Hunt and Gather Girl Reporting on life in the food chain

Food Chain Philosophy

November 24, 2011

To Stuff or Not To Stuff? Four Food Pros Provide the Answers Angst Ridden Thanksgiving Home Chefs Crave

Jack loves turkey, ridged canned cranberry and black olives for his claw tips

Jack loves turkey, ridged canned cranberry and black olives for his claw tips

I hosted four friends from the Professional Food Writers Symposium on my Farm and Foodshed Report on KWMR radio this past Monday.  We addressed all of the deeper questions that swirl around Thanksgiving from the cooking to the rituals.  Do you have that one family member that must have the cranberry sauce from the can, with ridges intact?  Have you ever dared to serve dessert without pumpkin pie as an option?  I thought it would be fun and helpful to hear from award winning Chefs and writers. Let me introduce you.
St. Michael of Anaheim, Patron Saint of the Martini and all Procopios

Saint Michael of Anaheim, Patron Saint of Martinis and Procopios

Michael Procopio, of the Anaheim Procopios, twists,  twirls and stretches humor, horror, pathos and food into a wickedly delightful treat with the skill of a great taffy maker.  He was selected to appear in Best Food Writing 2011 and you can read his award winning words on his site at www.foodforthethoughtless.com.  From how to make Rosemary’s Babyfood, Twitter etiquette and sightings of John Wayne’s meatballs – his range is outrageous.

Maureen Abood, also known as "Sugar Shoes"

Maureen Abood, also known as "Sugar Shoes"

Maureen Abood recently completed her training at Tante Marie in San Francisco and has written for Saveur, The Washington Post and The Chicago Tribune.  She has a gorgeous blog called Rose Water & Orange Blossoms: Modern Musings on Lebanese Cuisine - www.maureenabood.com.  Her lyrical prose and dreamy photography transport you to a kitchen filled with family traditions interpreted through Maureen’s fresh perspective.  Hummus – she has the secret – Sugar Shoes – she owns the name.

Lynda Balslev, Kept Thanksgiving Alive Throughout Europe Almost Twenty Years!

Lynda Balslev, Kept Thanksgiving Alive Throughout Europe For Almost Twenty Years!

Lynda Balslev moved to Paris in 1991 to study cooking at Le Cordon Bleu, she returned to the U.S. and Marin County 17 years later with a Danish hubby, two exceptional children and previous addresses in Geneva, London and Copenhagen.  During her years abroad, she celebrated Thanksgiving wherever she lived.  Her assignment – procure a turkey – roast it perfectly and invite Americans and other thankful friends to partake and bring the side dishes.  She continues the tradition to this day.  For Lynda all her journeys begin and end at the kitchen table and you can enjoy her discoveries at www.tastefoodblog.com.

 

Your Inspired Chef anne Haerle - Pronounced Hurley and Don't You Forget It!

Your Inspired Chef anne Haerle - Pronounced Hurley and Don't You Forget It!

Anne Haerle has been a voracious writer all of her life.  Like me she had a former life as a marketing/advertising professional.  She ditched the agency life to attend The Culinary Institute of America.  She’s married her love of the written word with her passion for cooking. Another thing we have in common was being raised in a Southern family “who prepared, debated, and discussed food endlessly.”   At www.yourinspiredchef.com  you can keep up with her recipe development and testing, writing and inspirations.

Black olives are the perfect appetizer and accessory for the family nail biter.

Black Olives are the perfect appetizer and accessory for the family nail biter.

