It all began with my Grandma.

I went to visit her, in Hawaii the year before law school. She’d made a lunch of American cheese on white bread for her hapa granddaughter and I’d brought home a freshly grilled mackerel from the Japanese grocery. We had a good laugh and when she realized I loved Japanese food and flavors she asked me if I’d ever had sushi.

At that point, I really hadn’t — save for a late night party in restaurant after closing hours. A female chef told me hilarious stories of trying to learn how to make this new thing called sushi from Japanese sushi chefs she could not understand. She’d carefully dropped each nigiri rice bed into a pot of water because she misunderstood their accent thinking the master had said “put them in water”. What he had actually said was to put them “in order” (which, in a Japanese accent would sound nearly like “in water”).

Sushi eating, much less making well, it was all so mysterious back then. Sushi bars were not yet fixtures in every city, every grocery store. It’s possible the story was a little funnier because of the after-hours drinks but … suffice to say I didn’t really feel like I knew my way around a sushi menu from that drunken walk-in cooler introduction.

Grandma took me to a local hotel sushi bar that happened to have an early bird special on sushi. I think it was some ridiculously good price for all you could eat sushi between certain hours. The sushi bar was tucked into an alley, between hotels and had all of five or so seats. In a city like Honolulu that caters to tourists, this was clearly a local hidden gem.

Grandma ordered a few pieces tentatively and watched for my reaction. I guess she thought if Ididn’t care for it, it was not a waste of a ton of money. Then she ordered more, and more. She was so happy to see me enjoy it, and kind of in disbelief. She taught me to eat it with o-hashi/chopsticks. (I never told her what the Japanese businessman next to us explained to me: “In Tokyo we eat sushi with fingers.” He implied that because she was from Hokkaido, she didn’t know any better.)

She was delighted to watch as I ate my fill of this new treat. This was a fantastic visit and the only time she and I had had together, just the two of us. I will always remember how much I learned about her, and from her, during that week. We shared a love of travel and I admired her work part-time at a newspaper where the young staff valued her knowledge of kanji enabling her to typeset the printing plates with more accurate and nuanced vocabulary they did not possess.

Before my arrival, she had saved some money to buy me a gift. She explained that she was afraid she didn’t know me well enough to be confident she could buy me an appropriate gift. It had been years since we’d lived near each other in Hawaii, after all. The distance between 8 years old (when she brought me my first camera) or even 12 years old (when we left Hawaii) and law school, was great. I expected no gift but her company and the time with her so I was surprised when she gave me some money, explaining I was to buy something that I wanted.

I’d noticed a small jewelers near the Japanese grocery where I picked that mackerel off the broiler/conveyer belt, still warm under its plastic. Something in the jewelry store window caught my eye. It seemed to me something solid would be a good way to mark this special week. I wanted to be able to look back and remember it with something tangible. I picked out a gold ring, easily the most valuable and extravagant thing I’d ever owned at that point. I thought about touching it in the future and remembering my grandmother and the special week we’d had – just the two of us – before I lost myself in law school, in practice, in life.

When I showed her my purchase and thanked her for it, she did the über-Japanese thing, a small polite smile and a nod. “Grandma, do you like it?” “If it pleases you, then I’m happy.” Well it does please me, though I don’t wear gold that often anymore, I do wear it to remember her and to mark special occasions.

Getting to the Sushi Secrets Part of the Story….

As I became more immersed in Japanese food, and learned more about sustainable seafood issues, I developed a different sort of relationship with sushi. When  Marisa Baggett asked me to provide a quote for her upcoming Sushi Secrets book, I was honored to do so. It was during this same trip to my grandmother’s that I met Marisa’s publisher Mr.Tuttle himself who would ultimately publish Marisa’s book. Curious, yes? Here’s his nephew who shared a snorkeling trip to Hanauma Bay with me, with Mr. and Mrs. Tuttle on the left. (She is from Hokkaido, just like my grandmother was!) They were very kind to me, inviting me to their hotel for an afternoon drink.

Sustainable seafood and sushi are two passions Marisa and I share, in this book she skillfully combines them both. If you are aware of the growing scarcity of  many species of fish, you may be inclined to forego sushi. Outside of a handful of Eco-conscious restaurants like Tataki and Miya’s, you’d be hard pressed to find sustainability on the menu at most sushi bars you’ll find. You can learn to make wise choices with the help of pocket guides and smart phone apps, but once you open your eyes to the depletion of our oceans, it’s tougher to enjoy any old sushi joint.

You can also learn to make sushi at home. If you don’t think you can do it, I’m here to convince you otherwise. Marisa’s book is a perfect guide. Just take a look at these kids making sushi in this video.

