It's National Honey Month!

September is a month that generally haunts me. I want it to be wonderful - enjoy the perks of college football and school in session - but generally it seems the same as August: hot, bland, and disappointing.

But here's something to look forward to - September is National Honey Month! I love honey and use it in all sorts of ways.

Make sure to visit the honey locator to see what honey is available near you. When I was living in Nashville I had really bad allergies every year, but when I ate honey from my area, I promise it helped.
BUY HONEY LOCALLY!

For more information on all things honey, visit the National Honey Board.

Apple Raspberry Cake

8-10 servings

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 small Golden Delicous apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tablespoons plus one cup of sugar
1 cup fresh raspberries

3 large eggs 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour 9x9x2 inch baking pan. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples; sprinkle with two tablepoons sugar. Saute until tender and juices cook away, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool. Mix raspberries into apples.

Using electric mixer, beat remaining 6 tablespoons butter in medium bowl until fluffy. Beat in remaining 1 cup sugar, then eggs one at a time. Beat in lemon juice and vanilla extract. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and ginger over; beat in. Spread 1 3/4 cups batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with fruit.

Drop remaining batter evenly over by teaspoonfuls, spacing apart (batter will spead to cover during baking.)

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean and top is golden brown, about 50 minutes. Place cake on rack and cool completely.

Unbelievable Food

Seriously, this is the best pork I've ever cooked. Eat this, NOW. It is so simple and so delicious. I've also included a good iced tea recipe that goes well with it.

Bacon-wrapped Pork Loin with Cherries
total time - 1 hour, 15 minutes; serves 6

 1 2-lb piece boneless pork loin
 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
Black pepper
1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
6 slices of bacon
1 tablespoon currant jelly
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

- Heat oven to 350. Season the pork with the allspice and 1/2 tea pepper and place on a rimmed baking sheet.

- In a small bowl, combine cherries, parsley, and mustard. Spread evenly over the pork. Lay the bacon slices crosswise over the pork, overlapping them slightly and tucking the ends underneath. Roast for 45 minutes.

- In a small bowl, combine the jelly and vinegar. Brush over the bacon and continue roasting until thermometer registers 150, 10-15 minutes more. Let rest at least 10 minutes before slicing.


Iced Tea with Plums and Thyme
total time - 2 1/2 hours (includes cooling); serves 4

1 teabags (black or herbal)
2 tablespoons honey
1 plums, sliced
8 sprigs of fresh thyme

- In a large saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat, add the teabags, and let steep for 10  minutes. Discard the bags and allow the tea to cool to room temperature.

- Stir in the honey, plums, and thyme. Transfer to a pitcher and refrigerate until cool, about 1 1/2 hours. Serve over ice.

Oatmeal Raspberry Bars

I made these this past week and they were a hit - try them with the ingredients listed below or substitute with the fruit and jam of your choice. So good!

10 tblsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for the pan
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teasp salt
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
1 cup fresh raspberries

- Heat oven to 375. Butter an 8 inch square baking pan. in food processor, pulse the flour, sugar and salt to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the dough comes together. Transfer to a bowl and gently knead in the oats.
- Press all but 1/2 cup of the dough into the prepared pan. Spread the  jam evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/4 inch border around the edges. Scatter the raspberries over the jam and sprinkle with the remaining dough.
- Bake until the edges are golden, 25 to 28 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Downtown Birmingham

Welcome to our neighborhood. I am facinated by the buildings which surround us in our new apartment. I grew up in Birmingham (ok, Shelby County, but we call it 'Birmingham' anyway) but I am getting to know the city in a completely different way. Here are a couple of shots I've taken while traversing the city streets the past couple weeks. (P.S. - if my pictures and how they are spaced is quite wonky, forgive me, I can't figure out how to fix it.)





I love this building (and you can too - buy it!) It's called the "Leer Tower," but it's formerly the Thomas Jefferson Hotel. I just think it is gorgeous, even though it is in need of major renovation. It sits on 2nd Avenue North and 17th Street.





















