Ode to Gleaners
November 15, 2007
I was recently inspired to hunt down a documentary by the French experimental film maker, Agnes Varda (b. 1928), entitled "Les Glaneurs et la glaneuse" (The Gleaners and I) after visiting the Fancy Tiger and inquiring after knitting and sewing classes. While discussing aspects of the arts and craft movement in urban America, the conversation turned quickly to food, my favorite topic. During the discussion of various techniques of food preservation such as canning and drying, I was confronted with a very provocative proposition - dumpster diving and putting recycled goods to use (like clothes, appliances, recycled art, etc) as a form of modern/urban gleaning.Gleaning immediately invoked in my mind the story of Naomi and Ruth of the Book of Ruth. Aside from the fact that Ruth, a widow, chose to stay with her mother-in-law Naomi and care for her rather than return to her own family, what always struck me about her story was the lengths she went in order not to let her mother-in-law go hungry. At one point in their epic journey, Ruth goes into the fields to glean for food.
Gleaning is an ancient practice of hand-collecting crops from fields after they have been harvested. In some cultures and societies, gleaning is promoted as a form of social welfare by laws (both religious and legal) requiring farmers to leave a portion of their field unharvested and leaving it for the poor to glean.
For instance, the passages of laws from the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy instruct farmers not to harvest everything, but to leave it to the poor and for strangers: "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien." Leviticus 19:9-10 (NIV version) (see also Leviticus 23:22; Deuteronomy 24:19).
In modern times, societies have either promoted gleaning or crushed the practice all together. In the former Soviet Union, the "Seven Eighths" law, or Law of Spikilets was passed on 7/8/1932 and permitted authorities to arrest peasants and children caught gleaning the leftover grains ("spikilets") in the fields as a crime against state grain production. The French on the other hand, maintain an extensive system of laws that protect the practice of gleaning, as explored in Agnes Varda’s film.
Gleaning is certainly practiced in the modern era, not only by urban homeless in dumpsters, but even my family. As a child, we stalked the public lands of the southwest often for a crop of pine nuts - pulling out our blankets and combing the forest floor for the seeds. You can see these little treasures in my very first blog on Pinon.
While I cannot lay claim to a field or forest nearby for gleaning, gleaning in my town is all about making and following your very own feral fruit map. My boyfriend has this habit of riding his bike around the neighborhood in search of fruit trees such as pears, apples, and alley grape vines and bringing home a grocery bag full of his finds. While I discount this practice as a form of trespass, he always defends himself saying that the fruit just falls off and goes to waste otherwise. Confronted now with the idea of modern/urban gleaning, I have to say he is right.
So with this thought, I bring you the feral fruit harvest of my neighborhood. In one evening, I managed to find pears, apples, and concord grapes. I also decided to follow the feral fruit map method. I found this link about an artist's take on gleaning and the Fallen Fruit movement while researching gleaning and thought it was apt for this blog and a great way to bring some legitimacy to the feral fruit gatherers of your neighborhood in the hope that you join, rather than scorn them.
I also bring you a simple recipe for concord grape juice. While it is very late in the season, some grape vines are still producing the last of their fruit before a hard frost. If you are lucky, you too can enjoy some homemade juice.
You will need:
- 2 pounds of concord grapes
- 3 cups of water
- sugar to taste
Step one: Pick through the grapes and separate the vines, twigs, and leaves out. Wash the grapes thoroughly. Place them in a large stock pot and crush them with your hands. Add the water.
Step Two: Cook the grapes over medium-low heat. You do not want the grapes to boil, rather, you want them to simmer slightly. Cook the grapes for about 30 minutes once they begin to simmer. Add sugar to taste (about 1/2 cup does the trick, and use evaporated cane juice if you can find it). You can also choose to add no sugar if your grapes are overripe.
Step Three: After the mixture cools, strain it through a large sieve or Chinoise (china cap stainless steel strainer). Pour the juice into a container for storage in the refrigerator.
Note: the picture of "The Gleaners" is an oil on canvas from 1857 by Jean-François Millet.
Labels: agnes varda, feral, fruit, gleaners, grape juice, harvest, traditional
Farmer's Market
October 01, 2007
Fall is upon us and the harvest is at a farmer's stand near you. This weekend, I had the privilege to enjoy my local farmer's market. The height of the market may
vary where you live, but October is filled with an array of squash, potatoes of all colors, onions of all kinds, the beginnings of corn, ripe pumpkins, and the tailings of hot and sweet peppers. To my surprise, cucumbers and eggplants are also in full bloom, along with hearty heirloom tomatoes and "early girl" egg shaped tomatoes.
