Eating Alabama

R.I.P.

2009-07-09T21:20:00.000-07:00

This is an obituary.

Lycopersicon esculentum 'Yellow Pear': April 19 - July 2, 2009

Lycopersicon esculentum 'Orange Flamme': April 19 - July 1, 2009

Lycopersicon esculentum 'Green Zebra': March 3 - July 2, 2009

Last week I mourned the loss of three of my heirloom tomato plants - a Yellow Pear, an Orange Flamme, and a Green Zebra. I knew that their chances of survival were compromised from the start - they had no built in disease resistance like their hybrid neighbors - but I was lured by their unconventional colors, the promise of a richer, sweeter fruit, and perhaps the challenge and mystique of growing antique tomato varieties in a world full of hybrids. Though their time in the Alabama dirt was short, they offered what they could, and they fought the elements as best as their genetic codes would allow, trying hard to adapt from a wet May, when they were showing off their growing power and forming prodigious green fruits, to a terribly dry June, where a month without rain caused their once supple leaves to curl and morph into tough, leathery armor - a defense against those unkind elements. And then, just like that, the cellulose gave up its fight. What once were hardy stems of green, yellowed and withered. Leaves relinquished their photosynthetic duties, until at last they crumpled and died.

But I should also tell you of their tenacity - of their determination to bear us fruit, even when they stood bare, stripped of their leaves. In what is sure to be a fanfare farewell, a final botanical denouement, otherwise dead tomato plants held multitudes of Yellow Pear tomatoes and the apricot-colored Orange Flammes (the Green Zebra, unfortunately, left no fruit). I acknowledged their gifts. And after harvesting what each plant had given to me, I pulled it up.

Our tomato plants died of natural causes. Although, a direct cause of death was not determined, it is likely they succumbed to Early Blight or Fusarium Wilt. But, Spotted Leaf Curl Virus and Verticillium Wilt cannot be ruled out. They were survived by their heirloom brothers and sisters: Cherokee Purple, Abraham Lincoln, Sungold, Black Cherry, Green Zebra, and Brandywine, their extended hybrid family: Better Boy, Big Boy, and Parks Whoppers, and all of those living things that shared a life with them in the garden (see below).

You will be missed.

(Funeral flower arrangement at top of page provided by the gardener. The zinnias grew close to one of the fallen.)

End of the Season Carrot Bread

2009-06-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

It's hot out there, and I know that the last thing you want to do is turn on your oven. But, a carrot is a terrible thing to waste, and if you're like me, you might have a couple of extra bundles hanging out in the fridge from the end of the season harvest. So what to do with all those carrots? If you're tired of eating them raw, and you don't have any cabbage to make slaw, why don't you work your magic in the kitchen and bake a loaf of carrot bread. Come on it's easy! And, it's a sure fire way to get rid of a lot of carrots at once - which means more room for squash, cucumbers, eggplant and other summer veggies. All you need are the baking standbys, a few shelled pecans, and a strong air-conditioner. Enjoy your bread in the morning with a cup of coffee or at night with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (from Wright's Dairy of course!).

End of the Season Carrot Bread

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup wheat bran
1 cup sugar (or 1 cup honey)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups peeled and grated carrot
1 cup chopped pecans

Combine eggs, oil, vanilla in a large mixing bowl. If you choose honey instead of sugar, add honey to wet ingredients. Sift together dry ingredients in separate bowl. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together. Do not over mix, bread can become dense and tough. Fold in carrots and nuts. Pour in greased 9" loaf pan and bake for about an hour at 350 degrees. If you use honey instead of sugar, decrease the oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake longer - 15 to 30 more minutes.

Alabama Farmers in the News

2009-06-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

Alabama farmers have been getting some national attention as of late, and I thought you might like to know about it. Tasia Malakasis of Fromagerie Belle Chevre in Elkmont, made an appearance on the Today Show (you can watch the clip here, but it may take awhile to load) in late May and was featured as one of Country Living's 2009 Women Entrepreneurs. Of course, her delectable goat cheese has already received nationwide acclaim and is sold in stores all over the country. But, we always like to see her and her operation getting the recognition that they deserve! In the recent issue of Garden & Gun magazine, Frank Stitt is charged as the catalyst of Birmingham's renaissance in the early 80's - the creation of his Highland's Bar & Grill a turning point for the city's restaurant culture. The issue also gives props to Edwin Marty of Birmingham's Jones Valley Urban Farm.

Eating Alabama salutes these farmers and purveyors of local food! Keep up the good work!

Foraged Dewberry Pie

2009-06-17T21:47:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite part of the summer, when, despite the gruesome heat, the progression of spring and summertime fruit marches mercifully onward, supplying our parched palates with sweet, nourishing elixirs. Yes, all I have to do is walk outside into the sweaty, buggy outdoors and I'm sure to stumble upon the minefield of wild (and cultivated) Alabama fruits. In my own yard a lone strawberry plant sits in a pot on the periphery of my garden and has been supplying me with a few berries here and there since early April. The fig trees that flank our house are bursting with tiny green fruits that are on their way to becoming golden and soft-fleshed in the weeks to come. And what I once thought were prolific weeds growing around the compost pile are actually dewberry vines that blossomed and fruited in mid-May.

What I can't get from my yard I look for elsewhere. Just a short drive from our house is the University Arboretum - a prime fruit foraging spot. We've gone there several times in search of the season's fruit - persimmons and muscadines in the fall, japanese bitter oranges in the winter (and if you're wondering, they really are bitter), and dewberries in the spring/summer. There are also a few other choice spots for fruit foraging around Tuscaloosa - I've heard that there's both a pear tree and a pomegranate tree on campus (I have yet to visit these) and in my own neighborhood there's a peach, pear, and apple tree all less than a block from our house. Last year my neighbors willingly shared their surplus fruit with me when I asked. And I plan to do the same this year. Except this time I'd like to make it a good old-fashioned barter. I'll trade some of my garden booty for a sack of peaches any day.

