Watsonville California, Beach and Endless Strawberry Fields Side by Side

I talk a lot about knowing where your food comes from...I have visited many farms near and far, watched animals being slaughtered, I know many of the people that grow the food I eat and I grow as much as I can in my urban yard...but, when I arrived at a friends beach house it made me realize that there is lots that I am eating that I know nothing about!

I had never seen large scale strawberry production...  The house we were so fortunate to visit looked out over the ocean in one direction where sea otters played  just yards from the shore.  However, I was just as intrigued by the view out the kitchen window which was of strawberry fields as far as the eye could see.  Sitting at the kitchen table you could watch the fields being watered, tended to by man and machine and observe the systematic picking of strawberries.

The agriculture in the entire region is intense.  We were one stop north of Gilroy the garlic capital, and very close to Castroville, the artichoke capital, small and large farms carpeted the area.  Although seduced by the fertility of the area I also know that year round food production on this magnitude requires pesticides.  In any case I will never look at a strawberry exactly the same way again.   Next time you are in the supermarket check it out– much of the year the strawberries being sold are very likely from Watsonville, California.

I am happy to of witnessed this large scale agriculture production up close.

Summer Wanderings...Whitmore Farm

Not much blogging lately, we have been having too much fun wandering in DC, near DC and to further points...There have been lots of work projects but in between we have been zealous about exploring and sharing time and meals with friends. In no particular order I will share what we have been up too...

We met Will and Kent from Whitmore Farm a couple of years ago when they were selling at the Rose Park Farmers Market in Georgetown, they are not there anymore but are in D.C. on Saturdays at the Glover Park-Burleith Farm Market.  After a brief conversation we found out that they used to be regular customers at our old restaurant Rupperts when they lived in the city.  Since then they have relocated to Emmitsburg, Maryland where they raise heritage breeds of sheep, goats, hogs, chickens, rabbits and the best eggs we have ever tasted.  A visit to the farm has been on our list, we finally made it!

I must admit that I had high expectations from tasting their food and brief conversations.  The farm is beyond belief– the animals, farm buildings, their home, the barn, the property, the green houses where they are experimenting with the growth of more than a dozen varieties of figs, the machinery storage building that they are constructing without nails, the collection of Anduze Pots, the mobile chicken coops, the spectacularly colored eggs...

We spent a memorable afternoon around the kitchen table discussing the good and bad in certified organic farming, the unique chicken feed and breeds they use to produce the amazing eggs, how they choose what specific breeds of animals to raise, getting a local butcher certified, lobbying in Maryland in regards to regulation of poultry slaughter on small farms, the fact that many of their interns are vegan...

The visit was inspiring. I adore these guys, we are lucky to be able to cook with what they produce.

Hudson New York, Getaway

 

Had a couple of days free last week and took a train to Manhattan and then transfered to another train to Hudson NY.  We spent a glorious couple of days hiking, eating, shopping and relaxing.

Stayed at Mount Merino Manor, a five minute taxi ride outside of town–  situated on a 100 acre property, great breakfast, beautiful views of the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson River, quiet...

Hiked at Olana which is a 250 acre estate within walking distance from Mount Merino Manor.  It was the home of the Hudson River School Painter, Frederic Edwin Church. Church meticulously designed the landscape of his property concentrating on views that one can see from the various paths on the property.

Ate at two fantastic restaurants which were very vegan friendly and focused on local ingredients, Swoon and Daba.  Both restaurants served thoughtfully prepared delicious food and had lovely small wine lists and excellent service.

Drank coffee at Strongtree a small batch roaster located across the street from the train station with memorable coffee and an enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff.

Shopping is extensive...the only problem with taking the train was there are endless large pieces of old stuff– furniture, planters, garden gates...that we had to leave behind.  There are also very reasonable and well curated vintage clothing shops– a little easier to squeeze a bit of that into our small backpacks. We also found all sorts of small shops where people were making jewelry, painting, churning ice cream...

A few of the favorites we discovered:

Red Chair on Warren- collection of old things from France and Belgium including buttons, plates, fabric, seed packets...

Shana Lee- jeweler who makes the simplest perfect dot stud earrings that happen to be extremely reasonably priced.

Mark's Antiques and Larry's Back Room- great unique unfinished pieces, I hated to leave a very large round cast iron tub that would have made the most fantastic planter.

Look Apparel and Accessories– where I was introduced to and purchased a Didier Ludot little black dress...now I cannot wait to return to Paris to visit his shop!

Making Energy Bars

What to eat on the run, on a plane– what to send with your child as a school snack or to eat after school before an after school activity that burns lots of calories?

