Changing the Menu

BOILING STONES
(Things a man can do in the kitchen)
© September 21, 2009
By: George O. Martin, Jr.

The Menu Changes


A long time ago I frequented a restaurant where the menu never changed. It was always the same; dependable, but the same. Month after month the fare was listed on a typed sheet of paper encased in a transparent plastic folder. After month on month the folder would get dirtier and stickier from being used and overused by so many regular customers. This was not the swankiest place in the neighborhood, but the food was cheap, and as I said, dependable.
Then one day I went in for a snack and, lo and behold, there were new folders made of new plastic encasing new typewritten menus. They almost looked too clean to touch; so I asked Alex the owner, “How come?” as I waved the new menu over my head.
He answered, clear and to the point, “I liked the old ones too, but I had to raise my prices. You will get used to these.”
This was evidence of one of those inexorable changes that seem to come very suddenly, but really do not. Alex had been thinking about the change for months. I just didn’t realize it.
Another one of those changes is happening right now before our very eyes. I woke up this morning and saw the sun rising from a spot exactly due east of here. That only happens twice a year, and this was the second and final time for this year. It was the Autumnal equinox, and autumn had arrived. The season had formally changed; and it is time to change the menus.
I don’t mean the ones in the glassine envelopes. I doubt if you use those in your home, anyway. I mean it is time to switch from summer to autumn fare, and begin using the meats and vegetables better suited for cooler weather. You should be seeing those at the market; and, if you are a gardener, you should be harvesting some from your garden.
Butternut and other hard winter squash will be ready now. Pumpkins are bright orange, and apples are available by the bushel. Bell peppers and Cubanelles are ripening to a bright red that signals sweetness. Green tomatoes from that second summer set are ready for frying. All of those and more can add the new flavors of fall to your table.
It is odd how pumpkins are thought of as decorations, and not as food. There are some very nutritious and tasty things that can be done with the Jack-o-lantern fruit starting with breakfast. Pancake and Ginger Waffles. Begin by mixing the dry ingredients together in a small bowl: One and one-fourth cups flour, one and one-half teaspoons baking powder, one-half teaspoon baking soda, a good pinch of salt, 2-teaspoons ground ginger, and one-fourth teaspoon cinnamon. In a medium bowl whisk together 2-eggs, three-quarter cup buttermilk, one-half cup canned pumpkin, one-half cup sugar, a teaspoon vanilla. Combine this with the dry ingredients. Add 3-tablespoons melted, but cooled, butter. Do not over mix. It is ok if it is lumpy. Heat the waffle iron and pour in batter one-half cup at a time. Dust the baked waffle with powdered sugar and serve.
Butternut Squash Soup is a good afternoon treat; and an evening one as well. It begins with the cooking of one chopped onion and two chopped stalks of celery in 2-tablespoons of butter. These should be tender in about 4 minutes. Add 6-cups of vegetable stock. This can be made with a dry mix or purchased in a carton; both are available in the soup aisle of the grocery store. Along with the vegetable stock add a piece of Parmesan cheese wedge cut from the rind. This provides a nutty flavor. Also add a bay leaf. Bring this to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add 2 medium butternut squash that have been peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch pieces. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, until the squash is tender. Remove the Parmesan rind and the bay leaf and puree the soup in a blender, about one-quarter at a time. Return the pureed soup to the pot and stir in 2-tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, a pinch of sage, nutmeg, black pepper and salt, to taste. Allow to heat through and serve. A bit of chopped fresh parsley as a garnish add a great look.
Fried Green Tomatoes is the name of a great book and movie, but the dish was popular in lots of places long before the book was written. It stems from the utilization of the tomatoes that won’t have time to become red ripe before the killing frost. The process is simple: Make a batter of one and one-half cups flour, one-half cup corn meal, one-half teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and enough milk to make a batter. Cut the tomatoes in quarter inch slices and dip them into the batter and fry in hot oil until browned on both sides. There are variations of this which would put a bit of brown sugar in the batter. Another would add a half teaspoon baking soda and use buttermilk. That makes for a puffier coating when fried. But any of these is a matter of your preference.
All are good and all say fall is here, and it is time to change the menu