The Spam + Friends part of the story…

When I got the chance to assist Chef Nathan Fong at the British Columbia Sustainable Seafood booth at the International Boston Seafood Show, I quickly said yes. Of course we didn’t have any spam on the menu there, but do feast your eyes on some of the phenomenal food we put out for the show. My job was to shop, prep, assist, clean, etc. and I had friends who helped me schlep the groceries, lent me their carts, a bin, and so on. After the show was over, I wanted to thank my friends with a “Gokurosama Sushi Secrets” dinner.

Gokurosama is the Japanese way of thanking someone for their effort.

On the menu for our Gokurosama Dinner:

• Stir fry of sablefish with onion, black bean chili garlic sauce, cilantro
• Cucumber radish salad
• Gungkan Maki – uni
• Gunkan Maki – ikura
• Nigiri – tuna
• Nigiri – tamago
• Spam Musubi
• Kappa Maki
• Ume Shiso Maki
• Negi – Avocado Maki
• Takuan Maki

A funny thing happened while I was planning this dinner. A new couple moved in next door. I ran into them and invited them to come meet their neighbors and have some sushi, warning them that it was a bit of a crazy menu and crazier crew.

And that Band of Gold…

Turns out Cody and Carlos were engaged and we all fell in love with them. Cody had some hidden sushi ninja skills and brought the star power that only a former child TV star can bring. She also brought a charming Bolivian, now her husband, and a bottle of Prosecco. We were smitten. We made sushi together, using Marisa’s excellent book.

Here’s Cody showing two Chinese girls, Lisa and Jesse, how to make rice for sushi – in the microwave. That’s Carlos on the left checking out the recipe.

Here’s our disappearing Spam Musubi. Cody’s hidden talent, at least one of them, is making these.

Secrets Shared – One Ring Lost, Two Blessed

In just a few short months, we’ve become so close and shared (some might say overshared) so much. We even got invited to their wedding. I’ll not steal their thunder but I will share one little secret. I wore my gold ring, purchased to commemorate my special week with Grandma, to this weekend wedding in the Berkshires. And promptly lost it.

I searched everywhere and could not find it. I kept it to myself, sharing the secret only with Doc, in case it might feel like a bad omen or something. I thought about my Grandma and that week and focused on the important things: one, the memory and not the ring is what’s important; two, there was the most uplifting wedding going on where gold rings were being exchanged to signify Cody and Carlos’ commitment. This was a joyous weekend and the only tears were happy tears. On checking out, I quietly left a request to the staff that if the ring should turn up, it be returned to me. I was pretty certain it was gone.

And during this weekend I had hoped to actually write about this first night we met Cody and Carlos over Sushi Secrets. I thought it would be a fun post for folks to see just after the wedding.

But it wasn’t happening. There were drinks, and laughs, and friends. There were tears of joy, new friends, and more laughter. And there was this gorgeous wedding between two really sweet new friends going down. So the post, I decided, could wait. And in a moment in a hammock with my (city boy) husband, I remarked how things that seemed urgent before, suddenly felt less so now. Being in the moment is a lesson I seem to need to learn over and over again.

Cody and Carlos did exchange their rings, after a lovely “ring warming” where the rings are passed from guest to guest, during the ceremony imbuing them with all our best wishes for a lifetime of joy.

I was sad about the ring I lost, but so very happy for these wonderful people and their marriage, that the sting of my loss was diminished. Such is the power of love.

Back to Secrets of the Edible Kind

Sushi is not a meal you would typically make at home, especially in the U.S. where we have a penchant for quick “3o minute meals” and we’re mad for shortcuts. These notions are the opposite of how the Japanese approach, well, almost ANYTHING. However, Marisa does a great job of laying out step-by-step instructions, photos and recipes making the job of rolling or pressing sushi eminently doable.

As with any cooking, it pays to plan ahead and think about what you’ll be preparing. In this case, I was celebrating my friends and showcasing fantastic seafood from British Columbia. So I had some prep to do: Dashi, tempura sauce, sweetened soy and spicy mayo, as well as rice soaking/steaming. All recipes are clearly laid out in simple instructions, and many have step-by-step pictures.

My plan was to have drinks, introduce the concept of the evening, and introduce friends to each other while we nibbled a bit of the sablefish stir-fry. Then, I figured we would not be starving and could begin trying our hand at making sushi, following the various recipes. We began with Spam Musubi partly because it was a quick one to put together. There’s also nothing like sharing something as retro as Spam to break the ice.

I had the table set with Lisa’s special sushi plates, dipping sauce dishes, new fancy chopsticks for everyone to take home, and of course, drinks!

We prepped and cooked, and rolled, and pressed.

