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tigerdrop · 5 years

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ive been absolutely losing my mind this past week but today i have escaped the thrall of brain demons and i would like to show u a sneak peek of my geralt/jaskier sex pollen fic, Sacrificial Rites. (this part is safe-for-work tho.)

its roughly halfway done but this is all im comfortable sharing right now BYYEeee

It starts when Jaskier hears, in the near distance, something like a cannon firing. Well, if he were to think about it, actually, it starts some time before, in a little spit of a village to the north of the Temerian capital. Theirs is but a humble farming community, and it smells the part, which Jaskier reminds Geralt of. Frequently. But the air’s tinged with the smell of smoke, too, and the snow-dusted trees that knot themselves through the village are adorned with bright, multicolored muslin ribbons. Jaskier thumbs some of them as he passes by. Their coin purses are light, and there’s always something, somewhere, in need of slaying, and when a stream of young girls brushes past them, boughs clustered in their hands like bouquets, Jaskier suspects all he’ll have to do is join in whatever festivities are at hand and he’ll drum up work for them in no time. And by “them”, of course, he means Geralt. But that’s not the part he says out loud. True enough, it takes just one bawdy song about Geralt’s prowess at ghoul-slaying and lady-killing for someone in the local tavern to recognize him. A puffy-eyed man, calls himself something Jaskier can’t parse. Or pronounce. But his coin’s good, and Jaskier’s not yet had occasion to sing about the creature he describes - a cikavac, heavy on the sibilants; a gangling, bird-like thing that’s stealing the milk from their cows and the honey from their hives. Jaskier lets out a laugh. “Really? And what does a great big bird want with cow’s milk, anyway?” “Not for eating,” says the man, tugging at his mustache. His voice has a heavy accent, like the words are punched out of his mouth. “Cikavac works for someone. Maybe in another village, maybe someone here. Takes the milk back to them.” “Glorified theft,” Geralt mutters. “Well, what’s the bird get out of it, then? If it were up to me, I’d rather get to fly around, and sing, and, er, whatever else it is birds get up to. Preening? That sounds nice.” “That’s all you do anyway,” says Geralt, face stony, and he steers Jaskier away from the tavern by his shoulder. They almost bump into a woman and her children just outside. Jaskier shimmies past them, narrowly avoiding trodding on their embroidered skirts. “I’m deeply offended, Geralt,” he laments with a hand over his heart. “I’ll have you know, I’m a man of many skills and talents. Like… Oh! You wouldn’t happen to have any cherries on hand, would you?” “No,” he says, like this is obvious. “More’s the pity. I’ve got this fascinating trick of the tongue, you know. Lets you tie a knot in a cherry stem, no hands necessary. I picked it up from some ladies in Novigrad.” Geralt turns his head back to look at him, eyebrows raised, but doesn’t dignify that with a response. Doesn’t say much the rest of the afternoon, either. All Jaskier can squeeze out of him is a rudimentary description of the thing - gawky, uncomfortably humanoid, and bearing a long, narrow beak with a fleshy pouch where it keeps its spoils. “Like a pelican,” Jaskier supplies helpfully to no one but himself. There are preparations to be made, but Jaskier mostly tunes them out. More interesting is the smoke, growing thicker as they approach the outskirts of the village. Lot of torches for the middle of the day, he thinks, until they resolve themselves as effigies of cloth and straw, bedecked in dried husks and rudimentary skirts to give them the shape of a woman. Jaskier’s mouth closes mid-word. “Oh, that’s alright, then,” he starts up again, “they’re just setting a bunch of little girls on fire. No big deal. And— and then putting them out again. Sure. Seems a little counterproductive!” His voice breaks on the last word, coming out unnaturally loud. A handful of people glance his way. “Don’t be rude,” grunts Geralt. “Not looking to get chased out of town before I get paid.” “Geralt of Rivia, telling me not to be rude? My goodness. I guess I must be rubbing off on you.” Most of the participants gather around a creek that splits the town from the thicket. They cross its shallow waters between a group of boys taking turns to toss their own straw dolls into it. Back to their familiar rites: gathering herbs, laying traps, establishing a stakeout. Jaskier’s gotten quite good at it by now. He sings while he works, mindless things about sad women with lush black hair, so thick you could drown in it. Geralt tells him to knock it off. It only encourages him to give Geralt a winning smile as he cooks up another verse. They’ve got a nice little vantage point where the valley swells up into rolling hills, affording a decent view of the— of the— “Geralt, what’d that alderman call himself?” The witcher looks up from where he’s crushing seeds in a mortar. “Zduhać.” He mouths the word silently, and finds it cumbersome. Of Zduhać’s farmstead, then, where he’s kindly left his prized goat tied up this night for them to use as bait— “It’s a title,” continues Geralt. Jaskier blinks at him, surprised. “Means something like ‘dragon man’.” Of the zduhać’s farmstead, then. Glad they got that sorted out. “So, what, am I to believe that that old man killed a dragon? He didn’t seem much for that kind of thing. A bit too much gout, if you ask me.” “That’s not what it means.” Jaskier waits for a moment, but Geralt just keeps pounding his pestle. “And what, pray tell, does it mean?” he asks at last, as he crosses one leg over the other and rests his hands on his knee. Geralt keeps silent in a way that Jaskier has come to interpret as I don’t know, so don’t ask. Now, they wait. And wait. Geralt keeps his eyes peeled, as sharp as ever, but sometime after the moon rises high in the sky, Jaskier’s fingers stop strumming quite so fast. The air’s balmy and supple, ripe with moisture and the pollen of countless plants unfurling again, and he finds himself nodding off. Jaskier comes to all at once when he hears, in the near distance, something like a cannon firing. He clambers to his feet, against all reason, really, because the last thing he should do is make himself a bigger target for - for whatever that was from. His lantern’s been put out, enveloping the forest in darkness, and he is suddenly aware that he is alone. “Geralt?” he calls out to the trees. His voice warbles in a way he doesn’t like. There’s no response, but he’s sure that sound came from this way. Or maybe it was that way? Jaskier may be no witcher, what with those keen senses and all, but he is clever enough to follow the shuffling and rustling in the trees until he’s sure he isn’t just hearing things. It’s not until he’s well and truly lost track of where he started from that he stumbles through a cluster of flowering bushes, and with it, Geralt. What he should say is something like “Geralt!”, or “Geralt!”, or even “Thank goodness you’re alright!”, but instead what he says is, “Lords have mercy, you’re filthy,” because his eyes have a direct feed to his mouth that bypasses his brain entirely. Geralt’s hunched over and trying in vain to clean his face, covered as he is from head to toe in a translucent, yellowy slime. So is everything else in a ten foot radius. Geralt spits. “No shit.” “What’s— what in the world happened to you?” He steps forward gingerly in an attempt to avoid the mess. “Damned thing. It ate one of my pouches.” Jaskier draws upon his dabbling knowledge of witchery and alchemy to come to the conclusion that something inside it didn’t play nice with the cikavac’s insides. And now its insides appear to be its outsides. “Well, you’re not hurt, are you? Not missing any limbs, from what I can see.” “You’ll put me out of a job with observational skills like those,” says Geralt, unimpressed. He wrings a thick glob out of his hair. All that’s left of the poor beast is its beak, glossy, orange, and befouled with the same stuff. Jaskier lets Geralt pick it up himself. They can’t go back to town looking like this, or at least Geralt can’t, as Jaskier kindly reminds him. There’s a secluded bank downstream from the villagers and their celebrations. It’ll have to do. This, too, is another thing Jaskier’s gotten good at over the years. Scrubbing Geralt clean, that is. He knows which oils to keep on hand to best maintain Geralt’s hair, which salves to apply to all the places Geralt can’t reach, and which temperature Geralt likes the best when they’ve got a choice in the matter. Things that should be degrading. Beneath a man of his stature. ‘Should’ isn’t often found in his vocabulary, however. His fingers knead through Geralt’s hair to coax the last of the slime out of it. It has an odd texture, not unlike a whisked egg, although he’s to understand it’s just a foul mixture of honey, milk, and assorted intestinal fluids. Muscle memory takes over. The rote nature of it quiets a buzzing in him. It’s the same buzz that makes him turn rhymes over in his head, over and over, keeping him from a good night’s sleep unless he’s worn out or fucked out. Hence his predilection for the finer things in life - wine, women, washing. Geralt’s kind of like a cat, Jaskier thinks idly, how he leans into the firm drag of Jaskier’s fingernails against his scalp. It’s hard to beat back a smile. Those eyes of his, normally beady slits, balloon in the dim moonlight. Jaskier pushes down on his shoulders to get him to submerge himself. He goes easily, lingering under the surface for a moment, where his silver hair hangs suspended around him in a filmy cloud. Then he bursts back through the surface like a quenched sword, hot and steaming. Maybe there was something to those strange rituals after all.

#the witcher #geralt of rivia #jaskier #geraskier #fanfiction #writin stuff #my goal is to have this done in a few weeks........Wish Me Luck

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lostsummerdayz · 5 years

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Sonic The Hedgehog Movie Review

“Blue Blur or Blue Devil, this speedy flick is very ‘Omoshiroi~!’ indeed!”

By Nay Holland

The Sonic The Hedgehog movie had quite the hype and history leading up to its eventual release. It was around this time last year that the general audience saw first hand what Sonic would look like on the big screen. Needless to say, they were not happy with the design choice. Several months later, a new design for Sonic was revealed to greater approval. The slated November 2019 release was pushed back to a February 2020 release due to the resulting backlash.

Sonic’s design was just the cherry on top for most skeptics at the time. Fans of the classic Sonic animated series will remember Jaleel White as the iconic voice for Sonic. Many of said fans wanted him to reprise his role for the feature film. Ultimately, that role fell on Ben Schwartz of Parks & Recreation fame.

Throughout the trailers, the absence of many other iconic characters from the universe wasn’t ignored. Many had thought that Jim Carrey’s role of Eggman Dr. Robotnik would be the only bright spot in this film of uncertainty. The reputation of video game movie adaptations in the past also preceded any major hope savvy fans would have as well.

However, with the release of Detective Pikachu, I had newfound hope for Sonic The Hedgehog. Detective Pikachu was a movie with an original yet at-times nonsensical plot fueled by star power. Ryan Renolds played the titular character as well as one would expect, though the supporting cast were passable.

Still, compared to the terrible era of horrific fighting video games to movie adaptations earlier on in the decade, Detective Pikachu was a breath of fresh air. It was a fun movie littered with references that fans of Pokemon will catch, yet it was never over-reliant on them. The movie was able to provide its own form of momentum from start to finish. It wasn’t perfect, but it got the job done.

It may seem like I was giving a mini overview on Detective Pikachu, but the same thoughts can be applied to Sonic The Hedgehog as well. It was a fun movie with an original, yet highly nonsensical, plot. I’ll excuse the plot on the grounds that it’s Sonic The Hedgehog. Sonic was never quite known for intricate stories.

I am aware that this game exists, but, this is the exception rather than the rule.

Look who developed the game guys. C’mon.

Whoever was in charge of the script could have watched the entire first season of Sonic X for all I know and based some of their ideas for the film.

My point is, while there is a reason for Sonic to arrive on Planet Earth via his backstory, it’s not the main attraction of the film. The fuel that powers this movie are two dynamics.

The first is the dynamic between Sonic and Tom, the human protagonist of the movie. Remember when I joked about inspiration from Sonic X? The punchline punches itself.

Okay I know I’m not being fair in comparing a kid to a grown police officer but it’s the same energy!

Oh, right. The human sidekick is a police officer from a small town in Montana. Wanna know the name of the town?

Green Hills, Montana! Get it! Green Hill? The introductory zone that will never

Ever

EVER

Go away in some way shape or form?

I’m not gonna lie I looked it up just to see if such a place exists in Montana. I was sad to discover that was false. Bummer.

Sonic and Tom share most of their screen time together and you have some classic tropes. The “we’re a family!” trope, the “trying to understand someone different than you” trope, and the classic “ROAD TRIP!” trope.

The cliches aren’t bad however. They only seemed to enhance the dynamic that these two characters have with each other. Sonic is filled to the brim and armed to the teeth with pop culture references for centuries. Any reference you can think of is there.

