pedie

This is the first year that I have tried a winter garden. Live in Playa del Rey, CA, three blocks from the coast. While it isn't as much fun as a summer garden, I have been harvesting cauliflower, broccoli, chard, tuscan and russian kale and spinach. I have also put in some edible landscaping in the front of our house and have many different lettuces growing in there amid the flowering bushes and herbs.

Even though we are not blanketed with snow, So. California's temperatures dip in January and it is even perfect soup weather for us. So far this year I have made a simple celery root and leek pureed soup that was delightful. Any suggestions for dressing this soup for a bit of excitement? I also made a winter vegetable soup with squash, onion, celery, carrot, broccoli, touch of tomato, some cooked beans and kale thrown in at the end. All cooked in vegetable stock with a little fresh thyme and a rind of parmesano reggiano thrown in. Now, that's a winter soup! And a great dish - I'll call it a soup...kind of a pasta fagiole made with Rancho Bernardo Christmas Lima beans (fantastic), onion, garlic and sauteed mushrooms and served with a large shell pasta. They begged for more! :-)

This year I have decided to follow Michael Pollan's advice...to eat food, not too much, mostly plants. Just this past month I had the opportunity to hear Steve Sando from Rancho Gordo beans speak in Los Angeles to the Culinary Historical Society. I had purchased Rancho Gordo heirloom beans at the San Francisco Farmer's market while on a short trip in the spring so I was familiar with their beans. Well, he got me so hyped up about beans that I bought his book and I placed an order. The first beans I prepared in 2009 were the Christmas Lima Beans. I have never had them before and they are said to have a bit of a chestnutt flavor. Actually the dish I prepared was with some sauteed onion, carrot and celery and some carmelized Crimini mushrooms added. It was very delicious...a real earthy taste. Yes, I could say a hint of chestnutt. I cooked them long and slow on the stovetop and they became thick and creamy with a little bite to the beans. I served the beans over a little al dente pasta, some grated parmesano reggiano on top with a drizzle of oil...wonderful. With a mixed green salad...what more could I want! Can't wait to try some of the other varieties. (I even saved a few of the dry beans to see if I can sow them in the spring.)

I wish I could be cautiously optimistic... I am going to try and see how things go. As an Obama supporter, I have been riding the hopeful wave of "life as we know it CAN change!" In addition to being an avid "foodie" who spends the most delightful hours of my life preparing food in my kitchen for friends and family, I am also an avid gardener. Since I retired, I have had the time to become more educated about our food and where it comes from. I have read the Pollan books and watched "King Corn." Click here! I am concerned about sustainability and the practices that are so common in our industrialized agricultural systems. I feel a great concern about peak oil and our dependence upon fossil fuels. So, with bated breath, I have watched to see what message would be sent with Obama's pick for Secretary of Agriculture. I signed the petition sent to the transition team and had the list of the "sustainable dozen" Click here! pinned to my bulletin board. My reaction to the pick...I am deflated. I am fearful that it will be business as usual with our major agro-business corporations and lobbyists, wielding the power. I guess time will tell...

I did not grow up in a hunting family and the idea of hunting for food or sport has never appealed to me. However, I have to admit that I was given a different perspective when I read Michael Pollan's chapter on hunting in his book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma." He also had never hunted for his dinner before and was surprised at his reaction to the chase. At the end of the chapter he is reminded of "that place and time where humans 'looked' at the animals they killed, regarded them with reverence, and never ate them except with gratitude." If you haven't read it, check it out!

I am in the process of compiling cookbook for my 92 year old mother to give as a Christmas gift to family members. I am using the Mastercook software. I have entered the recipes. then in the section for Notes, I have written the story around the recipe as my mother has dictated it to me...whose favorite recipe it was, how she acquired it, when she prepared it etc. So each recipe is personalized. I also have some photos of her preparing some of the recipes that I will insert. The software allows me to publish (print) it out in various formats. Then I will bind them with a comb binder.

