The Yum Diary

Super-simple, ridiculously yummy baked tomatoes

2010-07-29T19:17:00.003-04:00

Today for a lil TV news cooking demo we did on WLTX, one of my fellow tomato festival planners, Ryan Nevius of Sustainable Midlands, passed along her grandmother's ridiculously easy, amazingly delicious recipes for baked half tomatoes, topped with parmesan, garlic, salt + pepper, breadcrumbs and a pat of butter. 350/400 degrees, 30-40 min til brown.

OMG.

I think I just inhaled my dinner. So good.

The tomatoes? Plump, red, heat- and disease-resistant Amelia tomatoes from Richland County and gorgeous "Eva's Purple Ball" heirlooms from Cross Farms via Rosewood Market, where Kevin (who runs the produce dept) tells me that the variety is originally from the Black Forest of Germany.

He told me that Eva's Purple Ball tomatoes are also remarkably resistant to wilt, disease, fungi, and the scorching Carolina heat that has killed off many a home gardener's tomato crop, including most of mine. (Except some of my Supersweet 100 cherry tomatoes, my Paul Robesons, and a few intrepid others which shall remain nameless til they start putting out again!)

Bonus: If you're only doing a couple of tomato halves, you can pull this off in the toaster oven! Important for hot summer weather and not heating up your kitchen unnecessarily.

SQUASH UPDATE: Yeah, all my squash plants are dead, except for *one* surgeried black zucchini that is all dead and sad except for a few hopeful little sprouties. Ah, we'll see. Oh well!

Oh, and about that Tasty Tomato Festival:

Half-price advance tix here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/118638

Big ups to the very stylish local design/print studio, The Half and Half, who took time from a rush job (custom designing and printing a huge order of posters for the Dave Matthews Band) to design this sucker! Thomas Jennings, the designer tapped by studio owners Nick Wilson and Sara Thomas to do the job, is also a chef at one of the absolute best restaurants in SC, the new Southern mainstay, Mr. Friendly's Cafe.

In fact, the owner of Mr. Friendly's, Solstice Kitchen and Cellar on Greene, Chef Ricky Mollohan, is going to be one of the celeb judges at the festival!

WORD UP, Y'ALL!

Shiitake field pea summer risotto!

2010-07-12T18:46:00.003-04:00

Dried, diced shiitake mushrooms, dry white wine, sweet onion, local garlic, veggie stock, and arborio rice.

Slow simmered while putting up White Acre field peas for winter.

Add parmesan cheese, serve with fresh herbs (basil is niiiiiice), maybe a saute of organic collards and dinosaur kale on the side. Summer Yum!

3 insanely delicious venison burger recipes, for you!

2010-07-08T12:20:00.007-04:00

Dear Cousin Owen,

I haven't written a super-indulgent food nerd blog post in a while, as I've been focusing on healthy, garden-y stuff. Thanks to you, this trend is changing -- right this very moment.

Remember when you gave me that pound of ground, frozen venison for Christmas 2009? And I was so very excited? Especially when I found out that you had shot the deer yourself? With a freakin' BOW and ARROW?

I have always been impressed with your skills as an outdoor sportsman, what with all the fishing, night hiking, camping, alligator-catching, and such.

But now that I have had the chance to cook that pound of deer meat you gave me, my appreciation has just skyrocketed.

****************************************

I've always been leery of the whole practice of hunting for sport -- and I always will be. Furthermore, I admire vegetarians and vegans to the max, aspiring to be like them despite my deeply ingrained (albeit more and more sporadic) meat lust.

However, considering the cruelty, waste, and un-sustainability of our industrial meat production, packing, and distribution systems, I think that people who are willing to catch, kill, clean, process, and prepare their own animal flesh are on the right track. (Especially in a state where deer overpopulation can be a very real issue for those living in rural -- and even not so rural -- areas.)

MAGICAL VENISON MINI-BURGERS
The other night, my friend Anne and I (along with her rad 3 year-old, the Tank), decided to make a late evening meat snack.

I had thawed the venison and made little 2-inch burger patties, seasoned with sea salt, fresh-ground pepper, crumbled dried rosemary, and fresh ground coriander.

The Tank helped out by attending to crucial tasks like trying to fit small things into his belly button and repeatedly calling out for "SAUSAGE MEEEAAATBAAALLLSSS!"

(While eating a no-corn-syrup popsicle. Cause it's vacation.)

Before sauteeing the burgs in a heavy-bottomed frying pan, I pulled out another not-so-secret weapon:

A giant hunk of local, sustainably-raised Caw Caw Creek bacon -- to which Motor Supply Co. Bistro Chef Tim Peters had done secret, delicious things in his house-curing process -- and which I was lucky to acquire as a parting gift at the restaurant's 20th anniversary dinner.

I had frozen the hunk of smoky meat magic for just such an occasion as this one.

Did you know that frozen bacon is much easier to cut into a small dice -- especially if you have a good, heavy, well-sharpened cook's knife?

This bacon hunk is so formidable that it even dices fairly easily if you thaw it out in advance, like I did. (But why did I thaw it if I didn't have to? I guess because it was in the same freezer bag as the venison. Still. I'll be honest; I know a lot of things, but I randomly go airhead sometimes.)

Cousin Owen informed me that he had personally processed this batch of venison with some good applewood-smoked bacon, in an effort to add marbling and juiciness-producing fat content to this otherwise incredibly lean red meat.

So cooking the miniature deer burgers in bacon drippings -- especially those from pork that had been grown, processed and cured by local guys I know personally -- seemed mega approps to me.

