Rally for the Roots - from Farm to School!

Around Seattle and throughout this state and region, there is a brilliant movement underway toward getting our incredible local foods directly into school lunches. For the better health of our children, for its environmental wisdom in reducing many forms of waste, and for the strength of our economy, too it is an all around winning idea, often referred to simply as "Farm to School."

Improving children's nutrition and establishing better health habits are reason enough to support "Farm to School" initiatives. Obesity and many health problems rooted in poor childhood nutrition have had huge amounts of press here in the US. In various ways good childhood nutrition is a critical issue all over the world.

While we all know children must eat well to be well, at the same time we allow vast marketing campaigns to sell the most expensive and least healthy foods in advertising directed at children. Snack and fast food ads are constants in American kids' television, but worse yet: in the US, these unhealthy, corporate foods are often sold in schools. We have raised awareness of our health problems and their roots, but clearly we need to do more to protect and provide for our children.

For one big step in the right direction, we need laws which require and fund better nutrition in schools. Here in Washington State, we have an immediate chance to do just that. On Wednesday, January 23rd, citizens who want kids to have healthier food in school will be lobbying for our own Farm to School law, led by the Washington Environmental Council and People For Puget Sound. I can't take the day off to join them, so I am lobbying here and online to show my support.

I also created a recipe (see below) using ingredients which may soon be available in our schools -- my Winter Roots Tart. Here in the Pacific Northwest region, also called Cascadia, our temperate climate and passionate farmers let local foods be enjoyed year round.

Bringing fresh, local food directly from farms to schools is clearly healthier for kids. It is also environmentally wise, reducing waste throughout the process. Fewer preservatives and additives are needed in foods, less energy is spent in transportation, and less cost disappears into corporate profits. The economics, too are better for both our hard working, family farmers and for our schools' expenses -- for our government's and tax-payers' bottom lines.

The world famous Pike Place Market in Seattle, now 100 years old, was founded on some of the same, solid economic sense -- eliminating corporate profits between producers and consumers is a win on both ends of the deal. When I had committed to a month of eating local in a 100 mile diet, I tested much of the same philosophy. Even Tony Blair and Jamie Oliver have teamed up to get this ball rolling over in GB. Although the Farm to School program proposed in Washington State is breaking some ground in America and is in many ways an innovative concept, it is based on solid and well proven principles. Here is more background on the Seattle school system's lunch economics.

In support of Farm to School laws here and everywhere, I offer my Winter Roots Tart. Right in the middle of January in Seattle, I found root vegetables from Nash's Organic Produce and turned them into a delicious tart. I am proud to note that Nash's is also one of the local producers who want to directly sell to school cafeterias!

I used:
1 roasted and sliced cylinder red beet
1 roasted and sliced orange beet
2 roasted and sliced yellow carrots
2 big boiled and mashed potatoes
salt and pepper to taste
some Herbes de Provence
2 cloves of garlic
1 olive oil and garlic tart crust using my previous recipe, or a plain pastry sheet
a few crumbles of local Tipsy Cow Cheese from River Valley Ranch (note it is made with microbial rennet, that the word microbial implies it is vegetarian rennet, and that it also includes local red wine - yum!)



My method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C).
2. Saute the boiled mashed potatoes in garlic and olive oil, with a pinch of Herbes de Provence and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Roll your tart crust and bake in the oven for 10-15 min, or until golden brown.
4. Layer a nice thick layer of potatoes in the tart.
5. Crumble some cheese over top and bake for 2 minutes, until the cheese melts into a thin layer.
6. Peel and slice the roasted beets and carrots. I roasted them in foil at 350 F (175 C) for about an hour (less for the carrots), or until you can easily poke a fork through.
7. Layer the beet and carrot slices as you like on the surface of the tart. Be generous and be artistic :) The beets will shrink revealing the potatoes, so put plenty.
8. Drizzle some olive oil on the top, and sprinkle a pinch or two of the Herbes de Provence.

