Tartine bakery
Peter Reinhart--Whole grains
Stir fry madness
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Trying more complex bread recipes is on the horizon
"This 100% whole wheat loaf is my idea of the perfect homemade bread. The ingredient list is fairly short and calls for only a few kitchen staples in addition to the requisite whole wheat flour, salt, water, and yeast. Compared to white flour loaves, whole grain breads are also undoubtedly the healthier choice, but its more assertive flavor and denser nature understandably takes a bit of getting used to.
Based on the master formula in Peter Reinhart’s award-winning whole grain breads book, the recipe may seem intimdating at first. The process is spread out over two days, but after trying it a few times, you’ll find that the techniques and scheduling are far more forgiving than other traditional methods"
via http://www.applepiepatispate.com/bread/honey-wheat-sandwich-bread-whole-grain/
recipe adapted from Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads
Yeastspotting at Wild Yeast Blog
Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread – 100% Whole Grain
makes one 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch pan loaf
For the Biga (Pre-fermented Dough):
Ingredients Volume Ounces Grams
whole wheat flour 1 3/4 cups 8 227
instant yeast 1/4 tsp
water, at room temperature 3/4 cup 6 170
Biga (Pre-fermented Dough) Instructions:
Mix the biga ingredients until a shaggy ball of dough is formed. Knead the biga for about 2 minutes or until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Place the biga in a bowl and cover. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. Let the biga sit at room temperature for about 2 hours before using in the final dough.
For the Soaker:
Ingredients Volume Ounces Grams
whole wheat flour 1 3/4 cups 8 227
kosher salt 1 tsp .14 4
whole milk 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp 7 198
Soaker Instructions:
Mix the soaker ingredients until evenly hydrated. Cover and leave at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours.
Final Dough Formula:
Ingredients Volume Ounces Grams
all of the biga, cut into small pieces
all of the soaker, cut into small pieces
whole wheat flour 7 tbsp 2 57
kosher salt 1/2 tbsp .18 5
instant yeast 2 1/4 tsp .25 7
honey 2 1/4 tbsp 1.5 43
unsalted butter, melted 1 tbsp .5 14
Final Dough Instructions:
Mix Mix all of the ingredients until evenly incorporated
Knead 8 to 10 minutes
Rest 5 minutes
Knead 1 minute to further strengthen the gluten
Bulk Ferment 45 to 60 minutes at room temperature in a lightly
oiled bowl, or until 1 1/2 times its size
Shape loaf pan shape, in a greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan
Preheat Oven 425ºF/218ºC
Final Proof 45 to 60 minutes at room temperature, or until
1 1/2 times its size
Proofed whole grain honey wheat sandwich dough.
Bake Lower the temperature immediately to 350ºF/177ºC.
Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the loaf if necessary
and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the
loaf registers 195ºF/91ºC in the center.
Cool At least 1 hour :(
If you like this, then check out this post on whole grain bread: http://www.cookingbread.com/classes/class_8_grain_bread.html
Based on the master formula in Peter Reinhart’s award-winning whole grain breads book, the recipe may seem intimdating at first. The process is spread out over two days, but after trying it a few times, you’ll find that the techniques and scheduling are far more forgiving than other traditional methods"
via http://www.applepiepatispate.com/bread/honey-wheat-sandwich-bread-whole-grain/
recipe adapted from Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads
Yeastspotting at Wild Yeast Blog
Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread – 100% Whole Grain
makes one 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch pan loaf
For the Biga (Pre-fermented Dough):
Ingredients Volume Ounces Grams
whole wheat flour 1 3/4 cups 8 227
instant yeast 1/4 tsp
water, at room temperature 3/4 cup 6 170
Biga (Pre-fermented Dough) Instructions:
Mix the biga ingredients until a shaggy ball of dough is formed. Knead the biga for about 2 minutes or until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Place the biga in a bowl and cover. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. Let the biga sit at room temperature for about 2 hours before using in the final dough.
For the Soaker:
Ingredients Volume Ounces Grams
whole wheat flour 1 3/4 cups 8 227
kosher salt 1 tsp .14 4
whole milk 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp 7 198
Soaker Instructions:
Mix the soaker ingredients until evenly hydrated. Cover and leave at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours.
