Austin Farm to Table

Buying Local at the New Braunfels Farm to Market

2010-07-29T17:23:00.002-05:00

As I prepare for the annual family trip down the Comal, I'm looking forward to visiting the New Braunfels Farm to Market on Saturday morning. This fairly new market, launched this Spring, is located on South Castell next to Friesenhaus in New Braunfels' quaint downtown.

The market has quickly attracted a lengthy list of vendors who also serve the Pearl Farmers Market in San Antonio and the Austin markets. On my last trip to the market, I was delighted to find some of my favorite vendors including CKC Farms and their delicious goat cheese, Montesino Ranch, Ottmer's Family Farm, Harvest Time Farm Stand and The Mediterranean Chef.

In addition to a wide selection of produce, you can also buy olive oil from Texas Olive Ranch, bread and baked goods from several bakeries, salsa from Kelly Jo's and granola from Cowgirl Granola.

The market is very well attended, packed with shoppers starting at 9 am. I highly recommend getting their early if you are looking for something particular.

I also recommend showing up hungry. There are several vendors serving up barbeque, tacos and even kettle corn. (Honestly, is there anything that smells better than kettle corn?)

If you are looking for a fun day trip, the New Braunfels Farm to Market is a great way to kick off the day. Pack a cooler and your shopping bag and enjoy a lovely morning in historic downtown New Braunfels. On second thought, maybe you should bring two shopping bags.

See you at the market!

Celebrating the Gulf with Shrimp and Corn Chowder

2010-07-28T10:52:00.000-05:00

Some of my fondest childhood food memories involve shrimp and crab boils. What an amazing creation - food that you know only got to eat with your hands, but you get to be as messy as you want. Glorious!

I was so disappointed when I had to miss the Gulf Coast Disaster Relief Benefit at the Hotel San Jose last week; a giant shrimp boil with great music, all to benefit the victims of the gulf oil spill. To lend moral support, I decided to make a shrimp and corn chowder for family dinner Saturday night.

Saturday morning I shopped at the Cedar Park Farmers Market with my friend Beth Ann and was delighted to find a seafood vendor at the market. Originally I had only planned to buy shrimp, but they also had blue crabs from Kemah and I couldn't pass up the chance to add them to to the mix.

I was pleased that I was able to buy everything except the garnishes - avocado, cilantro and lime - from the farmers market or my Farmhouse Delivery box. I was even able to use the shrimp stock I made from the shrimp shells I saved from a dinner earlier this year. I felt like I was doing my part to stretch my little piece of the Gulf even further.

I researched a number of chowder recipes and most called for one to two cups of heavy cream. We are trying to substitute fat wherever we can in our family so I decided to experiment a little. I used a cup of milk and then made a puree from some canned corn that I had leftover from the food bank challenge. The puree helped thicken the soup. Adding the crab gave it some additional lusciousness that would have been missing without the cream. If you don't want to go to all that trouble, use cream instead.

The chowder turned out to be a great way to celebrate our Gulf Coast seafood traditions. If you are concerned about the future of the Gulf and all of those who have depended on it for their livelihood, I highly recommend reviewing the new booklet from the Renewing America's Food Traditions alliance to learn more about the effects of the spill on our wildlife and future. If you'd rather have a hard copy, I picked one up at the Downtown Farmers Market.

See you at the seafood stand!

Shrimp & Corn Chowder

2 tbsps butter

1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 large poblanos, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 ears of corn, kernels removed
1 lb new potatoes, cut into quarters (or 1/8 depending if they are large)
3 cups broth, I used shrimp but you could use chicken
1 can corn, processed in food processor with 1/2 cup of liquid
1 tbsp salt
1 cup milk
2 lbs shrimp peeled and deveined - chopped
2 lbs crabs boiled, meat removed
1 avocado, sliced
a handful of cilantro, chopped
1 lime, sliced for garnish

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large pot. Add the onions and poblanos and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the corn kernels, potato, pureed corn, 1 tbsp salt and the broth. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the flavors begin to meld.

Lower the heat, add the milk and cook for another five minutes.

Add the shrimp and cook another five minutes or until the shrimp are cooked through.

Ladle the soup into a bowl and top with a small handful of crab and a slice of avocado. Serve with cilantro and lime as garnish.

Note: If crab meat is not easily available or affordable, you could substitute a few of grilled shrimp as a topper for the chowder. I suggest grilling them in their shells and then removing the shell before you serve to make it easier for your guests to enjoy the dish.

Slow Money Picking Up Speed

2010-07-21T11:59:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I lay awake at night worrying about sustainable food. I wonder how we can ensure the sustainable food movement isn't just a passing phase. I fret about making sure local food is available to everyone, not just people in higher income communities. I ponder how we get people to stop buying Twinkies and start buying from great local vendors like Hope & Glory Pastry or Retro Bizzaro.

How will we build the infrastructure to keep it going? How on earth will we pay for it all? Toss, turn, toss, turn....

Fortunately, I am not alone. Apparently, Woody Tasch, founder of the Slow Money Alliance and author of Inquiries Into the Nature of Slow Money, and many other like minded folks worry about the same things.

If you aren't familiar with the idea, Slow Money is a movement that is working to build a financial network that will invest in sustainable food endeavors from soil preservation to farms to food artisans to food distribution networks - the whole gamut. These investments may not have as high an ROI (return on investment) as traditional markets, but will have a greater return to the community and our future.

This grassroots movement, named by BusinessWeek as one of the Big Ideas of 2010, has gained incredible momentum since I first heard of it at the Texas Book Festival last fall. In less than a year, a small group of volunteers formed Slow Money Texas and organized a Showcase and dinner in April to introduce and explore how we might support a sustainable food ecosystem here. Since then, the Texas chapter has appointed an Executive Director, Joanne Marino, and begun building chapters in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and El Paso.

Last month, three Texas sustainable food companies were selected to present at the National Slow Money conference. Greenling, Coyote Creek Organic Feed Mill and Rhythm Superfoods each pitched their company and investment needs to a national gathering of Slow Money devotees.

Investors are choosing to back these ventures because they care as much about the future of our food industry as they do about their dividends. With a strong support system, hopefully both can thrive and grow.

Intrigued? Wondering how you can learn more and get involved?

The Slow Money Alliance offers a list of 10 Things You Can Do Now. Some of them are as simple as watching a video and signing a petition. Come on, be bold, go click on the link.

You can also learn more about Slow Money this coming Thursday, July 29th at a Slow Money Primer hosted by Slow Money Austin from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at Ventana del Soul Cafe & Cultural Center, 1834 E. Oltorf.

Whether you are flush with cash or have time to give instead of dollars, I hope you'll consider how you might be able to help the Slow Money movement. After all, in addition to investing in our future, you'll be helping me sleep through the night, and I appreciate that greatly.

Road Trip: Local Eats in Buffalo

2010-07-14T11:44:00.000-05:00

Earlier this year, some friends invited me to join them for a week at the Chautauqua Institution, an organization committed to lifelong learning that runs 9 weeks of programs during the summer outside of Buffalo, NY. I always loved summer camp as a kid and jumped at the opportunity to relax and feed my brain for a week.

I flew in the night before we were to leave for Chautauqua so that I could explore Buffalo a bit. I had heard good things about the city from my friend Jodi Bart of Tasty Touring, but in my mind, Buffalo is one of those dying Rust Belt cities like Detroit. Not having had good experiences in the Motor City, my expectations were low.

Buffalo surprised me. While it's true the city has shrunk in size as industry has moved away, Buffalo has reinvented itself as a center for higher education and the health care industry. The city has a vibrancy and optimism that was refreshing and the friendliness of everyone I met was contagious.

For my short visit, I consulted Edible Buffalo for guidance on a restaurant and market to visit. They recommended Trattoria Aroma in the Elmwood Village neighborhood, Buffalo's version of SoCo, for dinner. The restaurant is charming with a bustling bar and a large patio area for al fresco dining.

Guests are greeted at the door by a chalkboard listing the daily local produce and featured farms. The menu is packed with locally sourced dishes, name dropping a local farm in almost every dish. I selected an appetizer of grilled local asparagus, with prosciutto, shaved parmesan cheese, a fried farm egg and a drizzle of truffle oil.

The dish was luscious and I could not help but groan a little with pleasure as I savored the first bite (slightly embarrassing when you are sitting by yourself.) My server heard me and said, "Amazing, right?" I happily nodded my agreement.

For dinner, I ordered a pasta dish that featured local produce. The ripe squash, chard mushrooms and tomatoes tossed with a delicious handmade pasta was rich and surprisingly satisfying for a vegetarian dish.

Trattoria does a fantastic job of highlighting the best of Buffalo's local meat and produce in their creative offerings and it was a lovely place to start my adventure.

Saturday morning, I got up early and visited the Elmwood-Bidwell Farmers Market, located in a small parkway in the same neighborhood as Trattoria Aroma. The producer only market was bustling this early July morning with plenty of offerings for any craving.

