The Perfect Score

As any line cook can attest, health inspections are a dreaded, though ultimately inevitable part of life in the biz. While passing is the ultimate goal, kitchens take pride in their health department scores, and every restaurant strives for that ever elusive perfect score. Every cook is terrified that the negative points will fall on his or her station, and there is always the somewhat shabby looking cook that everyone hopes is on his day off when the health inspector shows up.
While any reputable establishment operates up to code on a constant basis, the surprise inspection usually sets a kitchen abuzz with efforts to woo the health inspector. A hush falls over the line while thermometers are repositioned and double checked; ice baths are refreshed; burners are turned to high; fresh towels are donned; and bleach buckets are tested. Normally boastful and busy cooks avert their eyes and hide in walk ins, risking starting service in the weeds just to avoid being the reason points are docked. And the chef or sous chef puts on a fresh apron and parades the inspector around the kitchen, speaking loudly to warn others of their approach. A cunning guide can divert the inspector's attention just long enough for a temperature to be adjusted or a ponytail retied. When the inspector retires to the dining room to write his report, everyone exhales in unison, and the kitchen cacophony and organized chaos ensues.
As a newly appointed sous chef, at a newly opened cafe, it felt like all eyes were on me this morning when the health inspector arrived. I frantically mouthed, "put your hair up!" to every cashier as she clocked in. I handed gloves and aprons to all the cooks, and began wiping counters like my life depended on it. When asked how we chill down our soups, I spouted off every health code regulation I could think of, some not relating to chilling soup at all.

And when the report was handed in....

100%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A score that is unheard of, unattainable, only spoken of in urban restaurant myths. I danced in the dish pit, and told the cooks to address me as "Hundred". I could keep my job, the cafe could stay open, and I would go down in history as the sous chef who scored 100% on her first health inspection. I could retire now and be satisfied with my career in the restaurant industry. I will never forget this day:)

Pasta Salad: a breakdown

I love pasta salad. I always have, and I always will. It is a perfect meal in a bowl, complete with multiple textures, flavors, and colors. It is the perfect vehicle for leftovers, and can be made vegan, vegetarian, or full of meat. When I'm feeling down, too lazy to cook, or in the mood for some "me" time, pasta salad is my go to dinner. Call my dependence what you will, pasta salad has come to my rescue too many time to count. Here's a couple of my favorite renditions:

Classico
1 lb pasta
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1 cucumber, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 head broccoli, chopped into florets
i can black olives, sliced
1 avocado, chopped
leftover chicken, cubed (optional)
Italian salad dressing, to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. During the last two mintues, add broccoli florets to boiling water. When pasta is cooked, drain and chill under cold running water. Combine with remaining ingredients, and enjoy!

Pasta Salad with tomatoes and oregano
1 lb pasta
4 oz mozzarella cheese, cubed
4 oz sun dried tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh oregano, chopped
2 T capers, drained
red wine vinegar
olive oil
salt, pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and cool under cold running water. Combine tomatoes, oregano, capers, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper in a blender until smooth. Toss with pasta. Stir in cheese. Enjoy!

Green Pasta Salad
1 lb pasta
1 bunch kale, chopped
4 oz mozzarella or ricotta salata, cubed
1 avocado, chopped
juice of 2 lemons
2 T sesame oil
toasted sesame seeds, to taste
salt, to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and chill under cold running water. Combine kale, salt, and lemon juice. Work kale with your hands or with a spoon until it starts to wilt. Combine with pasta, cheese, avocado, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Enjoy!

Lacto-Fermentation follow up

One of my readers left a comment on my previous post. My response comment turned into a blog entry in itself, so I thought I'd share it with everyone...

Jessica wrote:

So cool! Wish I was around for that canning partay!! So, you said that the canned food is pretty much dead...so there's little or no nutritional value? I thought the point was that it was still really good for you?



Leta said...

Thanks for the comment Jessica! Your thoughts about canning show how far removed our culture has become from the necessities of food preservation. We are lucky enough to live in a time and a place that allows us to have fresh food readily available all year round. Grocery stores also stock preserved food, so the need for us to preserve our own has become obsolete. Traditionally, back in olden times, food preservation was a necessary skill for survival during the Winter, as well as ensuring that harvests didn't go to waste. If we truly lived off of only what we could produce (ie raising livestock and growing fruits and vegetables) the "point" of canning would be simply to preserve the Spring and Summer harvests from rotting, and ensuring that we has something to eat during the Winter when the ground is frozen and nothing fresh will grow.


