Tidbits - Mid-January Edition

Just a few notes, as the state-by-state thing is winding down and I have a little time to write about the places I've eaten at in the meantime.

* I've been getting a lot of good stuff at the farmers' market in Waverly lately.  I'm trying to stick to a new year's resolution of eating locally-grown or -raised food at least once every two weeks.  I've been better at this than I thought.  A few weeks ago I got tendergreen (a type of mustard green) which I made into a nice salad, and mizuna, a Japanese green that you can (apparently) pickle very easily.  The Little Grass Shack website shows how, among all the other info it gives about the versatile, easily-grown plant.

Also, look at what I whipped up from my loot from Waverly:

The other night I ate mashed sweet potatoes (definitely grown locally), fresh horseradishy-smelling turnips braised in butter, sugar and salt (probably grown locally) and kielbasa from South Mountain Creamery (made from locally raised pork).  Also note: I'm trying to eat less meat (not "no meat" - fool, please), so here is the kielbasa as a side dish to the turnips.

* Last week I found myself in Frederick, and after a day of conferences I decided to make it, finally, to Volt, the flagship restaurant of Top Chef's Bryan Voltaggio, a Frederick native.  Mind you, I do not have $85 just laying around to pay for a delicious three-course meal (that is, again, before beverages, taxes and tip).  Fortunately, Volt has a lounge menu with cheaper foods you can eat at the bar, so that's what I chose when hitting the bar at Volt.  The sleek bar usually picks up around 5ish, and I got there a little earlier.  While talking about Voltaggio's latest venture in the DC area (no chains for him - each of his restaurants is unique), the barkeep gave me a Flying Dog Raging Bitch, on tap ($7), locally made right in Frederick.  This went nicely with my order, a lush, buttery lobster roll ($12) on a homemade brioche bun, with kettle chips.  I don't usually eat a lot of lobster, and when I do it's usually in roll form.  This was a particularly lovely one, and it just went too fast for me.  All the more reason to go back to Frederick for another one?

* My friend Eric and I went out last weekend for a nice leisurely bite at the 13.5% Wine Bar.  I've written about it before, but just to mention how nice my latest meal there was, I have to give major kudos for the cheese selections the waiter made for us (five for $16), as well as the calamari, which  was the crispiest and most tender fried calamari I have had in ages (can't remember the price, but I think it was about $10).  Everything we had was delicious, I might add.

Locavory: White Icicle Radishes

After being inspired by the books (on CD) of Josh "Beekman 1802 / Amazing Race Winner" Kilmer-Purcell's The Bucolic Plague and then Barbara "Nope, Never Been on Amazing Race" Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I have made a New Year's Resolution.  Actually a few.  For one, I will only order seeds to plant that are certified non-GM (find a list of non-genetically-modified, non-Monsanto-related seed companies at the Emergency Homesteader site).  I have also resolved to purchase and consume at least one locally-sourced food product of some kind every two weeks (every fortnight as our British friends might put it) - veggies or fruit from one of the local farmers' markets, crabs and urshters sourced right from the Chesapeake Bay (not that difficult to do around here), craft beers brewed right inside the Beltway, and so on.

I've already fulfilled that second resolution for the first two weeks of the year. I went to Waverly Market last Saturday (and of course, forgot to grab the glass bottle for some milk from South Mountain Creamery, dammit.  Oh well, next time).  I was not looking for anything in particular, and left with a good amount of things to use.  Some farm fresh eggs with deep yellow-orange yolks and one with a feather still stuck to it (just $2 for small eggs).  Various apples, locally grown ($3ish).  And a bunch of what looked to me at first like little white carrots but were, in fact, white icicle radishes ($2 for the bunch).  

It was easy to find recipes for these things.  Both I found at Kalyn's Kitchen, linked from the Saveur.com website.  For the root part, I did a smallish version of her roasted radish recipe with soy sauce and roasted sesame seeds.  I was able to do this while preparing the leaves, too.  Oh no, don't throw them out: stir fry them!  Kalyn's recipe for stir-fried spicy radish greens (and chard, which I had none of, and I hate chard anyway) was a good way to use those up. I didn't have to worry about finding space for it in the fridge, since a bunch of seven small-to-medium white icicle radishes is about one serving.  But it was a lovely, crunchy, very mild and not really pungent radish meal.  I replaced the green onions in her radish roast recipe with sliced garlic, but apart from this, I tried to follow both of her recipes.  Delicious.

