Monthly Archives: January 2013

Books, Food for Thought, Recipes

Creamed Tuna Revisted—And Some Thoughts on How to Cook a Wolf

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In Maine, we are having what might be called a good, old-fashioned cold spell, where the temperature barely rises above zero during the day and goes well below zero at night. Add a brisk wind and you have weather so chilly that people barely want to go out to get their mail, much less go for a walk. A hard time for our dog, Liam, who is still energetic at 8 and loves to run and bark in the backyard. Despite the cold, Liam nevertheless gets his chance to run and bark as every day I have to bring in three wheel barrow’s worth of wood for our furnace.

This brisk weather is a good time to make a cup of tea and settle on the couch with a book. This January, I am rereading M.F.K. Fisher’s How to Cook a Wolf, first published in 1944. Despite the stiff competition from an increasingly crowded field, Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher (1908–1992) remains one of America’s best food writers. W. H. Auden noted, “I do not know know of anyone in the United States who writes better prose.” This is high praise coming from a great poet, and it is no exaggeration. M.F.K. Fisher wrote beautifully, and, just as important, she had something to say.

How to Cook a Wolf is fortunately metaphorical rather than literal—there are no instructions on how to butcher and roast a wolf.  The book was written during World War II, and it addresses how one might live creatively in a time of shortage. In the second chapter, Fisher quotes her grandmother: “I see that ever since I was married, well over fifty years ago, I have been living on a war budget without realizing it! I never knew before that using common sense in the kitchen was stylish only in emergencies.” Fisher notes that although her “grandmother’s observation need not have been so sardonically phrased…probably it was true then…and it is even more appropriate now.”

Almost 70 years later it is still true. Common sense belongs in the kitchen (and the rest of the house) in good times as well as hard ones. In addition, Fisher’s frugal but common-sense tips are particularly relevant today.

Many of us, even in this richest country in the world, feel as though the “wolf is at the door.” Expenses go up, but for most of us, salaries remain the same. What was once a comfortable income is no longer quite as comfortable. Bills must be paid. Pennies must be pinched. Extras—such as meals out and plays—are often eliminated. While those who have jobs and health care have much to be grateful for, there is no denying the feeling that things aren’t quite as good as they once were, except for the few at the top, where life is better than ever. With Earth’s dwindling resources, increased automation at the work place, and a still-rising population, it is my guess that the wolf will be at the door for quite a while. It seems to me the trick is to acknowledge this and to still live as well as possible. (And, of course, to elect politicians who will address the gross inequality in this country.)

These observations, in turn, bring me to creamed tuna, a thrifty dish my mother often served for supper. She was a child of the Great Depression and knew a thing or two about making do with little. My mother often said of her own grandmother: “Even when it seemed as though there was hardly anything in the cupboards or refrigerator, my grandmother could still put together a warm, tasty meal.”

Cream sauces are not very much in vogue right now, but I must admit to having a fondness for them. Smooth, warm, rich with butter. Really, what’s not to like? All right, they are a little plain and old-fashioned, but what wrong with that?

I loved my mother’s creamed tuna, which she usually served over potatoes. (We are Mainers, after all.) But I wondered, could I jazz it up just a little, so that it would have extra zing? Yes, I could, with garlic and dill, nice additions which lifted the cream sauce from tasty to very tasty. And how about a little sour cream or yogurt to replace some of the milk? Ditto.

Creamed tuna is definitely a family dish and probably not one you would serve to company. However, when the thermometer barely rises above zero, and the wolf seems to be nuzzling the door, creamed tuna on potatoes (or toast) tastes, as my Yankee husband would put it, pretty darned good.

Note about the tuna: Tuna, as I’m sure readers know, can be high in mercury, with albacore being the worst. Chunk light tuna, which is often yellow fin, is lower in mercury and the tuna of choice in our house. Still, it is only an occasional treat for us.

 

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Food for Thought, News, Recipes

Blueberry Bran Muffins on Inauguration Day

IMG_2892Monday was a fine, cold day, perfect for making blueberry bran muffins to go with soup—Campbell’s Tomato, one of my weaknesses and the only canned soup I really like. After having made the muffins and heated the soup, I settled in the living room with my husband, Clif, so that we could watch the presidential inauguration while we ate our lunch.

There were all the usual things that go with an inauguration—the ceremony, the rituals, the swearing in, the first lady and daughters decked out in their finery, the patriotic songs—done beautifully this time by various singers. (Where else would you hear, on the same stage, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and James Taylor?) A Maine poet—Robert Blanco from Bethel—read a poem that was full of everyday things and working people.

