Rhubarb, that harbinger of spring… or for those of us living in Alaska, of summer! We’re thrilled to see it poking up out of the ground! I know, these little crinkled leaves don’t look like much, but once they get going, the stalks really shoot up! Since not very many types of fruit grow in Alaska (and strawberries and raspberries are still a long way off), we’re happy for any fruit-like substance that can eke out an existence in our backyards.

We’re even more excited than usual, because of the unusually warm and sunny weather we’ve had these last several days. Everyone I know has gone stark-raving mad, capering about in the sunshine and soaking up the rays as much as ever they can. I think we’ve gotten more sun this past week than most of us got in all of last year’s cold and rainy summer. Oh, does it feel good!

But rhubarb popping up in the garden does come with a certain sobering responsibility. Suddenly, I remember that I have several bags of sliced rhubarb in the freezer from last summer. And if I don’t use it up now, before the next crop comes in, I’ll be even more overwhelmed with rhubarb than usual. My rhubarb plants are divisions of my mom’s, planted over thirty years ago. I have no idea where they came from, but they are wonderful, with fat, tender, cherry-red stalks that produce all summer long (if I make sure to break off the flower stalks as they come up). If I’m not diligent about cooking and eating rhubarb and processing it to freeze, the plants are likely to overwhelm the entire front of my house.

So! We’ve been eating rhubarb crisp, apple-rhubarb crisp, rhubarb coffee cake, and rhubarb-apple pie. Here’s my recipe for rhubarb crisp, in case you still have some in your freezer from last year… and a variation with apples that I like even better. But if your house is in danger from being overtaken by a rhubarb plant, I recommend the former recipe. It uses more rhubarb.

When the rhubarb is coming on strong, it’s time to take decisive action. This recipe is based on one from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

half or all of the recipe of the crisp topping, below (to your taste)
10 heaping cups rhubarb, sliced into 1-inch pieces
2 cups sugar
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a small pinch of ground cloves (don’t go overboard here)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Make the topping and set it aside.
2. Combine the rhubarb with the sugar, flour, and spices. Coat a large gratin dish with oil or non-stick spray. Pour the fruit into the dish.
3. Bake, uncovered (without the topping), for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven. (You can do this step earlier in the day if you’d like.)
4. An hour or two before you’re ready to eat the crisp, sprinkle the topping evenly over the fruit. Return to the oven and bake for 25-30 more minutes, or until the juices from the fruit are bubbling and the topping is brown. Serve hot or warm.
rhubarb-apple crisp

half or all of the recipe of the crisp topping, below (to your taste)
1 ½ pounds apples, peeled and cored
2 pounds rhubarb, diced into 1-inch pieces
1 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
a small pinch of ground cloves (don’t go overboard)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Make the topping and set it aside. Dice the apples, then put them in a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients. Pour the fruit into a 2-quart gratin dish.
2. Bake, uncovered (without the topping), for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven.
3. An hour before you’re ready to eat the crisp, sprinkle the topping evenly over the fruit. Return to the oven and bake for 25-30 more minutes, or until the juices from the fruit are bubbling and the topping is brown. Serve hot or warm.
crisp topping

This recipe makes enough for 1 heavily-topped crisp, or 2 lightly-topped crisps. Make this recipe, and if you like a light topping, use half and freeze the rest until you want to make another crisp. Or use the whole amount of topping on one crisp.

Another note: the Loriva walnut oil is really fantastic; it’s roasty and toasty-tasting and very rich. Don’t bother using refined walnut oil, because it doesn’t have much flavor and the recipe won’t be nearly as tasty. Use butter, instead. If you don’t want to use walnuts, replace the nuts with an additional ½ cup of rolled oats.

6 tablespoons Loriva toasted walnut oil or melted butter
½ cup brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup flour (whole wheat or white flour–whichever you prefer)
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup chopped walnuts
¼ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all ingredients so you have a crumbly, moist mixture.