Several speed puns involving his collection of Flash comics including the movie, Speed, itself? Check. References to The Fast and The Furious? Also check. References to modern gaming such as live streaming and...a certain dance that is honestly dated at this point? Checkmark.

Sonic’s personality is unique to this movie yet key components remain. He’s still very much so impulsive, adventurous, and bold as his other counterparts. One thing I feel the movie does right is his development. He doesn’t know the power of his own strength or his own powers. Sometimes he overestimates his abilities, which leads to trouble for both Sonic and Tom. Other times, he feels out of place and yearning for family. By the end of the movie, however, there are enough seeds planted to promote further growth in the inevitable sequel.

The human protagonist, Tom, was surprisingly as interesting. We’re introduced to his character as a wise-cracking police officer who would fit the role of a cocky protagonist in any other movie. At times he tries to play the straight man to Sonic’s antics, but after a certain part in the movie, he’s not that far from Sonic in terms of impulsiveness.

Marsden, who plays the role of Tom, is no slouch either as he delivers his one-liners, matching the same energy as Sonic. Most importantly, he is able to stand on firm ground with Jim Carrey’s Robotnik. I honestly loved seeing them both on the screen as they tried to show who was the bigger smartass.

Ah! Jim Carrey! The main reason why everyone’s interests were piqued to high levels. This leads into the second dynamic. The man with the master plan! He is the Eggman Doctor.

In trailers and in promotional images, Carrey never looked better. In this movie, it is my honor to say that Carrey looked in rare form. The quirky and zany antics of Dr. Robotnik portrayed by Carrey felt nostalgic, harking back to the days of Liar Liar and The Mask. The hair-triggering jerk reactions, the body language, and the endless amount of quips made Carrey a perfect role for the Egghead. I could literally fill this review with all of his one-liners and dialogue. That’s how subtle yet powerful they were.

Remember when I said that the plot was a tad bit diluted? I’d say that Robotnik’s introduction is where the movie begins to take flight and he’s introduced fairly early. If you look at the movie as an hour and some change of Tom and Jerry style antics, with Robotnik and Sonic respectively, then you’ll get the most mileage out of the film.

Finally I’d like to mention the miscellaneous. The attention to detail to Sonic’s design is amazing, from his fur to his beat-up footwear. The method in which he received his iconic kicks was also adorable.

The special effects were also spot-on. There are two moments in the movie where Sonic is using his speed to get himself out of a disadvantageous situation. In both of these scenes, the rate of speed is exaggerated by a still frame of his surroundings.

For those familiar with “bullet-time” and “slo mo” effects in video games, these are how the scene plays out. Seeing Sonic manipulate the environment around him only for time to regulate into “normal time” was one of the better touches of the movie from a design standpoint. I honestly wished there were more scenes like that in the movie.

As mentioned earlier with “Green Hills,” there are several in-universe references as well. I won’t mention them all, but my favorite had to have been the “Hill Top Road” street sign.

This obviously refers to Hill Top Zone from Sonic 2.

There are also references to his moves, from the iconic spin dash, to other niche ones such as his wall kick.

For a ninety-minute movie, Sonic The Hedgehog cuts to the chase, pun intended, with no filler. Post opening credits, every scene in the movie had a purpose for progression. Nothing ever seems to overstay its welcome.

For a film geared towards the younger audience, it’s enough to keep their attention span with enough content to keep the fans of Sonic in their seats. For the parents of said younger audience, the appearance of Jim Carey in rare form is a treat in itself to see. It’s not a perfect movie, but it is far from the dumpster fire that everyone feared it would be. It is, however, more than good enough to check it out.

Sonic the Hedgehog is now showing in theaters. This Valentine’s Day weekend, take your Amy Rose out on a movie date and enjoy a fun movie after dinner!

And park your butts in your seats after the credits for a surprise! Don’t leave the theater!

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog movie #movie #video game #review

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graybeards · 6 years

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The Unspoken Wish, part two

The second of (probably) three parts of this gender-bending story about two buddies taking a vacation to Mexico.

Part 1

I felt strange and small. My soft feet were light on the ground. My heavy breasts unsteadied me until I slowed my steps. I felt weak. I felt vulnerable. I felt naked with my thighs and midriff exposed by the tightness of my two-piece swimsuit, black on the canvas of my milky skin.

Even as I fumed about the bartender’s foolishness, I saw heads turning and eyes lingering as I strolled along. A reluctant smile brought a curve to my full, red lips, and I let my hips begin to sway with every step. This resort full of men who had been my compatriots suddenly looked at me like a potential conquest, and it was electrifying. My skin tingled under their leering gazes.

When I sidled up to a bar, instinctively arching my back and leaning forward, I felt a hand on my lower back before I could even order. I turned my head and saw a man with a firm jaw, big blue eyes, and a full head of wavy gray hair. He had a broad chest and a firm stomach hanging over his bulging blue trunks, all covered in thick silvery fur. I wanted to bury my cheek against his chest and feel the thunderous beats of his drumming heart. His fingers were firm and rough against my smooth skin. His smile was flawless, gleaming white. His baritone voice made my heart race when he said, “You’ve got a brave boyfriend to let you wander alone looking like you do.”

“And what do I look like?” I asked, smirking coyly as he flagged down the bartender and ordered for us.

He slid his hand over to my side, squeezing my petite body against him while he whispered hotly in my ear, “Like a goddess every man here would kill to sink himself into. You should have seen how many men slipped off their wedding rings when you walked by.”

His left hand on the bar, I reached down and ran my gentle fingers over the gold band on his ring finger. I said, “Apparently not you.”

The drinks he’d ordered arrived—a bourbon for him and a mango margarita for me—and he took a healthy gulp before looking back at me with a stern smile. I sipped my margarita and felt it instantly in a way I never had before. The tequila burned in my stomach and made my head spin a little every time I drank.

He said, “I’m not a coward. I see what I want, and I take it. Women won’t admit it, but they can’t resist a real man with real desires.”

“I’ll admit it,” I whispered in awe of him, imagining it was Ralph saying these things to me. Even as the words left my lips, that deeper, manlier voice of mine in my head subsided even as it wailed that this was all wrong.

The man let out a growl like a starter pistol and grinned. “I guess you’re not a coward either,” he said as he leaned down and planted his lips on mine, pushing his big tongue inside me and soaking me in the taste of his bourbon and the pheromones of his saliva. His muscled arm encircled my body as he reached it down and slid his fingers under my swimsuit. “Horny little slut needs daddy’s big dick. Doesn’t she?”

His thumb rubbed me and his fingers forced their way inside, searing like hot pokers of pleasure. I moaned around his tongue until he stood back up straight with a grin beside me, sipping his bourbon as he teased my virgin cunt. I trembled in his grasp. His exploring hand was hidden against the bar, but as I looked around us there were many men watching intently with swim trunks bulging in their seats.

“You can’t be a virgin. Can you?” He asked incredulously as he felt around inside me. “You feel like one, but that’s impossible.”

Nodding, I gripped the bar with white knuckles to stifle the moans he was trying to coax from me. He growled, “Good God, no wonder you smell like candy. Such a sweet little bitch.” He grabbed my hand and guided it to his crotch, letting my fingers instinctively close around the enormous tube of flesh uncoiling in his trunks.

I gasped at the warm strength of his manhood, the first I’d ever touched besides my own. I squeezed it at the base, feeling its gargantuan girth against my palm as the man grew and grew. It wasn’t a sad, straining, little hard-on like mine, but a confident and monstrous cock with the easy power to either satisfy or annihilate me. I’d thought myself a man, but this was a real man.

“Do you want daddy to pop your cherry?” He asked earnestly, rubbing his bulbous fingers inside me.

My body screamed yes. I ached for his flesh, but as I went to answer I remembered Ralph. I thought of how his cock would feel in my hand, his lips on my lips, and his body against my body. There was only one man to take my virginity, and it wasn’t this one. Still, I could barely force myself to whisper, “I’m saving myself for—”

“I understand,” the man said with a grin. “A girl like you isn’t still a virgin by accident. But…”

“But?” I prompted.

“You do seem inclined to get better acquainted with my dick,” he replied, emptying the last of his bourbon down his throat. “Come on.” He pulled his fingers from my cunt and I freed his manhood from my grasp as he grabbed my hand and walked me away from the bar. It was easier to walk with him steadying me. He must have thought I was just drunk. All eyes were on us as we walked off until he guided me off into the privacy of a single-occupancy bathroom, with a slightly sandy shower in the corner.

“I’m Calvin, by the way,” he growled as he lifted me off my feet and pressed me against the door. His firm chest against my tits as he kissed me. He rubbed his enormous bulge against my crotch, lighting me up like a Christmas tree.

I hesitated, letting out a moan as I thought, before replying, “I’m Lily.”

“A beautiful name for a beautiful woman,” he purred before lowering me back to my feet. “Have you ever seen a man’s cock before, Lily?”

Not like this, I hadn’t. “No,” I whispered.

“You’re never going to forget this,” he promised. “Kneel in the shower,” he ordered, watching me as I complied. The damp tile was hard against my soft knees, and Calvin loomed even larger. He nodded and walked to stand over the toilet before he untied his trunks and pulled down the waistband to free a gargantuan floppy cock and a pair of balls as big as my fist. He grabbed his manhood and angled it, staring at me with a grin as he began.

When his stream thundered out and pummeled the toilet water, I let out a gasp. It was like watching a river spill forth from Calvin’s manhood, filling the small room with the roar of his expulsion. He spoke loudly over it, “You look impressed.” I nodded. He tightened with a wince, cutting off the stream, and said, “I could let you feel it.”

I sat in stunned silence as he slowly lumbered over toward me until that half-rigid hose was hanging over me, aimed for my ample chest. He waited a moment for me to protest before he smiled and muttered, “Good girl.” His piss shot out again, bursting like an uncorked bottle of champagne, and battered my tits hard enough to push me back. It splattered all over my face as he drenched my chest before lowering his aim to soak my crotch.

“Close your eyes,” Calvin commanded. I reverentially stared up at him for a second but did as he said. His piss battered my cheeks and drenched my long hair as it ran down over every inch of me. “God damn,” he marveled, “I fucking love doing that.” As quickly as it began, the man’s stream ended and he stepped forward to offer me his glistening cock head.

The sliver of my remaining masculinity screamed at me to stop, but my dripping red lips parted wide to let Calvin in. He nestled his flaring purple head inside my mouth and let my tongue caress it, soaking up the bitter taste of his urine. Suddenly, he grabbed my head in both hands and held me in place. I felt the relaxing of his shaft against my lips just before a last burst from his bladder flooded into my mouth.

“That’s it, slut,” Calvin grunted, “drink it all and I’ll reward you with a big mouthful of cum.” His stream slowly petered out as he tilted my head back to stop it all from spilling out. I almost wanted to swallow, just to get the taste off my tongue, but the man I used to be couldn’t bear it. I kneeled there, helpless in his hands, as his piss soaked into every inch of my mouth. He slowly pushed his stiffening cock deeper into my mouth until I gagged on him and the pool of piss snuck down my throat. “Doesn’t it feel good to obey?”

I stared up at him and saw my reflection in his cold blue eyes. I felt an immense rush of warm pleasure, only then noticing that my cunt was dripping with excitement. My eyes rolled with ecstasy and Calvin grinned. He released my skull from his grasp and propped his hands on his hips. It felt like instinct when my mouth started working over the man’s gargantuan member, licking it clean until my saliva washed away the bitterness and all I could taste was the pure manliness of this alpha dad.

“You’re a natural,” he observed, politely ignoring the grazing of my teeth and the gagging of my throat when I became overambitious. “It feels good to serve your daddy, doesn’t it?”

I moaned, nodding with his cock buried between my lips, and redoubled my efforts. I lifted my hands from the floor and fondled his balls, big enough that each filled one of my palms. So much of him jutted from my lips, several inches of manhood that I couldn’t swallow no matter how I tried. I needed to feel them inside me.

Calvin leaned his head back and let out a moaning growl when his massive head suddenly popped into my throat, stretching my esophagus around his girth. I eagerly delved forward, watching those unattainable inches disappear between my ruby red lips until I could feel him down where my Adam’s Apple used to be.

