Louisiana and its native cuisines, while having been part of the American nation & culture for coming up on two centuries, do have an international history, distinct from the rest of the country. So, this month it’s American international cuisine, straight from the Bayou.  Second, Cajun cuisine is not that spicy. Sure, cayenne chili powder & hot sauces such as Tabasco, Crystal, Red Rooster, etc... find their way into most dishes. But as a gentle heat, not the palate scalding sensation of faux Cajun seasoning found in every fast food restaurant. Blackened redfish, however, is distinctly non-Cajun, having been created by Creole chef Paul Prudhomme at his New Orleans establishment K-Paul’s in the early ‘80’s  And finally, no, NIBBLERS has not featured Cajun cuisine before. We did feature Creole cuisine back in May of ‘07. And anyone from  the Bayou will be glad to clarify the difference. Basically, Creole is the food of the wealthy classes in and around New Orleans.  Fancy French & Spanish chefs using classic techniques with the blend of native Louisiana ingredients and the gleanings of an international port city. Hence, the modern meaning of the word Creole as a blend of cultures. Dishes like crawfish bisque, Oysters Rockefeller & Beignets were popularized by historic New Orleans restaurants like Brennan’s, Antoine’s & Commander’s Palace. Meanwhile, Cajun (a slurred contraction of Acadian) cuisine derived from the home kitchens of the French Canadians transplanted south when the British captured Quebec. Rustic, hearty country cooking, still with French influence, but usually served as a one-pot meal, with skillet cornbread or white rice. Dishes like gumbo, fricasee & jambalaya fit into both cuisines, though certainly with their differences, while crawfish boils, dirty rice & anything containing andouille sausage or boudin are distinctly Cajun in character. Dark roux, made with oil instead of butter, is the foundation for most Cajun braised dishes, especially gumbo, the traditional okra stew finished with powdered sassafras leaves, gumbo filé. And we can’t forget the “holy trinity,” a blend of onion, celery & green pepper which takes the place of traditional french mirepoix as the primary aromatic element in all those hearty etoufees & jambalaya. Rounding out the Cajun diet are the abundant freshwater fish, Stuart variety pecans and the ubiquitous Steen’s cane syrup.

Bayou cuisine in Pleasant Hill. Eat here. Save the airfare.

Sustainability. This is our focus, in food, wine, business & life. We strive personally for a carbon footprint of zero.  We know we can’t necessarily make a positive impact on the planet,  but we are dedicated to not making a negative one.  Professionally, we think we make a small difference on the world as we do, so we strive towards sustainability every day. Ingredients we can respect. Unbleached organic sugars & flours for our pantry. Humanely treated, antibiotic-free, organically fed beef, lamb & poultry.  Eggs sourced from pasture raised hens. Produce from local farms and local farmers markets. We are proud to be a partner of Buy Fresh, Buy Local which is committed to using resources from within our local foodshed to minimize the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere.. Antibiotic & hormone free dairy products. Artisan cheeses made by small producers using traditional methods. Fair-trade coffees, teas, chocolate, bananas, spices & nuts.  Seafood from healthy populations and concerned fishery management. Look for CleanFish & Monterey Aquarium Seafood Watch logos.  Wines from vineyards that have been certified as sustainable, organic or biodynamic. Encouraging producers to restore waterways, eliminate chemical pesticides & fertilizers. Extensive reuse & recycling programs. For our operation, staff training is key in this area. Caustic chemicals are not our friends. Use of traditional methods & common sense allows us to clean smart & safe. Actively protect open space, and support renewal of the Urban Limit Line here in Contra Costa County. 

Earth Day gives us a reason to do in one day what we wish we did all year.  Kind of a vacation for the planet, yes? Be kind to the planet, think about where everything comes from.  What would it be like to ask yourself every day every meal. Where does my food come from? How far does it travel to to get to my plate? Take it one step further and ask yourself how many people have touched this before it got to me?  From farmer to chef? or from farmer to machine to processing plant to packing plant to store to checkout stand to car to home. 

Today is a day to take to heart just how wonderful the 100 miles around San Francisco Bay can be. From Monterey to Mendocino we have waters filled with edible delicacies from abalone to urchins to the squid we use in house for our calamari. We have the vast vineyards of Napa and Sonoma within 50 miles as well as the delightful vines in Santa Cruz. Animals of all kinds from the Santa Cruz shores up to Marin. Berries from Solano. Vodka from Alameda. The amazing bounty from Livermore and Brentwood.  Here is a wonderful place to live.  And what a great day to give us an excuse to celebrate what we thrive on every day.

Think personal, local on the small scale in a global picture. Know where your food comes from. Don’t be afraid to ask. Start a compost program for your neighborhood. Join a CSA. Talk about it with friends. Educate the next generation. Take action.

Make a difference. Vote with your dollars.  

