Good Food and a Bottle of Rum

Guest Interview

Market Report ()

Laura Avery speaks with Amelia Saltsman at the Santa Monica Farmers Wednesday Market and they chat about fresh figs appearing on the market tables. Figs are easy to prepare. Amelia suggests cutting them in half and putting them cut-side down in a hot, buttered skillet. Don't move them and they've form a delicious, sugary crust.  Try them with ice cream or mascarpone cheese.

Amelia presents this recipe so that we can enjoy other late summer flavors too.

Corn, Summer Squash, and Tomato Stew

This fresh, light end-of-summer vegetable stew is based on an old California recipe from the 19th century.

4 ears corn
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
11/2 pounds summer squash, such as Moroccan or marrow, cut into 1-inch dice
1 large clove garlic minced
1 pound red tomatoes, such as Celebrity or Early Girl, chopped
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Use a sharp knife to shave the corn kernels from the cobs. In a wide pot over medium heat, sauté the onion with a little salt until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in squash, garlic, and a little salt and cook covered until zucchini is partly tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in corn and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and cook covered over medium-low heat until corn is tender and tomatoes have broken down, about 15 minutes.
Makes 6 servings.

© 2006, Amelia Saltsman.

Guest Interview

And a Bottle of Rum ()

Wayne Curtis tells us about his book And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails which tells the story of America by telling the histories of 10 drinks in which the principal ingredient is rum.

Guest Interview

Ice Rocks ()

Stu Levitan of ICEROCKS.com has a new product that might surprise you. He is packaging “secure ice”, purified ice cubes that come in a 24 or 48-pack unfrozen. The “ice” can be taken to foreign countries where ice may be unavailable or contaminated. Look for his other products on his website, Ice Kids and Scotch Rocks.

Guest Interview

Sake ()

Beau Timken of www.truesake.com discusses sake.

Some of the special brands he mentions are:

The Junmai Sake was Otokoyama JH-01
The Ginjo Sake was Wakatake Onikoroshi JG-06
The Dai Ginjo was Hoyo DG-25

Guest Interview

Ginseng ()

David A. Taylor has written Ginseng, the Divine Root: The Curious History of the Plant That Captivated the World which uncovers the epic tale of ginseng, an herb prized for centuries by Chinese emperors, Native American healers, herbalists and smugglers.

Collected by Daniel Boone, ginseng was one of America's first major exports to the Far East. Today the herb is found in everything from traditional medicines to New Age power drinks. Yet wild ginseng has become a victim of its own popularity, and is under threat.

David Taylor explores revealing connections between people and their worlds. His articles have appeared in a wide range of publications, including Smithsonian, The Washington Post, The Village Voice, Outside, Christian Science Monitor and The Atlantic Unbound. He has written award-winning documentaries for PBS, National Geographic, the Discovery Channel and others.

Read his blog on ginseng.

Guest Interview

Pho (pronounced FUH)-Gettaboutit! ()

Pho is the Vietnamese dish of beef noodle soup.  Eddie Lin of Deep End Dining gives a frightening account of eating Beef Penis Pho at Pho Nguyen Hue on Bolsa in Little Saigon in Westminster.

Guest Interview

Dining Out Halal Style ()

Halal is the dietary law that Muslims follow.  And as long as you don't want to go out to eat, you'll be okay. But if you'd like to eat out you probably need some help finding the right place.  Enter Zabihah.com. The website devoted to finding halal restaurants all around the world.  Here you can find that Appleby's restaurants can serve you a halal meal. 

Shahed Amanullah and his wife, Hina, both American citizens born and raised in the U.S., have devoted themselves to educating the American public on Islamic culture and the Islamic point of view on social and political issues.  Shahed has appeared on CNN, PBS, Nightline, the BBC and in numerous magazines.

Guest Interview

The Cheese Nun ()

Sister Noella Marcellino, of the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Connecticut, discusses the biochemical and microbiological characteristics of artisanal cheeses.  For many who don't know about Sister Noella's work, her presence in this highly scientific and academic endeavor might seem unusual.  But Sister Noella, with a Doctorate in Microbiology, is one of the country's foremost experts in the science behind artisanal cheese.  

She is the subject of the documentary shown on PBS here in the U.S. called The Cheese Nun.