Last Chance Foods
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Top 10 Last Chance Foods Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Last Chance Foods episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Last Chance Foods for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Last Chance Foods episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Last Chance Foods: Behold the Power of the Pea
Last Chance Foods
06/06/14 • 5 min
This week, cookbook authors Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, known as the reality television duo “The Fabulous Beekman Boys,” charmingly flaunted two long-standing tenants of Last Chance Foods: Don’t sound like "Delicious Dish," and don’t antagonize the farmers.
“If people haven’t had a sweet pea before, freshly picked, then they haven’t experienced the true power of the pea,” said Kilmer-Purcell, who admitted after the taping that Last Chance Foods’ listeners could have heard a double entendre in that statement.
Ridge quickly followed up with this controversial statement: “A frozen pea is often better than a farmers market pea,” he said. Ridge went on to explain that various studies have report that between 20 percent and 80 percent of the sugar in peas and sweetcorn convert to starch within 24 hours. That’s why blanching them right after being picked and freezing them is the best way to preserve freshness. (It’s necessary to blanch the peas in order to kill an enzyme that would continue to break down the vegetable.)
“A pea that’s picked and frozen right away is going to be infinitely better than fresh pea that’s sat around for a day before shelling,” explained Ridge. “Farmers are not going to like me for that, but it’s true.” Of course, the caveat is that a fresh pea picked from a kitchen garden and eaten immediately is best of all.
That may not be possible at all this year, said Ridge and Kilmer-Purcell, authors of The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Vegetable Cookbook. They grow vegetables at their farm in Sharon Spring, N.Y., and said that everything has come in late this season, given the cool temperatures.
(Photo: Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell/Alec Hemer)
“The real danger with peas is that they have such a short growing window,” said Kilmer-Purcell. “Because once the... daytime average temperatures get above 70 degrees, they stop growing. They’re done. They stop producing. So if they don’t start growing soon and start flowering, we may not get any.”
Even if their pea plants fail to yield any sweet little green gems this season, the leaves will be edible, and the plants will help enrich the soil.
“Peas, like beans, they are nitrogen fixers, so they pull nitrogen from the air,” said Kilmer-Purcell. “They have a beneficial bacteria in their roots that grow nitrogen nodules in them.” That means pea plants serve as good companion plants for nitrogen-needing greens like spinach.
“If you ever do grow peas, don’t pull them out at the end of the season,” he added. “Just cut them off and leave the roots in the ground, because that’s where all the nitrogen is.”
An important part of the garden, peas weren’t always appreciated in their fresh form. They were traditionally dried and used throughout the winter.
“In fact fresh peas were kind of a fad in the time of Louis XIV,” Kilmer-Purcell said. “Nobody had eaten fresh peas before that. There’s a famous French diary where [it was written that] women would go home from these huge feasts, and — at the risk of great indigestion — they would eat peas before bedtime.” Shocking!
Below is a recipe for spring pea soup, which is a great way to enjoy fresh peas without risking indigestion.
Spring Pea Soup From The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Vegetable Cookbook by Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell
(Photo: Sugar snap peas at Beekman 1802/Paulette Tavormina)
There's still a little chill in the air when the first peas are ready for picking. This soup is perfect in the spring when young lettuces are around.
SERVES 4
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 leeks, thinly sliced and well washed 6 cups tender green lettuce leaves, well washed and dried 1/3 cup fresh mint leaves 2 cups shelled fresh green peas (see Tidbit) 3/4 teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth 1/3 cup heavy cream 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until tender.
Add the lettuce and mint and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lettuce is very tender.
Stir in the peas, salt, and pepper and stir to combine. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 5 minutes, or until the peas are tender and the flavors have blended.
Working in 2 batches, transfer the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Add the cream and lemon juice and blend. Serve hot.
TIDBIT: To get 2 cups of shelled peas, you'll need to start with about 2 pounds of peas in the pod, so feel free to use frozen peas here (we'll never tell).<...
Learning to Farm: Resources
Last Chance Foods
01/27/15 • 4 min
CLASSES & RESOURCES IN NYC
GrowNYC’s Farm Beginnings — a comprehensive agricultural training program developed for new farmers by the people who run the Greenmarket. Designed for a people looking to start farm enterprises, including urban farmers looking to scale-up and second career farm entrepreneurs.
Brooklyn Grange hosts a whole range of workshops and classes for rooftop farmers. If a full roof installation process is more than you want to take on, their Design and Installation arm will build you your very own backyard or terrace garden, rooftop farm, or green wall.
