Bridging the Gap Between Garden and Kitchen

On Saturday, I woke up super fucking early to venture off to S. Milledge, past the State Botanical Gardens, to UGA's garden (so cleverly deemed UGArden). I was accompanied by friends Kate and the twins (Emily and Hillary). The deal is, you work in the garden for 2 or more hours as a volunteer. If you so desire, at the end of the day you may harvest fresh veggies. This is allowed only if the supply permits. Do NOT start going to UGArden just to steal their vegetables, you selfish bastards! Volunteering there is a lot of fun, and it makes you feel one step closer to your food (even if you don't take anything home).

In my summer course I learned about something called commodity

fetishism. This is the phenomenon that occurs when we are separated from the production of our food. For example, you look at this box of muffin mix (right), it seems very convenient and lovely. However, we, as the consumers, do not have any say in the manufacturing process of the product.

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to work in the UGArden on the tomato plots. Emily and I laid down mulch under the tomato plants and set up twine ropes for the trellises to keep the tomato plants growing tall and strong. Hillary and Kate were trimming the tomato plants and also got to work on some Native American-style seeding in a nearby plot.

At the end of our workday, we were allowed to peruse the autumn-season garden for vegetables to harvest for our lunch. We harvested kale, beets, snap peas, and collards. On our way out, we also noticed a blueberry bush, from which I took only a handful of berries. A worker there also offered us freshly dried garlic.

As we arrived home, we decided to make a meal; this was partially an attempt to bridge the gap between producer and consumer. We know exactly where the food came from (we picked it from the ground ourselves). Here's what we made:

Garlic Kale Sauté

1) Add olive oil and freshly minced garlic cloves to a pan on medium heat

2) Once olive oil and garlic has been heated, add chopped kale.

3) Sauté until dark green.

Roasted Rosemary Beets

1) Preheat oven to 350º.

2) Cut roots and leaves from the beets.

3) Wrap beets, covered in olive oil, in aluminum foil.

4) Roast for about 30-45 minutes until soft.

5) The skin will easily come off and the beets may be cut up and eaten right there.

6) Chop and top with rosemary. Serve warm

Warning: The juice from beets is MAGENTA. When mixed in olive oil, it appears blood red. When you open your aluminum foil from the oven, it may leak a blood-like substance. Do not fear; your beets are merely bleeding love.

Lazy Blueberry Cinnamon Muffins (mmmm... just like mom used to force you make yourself when she wasn't feeling well and you wanted noms)

1) Follow instructions on box (as seen above). Before filling muffin cups, add bluberries.

2) Continue to follow instructions on box, duhr. (And if you are fixing this with the beets, as we did, which I doubt you will do, just leave the oven on 350º.)

3) EAT 'EM UP!

Every day we fall prey to commodity fetishism. Let's bridge the gap! Grow your own veggies or herbs! Volunteer at UGArden! UGArden, for the summer 2011, will have workdays on Mondays and Thursdays at 7pm. If you want more info, let me know.

OR simply "like" the UGArden facebook page!!

Foreward (Part II): The Restaurant Challenge

-The Weening Process-

I don't trust much of the food I order I restaurants, even though I eat out pretty damn often. I mean, hey, who doesn't nowadays? Especially in a college town where almost everyday you either hear or say, "Wanna grab lunch?" So, I've created this challenge to make myself be not only more health-conscious, but also more diverse in my food options.

I used to be an extremely picky eater.

And my mom hated it. In fact, before I went to Panama, I never would have dreamt of eating tomatoes or beans. Now, I'm a huge fan of both. It's all about trying new things with a open mind. People say you should always strive to try new things, but without the right attitude you won't get the accurate effect. Food is a perfect example. When I was younger, I would normally order chicken fingers and fries at almost any restaurant. Ever. My parents used to tell me I was going to turn into chicken. Despite my current lack of feathers, I still feel like I eat too much chicken when I am eating out. My goal for the summer is to begin to branch out with my choices. I have been doing well so far.

