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Monday, July 25, 2005

Coffee Mornings: A Few More Cups

Anyone following this blog knows that I'm a coffee drinker. See Coffee Mornings entry number one to see what I'm referring to. I've recently purchased a few half-pound bags from Peet's and bought an "old favorite" (read: bought it about four months ago when I first started learning about coffee types and origins), La Minita Tarrazu from Coffee Bean. I also brought out a bag of Coffee Bean's Tierra Natural (the company's organic blend) to compare with the other coffees I've had recently. So, here are my taste observations on two coffees I've tried recently along with some related commentary.

Peet's Arabian Mocha Java: Good, medium roast coffee. Mellower than Peet's Colombian and Las Hermanas. Peet's offers a free guide to their coffee (as does Coffee Bean; I think Starbucks does but I'll have to check) and I basically agree with their assessment of this blend as having "chocolate" overtones. Arabian Mocha Java is a blend, or mixture of two types of coffee beans, in this case Arabian mocha beans and Indonesian beans from Java. The two beans complement each other well, as they should considering the fact that this blend has been around for more than 200 years. The Pacific beans mellow the stronger "wine-like" flavors of the Arabian mocha beans. Apparently, Arabian Mocha Sanani (which are the mocha beans that Peet's uses) make for pretty full-bodied, strong coffee.
Interesting fact: Anyone who orders drinks at Starbucks, Peet's, Diedrich's, Coffee Bean, et al, knows that a mocha is coffee with chocolate and milk added, and by the same token if you want plain coffee you wouldn't order a mocha. According to Peet's, when coffee was first served in Europe back in the day, when people thought of a mocha, they thought of coffee from Yemen, not chocolate. Once chocolate was refined and sold in Europe people thought it reminded them of coffee, thus the two tastes were linked.
I think the term "blended mocha" is the origin of the modern coffee drinker's misuse of the term mocha. The original blended mocha was Arabian Mocha Sanani or Mocha Java blend coffee mixed with chocolate and milk (probably because the chocolate and coffee tastes complemented each other, possibly because of the long association of mocha coffees with chocolate flavors). People shortened the name to "mocha" instead of blended mocha, and the name came to mean what most Americans assume it means today: a coffee, chocolate and milk drink.

Coffee Bean's Tierra Natural Organic: The first thing I noticed about this coffee is that you can actually see the difference in the color of the coffee grounds. They're much lighter than Peet's Mocha Java and have a sweeter, more subtle scent to them when freshly ground. Tierra Natural is, according to Coffee Bean, a blend of beans from the Andes and Mexico. It makes a light, almost sweet cup with pretty low acidity. Personally, I prefer Coffee Bean's La Minita Tarrazu over this blend, but for organic certified coffee it's pretty good. Leaps in quality better than what you'd get at most diners.
I admit that part of the reason I bought the coffee was due to the "organic" label. What does this label really mean? Well, according to Coffee Bean, the coffee is certified by the Organic Crop Improvement Association, which is " a member-owned, nonprofit organization, provides research, education and certification services to thousands of organic growers, processors and handlers in North, Central and South America, Africa, Europe and Pacific Rim" according to the site. It's somewhat tough to tell how legit this certification is, but the fact that it's a third party conducting the certification is a good sign.
That said, I'm going to get up on my soapbox about a coffee-related issue. Something I've heard is that coffee retailers have a tough time finding coffees that are organic and Fair Trade certified that meet their quality standards. Although I understand that running a business is tough, the push for more certified products (that are actually certified by third parties and aren't just slapping a label on to get attention from coffee buyers) is a good thing. People often scoff at the concept of sustainable development, often because they view it as a pointless or unreasonable goal (read: more expensive, despite the eventual economies of scale that could result), but if the entire world is moving toward a capitalist system, I'm going to exercise my right to influence manufacturers to do what I believe is the right thing via my purchasing power. Okay, I'm off my soapbox now.

Oh yeah, I bought another pound of Coffee Bean's La Minita Tarrazu. It's a limited edition so I figured I'd drink the brew while I've got the chance. If anyone reading this has any comments regarding coffee recommendations or educational info, let me know via the comments button below.