Apparently, fruit foraging has become a nationwide trend. Neighborhood fruit exchanges are popping up all around the country. People sign up to share their yard's bounty with others. You give me some of what you're growing, and I'll give you some of what I'm growing. Here's a case where apples and oranges really are equal! Check out a few mentioned in the New York Times: Neighborhood Fruit and Veggie Trader. (Neither have Alabama entries, it seems. Get to work, people!)

A couple of weeks ago we headed to the Arboretum in search of the season's last dewberries, and we found them - although not without some difficulty. Dewberries are blackberries kissing cousin, growing on low-lying vines riddled with stickers. In our case, the brambles were often comingling with poison ivy, so picking the berries was even more of a challenge. But oh the pie...

Farmers Market Fresh

2009-06-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

The summer is upon us, and farmers market season is in full-force. In addition to our weekly CSA share from Snows Bend Farm, we try to visit at least one, if not two markets a week to supplement our supply of fresh vegetables and fruits. We are lucky to have two great markets during the week - the Tuscaloosa Farmers Market on Tuesday and Saturday mornings, and the Homegrown Alabama Market on Thursday afternoons. Occasionally, we visit the Pepper Place Market in Birmingham (if you go, be sure to look for Joe and Sara at the Fig Leaf Farm table). The Tuscaloosa Market draws quite the crowd, and the best produce often sells out in the early hours of the morning. Sleeping late could cost you some precious goods - like the first green tomatoes of the season or a basket full of plums. Even if you arrive past peak hours, there's always a lively group of farmers ready to offer you vegetable staples and a few unusual eats for good measure. On a recent trip to the market, we picked up one such item - Sue Lewis' pickled eggs with beets. While I was drawn to the vibrant hue, I wasn't quite ready to commit to what was contained within those red-stained juices. I suppose it was Andy's food curiosity and palate for eggs that prompted his purchase. He didn't waver in the least bit, making a quick transaction - as if the purchase was premeditated all along and he was simply replenishing his store of pickled eggs. We also picked up a variety of zucchini that we have not ever seen before, the 8 ball. These little green gourds were also grown by Sue Lewis, and according to her, make a great dip bowl - after you've utilized the innards of course.

Armed with our newly purchased stores, a few standbys from Snows Bend, and some sweet potatoes from Pepper Place Market in Birmingham, we made another killer all Alabama meal. Andy and I ended up splitting one of the 8-balls, because it turned out that there was way too much food. So be advised if you want to recreate this menu for yourself!

Stuffed 8-ball zuchinni with dill:

2 eight ball zucchinis
1 onion, chopped
3 T freshly chopped dill
3-6 oz of crumbled feta (to your liking)
1 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Cut off tops of zucchini and scoop out flesh. Roughly chop zucchini flesh and set aside. Arrange zucchini and tops cut side down on rimmed baking sheet, bake 15 min. Remove.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and 1/2 tsp pepper to skillet. Cook, stirring often, until soft: 3-5 min. Add chopped zucchini and cook until most liquid has evaporated. About 10 min. Remove from heat, let cool slightly. Fold in feta and dill.

Fill zucchini bowls with prepared mixture, bake until top lightly browned, ~20 min. Top with freshly chopped shallots (green parts). Lift zucchini from baking sheet with wide spatula and serve.

Roasted Beet Salad with dill, goat cheese, and arugula:

4-6 medium beeets
2 1/2 T red wine vinegar
2 T olive oil
1 T chopped fresh dill
1 T minced shallot
goat cheese
arugula

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut off tops of beets, then wrap beets with skins on in aluminum foil. Place wrapped beets directly on oven rack. Bake for ~1 hr. After beets have cooked (should be soft), open foil and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, rub beets to remove skin. Cut into chunks or slices, whichever you prefer. Place in a medium mixing bowl. Add goat cheese and arugula to the beets. The amount really doesn't matter, it's up to you. In a separate bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, dill and shallots. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour over salad and mix well.

Sweet Potato Fries:

2-4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges or slender sticks
olive oil
salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste

Dress sweet potato fries with olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Make sure they are sufficiently coated. Add salt, freshly cracked pepper, and cayenne pepper. Spread evenly on baking sheet and bake for ~45 min. at 350 degrees, checking occasionally to make sure they are not burning on edges. It helps to mix them up a bit during cooking.

Hello Summer!

2009-06-12T09:33:00.000-07:00

We're back. Sorry for the long respite, but it's prime gardening season here in Alabama, and I've been spending a lot of time tending to my little food factories - weeding, watering, and willing the nascent fruit to ripen. We've improved the garden quite a bit since last year, taking the opportunity to increase our acreage by tilling up more of our front yard. Once again, the virgin soil proved fertile, feeding a sea of tomato plants that are trying their hardest to rival me in height. This confirms my theory that lawns don't actually want to be lawns. Somewhere under that manicured corral (or weed-ridden, as the case may be) is a mini-ecosystem - a workable earth that is waiting and hoping for you to buck convention, trim its grassy mane, and let it do its part. Well, we heard the call, and we responded. And so far, our edible landscape has exceeded our expectations, providing us with sustenance, beauty, and a sense of self-reliance.

This year, I got a little overambitious (as I tend to do), and started about a billion tomato plants from seed. Cherokee purples, green zebras, and roman stripes all began their lives in our guest bedroom, suffering through the less than ideal conditions, to grow into the plants they are now. Because my indoor seed-starting was an experiment, where I couldn't necessarily predict the results, I had to have a back-up plan. So in addition to growing tomatoes from seed, I also purchased a few plants at the Arboretum's plant sale, just to be on the safe side - in case my experiment went terribly wrong and I was forced to eat tomatoes that somebody else had grown (if I sound snarky, here's a caveat: last season I harvested over 150 tomatoes from my garden. Once this happens, there is no going back - unless, of course, an army of hornworms decides to wreak havoc). What followed was a garden of more than 20 tomato plants, half from the Arboretum and half from the greenhouse de Grace. Although it may seem that our garden is nothing but a tomato monoculture, rest assured that we're also growing lots of okra, eggplant, basil, hot peppers, sweet peppers, melons, herbs, and beneficial flowers.

