Docsconz- The Blog

Remembrance of Thanksgivings Past

If there is a holiday more focused on family and friends than Thanksgiving, I don't know it. While other holidays including ostensibly religious holidays like Christmas, have strong familial and friendship components,those elements really aren't the central theme. I suppose one can say that family and friends aren't the central theme for Thanksgiving either, but what can people be more thankful for than their family and friends? I guess  there are unfortunate people without either good family or good friends, who hopefully have something else to be thankful for. To me, though, those are the main things I am thankful for. To be sure, I am thankful for many other things as well, but I have been particularly lucky on both counts.

This Thanksgiving will be spent with my three best friends from high school and our families as we come together to celebrate our friendship and our collective 50th birthday year. These three guys, Armando, Dom & John, I have known for thirty-seven years. Together we established a very special bond all those years ago.  We are so close and know each other so well, that we are basically family, though not of the same blood. This, despite the fact that we have spread across the country and don't get to see each other individually or together nearly as much as we would like. Each of us also have close bonds with others from our high school and other years, people like Pete the Greek, for example, who through the wonder of facebook has once again become an important part of our lives. Being able to get together either in person or virtually is wonderful and something special to give thanks for.

I usually spend Thanksgiving with at least a few of my siblings. As readers of this blog know, we have a special relationship and enjoy each others' company immensely. I am especially thankful for that, as I realize that isn't the case for every family. Thanksgiving, though, has an extra dimension and poignancy for my siblings and I, one that makes memories of past Thanksgivings even more special.

Of course, I have plenty of memories of Thanksgivings through the years. Growing up in an Italian-American family, of course we had a roasted turkey on Thanksgiving. It would have been un-American not to! But we always had lasagne on Thanksgiving as well. It would have been un-Italian not to have that or some other pasta delight! Just because we had lasagne, didn't mean we skimped on the sides either or the desserts, my favorite of which was always pumpkin pie. In my household, we really didn't have any bakers in those days. There really wasn't any reason to, because we had all the good bakeries we could have needed in Brooklyn. The Italian bakeries were amazing when it came to pastries and breads. The cannolis and other pastries were (and still are) sensational. When it came to pumpkin pie, though, the best was from Ebinger's, a bakery that sadly closed sometime in the late '60's or early 70's. They couldn't compete with the distribution efficiencies of Entenmann's despite the fact that their quality was far superior to Entenmann's.

Food was of extreme importance and the centerpiece of Thanksgiving, but the other major childhood Thanksgiving tradition that has lived on for me, was something I watched on tv. No, it wasn't the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, though I did usually watch it. It was the day that the local NYC television stations (it varied over the years I believe) showed Laurel & Hardy's March of the Wooden Soldiers, which owing to this wonderfully positive association, remains one of my favorite films of all time. I still get goose bumps when I watch Oliver and Stan start up the wooden soldiers to the stirring sounds of Victor Herbert's Babes in Toyland music. It is always great to see Silas Barnaby get his come-uppance.

Over more recent years, my family and I have spent the bulk of our Thanksgivings at my brother Larry's house, festive with friends, family and outstanding Thanksgiving food. As my childhood Thanksgiving memories stem from my family home in Brooklyn, most of my own children's memories will stem from here.

The most significant Thanksgiving day memory for me, though, happened 17 years ago today, November 26th. That day, Thanksgiving then as it is today and hasn't been until today, is the day that my mother, Irma, passed away. It is never an easy day to lose a parent. It can be particularly difficult on or around a holiday. Thanksgiving, though helped make it a little easier then and now. This was also true back in 1996 when my father passed away shortly before Thanksgiving and again five years ago, when my lovely mother-in-law, Jane White, passed away just prior to Thanksgiving too. The reason why being Thanksgiving helped, is that it forced me to remember and be thankful for all the good things those wonderful people brought into my life. It was still difficult to accept their passing, but being thankful for their making me and my family what we are, is what the holiday is all about.

I wish all of you and your families the happiest of Thanksgivings and a Thanksgiving that you can remember positively and with joy forever.

American Cuisine - A Docsconz Video

Given that the theme of this year's Starchefs International Chefs Congress was "What is American Cuisine," I took it upon myself to ask a few of the participants that same question. The following video is a compilation of their responses. While the answers may not settle the question, I think that the video does shed some light from some of the best minds of the food world. My own view can be found here.

American Cuisine from John Sconzo on Vimeo.

