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.