Bison Black Bean Chili Recipe

A few years ago I heard Ted Turner speak about bison at the Sustainable Food Institute at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. He slipped in, spoke was very opinionated and went over his allotted time, but he certainly was engaging.Attendees learned he is one of the largest landowners in North America, a proponent of conservation and a big believer in bison. He talked about bison as a means to both economic viability and environmental sustainability. Turner has a staggering 51,000 bison on his land, which is over 10% of the entire population in North America. He also runs Ted's Montana Grill where he serves bison. 

Bison are an integral part of the prairie ecosystem, grazing in herds and fertilizing plant cover. The natural behavior of bison is still very much intact because unlike cows, they are not domesticated. Bison meat is naturally lean and is a good source of protein, iron, zinc and selenium.

If you've never cooked bison before and can find it in ground form, try using it in chili. The bison itself tastes very similar to beef but is a bit richer and less fatty. This chili is mostly beans, but flavored with chiles, chile powder and spices, onion, garlic and fire roasted canned tomatoes. I generally prefer buying whole tomatoes rather than diced ones, they break up and cook down more easily than diced. Chili is one of those dishes that just gets better over time as the beans soften and the flavors meld together. I serve it with plenty of toppings--grated jack cheese, chopped green onions and cilantro and sometimes a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt.

Note: I don't recommend soaking the beans

Black Bean & Bison Chili 

Serves 6-8 

1 pound dry black beans

1 pound ground bison meat

1 onion (white or yellow) diced

3 cloved garlic, minced 

1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced

2 roasted peeled Hatch chiles (mild, medium or hot), optional 

2 Tablespoons chili powder (mild, medium or hot)

2 teaspoons cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon ground oregano

28 ounce can whole fire roasted tomatoes and their juice

1 Tablespoon tomato paste
Salt

Place the sorted black beans in a large Dutch oven and cover with about 10 cups of water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until tender. 

In a large pot combine the bison, onion, garlic and peppers. Cook, crumbling the meat until the meat browns and vegetables soften. Add the spices and cook for another 2 minutes then crush the tomatoes with your hands and add them and the juices to the mixture. 

Add the cooked beans and 2 cups of the bean cooking water and the tomato paste to the meat mixture, partially cover the pot and simmer gently for 30 minutes or until thick. Season to taste with salt. 

Enjoy! 

San Francisco Michelin 2016

It’s been ten years since the Michelin guide arrived in San Francisco (and I started writing about it!) so I guess it’s the right time for reflection. Ten years ago the stars seemed to go to very predictable and somewhat French-inspired restaurants. This year the balance has swung to favor the new, the modern and the diverse. Is it Michelin or San Francisco? It’s probably a bit of both. Though I'm sorry for some of those restaurants left behind that lost their stars because I believe they are still worthy I can't help but be excited by this new constellation. 

While some were making a big deal over Manresa getting three stars, Commis and Campton Place rising to two stars or Kin Khao getting one, I think the really big news was the ever expanding number of restaurants on the list. An incredible 39 restaurants got a star this year with another 12 getting either 2 or 3 stars. That’s truly worth celebrating! 

Here are some highlights from the party—photos courtesy of Lee Sherman 

The evening always involves plenty of champagne...

Two gorgeous restaurateurs who both earned the respect of their peers, Cecilia Chang and Chef Dominique Crenn of Atelier Crenn and Petite Crenn.

Pim Techamuanvivit was one of the true stars of night, she’s had a tough year and Kin Khao’s one star was well deserved. While some may consider it an expensive Thai restaurant, Kin Khao has now got to be considered as one of the least expensive Michelin one star restaurants. 

Everyone loves a redemption story and Manresa coming back after the fire to earn three stars put David Kinch in the spotlight, here with pastry chef Belinda Leong who spent some time in his kitchen before making an even bigger splash with B. Patisserie. 

Three of my favorite chefs for the way they balance tradition and creativity while always striving for excellence— Stuart Brioza of State Bird Provisions and The Progress James Syhabout of Commis and Hawker Fare and David Barzelay of Lazy Bear. 

From what I think is the finest Italian restaurant in San Francisco, Acquerello, Riccardo Menicucci and Suzette Gresham Tognetti. 

Aaron London of AL's Place is a chef who takes chances, his next gamble? Decreasing reservations and allowing for even more walk ins. Bravo! My review of his restaurant is currently on Amy's Fork in the Fog 

Who says chefs are all work and no play? Well no one who comes to the Michelin gala! Until next year...

