Food Revival

If you live in Birmingham, Alabama and you haven't heard of West End Community Gardens, I am so pleased to introduce y'all. I am so proud to be connected to these wonderful folks and of the work they are doing in West End.

West End Community Gardens (affectionately known as WE Community Gardens) is a project of Urban Ministry, Inc and Community Church Without Walls. Forgive the formality, but I think it is important to understand how all of the work is connected. Urban Ministry, Inc., is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization that has continued to meet the needs of residents in Birmingham since its founding in 1976. In 2008, building on its foundation as a strong community-based organization in West End and recognizing the lack of access to fresh and healthy foods, Urban Ministry partnered with Community Church Without Walls, a mission-based, United Methodist church that meets in the homes of its members, to create WE Community Gardens.  In a short period of time, WE Community Gardens (which is fully organic) has made a huge impact:

• 16 families had 4’x8’ community garden plots, all of which provided fresh and healthy produce to the childrens' families from Urban Ministry’s after school program and learned to garden and prepare healthy food grown in the youth garden area
• Hundreds of community residents participated in educational and nutritional classes once a month
• Juvenile offenders were able to learn about gardening and healthy eating habits thanks to an innovative program that allowed them to fulfill their court ordered community service while working in the Gardens.

But, the future is even brighter. In May 2010, Urban Ministry will start and staff a curb market in West End, meant to encourage youth engagement while offering produce from WE Community Gardens to the larger West End community.You will also see West End Community Gardens at Pepper Place Market each Saturday morning. Ama Shambulia, WE Community Gardens Program Director, will continue her educational and nutritional classes in an effort called "3 Days, 3 Ways," which will introduce one seasonal item and the budget-friendly solutions to each week's menu.

To support all of these efforts, Cafe Dupont will host a fundraiser banquet on Saturday, March 20th from 6-9 pm with proceeds benefiting the Gardens. Ingredients will be sourced locally and by Whole Foods Market. Tickets are $125 per person, $225 per couple and you are encouraged to purchase online:www.communitychurchwithoutwalls.com. Simply click on “give” at the top of the page and then send an email to rglyons@gmail.com indicating your gift is to reserve a spot at the banquet. Or send a check addressed to Community Church without Walls, 1229 Cotton Ave SW, Birmingham, AL 35211.

Please click on the following links to find out about all of the partners associated with this event:
Cafe Dupont
Community Church Without Walls
Urban Ministry, Inc
Whole Foods Market

Yes, times are tough and we are all overstretched, but I am renewed by the movement that is happening in Birmingham. I hope to spend some time with you over dinner March 20th...

Last week, I discovered a few new food websites and I'm so glad I did! Let's be honest, my Barefoot Contessa obsession along with the pounds of butter per recipe made me feel like I needed to lighten up a tad. But don't you worry, Barefoot. I'll be back very soon.

The first website I'm featuring is Fresh 365 created by Erin (in Boston) that celebrates vegetarian dishes.  The photography is great and after making the Vegetable Paella last night I can say that the food is good too. Lately, I've been cutting down my meat consumption in a major way. I tend to stick with the sustainably-raised meat from my friends at Sequatchie Cove Farm when I do partake, but all in all I'm including more vegetarian dishes each week. 

Back to the vegetable paella. So this recipe is simple as can be, totally filling, and has a little bit of a kick. Here's the recipe:

Vegetable Paella
adapted from Fresh 365 who adapted it from Bon Appétit . serves 4-6

2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 t paprika
2 c water
2 t salt
15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 large plum tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped (I used canned)
2 roasted red or yellow peppers, coarsely chopped
1/2 c chopped peeled carrots
6 canned artichoke hearts, quartered
1 c frozen peas
large handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 t crushed saffron threads
1/4 t cayenne pepper
2 c cooked grains (I used whole wheat rice pilaf)

In a large pot, heat olive oil, over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté, 5-7 minutes, until onions begin to brown. (I added the carrots too just to get them softer). Stir in paprika. Add water, salt, chickpeas, tomatoes (I used fire-roasted canned whole tomatoes), peppers (I roasted the red bell peppers before chopping them), artichoke and peas. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 8-10 minutes, until a bit of liquid evaporates (you want some juices, but not like soup). Stir in cilantro, saffron (this is beyond expensive, but worth it. Just buy it and use in as many dishes you can find. You won't be sorry) and cayenne, and cook 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over cooked grains (I used whole grain rice medley).