Norway?  Why would we choose Norway for our March theme? What do Norwegian’s eat.....salt cod jerky & reindeer burgers? 

Well, here at NIBBLERS, we really admire Scandinavian creativity in using what’s best to find & grow in Europe’s far north. We had a blast bringing traditional Danish smørrebrød & æbleskiver to Pleasant Hill a couple winters ago. And our guests sure enjoyed our innovative take on Swedish cuisine last year, with our housemade gravlax, stuffed cabbage & the classic split pea soup. So we decided now is the perfect time for another Scandinavian theme, especially as our local Little Scandia’s end is looming near, with both Neldam’s Danish Bakery & the Nordic House looking for new homes. Like other Scandinavian cultures, Norway depends greatly on it’s extensive coastline, with salmon(laks), cod(often salted), herring, mussels & oysters among the most sought-after seafood. Like  neighboring Sweden, the far north of the country is frozen tundra, which supports great numbers of wild game as well as berries(like the unique and impossible to domesticate cloudberry & the Scandian favorite lingonberry) & wild mushrooms. Hardy winter greens & root vegetables are appreciated for their ability to last through brutal winter weather. Potatoes are especially loved for their versatility, and new crops are highly anticipated events. They also contribute to the popular lefse, a thin flexible flatbread made from a potato dough used to roll up sweet & savory fillings. Other breads are made from hearty winter wheat & especially rye, often containing whole grains & seeds.  Pancakes & waffles can be eaten as a meal, snack or dessert, and vanilla infused butter  pastries are popular. Multitudinous sausage & cured meat specialties are eaten, notably the unusual pork or lamb rullepølse. Seafood is also often cured or fermented, with pickled herring and gravlax(salt & sugar cured salmon with fennel) being the standouts.  Dairy products are popular, with sour cream & egg based sauces common favorites. Cheeses are also of great importance to the Norwegian diet, with Jarlsberg(a Emmental-style semi-firm cow’s milk cheese) and the unique caramelized whey brunnöst types (gjetöst, mysöst, Gudbrandsdalsöst) being the most common.  Dill, fennel, caraway, ginger, cardamom & juniper are the favorite seasoning accents, with a caraway infused spirit, Akavit, being the national drink. Scandinavian universals, such as meatballs(here with a rich brown mushroom gravy) and pickled vegetables remain a classic part of the culinary landscape. And of course, Daniel gets to make his lemon-cure smoked salmon & liver paté.

Nordic cuisine in Pleasant Hill. Eat here. Save the airfare.

Norwegian Cheese? Made from reindeer or elephant seal milk? No, not at all.  In fact, the Norwegians are actually one of the most prominent cheesemaking cultures in the world, with their cheeses being found in almost every American supermarket.

Jarlsberg is the most familiar of Norway’s cheeses. With large, irregular holes, this firm cows milk cheese with sweet, lightly nutty & buttery flavors was originally modeled after Switzerland’s famous Emmental, but has become a worldwide favorite. Norvegia is a creamy, semisoft cows milk, quite gouda-like, cheese with bright milky flavors. Nøkkelost is a similar cheese from Oslo usually studded with caraway & cumin seeds and sometimes even with cloves. This cheese is a favorite component of the open-faced smorbrod. Snøfrisk is a fresh curd goat’s milk cheese enriched with cream, wonderful for spreading on rye toast. But Norway’s unique claim to fame in the cheese world are the brunost family of cheeses: gjetost (goat/cow blend), ekte-gjetost (goat), mysost(goat/cow blend), primost(cow) & Gudbrandsdalsost (goat/cow blend). These distinctive cheeses are produced by cooking a blend of whey, milk & cream over low heat until the lactose has caramelized and it has formed a smooth, firm curd.  The resulting cheeses have complex deep flavors with sweet rich notes. NIBBLERS is thrilled to be able to bring you a wonderful assortment from this region all month. 

Make a difference. Vote with your dollars. 

Vietnam?  Didn’t we already do Vietnam? Why such an interest? WHY NOT!