Sustainable Canned Tuna Taste Test

Canned tuna used to be a very inexpensive source of protein, but it isn’t necessarily anymore. The price varies depending upon where it comes from and how it’s caught. For the purposes of this review, I reviewed only sustainably caught white albacore tuna, mostly brands available at the supermarket. Generally domestic brands are more expensive than imported. 

I don’t see much difference between chunk and solid, since it is always served broken up anyway. I only tried solid or water packed, not oil packed tuna which in my opinion is always tastier. I taste tested the tun drained, straight from the can. But my preferred way to serve it is in a tuna salad with mayonnaise, lemon, relish, celery and green or red onion. 

1. American Tuna $5.99 A

This pole caught Marine Stewardship Council certified sustainable tuna is packed, and one would assume caught, in Oregon. It’s tested low in mercury, the cans are bpa-free, claims to be turtle safe and dolphin safe and is 6 rather than 5 ounces. 

Excellent, oily and rich with good flavor and texture  

2. Safe Catch $4.50 B+

This brand has a bpa-free can, it’s packed and one can assume caught, in Thailand. It’s tested and claims to be the lowest in mercury. It claims to be turtle safe and dophin safe.

Fine, good flavor and texture

3. Wild Planet $4.50 B+

This tuna is sustainably pole and line caught, caught in the North Pacific and in New Zealand. It claims to be turtle safe and dophin safe. 

Fine, good flavor and texture

4. Crown Prince $3.99 B-

This product of Thailand is Marine Stewardship Council certified sustainably wild caught, dophin safe and the cans are bpa-free.

A bit salty, but otherwise fine

5. 365 (Whole Foods house brand) $1.99 C

This pole and line caught tuna claims to be dolphin safe and is processed and packed, and one would assume caught, in Thailand. I mistakenly purchased salt free, but I seasoned it with salt. 

A bit tinny flavor

CONCLUSION

The American Tuna was really the most delicious. In a tuna salad will it make a difference? Maybe a little, but more likely in other dishes like a Salad Niçoise. Meanwhile you can often purchase fresh fish, even albacore, at the same or less than the price of canned fish. So I'd only recommend buying canned tuna if you really prefer it or for the convenience factor. 

Which canned tuna do you buy, and why? Leave a comment and let me know!

Disclaimer: I was provided as  of the Safe Catch tuna and purchased the other brands for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for this or any other post. 

Lamb Meatballs Recipe

Nothing is more disappointing than a soggy french fry. There are lots of things I don’t just like crispy but extra crispy. Toast, onion rings, pizza crust, potato chips, breaded cutlets, pie crust, streusel. I could go on and on. And is there anything better than the crispy edges of a roast? I’m the one who wants a rare slice from the middle and a crusty slice from the end of the roast—beef, pork or lamb.

There are lots of ingredients for making food crispy and many of them contain gluten, and one of them is naturally gluten free, cream of rice. Cream of rice is finely ground rice that cooks very quickly. It can be used as a hot cereal but also in recipes like this one for baked rice custard that I plan on experimenting with shortly. When used in meatballs it absorbs moisture but also helps to create a lovely crisp texture to the surface of the meatballs. I like beef meatballs to be delicate and tender made light with ricotta or moist bread crumbs, but lamb meatballs are really good with a bit of a crust. 

I have used black pepper, cumin, paprika and cinnamon to season these meatballs, but you could change up the spices if you prefer using fresh mint or garlic, or swapping chili powder in place of paprika. You could leave out the cumin and cinammon, I added them because lamb is strong flavored and pairs well with hot, sweet and smoky spices. The meatballs are great as an appetizer, served with toothpicks but also with rice, orzo or pilaf. You can also make them bigger if you like, you’ll just need to broil them a bit longer. 

Lamb Meatballs 

Serves 4

1 pound ground lamb, 80% lean

1/4 cup finely chopped white or yellow onion

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika

1/4 cup cream of rice 

1 egg

Mix all the ingredients gently with your hands. The meatball mixture will be wet but will firm up. Refrigerate the mxiure for at least 30 minutes. Using a teaspoon scoop the mixture and roll into meatballs and place on a foil lined broiling pan. Broil meatballs for 6 minutes. Serve with tahini sauce, garlic yogurt sauce or tomato sauce. 

Enjoy! 

Canadian Candy Bars

About a year ago I was in Toronto with some journalists, including one from Germany. He had been to the US many times but it was his first trip to Canada. He remarked that he thought Canada would look different somehow. The truth is, when you travel to Canada from the United States, it doesn’t always look very different. Especially on the surface. The U.S. has a lot in common with Canada, but there are some subtle (and not so subtle) differences. One difference? Candy bars! 