Topping some of them with some crumbled Farmhouse feta cheese and the crispy diced bacon? Even more approps, to be honest.

The lightly gamey taste of venison partners perfectly with Greco-American treats like goat feta. (Btw, I learned recently to avoid the Publix feta. That stuff is as flavorless as the bottom of a tennis shoe.)

Word to the wise: follow Cousin Owen's advice (echoed by his sister, the erudite home chef and ed. tech. guru Cousin Emily), and cook your venison "slow and low."

Cooking lean game on low heat until the meat browns? Good call. Otherwise, just like grass-fed beef, the deer meat *could* dry out, especially if it wasn't processed with any other animal fat.

MAGICAL VENISON SALAD with FETA and ARUGULA
Anne, in her infinite wisdom, pulled out some organic arugula and suggested we make magical little meat salads, topped with bacon drippings and little diced bits of bacon.

HOLY CATS.

(We might have even drizzled a little spicy chipotle vegan mayo on this, but by that point we were too busy eating to take any food nerd photos.)

Inspired by Anne's creative turn, I got to thinking that maybe I could find a way to pair some of our "SAUSAGE MEEEEAAATBAALLLLLSSS" (yes, the Tank was still shouting for more -- we think he might have downed like 4 of these suckers) with some of the green shiso leaf I'd ever-so-nerdily grown from mail order catalog seeds.

I was introduced to green shiso leaf, a.k.a. green perilla, in San Francisco at a number of the more fun and exciting sushi spots, most often in a spicy tuna roll.

SPICY SHISO VENISON SUSHI
What if you put a half of a venison/bacon mini-burger onto a fresh shiso leaf, drizzle with tamari (or shoyu, or soy sauce), top with vegan chipotle mayo, and garnish with Sriracha hot chili sauce and crispy bacon drippings?

You get Spicy Shiso Venison Sushi.

Call it whatever you want, but maybe make a few extra.

For dessert.

****

Green Evangelicals Take on Gov't over Oil Spill

2010-06-27T11:50:00.004-04:00

Reposted from NPR: Michael Spooneybarger/AP

Evangelical Christians are turning their focus toward saving the environment!

This is the best news I've heard in years.

Great radio interview about these new "Green Evangelicals" on NPR's Weekend Edition: Sunday; listen below!

Luxurious, healthy lunch in 10 minutes flat

2010-06-21T14:02:00.003-04:00

Weekday lunch in 10 minutes flat for this summer solstice Monday -- a few key ingredients make it happen!

Luxurious-Tasting (but gluten-free + vegan!) Chipotle, Black Bean, Carrot + Cilantro Wraps, in a few simple steps:

(Some of this stuff is old news for you regular Yum Diary readers, but there are some new tricks in here too, perhaps.)

1. Make a pot of black beans for the fridge for the week. They come in handy in all sorts of ways. (See below for hot tips on tasty bean-cooking.) Or just keep some canned in the pantry!

2. When heating/reheating the black beans, add some fresh diced carrot and cook lightly. Adds texture and sweetness!

I scored some fancy lil ivory heirloom carrots at City Roots urban farm's stall at the all-local farmers' market.

My cat is bananas for carrots, btw.

This is an action shot of her feverishly rubbing her face all over those heirloom carrots.

(I washed them before cooking them, of course. My crazy cat lady-ness goes only so far!)

3. Fire up the skillet and toast a Sami's Bakery Millet-Flax Spinach Lavash wrap in some butter. Better, use Earth Balance organic buttery spread.

I swear, it tastes fantastic compared that yucky Smart Balance stuff. Promise.

Or use oil -- whatever. Just do me one favor:

DON'T EAT THE WRAP RAW!

They are totally gross if you don't saute them in a lubricating cooking medium first.

See how yummy that looks? It is a health food miracle. These guys make your whole kitchen smell like pizza when you saute them, thanks to their garlicky, oregano-y nature. Yum.

(Seriously, they're really not good raw. Won't kill you, but will totally kill your buzz.)

4. Spread your bean/carrot/veggie mixture on one half of the wrap, then...

5....Spread that magical condiment, creamy vegan chipotle mayo, liberally on the other half. Big ups to The Shop Tart for turning me on to @Rosewoodmarket's amazing vegan chipotle mayo!

I do cheat and make my own sometimes (puree one canned chipotle in adobo for each cup of Veganaise), but usually I don't have time so I just buy it from Rosewood Market. I like to vote with my grocery dollar for the small, indie, local business in general, for I am a hippie on the inside!

6. Throw on some fresh chopped tomato from the garden (luxury!) and tons of chopped cilantro with a squeeze of lime. Throw in some fresh chopped hot peppers if you're feeling it.

And really, you can put whatever the heck you want in there. This is just my lunch today, and I figured, why not blog about my lunch like the food nerd I am?

EAT 'ER UP!

[And now, for the food nerd extra for the day:]

Magic French-Mexican Black Beans from Scratch

I soak dry beans w/kombu seaweed for 6-8 hrs, rinse, then flavor them with olive oil and sauteed mirepoix before simmering in veggie stock for a few hours.

(Mirepoix! The French cooking trinity: onion, carrot, celery. Note that the veal stock in this recipe photo is separate from the mirepoix, which is a vegetarian thing entirely.)

Like cult foodie favorite cookbook author Richard Olney (Simple French Food, above and right), I add bay leaf to my mirepoix, but mine is, nerdily, fresh picked from my tiny bay laurel bush! (Which, unlike the rest of my garden, is growing verrrrrrry sloooooooooowly.)

Then I throw in some epazote (tasty Mexican anti-tooting herb), coriander, cumin, fresh oregano and thyme.

