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FOOD AND DRINK: Seems like a lot of people enjoy talking and writing about their cooking experiences and sharing recipes. So, for all you foodies, here's your page. Send your stories, recipes and comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com.

Beer Bread, Brownies, and Chewy Edges

Ever eat beer bread? It once was a staple in our house and often accompanied stews, pot roast and boiled New England dinners. It is possibly the easiest bread there is to make and is extremely tasty.

The typical recipe for beer bread consists of 3 cups of self-rising flour, ½ cup of sugar, a 12 ounce bottle of your favorite beer (I prefer a dark heavy ale). Mix it all up, put the batter in a buttered baking pan and drizzle some melted butter over the top. Then bake it at 375 for about an hour.

Back in the day, “the day” being before the invention of cholesterol, we would melt an entire stick of butter and pour on top. What resulted was robust bread with extremely crunchy, buttery edges. The edges were so good we’d argue over which got the end pieces.

Recently, my daughter Jennifer had us over for a beef and vegetable soup dinner and she served up a couple of loafs of beer bread on the side. Well, this is not “the day” and in place of a whole stick of butter she substituted a measured amount of olive oil. While it was very good it just was not the beer bread of yore.

So, that got us to reminiscing about “yore” and how much we all enjoyed the chewy edges of things like beer bread, chocolate chip cookies and brownies. Someone suggested we use muffin tins to bake cookies and brownies in so you would get more chewy edges and less soft center.

Next thing in the storyline was watching CBS Sunday Morning and seeing a segment about a young man who reached the same conclusion and decided to do something about it. He designed a special baking pan, called The Baker’s Edge that consists of a winding trough in which the batter is baked, thus creating more edges. It was slow at first but his idea has found a market and even at $34.95 is selling well.

Now, back to the muffin tin…last night my son Mike came in the house and was hanging around the kitchen. After several minutes the aroma of brownies began to waft throughout the house and, low and behold, he was baking brownies in our muffin tins. The result was a dozen delicious delights with very little yucky center and lots of chewy edges.

If you are one of us who enjoys your brownies on the chewy side there is only one moral of this brief story. Spend $34.95 or reach for your Dollar Store muffin pans!

Oh, about that beer bread…I suggest a compromise between great taste and cholesterol. How bout a blend of 50-50 olive oil and butter? But, don’t skimp!  

Larry Chapman, March 2, 2010: Submit Comments

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There’s been a lot of news lately about the invasion of Asian carp into the Mississippi and Illinois rivers and tributaries. This invasive specie is ravaging the native fish populations and because of their propensity to leap out of the water as boats near have become a navigation hazard. Also, of major concern is whether they can be kept out of the Great Lakes. 

In reading about the subject I discovered that in many areas of the world Asian carp are a food fish. A few commercial fishermen along the tributaries of the Mississippi have also learned this and are doing pretty well netting these carp and selling them into American markets where there are large enclaves of ethnic populations. One Illinois processor is also seeking to begin exporting frozen carp to China.  

According to the Chicago Tribune the solution to containing the further spread of the carp is, “If you can’t beat em’, eat em’.” The problem here is that they are carp. In America carp is traditionally viewed as being a trash fish and not something to bring home to the dinner table. I’m sure most of you have heard the stories about how to properly cook a carp; bake it in a mound of cow dung and when it’s finished, dig out the carp, throw it away, and eat the dung! 

The solution, however, is pretty simple and it time proven, change its name. Don’t call it carp, give it a cutesy name that is marketable followed by a marketing campaign to win acceptance.  

Before Cajun chef, Paul Prudhomme, began serving redfish and rice in his New Orleans restaurant, most people had either never heard of redfish or viewed it as being several notches down the food chain. Prudhomme promoted the dish, the word spread, and the redfish population was almost wiped out by over fishing.  

Would you walk into your favorite Red Lobster and order a dinner of grilled slimehead fish? How about a man’s size plate of fried toothfish? There is an excellent chance you have eaten both of these very popular creatures from the world’s oceans. To create a market and a sellable product some smart marketing types simply changed the slimehead’s name to orange ruffy and the toothfish to Chilean sea bass. Can you spell endangered species? 

I’ve been told that the same thing is true about the portabella mushroom. Portabellas are nothing more than adult brown button mushrooms and at one time weren’t marketable. Then someone saw the light and began calling them portabellas and marketed them as a substitute for meat. The rest is vegan history.  

Not every attempt to get us to eat something we otherwise have an aversion to has worked. Several years ago the state of Louisiana began a public relations program to encourage residents to add nutria to their diets. Nutria, an invasive rodent, was first brought into the country from South America as a source of fur. They escaped into the wild and today are a major threat to the wetlands of the South.  

Along with the state’s efforts, several prominent New Orleans chefs began to include nutria on their menus. In spite of all the combined efforts and the money spent, they just couldn’t get people to eat anything that looked like a rat. A fish pretty much looks like a fish, even if it’s ugly, but a rat by any other name is still a rat.  

Now, back to the Asian carp; it seems as if the word is getting out and the entrepreneurs seeing a nickel to be made. I’ve heard that a company in Louisiana is putting together a marketing plan to get us to “eat em’” Don’t be surprised that sometime in the not too distant future you see something in your grocer’s freezer labeled Mrs. Paul’s Silverfin fillets. One species of the Asian carp in America’s rivers is the silver carp, thus, the name silverfin. 

Folks around Rock Island, IL are pushing for Rock Island Sole while elsewhere along the Illinois River, near the town of Savannah, the preferred name is Savannah Sole.  

PS: I’ve caught a number of common carp over the years but have never eaten one. A goal for this coming fishing season is to catch a carp, or two, and give it a try. I’ll let you know which was better, the carp or the cow dung! 

