Black Orchids and Corned-Beef Hash

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPhdrmZIG0XY4OOuatpNaQP7GEaaosi8nJIBpNXHsAGkNwVJRZtXqh31XMRpZM9nLCwA4FMIeW0rjz5Bp2mefuRRSYJhsvzwzCnnXC5NrmChXWlw4mJt85SaygCpOkbsDqe19nF7knQZrx/s1600/orchid.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505784121708620226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPhdrmZIG0XY4OOuatpNaQP7GEaaosi8nJIBpNXHsAGkNwVJRZtXqh31XMRpZM9nLCwA4FMIeW0rjz5Bp2mefuRRSYJhsvzwzCnnXC5NrmChXWlw4mJt85SaygCpOkbsDqe19nF7knQZrx/s400/orchid.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 366px;" /></a>Nero Wolfe had unusual taste. He grew orchids and experimented with recipes that by modern standards (and probably also those of his own time) were plebeian. In <span style="font-style: italic;">Black Orchids</span>, exotic black orchids serve as a backdrop to murder, and excite a weak point in the sort-of infallible detective.<br /><br />I don't even know if there's such a thing as a black orchid: the few plants that Nero Wolfe obtained were unique in the whole world so I guess Rex Stout didn't really think there were any. I think orchids look more like the ones in the Botanical Gardens near Hilo that I photographed a few years ago. Nero Wolfe loved the rarity, and for that was willing to do detective work that he might otherwise scorn. He spent a good part of each day in his orchid greenhouses, which play a role in every Nero Wolfe mystery I've read thus far.<br /><br />Wolfe was willing to go the extra bit for a recipe (in some books, more than a bit). I find it odd that the recipes in the books I've read are not in the least what I would call an exotic. In the book <span style="font-style: italic;">Black Orchids</span>, the great and large detective is seeking<span style="font-style: italic;"></span> a recipe for a perfect corned-beef hash. Lowly corned-beef hash. If it wasn't lowly, why would a cheap restaurant be called a hash house? Well, that's my opinion, not the master's.<br /><br />Nero Wolfe was delighted when a southern belle named Maryella revealed the secret ingredient for corned beef hash to Wolfe and his cook Fritz. She came into the kitchen (she was involved with some quite dubious characters, but pure, and coming in because she was a witness to something in a case). She leaned over. She peered into the bowl where Wolfe's hands were about to go into a corned-beef mixture and --<br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><span style="font-size:100%;">"Excuse me," she said... "but corned beef hash is one of my specialties. Nothing in there but meat, is there?"<br /><br />"As you see," Wolfe grunted.<br /><br />Wolfe scowled at her. I [that's Archie, Wolfe's sidekick and the narrator] could see he was torn with conflicting emotions. A female in his kitchen was an outrage. A woman criticizing his or Fritz's cooking was an insult. But corned beef hash was one of life's toughest problems, never yet solved by anyone. To tone down the corned flavor and yet preserve its unique quality, to remove the curse of its dryness without making it greasy -- the theories and experiments had gone on for years. He scowled at her, but he didn't order her out. ...<br /><br />"Now you just calm down." Maryella's hand was on his arm. "It's not ruined, only it's better if it's coarser. That's far too much potatoes for that meat. But if you don't have chitlins you cant ---"<br /><br />"Chitlins," Wolfe bellowed.<br /><br />Maryella nodded. "Fresh pig chitlins. That's the secret of it. Fried shallow in olive oil with onion juice."</span></blockquote>So the secret ingredient in the plebeian corned-beef hash is the even more plebeian chitlins. Corned-beef hash one of life's toughest problems? Chitlins a cosmic solution? Is Rex Stout playing a joke on all his readers? The book was written before I was born, so I think the cultural and food environment has changed so much that I might never know.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzQ78hZMP6BhJJctBV6k7kLQfuJCRievmqyTXXvHgi550IOmlugFPWDq2Q8rXGGeDq3RXVRRT5x5acIyRnfcnxdApqQaICP-GpajTyxRLebAbKZPuGjmkaJ6VHsGa7vuiwFAxDTTt8OQOZ/s1600/wolfe-toon.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505784130106503634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzQ78hZMP6BhJJctBV6k7kLQfuJCRievmqyTXXvHgi550IOmlugFPWDq2Q8rXGGeDq3RXVRRT5x5acIyRnfcnxdApqQaICP-GpajTyxRLebAbKZPuGjmkaJ6VHsGa7vuiwFAxDTTt8OQOZ/s400/wolfe-toon.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 380px;" /></a>At least one other blogger has commented on Nero Wolfe and his recipes, mentioning a cookbook dedicated to the detective's culinary creations. This blogger even found the delightful cartoon. See: <a href="http://somecamerunning.typepad.com/some_came_running/2009/10/saturday-brunch-and-my-latest-get-rich-quick-scheme.html">Some Came Running...</a><br /><br />As the blog author wrote: "I can still envision the comic possibilities inherent in the spectacle of my cleaning several pounds of pig chitlins for homemade corned-beef hash."