Next up? The chickpea noodle soup featured on Fresh 365's  homepage. 

Enjoy! 

Similar to Giada's "Bruschetta with Fontina and Greens," I decided to make my own bruschetta, but with parmesan instead. It really is super simple. First, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Slice a baguette (or any kind of bread you would like to use), arrange on a baking sheet, and toast your baguette slices until crisp. Then, rub a clove of garlic on each slice. Meanwhile, saute baby spinach in olive oil infused with chopped garlic. Top each baguette slice with the sauteed spinach, sprinkle of salt, and shredded parmesan cheese. Put the slices back in the oven until the cheese melts. See? Easy and Dizzzity Done.

I know, I know. It's been a while. Between my new job and training for a 5K, I've been a little overwhelmed. But don't you worry your little head because I've been cooking and documenting. Oh, and I'm sick. Like covered in blankets and coughing after every sentence kind of sick. With all of this time on my hands (something I'm not really equipped to deal with), I thought I might as well use this time wisely and update Food Revival. Let's talk food first.

A couple of weekends ago, I was watching Barefoot Contessa (SHOCKING, I know). She introduced me to a "Palmier." A palmi-who? That's right, a "palmier."

According to Wikipedia, a "palmier" is a Spanish or French puff pastry in a palm or butterfly shape. They are made from puff pastry and layered with either savory or sweet ingredients, rolled, sliced, and baked. As many of you can probably guess, I went the savory route and used Barefoot Contessa as my guide.

The process is sort of simple. Unfold a puff pastry sheet (Note to self: remember puff pastry is frozen. You need a couple of hours, so plan ahead). Roll out the pastry until it's about 9.5 x 11 inches. Brush your pastry dough with pesto (I had some leftover homemade pesto in the freezer). Then sprinkle with your favorite goat cheese (mine is always Belle Chevre). Then add some sundried tomatoes and toasted pine nuts. Easy enough, right?

Then do as Ina says: "Working from the short ends, fold each end halfway to the center. Then fold each side again towards the center until the folded edges almost touch. Fold one side over the other and press lightly." Cut off the ends and then slice the roll in 1/4 inch slices. I repeated the whole thing again with the other sheet of puff pastry and placed all of my slices on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. You can check out the full recipe here: Savory Palmiers.

To accompany my fancy palmiers, I created a Spinach Salad with fresh tangerine slices, Belle Chevre goat cheese, a little avocado, sprinkle of salt, and a light lemon vinaigrette. It was the perfect little bistro dinner during on an otherwise normal weeknight. Plus, now I can be a phone -a- friend should you ever need to answer a trivia question about Palmiers. Now, that's worth its weight in GOLD (or puff pastry for that matter).

Alright folks, I need to update you on my life. A lot has changed since the end of last year and even when I try to piece together how I got here, I'm still absolutely amazed at my incredible journey. As many of you know, Food Revival started off as a resource for the "eat local" movement in Birmingham, Alabama and when I lost my job at Cooking Light magazine back in December 2008, Food Revival became a creative outlet, my connection to the outside world, and where I would eventually uncover and rediscover some hidden passions. If you are just finding me, you can read about my journey by reading a piece I recently submitted to Pavo Magazine: "My Kitchen, My Sanctuary."

After a year of volunteering, learning, and freelancing last year, I began to see my journey move less in the direction of delicious recipes, but more in the direction of food for change. School Gardens, Childhood Obesity, Urban Farms, Farmers Markets, and southern culture seemed to keep rising to the top.

Here's what I knew last year: a group of super talented folks in Birmingham applied for a grant funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation called "Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities." And I knew that at some point– if Jefferson County was awarded the grant– they'd need someone to coordinate the grant. Well, the good news is Jefferson County did get the grant and I got the job. How CRAZY is that?

So here's what I'm doing:
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is investing $500 million with the hopes of reversing this country's childhood obesity epidemic by 2015. One of their many projects is the "Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities" grant that I mentioned earlier. There are 50 cities/sites that received the grant and all will be targeting improvements in local policies and our community environment—changes that research indicates could have the greatest impact on healthier eating, more active living and obesity prevention. Make sense? Okay, let's move on.

Why Jefferson County?

71% of Jefferson County Alabamians are either overweight or obese (7% higher than national average)

Percentage of overweight 3rd graders has increased from 12.8% in 2002-2003, 21.2% in 2006-2007, to 22.1% in 2008-2009.

There are 691 fast food restaurants compared to 345 grocery stores.

