How2Heroes › Blog

Watch our latest video blog. Everyone makes fun of Twitter. How does it work? What is the point? Well, we’re here to tell you that it’s a great way to meet cool, like-minded people like Erin Byers Murray (Twitter handle, ErinBMurray) and the team at Island Creek Oysters. When we saw the teeny icon photo of Erin in waders, we were intrigued so we read her mini bio and realized that she was a writer who had switched careers to farm oysters. We soon reached out to her and arranged a visit to Island Creek to capture on film what many of us will never be fortunate enough to experience in real life - how our favorite mollusks grow.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.
While it’s a lot of hard work, there is clearly a feeling of peace and serenity you can only experience by working on the water. Watch for the Island Creek Oyster Farm Tour video in the next week or so. But in the meantime, enjoy this video blog we shot on location. Notice how much more zen we are than normal.

Thank you to Erin, Skip, Shore, Andy and all the other fabulous folks at Island Creek. And if you live in the New England area, be sure to attend their Oyster Festival in September.

Oh, and if you haven’t tried Twitter, give in. Have fun with it. You can follow Erin, how2heroes, your favorite restaurants, celebrities and share thoughts on what you’re up to that you think other people might care about. Believe it or not, they do! Below are some folks you might be interested in following:
nytimesfood
WholeFoods
CuisineEnLocale
Poeskitchen
IslandCreek
Southernfood
LEspalier
KingArthurFlour
MAFarmMarkets
PetitRobertBist
craigieonmain
foddiemommy
lillyj
susiea
BostonChefsNews
andyhusbands
edibleboston
LATimesfood
publicradiokitchen
AmericanSeasons
cakeandcommerce
obamafoodorama
chefscollaborat
TheSecondGlass
eatboston
LDGourmet
lupecboston
pochezhenr
cdonatiello
ciscobrewers
thesmitten
ruthreichl
formaggio
tazachocolate
foodonthefood
bostontweet
beardfoundation
cheesematt
savorykitchen
MarthaStewart
ZagatBuzz
DunkinDonuts
CitysearchBOS
everydayfood
tupelo02139
OpenTable
DrinkCraftBeer
Anniedig
wdgilson
kirstenamann
NoReservations
bittman
bffoodie
cavecibum

One of our kind and generous friends, Louisa Kasdon, is a member of the Sienna Farms CSA*. She is travelling the world for a few weeks so offered to let us pick up her produce and share it amongst ourselves. The pick-up spot was at SOFRA Bakery, a gorgeous bakery owned by Ana Sortun, wife of Sienna Farms’ owner Chris Kurth.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.
We had such a great time thinking about what would be in this week’s bounty and what we might do with it. Opening the box to the beautiful smells and colors of seasonal ingredients is a real treat and something that is best expressed how2heroes style - in video. Hope you enjoy watching and that you become a member of a CSA and support your local farmers.

*CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture which consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation. By direct sales to community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better prices for crops & gain some financial security. Individuals enjoy farm fresh produce!

This week’s feature story in STUFF magazine, “Deconstructing dinner: An Investigation Into the Origins of the Ingredients in One Delish Homegrown Dish” demonstrates how Chef Tim Wiechmann of T.W. Food sources all local New England ingredients to make his classically French dish, Creamy Scrambled Eggs w/ Spinach & Goat Cheese. STUFF wrote the story and we shot the videos. We hope you enjoy it!

We look forward to collaborating with our friends at STUFF to bring you more great food stories in the near future.

Enter the how2heroes Grilling Essentials Sweepstakes and get a chance to win a Grand Prize as well as 20 Second Prizes. The Grand Prize includes: 1 Masterbuilt Propane Veranda Grill (great for small spaces!), a copy of Kansas City Grilling Expert Ardie Davis’ “25 Essentials: Techniques for Grilling” cookbook, 1 awesome & rugged how2heroes apron and a bottle of delicious Kentuckyaki Sauce from Bourbon Barrel Foods. The 20 Second Prize winners will receive the cookbook and the Kentuckyaki Sauce. We want to make your summer super grilltastic(!) so enter now.

We recently took a food field trip to Vermont to film some incredible how-to baking and cooking videos with the wonderful folks at King Arthur Flour. Baking Genius Susan Reid baked up a storm with the greatest of ease: Chocolate Almond Coffee Cake (beyond any coffee cake you’ve ever had!), Grilled Asiago Rounds with Zucchini Caponata and Whole Grain Brownies. While we were shooting, we realized she had a couple great baking tricks up her sleeve so we also filmed 2 simple techniques videos: Cleaning & Seasoning the Grill and Pulling a Window Pane (watch to see what this is about!). Now that’s a full day. Susan broke everything down with detailed instruction and great humor so we felt we could easily recreate her recipes which is a good sign that you will be able to as well.

The King Arthur test kitchen is a baker’s dream. There are at least 6 ovens and many beautiful spacious work spaces with plenty of room for rolling out dough (aren’t you always running out of space on your counter?!). The employee kitchen is right next door to the test kitchen so the lucky people who work there are constantly treated to test kitchen treats. I can see their job descriptions: “benefits include healthcare, vacation and all the baked goods you can eat.” Not too shabby.

And for those of you interested in taking classes, King Arthur offers several for those who bake for fun as well as professionals. What a nice trip - travel up to Vermont, take some baking classes and eat the fruits of your labor.