Tidbits from the West Coast

Just a few quick notes on things I've been eating out here lately:

* Yesterday my friends Jim & Gil and I all went to Wabi Sabi of Rancho Cucamonga. They were stunned to know that this place, which has been around for years, is completely new to me. As usual, we over-ordered. A few of things we got: an average but do-able spicy tuna roll, a lovely and hearty spate of veggie and seafood tempura, and - specifically for me - a combo plate of teriyaki salmon (not at all dry like so many I have had) and more veggie and shrimp tempura. The tempura soft shell crabs were also a nice reminder of home, crunchy and tender all at the same time.

* From there we ventured over to Palm Springs. It didn't hit us at the time, but Thursday nights are Village Fest nights in Palm Springs. Many blocks are closed to parking and traffic for a variety of kiosks: from various street performers (most good, though the guy tritely playing "Imagine" on the panpipes made me want to jab my ears with ice picks) to handbags and clothes to the "Ask a Rabbi" booth (I'm not making that up) to lots and lots of food. There was local produce, specifically dates and oranges (this is date and orange country after all), many fruits and vegetables. There were many booths of baked goods, including one where Jim bought a hearty "Crimson" bread filled with cranberries and currants. There was a lot of pre-prepared food, too: gyros and tacos, Mexican and Guatemalan, hot dogs and BBQ. If you ever find yourself in Palm Springs on a Thursday night, you will need to see this.

This topped off a visit to the Palm Springs Art Museum, which is free every Thursday night from 4 to 8, again to coincide with the Village Fest.

* Jim, by the way, has only once been to a Whole Foods, way back in 2002. There are none in the Inland Empire (note to Whole Foods: open a branch in Riverside or Ontario or something. Soon). Gil has just moved to Pasadena, which has two. We won't get to Gil's new pad while I am in town, but Gil promises to drag Jim's ass to Whole Foods in the near future.

The ONE thing I hate about farmers' markets

The ONE thing I hate about farmers' markets is the individual who moves as slowly as possible, not because others are blocking his or her path, but because he or she is soaking in the sights!

The smells!

The good vibes and karma!

The handmade cheeses and farm fresh apples, garlic and kale grown just 50 miles away by the same farmers who are handing it to you!

Sometimes stopping to chat with friends right in the middle of the thoroughfare!

Taking fliers and circulars about socialism and veganism!

All the while never realizing that they are in your fucking way!!!

That's the one and only thing I hate about farmers' markets.

Food Stamps now accepted at some local farmers' markets

This is a very good thing.

I just heard on WYPR that the Pimlico, Highlandtown and Waverly Farmers' Markets will start accepting food stamps. I don't know if this will be with every vendor, but it is one important step towards making sure that good produce is accessible to all Baltimoreans, not just those who can afford it.

Because I just don't feel like going to the Farmer's Market today

I said last week that I was going to go to the JFX Farmers' Market. But I don't feel like it, I have so much to do, and I really don't need anything right now. So why go just to buy stuff I don't need?

I know this is one of the more random posts I've ever made, but there it is. A report next week.

The Big JFX Farmer's Market starts today!

It only dawned on me this morning, after sleeping in to 9:00 (yes, for me that's sleeping in), that today is the first Sunday of May. That means it's JFX Farmer's Market time! Now I don't have to hustle so hard to get to the one on Saturday, when I am usually coming from the other side of town. I can just go to the Sunday one if I feel like it. I still like Waverly's a little better - it's cozier. But downtown's just has so much STUFF!

Well I will be going next Sunday so stay tuned for that report. Also coming up this week: one more Papua New Guinea post and algo relacionado al cinco de mayo.

Food, Inc.