Larry Chapman, March 1, 2010: Submit Comments

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A weak spot in my education is my knowledge of chemistry. Other than playing around with a Gilbert Chemistry set my parents gave me for Christmas as a child, I’ve never had a formal chemistry lesson. What I know is what I learned in general science classes in elementary and high school and what I’ve read about in the years since. 

Yesterday I was reading a news article about the growing technological reliance on things called “rare earth elements.” The list includes such things as europium, dysprosium, terbium, neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium. 

Now, I’m not going to try to explain any of these rare earths except to say they are in short supply, thus the word “rare” in their classification, and that China has a bunch of them and is suggesting they will soon not be able to export to other countries because their own industries need their waning supply. 

I probably should mention that some of the above listed rare earths go into the production of LED devices including television screens and computer monitors. A large number go into the production of batteries that will be needed to power the electric cars we’re going to need to help break our dependence on foreign oil. The batteries in the current version of the Toyota Prius rely on at least four from the above list.  

The US does have deposits of a number of the necessary rare earths but mining them is subject to environmental restrictions and the remoteness of the deposit locations, i.e. Alaska. Furthermore, only China has the capacity to refine the ores once they have been dug out of the earth.  

It was about this point in the article that I began to get bored with the subject matter and went looking for something about science that I could better relate to. I found it on Onion Radio.  

I downloaded the podcast of a news item claiming that the chemist at Frito-Lay had found a new element that when used in the production of Doritos Tortilla Chips dramatically increased the flavor and addictive nature of America’s already favorite snack.  

As of July 2009 the Periodic Table recognized 117 known elements. The number will be increased to 118 now that the element Cheesium has been discovered. Thanks Doritos dudes, Cheesium rocks!

Larry Chapman, February 17, 2010; submit comments

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I May Be a Coffee Snob!

Keurig make a device called the My-Kcup that allows one to use any brand of ground coffee in their machine. So, instead of buying more costly k-cups I buy whole beans from Two Roasting Joe’s in Chillicothe and grind my own. So, in the morning I have a mug of regular TRJ’s Chillicoffee which is very bold and in the afternoon and evening have a mug of the decaf I mentioned.  

I like what this machine does so well that before I went fishing last November I purchase a portable version of the Keurig and rigged it up so I could make coffee off the cigarette power plug in my van. I’ve become so addicted to this machine and what it produces I simply don’t want to drink coffee any place other than at home or out the back door of my vehicle. It was telling my brother in law about this that earned me the label, coffee snob.    

What prompted this essay was the need to burn up some of the energy I’m experiencing from the caffeine buzz I’m now on. While in Florida I purchased a 10 oz. brick of Café Bustelo, a Cuban espresso blend roasted in Miami and very popular in that area.   

I didn’t open the brick until yesterday morning and am having my second experience with it today. It is excellent but the caffeine content must be off the chart. Compared to what I normally start my day with this stuff is like drinking meth. I remember a Saturday Night Live skit where they advertised something called Puppy Uppers/Doggie Downers. Well, this stuff is Puppy Uppers and I’m leaving for the supermarket just so I can have something to fill the kitchen cupboards with! Either that or continue to sit here watching the tips of my typing fingers heat up and begin smoking.  

I gotta go, I gotta move. Whoo hoo! 

Larry Chapman, January 22, 2010, comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com

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A Few Food Rules to Consider

Michael Pollan has a new book out titled Food Rules. I’ve not read it yet but I have read several reviews and have placed it on order. Essentially it is a collection of 64 rules regarding how to make decisions about what we eat. It promises to be a quick read containing good information presented in a clear, and often humorous, manner. 

One of his rules, and the bulk of this article, deals with junk food. The rule is simply, “Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself.”  

Specifically we’re talking about French fried potatoes. Back in my childhood French fries were a rare treat and maybe once a month my mom would give in to our pleadings for fries. There were no fast food restaurants and even in the existing restaurants I don’t remember banks of deep fryers. If you grew up in Greenfield you’ll recall that neither Penny’s nor Tiny’s served anything fried that couldn’t be prepared on the grill.  

Making French fries is not an easy chore. It requires cleaning, peeling and cutting the potatoes, getting out the fryer hardware and oil along with a ton of paper towels, and attentively standing at the stove while the hot grease splatters and pops all over your arms and everything else you wish it wouldn’t.  

If, like my mom, you are the cook, you’ll have a difficult time enjoying the experience because while everyone else is busy filling their stomachs you’re still at the stove frying up more batches. And, when it’s all over and the enjoyment has been had, it still isn’t over. Somebody has to clean it all up.  

In today’s world, all has changed. French fries are as nearby as your closest drive-thru window or your home freezer. We live in a ubiquitous FF world. Fries are everywhere, they are cheap, and for just a few pennies more you can super-size it.  

That’s another thing about fries that’s different today, the price. I remember going to Frisch’s in the 50s and paying a small fortune for a small basket of fries to accompany a Big Boy sandwich. In the early 60s, when I first drove through Texas, fries were still expensive but I was awed at the huge serving size. By the time I arrived in California, however, the portion size was back to normal. Possibly it was due to the labor involved but I once believed French fries were second only to gold in value.  

But now, the corporate food giants have streamlined the process and removed all the work from eating French fries and other junk food. Matter of fact, a person today can live their entire life with little more than a cheap microwave and a nearby burger joint. Drag home a frozen dinner, nuke it according to package directions, suck up the calories, toss the box in the garbage can, and voila, it’s time to hit the sofa and stare at the tube.  

So, there you are, one simple rule that alone might be enough to solve America’s obesity crisis. Don’t eat what you don’t go to the trouble to make.  

I’ll close by sharing a few other Pollan food rules. Don’t eat any breakfast cereal that changes the milk’s color. If it comes from a plant eat it, if it’s made in a plant, don’t. If it comes through the window of your car, it isn’t food.

Larry Chapman, January 11, 2010, comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com   

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A Perspective on Holiday Brews Michelob; Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale

The appearance is a clear, dark scarlet brown, akin to a glass of strongly brewed iced tea. Moderate carbonation provides the brilliant scarlet highlights.

