CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture

I am currently eating my way through a winter CSA subscription via Jubilee farm, in Carnation, WA http://www.jubileefarm.org/. This week, I'm eating roasted root vegetables and squash, brussels sprouts sauteed in butter, sage, and garlic, eggs every way, braeburn apples for snacking, and cole slaw to go with tonight's braised pork ribs.

In the summer I try to exclusively eat produce from my garden and the farmer's market, and it's really not difficult. Stone fruits from the market are gorgeous, affordable, and delicious. I always get a bounty of vegetables from surprisingly small amount of space. The winter, however, is quite different from the summer. November through April I harvest little to nothing from my own house, and the farmer's markets are not that much fun either. Browsing for food in the cold and rain is just not my idea of a good time... I realize this is very un-Pacific northwest of me, but I am originally from southern California, so please give me a break. Rather than browsing for food in the rain, I subscribe to a CSA in the fall, winter, and spring. This means that each week I receive a box of fresh produce and eggs from a local farm. The farm actually delivers the box to a central location in my neighborhood, where I pick it up, along with about 20 of my neighbors.

What is a CSA?
CSA stands for community supported agriculture, and it is just that. A CSA is a direct link between a farm and a community of consumers. The general CSA model is that each season a farm, usually small and organic, will offer a certain number of "shares/subscriptions" to the public. Consumers, such as myself, buy a share before the season begins, and each week we pick up a box of produce.

Why participate in a CSA?

• Each week you get a box of goodies, which to me feels somewhat like a grown up care package.
• CSA's are an easy way to buy delicious, seasonal produce directly from producers (ie: no standing in the rain).
• All of your produce will be fresh, organic, and local.
• You get to try new produce. For example, I tried rutabaga for the first time this year because I got it in my CSA box. Rutabaga is delicious!!!
•  Farmers get paid a fair amount for their product (much more than what they receive from produce distributers).
• In addition to supporting a sustainable food system, by participating in a CSA one is also supporting a sustainable economic system. Supporting local farms, means supporting the local economy.
• CSA participants are able to have an intimate connection with the way their food was produced. For example, I know that Wendy and Erik, of Jubilee Farm, are the ones who made sure that my food has been produced in a healthy, sustainable way. 
• A successful CSA program allows farmers to spend their time marketing their product(s) early in the year, before their crazy, busy summers... when they need to focus on growing the food.
• CSAs also provide farmers with cash flow in the slow season, which helps them prepare for the coming season (cash to buy seeds and equipment with), and maintain a sustainable economic model for themselves.

Why composting and recycling are more climate-friendly acts than trading in your gas-guzzling clunker for a Prius:

The world's first compostable chip bag will be launched by Sun Chips on Earth Day 2010. This is a wonderful example of corporate leadership in the right direction.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJmCZjB3Y5s
http://www.sunchips.com/healthier_planet.shtml
This is a very big deal, and here is why:

Garbage and landfilling
Our garbage is something that most of us do not think about once it leaves our homes. We fill up a can, take it outside to another can, and once a week a big truck comes by and takes it away. Good bye refuse! Out of sight, out of mind. The problem is that here on Earth there is no such thing as away.
Here is a description of what actually happens to the contents of that can, and a typical chip bag. The big truck dumps your garbage at a transfer station. At the transfer station an even bigger truck picks up your garbage and hauls it to a landfill. The landfill is probably no where close to where you live. Here in King county most of our garbage currently goes to a landfill Woodinville. The garbage for the city of Seattle goes to a landfill in Oregon. Here in the U.S., landfills and waste haulers are typically government-contracted, private sector companies such as Waste Management (WM), BFI, and Allied Waste. These companies get paid for taking your garbage away, sticking in a very big hole, and burying it. The more they take away and bury, the more money they get. Here are some of the problems associated with this model:
1. The huge hole becomes a toxic waste site that will never go away -- NEVER. Leachate (yucky liquid) is produced from our landfilled materials, which then needs to be "treated" (treated=$$$).
2. It is extremely costly to operate and manage the big hole. The big hole continues to be costly to manage, even after it is full, and all your chip bags have been buried.
3. We do not have an infinite supply of VERY large holes to put our garbage in.
4. Landfills are some of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. Pretty sure most citizens do not know about problem #4.

Coutesy of USEPA, this diagram explains the relationship between waste management and GHG emmisions  

http://epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/lifecycle.html

Why are landfills huge emitters of greenhouse gases?
When we put biodegradable materials such as paper, grass clippings, food scraps, pizza boxes, and branches in the landfill, they do not degrade in the same way they do above ground or in a compost pile. In the landfill they degrade anaerobically (without oxygen), and as a result produce methane instead of carbon dioxide. Methane is approximately 21 times more potenent of a greenehouse than CO2, which means that a little bit goes a long way. When the same materials (food waste, grass clippings, pizza boxes, etc...) end up in a compost pile, we have the potential to emitt 21 times less greenhouse gas equivalents. Furthermore, applying compost to your garden soil sequesters (stores) carbon in your soil, acting as a carbon sink. "Carbon sink" is a fancy term for capturing CO2 from the atmosphere.

