I wanted to comment a little on what I found out about Korean cuisine.
To me, the diet really depends on rice, veggies, seafood, and pork. Of course there is plenty more, but those are the staples.
Kimchi is usually made with shellfish or anchovies. Vegetarians beware! Kimchi is on every table, and I only had one vegetarian version the whole time I was there.
There are vegetable trucks that sell local fruits and veggies. They drive around with loudspeakers announcing their product, and how good it is to eat veggies. (At first I thought we were being attacked but Layna said "No, it's the vegetable truck!)
If you order a "toast" that is really an egg sandwich. If you order it with bacon, beware...they don't cook the bacon and just add it to the sandwich.
My favorite dish was patbingsoo. It's shaved ice with red bean, fruit, whipped cream, and condensed milk (basically). You get it all beautifully presented, then you destroy it! Dump it in a bowl, mix, and you get this lightly sweet, very cold, beautiful thing!
A lot of food is cooked at the table. There's a skill to it, and we definately charred some pork. You usually have meat, but then you might cook garlic or other veggies too. You take pieces of meat, that they cut with shears, and wrap them in lettuce or other leaf, and add sauce and veggies. We also had a great pork soup, the pork served on the bone among a bunch of aromatic and leafy veggies.
On Jeju Island, you can see the women out diving for shellfish. I really wanted to buy the sea urchin, but the only way we could eat it was raw. I just wasn't ready to buy a sea urchin from a bucket and eat it right there. Not when I have to be on an airplane in a few hours.
I also had amazing sushi on Jeju. In Korea, there are tons of side dishes. We got an entire table full of raw and fried veggies and fish before we even saw our order come out. Delicious. Raw octopus ain't bad.
I also spent a couple days in Tokyo. We had these panko-breaded pieces of fish, vegetable, or meat. They would bring out 2 at a time, and there were 5 sauces. Each had a sauce to try. It was like an endless tasting menu.
I found that when a local brought me somewhere and told me what to order, it was a great meal. On my own, a less great meal. But all in all, a yummy time!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
sadness and sauce
My grandfather's family was one of the many that came over during the Irish potato blight. The Irish made the classic mistake of overfarming one staple. They didn't diversify their crops, so when blight set in, it spread rapidly and destroyed a major portion of their food supply. These days some farmers choose to use pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides to control this, but organic farmers must be more creative and use crop diversity.
June was wet and rainy and cold. I left for Korea in July (where it was hot and sunny most of the time), but when I came back I heard that the rain kept going. At the same time, all six New England states where attacked with late blight. This is the same blight that caused the potatoes to rot in Ireland. In this case, though, they attacked the tomatoes. Home Depot, Lowe's, and other stores had to pull their tomato plants. The other farmers held their breaths and hoped for sun.
But sadly, the rainy weather caused the blight to spread and the tomato plants started to die, and the tomatoes started to rot. The farmers heard that the blight hit Lincoln, they warned us, we got a few tomatoes, and then it was mostly over.
Kate said she went to the Northeast Organic Farming conference out at UMass Amherst, and that seasoned farmers said this was the worst growing season in 40 years. So we're all in this together. I've heard that a lot of farms have lost their crops, and a few lucky ones are still going. A few still hadn't had tomatoes 2 weeks ago, because even without blight, the cold summer prevents ripening.
So I took my few sad-looking tomatoes and made up some stuffed peppers. Til next year.
I hear the melons are looking good, so I'm waiting for that!
June was wet and rainy and cold. I left for Korea in July (where it was hot and sunny most of the time), but when I came back I heard that the rain kept going. At the same time, all six New England states where attacked with late blight. This is the same blight that caused the potatoes to rot in Ireland. In this case, though, they attacked the tomatoes. Home Depot, Lowe's, and other stores had to pull their tomato plants. The other farmers held their breaths and hoped for sun.
But sadly, the rainy weather caused the blight to spread and the tomato plants started to die, and the tomatoes started to rot. The farmers heard that the blight hit Lincoln, they warned us, we got a few tomatoes, and then it was mostly over.
Kate said she went to the Northeast Organic Farming conference out at UMass Amherst, and that seasoned farmers said this was the worst growing season in 40 years. So we're all in this together. I've heard that a lot of farms have lost their crops, and a few lucky ones are still going. A few still hadn't had tomatoes 2 weeks ago, because even without blight, the cold summer prevents ripening.
So I took my few sad-looking tomatoes and made up some stuffed peppers. Til next year.
I hear the melons are looking good, so I'm waiting for that!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Greens greens greens!
