More on the Food Economy

Wrapping up the previous post of the NYT article, his books, and prior rumored nomination to Secretary of Ag, Bill Moyers interviews Michael Pollan.

News from the Mothership

We will be closed for moving on December 1st & 2nd please plan your visit & Holiday Party planning around that time. We have a huge grand opening planned for December 3rd in our new location (right next door) and hope that you can join us for the event. We will be having lots of prizes to enter to win. The party starts at 10:00 a.m.

Big Red F talent on the small screen

So last night was the start of the new season of Top Chef and what a joyous surprise to see there are two Big Red F chefs (albeit, from Boulder) in the competition. They didn't mention a connection between the two during last nights episode nor do I recall seeing them on screen together. He is from Jax Boulder. She is from Centro... on the same block in Boulder. Of course there were 17 chefs last night (now 15) including two culinary school buddies a group that has dubbed themselves "Team Rainbow" (what gays on Bravo... um, totally expected!) I love Top Chef anyway but having folks from my most favorite local restaurant group in the mix just makes it all the more appealing! For the un-cabled, I think you can catch up on line.

They are in NYC this season. Last night they had to draw knives and venture into the different neighborhoods and prepare a meal inspired by that neighborhood's signature culture. Hosea won his head to head with Russian fare. Both made the final cut to move onto next week.

Fix the Food Economy

If you only read one piece on food or of this week's news, make it Michael Pollan's Farmer in Chief.

Already a rabid Pollan fan, I'll read anything of his that's put in front of me. But this is a smart article that has very little to do with food and everything to do with why the economy and the energy crisis won't be dealt with until the food economy is addressed by the next administration. Users of 19% of our fossil fuel, and contributors of 37% of greenhouse gas emissions, the agricultural industry has strayed way, way away from its roots. It now takes 10 calories to produce 1 supermarket food calorie, and the average American eats a half-pound of meat a day.

And I've only read about a third of the article--just had to share it!

Lunch @ Red Trolley

Perhaps to prepare for the winter, Red Trolley is expanding their offerings to include soups, salads, and popovers at lunch time. They are still working out the service kinks so not recommended if you are in a big hurry but the food was quite good. I had a cup of potato-leek soup, a salad of mixed organic greens-apples-pecans (had to opt out of the blue cheese crumbles), and a popover with peach preserves for $8. There isn't a menu but the choices provided to me verbally were two soups and two salads (the other was called the Red Trolley Salad so I assume that means it is standard. It involved goat cheese.) I took mine to go to make it home in time for a conference call so there was no temptation of an after lunch ice cream but they do have the $1 Tiny Trolley which might just make it the perfect lunch.

I saw the lunch news the other night when we went in for coffee from the fancy clover machine. (Now owned by Starbucks so only available at a limited number of local shops.) The decaf was excellent.

Oh, and Gelman's is now proudly serving Red Trolley ice cream.

Freedom Fries and Obamapolitans

Gelman's is hosting Debate Watching events that include food and drink specials.

French Food in NW Denver

Friday night JB & I went to Brasserie Felix on Tennyson. We were surprised to get seated right away on a First Friday but based on our experience, I am certain reservations will soon be needed. (Early on we were able to walk right in at Duo too.)

We had an enjoyable meal. JB had a special salad with local heirlooms. The goat cheese free bite he shared with me was divine. I started with the french onion soup which had too much cheese for my taste but otherwise was solid. We both enjoyed seafood entrees (Sea scallops and shrimp over asparagus risotto with a lobster bisque sauce and mixed seafood, mussels, cockles, calamari, shrimp, garlic, parsley, lemon butter broth) but the menu is packed with carnivore options. We rounded out our meal with Crepe Suzette which would have been much better if we had not recalled the dulce de leche stuffed crepes from Centro.

The reason I know we will be back is that our most favorite waiter in Denver was wrapping up his training there. We have been fans of this sarcastic yet service oriented guy since we first crossed paths with him at DJs and then Mead St and now Felix. And if he leaves in a year for another spot in the hood- I am sure we will start to frequent that spot too.

Another note: Felix has recently added bottomless mimosas to the Sunday brunch (about the same time that Gelmans removed this from their menu.)

Shop Local

This is an incomplete post of my thoughts on the subject, but I thought it best to get the word out that I ran across the American Independent Business Alliance this AM. You might find it useful...

