vanilla snow

Woke up to some nice snow in DC this morning and made vanilla snow.

Recipe
-Scoop snow in a cup
-Make a syrup with seeds from a fresh vanilla bean, a drop of vanilla extract and agave nectar
-Pour syrup over snow
-Eat

SPIN farming

Attended a workshop today on SPIN Farming which is a model for intensive urban farming on small plots of land. Their motto is, “It’s time to bring agriculture back home”.
Many of the techniques that they use are similar to techniques that I have been using for years in our backyard and in friends and clients yards. I did learn about some very helpful looking gardening tools that are available locally from Purple Mountain Organics, some proactive weeding techniques and the financial benefits of buying seeds in bulk.
Most exciting was the gathering of like minded people who believe in community building through locally growing and consuming food.
The presenter Dan Bravin, from Portland Oregon runs a CSA called City Garden Farms, that will produce 50 farm shares this season from several backyards in Portland.

We have already planted our earliest seeds of the season- arugula, beet berries and rapini…this week we will order seeds and start plotting our home garden and the other gardens we are planting this year.

Orchids through Darwin’s Eyes

Lots of Darwin notice these days in honor of the 200 year anniversary of his birth.
Visited and enjoyed the current Smithsonian exhibit, Orchids through Darwin's Eyes which is full of thousands of live orchids. The plants are exhibited with information about how Darwin and thinkers since him use orchids to help investigate theories of natural selection and evolution.
A recent New York Times article, and op-ed piece,
examine Darwin’s life and work and just how right he was about so many different things.
Darwin’s studies also offer fundamental building blocks to one of my favorite books, Michael Pollan’s, The Botany of Desire as well as new theories such as evo-devo. I find all of it difficult to understand but intriguing and clearly related to my everyday practices….I have some reading to do, starting with…
The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin and Endless Forms Most Beautiful, Sean B. Carroll

cooking with mid winter herbs

A few notes and the recipes from my 2/10/09 presentation/demonstration, Spring Valley Garden Club

I demonstrated the preparation of some foods using herbs from my city herb garden for the February meeting of the Spring Valley Garden Club. The majority of my perennial herbs are packed in a small plot of soil in front of my row house in downtown Shaw. I decided what to make today based on my herbs and the vegetables that I was able to find at the Sunday Farmers Market.

Herbs available in my garden February 2009
Bay, sorrel, winter savory, salad burnet, parsley, Italian parsley, marjoram, sage and rosemary-

I bake with recipes and when preparing savoy food I just cook tasting things as I go along and not measuring ingredients. This time I measured ingredients, had someone jot down the measurements as I cooked so I could post the recipes here.

The lavender from my garden is available year round and I use it throughout the seasons for cooking and making flower arrangements. It makes a great tisane, flavoring for homemade ice cream and a little bit finely chopped is delicious on many fresh fruits. Today biscotti….These biscotti are rolled in sugar that I dyed with a little purple cabbage juice just for color. Plain sugar would work also.

Lavender Biscotti

Makes about 50 biscotti

1/2 cup tightly packed lavender leaves
1 1/3 cup organic, fair trade sugar
1 3/4 organic all purpose unbleached flour
1 cup organic whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 oz non hydrogenated vegetable oil stick, such as smart balance
1/2 cup pureed silken tofu
extra sugar for rolling

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.In a food processor combine the lavender and sugar. Process until the sugar turns green and lavender is pureed, about 1 minute.

3.In a mixer combine sugar, flours, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and vegetable oil. Mix until thoroughly incorporated. Add tofu and mix until just thoroughly incorporated.

4.Divide dough into 4 pieces and roll each piece into a log with a 3/4 inch diameter. Roll each log in sugar until coated on all sides.

5.Bake the logs for about 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 225 degrees. Slice logs into cookies about 1/4 inch wide each.

6.Place cookies on a baking sheet and place in oven. Cook until biscotti are firm about 15 to 20 additional minutes, or longer if you want very crunchy biscotti.

While cookies baked we made a flatbread with rosemary. Rosemary is another herb that I have available in my garden throughout the year. I particularly appreciate it in the cold months because it pairs so well with fall and winter foods. This year I have been enjoying roasting it with root vegetables, as a flavoring for variety of beans and with apples and pears prepared many different ways.

Rosemary, Walnut, Spelt Flatbread

Makes about 2 sheet pan sized flatbreads

3 cups water
2 tablespoons fresh compressed yeast
2 tablespoons organic fair trade sugar
2 tablespoons finely ground sea salt
2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
4 cups spelt flour
4 1/2 cups organic all purpose unbleached flour (exact amount determined when making)
1 cup toasted pieces, walnuts
Olive oil for pan
Approximately 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt for top

1.Preheat oven to 425. In a large bowl combine water, yeast, sugar, salt and rosemary. Mix until somewhat smooth. Gradually add flour, about 2 cups at a time, switching back and forth between the spelt and the all purpose unbleached. Knead in flour after each addition.

2.When the dough can stick together as a ball take the dough out of the bowl and place on a clean surface. Knead the dough adding more flower until it stops sticking to your hands. Knead dough vigorously for about 2 minutes.

3.Split the dough in half. Coat a sheet tray with olive oil. Place one piece of the bread on the sheet tray and pat out with palms and fingertips until the bread is about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle the top of the bread with a coarse salt.