Ikura, uni “gunkan” or battleship style sushi. Tamago in front, garnished with Northern Divine Caviar.

ume, shiso, kapa, takuan, negi, mushrooms all got rolled into ….

tuna, avocado, nori and my crazily tabbed book.

Full Circle – Rings and their Significance

I never planned on being married, myself. So I never had a fantasy about “the ring.” Caleb changed that and showed me, shows me every day actually, the value of the commitment it symbolizes. Cody showed me her ring and how proud she is to have incorporated design elements from her beloved Mother’s ring into her own. We held their rings and wished good things for them and were buoyed by the love that swirled around us all weekend.

We’re so happy to have such great neighbors we can count as friends, like family really. We’ve already shared so much including this first raucous sushi feast.

As we unpacked from the weekend wedding and began to plan our week ahead and to think about the work to be completed Sunday night, I found in my suitcase the ring I was so sure I’d lost!

This whole story, my sushi discovery, meeting Mr. Tuttle, choosing a ring to mark my time with Grandma, developing an awareness of and appreciation for sustainable seafood, gaining such solid friends and sharing their wedding with them, losing and then ultimately finding my ring…rediscovering how joy supplants sadness…it all creates a perfect circle. I tend to learn in rather deliberate if not dramatic ways, don’t you think?

My Grandma’s presence is certainly here in this story.

So here’s what I’ve learned from its unfolding:

Life can bring you friends and connections that might take years to mature, as with my Tuttle connection; or in the case of our friendships here, they might deepen very quickly. Joy shared openly can diminish loss. People who matter are with us in our hearts even if no tangible thing remains to remind us.

As always, there is joy in sharing a meal with friends and with some attention to what we eat, we can revel in food even while being mindful of our impact on the planet. With some thoughtful care for friends and partners, we can and will share many more meals together.

With Baggett’s Sushi Secrets they might even be homemade, sustainable sushi.

Congratulations to Cody & Carlos on their marriage.

Congratulations to Marisa Baggett on this beautiful book.

May we all eat well and remember the words we Japanese say before consuming our meal: “Itadakimasu” which is to humbly receive the lives given so that we may eat. A fitting pause before a sushi meal.

The post Sushi Secrets – What’s a Little Spam Musubi between Friends? Rings Lost and Found. appeared first on Jacqueline Church .com.

With the summer solstice nearly upon us, it’s time to get together and celebrate Homemade-style!

Come pick up your own copy of Yvette Van Boven’s acclaimed book: Homemade Summer.

We’ll have a glass of wine and catch up.

We’ll plan our summer solstice blog party and we’ll toast Tammy Donroe for the excellent inspiration!

Thanks to Les Zygomates for hosting and Kitchenwares for goodies!

WHEN: Monday June 17; 6-7 PM
WHERE: Les Zygomates Wine Bar & Bistro; 129 South Street; Boston, MA 02111

RSVP to me here – just a few seats left.

Click on the image to see Yvette’s Summer Menu and a yummy drink…

The post Homemade Summer Solstice appeared first on Jacqueline Church .com.

This is good bread:

This is where it began, sort of. Doesn’t look like food, does it?  This was my sourdough starter that I nearly killed.

But I am not a quitter as you know if you read about my family’s ten commandments here: Starters, Quitters, and Finishers.

So I was tenacious and now, my starter looks like this:

Boston Strong Starter is what I’m calling it. Partly because my earlier neglect was caused by the shocking bombing — our lives were disrupted in some way here in Boston. I’m so buoyed by the stories of the bombing survivors, the kindnesses of strangers, I wanted to collect some these good news stories and give them voice. I was mulling over various ideas.

Then Oklahoma was hit by that catastrophic tornado and subsequent tornados and flooding. I thought it might help to spread the word of people doing good things there and elsewhere. And in a small gesture, but a symbolic one, to share this starter that continues to feed us again and again. #BostonStrong #OklahomaStrong

Not to mention, that when you’ve snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, you might feel a little like bragging.

Contest Winners and an Offer

So now I’m here to share the winners of the contest. I used the Random Number Generator  to choose from among the comments and stories (do click over and read them, quite nice).

The first winner was Vivian Savares – to whom I’ve already sent a batch. She and Sharon both have been sharing this in many ways. I’m thrilled.

So I decided to run through the Random Number Generator again and see who comes up: Michelle!

Since I was so moved by the sharing of stories and since I have to cull/feed every 1-2 weeks anyway, I’ve decided I will also make this offer:

Anyone who would like a cup of this Boston Strong Starter can email me with your mailing address. Postage, how to handle? I used the USPS estimator for 8 oz first class it’s saying $2.32. I think that’s about right. Drop a few bucks in my PayPal account? Or add a few to your next charitable donation?

