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December 2007 Newsletter
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Dear Kitchen Gardener,
There are
different ways of knowing whether winter has arrived. If you're in
Maine, the joke goes, you know because the driving actually improves as
the potholes fill up with snow. You can also tell the old
fashioned way by looking at the thermometer. Mine read 8 wintry degrees
(-14 C) this morning. Consulting the calendar is another popular,
albeit controversial, way. Astonomically speaking, winter is due
this Friday, but,
meteorologically, the calendar says that winter already arrived the
first week of December. Hmmm.
As with other
perplexing life questions, I like to turn to my compost pile for
guidance. Northern gardeners like to say that winter hasn't really
arrived until your compost pile is frozen solid and hasn't really left
until your pile has thawed completely. Up until last week,
my hot pile of
leaves, grass clippings, and kitchen scraps was still chugging along
nicely, melting its way through all the white stuff the sky has been
dropping on us since late November. Coincidentally, up until last
week, we were also still harvesting salad greens from our cold frames,
arguably the best-tasting greens of the year (but I admit that part of
this is due to the "it's-winter-and-I-am-still-eating-from-my-garden!"
factor which is one nature's best flavor enhancers.)
The past few days
of snow, ice, and bitter cold, however, have changed things remarkably,
putting my compost pile's
soil bacteria and worms on the defensive. If you look closely at the
photo above taken earlier today, you can see a bit of melting taking
place, but I think it's safe for me to oil up my compost fork's handle
and put it to bed for the winter.
This winter was interesting in how suddenly it came
upon us in my area. One day, I was outside in a light sweater
raking leaves and
planting garlic, the next day I was all bundled up with a snow
shovel in my hands.
A
gardening article in the New York Times a few years back suggested
that instead of talking about global warming, we should be using the
term "global weirding". While the trend is definitely toward
warming, there'll be a lot of weirdness along the way. Speaking of
the New York Times, I've been following their coverage of local food
issues these days and even managed to contribute
2 cents of my own to the debate through a letter to the editor published
in last Sunday's edition.
Another item in
the "good news" category: I learned last month that I have been chosen
as a "Food
and Society Fellow" by the Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute.
I'm pretty excited about this and I don't excite easily. That
award and your generous support will help me to keep KGI going and
growing, even during the dark, cold days of winter.
Don't worry,
though, about the award going to my head, at least not this winter.
It will need to penetrate a thick wool hat first.
Happy holidays,
PS: I'm busy making your
holiday gift. It's not so much a new gift, but a better version of
an old one, a gift that will allow you to grow as gardener, learn new
things, contribute your knowledge to the gardening commons, connect with
and help new gardening friends, near and far. Have you guessed
yet? It might be too late for the holidays, but will be just in
time for those of you itching to talk about gardening before the ground
and the weather allow you to do any.
PPS: Stay tuned in January as
a "special KGI correspondent" will be reporting from Argentina on a
school garden project that we're helping to launch.
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Our buddy bacteria
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Whether it’s lysteria in hot dogs, e.coli in ground beef or salmonella in peanut butter, bacteria is more often than not seen as one of the “bad guys” of the microscopic world. The result of this is that we are fast becoming a "bacterophobic" society.
If you have any doubts about this, just take a good look around you next time you go to the grocery store or pharmacy. A few years ago, only a few dozen products containing antibacterial agents were being marketed for the home. Now more than 700 are available. We're now being bombarded with ads for cleansers, soaps, toothbrushes, dishwashing detergents, and hand lotions, all containing antibacterial agents. Ironically, new research out of the University of Michigan suggests that not only are these anti-bacterial products no better than good 'ol soap and hot water, but that they could render some useful antibiotics less effective over time.
While bacteria has recently been cast in the bad guy role, organic gardeners know that bacteria do much of the behind-the-scenes, dirty work in the soil and in the compost pile. What a lot people don't know is just how critical this work is. Were it not for soil bacteria, there would be no kitchen garden. In fact, there'd be no life at all. We've posted a slideshow to our website (available as a PDF or a PowerPoint file) which explains how bacteria fit into the big picture called life.
If you're not a soil bacteria fan by the end of this blog post, then consider this one last fact: bacteria might even make you a happier person. Researchers at the University of Bristol in the UK have found that a common soil bacteria called "mycobacterium vaccae" could act like antidepressant drugs. This bacteria has been found to stimulate the immune system of mice and boost the production of serotonin, a mood-regulating brain chemical.
You always knew that gardening made you feel good. Now, perhaps you know why.
Bacteria photo courtesy of Vijñāna
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Tomato inspiration
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Are you harvesting tomatoes hand over fist and looking for some fresh ideas on how to prepare them? Well, the global blogosphere is here to help. Below are a few recipes recently posted to some food blogs that you will probably want to get to know better. Enjoy.
From Simply Recipes:
White Beans and Cherry Tomato Salad
Gazpacho
From Chocolate & Zucchini:
Panzanella
From Kayn's Kitchen:
Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Mint, Feta, Lemon, and Thyme
Slow roasted tomatoes
From David Lebovitz:
Marinated Tomato Salad
From Just Hungry:
Tabbouleh with Heirloom Tomatoes and Shiso
From Champagne Taste:
Roasted tomato sauce
From A Veggie Venture:
Baked Eggs with Tomato and Spinach
Photo by D. Knisely
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Good Fats, Bad Fats
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Fats have gotten a bad rap. Cruise any supermarket aisle, and the promises of
fat free and no trans...
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Everyday Menus: No Cook Recipes
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