When our conversation turned to Thanksgiving oddities and awfuls that we’re required to serve in order to please certain family members and friends, Michael Procopio talked about the canned black olives that his family always had on hand for his sister. Every Thanksgiving her little girl hands were adorned by the large, shiny, black olives with fingertip sized pit holes. And yes, it turns out that this is a common family ritual in most of the country.  We always felt so sophisticated to have “California” olives at an Alabama Thanksgiving.  My cousin called them “the squeaky” olives.
Canned cranberry sauce with the ridges. I learned my lesson many years ago at my large orphan Thanksgiving dinners. Invariably at least one guest would pull me into a private corner and ask where the old fashioned American cranberry sauce was – “you know the one in the can that makes the swoosh, plop sound when it comes out onto the plate and it has those cool ridges.”  So every year I buy one can – still haven’t found one that’s organic or local – which would make it seem a bit less gross – hmmmm – business opportunity?
Anne Haerle and I laughed over the fact that almost every traditional Southern side dish for Thanksgiving does not require teeth. In honor of our elders? Perhaps the fact that every one of them has more sugar than a Coca Cola creates the need for sidedishes that don’t require teeth.
 And speaking of Coca Cola – my Grandmother Polly’s Coca Cola cherry jello salad – my first few years in San Francisco I made it – I was made fun of, but every bite disappeared before the end of the day.  Perhaps I’ll post it for Christmas – goes great with a standing rib roast.
Mama Stamberg's Progressive and Liberal Cranberry Relish

Mama Stamberg's Progressive and Liberal Cranberry Relish

After my move to California I began to add more liberal and progressive dishes to my Thanksgiving dinners like NPR host, Susan Stamberg’s Mama Stamberg’s Cranberry Relish which is a pink, slushy mix of raw cranberries, raw onion, horseradish, sour cream and sugar.
 Lynda Balslev chimed in about being flexible and open to whatever wonderful new dish might come to the Thanksgiving table.  After almost two decades of presenting the turkey and being surprised by the sides that her guests would bring, she sings the praises of how unique each feast can be. 
Michael Procopio spoke of the large Italian style feasts that his family consumed.  Course after course starting with antipasti, pasta, fish, and somewhere in the mix turkey with all of the traditional fixings and ending with pumpkin pie and of course a platter of cannelloni. He marvelled at the tiny Sicilian women eating dish after dish with ease and obvioulsy enough room. 
Maureen Abood’s family tradition always includes a huge platter of her Aunt Hilda’s stuffed grape leaves.  But this will be their first Thanksgiving in her life without Aunt Hilda and the stuffed grape leaves.  So no matter how quirky or strange, each dish that comes to the table has a story and gift.
Not Too Many Turkeys in the Swamp, Jack Ventures Into the Piney Woods for his Thanksgiving Turkey

Not Too Many Turkeys in the Swamp, Jack Ventures Into the Piney Woods for his Thanksgiving Turkey

So onto those questions we worry ourselves silly about.
To Stuff or not to Stuff – NO, NO, NO – never, ever stuff your bird.  Uneven cooking Chef Anne reminds us is an issue.   But my tale is the one that should make you back away from the bowl of stuffing and your turkey’s gaping carcass.  My Mammaw put the fear of  intestinal disaster in me about the dangers of stuffing your turkey.  Long ago at a Christmas dinner with a relative whose name shall not be revealed we were lined up to serve ourselves and I heard the hostess say, the stuffing from the turkey is in the red bowl and the baked dressing is in the blue dish.  I grabbed my husband and son by their elbows and hissed “DO NOT eat from the red bowl.”  They both shook their heads and whispered, “Mammaw superstitions.”  Exactly 36 hours later every guest at the party except me and the other paranoid person who did not eat from the red bowl was deathly ill with Salmonella.  The hostess claimed they were ill from the baby who was at the dinner and had a flu bug.  The health department and emergency room disagreed. 
Brining – yes, but Dry is the new black.  Dry brine your turkey Judy Roger’s style.  We’ve all done wet and are now converts to dry.
High heat, low heat – the most important thing is DO NOT  roast the turkey in a paper bag like Anne’s Daddy used to do until a fiery fiasco highlighted one Thanksgiving feast.
Well, there is so much more we discussed, like drinks to start with – Pina Coladas on the beach with Maureen or my Camping Coffee  at 9am (a bit of bourbon in strong black coffee and a splash of whipping cream) to get myself revved up, but in a happy way.
Dessert – so many, many folks insist on Pumpkin Pie – I’ve had them turn their noses up at pumpkin cheesecake, my Alabama pecan pies and pumpkin brulee’ – keep a simple pumpkin pie one in the kitchen with the canned cranberry sauce in case one of your guests are so unimaginative that they might ignore your brilliant creation.
You can hear all of our advice and folly  by going to my KWMR Farm & Foodshed Report 
http://www.kwmr.org/show/6?page=1 scroll to the bottom of the page and you can download an mp3 of the show which is the 11-21-11 show!
Happy, happy Thanksgiving!
And one last recommend – Maureen’s dear teach and mentor – Tante Marie!
If you are offended by cuss words – stop now and get back in the kitchen.
Enjoy Thanksgiving, don’t stress out and just put the F**king Turkey in the Oven!