• You can contribute to the Red Cross in OKC: Text REDCROSS to 90999
• To donate to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma:  Text FOOD to 32333.
• Or donate to the OneFund here in Boston.

Paying it forward and feeding friends and neighbors, this is what it’s all about. I would love it if you shared a photo of your loaves and share more stories of neighbors helping neighbors!

The post Boston Strong Starter – Contest Winners and an Offer appeared first on Jacqueline Church .com.

It was either Calvin Trillin or Woody Allen who is attributed with saying his mother served the family leftovers for 30 years, the original meal could never be recalled.

In my house growing up, Mom almost always ate the odd bits of “food” in foil balls in the back of the fridge, while serving the rest of us a fresh meal. I’m not talking about those “meals”. When we’re talking about good leftovers, we set aside the ones bordering on science experiments.

I like leftovers and often think of meals that we can enjoy together for dinner which will also provide breakfast for Doc and lunch for me the next day. Cook once eat twice. Reducing food waste is also a laudable goal. Do you know we waste nearly 30% of the food we purchase? Food waste also accounts for a significant portion of greenhouse gas emissions.

A meal that can make us feel frugal and virtuous but in a classy way? What’s not to love?

Pasta Frittata

This is one of my favorite types of leftover dishes: last night’s pasta gussied up and turned into something as good or better than the original meal.

Frittatas are omelets that are finished in the oven, they puff up and become gently browned, making them seem sort of soufflé-like. They also fall very quickly since you’re not whipping air into egg whites, but this takes nothing away from the Frittata’s appeal.

This time of year we love shopping at the Farmers’ Market. I saw Dan at the Kimball Fruit Farm the other day, picked up some beautiful asparagus. Also those Persian Cucumbers I love, they’re about as close as I get to the Chinese or Japanese style cukes. No bitterness, tiny seeds, sweet skins. Perfect for so many things including cocktails! Radishes bright and fat and happy….but my asparagus was destined for a pasta dinner. Then I noticed the fish vendor is finally selling scallops in half pound portions (one pound is too much for two people!) and a pasta plan began to come together.

I sautéed about 2 tablespoons of peppered bacon in a little olive oil, removed to a dish. Handful of shiitake caps sliced, some diced onion got lightly browned in the oil/fat.Removed them, then I seared a half pound of scallops from Red’s Best. Removed the scallops, then sautéed chopped dandelion greens, blanched asparagus, frozen peas. Deglazed with Vya Vermouth (you could use white wine or water) added some shrimp stock (again, water would be fine) nestled the scallops back in the greens and added all the veg and lardons back to the pan. I added some preserved lemon rind, julienned and some fresh ground black pepper. I had cooked cappelini (only six minutes!), and because it’s so fine, rather than finish it in the pan, I simply added fresh grated lemon zest, parsley and a little olive oil to the hot pasta in the bowl, dumped my sauce on top. A little more lemon zest and pepper to top. Dinner of a bit of this and that, elevated with fresh spring vegetables, and Bob’s your uncle as they say.

We gobbled up the scallops and most of the pasta (yes, nearly a pound of pasta between two of us. I know.) Today I have leftovers of about a cup and a half of the pasta and veggies. I could simply heat it up but I’m always looking for another way, a better way, and a reason to eat an egg or two. Most days I’d just add a sunny side up egg on top and be happy. With these leftovers, I went instead with pasta frittata.

Plucked some thyme, tarragon, and chives from the rainy fire escape pots,  added more asparagus and then brought the pasta to room temp, mixed up four eggs and make a pasta frittata.

I imagine dishes like this were made the world over with all manner of starchy leftovers; who could afford to waste good food? Potatoes become Tortilla Española, bread becomes French toast or bread puddings, probably grains or rice would work as well. I think I was taught this pasta version of the dish by someone Sicilian in college.

• What is your favorite leftovers transformed dish? 
• Do you have a tip or secret for dressing them up?

The post Pasta Frittata – Frugal Gets a Facelift appeared first on Jacqueline Church .com.

This is the time of year everyone is firing up their grill, buying a smoker, a big green egg (looking at you Dr Food), talking about ribs, kebabs, burgers. A city girl could get jealous.

Without even the opportunity to fire up a little Smokey Joe – the mini-Weber – you might feel you’re missing out on one of the primary joys of summer. I used to. Of course rainy days can dampen grilling enthusiasm, too.

City Girl Ribs

Here’s a technique that will inspire you, no matter how urban or how small your kitchen is. If you have a grill, all the better. If not, don’t worry – I got you covered.

First, the ribs.

All the best techniques, recipes and tips would be wasted if you start with factory-farmed, antibiotic-laden meat.

