This week really flew by! Remember when I used to post up to 5 times a week? Them days is over. A few too many irons in the fire now. I've been itching to talk to you about vegetables, though, and it's been too long since I shared a recipe. A couple of weeks ago, a friend told me he had been reading up on plant-based diets—books like The China Study and others by Dean Ornish, etc. But you're not interested in that, he said. He couldn't be more wrong. After reading books like this and this, I have come to understand that (non-factory-farmed) animal products are not the cause of high cholesterol and other health issues, but I do firmly believe that they should comprise a greatly reduced part of our diet. I think by now it's pretty clear to all of us that we should be eating mostly vegetables, fruits and some unprocessed grains, with small additions of high quality dairy, fish and meat products. Think of using them almost like seasoning, rather than as the centerpiece of your meal. With such a bounty of fresh produce now in season and available at farmers markets, there's no lack of inspiration if you want to start cooking more vegetable-based meals. Want a few cookbooks to help you along the path? Try this one, this one and this one.
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Fall is here—already. It's brought with it beautiful cool sleeping weather and that poignant quality, a tender melancholy. This is my favorite season, bittersweet and poised so precariously between the royal flush of summer and the dark abyss of winter. Time now to squeeze every last drop of warmth and sweetness from the world. In the garden, tomatoes, zucchini, basil and herbs are performing a glorious swan song. It's the perfect moment for one of these verrines, a French bistro staple that I learned about in the October issue of Food & Wine, which is dedicated to the new French classics. You're undoubtedly familiar with parfaits, those gorgeous layers of fruit, cream and frozen delights showcased so perfectly in clear footed glasses. Well, this is sort of a vegetable version of that. A fresh, chunky salad topped with a creamy layer of whipped mascarpone, and garnished with a crispy slice of prosciutto. It's an ideal lunch, or a lovely way to welcome guests for a casual dinner party.
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Vegetables are in the zeitgeist. Pro-vegetable articles are popping up all over, like this one and this one. It seems like some people—a vocal minority?—are really starting to embrace Michael Pollan's edict to "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Actually, I'm not so sure about the "not too much" part. We Americans are all about plenty; a surfeit, even. But look, a ton o' vegetables is still a whole lot healthier than a ton o' beef. And I think I'll just take this opportunity to say once more, and probably not for the last time, I loathe the non-word "veggies." As if somehow you're going to make them what, more palatable? more cute? more friendly? Please. Just do me the great favor of honoring them with their lovely and true name: vegetable. Anyhoo. Eating lots of vegetables is always pretty easy during the warm months, when fresh tomatoes and corn and summer squash and lettuces and herbs are so plentiful, but what about now, as the farmers markets begin to dwindle down to a more paltry selection of onions, squash and the like? I feel a teensy bit smug knowing that my freezer is stocked with bags of local blackberries, freshly shucked corn and homemade tomato sauce. We can easily pop into the grocery store for hydroponic greens and grapes from Chile, but I urge you not to abandon seasonal eating quite so readily. Look again: local cabbage, celeriac, sweet potatoes, leeks, carrots, rutabagas, garlic, kale, collards, beets, turnips. And of course, there are always dried grains and legumes like lentils, chickpeas, barley, wild rice, buckwheat groats (kasha, to you Jews out there), farro, quinoa, brown rice, polenta and all manner of pasta. As well as a slew of nuts, seeds and dried fruits and spices to zhush it all up. The reality is, once you stop thinking of animal protein as the center of every meal, a whole gorgeous world of possibility crops (no pun intended) up.
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It's here again: fall, the season of transition. It bridges the vast chasm between sultry summer and winter's austerity. Nature's gorgeous swan song, fall reaches a grand crescendo before its blazing colors are finally extinguished. The leaves have begun to turn, with bursts of ochre and russet punctuating the drive from country to city. I have always found this time of year especially poignant, for we are witnessing the demise of all that we saw come to life these past months. It is the natural order of things, and it is bittersweet. My dear friend, the talented illustrator and creative director Jan Richter, captures the intensity of fall's colors in these gorgeous illustrations of the season's glories.
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Fall is encroaching on our garden. Though we'll still be getting kale, chard, broccoli and collards for weeks to come (inshallah), the basil suddenly turned punky and the last tomatoes are hanging heavy on the vine. It was a banner year here in Eldred, and G's photos tell the story...