Food Chain Philosophy, Pt. Reyes Farmers Market, Vegetable

September 26, 2011

Lettuce Love Local Lettuce

Gator Jack tasting Red Oak & Speckled Trout

Gator Jack tasting Red Oak & Speckled Trout

Lettuce tasting at 10am in a chilly feed barn on a foggy Saturday morning was all the rage this Saturday at the Point Reyes Farmers Market.

Compelling Chalk Signage contributed to our huge attendance

Compelling Chalk Signage contributed to our huge attendance

Here in West Marin, we are an intrepid bunch and made sure to add to the fun with a salad dressing competition and blind taste testing.

Great dressings come in unmarked jars!

Great dressings come in unmarked jars!

As for pairings, I recommend the tangy vinaigrette, that was in mason jar #1 and a cappuccino to go with your lettuce. Please note that two of the mostly commonly misspelled menu items are cappuccino and vinaigrette.

Chef's Booth CEO, Amy Whalen, has coffee two ways for her pairings

Chef's Booth CEO, Amy Whalen, has coffee two ways for her pairings

Back to pairings – I learned in the “Wine Class” at the Professional Food Writers Symposium at the Greenbrier (yes – I was a scholarship winner – just wanted to remind you in case you missed me on the front page of the Point Reyes Light) that not getting it terribly wrong is more important than making a perfect pairing. Tasting guests boldly paired mochas, macchiatos and chai tea with the anonymous dressings and lettuce.

Pairing #2 with some Speckled Trout - bit of honey, a bit of lemon

Pairing #2 with some Speckled Trout lettuce. #2 was a bit of honey, a bit of lemon!

Comments and impressions were requested and received as our guests grazed the lettuce offerings.

Literary lettuce musings

Literary lettuce musings

Pannise being picked and Red Butter beyond

Pannise being picked and Red Butter beyond...

And one of the best parts of the morning were the number of children who participated and wrote their opinions.  The thing most children are eating early on a Saturday morning is a sugary cereal, but not our little food rebels in West Marin. My favorite young citizen comments were on the flavor of Red Oak lettuce as “nondescript, but that is good” and it’s texture as needing “more dirt and sand.”

This younger citizen ending up making comments on almost every lettuce sheet!

This younger citizen ending up making comments on almost every lettuce sheet!

Seeing the young folks eating lettuce and climbing bales of hay in the feed barn warmed the cockles of my fog-chilled heart.  I remembered one of them coming by our chef’s booth several months ago and exclaiming, “Yum!  Kale!” as our local Chef Eleanor made her beautiful chopped kale salad with nuts and raisins.  I never dreamed I would hear a ten-year old say those two words together.

Lettuce soup?  Yes, yes, yes and hot to boot thank goodness!

Lettuce soup? Yes, yes, yes and hot to boot thank goodness! Peter Sheremeta stirs with a firm hand on the spoon.

Can Amy just do a lettuce tasting and a salad dressing contest?  No, she prepared and served something hot, but not until we had all had our fill of the lettuce on the table.  This is why she is our fearless food leader. She made a leek soup with lettuce stock a bit of butter and then added freshly chopped lettuce into the hot soup immediately before serving.  The lettuce flavor wasn’t overwhelmed by the leeks and gave a beautiful delicacy to the soup.

