Catherine M. Allchin - Food

Catherine M. Allchin

Freelance writer based in Seattle. Food, Drink, Travel

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The Backstory

4/19/2018

The Seattle Times - I’LL BE HONEST. I wrestled with this one.

The subject of climate change is a gnarly beast in and of itself, ripe with sobering science and charged political debate, overlaid here with the vast topic of food and wine production in this state. I could have picked just one industry to focus on – say, how Washington wine is adapting to climate change. Or oysters.

Instead, this piece focuses on four dedicated individuals in different parts of Washington, from tideflats in the west to vineyards in the southeast. Joining these four are thousands of other people working to ensure the state’s resiliency.

Food, Innovation and Resilience in the Face of Climate Change

4/19/2018

The Seattle Times - STANDING IN THE barn-red shed to avoid the pelting rain, Nick Pate looks out the door at his struggling raspberry patch. “They’re dying a slow death,” he says.

In past summers, berry lovers have visited Raising Cane Ranch on the banks of the Snohomish River for the juicy U-pick raspberries. But the plants started to die in 2012 because the soil is too wet. If the farm is even open for raspberry pickers this summer, it will possibly be for fewer days.

“I’m bummed,” says Pate, in a knit cap and rain jacket. “The patch was fun. We liked it when people came out.”

He has planted cider apple trees — still small in blue protective tubes — amid the berries, in hopes they will do better. “You have to be dynamic about meeting your needs,” he says.

Pate also planted blackberries where some of the raspberries died, and they’re doing well. In addition to berries, he offers beef, lamb and honey. Apples, currants and nuts are in the works.

Climate change might not be the only reason Pate is losing his raspberries, but there’s no doubt recent years have been wetter than he had expected.

And in coming decades, climate scientists say, the Northwest will continue to experience warmer air and water temperatures, drier summers, lower snowpack and more extreme precipitation events.

Pate and other growers in Washington are accustomed to dealing with natural climate variability. But now they face new challenges from human-caused climate change. What does this mean for our state’s food and wine production? These four growers share the details of their work to build resilience for the future.

Bar Food Far From Standard

4/14/2018

The New York Times - WOOD-ROASTED RABBIT sliders. Chesapeake Bay oysters. Osetra caviar. This is not your typical bar food.

Black Rabbit, which opened in November in downtown Nashville, is the latest brainchild of the local chef Trey Cioccia. He and his business partner Robert Compton fell in love with an 1890s brick building near Printers Alley, the hub that buzzed with night life many decades ago. They wanted to recreate that early-20th-century ambience by featuring handcrafted cocktails, small plates to share and live music. While a visit may feel like stepping back in time, the food and drinks are some of the most innovative in Music City today.

“Back then, Printer’s Alley was the place,” said Mr. Cioccia of the one-block-long street. He wanted the bar “to be a cool little social place for adults where you can have a conversation, do business, maybe play a game in front of the fire.”

What’s notable — other than the fantastic cocktails, original brick walls and wood floors — is the quality of the food. Mr. Cioccia made a name for himself nearby at the Farm House restaurant, where he specializes in Southern fare, working closely with local farmers and ranchers to procure the best ingredients.

A Delicious History Lesson

3/17/2018

The New York Times - WHO WOULD HAVE guessed that the hottest new Southern restaurant in the country is in a quiet residential neighborhood in Seattle? Or that it would score a James Beard award nomination for best new restaurant and that its fried chicken would sell out by 6 p.m. on Sundays?

The location is the first of many surprises at JuneBaby, the second restaurant from the chef Edouardo Jordan. His first, Salare, brought him recognition for the rigor and sophistication he acquired at culinary school and stints at the French Laundry, Per Se and the Herbfarm. “It showcased my talent as a chef, not as a chef of color,” he said.

With JuneBaby, however, he wanted to get personal. The Florida native reminisced about eating chitterlings, oxtail, okra and barbecue as a child. “I wanted to make what my mother and grandmother cooked.” (The restaurant’s name was a nickname for his father, who taught him to cook over wood.)

How Greens Is Your Kitchen?

3/6/2018

The Seattle Times - NO MATTER THE weather, you can get a jump on spring by growing your own tender greens indoors. You don’t have to have a yard — or even a green thumb — to grow edible plants right in your own kitchen.

