I've always had the urge to grow my own food. There's just something deeply rewarding in harvesting food from the back yard. For one thing it's virtually guaranteed to taste better than what you get at the store.

In this era of factory farms that focus on churning out massive quantities of food as cheaply as possible, the average bell pepper, apple or ear of corn available in the produce section of the local supermarket just doesn't have much flavor, and it's no wonder. It's probably been grown as fast as possible using artificial fertilizers and pesticides, picked well before it was ripe and artificially "ripened" using chemical gases. Some of this is the price we pay for year-round access to cheap produce.

But much of it is due to the evolution of the farming industry from what we used to have: thousands of small private farms scattered all over the country, to what we see today: a few giant multinational corporations in near complete control of our food supply. This is a big subject that I won't get too far into here, because I want to focus on the awesomeness of this year's garden.

I will recommend that everyone watch the movie Food, Inc. It is available as an instant watch on Netflix, but I'm not sure about its availability elsewhere. I did see it on both Blockbuster's and Hollywood Video's websites. It's an incredible documentary that exposes the inner workings of our current food system. It's not a pretty picture at all, but it is one that every single person in this country needs to look at. We all must eat, and we've traveled a long way down a dark road in terms of where our food comes from.

Watching Food, Inc. was further inspiration for me to get serious about gardening this year. So I pulled up a large area of bricks from my front patio to complement the small garden space I've been tending in my back yard. I've been burying all of my food waste as compost for the past year, so I had a nice supply of rich soil to get things started. I also found out about a great natural fertilizer mix from a local nursery. That along with the compost has done wonders to amend the alkaline soil we have here in the desert.

I planted corn, zucchini, acorn squash, cabbage, beets, red bell peppers, and green beans out front. The zucchini and corn are exploding, and it's fun to come back every day and see the progress.

The Front Plot

Early Zucchini

Early Corn

There was a cholla growing in a planter area on the front patio, and I decided growing some broccoli and chiles there would be a better use of the space.

Broccoli and Chiles

Jalapeño

Early Broccoli

The Garden Out Back

Chia Sprouts

I had started a garden outback a couple of seasons ago, but it doesn't get as much sun as the front. This year the focus there is herbs, the yellow pear tomato plants that survived the winter, spinach and beets. I also planted some chia seed and was surprise how quickly it sprouted.

I'm sure almost everyone (that's as old as I am) remembers the Chia Pet of the 80's. The chia seed I'm talking about is the same stuff. It turns out that chia seed is incredibly nutritious, with more omega 3's than flax seed, among many other health benefits. It is also easily digested, even when eaten whole.

It was, and continues to be, a vital food for peoples of Latin America and it's how the state of Chiapas, México got its name. I doubt I'll be able to grow enough to harvest much seed, but I figured why not? I sprinkled it along the edges of my back yard plot, where nothing else would be planted, and it came up easily.

It looks like this year we will have the best harvest yet for my home garden. I look forward to the satisfaction and great taste of home grown food.

I’ve come here to visit friends, to get out and see the world, to have adventure. So far the trip has been nothing short of perfection. The journey, though long and tiring as only overseas travel can be, was smooth and uneventful. I’ve completely avoided any real signs of jet lag, which is, I hear, rare and fantastic. One word keeps coming back to my mind, and I’ve decided it will be the word to describe this trip, this place, this time: idyllic.

The centerpiece of this trip is a five day running tour through some of the most stunning alpine scenery on the planet: the Italian Dolomites. We will cover roughly 60 miles over the 5 days, all on foot. But before you gasp and think me a lunatic (though I am), consider: throughout the mountains here there are huts. And when you think huts, think fully stocked hotels, complete with excellent food, beer, beds, showers, all comforts one could want after a long day in the mountains. We will not only be stopping at one of these huts each night, but we will also stop at one each day for lunch!

I know what you’re thinking: you call yourself hardcore? I never made any such claim. Or maybe: don’t you get out in the wilderness to get away from civilization? Well, all I can say is, it’s a European thing. Everything here is just so much more…civilized. But at the same time people have great respect for excercise and the outdoors. It is apparently very common here to see quite elderly people happily climbing up into the high mointains, always smiling and saying hello. Perhaps some of their happiness is owed the the amazing food that is available at some of these huts.

