At the center of the Seattle Youth Garden Works University Garden site sits a large round tiled table surrounded by plenty of chairs under a huge tent. It draws you in and gives you the feeling that a place at that table would make you a part of a welcoming community. Ten under-served or homeless young people are recruited to become part of that community as crew members and work together from 3:30 - 6:30 three afternoons a week. Saturdays they attend the University Farmers Market to sell the produce they grow.
I’ll admit it took me knowing Colin Anderson, farm manager for SYGW, to get me to stop by their stall on a regular basis while at the market. Colin, a Seattle native, has been teaching kids about gardening and cooking since he received his Masters in Teaching from SU. Two years prior to coming back to Seattle from Berkeley, he taught at Alice Waters’ renowned Edible Schoolyard. I know we all have our favorite vendors at the market and they have become one of mine. Since Colin started working at SYGW, their produce has gotten better and better, not to mention it is some of the most reasonably priced around. If you haven’t taken stopped by lately, take a closer look. They have much to offer and you will be supporting a very worthy cause.
The “little gem” miniature romaine lettuce and beets have been some of my recent favorites. Read the rest of this entry »
Seattleite David Montgomery has won a MacArthur Genius fellowship for his work in geomorphology, a study of geophysical forces and how soil and rivers, the landscape have been altered over time.
Joan Dye Gussow writes about loss of land in her book, This Organic Life: “Although the lands that feed us are disappearing everywhere, the paving of California takes on special significance because of its unique Mediterranean climate. You can’t grow oranges in Iowa.” She goes on to say that “some of California’s most productive land is no longer threatened because it has been entombed. The beautiful Santa Clara Valley was once producer of nearly 50 percent of the world’s prunes, apricots, and cherries. Aaron Sachs tells us it took only four decades to transform this Valley of Heart’s Delight, with its 132,000 acres of flowering trees, into Silicon Valley.”
Since reading Gussow’s book I’ve been more thoughtful about soil conservation, so David Montgomery’s MacArthur fellowship caught my eye. One of his books, Dirt, is on my list to read. Montgomery is among a growing group of scientist advocates who are telling us that we need to pay attention to the dirt on this planet. We need it to grow our food, literally to survive, and we’re covering it up at an alarming rate, thousands of acres every day.
And then I noticed that another recipient was an urban farmer from Milwaukee. Here’s a link to a NY Times article, An Urban Farmer is Rewarded for his Dream, which tells more about Will Allen and the important work he’s doing. Plenty going on in Seattle too with urban farming; and there’s the work Fritz Haeg is doing to promote edible landscapes. He’s an advocate for replacing all or at least some of our lawns with edibles. Haeg’s book, Edible Estates, is another good one for the perennial book list.
Worthwhile enterprises to think about and small actions to take: growing some food of our own, giving over more urban land to growing food, and acknowledging what loss of soil means on a global scale to farming and survival. We should have bumper stickers, Save the Dirt!
In a recent article in the NY Times, Six Food Mistakes Parents Make , the first mistake listed was not involving kids in food preparation. Researchers at Teachers College at Columbia University found that the more kids are allowed to participate in cooking, the more likely they are to try new foods. Add harvesting food from a garden or going along to the farmers market and suddenly meals take on a whole new meaning. Relationships between a child and their food can be tricky but helping them become part of the process can extend beyond sitting in the grocery cart.
When looking through old cookbooks the other day, a recipe card fell out for zucchini bread I used to make when Krista was a little girl. This recipe was useful in many ways — using up some of the prolific zucchini from the garden, introducing a new vegetable in a non-threatening way and a simple recipe that requires lots of stirring and no chopping. I tried a new version of the recipe with Lily and she was as enthralled as her mother had been.
One of the best parts of cooking with kids is letting them see and handle the whole foods. In this case, you might not even know this bread has zucchini in it without looking carefully. So I always take a few minutes to show and talk about the ingredients. In preparation, I try to get everything out and ready to go, but the measuring and in this case, pushing the button on the food processor to grate the zucchini is all part of the fun.
I added chocolate to my bread to appease the chocoholics in the family. Even without it, this is a wonderfully moist and wholesome quick bread. But don’t forget that dark chocolate has numerous health benefits and there are several local sources for it. Read the rest of this entry »
. . . and he’s most welcome, cookin’ up seasonal vegetables withIsernio’sItalian sausage. Zucchini, sweet pepper, onion, tomatoes, eggplant, garlic, all still in season, and the sausage is made locally. While reading through Kurt Beecher Dammeier’s cookbook again the other day,Pure Flavor,I noticed the feature about Frank Isernio’s sausage making debut (p. 166). It was a revelation to learn some history about the person who makes a favorite local sausage, and that he started making it for his Italian compatriots in Seattle who were hungry for fresh Italian sausage.Isernio’s is now a big operation, but still makes sausage locally using fresh ingredients and no preservatives.
This mix of vegetables, a ratatouille, could be the base for a variety of mostly local meals. (Ratatouille consists of onions, zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant and peppers stewed together in oil. Often served cold.) Replace the polenta with a pile of scrambled eggs for brunch; add tomato sauce and serve with pasta; sprinkle pizza dough with cheese and then cover it with this ratatouille.
