Nervous Mom Watches as Edibles Grow

Like any delicate thing you choose to nurture, seeds are also prone to their own unpredictable outcomes. Sowing them gently, with care, into fertile mother earth, I watched my little babies sprout into seedlings, one by one, not knowing exactly which ones will go the full course, which ones will  be stunted. And, then, of course, the horrific act of "thinning" the seedlings.....having to choose the healthiest ones over the others so as not to overcrowd them....
The excitement, the nervousness, the awe!  This is the best part of all...

So far, so good. Immediately after planting these seeds 4 weeks ago, blessings of rain came for many days on end, mitigating the need for much water. But I still wonder if my lettuce, chard, arugula and broccoli will grow as fast as they should...right now they are about 1.5-2 inch high seedlings.  Guess we'll have to wait and see :)

Here is a technique I learned from our meetup at the Santa Monica community garden. A plastic water bottle, cut in half, acts as a  mini greenhouse. Very smart(whoever came up with that, proper credit is due)! Loved it so much I wanted to try for myself. It's also a great way to recycle. 

Note to self: More important than the amount of water is the amount of sunlight a plant receives.  Example below: these spinach plants that receive at most a couple hours of (semi--obstructed) afternoon sun have barely budged in the last 4 weeks. Will continue to follow to see how long and to what extent they will grow.

And Finally............these guys below (broccoli and 2 varieties of Cabbage) are doing alright.....steadily growing. I'm hoping to use the cabbage leaves in an Armenian dish called "Dolma", where we stuff and roll cooked cabbage leaves with a rice and meat mixture...Something I enjoy doing with Grandma.

Tips from the Experts

Even though I consider myself a totally novice gardener, I enjoy consulting a good guide book now and again. One of the recent recommendations I received from a fellow gardener whom I met through "Foodforward.org" is a book titled, "From Seed to Skillet", by Jimmy Williams and Susan Heeger. I like the pictorials and the family history connected with this book. I also like the practical, useful tips on when and how to plant edibles...

And, as you can see, Noel, my tabby is also fond of the book...

Transforming Winter "Blues" to Winter "Greens"

This time of year is usually associated with cozy, indoor activities like cooking hearty dishes, curling up with a good book, or snuggling with a partner over classic movies. But it can also be the season of the blues, the "winter blues", those feelings that are so famously sung about, and that discourage one from getting out and doing those things we left behind in the summer.  Yet, during these shorter, colder days, with a little bit of work and creativity, the winter blues can be transformed into winter greens!  All you need is a little inspiration, a planting guide to winter edibles, and the curiosity of a kid.

This is the first year I try my hand at winter gardening, and there was nothing terribly detailed about my plan. I simply pulled out my dried out summer plants, amended those spots with organic compost mix, and reassessed the sunniest spaces where I  can maximize growth. I cheated a bit by buying a few seedlings from my favorite nursery (like the cabbages, spinach, broccoli), just because I had a late start this season. However I decided that my root veggies (carrots, onions, beets), as well as my lettuces,  will be started from seed.  This is still a work  in progress as the planting will be in various stages.

Next to the bell peppers, some space for 2 spinach plants

Where the tomatoes once occupied; Broccoli, and two kinds of cabbage

A spot with amended soil, where carrots will soon befriend hot peppers

There's something invigorating about putting your hands in soil, no matter the season.  Here I built a 4x4 planting box, leaving the bottom open to concrete, and filled it with premium organic potting soil. I laid down 4 rows of organic and non-organic seeds: arugula, swiss chard, broccoli raab, and leafy lettuce. Can't wait to see what grows!

Finally, who said you even need any horizontal ground space to grow edibles?
Thanks to innovators and "outside the box" thinkers like this guy who posted a video on how to plant 'vertically', nothing is impossible. For those who have smaller spaces and resources to contend with, here is a fantastically creative way to grow an edible plant.

Time-tasted Tomatoes

 

Ahhh... winter in L.A....
Rain is coming down, heaters are turned on, and hopefully you've got someone warm with whom to cuddle. As for my waning tomato plants, I find I'm stuck with a couple stragglers; green tomatoes whose fate is undetermined. The likelihood of these guys reaching their prime lusty red on the vine is low. So, I consulted a couple sources and learned about alternatives to ripening on the windowsill (which is not always guaranteed to expedite the process). I found that placing unripe tomatoes in a box along with other fruit is a proven method to help the fruit make its color transition. In this instance since I had just a couple small Early Girl tomatoes, I used a shoebox. I lined the bottom of the box with crumpled up newspaper, then placed the tomatoes alongside half-ripened thick-skinned fruits from my garden (grapefruit, lemons, peppers). I closed the box and let these guys hang out on my kitchen counter at a desirable 70 degrees F, checking the box every couple days to make sure nothing was going bad and no fruit flies are accidentally trapped in there (cause you know that's not a good scenario, haha). So, after about a week, voila!....tomatoes were shiny red and ready to eat!