Living in the Past

Jethro Tull was my favorite band when I was in high school. The flute and voice of Ian Anderson defined Tull, though the rest of the band's musicians were no slouches either. I particularly loved the blues and jazz influenced stylings of their earlier albums, culminating (for me) in their album Living in the Past.

That album contained every element that attracted me to their music. Unfortunately, that was their last album that I unreservedly loved, with subsequent albums starting with A Passion Play starting to veer off into less special areas. Despite what to my ears was a decline, the pre-Passion Play Tull has always remained a favorite. When I discovered that Ian Anderson and his band would be venturing to Proctor's Theater in nearby Schenectady, N.Y. for an all-acoustic performance, I jumped at the opportunity and purchased seats for my wife, my son and myself. I can't say that I didn't have any trepidation, though. Would he play the music I liked or would he insist on playing "new" stuff? Would he even still sound like the Ian Anderson that I knew? Unfortunately, we arrived late to the concert and missed the very beginning. It didn't take us long to settle in, however. The first song that we heard from the beginning was "Skating Away (on the Thin Ice of a New Day)." I feared that I missed what I had hoped to hear. I shouldn't have worried. Ian Anderson. looking to be in great shape for his 60 something years, was also in fine voice and flute, as he pranced about the stage and struck his signature one-legged flute pose. While they certainly didn't play everything I wanted to hear, they played quite a few of my favorites and played them well. They played a great rendition of a song that was very influential to me personally, "Bouree," based on a piece by J.S. Bach. This piece, when I listened to it as a teenager, actually opened up the doors to Classical music for me. It even (briefly) inspired me to try to learn the piano. To this day, the only thing I ever learned to play was the right hand to that piece! Fortunately, our kids get their musical genes from my pianist wife.

Interspersed amongst the songs that brought me back to my youth, Ian and Co. played a few pieces I had been unfamiliar with, including a pair played during a visit to India a couple of years ago, at which time they missed by one day being at the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai when it was attacked by terrorists. These songs were dedicated to Ravi Shankar. In addition to his songs, the concert featured a couple of pieces from some of the players including their guest viola player, Meena Bhasin and a virtuoso piece of Spanish guitar by Florian Opahle called "Andantino," which proved to be one of many concert highlights. While they didn't play "Living in the Past" they did play "Fat man" and "Mother Goose" as well as "Serenade to a Cuckoo," Anderson's homage to the jazz-flute great Rahsaan Roland Kirk, who was the principle influence on Anderson's flute style. The concert finished with a rather unusual version of Aqualung. It was almost totally unlike the original version of what was Tull's biggest hit. While it may not have hit the same chord in me that a faithful rendition of the original would have, I found it appealing nevertheless. That along with an amazing encore version of "Locomotive Breath" managed to provide something elusive but quite satisfying. They brought back the past, but updated it in a way to keep it fresh and relevant for today. My mind, body and soul may have gone to that concert hoping to be "living in the past," but ultimately I emerged happy to have touched upon the past at a concert very much of today.

The Next Iron Chef - A Hunch

You will rarely find me commenting about Food TV on this blog irrespective of the network that it is on. One of the few cooking-as-entertainment shows that I watch with any degree of regularity is The Iron Chef on The Food Network. I watch it because it is somewhat entertaining and also because I am acquainted with many of the chefs and a few of the judges who appear on the show and aware of most of the others.

Starting last year when Michael Symon was selected, the Food Network has made a big deal of selecting the next addition to their stable of "Iron Chefs".While I tend to find this aspect of the show somewhat ridiculous in the same way that I find shows like Top Chef a bit ridiculous, it has significance because it feeds into the show that I like. I, like many others, am somewhat curious as to who will be the "Next Iron Chef."

This year's line-up, while filled with very capable chefs, is devoid of any true household names with Jose Garces being perhaps the most successful Chef/entrepreneur of the group, Amanda Freitag somewhat familiar to Food Network fans, Nate Appleman, a recent James Beard Award Rising Star Award winner and each of the others having strong culinary backgrounds. I will, however, based on two bits of circumstantial evidence, go out on a limb and make my prediction for who the winner of "The Next Iron Chef" will be.

Nate Appleman is my choice. I have yet to eat his food, but he is currently a food media and industry darling on a rapidly rising career arc, who as I mentioned won the 2009 James Beard Rising Star Chef award and had also won a Beard award for his cookbook. Given these credentials, he already has to be considered a favorite going in to the competition, but that is not the reason for my guess.

