Durian Durian

It's my own personal goal to try every unusual food possible, and thanks to my wonderful friends in Cleveland and access to a fabulous Asian market when I recently visited, I was very fortunate to get to cross some foods off the top of my "extreme foods" list.

Durian is somewhat infamous, at least in the foodie world, thanks to world travellers like Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain. It's something of an extreme fruit that has earned itself, with the help of these chefs, quite a reputation.

You either love it or you hate it. It's delicious or disgusting. In one exerpt from Wikipedia opinions range from one extreme to the other.

While Wallace cautions that "the smell of the ripe fruit is certainly at first disagreeable", later descriptions by westerners are more graphic. British novelist Anthony Burgess writes that eating durian is "like eating sweet raspberry blancmange in the lavatory."[24] Chef Andrew Zimmern compares the taste to "completely rotten, mushy onions."[25] Anthony Bourdain, a lover of durian, relates his encounter with the fruit thus: "Its taste can only be described as...indescribable, something you will either love or despise. ...Your breath will smell as if you'd been French-kissing your dead grandmother."[26] Travel and food writer Richard Sterling says:

“ ... its odor is best described as pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock. It can be smelled from yards away. Despite its great local popularity, the raw fruit is forbidden from some establishments such as hotels, subways and airports, including public transportation in Southeast Asia.[27] ”

Other comparisons have been made with the civet, sewage, stale vomit, skunk spray and used surgical swabs.

It just makes you want to dig right in, doesn't it?

After mustering up the courage to try balut, it seems like a piece of cake diving in to durian. Yeah, I was a little uneasy about what I might smell, but it couldn't really taste that bad, right?

I invited friends and family over to give this very unique fruit a try. Would you be surprised if nobody showed up? I wasn't. Most of my friends and family aren't foodies like me, and aren't too keen on sticking weird things in their mouths. My dad is a fanatic like me, and knew what durian was. His response when I told him I got one to try... "You're not right." Needless to say, he wasn't gonna bite.

Ok, so it's just me. Fine. I'll be adventurous all by my self. And I was.

I wasn't sure how to open it, so I just cut the thing in half.
Maybe I won't do it that way next time.

One big yummy chunk. It looks delicious doesn't it?

Shocked at how yummy it is!

Ya gotta eat around the big seed.

It took me no time to finish one whole section. Man, this stuff is good!

 While a lot of people find durian disgusting, I, for one, LOVE durian. It's quickly become my new favorite fruit. Actually I'd say it's a tie between durian, and young coconuts. Both of which I am blessed to have in my refrigerator right now!

As it turns out, I have a Thai durian, which seems to be less fragrant, and sweeter than many other varieties. Because of this, I find it extremely yummy.

Perhaps the best comparison for the flavor is "perfectly caramelized Vidalia onions." It's a little earthy and very sweet. It kind of reminded me of lychee nuts in a way. A fellow Primal aptly described durian as "the cheesecake of fruit" and I wholeheartedly agree. It's so soft and creamy! It's really hard to accurately describe  durian. You really just have to try it for yourself.

Have you ever had durian? Do you love it or hate it, and how would you describe it?

She Ate What!?

Cleveland does rock! Or maybe it had more to do with getting to hang out with Batty & Co. It was a crazy, busy, fantastic, delicious, rockin' time and I loved every minute of it. No... Cleveland itself rocks too. What I saw of it, it was a surprisingly awesome city.

Like most of the rest of my life, it was largely focused on eating really good food. I got spoiled rotten this weekend with deliciousness at the hands of Batty, and I even got to cross some weird-ass foods off my edible bucket list.

Some of you may have come here from Batty's blog, curious to see what the secret snackage was. I'll get to that in a minute. First, let me tell you how they tried to murder me with a bicycle.

Keep in mind I haven't been on a bike in nearly 10 years, so just being able to stay upright was a victory to me. Pile on nearly 50 miles in 2 days. I feel like a superhero for surviving that! It also ignited a desire to start biking here in NY. I'm hooked!

I tell you what, that's the most active I've been in a really long time, and I like it. A lot. It definitely got me thinking about my own habits and what I should be doing for myself. There's also a slight twinge of disappointment that I don't have killer DOMS after the weekend. Maybe I'm a little stronger than I thought.

Ok, ok, I know you want me to get to the good stuff. The eats.

