Featured in Buffalo Spree's November 2012 issue "Cheap Eats"

Both photos were taken by the most extraordinary photographer, KC Kratt.

As time unfurls, I find myself drawn more and more to helping people stay connected to or re-discover their food heritage. In a city where refugees and immigrants pour in, desperate to escape their past lives and create new ones, globally flavored food is one of our most treasured secrets.

Most Americans have a sense of who they are, genealogy wise. Many can say where their family comes from and where they ended up. Many too know their food/cuisine heritage. Polish perogis and kolaczki, Italian red sauce dishes and more are a part of their family's story and part of this city's story. You can't go anywhere without connecting the food to the area of the city, Irish bars with their pub food in South Buffalo, Italian pasta dishes in the Westside, Burmese Pho in Riverside.

Won't you come along with me and discover "How to eat global, while staying local"?

Thank you to writer Rachel Fix Dominguez, editor Christa Glennie Seychew, photographer KC Kratt, B. Ferante's owner's Sarah and Lucy Gilmartin and all of the others who contributed their time and efforts towards this November 2012 Buffalo Spree issue. I was happy to be a part of it.

Buffalo Joe's Breakfast & Lunch Cafe

 





Buffalo Joe's is still rather new. It's been less than one year since it's opening, but its flavors have caught the attention of more than just local residents in Clarence. AM Buffalo did a piece on the restaurant,  during which Joe, the owner and chef, was able to show off his simple but outstanding and boldly flavored fare.






What is most surprising here is the complexity of flavor compared to the typical 'greasy spoon' blandness. You can choose to have your potatoes plain, but why would you ever want to do that when you can instead have an exceptional example of Southern Asian styled seasonings, house blended in secret?

The clam chowder, an expected soup with an unexpected subtle earthiness from a delicate blending of herbs. The large number of well diced and soft, not rubbery nor fishy scented clams too were a surprise. But what really brought me here was the promise of well seasoned hash browns with bold well cooked bacon. No limp undercooked slimy American bacon here.

My husband, the one who couldn't stop talking about the hash brown, bacon, and eggs and urged me to visit, had the beer battered fish fry. It had the slight warm woody scent of stale beer, the perfect liquid for battered fish. It was flash fried and the steamed fish had the appearance of freshness you don't see at most restaurants. Usually the edges of the fish are hard from being battered and then frozen then re-dipped and then fried. But this filet was perfect all the way through. The German potato salad was amazing!

The place was full the whole time we were there, but no one had to wait to be served. The waitstaff were fast, efficient, tidy and so polite. I really look forward to going back to visit!

Soup Kitchen - The Hidden People

This past week a political maneuver to create a buzz of moral responsibility failed tremendously. It wasn't just that the politician forced his way into a soup kitchen that was closing after a long day of service. It wasn't just that pressure was put on tired volunteers to remain for a photo opportunity that they may have been politically, personally, or morally opposed to. It wasn't just that the politician fumbled his way into an apron that had just been put away and washed dishes that had already been washed.

It was more than this. The politician missed the point. He missed that the volunteers who worked that long day had just made and served hundreds of meals to the homeless, the mentally unstable, the drug addicts and alcoholics, the elderly, the folks with young children, the folks looking for meaningful employment, the lonely. Folks so desperate for a hot meal that they troop down to this location and stand in a cold hallway waiting to be allowed to enter, their belly's grumbling from the smell of hot food wafting through the closed doors.

He came after they had been served. He came after they had left. He came not to touch lives. Not to listen to the stories of sorrow and suffering. Not to contribute with his time, resources, or experience.

He is not the only politician to use the soup kitchen or pantry to create a buzz, and unfortunately he will not be the last to use people to create a false history about themselves.