The very low hops aroma affects the mouthfeel on the initial impression. The beer is crisp and refreshing, with a comfortable finish. The maltiness is balanced more towards the malt end of the spectrum, which is augmented by the dark Belgium sugars used in the brewing process and the subtle nodes of vanilla from the use of old cask chunks in fermenting. The low levels of hoppiness falls within the boundaries of the style, but I felt the bourbon impression is too slight to warrant mentioning on the label. 

Overall, it's not the best representative for the style of “winter warmers” or “holiday beers”, but for the price conscious consumer, it serves as a great introduction to the style. The slightly increased alcohol content, 6.0% ABV per the label, does provide an increased lightness but is on the lighter end of the style, which includes the “Wee Heavy” and “Scotch” ales. It's not overbearing to the point that would prohibit this beer from being a session beer, but it's repetitive quafibility would definitely put one into the holiday mood.

For those who aren't as experienced in “holiday” beers, which include winter warmers, wee heavy's and scotch ales, it serves as a great introduction at an excellent price point (same as a six-pack of Budweiser. In SE Michigan 6.19+dep.) In large gatherings, it's better served after the main meal in a social setting with dessert, due to it's sweetness, and it's price makes it an attractive beer to celebrate the winter holidays.

As a general service to humanity, and as a safeguard against bad beer, I will continue to provide periodical reviews of the major beer companies attempts to reintroduce forgotten styles of beer, the bread of life.

James , December 16, 2009, comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com 

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A Ramble on Big Cities and Eating Green

I had to go to Columbus recently and as I’ve grown older it has become something I don’t look forward to. Years ago, in a far away place, I thought big cities were wonderful and exciting places but seven years living in greater Los Angeles dulled much of the wonder.

After moving back to Greenfield, I still looked forward to the frequent drive to Columbus or Cincinnati for shopping, a good meal or a show. But, as implied, even that is no longer true.

Cities are just too congested and different. They’re like a pair of jeans that may be look good but just don’t feel comfortable in the crotch.

Now, having said all that, they do serve a purpose and an occasional visit is unavoidable. Need a medical specialist (as was my case); you’re going to be headed for the city. Need an impeller for an Oberdorfer pump; you’re city bound. So, whatever the reason, one may as well make it a day and do a few things you can’t do back home in the woods.

Years ago, one of my friends mentioned that when he retired he would like to take a few culinary courses. That struck a nerve with me but somehow got pushed to the back of my To Do List. Lately, however, the idea has reemerged and I decided to do some research. One of the places that frequently offer brief cooking demonstrations is the Whole Foods chain of groceries, of which there is a store in North Columbus.

Being a foodie it seemed like a good place to spend an hour and get some walking in. Whole Foods is very different than anything you’ll find in small town America. The place is top to bottom stuffed with earth friendly green and organically grown fruits, produce, meat, poultry, seafood, deli, cheese, dairy, wine, beer, and on and on and on. It would be an oxymoron, yet accurate, to state that the place is healthy eating on steroids.

Personally, I’ve not bought into all this organic stuff and my gut tells me that much of it is a marketing scam. But, for those who are onboard the organic train this is their Grand Central Station. I’ve never, in my life, seen so many cartons (I hope they’re biodegradable) of soy milk in one place.

Several things did make an impression. First were how good everything looked and the huge variety of offerings. That was quickly followed by sticker-shock…eating’ green has a huge price tag attached and I didn’t see many fixed-income people lurking in the aisles.

Finally, the thing I really did like and appreciate was the attention and promotion given to local producers and growers of food and related products. In almost every aisle there would be large tags identifying groups of products as being “Local.” They even had an area set aside featuring the products of Ohio’s brewing companies and included a number of twelve-packs of Burger Beer. My son had never heard of Burger so I had to conduct a brief history class there in front of the display.

Regarding the cooking demos, I’m waiting for the January schedule to come out and see what’s being offered. I’m also considering a school in Cincinnati that features short (one evening), hands-on classes in the basics of the culinary arts. Hey, something to do besides sit at home and wait for the sun to return. Larry Chapman, December 8, 2009, comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com

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The Return of a Homemade Thanksgiving

A number of years ago my brother in law lived in the country and grew a garden each year. One year he planted a few pumpkins and come Thanksgiving he decided to make scratch pumpkin pies for our family get together.

His efforts were a great success and for a number of years were the thing most looked forward to by several family members, me included. They were simply leaps and bounds above the quality of anything store bought or out of a can.

As they say, all good things come to an end and such was the longed for scratch pumpkin pie. The pie maker moved to town and no longer had room for a garden and a pumpkin patch. Though he continued to provide the pies they were never the same.

Things this year changed, however. Possibly due to Sally Turner Kennedy writing in her blog, North Coast Muse, about her experiences cooking with raw squash and pumpkins, my son Mike decided he was going to pick up the tradition in our family.

I believe the decision took place during a visit to a pumpkin patch with all the grandchildren. He was so surrounded by gourds, squashes and pumpkins that he couldn’t get the thought of real pumpkin pie out of his mind. The lady who ran the farm recommended a particular type of pumpkin so included in all the others that came home for Jack-o-Lanterns was one destined for the oven.

For several weeks the pie pumpkin sat on the porch in the cool air waiting for the arrival of Thanksgiving. The evening before our family dinner Mike cut the huge veggie into chunks and baked them in the oven. When they were soft he began removing the flesh from the rind and…well, I don’t know the rest.

By this time I had gone to bed and when I awoke next morning there were two beautiful pumpkin-cheesecake pies sitting on the counter in the kitchen. Later that afternoon, following a meal of mesquite smoked turkey, candied sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, masked potatoes, and much more, the pies were sliced, topped with whipped cream, and enjoyed.

