Cool Runnings

The name comes from a 1993 movie about the Jamaican national bobsled team's first Olympic competition at the 1988 Winter Olympics, which were held in Calgary, Alberta. The beer is inspired by Caribbean stouts or tropical stouts, which first emerged with the founding and production of strong, sweet stouts by the Walters Trinidad Brewing Company in 1908. 

I have to say that I don't come across to many Caribbean-inspired beers, let alone tropical stouts. So, when I saw one on the beer menu at Market Garden, a brewery in Cleveland, Ohio, I knew that I had to try it. With a description that included notes of vanilla, nutmeg, coffee, clove and sweet spice, then I knew that I had to try it. 

The Caribbean is known for lighter beers, usually pale lagers like the eponymous Carib beer. Yet, there is a dark streak that runs through brewing across the isles, that produces some very good stouts. Such beers can be found in Aruba, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and St. Lucia.

Jamaica also produces stouts, like Dragon Stout and Trouble Brewing's Stout. These beers, as well as other stouts up and down the Lesser Antilles, tend to feature more sweet elements, that are balanced with roasty and darker flavors.  The descriptions of the beers evoke (at least for me) the thoughts of Guinness stouts. This is an apropros reference given, for example, that Walters Trinidad Brewing Company was founded by an Irish entrepreneur, Richard Walters, who eventually sold his brewery to Carib in 1957. (Carib continues to produce the Royal Extra Stout, which is a nod to Walters Trinidad Brewing.)

The brewers describe this "Rum Cake Stout" as having "the holiday flavors of sweet molassess, home baked chocolate desserts and creamy caramel in this toasty, balanced Caribbean inspired brew." They add that there is a "harmonious medley of vanilla, nutmeg, coffee, clove and sweet spice" that grace the palate with this beer. 

I have to say that the sweet (chocolate, sweet spice) and bitter (coffee) come through on both the nose and the palate, but I was struggling a little to find the vanilla, nutmeg and clove. As it was those elements, in addition to the coffee, that sold me on buying a glass of the beer. There was a great balance between the elements, but I wish some of them came through a little more. It may have been that the beer was too cold; and, as this time of year would call for, if it warmed a little, those elements may have been more pronounced. 

I looked for six packs at the brewery, but could only find it in a holiday 12-pack, that included the Festivus and other holiday beers. It is worth a try if you can find it. 

PEACE.

The Next Step on My Culinary Journey

Around this time last year, I announced -- or, more appropriately, confirmed -- a shift in my cooking and blogging toward learning, understanding and empathy through food. That shift took me to a path created by three individuals who I admire: Anthony Bourdain, Andrew Zimmern and Jose Andres. I will still walk that path, because I believe, as all three of them did, that food has the power to unite us if we open our eyes, free our minds and listen to others. 

Yet, I feel that, as I continue to walk that path, I need to do something for myself. I have always been attuned to the need to be in the present moment, something that I picked up with my learning and practicing Buddhist meditation. It even led me to start a project, The Mindfulness Foodways, where I incorporated Buddhist principles to improve my cooking. More recently, I have become aware of the impact of food on my health. This new awareness has opened my eyes and freed my mind in a different way, which provides me with an opportunity to take the next step on my culinary journey. 

That step is a figurative one, as I remain committed to walking my present culinary path. It involves a change in mindset, one that is brought about by a trinity of different individuals: Confucius, the Buddha and Laozi (or Lao Tzu). All three of them are represented in the Ming Dynasty painting above. 

There was a story about all three philosophers being asked to taste from a barrel of vinegar. It comes from Daoist teaching, so that gives some perspective as I recount it. All three philosophers were asked to give their opinions of the vinegar. Confucious went first, and, after a few moments of contemplation, he declared the vinegar to be sour, much like he found the world to be full of degenerate people. The Buddha went next, tasting the vinegar and declaring that it was bitter, like he found the world to be full of bitter suffering. Loazi went last. He tasted the vinegar and declared it to be sweet, just as he found the world. He found that there was a balance between harmony and beauty even with the sourness and bitterness. 

The story represents, not just three opinions about vinegar, but a much bigger picture. Yet, while they may not agree, the three philosophers wrote extensively about food, from its preparation to its consumption. For instance, Confucius once wrote, "eat only until seven-tenths full; control in portions promotes longevity." The Buddha also spoke similar words to a king, "when a man is mindful, knowing moderation in the food he eats, his ailments then diminish: he ages slowly, thus guarding his life." Those words are sage advice for which I need periodic reminders, especially when I am presented with a plate of something I love to eat. These words, as well as other advice will guide me as I walk my path going forward. 

But, it is the Daoist (or Taoist) view that will reshape my mindset the most. It is recognizing the "Dao" of cooking and eating, the balance of not just flavors, but processes and ingredients. This is a path that I have wandered down somewhat in the past, with my exploration of the five tastes, which is a concept that originated with Laozi's Dao de Jing (or Tao Te Ching). Much of my learning has focused on its application in Vietnamese cuisine, in which it is referred to as Ngu Hanh or Ngu vi.  But, now, I need to embrace a balance far greater than tastes or cooking processes. I need and overall balance in what I eat. 

This leads to the next step on my culinary pathway. I am opening my eyes, freeing my mind, and listening to new approaches. For example, I am working to incorporate Ayurvedic principles into my cooking. The goal is to build on what I have learned about balance in food to introduce new ingredients, with new flavors and textures, to improve the balance in what I eat. This includes ingredients that I previously would have dismissed as "sour" or "bitter." I am going to find the beauty and harmony in it all. But that is not all, my efforts -- all of which will become part of my Laozi Initiative within The Mindfulness Foodways -- will also incorporate other teachings that center around food as medicine, such as Yakuzen, or food as ways to improve health, such as Washoku. Both of these approaches come from Japanese cooking (although Yakuzen is based on Chinese medicinal teachings known as Yaoshan). 

I should have taken these steps much earlier in my culinary life, but my mind was not ready. I believe that it is now. This more spiritual and philosophical mindset will become my focus as I continue on my culinary journey. That journey will remain along the same path to which I have committed myself: one of learning, understanding and empathy through food.  

You can follow me by checking out The Mindfulness Foodways, where you can see both my Buddha Initiative (being more mindful when cooking) and my Laozi Initiative, which focuses on the balance in my cooking. It is truly a thousand mile journey, so feel free to visit periodically.

PEACE.