Aside from Earth Day, today marks the Green Fork’s one-year anniversary. That we launched this blog one year ago today (with 20 Ways to Green Your Fork) is no coincidence — the team at Eat Well, along with a growing number of consumers, are  concerned about how our food choices impact the environment.  Social justice concerns, especially access to healthful foods, and labor rights, are at issue here too, as well as animal welfare and public health issues.  There is a lot to chew on, if you will, and we were excited to add our voices to the growing choir of sustainable food enthusiasts.

This past year has  been huge for Eat Well.  We started producing videos, published the educational booklet Cultivating the Web: High Tech Tools for the Sustainable Food Movement (of which we’ve distributed over 20,000 copies — you can download the digital version here) and launched the beta version of our interactive mapping feature, Eat Well Everywhere.  We also added hundreds of new listings to the Guide and yesterday, we were named “best local food  blog” in Treehugger’s “Best of Green” (you can help us win the Reader’s Choice Award by voting for us before midnight tonight) .

It’s also been a big year for the larger food movement.  To recap, we’ve tapped some of our favorite foodie writers, bloggers, activists and advocates to answer this question:

What is one of the most powerful things you’ve seen and/or learned over the last year? And what is one thing you’d like to see happen over the next year?

Be sure to read through to the end, where Annie Meyers shares some exciting news about New Amsterdam Market (spoiler: it’s happening!), and please, feel free to share your answers in the comments section.

For my part, even as author of the question, I’m finding it really hard to narrow it down one thing, so I would just say that the the idea of “good food for all” has gained tremendous momentum over the last year.  The New York Times prints a story about good food nearly everyday, and they are not alone — all across America, people are talking and writing and organizing for more farmers’ markets, more community gardens, more nutritious lunches and better food in general.  Today, I’m writing from the W.K. Kellogg Food & Society conference, where over 500 good food advocates have gathered to work on what last year, many were hesitating to call a “movement,” but these days, there hardly seems to be a question of whether or not what’s happening qualifies as one. Given all that has been achieved over the last year, I can’t wait to see what unfolds over the next one. If you have yet to join us, do yourself and your fellow global citizens a favor and get on the bus.

Marion Nestle, of Food Politics: One person really can make a difference, and a big one, as shown by what’s happening with community gardens, school food, and organic gardens at the White House.  Let’s have lots more people out there making a difference, each in their own way.

Michael Pollan, of MichaelPollan.com: We’ll look back at Michelle Obama’s work –planting an organic garden on the White House lawn and talking about the importance of real food, as the most important food-and-ag news of the past year. She has already changed the conversation, inspired a counter-attack, and raised people’s consciousness about food more than anyone else.

Joan Dye Gussow: After more than 30 years of playing Cassandra, of living in opposition to the dominant myths about our truly gross national product and our unhealthy food supply, I’ve been shocked into hopefulness by what simple truth from the top has managed to transform despite a continuing din of misinformation.

My hope is that we can revive the real economy-the one where people build, grow, feed and care for each other-without the need to resuscitate our still unsustainable “consumer society.”

Kerry Trueman of Eating Liberally: Oh, geez. I thought this was gonna be easy until I started to think of all the great things that happened over the past year: the resounding success of Roger Doiron’s Eat The View campaign to get a kitchen garden established at the White House; the MacArthur Foundation awarding Growing Power’s Will Allen a much-deserved “genius” grant; the support that the Coalition of Immokalee Workers has received in their struggle to improve conditions for our farm workers; the passage of Proposition 2 in California thanks to the tireless efforts of our friends at the Humane Society; the extraordinary and ever-growing influence of Michael Pollan, who’s got Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer talking about food sheds and urban ag; and Slow Food USA’s shockingly savvy decision to make Josh Viertel its new president.

The most powerful thing may be that folks like Pollan and Viertel have actually been granted access to our new administration, giving us an opportunity, at long last, to loosen the stranglehold of Big Ag and Big Food on our agricultural policies.

