#77 |🔥 KFC (Chickpeas)
Why We Dumped Coffee For Matcha
Hello!
A Supermarket in California
I saw you, Walt Whitman, childless, lonely old grubber, poking among the meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery boys.
I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas? Are you my Angel?
I wandered in and out of the brilliant stacks of cans following you, and followed in my imagination by the store detective.
We strode down the open corridors together in our solitary fancy, tasting artichokes, possessing every frozen delicacy, and never passing the cashier.
—from Allen Ginsberg’s A Supermarket in California, Collected Poems 1947-1980
By the way, I'm Bruce Cole, Publisher of Edible San Francisco. Welcome to all the new subscribers, thanks for joining us! Don’t miss our March playlist on Tidal, deets at the end of this email.
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🇺🇦 #CookForUkraine: “Let’s not forget that Ukraine is not headlines, it’s people.” Olia Hercules, Ukrainian food writer on the week that changed her life forever, and the project she’s launched to raise funds for her besieged homeland. The Guardian
Grains Held Hostage: How Russia could weaponize the global food supply chain. After just one day of the invasion, Russia effectively controlled nearly a third of the world’s wheat exports, three quarters of the world’s sunflower oil exports, and substantial amounts of barley, soy and other grain supply chains. Politico
🔥 KFC (Chickpeas): We made these Crispy Yangnyeom Chickpeas With Caramelized Honey from Eric Kim and Food52 last night. It was a deliciously satisfying vegetarian meal but with all the pleasures of a plate of KFC (Korean fried chicken): crispy and crunchy, with the sweet slow burn of gochujang and a finger-licking jammy sauce. Adding it to our quick and easy dinner rotation because most of the ingredients are pantry staples:
can of chickpeas (used 2 cans—we scorched the first, watching the Warriors game instead of watching the oven 🙃)
gochujang (there’s a jar from Queens in the fridge at all times)
soy sauce
honey
strawberry jam (we used blueberry)
ketchup
sesame seeds
green onions
Make It Tonight: Watch Kristen Miglore’s Genius Recipe how-to video: Korean Fried Chicken, But Make It Crispy Chickpeas.
One Cup Will Do: The biggest takeaway from writing this story about the exquisite Japanese green teas from Tea with Tekuno was that we quit our morning coffee (cold turkey) and switched to matcha. We drink it straight, ceremonial style (nothing added), two brewed ounces at 175ºF, more of a shot than a cup you linger over. You actually ingest the entire tea leaf (ground down to a dust-like powder) when drinking matcha. A cup of tea is always an infusion, whether it’s from loose leaves or a teabag, so drinking matcha means you consume more of the beneficial amino acids (up to five times more than a cup of green tea), especially theanine. Besides slowing the absorption of caffeine, theanine is said to induce relaxation and improve memory and attention. Matcha also contains the potent antioxidant catechin, believed to reduce inflammation and have cancer-fighting properties. Anyways, don’t miss that morning cup of joe anymore and we’ve been drinking it for 40+ years. A morning cup of matcha leaves us feeling lighter and fresher. And have you ever heard of an umami bomb? Read more as we brew up a cup of Gyokuro, Hoshinohien to find out what it’s all about.
Yep: Think you’re doing good by eating plant-based meat? You might just be supporting the industrial food system. What You’re Eating
Show Me the Broccoli: The rise and fall of Oakland’s ambitious Community Foods. Berkeleyside
Taking It On The Chinook: Drought is killing wild California salmon. Wildlife managers hope an extra half-million babies can help. SF Chronicle (paywall)
Don’t Block Me Bro: Ahead of the release of his new book, “The Wok,” Kenji-Lopez Alt reflects on kitchen-bro culture, who gets credit for recipes, and how not to be an asshole. The New Yorker
Everyone Needs A Little Expert Advice: Ruth Reichl goes shopping for seafood in supermarkets with Jon Rowley “the fish missionary.” “These fish are caught in gill-nets, and they’ve died hard. They are not going to taste very good. See that red snapper--the flesh does not naturally have that red tint, it should be white. That’s just blood.” LA Times
Fish Wrap: As a National Seafood Council Takes Shape, Whose Interests Will It Serve? Civil Eats
I Decolonized My Diet for Black History Month: And soon found out this would mean a lot more than swapping out my weekly run to In-N-Out burger for a plant-based stew or seasoned fish with steamed sweet potatoes. Sierra Club
To Boldly Go Where Vogue Has Gone Before: Tamar Adler revisits a history of diets in the magazine. “I spent several days deciding which diets to try, crossing all liquid diets off my list after reading a 1979 piece that described several women dying after following them.”
Champagne diet: All I have to do is drink a glass of Champagne with every meal.
Cottage Cheese Diet: Yes, for breakfast lunch, and dinner.
No Diet Diet: Everything is allowed, including cheese fondue, beef Stroganoff, and strawberry shortcake. In your imagination, eat all you want, including three desserts.
Vogue published its first day-by-day diet recommendation in 1913 and its last in 1996. Its most recent diet piece was by Adler, in 2020, on intuitive eating. Vogue
Tacos or Tikka? National dishes connect us to our specific, cherished history. They’re a way for diasporic communities to access an uncomplicated pride in our homelands, to enjoy a totem of culture that feels constant. When your birthplace is out of reach or your identity is questioned, a food heritage sometimes feels like all you have. The Atlantic
Nah: Chefs like Tom Colicchio are minting NFT pizzas, recipes, and even limited-edition gin bottles. But is the rest of the food world along for the ride? Eater
You Say Tomato, I Say Purple: Blueberries and blackberries are loaded with antioxidants; by tweaking three genes, purple tomatoes can have the same benefit. While blueberries are expensive and seasonal, purple tomatoes could be cooked down into pasta or pizza sauce with the same nutritional benefits. Fast Company
LISTEN: EAT. DRINK. THINK. MARCH 2022 on TIDAL. The playlist we listen to while cooking dinner every night. Grooving to the just-released track Hurricane, by the Cannons. Plus Cate le Bon, Nilüfer Yanya, Sunny War, Valerie June, Def Sound, Kota the Friend, and more. Closes out with some pure Americana with The Sea, from Sierra Ferrell.
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