Wild Thing: Kale

Apparently, Kale is wild cabbage (and tastes nothing like cabbage so don't get all weird on me OK?) and related to collards, brussel sprouts and cauliflower (like I said, don’t get weird… you’ll come to love that stuff too). That said, it's been domesticated for around 2,500 years and what originally started in the Mediterranean has been adapted to weather colder climates as well, which sounds pretty civilized to me.

Kale comes in many colors and varieties, and is one of many vegetables whose name comes from the Latin word, caulis, which means "stem" or "stalk" (which is usually removed before cooking). This one is curly leafed, but another of my favorites is lacinato or Tuscan Kale, which has broad flat leaves.

Either way, kale is strong stuff and is only on occasion eaten raw. Among the most intense of leafy greens, it's wonderful in soups and stews, stir-fries or braised with plenty of garlic.

Health benefits, you ask? (Well, maybe you didn't, but again, this stuff is good to know) For being brave and eating your leafy greens, you are rewarded with plenty of fiber, vitamins C and A, antioxidants and even calcium.

Buy firm dark unblemished leaves that show no sign of wilt or yellow. Small leaves will be more tender and will cook faster than the larger leaves, but either is fine. As always, it’s best to use as soon as possible. Store in the refrigerator loosely wrapped in plastic.

Stay tuned; the next blog has a recipe for Kale Chips. How wild is that?

Recipe for a Fly Trap

Who says you can catch more flies with honey? That may be true, but when it comes to the kitchen, you can catch more flies with vinegar. Let’s skip the flies and honey metaphor for now and attend to the practical.

This is what you really need to know. If, for some reason, you didn’t get to that peach before the more primitive (always up for debate) life forms found it, or you happened to be less than stellar regarding taking the garbage out in a timely fashion, and you find yourself in the company of teeny tiny flies (aka Fruit Flies), put about one inch of apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar in a jar or tall glass and add a squeeze or two of dish soap. Stir, don’t shake. You will soon start your very own dead fruit fly collection.

Before the infestation is too much for this simple remedy, take the garbage out and do a kitchen search for the origin of your pests. Then spring into action! An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure…. A step in time saves nine… fruit flies are no fun.

The Gowanus Botanical Garden: Flora and Fauna Report

I’m busy! Busy is great, but doesn’t leave much time for blogging.

And I’m not the only one who’s busy. Adding to the predictable rumble of the F Train, and a very noisy air conditioner a few houses down, the other main racket makers are the sparrows. What a noise! The little ones have learned to fly, but still want room service. They sit in the branches of the lilac tree waiting for their mother to deliver breakfast or lunch or dinner…. birds eat a lot. My guess is that like any growing creature, they are pretty insatiable. This morning’s photo session in the garden frightened them away from the lilac and bird bath (which they really use), but I thought you’d enjoy a picture of the garden regardless.

Another thing that’s growing up in the garden, are our grapes! Remember the earlier entries? Eventually (if the Cardinals don’t get to them first), these will be red and very delicious. If the birds leave us any, I’ll photograph them again.

Flora or fauna, it’s fun to watch things grow up.

String Theory: Garlic Scapes

This picture of Garlic Scapes got me thinking of String Theory and maybe I’m not so far off. Information was thin enough to be zero dimensional.

The usual sources, McGee, Wiki, Larousse then the Visual Lover’s Guide, Bittman, Madison (you get the idea), were void of any in-depth information regarding these elegant strands.

Scapes are a very very seasonal occasion. Friday, after visiting a friend from upstate for another seasonal occasion (it was Andrea’s birthday), I returned with a monster bag of scapes. Now what? In the spirit of full disclosure, I had been in possession of a bag of these before. A foray for the photogenic at the farmer’s market (say that 10 times) had me returning to the studio with this strange acquaintance. The portrait was taken and then in my ignorance I dumped them all like a bad date. This time, Andrea had entrusted me with a huge sack of lovingly harvested largess and it felt callous to do the same again.

At the party, these had been braised with kale and were delicious. The possibility of turning them into a pesto was also suggested. I don’t always do what I am told, but this bag of green ‘string’ was suddenly feeling like a relationship worth pursuing. Time to step up to the plate and be a responsible adult. Where McGee and Larousse left me hanging, Epicurious came to the rescue. Here’s a simple recipe using the pesto idea for Spaghetti with Ramps that was delicious. The addition of some shrimp made my relationship with these mild garlicky/onion flavored greens almost grounds for a commitment.

I’m glad you had a birthday Andrea. The party bag was unforgettable.

Whoa! Not those sorts of Peaches!

Just looked at my favorite two sources for information. First, I checked in with food writer Harold McGee. His book, On Food and Cooking, is about the geekiest (and most fascinating) food reference around. Harold writes that Peaches were named after Persia (the name of Iran before 1935) and that when peaches ripen, they do it from along the stem end and the ripening travels along the groove…. interesting but not as groovy as what Wikipedia has to say (which is my next favorite place to get some inspiration). Here things get considerably less ‘geeky’. Wiki's Peach page lists everything from a Canadian musician named ‘Peaches’ to songs, to Peaches and Herb (my tangential groove reference), movies, porn and Pawn Stars!

Maybe we should get back to Harold and all things edible (this is a family blog after all)!

Peaches, Harold goes on to say, have flavor development after harvest. When you get a mealy one (meaning the flesh texture is squishy-nasty) from the supermarket, it’s because the fruit was temporarily stored at too low a temperature in transit.

What does this mean?! Buy peaches now while they are in season, and if you can, get them at the farmer’s market. You want fragrant peaches that are not hard or have a green cast. Also avoid ones that have spots, cracks or bruises. Buy what you can eat soon (not a problem around here)!

Peaches are a terrific source of potassium and iron. Groovy!

Birthday Bash Watermelon

Sylvia just had a birthday. So did Karan, so did Ted. This is the occasion of our Semi- annual Birthday Bash (my father actually started this tradition, so we have to thank him too and say ‘happy birthday Al’!).

A Summer Birthday Bash means salads, grilled things, chilled drinks, cake and watermelon. I really should have a picture of the ‘gang’ on the deck enjoying summer bounty and each other, but a hostess gets busy.

Jim brought this amazing watermelon and I thought that you would like to know how to choose a good one (it’s obvious that Jim did, because this one was delicious… evidenced by my lack of restraint!).

Look for a watermelon that is heavy for it’s size, has yellow under tones and a nice solid resonance when thumped (Jim is musical so he must have known this). Avoid melons that are cracked or have soft spots. This one has seeds. If you don’t want to mess around with seeds, it is possible to buy a ‘seedless’ watermelon. The Japanese bred ‘seedless’ watermelons in the 1930’s; they are actually melons with seeds so small that you don’t realize that you are eating them. Watermelon is a very rich source of antioxidants, more so than tomatoes! Who knew?!

Eat your melon as soon after purchase as possible. If there should be some leftover, store a cut melon in the fridge with clear wrap on the exposed part.

And just in case you find yourself at a birthday bash eating watermelon with nothing interesting to say (impossible though that may be), you can off handedly remark that watermelons are a distant relative of an ancient African vine and that the Egyptians were eating it 5,000 years ago and the Greeks knew of it in the 4th Century BC (do you think that they had birthday pot-lucks?). Such information is sure to enliven any crowd, or at least get the ball rolling for some bad jokes and more melon!

Happy birthday everyone! What a terrific excuse to gather together and share a meal.