Final Dough Formula:
Ingredients Volume Ounces Grams
all of the biga, cut into small pieces
all of the soaker, cut into small pieces
whole wheat flour 7 tbsp 2 57
kosher salt 1/2 tbsp .18 5
instant yeast 2 1/4 tsp .25 7
honey 2 1/4 tbsp 1.5 43
unsalted butter, melted 1 tbsp .5 14
Final Dough Instructions:
Mix Mix all of the ingredients until evenly incorporated
Knead 8 to 10 minutes
Rest 5 minutes
Knead 1 minute to further strengthen the gluten
Bulk Ferment 45 to 60 minutes at room temperature in a lightly
oiled bowl, or until 1 1/2 times its size
Shape loaf pan shape, in a greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan
Preheat Oven 425ºF/218ºC
Final Proof 45 to 60 minutes at room temperature, or until
1 1/2 times its size
Proofed whole grain honey wheat sandwich dough.
Bake Lower the temperature immediately to 350ºF/177ºC.
Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the loaf if necessary
and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the
loaf registers 195ºF/91ºC in the center.
Cool At least 1 hour :(
If you like this, then check out this post on whole grain bread: http://www.cookingbread.com/classes/class_8_grain_bread.html
Saturday, November 27, 2010
vegetarian pho
Ingredient List
Serves 6
Broth
6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
3 large shallots, sliced (1 cup)
1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
10 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
12 1/4-inch-thick coins fresh ginger
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
5–6 fresh basil stems, leaves reserved for soup
5–6 cilantro stems, leaves reserved for soup
Pho
1 8-oz. pkg. rice noodles
1 8-oz. pkg. Asian-flavor baked tofu, thinly sliced
2 cups soybean sprouts
2 cups watercress
4 green onions, sliced (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 lime, cut into wedges
Directions
To make Broth: Place all ingredients in large pot with 8 cups water. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, 1 hour. Strain broth, and return to pot. Discard solids.
To make Pho: Cook rice noodles according to package directions. Drain, and rinse under cold water. Divide among 6 large soup bowls. Ladle Broth over noodles, and top with tofu, sprouts, watercress, and green onions. Serve cilantro, basil, and lime wedges on the side to be stirred into soup.
Nutritional Information
Serves 6
Broth
6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
3 large shallots, sliced (1 cup)
1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
10 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
12 1/4-inch-thick coins fresh ginger
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
5–6 fresh basil stems, leaves reserved for soup
5–6 cilantro stems, leaves reserved for soup
Pho
1 8-oz. pkg. rice noodles
1 8-oz. pkg. Asian-flavor baked tofu, thinly sliced
2 cups soybean sprouts
2 cups watercress
4 green onions, sliced (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 lime, cut into wedges
Directions
To make Broth: Place all ingredients in large pot with 8 cups water. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, 1 hour. Strain broth, and return to pot. Discard solids.
To make Pho: Cook rice noodles according to package directions. Drain, and rinse under cold water. Divide among 6 large soup bowls. Ladle Broth over noodles, and top with tofu, sprouts, watercress, and green onions. Serve cilantro, basil, and lime wedges on the side to be stirred into soup.
Nutritional Information
Mitra Stricklen's Khoresht Bademjoon
Ingredients:
2 large eggplants
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 yellow onions, sliced
1⁄4 cup vegetable oil
One 14.5-ounce can whole tomatoes or 6 large tomatoes, roasted and peeled
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup water or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Persian Herbed Steamed Rice (Chelo; page 63), for serving
Instructions:
1. Cut the eggplants into thick slices. Generously salt both sides of each eggplant slice and let drain in a colander for 15 minutes so the salt can pull out the bitterness.
2. Rinse the slices and pat dry.
3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet over low heat and add the onions. Cook until soft and golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat and fry the eggplant slices until golden brown on each side. Remove from the oil and drain on a wire rack set over a baking sheet or paper towels.
5. In a large saucepan, combine the tomatoes, 1 tablespoon salt, the cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, water and lemon juice and mix well. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the eggplant slices and cook for 5 minutes more.
6. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the fried onions. Serve with chelo.
Excerpted from One Big Table: 600 Recipes from the Nation's Best Home Cooks, Farmers, Fishermen, Pit-Masters, and Chefs by Molly O'Neill. Copyright 2010 by Molly O'Neill. Excerpted by permission of Simon & Schuster.