I saw Food, Inc. last night. It didn't tell me much that I didn't already know - especially after reading Michael Pollan's excellent In Defense of Food (Pollan also appeared in the documentary a few times). And still, it disturbed and angered me - specifically the things I did not know. I won't write a lengthy post about it now, except to say that (Oops, looks like I did write a lengthy post about it after all!) After spending 90 minutes at the Charles avoiding all the Brüno traffic, I now have better insights into:

• Just how many things have corn products in them (diapers!?!?);
• Perdue and Tyson (and probably the other one or two megacompanies in "Big Poultry") do a pretty good job of mistreating not only its chickens - to make them much bigger in half the time - but also its chicken farmers - who have to go into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt to upgrade their chicken houses, even though they make about $20K a year;
• I now know why unionizing workers at Smithfield's Tar Heel, NC, plant are so pissed off;
  
• I also now know about food safety advocate Barbara Kowalcyk and her efforts to pass Kevin's Law, named after her son who was killed by E. coli tainted beef that was recalled - a month after her son ate it, and two weeks after he passed;
  
• And after finding out how thoroughly Monsanto - the same chemical company that holds a patent on a genetically modified soybean - harasses those independent soybean farmers who refuse to use their soybeans, and considering how pervasive soy products are in the American food supply, I don't know if I can ever drink soy milk again (not that I did very much to begin with);
• If you want to grow corn or soy in this country, you pretty much have to roll over for the big corporations and do what they want;
• The organic food folks are pretty torn on corporations like Wal-Mart starting to sell organic food, even though it is the very type of change they are seeking. The documentary features one Gary Hirshberg, maker of Stonyfield organic yogurt, who points out that most formerly independent organic companies are now owned by the Big Guys. Tom's (that you see often at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods)? It's now owned by Colgate.
  

Of course, the film points out some things that both Pollan's book and Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation already discuss that I already had realized:

• The fundamental changes in the food industry over the last 50 years in order to quickly make cheap, tasty, though not always sanitary food (again, Kevin's Law);
• The pervasiveness of high fructose corn syrup and other many and varied corn products and soy products in our food;
• Because we'd rather prosecute illegal immigrants instead of the corporations that hire them, a lot of food corporations are getting away with some very bad things;
• Our nation's FDA and USDA are much more ineffective than they ever were, especially since food industry big wigs have served in the upper echelons of both organizations on and off for decades, under Democratic and Republican presidents;
  
• Perhaps the most important thing in the movie for me: so many people are too impoverished to even be able to buy the more expensive produce - they only have enough money to buy the junk food, keeping them trapped in a cycle of obesity, diabetes, unhealthy food and - again - poverty.

Mind you, it's not a paean to vegan eating. The movie visits Polyface Farms, an independent farm in the Shenandoah Valley where chickens, cows and pigs are roaming around eating the grass and not being cooped up. One guy traveled for five hours just to buy some of this farm's poultry! You will see owner Joel Salatin slit a chicken's throat on this farm. Of course, if you're a vegan you will never consider this humane. Apart from the slit-throating bit, though, this is more humane for the animals, for the workers, and for the consumers.

It's also much more expensive. Which made me realize as I left the Waverly Farmers' Market today: if you are able to buy this kind of produce, you are paying more for quality and humane farm conditions, especially for the meat, which you shouldn't be eating that much of anyway. But spending more for it will probably force me to both buy less of it, and to waste less of it. And this will probably work out to be less expensive for me in the long run, because I'll be buying less (albeit pricier) food at a higher quality, which is therefore more conducive to my health. Will I still stop at Wendy's or the Fractured Prune? Of course, but not often. And Eric Schlosser comes right out at the start of the movie and admits: it's not going to be easy to avoid all the crap in our food in this modern day and age (unless you take up a life of hunting and gathering). This goes for everyone from the ravenous meat-eaters to the uber-zealous vegans.

So what do we do? The movie may be preaching to the choir. Nevertheless, it urges the viewer to do a few things:

• Write our Congressmen and Congresswomen to get the gears moving to change the system (the producers use the regulations on Big Tobacco as an example);
• Go to farmers' markets and independent farmers much more often - and ask them to accept food stamps, so it's not just open those who can afford to go;
• Grow your own damn food! That justifies my new upside-down tomato grower hanging off my porch railing.
• If you know people that hunt, fish or crab, get some of what they bring back with them.