Rate of heart disease mortality is higher in Jefferson County compared to national average.

Mortality rate for diabetes is 33.8 deaths per 100,000 population.

I know, I know. Look, we got the grant for a reason, so we might as well face the facts. But as we face the facts, we can look ahead to the amazing possiblities ahead of us.

The United Way of Central Alabama will serve as the lead agency alongside an amazing network of partners: Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, Jefferson County Department of Health, Jones Valley Urban Farm, YMCA, Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, and Greater Birmingham Community Food Partners.  Over the next four years, we will receive close to $500,000 to accomplish our goals: $360,000 from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and $80,000 from Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, and $20,000 from the Jefferson County Department of Health.

Each partner and individual agency will be responsible for certain aspects of the grant, which will include: implementing policy changes and changes to the built environment that lead to better nutrition and more physical activity.

We've identified three communities to focus our efforts: East Lake, Homewood, and West End. We will conduct Community Healthy Living Index assessments in each community and then develop a four-year plan for making a change as determined by community residents.

In addition to all of this, we will also focus our efforts on creating an active and working FOOD POLICY group, conduct a FOOD ACCESS STUDY in Birmingham, assess and create ten thriving COMMUNITY GARDENS, create a BIKE TASK FORCE and host a bike summit, assess the need for "COMPLETE STREETS," and develop standards to incorporate nutritional snacks and meals as well as physical activity in our CHILD CARE CENTERS.

Sure, it is a lot and there will be many challenges, but I am here to tell you that having been in the thick of this project over the last month, I am absolutely overwhelmed by the amount of activity already happening across this county. Our universities, non-profits, and concerned community members are actively working on this county's childhood obesity epidemic. Moms, churches, and corporate folks are already asking how they can help. I'm here to tell you that MAJOR things are going to happen in Jefferson County and I am so thrilled that my Food Revival journey led me to this amazing opportunity. I will continue to write about food on this site, but I also hope to write about my work so that we can start sharing a healthy dialogue. Alabamians can access the information while many of the folks I follow on twitter and/or folks interested in this journey can chime in on best practices, things that have worked in your community, and just be a support for me as I get started.

I'm so proud to share all of this with each of you. Now, let's get to work!

Boy howdy, I'm behind. We are half way through January and I haven't even posted my Christmas dinner entries. I guess getting a new job and starting my 5K training program might have had something to do with it (more on that later).

Christmas 2009 needed to be extra good because we would be toasting to many things: a year of self-discovery for me, our totally successful wedding, a new job, Mama's unwavering support and help during the wedding planning, and love love love all around.

On my way out of town, I stopped at V Richards for some Nueske Bacon, truffle butter, and their multi-grain bread. Then I made my way to Whole Foods Market and picked up some essentials: delicious cheeses, olives, and my fresh, farm-raised, free-roaming, and antibiotic-free turkey.

Once in Columbus, we were bombarded with meals. Mike half-way jokes that he has to fast before going to  Mama's because he knows he has to make room for what is sure to come! Hysterical and totally true. We love to eat. And we do it very well, thank you very much.

So our turkey recipe was a Barefoot Contessa creation: lathered with truffle butter (this was my first experience with truffle butter and between you and me I'm definitely revisiting as soon as I can), chopped thyme, and stuffed with aromatics like onion and garlic. This turkey didn't have a chance. And if you do just like Ina says, I promise you will have a tender, juicy bird just like we did. No cooking in a a bag required. Just look at the photos and see for yourself.  You can check out the recipe by visiting her page on Food Network's website.

Accompanying dishes included a cranberry relish made with apples and fresh cranberries. Totally delicious. Roasted Brussels Sprouts tossed with Nueske Bacon and toasted walnuts. Delicious. Green Beans and Mama's Dressing, which might have been the best dressing she has ever made. Good dressing will make your head spin. And y'all, I made some gravy that will go down in the history books. It was so so good.

We finished it all off with Mike's MeMaw's Sour Cream Pound Cake (recipe will be posted later when we expand little 'ol Food Revival). We toasted each other: Mike's unwavering support and awesome husbandness and Mama's continued support and love for us. We are so blessed and the best part is that we absolutely know it, appreciate it, and honor it every single day.

Next year, I plan to do an all local Thanksgiving dinner here in Birmingham, so watch out!

