So, I haven’t written much over the last few months. I haven’t felt like I have had the energy to do much else other than sleep and work. We’d been looking forward to the lack of Holiday plans this year, but I do find it difficult to turn down an opportunity to feed people. So, after an insanely crazy trip to the movie theater on Christmas day, we came home and had a nice meal of Turkey Soup, Levain sourdough bread and baked apples and pears.

Turkey & Fennel Soup

Ingredients

• 1lb left over vegetables (ends, stalks peels etc)
• 2lb left over roasted turkey meat and bones (legs and wings work well)
• 1 large bay leaf

• 2 medium white onions, dices
• 6 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 fennel bulb, diced
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 TBSP vegetable oil
• 4-6 carrots, chopped or sliced

• salt and pepper to taste

First, take the lb of vegetables. bay leaf and 2 lb of turkey and bones. cover with water and boil in a large pot for at least an hour or until vegetables and meat are soft and the water has turned a rich color.  While stock is cooking, take the onions, celery and fennel and saute in a frying pay with olive oil until golden brown. Add garlic near the end of the browning process and set mixture aside when done.  Chop up the carotts and set aside. When stock is done, drain and save as much liquid as possible in another pan or dish. Pick out all of the turkey meat and bay leaf and set aside to cool.  Discard or compost the stock vegetables. Once meat has cooled, tear or chop into small pieces and put back into the broth with all of the sautéed vegetables, carrot and the bay leaf. Fill pot with a few more cups of water (I made nearly a gallon of soup) and cook until all items are soft, (at least another hour) add salt and pepper to taste and serve with slices of bread!

If you’ve never smelled the wonder that is sautéed fennel, you will be in for a very pleasant surprise! You can also add some fresh fennel leaves just before serving to add a bit of color and brightness to the flavor.

Garden:

Oddly enough, the Marvel Stripe tomatoes keep appearing even though I have stopped watering the plant and it is half dead. A couple weeks ago I collected all of the green tomatoes from the plant and have been pickling them – but I will talk about that a bit later. The herbs are still doing just fine in the shady spot that they are in and I have been using my most of our food scraps to start on the compost for next spring. I also discovered that some plants that I originally thought were some sort of beans (not because they had any pods, but because they were growing where I planted a bunch of beans) turned out to be sunchokes! Hurray for unexpected edible things!

Food:

I’ve had some success and some failure over the past few months. first, I had another unexpected find a few weeks ago – but this time it was at the farmers’ market.  As I was stopping by the Massa Organics booth to pick up some rice,  I noticed the farmer was there! I had not met him before and we chatted a bit. I found out that he was there because once or twice a year (litterly, two days a year – once in fall & once in spring) they have Peking duck to sell.  As an organic farmer, ducks have become an important part of his pest and weed control. So, I bought one. I had never cooked duck before and knew full well that I might totally destroy it but it seemed too good to pass up. A couple weeks later I had a small dinner party and cooked it up and it turned out great. Thanks to Australian chefs Corrine Evatt and Mary-Jane Craig!

I also took a class on making kimchee and sauerkraut. The kimchee turned out great and I even managed to trade some for a beer at my favorite local bar! The sauerkraut that I made a few months back turned out well, but this one somehow went all haywire. It may have been because of the juniper berries that were added (a flavor I am not accustomed to in sauerkraut) or there’s some new and special kind of mold or bacteria, but it had a weird, almost detergent-like flavor and left a very dry taste behind – like a really dry red wine. It smelled strange too. Since I was a bit too uncertain, I decided to compost it. It’s a pity as I was really looking forward to eating that kraut as it had a variety of interesting ingredients that I never would have thought to use. The pickled green tomatoes are working out very well! I am not sure what I will use them with yet. with all of this pickling that I am doing, I had better figure something out! I find fermentation interesting and exciting but the reality is that we never ate anything other than dill pickles when I was growing up.  So, I’m not entirely sure what so do with all this pickled food. Suggestions are welcome!

