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Welcome to Four Eyes Forum, a meeting place to exchange news and views on food, food photography, the word on food, food science, style and architecture. Join me, the blogger who wears glasses, in this world as I throw out engaging stuff that I think you'll find interesting, beautiful and delicious. As Charles Dudley Warner, American editor and writer, said,
"Lettuce, like conversation, requires a good deal
of oil, to avoid friction, and keep the company
smooth....You can put anything, and the more
things the better, into salad, as into a conver-
sation, but everything depends upon the skill of
mixing."


That's my job.
-Kristin
khalgedahl@gmail.com


(All photographs, unless otherwise cited, copyright
Kristin Halgedahl Photography 2016)



Thursday, September 30, 2010

AUTUMN ANNOUNCEMENTS - COOKBOOKS FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS LIST

Four Eyes thinks the two most important cookbooks of the season are now available for pre-order at Amazon. The long awaited, much anticipated leviathan Modernist Cuisine is almost ready for its close up. Its release date has been pushed back to March '11 due to crash testing of its shipping packaging. Nevertheless, this book, to me, would be better than a puppy under the Christmas tree. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone with the ready cash to buy it for me.






(photo courtesy Nathan Myhrvold blog)
The fortunate participants of the International Food Bloggers Association, in late August, were not only introduced to the book, but also treated to a tour of the kitchen / lab of the author, former Microsoft Technology Officer Nathan Myhrvold, in Bellevue, Washington. The best book review is by Betty Hallock in the Los Angeles Times Food Section. Treat yourself to this assessment. And steel yourself against the price,  $625, unless you're a dot comer yourself and think nothing of ordering luxury items in the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book.
Remember, however, that it's six volumes, (they say the ink itself weighs 5 lbs--does Santa carry a fork lift in his sleigh? sure, he delivers ponies) the photography makes me SWOON, and it proves to be the tome of our new century culinary revolution. It takes its place as an uber reference work, following in the footsteps of Escoffier. Is a new "Emperor of the world's kitchens" (French press) born? I think so. 


Equally exciting news is that Rene Redzepi's cookbook, Noma: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine is ready for pre-order, also. Coinciding with the restaurant's elevation to #1 in the world by San Pelligrino, the book appears just in time for a place under the Christmas tree. I'm so excited about it, I'm going to pay full retail price for this one -- $32.97. Photo credits here go to Matt Drucher.















There are, of course, scads of other exciting holiday offerings, among them titles from food bloggers like A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg of Orangette. The Joy of Cooking is celebrating its 75th edition, and books like Hungry Planet: What The World Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio have a global gander at food consumption. However, Modernist Cuisine and Noma are at the cutting edge of culinista interest and illustrate truly Goethe's quote from Faust, which appears in my 1974 edition of Joy of Cooking:

"That which thy fathers have bequeathed to thee,
earn it anew if thou wouldst possess it."





Sunday, September 5, 2010

Autumn Locovore -- Healdsburg Farmers' Market

Canadian geese are flying over my house in the Pacific Flyway now, my late August birthday has come and gone, school busses rumble by and my appetite turns to the idea of meat loaf, pot pies, apple cider, pomegranate seeds. All this means one thing -- fall.


And so it takes center stage at farmers' markets here in northern California. Produce colors are beginning to reflect the seasonal change: brown to mahogany, oranges to sunset, burnt sienna, copper, mango. Purple/blues to indigo, plum, cadet blue. Greens to olives. The darker slices of the color wheel, vitamin rich, and rich to look at.



I went to my favorite farmers' market in Healdsburg yesterday to shoot fall colors in produce. Healdsburg is the star of wine towns in the North Bay, and has one of the finest farmers' markets anywhere in the United States. In fact, it's become a destination. I heard a lot of people talking yesterday about things back home in L.A. I also heard a lot of people speaking different languages, as you hear on the Healdsburg square. Locals and tourists alike  congregate here. It's beautiful, leisurely and warm. The young chefs come out from The Dry Creek Kitchen (Charlie Palmer's restaurant in the Hotel Healdsburg) around 10 a.m. with their adorable little red wagon and clipboards They don't mind talking advice and recipes with those bold enough to ask. Whatever they cook for dinner was picked and sold here in the morning. The farmers, too, are friendly and instructive (lots of recipe sharing and stories) and the prices are reasonable. I am most thrilled to tell you, however, that the Healdsburg Farmers' Market accepts food stamps! This is a rarity, but they've done it. Bravo for all that considerable hard work. In all, It's the quintessential market experience. If you can't make the Saturday market, they set up on the town square on Tuesday afternoons. Grab a coffee from the Downtown Bakery and Creamery or the Flying Goat and enjoy shopping the market fare.

I post a Healdsburg Market Fall Food collage today.
www.healdsburgfarmersmarket.org





North Street Entrance to Market
Dry Creek Kitchen Chefs Foraging


Market Dog #1 "I see him! He's got my treats!"











Market Dog #2 "Forget cute. When I give the signal, howl for treats!'
Market Dog #3 "Don't forget the treats, mom. The treats!"





Heirloom Tomatoes - Softball Size

Soda Rock's Truck. Great Signage!

J $ R Roasters




Last Of The Blackberries

Apples, apples and more apples!
























Foggy River Farm
French Prunes! What doesn't Healdsburg have?
Asian Pears


Late Summer Corn -- A Haiku
Pepper Still Life
Kale As Redhead - Me, Me, Me!

Support your local farmers and delight in the season wherever you are. Pumpkin patches coming soon!