#101 | Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Picking Melons
Hello!
Green Beans and Yellow
In fall it is mushrooms gathered in dampness under the pines; in spring I have known the taste of the lamb full of milk and spring grass; today it is beans green and yellow and lettuce and basil from my friend’s garden - how calmly, as though it were an ordinary thing, we eat the blessed earth.
—Mary Oliver, from Swan: Poems and Prose Poems
It’s the height of the melon season. Don’t know about you, but we’re pretty much batting 50% in choosing perfectly ripe ones. Win some, lose some. A good charentais is hard to beat though. And everyone says can-ta-lope, but it’s spelled can-ta-loop?
By the way, I'm Bruce Cole, Publisher of Edible San Francisco. If you’re new here, welcome to EAT.DRINK.THINK., a newsletter spotlighting seasonal recipes, the latest SF Bay Area food news, poetry, and more!
👉 ICYMI: The most-clicked link from last week’s newsletter was the Kitchn’s how to store cucumbers.
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Related: Andy Baraghani on why embracing discomfort can make you a better cook and savvier traveler. Departures
One More for the Road: We get up at 4:45 so last call at 4 in the morning would get us a at least a couple minutes of sleep. Alas Senate Bill 930, aka the 4AM Last Call Bill, was voted down by the assembly again. SFist
Middle East No More: Jasmine Djavahery, curator of Jeweled Rice, a temporary gallery and food pop-up series in Oakland, notes that the term Middle East doesn’t encompass the actual region it refers to and uses the acronym SSWANA, South, Southwest Asia and North Africa, instead. “Whereas “Middle East” serves the political and economic interests of colonial powers, “SSWANA” reprioritizes the peoples of the region.” KQED
You Have One Choice: Food & Wine’s list of the one thing you should eat in every state includes casino buffets for Nevada and blue cheese for Oregon (didn’t see that one coming. The California choice seems obvious, hmm…
More Little Finned Tinned Fish: A grumpy vegetarian rant on how it’s actually not cool to eat anchovies.
Lovers of trendy tinned fish act like anchovies are bountiful, sustainable, and barely animals at all. None of that is true. Julia Tausch for Vegetarian Times
Where’s the Mayo? What we talk about when we talk about white people food:
Insisting, however unseriously, that the cuisines of all people of color are alike in their spices and seasonings flattens the variances and intricacies that make gastronomy delightful, and renders non-white people and their food a monolith. Jenny G. Zhang for Bon Appetit
We’re Not Wineys, Thank God: Drink Culture Doesn’t Have a “Foodie.” Punch
Perfectly Clear: You can thank Camper English for pioneering the clear ice for cocktails trend (And we thank him for the clear ice cubes in our freezer!). Here’s his take on the latest cocktail trends and the unfortunate link between syphilis and sarsaparilla. Imbibe
🍷 What’s in Your Glass? Eric Asimov’s Four Ways to Think About Wine. NY Times
Think of Wine as Coming From the Earth {Well yeah, that’s why we try and drink natural wines that come from vineyards that aren’t treated with synthetic pesticides and herbicides}
Think of Wine as Food {Labels from French wine say “Produce of France.” American wine labels have the mandatory warning: “consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems.” Enough said.}
Think of Wine as an Adventure {We are all in on this one, willing to try any bottle any time just for the experience and to save that taste memory.}
Think of Good Wine as Analog {Hmmm 🤔. Eric says: “Good wine has warmth and character, like the analog recordings that I find far more appealing than the often-cold perfection of digital.” Are you feeling it?}
🌭+🍺 Take Me Out to the Ballgame:
Related: And you thought this ☝️ was gross? Oscar Meyer is now selling frozen hot dog-flavored popsicles. Today
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They started using me for pizza crust!
The Chia Pet of Your Childhood Was Just the Beginning: The NY Times asked nutritionists and doctors if the latest chia craze lives up to its healthy hype.
What the Heck is a Cowpea? Five plants that could help feed the world. The Guardian
🧁 Got Cupcakes? The Baking Notification Project is helping home bakers connect with their neighbors to share extra baked goods one text message at a time.
What’s Ghee Got to Do With It? That liquid gold is a beloved cooking fat in India; ghee’s virtues and uses are numerous. Eater
On repeat this week, from the archives: Mad As A Hatter, Larkin Poe’s haunting ode to mental health: they wrote the song for their grandfather, who suffered from schizophrenia.
That’s all for this week.
We’re outta here. Be well and take care,
–Bruce
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"Despite its artistic intentions and its many accomplishments, humankind owes its existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact that it rains." —Anonymous