One Year

The best I can do is recall a moment when I understood I had kept some promise to myself, having to do with learning to see the world differently.

Hello All! Can you believe it's been one year since I began En Temporada? I can't. This year has been outstandingly transformative and as I finished Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle this morning I had a little cry during a big moment of reflection. With all the changes that I have implemented in the last year, Kingsolver's book and this blog have been there for me. At times, they felt like the only things keeping me grounded. I am so sad to be at the end of this project but am excited and inspired as I move forward. Along this blog's journey, I began a 2nd blog (said she said he) that I will continue with but this will be my last post on En Temporada. What else could I do in honor of this momentous occasion than bake myself a beautiful carrot cake using carrots from one of my many local farmers markets? Happy Birthday En Temporada! You are a blessing.

Oh, and thank you Barbara so very much. You are my hero.

Today's Rewards

Celery, Carrots, Dates, Eggs, and I finally visited Lark for their Vegan Banana Cupcake. Cupcake for breakfast. Thank you Silverlake!

Celery, Avocado, Garlic, Asparagus, Apples, Lemon, Broccoli, Sweet Potato, Eggs, Spinach

Today's Rewards

Broccoli, Eggs, Carrots, Onion, Sweet Potatoes, Garlic, Mixed Greens

Fresh Eggs

Breakfast for dinner! I like breaking rules.

A friend of mine raises his own chickens in a coop he built in his backyard here in Los Angeles. Said friend bestowed upon me some of his chickens' eggs the other day. He says that each chicken lays one egg a day. The eggs vary in color from a sort of pastel green to a dark brown. The yolks are a much richer yellow than I am used to and the shells are more uniform in size from base to base.

I even fried my egg, which I never do, and enjoyed them with breakfast potatoes and toast. During dinner I also enjoyed watching the HBO documentary When Strangers Click. It was a wonderful evening all around!

Today's Rewards

Sugar Snap Peas, Sweet Potatoes, Lemon, yellow Zucchini, Turnip, Black Kale.

I biked to the Silverlake Farmers' Market this morning. Today is a great day!

Phoenix Public Market

For the first time, I visited the Phoenix Public Market while visiting AZ this last weekend. Downtown on the corner of McKinley and Central. So much fun! We arrived to a bluegrass duo singing Folsom Prison. We bought incredible blackberry preserves and tasted the best bread and butter pickles my brother and I have ever had and my niece got to make a spinning drum just like the one in Karate Kid! It was a beautiful Saturday morning with a fantastic selection from Phoenix farmers. Thank you Phoenix!

http://www.foodconnect.org/phoenixmarket/

Demand Obama Stop Monsanto's GE Alfalfa!

The USDA has approved Monsanto's Roundup Ready genetically engineered alfalfa. This is the wrong decision and will likely lead to wide spread contamination of other crops, including organic alfalfa. You have the power to stop this. I urge you to reject the USDA's approval of genetically engineered alfalfa.

I care about the integrity of the food I eat, and don't want organic and other non-genetically engineered crops to be contaminated by genetically engineered alfalfa. Please take immediate action to stop this approval.

Read, sign, and share. Please.

http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5667

Sunchokes

Sunchokes (aka Jerusalem Artichokes) look like ginger root but don't be fooled. Although available year-round, prime season is from October to April. Choose smooth, clean, unblemished, firm tubers with a minimum of bumps. Sunchokes may be eaten raw or cooked.

You can cook them anyway you might cook potatoes; boil, saute, bake. I cut the sunchokes into chunks and roasted them with oil, salt, and whole garlic cloves. They were very good. And reminded me of the taste of sunflower seeds. My brother, the baseball player, would love them!

Today's Rewards

Broccoli, Beefsteak Tomato, Navel Oranges, Spinach, Eggs, Celery, Persian Cucumber, Orange with Chocolate Chip VGF Scones, Dripbar Coffee

The scones and coffee made a wonderful breakfast. Let's see how long the rest lasts! (I can see an orange in my near future.)

Morel Mushrooms

Last night I was blessed with my first taste of morel mushrooms. These honeycomb-like edible mushrooms are prized by gourmet cooks. Despite their high commercial value (a 1 oz. bag of dried morels can cost around $25), they are hunted by thousands of people every year simply for their taste and the joy of the hunt. I found myself so lucky because a friend's brother lives in Montana where they are plentiful. He dries them for long-term storage because, fortunate for me, morels can be reconstituted by soaking in warm water or milk. Yummy....

Chapter 18: What Do You Eat In January?

Three-quarters of the way through our locavore year, the process was becoming its own reward for us.

After 9 months of the Kingsolver family's resolution to only eat local began, an actual monetary value was emerging. They were able to calculate their earnings from their own animal and vegetable production and processing by assigning a price per pound to each vegetable, chicken, and turkey they'd raised and harvested on the basis of organic equivalents (mostly California imports) in their nearest retail outlet. That plus their value-added products (several hundred jars of tomato sauce and other preserved foods, plus their daughter's full-year egg contribution), was earning them $7,500 of annual income. (Ironically, this figure is also the median annual income of laborers who work in this country's fields and orchards.)

Further, their year of local was costing them well under 50 cents per meal. They were saving tons of money, which was confirmed by the grocery receipts saved from the year before they began eating locally.

Kingsolver also argues that if they had not been growing their own vegetables, they still would have saved a ton by shopping in their new fashion of starting always with the farmers' market and organizing meals from there. I know it's hard to believe when simply comparing the price of a locally grown tomato at the farmers' market to the price of a conventionally grown tomato at the grocery store, but the big savings come from a habit of organizing meals that don't include pricey processed additions.