Gives the beans a deep, rich, bright flavor!

Salsa: garden style!

2010-06-19T12:50:00.002-04:00

Garden salsa fresh out the yard, for another sweet, hot Saturday.

First pic of post-surgery squash plants w/new HTC Hero 5MP camera

2010-06-16T11:35:00.002-04:00

First photo from my new Sprint HTC Hero smartphone, to test the 5 megapixel camera image quality: my squash plants seem to have survived surgery after the big squash vine borer attack!

Also testing Blogaway app for Android to post to Blogger.

[Update: Blogaway works! Functionality is fairly basic, but I'm stoked that I can post blogs on the go, now!

Camera picture quality isn't exceptional, but it'll do. What do y'all think?]

I think my post-surgery squash are going to live.

2010-06-15T00:20:00.001-04:00

It's too early to be really, really certain, but I think that my squash plants might just make it post-surgery!

I don't want to jinx them, so I'm going to wait a little while longer before posting photos of their sprightly, springy green stalks (and the big old mounds of richly composted, clay-rich earth I packed around their main stems after slitting them open to remove wormy, white, 1-inch long squash borer larvae).

Anyone else have squash borer success stories to share?

Squash vine borers are jerks. But...

2010-06-11T11:55:00.001-04:00

Squash vine borers.

Jerks.

Thanks to my step-bro-in-law Ashton, I now know what is killing my squash from within.

Just now, I used a sharp knife to slit open the affected squash stems, and I found 1-3 squash borer larvae per main stem.

Pulverized those jerks.

Now, I have all these squash plants that are all slit open like surgical patients.

I read today that bT (bacillus Thuringiensis) is an organic pesticide that can be *sortof* effective on these guys, but per this fellow, Tom Clothier, resistance is mostly futile and one should just give it up and prep diligently for a less moth larvae-ridden garden next year.

Hm.

Thinking I will heap good, fresh soil and mushroom compost/erth food to cover the slit-open squash stems and hope they will heal? I don't want to give up.

Any advice on this would be much appreciated! Meanwhile, I'm gonna make some millet toast with almond butter on it. OMG almond butter. Why have I not loved you til now? Now I may love you a little too much.

xoxo
TB

This is no ordinary egg.

2010-06-11T10:17:00.001-04:00

2 inches in length, it's my first Japanese white eggplant!

My yellow wax beans (technically pencil pod black wax beans) are coming up! I took master gardener Jenks Farmer's advice in one of his recent columns at The Shop Tart, and I did indeed put them everywhere!

Unfortunately, a bunch of revived poison ivy is also coming up.

Any tips on removing poison ivy without resorting to Roundup herbicide?

I don't want to use herbicide near my awesome front yard raised garden -- look at how great it's doing!

This cucumber is going to end up in a pitcher of ice water later this afternoon, I suspect.

Although next year I'm going to pick a different type of cuke, for the seeds in these "Burpless Hybrid Cucumber" fruits are really big and woody.

Natural pest repellents like nasturtiums have been doing their job pretty well, I think! And they are so pretty.

See those petunias? They are totally protecting my parsley. (Or is that cilantro?)

Luffa gourd! I'm growing my own loofah sponges. I'll let you know how it goes!

In the upper right corner, that's borage, a cucumbery, flowering plant that I've planted all over my gardens to deter pests, per the organic gardening books I've been consulting.

Not sure if I will be able to get the salt out of these teensy, tiny seashells, but I collected about 5 gallons of them to use as a calcium-rich, sharp-edged (and therefore slug repellent) mulch.

Any advice?

My lil sideyard patch is kicking out the yellow wax bean jams.

These early jalapenos are indeed early, and will end up in a salsa soon!

Yay, my first black zucchini!

Getting very stoked for these pimientos de padron.

The catnip is going bonkers! It's also a known natural insect deterrent.

Not sure what's up with the main stem of my white pattypan squash, though...anyone know what this is?

The plant is otherwise producing lots of leaves and flowers, and starting a few fruits, although I found two babies had rotted and fallen off their stems. Hm.

On a cheerier note, these supersweet 100 cherry tomatoes are delicious!

And my green shiso leaf (perilla) is taking off. Tastes bright, green, herbaceous, and I have no idea what to do with it besides put it in a spicy tuna roll. Ideas?

I have extra plants that I grew from seed if anyone wants one -- let me know!

I also have some extra sweet Genovese basil plants as well as extra Brandywine tomato and supersweet 100 cherry tomato plants -- hit me up!

The lemongrass and citronella are doing magnificently.

At the beach last week, I chopped up a frond of lemongrass and added it to a saute/soup of ginger, garlic, local shrimp, coconut milk, lime juice, chilies, etc., which was pretty fab, I gotta say!

The epazote seeds I planted are *finally* coming up. Or at least I *think* they're epazote...

My first cleome (spider flower) blossom! Grown from seed! Woo-hoo!

And check out my hen and chicks! Hi guys. You're succulent. You're cute.

The early summer garden is a total delight!

Can't wait to see what happens next.

My latest byline in Spa Magazine! (And a mentor that could be yours, too.)

2010-05-28T06:00:00.046-04:00

My latest piece in Spa Magazine!

It's short, fluffy and won't save the world, but thank G-d for spa treatments and bodywork in general. As my amazing Wesleyan University dance professor, Cheryl Cutler*, used to say: "As our society becomes more high-tech, we will need more high touch."

