Pumpkin Banter

"Time to die for your crimes, Jack!"

*Ssshlunk* In plunges the knife, hilt deep, into the pumpkin's personified skull.

"Jesus Christ, Garrett, can't you just carve the damn pumpkin like a normal person?" bemoans my coworker as she details a sketch of my victim's future face with Monet-like perciscion.

"No. And technically I just want the seeds to I can toast and eat them. Jack here is just a by-product of that."

"So you don't want to carve a jack-o-lantern?"

"No, I didn't say that. Honestly, I could care less about lanternizing with a squash. I mean, I think the whole process of hollowing and illuminating disfigured winter produce is creative and whimical, but for the most part this is a culinary venture for me," I note as I begin to furtively whack away at the strings that attempt to keep the pumpkin's stemmed top on.

"Whatever, just skullcap him already so we can remove his brains." Cue the eyeroll.

"Yeah, I'll remove your brains in a second."

Ah, holidays.

Happy Halloween everybody.

Apocalypse, Nowish (In Regards to Wine, That Is)

Wow, it's been a while since humanity really had a good show of stupidity in my presence and I guess that, like the dollar, our morals and economic views are depreciating as well. People are becoming a bit more frugal with their spending and (god forbid) now attempting to live within their means. As such, we're resorting to old budget meals we haven't used since the college days, adding a bit more water to our soups, clipping coupons, and aiming for leftovers. Indeed, it has been a while since I broke out doing fried eggs with green onions and soba. An oldie, but a goodie, and at around 25 cents per serving a damn fine bargain.

Furthermore we're choosing our wines from shelves that are much closer to the floor. A economic vertical shift (one of many in the wine industry as of late) that has forced most wine drinkers to take a southward glance when it comes to their selections at the store. I believe 2-Buck Chuck is going to make a resurgence in popularity, and home grown viticulture will probably take more root. Still, for those of us not inclined to brew our own wine we have to resort to blue light specialty wine. I would attempt to make my own, but my innate lack of self-preservation and general clumsiness would lead me to distill some sort of burgundy colored swill requiring two priests and a hazmat team to clean up.

So while at the Whole Foods checking out their specialty low price wines (read: < $7), I noticed a couple price checking a few bottles. She was a ex-pat Orange County woman; bleached hair, boob job (even I know God doesn't make breasts like that), Monolo Blah-nik personality type. He was about 30 years her senior, Armani loafers retiree and seemingly self-taught wine snob; the kind that probably sniffs plastic corks and abhors wine in boxes or with screw caps (Viva la Screwcap!).

Anywhose, back to eavesdropping, I sort of listened in on their conversation. It was a practical discussion of what wine to have with dinner and it seems they were able to afford shelling out a few twenties so good for them. As I don't really know much about wine I moved on to selecting my bottle, a simple white wine for dinner that was going for $6. I knew it went well with spicy food, and I prefer white anyways so it was a happy occasion for me.

"OH! You should try THIS Pinot Grigio, it's really TO DIE for."

I turned to find the woman looking at me with her Trish McEvoy laden face and gesturing towards a bottle on the wall. I glanced and noticed the $22 price tag. Looking back to her I cordially replied in earnest, "It's allright. I actually really enjoy this wine. It goes well with curry and it's more in my budget," in which I laughed to suppress my financial pain and to end the conversation.

"OH! You should NEVER buy a gris that's less than $15. It's just BOUND to be tacky." Unsure where she found this bit of fortune cookie knowledge and unclear as to what exactly defines a wine as "tacky" I smiled back.

"Well, you know, bad economy and all. Have to cut costs somewhere. Could be worse, could not be able to afford a bottle of wine at all."

"OH! OH! I TOTALLY understand. We stopped buying THIS brand," pointing with a well manicured french tipped finger to a $50 bottle of red wine. "It's fiscal TRA-GUH-DY! Like the money-world-apocalypse-NOW of wine!" Older husband looked over and nodded in agreement and then, I shit you not, grabbed a bottle of it anyway and popped it in his basket along with the non-tacky, previously mentioned white.