I felt the rumbling rush through Calvin’s cock as he grunted and moaned. He pulled his hips back just in time, letting a spurt of cum bigger than I’d ever imagined flood over my tongue, and it was just the first of many. He filled me up until I was overflowing with his seed, struggling to gulp down thick ropes of the milky cum. All the while, he never moved his hands from his hips, never compelled me as I eagerly swallowed.

As the man’s seed dripped down onto my breasts and ran down toward my aching cunt, I wondered if I’d ever been much of a man at all. I began to think this almost felt right. When he was finished with my mouth, Calvin let his floppy dick slip from between my lips and held my face against his muscled thigh. He turned on the shower and let warm water cascade down over the both of us, washing off everything he’d drenched me in as he quietly enjoyed the aftermath of an immense orgasm.

Calvin ran his fingers through my hair, gently cleaning me, until he finally turned the shower off and lifted me to back to my feet. He grinned down at me and said, “You’re quite the lady, Lily. Let me know if you change your mind about…” as he reached down and caressed my crotch. He planted a peck on my lips and said, “See you around. I bet the Mrs. is wondering where I’ve gotten off to.” And he left me alone in the bathroom with nothing but my own reflection, my new reflection.

Part 3

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thotyssey · 7 years

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On Point With: Frankie Sharp

One of NYC’s few truly great and original nightlife event producers, this giant got his start at a small dive bar in San Francisco before making it big here with the notorious Westgay at Westway. He’s still giving us massive weekly kikis featuring the best of the scene and way beyond, but lately he’s been offering some more intimate vehicles as well. Thotyssey rides the cutting edge with Frankie Sharp!

Thotyssey: Hello there Frankie, thanks for finding a minute out of your super busy schedule to chat with us! How are you doing?

Frankie Sharp: I’m great! Super high from last night's MARY, my weekly cabaret at Club Cumming. It was a great show. But today, back at the grind. How are you?

I'm hanging in there, and riding these weird weather fluctuations! You're a San Francisco native... I think that city has the best weather.

SF has the best weather probably one month of out the year, September, which is their late summer. It’s perfectly sunny and warm, and not too hot. Otherwise, surprisingly pretty grey and nippy. But when its good it’s good. I respond better to the drama of the seasons. I need constant change around me. My blood pressure responds well to that, I think.

That probably translates well to your work as a nightlife event producer, where if you can't consistently change and innovate, then there's no point in being there.

I certainly can’t stand still or in one place for very long. That also probably has to do with me being a military brat, living in a new city every year. Every grade from Kindergarten to ninth grade was a new place for my family to call our temporary home. That also sharpened my skills on how to make new friends very quickly.

Were you always creative / artistic in some way when you were growing up?

Very much so. I had some friends, but usually only at school. I spent most of my time alone. I would write and draw my own comic books about gay superheroes, except I didn't know they were gay at the time. I just knew they were hot men I liked drawing, and powerful female characters whom I suppose were drag queens. I feel like I manifested those characters into my current adulthood. I’m surrounded by powerful creatures and gay superheroes all the time now.

I'm predicting a Frankie Sharp graphic novel in the future! So, I understand it was a dive bar called the Gangway in San Francisco where your nightlife career began?

Yes! I was working answering phones for an advertising / design firm. I hated having to be somewhere at 9am, and at a desk no less. So on my weekends I was eating ecstasy and running around with all the nightlife creatures, going to all these great club events listening to house music.The best house music outside of Chicago is San Francisco house. I was going to parties thrown by magnificent drag queens like Juanita More's Booty Call and Heklina's TrannyShack, fun club nights by Honey Soundsystem. SF nightlife is all performance-based and peacocky, I loved the nightlife there.

But there was still something missing. When I first went to Gangway, I fell in love. It was a dilapidated dive bar--a half-working jukebox and carpeted walls, but 100% gay clientele over 50. I loved it. I grew up in bars, as my mother was a stripper in the Philippines and that’s how my father met her when he was a sailor stationed there. So for some reason, those kind of bars are very sentimental--almost spiritual--to me.

So I decided to throw a party there on a shoestring budget--way before I knew what a "guarantee" was, or how to strike a deal. I just wanted to have fun, and be able to afford a pizza slice. I DJ'd from iTunes, and filled the room with 99 cent balloons. It was the best time.

OMG after that graphic novel you need to write a full-on book!

What motivated you to come out and mix it up in NYC?

I was very into reading PAPER Magazine, The Face and i-D, and NYC was so fully represented in those mags. And then I became obsessed with all things New York. It was during Electroclash era. There were great bands like W.I.T., Fischerspooner, Scissor Sisters, the goddesses AVENUE D (”Do I Look Like A Slut?”) and wonderful performance artists like Sophia Lamar and Amanda Lepore. I I had them all cut out and taped to my wall like some kind of teeny bopper fan. They were all queer, bold, interesting and unapologetic about their message of both fun and consciousness. Talk about manifestation: all those people I mentioned who I was full-tilt-boogie fans of are now all very close friends of mine.

Not to mention when I first saw Wigstock when I was 16. I knew New York was going to be my home eventually.

I was able to afford my pizza slice and I was having fun outside of work, but then it hit a wall. There’s only so much you can do in San Francisco; albeit a wonderful city, it’s a small town, too. I needed more room to grow. So a one-way ticket to NYC was booked, and I never looked back. I moved Sept 11, 2009. I remember ‘cause the ticket was super cheap to fly on that date.

Eventually you start meeting these people here, and making things happen with the Frankie Sharp brand. MySpace and Facebook were definitely around then, but I'm not sure how much they were being used to market nightlife... is that how you were doing it?

Sorta. Myspace was somewhat used for promoting, but I was still printing out paper flyers then. Passing them out everywhere, legit putting them on cars, etc. I kinda miss that old school aspect. Nowadays, being able to monitor the response gives me a lil’ anxiety. But I have anxiety over everything. I just wanna do a good job and make everyone happy.

I miss those days too! And yeah, having access to all that promotional data can be information overload.

The party that most people will always associate you with from your earlier NYC career is WestGay at the Westway! It was such an interesting location for a kiki because it was kind of isolated in its neighborhood, but that just added to the appeal.

Yeah, exactly. Once you were there you were stuck.

What else was it about WestGay that resonated with people so much, do you think?

We had very, very, very few rules. I mean, dicks and titties were out, celebrities getting laid by gogo boys, the influx of Drag Race was just happening which we heavily included in our programming. Not to mention I had even more NYC idols who became friends perform: Lil Kim, Azealia Banks, Eve, Foxy Brown, Mel B from Spice Girls, Hercules Love Affair... I even had C&C Music Factory perform. They were the first actual CD I owned.

I mean, it was just everything! And at the time, there was nothing like it. All the other parties were sorta people in black, all kinda looking at each other. Honestly, it was some guilt-free, shameless fun that you didn't have to feel bad about. It was chic, in that it was totally not at all. It was completely hedonistic. Over indulging was the theme.

In the event production world, rules suck. Is that like one of the hardest aspects of planning a memorable event where guests can feel like they can really let loose... dealing with restrictions from the management, and the limitations of the venue?

Yeah it was one of the reasons Public Arts sucked so hard. A great venue to look at and on paper. But horrible behind the scenes.

You’re talking about a party you were heading this past summer for a brief but memorable run, Something Special. Who or what wasn’t working for you there?

A lot of venues want gay dollars, but they don’t want gay people. And it wasn’t Matt and Carlos (who also owned Westway), they were great. It was their partner, The Public Hotel. They were corporate assholes, and made life very difficult for me. The didn’t respect what we were doing, and took months to pay. They could’ve really ruined my reputation, because it took forever for me to pay my staff sometimes. And these are hard-working artists.

But oddly, it was still a successful night and very well-attended. And it served me in other ways. At least it got the attention of the Moxy Hotel, who is a part of the Tao Group and the home for my new Sunday night MAGIC. They are incredibly supportive, saw what were up to and signed off on our buffoonery (because our buffoonery is also lucrative).

But it was very stressful [at the Public Hotel]. Not sure why anyone would continue doing things there, especially gay folks.

Ironically, you got a GLAM nomination this past year for Something Special, and the GLAMs were held in the Public Hotel!

I introduced [GLAMs producer] Cherry Jubilee to that space at the tail end of my time with Public. I was trying to do them a favor. The GLAMs had some very familiar technical fuck-ups throughout the night that were the venue’s fault. It actually gave me PTSD. But the GLAMs themselves were just that... GLAM!

I love what Cherry Jubilee does, what a great producer. I just hope one year it becomes more inclusive to all aspects and pockets of the city and surrounding boroughs. Because right now, it really is just a popularity contest for clubs above 14th street. Westgay won best party every year for four years. For that I am so grateful. But it seems things have changed.

But maybe its not the awards--perhaps its the parties that have become more segregated. At least in the small time MAGIC has been running, it feels like a good bridge between uptown and downtown, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

What are the seeds that need to be planted for an event to be Frankie Sharp-level great? And then, how do you know when it’s time to switch things up with something that’s already going strong?

In the beginning stages, I have a tight group of people I work with, and have for years since Westgay: DJs, performers, hosts and sub-promoters. Then with each new event, I hire a second string, usually of younger up-and-comers.

But before everything else, it’s location location location... venue venue venue. Does the room have heart? Can you do Runway? Can you zigzag and find something new all night? Will Amanda Lepore look good in this lighting? Does the sound hit the bottom of my spine? There are many questions that need to be addressed. But it’s always an ongoing transformation. I’m never, ever satisfied. I’m always tuning something.

Always seeking that elusive perfection! Speaking earlier of Brooklyn, your Saturday party Metrosensual at Metropolitan Bar has been running strong for a while now, with top notch guest performers ever week. Metrosensual has definitely helped put Brooklyn nightlife on the map, as far as star power and general epicness.

I LOOOVE METROPOLITAN. Those boys there who run the show are probably the most professional, supportive and friendliest out of every venue I’ve ever worked with. I always tell Steven Mac, who is the GM there, if I ever open my own club, he’s going to run it.

Do you have a favorite Metrosensual moment from parties past?

Bringing Brooke Candy and a her full band--people lost their minds. I loved bringing Latrice Royale there, because the crowd is just drunk and wanting to have a good time, and extend love to the performers and the performers only want to give the same in return. Valentina, of course, was a big night. What a pro, and in person looks not real-- like an Almodovar goddess. Frankly, every week rules. Its pretension-free, which is so refreshing and important to me. I think of Metrosensual as my Marc by Marc version of my bigger nightclubs. It’s really my favorite.

Dragula’s Biqtch Puddin will be there this Saturday!

Her manager reached out to me about having her perform, and when I mentioned it to some kids they were like PLEASE have her. I think people are super excited to see her. I know I am.

MARY at Club Cumming is a weekly cabaret variety show that you produce, and it's a much more low key but still eclectic affair, in a very intimate setting. Ragamuffin and Tyler Ashley are among the performers who appear each week, and you frequently sing on the stage yourself as well! What prompted you to create this very different sort of production?

Our administration, and my sobriety. When Club Cumming was Eastermbloc, I was doing Friday nights there... a party called Dumb Club. It was house, hip hop, party jams, a short drag show, gogo boys, debauchery, classic East Village. When it was bought by Daniel Nardicio and Alan Cumming, they approached me about doing something there still.

But I needed to give something more soulful, something more fulfilling and intimate. I needed to engage with the people who have been coming to my clubs. So I thought this was the perfect opportunity to do just that--while being radically queer, irreverent, political and warm, inviting, inspiring and honest. It’s all the club hosts, gogo boys and DJ’s I have at my club nights, who have all of these additional talents that have been laying dormant finally get to see the light of day.

There were enough unhinged, boozy, headless dance nights. I wanted to build an environment full or art and love. Music and Song. It’s been life-changing thus far. And my new sobriety needed a new project. I couldn’t have asked for a better sponsor.

Congratulations on your sobriety. There's a growing number of sober people in nightlife who keep at it, but it never ceases to amaze me with all the world’s vices at arm’s reach. Is it still a daily struggle? It was never a struggle. I’m not one who wakes up in the morning and wants booze or drugs, or is like "what a stressful day, I need a drink.” I would drink heavily at work because work was in bars and clubs, and I would work 3-4 nights a week and then I would recover from that 2-3 nights a week. That’s your whole week.