Peace out.

Monday, July 18, 2005

Photos, or the Current Lack Thereof...

Just in case people are wondering why I don't have more photos here, I don't have a digital camera yet. I'm planning on purchasing one by the beginning of August, though, because any self-respecting food blogger has to at least post the occasional photo (though I plan to post a whole lot once I get a dang camera). The photos from the 4th of July entry were taken by my sister, FYI.

Monday, July 11, 2005

Eating Out: La Creperie Cafe and Bakery, Long Beach

So a week ago on Friday night and for lunch last Saturday my girlfriend and I ate at a French "creperie" (a restaurant specializing in crepes, apparently, though I'm not sure there are actual creperies in France) in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach called, appropriately enough, La Creperie Cafe and Bakery.

For readers who don't know Long Beach all that well, Belmont Shore is a long stretch of upscale stores and restaurants that goes down 2nd St. and is only a couple of blocks north of the harbor. It has a variety of restaurants, from Middle Eastern and Thai to French and Italian. My girlfriend and I have spent more time there now that we're in Long Beach, and so far we've had nothing but good dining experiences there.

First things first, I'm a novice when it comes to French food, classical or otherwise. My family background is mostly a hodge-podge of Southern- and Eastern-European cultures with some Irish thrown in for good measure, and my parents' families grew up mainly in the Midwest (my parents grew up largely in California). As a result, I ate meat-and-potatoes, Italian and the occasional Chinese or Mexican meal growing up. Until I actually visited France, in the way of French food I think I made a so-so Coq Au Vin during my sophomore year of high school and probably ate at least one other "French" meal somewhere during those first 16 years of my life.

Thankfully, my family, especially my mom, has always encouraged trying food from other cultures, so by the time I actually visited France I wasn't one of those Americans who spent my time looking for the nearest McDonalds'. Still, although I spent about a week in France when I was in college, I was eating on a student's budget and didn't get all that much exposure to "classic" French cuisine. I was lucky enough to be invited along for dinner with a family in Paris who were family friends of my friend, Seth (who was studying in Paris at the time). Dinner was steak tartare, and actually pretty good, and a fantastic warm vegetable salad with some sort of vinaigrette dressing. It was a memorable experience.

The other "memorable" experience I had with French food was in Grenoble. After finishing off a crepe bolognese I ended up with food poisoning. Unfortunately, I didn't really sleep the night I got food poisoning and the next day my girlfriend and I were supposed to be leaving Grenoble to return to Paris. I wasn't in any condition to travel, but friends in the area, and my girlfriend, helped me make it through the day.

Needless to say, my opinions of French food have been somewhat favorable though mixed. I haven't gone out of my way to seek out meals or restaurants from this cuisine, which, after having visited La Creperie Cafe and Bakery, is my loss.

So, the first meal I ate there was the Rive Gauche panini (Rive Gauche, i.e. "left bank"). What exactly does that have to do with a sandwich? I'm not entirely sure, but the sandwich was good. It was filled with sliced turkey, melted brie and cranberry relish. The panini bread was light, crusty but not tough, and fresh. The brie was melted and had a great creamy flavor but wasn't rubbery. The cranberry relish added a slight sweet-and-sour tang to the sandwich that gave it the extra flavor that pushed it beyond a good sandwich to a great sandwich. The sandwich came with garlic and parsley-seasoned fries that had actual pieces of chopped garlic hiding among them. The fries were crisp but not greasy and were, like the bread, fresh. The salad was a simple one, with tomatoes, cucumbers, dark greens, red onions and chopped tomatoes in a balsamic vinaigrette. I was impressed with my first meal there, as I wasn't expecting a sandwich and fries to be as good as they were.

My girlfriend got the Assiette de Charcuterie et Fromage, which basically means a plate with meat and cheese on it, but oh what a plate of meat and cheese it was. The plate came with three types of cheese (Roquefert, brie and some other kind of medium-sharp cheese with a hard rind), two types of pate, a basket of fresh slices of baguette bread and dark rye, small pickles, kalamata olives and dijon mustard on the side. All of it was good and there was more than enough for one person. My girlfriend doesn't eat huge amounts so for $11.50 we ended up taking about 1/3rd of the cheese and pate home.

