Hello!
On June Blossoming in June
This summer, we drank cardamom iced tea sweetened with agave—
savoring an idea of sweetness lingering, not as if we actually ate honey
from the lovely overflow of liquid summer heat and soft beeswax
tongued with a wedge of spanakopita and a platter of shaved lamb
strewn on pita bread with yogurt cucumber dip—
glistening slices of salmon topped by edamame, wakame seaweed,
crushed macadamia nuts mingled with black sesame on beds of rice,
and steaming cups of chai with black tea and milk, loose-leaf sencha,
and chunks of sea bass with a tossed mesclun of tender greens
garnished by crisp curls of chicharrónes
and chopped beet salad with tart beets—the mellow gold ones
soaked in wine vinegar, dressed with tendrils of microgreens—
corollas of night-blooming honeysuckle and star jasmine flaming
with small cups of heady fumes wafting on trellises across the lot
with a walk-in hair salon and laundromat—
then avocados with eggs-over-easy in hollandaise sauce over muffins
alongside triangles of toast dipped in yolks beaten with cinnamon,
and flavorful black coffee with a drop of fresh cream,
quiche with crimini mushrooms, feta, swiss cheese, not leeks or truffles,
shot through with julienned sundried tomatoes the color of stop signs,
and mocha spiced with chili, black pepper, chocolate, cardamom again
by a plate of smoked salmon and capers, ricotta, buttery arugula,
and baby spinach drizzled with olive oil on thin sourdough toast
in glowing strokes of late June light
fringed by the noise of peninsula traffic on the harbor
laced by grease and silt from the machinery of life—
the sea isn’t far away though only gulls could spy it from here—
so why don’t we walk all the way to the inlet of the marina, a landing
where children play in the fading light blanched on grassy edges
as if already a memory of summer within summer—
and you say, with the air of a prophet who ate locusts and honey,
join me in the place where lives are bound together
by a cord of three strands.—Karen An-hwei Lee, 2020
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 a recipe for overnight courgette pickles, which we’ve been enjoying almost every meal this week (yes, even breakfast).
Do you know someone who likes spicy mackerel cakes? Send them this newsletter!
Corn Cake With Berries: Now that corn season is in full swing—we scored some super sweet ears of Brentwood white corn at the Ferry Plaza Farmers market last week—it’s time to break out one of our favorite summer desserts. Featuring fresh corn rather than cornmeal, this cake is best with berries of any kind: blackberries, blueberries, sliced strawberries, raspberries, and even mulberries. Edible Communities
Just No: Not sure we’re buying into this technique of washing berries in a vinegar solution to extend the shelf life. Strawberries, especially are like little sponges and soak up liquids, and its not like you can wring them out after a bath. Besides, we’re sticking with Shuna Lydon’s advice, “that if you insist on washing them, do so in champagne.” Edible SF in the NY Times.
Cup Or Cone? George Washington really liked ice cream. TastingTable
In Extreme Cheese Sports News: Gloucestershire Cheese Roll champion Chris Anderson announced his retirement this week after taking the title for the 23rd time. Ever heard of the event? Watch this insane video where competitors chase a wheel of Gloustershire cheese (that can hit speeds of 70 mph) down a ridiculously steep hill. BBC
Roadkill Dinner: In the time that it takes you to read this paragraph, a driver in the United States will hit a deer. Salvaging roadkill was once prohibited, but now ~30 states allow it:
Many rural Americans have come to rely on it for sustenance. If roadkill represents a wanton loss of life, salvage may be a form of redemption—the senselessness of vehicular death converted by oven or skillet into a sort of gustatory accountability, a bodily connection to place and the ways we inhabit it. bioGraphic
Somms Say: Looking for wines that define a sense of place, show reverence for holistic agriculture, and transparency in winemaking and labor practices? Punch surveyed 150 sommeliers and wine sellers across the country for their top choices of the best wines to drink right now. The list includes a few of our favorites, including Ashanta, pictured above, produced by Chenoa Ashton-Lewis, a 5th generation Oaklander and 3rd generation Sonoma County grape farmer, and Will Basanta.