Click here to see the (blessedly short!) article and slideshow: Spa Tested: Lip Plumpers - SpaMagazine.com

*Chery's book, Creative Listening, is truly a must-have, btw -- and her amazing Listening Unlimited workshop weekends, held all over North America, are transformative! I say this from experience and plan to attend another one sometime in the next year or so.

Highly effective combination of intelligent group talk therapy, simple post-modern dance-based warmups, easy improvisational structures, group problem-solving exercises, individual challenges, etc., resulting in personal breakthroughs and lifestyle pattern shifts. So cool.

Studying with Chery was worth every penny of my student loans -- and now that she's retired as Chair of the Dance Department and has started Listening Unlimited with irreverent, former Wesleyan religion prof Ran Huntsberry, you don't have to pay through the nose attending an ivory tower college (again, though, was totally worth it) to access her mega smarts!

Woman changed my life, yo. (She's had that effect on a lot of people.)

Baby vegetables + spring garden = mega cute

2010-05-27T06:00:00.081-04:00

First baby white Pattypan squash!

Can't wait to eat this Burpless Hybrid cucumber. Currently all of 3 inches long.

Looks like this Clemson Spineless okra is going to kick out the jams!

I love how clusters of green Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes look. (Those are our first Early Girls ripening in the background!)

I've taken to using pruned tree branches as plant stakes; they're the refuse from Jay's post-winter tree pruning projects.

He just throws them behind our azalea bushes until I'm ready to pull them out, strip their leaves, cut the branches down a bit, stick them in the dirt and gingerly thread the tomato vines onto them.

I have to keep the hands-on gardening stuff to a minimum, owing to my cantankerous repetitive strain injury issues, but the little bit I *can* pull off is so much fun. (That's why cultivating the soil with organic matter has been such a gradual and lengthy process!)

Will I feel so blithe and delighted about gardening once the summer heat and humidity set in?

With spritely sights like this one, probably yes.

Summer secret weapon: Iced thyme, mint, + orange water/tea

2010-05-26T08:31:00.003-04:00

This is my new summer jam, drinks-wise.

Thyme sprigs, orange slices, and fresh mint!

Jam them in a pitcher, cover with water (or, right, detoxifying kukicha twig tea) and ice, and refill throughout out the day, night, whatevah.

I just keep them around in the fridge and refresh the herbs every day or two from my big old yummy garden.

Throwing in cuke slices, or the innards of a seeded cucumber (pref organic!), makes for highly fragrant, completely natural flavors as well.

It transforms the normally pedestrian activity of drinking water or iced tea into something uttahly delightful!

This fancy new hydrating ritual is part inspired by master gardener Jenks Farmer's iced cucumber water (mentioned recently in his groovy new monthly column on The Shop Tart!) and by the thyme and orange-laden water pitcher in the ladies' fireside lounge at the super-pampering, deeeeee-luxe Spa at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville (great pictorial on the place, also at The Shop Tart!).

OK. Off to get things done during some amazing springtime weather -- and gonna hydrate in style, like some kind of fancy yoga Hollywood lady or sassy Italian grandma.

SASSY!

FANCY!
####

A few new tricks from my organic veggie garden

2010-05-14T11:36:00.008-04:00

I sure haven't been blogging lately.

Instead, I've been up to my elbows in hundreds of pounds of mushroom compost, topsoil, sandy loam and mulch.

Why? Trying to balance out our thick, heavy (albeit mineral-rich, notes Master Gardener Ryan Nevius) clay soil.

(Adding a little high-potassium/calcium/potash organic plant food here and there, just to make sure the veggies bear fruit in such a nitrogen-rich, foliage-boosting environment.)

Of course, I should have been on top of soil cultivation back in February and March, BEFORE I put seeds and plants in the ground.

Total novice misstep.

Just about 2 months ago, I posted the beginnings of my organic backyard Spring Garden 2010, you may recall. Um, "Done and Done" was more than a tad presumptious of a pronouncement.

Sure, groundwork was laid, seedlings were started, seeds were direct-sown into the garden for cilantro, lacinato kale, scallions, red beets, etc; some chard, red russian kale, and a couple of tomato plants were put in.

Remember how this seedling tray was all dirt, no green? Now the brandywine and supersweet 100 cherry tomatoes are all growed up!

(I have extras if anyone wants a couple. Let me know!)

And I got to go to the Midlands Plant + Flower show to pick up lots of great plants, like this mosquito-repellent scented geranium, a.k.a. citronella. It's tripled in size since I bought it for $2!

My container garden has exploded in size -- gonna have to keep on top of watering it this summer so the containers don't dry out, as they're prone to do.

But I didn't start reading Jay's editions of Rodale's Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, and Organic Plant Protection, as well as the highly intelligent foodie gardening books The Cook's Garden by Shepherd and Ellen Ogden and Backyard Farming by Lee Foster, until AFTER the garden was planted. Whoops. Had to recultivate most of the soil. Meaning, mix in a LOT of organic matter (topsoil, mulch, compost) to lighten it up and aerate it. Mixing in sandy loam alone had not done the trick. Also had to transplant my heirloom tomatoes to the front of the garden, as the back was too shady, I realized.

Oh, which heirlooms? I'd be delighted to brag about this year's selection, thank you!

Green Tomatoes: Green Zebra
Purple/Black Tomatoes: Cherokee Purple, Cherokee *Chocolate* (has a yellow, instead of clear, skin apparently, giving the tomato a more brownish cast), Black Prince, Paul Robeson
Orange Tomatoes: Moonglow, Amana Orange, Jubilee, Sungold Cherry
Pink Tomatoes: Brandywine
Yellow Tomatoes: Yellow Pear
Red Tomatoes: Mortgage Lifter, Supersweet 100 Cherry

I learned mountains of useful info about organic gardening from the above-mentioned volumes. Amazing.

