In my past life as the director of the Holcomb Farm Community Supported Agriculture project in Granby, Connecticut, the state’s largest community based farm, I spent most of my time learning. How to raise money or in-kind donations to operate a start-up 25-acre nonprofit organic farm, to support a farm staff, obtain tractors, seed, fertilizer and equipment, and renovate buildings.  How to manage the Whole Earth and Whole Foods expectations of summer farm interns, undergraduates from Yale, Brown, Williams, and other elite schools.  How to attract both white middle class suburban customers and lower income urban black and Hispanic customers from nearby Hartford, the objects of our efforts to bestow environmental justice through organic vegetables.

It was a big job, often overwhelming, and sometimes wildly difficult (when, for example, the farmer I hired had a mystifying astrological  crop management plan that yielded a plague of 6-foot pig weed).

Then we created a program to introduce adjudicated black and Hispanic urban youth to wholesome farm life, and to fresh vegetables.  Their responses to our earnest ministrations were disheartening at best. To the idea of eating the fruits of their labors, they said, “that’s nasty.”

Salvation came from a group of volunteer professional chefs who visited the farm and invited the kids into their restaurant kitchens for afternoon cooking lessons.  Kind and indulgent to a point, they treated the kids with the same no-nonsense purposefulness that they directed towards their employees.    “You want fried rice?” – the kids’ favorite dish in the Chinese-Spanish fast food joints sprinkled throughout Hartford. “You gotta prep all those vegetables. And cook them the way I tell you.”  They did, miraculously, and ate them with pride.

Fried Rice with Pork and Garlic

The secret to great fried rice is cold cooked rice a day or two old—don’t try this with freshly cooked rice.   Sriracha hot sauce, another secret ingredient, adds garlicy zest.  Have all your ingredients prepared and ready in bowls before you begin cooking.  The stir-fry itself takes only a few minutes.  While this dish is a template and invites endless variation, take care to balance and limit the ingredients you use.

Serves 4–6 generously

Seasoning sauce:

4 tablespoons fresh lime juice or rice wine vinegar

4 to 6 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce, or 1 small fresh hot chile (jalapeño, serrano, or Thai), finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)

Omelets:

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 scallions, finely sliced crosswise

Dash hot sauce

Salt

6 to 8 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 garlic cloves, minced

4 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger

1 large white onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (or substitute 2 cups sliced green garlic or garlic scapes)

4 carrots, or sweet turnips, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks

6 cups lightly packed roughly shredded greens (cabbage, kale, collards, spinach, Asian greens, etc) or:  4 cups small (1/2-inch diameter) broccoli florets

6 cups chilled cooked rice (basmati or jasmine)

4 cups (12 ounces) shredded roast pork, roast chicken or a combination

1 bunch  scallions, thinly sliced

3 cups fresh mung bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
Roughly chopped fresh cilantro or basil or a combination – about 1 cup lightly packed
Toasted sesame oil

Stir together the lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, and chili until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat lightly with the scallions, hot sauce and salt.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok or a deep 12-inch heavy nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking.  Add the eggs and swirl around the pan to make a thin flat omelet.  Turn once and cook a few seconds just until set.  Set aside until cool, then roll up and cut crosswise into ½-inch wide ribbons.

Heat the remaining oil in the pan over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking.  Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add onion and carrots and stir-fry until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the greens and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add rice and pork, and stir-fry 1 minute.

Add soy mixture to wok, then add scallions, bean sprouts and half the herbs and stir-fry 1 minute. Add egg ribbons and stir-fry until hot, about 30 seconds. Serve hot, sprinkled with remaining herbs and a few dashes sesame oil, and additional hot sauce if desired.

by Liz Wheeler

Call him crazy, but you have to admire Doug Vaira for his vision. A journalist by training, Vaira decided to open Dish, a bistro in downtown Charles Town, in October 2008, just about the most challenging time ever to launch a restaurant, given the tanking economy and his ambitions to help spur downtown development—in addition to featuring locally grown food on the menu. “My goal is to bring simple, real food to a bigger audience,” he said. “We use local seasonal ingredients, and dishes made from scratch—nothing too fancy.” The burger made from grass-fed beef raised in Kearneysville is a model of simple American cuisine and  the hands-down favorite of Dish’s regular customers. The light, crisp homemade herbed French fries, which are addictive, also contribute to a smashing rendition of Moules et Frites, a Belgian classic.