Thank you so much for reporting back to us upon your return. I enjoyed your blog and the pictures made me salivate.

Thank you, Delta Doc! We had the pot roast last night. First we enjoyed the aroma all day long, as it cooked. We did not find the soy sauce flavor overwhleming. I used a Dos Equis beer and a beef boullion condensed soup and I did use less of the garlic cloves. I reduced the juice a bit and then served the meat au jus on large onion rolls. Delicious! It is a keeper.

That sounds wonderful! I am going to try it.

I was just gifted with a small basket full of freshly picked Bartlett pears. Any unique ideas on how I might incorporate them into simple summer recipes? Lately I have been using fruit in entrees and salads and love the combinations, so I am looking for more ideas.

A question for those who have subscribed both to the magazine and to the online website. If you could only have one, which would it be??

I left my heart in Cefalù! Actually we spent a week there in an apartment in the Centro Storico on Via Bordanaro that borders the sea. We spent all of our time in the historic part of the town so I can't speak for the newer part. There are many wonderful restaurants. A couple we especially liked were L'Antica Corte and Trattoria La Botte. Many of them have balconies that over look the sea crashing on the rocks. For lunch, I recommend any of the restaurants on the Lungomare where the sandy beach is. They all have a spread of various antipaste that is spectacular. Being a seaside resort, fish the way to go. There is also a paneficio on the piazza in front of the duomo that has a line of people buying the fresh bread first thing in the morning. Gelateria's on the piazza are also great.

Who would be braising in the oven during the month of August in Southern California, you might ask? Well, someone who bought three lamb shanks on sale at Bristol Farms. I have never made braised lamb shanks and the recipe I tried was from Molly Stevens, Lamb Shanks Braised with Lentils and Curry. They were wonderful!! A quick dish of basmati rice and a yogurt sauce of cucumber, mint, scallion, garlic and Greek plain yogurt complemented the braise. I used French lentils that retained their shape and didn't get mushy. Highly recommend.

Speaking of this year's artichoke crop, I recently saw "blooming artichokes" at our local Farmer's Market. I have never seen an artichoke in bloom and try to image what a field of these beauties would look like. It also made me think about the plant. Artichoke eaters know that you have to work so hard to get to the artichoke "heart" buried deep in the choke and protected on the top by the thistle. Now, the artichoke is past its market prime and is going to seed and yet to look at it, it is blooming, attractive, inviting. And that is the thistle that you are seeing, the hard protective covering of the heart. But now it is soft, colorful and free. I makes me think of this time in my life and the life of many of my friends. Maybe we are past our "market prime" and maybe we are going to seed...but we are also softer, colorful and free...beautiful! :-)

Thank you so much. I actually made the original recipe tonight and got raves! But I used a regular pie crust. I used my Momotaro Japanese tomatoes and a Vermont white cheddar cheese. It was wonderful. I will try this crust next time. I liked the picture of the texture. thank you.

I think this will be perfect for you. As I said, you can adjust the amount of all the ingredients to your own taste. What you send up with is a luscious puree of clilled vegetables with delightful little chunks of veggie that burst when you chew! Sorry I don't have a photo.

This looks fantastic! I went back to read the posted recipe earlier in this thread. Is your crust a regular pie crust???