Like companion planting, my new favorite thing!

See, pests like root-destroying nematodes really hate French marigolds. A lot of pests hate them, actually. So you plant them liberally throughout your garden to protect your tomatoes, et. al.!

When flower heads die, I pinch them off and spread the petals (and seeds!) all over, adding to the offending marigold odor.

Petunias, too, are supposed to discourage pests, so I planted some of those, as well. See that collar around my Italian Rosa Bianca Eggplant (lavender/white stripe, supposed to be quite delicious)? Jay had some copper sheeting lying around. Thanks, Jay! (Copper is otherwise very 'spenzive!)

(I also planted a Thai Yellow Egg and a Japanese White Egg, which supposedly will make little egg-shaped ball eggplants if you pick them young enough. Woo hoo! Nerding out so hard this year.)

Nasturtiums, too, are great pest deterrents. I've planted nastutium seeds willy-nilly (after first soaking and cracking their seed hulls) and now their pretty little green lily pad leaves are sprouting up everywhere!

Can't wait til the brilliant orange (edible) flowers start busting out.

I've also planted borage, chive, and garlic chive seeds in circles around my tomatoes. Word is that borage and chives are also natural pest deterrents.

Catnip, too, is said to ward off bugs. And my cat goes ape for it, so why not?

Remember the little catnip plant that Raymond destroyed with her fervent love?

It's coming back from the dead! I've hidden it in the back of the garden so she won't maul it before it regains its strength.

Anyone know what this holey little weed is? It's sprouting up all over the garden and is working marvellously as a "trap plant," distracting pests from my chard and cilantro (see how they are unharmed?). Thank you, holey little weed! I heart you.

THIS little gem is not necessarily a pest deterrent, but it *is* a major people-pleaser. It's a green shiso leaf herb plant (green perilla) that I am growing from seed purchased through LocalHarvest.com.

Sushi spots in SF use it in spicy tuna rolls and I can't wait to mess around with it in the kitchen! It's got a flavor halfway between basil and mint, with an extra vegetal, green kick that really sets off seafood.

I have lots of these little guys if anyone wants one!

Roxanne, my awesome fancypants Asheville vegan nutritionist, told me to get some Lemon Verbena for making vegan ice cream later this summer, so I complied. Dang, this herb smells GREAT!

On the right, there, between the lemon verbena and that orange zinnia flower, is a little bit of stevia, a.k.a. sugar bush.

It's naturally super-sweet, a great replacement for sugar in iced tea, for example. It's also really freakin expensive to buy it powdered at the health food store, so I figured I'd try growing my own!

Also growing epazote and lemongrass from seed (and lemongrass from a plant show seedling), as well the usual suspects: basil, oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme, peppermint, and parsley.

And some less usual herbs: savory, Thai basil, and yummy cinnamon basil.

I'm also growing some Texas tarragon (supposedly adapted to the southern heat, but with a better, more French tarragon flavor than the bastard stepchild Russian tarragon can provide).

I'm also excited to report that my weird squash varieties are taking off! I have White Pattypan and Black Zucchini that I got as seedlings from Rodger's Heirlooms (my FAVORITE South Carolina source for heirlooms of all types), as well as Golden Bush Scallop Squash that I am growing from seed from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

Also got some rad peppers from Rodger's: Purple Jalapeno, Early Jalapeno, regular old Serrano, and Alma Paprika, which apparently makes -- you got it -- paprika if you dry and grind the peppers. Neato.

Indispensable garden tools: some $2 gloves from Big Lots (after shrinking my nice Target ones in the dryer -- dang!), and my water-loving red leather Saltwater Sandals, which I've had since Summer 2008.

I can wear them in the ocean, the river, the lake, the garden, wherever! And the leather stays pretty.

Some red toenail polish is a fun thing if you're hanging out barefoot half the day.

I'm finding other indispensable garden tools all over our yard -- in our myriad junk piles.

A "con" of living with a 20-year veteran of the professional stonework trade (who also makes giant sculptures in the yard) is that there are many, many huge piles of junk.

All over the yard.

(Oh, what is that orange thing peeking out of the corner of the photo? Is that the awesome 2-man kayak that Jay got at a garage sale recently? Oh, the one he took me out in on a nice calm ocean day at Harbor Island last weekend? Whoop whoop!)

An enormous "pro" of living with a pro stoneworker?

Those piles of junk are filled with primo, high-grade stone remnants like Carolina Silver slate, Tennessee Crab Orchard sandstone, and other beautiful building materials.

Perfect for making a back path and stepping stones in the garden, so I can weed, prune, and harvest without compacting the soil with my big old human hooves.

This would be the front yard junk pile, which Jay graciously consolidated into an enormous berm last year, covered in leaf litter and pinestraw mulch from the yard, and bordered with cylindrical cement blocks (border shown below).

Jay is very green in his yard management practices, which I think is super cool.

He uses a non-motorized push mower on the lawn, and his grass clippings, pruned branches and raked leaves + pine needles don't go into a rubbish heap on the street where they could clog the sewer system -- instead they go into mulch piles in our yard, where they harbor tons of garden-friendly earthworms and rot into excellent composted mulch over the years.

Pretty great! Thanks for being green, hot stuff!

When I realized that we'd run out of sunny spots for veggies, herbs, and flowers in the back yard, I noticed that a redtip die-off out front had left the berm sunny and exposed southward all morning long.

I had it topped with a mix of our mineral-rich clay soil, topsoil, mushroom compost, and sandy loam, and...