Every evening after work, I say hello to the hubby, pet the cats, then hurry out to my working laboratories - taking notes on my subjects and checking to see what a day's worth of sunshine has done for them. I deadhead, sucker, and weed. And I take care to squash any rogue pests that jeopardize the integrity of my plants, or challenge me for the first taste of whatever's growing. I also do a lot of oohing and aahing - yes, my childlike wonder is still well intact, and I continue to marvel at the general science of the garden (seed germination, plant physiology, and pollination, oh my!). Last Saturday, we harvested our first vegetables of the season - a lone Japanese eggplant, a blushing beauty pepper (albeit a little prematurely, it had not yet blushed), and a single sungold tomato (a marvelous hint of what's to come). Since then, we've also picked a few of the many peppers growing on our jalapeno and banana pepper plants. We've got a lot of tasty vegetables on the horizon. Here's hoping you do too!

Meet your farmers in north Alabama this Saturday!

2009-06-12T06:56:00.001-07:00

Quite a long hiatus we've taken from posting on this lil old blog. Many apologies are in order. We've been traveling and working and tending the garden and generally lolling about in the heat. There are no less than 4 - count em, 4! - posts in the hopper that we plan to publish soon. They chronicle our eating trip to San Francisco, the ridiculously large garden Rashmi is growing in both the front and back yards, and our continued pursuit in eating Alabama. I'm currently editing the documentary and working to get some finishing funds. Look for a trailer here in the next month.

In the meantime, for those of you in the north Alabama area, please head over to the Flying Monkey Arts Center at Lowe Mill in Huntsville to meet the growers in the Clean Food Network this Saturday, June 13th. We posted a while back about what the CFN is doing to create a local food system in north Alabama and it's really quite exciting. Hope you can make it out to their meet and greet - as Dove says, "We look forward to meeting the people who are eating our food and bringing a sense of community back into our community." Amen. You can find directions here. The farmers will be there from 12:30-4pm.

Santa Fe Farmers Market

2009-05-14T15:48:00.001-07:00

When the French priests in Willa Cather's novel, "Death Comes for the Archbishop," arrive in New Mexico in the late 1800s, they are humbled by its stark landscape; the “monotonous red sand-hills” seem to go on forever, breaking only intermittently to show the smallest signs of life- a juniper tree, or a grove of Cottonwoods that promise water. While their time in New Mexico presented mostly ecclesiastical challenges, many of the discomforts they would bear were gastronomical in nature. You might expect there to be some level of adaptability, they were from France after all! Roasted leg of lamb gave way to stewed mutton in a pot with chile and onions ("Frenchman, as a rule, do not like high seasoning.") They complained about the lack of green vegetables in winter ("and no one seems to ever to have heard of that blessed plant, the lettuce"), soups made with onions in lieu of leeks ("how can man make a soup without leeks, that king of vegetables?"), and god forbid, a diet of dried beans and roots ("are we to eat dried beans and roots for the rest of our lives?").

Cather's novel was on my reading list for a recent trip to Santa Fe. Naturally, I was delighted and surprised to find that food played such a supporting role in the story of the French clergymen. I felt some sort of connection with her characters- they missed greens in the winter, they talked of planting gardens, they learned to perfect their sauces, and managed many other culinary pursuits despite “the poverty of materials.” In a new, and inhospitable land they were adapting to the changes in their diet (chiles in everything!) and dealing positively (although sometimes begrudgingly) with their limitations; and no matter what, food held a special place in their memory. They were like us!

After my year as a locavore, I carry my regional food curiosities with me wherever I go. When planning any vacation, I usually make it a priority to visit the local Farmer's Market, a nearby farm, or a restaurant that features locally grown foods. On this trip, my sister and I visited the Santa Fe Farmers Market, one of the most widely recognized markets in the country. Every Saturday morning of the year, people gather to shop for the season's best farm fresh produce, meat, and cheeses. Despite New Mexico's tortuous landscape, there seemed to be no shortage of vegetables. Cather's priests would have been overjoyed to see the buckets of lettuce, Swiss chard, and asparagus, not to mention the incredible variety of organic, pastured meats - chicken, beef, goat, lamb, bison, and even yak! It was a veritable oasis of foodstuffs, much of which was augmented with chiles (fortunately, I do not share the sentiment of Cather's characters, and enjoy on occasion a little spice in my cuisine)! There were also breads and pastries, teas and cheeses, hothouse tomatoes, and lots of free samples to munch on while perusing the aisles of vendors. What a way to travel!

Some of the market offerings:

Asparagus galore (this didn't last very long!)
Squash plants and flowers for sale
Organic beef, one of the many meat options available

My sister with her first tomato of the year! This is a yellow heirloom variety that was grown in a hothouse.

Freshly baked breads

"that blessed plant, the lettuce"

Alabama Supper Photos

2009-05-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some very belated photos from our big supper out at Joe and Sara's place back in November. I post these now because I want to get you excited about an upcoming supper this summer - sometime in mid-June. Stay tuned for details. Here are some choice pics from the afternoon taken by our good friend Laura Shill. If you were there and have some of your own choice pics, please send them in to info(at)eatingalabama.org and we'll post those too.

Hill Country Hemhaw, at your service

Margaret Ann - Farmer and a Cook!

Buddy the pig. Buddy, do NOT go down to the grill

Chef Adam with the good stuff

Laying hens (until Biddy takes a bite)

Joe Brown, masked locavore crusader

My mom, Sarah, who helped make it all possible!

abg and Rash, the calm before the storm

Geary Hewett - our honey man

Tennessee Sippin' Whiskey = exception.

Rash with her mom, Latika (Nutwallah)

Jason from Good People pours an early pint

Randall from Highlands is ready to cook OYSTERS!

