Joe Ray recounts his experience co-authoring the book Sea and Smoke: Untamed Flavors from the Pacific Northwest with famed genius chef, Blaine Wetzel, as we sip a most unusual broth. Joe is an award-winning widely published food and travel writer who regularly contributes to Wired magazine and the winner of the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year award from the Society of American Travel Writers. Learn more about his fascinating background at Joe Ray’s site.
At the start of the show, you’ll get to hear clomp around in the wet Pacific Northwest fall looking for branches to make soup. Yes, you read that right.
Madrona Bark Broth
This is loosely based on the broth featured in Sea and Smoke: Untamed Flavors of the Pacific Northwest by Blaine Wetzel and Joe Ray. Curiously, what they serve at the Inn on Lummi Island is typically birch broth; the day this recipe was being worked on, a kitchen assistant grabbed the wrong kind of bark. No matter, it was still quite the experience and made me rethink broths and teas. Makes about 1 quart. Photo by Kathleen Flinn.
Ingredients
Simple syrup
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 handfuls bark and short branches
Instructions
- Make the simple syrup by dissolving the sugar into the water. Meanwhile, clean the bark and branches to remove any clinging dirt. Add the branches to four cups of cold water and bring to a light boil, then simmer for at least 30 minutes. Strain well through a mesh sieve. Add one tablespoon of the simple syrup. Serve warm, sipping as one would a tea.
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