2 large eggplants
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 yellow onions, sliced
1⁄4 cup vegetable oil
One 14.5-ounce can whole tomatoes or 6 large tomatoes, roasted and peeled
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup water or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Persian Herbed Steamed Rice (Chelo; page 63), for serving
Instructions:
1. Cut the eggplants into thick slices. Generously salt both sides of each eggplant slice and let drain in a colander for 15 minutes so the salt can pull out the bitterness.
2. Rinse the slices and pat dry.
3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a skillet over low heat and add the onions. Cook until soft and golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat and fry the eggplant slices until golden brown on each side. Remove from the oil and drain on a wire rack set over a baking sheet or paper towels.
5. In a large saucepan, combine the tomatoes, 1 tablespoon salt, the cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, water and lemon juice and mix well. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the eggplant slices and cook for 5 minutes more.
6. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the fried onions. Serve with chelo.
Excerpted from One Big Table: 600 Recipes from the Nation's Best Home Cooks, Farmers, Fishermen, Pit-Masters, and Chefs by Molly O'Neill. Copyright 2010 by Molly O'Neill. Excerpted by permission of Simon & Schuster.
baguette
Recipe: Classic French Bread
by PETER REINHART
Makes 2 large loaves, 4 small loaves, or many rolls.
5-1/3 cups (24 oz / 680 g) unbleached bread flour
2 teaspoons (0.5 oz / 14 g) salt, or 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
2-1/4 teaspoons (0.25 oz / 7 g) instant yeast
2 cups (16 oz / 454 g) lukewarm water (about 95°F or 35°C)
Do Ahead
Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl. If using a mixer, use the paddle attachment and mix on the lowest speed for 1 minute. If mixing by hand, use a large spoon and stir for 1 minute, until well blended and smooth. If the spoon gets too doughy, dip it in a bowl of warm water. The dough should form a coarse shaggy ball. Let it rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed for 2 minutes or knead by hand for about 2 minutes, adjusting with flour or water as needed. The dough should be smooth, supple, and tacky but not sticky.
Whichever mixing method you use, knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured work surface for about 1 minute more, then transfer it to a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then immediately refrigerate overnight or for up to 4 days. If the dough feels too wet and sticky, do not add more flour; instead, stretch and fold it one or more times at 10-minute intervals, as shown on page 18, before putting it in the refrigerator. (If you plan to bake the dough in batches over different days, you can portion the dough and place it into two or more oiled bowls at this stage.)
On Baking Day
Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 2 hours before you plan to bake. Gently transfer it to a lightly floured work surface, taking care to degas it as little as possible. For baguettes and batards, divide the cold dough into 10-ounce (283 g) pieces; for 1 pound boules, divide the dough into 19-ounce (53 g) pieces; and for freestanding loaves, use whatever size you prefer.
Form the dough into batards and/or baguettes (see pages 21 and 22) or boules (see page 20). Mist the top of the dough with spray oil, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and proof at room temperature for about 1-1/2 hours, until increased to 1-1/2 times its original size.
About 45 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 550°F (288°C) or as high as it will go, and prepare the oven for hearth baking (see page 30).
Remove the plastic wrap from the dough 15 minutes prior to baking; if using proofing molds, transfer the dough onto a floured peel.
Just prior to baking, score the dough 1/2 inch deep with a serrated knife or razor. Transfer the dough to the oven, pour 1 cup of hot water into the steam pan, then lower the oven temperature to 450°F (232°C).
Bake for 12 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for another 15 to 25 minutes, until the crust is a rich golden brown, the loaves sound hollow when thumped, and the internal temperature is about 200°F (93°C) in the center. For a crisper crust, turn off the oven and leave the bread in for another 5 minutes before removing.
Cool the bread on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing or serving.
Variation
By simply varying the method so that the shaped loaves undergo cold fermentation, rather than the freshly mixed bulk dough, you can create a spectacular loaf with a distinctive blistered crust. After the dough is mixed and placed in a clean, oiled bowl, let it rise at room temperature for about 90 minutes, until doubled in size. Divide and shape as described above, mist with spray oil, then cover the shaped dough loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight, away from anything that might fall on it or restrict it from growing.
The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator 1 hour before baking. It should have grown to at least 1-1/2 times its original size. Prepare the oven for hearth baking, as described on page 30. While the oven is heating, remove the plastic wrap and let the dough sit uncovered for 10 minutes. Score the dough while it’s still cold, then bake as described above.