Ah, the Alabama Theatre. It's one of my favorite places in the world, and I can see it from my window. I always went as a kid to watch old movies during the summer movie season. It's really remarkable and just astonishingly beautiful. They also hold concerts there.
















St. Paul's Catholic Church on 3rd Avenue North and 21st.





















We went down the street to the Magic City Grille. It may not look fancy, but man can they cook. I am happy to be back in the land of good eatin'.













Here's Judge eating fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Helpings are huge and it's cheaper if you go in the 22nd Street entrance rather than the 3rd Avenue North entrance.



















Birmingham skyline at dawn from our loft window. You can see the Lyric Theater with its lights still on beneath the Wachovia tower.













The Lyric Theater. It's an old Vaudeville theater built in 1914. They're in the process of restoring it and you can find out more here. It's located on the corner of 3rd Avenue North and Eighteenth Street. We can see it from our window.













Last but not least, here is Pete's Famous Hot Dogs. It is on 2nd Avenue North and is an eighty year old (or so) establishment. It is so tiny! Getting a cold Coca Cola and a Special Dog on a hot summer day is pure perfection.




















And here it is - the special dog!

The Alabama Vegetarian

There's something I've been dying to write about, but really didn't know what to say.

So I'll just start and see how it goes although this subject is a bit tough for me. Not tough like talking about death or anything, but just an odd thing for me to come to grips with.

I am from Alabama. I adore it - love the hollows and hills, the many rivers filled with catfish and trout and crappie, the Native American town names, the culture of black and white folks, my sweet family and homegrown friends, the horizon and sound of cicadas. But one of the things I love the most about it - is the food.

It's true, Alabamians can fry anything. I went on a beach trip once where we actually fried a ham sandwich and my dear friend Dee ate it. We love butter and cheese and salt, and usually all three ingredients go into every dish we make. And rule #1 is - meat with every meal.

When Judge and I ate breakfast, it would usually be eggs and toast, and always some sort of ham product - bacon or sausage, or at least sausage gravy. Lunch would be a turkey sandwich, or a salad, with bacon, or chicken. Dinner was fried chicken, lasagna, cheeseburgers, etc. We may have had vegetables on the side, but it always revolved around meat.

One day Judge came home from his restaurant job and said, "I didn't eat meat today." Now, this didn't bowl me over, I mean, we had EATEN meals without meat, it just wasn't the usual practice. I blinked and said, "okay," and he still stood there. "I think I'm going to try to not eat it again tonight," he offered. Fine with me, I thought.

Well, that was almost two months ago, and we haven't eaten meat since (save for twice having a bit of tuna salad or shrimp) and it hasn't been a struggle. I haven't missed it. The girl who claims Dreamland Bar-be-que as her favorite meal in the entire universe has been a, gulp, vegetarian, for almost two months. It was never my plan to become the thing I used to make fun of, and even now when I use the word, "vegetarian," it gives me shivers down my spine. It's almost like my culture tells me that moniker isn't supposed to describe ME. But it does, and I'm slowly becoming to revel in it, and I know my body is.

I can't believe how good I feel, both physically and mentally, about this conscious and unconscious choice to avoid meat in my meals. My head is clearer (is that possible?), my stomach (which has long been my biggest enemy) hasn't hurt the first time, and I feel alive, more vibrant, and wake up each morning with a lightness that I have never felt. Perhaps it is because in this transistion, in supplementing vegetables and grains for meat products, I am getting ten times the nutrition that I had taken in before. I have discovered foods that I had never heard of (millet, seitan, quinoa) or never tried (kale, chard, lentils), and I am in love with them all.

But what about BBQ? What about that smell of meat on a grill and a medium rare steak oozing on a plate? These are my favorites, right? Well, the smell of meat on a grill still makes me take a deep breath, but I've found I don't miss the MEAT in the equation, but I miss the CONDIMENT. We made the most killer lasagna the other night (with cheese, but good cheese. I can't go all vegan yet) and it was just like Momma P makes (sorry Ma). It wasn't the meat I missed, but the hot, steaming tomato sauce and the texture of the vegetable protein and soy that feels like meat when you eat it. Make a good sauce and anything tastes good.

