Fresh

When I became a farm hand on a CSA farm many years ago, I was hoping to befriend food in a new way.  I had a slight idea that I wanted to become a professional cook but I wanted to approach my food education in a deliberately roundabout way.  It seemed like the right thing to do to, to get dirty and sunny and put my nose to the earth, rather than sit under the fluorescent lighting of an urban culinary classroom.

I am lucky in that I don’t usually chew on regret, but in the case of my farm experience, I really can’t fathom not having done it.  It’s paid me back in so many ways over the years.  It certainly brought me closer to understanding the life of food and that real food does have a life and complexity of its own and with that wisdom I became a better, more sympathetic and conscientious cook.  All that to say that I urge you to do what so many do this time of year, GROW YOUR OWN FOOD.  Once you do, even a tomato plant or two to start, you’ll gain some of that wisdom too.  (Not to mention that food from your own garden tastes better, costs far less and is nutritionally superior to produce from the grocery store.)

If you can’t grow your own food sign up for a CSA share.  Go to the local harvest website and easily find a CSA farm in your area.  Or, if you’re still craving a backyard garden plot but you’re short on time or shy about beginning your own, there is a local business called A Backyard Farm that will build and maintain a plot for you in your own yard.  How grand is that?

Of course there is always your local farmers market where you can find plenty of fresh and local produce.  If you’re like me and live in St. Paul you can head down to the St. Paul Farmers Market and be dazzled at how impressive this market is.  (I’ll mention that you cannot pass up the still-warm, savory empanadas at  the Toast to Bread booth or the new gelato stand that uses local and seasonal ingredients.  Yum!)  And here’s something altogether unusual and clever, a new urban organic U-Pick and CSA farm right in my neighborhood called City Backyard Farming LLC where you can also reap local, organic produce.

Grow your own food is still my regular message (which also tends to rub up against my own Just Get Cooking campaign).  But if you just can’t find the time, it is comforting to know that there are a few other decent avenues to link you to delicious, local and seasonal foods.

Finally, one question I hear time and again in my classes is which fruits and vegetables are most important to buy organic and are most vulnerable to and most compromised by pesticides and other chemicals.  It’s a good question, and although I always encourage buying organic in general the reality is that many folks, especially those new to buying organic foods feel they can’t always afford to do so.  Via the Simple, Good, and Tasty blog, I found Dr. Andrew Weil’s Guide to Pesticides: Dirty Dozen.  A great resource; something to print out and keep on the fridge or to keep in your wallet when you’re contemplating what to buy in the produce section.

Alright, here is a strange and wonderful recipe I found on the Chocolate and Zucchini blog site, which is based on, I believe, a Harold McGee recipe. Rembember that pesto can be made with almost any leafy green.  A great way to use up all those green tops of yours.  Enjoy!

• Perennial Plate project/site
• Yes, Jamie’s Food Revolution (Jamie Oliver that is)
• Food Declaration.org
• Learn to Cook, Just a Little

You know, I’ve had letters on my mind lately.  This is because my toddler, Riley, who is 2 1/2 now, has enthusiastically discovered the letter R.  Yes, it begins her name and she just loves that.  Every day she points out the many R’s, on the bus or on signs across town, in any book I’m reading to her, or on the cereal box. 

I got to thinking that the first foods we see in Minnesota in the spring all begin with R and how perfect and timely that is for us.  So what are they, you ask?  Radish, rhubarb, ramps.  Look out for these soon, if you haven’t already tasted them for the first time this spring.  Mostly, they are coming from Wisconsin, but soon they will perk up in our own back yards.

More bits.  You know, again I’m a late-comer to the perennial plate, another impressive local food site.  Local chef and sustainable food advocate, Daniel Klein, has begun a well-done online, ongoing film documentary that captures the foods of Minnesota.  He butchers, tours, cooks, and eats within the seasons at local farms and with local producers around the area.  Quite clever and addicting to watch.

I just finished watching the end of the first season of Jamie’s Food Revolution on television.  (You know, this is the reality show that documents the infiltration of Jamie Oliver into one of our country’s unhealthiest cities, Huntington, West Virginia, and excrutiatingly follows his attempt at making change in the way the community eats.) 

Not one for the tv usually, but I found myself entirely drawn into this one.  I’ve always had a great deal of respect and awe for Jamie and his food and philosophy.  What struck me about this latest project of his is his absolute sincerety and sheer exhaustion at making it happen.  As well, it’s a given our food system is broken and embarassing, but seeing it outright on this program, in the school cafeterias, in the homes of citizens, behind the scenes, was impressive and touching.  What a worthwhile cause this revolution is; it just cuts through misinformation, politics, and gets to the nitty-gritty.  Thumbs up.