Yesterday I went to Central City Cafe at 200 East Eagle Street located in the outskirts of downtown Buffalo. I went unannounced. I didn't pull out my camera. I didn't make any waves. I bowed my head along with everyone else when the kitchen head said prayers. I sat and ate my plate of lentils and roast pork on rice and my icy cold brown banana and my bitter coffee while sitting across from Kelly. Kelly has been coming to this kitchen off and on over the last three years. Every time he stops taking his medication for schizophrenia he's admitted to ECMC and eats very well there, but he says he really likes the meals here. With shaking hands he struggles with the creamer cup and finally gives up. He eats what he can but the meds make his stomach queasy so he eats like a bird, though you can see he really needs to eat it all. He trembles and scatters rice across the table, his occasional "Fuck you man." tumbles uncontrollably, tic like, out of his mouth. But he lucidly smiles and says, "It's good food here. You don't drink, you don't smoke, and they feed you good food here."

This is what the politician and others like him have missed. The sour milk scent, the worn out strollers with sleepy babies in twenty year old consigned clothing, the shoes worn so thin you can see the color of socks peeking at the heel, the rheumy yellowed eyes of long time drinkers, the warm smiles of the grateful. It's nerve wrenching for those who come for the first time. They look so obviously out of place. You can see the look on their face. "How they hell did I end up here? How the hell can I get out of here without feeling like I've groveled for a bowl of rice and limp vegetables?"

This is why I am so adamant about improving the types of food donated at my International Dinners. This is why I want to honor the work that Food Not Bombs does. This is why I encourage people to donate time as well as money to their local kitchen and pantry. This is not about coddling or being permissive, this is about supporting the community you live in. The first world concerns of malfunctioning phone apps, doggy day care issues,  not having enough money to put eyelashes on your car so you put it on a 21% interest credit card just boggles my mind. There are people in your neighborhood that don't eat or don't eat enough. Don't have access to clean water, to bathrooms, a place to do laundry. Have you ever scrubbed a t-shirt in a public restroom and dried it using the hand dryers? Have you ever bathed using a container of wet naps?

I don't want you to feel guilty. I want you to feel inspired to do something. Even if you can only contribute four times a year. Pick times that are not connected to a holiday. Holidays are easy. Too easy. It's the times in between that help is needed. It's not an all or nothing endeavor either. You do what you can, when you can. You do it quietly, unobtrusively, without thank you's, without that tax return slip for write off purposes. You can't write off your neighbors, you can't write off their lives, you can't make a profit off of their suffering. You do the work without expectations. When you do this, you discover it brings it's own rewards. I can only guarantee that this much is true.

If you want some ideas on how to help, you can contact me through email. I would be happy to suggest different ways in which you can make the greatest impact in the smallest of ways.

Farfalle & Cheese - An elegant twist on traditional Mac&Cheese

Brown butter roux made with barley flour, First Light Farm & Creamery cheeses, organic sun dried tomatoes in olive oil and rosemary, and local heavy cream and butter.

Make the roux. Add the heavy cream and tomatoes. Use a stick mixer and blend till smooth. Add the cheese and stir until blended.




Boil one pound of Farfalle (bowtie), though any brass die cut pasta like spugnole, trofie or cappelletti will do.

Chunk up 1/2 pound of Cuba extra sharp white cheddar cheese. Shred another 1/2 pound and fold into the sauce.

Drain the pasta well and slide into a 9x11 casserole dish. Pour the sauce evenly over the top and using a wooden spoon turn over the pasta to coat evenly. The wood spoon prevents the pasta from being damaged.

Sprinkle the chunks of cheddar on top and cover with foil. Put into a pre-heated over, set to 400*.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil the last five minutes to lightly brown the cheese. Set out to cool for ten minutes.









Serve with a wild arugula salad and balsamic, olive oil, and mustard seed braised asparagus. A thick hearty red is best, consider a 2008 Palmina Barbera.

Food Safety Modernization Act, What Can You Do About It?

Global food production has rapidly been consolidated in recent decades, with some troubling results. The takeover of the food industry by a few multinational corporations has radically shifted the focus of food production. 

Increased competition and profit over quality has led to cutting corners. It has become such a common practice across all aspects of food production; from waste management to the quality of animal feed to the technical training that farm and food workers receive. The consequences have largely come at the cost of consumers and the safety of their food.

Here are the 5 top consumer food safety concerns that came out of the analysis of the new FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.

1. Foodborne Illness - A foodborne illness is still the most prevalent risk with food. It’s made even more so by high-density, low-sanitation livestock facilities, among other factory farm practices, which spread disease at a frightening pace.