According to Pollan and Viertel, President Obama is receptive to the sustainable ag agenda, but demanding evidence that we are, indeed, a real force to be reckoned with. “Show me the movement,” he’s reportedly saying.

We’re fighting “some of the most powerful and moneyed interests in the United States,” as Joan Gussow noted in a speech at Columbia a couple of weeks ago. We must be doing something right, ’cause Monsanto and the rest of the bio-tech brigade have stepped up their disinformation campaigns to confuse consumers who are rethinking our fossil-fueled food chain.

So, can we do away with Agribizness as usual? Yes, we can! Well, that’s my hope, anyway…

Sam Fromartz of Chews Wise: What I’m most encouraged by is the way people are thinking about food – understanding that how it’s produced effects people, health, animals, fish, the environment, oceans, the climate, everyday lives. That consciousness is even more important than making the right food choice according to a rigid guideline. My only hope is that this continues to spread, altering the marketplace in ways we can only imagine.

Anna Lappe of Take a Bite: One of the most powerful things I experienced last year was visiting communities on the outskirts of Seoul with farming activists from Southeast Asia who are part of the La Via Campesina movement. La Via Campesina, now hundreds of thousands strong, is a powerful reminder that small-scale farming is a viable way of life and can be a powerful tool for both helping us mitigate and adapt to global warming. As they say, small-scale farming can “feed the world and cool the planet.”

But perhaps the biggest consciousness shifting experience for me in this past year has been becoming pregnant. All the abstractions about toxins in our environment and on our foods, about the future of the planet and the species, feel very real to me as I sense my baby daughter swimming around inside me. At 29 weeks old, she already has all the eggs she will ever create, so that in me is literally the seeds of my grandchildren, as in my grandmother was the seed of me. The generational frame of sustainability is no longer an abstraction.

Paula Crossfield of Civil Eats: The most powerful thing I’ve come to know about the sustainable food movement this year is how eager young people are to farm (myself included). I would love to push Vilsack to start a young farmer corps program, recruiting interested new farmers and paying them as apprentices and continuing to support them as they seek out land and begin their new occupation.

Kim O’Donnel of A Mighty Appetite: A lot of yin yang this year — Increased awareness on a consumer level about the state of our food system, which is horrifying, yet inspiring to hear the very good work being done to re-establish the farm-to-table connection.  Seemingly unprecedented press coverage on food safety, the Farm Bill, immigrant worker rights and  global food shortages, all disheartening news, yet bright sparks of light and encouraging reports of vegetable gardens and from the White House south lawn to the Ninth Ward in New Orleans. More hunger and demand on food banks yet communities pulling resources to feed one another.

Severine von Tscharner Fleming of the Irresistible Fleet of Bicycles: An incredible surge of young people making bold professional choices, entering agriculture, starting businesses, becoming engaged in the foodsytem.

From Jill Richardson of La Vida Locavore: The highlight of my year was the appointment of Kathleen Merrigan. And my top thing to change? The control of corporations over our food system. Yeah, I know… I dream big.

From Gwen Schantz, frequent contributor to the Green Fork and also to Alternet:Last summer I was living in an Alaskan fishing town when the US Supreme Court ruled that Exxon Mobil would pay an insultingly low $500 million in damages for its role in the worst oil spill in the history of our country. In 1989 the Exxon Valdez spill left much of coastal Alaska covered in crude oil, crippling aquatic ecosystems and obliterating the livelihood of thousands of fishermen. At the time, fishermen put their bodies and their boats to work scrubbing beaches and hauling supplies and volunteers to cleanup sites. Twenty years later, these men and women continue to act as stewards of the sea, working the most environmentally-sustainable fishery in the world. Even as the Supreme Court’s ruling last June illustrates the struggles and frustrations of the environmental movement, it gives me hope and pride to know that Alaskan fishermen carry on a tradition of stewardship through the act of putting good food on my table.

