It's Easy Being Green

U.S. News and World Report had some interesting facts about the amount of corn being grown and used in food products these days.  According to the magazine, U.S. farmers harvested about 13-billion bushels of corn this year which is the largest harvest on record.  That’s great for the farmers and the government subsidies that were handed out to them to increase the corn production.  However, there’s new concerns that we’re intaking too much corn in our diets.

Because corn syrup is such an economical sweetener, it’s used in just about everything.  Some estimates suggest that close to 10% of our daily caloric intake comes from high-fructose corn syrup.  It’s said that the average American consumes 42 lbs. of the sweetener every year, most of that in the form of sugary soft drinks.   That breaks down into 76,000 calories a year, enough to feed some men for 29 days.  Sugar is just as bad but some health experts say if you just cut one sugary soda or flavored water, per day, out of your diet you would cut 10lbs. of fructose consumption.

The problem isn’t just soda though.  Most corn is diverted as a feed crop for our nation’s cattle.  Cows fatten quickly on the grain but the resulting meat is much higher in artery-clogging, saturated fats.  It’s another reason why consumers should look toward grass-fed beef.  Researchers have also discovered that cows raised on corn are more susceptible to contracting a deadly strain of the E-coli bacteria.

With corn now feeding the ethanol market and the price of the commodity on the rise again, many companies are finding ways to turn away from the use of corn.  Back in October, Heinz announced it would stop using high-fructose corn syrup as an additive in their ketchup products.  It’s a way to keep the price down.  But Heinz researchers are now tinkering with their company controlled tomato varieties, looking for the sweetest bunch.  Heinz says they evaluate 700 new tomato varieties every year.  Jones Soda Company has never used the sweetener, instead turning to pure cane sugar juice.  The Dr. Pepper plant in Dublin, Texas is still bottling the drink under the original recipe, using real sugar.  I think the taste is amazing and if you happen to run across some bottles, you should snag some and try it.  In fact, most of the sodas I’ve come to like use real sugar, like the Mexican Coca-Colas.

If you’re looking for a fun and interesting assortment of soda you can’t find at your local grocery store, check out one of my favorite stores, Pop the Soda Shop.  They’ve got a great selection of the rare and unusual!

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Spring can’t arrive soon enough here at the Half-Acre Homestead.  The first day of spring is March 20th, just two and a half weeks away but we’re already itching to get back out into our garden and get back to growing our own food.  One of the most missed garden items at the moment are those glowing orbs of goodness brought on by sunshine and warmth called tomatoes.

Some of the biggest tomatoes we've ever grown came off our Pink Brandywine plants that we bought at the Master Gardeners Spring Plant Sale. This is the type of tomato we miss in the winter doldrums.

Typically we just avoid buying store bough tomatoes altogether.  They’re horribly bland, watery and shipped in from destinations several thousand miles away.  If  I haven’t ever been able to visit the country where my food is coming from then it certainly doesn’t belong on my dinner table.  It’s not sustainable and doesn’t do me or the farmer in that country any good.

This has become a bit of a challenge the past few weeks though as my Homestead Hottie has started craving a nice big juicy tomato to slice and eat.  It could be a pregnancy thing but she always likes to slice tomatoes, sprinkle with Himalayan Pink Salt and eat away.  We love raw, fresh tomatoes in this house!  However, finding a tomato that isn’t foreign and isn’t terrible is an insurmountable task this time of year.

There wasn’t a single tomato grown in the U.S. to be found at Sam’s Club during our recent visit.  Some came from as “close” as Mexico while others heralded banners from Guatemala, Chile and other exotic South American destinations.  Thank heavens for produce labels that proudly display where a fruit or veggie has come from!

Our next stop was the local Schnuck’s grocery store where we found one brand of tomato grown in Florida.  These hulking, misshapen and truly red tomatoes looked like something you might pluck off an heirloom tomato plant out in the garden.  Each one was delicately wrapped in it’s own styrofoam net, protecting it from the bruising or beating it might have endured on it’s shorter truck ride from the sunny Florida coast.  They looked like a winner.  They were called UglyRipe.