The first bit of circumstantial evidence that I am basing my hunch in is his curious decision to ditch his successful San Francisco restaurant, A16, where he was a chef/owner and burgeoning San Francisco restaurant empire to come to NYC to run a pizza place (albeit one likely to be very good and very successful with or without being an Iron Chef). Simply from the food preparation and restaurateuring points of view, this seems at best to be a lateral move and on the surface can be considered a step down. Without some additional incentive, it is certainly a gamble, int hat opening a pizza spot, however good, puts him in direct competition with many other top-notch pizzerias. In San Francisco, he was on top of his world. NYC happens to be the home of The Food Network. Being there rather than San Francisco, would make it much easier on him to be part of The Iron Chef and still maintain his restaurant cooking interests.

The other bit of circumstantial evidence I am basing my hunch on is a tweet I saw this morning from @nappleman saying "Tonight 9 PM The Food Network. The battle begins........" Admittedly, this is pretty soft, after all, he is probably just promoting a show that he is part of. Given that the competition is essentially complete, or so I would imagine, I doubt that he would be into promoting something so directly that he did not show well in. Given his self-stated competitiveness, I suspect that he would not consider himself as having "showed well" unless he won it all.

Not even sure that I will watch the program, I will certainly not be distraught if I am wrong and wish no ill to any of the other contestants, but at least this has given me a reason to root for a particular contestant.

La Festa di Ferrari

Who says that we are in tough economic times? One wouldn't know it based on the collection of vintage and new Ferraris on display at The Saratoga Performing Arts Center this past Saturday. A collection of vehicles brought together from around the country, this show, a product of the Saratoga Auto Museum, was part of the Saratoga Food and Wine Festival this year sponsored by the Italian Trade Commission and rivaled the collection of Ferraris on display at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello, Italy just outside of Modena.

Though I have never ridden in one, let alone drive one, I first became enamored of the artistry of the automobiles on a visit to the museum, when my son and I were staying in Modena several  years ago. They are simply beautiful creations, exquisitely built and a joy to look at. I can only imagine the thrill of driving one on the road.

The assemblage at SPAC included private touring vehicles as well as several that had won major international races. They also covered a variety of styles, and in addition to the well-known Ferrari red, an assortment of colors, including my favorite, the yellow. I am told by a friend and colleague who I worked with in the past and who now owns one of the Ferraris that was on display, that a few of the cars present are considered to be "priceless" given their individual histories. I have no doubt that he is correct.

There was plenty of food and wine under the tents, but just seeing these beautiful machines all together was food for the spirit. More to come on the Food and Wine event later. In the meantime, I hope that you enjoy this slide show of the Ferraris.

Summer Fair

Washington County is the premiere agricultural county in this part of New York State and arguably in the entire state. It would make sense that the Washington County Fair is the premiere County fair in the area, which it is. Full of farm animals, farm produce and farm activities, it is a model of agrarian utopia in many respects. Unfortunately and ironically, one of those respects for which it does not represent agrarian utopia is food. While there is plenty of farm produce on display, both alive and harvested, and there is plenty of food available, there is precious little of that food that actually represents the farms of the area.

Overstuffed taco salads, fried dough, sausage and peppers, fried Oreos and cotton candy were in abundance with nary a farm source listed let alone any local ones. Fortunately, there were a few small oases amongst the desert of fast food joints, most notably a milk stand featuring the dairy products of the Battenville Valley Creamery and the grilled chickens of the Argyle Fire Department.

The fair is both uplifting and fun and extremely depressing. It is fun to witness and partake of the bits of Americana like  the milking display, the horseback riding demonstrations and the livestock judging, but it is depressing to look at all the high calorie, low quality food stands and the expensive , rip-off carny "amusement" rides and games.

In all, the fair is an enigma. It had been a while since I had been. I was reminded why so much time has passed since my last visit and also why I enjoyed going at all. It is one of those events, worthwhile visiting every so often, without spending too much time there. Of course, if certain elements were to improve, most notably the culinary offerings, I could see spending a lot of time there.

As the summer passes, so has the fair, marking a transition to the end of summer, the onset of fall and the coming of winter. The seasons continue to cycle.