Where else is there such a variety of fresh flavors, subtle complexity, unique preparations & native east-west fusion?  Vietnam is hot stuff in the culinary world; and pho soup houses, casual banh mi spots, family style Vietnamese sit downs & upscale high end eateries are opening up all over the Bay Area. And I have a special attachment to Vietnamese cuisine, having spent a large part of my life closely attached to two special Vietnamese families.  Flavors while nu˜c maam (fish sauce) is by far the most common flavor element in Vietnamese cuisine, conscientious use of ginger, galangal, lemongrass, garlic, mint, rau ram, cilantro & coconut create a flavor mosaic with breadth to handle bright tropical seafood dishes to rich, complex claypot stews.  Complexity rice is used in an astounding number ways(steamed, fried, sticky, flour, noodles, paper, you name it!) to accompany the amazing variety of tropical fruit, abundant seafood, aromatic vegetables & native seasonings of Southeast Asia. Yet subtle, blended flavors are almost always preferred to sharp, jarring contrasts, resulting in a cuisine which pairs beautifully with wine, beer or sake.  Unique Preparations  meat, herbs & thick rice noodles cooked in hot broth; rice flour crepes griddled with sprouts & onions; water softened rice paper filled with vegetables, noodles & seafood in summer rolls; rich curries thickened by sitting out overnight; sticky rice steamed in a banana leaf; & the national dish of "Beef 7 ways." Highly regionalized specialities reflect a poor populace’s historically creative use of its resources while maintaining a traditional feel to the preparation & flavors. But I’m afraid we will once again eschew the ever popular fertilized duck eggs!  Fusion Vietnamese cooks have a long history of blending Chinese (sausage, noodles & fried rice), Indonesian (lumpia & satay), Indian (coriander & turmeric), Thailand (coconut & pineapple), and Philippine (durian & jackfruit) ingredients and concepts into their native cuisine. But the 19th century French colonization has left a long-lasting national fusion of southeast Asian flavors with distinctly French inspired approaches. B‡nh m“(patŽ & cold cut soft bread sandwiches with mayonnaise), shaking beef, and flan are obvious everyday Vietnamese classics with strong French roots, but don’t overlook the tasty Pate chaud (meat pie) and five spice quail.  All these intriguing factors, paired with strong local interest & close personal experience has led me to believe this is the time to revisit Vietnam. I hope you agree. Vietnamese cuisine in Pleasant Hill. Eat here. Save the airfare.

But it is worth noting the continuing and in some cases, growing) consumption of British foods such as marmalade, steel-cut oats, farmhouse cheddar & stilton, Scottish salmon, whisky, ale, shortbread & scones. The crew here at NIBBLERS has kept up its Scottish chops by throwing a Burns Night each year we’ve been open. It’s always fun for us, and sells out every year, so why not make it a monthlong event?

Here are a few of the things we love about Scottish cuisine:

Exceptional produce & meats. There’s a reason why Scots soups & preserves make it to our shores. Stone fruit, berries, leeks & root vegetables grow nowhere better. Game & seafood is plentiful. The air is clean. And sustainability is in!

Traditional cuisine the classic oats appear everywhere, pastured lamb is the primary meat, and Scotch pies (bridies) are perhaps the worlds original convenience food!

Innovation the culture which invented marmalade as a way to use spoiling sour oranges & is known for a sausage made from offal & fat is gifted for finding extraordinary uses for otherwise humble ingredients. Salmon & haddock are smoked to develop flavor, whisky & honey make up the national liqueur Drambuie, thick porridge that can be cut with a knife as well as oatcake bannocks & shortbread are staples that are barely perishable & have beautiful rustic flavors.

Artisans the small producers of single malt Scotch whisky, farmhouse cheddars & crowdie, marmalades & preserves that inhabit every hamlet and keep their environmental impact low.

Sustainability the world’s first sustainably farmed salmon from Loch Duart. Managed oyster & cockle harvests. Clear, conscientous labelling of additives for vegetarian & allergen issues.

Excuses for us to make our own venison haggis (although we eschew the mystery meat), Partan Bree (Scots crab soup), finnan haddie (smoked haddock), Cullen Skink (smoked haddock soup), Cock-a-leekie, whisky marmalade, bannocks, Scotched salmon, Rumbledethumps (Scots colcannon), Scotch eggs, pease puddin’, currant scones, cranachan(a whisky cream fool), shortbread & Echlefechan tarts. And of course, Bob gets to wear his kilt & read the “Ode to a Haggis” as much as it pleases him.

Sustainability. This is our focus, in food, wine, business & life. We don’t want to have a negative effect on the world, so we strive towards sustainability every day. Ingredients we can respect. Unbleached organic sugars & flours for our pantry. Humanely treated, antibiotic-free, organically fed beef, lamb & poultry.  Eggs sourced from pasture raised hens. Produce from local farms and local farmers markets. Buy Fresh, Buy Local. Antibiotic & hormone free dairy products. Artisan cheeses made by small producers using traditional methods. Fair-trade coffees, teas, chocolate, bananas, spices & nuts.  Seafood from healthy populations and concerned fishery management. Look for CleanFish & Monterey Aquarium Seafood Watch logos.  Wines from vineyards that have been certified as sustainable, organic or biodynamic. Encouraging producers to restore waterways, eliminate chemical pesticides & fertilizers. Extensive reuse & recycling programs. For our operation, staff training is key in this area. Caustic chemicals are not our friends. Use of traditional methods & common sense allows us to clean smart & safe. Actively protect open space, and support renewal of the Urban Limit Line here in Contra Costa County. Think personal, local on the small scale in a global picture. Know where your food comes from. Don’t be afraid to ask. Start a compost program for your neighborhood. Join a CSA. Talk about it with friends. Educate the next generation. Take action.