UglyRipe claims their tomato is an heirloom, a derivative of the deeply ribbed Costuluto variety from Italy.  Sadly, the state of Florida wouldn’t originally let these tomatoes be sold because they weren’t perfectly round and didn’t have smooth skin.  In the eyes of these beholders, we thought they looked perfect.  We plucked about four of the “beauties” from their display basket and proudly paid our price at the check-stand, about $8.  Yes, exorbitant the cost but it is the dead of winter.  Fresh local greenhouse tomatoes are still at least another two months off.  Plus, our food dollars were still going to support a U.S. based farm operation.  With anticipation we hurried home and Talina got right to slicing open a tomato for a mid-afternoon snack to share with baby 2.0 in the womb (that’s two-point-oh as in version number two of our offspring following our Darling Daughter Everly).

I have to say on first taste, the UglyRipe did manage to win over our tomato craving taste buds.  The texture was firm and juicy with deep red flesh, much redder than you typically see in store-bought tomatoes.  The taste for me was mildly acidic with a hint of minerals.  On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give the UglyRipe a 7.  It certainly is much better than the watery, tasteless, yellow-orange fruit labeled tomatoes at the local store.  It has more flavor, better texture and a beautifully imperfect shape with deep coloring.  It’s a monster-sized tomato too.  One slice will easily cover your hamburger patty.  But I give it a 7 because it still doesn’t live up to the freshly plucked, hot off the vine, perfect 10 creation that I grew with my own bare hands.  Nothing will ever replace that so here’s to hoping tomato weather arrives real soon.

What is you favorite tomato to grow? Leave a comment below and let me know.  We had a few standouts last season (read more here) and we’ll be trying some new varieties this year but that’s for a future post!

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Valentine’s Day here at the Half-Acre Homestead was hot!  Humid too but not because we jetted off to some couples only, exotic beach resort.  No bikinis or frozen concoctions to help us hang on here.  Just the love of our little trio knocking around town together and enjoying one of our favorite spots in Evansville:  Amazonia at Mesker Park Zoo.

The miniature tropical rain forest, cloaked in glass and kept at 75-degrees year round is a deliriously balmy hideout from the swirling snow and sub-arctic blast biting on the other side of those steamed up windows.  It also doesn’t hurt that our Darling Daughter can occupy the better part of an hour just letting off some steam as she runs from one end of Amazonia to the other, pausing briefly to scope out the fascinating and colorful inhabitants.  If you’ve never visited the exhibit before, you enter the tropical rain forest on wooden-planked bridges suspended high above the forest floor.  Here you meet colorful monkeys, birds, sloths and other creatures who like to hang out near the forest canopy.  As you move down through Amazonia you pass through waterfalls and caves meeting more creatures before you end up on the riverbanks coming face to face with piranhas and several otherworldly looking water creatures.  It’s by far one of the bright spots in this fair city and something I wish Evansville could build on.

This trip deep into the misty jungle on Valentine’s Day was to enjoy the Orchid Escape.  We grow a handful of orchids in the Half-Acre Homestead and Talina just amazingly got one to re-bloom after a long slumber.  These amazing plants range all across the globe in nearly every climate, with about 25,000 different known species.  That’s double the amount of bird species on our planet and four times the number of mammals.  More than 30 varieties of orchids are native to Indiana, some growing right here in our own backyard of Evansville.  Orchids are not only beautiful but one species also produces one of the most sought after spices:  vanilla.

Amazonia is already flush with hundreds of different South American tropical plants on showcase (the exhibit also doubles as an arboretum) but for one month every year, the zoo tucks hundreds of orchid plants into every available nook and cranny.  It’s a dazzling display of natural color, form and textures.  Hilltop Orchids out of Cloverdale, Indiana has grown and supplied 170 South American orchid plants for this year’s exhibit ranging across 30 different varieties.  Each grouping of plants has been meticulously arranged and lit with subtle spotlights as if each grouping is on stage to belt out their own aria of uniqueness.

The winter sun beams through the greenhouse roof onto my favorite orchid on display, Zygopetalum "Jumping Jack".

Each variety of orchid displayed is clearly labeled to help you identify your favorites like Phalaenopsis "Jungle Cat".

If you haven’t already checked out Amazonia’s Orchid Escape at Mesker Park Zoo you should take the time to do so.  Time is running out for a visit in 2011 as the exhibit only runs through March 12th.

My "Darling Daughter" Everly and I watching the monkeys climb to the tops of their forest enclosure

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Monday kicked off a new week here at the Half-Acre Homestead with little to no bang.  Our week-long spell of sunshine and 60 degree temps came to an end today as heavy rain lashed at the side of the house for most of the day.  Tonight we’re supposed to plunge into the 30’s.  It was one of those stare out the window type of days with the exception of buttoning the hot boxes back up after they caught some afternoon showers.

Tonight was “Poulet de Troi Repas” though…that’s “chicken of three meals” en Francais if you don’t speak my language of love.  Yes, I studied French.  Four years of that daunting language stretched across both high school and college and what have I done with it other than gain an inside track into Julia Child’s mind.  It was a strategic move at the time living in the desert southwest.  Shun the language that made sense to learn and be the only guy in a classroom full of French speaking girls.  I was Jean Nate and if the name sounds familiar it is that famous shampoo in a bright yellow bottle.  How could I not have a fun and fancy free nickname for all those practice sessions in class…voulez vous…ok for this nerd that was wishful thinking.

Back to our chicken of three meals, this is an excellent way to use your resources to their fullest.  We’ve always been thrifty with our leftovers but since we became members of the Stonewall Farm CSA Program (community supported agriculture) we’ve made our yummy organic meat go as far as possible.  If you haven’t tried their meat or eggs yet, you’re missing out.  Let them know Nathan Ryder referred you and they will take good care of you. One whole chicken can usually be made to stretch over the course of one week creating three or even more dinners.  We usually start our chicken of three meals out the first night by roasting the bird.  Our favorite method to roasting isn’t the ordinary stick it in the oven and watch it brown.  No, we encrust our poulet in salt before shoving it into cook.  Homestead Hottie discovered this roasting method several years ago and we’ve never turned back.

You might think this will cause the chicken to turn out unbearably salty but surprisingly it doesn’t.  The salt hardens and forms a thick crust during the roasting process, locking in your chicken’s juice and preventing it from squeezing out into the bottom of your roasting pan.  The resulting skin underneath that roasted salt crust is the most amazing golden brown, crispy and downright delectable as it melts onto your tongue.  Tonight’s chicken had a French theme thanks to one additional ingredient:  Herbs de Provence.  This herbal blend contains lavender, the aromatic which on first whiff whisks you away to a sunny Mediterranean destination.  If this isn’t already a staple in your herb cabinet I highly recommend you buy some or make it yourself.

Ingredients:

- 1 organic, whole chicken (Evansville locals can get one from Stonewall Farms, tell em we sent ya!)

- 1 or 2 cups kosher salt depending on size of bird

- Herbs de Provence seasoning blend

- 1 large lemon cut into wedges

- 2 to 3 cloves of garlic

- Several sprigs of rosemary

Directions:

1)  Stuff cavity of chicken with lemon wedges, garlic cloves and several sprigs of rosemary

2)  Place chicken breast-side down in roasting pan and dust skin with Herbs de Provence.  Spear more rosemary sprigs through skin in several different spots.

3)  Pour kosher salt over the top of your chicken, patting in place to prevent salt from falling off into pan.  A light spritz of water can help the salt stick if your bird’s skin is dry.

4)  Place into oven and roast at around 400 degrees until internal temperature of the chicken reaches 180 degrees.

5)  Remove chicken from oven and use the back of a carving knife or wooden spoon to shatter the salty crust, scraping salt off the skin and into pan.  Voila!

Make sure to refrigerate leftovers and carcass for meal number two to be discussed in a future blog post. Bon Appetit!

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Our mailbox is looking like most other gardeners mailboxes these days, overflowing with this year’s flush of seed and plant catalogs.  As much of a nerd as I am, it is one of the things I most look forward to at the start of the new year.  It brightens the winter doldrums long after the warmth of the Christmas cheer is gone to think about the sunshine, warmth and rewards reaped in the upcoming gardening season.