My favorite part of visiting markets outside of Austin is finding goodies we don't have. The first booth I saw as I entered the park was a produce stand with cherries. C-H-E-R-R-I-E-S!!!!!! I'm sure there were other vegetables and fruits on the table, but I could only see the cherries. I bought a bag and exercised immense self-control to not eat it immediately.

The harvesting season in Buffalo begins in late May/early June and the market offered much of the produce that we see in early spring in Central Texas with an abundance of lettuces, Swiss chard, sugar snap peas, turnips, onions and asparagus. Blueberries, raspberries, currants and gooseberries were also plentiful.

As I wandered through the stalls, I was delighted to recognized so many farm names from the menu at Trattoria Aroma. I mentioned to one farmer that I had enjoyed their eggs and asparagus the night before at dinner and she beamed with pride. "It's nice to work with such a great restaurant," she said.

The market offers a number of prepared foods and meats as well. You could fill your fridge with smoked sausages, chicken, rabbit or beef. White Cow Dairy sells a variety of bottled yogurts and juices including low-fat yogurt. You can buy a complete pasta dinner at the Pasta Peddler who sells both handmade dried pastas and jarred sauces and even pair it with a nice wine from one of two Niagara based vineyards.

I found popcorn in three varieties for the low price of $1/bag. I bought one of each for Carla Crownover of Austin Urban Gardens who has missed popcorn immensely during her year without a grocery store challenge. One vendor was selling Cherrywood Grilling Chips and I bought a couple of small boxes in hopes that I can convince Marshall Wright from Eat This Lens to smoke some bacon with it.

There is even a salsa vendor, Saltamontes Salsa. I gave the owner, Ron Glatzhofer, a mildly hard time about salsa in Buffalo until I learned that he had lived in California for many years. The salsa was tasty, although not spicy enough for me. I did buy some of his Buffalo Wing sauce which had plenty of kick.

The Elmwood-Bidwell market offers a great introduction to the local food scene in Buffalo and I had no problem filling my market bag with goodies for our vacation house. When I was done shopping, I meandered across the street to Caffe Aroma (owned by the same folks as Trattoria Aroma) to grab some coffee and watch the World Cup game. It was a pretty terrific way to start a week of vacation and I'm looking forward to the next time I can shuffle off to Buffalo.

View the full Buffalo Road Trip photo set.

Celebrating Our Edible Best and Two Edible Outings

2010-06-16T21:16:00.001-05:00

I love to read, particularly those books where you get lost in the story and lose track of time. When I picked up Edible: A Celebration of Foods, the book from Edible Communities co-founders Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian, I knew it would be that kind of engrossing read. After all, I can spend hours reading a new edition of Edible Austin, so imagine what an entire Edible book would be like.

Organized by region, the book guides you through the local and sustainable food scene from coast to coast. I felt like I was taking a fabulous road trip as I read each story and met the local food heroes around the country.

I was excited to read the history of Shelburne Farms in Vermont where the Slow Money movement just held their conference. I was intrigued by the story of the Massachusetts Avenue Project working to bring community gardens to Buffalo, NY.

I felt like I was back in Chicago when I read the Chicago Green City Market story, and I might have drooled on my book when I read the story about Joe Sausage and East Bay Charcuterie with their handcrafted meats.

Of course, Austin was well represented in the book as well with profiles of Boggy Creek, Thunder Heart Bison and the Sustainable Food Center's Supporting Healthy Kids program. It also includes a half dozen recipes from Austinites.

I appreciated that the recipe section is organized by season with a separate index showing the region of origin. I cannot wait to try the Bay-Scented Chicken with Figs, Kohlrabi with Bacon and Squash, Mushroom & Sage Strata.

If you need a good foodie vacation without leaving the house, I highly recommend Edible for your mental road trip. You can purchase the book at Book People or you can get a signed copy from Edible Austin's website.

Speaking of Edible Austin, they are hosting two different events on Saturday, June 19 to help you explore Austin's local food. From noon - 4:00 pm at Breed & Co. on 29th Street, Chef Zack Northcutt of Mulberry will be grilling up grassfed beef sliders (Green Grass Meats) with brioche buns (Walton's Fancy & Staple) and grilled Hill Country peaches from Engel Farm with Hail Merry Rawnola toppings. Zack is one of my favorite chefs in town and I'm sure he'll be turning out some terrific food from the Weber grills.

Once you've grabbed a slider, you can prepare for your fall garden at gardening and permaculture teacher Dick Pierce's presentation:"Feed Your Garden, Feed Yourself" - An Introduction to Nature's Recycling (Compost), Re-use (Gardening), and Reduce (Local Food). Dick's presentation, from 2 pm at the Austin Museum of Art at 9th and Congress, shows how to create compost from your kitchen waste to nourish your vegetable garden.

Note: While I am a contributor for Edible Austin, I was not asked or paid to endorse or promote the Edible Communities book or events on this blog.

Making Homemade Baby Food & Edible Austin

2010-06-11T15:08:00.000-05:00

One of the more exciting things that has happened for me this year was to be asked by Edible Austin, one of my favorite magazines, to write an article for their summer edition. Honestly, I would have written about worms if they had wanted, but luckily they asked me to write about making your own baby food - a subject near and dear to my heart.

You might be wondering what a single, childless woman knows about baby food. When my niece Ali was a baby, I wanted to do something special for my sister, but didn't have a lot of money. I decided I could help by making baby food for Ali from my farmers market produce. It ended up being one of the most meaningful gifts I've ever given and I had so much fun doing it.

Each week, I made Ali's food while I was cooking our family Sunday night dinner. We froze the purees in ice cube trays and my sister could thaw it as she needed it. It was so much fun to try new things and discover what Ali liked. To this day, I'm convinced that Ali loves vegetables so much because we made her food. (Even if it's not true, just let me think that.)

This article was a fantastic way to share that special experience with the parents I interviewed and know that I could help demystify something that sounds like a lot of work, but is actually quite easy to do.

If you have a baby in your world that is nearing the age for solid food, I hope you'll consider helping make some of their food. It's easy and so rewarding.

If you don't have time to make your own food or are looking for a great gift for a friend, Little Vittles Organic, an Austin company, delivers hand-made baby food to your doorstep. I haven't tried their service yet, but it looks like a great service.

I'd love to hear your baby food stories if you have some to share. With several of my friends pregnant, I'm going to need to refresh my baby food making skills.

Home Plate: Feeding Baby by Kristi Willis, Edible Austin 2010 Summer Edition

Fun summer day trips and event update

2010-06-07T07:35:00.002-05:00

We may have started the lazy days of summer, but June is packed with fun food events and festivals. Personally, I'm hopeful that I finally make it to the Luling Watermelon Thump. See you at a festival!

Blanco Lavender Festival, Friday 6/11-Sunday 6/13: This weekend you can tour four lavender farms near Blanco and shop for lavender products at the marketplace at the Blanco Courthouse. The courthouse festivities also include guest speakers and cooking demonstrations.

Movie Night at Montesino Farm, Sunday June 13th, 6:30 pm. Join the folks at Montesino Ranch for dinner and a screening of Fresh the movie with an informal farm tour, delicious family style fixins brought to you by Chef Matthew Buchannan of The Leaning Pear at 7:30. When the sun sets they will show Fresh, a film that focuses on the ever growing local food movement. Tickets are $30 and ALL proceeds will go to The Wimberley Crisis Bread Basket. You can purchase tickets at The Leaning Pear, 512-847-PEAR or from The Farm @ Montesino Ranch at either Wimberley Farmer's Market or the SFC Market in Sunset Valley. Additional donations will be accepted at the door. B.Y.O.B. Seats are provided for the dinner, but bring your own chair or blanket for watching the film. Please contact David if you have any questions, 512-393-4474.

Saving the Maize Dinner, Monday 6/14, 6:00 pm: If you're considering attending the Saving the Maize dinner at El Sol y La Luna Restaurant (600 E 6th St. 444-7770) featuring guest chef Pilar Cabrera from Oaxaca City, Claudia Alarcon has provided a peak at the menu:

1er tiempo/ First course
Esquites, servido con chile, limón, queso seco y mayonesa
Fresh corn kernels tossed with lime juice, chile, grated cheese and mayonnaise

2º. Tiempo/ Second course
Botanita maicera/ Corn appetizer sampler
quesadillas de flor de calabaza, molotes de papa con chorizo acompañados con guacamole
Squash blossom quesadillas, masa cakes filled with chorizo and potatoes, and guacamole

3er. Tiempo/ Third course
Ensalada Oaxaca
Mezcla de lechugas, tomate cherry, cebollitas asadas, tiritas de tortillas, queso Oaxaca servida con aderezo de tamarindo y chile
Mixed lettuce, cherry tomatoes, grilled onions, tortilla strips and Oaxaca cheese with a tamarind-chile dressing

4º. Tiempo/ Fourth course
Mole amarillo con pollo, chochoyotes y verduras, sazonado con hierbasanta
Chicken in yellow mole with masa dumplings, vegetables and hierbasanta
or
Quesillo en salsa verde con nopalitos
Oaxaca cheese in green salsa with cactus pad strips

5º. Tiempo/ fifth course
Pastel de elote, servido con helado de vainilla
Corn pudding, served with vanilla ice cream

Tickets are $35 with proceeds benefiting MAMAZ outreach programs. You can buy tickets in advance at El Sol y La Luna.

