Another FREE Workshop! Plus, When to NOT Buy Local

Hi All!  I'll be giving another free workshop, this time on creating dressings, pesto, and sauces with herbs at the Roger Williams Botanical Center in Providence, RI THIS SATURDAY from 10-11ish.  Bring recipes to share!

When NOT to Buy Local, or When India and South Korea Kick Our Butt

Recently, Consumer Reports alerted us to the discovery of arsenic in
U.S. grown rice.  Where did it come from?  Arsenic is still used in
some fertilizers.  It does not break down in the soil.  Arsenic is
also used to treat intestinal flora in factory-farmed chickens, the
excess of which is passed with their waste.  Chicken manure is a great
fertilizer, but how were the chickens treated?  That is one of the
reasons I got chickens.  Besides the fresh eggs, I would know exactly
what went into my hens and what was coming out.  Arsenic is also used
to treat wood and for many other purposes, so as rice is grown in wet
conditions, the arsenic could have been absorbed from contaminated
ground water.  Another theory points to arsenic used in the past to
control the cotton boll weevil.

What can arsenic do to us?  Arsenic has been linked to liver, bladder,
and lung cancer, neurological damage, kidney failure, and heart
problems.  Yet in India, where arsenic levels are lower or
non-existent in rice, students far surpass U.S. students in math band
science scores.  Guess what is a staple of their diets?  South Korea,
who also surpassed our scores, has stopped importing U.S. rice.  Of
course, Mexican-American and Asian-Americans tended to have higher
levels of arsenic in their urine when tested here.  Best option: eat
a variety of grains, including quinoa, buy organic, and keep checking
where your food comes from.  Trust nothing without research.  Even
Trader Joe's Organic Brown Pasta Fusilli  had a relatively high
amount: 5.9 - 6.9 micrograms arsenic per serving.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/09/so-theres-arsenic-in-our-rice-now-what/262972/

Free Workshop Saturday!!!

Look here.

Major Changes

Hey folks!  Just wanted to give a reminder I will be giving a FREE workshop on cooking with herbs at the Roger Williams Park Community Garden just outside the Botanical Center in Providence, September 8th at 10 a.m.  There will also be a recipe swap, so bring copies of your favorite fall recipes to share!  I will have some food samples and hand-outs as well.  This is also part of a larger garden tour organized by URI Master Gardeners.

In other news, the cookbook is DONE aside from tweaking the very thorough index.  We did not meet our Kickstarter goal and I need to buy my ex a used car as part of our divorce settlement, so publication will be delayed about a year.  I hope it's worth the wait!  In the meantime, I'll keep posting recipes here.  

Autumn olives and peaches are in season.  If T-Bird, our very developed chicken, starts crowing, I will need to make him "delicious".  I've decided the best way to honor his presence is to prepare him in the dish below.  (I have made it with a whole chicken, but it will take longer to cook and be fattier with the skin.)  I now collect dried plant materials for creature sculptures and could certainly add a beak and feet.  I told my daughter she could have most of the feathers.  We've inched our way into discussing the possibility of eating T-Bird.  We want eggs from our "pets", but if we must eat one, let us use as much as we can, with a meal, paté, and art.  (Perhaps a Martha Stewart "sled" with the bones?)  Maybe eliminating the male of the brood is what I need right now, processing the divorce.  T-Bird will be honored for all that he was.

Low Sodium/Gluten-Free Option

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Chicken and Peaches

Taste of Tunisia

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2 tbs. oil, divided

2 cups diced red onion

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1 tsp. white pepper

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, fat trimmed

3 cups reduced fat, low sodium (gluten-free) chicken broth

2 organic peaches, cut into wedges then halved*

2 tbs. honey

1 pinch saffron (optional)

couscous (not gluten-free) or rice

This recipe is based on the sweet tangine dishes of North Africa, but has less sugar and fat than traditional recipes.  By using boneless chicken thighs instead of whole chicken, it also cooks faster and costs less to prepare.  In a covered skillet or Dutch oven, heat 1 tbs. of oil on medium-high.  Cook onions, nuts, and spices, stirring frequently, about three minutes.  Remove mixture and set aside.  Add another tbs. of oil and brown thighs, about 2 minutes per side.  Add stock and onion mixture and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat slightly, cover, and poach gently 20 minutes.  Uncover and add peaches, honey, and saffron, crushing spice with your fingers and sprinkling on top.  Cook another 10-15 minutes, allowing liquid to thicken, until chicken flakes apart easily with a fork and meat thermometer reads 165ºF.   Serve over couscous or use rice for gluten-free option. 

