Food = Art

I've been a fan of Baltimore's own Chef Chad Wells, Executive Chef at Alewife, since I heard he was sauteing snakeheads in an attempt to eradicate the invasive fish and working with the Department of Natural Resources to promote menu items centered around local seafood species. Turns out his sustainable initiatives aren't limited to the sea.

Earlier this month, Chef Wells teamed up with Joe Squared at Power Plant Live to host a "Campfire Dinner" in conjunction with the new monthly event promoting local talent called Food = Art. The inspiration for January's event was to take people camping by using food you can kill yourself - all cooked in a way that can be duplicated deep in the woods - with limited local ingredients, cast iron pans, smoke and fire. And boy did they pull it off!

The constant-campfire vibe of the event, which included an all-evening performance of folky, old-timey, American awesomeness from The Manly Deeds, was authenticated with each family-style entree arriving in foil and with a single utensil per diner - a fork. If that weren't enough, several people at our table were involved with the meal on a personal level. Mike Naylor, the DNR's Chief of Shellfish Programs, foraged the morels that accompanied the trout dish. Austin Murphy, Pro-Staffer for Whackfactor Outdoors, "harvested" the main ingredient in the venison stew in Flint Hill, Virginia.

So in case you haven't heard: wild game dinners are the new black. Here is the full menu for those of you anxious to recreate the deliciousness with your own circle of hunter-gatherers:

Hot Mulled Cider, Honey Comb Infused Bourbon

Hickory Smoked Trout, Pan Fried Wild Morels, Roasted Beets

Wild Duck Cast Iron Mac and Cheese, Two-year aged Grafton Cheddar, Grana Padano, Duck Confit

Fire Roasted Quail, Sweet Potato, Chorizo and Granny Smith Apple Stuffing, Smoked Pork Belly BBQ Baked Beans

Venison Stew, Dutch Oven Chipotle Corn Bread

Smore Dessert, Graham Cracker, Dark Chocolate, Marshmallow, Candied Bacon

To keep up with Food = Art events, 'like' them on Facebook. Most photos displayed in this post, with the exception of a few, are from the artistic view of Sean Scheidt See more of his images from the event here.

Turkey Shortage in Maryland

Rex Lisman, Flickr

Uh oh, loca-omnivores. The Washington Post is reporting a turkey shortage in Maryland. In a way, this is good news because it verifies residents interest in supporting local farmers. But on the other hand, for those of you who have not yet started gathering the goods for your feast, it could lead to a side dish of feedlot remorse.

Act fast and you may still be able to procure a Maryland turkey via Maryland's Best. And keep in mind, you could always off-set the footprint of your chosen meat by serving up produce from a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), most of which still have winter shares available.

For more suggestions on the meat of your feast, read last year's eco-Thanksgiving tips in Turkey, Tofu or Pheasant?

Invasivore > Vegetarian

It's no secret that becoming a vegetarian is one of the best things you can do for the environment. Take it a step further and aim to eat local, in-season produce and you may just get a personal thank you note from Mother Earth. Take it several steps further and you may find yourself stepping outside the vegetarian menu and into a growing culinary trend: eating invasive species.

Thanks to some courageous Baltimore chefs, the option to eat invasive may be coming to a restaurant near you.

Last week, I sat down with 49 other adventurous and environmentally conscious eaters who entered their names into a raffle in hopes to win a seat at Alewife Baltimore's Snakehead Fish dinner. The dinner consisted of four courses centered around the invasive snakehead fish. Chef Joe Edwardsen of Joe Squared, Chef Dave Newman of Brewer's Art, Alewife Executive Chef Chad Wells, and Alewife's Grace Gonzalez each contributed a dish. As you look at their delicious, inspired twists on the fish, consider the fact that consuming these critters helps protect native aquatic life.


Chef Joe Edwardsen's Smoked Snakehead Risotto with Arugula



Chef Dave Newman's Tempura Snakehead and Green Papaya Salad
with Peanuts, Spicy Ginger Aioli and Yuzu Scallion Vinaigrette



Chef Chad Wells' Grilled Snakehead, Chimichurri, Blistered Tomato
Chipotle Mecco Salsa with Black Bean Croquette, Micro Salad,
Orange Cumin Vinaigrette

Grace Gonzalez' Coconut Mousse with Caramel Ginger Sauce,
Tropical Fruit Salsa and Candied Snakehead Skin

As always, the saying goes: Everything in moderation - including moderation. Few human beings can completely restrict their diets to local produce and invasive species alone. Life gets busy, the joy of cooking relegated to holidays and Sundays, we have children with nutritional needs paramount to our ideals, and the organic market closes before you can say, "Is it September already?!" So think of it like this: When given the opportunity to do the best possible thing for the environment, seize the snakehead!