Tasty Tip:  Take your ripened tomatoes, chop them along with a couple Persian cucumbers, add cubed feta cheese, black kalamata olives, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. If you got some chopped fresh mint, basil or oregano, add those. If not, get yourself a nice dried herb mix(I personally love the versatile "Herbes de Provence").  If you have them, add  some chopped walnuts to the mix for that extra satiety factor, and there you have a tangy, delicious Greek salad. You got your protein, your calcium, your vitamins, and overall a low-carb, highly filling salad. Very tasty!

 

Capricorn, Capra, the Goat

The season of the Capricorn fast approaches, and goats are on our mind! Well, on mine at least...

After the Soledad Goat Farm tour in October, we had an increased level of interest among meetup members to see a real working goat farm. So, thanks to one of our members, Moti, she suggested Drake Family Farms in Ontario, CA for our next meetup. Moti is also an intern there and is a fascinating person who is truly connected and devoted to the community gardening/farming initiative. On Saturday, November 3rd, we enjoyed a special day at the farm where owner Dan Drake provided us an in-depth tour of the goat cheese production process, followed by a tasting of their artisanal cheeses. Needless to say, first timers were truly thrilled at meeting these docile creatures, and those who were more curious gained in-depth information on the kind of lifestyle, challenges, and financial realities of operating a goat cheese business.

A perfect Southern California sunny day for a  neat learning opportunity about the goat-cheese process, from milking, to draining, to ripening. So much goes into this, and the final products are simply fantastic!

Like many cheese loving friends, I have developed a special love and affinity for a good goat cheese, or "chevre". Look at the French, they have perfected it for centuries. It is also quite versatile as an ingredient in recipes like creamy fettucini,  stuffed peppers, lasagna. Or just simply spread onto crackers or crusty bread with a  nice glass of Rioja or Merlot!  mm...mmmm....Also, goat cheese is naturally more alkaline and digestible than cow's milk.  It's a good source of vitamins and minerals. After all, these goats are free-roaming and relatively stress-free! So, you're getting a product close to what our ancestors lived on. Pure, unadulterated, straight from the land.....now how much better can it get?

Purple Reign

Purple is the color of royalty, and undoubtedly, the richest, heartiest, and most stunning vegetables that reign my garden are my purple bell peppers and Japanese eggplants. Every time I watch the bell pepper plant begin to flower and bud, I marvel at the wondrous, dark, regal skin slowly take its full "bell" shape (You won't see this color so readily in the standard markets, not the ones I go to)....

Oh, and the full-bodied promise of the eggplant....mmm...You know that with smaller eggplants you don't even need to drain their bitter juice like you do with standard ones. You can cut and start cooking. That's one less step!  On a couple occasions, I've created a more "compact" version of an eggplant parmeggiano using this smaller variety, by layering slices in a small Pyrex dish, which works just as fine.

Most of the time, however, I just like to grab whatever's growing and make a mixed roasted vegetables dish, Mediterranean style.

SIMPLE ROASTED VEGGIES:
*2  Bell Peppers(any color) cut into strips of 1/4 inches thick
*2-3 Small Eggplants (japanese, Italian), cut into approx. 1 inch thick pieces.

*1 large Red Onion, cut in 1/2 inch thick rings
*1/4 cup mix chopped fresh herbs(oregano, thyme, rosemary)
*1/4 cup Extra virgin olive oil
*Salt and pepper to taste
*Preheat 425-degree oven, mix all above together. Lay out veggies in a single layer on a flat roasting pan, or aluminum pan. Roast until tender. You will definitely know when they're done when the fantastic fragrance fills the kitchen. What makes this even more flavorful? Adding couple cups of chopped white mushrooms (try to buy organic).  Try this on top of pasta, add some parmesan cheese, and you got yourself a fresh, mouth-watering dinner.  Or just simply serve your roasted Mediterranean vegetables as a side to a fish or chicken dish. Divine!