Just Food’s Farm School NYC — urban agriculture training through a certificate program and a wide range of individual courses from social justice to urban farming to grassroots community organizing. Mission: to build self-reliant communities and inspire positive local action around food access and social, economic, and racial justice issues.
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities — training towards certification in green roof and wall installation.
Eagle Street Farm — Greenpoint. This rooftop farm welcomes visitors from second graders to graduate students to learn about sky-high agriculture.
Cornell Cooperative Extension — free gardening and farming support run by NYS with offices in every single county – including Manhattan. Offering everything from soil testing to 20c processing licenses.
HUDSON VALLEY INTERNSHIPS AND INCUBATORSStone Barns’ Growing Farmers Initiative — Westchester. Comprehensive program to help beginning farmers get the training, resources and guidance to create economically and ecologically resilient farm enterprises. Offers apprenticeships, a virtual grange, workshops on everything from beekeeping to seed saving, and an annual Young Farmers Conference which draws hundreds of beginning farmers from across the country and beyond.
Glynwood’s Farm Incubator — Cold Spring. Provides the tools and resources aspiring agricultural entrepreneurs need to develop and manage viable farm enterprises in the Hudson Valley. Provides access to land, housing, shared equipment, infrastructure, low-interest capital, business mentoring and training in sustainable farming practices.
RESOURCES & NON-PROFITS SUPPORTING NEW FARMERSCornell’s Beginning Farmers Program — a comprehensive clearing house of resources, internships, job postings and land opportunities.
Northeast Organic Farming Association — This seven-state non-profit teaches, certifies and supports organic farms. Their semi-annual conferences offer sessions on everything from raw milk to fermentation to homesteading, complete with contra dancing and camping.
The Greenhorns — A unique resource helping young people make the transition into a career of farming. Provides information about everything from where to find an apprenticeship to how to repair a tractor. Complete with mentor matchmaker.
National Young Farmers Coalition — represents, mobilizes, and engages young farmers. Supports practices and policies to sustain young, independent and prosperous farmers now and in the future. Co-founded by an ex-Manhattanite who now grows organic vegetables in the Hudson.
Richard Wiswall’s The Organic Farmer’s Business Handbook — widely-prized bible on the business end of running a farm. Expert advice on how to make your vegetable production more efficient and how to better manage your employees and finances.
The USDA’s (great) new website for new farmers — Yes, even the USDA is focusing on new farmers. This site offers in-depth information on how to increase access to land and capital, build new market opportunities, participate in conservation opportunities, select and use risk management tools, and access USDA education and technical-support
Last Chance Foods: The Secret, Highly Processed Life of Orange Juice
Last Chance Foods
03/07/14 • 5 min
We’ve all seen that iconic image of a straw sticking out of a picture-perfect orange. Turns out, making mass marketed orange juice is not nearly so simple or even natural.
Last Chance Foods: It's Millet Time
Last Chance Foods
02/21/14 • 4 min
Millet is a gluten-free whole grain that tastes sort of like a cross between vanilla and corn. It certainly has a flavor that birds enjoy — much of the millet in this country is used for bird seed. But what’s good for Tweety has long been considered tasty by humans, too.
Last Chance Foods: How to Pick the Best Italian Olive Oil
Last Chance Foods
02/07/14 • 5 min
From 2012 to 2013, Americans consumed an estimated 294,000 metric tons of olive oil, most of which was imported from Italy. But how do you know if Italian olive oil is really Italian? A New York Times report recently claimed that a lot of Italian olive oil actually comes from countries including Spain, Morocco and Tunisia. What’s a home cook to do when looking for an authentic Italian olive oil?
Last Chance Foods: Getting Iced — Coffee, That is.
Last Chance Foods
06/28/13 • 5 min
Like rides on the Coney Island Cyclone or picnics in Prospect Park, iced coffee is a simple summer pleasure. When it comes to coffee, though, there are a multitude of opinions on the best methods for creating the caffeinated beverage. It’s not as simple as pouring leftover Joe on ice, according to coffee expert Liz Clayton.
Last Chance Foods: Something in the Water
Last Chance Foods
06/07/13 • 5 min
Summer is right around the corner, which means many of us will head out to Long Island for clams bakes and time on the beach. But there’s a problem lurking in the waters around the Great South Bay. According to studies from The Nature Conservancy, excessive nitrogen is polluting the waterways.
