Food for thought...

The Aardvark Manifesto 2010

I can't believe December is almost upon us. Edinburgh has gone Christmas mad with fake snow being blown along George Street, garlands decking all the hotels and mulled wine being sold in mid-November. I am not ready!

Thinking of present ideas has become a welcome distraction from studying. They need to be personal, local, hopefully made with love and sustainable. Last week I stumbled across a gorgeous cookbook made by three friends in Australia. They are called 'The Hungry Girls' and have made two cookbooks of their favourite recipes. I think they are wonderful! What do you think of these images?

All images are taken from The Hungry Girls Cookbook

http://hungrygirls.com.au/wordpress/

They are bound in thick recycled card with doodles and notes scattered across the pages. We have more than enough recipes that we cook day in day out - as do our friends (Julia/Hannah/Chloe - this means you!) - and I was hoping we could compile a cookbook of our own. What do you think?

Ideally, we could all choose two of our favourite recipes - pudding, snacks, main courses, vegetarian or gluten free, soups or salads.... and write out a simple recipe, take a photograph or two and add a little love and soul from each of us. This could be a quote, a book recommendation or just a little sketch.

I am happy to put them together and get them printed. I know it might be a mountain of a task to achieve before Christmas but maybe, just maybe, we could just do them anyway? I miss having you all around and I would love to know I am just that little bit closer to you as I cook your recipes.

Who knows where our cookbook may lead....

The Guardian are running a food photography competition at the moment and have put some tips on how to take good photographs. From our experience, light and love of what you have made are all you need!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/nov/26/camera-club-food-photography-tips

Love from snowy Edinburgh,

Charlotte x

Lemon and Mint Thirst Quencher - بولو

It is getting hot hot hot over here in Syria and there are not many things which can cool me down. My flat feels like a green house and I am on an endless search for cool drinks and cool places. I am hoping I can persuade J to post her ice latte tips....

Polo (pronounced bolo) manages to be tasty, tart and terrifically thirst quenching all at once. I love that you can buy it from a street corner or a smart restaurant and there is never any doubt what you will get - a green flecked drink which feels like a welcome oasis.

I have had endless horrified looks from the juice makers when I ask for no sugar - I really like the tart-factor although there are some days when I wish they had come across agave!

There is lots of room for creativity here - do you like your drinks a little sweeter? Add some honey or agave. Hoping for an icy blast? Blend some ice cubes up with your juice. Not a huge fan of mint? Just enjoy lemon sunshine in your glass. Add as much water to suit your taste buds...leave it in the fridge for extra chilliness or drink swiftly if you are in danger of over heating!

Makes 2 glasses

Health warning: You might get addicted

Ingredients:

8 lemons

One big handful of fresh mint

500ml cool water


Halve the lemons and squeeze the juice out of them using a juicer. Pour lemon juice and mint leaves into a blender and blitz until smooth. Add ice to make a smoothie consistency or dilute with water. Blend.

If you don't have a blender, juice the lemons and mix with water. Add the mint leaves whole and let the juice stew for a while in the sunshine. I like to roughly chop them but the blender gives a smoother drink.

Garnish with whole mint leaves. Best drank in some shade. Enjoy!

Syrian recipes coming soon!

Salaam,

Charlotte xx

Polenta Honey Apricot cake: perfect Summer Birthday treat

I have been experimenting (might I say pretty well) a lot lately. From homemade rye bread (gluten-free of course), to double red quinoa and bean salad, to oatmeal choc-o-cookies to this last fabulous invention. All my other treats have literally disappeared before I have had a chance to snap a pic...and I think they are not quite perfect enough to share yet. Note: I thought (an still kind of do) that xanthum gum has a weird taste, so I try an bake without it. However, I whipped up some fat-free banana - fig muffins this morning and used brown rice flour and a bit of Bob's Red Mills AP mix. Now don't get me wrong I love Bob's stuff, but I think the Garbanzo bean flour in his mix (the others do not seem as offensive: sorghum, tapioca, potato) seems to bake up with a weird after taste. I just cannot get over it! Please anyone else doing GF baking tell me if you agree. I love chickpeas to death, but could it be that bean flours have a weird taste? So far I love brown rice four, teff and amaranth. Of course oat flour is a must (taste good in everything) and still to try quinoa flour. I think I am going to make quinoa bread soon...

But getting to the good stuff...the stuff that needs no adjustment, because it came out so heavenly.