Vaira is working to encourage a sense of community around good food by featuring products from area farms, and by offering his customers special events like wine and beer tastings, cooking classes, and, when the weather gets warmer, movies in the outdoor terrace. While he admits it has been a challenge to introduce conservative eaters to dishes like grilled rabbit with caviar lentils or sautéed skate with Swiss chard and grapefruit beurre blanc, he notices that more of his customers are beginning to acknowledge and appreciate what he and his staff are doing. He is gratified that people value the local-grown emphasis, and some are charmed to realize that they know one or two of the farmers whose food is on the menu.

Dish is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 11am to 9pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to 10pm, and Sundays for Brunch from 11am to 4pm. The restaurant is closed on Mondays.

Dish is located at 213 W. Washington Street, Charles Town;  304-728-8464; www.dish.com.

White Bean Soup with Asparagus and Peas

 Makes 4–6 servings

A low-fat, herbaceous fresh-tasting spring soup from the recipe files of Chef Cheryl Strasser at Dish. Be sure to use a flavorful chicken stock, preferably homemade.

1/2 cup dried Cannellini or Great Northern white beans, picked over, rinsed and soaked overnight in cold water, (or ¾ cup cooked drained beans).

Aromatic bouquet: 1/4 Onion, 1/2 stalk celery, 1 small carrot, 1 small bay leaf, 1 sprig each thyme and parsley.

Salt

6 cups flavorful chicken stock

1/4 pound (about 1-1/2 cups) farfalle pasta

1/4 pound fresh asparagus, cut on the bias in 1-1/2-inch lengths

1/2 cup fresh or frozen defrosted baby peas

1 tablespoon finely chopped Italian parsley

1-1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh mint,

1/2 teaspoon each finely chopped fresh thyme and oregano

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1-1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Put the beans in a large saucepan with water to cover by 2 inches. Add the aromatic bouquet. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 1 hour until tender. Salt in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Remove and discard the aromatics, and drain the beans.

Put the chicken stock in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the farfalle and cook until almost al dente, about 10 minutes. Add the asparagus and beans and cook until the asparagus is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add the peas, herbs, lemon zest and juice. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes longer until the pasta and vegetables are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Grated Squash Gratin with Cream

This pristine yet opulent dish is a variation of a recipe I found in Judith Jones’ wonderful mem-oir The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food. She describes her relationships as an editor for some of the most influential gastronomic writers of our time and her evolution as a cook. Avoid ultra-pasteurized cream if you can help it.

I prefer cream from South Mountain Dairy or Trickling Springs Dairy.

1 2-pound Butternut squash

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Butter  

1 cup heavy cream

Butter a 6-cup gratin dish. An 8-1/2-inch round, 2-inch-deep dish is ideal. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel the squash. Cut through at the bottom of the neck to expose the seed cavity, and scrape out the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks to fit into the feeder tube of a food proces-sor fitted with a medium blade, and grate it. Or, if grating by hand, use the largest holes of a box   grater.Put the shredded squash into a bowl, and add the cinnamon, salt and pepper; toss well. Put it into the baking dish, and pour the cream over all evenly. Cover lightly with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until the squash is tender and lightly browned on top.

Grated Squash with Garlic

This savory mixture is also terrific on pizza. Spread it on a prepared round of dough, sprinkle with a little mozzarella and Parmesan, and bake it in a hot oven.  

1 2-pound Butternut squash

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon smoked hot

Spanish paprika (or substitute 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper)

2 teaspoons dried oregano, or marjoram, or a combinationSalt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

Lightly oil a 6 to 8-cup shallow gratin dish. An 8-1/2-inch round, 2-inch-deep dish is ideal. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel the squash. Cut through at the bottom of the neck to expose the seed cavity, and scrape out the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks to fit into the feeder tube of a food processor fitted with a medium blade, and grate it. Or, if grating by hand, use the largest holes of a box grater.Put the shredded squash into a bowl, and toss with the remaining ingredients. Put it into the baking dish, and bake for about 40 minutes until the squash is tender and lightly browned on   top.  

