DOING DISHES: Lettuce Entertain You! - Salads from the CoOp

The best part of this salad series has been discovering, and tasting, so many (potentially) delicious salad concoctions sold as take-out from our area grocery stores and delis. Trouble is, they don't get any feedback from their customers, at least not directly like they might in a sit-down restaurant. But then again, we are all probably guilty of saying "everything's fine" instead of kicking up a fuss.

Which is why blogging is such a kick! And Zena, Goddess of Fire, is here today to kick some butt.

 

In addition to a "make your own" salad bar, the Honest Weight Food CoOp offers a variety of salads freshly scooped by the pound from a deli case.  But Foodie Friend and I were pressed for time, so we kicked up our heels and just raced in and out of their newly located store on Watervliet Avenue, not far from Everett Road off Central Avenue, with six (three sweet, three savory) salads from the refrigerator section that we were going to eat at work. There were literally dozens of salads choose from. I liked that they all had labels listing the ingredients so I could eat this one cilantro-free. In fact, anyone who is sensitive to ingredients - gluten, nuts, dairy, etc.-  benefits as well.

In order of tasting, here's a summary of our kick back lunch on the job.

The first was a cabbage Slaw with Apples, Walnuts and Poppy ($8.99/lb), sweetened with a bit of honey and orange marmalade. It was very light with a nice crunch - we loved the texture, partly from the nuts and partly from the fruits and veggies. It was mellow - so much so that you could almost taste the nuttiness of the poppy seeds. But it was colorless and really not very flavorful, almost like the taste leaves you as soon as you swallow. I wanted more vinegar, and if I was home would have added a few splashes to kick things up a notch.

Slaw with Apples, Walnuts and Poppy Seeds.

Next we tried the Balsamic Roasted Eggplant Salad ($8.99/lb), which tasted like eggplant and balsamic with a big hit of garlic. In fact, roasted garlic bulbs were added whole to the salad - and there were SO many of them, we just started pushing them aside. I liked that the eggplant was a bit firm, but FF thought it could have been roasted longer. Neither of us got much of a kick out of this salad.

Balsamic Roasted Eggplant Salad on the left, and their Pineapple Kale salad on the right

The third salad that we tasted was called Moroccan Carrot Salad (($7.99/lb), flavored with finely chopped dates, and pistachios, and laced with spices like cumin and cinnamon. This was a wet, wet salad that was almost gloppy. It was way too sweet and really cuminy, and the nuts were squishy. Yes, squishy nuts. Gugh.  We had a few other folks at work interested in what we were tasting and NO ONE wanted to finish it. OK labeling - we noticed the "packed on" date. This one was on it's fourth day on the shelf. It tasted old. We kicked it into the trash. (NOTE: Three of our picks - the Slaw, this one, and the broccoli salads were dated 9/16 and the date of our foodie adventure was 9/19. Next time I'm going to pay closer attention to the packing dates)

Then we tried another savory mixture, the Lemon-Garlic Broccoli-Almond Salad ($9.99/lb). This one got a quite a few compliments - "fresh, bright, a bit of tang; perfectly cooked broccoli; nice texture; garlicky". There was a goodly amount grated parmesan in there that personally I didn't like (I thought it made the salad heavy and gloppy and grainy). This salad could have been a meal in itself in that it was so rich and had a bit of protein in there. It was pretty good, but I don't think it would win in a kick-off.

Next was a beet salad they called Rawsome Veggie Salad ($7.99/lb). Loaded with shredded beets and carrots, as well as red and green bell peppers and broccoli, we agreed that it was rooty and purple, but also that is tasted weird and confusing. FF described it as "too many strong flavors going in too many directions all at once". Oh, and the ingredients said "tomatoes", and there were definitely no tomatoes in this medly. Honestly Honest Weight - did anyone taste this before packaging??? (Kicked that one to the curb as well).

Last but not least (in this rant, anyway) was their Kale and Pineapple salad with shredded coconut and cashews ($19.99/lb). The kale was tender and mild, the pineapple fresh, the shredded coconut was delightful, and the cashews were totally absent, as was any amount of dressing. It tasted like pineapple and coconut and kale, an interesting combo, but so is Watergate Salad, which also doesn't cut it as far as I'm concerned. This one came SO close to being a really good salad idea, but my sense is that no one is paying close enough attention to the preparation to make it kick. And why the high price tag???