Marshall's favorite chef stirring the lettuce soup

Marshall's favorite chef stirring the lettuce soup

I did a salt and pepper tasting that could be used with the lettuce or our lovely lettuce leek soup.   I brought Ecuadorian black peppercorns that have a sharp, hot, robust flavor because they are grown on the equator in Valle Hermoso.  For some contrast I had Sichuan peppercorns that aren’t really peppercorns, but are the dried seed of a prickly ash tree.  They have a great woody aroma and tongue numbing effect similar to cloves nd a nice citrus note.  I love using this sparingly in more delicate soups and salads.  My third  pepper was  pink peppercorns which I ground gently in a mortar.  They are actually the berries of the Baies rose plant.  It’s as if a rose, a chili and a peppercorn had a baby – I adore using them.  For salts I had my coarse ground Baja hand harvested salts, a Portuguese sea salt that is similar to a French Grey salt, but because there is less rainfall where this salt is gathered it’s whiter than the French.  My third salt was a blend I get from a the Spice House in Illinois.  It is called Vulcan’s Fire Salt and makes things as disparate as popcorn and hot chocolate taste amazing.  It really popped the Lettuce Leek soup.  What’s in it – it’s a secret.  The most amazing salt was local salt from a group of West Marin youth who let local sea water sit in the sun until they had salt.

Robin's Salt & Pepper selections

Robin's Salt and Pepper selections

The finale of the day was the announcement of the blind taste testing salad dressing contest.  We had seven entries ranging from a variety of vinaigrettes to a ketchup-y “camp” dressing.  The winner was Eleanore Despina with a beautifully balanced simple vinaigrette. Second place was Anne Milne’s lemony, honey/mustard dressing.   In third place was Stephen Horvat with an herby vinaigrette that had wonderful texture and aroma.

Salad Dressing Contest Winner Eleanore Despina receiving her prize from Amy Whelan.

Salad Dressing Contest Winner Eleanore Despina receiving her prize from Amy Whelan.

I do want to say that every single dressing was unique and I actually liked them all.  I noticed the favorite of our younger attendees was Camp Hawk’s Bolinas Salad Dressing submitted by Hawk Weston.   It called for mixing together the following ingredients:

1/2 cup of catsup

3 TBL of lemon juice

3 TBL of sweet red chili sauce

1.5 cups Aioli

1 TBL Rice vinegar

2TBL Horeseradish

1 TBL Worcesteshire sauce

Lettuce tasting and Salad Dressing contests - remember the trend all started here in Point Reyes Station, CA

Lettuce tasting and Salad Dressing contest - remember the trend all started here in Point Reyes Station, CA

Pt. Reyes Farmers Market, Vegetable

October 26, 2009

Killer Kohlrabi

Gator Jack struggles with Kohlrabi

Gator Jack struggles with Kohlrabi

The most highly questioned vegetable at the 2009 Point Reyes Farmers market was kohlrabi.   Evocative of Lady GaGa (insert Ziggy Stardust if you are over 50) – it is visually confusing, yet utterly fascinating.  Kohlrabi once topped the charts with European royalty as a favorite vegetable. My VIP friends  (Vegetarians in Paradise ) predict a hearty comeback for this neglected member of the brassica oleracea family, more commonly called the cabbage family. FYI – bulbous base grows above ground along with the greens.

Don't be afraid - it's good for you

Don't be afraid - it's good for you

Armed with some great pointers from Sandy &  Dennis Dierks at Paradise Valley Produce, I brought two home with me and had quite the Saturday evening.   I cut the greens off the base and tasted the stem.  It had a gentle fresh broccoli taste with a hint of a horseradish bite.  I set the greens aside and peeled the skin off the kohlrabi base.  Mine were about the size of large apples and the outer layer of skin that needed peeling was about ¼ inch thick.  According to Dennis skin thickness varies with the size of the bulb.  The inside was similar to jicama in texture.  I sliced half of one of them to serve raw (sweeter and more subtle than the stem) – I diced the other half and sautéed it with a bit of McEvoy olive oil, sliced elephant garlic and a bit of kosher salt – amazing.  The other kohlrabi I also did two ways – The first half I boiled (along with some elephant garlic) and mashed them with olive oil and butter, this tasted great, but the texture was a little mushy.  I sliced the other half and prepared it like my scalloped potatoes – it was delicious – a schosh too moist for me – so adjust accordingly.  Here is a recipe that did work for me click on  kohlrabi gratin!  One tip I heard regarding moisture is to very lightly salt slice and let them sit on a paper towel for a bit before use in something like a gratin.