This was Mike’s first stab at pumpkin pie making and I thought they were delicious. He and others, however, were not completely satisfied and vowed something better next year.

For me, I’m just happy to see the return of homemade. Just knowing that almost everything on the dinner table came from scratch and had someone’s time, effort and love behind it made the meal ever so much better.

Larry Chapman, December 2, 2009, comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com 

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Kraut ala Facebook

Here’s an interesting way to arrive at a recipe. Post a list of what’s in your fridge on Facebook and ask for input concerning what to do with them.

My list consisted of a bag of sauerkraut, boneless Western pork ribs, two red potatoes, several green apples, an onion and a small head of cabbage. I also stated that I had a crock pot but had never used one. I received several instructions on how to properly use a crock pot and even more suggestions on how to use the ingredients.

One friend related how her mother in law cooked drained kraut, pork, corn meal, sage and other ingredients in a crock pot until it all fell apart. Then she pressed it into a cake pan until it set up. Afterwards, she would slice it into slabs and fry in a skillet.

Sounded interesting but I decided to take a more traditional approach and borrow from what others suggested. Several suggested adding brown sugar, others apple juice, cinnamon, honey, molasses, vinegar, bacon grease, salt and one fellow, towards the end, suggested I include either duck or wild boar sausage. Don’t know how far you would have to travel from Greenfield to find duck or wild boar.

The final ingredient list came to:

1 package of kraut
1.5 pound of boneless ribs
2 cored and sliced green apples with peel
2 halved and quartered red potatoes with skin
1 handful of raisins
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of sea salt
6 or 8 whole black pepper corns

Cooked on slow setting for 8 hours in the crock pot Only because we didn’t have any honey, or apple juice, or molasses, or bacon grease didn’t I include those. I left out adding vinegar since the kraut would naturally be tart. After it was finished I did notice some red wine I could have included…couldn’t have hurt.

Supper this evening was great. My wife whipped up some instant mashed potatoes with real butter and we had our fill. This was arguably the best kraut we’ve ever had and the process of arriving at the recipe was both fun and unique. If I was to change anything it would be to include more kraut and apples and less meat and leave out the potatoes. The only other thought is buy a larger crock pot!

Larry Chapman, October 26, 2009, comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com/a> 

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Randy Sagar's Poor Man's Meal

Your recent topics on cooking got me to thinking. Like most kids around town, I was raised by parents who both worked. So before and after school my sisters and I would fend for ourselves if we were hungry. How we avoided burning down the house I’ll never know. Imagine young kids deep frying French Fries, frying boloney sandwiches or Spam on a gas stove! So I guess the cooking bug hit me at an early age.

After my tour of duty in the Air Force, I moved to an apartment in the suburbs of Washington D.C. My roommate and I didn’t have a whole lot of cash to spend on food, why waste the beer money, so each week we would pool our meager earnings and buy the weekly rations.

For the twenty bucks in our food budget we bought pasta noodles, pasta sauce, 5 lbs of potatoes, and a five pound tube of what was advertised as hamburger, a head of cabbage, onions and some canned beans or corn. And don’t forget some cheap sliced cheese and bread. This was mid 1970’s dollars.

After a while, the staples in the pantry needed a little boost in creativity. My roommate came up with a dish that to this day is a family favorite. I shared the recipe with my family back home and they really liked it. I don’t remember if I named this dish or one of my sisters did.

Poor Man’s Meal

1 pound of burger
1 small head of cabbage
1 medium onion
3-4 medium red potatoes sliced or cubed
Some sliced cheese

Brown burger (At this point in my life it’s turkey burger) – set aside to drain.
Slice or cube some potatoes and an onion and sauté in the same pan with some oil.
Cut cabbage up into pieces the size of your ear .
After the potatoes and onions are a light golden brown, add burger back to the pot.
Now add the cabbage piled high on top of the burger, onions and potatoes and simmer.
Lower the heat and put a lid on and let it steam.
Stir after cabbage has wilted and given up some moisture- if too dry add a tiny bit of water.
Plate up and put a couple of slices of cheese on top to melt.
Add hot sauce and ketchup. r /> Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with bread and butter.

Simple and cheap! The cabbage takes on a buttery flavor. It’s difficult to stop eating it.

Randy Sagar, October 20, 2009, comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com 

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Tough Times Don't Mean You Must Eat Tough!

I need to write a few words about a meal I whipped up yesterday. Frequently I cook the meat for meals and my wife Janet takes care of the side dishes. On occasion I will take a jab at conjuring up a special pot of baked beans or chili, a homemade pizza, or some one-dish meal like spaghetti and meat sauce or a Mexican casserole. This time, however, I did the whole thing from start to finish.

The menu was going to be smoked Boston butt and a slaw I invented a couple of weeks ago. The slaw is simply rough chopped cabbage, a little chopped onion, some chopped sweet red peppers and fresh tomatoes, seasoned with crushed red pepper flakes all blended in with Marzetti's poppy seed salad dressing. We thought it was wonderful and for a long time it will be what we have when slaw is on the menu.

We also had a couple of medium sweet potatoes so I decided to make a sweet potato casserole. Company was coming for supper and I wasn't sure the casserole would go far enough. I gave some thought to how I might extend it and considered adding a can of baked beans.

Getting online I searched for a recipe for such but only found a Mexican version of sweet potatoes and black beans. However, I did notice a Southern recipe for sweet potato and banana casserole. Just so happened we had a bunch of bananas on hand so that was added to the menu.

After printing out the menu and began to alter it to fit my taste and what we had in the pantry. The basic recipe was boiled and peeled SPs and a banana whipped into a puree in the food processor. To that mix I folded in a big handful of chopped walnuts, some raisins and other dried fruits, and a little brown sugar. Then I crushed a half a cup of Wheaties and a quarter cup of walnuts. To that I added a quarter cup of Grape-Nuts, a little brown sugar and a couple of tablespoons of soft butter. I worked this with a fork until it became paste like.

