BLTs for the Jews

Oh dear members of my tribe, especially the kosher keepers, but even the less-then-kosher keepers, who grew up keeping kosher and now just kind of avoid pig products for no clear reason... Do I have a treat for you!

First of all, some brief thoughts on bacon- ok, the non-Jews eat it for breakfast. Fine. But beyond a chewy sweet crunchy salty breakfast experience, beyond bringing a smoky rich flavor to your legumenous soups, even forget for a moment about the way roasted squash reaches new hights with a strip of sizzling meat in it's cavity... there is nothing in the world quite like a BLT. (That's Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato for the uninitiated).

Something about how the creaminess of the Hellmans' mayo brings out the sweet acidity of a perfectly ripe summer tomato, the meaty crunch of the bacon juxtaposes with the lesser crunch of a mild stack of lettuce, and it's all encompassed in the sweet embrace of a suitable bread.

It's not just a sandwich- it's an icon, it's an experience. And folks- it is now available for the Jewish pallet. So go, go down to the Bethesda Farmers market and seek out that character of a kosher bacon seller Hayim. Buy a package of his kosher lamb baaacon. If you can't find him email him at lambbaaacon@gmail.com. (yes it is star k kosher and yes it is made with Grow and Behold free ranging lambs).

Ingredients

Oatnut Bread (Bread of your choice)

Kosher Lamb Bacon

Lettuce

Heirloom Tomato

Hellman's Mayo

Instructions

1. Lightly toast the bread.

2. Spread thickly with Hellman's mayo.

3. Now thickly slice a room temperature, heirloom tomato either freshly picked or picked up from the farmer's market.

4. Fry the lamb bacon until mostly crunchy in a cast iron skillet. (*For the real Jews reading this, to cook the bacon you just lay the strips on the cast iron skillet, no oil needed and turn the flame to medium. The fat melts the meat cooks in the hot grease. Let it fry and sputter until it's brown but not black!)*

5. Now arrange the bread, mayo, tomato, baaacon, and top with greens. I like to use arugula for an added peppery bite. Romaine works just as well.

6. Top with the second piece of bread, cut in half, and prepare yourself for a spiritual experience...

Potatoes from the Earth with Love

I love growing potatoes! Maybe more then any other crop- digging up glowing gems from out of the soil that translate into real, belly filling food feels like magic. This year we planted three different kinds of potatoes and the Red Norlands rewarded us with this message from below...

Potatoes can be harvested starting in early July- and many farmers will start digging them early for market considerations. The best for home growers however is to wait until the plant starts to die in mid-late summer and then dig up its nest of starchy treasures. If you dig them before the plant starts to die you might be missing some additional tuber set.

Different varieties of potatoes have shorter and longer growing seasons so best to plant a few different varieties and have a long harvest window.

While theoretically any piece of potato with eyes planted in the early spring can generate a plant and create more tubers- supermarket potatoes are often treated with a chemical that inhibits sprouting and not the best idea for growing your own. Seed potatoes are available from most seed suppliers. I splurge on Maine Potato Lady as they have great organic varieties and you can get smaller and larger amounts of different kinds. Not cheap however!

In any case- the heart shaped potato played a starring role in this morning's garden produce hash served with fried eggs and feta.

Preserving the Harvest

With the Fall coming on quickly thoughts turn to preserving some of our harvest so we can enjoy local foods during the cold months when little is growing. We have multiple options available to us when it comes to putting up goodies for the off season. The simplest and quickest option is  blanching and freezing. Many vegetables lend themselves to blanching and freezing and hold up well in the freezer. Zukes and summer squash, beans, carrots, beets, turnips, peas, and kale are all good options for blanching and freezing. To do this, wash and chop them into suitable sizes, drop them in boiling water for three minutes, then into ice water until cool, then lay them out on a cookie sheet and freeze. The next day put them in clean, ziplock backs, label and forget about them until January!