Market in the Country, Saturday, June 19th, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. Rhew Orchard House, a vendor at the New Braunfels and Pearl farmers markets, and two other farms in Wilson County are hosting a day of country markets on Saturday June 19. You can pick your own blackberries, enjoy homemade ice cream and farm fresh tomatoes. If you are looking for a fun day trip, this one promises some tasty treats.

Luling Watermelon Thump, Thursday 6/24-Sunday 6/27. For four days, you celebrate all things watermelon with the folks of Luling. Festivities include watermelon eating contests, seed spitting competitions, live music and all the watermelon you can stomach.

Slow Food Austin Texas Artisan Showcase, Saturday, June 26th, 4:00 – 8:00pm, Space 12

Take part in this delicious revolution while sampling palate pleasing artisan foods that are all “good, clean and fair.” Enjoy what makes our state taste great: from beers and breads, cheese and charcuterie, to coffee and tea! This family-friendly event will feature live music, a marketplace, silent auction, educational producer demos and a live auction finale by Dai Due Butcher Shop’s Jesse Griffiths you won’t want to miss!

For $60 ($55 for Slow Food members), you’ll get a total of 18 punches on your ticket: use them however you wish, but we suggest a visit to all 12 tasting stations, plus 6 more chances to revisit your favorites! Each station will serve a small “flight” of samples.

Budget-conscious Slow Foodies have the option of a 12-punch ticket for $40 ($35 for Slow Food members). You can buy tickets on the Slow Food Austin website.

Road Trip: Eating Local in Chicago

2010-06-04T21:32:00.000-05:00

When I visit Chicago, I always look forward to sampling the amazing food. Even simple fare like the hot dogs and pizza tastes better in Chicago. During a recent visit, I had the pleasure of visiting Xoco, Chef Rick Bayless' casual Mexican restaurant, and Blackbird, the flagship restaurant of Chef Paul Kahan. Not too shabby when you get to dine from two James Beard winning chefs in one weekend.

Friday night, we picked up food from Xoco, which offers tasty Mexican street food. From the moment we walked in, you could see the precise care that was given to every dish.

The air was filled with the aroma of the stock simmering on the back burner and the hot chocolate being brewed at the bar. The scent was mouth watering.

We ordered posole, two sandwiches (a cubana and the Friday special - shrimp and bacalao) and a hot chocolate. It was the perfect amount of food for three and yet we could have eaten one of everything.

The posole had a rich broth and a gentle spiciness that snuck up on you.

The Cubana had all the deep rich flavors of Cuba. The pork, black beans and avocado melted together in every savory bite.

But the Shrimp and Bacalao was my favorite. It was like eating bouillabaise on a sandwich. The shrimp and the salt cod blended together with the tomato sauce to make a truly addictive torta.

I would wait in line for these sandwiches any day of the week.

Saturday night, we headed to Blackbird. I had been eagerly anticipating this dinner since Beverly and I visited Avec, Blackbird's more casual sibling restaurant next door, the year before. I'm going to start by telling you that the meal was incredible - everything I could have imagined and then some. The atmosphere is inviting, the food was delectable and the service was perfect. I would go back in a heartbeat.

Blackbird serves New American cuisine with a number of expertly selected locally-sourced items. I chose to order the locally-sourced fare; Beverly & David chose to play a bit.

For my starter, I chose a salad of endives with crispy potatoes, basil, dijon, pancetta and poached egg; all locally-sourced. It was possibly the most delicious salad, I've ever eaten. The crunchy potatoes with the fresh salad greens and the poached egg were truly magnificent.

Bev chose the crispy maryland soft shell crab with honey custard, edamame, yuba and soy caramel. The crab was perfect - crispy and fresh, not soggy at all.

While David had the blue hill bay bouchot mussel soup with whitefish, saffron, garlic and basil. I almost caught him trying to lick the bowl, but he grabbed a piece of bread to soak up the broth instead.

Honestly, we could have all stopped there, but there was more. David ordered the slow-cooked halibut with uni, black trumpet mushrooms, spring radishes, baby parsnips and ramps. As they delivered his dish to him, the aroma of the ramps and the mushrooms wafted across the table.

Bev ordered the aged pekin duck breast with porcinis, fava beans and brown butter worcestershire sauce. Did you catch that? Brown Butter Worcestershire Sauce. Oh my. The duck was locally sourced and it was ever so tender.

As fantastic as their dishes were though, Bev and David were filled with order envy when my entree was brought to the table. First of all, you could smell the Slagel Family Farm pork belly grilling in the kitchen. But then, they brought it to the table. And they poured chorizo broth over the belly, royal trumpet mushrooms, melted leeks and pickled turmeric. And just a whiff of the broth made you salivate. I swear I saw David drool on his napkin.

The pork belly was perfectly cooked, grilled just so that the fat melted in your mouth but the meat still had a bit of firmness to it. And it was in chorizo broth. Yummmmmmmmm. I shared exactly the amount I had to in order to be polite and not one bit more.

As if we hadn't indulged enough, we decided dessert was in order. David opted for the jivara chocolate ganache with ovaltine, sesame and banana bread ice cream. It was actually a pretty fun collection and the chocolate ganache with ovaltine was surprisingly my favorite.

Bev and I ordered the chef's collection of cheeses. The Ewe's Bloom from Prairie Fruit Farms, a sheep's milk cheese from Champaign, Illinois was probably my favorite. We had sampled it a the Green City Market that morning and I was excited to have it on the plate again. Of course, the Red Hawk from Cowgirl Creamery was a terrific runner up.

Our meal was divine and we took a long walk to earn our dinner. With so many outstanding places to try out in Chicago, I don't know when I'll get back to Blackbird again, but I hope it's soon because it was soooo good.

If you're visiting Chicago, here's a list of other restaurants and chefs that support the Green City Market and source locally: Eat Local Chicago.

Road Trip: Chicago's Green City Market

2010-06-04T10:23:00.000-05:00

Chicago is one of my favorite cities. It's so vibrant, the people are so friendly and there are so many fantastic places to explore. Oh, Chicago!

Fortunately, I have dear friends, Beverly and David, who live in Chicago and I typically get to visit at least once each year. Despite our many adventures in the city, we had never been to a farmers market together.

During a recent visit we corrected that oversight and went to the opening weekend of the Chicago Green City Market. The market is open year round, but the annual move to the great outdoors requires a celebration. And, quite the celebration it was.

The market is open Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 7 am to 1 pm at the South end of Lincoln Park, near the zoo. We arrived around 8:30 as Beverly warned that many of the stands sell out of product early because the chefs and the early birds buy up the best stuff fast.

We were greeted at the entrance by one of my favorite cheesemakers, Capriole. You can often find one of their goat cheese varieties at Central Market, Whole Foods, and Antonelli's Cheese Shop in Austin, but there were so many different choices at the farmers market. It was hard not to buy one of everything.

After I finally tore myself away from the Capriole table, we headed into the market proper and were greeted by a bumper crop of what would be Spring crops in Austin - rhubarb, asparagus, onions, garlic, lettuces, greens and herbs galore. It felt a bit like a time warp for me as it was mid-May, May 15th to be precise, and our Central Texas markets were already yielding the first summer crops of peaches, tomatoes and summer squash. It was a great lesson in seasonality and place.

The Green City market is about twice the size of the Downtown Austin Farmers Market. They operate under very strict growers only rules and all prepared foods must be made with local products. This caused a bit of a challenge for me as it means that there was no coffee vendor at the market. The information booth has a couple of containers of local roasted coffee they give away, but it goes very fast. I suggest you buy your coffee before you go.

One of our more exciting finds was dried corn ears that can be used for popcorn. I immediately thought of my friend Carla Crownover who has challenged herself to go a year without a grocery store. She had told me that one of things she missed most was popcorn. While not local, this corn didn't come from the store so I decided it was fair game and got Carla a handful of ears.

The market sported a bounty of prepared foods as well. There were vendors with jams and jellies and pickled items - even pickled mushrooms.

Floriole, a bakery who by chance has an employee who hails from Austin, offered up delicious cookies and pastries. Their shortbread cookies were incredible.

There was even ice cream from Snooklefritz. All of the flavors were from local produce, spices and herbs. Ice cream. Hey, Austin food artisans, where is my ice cream?

