Dual Perspective

According to Verne…

Joyce has become involved (no, obsessed) with a foodie program called "Master Food Preservers" (she is advisory board vice president, education coordinator, and teaches many of the classes). Recently, she has been devoting all of her time to this program, because she gets roped into teaching (the program offers one public class each month) and that means spending hours of reading and making many of the recipes that she or other instructors will be teaching. Her most recent class was on fermentation. So she has been reading books, such as: Fermented Vegetables, Wild Fermentation, The Art of Fermentation, The Hot Knives Vegetarian Cookbook, and Roy Choi L.A. Son. Well, you get the picture.

I get dragged into this because I’m her kitchen helper. One of the ferments she has discovered is Kimchi, which originated in Korea. All of the books I mentioned above have recipes for Kimchi and tout the great taste and benefits of fermented Napa cabbage (and other veggies). To try it out as well as begin to collect the necessary ingredients to make her own Kimchi, we visited a Korean market in Sacramento. It was an interesting experience to see all of the different Korean food items, many available in huge quantities (50 lb bags of rice and 20 lb bags of crushed red peppers), and try to communicate with the owners, who spoke little to no English. She purchased a jar of Kimchi to try as well as to use as comparison when she makes her own. However, we got home and she didn’t have the courage to taste the stuff. I took a large bite and found it to be delicious. So, my challenge was to figure out how to use it. Well, we had a cup of left-over cooked white rice, which I fried in a couple of tablespoons of sesame oil, then added about 3 tablespoons of the Kimchi, which I chopped into reasonably small pieces. I sautéed the Kimchi for about 3 minutes or so to warm and incorporate the flavors into the rice and finished it with finely chopped green onions. We ate Kimchi Rice for dinner and loved it. It’s one of our new (quick) favorite foods.

According to Joyce…

I admit that I am obsessed with food preservation and the MFP program in general. My goal was to learn how to safely make and preserve jam. That was back in January 2014. I intended to complete my Master Food Preserver training, put in my 50 hours of community service, and say “adios” to the people and the program. It’s July 2015 and my volunteer hours for the past year are in excess of 300 (that’s what I’ve logged – my actual hours are probably triple that) and I’m committed for at least another year. The more I learn, the more enthusiastic I become. It’s gone well beyond jams and jellies, although I still love to make them and teach others on the nuances of making an artisan slow-cooked jam.

This past spring I was “roped” into teaching a class on dehydrating. It was the perfect opportunity to take out Verne’s Christmas gift, an Excalibur Dehydrator, and give it a try. Two weeks of non-stop drying and the results were amazing. I was again “roped” into teaching a class on Fermentation and Pickling the first of this month. I now have a new “best friend” in El Dorado, who taught the fermentation portion of the class, and together Laura and I are taking classes outside the MFP program on Kombucha and Fermented Drinks. Just to be clear, as MFP’s we are only allowed to teach fermentation as a preservation method using sauerkraut and dill pickles as examples. Anyway, Laura gave me a baby SCOBY (which stands for symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) and coached me on making my own Kombucha in preparation for our class next week. All I can say is OMG! It has been quite the experience.

For most of you, fermenting is a mystery even though approximately one-third of the food you eat has been fermented. Beer and wine, vinegar and soy sauce, sourdough bread, sauerkraut and old-fashioned deli dill pickles are all examples of fermented foods. I started by making fermented sauerkraut and dill pickles and have had phenomenal results. It was the recent class and my new BFF who inspired me to go beyond that and learn more about the process and take a giant leap into the world of fermentation.

I will be the first to admit it can be scary…leaving foods at room temperature (as MFP’s we call this the “danger” zone) with a little bit of salt and in some cases only their own juices to create an environment that is hostile to all of the “bad” microorganisms that generally rot food. These ferments are not just left for a day or two, but a month or longer. Even scarier than eating something that has been sitting out for that long is the process of making Kombucha and seeing and holding the pancake-shaped slab of bacteria that is created during the process and even multiplies and has babies. Here's a picture of me and my (baby) SCOBY.