I spooned the puree into a casserole dish and put an even layer of the crushed cereal-nut mixture on top. After twenty minutes in a 350 degree oven it was perfect.

Since it was raining and my smoker was about fifty yards from the house I decided to cook the pork shoulder in the oven. I had already prepared it by grinding up a mixture of course sea salt, garlic and Creole seasoning adding just enough olive oil to make it a paste.

Cutting half-inch slits along the fatty side of the roast I filled them with the garlic-salt paste and then patted all the surfaces with a blend of dry paprika and Creole seasoning. I placed the meat in a roasting pan, covered it, and let it sit in the fridge over night.

Following morning I placed it in the oven at 225 degrees and let it slow cook for ten hours. Every hour I basted it with a mixture of its own natural juices and red wine. When the internal temperature reached 180 degrees I removed it from the oven and allowed it to rest for thirty minutes. Slicing it was akin to slicing a stick of butter. It was the most tender and succulent pork I have ever had.

In the end our guest enjoyed the meal, I had a great time puttering around the kitchen most of the day and being creative, and for lunch today I had one hell of a good roast pork sandwich on whole wheat bread and a couple spurts of D.B. Yummer's Mildly Spicey BBQ sauce. I also had one hell of a pile of dishes to wash!

I think it is important to note that eating like this is not expensive. We purchased the shoulder on sale at $.99 cents a pound, how much is half a head of cabbage and a couple of sweet potatoes and a banana. It fed five people with enough left over for a number of sandwiches or platters. For slightly more than what it would cost to have a Big Mac Value Meal at McDonald's we're eating very well and for several days. These are tough times but you don't have to eat tough!

Larry Chapman, October 16, 2009, comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com 

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Ham and Beans and Hard Times

I was recently talking to a former student about a class project we used to do in my American History class regarding making do in hard times. During both world wars and the Great Depression people often had to go without or find substitutes for things being rationed or simply too expensive. At a workshop I attended they handed out a booklet containing recipes used during these periods of hard times. There were many recipes for meatless meals, and making pies and cakes and other dishes without using eggs, lard, butter and sugar. One of the dishes often brought into the class for extra credit was a “mock” apple pie that was made using saltine crackers. Well, for many people, these are hard times and the need to be resourceful is a real necessity. However, not having the bucks for the expensive cuts doesn’t mean a family can’t eat well. It only requires that we take a look at what our grandparents did and adapt their eating habits to meet our needs today. This evening I prepared a simple and time honored meal of ham and beans with cornbread and cabbage slaw. Let me break it down for you. I went to a discount grocery chain and purchased a 1 pound bag of pinto beans and a similar bag of black eyed peas. I also picked up a couple boxes of corn muffin mix and a small head of cabbage. At home I already had some sliced smoked ham in the freezer that I had purchased earlier for less than $1 a pound. I also had a fresh red pepper, a fresh tomato and a couple of carrots from my daughter’s garden and some onions I had purchased from our local Mennonite produce farmer. So, you wash and soak the beans, cube up several ounces of the ham, chop up some onions, dice up some carrots, throw it all in a stock pot, fill the pot with water, toss in some salt and pepper, and turn on the stove. Permit to simmer for 2-3 hours with the lid on. Then you coarse chop half a head of cabbage, dice up a tomato and a quarter of the red pepper. Place this in a salad bowl and season with salt, pepper and a dash of crushed red pepper flakes. Then fold into the mix whatever amount of poppy-seed dressing (or 1000 Island, or whatever) makes it as wet as you like. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to chill while the beans are simmering. About a half hour before the beans are finished you grease up a cast iron skillet, mix up two boxes of corn muffin mix according to box directions, and put it into a preheated 400 degree oven until golden brown. The end result is a meal that is rich in both animal and vegetable protein, tons of fiber, lots of roughage and vitamins and iron from the cabbage and taste like a million bucks. But it didn’t cost a million bucks. We will get several meals out of this one cooking session and the total cost was less than $5 and I still have half a head of cabbage left. Let’s see, possibly I’ll whip up some ham, cabbage and potato soup when we’re out of beans. Wonder what my great aunt Allen would think about me putting to use what I watched her do so many times as a young boy? I think she’d approve! P.S. I do feel a little guilty about using a corn muffin mix, my great aunt Allen would have made it from scratch and saved a few pennies.

Larry Chapman, October 14, 2009, comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com

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Keeping it Local; D.B. Yummers

Some of you are aware that several years ago I became certified as a barbecue judge by the Memphis in May Barbecue Association. Since then I have judged a couple of contest and had a good time.

While it is not something I would want to do often it was interesting and I learned a lot about cooking (smoking) meats.

There are several BBQ affiliations in America that sponsor competitive contests, the two largest are the Memphis in May and the Kansas City Barbecue Society. The Memphis is pork only while Kansas City requires a team to display talent with pork, beef and chicken. I’ve done a contest for each association and personally, I enjoy the Kansas system because of the variety offered.

One thing I didn’t like, however, regarded the use of barbecue sauces. Under KC rules, if a team submits an entrée along with a sauce, the combo must be judged together. What the meat taste like by itself is not to be considered, only the two combined.

The problem is this is a bbq contest, not a bbq sauce contest. When I visit a new bbq joint I always want to taste the meat before I decide to add a sauce. And, before I choose a sauce I always put a little of each on my plate and taste them. There are some great sauces and some very poor sauces, but either can be used to mask the flavor of both good and bad meat.

One of my favorite sauces is Wilber’s from Goldsboro, NC. It is a traditional Eastern NC spicy vinegar sauce that may be an acquired taste. I also like sweet and tangy tomato based sauces but I prefer not to have any artificial smoke flavoring added.

