It’s the bincho.

Bincho-tan is a special hardwood charcoal produced and imported from Japan. So far as I can find, no one else in Columbus (and possibly the state) is using this cooking fuel.

Bincho-tan is produced from oak by steaming the wood at high temperatures. The resulting charcoal burns at a lower temperature but for longer periods of time than traditional coals. More importantly to cooks, bincho-tan does not smoke.

Yakitori stands prefer bincho-tan, therefore, because it allows the true taste of the meat to come through the flames. The charcoal also powers a grill for many hours, allowing the chef to cook through a meal shift.

Yakitori the Freshstreet Way

Kenny Kim and Misako Ohba first brought Japanese street food to Columbus with their Foodie Cart crepes. They later added takoyaki (pancake-batter like savory balls filled with octopus or corn) and moved into a shack in the Short North. Yakitori is their latest endeavor, served late nights at the Double Happiness bar in the Brewery District.

Kenny and Misako import their bincho-tan from Japan through a Chicago importer. Several other ingredients including ramen noodles are obtained in this way. They invest great cost in importing these authentic goods because they are not satisfied with lesser replacements.

The pair skillfully skewer small bits of meat, some of it local, on wooden spikes so the meat rests evenly across the yakitori grill bricks. Traditional Japanese chicken thigh and skin are offered, as are more adventerous cuts like beef cheek, pork belly, tongue, and tuna. At least one vegetable is always available. Skewers run between $2-4.

Yakitori are grilled over hot bincho-tan to order. Some are served simply with lemon and salt; others are dipped in a soy-based sauce. The resulting meat has the crisp texture of a grilled product without excessive smokiness.

Wise visitors order a variety; I was surprised at how much I loved the unctuous beef cheek and also that I enjoyed okra cooked yakitori-style, as I don’t like it in any other preparation.

Other Japanese specialities compliment the yakitori, including an excellent take on okonomiyaki (savory cabbage pancakes) for $4. Diners can eat at the Double Happiness bar or in their comfy lounge. The bar makes notable soju (barley spirit) and sake cocktails, well matched to the Freshstreet food.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the Japanese street food authenticity, Freshstreet Yakitori is widely appealing to many palates. Kids will enjoy meat on a stick as much as adults. There is something for every diet and adventure-level.

If you go:

• Freshstreet Yakitori at Double Happiness is a bit hard to find. It is just over the 70/71 split from downtown at Front and Brewer streets. Look for the slender building on the east side of the street across from Wasserstrom and Via Vecchia.
• Current hours are Thursday – Saturday 6:30 – 11:59 pm.
• Find parking on the street or nearby garages.
• Prepare to wait 5-10 minutes for your food. Every dish is made to order.
• Freshstreet crafts their menu to have options for gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, and low-carb diets. Be sure to specify if you are gluten free, especially, so that there is no contamination on the grill.

Freshstreet Yakitori at Double Happiness
482 S Front St
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 220-5558

NB. I will be cooking yakitori with the Freshstreet folks in Cleveland at a Brick & Mortar pop-up Japanese Festival this Thursday, February 2, at 6:30 pm. Tickets are still available for the event. Columbus Food Adventures has a few spots left for their road-trip adventure that includes the festival dinner, ride from Columbus and back, and a meet and greet with Chef Jonathon Sawyer.

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Bincho-tan at Freshstreet Yakitori is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.

If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

]]> http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/31/bincho-tan-freshstreet-yakitori/feed/ 1 http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/30/planting-edibles-in-zone-6/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=planting-edibles-in-zone-6 http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/30/planting-edibles-in-zone-6/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:32:37 +0000 Rachel http://houndsinthekitchen.com/?p=9216

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Planting Edibles in Our New Zone 6 is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.

If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

]]> The USDA recently updated their Plant Hardiness Zone maps. The new map reflects that warmer temperatures allow less-hardy plants to survive Ohio winters. Columbus (and most of Ohio) is now in Zone 6a, an upgrade from Zone 5b. Not in Columbus? Check out the interactive map to find your Zone.

It must be noted that the Arbor Day Foundation came to the same hardiness zone conclusion in 2006. Both groups say that this is not necessarily a reflection of climate change but better data mapping. I think it must be a combination of climate change, heat island effect, and natural variability.

What does this mean for fruit and vegetable gardeners?

First, some annuals can now be grown as perennials. Many herbs such as rosemary, thyme, and oregano will pop up in the spring and not require re-planting. Greens allowed to go to seed may reseed themselves.

