feast your eyes

last week, my neighbor and facebook pal, elaine, suggested that i submit a few photos for a feature on TODAY.com called feast your eyes. it sounded like a great idea, but i was up to my eyeballs at work and i barely had time for lunch [granola and yogurt] at my desk. i was also having a day where i just couldn't focus. but this seemed like a great opportunity, so i found the photos i liked best, i hit send and got back to what i was doing. thought nothing more.

until today.

i opened my email to a lovely message letting me know that my photo of delicious caprese skewers that i'd made for a friend's july 4th barbeque had been chosen as a featured photo! seriously. very, very exciting in my little world.

what's next...matt lauer eating my food? yes, please!

kitchen MVP

a few months ago, i was on the lookout for a new grating tool and a chef friend of mine recommended a microplane. so, i hit up williams-sonoma at towson town center [and that store is dangerously close to anthropologie...] and got one. I LOVE THIS THING.

i use it to grate cheese, zest lemons, mince garlic, onions, chocolate and more. i only wish i'd been able to get one of the cool new colors - i've seen green, fuchia, purple, blue, yellow...quite cute.

do you have one of these? highly, highly recommend. check out this set...it contains a zester/grater, medium ribbon grater and extra coarse grater.

urban farming, hon

wow, look how little they were back in june...

the girls got their big break on the local news yesterday! i even got the title of 'urban farmer' while on camera. hilarious. and...since getting their two minutes of fame, the chickens have been prancing, strutting...beaks up in the air. i swear i saw dottie smiling - she really liked that mike schuh guy. i hope the piece convinces some city folks who'd been on the fence to jump in and become chicken keepers!

unfortunately, they are also beginning to display some j-lo-esque diva behavior...

clara is demanding cotton candy for bedding instead of pine shavings.

millie would like sauvignon blanc instead of water. she actually could use a drink, so i'm considering it.

dottie? she's all about black truffles. says they need to be from a specific region in italy. i'm googling.

good old gert. she's too polite to ask...but i think she wants something...maybe old bay on her corn cobs?


whether on the actual blog or on facebook, please do share and make comments! i want to know what foods you're growing, cooking, eating and obsessed with - for me, lately, it's watermelon, tomato and feta salads...

charmcitycook turned one year old last month - it's been such a great creative outlet, emotional comfort when needed and it's inspired me to try even more new things all the time. i guess 40 actually is the new 30, because that's when i fell in love with food.

thanks, hon. keep on cooking.

chicKENS!

UPDATE! we finally, finally had the all-important coop inspection, hon. as he came into the house, the nice city animal officer said "well, hello again...how are the chicks?" turns out he was the same inspector who came by last month when someone reported me. he took pics, asked questions and said everything looked fine and that the chickens looked really healthy. next step, he sends a report back to his boss and then...the girls will be full-on legit. bring it on.


the girls...

millie [white] is a nervous little girl and hard to catch.

gertie [black/grey] is sweet and calm. she takes a lot of crap from the other three. love her.

clara [reddish] is full of sauce. large and in charge. do not mess with this one.

dottie [light greyish] is sort of switzerland-esque. just goes with the flow and tries to blend in.

think i know their breeds, but still waiting to see if they are - in fact - girls. will know in a few months. if any turn out to be boys, they will no longer be city chickens. wonder if they'd lose their hampden accent when they go back to the farm? whaddayous think?

oh and...one of my neighbors actually reported me! a knock at the door on a sunday night...very nice animal control officer informs me that someone has anonymously - of course - called to say i had illegal chickens. wowwww. he asked to see them, i said, sure thing...and he took a look in the coop and said with a smile and a slighty raised voice, "clearly, someone has too much time on their hands. your chicks look great and you're fine." thank you, sir.

well, they've been living in a rabbit hutch for the last six weeks or so. [big thanks to joanne!] thankfully, they are now in their new digs. they are doing lots of perching, pecking, chirping, eating and napping. and...they've figured out the whole 'ramp that leads to the coop' thing. sort of. huge thanks to my friends rob and lauren for all of their help with design, supplies and the actual building of the coop and run. i have the best friends. lovely, fresh eggs are coming their way in the fall...


here the chickens head up the ramp for the first time.

they love bananas [and melon rinds, strawberries, potatoes, etc...and of course, chicken feed.]

take a look at how LITTLE they were just six weeks ago...holy cuteness.



the adventure continues...so far, i like this whole city chickens thing.

market faves

what are some of your favorite things at the farmers market?

here are some of mine from waverly...

berries, berries, berries



thomas' peas

broom's bloom ice cream

andy's eggs

rhubarb - for pies and...making rhubarb vodka right now...

one straw farm beets

fiddlehead ferns from the mushroom lady

corn

tomatoes

chesapeake microgreens - love their boston lettuce, too

zeke's coffee - tell tale dark and gunpowder espresso are faves

p.s. my friend [and former babysittee] peter elmore is writing a great blog about farm life at one straw farm, the organic farm run by his aunt and uncle, joan and drew norman. check it out!