And I wouldn't be able to grasp reality. It really screwed with my emotional and mental state. I was unable to be productive, and that’s what I am: a producer. What is a producer who can’t produce? When I was doing WestGay, I was in a blackout pretty much for four years... and it was very successful. That was me at a C- grade level. I wanna see what I can do at a conscious, strong A+.

Being sober has changed my life rapidly, and I keep becoming brighter, lighter, stronger. And I feel love more than I ever have. I describe it often as getting as close to the divine as I’ve ever felt. Close to God. I know that’s heavy. But I feel very connected to the universe and our planet these days. The high that drugs and whiskey used to give me I get from hard work, building communities and hitting a high note at MARY. Cheesy, but true.

What an amazing place to be at! That brings us to MAGIC at Magic Hour, which I guess is only a month or two running now and already a tremendous success. Did everything just kinda “magically” fall into place here?

Honestly, yes. They called me. I called up my business partner in crime, Birdy Black, and we did a walk-through. When we realized the topiary of the bushes were teddy bears fucking, I knew this was our new home.

One thing I realize is, I’m huge on energy. Every event I’ve ever done is an exact representation of where I am in my life. WestGay was LOUD, ruthless and intoxicating because I was loud, ruthless and intoxicated. Something Special was just that: special and confused and erratic, because circumstances were just that. MAGIC is everything I’ve learned and manifested and called upon for everyone else. It has nothing to do with me. It’s not about my ego or money; it’s about giving a gift to New York City, the love of my life. It’s truth, acceptance, art and cuckoory harnessed.

There's always a great cast of hosts and performers there, and you've really done wonders bringing actual huge stars to appear or perform there. Damn, Charlie XCX is gonna be there this Sunday, that's amazing! How is this even happening?

I saw she was in town performing, and her show sold out in 60 seconds, or something absurd. I saw everyone on social media freaking out about not snagging tickets. So in my usual fashion, I wanted to find a way to give something to the kids and create something special for everyone. I reached out to a mutual friend and asked if she had an afterparty planned. She did not... so I made some phone calls.

She’ll be performing with a huge roster of other stars we’re not announcing just yet. But it’s going to be insane. It’s taking everything for me not to mention who they are! but everyone is going to gag with everyone on board. Which then inspired me to do a big performer once a month, moving forward. We have lots planned!

Lindsay Lohan hosted a Brian Rafferty party this past MLK Weekend.

I love Brian Rafferty. We were just texting the other day because he found some old tally list from his Griffin party, which I hosted once. I brought 25 people! It was my first NYC hosting gig. Hes a good egg.

Is queer nightlife now officially a vessel for major artists and celebrities to reach out directly to their fans?

I can’t speak on that. But personally, I’ve always tried to have bigger names perform or DJ at my events. It’s New York! I love the idea of having Andy Cohen DJing my small bar parties, or Azealia Banks at her career height performing the closing of WestGay so people can be really close to them. I love the surrealism of that. I think, like me, those celebrities just wanna give something back.

And everyone wants to be a part of New York Nightlife. It’s Legend.

Do you have anything else in the works, as far as events or other projects?

Jazz singer and musician David Raleigh and I are starting a monthly, social media free eleganza of a dinner party called IRL (In Real Life). I’ve been planning it for a couple of years now, but life kept happening. I have a gorgeous space in the East Village for it now. People will check their phones at the door, a small orchestra provides the evenings soundtrack plays, Stacy Layne Matthews will cater it for the first one, and we all just actually get to exchange with one another. All this exciting bumper cars we do in the club is wonderful, but I wanna know more about the people around me. We can still have club looks and glamour, but Its a classic dinner party where people TALK.

Every month starting in August, we will always have a spotlight on a superstar chef, a bold-named performer from everything from Broadway, opera to hip hop, and a speaker doing an inspirational "TedTalk.” We already have very recognizable names scheduled to perform, and inspirational speakers we just love to hear preach their path of success: authors, filmmakers, writers, politicos... etc.

So classy! That should certainly break some ground as far a nightlife experience goes.

Also, I’ve been working on a scripted TV show for what seems like years now. It’s gone through so many incarnations and different producers and networks interested, but we have a new avenue for it now, and that’s exciting. And pretty soon, my full attention might have to go there. We’ll see!

Right now, everything I’ve ever wanted is happening. And I know that sounds like I’m gloating, but I wanted to honor my sobriety once again--and not in a preachy way, but in a conscious way. With a clear head, strong muscles and sharpened tools, anything you want... you can just take. It’s a magnificent discovery to uncover.

A true inspiration! Okay, to wrap it up: what's the best piece of advice you can give to a newbie who wants to start producing nightlife events in NYC?

Stay out of my way. Just kidding! Be nice to everyone. You never know who anyone is. Plus, just be a kind human person. Life is better that way. Know your worth, but leave your ego out of it.

Do not poach talent.

Respect other promoters’ venues.

And always find a balance of night with day. Vitamin D is needed, so is water and exercise. Feeling powerful from the inside out will get you far.

Thank you, Frankie!

Frankie Sharp produces MARY at Club Cumming (Tuesdays, 9pm), Metrosensual at Metropolitan Bar (Saturdays, 10pm) and MAGIC at Magic Hour Bar & Lounge (Sundays, 10pm). Check Thotyssey’s calendar for a full schedule of his events and appearances, and follow Frankie on Facebook and Instagram.

See Also: Frankie Sharp (11.30.2018)

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easyfoodnetwork · 4 years

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From the Strategist: The 52 Canned Goods (From Cockles to Corn) Chefs Keep in Their Pantries

Photo-Illustration: Courtesy of the retailers.

Chefs recommend their favorite foods preserved in cans and jars, from the Strategist

Shelf-stable food items have, needless to say, never been more popular. The bean business, in particular, is booming — according to recent reports, Goya’s sales have increased some 400 percent. But for those whose legume repertoires are beginning to feel a tad stale, it might be worth considering other areas of the canned and tinned universe, many of which are also quickly gaining traction. Anchovies, long the topping “held” from a dish, are taking center stage on Instagram (in sandwiches, on heaps of linguine), and humble canned tuna has shifted from the back of the pantry to front and center. Not to mention the fact that there’s something specifically delightful about eating a perfectly salty, spicy, or sweet item (whether it’s a smoked oyster or a sour cherry) plucked straight from a completely contained package. To find out the tinned, jarred, and canned foods chefs and home cooks are stocking their pantries with, we asked everyone from Ernesto’s Ryan Bartlow, who suggested a tin of splurge-y white asparagus, to Nom Wah’s Julie Cole, who recommended stocking up on Campbell’s Cream of Celery — which she calls “the Ferrari of canned soups.”

Best tinned and jarred fish

Don Bocarte Anchovies

Four of the chefs and home cooks we talked to topped their list of tinned goods with Don Bocarte Anchovies. “The creme de la creme of anchovies are Don Bocarte salt cured anchovies packed in olive oil,” says Nialls Fallon, a partner at Hart’s, Cervo’s, and The Fly. “They taste like butter and melt in your mouth — I could drink the oil when I’m done it’s so damn good.” Fallon told us that the anchovies come from the Bay of Biscay and are “painstakingly gutted and fileted by hand, then packed in large barrels in concentric circles with salt added after each layer.” Then they’re aged for several months, and rinsed and packed by hand in Spanish olive oil. Danny Bowien of Mission Chinese is a fan, too, as is Julia Sherman, of Salad for President and Angie Mar, chef at the Beatrice Inn.

Agostino Recca Anchovies Fillets in Olive Oil

Michael Schall, co-owner of Bar Camillo and Locanda Vini e Olii says that his restaurant’s “No. 1 choice” for tinned food are these anchovies from Agostino Recca. “I am just addicted to them, as are a lot of our customers.” (This customer can attest to their addictive qualities.) Schall says the anchovies have a just-right amount of saltiness, and are “big enough to feel substantial if you are eating them by themselves.” But if eating straight anchovies sounds like a lot, Schall says they’re great for cooking, too: “Melt them in the pan with some olive oil and a clove of garlic, toss with freshly cooked spaghetti, and you have one of the best all-time afternoon pasta dishes.” Chef and farmer Phoebe Cole-Smith is a fan of the Agostino Recca anchovies, as well.

Cento Anchovy Flat Fillets in Olive Oil

For something a bit less expensive, Carolina Santos Neves, executive chef of American Bar, recommends this Cento tin, which she says, despite the low price are still high-quality enough to eat on their own.

Ortiz Sardines In Olive Oil

Bart van Olphen, sustainable fishing advocate, chef, and author of The Tinned Fish Cookbook, is a fan of Ortiz tinned goods, as well, and told us about these sardines. “I love sardines, but buying the right quality makes the difference between having a great experience or never wanting to eat them again,” he says. “Ortiz is famous for its quality. The cooking process is very particular. The sardines are gutted and then precooked before being trimmed to the size of the can. Cheaper brands only cook the sardines once.”

Cabo de Peñas Razor Shell Clams in Brine

If clams are more your thing, Sherman told us that these from Cabo de Penas — “I love all the tinned seafood by Cabo de Penas,” she says. “But these are especially good. They are super clean and briny — eat them straight from the can.”

Ramon Pena Cockles in Brine

My favorite splurge is a tin of cockles from Ramon Pena in Spain,” says Fallon. “They’re expensive, but worth it.” Fallon says the cockles, which are tiny clams, are the size of a dime and tear-shaped. The cockles are pricey because of how difficult they are to harvest: “They are hard and dangerous to source, by hand from the rocky coastline, then meticulously and perfectly cooked, removed from their shells, and placed in order in a round tin,” Fallon says. “Their milky white color is surrounded by clear briny salty water — it’s so elegant, and pure and really a treat.”

Cabo de Peñas Small Sardines

Nick Perkins, partner at Hart’s, Cervo’s, and The Fly, says that Cabo de Penas is also the go-to brand of tinned fish for his restaurants. “They’re just old school and really solid,” he says. “They also just do really solid sardines and mackerels, which are cost effective.” His favorite are the brand’s baby sardines.

“These are sustainably certified sardines, and beautifully hand-packed with high-quality olive oil,” says Fallon. “A real savory, firm and earthy style.” He told us he’ll go for the classic plain olive oil, or the ones packed with dried chillies.

Matiz Sardines in Olive Oil

This pack of sardines comes recommended by Alissa Wagner, co-owner of Dimes (who also told us about her favorite spices). “They’re a great option for both your health and the health of our planet,” she says. “Sustainable and packed with Omega 3’s, these little fish are a great upgrade for simple salads or enjoyed on some grilled bread with roasted cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs.”

Bela Sardines Lightly Smoked Organic Cayenne Pepper

Andy Xu, Executive Chef at The Odeon, told us that Bela is his preferred sardine brand: “They’re lightly smoked, so there’s an added depth of flavor,” he says.

American Albacore Tuna

Sometimes you just want good old-fashioned canned tuna. Van Olphen suggests trying this tin, which is from a brand founded by one of the families behind the American Albacore Fishing Association. “Their West Coast fishery was the first in the world to obtain a certification for seafood sustainability from the Marine Stewardship Council,” says Van Olphen.

Dongwon Tuna in Kimchi Sauce

“I’m honestly just eating a lot of canned tuna, like Jessica Simpson,” says Bowien of his quarantine meals. “In Korea, canned tuna is such a thing, and you can get it at 711, open it up, and just eat it — especially the kimchi-flavored ones.” Bowien says this tuna from Dongwon is one of his favorites. “I eat it a lot — it’s good quality canned tuna, not fancy — I literally open up the can and dump it on top of hot rice.”

Zallo White Tuna Belly in Olive Oil

Ryan Bartlow, chef-owner at Ernesto’s, says that when it comes to tuna, this, from Zallo, is an easy favorite. “It’s from Bizkaia, Spain, and is perfect eaten on its own, or doused with a little minced onions, salt, olive oil and espelette,” Bartlow says. “At Ernesto’s we serve them with our Gildas.” He also notes that the stately packaging makes it a great gift for the friend who can never have too much tuna (which, right now, is most every non-vegetarian friend).