American Food

What with the theme of the upcoming Starchefs ICC being "What is American Food," the question has either been on my mind or below the surface of my thoughts a lot lately. While preparing dinner the other night, it hit me that the dinner I was making was the epitome of "American Food." No, it wasn't hamburgers or hot dogs, though in the minds of many, they are the consummation of the term. What I was making was not an established dish, nor was it based on any particular recipe or tradition. It did, however, employ a variety of techniques and ingredients used in a number of culinary traditions. It was a fusion of culinary cultures without any conscious attempt at "fusion" cooking, though a consciously creating a fusion doesn't necessarily make a dish "un-American.". I simply took a number of ingredients at hand and created a dish that owed a lot to different cultures, but wasn't the clear product of any of them other than American "melting pot" culture. In short, American cuisine is the natural conglomeration of products and techniques available on our shores without specific regard to where they came from, although specific cultural debts exist and may be acknowledged.

Of course, this has been true for any cuisine throughout history. It is difficult to imagine Italian cuisine without the tomato in the south and corn in the north; Spanish cuisine without pimientos or rice, Indian cuisine without chilis or Mexican cuisine without pork, beef or chicken, though clearly much cooking of those areas does quite well without those ingredients.

Many foods commonly accepted now as "American" had their origins elsewhere, but have adapted to this country. Pizza is certainly of Italian origin, but it has become an American staple, in the vast majority of cases vastly different than its Italian ancestor. The hot dog, as American as it gets, has plenty of European roots. Is there even such a thing as General Tso's chicken in China? The United States, a nation of immigrants including the very first immigrants that predated the Europeans, has always included the culinary traditions of those immigrants, at first as pure as they could be based on the ingredients at hand, before ultimately incorporating other influences and dilutions to become distinctly American. With few exceptions, the "Italian" food that I make today is vastly different to that my grandparents made.

So, what was my "American" dish? Given my Italian-American roots, I made pasta, using an Italian brand, short, wide tubes called "calamarata". Pasta, though common enough in this country, was obviously not the defining ingredient. Nor was it  the corn that I had cut from the cob (I made a corn broth with the cobs that I used to cook the pasta) to use in my sauce, nor the tomato, nor the jalapeño, nor the tomatillos, nor the garlic, nor the cultured cream, nor the arugula. The point is, there is no defining ingredient in American cooking. It was the combination of those ingredients and the techniques used to combine them that makes the dish and the cooking "American."

Horses in Saratoga - Polo

August in Saratoga, N.Y means three things, Thoroughbred racing, Polo and crowds. The crowds were much in evidence over the weekend, the first of the racing season in Saratoga. Downtown was absolutely hopping Saturday night with multiple bands in various street venues and people galore. Somehow, I managed to find a parking spot and had another fine meal at Max London's. I didn't make it to the track that day - in fact I tend to go at most only once or twice a year and then mostly for the spectacle. I did, however, make it to my first ever Polo match at the Saratoga Polo Association fields.

My wife and I had been meaning to get to a polo match for quite some time, but for various reasons had never got around to it. This past Saturday evening, however, the stars aligned for me (but alas, not my wife, who was away for the weekend) to finally attend a match. A friend had mentioned earlier in the week on Twitter that this past weekend would feature all female polo players including some of the very best in the world. In addition, earlier in the day at The Saratoga Farmers Market,I had run into Jim Rossi, the owner of the Polo Club,  who reiterated the same. With no other obligations for the evening, I decided to take the plunge, especially as it was a rare beautiful day of late. That the match would be held at all that Saturday evening was also a stroke of luck for me, as it was originally scheduled for the prior night, but it had been rained out - I did say the sunny days were rare this summer!

I trucked on over to the fields and paid $20 for entry, arriving a half hour after the scheduled start. There were a number of people and their cars lined up on one side of the field looking into the sun with a match already underway by the time I arrived. While the size of the crowd appeared decent to me, I was told that it was smaller than usual given the rescheduling from the night before. In addition, though most of the matches are held in front of the Polo Club's clubhouse along with it's food service,  this evening the matches were held on alternate fields given the waterlogged nature of the regular fields.

Given that the sport is an expensive one to participate in and has a reputation of elitism, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. What I discovered was a varied crowd that was quite relaxed in appearance and dress doing a lot of tailgating and picnicking. Though I had no particular rooting interest, I found watching the matches to be fascinating. The sport is full of fury and grace, with thundering hooves nearby and extreme athleticism from the horse/human team. It was as much watching art as it was watching sport. While initially looking into the sun was distracting, as the evening wore on and the sun rode down the sky, the light softened and the back lit setting added an additional element of beauty.

Though the sport was new to me, it clearly was not to the majority of attendees, who were out between the chukkahs "stomping divots" and garnering autographs from these world class athletes.Whether one's interest in the sport is serious or casual, a day at the polo matches is one that is relaxing, diverting and surprisingly accessible.

