HUNGRY GERALD

Yes, Santa Fe has some very high end restaurants (Geronimo is the best). But, HG/BSK are not customers. The problem is wine (and spirits). BSK is a hearty wine drinker (can knock off more than a half-bottle with a meal). HG drinks much wine but also likes vodka before the meal and brandy after. This amounts to big bucks at a good restaurant. Cost of wine and spirits can be more than a hundred bucks (sometimes $150). And, then there are three courses of food plus tax and tip. Excessive expenditure. So, dinner is confined to lusty home cooking plus wine and spirit values from Kokoman and Trader Joe’s. BSK confines lunch to leftovers but HG prefers noshing at casual, inexpensive eateries. El Parasol (in Pojoaque and Santa Fe) for menudo and tacos; Saigon Cafe (Santa Fe) for chow fun and pho; Whole Foods for a container of jambalaya; Tune Up for a breakfast burrito smothered in green chile. Best of all are the numerous food trucks. One of them serves foot long hot dogs covered in super hot green chile sauce. A happy way to achieve the ultimate in heartburns. Pass the Tums.

Spanish creativity and Swiss business acumen are responsible for a year round culinary treat: The Kumato. Kumatoes are reddish brown, juicy, tomatoes. They are a hybrid developed in Spain and patented by Syngenta, a Swiss agribusiness. No, you can’t buy Kumato seeds and grow your own. Under a rigorous process, Syngenta sells seeds to one major greenhouse grower in a country. (Kumatoes are now grown in 12 countries. HG/BSK eat Kumatoes cultivated in Canada and Mexico). Kumatoes are very tasty (Okay, not as good as a seasonal New Jersey tomato). HG/BSK enjoy them in a variety of ways. Silced with fresh mozzarella. With Portuguese sardines, slices of sweet onion and a big squeeze of lemon juice. Baked in the oven and topped with olive oil and chopped garlic and parsley. In a BLT. A favorite HG snack: Lightly toasted sourdough bread rubbed with garlic, sliced Kumato, olive oil, kosher salt. And, of course, a glass of red wine.

Throughout the 54-year marriage of HG/BSK, it has been HG’s task to cook risotto. And, HG has relished this role. HG is not noted for patience, but HG becomes a paragon of this virtue when making this wonderful Italian rice dish. Yes, it takes time and attention. HG begins the procedure by cooking sliced onions in some olive oil (utilizing a heavy bottomed pot). Then, a cup of Arborio or Carnaroli rice is added and gently stirred until its color slightly darkens. Meanwhile, a pot of chicken broth is simmering on an adjacent stove top burner (HG/BSK like Trader Joe’s Free Range Chicken Broth). HG adds a ladle of hot broth to the rice and stirs until it’s absorbed. And, so on and so on. Ladle of broth. Stir. Stir. Minutes before the risotto hits the peak of creaminess and completion, HG adds a minimally cooked vegetable. Asparagus when in season. Chopped baby spinach. Sweet peas. Before it arrives at the table, the risotto gets a good hit of butter and grated parmesan. Voila!! Perfection. Big change last night. BSK made the risotto. Sautéed some onion and garlic plus sliced mushrooms in a deep saucepan. Riced one half a head of cauliflower in a food processor. Added the rice and cauliflower to pan, plus white wine and thyme (and some other herbs). After wine was absorbed, BSK added ladles of warm chicken stock and stirred and stirred. Parmesan cheese at the end. The result was a very comforting and lush dish. Much enjoyed. However, HG (a radical in politics but a conservative at the table) prefers HG’s traditional and time-tested method of risotto cooking.