What can we do?
We can compost, recycle, and use the compost in our yards.
Most of our U.S. cities have now adopted a 3 bin, source separation system for our refuse. Genearally this looks like the following: a black bin for non-recyclables, a blue bin for recyclables, and a green bin for yard waste. Here in Seattle we can put all of our food waste, including meat, dairy, and food soiled paper products like napkins, paper towels, and pizza boxes, into our yard waste bin. With the advent and increasing use of recyclable and/or compostable plastics, take out containers, and packaging, like the new Sun Chips bag, what we put in the black bin and the landfill will get smaller and smaller.
If your city does not accept food waste in the yard waste bin, please write to your council members and let them know that you want this to change. This is not only about landfill space, it is also about global climate change.
If your city does accept food waste in the yard waste bin, find out who the composter is, and buy their compost. Here in Seattle, Cedar Grove composts our food and yard waste in the city of Everett. Even though I am somewhat of a compost guru, I do not actually enjoy composting my own food waste. I'm sure many of you can relate to this. I thank Cedar Grove for composting it for me by buying their product and using it in my yard. Bags of Cedar Grove compost can be found at all the major nurseries and home improvement centers. Bulk orders of their compost can be arranged by contacting them directly http://www.cedar-grove.com/

If you are a back yard composter:
good for you!


For more information on the connection between waste and climate change visit the following pages:

COOL 2012   http://www.cool2012.com/
USEPA  http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/index.html
City of Seattle: http://www.seattle.gov/util/services/yard/composting/spu01_001997.asp
Seattle's Climate Action Now http://www.seattle.gov/util/About_SPU/News/Current_Issues/SPU01_003021.asp
US Comopsting Council http://www.compostingcouncil.org/

Window sill gardens are good for you

Growing plants is good for the soul. Well, at least it is good for my soul. In the winter, especially in dark, wet Seattle, growing plants can be particularly difficult. In addition, this is a time when many of our souls need extra nourishment. Almost all of us are vitamin D deficient, we get outside less, we see very little daylight, and we eat fewer fresh fruits and vegetables. While growing plants in the winter is difficult, it is certainly not impossible. Here are two ways you can do it:

1. If you have south or east facing windows, pop some pots in the window sills. These areas will get a good amount of sunlight (especially south facing windows), and will still be warm enough to see a good amount of growth. I currently have an array of herbs growing in one of my window sills.

2. Use grow lights. Many of us Seattlites have full spectrum lights in our homes. While we may have originally purchased these lights to combat SAD (seasonal affective disorder), they also work as grow lights. I keep a full spectrum light on my desk. All day long it performs double duty, keeping my spirits bright, and providing photosynthetic energy to a small, indoor succulent garden.

Edibles that grow particularly well indoors:
Herbs: basil, cilantro, scallions, chervil, parsley, tarragon, mint, dill, oregano, thyme, rosemary
Salad greens: mescalin mixes, arugula, mustard greens, spinach.
Radishes.

 Don't forget that you can also start seeds on your window sill, so that they will be ready to plant when things warm up. Our growing season is relatively short, so warm season crops like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants will benefit enormously by being given the extra time to come to size indoors. These plants generally cannot be put outside until May 1st.

Chicken soup with matzo balls for a new family

A friend of mine had a baby last month, and I wanted to do something to make things just a tad easier for her and her husband. I decided to make them dinner, and drop it off at their house. When thinking about different meal options, I decided to go with the ultimate comfort food, chicken soup with matzo balls. It's delicious, healthy, and minus the matzo balls, it freezes beautifully. Who wouldn't love that?

I grew up in west Los Angeles, and lived in New York City for 4 years. Needless to say, I am quite familiar with the American Jewish staple, the matzo ball. For those of you who are unfamiliar, however, you can think of it as something similar to the dumplings in Chicken and dumpling soup... it is essentially a floating, stock-soaked, starch ball. yummmm. 

Here's how to make it:

 

Chicken soup with Matzo balls:

For the soup: 

• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced carrot
• 1 cup diced Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 cups chicken stock (preferably home made)

For the Matzo balls:

• 1 cup matzo meal
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Saute onion, celery, and carrot, in 2-3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp salt and 2 tsp pepper, over medium heat. 

2. Once vegetables are tender, add the thyme and potatoes, and saute for 1 minute longer.

3. Add 8 cups chicken stock. I keep home made in the freezer, but you can always use store bought. My favorite product is "Swanson's low sodium chicken broth"... always buy low sodium so that you can have better control over the saltiness. Simmer soup on low-medium heat.
 