Make a difference. Vote with your dollars. 

Wouldn’t it be easier to just serve regular portions of food? The answer to the second question is a resounding yes, but the first is harder. Here goes.  

First, it’s international. Tapas in Spain. Pintxos in the Basque Country. Antipasti in southern Italy, merende in northern Italy, & ciccheti in Venice. Mezze in Greece, meza in Turkey & the Near East. Dukkah in north Africa. Chaat in India. Zakuski in Russia. Rijstaffel is a small plate buffet in Indonesia & the Netherlands. Antojitos & botanas south of the border. Sushi in modern Japan. Dim sum in China. Vorspiese in Germany. Goute along with classic hors d’œuvre in France. Even High Tea in England. And of course, all the southeast Asian snacks just known as street food. In the United States, any combination and/or fusion of these are known as contemporary small plates. Some small plates can be as big as main courses, or as small as a single bite. But they are generally served informally, in a casual atmosphere, in whatever order they’re available. Formalized sequential small plates might better be labeled as a tasting, like what the French Laundry does. The Japanese tea ceremony is similar, although not designed to replace a regular meal. We couldn’t offer near as many international flavors on each menu serving traditional plates. 

Second, it’s fun. The anticipation of what’s coming next. The bright flavors which might be overwhelming in a large portion. The variety you’re able to taste in one meal. It’s healthy, since you’re not tied into a huge quantity of red meat, or rich sauce. It’s adventurous, a way to taste foods you would never be confidant enough to order a main course of. 

Third, it’s social. We always tell people “this isn’t a place to go to with someone you don’t like.” This is about friends and experience, not a quick bite to eat. Instead of being focused on what you’ve ordered, the whole meal becomes it’s own conversation, comparing tastes, textures, flavors & preferences with your dining companions. Sharing from one plate is an ancient tradition only recently moved away from in the States. We much prefer the social aspect of sharing a meal with our friends & family. And if you don’t get quite enough of those delectable gnocchi because somebody else got piggy, you can always order another. That’s why it’s worth the effort for us.

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How do they relate to Buy Fresh, Buy Local, locavores & CSA’s? 

Let NIBBLERS try to explain as best we can. Organic can mean different things, as the term was in use long before the government codified it. But it can be generalized as food which has not been produced with antibiotics, growth hormones, irradiation, chemical pesticides, artificial fertilizers. The USDA says further that “organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources & the conservation of soil & water to enhance environmental quality for future generations.” They also require livestock to have “access” to the outdoors. However, the USDA rarely enforces these concepts, and really only ensures that the basic rules are followed. Many organic farmers & producers use higher standards than the USDA, and there are other certifying organizations, notably QAI & BIO (the European identifier for organic). Sustainable is a combination of many different concepts, of which organic & biodynamic can can be considered part of. The general concept is meeting the needs of today without compromising the needs of tomorrow. We feel this is really the ultimate goal, zero impact, at least negative impact. Many different organizations certify sustainability, but there is no government oversight of the term. Fair Trade involves ensuring that the farmers & workers who actually produce the food we eat are able to receive a “fair” wage. Not that most of us could survive on “fair-trade” wages. Still most notable in chocolate & coffee, most of which is grown is poor African & South American communities, this term is now applied to a whole range of foodstuffs, and labeled with the Fair Trade Certified mark. Biodynamic is one of the movements that originally spawned organic. Based on the ideas of Rudolph Steiner, biodynamics focuses on creating a viable biosphere in the farming environment, restoring watersheds and encouraging wildlife. Biodynamic agriculture is certified by the Demeter Association.  Slow Food is an organization based in Italy with adherents around the world, which aims to return our eating habits to traditional styles. With changed eating habits comes a focus on artisan food production, seasonality, and certainly sustainable agriculture & family farms. Alice Waters, the spirit of Chez Panisse, is the head honcho of the Slow Food organization in the states.  Buy Fresh Buy Local is a program launched by the Community Alliance with Family Farms to create local markets for the products of family farms. It supports the creation of farmers’ markets, CSAs and progressive school lunch programs, and has guides & lists of retailers, restaurants & caterers committed to using local products.  Locavores try to create a diet solely based on products from an identified geographical range, 20 miles, 50 miles, 100 miles, Northern California, etc....an admirable outlook, but one sadly lacking in chocolate, coffee, tea, pineapple, avocados, mangos....you get the idea.  CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) are programs where farms & producers deliver products directly to the consumers, on a membership basis. This is one of the most effective methods for the continued survival of family farms, but it’s being pushed to the point that now even charcouterie producers are offering CSAs. Those are the basics as we see them.

Make a difference. Vote with your dollars.