Edward Vielmetti is inviting you to A2B3 lunch on Thursday at Eastern Accents in Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104

Molly's October coconut squash soup

Recipe adapted from directions and shopping hints from Molly at Farmer's Market.

Molly's October squash soup

Ingredients:

onion

garlic

ginger

winter squash, peeled and diced (I used butternut and delicata)

Saute onion, garlic, and ginger in olive or coconut oil.  Add the squash, cook until everything smells nice and the squash is a little bit browned.   Deglaze the pan with a little wine (I used rice wine), then add

diced tomatoes (canned or fresh, I used canned because tomatoes were $4/box)

coconut milk (I used about 1/2 can)

hot stock (I used vegetable stock, you could use chicken stock)

Bring to a boil then simmer covered for a long time until everything is well cooked and soft.  Next time I'll blend the soup so that it's a puree, but we ate it tonight without doing that, and it was still delicious - much, much better than last year's bland pumpkin soup attempt.  I'm sure it was the coconut!

Stuffed peppers with leftover grains recipe

The basic idea is from Martha Rose "Fast Vegetarian Feasts" 1986, p. 103.  It's very simple, as befits her normal cooking.  Cut the tops from peppers, clean them out, fill with a mix of leftover rice and beans and top with cheese.  Bake 30 to 40 minutes, as long as it takes for things to get as soft as you want.

I'm guessing I'll end up using black beans; there's rice from yesterday.  We have an abundance of tomatoes from market, since it's the season when you order a half a peck they are SO HAPPY that someone wants their roma tomatoes in quantity that you end up with an extra pint of cherry tomatoes just to taste.  The 4 y/o will want the beans plain.

Cook all the peppers in the fridge, there will be more on Saturday. The freeze watch line is as far south as Gaylord, so we should be good for a few more weeks.

Karnabeet recipe

Assembled from a few sources; not tried yet; this is approximate.

Blanch cauliflower and saute in olive oil until browned.
Make a lemon-tahini-garlic sauce.
Mix.  Cook. 
Serve sprinkled with sumac and parsley.

Some alternatives:

• Vegetarian Times roasts the cauliflower instead of sauteing
• Drum Like A Vegan adds rosemary, also roasts instead of sautes
• Gastronomical Three reviews the late, lamented La Zamaan which added pomegranate seeds

For Monday.

purple beans for dinner; or, anthocyanin pigmentation in Phaseolus vulgaris

We had purple beans for dinner, from farmer's market.  I heated some olive oil in a pan and cooked them through until they had turned all green, and then salted them a little at the end.

The recipe called for adding chopped almonds but it didn't happen; instead I served the boys tofu that I had cut into cubes and boiled (boiling it improves the texture quite a bit, firming it up more to my liking).

I don't know which variety of purple beans we had.  A search of the net unearthed the "romano purpiat bean" (from Territorial Seed)

60 days. Everything about this purple Romano bean is noteworthy: healthy robust plants, deep violet stems, lilac blossoms, and lustrous purple pods. The 5 inch, flat pods are so tender, crisp, and delicious that we found them irresistible picked fresh from the plant. Cooking the pods turns them a brilliant jade-green with a nearly stringless texture. Remarkably productive plants reach 24 inches tall and tolerate cool, early plantings. Brown seeds.

and Peaceful Valley has the Royalty Purple variety

Phaseolus vulgaris Tender Annual Bush. Purple bushes with short runners and purple flowers. Bright-purple stringless 5"-6" pods cook to dark green. Buff colored seeds germinate in cold, wet soil. Bred by E.M. Meader at the University of New Hampshire and introduced in 1957.

