Earth To Eats

Harrisburg Gluten Intolerance Group Chef to Plate Luncheon

20th April, 2010 - Posted by Scott - No Comments

The Harrisburg GIG is holding a gluten free luncheon to start the national GIG Chef to Plate and Celiac Awareness Month.  The menu will include:

Vegetarian vegetable soup
Buffet Menu Selections:
Shrimp Caesar salad with sundried tomatoes.
Greek chicken salad (olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, feta, Gorgonzola vinaigrette, lemon marinated grilled chicken).
Assorted “Amaranth Bakery” flat bread wrap sandwiches with chicken salad; tuna salad; or ham, turkey, and roast beef.
Ice Tea and Coffee Beverage Station
Chocolate cream pie with pecan crust for dessert

Price for the dinner is $18.80 per person, which includes tax and gratuity. Deadline to RSVP is Saturday April 24th. Your reservation and payment (by check, which should include your phone number) can be sent to:

GIG of Harrisburg
PO Box 312
Hershey, PA 17033-0312

I hope to see you there!

Arepa City Review

6th April, 2010 - Posted by Scott - No Comments

After months and months and of trying to get to Arepa City, I finally made it.  Including the iced tea I bought on the way in so I had change for the meter, the meter, and food, it was $14.  I was able to park on the street about a 1/4 block away and wheel my children down in their stroller.  Someone working in the downtown Harrisburg area could probably be there in 10 minutes, eat  and be back to the office in under an hour for $10.

Before I get too far into this, I should define an arepa for those of you, like I was, who are unfamiliar with them.  An arepa is a corn bun that is a staple of Venezuelan cooking.  It is made with a corn flour, grilled, and then either stuffed with a filling, or topped with ingredients.

I got a queso arepa with queso fresco and a pernil arepa (slow roasted pork) with spicy slaw (I asked to have that added).  Both were awesome but I was a bit fearful when I opened the box and was greeted by them.  The presentation didn’t say anything and they didn’t look impressive at all.  The wonderful taste more than made up for my reservations.

The prices for the arepas are all a dollar or two higher than when I first looked at the menu way back when, but versus the pictures I originally saw it looks like they are much larger than before.  They originally looked like a 3-4″ bun, similar to a basic fast food hamburger.  They are actually in the 5-6″ range, more like a sit down restaurant burger.

The queso was tasty and let me really enjoy the bun, which is familiar but different.  The first bite was generic corn bread, but that impression quickly passed as each bite drew me further towards the center.  It was nicely toasted on the outside that gave a nice resistance which was chewy in the mouth with the nutty flavor that corn can have coming through.  The the center underneath this crust was soft and warm and with a flavor like plain fresh popcorn.  A very odd mix and much better than the first impression.

The pork with spicy slaw I will certainly want to get again.  The slaw had little in common with the American counterpart other than the cabbage and was hot enough to start my nose running.  Very refreshing and opened the palate to enjoy the flavor of the pork, which was incredibly savory.  It was also among the most tender pieces of pork I’ve ever encountered.

All in all a good experience, even a delay in getting home to eat it.  Arepa City has earned a spot on my gluten free dining list.  Go out and give it a try.

You can view the full menu and see pictures of the inside of the restaurant here:

http://arepacity.com/Arepa-City-Harrisburg-Venezuela-Restaurant-Menu.php

What Do You Listen To While Gardening?

1st April, 2010 - Posted by Scott - No Comments

Last week while transplanting my brambles I was able to relax and enjoy nature’s music: birds chirping as spring descends, the stream swollen from the recent rains rushing along the banks, and carpenter bees buzzing among the first flowers.  With the first day of trout season opening this weekend, today was not nearly as enjoyable, or quiet.  Numerous trucks and their inhabitants were cruising up and down the road scoping out parking spaces and deciding where to fish.  Wanting to have something better to listen to than the rumble of V-8s, I grabbed my iPod before heading into the yard.

It wasn’t until I became an iPod owner that I discovered independent media via podcasts.  Now I’m hooked and listen to those more often than my regular music.  Lately, I’ve been listening to a variety of Celtic music programs.  Particularly Marc Gunn’s Irish & Celtic Music Podcast.  He offers up such a fun collection of music across the range of Celtic inspirations.  What keeps bringing to this show is that his music selections, regardless of the genre, all have a similar feel and makes it all flow together nicely.  The audio quality and presentation of the later episodes (2009+) are markedly better than 2008 and earlier, but all are still great so give a listen.

If you like this type of music, other recommendations include, that I listen to, are:

The Cleveland Celtic Podcast
Paddy-Whacked Radio
The 67 Music Celtic Broadcast
Foot Stompin Free Scottish Music Podcast

And there is the question presented in the title: What do you listen to while gardening?

