I love food. I love everything about it: contemplating different things to eat, finding new and fabulous restaurants, trawling through grocery stores and farmers' markets for bargains, borrowing and adapting recipes (and creating my own), spending hours in the kitchen whipping up something wonderful and nourishing, sharing my creations with family and friends, and experiencing terrific tastes, be they old school or brand new. Healthy food is necessary for life itself, but to me, the enjoyment of it is equally important. Which is why modern-day life, with its nonstop rat race, bothers me.
For most of us, preparing food is about grabbing what's on hand, getting takeout, or making meals with little consideration beyond how much time is involved. Home cooking, for many, is now the combination of some fresh ingredient with processed items. It's a shame, and on some levels, it's a sin.
That is why I take a thoughtful approach to food. There are so many things to consider: What is in the cupboard? What is in season? What are the most healthy, planet-friendly choices available and how do I fit them into my schedule? What do I want to communicate through this meal? Those questions and more are what we will explore in Food for Thought. Each week, we'll talk food — recipes, trends, nutrition, time savers — and share stories in an effort to nourish ourselves and those we feed, body and soul.
I can sense people scratching their heads over sharing stories. Folks, it's all about sharing stories. Think back to your favorite foods from childhood. Now, when that picture forms in your mind — perhaps you're recalling the aroma from Mom's freshly baked apple pie or Uncle Sanjay's pungent curry or Granddad's lox and eggs — I'll bet it includes some great story that has lived with you for decades. Right now, I'm flashing on my late father's creamy bread and raisin pudding. The scent of it would fill the house with sweetness and fill my heart with the knowledge that I was safe and loved and warm. Thinking of it today reminds me of chats Dad and I had as he gently heated milk and measured spices and passed down his thoughts on the virtues of day-old bread. And when I prepare it for my spouse and son, they get to feel what I felt all those years ago — love. It's all about sharing.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Lisa McKay
Food for thought, indeed - what a wonderful idea for a series, and a wonderful article to start it with. I share many of your feelings toward food and agree that genuine home cooking is priceless and something we should all strive to put back into our lives. I look forward to more of these articles!
2 - Bennett
Wow, what a fantastic recipe! If I wanted to use a larger hunk of beef, what would I do different for the marinade?
Simple a longer period of time?
Thanks for this Ms Davis. I look forward to serving it to my family during the holidays.
Cheers!
3 - Natalie Davis
More beef? More gravy! If you are increasing the amount of beef by, say, 50 percent (using six pounds as opposed to four), increase the marinade ingredients similarly (although season to taste, not by amount). I would recommend doubling the dumplings recipe; you can never have enough.
By the way, today's SB dinner was AWESOME. :)
4 - Natalie Davis
Another thought occurs: If you are going to be cooking a LOT of beef, I suggest marinating and preparing it separate 4-lb sections. Also, if you opt to use an entire roast as opposed to beef cubes, increase your simmering time to three hours or until the meat becomes fork-tender.
5 - Anthony Grande
I always thought that you were a vegetarian, Natalie.
6 - Bennett
"if you opt to use an entire roast"
Yeah, that's what I was getting at! Thanks!!!
7 - Natalie Davis
Then you thought wrong, Mr. Grande. I have never labeled myself a vegetarian. Yes, I prepare and enjoy many vegetarian meals, and there have been times when I have sworn off meat completely, but that cheeseburger craving sometimes will not be denied. Red meat is a *very* occasional treat for me.
8 - RogerMDillon
"Then you thought wrong, Mr. Grande."
Can someone put that on a bumper sticker of t-shirt? You'd sell a ton of them here.
9 - Anthony Grande
Hey Rog, I didn't know that I met so much to you that you would put my name on the back of your car or on your chest.
10 - RogerMDillon
Are you kidding? Imagine how much money there could be made from the vast number of bloggers who agree with the sentiment, "Then you thought wrong, Mr. Grande." And the beauty of it is that it applies to every argument you take part in.
To help with my business proposal, can I see responses from anyone who would buy a "Then you thought wrong, Mr. Grande" item. Natalie, can have a free one since it is her quote.
This could generate more comments than the 100 greatest guitarists.
11 - Natalie Davis
That may be true, but I feel I have to stand up and put a halt to slamming Mr. Grande. Remember, personal attacks are not allowed.
12 - Phillip Winn
Oh, Natalie, you're putting recipes in each article? I think I'm falling in love with you. I hope that's okay.
Seriously, I'm going to have to print this out and give it a try. Thanks!