As followers of HG know all too well, HG loves oysters. When on PEI, HG devours scores from Malpeque and Rollo Bays. In Paris, favorite venue is Le Stella, the delightful brasserie in the staid 16th. Plenitude of riches in New York: Grand Central Oyster Bar; Daughter Victoria’s Cookshop Restaurant on 10th Avenue in Chelsea; a plateau de fruits de mer at Balthazar (a feast shared with Victoria); In Rhode Island, there’s the great Bristol Oyster Bar plus Hemenway’s in Providence. So, where does HG indulge oyster craving in landlocked New Mexico? Oysters are served at some Mexican seafood restaurants. They are on the menu at a few upscale places. Best of all, Friday is oyster night at the cafe in Santa Fe’s Whole Foods market. (Sometimes, there’s a “buck a shuck” offering). There are four varieties of oysters (including Malpeques) at the fish counter. Happily, there are well priced containers of shucked Pacific oysters. These are big, juicy specimens which BSK uses in oyster pan roast (mentioned in previous post) and congee made in the Instant Pot. BSK adds chopped oysters to robust congee flavored with clam juice, garlic, onions and Vietnamese Fish Sauce. Steaming bowls are topped with chopped scallions and salted peanuts after getting a dash of sesame oil and sriracha. Yes, the delightful bivalve is alive and well in The Land of Enchantment.

New York has changed so much that HG/BSK have little desire to live there (even part time). However, great to visit (stated like a true “out of towner”). HG loves eating at daughter Victoria’s downtown restaurants (Rosie’s, Cookshop, Shuka and Vic’s). Of course, there are the wonderful museums (and sharing a plateau de fruits de mer with Victoria at Balthazar). And, Chinatown. But, when HG becomes nostalgic, HG longs for the oyster pan roast at the Grand Central Oyster Bar. Oysters, butter, half-and- half, clam juice, celery salt, Worcestshire sauce, Heinz Chili Sauce (might be missing an ingredient) cooked in a unique steam kettle and served over white bread toast. Sprinkle of paprika. IN HG’s day, the steam kettle was utilized by an aged, unsmiling Italian. HG would often precede the pan roast with a dozen shucked oysters, drink Ballantine’s IPA and have Nesselrode Pie for dessert. Yesterday, while the East Coast shivered, HG/BSK enjoyed typical New Mexico winter weather: 50 degrees, blue skies, brilliant sun. Gets colder at night so BSK made a pot of comfort: the BSK oyster pan roast. Used big, plump, Pacific oysters (modestly priced and sold in containers at Whole Foods). Most of the traditional ingredients but substituted whole milk for the cream mixture. No, it didn’t quite reach the heights of the Grand Central version, but it was very tasty. Cold Pouilly Fuisse was the right accompaniment. Cambazola cheese with ripe Comice pears for dessert, With this kind of food and this kind of weather, Noo Yawk nostalgia is blunted.

When traveling the American highways, HG/BSK turn a cold shoulder to the fast food chains with the exception of the famed Waffle House. Instead they look out for determinedly local, idiosyncratic dining spots. At various times, HG/BSK have discovered great Chinese and Tex/Mex cuisine in Phoenix (both spots were plainspoken and unheralded by foodies). A wonderful hot dog joint was a favorite in Colorado. Housed, you guessed it, in a structure shaped like a tube steak. Tyler’s barbecue in Amarillo is a favorite as is a Greek restaurant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Outside of the Chinese place in Arizona, efforts to eat good roadside Japanese and Chinese food have ended calamitously. Yesterday, while driving Highway 285 en route from Denver to HG/BSK’s New Mexico home, encountered a small BBQ eatery on the road in Fairplay, CO. Sign on the building “BBQ.” No name. Spic and span interior. Hearty woman took the orders. Posole. Pulled pork (Carolina style) sandwiches. Smoky baked beans. Everything was super. Must try the dry rubbed spare ribs next time.