Chipotle Allergen Information

24th March, 2010 - Posted by Scott - No Comments

Chipotle is a restaurant that I used to frequent regularly in my pre-Celiac days.  The quality of the food was always top notch and, though more expensive than fast food, offered a good value for the money for a lower price than a sit down chain restaurant.  As Spring dawns and we are spending more time out with the children, has sent me looking for more food options other than packing my own.

I was delighted to find out how many options they have for someone who has any allergies.  Information found elsewhere says they are very understanding about people with dietary issues and will gladly change gloves to minimize the risk of cross contamination.  For Celiacs and folks on gluten-free diets, everything but the flour burritos are safe.  We have a pretty fair run of the menu.

Here is a direct link to the allergen card, which will open in a new window.  You will need a PDF reader to view it.

www.chipotle.com/Chipotle_Allergen_Card.pdf

Vacuuming the Strawberry Patch Clean

22nd March, 2010 - Posted by Scott - No Comments

Yes, that is yours truly standing among the heavily mulched strawberries with a shop vac.  What isn’t obvious is why: the several pounds of gravel that was tossed into the bed by the snow plows.  In past years we might find a few stones or a chunk of asphalt tossed into the front yard, but this year was much different.

Shortly before winter came, PennDot tarred and chipped our road in an effort to resurface without laying a completely new road surface.  It was effective until the unprecedented storms that came through this year.  Every plow pass tore up a little bit more which wound up in the yard.

As the snow began to melt I had a nagging feeling that I should get out and shovel off as much of the gravel tainted snow from the beds, but as with most of my efforts, those thoughts turned into action a few days too late and I was greeted by a mess of stone and straw.  Pulling off the straw in sheafs was an impossibility; the stones poured through it like water through a sieve.  Taking my wife’s audible musing, “I wonder if the shop vac will work?” to mind, I was pleasantly surprised that it did.

However, it is no quick feat.  The dust from the stones and the dirt clogs the filter after a few minutes and the straw will occasionally get stuck in the nozzle, but it picks up mostly the gravel and left a fairly clean surface.  The lesson learned? Don’t be afraid to take power tools to your garden to get the job done.

Transplanting Brambles

20th March, 2010 - Posted by Scott - No Comments

Though the picture isn’t much to look at, that is one of the 7 blackberry canes I transplanted earlier this week. They are part of my Phase I permaculture implementation.  Besides providing habitat and food, it will eventually form a hedge along the eastern edge of the property to help keep the fisherman out of our yard as they walk to the stream.  Should another serious flood occur, they will bear the brunt of the damage and debris coming into the yard.

It has been a nearly a year to get them to this point.  Using directions I looked up on the web last year, I dug out all the first year sucker canes in early April, just as they were coming into leaf.  This was a few weeks late, as Mid-March is about right.

When getting them out of the ground care was taken to preserve as much of the root stem as possible.  I potted each one in it’s own 1 gallon pot with my preferred potting medium: straight Organic Endeavors compost.  Placed in the side yard they received limited full sun and set leaves well through the summer.  No special care was given to get them through the winter and they remained there.  The heavy snowfall Pennsylvania received this year served as good insulation.

As I pulled the pots up for transfer, the roots had snaked out and into the ground around them.  A bit of work was required to loosen them and minimize damage but was promising for my transplant success.  Tossing them in the wheelbarrow and grabbing a digging spade, my little lovelies and I headed to the field.

The warmed, moist soil made digging easy on the warm spring afternoon.  Each hole was prepared and planted individually, with the compost and plant going in together and topped off with the extracted dirt.  These were allowed to settle into the picture you see above.  A few days later they will get a top dressing of a few more inches of compost and a layer of mulch.  What will be used for mulch is up in the air at the moment, but I am thinking leaf mold from beneath the maple or some shredded newsprint.

Potting brambles for transplant provided older canes with well established root systems.  The process was simple and didn’t take too much time.  Though still too early to tell if they will flourish, I have good expectations that they will.

The next stage in this experiment is to transplant freshly dug canes into the field.  I have a few dozen that need to come out of my wife’s flower bed.

My Permaculture Design, Phase I

18th March, 2010 - Posted by Scott - No Comments

In a couple of weeks I will begin my Permaculture Design Certification class.  To get ready I am re-reading Bill Mollison’s Permaculture: A Designers’ Manual and have started reading David Holmgren’s Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability.  It’s a great reason to start designing.

We do not intend to live here for more than a few more years.  However, in the interest of continuing my education, I want to begin applying the principles and techniques. This will also provide more food from our garden should our move be delayed.

Below are some sketches I put together while planning the initial round of improvements.  If you have an interest in Permaculture, please leave comments.  I will also answer any questions as best I can.

The first image is a profile of the valley I live in.