Bucket List- White Truffle Beurre Fondue

It has been suggested that we come up with a bucket list around our household. A list of things we want to do before the baby comes. (Of course recent new parents have only one suggestion for the list: sleep, sleep, and more sleep.) Our list includes dining at locations that we would never dream of dragging a baby pod into. Which is perhaps what lead to one of the most delightful meals I have had in a while at Fruition. I really can't recall the last time I have had a meal as enjoyable. Reservations are required but available on Open Table. I think the food really speaks for itself here:

Seared Maine Diver Scallops: English Pea Agnolotti, Vidalia Onion & Foraged Mushroom Ragout, White Truffle Beurre Fondue, Pan Roasted Alaskan Black Cod: Littleneck Clam Chowder, Yukon Gold Potato, Smoked Bacon, Grilled Scallions, Fruition S’Mores: Chocolate Butter Cake, Banana Ice Cream, Toasted Cinnamon Marshmallow, Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Mousse: Bing Cherry Compote, Almond-Citrus Tuile, Red Wine Granita

The one unpleasant element of the evening was a table of country club seniors who loudly discussed topics including- history of lactose intolerance, fabulous wines served by Hitler at dinner parties, etc. These table neighbors did produce a JeepBoy quote of the week: "Not all old people are treasures."

This Sunday is the first Sunday after July 1, 2008

And of course that means it is the first post-blue law Sunday in Colorado!

I may have to pick up a nice bottle of red for the cellar to celebrate the occasion... at a future date. =) A California Cabernet is surely calling my name over at Mondo Vino. They are having The First Sunday Celebration Sale - Take 20% off everything! (Open 10:30am -7pm‏)

Argonaut (aka the Mothership) has posted their Sunday hours as 10am- 6pm.

Tennyson Street Eats

I am not sure if it is heat or the hormones, but the kitchen at our house saw very little action this weekend. The thought of cooking just doesn't sit well with me.

Friday night we tried Gemelli's Ristorante Italiano on Tennyson. It is in an old house closer to the 44th end of the strip. Don't be alarmed by the temperature in the lobby- the back dining room is nice and climate controlled. There is also a cute patio. The service still has a bit of a new feel where folks seem to be bumping into each other. I was dining with JB so of course one of the owners made an appearance at our table.

The dinner salad was really good with cucumber, carrot spirals, and mixed greens that included something other than iceberg and romaine. It was a much more exciting salad than the house salad at Patsy's. (But let's be honest, the homemade pasta will keep Patsy's on our dining list no matter all it's other flaws.) The entrees were solid. The best ever? No, but we didn't have any complaints. They were modest servings but reasonably priced. JB was very pleased with his ice cold Moretti on tap. They only listed one or two dessert on the menu but then our waitress brought a tray of options. The cannoli was very good.

Would I go again? Absolutely. Would I recommend it to GT as authentic? Probably not.

Saturday morning found us reunited with an old friend. DJs cafe is open again! They have new menu items but we both jumped right back to old favorites that were as good as we remembered. JB remarked that he was surprised they weren't promoting the grand re-opening more until we realized that every table was full 35 minutes into breakfast service on the second weekend they have been open since the fire.

Why I Love Living Here

Denver's a city, sort of.
Can you leave home at quarter-til, drive downtown, park, and be in your seat at the scheduled hour for any event in another major city??

You can walk around, alone and safe, at night downtown.

And most importantly you can wear jeans and fleece--nice jeans and fleece--to the fanciest places in town on Friday night and no one bats an eye.

You can drive 'really far' to buy freshly-roasted organic coffee beans right across from the french bakery, and be back home with your capuccino and croissants in way under an hour.

And, I'm lucky enough to be able to choose to not drive to any of these places as I'm close enough to walk to about anything you can imagine.

A January Saturday Afternoon

I am back on the road for work and in that "on" position for long days at my destination. This type of travel always clarifies my introvert status as the only way that I can recharge is a low key weekend at home. After a long mid-morning nap, I am doing some surfing and reading online this morning in my office, tres elefantes are all curled up together on the rug at my feet, and JeepBoy is stretched out on the futon reading. The sun pours in through the Juliet balcony and window where we are warm inside. A perfectly lovely January Saturday Afternoon.

In a web search for High Altitude Pizza Dough I stumbled on Life at 303 Williams: the impact of a Kingsolver's latest (I think latest) book on this woman's life. It is an interesting read. Somewhere buried in there is a link to this article which is also interesting:
Act Locally, Think Regionally.

As soon as my iPod recharges, I am headed out to the grocery to pick up a few reinforcements for the rest of the weekend.

The mothership's new digs

The Argonaut is doubling in size and moving a few blocks down ... and it is going to be a "green building". What more could they possibly need to stock? I can't wait!

Wine of the Week

We stopped by Mondo Vino's tasting bar Friday night on our way to dinner at - wait for it- Meade Street (our "15 minute" wait was 10 real minutes this week).

