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Lummi Island Team
Lummi Island Tuna A fish Story I want to tell you a wonderful fish story. It started with a trip out-of-state and ended up meeting a neighbor I hadn’t met before. Funny how that works some time. Not exactly a next door neighbor, but a neighbor to the north by about 90 minutes as the car drives. I was in San Francisco at a food show and ran into an old friend, Mehdi (he makes the Harissa we all love). We chatted about what else, food. Then Mehdi said to me, “Did you try the tuna from Lummi Island?”, I was like, "No, not really interested". And he said, “C’mon, you have to try this, it is really, really good.” So, over we went to the Lummi booth and I met Ian and Riley from Lummi Island, who let the fish do the talking. And the fish was good—really, really good. So good I knew right then and there, we were going to carry it. The taste was special. As good as any tuna in a can I have ever had. It was surprising. We have had a lot of tuna over the years. Many cans have been recommended to us and rarely, if ever are they super special. This tuna is memorable! This sashimi grade, young tuna is individually caught with single hook lines and is flash frozen solid at sea right after it is caught. Averaging up to 50% less mercury than many common store brands, this tuna has more omega 3 fatty acids than most salmon! All the tuna in the cans comes from one second-generation tuna fisherman, Paul Hill and his crew who care about the fish and the fishing they do. Because of the special gear they use they get virtually no bycatch. We had an impromptu taste test in the shop this week of all our canned tuna to refresh our memories and to welcome our tuna to the school. Everyone has their favorites and not likely to relinquish their choice. Though everyone agreed, Lummi Island tuna is quite special and worth pulling the tab! It is a great story, a good fish story! (And expect even more fresh fish stories from Lummi Island soon.) Shop now for Lummi Island Tuna! |
TUNA as diet food There has been a lot of talk about the health benefits of fish from the fish commission. And, there has been a lot of talk about the dangers of fish from the meat commission. Little versus big. How long it swims. Where it swims. Where you catch it. Etc. It's confusing for sure and there are many experts who know everything who disagree with everyone. Like with all foods, we reel in as much data as we can, digest it, and make a well-schooled decision before we carry it. And, of course, if it tastes good, then we are happy! What’s fun is that this is a swimmingly good way to start a healthy diet for the year. Just pop the tab and start eating! The Tuna of the Sea Good tuna is a wonderful thing. It's even better if you can eat it right out of the can. Tuna in cans that cost 69 cents is an amazing concept. The grocer has brought you into their fold with a "loss leader". Something they typically sell for less than they paid. They've got you; you have come into the store and, on checkout, you will have more than tuna in your cart. It's a good practice and if you are making tuna casserole for a school of teenagers (shoaling teenagers is more like it) it might be just the catch you need. Cheap tuna, though, is not a good choice with pasta, nor so nice for a tuna salad sandwich. For this you really want a canned tuna that is made from a piece of fish or a couple of pieces, that actually taste like tuna, not a leftover crumble. For this, you need to step up your game; go for the good and find a tuna that fits your taste palette. Don't be shy in testing and tasting many different canned tunas, whether it is by who makes it or by the particular cut of the fish. Ortiz told me once that their cans have different tunas in them, and that some tuna is frozen before being canned and others are never frozen. The differences are subtle, the price is not. When you taste one over the other, you realize there is a difference, and even if subtle, it is worth getting the one you like most. I like to think that all of our tuna's are spoon ready, or in this case, fork ready, ready to eat right out of the can, naked, easily opened right out of the picnic basket with a pickle and a nice ginger beer. Lunch, simple, divine, bare naked! Shop now for all kinds of tuna! |
Coufidou les Caprices Agen Prunes with Armagnac Mousse Plump, moist Agen prunes with a lusciously creamy armagnac mousse filling. A combination that creates amazing! Shop now for Coufidou les Caprices Agen Prunes with Armagnac Mousse! Totally limited supply |