76 million Americans suffer from food poisoning each year. More than 300,000 people are hospitalized every year for food related illnesses and more than 5,000 of those people die. Of course, this can be mitigated with better education about food safety and preparation, but it could also be mitigated by better practices on the production, processing, and distribution end.

2. Contamination - While bacterial and viral contamination that cause foodborne illness are most people’s primary food safety concern, there are also a wide variety of other substances that leech into food and can cause health issues. Heavy metals like lead, mercury, and cadmium are occasionally found in food; ingesting heavy metals can lead to serious cases of poisoning, as well as related diseases like Minamata disease from mercury and Itai-Itai disease from cadmium.

3. Pesticide Exposure – Pesticides are a food contaminant that warrant special mention. Pesticides are used in many agricultural operations, from fruit and vegetable production to animal feeding operations. Exposure to pesticides has been linked to infertility, birth defects, nervous system damage, poisoning, and even cancer. Washing produce is an important way of reducing pesticide exposure, but there are also organic farmers who do not use synthetic pesticides to begin with.

4. Antibiotic Resistance – One of the side affects of treating dairy cows with Monsanto’s recombinant bovine growth hormone (commonly known as rBGH) is also increased risk of udder infection. Rather than simply halting use of the hormone, many American companies began using antibiotics excessively as a preventative measure instead. Widespread overuse of antibiotics can cause the development of antibiotic resistant diseases and infections. Bacteria can rapidly evolve this trait with prolonged exposure to antibiotics and using antibiotics in a preventative manner rather than therapeutically can lead to diseases and infections that are untreatable.

5. Environmental Effects – Agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution. Soil degradation, water and air contamination, destruction of ecosystems, and climate change are some of the negative ecological consequences of agricultural operations. While there is increasing awareness of these issues and innovative attempts to address them, the de facto practices of the agriculture industry remain troubling.

You can combat these concerns in very simple ways.

1. Foodborne Illness - Purchase food stuffs produced locally to minimize exposure to multiple contaminants that come from people handling the product. Also produce picked and sold at market within a 100 mile radius has less chance of deteriorating and resulting in food poisoning. Wash and store food properly. If you're not certain how to handle  certain items go to this website.

2. Contamination - Read the label, ask the grocer questions about country of origin, name of farm, and contact the company to ask about production and processing. Do some research on items that you cannot get locally. The Fair Trade label usually implies it was harvested to the greatest benefit of the worker, but it also often means it was produced to be ethically and environmentally sound.

3. Pesticide Exposure – Organic labels let you know that the product was produced using no to very little natural/environmentally friendly pesticides.

4. Antibiotic Resistance – Look for labels that read organic, no rGHB, and look for local producers and farmers to get your eggs, dairy, meat, and poultry from.

5. Environmental Effects – Trying growing your own garden, sign up to a CSA, and participate in recycling programs in your community.

This website can connect you with some excellent information about all of these above issues and concerns.

Duff's

Duff's brought Buffalo one of the finest versions of wings back in 1969 and has continued to do so ever since. They are hot, there doesn't appear to be a mild, but even so, despite the heat, the flavor is full on from first taste to finish. To top it all off, they are undeniably addictive.

Their hot sauce is locally made and their house beer is brewed by Rochester's CB's Brewing Company. If you visit their home base in Amherst, NY, ask for Maggie as your waitress, she's a real sweetheart!








We ordered the 1/2 pitcher of house brew, fries, and 20 wing special and Blue and Bacon Burgers. What impressed me were the crisp shoestring fries, the equally crisp bacon, and the soft rolls from Costanzo's Bakery!

Nothing destroys a perfectly good blue cheese and bacon burger than stringy under-cooked bacon or a crappy cheap roll, and as you can see pictured below this was not the case. It was a stupendous burger! If only this post was scratch & sniff.

      

Jerk Ribs and Jamaican Coat of Arms

At the last IN event, Chef Krista won the evening's competition with her Jamaican Hot Sauce. She gave me a bottle of her new Jamaican Hot Sauce. She warned me that this was an error bottle, twice the chillies had been added when it was made. New bottles were being produced but she handed a few of these out. I love hot sauce and figured a batch of coat of arms would be perfect to try this "error" sauce on.