Black Orchids and Corned-Beef Hash

Nero Wolfe had unusual taste. He grew orchids and experimented with recipes that by modern standards (and probably also those of his own tim...

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Making a Daube (or Stew)

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/4889758808/" title="daube2 by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img alt="daube2" height="500" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4082/4889758808_f49a88cb5a.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />Daube is one of our favorite French dishes.<br /><br />This week, Michigan veal was available. I bought a shank that had been sliced with the bone in, and I further cut it into small pieces. I browned it, added vegetables, herbs and a piece of orange rind, simmered, overnight aged it, and then baked it for dinner. The orange rind adds something essential. My friend Michelle showed me how to make this in her kitchen in Provence.<br /><br />The marrow from inside the bones was really delicious. What fun!

Making a Daube (or Stew)

Daube is one of our favorite French dishes. This week, Michigan veal was available. I bought a shank that had been sliced with the bone in, ...

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Deep Fried at the Indiana State Fair

Deep fried butter, deep fried Oreos, deep fried Pepsi, deep fried peanut butter cups, Krispy Kreme burgers ...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLDZHW1xa8Cwfi8wuSqL12B9eAnlEoNkR5GAVY4feyfRxlAKZrnrhX6IyeRT6PURB-YZ123C5gQ8icULiOnb5efZBvVRd92KiOvNhhZgV2iHsYT2FDGevrnUE0zVOAnwTl8S7C8lwxqOmV/s1600/deepfried2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504128508298983138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLDZHW1xa8Cwfi8wuSqL12B9eAnlEoNkR5GAVY4feyfRxlAKZrnrhX6IyeRT6PURB-YZ123C5gQ8icULiOnb5efZBvVRd92KiOvNhhZgV2iHsYT2FDGevrnUE0zVOAnwTl8S7C8lwxqOmV/s400/deepfried2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwN_1HiAwHQJUxzhswCIV7r9JdQ5VynbHlk7MPvF5Ab_Yv-Ie60omu6TLX8lhPc8X824jgOm5Janx8cSPrAcdFjh4-yISZ21N0HZXnuIhB623Yspne23EIC_D05253Zl65peczs25tkm3u/s1600/deepfried3.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504128521272993970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwN_1HiAwHQJUxzhswCIV7r9JdQ5VynbHlk7MPvF5Ab_Yv-Ie60omu6TLX8lhPc8X824jgOm5Janx8cSPrAcdFjh4-yISZ21N0HZXnuIhB623Yspne23EIC_D05253Zl65peczs25tkm3u/s400/deepfried3.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 308px; height: 400px;" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzOVrNG2i2QvDH5YjeuaN5sE9piI_JqgSWMLVMHDFPXUksVSw1V-MiKwy_H9cE9mAA40wQxHb1ASf5bEAcoUOOM62m6lxPXxrsUKKYqLyjyoEBryfDJ7o0WinriUPvrJhMtScZeTwLJ5R/s1600/deepfried1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504128504775138994" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPzOVrNG2i2QvDH5YjeuaN5sE9piI_JqgSWMLVMHDFPXUksVSw1V-MiKwy_H9cE9mAA40wQxHb1ASf5bEAcoUOOM62m6lxPXxrsUKKYqLyjyoEBryfDJ7o0WinriUPvrJhMtScZeTwLJ5R/s400/deepfried1.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 240px;" /></a><br />Jim Venable, a friend of my sister's, sent me these photos of the Indiana State Fair showing Deep Fried Everything. In contrast, a hospital had a booth encouraging people to eat more healthy food!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bcwJBF97s8vh-F419XCBr_qdw1Xgws3LkCMiqjMe9Eey3sIrl6ykM56ViPL50qfdx84cEdCDPn1M0pzYEnHE3QlljLVBKzGKAZlWR9mcGMwORAlDNJTC5x3fuSPKFl2Wx9Wj_BtqSNx-/s1600/deepfried4.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504128525511698050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bcwJBF97s8vh-F419XCBr_qdw1Xgws3LkCMiqjMe9Eey3sIrl6ykM56ViPL50qfdx84cEdCDPn1M0pzYEnHE3QlljLVBKzGKAZlWR9mcGMwORAlDNJTC5x3fuSPKFl2Wx9Wj_BtqSNx-/s400/deepfried4.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br /> <br />Jim wrote:<br /><blockquote>"St Vincent’s did have a large presence at the fair. Which we thought was somewhat ironic given the lack of healthy food. There was one food vendor that offered salads, vegetable kabobs and some low fat turkey sandwiches. Everything else was typical fair fare.<br /><br />"We started the day healthy with salads and veggies. We were good. But we did allow ourselves to sample the temptations of the deep fried world."</blockquote>