Until just recently my favorite sweet and spicy sauce came from a place in Colburn, Alabama called Danny’s Barbecue. It was so good I called them later and ordered a case. Well, Danny’s has been topped and behold, by a sauce company located in nearby Washington Court House.

Several months ago someone was trying to tell me about this great sauce that was made in WCH. They couldn’t remember the name but said it was the same people who owned a restaurant up there. Well, the only bbq place I know of in Court House is Horney’s. While I love Horney’s cooking I never thought much of their sauces. Plus the guy said it wasn’t Horney’s.

So, until last week it remained a mystery. Then while on a shopping trip to Save-a-Lot in Greenfield I was looking at some bottles of sauces and noticed a label that read D.B. Yummer’s Barbeque Sauce. Curiosity made me pick it up and while reading the label I discovered it was Ohio Proud and made in WCH. Wow, this was the mystery sauce I had been told about.

Well, I purchased a bottle of their Sweet & Smokey and one of Mildly Spicey. Friday, while chopping que for History Day, I opened the Mildly Spicey and dipped some freshly smoked pork shoulder into it. Double WOW, the stuff was fantastic. Today I had me a sandwich of leftover chopped pork bbq, with a little salt and pepper, some poppy-seed slaw and topped off with several dabs of D.B. Yummer’s sauce. One of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had thanks much to the quality of the sauce. Sometime back I wrote about going way out of my way at times looking for the best raisin pie only to find it right here in my hometown. Well, such is now true about barbeque sauce. The grass isn’t always greener over the mountain. In this case the greener grass is just a few miles up the road!

Larry Chapman, October 12, 2009, comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com

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It's Still a Jungle Out There!

Many of my former students remember my reading to them selected verses from Upton Sinclair's book, The Jungle. In his novel, Sinclair attempted to win support for those working in the big meat packing companies of Chicago at the turn of the last century. The book contains vivid and horrid descriptions of how animals were processed and sent out to consumers all over the nation. Many historians see a direct link between Sinclair's novel and the creation of the US Meat Inspection Act.

For generations now most Americans scarf up a hamburger or munch on a hot dog without much regard for where the meat came from or what it was exposed to during processing. We assume our state and federal governments have our backs and are ensuring our meat supply is safe.

But, every now and then a news article sees the light of day and a grim truth is revealed, it's still a jungle out there.

Such is the case with the included story from the New York Times concerning the manufacture of hamburger and the lack of proper governmental and corporate protections.

By the way, several Internet sources on food safety clearly state that E. coli and most pathogens are destroyed at temperatures 160 and above. However, whatever you're cooking has to be held at that, or higher, temperature for several minutes to insure proper safety.

                                         www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.htm

Larry Chapman, October 6, 2009, comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com

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How Hot is Hot?

The Scoville Scale I was sitting in McDonald’s the other morning when a fellow laid a plastic bag of green chili peppers on the table and told us to help ourselves. This was the last of his crop and he was getting them in before the frost killed them.

The conversation turned to chili peppers and how hot some are. A couple of the people present thought these green chilies were warm but to me and a couple of guys who had also once lived in California, they were very mild.

Hot is always a relative thing. Some people think a 90 degree day is just perfect while others prefer 75 degrees. My mother and father in law don’t seem to be bothered by the temperature outside but when it comes to food, anything stronger than salt is too warm for them.

Several years ago we had a family gathering and I cooked a traditional South Carolina “Low-country Boil” of veggies, seafood, sausage and a healthy sprinkle of cayenne pepper. To me, and most of the family, it was just right. To the seniors, however, it made the brow sweat pop and I believe they settled on peanut butter and jelly while the rest of us were floundering on spicy boiled shrimp.

So how hot is hot? Well, there is a way to tell. Back in 1912 there was a chemist named Wilbur Scoville who devised a means to compare the relative heat of chilies. The heat in a pepper comes from something called capsaicin and Scoville devised a means to directly measure the amount of capsaicin in various foods and peppers.

From this he created the Scoville Scale that rates various peppers according to the number of Scoville Heat Units (SHU) each contains. All this information is freely available on the Internet but I’ll provide you some examples.

At the bottom of the scale, acting as the base of operation, is the common green bell “mango” pepper. It has a SHU count of zero while pure capsaicin contains over 15 million SHUs.

In between those extremes lay pimentos at 100-500 SHUs, jalapenos at 2500-8000 SHUs, cayenne pepper with 30-50 thousand, and habanera peppers with a whopping 100-350 thousand boiling, melting, singeing, blistering SHUs. Even further up the scale are the various pepper sprays used by law enforcement agencies.

So, the question is now, where is your tolerance for heat located on the Scoville scale? Many of us know people who pop whole raw jalapenos in their mouths and eat them like others eat popcorn, while my mother in law would probably find a simple banana pepper (100-500 SHUs) too hot. I’ve even witnessed people bite into whole Scotch bonnet habaneras and not flinch.

Personally, I enjoy the flavor and the bite of hot peppers and sauces, but there is a definite limit. My rule, if I have one, is to know I’ve not been eating white bread half an hour after the meal but, too hot can easily ruin the entire dining experience.

The pros say a pepper’s heat is located in the seeds and especially the whitish membrane on the inside wall. I never eat whole peppers and only use them for cooking. I normally cut them open and remove the seeds and scrape the membrane with a spoon. I’ve also discovered that in cooking, peppers seem to lose some of their heat.

What brought about this essay, however, is what I learned about habanera sauce during lunch today. I warmed up some left-over bean soup and reached for a small bottle of hot habanera sauce in the fridge. I splashed a bit onto the beans and put the bottle back on its shelf in the Whirlpool.

About half way through the beans I remembered that I had purchased that sauce while on a fishing trip in 2001. Since I’ve been using it all along in small amounts and it hasn’t killed me yet I’ve decided that neither germs nor disease can survive inside a bottle of habanera sauce. I also learned that age did not weaken the SHUs inside that tiny little bottle!

