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In this issue:
• COOKING CLUB: We survey the culinary potential of the sand beneath our feet
• GARRETT OLIVER: Captain of our soul?
• RECAP: #cookforukraine sales of Black Sea
• NEW HORIZONS IN PROFIT SHARING: The MJF
• MEMBERSHIP PLEA: Fun version
• OPPORTUNITY: Hama Hama Oysters 2022 Farm Internship (paid)
But first, we feast. Our cooking club this month focuses on the intertidal zone: the strip of sometimes-land, sometimes-ocean ruled by the clockwork of the moon. When the tide is out, dinner is served:
• Oysters Collarfella from Bress ’n’ Nyam
• Oyster Spaghetti from Mosquito Supper Club
• Hangtown Egg Foo Young from Mister Jiu’s in Chinatown
• Grilled Oysters with Chipotle-Bourbon Butter from The Essential Oyster
• Clams with Dijon Broth from Getaway
• Clam Pizza from Grains for Every Season
As I write this I’m on my way from Brooklyn to the Hama Hama Company on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, where I’ll be cooking these recipes and more in the kitchen of their waterfront saloon. Follow @localtechnique and/or @hamahamaoysters on Instagram for some Clam TV, and of course please do buy the books from me and some delicious clams and oysters from Hama Hama so you can try them for yourself.
Seaweed is underrepresented in this month’s picks but near and dear to my heart, so I look forward to making gyeran bap (“a lifesaving Korean pantry meal”) when Eric Kim’s book Korean American comes out on the 29th. Or perhaps sooner, depending on whether life needs saving over the next few weeks. Prediction: signs point to yes. (If you happen to have an NYT Cooking subscription, you can view its sibling recipe online. Basic idea: fry an egg or two in butter, drizzling the top with soy and sesame oil so the sauce reduces to a salty, buttery glaze while the egg cooks; plop it on a bowl of rice and bury the whole thing in an avalanche of seaweed snacks, a.k.a. gim. Crush and serve.)
What to drink with this month’s picks? Garrett Oliver knows, and I’m so happy to be adding his classic tome The Brewmaster’s Table to the shop. His writing alone is wind in the sails of the doldrummed soul, and his ideas on pairing food and beer never fail to inspire. This is a man who could wear a toga to dinner and make everyone else wonder why they're NOT wearing a toga: this is a man you turn to for answers.
For a taste of what you’re in for, take his Grub Street diary for a spin (“Brooklyn Brewery’s Garrett Oliver Has Mutton Coursing Through His Veins”) or perhaps his stroll through MoMA (“A Painting and a Pint”).
One bright spot over the past grim week has been seeing people across the world come together to help those under attack in Ukraine; many of you are on this list because you bought a copy of Black Sea from me so we could send the profits to UNICEF. Together we donated $336: a tiny drop in the bucket of war, but a drop nonetheless.
In the month of March we drip another drop: Local Technique hereby permanently pledges its profits off The Brewmaster’s Table to the Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing & Distilling (a.k.a. the MJF), which routes the money to scholarships for BIPOC brewers and distillers who have been accepted to top-tier programs here at home (which come at no small cost). I hope that there are some writers among them. Outlook: it is certain.
If you’re not yet a member of Local Technique, please consider joining for the low, low price of $25/year (or $45 for a dual membership: share it with a friend!). Members receive 15% off all online purchases (enter code MEMBER at checkout), and if you place an order while I'm at Hama Hama over the next week, shipping is on the house because nothing will actually go in the mail until 3/15. Feel free to combine the discount and the free shipping. When the cat is away the mice shall play!
Every membership also helps me spend one less hour screaming into the void and one more hour building something that does its tiny bit of good in one little corner the world.
Speaking of good, an opportunity: Hama Hama's 2022 Farm Internship program is currently looking for positive, self-motivated individuals from all walks of life who are interested in gaining hands-on job experience while learning about sustainable shellfish farming on the Hood Canal (WA). This is a six-month, full-time, paid position ($15/hour) with housing provided. No experience necessary: just a solid work ethic and a desire to explore a future in this world. Read more about the requirements and submit an application here.
Thanks for reading, thanks for cooking –
Adrienne
March 7, 2022