Power bars or energy bars are perfect, not too filling but filled with calories, easy to eat on the run, non perishable...Unfortunately many are filled with sugar and have a really long list of ingredients.  In addition I am not comfortable having a pre packaged food be a part of my daily diet.  As a result I started playing around with a recipe of my own.

Once I came up with a recipe that everyone liked I decided to analyze it nutritionally, it looked good when I compared it to other options you can purchase.  I asked Janis Jibrin the nutritionist that I work closely with on Bob Greene's Best Life Diet to take a look at the ingredients and the analysis.  She enthusiastically approved!

Every Day Energy Bars

Makes 26 bars

5 cup oatmeal

½ cup grapeseed oil

½ cup almond milk

1 cup peanut butter

¼ cup ground flax seeds

¼ cup sesame seeds

¾ cup chopped bittersweet chocolate

¼ cup maple syrup

½ teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a stand up mixer add all of the ingredients and mix everything is thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes.

3. Measure out 1/4 cup servings, you could bake them in cupcake molds, I baked them in silicone baking molds that accommodated 1/4 cup servings.

4. Bake for 15 minutes.  After cooling completely I wrap the bars individually in a small piece of parchment paper covered with tin foil.  I store these in the freezer and for me the recipe yields nearly a months supply.

Nutrition Information for One Bar–

calories: 205

protein: 6 g

carbohydrate: 18 g

fiber: 3 g

sugar: 3 g

total fat: 13 g

saturated fat: 2.6 g

monosaturated fat: 3.7 g

polysaturated fat: 5.4 g

cholesterol: 0 mg

calcium: 26 mg

potassium: 182 mg

sodium: 70 mg

Canal Saint Martin, neighborhood Paris

I have been stalking the Canal St. Martin neighborhood for more than a decade now.  The first time I visited I knew that it is where I would choose to live if moving to Paris.  It was a perfect place to wander, we found a coffee shop, a book store and a large Antoine and Lili store but it was not full of shopping, galleries or other commerce that often bring you to visit a neighborhood– it just appealed as an excellent place to live.  On subsequent visits we saw new stores popping up, more cafes and restaurants...today it is both a great place to live and a destination.

When deciding where to stay on our most recent trip I learned that a new small hotel had recently opened right on the canal, I did not hesitate, I made a reservation at Le Citizen.  In addition to the hotel being located in what I consider the perfect spot there were many other advantages it was– small, comfortable, you get an ipad lent to you upon check in, the staff and owner are knowledgeable and helpful, the construction and practices are ecologically aware...in short it was hard to leave and we will stay there on our next trip.

Staying on the canal gave us a chance to explore the neighborhood, on the street (rue de Lancry) between Jacques Bonsergent (our metro stop) and the hotel there is a paper shop, a fabulous flower store, a variety of small specialty food shops– Italian, Lebanese, Greek, fruit...a late night falafel joint that proved invaluable for an after ballet snack one night, intriguing clothing and vintage stores and a fabulous design bookstore.  There are also several spots that beg you to stop for a drink or a glass of wine including Le Verre Vole and Hotel du Nord.

The blocks surrounding Le Citizen were full of food shops, clothing stores, galleries, flower shops, cafes... I am anxious to explore each one on future visits.  We did find two new favorites: a bakery, Du Pain et Des Idees and La Tete Dans Les Olives.

Since "discovering" Du Pain et Des Idees I learned that the excellent bread is not exactly a secret...Alain Ducasse serves bread from this bakery at his Paris 3 star restaurant, Plaza Athenee.  The Pain des Amis is one of the best breads I have ever tasted– slightly fermented, nutty, whole wheat and woodsy.  We also tried a stuffed bread that was kind of like a French version of an empanada filled with olives and thyme– memorable.  I have no doubt that everything from this bakery is worth trying.

La Tete Dans Les Olives is about a 10 minute walk from Le Citizen hotel.  The tiny store is packed with products from Sicily.  The owner travels to Sicily every year for the olive harvest and processing of the oil and returns back to Paris with a variety of oils that he has made.  He does not own property but rather visits friends olive farms and the names of the oils reflect the owners of the various properties.  The processing procedure is the same for each oil but the tastes vary greatly depending on the variety of olive, soil and other growing conditions.  We tasted several oils and wanted to bring home one of each but settled on two, a very grassy tasting Paolo and a rich and intense oil called Francesco.  We also tasted the most delicious capers, sun-dried tomatoes, fig cookies and a dried persimmons.  This store is worth a detour!  They also do a 5 seat restaurant a few times a week, sadly there was no spaces available but it is on the top of my list for my next visit.