Depending on your priorities, the value in shopping for food from your local farmer is greater than all the dollars saved. But rest assured...the dollars are saved.

Braised Winter Squash

braise- v. to cook (meat, fish, or vegetables) by sauteeing in fat and then simmering in a small amount of liquid in a covered pot.

Kingsolver gives us a much leaner, healthier way to braise seasonal vegetables in January with Braised Winter Squash. I used butternut squash as I had it on hand but I imagine any seasonal squash would be delicious. The rosemary and apple cider really compliment the flavor of the squash beautifully.

2 pounds winter squash, peeled, halved, and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups apple cider

1 teaspoon salt

Rosemary and pepper to taste

Melt butter in skillet with rosemary; after a few minutes add the squash, salt, and cider. You may need to add some additional cider (or water), enough to cover the squash. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and braise for 20 minutes or until tender. At this point the juice should be reduced to a glaze. If not, raise heat for a few minutes until excess liquid evaporates. Add pepper and a splash of balsamic vinegar if you'd like.

Meyer Lemon Cupcakes

While watching the AFC playoff game today, I enjoyed another one of my favorite activities...BAKING. I baked a slightly modified version of the lemon cupcakes from Z's Cup of Tea.

Cakes

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup lemon curd

1 tsp lemon extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

6 egg whites

pinch salt

2 tsp Meyer lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.

2. Beat egg yolks until they reach the ribbon stage. I did this by hand using the method in the video link below. It took about 5 minutes and cost me a very sore forearm. I would suggest a simple electric mixer instead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CIw9xAjqDA

3. Mix in honey and lemon curd to beaten egg yolks.

4. Add lemon extract, vanilla extract, coconut flour, and baking soda.

5. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with salt and lemon juice until stiff peaks form.

6. Gently fold stiff egg whites into the batter.

7. Pour batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about halfway.

8. Bake for 30 minutes or until the surface of each cupcake springs back.

Icing

8 ounces of vegan cream cheese

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

1/2 cup honey (approximate)

1. Blend cream cheese, extracts, and honey. Adjust ingredients to your preferred flavor.

These seasonal Meyer lemon cupcakes came out tasting super good and were relatively easy to make (especially with an electric mixer.) I love the combination of coconut flour and lemon flavors.

I had a great Sunday. Go Jets!

Winter Coleslaw

Apparently the Gluten Free Goddess is on the same page as me with cabbage this week. I made her coleslaw this afternoon with the rest of the cabbage in my fridge, substituting apple cider vinegar and the Tabasco I had on hand. Delish!

Today's Rewards

Butternut Squash, Grapefruit, Beets, Eggs, Sweet Potatoes, Lemon, Carrots

I had a surprise Farmers Market visit this morning with a good friend. Thank you Brian!

Cabbage

For dinner tonight I had one of the easiest and tastiest prepared vegetables that I have discovered this year. Cabbage. Yah, that's right. Cabbage.

1. Shred.

2. Put in a big pan over low heat.

3. Add a bit of butter and salt and pepper.

4. Stir occasionally until cabbage becomes tender, but not soggy.

I enjoyed this surprisingly flavorful side dish this evening with sweet potatoes and soy sausage.

Today's Rewards

Green Onions, Eggs, Sunchoke, Tomatoes, Sweet Potatoes, and Spinach.

Thank you Silverlake!

Daikon

In an effort to experiment with blessed root vegetables this time of year, I purchased a daikon at the Farmers Market last weekend. This is a brand new vegetable for me as I've never eaten nor cooked with daikon.

Daikon is a mild-flavored Asian radish. There are several different varieties. The one I purchased looked like a large white carrot. You want to select ones that are pure white, feel firm and heavy, and are free of sprouts, cracks or bruises. It can be stored for some weeks in a cool dry place. Daikons are an extremely versatile vegetable that can be eaten raw, pickled, or cooked.

They are very low in calories and rich in vitamin C, potassium and folate. It contains active enzymes that aid digestion. The daikon's leaves can also be eaten and are rich in vitamin C, beta carotene, calcium, and iron.

This evening I added daikon to my cooked seafood medley with pesto. I had it raw but it included some preparation nonetheless.

1. Peel daikon and cut lengthwise into very thin slices.

2. Soak in a bowl of lightly salted water in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

3. Drain daikon. Rinse and pat dry. I then julienned my strips. Voila!

Today's Rewards

This is actually last week's rewards. Broccoli, Carrots, Cabbage, Daikon, Apples, Oranges, Eggs, Potatoes, Spinach, Red Onion, and Garlic.

Black-Eyed Peas

Black-eyed peas have long been associated with good luck and prosperity. Hence, a tradition in many households in celebration of the new year is to eat plenty of black-eyed peas. It is believed that because the peas swell when cooked, they symbolize prosperity. Black-eyed peas are also often prepared with collard greens, which are thought to symbolize money. Regardless of this edibles' powers to bring about fortune, black-eyed peas are a healthful and delicious way to start 2011! They are an excellent source of calcium, folate, and vitamin A.

Today I prepared a Collard Green and Black-Eyed Pea Soup with a recipe from Delish.com and a Cornbread Recipe with Green Chiles & Cinnamon from the Gluten Free Goddess. Both dishes were incredible! (Mom, I wish you were here to join me)

Happy New Years everyone and here's to a lucky and prosperous 2011!