Seed prices can be exorbitant at times.  Just flipping through the Burpee catalog, I can easily ring up a $100 bill in my head by tallying my wants on just a handful of pages.  Quite frankly it’s ridiculous, especially considering most seed purchased from gardening catalogs are hybrids.  While hybrids allow for an almost endless possibility when it comes to different varieties available to grow, it also limits what you’ll get from any seed you might save for next year.  Hybrids don’t reproduce a plant that’s just like the original so you never know what you’re going to get.

On top of that, I just learned something even more concerning about most of the major garden seed companies.  I just started reading Barbara Kingsolver’s book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle this past week and I’m already enthralled.  Kingsolver documents her family’s first year in their quest into the land of sustainability and local eating.  It’s humorous and informative, possibly helping you down a path that could be full of a few pitfalls.  Today, I learned from Kingsolver’s writing that giant agribusiness conglomerate Monsanto supplies many strains of garden seed to these big companies.

Needless to say I reeled in horror thinking about our seed box and how much of it might be from just one of the many companies I associate with the devil.  Remember, Monsanto is the company who produces Genetically Modified plants like corn and soybeans which are Roundup Ready.  The gene manipulation allows the plants to be sprayed with Monsanto’s chemical cocktails, killing every weed and pest around it yet leaving the corn or soybean plant untouched.

This villainous company has also made a name for themselves attacking farmers who, by no fault of their own, have Monsanto’s GM plants growing in their fields.  This company, along with several others, are making an effort to homogenize and patent whatever plant they can.  It’s a path that is leading our human race to outright calamities like  famine and the eventual death of open-pollinated varieties of plants that have been around for ages.  Recently, Monsanto also got approval to begin selling their GM alfalfa.  With no possible way to prevent the spread of this genetically modified plant, consumers who rely on organic alfalfa for food or animal feed now face a bleak future.  Monsanto’s bullying tactics and outright quest to own and dominate the world’s food supply has to be stopped.  If you haven’t already contacted your legislators about this, please do so immediately.

While Monsanto’s main business is to supply farmers with bulk seed for corn, soybeans and other commodity crops, Kingsolver’s book said they’re also dabbling in garden seed supplies.  Of course not wanting to give Monsanto anymore of my hard earned dollars and definitely not wanting to consumer GM foods from my own garden, I want to know who these seed companies are and how I can avoid them.  The Council for Responsible Genetics has developed a Safe Seed Pledge giving seed companies the opportunity to denounce GM seeds and refuse from selling them to their customers.

I’m glad to see some of our favorite garden seed companies on the Safe Seed list like Seed Savers Exchange, Baker Creek Heirlooms, Ferry Morse, Territorial Seed Company and Native Seeds SEARCH.  Thanks to this list, I’ve also now discovered my nearest seed company signed on to that pledge:  Nature’s Crossroads in Bloomington, Indiana.  Burpee and R.H. Shumway are two of my total disappointments who sell GM seed and won’t sign the pledge.

I eventually want to become a member of Seed Savers Exchange so I can get the big giant book of thousands of members who trade seeds back and forth.  This is a great way to spend less on your gardening pursuits, share what you have and do your part to ensure biodiversity will continue despite the pursuits of some greedy corporation only looking out for themselves.

I’ve started a local Tri-State Seed Savers Exchange group on Yahoo Groups.  Become a member and begin swapping your extra seeds or plants with other fellow Tri-State gardeners.  Together we can do our part to maintain local biodiversity and share the rewards of our gardens.

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Glorious is the only way I can think to describe the sudden onset of balmy temperatures and sunshine the past couple of days.  Yesterday we climbed into the land of the 60’s and it felt downright amazing.  Even before the first cup of coffee was finished here at the Half-Acre Homestead, we threw open the door and rushed outside to enjoy some fresh air.

Everly, much like the rest of us, has been getting an extreme case of cabin fever as of late.  There is only so much indoor activity to keep toddlers occupied and for our resident garden faerie, it’s just too much time cooped up inside the house.  She had a blast throwing bags of leaf mulch around the yard to help stymie the springtime mud pie that our grass turns into this time of year.  We also took the opportunity to move our rabbit hutches from their temporary home in the garage to their more permanent spot outback.  This gave Everly the opportunity to chase the lop-eared rabbit throughout the flower beds as he explored and munched under the February rays.

