Exploring Hartford's many markets, part I

Some of my favorite memories from growing up in Hartford have been going to the city's markets with my mother. Different sections of town evoke strong recollections of smells, tastes and colorful packaging in different languages. This all came flooding back to me recently during a discussion with a friend who was beginning to venture into her own cooking adventures and was curious about where to start for produce and new products besides the typical supermarkets. We decided to plan a marketing day around the city. One of our stops included A Dong Supermarket, an Asian grocery store off of New Britain Avenue. I love visiting here because it's such an adventure.

Enter the market past the small shrine in the entrance, and walk past the glass case lined with smoked duck, pork, and other meats that many not be so easily identifiable and you are have three possible points to begin. The far right is home goods such as woks, ornate plates, cups, sake sets, and other cooking and home goods. Middle aisles are brimming with varieties of noodles, sauces, candies, teas, dried vegetables, and canned items such as lychees and jackfruit. Or you can veer to the left, my favorite side. This is where you can explore the table of prepared desserts, such as sesame buns, and items like Banh U Dau, made of rice and wrapped in banana leaves (luckily they all list the ingredients on the label)

Or you can venture over to the bakery case to order items such as pork buns or coconut cakes. I am partial to the produce section. On this particular visit, I found some incredible looking watercress for tea sandwiches for the pleasing price of .85! A bin packed with bright pink fruit caught my attention as well and I spent some time trying to figure out what it might be before reading the sign.

I had to giggle when I realized that it was a "Dragonfruit", which I had only ever heard of as one of the Vitamin Water flavors. A very appropriate name given it's looks. The seafood case is also interesting to walk past, for there, entire fish are layed out on display, (not filets). 
Ever thinking, I was struck with the thought that the sparsely filled cases were brilliant for two reasons. First was that the amount of waste was far less. When you shop at a typical US supermarket, the cases are piled high, from front to back with seafood, meats, and poultry, with barely any space between items, and a tremendous amount of those items are not sold and get thrown away. Secondly, by showing the fish in it's entirely, there is more respect for the food item as a fish that lost its live to sustain us, instead of divorcing ourselves from that and seeing it just as a filet. 

On the way to checkout, it's fun to go down the beverage aisle and pick out something new to sample. Example being, I have no idea what Pennywort is, but I plan on trying it next time that I am there! 

Location: A Dong Supermarket, 160 Shield St, West Hartford, CT 06110

Event: Sustainability Never Tasted So Good

When: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Where: Miya's Sushi New Haven
Cost: $35 each
Contact: Amanda Roy 860-685-7599
Register: cthumanities.org/register/sdregnh
Description: Pull up a seat at the table to discuss how we can create a more sustainable food system in our communities. Featured guests will guide meaningful conversation around how we can introduce sustainable practices into our own homes and activities.Enjoy a sampling of a variety of sustainable sushi prepared by our hosts, Miya's Sushi." Speakers: Bun Lai, Owner and Chef of Miya Sushi and Nicole Berube, Executive Director of City Seed.
Ticketed Event: $35 each

Served: Weird News About Food (Printed Food???)

How 3D Printers Could Reinvent NASA Space Food

A NASA-funded project that aims to transform a 3D printer into a space kitchen could one day reinvent how astronauts eat in the final frontier.

NASA officials confirmed this week that the space agency awarded $125,000 to the Austin, Texas-based company Systems and Materials Research Consultancy (SMRC) to study how to make nutritious and efficient space food with a 3D-printer during long space missions. The project made headlines this week largely because of the first item on the menu: a 3D-printed space pizza.

Future astronauts on deep-space mission will face a host of health and sustenance challenges. A roundtrip from Earth to Mars, for instance, could last several years and require thousands of meals for an astronaut crew.
"The current food system wouldn't meet the nutritional needs and five-year shelf life required for a mission to Mars or other long duration missions," NASA officials said in a statement. "Because refrigeration and freezing require significant spacecraft resources, current NASA provisions consist solely of individually prepackaged shelf stable foods, processed with technologies that degrade the micronutrients in the foods."

NASA officials said SMRC will explore whether a 3D-printed food system will be able to provide nutrient stability and a wide variety of foods from shelf stable ingredients, while minimizing waste and saving time for space crews.

Engineers at SMRC are apparently envisioning a system that can "print" dishes using layers of food powders that will have a shelf life of three decades. "The way we are working on it is, all the carbs, proteins and macro and micro nutrients are in powder form," Anjan Contractor, a senior mechanical engineer at SMRC, told Quartz, which first reported the project. "We take moisture out, and in that form it will last maybe 30 years."

Contractor already printed chocolate and now is working on a prototype to print a pizza, according to Quartz. NASA later issued a statement about the Small Business Innovation Research phase I contract that was given to SMRC. This initial six-month project could lead to a phase II study, but NASA officials said the technology is still years away from being tested on an actual flight.

Besides printing celestial pizza, 3D printing could have other uses in space. Also called additive manufacturing, the technology could allow astronauts to make replacement parts for spacecraft or even extraterrestrial habitats, like a lunar base.