But there were some surprises, too, chiefly President Obama’s speech, which was unabashedly liberal—or progressive, if you will. Despite the luminous delivery, it seemed to me that the president was throwing down the gauntlet to the Republicans. After four years of trying to work with Republicans and having terrible results, Obama made few references to bipartisanship in his speech. Instead, the president spoke of the need for collective action, of how freedom “was not reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few.” President Obama noted that truths might be self-evident but they were not self-executing, that we cannot succeed when only a few do very well and when many can hardly make it. He affirmed gay rights, voting rights, and immigration rights. By gum, he even mentioned climate change, sustainable energy, and the environment.

As the columnist Mark Shields put it, this speech marked a change in attitude, from the “me” generation to the “we” generation. I agree, and it is long overdue.

I realize as well as anyone else that a speech is just words and that actions and results are what really count. Still, words do matter. They signal intent, and I felt more hopeful after hearing this speech than I have in a long time. Stiff opposition will likely follow, but President Obama just might surprise us with how much he is able to accomplish. After all, he passed a health care bill, something no previous president has been able to do.

Finally, as with election night when Obama was elected, I was struck by the beautiful diversity of the event. In America, there has always been diversity, it just wasn’t allowed to be visible. Yesterday it was, on the podium and in the crowd. And it was good to behold.

Note: This bran muffin recipe, one of the best I’ve tasted, has already been posted on A Good Eater. But because the recipe section isn’t exactly organized—Clif, are you reading this?—I’ve decided to post it again.

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Recipes

Spicy Beans for a Cold Month

Last night, I was rooting around my refrigerator to see if anything should be used before it went bad, and I found the following items: a wrinkled sweet red pepper that had no mold and about a quarter cup of cilantro salsa, again with no mold. What to do with them? In my cupboard, I had a can of black beans, and my freezer yielded a cup of frozen corn. Well, why not make some spicy beans? But rather than having them over rice, which would be delicious, I would use them as a stuffer for baked potatoes. Last fall, I bought 50 pounds of organic Yukon Golds from Farmer Kev, and although the potatoes are still good, they are sprouting eyes, so now I am planning to use potatoes in a variety of ways.

The ingredients
The ingredients

Before I get started on the actual recipe, I want to emphasize that this is one of those adaptable dishes that can accommodate many kinds of beans and various vegetables. Therefore, the following recipe should be used as a place to start as much as a recipe to follow. I used garlic to jazz up the beans, but onions would work, too. Or, if you wanted to get really bold, onions and garlic. If you have a hearty digestive system—alas, I don’t—go for it. It’s winter.

The cooking
The cooking

I always use my Yankee husband, Clif, as an indicator as to whether a dish is successful. These spicy beans not only got a “Pretty darned good” from Clif, but he also went back for seconds, using tortilla chips as a base for the beans. He liked these spicy beans so much that he suggested I make them especially for nachos. “That would give them some snap,” Clif said. (With the Yankee emphasis being on “some” rather than “snap.”)

Ready to eat
Ready to eat

It certainly would, and I just might make these beans for nachos on a cold Saturday night in January or February, when the snow crunches and squeaks underfoot, the nose pinches when you take a deep breath, and the frost doesn’t leave the windows, even during the day. Warm inside, cold outside. A cozy time of the year.[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:13]

 

Community

The 72nd Maine Agricultural Trade Show: Fedco and Luce’s Meats

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Last week, my husband, Clif, and I went to the 72nd Maine Agricultural Trade Show at the Civic Center in Augusta. On a cold January day, it lifts the spirits to walk around and look at all things agricultural. Maine, a rural state, is blessed with a vibrant food culture, which in turn supports farms and farmers. This trend is heartening, a very bright spot in a state where poverty and inequality are high. After all, what could be more essential to life and health than good food produced by Maine farmers?

There were many exhibits to look at—over 150—but there were two that especially attracted my attention. The first was Fedco’s display of heirloom apples.  I had heard of only one—Northern Spy. The rest were unknown to me. What a wonderful diversity of shapes and colors.

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The big, red apple—Wolf River—in the lower right-hand corner really stood out, but apparently size doesn’t matter when it comes to apples. The man at the booth told me that these apples aren’t very flavorful and that they were mainly used for pies. “Put in enough sugar and spices, and any apple tastes good, ” he said. (Unfortunately, I did not get the man’s name.) Wolf River’s claim to fame is that you get a lot of apple after peeling it. Here is a closer look:

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Fedco also had T-shirts, and I promptly bought one. I will wear it not only when I am occupying my own yard but also when I am biking.

