May 2006

Scapes

May 24, 2006

Scapes come in many forms. They are the flowering stem of hardneck garlic and in the case of the photo–shallots. Their window of availability is now: end of May through mid-June. They are the by-product of the farmer’s desire to have his garlic bulb. By cutting the scape off the energy goes to the garlic [...]

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Cured Meats

May 22, 2006

My Pancetta and Guanciale are finally done! Seven days in dry cure and two weeks hanging in the salty spring breeze by the bay–I can’t wait to begin cooking with them. These went into the curing cupboard the day the Chorizo came out. When I took these out I put a Wiltshire Cured Ham in [...]

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Labor of Love

May 12, 2006

When I was 13 or so, about the age my oldest daughter is now, I took a job on a local farm. Where I grew up we were surrounded by farms and orchards, but our 2 acres wasn’t adjacent to any farms itself. For one reason or another the farm I was employed at for [...]

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Gastrocast #58

May 12, 2006

This week’s Gastrocast is out–the cooking show about “food, cooking and the politics of what we eat”. Apart from talking about things going on with the company, the island, and the garden we cook two Rhubarb dishes–A Rhubarb & Sweet Cicely Fool, and Grilled Pork Chops with Rhubarb Cumberland Sauce. It’s spring turning into summer, [...]

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Hey Hay!

May 12, 2006

Okay gardeners. Now is the time to deal the deals and talk the talk. Haying season is almost here and the best source of free garden soil improvement is up for grabs. Yes, I am talking about last years hay. As farmers clear out their barns of old or broken bales to make room for [...]

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Half Pig

May 4, 2006

Last week we got a half pig from a local farmer and spent our “spare” time butchering and  turning it into some fantastic ham, roasts, hocks, bacon and sausages. There is no more holistic food experience than taking a once live creature and preparing it for eating and sharing. The bacons–one section of belly as [...]

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Summer is here

May 4, 2006

Spring appears to have given away to summer and we are left scrambling to plant everything to take advantage of the hot weather. All the tomatoes, eggplants, chillies and basil have been planted in the polytunnel and the average temperature in there is 85 degrees F. Outside it has hit 70 degrees F. here today [...]

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