Interpage International Cod Liver In Own Oil

Van Olphen told us he believes in the “head-to-tail philosophy” when it comes to fish: “Where we’re not just eating the fillet, but also the cheeks or liver, for example.” He describes these cod livers as “soft” and “elegant” and says they work with lots of different dishes. “One of my very favorite ways is to serve it with some reduced orange juice mixed with a bit of lime and sesame oil, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and pink peppercorn on top,” he says.

Ever since I was little I’ve loved large smoked oysters or mussels,” says Carolina Santos Neves, executive chef of American Bar. “My pick these days are Reese and Patagonia Provisions for their sustainably sourced Mussels — I’ll eat them plain or on toasted buttered sourdough bread.”

Ekone Smoked Habanero Oysters

If you want smoked oysters with a bit more zing, Fallon says these Ekone oysters are one of his favorites. “You can have them as a snack with a beer,” he says. “They’re hot! And chewy, and smoky, and really good with mayo or cream cheese on a cracker.”

JOSE Gourmet Spiced Calamari in Ragout Sauce

“The baby squids are prepared by hand — they removed the tentacles and stuff them into the tube of the squid, then hand pack them with a rich tomato ragout sauce,” says Fallon of this spicy option. “Smoky and meaty in flavor and texture, really delicious.” He’s a fan of the baby octopus in olive oil, as well.

Best tinned and canned meats

Underwood Deviled Ham Spread

“I’ll admit that I haven’t had deviled ham spread for a very long time, but one of my favorite sandwiches as a child was this stuff on pepperidge farm white bread with a thin layer of butter,” says Cole-Smith. “I have a few tins of it in my emergency preparedness food kit, because it means I can quickly relive my childhood, using crackers as a vehicle.” Cole-Smith says that in a pinch, “and if you close your eyes,” the deviled ham spread is like “a ‘poor man’s jambon au beurre.’”

Hénaff French Pork Countryside Pate Pâté De Campagne

Perhaps you prefer pâté. Food writer Ashley Mason says that a can of this pork pâté will have you feeling like you’re enjoying “a lazy afternoon on the French countryside” in no time. “Just add a bottle of wine, a baguette, and some crunchy cornichons,” she says.

Best tinned and canned peppers and chiles

Formaggio Kitchen Piparras Peppers

“I discover a lot of my favorite cans and glass jar items from Formaggio,” says chef and food artist Laila Gohar. “They do a really great job at finding products from around the world that are really delicious.” One of her favorite jarred goods from Formaggio are these peppers. “They’re spicy and briny and add a nice bite to a lot of dishes,” she says. “I just like to nibble on them plain, too.”

Xilli Salsa Macha

If you’re looking for a chili sauce with a smoky flavor, Wagner suggests these Xilli Chipotles. “Blend them with yogurt and a little lime juice and salt for a fantastic sauce,” she says. “I love this one on fish tacos.”

Best canned and tinned beans and legumes

Best tinned and canned fruits and vegetables

J. Vela Extra Thick Primera White Asparagus

These tinned white asparagus also come recommended by Bartlow. “We use this product in the restaurant in two different dishes,” he says. “It’s a component in our Ernesto’s salad, as well as a white Asparagus pintxo in the pintxo bar … white asparagus conserva is always in the house.”

Ortiz Piquillo Peppers Stuffed With White Tuna

Mason says that the Spanish peppers used in these are “fire-roasted before being stuffed with fatty Spanish tuna.” Mason suggests having them with cheese and crackers, or if you want something more hearty, “Swap the Ritz for a toasted, sliced baguette and you have tapas.”

Fenn Shui — Pickled Fennel Root in Rice Vinegar, Ginger, Thai Chile

Mason is also a fan of this jarred fennel root, which is pickled in rice vinegar with ginger, orange zest, and fiery Thai chiles. “They’re as crunchy and refreshing as cucumbers,” she says. “Try them in your next burger.”

Best tinned and canned sweets

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from Eater - All https://ift.tt/2KIPhbd https://ift.tt/2YgMsWL

Photo-Illustration: Courtesy of the retailers.

Chefs recommend their favorite foods preserved in cans and jars, from the Strategist

Best tinned and jarred fish

Don Bocarte Anchovies

Agostino Recca Anchovies Fillets in Olive Oil

Cento Anchovy Flat Fillets in Olive Oil

Ortiz Sardines In Olive Oil

Cabo de Peñas Razor Shell Clams in Brine

Ramon Pena Cockles in Brine

Cabo de Peñas Small Sardines

Matiz Sardines in Olive Oil

Bela Sardines Lightly Smoked Organic Cayenne Pepper

Andy Xu, Executive Chef at The Odeon, told us that Bela is his preferred sardine brand: “They’re lightly smoked, so there’s an added depth of flavor,” he says.

American Albacore Tuna

Dongwon Tuna in Kimchi Sauce

Zallo White Tuna Belly in Olive Oil

Interpage International Cod Liver In Own Oil

Ekone Smoked Habanero Oysters

JOSE Gourmet Spiced Calamari in Ragout Sauce

Best tinned and canned meats

Underwood Deviled Ham Spread

Hénaff French Pork Countryside Pate Pâté De Campagne

Best tinned and canned peppers and chiles

Formaggio Kitchen Piparras Peppers

Xilli Salsa Macha

Best canned and tinned beans and legumes

Best tinned and canned fruits and vegetables

J. Vela Extra Thick Primera White Asparagus

Ortiz Piquillo Peppers Stuffed With White Tuna

Fenn Shui — Pickled Fennel Root in Rice Vinegar, Ginger, Thai Chile

Best tinned and canned sweets

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/2KIPhbd via Blogger https://ift.tt/35n4rfB

#Blogger #cooking #Eater #food #recipes

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sugar-flour · 7 years

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Cherry Tart

The other day as I was walking home, something caught my eye. I looked up and I saw a beautiful big cherry tree, brimming with small, round, sweet fruit. I was instantly inspired to make something with them.

I love to use acidic flavours in my desserts, and I really love to pickle fruits, so I wanted that to be the main focus of the tart. Just a couple of weeks ago, I made an amazing elderflower vinegar that I thought would pair perfectly with the cherries.

I added a layer of sour cream pannacotta to balance out the acidity of the vinegar, and layered the dessert with puff pastry arlettes, to give the desserts a crispy texture.

Recipe: Puff Pastry

200g strong flour 25g butter a pinch of salt 100g cold water 125g butter Rub the 25g of butter into the flour. Add the water and salt and mix to form a rough dough. It will be slightly dry. Knead slightly just for a minute or so and then rest in the fridge for half an hour. This is called your detrempe. Using a rolling pin, bash the butter into a square, about 1cm thick, and leave in the fridge. You want the butter and the detrempe to be the same firmness, so the two roll together easily. If your butter is too soft, it will not form even layers in your lamination, and if it is too hard, it will crack and break, also resulting in uneven lamination.

The lamination of puff pastry can be a little bit daunting and confusing, so Ive tried to illustrate it as best I can. To start with score a X shape into the top of the detrempe. Push down each section of the X to create four ears, and place the butter in the middle. Fold the four ears over the butter and you will end up with an envelope of butter.

Now you have what is called a Paton. Take your rolling pin and firmly tap it along the Paton to create some length. Begin to roll the Paton until it is 1.5 cm thick-but only roll along one length, you want a long rectangle, not a square.

Now, imagine your rectangle is split into three parts. Fold the left third over the middle third, and then right third over that. Leaving you with three layers. This is called a single turn. Now you're going to do the same thing again, but its very important that your rotate the Paton 90 degrees, so you are rolling towards the open ends.

After you've completed the two single turns, youre going to rest your dough in the fridge for half an hour. You will then begin a double turn-this starts with the same method of rolling out the dough to 1.5cm thick, however, this time, you will fold it to create 4 layers, like so:

Once this is complete, rest the dough in the fridge for another half hour, before cutting off a third of it, reserving the rest for later use-it can be frozen if desired. Using icing sugar to dust rather than flour, roll the pastry out as thin as possible. Put the pastry between two baking trays, with baking paper on either side, and weigh down the top tray with three or four more trays. Bake for 10 minutes in a 220 degree celsius oven-keep a very close eye on the pastry, as it will burn very quickly. As soon as the pastry comes out of the oven, cut it with a ring cutter to your desired size. You need at least 3 for each portion. Cherry Compote

150g pitted cherries 50g sugar 15g elderflower vinegar 1g gelatine

100g water 100g elderflower cordial 2.5g gelatine

Cook the cherries, sugar and vinegar until the liquid has mostly reduced and the cherries are soft. Add the bloomed gelatine and pour into ring moulds lined with clingfilm on the bottom. Put in the freezer to set.

While this is setting, boil the water and cordial, and stir in the bloomed gelatine. Allow this to cool, and once room temperature, pour a thin layer on top of the compote so that the total height is between 1.5 and 1 cm, then return to the freezer.

Sour Cream Pannacotta

250g sour cream seeds of 1 vanilla pod 25g sugar 1 teaspoon of powder gelatine, mixed with 25g cold water

Heat half of the sour cream with the sugar and vanilla seeds. Once hot, melt in the gelatine water mix, then mix in the remaining sour cream. Pour the mix into ring moulds the same size as the ones used for the compote, to the same height. Put in the freezer to set.

Pickled Cherries

15 cherries, halved elderflower vinegar elderflower cordial

Mix the vinegar and cordial to taste, so that it is still acidic, but the elderflower cordial comes through, and mix them with the cherry halves. Leave to sit and pickle for at least 1 hour

To Plate

Fresh baby cherries Fresh flowers

Demould the compote and pannacotta while frozen, and defrost slightly outside-they dont take long to become soft. Place an arlette on the bottom of the plate, followed by the compote, another arlette, the pannacotta, and top with the final arlette. Drain the pickled cherries and create a ring around the top of the tart. Fill the middle with pitted baby cherries, and finish with a few whole baby cherries and some flower petals.

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thisdaynews · 5 years

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The new weed on the block

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/the-new-weed-on-the-block/

The new weed on the block

In 2014, Kentucky farmer Brian Furnish was looking for ways to diversify his crops. His family had been growing tobacco for eight generations, but the market was withering. If he wanted to keep his farm profitable, he needed something new to grow.

So he helped pioneer Kentucky’s hemp industry, a new crop the state was eager for farmers like him to try, and which showed promise as a high-profit alternative to tobacco. Hemp, he was told, could be used as fiber for clothing and textiles, as livestock feed, and to make an oil that’s used in food supplements. Furnish became the state’s first licensed hemp grower.

A few years later, in the fall of 2017, he sent off samples of his crop for testing. When the results came back he discovered that for some reason – maybe there’d been more rain than usual, or too much sun — five acres of his hemp fields had turned into marijuana. Since marijuana remains illegal both federally and in Kentucky, Furnish had to burn all five acres.

As Furnish knows firsthand, hemp and marijuana are versions of the same plant: cannabis. The only difference is that marijuana contains higher concentrations of a chemical called THC, which causes a psychoactive high when smoked or ingested. But since cannabis can be used for other purposes than to get high, the federal government has decided that cannabis that has only a small amount of THC, no more than 0.3 percent, is a different crop — hemp.

“This whole industry is an experiment,” Furnish said. “We’re not marijuana people … we’re hemp people trying to make a living.”

All forms of cannabis used to be illegal to cultivate. But to help farmers like Furnish, Congress legalized production of hemp nationwide as part of the 2018 farm bill. In a declining farm economy, the crop offers a new source of income for farmers who are under siege because of the trade war with China, dropping commodity prices and a series of natural disasters. The potential economic boom is luring scores of agricultural novices.

But while legalizing hemp has provided new opportunities, it has also created new problems. One of them is that farmers need to keep a close eye on their crops to make sure that the THC level in their cannabis doesn’t creep above 0.3 percent. Even in states where marijuana is legal for adult consumption, hemp farmers who accidentally grow marijuana can’t just turn around and sell it to a dispensary to be smoked or ingested — THC levels for marijuana are typically much higher than what a hemp farmer would see, usually around 15 to 20 percent.

