What the hell is going on around here?

Seriously, how do I expect anyone to take my blog seriously if I can't get my act together to at least post every once in a while? And I know you don't want to hear any excuses. Plenty of people who are busier than me still manage to post on there blog. I mean, didn't you see Julie & Julia? She was crazy busy, and she still managed to cook all those recipes AND post about it. It's true, it's all true.

Nonetheless, for those of you who have persevered, and have continued to come back despite the obvious lack of update, I have some news for you: I'm going pro. I had the great opportunity to learn from the talented folks at Marin Sun Farms, the Fatted Calf and Avedano's, and while I never got around to blogging about it, it changed my life. For the last couple of months, I've been investigating all of the legal and logistical issues around producing and selling cured meat products in Texas, not to mention getting to know some of the great farmers and ranchers in the area, and now I'm ready to start making salume. As you know, making salume takes time (and salt, of course) so it will be a while before I have much to sell, but if all goes according to plan, the people of Texas should be able to buy Salt & Time Salume early next year.

I'll keep you updated, I swear.

p.s. I had an absolutely amazing meal at Olivia. Lamb's Tongue Fricasee, Rabbit Confit with Gnocchi and Natalie had the Salmon Crepe. All wonderful, and had a great chat with Chef and Owner James. Should have Twittered it, but I'm worse at Twittering than I am at blogging.

Dario!

Michael Ruhlman recently blogged about distinguishing between foodies and cooks. (On a side note, this post was part of a pretty unique media dialog. Michael Pollan wrote an article for the Times Magazine, inspired by the movie Julie & Julia, which is of course based on a food blog and the life of Julia Child, as documented in the public and private writings of Mrs. & Mr. Child. This article prompted Ruhlman to respond on his blog concluding, among other things, that food bloggers are continuing Julia Child's legacy. This post generated tons of responses on his blog as well as his Facebook and Twitter pages, which ultimately resulted in Ruhlman writing a follow up post responding to many of those comments. Media democratization at work!) Michael's basic point, is that there is an important distinction between foodies and cooks. Food is a lifestyle for foodies, but cooking isn't necessarily part of it. Cooks are, quite simply, people who cook food, and presumably, enjoy doing it. The two are not mutually exclusive, certainly many foodies are also cooks, but many are not.



Personally, I can trace my transformation from foodie to cook, and further to butcher, back to a specific moment. Bill Buford's wonderful book Heat, itself a memoir of the author going through this transition, was a huge inspiration to me, and surely to many, many others. Specifically, Buford's description of Dario Cecchini, the master butcher was a revelation. Buford is a great writer, Dario is a brilliant butcher with a flare for the theatrical, and the resulting combination is pure magic. Dario is a bombastic, larger than life kinda guy. Or at least that's how he comes across in the book, and now Bay Area foodies, cooks and butchers alike will have the opportunity to check him out in person! Meatpaper and Marin Organic are teaming up to brig Dario to Fort Mason for a meat cutting demonstration. Tickets are pricey, but likely well worth it.

Pickled Okra, Batch #1

On my first trip to the Austin Farmers Market, it was clear that we were in the midst of a serious heat wave, not to mention a major drought. Variety was pretty limited, and you could tell that the farmers had been working very hard to get whatever they could to the market. Okra however, was relatively abundant, so i decided to by a bunch and try my hand at pickling them.

Pickled Okra is quite popular in Texas, and really should be popular everywhere. The okra loses its slimines as it pickles, but maintains a good amount of crunchiness and its flavor really pops. I made 3 different batches, each with a different recipe, and I'm quite happy with all of them.

Half eaten jar of pickled okra

For batch #1 I used a Southeast Asian flavor combination of lemongrass, ginger, garlic chili peppers and rice vinegar. This was Natalie's favorite. Their was a subtle sweetness that I really liked, but I would have liked them to be a hint spicier. Next time, more chili's!

A little help for our friends...

Soul Food Farm, one of Northern California's truly great farms, was recently hit by a wildfire. As most of you probably know, making it as a small farm is hard enough without any major catastrophes. The Ethicurean has a post about what is happening and what we can do to help. Please check it out and help if you can.

Signs of life

I'm settling in to my new home in Austin (actually, about 45 minutes outside of Austin for the time being.) and besides the heat, I'm really enjoying it. I haven't taken in any BBQ yet, but I have been enjoying some awesome cheese from Pure Luck Dairy, some awesome beer from Shiner (Smokehouse Ale, yum!) and some awesome views from my porch. I've also been experimenting in the kitchen a little bit, pickling some eggs, making a caramelized onion jam and tonight, pickling some Okra. Unfortunately, I lost my camera, so for the time being, I can't show you any of this.

No, I didn't get lost in the wilderness...

I apologize for the mini and unexpected hiatus. Apparently packing up and moving half way across the country is more work than I had anticipated, and its cutting into my blogging time. Natalie and I are one week out from pulling up the stakes in Oakland and I am swimming in boxes and garage sale prep. Still, before we depart, I will try to write about some of my favorite Bay Area spots. Stay tuned!

And, if you're in the neighborhood on saturday, stop by the garage sale!

Going Camping...

I'm going camping this weekend! I brined a mess of pork chops to get ready.


See you all next week.