Deep Fried at the Indiana State Fair

Deep fried butter, deep fried Oreos, deep fried Pepsi, deep fried peanut butter cups, Krispy Kreme burgers ... Jim Venable, a friend of my s...

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Chicago Dining

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12003515@N05/4876644747/" title="chicagofood by mesander2000, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/4876644747_c92aac1d99_b.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Mercat a la Planxa restaurant is nearly across the street from the Chicago Institute of Arts. They specialize in tapas. We had several marvelous dishes: garlic shrimp, jamon serrano; white anchovies with pancetta, goat cheese and pine nuts on flatbread; saffron noodles with clams and squid, lamb brochettes, and green bean salad. It's a mystery to me (and to others I know) why tapas actually seem better in the US than in some parts of Spain. The waitress pointed out that their style is Catalan, which is probably better. Every bite was delicious. I definitely have some experimenting to do -- some of the dishes could probably be recreated in my kitchen. I already have a recipe for garlic shrimp.<br /><br />Breakfast was at Yolk, which is closer to the Field Museum where we were heading on Sunday morning. In the corner of the collage you can see my waffle with yogurt, granola, and strawberries and a glimpse of Len's French Toast.

Chicago Dining

Mercat a la Planxa restaurant is nearly across the street from the Chicago Institute of Arts. They specialize in tapas. We had several marve...

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Chicago

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMM64NPq699c9vamlTi1vFEzl3ytskYhk_VXDzqjrimhhCs7QcbxFGr9Nm7A_VNEa84mqnN7dtIJ48WR_LU_M3LYDNSt-okJp-Or-QcQTFU9i3qZj3OxmLSLhRgZvsQtLU4qP5hQqR9uZO/s1600/chicago+3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503472472977680770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMM64NPq699c9vamlTi1vFEzl3ytskYhk_VXDzqjrimhhCs7QcbxFGr9Nm7A_VNEa84mqnN7dtIJ48WR_LU_M3LYDNSt-okJp-Or-QcQTFU9i3qZj3OxmLSLhRgZvsQtLU4qP5hQqR9uZO/s400/chicago+3.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 321px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />We spent 24 hours in Chicago this weekend, driving back and forth from Michigan. Saturday afternoon, we took our time looking at many art works at the Chicago Art Institute. Meanwhile, outside, a rock festival was raging. I remembered many of the art works in the museum from earlier trips, especially the famous icons of Impressionism, but the above image by Van Gough impressed me enormously, and I didn't really recall seeing these "Drinkers" before.<br /><br />This one also impressed me:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYEcYGJTdBR4V5SvPnrfhJ90xu4oyYpvIjuSI3h5cezu3Ze7H5mwJZZOmSpiyqduJTWMh2Zn_7Sy6Y4xJnOYXeaDY05qxJFdSehcSsKa8NSgq5Sp-eDjiwbYaSwBwqEIMUvnKIOfB9k-K/s1600/chicago+11.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503473212961947890" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYEcYGJTdBR4V5SvPnrfhJ90xu4oyYpvIjuSI3h5cezu3Ze7H5mwJZZOmSpiyqduJTWMh2Zn_7Sy6Y4xJnOYXeaDY05qxJFdSehcSsKa8NSgq5Sp-eDjiwbYaSwBwqEIMUvnKIOfB9k-K/s400/chicago+11.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />This is a section of a painting of a feast by El Greco. The food on the table looks mighty small for a feast. I wonder how that relates to the recent finding by Brian Wansink that the amount of food in paintings of the Last Supper has constantly increased in major depictions over the years. That result: "portion size, plate size, and bread size increased dramatically over the last one thousand years." (<a href="http://www.mindlesseating.org/lastsupper/">See this</a>.)<br /><br />Later, I'll add more about the trip, especially about what we ate and our visit to the Field Museum of Natural History.