Late this summer, my friend John Turenne called with the news that his company, Sustainable Food Systems, was working with British chef Jamie Oliver on a healthy food intervention in Huntington WV’s community and public schools.  And, by the way, ABC was taping it for six episodes of Jamie’s prime time reality TV show, the “Jamie Oliver Project” to be aired in early 2010.  The Associated Press had recently reported that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) had identified the population in metropolitan area of Huntington, WV and adjacent counties in Ohio as the unhealthiest, and the most obese in the United States.

I got a little steamed.  “For God’s sake, John, obviously we have major diet-related health problems, but would you please make sure this won’t be another cheap-shot media exploitation of the stereotype of fat, ignorant West Virginia?   John promised to do what he could.

While Chef Jamie Oliver and ABC TV’s producers raised public awareness about healthy eating with cooking demonstrations, town hall meetings and visits to Huntington’s school cafeterias, John Turenne began the slow, steady work of change-making behind the scenes.

Working with cooks at Central City Elementary School, Turenne demonstrated that with a little training, they could make kid-friendly fresh foods.  He replaced USDA commodity canned beef stew with from-scratch beef stew with fresh meat and vegetables – for the same cost.  Local health advocates at the Cabell County Hospital took note, as did the governor’s office.

Huntington’s School Food Service Director Rhonda McCoy needed Turenne’s assurance that he would maintain the nutrition and cost standards required by the USDA School Lunch Program.  But he needed support to train the food service staff and leadership to spur the WV school lunch program’s switch from buying processed foods to fresh whole ingredients, which are also supplied by the federal food commodity program.

Turenne’s opportunity came at a meeting with Governor Manchin and First Lady Gayle Manchin.  He set before them two plates:  one with processed chicken patties, the other with a plain piece of chicken.  Both cost the same, he explained; clearly the fresh-cooked chicken was healthier, and tastier.  The Governor, impressed, offered to help, and asked the Department of Agriculture and the State Director of the Office of Child Nutrition to help expedite the sourcing of fresh commodity foods for the school lunch program.

Just before Thanksgiving, Cabell Huntington Hospital came forward with an $80,000 grant for Turenne’s Sustainable Food Systems to train cooks in all 28 Cabell County public schools, and donated another $50,000 to sponsor Jamie’s Kitchen, the community kitchen in downtown Huntington that has been the center for activity during the filming of Oliver’s TV show.

Turenne plans to roll out the menu models created in the pilot schools to all 28 schools by the end of the school year next June.   Soon Cabell County’s 12,500 school children will be eating fewer corn dogs and funnel cakes and more freshly made whole foods, like beef stew and baked chicken with fresh vegetables.  He said, “With the strong commitment from the capitol, we can make healthy changes in the school lunch program.  It will take time, but Huntington’s kids will have healthier meals, every day – and hopefully the rest of West Virginia’s schools can benefit

Home-style Beef Stew (Recipe #001)

Sustainable Food Systems’ chefs developed this fresh vegetable laden, fresh, kid-friendly beef stew for an army of hungry students, using USDA commodity ingredients available to the public school food service.  www.sustainablefoodsystems.com

Makes 450 1/3 cup servings

100 pounds ½ X 1/2- inch cut beef chuck

10 pounds yellow onions, peeled and diced

25 pounds of carrots, peeled trimmed and sliced. (use thicker slicing blade)

20 pounds Idaho potatoes, (unpeeled) washed and diced

2 cups tomato paste

1 quart plus 3 cups balsamic or red wine vinegar

4 gallons Tomato Base Sauce

¼ cup iodized salt

2 tablespoons ground black pepper

• Heat the tilting kettle to 350 degrees F.  Add the beef and cook, stirring until it has given up a lot of liquid and no trace of pink remains.  Drain off the liquid from the kettle and reserve.  Continue cooking the beef, stirring, until all the liquid is boiled off and the meat is browned.  The whole process will take about 45 minutes.  Skim the fat from the reserved meat juices.
• When the beef is brown, add the onions and cook, stirring, 10 to 15 minutes.  Add the carrots and cook 10 to 15 minutes.  Add the tomato paste and balsamic vinegar and stir until the ingredients start to stick to the sides of the kettle.
• Add the potatoes, skimmed beef juices and Tomato Base Sauce (recipe follows) and bring to a boil.  Cook until the meat and carrots are barely tender, about 30 minutes, then transfer to deep hotel pans and keep warm in the hot boxes.