Being in the heart of the dairy belt, you could eat your weight in cheese at the market. You had your pick of goat, sheep, or cow's milk cheeses. One of the more novel cheese products was a baked cheese similar in style to a Greek Haloumi that you serve warm after grilling or frying. I particularly enjoyed visiting with their master griller - that girl knew her stuff.

Fortunately, one enterprising food artisan made terrific crackers to go with all that cheese. Potter's Cracker's sells several varieties of handmade organic crackers including Classic White, Classic Wheat, Toasted Sesame and even a Hazelnut Graham. The Classic White was a perfect partner for the local cheeses.

And, of course, several vendors were plating up delicious hot food. We chose savory crepes with asparagus and cheese.

Zullo's, who also participates in the indoor French Market, was preparing beautiful doughnuts served up in a newspaper cone. They were dusted with cinnamon and sugar and smelled delicious.

Sunday Dinner, a supper club and catering company similar to our own Dai Due, was grilling up fresh burgers with locally raised beef. The buns and condiments were all locally made as well. Christine Cikowski, the owner and chef, spoke with passion about their mission to capture the best flavors of the season in every dish they make. I hope we can coordinate my next visit with one of their tasty dinners.

After shopping and eating our way through the market, we headed to the chef's demo, a true treat as it featured two chefs, Carrie Nahabedian of Naha and Sarah Stegner of Prairie Fire, whose restaurants serve quality sustainabile fare and they are also board members of the Green City Market.

Carrie whipped up a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich with two of the market cheeses, a fried egg and some beautiful prosciutto.

Chef Sarah made a gorgeous salad to go with it made with sauteed ramps, radishes and asparagus. They made it look so easy and the group sitting next to us in the crowd said they were inspired to go home and make some simple seasonal dishes.

We had a delightful morning at the Green City Market and it is well worth a visit the next time you are in Chicago.

See you at the market!

Full photo set on Flickr: Chicago Green City Market Slide Show

Seasonal Fruit Desserts with Deborah Madison

2010-05-27T21:30:00.000-05:00

My favorite part of summer is when you bite into your first peach of the season and the juice drips down your chin. Bliss.

I don't have a big sweet tooth - I can pass up most desserts without a second thought - but I love fruit. When I was offered the opportunity to interview cookbook author and chef Deborah Madison about her newest cookbook, Seasonal Fruit Desserts, I jumped at the chance.

As we visited on the charming porch at Boggy Creek Farm, I asked Deborah why she chose to write a book about fruit desserts.

"I love desserts." she said. "I worked as a pastry chef and have included desserts in my other books. This is a nice conclusion to years or writing primarily about vegetables."

She continued, "Fruit is special because it so much more fragile than vegetables. It's meant to be attractive so that we will eat it."

She noted that much of the fruit in our stores is picked too early so that it can be shipped and tastes terrible. With the exception of citrus, which travels well, it can be difficult to find delicious fruit unless it is picked close to home.

Deborah said her husband Patrick always insisted that he didn't like strawberries. She continued to buy berries for herself and, one week, bought strawberries from a farmers market in Santa Monica. He tried one of the market berries and loved it; he couldn't believe that it was the same thing he had eaten before.

"With fruit, the dessert doesn't have to be complicated," Deborah said. "In a recipe like the white peaches in lemon verbena and lavender syrup, the fruit is the star."

And fruit is definitely the star in this cookbook. In addition to everyone's favorites like peaches, plums, apples, pears and cherries, the book includes less commonly used fruits like bronx grapes, lychees and persimmons. She even profiles the no longer commonly used paw paw. (You remember the paw-paw patch song from childhood, right? Those are real.)

Deborah told me that paw paws, which grow in 26 states, have a tropical flavor somewhat like a mix between a mango and a banana. When the banana became so prevalent, the paw paw fell to the wayside.

Many of her recipes incorporate several local ingredients so that the final dish represents a sense of the place. The Wild Rice Pudding, for example, includes wild rice from a Michigan farmers market, maple syrup, maple sugar, and dried cherries cooked in red wine - all local ingredients in Michigan.

In an effort of full disclosure, I admitted to Deborah that I don't cook many desserts because I don't like to bake and am not that fond of sweets. She assured me that this cookbook includes many recipes for the pastry impaired, lending themselves to the feeling you get when you are cooking rather than baking.

Recipes like the Red Berry Soup and the Silky Tart Dough give me hope that even I can pull off a great fruit dessert. Silky Tart Dough is only two steps and makes more of a batter than a pie pastry. Even I, a baking challenged individual, should be able to pull this off.

Deborah described several delectable recipes for when fruits are not available, a problem during our extreme heat in the summer. The cookbook includes custards, Swedish creams and a winter squah cake with dates. She even recommends Pure Luck Dairy's Hopelessly Blue in the cheese section.

As we were finishing our morning together, I asked Deborah what was the most important thing you could do to cook great food.

"That's easy," she said. "Be involved in your food. Start to ask the names of the fruits and vegetables you buy. If you can't ask for something by name, then we lose the culture of it. There are hundreds of varieties of peaches, plums and other fruit, and it is helpful to learn the difference. When you ask for things by name then the farmer knows what to plant more of and what consumers like."

Deborah's enthusiasm for fresh food is contagious, and, for the first time ever, I'm excited to have new dessert recipes that I can't wait to make. I guess there's a first time for everything!

All photos by Jenna Noel.

Local food events to fill your summer calendar

2010-05-24T22:13:00.002-05:00

Summer's almost here and there are plenty of fun ways coming up for you to celebrate food in Central Texas.

Urban Roots is having a terrific season on the farm and needs help harvesting their crops. You can lend a hand on the farm over the next week on the following dates:

Tuesday May 25: 8:00am-12:00pm
Thursday May 27: 8:00am-12:00pm
Friday May 28: 8:00am-12:00pm
Tuesday June 1: 8:00am-12:00pm
Thursday June 3: 8:00am-12:00pm

You can register to volunteer on their website or if you would like to volunteer during a time that is not listed above, contact Leigh Gaymon-Jones at (512)-324-0424.

Nourishing the Soul Dinner from the Victory Grill and Salt & Time, Friday May 28th

Salt & Time, a new artisan salumi maker in Central Texas, recently made their retail debut selling two types of salumi at Antonelli's Cheese Shop.

On Friday May 28th, they are partnering with the historic Victory Grill to host a Farm to Table dinner as part of the East End Fourth Fridays. Nourishing the Soul will feature Richardson Farms Pork, Thunder Heart Bison and produce from Johnson's Back Yard, Animal Farm, Fruitful Hill Farms and others. The meal will be accompanied by a wine pairing from East End Wines. Following dinner, Soul Kitchen will perform. Tickets are $30 for an individual, $100 for a table of four and $175 for a table of eight.

Menu
First Course:
Frito Misto - battered and fried
seasonal vegetables
Fresh Chicharrones - Richardson Farms
Pork Skins fried and seasoned

Second Course:
Pickle Plate - Animal Farm Carrots,
Fruitful Hill Beets, Hillside Farms Brussel Sprouts and more

Main Course:
Pancetta Wrapped Mortadella Link -
Salt & Time's mortadella made from Richardson Farms Pork and
Thunder Heart Bison in sausage form, wrapped in our pancetta, served
on a Barrie Cullinan Baked Goods roll and accompanied by Tuscan
Baked Beans
*Vegetarian Entrée available upon request

Dessert:
Seasonal Fruit Tart

Tickets are on sale now at www.historicvictorygrill.org and seating is limited. We hope to see you there!

Sara Moulton Cooking Demo and Book Signing at Faraday's Kitchen Store, Saturday June 12th, 11:00-1:00 pm.

Celebrity Chef Sara Moulton is doing a FREE cooking demonstration of two of her favorite recipes from 11-12 on Saturday June 12th at Faraday's Kitchen Store (1501 Ranch Road 620 N). She’ll be available to sign copies of her new book, Sara Moulton’s Everyday Family Dinners from noon to 1:00 pm. This is her only Texas appearance.

See the Faraday's Kitchen Store blog for more details.

Saving the Maize through Art and Dinner; Art exhibit thru 6/7; dinner on Monday, 6/14

El Maiz es Nuestra Vida / Maize is Our Life is a traveling contemporary art exhibition of women who are concerned about Mexico’s native maize seeds. Through their artwork, the artists narrate the history of maize throughout the Americas, demonstrating its fundamental role in providing nourishment to innumerable societies. The fact that maize is in danger of extinction due to the arrival of genetically modified seeds and the global economy’s demand for maize for uses other than nutrition are alarming, as are their effect on cultural memory and biodiversity.

Conceived by Marietta Bernstorff, Director of the MAMAZ Collective (Mujeres Artistas y el Maiz/Women Artists and Maize), El Maiz es Nuestra Vida / Maize is Our Life debuted in Oaxaca City in March of 2007. Austin resident and UT scholar Claudia Zapata curated the latest incarnation, currently showing at the Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC) until June 7, 2010.