I am trying something new. Last week I took a photograph of everything that I had purchased at the farmers’ market. I thought it would be an interesting experiment to do this each week.  Though I forgot to upload the photos last week – and had to take two photos because I forgot to empty all of my bags!

This week – October 3rd, 2009 – Includes a quart of yogurt, grapefruit, raw almonds, sesame glazed walnuts, red wheat berries, new york special apples, huge multicolored radishes, fresh basil, chicken of the woods mushrooms, fresh sweet peas, liverwurst, fresh horse radish, raw milk cheddar and goat sage cheese.

Last Week – September 27th, 2009 – Includes a cabbage, pomegranates, cucumbers, eggplant, heirloom tomatoes, dry farmed early girl tomatoes, dozen brown eggs, mixed nuts and pecans, mixed bag of stone fruit, 3 kinds of onions and 3 kinds of potatoes

Renaissance Faire can be a lot of fun – and a bit silly with all the jousting, drinking, bodices and the oddly ubiquitous turkey leg.

Recently I had watched Episode 10: “The Good Ol’ Days” from Penn & Teller: Bullshit which reminded me of something I had read just a few days before about the changes that took place in European cuisine after the New World was encountered by Columbus. In “The Good Ol’ Days” Penn & Teller discuss the cultural nostalgia of the Renaissance Faire with James Given, professor of Medieval History at U.C. Irvine who states “If you go to Renaissance Fair and you see someone gnawing away om a turkey leg that certainly has no real baring on reality. There were no turkeys in the middle ages.” But wait, isn’t this the Renaissance Faire?

According to Brian Cowen in his chapter New Worlds, New Tastes (Food Fashions after the Renaissance) from the 2007 book  The History of Taste: “Thus both the guinea fowl, introduced in the early sixteenth century from West Africa, and the American turkey were quickly and enthusiastically praised by Renaissance dietitians and banqueters alike.” Although likely available only to the upper classes, it appears as though turkey was indeed available in Europe as early as the 1500’s and was certainly written about at the time.

But was that during the middle ages or part of the Renaissance? According to wikipedia, the Renaissance spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, and the Middle Ages (or medieval period) began in the 5th century and ended with the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century. So.. both?

I don’t exactly think that Professor Given was incorrect as culinary history and the study of gastronomy hasn’t always gone hand in hand with standard historical curriculums. But what I found most interesting while watching this episode (aside from the fact that I actually knew something about turkeys in the middle ages) was the thought that the somewhat ridiculous practice of eating giant turkey legs at RenFaire may actually not be entirely ridiculous after all.

How strange and interesting!

Mother Jones:  Spoiled: Organic and Local Is So 2008 by Paul Roberts

This is a great article from ths March/April 2009 that discusses the reality of what we need to consider when it comes to the idea of sustainable agriculture.

“…Fred Kirschenmann, former director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Real sustainability, he argues, is defined not by a food system’s capacity to ensure happy workers or organic lima beans, but by whether the food system can sustain itself—that is, keep going, indefinitely, in a world of finite resources.”

This summer has been very interesting and busy! Here’s what I’ve been up to:

Garden:

• Two tomatoes plants (out of the original 4 varieties that I planted in March) have produced fruit – the Tomatoberry and the yellow Marvel Stripe heirloom – those most are still green.  I have one (color TBD) bell pepper still growing, a row of too-tiny-to-mention purple carrots and a handful of fava bean plants that may or may not be unhappy. All but two of the other plants that I bought as seedlings have survived in pots for months and are now happily residing in a big pile of soil enriched with the compost I’ve been preparing for months: oregano, sage, mint, strawberries and two kinds of lavender. The 3rd kind of lavender was trampled by a construction worker and the basil – well, so far I cannot get basil to work in the clay and debris filled soil back there. See garden photos here.