Most of it was pretty "normal"- steak dinner at 56 West (so good!), with some uber-yummy desserts including ice cream at Mitchell's, which is now officially my favorite ice cream shop ever. I had to hit the shop one more time before leaving town to enjoy another delicious sundae. The first time was black raspberry chocolate chunk with hot fudge, and the second I went with dark chocolate coconut frozen yogurt with raspberry sauce. All their stuff is made in-house, including the whipped cream. It's top notch.

Delicious Salad at 56W. Hot bacon dressing made it spectacular.

Amazing flank steak with sweet potato fries, and a yummy mustard dressing.

The prettiest chocolate mousse I've ever eaten.
And that raspberry sauce was amazing.

Mitchell's has the best ice cream ever.
Black raspberry chocolate chunk...
with hot fudge and homemade whipped cream.

Oh, and of course there was THE cheesecake. This is the best cheesecake ever, and all hail Batty for making it. I have requested that she make a crapload of them for BoarFest 2011.

THE Boar Bacon Maple Cheesecake.

I know you want the recipe. You can get that right HERE.

And while spending some time out and about with 216, he took me to the most spectacular Chinese restaurant where I got to try pig intestines for the first time.

Yes, that is pig intestine. It's more delicious than it looks.

Bit by bit I'm eating every part of a pig possible. We also went to my first Asian market where I bought some goodies. After seeing some of my favorite television stars (Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern to name a couple) experience them in their travels, I was giddy to find that I too could take the leap.


Because there was such an overwhelming flood of food and wine this weekend, I didn't get to the durian I had bought, and so I will be doing a special blog post on it alone soon. However, I did get to try...


Balut!

Nom... nom... nom...

So the big question...

"What was it like!?"

I was getting a little nervous...

Not really as gross as it looks.

I'll be honest, it was a little scary at first. Television does a good job of making weird foods a little intimidating, and this was for a minute. Once I bit in though, all fear went away, and my mouth was happy.

Think scrambled eggs, think chicken... and somewhere deep in the middle a little bit of chicken liver.

Forget what it is, or what it looks like. Balut is delicious, and it will be a mandatory treat each time I visit Cleveland.

Next up: Durian! Find out what all the stink is about.

(Sorry... I couldn't help myself.)

Getting It Done

It looks like, along with the Moon, the chaos is waning. It's time for a vacation.

Running around like a crazy person, I wrapped up some projects last night before my impending road trip to Cleveland to visit my dear friend, Batty, and other wicked awesome Primal peeps. It's a much needed break from work, the blog, planning Boarfest and applying for every scholarship under the sun.

I bottled the knotweed and dandelion wines last night. It's hard to say at this point how they'll turn out. They don't seem to be nearly as sweet as I remember homebrew wines being in the past, so it's making me a little nervous. The color is nice. The pink is the knotweed and the yellow is the dandelion. Right now they look a tad murky from the yeast and stuff floating around. Once it settles some I'll re-bottle into actual wine bottles and store them for the next year so that they can further clarify. Right now they're just so pretty though. I do sort of like that "creamy" look to them.

All I can say is, thank goodness for siphons!

My first batch of yogurt is done. There's not a ton of it yet, and not quite picture-worthy. I will be getting to this more in depth in the future, because it could quite possibly turn into a decadent frozen dessert. *nod* *nod*

Besides all that, I've been eating a crap ton of fiddleheads, and am giddy to say that I have a new gentleman in my world- so needless to say I've been a tad bit distracted. Hopefully he'll roll into the weird food fold with ease and embrace the yummy.

Oh yeah, and in case you haven't heard, the Rapture is coming this Saturday. It figures... I'll be in Cleveland.

Well, I suppose I better get the car loaded up and hit the road. Woohoo!

Lotta Culture!

I got fermentation going on like crazy here. After stopping to Tractor Supply, I finally got outside to collect dandelion flowers. The original goal was to get a full bucket. My neighbors were somewhat amused by the very, very large task I had at hand.

A long long way to go.

Unfortunately I only had about an hour to pick flowers, so I ended up with only half a bucket. Picking dandelions is hard work, and I understand now why my mother used to have us kids do all the picking. I need about 50 little hands to help me out. It's easier for kids anyways. They're closer to the ground. Hopefully the wine will still work out, and I might (fingers crossed) have enough time in the season to do a second batch.

Dandelion wine is ridiculously easy to make. I would say you can't mess it up, but apparently my sister did last year, so I'm slightly worried that I might have since I didn't follow my own recipe exactly. My ratios are a bit off. If it turns out I have time to do another batch, I'll be happy if this batch turns into any sort of drinkable booze.