Annie Meyers of Thoughts on the Table:  One of the most powerful initiatives that I’ve noticed (and hope!) is gaining ground is the effort to bring fresh, local produce into hospital kitchens. The specific hospitals that have made this link (in Connecticut and California, for example) have had to do a lot of creative work with their food service providers or with individual distributors to connect with local farmers, but many hospitals are also starting to use common language to describe the type of foods they hope to source. Hospitals that have signed the Health Care Without Harm pledge have agreed to “create food systems which are ecologically sound, economically viable, and socially responsible.” Of course we’ll see whether health care reform will place value in the preventative care of healthy food, but at least for now, some hospital representatives are taking the initiative to do this themselves!

One thing I look forward to in the next year is the establishment of a year-round wholesale regional market in New York City. The New Amsterdam Market project is the primary force building the foundation for this institution, and will be holding Monthly Markets starting on June 28th this year. The New Amsterdam Market will eventually provide a critical meeting point for the growing infrastructure of New York’s regional food system, so that institutions, supermarkets, bodegas, and ever more families will have physical and financial access to the fresh food of the Northeast!

It’s been sitting quietly in the left hand sidebar for a couple of weeks, but we have yet to give this gorgeous video its due. Because it’s spring and in honor of Earth Day (we’ll be running Earth-friendly stories all this week to celebrate), please enjoy this short video of farmers and shoppers at NYC’s Union Square Greenmarket, produced and directed by NYC-based filmmaker Dulce Fernandes.

Pacific Coast tuna with a chilli and citrus vinaigrette
Maple and miso cured Nunavut Arctic char
Lightly pickled vegetables and an organic beet relish
Applewood smoked plains bison
Winter root vegetables and local mushrooms
Cauliflower and rosemary puree
Juniper and Niagara red wine jus
Saugeen yogurt pot de creme with a lemon and lavender syrup
Wild blueberry and partridgeberry compote
Acadian buckwheat honey and sumac tuile

President Obama must’ve had room for seconds.  Before heading back to the airport, he made his way to the historic Byward Market and the Moulin De Provence bakery for some cookies. Obama was heard asking a welcoming crowd of onlookers where he could get a taste of a famous Ottawa treat, the Beavertail. The 44th American President certainly has a sweet tooth and palate for local food.

(2007 floods in Centralia/Chehalis, photo courtesy of Nate Ritter)

There was widespread flooding throughout the Pacific Northwest last week, as dramatic rainstorms followed on the heels of the record snowfalls that closed out 2008. This is the third consecutive winter to bring major floods to the valleys holding much of the region’s agricultural land.

Fortunately, many farmers who suffered losses the past few years were able to escape unscathed this time around. The managers of the Ballard Farmers’ Market, Seattle’s largest winter market, reported that not a single farmers was absent this past Sunday because of the flooding. Willie Greens Farm, the CSA that I use, missed the last few weeks of 2008 because of ice and snow but they were able to deliver this week–several hours late–after waiting for flooded roadways to clear. They’d lost five of their greenhouses under the weight of recent snows, so this delivery felt like a small miracle.

The folks at Boistfort Valley Farm, near the Chehalis River, lost their house and much of their equipment during the 2007 floods. This time the river crested just twelve inches from their yard. At Full Circle Farm, near Carnation, the manager and several workers spent the night as the river rose, moving vulnerable stock and equipment to higher ground. They lost very little of their winter crop, which they mostly plant at a higher altitude. It helped that the weather reports were fairly accurate, and the conditions (heavy snow followed by heavy rain) were similar to the ones that unleashed the floods last winter, which were still fresh in everyone’s minds.

There’s nothing terribly surprising about flooding in an area that’s a designated flood plain. But the damage has been particularly dramatic during recent years due to increased residential development, and also because the weather events seem to be growing more severe, or at least more frequent. As of late 2007, King County implemented a policy allowing nature to take its course, as far as flooding is concerned. This means, among other things, restricting further development in flood plains and giving the rivers extra room to flood. It also means, on some level, accepting the fact that flooding is inevitable.