Picture: you just got done ascending a few thousand feet over a very short distance. You’re tired, very hungry, and some threatening storm clouds have moved in quickly. The temperature is plummeting, thunder is rumbling, and a hail storm seems inevitable. Wouldn’t you like to step into a cozy shelter where you could order a plate of eggs, potatoes and speck (think bacon x 1000) along with a cappuccino and a strudel as you wait out the storm? I would. If you’d rather sit under a tree in your rain gear and munch on dried fruit and power bars, be my guest.

So. I’m back. I will be posting with more regularity, though for the next few days I will be happily out of reach of the Internet. If you’d like to follow our progress and be made extremely jealous, you can find a Twitter feed of our tour here.
Do tune in to that, and stay tuned to this blog, as I have big plans for it when I get back.

]]> http://thefstopfiles.com/infinite/feed/ 1 http://thefstopfiles.com/please-read-this-and-spread-it-plastics-are-not-as-safe-as-you-think/ http://thefstopfiles.com/please-read-this-and-spread-it-plastics-are-not-as-safe-as-you-think/#comments Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:14:52 +0000 Gaber http://thefstopfiles.com/?p=84 Continue reading →]]> If there is one thing that defines ubiquitous in our society, it’s plastic. Look around and you’ll see it everywhere. There’s no doubt that without plastics our world would be very different, and most likely a lot more primitive. Food, medicine, and electronics come to mind as areas where plastics are particularly crucial.

It’s the food area that really concerns me, and should concern all of us. Recent exposes on a particular chemical, Bisphenol-A, used widely in many plastics that hold our food, have revealed that plastics, especially when heated, are not nearly as safe as we have been led to believe. It is present in almost all food packaging, including water bottles, microwave meal containers, food storage containers, and the linings of all food and beverage cans.

This chemical, which appeared to be safe the low levels present in our food packaging, has been discovered to be and endocrine disruptor, which means that it can in fact be be harmful in very small amounts. Here are a couple of  links to information on Bisphenol-A:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A
• http://www.bisphenolafree.org/

I won’t write a big long article on this, as there is plenty of info out there. But I will give you my takes on this:

1. Do not heat anything in plastic if you can help it. Heating plastic is a sure way to release chemicals from it. Use glass if you have to microwave. I bought a bunch of glass storage containers and if I want to heat a microwave meal, I take the food out of its plastic container and put it into the glass one or into a regular bowl or on a plate before heating it.
2. Switch your water bottle out for a BPA-free bottle. Many companies, including Nalgene and Camelbak have already committed to BPA free bottles.
3. Don’t reuse store bought water bottles. If you want to reduce waste, buy a BPA free bottle and refill it.
4. Babies and children are particularly affected by these kinds of chemicals, so make sure your baby bottles are glass or BPA-free plastic.
5. Replace all of your plastic food storage containers with glass containers. You can buy these pretty cheaply at department and grocery stores.

Here is a link to a very good PBS documentary news piece on the subject, that provides some very good information. Please take the time to watch it, it is a very informative and well put together piece that is highly relevant to all of us. After all, BPA is estimated to be present in measurable quantities in 93% of our population!

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/05232008/watch2.html

Is it a coincidence that many types of cancers related to the endocrine system (prostate cancer, breast cancer) are on the rise? Maybe. Maybe not. I’d rather not wait and see…

I was recently invited to a barbecue, and thought to myself: self, it’s been way too long since you made a nice dish to share with your friends. You have a gift for making things taste fantastic, so why not take the venerable old potato salad and make it your own? So I did. And here’s how it went:

Potato salad is ubiquitous, so to make it stand out I started making my modifications at the base level: the potatoes. Good old Trader Joe’s offers a potato medley that was just the ticket for a unique take on potato salad. It’s a bag of multi-colored potatoes, including the really cool purple ones, plus the golden and the tasty red skinned variety.

It’s the Little Things

My ingredient list beyond that was more or less standard, but I made sure to include twists and small enhancements in the preparation of most of them, to make sure I wasn’t just making plain-old ‘tater salad.

For example, when boiling the water for the potatoes I salted it liberally so that the potatoes themselves would be seasoned, and I also added 2 large sprigs of fresh rosemary to the water for a hint of herbiness.

I pan-roasted the onion and red and green bell peppers with olive oil, salt, and a gourmet variety of cracked black pepper, before dicing them.

In addition to the usual mayo, brown mustard, pickles, and celery, I added a liberal dose of horseradish paste, and a touch of seasoned rice wine vinegar.