I also picked up an inexpensive siphon at Tractor Supply to re-bottle my dandelion wine and pomegranate wine that I made in previous seasons. I'm a little worried about the pomegranate. I had to sample the wines to see how they came out. It's really tart. REALLY tart. Maybe I can sweeten it with a simple syrup and make sort of a cordial out of it instead. Then it could be used in mixed drinks perhaps. Hmm...

Wine making, redneck style.

So yeah, I have a 5 gallon bucket and a 2 gallon crock in my kitchen, fermenting. You walk in the front door and all you smell is booze. It's wonderful. The ironic part is that I don't really drink. I have 2 wine racks loaded with wine. I guess it's far better to have full bottles than empty ones. I may be giving a lot of these away as gifts in the coming year, or just letting them age gracefully.

By the way, the knotweed wine is smelling wonderful, and is a beautiful pink color. I sure hope it stays that way.

Also, my friend gave me some yogurt culture. She calls it yogurt. I think they're kefir grains. It's only a small container right now but it'll grow. I have to pick up some milk tonight and start another batch. With any luck I can use these to start making my own Greek yogurt. In the meantime, this is what I've got...

Yogurt starter culture.

Looks yummy don't it?

I just picked up some goat milk from the store. Oh, this is gonna be good...

So Very Many Things

Today was a wonderfully busy day. I finally managed to get some plants harvested and managed to put a small dent in the very big to-do list.

Today's harvest. Knotweed, Garlic Mustard, and Mullein

Last week I found an abundance of wild goodies ready to pick. Some much more ready than others. We have no dandelions to speak of still, and desperately need them for wine. I'm still unsure about the burdock, whether it's first year or not.

I also believe I stumbled across stinging nettle. Whether or not I want to put the effort into that, I don't know. I've eaten it once and found it tasty, but am not sure it's worth the effort. Perhaps... if I get bored.

The knotweed seems to be spreading well. A bane for most landowners, but I'm practically giddy. I welcome the pest! I also found several more mullein around the yard, and the garlic mustard is growing quite tall and tasty!

Hanging Mullein

First thing I tackled was the easiest- hanging the mullein to dry. It's not much good for eating. The fuzzy hairs all over it would be bothersome. It is, however, quite useful medicinally and magically. As medicine, it's known to be a great remedy for lung ailments and has been used as such since the times of Ancient Greece. It seems to have great anti-inflammatory properties. It's generally considered safe to smoke and has been used by both Native Americans and the Amish as a lung remedy in this form. However, it can also be made into a tea for non-smokers.

Magically speaking, it was said that it was mullein that saved Ulysses from Circe's spell, and has been used by Witches for uses ranging from protection, to prophecy, to manifesting spirits. It can be used before divination, to help one see spirits, and is a great addition to mugwort as a tea to induce prophetic dreams.

I simply wrapped a bit of twine around a handful of leaves and hung them in the kitchen to dry.

Next was on to the knotweed. This was the really big project of the day and it took quite a bit of time. First, knotweed wine!

The beginning stages of knotweed wine.

Knotweed wine is fairly easy to make, and I'm hoping it turns out well. I got to use my crock for the first time since it was given to me. I knew it would come in handy eventually!

To make the wine, you'll need 4 pounds of knotweed cut into rings (stalks only- no leaves,) 2 pounds of sugar, and the juice from an orange. You'll also need a gallon of water and a packet of yeast.

Combine the water, sugar and juice in a large pot and heat to boiling. Put the knotweed in a cloth bag.

Place the bag of knotweed a large bucket (or crock) and cover it with the boiling water.

Let it cool overnight then add your yeast. Let it ferment for a week, then bottle. Simple as that!

And since I had some extra knotweed left over, I decided to go ahead with another sort of project- using knotweed simply as a vegetable. I stumbled across a recipe when looking up wine instructions that seemed tasty enough.

Peeled knotweed.

The most time consuming part of this experiment was peeling the knotweed. Some of the stalks were rather large and had started to get a little woody- not good for eating. Peeling took a while, but it was fairly easy to do. I did most of it with my fingers, and it peels most easily from the base to the tip. I did it in sections, from joint to joint and that seemed to work well.