I imagine a world where at the checkout the saleslady asks me to fill out an online survey about their products or services to win a prize or a discount and I actually do it, which I usually don't, but maybe the Co-op could do something to get input when they see their customers leave with take-out meals. Either that or host a meal and ask everyone their opinions (in which case my work here is done). Or leave it to the bloggers.

But don't feel kicked out, Honest Weight - you have many other salads there that I still want to try, and I'll bet some of them are pretty darn good. Aim for high kicks.

Zena, Goddess  of Fire

Impressions of a new neighborhood spot - The Grille at 138

This establishment has opened on Washington Avenue near Dove Street in a neighborhood that's got a high concentration of restaurants, so it faces a lot of competition, but I think it has a niche.  It's a good place.  I like the lack of pretense and cherish the consistently good food.

I had a very interesting comparison test after the first time I visited, because I ordered the linguini with white clam sauce.  It's not a dish that I have had very many times, and the night I did I happened to be exhausted and famished and in need of a nice quiet dinner. The chef and I agree on exactly how linguini should be prepared and the fresh clams in a delightful lemon sauce hit the spot.  The next night I went out with friends for a review dinner and had linguini with white clam sauce and it was not even the same concept. With such a close comparison, it was easy to tell that the Grille at 138 was on top of the game and the neighborhood Italian place was calling it in.

The dining room is currently in the basement and nicely appointed.  Tablecloths, cloth napkins and real flatware keep it classy and the sound track is cool jazz and easy listening.  The lunch crowd is bigger than the dinner crowd at this point, and so  the dinner staff is attentive and very friendly. There is a bar area at the front looking out on to Washington Ave. where Wayne, longtime bar tender at Elda's, presides with a kind and gentle countenance.

The Ga138 has settled on an old school menu and offers a nice variety of fish and seafood, chicken, beef and pork.  Burgers and other sandwiches round out the dinner menu so that it accommodates a range of budgets. When I went on a weekend night and saw that they offer prime rib on Friday and Saturday, I  ended up having the best slice of prime rib I've ever had and see why people enjoy it. The versions I've had at conference banquets had turned me off from that particular  beef dish, and I'm glad I gave Ga138 a try. On the night I asked a companion to come along, his impression was the same - solidly good in a neighborhood that could use another good dinner spot, what with several restaurants having recently given up the ghost and others letting their game slide.

If one's appetite is not big, there are several small dishes that will suffice.  The night I had chili it also was something the chef and I agree on.  This is not flashy or pretentious food, but good food. A hearty olive bread comes with the table and has real butter, not silly olive oil for dipping.  That's the sort of first old school touch I noticed. Then as I skimmed through the menu the old fashioned dishes such as beef stroganoff and seafood Newburg were apparent.  I intend to try all of them.

When I decided to try their burgers I chose the chianti burger with what turned out to be some fantastically delicious marinated onions. They made the burger rise from good to extraordinary.  I could go on, but I will suggest that  you go and see for yourself.

The brunch is the most recent offering I've tried, and they don't disappoint, yet they don't get ridiculous. They present a good range of breakfast and lunch choices and offer a handsome space to enjoy a leisurely Sunday meal. They put the menu online so you can see what is up:  http://www.thegrilleat138.com/sunday-brunch-buffet-menu.php  I especially enjoyed the pork hash, which was perfect, and the scalloped potatoes.  And they had a dessert crepe that was like dying and going to heaven.

There's always room for improvement in any restaurant's life and while I've mostly had praiseworthy fare I've also been served a corn on the cob side dish that had been brutally murdered, and at brunch I trimmed the dirty-looking bases from the brussels sprouts  - something that any amateur cook would notice and do for her guests.  But when a place is hitting it out of the park on most days I can cut them some slack and just ask that they keep up diligent attention to what's going out of the kitchen.

So check out the menu links and see if it's a place you'd like to try.  Let me know what you think!

Tasting Olive Oil with the Head Cowgirl

Five little sampling cups of oil with numbers, apples, water and a jellybean were waiting on our place mats at the Longhouse Revival as we entered the busy barn kitchen/theater with the giant round table on Sunday morning. I plunked down my backpack and was joined by Rose,  herself with long hair, diminutive form, and eyelashes that wouldn't quit. When our tasting guide, Mr. Singletary, told us we'd be doing things with olive oil that we had probably never done before I raised my eyebrows silently at Rose and pretended to snort the oil.  The eyelashes sort of fluttered a bit and then we were both distracted by our chatty companion who joined the table.  Companion brought up the cookbook conversation that she and Rose had apparently begun earlier in the weekend.

