Thursday, April 22, 2010

COOKING EARTH DAY STYLE!

There are so many ways to cook food and you may already be familiar with some of them, like cooking with fire or using energy recources like gas, electric ,coal, but did you know that there are less obvious methods to cook ?  So did you know the art of marinating, drying and smoking are alternative methods. Did you know in hot arid hot climates you can cook food with rocks? You can even use dry ice as a heating element.
Now let's not forget today is EARTH DAY so I want to concentrate on all "types of cooking methods". And there is so many exciting things going on right now in the world to assist with alternative cooking methods! We all need to think out of the box when it comes to cooking. So speaking of boxes, there is great Box Cooker from India that provides a cheap inxepensive cooking apparatus that is in demand in such an  over popuplated country, which consist of many who are in need. So China is another country taking the lead to  look for alternatives and they created an ingenious apparatus called a Curved Concentrator. This cooking tool looks similar to a satellite dish and it is used mostly for industrial cooking but is very efficient and extremely cost effective. Finally, there is the popular Panel Cookers which is the combination of both a Box Cooker and it's curved like counterpart the Concentrator, which is widly used in third world countries and relatively inexpensive.
 So there you go, are ready for the changes in cooking ? Well, look no further the time has arrived and pretty soon virtual cooking methods will be arriving at kitchen near you! However, for now, summer is just around the corner and I don't know about you but I just love to barbecue! So think BIG, think YELLOW, think SUN and when shopping for that your next grill look for alternative cooking devices like the Hybrid Solar Cookers. 
In closing, I can not go without saying that our garbage produces a great fuel rescource. And as the saying goes "waste not want not" and well , think METHANE GAS !  This is such a cheap, effective gas that can be produced above and below ground. Which leads me into my last introduction into my final alternative cooking method. So would you consider cooking with dung? Yes, that's right, dried cow patties is a wonderful cooking element and there is a ton of it, so to speak. And it could create new jobs for the midwest's cattle ranchers! You just need the right cooking stove to avoid combustion and there are now many creative inventors building those plans for the right stove, right now! SO GO GREEN OR YELLOW AND EVEN BROWN.. JUST GO!..AND BUY!!
Check out some of these websites:
www.solarcookers.org/basics/how.html
www.sunbdcorp.com 
http://www.bioenergylists.org/stovesdoc/apro/dung/Aprodung.htm

Next time we discuss what happens behind the kitchen!

PS: Please remember the miners and their families in the recent coal mine tradegy in West Virgina. And to the many men and women who risk their lives everday to make our world a much better and safer place to live !


Signing off for now!


Chef  Sam


PS: I will have some wonderful pics from my STREET VENDING EVENT !!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

STREET FOOD~ PART 2

So I touched on the various street vendors over the world and I would like to discuss further on what  is going around right in your back yard. Also, I will cover my recent project called "taking food to the streets". If I have learned anything about this industry is that sometimes the best way to expand on your skill set is to go out and experieince what life has to offer. So for this particular event I created five special dishes from  Italy, Greece, Africa, Lebanon and Turkey.
I started off by creating a take off from Pizzagaina from Italy using savory Italina cold cuts ( prosciutto, mortadella, pancetta bresaola), farmers cheese. I like a thick creamy texture so I added eggs, mascarpone and goat cheese. I added fresh herbs like basil, parsely, oregano and added scallions with a thick pie crust consisting of  flour, shortening, water and salt.
My favorite quick food is  from Greece. I made Lamb Koftas which consists of mint, spicey herbs, cashews and lamb. The mixture is then rolled into small balls which are placed on skewers and grilled.
Moving onto Lebonon, my pick for a Street Food was a Lebonsese pizza. The topping has tomatoes, garlic, onions pine nuts and lamb which is layered on a light pastry dough ( filo and greek olive oil).
Nothing is more enjoyable than Africa's favorite finger food the infamous Taliapa Taco. It consists of shredded red and green cabbage, black beans, avacados and mangos. This mixture is generously stuffed into a ground meal taco shell.
As far as Turkey is concerned I really felt a Curry Chicken turnover represented a simple and delicous Street Food from that region. Some of the ingredients consisted of chicken, raisens, cardamom, coriander, onions (red, green and white), all tucked away in a homemade pastry crust.
I picked those countries because they are synonymous to open air markets where locals and tourist can go and sample some indigenous foods. These quick meals which are nicknamed "shack foods", are relatively the most common and popular foods from that region.
This was a team event and we had to choose from specific locations culminating a global street fair. Even though, there are so many other places around the globe to add to this list of "shack foods", I was able to at least contribute from regions that provided amazing cuisine!

My next blog will be on evaluating differenent methods of cooking !


Signing off for now!


Chef Sam