We don't even have kids of our own -- yet! One day we will, and they won't be leaving home without their lunch boxes if we don't change what is available to them at school or outside home in general. When I was growing up in India, there was hardly any junk food available. In school we were served a freshly made, balanced, and vegetarian meal every day for lunch which we were expected to eat. Typically this meant daal, roti, rice, vegetables, lentils, yogurt, and some days a sweet!

It is sad to live in the world's richest country and be a slave to corporate gimmicks like we see in kids' school foods. Meanwhile, small farms in this country work extremely hard to produce and sell the best of what they grow. Why eat the stuff that was over-sprayed, treated with all kinds of unhealthy if edible chemicals, and otherwise over processed, over packaged, and over priced? We do not need to give up all indulgences and we do need some convenience, but we need to get the bulk of our nutrition from better sources. More people need to make healthier choices for themselves, and demand the same for their kids. A slice: to local producers and healthier kids!

Chikki, no kites!

When I was growing up in India, January 14th would bring a sky full of sights to see, loud sounds to hear, and amazing smells of festive food! It is because on this day in Gujarat, India they celebrate Kite Flying Day or Uttarayan or Makkar Sankranti. It marks the end of winter and all around there is anticipation of clear, breezy spring days. In my home state it calls for a celebration and 2 days off of school or work -- just to fly kites!

The morning of, we would wake up as early as we could to win the best corners of our rooftop terraces, from where we and countless thousands of our compatriots would fill the skies with kites. We gathered piles of colorful, tissue-paper-like kites, and glass coated threads to fly them. The glass did cut your hands, but flying kites was serious competition and serious fun, as you would test your skill in cutting others' lines with your own. With our kites and threads, with our favorite Bollywood tunes, the loudest speakers we could find, and with chikki to snack on, we made our way up to the rooftop.

There is no feeling like it -- looking at a colored confetti filled sky, eating chikki, flying kites, all while you take two days off school or work! How better to speed winter away and welcome spring.

Now -- about the chikki! There are some childhood foods that stay with you forever, and this is one of them for me. My mom would make chikki a day or two before, and I was the happiest kid on the block when I smelt the melting sugar! Chikki is a brittle made of: pure Indian cane sugar called jaggery or gud, ghee which is clarified butter, and then there are three common types, with either peanuts, sesame seeds, or puffed rice.

I do miss Kite Flying Day so much, and I want my husband Brian to know the flavors I remember. We can't be in Gujarat today (someday, though!) but I decided to make all three types of chikki.

1. First is the mamra chikki, which is puffed rice brittle. Mamra chikki are rolled up into balls so you can hide a rupee coin inside, then give them out to the less privileged as a secret donation. Now no coins are going into my food! So in my recipe, I feature the healthy surprise of a toasted almond :) Mamra chikki are way better than any Rice Krispies® treat!

I used:
1 cup roughly chopped jaggery/gud. You can replace with regular white sugar.
2 cups puffed rice approximately. You want just enough for a thin coat of sugar.
1 tbspn butter
handful of toasted almonds

My method:
1. Bake the puffed rice on a baking sheet at 350 F (175 C) for 5 minutes or until it's slightly crispy.
2. On medium heat, in a non-stick pan, melt the butter.
3. Add the sugar or gud until it melts and bubbles. Stir to make sure there are no lumps!
4. Add the baked puffed rice gradually, and stir quickly to evenly incorporate the sugar into the rice. Take it off the heat, but don't let it harden!
5. Dip your hands in room temperature water, and shake off the excess. This prevents you from getting burns from hot sugar, a trick I learnt from my aunt!
6. Now take about a 1/3 cup of puffed rice and quickly roll into balls. You size them the way you like, as long you work quickly. You can hide an almond or treat inside as you form these balls.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 quickly if you want to roll them into balls. If you'd rather not handle hot sugar with bare hands, set your chikki in a greased baking tray and cut out squares right away. Work with your hands at your own risk, and don't suffer!