Summer 2009

The summer of 2009 in the northeastern United States will be remembered as a summer of rain, incessant rain. It is funny that one area can have too much of one thing, while other areas don't have enough. It would be nice to figure out a way to collect all the excess water and convey it out west without too much of an energy drain.

New York Cornfield 2009

Sheldon Farms Field Corn

In an article written for San Francisco Magazine, Chef/Author Daniel Patterson laments that "The corn that we eat in its natural state has lost its distinctive flavor, echoing America’s drift toward sweet, one-dimensional tastes." He continues to say, "The corn I remember from my youth was markedly different from what’s grown today." Patterson attributes this to farmers growing corn for a market that only seems to value sweetness, leaving the product one dimensional. The rise of "supersweet" hybrids and the decline of open pollination appear to be the principle reasons for the apparent unidimensionality of corn flavor. According to Patricia Sheldon of Sheldon Farms in Washington County, the reason that the supersweet hybrids were developed was to maintain the sweetness of industrial farm grown corn from places like Florida as the corn was transported and distributed elsewhere in the country. Many farms, including ones just selling locally took to those hybrids thinking that if sweet corn is good, "supersweet" must be even better. In addition to the lack of depth of corn flavor, according to Sheldon, the "supersweet" hybrids tend to have a mealy texture, owing to the high sugar content. She states, that though they use hybrids and no longer open pollinate at Sheldon Farms, they do not use "supersweet" varieties. Instead they use a number of different hybrids, which I will attest, still provide great corn flavor and crisp texture in addition to some requisite sweetness.

The photo of the field above is of field corn, grown to feed animals. In addition to being less sweet that corn grown for human consumption in the U.S., it is grown later in the season, is hardier, taller and designed for the entire plant to be harvested and used for feed. Of course, corn as animal feed has its own issues, but I will not get in to them here.

It is too bad that the state of sweet corn in the nation has generally come to this. Patterson has decided that since he cannot find the corn of his youth, he will not use it.

"Over the years, I’ve made corn-juice glazes, corn meringues, sautés of corn and chanterelles, corn-and-basil salads, and corn-and-tomato combinations of all kinds, but nothing has ever thrilled me the way steamed and buttered corn on the cob did in my childhood. Corn today is so sweet that it overpowers or undermines everything it accompanies, while lacking one key component: corn flavor.

This year, I’m throwing in the towel: No more corn on the menu. I’m tired of trying to create a balanced dish with an ingredient that tastes like it’s been impregnated with simple syrup. And I’m disgusted that the industrial seed companies bet—correctly, as it turns out—on Americans’ appetite for sweet, monolithic flavors with no subtlety, in the process ruining an extraordinary vegetable. "

While I share Patterson's observation and general lament, i am happy that I am still able to find at least some corn here in N.Y. state that still has depth of flavor and the texture that I have always associated with corn. Summer is still a time where I and others can still look forward to fresh, loal, in-season corn with character.

Tiger Lily

These beautiful lilies are currently all over the place as they often grow wild along the roadsides.

The Farmers Market Conundrum

Anyone who knows me personally or reads my blog (or the eGullet Forums) knows that I love Farmers Markets in general and especially the ones local to me. They are great for buying top quality food and supporting an important element of the local or greater regional community (for all the urban dwellers). I love the variety, freshness and social aspects of the market - all things that are extremely difficult to impossible to get in a supermarket, including even the best ones. I also think that when one considers the quality and entertainment factors, they represent excellent value on the dollar.

I am not, however, uncritical. I can understand and appreciate that farmers markets are selective, usually employing strict rules as to what vendors can and cannot sell at the markets. The markets should certainly be vigilant about making sure that their vendors sell only high quality products that were grown, raised or prepared within their particular catchment area. Sometimes, the rules can be somewhat loose when it comes to artisanal food products, such as the peanut butter vendor at some of the local markets even though peanuts are not grown anywhere near our region. I don't really have a problem with that, so long as the product is artisanally made locally and of high quality. I am not interested in excluding vendors so long as what they are selling is of quality and within the framework of the market. But here is the the conundrum. What I do not understand is the Market's exclusion of top quality farm-raised products from specific farm vendors. For example, why can't a local farm that raises some of the best free-range pigs around and has some of the finest pork in the area, not sell their pork at the same market at which they sell their equally high quality grass-fed beef? While there are other vendors selling both of those items, the market is not over-saturated with either. I think that markets would garner even more support if they allowed all the farmers to sell all of their items of quality.

