In contrast to Thursday's meal at McCormick's, today's fish dish could actually be called local.
This morning our neighbor-friend offered us two rock cod filets, caught yesterday near the Farallones. We ate then tonight with quinoa and a salad.
Not only was the cod caught in-season with a hook and line; but for the fishing party it came with a gorgeous day on the water and a humpback whale sighting. That might just be worth getting up at 4am for.
September 28, 2008
Supper at McCormick and Schmick's
The first night of reporting from West Coast Green, we capped off a hectic day with a healthy dose of brain food (fish) at McCormick and Schmick's in San Jose. We walked over from the Convention Center, waited without reservations for less than 10 minutes (not bad, on a Thursday night), and plunked our tired-but-wired selves down in a dim, quiet side room of the main dining area.
As seafood restaurants go, McCormick's does an excellent job of providing fresh choices, with a new menu each day. Wild catch are noted, as are choices approved by any of the safe seafood certifiers. But their interest in freshness and a sustainable catch are definitely 
driven more by consumer demand than by an environmental orientation. Some of the fish is flown express from far-off shores; so fresh in this case is not equated with local. And a fair number of the menu selections are caught or produced in ways harmful to marine ecology, or simply over-fished already. So I did feel a bit as I would visiting a steakhouse serving mainly feedlot beef, with a few grass-fed options.
driven more by consumer demand than by an environmental orientation. Some of the fish is flown express from far-off shores; so fresh in this case is not equated with local. And a fair number of the menu selections are caught or produced in ways harmful to marine ecology, or simply over-fished already. So I did feel a bit as I would visiting a steakhouse serving mainly feedlot beef, with a few grass-fed options.The mixed wild seafood grill (salmon, crab and an MSC-certified Chilean sea bass ) was beautifully plated, and entirely delicious.
September 25, 2008
Covering West Coast Green, Live
Live blogging at West Coast Green is an endurance event; and day one has gone well.
We started the day with a good breakfast - baked yams, and black tea. Lunch was tuna with tortilla chips, gluten-free cornbread with cheese, and a nectarine. At the conference, we carried Clif Bars and Mojos just in case, and re-usable water bottles. Bananas and Dagoba chocolate kindly set out to share in the press room held me over til dinner; but my blood sugar did dip by 6:30 pm when the last sessions wound down and the tradeshow floor closed.
For dinner, we restored ourselves at McCormick and Schmicks, a few blocks walk from the San Jose Conference Center. Lots of fresh fish well-prepared, with plenty of veggies. Skipping dessert would have been a good idea; but we were celebrating a fabulous day.
West Coast Green, while billed as a green building event, is really more about sustainable development overall than simply the construction aspect. The imperative of a healthy food system is by no means ignored by the designers, policy makers and other professionals, and activists. When we've consumed as much of this amazing buffet as we can, there will be lots to digest for months to come.
We started the day with a good breakfast - baked yams, and black tea. Lunch was tuna with tortilla chips, gluten-free cornbread with cheese, and a nectarine. At the conference, we carried Clif Bars and Mojos just in case, and re-usable water bottles. Bananas and Dagoba chocolate kindly set out to share in the press room held me over til dinner; but my blood sugar did dip by 6:30 pm when the last sessions wound down and the tradeshow floor closed.
For dinner, we restored ourselves at McCormick and Schmicks, a few blocks walk from the San Jose Conference Center. Lots of fresh fish well-prepared, with plenty of veggies. Skipping dessert would have been a good idea; but we were celebrating a fabulous day.
West Coast Green, while billed as a green building event, is really more about sustainable development overall than simply the construction aspect. The imperative of a healthy food system is by no means ignored by the designers, policy makers and other professionals, and activists. When we've consumed as much of this amazing buffet as we can, there will be lots to digest for months to come.
September 24, 2008
Gardens as Green Building Features
Green roofs are very popular these days - mainly the thin layer of sedums to catch and filter the first bit of rain that lands on a building. While these may be the simplest to build and maintain, green roofs can do much more. Chicago's city hall, for instance, has a mini-prairie, a haven for local raptors. Friends on Whidbey Island built a full kitchen garden into their earth-bermed not-so-big house.
Today Treehugger ran a long article today about the green walls on 11 buildings (some built, and some just in design phase). One even involved growing food.
At West Coast Green tomorrow, I'll be on the lookout for green roof (and wall) examples that feed as well as green. That and everything else I can soak up will be live blogged on a site dedicated just to this huge green building event.
Today Treehugger ran a long article today about the green walls on 11 buildings (some built, and some just in design phase). One even involved growing food.
At West Coast Green tomorrow, I'll be on the lookout for green roof (and wall) examples that feed as well as green. That and everything else I can soak up will be live blogged on a site dedicated just to this huge green building event.
September 23, 2008
Al Gore at West Coast Green
When I first started this blog, I had just seen An Inconvenient Truth; and I was thinking much more seriously about local food as a route to sustainability. The more I learn, the more I understand that link. And how it fits with community design issues.
Depending on who runs the numbers, our globalized food system accounts for 20-33% of carbon emissions. It runs either 2nd or third, but always in the top three with transportation and buildings (their construction, operation, and eventual disposal). So it makes great sense that Al Gore is headlining this Saturday (Sept 27, 2008) at West Coast Green in San Jose, CA.
Gore will probably focus on energy efficiency, renewable materials, and other key links to carbon emissions that green building practices address. Other speakers - and their are an impressive cadre of them appearing over the conference's 3 days - are more likely to hit on nuances of green building's connections to the food system. Sessions on garden design and ecology, greywater systems, and community design draw the link out, and will help attendees think about issues like how to create food security as a factor when we design personal living spaces and community commons.