🍷 Back In 1972: This year marks the 50th anniversary of some of Napa’s most transformational wineries including Silver Oak, Caymus, Chateau Montelena, Cakebread, Clos du Val, Spottswoode, Burgess, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Diamond Creek and others. SF Chronicle
Mezcal Mojo: Tequila and Mezcal sales will pass whiskey as one of the most popular spirits in the U.S., and by 2023 the agave-based spirits will pass vodka as well. Bloomberg
Shake Shack Shrug: The burger boycott we mentioned in last week’s newsletter loses some steam, and Shake Shack, declined to enter the fray or find an alternate bun supplier. More coverage from Today
Mochi Muffin Mea Culpa: Third Culture Bakery posted a response to Instagram in response to a looming boycott, clarifying they’ve ended their relationship with a third-party legal firm that aggressively managed their Mochi Muffin trademark and will be reevaluating what owning the mark means.
Chop Chop: Laureli Ivanoff, an Inupiaq writer, and journalist rediscovers the deliciousness of her grandmother’s achaaqhluk, a fermented greens dish made from foraged beach greens:
The jar went into her dark backdoor entryway, where it sat for a month, undisturbed and fermenting. Once the greens gave off a hint of a sour smell, maybe a month later, they were done. She packed them into quart-sized Ziploc bags to freeze. Later, she would thaw a bag when she was ready to make achaaqhluk, a mixture of the fermented greens, blueberries and sugar: the perfect dessert to serve after a heavy meal of dryfish, dried ugruk meat, potatoes, carrots, herring eggs and seal oil. High Country News
Sriracha-less: A spring chili crop failure means a shortage of the popular Huy Fong Foods Sriracha on the shelves for the foreseeable future. Bloomberg
Foodies Wanted: The Washington DC police department is using the tiresome term foodie for recruitment in posters that call out to “Foodies, Gamers, Techies, Influencers,” to apply for jobs. NY Post
The Technoking & Faux Meat: Elon Musk claimed his all-electric vehicles would change the auto industry for the better. Meanwhile, alt-meat darlings Beyond Meat and Impossible proclaimed their products would become the protein of choice at the butcher counter. Leads us to this story penned by Tom Philpott for Mother Jones: How Tesla Is the Fake Meat of Cars.
Where’s The Beefalo? The healthy meat of the future may come from beefalo, a crossbreed of cattle with bison genes. “The U.S.D.A. has certified beefalo as having higher vitamin levels and more protein, while having nearly one-third less cholesterol, 79% less fat and 66% fewer calories than conventional beef.” NPR
America’s Tofu Capital: San Jose sports more tofu shops per capita in the U.S., with at least 10 locations specializing in fresh tofu. The prevailing style is heavily influenced by Vietnamese producers who make softer tofu than the firmer Chinese styles. "Americans want tofu to be sturdy, whereas the tofu that you buy at an Asian tofu shop ... tends to be more tender because we love that tenderness,” says Andrea Nguyen, noted cookbook author, and tofu aficionado. KQED
Buying And Selling Hunger: The cost of food has skyrocketed worldwide following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A new investigation by the Lighthouse Reports, a European nonprofit newsroom, shows that excessive speculation by investment firms increased their stakes in the agricultural commodities market has also contributed to the rise in food prices. The Wire
Swing And A Miss: Vox can’t see the forest through the trees in The environmental limits of eating local: What we still misunderstand about climate change and local food.
LISTEN: RIP Julee Cruise, singer/songwriter famous for the song Falling (listen), which opened the haunting ‘90s tv series Twin Peaks. David Lynch remembers on: David Lynch Theatre YouTube
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
Oops! Correct link for the Edible SF in NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/dining/29maga.html
San Francisco is rich with farmers' markets. Does anyone rank them in some useful way?