• In one study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on February 6, 2002, researchers found links that strongly suggested that the people who developed Cipro-resistant bacteria had acquired them by eating pork that were contaminated with salmonella. The report concluded that salmonella resistant to the antibiotic flouroquine can be spread from swine to humans, and, therefore, the use of flouroquinolones in food animals should be prohibited.
• Another New England Journal of Medicine study from Oct. 18, 2001, found that 20 percent of ground meat obtained in supermarkets contained salmonella. Of that 20 percent that was contaminated with salmonella, 84 percent was resistant to at least one form of antibiotic.

Superbugs are not invited guests at my house. We buy from local farms or Whole Foods, and look for good animal welfare standards as well as little or no antibiotics use.

Start with the best meat you can afford. We’ve found that eating better meat, less often, is much more satisfying than eating cheap meat every night. (It’s only cheap if you ignore the health consequences to your self and your environment.) Now, about the ribs you want to eat.

Technique

As with many things in life, preparation and technique matter.

Strip.

Rub.

Steam.

Bite, lick, suck.

Hey, I’m still talking about ribs here – focus!

But seriously folks, ribs are sensuous food. They combine both salty and sweet flavors as well as spice and smoke. Don’t forget fat. They require fingers, paper napkins, and induce smiles, moans, grunts and usually some laughs.

Strip:

First, remove the meat from the wrapper and check to see if the butcher has removed the “silver skin” from the back of the ribs. Most likely, it’s still there. Rubs, steam, sauces will not permeate that membrane so your meat will be less flavorful. Remove it for, better flavor and easier eating.

Rub:

Rub the ribs with a spice blend, I use an iteration of this one, though truthfully, it varies from batch to batch:

DIY Fajita Spice/Rib Rub

Ingredients

2 teaspoons each:

• brown sugar or palm sugar
• ground cumin
• oregano *Seri if you can
• ancho chile powder
• pimentón (sweet)

1 teaspoon each:

• ground coriander
• ground black pepper
• kosher salt* (you could also add a couple drops of liquid smoke to the beer in the pan for a smokier flavor)

Buzz these up in your spice grinder, blender or molcajete and store in a cute little jar. When you perfect your own blend, this makes a nice gift.

Start several hours or the day before you plan to enjoy your ribs.

After removing the silver skin, rub ribs liberally with a shower of spice blend and some brown sugar. Place in zip top bag on a plate in the fridge overnight or at least a few hours.

Steam:

You know that pan that comes with every oven — speckled gray enamel, shallow bottomed with and a slotted tray on top? Some people wonder what the heck to do with it. THIS is what to do with it.

Preheat your oven to 350. (or start your grill, fire up your charcoal)

Get a six pack of beer you enjoy drinking. Pop one open and take a swig, just to be sure it’s good of course. If it’s really good, enjoy the whole thing and pop open a second one for your ribs. Pour the beer into the bottom of this pan. Place the rack on top, take the ribs out of their bag and place on the rack, pour any accumulated juices in the bag over the ribs.

Take two pieces of foil long enough to cover ribs and seal pan, fold two long edges together, fold that seam a couple times to seal. Place your foil blankie over your ribs and tuck, tuck, tuck. You’re creating an envelope to steam the ribs as the beer simmers in the heat of the oven.

This tenderizes the meat, helps the spices permeate it and if it makes you feel any better, probably steams off some fat.

Check the ribs after about an hour at 350. You may try a thermometer, but likely you’ll hit bone and get a very high reading. Use your eyes. Has the meat shrunk some exposing some bone? Use tongs to pull up gently on the bone and you should be able to tell that the meat has fully cooked. You don’t want it falling off the bone just yet.

Remove the foil (careful there’s that hot beer in the bottom tray!) and brush with your own barbecue sauce or a good bottled variety. Return to oven to glaze the ribs, slather, turn, maybe 15 minutes on each side, as you wish. The ribs will be fully cooked at this point, it’s just about how saucy or crispy you like them to be finished.

* Try making your own smoked salt! Place a 1/2 or so of Kosher salt in a ramekin or saucer and place in one of those smoker bags, along with a saucer of ice cubes.  Bake in the oven for about half an hour or so. The ice melts, creating steam, the smoke infuses the salt.

Resources / Books:

These three excellent resources are on sale now on my Powell’s Bookshelf. I recommend them all for anyone interested in grilling. Click on the image to go right to my Powell’s page.
$14.48 (list $40)
$9.95 (list $19.99)
$9.95 (list $19.99)

• Should we fire up our “BBQ Bonanza” this year?
• Who wants to do a guest post/recipe on the theme of Sustainability at the Grill?
• Anyone want to sponsor…?

The post No Grill? No Problem. Great Ribs Anyone Can Make. appeared first on Jacqueline Church .com.

You’ve been thinking about getting a dog perhaps. But there’s all that walking, the scooping of poop, the vet’s bills.

