More Fun With Fannie Farmer

I was pondering what to serve along with the beautiful swordfish I was going to get at Whole Foods Friday, and thought to consult my new Fannie Farmer Cook Book to see what Fannie would have done in 1896, and that consultation sent me into a tailspin of thought.  Sure enough, Fannie had a recipe for grilled swordfish (she was from Boston, after all), with which she recommended serving Cucumber or Horseradish Sauce.  Not wanting to challenge my swordfish with horseradish, I looked up the Cucumber Sauce, and found this straightforward concept.  "Grate two cucumbers, drain, and season with salt, pepper, and vinegar.  Serve with Broiled Fish."  My kind of recipe.  I tried it, and it was great with the fish.  These days one has to be careful to use organic cucumbers from a place like Whole Foods, Sprouts, or Vitamin Cottage, but I started thinking about how at the time she wrote that, everything probably already was local and organic.  Which in turn got me wondering about the history of agriculture in the 20th century, and how we ever "progressed" to the idea of cucumbers grown with chemicals and waxed for shipment thousands of miles away.

Perusing the fish section of the book also started me thinking about how our attitudes towards it have changed and how some fish have become endangered through overfishing.  While we've taken to revering our fish, giving some near cult status and paying a king's ransom for it, fish was clearly not on such a pedestal in 1896.  Among the things Fannie says in her introduction to the fish chapter are "Fish meat, with but few exceptions, is less stimulating and nourishing than meat of other animals...," and "Fish meat is generally considered cheaper than meat of other animals."  But ringing ever true today, "To obtain from fish its greatest value and flavor, it should be eaten fresh, and in season."  We might be willing to pay $25 a pound for a piece of halibut to showcase from Whole Foods, but in Fannie's day, it was a fish that could simply be stuck in boiling water.

This train of thought brought me to how much of this change I've seen in my own lifetime, growing up when it was a "sacrifice" to eat fish on Fridays.  As a kid, that usually meant swordfish or shrimp, both of which were plentiful and cheap.  Which brought me to one further realization, that my lifetime stretches halfway back to when Fannie Farmer published this book in 1896.  Now, that one's a shocker.  Oh gift giver of this book, you are messing with my mind.

Weekend Dinner Idea Sketch

I told myself I'd stop posting dinner plans, as it was becoming too time-consuming and even skewing my own thinking in favor of a better post rather than a better plan for myself.  But maybe if I just outline a bit without taking the time and trouble to fill in all those other details will work out sometimes.  So here's a bare sketch for the weekend.

For tonight, I discovered that Whole Foods, at least at the Pearl Street store, is doing a sale on fresh swordfish for $17.99 a pound.  That's only $2 off their regular price, but it doesn't take much incentive to make me grab a beautiful piece of swordfish, which will go on the grill.  Their corn, most recently from Georgia, has also been very nice at 50 cents each.

Tomorrow we'll be back to the fresh wild salmon, trying out Sprouts' fish at $12.99 a pound.  Whole Foods also has it for considerably more (sorry, didn't write it down while I was there, but it was pretty high).  Sides may include a caprese salad using my Crave Brothers fresh mozzarella from Whole Foods' one-day sale Wednesday (reported in a post below), organic tomatoes just $1.25 a pound at Sprouts, and basil from my own herb pots, doing so well in this early summer heat.

We always make something big on the weekend to also serve as an easy midweek reheat, and that becomes something of a challenge for the summer, when big hot casseroles from the oven aren't appealing.  Soups, stews, and chowders are good, but we've done those for at least two weeks in a row.  So I'm thinking we'll head back out to the grill Sunday to do a double batch of a favorite, grilled chicken and ratatouille from Bon Appetit.  I like an exceptional quality chicken breast when it's the star as in this recipe, and this is a good week for choices.  Vitamin Cottage has fresh boneless skinless chicken breasts (free range, air chilled, no antibiotics, etc.) for $5.99 a pound, Sprouts has Rosie's organic boneless skinless ones at $7.99 a pound, and if you want to be naughty and add on the skin (plus bones), Whole Foods has air chilled split breasts for $3.99 a pound.  Decisions, decisions.

So this took more time than I'd hoped also.  Still trying to figure out a balance.

4th Of July Grilling Ideas

Looking for something new to spice up your 4th of July?  Epicurious can help you out with Recipes and Party Tips for a Star-Studded July 4th, while Cooking Light offers 4th of July Recipes.  And don't forget the various grilling guides I pulled together for a post around Memorial Day.  Hard to believe the 4th of July is coming up so quickly!

One-Day Grape Sale At WFM

Wow.  For tomorrow only, the 28th, our local Whole Foods stores will have both red and green organic grapes at the stunning price of 99 cents a pound.  I had to look twice to be sure I was reading that correctly.

This Week's Hot Grocery Deals (IMHO)

We have new sales starting today at our Boulder Sprouts (Longmont, too) and Whole Foods, while the current one continues at Vitamin Cottage through July 13th (click for prior report).  Here's what's looking good to me as we near the July 4th holiday.