Cider press at the ready

Sara chats with Cat Hunt and Cat's daughter

Radishes and Arugula

2009-05-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

There's something so satisfying about pulling up root vegetables. I probably already said that the last time I harvested carrots or radishes, but I'm happy to say it again, just so I know you're getting the full effect. For weeks you wait patiently, watching as the little green tops emerge from the soil, growing bigger with time - a litmus of what you hope the roots are also doing tucked safely beneath the ground. Then one day, on your way to the mailbox, you see their little pink heads peaking out of the dirt. Hooray!

Last week, I harvested my first crops of spring. Not only the healthy handful of radishes you see here, but also bowls of the incredibly flavorful arugula, my favorite type of salad green. I snuck in a late planting in mid-March, knowing that these fast-maturing crops would soon complement my meals come April (radishes and arugula both mature at around 21 days, although mine took a little longer than that). Here's a few recipes that highlight these springtime favorites.

Rigatoni with Arugula and Alabama Pork Sausage (modified from Epicurious)

1 T olive oil
4 leeks, chopped (white part and about half the green part)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 lb Alabama pork sausage (we used a pound, but I think you could use more like 3/4-1/2 lb)
2 cans of tomatoes in juice (we used two 24 oz Mason jars of canned tomatoes)
1 lb rigatoni or other pasta of your choosing
2-3 cups (packed) of fresh arugula, stemmed (we used 2 cups, but I thought the dish could have used more)
1/2 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
1 T fresh oregano, chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated Asiago (or Parmesan) cheese

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add leeks; saute until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add sausage; cook until browned, breaking up with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Drain drippings from pot. Add tomatoes with juice; increase heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain.

Stir pasta, arugula, basil, and oregano into tomato sauce. Simmer until arugula wilts, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Top with Parmesan.

Young Root Vegetable Braise (from Deborah Madison's "Local Flavors")

4 slender leeks, including a little of pale green (or 1 bunch scallions)
6 carrots, yellow and/or orange, 3-4" long
12 small turnips with their greens
1 bunch radishes-with 1/2" of their stems
sea salt and freshly ground peeper
1 lb fava beans, shucked (we left this out)
2 T unsalted butter
2 T finely chopped tarragon (we used dried)
1 T fresh lemon juice (we used apple cider vinegar)

1. Slice the leeks crosswise about 1/4" wide, then rinse them in bowl of water and drain. But all but 1/2" of carrot greens off, peel the carrots, and slice them in half lengthwise. Leave 1/2" of turnip greens attached. Peel up to shoulders. Cut into halves or quarters. Have the radishes lengthwise, soak them briefly in a bowl of water, then rinse, esp. the stems.

2. Bring 6 cups water to a boil and add 1.5 tsp salt. Blanch carrots, turnips, radishes for 7 min., then set aside. Drop fava beans into the water for 1 min, then remove. Save the cooking water. Rinse the fava beans to cool, then pop them out of their skins.

3. Melt half the butter in an 8 to 10" saute pan. Add the leeks and cook over med heat for 2 min., stirring frequently. Add 1/2 cup of the vegetable cooking water, the blanched vegetables, half the herbs, and 1/2 tsp salt. Simmer until the vegetables are fully tender, 10-15 min, adding water in 1/3 cup increments so that the pan doesn't dry out. There should be a little sauce.

4. Add the fava beans, remaining butter, and lemon juice. Raise the heat and swirl the pan back and forth until the butter has melted into the juice. Remove from heat, add the rest of herbs, season with pepper, and serve.

Montevallo Literary Festival | April 16 | 2:30 pm

2009-04-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

Sara, Rashmi, Joe and I will be speaking at the Montevallo Literary Festival this Thursday, April 16th at 2:30 in the afternoon. We'll be talking about the project and the blogging/filming that we've done in our year of local eating. You can find more information about the Festival on Montevallo's website. But the most exciting thing about our trip to Montevallo has to be the Sustainability Banquet that evening. Michael Patton, a philosphy professor at Montevallo, has been teaching a course entitled "Science, Technology, and Value," which has in recent years focused almost exclusively on questions of local food and sustainability. Each semester the students put together what they've dubbed the Sustainability Banquet - where everything served is grown or raised within 100 miles. We're fortunate that the Banquet and the Literary Festival coincide this year. The Banquet is open to the public and if you're in that neck of the woods, we'd love to see you there! That, and Janisse Ray, author of Ecology of a Cracker Childhood will be the featured guest and speaker at the Banquet.

You can read about the course here, or a recent newspaper article about the banquet here.

Wright Dairy at Manna in Tuscaloosa!

2009-04-10T07:20:00.000-07:00

I know this might only apply to a few of you who live in the Druid City, but I can't help but beam with excitement about the local food news here. After a year of making milk runs to buy Wright Dairy milk (and recently, cheese) at stores in Birmingham, I'm happy to say that my local health food/grocery has started carrying the sweet cow nectar. Manna Grocery - which is about ten blocks from our house - has been doing their part in providing local food solutions for the Tuscaloosa community. Bo Hicks, a good friend and their produce manager, has really made a concerted effort to carry as many local products as possible. They carry chicken from Mississippi, some Snow's Bend produce, local honey, goat cheese, and now the best damn milk in Alabama. So if you're in Tuscaloosa sometime - even this fall to watch the Crimson Tide mercilessly slaughter our opponents - I encourage you to make a trip to Manna. You can find them here if you've never been.

UPDATE: Wright Dairy cheese too! Shipment just came in this morning!

Strawberries at BC Hunt!

2009-04-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

Exciting, exciting news. Our friends at BC Hunt in Prattville are happy to announce the arrival of the strawberry season - the first fruit of the year which starts the magical procession of seasonal fruits all over again! Bring your friends and family out to pick a few gallons. You will not be disappointed - these are the best berries we had last year. Brian and Cat are serious about organic growing, and it makes a big difference. Here's the info:

The strawberry fields will open FRIDAY, APRIL 10TH

Hours of operation: 7am - 5pm Monday - Saturday

Prices: $9.50/gallon if you take our basket; $9.00/gallon if you bring something to carry your berries home in.

YOU MUST PICK IN OUR BASKET.