Reprinted with permission from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day: Fast and Easy Recipes for World-Class Breads by Peter Reinhart, copyright 2009. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House Inc.
by PETER REINHART
Makes 2 large loaves, 4 small loaves, or many rolls.
5-1/3 cups (24 oz / 680 g) unbleached bread flour
2 teaspoons (0.5 oz / 14 g) salt, or 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
2-1/4 teaspoons (0.25 oz / 7 g) instant yeast
2 cups (16 oz / 454 g) lukewarm water (about 95°F or 35°C)
Do Ahead
Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl. If using a mixer, use the paddle attachment and mix on the lowest speed for 1 minute. If mixing by hand, use a large spoon and stir for 1 minute, until well blended and smooth. If the spoon gets too doughy, dip it in a bowl of warm water. The dough should form a coarse shaggy ball. Let it rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed for 2 minutes or knead by hand for about 2 minutes, adjusting with flour or water as needed. The dough should be smooth, supple, and tacky but not sticky.
Whichever mixing method you use, knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured work surface for about 1 minute more, then transfer it to a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then immediately refrigerate overnight or for up to 4 days. If the dough feels too wet and sticky, do not add more flour; instead, stretch and fold it one or more times at 10-minute intervals, as shown on page 18, before putting it in the refrigerator. (If you plan to bake the dough in batches over different days, you can portion the dough and place it into two or more oiled bowls at this stage.)
On Baking Day
Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 2 hours before you plan to bake. Gently transfer it to a lightly floured work surface, taking care to degas it as little as possible. For baguettes and batards, divide the cold dough into 10-ounce (283 g) pieces; for 1 pound boules, divide the dough into 19-ounce (53 g) pieces; and for freestanding loaves, use whatever size you prefer.
Form the dough into batards and/or baguettes (see pages 21 and 22) or boules (see page 20). Mist the top of the dough with spray oil, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and proof at room temperature for about 1-1/2 hours, until increased to 1-1/2 times its original size.
About 45 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 550°F (288°C) or as high as it will go, and prepare the oven for hearth baking (see page 30).
Remove the plastic wrap from the dough 15 minutes prior to baking; if using proofing molds, transfer the dough onto a floured peel.
Just prior to baking, score the dough 1/2 inch deep with a serrated knife or razor. Transfer the dough to the oven, pour 1 cup of hot water into the steam pan, then lower the oven temperature to 450°F (232°C).
Bake for 12 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for another 15 to 25 minutes, until the crust is a rich golden brown, the loaves sound hollow when thumped, and the internal temperature is about 200°F (93°C) in the center. For a crisper crust, turn off the oven and leave the bread in for another 5 minutes before removing.
Cool the bread on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing or serving.
Variation
By simply varying the method so that the shaped loaves undergo cold fermentation, rather than the freshly mixed bulk dough, you can create a spectacular loaf with a distinctive blistered crust. After the dough is mixed and placed in a clean, oiled bowl, let it rise at room temperature for about 90 minutes, until doubled in size. Divide and shape as described above, mist with spray oil, then cover the shaped dough loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight, away from anything that might fall on it or restrict it from growing.
The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator 1 hour before baking. It should have grown to at least 1-1/2 times its original size. Prepare the oven for hearth baking, as described on page 30. While the oven is heating, remove the plastic wrap and let the dough sit uncovered for 10 minutes. Score the dough while it’s still cold, then bake as described above.
Reprinted with permission from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day: Fast and Easy Recipes for World-Class Breads by Peter Reinhart, copyright 2009. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House Inc.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
September is the time to sow the winter greens
A special article
By Barbara Damrosch
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, September 2, 2010
The first autumn leaf may not yet have fallen, but never mind that. It's time to consider the first winter leaf on your plate. Winter fare may seem far in the future, but September is planting time.
Winter greens take many forms. In southern France they're big, blanched heads of endive and escarole. In our household the winter treat is a cold-weather baby leaf salad. Like the week-old mix in plastic bags, in the store? No: fresh, lively basketfuls with a sweet, springlike flavor, brought in from the cold and rinsed in the sink. There's no comparison.
Many greens might love your winter garden, but for ease and infallibility here are the Big Six.
