Wow, what a week in Portland. It was non-stop meeting to lunch to meeting to seminar to meeting, and it was pretty amazing. I met some fascinating people who are doing such cool work in the food world, and I can’t wait to see them all again next year in Austin.
On Wednesday afternoon, late after a meeting with the boss, I missed the beginning of the 3-hour seminar I was supposed to attend, which was actually just fine by me because it meant I could steal away for an hour or so to Powell’s Books, just a few blocks away in downtown Portland. Powell’s is a mecca for bibliophiles like me–it’s the largest bookstore in the world that combines new and used books, and it takes up a whole city block. So I switched from slacks and heels to jeans and sneakers to walk over and get lost in the stacks of cookbooks.
I found some truly wonderful books (packing to come home became something of an issue) like one of Gourmet’s first cookbooks from 1950, a really cool book on canning and preserving the produce of Hawaii and a 70’s era reproduction of the very first Fannie Farmer edition. As I was checking out, I wondered aloud to the guy at the counter if they had a Hawaiian Cooking section I might have missed. He said, ‘oh, yeah! Come, follow me,’ and led me to a little shelf at the back of the regional section, a good 2 feet above my eye level. I set down my stack of books and pulled over a ladder. In the middle of the shelf was a pretty green book, the kind put out by associations of women or charity leagues, and this one was titled “We, The Women of Hawaii.” It came out in 1986, the year I turned one, and was compiled by a group of influential women in Honolulu social scene. I found a list of contributors on the inside cover, and there in bold print was my grandma’s name! What a rock star!
When I got home yesterday, the first thing I did was sit down on the couch with a cup of tea and flip through the pages to find the recipes with ‘Amy Matsuda’ printed in the margins next to the text. I should have known–her recipes in the book were her two most famous specialties, cream puffs and oatmeal cookies. They’re legends in the family, and apparently they were known outside the Matsuda household too. Grandma’s oatmeal cookies are super special, and totally unlike the doughy soft raisiney things you most often find. These are crisp and thin, almost wafers, with brown sugar and vanilla, and the taste of oats in the starring role. Perfect with coffee, delicious with ice cream, these guys are snacked on any time of day, so the cookie jar never stays full for long. As for the crumbs at the bottom of the jar, the crushed cookies make an amazing cheesecake or pie crust–substitute the oatmeal cookies for graham crackers and you’ve got a hearty, crunchy crust. Grandma’s original recipe makes about 8 dozen cookies, which is perfectly practical if your house is full of 6 kids and 14 grandkids like hers. For my somewhat smaller household, I’ve halved the recipe and made a couple of small changes. Don’t worry, I have Grandma’s approval.
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Every Easter weekend growing up, Mom and I celebrated with her circle of artist friends with an amazing feast. These women, weavers, sculptors, paper makers, fiber artists, taught me the beauty and thrill of making by hand. These stunning Easter eggs are a perfect example–the dramatic amber color comes from a dye of onion skins, saved from New Year’s day to April, and a resist technique creates the delicate graphic designs on the surface. As a little girl, I was responsible for picking ferns and leaves from the garden outside, while all the women in attendance had to bring their old stockings & nylons (pre-washed, please!) to sacrifice to the scissors. We use the delicate stretchy mesh to secure the leaves and petals on the eggs while they sit in the dye. Fishnets make some great chain-link designs, by the way. Instead of hiding these garnet-colored beauties, we proudly display them at each place setting to whet the appetite for the five course dinner to come. Here in Downtown LA, I not only lack a garden — I can’t even keep anything alive in my windowsill. However, I think I did pretty well with simple parsley leaves and the tops from carrots I got in my weekly CSA box, fresh from the farm.
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Poke (poke-EH) is a Hawaiian staple food and one of my all-time favorite edible items. In the world. It’s a preparation as old as the Native Hawaiian population in the islands. Hundreds of years ago, the Hawaiians used to season their fish with limu (seaweed) and the pink Alae salt that’s unique to the islands. Now, recipes like this one incorporate ingredients from Asia (sesame oil, soy sauce), the Americas (tomatoes) and sometimes even Europe, in what some Island folks call “dakine new age poke.” There are a million variations, and as long as you have enough seasoning and very fresh fish, you’re guaranteed a delicious dish, so experiment away–especially if you have 40+ pounds to get through! Here’s one to start with.
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I’m in a weird state of mind today, kinda foggy, definitely sleepy, slightly ambivalent, very lazy. There are about 100 million boring things I ought to be doing. The desire not to do what I’m supposed to do is so strong that I’m getting agitated. Ugh, world, why do you want me to do filing?! Indexing, answering email?! Seriously.
So instead of sitting here staring at my to-do list (as I am currently doing), I decided to busy my hands a little and make something. A pickle, to deal with the pickle I’m in today. (I’m so witty.)
I grew up with Tsukemono, little Japanese quick pickles, at the start of many, many meals. These little cucumber lovelies are made in just over an hour, pretty much instant-gratification pickles–just my speed today–and are pretty much meant to be served on the day they’re prepared. They’re cheap, deliciously refreshing, and a great little salad/snack for a hot August afternoon. Highly recommended with a little sake OOH, or a very cold, dry Riesling. That would be delish. In fact, that’s a great idea…
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