Scared you, didn't I? You thought this was going to be about some weird condiment made with offal. This chutney is definitely assertive in its own right, but it is strictly vegetarian. It is, however, from the original nose-to-tail chef, Fergus Henderson of St. John in London. I've never met Fergus, nor have I eaten in any of his restaurants, but I love the man. His seminal cookbook, Nose to Tail Eating: A Kind of British Cooking, is a window into his wonderfully warm, witty and ultimately quite sensible approach to food and life. (Did I mention he has Parkinsons?) You've never seen a less fussy cookbook. He doesn't get all bothered about quantities or times, but rather helps you to be an intuitive cook. Some choice phrases: "Do not be afraid of cooking, as your ingredients will know and misbehave." (As though an onion was a young horse feeling its oats!) Eating aoli "should be an emotional experience." And, with regard to this chutney, "There is nothing finer, after having a good stock up your sleeve, than having a reserve of chutney." I believe we've conquered the stock thing, and so are ready to proceed to this very British, quite rustic and highly addictive chutney.
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How I've missed you! Though the time seems to have passed in the blink of an eye. Sadly, I never made it back to the hammock. This has been one of the busiest summers on record for me. I've been working non-stop for weeks but I'm not going to bore you with my whining. I feel lucky to have so many great projects. And you? Did you laze about reading novels and popping ripe berries into your mouth? At least for a few days? I hope so. Herewith, a few highlights from the past six weeks, some of which I'll expound upon in greater detail in the days to come.

 

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The fruits of one's own garden just seem to taste sweeter. Our first patty pan squash, Japanese eggplants and scallions went on the grill, along with red carrots and sweet onions from the farm. With a radicchio salad in a creamy dressing, that was all we needed for dinner the other night. I made a dipping sauce for the vegetables with an earthy red miso and it truly was perfection. A grill can really change the way you eat, especially if you live in LA or some other temperate climate. As irresistible as that charred flavor can be, I want you to be aware that too much blackened food is not good for you. Burning food produces a group of substances (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) that are associated with cancer, cardiovascular toxicity and immune system suppression, among other adverse effects. So avoid extreme charring of your food, and don't eat from the grill every day. Moderation really is the key. (Except when it comes to exercise, of course.) But don't despair! You can use you grill to cook in a number of ways that don't involve charring but still infuse your food with that delicious smoky flavor. Low and slow, as in our pulled pork for instance, or indirect cooking, which really is the best way to do chicken or other foods that tend to burn quickly.
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Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome The Vegetables—making their first public appearance, still dewy and radiating the blush of youth! All the months of labor are paying off. The convergence of so many elements—sun, rain, nitrogen, compost, vigilance, love—has worked its wonderful alchemy. In a beautiful act of symmetry that I find rather awesome, the fruits of our toil go back into our bodies. I hope you enjoy this little photo gallery of vegetable portraits.

I've got so much to share with you! This is a very exciting time of year, as all sorts of things start to happen out in the garden. On Saturday—a sweltering, faux-summer day—we visited our local organic nursery, Silver Heights Farm, where they specialize in wonderful heirlooms and rare varieties. (They have a great website, and a booth at the farmers' market in NYC's Union Square.) We haven't gotten it together yet to start things from seed, and we are so spoiled by their incredible greenhouses fairly bursting with baby plants. G and I are like kids in a candy store, and we tend to overbuy. He took some beautiful pictures of the initial planting, mostly lettuces, a few peas, onions, shallots, cauliflower, broccoli, lots of kale and chicories, and fennel. Cucumbers, tomatoes, Japanese eggplant, tomatillos and summer squash will go in later. I'm also posting an in-progress shot of one end of the garden. You can see one of the places we are in the process of installing flagstone paths, as well as the area marked off for a new raised bed.
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