How about a pet that is is way, way easier. How about one that feeds you?

No I’m not talking about chickens and eggs. Because, I too, believe you absolutely should not get backyard chickens.

I’m talking about something that gives you this:

This is one terrific batch of sourdough. And as long as I don’t completely mess up, it seems to have the will to live, to keep giving back.

Like a pet, there’s a little care and feeding involved. As you’ll see, very little is actually required.

Sourdough Saga – the Birth of Boston Strong Starter

When I found I’d neglected my starter far too long, I was SO angry and disappointed in myself. I turned a wonderful batch of sourdough starter into a freaking hockey puck.

That is it – dried up in the bottom of its crock.

But - I am not a quitter, in my family that was a sin.

I began by breaking up the hockey puck. Feeding it with a rich mix of flour and water, then when the chunks were softened, I used a stick blender.

I practiced patience. I had hope. Faith. I knew that sourdough has been around for eons and starters have been dried, frozen, shipped and shared.

And my patience and tenacity has been rewarded.

Care and Feeding of “Boston”

I’m now calling her Boston. She’s strong and she’s feeding many. This Boston Strong Sourdough Starter is now even en route to my friend Vivian in Oklahoma, soon to be feeding folks there. I like to think of it going out there and multiplying. I hope it feeds their resilience, supports their kindness to each other, and fills some tummies, big and small.

To this resuscitated starter which I brought back from near-dead, I am alternating feedings:

Each Sunday (or thereabouts) I remove one cup of the stirred up starter. It gets turned into pancake mix or given to a lucky friend or reader (see below).

Week one: I add 1/2 C warm filtered water, and 1 C of Bohemian Flour. For Boho flour: mix equal parts whole wheat flour, rye flour and unbleached or bread flour.

Week two: I add 1/2 C warm, filtered water, and 1 C all purpose flour. Alternating for a long time, I hope.

And, yes, I’ve now set an alarm on my smart(er than I am) phone so we should avoid future near-disasters.

Caring and Feeding of our Friends

Now speaking of disasters… we’ve survived the bombing at the Boston Marathon. And my starter survived my neglect during that period. Friends and family out west have survived the devastating tornado in Oklahoma, but they’re surrounded by people who’ve lost everything. If you’d like to help our friends out there:

• You can contribute to the Red Cross in OKC: Text REDCROSS to 90999
• To donate to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma:  Text FOOD to 32333.

We never know how meaningful even a small gesture might be to someone in need. I was once surprised to hear about something I’d done for someone and completely forgotten about. They reminded me years later, with gratitude for how I’d really helped when they needed it. I felt so lucky that I was able – in that forgotten moment – to do something that clearly helped them and harmed me in no way at all. I hope not to overlook those opportunities.

Your turn:

Tell us in a comment here how someone reached out to you with a much needed act of kindness or sharing — why should bad news get all the headlines? – and you will be entered in the giveaway.

Alternatively, tell us of a fundraiser you’re part of and how folks can help.

Each comment entered here about some small act of kindness, or opportunity to help, will be included in a random drawing and the winner gets my next batch of Boston Strong Sourdough starter in the mail. It’s a small thing, but I’m happy to share. I’ll do the drawing one week from today (Wednesday June 5th). [Ed Note: someone slipped my spam filter some viagra and I've been traveling w/o access. To be fair to those who languished, I'm extending the contest to midnight tonight. Stay tuned and spread the love. Oklahoma and all of us can benefit from more good stories!]

• Don’t forget to share this link, the more people that share it, the better off we’ll all be!

The post Boston Strong Starter – Story, a Recipe, and Small Acts of Sharing appeared first on Jacqueline Church .com.

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Homemade Mayonnaise in just four steps. That’s right, that’s all it takes.

Mayonnaise…

… one of the handiest things around. You can lightly dress a sandwich with it, devil some eggs, add it to salad dressings, make tuna or egg salad, coat chicken to oven fry…It’s really just a small handful of ingredients and a simple whisk that stands between you and heavenly spread.

The problem is fat, right? So why not buy low-fat or reduced fat mayo? Usually these have icky additions such as more sugar and they still use cheaper soybean oil as the main fat. Oils can have healthy fat or unhealthy fat – chiefly we’re talking about Omega-6 fatty acids. Without geeking out too much, just know that the important thing is to eat Omega-3 and Omega-6 in proper balance. Americans tend to eat an unhealthy balance skewed heavily toward the Omega-6.

Commercial mayonnaise will also often contain preservatives and possibly other things you can’t pronounce or don’t wish to put in your mouth.