P.S. I checked the bottle's label for an expiration date and in Spanish it stated, "Good until hell freezes over." Come to think about it, if hell ever did freeze the Devil could use capsaicin to thaw it out!

Larry Chapman, October 2, 2009, comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com

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Joy in Mama T's Kitchen

I don’t need Calgon to take me away; my kitchen is my happy place. No matter what stresses life sends my way, no matter how much I have to get done, no matter how many hours I wish there were in a day, I can always escape to my kitchen and make everything better. Who would have thought that cooking, something lots of people dread, would bring me such joy? My love for cooking started when I was fairly young. Mom and Dad taught me how to make meatloaf (ever shape it into burgers and fry it? It’s amazing!). Tuna casserole was always on the menu during Lent, and Dad’s was the best! I vaguely remember making cookies with Granny (dad’s mom), but use many of her recipes today.

I joined 4-H in junior high taking outdoor cooking and another topic that I can’t remember. My project was grilled cheese on an outdoor grill and it actually got me to the Ohio State Fair! Too bad it was soggy by the time I got there! My table setting got all the points, but the sandwich was literally, a flop.

I also remember being in a bake-off at the Highland County Fair and making oatmeal cookies. The rules were very strict (everything had to be measured in the proper way, ingredients added correctly, etc.), and my points were quickly mounting up until my dad stuck his finger in the bowl for a taste of the sweet cookie dough. Guess that was a no-no! But what is making cookies without tasting the dough? I didn’t care, I had fun!

I learned little here and there after that, but my real passion for cooking erupted when I met my husband, Rus. I lived in the dorm at Rio Grande and all I had was a hotplate, a hot pot, and a toaster oven, all against dorm rules. But I managed to make him pork chops, fried potatoes and green bean casserole. I had already stolen his heart, but his stomach joined the party that night!

Ever since then, I’ve experimented with recipes to make something he would enjoy. There were plenty of flops, that’s for sure! I tried to make things that Rus' mom cooked for him. My first homemade noodles turned out about three inches long and half an inch thick, were gooey, and flavorless from cooking them in plain unseasoned water. Needless to say, I watched her very closely the next time she made noodles and got it down pat. Thanks to her, good or bad, I keep a stash of bacon grease in my refrigerator for those homemade dishes that simply demand it.

My recipes and cookbooks have accumulated over the years, many from friends and family. I have so many that I frequently use I’ve made my own cookbook. It simply got too hard to remember which book a recipe came from or what changes I’d made to it! So far there are 230 plus recipes in my “favorites” collection, and I usually add a couple more every month or so.

Something else that fuels my passion, and brings me joy in the kitchen, is eating something away from home then going home and trying to duplicate it! This started several years ago when I ordered chicken cordon bleu from Schwan’s. I knew I could make it for a lot less than they charged, so I jumped on the idea. Needless to say, I don’t buy it from Schwan’s any more!

Other favorite duplicates are Red Lobster cheesy biscuits, Pizza Hut pan pizza, Cheesecake Factory fried mac & cheese, and Chi-Chi’s fried ice cream.

Even better than enjoying the cooking is seeing someone else enjoy what I’ve made. That makes all the work worth while.

For a few years I sold my cinnamon rolls, cream horns, Christmas candy, and other things for extra cash and have often been told I need to open a bakery. I would absolutely love to do that but the stress of the business side would take the joy out of what I love to do. So, I’ll stick to being a nurse, that’s pretty darn satisfying as well.

Aside from my solo efforts in the kitchen and sharing the outcome, the absolute best is cooking with Rus. It’s something we love doing together. We have experimented with many recipes; wonderful soups, casseroles, Mexican dishes, and some kick-butt Chinese food (egg rolls, crab Rangoon, fried wontons, and General Tso’s to name a few).

Our combined love for cooking isn’t just about the cooking any more. It’s about spending time together. Connecting and having time to talk about everything that usually gets shoved aside by the busyness of daily life. Feeling relaxed enough to enjoy the blessings God showers on us that usually get overlooked because of that busyness. So yes, my kitchen is, and always will be, my happy place.

Theresa Staten, June 17, 2009, comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com

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Is There Anything Unusual About How You Eat?

Has anyone ever told you that you have a strange way of eating a particular item of food or consuming a certain type of beverage? There’s a fellow at the truck stop that must smash or stir most everything he eats.

If he orders a ham sandwich he will damn near stand on it with his hands in order to iron it out flat. When eating a taco salad he takes his fork and crushes everything into a paste. And, as he digs into the pile of taco paste he keeps rearranging what remains into a neat, albeit smaller, pile.

One of my childhood friends ate a ham sandwich by smashing it flat and then nibbling around the edges to form it into a disk. He continued nibbling in circles until it was all gone.

A former colleague consumed a slice of pie from the crust inward. He claimed it was very continental and chic since it was how Europeans ate pie. I thought it just made him look weird.

I suppose we all have some little obsession about how we eat but I can’t readily think of one for me. But, it has been, on occasion, pointed out that I don’t drink beer correctly.

To begin with, I don’t normally enjoy really cold beer. I became accustomed to drinking beer at ambient temperature while stationed in Scotland and learned that overly chilled beer isn’t as flavorful. I also don’t care much for most American beers, especially light beers.

Years ago someone told me that drinking light beer would stunt the growth of your penis so I never got into the light beer thing. Last time I took a public shower at the YMCA, however, I decided the penis thing was just a myth. I have always liked full bodied and hardier beers and for most of my life that meant imported brew. In recent decades, however, a number of great American beers have come to market and every trip to Jungle Jim’s in Fairfield turns up more.

For me, beer should come out of a glass bottle rather than a metal can. I suppose the old timers said the same when they stopped selling beer by the bucket from a wooden keg and began dispensing it in glass bottles.