Why are beans purple?  Good question.  I got as far as finding this:

Genetics of flower and pod color in Phaseolus vulgaris

Christian A. Okonkwo, and Carl D. Clayberg
The Journal of Heredity 1984:75(6):440-444
© 1984 The American Genetic Association 75:440-444

A new locus, Prp (purple pod), having five alleles affecting anthocyanin pigmentation of corolla and pod, is described in Phaseolus vulgaris L. The allele Prp produces dark-purple corolla and is fully dominant in this respect over the other four alleles that determine light-purple corolla. In the absence of Ro, Prp is responsible for medium-purple pod when homozygous and light-purple pods in combination with the other alleles. The alleles prp^sh2 and prp^sh give green pods shaded with purple and are codominant with the prp^st allele, which causes green pods to be striped with purple. These four alleles are dominant for pod color over prp, an allele causing green pods when homozygous. The interaction of these alleles with the genes Gri, V, and Ro, which also affect anthocyanin pigmentation of corolla and pod, is described. No linkages among these four loci were observed.

That's from 1984; I don't know enough about bean genetics to go any further.

(Oh, and they are delicious.)

acorn pie

Acorn pie, acorn pie,
Everybody wants a piece of
Acorn pie.
       from the Acorn Pies weblog

I don't have a recipe just yet.

south u. restaurant changes - four bits of Asian restaurant news

I got a chance to walk down South University this morning and noticed four restaurants underway with work but not open yet.

Momo Tea's owner and a contractor were in the store working on things, and didn't yet have a date for when they were going to open.

Miki is taking the space in U Towers where NYPD used to be, or where Orange Julius used to be, depending on your reference point for geography.  I didn't see any work going on in the place.

Ayaka had a sign in the window saying "Now Hiring" and there was enough paper over the window to make it impossible to see in.

And Chef Jan's China Gate on the corner of South U and Church has a sign in the window "Now serving Pho" (but they used the proper spelling Phở.)

These four, plus all of the other asian restaurants in that neighborhood, makes it quite a concentration.

Here's a list of all of the permits in the City of Ann Arbor's Trakit system on South University, so you can figure out where everyone stands with occupancy permits (haven't decoded it all yet).

Food safety in a power outage (American Red Cross, USDA, CDC et al)

If the power goes out for an extended period of time, some of your food can go bad.  Here's pointers to documents you can grab ahead of time and print out so that you can know how to sort through things.

From the American Red Cross: Food safety in a power outage

Sudden power outages can be frustrating and troublesome, especially when they are prolonged. Perishable foods should not be held above 40 degrees for more than 2 hours. If a power outage is 2 hours or less, you need not be concerned, but how do you save your food when the refrigerator is out for longer times? Being prepared can help. By planning ahead, you can save your perishables.

USDA, Keeping Food Safe During an Emergency

Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature. The refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains closed. Obtain dry or block ice to keep your refrigerator as cold as possible if the power is going to be out for a prolonged period of time. Fifty pounds of dry ice should hold an 18-cubic foot full freezer for 2 days. Plan ahead and know where dry ice and block ice can be purchased.

CDC, What you need to know when the power goes out unexpectedly

Use a food thermometer to check the temperature of your food right before you cook or eat it. Throw away any food that has a temperature of more than 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

When the 2003 blackout hit, one of the things that I didn't know was that the Busch's store nearest me had an emergency generator and was online the whole time.  Not every grocery store has uninterruptable power.

The Arborwiki dry ice page has a listing of some companies in the Ann Arbor area that sell dry ice.

Dutch baby apple pancake; and a March 2009 maple report from the UP

Here is the Penzey's Apple Pancake recipe...a morph from the Dutch Baby.

 

1/4 cup butter                                                  

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

2 medium baking apples, peeled and thinly sliced  (I used Braeburn apples)

3 Tbs sugar

1/2 tsp ceylon cinnamon

 

Preheat oven to 400.  divide butter between two 9" pie plates and put them in the oven to melt the butter.  Rotate to be sure that butter covers bottom and  sides of pans.  Use a 4 cup measuring cup as a mixing bowl (makes it easy to divide the batter).  Beat eggs, flour, milk and salt on medium speed for 1 minute.  Divide the apple slices between the pans and pour 1/2 of the egg mixture over each pan.  Mix the cinnamin and sugar and sprinkle over the batter.  Bake until puffed and folden brown  20-25 minutes.  Serve right away, while still puffy, with warm syrup. 