While Sprouts' regular new sale runs through July 3rd, they're kicking things off with a 72 hour sale this weekend for Friday through Sunday.  My fave Cascade Fresh yogurts at 50 cents each catch my eye, although Vitamin Cottage has had them for 49 cents throughout its long-running sale.  Other items look like good deals but are just not my thing, like the pork brats for $1.99 a pound.  In the regular sale running through the 3rd, very big previously frozen 16/20 count shrimp are good at $6.99 a pound, but this time the ad unfortunately doesn't mention country of origin, so I'm guessing not domestic.  Fresh wild sockeye salmon fillets from the Pacific Northwest are $12.99 a pound (up a touch from this week's incredible $9.99 a pound), and all types of chicken sausage are $2.99 a pound.  Otherwise, meat and fish specials aren't really calling me this week in this sale, as I'm not a fan of pork sirloin or chicken thighs (although I know chefs routinely call the thighs the best cooking parts), and I don't think a sale of chicken tenders at $3.99 a pound is anything to write home about, when we often see those under $2.  Rosie's organic boneless skinless chicken breasts do appeal at $7.99 a pound, but Vitamin Cottage has a natural version for $5.99 a pound that also carries a good pedigree.

In organic produce through the 3rd, I'm especially enthused about on-the-vine tomatoes at just $1.25 a pound (pair them with some of the Crave Brothers mozzarella from today's one-day sale at Whole Foods, see the post below).  Organic kale is $1.29 a bunch, one pound bags of baby carrots remain $1.49, romaine or red or green leaf lettuce are all $1.29 a bunch, celery is also $1.29 a bunch, Gala apples are $1.49 a pound, nectarines are $1.99 a pound, and a one pound clamshell of strawberries is $2.99 (yup, we're still talking organic).  Elsewhere in the store, I'm liking Oasis Naturals hummus at $3 for eight ounces and Nature's Grilling or mesquite charcoal or chips at 25% off.

Whole Foods has a new sale running through July 16th, but once again, the sales flyer link on the Pearl Street store's website leads to a summary of a few items rather than to the full flyer pdf.  Of the few I can see from the highlights, I'll mention organic grape tomatoes at $2.99 a pint, Santa Cruz lemonades are great at $1 each, Whole Foods' own fresh fruit pies are $6 off at $7.99 each, their 365 Everyday Value Greek yogurts are $1 each, and their own farmers' market potato salad is $2 off at $4.99 a pound.

One-Day Sale At Whole Foods Tomorrow

Tomorrow only, the 26th, our local Whole Foods stores will offer us a duo of special sales.  Since I adore Crave Brothers fresh mozzarella, and I have a suspicion that Sprouts will have organic tomatoes for just $1.25 a pound starting tomorrow, and my basil plants are just reaching a harvesting stage, I'm thinking a caprese salad will be in the future this week.  (Although a pound of mozz is really pretty big.)  Here's what Whole Foods says:
One Day Sale

Wednesday, June 26th

Crave Brothers
1lb. Mozzarella Log
Sale: $5.99/ea
Save: $4/ea

Chef Prepared
Spicy Avocado Roll
Sale: $3.99/ea
50% Off

Picnic Class At Whole Foods Thursday

The Whole Foods on Pearl Street will host a Pack-a-Picnic Cooking Class this Thursday at noon.  Please note you should sign up in advance, and that light lunch and recipes are included!  Here are the details from them.  And P.S., no word yet that I've seen about the customary one-day sale for tomorrow, but that sometimes comes out fairly late.

Pack-a-Picnic Cooking Class

Thursday, June 27th
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Demo Island , Free

Going to a picnic or BBQ this summer and not sure what to bring? Join our Healthy Eating Specialist Steph as she shows you how to create delicious salads, appetizers, snacks and sandwiches. All are perfect for a picnic and feature local ingredients. Light lunch and recipes included. Email BoulderEvents@wholefoods.com to sign up!

Fannie Farmer Fun

This past weekend, a sweet friend gave me a copy of a reprint of the 1896 Fannie Farmer Cook Book, a landmark publication.  I can't wait to delve into sensibility of the time, with recipes like birds in aspic and even housekeeping tips!

Bike To Work Day Wednesday

It should be nice and toasty this Wednesday for Boulder's Bike to Work Day on the 26th.  You can get all the details at Walk + Bike Month, and its Bike to Work page includes that all-important list of over 50 places where you can bike up to a free breakfast (some even offering bike maintenance while you eat) from 6:30 to 9 a.m.

Lobster Roll Ruminations

I'm in love with lobster rolls and am a bit annoyed when people confuse them with lobster salad rolls.  It's actually sort of a continuum, starting with nothing but lobster and butter (or perhaps a touch of mayonnaise instead) to a full blown salad where veggies and binders dwarf the poor lobster that should be the star.  So I'm pleased to see that the June issue of Bon Appetit has a nice little article (link unfortunately not available, but they can't give away everything) on all the variables involved, and focusing on the lobster and bread.  A more informed take than they did several years ago when what they hyped right on their cover as a lobster roll actually was a lobster salad roll, based on its recipe.  And if anybody knows where I can get a decent lobster roll in Boulder, *please* let me know.  It's something that's basically indigenous to New England, and as the article states, everybody has a different idea of what's the best.  For me, it's a neighborhood restaurant called Kay's that has been in Woonsocket, Rhode Island since the beginning of time.  A lobster roll to die for, and at an incredibly reasonable price, to boot (nearly two thirds less than the prices you'll find in downtown Boston or Manhattan).  Oh, if I only had time for a trip meandering the coast of New England in search of the perfect lobster roll at a shack on the shore.