What a Little Minneola Can Do: Grace Notes

Part Four:  In Which Zingerman's Makes Its Long-Awaited Appearance

Note:  Once upon a time, there was a post called "What a Little Minneola Can Do."  It was more than one or two sentences in length, and rumor had it* that some people don't like to read.  Thus became "What a Little Minneola Can Do:  A Hymn in Three Parts."  This worked out fine, except for the fact that the section with Zingerman's was left on the cutting-room floor (by accident; nobody ever leaves anything from Zingerman's on purpose).

To find the earlier parts, just look on the right side of the blog, and select, yes, "minneolas."  Enjoy!

We now bring you the rest of the story.

Years ago I was lucky enough to live in Ann Arbor, home of the beloved Fleetwood Diner and Zingerman's.

Don't get me started on Zingerman's. I will just say two things:

1. They used to have a policy where, if you tasted a cheese anywhere in the world, they would get it for you.

2. Ari, the genius who created the place, put on vinegar tastings. Vinegar tastings. So I learned about all kinds of vinegar, and I learned the two-to-one rule (two parts oil, one part acid) I still use [though now people say three parts oil because they are sissies], and a bit of good mustard to bind it. (Dijon is great, but so is stone-ground. Fallot makes a great basil mustard. Creole is wonderful.)

Wait. Did you say 'acid' just now?

Acid. That's the function of the other parent ingredient in a vinaigrette. Once you think of it that way, you realize how many possibilities there are: Lemon juice, lime juice, Meyer lemon juice, orange juice. Just remember if you use Meyer lemon or orange you'll have to find a way to amp up the tartness.

Back to vinegar: Don't cut corners here. Get really good ones--a good cabernet vinegar, like Kimberley, a real balsamic, a good apple cider vinegar, a sherry vinegar. They last a long time.

Ditto with oils. True, their shelf life is shorter than vinegars, but if you buy the ones you love you use them up before they turn. Walnut oil is heaven. So is sesame oil. Peanut oil is good for some things. There are many, many oils on the market. Here's what's in my kitchen: Olive oil, canola oil, safflower oil (when either the canola or safflower runs out, I won't replace it since I use them interchangeably), walnut oil, raw sesame oil, toasted sesame oil, and peanut oil.

What's that you say? You just need olive oil. And it's really good for you.

Yes, olive oil is wonderful. I use it all the time. But do you eat olives with everything? You do? Wow. Well, for those who don't, keep a canola or safflower oil on hand when you want something more unobtrusive.

Which is why those bottled dressings are so odd. What relation do they have to what's going into the salad? That's how you choose the dressing! So make your own. Save money, and really taste your food.

*Good news, writers and readers!  This rumor has since been disproven.  People actually love to read.  Always have and, God willing, always will.

©2017 Laynie Tzena.  All Rights Reserved.

Presto, Change-O

Happens to the best of us: Somebody snubs you. Maybe a couple of buses pass you by. Or something worse. And then comes that one more thing. You were okay until then, but now you have had enough. You're not sure whether you want to scream, curl up in a ball, curl a certain yo-yo up in a ball, or hide under the covers. You stand in your kitchen, thinking, "I do not feel like cooking."

Sure you do.

Nothing restores us faster than rinsing, measuring and mincing, a sip of tea, singing along with a favorite song on the radio--especially the radio, because it's that song you love and who knew it'd be playing right now, and you crank it up, just a little, and before you know it, who cares about what happened a few minutes or even a few years ago? Here, in this kitchen, you are making magic.

Extra points if you happen to find new combinations--like the words you suddenly discover in those last few Scrabble letters. Today the lox got chevre and mustard greens in a whole wheat pocket pita. Yum. And the other day, when I had sliced open an extra lemon by mistake, I decided not to offer it up to the refrigerator where, as Baba Dave Barry has taught us, it was destined to become a science project.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2009/02/01/861087/housecleaning-tip-dont.html

Not this time around. I juiced it, zested it, and next thing you know--

Zesty Spring Green Salad:

For the salad:

A healthy handful of fava leaves
A healthy handful of pea shoots

For the dressing:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
A very generous pinch of lemon zest
A smidgen of stone-ground mustard
A pinch of salt
A pinch of freshly-ground pepper

I wanted to add anchovy, but I was eating this with "Rockfish in Indonesian Sauce" (coming up soon), which is a bit salty, so I decided instead to add a splash of cider vinegar.

And it was good.

©2010, 2013, 2014 Laynie Tzena.