Five-Course Meal Pairing Fine Local Food and Specialty Cocktails to Benefit Dell Children’s Medical Center

Austin, Texas based charity supperclub A TORRID AFFAIR has announced plans for its inaugural dinner event, set for Monday, September 26 on the beautiful grounds of East Austin’s Springdale Farm (755 Springdale Road). The brainchild of Péché executive chef Jason Dodge and former Péché mixologist Michael Menley, A TORRID AFFAIR’s mission is to raise money for the Dell Children’s Medical Center through the hosting of intimate dining events in Austin while increasing awareness of the benefits of local, sustainable agriculture.

Nobody likes to be bugged, or appreciates a pest. However, when the annoyance is of the insect variety, dislike can quickly progress to hatred. When being plagued by insect guests, any solution, up to and including an all out war on anything with over four legs, seems entirely reasonable. Poisons quickly transform from an extreme measure to a viable solution.

The balance between needing to protect your plants and trying to find an environmentally friendly solution presents a dilemma every gardener must eventually face. What is often forgotten is that the battle between insects and humans has existed as long as we have, and historically the war was fought without the chemical aids we now have at our disposal. In general, most people are also unaware of the ongoing, and long running, battle between the plant kingdom and insects. Viewed over a longer evolutionary timescale, plants have evolved with insects, and have adapted with far more successful natural defenses than humans have been able to come up with.

Recently the New York Times had a front page article on foraging, or rather, on why the Parks Department may be starting to take a sterner approach towards foragers than it has in recent years. The concern is that rampant foragers will decimate plant populations. I have seen no signs of this. As I am quoted in the article as saying, the majority of the plants I forage in the parks are invasives that are actually crowding out some of the potentially threatened native plants.

Perhaps tossed salads are one of the easiest dishes to prepare, as they are simply a mixture of various chopped vegetables, but when one hits upon a delicious and visually pleasing combination, it only seems right to share. 90% of this salad came straight from the farmers’ market, through a few rinse cycles, and into my bowl. The rest was pantry basics.

This spring I was invited down to Houston by some like-minded real foodies for a screening of the movie What’s On Your Plate?, a charming and compelling documentary by two young women about where food comes from. I visit Houston often to see family, but had never taken the time to explore Houston’s farmers markets. This was the perfect opportunity to learn more about Houston’s real food scene.

Press Release: 12 Organizations File Amici to Defend Plaintiffs’ Right to Trial and Respond to Monsanto’s Attempt to Dismiss Case

The rapid growth in the number of farmers markets across the country means that there is increasing opportunity to share for those, like my dad, with delicious family recipes. With the help of authors like Detra Denay Davis, many of them are now turning their passion into a viable and successful business enterprise, enabling them to share what they love with their communities.

After dirtying up my nice clean and sanitized incubator, only 2 of the rescued eggs hatched out. Which was only worth the hassle of having to clean it all over again because they were both pearl grays. Also, because I didn’t have to do it. Middle was willing to carry off all the rotten eggs, scrub off egg shells and hatching goo, and bleach out the ‘bator in return for 15 minutes on the computer. He used that time to play several rounds of Angry Birds. Which is kind of ironic, don’t you think?

Yesterday, I enjoyed a couple of sweet and tangy Lemon Boy tomatoes from my neighbor’s garden. A few days ago, I noticed that they had some large, green Big Boys, which looked perfect for frying, so I picked a few, and in anticipation of the Austin Food Blogger Alliance‘s pie baking contest, I also grabbed several of their ripe peaches. I take food from their backyard often.

Actually, we have created our own little CSA. Initially by default, and now with a more concerted effort, we have been growing various fruits and vegetables and sharing our harvest. We have been neighbors for nearly 10 years and have been steadily increasing the amount of space that we devote to gardening each year.

It’s hard to say when things started going wrong. I guess it all began when I found that one guinea had flown out of the garden and it appeared to be a female. Leaving me with what looked like two males and one female combing the bean plants for bugs. Or rather, one female combing the bean plants in between the two males as they tried to kill each other. As it happened, a free ranging guinea was hit by a car a few days later and I found her lying in the driveway with a broken leg. Aha! She was a perfect candidate to go in the garden. Another female and a guinea with not much means of escape. So I had 4 guineas in the garden again and the gender issue a bit more evened out. Until she died.