I've written a lot here. But please don't take my word for it, y'all. See the movie for yourself (the trailer is below). And if it's not playing locally (which it probably isn't for some of you), wait for it to come out on Netflix. It's a pretty damn enlightening documentary.

Farmers' Markets and CSA's on Mid Day

If you are able to listen (and interested), Mid Day with Dan Rodricks on 88.1 WYPR is discussing farmers' markets and CSA's from 1 to 2. If you miss it, don't worry: you have a whole month to download the MP3 from the Mid Day website (after that you hae to email them and ask for a CD with the show you want). In that case, it's the Thursday, June 11, 1 to 2PM show.

Farmers' Markets of America, Unite!

I just heard on NPR this morning a new series they're doing for their Morning Edition program. They are exploring the farmers' markets of America. Of course, they can't hit all of them. They're just doing a representative sample. The first installment of this series looks at a farmers' market in northeastern Vermont (How much more Yankee-fied can you get?). Here, they're focusing on my old nemesis, the tasty fiddlehead fern which, when prepared incorrectly, could make you very ill.

California up ahead...

Ah, California. With that screwy, falling-apart sort of economy. I used to work in some capacity for Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. I truly wonder if I would still have work there given the current budget crisis. Oh, and I also can't get married there >:( At least there's still most of New England. And Iowa. Let them get the "wedding tourism" that California just won't be getting now. They need all the money they can get.

Anyway, I'm going back next week. Again, flying on a cheaper-than-expected ticket (via Southwest), driving with a prepaid, much-cheaper-than-expected rental car (via Priceline), and staying with friends (so no need to pay for a room at all). A few foodie things I am looking forward to while I'm back in the Eureka State...

• The last time I went out to Cali, I was introduced to Fat Tire Beer, one of the most wonderful beers I have ever drunk in my life. At least a six pack is coming back to Maryland with me, once I figure out how to fit it into my luggage without letting it break (stupid, stupid, antiquated no-shipping-of-alcohol-into-or-out-of-Maryland laws).
• The promise of actual, edible Mexican food - an elusive dream on this side of the Mississippi River, but something easily found in SoCal.
• Eric was berating me yesterday about ever eating fast food. He's reading a new book about healthier eating. Yes, I should look it up, but I'm a slow reader, so I'd rather wait for the audiobook. Anyway, there are lots of great - and not-so-great - fast food options on the lovely Left Coast. Faves include Del Taco and In N' Out, which merit an immediate visit. Not-so-faves include Carl's Jr. and Jack-in-the-Box, whose food has achieved a truly inedible quality. Weinerschnitzel became tiring but I'm willing to give it another chance.
• It's a helluva lot easier to find See's Candies out there than it is out here.
• I hope my main man Kurt is able to meet up. He and his wife may be out of town the whole time. He's a darn good cook and always has something good when I come over to visit. He makes a mean cochinita pibil. Being from Richmond, he also loves 'em blues as does almost any person that grew up near the Chesapeake Bay. When I first moved out there over a decade ago, the two of us introduced the rest of our grad student friends to steamed crabs. I still get a kick out of thinking about one guy's plea to just "set them free."
• The small city of Redlands has one of the first farmers' markets that I ever set foot into. I'm longing for their kettle corn and mini-donuts.

Plus, I can't get the promise of that strong, strong smell of orange blossoms and garlic farms along the 10 out of my head. It's strongest just west of the San Bernardino County Museum. Wonderful, just wonderful stuff.

Thanksgiving shopping at the 33rd Street Farmers' Market

My family decided this year not to buy or make too much for Thanksgiving (unlike last year when we went way overboard). I hope we can stick to that. Cathy is holding it at her house this time but I am making the turkey. She wants a whole slew of vegetables (which, again, can go overboard). So I went to the Waverly Farmers' Market today after work to look for stuff to get.

Among other things, I got this humongous butternut squash for only $5. And it wasn't even the largest one - there was one the size of a medium-large pumpkin for $8. A bundle of rosemary for $2 and three heads of garlic for $1, plus a dollar of jalapeños almost rounded it out.

And then I saw these...


They're so cute! Little green grape tomatoes! You don't even need to slice 'em up. Just roll 'em around and fry 'em whole.

Score!