Lettuce. Like most winter salad crops, lettuce is hardier when grown not as heads but in closely sown rows, cut at about three inches tall with a small serrated knife. Find the hardiest varieties among the oak leaf types, and romaines such as Rouge d'Hiver and Winter Density. Sown in a cold frame, they'll regrow for a second and third helping.
Spinach. Bursting with folate, calcium, iron and even some protein, spinach is the ultimate winter tonic. Sown in rows eight inches apart, plants spaced four inches apart in the row, it may need no protection at all. Pick the outer leaves first.
Arugula. Not the biting, bolting, flea-beetle-ridden arugula of summer, but the bright-green, mild arugula of short, crisp days.
Tatsoi. Most Asian greens thrive in winter, but tatsoi is my first choice. Sow it like spinach and pick at baby size, or space more widely and allow large, flat rosettes to grow. Either way it's mild and delicious, raw or cooked.
Mache. This European green forms tiny rosette-shaped heads. Cut them whole, with a serrated knife at soil level, then wash thoroughly and toss whole into salads. Soft and succulent, it's the queen of winter greens. When there is a gap in the garden, cold frame or greenhouse, sow mache.
Claytonia. Oddly enough, the least familiar one of all is an American native plant. Small, round leaves on slender stems are so light, they float when you wash them. Extremely hardy, they can be cut and recut until spring, when they bloom and go to seed. Allow this to happen and they will germinate the following fall for a volunteer crop.
To make this a Sweet 16, you might add to the list Swiss chard, frise endive, mizuna, bok choy, land cress, parsley, chervil, mustard greens, beet greens and kale, all picked small. Because they come from a variety of plant families, each has its own set of nutrients. Together, they're a multivitamin in a bowl. But yummy. Bon appetit.
Damrosch is a freelance writer and the author of "The Garden Primer."----which I am currently reading!
By Barbara Damrosch
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, September 2, 2010
The first autumn leaf may not yet have fallen, but never mind that. It's time to consider the first winter leaf on your plate. Winter fare may seem far in the future, but September is planting time.
Winter greens take many forms. In southern France they're big, blanched heads of endive and escarole. In our household the winter treat is a cold-weather baby leaf salad. Like the week-old mix in plastic bags, in the store? No: fresh, lively basketfuls with a sweet, springlike flavor, brought in from the cold and rinsed in the sink. There's no comparison.
Many greens might love your winter garden, but for ease and infallibility here are the Big Six.
Lettuce. Like most winter salad crops, lettuce is hardier when grown not as heads but in closely sown rows, cut at about three inches tall with a small serrated knife. Find the hardiest varieties among the oak leaf types, and romaines such as Rouge d'Hiver and Winter Density. Sown in a cold frame, they'll regrow for a second and third helping.
Spinach. Bursting with folate, calcium, iron and even some protein, spinach is the ultimate winter tonic. Sown in rows eight inches apart, plants spaced four inches apart in the row, it may need no protection at all. Pick the outer leaves first.
Arugula. Not the biting, bolting, flea-beetle-ridden arugula of summer, but the bright-green, mild arugula of short, crisp days.
Tatsoi. Most Asian greens thrive in winter, but tatsoi is my first choice. Sow it like spinach and pick at baby size, or space more widely and allow large, flat rosettes to grow. Either way it's mild and delicious, raw or cooked.
Mache. This European green forms tiny rosette-shaped heads. Cut them whole, with a serrated knife at soil level, then wash thoroughly and toss whole into salads. Soft and succulent, it's the queen of winter greens. When there is a gap in the garden, cold frame or greenhouse, sow mache.
Claytonia. Oddly enough, the least familiar one of all is an American native plant. Small, round leaves on slender stems are so light, they float when you wash them. Extremely hardy, they can be cut and recut until spring, when they bloom and go to seed. Allow this to happen and they will germinate the following fall for a volunteer crop.
To make this a Sweet 16, you might add to the list Swiss chard, frise endive, mizuna, bok choy, land cress, parsley, chervil, mustard greens, beet greens and kale, all picked small. Because they come from a variety of plant families, each has its own set of nutrients. Together, they're a multivitamin in a bowl. But yummy. Bon appetit.
Damrosch is a freelance writer and the author of "The Garden Primer."----which I am currently reading!
