Three Twins Ice Cream Flavor Winner

And the winner is Ginger with Carmelized Pears and Roasted Macademia Nuts!!

Thanks to everyone who voted. I was secretly rooting for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, which took an early lead but then the ginger flavor pulled ahead. This one sounds really good too though, and it's about to be pear season so perfect timing.

The Madison Farmers Market and Cheese Curds

My San Francisco neighborhood, the Inner Sunset, got a brand new farmers market last month. It's a wonderful community addition among a region full of different market options. But no market in California compares to the one I went to every summer weekend growing up... the Dane County Market, on the Capital square in Madison, Wisconsin.

I wanted to share some photos taken on my recent trip back which will give a sense of what it's like at the country's largest market. With over 300 vendors total and 150 on any given Saturday, there's an impressive array of people and goods, along with many "only in Wisconsin" elements. First of all, of course there's lots of cheese. Cheese curds, goat cheese, organic cheese, cheese spreads, frying cheese, and multiple bakery stalls competing to corner the spicy cheese bread market. And there is state pride. I'd estimate at least 1 of every 5 patrons are wearing Wisconsin shirts. Plus there's cheese shaped like the state and cookies shaped like cows (marked by signs noting that they will put you in "Udder Bliss").

From Cheese Curds & the Madison, WI Farmers Market

This year, I was impressed to see more organic farms, and a growing diversity of vendors. One stand sold only gourds -- miniature, gigantic, and everything in between. The woman there turned out to be a San Franciscan who had moved to Wisconsin five years ago. And my favorite discovery was a booth selling Emu eggs, which were a unique shade between deep purple and brown, and about 10 times the size of a chicken egg.

Every time I go back to the Madison farmers market I get cheese curds. If you haven't had them, they're bite size pieces of cheese that, when made fresh, actually squeak between your teeth. Hardcore Wisconsinites sometimes fry them, but eating them as is provides enough of a thrill (and enough calories) for me. I grabbed a bag of curds and hand-carried them home to California to serve at my belated b-day gathering. They were a highlight of the night. Our waiter was even kind enough to serve them up on a silver platter!

Chicago Salmon

Last week I went to my hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. While there, I dined in a favorite restaurant. One that you'd expect to represent the highest-caliber dining experience in town. I do love the people there and have gone for years, so I won't name names. But I couldn't resist sharing this real exchange with the waiter from while we were ordering:

Waiter: “Does anyone have any questions?”

Me: “Yes, is the salmon in the special wild or farm-raised?”

Waiter: “Hmmm… let me check on that.”

(He goes to the kitchen and returns a few minutes later)

Waiter: “I’m not really sure, but it comes from Chicago if that helps.”

Poor waiter. I burst out laughing and actually felt quite bad about it afterwards. But when was the last time you saw salmon swimming through streams in the Windy City?

Create an Ice Cream Flavor Part 2: Time to vote!

It was about 95 degrees this weekend at the farmers market. The produce stands were deserted and the free range eggs were practically frying themselves, but the knight in shining armor behind the ice cream had a line of sweat-drenched, frozen-treat-craving maidens vying for attention. It made me remember our ice cream flavor brainstorm. The Three Twins Organic Ice Cream owner’s ears must have been itching, because he sent on a list of his favorite flavor ideas shortly after:

Almond, coconut, chocolate
Peach crumble
Rum raisin
Ginger with caramelized pears and roasted macadamias
Strawberry rhubarb pie

So the poll is now up at the top of my blog! Vote for your favorite flavor for development by Three Twins. Only one vote per person (choose wisely). The poll closes July 6th at 6:00pm, and the winner will be announced shortly after.

Transit Time

Everyone who's coming to look at the yummy ice cream flavors, spoiler alert: don't read this posting. It's not appetizing, and it's not about how long it's going to take you to drive to get ice cream. What we are learning is both the nutritional aspects of what we eat, and how to make it. So of course our course wouldn't be complete without a lecture on "Digestive Wellness." Sure enough, that rolled around this week. It even merited two full class days (Thai cooking, seafood and sauces on the other hand, all were only one... this is one culinary school where how appetizing a subject is clearly doesn't pull rank).

With cleanses all the rage, one of the things we talked about was "transit time" -- i.e. how long from in to out. To break it down, what you consume should take about 1 minute in your mouth, 2 - 3 seconds in your esophagus, 2 - 4 hours in your stomach, 1 - 4 hours in your small intestines and 10 hours - 3 days in your large intestines. Of course, certain things take longer than others (and I found this fascinating). How long what you ingest stays "in residence" in your stomach falls into approximately the following rank order:

- Liquids: within a few minutes
- Fruits: 1 - 2 hours
- Veggies: a little longer
- Starches and grain: longer
- Legumes: longer still
- Protein: 3+ hours
- Fat: Longest

In total, transit time should be between 18 and 24 hours ideally. How can you test this? Eat 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds and keep a watch out for when they show back up. See, I warned you it wouldn't be appetizing. I'm going to leave it to other sources to tell you what to do if it takes the little buggers too long to show up... plenty of info out there and I'm not looking to become a specialist.