The candy bars in question are made by Nestle and Cadbury, but they are not the same as candy bars in other parts of the world, and none of the ones I brought back from my last trip across the border are available in the US, not that I know of anyway. I’m not much of a candy bar fan, and these are everyday, available-in-the-supermarket candy bars, but I still think it's fun to try something different now and again. 

So what are they like?

The Coffee Crisp is my favorite. It’s light and crunchy, a bit like a Kit Kat bar but with a distinct coffee flavor. It's made in Canada and has layers of vanilla wafers and a coffee filling. There was actually a campaign to bring this bar to the U.S.  

The Wunderbar was recommended to me by another traveling companion and pal, the Global Gumshoe. It has many of the flavors of a Snickers bar and the texture of a Butterfingers bar. It has a light crispy crunch, and mild peanut flavor but no crunchy nuts. It is very thick and chewy with caramel. 

Mr.Big is a bit like a lighter version of the Wunderbar, cararmel, peanuts, crisp vanilla wafer and rice crisps, but much more delicate. And well, bigger. 

The Crunchie is another top pick, a bit like a Violet Crumble it’s a honeycomb toffee bar, though the chocolate coating is milk chocolate and very sweet. The airy texture and richer flavor are very appealing.

What candy bars do you like to bring home to the US? Or from the US if you live abroad? Let me know in the comments.

Curious about my trip to Canada? Check out this terrific video of Nova Scotia from the Global Gumshoe --and see if you can spot me!

Wine Folly Book Review

Because I used to develop recipes to pair with wines (for a now defunct online wine retailer) I have quite a collection of wine books. The book I probably use the most these days just to learn about wine is The Wine Bible, by Karen McNeil. I am eagerly anticipating the next edition, due out next month. However another book came across my desk recently that I am really enjoying. While by no means comprehensive, it does really get at the important stuff, especially when it comes to enjoying wine, not just geeking out on it. 

Wine Folly, The Essential Guide to Wine is just that, a book that includes the fundamentals of wine—such as how wine is made, how to read a wine lablel, a glossary, how to taste, pair and serve wine, profiles of popular and under the radar wine varietals, regional maps and and more. It uses lots of infographics, data visualization, icons and imagery to help simplify the information. I particularly appreciate that is goes beyond the standard oft repeated information. For example in the pairing section there are pages on vegetable, herb and spice pairings not just the typical how to pair wines with meat or cheeeses. 

Because the book focuses on the big picture, it does miss some details, particularly in terms of soils. For example the listing for Soave includes the flavor profile of the wine, dominant and possible flavors as well as the main grape type, common styles, where it grows, how to serve, store and pair it.  However I was just at a seminar about Soave where I learned that the two main styles of Soave vary by the region and soil type—when produced in the South West the soil is limestone the wines are citrus, linear and floral. When produced in the Eastern and Central part of the region the soil is volcanic and the wines are richer and oilier in texture. Is that an important detail to know? It all depends on you. 

In particular I find the tips on where to find value, terrific wine region maps and color icons of wine flavors really make this book a keeper and are guaranteed to deepen your appreciation and enjoyment of wine. Check out the popular blog from Wine Folly to get more of a sense of the style of the book. 

Disclaimer: Wine Folly was provided to me for review purposes. I was not compensated monetarily for this or any other post. This post does include Amazon affiliate links. 

Do You Need a Kitchen Scale?

I never understand when people say they can’t cook. If you can follow a recipe, you can cook. Although not every recipe yields great results. One problem is accuracy. In creating recipes for clients I generally measure and weigh ingredients. Weighing is always more accurate. So it makes sense that when following recipes with weights, that readers should use weights too.

Of course not all recipes are written with weights, but that's changing. Some prominent cookbook authors, especially bakers, are using weights in their recipes and in particular the metric system. I talked to once such baker and cookbook author, Alice Medrich. She collects James Beard awards for practically every book she writes and approaches recipe testing much like a scientist. Her latest books are Flavor Flours and Seriously Bittersweet, Here’s what she had to say about using scales. 

1. When did you start using grams in your recipes? 

I got used to grams in Europe in the 1970's. I  didn't switch from ounces to grams in my books until just a few years ago because I began to see that people were warming up to using scales and while they were at it, I thought, why not get them onto grams? I also saw that some of the celeb chefs were publishing in grams, so I though that would help too.

