{"id":5082,"date":"2011-12-01T09:35:17","date_gmt":"2011-12-01T14:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/?p=5082"},"modified":"2011-12-05T10:43:25","modified_gmt":"2011-12-05T15:43:25","slug":"the-eater-food-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/2011\/12\/the-eater-food-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"THE EATER: Food of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>by Kirk Ross<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/eater1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/eater1.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"eater1\" width=\"200\" height=\"77\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-3924\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s midway through feasting season and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re thumbing through the end-of-the-year edition of MILL. That means it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for <strong>The Eater\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/strong> annual Food of the Year Award.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The chosen item can be any kind of food, but to be judged, it has to have a few key attributes \u00c2\u00ad\u00e2\u20ac\u201c locally produced or grown, good for you, good for the environment and accessible in terms of both price and availability.<\/p>\n<p>The Eater also tries to find items that are a worthwhile addition to one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s regular diet. Hard-to-prepare items or specialty foods just won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do. Above all, of course, the Food of the Year has to be delicious.<br \/>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5083\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5083\" style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Eater2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Eater2.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"Eater2\" width=\"350\" height=\"234\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5083\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Eater2.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Eater2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Eater2-120x80.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5083\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mediterranean Deli\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Zaatar Pita.\tPhoto by Kirk Ross<\/figcaption><\/figure><br \/>\nThis year, one product proved its worth in all of the above categories by making snacks and meals more wholesome and flavorful and affording those of us who are sometimes harried hosts a quick, easy-to-produce appetizer.<\/p>\n<p>And the winner is (drum roll) \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 <strong>Mediterranean Deli\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Zaatar Pita<\/strong>!<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just any pita. Made in the ovens added by the deli a few years back during its big expansion, this bread is made from organic flour produced from local wheat at Lindley Mills in Graham. The ingredients list is positively ancient: organic wheat flour, water, thyme, sesame seeds, sugar, sumac, salt, citric acid and yeast. The thyme, salt and sumac provide a savory mix with the sumac adding a lemony tartness that is distinct but not overpowering. <\/p>\n<p>The mix of flavors and the light, not-too-chewy bread are a perfect delivery system for a little hummus or ajar. (The Eater\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s favorite midday snack is a toasted Zaatar Pita with a little soft cheese melted on it.) If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re cutting up some pita for an appetizer or party snack, add the Zaatar variety to the mix.<\/p>\n<p>Another key attribute that makes the Zaatar Pita this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s champ is that it freezes well and cooks up quickly right out of the icebox.<\/p>\n<p>A couple of things to keep in mind: Unlike the deli\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sesame and regular pitas, the Zaatar doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t produce an easy-to-open pocket, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not as functional if you want to slice it in half and stuff it full of various ingredients. And some of the generous dusting of spices doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always stay on the pita, especially after toasting, so it can be a little messier than the unseasoned varieties.<\/p>\n<p>Also keep in mind when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re buying pita from the deli that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re supporting Lindley Mills\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 efforts to revive the local wheat market. The mill, located along Cane Creek, was founded in 1755 and run by the Lindley family for a century. It was restored three decades ago to grind organic grains and has been an integral part of the effort to find varieties and a market for North Carolina farmers who want to diversify into wheat production.<\/p>\n<p>If you haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tried this wonderful baked good, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in luck, because the deli has ramped up its production and distribution. You can buy it warm most days at the deli for $1.99 for a package of four, and fresh batches are in stock at all three <strong>Weaver Street Markets<\/strong>, along with<strong> Whole Foods<\/strong> and <strong>Fresh Market<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Kirk Ross It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s midway through feasting season and you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re thumbing through the end-of-the-year edition of MILL. That means it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for The Eater\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s annual Food of the Year Award.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[319,64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-eater"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5082"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5085,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5082\/revisions\/5085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/mill\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}