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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (April 14, 2020)
B Tuesday, April 14, 2020 The Observer & Baker City Herald BOB’S THOUGHTS Self-Quaranting Is Encouraging People To Take Up Cooking BOB BAUM A friendly bunch from Down Under Welcome to part two of my travel- ogue chronicling the two big vacations my wife and I spent in the early 2000s. Two weeks ago, I told you about our 2004 trip to Athens, Rome and Crete. Now let’s go back four years to 2000, when we survived Y2K (remember that hysteria) and were able to spend two weeks in Australia in advance of my assignment covering track and fi eld at the Sydney Olympics. Of the seven Summer Olympics I covered, Sydney was my favorite. The people are so friendly, the crowds were fabulous and everything went off so smoothly. We fl ew nonstop from Los Angeles, a 16-hour fl ight. It’s not the longest com- mercial fl ight but it’s up there. We wobbled off the plane, checked in to the Sydney Marriott, walked across Hyde Park to a Starbucks, went back to the room and collapsed for at least the next 16 hours. Sydney is a beautiful city. We walked along the water’s edge past the iconic opera house and dined atop the Sydney Tower with a gorgeous view of the city. The buffet offered kangaroo, but we chose against it. They’re too cute. I have the same problem with lamb. See Friendly/Page 3B DORY’S DIARY DOROTHY SWART FLESHMAN Dishtowel holes and a lesson about dealing with tough times To those who have been asking, may I use this way of thanking you for your concern and to assure you that I am doing just fi ne. My fractured foot is now back in my own shoe and I am doing well with the coronavirus outbreak so far — staying home and being looked after by loved ones, friends and neighbors. How fortunate am I when I thought I was all alone in the world. I have to admit that I did smile somewhat when it became known that the fi rst thing to leave the store shelves were the packages of toilet tissue depleted until management was forced to curtail the amount taken so as to make provisions available to all and not just a few. Let’s not be too hard on those folks we thought were hoard- ing, for they were just making certain their families would be provided for in the long run, something we would all want to do to protect our own. Now we are looking out for our neighbors and friends and that’s a good thing in times like this. I had thought I would like to relate how things were when I was barely old enough to do as told and yet not un- derstand the seriousness of the Great Depression of the 1930s and World War II that followed. Since we lived out in the country we had an outhouse, the little building quite a distance from the house that served as a substitute bathroom but without plumbing. See Dory/Page 3B Hillary Levin/St. Louis Post-Dispatch-TNS Easy spaghetti sauce E ASY R ECIPES F OR N EW C OOKS Simmering Simmering is cooking a liquid at a rela- In these viral days, we are witnessing the tively high temperature, but not so high that collision of two forces having one somewhat it boils. When a liquid simmers, small bubbles happy result. rise to the surface. People suddenly have loads of enforced Simmering nicely takes care of two desir- time to stay at home. And people who eat able actions while the food cooks: Some of out for every meal have fewer options to do the water in the liquid evaporates, which so. intensifi es the taste of the liquid that is left The result? People who have never cooked and often thickens it; and the fl avors of the before are, one hopes, giving some thought ingredients in the liquid have the chance to to cooking. blend together harmoniously. We’re talking about people who are I made a very simple tomato sauce that absolute beginners, people who have never takes full advantage of these actions. Not only before even turned on a stove. is the sauce easy, it also has a bright, pure We thought we would turn our attention fl avor that I crave. To be honest, it is my go-to this week to those folks, to beginning cooks sauce for pasta, and I usually don’t embellish who don’t know a spatula from a rolling pin. it in any way. I made four simple, basic recipes that are I use canned whole tomatoes, which I crush easy to re-create and hard to mess up. with my hands, but you could also use canned They don’t have many ingredients. crushed tomatoes, pureed tomatoes or diced They don’t have many steps. And each one tomatoes (do not use stewed tomatoes or introduces the fi rst-time cook to a different, tomato sauce). The hand-crushed tomatoes easy-to-master technique that can be used yield a lovely chunky and rustic sauce, but in countless other recipes. you’ll get the same great fl avor from any of Most important of all, each one makes the varieties. Canned diced tomatoes won’t a meal that is hearty and satisfying. Even break down as much in the sauce, and they when your cooking skills improve — and will remain a little fi rmer than the other they will — you’ll want to return to them varieties. over and over again. The four techniques are simmering, roast- Roasting Roasting is cooking meat or vegetables in ing, braising and searing. By Daniel Neman St. Louis Post-Dispatch the oven (or over a fl ame, technically) in an uncovered pot with no liquid. The meat or vegetables are cooked entirely and evenly by the dry heat of the air around them. I roasted a hunk of pork — it happened to be a sirloin, but that doesn’t really matter. The best cuts for roasting are the ones that aren’t put to better use in other ways, such as chops and ribs. A lot of people like to roast a pork loin because it is of a fairly uniform size, so it cooks all at the same time. Do not confuse it with a tenderloin, which will dry out very quickly if you overcook it at all. I cooked my roast in a classic prepara- tion, with sauerkraut and apples. It’s also very easy — just the three ingredients, plus salt and pepper. And yet, the fl avors blend together in a most miraculous way, with the sweetness of the pork and the apples playing off the salty tanginess of the sauerkraut. It is comfort food that is unusually comforting. Braising Braising is cooking meat (and occasionally vegetables) in a small-to-medium amount of liquid in a covered pot or pan. The food is cooked with a wet heat, and is ideal for using with large pieces of fairly tough meat. A long, slow braise at a low temperature will make it tender and moist. See New Cooks/Page 2B Hitting the sweet spot for spring planting It’s late, I know, but to buy from the I’m just now starting my store considering BETWEEN tomato seeds in cups in the quality of what’s THE ROWS the windowsill. It took all available. Fresh- the willpower I had to hold ness matters, and WENDY SCHMIDT off, but every year I start sometimes canned or the seeds too early. Then of frozen are nowhere course the plants get spindly near equal to fresh. and weak and start poorly, but eventually Think of growing some of your own fresh catch up. produce. Fresh raw peas are like candy. Let- At the coast, my mom’s cousin already set tuce can be decorative in a shady section of his tomatoes out in the garden. Obviously fl ower bed — and in salads. Carrot foliage they are more temperate and have a longer would be a nice, lacy addition to any landscape. season. Our garden season is plenty long Some varieties of tomatoes and strawberries enough for me. By the end of the summer we’ll do well in patio planters or hanging baskets. all be ready for the gardening and canning and watering to be done with. Now, I’m ready Garden chores • Flower stalks should be removed from to start the short time of wholehearted com- rhubarb plants if they develop. mitment. • Keep your hoe sharp! Don’t allow weeds to Due to the small size of my yard, I have to get an early start in your garden. decide what to grow and what is acceptable • Break off rims from peat pots when transplanting seedlings, otherwise they act as a wick to draw moisture away from the roots. • Plant bare-root or potted fruits as soon as the soil can be worked. •Remove tree wraps from fruit trees now. • Blemish-free fruits unmarred by insect or disease injury can rarely be produced without relying on regular applications of insecticides and fungicides. Consult Oregon State Univer- sity Extension for information specifi c to your tree varieties. • Prune peaches, nectarines, cherries and plums just prior to them blooming. • A white interior latex paint may be brushed on the trunks of newly planted fruit trees to prevent sunburn. This will gradually weather off. If you have garden questions or comments, please write to greengardencolumn@yahoo. com. Thanks for reading!