Chicago

We spent 24 hours in Chicago this weekend, driving back and forth from Michigan. Saturday afternoon, we took our time looking at many art wo...

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Famine? Scarcity?

The top story in the <span style="font-style:italic;">New York Times</span> today is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/06/world/europe/06russia.html?hp">Russia Bans Grain Exports After Drought Shrivels Crop.</a> Commodity prices are usually not at the top of my interests. Like most Americans, I assume that prices will vary, but that food will always be affordable, and I don't think about global issues of famine or scarcity. Will all of us become more conscious of these issues as the climate -- both physical and political -- creates new problems of supply of foodstuffs? The article begins with these grim paragraphs:<br /><blockquote><span style="font-size:85%;">Russia banned all exports of grain on Thursday after millions of acres of wheat withered in a severe drought, a portentous decision at a time when crop failures caused by heat and flooding span the northern hemisphere.<br /><br />Russia’s prime minister, Vladimir V. Putin, announced the ban, from Aug. 15 to Dec. 31, saying it was necessary to curb rising prices for food inside Russia, one of the world’s largest wheat exporters, which is suffering the hottest temperatures recorded since record-keeping began more than 130 years ago. Rail cars heaped with fresh grain were already grinding to a halt around Russia, stopped in mid-harvest, and mid-journey from the country’s vast and iconic wheat fields to the main grain exporting ports on the Black Sea.<br /><br />The decision caused an immediate and sharp rise in the already high global price of wheat. It rose more than 8 percent in early trading on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday, after having increased about 90 percent since June because of the drought in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and parts of the European Union, and floods in Canada.</span></blockquote>

Famine? Scarcity?

The top story in the New York Times today is Russia Bans Grain Exports After Drought Shrivels Crop. Commodity prices are usually not at th...

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"Food, Inc."

<img alt="http://www.foodincmovie.com/img/site/movie_poster-large.jpg" src="http://www.foodincmovie.com/img/site/movie_poster-large.jpg" /><br /><br />We finally watched "Food, Inc." I've read way too many of the sources to find it surprising -- especially Michael Pollan's books and articles. Despite my familiarity with many of the details, I found many really good issues discussed in it. Impressive: seeing moving pictures of feedlots, CAFOs, slaughterhouses, chicken houses for hundreds of thousands of chickens, and farmers ruined by Monsanto.<br /><br />I don't like extremists or fanatics, so I would have liked to see a broader range of organic farmers and innovators against mass production. I am suspicious of the claim that Joel Salatin's methods can scale upwards. And I'm ultra-skeptical about the interview with the CEO of Stonybrook Farms (now part of a big agriculture corp) and his pride in the mass-market organic yogurt sold at WalMart. But I have a distrust of hippies who got rich on their hipness, which might be misplaced.<br /><br />In general, I wish the authors had a vision for how to feed all the people on earth without some of the mass market methods. This is an issue that's frequently avoided. Yes, we put Mexican corn farmers out of business with cheap corn and NAFTA. And it was bad for their economy. What next?<br /><br />I think my shopping habits already conform to the authors' goals (and yes, I know not everyone can afford to shop the way they suggest). But I think the points about the food industry, lack of regulation, persecution of farmers (such as those who re-use seeds and are pursued by Monsanto), and the corruption of the regulatory process are all very important.<br /><br />Lenny says the "veggie libel" laws are the worst offense revealed in the film. That term refers to laws that prevent people from criticizing foods, food manufacturers, or growing processes; a set of related laws also prevent people from suing food industries when they are harmed. Oprah's successful defense against being sued for libel against hamburgers around 15 years ago is the best-known example.<br /><br />On the whole: good film.

"Food, Inc."

We finally watched "Food, Inc." I've read way too many of the sources to find it surprising -- especially Michael Pollan's...

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