BOMBA! XXX Amazing Flavor Tomato Paste in a Tube! WOOHOO! Back-in-Stock. (Order right away as it won't last or call for pick up in the store.) Not like the other tomato paste in a tube; this is sweet, flavorful, and good tasting! Bomba! XXX tomato puree sauce is a candy tomato treat. Of course Bomba! XXX has a Culinary use, but do you remember when you first had toothpaste and you thought it was so good you would swipe a little extra just to eat? This is the grownup version of that! Sure it might go well in a pot of sauce, as a dab on cheese & crackers, or mixed in with mayo for your next saucy sandwich! But I ask, what’s wrong with a tube in your pocket (not a back one of course) for a little squirt of Bomba! as a late afternoon pick-me-up or to remind you that dinner is not faraway! This is a tube (of tomato sauce) that you won't have to feel guilty about eating. Get it today and be happy! Shop now for Flavour21 Bomba XXX Tomato Puree! |
La Maison d'Amorine Coeur de Celtes Dark Chocolate with Fleur de Sel Caramel OK -- a lot like my favorite girl scout cookies, but SOOOOO much better. OMG -- I could eat these all day! Fleur de Sel Caramel covered in rich, dark chocolate. How can you go wrong! Ingredients: 57% caramel cream (sugar, fresh cream (milk) fresh butter (milk), glucose sytrup, salt and fleur de sel from guerande). 43% of dark chocolate with 70% cocoa (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier: soy lecithin, vanilla natural aroma). Shop now for Coeur de Celtes! Totally limited supply! |
Not just any Apple Cider Made from Gravenstein Apples This is an essential vinegar ingredient to always have on hand. Everyone is shocked at how good this is! The usual response after tasting is to check the bottle and then say, "That is nothing like any apple cider vinegar I have had before!" This Katz Gravenstein Apple Cider Vinegar is a revelation, a vision, a lightening bolt of amazement! Yes it’s just vinegar, but a little sip with just your lips and you can taste the sweetness, the shape, the roundness of the fruit, you can taste the apple! It makes you realize that you don't need to have industrial-grade cleaner, apple cider vinegar in your body. I called Albert to ask him why his was so amazing, and though he is never shy to say how much he likes his stuff, he never says it’s his “hands” that make it great. (It is!) What we did discuss are ideas, like the fact that the Gravenstein apple has a natural tart sweet flavor. And that the apple is still a true “breed”. The one word that describes this vinegar to him is "quaffable". More than five years ago he had some gut issues and nothing was working. So he started drinking his Katz Gravenstein apple cider vinegar; 1/8 cup vinegar with 12 ounces of mineral water. And it worked. He has had no issues since. Shop now for Apple Cider Vinegar! |
Deviled Eggs with Bomba! XXX • Sweet Pimenton • Apple Cider Vin Recipe Deviled eggs are easy and eggs are a great diet food as well. Take this basic recipe and change it up by switching out the topping or garnish. From caviar to balsamic pearls to radish or garlic. Anything tops a good devil. The only thing that really matters is you need to use an excellent quality mayonnaise and apple cider vinegar. Not just any apple cider vinegar, you really need to use one you would want to drink. I found that Albert's made the difference from eh' to wow! Or try a white wine vin or maybe even your new bottle of Pinot Noir vinegar. Click here to see the easy Deviled Eggs Recipe! |
Italian Candied Citron Peel in Cubes This cubed & candied citron peel is ideal in many ways. The cubes are small and easy to work with. They don't clump in a way that makes them impossible to separate, like other candied fruit we have seen. Because of their small size, we don't find it to be an overwhelming cube of "chew". The light green color makes a cookie twist and shout. Think outside of the box and you just might find them in your morning oatmeal. Shop now for Italian Candied Citron Peel Cubes! |
Coconut Milk fabulous stuff! A fruit or drupe, this nut is not a nut and not nearly as dangerous as one is led to believe. Contrary to popular belief, these nuts are not deadly. As the common saying goes, "If the fall doesn't hurt you, you'll be better for it." Just a few hundred people a year die from coconuts falling on their head worldwide, so one is reasonably safe unless there's a coconut tree nearby. Coconut milk and water, on the other hand, have been touted recently as exponentially, unbelievably, very fabulous for you. We don't know about that, but we do know that the Ayam coconut milk that we use is indeed fabulous! Consisting of just two ingredients: coconut kernel extract and water. That's it. Filled with lots of B vitamins and other good stuff, coconut milk is a versatile and surprisingly useful ingredient to have in your pantry. Not only is Ayam coconut milk useful for desserts such as coconut cream pie, coconut cupcakes, coconut hot white chocolate, and of course coconut ice cream. It’s also a wonderful ingredient in savory dishes. Think of a Thai Curry for your shrimp or a coconut rice (use coconut milk to cook the rice) or a wonderful, curry garlic pepper milk sauce for your fresh fish! We opened and tasted a boat load of coconut milk and this is the best we have found! Shop now for Coconut Cream! Buy one and get two. |