Boom! A huge raised bed planted with beautiful, pest-deterring, edible nasturtiums, as well as cukes, golden bush scallop squash, tomatoes, okra, chives, yellow wax beans, luffa gourds, purple bell peppers, insect-repellent rosemary, and more.

Nice little stone border, right? Thanks, Jay's junk piles!

Those nasturtiums are going to vine outward and overflow with orange and yellow blossoms this summer. So excited.

Finding sunny spots is fun. I dug a little 1' x 1' bed in our sideyard to try out an okra plant and some yellow wax bush beans, with chives planted as a natural pest deterrent.

We'll see how it goes! I know, I'm planting everything too close together.

But I will thin out whatever looks like it's not kicking out the jams. (Maybe.)

Look! My Early Girl tomato plant is already making babies.

(Early Girl is a great variety to plant, as it will give you early maters before your other plants take off!)

Um, is there anything cuter than a baby cucumber? Seriously.

Now that my soil is rich with organic matter, balanced nicely (more alkaline than acid), and planted with insect- and pest-repellent herbs and flowers, I'm finding much less insect damage than expected.

Beneficial insects like ladybugs are obviously doing their job, as an aphid breakout I'd noticed a few weeks ago is no longer a problem.

And the earthworms I've been finding in Jay's mulch piles and junk piles? Those lil guys get placed gently into my garden, so they can help cultivate the soil from below.

I love my garden. Tell me about yours!

My cat is seriously in love with this herb.

2010-04-19T11:22:00.006-04:00

My 13 year-old cat had never encountered a catnip plant -- until yesterday.

The plant sustained a fair bit of damage, but it's still alive.

Raymond is nuzzling its stubby little defoliated stems with unbreakable focus at this very moment, however.

This does not bode well for the catnip plant.

####

Fancy-but-Easy: Low-fat Meyer Lemon Fish Tacos w/Avocado, Cilantro & Spinach!

2010-04-08T14:05:00.011-04:00

Sometimes I have a relatively lame lunch, like today: steel-cut oatmeal w/toasted sunflower seeds and ume/flax dressing...that is, relative to the fresh, fancy fish tacos I whipped up last week, which rocked!

Pan-seared, Meyer lemon-zested triggerfish tacos (recipe below)

(This is a variation on the Browned Baja Shrimp Taco Wraps I posted last Fall.)

First, I seasoned the fish (a local South Carolina triggerfish from the All-Local Farmers Market, which I froze in individual fillets at season's end last year -- though any seafood will do) with Meyer lemon zest, fresh-ground coriander, dried rosemary, and salt + fresh-ground black AND white pepper. (I have a few spice grinders floating around the kitchen, obviously.)
Then I seared the fish in a touch of high-temperature, organic safflower oil in a super hot pan. Cooking white, flaky fish quickly -- on high heat -- is the key to avoiding a mushy consistency. In terms of getting a nice, crispy exterior and firm-yet-moist texture, cooking slowly over low heat can also steam, rather than brown, delicate fish. I learned this from my buddy Jason Berthold, who is Head Chef at one of San Francisco's favorite new fancypants wine restaurants, Michael Mina's RN74. Same rule goes for shrimp, actually, so feel free to crank up the heat! (Non-stick teflon pans, btw, don't brown well and shouldn't be heated past medium anyway. Stainless steel or better is ideal, and TJ Maxx + Marshalls always have great deals on nice all-stainless pans.)
When the fish was cooked through, I squeezed the juice of half a Meyer lemon over it to moisten the fish and deglaze the pan. Meyers are so fragrant, floral, and slightly orange-y in taste, and I love them dearly. Thank you, lemon breeders, for making such a tasty, special lemon! Fresh spices and citrus are a healthy, low-calorie source of big-time flavor in your meals.
Meanwhile, I had put a pat of vegan butter (organic Earth Balance spread is my fave for yummy, buttery taste) in a frying pan and browned a Sami's Bakery gluten-free millet-flax lavash wrap, nice and toasty on each side -- but watch out with these. Caveat! Don't eat them raw, microwaved, or even heated w/o oil or butter in a toaster oven, or you'll have a lackluster experience. Conversely, if you over-brown these, they become brittle. These are "smart carbs", since the whole grain millet and rice flours give you a lot more nutrition and protein than the average white tortilla made with refined wheat flour (and possibly lard!)
OK, time to assemble the glory! I folded the fish into the browned wrap with a smear of @Rosewoodmarket's vegan chipotle mayonnaise, as well as sliced avocado, chopped fresh cilantro, spinach chiffonade (thinly sliced spinach leaves), + some El Burrito triple X hot sauce we had left over in the fridge. Sprinkled some black-and-white sesame seed gomasio on there, too.

And oh man, was it ever delicious!

(Way better than oatmeal.)
****
photo: TB

The bacon bra? I agree w/Shut Up Foodies.

2010-03-30T14:18:00.004-04:00

Although the crispy pancetta that ended up on my Travinia chopped salad the other day (despite my request to the contrary) was not unwelcome. Sorry, pescetarian boyfriend, no bites of bacony salad for you!

Still, bacon fetishism among foodies* is even more annoying than roasted red peppers and sun-dried tomatoes put together. On focaccia.

But who am I to keep you from the ever tasteful magic of the internet? It's a bra made of bacon, after all.

Click and enjoy!
http://shutupfoodies.tumblr.com/post/472892097/shut-up-bacon-part-deux

xo, tb

p.s. Vandana Shiva, the VP of Slow Food USA, is speaking at USC (the University of South Carolina) this Friday.