Their store just down the street from the test kitchen is a baker’s paradise. They carry all their different types of flour. Who knew there were so many kinds?! I bought the White Whole Wheat Flour for the Whole Grain Brownies as well as a few Danish dough whisks that Susan uses in the brownie and coffee cake videos on our site. It’s the coolest thing. Just had to have it.

We thank Susan Reid and the wonderful, lucky people who work at King Arthur Flour for taking the time to teach us (and you) some amazing cooking skills we can all learn and take with us on our future baking adventures.

Do not forget Mother’s Day. We repeat. Do NOT forget Mother’s Day. She brought you into this world. And she can take you out. Visit our Mother’s Day section and turn the tables by cooking your Mom a wonderful meal for a change. Or how about some tasty treats or even a refreshing cocktail. Take the time to treat her right. She’s earned it. Big time. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

Have you been hearing a lot about quinoa lately? Wondering what it is exactly, how to use it and even how to pronounce it? We’ve had some of the same questions, so have done a little research for you and have 2 incredible dishes you can experiment with using this great grain.

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is a wheat-free and gluten-free grain. It may be new to all of us but it was a staple in the ancient Incan civilization. It contains more protein than any other grain which makes it an ideal ingredient for vegetarians, vegans and those looking to save a few dollars by cutting back on meat, poultry and pork. What’s it taste like? Sort of a nutty flavor with a nice texture in the family of couscous. It’s very quick and easy to prepare - similar to rice and just 15 minutes and you’re in business. It’s very versatile and can be eaten for breakfast with fruit or as a simple side dish - a healthier replacement for white rice for sure. Or, it can be the star of the plate as Chef Rich Vellante from Legal Sea Foods demonstrates in his flavorful and healthy dish, Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets, Asparagus & Shrimp. Chef Vellante, a marathon runner, says quinoa is great before a race to give you the fuel you need to go the distance. Imagine what wonders it will do for you on a regular day at the office.

For another delicious quinoa dish, try Chef Frank McClelland’s Salmon with Black Quinoa & Cherries. For this dish, Chef McClelland elevates the quinoa with great flavors like rosemary, cherries, garlic and lemon. It’s so delicious and pairs perfectly with the rich flavors of the salmon.

We recommend you try both of these dishes or keep it really simple and maybe just toss in some toasted pine nuts and raisins. You’ll have fun experimenting with it and you’ll be doing your body good at the same time.

Want more info on Quinoa? Watch “What is Quinoa?” for more words of wisdom from Chef Rich Vellante.

The how2heroes team filmed and attended the much anticipated Cochon 555 nose-to-tail pork showdown last Sunday and what an amazing event it was. Watch the highlights video and see Chef Matthew Jennings from Farmstead in Providence and 4 top Boston Chefs - Jason Bond, Tony Maws, Jamie Bissonnette and Joseph Margate flex their pork muscles. Pork was poked, prodded, pulled, formed into patés, charcuteries, marshmallows (yes, marshmallows). These guys went all out. Congratulations to all of them for the hard work and creative genius. And a special congratulation to Chef Jennings (pictured above - bottom/left) for winning over both the judges and the crowd.

Thanks to Brady Lowe and Carolina Uribe from Cochon 555 for letting us be a part of this great event. And I would like to share with you the single most important thing I learned. There are some breeds of pig that are in danger of becoming extinct. My first thought was that I shouldn’t be eating them. But I was told, “You have to eat it to save it.” So there you have it. Get thee to a butcher shop or your grocers and load up on pork!

We spent a very entertaining, informative and at times disturbing week filming Boston chefs getting creative with nose-to-tail pig action in preparation for Cochon555. Watch this video to see Chefs Jason Bond, Tony Maws and Matthew Jennings flex their culinary pork muscles, and talk a little trash. Don’t miss this fun event and great opportunity to pig out like never before. The winner will be determined by 49% judges’ vote and 51% audience vote so you can participate in the “Prince of Porc” ruling. Cochon555 is this Sunday, 6pm, at the Liberty Hotel. Buy tickets here.

Details of the Event:

Five Heritage Pigs prepared by:
- Jason Bond, Beacon Hill Bistro
- Jamie Bissonnette, Toro
- Tony Maws, Craigie on Main
- Joseph Margate, Clink
- Matthew Jennings, Farmstead

Wines From:
- Patz & Hall
- Krupp Brothers
- Chase Family Cellars
- Meander Wines
- Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery
- VIP Reserve Reception presented Elk Cove Vineyards

Activities:
- Side by side heritage breed pig sampling
- Pig breakdown and Porchetta demonstration by Joel Cox
- Swine’n'Sweets course by local chocolate passionistas

Tis the season when sap surges toward maple tree extremities forcing leaves to sprout and spring to come. Take a tour of Drumlin Farm to learn all about The Art of Making Maple Syrup. Tour guide Tia Pinney is a wealth of knowledge and will leave you wanting to tap your trees and make your own maple. And join in our maple celebration with sweet and savory recipes from our inspired heroes. 

MAPLE RECIPES
From food on the food blogger Tammy Donroe:
Maple Ice Cream

From Josie Morse of The Big Apple Farm:
Maple Bars
Maple Oatmeal Cookies

From Eunice Feller of Bread & Chocolate:
Oatmeal Pecan Maple Thins
Maple Pecan Apple Cake 
Pecan-Encrusted Goat Cheese w/ Maple Vinaigrette

From Anthony Caturano of Prezza:
Maple Brined Pork Chops - our first grilling video of the season!

From Lauren Summers of the Harding House:
Stuffed Croissant French Toast