4.Bake the bread until it is a deep golden brown, about 20 minutes.

While the bread was baking we made a squash puree with sage and winter sage. Both of these herbs can be harvested throughout the year. I have my winter savory planted near my thyme and summer savory. In the summer the thyme and summer savory take over and the savory dies back and vice a versa in the winter. Sage sometimes does not look its most beautiful in the winter but it still tastes fantastic. It is another one of those herbs that compliments fall and winter produce. Try using it with roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes, with braised fennel or mashed celery root.

Winter Squash Spread

2 cups roasted winter squash puree (we used the varieties amber cup and kabocha)
1 onion chopped
1 tablespoon sage
1 tablespoon winter savory
2 teaspoons walnut oil
salt and pepper to taste (I used a French sea salt for this dish)
grapeseed oil approximately 2 teaspoons

1.Preheat oven to 375. Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Lightly coat squash with grapeseed oil and place on sheet pan cut side down. Coat onion with oil as well and place on sheet tray beside the squash.

2.Cook until the squash is tender and the onions are golden brown.

3.When the squash is cool enough to touch remove the meat and discard the skin.

4.Place all ingredients in the food processor and processor until smooth, about one minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Before preparing the next dish we removed the biscotti from the oven, sliced them and returned them to the lower temperature oven. The salad we prepared had parsley and Italian parsley as well as sorrel and salad burnet. For a long time I stopped using traditional parsley I am not sure why but now I am really enjoying it in vegetable salads, bean salads, pureed as a sauce or dressing….Sorrel has always been a favorite herb of mine. The fresh lemony flavor is great with anything that would taste good with a touch of citrus, many things! I have found that it is sometimes difficult to start a sorrel plant either from seed or seedling but once established it will thrive. I cannot cut sorrel all winter from my garden but anytime there are a few nice days in a row I am happily able to gather several leaves. Salad burnet is rarely available unless you grow it. The good news is it is easy to grow and versatile in use. The light cucumbery taste is a good addition to a wide variety of foods. Try individual leaves in salads or pureed with a little olive oil salt and pepper as a sauce.

Winter Vegetable Salad
2 cups total chopped herbs including- parsley, Italian parsley, salad burnet and sorrel
1 fennel bulb
2 radishes
1 large or two medium Jerusalem artichokes
1 kohlrabi, peeled
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste (I used a block of Himalayan salt with a hand grater)

1.Using a mandoline, food processor or a knife thinly slice the vegetables.

2.Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix. Season with salt and pepper.

Bread came out of oven and everything was ready to sample. I was very appreciative for the many questions that came up while cooking and eating about- salt, growing herbs, finding ingredients, feeding kids, cooking with little time…..they will all inform my future talks, writing and daily practice!

the Obamas at Alvin Ailey

Went to the Kennedy Center last night to see Alvin Ailey. They perform at the Kennedy Center every year around this time and in New York around Christmas and most years we catch a performance in DC or NY. When we got a couple of miles from the Kennedy Center last night the traffic was heavy and there were huge amounts of police cars. Inside the Kennedy Center there were metal detectors, dogs, secret service, police and lots of excitement.
We walked into the opera house and everyone was facing away from the stage looking up to the first balcony which was empty except for the presidential seal….
When Barack, Michelle (wearing black leather, looking amazing) and the girls walked in everyone stood facing the balcony and gave them a standing, screaming, clapping ovation. Looking around I saw that others besides me had tears in their eyes.
The atmosphere throughout the performance was charged. The dancers were extraordinary but the presence of the first family took it to a whole other level. There were two intermissions and after each there was lots of cheering when Obama returned to his seat. In the box with him and his family were Attorney General, Eric Holder and DC mayor Adrian Fenty. The performance ended with a famous Ailey piece called Revelations. After the dancers took their bows and Judith Jamison took a bow and did a memorable hand movement, the audience was still going crazy. They danced and encore with everyone (including the president) on their feet clapping the entire time. After the encore the company stood in a line bowed, clapped, threw kisses and clasped their hands to their hearts to the Obamas.
The night was memorable. Not sure what all this means…. The expectations that each of us have for the new president are intense. I feel fortunate he is in office…and excited he is a DC resident!!

notes from 1/29/09 talk, Sulgrave Club, DC

notes and video from my recent talk...

Topic:
Incorporating sustainable practices or as I like to call them practices of vitality into the practice of everyday living …

Set up:
(slides that are linked to this post (see video above)- were projected for talk)
The slides are not for the purpose of literal interpretation more to provide a feeling of this practice that I refer to that integrates aesthetics, nutrition, pleasure and results in vitality.

Hand out:
side one-
seed, sustain, conscious, vitality, comfort, local, soil, source, element,
pleasure, essential, community, connection, bare, root, nourish

side two- lots of links many of which can be found on my website

My Background
I come from a family where cooking and eating was central. Memories are centered around family meals and entertaining.
My father worked in international nutrition. I was lucky to have the opportunity to travel with him to many countries. Looking back I realize that this exposure influenced my perspective about the importance of food and the privilege of plenty. My mother was a teacher. She returned to work after my brother and I were older and became involved in early stages of SOS, a national organization whose mission is to try to let no child in America be hungry.