Kohlrabi with beautiful greens

Kohlrabi with beautiful greens

The greens were great!  I stripped the greens from the stems and julienned. I finely chopped the stems and sautéed them first with a bit of diced bulb and some minced elephant garlic – I added the greens (similar in thickness to collards) to the sautéed mixture and cooked about 15 more minutes adding water as they cooked down.   I removed half of the pan and served “southern style” with a dash of hot pepper vinegar – y’all it was good!  I took the other half and added a dash of agave nectar and a star anise and let it simmer a bit more – lovely.

Kohlrabi base

Kohlrabi base

With just a little effort I found kohlrabi easy to work with and amazingly versatile.  I can’t wait to get more  and work with it primarily raw this week.  I understand the greens also work well in salads and that you can make a great kimchi.  I’m thinking of using raw rounds as the base for canapés the way I might use jicama.  I think it would work really well with a creamy cheese like a Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam!

Farming, Pt. Reyes Farmers Market, Vegetable

October 22, 2009

The Ozzy Osbourne Potato

Jack adores the Ozzy tater mouthfeel

Jack adores the Ozzy tater mouthfeel

The first time Mammaw and Pappaw showed me how to “scratch for taters” – my little hands scribbled and scrabbled  around the base of the plant.   My eyes were squinted shut so I could “see” underground with my fingers.  When they wrapped around the first potato I ever harvested,  I felt like a miner with his first nugget of gold.  I had potato fever!   It was what we called an “Irish” or “New” potato – small, round and red.  Mammaw cooked it in a separate pot just for me.  She cut it in half  and drizzled butter and chopped fresh parsley over it.  I added a little salt and cracked black pepper and then I bit into what felt like a miracle.  That mouthful of joy had been hiding under dirt.

Multi-knobbed Ozette

Multi-knobbed Ozette

When Margie at Wild Blue Farm in Tomales first showed me an Ozette potato, I thought of that day.  This was the first year they had grown this rare new “rock star” of the potato world.   She told me a little bit about how it had been discovered.  They were also called Anna Cheeka’s potatoes, because she was the person from the Makah Tribe that provided the original seed for current farmers.  I was so excited about Ozettes and when I was on the KWMR Farm Report two days later, I began talking about this strange  potato with a fascinating story.  When Lyons, the host,  asked me the name of this amazing potato – I froze -  the only name that came to me was Ozzy Osbourne.  Lyons wanted to know how it got that name, I had to say that wasn’t really the name but that it was close – I knew that it sounded like that and it sorted of looked like the Ozzy Osbourne of the tuber world.  The host, Lyons,  quickly said, “well perhaps you can give us the real name and more facts next week,” and we moved the conversation over to kohlrabi – which reminds me of Lady GaGa – but I didn’t say that.

Sliced Raw Ozette Potatoes

Sliced Raw Ozette Potatoes

It’s not easy when you don’t fit the mold.  And that’s why we’ve lost so many food treasures.  Imagine boxing billions of potatoes that are shaped like the mutant offspring of Mr. Peanut.  And it was probably because Mr. and Mrs. Peanut had been forced to live 50 feet from illegally placed  high powered cell antennas in a corrupt city, until they could move to beautiful West Marin where their odd shapes were cherished – oops – wrong story – that would be me and my husband.

Whole Ozettes on plate

Whole Ozettes on plate

Back to Anna Cheeka’s wonderful legacy.  David Ronninger, who was a successful Idaho potato farmer, got the initial seeds from Anna in the late 1980’s and introduced it to the fresh market.   This was indicative of a movement around the world to preserve foods from our past that were being lost because they didn’t work well in the mass distribution model.   The story is that the potato was brought from Peru by Spanish exploreers to the Makah Indians at Neah Bay on Washington’s Olympic peninsula, where it has been grown since the 1700’s.

New DNA testing challenges the notion of Peruvian/Andean origin – just like the Jerry Springer Show!  Is Peru your Daddy or is it  some other Andean region?  NO!  Mexico or Chile are probably where the Ozette originated.  Testing also showed the Ozette has nearby cousin in Alaska – the Maria’s potato which has been growing in a Native Alaskan garden.  The Ozette is under the protection of Slow Food Seattle and you can find out more of the history by clicking here.  They haven’t yet updated with the DNA data, but if you want to look at the DNA technical abstract done by the USDA click here.  If you want me to stop with the technical data and tell you about how they taste….keep reading.

