Have You Seen this Herb?

Cuban oregano, two years ago I grew this herb and loved the flavor. Last year I was not able to find it locally and went with out. This year I will not suffer the same fate. The above photo is not Cuban oregano, but it is a charming mustard plant.

So big deal it's oregano, who doesn't have that. Oh no my friends, Cuban oregano is much different in appearance and flavor. It has much thicker leaves that are also variegated. The flavor is much more bold then standard oregano and it pairs with pork incredibly well.

When I have my hands on some oregano this spring I'll be sure to share recipes and ideas for how to use it best. Let me hear from you if you've grown or eaten cuban oregano.

Papoose

Picea sitchensis 'Papoose' (above and below)

I like words that are fun to say. Just sharing that fact.

-

'Papoose' is one of those words I find it fun to go around thinking and saying, 'Papoose'. A few days ago I posted about a number of different spruces. One of those was Picea sitchensis 'Papoose. This is a plant that could get lost in the mix of the hundreds of different varieties of spruce in the world but the name and habit make it unique.

-

Many people have seen a blue spruce tree but 'Papoose falls in to a unique category of having both blue and green needles all year long. Iseli nursery in Oregon has great photos and a description on their site. It's a nice addition to a space where you want a touch of blue color with out a towering upright form.

-

Papoose to you all.

Oh the Meat-manity...

I know, raw meat eeww. Let's face it many of us love to eat meat but don't love to look at it before it's cooked. Now the student in a class that had a raw tomato phobia that was odd, a story for another time.

Next time your at the store look at the raw meat. What you'll see is a very sad selection of cuts available. In modern meat packaging very little butchery is done at the store. Most of the cuts are made at a processing/distribution center. Why is this lack of a true butcher shop important.

It creates many problems, but the biggest for me is not having any choice of cuts. Almost 80% of most meat cases and counters are full of steak and fillets only. Those cuts are not only expensive but honestly are not some of the better foods available.

I'd love to know from readers if you have a butcher in your area? Nothing would make me happier to know of sources where you could get a hanger steak or pork belly. This and other issues just get added to the list of why supporting local farms is important.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Video of Conifers

For some time I've wanted to get out my gear and video some of my conifer collection. Well, today was that long coming day.

There are two conifers featured in this clip. The first is Pinus sylvestris 'Bonna' and the second is Pinus virginiana 'Wate's Golden'.

Both are great pines with totally different looks. 'Bonna' is a super blue pine and 'Wate's Golden' has the great habit of going from green to school bus yellow in winter. Enjoy.

New King of Vegetables

I was looking through some seed catalogs for the upcoming year and it hit me. Fennel is the king of vegetables.

It may not be the most well known but there aren't many foods that offer four stages of great food. The plant base of course can be used slice raw or cooked and is delicious. The seeds are maybe the most used and best known of all the fennel stages. From Italian sausage to curries fennel seeds are prevalent through many regions of cuisine. The leaf end frawns can also be used as a fresh herb.

Even fennel pollen had it's moment on the flavor of the month culinary trends list. It still is a great product but was so over used for a period in high-end restaurants that it reached overused status in those circles.

From seed to flower each stage of the fennel plant is used to make great food.

Mugo the Evil Henchmen

Pinus mugo 'Mitsch Mini' (above)
Pinus mugo 'Pot O'Gold' (above)

Pinus mugo 'Aurea' (above)

Pinus mugo 'Donna's Mini' (above)

For those of you not familiar with conifers there is a group with the botanical name pinus mugo. The name mugo has always sounded like some kind of evil villain or henchman in a soon to be made comic book movie to me.
-
The name mugo comes from the latin word for where the pine originates in the European alps region. It's also sometimes referred to as a Swiss mountain pine.
-
Now, here's where it gets interesting. Mugo pines grow in many different forms and rates of growth. From the very slow and small growing miniature plants that only grow 1/2 inch per year to the larger more upright growing forms that can grow up to a foot per year.
-
The pictures above are some of the smaller plants available. Some of the upright forms available also have great names like 'big tuna' and 'tannenbaum'. No matter if you're just getting into plants or an avid collector mugo pines work in any situation.

On a last note, if there was a holy grail of pines to me it would be a dragon eye or 'oculis draconis' (the needles of a dragon eye pine seen above) version of a mounding mugo pine. That would be super cool.

Odd Couple?

I say sage...you say Thanksgiving
I say cilantro...you say salsa

The two at first don't seem to have a great deal in common. Look a little deeper and you'll see they both originated in the same central American regions. What do they go well in together?

What don't they go well in? The two are fantastic paired in a fresh salsa. My favorite approach is to add them right at the end of caramelizing some onions and they you have a perfect topping for any meat dish. Sage and cilantro an odd couple with fantastic results.

Rated B for Bugs

No matter if you grow squash in your garden or just enjoy eating fresh zucchini in the Summer, we should all be aware of the challenges faced in bringing it to the table.

One of those challenges is keeping the itsy-bitsy bugs away from your plants which sounds much easier then it is.

The Perfect Meal

There are few meals that are as universally accepted as tomato sauce. It goes by many names in many house holds sauce, gravy, Sunday sauce, marinara, meat sauce, tomato sauce and many others.

-

The beauty of a great home made sauce is that from little kids all the way to seasoned culinary snobs like myself we all love a great bowl of pasta and sauce. My recipe is almost bordering on a Italian ragu' as I like to use either beef, veal, or pork shanks in the sauce. I also love to use a slightly spicy Italian sausage and and a liberal amount of bay leaf powder.

-

No matter what your version might be tomato sauce might be the ultimate comfort food.

Cacciatore Day Again

Most chefs in restaurants will cook the same dish on a line in the kitchen often hundreds of times a night. My task is similar yet completely different, I have to make the same dish dozens of times but in front or a group of people or in front of TV cameras.

One of the challenges this creates is not getting sick of hearing myself say the same things over and over and over again. A new audience hasn't seen me demonstrate and teach a dish before but for me this might be my 33rd time teaching a dish in a week. So how do I combat this dilemma? I have fun. Yes, there in lies the key I demonstrate the dish different each time and only try to repeat the important cooking techniques relevant to the recipe.

To illustrate this approach I bring to you chicken cacciatore from last week and this "version" from a mid-day TV appearance. Thanks to the folks at WTVF Nashville.