* In other seasons, use peaches canned from summer pickings, using a tested recipe such as “Honey Peaches” from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.

Saturday, September 8th OPEN GARDEN DAY TOUR and  HARVEST PARTY

OPEN GARDEN DAY TOUR 10:00 - 1:00 PM   Sponsored by the  Providence Community Growers Network, OPEN GARDEN DAY will feature tours of a variety of Providence farms and gardens via three unique options:  Bike Tour ($20) Bus Tour ($35) Historic Tour ($45)  SCLT members - $5 discount Kids under 12 - $10    Attendees will have the opportunity to meet urban growers and sample fruits and vegetables grown on-site at each farm and/or garden. All tours meet at 10AM at the Roger Williams Park Community Garden and return at 1pm. Purchase Tickets

HARVEST FESTIVAL 12:00 - 3:00 pm Hosted by the Providence Parks + Recreation Department and the URI Outreach Center, the HARVEST FESTIVAL at the Roger Williams Park Community Garden is  FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! Greeting those returning from Open Garden Day Tours [and welcoming all others], the HARVEST FESTIVAL will highlight the hard work and dedication of URI Master Gardeners and Outreach Center staff in the Park's community garden and nearby edible forest garden. All day: 1st Annual recipe Swap! Attendees are invited to share copies of their favorite recipes inspired by produce grown throughout the gardening season in Providence. Trade with your fellow gardeners and neighbors!

September 8, 2012 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS 10:00 AM: Open Garden Day Tours Tour groups depart from Roger Williams Park Community Garden.  10:00 AM: "Cooking with Herbs" FREE Workshop with URI Master Gardener Melissa Guillet! 10:00 AM and 12:30 PM: "RWP Edible Forest Garden Tour" FREE Tour with URI Outreach Center Urban Agriculture Intern Mark Scialla! 12:00 - 2:30 PM:  URI Master Gardener Kiosk Bring soil samples for FREE pH testing and/or plant or lawn pest and disease samples for diagnosis! 11:00 AM - til it's done!: RWP Edible Forest Garden Phase II Installation Help plant nut and berry-producing plants in Providence's 1st edible forest garden! 1:00 PM: "Kids Time in the Gardens" FREE children's activities with URI Outreach Center horticulture intern Stephannie Kimura! All day: Reserve a garden plot at RWP for the 2013 season!

Connect

Cornucopia

My lovely friend Holly shared her corn harvest with us when we celebrated the harvest this past weekend.  I made ratatouille (again) and herb bread.  Other friends shared their bounty.  We found a wandering dog, then its owner.  There was a nice fire where we shared what sacred space means to us. Then there was a lot of leftover corn...

Here is my revised corn chowder recipe.  I skipped the cranberry beans since i didn't grow any this year and didn't want to wait to soak dried ones overnight.  I ended up freezing most of it in a bag laid over a cutting board in the freezer until it was solid.  Here's a gluten-free clam cake recipe as well.  Enjoy!

Gluten-Free/Vegetarian Option

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Corn & Bean Chowder

Taste of New England

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Prep: 15 minutes  Cook: 35 minutes  Makes 10 servings 

2 tbs. butter or olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 tbs. whole wheat flour or corn starch

2 cups (gluten-free) chicken or vegetable broth 

2 cups low-fat milk

4 potatoes, washed and diced with skins on

1 cup carrots, cut into half-moons

1 cup fresh cranberry beans (soak dried beans overnight)

3 cups fresh-cooked or frozen corn

10 sliced of bacon, cooked well and drained (optional)

3 tbs. chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne

1 tsp. cumin

1 tbs. brown sugar

1 cup half-and-half or light cream

Melt butter or heat oil over medium heat in large stock pot.  Sauté onions five minutes.  Stir in flour, cooking two minutes.  Slowly pour in broth and milk.  Add potatoes and carrots and bring to boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook 15 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.  Meanwhile, bring water to boil in sauce pan.  Cook cranberry beans until just soft, about 20-25 minutes.  Reserve.  Add corn and mix with immersion blender (or run half of mixture through blender and return to stock pot).  Crumble in bacon, then stir in drained beans, herbs, spices, sugar, and cream.  Serve immediately.