This cake - Polenta Honey Apricot Cake- is just divine. Not too sweet, and delicate but definitely a thing of character with the crunch of the cornmeal and honey jam of the melted apricots. It was my wee brother's birthday on Friday! He is not so wee and did not think a cake with candles was necessary, but I did of course. He is mad for chocolate but he loved this, everyone at the table dipped in for seconds. I think that says something of a cake made with no chocolate. For all summer birthdays this is a beautifully light (and pretty healthy) treat. I love you Jay! Happy Birthday!


Polenta Honey Apricot Cake

prep and cook time: 1 hour +

3/4 cup ground almonds
½ cup yellow cornmeal
¼ cup rice flour
3 whites and 2 egg yolks (from large to extra large eggs)
½ cup agave/honey blend
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons fats/fat replacement ( I did (3) coconut oil, (2) olive oil and (2) applesauce)
8-10 apricot halves with honey


Preheat the oven to 350 F. The cake will take 40-45 minutes to bake, and if made into muffins they would take 20 minutes. (NB: I was going to do muffin cakes but I did not know if the apricots would stick to the bottom of the muffin trays, now thinking back you could probably make a parchment paper design/sleeve.)

Cut a circular piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of your 9 inch cake pan. This can be done be tracing the bottom and then cutting the traced circle out. Insert the circular parchment paper in the pan. Then grease the rim and the bottom over the parchment paper.

Mix the flours, baking powder and salt together. In another bowl mix the honey, melted oils, applesauce, two egg yolks and vanilla. Mix the wet slowly into the dry. Whip the three egg whites into peaks and slowly (1/3 at a time) fold them in. The batter should be pretty wet. Arrange the apricot halves "belly" up in the pan. Dollop honey in each belly and then pour the batter over them. Even the batter out. Pop in the oven. Keep in the oven for at least 40 min or until finito. Let the cake cool and garnish with organic powdered sugar. I know I avoided sugar in the recipe (intentionally) but it really made the cake pretty and added a good bite when sprinkled on top. NB: Cake even better next morning for breakfast!

celiac relapse, simplifying my food, wild berry and seed salad

A week or so ago, something triggered what felt like a horrible Celiac relapse. I was in bed for days. I went over everything I could have eaten and nothing seemed to have wheat. I think either my gut needs some detoxing love or there is yet another thing I must steer clear of.

I am trying an elimination diet where I cut out certain foods and then slowly bring them back in on at a time to test what it is. I'll spare you the list (because it seems infinite) of what I cannot eat; however, I'll be posting lots of vegan, soy free, sugar free food without you even noticing ;) Well that's what I hoping, especially with Pete, who has to eat all the recipes, as he goes on a de-facto gluten-free, dairy free lifestyle change with me. He is such a sport.

* * *

Spending, what seems like all, my money at the farmer's market these past months is due to all the new produce that tempts me at each stand. Like the gooseberries and black raspberries that just had to be bought. I swear, like some people spend all their money on clothes without control, I go to the farmers market and cannot resist a beautiful fresh piece of produce, especially when the farmer tells you he or she picked it that dawn!



Wild Berry and Seed Salad

2 handfuls of fresh wild greens (mix of anything you like)
small handful of watercress
fresh slices of cucumber
handful of black raspberries
handful of gooseberries (or any too berries you prefer)
small handful of lightly toasted pumpkin seeds
lemon and olive oil dressing

Keep it simple and raw in the summer, enjoy the unadulterated taste of fresh produce!
JM

p.s sending Charlotte extra love

Farmer's Fresh Summer Zucchini and Herb soup

(picture of soup coming soon, camera acting up again- enjoy the basil)

It is official summer in New York City, for any one that was doubting otherwise! It has been in the 90's and the humidity feels like water just floating in the air. This weather has actually made me kind of lose my appetite. So all day I find myself running around (letting me blood sugar get too low) and then I get home at night and I am starving! This soup is nice and light and hopefully something you can have in the middle of the day. It was inspired by Halfdan, but I have made it summer-y by cooling down, so it has a gazpacho feel (which by the way is my new task to perfect). It is farmer's fresh because all the ingredients can be found at the farmer's market (bar the lemon if are not in California, the Med or North Africa ;)

I have been doing almost all of Pete and my shopping at the Farmer's Market and like Charlotte described in her last post, it totally changes the way you shop (umm, brings some joy into it instead of crowded lines and dread) and it makes you invent your own dishes because frankly you cannot go there knowing you will find everything you need. You have got to roll with the seasons and the produce. People freak out at this prospect, but trust me; take a deep breath, and just shop. You'll never know the wonderful things you could make without a recipe until you try.