I totally underestimated how hot this hot sauce would get!

My eyes, nose, and upper lip were on fire. It so delicious!



I used some of her jerk sauce to marinate a rack of organic ribs and grilled them. They were served up with lightly steamed broccoli and a pile of coats of arms and a tall glass of Flying Bison's Buffalo Lager.

2 (16 ounce) cans coconut milk
2 cups white rice
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
32 ounces canned black-eyed peas
1/4 teaspoon allspice

In a medium saucepan, combine the black eyed peas with the allspice and simmer on low heat. In another medium saucepan, combine the coconut milk, rice, onion and garlic. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until all of the liquid has absorbed. When the rice is done, remove the black-eyed peas from the heat. Rinse and drain them very well and mix in with the rice. Serve hot.

Moldy Monday - Waste Not Want Not

I heard that! "Oh it's just a little bit of mold. I can just pick that right off. My kid won't notice the hole in the crust. They're not going to even eat the crust...are they?"

Fess up. How many have you done this?

That's what I thought. All of you. Seriously?! I hate to tell you this but once one spot appears, you can bet the whole loaf is covered with a fine network of hyphae which can be so fine that they are not visible to the naked eye.

Necklace from Artist Sarah Norton's
Etsy store Beat Black

My dear there is nothing worse than wasting food. You don't want to throw it out, you don't want to eat it. I get it. Blagh-urgh! But is there a way to avoid food poisoning and not toss the bread in the garbage? Absolutely.

First take the bread you do have and cut it up into smaller pieces and compost it, but be certain it's covered by a layer of compost to prevent animals or birds from eating it. If you don't or can't compost you are going to have to toss it. 

The best way to manage bread is to keep it at room temperature (Vintage bread boxes are kickass!) only as much as you can eat before mold appears.

What amount is that exactly? Jezzum, how should I know?! My family is all over the map with this. Sometimes it's four loaves of sliced bread in a weekend. Sometimes it's two slices.


My family is fickle too. None of that crappy Wonder/Bimbo bread. They want whole grain, honey oat, sweet sponge, fancy pants bread that mold LOVES!!!! So I blow $4 on a loaf and hope they eat it all. And get all cranky pants when they don't.

You can freeze loaves and thaw it in it's closed plastic bag. Bread products should not be refrigerated, because they will go stale, unless they're sweet breads like cinnamon swirl or breads with fruit and nuts in it.

If you have a funny bread or mold story, please share it below.

Second Friday of September's Locavore Challenge

Here are some of the items I purchased locally, either at Wegmans, Spars European Sausage Shop, Five Points Bakery, and the Elmwood-Bidwell Farmers Market.

A variety of Hot Peppers and tomatoes from our garden and from Eden Valley Growers in Eden, NY (19 miles from Buffalo)
Green Leaf Lettuce, Romaine Hearts, Cilantro, Escarole, and Concord Grapes from Demarco Farms in Ripley, NY (77 miles from Buffalo)
Bread Flour and Regional Pantry Sunflower Seed Oil picked up from Five Points Bakery in the city's Westside
Gimmie Coffee (Not a locally sourced product but, it is roasted in Ithaca, NY. It is also Shade Grown, Organic, Fair Trade, and Bird Friendly.)

Ribs, sausage, ground pork and beef from Spars located in Black Rock on Amherst Street.

Here are some sites that I have been reading a lot of links and articles from. Sometimes I agree, sometimes I agree to disagree, but they each have a plethora of excellent sources to check out, ideas to consider, and ways to become more involved in the food conversation.


America's Test Kitchen


How to Grow Bread Yeast


Life Hacker - Kitchen Hacks


Wild Forager


Make Your Own Vinegar

Make an impact Monday

Very often we think about our impact on the world at large. Not recycling or composting. Not re-using bags or buying water in a plastic bottle. Today I want you to consider the impact you make in your own neighborhood.