2. Why grams versus ounces?

If you want to increase or decrease a recipe by any percentage, the math is so much easier to do in grams.

If you make small changes in a recipe by increasing certain ingredients by small amounts, it's easier to capture that amount in grams than fractions of ounces.

Grams are universal around the world (except for in the US), so you can reach a wider audience and you can also use recipes from books around the world without worrying about the "translation."

Grams are such small units that you rarely need to use fractions which you do have to do with ounces.  This means that grams look cleaner on the page. 

With grams its easer to see relationships and ratios between amounts of ingredients.

3. What do you look for in a scale?

It should have a switch that goes from ounces to grams.  

It should have a tare button (so you can reset to zero) to compensate for any kind of container.  

It should be able to register amounts at least as small as 5 grams (though I like a scale that reads 1 or 2 grams) and at least as high a 2 kilos (though more is better).

I DO NOT LIKE any scale that proposes to translate from volume to weight (first because I don't trust the weights used for equivalences and second because I think we are grown ups and can learn to use a scale without training wheels) I often say that a decent scale can be had for less than the price of 10 lattes....so there is really no excuse not to have one, especially if you like to bake.

Thanks Alice!

I’ve reviewed various scales over the years. My current model? Smart Weigh.

Here are the features:

Sleek flat design, stores easily

A backlit LCD screen

A tare button

A capacity of 11 pounds/5 kg and registers as little as 5 grams

Uses 4 AAA batteries

Switches from ounces to grams, pounds to kilos

A wide and flat surface, which makes reading the screen very easy even when you are weighting something large

It looks a lot more expensive than it is--black or white models are $24.99



Disclaimer: I received the Smart Weigh for review purposes. This post includes Amazon affiliate links. I was not monetarily compensated for this review or any other post.

Goat Cheese Giveaway!

Credit: The Original Chèvre

The first time I went to Paris I discovered a tiny little cheese shop that I swear was dedicated 100% to goat cheese. There were goat cheeses of all sizes and shapes, some with rinds others covered in ash and others wrapped in leaves. It was like a whole new universe of cheese. A delicious one.

Fortunately these days there is a wide range of goat cheese, both domestic and international available in the US. There are fresh soft fluffy cheeses, gooey triple creme style cheeses and drier aged goat cheeses. To learn more about goat cheese as well as great pairings, head over to Culture Cheese magazine. Today you'll find my post with two recipes--one for Scallop Selles-sur-Cher Crostini and another for a dead simple Five Spice Fig Compote with just 5 ingredients.

GIVEAWAY! 

I am giving away 5 French goat cheeses so you can test, taste and create your own recipes. You will also receive a package of tried and true recipes for inspiration and trivia cards so you can learn a little bit of history on French goat cheeses and temporary tattoos to wear your love for Original Chèvre.

Leave me a comment about how you most enjoy eating or serving goat cheese and what kinds of recipes you'd like to explore. You must have a US mailing address to win. You MUST leave your email address in the field where it is requested, it will not be visible to the public only to me. DO NOT leave your email address in the body of your comment. I will choose a winner on October 1.

Disclaimer: My thanks to Culture Cheese magazine and Goat Cheeses of France for sending me goat cheese samples and providing me the opportunity to participate in this promotion, I was not compensated monetarily for this or any other post on the blog. 

Global Grub Pad Thai Kit

I generally don't review cooking kits since I'd rather cook something from a recipe instead, but there are exceptions. Try as I might, I cannot make my own tamales from scratch taste quite as exquisite as the ones from Global Grub. I'm pretty sure it has to do with the mix of chiles in package.

Which brings me to the lastest cooking kit from Global Grub, Pad Thai. It’s all about the ingredients. There are a lot of recipes for Pad Thai out there and more often than not they use ingredients that just don’t belong in it such as ketchup, rice wine vinegar or honey. For more authentic versions, check out the recipes in Pok Pok by Andy Ricker or Thai Street Food by David Thompson (which also includes the fascinating history of the dish).Or even easier, you can use the latest Pad Thai kit from Global Grub. Having tried the kit I can vouch for it. Along with rice stick noodles, the kit contains tamarind, fish sauce and preserved radish which you might not have on hand but make all the difference in this simple but satisfying dish. It tastes just like what you get in a restaurant not in a cheap kit or from making it without the right ingredients. The balance is right, but so is the texture and the toppings.  I asked Carley Sheehy the founder of Global Grub how this kit came to be.