Educational Agriculture By Eliot Coleman
“Soil is the tablecloth under the banquet of civilization.” - Steven Stoll
Someday in the future, when advances in understanding have made small-scale agriculture truly financially viable, I want to recreate that famous scene in The Graduate. I want to walk up to some well-educated young person and tell them I have only one word to say – farming. But I am afraid that the ability to make a good living from farming will not be a sufficient inducement. There is another barrier. Today it is considered somehow unworthy of educated people to involve themselves in food production – to work with their hands in the soil like lesser mortals.
Modern education has been too easily swayed by the spectacular and the industrial while ignoring the fundamental and the biological. Schools and colleges spend millions to familiarize students with Internet systems in the ether above their heads, while nothing is spent to introduce them to the vital systems in the earth beneath their feet. We impress students with the spectacle of millions of stars in the heavens, but neglect to awe them with the miracle of millions of living organisms in a single teaspoon of fertile soil. We introduce them to the chemical table of elements but leave them unaware of the susceptibility of the creatures in that teaspoon to the daily chemical residues of our industrial production. How can we hope to train students to care for the planet when they are unfamiliar with the irreplaceable role of the skin of that planet in the miracle of their life?
Our educators are doing a reasonable job at explaining the intricacies of human society to students in lab and classroom, but they are neglecting to make them aware of the web of life in field and garden. If we wish to teach reverence for the earth, we need to insist that practical time spent on the soils of a farm is just as valuable in training citizens for an informed life in the 21st century as time spent studying chalk-filled blackboards in the academy's lecture halls.
Education's dismissal of agriculture's ability to teach us about life has historical background. For much of the past, for many people, farming was devoid of anything but incessant toil and illiterate neighbors. That impression of farming has persisted to the present day. But advances in biology since the 1850s (which unfortunately in the public mind have been overshadowed by the propaganda of the chemical bandwagon) have unlocked mysteries that make today's organic farming as intellectually stimulating as any other profession. The interrelated activities described by soil microbiology, nitrogen fixation, symbiotic relationships, mychorrizal associations, allelopathy, weed ecology, and systemic acquired resistance have helped contemporary farmers appreciate the intuitive brilliance of age-old practices like crop rotations, green manures, mixed stocking, and compost making.
When food production is considered a lowly activity, something for the unschooled, the result is forfeit for all – the forfeit of humanity's essential connection to the source of life. By choosing not to educate our children about soil and agriculture and food, our society in general, and more important, our institutions of higher learning, deprive today's young people of a truly valuable education. The generations to come will remain ignorant of that thin layer of fertile soil upon which their survival depends.
What better medium than a compost heap for students to come face-to-face with life, death, and the processes that keep our planet alive? If we expect today's students to find solutions to ensure the future of their world, which they will need to do, what could be better than the direct knowledge that compost – the world's best fertilizer, made for free in your back yard from kitchen and farm animal waste products – is a model for other simple and inexpensive solutions? We have a belief on our farm that if what we are doing is in any way complicated it is probably wrong, and we modify our practices accordingly. Biologically based agriculture is not only a subject. It is a teacher.
In 1800, Erasmus Darwin, Charles Darwin's grandfather, wrote that although chemistry and physics could be considered as having achieved the status of sciences, agriculture remained an art. I think that is still true today. This art involves subtleties and judgment calls such as adding just enough limestone but not too much (and whether calcitic or dolomitic), finding the proper depth of tillage (if you till at all), figuring out the ideal balance of ingredients (fungal or bacterial) in the compost, knowing the optimum humification of compost for each use, managing green manures as either surface or incorporated amendments, maximizing the use of “inputs” that spring from natural processes on the farm itself, involving one's mind in all aspects of the biological world of the soil.
None of the above is dull or unskilled. Balancing these factors is fascinating, challenging, and inspiring, since skill grows with practice.
The results of an intimate, caring, and alert involvement with soil and food-growing are vigorous, healthy plants and animals, a clean environment, and the inward satisfaction of participating in a truly sustainable agriculture that can feed the human population in perpetuity.
Such work cannot continue to be considered beneath the dignity of the educated.
from http://www.vtcommons.org/journal/2007/05/eliot-coleman-educational-agriculture
Someday in the future, when advances in understanding have made small-scale agriculture truly financially viable, I want to recreate that famous scene in The Graduate. I want to walk up to some well-educated young person and tell them I have only one word to say – farming. But I am afraid that the ability to make a good living from farming will not be a sufficient inducement. There is another barrier. Today it is considered somehow unworthy of educated people to involve themselves in food production – to work with their hands in the soil like lesser mortals.