2. Next is the tul chikki or sesame seed brittle, my all time favorite! My mom made this sometimes out of the gud and sometimes out of regular, granulated white sugar. I used regular sugar and it turned out just fine. Here it is!

I used:
1 tbspn butter
1/2 cup regular white sugar
1 cup sesame seeds approximately. You want just enough for a thin coat of sugar.

My method:
1. Bake the sesame seeds on a baking sheet at 350 F (175 C) for 5 minutes or until slightly toasted.
2. On medium heat in a non-stick pan, melt the butter.
3. Add the sugar or gud until it melts and bubbles. Stir to make sure there are no lumps!
4. Add the sesame seeds gradually, and stir quickly to evenly incorporate the sugar into the seeds.
5. Quickly take the soft mixture off the heat, don't let it harden, and place it on a greased cutting board. For this, a plastic cutting board works better than wood.
6. Roll it out to about 1/3 inch -- or whatever thickness you like, but make sure it's even.
7. Take a knife and cut squares out of the rolled out brittle. Don't worry about cutting all the way through. As soon as it hardens, you'll be able to lift and break it at the point you made the knife marks.
8. In 10-15 minutes the sugar should be hard enough that you can break it into pieces. Use a spatula to lift it off the cutting board if necessary.
9. Store at room temperature in an air-tight container.

3. The third type is a classic and I know it exists in many cultures -- the singdana chikki or peanut brittle. For this, my mom also made it with whichever sugar was available to her. I used the gud again and it was great. You can use pretty much the same recipe as for the sesame seed brittle above.

These treats used to seem so difficult to make. I would watch my mom make them every year and wonder if I could ever work that fast. In the last few years, I tried to make them, but I blundered and thought I would never try again. Well this time there were no struggles, it all worked out fine. I guess the "watching the experts" and enough practice has paid off. I am hoping my mom will be proud to read this :)

A note I want to add is that from home to home, chikki ingredients were always the same but they tasted slightly different. That was the feeling I got today, too -- my chikki tasted like nobody else's I've tried before, yet still it was just how it was supposed to be. For the first time, I feel like I accomplished a traditional dish without having to get a second opinion whether it was good enough -- because it was!

As the people of Gujarat celebrate the end of winter under a colorful sky, and I anticipate the end of a gloomy, damp winter in Seattle, I am happy to have such fond memories of Kite Flying Day with my 3 kinds of chikki! We did not fly any kites today, but we ate plenty of chikki. Later my mom called from India to say she bought us kites from vendors in Gujarat, as much requested by my husband. We are looking forward to flying those this summer!

I leave you with these gorgeous shots of the festival from an Indian Flickr photographer. I found her through this Wikipedia entry which tells you more about the festival of kite flying in India. Below are more photos of my process and the chikki:

One Bread, Two Ways

One of the best things about Seattle neighborhoods are their local bakeries. The Essential Baking Company was one of the first and is still one of the best bakeries I've tried around here. There are a few reasons I love Essential: fresh, local, organic ingredients, their variety, and how very *few* ingredients their breads have, with nothing unnecessary added -- I want my everyday breads sturdy and simple.

I was so happy to find their pugliese at the Ballard Market one recent day. Pugliese is a traditional Italian wheat loaf with a porous, chewy interior and soft crust, dusted in flour. Out of just one loaf, I've made crostinis, sandwiches, and dessert toasts. Today I offer this One Bread, Two Ways.

WAY 1 :: Grilled Veggie Sandwich with Spinach Walnut Pesto

It's like having Summer back!

This one is easy. Grill veggies with your favorite seasonings, olive oil, salt, & pepper. I made a pesto by starting with my Basil Pesto recipe, then replacing basil with baby spinach, and replacing pine nuts with walnuts. I then layered the pesto, the grilled veggies, mozzarella, and grilled the sandwich itself for a delicious lunch!


