Test post I’ll delete. Checking to see that the newly added ActivityPub plugin is operating correctly.
New Kitchen, New Server
My writing here has been sparse, but I hope to pick it up. We moved a few months ago and we are finally starting to feel settled in. We are enjoying having guests in our new place and it’s renewing my interest in trying new recipes and writing here.
We have already had a few dinner parties with old standard recipes, but I’m looking forward to stretching out into some new ideas.
Early Bird Ranch
Early Bird Ranch is a small local chicken ranch in Pescadero. The chickens are raised outdoors in low-density groups, and are fed a pasture-based diet.
The most important part of our operation is the mobility of these pasture shelters. As the chickens grow their waste can become a serious liability. Keeping them in one place becomes too taxing on the land and on the immune system of the animals. In order to keep our chickens healthy and fertilize our farm’s pastures at the same time, the pasture shelters are moved onto completely fresh grass twice every day at sunrise and a couple hours before sunset. This continuous movement away from waste and onto pasture keeps the chickens healthy and maximizes their ingestion of nutritious clover, wild grasses, and bugs, which in turn create a more flavorful and nutritionally-dense product.
Excerpt from: Early Bird Ranch
They’ve recently relocated to a new property and will start selling their fresh chicken starting in early August. Contact them now to pre-order!
Sorry, I think this only works for local folks here in the San Francisco area – but I’d love to hear about your local farms!
Convivial.org: Easy Pulled Pork Sandwich
Ran across this great short-cut to great food. This time it’s Carolina-style Pulled Pork. Mmmmm. Check it out:
Before tackling a major BBQ project, here’s a much easier way to get really tender, juicy, smoky pulled pork with an old-timey Eastern North Carolina vinegar sauce. The method: rub it, smoke it, braise it and pull it — that’s it. And, if the rubbing & smoking are done the first day, then braising and pulling it the next; not only do the tasks seem more manageable, but, the rub & smoke more fully permeate the meat.
I love traditional recipes and all the attention to detail, but I also like finding those easier methods and shortcuts that still produce real food.
If you get around to trying this recipe before I do, let me know how it goes!
My CSA – Blue House Farm, Pescadero
Our local CSA is owned by Ned and Ryan, a couple great guys who has been involved in sustainable agriculture for years. This is our third season in their program. For $25 per week, 25-week season pre-paid, you get a box stuffed with farm fresh organic veggies. We pick up ours at their farm in Pescadero, but they also have pick-up locations in Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Kings Mountain, La Honda, and Half Moon Bay. Check their website for details and subscription availability – they are filling up fast!
http://www.bluehousefarm.org/
The quality from any CSA should be excellent. It’s rare to find farm-fresh produce even in the best stores. But what I like best about belonging to a CSA is the surprises. What the heck do you do with fennel root? What are these weird spears… oh, garlic scapes, huh? A lot of experimenting in the kitchen has been driven by these fun new discoveries, and it’s resulted in some great new recipes. Some of these things, like the garlic scapes, I’ve never seen in stores, and others I’ve been walking past for years.
Like with music, when you’re cooking it’s easy to just go straight for what you know. Regular grocery stores make it easy to stick to what you know by never presenting you much different. CSAs, farm stands and ethnic grocers can really help you expand your palette.
Got a favorite CSA? Ethnic market? Farm stand? I’d love to hear about it!
In Defense of Food
Of course, I highly recommend this book. Pollan’s simple prescription:
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.
To many of us, this is an elegantly phrased version of what we already believe. The real magic is that Pollan does such a brilliant job of making it all sensible and understandable to people confused by labels and all the marketing claims – which is most of us. We’ll all be healthier if we follow his simple rules, but we’ll also be eating better, tastier meals that we enjoy more.If you haven’t read it yet, then get a copy and start. Consider getting a few copies for friends and family.
Cooking with Kids!
Cooking (and eating, my wife reminds me) should be a joyful experience! So why not fill the kitchen with the ones who really know about fun! I love the idea, and just found out about Junior Kitchen, a blog about cooking with kids…
http://juniorkitchen.com/
There are some fun recipes and cute photos. Check it out and let me know what you think!
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Prepared Food CAN be Real Food
My wife and I really love cooking and eating fresh local food. But in our busy lives, it’s just not always practical, but we do try to find ways to eat well even when we don’t have a lot of time.
Last night we had a wonderful and very quick and easy dinner. Ravioli is a simple tomato sauce. This little sauce experiment turned out so nice, I thought I’d share it:
- Simmer coarsely chopped garlic & slivered shallots in olive oil
- I use several cloves and a couple medium shallots
- don’t brown it… turn that heat down!
- add some sage, oregano, and marjoram
- Add 1 can of diced tomatoes (we like Muir Glenn Organic)
- simmer for 10 minutes,
- add black pepper and herbs to taste and simmer 5 more minutes
If you’re quick with a knife, this is dinner on the table in under 20 minutes. which is about how long it takes to boil the water and cook the ravioli. While the ravioli and sauce is cooking, you can fry up some greens or make a nice green salad.
Our raviolis come (fresh or frozen) from Lucca Deli in San Francisco. We like trying out whatever is made locally by small companies and have had great luck.
If you like your sauce thicker, add a small can of tomato paste.
Yes, brand does make a difference in canned food… but that’s a post for another day.
Amateur Gourmet – The Best of 2007
The Amateur Gourmet is one of my favorite food blogs, and this list of their Best of 2007 is full of great stuff. Don’t miss all the fun in the comments!
What to Eat
I’ve just started reading “What to Eat”, by Marion Nestle. I’ve seen this book for a while and just sort of skipped by it, expecting that it’s interesting, but mostly a lot of stuff that I already know…
Then I heard Marion Nestle on an NPR show. She was being interviewed with Michael Pollan (of Omnivore’s Dilemma) and they were just brilliant together.
Marion is a nutritionist, and admits that even with her background the research for “What to Eat” was daunting. In this book, Marion takes us on a tour of the american grocery store. As she puts it, “There are precise reasons why the milk is in the back of the store and the center aisles are so long. You are forced to go past thousands of products to get to what you need.”
more later, when I’ve read further…