“I’ve been infatuated with Pad Thai since I had a huge delicious plate of it in Thailand (for only a couple bucks). When I came back to the US, none of the Pad Thais could compare! I realized the Americanized version oftentimes uses ketchup instead of tamarind, which makes a big difference. I also realized what makes the dish extra challenging is the balance between sweet, salty, sour, spicy. It’s a lot of contrasting flavors to balance, plus everyone has their own taste/preference. So basically, I’ve been “studying” it for a long time and trying to perfect the recipe (over and over again). I also was lucky enough to have my brother go to Thailand last year where he officially learned to make authentic Pad Thai; he passed all his learnings to me. 

One of the reasons why Pad Thai made so much sense as a kit was not only the hard-to-find ingredients (especially the tamarind paste and preserved radish), but that you can really “balance” the flavors the way you like it e.g. if you like it spicier, add more chili flakes, etc. I’m really trying to encourage home cooks to use the kits as is or “make it yours.” 

Give the kit a try, and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: My thanks to Global Grub for providing the kit for me to review. I used my own tofu, egg, garlic, shallots, bean sprouts, green onions, lime, roasted peanuts and shrimp to make the dish and was not compensated monetarily to write this or any other post on Cooking with Amy. 

All about Hatch chiles

A few weekends ago I went to a Hatch chile roast.Hatch chiles are a very prized New Mexican variety. They are available fresh from August through September and once roasted, they can be kept in the freezer for up to 2 years. They are very high in vitamin C—one medium chile has as much as 6 oranges. 

There are 5 or 6 different chiles that are marketed with the name “Hatch” and they are each named for the valley they are grown in. The most common Hatch chile is the NuMex 6-4 Heritage, which was bred for flavor, heat level and size at New Mexico State University. They are fleshy, long and narrow. Not generally eaten raw, roasting really brings out their flavor—they are smoky but also have citrus, herbal and vegetal flavors but with distinct heat. You can get mild, medium, hot or extra hot Hatch chiles.

A year ago I was sent some hot chiles from The Hatch Chile Store and it has taken me a year to use them. They are really, really hot so a little goes a long way. You might think I had learned my lesson and would get medium heat chiles this time but I did not. In fact the chiles I got from Mollie Stone’s Market supplied by Melissa’s were fresh off the grill and I made yet another mistake, not peeling them with gloves. Ouch! I didn’t feel the sting and burn until hours later. Fortunately it does go away, eventually. 

You can still attend a 2015 Hatch chile roast at a Bay Area Mollie Stone's Market in September on the 12th in Sausalito, 13th in Burlingame, 19th in San Mateo or 20th in Palo Alto. Preorder them if you like. If you prefer having them peeled for you, you can order them from The Hatch Chile Store. They arrive frozen in a flat package and are easy to remove, one at a time. 

So what do you do with Hatch chiles? You can use them in dishes that feature them as a primary flavor such as chile verde or in chile rellenos, but there are countless other ways to enjoy them too. Here are just a few ways to use them:

* Stirred into polenta or grits 

* In scrambled eggs, frittata or quiche

* Mixed into macaroni and cheese

* As a topping for burgers or cheese burgers

* In a quesadilla 

* In chili con carne or vegetarian chili 

* Added to corn chowder

* In enchilada sauce or filling

* Added to cornbread or corn muffins 

* To spice up spinach artichoke dip 

Disclaimer: I received Hatch chiles from The Chile Store and from Mollie Stone's Market. I was not monetarily compensated to write this or any other post on Cooking with Amy. 

Eat Them to Save Them & Giveaway!

I was in Alaska recently to go fishing and watch cooking demos, but more importantly to learn a bit about how Alaska helps to promote sustainability, protect the fisheries and in turn, the ecosystem. The effort that goes into maintaining the health of fisheries in Alaska is astounding and something I didn't really appreciate until I met and spoke with environmentalists, biologists, state officials and even politicians, all committed to the long term health of the fisheries. 

Salmon fishermen are projected to harvest a billion pounds of salmon or 221 million fish this year in Alaska and yet consumption of seafood continues to decline in the US and is considerably behind chicken, pork and even beef. In Alaska, those responsibly harvesting seafood take a vested interest in maintaining it. What I learned about the sustainability of salmon fisheries has applications well beyond seafood. We all want more sustainability and biodiversity in our food and to preserve traditional foodways, but how? Sometimes if you love it, the best thing you can do is eat it. 

Sustainable Seafood

Choosing sustainable seafood is getting easier to do. If you enjoy fishing, check out Trout Unlimited. It’s an organization dedicated to conserving, protecting and restoring North America's coldwater fisheries and their watersheds.