Everyday you meet people just like yourself who are going about their day. Going to work, to school. But one thing separates you from them, food insecurity. One in five children in the whole of the United States is considered food insecure. That's approximately 17,000,000 children who have one meal or less per day. The World Health Organization defines food security as having four facets: food availability, food access, food use, and long term stability. Food availability is having available sufficient quantities of food on a consistent basis. Food access is having sufficient resources, both economic and physical, to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet. Food use is the appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water and sanitation. The stability of the first three dimensions of food security over time is most critical of all.

Could you imagine going the whole day with nothing but what you might eat at school. That's if your school participates. Unfortunately, besides extracurricular activities, school food programs that include free or reduced meals are often the first cut when district budgets are short. Lunch programs during the summer months are scarce (more so for adults), run only during certain hours and/or on certain days, you can only eat the meal right where you receive it in front of the person handing it out, and you may not take it with you or share it. It is usually highly processed and high in sugar, filled with preservatives, artificial flavors, and colors. You are required to be grateful and you may never ask if there are other options. If you are a vegetarian or have an allergy, you eat considerably less of what is offered, if at all.

In Buffalo there are a number of programs run by groups who attempt to meet the daily needs of the hungry. From Loaves & Fishes' bagged lunches at their temporary St. John location, to Buffalo Food Not Bombs Monday and Saturday's Lunches, to Central City Cafe's wholesome hot meals; they and other outstanding food providers work hard for little or no pay.

They too have issues with budgets but even more than that, there is a need for donations beyond the major holidays, as well as providing services in a facility that has an up to code kitchen, a clean and safe dinning area, and having volunteers on staff that have the experience to work across the gamut of needs.

One small way that you could help is to donate goods to a pantry or soup kitchen. Consider locally sourced and/or organic foodstuffs such as rice, beans, whole wheat pastas, fresh fruits and vegetables. So often donations consist of foods you yourself wouldn't eat. How often have you cleared out your cupboard of items nearing expiration and donated them? You didn't eat that cranberry sauce, why would you donate it? Think instead, "I am so hungry! I wish I could have a hot meal with...." When you stop to consider what actually happens to those cans and boxes, you start to alter the types of foods you donate. Cans that have pull tabs are easier than hoping the client has a can opener or a stove to heat it on. Items that can be heated in a microwave or added to a stew pot are highly desired. I frequently hear how nice it is when a pantry adds a head of lettuce, a bag of potatoes, or a bar of butter. There is also something special about having a bar of soap, a roll of toilet paper, or a tube of toothpaste added to the bag.

This month consider, at least once a week donating two or three items that you would never have thought of donating before. If you are uncertain of where to donate, take a look at the 20 Soup Kitchens located here in Erie County. Also be aware that money donations are welcome at the smaller pantries where they are often used to purchase things like school supplies, or body care products like tooth brushes or feminine products, or food for pets.

I'll be featuring a different kitchen or pantry once a month, so check back in the middle of the month for  more information on ways you can help in your community.

Thank you and have a great week!

First Friday of September's Locavore Challenge

Here are some of the items I purchased locally, either at Wegmans, Geurcio, Five Points Bakery, and the Elmwood-Bidwell Farmers Market.

• Acorn Squash from Fenton Produce near Batavia, NY (53 miles from Buffalo)
• Cucumbers and Zucchini from Hoeffner Farms in Hornell, NY (94 miles from Buffalo)
• A variety of Hot Peppers from our garden and from Eden Valley Growers in Eden, NY (19 miles from Buffalo)
• Butternut Squash, Sweet Peppers and Tomatoes from Reeves Farms in Baldwinsville, NY (146 miles from Buffalo)
• Green Leaf Lettuce, Romaine Hearts, Cilantro, Escarole, and Concord Grapes from Demarco Farms in Ripley, NY (77 miles from Buffalo)
• Bread Flour and Regional Pantry Sunflower Seed Oil picked up from Five Points Bakery in the city's Westside
• Gimmie Coffee (Not a locally sourced product but, it is roasted in Ithaca, NY. It is also Shade Grown, Organic, Fair Trade, and Bird Friendly.)