Gluten-Free/Lower Sodium

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Clam Cakes

Taste of Rhode Island

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Prep: 10 minutes  Cook: 10-15 minutes  Makes 40 cakes

1 egg

1 cup chopped quahog (or clams)

1/4 cup grated carrots

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cups corn meal

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. garlic powder

oil for frying

What would summer be without Rhode Island clam cakes?  Rather than a heavy, doughy blob, these cook up light and don’t skimp on the seafood.  The carrots add to the sweetness of the seafood.  Steam open quahogs, cool in cold water, and chop.  Beat egg, then add all other ingredients.  Heat about 2” of corn oil in a sauce pan on high.*  When oil sizzles when batter is added, drop one tbs. of batter at a time until a single layer of cakes floats on oil.  Cook one minute, then remove with slotted spoon to paper towels or designated oil towel.     

* I fry cakes in my smallest sauce pan to reduce the amount of oil needed.  In my pan, I can cook five cakes at a time.  After oil cools, it can be strained and kept in the refrigerator for future use.

Bowdish Lake and Attempting Waste-Free Camping

Set up the new tent.  Started a fire.  Hot dogs, chips, S'mores.  Our giant figures overlapping the pines in front of the Coleman lantern.  Shadow puppets.  Stories.  The story of the chipmunk who stood up to the bear and called in the light to the forest.  Talking.  Sleeping on an unyielding field.  Awake a dawn and another fire.

Three days of camping in the middle of the week.  We were the only people in the field.  apparently, if you want the sports activities, karaoke, art shack, etc., you need to come on the weekends.  But we did have animal encounters...

Chipmunks left my story and scurried in and out of the rocks nearby, the bear claw stripe scars still fresh on their backs.  A million dragonflies, in green, gold, and brilliant blue: the true summer Olympians.  A hummingbird quick quick over the playground slide.  At the small beach we also had to ourselves, some school of small fish that followed us in the water.  A heron.  Ducks.  A mother duck bringing her babies over to us, with one duckling running over my foot.  We learned to bring bread to the beach.

Breakfast was oatmeal, cocoa, and coffee.  Most of our food involved boiling water.  I made a homemade bread, wrapped in foil.  Brought peanut butter, nuts, granola, salsa, chips.  We burned the oatmeal and cocoa packets, then the boxes.  A short walk, and we disposed of the hot dog packaging.  We don't buy many convenience foods, but camping while keeping kids happy makes it difficult.  Marshmallows only come in plastic bags.  I could have made granola bars instead of buy them, but Job Lot had them and my daughter had camp the previous week on her own and needed a daily snack.  Couscous was one of the best suggestions we got from a friend, cooked in 5 minutes after adding boiling water.  A large bunch of bananas.  Homemade apple sauce.  Cloth napkins, of course.  They do a much better job than paper towels any day.  We also foraged, finding wintergreen and white pine to chew on, and high bush blueberries to add to the oatmeal.  I couldn't catch any fish.  I only tried a net and we foolishly did not bring a knife except the one to slice the bread. 

All our food and gear were in reusable shopping bags, which also made it all easier to carry.  We had one cooler and reused four gallon water bottles and five small water bottles.  Plastic silverware and plates with lips were washed and reused.  The plastic containers you get from take-out are perfect to use as a plate or bowl, and then the lid used to save unfinished portions.  