It's been a busy month for me, with my sister visiting from Seoul, among other adventures. I've skipped a few posts for the veggies, but jotted this week's share down. I'll be on my way to Seoul and it's veggie-heavy diet this week!
Elena went to the farm with me, in the rain. It had been thundering and lightening out, so the interns weren't allowed to work in the fields. In the end, six of them heroically harvested everything for the share. The put planks down in the puddles so that we could get to the shed. Ah, mud.
I usually go at the end of the share window. This time we went right at the beginning. It was just amazing to see the veggie bins piled high! Elena and I were completely drawn to the scallions, just by our noses.
This week's share:
Elena went to the farm with me, in the rain. It had been thundering and lightening out, so the interns weren't allowed to work in the fields. In the end, six of them heroically harvested everything for the share. The put planks down in the puddles so that we could get to the shed. Ah, mud.
I usually go at the end of the share window. This time we went right at the beginning. It was just amazing to see the veggie bins piled high! Elena and I were completely drawn to the scallions, just by our noses.
This week's share:
- 20 garlic scapes.
- 6 scallions.
- 2 big bowls of salad mix, including spinach, tat soi, mustard greens, arugula, mizuna.
- 8 leaves of rainbow chard (gorgeous pink, yellow, orange).
- 2 heads of lettuce.
- 2 bowls of mix n' match, including beets, turnips, bok choy, carrots, and squash.
- 1 large, gorgeous napa cabbage that made for a great cole slaw.
- 1 pint of peas.
- A few strawberries.
- Herbs (we took mint).
Monday, June 29, 2009
Spring 2009 trip to Chestnut Farms
The moment you've all been waiting for! Cute animals!
June is Open House time at Chestnut Farms, and this time I took the two-hour drive out with my brother and my boyfriend.
We were greeted by some enthusiastic goats who would eat whatever you put in front of them. They also tolerated a bit of petting, and though I don't think they're cashmere goats, they were pretty soft.
Goat meat is new on the farm, and they are going to sell it on a trial basis this summer. It won't be part of the main share. Apparently, in talking with other CSA members, I'm not the only one excited about trying the meat.
We then waved hi to the sheep, shorn recently but still hanging out in the shade.
We wandered on down to the barn. It's remarkable how little the baby piggies are compared to the mommy pig.
They had a pen full of the piggies. What's funny about them is that every time you stepped into the pen, they went after YOUR piggies. Yep, here's a bunch of redheaded piglets chewing on my shoes.
But as cute as that is, nothing is cuter than dozens of turkey chicks singing "cheep cheep cheep!"
A closeup, to catch the chicks' eyes.
Coyotes are a major farm pest. Kim reminisced that one time she thought baby coyotes were cute, but no more! They steal the chickens and the chicks, so for survival's sake, they have to live in closed vans a little longer than they might like. Eventually they'll have their run of the land. A mob of angry turkeys is like nothing you've ever seen, so hopefully they (and their owners) can fend off a few coyotes. Still, it's a really difficult problem for farmers. That, and we spotted a few hungry hawks, sleepily circling the farm.
Here's my brother holding a chick.
They let my boyfriend check the feed level in storage.
A picture of us taken from the feed bin.
This is the brand new manure pit. I know that they've worked very hard constructing this. Apparently they had to submit to some rather extreme government regulations (the manure pit can never go below 52F, for example), and they did the concrete work by themselves. I know that they had an outside civil engineer design the pit. My understanding, as best as I can piece it together, is that there is an area where the animals are going to, um, go. They will then be able to plow that area and push all the lovely new fertilizer into the pit. Kim offered me a bucket of manure whenever I need it.
I didn't know that Chestnut Farms had a sawmill, but apparently it was an extra source of income before they became farmers full time. We had an interesting conversation with Rich about the transition and what it takes to be farmers. He said that he and Kim have different skills, and there's a big gray area in between where he dare not tread. In other words, it works. In the beginning, they both worked locally in addition to farming. Now they have to have someone on the farm all the time. Why? Well, for one, the baby piggies get stuck in the fence (kind of like babies get stuck in cribs). If Kim hears a pig squealing, she'll drop whatever she's doing and rescue the pig. But a major farm takes major work, and there's always something to do.
One thing that the farm does well is live within a budget. They have tons of equipment that they've picked up at auction. ("People come from NYC to become farmers and buy a backhoe, and then we get it for half the price after it sits unused for a year.") This is the sawmill. They've advertised that they participate in a local lumber share, supporting sustainable forestry.
As usual, it was a stunningly beautiful day. Bit of mud in the morning, but that was gone by the time we left.
