Some Beer Culture

First off, a few words on beer. After going through the 'dark ages' with the only choice being mass produced and indifferently constructed bland lagers here in America, we are now blessed with the success of the Craft Beer Revolution. Just like the current freedoms we enjoy as citizens of the United States, we must pay tribute and thanks to our forefather who were on the front lines paving the way for the generations to come. In this way, I must acknowledge the pioneers at Anchor, Sierra Nevada, Brooklyn, Dogfish Head, and even Samuel Adams who are the reason for all of the thoughtfully prepared and flavorful brews we have today.

"When our forefathers put down roots in desolate places, the thing that allowed them to survive was that they had a faith to see them through the tough times." -Lee Greenwood

But perhaps I shouldn't be so quick to warmly paint this image of a few heroes who nearly single handedly revolutionized American beer culture. There is no doubt that the new found dedication and attention on quality of product that has flourished over the past few decades could not have been achieved without a few nuts willing to go against the grain, there is still an underlying dysfunction that needs to be addressed. The process of brewing has been seen in records dating back thousands of years, thus the question should be where did beer go?

In America, decent beer has been absent for quite some time. Perhaps there was little demand for it as there was more focus on liquor following a small group of angry old women, prohibition, moon shinning, and all that silliness. Perhaps establishing solid brewing locations was not conducive to the lifestyle of westward expansion and life on the move. Or maybe the populous of America were lead astray by large brewers' advertising claims of 'the great american lager' that in reality did our country a great disgrace (and is no longer even American). It is unclear, but worth further investigation into the history books to sort out where everything went so wrong. So to answer where/when beer left America, who knows. However if we turn around and ask where proper beer went in the rest of the world the answer is much simpler: no where.

Europe in contrast (particularly Belgium, Germany, and the UK) is littered with more breweries than could be mentioned, many of which have been around longer than the United States with specialized styles and recipes just as old. Still around, still producing perfected ales after hundreds of years. In a way this could explain the problem in the US; there simply wasn't the time, place, or opportunity to establish solid brewing roots. The nation's focus was elsewhere. Americans were spreading out and picking fights with just about anyone we could find and didn't have monks tucked away in the mountains copying bible text and brewing delicious ales. Fast forward to the present day where pride in the quality of a beer has taken a more central role just like in Europe rather than mass production/consumption. Even serious food organizations are beginning to acknowledge beer's place as a proper drink just like wine. Hallelujah, let's sit back and enjoy.

In short, I am filled mostly with regret that it took the US so long to get our act together in general. In this way, thanks need to be given to the snooty group of crazies that set up shop in Napa and showed everyone that a few yanks with OCD can put out flavorful foods and wines that rival those found in Europe and Australia. After they showed everyone how good US foods can actually be, the spotlight was turned on the waisted potential everywhere else. It would appear though that the rest of us have caught up. Regional and artisan wine, cheese, and beer can now be found in most of the country and as it turns out, is usually very good. Maybe the road we used to arrive at the food scene we see today was not as romantic or direct as I have imagined, but who cares. Wherever direction we were, are, and want to continue towards, it seems like we are here.

Adventures with Squash: part 2

My mistake of years of indifference towards these seasonal gourds has now been fully realized. At this point in my journey through the wonderful world of gastronomy, the fall/winter squashes have revealed themselves as robust, complex, and versatile in flavor (as well as being a great value in price). Many recipes hold up well with either a butternut, acorn, or cooking pumpkin depending on your mood or availability. This being said, I could make the case for each squash's distinct flavor and why one rather than the other is more fit for a specific recipe or flavor profile. For the sake of this post, I will refer mostly to the butternut as I see it as the utility fielder on the squash roster.

My first success came by creating a flavorful soup that was seriously college-budget and made for great soup leftovers for days (thus saving more money) total about 6-8 servings. My recipes tend to be a bit heavier on the spicy stuff compared to this, more tame model.

Curried butternut squash and lentil soup:

1 goods sized butternut ($0.99/lbs)-peel/clean and cut into inch cubes

1 large yellow onion ($0.99/lbs)-leave in a rustic chop

2 tsp garlic, minced (from pantry)

3/4 cups lentils, dry ($1.50/bag)-about 1/4 of the bag

6 cups water or stock-enough to cover all combined ingredients

2 tsp curry powder (pantry)

1 tsp crushed red peppers (pantry)-actually harvested from my pepper plant back home

2 tsp cumin (pantry)

1 tsp chili powder (pantry)

1 tsp paprika (pantry)

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (pantry)

salt and pepper

Soften your onions in a bit of olive oil at the bottom of your stock pot on medium heat 6-8 minutes. Salt and add the garlic near the end. Add squash and spices, stir for a minute then add water/stock (depending on how spicy you like it, can also try a considerable amount of regular black pepper). Bring to a boil then reduce and let simmer about 35 minutes until squash is tender. In a separate pot, cover lentils in water and bring to boil for about 25 minutes. After squash is cooked through, ladle in batches into a blender/food processor and blitz to a fine puree. Tip, do not use coffee mug to transfer hot liquid if ladle is unavailable. Go buy a ladle. Return pureed squash to stock pot and re season to taste. Strain cooked lentils and add to squash soup on low heat.