Five-Vegetable Tomato Base Sauce (Recipe #022)

Makes 16 gallons

3 cups olive oil

9 pounds yellow onion

4.5 pounds zucchini, trimmed and shredded

4.5 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and shredded

4.5 pounds carrots, peeled, trimmed and shredded

1 pound red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced

2 tablespoons dried oregano

6 large bay leaves

20 #10 cans whole or diced tomatoes in liquid

¼ cup iodized salt

2 tablespoons ground black pepper

• Heat the oil in the tilting kettle to 375 degrees F.  Add the onions, zucchini, squash, carrots, and red pepper.  Cook until wilted and softened, about 10 minutes.
• Add the oregano, bay leaves, tomatoes, salt and pepper.  Heat to boiling and lower the heat so the sauce is simmering.  Cook until lightly thickened, about 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves.
• Puree the sauce until smooth with an immersion blender.  Cool, then chill if not using right away.

]]> http://www.wvobserver.com/2009/11/wv-school-lunch-revolution/feed/ 0 http://www.wvobserver.com/2009/10/apple-season/ http://www.wvobserver.com/2009/10/apple-season/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:16:22 +0000 Thomas Harding http://www.wvobserver.com/?p=991 By Elizabeth Wheeler

October is high apple season in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle, where you can find orchards large and small selling an impressive range of varieties.  The following websites list commercial orchards in the area: www.allaboutapples.com/orchard/wv.htm and www.pickyourown.org/WV.htm.

If you are interested in the art and science of fruit production, the premier Federal Kearneysville Tree Fruit Research and Education Center is right in our backyard on Route 9 between Charles Town and Kearneysville.  Tours of the Fruit Research Center are provided in conjunction with the Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival on October 15-18, 2009 (Festivalwww.caf.wvu.edu/Kearneysville/wvufarm1.html)

At Rellim ( to the uninitiated, that’s Miller—the family name of the orchard owners—spelled backwards.)  This historical family farm is located on 14866 Leetown Road (Route 480) between Shepherdstown and Kearneysville.  The sign at the entrance to their farm indicates the crops they have to offer, or call ahead at   304-876-2095.

You may shudder at the notion of lavishing the quantity of extra virgin olive oil called for in this recipe, but it is quite delicious in this mildly flavored cake with an abundance of grated apples.  Keeping in mind the basic proportions, I have also made numerous variations with combinations of bland vegetable oil and walnut oil, almond oil or hazelnut oil, and by substituting finely ground almonds or walnuts for some of the semolina. Semolina flour, also called pasta flour, is the milled endosperm of Durum Wheat (Triticum Durum), which remains after the bran and germ are removed.   It is high in the wheat protein called gluten that is ideal for making breads and pasta, and lends body to this simple cake.  Use tart apple varieties such as Greenings, Pippins, Spartan, Northern Spy, Jonagold, or Gravenstein.

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons cognac or golden rum (optional)

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

3/4 cup semolina flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups coarsely grated peeled and cored tart apples (2 large apples, approximately), mixed with 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch diameter by 2-inch deep cake pan or false-bottomed fluted tart pan and dust with flour.

Beat the eggs and sugar together in a large mixing bowl by hand with a whisk or with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until pale yellow, about 1 minute.  Stir in the lemon rind and cardamom.  Beat in the olive oil and liquor until the mixture is creamy.  

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, and mix well. 

 Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture in thirds, mixing well after each addition.

Stir in the grated apples, mixing until well combined. 

Bake the cake for about 45 minutes, until it is golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on a rack for about 5 minutes, then unmold and cool to room temperature right side up.

Serve plain, with whipped cream, and if desired, with sautéed, sweetened apples, or apple compote, or prunes poached with tea and citrus zest.