Here are three sites that I have been reading a lot of forwards, links, and articles. Sometimes I agree, sometimes I agree to disagree, but they each have a plethora of excellent sources to check out, ideas to consider, and ways to become more involved in the food conversation.

Handpicked Nation 

Civil Eats 

The Cornucopia Institute

Susie Cuke's Pickles

Think of the dishes and sweets and specialties that are unique to your family. Have you ever created that dish using a recipe that's been passed down over the generations?  Have you ever considered recreating it every day to sell? That's just what Mike Gzyl and his father do. Every day, after work, they create Bread & Butter and Garlic Dill pickles and relishes.

They use old-world recipes from Poland that have been tweaked for the modern palate and canning techniques; recipes that have been passed down through their family for four generations.

Susie Cuke's Pickles makes both pickles and relish, and perhaps with the success of these two more pickled products will follow? I sure hope so!

The Bread & Butter were very sweet. Sweeter than store bought, but not excessively cloying or artificially sweet. 

The Garlic Dill are thick slabs of bitter saltiness. Both varieties have a nice bite that falls somewhere between crunchiness and softness.

Draudt's Farm Market & Greenhouse, another multi-generational business, currently supplies the cucumbers.

They are available for purchase from 8 am to 1pm at both the Elmwood-Bidwell and Hamburg Farmer's Markets every Saturday until the end of the season. There is a possibility for growth into a year round product, a secondary supplier for fall and winter is being looked into.

I sampled mine right out of the jar at first. The juice is so nice. I'm already coming up with some ideas of adding it to an ice-cold Japanese pickled fish dish when we work through all of the garlic and pickles. 

Then I created toast points slathered with fromage blanc, slow braised beef rib meat and finely chopped pickles. Made my eyes cross it was so good!

I encourage you to pick up a handful of jars while they are still available!

Sweet Sponge Bread

2 tsp yeast in 1/4 cup warm water and 1 tbls sugar
3 1/4 cups white flour, sifted very fine
1 tbls salt
1 tbls sugar
3 tbls sunflower seed oil

Proof the yeast with the sugar for 20 minutes until a thick foam forms. Add the all of the other ingredients in a large metal bowl. Form dough, mixing by hand.

Once a ball forms, roll it out onto the counter and then scrub the bowl very well until the bowl is clean and hot. Butter the bottom half of the bowl and roll the dough ball around inside until coated. Cover with a towel and set near the oven. Pre-heat to oven to 400 degrees. Let rise for one hour. Divide and roll each ball out to 1/4" and brush on a thin layer of melted butter and roll up very tight.



Set on a greased cookie sheet and cover for 30 more minutes and then bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and it knocks hollow on the bottom of the loaf. Serve warm with whipped butter. The sponge from this recipe is amazing. Fluffy like an angel cake.

Eating well on the cheap

Lately I've been fielding a lot of questions. They often are followed by statements that I can't really be working poor because: my pictures are too nice, I go to fancy places to eat, I make fancy food, I have a whole bunch of websites (actually I only have two), I make dishes using organic ingredients, and so on and so on.

The thing is, I do all of those things because I'm smart about it and have figured out how to feed five people on about $700 a month. The USDA Food Plan works out to $1,215, nearly $500 more than what we're spending. These numbers are from 2009 and don't reflect the rise in food costs. 

I compared the cost of organic to conventional one month, writing down the cost every time I purchased something organic and I noted it's non-organic counterpart's cost and found only a $117.34 difference. I basically purchase the same food stuffs every month. I look for buy one, get one sales. Thursday's at Wegmans are when the Special of the Day prices get slapped on many of the organic meats and poultry, these are sometimes as much as 50% off. 

I sometimes pick up fruits and veggies that may not be organic but have labels that read that they were not grown using pesticides and such. Getting that USDA organic label is a very lengthy and expensive process and there are many farmers that farm with low or no chemical interventions but cannot afford to get the certification. This is where it's good to talk to your local growers, send them an email, call up corporate and ask questions. 