Modern education has been too easily swayed by the spectacular and the industrial while ignoring the fundamental and the biological. Schools and colleges spend millions to familiarize students with Internet systems in the ether above their heads, while nothing is spent to introduce them to the vital systems in the earth beneath their feet. We impress students with the spectacle of millions of stars in the heavens, but neglect to awe them with the miracle of millions of living organisms in a single teaspoon of fertile soil. We introduce them to the chemical table of elements but leave them unaware of the susceptibility of the creatures in that teaspoon to the daily chemical residues of our industrial production. How can we hope to train students to care for the planet when they are unfamiliar with the irreplaceable role of the skin of that planet in the miracle of their life?
Our educators are doing a reasonable job at explaining the intricacies of human society to students in lab and classroom, but they are neglecting to make them aware of the web of life in field and garden. If we wish to teach reverence for the earth, we need to insist that practical time spent on the soils of a farm is just as valuable in training citizens for an informed life in the 21st century as time spent studying chalk-filled blackboards in the academy's lecture halls.
Education's dismissal of agriculture's ability to teach us about life has historical background. For much of the past, for many people, farming was devoid of anything but incessant toil and illiterate neighbors. That impression of farming has persisted to the present day. But advances in biology since the 1850s (which unfortunately in the public mind have been overshadowed by the propaganda of the chemical bandwagon) have unlocked mysteries that make today's organic farming as intellectually stimulating as any other profession. The interrelated activities described by soil microbiology, nitrogen fixation, symbiotic relationships, mychorrizal associations, allelopathy, weed ecology, and systemic acquired resistance have helped contemporary farmers appreciate the intuitive brilliance of age-old practices like crop rotations, green manures, mixed stocking, and compost making.
When food production is considered a lowly activity, something for the unschooled, the result is forfeit for all – the forfeit of humanity's essential connection to the source of life. By choosing not to educate our children about soil and agriculture and food, our society in general, and more important, our institutions of higher learning, deprive today's young people of a truly valuable education. The generations to come will remain ignorant of that thin layer of fertile soil upon which their survival depends.
What better medium than a compost heap for students to come face-to-face with life, death, and the processes that keep our planet alive? If we expect today's students to find solutions to ensure the future of their world, which they will need to do, what could be better than the direct knowledge that compost – the world's best fertilizer, made for free in your back yard from kitchen and farm animal waste products – is a model for other simple and inexpensive solutions? We have a belief on our farm that if what we are doing is in any way complicated it is probably wrong, and we modify our practices accordingly. Biologically based agriculture is not only a subject. It is a teacher.
In 1800, Erasmus Darwin, Charles Darwin's grandfather, wrote that although chemistry and physics could be considered as having achieved the status of sciences, agriculture remained an art. I think that is still true today. This art involves subtleties and judgment calls such as adding just enough limestone but not too much (and whether calcitic or dolomitic), finding the proper depth of tillage (if you till at all), figuring out the ideal balance of ingredients (fungal or bacterial) in the compost, knowing the optimum humification of compost for each use, managing green manures as either surface or incorporated amendments, maximizing the use of “inputs” that spring from natural processes on the farm itself, involving one's mind in all aspects of the biological world of the soil.
None of the above is dull or unskilled. Balancing these factors is fascinating, challenging, and inspiring, since skill grows with practice.
The results of an intimate, caring, and alert involvement with soil and food-growing are vigorous, healthy plants and animals, a clean environment, and the inward satisfaction of participating in a truly sustainable agriculture that can feed the human population in perpetuity.
Such work cannot continue to be considered beneath the dignity of the educated.