So I guess, for them, it's not quite the end of the world. Some thought must go into the purchases now before going along with them regardless.

Edible Sacramento & Waterboy Dinner

Be sure to check out the new issue of Edible Sacramento, the piece I worked on made cover so yay! It talks about the use of fresh, local ingredients in cocktails and highlights Lounge on 20, HAWKS, and Paul Martin's American Bistro. The pics with the article are by the most awesome Holly, and her shots are worth checking out. It's definitely, on the whole, one of the best issues we have ever put out. If you enjoy it I hope you'll look into purchasing a subscription and supporting local food writers. *cough cough*

Also, a special note, Edible Sac is co-sponsoring a special dinner at The Waterboy. Four course meal with pairings from Kunde Estate Winery. Very shnazy. Plus you can meet our swanky ES editors and talk to them about the magazine and give 'em your input!

Jujubes (aka Chinese Dates)

I noticed this fall at the farmer's market a new fruit that seems to be popping up. Jujubes, or Chinese dates as they are often called.

Due to it's adaptability to grow in a wide variety of regions and it's abundance the shrub that grows them is hard to place. It's original cultivation seems to stem from South Asia, possibly Syria or North India, but it has since spread across the continent and is slowly beginning to be cultivated within the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. Indeed its ability to stand intensely cold winters and blazingly hot summers and still produce fruit abundantly has made it a easy cash crop and staple for farmers.

So what is a jujube? Well, it's a small simple fruit that has a mellow and smooth taste of green apples but without the tartness of one. The flavor is muted with a sort of serene placidity the one might associate with a lazy Sunday. The texture is firm and crisp, and while not juicy it certainly isn't dry - it has a sort of airy freshness that comes from a small amount of petrified water within it's tense and tight fibrous body (however the fruit is tight, yet very light so one cannot call the texture fibrous, indeed the fruit's cells are so tiny that you can barely discern any fiber at all). At the center is a tiny, stone pit that holds tight to the flesh of the berry. However, when allowed to become a bit overripe they become a bit mucilaginous and are prescribed to help sooth sore throats; furthermore their taste becomes much sweeter.The jujube is often candied or dried out and sugared like traditional dates. Wines and teas are commonly made from them as well for their subtle flavor that, when cured, becomes heady and supposedly quite an aphrodisiac. They are also used in medicine to supposedly alleviate stress and reduce anxiety. Jujubes are also very high in fiber.

I've been keeping them in a bowl and snacking on them periodically. They're light and easy, a tasty snack, palate cleanser, or delicious pairing with tea and light tasting creamy cheeses such as brie.

Aztec Chocolate Cookies - To Warm the Soul and the Classroom

After my professor for one of my classes saw this site she mentioned that she hoped I would bring some sort of noshable in for class. Encouraged (read: threatened otherwise) by my friends Jill and Casey I suppose I had no choice. As such I dutifully prepared these while finishing up my response paper due for said class, sure that both would turn out fabulously.

These cookies are chocolaty and intensely rich, perfectly comforting for the soon coming colder nights. An extra bit of warmth is hearthed in these cookies with the subtle fragrances and flavors of cinnamon and ancho chili powder. With tiny, nutty pops of green flavor from pepitas and another sharp bite from dark chocolate chips these cookies are sure to heat you up and relax your spirits.

Aztec Cookies
What You'll Need...

1 cup of butter
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of white granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ancho chili powder
dash of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of chocolate chips
1/2 cup of raw pumpkin seeds (shelled, unsalted)

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Cream the butter and sugars together for about two minutes at medium speed or until well incorporated and light in color.

3. Add the egg and the vanilla extract until well incorporated, about a minute. Be sure to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl halfway through.

4. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, spices, and cocoa powder. Add to the butter mixture slowly, and beating at medium speed, stopping once all of it is incorporated (do not overmix).

5. Fold in the chocolate chips and pumpkin seeds.

6. Take small spoonfuls of the dough and roll into one inch sized balls and place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12 minutes. Let cool on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.