I am happy to. I received this recipe from a family friend who has passed away and I think of her everytime I make it. Helen's Gazpacho 1/2 Red onion -- chopped 1 carrot -- grated ½ red & green pepper -- diced small 2 cucumbers - small -- diced small 3 tomatoes - large -- peeled, seeded and diced 2 cloves garlic -- minced 1/2 cup basil 2 Tablespoons cilantro 1/2 cup corn kernels (I use white frozen corn) 2 cups tomato juice – spicy (I often used Clamato) 3 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce 2 Tablespoons olive oil 1/2 avocado -- diced salt and pepper lime wedges Puree tomatoes, basil, cilantro, carrot, and 2/3 of the cuke, onion, peppers. Stir puree into the tomato juice, oil, sugar, hot sauce, vinegar, salt & pepper. Add remaining diced cuke, onion, peppers, corn kernels. Chill thoroughly. Add diced avocado just before serving. Serve with lime wedges. I usually by a 32 ounce jar of Clamato juice and double the recipe. It makes a huge bowl but we eat off of it for days. Also, the ingredients do not have to be exact, judge by your own taste. Usually I just dice up what I have so there may be more pepper or more cucumber. Whatever... Patricia

I am going to piggy back on this thread because someone asked what our favorite tomato recipes are. I think that tomato pie looks fantastic. For some reason my 7 tomato plants are very happy in their location this year and I have picked over 623 tomatoes. I have done everything from making fresh tomato sauce and freezing it to use in later months. I have made batches of fresh gazpacho with a wonderful recipe that incorporates pureed fresh red and green bell peppers, cucumbers, carrot, red onion and tomatoes, leaving some of the chopped vegetables whole to be scattered in the soup. It also has corn kernals and avocado...wonderful on a summer evening. My latest use has been with the tomatoes from my one San Marzano plant. I have been roasting them in the oven with EVOO, chopped garlic, chopped basil and parsley, salt and pepper and roast until they are beginning to carmelize. then I cool slightly, rough chop them and toss them with spaghetti. I add a little butter to the hot spaghetti to help it hold together, grated cheese and....mangia bene!!

Yes, these are salad days. Yesterday I had a very unique, filling, and delicious entree salad. Main ingredient was farro (the wheat grain). In the salad were chopped grilled vegetables: zucchini, asparagus, red onion, as well as sun-dried tomatoes, chopped kalamata olives and slivers of parmesano-reggiano cheese. Dressed with EVOO and balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and chopped fresh parsley. It was fantastic!!

We were in Boston the last two weeks and I left my garden in the care of my neighbor. When I came home I was overwhelmed by the growth that occurred. We have the wonderful full sun in Southern California and the tomatoe plants were taking over the garden, laden with so many green tomatoes. Four were red for picking. I have one eggplant on the Japanese eggplant. Cucumbers are ready to be helped on to the trellis. I have about five fava bean plants and they were covered with black aphids. Fortunately, I also saw lady bugs, feasting on the aphids. But the plants are so infested that I don't know if the lady bugs can keep up with them. A quick call to Armstrong nursery and the suggestion to spray wash them with Lemon Joy soap and water...would knock off and kill the aphids but would not harm the lady bugs...so we will see if it works. My fig tree has 2 figs on it. Hope I get them before the birds do.

Today was a busy day in the garden...weeds! I have six tomato plants that all have green tomatoes. But I am most excited about the seeds I have been able to germinate...this is a first for me. I have six fava bean plants that started from the bean...now they all have flowers and three of them are forming bean pods. I also started some vining peas that supposedly came from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello garden. That's my story and I am sticking to it. I have six little San Marzano tomato plants from seeds from Italy. I transplanted my Japanese cucumber plants yesterday. BTW...if anyone is looking for lovely trellises for vegetables that vine...I found two for only $10 each at Tuesday Morning's. They are beautiful and look lovely in the garden.

Good for you! You can't know unless you try.

When I grow lettuce, I never harvest the entire head, but go out and clip the leaves I want for the salad. It continues to grow more leaves and becomes "the gift that keeps on giving!" So if the head you bought survives the transplant, you may be able to cut off the outer leaves as you need to use them. Butterleaf is usually not a tightly packed head. What an interesting experiment.

I am going to look for those. I saw a Huell Howser, California's Green, show recently where he visited a Hydroponics lettuce grower in Carpenteria. Very interesting approach. It is the complete plant that is packaged. However, those little roots have never known soil. Let us know if it adjusts.