Last Chance Foods: Fuss-Free Favas
Last Chance Foods
06/29/12 • 5 min
Every spring at Chez Panisse, the restaurant in Berkeley opened by seasonal food guru Alice Waters, teams of chefs and interns shuck, blanch and then peel the skins off of mountains of fava beans. Former Chez Panisse chef and author Tamar Adler says the skill became so ingrained in her that, even years later, she remains a speedy pro at fava prep.
Last Chance Foods: For Lobster Eaters Only
Last Chance Foods
03/14/14 • 4 min
Cooking live lobster at home is not a task for the faint of heart. But here’s one thing seafood eaters don’t have to worry about.
“Lobsters don’t have vocal cords, alright? They do not exist in a lobster. They don’t scream,” said Susan Povich, who owns Red Hook Lobster Pound with her husband Ralph Gorham. “What you’re hearing is steam escaping from the carapace — from the hard shell of the body — if you hear anything. You might be hearing your child scream when you put the lobster in the water.”
If you’re feeling up for the task, lobster is in season year round. During the winter months, lobster have hard shells and a fuller, more briny, flavor, Povich explained. That’s because adult lobsters generally molt once or twice a year, and molting usually occurs in conjunction with the spring or fall change in water temperatures.
“After the lobster molts and the shells form up, I believe, is when you get that sort of sweet, summery, Maine lobster taste that everyone associates with lobster,” she added. So expect that to be in about a month, after the weather starts warming up.
At the Red Hook Lobster Pound, she serves two versions of lobster rolls: one with mayonnaise and another with butter. Povich, whose family hails from Bar Harbor, Maine, said that mayonnaise is how it’s traditionally served (with the exception of the famous Red’s Eats in Wiscasett, Maine). She coined the term “Connecticut lobster roll” to describe the butter version after reading about a salesman who requested the variation at a Connecticut restaurant.
When choosing a lobster to cook at home, Povich advised looking for one that’s lively. That means it should curve its tail and arch its torso like Superman when picked up.
(Photo: Susan Povich/Courtesy of Red Hook Lobster Pound)
For those feeling squeamish about cooking the lobster live but determined to press forward, Povich offered this tip. “If you want to kind of put the lobsters to sleep, you can put the lobsters in the freezer in a bag for 20 minutes before you put them in the water,” she said. “They do tend to go a bit dormant.”
At home, Povich combines boiling and steaming methods. She starts with a few inches of water in the bottom of the pot — about four fingers of water for four lobsters. She adds a varying combination of fennel, onion, carrots, bay leaf, beer, and peppercorns.
“I bring that to a ... rolling boil,” Povich said. “I let those ingredients... season the water a little bit and then I put my lobsters in head first and put the lid on.” She said that method is faster than just steaming the lobsters, and recommends leaving hard-shell lobsters in for 15 to 20 minutes after the water returns to a rolling boil. A soft-shell lobster is done in about 12 minutes.
Here recipe for that method of cooking lobster is below.
Lobster in a Pot by Red Hook Lobster Pound
- 4 lobsters (1.5 lbs each) 1 cup white wine or beer 1 onion, peeled and quartered 4 stalks celery — cut in thirds 1⁄4 cup sea salt 4 bay leaves fennel tops (if you have some) 1 Tbs. Old Bay seasoning (optional)
Place all ingredients (except lobsters) in a tall pot. Fill with water so that water is 4 fingers tall (around 2.5 inches). Cover tightly and bring to a rolling boil. Turn heat down and simmer for 5 minutes. Place each lobster, head down, tail curled under, in the pot. Cover, and bring back to a rolling boil. After 5 minutes, uncover and rotate lobsters (bottom to top, top to bottom). Cover again, raise heat to high and steam/boil an additional 3-4 minutes for soft-shell lobsters or 6-7 minutes for hard-shell lobsters. Remove and let lobsters sit and drain for 5 minutes. (Add 2 minutes additional cooking time per additional lobster, though we don’t recommend cooking more than 4 at a time).
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FAQ
How many episodes does Last Chance Foods have?
Last Chance Foods currently has 101 episodes available.
What topics does Last Chance Foods cover?
The podcast is about Radio, Public, Culture, New, Podcasts, York, Wnyc, Nyc, City, Last, Arts and Food.
What is the most popular episode on Last Chance Foods?
The episode title 'Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Become a Farmer' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Last Chance Foods?
The average episode length on Last Chance Foods is 5 minutes.
How often are episodes of Last Chance Foods released?
Episodes of Last Chance Foods are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Last Chance Foods?
The first episode of Last Chance Foods was released on Jun 29, 2012.
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