Some fruit trees previously thought to be too difficult to keep through the winter may now be planted outside. Fig trees may grow more successfully with lessor no cool weather care. Peaches, nectarines, and cherries will have a better chance of setting fruit.

The Zone reclassification means that our last-frost date edges towards the beginning of May and the first-frost date more towards the end of October. I have long planted annuals outside starting on May 1. Cold-weather crops like kale, swiss chard, peas, lettuces, and beets, can be seeded as early as April 1.

Essentially, gardeners can move everything up a few weeks and hope to have a slightly extended season in the fall too. Sweet potatoes become a more likely success. It may be possible to fit in more succession plantings of beans.

Personally, this rezoning will not change my garden habits much as I am already accustomed to pushing the planting dates a bit. I may, however, finally plant our very overgrown potted fig tree outside this year.

How will the new Zone affect you?

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Planting Edibles in Our New Zone 6 is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.

If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

]]> http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/30/planting-edibles-in-zone-6/feed/ 5 http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/30/last-year-shemade-an-orphanage/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=last-year-shemade-an-orphanage http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/30/last-year-shemade-an-orphanage/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:26:56 +0000 Rachel http://houndsinthekitchen.com/?p=9254

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Last year, she helped found an orphanage is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.

If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

]]> This past weekend, I met a woman who helped create an orphanage in Uganda last year.

Seventy two total orphans, those who have no suitable mother or father, now live in a place with clean water. Seventy two beds are filled every night, seventy two bodies go off to school in the morning, and seventy two patients receive care from a nurse whenever they need it.

Much of this is to the credit of a single woman who spent an extra year after her two contracted years of Peace Corp service in Uganda.

What did you do last year?

This news – the thought that someone I’ve known of for a long time opened an orphanage last year – spun my heart around a bit. Because what did I do last year? A whole lot of nothing in comparison.

My circulating heart hit a nerve that’s been raw for awhile. It’s the question of whether to live slow and intentionally or make big change.

There is a movement for people to slow down, to take in life and be fully present. I practice this philosophy very often. I cook from scratch every day, finding peace in peeling vegetables, whisking milk into pudding, and washing dish after dish after dish. I can experience beauty in cleaning windows and weeding. I focus on conversations with family and stories with Lil. These daily moments are fulfilling in their way.

But then I feel like I have it in me to do something bigger, to affect change in the huge needy world. I have dreams of starting a homestead school, an unschool resource space, and/or an organic farm. I am a passionate promoter of real, whole, local foods and I want to do something with this enthusiasm.

The rub comes when I try to manage the dreams and the present-ness.

The calendar fills with cooking classes, speaking at conferences, and invitations to do cool things that might make my dreams into reality. Normally slow family dinners are pushed aside so that I can run out the door to this meeting or that event. I become unable to concentrate on a teachable moment with Lil because I am mentally planning something else. Being present slips away.

I know I’m not the only stay at home parent who feels the pull of ideas and family. I’ve read that retirees and empty nest parents are similarly lost in the world. We have passions and ideas. But is potential success with something down the road worth sacrificing the enjoyment of the everyday?

I don’t know. Do you? I need a mentor or an angel investor or a magic way to see in the future.

In the meantime, I will continue to learn about those who are changing the world in big ways. I’ll be open to opportunity while trying to enjoy every moment of every day. It’s all anyone can do.

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Last year, she helped found an orphanage is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.

If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

]]> http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/30/last-year-shemade-an-orphanage/feed/ 6 http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/29/robert-burns-all-pudding-dinner/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=robert-burns-all-pudding-dinner http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/29/robert-burns-all-pudding-dinner/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:22:02 +0000 Rachel http://houndsinthekitchen.com/?p=9229

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Robert Burns All Pudding Dinner is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.

If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

]]>

We set out to mark Robert Burns’ Day,
But made the food in our own way:
Haggis for meat,
Wouldn’t menu be neat,
If all puddings were on the buffet.

Several puddings each guest did provide;
Mushroom leek and corn first arrived,
We made Yorkshire pud,
Oh my was that good.
Indian carrot completed the sides.

Sup’ ended with three fine desserts;
Chilled chocolate for the young squirts,
J.C.‘s plum pud stuck,
Our only bad luck.
Maple pudding cake stuffed our shirts.