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Now, I am someone who loves it when food samples are available at a booth. After all, how do you know if something is going to be tasty until, well, you taste it? You don’t. And food that looks enticing in its package might not be as delectable when you actually eat it at home. Oh, yes, this has happened to me more than a few times. Thus, I nearly click my heals with joy when a vendor has samples, and when those samples are cooked pork, I feel as though I have hit pay dirt. (I’m not sure if it’s because of my Franco-American roots, but pork is my favorite meat.)

Luce’s Meats had a full array of sausage samples, including Breakfast, Maple Breakfast, Sweet, Hot, and Chorizo. Clif, of course, liked the Hot Sausage while I liked the Chorizo. However, we both agreed on the Maple Breakfast, and we went home with a frozen pound, which we plan to use at the end of the month when we have friends over for brunch.

Eric Chenard and Elaine Luce of Luce's Meats
Eric Chenard and Elaine Luce of Luce’s Meats

Finally, I have a thing for green John Deere tractors. I don’t know why. In general, I am not at all drawn to machines, but there is something about those green John Deeres that is irresistible to me. At the Ag Show, there was a huge, green John Deere tractor, and I just had to take a picture of it.

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Oh, how lovely and green it was. Just the tonic for winter, when spring seems so far away.

News

Walking on the Rail Trail at Dusk

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Last week, before the foggy weather hit, the dog and I walked on the Augusta Rail Trail at dusk. A lovely time of day. My favorite time, in fact. Augusta, the state’s capital, is not known for its beauty, but somehow, with the lights twinkling, it is beautiful. Even under the bridge.

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News

A Strange, New Year—Welcome, 2013

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IMG_2783This holiday season had rather strange bookends—in December, a couple of weeks before Christmas, my husband, Clif, fell down the front steps and broke his wrist. At the other end, on New Year’s Day, when our daughter Dee, who lives in New York, was slated to leave Portland by Concord bus, we learned that the station was closed because of a bomb threat. What to do? How would she get home?

In between, there were snow storms and good movies—The Hobbit, Les Misérables, Argo, Hitchcock, The Queen of Versailles, and Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry. We saw some of the movies at the cinema and some at home.

There were also gatherings with friends—one at our daughter Shannon’s house, where we had tacos with pulled pork, beans, and zucchini and mushrooms. Man oh man do I love this dish. We were joined by our friends Bob and Kate, whom we don’t see nearly as often as we would like. (They live out of state.)

On New Year’s Eve, our friends Joel and Alice came over, and I made Marjorie Standish’s oven-cooked beef stew. This is one of my favorite ways of making beef stew. Somehow, the slow cooking in the oven—at 300 degrees—gives this stew a terrific taste that just can’t be replicated in a cockpot. As we don’t eat beef very often, this hearty, homey stew is a real treat for us. I also made a lentil soup, from a recipe in Arthritis magazine, for Dee, who is a vegetarian. Unfortunately, this soup, while edible, was not as tasty as I had hoped.

“It’s best to stick with Moosewood,” Dee advised, and of course she is right. Still, it is good to try new recipes from time to time, even if they don’t always turn out the way you might want.

What else did we eat? On Christmas Eve, a cheddar cheese soup, with broccoli and tortellini. On Christmas Day, stuffed shells using a recipe from Cook’s, but more important, using Sorento ricotta cheese. Most ricotta is bland beyond endurance, and before I made the shells, I had Clif do some ricotta research, something he could do easily with a broken wrist. His findings? Most commercial ricottas—including Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s brands—are bland beyond endurance. Clif’s research indicated Sorento ricotta is an exception. Very good advice! With Sorento ricotta—a little sweet, a little tangy, and smooth—those stuffed shells were real gems.

And what about Dee? Did she make it out of Portland on New Year’s Day, despite the bomb threat? She did indeed. By the time her bus was scheduled to leave, the station had been thoroughly searched and no bombs were found. Dee’s bus left right on time.

In the parking lot was a camera man from one of the news stations—ABC, I think.

“Is the excitement over?” I asked as he began disassembling his camera.

“All over,” he said. “It was some homeless man with a knapsack. But no bomb.”

Well, thank goodness for that! What a strange, often scary world we live in. What to do but go forth as bravely as we can and take comfort in our friends and families, our soups, movies, and stuffed shells? Yes, I know there are many other things we can and should do, but most people can manage the small, homely acts that include generosity and the opening of their homes. To borrow from a science phrase, perhaps it is not sufficient, but it seems to me it is necessary.