Please check the website www.bchuntfarms.com for field updates and availability daily.

The Finish Line

2009-04-01T04:19:00.000-07:00

We did it. One year of eating Alabama. I must admit to feeling a little melancholy by this anticlimactic ending. In this year of investigating where our food comes from - of questioning every grain and every leaf while reconnecting broken foodways and meeting the people who grow what we eat - neither one of us came remotely close to dying of scurvy. Despite some lean times, neither one of us broke down and drove to Burger King as the hour hand cruised toward ten o'clock while a complicated meal sat simmering on the burner with "just twenty minutes" to go.

We did occasionally break down. There was that time in October when, working at the artist hospitality tent of our local arts festival, I decided that the good Lord would not be delivering hundreds of dozens of hot Krispy Kreme donuts around me just to test my strength. Maybe the first thirty dozens, yes. Those were a test. But after that, He was saying, "Yes my son. They are Hot, Now." And there were others, too. But this is not the time for confession...

This was the year of more food scares, most memorably the contamination of southern peanuts. But it was also the year I first saw peanuts growing in the ground. First saw the huge mass of a plant that produces the tiny nut. First wiped the dirt off fresh picked peanuts, and discovered the hard way that green peanuts can't dry out in a paper sack, they'll just go moldy. I had a woman in Waverly give me a dozen or so peanuts in an old mason jar - seed to plant this year from a variety that has been passed down in her family from the time of slavery. Maybe this variety, with five nuts to a shell, is one that made its way from Africa in the hull of a slave ship, like so many of the other vegetables we enjoy as staples of southern cuisine. Incidentally, Rashmi and I were never sickened by any of the food we ate during our project.

Maybe this ending is anticlimactic because Rashmi and I have been so absorbed with other aspects of our lives that our food has become, while not taken for granted, at least predictable. We've got certain things in the freezer, and while we wait for the Alabama growing season to start up we get by on frozen okra, green beans, pork, canned tomatoes, canned and frozen soup, bread, cheese, wild onion and garlic, and a few other incidentals. Our meals are variations on that motif nearly every night. Wish that it were that Alabama had a stronger farmers market culture with a local market filled with carrots, leeks, greens, asparagus, salad mix, broccoli, winter squash, beets, kholrabi, swiss chard, and radishes. But we're not there yet. Maybe a few more years of educating consumers and producers and a few more years of rising food prices and we will be.

So we ended this experiment, to quote another poem by TS Eliot, not with a bang but a whimper. Last night I read the paper while Rashmi made a delicious butternut squash soup (from butternut squash grown and donated by Sara and Joe). We made a salad with kale from Snow's Bend, goat cheese, and a little homemade vinaigrette, and we topped the soup with crispy bacon from our pig. Then we sat down together, like every other night, to talk about our day and reflect on the rich taste of our meal. It was, well, normal.

And this normality, while anticlimactic, is revolutionary. We've inverted the system. Through local food subterfuge, the traditions of our ancestors, and a handful of willing and able farmers, we've thrown off the nearly unyielding pressures of the Food Industrial Complex; the full court press of food marketing and the lure of cheap "fresh" produce year round. We've retreated into our own communities to forge this New Diet, and in so doing we've discovered, despite our own arrogance, that really it's an Old Diet. There is wisdom in the way we used to eat and derangement in the way we eat now. There is vibrancy and pride in local, small scale agriculture, and there is a dehumanizing loss of community in farms that grow exponentially bigger with fewer workers growing less crops with more chemicals. There is logic in eating food grown nearby. There is absurdity in eating food grown halfway across the continent. There is dignity in supporting local economies and complacency in choosing not to.

Like most endings, this one is an opportunity for a new beginning. This blog is not going away. We will continue our local food pursuits (despite some dried beans, tortillas, and rice...) and we plan to keep you posted on the fledgling idea of organizing ourselves into a group devoted to fighting for local food in the state of Alabama. It really has been a joy and an inspiration to read your emails and to know that there are hundreds if not thousands of people around this state who want to forge a new culture of local food. Thanks for your support. But we're not there yet. We hope you'll join us on this new beginning, and we hope you'll stop by sometime to share a meal.

I almost forgot! What did we eat on that last day? As a comparison from last year, if you're interested, here's the Last Supper, as it were...

Breakfast: Rashmi's famous fig bread

Lunch: At my desk, with leftovers from the previous night - fried okra, sauteed green beans with fresh wild garlic, pork chop with parsley from our garden, and a piece of cornbread.

Dinner: Butternut Squash soup with bacon, kale salad with goat cheese and vinaigrette

Desperate Times

2009-03-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

How desperate can a Locavore get?

Eating AL's Andy Grace set down his $1,000 camera so that he could pick wild onions from a patch in Albertville, Al. After three months with no onions, I guess a man gets a little desperate.

Farm Trips: The last day of Winter, first day of Spring

2009-03-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we stole ourselves away from monitoring the one tray of little seedlings nestled snugly in our spare bedroom window to take a trip up north to visit farms. We'd been meaning to get up to north Alabama again for some time, and this first weekend of Spring seemed like the perfect opportunity.

1. Birdsong Community Farm
We wrote about Joshua and Beth Haynes a few weeks ago after receiving a torrent of emails about all the local food connections they're making in Cullman. They're working to provide vegetables, eggs, poultry, dairy, and meat to their community through a network of farmers. Rashmi and I headed over there Friday afternoon and toured the farm at sunset. The moment we arrived they handed us a bag of popcorn grown on the farm and we set off. We knew this was our kind of place! The land they farm is the land where Joshua grew up and his parents still live in a house adjacent to their lot. They have crops in different plots all over their property. Joshua, Beth, their baby Andrew, and their intern Bret showed us all the work they're doing for the upcoming season with tours of their gardens, their greenhouse, their chickens, and their egg operation. They have quite a lot going on and this year promises to be bigger than last in terms of production. They grew some wheat last year and harvested the small plot by hand. But thankfully, they've got an old school combine on its way and they hope to grow more grains as well as dried beans this year.