Let me explain the process of making Kombucha. It begins with a gallon of sweetened brewed tea that has been brought to room temperature. The SCOBY is placed in the glass container along with the tea and will either sink to the bottom or float on top. Either works. The container is covered with cheesecloth and placed in a room that maintains a temperature range of about 65°-75°F. After a few days a film develops on top of the tea, which is the baby SCOBY. It thickens until it’s about 1/8” thick or more when the ferment is complete. The baby along with the mother SCOBY are removed from the tea and placed in a covered glass dish with about two cups of fermented tea and they reside there until one of them is needed to make the next batch of Kombucha. After the first ferment, fruit may be added for a secondary ferment to further flavor the drink. The fruit is removed on the second or third day and the Kombucha is ready to bottle and refrigerate. After several more days in the refrigerator, when the “fizz” is to your liking, the Kombucha is ready to be enjoyed.

The health benefits of this drink and other fermented foods rich with beneficial bacteria seem to be endless. I’m past being scared and am a true believer. Our basement walk-in pantry (now called our “fermenting” room) is alive with ferments of several kinds and our new practice is to eat or drink one each day. Verne may say he was “dragged” into my obsession (no, passion) for preserving foods, but I would suggest he is an enthusiastic partner right there by my side whenever I want to can, dehydrate, or ferment. Most recently, he has gotten into making his own fermented sourdough starter and we will soon be enjoying his first loaf of sourdough bread. I ask you, does that sound like a man who has been “dragged”? I don’t think so. There are days I feel like he’s behind me pushing. Bottom line…we make a good team!

P.S. Verne’s Kimchi rice concoction is delicious!

Change

Home alone. That’s something I don’t experience much any more since Verne retired a few years ago. I spent a decade as a weekend-wife with Verne working weekdays in SoCal and then later in Carson City and returning home Friday nights for the weekend. It was our “normal” and a lifestyle that seemed to suit us both. I was more than a little concerned about the retirement years and spending 24/7 together, but I have to say it has been an easy adjustment. Of course, it helps having my own 750 square foot studio/retreat separate from the house and I’m sure Verne would agree that his barn/workshop has saved his sanity more than once.

Today, as I sit here alone, I’m feeling a sense of loss. After spending the last three days with us, Jana left this morning for LA. We’ve had a wonderful time together with the highlight being a trip to Napa yesterday for a picnic lunch and wine-tasting tour of the Chappellet Winery in the Prichard Hill area.  Verne and I joined the Chappellet Wine Club a few years ago and have enjoyed taking family and friends there on several occasions. The Chappellet family has set aside two beautiful private picnic areas on their 640 acre estate for club members to use. One of those spots is set amongst the oaks and boulders on a hillside surrounded by grape vines. The other is located in a beautiful meadow, also surrounded by grapevines, and overlooking Lake Hennessey. They receive little use during the week, so we had the meadow to ourselves. It was perfect! We concluded our trip to Napa with a box of macaroons from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery. Pure decadence!

As I mentioned, Jana left to drive home this morning, but not without adding to my loss by taking Izzy, her beautiful Short-Hair Exotic (Persian) cat that I’ve been cat-sitting for the past nine months. It’s not that she’s left me without cats – I still have three. In all honesty, three more than Verne would like and when I consider the expense, damage, and work involved in having purebred, indoor cats, I whole-heartedly agree.  But, Izzy is perfect by all standards and now she’s gone and I’m left with the others – precious, but not without challenges. There is Julie, Izzy’s mother (a weird little 7 pound cat with stomach issues and a personality disorder), Izzy’s father, Ernie (the most normal of the bunch, except for the strange snorting sounds he makes), and Olive, Izzy’s sister (I can’t do her justice in a side-note, so read on). Izzy and Olive are like Arnold Shwarzrnegger and Danny DeVito in the movie The Twins…Izzy got all of the good genetic material and Olive, the runt, got what was left. In nature, Olive would not have lived, but I took it upon myself to teach her such rudimentary things as eating and drinking (otherwise she’d still be nursing at 2-1/2 years old) and using the litter box (that last effort was not completely successful). You get the picture. In spite of her flaws, Jana loves Olive and it took the past three days to convince her that Olive is a “stressor” that she doesn’t need right now (or ever) and that she should take only Izzy. We have agreed that I’ll give Olive until August 31^st to reform (learn to consistently use the litter box) or else.  “Or else” has yet to be defined. Below is a picture of Izzy.