4. Matzo balls: mix together 1 cup matzo meal (ground up matzo), 2 eggs, 2 tbsp olive oil, and 1 tsp salt. Let sit in fridge for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes roll mixture into 1 inch diameter balls (use wet hands to make this process easier). Drop the matzo balls into the simmering soup, cover with lid, and let cook 20 minutes.
*hint: for large fluffy matzo balls ('Floaters'), drop the balls into the soup as soon as you roll them out. For dense matzo balls, let them rest for another 15 minutes (or longer) before adding them to the pot.
 

5. After the matzo balls are finished cooking, add 2 cups of shredded chicken meat to the soup. For the chicken meat, I either roast off one or two chicken breasts before hand, or use meat from a store bought rotisserie chicken.

6. Serve as soon as the chicken is heated through to avoid a rubbery texture.

**hints to make this soup easily and quickly:
1. buy pre-chopped veggies
2. use store bought chicken stock
3. buy a box of Matzo meal, rather than having to process the matzo yourself.
4. buy pre-cooked chicken. 

Living Art

 

Last weekend I was out in Ballard, hunting for cool stationary, when I decided to step inside a little plant store, The Palm Room. Once inside I was taken aback by the incredible display of epiphytes (AKA air plants). The owner/designer, Brandon Peterson, suspended them throughout the space, by using wire, and hanging them from the ceiling. He also had them displayed on trays and decorative rocks, like art piece accessories for the home. The pièce de résistance, however, was this shadow box of, epiphytes, spanish moss, sticks, and lichen. Now, it has been said once or twice that I have an affinity for ancient and obscure plants, but this truly is something remarkable. It is in effect, a framed living art piece. I now have it hanging on one of the walls in my office. To take care of it, I simply mist it with water once a week. Feel free to stop by my house to check it out, or better yet, see Brandon's many creations at The Palm Room on Ballard Ave in Ballard, Seattle (Thursday through Sunday, noon-5pm) http://thepalmroom.com/.

 

This is my favorite pizza, what's yours?

My favorite pizza has the following toppings: pear, gorgonzola, mozzarella, and carmelized onions. It is somehow the perfect combination of sweet, salty, savory, nutty, cheesy, and meaty. Yes meaty. Not sure how this vegetarian combo imparts a meatiness. Perhaps it comes from the thick, soft but firm pears, or the umami imparted from the blue cheese. In reality, it does not matter if I can pinpoint what it is that I absolutely love about it -- I just love it and that's all that matters.
Here is how to make it:

• 1 high quality pizza dough -- from scratch or from your local pizza parlor
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 ripe, but firm pear, such as Red d'anjou, sliced into 1/8" slivers
• 1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup high quality mozzarella cheese, grated
  
• 1/4 cup high quality blue cheese, such as gorgonzola, crumbled

Start by slowly caramelizing the onion in about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the honey, over low heat. This will take about 1/2 an hour, so be patient.

Preheat oven and pizza stone to 500 degrees.

Roll out your dough to desired thickness, and place atop your pizza stone. Working quickly, brush the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil onto the top of the dough, add cheeses, pears, and onions. Return the pizza stone, and pizza to the oven, and bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until the pizza is brown and the dough is cooked through. If you do not have a pizza stone, an upside down cast iron skillet also works great, or simply use a good old fashion cookie sheet.

Enjoy!!!

If you want to make your own pizza dough here is how to go about it:

• 1 packet dry yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water
  
• 1 tablespoon honey
  
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  

Dissolve 1 packet of dry yeast in 3/4 cup warm water and 1 tablespoon honey, and let rest about 3 minutes. In a stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook, slowly add about 2 1/2 cups flour to the yeasty water, with the machine on low. You should actually add just enough flour for the dough to form a ball, this may be more or less than 2 1/2 cups of flour. At this point add 1 tablespoon kosher salt, and continue mixing/kneading for another 10 minutes to develop the gluten. The reason not to add the salt in the beginning, is because a salty mixture will actually retard the growth of yeast. After kneading for 10 minutes, pull the dough from the dough hook, form into a ball, coat with olive oil and let rest in a warm place for 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. At this point you are ready to roll out your pizza dough!

Beets: a new confession

Since confessing about the cabbage that I have hidden in my veggie drawer for the last month, I now realize that it feels good to get such secrets off my chest (those of us with Catholic families love to confess everything).
So here's my new one:

"Dear locavore clergy I have sinned, for I have had three enormous beets in my fridge for at least as long as the cabbage."

It's just that, well, I'm afraid of them. Do you know what they do to your excrement? They have a strong sweet taste, but not a sugary sweet. They have a deep, sophisticated sweetness. They stain my hands, cutting board, and everything else they touch a deep purple. I know they are delicious, but I am afraid.
There. I said it. I'm afraid of a vegetable, and it's name is "beet".
What should I do with the beets???