The result: delicious, unique, well-executed, yet standard enough not to be outlandish or overwhelming. It would do exactly what it was hired to do, which is accompany grilled chicken and beer. Exactly what a potato salad should do. No more, no less.

The recipe

• 2# multi-colored potatoes (any old ‘tater will do just fine, as long as it’s in good shape)
• 1/4 – 1/2 large red onion, sliced into 1/4″ rounds
• 1/2 red bell pepper, in large strips
• 1/2 green bell pepper, in large strips
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 3 small dill pickles, diced (get the good kind, without food coloring. These are inexplicably hard to find at your average grocery store. Why do pickles need to be colored, anyway? Don’t get me started…)
• 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 1 tsp. spicy brown mustard
• 1 tsp. horseradish paste
• 1/2 tsp. seasoned rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup sea salt (for the water)
• fresh ground black pepper
• 2 large sprigs fresh rosemary (optional)

The Method

1. Add salt and rosemary to about 8 quarts of water in a large pot and heat on high until boiling
2. While the water is heating up, dice the potatoes into 1/2″ cubes
3. Add potatoes to boiling water, and cook until tender but not mushy
4. Drain completely, spread out on a sheet pan and immediately put in the refrigerator to cool down. Rinsing can help cool the potatoes down, but I recommend against it because it will wash away the salt, rosemary, and potatoey goodness.
5. While the potatoes are cooling, move on to preparation of the onions and peppers:
   • heat a skillet on medium-high heat and coat the bottom with olive oil.
   • once the pan is hot, place the peppers, skin side down, in the pan and allow to brown slightly. Turn them over, brown the insides slightly, then remove them an place them on a plate or sheet pan to cool. They should not be totally cooked, but tender-crisp.
   • do the same for the onions, cooking them only slightly, with salt and pepper. Add a little more oil to the pan, if necessary.
   • spread everything out in a single layer on a plate or sheet pan and place in the fridge to cool down
6. Finely dice the celery and pickles
7. Once cool, finely dice the onions and peppers.
8. Place potatoes (wait for them to completely cool), onions, peppers, celery and pickles in a large mixing bowl and gently stir in the mayo, mustard, horseradish, rice wine vinegar, and fresh ground pepper.
9. Once everything is thoroughly mixed, have a taste and add a pinch of whatever it may need.
10. Transfer to a nice clean serving dish.
11. Allow to sit, refrigerated for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
12. Smile modestly when each and every person at the party comes up to you and raves about your potato salad.

Notes:

• Potato salad will taste best if left to rest (covered & refrigerated) overnight, or at least a few hours.
• Feel free to experiment with amounts and ingredients. Other herbs, bacon, boiled eggs, specialty mustards, be creative!
• My Measurements are approximate, as I very rarely ever measure anything, except when baking.
• I may add some photos here if I makes this dish again…I was holding this post until I got some photos, but, you know, I need to post something…

My friends, today I found what I believe to the best possible after run snack, and I felt compelled to share it with you: a banana and a beer.

I’ve experienced the benefits of each one on its own after a hard workout, and they are both fantastic recovery supplements. The banana is an easy-to-digest fruit with lots of potassium and fiber, and beer, well, is in a class by itself. It is the only beverage that I know of that has the 3 key components: food, water, and medicine.

Go forth, my friends, and try this revolutionary combination!

So I decided to go with the old standby, pancakes. Of course me being who I am, these weren’t going to be plain old pancakes with syrup and butter, oh no. These were going to be multi-grain pancakes with fresh blueberry-strawberry syrup and nonfat yogurt. Mmmmm….

The recipe is pretty easy, especially since I used a mix for the pancakes. I usually like to forgo premade stuff and make things from scratch, but Trader Joe’s is about the best place on earth to shop for food, and this multi-grain pancake & waffle mix is great. So here it is:

Pancakes (per instructions on the box):
1 cup Trader Joe’s multi-grain pancake & waffle mix
1 cup 1% milk (water, soy milk, or any other liquid will do). I added about 1/4 of water in addition to the milk for thinner cakes.
2 eggs
1 Tb olive oil

Strawberry-Blueberry Syrup:
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup fresh blueberries, whole
1/4 cup real maple syrup

1. Mix the berries and the syrup together and set aside.
2. Cook the pancakes, storing them in 250 degree toaster oven if you only have one pan like me.
3. Serve with nonfat yogurt and berry syrup
4. Take it easy on the mojitos next time…