To the north is a mountain that rises several hundred feet above my home’s elevation.  Storms usually break over it when coming down from the north, shielding us from the heaviest rain.  However, most of the rain that does make it over the mountain passes through our yard on the way to the stream.

To the south is a wooded ridge that blocks much of the southern sun exposure.  Between the home and ridge is a dam fed, trout stocked, stream. The main road is in front of the house.

Legend:

I,II,III,IV are my Zones.  G/H Garage and House.  PB is a Pole Building.  The Dots/Circles Dots/Double Circles are trees.
Dotted lines divide zones II,III,IV.  The dots to the NE represent a hill of wild strawberries already on the property.  All the black marks are what are currently on the property.  Gray Xs are what I intend to put in.  Gray SW to NE lines (barely visible) are for the area that floods. Circles C are compost bins.

Wind(1) and Wind(2). These are the directions the winds come onto our property.  Because of the ridge, mountain, and tree coverage, very rarely do winds whip in from the north or south.  Instead, it comes in along the road.  1 comes in heading east and causes some disturbance to the front yard, but not much. 2 is the real killer.  There is a curve in the road just past the Eastern edge of the property, causing the Westerly wind to cut directly through the protection of the trees and pound into the Eastern side of the house.

This is my yard as it stands.  This is a rough picture, not to scale, with some trees placed in ad hoc at the moment until I can trek through the snow and get the measurements needed for something more accurate.

Zone I to the west of the house is also the leach field for the septic tank.  This limits any plantings in the soil, but it gets a nice mid-day sun and serves as my nursery/hardening off area.  Zone I in front of the house is the kitchen garden with onions, tomatoes, peas, greens, cucumbers.  The westerly half size bed is a strawberry patch filled with everbearing and day-neutral strawberries.  This mix gives great strawberries from the last to the first frost fairly consistently.

The field to the North of Zone II has been a bit of a problem over the past few years.  The bushes that edge it along the road are forsythia and lilac.  They hold in the summer humidity and have caused quite a few problems with pests, fungus, and disease.  This will no longer be used for planting, but perhaps to hold the chicken tractor or an outdoor grill.

The large tree is a well established maple with mostly bare ground and leaf litter underneath.

The zones for III and IV may seem rather rigidly defined but this does correspond to the way the yard floods.  If there is runoff from down the mountain, it will pool in IV roughly along those lines.  If the stream floods and cuts through the yard, III is very rarely hit, the rest washes through PB, around the trees, and exits off the SE corner of the house.

Plantings for Phase I (2010):

Under the large tree (maple) to the SW of PB, where the 4 Xs are, I want to plant blueberries along the drip line, possibly comfrey underneath as a ground cover, and a border of basil.

Along the eastern edge of the yard, in that long straight line, is for blackberries.  This is to limit debris passing through the yard if the stream leaves its banks, to guide fishermen down to the stream without wandering through the yard (they like to enter on the NE corner of the property but will roam if given a chance), create additional habitat, and begin inviting more pollinators into the yard.

Finally, along the SE edge of II and out along the bottom of IV, will go some Pawpaw trees.  Mostly, I’ve wanted to grow them for ages but also to reinforce the river bank. This edge is currently protected by a retaining wall, but I don’t know how long it will last.  In a good heavy rain there are indications of some undercutting and several of the retaining wall logs have been shifted.

That covers everything for now.

Do You Have a Good Cornbread Recipe?

16th March, 2010 - Posted by Scott - 1 Comment

After trying quite a few different cornbread recipes, I’m coming up empty.  I’ve tried varieties that include toasting the cornmeal, using buttermilk, and blends of flours including substituting masa harina for the cornmeal.  It has been baked in a stainless steel skillet, cast iron, and in an Emile Henry 30cm pie dish.  None of them have been worthwhile.  The flavors and texture have all left something to be desired.

So, dear readers, what is your suggestion for a good cornbread recipe?  And, it should be gluten free.

Samuel Adams to Produce a Gluten Free Beer? Not Yet…

14th March, 2010 - Posted by Scott - 3 Comments

Samuel Adams was my go to beer for years before my Celiac diagnosis.  Wanting to enjoy those unique flavors, I wrote to the folks at the Boston Beer Company to see if they had anything in the pipeline.  Here is the response:

Thank you for getting in touch with us about making a Samuel Adams gluten-free beer.  We are sorry to hear about your condition and that it prevents you from enjoying so many foods, especially Samuel Adams.

Right now, we make only traditional brewed beers, which naturally contain gluten.  We have asked our brewers to look into gluten-free beer and see whether this is something that would make sense for us to pursue.

Thank you again for letting us know about the need for gluten-free beers.

Cheers,

Todd Bellomy
Consumer Relations Representative
The Boston Beer Company
www.samueladams.com

If you have an interest in seeing a Gluten-Free Sam Adams on the market, contact them and let them know there is an interest.