The topic? How supporting sustainable, bio-diverse farms can solve the environmental and economic problems associated with industrial agriculture. In Columbia, SC, at USC's Moore School of Business, Belk Auditorium, Friday April 2, 3:30pm.

I shall attend with my food nerd ears on. Shall you?

*From the food nerd who once gave someone a year-long bacon-of-the-month subscription.

Roasted spring root veggies -- for breakfast!

2010-03-29T17:10:00.004-04:00

Breakfast: a whole pan of roasted veggies w/parsley and Meyer lemon! Here's the recipe.

Roasted organic root veggies w/parsley and Meyer lemon:

Slice (4mm to 1/4 inch thick) these organic veggies:
1 parsnip
1 golden beet
1/4 onion
2-4 smashed garlic cloves
2 fancy little carrots
1-2 sticks of burdock root
1/4 head cabbage (preferably from Julie Hall's garden -- thanks, Julie!!)

Toss in 2 TBSP safflower or any other organic, high-temperature oil and 1 TBSP olive oil, salt + pepper, a sprinkle of freshly ground coriander, too.

Spread onto a large roasting pan, but don't crowd em or they'll steam instead of roasting! Ideally you want one layer of veggies with little spaces between each, though a little overlap is fine.

Bake at 400-450 degrees for 15-20 min, then broil at 500 for 5-10 min. Veggies should be nice and tender after baking at 400-450, but also brown and crispy on the edges from finishing them under the broiler. Watch out! I've burned many a broiled dish by forgetting to set my oven timer.

Drizzle with 1-2 TBSP Meyer lemon juice and 2 TBSP chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, and serve. This will serve 2-3 people as a side dish or one hungry breakfast, lunch, or dinner-eater with a bowl, a fork, and an appetite.

YUM!

If your beets come with the beet greens, chop those up (stems and all) and throw them in for the last 5-10 min. Man, those things are GOOD! We love to eat them greens.

And the cabbage? It caramelizes and gets sweet and lovely. OMG I want to eat this for dinner, too.

Note: any kind of beets will do, but note that stirring around a mess of bright red beets will turn your whole operation fuschia unless you roast em separately and tuck them into your presentation at the end. In the case of a roasted beet risotto, however, this bright coloring can be quite a fun thing!

I get pretty inspired by my friend Anne's veggie breakfasts, as well as those of my fancy Asheville nutritionist, Roxanne. Thanks, ladies!

Full episodes of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution! Yay!

2010-03-27T23:26:00.003-04:00

So excited for Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution!

After transforming school lunch programs in England, the British celeb chef gives it a go in Huntington, West Virginia: statistically, America's unhealthiest town.

Here's the whole first episode on Hulu; I'm so stoked! (Thanks Tonya G for your FB post!)

Progressive SC rally spanks haters from Westboro!

2010-03-23T16:04:00.002-04:00

Today, Columbia SC's young folks did progressives proud!

The hate rally scheduled by the notoriously litigation-happy, extremist national hate group, Westboro Church -- whose website is so tastefully named godhatesfags.com, brought out more sheriffs than Westboro protesters -- a whopping 5 or 6 Westboro reps total, if that.

On the other hand, a crowd of about 200 anti-Westboro protestors gathered at the South Carolina State House this morning to wave hyperbolic, humorous signs.

Hate can be so arbitrary.

The big, youthful crowd on the capitol building lawn tended to focus on the positive, and a great time was had by all. Especially the robots.

(Apparently God hates robots. Poor robots.)

I loved the "God Hates Shrimp" sign and "At Least We Know Our Governor Gets Some", as well as positive signs like "God Loves Me Cause I Love Everyone" (in silver glitter, held up by a little boy sitting on his chaperone's shoulders).

Invoking the spirit of George Burns? Sweet genius.

"God Loves Gays" -- fabricated late last night by yours truly and my excellent sign lettering layer-outer, Jay, was a hit!

Now all we have to do is get that embarrassing rebel flag* off the State House grounds.

S.C. loses dozens of millions of dollars a year in convention and sporting event revenue because our state is being boycotted due to the location of the Confederate flag.

Read more on that here: http://www.free-times.com/index.php?cat=1992912064035856&ShowArticle_ID=11012603083629022

Chef Alex from Baan Sawan helped me hold up my sign, then aided in the hand-off when this awesome USC employee asked if she could have the sign for her office after the rally. Word up!

It's a great day to be a Southerner in the Springtime, let me tell ya.
xo
TB

*Big anti-flag rally this Saturday, March 27, 2-4pm at the State House toward that very end! Flag march info here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=372324071865

Live sets by bands like Chris Bickel's infamous Confederate Fagg (a band I have still never seen!), and sponsored by hip, lefty local political candidates Aaron and Grant. I'm going!

**Also, tomorrow pm is the annual ContempOraries Oyster Roast at the Columbia Museum of Art's outdoor plaza! Stoked. Last year was a delight. See you there, Wed March 24, 5:30pm-7:30pm, Boyd Plaza, Columbia, SC. Long live the new South!

Spring garden 2010? Done and done.

2010-03-15T11:53:00.003-04:00

The Spring garden is in!

Thanks, John Dawkins, for teaching me about double digging way back in 1996 when you were running that organic community garden!

Aerating the soil, especially, the heavy, dense clay of the Gill Creek area, is crucial, right?

A bunch of organic garden soil (5 giant bags) was mixed in. That stuff doesn't go very far, yo.

Mixed up a batch of local Kricket Krap organic fertilizer tea last night (thank you, Janice!), going to drizzle it onto the garden later on.