After the tour, we sat down to a local meal - most of which was harvested on the land where we were eating. Green beans, asparagus, peppers, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, applesauce, creamed corn, pecan encrusted pork chops, and bread. The bread was Beth's proudest concoction - their very own wheat, honey, eggs, and applesauce mixed with local milk and butter. And it was a fine meal. They even wrote about it on their blog! The blogger becomes the blogged about...strange.

As I mentioned in our last post about Birdsong, Joshua and Beth are seriously considering CSA deliveries to Birmingham if enough people can form a buying group. I can't brag enough about what they're doing. If you're looking for local food options, Birdsong is the way to go.

BELOW: Joshua shows off some of the eggs in a fridge, a new field ready to be plowed, a lone asparagus about to be my dinner.

2. Sand Mountain CSA and the Sand Mountain Seed Bank
Russell and Dove Stackhouse have put together a unique network of farmers on Sand Mountain. The Clean Food Network, which uses an online farmers market to connect growers with consumers, has proven to be a real solution for local food in the area. They also run a CSA, sell at the Madison market, and generally connect people with food. They farm two main plots in different parts of the city - one of which has been in continuous operation for 62 years, despite the fact that a neighborhood has grown up around it. But one of the most interesting things they're involved in is the Sand Mountain Seed Bank.

Charlotte Hagood and Dove exchanged letters and seeds through the mail for a handful of years before finally meeting up, quite serendipitously, on Sand Mountain a few years ago. Charlotte, a gardener with a long standing interest in seed saving, and Dove found one another through a world-wide seed saving network called the Seed Savers Exchange. They formed the seed bank in 2006 to preserve local seeds and the stories that are passed down with old family and heirloom varieties. Charlotte and Dove both feel strongly about the need for a network of regional seed banks to save and grow out seeds for specific climates and regions. To this end, they've got dozens of varieties stored in mason jars in no less than four refrigerators in Albertville. But all that is soon changing - they recently purchased a Mayfield ice cream cooler truck (missing the actual truck) to be the permanent vault for their seeds. If you're interested in seed saving and in joining the seed bank to grow out some varieties, contact Dove and ask about membership. It's only $10 a year! In all this talk about food, it's easy to forget where it all comes from. And with huge multinationals increasingly controlling the supply of seed, the need for regional seed banks makes even more sense. Not to mention it's a really cool thing to grow out some ancient local heirloom variety!

Sara and I also picked some wild garlic while we visited a soon to be plowed field. If you're in the Albertville area, be sure to look up Dove and Russell. Don't forget to ask them where the authentic Mexican place is too. You won't be disappointed!

BELOW - Fat man pole beans, one of the fridges, and Sara and I picking garlic.

3. Jay's Garden Variety
I met Les Rivett of Jay's Garden Variety back in November - too late in the season to realize that she and her husband Jay were one of the few people we've been able to find who grew beans and sold them dried. We've been dying for some dried beans - so versatile, so perfect for winter soups, so nice in a tortilla. But beans or no beans we decided to drop by and see their operation. Jay and Les moved to north Alabama from California after finding a sweet piece of land for sale in between Ider and Henegar on Sand Mountain. Now they've got a sustainable farm specializing in vegetables and herbs - lots of them. Jay even built a nifty herb drier which they use to dry everything from peppers to lemongrass to basil (and everything in between). If you're looking for local herbs, they're your one stop shopping source. They also run a small CSA on Sand Mountain, sell through the Clean Food Network, and attend the Ft. Payne and Chattanooga markets. That, and their herd of cats, two dogs, and one guinea keep them fairly busy...

BELOW: Rashmi talks to Les, Joe strikes a pose next to Jay's Galaxie, and baby basil sprouts in the greenhouse.

4. Gardens of Huckleberry Hill

The next day we headed back south and drove through Talledega to visit Gardens of Huckleberry Hill in Alpine. Sandra who runs this small CSA and goat farm, is originally from the area, but moved to California where she began organic gardening. But she was drawn back to this land which has been in her family for many generations. Her narrative of returning home to the land that nourished her parents and her grandparents was really inspiring and reminded me a lot of farmers around the state who are farming land that has been passed down through the generations. Unfortunately, for many younger farmers who're trying to make a living growing food, sometimes using free family land is the only way to meet their narrow profit margins. But I digress.

When we visited Sandra, her daughter who lives in Atlanta was also there. She comes over every other weekend to help manage the farm. They showed us their vegetable plot and herb garden, and took us across the road to see the goats. Originally Sandra thought she might sell the goats for meat, but she has grown attached. As her daughter said, "They have names!" That's never a good sign. She still sells one every now and again, but she's more interested in having the goats around for when local children come to visit.

Like Birdsong, if enough folks in Birmingham banded together to form a buying group, Sandra would be open to trying to find a way to deliver CSA shares there. Contact her to ask about the details, and be sure to visit her and the goats next time you're in the area!

Alabama's Fat Tax

2009-03-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

Last August, in response to Alabama's growing obesity epidemic, our state officials decided to impose a so-called "fat tax" on state employees who do not pass a required wellness screening, which includes a measurement of Body Mass Index, blood glucose levels, cholesterol, and blood pressure. Those individuals who are considered obese, or have high readings in any of the aforementioned categories, will pay an additional $25/month for health insurance starting in 2010.

About a month ago, I took my spot in line, joining my fellow co-workers for our own in-office fat test. We were escorted to scales, our fingers were pricked, and our risks were assessed. We all had our time behind the curtain, where a nurse gently went over our results, and urged us to take one of the many handouts that outlined a successful diet. As you might imagine, I was curious to see what suggestions these handouts might make, so when prodded, I gladly grabbed a few. The handout that I found the most entertaining was the one depicting sample meals -the staged pictures just don't look appetizing at all. Is it just me or do those vegetables look like they came straight out of a can? It's funny that out of all the possible healthy lunch options, that they chose to feature hamburgers and pizza. Take a look at some of the other handouts I received below - you'll especially love the one that delineates foods into Go, Caution, and Stop categories.

