foodscapes

lovely and fantastic fantasy world from artist carl warner.

omg: gmo alfalfa approved

for the last few years, a consortium of organic growers have fought the use of bio-engineered seed by big business. the growers  are fighting the use of 'gmo's for a variety of reasons...mainly because bees pollinating genetically modified plants would also visit nearby organic crops, thus polluting them. well, according to slash food: they gave up! monsanto has just received the food and drug administration's backing to grow unrestricted amounts of alfalfa...to feed livestock, among other things...great.

freeze warning

i think at my house it was a frost warning and upcounty it was a freeze warning...whatever: i ignored/forgot about it and almost lost a healthy crop of basil! after the blackest leaves were removed, i combined them with a lot of garlic, some walnuts and olive oil for the most delicious pesto: primo!

hyacinth bean

here it is, october and one flowering plant is still around, standing head and shoulders above all others: the hyacinth bean! decorative and delicious, the Lablab purpureus has edible leaves, flowers, pods, seeds and roots and is slated to save the world. this is not my plant shown in the photo above, but my neighbor's lovely front gate. i will make sure i dont forget this beauty next year: i opted to plant green beans in my limited space this year, and have been having a difficult time harvesting them amongst all of the same color foliage!

how to find your farmer's markets

it is hard to walk 100 yards without running into a farmer's market these days, no matter what day of the week it is: thank goodness! if you cant find yours though, log onto localharvest.org, plug in your zip and viola: location revealed!

@tacos el gringo

must be sunday...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

@ tacos el gringo

so super fresh!

 Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

what to do with extra produce

extra fruits and vegetables are always a problem: you can eat, cook, freeze, store and give an abundance away, yet there always seems to be too many that rot before you can do something with them...an option i had NOT thought of was...instruments: fruit and vegetable musical instruments! invite your friends over...pull out some power tools...and make sweet music! why not?

crab apple trees

when I was a kid in Berkeley, we had a crab apple tree in the front yard: my parents designed and built a deck around it, and it promptly died the next spring. in the interim, I tried making pies with the bitter fruit. the baked good looked pretty and tasted nasty! still, it started me thinking about cooking, and especially pies! I haven't tried reinventing my original crab apple pie recipe lately, but as fall descends upon us, I do notice how enticing the little fruits are: so cute! the birds seem to really go for them.

liberty market

penn quarter in dc is one of my favorite neighborhoods. i have been clubbing there since the 80's (?)...the national portrait gallery and museum of american art are there, as are hundreds of great restaurants and bars...i love basketball and the verizon center is on the corner. i do a great art show, the downtown holiday market there in december. the cowgirl creamery cheese shop rocks! the one thing they don't have there is a raw food source: a grocery store. welcome, liberty market! liberty market is a new farmer's market open tuesdays from 2:30-6:30 at the corner of 7th & k streets on the grounds of the historic society of washington, dc at mt. vernon square. help promote community sustainability by supporting your local farmers, musicians and artists!

how to make basil oil

i grew a ton of basil this year: one of my few successful crops! but days are getting shorter and i have to harvest now before it fades away. what to do with all this deliciousness? basil oil! here's how: clean the leaves and blanche them for 30 seconds in boiling water: immediately submerge the leaves in ice water. dry the leaves and puree in a blender with extra virgin olive oil: for every 2 cups of tightly packed basil leaves, use one cup of the oil. store in the fridge for up to a month, or in a cool dark place for about a week. delicious and useful!

kingfisher blues

i have been working outside all weekend: not in the garden, on my computer. i have revamped my herban elements etsy shop; working on the design options one; haven't started on my dawanda site; blogged about a motorcycle the mister is threatening to buy; talked about the oysters we ate; raved about an amazing artist i stumbled upon, and bragged about my working conditions. all the while, the kingfisher has been chattering about! at one point, two were dancing (?), no, probably fighting, but whatever, it was so cool. i love belted kingfishers: they dive into the water, live in holes in the ground, wear fashionable accessories...and they look like mini pterodactyls!

culinary arts festival at the botanic gardens

the united states botanical garden is celebrating the relationship of plants, food and culture today at their culinary arts festival. no reservations are required to enjoy edible demos, delicious tastings and the beauty of a series of highly stylized garden rooms. the botanic gardens are awesome anyway, so head over there 10-3 today and enjoy!

south mountain creamery

for those of you trying to live sustainably and buy locally, here is a highly recommended maryland and virginia home delivery dairy farm, south mountain creamery. the artisan cheeses looks delicious and the milk lasts two weeks longer than store bought!

bethesda central farm market

just two-and-a-half weeks old...the bethesda central farm market is all the buzz! with a thursday afternoon set up on bethesda lane and a sunday morning location on elm street, this new farmer's market aims to satisfy your culinary cravings. over 20 farmers, producers and vendors sell fresh produce, meat, poultry, cheese, bread, prepared foods, seafood, baked goods, and more. parking is free! (i'm headed there today!)