This is a rough (estimated recipe), you know I do not like to be too strict about amounts anyway...

Farmer's Fresh Summer Zucchini and Herb Soup

serves plenty: probably 8 comfortably
cooking time: one hour + and chilling time

Ingredients

4 oversized zucchini or 6 medium to smaller ones (give or take)
1 white onion
5-6 cloves of fresh garlic
peperoncino flakes
1 organic vegetable broth cube or homemade vegetable stock
a huge bunch of fresh basil
a huge bunch of fresh Italian parsley
lemon and and sea salt to garnish

* Need a hand-held blender

** Also I think it would fun to experiment with other summer squashes, like yellow.

Procedure

In a nice sturdy (cast iron- Le Crueset I prefer) pot cook down the chopped onion and garlic cloves until they are soft, translucent and golden (approximately 20 minutes). I added the pinch of peperoncino with the onions and garlic, so that the heat cooked off a bit. If you do not prefer any spice just leave it out. Remember it's your recipe.

Then add the chopped zucchini (you can chop them roughly because they will be blended). Salt and pepper the zucchini and then put the lid on the pot. This cooks the zucchini down a bit faster. They will take approximately 30 minutes to cook all the way through. You want them a little golden and not too mushy, so remember to take the cover off and mix them up occasionally.

When you believe they are done, add the vegetable stock and a few cups off water. Blend the mixture up, check the consistency to your liking before you add any more liquid. Wither add more liquid or not depending on preference. Then add chopped herbs. Blend again. Refrigerate to cool ( or have it hot).

Garnish with lemon and sea salt before serving.

Enjoy, of course!

peace and love
JM

Fig Newtons for the New Year

AHH Happy New Year! What is this blog-posting and then disappearing for a month action ? Apology accepted?

Before New Year resolutions start, I want to share something with you: I went to yoga the other day and Annie (the yoga instructor) said in preparation for New Years please do not make a resolution. Stick on your path. Keep on your journey. Continue the self-growth. But please don't sign yourself up for tasks that make you feel bad when you slip a little. Life is not black and white yo! It is a constant road to be traveled. Yes corny but that is what I have learned this year (well last year) more than any other.

Lets start the year of with love and peace in the air...oh and some fig newtons. Fig newtons (at least these ones) feel like dessert but are really so healthy! I amended Sprouted Kitchen's recipe a bit. They are so good! Borrowing their picture because I still am not down with my new (recycled) camera.

p.s replace the one egg in here and this is a great vegan dessert (no one will know)!

Spelt and Oat Fig Newtons
1 ¼ Cups Spelt Flour
1 ¾ Cups Oatmeal
1 tbsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Salt
1 Large Egg
1 tsp. Real Vanilla Extract
1/3 Cup Agave Nectar (could use a little more if you like)
½ Cup Applesauce
2 tbsp. Coconut oil (to ensure a crisp crumble topping)
A handful (about 1 Cup) chopped Almonds
1 ¼ Cups Fig Preserves (I made my own)

Homemade Fig Preserves
1/2 Cup wine soaked prune juice
1/4 Cup meyer lemon juice
1 Cup ginger tea (ginger infused water)
a couple shavings of ginger
a cinnamon stick
1 Cup wine soaked prunes
1 Cup chopped fig (back mission + other varieties)
1/4 Cup Apricots

(Really use any dried fruit you would like!)

Homemade Preserve:
I had soaked prunes in wines a couple days before (for the prunes and wine soaked prune juice), but if you have not just use red wine, or prune juice or a mixture of both.

Simmer all ingredients for an hour, drain off extra liquid (making sure to leave a few tablespoons in) and mash, chop or blend up. If you like chunky jam, don't over blend.

Put jam in freezer to cool while you make the dough.

Dough or Newton:
Preheat your oven to 350'.

Food process 1 1/4 cup of the oatmeal until it looks roughly chopped and a bit flour-ish.

Mix together all dry ingredients (spelt, oats, chopped oats, slat, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda).

In another bowl mix together agave, egg, vanilla, applesauce.

Mix the wet into the dry, it will look like cookie batter. Put the batter in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Line an 8x8 baking try with parchment and a little melted coconut oil.

Spread half the dough (or a tiny bit more if needed) on the bottom of the pan.

Add 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cup of preserve over the bottom layer of Newton. I had extra jam, and I was tempted to use it but saved it instead. Good call.

Now add the chopped almonds to the remaining batter. Mix that well.