Events:

• Eat Real Fest – held on the weekend before labor day in Oakland, CA. It was hot. No, I mean HOT – like nearly 100 degrees and for the Bay Area… that is HOT.  But it was much more interesting that the Slow Food Nation event in San Francisco last year. Eat Real Fest was all about food for the masses – not just the people who could afford to spend hundreds of dollars for exclusive tasting events.  The food was great – local, organic and inexpensive. Street food vendors and taco trucks filled Jack London square and sold a variety of dishes – all $5 or less. The also had a large indoor farmers’ market. I’d definitely go again.  See pictures here.
• Ghost Town Farm tour – This was held on the same weekend as the East Real Fest as both were in Oakland. Novella Carpenter and her partner Bill are essentially squatting on a lot next to the apartment in which they live and have turned it in to a little urban farm. Novella has since written a book, Farm City, about her experiences with developing the farm and raising plants and animals in such an urban environment. It’s a great read and a great inspiration. I think what I love most is how they put something together pretty much out of nothing and created not only a garden, but a community as well. Her blog is here and my pictures are here.
• A reading from the book, Cooking Beyond Measure,  by cultural historian, hippie, cook and writer Jean Johnson.  The reading was a joint venture between the Culinary Historians of Northern California and Omnivore Books in San Francisco. I have been to a few CHoNC events now and usually feel a bit out of place since most of the other members are professional chefs, food writers and culinary historians and even though Jean is a bit of all of those, I feel like she could make anyone feel at ease. She came of age in the 60’s, lived for a decade on Native American reservations in the Southwest and is just a genuinely nice person. When the reading was over I went up to her and said “You’ve just written the book I was planning on writing in a few years after I got my act together.” Somehow, I’d love to grow up to be the combination of Novella Carpenter and Jean Johnson! Jean’s blog is here.

Classes:

• UrbanKitchenSF is my new best friend! With one-off, 2-3 hour classes that are fun, informative and inexpensive. They are all about slow food and cooking styles for the urban dweller. My first podcast was about their first pickling class and I plan on doing an interview with the founders of UrbanKitchenSF in a future podcast. I’ve taken all but two of the classes – one I had already taken and one I missed – including kombucha, pickling, butchery, cheesemaking and bread baking. I have pictures of most of the classes here. My kombucha and homemade pickles have turned out quite well!

Books:

• Occassionally, I lament the fact that I never got my undergrad degree. While the study of food history and culinary anthrolopogy are becoming more well known and wide spread, it is a challenge to find classes for the beginner or hobbyist. So, instead of allowing myself to pine, I finally got myself a Library card. Seems a bit sad since I’ve been living in San Francisco for 7 years now. My first two books are Food in the USA and The History of Taste - both a relatively large collection of essays and heavier than most of the school and college books I’ve had over the years. It does make me happy to know that there are others like me – who are fascinated by the evolution of food and its impact on human development, society and culture and who can explain it a heck of a lot better than I can.
• Wild Fermentation – not only a cookbook but a really good read as well. As the title states, this book is about fermentation and not only provides many, very approachable recipes, but talks about the health benefits, taste and history of the craft.  I have successfully made a bright pink sauerkraut and am now trying a batch of kvass which seems like a lovely way to use up stale bread!

Food:

• Ah, well, I am always trying new experiments and recipes. Lately, it has been all about sourdough and some of my favorites of late I have found online and am happy to share them!
  • Sourdough Crackers: http://www.cuesa.org/seasonality/recipes/appetizers/app_sp3.php
  • Sourdough Pancakes: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/SourdoughPancakes.htm
• I have also just tried my hand at sprouting grains and as I type, they are slowly toasting in the oven. Studies suggest that sprouts are one of the most nutritious foods on the planet and the act of sprouting (as well as fermenting) breaks down the harmful but natural enzime inhibitors present in seeds. My first try was with some local red wheat berries which, when sprouted, kinda tasted a bit like grass.  But since wheat is a grass, this makes perfect sense.
  • http://www.sproutpeople.com/cookery.html

Ok, well that’s all for now!

Good food & friends!