Aged Magic Black Vinegar is different than other vinegar's. Not just because it starts with rice, like Sake, it is the fermentation process that makes it different. Wine vinegar's start the process where the sugars of the grape juice are converted to alcohol. To ferment rice you must first convert the starch to sugar. Then yeast and a mold, known as koji, (Aspergillus oryzae) is added. Several enzymes are produced and break down the starches in the rice to make simple sugars which are then fermented by the yeast. Making a fermented rice mash (moromi) of the highest quality creates the best black vinegar. This process takes weeks. Black vinegar has some acetic acid like other vinegar's and is also rich in citric acid. The citric acid cycle, the TCA cycle, the Krebs cycle, is a central driver of cellular respiration. Cellular respiration is a process that takes place in the cells of organisms to convert biochemical energy from nutrients into adenosine triphosphate, or energy. It is this energy, created from the citric acid cycle, that is good for our brains and immune systems. In one study, moromi has been shown to have anti-tumor action. When black vinegar is aged it takes on a rich, almost smoky exterior. To the nose it is a tingly vinegar acid without the linger or the wrinkling of the nose effect. Though many see Balsamic Vinegar and Black Vinegar as similar, I can not find, in the flavor profile, any similarity at all. To the sip, the vinegar flavor is familiar, yet to describe it, it is indescribable. It changes each time you take a small taste. It is a smoky feel, and it is more than a smoky flavor, is has hints of grapefruit and some earthiness as well. The acetic acid keeps you from taking big swills as the back of your throat will tell you with a big ping and some eye scrunching that it is a vinegar. Though many sip this vinegar for their health (in small quantities), when this 5 year old, aged black vinegar is added to dishes it seems to add the fifth element of interesting twists to your palate. Together with soy sauce it can add a familiar taste to stir fries, as a dipping sauce for dumplings or added to a bowl of noodles. But it is not just for Asian dishes, you can experiment with this wonderful flavor in marinades, grilled summer vegetables and with proteins like fish, shrimp and pork. Black Vinegar of this quality is rare indeed. A taste that grows on you. The first taste might not be what you would expect. The complexity of the flavor though is remarkable. Shop now for Kakuida Organic Black Rice Vinegar! |
Pre-order for Easter Colomba Cakes Just like the ever-loved Christmas Panettone, except they are shaped like a dove to represent a symbol of innocence, gentleness, and affection. On the inside, Colomba Easter cake is the same cake as the panettone; the luscious bread made with lots of eggs, sugar, some flour, and a 60 plus year old starter yeast. One the outside, they all have sweet sugar glazes giving them added sweetness and moistness. It will have been about 90 days since we last sank our teeth into a lemon panettone. And, it will be another 240 days until we can have another. These Colomba are from Albertengo and Flamigni. If you want a Sorrento Lemon or a Classico or all the other choices we will have them in time for the all important Easter weekend. Tasting event coming. Shop now for Colomba Easter Cakes! |
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Come in and check out the new tuna from Lummi Island! |
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ChefShop Cocoa Powder! BACK-IN-STOCK!! We had a momentary glitch in the food chain but all is good now. Order up and we should have it in stock. Shop now for Cocoa Powder! 
Cooking Classes for 2020
Asian Fusion, Simple Cooking, Visit Sardinia, Visit Catalan, Visit Marrakech, Go to Sicily. ChefShop Cooking Class
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| This Week's Recipes |
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Tuna Fish Sandwich Recipe Canned tuna followed lobster, crab and salmon into the sandwich along with the “dressings” that were common at the time. Classic recipes might have included eggs, apple, red onion or shallots along with lemon juice. Pasta Tuna Capers Recipe So incredibly simple and easy to make. Boil water, cook the pasta, heat the oil and capers, add the pasta to the pan and crumble the tuna on top. Perfect when it's just you and a good book. Or a table of two. Middle-Eastern Tuna Salad with Tahini Recipe A delicious salad from the Levant, adapted from a recipe found in Gourmet magazine, many, many years ago. Canned tuna in olive oil is a staple throughout the Mediterranean. If you have never tried it, it is worth a little extra to give it a taste. But be careful - you may never go back. |
| See what you missed in previous Newsletters |
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Chef's Pick New Vinegar, Organic Olive Oils, More New Finding Spicy, Award Winners, More New Quinoa, Back-In-Stock Pistachio Shakshuka |
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