Feeling alienated because of commodity fetishism?

Then buy local... well not necessarily local, but one Brooklyn resident (in another life experiment for a year in the vein of No Impact Man, Barbara Kingsolver, Gary Nahban among others (as opposed to long standing lifestyle change found in folks like one of my heroes Joan Gussow)) tried buying only from producers whom he knew, or at least met one of the workers along the commodity chain. His project is called the Consumer Reconnection Project and his blog can be found here. He met producers from local farmers (my favorite!) to athletic shoe producers in an attempt to demystify the social relations of production (at least in my words). In his words he set out to "become aware of my own dependence on blind consumption, and gain an understanding of the people and processes involved in making commodities available to me." A noble project regardless of the underlying theoretical framework I would say. Check out his site and think about the "who" and the "how" behind what you buy (along with the food you eat).

Root veggies and Chicken Pot Pie

I decided to use up some root veggies by making a chicken pot pie - and yes, I literally baked it in the pot, which made it pretty simple and easy to clean up. I think you can use just about any hearty veg in this kind of dish. I made this right before getting the second share from our winter CSA, so I was happy to use up the rest of my carrots (of course we got more) and some of the potatoes (help, I need more potato recipes!) in something comforting and hearty to help warm us up in these gloomy gray winter days.

This is sort of a conglomeration of lots of recipes I have read and a bit of improvisation. Use your favorite pie crust recipe - I pulled together a quick flaky pie crust using the food processor, and it came out just right. If you want to avoid the pastry making, you could also top this off with a sheet of puff pastry to make things simpler.

For the filling:
3 c of a mix of cooked root veggies of your choice (I used about 2 c carrot and 1 c potatoes)
2 c cooked chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1/4 c butter
6T a-p flour
1 c milk
2 c chicken stock
fresh or dried herbs of your choice
salt and pepper to taste

preheat the oven to 425 F
in a 2 1/2 to 3 quart pot:
make a roux by melting the butter and whisking in the flour, cooking until mixture turns golden
whisk in the milk and stock
stir regularly as it thickens and comes to a simmer
add herbs and salt and pepper
stir in cooked chicken and let simmer gently for about 10 minutes so the flavors come together
stir in veggies and check seasoning
let cool a little
tuck the pastry over the top of the pot when everything is cool enough to handle
bake for about 30 - 40 minutes until bubbling and the crust has turned golden

The winter CSA

So this is my first year with a winter CSA share. Its exciting to have a steady flow of veggies through the winter, but I am a little concerned about the variety, or lack there of. I've heard lots of complaints from those in last year's winter share that there was just too much of too few a variety, and lots of heavy roots can get tiresome. I have to admit, though, I love the heavy, savory root veggies of the winter and I look forward to the challenge of finding new ways to use them. For me, soup is always a "go to" option to incorporate just about anything all year round, but in winter I especially enjoy a bowl of warming and hearty soup with a little crusty bread on the side. I really enjoyed incorporating sweet potatoes into this classic black bean soup recipe; it gave the soup a nice contrast to the black beans - with the sweet and toothsome potato cubes - while adding a nice splash of color in an otherwise gloomy looking soup. To do this just add peeled, cubed cooked sweet potatoes, from one or two sweet potatoes, to your favorite black bean soup recipe. If you can, boil the potatoes in the stock you are using before adding the beans, it will add even more flavor to the soup. Take half of the solids out (in this case it was onions, beans and the sweet potatoes) and puree the soup directly in the pot with an immersion blender, then return the solids to the pot and season with salt and pepper and bring back to a simmer.

NYT article: Regional food in VT

OK, so I have a little bit of an obsession with Vermont. I perhaps overly romanticize the New England ruggedness of the culture there, and maybe I'm just a sucker for the landscape, but here is a new thing for local food lovers to love - for real. It appears that there is a food renaissance taking place in VT, and these shining star restaurants feature local foods on the menu at their backwater venues. Its exciting to see that this movement can contribute to reviving (or creating) culinary culture in place both struggling with the depressed economy (I know we all are, but...) and not otherwise known for find cuisine. Read more about it here.

NYT article: Returning to the (small) farm

It seems like the interest in turning long suburbanized landscapes into productive landscapes continues to grow. Even out in Rockland county, which seemed very sub/ex urban on my last visit to Bear Mountain, seems to be rediscovering the value of small scale growing. This is more than just the continued interest in gardening, but growing for sale in places that have long since left their farming tradition behind in favor of luxury living outside of the city. It is really encouraging to see the activities described in this article. I feel like this movement comes from a good place; a place of awakening to the need to connect to our own production, to participate in fulfilling our communities needs without turning to the common convenience of industry to fulfill them like we have so much for the last several decades. I hope that this movement continues, and does not fizzle out like the previous "back to the land" movements of the 1960's. I guess time will tell... in the mean time, keep growing!

Getting into the cabbage

This recipe is probably not remotely authentic since I learned how to make stuffed cabbage from my Vietnamese mother... but it is pretty tasty. The cabbage is rolling in to the CSA now, and its nor really slaw time anymore, so I thought I would go for something warming and comforting like my mom's stuffed cabbage braised in tomato sauce. Our CSA also recently joined the Louis Waite Farm CSA which is a meat farm that is also sort of a farm co-op working with a bunch of other vendors in the area (upstate and southern VT) to provide other goodies like bread, honey, eggs and jams - yum! These week we ordered some ground beef among other things, and I thought stuffed cabbage would be a perfect thing to make.