Try and spread (really you will be dropping) the remaining dough on top of the preserves.

Chop up the coconut oil and sprinkle over the top to make a nice crust.

Bake for around 30 minutes. But watch it either way depending on your oven.

Let them cool a bit before cutting. (No really)

Eat. Eat. Eat.

peace and love in the New Year
JM

Sunshine and Sushi

It was a bit of a culture shock coming back from New York - a whirlwind two weeks filled with food, friends and fun. When I was in New York, Jacqueline's amazing mum Deborah took us both out for sushi...I have not been able to get sushi off my mind since returning to Algiers. Luckily, our friend Tim had recently offered to teach a few of us how to make some simple sushi pieces. Check out my rough guide, Sushi for Beginners...

Makes about 20 pieces

You will need:

3 cups of Sushi Rice or Calrose Rice

1/3 cup rice vinegar

3 tbs sugar

1 tsp salt

Nori Seaweed Sheets
Fish - salmon, tuna, crab, prawns
Vegetables - cucumber, avocado, carrot, pepper, onions
Sesame seeds
Red & Black Lumpfish roe
Wasabi paste
Soy sauce

Bamboo rolling board
Clingfilm
Bowl of water

Rinse the rice and place it in a pan with 3 1/2 cups of water. Bring the water to the boil and allow to simmer at a reduced heat for 5 minutes (or until you cannot see any water boiling). Turn off the heat and allow the rice to sit covered until it becomes tender.

Dissolve the sugar and salt into the warmed rice vinegar. Allow to cool. In a non metallic bowl, stir the rice vinegar mix into the cooked rice adding rice and vinegar a little at a time.

Finely peel and chop the vegetables into long strips. Slice the fish into small lengths. Place all the fillings onto a large plate and get everything ready to make sushi.

Cover the bamboo sheet in clingfilm (this helps cleaning up afterwards!) and place a sheet of seaweed down on it. It is easier to make the rolls when the seaweed is in a square shape; bend one edge back and forth until it breaks off and you are left with a more square shaped piece. Wet your hands and pick up a handful of rice, pressing it evenly onto the seaweed sheet. You want to cover the sheet but make sure the rice is not too thick! Keep your hands damp as you do this as it helps stop everything sticking to you.

Arrange your filling along one long edge - be as creative as your imagination lets you. Carefully roll the filling away from you, using the bamboo to help hold and fold the seaweed into a tube. Press firmly and evenly along the bamboo as you roll. If you would like to try sushi with the rice on the outside, cover the seaweed as before and decorate with seeds and roe. Gently lift and flip the seaweed so it is rice down on the mat. Arrange the filling on the seaweed and roll as before.

When you have made a tight tube, you can try cutting it! (Mine tended to go badly wrong at this point!) The trick seemed to be to use the sharpest knife you can get hold of, wet it, and use a confident slight sawing action to cut through it. Arrange the pieces on a plate and serve with wasabi, ginger and soy sauce. Enjoy!

Or try the inside out version...

A little something we made earlier...

More regular blog posts coming shortly...

Love to all in New York!

C

Eat- In and Black Rice Greek Salad

Huewww! It has been so hot hot hot in New York. There is no way you feel like eating anything hot so I have been mixing up some grainy salads a lot lately. This one seems like a no brainer: Greek Salad + Rice - but its the black rice that makes it special.

Black Rice Greek Salad

1 cup black rice (cook to instructions)
chopped basil
halved cherry tomatoes
feta cheese (I used goat's feta)
sliced red onion
Kalamata olives
vinaigrette (1 lemon, 2-3 tablespoons good olive oil, 1 tablespoon vinegar)
season: salt and pepper


(picture of rice coming soon, camera cord connecter is mia :(

In other news:

1. All across the country concerned people are holding eat-ins to petition what children are being fed for school lunches as well as send a message to Congress that goes something like this: "We are not happy about the American food industry, so do something about it already." Check out an Eat-In in you hood

2. I am proudly spreading the word on Roofop Farms and rocking publicity it is getting, from Edible Brooklyn to BBC.

3. Here are some good resources for some grass-fed meat and some restaurants in NYC that use clean and nutrituous products and produce.

Fleisher's

Heritage Food USA

Knickerbocker Meats Inc

Grub Stops:

Roberta's and the Bees they keep

Franny's and their Larder

Back Forty

Savoy

La Cense


4. Check out this aMAZing new project: Brooklyn Farmyards and the video

5. Lastly, in case you missed all there salad recipes in the NYTimes I thought I would send you them again, in case your summer recipes inspiration in waning.