Not healthy but fun nonetheless,
And simple to host, I confess.
End of affair,
All guests did declare,
The Burns Pudding Meal a success.

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Robert Burns All Pudding Dinner is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.

If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

]]> http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/29/robert-burns-all-pudding-dinner/feed/ 2 http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/26/sorta-scones-recipe/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sorta-scones-recipe http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/26/sorta-scones-recipe/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:25:39 +0000 Rachel http://houndsinthekitchen.com/?p=9196

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Sorta Scones {Recipe} is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.

If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

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The urge to make scones hit me in early January. I wanted a perfect-for-me scone: not greasy, not overly sweet, full of whole ingredients, and easy to pull together in the morning before breakfast. I made many batches of scones and finally came up with this recipe.

Alas, Alex doesn’t think they are scones. He says they are more like muffins without the shape or biscuits without the fluff. Out the other side of his scone-crumbed mouth he admits that it doesn’t matter what I call them so long as I keep making them. Done and done!

These scones are a breakfast or tea time treat. Lil likes them with chocolate, so I use fair trade dark chips, the healthiest chocolate choice. With whole wheat flour, buttermilk, and less fat than most recipes, enjoy my real food interpretation of scones.

Print

Sorta Scones {Recipe}

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 6-8

Serving Size: pieces

A quick recipe for breakfast scones that is low-sugar, lowered fat, and full of flavor.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour (I prefer King Arthur brand)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
• 1 cup cultured buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped dried fruit, nuts, chocolate chips or a combination thereof (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Mix flours, baking powder, salt, sugar and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl.
3. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in butter until mix resembles fine meal.
4. In a liquid measuring cup, measure buttermilk. Add egg and beat lightly with a fork. Pour vanilla into this liquid measure.
5. Mix together liquids into flours, stirring just until mixed. Add dried fruit, nuts, or chips and stir to distribute evenly. Do not over mix.
6. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Dough will be sticky but use floured hands to gently form into a round.
7. Cut round into six or eight equal triangles. Place each on a silicone- or parchment-lined baking sheet.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until browned on top. Serve warm.

Google Recipe View Microformatting by ZipList Recipe Plugin

1.4

Copyright 2012 Rachel Tayse Baillieul

 

Added to Simple Lives Thursday.

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Sorta Scones {Recipe} is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.

If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

]]> http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/26/sorta-scones-recipe/feed/ 1 http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/25/hounds-in-the-kitchen-merch/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hounds-in-the-kitchen-merch http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/25/hounds-in-the-kitchen-merch/#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:15:41 +0000 Rachel http://houndsinthekitchen.com/?p=9186

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Hounds in the Kitchen Merch! {Wordless Wednesday} is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.

If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

]]>

I love the new Hounds in the Kitchen logo so much I want to wear it!

I used Skreened to upload the design and print on an American Apparel ethically made baseball shirt. I know the owner and several employees at Skreened and love to support their sustainable business. The best part of ordering from Skreened is that their location is only a mile from the house so I can pick up!

If you want to sport the Hound look, I uploaded four versions of the design – large and centered like on the shirt above, a chest emblem, medium logo for a tote bag, and large logo on the back. The cool thing about Skreened is that you can choose the shirt style (short sleeve, hoodie, etc.), color, and size for any of the Hounds in the Kitchen designs. They print quickly (my order was done in less than 24 hours!), ship around the world and have a pick-up location at I-71 and Hudson in Columbus.

Disclosure: I receive a few bucks commission off Hounds in the Kitchen shirts sold through Skreened. A girl’s gotta buy groceries once in awhile.

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Hounds in the Kitchen Merch! {Wordless Wednesday} is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.

If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

]]> http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/25/hounds-in-the-kitchen-merch/feed/ 0 http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/24/laurel-valley-creamery/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=laurel-valley-creamery http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/24/laurel-valley-creamery/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:56:04 +0000 Rachel http://houndsinthekitchen.com/?p=9064

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Laurel Valley Creamery {Farm Profile} is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.

If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

]]>

Nestled around soft Southern Ohio hills there is a winding road that leads to Laurel Valley Farm and Creamery. On one side of the rumbling stone lane is the farm house, creamery rooms, and calf pens. On the other, the milking barn.

Cows to Cheese

Celeste and Nick Nolan manage the farm that has been in Nick’s family for decades. They express gratitude that they are able to carry on the family tradition but also frustration with  the facilities that were left in decline for some time.

