"real food": food revolution day chattanooga, homemade raw ricotta, garlic scape sorrel pesto, and pesto goat cheese soufflé

the first strawberries of the year are coming in... for tarts, galettes, ice cream at my house

Fair warning: I'm going to indulge some soap box tendencies. Such are the perils of self-publishing. I wish I had an old crone on hand to warn you, croaking something along the lines of "Turn back weary space traveller! Beware! A yawning abyss, a terror...a 20-something with opinions lies ahead...." Alas, I'm fresh out of old crones. Anyway, I digress. Read on at your own risk, you stand warned. 

Here's the thing: real food shouldn't have to be called "real food". It's food. You eat it. With your mouth. It is earthen and innately real: animal, plant, mineral. But a disconnect has happened. More comfortable with a piece of cheese that has both the flavor and texture of the plastic it was wrapped in than with fresh milk, we've become so estranged from our food that we actually have to have conversations about what food even is. I'm pretty sure we can all agree that we don't want to eat homogenous soy/corn filler not unlike what they feed the ill starred animals on large factory farms. So. Food, more people should be eating it. We, the buyers, ultimately control the market. If we won't buy processed filler, they can't sell it.

sunflower shoots from the Market, they taste just like sunflower seeds!

local arugula, shaved radishes, spring onion, and shaved asparagus salad

Between the turn out at Michael Pollan's lecture at the Tivoli this past Thursday (the lecture was vital, pertinent, & funny...get The Omnivore's Dilemma if you don't already have it) and at the Chattanooga Sunday Market's first day of the season (it's biggest day ever), what I believe about Chattanooga is being further confirmed, really what I believe about people everywhere. And what I believe is that we are doing what absolutely must be done: revolutionizing the way we approach food, cooking, and eating.

Which brings me neatly to my next point: Food Revolution Day, a global event designed to raise both funds for food education and awareness about making healthy, ethical food choices. Chattanooga will be participating in Food Revolution Day with the event "Simply Local", which will be held at the Tennessee Aquarium on Saturday, May 19th. The day will be devoted to educating both adults and children on how and why to buy, cook, and eat local. With live cooking demonstrations and educational activities for children, it's about demystifying raw ingredients and food preparation so that the home cook feels comfortable buying and preparing food from the farmer's market. Mostly, it will be about eating awesome, fresh food. Which I'm pretty sure everyone can get down with. You know the old saying, teach a man to make kale chips, and he'll never buy Lays again. Or something like that.

local carrots

Why do I care? Do I care that it's better for the health of all parties concerned (people, animals, the planet itself)? Well, sure. Do I care that it puts money in the hands of my friends and neighbors as opposed to the hands of one of nine corporations that own just about every processed food brand you can think of? Definitely. I mean, is that really a question? Giving money to your own community enriches your life. Giving money to Pepsico and Nestle does...not. It's not going to do anything super fun or very cool for anyone. At all. Save Pepsico and Nestle.

sequatchie cove pork chops for the grill

What really drives my passion for food, at the core, is simply this: flavor. Cooking and eating are quite literally the art of living. Is is the fundamental force that drives us as a species. Nothing happens until we eat. To create, we must first be fed. A cook is only as good as their ingredients. As Thomas Keller said, "If I can get a better product than the chef right next to me, I'm going to be a better chef." I'm personally invested in this matter. I'm not a neutral party. Along with photography and the written word, cookery & baking are my chosen medium, the culinary arts, if you will. As such, I want my materials, as a cook, to be the best I can get. Fresh food produced sustainably and humanely tastes better. That is the bottom line.

farm fresh egg from Alexzanna Farms, fried in a biscuit cutter

I'm not an "ism" person. What I believe in is simple: honesty (most importantly with ourselves), willingness, and open mindedness. In this life we must be willing to examine and reevaluate our old ideas lest we stagnate. To stop learning is a dangerous and terribly boring thing. Whether you identify as vegan, vegetarian, locavore, flexitarian, gluten free, paleo, omnivore...what have you... mindfulness in all that we do, including how we purchase and prepare the foods of our choosing, makes for a life with infinitely more texture and beauty, one we will not regret having lived.