Summer in the Adirondacks - Views of Blue Mountain Lake

The hamlet of Blue Mountain Lake is the quintessential Adirondack town. Situated in the center of the Adirondack Park it overlooks one of the state's most beautiful bodies of water. It is also home to the incredible Adirondack Museum, one of the best museums of its kind anywhere. As a way to get a quick and accurate feel for what makes the Adirondack Park unique and wonderful, there is nothing better than a visit to this museum and town. The drive is lovely, the museum is thorough and informative without being preachy or stale and the gift shop is outstanding, offering many well-made and delightful items distinct to the area at reasonable prices. Even the cafeteria is worthwhile! No first time visit to the Adirondacks should miss this introduction to the history, culture and style of the region.

Blue Mountain Lake

Summer on Lake George - June 2009

With My Father

This photo was taken on a cruise I took with my father in 1995, about a year and a half before he passed away. That cruise was one of the best things I ever did, because I got the chance to get to know my father in a way that I never had previously. I am so glad that we did it. The cruise itself was ok with nice, but typical Caribbean destinations, but the opportunity to spend time together in a relaxed atmosphere was truly priceless. Happy Fathers Day!

Ramblings From Italy - Pesca in Parma

Photo by John M. Sconzo, M.D. of Frog Hollow Peaches

June 16, 2009

A Park in Parma
by Rocco Verrigni

Pesca

How You Know When a Peach is a Peach

While sitting in a small park in Parma on a very hot late spring afternoon (88°), I discovered the following about how you know when a peach is a peach.

A peach is a peach:

    *  When you can close your eyes, smell what you are holding and immediately identify it as a peach
    * When you can, without effort, split the peach exactly in half by just twisting as if you were         opening a bottle or container, without mutilating the fruit
    * When the seed pulls out like it were in butter
    * When you open it and you see the juice as it sprays into the air and falls silently to the ground
    * When, while eating it, the juice oozes from the corners of your mouth and pools onto the bag you are holding on your lap
    * When the pooled juice can be drunk from the bag as if drinking a shot glass of peach juice
    * When an hour later, you are still enjoying the peach because the sweet aroma of it is still radiating from your hands
    * When you know that this is the best peach you have ever had until you have another like it

Now, this is when a peach is a peach!

Ed. Note: The fruit in Italy is second to none, though the Frog Hollow peaches I photographed a couple of years ago by me would have qualified for Rocco's definition.
-John

Ramblings From Italy

My good friend, co-founding member and current President of the Slow Food Saratoga Region chapter and  culinary professor Rocco Verrigni of Schenectady Community College is currently in Italy for a few weeks re-exploring the country's gastronomy as well as personal geneology. Rocco is well versed in Italian cuisine, having taken the Master Italian Regional Cooking and Cultural Course at the Slowfood proprietary school (Instittuto Superiore di Gastronomia) in Jesi, Marche in 2006 while on sabbatical from SCC.

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting occasional reports from Rocco regarding his experiences in Italy as he explores the food and culture of Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna, Abruzzo and Puglia. Please stay tuned.

Anticipating June

In this part of the country peonies don't bloom until June. As this ant can attest, June is right around the corner.

Chive Flowers

Chives are possibly the easiest herbs to grow. If they weren't so pretty and tasty, they could easily be considered weeds since they self propagate so readily. It is so convenient to step outside and snip a few to add to any number of dishes. Have you cooked with chive flowers?

Happy Memorial Day!
Remember those who sacrificed their lives for us.

A Simple Enhancement

I don't know why I am surprised, but I am. I shouldn't be given all the inroads of savory into the world of sweet. Maybe because the underlying recipe is so simple, ordinary and classic. My wife made some Rice Krispie Treats using a standard recipe to send to my sister-in-law, who is serving in Iraq, and made some extra for our family. I generally don't eat them, but I had a small one for dessert. I ate a bite then put it down to start cleaning the kitchen. It happened that I  handled some rosemary and as I ate the next bite of the Treat, a subtle but distinct flavor of rosemary was part of it, much enhancing the final product by giving it a little depth and dimension. With a couple of leaves added on top of a bite it was even better. I had my wife and children try some and they agreed. I wonder how it would be with some rosemary added to the recipe? What other herbs and spices would make ordinary pleasures even better? In addition to Rosemary Krispie Treats, I could envision Toasted Cumin Krispie Treats, Saffron Krispie Treats and so on. Sometimes it is the simplest discoveries that are the most fun.