Over the years, I've become quite fond of the kimchi recipe I developed and always feel slightly saddened when I see my reserves get lower and lower. Kimchi easily takes the leaderboard amongst the several varieties of fermented vegetables I prepare each year.
This past weekend family and friends from Maine and Connecticut came to celebrate back to back birthdays for Wilder and Camille. Since their birthdays are 1 day apart, the festivities tend to go on for a few days. With Camille turning 30 and Wilder turning 4, this was a special weekend for the family.
My first culinary school experience I can recall was cutting mirepoix for soups and stocks. Myself and a small group of students stood around the prep tables, nervously cutting carrots, celery, and onions while our chef instructor took notes on our knife skills.
We love our coffee program here. In fact, we couldn't imagine starting off our day with anything other than a cup of coffee. A few months ago we decided to take a week off from coffee. Yerba mate, Camille's mom's famous Red Tea, and of course chaga made for perfect alternatives yet after 1 day we were back sipping on our butter brew. You can say we are addicted to the caffeine, but quite frankly, it is the morning ritual and damn good flavor that keeps us coming back for more of this sacred drink.
Tamari baked cod comes in handy around this time of the year, when the temperatures are slowly rising, but a nip is still in the air. Its satiating and comforting, but a step away from the thick and hardy stews we've have been use to consuming all winter long. As green grass and warm weather approaches, it's a step towards eating lighter, fresher foods.
A few years ago, I received a stand up smoker for my birthday. Although it is not a piece of equipment I use often, when it is fired up, I am stoked! In culinary school, I learned a lot about hot + cold smoking foods. There we got pretty crafty and converted old, broken fridges into smokers. They worked great, and were super handy because of their size. We smoked everything from ham to chicken and even assorted vegetables.
Rich, and creamy, clam chowder is a soup I've enjoyed eating since I was a young boy. The salty and milky flavors perfectly merge in easy to make recipe that can be made with so many different ingredients. My version offers a local twist to classic recipe. After a fun day driving along the beautiful coast of Maine, I got a craving for "Chowda". Since I already had locally sourced haddock, which is a sustainable and quality wild fish found up here on the northern Atlantic, and asparagus in the root cellar, I figured I'd continue with the theme of local and craft a recipe that used only seasonal Maine Ingredients (except for some spices).
This time last year, Camille and I were enjoying a bounty of freshly harvested wild foods, including Japanese Knot weed, nettle, fiddlehead ferns, and ramps. Whenever possible, these delicious wild foods make up as much of our diet is possible, for their nutritional profile is superior to that of their domestic counterparts. Paired with Maine caught wild seafoods, this is a meal I could eat nearly every day.
Reminiscent of my days working at a high paced seafood restaurant in Connecticut, this Manhattan style fish chowder gets an upgrade from the former version I have known and loved. Combining wild halibut, kelp, and homemade bone broth, the end result is a mineral rich, nutritious soup that will warm you to the core and awaken all the senses.
I grew up along the southern coast of New England, so for me, I have always enjoyed the taste of fried fish during the summer months. Unfortunately, this cooking technique is less then optimal. For the last 30 years or so, the use of traditional animal fats in restaurants have pretty much been completely replaced by omega-6 rich vegetable oils.