At the end of my consultation with the nurse, I thought about telling her I was on the all Alabama diet. After all, it had worked for me - I felt healthier, had lost weight, and was eating mostly vegetables. What if instead of telling people to eat more Go foods and follow this handy dandy chart, we tell them to spend more time in the kitchen cooking meals from fresh ingredients? To limit their consumption of processed foods, fast foods, and junk foods? But, as the next person was shuffled in and the nurse began her proselytizing, I decided to save my food confessional for another day.

One week to go...

2009-03-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

One week. Seven days. That's how long we have left here in this year-long experiment of ours. What started with the four of us for four months, turned into a prolonged experiment in eating locally. Joe and Sara fought the good fight, but their jobs and their farm ultimately won out, and they bowed out of the experiment at the end of October. But Rashmi and I trucked along, with the exception to eat out every now and again to ease the difficulties of dinners at 9:30, and Friday nights where the last thing we wanted to do was to stand in the kitchen for four hours. But even with eating out every once in a while, we still haven't made a trip to the grocery store for anything more than toiletries and cooking oils. And it's been quite nice, frankly. Maybe that's why we haven't really had the time to reflect on this year ending. We've been too busy visiting farms (a blog post coming soon), starting our seedlings (mostly that's Rashmi), and thinking about our upcoming vegetable season and the arrival of fresh produce. So we haven't really been thinking about "stopping" per se.

And why would we? Case in point: tonight we went to campus to see a screening of some of my student's documentaries. We finished with the screening at 8:30 and had zero idea of what to eat. We didn't have any suitable leftovers - only shrimp and grits that we'd already eaten for lunch. So we considered a lifeline. We'll go out to the diner down the street and get a hot plate stacked with Sysco canned yams, a CAFO pork chop, maybe some previously frozen green beans swimming in oil, and a dry piece of cornbread. It looked dreary indeed. But then I remembered the half loaf of bread I baked early this week, and the tomato soup we froze back in the fall. Brush the bread with some olive oil, broil, throw on some goat cheese, serve with a hot bowl of soup, and you've got yourself a delicious week-night meal that beats canned vegetables any day. That's why it kind of shocks me that we find ourselves here at the end of this project. I guess I just don't foresee much Hamburger Helper in our future.

But what I do foresee is driving to Birmingham to buy some more Wright's Dairy milk, and tilling up another vegetable plot in our front yard. Maybe I'll do that next week. Maybe on April 1st...

Feeding the Elderly

2009-03-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, my mom sent me this snippet from the Huntsville Times about a group called CASA (Care Assurance System for the Aging and Homebound), a non-profit agency that provides services to the elderly. This was the first I'd heard about the group, but I quickly learned that they have been running a community garden since 1994. The garden is entirely volunteer-run, and over the years they have delivered over 184, 500 lbs (that's some record-keeping!) of fresh vegetables to homebound and elderly folks in Madison County. Unfortunately, CASA has experienced some recent theft that has twice left them without their farm equipment. They are currently seeking donations to purchase a high-security shipping container, to ensure that their equipment is better protected.

I know the struggling economy is making everyone tighten their belts a little, but this organization is making local food a reality in Madison County. If you can't donate money, reach out to donate your time for this worthy cause. You can visit them on the web here to find out more.

Return of the Victory Garden

2009-03-20T11:24:00.001-07:00

Today, Michelle Obama will begin digging up the White House lawn to plant a vegetable garden. Not since Eleanor Roosevelt's Victory Garden during WWII has the President's backyard seen such a transformation. During both world wars, the public was urged to plant these aptly named gardens to ease the burden of food production and transport during wartime. Planting victory gardens became a sort of morale booster. It empowered the average citizen through labor, and gave each person a chance to do their part by growing some of their own food. In 1943, there were more than 20 million victory gardens in America, which supplied some 40% of the produce consumed nationally (Michael Pollan, NYTimes Open Letter to the President-Elect).

And now during a time of high energy costs, processed food, and a national obesity crisis, Michelle Obama is doing her part. With 55 varieties of vegetables, the White House garden will of course be a source of food for the Obamas, but it will also serve as a teaching tool, to educate children about healthy eating. In fact, Michelle has recruited 23 5th graders from a local elementary school to help her prepare the garden.

It's refreshing to see the issue of food getting some much deserved attention in the White House. It seems to be a high priority on the first lady's political agenda, and I don't think we'll stop hearing about her crusade any time soon. So if you haven't thought about planting a garden yet, now's your time to follow Michelle's lead and dig up your lawn.

What a victory for local foods!

From Eleanor to Michelle...

Alabama Lasagna

2009-03-17T15:26:00.000-07:00

It's spring break for those of us fortunate enough to work in the University system. But if you also happen to be married to a state employee, your horizons for this yearly retreat are somewhat diminished. Seems the only state employees that get the week off are the lawmakers, resting up for their next filibuster. They work so hard! Suffice it to say that I'm here in Tuscaloosa for the week with a litany of home improvement projects to tackle and a few food related endeavors as well. First on the list - lasagna.

I've made plenty of pasta at this point in our year of Alabama eating, but I've yet to try this staple of Italian American cuisine. I toyed with the idea of making a very classic Italian Bolognese style dish with a béchamel sauce, but opted instead for a more American interpretation. Our fresh leeks and carrots from Snow's Bend would make a wonderful sauce with some of our canned tomatoes and some fresh rosemary, and while I lack in the mozzarella department, I felt certain that the bite of goat cheese would be welcome with the pasta and tomatoes. I know that mozeralla - lightly browned on top and gooey with every slice - is a signature of most American lasagna, but our diet often calls for improvisation. Fortunately I did have the raw ingredients for ricotta (or paneer, depending on your perspective). So I began with my first ever batch of ricotta, and I must say that it was simple and delicious. Thrown together with the goat cheese and my tomato sauce, the sauce stacked in layers between the al dente fresh lasagna, topped with goat cheese and baked for 20 minutes...perfection. We ate this dish in homage of our trip this time last year to visit a friend in Tuscany. I might not be able to recreate the oso buco that our friend MC wept over (literally wept it was so good), but I can make a damn fine lasagna anytime. Just give me a few hours warning...