Historically, flooding has been an important factor in the development of agriculture. The ancient lands of Egypt and Mesopotamia gave rise to some of the earliest sophisticated civilizations in part because of their proximity to rivers that periodically flooded, leaving enough silt to create unusually fertile soil. But when modern rivers flood they leave unwanted residues, such as runoff from manure on neighboring fields, and toxins from heavy metals. Organic farmers run the risk of losing their certification if their land and crops are contaminated by substances in the water.

Food safety regulations forbid farmers from selling any crops that were in the ground when a field was flooded. We can at least be grateful that our peak flood season falls during the slower part of our agricultural year.

Devra Gartenstein is the owner of Seattle’s Patty Pan Grill and the author of two cookbooks, Local Bounty: Vegan Seasonal Produce and The Accidental Vegan. She also blogs at The Quirky Gourmet.

flooding, pacific northwest, farming

Though I have met quite a few farmers and even visited a few of their farms, my grade school perception of red barns, plaid shirts, and haystacks stubbornly occupies the spot in my mind labeled “farm.” Having paid a visit to Barry Koral’s Tropical Fruit Farm in Vista, CA this past month, I can wholeheartedly attest to my faulty perception.

I arrived a little early for my interview with Barry, but waiting aimlessly for his arrival was simply not an option. His front yard was a visual playground, boasting an impressive collection of vintage knicknacks. It was obvious that the objects had not been haphazardly placed, as each piece contributed to the overall harmonious arrangement. No haystacks or overalls here, this place was arranged by an artist’s hands. Barry soon rolled into the driveway, sun-kissed and smiling and greeting me with a wave. As we got to chatting, he revealed himself to be much more than a farmer.

Originally a city boy from Chicago, Barry moved to California with a formal background in art and photography. It was his experiences in California which truly shaped his philosophy for sustainable living. He lived in San Francisco for three years, where he was first exposed to farming and sustainable agriculture. Lured by its enviable growing climate, Barry soon moved down to San Diego and saved up for a farm of his own. And that he did, and then some.

Barry currently leases five properties, including his personal orchard of 175 trees behind his home. He primarily grows and sells tree fruit, claiming that “money does grow on trees!” I visited his home orchard, a place he has deemed a “living museum.” Sprinkled among the persimmon and guava trees, Barry’s artistic accents complemented the beauty of the orchard. His art pieces were not only visually appealing, but functional as well. Rocks circled the bases of his trees, bringing nutrients to the soil and an added aesthetic to his “museum.” Old CDs and metal rings hung from strings on several trees, flashing beneath the sun as they swiveled in the wind. A trick to keep the birds away, he explained.

As if tending to his farms and creating art is not enough already, Barry is also a public speaker. He stressed the importance of giving back, learning and educating. He has the kind of energy that can fill up any room, but what struck me most was how he has been able to continually focus that energy to positively impact himself and others.

When asked what struggles he faces as a farmer, he answered: “The main struggle is educating the public to support it [farming]. Being a farmer is the most important yet least appreciated occupation. Could you imagine a world without farmers?”

I sure couldn’t. Here’s some tips from Barry himself on what you can do:

• Support farmer’s markets Connect with your community and know where your food comes from.

• Buy local Shop at your local co-operatives.

• Be in the spirit of organic, not necessarily labeled as such With its growing popularity, some organic foods are no longer produced sustainably (ie. organic monocropping). Don’t be quick to associate organic labels with sustainability.
• Be a conscious consumer.

The way you choose to eat your food is a powerful way to respond to the environment. It all starts with the fork!

barry koral, barry koral’s tropical fruit farm, local food, california grown fruit, vista, organic fruit, local food, organic food, organic farming, sustainable food, sustainable farming

Bill Marler, the most prominent food safety attorney in the country, has published a list of what he predicts will be the biggest food safety issues during the upcoming year. He lists, among other things, the dangers we face from globalization, e coli, as well as cross-contamination between the human and animal food chains. But the most surprising item on the list is a food source that many of us associate with safety and integrity: local food. He writes:

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) groups and food coops need to demonstrate knowledge and practice of food safety, and be inspected. In addition to produce and meats/fish, prepared foods are currently unsupervised.