Another great craft to explore is pickling. When creating pickled delights we can choose to lacto-ferment or vinegar pickle. Lacto-fermentation is an artisanal method of food preservation that has many heath benefits and creates amazing and unique flavors. It involves creating the right conditions for healthy microorganisms to come and do their work of breaking down sugars and releasing lactic acid which acts as a preservative. Old school sour or half-sour pickles, dilly beans, saurkraut, and kim chi are some great options for fermenting. Vinegar pickling involves making a boiling brine of vinegar and seasoning and pouring it over fresh vegetables. Cucumber, sliced beets, baby onions, asparagus and okra are great veggies to vinegar pickle. This method is the best way to get a shelf stable product that doesn't need to be kept in the fridge and can create some really fantastic flavors, although it has no health benefits.

Canning is the process of creating a shlef stable product by sealing mason jars using heat. With canning you really need to follow correct procedures to avoid food borne illness so best to do it according to concise directions- or better yet, do it with a friend or family member who has experience with canning. Pureed tomatoes, jams, and vinegar pickles are all good options for canning.

Dehydrating is also a good option for preserving veggies; if you have a dehydrator you can create the best backpacking foods ever!

Regardless of how you go about it, make sure to try out a food preservation technique this late summer as there is nothing so satisfying as eating homegrown produce from your MidAtlantic garden in the cold weeks of February.

To learn more join us at another free Edible Eden workshop on preserving the harvest Sunday afternoon, Sept 20, 4-6 pm.

Hot and Wet

When was the last time you watered your garden...? Oh, you say, not since May? That may be because it has been raining pretty consistently all summer long. While I have certainly enjoyed the might and glory of our Mid Atlantic thunder storms, and it's nice to never worry about watering... the ramifications for gardening are not so great.

You might have noticed most tomato plants wearing some forlorn yellow to brown leaves around their base- those are signs of Early Blight or Septoria, fungal diseases that get worse when the plants never get to fully dry out.

I've also seen different kinds of fungal diseases on everything from bush cherries and Monarda to Columbines and Lilac bushes. Earlier this season a fungal pepper disease came through that wreaked havoc with farmers. I heard of one well-known local organic farmer who lost their entire crop of specialty hot peppers they had been growing for a local restaurant. And hot peppers are really hard to kill! They never seem to suffer the way sweet peppers do...

I've also noticed mosaic virus and downy mildew on cucumber and squash plants- these fungal diseases usually take down your squash and cukes...but not until the end of the season. With so much rain they seem to be moving faster and earlier then usual.

All this to say, every season is different, sometimes it's dry and if your irrigation system is weak or faulty you start loosing plants. Some seasons it rains every day and while we never need to worry about watering...everything dies from a fungal disease.

Here are some things to consider:

-First of all, if you have an automatic irrigation system- make sure it is not adding insult to injury by watering when all your plants want is a chance to dry out.

-It's a good idea to remove the small branches and leaves around the bases of your tomato plants to create more airflow.

-Mulching with straw could help keep fungal spores from bouncing up from the soil to the lower leaves of plants.

-If you are only seeing the beginning of fungal disease on your plants you might consider spraying some Actinovate or another organic fungicide to try to beat back the progress of the disease.

Regardless, let's enjoy the moisture and warmth while it is here and hope for a crisp fall that is just a little bit dryer...

-- Josh Rosenstein 443.547.9268 www.EdibleEdenFoodscape http://www.EdibleEdenFoodscapes.coms.com http://www.EdibleEdenFoodscapes.com

Cool Cucumber Soup

Ingredients

2-4 Cucumbers (Grated)

1 Clove Garlic (Pressed)

1 Small Bunch Fresh Cilantro (Finely Chopped)

2 Cups Plain Yoghurt

Salt to Taste

Wedge of Lime

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl

2. Let sit for at least half an hour

3. Serve chilled

Succulent Pea Stir Fry

Our late planting of snap peas is holding on far longer then one would expect- I picked a handful of tender pods this morning- July 12!