If you’re looking to keep up with food and politics, besides the televised revolution, a good place to receive information, especially on what’s happening in Washington, on the subjects of food and farming, sign on to www.fooddeclaration.org.  Besides receiving petitions and updates on the latest  political happenings, you’ll get updates on what’s happening across the nation on real food and farming advocacy.

Finally, as of late, I’ve been sculpting a new component to my own food philosophy.  It’s come with teaching.  So many questions on what to eat, how to eat, and helping folks to sort through the clutter of information on healthy eating and living has lead me here.  It’s a simple idea: we need to start cooking.  What? 

I’m coming to understand that if an individual can take the opportunity to learn to cook, even a few simple and basic recipes, they can quickly make large-scale changes to their health, their wallet, their understanding and connection to the land and therefore community, and general well-being.  In my classes I always end up with this thought.  Forget about diets, label-reading, fancy feasts, Food Network pomp and intimidation–just get cooking!  Quite a simple piece of advice, but oh, I’m learning myself that this is just the best food advice I can possible give right now.

A recipe for one of my R’s, from Madhur Jaffrey’s lovely book, World Vegetarian:

Ukrainian Radish Salad (serves 4)

1/2 pound radishes, thinly sliced into rounds; 1 scallion, cut crosswise into very fine rounds (both green and white portions); 3 tablespoons finely chopped dill; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne; 1 cup sour cream; 1/4 teaspoon bright red paprika

In a bowl, combine the radishes, scallion, dill, olive oil, salt, and cayenne.  Mix well.  Now add the sour cream and paprika.  Mix again.  Serve chilled.

Oh my, where did February go?  Usually, February feels like a long, boring lecture held in a room where the heater is on the fritz.  Not so this time round; Farm to Fork has been sauntering along, full of life and energy, keeping me gloriously distracted.  There’s a lot to say and take note of since the last time I offered up an entry.

First, I want to call your attention to a wonderful, slightly new blog and site in the Cities called Simple, Good, and Tasty.  I’m sad I didn’t support them sooner, but I spend so much more time at the kitchen counter than I do at the computer screen.  This is perhaps one of the best local real food websites we have and is chocked full of well-written articles on subjects that matter in the world of real, local food.  As well, they host a foodie book club at the Mississippi Market and have their own version (although much smaller and specifically real food focused) of the Blue Sky Guide called the Local Food Lover program.  It’s really a coupon card that boasts discounts at those restaurants and food businesses you would associate with local, real food.  Not to mention it includes discounts from yours truly, and so I push you to visit their site and learn more about this program to get you better connected to some of our impressive food destinations and businesses.

A few other things have struck a chord in the last month or so.  First, if you haven’t heard, Michael Pollan (author of Omnivore’s Dilemma) has published a new book called Food Rules.  No, it’s really nothing new if you’ve already devoured Pollan’s other food books; as a matter-of-fact it appears to be a quick, well-done summary of his many other books on the subject.  Even though it appears as nothing particularly special, even cute, I still think it has value to those who think they’ve heard it all.  If anything, it’s just the little book to give to those skeptics or difficult eaters in your life.  It’s accessible, funny, and perfectly to the point. 

While recently wading through my various emails and papers I noticed that the Land Stewardship Project has put out their CSA Guide 2010 and I urge you to browse that.  The LSP is a great organization; it works in many ways, with many folks, to encourage sustainable agriculture.  And speaking of fruits and vegetables, there is another unusual organization I wanted to call your attention to via The Minnesota Project called Fruits of the City.  If you’ve a fruit tree in your yard that produces more fruit than you know what to do with, a group of volunteers with this organization will come pick your excess fruit and deliver to those in need.  How genius is that, and so simple?  I noticed on their site that you can easily become one of those volunteer pickers, among many other cool volunteer opportunities.  Too bad it seems to only extend to fruit and not vegetables.  Wouldn’t it be great if some team came along mid-summer to pick your daily dozen or more zucchinis from your sprawling plant?

All for now; Riley and I are off to the Wedge Co-op for a big shopping trip.  Look for upcoming info on classes and summer ideas for gardens and eating. 

Happy Spring,

Kristin

Indeed it is January in Minnesota, although I don’t have to tell you that.  It’s cold robe wraps round us more tightly than a January I can remember now.  But I have found something so small that it’s incredible as to how much joy and warmth it’s brought me this past week.  A seed.  Well, thousands of them actually.  I’ve done it, ordered my long list of seeds for the garden from Seed Savers, that wonderful source of heirloom seeds out of Decorah, Iowa.  And now, frankly, I am truly summer dreaming.