Japanese eggplant about a third way to maturity 

Inspirations From the Goat Farm

We had quite a few successful meetup events over the past 7 or so months. One of the most memorable however was visiting Soledad Goat Farm in the Mojave Desert, on October 13th.  Away from the usual city routine, we met Julian and Carol Pearce, owners of a haven filled with about 300+ goats of various breeds, along with rescue animals like canines, mules, and even geese!  The Pearces, who make their living producing and selling their award- winning goat cheese, greeted us so graciously, and provided an educational tour of their cheese making operation. Along the way we met the newest and youngest addition to their family, "Hope", a 10-week old goat who was born blind, but with as much if not more vigor as her seeing brothers and sisters. Hope amazed us all as she pranced around the farm, constantly searching for her "Dad", Julian, who is clearly enamored with his little girl, so sweet and loving!  Here is a small video clip of Hope!  FYI: Sorry for having to view this sideways. Now I know that I need to point it horizontally when to shooting on my android!

Summer Bounty

So....summer may be over, but here in Los Angeles, the heat always comes and goes...
Anybody who is lucky enough to have even a small plot of land to grow fruits and vegetables can enjoy their bounty year-round. And even though we hit some remarkably high summer temps (sometimes reaching 104F), I would say I did okay with my small, humble crop this year....
Making use of the most sunny spots, I ended up planting about 12 tomato plants, 6 eggplant plants, a couple  Italian zucchini plants, dozen bell peppers, a variety of herbs,  and towards the end of the season, some pepper plants such as jalapeno, habanero, etc....the tastiest and juiciest of them all, hands-down, was the heirloom tomato varieties (Green zebra, Cherokee purple). From my harvest,  I was proud to give some fruit to friends and family. The rest I used for my sheer palate pleasures, or to use in experimental recipes.
Now, I look forward to selecting seeds for winter planting....more to come...

 On a good summer day...

Start of a Blog- From Paris to L.A.

WELCOME!

Goodness, I am sooo relieved to finally start writing this blog! I had so wanted to start this back in March 2012, when I launched a community meetup group in Los Angeles, called "Let's Eat Farm to Table".  Sadly the blog was to be delayed.  After a few months, however, and over a dozen successful meetup events, it was time to start documenting these experiences.

But before moving on, let me tell you how the meetup inspiration got started in the first place...

As 2012 dawned upon us, I felt the itch to check another item off my bucket list: Cooking classes abroad. So, with about a week's paid vacation on my payroll, I decided to jet to Paris and take a few classes at "L'Atelier Des Sens". It was surprisingly cozy for a winter break, and a lovely way to reconnect with the culture that gave us, "L'art de la cuisine!" I had already inherited the love of cooking from my grandma and mastered a few family recipes in recent years. But this was different. My experience took me beyond the delicate art of croissant-making and the perfect parchment-paper salmon with leeks. After discovering that I was the only non-native in class, our chef engaged us in a discussion about food quality differences between France and the U.S. In a snooty, yet intellectual approach, his argument was very simple: Why do Americans choose non-fat/low-fat alternatives to real dairy products? Why do we consume so many artificial sweeteners and substitutes? Also, the fact that our meats and poultry are so conveniently packaged, but deconstructed far beyond recognition. How is it that we allow so much processing and convenience at the cost of good nutrition? It made me think of all things that have gone wrong with our food culture over generations. As we added heavy cream to cook our leeks, I thought about what lessons to take back home with me to L.A. Not that I wasn't already aware of all the points our chef made. It just put things in a different perspective for once. So when I returned, not only was I excited to cook that great salmon dish for my family, but I felt compelled to start a group for like-minded people to experience real food through local sources. I wanted to do the research but also wanted to see who would join me on my adventure! That's how "Let's Eat Farm to Table" began. 

Since March 2012, members from all over the Los Angeles area have joined our meetup group at farms and farmer's market tours, local restaurants, cooking classes, and community gardens. We have collectively expanded our understanding of where our food comes from through sustainable farming and gardening techniques, composting, goat cheese production, and more. We even got to milk a cow during one of our first meetups, at Amy's Farm in Ontario.

This blog follows our various meetup events and also my personal adventures from the garden to the table. I hope you will enjoy what I share with you...whether you are a meetup member, or just someone who enjoys learning about fresh, locally sourced food!




Fresh, organically grown pickins at Amy's Farm (From our meetup in May 2012)