They have new projects planned, as always, and I can't wait til next time! I met their eldest daughter, who is helping design an educational center. Right now the possible topics are pretty open as they gather ideas. (I didn't have time to think right then, but what I really want to do is learn to, um "process" a chicken. It's a lifelong goal I have as a meat eater.)
And here's one parting goodbye. Til the fall, when we see what's moved, changed, and grown.
June is Open House time at Chestnut Farms, and this time I took the two-hour drive out with my brother and my boyfriend.
We were greeted by some enthusiastic goats who would eat whatever you put in front of them. They also tolerated a bit of petting, and though I don't think they're cashmere goats, they were pretty soft.
Goat meat is new on the farm, and they are going to sell it on a trial basis this summer. It won't be part of the main share. Apparently, in talking with other CSA members, I'm not the only one excited about trying the meat.
We then waved hi to the sheep, shorn recently but still hanging out in the shade.
We wandered on down to the barn. It's remarkable how little the baby piggies are compared to the mommy pig.
They had a pen full of the piggies. What's funny about them is that every time you stepped into the pen, they went after YOUR piggies. Yep, here's a bunch of redheaded piglets chewing on my shoes.
But as cute as that is, nothing is cuter than dozens of turkey chicks singing "cheep cheep cheep!"
A closeup, to catch the chicks' eyes.
Coyotes are a major farm pest. Kim reminisced that one time she thought baby coyotes were cute, but no more! They steal the chickens and the chicks, so for survival's sake, they have to live in closed vans a little longer than they might like. Eventually they'll have their run of the land. A mob of angry turkeys is like nothing you've ever seen, so hopefully they (and their owners) can fend off a few coyotes. Still, it's a really difficult problem for farmers. That, and we spotted a few hungry hawks, sleepily circling the farm.
Here's my brother holding a chick.
They let my boyfriend check the feed level in storage.
A picture of us taken from the feed bin.
This is the brand new manure pit. I know that they've worked very hard constructing this. Apparently they had to submit to some rather extreme government regulations (the manure pit can never go below 52F, for example), and they did the concrete work by themselves. I know that they had an outside civil engineer design the pit. My understanding, as best as I can piece it together, is that there is an area where the animals are going to, um, go. They will then be able to plow that area and push all the lovely new fertilizer into the pit. Kim offered me a bucket of manure whenever I need it.
I didn't know that Chestnut Farms had a sawmill, but apparently it was an extra source of income before they became farmers full time. We had an interesting conversation with Rich about the transition and what it takes to be farmers. He said that he and Kim have different skills, and there's a big gray area in between where he dare not tread. In other words, it works. In the beginning, they both worked locally in addition to farming. Now they have to have someone on the farm all the time. Why? Well, for one, the baby piggies get stuck in the fence (kind of like babies get stuck in cribs). If Kim hears a pig squealing, she'll drop whatever she's doing and rescue the pig. But a major farm takes major work, and there's always something to do.
One thing that the farm does well is live within a budget. They have tons of equipment that they've picked up at auction. ("People come from NYC to become farmers and buy a backhoe, and then we get it for half the price after it sits unused for a year.") This is the sawmill. They've advertised that they participate in a local lumber share, supporting sustainable forestry.
As usual, it was a stunningly beautiful day. Bit of mud in the morning, but that was gone by the time we left.
They have new projects planned, as always, and I can't wait til next time! I met their eldest daughter, who is helping design an educational center. Right now the possible topics are pretty open as they gather ideas. (I didn't have time to think right then, but what I really want to do is learn to, um "process" a chicken. It's a lifelong goal I have as a meat eater.)
And here's one parting goodbye. Til the fall, when we see what's moved, changed, and grown.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Strawberries, early again this year!
It was a damp day out at The Food Project. They emailed us a note saying that it was going to rain on both Tuesday and Thursday and please pick strawberries!
Well, can't miss out on that!
This week's share:
Well, can't miss out on that!
This week's share:
- 1 quart of strawberries (picked by me in the rain).
- 1 pint of snap peas (also picked by me...snap peas take forever to find and pick).
- 1 bowl of bok choy. Last week we had a small bowl, this week a large bowl.
- 1 bowl of spinach (the large bowl).
- 1 head of lettuce.
- 5 radishes.
- 6 hakurei turnips.
- 10 scallions.
- 8 chive flowers.
- 1 bunch of cilantro (dill was a second option).
- 1 bunch of mint (lemon balm was a second option).
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Winter squash!
On Saturday, I volunteered at The Food Project. On some weeks there are groups of volunteers from schools or businesses. This week there was a very good-natured group from Starbucks, who kindly brought bottled water and a nice work ethic. Some children were there, and they paired off with adults for various activities.
