooking process let the whole mixture cool, then put in a no reactive container and place in the frig for an overnight rest in the flavorful broth. This also allows the fats to rise to the top of the container. The next day you scrape off the fat layer and render it down and strain it though cheese cloth. You will use the fat to seal off you ramekins. The meat you will pull out and either shred with a fork or if you have a kitchenaid mixture place the meat in there with the paddle attachment and blend it for a couple minutes adding some salt as it works. Rielettes is served cold or at room temperature so its ok to over season a bit. You can also add some additional spices at this point. For the straight pork version I use mace, coriander, white pepper and a little all spice. For waterfowl (duck, goose) I use nutmeg, coriander, black pepper and add the addition of dried fruit such as apricots, cranberries, or currents. You can also spike the whole concoction with you favorite booze at this point for some added complexity. Be sure to add a little of the gelatin and some of the purified fat as you mix. You are after a smooth paste not to dry or wet. Be sure to taste the mixture as you work when you are stratified in the texture and flavor load it up in ramekins and pour the clarified pork fat over the top. Allow these to cool in your fridge. They will be most excellent if left alone for a few days in the fridge. These will keep under the fat for several weeks. Normally they don’t make it that long in my house as I eat them up as does my family. They are best served cold or a room temperature with a nice warm piece of toasted bread and a bit of homemade mustard.

Garden Prep

I also spent today prepping for my spring garden. The seeds I ordered arrived earlier in the week and I spent significant time pouring over my exceptionally large collection of heirloom seeds. They needed some organization and this took some time to catalog them all by type, season, etc. I also build a shelving unit I picked up at the hardware store, its five shelves were serve as my nursery for my seed starts. The shelves are made of wood and under each shelf I placed eye hooks and suspended a set of fluorescent lights. I used a bit of chain to hold each fixture. This way I can raise and lower them as required by the plants as they grow. I also purchased a security light timer which I can preset to ensure the light requirements of young seedlings (at least 12 hours a day with a period of darkness). Starting your own plants from seed takes some preplanning but is exceptionally economical. Not to mention you can grow heirloom varietals that your local warehouse superstore or most nurseries just don’t have. You also can grow ethic heirloom species you just cant find other than at your local ethic food restaurants. Crazy stuff too like Culantro which is similar to cilantro but much more flavorful.

My favorite seed suppliers are as follows; (these have consistently supplied me with seeds that germinate every time)

Johnny Seeds http://www.johnnyseeds.com/

Gourmet Seeds International www.gourmetseed.com

Between the two you will find every kind of seed you are looking for. The other fun one to check out that I have yet to order from is the Seed Man http://www.seedman.com/

He has crazy stuff like tobacco, bananas, papayas etc. I have yet to order from him but may pick up some stuff later on this summer. Most of his crazy stuff is tropical so I would not buy it now unless you have a heated greenhouse.