In conjunction with the exhibit, there will be a dinner on Monday, June 14th, 6-9 pm at El Sol y La Luna Restaurant (600 E 6th St. 444-7770) featuring guest chef Pilar Cabrera from Oaxaca City, with proceeds benefiting MAMAZ outreach programs. Tickets are $35 and on sale at El Sol y La Luna.
The Mexican American Cultural Center is located at 600 River St. Austin, TX 78701.

Slow Food Austin Texas Artisan Showcase, Saturday, June 26th, 4:00 – 8:00pm, Space 12

Take part in this delicious revolution while sampling palate pleasing artisan foods that are all “good, clean and fair.” Enjoy what makes our state taste great: from beers and breads, cheese and charcuterie, to coffee and tea! This family-friendly event will feature live music, a marketplace, silent auction, educational producer demos and a live auction finale by Dai Due Butcher Shop’s Jesse Griffiths you won’t want to miss!

For $60 ($55 for Slow Food members), you’ll get a total of 18 punches on your ticket: use them however you wish, but we suggest a visit to all 12 tasting stations, plus 6 more chances to revisit your favorites! Each station will serve a small “flight” of samples.

Budget-conscious Slow Foodies have the option of a 12-punch ticket for $40 ($35 for Slow Food members). You can buy tickets on the Slow Food Austin website.

Phew! And you thought you were going to sit around in the hammock all summer.

Celebrating Texas' Best at the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival

2010-05-18T21:35:00.001-05:00

It may have been over a month ago, but I'm still musing about the great finds this year from the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival which brings together some of the best chefs from around the state for a weekend of festivities. If you haven't been before, it's like a statewide holiday for foodies full of cooking classes, tastings, dinners and tours of the Hill Country Wineries. It's enough to overwhelm the best palates. I was fortunate enough this year to participate in the Stars Across Texas event on Friday night at the Long Center and Sunday Fair at the Salt Lick.

At the Stars Across Texas event on Friday night, we tasted lovely bites from our Austin favorites, but I was most excited to talk to chefs from other cities who were cooking with local ingredients. Chef Jason Dady who has five restaurants in San Antonio (The Lodge Restaurant, Bin 555, Tre Trattoria, Two Bros BBQ Market and Restaurant Insignia) spoke with enthusiasm about integrating local ingredients in his menus. Whether its the game at The Lodge or the market pizza at Bin 555, he's doing his best to work farm fresh produce into his dishes.

Also in San Antonio, the Omni's La Mansion del Rio is working with local farms to provide produce to their kitchen. Chef John Brand says he likes to work with the freshest ingredients from area farms as they plan their menu.

Of course, nothing topped the news that Chef John Besh, the famed Executive Chef and owner of August, Domenica, La Provence and others, is opening Luke in San Antonio this fall. Chef Besh and Chef Stephen McHugh represented the new restaurant with enthusiasm throughout the festival.

Chef McHugh, who has already moved to San Antonio and will be running the new spot, has already started working with San Antonio farmers to source the best meats and produce for their dishes. At Sunday Fair, Chef Besh showed off his Shrimp & Grits skills at his cooking demonstration; giving us all a little taste of what we can expect to find at Luke.

In addition to Chef Besh's delicious dish, Sunday Fair offered tastings from dozens of food artisans, restaurants, wineries and distilleries from around Texas and several chef demos. I was particularly delighted with the locally sourcing food artisans profiled in the Whole Foods Market tent with the help of our friends at Edible Austin.

I tried a number of new products including cupcakes from Blue Note Bakery, the flavored Reel Popcorn, Hail Merry Vegan, Raw and Gluten Free snacks, and Aurelia's Chorizo, which was my favorite new discovery in the tent. I'm a big fan of Cookwell and Co.'s Green Chile stew and was delighted to see that they have added a number of products to their line.

Delysia Chocolatier made their wine and food festival debut as well, profiling their award winning chocolates, particularly their chocolates made with Texas wines.

The day was brought home by a cooking demo from Chef David Bull, who has most recently been working with Bolla in Dallas, and is enthusiastically opening two new restaurants this fall at the Austonian. As he prepped his Texas quail for the Sunday Fair audience, he reminded us all the home cooks of the importance of using fresh local ingredients to capture the best flavor in the dish. He definitely brought the flavors home with his Green Chili Buttered Bandera Quail with Corn & Monterey Jack Fondue. It was beyond finger-licking good.

As far as foodie holidays go, the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival definitely fills the bill. I better mark off the days on my calendar for next year. Don't you want to join in on the fun?

Click here to view the full photo set for the chef demos.
Click here for the full photo set of food artisan products.

New Location for the Wimberley Farmers Market

2010-05-11T16:14:00.000-05:00

The Wimberley Farmers Market, founded in 2003 and held on Wednesdays from 3-6 pm, has moved to a new, higher profile location outside of the Community Thrift Shop at the intersection of RR 12 and River Road.

I recently stopped by on my way back from San Antonio and found about 6 booths with local produce, honey, bread and other goodies. Montesino Ranch has a stand and offers pick-up for their CSA members at the market. They said that they are hopeful that the new location off of a major thoroughfare in Wimberley will increase traffic and encourage additional farms to participate.

Following are a few of the vendors you can expect to find at the Wimberley market:
Bell Springs Bath Bars
EIEIO Farm
Harvest Time Honey
Montesino Ranch
Wholesome Harvest Farm

If you happen to be in Wimberley, or just need a good road trip, on a Wednesday afternoon, stop by and fill up your market bag.

Living Local: Becoming a Patio Farmer

2010-05-09T22:48:00.001-05:00

I used to think I had a black thumb and I listened with envy to others talk about their gardens. Um, I'm not envious anymore.

It all started innocently last fall when Carla Crownover from Austin Urban Gardens gave me an Earthbox to grow lettuce and spinach. I loved being able to pick my salad fresh from the patio. Earthboxes make it easy because you water into a reservoir and you don't have to worry about overwatering the plants. It was so easy that I decided to get a second Earthbox.

Carla gave me three tomato transplants for one of the Earthboxes. I went to the Sunshine Community Garden plant sale and bought a few transplants: 2 types of eggplant for the other Earthbox and a few peppers and herbs for some of my pots. It seemed like a reasonable expansion.

Then I went to the Johnson's Backyard Garden farm tour with Slow Food Austin. And they gave us transplants. Oh boy. And now I had another eggplant and a squash.

It all seemed manageable until everything started growing, which is exciting proof that I do not have a black thumb, but it's a little intimidating in its current state.

I am going to have more eggplant and tomatoes than I'm going to know what to do with. Can anyone say ratatouille? Thank goodness the food bank accepts fresh produce donations from local gardeners. That is if I can get the veggies past my neighbors.

So, if I can grow veggies on my patio, what are you going to grow? Maybe you can be a patio farmer too.

Hunger Awareness Dinner #5: Green chile chicken enchiladas, corn pudding & cinnamon pear sorbet

2010-05-03T20:54:00.000-05:00

I have had such an incredible eye-opening week during this Hunger Awareness project. I've closed this week with one of my favorite meals - green chile enchiladas. Normally, I make them with vegetables, but I am almost out of vegetables (down to beets and some lettuce) and I wanted to use the rest of the chicken I had roasted earlier in the week.

I decided to tackle my canned goods with this meal as well. I paired the enchiladas with a corn pudding that used the canned corn and I made a cinnamon pear sorbet with the canned pears. I added a green salad with roasted beets because I always find myself wanting something green in the meal.

The dinner was very flavorful. I love the H-E-B green enchilada sauce and it's inexpensive. The corn pudding makes about 10 servings and makes a good alternative to the traditional beans and rice. I like this recipe because it was mostly corn, eggs and milk with less sugar and flour than many of the recipes I found. I didn't have an onion so I substituted with roasted poblano peppers.

And, since I was tackling the cans, I decided to tackle the pears too. I don't like canned pears - they are mushy and mealy - so I wanted to find a recipe in which their consistency wouldn't matter. I went with sorbet. I needed to keep it simple so I used cinnamon as my spice.

When I shopped for my pantry list, I found pears in heavy syrup, light syrup and pear juice. Since I got to pick, I bought the pears in juice. I know others don't get to pick, but you could use any of the pears in this recipe, you would just use less of the liquid, if any to sweeten the pears. I wanted to keep it healthy so I didn't add sugar and, instead, used the pear juice from the cans. It may not have been as sweet as you might like, but you can add a little simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar melted together) to sweeten it up.