When I first began cooking for my 12-year-old stepson Peter, he was a deeply conservative, fearful, and argumentative companion at the dinner table. In addition to reminding me that I was not his mother, Peter would trumpet “I won’t ever eat that,” when served anything green, red, or yellow that was not mint chocolate chip ice cream, expensive steak, a carrot, baked potato, or Pepperidge Farm Goldfish. My everyday French and Italian peasant supper dishes and fresh vegetables were utterly foreign, disgusting and appalling. Greens? Zucchini? Peppers? Eggplant? No, no, no, and never.

Peter’s touchstone for food normalcy, rooted in an Anglo-New England heritage and his mother’s cooking, was not uncommon. Yet to me it was almost inconceivable. Peter’s description of his mother’s cooking repertoire revealed an aggressive disinterest: she hurled chicken into the oven wet, unseasoned, and with the parts bag still inside, and served it with catsup and frozen vegetables subjected to long, brutal boiling. In matters of motherhood and home cooking, I bit my tongue—hard—and continued to invite Peter to the table. Garlic, virgin olive oil, and good Italian bread proved to be the gateway to his palate, and eventually led to his astonishing request three years later: “Can you make me some of those greens you make?”

Peter’s burgeoning machismo flowered into a fascination with hot sauces with names like Death Wish and Ass-Kicker, which for several months he slathered gleefully on everything he ate. One day, while cultivating his new resentful teen posture for me at a Japanese-Korean restaurant, he sniffed out the kimchee, a super-hot Korean cabbage and hot-pepper pickle, and the wasabi, the eye-wateringly pungent Japanese horseradish that accompanies sushi. He sat up and guzzled this inferno while eyeing me and the raw fish I ate with incredulous distain. His eyes closed against the uni (sea urchin roe) going into my mouth. But the gross-out factor was irresistible. And he sort of trusted me by then.

“I want to try that uni,” he proclaimed, now man enough with his bellyful of kimchee. At $8 a pop, I wasn’t too keen on the idea, but what the hell? I held his gaze when the uni arrived, a grayish-gold speckled orb glistening in a circle of black nori. His lips quivered a tiny bit as he lifted it masterfully with his chopsticks. He opened wide and in it went, all slippery slithery-rich musky brininess. His eyes glazed . . . queasily? I hovered at the edge of this new watershed, curious and expecting the worst. “Mmm,” he murmured defiantly, “Goob.” I smiled at him, just a little, not too triumphantly. “Want some more?”

Roasted Summer Vegetables

This recipe is a variation on one from The Yachting Cookbook, which I co-authored in 1990. The dish is really more of an idea than a precise formula, and it is an outstanding and simple way to feature late summer vegetables. It is delicious with grilled lamb, and can be served hot or at room temperature. A sprinkle of red wine vinegar is a nice embellishment. Many kids like it.

 2 – 3 medium zucchini

3 – 4 medium potatoes (about 1 pound) scrubbed

2 small eggplants

1 large red or green sweet pepper, cored and seeded

1 – 2 fresh tomatoes

1 large sweet onion, peeled

2 – 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped fine

1 teaspoon each dried oregano and marjoram

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

3 – 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 – 6 tablespoons olive oil

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cut all the vegetables into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Set the tomatoes aside. Put the remaining vegetables, garlic, herbs and salt and pepper in a baking pan large enough to hold them in one overlapping layer (about 10 by 14 inches). Add enough oil to coat the vegetables generously, and toss well.

Arrange the vegetables alternately in overlapping rows. Tuck in the tomato slices in even distribution, and press the vegetables down gently with your hands.

Roast the vegetables for about 45 minutes, or until they are tender and browned around the edges.

September is Food Safety Month, and many food safety organizations are eager to remind the public of some basic strategies to avoid food-borne illness. For the standard government consumer messages, visit www.fightbac.org.

For a truly innovative approach visit Barf Blog at http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/. This blog employs pop culture and story-telling to educate the public about food safety, especially “all those teenagers who are working in foodservice and are the last people to touch your lunch.” It is run by Dr. Doug Powell and his food safety friends who believe that “traditional food safety education is a complete waste of time and money.”

Of all vegetables, tomatoes seem to ignite the greatest passion and generosity among gardeners, especially those who start their plants from seed. In July, as I contemplated the 20-foot-long wall of towering tomatoes, I decided I had tipped over into loopy excess. Then I met Angela Faulkner.