Measuring the THC level in growing plants is a delicate, high-stakes task. It’s one of many issues that have popped up in the past year as the country grapples with how to grow and regulate this brand new crop. The Department of Agriculture is under pressure to overwrite a patchwork of state regulations on measuring THC by setting a national testing standard. USDA has yet to produce federal guidelines that will shape how the new commodity is grown and sold, though the department has said it plans to do so this fall, ahead of the 2020 growing season.

“We all want one thing — that is an equal playing field,” said Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles. “What we don’t want is states pitting themselves against each other with different testing measures which may or may not accurately determine if hemp is marijuana or not.”

Hemp proponents like Furnish try to keep a strict distinction between hemp and marijuana. But during the debate over the farm bill, proponents of legalized marijuana made clear that they saw them as connected, that legalizing hemp would be a step toward legalizing production of all varieties of cannabis. So far, that isn’t happening – opponents of legalization in Congress still have the upper hand. It remains unclear how the growing popularity of hemp will factor into the debate over legalizing marijuana.

But on the ground across the country, the exploding number of hemp farmers and proliferation of products containing hemp oil are quickly normalizing consumption of cannabis products, potentially changing the political equation and complicating an already complex legal and policy debate around cannabis in all its forms.

“It is kind of the first step to getting cannabis rescheduled,” said Michael Boniello, managing director of Poseidon Investment Management, a cannabis investment firm. “The industry is just waiting to see how these guidelines are going to play out.”

HEMP HAS Arange of uses, but most farmers grow it to produce cannabidiol, or CBD — a compound that doesn’t get you high. CBD is the key ingredient in trendy new products from lotions to gummy vitamins, and companies claim it can alleviate anxiety, pain and treat other health conditions. It’s also trapped in a regulatory black hole at the Food and Drug Administration, which hasn’t explained how it plans to regulate products containing the chemical.

Despite that uncertainty, hemp harvests have exploded in just a few years. In 2014, the first year of Kentucky’s program, farmers planted just 33 acres. This year, Kentucky approved the planting of an eye-popping 56,000 acres across the state.

Sky-high enthusiasm around hemp, which can bring in as much as $2,200 per acre, has helped farmers feel more comfortable about growing a plant related to marijuana, said Jeff Sharkey, a lobbyist in Florida on behalf of the medical marijuana and hemp industries. Farmers by nature are familiar with risk, and the support of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and endorsement of hemp by the farm bill, legislation widely known by producers, certainly helps, Sharkey added.

“The stigma is slowly being eroded and hemp has certainly helped that out,” Sharkey said. He pointed out that even “very conservative rural potato farmers” are interested in growing hemp.

Hemp is hardy enough to grow in many climates and soils: Montana, Colorado and Oregon also rake in sizable hemp harvests, and many other states are experimenting with it.

“Certainly a lot of people see hope with this crop,” said Laura Pottorff, a program coordinator at the Colorado Department of Agriculture, which has been managing a hemp program since 2014. “That’s part of the gold rush mentality there.”

Because the U.S. hemp industry is nascent, growers often need to import seeds from overseas, mainly from Canada and Europe, increasing the chances that they unknowingly grow a crop more like marijuana than hemp. That puts a farmer’s entire crop on the line: Regulations in many states mandate that a harvest with high THC levels must be destroyed.

“Test early and test often,” Erica Stark, executive director of the National Hemp Association, said she tells farmers. “That’s where a farmer is going to risk failure. If they spike THC levels and their crop is destroyed, they’ve lost thousands and thousands of dollars, and that can be devastating.”

Jay Noller, head of hemp research at Oregon State University, compared varying THC levels to the amount of sugar in fruit, which increases as crops like strawberries redden and ripen. Different varieties of hemp exhibit a range of THC levels, and those rise and fall with weather and other variables that can be hard to control. So growers can figure out only through trial-and-error which types of cannabis are riskier to grow, such as ones that contain “cherry” in the name, like “Cherry Wine” and “Maui’s Cherry.” But there’s a Catch-22: Varieties that are high in THC also produce more CBD, the treasured, high-valued compound farmers covet.

“The amount of THC varies today in any sort of hemp variety because we still don’t have any U.S.-bred stable varieties,” Noller said. “You’re looking at 15, in some cases 25 years, before you have something that’s actually assuredly stable.”

Hemp farmers are risking more than a failed crop and lost cash if their plants test “hot.” They could also get into legal trouble. A Minnesota farmer in June was charged with two felonies after his crop was seized by authorities and tested at THC levels of 3 percent — 10 times the legal threshold for hemp.

Those consequences extend beyond hemp farmers; law enforcement officers have struggled to figure out just what is marijuana and what isn’t. A truck driver transporting hemp in Januaryfrom Oregon to be processed in Colorado was arrested and charged with drug trafficking at a weigh station in Idaho. The case made its way to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit as lawyers for the hemp processor, Big Sky Scientific,foughtto get the charges dropped and the hemp released from police custody.

The contradictions between federal and state policy have kept the trucking case cycling through the court system. Hemp remains illegal in Idaho, so authorities had the right to seize the truckload, county prosecutors argued. Idaho also has the ability to prohibit transportation of hemp within the state because the product must first be lawfully produced — and the prosecutors argued that’s impossible since even though Congress voted to legalize the crop, USDA still hasn’t approved any state plans for regulating it.

A plea deal was reached with the truck driver in September. The state dropped all drug trafficking charges and the driver pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for hauling an improperly permitted load. But Elijah Watkins, lead attorney for Big Sky Scientific, complained that Idaho “continues to hold Big Sky’s hemp and is refusing to return it.”

“We are going to state court to hopefully have the issue heard on the merits,” he said.

THERE ARE TWOmain methods for analyzing hemp: liquid or gas chromatography, a process that separates and measures the various types of THC present in the plant, said Larry Smart, a plant geneticist and leader of Cornell University’s hemp program. But he explained that the same plant could be tested using both technologies and the final THC measurement could vary. States can choose toemploy either testing technology.

Smart and a team of researchers are working to develop ways that farmers can more easily test THC levels themselves in their fields, potentially through infrared technology. Growers may be able to get their hands on that tool in as soon as two years, he said.

When it comes to sampling, every state takes its own approach. In Pennsylvania, hemp fields are tested randomly and department employees visit about 25 percent of the more than 800 fields when the plants sprout flowers.

But in Colorado, random testing occurs at a different point in the season. The top two inches of the plant are sampled within two weeks of harvest. Which parts of the plant that are tested matter: THC levels can also fluctuate depending on how much of the plant is analyzed, from just the top two inches to the entire plant.

Other states are taking note. In Florida, for example, the state agriculture department is in the midst of designing its own hemp program. Holly Bell, the architect of Florida’s hemp market, said the state has learned from other states not to just focus on the farming side of hemp but also the processing, manufacturing and distributing components of the industry.

“That is the approach we’ve tried to take with this program, to be working on them all at once, making sure that they can all interact on a timely basis and be ready for each other when we start the program,” Bell said.

A USDA spokesperson told POLITICO that the draft rule regulating hemp is under review by the Office of Management and Budget and the department intends to have the regulations in effect this fall. “USDA staff are exercising due diligence to address multiple requirements for hemp,” including maintaining records, designing inspections and developing THC testing standards.

Testing THC levels is far from the only challenge facing hemp farmers. The post-harvest stage of hemp is precarious: Freshly harvested plants need to be quickly dried or the crop will begin to mold. Then farmers need to track down a processor to extract CBD or turn the hemp into fiber. But in many places that infrastructure doesn’t exist at the scale necessary to handle the massive influx of hemp, which has federal and state officials on edge.

“In my career in agriculture I think there’s more interest in hemp than anything I’ve ever seen,” House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson said at the Minnesota Farmfest in August. “I think this is a crop that has potential and there’s going to be a future. But I am nervous about what’s going on because we don’t have any processing for the fiber part of hemp.”

Vermont hemp farmer Peter Dallison has seen a business opportunity in all the confusion. Many of Vermont’s beleaguered dairy farmers, who have been going out of business as milk consumption has declined and the industry consolidates, were interested in switching to growing hemp for CBD. But Dallison realized that high barriers to entry, especially for smaller growers, and the complications of testing and processing, could keep potential hemp farmers on the sidelines.

So Dallison joined GreenTop Farm, which is testing different varieties of cannabis on its 130-acre farm, monitoring THC levels by testing plants as often as twice a week. GreenTop hopes to supply plants vetted to thrive in Vermont with high CBD and low THC levels and eventually provide services to local farmers to help them harvest, dry and extract CBD.

“This is an opportunity for these guys to make their land profitable again,” Dallison said. “It does give new life to a family farm that really didn’t see an opportunity in their future.”

Meanwhile, supporters of marijuana legalization continue to believe that the growing popularity of hemp and hemp products are laying the foundation for the federal government to legalize all forms of cannabis.

States with approved medical marijuana programs often legalize marijuana for adult use about five years later, said Boniello of Poseidon Investment.

“I look at industrial hemp very similarly,” he said. “It is kind of the first step to getting cannabis rescheduled.”

Liz Crampton is an agriculture reporter for POLITICO Pro.

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buyfreshvegetable · 7 years

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Choosing Fresh Fruit or Who Put the Worm in My Apple

Fresh fruit! Everybody likes fruit. Imagine biting into a crisp red apple, tantalizing your taste buds. How about tossing sweet , seedless grapes into your mouth, anticipating that satisfying pop!! with each bite. Then there is the ultimate fruit treat! Ice-cold watermelon, juice dripping down your chin and all over your hands. Is there a better feeling? Absolutely not.

Your taste buds are ready for that first bite of succulence. Yum! Absolutely delicious! But what is this…? Your smile is turning into a frown. That beautiful apple is mushy!! You dig further into your refrigerator for some grapes. What can go wrong here? Pucker, pucker. Sour, you say? And where did these seeds come from? You move onto that all-time favorite. The only thing wrong with watermelon is that once you put it into your refrigerator to chill, suddenly there is no room for anything else, with the possible exception of a tin of sardines. You excavate the refrigerator, digging for that melon with the juice of ambrosia. Cutting yourself a hunk, you take that first big bite, waiting for bliss. Hmm! You had better take a second bite. Oh, no! Guess what? You just bought 14 pounds of water and rind.

It’s time for revenge! With the following list, you will be ready and able to properly choose FRESH fruit to titillate your tongue

Let’s take a look at many of the most frequently eaten raw fruits. Included are bananas, apples, watermelons, oranges, cantaloupes, grapes, grapefruit, strawberries, peaches, pears, nectarines, honey dew melons, plums, avocado, lemons, pineapples, tangerines, sweet cherries, kiwifruit, and limes. It is fairly easy to judge the quality of most fruits by just looking at their external appearance.

Apples For snacking, try Red Delicious, McIntosh, Granny Smith, Empire, and Golden Delicious. Tart varieties such as Gravenstein, Grimes Golden, Jonathan, and Newton make good pies and applesauce. However, for baking, use the firmer-fleshed varieties such as Rome Beauty and Winesap.

When selecting apples, go for crisp, firm, and well-colored. Flavor depends on the stage of maturity at the time the fruit is picked. Make sure to select mature apples to insure good flavor, texture, and storing ability.

Avoid overripe apples (Fruit that yields to slight pressure on the skin, and soft, mealy flesh) and apples damaged by freeze (Internal breakdown and bruising). Taste will not be seriously affected by scald (irregularly shaped tan or brown areas).

Apricots Most fresh apricots are available in June and July. Apricots should do their maturing while on the tree and be firm to the touch when picked. Plump, golden orange, and juicy looking fruit should yield to gentle pressure. Avoid mushy fruit or hard, greenish yellow apricots.

Groves of Avocado trees in California and Florida make the fruit available all year. Two general types, with a number of varieties within these types, vary greatly in shape, size, and color. Most of them are pear-shaped. Some of the fruits have a rough or leathery textured skin while others are smooth. Most avocados are some shade of green but certain varieties turn maroon, brown, or purplish-black during the ripening process.

Avocados are ready to eat when slightly soft. It takes from 3 to 5 days at room temperature for “grocery store hard” avocados to ripen. Refrigeration slows ripening.

For immediate consumption, pick slightly soft avocados which yield to gentle pressure but for use later in the week, select fruits that are still firm to the touch.