Depending on who runs the numbers, our globalized food system accounts for 20-33% of carbon emissions. It runs either 2nd or third, but always in the top three with transportation and buildings (their construction, operation, and eventual disposal). So it makes great sense that Al Gore is headlining this Saturday (Sept 27, 2008) at West Coast Green in San Jose, CA.
Gore will probably focus on energy efficiency, renewable materials, and other key links to carbon emissions that green building practices address. Other speakers - and their are an impressive cadre of them appearing over the conference's 3 days - are more likely to hit on nuances of green building's connections to the food system. Sessions on garden design and ecology, greywater systems, and community design draw the link out, and will help attendees think about issues like how to create food security as a factor when we design personal living spaces and community commons.
September 22, 2008
Heading to West Coast Green
For a change of pace, I am going to a major green event that is not explicitly about food. West Coast Green happens again this weekend, running Sept 25 - 27 in San Jose. I missed it last year, when other responsibilities kept me from indulging my taste for green building. It's a truly dynamic field - so much innovation, constantly in development. Rather like the perpetual remodeling of kitchens, the new homeowner's vice.
No matter how recently a kitchen has been re-outfitted with shiny new appliances, flooring, counters and cabinets, this is the room most likely to be gutted and re-designed by a house's new owners. So I am hoping to see a number of green building principles being demo'd, particularly on Saturday (when homeowners can attend for only $20). First, salvage and re-use. Second, energy efficiency through design and conservation first, new technology second. Third, non-toxic materials made from renewable stock, sourced if not locally, then regionally.
Can an overhauled kitchen still be considered a green kitchen? Depends on what you have to start with, and build upon. I'm hoping to catch what the author of the Not So Big House, who has expanded her arena to the Not So Big Life, might have to say about the re-making of already workable spaces. Should be interesting.
No matter how recently a kitchen has been re-outfitted with shiny new appliances, flooring, counters and cabinets, this is the room most likely to be gutted and re-designed by a house's new owners. So I am hoping to see a number of green building principles being demo'd, particularly on Saturday (when homeowners can attend for only $20). First, salvage and re-use. Second, energy efficiency through design and conservation first, new technology second. Third, non-toxic materials made from renewable stock, sourced if not locally, then regionally.
Can an overhauled kitchen still be considered a green kitchen? Depends on what you have to start with, and build upon. I'm hoping to catch what the author of the Not So Big House, who has expanded her arena to the Not So Big Life, might have to say about the re-making of already workable spaces. Should be interesting.
September 13, 2008
Lion's Mane Mushrooms
A funny thing happened on the way to Slow Food Nation 2008. Emerging from the Civic Center BART stop, we found ourselves in the midst of an excellent farmers market. Apparently, it happens there twice a week; and despite its proximity to the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero, it draws plenty of shoppers. Well-stocked with both standard seasonal produce and some rare finds, this market is clearly a community asset.After feasting on a first-of-the-season Gravenstein apple from Hooverville Orchards, we found a stand selling nothing but mushrooms. In additions to the predictable picks like portabellos, they had one variety that I have never seen before. Called Lion's Mane, these irregular golf-ball size fungi look a bit like cauliflower, but fuzzier. They had been brought up from Moss Landing by FarWest Fungi. With the vendor's suggestions for getting them home intact and cooking them, we carried them about all day, finally popping them in the fridge overnight.
The next day we sauteed them in butter, brushed off and sliced - but not wet-washed (a common no-no with mushrooms). They browned nicely, keeping their meaty texture without losing much liquid or breaking up. In taste, they compare most closely to chantrelles - really yummy. They go especially nicely with light-flavored dishes, like a simple omelet or pasta.
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September 3, 2008
Home-made Mozzarella
Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle made cheese-making sound like so much fun, I bought a copy of Ricki Carroll's Home Cheese Making, got even more inspired, and ordered a variety of basic supplies. (My version of the $64 tomato? Could be.)
The bonus prize nobody mentioned is that making cheese is magic - true alchemy! 30-minute mozzarella seemed the best recipe to start with - quick, pretty simple, and yielding a key ingredient for our favorite summer dish (caprese). We read the instructions and also visited YouTube, looking for demos. The best one we found was about 5 minutes, not too polished, and was the only we could find using the microwave method for a small batch.
We expected the point where the hot curds turn into a shiny ball of cheese that you can stretch like taffy, roll into little balls, or even tie into a knot to be the highlight - but no. The coolest part was painstakingly heating the pot of milk (nice, fresh Clover milk from happy pastured cows not far from our home) and seeing the conversion of liquid into curds and whey. It's nearly indescribable - so I plan to make my own short video. Then no one will be able to resist being able to witness this revelation for themselves (or at least, if they resist, they'll know what they missed).
The bonus prize nobody mentioned is that making cheese is magic - true alchemy! 30-minute mozzarella seemed the best recipe to start with - quick, pretty simple, and yielding a key ingredient for our favorite summer dish (caprese). We read the instructions and also visited YouTube, looking for demos. The best one we found was about 5 minutes, not too polished, and was the only we could find using the microwave method for a small batch.
We expected the point where the hot curds turn into a shiny ball of cheese that you can stretch like taffy, roll into little balls, or even tie into a knot to be the highlight - but no. The coolest part was painstakingly heating the pot of milk (nice, fresh Clover milk from happy pastured cows not far from our home) and seeing the conversion of liquid into curds and whey. It's nearly indescribable - so I plan to make my own short video. Then no one will be able to resist being able to witness this revelation for themselves (or at least, if they resist, they'll know what they missed).
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