It’s certainly true that food purveyors at every level should be scrupulously clean and conscientious about how they handle their food. But it’s patently untrue that farmers’ market prepared foods are unsupervised, at least here in Seattle, where both Mr. Marler and I live. Prepared food vendors are permitted and inspected by the health department. When health inspectors aren’t personally on site, the market managers act as their proxies, checking temperatures and hand washing stations. We’re also required to take classes in proper food handling procedures.

I’ve read quotes from experts saying that, even though locally produced food can be just as contaminated as industrial food, outbreaks don’t occur on as wide a scale, and they’re easier to trace. Small-scale food production certainly isn’t a panacea for food-borne illness: people die from botulism present in home-canned foods. But local food and small-scale food production can offer a potential solution for many of the safety issues that come about because of the economies of scale that are central to the industrialization of the food supply.

You can’t mass produce cheap food without cutting corners. The salmonella and e coli which have been the impetus for Mr. Marler’s most famous lawsuits are epidemic in factory-farmed animals, raised in cramped, filthy conditions, and weakened by growth hormones and diets that make them gain weight quickly without adequately nourishing them. Sure, well-cared for animals get sick too, but they’re less likely to suffer from the kinds of ailments which go hand-in-hand with industrial practices. Similarly, global food companies use questionable additives to add bulk without adding value, and to cheaply extend shelf life.

I hope Mr. Marler’s warnings about the potential dangers of local foods can act as a reminder that food isn’t necessarily safe simply because it’s produced on a small scale. But I certainly want to set the record straight about the fact that farmers’ market vendors are conscientiously supervised and inspected. And I still feel safer buying my food from someone who visibly takes pride in their operation than from a multinational conglomerate.

food safety, local food, devra gartenstein, bill marler, e coli, public health

Tell us about the history of Caw Caw Creek and your pigs?
After years growing produce, I realized that my personal strengths and farming resources were more suited to livestock, and I chose the pig because of unique qualities that I brought to the table that allow me to produce an exceptional product.

Why did you decide to raise your pigs on pasture?
Running with the tail wind of nature makes economic sense, grows a better animal, is environmentally sound, and provides a higher quality life for me and my children.

Tell us about your run for SC Agriculture Commissioner.
After realizing that our incumbent commissioner was doing less than he could and should do for South Carolina agriculture, I decided to take personal responsibility for improving his policies, so I ran for office. I had no illusions about winning the race, but I was able to get my message out while campaigning.

What was it like working with the Obama campaign’s Agriculture Policy Committee? Do you see yourself becoming more involved in agricultural politics?
Working on Senator Obama’s Agriculture Policy Committee during his presidential campaign was one of the most educational experiences I’ve ever had, and gave me a much broader appreciation for national and international agriculture policy. I am a businessman and dad mostly, and I’m not interested in a political career for the sake of being a politician — but I will stand up and fight for what and who I believe in whenever necessary, as I did before.

What advice do you have for a young person interested in farming?
Get cracking. Start small. Operate lean and mean. Offer a great product that markets itself. Derive that product from your ‘constellation of opportunity’ and do not project your farm fantasy onto reality. Do not assume that other farmers are eager to teach you — read, go on farm tours, and mostly do the work yourself.

What is the best way to purchase your pork?
On the internet at www.cawcawcreek.com, or at the All Local Farmers’ Market in Columbia SC, www.stateplate.org.

We don’t eat a lot of meat in our household – not because we don’t like it, but because good, sustainably raised meat is a touch expensive these days. We belong to a food co-op that gets most of its meat from local farms, and still we have trouble affording it with any regularity. But I’d rather eat less meat than eat meat of questionable quality. I haven’t heard a better quote about meat issues than this one from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (author of the River Cottage Meat Book), who says in his “Meat Manifesto”:

“Think about the meat that you eat. Is it good enough? Good enough to bring you pleasure every time you eat it? Could it, should it be better? Are you among the millions of consumers putting pressure on farmers to produce mountains of cheap meat of dubious quality, by dubious means? Perhaps it would make sense to spend a little more on it, a little less often. Or to buy cheaper cuts of better meat.”