NUMMI Suppliers Brace for Worst / Tasty Treats at Eat Real Festival: KQED Radio News | KQED Public Media for Northern CA

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Spiced Sourdough Corn Fritters (Vegan)
This recipe gets 4 Purkle Stars

Ingredients:

• the kernels of 4 fresh cobs of corn
• 1 – 1 1/2 cups sourdough starter
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/4 tsp. cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp. tumeric powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 – TBSP vegetable oil

Place kernels in large bowl. Add sourdough a bit at a time ( 1/3 cup or so) until all kernels are covered but mixture seem a bit thick. Add all seasonings and mix. Add baking soda last. Mixture will rise a bit, becoming smoother and easier to stir. Add vegetable oil to a frying pan and let heat up to about medium-high. Gently drop in corn mixture until it forms a medallion about 3 inches across. Let fry about 2-3 minutes on each side or until each side is a nice orange – gold color.  Serve warm with your favorite hot sauce or tomato sauce. Feeds 4-5 people (my general rule is one corn cob per person.)

After years of thinking about it, I have finally created a podcast call “MindfulCast”. The goal of this podcast series is to discuss the rewards and challenges of living a balanced life in these modern, urban times. The first episode, Fermentation: The Final Frontier, focuses on a recent Pickling Party workshop hosted by UrbanKitchenSF and Happy Girl Kitchen Co. To subscribe to the podcast feed, check the box at the top of the sidebar!

The workshop was held on a pier under the Bay Bridge…

From left to Right: Todd Gonzales and Todd Champange from Happy Girl Kitchen

Chopping and filling jars

and adding salt water…

Pickled Cherries, Lemons and Spicy Carrots

mmm.. Pretty Pickles…

Chipotle is a chain of Mexican Style fast food restaurants in the United States – and they don’t buy their pork from factory farms. That is only the start! While they are not 100% organic or sustainable yet, they have a fantastic “Food With Integrity” philosophy which includes “unprocessed, seasonal, family-farmed, sustainable, nutritious, naturally raised, added hormone free, organic, and artisanal” foods.

There is a great Nightline Segment from 6/16/09 all about this Chipotle philosophy with a cameo from Joel of Polyface Farms.

The craziest thing about all this is that I have not yet been to this restaurant! Fortunately, we have two in San Francisco. We sent an email to Chipotle asking about their produce and rice as this is not discussed on their website as much as their meat and beans. They sent us a great response!

“We have currently committed to buying 35 percent of one bulk produce item for all of our restaurants, when seasonally available, from local farmers. We’re looking to build on this program for the future. Last year, when we began the program, we sourced 25 percent of one bulk produce item used in each store from a local farm. This year we have upped our goals to 35 percent so we are making some progress.

We need a lot of ingredients. Unfortunately these better suppliers are more of a niche than a mainstream. Our plan is just to start small, just as we did with our naturally-raised meats, and to grow the program from there as supply increases to meet demand.

With our program, our produce is generally coming from within 200 miles or less of our restaurants. This might also be on a seasonal basis. As you might be able to imagine, it would be quite a challenge to buy certain items, such as romaine lettuce in Minneapolis, in the middle of the winter.

Unfortunately, I cannot give you specifics for rice, lettuce or tomatoes as different restaurant are focusing on different things that will work better for that region. However, we are really focused on making a difference. As part of our Food with Integrity initiative, we are trying to operate our restaurants in a manner which is better for the environment, better for the animals, and better for the farmers who raise the animals and grow the produce. We also happen to think fresh food tastes better. In this way, we hope it is also better for our customers.”

www.chipotle.com

Though the farmers’ market I usually shop at is the Heart of the City, I stop by the Ferry Plaza a few times a year. This is not so much for the produce, as I find that the fruit and vegetables at the Heart of the City are quite fabulous and much less expensive, but for the items that are harder to find, The Ferry Plaza Market is great!

Since today was such a lovely San Francisco day, I decided to head out early to see if I could get to some of the market goodies that tend to vanish before 10am, beat the lunch crowd and take some photos.

I am also starting to keep a list of the farms that I learn about and how far they are from San Francisco. To see a map of North California farms that travel to or sell in San Francisco markets click here: Northern California Farms

http://www.massaorganics.com/ Chico, California

Massa Organics

I have been a fan of Massa Organics since I first encountered them. They are one of the few grain producers in the area (currently brown rice and red wheat berries) and their almonds are wonderful too! You can even follow them on twitter now @MassaOrganics and get updates direct from the tractor. Which, if you are an agro-nerd like me, will make you giddy. But maybe that is just me. ..

