Winter 2019 Issue

By Moe Good Finigan
| December 2, 2019

I write this issue’s Grist for the Mill with a heavy heart, and at the same time filled with gratitude that no human lives were lost in the recent Kincade Fires that ravaged sections of Sonoma County.

It feels surreal that our community finds itself in a state of deep loss, and fear, once again—for the fourth year in a row. The home of a dear friend that narrowly escaped the fires two years ago was not as lucky this time, and burned the night the fires began. Thankfully, her family was not at home at the time. The animal rescue ranch owned by another friend also burned, but all of the animals were evacuated to safety.

Julia Jackson, environmental warrior and daughter of Barbara Banke and the late Jess Jackson, proprietors of Jackson Family Wines, also lost her home in the Kincade Fires. The founder of Grounded, an environmental organization dedicated to bringing together the best minds on the planet to solve the climate crisis (Grounded.org), Jackson’s social media posts since the fire evidence her impassioned mission to affect real change. Godspeed, Ms. Jackson.

I, and we all, have to hope, trust and pray that these latest fires, and the rushed evacuations of hundreds of thousands of our neighbors, and the same in Southern California, and the massive power and cell tower outages that disrupted lives and livelihoods throughout our community, are a watershed moment in our understanding of the gravity of the climate crisis—and the imperative to act now. Right now. It is too late to simply “sustain.” We must regenerate.

You’ll hear more about good food and drink businesses doing good, including being part of the fight against climate change through regenerative farming, carbon sequestration on ranchlands and zero-waste restaurant operations in our Summer 2020 issue, but in the meantime I want to give a huge shout out to the many grocers, restaurateurs, chefs and other food and drink producers in our area who jumped in, immediately and generously, to provide nourishing meals to evacuees, first responders and those just in need of a place to gather for some sense of normalcy in an unreal time during the recent fires.

I plan to make a special effort this holiday season, and beyond, to show them how much I appreciate all that they bring to our community. They need us to fill their restaurants, grocery and farmers’ market aisles, and to seek out their locally made products. Spoiler alert: Our 11th annual Edible Gift Guide in this issue is an excellent place to start!

Books for Cooks 2019

Books for Cooks 2019, Continued

California Caviar

Chef Kyle Swain

How to Enjoy Caviar

Junior Cooking Challenge

Kumquats

Not Your Average Retirement Plan

Potent Potables

The Rye Renaissance of Mare Island

Transforming School Lunches, One “Conscious Kitchen” at a Time

Winter Storm Watching

Zero-Waste Grocery Shopping

Related Stories & Recipes:

Recipes

Belcampo’s Lamb Larb

Recipe excerpted from East Bay Cooks by Carolyn Jung. Belcampo, the East Bay–based vertically integrated organic and sustainable meat producer, processor, retail butcher and restaurant operator that also has a location at the Marin Country Mart in Larkspur. While this traditional Laotian dish is typically made with ground chicken, beef or pork, Belcampo swaps that for lamb, which has a more assertive presence. The spicy meat mixture is mounded on lettuce cups for a perfect finger-food appetizer. Or add steamed sticky rice and a marinated cucumber salad to make this the centerpiece of a family-style meal.

Recipes

Black Cod and Manila Clams with Brassica-Pistachio Pesto

Recipe contributed by Chef Matt Shapiro, Tony’s Seafood Restaurant, Hog Island Oyster Co. Since 2014, Matt Shapiro has played an integral role in the kitchens of HIOC. A passionate fisherman and forager, Matt pays close attention to the quality and source of every ingredient he uses.

Recipes

Butter Toffee with Chocolate and Almonds

Recipe contributed by Patisserie Angelica, Sebastopol

Desserts, Recipes, Winter Recipes

Candied Kumquats in Syrup over Almond Pound Cake

Candied kumquats spooned over warm pound cake make a very simple seasonal dessert. You can use a purchased pound cake or make your own.

Recipes

Cooking Prepared Hominy

Of all the ways to cook dried hominy, simmering in a trusty soup pot on the stove is the most reliable. Basically, you just soak and simmer. The first thing you must do is to check that, in fact, you have hominy. After trying a recipe from my blog, one writer — who, I want to stress, was using a non-Rancho Gordo product — was very upset. “Heirloom pazole [sic] needs to cook at least 4 or 5 hours, even after it has been soaked for 5 hours. It is totally raw after just two hours of hard cooking.” The writer was using dried, untreated corn. Because it wasn’t nixtamalized, it would never be pleasant, no matter how long they had cooked it. You can — and should — use the cooked hominy right away; hominy is best when freshly prepared. If you end up having more than you immediately need, you can refrigerate cooked hominy for a few days, or freeze it in some of its cooking liquid for up to two months. Make sure you allow enough time to soak the prepared hominy for 5 to 8 hours. It won’t swell up in the same way dried beans do, but it will be doing its work. Yield: A half-pound of dried hominy — about 1 cup — yields approximately 4 cups of cooked hominy.