I’m experiencing yet an additional loss today. We live on a one-mile stretch of road that services six full-time families. All are property owners (10-acre minimum) with the newest family having lived here for ten years. I find comfort in living in an established and stable community. Verne and I would call any one of these neighbors if we needed help and they would do the same with us and have on many occasions over the years. In the last month two of these families have sold their homes and both are moving today. The Lairds, our immediate neighbors, are leaving their home of 35 years – twenty of which we have shared memories. I am sad to see them go, but appreciate the dichotomy between large acreage and aging owners (they are in their 80’s). The two are mutually exclusive. The amount of work required to maintain a private road and 40 acres, in our case, is never ending and, unfortunately, as we (that would be Verne) gets older, his work days become shorter and shorter and the workload mounts. It will soon be our turn to sell our beautiful property and move to something more manageable just as our neighbors are doing today. Sad.

On a positive note, I was told that one of our new neighbors has an interest in learning to make jam…that’s a happy thought as I am quite the authority on the subject and love nothing more than to spend a day in the kitchen making a batch of slow-cook peach marmalade or strawberry balsamic and black pepper jam. My list of favorites is extensive, so I’ll save it for another blog post. I’m already feeling better about the change and looking forward to meeting our new neighbors!

Enjoying Life

When I started this blog a few years ago it was for the purpose of documenting and sharing cooking experiences and recipes with friends and family, since our retired life seems to center around all things ‘food’. It didn’t take long and the blog became “Moser Good Eats and Good Times” and sometimes not such good times. It has basically become a journal where I can record life experiences, albeit mostly simple, everyday events...like these beautiful sunflowers we bought for $5 at the Oneto Family Farm Stand on Highway 88. The stand is unattended -- they use the honor system (a cash box with a suggested price). I don't know why, but the thought that in this day and age people are still trusting and trustworthy makes me happy -- so we stop there often. (And yes, I did leave $5!)

During the first half of this year dealing with Jana’s cancer, chemotherapy treatment and surgery, Verne and I were emotionally drained and all else in our life seemed unimportant by comparison. Our happy moments from January through mid-May were the days we spent with our family in SoCal for Jana’s chemo treatments. Well, life has largely returned to normal and I realized that I haven’t blogged in almost two months.  Not that I haven’t had anything to say, but it’s taken that long to get back in the comfortable routine of life. I think we’ve always appreciated the small things in life, but with our minds clear of the ‘cancer cloud’ we are more than ever appreciative of our good health, family and friends, our beautiful home in the woods, and our community. That last part has occurred since I’ve become so heavily involved in the Amador/Calaveras County Master Food Preserver program…more about that later. Unfortunately, as well as not blogging for almost two months, I didn’t take many pictures during May so will have to improvise as I recount our experiences.

The latter part of May, post-surgery, we enjoyed visits from a couple of “old” young friends. Ted Burns has held a special place in our hearts for several years now. I first met him when Jana was in high school and her car broke down in town. Ted, a classmate since her sixth-grade year, found her stranded in the Safeway parking lot and gave her a ride home. I was in the process of making dinner and invited him to stay. What do I remember about Ted? He had a voracious appetite and was not shy about asking for seconds! Well, it’s been over 14 years and nothing has changed. Many of those years Ted has been a close part of our family. He now lives in SoCal, so we don’t see him as often, but that really hasn’t lessened our feelings for him and when we see him, we just pick up where we left off.

