Preaching the Good Word

That would be "grains".

September has brought with it two things of note. First, that crisp, cool, beautiful weather I connect with Autumn. Second, the beginning of our Fall spate of teaching.

We kicked it off last Saturday at Common Ground, the garden supply store and education center in Palo Alto. As a part of their outreach, Common Ground offers all kinds of great classes on the basic theme of gardening. Because of their relationship with Ecology Action, a number of these classes are related to Grow Biointensive, and because of our work with Ecology Action we teach some of the classes. This is all to say that we presented two segments on grains to a wonderful group of enthusiastic gardeners on Saturday.
In two weeks we will go back down to present an Introduction to Grow Biointensive class and a class on composting. The following Monday I will give a presentation to the Ukiah Garden Club on seed saving, and the Sunday following that I will give a similar class at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens. Two weeks after that we will be back at Common Ground to present on the Master Charts in How to Grow More Vegetables and on seed saving once more. Then, in early November, we will assist in Ecology Action's 3-Day Workshop. Lots of teaching!
Which leads to another fascinating realization: we know things that other people don't. As a dutiful product of a traditional public education, I still carry with me the idea that adults know everything and I have no meaningful knowledge whatsoever. Even though I have been an adult for a while now.
But this is all beside the point, which is that we had a wonderful time teaching on Saturday. Fifteen established or budding grain enthusiasts came and participated, hearing all we had to say and sharing some of their own wisdom on the topic. We talked about anatomy, characteristics, and how to grow, harvest, thresh, clean and cook common (and many uncommon) grains.
And the icing on the cake was that Margo and I spent about 5 hours the day before that grinding and making into biscuits wheat, rye, barley, triticale, oats, amaranth, corn, millet, quinoa, rice, sorghum, teff and buckwheat. We wanted everyone to get a feel for the distinctive taste of each grain. And we realized, as we were tasting them in class, that 13 biscuits are a lot to eat all in a little span of time. (We had a good bit left over).
What follows is one of the recipes that folks in the class were really interested in. More will probably come in subsequent posts...

Creeping Crust Cobbler (from Margo's mom)
Melt in 10' baking dish:

• ¼ c butter

Mix:

• 1 c barley flour (or whole wheat)
• ½ c sugar (can be reduced)
• 1 T baking powder

Mix in and then spoon over melted butter:

• ½ c milk or buttermilk

Heat and pour over dough:

• 3 c raspberries (or fruit of choice)
• ½ c or less sugar (or ¼ c honey)

Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F

Purslane Cake

We are blessed or infested, however one sees it, with an abundance of weeds in our garden. Most are some degree of irritation, whether that be through fast growth, thick roots, disturbing height, prickly leaves, choking vines, or some combination of these “qualities”. Only a small number stand out as neutral or nice. And out of these few, the greatest is Common Purslane (Portulaca oleracea). Many of you may be familiar with it, and many more may notice it as a result of this post. Which is well, because it is not only edible but packed with great vitamins and healthy traits, as many wild edibles are. But purslane specifically is endowed with more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other plant and, unlike fish oil, can be presented on the dinner table in many tantalizing ways from salads to stews.

As an added bonus, its roots aren't thick and it doesn't grow tall enough to choke out cultivated plants. Still, we do weed it to keep it in some semblance of control, and it was while weeding purslane that Margo introduced it to Makaiah, the son of our 6-month interns. She explained that you could eat it, and that it tasted good. He tasted it and then, trying to hold back his excitement, said "We should make purslane cake!" Margo asked him what ingredients he would use, and he was ready for her, saying "purslane, buckwheat, cinnamon, apples, and sugar," and asking if they could make it that day. She said now wasn't the best time for her, but that they could do it soon.
Which came around the other day, when I entered the house to find Margo and Makaiah making a lot of noise with the blender. Taking Makaiah's suggestions in mind, and adding a few other bits to make it a slightly predictable experience, Margo devised the following recipe:
Purslane Cake
Mix in a bowl:
2 cups buckwheat flour
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
In blender mix:
2 cups purslane
2 eggs
5 T applesauce
1 T oil
1 tsp vanilla
stir together, pour into a greased 9x9 baking dish, bake for 30 min. at 350°
serve with strawberry juice on top (mash strawberries, add a pinch of water)

Their improvements for next time include using apple chunks instead of sauce, and adding cream cheese frosting and lemon or orange peel.

Fava Bean Burgers

Margo pointed out to me that it has been suggested to us that Banner Fava Beans are not the tastiest, and that the bigger the bean, the tastier it is. That said, we here prefer a modest bean that grows very well to a delicious bean that doesn't. In the past year we have learned that most parts of the plant are edible (roots being the exception), and can be delicious. Last year at a fancy fund-raising dinner for Pacifica Gardens (a wonderful educational/community resource garden project that deserves its own post) one of the plates featured Fava Bean greens, the top 6" of immature plants which were then sautéed in wonderful things and served on baby potatoes... Mmmmm!

Almost immediately after being told that, yes, fava beans grow well here, but no, they don't taste good, Margo set out to create a recipe that would do them justice. Without further ado, I am going to give you the sheet she worked up on them. Photos are of flowering plants and dying, mature plants.

Summer 2007

In the garden we have just completed our harvest of mature fava beans. In the kitchen, I am playing with my new favorite recipe, fava bean burgers. At the table, we are delighting in each new batch of burgers soon to be accompanied by our own fresh tomatoes! We have enjoyed these burgers topped with steamed greens, onions, and vegetables or on our own sourdough rolls. Fava beans have a sweeter flavor than most beans; it is a unique taste to savor. (Fava beans are known to result in an allergic reaction of varying degrees in some people of Mediterranean decent, be aware.) For those interested in trying this garden treat, here is the recipe:

Soak overnight:
• 2 c. dried fava beans Drain the beans, cover with water, and cook until soft (add a bay leaf or two if desired).
Mash beans and add:
• 1 c. onion or green onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ c. mashed potatoes
• 1 T. flour
• 1 T. fresh thyme (or herb of your choice)
• ½ t. salt
• ½ t. pepper
• pinch of cayenne
When well mixed, shape into patties and cook on a lightly oiled or well-seasoned skillet until browned. Flip burgers and brown other side. This recipe was created with the intention of being as directly “from the garden” as possible. I experimented with adding an egg to hold the burgers together more and determined it did not make a difference. I encourage you to experiment with this recipe too. If you make any delightful discoveries or improvements I’d love to hear about them! - Margo :)