Now, I’m not trying to sell you on Mayonnaise-as-health-food. BUT, I AM hoping to persuade you to try making this at home. One the advantages of making your own mayonnaise at home is the nutritional profile as compared to store-bought. Taste is the other, arguably more important, reason to get out a whisk and a bowl and get cracking. Once you get the basic technique and proportions down, you can tailor your mayonnaise to your taste.

What you need:

Two things: a simple list of ingredients which may already have on hand,  and a simple technique.

Ingredients:

• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice OR white wine vinegar OR see below
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3/4 to 1 cup canola, grapeseed or other neutral tasting oil
• Salt to taste
• White pepper (optional)
• Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:

1. Whisk the egg yolks, mustard and acid.
2. Drip, and I do mean drip, oil in while whisking. Patience is good here.
3. As the egg yolk mixture begins to come together and you can see the drips of oil disappearing, you can begin to add the rest of the oil in a slow, steady stream.
4. Taste and add salt, white pepper, cayenne to taste. You may also wish to add a pinch of sugar.

Options, variations, uses:

Remember when making something with only a few ingredients, especially something you will be eating fresh or cold, the quality of the ingredients is key to a good result. Use the best quality you can for each of the elements, you’ll taste the difference.

Acid: Some people insist one must use only lemon juice. Others opt for white wine vinegar. Others like a combination, while still others insist no combining is allowed. Pfft. My only rule is not to use bottled lemon juice. I love Katz’ Sparkling Wine Vinegar, and often combine it with lemon.

Oil: I prefer a light, neutral oil. In the instructograph above I began with grapeseed oil. I didn’t want mayo with a greenish hue (olive oil may do this as well) so I added canola oil.

If you wish to increase the proportion of good fat to bad in your mayo, you can use avocado oil, or nut oils, maybe flaxseed oil or light olive oil (first cold pressed, organic). I suggest beginning with a combination of canola and grapeseed.

Seasonings: Some people prefer only salt and white pepper – you may also use black if you don’t mind flecks of black in your mayo. You can omit cayenne altogether, but I like a little. You may add more acid like another squeeze of lemon or vinegar. Taste it and see what you think. Try adding lemon zest or grate garlic on a microplane to create an aioli.

The chief thing to understand is that you are combining two things that don’t want to be combined. In order to make the oil and vinegar play nice together, that is, stay combined in a nice creamy mayonnaise, you need two things: emulsifying agents and technique.

Here, our emulsifiers are lecithin and mustard. Lecithin? You’re wondering where I slipped that in? Egg yolks! These two ingredients are key. In the instructographic you may have noticed a tiny little dish on the lower right of our mise en place that is unlabeled? That is a little water. Water can help the mayo come together if you go too fast with the oil or don’t whisk vigorously enough. But usually it’s not necessary.

Technique:  whisking. The whisk with its loops, incorporates air and if you want to test yourself, try using a fork instead. That’s a workout! You can also use a blender or a stick blender. I think it tastes better whisked but I may be deluding myself there.

If your emulsion “breaks”, that is the oil separates from the egg yolks, stop adding oil, add a couple drops of water and whisk vigorously. It will magically smooth out and re-combine.

Now go make yourself some wonderful homemade mayonnaise. Holler when those deviled eggs are done.

The post How to Make Mayonnaise – Instructographic and Recipe appeared first on Jacqueline Church .com.

I hope you’ve missed me or at least noticed I’ve been out of touch. There’s been a lot going on. I’ve been working on the launch of a new business, editing a book  I’m hoping to  — I will — publish shortly, working with visiting chefs and speaking at Boston University. Oh, and there was the bombing of course.

Every Finish is a Start

Right at the Finish Line of the Boston Marathon, two homemade bombs exploded robbing some of their lives, others of their loved ones, and preventing many athletes from getting their chance to finish this race – a race that is one of the most celebrated of moments in sports. From our communal response it is clear that rather than an end of innocence, although it did get a little dented, this was a start of something bigger. This reminded all of us that Boston is a tough town and a compassionate one, for the most part. All around us resilience is in evidence. Even as I edit this piece Fenway Park is filling with chefs and guests cooking and eating all to benefit the One Fund.

We often use the term “Boom!” to signify something fantastic in social media; as in “Finished a post, invoiced one client and landed another before Noon. Boom!”  It used to signify something really good. When I begin to say the word now, there’s a catch in my throat. “Boom!” as a positive exclamation is going to have to wait. At least until we stop jumping from a loud bang when a delivery truck drops its ramp. We are all a little stricken around here, still.

We have, most of us, begun to live our “normal” lives again. Then something happens. We see a new news story, arrest of suspects’ Dartmouth friends, someone leaves the hospital vowing to run again. We visit the memorial and see a plush toy bearing the message “Love Wins” and we cry.

We hear helicopters or sirens and we cringe.