It happened that we had other guests the night Ted joined us for dinner – Maria and her fiancé, Ruben, were visiting. Actually, they are both commercial fishermen and were on break between seasons living in Maria’s home in Amador County. We planned a menu that we could do-ahead leaving more time to visit with our guests. It included a delicious Queso Fundido with Roasted Poblano Vinaigrette (dip) and homemade corn chips, chipotle beef enchiladas, Mexican rice, and flan. We were well into dinner preparations when it occurred to me that we were making Mexican food for a person born and raised in Mexico eating the real deal every day of his life. Oops! Well, he hadn’t had our gringo version and it turned out that he loved the addition of fresh cilantro on the enchiladas.  Success!

We concluded the month with a birthday dinner for Vera Allen, another “old” young friend. Vera has been a regular at the Moser home since junior high school when she and Jana became fast friends. We had the first of many birthday dinners when she was a teen and the meal has become a birthday tradition. Her request is always the same: Hazelnut-Crusted Pan-Fried Chicken, a recipe developed by Robert Mondavi. Some things never change! At some point this past year Vera decided that she wants to remain in Amador County, where her relatives settled and homesteaded over a hundred years ago. She spent two years in Berkeley going to school and decided that big crazy cities are not for her! Her 2015 New Year’s resolution was to “find herself a local cowboy!” and she did. This year Vera brought her new beau, Will, to meet her extended family and enjoy her birthday dinner tradition. Another success!

Most of June was spent working on MFP projects, including preparation for the July class on fermentation and pickling. More and more I seem to end up as a substitute teacher when other MFP’s need help or just flake out. I knew this would happen and even brought up my concern when I volunteered to be the public class coordinator. I was assured that would not happen. Remember what Dr. Gregory House used to say: Everyone lies! I originally volunteered to teach one class this year on jam making. I’m now on track to participate in more than half of the eleven 2015 classes. I’ll admit, I enjoy the MFP program and it has given me a sense of community. I’ll also admit the upcoming class holds some special interest for me. A year ago Verne and I began fermenting our own sauerkraut and sour pickles with great success. Not only are they delicious, but the more I read about fermented foods, the more enthusiastic I’ve become. I won’t use this platform to preach about the benefits of the healthy bacteria that is present in (raw) fermented products, but if you want to know more, just call me (I can entertain you on the subject for hours).

I almost forgot to mention…Raelin and family visited us the first week of June. Verne is usually in charge of entertainment, but I offered to do it this time. I planned a weekend hands-on workshop dehydrating and canning. Aaron and I made four quarts of granola followed by a batch of multi-berry jam and Raelin and I made a batch of apple cinnamon jelly. What fun! I know you’re snickering as you read this, but they loved it and are planning another trip this summer. That’s the last time Verne will let me plan the entertainment…he tries to keep these visits just on the edge of unpleasant so that no one comes more than once a year. And that’s no joke! 

This seems to be a good place to include a photo collage of Peyton (our Connecticut grandson) using the birthday present we sent. It's his very own dehydrator!

And, Lauren making sauerkraut! LOL! I've got everyone doing it. Almost.

We wrapped up the month with a trip to Portland. It had been nine months since our last visit and it felt like going home. Jana flew up from SoCal and Scott drove down from Seattle and spent a few days with us. We shopped until we dropped; ate our way through the Lake Oswego Farmers Market; attended Art in the Park, which included a special fiber arts exhibit; partook of Manzana’s Happy Hour twice; celebrated Scott’s birthday; and most importantly (aside from the birthday celebration, of course), took a private tour on the USS Blueback Submarine at its home at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). We had an exceptional guide who also happens to be an exceptional daughter, Lauren. Yep! In her spare time, Lauren volunteers at OMSI and has been told by many of the other more senior and all male volunteers as well as paid employees, that she is the “gold standard” of the volunteer submarine tour guides. I would agree with that! She is knowledgeable, articulate, friendly, and relaxed. We’ve been hearing about the Blueback since last fall and anxious to see Lauren in action. She didn’t disappoint! The tour was the highlight of our visit and an experience we plan to repeat.