Now that fall is here what seemed so easy and natural during the summer may take more effort. Take commuting, for example. Walking, riding a bike or even a scooter makes perfect sense when the sun is shining and the days are long. Will all of our good intentions fade away once the days are short and the skies are gray? I know at least two people who are committed to their alternative modes of transportation and they plan to continue rain or shine.
Chris rides his Lambretta scooter from home in Maple Leaf to work in Ballard everyday. His scooter is 49cc and isn’t designed to go over 30 miles per hour. For a scooter this size (under 50cc) you aren’t required to get a special motorcycle license. It gets 66 miles per gallon which is a definite plus. He can park it much like a bicycle saving time and money. On the con side, this scooter is not a vehicle you want to take on the freeway or even major streets. It only goes about 20 mph uphill so staying on secondary roads is a good idea. Even then, drivers of cars that are slowed down by scooters (and bicycles) tend to get upset. As far as commuting in bad weather, Chris has brightly colored rain gear and a waterproof bag to take extra dry clothes in case he needs them. For now, it sure seems nice to be able to get door-to-door without having to drive a car.
Kimberly works at Children’s Hospital downtown. They have a new program where they are giving bicycles to 100 employees in exchange for a commitment to commute by bike at least 2 days a week. Read the rest of this entry »
This chowder isn’t tricked up much, it has a little kick, but the familiar corn taste prevails, in this case fresh corn.
Autumnal equinox 24 hours ago. We’ve turned the corner seasonally speaking, but can consider ourselves on the cusp. This meal is full of summer’s sweet corn, yet chowdery and comforting.
When the weather turned autumnal the other day, suddenly, I made this corn chowder. Inspired by a number of recipes I ended up incorporating zucchini from the garden, a Yukon potato, and a little bacon. Measurements and ingredients are flexible. We thought this chowder exceptionally delicious and made a meal of it with cheese and bread. Use a local cheese and this is another good meal for the sustainable table.
Local corn will be available for another two or three weeks at Farmers Markets. I bought a bunch more last weekend and plan to make a big potful and freeze it for sometime this winter when the essence of summer’s corn will be so appreciated.
Over Labor Day weekend San Francisco hosted a Slow Food festival that brought over 60,000 people together to celebrate and taste. 98 percent of the events sold out and 20 percent of the attendees were from outside of California. Alice Waters, one of my heroes, was a major force behind this event that linked the pleasures of food with community and environmental activism. Here is a video of her talking about “edible education” as part of a panel discussion.
Many of our pears were ripe and on the ground when we returned home from vacation last week, but salvageable. Time for chutney, pear salad, poached pears, or simply sliced with a piece of cheddar. Unlike other fruits some pears diminish in quality when ripened on the tree – better to pick them just before and let them ripen in the kitchen. We planted our pear tree maybe five years ago, well Bob did, espaliered alongside the garage. We’ve gotten a dozen or so in previous years, but this year the bonanza - dozens. And, we have both Moonglow and Bartletts on the same tree. Amazing science, but not really. It’s about grafting different varieties on to one tree which is what a pear tree needs anyway since they don ‘t self-pollinate. They need a partner pear. Originally, we had four varieties on the tree, but dog damage resulted in the loss of two.
I’ve made Ginger Pear chutney, and we’ll have pears with a tangy cheese and greens in salad. My mom would layer lettuce, half a pear, grated cheddar, and a dollop of mayo with a sprinkle of paprika on top. The attention she paid to assembling her pear salad caught my attention. You never know what unexpected nuances in life will turn a child’s head and heart in a certain direction. That was a salad a kid could love. It’s morphed a bit, but in ‘08 we’re still loving pears together with cheese in a salad.
Pear salad: fresh pears and greens from the backyard, walnuts, hazelnuts, roasted beets, almost any tangy cheese, a drizzle of dressing – another good way to eat a pear.
Let’s face it. Some of these green beauties will never ripen. Don’t despair because I’ve got a wonderful way to use them, even ones that are partially ripe. Leave it to the Italians to come up with the perfect pairing of fried green tomatoes with goat cheese on a bed of baby lettuces and fennel fronds. This is a long way from Fannie Flagg and the Whistle Stop Cafe.
But first let me introduce you to the fried green tomato’s new best friend, Bainbridge Brie, brought to you by the folks at Port Madison Farm. I picked up some at the University Farmers Market last weekend. It is sweet and delicate like their basic chevre but creamier like brie. I can’t wait to try it in my straight-from-the-garden pasta sauce.
I even put together some wonderful little hors d’oeuvres using some fried green roma tomatoes, ripe red tomatoes and Bainbridge Brie. Actually, ripe red tomatoes partner so well with their green siblings that when I ate the salad above, I added several juicy red slices to the mix.
Even fry-phobic cooks like me can make decent fried green tomatoes. Most recipes seem to agree that you use some sort of breading. I made some bread crumbs in the food processor using Spelt Sourdough from Tall Grass Bakery also from the University Farmers Market. I was happy with the results but it would be fun to try panko, cornmeal or even semolina. Read the rest of this entry »
And then that’s enough about tomatoes for this year . . . maybe. They’re abundant at the moment so I made Gazpacho and dried some.