This recipe is pretty simple and straight forward. I took the whole head of cabbage and submerged it in salted boiling water for a few minutes, until it begins to soften. I then strained it and cooled it under a little cool water to stop the cooking and make it easier to handle. Meanwhile, I diced an onion and began sauteeing it in a pan with a bit of olive oil. I peeled away the largest leaves of the cabbage - about 12 leaves in all - and cut out the tough base of the vein at the bottom. After the onions were cooked through I mixed in about a pound of ground beef (I think the package said 0.92), and a half cup of uncooked rice, with some salt and pepper. I scooped a heaping spoonful into each leaf and rolled it up, securing it with a tooth pick. I laid them in large, wide based pot and simmered them in about a cup and a half of red sauce which we had already made in the fridge, with about a cup of water or so to surround the cabbage about 3/4's of the way up, and add a little drizzle of olive oil. Cover and simmer for about an hour. It should be ready to go, but once you take the cabbage rolls out, if the sauce isn't as thick as you would like it, reduce it about until it is the desired consistancy. Enjoy!

The meanings of local

There is an interesting article on the meanings of local food posted on the USA Today website. It explores the concept of local using the narrative perspective of a farmer. The farmer considers the various uses of the label local found in grocery stores near him and in the region and points out the multiple interpretations (40 miles, 100 miles, on up) that are used to brand produce and other products as local, obviously in an attempt to capitalize on the rising popularity of this food trend. I've been really hesitant to frame local food as a trend, but it has reached a tipping point where there is clearly a cache to labeling products "local" and it is being used regardless of the other meanings and values many engaged participants in the "movement" hold. This is particularly interesting to me as these are the themes emerging from my own research. There are a whole set of practices involved in the broader notion of local that I (we) have a hard time matching up with the Wal-Mart notion of local (which is their new strategy post-organic). I think its important to continue this dialogue in order for "local food" to maintain some meaning, value (use, exchange and otherwise) and integrity.

So lets keep talking about it! What does "local food" mean to you?

Collards with Garbanzo Beans and Sausage

Tonight we had an extremely satisfying dinner that was so easy to put together after a long day at school. In an attempt to use more dried beans I had some garbanzo beans (aka: chick peas) waiting to be used. While using dried beans seems labor intensive, it really couldn't be easier- you just need some time. I soaked the beans overnight and then simmered them yesterday morning for a few hours- they are never quite as soft as canned beans, but will be just fine with a little extra cooking. I also had sauted collard greens (from the farmer's market) with olive oil and garlic yesterday. Tonight, when I got home, I browned some sausage (English Bangers from our friends at Violet Hill Farm) in a large frying pan. When the sausage was almost done I deglazed (to get all the flavorful bits) with a splash of water, tossed in the garbanzos and collards, drizzled a bit of olive oil, et voila! Dinner was ready.

It is very satisfying to look at my plate and realize that most, if not all, of the ingredients were produced locally. This is something I strive toward and achieve with regularity. Since the sausage and collard greens were from NYS it got me wondering about the chick peas...where exactly do these beans come from? The package says they were distributed in Colorado, but where were they grown? I did a little research and learned that most garbanzo beans come from India and other far away places even though they are supposed to be very easy to sprout and grow. The wheels are spinning for the garden next year...

The magic and mysteries of soup

Fall is here and I can really see it in the CSA share these days. We are now transitioning from all the lovely summer veggies to nice, hearty produce like the beautiful savoy cabbage, sweet potatoes, carrots, and of course squash of all kinds (including, acorn, dumpling, sunshine, butternut and buttercup). Squash can be a little intimidating to make and it does take a little time and care to prepare. This is especially true if you want to peel it and cube which can be a challenge for anyone (darn those sturdy skins!). I find myself roasting them a lot, particularly if I don't know what I'm going to make!

Last week I had some time and roasted a buttercup squash that I made into a delicious "pumpkin" cornmeal cake (alas, I forgot to take picture, but I'm sure I will make it again), and the rest of the squash turned into my favorite chocolate chip squash bread recipe (which I posted here last winter). Yesterday I had a little time, and a lot of squash from this week's share, so I cut an acorn squash in half and roasted it in a greased baking dish at 375 for about 45 minutes. I didn't yet have a plan for it, but I knew that if I roasted it the idea would come. This is also great for me, since I work a pretty full day on Fridays and would be a little pressed for time when I get home. When I finally did get home I decided to make Diane's Friend's "Pumpkin and Cheddar" soup. I happened to have everything on hand, including some home-made veggie stock in the fridge (which I substituted for the chicken stock in the recipe). I love making veggie stock and freezing it for later with all of the wonderful veggie scraps I have left over from prepping everything. Its great to have on hand and is a great last use for these scraps before they head to the compost bin!
The soup was delicious, which I already knew since Diane had made it last week. I love the smooth creamy texture and sweet and spicy flavors. I also added a bit of smoked salt to give a little more smokey flavor as well.

This recipe was featured this week in our CSA newsletter.

NYC Compost Giveback

Last weekend was the annual NYC compost giveback. I eagerly await this time of year so I can get as much free compost as I can shovel, load and transport home to nourish my garden. This year I went alone and I figure that I ended up with about 300 pounds of the "black gold." I had such nice experiences with other compost shovelers (I was given a baby shovel to use and also a bottomless bucket to ease the bag-filling), but also learned that this may be the last year for the giveback. Due to budget cuts, the city will no longer pick up leaves (which is the main ingredient in the city compost!) I was horrified when I heard this bit of news...at a time of economic uncertainty it seems that programs like this should be a priority. Between the plunging economy and the locavore movement, people may grow more of their own food. The compost is a wonderful addition to any garden, one that will be sorely missed if the information I received is true. There is one last compost giveback this year, in Staten Island the weekend of October 18th- go and get it! See the NYC Composting Project for more details: http://www.nyccompost.org/program/givebacks.html