 

Serves 4-6   Prep time 10 minutes, baking time  20-25 minutes.

and the report from up north from March 18, 2009:

 

Over the weekend we put 28 taps in our maple sugar trees.   We collected 8 gallons the first day but the next two nights were not below freezing.  We have only 17 gallons so far.  It was cold last night so the sap should run today.  Snowshoes are very necessary as the snow is "punky".  Even with snowshoes we sometimes break through the crust and one leg goes down 1 foot...makes for slow going.  Hopefully we have a good wide track packed now. 

PCA Texas peanut factory - the former Jimmy Dean Meat sausage factory - in Plainview, TX closed

If you have a kid who eats peanut butter, you've been listening to news of the peanut recalls.  And when your eight year old furrows his brow when you go shopping together and is concerned about salmonella in his peanuts, you're concerned too.

The latest bit of this story is the closing of the PCA plant in Plainview, TX.  I was able to grab some old news stories about the opening of the plant, and to compare those with the stories that are running now.  Here's something like a narrative.

In the 1969, Jimmy Dean opened a sausage factory in Plainview, TX.  It closed in 1974, sat idle for 30 years, and then was reopened as a peanut processing plant in 2004.   The best local source for news coverage is the Plainview Daily Herald, and these clippings are from their online site.

From the Plainview Daily Herald, 4/15/2004:

Jim Booher, who has been involved in food processing for 20 years, is working on opening his third plant and is highly complimentary of the cooperation he´s received here as manager of the Peanut Corporation of America plant.

Renovation work is under way on the old Jimmy Dean Meat Co. plant on
the west service road of North I-27, adjacent to United Parcel Service.
The community landed PCA in December, offering an incentive package
which included $390,000 over 10 years with the Plainview-Hale County
Industrial Foundation, the City of Plainview and Hale County each
putting up $13,000 a year. In-kind work by each entity will be done as
well. The package does not include tax abatement.

High Plains Millwright of Plainview is handling the demolition work,
tearing down some walls, taking out concrete tiers and doing other
work before renovation begins. A metal building will be erected on an
existing concrete slab and will be connected to the main building.
“We hope to be open sometime in August or September, depending on
when we get our equipment installed,” said Booher, who is moving here
from Grand Prairie.

KCBD, Ch. 11, has a similar story from 4/21/04:

Plainview Peanut Plant to Open this Summer
Peanut production in West Texas is growing and
that's why local farmers are excited about the
new plant. The plant is undergoing a facelift to
make way for 80,000 square feet of peanut
processing machinery. "We're looking at
probably within the next three months of
putting equipment in and painting and getting
ready for operation," says plant manager, Jim
Booher.

The cached copy of the PCA site (since removed) has this to say about the Texas plant:

We're Ready NOW, not later!
Beginning with the first load of
peanuts ever processed at Peanut
Corporation's new Texas plant, our
most  important  task has been
quality.  We don't  request  your
patience while we figure out how to
do this.
Instead, we request that you hold us
to the high standards you've always
expected from a Peanut Corporation
of America plant. We're ready. 
Pride in Our Newest Plant. Pride in Texas!
There couldn't be a more perfect location than Plainview,
Texas for the newest addition to Peanut Corporation's list of
plants! Just off North Interstate 27 in Plainview, we connect
the Western and Central  United States with the Texas
Peanut Industry. Texas really is the best state, y'all!
 
Blanchers
Product Listing
Coming soon to this spot: a comprehensive
listing of products and services brought to
you by Peanut Corporation of America in
Plainview, Texas.
Until the list is posted, please feel free to
contact Jim Booher, our Texas plant's
operations manager for a complete discussion
of how we can serve you.