About 25 of us walked over to the squash fields, which had been divided into 4'-by-4' squares by little 1' paths. A bit of fertilizer had been dropped in the center of each square. Our job was to plant 4-5 seeds in the middle of each square. Since the squares were so large, each row was pretty quick. In a couple hours, we planted 3600 squares, or over 2 acres of squash. Butternut, buttercup, acorn, spaghetti, pie pumpkin. Yum!
The fields we planted should yield 32,000 pounds of squash. At a half a pound per serving, that's 64,000 servings of squash. The Food Project employees reminded us that the squash will go to local shelters and farmers markets that accept food stamps, along with some going to CSA members.
After that we did the less glamorous task of weeding 600 feet of lettuce. One family took home a bunch of the succulent weeds for salad. It's called purslane and is apparently a good source of Omega-3 fatty acid.
One of the nicer things about the day is how happy everyone was at the end. The youngest ones announced how much fun they were having and people all chatted about how they might get to harvest the squash in the fall.
In other old news, it looks like 40% more people are growing gardens due to the recession. Good times. Everyone is going to be eating way too much zucchini this year.
About 25 of us walked over to the squash fields, which had been divided into 4'-by-4' squares by little 1' paths. A bit of fertilizer had been dropped in the center of each square. Our job was to plant 4-5 seeds in the middle of each square. Since the squares were so large, each row was pretty quick. In a couple hours, we planted 3600 squares, or over 2 acres of squash. Butternut, buttercup, acorn, spaghetti, pie pumpkin. Yum!
The fields we planted should yield 32,000 pounds of squash. At a half a pound per serving, that's 64,000 servings of squash. The Food Project employees reminded us that the squash will go to local shelters and farmers markets that accept food stamps, along with some going to CSA members.
After that we did the less glamorous task of weeding 600 feet of lettuce. One family took home a bunch of the succulent weeds for salad. It's called purslane and is apparently a good source of Omega-3 fatty acid.
One of the nicer things about the day is how happy everyone was at the end. The youngest ones announced how much fun they were having and people all chatted about how they might get to harvest the squash in the fall.
In other old news, it looks like 40% more people are growing gardens due to the recession. Good times. Everyone is going to be eating way too much zucchini this year.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
First veggie share of the season
This spring has been much less miserable than last spring, and the veggies said thank you! Last year's share was really sad the first week of June. This year was a bit more varied.
The first Food Project share of the season:
As for the soil, last year we didn't get very much corn. Everyone loves corn, begs for more corn. But in sandy MA soil, it just doesn't grow well. So they aren't growing corn this year, and instead are going to use cover crops to repair the worn soil. I think this is a good decision, but Jean's pretty disappointed. Ah well.
My veggies are all stored happily in their new and improved fridge. My last fridge would freeze the veggies sometimes. I'm hoping that my new fridge keeps things happier longer. I'm also trying the Green Bags (warning, site has annoying voice over) to see if they help keep my produce fresher. We shall see! It's still June, so finishing veggies isn't a problem.
One of my more favorite Biblical stories is the one about manna in the desert. I personally think that this is an anti-refrigeration story. Anyway, we can all take a lesson from the folks out in the desert. I often try to "save" veggies. This is silly. You should just eat them or they will go bad. The farm will have a new share next week, with something more exciting than this week. Yes, even after strawberry season, there are fruits and veggies to look forward to!
The first Food Project share of the season:
- 5 radishes.
- 12 scallions.
- 1 head of lettuce.
- 1 bowl of bok choy (about the same size as a head of lettuce).
- 8 chive flowers (pretty purple, nice in salads and stirfries).
- 8 springs of mint (lemon balm was also available).
As for the soil, last year we didn't get very much corn. Everyone loves corn, begs for more corn. But in sandy MA soil, it just doesn't grow well. So they aren't growing corn this year, and instead are going to use cover crops to repair the worn soil. I think this is a good decision, but Jean's pretty disappointed. Ah well.
My veggies are all stored happily in their new and improved fridge. My last fridge would freeze the veggies sometimes. I'm hoping that my new fridge keeps things happier longer. I'm also trying the Green Bags (warning, site has annoying voice over) to see if they help keep my produce fresher. We shall see! It's still June, so finishing veggies isn't a problem.
One of my more favorite Biblical stories is the one about manna in the desert. I personally think that this is an anti-refrigeration story. Anyway, we can all take a lesson from the folks out in the desert. I often try to "save" veggies. This is silly. You should just eat them or they will go bad. The farm will have a new share next week, with something more exciting than this week. Yes, even after strawberry season, there are fruits and veggies to look forward to!
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