Faulkner is a graphic designer. During the growing season she devotes a good share of her waking hours indulging her fascination with growing unusual vegetables, especially tomatoes. This year, she is growing 65 varieties of heirloom tomatoes she has collected over the years from fellow breeders and enthusiasts she meets in her travels and on the internet. A native of Cincinatti, Ohio, Faulkner describes herself as a child of “Appalachian parents from Tennessee” who view gardening as a means of survival, not for creative experimentation. “They think I’m nuts,” she says.

Faulkner began gardening 18 years ago when she moved to Summit Point. A few years ago, friends invited her to use a spot on their farm near Kabletown, tucked a quarter mile down a dusty lane amid the corn and soybean fields. It is a huge garden, nearly 100 feet long and wide, with neat beds of tomato plants, each marked by plastic utensils saved from take-out lunches dug into the soil with the variety written on the handle. The tomato plants were sturdy and healthy.

With no steady water source, Angie collects rainwater in barrels and hopes for the best. She admits, “I bit off a little more than I can chew. I have to remember when doing a garden that you take on only half of what you think you can do.”

As we toured the garden, Angie stroked the leaves of the plants, reciting the name and story behind each variety. “My friend Patty’s sister-in-law in Toledo gave me this Tobolsk, a Ukranian variety. It’s the color of cantaloupe and it is so gorgeous in the can in the window, like a jewel.

“Potato leaf tomatoes are my favorite, The Paw Paw Tomato, named for the town, I got from James Rainey in Martinsburg. Tappy’s Finest and Acres WV are typical West Virginia sloppy juicy beefsteak types.“

Faulkner likes the WV 1884 tomato because “you know the year it was found, and I find it an endearing tale of fortitude.” The Ohio River crested its banks in 1884, flooding Friendly, W.Va. Later that summer someone noticed a seedling growing out of a sidewalk crack that turned out to be a pink beefsteak tomato.

International tomato breeds intrigue Faulkner. “Rouge d’Irak is a red oblate beefsteak type from a French collector. He got it in Iraq before the coalition authority imposed a law prohibiting seed saving, which caused the loss of a lot of varieties. Iraq’s national seed vault also was looted and destroyed in the conflict. (www.geneethics.org.) I’d love to be able to repatriate it!”

The list goes on: Negro Azteca, a black cherry tomato, Lithuanian Crested, wedge shaped, like a hatchet, the tasty Russian Malachite Box, an incredible emerald green inside, Joya de Oaxaca, pink on the bottom, yellow in the middle, with green shoulders, like a rainbow inside, and the pale green White Queen that makes a beautiful marinara sauce, “with the basil leaves floating in it looking like gems.”

Faulkener received her Master Gardener certification in 2006, and plans to teach a Master Gardener course in September in Berkeley County. She laughs, “The garden is full of sex and violence, so it gives me lots of stories to tell when teaching the course. I call tomatoes sluts because every seed comes from a different speck of pollen.”

Sixty-five tomato plants produce a lot of tomatoes. One year Faulkner found an outlet at the church parking lot on Mission Road in Shannondale. Soon she had a devoted following. “I’d just sit there and people would come by regularly for their favorites.” Since she bought herself a farm down in Somers County, she has less time and seeks a partner to help with the project.

This July, the USDA warned that a devastating and highly contagious tomato blight is sweeping the northeast and mid Atlantic. If our local farmers are not spared, tomatoes will be in short supply and very expensive. We can be glad for seed savers and tomato breeders like Angela Faulkner, who are keeping alive thousands of wonderful varieties and the genetic richness that insures our food supply.

Faulkner encourages gardeners to create their own networks of people for trading and advice and recommends the following websites for “round-robin trading circles “and seed sources:

Trading Circles:

www.gardenweb.com

www.idigmygarden.com

www.tomatoville.com

www.alanbishop.proboards.com

 Heirloom Seed Sources: Seed Savers Exchange

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Pinetree Seeds

Territorial Seeds

Southern Seed Exchange

Heirloom Seeds /Feddco Seed

Angie’s Gazpacho

Angie Faulkner grows an Italian cucumber called Bianca Lunga especially for her gazpacho, and eats them in the garden to quench her thirst.

