Hope you have a great Thanksgiving today! 
This chart comes from Lifehacker and it answers the age old question: What is the difference between the sweet potato and yam?
What is the difference between Sweet Potatoes and Yams?
Thanksgiving Traditions and Recipes
My parents came to the U.S in the 1970s from India. Despite being immigrants with strong culinary traditions, they embraced Thanksgiving early on. We grew up eating the customary turkey or cornish hens, along with stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. In the last few years though they’ve come to appreciate American soul foods. While I can never top Ma’s Indian cooking I have been able to some soul and Southern to the table. This year I’ll be making the following to accompany the traditional turkey and cranberry:
Collard Greens (Non-Vegetarian)
Maque Choux Made of Corn and Okra (Vegan)
Vegan/Vegetarian Cashewnut Gravy and Mashed Potatoes
What are your thanksgiving plans? What do you plan to make?
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Yelp! Reviews: What’s Fake and What’s Real?
Yelp is one of the largest community based review sites for restaurants. It’s a trusted source for millions, and as such, positive and negative reviews can have a big impact on restaurant bottom lines. The importance of the site has given rise to many fake reviews, referred to as “astroturfing” written by business owners and reputation management firms. Yelp has an algorithm which keeps out the majority of these reviews though some manage to make it through:
Michael Luca of the Harvard Business School and Georgios Zervas of Boston University investigated a large subset in Boston:
Luca and Zervas analyzed 316,415 reviews for 3,625 Boston-area restaurants written between 2004 through 2012, all of which Yelp had already flagged as potentially fraudulent. These “filtered” reviews about 25 percent of the 42 million total reviews submitted for all businesses. Luca and Zervas found 16 percent of reviews for Boston restaurants weren’t legitimate. Article Source
The majority of the fake reviews were made by restaurants with a weak reputation. Chain restaurants were less likely to write fake reviews. “Those that faced more regional competition might write positive reviews for themselves and leave negative reviews for competitors.”
Despite the issues I use Yelp frequently. What sites do you use before patronizing a business?
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Brighton Beach Food Adventures: Pkhali, Plov, Chicken Kiev and Chocolates
Long time readers know my affection for Russian and Eastern European foods. One of the centers for that types of food in NYC is Brighton Beach, just east of Coney Island. During these visits must pick-ups include kharcho soup (an amazing soup featuring beef/lamb, barley, pomegranate and about 30 other ingredients), plov (the Georgian/Uzbek/Russian version of pulao featuring lamb, carrots and garlic), and of course chocolates.
Pkhali
My first stop was unplanned. Berikoni, is a new fast food style restaurant located at 125 Brighton Avenue. They specialize in kachapuri (a Georgian stuffed bread). Alas, I was well stocked with bread at home so I will review that at a later date. They had a sizeable line all of whom were purchasing a mysterious green spread by the pound. A woman standing ahead explained that it’s made with “simply spinach, walnuts and Georgian spices”. The name of the spread was pkhali. Even this traditional version is both gluten free and vegan. I decided to get a half pound myself. Eaten with both bread and tortilla chips it was great. The slight garlic, salt and coriander earthiness come through. The walnut is there mildly but gives a nice contrast to the brightness of the spinach.
The second stop was Nature’s Delight for traditional chocolates including this dark one from Nestle and Akkond.
Nestle Bitter
Finally I checked out Taste of Russia for a piece of Chicken Kiev and Plov. The variety and freshness of the food in Brighton are what keep me returning. Have you tried any spots in that area or where you live? What do you recommend?
Be on the lookout in December on RoodonFood for plov, phali, and kharcho recipes!
Chicken Kiev
Chicken Kiev
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Red Cabbage Salad Recipe
Red Cabbage – The Queen of Vegetalia
Red cabbage is one of the most beautiful looking crucifers in all of veggietalia (the land of veggies I just made up). Inspired by the Eastern European cabbage salad this version involves a liberal dose of red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic. It goes great with kielbasy and refried bean tacos. Modify the amount of vinegar depending how acidic you like it. Recipe is vegan and gluten free.
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
½ head of red cabbage, shredded or chopped small
2 oz onions, chopped
1 carrot, shredded
4oz red wine vinegar
1 cup water
1 t garlic
2 oz brown sugar
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Method: Cook onions for 4-5 minutes. Next add all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cover. Check on it periodically. It’s done when the cabbage is soft to taste (about 30 minutes. If you prefer crispier slaw, cook for 15 minutes or so). Serve warm or cold.
Red Cabbage
Red Cabbage Salad
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How to Eat Apples, Cores and All
You might say this piece will shake you to your core. (Sorry had to do it).
Most Americans don’t eat apple cores because of the slightly fibrous texture and seeds. Foodbeast though shows that if eaten from the bottom up, the texture difference is barely noticeable. See image below. By eating the core, the consumer gets more of the calories already paid for while being less wasteful. Note: Don’t eat the stem though.
If each of us eats an apple a day, as we all do, and we are all wasting 30 percent of our apples at $1.30 per pound, that’s about $42 wasted per person per year—which is $13.2 billion annually, thrown in the trash or fed to pigs.
Are you guilty of chucking your core? Have you tried to eat apples this way before?
Source: The Atlantic
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Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies!
This amazingly easy recipe for flourless peanut butter cookies comes from Tricia’s Things. It involves only a handful of ingredients that you already have (I’m just assuming. Please don’t think that I rifled through your pantry).
I only made three changes – substituting flax egg, reducing the amount of sugar and baking for 15 minutes rather than 12. They come out nice and a little gooey. Note that they should cool a few minutes before digging in. Next time I might try them with some chocolate chips. On the same page Tricia provides a version using flour if you’re so inclined. The recipe with modifications is gluten free and vegan.
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Buckwheat Porridge with Cranberries
Buckwheat Porridge
If buckwheat isn’t on your radar, it should be. It’s a great source of iron, fiber and is naturally gluten free. It’s sold as “cream of…” meaning broken finely or as whole grain. The biggest brand in the U.S is probably Wolff’s. It’s a grain popular in Russia where it’s known as kasha. This recipe is a simple porridge that won’t take more than 10-15 minutes to make. It works well with any type of milk but I recommend almond or coconut. For added creaminess you can skip the water if desired and increase milk by ½ cup. This recipe is both vegan and gluten free.
Servings: 2
Prep Time: 1 minute
Cook Time: 11 minutes
Ingredients:
½ cup dried cream of buckwheat
2 cups coconut, almond (or dairy milk)
½ cup water
Cinnamon to taste
Nutmeg to taste
Brown sugar to taste
Cranberries to taste
Method:
In a pot all ingredients except cranberries. Mix in well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and covering. Stir it often. Once it thickens (around 10 minutes) remove half and transfer to blender and blend for a few seconds. Return to pot and stir in. Finally mix in cranberries and add some on top as garnish.
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Why Are Some Cheeses Orange?
The sky is blue. American cheese is dyed orange. Two facts of life. But why isn’t cheese white since it comes from milk?
Centuries ago in England, lots of cheeses had a natural yellowish-orange pigment. The cheese came from the milk of certain breeds of cows, such as Jersey and Guernsey. Their milk tended to be richer in color from beta-carotene in the grass they eat. So, when the orange pigment transferred to the cow’s milk, and then to the cheese, it was considered a mark of quality. Source.
Farmers of the era figured out that it was more profitable to skim the fatty orange on top as cream or to turn it into butter. This had the effect of removing the color from the milk and gave rise to “coloring from saffron, marigold, carrot juice and later, annatto” to mask the natural whiteness. It was a 17th century bait-and-switch, the tradition of which carried over to some American cheesemakers. Another benefit of coloring was providing a way to both stick out and to achieve uniform color.These days there is a backlash in some circles against colored cheeses. Many are opting to keeping the natural color like those that were sold in pre-17th century England. Kraft for example announced that they will no longer user artificial dyes in favor of an annatto based one.
Since I buy cheese maybe once a month I don’t have a strong opinion on the use of dyes though natural is always preferable. Some of my favorite cheese are Swiss, gruyere, manchego, emmenthaler, cheddar and good old American.Does color help you to make a decision when buying cheese? What are some of your favorite cheeses?
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RoodonFood Interviews: ReCaFo | Real Caribbean Food
Red Peas Soup Via ReCafo
Carribean food comes from the soul. Simple ingredients like red peas and rice, ackee or jerk chicken put a smile on your face and make you feel irie to use the Jamaican patois. ReCaFo, is a successful distributor of Carribean food and starting yesterday, November 11th purveyors of a brand new restaurant in Long Island City, Queens called ReCaFo | Real Caribbean Food.
What first caught my eye are the amazing recipes and pictures on the site including red peas soup, curry goat, and oxtail. The Director of Marketing, Dave Smith was nice enough to do an email interview with me about what makes ReCaFo special and Carribean food.
ReCaFo Foods on WordPress: features stories about the Carribean and glorious recipes.
ReCaFo Store: Check out their sauces and food goods
ReCaFo Food Shack is located in the Falchi Building, 31-00 47th Avenue, Long Island City, NY
RoodonFood (R): How is Jamaican food different than other Caribbean foods? Grenada is famous for oil down. What are some dishes famous from Jamaica?
Dave Smith (DS): Jamaica’s motto is “Out of many, one people” this is transferred throughout the culture in many ways, through dance, music, and food. Jamaican cuisine provides and eclectic mix of several ethnicities including but not limited to Indian,
Chinese, European, and mostly African. Jamaica was the largest slave colony of the British Empire thus there was the need to have variety for the local folks. Some famous Jamaican dishes are Jerk which is 100% Jamaican (examples of Jerk dishes are Jerk Chicken, Pork,
Fish, etc.) curried goat, oxtail and of course the national dish which is ackee with salted Alaskan codfish.
R: ReCaFo is a successful Caribbean packaged goods business. What made you decide to open the restaurant now? Why did you choose Long Island City for your restaurant?
DS: ReCaFo started in April 2013; our aim is to offer Caribbean food to everyone a part from Caribbean nationals thus making the cuisine the next big thing in line with Italian/French cuisine. We decided to open a physical location as a second phase of our business plan. People who have tasted our food loved it, and those who have not, are eager to try it, so our restaurant provides our customers with that gastronomic experience of tasting real Caribbean food first hand. Long Island City was chosen because it is the perfect place to reach our target market.
R: What do you predict will be your best selling item?
DS: We predict that our best selling items will be our mouthwatering Jerk chicken and Jamaican patties in the prepared foods category. Our packaged goods provide a delectable range of products, such as our Reggae Jerk Sauce and the Jamaican Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce which has received rave reviews, but our other products such as the Island Heat Hot Sauce, Jamaican Sweet & Spicy Sauce and our Reggae Jerk BBQ Sauce are also popular.
R: Are you a family business? What part of Jamaica do you hail from?
DS: ReCaFo is owned and operated by two close friends and business partners. David Wisdom is the Owner/C.E.O. and hails from the parish of St. James (Montego Bay) located on the North West tip of the island. Dave Smith is the Director of Marketing and hails from the parish of Manchester (Mandeville) located in Central Jamaica.
R: You mention on the website that many claim to offer “real” Caribbean food but don’t. What makes ReCaFo’s authentic?
DS: All our ingredients are sourced through a certified Caribbean distributor who imports the authentic ingredients from Jamaica. Other restaurants and manufacturers use regular supermarket seasonings that have never seen the light of day much less the tropical Jamaican sun, making their products unauthentic.
R: What is the secret to good jerk seasoning?
DS: The secret to good jerk seasoning is…. If we tell you then it won’t be a secret ;).
R: What are some vegetarian or vegan friendly options?
DS: Some vegetarian or vegan friendly options that we provide are:
-Jamaican Veggie Chunks which includes vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, and callaloo that are prepared with spices such as ginger, all spice and a hint of pepper for added flavor.
-Vegetable Patties which are made using the same method as any other patty and vegetables and spices are added and folded inside the crust.
-Tofu which is marinated in jerk seasoning and steamed with other spices.
-Ital Stew which is an organic stew which includes Jamaican yams, vegetables and spices.
R: How many people can the new restaurant seat?
DS: The owners of Chelsea Markets in Manhattan are creating a clone in Long Island City at the Falchi Building. While the building is undergoing renovations we will temporarily occupy one of five spaces in an area named “The Food Box.” Little customer seating will be available during this period. Upon completion we hope to occupy a bigger area.
R: What can people expect when they walk into ReCaFo Food Shack? What’s the atmosphere like?
DS: Our intent will be to have an atmosphere that is reminiscent of the Caribbean. As you walk through the door you are greeted with arched palm trees, bamboo type tables and seats, the walls coming alive with the warm blue of the Caribbean Sea, the bartender serving up a colorful Bob Marley (one of the best drinks on the island), the sound of sweet reggae music, and just a warm vibe that immediately takes you away to the islands. However, due to the current space availability, you can expect this relaxing atmosphere in our future locations.
ReCaFo Food Shack is located in the Falchi Building, 31-00 47th Avenue, Long Island City, NY