Yes, we’ve got a President who pushes an “America First” nationalism program that encompasses misogyny, racism and blatant bigotry. However, while Der Trumperer eats his well done steak and pushes his “make the rich richer tax program,” most Americans abandon DT’s extreme nationalism in the kitchen. HG, like most folks, can now obtain the ingredients for Indian, Thai, Chinese and Japanese in local supermarkets (as well as the Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s chains). Ingredients for Mexican, Spanish, Italian and Jewish cuisine are taken for granted. Tonight’s HG/BSK dinner was Indian. Sautéed spinach and tomatoes with paneer (Indian cheese). BSK used the recipe from the always reliable “Vij’s At Home” cookbook. HG took a shortcut. Heated Tasty Bite (very good no chemicals brand) Bengal Lentils. Also heated a can of Trader Joe’s Matar Paneer (a North Indian curry). Condiments included Bedekar Mango Chilli Pickle, Patak’s Indian Style Mango Pickle and Patak’s Major Gray Chutney. Naan bread (Whole Foods). Raita (Greek yogurt with chopped scallions and sliced radishes). Salt peanuts for garnish. Icy ale for HG, Cotes du Rhone red wine for BSK. Lebanese halvah for dessert. Vij has a recipe for “halwa” composed of carrots, green cardamom seeds and brown sugar. No thanks. HG will go with the Middle East on this dessert.

All the people who assist HG/BSK in keeping their New Mexico compound safe, clean, verdant and orderly are Latino. Most have relatives in Mexico and have retained their affection for the culture of that country. HG/BSK’s group are hardworking folk with lots of energy and skills. HG grew up at a time when Mexicans were characterized as lazy. There were cheap little artifacts (possibly manufactured in Japan) that showed a Mexican (cactus in the background) snoozing under a giant sombrero. When asked to do something, the Mexican (a product of racist fantasy) would reply: “Mañana, Mañana.” Of course, this sort of hate and denigration has not disappeared from the Land of the Brave, Free and Racist. Witness Der Trumperer and The Great Wall designed to keep out Mexican drug dealers, rapers and murderers. In the meantime, HG enjoys and respects HG/BSK’s latino and Latina helpers and friends. And, here’s a grace note. Tonight, HG/BSK dined on the best pork tamales in the world gifted by a Latina friend. Some weeks ago, the woman presented HG with a big pot of home made menudo, the Mexican tripe and chile stew that is an HG addiction. Viva Mexico y Nuevo Mexico!!!!

Yes, irony rules. On the day Der Trumperer made his misguided and dangerous announcement concerning Jerusalem, BSK made a traditional Middle Eastern dinner. (No, BSK hadn’t planned it. Just worked out that way). BSK formed nine kefta. These are mainstays of Middle East street food. Ground lamb is mixed with chopped garlic, onions, parsley and mint. Then formed into cigar shaped burgers and grilled. (BSK adds to the flavor mix by adding browned pignolia nuts). Side dishes were Israeli couscous and chopped baby spinach prepared Moroccan style (enlivened with bits of preserved lemon). HG prepared an HG specialty: Greek yogurt and sour cream mixed with olive oil, lemon juice, sumac, cumin, zaatar, sea salt and black pepper. Dessert was Lebanese pistachio halvah. Peace and culinary joy in the HG/BSK home. Wish the same for the Middle East.

Palestinian women demonstration against the Israeli occupation one day before the international women day, in front of Qalandiya military checkpoint, West Bank, March 7, 2015. The annual march was repressed by the Israeli army.

“Comfort Food” is often used as a description by restaurant critics, food writers, cookbook authors, television personalities and food bloggers. Very little of what they describe as “comfort food” — Mac & Cheese, Chicken & Dumplings, Meatloaf — actually conveys comfort to HG. Someone who knows a great deal about true comfort food is BSK. The creative woman explores the freezer, the refrigerator and the pantry. Comes up with wonderful, warming creations that delight HG and wrap the old guy in a warm cocoon that can only be described as “comfort”. Here are some of BSK’s creations: Linguine in a sauce of tomatoes, jarred Spanish tuna, olive oil, garlic, capers, Aleppo pepper. A kiss from the sea. Ottogi instant congee with frozen sea scallops, garlic, mushroom boullion and sprinkles of peanuts. Shakshuka, that Middle East culinary dream of sautéed onions, peppers, tomatoes and zucchini topped with soft poached eggs. HG contributes a sauce of Greek yogurt and sour cream mixed with a melange of spices including cumin, sumac, garlic powder, Berbere pepper, zaatar, sea salt, olive oil and lemon juice. Nights in New Mexico are getting chilly. Jack Frost waits in the wings. But, in Casa HG/BSK, comfort reigns.