Adventures in Local Eating

This week, thoughtful Marylanders participating in the Buy Local Challenge have been flocking to farmers markets and produce stands. While we here at Just Saying have purchased plenty of local produce since the challenge began on July 23rd, we've also had the pleasure of enjoying our very own locally grown produce harvested from the University of Maryland's Public Health Garden.

Thanks to Mother Nature and the hard work of our partners at the garden and dozens of volunteers throughout the growing season, the Public Health Gardeners harvested several pounds of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, beans, and peppers just before dinner time last night. As always, we sent lots of produce home with volunteers, but this time we held on to several pounds of tomatoes and beans and headed to Baltimore City for an extraordinary adventure in local eating and cooking at a restaurant near and dear to our hearts: Alewife.

Alewife has been in the news recently thanks to a brilliant environmentally-sound endeavor by Chef Chad Wells: serving invasive snakehead fish. If you haven't read about it yet, do so here and here. While we hoped to sample some snakehead ceviche, Wells explained that the fish are currently nesting and spawning in shallow, marshy waters which are out of reach of commercial fisherman.

Previously, the snakehead bycatch had been killed and discarded. Thanks to Steve Vilnit, a fisheries official with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and John Rorapaugh of ProFish, Wells is hopeful that snakeheads will be popping up on local menus and the radar of environmentally-conscious eaters within a few months.

Humbled yet excited by all the press, Wells credits Vilnit for the idea of putting invasive species, specifically the Blue Catfish he recommended to us in place of the snakehead, on the Alewife menu. After engaging our inquiries about sustainable seafood, food safety, local markets and food policy, Wells agreed to create a few one-of-a-kind appetizers (just for us) with the produce from the Public Health Garden and we put in our order for the Blue Catfish Tacos (pictured).

What came out of the kitchen from that point forward was pure, delicious joy. For full details of our unique meal, stay tuned to our sister blog: Adventures in Container Gardening and Local Eating.

New Web Series: Foodies

The new series from the creative mind of Japhy Grant will begin mocking self-proclaimed "culinary enthusiasts" on March 9th. Too funny. Read all about it on Eater.

"New to Me" Foods

Encountered at truck stops and candy shops in and around South Carolina:

What's that? The first one? It's Mac n' Cheese pizza. Yep. And I know, I know... If I were a true locavore the crickets and larvae would be a welcome snack but none of these struck my fancy. I think I'll wait and see what the city of Charleston has to offer instead.

"The Food Movement, Rising"

A new essay from Michael Pollan in The New York Review of Books takes a look at the food revolution taking place - whether it's completely recognized yet or not - here in America. Pollan discusses everything from Michelle Obama's efforts to food safety and industry and how books published in the past decade (by other faves like J.S. Foer, Eric Schlosser, Marion Nestle, Joel Salatin, etc) along with growing support from national environmental and health organizations most definitely suggests a culture ripe and ready to get "beyond the barcode." 

If you take the time to go beyond JustSaying's summary and read the whole article just one time, let this be it. Find The Food Movement, Rising here.

More Market Photos

The adorable child (who will likely captivate readers more than even the most controversial topics discussed here on JustSaying) is my niece, Charlotte Anne. She too was produced locally.

New Farmers' Market: Downtown Baltimore

Every Tuesday between now and October, from 10:30am to 2:30pm, local farmers will be selling fresh veggies, fruit, cheese, eggs and more along the Paca Street sidewalk in the park in front of the University of Maryland Medical Center. This is great news for the many employees at the center and for residents in the area who otherwise would have to make the trip across town on Sunday mornings before noon. Bay & Environment blogger for The Baltimore Sun, Tim Wheeler, reports:

The medical center, University of Maryland Baltimore and the local community have teamed up to bring fresh, locally grown food to the workers, patients, visitors and residents of that busy corner of downtown. Local food reduces the energy and air pollution caused by long-distance transportation, according to advocates, and the types of food offered are generally pretty healthy.

Loca-what?