When it comes to eating seafood, one easy way to choose sustainable, is to choose Alaska Seafood which is also wild and natural and represents 60% of the seafood consumed in America. For seafood beyond Alaska, talk to your local fishmonger or explore the SeafoodWatch program to learn more about making the best seafood choices.

Heritage Breeds of Animals

The Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity is dedicated to supporting biodiversity through various projects including the Ark of Taste and Earth Markets. Another organzation that specifically preserves and promotes rare and heritage breeds of livestock is the Livestock Conservancy. They even have a gene bank that saves the genetic material of rare breeds.

For consumers, bookmark the Eat Well Guide, which has 25,000 free listings of farms, farmers markets, restaurants, co-ops, and other places that offer locally grown, sustainably produced food.

Heirloom Varieties of Produce 

Remember when all the tomatoes in the supermarket tasted bland? The tomato selection has improved, but for even tastier tomatoes, head to the garden.

One of the great joys of gardening and even shopping at a farmer’s market is enjoying varieties of fruits and vegetables that aren’t commercially grown on a large scale. Not all varieties of produce ship easily or have reasonably long shelf life.

By supporting farmers and growing your own heirloom varieties, you can help preserve biodiversity. 

Gardener Giveaway! 

Gift Pack containing: 

1 Seeds of Change canvas shopping bag

3 organic rice packs

4 packs of seeds

$25 Seeds of Change gift card

Take a look at the fun 2 minute video above featuring Hugh Acheson, and let me know in the comments what about it made the biggest impression on you. I will chose one winner at random on Sunday August 30th, 2015. You must be a US resident to win and have a US mailing address. Include your email in the comments form, only I will see it. Do NOT write your email in the body of your comment or it will be visible to everyone. 

Disclaimer: Giveaway courtesy of Seeds of Change, I was not compensated in any way, shape or form for this post. 

Slow Roasted Alaska Halibut with Fennel & Tomatoes Recipe

When I was growing up we had a second freezer that I swear was packed full of halibut. My father got it somewhere and we ate it for what seemed like years. I remember that it was dry, tough and somewhat stringy. Was it terribly freezer burned? Only recently my mother told me it might not have been halibut. What it actually was will forever remain a mystery. But it was years before I tried halibut again and imagine my surprise to discover that it is a delicate, creamy and luscious fish.

Recently I was in Alaska to learn more about seafood so naturally I went fishing. Our boat caught a tremendous amount of halibut. Halibut can be very big fish and now I've come full circle and am enjoying having a freezer full of it. I believe the secret to cooking halibut is to be extremely gentle. It cooks up wonderfully when roasted slowly and is much harder to overcook at low temperatures. In this recipe you roast vegetables at high heat, give the fish a little rest at room temperature with a  spice rub and then coat the fish with the juicy vegetables to help keep it moist while cooking it ever so slowly.

In 2014 Americans ate over 100 pounds red meat and about 100 pounds of poultry per capita, but only around 14 pounds of fish and seafood That's a shame because seafood is really good and even a small serving can be very satisfying. I find about 4 ounces is plenty.

Some more things to know about Alaska seafood : 

* It's healthy--3 1/2 ounces cooked halibut has 140 calories, 27 grams of protein and 460 mg of Omega 3

* It's easy to cook

* It can be prepared very quickly

Note:  If you don't have cherry or grape tomatoes, just use diced Roma tomatoes instead.

Slow Roasted Alaska Halibut with Fennel & Tomatoes 
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb

2 cups halved cherry or grape tomatoes 

4 garlic cloves thinly sliced

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 halibut filets, about 4 - 5 ounces each

1/2 teaspoon paprika—any kind is fine, smoked, sweet or hot

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Instructions 

Preheat oven to 450°.

Lined a roasting pan or baking dish with foil. Layer on the fennel then garlic and top with the tomatoes Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile combine the paprika, salt, and onion powder. Pat dry the fish and sprinkle evenly with the spice mixture. Let the fish rest at room temperature while the vegetables are roasting. 

When vegetables have roasted for 15 minutes, remove them from the oven and immediately lower the oven temperature to 200 degrees. Push the vegetables to the side of the pan. Place the filets in the center of the pan and pile the vegetables on top of the filets. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. 

Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Alaska Seafood for hosting me on my trip to Alaska. I was not compensated monetarily to write this or any other post on Cooking with Amy. 

Refreshing Drinks for Hot Days

I always have a pitcher of  unsweetened iced tea in the refrigerator and this Summer I’ve been experimenting with making shrubs. I’m not a soda drinker, so these drinks appeal to me because they are very refreshing and not very sweet. 