Notes: Some people like their soup all smooth; I found the added texture as well as nutrition of the lentils enhanced the soup to where it feels more like a meal. Notice no heavy cream, no bacon , in fact no meat at all. A seriously healthy vegetarian dish that could be a good starter to a fall meal. Lentils add fiber and protein, nothing wrong with onions, and talk about beta carotene with the squash. Not counting the spices, the soup coast about $7.

Beer: You would think the best fit would be a fall seasonal pumpkin beer. I would disagree on the basis that squash is already represented and any good pumpkin beer is lost next to the soup. A few fall seasonal or Marzen(Octoberfest) can go well but I found those to be hit or miss due to the bold curry spices. My favorite pairing was Smutty Nose Farmhouse Ale: full flavored but light bodied. It is pretty heavily herbed and spiced which holds up well to the bold curry as well as complimenting the fall flavor of the squash, but other farmhouse/Saisons would work in place as well as select fall releases.

I came away from multiple attempts at squash soup that finally yielded this recipe with the sense that there are numerous individual variations that could be applied to change or enhance the flavor profile of this recipe, which is a testament to the sturdiness of the butternut. What the future holds, who knows. Perhaps beer will be incorporated into the actual recipe. Maybe squash will be considered as an addition to my chili recipe, but probably not. None the less, it has more than redeemed itself and urned a place on my fall menu.

Adventures with Squash

"They're good, try them."


"But dad, I really don't wanna eat any."


"Son, your taste buds will change."





This was a common back and forth between my father and I at the dinner table in my house growing up. Every once and a while, my parents would insert and unusual and unfamiliar food (usually vegetable) onto our plates that was not welcome as far as my sister and I were concerned. This is not to say that I was a particularly picky eater in my early years. We had a relatively diverse menu from night to night during family dinners and I was open to most foods. Carrots, broccoli, peas, green beans, and asparagus were all welcome to join the flank steak and scalloped potatoes on my plate. However, like many children, I reserved the right to make a stand when it came to certain foods I found seriously unappetizing. For me, where I drew the line was squash. Didn't want it, wouldn't eat it, end of story. The smell, the color, the texture, the flavor, were all not for me. Originally developing from bad experiences with yellow squash and zucchini, this soon lead to my labeling of all squash simply as 'the devil' and a decade long boycott by my palate.



Now in college, I find myself craving fall, 'homey' flavors around Halloween and leading to Thanksgiving. With the weather getting a bit colder and football on saturdays and sundays, these fall flavors tend to remind me a little bit of home and watching the games with the family. Naturally I head to the produce counter in search of seasonal vegetables to accompany whatever protein is on sale. Enter problem #1: budget. At least one meat will inevitably be on sale at one point or the other, but what veg is both seasonal and affordable? Winter squash. With squash being one of the few foods I still am averse to, it is difficult to muster the courage to see what I can do with some butternuts and acorns. None the less, it is worth a try.



After a few weekends of trial and error, a few simple tricks produced a number of ways to make these squash meals cheap, healthy, and down right tasty (to my surprise). It just goes to show that sometimes it pays to reconcile old quarrels and in that way, squash and I have come to an understanding. My first attempts have been with spicy curry flavors with the butternut variety and apples/cinnamon with acorns. Soon I will tackle the one squash I have always enjoyed: pumpkin. Hopefully these posts about what I learned will help and/or inspire other recipes.

The Beginning

I feel it would be prudent for me to take this opportunity to issue a statement of purpose; so as my intentions will not be misunderstood. This undertaking has developed from a number of issues that work together, and at times, are in direct contrast to each other. It is this inconsistency that has lead me to attempt an ongoing project to balance these different aspects as a health conscious college foodie.



First off, I love food. There is no lofty, nostalgic story from my childhood that I can point to as the source of my infatuation with cuisine, but rather a patchwork of experiences that have lead me to where I am today, as I am sure is true for many others. A combination of family influences, unique culinary experiences, and the abundance of food porn available through the mediums of both TV and the internet seem to be the primary factors in my current fixations.

I find myself in a tricky situation of attempting to explore new foods and techniques while keeping it healthy, all on a college budget (which is obviously limited). Oh, and did I mention the beer? I am not talking a case of PBR, although there is something to be said for that in another venue. When I say beer, I mean craft beer. Small batch releases from microbreweries in Colorado, California, New Hampshire, Maine, Belgium, England, Germany, all over. For so long, when pairing food with drink, wine has been the dominant and obvious choice. But with all these great, complex beers now available it seems only natural to experiment on pairings with different cuisines and flavors.

My motivations thus are based on my own pursuits to further my knowledge in these areas to the best of my abilities and learn what can be learned along the way. I find additional inspirations and motivation from encouraging family members, always willing to 'try' whatever it is I may come up with, as well as a good friend and fellow lover of good beer, good food, and good company.

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." -Sir Winston Churchill