After brief careers as an attorney and a documentary filmmaker I opened a restaurant in DC with my husband and brother called Rupperts. Looking back Rupperts became a physical space to explore and develop a variety of practices that had always been essential to me. Since we closed the restaurant about 6 years ago I have been fortunate to be involved in a variety of projects that have allowed me to continue to discuss and develop these practices. Today I have a cut flower business, I design and plant small urban and potted gardens that incorporate edible elements and I continue to do a variety of work with food. I recently wrote a cookbook for Bob Greene, Oprah's trainer called the Best Life Cookbook, I also work with him on his Best Life Website, write for a few different publications, do some restaurant and other food related consulting and of course cooking and eating for myself, family and friends…. I am also a mom of an amazing 9 year old daughter who is an integral part of all these projects.

As an aside the choosing of the bolded words on the hand out which are also incorporated into the slides was somewhat of a random process. It is difficult to concisely express a practice that is incorporated into all aspects of daily living. The words seemed to be good points of entry.

My favorite way of speaking is having a discussion so my idea today is to give an overview of thoughts and ideas and then hopefully have a lively conversation fueled by your questions which I believe will be much more lively…and vital.

Nourish
Essential to all aspects my practice is the idea that the best food for you is the most delicious, most healthful and is best for the environment. Much to the chagrin of food writers while we had our restaurant was our inability to answer the question, “what type of food do you cook?” My answer was, “we gather the best possible ingredients and then do as little as possible to them, more pairing and enhancing and then get out of the way……”

This is my same concept I use in flower arranging, gardening and pretty much everything else I do.

None of this is possible without excellent ingredients. I cook exclusively with seasonal ingredients. In DC the options are descent…in the last several years there have been many new farmers markets introduced throughout the city and metropolitan area. The availability of local ingredients is very different today than it was in 1994 when we opened Rupperts. Today there is a vibrant year round farmers market and mid growing season there are markets that you can visit every day….which I often do. In addition there are lots of options for CSA’s including the one that we belong to called Clagett Farm which is part of the Capital Area Community Food Bank. And there is a nice long growing season in this area that allows for each of us to try our hand at a little farming even if it is just a couple of pots squeezed out on a sunny window ledge or fire escape…..
Pretty much everything that I talk about comes back to planting something that you can eat since it is the most direct way that I know of to nourish, feel part of community, experience pleasure and feel vitality!

Community
My definition of community is broad. I start with self expand to family, neighbors, others that you come in contact with from colleagues to someone you pass on the street, others in the world all the way to ecosystem……

My restaurant Rupperts …helped me refine my current definition of community. Pleasure continues to come from the wide variety of farmers, neighbors, thinkers and friends is endless…not to mention the worms that live in my worm composting system!

There are the many relationships started in our kitchen, my assistant, who initially came in to work as a dishwasher and who works with me daily with flowers, gardens and food… that I could not do anything that I do without. A 15 year old kid started working in the kitchen looking for somewhere to go after school and came to the restaurant every afternoon and weekend. Today he collaborates with me on nearly every project that I do. There is also a “kid” whose parents were regulars at our restaurant who helped me plant my first truly productive kitchen garden when he was 13 years old. The day before inauguration we spent the day with him picking up trash as part of a viral litter free inauguration media campaign he initiated.... There is the cooperative of Amish farmers whose produce I have been enjoying for years. Just this past summer I had the amazing opportunity to meet and see their farms. I have always appreciated their support. The outstanding produce they have supplied over the years has been ultimately valuable and it was exciting to learn that in return they felt supported by the long term relationship as well.

Recently I have been fortunate to get involved in the Best Life community. Most of my professional cooking career has been making and serving precious food…the type I consume regularly. Up to now I have primarily fed a well-fed, nutritionally savvy, well-exercised, affluent community.

I became involved in Best Life because an old friend of mine who is a nutritionist was working for Bob Greene and contacted me ….she expressed her frustration with “diet food”. She suggested that my food would work well with her nutritional agenda because it was, “healthy, delicious, conscious in respect to origin and environment etc….”. She asked me if I would like to work on some recipes with her. Initially I assumed that I was totally unqualified…knowing about the various truffle seasons and where to purchase them and which expensive variety of salt I thought was ideal for which specific application…. Despite these initial reservations I decided to give it a go.
I had to take into account time people were willing to devote to cooking a meal, money, availability of ingredients in non costal urban centers, fears of the unfamiliar, severe salt restrictions and needed to incorporate products that endorsed the diet. Ultimately I found it was not too difficult to adhere to these restrictions and incredibly gratifying. All of a sudden I was able to communicate with a huge “Oprah audience” about practices that are essential to me! Not only through recipes throughout the book and website, I was also able to insert ideas about seasonality, farm markets, sustainable fish….Not to mention hopefully sharing the pleasure that I get from food. Totally exciting!

Pleasure
The ancient philosopher Epicurus defines pleasure as the absence of pain …this definition pretty much excludes the idea that an overindulgence in foie gras or anything else is pleasure…many things that we think of as pleasure give a moment of elation but ultimately result in pain….

For most humans sustained pleasure is quite different that indulgences that are often labeled pleasure.