Avoid avocados with dark sunken spots or cracked or broken surfaces. Avocado Cooking Tip: To avoid the browning of avocado flesh when it is exposed to the air, immediately place the exposed flesh in lemon juice until ready to use.

Bananas are best after harvesting. Available year-round and imported from Central and South America, bananas get injured in temperatures below 55º and should never be kept refrigerated. Ideally, bananas should be kept in an area that is between 60º and 70º.

Look for firm bananas with a bright skin and no bruises. When the solid yellow color is specked with brown, the banana has reached its best eating stage. Avoid bananas with green tips, bruised fruit, discolored skin, or a grayish, aged appearance.

Fresh Blueberries are available from May through September. Look for dark blue berries with a silvery coating. Purchase blueberries that are plump, firm, uniform in size, dry, and with no stems or leaves. Try to avoid soft, mushy blueberries.

Most sweet Cherries, excellent as a dessert fruit, come from the Western states and are available from May through August. Sour or pie cherries are used in cooked desserts and have a softer flesh, lighter red color, and a tart flavor.

Look for very dark color to indicate good flavor and maturity in sweet cherries. Bing, Black Tartarian, and Schmidt varieties should range in color from deep maroon or mahogany red to black for the richest flavor. Rainier cherries should be straw-colored. Look for bright, glossy, plump-looking surfaces and fresh-looking stems. Avoid cherries with soft, leaking flesh, an indication of decay.

Fresh Cranberries are available from September through January. Look for plump, firm berries with lustrous color. Avoid brown or dark, discolored berriesr.

Grapefruit are available all year, from Florida, Texas, California, and Arizona. Grapefruit are marketed as “seedless” (having few or no seeds) and “seeded.” The color of the flesh is another distinction of the various varieties. Grapefruit is picked “tree ripe” and ready to eat.

The best tasting grapefruit are firm and heavy for their size. Thin-skinned fruits tend to be juicier than the coarse-skinned ones. Avoid fruit with soft, tender peel that breaks easily with finger pressure.

Most table Grapes are grown principally in California and Nevada. Common varieties are Thompson Seedless (an early, green grape), Red Seedless (an early, red grape), and Tokay (early, bright red, seeded grapes).

American-type grapes have softer flesh and more juice than the European varieties. The blue-black Concord has outstanding flavor. Delaware and Catawba are also popular varieties.

Look for well-colored, plump grapes firmly attached to the stem. Avoid soft or wrinkled grapes.

The Kiwifruit is fairly small. The pulp is bright green, slightly acid-tasting, and surrounded by many small, black, edible seeds, which in turn surround a pale heart. The exterior of the kiwifruit is light to medium brown and “furry” in texture. Most domestic kiwifruit is produced in California.

Look for kiwifruit that is plump and unwrinkled. It is fully ripe when it is yielding to the touch but not soft. Ripening can be speeded by leaving it for a few days at room temperature.

Special Note: Kiwifruit contains the enzyme actinidin which reacts chemically to break down proteins. Actinidin prevents gelatin from setting, so if you are planning to serve kiwifruit in a gelatin dish, cook the fruit for a few minute’s before adding it to the gelatin.

Available year-round, most Lemons come from California and Arizona. Look for fruit with a rich yellow color, and fairly smooth-textured skin with a slight gloss. Lemons that are firm and heavy tend to be very juicy.

Limes come to market when they have matured. Like lemons, look for limes that have a glossy skin and heavy weight for their size.

Selecting Melons for quality and flavor can be difficult.

Cantaloupe are generally available from May to September. There are 3 major signs of full maturity in a cantaloupe: The stem should be totally gone, the veining should be thick, coarse, and corky, and the skin color between the veining should have changed from green to yellowish-buff, yellowish-gray, or pale yellow. A cantaloupe might be mature, but not ripe. A ripe cantaloupe will yield slightly to light thumb pressure. It will have a yellowish cast to the rind and have an enticing cantaloupe aroma.

Many cantaloupes on display in the grocery are quite firm but most are not quite ready to eat. It is best to keep them at room temperature for 2 to 4 days to let them finish ripening.

A Casaba melon is sweet, juicy, and Pumpkin-shaped. The rind is hard and the stem must be cut when harvesting. Casaba melons are grown in California and Arizona and are available from July to November. Look for fruit with a gold-yellow rind color and slight softening at the blossom end. Casabas are aroma free!

The Crenshaw melon, a large fruit, has a rather smooth rind with very shallow lengthwise furrowing. The delicious flesh is pale orange and juicy. Crenshaws come from California July to October, with peak crops in August and September.

The crenshaw has three signs of ripening: a deep golden yellow rind; a surface that yields slightly to moderate pressure, and a pleasant aroma.

The Honey Dew melon is highly prized as a dessert fruit. Large (4 to 8 pounds), the fruit is bluntly oval in shape and generally very smooth. Depending upon the stage of ripeness, the rind is firm and ranges in color from creamy white to creamy yellow. A soft, velvety texture indicates maturity (ready to be picked) while ripeness (ready to be eaten) is indicated by a slight softening at the blossom end, a faint pleasant fruit aroma, and a rind a yellowish-white to creamy color.

Closely resembling cantaloupes, Persian melons are rounder and are about the size of honey dews. The Persian melon’s flesh is thick, fine-textured, and orange in color. California supplies a fair number of these tasty melons in August and September.

Even though Watermelons can be found in groceries, to some degree, from early May to September, the peak harvest comes in June, July, and August. It is very difficult to judge the quality of a watermelon without cutting it in half or quartering it.

Look for a watermelon with firm, juicy flesh that is a good red color. The flesh should be free of white streaks and should have dark brown or black seeds. Small white immature seeds are normal for “seedless” watermelon. Avoid melons with pale-colored flesh, white streaks, and whitish seeds.

If you are brave enough to purchase an uncut watermelon, there are a few appearance factors that might be helpful (though not totally reliable). The melon surface should be relatively smooth; the rind should have a slight dullness; the ends of the watermelon should be filled out and rounded; and the “belly” of the watermelon should be a creamy color.

Nectarines, combining characteristics of both the peach and the plum, are available from June to September, from California. Look for plump, rich-colored fruit with a slight softening along its “seam”. Nectarines that are firm or moderately hard to the touch should ripen in 2 to 3 days at room temperature.

Oranges are supplied year-round. The Washington Navel and the Valencia, both with a rich orange skin color, are leading varieties from California and Arizona. The Navel orange has a thicker, more pebbled skin than the Valencia. It has the advantages of its skin being more easily removed by hand and that the segments come apart more easily. The Navel is best for eating as a whole fruit or in segments in salads. The Western Valencia, well suited for either juicing or for slicing in salads. The Florida Temple is somewhat like the California Navel in easiness of peeling and separating into segments, along with excellent flavor.

Look for firm and heavy oranges with reasonably smooth, bright looking skin. Avoid light-weight oranges, which are likely to be dried out in its interior. These oranges tend to have very little juice.

There are many varieties of Peaches but it takes an expert to tell one variety from another. Peaches fall into two general types: freestone (flesh easily separates from the pit) and clingstone (flesh clings tightly to the pit). Freestones are generally consumed fresh or for freezing. Clingstones are used primarily for canning.

Look for peaches that are rather firm or becoming a bit soft. The skin color between the red areas should be yellow or creamy. Avoid fruit that has distinct green ground color or that is very soft.

California, Washington, and Oregon produce great quantities of Pears. The Bartlett pear is the most popular variety for canning and for eating fresh. Look for firm pears. Pears will probably ripen at room temperature but it is a good idea to pick pears that have already begun to soften to get good ripening.

Pineapples can be found at the grocery year around but are most plentiful from March to June. The come primarily from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. Many pineapples are already fully colored when seen at the grocery but if necessary, a mature green pineapple should normally turn yellow to orange within a few days at room temperature.

Look for pineapples with bright color, a pleasant pineapple aroma, and a very slight separation of the eyes or pips (the fruitlets patterned in a spiral on the fruit core). When mature, pineapples are generally dark green, firm, plump, and heavy for their size. When fully colored, pineapples should be golden yellow, orange -yellow, or reddish brown.

Plums and Prunes have very similar quality characteristics and buying tips. Only a few varieties of prunes are marketed. Prunes are purplish-black or bluish-black. The flesh is moderately firm and separates easily from the pit. Look for plums and prunes with good color and are fairly firm to slightly soft.

Blackberries, Raspberries, Dewberries, Loganberries, and Youngberries may differ from one another in shape or color but they closely share quality factors. Look for a bright, clean appearance and uniform good color. The berries should be plump and tender. Avoid leaky and moldy berries.

The best Strawberry harvest is in May and June but lasts until the fall. Look for strawberries with shiny red color, firm flesh, and the cap stem still attached. Small to medium berries have the best taste. Try to avoid berries with large uncolored areas or with large seedy areas.

Tangerines come primarily from Florida but California, Arizona, and Texas provide large crops. Available from late November to early March, tangerines peak in December and January.

Look for deep yellow or orange color with a bright luster. Tangerines will frequently not feel firm to the touch due to the typically loose nature of tangerine peel.

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turnipanime84-blog · 7 years

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Hunting For A New Refreshment That Is Healthier? Look No More Than Juicing!

If you might be looking to drop weight or just get healthful, juicing can be a excellent option to improve your diet regime and get loads of vitamins with out as well a lot of calories. Read through on for some simple suggestions on how to adhere to your diet program, make juice style greater and a lot of other things. Do not fail to remember to clean your generate prior to juicing, and use natural and organic merchandise exactly where attainable. So several people seem to feel that given that it really is heading to change into juice, they do not need to clean their fruits and veggies. Just due to the fact it's liquid, does not suggest the chemicals existing on the peels are going to go absent. Cleanse your fruits and greens completely just before juicing. If you want to be profitable at juicing in order to keep a much healthier lifestyle, then be positive to preserve your juicing equipment on your counter or in sight all the time. If you preserve a particular region specified as the "juicing location," then you will be more likely to use it as it is meant. Wheat-grass has several wellness benefits such as cleansing the lymph program, and taking away harmful metals from your cells. You can only ingest wheat-grass via juice, so juicing can be extremely helpful. Be watchful due to the fact wheat-grass does have a quite powerful taste. It is very best to commence out a minor at a time. Each and every time you juice, just gradually insert a small far more. Acquire a juicer produced of large good quality. This is crucial if you plan to use your juicer often. A great juicer will make as significantly juice as you want, be straightforward to maintain and thoroughly clean, and final a extended time. Do not attempt to skimp on value or you may well finish up purchasing a lot more juicers than you want to bad juicers just will not stand the check of time. Leaving some seeds in your juicer is perfectly fantastic! Greater seeds this kind of as cherry pits or sometimes citrus seeds may well in fact injury your juicer, even though, so it truly is greatest to think about the measurement and firmness of the seeds in the things you're juicing just before throwing them in whole with reckless abandon! Do not assault your style buds with insane blends appropriate away. Take it gradual with your taste blends and adhere to what you know you will like at 1st. Then get started to include things that you do not normally eat as juice, this kind of as spinach or other leafy vegetables. This will avoid you from ruining the pleasure of juicing since you acquired a negative style in your mouth. Substitute meals on event with your juicing. There are several servings of fruit and vegetables heading into your blend and this can equate to a quite healthier meal. At times substituting a juice mix for a meal will reduce the volume of nontraditional ingredients you are consuming from processed food items and you will get much more than adequate nourishment. Even though juicing incorporate some fish oil or cod liver oil. These two sorts of oils will assist with the absorption of vitamin K. The fat from fish oil are very beneficial for well being and gives you the correct quantity and the proper varieties of body fat essential for vitamin K absorption. Getting a masticating juicer will enable the juice you make to have it really is nutrition break down significantly slower, which means you can consider your time in consuming it or even store it for a while. It will also go away as much of the organic vitamins intact as possible, providing you the most wholesome juice to drink. Carrots never need to be peeled ahead of you juice them, but you can not take in their leaf greens as they're harmful to people. Rhubarb is also an outstanding product to juice, but its greens are also undesirable for you. Make sure to study about what greens are ok or even wholesome to try to eat, which could make you ill, Just before experimenting! Always consume your juice proper absent following you have set it through the juicer! This is when the juice is most powerful and has the most nutritional price. http://lynnepope.net/back-to-basics-steam-juicer-review/ If you cannot get to it correct away, get to the juice and consume it as shortly as attainable. Do not make a big amount of juice to shop. When it will come to juicing, one particular factor that you want to hold in head, is that you want to prepare yourself mentally and monetarily, for investing a good deal of funds into a top quality juicer. This is important to consider and help save for simply because high quality juicers can cost upwards of $1500. Not only will you help save cash by juicing and not obtaining to purchase high-priced juices at the store, but you are going to also be ready to lessen your vitamin and health supplement ingestion. Being healthy will also indicate you'll consider less prescription medicines, conserving you even far more funds just by trying to keep in very good condition! It's best to stay away from juicing fruits and vegetables that have a lower water articles. Avocados and bananas, for case in point, are quite dense and don't have a lot water in them. They will clog up your juicer and you won't get considerably juice out of them. If you really want to include them, blend them 1st and then mix them with juices from other produce. If you want to juice while pregnant, question your doctor about the fruit, veggies, and other spices and additives you use to make sure they're all healthful for your child, as well. For example, there are some herbs that are often found in teas which can guide to spontaneous abortion! Double verify to make confident that what you ingest is ok. When it arrives to juicing, a single thing that you want to maintain in head is the different positive aspects that distinct sorts of juice extracts will bring you. A single these kinds of benefit is the fact that the juice from cabbage is a fantastic normal way to recover stomach ulcers. This is not meant to substitute other strategies, but it could operate excellent for you in addition to what you are already undertaking. As you read through earlier in the write-up, juicing is a wonderful way to keep healthier with scrumptious juices. Attempt these suggestions to make positive that your juice diet goes well and that your juices change out scrumptious and healthy. Try a juicing diet program for a even though and you are going to truly feel wonderful!