The next step was simply to give them a quick boil and a dunk in ice water. Done this way, they can be kept in the refrigerator for quite some time- which is great for me since by this point I'm getting tired and my kitchen looked like it had been hit by a tornado. I did the boil and bath, and tossed them into the fridge. I'll get back to them later.

Antelope with kale and wild garlic mustard.

And finally it was dinner time, and I'd not done anything with the garlic mustard, so I decided to add the leaves to the last few bits of kale I had in the refrigerator.

I sauted it up in the coconut oil, but I do prefer it fresh in salads. The funny thing about garlic mustard is that it actually has sort of an "oniony" taste to it, which sort of gets tart with cooking.

 I added a blend of peppercorns, ground, and a little sea salt, but something was still missing.

By the way, that there is antelope with those kale greens. It was absolutely delicious, and filling. Lucky me! I have leftovers.

Signs of Spring

It's been cold, rainy, and absolutely yucky lately. It's really put a damper on my outdoor spirit, though I did have a very enlightening walk in the rain the other morning.

I got out a bit a couple days ago to do some poking about the back property. It still saddens me that the greater part of 95 acres is sitting unused, but at least I've found some treasures nearby the house.

With any luck, over the next several weeks I'll be putting use to these good many treasures, including knotweed, burdock, mullein, plantain, garlic mustard, and of course dandelions! I also know where to find jewelweed, pineapple weed and fiddleheads, and am anxiously awaiting their arrival as well. The wild strawberries have come up and seem to have spread.

Some of these plants I know what to do with- knotweed, dandelion, garlic mustard, fiddleheads- but others are new to me and will be interesting new experiments for my kitchen, like burdock. Mullein seems to be the only non-food plant, but I'll be harvesting some, along with mugwort, for medicinal and/or magical purposes.

There are also cattails in the pond, but I'm unsure if I want to try them or not. Come fall there will be wild mustard as well. Oh geeze, I almost forgot the wood sorrel, milkweed and red clover!

It seems like so much to keep up with. It's a little overwhelming. As much as I was raised in the country, gathering wild edibles, I'm still not in the "groove" of making use of them all yet, or being able to put them all together at just the right time. I guess it's just one of those things that takes practice.

I'll be posting recipes if and when I can, but the more I forage, the more I cook, the more I learn about food, the more I realize that recipes are a crutch. Cooking, with the exception of baking, should be more like finger painting than paint by number. This is especially true when it comes to eating wild food. The ingredients are so variable that you really have to go by taste. Sometimes the ingredients are unusually bitter, or mild- depending on the weather that season.

Oh... I almost forgot about the sumac. Gotta get to that soon too.

That's it. I better make a list!

Last Minute Beltane

Actually, it's been Beltane all day long. I have not forgotten, I promise. It's just that the Sabbat celebrations seem to have taken on a different nature these days. Maybe a little more mundane... but that's ok. It's the thought that counts. Right?

Beltane is first a fertility celebration. Anyone who steps outside at all this time of year can see examples in nature- flowers bloom, trees bud, robins have territorial skirmishes. Let's be real here. Don't be shy. Beltane is about sex, and it's just what nature does.

Sex is a great way to celebrate this particular Sabbat... though be warned, it is about fertility, so be extra super-duper careful if you don't want to hear the pitter patter of little feet the following Ostara. If you are looking for such a thing, celebrate, celebrate, celebrate! If any there was a time that the gods would bless you with children, it would be Beltane.

Since this is... not really a big part of my life right now... and there is no immediate want for kids, it's best to not chance it. Instead, I celebrate in spirit and simply acknowledge today for what it is. I smile for the gods, for the energy that today represents, and make the most of it.

Truth be told my spirit has been increasingly yearning for a good drumming session and some wild dancing around a large, blazing bonfire. Another tradition that seems to be linked to a great many Pagan holidays. Many of our celebrations are linked to fire, and the appreciation of the Sun throughout the seasons. To be able to put into words the cravings of the spirit seems nearly impossible. To imagine food cravings, that only a particular treat can satisfy. For the spirit to crave something that cannot be purchased, that's a hard desire.

Soon enough it'll be Midsummer, I'll be away to Wickerman, and hopefully be able to fill those cravings for another year- or several months at least. At least that is the hope.

In the meantime, it's Beltane, and I smile that the Wheel of the Year has turned another notch. Things are becoming green, plants are preparing to produce luscious fruits and vegetables, (an integral part of plant sex you know,) and life is renewed in upstate New York... finally.

Happy Beltane, everyone! May the coming months be fruitful and full of life!