Eating Vegan (vegetalien) in Paris

Every time I go to Paris I forget that it is an oddity to be a vegan there.  There are outstanding ingredients– stellar vegetables, the best bread, availability of a huge variety of foods from all over the world...but the French are committed to their meat, fish, eggs, butter and cheese.  Fancy restaurants with kitchen inventories and large kitchen staffs sometimes are willing to accommodate.  However, smaller bistros with one menu and only a person or two in the kitchen are often unable to prepare a vegan meal.  There are exceptions to this, a few I know of are–  Le Clown Bar we had an excellent plate of seasonal vegetables and lentils, we were unable to get a reservation at La Tete dans les Olives or Le Comptoir (next trip!) but they seemed undaunted by our request and the underground restaurant, Soul Kitchen Supper Club said vegan would not be a problem but they were not open any of the nights we were in Paris this time.

Don't get the wrong idea, we ate well in Paris!!

There are several vegetarian restaurants in Paris, I have not been to many but we did end up eating a lovely meal in between two exhibits at the Pompidou Museum at Le Potager du Marais.  I have heard great things about several others as well.  We had a fabulous lunch made up of several small salads and extraordinary multi grain bread at Bread and Roses near the Jardin de Luxembourg.  There are many cous cous restaurants where it is easy to eat vegan throughout Paris, a favorite is Chez Omar.

Street food is plentiful and much of it is vegetarian, favorites include the Thyms Sandwich at the Bastille Market, Falafel from L As du Fallafel, Japanese choices from a stand called Taeko at Marche des Enfants Rouge (great Moroccan, Middle Eastern and Italian choices too)– and there is always the option of bread and fruit available on nearly every corner.

On our recent trip we also ate at Le Violon D'Ingres where we started with a perfectly dressed salad, followed by a plate of spring vegetables that included fava beans peas and morels.  We ended with a cassis sorbet and fruit.  On an earlier trip we they were happy to prepare a memorable vegan meal for us at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon.

Our last night we splurged and ate at Arpege a Michelin 3 star restaurant that is unique in that it has an emphasis on vegetables.  They were happy to work with us and forgo dairy as well.

Our meal was made up of lots of tiny courses–

Beet on cracker with chocolate

Potato noodles with herb vinaigrette

Spinach with sesame and bitter orange

Salad with hazelnut butter

Beet and chocolate with balsamic vinegar and spring onion

Yellow beet carpaccio with chervil

Black radish carpaccio with lemongrass

Green radish with caramelized radish and green tea

Baby vegetables with cous cous and cumin

Cassis Pates

Orange and apple with mint and argon oil

Apple and pineapple with olive oil lime sauce and candy

......

Already dreaming of our next visit!

Non Dairy Milk and Yogurt

We have a few cooking projects that we are working on this summer. We have made non dairy milk before but have never come up with a specific recipe that we could regularly make to have in our pantry in lieu of buying cartons of milk. This milk will now be incorporated into our larder.

Non-Dairy Milk:

2 cups cashews 1 1/2 cup rolled oats 1 1/2 cup pearled barley

1.Place cashews in a large bowl and cover with 6 cups of boiling water. Let sit for 20 minutes to an hour.

2.Place oats and barley in a large pot. Add 9 cups of water, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let cook for 3 minutes. Cover mixture and let sit for 10 minutes. Letting this mixture sit longer will result in a thicker milk. Do not worry if the grains do not seem completely cooked they are ideal for extracting milk.

3.Place the grain mixture in a high power blender with 4 additional cups of water, I suggest at Vita Mix. Blend in batches for 30 seconds each. Strain mixture through a very fine strainer, discard the solid and keep the liquid.

4.Wash the blender thoroughly. Blend the cashew mixture until completely smooth and there is no remaining grainy-ness, about 2 minutes.

5.Combine the cashew and the grain mixture, chill your milk. This might be more of a cream like texture. If this mixture is too thick for your taste or desired use it can be thinned slightly with filtered water.

Non dairy yogurt has always been illusive because what is available at the market has lots of sugar. We are thrilled to have this as an option.

Non Dairy Yogurt:

9 cups non dairy milk (see recipe above) 2 cup yogurt starter (for first batch you can purchase any non dairy live yogurt for subsequent batches you can save 2 cups of your own yogurt to use as the starter) at room temperature

1.Heat milk to 110 degrees. Wisk in yogurt starter. Pour yogurt into glass or plastic containers, leaves lids ajar, partially covering the mixture but allowing air into the yogurt as well.

2.Let containers sit in a warm place at room temperature until yogurt reaches desired sourness and thickness. This will take anywhere from 8-20 hours. Cover with lids and refrigerate.

Yields approximately 1 gallon yogurt