I buy organic if the fruit or veggie has an edible peel or is likely to absorb whatever is sprayed on it, for example, bananas are notorious for being yellow chem-bombs (something I've only discovered over the last two years). The following can be chem-bombs too; strawberries (actually any berries), lettuces (includes spinach), mangos, tomatoes, apples, blueberries, cherries, grapes, peaches, nectarines, plums, figs, celery, bell peppers, kale/collard greens,  carrots, and potatoes. 

Unless you can buy everything organic, focus mostly on foods with edible skins. Technically, pesticides can be absorbed by any plant during the growth cycle, but much of the chemical sits on the peel and doesn't wash off entirely. If you can peel off the outer layer, it should be safe to eat the non-organic version. So I save by buying conventional low or no spray squash, pineapples, nuts, and peas and beans that can be shucked. 

When my tax return rolls in, I commit $400 of it to purchasing olive, sesame seed and peanut oils, rices, large canned whole organic tomatoes, large canned beans in all sorts of varieties, white and apple cider vinegar, locally made pastas and sauces, canning and soap making supplies, and baking staples like flours, oatmeal, sugars, salt, baking powder and soda, and yeast to be used over the next 6 to 7 months.

Photos come off my two year old Galaxy S phone. I actually read the manual on how to operate the phone, including it's amazing camera feature. If I ever take a bad photo, it's user error, so I always shoot between 100 to 150 photos for events and restaurant/store reviews. Dishes are between 10 to 45 shots. Trips to the garden 1 to 7. I do all of the post production work on a 5 year old Apple mini using iPhoto (though for the really nice stuff like my recent 'Silos in the evening' series I use 

an equally aged copy of Photoshop).

I wait until the latter end of the farmer's market to pick up fruits and veggies farmers don't want to lug back home for often as much as half the cost it was three hours earlier. I grow herbs and some veggies like chard during the summer months. Herbs can be arranged to make repetitive dishes seem different. I can my own jelly, hot peppers, salsas, and tzatziki base.

As to the events and shops and restaurants? I go to events that are free or donation. When I head to a shop, I purchase the minimum amount to photograph well and to taste and/or add to a recipe. Restaurants are a bit more difficult as they are often $10 to $15 a visit, and so I visit less frequently, but sometimes I'm served a free meal when I mention I'm a blogger.

I use free websites, sources, links and web page builders like Blogger and Wix. 

The International Dinners run about $70 to $120 per-event. The door prizes are usually donated. Guest performers and speakers come for free, though I usually present them with a thank you gift and a fine meal. The food is often donated, or the money placed in the donation basket goes towards the next dinner, so that very little actually comes out of pocket.

So that's about it. 

Live well. Live frugally. Live smart. 

NOFA-NY's 3rd Annual Locavore Challenge Begins this September

The Locavore challenge starts with “vote with your dollar,” and takes it a few steps further, by encouraging folks to participate in a variety of events and challenges that support their local economies, encourage organic and sustainable growing practices and propel the movement.

Like last year, the rule is 250. Products from within a 250 mile radius is the main challenge you'll be aiming for. This challenge asks you to commit to eat as close to 100% locally and sustainably produced food during the month of September.
You can choose to take a day, a week or a month-long 250 mile diet challenge.
Click on the Challenge Button to the right to learn more about the challenge and to register.

There are a few exceptions to the rules that you can choose to use to help you through the challenge.

Marco Polo Rules
Salt, spices and seasoning do not need to be local. Feel free to use yeast, baking soda, baking powder, etc. (Though, if you can, try to locally source these too!)

Wild Cards
You can choose up to five wild card ingredients that cannot be sourced locally but that you feel you cannot live without. Typical items include: coffee, chocolate, sugar, tea, olive oil, nuts and rice. You are encouraged to purchase Certified Organic and Certified Fair Trade items if they cannot be sourced locally.

New this year, is the 30 Challenges in 30 Days calendar to help guide consumers in exploring the challenge each day during September. The calendar will include daily challenges, recipes, tips, events and more.

The challenge ends with a state-wide potluck! You can join us Sunday, September 30th from 6 to 8pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo's Parish Hall. Please click on the link to RSVP to the potluck.

Community Beer Works

Ethan, Dan, David and Greg are pictured here (Rudy must have been off on an adventure that morning), proudly showing off their Community Beer Works gear and growlers at the Elmwood-Bidwell Farmers Market.