For dessert (and we were overdoing it at this point, though it was still good) we had the crepe Tatin, a sweet crepe filled with sliced apples and topped with fresh whipped cream and cinnamon. We had decaf coffee to go with the crepe and we managed to roll ourselves out of the place.

The second meal we had there was much simpler, though I didn't enjoy it quite as much. I decided to try a crepe bolognese and conquer my seven-year-old fear of that meal. Although I successfully conquered my fear of that particular meal, the crepe was...decent but not spectacular. It had a somewhat sweet-and-sour flavor that seemed a little odd. Maybe it wasn't what I was expecting.

My girlfriend ordered a sandwich with mozzarella and a basil and tomato spread. She enjoyed it and we decided to quit while we were ahead. All in all, a good first meal and a relatively decent second one.

La Creperie Cafe and Bakery
4911 E. 2nd St.
Long Beach, CA 90803
(562) 434-8499
www.lacreperiecafe.net

Thursday, July 07, 2005

Condolences and Prayers...

This definitely falls into the "...and Other Things" category, and might seem a bit odd on a food blog, but I'd like to offer my condolences and prayers to all the people who lost friends and family in London today.

I was a resident of the U.K. for a year during college, and I met many good-hearted, kind people over there. In the world we live in today, terrorism is a reality, but every time a new incident occurs it's somewhat of a shock. I've been down those streets and in those subway tunnels and stations in London before. I always thought of that country as safer than my own, and it's unsettling to see what happened there today.

I doubt anyone from the U.K. is reading this but the more support out there the better, I think. Hopefully the people responsible for this terrible act will be brought to justice.

Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Peace out.

Monday, July 04, 2005

Fourth of July Food

Yes, I did end up going to a few restaurants recently, but no, I'm not going to write about them yet. This entry is about the meal I helped prepare at my parents' house on the 4th. Holidays are pretty important in my family, as is food on said holidays. On past 4th of Julys, me and my dad typically fired up the gas grill and cooked hamburgers or hot dogs. We probably did that every year until I was 15 or so. During college I spent at least one July 4th with family, though I ended up spending more time with friends, for example one memorable 4th being with my friends Wil and Seth in Santa Barbara the summer after Sophmore year (I think).

The last five July 4ths or so, since I started working, have been spent at my parents' house. I've tried to vary the traditional "hot dogs and hamburgers" menu, though, and I've made slow-cooked pork ribs (and boneless pork loin cuts) for dinner.

This year I deciced to try pork again, but I saw a decent-looking recipe in Cook's Country magazine, a new publication by the people who make Cook's Illustrated. For those who don't know, Cook's Illustrated is a 32-page black-and-white magazine that has no advertising, offers recipes with photos and detailed instructions and reviews various food products and cooking utensils/appliances.

Cook's Country focuses on "traditional" American food and, so far, has more of a focus on food from the Midwest. So, this 4th I went with a "Ranch Chili" recipe. I made a few alterations, though I stuck close to the original recipe (well, close for me at least).

Here's the original recipe:

3 1/2 pounds boneless Boston butt roast (it's actually the shoulder roast, though they call it Boston butt for some weird reason-the cut doesn't look like a butt or anything...whatever) trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes.
Salt and pepper
8 slices bacon, chopped fine
1 large onion, minced
3 large jalapenos chiles (about 2 1/2-inches long), seeded and minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
5 medium garlic cloves
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
3 cups water
2 (16-ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Now, here's my take on the above recipe:

3 pounds of pork shoulder roast (Boston butt, if you really like that term or something), w/fat trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
8 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped fine
2 small onions, reserve 1/2 of one for garnish, if desired
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped fine
2 tablespoons chili powder
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
5 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 large shallot, also minced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 (12-ounce) can of tomato paste
5 medium hothouse tomatoes, seeded and diced
4 cups water
2 (16-ounce) cans of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Some notes: First, this recipe took about 3 hours total prep and cooking time. It took about 1 hour just to chop everything up.