Here are some more photos of making the sandwich

WAY 2 :: Caramelized Cardamom Banana Toast

Yum, what a brunch!

This took bit of creativity and speed, and below I will share my detailed recipe. I always get a bit impatient working with bubbling sugar, but I also love a quick dish!

The combination came from my fond memories of eating bananas, Indian style, when growing up. They had ghee, sugar, and cardamom, and you ate them with a warm roti :)


I used:

• two slices Pugliese
• 1 sliced banana
• 1 tbspn butter
• two tspns dark brown sugar
• couple of pinches ground cardamom
• a sprinkle of chopped, toasted hazelnuts

My method:

1. Heat butter in a (non-stick preferred) pan, to medium heat.
2. Add sugar as soon as butter melts.
3. As soon as sugar melts, add a pinch of cardamom, and mix.
4. Put down the two slices of bread, and move them around a bit to coat.
5. As soon at the sugar sticks and the bread slices crisp a bit, flip them.
6. Let the other side crisp for another minute, and place it on the serving dish.
7. Leave your pan on the stove -- you should have some sugar remaining, stuck in the pan.
8. Throw the banana slices in there, add another pinch of cardamom, and toss for a minute or two until they loosen *slightly* -- do not overcook them! The bananas will brown slightly in the remaining sugar.
9. Place the bananas on the toast, sprinkle with hazelnuts, and eat right away!

You'll have to work quickly, from as soon as the sugar melts till you're finished. I recommend keeping all the ingredients handy!

If you are in Seattle and you have a chance, do pay a visit to one of the Essential Bakery Cafes as they have an excellent menu, coffee, and atmosphere "in the tradition of the old European coffeehouses and bakeries." My personal favorite is on Madison. The Essential Baking Company also sells their breads and other goods at the Madison Market Co-op, Ballard Market, and in many cafes around town. Check out their site!

small bites: Tofu Stuffed Amorosas

Tomatoes may be out of season in Seattle, but when you are at Pike Place Market and Sosio's Produce (one of the highstalls), you can buy these Sweet Amorosa tomatoes without a worry. I can guarantee they will be good -- raw or cooked!


This was just one of the simple "small bites" I made for our multi-course New Year's Eve dinner. I stuffed sweet amorosas with tofu crisped in Italian herbs and spices. It was a delight! I had never seen Italian style tofu before but we will enjoy it many times again ;)

I used approximately:
8 sweet amorosas, cored and with tops sliced
1/2 cup extra firm tofu, cubed into small pieces
1 tbspn extra virgin olive oil
1 pinch red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
a couple pinches crushed, dried basil


My method:
1. Core tomatoes. Sprinkle a couple grains of salt in each and turn them upside down on a wire rack. This will drain excess water and prevent them from getting soggy and losing their shape.
2. In a small sauté pan, heat the oil and toss in the red pepper flakes.
3. Add tofu, basil, salt, and pepper.
4. Toss and stir till you have some nice, crispy edges on the tofu.
5 a. You can stuff the tomatoes and serve!
5 b. Alternately, you can let the tofu cool if you have other dishes to prepare. Turn your oven to 350 F (175 C). Stuff your tomatoes and bake for 10 minutes before you serve. I did it this way because I was skeptical about my tomatoes being sweet enough -- it tasted amazing! Brian is not a tomato lover and even he ate them :)

The crispiness of the tofu is balanced out by the burst of flavors in the tomato. As soon as you put the whole thing in your mouth and chew, it is like fireworks!

Riesling Meisters :: Hermann & Dr. Frank!

Happy New Year and as you all toast to 2008, here are inspiring stories of two hard-working winemakers.

Spotted below are a gorgeous bunch of Riesling grapes I snapped on a Summer wine country trip in New York State's Finger Lakes region. Riesling is famously well grown in Germany, Alsace, and California, but the best I've found is from upstate New York!