Thanks to the folks down the street from me who are just giving some of their stuff away before they move, I am now the proud owner of a used charcoal grill. How lucky is that? I was heading out to Waverly for the market today, where I also got a humongous $2 bunch of cilantro, and another $2 bunch of basil, plus a bunch of spring onions, all for only $4.50 (God, farmers' market basil smells so much better than the hydroponic stuff you find in the store). Driving out I saw a yard sale with an unused charcoal grill, the kind that sells for $50 at Rite Aid. When I came back I parked at my place, walked over and before I could even form the phrase "How much for the grill? Is it for sale?" the woman of the house just cheerfully said "It's free, it's all free! Take whatever you want!" I also got a rug covered in dog hair, which I need to vacuum up, a little Linens n' Things-type black square basket, and several votive honeycomb candles.

But I'm still reeling, in a good way, from that grill. Now I have to track down a cheap chimney.

More Farmers' Market Stuff

Over the last week and a half I visited three different farmers' markets: Towson's on Thursday morning and afternoon, Waverly's on Saturday morning (I just got back from there in fact), and the I-83 one on Sunday mornings. Each one has its own unique personality, with a little overlap - there are always the "farmers' market junkies" who go hopping around from farmers' market to... er, um. Damn, I guess I'm one of those "farmers' market junkies".

Apart from that, Towson's seems to be the farmers' market for the leisurely crowd, the Roland Park- and Mount Washington- types, who may have the money to buy a few nice extra vegetables, chutneys and nuts. The Waverly market is a more plebeian one, with a hodgepodge of different working, middle, upper-middle and "granola" class folks all co-mingling together on a super small and compact scale. The I-83 market is just a big mishmash of everyone and everything, a nice cross-section of the city at a massive farmers' market for the 19th largest city in the US.

Towson:

I went last week on a whim - and some asshole snapped a photo of my license plate, I am certain of it. I circled round again and he was about to do it again, but I slowed down and glared at him. He seemed a little taken aback wen he saw it was the same car. I wanted to ask him why he did that - did he have some nefarious plan or something? So I parked in the Towsontown garage next to Trader Joe's (you can do that, y'know) and went over to ask, but he was safely nestled in a conversation. It looked like he was a press photographer anyway, since I saw him snapping photos of the merchants later. I let it go, but not before I bought a freshly grilled hamburger from the folks at Kabob Hut, who regularly set up a grill in front of their place on Market Day. A hamburger - which you will probably get medium rare - is $4. It's patted by hand and is juicier and more flavorful than most hamburgers I have eaten anywhere at all. Hot dogs are $2. I didn't see any produce that I needed, but almost bought some strawberries for $5 a pint. I'm usually a little disappointed with the selection at Towson's market, though I love that it's located so close to many great businesses, including Towsontown Center and many restaurants right along the same street. I've eaten at the Kathmandu Kitchen several times, and it's often due to the Towson Farmers' Market.

I-83:

The next one I went to was last week's I-83 Farmers' Market. I got there pretty late, as much of the good stuff was taken (no spinach). Mostly I went shopping for my sister, who has her own little handful at home in Lansdowne. She wanted spinach for salad, and fixins for a salsa. She gave me $20 and a loooooong list of veggies to get. I found about half of what she asked for, and paid more than I wanted to for the rest. She wanted avocados and three different bell peppers and some jalapeños, of which I found none. Also no spinach, though I did find a mesclun and baby spinach mix for $6 for a pound. Also found ten shallots for $4, garlic at 50¢ a head, and cilantro (bunched) and basil (live) for $1 each. I bought myself some garlic scapes - 3 for $1 - and a $1 bunch of oregano. And I was amazed to find something I hadn't enjoyed since I went to the Market Nights a few years ago on Thursday nights in Redlands, CA: cinnamon-y mini-donuts with powdered sugar (one minibag for $4). I put on my own cinnamon and powdered sugar but I love them just the same.

Waverly:

Hoo-wee! I hit the jackpot here. There were some nice little prepared foods here, though I think I-83's is better for the sheer size of the selection. I just got back with a bag of green tomatoes - from the Eastern Shore - for $3.75, a big-ass bunch of basil for $2 (which makes the piddly live plant I got for Cathy look like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree), a nice large bunch of cilantro for $1, and two, no, three ears of bicolor corn for $1.

