#84 | You're Cooking Mushrooms All Wrong
Microwaved Salmon?
Hello!
MY CALIFORNIA
Here, an olive votive keeps the sunset lit,
the Korean twenty-somethings talk about hyphens,
graduate school and good pot. A group of four at a window
table in Carpinteria discuss the quality of wines in Napa Valley versus Lodi.
Here, in my California, the streets remember the Chicano
poet whose songs still bank off Fresno's beer soaked gutters
and almond trees in partial blossom. Here, in my California
we fish out long noodles from the pho with such accuracy
you'd know we'd done this before. In Fresno, the bullets
tire of themselves and begin to pray five times a day.
In Fresno, we hope for less of the police state and more of a state of grace.
In my California, you can watch the sun go down
like in your California, on the ledge of the pregnant
twenty-second century, the one with a bounty of peaches and grapes,
red onions and the good salsa, wine and chapchae.
Here, in my California, paperbacks are free,
farmer's markets are twenty four hours a day and
always packed, the trees and water have no nails in them,
the priests eat well, the homeless eat well.
Here, in my California, everywhere is Chinatown,
everywhere is K-Town, everywhere is Armeniatown,
everywhere a Little Italy. Less confederacy.
No internment in the Valley.
Better history texts for the juniors.
In my California, free sounds and free touch.
Free questions, free answers.
Free songs from parents and poets, those hopeful bodies of light.—Lee Herrick, from Gardening Secrets of the Dead
And happy belated Crayfish Appreciation Day (April 17 ) to you too! Seen one crayfish, seen them all? Apparently not…
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 (radish leaf salad!), the latest SF Bay Area food news, poetry (scroll back up if you skipped over this week’s poem), and more!
Lino Block Print Update: We’re a week behind for our April print (looks like asparagus 🤔) but it will be going out in the mail to subscribers next week. Apologies for the delay, covid really messed up our work schedule! We’ll also be opening the subscription link for a limited number of new subscribers in next week’s newsletter.
👉 ICYMI: The most-clicked link from last week’s newsletter was the Smashed Carrot Salad recipe from the Kitchn.
Do you know someone who enjoys Tiny Desk concerts? Send them this newsletter 😉
Zumo Palm Frond, 2020: This is one of those bottles of wine that you immediately exclaim aloud when you pour a glass and take a sip: "Wow, this is really good!" A blend of Verdelho, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc, co-fermented in the classic "Throw that in the pot" method, per winemakers Georgia Staples and Diego Luis Perez. They make wine with no additions of any kind (yeast, malolactic bacteria, clarifiers, stabalizers, acid, sulfites, velcorin, etc..) and ferment them naturally in open-top fermenters, finishing in either neutral oak or tank. "The wines are naturally still alive when bottled and are intentionally fresh and tingly." We purchased this bottle from Gemini Bottle Co.
Strawberry Caprese Salad: This refreshing salad from Erin Gleason is a California-style seasonal twist on the classic Italian tomato and basil appetizer. Try it with a glass of crisp, slightly chilled white wine, a Chenin Blanc would be nice, and so would a glass of the Zumo Palm Frond ☝️.
The Terroir Of Vermouth: “Winemakers are demonstrating that vermouth can be just as variable and expressive of place as wine itself.” Punch
#Protip: Cooking Mushrooms? Chances are you’re doing it all wrong! Cook's Illustrated Editor-in-Chief, Dan Souza on the science behind why you should cook mushrooms in water first, before sauteing them.
This Is Cool: An interactive map of China’s regional specialties, from Shamey Momos in the west to Flowering Chives and Pork Slivers in the far east. Epicurious
Hot Out Of The Oven: Cake Zine, is a hedonistic exploration of history, pop culture, literature, and art through sweets, exploring how cakes have tempted and tantalized us since the dawn of dessert. Subscribe here: cakezine.com
Gilroy Garlic Festival Is No More: Besides the pandemic, the mounting price of insurance premiums and lack of funding made the infamous festival financially unsustainable. Founded in 1979, the Gilroy Galic Festival raised over $12 million for schools and local nonprofits. Santa Cruz Sentinel
The world’s first Ohlone restaurant will open at UC Berkeley: Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino will serve precolonial California cuisine on what was once the indigenous Ohlone people’s own land. “Both the Ohlone and Berkeley communities hope that the cafe and its presence at the Hearst Museum can help heal a long-painful relationship while serving as a reminder of the university’s problematic history.” SF Chronicle (paywall)
Bookshelf: Healing Grounds: Climate, Justice, and the Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming. An interview with Liz Carlisle, Assistant Professor in the Environmental Studies Program at UC Santa Barbara. Her new book “explores the history of regenerative agriculture and its potential to be not just a collection of sustainable farm practices but also an avenue for racial and climate justice.” Berkeley Food Institute
In the United States, 98 percent of agricultural land is white owned, which is not an accident. We know about the genocide of Indigenous people, and we know what African people suffered through slavery, and we know about centuries of land dispossession through racist policies. How are communities of color supposed to foment a regenerative revolution with just two percent of agriculture land? Land justice and reparations are critical to realizing regenerative agriculture as a climate solution. —Liz Carlisle
Alt Meat Is Not The Last Chance To Save The Planet: “A new report questions the dramatic environmental claims that alternative proteins can save the planet, disrupt the status quo, or challenge the power of the corporate food industry.” Civil Eats
Instagram Ruins Everything:
Nicolas Cage And The Mystery Of The ‘Square Tube Pasta’: On a recent press tour for his new movie The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Cage remarked: “I once went to an Italian restaurant in San Francisco about 25 years ago with Charlie Sheen because they had square tube pasta and he was very interested in trying square tube pasta and we did and we loved it so much we went back the next day to try it again.” Eater
Bon app!
LISTEN:
On repeat this week: We’re primed for a Warriors playoff run! This one goes out to all the Dubs fans: "Big Steppin Warriors Remix by San Francisco’s Stunnaman02. Do the step!
Don’t sleep on our April dinner jams playlist: Featuring Chaise Longue, the hypnotic debut single by English rock duo Wet Leg and Lolo Zouai's snappy Scooter. Plus Robert Glasper's cover of Everybody Wants to Rule the World and the Subterranean Shut-In Blues by Mattiel.
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