I’ve never understood why people drink beer straight out of the container. Would you want someone to grind your rib-eye steak into a paste and serve it to you in something resembling a tooth paste tube? A large part of food’s enjoyment is appearance and presentation. You want to see that big hunk of meat sizzling hot from the grill and the more perfect those grill marks cross each other the more you anticipate how great it’s going to taste.

Well, to me the same is true of drinking a beer. I want a small clear glass to pour a few ounces of brew into so I can see its color, watch the head build up, hear the carbonation and watch the bubbles rise to the top. I don’t want a large glass because I want to repeat this procedure several times during the bottle’s consumption.

I suppose that my method of drinking beer may appear a little weird to many Americans. But, someday I am certain that some good looking little sweet thing is gonna’ slide up next to me and whisper in my ear that my suave and continental ways are driving her crazy with desire. “Get off the table, Mabel!”

Larry Chapman, September 16, 2009, comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com 

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So, What are you Doing with Aunt Jennie's Recipe?

I was watching a TV program several years ago about agriculture in Ohio. One segment focused on a Columbus company called Glory Foods. It was the outgrowth of a conversation between a white and a black coworker regarding what each was going to have for Thanksgiving.

When the black man began talking about his collard greens and sweet potato casserole the white man became a little envious, wishing his table fare sounded as good.

They continued this discussion in subsequent days and the seed for Glory Foods was planted. Based on their talks they began to investigate the possibility of commercially canning vegetables done up in the tradition of America’s South.

I’m not sure where they do their cooking and canning today but in the beginning they relied, in part, on a division The Ohio State University called the Food Industries Center (http://foodindustries.osu.edu).

The FIC provides a multitude of assistance to those wanting to enter into some aspect of food production. They have consultation services, training services and they maintain a complete commercial kitchen and cannery to provide startup services for companies such as Glory Foods.

This piece evolved out of a series of conversations I’ve been involved in this summer regarding Greenfield’s Farmers Market and the need for people to find alternative sources of income. What I’ve experienced at the market this summer is the fact that some locals are making things in their kitchens that have commercial potential.

Depending on their interest and motivation, it is possible to grow such an item into a business. Two examples I can cite are Ben’s Sweet & Hot Mustard and Two Roasting Joes Coffee. Ben’s, of Kingston, OH, has been making and distributing a very special mustard recipe for a number of years now. It probably began in a basement or garage selling to neighbors and has grown into a small business with employees and distribution in a number of states and on the Internet (www.bensmustard.com).

Two Roasting Joes began as a hobby a couple of years ago in a Chillicothe garage. Today it is being sold in farmers markets, specialty shops, country stores, a few coffee shops and over the Internet (http://tworoastingjoes.com). In order to grow it will need to increase its space and acquire larger roasting equipment.

This brings me back to Glory Foods. It began as a casual water cooler conversation between two guys and, if you look at their website (www.gloryfoods.com), has grown in to a company with wide distribution including Kroger’s and Wal-Mart, and an ever growing product offering.

I don’t know what will become of Ben’s or TRJ’s but the potential exists. And that same potential is there for several of the items I find at the Greenfield Farmer’s Market. I have purchased some great homemade salsa and some wonderful zucchini relish there. If either were on the shelf at Community Market they would frequently find a place in my shopping cart.

So, if you have your great Aunt Jennie’s recipe for seasoned canned sweet potato and rhubarb pie filling and thought you could sell it if you just knew how to get started, there is a means. OSU’s FIC offers free consultations and can get you on the track. Any entrepreneurs in the crowd?

Larry Chapman, August 19, 2009, comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com 

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White Castle, A Tasty Part of American History

Is there anyone who doesn’t love an occasional slider, the affectionate nickname for White Castle hamburgers? It’s been several years since I’ve wrapped my lips around one of these little greasy morsels but last week I discovered that Chillicothe now has a White Castle restaurant.

Back in the 1950s I was frequently employed to haul horse betters to and from the race tracks and to shuffle used cars back to Greenfield from the auto auction in Gallipolis. The cost of my labor was usually a certain dollar amount plus being treated to a dozen sliders and a large soft drink at the first White Castle we came to.

As a teen it wasn’t any problem consuming a dozen of those greasy thin slabs of holy beef, slathered with onions, a dill pickle, and layered within a steamed bun. We affectionately called them, “stomach bombs.”

I don’t know who holds the record for eating the most sliders but I suppose Google could provide an answer. I do know who made the single largest purchase of sliders in my presence, Tom Blackstone.

Blackstone was not above pulling someone’s leg and on one occasion leaving Columbus I thought that’s what he was up to. We stopped for a bag of bombs at the WC on High and Greenlawn. I was ahead of Tom in line and ordered half a dozen burgers and a large orange drink. I stood to the side as Blackstone walked up to the window and ordered three-hundred hamburgers and a medium cola.

The gal behind the window didn’t blink. She just turned her head to the ladies at the grills and yelled, “Fry 300.” I kept expecting Blackstone to fess up and call it off as a joke but he didn’t, and they didn’t hesitate to toss three-hundred thin slabs of beef onto several grills.

I semi-loudly implored him to call it off and then he told me what he was doing. At the time he worked for Armco on the night shift. He would put these in the freezer and take half a dozen to work and warm them up in a microwave for his dinner.

Apparently that sort of things happened all the time and I just wasn’t aware of it.

Anyway, back to Chillicothe. Driving by the new, to me, WC I decided to have a couple for lunch. Since the early 1920s when WC was founded I don’t think much has changed. Their buildings are still white and spotless and the burgers still slide down real easy. The menu is greatly expanded and they are ubiquitous.

What has changed is how many I can now eat, two, and how much they cost, $.61 cents each. When their first burger was sold it cost its buyer a nickel. In the 1950s the cost went to $.12 cents and the price has been creeping up since. Still, $1.21 isn’t too much to pay for two pieces of tasty American history.

Larry Chapman, August 15, 2009, comments to greenfieldohio@gmail.com. 

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