When I discovered that the cookbooks have to do with Rose wanting to have a large and famous cookbook library my librarian instincts caused my attention to snap to her. I had lots of questions.

But there was an olive oil tasting going on so we all turned our unruly attention to Mr. Singletary.

Bob Singletary took over the floor, and proceeded to walk to us through the history of olive oil and a description of the operations of the California Olive Ranch. Harvesting with a grape harvester to collect the fruit at its peak, they organize their operations so that they can get the olives harvested for the most fresh, mostly fresh, and everyday oil that's merely ok.

Then it was time to take the capped sample cups into our hands and begin the four S's of tasting.

First up was

Swirl

to warm the oil and get the molecules to waft around.

Next was taking off the little cap to give the oil a

Sniff

to get the smell sense attuned to what was wafting.

Next up was

Slurp

necessitating a specific ridiculous embouchure and quick breath intake that lets the oil slide across the tastebuds on the sides of the tongue and bounce around in the back of the throat so that it can be lifted up into one's nose.

What with the peppery qualities of fine olive oils and everything some oils are categorized by the number of coughs one experiences in the slurp.  Some Spanish oils are so-called 4 cough oils, for example.

After this assault on the senses one then at last exercises the final S of olive oil tasting, the

Swallow

Analogous to another deeply sensual experience?   Go get your olive oil and decide for yourself.

Apple and water were for cleansing the palate and a bit of tasty recovery between oils. We had to wait until the end to find out, but the jellybean served quite an important purpose.  Bob instructed us to really get a good pinch on our noses so that nothing could go through it, then pop the jellybean into our mouths and chew while holding them. After a few chomps he said to let go of our noses.  WOW. It was an instant and powerful demonstration regarding how much of our experience of taste involves our sense of smell.

Bob Singletary is Head Miller for California Olive Ranch and he does a very lovely presentation that's both educational and amusing.

Their post on the 4 S's http://www.californiaoliveranch.com/our-olive-oil/tasting-olive-oil

Their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CaliforniaOliveRanch?fref=nf

After all that tasting I wanted to let Rose know that I organize collections in exchange for food and lodging.  That snapped Rosebud's Tripple R Ranch attention to me. She gave me her card, which read:

Rose Rajokvic    Head Cowgirl    Rosebud's Tripple R Ranch

When I told her I didn't have any cards along with me at the moment she said: "get in touch with me" and included one of those looks which meant that she is serious.  I'm serious too.  Getting a cookbook library together for the Head Cowgirl of the Triple R Ranch sounds like something right up my alley. Santa Fe, here I come!

The Washington County Cheese Tour

I enjoyed the Cheese Tour so much last year that I couldn't wait to do it again in 2014. The best part was the cheese, but petting baby Cossayuna Nubian goats is a close second. That's my sister making them bleat. 

We left Albany on what promised to be the last really hot, disgustingly muggy buggy day of summer and headed north out of Albany, starting at Sweet Spring Farm in Argyle, NY. I got there late last year, and they only had one cheese left for me, so they were first on my list this year, and we were one of the first to arrive. We parked in grass that was thigh high, got out the ball caps and mosquito repellent, and headed up the hill to the farm. Chevre and feta heaven! I love their plain chevre, but I also enjoyed the one coated in Herbes de Provence, and another with just black pepper. But the best cheese for me was the Pheonix, a meltingly smooth blue made with goats milk cheese that I gobbled up just yesterday with my friend M&M, and I should have taken a picture because looking at my pictures from the tour two weeks ago I see there are NO pictures of the cheese at Sweet Spring Farm, which is my old phone doing tricks on me again, cause I KNOW I took pictures.  Bleat!!!

But let me say the goats were totally cute and friendly, and like a family pet adored all the attention they were getting from the visitors. That tells me that the owners, Jeff Bowers and Milton Ilario, love their goats and treat them well. And I think that's probably what makes the cheese taste so wonderful. Their dogs were also funny, frolicking with the kids. It was a lovely farm visit that reminded me again about the earth and the animals and how much there is in life, and in food, to be appreciated.