This is not to say that I'm slathering all my veggies in sauces or condiments. But when you want that rich, complex taste of a variety of flavors, we make something like fake chicken parmesan, or eat veggie burgers. Otherwise, we're making millet loaf - which is just like meat loaf, but light, airy, and soooooo good for you. Millet is one of the oldest grains in the world, and use to be what humans ate instead of wheat. It is THE most digestible grain, chock full of B vitamins and iron. I now make my own everything - hummus, tzahiki sauce, pesto, dressings, etc - and with the exception of breakfast (I still love a good bagel and cup of tea out for breakfast) we eat every meal at home, and spend less money. We're shopping at Turnip Truck, the local organic/natural food market, and buying less and eating better food.

I suppose why this topic is tough for me is the culture issue. Not eating meat makes me feel like a wimp, even though I'm a 21st century woman. I am from Alabama. We eat barbeque, hamburgers and hot dogs during football games, and it's a shame to turn down a pork chop from Momma P. They're delish. I haven't been home since I've made this change, and it may be tough when I return to explain how my eating habits have altered, but they're good peeps and I know they'll ultimately understand. You can look at me and see I'm healthier. I'm happier - which seems weird that food can do that - but it's true.

I decided to read up on nutrition because I wanted to make sure Judge and I were getting what we needed when eliminating a major part of our previous diet. Reading up on the subject changed my mind forever - I no longer worry that I'm not getting the vitamins I need - because if I have a diverse diet, if I eat a variety of sources of protein, iron, calcium, B vitamins (these are important!) then I'm fine - and I'm better off than eating meat. Meat doesn't process well in your system, it doesn't break down like veggies, and I know I'm not eating animals that have been slaughtered in an unjust manner and shot full of hormones or fed their own species. Eating too much protein can cause cancer and strokes, and eating all the vegetables I'm eating, especially raw, prevents against such diseases.

One of the books I read was The Vegan Sourcebook, by Joanne Stepaniak. She spent half the book telling the history of vegetarianism and veganism, and it really got me to thinking, even more than movies like Food Inc., or Michael Pollan's books about how to eat, because she lays out why it makes a difference to change your life and start treating animals with more respect. (I know! I sound ridiclious! I can't believe I'm saying this hippie nonsense! But it's true, and I've drank the Kool-aid, folks.) She says that people who decide to become vegetarians for their diet or health usually fail and return to their meat-eating ways. But, if you decide that you aren't eating meat because you love animals, and want to avoid being part of the problem of abuse, environmental detriment, and want to change the world through activism and respect, then you stick with it.

I wanted to write this here for anyone who was on the fence about ever becoming vegetarian. I didn't think I could do it. I thought of it like "going on a diet." It's not. It has changed my life, and really for the better. I actually feel like I'm a more peaceful person (I shake my head when I say this, unbelieving this is coming out of my mouth) and my body has responded to the change with a vengeance, and just you wait - it may be the reason I conquer the world! Laden with lentils, buckwheat, Swiss chard, and cucumbers, I can do anything! Okay, now I'm just being silly, but I do feel empowered, and I suggest trying it, even for a week or two to cleanse your system. You'll be amazed. Read up on some recipes (avoid tofu because most of it is genetically engineered, but that is another post altogether) and try it out. You just may surprise yourself. I did.

Additional reading:
The Vegetarian Resource Group
Vegetarian Nutrition
Lifecycle Nutrition
All Recipes - Vegetarian
VegCooking.com
Vegetarian Times
The Vegan Sourcebook, by Joanne Stepaniak
The Vegan Kitchen, by Freya Dinshah
Living the Good Life, by Helen and Scott Nearing
The Case for Animal Rights, by Tom Regan
Nutritional Yeast Cookbook, by Joanne Stepaniak

Local Farms Online

Here's a list of Middle Tennessee farms that produce local veggies, herbs, and the like. A lot of them offer classes on farming, cheese making, etc., or are CSAs you can help out with. Check them out:

• Eaton's Creek Organics in Joelton.

• Three Creeks Farm in Charlotte. (They have sheep!)

