Mayonnaise with Pullets and Canola

We get our eggs from a friend who raises chickens in his backyard in Fremont. He keeps a variety of types so the shell colors vary. The chickens have a nice set up and they spend a portion of the day wandering around the backyard pecking at things. We notice the difference.

Last week we were offered a dozen pullet eggs. Being a city slicker, I had no idea what a pullet egg was. A Google search told me that pullets are adolescent chickens that are just beginning to lay eggs. The egg itself is smaller and some may contain no yolk. It's hard to tell in the photo but the front two are pullet eggs and the back two regular large eggs. Some chefs claim pullets are superior to the extra large eggs we are accustomed to seeking. Here's a link if you want to read more.

I decided to try the pullet eggs in a homemade mayonnaise recipe I got from a colleague with some embellishments after doing some online research.

Mayonnaise

• Try to have all ingredients at room temperature
• 1 egg - I used 2 pullets
• Salt - 1 teaspoon
• Yellow mustard - 1 teaspoon (mustard powder is an option)
  
• Sugar - 1 teaspoon
• Canola Oil - 2 cups
• Vinegar or lemon juice - 1 tablespoon

1. Combine egg, salt, sugar, and mustard in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer on low speed until well blended (about 30 seconds)
   
2. With the electric mixer on high speed, gradually pour in oil. At first, use a 1/4 teaspoon measure to add the oil drop by drop. After awhile you can switch to a teaspoon. Keep mixing while continuing to slowly add oil. After the first cup is in you can start adding oil with a tablespoon but still do it slowly and make sure the oil is mixed in before adding more (this should take 15 minutes or more)
   
3. Add vinegar or lemon juice to set. Keep mixing until well incorporated
   
4. Leave at room temperature for 1-2 hours then refrigerate

Other recipes to explore:
Alton Brown's Food Network Recipe
Mayonnaise Recipe from Cooking with Amy

Reforming the Food System

Michael Pollan was recently interviewed on NPR's Living on Earth radio show (http://stream.loe.org/audio/090918/090918pollan.mp3). It is a great interview and he ties together our fossil fuel-based food system with health care reform and climate change. It is worth a listen

... our eating habits, what happens on our plate represents our deepest, most powerful engagement with the rest of the world.

Notes on Apple Tree Care

I am confused about my apple tree. The apple tree is about done producing for the year and I have not been able to get many apples. They never seemed ripe enough to eat. I kept waiting for the skin to lose the brown color and for the green to emerge. During that time the birds and squirrels were enjoying them. What's going on is unclear to me. So I thought I would do some online research and make notes for next year.

• Winter Pruning: Prune the tree in the winter while it is dormant. Late winter or early spring is best. After the frost season.
• Spraying: A regular spray program is essential for high fruit quality and healthy trees. Use a multipurpose fungicide and insecticide labeled for apples. These can be obtained from a garden center and will include application instructions.
• Spraying: A horticultural oil should also be sprayed on apple trees at the first sign of green growth in the spring to suffocate scale insects and reduce overwintering mite and aphid eggs. For homeowners with only a few trees, premixed orchard sprays are available from many garden centers. Begin applications after full bloom is over and spray every 10 to 14 days through-out the summer.
• Fertilize: Apply one pound of fertilizer in early spring before growth begins. Broadcast it evenly on the soil surface under the entire branch spread of the tree. Keep it away from the base of the tree to avoid burning. A complete garden fertilizer such as 10-10-10 is best.
  
• Thin Fruit: Apple trees often set a heavier crop of fruit than the limbs can withstand. To ensure good fruit size, return bloom for the following year, and to prevent tree breakage, it is necessary to thin the fruit. Every apple blossom results in a bloom cluster of 5 to 6 blossoms. Apples should be thinned when they are about the size of a dime. Cut off enough fruit so that the remaining apples are spaced 4 to 6 inches apart, and leave only one fruit per cluster. It may seem like very few fruit remain, but you will harvest higher-quality fruit, potentially reduce insect and disease problems, and increase the chances for a full crop the next season.
• Fertilize end of season: Give fruiting and spring flowering plants a dose of E.B. Stone Ultra Bloom before they drop their leaves for winter and go dormant. This gives it the right nutrients to store in order to put on a better show in the spring or to produce better fruit in the coming year.