Happy with a few purchases, including some goats milk soap from the farm and some maple syrup from one of the guest vendors, we jumped back into the car and away from a swarm of gnats and wound our way to nearby Longview Farm, which I didn't visit last year (I'm not sure they were on the list). Anyway, Homestead Artisans at Longview Farm, which started up in 2004 just two years after Sweet Springs, also specialize in goats milk cheeses, but they do some cows milk varieties that we also found out were wonderful.

I especially enjoyed the Saratoga Sunflower, a sturdy, grassy tasting cow's milk cheddar cheese. Other products included fresh chevre, aged goats milk parmesan (wow!), feta, and Goatgurt, which BigSis bought for her afternoon snack. There were other tents set up with educational offerings, and we got in on part of a history of cheese seminar and tasting, which was very interesting; I wished I hadn't missed the start. We made a few more purchases, talked to a couple of their French Alpine goats, and buzzed off to the last of three farms that we would visit this season.

Last stop: Argyle Cheese Farmer, which I spoke about at some length last year, mostly because their yogurt was so amazing. This year they had a Chocolate Mousse Yogurt that was pure heaven. We enjoyed the nice variety of offerings in their tent, but skipped the tour. My favorite was the Caerphilly, so I bought a chunk to take home, along with a quart of their whole milk plain yogurt, which was delicious as is, but also when tossed around with some salt and white vinegar and onions and cucumbers. The most AMAZING (and remember, I AM a superhero!) was their Amazing Grace, the oldest of three Grace gouda cheeses made from raw cows milk - this one was aged for 18 months!. It was full of little zingy crystals and had an excellent, sharp bite. There wasn't a single product that didn't make our eyes roll around and make us say goofy things like "YUMMY".

It was wonderful to get out of the city and into the country and to drive the back roads and eat cheese and yogurt and talk with my sister, whom I love and miss and wish I saw more often, and commune with the animals and meet our neighbors working so hard to bring us truly outstanding artisan dairy products. Thanks to all the sponsors, and look for some of these local gems at places like The Cheese Traveler, Whole Foods, The CoOp, and area farmers markets. Eat well, be well, and maybe you, too, will grow up to be a superpower. 

Zena, Goddess of Fire

P.S.: I am sorry about the sacrifice of many insect lives on my windshield that made this cheese tour possible.

Looking Back and Saying Goodbye to Longhouse Revival 2014

So why did I post all those teensy  posts?  To try to give a sense of in the minute experience of a quite interesting foodie weekend from Rensselaerville. [To see all the teensy posts click on the Longhouse Revival 2014 tag below]

So isn't the only foodie experience in Rensselaerville to be had at the Palmer House Cafe?

Nope.

If you watch for it, the Longhouse Revival is an event that's a little difficult to pinpoint, but if you stare at a few websites and rub your eyes and read and have patience, the Revival will appear. Cook N Scribble or One Big Table are the folks to watch. You'll have to figure it all out for yourself on the website(s). I can't pretend to understand all the layers of what is going on, and that's most of what I like about its genius.

So I don't know exactly what happened this weekend, but I know that it had to do with food producers, chefs, food writers and media professionals gathering in the back of nowhere to tell stories, to make stories and to have some great food. It seemed small, but it was big.  The stories are powerful stories about producing good food in our interesting times. Plus, we had landjaeger in our swag bags.  Oh yeah.

The rustic setting is what it always is: charming, beautiful, away from city life and a pain in the ass. The chill and rain on Saturday afternoon threatened to dampen spirits, but being foodies, the wise organizers brought out the cheese and bourbon just in the nick of time. Nine hours of sitting downwind from the fire pit caused a sinus rebellion in my poor cold aching body, so I headed back to Albany before the reward of the slow cooked dinner. Returning to sun drenched fields today (Sunday), my spirits were back in place and I was drawn into the stories told by the articulate and sophisticated participants.

The Twitter hash tags are #lh2014 and #cooknscribble - see what others have to say about this wonderful oddball event.  Is it a conference?  a festival?  a symposium?  a circus? a chance to mingle with stars of the foodie world and eat the food of top chefs? Yes.

Bob Singletary providing oils at the Longhouse

Award winning mill owner and Master Blender

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note® II

Olive oil tasting up next at the Longhouse

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note® II