As we approach Avocado season (March-May), here are some tips for shopping for them:

• Avocados are rarely sold ripe. Let them stand at room temeprature until it yields a gentle squeeze. To test for ripeness, using your fingernail, try to dislodge the stem nib at the top of the avocado. If it comes loose easily, the avocado is ready to eat. 
• A very hard avocado will take 3-6 days to ripen. 
• Avocado flesh turns brown when exposed to air. Brush the cut surfaces with lemon or lime juice, then wrap tightly with plastic wrap directly onto the flesh and refrigerate.

What’s For Dinner?

Entry 5, February 29, 2012

A Brisket Tradition

Submitted by: Larry Frank, Partner/Vice President

I grew up loving my mother’s brisket, an adaptation from the recipe in Grandma Doralee Patinkin’s Jewish Family Cookbook. About 30 years ago, my mother passed on her recipe to my wife, Lori. And she has since put her own twist on this classic recipe, which has become a reoccurring item on the family dinner rotation. The memories of our home cooked family meals, and this brisket recipe, will hopefully continue to travel through the generations, evolving into an ever changing tradition. 

Lori’s Home Cooked Brisket

Yields 10-12 Servings

4 pounds beef brisket

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 cup chili sauce

• Preheat ove to 325 degrees 
• Sprinkle brisket with the brown sugar and the apple cider vinegar. Frost with the chili sauce and with the back of a large spoon, rub everything into the meat.
• In a roasting pan, pour 1/4 inch of water into the bottom of the pan. Bake uncovered until semi-tender. Cover and roast until done. Total time could vary from 1.5-2 hours. 
• Remove meat from gravy and cool. Allow gravy to cool. Skim Fat. Add water to dilute as gravy will be a little strong. Taste.
• Slice the brisket and place in an oven proof casserole. Cover with gravy and seal tightly with aluminum foil. Heat and serve.

Spice Up Your Garden with Fish Peppers

The first day of spring is almost here, which means it’s time to plan this year’s garden. We suggest adding Chesapeake Bay region’s heirloom fruits and vegetables to your graden, such as the increasingly popular fish pepper.

The fish pepper is an African-American heirloom with 2-3 inch fruits that change in color from cream with green stripes to red when ripe. The fish pepper was widely grown in the Baltimore area in the 19th century. Bold and spicy, it was used in oyster and crab houses. In terms of heat, the fish pepper is like cayenne but more mellow when cooked. It is also perfect for drying into hot chili powder. Your can learn more about fish peppers in Harriet’s Book Pick for March and purchase your fish seeds at Seed Savers Exchange. 

yourhealthista:

I hate the title of this article but the content is pretty good. It also explains why we’re seeing more and more cases of celiac disease and gluten intolerance — and why going gluten-free is more than just a diet fad. Here’s a taste:

[We now eat dwarf wheat, a genetic hybrid and manipulation of the wheat our ancestors ate.] Dwarf wheat is that it contains very high levels of a super starch called amylopectin A. This is how we get big fluffy Wonder Bread and Cinnabons.

Here’s the downside. Two slices of whole wheat bread now raise your blood sugar more than two tablespoons of table sugar.

There is no difference between whole wheat and white flour here. The biggest scam perpetrated on the unsuspecting public is the inclusion of “whole grains” in many processed foods full of sugar and wheat, giving the food a virtuous glow. The best way to avoid foods that are bad for you is to stay away from foods with health claims on the labels. They are usually hiding something bad.

Not only does this dwarf, FrankenWheat, contain the super starch, but it also contains super gluten which is much more likely to create inflammation in the body. And in addition to a host of inflammatory and chronic diseases caused by gluten, it causes obesity and diabetes.

Gluten is that sticky protein in wheat that holds bread together and makes it rise. The old fourteen-chromosome-containing Einkorn wheat codes for the small number of gluten proteins, and those that it does produce are the least likely to trigger celiac disease and inflammation. The new dwarf wheat contains twenty-eight or twice as many chromosomes and produces a large variety of gluten proteins, including the ones most likely to cause celiac disease.

[…]

A major study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that hidden gluten sensitivity (elevated antibodies without full-blown celiac disease) was shown to increase risk of death by 35 to 75 percent, mostly by causing heart disease and cancer.[4] Just by this mechanism alone, over 20 million Americans are at risk for heart attack, obesity, cancer and death.

Two new cookbooks have made it into our library and we can’t get enough!

Bi-Rite Market’s Eat Good Food by Sam Mogannam and Dabeny Gough is the perfect guide to navigating your local grocery store.

Made in America: Our Best Chefs Reinvent Comfort Food By Lucy Lean is a collection of the 100 best recipes that define American cuisine, deconstructed and rebuilt buy today’s master chefs.

Tip: Incorporating mushrooms, oysters and black tea into your diet will help you battle through the flu and cold season.

Join us and thousands of people all over the globe, Friday, February 24th at 12pm EST, in a simultaneous global meal. The Meal Project aims to inspire a feeling of community across geographic and cultural boundaries. It’s simple, take a photography of yourself and your lunch and mail it back to them to be included in their exhibition documenting the world’s largest communal snack!

Celebrate today with Jambalaya, a food traditionally eaten during the two weeks of Mardi Gras!

Have you ever ordered a bottle of wine at a restaurant and weeks later, could not remember what it was? The new app from Evernote, aims to put an end to culinary amnesia! Evernote Food, helps you record and organize the details of your meal in real time.

(Source: onegreenplanet)