We tried out our crank radio.  Success!  More than two sleeping bags and a pile of blankets would have been more comfortable for five people.  We collected pine cones, branches with bark beetle trails resembling Elvin runes, one root that looked like dancing faery legs, interesting rocks, and the wings of a red admiral butterfly found in the woods.  We swam several times.  I found a blueberry gall.  At night, bats.  By day, a phoenix rises.

TEN DAYS TO GO!!!  KICKSTARTER NEEDS $3723.  Donate if you can.

Blueberries!

We are up to $1447 in our Kickstarter to publish our cookbook, with only 15 days to go!  PLEASE tell your friends, donate $10, support local food!  Oh, look, a doe and two fawns just ran through my yard...I've seen the tops chewed off my hostas, or "deer magnets", which to be honest, I planted as a decoy to my crops if we ever got deer.  They are beautiful!  O.k., digression over.  Link to donate here.

  

We did our annual blueberry pick at Rocky Point Farm this week.  The new owners are very friendly and prices are still low (although higher than last year).  We picked 25 pounds, at $1.80 a pound.  (Prices drop the more you pick.)  We did a little measuring later and determined a pound to be about 3 cups of blueberries.  There are 2 cups in a pint, which can run $4-$5 in the supermarket.  Do a little math, and we paid $1.19 a pint.  Yesterday, I used 6 cups to make blueberry jam with Grand Marnier.  Along with the sugar ($3.80), new canning lids (66¢), Certo ($4), Grand Marnier ($5) and organic lemon (99¢), I spent $18.05 (reusing last year's jars) making almost ten half-pints of jam.  Can you buy that in the store for $1.81 each?  No, no you can't.  Now I have plenty for my family and some to give away, not the mention a freezer full of blueberries to use throughout the year.  I double-wash the berries, filling a sink with water and carefully scooping them out in layers into a colander, a large bowl, another bowl...to pick out stems and squished ones.  Then I clean out the remaining stems from the sink, rinse, and repeat.  

I also made blueberry lemon poppy seed muffins at the bequest of my step-son.  The only splurge item for that was the poppy seeds, at $5.34 for a spice jar.  Here's the recipe (variation with blueberries and lemon poppy seeds at bottom) and another variation on the jam:

Vegetarian/Wild Option*

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Rhubarb Goldberg Machine 

Taste of Earth

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1/4 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

1 cup strawberry yogurt*

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cup unbleached flour

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup rhubarb stalks, sliced 1/4” thick*

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)

This muffin has it all, but bakes light and fluffy.  Melt butter.  In a small bowl, whisk in eggs, then yogurt and buttermilk.  Sift dry ingredients in large bowl.  Mix  rhubarb, oatmeal, and nuts into dry mix.  Stir wet ingredients into dry until just moistened.  Fill 12 greased muffin tins.  Bake at 400ºF 20-25 minutes.

* Substitute plain or other yogurt flavors depending on fruit selected.  Try adding a teaspoon of vanilla or orange extract with autumn olives, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, or strawberries, peeled apple or pear with cinnamon or ground ginger, or cherry with chocolate chips.  Make lemon poppy with 2 tbs. lemon juice, zest from organic lemon, and 1 tsp. poppy seeds.

Vegetarian

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Blueberry Chambord Jam

Taste of France

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6 cups washed and stemmed blueberries

1/2 cup water

2 tbs. lemon juice

zest of one organic lemon*

7 cups sugar

2 pouches liquid pectin (such as Certo)

1/4 cup Chambord black raspberry liqueur (one nip)

New England summers would not be the same without blueberries.  This jam is punched up by the French raspberry liqueur and lemon zest.  Combine berries, water, lemon juice, and zest in large sauté pan and let sit ten minutes.  Add sugar and mix well, until sugar completely dissolves.  Bring mixture to boil and boil hard one minute, stirring constantly and skimming off any foam.  Remove from heat and stir in pectin and Chambord.  Using a measuring cup, pour into sterilized pint jars, leaving 1/2” head-space.  Wipe rims if necessary and attach lids securely.  Process in pressure canner according to manufacturer’s instructions, for 10 minutes at 10 psi.  Makes 9 pints.  (Process 8 and keep one in fridge.)