At my farmer's market, I found so much amazing produce (almost all of it organic and grown within 25 miles) that after purchasing lemon cucumbers, purple haze garlic bulbs, and yellow pear tomatoes, I decided to seek out one of the farms selling produce at the market -Abbodanza Organic Seeds and Produce.
Buying from your local farmer's market or roadside farmer's stand is not just about "buying locally" in the sense that you are supporting local growers and farmers, (a good thing) rather, I propose that purchasing power is really about modern-day social change.
Next time you eat, consider how far every item on your plate had to travel to reach your fork. One website shows a breakdown of certain produce and the miles it travels to reach markets in Chicago, Illinois. Pretty amazing to consider that a commonly consumed product lik
e apples travels an average of 1500 miles before you get to eat it (makes me cringe to think of my morning coffee and banana habit). Another article from the BBC explains in a much more in-depth way how your food choices impact the environment due to the energy it takes to transport.
If environmentalism is not high on your list of concerns because you are barely making ends meet, consider your pocket book. It is no secret that high fuel costs are driving up the cost of food and fueling inflation. Purchasing produce, meat, and dairy from local growers means your food has a lower price tag that excludes excess fuel costs. Cost benefit analysis is still part of the environmental equation, however. As a child, I remember my parents purchasing a quarter of a cow each year from a cattle rancher who corn fed his beef, and raised them not more than 20 miles from our house. The best part is that he butchered and packed the meat for us to enjoy all year long. My parents purchased meat this way, not to save the environment, but to save money. They were able to purchase a larger quantity of high quality beef and feed five children in a much more cost effective manner than buying meat each time they needed to prepare a meal - and who knew? They also reduced quite a bit of carbon emissions and prevented wasted packaging in the process.
vary where you live, but October is filled with an array of squash, potatoes of all colors, onions of all kinds, the beginnings of corn, ripe pumpkins, and the tailings of hot and sweet peppers. To my surprise, cucumbers and eggplants are also in full bloom, along with hearty heirloom tomatoes and "early girl" egg shaped tomatoes.
At my farmer's market, I found so much amazing produce (almost all of it organic and grown within 25 miles) that after purchasing lemon cucumbers, purple haze garlic bulbs, and yellow pear tomatoes, I decided to seek out one of the farms selling produce at the market -Abbodanza Organic Seeds and Produce.Abbodanza - literally "abundance" - is a Community Supported Agricultural co-op located in Lafayette, Colorado. The farm is supported by the community of Lafayette as part of an initiative where voters approved the leasing of open space for organic farming. Thomas Open Space, located at 1640 W. Baseline Rd in Lafayette between 95th and 287, is now home to Abbodanza farms for the next three years. The farm stand is open on the weekends, through Halloween, and features produce like none other. I purchased two large cardboard boxes worth of produce - everything from potatoes, to shallots, and pie pumpkins. The presentation of eggplants, however, is what really won me over. Every variety of eggplant I could name was on a table in front of me in the many shades of purple, green, and white it can be.
Buying from your local farmer's market or roadside farmer's stand is not just about "buying locally" in the sense that you are supporting local growers and farmers, (a good thing) rather, I propose that purchasing power is really about modern-day social change.Considering the impact your food has on the values you hold near and dear may rearrange your purchasing habits. For some people, religious values, or morals may dictate food choices, but for me, a consideration of the environmental impact my food choices have is what primarily dictates whether I'll buy strawberries out of season, or purchase shell fish (I'm land locked!).
Next time you eat, consider how far every item on your plate had to travel to reach your fork. One website shows a breakdown of certain produce and the miles it travels to reach markets in Chicago, Illinois. Pretty amazing to consider that a commonly consumed product lik
e apples travels an average of 1500 miles before you get to eat it (makes me cringe to think of my morning coffee and banana habit). Another article from the BBC explains in a much more in-depth way how your food choices impact the environment due to the energy it takes to transport.Produce aside, the environmental impact of meat production is quite scary. If you never considered vegetarianism out of ethical concerns, you may rethink your position if you are concerned about your "carbon footprint" or the emissions caused by the production and consumption of meat. One recent article from the Guardian (a British newspaper), "Meat production 'beefs up emissions,'" had this to say about meat production: "Producing 1kg of beef results in more CO2 emissions than going for a three-hour drive while leaving all the lights on at home, scientists said today."