• 6 medium size ripe orange tomatoes
• 1 green Italian frying pepper, cored and seeded
• 1 red Italian frying pepper, cored and seeded
•  1 small red onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
• 1 medium cucumber
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Chop each vegetable individually in a food processor to the desired size and texture, and empty into a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and adjust to taste.

Smoked Tomato Butter

 Wonderful on grilled vegetables, or bread.

• 5 small-to-medium size ripe tomatoes
• 1 stick (4 ounces) butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Minced parsley
• Salt

Prepare a charcoal fire in a charcoal chimney in a grill with a cover and allow to burn down until the coals are covered in white ash. Add chunks of hickory wood to the chimney and allow to burn for 10-15 minutes.

Remove the chimney, and spread the coals in an even thick layer contents in the grill, then place the grate 6 to 8 inches over the coals. If your wood is not smoking, mist with water. Put the tomatoes on the grate and close the cover and allow to smoke for 20 minutes or longer until the tomatoes are collapsed. Remove the tomatoes to a bowl to cool.

Chop the tomatoes coarsely and combine with the remaining ingredients.

Swiss chard, a cousin of beets, has a delicate flavor and a sturdier texture than spinach, which makes it ideal for stuffing. Recently I treated dinner guests with this:

Persian-style Stuffed Swiss Chard
This is a dish to make when you have an abundant supply of Swiss chard. You can substitute a cup of fresh or frozen green peas, or cooked chickpeas or lentils for the yellow split peas, which will take the dish in a different delicious direction (see recipe note.) As you prepare the leaves, some may tear or have holes, and can be patched with pieces of extra leaves. If you omit the lamb for a meatless dish, add more legumes and season the stuffing well. Serve with a dish of plain yogurt mixed with a little minced garlic and chopped mint.

30 large Swiss chard leaves (whole and unblemished), plus a few extra for patching.
2/3 cup basmati rice
1/4 cup dried yellow split peas, or 1 cup fresh peas
1-3/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped (about 1-1/4 cups)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 pound ground lamb
1-1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch scallions, sliced fine crosswise
1/4 cup finely shredded fresh mint leaves
2 cups lightly packed chopped parsley
1 cup lightly packed chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons sugar
Lemon juice, and lemon wedges

Wash the Swiss chard leaves, taking care to keep them whole. Fill a sink or basin with cold water, and add ice cubes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Holding the leaves by their stems, dip them into the boiling water for 5 – 10 seconds until they wilt, then transfer to the cold water bath. Lift the leaves out gently and lay in a colander to drain.

Wash the rice well, and soak in cold water for 10 minutes, then drain. Put the dried peas in a saucepan with the 1-3/4 cups water, bring to a simmer, and cook, partially covered for about 20 minutes. Stir in the rice, salt and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside, covered for 20 minutes.

Note: If using fresh peas, use 1-1/4 cups water to cook the rice, and add the peas on top of the rice after it has cooked for 10 minutes. After the rice has rested, gently fluff the rice to fold in the peas.
Put the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic and lamb, and cook, stirring, until the lamb loses its pink color. Lower the heat to medium and continue cooking until the lamb begins to brown and the moisture evaporates. Add the cinnamon, season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

Add the scallions, herbs and sugar to the meat, and fold in the rice and peas. Mix gently, and taste for seasonings.

Working with one leaf at a time, place on a large cutting board, and cut out the tough center stem, leaving smaller leaves intact towards the top. The lobes of larger leaves may be big enough to use alone, or overlapped with smaller leaves.

Put a heaping tablespoonful of rice filling along the wider end of each leaf, so that the ribs are horizontal for ease of rolling. Fold the edge of the leaf over the filling, tucking in firmly and roll, folding the sides over to make a firm package for the filling. Place seam side down on a tray.
Place a steamer tray or basket in the bottom of a pan with a tight fitting lid. Place the stuffed leaves seam side down, in tightly packed rows, and crisscross the layers. Weigh them down with a plate large enough to fit in the pan.

Pour about a cup of water down the inside side of the pan. Bring to a boil, covered, and turn the heat to low after a minute. Cook for about 40 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside, covered for about 30 minutes.

Carefully transfer the rolls to a serving plate – they will be tender. Squeeze lemon juice over them and serve warm, room temperature or cold with extra lemon wedges and mint-garlic yogurt.