Teapigs is a British tea company operating in the US. They make a most unusual line of matcha drinks. One has grapefruit, another apple and one has elderflower. None of them have any added sugar, just the natural sweetness from fruit juices. I tried all three and I’m hard pressed to say which I like best. They are each quite good. I like the bitter edge to the grapefruit, the fruitiness of the apple and the floral quality to the elderflower. They are a bit pricey at about $3.99 each, but such a nice treat. Think of it as a healthier indulgence than a cappuccino. It’s available in many locations.

If you’ve been to Rome in the Summer, perhaps you’re familiar with the lemon and coconut stands found in piazzas. The CEO of Jones Soda Co. is married to a Roman and discovered the drinks on one of her many trips to Italy. Lemoncocco might sound weird but is absolutely divine! It’s got the slight velvety creaminess of coconut and sharp tang of lemon. It’s not carbonated. It’s less than 100 calories for 12 ounces. It’s available in Calfiornia, Washington, Oregon or you can order it online.

A few months ago I got to be a judge at a beer festival. I was really happy to find out I’d been assigned to the category “Summer sippers” because it was a particularly hot day and I got to try the most refreshing drinks. The winner was not a beer at all, but a flavored cider. The judges chose Lemon Saison from Common Cider. Recently Common Cider sent me some other flavors. 

The ones I’m most fond of are Blood Orange Tangerine and Lemon Saison which isn't surprising since I like citrus flavors. They are both crisp and refreshing with a bit of effevessence, but not too much and only about 6.5% alcohol. No artificial flavors or colors. Check the online locator to find them (California and Nevada only so far). 

Another cider I’m very impressed with is Golden State Mighty Dry Cider. It’s made by the same folks who make DeVoto Cider, which produces exquisite all estate ciders that in are in somewhat limited supply. 

Golden State uses all West Coast apples of many different varieties. It clocks in at 6.9% alcohol and has no added sugars or water or concentrates. It’s a very pure and unadulterated product. It's great on its own, is also amazing when combined with a fruity shrub. It's a hard cider, but much better than most you may have tried before. 

At the Fancy Food Show in January I tried Belvoir presse style drinks with elderflower.  I’m a big fan of elderflower which is much more popular in Europe than it is here. It’s a little bit fruity and pleasantly floral. It pairs well with lemonade and mixes beautifully with white spirits like gin. 

The two flavors I've tried of Belvoir are the Elderflower and the Elderflower and Rose. Both are floral, very refreshing and have just a hint of lemon juice to balance the sweetness. They are labeled lemonade in the US, but really are more like a floral sparkling drink. Look online to find where to buy them.

Disclaimer: Some of these products were provided to me as samples or I tried them at an event. I was not monetarily compensated to write this or any other post on Cooking with Amy. 

Alaska Seafood Moqueca Recipe

I'm just back from the incredibly wild and unspoiled state of Alaska. I was on the trip with food writers and chefs as well as a seafood importer. I got a chance to talk with a lot of people involved with Alaska seafood including a biologist, a conservationist, a manager from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the proprietor of an oyster farm and even a senator and commercial fisherman. I was impressed with their efforts to keep the seafood industry sustainable and environmentally friendly.

My itinerary was jam packed. I flew in a sea plane over glaciers, foraged along the seashore and into the forest, fished for salmon and halibut (and caught one of each). I tasted all five species of salmon, and I also got a chance to observe some cooking demonstrations where I picked up some great cooking tips. One recipe I couldn't wait to try at home came from Chef Fernando Corsi, who lives in São Paolo. It was his version of a very traditional Brazilian recipe called moqueca. If you look for recipes online you will find they vary greatly. I think it might be more about technique than anything else. Vegetables, coconut milk and aromatics are layered in a clay pot and topped with seafood. But you can make it any pot you happen to have. 

Americans eat less seafood than other proteins like chicken, pork or beef and that's a shame because seafood is really healthy and delicious. Almost 60% of the seafood in the US comes from Alaska and is wild, natural and sustainable.

Chef Fernando Corsi used local Alaskan fish and shrimp rather than what he would find in Brazil and emphasized how flexible this recipe is. Not only is it a satisfying combination of flavors--tomatoes, onions, peppers and lime, cilantro, garlic and ginger, it's also because it is extremely quick and easy to make. Served with rice it's a terrific one pot meal. Could it help convince you to eat more seafood? I certainly hope so!