Charlotte meets New York... homecoming

Oh no...we are reunited...can New York handle this? So far it is doing a pretty good job. Charlotte has entered Jacqueline's world with no time to combat her jetlag. No rest for the wicked! She has been introduced to iced coffee (a new favorite), different American cultures, tip etiquette, the art of the metrocard swipe, late night films...and that was only on day one!

We have just come back from a yoga retreat in the Catskills mountains.- the Goddess Retreat. There are no words that will do the retreat justice; it was such a unique and special experience. Lots of laughter, fantastic women and beautiful scenery. We found a new 'goddess' hairstyle courtesy of style guru Annie, ate the most amazingly-healthy-yummy-food created by Marie and Paco, danced the night away with Jaycee and all of the lovely ladies, swapped cooking stories and food movement ideas with Kiki in the car. The power of a

 group of soul sisters eating, laughing, yoga-ing, healing and empowering one another for a weekend is truly astonishing.

In other news:

we have been eating...

seeing friends...

walking & cycling...

shopping...

reading... (Char found a copy of her great-grandmother's book in the Strand Bookshop!)

Today we ate lunch at Ella in Williamsburg. We both had two different salads to eat but the real star of the show was what we had to drink. Yerba Mate Tea Lemonade! It was so hot and Jacqueline spotted another customer drinking a pale yellow-thirst-quenching drink and said ''we will have two of those please!'' Yerba Mate is drunk mostly in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil. It is a tea filled with vitamins and antioxidants and gives you a kick of caffeine (without the negative side effects of coffee).

Yerba Mate Lemonade

1 part brewed Yerba Mate tea (or any other brewed tea)

1 part lemonade
ice cubes

We think you could jazz it up by adding some sprigs of mint or some lemons to this too.

Still to do...Central Park, Kula Yoga classes, Concerts, MOMA, Rooftop gardens, eating - bagels, pizza, cheesecake, sushi, Neighborhood exploring, clothes shopping, dancing, sightseeing ... recommendations are welcome!

C&J

p.s if you want to check out the Rooftop farms being featured on BBC International PLeaSE DO (and see if you can spot someone you know ; - )

EAT- IN and Black Rice Greek Salad

Huewww! It has been so hot hot hot in New York. There is no way you feel like eating anything hot so I have been mixing up some grainy salads a lot lately. This one seems like a no brainer: Greek Salad + Rice - but its the black rice that makes it special.

Black Rice Greek Salad

1 cup black rice (cook to instructions)
chopped basil
halved cherry tomatoes
feta cheese (I used goat's feta)
Kalamata olives
vinaigrette (1 lemon, 2-3 tablespoons good olive oil, 1 tablespoon vinegar)
season: salt and pepper


(picture of rice coming soon, camera cord connecter is mia :(

In other news:

1. All across the country concerned people are holding eat-ins to petition what children are being fed for school lunches as well as send a message to Congress that goes something like this: "We are not happy about the American food industry, so do something about it already." Check out an Eat-In in you hood

2. I am proudly spreading the word on Roofop Farms and rocking publicity it is getting, from Edible Brooklyn to BBC.

3. Here are some good resources for some grass-fed meat and some restaurants in NYC that use clean and nutrituous products and produce.

Fleisher's

Heritage Food USA

Knickerbocker Meats Inc

Grub Stops:

Roberta's and the Bees they keep

Franny's and their Larder

Back Forty

Savoy

La Cense


4. Check ou this aMAZing new project: Brooklyn Farmyards and the video

5. Lastly, in case you missed all there salad recipes in the NYTimes I thought I would send you them again, in case your summer recipes inspiration in waning.

Halloumi and Nectarine Salad

There are few things I like more than Halloumi cheese... it is the perfect "meat" for vegetarians and no other cheese can get close to its unique taste and texture. In fact, I love it so much I bring a few packets over with me when I come to Algeria. I try and save it for special occasions but I gave in the other night. There were several envious faces around my supper table when I made this. My family had roast chicken that night but I know they would have definitely 'gone veggie' if they had known halloumi was on offer!

On my way to France, I was lucky enough to stay with Hannah and her family outside Guildford. This recipe is a tribute to a fantastic-yummy-sunshine warm salad I had at Hannah's house, made by her lovely mum Sue. Their salad was made with peaches and chicory - I will definitely look out for chicory when it is in season. I have not managed to get their salad out of my mind and came up with the simplified Algiers version!