This post is, by no means, a preachy manifesto, but you can taste the difference between meat of “dubious means” and meat raised in a sustainable way. (Same is true of eggs and dairy.) Frankly, sustainably-raised meat (and eggs, and other dairy products) just tastes a lot better. Read more about the “œdubious means” over at the Green Fork or at The Ethicurian or at Eating Liberally.

This is a super easy recipe for pork tenderloin. Simple ingredients, simple cooking method, and very quick – a perfect weeknight dinner. I serve it with roasted potatoes (or mashed would be good) and a nice salad. The key is not overcooking the pork – you want a bit of pink remaining. Pork these days only has to be cooked to 150ºF – and by letting the meat rest for a few minutes, the temperature will rise a few degrees more. Also – when you sear meat, don”t move the meat around! Just put it in the pan and let it cook. It will release itself when it’s formed a nice brown crust.

Serves 2-3.

Special Equipment: A 10-12 inch saute pan with an oven-proof handle.
Sliced pork tenderloin

Sliced pork tenderloin

Ingredients:

One 1-pound pork tenderloin, trimmed of any extra fat and silverskin (the silvery looking tendon-y stuff)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon very coarsely ground black pepper (grind in a pepper grinder or use a meat mallet or small skillet to crack whole peppercorns)
1 garlic clove, peeled and lightly crushed with the side of your knife
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons chicken stock or water
1 tablespoon butter (optional)

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 400º.
2. Season the pork with the salt and the peppercorns, pressing the peppercorns lightly into the meat, if necessary, to adhere.
3. In a medium saucepan with an oven-proof handle, add the olive oil and garlic and heat on medium-high until the garlic is just golden, turning the garlic occasionally, 1-2 minutes. Remove and discard garlic clove.
4. Turn the heat up to high. Add the pork tenderloin and sear on all sides, about 5 minutes per side, or until the entire tenderloin is evenly browned.
5. Put the entire pan (with pork) into the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the pork reaches 150ºF. Carefully turn the pork once during cooking.
6. Very carefully, remove the pan from the oven (remember that the handle will be very, very hot). Remove the pork to a plate or cutting board and cover with foil. Let rest for 10-15 minutes.
7. Pour off all but 1 teaspoon of fat remaining in the pan. Carefully place the pan over high heat (do not clean pan) and add the chicken stock or water. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the browned bits off of the bottom of the pan. Let the mixture boil until reduced slightly (a little less than 5 minutes).
8. Add the optional tablespoon butter and, using a whisk, swirl around in pan until it has melted into the sauce.
9. Taste the pan jus and season with salt and pepper if necessary.
10. Uncover the pork, slice, and serve with pan jus.

It snowed ALL NIGHT last night here in Anchorage! We got about a foot of snow, and it’s STILL SNOWING!!  Until a few days ago, I’d been cross-country skiing on the Hillside trails, and due to our meager snow cover, I’d quickly made a pair of rock skis out of my best pair of skis. (They are six years old, though!) *sigh* I know what will be on my Christmas list this year! Anyway, according to my brother, Ben (the manager of Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking), it’s high time I updated my gear from the Pleistocene era. He says that I should try the latest technology — skinnier tips, less shaping in the middle (or is that wider tips and more shaping in the middle?).