I had the opportunity to FINALLY watch the movie, "Julie & Julia" over the holidays. I watched it with two of my biggest Food Revival supporters: My husband and my Mama. Ironically, I'm halfway through "My Life in France," so I figured it was perfect timing to go ahead and watch the movie everyone has either loved or hated. Honestly, I wasn't blown away by any means, but I did find myself entertained, hungry, itching to cook, and I even found some small similarities with my life.  If you aren't familiar with my personal story, let me recap quickly: Got interested in sustainable food, found Ina Garten, developed a website dedicated to food/recipes/local, got laid off from epicurean magazine, found solace and freedom in said website, cooked, ate, gained 15 lbs, lived in excess, cooked some more, ate some more, volunteered a lot, and here I am.

So as you can imagine, I could identify with many things in the movie (aside from the woe is me Julie part of things, the Julia in France part, and well... the entire movie so never mind what I just said). But, I did walk away from the movie with two very important realizations: A renewed appreciation for the woman who I find incredibly inspirational (not to mention how much her recipes have taught me): Ina Garten. I guess, in many ways, she is my Julia. Moreso, I felt a renewed appreciation and gratitude for the role Food Revival played in my life over the last year or so – acting as my refuge, a spot for creativity, and a place to land at the end of a very uncertain day or week.

Okay so I watched this movie and all I could think about was Ina. Not in a stalker kind of way, but in a truly gratitude kind of way. I mean, sure... there's the whole Food Network backlash going on right now and rightfully so, but back in the day (you know, before all of the personalities became marketing machines, producers, and brands of their own), the cooking shows served a great purpose in my life. Number one: I found a chef I could truly identify with (minus the whole Hamptons thing). Ina Garten was a welcoming face on my TV screen. Her show was totally approachable and every recipe I tried was absolutely delicious. And so it began: I made one, two, four, and now 20+ recipes of hers and I have never, ever been disappointed. Seriously.

I made many of her dishes for my now husband (worked like a charm). And now that I can layer flavors and have learned the basics and a few hints along the way, I'm whipping up some rather successful recipes of my own. All of our holidays are marked with at least one Ina dish.  Many of my amazing dinner dates, "Get Well" covered dishes, and Anniversary/Birthday celebrations? Yep, that would be Ina.  So in a sense, I totally get the premise of the movie, "Julie & Julia" – how someone can become such an important figure in your life (especially when you are talking food). I also think it is a good reminder to take a second and think about the folks who helped shape your culinary knowledge, inspired you, or created the kind of dishes that made you want to know more.

At the end of the day, I think you have to believe in yourself and take a chance – no matter how hard the recipe might be. Mostly, I think you should honor the folks and the dishes that have made an impact in your life. I've transformed my supper table by all of the things I've learned, successful dishes, and the culinary mishaps I've made.

Thanks, Ina.

In case you missed it, The New York Times recently printed a story about Southern Layer Cakes, "Festiveness, Stacked Up Southern Style." Now, if you grew up down South you will remember Layer Cakes at your Granny's house every holiday. Of course, there are plenty of folks who are continuing the tradition. Just look at the "Fans of Layer Cake" facebook page my friend Ms. Fussell created in the spirit of all things layered. So let it be known: Layer cakes are alive and well down here. In fact, I think that as we all begin questioning how we cook, what we serve our loved ones, and how we raise our food – well, I think the layer cake will find itself on the fast track back to our supper tables. Because if we find ourselves going back to our roots, we are gonna find ourselves mixing, baking, layering, and frosting. Caramel or Coconut? Lane or Lemon Cheese?

My first attempt at a layer cake was a Lemon Cheese Layer Cake. My Mom mentioned that she missed my Granny's version and looked high and low for the "right" recipe. Luckily, I received "The Gift of Southern Cooking" that same year and I found it!  I read it aloud to Mama and she screamed, "That's it!" So off I went to make it. First, there's no cheese to be found in this recipe, but you know... well, whatever. My Lemon Cheese Layer Cake last year was a complete success flavor-wise, but a disaster layer-wise. I had huge toothpicks holding it together for dear life. I said little prayers at night before bed that the cake would stay upright through the holidays. And it did. Sort of.

Fast forward and here I am browsing the "Fans of Layer Cake" facebook page and I find myself inspired again. This year I decided to do Ms. Edna Lewis's Caramel Layer Cake recipe (beyond delicious) and Caramel Glaze from "Southern Cakes." The cake was easy, but I had a little problem with one of the layers – it shifted a tad and came out a little lop sided. No worries, right? Um, well that all depends. We tried to level it off, but there was still a little bit of an angle to it. Nonetheless, I went ahead and glazed it with this amazingly (fast to harden) delicious caramel glaze. Sure enough it started sliding the minute we started icing the cake. Bottom line: Cake was delicious, but once again totally hideous looking.