from http://www.vtcommons.org/journal/2007/05/eliot-coleman-educational-agriculture
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
optimize, revitalize
Some tips from Andrew Weil a total body doctor
Eat Broccoli 2 times a week
Add other members of the cruciferous family
Sauna once per week
Bring flowers weekly into your home
Walk briskly minutes, five times per week
Eat ginger, turmeric, and garlic daily
Eat freshly ground flax 2T daily
drink green tea daily
take a news fast
Take a good multi daily--see his book for details on this
Try taking a tonic (e.g. Ashwandha, ginseng, Dong quai) every day for 2 months and ask yourself if there was a difference
Aim for 2 soy focused meals per week
Increase whole grains
Use houseplants for improved air quality
Take GLA via Evening primrose or black currant oil for dry skin or hair
Via 8 weeks to optimum health
Eat Broccoli 2 times a week
Add other members of the cruciferous family
Sauna once per week
Bring flowers weekly into your home
Walk briskly minutes, five times per week
Eat ginger, turmeric, and garlic daily
Eat freshly ground flax 2T daily
drink green tea daily
take a news fast
Take a good multi daily--see his book for details on this
Try taking a tonic (e.g. Ashwandha, ginseng, Dong quai) every day for 2 months and ask yourself if there was a difference
Aim for 2 soy focused meals per week
Increase whole grains
Use houseplants for improved air quality
Take GLA via Evening primrose or black currant oil for dry skin or hair
Via 8 weeks to optimum health
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
more bonzo bean recipes
INGREDIENTSserves 2 people
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound fresh curly spinach, rinsed
Kosher salt
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2-inch slice from a country loaf, cut into cubes
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
Freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 lemon, cut into wedges
PROCEDURES
1
Pour half of the oil into a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the spinach and a pinch of salt. Stir constantly, and cook until the leaves just wilt, about 4 minutes. Drain contents in a colander. Rinse out saucepan and dry with paper towel.
2
Add 1 tablespoon of remaining oil to the saucepan and return it to medium heat. Toss in the bread cubes. Cook, stirring often, until browned all over, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the olive oil along with the garlic, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute (If garlic begins to burn, remove contents from pan immediately).
3
Transfer the bread mixture to a food processor. Pour in the vinegar and process into a paste.
4
Add the paste back to the saucepan along with the tomato sauce and chickpeas. Turn the heat to medium, and cook until the chickpeas have absorbed the flavors, about 5 minutes. Quickly chop the drained spinach, and then add it to the saucepan. Season mixture with salt and pepper. As soon as the chickpeas and spinach are warm, turn off the heat. Serve with sprinkling smoked paprika and fresh lemon juice.
via serious eats
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound fresh curly spinach, rinsed
Kosher salt
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2-inch slice from a country loaf, cut into cubes
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
pinch red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
Freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 lemon, cut into wedges
PROCEDURES
1
Pour half of the oil into a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the spinach and a pinch of salt. Stir constantly, and cook until the leaves just wilt, about 4 minutes. Drain contents in a colander. Rinse out saucepan and dry with paper towel.
2
Add 1 tablespoon of remaining oil to the saucepan and return it to medium heat. Toss in the bread cubes. Cook, stirring often, until browned all over, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the olive oil along with the garlic, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute (If garlic begins to burn, remove contents from pan immediately).
3
Transfer the bread mixture to a food processor. Pour in the vinegar and process into a paste.
4
Add the paste back to the saucepan along with the tomato sauce and chickpeas. Turn the heat to medium, and cook until the chickpeas have absorbed the flavors, about 5 minutes. Quickly chop the drained spinach, and then add it to the saucepan. Season mixture with salt and pepper. As soon as the chickpeas and spinach are warm, turn off the heat. Serve with sprinkling smoked paprika and fresh lemon juice.
via serious eats
Friday, November 5, 2010
kale-slaw
Serves 8
2 large bunches curly kale, center ribs discarded, very thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups)
1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper
2 carrots, thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup salted peanuts
2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup salted peanuts
Directions
Toss 2 large bunches curly kale, center ribs discarded, very thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups); 1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, halved crosswise and thinly sliced lengthwise; and 2 carrots, thinly sliced crosswise, in a large bowl.
Puree 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, 1/4 cup salted peanuts, 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in a blender until smooth.
Pour dressing over vegetables just before serving. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped.
Read more at Marthastewart.com: Kale Slaw with Peanut Dressing - Martha Stewart Recipes
2 large bunches curly kale, center ribs discarded, very thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups)
1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper
2 carrots, thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup salted peanuts
2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup salted peanuts
Directions
Toss 2 large bunches curly kale, center ribs discarded, very thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups); 1 yellow, orange, or red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, halved crosswise and thinly sliced lengthwise; and 2 carrots, thinly sliced crosswise, in a large bowl.
Puree 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup cider vinegar, 1/4 cup salted peanuts, 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in a blender until smooth.
Pour dressing over vegetables just before serving. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped.
Read more at Marthastewart.com: Kale Slaw with Peanut Dressing - Martha Stewart Recipes
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