Mondo Vino was pouring 4 very nice reds on Friday. We picked up a bottle of Emilio Bulfon Piculit Neri, an Italian ancient-vine wine that seems appropriate for our "Roman Holiday: Ancient to Audrey" celebration on Tuesday where Rpse, DHP, & perhaps CLC will get a chance to enjoy.

While a large party still sends me back to "The Mothership" , I find myself more and more loyal to my neighborhood mondo vino. It lacks the diversity (both ethnic and socioeconomic) of Argonaut but the service is awesome, the selection impressive for the square footage, and in addition to the weekend wine tastings (with cheese and real wine glasses) there are the free limes. The free limes are like a $1 back on your vodka purchase.

Caution

Before Thanksgiving Whole Foods had a human being (as opposed to the self service stations) giving out samples of Jane's Big Dill. There was a big local product banner but no price tag. How much could a jar of pickles be? How about $10! And it gets worse! These are so damn good, I may have to buy more. They taste like cucumbers and garlic. But I should stop now as the purpose of this post is not to rave but rather to warn other crafters to avoid the Jane's (Big Dill) Addiction. Don't try them. You will like them.

Offset Carbon Locally

I don't know how you feel about the carbon offset craze, but if you are on the bandwagon (or are starting your holiday shopping), check out Fort Collins-based Trees Water People for their offset donation program. TWP builds--or rather empowers locals to build--these terrific stoves that use just a few sticks of wood because of their efficient design....someday I hope you'll be able to see a plancha in use in my backyard because they are just too nifty.

Hecho en Mexico

Why is it that I need to know where my T-shirt came from but not my burger? That is kinda crazy. Wielding Boy's Father (an actual farmer*) feels very passionate in support of COOL and Shrub and other Rs seem to be delaying it... so it must be good.

http://www.ams.usda.gov/cool/

http://www.farms.com/cool/

*In contrast to DHP's Farmer who is an actual organizer and lawyer-type.

Foods of Denver Tour?

I'm finding it difficult to motivate today. Likely the darkness and rain. So I tuned into Rachel Ray, which was a bad idea but was better than the 3rd hour of the Today Show (which I think needs to be placed "On Notice")or the stupid Meridith Viera game show (who allowed her to monopolize my morning TV viewing?). Anyway, Rachel featured a Foods of New York tour which I really want to do if anyone want to plan an NYC trip. In the meantime, I think we should put together a similar outing in Denver. Where would you go?

I will start the list:
1. Italian anything at Spinelli's Market
2. Chocolates & Spice Cream @ Spice Boys
3. Cheese @ The Truffle

I'm still looking for a good knish.

So, I’ve been cooking.

This sounds like a recipe for disaster. Ok, that was a bad pun. But, since I’ve been on a very tight budget, I’ve been strapped to my kitchen cooking with what I have in my cabinets. Here are some of my favorite left-over/cabinet creations.

Gnocchi with olive and tomato sauce: I had some left-over olive, roasted red pepper, artichoke heart and garlic mix from the best sandwich ever that need to be used or tossed. I also had some Colavita Gnocchi that had been in my cabinet since I returned from Argentina with a new found love of the potato pasta goodness. And, of course, no overstocked cabinet is complete without canned tomatoes. The olive mix was finely chopped and cooked with the tomatoes. Gnocchi stirred in. Served on a bed of fresh spinach. Yummy!

Chicken Shawarma: If I had know it was this easy, I’d have been making this for years. Yogurt, black pepper, red pepper (thanks to rebeckspe, I was stocked), Tapatio, garlic, and a healthy dose of mace. I had to go get the mace, which turned into an adventure. Wild Oats did not stock it, so I headed to Spice Boys. Dang, that place is wonderland. In addition to the mace, I left with some chocolates with a lavender ganache. Seriously good shit. But I digress. Mix all that stuff together (minus the chocolates) and toss in cubed chicken. Marinate over night. I baked it on grill pan in the oven, but next time I’m going to try it on the BBQ (in my grill cage silly).

There was some other stuff in there, but I’m boring myself and can’t believe you are still reading. That brings me to tonight. I’m down to finding uses for the frozen vegetables in the freezer. They’d go well with some Japanese Noodles from Trader Joes (how long have I had those??) and Sisters’ Spicy Peanut Sauce (had that since I hosted craft day). So, I, um, burned the broccoli. And now my whole apartment completely reeks. If you have burned broccoli before you know the unholy stench that it creates.

Well crafters, what can I do get rid of this smell? I need advice, badly.