It's fun to see what turns up at Waverly's market. There was a group of people selling furniture out of a U-Haul van today, and it wasn't crap either but nice, older, sturdy wooden furniture. It was all lined up along the entry walkway so I walked around it. I don't need any furniture. As with every farmers' market, there is also more than produce at Waverly's, too. And I know that these same merchants pop up at most of them, but they're just so much more accessible here for some reason. I can't explain it. The purveyors of flowers, meat, cheese, bread, potted herbs, desserts are all out there for you - it's cozier.

The prepared food is nice, as I have stated before. Today's selections included a gluten-free vegan spelt brownie with dates and (yuck) nuts ($2). The nuts were only on top. Usually I can't stand or tolerate nuts on my brownies but this one really made an exception. This brownie just tasted richer and more chocolaty than most brownies. It was also a little oilier. I also got a small container of yemisir wot (spicy lentil stew) from the Ethiopian Delites kiosk ($3). They also make a take-out meal for $5, including a little of everything they sell (also all-vegetarian). I finally inquired about where to find injera bread in Baltimore. The solution: call Dukem ahead of time and buy it from them. Easy enough!

I cuaght the location of the South Asian market nearby as I was leaving so I parked again and went into Punjab Halal Meat & Groceries (the City Paper's Best Ethnic Grocer of 2006, and Best Indian Grocer of 2007) for some asafoetida powder for $2.75 and a samosa for 85¢. Love their selection, especially all the frozen fishes.

So from this past week's farmers' market hopping I have learned the following things:

• The I-83 market is like the Arundel Mills of farmers' markets
• The Towson Market has some gems, and is centrally located around Towson's businesses, though can be lacking in its selections.
• The Waverly Market seems to have the best selection of produce in a small area, and is - again - cozy.
  

Waverly Farmers' Market

I finally got up early enough to get over to the Farmers' Market in Waverly. And because I went today, I'm not sure if I'm going to the I-83 one tomorrow. I brought around $20 with me, and spent half of it. And oh, the frivolous purchases I made! Just kidding. To be honest, I wasn't sure what I would find. I do know that I found things cheaper - sometimes much cheaper - than I am used to. My one big problem was deciding what to buy, amidst the booths and booths of fresh veggies and fruits, flowering plants, herbs, dairy products and prepared foods. The first booth I came to had some pretty fancy greens that cost more than I could pony up, even though they were probably 1) cheaper here than they would be anywhere else, and 2) rare enough to not be able to find anywhere else. It was still very popular (more power to 'em). But I stuck to the booths that sold corn for 50¢ an ear and little boxes of baby potatoes for $3. I spent much time lingering around these booths, buying said bag of red creamer potatoes for $3, a bag of fresh green beans for $2 and a bunch of green onions for 75¢.

The prices for spices and herbs were what impressed me the most. You can't find bunches of fresh herbs that cheap in the grocery stores anymore. Here I found bunches of thyme, mint and cilantro for $1, and basil for $2. Boxed live herbs were a little pricier at $3 in most places. And then there was the Whiskey Island Pirate Shop. They sell fresh steamed-on-the-spot crawfish for $10 a pound. I didn't have enough to buy that - conserving my money here. I did have enough to buy some of their specialty dried herbs and spices, which go for noticeably cheaper than they do in the stores. I was able to get thyme for $1 per half-ounce - enough to fill my spice jar. Most impressive was the ounce of smoked paprika that I scored for $2. This tastes nothing like the paprika I am used to. Instead, it's more like a very mild chipotle. Very good stuff. Price-wise I was most impressed with the ounce of pine nuts I got for $1.50. Usually in the stores, you find three times as much for at least four or five times the price.

Before going I had to get something to nibble on. I stopped at the Curry Shack for a jerk pie for only $2. I also tried some delicious black-eyed pea soup at Eula's Cuisine, but an entire jar cost $12 and (again) I didn't have it on me. Sadly the chef says she won't be there next week, but she roams around to different farmers' markets. Hopefully she'll show up when I have the money on me! At least I got on her mailing list.