the chives I'm growing (still alive for now!) on my front porch

I don't think that the odd bite of junk food is going to kill you or bring about the fall of civilization, nor do I think it's ill advised to purchase a beautiful cheese from the Pacific Northwest or jamon Iberico from Spain or any other artisan product from wherever else. We, at this point in history, do live in a global community, and I avidly support artisans and sustainable practices around the world. But the fact remains that this starts at home, and that when it comes to meat, dairy, and produce local is going to be, nine times out of ten or more, superior. This isn't about being neurotic, and it isn't about moral superiority. It's about flavor, health, balance, relationships, and living artfully. It's about savoring.

garlic scapes from the Main Street Market

If you made it through all of that (or scrolled quickly to the bottom), your reward is a recipe for homemade ricotta (the easiest of homemade cheeses), a recipe for garlic scape & sorrel pesto, and a recipe for pesto & chevre soufflé.. I'd never had garlic scapes before these. It's a pity their season is so terribly brief. If you see them, buy them. If I'd known how much I would fall in love with these tender, spicy garlic stalks, I would have bought more of them. I chose to make pesto with them because of its versatility. I mixed it with the ricotta and topped homemade pizzas with it, and I stirred the rest along with some Humble Heart farms chevre into a soufflé base. We both agreed it was one of the best soufflés I've made to date. And I've been making a lot lately. If I'd had the chance to cook more of them I would have tried them grilled and roasted. Oh, and I did eat one raw, like a carrot. It was delicious.

Homemade Raw Milk Ricotta

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

4 cups whole milk (I use raw)
1/2 tsp sel gris (or other course sea salt)
3 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

Heat the milk in a non-reactive sauce pan to 190 degrees F. I use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching. Remove from heat, add lemon juice, and stir a couple of times gently. Let sit five minutes.

Line a colander with butter muslin or a couple of layers of cheese cloth and set over a bowl. Pour the curds and whey into the colander and let strain until desired consistency is reached.

Garlic Scape & Sorrel Pesto

1 cup chopped garlic scapes
2 cups chopped sorrel
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan
juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup good olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor pulse first five ingredients, scraping down the sides as necessary. Slowly add in the olive oil until blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Can be frozen. I like to freeze my pesto in an ice cube tray, pop them out once frozen, and keep the individual portions in a freezer bag. This is a great way to make short lived spring produce last!

Pesto & Chevre Soufflé

adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child

5 eggs, room temperature - it is best to use older eggs in a soufflé, not super fresh eggs
          4 yolks, 5 whites
1 cup whole milk
3 T butter, plus 1 tsp for buttering the soufflé mold
2 T finely grated parmesan, for dusting
3 T flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
healthy pinch of cayenne
pinch of cream of tartar
1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/3 cup garlic scape & sorrel pesto (or pesto of your choosing)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Divide your eggs, setting aside one of the yolks for another use. Butter your soufflé mold and sprinkle with the parmesan, tilting to coat both the bottom and sides. Coat well, as this butter-cheese coating is what will keep your soufflé from sticking.

Melt 3 T butter over medium heat in a non-reactive sauce pan. Warm the milk until just steaming. Once the butter has melted, while the milk is heating up, add the 3 T of flour to the butter and stir to combine. Let it bubble over medium heat 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent browning. Slowly pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Continue to cook on medium one minute more, whisking constantly. The béchamel should be quite thick. Remove from heat and stir in salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne. Whisk the egg yolks, one at a time, into the center of your sauce. Set aside.

Whip your egg whites with the pinch of cream of tartar and a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Stir 1/4 of the egg whites into the base to lighten it. Stir in the pesto and cheese. Pile the rest of the egg whites onto your base and fold in gently, cutting your spatula through the center of the whites then pulling it towards you and folding the batter over, rotating your pot as you do so. This won't take long. Don't worry if there are still white, fluffy pieces of egg whites. Under folding is far better than over folding.

Pour the batter into your mold and place on the middle rack. Immediately turn the heat down to 375 degrees. Bake 25-35 minutes, until still jiggly when tapped but set and a knife or cake tester in the center comes out clean. My oven takes 35 minutes. I prefer a soufflé that is still slightly runny in the very center, so I often only bake it 30 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Humble Heart Farms "French" chevre from the Sunday Chattanooga Market (my new favorite, it's amazingly creamy)