So we are grateful for all of your concern, your well-wishes and hugs. The tears from friends in Newtown CT, the virtual hugs from friends in NYC, we appreciate them all.

Re-Start [ed]

As I’ve put one foot in front of the other, trying to move forward and past (do we really move past?) silly things happen, like when I dropped my iPhone on my foot. My fourth toe, left foot offered just enough cushion to save my fancy phone. Hobbling down Boylston Street the other day I almost stopped short when I realized I was complaining about this bruised toe nearly on the same spot where people lost lives and limbs. Windows are still being repaired and replaced. The lives and limbs are not so easily repaired, but people are valiantly carrying on. I give myself a private smack upside my head, and vow to stop complaining about the toe.

My balance of writing versus everything-else has skewed heavily toward everything-else. I’ve been paying more attention to friends, spending more time with loved ones. And just a now and then, I’ve been getting the itch to write. Writing and editing old stories comes easier. Writing something new, here, has been anything but. Everything that is in my normal scope seems trite.

Starter

Cooking has been something of a healing process. Through feeding friends and family I begin to break through the fog of the surreal and find relief from the sadness to reconnect with what is real and worth celebrating.

Do you crave carbs when you’re blue? I do. In this state of in-between, I reached into the back of the fridge for my sourdough starter. I tried to remember the last time I fed it. I nearly cried out loud when I lifted the lid and discovered where a nice bubbly starter had once lived, there now lay a deep crevassed hockey puck of sorts.

Quitters

When I was a kid my folks were big on finishing things. “We are not raising a Quitter.” This was the answer when I asked to quit ballet, when I asked to quit Japanese language lessons. “We are not raising a Quitter.” While I was, in fact, allowed to quit things that were making me unhappy, I was sternly advised that these were special exceptions and that quitting was one of the worst things one could do in life.

Quitting is a cardinal sin. Quitting was just behind wasting food. I think murder was like fifth or sixth.

Seriously, our family’s seven deadly sins went something like this:

1. Lying.
2. Wasting food.
3. Failing to refill the ice cube trays for Dad’s Scotch.
4. Quitting.
5. Being undisciplined.
6. Getting less than straight A’s on a report card.
7. Murder.

…

When I got better at reasoning with them, in smart ways, it became harder for them to argue. This can be a handy skill when you have get around one of these rules.

When I asked to quit Girl Scouts for example I began with simple protests, “We’re not learning real camping skills. They take us to campsites where the tents are on platforms and have cots. There’s a cook! And a kitchen!”

“We are not raising a Quitter.”

I countered that I wanted to learn real scouting skills “like the BOY scouts are learning: how to read a map, pitch a tent, build a fire, etc.”

Then I added the thing that I found the most ridiculous and insulting:

“Mom, I’m pretty sure if I’m lost in the woods somewhere, knowing how to make a macramé purse out of a margarine tub is not going to save me!”

Sarcasm wins in my family — especially if coupled with truth. Even if you’re eleven.

In the end I think these may represent the sum total of things I was allowed to quit: ballet (I stunk at it); Japanese (hated being different); scouts (silly waste of time). These may also have been the sum total of extracurricular activities I tried. Mostly, I kept my head down, got good grades and was relieved to find my younger sister excelled at everything she tried (ballet – she took to it like a fish to water; swimming – won ribbons her first race). This seemed to take the pressure off me finding something else to be good at.

Quitting when you don’t to

I used to run. Short races, not marathons. I started with 5Ks then moved on the 10Ks and while I was never good, I got tremendous satisfaction from getting better, each run, each race. I set goals like dropping my time, increasing my distances. I achieved them. My peak was a ten miler. I had hoped to one day run a half marathon. But I had to quit running. My knees simply cannot take it. I have saved the bibs from my races and somehow I just cannot part with them.

I have one signed by Joan Benoit Samuelson! On several, I wrote my splits on the back. I really miss it. They didn’t raise a Quitter.

Back to the Start(er)

You may imagine then, that when I saw this poor, neglected sourdough starter,  dried and shriveled in its crock, I was distraught. I was ashamed. But I was not going to give up on it. This was both food (see Seven Deadly Sins above, #2) and an opportunity to demonstrate my tenacity and resourcefulness; to show I am not a Quitter.

I now have a bubbly frothy revived starter. Soon I will bake some sourdough bread. I will share it with friends. I will remember those that are still suffering from the bombing and will make a promise to myself not to quit.

And maybe I’ll set a repeating alert in my fancy phone to feed that starter. After all, I wouldn’t want it to think I’d quit on it.

My first loaf from the resuscitated starter is in progress now. Stay tuned. And never, ever quit.

Ed note: Here’s the Boston Strong Starter giving back.

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