Long time home brewers, Ethan, Dan and Rudy and the rest of the team of brewers were inspired by the growing popularity of professional nano breweries sprouting all over the US, like San Diego's Hess, to start one up here in Buffalo.

Currently, C.B.W creates two brews. Frank and the Whale. Pictured to the left in a glass and growler is Frank, an American Pale Ale with 4.6% abv.

"We start with a mellow malt base to showcase the hops against a lightly grainy sweetness. Zeus, Centennial and Zythos hops are used in the boil and again in dry hopping to maximize hop aroma and flavor. The result is a superbly drinkable Pale Ale loaded with zest, pine, and a touch of citrus."

A pretty good description though I would add that it was akin to chewing on a really good grilled steak, every bite making you want another one...and another...and another...
EMPTY GROWLER?! How did that happen?

A malted beer's primary ingredient is malted barley grain, which has been allowed to sprout slightly before it is processed. Fermented barley sugars flavored with hops are what creates ales and lagers. These two pallets show the variety of malts that the guys at C.B.W. use to produce their zippy Frank and robust the Whale.

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain. Used as animal feed, fermented for beer brewing, it can also be found in traditional European soups, stews, and breads. The rice sized grains are large and sweet smelling and dense.

As part of their drive to be an integral part of Buffalo's Westside community, they donate their "spent grain to the Massachusetts Avenue Project, disposing of it in an ecologically friendly, mutually beneficial manner, and are planning similar partnerships with other community organizations in the city."

On their website, they explain, "We’re a 1.5 bbl brewery: that’s one and a half barrels, or about 47 US gallons, per batch. We brew on a three burner Psychobrew system using Stout kettles and fermenters.

Generally we do a double batch every brewday, filling up two of our conical fermenters. We have six of them, which is the limiting factor for our capacity: we could brew night and day, but you have to have somewhere to put it.

We have two 3 bbl brite tanks on order, which will increase our capacity by 2/3: after a double batch is done fermenting we can put it in one of our brite tanks for clarification and carbonation while we brew another batch. (They came in recently and are pictured below and to the right.)

Our clarification methods start and end with crash cooling the beer to drop the yeast out of suspension. We do not filter or use clarifying agents on our beer, which leaves in more nutrients and keeps it vegetarian." The addition of irish moss to the boil and whirlpooling allows for the partial removal of cold break before the wort is transfered to the fermenter, both which clarifies the beer. The yeast is racked to clarify the beer further.

These two fermenters sit in a cold room doing a great deal of their work in the dark. Besides these there are six 1.5 bbl stainless conical fermenters, which are all primary fermenters, though they have been doing single tank fermentation so far.


This helps brewers to get the most out of their beer at this stage, maturing the beer to create a beautiful full flavored brew. The tubes shown here help some of the CO2 blow off to relieve the pressure.

These SMT brite tanks with GW Kent valves mean that six more barrels of beer can be put into production. These tanks will clarify, condition, and carbonate the beer once they are all hooked up and ready to go. They are double insulated and glycol lined, meaning they will be able to cool the beer quicker and more efficiently.

The tanks stand as sentinels against the south wall waiting to be installed. Increasing production will allow for more delicious beer to be distributed throughout the area's bars, pubs and restaurants which really boils down to more opportunities to get tipsy on some outstanding Buffalo suds.

In regards to what exactly separates a nano from a micro brewery, no solid definition exists. Though how small a brewery has to be to qualify as nano has grown popular enough to attract federal regulator's attention. Leading the Alcohol Tax and Trade Bureau a few years back to issue a friendly but firm reminder to homebrewers looking to go pro that their efforts would lose tax exempt status after 100 gallons of production per year. Unofficial designations suggest systems of one-half to two barrels in size qualify as nano. So Community Beer Works currently falls neatly under this definition of nano with room to grow into a micro.

What is unique about C.B.W. is their commitment to quality and consistency, which can sometimes be a difficult thing to achieve when small batching. They also have retained their fanboy impishness without loosing sight of the beer and their fans, and it's that charming combination that keeps beer lovers like me coming back for more.