Recipe: Classic Tomato Gazpacho with Croutons

Tomorrow I have to do a 15 minute "class presentation" of a recipe that demonstrates medium dicing, toasting and using a mortar and pestle. Since tomatoes have just come into season, I thought a gazpacho topped with croutons would be perfect -- I can use the mortar and pestle to make a garlic paste, and demonstrate the knife skill and toasting with the croutons. The only trick was to create a version that could come together (and taste good) in only 15 minutes. Here's what I developed (you're getting a sneak peek of my class handout).

Classic Gazpacho with Croutons

Gazpacho is typically better the next day, after the flavors meld. For this quick and easy version that tastes good right away, I used bottled tomato juice, plenty of vinegar and a garlic paste to provide an instant flavor base. You can make this gluten-free by substituting gluten-free bread.

Ingredients

Soup:
2 cups peeled and diced (1/4 inch) hothouse cucumber, seeded
2 cups diced (1/4 inch) bell pepper (red, yellow or orange)
2 cups diced (1/4 inch) ripe tomato
1/2 cup diced (1/4 inch) red onion (soaked in water and a bit of vinegar for at least 20 minutes - this makes raw onion much more palatable by removing the strong aftertaste)
2 cups high-quality tomato juice (Knudsen recommended)
1/2 cup red-wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic
Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Croutons:
3 slices bread, medium diced
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste

Optional: Seasoned sea salt to rim glass

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss bread with olive oil and salt, spread on baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and place in center of oven. Toast approx. 10 minutes (or until golden brown), turning once. Remove and allow to cool.
2) While croutons toast, place the diced vegetables in a large bowl. Add the tomato juice, vinegar (reserve a few tablespoons), oil and cilantro (reserve a bit for garnish).
3) In a mortar and pestle, mash garlic with salt and 3 croutons. Add to soup mixture.
4) Transfer half of the mixture to a blender and pulse to coarsely puree. Return to the bowl, and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and remaining vinegar if needed (it should taste almost spicy from the vinegar, but not be overly acidic).
5) For serving, rim glasses in seasoned salt if desired. Garnish with croutons and cilantro.

Servings: 4 - 6 bowls. Adapted from “Farmstand Gazpacho,” Parade Magazine, June 2008.

Nutritional Information:

Tomatoes – Contain lycopene (a red carotene) that prevents diseases (including cancer and heart disease) by neutralizing harmful oxygen free radicals before they can do damage to cellular structures.

Cucumber – An excellent source of silica, a trace mineral that contributes to connective tissue strength.

Bell peppers – Protective against cataracts (possibly due to vitamin C and beta-carotene). Capsaicin, flavonoids and vitamin C also shown to prevent blood clots and reduce risk of heart attacks and strokes (similar to chili peppers, though not as concentrated).

Landmark Meals

Life's landmarks aren't complete without memorable celebratory meals. Starting the public countdown to three such meals coming up, including an October foodie pilgrimage:

1) Ubuntu - This Napa "vegetable" restaurant is drawing raves for it's innovative cuisine, which is vegetarian but doesn't make you feel "deprived." My classmate Shannon raves about their cauliflower dish (of course). I'm lucky to have my Aunt Nancy visiting from NY shortly after my birthday, and we're both looking forward to a meal here. On the train into work this week I came across a review in this month's O Magazine.

2) Final Showcase - As the culmination of our program, my class will be serving up a final showcase meal to which we're each allowed to invite two guests. The planning is already in full force, though it's not until the end of August. More on that in future blog posts, as we essentially attempt to open a restaurant for a night.

3) El Bulli - In Spain, about two hours drive from Barcelona up along the coast by France, El Bulli reigns supreme. Ranked the #1 restaurant in the world for the 4th year in a row, El Bulli gets 1,000,000 res requests/year. Only 8,000 get in -- including my former roomie Dave, whose offer of a seat at his table is like sharing a winning lotto ticket (I pretty much hyperventilated... for about 20 minutes). His reservation is for Monday, October 19th. What could be a more perfect culinary school graduation celebration than a once-in-a-lifetime Foodie Mecca pilgrimage?

If anyone has been to Ubuntu or El Bulli, I'd love to hear about it!