"NASA recognizes in-space and additive manufacturing offers the potential for new mission opportunities, whether 'printing' food, tools or entire spacecraft," space agency officials said. "Additive manufacturing offers opportunities to get the best fit, form and delivery systems of materials for deep space travel."

In a separate project, NASA is planning to launch a 3D printer to the International Space Station to test space manufacturing technology for long-duration missions. That project stems from a partnership between the company Made in Space and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Called the 3D Printing Zero G Experiment, the test flight will send a Made in Space 3D printer to the space station in 2014 to demonstrate the feasibility of using the technology to construct spare parts and tools from raw materials on a deep-space mission.

Story courtesy of yahoo news

Served: Weird News About Food (Cicadas)

"Cicada invasion: If you can't beat them, eat them"

"Brood II is good for you. It just takes 17 years to prepare. Bun Lai, owner of Miya’s Sushi in New Haven, Conn., and one of the city’s best known chefs, has a few gastronomic plans for the bumper crop of periodical cicadas expected to emerge along the Eastern seaboard in a couple of weeks. He’ll be cooking up batches of the critters for himself and possibly for certain, select customers.
“I plan to get a big freezer for them,” said Lai, who has become famous for introducing local palates to insects and invasive plant species. “I’m going to catch a whole bunch of them and preserve them for future eating. I plan on eating a whole bunch of them myself.”

Perhaps billions of 17-year cicadas — the Brood II group, to be specific — soon will emerge from their underground homes, climb nearby trees and transform from nymphs into big, hard-shelled, winged creatures with red eyes.

They’ll engage in a rather ostentatious courtship ritual for a few weeks after that, with the male cicadas creating an incredibly loud mating call thanks to handy personal amplifiers called tymbals.

They’ll be above ground for about five weeks before the adults die off and the 17-year life cycle begins again. “I’m definitely considering the possibility of including them in some thematic dinners I do,” Lai said. “Insects are far healthier for our bodies than eating meat.”

There are seven species of periodical cicadas. Three of them live on a 17-year cycle and four species have a 13-year cycle. Their year of emergence is staggered into broods, with Connecticut on the northern edge of Brood II.

Along with the intense public fascination over the creatures comes a healthy curiosity about people who are willing to eat cicadas. There are a fair number of these folks, actually. They even create recipes with cicadas, everything from tacos and cookies to dumplings and pizza.

Aficionados report that the meatier, young female cicadas taste best. They also note that cultures such as the Native American Iroquois tribe in upstate New York considered cicadas a delicacy. That makes perfect sense to Lai, whose repertoire includes Mexican grasshoppers, spiced Asian shore crabs and fried rice with meal worms and crickets.

But he’ll be doing something slightly different with the cicadas. “I don’t want to take something that’s inherently nutritious and deep fry it,” he explained. “If I’m going to interrupt this amazing, 17-year life cycle, I’m going to honor it and respect it.”

For example, Lai is going to steam some cicadas with ground spices and herbs — in a fashion similar to the way Maryland crabs are prepared. He’s also going to do a cicada boil with spices and herbs. “The challenge is to take an ingredient that’s abundant and nourishing and make it appealing to people,” he said. “I’m not trying to gross people out. I’m not running a frat house. I respect the cicada.”

This story is courtesy of the New Haven Register

High Tea and Safety Last

My friend and I set out for Hamden this Sunday afternoon to enjoy a proper high tea held at Le Petit Gourmet, a small and quaint spot that shares a space with a used bookstore where one could easily lose track of time exploring. The restaurant only offers tea on Sundays and by reservation. There are two time slots available: 2:30 and 3:30. Our server greeted us and informed us of the tea selections of the day; Earl Grey or Orange Pekoe. That was the only choice we had to make. 

Our steaming pot of Earl Grey was poured into charmingly mismatched tea cups. A request for honey was quickly obliged. Being rampant tea connoisseurs we were even more pleased that we didn't have to ask for additional hot water, that our server checked back to keep us in good supply. 

We were delighted when warm cranberry scones (yes I did say warm!) were brought over next, accompanied by strawberry jam and the most delightful clotted cream to spread on top. I could have eaten several of these, but was when I saw the assortment of sandwiches and treats that came next, I was glad for just the one scone. 

A two tiered tray was placed in front of us laden with four different kinds of tea sandwiches on the bottom, and sweets on the top. The sandwiches were; curried chicken salad, smoked salmon and red onion, ham and brie, and the most amazing cucumber sandwiches I have ever tasted. The desserts included shortbread, sliced tea cake, tartlets and fresh strawberries. 

