The Kitchen Knife: A Basic Primer
Chef Melinda Casady, co-founder of Portland’s Culinary Workshop, demonstrates an “a to z” host of knife techniques working with a 10″ chef knife. If you are only going to own one good kitchen knife, Casady recommends using the 10″ knife as the one all-purpose kitchen knife.
A Modern Blacksmith Making Ancient Japanese Culinary Knives
Arnon Kartmazov of Bridgetown Forge works all day on his feet. Like the traditional blacksmith of old, he forges steel, repeatedly pounding and pressing a heated steel mass with his might and swiftness into conforming shape. One of those feet stands solidly in the modern smithing world that relies less on physical might, and more on mental acuity and modern equipment to accomplish the same goal: reshaping raw steel into a finished object of beauty and purpose, form that follows function. “So, if I have to use something entirely modern I will use that. If I have to use a technique which is a few thousand years old, I will use that too,” says Kartmazov.
Handcrafted Forged Chef Knives
Arnon Kartmazov of Bridgetown Forge shows us some of the handcrafted knives that he has produced in his blacksmith shop, and talks about their unique characteristics. These knives contain two different metals forged together to bring together the best of two different worlds. Soft steel is used on the back of the knife’s blade for the desired characteristics of flexibility and softness, while the blades cutting edge is made out of hardened steel to retain a more durable sharpness. As Kartmazov demonstrates through his finished body of work, art and functionality are fused together into one; these exquisite looking kitchen knives are built to perform well, and last over time.
Coming Next: Cookies
- Tuesday
Mary O’Rourke of The Waffle Window shares one of her favorite family Christmas cookie recipes that consists of 3 simple ingredients, easy to make, and is even gluten free! - Wednesday
After realizing she was gluten intolerant, Mieka Johnson was hard pressed to find store bought pastries and fresh baked goods that were gluten-free, but also tasted good. So, she and her husband, Caleb, ventured out to create a 100% gluten free bakery that not only appealed to those who had to eat gluten free foods, but also for the average eater who was not gluten intolerant. The result was Tula Gluten Free Bakery Cafe, a bakery with products she could enjoy herself, along with her customers on both sides of the gluten and gluten-free aisles. - Thursday
Baking cookies is a favorite activity for many families during the winter holidays and we asked long time baker and pastry chef Mary O’Rourke what she thought makes a good cookie.
The Weekly Roundup
- Two models for rooftop agriculture vie to feed the Big Apple (Sierra)
- Brussels Sprouts and Chorizo Pizza (Homegrown)
- A national park, an oyster farm, and science (NY Times)
The battle continues over the closure of Drake’s Bay Oyster Farm in Northern California. - In good times and bad, healthy soil management (NSAC)
- Teenage poultry farmer dishes straight talk (Denver Post)
“People all say words like ‘farm fresh,’ ‘sustainability,’ but they don’t want to actually pay for what it actually costs me to make it. Almost everyone tries to talk me into lowering my price or asks me to give my eggs away for free.” - Lovin Oven (Lisaruth Creates)
Bay Area woman offers free bread-making classes. - Cornstalks everywhere, but nothing else, not even a bee (NPR)
Artist goes around the world building clear cubes around sections of farmland, then takes pictures of every plant and animal he finds. Unsurprisingly, he found that pesticide-laden farmland in Iowa is virtually devoid of life. - What happens if machines replace human tea pickers? (BBC)
- Gourmet Mac and Cheese (Cooking Up a Story on YouTube)
- Tasty, local tomatoes in winter, thanks to greenhouses (NPR)
- World record for rice paddy production held by sustainable farmer in India (Independent Science News)
- Medieval Meal: Chicken and Quince, Baghdad, 833 AD (Zester)
- Guide to Asian Vegetables (CUESA)
- 11 Cinnamon Roll Recipes (Serious Eats)
Sweet, caramel, Norwegian… - Food banks move focus from filling people to nourishing them (KQED)
- Bronze Age microbrewery uncovered (The Drinks Business)
- White House holiday party will feature recipes from First Lady’s book (Obama Foodarama)