I was pretty pleased with how my mostly canned dinner turned out and it was a great way to end this adventure. I learned many lessons during this challenge:

In my effort to create meals that could feed a family, I cooked way more in a week than one person could ever eat. Five dinners later, my freezer is PACKED and I'm out of storage containers. I didn't cook my intended sixth meal of salmon croquettes and beet pancakes because if I did, I wouldn't have any place to store it or anything to store it in. I'll cook it this week.
I bought too much protein and not enough vegetables with my "food stamp" allotment. Again, I got so focused on making interesting meals family that I didn't buy enough vegetables for me for the week.
I will never eat the flavor packet in a "Helper" box again. Next time, I'm winging it and making my own rather than eating that nasty MSG-ridden sauce. Yuck. I really hated that I wasted my yummy broccoli in that meal.
I have quite a few things left in my pantry: 3/4 of the spaghetti, all of the oatmeal, 1/2 of the cheerios, 2/3 of the potatoes, 3/4 of the rice, 1 ham hock, 1 can of enchilada sauce, most of the juice, most of the jalapenos and 1/2 the cheese. And, of course all of the leftovers.

Here's the cost of the final supper:

$ 1.75 1 cup of mozzarella cheese (for topping the enchiladas)

$ 3.00 1/2 the chicken

$ .45 10 corn tortillas

$ .99 1 can enchilada sauce

$ .25 part of a can of sliced jalapenos

$ .59 2 poblano peppers

$ 1.89 3 cans of corn

$ .50 1 cup of milk

$ .67 4 eggs

$ 2.48 4 cans of pears

$12.57 Total

All in all, it was a great week. I loved exploring recipes and be reminded of how blessed I am. I hope you enjoyed the journey, just remember that it doesn't end here. It doesn't end until we end hunger in Central Texas. We have quite a bit of work to do.

Sisi's Corn Pudding

from Bon Appetit April 2010 via Epicurious.com

Note: I substituted 2 roasted poblano peppers instead of the onions so I also used one less tbsp of butter.

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, divided, plus additional for dish
1 cup chopped red onion
1 1/2 cups whole milk
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 15- to 16-ounce cans corn kernels, drained, divided

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch oval or rectangular baking dish. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes; cool in skillet.

Whisk milk, eggs, flour, sugar, salt, pepper, and remaining 3 tablespoons butter in large bowl. Scrape in onion mixture. Add 2 cans drained corn. Puree remaining 1 can drained corn in processor until smooth. Add puree to bowl with custard mixture and stir to blend well; transfer to prepared dish.

Bake pudding until set in center and beginning to brown on top, 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm.

Pear and Cinnamon Sorbet

4 cans of pears in their own juice (if you want sweeter, buy light or heavy syrup), reserve the juice
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Place the pears in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Slowly add juice from the cans while you continue to blend until you get a very smooth consistency. You want it to be thinner than apple sauce. I used about 1 1/2 cans. Add cinnamon and blend again.

Place the mixture in an ice cream maker and follow the machine directions to process to the desired consistency. If you don't have an ice cream machine, you can place the sorbet in a long pan to harden, remove and reprocess in the food processor and then refreeze. Repeat the process until you get the texture you desire.

Hunger Awareness Dinner #4: Saving the Spaghetti Sauce Two Ways

2010-05-01T14:25:00.000-05:00

When one of my friends saw the canned spaghetti sauce on my food pantry list, she shared her dismay that I was going to have to cook with it. I told her I was excited about "saving" the canned sauce and making it taste homemade.

I love making homemade sauce, cooking down the tomatoes and letting the flavors simmer and blend together, filling the house with that beautiful aroma. But, the reality is that in our busy lives that's not always practical, so I learned a long time ago to doctor up a sauce from the store and make it taste homemade. Granted, I don't usually start with two cans of Hill Country Fare canned spaghetti sauce.

The first thing I needed to do was figure out what I was working with. I tasted the sauce and it was sweet and bland, about one step above ketchup. I had some work to do.

I grabbed the bulk Italian sausage I bought at the store, minced 3 cloves of garlic and clipped some basil and oregano from my patio garden. While I was browning the sausage in a skillet, I added the spaghetti sauce, minced garlic and chopped herbs to a pot and brought it to a simmer to blend the flavors.

When the sausage was done, I drained it, separating the meat from the grease, and added it to the sauce. I let it simmer a few more minutes and then tasted it. Still to sweet.

I needed to add some heat to cut the sweetness. Normally, I would use red pepper flakes, but I was out, so I added about 1/2 tsp of cayenne - just enough to cut the sweetness, but not enough to make the sauce spicy. I let the flavors cook down a few more minutes and tasted one more time. Perfect!

The beauty of saving the sauce is that you can use whatever you have on hand. I normally would add onion, but I didn't have one so I used a little extra garlic. Have a bell pepper or mushrooms on hand? Great, add them to the mix. Don't have fresh herbs? That's ok, use dried oregano or an Italian spice mix. Have hamburger instead of sausage? Perfect.

I was grateful for the herbs I grow on my patio. Even if you don't have much room, you can easily grow rosemary, basil, oregano and mint so that you have fresh herbs when you need them. It is much cheaper than buying fresh or dried herbs at the store and they look pretty on your patio.

For my dinner, I made a standard spaghetti, boiling part of the noodles that would have come in the pantry box and serving with a salad. If making the same old spaghetti is getting old, you can mix things up by making a baked spaghetti. It adds a different twist to a family standard and keeps everyone from getting bored with dinner.

Cost of the meal (assuming baked spaghetti).
$ 2.40 1 lb Italian bulk sausage
$ .88 1 lb spaghetti
$ 1.84 2 cans spaghetti sauce
$ .15 3 garlic cloves
$ 2.32 1 cup grated mozzarella
$ .80 1 serving of mixed lettuce
$ .67 1/3 radishes from bunch
$ 9.06 Total

Baked Spaghetti
4 servings

For the sauce:
1 lb bulk Italian sausage
2 cans or jars spaghetti sauce (feel free to substitute with homemade)
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tbsp oregano
2 tbsps basil
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes

1 lb spaghetti or other pasta
1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a skillet, brown the sausage. Drain the grease from the meat.

In a large pot, combine the spaghetti sauce, garlic, oregano and basil and bring to a simmer. Add the meat to the pot and bring back to a simmer. Taste the sauce and add cayenne or pepper as necessary to cut the sweetness of the sauce. Adjust other spices as necessary.

While the sauce is cooking, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles until they are just tender. Drain the noodles.

Combine the sauce and the noodles. Pour the mixture into a large baking pan and top with the cheese. Cook the spaghetti for 30 minutes and cheese is bubbling.

Hunger Awareness Project: Hunger is Unacceptable

2010-04-30T00:03:00.002-05:00

I had a cooking class tonight that I'd scheduled before we started this project so I thought I'd take this opportunity to talk about why I think this project is important. You might be wondering why I choose to give my time to the Capital Area Food Bank, the driving force between our Austin Food Bloggers Hunger Awareness Project. The simple answer is I believe Hunger is Unacceptable and that it is much too widespread in this country.

You might be sitting in your living room reading this thinking that you don't know any people who are hungry, but I bet you do. I'm not just talking about the homeless person that you pass on the street, that person is obviously hungry.

What you might not realize is that 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 4 children in Texas don't know where their next meal is coming from and almost 13% of families in Travis County live below the federal poverty level.

So who's hungry? It could be your child's teacher or the person who waits on you at the dry cleaners. Maybe its the checker at the grocery store or the librarian who helps you find the book on the shelf.

There's a good chance that they child playing next to yours on the playground at Zilker park doesn't have enough food to eat, not to mention the right food. Over 60% of AISD students are eligible for the free or reduced lunch program.

Or, it could be the elderly man or woman you passed on the street. The elderly are particularly vulnerable to hunger because of their limited income and the effects of hunger on their health is even more poignant.

It wasn't that long ago that I lived on a very limited budget and had to make choices between buying groceries or paying a bill with the last $10 in my account that month. Luckily, I have lots of friends and family in town who were willing to feed me dinner and I learned to stretch $10 into a full week of meals. It wasn't easy, but I made it work.

Whether you realize it or not, you are surrounded by hunger every day. With just a small donation, you can make a big difference in the life of that hungry person in your life.

Hunger Awareness Dinner #3: Beans & Rice

2010-04-28T22:02:00.002-05:00

After the trauma of the Chicken Helper last night, I rewarded myself tonight with an easy, comforting meal - Beans and Rice. I didn't do anything fancy; just a nice big pot of beans that simmered away while I was working in the other room.

Beans and rice remind me of my grandmother. She used to tell me how she always cooked them on Monday because it was laundry day and she didn't have to think about it while they cooked. I didn't think to cook them on Monday, but I did do laundry while I was cooking so I got it at least half right.

Normally, I would have added a nice smoked sausage, but I didn't have any today so I relied on the ham hocks to give it flavor. They did a fine job.I also would normally use an onion, but I was out so I added an extra clove of garlic. I used some of the chicken stock that I made on Monday and was happy that the chicken has now made its way into two of my meals.