Try these in the winter, or any time:

1. Mix blueberry preserves with ricotta or other soft cheese (such as yogurt cheese, page 180).  Use as spread or crêpe filling.

2. Warm preserves and spoon over ice cream.

3. Mix with yogurt.

4. Spread on toast.

5. Serve with pork.

Bastille Day and Basic Rights

Happy Bastille Day, where the French had had enough with the huge discrepancies between rich and poor. (Even recent past President Nicolas Sarkozy was hugely unpopular for his rich-favoring policies.)  Back then, Louis XIV set up his palace at Versailles with plenty of room to house the wealthy aristocrats he wanted to keep tabs on.  Louis XIV was also the one responsible for the American lawn.  Having huge areas of simple grass that had to be babied and watered frequently was a sign of luxury, since the wealthy had no need for land to grow food on (aside from the land they rented to peasants and then taxed and took their produce from on top of that).  

Today, the Versailles symbol of wealth lives on in cloverless lawns achieved through chemicals that can contaminate water supplies and landscaping that is sometimes a minimum of non-native shrubs to hide the foundation of a house.  This is the American Dream of people who see raised beds as eye-sores and shriek at the sight of chickens.  But for what I believe are many more, there are those who's dream is to create food gardens in vacant lots, on roof tops, on the corners of streets.  This is a basic right to have access to food of our choosing.  This is in the continuing Victory gardens of England, all over France and Germany, and of course, America.  Driving around construction to get to the Farmer's Market last week, I saw many such sidewalk gardens.  This IS the new norm.  

There will always be those who do not want to see where their food comes from, even when you drop it off at their door wrapped in a ribbon.  This is the growing revolution.  The French stitched secret messages on quilts and hung them over the front rail or passed them from house to house.  We do the same, a shovel-full at a time, a shared seedling at a time.  More and more, communities are banding together to teach about planting, harvesting, canning, pollination.  Check the RWP Community Garden and Southside Community Land Trust pages to learn more.  I will be leading a workshop on cooking with herbs and there will be a recipe swap September 8th at 10 a.m. here.

We are still very short of our goal to publish our local foods cook book.  Teach a person to garden, and they will have food and community.  Teach them to cook it, and they will have more.  Please donate at the "cook book" link above if you can.  Meanwhile, here's a great (French peasant) way to use those seasonal veggies:

Gluten-Free/Vegan Option

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Ratatouille

Taste of Mediterranean France

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Prep: 10 minutes  Cook: 30 minutes  Makes 8 servings

4 cups mixed summer squash (crook- and straight-neck, 

     patty pan or scalloped, zucchini, etc.)*

1 medium Italian eggplant (I love Rotonda Bianca Sfumata 

     di Rosa, an heirloom variety with few seeds)*

1/2 yellow onion*

5 Roma tomatoes*

4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced width-wise

1 tbs. double-concentrated tomato paste

2 tbs. olive oil, divided

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1 tbs. fresh stemmed and finely chopped lemon thyme

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. white pepper

This dish cooks up fast with the aid of a mandoline.  Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Slice squash, eggplant, onion, and tomatoes 1/4” thin, keeping each vegetable separate.  There is no need to salt the eggplant first or even peel it.  Cutting the vegetables this way is fast, attractive, and saves on cooking time.  In a covered skillet or Dutch oven, heat one tbs. olive oil.  Sauté garlic one minute, stirring frequently.  Add onions and tomato paste, stirring well.  Cook until onions wilt, about five minutes.  Add eggplant and tomatoes, cover, and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary to prevent sticking.  Stir in herbs, salt, and pepper.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Layer with squash and drizzle with another tablespoon of olive oil.  Cover and cook at 375ºF 10-15 minutes, until squash are soft.  Serve by carefully spooning onto plates to retain layers.  Great with pasta or warm crusty bread.  Use leftovers in a frittata or on a pizza.  Tastes even better reheated.

* Cut flower end from vegetables and hold stem while slicing on mandoline.  Mandoline blades are very sharp, so take care to keep fingers clear.  Although many models are pricey, a 4-piece set can be found for less than $20. Use safety guard to slice onion on mandoline, or slice by hand.