I’ve been seeking out local restaurants that provide information about using local, seasonal produce. I hope that one day I will have a long list of restaurants to recommend, but for the time being. I intend to mention establishments as I have the opportunity to experience them.

Cafe Divine – North Beach, San Francisco http://cafedivinesf.com/

According to the Cafe Divine menu: “We Support Small Farmers And Use Sustainable Products Whenever Possible.” Situated at the corner of Washington Park in North Beach, Cafe Divine has big windows and a comfy, somewhat artsy, coffee shop feel. The service is pretty good (but not great) but the food is very good and fresh and a decent price. I was a bit disappointed the first time I ate at this restaurant. I believe we had brunch, something like an omelet with a fruit bowl. It was in the winter; the time of apples, pears and oranges in the bay area, but my fruit bowl was still full of out-of-season melon balls – even though the display case was full of the season fruit I mentioned.  It’s also a bit sad that they don’t feel confident enough to proudly advertise their support of local agriculture on their website (it’s only on a scan of their menu) but at least they do mention it.

Below are events that I find both interesting as well as likely to attend!

Urban Farming Basics: Grow Your Own Food Session 1 May 2nd 2-5pm: http://events.kqed.org/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=6318

Urban Farming Basics: Grow Your Own Food Session 2 May 9th 2-6pm: http://www.bapd.org/n0976.html

Michael Pollan: Deep Agriculture May 5th 7pm: http://www.longnow.org/projects/seminars/

Tomales Bay Oyster Company &
Straus Organic Dairy 5/14, 7/16, 8/20: http://www.malt.org/programs/index.php#may

The Fur Council of Canada has recently started a new campaign called “Fur is Green!” I am really quite torn about this idea simply because I believe that if we are to kill animals for food, we should be doing our best to ensure that they are treated as well as possible during their life and use as much as possible of the animal and avoid any waste. I have personally never been against the use of leather as it tends to come from animals that are also part of the food supply, but fur often comes from animals that are not used for anything else.

Some are protesting this campaign and I am curious to see what the outcome is.

Fur is Green! Campaign
http://www.furcouncil.com/furisgreen.aspx

Matt & Nat: Speak Out Against Fur
http://blog.mattandnat.com/?p=161

Fri, Mar 27, 2009

The California Report Magazine -  LGBT Farmworker Discrimination

“Many California farmworkers are so desperate to keep their jobs that they rarely complain when there’s a problem at work. When those farmworkers are gay, lesbian or transgender, they may face harassment or even earn less pay because of their sexual orientation. Now, a new project is helping them learn about their rights under California law.”

The whole show available in both MP3 and RealMedia:
http://www.californiareport.org/archive.jsp?date=20090327

The segment available in RealMedia only:
http://www.californiareport.org/archive/R903271630/c

“First lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to break ground Friday on a new garden near the fountain on the South Lawn that will supply the White House kitchen.”

Great news! I am still working on my own kitchen garden and it is good to see such a high profile garden!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090319/ap_on_go_pr_wh/white_house_garden

Whopper Virgins Remixed

DemocracyNow.org
War and Peace Report

“A group of farmers, chefs and policy advocates called “Food Democracy Now” have submitted a letter to Obama’s transition team urging him to take on industrialized agriculture and promote a more sustainable policy. The letter urges the President-elect to nominate a Secretary of Agriculture who will advocate for independent family farms, nutrition, environmental protection, food workers’ rights and animal welfare.”

Read/Hear/See More Here

Also check out Food Democracy Now to sign the letter to Mr. Obama!

http://www.fooddemocracynow.org/

Here are some links for those of us interested in a less consumer-driven holiday season…

http://www.buynothingchristmas.org/

http://www.redefine-christmas.org/

http://free-christmas.org/

http://www.pinkchristmas.org/

Happy Holidays! May they be full of love, companions and compassion!