If environmentalism is not high on your list of concerns because you are barely making ends meet, consider your pocket book. It is no secret that high fuel costs are driving up the cost of food and fueling inflation. Purchasing produce, meat, and dairy from local growers means your food has a lower price tag that excludes excess fuel costs. Cost benefit analysis is still part of the environmental equation, however. As a child, I remember my parents purchasing a quarter of a cow each year from a cattle rancher who corn fed his beef, and raised them not more than 20 miles from our house. The best part is that he butchered and packed the meat for us to enjoy all year long. My parents purchased meat this way, not to save the environment, but to save money. They were able to purchase a larger quantity of high quality beef and feed five children in a much more cost effective manner than buying meat each time they needed to prepare a meal - and who knew? They also reduced quite a bit of carbon emissions and prevented wasted packaging in the process.
If you've never been to the farmer's market, or wonder whether you'd like to rekindle those pre-school days of visiting the pumpkin patch and picking your own jack-o-lantern, I suggest you go to Food Routes to find local markets, stands, growers, and producers in your neck of the woods. Taste the difference, and let me know what fun places you find. For now, I'll be haunting Abbodanza until Halloween.
Labels: farmer's market, food, harvest, local, produce, shopping
Green Chile Bounty
September 06, 2007
The labor day holiday, while an excellent homage to the common man, is also the peak of the green chile roasting season. For those obsessed with the recent seasonal food craze, there is no other season more perfect than late August and early September - during this delicate 4-6 week period, the green chile harvest begins and quickly ends in the smoke of open pit grill fires or cylindrical roasters throughout the southwest.
Green chile is consumed by the bushel in my family, and I couldn’t wait to get mine this year with my mom. For my boyfriend, this was the first time he’d ever had to prepare green chile for freezing, and some explanation was required, which I give you here.
First, what are green chiles? Why they are the most deliciously edible member of the nightshade family of course! Oddly, many of the new world’s foods that are a part of the staple diet in Mexican homes is from the nightshade family: potatoes, chiles, and the famous tomato (of which Europeans were very suspicious knowing that the nightshade is also lethal in some strains). What makes chile so special is the capsicum - a chemical that encapsulates the seeds and forms pockets on the inside of the chile giving the fruit its intense or not-so-intense heat. Chiles come in many shapes, sizes, colors, and levels of sweet (i.e. a bell pepper), to practically lethal (i.e. habanero). The chile consumed by so many Mexicans of the southwest (and I iterate here "of the southwest"), is largely the variety known as Anaheim (which includes sub-varieties like Big Jim, and Pueblo Short).
Diversion: Now, my brother-in-law is from Mexico, but he sure doesn’t eat GREEN chile - that is because for some strange anthropological reason I don’t know, the Mexicanos and Indios of the southwest liked to work twice as hard as their southern counterparts and harvest chiles twice a year as opposed to once a year. Yes, you heard it here first, the red chile you eat in chile con carne, or some other noxious combination peddled in some awful Tex-Mex aisle of the grocery store is really just ripened green chile that has been dried and usually ground up. As you know from my other posts on how to make red chile for enchiladas, I usually re-hydrate whole dried red chiles from a ristra to make red chile. However, in New Mexico and southern Colorado, the folks really like their ground chile molido - the powder variety. I can never give you my recipe for red chile made from the powder though or else my mother would kill me. Sorry.
Okay, enough about red chile, back to green. So basically, the theory is that very dry and tough arid climates are good homes for growing chile. It is a hardy plant that will yield fruit in the most sun beaten conditions - ergo, New Mexico. All that "Hatch" chile talk is really just chile grown in the region of Hatch, New Mexico. It is famous for chile because it had good marketing tactics - but also because the dry and intense heat of that town contributes to the Hatch grown chile’s thick skin and good range of milds to scorching hot. Now, the New Mexico harvest occurs about 1 to 2 weeks prior to the southern Colorado harvest. This is why you can buy into mid-September if you are in Colorado.