Site:
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8301.html

Leek, Potato, and Bean Soup

We got a single, large leek in the box this week. Whenever I see 2-3 leeks my mind immediately goes to my vegetable broth where leeks are an important ingredient. But this was just one leek and it was going to be a busy week. We also received 1.5 pounds of Yukon potatoes and then I thought that potato-leek was a very common soup combo. So I went to work. I adapted an Alice Waters recipe in The Art of Simple Food using the ingredients I had on hand and this is was what opened tonight's meal:

Ingredients:

• 1 large leek
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 2 sprigs of sage (original recipe called for thyme. I happened to have some extra sage on hand so I used that instead. Be creative.)
  
• 1 large bay leaf
• Salt
• 1 pound of Yukon yellow potatoes, peeled and quartered
• Cannelli beans (I used some home-prepred beans but 1 can of commercial beans will do. More on the homemade beans later.)
  
• 5 cups water or broth (Tonight I used TJ's vegetable broth from the pantry)
  
• dried parsley as garnish
• black pepper to taste

Procedure:

• Trim off the root and green end of the leek
• Slice thinly and soak in water to clean
• Drain and dry sliced leeks
• In a medium pot melt butter and add leeks with bay leaf, herbs, and salt
• Cook for about 10 minutes until leeks are soft
• As leeks cook, peel and quarter the potatoes
• Add potatoes and cook for 4-5 minutes until coated
• Add broth (or water)
• Bring to a boil and then turn to simmer for about an hour until the potatoes are soft enough to mash on the edge of the pot with a wooden spoon
• Allow to cool, remove bay leaf, herb sprigs, and puree the soup with a hand blender
• Add cannelli beans and stir in freshly ground black pepper
• Let simmer for 10-15 minutes
• Add a pat of butter and garnish with dried parsley
  

Serve with good crusty bread and wine.

Buy Fresh Buy Local

I just picked up the latest Buy Fresh Buy Local guide at Whole Foods this afternoon. It's an excellent guide covering the entire bay area county by county. In it you will find:

• a complete listing of all of the farmer's markets listed by day of the week
• a Bay Area seasonality guide to let you know what's growing when
• a listing of the CSAs that distribute to the Bay Area
• food-friendly restaurants, stores, growers, and more
  

The guide is available for download at the web site.

The main website is: http://guide.buylocalca.org/index.html

Kitchen Rules to Live By

BonAppetit magazine recently did an article on Italian peasant food. In it they included a sidebar with the "Seven Rules of an Italian Kitchen." While the rules were specific to Italy and Italians, I thought that at the core there were some valuable concepts that I know I try to follow. Below is my version of those rules:

• Eat with the seasons: Pay attention to what is coming into to your farmer's market or supermarket. Choose food that is local and seasonal. A CSA delivery box does this for you.

• Love leftovers: Never throw away food. Use leftovers in dishes like scrambled eggs, quiche, pasta, or a stir fry.

• Keep it simple: Olive oil and garlic go a long way when sauteeing vegetables. Let the ingredients speak for themselves.
  

• Taste and savor food: Take time to taste and comment on food. What works? What doesn't? What ingredients could offer an interesting variation? Turn off the TV and focus on food while you eat.
  

• Cook creatively: Look at the ingredients you have on hand and figure out ways to use them. This was something I took away from the Frugal Gourmet cookbooks that I used many years ago while I was learning to cook.
  

• Grow something: Find a patch of land where you can grow something. Start a container garden on the side of the house. At the very least you can have some clay pots on a window sill for growing herbs. Look in your neighborhood for a place to have a community garden. Share the produce you grow with your neighbors.

• Share with friends and family: Eat together and invite friends over to share what you cook. I finished the cherry tomato bruschetta at about 5 pm on a Sunday. We called up some nearby friends and asked them to come over and enjoy some red wine and appetizers. We enjoyed the bruschetta, wine, and conversation for a couple of hours out on the back deck.
  

Cherry Tomato Bruschetta

This was tonight's appetizer:

In a bowl, combine:

• 1 pint of Capay Valley's mixed medley cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3-4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
• 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Stir mixture until well mixed. Let it sit in the fridge for awhile to allow the flavors to marry. Serve with good sourdough bread and red wine. Feel free to add other ingredients you might already have in the fridge: chopped onions, capers, olives.