French Breakfast radishes, Purple Top White Globe turnips, Red Russian kale, Jelly Melon cucumbers, Fin de Bagnol beans, Minnesota Midget melons.  Come on, you know those names, like some bird names, just sound like poetry, and you want to hear more.  All this to fill my new, patient backyard.  The one we pulled a full, in-ground pool out of this summer with our own hands and filled with dirt.  All this to accompany the multiple dwarf fruit trees that will also arrive this spring.  I am truly happy, and no amount of windchill and ice can keep me from drawing up plans and tasting those Chioggia beets on my tongue now.

A suggestion.  Order some seeds now to perk you up.  Looking through the Seed Savers catalog is like flipping through the pages of vegetable porn, if you’re into that.  And if we’re in the looking-ahead frame of mind, take a look at my upcoming classes page on my Farm to Fork site and consider joining me for one of them.  I have a few unusual classes this coming up season such as The Solo Cook and By the Book: Cooking from Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Vegetables.  Should be good and strange. 

One thing you shouldn’t put off is joining a CSA farm.  Now, January ironically, is the time to become a member of one of the many farm-share farms.  I have another page up top that flaunts some of my favorite CSA farms and offers advice on how to find one nearby you on the web.  If you can’t get into vegetable porn and desire growing your own vegetables then buying into a CSA farm is a really worthwhile and stylish thing to do.

Happy Eating,

Kristin

I’ve always wanted to be one of those humans who could every year give the absolute perfect present.  For birthdays, for Christmas, for no reason at all.  I’ve managed a few in my lifetime but still I struggle when it comes to choosing gifts for the ones I love.  I do always tend to give gifts with a bit of my own signature attached, which I think is sort of obnoxious in general.  And so this time of year, nearing mid-December now, gets me squinting and curling up my nose as to what to bury under the tree for family and friends. 

As I’ve recorded in years past I tend always toward the local.  Or homemade, such as marmalade or preserved lemons, or in the case this year, a smart little bag of biscotti or chunky granola.  I do know so much about local foods, and of course I do as a jerk-reaction want to support local producers, and find that I, in the end, give the gift of local food.  Again, my signature…obnoxious, but what I always resort to.  If you’re like me and want to give delicious gifts, I’ve come up with a few ideas for the season. 

First, because I live in St. Paul, I would go that nice little shop called Golden Fig on Grand Ave. where their business is to introduce and sell local foods.  It’s easy to fill up a small basket of local jams, honeys, candies, and oils there.  And a swirl around your local food co-op will definetly yield results in the local food gathering.  They have a good spread of local chocolates and syrups and honeys, flours and grains, granolas and coffees.  Find different sized wicker baskets at places like Michaels, Ten Thousand Villages, and of course, IKEA.  And don’t forget your local wine or beer-making shop for gift certificates; just slip those in with your basket of goodies.  Tie ‘em up with a nice sort of string and you’re good to go. 

Another source for good non-local food is online at www.zingermans.com.  Zingermans is that food institution in Ann Arbor, Michegan that includes a deli, bakery, and dairy, but the bulk of what they sell is through their incredible catalog (which you can find online).  They have some of the most delicious and unusual food gifts that are gathered from around the world.  It’s my dream to receive one of their boxes in the mail.  (Yes, that is a hint to those of you who are forced to lavish me with gifts.)

Also, I think that there are some impressive cookbooks just come to market that would make splendid gifts.  A few of my favorites are The Pleasure of Cooking for One by the legendary Judith Jones, The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco, a famed New York pastry chef, and Jamie’s Food Revolution by, of course, the ever-spirited Jamie Oliver.  You can find a few other new cookbook lists at places like the New York Times or Saveur online.  Remember, more folks are cooking at home these days, for a variety of reasons, and they need all the help they can get. 

I’m going to make a few food gifts this year like bags of granola and biscotti (which I’ve never made before), and perhaps some preserves.  But I’m also going to continue to look at places online such as www.doinggoodtogether.com for inspiration on charitable giving.  My husband Nate, and I, decided early this season that our toddler, Riley, has just too many toys right now.  Also, we’re in the early years where she hasn’t been properly exposed yet to the season’s gift-giving charms (meaning madness).  I’ll sign her up again for another Heifer goat share, which I think is a rich and wonderful thing or perhaps a tree or book donation through www.treesforlife.org.  In another way these are avenues of food and life giving. 

Happy Days to You and Yours,

Kristin