What's in the garden? Voila, our Spring garden map 2010!

Most excited about having bunches of cilantro, and hoping that it won't get too hot for dinosaur (lacinato) kale to do well.

Jay says cauliflower isn't known for doing well here, but I planted a few seeds near the frisee/curly endive just as an experiment.

Also doing serrano chiles, scallions, Early Girl tomatoes, Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes, Bright Lights chard, and red Russian kale; planning on buying more tomato plants from Rodgers Heirlooms at the annual Midlands Plant and Flower Festival, April 15-18 at the S.C. State Farmers Market.

I'm not a big seed-starting gardener. In fact, I'm about as amateur as they come.

But I bit the bullet and started some Brandywine tomato seeds.

(Can't I just cast seeds in the yard and then have big, awesome vegetables the next day? Jeez.)

That would be delightful, but I'm excited about watching the garden grow over the next 55-120 days. Yay!

My honey's work is in a John Deere ad!

2010-03-03T13:52:00.001-05:00

Want to see inside one of America's coolest secret fancypants eco-gardens? The one where my sweetie, Jefferson Jay Hubbell, has been doing artisan brick + stonework projects over the last couple of years?

Check out this beautifully shot ad by skate/film celebrity Stacy Peralta, part of a new series of John Deere commercials. Starring The Shop Tart's new monthly garden columnist (and horticulture celeb/leading crinum lily nursery owner), Jenks Farmer*.

View it here:
http://www.deere.com/en_US/CCE_promo/deereseason/the_creations/jenks_farmer.html

See that curving antique brick path at the end of the video? (pictured here) Jay made that!

Make sure you scroll down on the JohnDeere page to watch the ad featuring Bishopville, SC topiary artist Pearl Fryar, the subject of the doc film A Man Named Pearl. I am dying to watch it and can't wait to visit his property sometime soon!
xo
tb

*Jenks is speaking at the SC Master Gardeners conference on March 18; they've extended registration through the end of this week if you are in the Midlands and want to attend.

Envirosax pretty shopping bags only $5 each til 3/7!

2010-03-02T12:25:00.002-05:00

As many of you know, I am addicted to Envirosax reusable shopping bags.

They're chic, sturdy, spacious and super lightweight, and the designs are luscious. I have 4 or 5 floating around in my car at any given time, and they're perfect for organizing clothes when packing for trips. Did I mention they make superior mini-gifts?

And they're on sale! They're usually $7-9 each, but I got a sale email today from Bright and Bold. $5.60 each is the best price I've found. Yay!

[I don't work for Envirosax or the retailer, and I don't make any money by posting this...just passing on a great deal.

A set of 5 may seem like a lot until you fall in love with 2 or 3 of them, and then you only have a couple left on hand for last-minute hostess gifts. Trust me.]

There are 9 styles on sale: Botanica, Oxford, Pepsi, Monochroma, Planet Green, Candy, Mikado, Animal Planet, and Midnight Safari.

Price is $28 per set of 5 + free shipping using coupon code ENV28 at Bright and Bold! (Normally $37.95.) Expires 3/7/10.

Click here to get to Bright and Bold's website

Lots of love,
TB

This urban farm is one perfect party spot

2010-03-01T13:04:00.002-05:00

I just put up a ton of fun photos from Saturday's Slow Food Columbia BBQ at City Roots urban farm. We had such a great time! Check it out on the SFC blog, here:

http://slowfoodcolumbia.blogspot.com/2010/03/city-roots-farm-local-bbq-columbia-sc.html

xoxo!
Tracie

Cilantro, daikon, carrot: the holy trinity of (easy) Banh Mi BBQ pork sandwiches

2010-02-25T16:33:00.001-05:00

Dear friends,

I have been on a banh mi kick, but since they're in short supply here in South Carolina, I'm rolling my own.

I just can't get enough of the magical combo: fresh cilantro, daikon radish, and carrot, combined with mayo, smoky pork, tamari, and hot sauce, all layered within some sort of bread product.

Do you love crunchy, sweet-spicy, fresh, smoky Vietnamese sandwiches as much as I do? I have a banh mi obsession.

(The Immaculate Consumption has a great ground turkey banh mi sandwich, but 12 years in San Francisco spoiled me on the BBQ pork variety.)

I've been making mine with croissants (naughty, naughty) cut into quarters for parties, or with pan-toasted Sami's gluten-free millet flax spinach lavash wraps for my lunches. Want to make your own? It is way easy, especially if you live in a pulled pork saturation zone like Columbia, SC.

1. Shred a bunch of fresh carrot and daikon radish root, and use a giant, healthy pinch of each per sandwich. Your health food grocery will have daikon, most likely. (Rosewood Market does!) Thank g-d for mom's 1980s Cuisinart w/the shredder blade!
2. Rip up a bunch of fresh cilantro -- the more the better. Total cilantro coverage is a good thing.
3. Mix up a tablespoon of Sriracha rooster hot sauce with 2-3 TBSP mayo or vegan mayo. Or some such.
4. Here in the Carolinas, pulled BBQ pork is fairly ubiquitous. Get some. (Without sauce!) If you're somewhere else, I bet you know where to get some. Or sub something else! I bet grilled shrimp would be insane.
5. Slice a jalapeno real thin -- this is optional. As are thin-sliced onions. I leave those off.
6. Add a drizzle of tamari! Or soy sauce in a pinch.
7. Assemble all within some sort of bread product. Destroy.

Why don't I have a picture of the banh mi wraps I had for lunch yesterday and today? Well, that would be because I got too excited and ate them. Two days in a row.
xoxo
tb