How did Plainview get the plant?  More from the Daily Herald, Feb 25 2007:

One day, Peanut Corporation of America President Stewart Parnell from Lynchburg, Va., flew in for fuel and a visit and happened to mention that he was looking to locate a peanut processing plant in this area, and Miller directed him to Hale County State Bank President Brian Pohlmeier, who was on the board of the Plainview-Hale County Industrial Board.

“As it turned out,” said Miller, “Brian had been Parnell’s loan officer for several of the planes he had bought and it wound up with the peanut plant locating in the old Jimmy Dean plant.”

The Sept 1, 2008 Daily Herald has a brief story about the rehab of the plant:

The IDC has issued millions of dollars in revenue bonds to help businesses in the area, including three bonds in Hale County and four in Castro County — mainly for dairies, IDC legal representative Malcolm Tisdel said.

The city and county work hand-in-hand with the IDC and Plainview/Hale County Industrial Foundation to bring in new industry.

Jesus Garrocho, operations manager at Peanut Corporation of America, said the IDC was instrumental in bringing the company to Plainview.

“The (Peanut Corp.) facility had been empty for 30 years,” Brian Pohlmeier, president of the IDC, said. “Now it has a business that employees 30-some people.”

Together, the Industrial Foundation and IDC have contributed substantial economic impact to the area. The IDC helps not only Hale County but surrounding counties as well.

There's more from the 10/29/2003 Daily Herald:

The inducement package being offered Peanut Corp. calls for the city, county and Plainview-Hale County Industrial Foundation to contribute $100,000 each in $10,000 increments over a 10-year span. It also calls for paving the parking lot of the plant and installing a special water line for firefighting purposes.

The county approved the proposal Monday and the industrial foundation board was expected to do so today.

In return for the incentives, the plant ­ which will process shelled and cleaned peanuts into candy and food products ­ is expected to hire an initial batch of 35 employees, process 256,000 pounds of nuts daily and ultimately invest $1 million in the project.

“If they pull out, we don´t pay the ($10,000) installments,” industrial foundation Executive Director Grady Elder said in outlining the proposal at Monday´s Commissioners Court meeting.

The plant closed in 1974. The building is owned by Ronald Thompson of Lubbock.

I don't know what a sausage factory that has been idle for 30 years looks like, and how much it takes to rehab it to the point where it's ready to clean peanuts for use in candy.

Caribou Coffee Company Inc. is recalling Caribou Fruit and Nut Blend Trail Mix because the product could be contaminated with salmonella.

As seen on the Raleigh News and Observer recalls page:

Caribou Coffee Company Inc. is recalling Caribou Fruit and Nut Blend Trail Mix because the product could be contaminated with salmonella. This organism can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially in young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. No illnesses have been reported, according to the Minneapolis company. The recall involves the Caribou Fruit & Nut Blend Trail Mix, 3 ounce size, SKU No. 007845, with the sell by dates of March 3 and June 30 this year. The recalled Caribou Fruit and Nut Blend Trail Mix was distributed nationwide through Jan. 30, 2009. For more information, consumers can 888-227-4268.

When you call the 888-227-4268 number late on Friday night, you get a message that it's only answered on weekdays.  The CaribouCoffee.com web page does not have any information on the front page at this time.  I've looked for a press release on their corporate site, and no information is available.  The PR contact I have is

/CONTACT: Lauren Mihajlov of 
Caribou Coffee
, +1-763-592-2200,
lmihajlov@cariboucoffee.com/
 /Web site: http://www.cariboucoffee.com /
 (CBOU)


UPDATE Saturday (9am): from the PR contact:

Ed,

Thank you for your interest. The recall is entirely voluntary and
precautionary. We have pulled all of the product from stores and
notified the purchasers we have record of. We have no indication of
anyone becoming ill from this product.

Thank you for being such a passionate customer of Caribou Coffee!