Ozette potatoes roasting

Ozette potatoes roasting

Ozette’s are a fingerling and not all of them are multi-knobbed, I just happen to love the look of those.  Most of them are single tubers and typical fingerling size – maybe a touch smaller.   The potatoes have a  cool curvy, wavy kind of look due to lots of shallow pyramid shaped eyes.  So even if their shape might make them anathema to the commercial potato industry, their taste makes them a darling to anyone who loves to cook or eat.  And for farmers and backyard gardeners , this potato is said to grow well in all conditions.  Tough and tasty.

Ozette potatoes roasting with rosemary

Ozette potatoes roasting with rosemary

Earthy, nutty, truffle-like are some of the words to describe the flavor of the Ozette.   These flavors were prominent to me and made them a great choice to go with game, pork tenderloin and Daddy’s venison.  I also cooked them whole, under a roasting chicken – they held up, absorbed some chicken flavor, yet still sang that earthy note.  Roasting, steaming, sauteed and boiled/mashed were the ways I prepared them.  My favorites were  sauteed and roasted.  But make sure to try steaming – it gives you the opportunity to really taste the potato – just finish it  the way my Mammaw did my first potato.

Pt. Reyes Farmers Market

October 17, 2009

My Name Up in Sharpie!

Gator Gobbling Galeux d'Eysines

Gator Gobbling Galeux d'Eysines


I was a headliner today in one of Prince Charles’ favorite hangouts -The Point Reyes Farmers Market!
Climbing up the food chain with some rare and impressive heirloom winter squash, I had my 104 minutes of fame alongside the renown Amy Whelan of Inverness and  Margie McDonald, a royally approved farmer from Wild Blue Farm in Tomales.  As you can see my gator muse, One-eyed Jack, couldn’t resist the Galeux d’Eysine, which is a rarely seen French heirloom squash.
whiteboard 200pix size

For our demonstration and tasting we had eight different types of winter squash.  We had an uncooked squash, a baked squash and the toasted seeds of each variety so that our guests could see and sample the attributes of each one.  Margie McDonald described the origin, growing patterns and taste characteristics of each squash as we served a slice of the squash being discussed with a little taste of local cheddar cheese to accompany.

Amy Whelan (left) and Margie McDonald (right)

Amy Whelan (left) and Margie McDonald (right)

Many of us know butternut,  spaghetti and delicata squash – but for the most part Americans  under utilize winter squash. Winter squash has a rich history – in Native American folklore, winter squash was one of the “three sisters,” along with corn and beans.  These were cornerstones of the food chain for the tribes because they could stay nutritionally healthy on these three food types when hunting and gathering times were hard.

Amy setting out the different toasted seeds next to their squash

Amy setting out the different toasted seeds next to their squash

This is one of the reasons that we felt it would be helpful for our guests to have the opportunity to see, touch and taste some new varieties.  We had some cooking techniques to share, but we really tried to create a brainstorming environment to see what came to mind for each of us as we experienced the variety.  The Galeux d’Eysines, pictured above with One-eyed Jack, is a beautiful French heirloom squash with a salmon colored skin and richly textured with bumps and warts.  It has a very sweet, firm orange flesh and the seeds are fatter and have more meat than a pumpkin seed.  One reason you see fewer of some of the heirloom squash is because the vines may only produce two or three squash per vine.  The Galeux d’Eysines can range from 5 to 12 pounds.

Marina de' Chioggia - cooked squash in front

Marina di' Chioggia - cooked squash in front

Marina di’ Chioggia Pumpkin literally means Sea Pumpkin from Chioggia.  Chioggia is a town in the province of Venice and is known for these rustic, large turban-shaped blue-green fruits.  Their  pebbled skin  indicates maturity and inside you find a sweet orange flesh desirable for baking or even grilled and brushed with olive oil and rosemary.  In the photo below Margie is holding one up so that you can see the turban hat bottom.