The process of canning food involves involves heat. The heat is used to create an airtight seal on the can to protect the can from bacteria infestation, and therefore preserving the contents for a long period of time without the use of refrigeration. The heat is also there to kill any bacteria that may be currently living on or around the can and its contents, so once sealed, the contents within the can are bacteria free, and protected from any outside bacteria in the future thanks to the seal.


Unfortunately, heat also kills any good bacteria, namely lacto-bacteria that aides our digestion and promotes overall digestive health. Heating food can also deplete it of its own nutrients. The seal also prevents any future good bacteria from interacting with the contents of the can. Basically, whatever nutritional value the food in the can has upon being sealed, is what it will have upon being opened. Heat treated food sealed in an airtight container will never have as much nutrients as something picked fresh that day.


Lacto-fermentation, while not adding any nutrients to the food, encourages the growth of good bacteria, making the food "alive" with bacteria that can aid in digestion and overall health. The vegetables are also not heat treated, so although they are not fresh, have been able to retain some of their nutrients that are present in their fresh, raw state.






So, to sum up. All of these methods are not done because they are "good for you", they are done so that we can eat cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, berries, and other fruits and vegetables in January. The method that is used to preserve the food fresh food that is most definitely good for you can determine just how "good for you" that food will be come January.


On another note, I cracked into my lacto-fermented cucumbers yesterday. They are definitely an acquired taste and texture experience. Through the fermentation process the liquid they are in has become carbonated. It was basically like eating a pickle and drinking soda water at the same time. I didn't get sick though, which means the process successfully kept bad bacteria out, and the carbonation means the good bacteria is present. Not sure if this is my new food of choice, but I'm happy that it worked! We'll see if my digestion improves as well:)

Pickling, Canning and Lacto-Fermentation

When my life seems to be moving at an uncontrollable pace, or in a direction where the future is uncertain, I always turn to food for comfort. Those closest to me know that a couch, sweatpants, a giant bowl of pasta, and an episode of Jersey Shore is sometimes just what the doctor ordered. There are also times when a food project does the trick. And lucky for my readers, my food projects make for more interesting blog posts than my couch potato sessions.

My latest project has been an ongoing discovery into the world of pickling, canning, and lacto-fermentation. Thanks to my local library, a friendly teacher, local eateries, friends, family and an abundant late-summer harvest, I have successfully canned tomato sauce, pickled green beans and cucumbers, preserved cherry tomatoes and zucchini in oil, and am watching the magic of fermentation take place in some jars filled with cucumbers and green beans.

freshly jarred awaiting fermentation

A recent ladies' night produced vibrant jars of canned tomato sauce and cucumber pickles, as well as an epic mess in the kitchen and a record number of empty red wine bottles. We used heat and a water bath to ensure safety, as well as seal our cans from air and potential contamination. The cans can be stored almost anywhere and will keep for a very long time. Once opened the airtight seal is  broken, and the food inside will have to be consumed, or stored in a refrigerator. The food inside the cans, while tasty is pretty much "dead", with less nutritional value than their fresh counterparts.

cucumber pickles and tomato sauce

Ladies' night, some research and volunteering, and a unexpected, but very welcome harvest donation inspired an attempt at lacto-fermentation. While canning refers to sealing a jar airtight, and pickling refers to preserving food in vinegar, lacto-fermentation invites the air in, and can include any number of preservation agents. Lacto-fermentation allows the naturally occuring lactic acid found in vegetables to interact with the yeast in the air to create a fermentation process that retains nutrients, invites the addition of healthy bacteria (the same stuff that is all the rage in yogurt commercials on TV right now), and create a unique flavor, like a traditional pickle, but not quite. Lacto-fermentation is just one of the very, very old and traditional ways of preserving fruits and vegetables. While canning and heat processing destroys and depleats nutrients, lacto-fermenting preserves nutrients and creates digestion-aiding byproducts. With our modern preservation, processing, and cooking methods, we are consuming very few active cultures that aid in digestion, and promote our bodies' ability to defend itself from harmful bacteria and foods. And it's just plain cool to conduct and actual science experiment in my own kitchen!

cloudy fermentation magic

My next project will probably be homemade yogurt. And with a little fundraising and maybe a visit from Santa Claus, I will continue to delve into the world of old-timey food preservation.

If you'd like to learn more, or think I'm nuts, check out these more reliable sources, as well as other preservation-aholics:
MIX Magazine's article on Portland's passion for pickling
Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning by Deborah Madison
Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz
A plate of homemade pickles by Olympic Provisions:

Pickled beets, zucchini, onions and gherkins. Bread from Little T American Bakery

August Eats

August in food...