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Photo-Illustration: Courtesy of the retailers. Chefs recommend their favorite foods preserved in cans and jars, from the Strategist Shelf-stable food items have, needless to say, never been more popular. The bean business, in particular, is booming — according to recent reports, Goya’s sales have increased some 400 percent. But for those whose legume repertoires are beginning to feel a tad stale, it might be worth considering other areas of the canned and tinned universe, many of which are also quickly gaining traction. Anchovies, long the topping “held” from a dish, are taking center stage on Instagram (in sandwiches, on heaps of linguine), and humble canned tuna has shifted from the back of the pantry to front and center. Not to mention the fact that there’s something specifically delightful about eating a perfectly salty, spicy, or sweet item (whether it’s a smoked oyster or a sour cherry) plucked straight from a completely contained package. To find out the tinned, jarred, and canned foods chefs and home cooks are stocking their pantries with, we asked everyone from Ernesto’s Ryan Bartlow, who suggested a tin of splurge-y white asparagus, to Nom Wah’s Julie Cole, who recommended stocking up on Campbell’s Cream of Celery — which she calls “the Ferrari of canned soups.” Best tinned and jarred fish Don Bocarte Anchovies Four of the chefs and home cooks we talked to topped their list of tinned goods with Don Bocarte Anchovies. “The creme de la creme of anchovies are Don Bocarte salt cured anchovies packed in olive oil,” says Nialls Fallon, a partner at Hart’s, Cervo’s, and The Fly. “They taste like butter and melt in your mouth — I could drink the oil when I’m done it’s so damn good.” Fallon told us that the anchovies come from the Bay of Biscay and are “painstakingly gutted and fileted by hand, then packed in large barrels in concentric circles with salt added after each layer.” Then they’re aged for several months, and rinsed and packed by hand in Spanish olive oil. Danny Bowien of Mission Chinese is a fan, too, as is Julia Sherman, of Salad for President and Angie Mar, chef at the Beatrice Inn. Agostino Recca Anchovies Fillets in Olive Oil Michael Schall, co-owner of Bar Camillo and Locanda Vini e Olii says that his restaurant’s “No. 1 choice” for tinned food are these anchovies from Agostino Recca. “I am just addicted to them, as are a lot of our customers.” (This customer can attest to their addictive qualities.) Schall says the anchovies have a just-right amount of saltiness, and are “big enough to feel substantial if you are eating them by themselves.” But if eating straight anchovies sounds like a lot, Schall says they’re great for cooking, too: “Melt them in the pan with some olive oil and a clove of garlic, toss with freshly cooked spaghetti, and you have one of the best all-time afternoon pasta dishes.” Chef and farmer Phoebe Cole-Smith is a fan of the Agostino Recca anchovies, as well. Cento Anchovy Flat Fillets in Olive Oil For something a bit less expensive, Carolina Santos Neves, executive chef of American Bar, recommends this Cento tin, which she says, despite the low price are still high-quality enough to eat on their own. Ortiz Sardines In Olive Oil Bart van Olphen, sustainable fishing advocate, chef, and author of The Tinned Fish Cookbook, is a fan of Ortiz tinned goods, as well, and told us about these sardines. “I love sardines, but buying the right quality makes the difference between having a great experience or never wanting to eat them again,” he says. “Ortiz is famous for its quality. The cooking process is very particular. The sardines are gutted and then precooked before being trimmed to the size of the can. Cheaper brands only cook the sardines once.” Cabo de Peñas Razor Shell Clams in Brine If clams are more your thing, Sherman told us that these from Cabo de Penas — “I love all the tinned seafood by Cabo de Penas,” she says. “But these are especially good. They are super clean and briny — eat them straight from the can.” Ramon Pena Cockles in Brine My favorite splurge is a tin of cockles from Ramon Pena in Spain,” says Fallon. “They’re expensive, but worth it.” Fallon says the cockles, which are tiny clams, are the size of a dime and tear-shaped. The cockles are pricey because of how difficult they are to harvest: “They are hard and dangerous to source, by hand from the rocky coastline, then meticulously and perfectly cooked, removed from their shells, and placed in order in a round tin,” Fallon says. “Their milky white color is surrounded by clear briny salty water — it’s so elegant, and pure and really a treat.” Cabo de Peñas Small Sardines Nick Perkins, partner at Hart’s, Cervo’s, and The Fly, says that Cabo de Penas is also the go-to brand of tinned fish for his restaurants. “They’re just old school and really solid,” he says. “They also just do really solid sardines and mackerels, which are cost effective.” His favorite are the brand’s baby sardines. “These are sustainably certified sardines, and beautifully hand-packed with high-quality olive oil,” says Fallon. “A real savory, firm and earthy style.” He told us he’ll go for the classic plain olive oil, or the ones packed with dried chillies. Matiz Sardines in Olive Oil This pack of sardines comes recommended by Alissa Wagner, co-owner of Dimes (who also told us about her favorite spices). “They’re a great option for both your health and the health of our planet,” she says. “Sustainable and packed with Omega 3’s, these little fish are a great upgrade for simple salads or enjoyed on some grilled bread with roasted cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs.” Bela Sardines Lightly Smoked Organic Cayenne Pepper Andy Xu, Executive Chef at The Odeon, told us that Bela is his preferred sardine brand: “They’re lightly smoked, so there’s an added depth of flavor,” he says. American Albacore Tuna Sometimes you just want good old-fashioned canned tuna. Van Olphen suggests trying this tin, which is from a brand founded by one of the families behind the American Albacore Fishing Association. “Their West Coast fishery was the first in the world to obtain a certification for seafood sustainability from the Marine Stewardship Council,” says Van Olphen. Dongwon Tuna in Kimchi Sauce “I’m honestly just eating a lot of canned tuna, like Jessica Simpson,” says Bowien of his quarantine meals. “In Korea, canned tuna is such a thing, and you can get it at 711, open it up, and just eat it — especially the kimchi-flavored ones.” Bowien says this tuna from Dongwon is one of his favorites. “I eat it a lot — it’s good quality canned tuna, not fancy — I literally open up the can and dump it on top of hot rice.” Zallo White Tuna Belly in Olive Oil Ryan Bartlow, chef-owner at Ernesto’s, says that when it comes to tuna, this, from Zallo, is an easy favorite. “It’s from Bizkaia, Spain, and is perfect eaten on its own, or doused with a little minced onions, salt, olive oil and espelette,” Bartlow says. “At Ernesto’s we serve them with our Gildas.” He also notes that the stately packaging makes it a great gift for the friend who can never have too much tuna (which, right now, is most every non-vegetarian friend). Interpage International Cod Liver In Own Oil Van Olphen told us he believes in the “head-to-tail philosophy” when it comes to fish: “Where we’re not just eating the fillet, but also the cheeks or liver, for example.” He describes these cod livers as “soft” and “elegant” and says they work with lots of different dishes. “One of my very favorite ways is to serve it with some reduced orange juice mixed with a bit of lime and sesame oil, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and pink peppercorn on top,” he says. Ever since I was little I’ve loved large smoked oysters or mussels,” says Carolina Santos Neves, executive chef of American Bar. “My pick these days are Reese and Patagonia Provisions for their sustainably sourced Mussels — I’ll eat them plain or on toasted buttered sourdough bread.” Ekone Smoked Habanero Oysters If you want smoked oysters with a bit more zing, Fallon says these Ekone oysters are one of his favorites. “You can have them as a snack with a beer,” he says. “They’re hot! And chewy, and smoky, and really good with mayo or cream cheese on a cracker.” JOSE Gourmet Spiced Calamari in Ragout Sauce “The baby squids are prepared by hand — they removed the tentacles and stuff them into the tube of the squid, then hand pack them with a rich tomato ragout sauce,” says Fallon of this spicy option. “Smoky and meaty in flavor and texture, really delicious.” He’s a fan of the baby octopus in olive oil, as well. Best tinned and canned meats Underwood Deviled Ham Spread “I’ll admit that I haven’t had deviled ham spread for a very long time, but one of my favorite sandwiches as a child was this stuff on pepperidge farm white bread with a thin layer of butter,” says Cole-Smith. “I have a few tins of it in my emergency preparedness food kit, because it means I can quickly relive my childhood, using crackers as a vehicle.” Cole-Smith says that in a pinch, “and if you close your eyes,” the deviled ham spread is like “a ‘poor man’s jambon au beurre.’” Hénaff French Pork Countryside Pate Pâté De Campagne Perhaps you prefer pâté. Food writer Ashley Mason says that a can of this pork pâté will have you feeling like you’re enjoying “a lazy afternoon on the French countryside” in no time. “Just add a bottle of wine, a baguette, and some crunchy cornichons,” she says. Best tinned and canned peppers and chiles Formaggio Kitchen Piparras Peppers “I discover a lot of my favorite cans and glass jar items from Formaggio,” says chef and food artist Laila Gohar. “They do a really great job at finding products from around the world that are really delicious.” One of her favorite jarred goods from Formaggio are these peppers. “They’re spicy and briny and add a nice bite to a lot of dishes,” she says. “I just like to nibble on them plain, too.” Xilli Salsa Macha If you’re looking for a chili sauce with a smoky flavor, Wagner suggests these Xilli Chipotles. “Blend them with yogurt and a little lime juice and salt for a fantastic sauce,” she says. “I love this one on fish tacos.” Best canned and tinned beans and legumes Best tinned and canned fruits and vegetables J. Vela Extra Thick Primera White Asparagus These tinned white asparagus also come recommended by Bartlow. “We use this product in the restaurant in two different dishes,” he says. “It’s a component in our Ernesto’s salad, as well as a white Asparagus pintxo in the pintxo bar … white asparagus conserva is always in the house.” Ortiz Piquillo Peppers Stuffed With White Tuna Mason says that the Spanish peppers used in these are “fire-roasted before being stuffed with fatty Spanish tuna.” Mason suggests having them with cheese and crackers, or if you want something more hearty, “Swap the Ritz for a toasted, sliced baguette and you have tapas.” Fenn Shui — Pickled Fennel Root in Rice Vinegar, Ginger, Thai Chile Mason is also a fan of this jarred fennel root, which is pickled in rice vinegar with ginger, orange zest, and fiery Thai chiles. “They’re as crunchy and refreshing as cucumbers,” she says. “Try them in your next burger.” Best tinned and canned sweets Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy. from Eater - All https://ift.tt/2KIPhbd

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