Making layer cakes takes talent, artistry, and patience. It also takes work. But more importantly, it requires heart and tradition – something I think we should remember every now and then. That's why I'm busy planning my next attempt at a layer cake. Next time it's gonna stick! (Literally.)

Two months or so ago, my mom was in town visiting and helping me with all things wedding-related. Luckily, my Mama is so cool that she didn't blink an eye when I asked her to drop all things wedding and head with me to Cullman, Alabama to pick up 1/4 of a cow. A grass-fed, humanely-raised, and frozen 1/4 of a cow. In addition to reading all of my Food Revival posts and supporting me throughout all of my local food endeavors, my Mom also watched Food, Inc with me. As we drove down a long stretch of road  lined with cattle farms and chicken farms, my Mom gasped in amazement at all of the "Tyson" branded farms. All of a sudden she started quoting from the movie and snapping her fingers in z-like formation. Lawsy mercy, I was proud.

So, as we drove up Birdsong Community Farm's drive – I knew I had an ideal partner in crime (my Mama rocks the microphone). Okay, so out walks Joshua with bags of beef. Lots of it. My mom is still probably (deep down) wondering how in the heck we got here when we had hotel rooms to book, bags to stuff, and wedding details to finalize. Nonetheless, we spent some time with Josh as he walked us around some of their property and we talked about how to make availability a bit easier for us Birmingham city folks. Then we packed up our cooler(s) and headed an hour back to Birmingham to drop off equal parts to my split partners. I must admit, it was hard to figure out who gets what based on all of the different cuts, but it was all of our first time and we just figured it out as we went. 

Once home with my share, I immediately started mapping out the ways I would use it. Of course, I also had to keep in mind that there was NO need to eat THIS much red meat every week, so portion control was important too. The first dish happened to be spaghetti and I wasn't quite prepared for the strong taste of the beef. Once I got used to meat actually tasting like something, I was able to move forward with other dishes without getting completely freaked out.

Next dish? Lasagna with my ground beef and homemade pasta. Luckily, Mike and I received a homemade pasta maker as a wedding gift from said rockin' mama mentioned earlier in the post. Well, lookie here: A way to use the wedding gift and some of my newly purchased beef. Awesome. I followed the Pioneer Woman's pasta suggestions and even loosely based my homemade tomato sauce on the bolognese recipe posted after the pasta recipe.

And then today I made some Beef Stew with my stew meat from Birdsong Community Farm. The recipe was inspired by Barefoot Contessa's Parker's Beef Stew recipe.Of course, now that I'm getting used to this cooking thing, I am improvising and creating as I go. I need to start keeping better notes in 2010 so I can list the recipes that I come up with! And do you see that beautiful Le Creuset pot? Well that was a wedding gift from some amazing friends. I think 2010 will also be the year I try to incorporate my thoughtful gifts just as a note of thanks. Man, I'm happy. 

Enjoy!
xo,
A

 

If you haven't seen a copy of "The Blackberry Farm Cookbook," I highly suggest getting a copy for yourself or a loved one this holiday season. I don't know if it's because I've always dreamt of staying at Blackberry Farm or if it's because I've always loved the beauty of Appalachia, but this book is dreamy.  Yes, I dorked out and said "dreamy." There's simply no way around it.

My favorite part about the book is how it is broken down by seasons. VERY helpful for those of us in the same growing region, so a big thank you from Birmingham! Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my CSA this year but I was plain out of inspiration right around the eighth time I received another box of squash. So, next year I plan to follow author Sam Beall's recipes or at least use it as a guide before hitting the market. 

So if you are still looking for a beautiful yet totally useful gift this holiday season, stop by Barnes & Noble (Summit location) Tuesday, December 8 around noon and get Sam Beall to sign a copy for you. 

Me? I plan to drift far away in the kitchen and live vicariously through the cookbook's pages. Hey, a girl can dream! Plus, I'm not sure what is more appealing at this point: the beauty of Blackberry Farm or the Buttermilk-Brined Fried Chicken recipe. See? Even you were stumped for five seconds.

Birmingham: Don't forget to vote tomorrow (Tuesday, December 8) and then stop by B&N and get a signed copy of The Blackberry Farm Cookbook.  Or, see if you can score me a couple of nights on the grounds. I'd appreciate it...