Thank you Hannah and Sue for being so inspiring! Xxx

I used a lined griddle pan to give the food a char-grilled effect but I am sure an ordinary frying pan would work too. I had not used a griddle pan before and I am going to buy one for my flat next year. I just loved the look of the food when it was cooked and it was so quick! Expect more char-grilled recipes soon...

Per Person:

1/4 pack Halloumi cheese

2 Nectarines

Few sprigs of Coriander

A handful of Pistachios

3 tbsp Olive oil

Pepper

Cut the nectarines (or peaches) in half and each half into 4 wedges. Place in a bowl, mix with the olive oil and season with pepper whilst you wait for the griddle pan to heat up. Once pan is hot, place the wedges on and allow to char grill for a minute each side. Chop the halloumi up into slices and marinate in the same bowl as the nectarines - the remaining olive oil will have mixed with the fruit juice giving the halloumi an extra yumminess. Allow the nectarine wedges to cool whilst cooking the halloumi on the griddle pan.

Roughly chop the coriander and pistachios. Mix all the ingredients together and arrange. I added an extra drizzle of olive oil and a final ground of pepper. Enjoy!

C x

Rooftop Farms and a NEW new york

I have officially moved back to New York... and as you guys can see Charlotte is pit-stopping in Algeria before she passes through NY for a crazy visit with me. Nutty how different our worlds are right now!

Moving back has been kind of intense to be honest. I have been worried about falling back into old routines but (big fat BUT here) New York is feeling really new and fresh ever since I started volunteering at Rooftop Farms in Greenpoint with just about the coolest Brooklynites eva' and some great stragglers trekking in from Manhattan (me being one).

So in just a couple weeks I have met amazing people: the real farmers (Annie and Ben) and the volunteers (Kendra, Kate, Will, Spencer, Corey, Hannes, Erika, Margret, Alice and many more). Being up there on the farm and finally getting truly involved in the food movement feels freaking amazing. It feels like I have come home, like I have found my place.

Annie has let me help out with the Growing Chefs initiative she runs, which means I am teaching kids about our earth, getting them to stick their hands in the dirt and helping them understand where food comes from.... oh only if I could do this forever.

I have learned how to compost and I listen to everything Annie and Ben say about farming hoping that their crazy farming knowledge might rub off on me in an osmosis-like manner.

Volunteering at the farm has also led me to fall madly deeply in love with Greenpoint and north Willamsburg. Halfdan had been telling me to check GP out forever he said I would love. Oh how well he knows me. I think one of my favorite things is the constant sea of bikes floating about everywhere.

And OMG I met Cathy from Not Eating Out in New York on the roof this Sunday. I kind of sounded like an idiot but she was nice anyway. She is the reason I heard about the farm in the first place.

Rooftop Farms sells produce sold on Sundays as well as selling to restaurants like Eat Records and Marlow & Sons. But check out the market if you are in the neighborhood. 

Local, Organic, Grown with Love.

There is also a bees station on the roof, so hopefully honey will be available soon.

Us volunteer farmers grabbed some lettuce from the market for our rocking rooftop picnic, which we hope to make a weekly tradition.

Everyone made and baked amazing things. Will even made his own bread !

Kate, a fellow farmer, brought along this awesome purple cauliflower salad. I am still to get the exact recipe so I'll probably update this, but Kate said it is a simple recipe where the only major trick is marinating the veggies OVERNIGHT in a red wine vinegar/ extra virgin olive oil mixture.

July's Purple Cauliflower Marinade Salad

carrots (one, julienned)

head of purple cauliflower

chopped zucchini (one big one)

chopped parsley

red wine vinegar and e.v.o.o to taste

salt/pepper

edible flowers to garnish (optional)

Toss it all together and let is marinate for at least 24 hours. That process softens the zucchini and the cauliflower a bit. Don't worry the veggies didn't get soggy though, they were just right!

After the picnic and farming Will, Spenc, Alice and I headed over to a free concert in the East River park in north Williamsburg.

(Alice being her cute self)

Being involved in Rooftop farms feels like I can read Michael Pollan's books and not get discouraged (well completely) because I know there is a massive movement rumbling right under us, which is fighting back against corporate American monopolies and helping us restore our food system. Check out some more sites if you are into food politics and buying locally:

Food Inc

Just Food

CENYC

Take Part

Small Planet Institute

Grub

Take a Bite

Child Nutrition Act

Upstate Farms

Queens County Farm

The Edible Garden

And totally listen to this interview with Food Inc stars and food justice experts and activists.

bringing you information for the food revolution...

J