garlic scapes

i first saw garlic scapes in my one straw farm CSA share last year. they are like garlic, only milder and they come in season earlier than garlic. to me, they look sort of sculptural...beautiful, actually. as i walked out of the farmers market this morning, three people stopped me to ask what they were and how to use it. since joan norman had schooled me in this [and so many other areas] i told them i'd planned to make white bean dip...and but you can use it in lots of other ways. here are some ideas.

here is the recipe i used for the dip - really, really good. i took the blogger's advice and added more beans and it came out great. distinct garlic taste, but not overwhelming. i also recommend blanching the scapes before you puree them if you want a more mellow garlic flavor. i dipped into mine with some warm, soft sour dough bread.

white bean and garlic scapes dip

by melissa clark, new york times
time: 15 minutes

1/3 cup sliced garlic scapes [3 to 4]
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, more to taste
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt, more to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 can [15 ounces] cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
[note: add a second can of bean if you want it to be less garlic-y]
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, more for drizzling


1.in a food processor, process garlic scapes with lemon juice, salt and pepper until finely chopped. add cannellini beans and process to a rough purée.

2. with motor running, slowly drizzle olive oil through feed tube and process until fairly smooth. pulse in 2 or 3 tablespoons water, or more, until mixture is the consistency of a dip. add more salt, pepper and/or lemon juice, if desired.

3. spread out dip on a plate, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with more salt.
yield: 1 1/2 cups

City Peeps

Over the weekend, I went to One Straw Farm for a picnic. They have these really fun gatherings with music and food out on the farm in White Hall for all of the CSA members a few times each season. I've known the farmers - Joan and Drew Norman - a long time now. They are good peeps. Which brings me to my new peeps. But first...take a look at this goodness I made for the picnic.

At the picnic, I was talking with Joan about keeping chickens and she said, "Do you want some chicks? We have some!" I immediately said, "Oh, yes - that would be so great!" Yes? Am I insane? Well, not really. I'd been thinking about keeping chickens for a while..did some research last year and just never did it. So, when she offered the chicks, it was the perfect opportunity to jump in. Full on. I picked four chicks out of the brooder - each one looks different which not only means they are different breeds, but also I can tell them apart very easily. As my friend drove us home, I called my Mom to tell her the exciting news and her reply was, "You got WHAT?"

Even though I've lived in the city for a long time, I don't really consider myself a total city person. I grew up in the country...not on a farm, but surrounded by farms in Kingsville, MD, which is a gorgeous place, even now with many more houses than farms. My Mom grew up on a working farm in Harford County and my grandparents, Clark and Mary Fitzpatrick,  ran the "County Home" in Bel Air, a very early homeless shelter. The house is known as the Aquila Scott Home and had many interesting characters staying there - I've heard so many great stories of that place from my Mom over the years. My grandfather was a farmer and my grandmother was a fabulous cook. Everything was fresh, of course...milk and butter came from the cows, fresh eggs and meat from the chickens, etc. She was really known for feeding people and I like to think that's where I got my love of cooking. She made fabulous cakes and usually didn't follow recipes. I love that about her, but no recipes = I can't replicate her stuff! My grandparents' home is still there on Tollgate Road and houses the Harford County Park + Recreation Offices. Just look for the duck pond.

So, as I enter the land of city chicken keeping...I'm finding that my roots are beginning to really come into play and it makes me think of the generations that came before me. Sadly, I never knew any of my grandparents. My Mom's mother, Mary, whom I described earlier, was our last living grandparent for many years. Every time my mother would become pregnant, she'd buy dresses and dresses. And, each time...six in a row...Mom delivered a boy and the dresses just piled up. Then, she finally had me. But my grandmother died on May 16, 1967...one month to the day before I was born. Everyone said Mom should name me Mary, but she named me Amy from the book, Little Women. I would have been happy to be Mary, Amy, Margaret (after Mom) whatever...it doesn't really matter to me. I've got my grandmother in my blood. I'm a cook. It's just so funny that I didn't realize it til I hit 40.

...Back to the Langrehr chickens of 2011. They are growing fast, so i'm hoping to document their progress weekly. Today, I'm heading to Kingsville to borrow a rabbit hutch, which will be the chicks' home over the summer, until I get a proper coop built.

I love this coop...sadly, I can't swing this one. Isn't it gorgeous?

Right now, the chicks are in my dining room in an old lobster crate I picked up at an estate sale - it's perfect. My labrador Henry is interested, but knows "leave it" and "no" pretty well...and when they get big, I'm pretty sure they will show him who's boss. That, I can't wait to see. Here he is meeting the chicks that first night.

Thinking about keeping chickens at your place? Here are some good sources of info:

My Pet Chicken

Backyard Chickens

Urban Chickens

p.s. I will still buy fresh eggs from Andy at the Waverly Farmers Market, but eventually, just not as many!