So after a leisurely Sunday breakfast (Meredith helped her dad make pancakes), Dan and I discussed the day. We decided that I would have the first ski shift. (We trade off with Meredith when we both want to ski solo.) He and Meredith would plow the driveway and our road up to the top of the hill, then I would scoot out in our little front-wheel-drive Jetta station wagon and zip over to Hillside for a slow and lovely trample around the trails. I got dressed and set off, my windshield wipers flailing at the thick clouds of snowflakes already obscuring Dan’s plow swath. My trusty little Jetta made it up the hill–and in fact, although none of the roads were plowed except for Dan’s handiwork, I made it the three miles to the trailhead at the high school. At which point, my little car plowed uphill into the huge berm of snow across the entrance to the parking lot and got firmly stuck. Whoops! I tried backing out, into the relatively clear main road, but I was completely high-centered! While my Jetta has great traction, it doesn’t have very high clearance. So I spent the next half hour on my belly, wishing I’d brought a shovel, burrowing packed snow out from under my car with my gloved hands. I managed to back the car out in stages, foot by foot. When I was about four feet from the road, two nice guys from the nearby sledding hill walked over and shoved me the rest of the way out. Thank you!!

I anxiously drove right home, luckily without incident, passing several cars embedded in their own snowdrifts, and zipped back into the garage. SAFE! Dan and Meredith, by this time making a snowman, were surprised to see me home so soon, but I soon re-emerged from the house with my gear. I popped my skis on, strapped on my poles, and skied off up the driveway! I had a gorgeous slog/ski on the bike trail through my neighborhood, and all the way back to the Hillside trails, where I did a short loop and then trudged my slow and snowy way back!

Here’s what I ate for lunch when I got home! It’s the perfect warming meal for a snowy day.

tomato soup with croutons

This tomato soup is a revelation: it’s yummy, creamy and rich without any cream or butter in it! It’s based on a recipe in Peter Berley’s book The Flexitarian Table. I think it makes a difference to use really good canned tomatoes and tomato paste, and I like Muir Glen. I also love this recipe because I can use gobs of local carrots and onions! For a meal, serve this soup with any kind of a simple green vegetable or savory salad. I like to make a double batch and then freeze the extras for a fast meal later, when I’m cold and hungry!

You can just toast the bread in the toaster for the croutons, and cut it into cubes (that’s what I did today!), or you can get fancy and make the garlicky croutons if you aren’t already starving-hungry, and can wait 20 minutes for them to toast in the oven.

The Soup

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cups thinly sliced onions (3-4 medium)

sea salt or kosher salt

1 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled

2 medium carrots (peeled if the skins are tough), sliced

large pinch of red pepper flakes, or to taste

2 tablespoons tomato paste

28-ounce can of whole plum tomatoes or diced tomatoes in juice

2 cups vegetable or chicken stock or water (I use broth left over from cooking white beans with onion and garlic)

two 2-inch strips of orange zest, removed with a vegetable peeler

1 teaspoon dried sage

I slice the onions and carrots in the food processor–this is especially time-saving if you’re doing a double batch of soup. Just cut off the stem end of the carrots and push them down through the narrow feed tube, pushing with the pusher cup.

In a heavy pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until the onions have softened–5 minutes or so. Add the garlic cloves, carrots, and pepper flakes, lower the heat, cover, and cook until the vegetables are sweet and juicy and tender, but not browned, 20 minutes or so. Check and stir occasionally, adding a few tablespoons of water if the vegetables are dry.

Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, the stock or water, orange zest and sage and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and discard the orange zest. Puree the soup with an immersion blender, or in batches in a blender. It’s easiest to do this if you’ve let the soup cool for a while first. Season with salt if you like, but I didn’t find it necessary because of the salt already added to the onions and in the canned tomatoes. Reheat the soup before serving, and add water to thin the soup if it seems too thick.

Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle with croutons, and serve.

The Croutons

5 slices hearty whole-grain bread

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed in a garlic press

¼ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mash the garlic with the salt in the bottom of a medium-sized bowl. Stir in the olive oil. Cut the slices of bread into cubes and toss them in the garlicky oil until the oil is thoroughly absorbed and distributed.

Spread the bread cubes out on a baking sheet and bake for 15-25 minutes, until the croutons are crispy and golden-brown.  Sprinkle with the bacon if you’re adding it.  Toss and serve immediately.