Every year, my family ventures south for a big chile roasting shindig. We eat chile throughout the year that has been properly bagged in ziplocks and frozen until eaten. Sometimes, if my Mom and I feel really adventurous, we can our chiles in little glass jars with garlic, tomatoes and onions. It is a lot of work and requires some crazy canning skills like you’ve never seen before - it’s like Texas Ranch House got together with Fifties House on PBS and put Mexicans in it instead of Gabachos.
So here you are - in line with a bunch of other hungry folks, Gabachos and Mexicans alike, waiting for your turn in the roasting line. My mom told me that when she was a girl, there was a big shift in the green chile vendor market - someone got the bright idea of using a metal cylindrical cage to roast the chile in over a natural gas burner. This method permits you to roast a whole bushel at once, in about 20-30 minutes. This practice has remained the standard ever since. So, you order your bushels and varieties (usually labeled simply as Mild, Medium, Hot, Extra Hot, and Ejola!), have it roasted; it gets placed into a large plastic garbage bag and placed in a cardboard box, and you take it home. You carefully open the bag after about 30 minutes (to let the steam settle and not burn your face off), and then you start bagging the chiles in quart size ziplock baggies for freezing all winter long. You also eat about 30 tortillas filled with the peeled chiles, along with some ajo picado and onion, with salt, and try not to rub your eyes. MMMMMMM.
Now I realize you’ve read this far hoping that I will give you a recipe. So I will - a simple one that I will call plainly and perhaps misguidedly a "relish."
You will need:
- 8 to 10 roasted and peeled green chiles
- 4 cloves of crushed and minced garlic
- ½ minced white onion
- kosher salt
- flour tortillas
Step One: Chop up those chiles as fine as you can. I recommend that if the chiles are frozen, thoroughly thaw them first, then peel, de-seed, chop the stem off, and then proceed to chop away in front of the tele.
Step Two: Throw your garlic into the mix and continue chopping. Add the onions, chop chop.
Salt to taste. Eat this on a tortilla and its like you were at the chile harvest all over again. Perfect for eating on top of anything - chips, hotdogs, birthday cake, etc.), and guaranteed to make you cry.
Labels: chili, green chile, harvest, New Mexico, roast, traditional
Going to the Pinion
October 16, 2005
If you are lucky enough to live in southern Colorado or northern New Mexico, then you are already well aware of the bounty of pinion this year. For those of you reading this from lands beyond the southwest, please let me be the first to boast about this rare delight. Driving down I-25 between Las Vegas (NM) and Santa Fe, one may encounter an endless line of parked cars on the side of the highway appearing all but abandoned. If you are wondering why these cars are there, then you have never "gone to the pinion." Every few years (about 3) pine trees in the southwest are blessed with enough precipitation to yield pine nuts from the pine cone. While many of you have collected pine cones for silly crafts and Christmas ornaments, Mexicans are out in droves shaking all the nutty goodness out of these cones. "Going to the pinion" is an activity I loathed and loved as a girl. My father would pack his truck with tarps, buckets, and a cooler full of food. My sisters and I would sit in the truck while my dad meandered along forest roads looking for the fullest pine trees in the forest far away from other would-be pinion hunters. We would unload our equipment and tie bandanas around our heads. My dad arranged the tarp on the ground around the base of a tree and climbed halfway up in order to shake the tree top. Pine needles, cones, branches, bird nests, and eventually pine nuts came raining down on the tarp. We picked up each pine nut by hand and threw it into the buckets. When we finished with the tarp, we removed it and continued foraging around for pine nuts on the forest floor. This outdoor activity went on all day as long as there was light. We would go home, my mom would wash the sap out of our hair, and my dad would wash and prepare the pinion. He roasted the pinion on sheet pans in the oven. After the pinion cooked, my dad bathed the pinion in a salt bath and laid them over a cotton cloth on the kitchen table to dry. The next morning, we would all wake up extra early to start snacking on the fruits of our grueling labor. If you are still reading this and wondering why Mexicans are hunting around for pine nuts in the forest, all I can say as that this activity is unique to the southwest among both Native Americans and Mexicans alike. Also, if you are wondering why pine nuts cost about $10 - $15 per pound, now you know. So, if you are driving along the highway and notice a fertile pine tree calling your name, stop, stoop, and pick. P.S. don't pick a "smart ball" - it tastes like s***!
Labels: harvest, New Mexico, traditional