In the News - Installment 2

2009-03-12T15:00:00.001-07:00

1. The Cow Tax. The latest in the efforts of lawmakers to ban taxation of a cow's methane emissions. In case this is the first you've heard of the so-called "cow tax", the E.P.A. first made mention of a such a measure back in December during a meeting about greenhouse gas regulation.

2. Pigs, MRSA, and You. It's another case of a commercial meat farm compromising the health of the public. This mini-expose by Nicholas Kristof tells the story of a small Indiana town's battle with MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). After scores of residents developed the mysterious rashes associated with the infection, the town's doctor began to explore the connection between the disease and nearby hog farms.

3. Farmscapes. Need to get away? Well, look no further. Serenbe Farms, outside Atlanta, is your chance to experience the latest trend - agritourism. The 25-acre farm in Palmetto, GA is a working example of the nation's growing farm-to-table movement. Guests can dine at the Inn's Farmhouse Restaurant, which features award-winning cuisuine made from fresh produce right off the farm. Look for Serenbe Farms at the upcoming Georgia Organics Conference next weekend in Atlanta.

In the News - Installment 1

2009-03-11T06:55:00.000-07:00

1. Michelle Says Eat Your Veggies. It's about time the press started giving Michelle Obama props for more than just her well-toned arms (although those things are pretty impressive, just look at the accompanying photo). In this article, the NY Times alerts us of the First Lady's intent to spread the message of healthy eating. While visiting Miriam's Kitchen, a DC non-profit providing a range of services to the area's homeless, Mrs. Obama urges us to think about those that are less fortunate in our communities; to offer them the same fresh and locally grown food we should be seeking out for our families.

"Collect some fruits and vegetables; bring by some good healthy food. We can provide this kind of healthy food for communities across the country, and we can do it by each of us lending a hand.”

She praises community gardens. She loves the White House chef's healthy broccoli soup and cream-less creamed spinach. And she doesn't feed her daughters loads of processed foods and sugars. She's a role model for all of us. With Michelle Obama on our side, how can we fail?

2. Is Organic Safer? It doesn't look like it. In the wake of the national salmonella outbreak, where both organic and non-organic products were affected, many consumers are questioning the sanctity of organic. In a related post back in January, I discussed my surprise in discovering that Health Valley Organic Peanut Crunch Chewy Granola Bars (wow, that's a mouthful) were on the hit-list of salmonella-tainted products. I had inherently associated the label organic with an elevated level of food safety. You generally pay more for organic, and you assume that there is some degree of care that goes into its preparation. Well, according to the Times that's not necessarily the case:

"Although the rules governing organic food require health inspections and pest-management plans, organic certification technically has nothing to do with food safety."

It turns out that organic certification was given to the Georgia peanut plant responsible for the salmonella tainted products, even though it lacked a state health certificate. Revoking it's organic status took months, and obviously not all products claiming inclusion of organic peanuts/paste/oils were recalled. That really doesn't bode well for the credence of the organic label.

3. Michael Pollan Wants to Know. Don't miss out on this exciting homework assignment from the food guru. He's collecting food rules from us average Joes to be published on his website.

Birdsong Community Farm

2009-03-10T11:53:00.001-07:00

Young farmers are popping up all over the state, pursuing sustainable methods and creating local food systems for their communities. One of the best examples I've come across in recent months is Birdsong Community Farm in Cullman. I was fortunate to meet Joshua and Beth Haynes at an organic agriculture conference in south Alabama last November and they graciously donated some organic popcorn for the Alabama Supper. They've got a lot of great ideas, a lot of energy, and they're offering a tremendous amount of resources for their area. I'm on their mailing list and wanted to pass along a deluge of info about things they've got planned this summer. It's seems as though they've become a clearing house for all the local food opportunities in the Cullman area. In addition to their own offerings of chicken and their ambitious and successful CSA, they're going out of their way to help create a whole food system in Cullman by offering information about beef from a nearby farm, pork, goats milk, and other dairy opportunities. You can read more about what they're doing at their website here, and I encourage you to sign up for their mailing list. Cullman is only 45 minutes from Birmingham, and they've considered setting up a buying group for the Birmingham area if there are enough interested people. Joshua, Beth, and their young son Andrew are the future of farming in Alabama, and we hope you'll support all the great things they're doing.

A hint of what's to come

2009-03-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of weeks, I've come home from work hungry. I throw open the refrigerator, desperately hoping that there will be something inside for me to munch on. Lately it's been slim pickings. I usually have a snack of Wright's Dairy cheese before dinner, or sometimes enjoy a few pickled tomatoes or okra from our stock of canned goods. That should be enough to appease me, right? It should, but it's not. I'm starting to struggle with my lack of food options, especially when it comes to figuring out what to eat for supper. At first, eating out of the freezer and from our canned stores was exciting. We got to reap the benefits of all of our long hours preserving food last summer and fall. I also welcomed the often reduced preparation and cooking time associated with eating this way. But now the novelty has worn off. I'm craving fresh fruit and vegetables. I want to open my refrigerator and be inundated with the smells of the farm, to be greeted by piles of leafy vegetables, and boxes of freshly picked strawberries. The onset of spring weather may have something to do with my transformation, or maybe I've just reached my frozen food threshold. Whatever the reason, last night I got my wish- a much needed and much welcomed reprieve from our freezer. Our friend Ashley, an intern at Snow's Bend, stopped by to give us freshly harvested leeks, carrots, and kohlrabi. She also threw in a bunch of last season's potatoes. Needless to say, we were overjoyed by the season's first produce. Snacking on carrots and peeling potatoes and kohlrabi for the evening's meal, we remembered that the start of our CSA is only weeks away, and that soon we would be planting our own garden.

Thanks to Ashley and Snows Bend. We needed that little boost!