I've always been a huge fan of a local restaurant in Athens called The Grit. This popular place on Prince Ave is delicious, nutritious, and even has its own cookbook now that they've become such a hot spot! Not everyone is a fan, though. My parents, avid carnivores, would be especially opposed. Yea, it's a vegetarian restaurant. I have been going to The Grit since I first came to Athens two years ago, and its still one of my favorite places for lunch, usually with my best bud Michelle (who is a real, living vegetarian). However, I never order typical vegetables. My usual dish is called something like the vegetable entree or sampler, which allows you to choose several side dishes to comprise your entree! I usually order the sweet potato fries, the tofu cup, and the falafel. In closing, I went to The Grit the other day with Michelle, and ordered the vegetable stir fry. I loved all of it except for the water chestnuts. They are incredibly weird and I am completely opposed to ever having them again.

-Feeling Post-Panama Nostalgia-

As I create this cookbook blog, I will be featuring plants I didn't eat before now, as well as plants I had never heard of before my trip. Yea, it's funny to look back now and think about my attitude toward going to Panama. Everyone said things like, "Oh, Evan! It's going to change your life!", and, "You're going to come back a whole different person!" While the latter is not true at all, the former is fairly accurate considering the impact it had on my eating habits. I did not eat very well while I was there, so this wasn't a realization that

I had while in Panama. It was more of a post-trip nostalgia for the food I had every now and then. The best dish I experienced there was patacones, or refried plantains. I just made those last night, so I'll be discussing the preparation and a little more information about them in a later blog post! Look out!

In the meantime, eat at The Grit. Not that they even need my encouragement and plugging, but seriously... shit's tasty. They make perfect tofu every time. Yes, I'm a tofu-loving omnivore! WHAT?!

This photo is courtesy of VisitSouth.com!

Foreword: Clueless in the Kitchen

-An Introduction-

I always grew up with my mom making meals by herself in the kitchen. I never asked her to teach me how to make anything; obviously, I wasn't being smart and, you know, thinking ahead. Now that I'm going into my 3rd year of college, I feel like its time I learned how to cook so I can stay healthy, feel more independent, and be more open-minded about food. Last year, my diet was particularly terrible and hardly ever involved any cooking at all. I think the most cooking I ever did was boiling noodles, then adding butter and garlic salt (and quite often I would either forgot to salt the water or put the noodles in AFTER the water starts to boil). My diet primarily consisted of pop tarts, granola bars, boxed mashed potatoes, cheezits, diet coke, pita chips and hummus. During that time, I also noticed I was gaining weight. No, this isn't a sob story about getting fat and wanting to be the next biggest loser. What this is an open proclamation that I will eat better and be more self-sufficient in my preparation and consumption of food! And let me just say...

I have always taken food for granted.

-A Catalyst-

Well, it's time for that to stop, and a recent event sparked this interest in food in general. I recently took a trip to Panama for three months. I was working as an intern for a company called Kalu Yala which hopes to build a sustainable community in the rainforest in central Panama. My job was to study the plant life of the nearby community called San Miguel and learn about their uses of each plant; somewhat of an ethnobotanical study, if you will. I will not lie and say that the town had a knack for being super health and always eating the freshest of produce. What I will say is that they know how to cook. The people in this town introduced me to many plants (fruits, vegetables, root vegetables, and herbs) that they use to maintain their health and thrill their taste buds. I realized upon returning to the United States, after writing a book entitled Plants of San Miguel for Kalu Yala's use, my eating habits SUCK. It's time for a change, and this was the catalyst.

-A New Book-

This blog will be like my new book, my new baby. I want to learn how to cook not only to feel healthier, but also to diversify my food tastes and impress my friends (and future dates/boyfriends). Yes, "boyfriendS". As in plural. Such is the life of a gay boy in college! But seriously, this blog will be a database of my successes and failures in the kitchen. It's like my... recipe box... or my cookbook...

THIS IS MY COOKBOOK.

Enjoy it! Please help me by giving me advice/tips/tricks/hints! I'm going to need it. Oh! And support! And possibly a band-aid or two.