Years ago, when it seemed microgreens punctuated nearly every dish at upscale restaurants, I started growing savory sprouts next to my kitchen sink. With a shallow container, potting soil and an organic seed mix, I was able to grow those trendy microgreens in less than a week, for a fraction of what I might have paid at a store. They can be snipped with scissors when they’re about 1 inch high and tossed on top of salads, meats, fish or virtually any other dish.

My favorite seed mix is “microgreens savory mix” by Botanical Interests. This collection contains 10 fabulous plants, including radishes, beets, mustards and kohlrabi. Botanical Interests offers many options, including a spicy mix of mustard and peppergrass seeds, and another blend of bitter Italian chicories.

The Best-Made Plans

1/2/2018

The Seattle Times - IF ONE OF YOUR New Year resolutions is to cook more, or to do it more efficiently, here are some simple practices you can put into place to streamline healthy cooking in 2018. A little planning will boost productivity in the kitchen, improve flavor and save money.

Assuming you already have spices, vinegars, oils and other basics (if not, there are plenty of lists online, and helpful books like “Urban Pantry”), consider making some go-to favorites to store in your refrigerator and freezer. Now is a good time to start whipping up your own stocks, dressings and sauces to have on hand for weekday meals.

Becky Selengut, author and cooking teacher, says making your own stocks is a surefire way to up your cooking game. For starters, label two gallon-size Ziploc bags “Veggie Stock” and “Chicken Stock.” During the week, as you cook, toss chicken bones or trimmings into the chicken-stock bag, and put any compost from onion, leek, parsnips, fennel, or celery ends into each bag. Leftover herbs can be divided and stored in both bags.

Rethinking the Roast

11/28/2017

The Seattle Times - THIS IS NOT the pork roast you remember. Gone are the days, thankfully, when we cooked pork to 160 degrees. Done right, a pork roast is tender and tasty, moist inside, with a nice crisp exterior. For those who eat pork, an herb-stuffed loin roast makes a nice holiday centerpiece.

All that’s required is excellent pork, a good thermometer and a little bit of technique.Let’s start with the pig. Pork products vary wildly depending on how the pigs are raised, and what they eat. Russ Flint, owner of Rain Shadow Meats in Seattle, recommends all-natural pork from Northwest artisans like Tails & Trotters and Carlton Farms.

Generous Servings

11/7/2017

The Seattle Times - CHEFS AND RESTAURANT OWNERS create a sense of community every day in their establishments, by providing food and drinks that lure business associates, friends and family. But these business owners also play an important role in shaping the larger community through charitable giving and volunteer activities.

At school auctions and charity events, chefs step up by offering their time, food or donations. Many restaurant websites have a community or giving page where donation requests are accepted. Some offer gift-card matching programs for nonprofit causes.

Two Cooks in the Kitchen

10/10/2017

The Seattle Times - WHEN CHEF GABRIEL CHAVEZ opened his Capitol Hill restaurant, Chavez, two years ago, his goal was to serve unforgettable flavors from his childhood in Durango, Mexico: pungent peppers, corn tortillas, crispy gorditas, slow-cooked meats, smoky chipotle.

He and his three siblings learned to cook from their mother, Maria Veronica Arreola. Chavez recalls that she always put fresh meals on the table and never bought food on the street. “She’s a very patient woman,” Chavez says.

The family moved to Seattle in 1999. Chavez and his mother both worked at the original Boat Street Cafe, then he went on to Serafina and Cantinetta. Arreola had always hoped her son would have a place of his own.

One Night Stand

7/4/2017

The Seattle Times - LET’S BE DIRECT
Katherine Alberg (now Anderson) and Ned Baldwin grew up in the same Seattle neighborhood in the 1970s and ’80s. She was friends with the cool skateboard kids. He was an outgoing, adventurous redhead. They were in the same class together at Lakeside School. She, a strident feminist and scholar. He, a football player who was into fashion. During summers, she would sell cherries from her uncle’s orchard in Royal City, and he would paint houses. They ventured back east for college (he to Bennington, she to Harvard), attended each other’s weddings and stayed in touch — through births of children, moves and career changes — only to both end up in the restaurant world.

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