Taken a little further...
Can a rose that is grown with pesticides and harvested by abused laborers bring you pleasure? For me the comfort or pleasure associated with knowledge of source of my food and other products that I consume and enjoy brings pleasure.

I have already spoken about source and food but the same goes with flowers and plants…
Flowers that you arrange cut from your own garden will always be the most beautiful but there are other conscious sources for flowers. In addition to growing some of the flowers and herbs that I use for flower arrangements during the growing season I work with several local farmers. At other times of the year I buy flowers directly from the Dutch auction where all products are grown with conscious environmental and labor practices. I also buy from a South American broker that gets roses and other flowers from farms that are partially or completely worker owned.

Comfort which to me intersects with true pleasure can be found in nourishing ourselves and the ecosystem rather than through a cycle of consumption and waste…..
We are not talking about deprivation but conscious alternatives which include considering portions and making decisions about what we really need and want. Just by being aware the question can become, "what do I want?"......Although this seems so basic I find it often gets confusing in a busy environment saturated by media.

Modern conveniences have done away with the need for us to actually do many things. These conveniences are often welcome but sometimes there is nothing more satisfying than making your own bread…particularly with the knowledge that you have the option to buy bread. Making bread is just something that works for me…but I guess that for everyone there is a similar pleasure giving act.

As an aside this leads me to a problem with the word sustainability which inherently suggests inertia. In my mind a better solution is to utilize everything available including conveniences and technology while incorporating the most basic of practices. For example planting a seed that you research and buy on the electronically, watching a plant grow, nurturing and harvesting. Or meeting a farmer who has grown your food…instead of always choosing to purchase the exotic imported vegetable.

Vitality- my final word
Defined as germinating power or life force of animals and plants. In my mind the essence of what each of our daily practices should supports, no?

Vitality through composting, growing something edible even more so with a child helping you, meeting a farmer who grew your food, planting a flower that attracts butterflies, eating less meat or choosing to eat no meat, walking somewhere habitually instead of driving somewhere habitually.
These are just a few examples that nourish vitality…that in my everyday practice is the ultimate goal.

Before questions I would like to read a quote from Michael Pollan that I find right on point…not to mention beautifully said,
"...reasons to plant that garden, to bother. At least in this one corner of your yard and life, you will have begun to heal the split between what you do, to commingle your identities as consumer and producer and citizen."

Manuka Honey- what is it?

Recently my friend Allison brought me some New Zealand, Manuka Honey from one of her favorite LA stores Erewhon Natural Foods. I did not know much about this honey.

In recent years I have used less honey since it is technically non-vegan and since agave nectar, which can often be used in place of honey, became so readily available. I have continued to use honey in specific instances where I am looking for a honey flavor or for medicinal purposes. I choose specific types of honey depending on how I plan to use it since both taste and consistency are so varied. One of my favorites over the years has been from a Baltimore based company called, Really Raw Honey. Their honey is produced from a community of many small beekeeping operations that practice and advocate environmentally sound beekeeping.

I have read about and witnessed the health benefits of honey including a positive effect on digestion, ulcers, allergies and respiratory problems. Based on my recent reading, it seems Manuka honey provides all of the benefits of standard unprocessed honey plus many more.

Manuka is a raw, un-pasteurized organic honey which is collected from the bees that gather nectar from the flowers that grow on wild Manuka (also known as the Tea Tree Bush). For years I have used tea tree oil for all sorts of cuts and scrapes because of its antibacterial and antifungal properties. The tea tree is indigenous to New Zealand and it seems that the properties of the tea tree combined with the natural antibacterial properties of honey make for an extraordinary variety of honey.

The taste is unique, complex and somewhat earthy and can be used in for a variety of culinary purposes. The few Manuka honeys I have recently tried have all been delicious but it seems that its healing properties are what distinguish it from all other types of honey.

With a little online research I found….

Studies indicate that Manuka honey contains very powerful antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiviral, antioxidant, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal properties, making it extremely effective in treating a wide variety of health conditions. There are testimonials that the honey taken internally and used externally has been a successful treatment to all sorts of infections and other ailments, some that are resistant to antibiotics.

Standard honey and Manuka honey contain hydrogen peroxide which is a known antiseptic. However standard honey looses most of its healing properties when it comes in contact with certain conditions such as light, heat or dilution. Active Manuka (a specific form of the honey) is stable so it is able to maintain its potency and healing properties.

The Benefits of Manuka Honey Website sells the honey and gives details about how and when to use as a remedy.

Article for Parenting Magazine

Several months ago I wrote my first article for Parenting Magazine. I worked with an editor at the magazine to make my recipes quicker and better suited to the tastes of their readers....
Anyway, it just came out in the February issue.....

roses

Washingtonian Magazine just launched a new magazine called Bride and Groom. I initially got involved in this project because my talented friends Pum and Jake who are, Design Army, worked with the Washingtonian on the new magazine and asked me to do flowers for a photo shoot for the first issue of the Bride and Groom...
Soon after I was excited to be named as the up and coming florist in the premiere issue of Bride and Groom.
Yesterday there was a launch party/bridal showcase for the magazine at the Park Hyatt. Through the planning process for the event (as well as doing a presentation table at the event I did the flowers for a fashion show, and some other spots), I ran into lots of friends and colleagues working on the project including, Jill Hudson Neal, who I have enjoyed working with over the years and is now the editor of the new magazine. Aimee Dominick , a fantastic event planner orchestrated the Park Hyatt event. It was great to reconnect with other colleagues and meet new ones as well as brides planning for the future.
All that information gets me to rose cookies. I made the bridal bouquet in the above photo based on Design Army's vision. The roses in the bouquet are a variety called, Esperance and come from a Florida distributor that only sells roses from farms that use sustainable growing practices. Many of the farms they buy from are cooperatively owned and all have excellent labor practices....and all of that in a round about way led me to making Rose Cookies for yesterdays event.

Rose Cookies
2/3 cup non hydrogenated shortening
large pinch of salt
4 teaspoons rose water
1 cup all purpose unbleached flour
1 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup pureed silken tofu
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup sugar (organic, free trade and vegan if possible)

decoration
1/4 cup sugar (organic, free trade and vegan if possible)
1/4 teaspoon beet juice
6 buds of rose tea, leaves removed from bud and broken into small pieces

1.Combine decoration sugar and beet juice to make a pink sugar, set aside.
2.Cream the shortening and sugar. Add the other ingredients and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
3.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4.Roll the cookies out using additional flour if necessary to prevent sticking. Cut cookies out with a cutter.
5.Sprinkle cookies with pink sugar and rose leaves.
6.Bake until barely golden brown around the edges, about 8 minutes.

Inauguration 2009

My Highlights:

Catching up with old and new friends-
We live near the Capitol and had friends and friends of friends sleeping at our home and stopping by throughout the long weekend. The events opened up time in our lives to allow ourselves to relax, talk, share meals, connect and dream.

Day of service-
On Monday January 19 we found an organized event through my.barackobama and spent several hours picking up trash on the national mall. It felt great. I intend to regularly participate in other organized public service events and to organize events of my own.

Chant 4 Change-
A charity event where we chanted and danced on the eve of the inauguration.

Wandering around DC and feeling the energy and hope-

My friend Laurie’s party-
Below is the menu I prepared and served to a receptive group of eaters

passed-
delicata winter squash soup with black chantarelles
mashed potatoes with Oregon black truffles and French truffle salt
toasted local cornmeal cornbread with caramelized onion and shallot
brussel sprouts with pickled ginger
falafel with sesame sauce

table 1-
montgomery farmhouse cheddar
whole grain crackers
seeded crostini
sweet and salty pumpkin seeds
black grapes
salted spelt, black walnut, whole wheat oatmeal breads
kohlrabi, celery root, carrot and radish
white bean sage spread
spinach roasted garlic puree
quince and pear compote
sweet potato chestnut spread

table 2-
salty rosemary biscotti
earl grey drops
chocolate, chocolate and nib biscotti
cardamom stars
coconut pecan oatmeal cookies

drink-
spiked clementine and ginger agua fresca
Coston Coteaux du Languedoc, Les Terrasses 2004
Savignon de Saint-Bris, Corps de Garde 2004

Litter Free Inauguration

DC one week before Obama becomes the next president you can feel the excitement, tension and traffic. A good friend and long time collaborator sent me a public service announcement he made to help nurture our city during this time of celebration.... and hopefully incorporate into our daily practices.
Check it out Litter Free Inaguration

Photo was taken today (one week pre-inauguration) by a good friend and talented photographer Abby Greenawalt

Grandmothers Cookies

I think yesterday was my grandmothers birthday. November 11th was the day she celebrated her birth …when she was alive. She never knew her exact birth date, so she chose November 11th.

My grandmother loved to cook and feed others….

These almond biscotti-like cookies were always available at her house. She called the ends and any broken pieces, “damages” which she happily fed to any takers.

This version of her cookies has been vegan-ized and adapted with the addition of some whole grain flour, a vanilla bean instead of extract, chopped almonds instead of sliced, tofu in place of eggs ….

Grandmothers Cookies
Makes about 30 cookies

Prep time- 10 minutes
Total time-1 hour 10 minutes

3/4 pureed silken tofu
3/4 cup sugar (if possible vegan, fair-trade and from an environmentally sustainable source)
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
seeds from 1 vanilla pod
2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 cup spelt flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup roughly chopped almonds
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoons cinnamon

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pureed tofu in a mixer and add sugar, beat well. Add oil and vanilla, beat until well blended.

2.Combine flours, baking powder. Mix into tofu mixture until smooth. Stir in almonds.

3.Divide dough in half and shape each portion into a 10- x 3-inch log. Place the two tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon on a large plate. Roll each log in the cinnamon sugar coating it on all sides. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

4.Bake cookies for 30 minutes.

5.Remove cookies from oven and let cool for five minutes. Cut each log crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slices with a serrated knife. Place slices on baking sheets.

6.Reduce the heat in the oven to 225°. Return cut cookies to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

traveling without electronics

We ended up without a charged battery or plug for my daughters DVD player last night and four hours of travel time ahead of us.

I am somewhat television-phobic.….Regardless several years ago we started to always travel with a DVD player. The DVD player is handy especially on long trips. Sometimes I watch a movie with Martin-Lane but more often I work, read, think or nap. Martin-Lane loves movies and for her the opportunity to watch them is always a treat.
When we discovered that we were without electronic entertainment there was a moment of despair…

Turned out to be a gift….we leisurely watched clouds and gave them identities and played multiple games of hangman. I had the latest copies of two favorite magazines, Bloom and The Ecologist which we slowly poured over discussing articles, photos and idea after idea. We drew pictures together and separately, laughed, talked and silently observed the world whizzing by through the window.
Magical…

Eating NYC

We regularly make quick trips up to New York. Sometimes there are plans for cultural events, social events, work…always there is eating!!
Just back from the quintessential street food eating visit:
Just off the Bolt Bus, our preferred method of DC-NYC transportation
we headed to Vanessas dumplings on Eldridge close to Broome for steamed vegetable dumplings, sesame pancake with vegetables, pickled cabbage, cucumbers and seaweed. Then around the corner to Babycakes the amazing vegan bakery. The night was beautiful so we walked and ended up near Pure Food and Wines, One Lucky Duck, where we decided to get a pint of raw “oreo” ice cream to bring home for a late night snack….
Sunday morning started with a trip to the Brooklyn Flea Market in Fort Greene which included a bean tamale and a pizza made in an ingenious traveling brick oven (they made us a special cheese-less one). Also found some amazing chocolate made a few blocks away from the market called fine and raw. There were many potential flea markets finds most of which we enjoyed without purchasing. Most intriguing was a stand selling old pieces of Japanese fabric…each one unique, worn and inspiring…many patch-worked together.
Then back to Manhattan where we got some new pickles from the Pickle Guy, a sesame stick at Kossars and a chestnut organic doughnut a few doors down at Doughnut Planet.
After all that needed a walk… went to check out Tadashi Kawamata’s treehouses that are in Madison Square Park until December 31st.
Jumped back on the bus with a bag full of fuji persimmons that we had picked up from a vendor in Chinatown.
Yum!!

feel good

About a week after we all found out who Sarah Palin was I got severe fatigue of talking to people who agree with me. There were endless emails from fellow Obama supporters, I had an uncountable number of conversations with people just like me who were appalled by the possibility of a McCain Palin presidency.

At that point I decided that I would attempt to replace at least some emailing and talking time with volunteering. The result has been very satisfying. MyBarackObama.com and many friends led me and Martin-Lane to door to door canvassing in Virginia, post card writing to undecided voters in Pennsylvania, a random fund raising event with performance art, a phone bank and yesterday a small event at home.

We invited friends and their friends to our home to make get out the vote phone calls and to bake cookies for voters waiting in long lines to vote in southern Virginia. About half of the volunteers that showed up were under 9 years old....it all felt good!

Tomorrow morning I plan to make a few more get out the vote phone calls and then... anxiously await the results-

puff ball

On a run in Rock Creek Park (DC) yesterday morning before heading out of town for the night I found this pristine puff ball mushroom!
While we had Rupperts Restaurant we were fortunate to work with several wild mushroom hunters who were incredibly knowledgeable. I learned a bit about varieties of local wild mushrooms. I often see mushrooms that I cannot identify and therefore cannot eat....since eating the wrong type of mushroom can be deadly...
There are a few types that I am confident identifying, one of these is a puff ball. It is quite amazing seeing this huge white non organic looking ball growing in the middle of the forest.
The discovery made me giddy but even more exciting was sharing some of the freshly found mushroom with several enthusiastic friends. I hope that my next big mushroom find will fall on a day when I have a free evening to invite a bunch of friends to dinner.
Before leaving town we only had time for a quick salad with greens from our garden and roasted puff ball.
Tomorrows menu will probably be something like this...
breakfast- roasted puff ball with scrambled tofu
lunch- puff ball, lettuce and tomato sandwich
dinner- puff ball ravioli
We have invited a few people to stop by and enjoy mushroom with us.

Chocolate Examination

Last weekend we had the amazing opportunity to participate in a small chocolate tasting/discussion/lecture with the chocolate expert Chloe Doutre-Roussel who is known as “the goddess of chocolate”. She spoke to a small group at Biagio, a chocolate store in DC that has expanded my enjoyment, knowledge and exposure to fine chocolate.

Chloe’s passion about the chocolate is contagious and her insights memorable….
She presented a method of tasting that will change the way that I taste chocolate, and everything else. We were educated about deciphering acidity, bitterness and astringency, how percentage of cocoa butter plays a role in taste and why not to pay attention to the percentage of cocoa marked on many fine chocolate bars. At the same time Chloe was clear that the purpose of chocolate in our lives is to add pleasure and gaining knowledge about chocolate can enhance that pleasure. She spoke of individual tastes and the way those can change from moment to moment (something that makes lots of sense to me personally). We learned how even within the category of fine chocolate there is great variety in the source of beans, method of processing and in the packaging and shipping which all impact on the final product.
In addition to consulting for some of the best chocolate makers in the world Chloe travels to cocoa growing countries who want to make chocolate in addition to growing beans. That experience has led her to examination of organic farming practices, fair trade, truth in labeling and purity in cocoa bean variety. All complex subjects, many of which she had interesting and provocative views on.
It is always exciting to meet an individual who has such passion and knowledge about a subject…if that subject is chocolate it is even a little more exciting! But in addition Chloe presented her information with thoughtful insights that resonated with me. For example, she spoke of the connection of taste and smell to our unconscious mind and how favorite tastes tie into memory. Chloe talked about the journey of life and additions of pleasure into that journey. And she discussed how her passion and obsession with chocolate paralleled her passion and obsession with music.
I left the event with her book, “The Chocolate Connoisseur”, I look forward to reading it.

Sustainable Hedonism

Because we need to get more pleasure and gardening in our politics....check out Johns recent article.

Mushroom!

Recently we were gifted this large chicken of the woods mushroom that was found in suburban Washington, DC. Last fall I found lots of wild mushrooms in Rock Creek Park within the city. Varieties included chicken of the woods, oyster and puff ball.

Over the last few days we ate roasted mushroom for breakfast, lunch, dinner and shared some with friends. Some of what we ate-
mushroom and scrambled tofu
roasted potato, French bean and mushroom salad
mushroom lettuce and tomato sandwich
mushroom curry

Check out mycologist Paul Stamets lecture on TED about how mushrooms can save the world.

Early summer I heard Li Edelkoort give a autumn and winter 2009-2010 trend presentation based on mushrooms as an influence on all aspects of design from architecture to fashion.

For more wild mushroom information check out The Journal of Wild Mushrooming.

Austin Texas

First visit to Austin- a few of my favorite things

-there is someone in the city who does guerrilla crochet
-pickle snowcone with hot chili
-small buisnesses everywhere that appear to be supported by the community and seem to be dedicated to supporting the community, articulated in part by the note on the menu of Blue Dahlia
-sustainable living seems to be deeply incorporated into daily life regardless of neighborhood and income level, this is supported by all sorts of things like the city in giving away free rain barrels, excellent cheap to free public transportation, organizations like The Rhizome Collective...
-seemingly endless sources for excellent affordable food with vegan options, a couple favorites tacos quick cheap and excellent for breakfast lunch or dinner, vegan diner with traditional herbalist on site, cupcakes
-inspired garden stores with excellent selections of plants and containers including Big Red Sun
and Gardens

I look forward to returning and exploring more!

Two Exhibits

Eero Saarinin and Buckminster Fuller
Interdisciplinary Approaches


In the last couple weeks I visited two museum exhibitions: Eero Saarinen, at the National Building Museum in DC, and Buckminster Fuller, at theWhitney Museum in New York, (both these link to lots of information about both individuals works).

Both shows linger with me and seem relevant to everyday life. The products of their work are quite different: Saarinen known for his design of the St. Louis arch, innovative advances in both corporate building as well as airports and chairs made in collaboration with Eames, juxtaposed Fuller known for geodesic domes, dymaxion car (only developed to prototype stage) and the dymaxion map (shows the earths continents with minimum distortion when on a flat surface).

Eero Saarinen, "Each object should be designed in its next largest context - a chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, an environment in a city plan."… “Nothing exists in isolation. Everything is connected.”

Buckminster Fuller, defined synergy as "the behavior of whole systems not implicit in any of the behavioral characteristics of any of the parts of the system when those parts are considered only separately," and synergetics as the "exploratory strategy of starting with the whole." He adopted "synergetics" as the name for the experiential mathematics he developed and demonstrated using numerous models.

My draw to their work lies in the similarity of an interdisciplinary approach which results in a practice of utilizing innovative materials and methods. For one project Saarinen developed a neoprene gasket for the windows in another he experimented with Cor-Ten steel which previously had been used only for railroads. Fuller advocated the necessity of recycling materials and looking to renewable sources for energy. My interest lies in that they approached individual projects as opportunities to try something new. This practice naturally incorporates ecology not as an end goal but as an essential component….something I strive for in my everyday practices.

Visiting Path Valley

In the early days of Rupperts there were only a few purveyors delivering local produce to restaurants…there was no Dupont Farmers Market….

Shortly after opening we got connected with a small company called Organics that delivered organic produce from a variety of Amish farms in Pennsylvania. Immediately it was obvious that the produce coming from Organics was exceptional…. the perfect baby greens, uniform fennel, young leeks, tiny turnips and beets…..

After Rupperts at other restaurants where I have consulted the first purveyor that I suggest is Organics which somewhere along the way changed its name to Path Valley. During our recent visit we learned that the founder got out of the business and created a farmers cooperative which is the way it is now operated.

Anyway, a few weeks ago it suddenly seemed pressing to go visit the farms that this produce we had been enjoying for years was coming from. I called the person who coordinates the orders for restaurants and asked if it would be possible to come up for a visit. She said that she would ask around when she went to visit the member farmers that day.

She arranged for us to visit three different farms. Martin-Lane and I drove about two and a half hours from DC and arrived in a picturesque valley between small mountains. There were horse drawn buggies sharing the road with cars.

The farms looked like very well maintained large kitchen gardens. Row after row of picture perfect varieties of lettuce, tomatoes, herbs......This is possible since all members of the large families work cooperatively on the land. As anyone who has planted even the smallest garden knows it takes lots of consistent work to keep it in good condition. Especially some crops like baby lettuces need daily weeding and attention.

The land is used very intensively. I have read that organic farming practices are symbiotic with the Amish way of life which believes in nurturing and supporting the community as a whole. The Amish concept of community includes people, land and other living things. Excellent soil is maintained through hand tilling, composting and crop rotation. All the work is done by hand and with the occasional help of horses.

At each of the traditional Amish farms we met friendly families and saw impeccable fields and greenhouses. We shared ideas about growing things, insects and food. We saw the hand picking and sorting of lettuce that is the secret behind the truly spectacular greens that we have eaten over the years. The compete focus and immersion in the practice of farming was astounding, beautiful and inspirational.

The experience was other worldly and I am anxious to go back. Upon leaving one of the farms I asked if we could come up for a day and weed with them. They laughed at us and said we were welcome.

Rainbow over DC...

photo Martin-Lane Cochran


Epicurus (341–270 B.C.) writes in his letter to Pythocles:

The rainbow arises when the sun shines upon humid air; or again by a certain peculiar blending of light with air, which will cause either all the distinctive qualities of these colors or else some of them belonging to a single kind, and from the reflection of this light the air all around will be colored as we see it to be, as the sun shines upon its parts. The circular shape which it assumes is due to the fact that the distance of every point is perceived by our sight to be equal; or it may be because, the atoms in the air or in the clouds and deriving from the sun having been thus united, the aggregate of them presents a sort of roundness

Conscious Party

Aimee Dominic, an event planner, Jay Premack, a photographer and I have had many conversations about events, waste and our individual commitments to conducting our lives and businesses in the most sustainable manner possible. We have discussed how conscious decisions in entertaining usually result in a more luxurious event- think just picked local peonies and a menu designed around produce in season from small local farms. For me the pleasure of the party is enhanced by incorporating the best elements available combined with the knowledge that you are working in concert with our earth.

Aimee, Jay and I work individually in this manner every day. In my case with flower arrangements I use local flowers, many grown in my own city garden, whenever possible. When I cannot use local flowers I find sources that grow exceptional flowers sustainably and have outstanding labor practices. With food I focus on both origin and taste of ingredients.

Recently Aimee, Jay and I had the opportunity to work with a couple on their wedding who felt as strongly as we do about having a celebration that was as environmentally conscious as possible.

Care was taken to reduce consumption and waste that is usually synonymous with traditional entertaining- some of the details included……

-electronic save the dates to reduce paper use
-invites printed on recycled paper with soy based ink saving --trees saved and reduction of ink toxins used
-no escort cards or favors were used and the couple used the saved money to donate to organizations supporting reforestation and conservation
-flowers were local many were home grown and native reducing transportation miles and supporting biodiversity
-all flower vases were returned to be reused
-buses were used to transport guests which cut down on emissions
-the bride and groom traveled in via Eco-Limo, a company that uses both hybrid and bio diesel vehicles
-local products such as beeswax candles, locally brewed beer, local cheese, Sticky Fingers vegan wedding cake were used which cuts down on transportation costs and supports local businesses
-3Citron, catered using locally grown and organic produce with a menu that was primarily vegetarian, care was taken to recycle after the event
-music was provided by MyDeejay a locally based DJ service with environmentally conscious practices
-lighting by Frost Lighting, a company that operates in an environmentally conscious manner
-carbon credits were purchased through the Carbon Fund to offset guests transportation and hotel stays

Similar small conscious steps can be taken daily in different aspects of our lives.

Planting with my friend Allison and her family-

I plant container gardens and small city gardens. In most of these gardens we incorporate herbs into the plantings. Often there are some vegetable plants, fruit trees and this year we did a decent sized plot of corn close to a beautiful swimming pool.

I use a huge variety of plants in gardens all over the city but I get really excited when I plant something that is both beautiful and useful. Nothing satisfies like harvesting something from your own garden to eat.
(In a recent article Michael Pollan articulates the intense benefits of planting a productive garden.)

My own city garden is a densely planted space and everything in it is usable. I harvest thousands of stems for my flower business and grow fruit, vegetables and herbs for both business and personal consumption. Since I do live in the city my productive garden is central to our home, we work, dine, play, relax and reap the fruits of the garden. This practice of gardening brings us pleasure. Recently we started worm composting which takes up very little space, produces a large amount of fertilizer and is tended to by my 9 year old daughter.

All of the gardens I plant are in spaces that are limited in size and need to be used for many purposes. They also need to be aesthetically pleasing. It seems that every year in each of the gardens I plant we use more space for producing plants and less for plants that are purely ornamental. I guess others besides me are finding pleasure and beauty in the practice of productive city gardening.

In my friend Allison’s garden we have taken it to a new level. Allison lives in a beautiful row house with her husband, two year old and teenager. They have a brick patio that is very much part of their home. The family uses the space to eat, read, relax and play. Since there is no place to plant in the ground last year we set up lots of pots and plants. Immediately the space became warmer, more welcoming. This winter Allison started asking me about how they could farm in their charming urban garden…. We located and ordered planters that fit in available sunny spots making sure to leave enough room to enjoy the patio. We talked about what the family would actually like to eat and out of those desires what was actually possible to grow in the space. We got a worm farm started so they could compost and use the fertilizer for their new crops. We coordinated schedules so everyone would be there on a day that the moon was in a beneficial place to plant….then we planted.

They have all taken a part in planting, caring, watering and composting. Already herbs have been harvested, lettuces are nearly ready to be eaten, tiny figs and tomatoes are ripening. Sustaining this garden is now part of the families play, practice and pleasure.