Note: One key ingredient in Moqueca is dende oil, but the chef showed us how to use turmeric and any plain oil instead. If you have palm oil feel free to use it.

Moqueca

Serves 4

Ingredients

5 Tablespoons coconut oil, or other vegetable oil

2 Tablespoons turmeric

2 teaspoons grated ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, red or white, sliced into rings 

2 bell peppers. sliced into rings 

1 small hot chile such as serrano, sliced

2 medium sized tomatoes, sliced into rounds
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 can coconut milk 

Sprigs of cilantro, chopped

3/4 pound shrimp, peeled

3/4 pound firm white fish such as halibut or cod, cut into bite sized pieces

Juice of one lime

Instructions 

Heat the oil in a medium heavy pot. Add the coconut oil and turmeric. Add the ginger and garlic and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes. 

Layer in the onions, tomatoes and peppers then season with salt and pepper and cook for 3 minutes.

Season the seafood with salt and pepper and add to the pot along with the coconut milk. Cook just until the fish is cooked through. Stir in the lime juice then taste and add more salt and pepper if desired. Garnish the stew with the chopped cilantro and serve over rice.

Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Chef Fernando Corsi for the recipe and to Alaska Seafood for hosting me on this trip. I was not compensated monetarily to write this or any other post on Cooking with Amy. 

Red Grapeseed Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars Recipe

If you’re familiar with the White Lily brand, you probably know it’s a Southern company, famous for flour that is used in biscuits. It’s been a very long time since they’ve introduced a new product, so they invited a bunch of mostly baking bloggers (and me!)  to come visit wheat fields outside of Spokane to learn about their latest venture—wheat flours with tracability and blends with red and white grape seed flour.

Red and white grape seed flour from Whole Vine is blended with flour from Shepherd’s Grain and sold in 2 pound resealable bags. It’s designed to be an optimal blend, offering cup for cup replacement of all purpose flour. Plans are to offer it nationwide. Although the flour is a blend, each bag has a traceability code allowing you to see and learn more about a farmer whose wheat is in the specific bag.

To produce the flour, White Lily partnered with Shepherd’s Grain, a cooperative that has roots in an 1888 farmstead farm. The goal of the company is to provide long term sustainability in agriculture. All the grower members of the cooperative are "no till” farmers who rely on the diversity of crop rotation, cover straw and soil science to try and imitate nature rather than fight with it. As a result they have fewer issues with rain erosion of topsoil, and concentrate on returning value to the land.

I didn't know much about tilling so I asked a scientist about it and this is what I learned: Tilling dates back to 1790 when Jethro Tull advocated it in a book on farming. Initially plowing prairie led to yield gains, making nutrients more available but it also has serious negative consequences. Tilling leads to sterilization of soil, and 33% of organic matter is lost in the first two years after tilling. It also leads to greater needs for fertilizers, creating a viscious cycle. In changing over to this older way of farming, growers do need to invest in different types of seeding equipment. Bottom line? Healthy soil requires less inputs which is more economically and environmentally sustainable.

Within Shepherd’s Grain most of the 42 growers have farms that are an average of 4K acres. Shepherds Grain also includes a seed company and a research company. Shepherd’s Grain is focused on quality and consistency of grain, rather than quantity. They want to reconnect farmers and food, so you know where your food is coming from, that's why there is a traceability code on each bag. The research company is very focused on the infrastructure of the soil and the diverse, dynamic habitat it creates. They are also trying to find a correlation between human nutrition and the micronutrients in grain. Apparently there is very little known about the terroir of grain, which impacts flavor significantly.

After trying a number of baked goods using the white and red grape flour, I adapted a recipe I found on Best Ever Cookie Collection and used the red grape flour which has a slightly sweet flavor profile and less gluten than regular 100% wheat flour. These flours are easy to work with, and add just hint of color. They are particularly good in dense desserts and crackers.

Note: For the fruit I used plum amazin's but you could use dried cranberries or any other dried fruit bits

Red Grapeseed Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Makes 16 squares

1 1/2 cups White Lily Wheat and Red Grape Seed flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon granulated salt

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips, I used Guittard extra dark

1/2 cup bits of dried fruit, optional

1/2 cup chopped walnuts 

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.Grease a 8x8-inch pan with cooking spray.Beat together the oil and sugar until well combined.Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder and salt, stirring until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips, dried fruit and nuts.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: My thanks to White Lily for inviting me to learn more about their flour and about Shepherd's Grain, and also for providing me with flour to use in recipes. I was not compensated monetarily for this or any other post on Cooking with Amy.