13 - Anthony Grande
Roger, I still do not see why I am so important to you that you are so anxious to wear my name on your chest or on the back of your car.
Sure it might be funny to some people here to wear it (but they are only internet people, they can't see what you wear!) but your "buddies that you watch football with" will think you are an obsessed dumbass when you show up with a shirt like that.
14 - Anthony Grande
Oh yeah, I am very honored that you think a site about me will generate more comments than that Guitar site. Isn't there like 2,000 comments on that site? You really think that one about me would be more?
I will wager with you. You post the thread and we'll see how high the numbers get.
And anyone who calls it a personal attack to blog about someone, it is o.k. I will not press charges.
Go for it!
15 - Natalie Davis
Love is in sadly short supply, Mr. Winn, so I'll take whatever portion comes my way -- from a good person, natch -- with undying gratitude.
I don't know if I'll have recipes in every installment, but most of them will. Let me know how your sour beef turns out.
16 - Dan
Recipe sounds good! The potato dumplings are new to me. What is the texture like? Also, did you mean to say they are formed into 3 inch balls? If you meant diameter, they would be about the size of baseballs.
17 - Natalie Davis
The potato dumplings are light and fluffy and SO delicious. Yeah, you're right, they should be 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. I'll change that, thanks. (That said, I love big, big dumplings; a dear, departed aunt of mine from Maryland's rural Eastern Shore used to make a chicken and dumplings featuring 3-inch dumplings. Huge, but fabulous. And not baseball-sized, come on! Man, I miss my auntie.)
18 - Natalie Davis
Scratch that. You wouldn't know that math was my best subject in school. I'm saying diameter and thinking radius. That's what happens when one spends her entire day at a keyboard without a break. Let's say an inch in diameter.
19 - Dan
about golf-ball sized then. That would seem to be about right to get them to cook evenly all the way through. Thanks Ms. Davis.
20 - vikk
Wonderful! Another great German-style recipe to add to my collection. Thank you! I've loved German food ever since I spent four years there as a military brat long, long ago.
21 - Eve Gordon
I grew up in Baltimore too. Every holiday my Grandma made the special trip to Bank St to get her Ostrowskis sausage [ loose] and we stuffed our own. Granny [ my great grandmother ] and made perogies all the time.. some had saurkraut, some potato, some had blueberries. My Mothers side was german.and I fondly remember the smell of sour beef cooking in the winter. Just a couple nights ago we ate at Silver Spring Mining Station and I had their sour beef. It was tender tangy and sweet. So tonight I was scanning the web for a sour beef recipe. One that doesn't use the Mrs Minnicks sour beef marinade. Thanks for the memories. It sounds like we grew up in very similar familes. My Dad just passed away this past July, my mom passed in 1983. Dad and I always enjoyed good food and swapped recipes all the time. He would have loved this. Thansk again for making me smile and think of my childhood...
~Eve~
22 - Natalie Davis
Mmmm... Ostrowski's Polish sausage... Bank Street holds a very special place in my heart; in fact I will be picking up my Christmas Ostrowski's soon. Can. Not. Wait. There is nothing like homemade, hand-stuffed sausage. And pierogies! It has been quite a while since I have had some. Thanks for giving me a post-holiday cooking project.
I am so glad the article brought back wonderful memories for you! For all of you scratching your noggins, Mrs. Minnick's is a brand of bottled sour-beef mix that is available at some grocery stores. Now, you'll never hear me say a bad word about Mrs. Minnick, but frankly, she makes sour beef a whole lot less fun.
Tell me more about this Silver Spring Mining Station. I have family in Silver Spring, MD; is the restaurant there?
23 - Dan
You can experience the Baltimore Sour Beef dinner at Zion church today (4-7) and tomorrow (for lunch). Zion is downtown, across from City Hall Plaza, and is a great historic old church.
Does anyone know what other churches still have sour beef dinners? Evangelical Lutheran on Eastern Avenue apparently stopped last year. I'd love to get a list of the churches still doing this.
24 - Stephanie
I, too, was born in Baltimore and grew up eating sour beef and dumplings. Our dumplings were much larger, though, and were sliced before being ladled with the gravy. My dad just brought me some sour beef and dumplings that he recently made, and I shared them with my partner. I truly thought it might be the kind of food that you had to grow up with to appreciate, but she loves it. I'll have to get my dad's recipe and compare it with yours. Thanks for a great article.
25 - carol
i would like to know where i can find
MRS.MINNICK'S SAUERBRATEN MIX
in the northern part of new jersey ..
i had it at a friends and i can not find it in any store in new jersey,,, it was so easy to make and wonderful