The pot made 4 big dinner servings and, again, I have leftovers. This week has definitely reminded me that I don't know how to cook for one well and my freezer is overflowing as evidence to that fact.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I threw out the Chicken Helper leftovers today. I had an MSG headache when I went to bed last night and felt gross when I got up this morning, so I tossed them. I hated throwing out food, particularly something that had good veggies in it, but I just could not eat that again.

Tonight's meal cost was by far the cheapest so far:
$ .86 1 bag pinto beans
$1.94 1 lb ham hocks
$ .15 3 garlic cloves
$ .07 1 cup rice
$ .83 1 onion (used in the chicken broth)
$ .80 1 serving of mixed lettuce
$ .67 1/3 radishes from bunch
$5.32 Total

I was happy to be reminded tonight how much I love red beans and rice and how something so inexpensive can be so tasty and healthy. I'm going to have work it back into my cooking rotation on a more regular basis.

Beans & Rice
1 lb pinto beans
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp cayenne
2 tsps cumin
1 lb ham hocks
6 cups chicken stock
1.5 tsps salt

Combine all the ingredients except the salt in a large pot. Bring the ingredients to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and allow to simmer for two hours, stirring occassionally. When the beans are tender, taste the beans and add the salt, adjusting the amount as needed.

Remove the ham hocks and bay leaves from the beans.

Serve with rice. Garnish with onions, jalapenos or Tabasco sauce. (I used chives and Tabasco.)

Hunger Awareness Dinner #2: Chicken Helper with extra veggies

2010-04-27T22:14:00.000-05:00

I have been dreading dinner tonight since I went to H-E-B last Friday. One of the items on the list was 1 ready-made dinner (Hamburger Helper.) Oh, please no.

The thing is, I knew it was coming before we got the list. I've sorted enough food at the Food Bank to know that a lot of prepared meals come through the doors. I just didn't think I'd be cooking one.

Don't get me wrong - I've eaten plenty of Hamburger Helper in my day. I was raised by a single mom with two kids and things like Hamburger Helper and frozen meals played a big part in getting food on the table every night. As a matter of fact, when I was old enough, I helped cook those meals.

But, as with many things in life, I've learned there was a better way and I can't remember when I last bought a prepared meal. Until this week. I considered not cooking it or not using the flavor packet (the most offending part of the meal since it contains the preservatives and MSG), but that would have been outside the spirit of what I wanted to do this week so I sucked it up and cooked it. Oh, the things I do for the Food Bank and this blog.

I did change it up a bit. First, I bought the Creamy Chicken and Noodles Chicken Helper. I thought it might be tastier and I knew I could get more mileage out of a whole chicken than hamburger.

Second, I used cooked chicken. Like several other bloggers, to get the most out of the whole chicken I bought, I roasted it and then used the carcass to make stock. I used about half of the cooked meat tonight for the Chicken Helper.

Third, I added veggies and herbs. I added a head of broccoli and 1/4 pound of mushrooms that I'd forgotten about in the bottom of the produce drawer. At the end of the dish, I added some fresh parsley.

It wasn't awful. It wasn't good, but it was ok. The extra vegetables and parsley made a HUGE difference. The picture on the packet makes it look like there are vegetables in the mix. There are a few dehydrated vegetables in the pasta packet, but even after cooking they were hard and crunchy. If I had to cook it again, I'd just take those out.

Following is the cost for tonight's dinner which also included another green salad with radishes:
$3.00 1/2 of a chicken
$1.50 1 box chicken helper
$ .75 2 cups milk
$1.25 1/4 lb of mushrooms
$1.00 1 head of broccoli
$ .80 1 serving of mixed lettuce
$ .67 1/3 radishes from bunch
$8.97 Total

The meal made four servings, just like last night, and the cost was almost the same. Again, if you added the cost for salad for 3 more people, the price would be about $13.50. So, the prepared food was as expensive as last night's terrific dinner and it didn't taste as good. Food for thought.

I'm grateful that I don't have to eat Chicken Helper any more (except for the leftovers of course, because I refuse to just waste it) and would love to help end hunger so that no one else has to eat it either. If you'd like to help me, please click on the Capital Area Food Bank badge at the top of the blog and donate to the Capital Area Food Bank.

Hunger Awareness Dinner #1: Grilled Chicken Sausage with Kale and Potato Spanish Tortilla

2010-04-26T22:39:00.000-05:00

Tonight I cooked my first meal for the Food Blogger Hunger Awareness Project with the Capital Area Food Bank. When I put together my meal plan, I wanted to have at least one meal that would be a little special and would be worthy of entertaining. After all, we all have special occasions in our life and, when times are tough, you can't afford to go out to celebrate.

At H-E-B, I was surprised to find a package of their store brand chicken and feta sausages for a mere $3.14. It seemed like a great way to add a special touch to a meal and it felt a little like a splurge for very little money.

I also wanted to do something with the bag of potatoes that was more exciting than the standard mashed or baked. I picked a Spanish Tortilla recipe - potatoes, eggs and onions cooked down in a skillet - that also included kale, which I don't really like and am always looking for a way to hide. This recipe sounded perfect.

The tortilla was surprisingly easy to make, although I used a skillet that was too large so I couldn't flip it like your supposed. It didn't matter; it was really delicious.

I made a salad with my mixed lettuces, radishes and balsamic vinegar and olive oil for the dressing. Altogether, it made a pretty plate and I would have been proud to serve it to friends. The meal made four decent sized servings. Instead, I have leftovers for the next few days.

Here's the rundown on the cost:
$3.14 H-E-B Chicken and feta sausage (5 links) $3.14
$ .83 1/3 of a 5 lb bag of potatoes
$ .83 1 onion
$1.16 7 eggs
$2.00 1 bunch kale (I'm estimating on this since it was part of my CSA delivery; kale was $2/bunch last week at the market)
$ .80 1 serving of mixed lettuce (Again estimating based on size of bag and typical cost for mixed lettuce.)
$ .67 1/3 radishes from bunch
$9.43 Total

If I'd be cooking for others, I would have used all my salad makings so it would have been closer to $14, but when is the last time you entertained a party of four on $14? Everyone deserves a nice meal - even on a budget.

Kale and Spanish Tortilla
from Gourmet Magazine via Epicurious.com

1 lb boiling potatoes
1 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 lb kale, center ribs discarded
7 large eggs

Peel potatoes and cut into 1/3-inch dice (2 1/4 cups). Heat oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then reduce heat to moderately low and cook potatoes, onion, and 1 teaspoon salt, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Blanch kale while potatoes cook:
Cook kale in a 4- to 6-quart pot of boiling salted water until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately transfer to a bowl of cold water to stop cooking. Drain again, squeezing handfuls of kale to extract excess moisture, then coarsely chop.

Add kale to potato mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender, about 5 minutes. Drain vegetables in colander set over a bowl, reserving drained oil, and cool 10 minutes.

Lightly beat eggs in a large bowl, then stir in vegetables, 1 tablespoon drained oil, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Add 1 tablespoon drained oil to skillet, then add egg mixture and cook over low heat, covered, until sides are set but center is still loose, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 15 minutes.

Shake skillet gently to make sure tortilla is not sticking (if it is sticking, loosen with a heatproof plastic spatula). Slide tortilla onto a large flat plate, then invert skillet over tortilla and flip it back into skillet. Round off edge of tortilla with plastic spatula and cook over low heat, covered, 10 minutes more. Slide tortilla onto a plate and serve warm, cut into wedges.

Austin Food Bank to Table: A week living off of food pantry & food stamp meals

2010-04-23T22:08:00.001-05:00

For the last four years, I've been lucky enough to volunteer at the Capital Area Food Bank. I've sorted donations on the Product Recovery line, prodded people to give donations at events, taught new volunteers and, most recently, spoken on behalf of the food bank to other local organizations.

I feel truly blessed every time I work with these phenomenal people who leverage their resources in such an extraordinary way. It would be almost impossible to find another organization who maximizes their donations as effectively to serve so many people as our food bank. They are able to turn every $5 donated into $25 worth of nutritious food. Genius, right?

So, when Addie Broyles from the Statesman and I started talking about the food bank one day and how we could get the food bloggers involved, I got downright giddy. Addie had this terrific idea for each of us to cook for a week from items similar to what a family would get from a pantry. We decided that we could supplement the pantry items with food that we bought within the limits of the food stamp program.

I was worried that the other bloggers wouldn't embrace the project, but Addie sent out the invite and 30 people responded. Outstanding!

We kicked off the project by going to the Food Bank facility where the bloggers received a tour and orientation to the vast services the food bank offers.

We received a sample list from what one pantry gave out for one family for a month. Each partner agency operates differently, but this is considered typical. I bought my groceries at H-E-B and bought mostly their store and Hill Country Fare brands and it cost me $36.89.

