What I learned today (Take Two)

[Jenise]

Today I learned that the origin of the name 'marinara' is 'mariner' because tomatoes, onions and garlic were easy for Italian sailors to take on voyages, no meat required. Have to admit I never wondered, but its nice to know.

And puttanesca is 'prostitute'. The dish was popular in brothels because it can be cooked quickly between customers. Or so the story goes.

-Paul W.

Rahsaan, the Food Co-op had winesaps last year, but sadly they weren't as crispy or wine-y as the ones I remember from childhood. I'd give anything to taste those again. Hope you try them.

Yeah, it's probably true that we can't go back. I bought some winesaps this week but they were not a hit. I thought the flavor was good, but texture was a bit soft for our palate and my son was not a fan, at least of this batch.

I also branched out from Evercrisp to some other varieties, we've very much enjoyed Summerset, Rubyfrost, Crimson Crisp and Esopus Spitzenburg, which was supposedly Thomas Jefferson's favorite variety. All have suited our hard crisp tangy needs very well.

[Jenise]

Hard, crisp, tangy--that's exactly what I like, and always have. The Winesaps of my childhood met that ideal. Speaking of apples, apparently a guy in my neighborhood owns an orchard in Eastern Washington. This week he brought four 2 ton crates of apples back and set up the boxes in the empty lot next door to his house for everyone to help themselves to. He brought Ambrosia, Red Delicious, Sugar Bee (new to me) and Cosmic Crisps. (Unfortunately, one had to endure a huge Farmers for Trump sign while enjoying his generosity, but oh well.) But anyway, picked less than a week ago, they were all fantastic. The Delicious were a special treat because they're streaky green and hard/dense, the way I fondly remember Delicious apples from my childhood. Most would consider them underripe--they're the least sweet of the quartet--but for me they're perfect.

My favorite apple right now is Honey Crisp. It is very crunchy and has the perfect balance of sweet and tangy. Our Farmers Market has a grower who comes down from the mountains yearly with his tons of apples. An older fellow who does a great job of displaying them. Sells tons of apples every Saturday. They are all beautiful and there are so many to choose from I used to buy a variety of red and green to make applesauce for the freezer. I don't do that anymore, but I have fun looking at all the beauties and talking with him, he is quite the character.

The Delicious were a special treat because they're streaky green and hard/dense, the way I fondly remember Delicious apples from my childhood. Most would consider them underripe--they're the least sweet of the quartet--but for me they're perfect.

Nice to hear good things being done with Red Delicious.

[Jenise]

Supermarket Delicious are inedible. They're soft and mealy when allowed to get that full red color. I never thought I'd see them like this again.

While Betsy is the real apple afficianado, Ruby and I are the ones who are always at market. I always get a few mutsu/crispins, and generally a couple honeycrisps or cosmic crisps. But often a couple of others- recently winesaps (ours were super crisp texture), Arkansas Blacks, Orange pippins, and Roxbury Russet (apparently oldest American cultivar, and also grown at Monticello)

[Jenise]

Yay! A good Winesap is nice to hear about. Keep looking, Rahsaan.

Arkansas Blacks, Orange pippins, and Roxbury Russet

Go, you! Those Blacks are hard as rocks. And I love russets and cannot get them near me at all.

Lately, His Pumpkin-ness has favored Ginger Golds.

[Jenise]

Today I learned that there's such a thing as green farro. Tom Collichio highly recommends one offered by Anson Mills in South Carolina. It's probably only briefly available and and therefore demand exceeds supply, but still. Has anyone had it?

Knew of it, but haven't tried it.

[Jenise]

Okay, so those crisp Liberty apples I was going on about that sparked this whole discussion about apples? Went to serve two after dinner last night and guess what, every one of them is now soft. And I bought so many! In just two weeks, refrigerated the whole time. For us, inedible--but they did make a beautiful pink (yes, I use the peels) apple sauce, so at least they weren't a total waste.

Okay, so those crisp Liberty apples I was going on about that sparked this whole discussion about apples? Went to serve two after dinner last night and guess what, every one of them is now soft. And I bought so many! In just two weeks, refrigerated the whole time. For us, inedible--but they did make a beautiful pink (yes, I use the peels) apple sauce, so at least they weren't a total waste.

When Life hands you lemons, um, er, soft apples....

I just learned there are sourdough libraries across the world that store, preserve, and analyze different starters just like a seed bank. Cool. In fact, I'm baking sourdough bread today.

Last night I made Thai mahogany fire noodles. The dish calls for Thai-style sweet dark soy sauce. This is somewhere between Chinese dark soy sauce and Chinese thick soy sauce--thicker than Chinese dark soy but thinner and with less molasses flavor than Chinese thick soy. I decided to use Indonesian kekap manis, which is similar to Thai sweet dark soy sauce.

I learned that kekap manis is too sweet for this particular dish.

I've made mahogany fire noodles previously using Thai sweet dark soy sauce and using Chinese dark soy sauce with great success.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Speaking of sourdough, I love sourdough. Have never really been much of a morning toast type, though. I'm not even much of a sandwich type. Lacking a sweet tooth I'm also not a jam/jelly person. Apricot yes in a peanut butter sandwich but otherwise, I have no affection for toast and jam. Marmalade? I have never understood the attraction, much as I love an Aperol spritz.

So it is a pretty special thing all things considered for me to announce that: I have discovered orange marmalade on sourdough toast. OMG. This is the game-changer.

If it is a good bitter marmalade, it's worth more than any number of other jellies and jams.

Speaking of sourdough, I love sourdough. Have never really been much of a morning toast type, though. I'm not even much of a sandwich type. Lacking a sweet tooth I'm also not a jam/jelly person. Apricot yes in a peanut butter sandwich but otherwise, I have no affection for toast and jam. Marmalade? I have never understood the attraction, much as I love an Aperol spritz.

So it is a pretty special thing all things considered for me to announce that: I have discovered orange marmalade on sourdough toast. OMG. This is the game-changer.

Jenise, you need to write a book! I have read so many creative concoctions that you have whipped and admired the amount of knowledge you have about food. NOW, I find out that you have never had sourdough toast with marmalade. I almost fell out of my desk chair! FYI. I am reading Ina Garten's bio which she wrote and am amazed at what I am finding out about her!

As I sit here watching it pour down rain, I am enjoying a slice of roasted garlic toasted sourdough spread with Matia Chile Fig Spread, a Croatian product, and it is delightful.

[Jenise]

If it is a good bitter marmalade, it's worth more than any number of other jellies and jams.

Yes! This is a fun discovery. I have excellent taste memory and can actually remember a flavor I never liked and realize that now, I'd probably like it. And that's exactly what happened here. So I decided to test this out and buy marmalade in Canada, supposing that their institutional British-ness would make something better available than just Smuckers. To my wry surprise the store I shopped at had the full range of Smuckers, but they also had one other marmalade, a singleton with an ugly name and a homely label indicating, I hoped, that this was their one and only specialty. And that's what I bought. I don't know from others, of course, but the bitterness hasn't been dumbed down for mass appeal.

Sourdough spread with lemon curd is an interesting combo. As is a fig spread.

So I decided to test this out and buy marmalade in Canada, supposing that their institutional British-ness would make something better available than just Smuckers.

Smart.

...one other marmalade, a singleton with an ugly name and a homely label...

And its name is...?

[Jenise]

Something like Schrifft--like I said, not a pretty word, and not a name I've heard before. I'll check it.