April 22, 2024
There is a cadence to the warehouse. There is a lot of activity as product is offloaded from the trucks: Pallets are layed out, it is inspected, graded, received, assigned lots, tagged, occasionally restacked. All this before it is slotted in the warehouse. I managed to slow Rafael down for a second as he was about to slot the Mustard Greens (31437- 12 ct, 21588- 3 bunch). They were just received and were headed to their new home in the warehouse. I keep forgetting how tender Mustard Greens are, I always think they are much tougher than they are. Mustard was first cultivated in India but has spread around the world. Our lovely bunches are from California right now. Sizzle some ginger and garlic in Sesame oil. Add the Mustard Greens and season with coarse salt. Give a quick sauté finishing with a couple drops of rice vinegar and Mirin. Could eat it by the bowlful!
I was fortunate to be sent to CIA Greystone for their first ever Flavors of Mexico Seminar. Rick Bayless was the host/moderator, Diana Kennedy also presented some of her recipes. One of the most impressive presentations was from a group of women from Oaxaca Mexico. The owned a restaurant in Oaxaca and had never traveled further than 20 miles out of town. They were very self-concise worried about what they could teach a group of chefs. But they did have a ton to teach us which started with fresh corn tortillas hand made on a huge wood fired comal. With that in mind, we have good friends in the business- namely La Mexicana Tortilla Factory out of Kent Washington. They make it all from corn to flour, from 4 inch to the 12 inch wrap tortilla and the uncooked yellow corn triangles ready to go in the fryer (33012 – 20 lb).
Yes the ground it getting warmer and this is a sure sign of warmer days ahead: Washington Asparagus. Large and standard size asparagus is available in 11 lb and 28 lb cases, but the consumer asparagus (25624-20 lb) feels closer to the fields. It is picked, banded in lb units and put in a box. Maybe it is the random sized asparagus. This is similar to what my dad would grow, he had a Large Asparagus patch. He would be out there every day picking it for dinner when in season. The pot would be boiling already with some salt in it. The Asparagus would have a brief time cooking usually less than a minute and then dinner would start. To him it was a sin to overcook the Asparagus he lovingly tended.
Had a kerfuffle on an order and we ended up with 14 cases of Baby Stripped Beets (20266-24 bunch case). Just like a great fresh beet, they are very earthy and would go great with Pinot Noir. All the different ways to prepare them! Sautéed with fresh thyme and honey for a base on fresh grilled halibut? Blanched and tossed with arugula and almonds? Or a ceviche style, blanched and tossed with lime, serranos and fresh mint? AH, For the Love of Beets!