2 cans spaghetti sauce
4 cans veggies (choice of green beans and/or corn) - I bought corn.
4 fruit cans (choice of sliced pears and/or mixed fruit) - I bought pears.
1 meat selection: Anything and everything HEB has. Most of what was available was whole chickens, fryers and pork chops. But we really get everything from pig trotters to ham. - I bought a whole chicken.
3 drink items: choice of large bottle of cranberry apple juice and/or powdered milk (shelf stable milk) boxes and/or apple juice boxes - I bought 2 bottles of cranberry/apple juice and 1 package of apple juice boxes.
1 bag spaghetti or bag of egg noodles - I bought spaghetti.
1 bag of pinto beans or white navy beans - I bought pinto beans.
1 bag of white rice
1 package of jalapeno slices
1 ready-made dinner (hamburger helper) - I bought chicken helper.
1 bag/container of rolled oats
1 bag of cheerios - I couldn't find a bag of plain cheerios so I bought a box.
5 lb bag of potatoes

We learned that over half the people who pick up food at a pantry are also qualified for food stamps. We also learned that a typical single person would receive a $200/month allotment from the SNAP Food Stamp program. I divided by 4 and supplemented my food pantry list with $50 of food.

I then went to H-E-B to spend part of my $50. This list cost me $29.22

1 lb bulk Italian sausage
1 pkg link chicken sausages with feta
1 pkg of smoked ham hocks (includes 3)
1 can pink salmon
1 qt plain yogurt
1 2 lb brick mozzarella
1 qt milk
2 poblano peppers
2 onions
1 clove garlic
1 bunch of bananas
1 can baking powder
1 pkg corn tortillas (20 ct)
2 cans green enchilada sauce
1 can whole wheat bread crumbs

I belong to Farmhouse Delivery and pay $39 every two weeks for a box of produce. I just got a delivery so I've delegated 1/2 of it ($19.50) to this project. Half of the produce includes:

1 bunch of beets (I already ate the beet greens)
A bag of lettuce
1 bunch of kale
1 bunch of radishes
1 leek
1 head of broccoli

I also bought a dozen eggs for $2 from a friend of mine who has chickens. My grand total of supplemental items was $50.72 and I'm pretty proud that I only went over by 72 cents.

What I didn't buy is spices or oil. I'm going to use what I have in the pantry or in my herb garden for those.

Now that I have all my supplies, my plan is to start cooking on Monday 4/26 and I will cook from the food for a week. I'm giving myself one night off because I had already signed up for a cooking class at Thai Fresh. I will eat breakfast, lunch and dinner from the food bank food whenever I can. I have a few business meals scheduled, but I should be able to stick to the plan more often than not.

Here's my meal plan:

Green chile chicken enchiladas, corn pudding and salad
Red beans and rice with salad
Creamy chicken noodles (from chicken helper) and broccoli
Grilled chicken sausages with kale and potato spanish tortilla
Baked spaghetti & Italian sausage casserole
Salmon croquettes with beet pancakes

I've only planned dinners because this is going to make a ton of food for a single person so I'm going to eat leftovers for lunch and freeze the rest of the servings.I'm not sure in what order I'll cook the meals. I don't usually plan my meals out more than a day in advance so this is a big step for me; I didn't want to push myself too far the first day.

I know this project is off the normal path for this blog, but I hope you'll stick with me as I go through this experiment. I'm looking forward to the challenge of making healthy meals with limited supplies that I can supplement with fresh, local produce.

Besides, there is nothing like a good challenge! Speaking of which, I challenge you to click on the CAFB logo at the top of the article and make a donation to them today. It's the best investment in town.

Celebrating Bounty on the East Austin Urban Farm Tour

2010-04-19T21:34:00.001-05:00

Years ago, farms stretched along the Colorado River in East Austin and grew all the things Austinites needed to fill their tables and their bellies. The farms slowly went away and were replaced by houses and businesses.

Today, dedicated farmers are rebuilding the farm belt in Austin just a few miles from our bustling downtown. Boggy Creek Farm, the grande dame of the East Austin urban farms, is almost 20 years old and now it's been joined by relative newcomers Rain Lily, Springdale and Haus Bar Farms. These East Austin urban farms, all within walking distance of each other, recently organized a tour as a benefit for the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance.

Each farm offered educational tours of their fields and tasty morsels from some of Austin's best restaurants who work with local farms. Olivia, East Side Showroom, Odd Duck Farm to Trailer, Dai Due Supper Club, Texas French Bread, Jeffrey's, Cooking by Design and Eastside Cafe created delicious dishes with the produce from the farms.

It was a delightful day, one of those days you don't want to end. I had my niece and nephew in tow and they were charmed by every farm. I've never seen two children be so intrigued by chickens. We put chairs in front of the coop and the kids would become entranced. Who needs TV when you have chickens?

Chicken coop at Haus Bar Farm

Cooking by Design's Strawberry Lemonade

All of the Broccoli salad from Jeffrey's

Boggy Creek Farm

Turkey at Rain Lily Farm

Texas French Bread Beet Crostini

Rain Lily Farm

The next time you need a near perfect day, go visit one of the East Austin farms. Boggy Creek Farm hosts farm stands on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm and Springdale Farm hosts a stand on Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm. Rain Lily and Haus Bar offer special events throughout the year where you can join in.

And, say "Hi" to the chickens for me.

View the full slide show:

And the winner is....

2010-04-14T17:01:00.001-05:00

Rebecca! Random.org selected Rebecca as the winner of the Austin on Two Wheels Bike Tour to Boggy Creek. Rebecca, please contact me at kwillis512 at gmail.com so that I can connect you with the bike guys. Congrats!

Dining Out Sustainably: Fete Accompli

2010-04-12T21:33:00.001-05:00

The first time I sampled Quincy Adams Erickson's cooking, I was at an event that she catered and I couldn't tear myself away from the food. Every bite was so fresh and popped with flavor.

I was thrilled when she opened the Fete Accompli storefront on W. 12th and Lamar (917 W. 12th) where you can pick up her tasty dishes Monday through Friday and no longer have to wait for a catered affair. You can now also pick up dishes at the Downtown Austin Farmers Markets on Saturday.

Quincy's commitment to using fresh local ingredients is evident when you walk in the door. You are greeted by a list of farms with whom they are currently working including Naegelin Family Farm, Oak Hill Farms, Engel Farm and Burgundy Pasture Beef. And you can see the seasonal goodness in the cold case and on the specials board, making picking your meal a tough task indeed.

Fortunately, they offer a salad plate with a choice of four salads including one protein. I chose the roasted cauliflower with capers, the butternut squash with goat cheese, a roasted Brussels sprouts salad and a salad Nicoise. Every bite was delicious.

My friend Melissa got the pulled pork sandwich with the cole slaw on the sandwich. Um, YUMMMM! Lucky for me, Melissa was in a sharing mood.

You can enjoy your lunch or early dinner at the picnic tables in front of the store or you can pick something up on the way home for those nights when you just can't be bothered to cook. The entree case offers a variety of delicious choices to reheat and serve.

You can even pick up snacks like mixed nuts and granola to tide you over between meals.\

The next time you are looking for a healthy lunch or want flavorful home cooking and don't want to turn on the stove, head to Fete Accompli for their happiness, one bite at a time.

Be in Charge of Your Food at the South Austin Food Co-Op

2010-04-09T21:58:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wanted to be the boss at your grocery store? Well now's your chance.South Austin is about to get it's very own food co-op where the members own the grocery store and make the decisions about how it is operated.

You may be familiar with food co-ops from shopping at Wheatsville in the University area, a staple in the sustainable and healthy food in Austin for over 30 years. The volunteers at the South Austin Food Co-op are bringing that same dedication to healthy, organic, local food to South Austin and they want your help.

You can choose your level of involvement from attending one of their upcoming events to joining the co-op. Here are just a few of the upcoming opportunities to learn more about the South Austin Food Co-op:

If you have questions about how the co-op is organized, you can visit with the volunteers on Saturdays from 9 am to 1 pm at the SFC Farmers Market at Sunset Valley.
Sunday, April 11th from 7 to 9 pm they are hosting an information session for potential volunteers and board members at Matt's El Rancho (2613 S. Lamar). RSVP to reserve your spot.
Saturday, April 17th, 6-9 pm at Marigold-Gateway to India (2200 S. Lamar) join Resolution Gardens, The South Austin Food Co-op and Slow Food Austin for a local pot-luck feast. Admission is a dish to share made with ingredients from a local grocer or farmer, your neighbor, or your own backyard! We'll have fabulous door prizes from local businesses, a silent auction to benefit South Austin Food Co-op, live music and a chance to share the local food love! A special prize will be awarded for the "most local" dish. Be sure to bring a description to put next to your dish so every one will know just how delicious it is. This event will be outdoors, weather permitting. RSVPs are appreciated but not required.

If you'd rather participate online, the Co-op is asking us to complete their survey so that they have good research about the needs of our community.

While you're online, why not go ahead and join. You can admit it - you like being the boss!