I had first mentioned my favorite Riesling makers in response to Mia's comment on my Basil Pesto, where I recommended an unconventional pairing with Hermann J. Wiemer 2006 Reserve Dry Riesling or Dr. Konstantin Frank 2005 Semi Dry Riesling. It is a good, general rule to pair Italian foods with Italian wines, but Mango Power Girl loves a rule well broken ;) and you won't do better than an herbal, floral, and delicious Finger Lakes Riesling.

Both Hermann "the German" Wiemer and Dr. Konstantin Frank (deceased) and family have brought their German heritage fully to bear in upstate New York, each with significant perseverance in business and with dedication to European grapes and methods in the United States. We visited their wineries to hear more of their stories and taste more of their wines. Hands-down their Rieslings are the most finely crafted and flavorful we have met! and I am happy to share with you what we found.

Hermann "the German" Wiemer enjoys deserved celebrity in the wine world, fueled first by a great family legacy of more than 300 years of winemaking near Germany's Mosel River, and fueled forever by his success with German and European grapes in America. We enjoyed a touching story from one of the professionals at Wiemer Vineyard while we tasted, telling of the time when Hermann had not yet struck out on his own in winemaking. The story goes that he financed the conversion of an abandoned farm into his wine estate with a spark he nursed into a great fire: through the sale of his prized Porsche! Through this significant, personal sacrifice for any bachelor, Hermann committed to his great love -- making great wine :) Hermann, hand me a glass of Trockenbeerenauslese any day :D

Hermann Wiemer still today inhabits a gorgeous and very private estate which is a peaceful, educational joy to visit. We visited Wiemer Vineyard this Summer on Seneca Lake, hoping to taste a few wines we could not locate in stores or otherwise. Having traveled 3,000 miles (5,000 kilometers) from Seattle, we were overjoyed to experience an uncommon tasting of Hermann's Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA). Cheers to Hermann and the Wiemer staff, for their great professionalism and hospitality! (and for taking this photo)

We were excited to receive a letter from Wiemer Vineyard after our visit, in which Hermann and his top winemaker, Fred Merwarth note that 2007's weather was clear and warm. They have been able to produce a Riesling TBA with residual sugar near 14% -- it will be wonderful! Hermann also shared an historic announcement: "I decided this year to begin handing over the reins of the operation to Fred." They will still tend vineyards and make wine together, but after 25 years, Hermann is easing into the next phase of his career and life.

Brian & I had visited the Dr. Frank family winery while on a mini-honeymoon in the Spring of 2004. We had just been married a few hours' drive away in Ithaca, New York. It was well worth the trip for The Family Frank alone, but of course we enjoyed several other wineries en route along Cayuga and Seneca Lakes. Dr. Frank's is tucked-away on Keuka Lake, with their vineyards and tasting room featuring storybook views of gently sloping hills, well sculpted for the task of slowly perfecting Riesling and other grapes.

Equally entrancing as his grapes & wines is Dr. Frank's story of persistence as an immigrant to the United States. Dr. Frank spoke six languages but not English, and when he first arrived at Cornell University he spent time cleaning hallways partially due to this language barrier. His colleagues at Cornell were skeptical that European, or Vinifera grapes could succeed in the harsh New York climate. Dr. Frank though, brilliantly grafted Vinifera onto native, American root stock to survive the Winters and other local challenges. This began what has been called the "Vinifera Revolution" in the United States, through which American growers and vintners have been able to grow Riesling and all the classic European varietals.


In fact the Finger Lakes' climate, geography, and soil are ideal for growing Riesling. You can read plenty more about Dr. Frank online, but I learnt some details about him thanks first to the man I married, who understands wine so well as a former Teaching Assistant in the world's largest wine tasting and education course, at Cornell University. We not only made the trip to Keuka Lake from Ithaca, but later schlepped bottles all the way to Seattle which we are still savoring slowly. It was all well worth the journey. I share these stories with you all to encourage the same in you: when you know what is worth the journey, do not hesitate to make it.

See more photos from our visit to Wiemer: