Goat Roast

This past August, my sister in law Marjory asked me to photograph her birthday goat roast in Albuquerque.  Not just the roast, but the goat slaughter as well.  I was a little trepidatious about witnessing the loss of life, but curious enough to partake. 

It was hot and dry out, and flies were numerous.  The slaughter was as kind and respectful as death can be, and the animal quickly turned to meat.  I won't go into too much detail, because Marjory wrote a great article for Modern Farmer about it.  They were kind enough to use some of my photos, and some of the out takes are above. 

How to Roast a Goat, Modern Farmer

Christmas Party Planning

I'm hosting a Christmas Party this weekend, something I've been wanting to do for years.  I can't wait to get the house clean, decorated, and full of good smells.  My parents are coming to town and bringing a home-made traditional English Christmas cake, soaked with lots of brandy, which also serves as a birthday cake for my dad.  I'll serve mulled wine, a sparkling punch, crostini, and most importantly, heaping bowls of red beans and rice with cornbread that we can eat while surrounded by sparkly lights or by the warm fire outside. 

Some of my inspiration for the party below...

Photos:

decorated hearth / garland wrapped doorway

mulled wine / orange, ginger, rosemary punch

ricotta and pear crostini / bacon and jam crostini

Gramercy Tavern ginger cake / traditional English Christmas cake

Dispatch from Vermont: Fresh Morels

My parents were extremely excited to find a single morel in their woods, which they quickly cooked up in an omelette.   Then a friend mentioned that they had a whole patch of them, and invited my parents over to harvest to their hearts' content.  My mom brought her new trug from Ancient Industries, while my dad took the photos of the bounty.  What a life!




*Full disclosure: I hate eating mushrooms, but I love everything else about them.

Green Garbanzos

After tasting some green garbanzos at Gjelina last weekend, I was extremely excited to find a bushel of them at the Atwater Village Farmer's Market this Sunday.   The cats helped me pluck them off the stems, followed by a quick steam, some butter, and fresh mint for an amazing dinner.

Tomato weed

I stumbled across this in the alley as I parked my car last night.  I know there is some kind of symbolism here, but I'm just going to simply enjoy the surprise.

RB n R

We had the best meal last week when a special visitor was in town.  Marjory brought with her some freshly ground New Mexico blue corn meal, and I had bought andouille sausage, a ham hock, and some fancy gin in preparation.  It all came together as a rosemary-gin cocktail, gluten-free blue corn bread, and bone fide red beans and rice feast. 

Veg Patch

The shallots we planted at Christmas are eagerly sprouting.  Today I added brussel sprouts and some butter lettuce to the patch, at the suggestion of my friends at Sunset Nursery.  When I went to go dig into the compost to fortify these newcomers, I found some volunteer potatoes, which I have since transplanted to a proper spot in the garden. 

I am slowly learning what works/doesn't work in this yard.  I imagine it takes years of trial and error to become comfortable with any plot of land.  One of the things I enjoy about gardening is that I am not always the one to blame when it doesn't work.  If something should die, it's a relief to be able to shrug and place the blame on nature.  Or if my lettuce gets eaten, at least it served its purpose of feeding the worms.  But so far, shallots look like a winning crop.

Desert Fare

My beautiful and talented sister in law wrote a piece for the latest issue of Wilder Quarterly on growing shallots in the desert.  I'm hoping to start my crop this fall, with her help. 

Peaches!

 

Our backyard bounty, which soon became peach crisp.  Alice Waters' recipe never fails (although I never peel my peaches as she suggests). 

When life gives you limes...

...make a damn cocktail.

On a rough Saturday, that happened to be the first Saturday of summer, I bought a fresh bottle of Campari, and sat myself out on the porch for a few hours of nothing.  

Vega-Tables

Not me.  Yet.

Often when I mention to people that I love to garden, they immediately start talking about their tomato plants or vertical lettuce gardens.  These are areas I have minimal experience in, as I have tended to lean more towards aesthetic or wildlife gardening - flowers, bugs and birds.  I have dabbled in vegetable gardening, even worked on an organic farm in Wisconsin for a summer, but am still daunted by the idea of nurturing a successful, food-producing garden. 

We happen to have a peach tree in our backyard (it really belongs to my landlord).  The birds often get to the peaches before we do, and I asked a gardener friend recently how to save a few peaches for myself.  He had elaborate schemes to keep birds away from the tree, and out of the yard entirely.  I love the birds!  I plant certain things just for the birds!  In fact, the past month or so a family of phoebes has been dining out back every evening.  I don't want them to go away for the sake of a few peaches!  When most gardeners find a tomato worm on their plants, they toss it over the fence.  I cheer it on and tell it how pretty it is. 

But I do love being able to step out back, pick a tomato and toss it into the skillet. Or to chop some young lettuce and drop it in my salad bowl.  There is a sense of freedom that goes along with sustaining yourself from your own backyard.   So this year I have planted a handful of food-bearing plants, and hope that through a little practice and some luck I can eke out some lovely food, and hopefully develop a symbiotic relationship with my wilder neighbors.

Here are some links to some helpful articles on various urban farming practices:

Best tomato cages

Creating a no-dig garden (I've been wanting to try this low-water method for years.  Still haven't.)

Inspiration 

More inspiration

Or just go to a Farmer's Market


Photo above by Gardener's Supply Co.

One week ago

Bits of a birthday: new flowers, new friends (past and present), and, well, a strawberry cake.

My Holiday Treats

With no homework to do, I've taken to baking almost every night.  When my mother was visiting, we made jars and jars of hard candy.  Last night and tonight, I made gingerbread for my coworkers, wrapped in parchment and tied with twine.  It's much nicer than a Starbucks card!

Peppermint meringues are in the oven as I type.  I won't need any help in eating those.

Stopped by fig central last night to gather some for a friend.  I made sure to leave enough for the other critters.  Looks like someone with a sharp beak or teeth was getting into this one.

Lavender Peach Crostata

Peaches were on sale at the farmers market on Sunday, so we bought a ton.  I love feeling rich in seasonal fruit.  Craving a crostata, I loosely followed this recipe, but did without the orange and added lavender instead.  I think it's a winner.  I had to take some pics because the pink salt looked so pretty on the flour, and it was such a photogenic little desert.

Higos Heaven

Well, I made friends with the owner of the asparagus yard and the fig tree, who graciously allowed me to glean from her yard.  In another week or so, I'll have enough figs to attempt some fig chutney.  Last night I sauteed these with some chicken and balsamic, then tossed with arugula.   And have you ever inhaled the aroma of fig leaves?  It's amazing.

Sunday Breakfast

Picked these out back for a big fry-up this morning.  Nothing goes better with eggs and bacon than fried tomatoes.  Especially when grown just out your kitchen door.