Margie showing the turban bottom of Marina d' Chioggia

Margie showing the turban bottom of Marina d' Chioggia

Another favorite was the Blue Ballet, which is like a smaller version of the Blue Hubbard Squash.  One-eyed Jack is holding one up below for your viewing pleasure.  The beauty of the Blue Ballet is that the flesh is firm and less fibrous than some of the other squash so it can be used raw for baking.  You could either grate it or dice it finely to use in a recipe that might normally use apples or pears.  There is a nice recipe for a Blue Ballet Honey Drizzle Cake from the Domestic Goddess in Training blog that you might want to try.  It’s metric – so be glad for all the nutrients in winter squash that will help your brain function well enough to do the conversion.  I love Blue Ballet simply baked with nothing added.   I also recommend this grilled with a little butter and finish by drizzling some agave nectar over the slices and then top with toasted pine nuts.

Blue Ballet Squash held aloft by Gator

Blue Ballet Squash held aloft by Gator

Okay, so I’m feeling overly squashed  now and I promise to share more squash secrets later, but I do want to tell you about the grand finale of my gig at the Point Reyes Farmers Market.   In order to highlight our end of the season fundraiser,  a silent auction of “Apple Art” created by area artists on 5″ x 5″ canvases, I grilled two types of apples and served them with Point Reyes Blue Cheese crumbles.  But – what was really cool was my outfit!  I have a beautiful apple green long silk shirt from my Aunt Gladys that I wore under my amazing eye-popping red & green apple apron.  It was not slimming, but while my therapist is on sabbatical I’m in no position to continue processing the meaning of my mid-life weight gain.  Although I think the fact that I was willing to look like a ginormous apple woman without a second thought means I’m appropriately focused on my success in the food chain of fame.  You have to work with what you’ve got – right now I could totally survive a snake or gator bite or a famine – and I can still climb a tree faster than you can say “drizzle more butter on those grilling apples!”

Apple Art Show Auction Entries

Apple Art Show Auction Entries

A whiter shade of pale - Apple Art!

A whiter shade of pale - Apple Art by Heather Pratt

I love this pale apple by Heather Pratt, but then again, all of the apple portraits are uniquely appealing.

The painting below is by Max Hurwitz – you can bid on all of these great pieces of art at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday’s from 9a-1pm at Toby’s Feed Barn in Point Reye’s Station.  It all culminates with our Harvest Dinner at Toby’s on Saturday, November 14th at 6pm.

Max's Apple Equals Worm Food Painting

Max's "Apple Equals Worm Food" Painting

Thank you Max for reminding us all that there is a place for everyone and every critter on the Food Chain!!!

Food Chain Philosophy

October 16, 2009

Staying alive!

Gator Jack & Garlic

Gator Jack & Garlic

The summer I was five years old, we moved into a house on the edge of Ragg Swamp in the first suburb built in Mobile, Alabama.  Nestled into landfill, our perfectly square lot backed up to a convergence of creeks, piney woods, swamp and a red clay gully.  Ragg Swamp was where hunted men (bad and good) fled when they were on the run.  It was rare to be followed in, because no one ever came out of Ragg Swamp alive.  At least that’s what my Daddy told me.  He was my new Dad and that first week in the new house I couldn’t sleep.  So this was my first bedtime story from Daddy.  He told me not to leave our backyard because little girls weren’t safe in the swamp.

The next day I climbed the fence and went to the back edge of a neighbor’s yard where I had seen mockingbirds flying in and out of an old mulberry bush.  I climbed up to look in the nest and came face to face with the wide open mouth of a large snake filled with baby bird.  I’m not sure if I fainted or just fell, but suddenly I was on my back under the bush watching the adult birds squawk and fly at the nest.  That night I told Daddy and he said, I was lucky the snake had something in his mouth and that he wouldn’t chase me while he was eating.  That was strangely reassuring.

That weekend I got my nerve up and climbed over our fence, slid down towards the creek and started walking.  I saw our new neighbor’s dog barking and barking near an old log that was washed up on the shore.  Dixie would lunge forward, bark and drop back.  Suddenly the log moved so fast that it seemed like a dream.  Dixie was gone, it was really quiet.  That night Daddy told me how alligators can run faster than a quarter horse.  Dixie probably weighed 40 pounds – I don’t think I weighed a whole lot more.  Daddy saw the look on my face and said, “Honey, the snake isn’t bad, the alligator isn’t bad – it’s called the food chain – we all have to eat.”  That night I knew I wanted climb that chain faster than an alligator could run or a snake could crawl.