Today marked another stupendous day outside and so we relished it.  Darling Daughter and I poked around in the kitchen garden to take a look at everything coming to life this week.  Long lost garlic and onion bulbs have started shooting up all over the place.  Rhubarb crowns are beginning to break the soil’s surface and reach for the light.  Lemon balm, chives and sage are beginning to leaf out in their hotboxes as well as the rosemary bushes which are still triumphantly marching through the winter fully clothed.  Strawberry plants began peeking out from underneath their leaf mulch this week as well, heralding the bright red berries that will soon grace them much to Everly’s daily picking delight.

Homestead Hottie briefly joined us in the garden before tossing her cookies down one of the walkway aisles (her story here).  The pregnancy was getting to her today, well the whole week for that matter.  Everly and I looked on in worried support until the spewing stopped and then quickly ushered our poor Homestead Hottie back in to flop on the couch.

Later as the thermometer climbed to the 70-degree mark and there was no rain in sight, I set out to finish Talina’s Valentine’s Day present.  Built from recycled wooden pallets, I’ve been making a potting bench for my Homestead Hottie’s gardening fun.  Everly loves to be involved in any project, especially building and she has great fun helping to wrangle loose screws and sit on boards while Daddy screws them down.

Just as the sun set tonight, I finished building the upper shelves.  It took little time to complete and looks great in a eco-chic sort of way.  I was thinking about painting it several different bright colors to match our outdoor cushions but Talina likes the look of the wood.  Rough cuts, nicks, old nails and discoloring will all show through a couple of nice coats of sealer.  It’s what makes the potting bench unique.  I’ll take orders if anyone else wants one.  I can guarantee no two will look alike!

Have you been out in your garden lately?  What is beginning to come back to life?  If you recycle wooden pallets for projects, let me know what you’ve turned them into.

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Valentine’s Day is just a few days away and we have been busy making some minor preparations for the lovey day.  This year there isn’t much money to shower each other with nice gifts nor is it really needed.  We handmade some Valentine’s cards with Everly to send to our family.  They were simple and just involved finding little crafty knick-knacks, trinkets and cutouts to glue to simple cardstock hearts.  Everly had fun customizing and gluing each Valentine and will show up with tons of toddler love still attached to them.

I’m working on a project for Homestead Hottie that recycles old shipping palettes and turns them into something new and useful.  I can’t tell you what it is going to be yet since it’s still a surprise.  Stay tuned for an update on that and yes, I really have to get cracking on it since there was little time left for me to build this past week.

Instead of the hassle of trying to find a babysitter, Homestead Hottie has elected to stay at home and have me cook our traditional Valentine’s meal: a 4 course fondue dinner.

We really got into fondue living in the Valley and used to go to The Melting Pot for all of our special occasions.  The setting is romantic, the process of eating is fun and keeps you busy, and best of all it’s really good.  The closest Melting Pot to us is in Nashville and after one awful experience there I don’t think we will ever go back.  It just wasn’t the same and the management there didn’t seem to care about it.

In  a few days I’ll dust off the fondue pot, ready the sterno cans and begin slicing and dicing for our big meal.  A hot pot of cheese fondue will start us off, followed by a salad, then the main course of meats in an oil or burgundy based fondue, followed by dessert.  If you’re thinking about staying in this Valentine’s Day we highly recommend it as a way to save money and show your Valentine that you care even more.  If you are cooking a Valentine’s meal in your own kitchen this year, here is a great little dessert recipe to try out if you’re looking for something different.  Espresso Granita would make a great after dinner treat or you could use it as a palette cleanser in between courses.  It’s super easy, can be made in advance of the big meal and seems so sophisticated.  Enjoy!

Espresso Granita

Ingredients:

- 2 cups warm espresso (I prefer Lavazza’s Super Crema for its delicious caramel notes and sweet finish)

- 1/4 cup sugar

Combine 2 cups warm espresso with a 1/4 cup sugar.  Pour the mix into a shallow baking pan and place it in the freezer.  For the next hour, take the pan out every 15 minutes and use a fork to scrape the developing ice crystals.  This will give you a light, delicate granita.  Serve a scoop in a glass topped with whipped cream and dark chocolate shavings.

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