Peas should be planted as early as possible because they are theoretically supposed to stop producing once the temperatures hit the 90s. Now I know we have seen 90 degree weather this summer but yet those last few plants just keeps putting out peas!

I have some cognitive dissonance when it comes to peas. In general my philosophy regarding snap and snow peas is similar to the way I feel about fresh baked challah rolls, hot chocolate chip cookies and some other things...it will never be as good as it is hot off the pan (or straight off the vine).

I know conventional wisdom (and my mother) would have the cookies cooled and saved for the guests and the peas picked and used in a dish...but with some things, you only get that one chance to have the full experience... and picking peas off the vine and popping them into your mouth- that fantastic candy crunch of sweet grassy goodness- that is one of them.

On the other hand...one of my favorite dishes is this simple stir fry which is also a serious seasonal delight...

Succulent Pea Stir Fry

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Ingredients

Handful Fresh Snap or Snow Peas (De-Stringed)

1 Sweet Onion (Diced)

1 Chicken Breast (Cubed) -- or tofu block, or handful of prawns if you eat them

1 Handful Cashews

Drizzle of Black Soy Sauce (Sweet Soy Sauce)

1 Fresh Chilli, Minced (to Taste)

Instructions

1. Saute the protein separately so you can make sure it is fully cooked

2. Saute the onions and chilli for a until translucent

3. Throw in the peas and cashews a few minutes before the end

4. Drizzle with black soy sauce, salt and pepper

5. Mix with protein and serve

6. Serve over rice for a full meal or on its own with some sauerkraut or kim chi for a low carb high energy supper

(Love)ly Potato Hash

ingredients

1 "Dancer" Eggplant

1 Zephyr Summer Squash

1 Red Norland Potato

1 Small Walla Walla Sweet Onion (pulled before its time

Big handful of (Cilantro, Parsley, Chives, Thyme, Rosemary and Tarragon)

2 Tbps. Cooking Oil

1 Tbps Rice Vinegar

Salt, Pepper and Chilli Powder to Taste

instructions

1. Dice Veggies and fry in oil hot fire until browned on the edges

2. Lower flame and cook until soft

3. Finish by throwing in the herbs, vinegar and seasoning

4. Cook for another few minutes

5. Serve with friend pastured eggs and feta crumble

Shishito peppers

Shishito peppers are my new favorite vegetable...and for a guy who spends most of his waking hours thinking about produce in one form or another-that is saying something!

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The Shishito pepper is a thin, succulent morsel apparently from Japan. It reminds me of seafood, some diminutive green sea creature fried to perfection. Teri says they are the anchovies of the vegetable world. In any case, they are a small, thin skinned, oblong pepper that you fry whole. You sprinkle it with salt (the best you have), hold them by their little stems, and munch them right up to the stem. Eating the seeds and all reminds me of eating the bones of small fish. The taste is slightly bitter, smoky, with the flavor of a spicy pepper but none of the spiciness and some of the creaminess of grilled eggplant. People say one in every 10 is spicy but I find them all pretty mild. But succulent! Man, a plate of slightly crispy, salty sweet peppers with a cold beer is almost the only thing I want to eat this summer! This is definitely going in my seeding chart for next spring.

And so we begin...

Well lookie here....an embedded, easy to use, blog feature... We'll definitely have to take advantage of that!

It's February and outside there's not much growing. Inside however, farmers have already started slow growing seedlings like alliums and early tomatoes, perennial cuttings are taking root and the last potatoes of the 2014 growing season are going into a hearty winter curry.

Thankfully we have some fresh high tunnel greens from Oak Spring Farm so fresh and crisp they make you want to bless the earth they grew in!

Come back soon to read about the adventures of growing and eating local in the Baltimore area. We'll explore current pests and challenges, document successes and most of all- post farm to table meal ideas, harvest preservation projects, recipes and more!