Nick is the cow man. He raises calves, moves the herd around the pastures and milks the cows daily. The pastured raw milk rests in a huge container that holds it at a chilled temperature until Celeste makes it into cheese.

The creamery is a converted outbuilding that now houses three rooms. In the first, Celeste adds culture into raw milk. Depending on the desired cheese variety, the milk is heated, stirred, cut into curds, pressed and/or flavored with locally grown herbs and peppers.

Some cheeses go from the processing room to the curing and aging room. Large rounds are brined and allowed to dry and age on wire racks.

All cheese ends up in the storage room labelled with a hand-lettered Laurel Valley label featuring a sweet cow face. Some is packaged in bulk for resale to restaurants. Others find their way directly to customers at farmers markets and grocers.

Variety Notes

All Laurel Valley cheeses are raw and simple to allow the flavor of the full fat grass-fed milk to shine through. These are true farmstead cheeses.

Laurel Valley makes several flavors of cheese curds. Fresh cheese curds are a rare treat; Laurel Valley’s are squidgy, salty, super little bites. Enjoy curds as a snack, salad topping, or part of my favorite Canadian speciality, poutine.

Cloverton is a soft farmstead cheese that has a texture similar to chevre. It is creamy, slightly tangy, and luxuriously smooth. Cloverton is a blank slate for making into desserts or stirring into savory sauces. Laurel Valley makes Cloverton into several seasoned cheeses including Aphrocheesiac, a small loaf of cheese covered in Mediterranean spices.

Recently, Jeni’s Ice Creams created a roasted cherry cheesecake parfait with Laurel Valley Cloverton sauce. I felt obligated to try it for the sake of this review and was not disappointed. The flavors are balanced and the parfait is so rich one might need not eat for days after.

Lil’s favorite Laurel Valley cheese is the Havarti. It is mild flavored with tiny holes typical of the variety. The semi-soft texture makes it a nice contrast to more aged cheeses on a cheese plate.

Cheddar, Jersey Drover, and Galaswiss are all rich and creamy versions of the standard recipe. Laurel Valley’s Country Jack is unique in that it’s medium heat comes from local farm peppers.

Up Next for Laurel Valley

Thanks to growing demand for local milk products, Laurel Valley intends to expand their herd and make cheese more often in 2012. Celeste is experimenting with new styles of cheese and new flavorings for the Cloverton and cheese curds. Follow Laurel Valley on Facebook for all the latest news.

Find Laurel Valley cheese in central Ohio at the Clintonville Community Market, Weiland’s, The Hills, and Celebrate Local.

 

Disclosure: Celeste generously fed Lil and I samples of cheese when I visited the farm. I was not compensated for this review and opinions remain my own.

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Laurel Valley Creamery {Farm Profile} is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.

If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

]]> http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/24/laurel-valley-creamery/feed/ 3 http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/23/new-hounds-in-the-kitchen/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-hounds-in-the-kitchen http://houndsinthekitchen.com/2012/01/23/new-hounds-in-the-kitchen/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:03:03 +0000 Rachel http://houndsinthekitchen.com/?p=9147

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Welcome to the New Hounds In The Kitchen! is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.

If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

]]> Come on in and take a look around the new design at Hounds in the Kitchen.

I worked with Cliff from LinKen to create a cohesive design and upgrade functionality. There’s a little widget on the side to show off recent and popular posts and an easier to read calendar of upcoming classes. Comments, sharing, and everything else works together more smoothly now. I am excited to finally feature Allie Lehman‘s logo at the top of the site.

Other than the design, you might note that I have withdrawn ads. I feel more freedom without them but I would still like to earn a little bit from the hours I spend writing this blog. I created a Support Us page with info on how you can donate, buy Hounds In The Kitchen merchandise, and shop Amazon with a small commission coming to us. The ebook store will also feature a new book for purchase very soon. I really appreciate your support.

You will notice another new page, Write For Food. I am growing my freelance writing business. If you know of a small business looking for writing or social media support, I would greatly appreciate your referral. My rates are reasonable and I often barter.

We are still tweaking things, like the custom search that doesn’t seem to be working at the moment. If you see something out of order, please do let me know.

What do you think?

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Welcome to the New Hounds In The Kitchen! is a post from Hounds In The Kitchen.

If you like what you read, please consider supporting us with a donation or visit the Hounds in the Kitchen shop for ebooks and favorite tools. Thanks!

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