Locasexual. That's right. A concept and term so hip and so green that the Urban Dictionary hasn't even defined it yet. In Barron YoungSmith's latest article in Slate, Date Local: The case against long-distance relationships, he makes an interesting observation about and those folks on the green scene in long distance relationships whose romantic travels can be emitting a lot more greenhouse gas than the average American.

Through a series of calculations about San Fransisco to DC love, NYC to DC love, and all the single people over the age of 17 who may be in long distance relationships, YoungSmith sort of backs up his statement that, for the first example, "...breaking up would be about 10 times better for the environment than going vegetarian."

It's a fun and clever article that, I assume, is intended to poke fun at the local food movement. From the article:

"Date Local's message is a simple one, in the best traditions of liberal reform. All you have to do is date here. Date now. Date sustainably. And if you absolutely have to date long-distance, do it via Amtrak."

Livin' off the land

About a month ago I posted this article hailing hunters as the original locavores and in the following weeks the topic has came up in a few dinner conversations (mainly those that took place among taxidermy ducks). Just recently, I've come across this article in Slate discussing Sarah Palin's hunting habits not as Cheney's "canned hunts on private game reserves," but as a nod to self-reliant, traditional, living-off-the-land locavorism and what that may mean to folks against animal cruelty (think feed lots and CNN videos), voters, and sustainability.

It's an interesting read - especially if you don't know a whole lot about hunting - so definitely check it out.

Illustration by Rob Donnelly for Slate.

Thin line between commercial and agricultural

An article in The Post today has really got my wheels turning. In Baltimore County, Md., dairy farmer Bobby Prigel, like so many other small farmers, is struggling to keep his farm in operation. Instead of shipping his milk out of state he'd like to build an organic creamery and sell his products locally - but neighbors and preservationists aren't happy about it. They don't want the rural landscape spoiled and argue that making butter, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream isn't farming, it's manufacturing. Perhaps, but I say it's innovative, not to mention a positive step towards farmers taking back a big portion of the profits that "processors" are making.

The concerns of the preservationists - from water use and paving to the possibility of the small production facility turning into a factory - are understandable but I'm sort of leaning towards the big picture. The Pollan-esque picture. A place where Sparks, Md., farmer David Smith wouldn't be locked in a two-year battle with neighbors over his proposal to open up a retail shop in order to sell his pasture-raised meat. A place where pasture-raised meat is the norm... and where happy cows get to watch their milk turn into delicious ice cream... sigh...

Keep building the market and processing facility, Prigel.

Okay... that's enough from me. The article is a must-read: The Churning Point.

Learning from the "vegetannual"

As you know, I've been enjoying Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle this late summer/early fall and the further I get into the family's journey of through a year of eating only local, sustainable food, I'm having a harder and harder time shopping in a conventional grocer. Just yesterday I ran into the local supermarket for some TP and paper towels and thought, "Hmm... I am out of apples... I'm sure they've got some fairly local ones..." Not quite. The apples I found in the organic section... ugh... I couldn't bring myself to purchase them. Why, you ask? Because they were from New Zealand. New Zealand! Really?

Granted, I know Australia and New Zealand are leaders in the organic and biodynamic farming fields, I was just surprised (yet again) that so many of these supermarket chains continue to ship in these varieties bred to survive travel and provide little in terms of taste and nutrients when there are certainly plenty more local resources.

So... as I looked around and saw asparagus, spinach, pineapples, lettuce, sugar cane and every other product of a plant you can imagine I was reminded of "The Vegetannual" that Kingsolver uses as a guide to lead those of us who are, eh hem, agriculturally-challenged, through the growing season. So many of us have grown so used to picking up a bunch of bananas at the grocer we don't even consider the fact that they have traveled far and wide so that consumers worldwide can enjoy some tasty potassium anytime they please. It's rather greedy of us to expect to have this vast selection year-round, don't you think?

So I departed the shop with my paper goods and drove over to this wonderful stand at the intersection of Route 99 and Bethany Lane, where I found some delicious peaches that offer a unique pinch of pucker with their sweetness. Perhaps I have persuaded you to visit a local farmers market and stick to what is in season right now? Here's what you can expect to find:

Sweet corn
Cucumbers
Garlic
Onions
Herbs
Peppers
Potatoes
Summer squashes
Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Eggplant
Melons
Watermelons
Apples
Peaches
Raspberries
Blackberries
Pears

This is a great time of year for shopping your local farmers market. Admit it, that is a pretty tasty selection listed above!