Catnip Cigars

I had a bumper crop of catnip this year. The plants were watered more than in previous years, because I had moved them up onto a new raised bed we had put into the back yard. Take a look at those big, lush leaves!

These are the cuttings from two plants one week. After another three weeks, I would get another harvest like that.


I have to grow the catnip in a cage to protect the plants from neighborhood cats who are drawn to its delights. The first year I tried growing it in pots set out on the ground, I'd come out to find them mauled out of all recognition.

I grow catnip so that I can make catnip cigars from my sister Ann's 3 cats for Christmas.  Ann makes homemade dog biscuits for our little doggie, so all the family animals are well gifted on Christmas morning.

This year's stogies are jam-packed with "product." As I was sitting down with a big pile of the dried leafy stuff in front of me, portioning it into three smaller piles, I couldn't help but think back a few decades to another time... I swear: you just never know which skills will turn out to be transferable!

Garbage Day

It's garbage day in my neighborhood. When I look at the castoffs from my neighbor's lives, and also how they cast things off, I can see a little bit about where they are in their lives, what they value, and, especially,  what kind of care they take of the environment.

My town is a town of well-meaning people. Pretty much everybody you meet says they care about the environment. After all, it's Berkeley.

 
But when you look at the garbage they put out on the curb on garbage day, you sometimes get a different story.

This can, for instance, has corrugated cardboard and paper peaking out of the top. I've also seen aluminum cans and glass in the garbage. What's the deal?


Are people unaware of what can be recycled? Have people been too "busy" to build new habits?

The City of Berkeley has a Zero Waste Commission (formerly known as the Solid Waste Commission) and a target of reaching the goal of complete recycling by the year 2020. That's 10 years from now.

We've got a serious disconnect going on and not a lot of time to close it.

Why I eat fish

1. I am an omnivore, and I fit into a food chain.
2. I work full time, and I don't want to spend my weekend time seeking out the good livestock farmers who treat their animals humanely.
3. I like fishing, and I have killed fish to eat them. (Yes, of course, I've also caught and released fish.)

One day, when I am retired, I may revisit this. I will have more time to meet farmers and also to see firsthand what deepsea fishing is all about. I'm sure it is a world away from fresh water stream fishing.

But, this is where my eating choice comes from.

Let me also say that the fish I am eating is environmentally sustainable. I have found a fishmonger (Monterey Fish Market) who follows these practices--indeed the owner wrote the book on it: Fish Forever.

About the bread, and grains generally

I meant to mention the bread when wrote that post. I use Mark Bittman's Fast No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread recipe. In my experience, it doesn't make an incredibly high loaf, but I'm using it for stuffing, so I don't care terribly for looks. It has good flavor, is moist, and doubles well.

This is a picture of the bread slices drying so I can make them into crumbs for the dressing.

Now, about grains. The first year I tried the 100-mile challenge, I didn't have a source of local grain other than rice. I had to use nuts for the pie crusts, and we had a rice-based dressing. Not the end of the world, but also not the family favorite. At a Christmas party that year, I was talking about the search I'd done for local grain and a friend and work colleague mentioned a CSA she knew about that was strictly for grains! This sounded perfect for me.

The CSA supported Windborne Farm, and the farmer Jennifer Greene, in Covelo, CA. I signed up in January 2008. Roughly once a month, we got a bag of various whole grains, including wheat, rye, barley, and corn meal. Greene would also send blends like pancake mix and hot cereal mix, as well as unusual grains like teff and millet. The assortment varied from month to month.

Unfortunately (for me), the business model has ceased to work for Greene, and earlier this year, she wrote to all of us that she needed to diversify into a more general farming operation and focus her distribution closer to her immediate area.

When I got her message, I thought of my Thanksgiving meal and saved the wheat and rye flours and corn meal I had.

So, now I have a year to find another local source or get used to the idea of that rice dressing.

100-Mile Thanksgiving

Since 2007, we've been having a 100-mile Thanksgiving at our house, an idea I got after reading Plenty. Basically, you design the menu around foods that are available from farmers, fishermen, beekeepers, and so on, within 100 miles of where you live. If you are having out-of-town guests at your table, you can invite them to bring some ingredients from their area, which extends your possibilities.

It's a fun challenge, and because I live in Northern California, where we have a vibrant farmers' market year round, I figured I had no excuse not to try it.

You end up being able to give thanks for the bounty of your own land, so to speak. I have to think this is the real spirit of Thanksgiving.

So, here's my menu for this year. It reflects another change we made this year, away from meat (other than fish), which came after reading Omnivore's Dilemma.

Pre-Dinner Tastings:
Corn and Black Pepper Crackers (I substitute local honey for the sugar.)
Spring Hill Garlic Cheddar
Spring Hill Smoked Yellow Cheddar

Dinner:
Rock Fish, caught off Fort Bragg, stuffed (stuffing recipe below)
Crab and Cornmeal Stew (I froze local red peppers and tomatoes in July when they were in season.)
Ginger Orange Pomegranate RelishThis is in our stand-in for cranberries. Yum!
Sweet Potatoes and Orange Juice from Joy of Cooking I can't get oranges, but I can get Satsuma tangerines.
French fingerling potatoes baked in parchment with fresh rosemary
Green salad--I'm not sure of the details on this, because a guest is bringing it.
Green vegetable--same story.

Dessert:
Pumpkin pie, from pumpkin I grew in my front yard!
Honey Walnut-Fruit Tart I'm using an ordinary pie crust, not a matzo meal crust.
I'll have whipped cream and also Three Twins Vanilla Ice Cream for toppings.

Beverages:
Another guest is bringing local wine.
I have on hand Calestoga spring water and also some excellent local Gravenstein apple cider.

I promised the recipe for stuffing, and I can actually point to my pumpkin pie and pie crust recipes as well, which recently got published by a French site. The recipes are on page 5 of the issue.

Savory Stuffing

1 egg, beaten
1/4 t. thyme
1/2 t. dill seed
2 T. parsley
1/4 t. salt
dash pepper
1/2 c. butter, melted
3 T. finely chopped onion
2 T. hot water
3 c. bread crumbs
(my mom's recipe calls for white bread, but I'm now making this with whole grain, because I have to bake it from local wheat.)

Combine egg, thyme, dill, parsley, salt, pepper in large bowl. Mix well. In hot butter, saute onion until golden, about 5 minutes. To seasoning, add onion-butter mixture, hot water, and crumbs, tossing lightly to mix well. Stuff the fish (or turkey) and cook according to instructions.