I was reminded vaguely of my time visiting England with my grandparents and how much I enjoyed the simple pleasure of making time for taking tea in the afternoon. It made such an impression upon me as an act that was so highly civilized as well as an opportunity to stop one's day and take a few minutes away from the craziness of life to relax and recharge. Afterwards we decided a good follow up would be to visit Cinestudio at Trinity College. In case you don't know, it was founded in 1970 by a group of students who converted a large lecture hall in the college’s Clement Chemistry Building into a recreation of a 1930s film house. The theater was created as a cooperative, with students overseeing all aspects of the theater’s operation. It is one of the coolest places to see a film with its operational gold screen curtain, balcony seating and capability to play 70 mm film. 

 The film we saw was a screening of Safety Last, the silent film starring Harold Lloyd who was "considered by many to be one of the most gifted physical (and risk-taking) comedian of the big three silent stars (with Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton), Harold Lloyd brings a modern sensibility to his optimistic everyman, who takes a job at a bustling department store to make enough money to marry his hometown sweetheart (Mildred Davis)."

(playing nightly till May 30th at 7:30pm) 

Information about high tea:

Cost per person, $15

Location: Le Petit Gourmet, 1231 Whitney Ave, Hamden, CT 

Call for reservations: (203) 230-3252

Link: http://www.le-petit-gourmet.com 

Ruminations about Mother's Day

Does anything remind us of our mothers and grandmothers more than the comforting foods that they have lovingly prepared for us thoughout our lives? For me, more than anything else, my mother's cooking is something that invokes my sense of place, and feeling like I am home. My favorites include her homemade breads, chipolte corn chowder, pierogi, cranberry pie, and grains with steamed greens and pumpkin seed dressing. For my grandmother, I will always associate her with homemade beef jerky, almond paste cookies, and coconut cake.

It is in thinking about foods and mothers, that I found the work of the photographer, Gabriele Galimberti especially appealing. He has created a virtual cookbook with portrait photographs of grandmothers around the world showing their best dishes. The site is called "Delicatessen with Love" and is composed with obvious adoration and respect for mothers and grandmothers around the world. Not only are the images stunning, but each photograph also has a small tab beneath it stating "more info" which presents the recipe so you can try to recreate the beautiful dishes yourself.

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful women and cooks around the world!

Check out his project here: http://www.gabrielegalimberti.com/projects/delicatessen-with-love-2/

Polish food in the heart of New Britain

Recently, during the process of driving around Newington and getting succeeding in getting lost in the suburbs, my friend and I felt the need to rally our failing spirits with some hearty fare. Our first thought was that we must be somewhere need the German club (http://www.hartfordsaengerbund.org/) and the thought of a mug of beer, bratwurst and saurkraut had instant appeal. We did eventually find it, but arrived to find the doors locked and the interior dark. Our disappointment was only slightly alieviated by the poster on the door for an upcoming event titled, "Vienna Night" that peaked our interest. We changed gears and directions, and decided the next best thing would be to jump on the highway and have some Polish food instead. While I am partial to Hartford's Polish Home, my friend suggested instead that we go to New Britain and visit one of her favorites, a place called Cracovia.

Well we found what we were looking for in Cracovia, and more. Walking into the restaurant is a combination of walking into a time warp, with the restaurant's lunchcounter feel on the left side, and then on the right hand side, neatly lined tables sheathed in thick plastic tableclothes. The walls are adorned with Polish folk art.

I really started to smile though when I opened my menu and read at the top: "Receipt for Happiness" which went as follows : "Four cups of love, Two cups of loyalty, Three cups of forgiveness, Cup of friendship, Two spoons of tenderness, Four quart of faith, And barrel of laugh, Join love with loyalty, and mix well with faith, Flavour of goodness, tenderness and lenience. Splash by laugh then add friendship and love. Bake on the sun. Big portion serve every day."

We were instructed by our waitress that to eat Polish food, you should also drink like you are Polish. We decided it was only right to tap into our eastern european roots and follow her advice, so we agreed to take her beer suggestion and make the most of our dining experience. I was even more tickled to see the vintage soda glasses that were brought to sip our beer from.  

Despite many interesting offerings on the menu such as barley and pickle soup, or roast pork stuffed with plums, I couldn't bring myself to deviate from what I had been craving all afternoon. Kielbasa and onions with mashed potatoes, and a side of spicy saurkraut. It looks like a modest portion, but was 100% filling!

My friend chose to try one of the weekly specials, potato dumplings stuffed with fried meat, and a side of cucumber salad. Sadly, I didn't get a photograph of the salad because we ate it so quickly. Thin strips of cucumber smothered in yogurt with dill. The dumplings were also incredibly filling and served for lunch the following day.

Cracovia is the kind of place that is just special. It, and restaurants like it from all different ethnicities showcase not only provide us with the chance to sample new cuisines, but they also preserve a cultural heritage and national pride that can be shared through one of the most translatable formats on the planet, which is food! These places along with their social clubs (french, italian, jamaican, polish, etc) are in danger of disappearing all together as we move towards globalization and a homogenized world and they become less useful to the groups of people who relied on them. My advice to you? Enjoy them while you still can.

Cracovia, 60 Broad St New Britain, CT 06053 (860) 223-4443 http://cracovia.homestead.com/