Instructions:

First, chop up the shoulder roast. This took me about 20 minutes. Salt and pepper the diced pork then add the paprika, onion powder and garlic powder to it. Toss it until it's evenly coated. Set the pork aside.


Cutting up the meat...


Post-seasoning pork, ready for browning.

Next, cook the bacon over medium-low heat in a stainless-steel pan until it's browned and crunchy, then set it aside on paper towels to absorb some of the grease. Reserve the rendered pork fat (a.k.a. grease) and pour it into a small bowl. You'll be using it again. No, this recipe is not low-fat.


You'd be amazed at how much bacon fat we had left over for cooking the rest of the meat and vegetables.

Now, get out a big stew pot, add 2 tablespoons of rendered pork fat and toss in half the diced pork. Take the meat out and put it on a clean plate. Cook it until it's browned and then repeat the same process with the other half of the meat. Take the rest of the meat out of the pot and add it to the pile of meat already on the plate.

Okay, now put 3 tablespoons of the rendered fat into the stew pot and add the chopped jalapeno, onion, garlic, shallot, cumin, oregano and chili powder. Cook it on medium-low heat until the vegetables start to brown. Next, throw in the diced tomatoes, bacon, browned pork and water. Mix it all up, then turn the heat up to medium until the mixture starts to simmer. Cook it uncovered for about an hour, stirring occasionally.


Vegetables on the chopping block...er, cutting board.

After the first hour, add the half-can of tomato paste to the chili. Stir it in and continue to cook it for another 45 minutes or so. Stir it a bit more frequently during this 45-minute period. At the 45-minute mark, rinse and drain the two cans of kidney beans and mix the beans into the chili. Cook the chili for about another 15 minutes, stirring often. You don't want the sauce to be too watery.


Adding the tomato paste to thicken the chili.


The two cans of kidney beans go in last.

Finally, take the pot off the stovetop, bring it to the table and serve. For garnish, we used diced red bell pepper, chopped fresh cilantro, chopped scallions (green onions) and chopped white onions. Grated cheddar would also make a decent topping (maybe a little sour cream, too). This recipe makes about 8 medium-bowl servings or about 5 large-bowl servings, probably with a bit left over.


We used diced red bell pepper, chopped onions, green onions and cilantro (not shown) for garnish.

To go with all this my mom made potato salad. We also made grilled zucchini. We chopped up a very large zucchini, tossed the pieces in olive oil and lemon juice and then seasoned them with salt and pepper. We put them on the grill for about 25 minutes or so. We also had reduced-fat Hebrew National hot dogs to with the chili. My dad turned his hot dog into a chili dog and said it was pretty good.

For dessert, we made a fast, 4th of July family favorite: Cool Whip and Yogurt pie with a Keebler graham cracker crust. No, this isn't gourmet; we got the original recipe years ago off of a Keebler pie crust label. I think this recipe became a tradition because my family usually puts the most effort into the main entree as opposed to desserts or sides on the 4th. I know that all of my time went into the chili, so it was great to have a dessert that took about 5 minutes of actual prep time.

The Cool Whip Yogurt Pie recipe is simple: Mix half a tub of Cool Whip with 2 single-serving containers of yogurt, your choice of flavor. This year we went with lemon chiffon. Fold the Cool Whip into the yogurt. Spoon the mixture into pie crust and refrigerate it for about 3-4 hours. From what I can tell, a diet version that sets well is hard to make. We use the regular (i.e., not low- or non-fat) yogurt and regular Cool Whip. This year we also toasted some coconut and put it on top.


Dessert ready for the fridge. It didn't look too different from this after it had set.

So, after all was said and done, we had a good, food-filled 4th of July. Plenty of illegal fireworks in my parents' neighborhood ended the evening rather spectacularly. Well, spectacular by local standards anyway.

Happy 4th of July, everyone, and I hope the people out there reading this had a good holiday surrounded by friends, family or both.

Peace out.