• Chestnut Hill Ranch in Only. (Eggs and beef)

• Pipsissewa Herbs, east of Nashville. (She's a medicine woman!)

• Mushroom People in Summertown.

• Long Hungry Creek Farm in Red Boiling Springs.

• Madison Creek Farms in Goodlettsville. (They have a market on premisis!)

• Standing Stone Nubians in Gallatin. (Goats! Cheese!)

• Timbertop Farm in Ashland City.

Psst!

I have a few things to say about this lady. I will call her, Aurelia. Why? Because it's one name that sticks out to me as being Mediterranean, meaning, when I studied Latin and a wee bit of Greek in school, Aurelia was a name that came up a lot in the teaching texts. So, she's Aurelia. I want to break this down for you, why I have her here on my blog.

1. This picture was taken at the Nashville Farmer's Market. Now, I have seen this image, of "Aurelia" many times in many different locales, so she gets around. She is always advertising that product with that look on her face. Usually in gyro shops, Greek, Lebanese, etc. They seem to feel that Aurelia does wonders to demonstrate how you are supposed to enjoy gyros.

2. Can you see how much makeup she has on? I mean, look closely. Granted, this is not a high res photo, so it may be difficult, but the lady has CAKED ON makeup. Like enough foundation to mortar bricks together. Seriously. What is up with the makeup? The lipstick - well - that is another thing altogether. (If you can't tell from the size of the photo, she has light lipstick on with a dark, dark outer ring of lip liner.) There is a David Cross piece on his first stand-up album that talks about women who paint their mouths like that. Let's just say that it looks like a certain body part, and I will not mention it here, because this is a family blog. But I'm sure you can locate the clip somewhere or perhaps you've already heard it. She is an example of this kind of makeup phenomenon faux pas.

3. Does she have eyebrows or are they just painted on?

4. Does this woman look Greek to you? Not that she has to be Greek to advertise a Greek product, but does she look Greek? I think of olive-skinned (naturally, not through tons of foundation or spray tan), dark-haired people. (Oh wait, perhaps she IS dark-haired, but she has washed it out with the fourteen bottles of peroxide it took to make her platinum-haired.)

5. Are we supposed to believe that in the second after the photo was snapped that she is going to take a big bite of that gyro sandwich? Do you see the size of the sandwich? It is made for Andre the Giant and there's no way Aurelia could fit her mouth around that meat monstrosity. It is an absurdly large sandwich. Which brings me to my next point...

6. Really? So this is supposed to look hyper sexual? I mean, I know advertisers use obliquely sexual themes whenever they sell items, but this just looks like pseudo-porn to me. Why? I don't know. Maybe it's all the makeup, the suggestive face, the huge amount of meat. I don't know. But whenever I see it, I feel sorry for Aurelia, and wonder if she also posed for car-pin-up magazines or if she only does food product advertising. Perhaps she's also on some taziki sauce ad or something for stuffed grape leaves.

7. My last point is that I, in no way, have anything against our sweet, dear, gyro-advertising Aurelia. I do want to nominate her for a makeover done by Oprah or Kelly Ripa or something, but I have no qualms with her, personally. I am a bit scared of this advertisement and whenever I see it, I kind of feel like my eyeballs are being assaulted with cosmetic products and a handful of lamb meat. But I wish Aurelia (or Jane, or Lynn, or whatever her real name is) the best in her modeling career. She has done one heck of a job getting my attention, so obviously she has attention-getting qualities, and dozens and dozens of gyro shops across the land want her to sell their lamb, so good for her. Just take off the makeup, Aurelia.

Local Food Links for You

Local Table - A guide to food and farming in Middle Tennessee.

Food Security Partners - Joining together to create and sustain a secure and healthy food system for Middle Tennessee, from production to consumption.

Nashville Farmers Market - Nashville's public market since 1828.

Gardens of Babylon - Located at the Farmer's Market in Nashville, they are dedicated to natural, organic, sustainable garden and landscape solutions.

Team Green - Hook up with people out and about in Middle Tennessee being active.

East Nashville Farmer's Market - For those of you on my side of the river, there's a fantastic market that happens every Wednesday from May to October.