Returned home from vacation a couple of days ago to find tomato plants, finally, laden with ripened tomatoes. They’re late and not as sweet as when they ripen earlier, but I’m grateful. Glad to have these to enjoy now and preserve for later on. I dried a bunch of Sungolds, and made a batch of Gazpacho.
For the Gazpacho I removed the core from about twice as much tomato as cucumber, seeded and peeled, and put them in a food processor (a blender’s fine too). I then added several cloves of garlic, some day-old bread, vinegar and oil, salt and pepper to taste, fresh dill and chives. Pulse until well mixed and that’s it. It’s good for a day or two if kept in the fridge. A bowl of Gazpacho with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt on top is a pretty nice way to eat your vegetables.
This anecdotal version without exact measurements invites us to add whatever sounds good. This past summer the NY Times did a piece called 101 20-Minute Dishes. Numbers 9 – 19 of 101 recipes are vegetables, many in season right now. Check out their recipes for inspiration, and then create your own versions of Gazpacho that are uniquely PNW. What about adding a splash of clam nectar, for example? Or, a bite or two of Dungeness crab on top?
If you have an abundance of tomatoes in your garden – or Farmers Markets will have some for a while longer – you might try drying some. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ll admit it took me knowing Colin Anderson, farm manager for SYGW, to get me to stop by their stall on a regular basis while at the market. Colin, a Seattle native, has been teaching kids about gardening and cooking since he received his Masters in Teaching from SU. Two years prior to coming back to Seattle from Berkeley, he taught at Alice Waters’ renowned Edible Schoolyard. I know we all have our favorite vendors at the market and they have become one of mine. Since Colin started working at SYGW, their produce has gotten better and better, not to mention it is some of the most reasonably priced around. If you haven’t taken stopped by lately, take a closer look. They have much to offer and you will be supporting a very worthy cause.
In a recent article in the NY Times, 
When looking through old cookbooks the other day, a recipe card fell out for zucchini bread I used to make when Krista was a little girl. This recipe was useful in many ways — using up some of the prolific zucchini from the garden, introducing a new vegetable in a non-threatening way and a simple recipe that requires lots of stirring and no chopping. I tried a new version of the recipe with Lily and she was as enthralled as her mother had been.
I added chocolate to my bread to appease the chocoholics in the family. Even without it, this is a wonderfully moist and wholesome quick bread. But don’t forget that dark chocolate has numerous health benefits and there are several local sources for it. 
Chris rides his Lambretta scooter from home in Maple Leaf to work in Ballard everyday. His scooter is 49cc and isn’t designed to go over 30 miles per hour. For a scooter this size (under 50cc) you aren’t required to get a special motorcycle license. It gets 66 miles per gallon which is a definite plus. He can park it much like a bicycle saving time and money. On the con side, this scooter is not a vehicle you want to take on the freeway or even major streets. It only goes about 20 mph uphill so staying on secondary roads is a good idea. Even then, drivers of cars that are slowed down by scooters (and bicycles) tend to get upset. As far as commuting in bad weather, Chris has brightly colored rain gear and a waterproof bag to take extra dry clothes in case he needs them. For now, it sure seems nice to be able to get door-to-door without having to drive a car.
Kimberly works at Children’s Hospital downtown. They have a new program where they are giving bicycles to 100 employees in exchange for a commitment to commute by bike at least 2 days a week. 
Autumnal equinox 24 hours ago. We’ve turned the corner seasonally speaking, but can consider ourselves on the cusp. This meal is full of summer’s sweet corn, yet chowdery and comforting.
Fresh Corn Chowder (fast & easy: 
Unlike other fruits some pears diminish in quality when ripened on the tree – better to pick them just before and let them ripen in the kitchen. We planted our pear tree maybe five years ago, well Bob did, espaliered alongside the garage. We’ve gotten a dozen or so in previous years, but this year the bonanza - dozens. And, we have both Moonglow and Bartletts on the same tree. Amazing science, but not really. It’s about grafting different varieties on to one tree which is what a pear tree needs anyway since they don ‘t self-pollinate. They need a partner pear. Originally, we had four varieties on the tree, but dog damage resulted in the loss of two.
Let’s face it. Some of these green beauties will never ripen. Don’t despair because I’ve got a wonderful way to use them, even ones that are partially ripe. Leave it to the Italians to come up with the perfect pairing of fried green tomatoes with goat cheese on a bed of baby lettuces and fennel fronds. This is a long way from 
But first let me introduce you to the fried green tomato’s new best friend, Bainbridge Brie, brought to you by the folks at Port Madison Farm. I picked up some at the 
Even fry-phobic cooks like me can make decent fried green tomatoes. Most recipes seem to agree that you use some sort of breading. I made some bread crumbs in the food processor using Spelt Sourdough from Tall Grass Bakery also from the 
Pulse until well mixed and that’s it. It’s good for a day or two if kept in the fridge. A bowl of Gazpacho with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt on top is a pretty nice way to eat your vegetables.