Douglas Subbiondo - Nature Works - San Francisco, California - Personal Vegan Chef - Landscaper

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slow winter salad

feel connection to the season with fresh greens. vacuum sealed bags of greens are no substitute for a fresh head of lettuce.

so, pick, or have delivered to your home, a beautiful head of winter lettuce.

say hello, and how do you do -- it is shortly to be your salad

pull off and compost damaged leaves, feeling free to salvage healthy bits

with EACH large leaf of lettuce, slice vertically through the center of the rib, and tear remains into BITE-size pieces. swirl lettuce in bowl of filtered (always preferred) water. let sit 5 minutes while sediment falls.

place all leaves in a salad spinner (it is time to invest, all, in a salad spinner.. oxo makes one that is flawless). spin dry. twice.

in a clean dry bowl, mix leafs with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt and fresh ground pepper

optional additions to dressing: mustard, soy sauce, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, pomegranate molasses, garlic, other vinegars

garnish or fortify salad with: pumpkin or squash seeds, nuts, pomegranate jewels, raisins

enjoy

namaste -- douglas

Posted 12/20/2006 link |

sesame. hummus.

brace yourselves.

one can organic garbanzos, drained and rinsed

tahini, sesame oil, sesame seeds, olive oil, sea salt, 5 olives

1-2 cloves garlic, 1 lemon

the 'dregs' of your jar of red pepper flakes (trust me, it makes it hot all the way through)

unreal!

namaste

douglas

Posted 12/20/2006 link |

winter recipe: butternut squash

peel squash. shave off top and bottom. cut in half -- longways.

slice each half into 1/4" slices

toss slices with olive oil, honey, rosemary, salt, and pepper (red or black or both)

place in oven safe dish or pan and bake til soft at 375 (20-30 min), tossing or stirring after first 15 min

you have made winter tears

namaste

douglas

Posted 12/20/2006 link |

look at them settled.

there is much rain yet to fall, but the sooner natives are planted in the ground, in the winter, the more optimally they will live all year. these are the thistle and iris i planted some weeks back.

Posted 12/13/2006 link |

have you seen our city's oxalis zoo?

come see this curious animal of a plant, across from our majestic city hall -- immediately to its south, across grove, between van ness and polk. there exists a vacant lot, behind chain link fence, where oxalis pes-caprae, a native to south africa has been left to its own devise.

oxalis pes-caprae is distinguished by being one of the five most invasive plants on the san francisco peninsula. eradicating oxalis from one's garden is a herculean task, and rarely ever accomplished -- this zoo represents a chance to admire this special plant in a contained and non-threatening environment. bring the kids.

namaste

douglas

Posted 12/07/2006 link |

tomato sauce. with sprinkles!

marinara sauce:

a fast cooked tomato food, excellent on pasta, millet, squash, bread, and a whole lot more

-first, embrace olive oil
as you pour 1/4 cup of it into a wide-bottomed sauce pan
-with red pepper flakes to taste (and a sprig of fresh oregano or thyme, optional, to flavor the oil)
bring to heat slowly (olive oil 'burns' easily and is then unpleasant)
-toss in 4-7 cloves of chopped garlic
garlic should become fragrant and yellow, not brown, over medium-low heat
-add then a 28 ounce can of your favorite organic tomatoes
(if dinner is to be pasta for 5 people or more, i will add also a 14 ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes in addition to the first -- i like it saucy). any style of canned tomatoes, except crushed works well. if whole, cut into pieces with scissors directly in can.
-a dash then of dried thyme or oregano, or fresh sprigs of either
simmer until the rest of dinner is ready (as little as 15 minutes)

as great recipes go, this one too is highly amendable -- olives, sundried tomatoes, coriander, pre-sauteed chard stems -- all are amazing additions. be creative.

and then, to sprinkle on top: nuts or lightly toasted seeds, whirly-birded*, with coarse sea salt and herbs (thyme works well, with cashews, sunflower seeds, etc). i am not an advocate of soy parmesan.

*to whirly-bird a food stuff is to place it into a food processor and then pressing 'on'

Posted 12/07/2006 link |

bury your scraps?!

yes. bury deeply the compostables that accumulate in your kitchen, and your garden will receive a time release feed of rich organic matter. omit though, please, the meat and dairy. your garden has far less need and use for your meat and dairy.

this is your big chance to dig holes! -- careful holes, brutish holes, square holes, round holes. shape and style do not matter. see what the residents before you were burying. the top of the scraps should simply be at least 14" below the ground plain. the caveats: do not bury a plastic bag containing plant material. do not dig holes immediately adjacent to established plants -- root damage happens, and the benefits are outweighed. this is not a strategy for already dense gardens -- before they become dense is the time. i have dug the last of my compost holes in my garden.

stay tuned for compost strategies, post-burial

peace -- namaste

douglas

Posted 12/06/2006 link |