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Month: March 2022

Ground yourself in the garden

When is the last time you stood outside, boots digging into the earth, and soaked in the colors all around you?

Gardening is grounding. Literally. There is beauty in the dirt. It’s that time of year when sunshine warms the air, and our thoughts turn toward new beginnings. It’s a time-honored metaphor for life. We plant the seeds, water them, and watch them grow. But for those of us who love the garden and the peace and nostalgia it brings forth; we know there is much more inspiration there.

I have been gardening since I was a little girl, shadowing my grandmother on her half acre garden at the farm in Dimebox, Texas. Every time my hands are in the dirt, I’m transported back to that place for just a moment. As Texans, we know every child should get a chance to spend time outdoors. It’s where some of the best lessons are. Put in the work and you might see the fruits of your labor. Even if your crops fail, the toil helps to build our character. The peace outside away from technology connects us to the earth and humbles us.

Few things are better than stopping to smell that bright flower that pushed through to reflect radiant color back toward the sun that fed it.

This Spring, Texicureans invites you to play in the dirt! We are giving you two routes to take for some adventure. Visit the San Antonio Botanical Garden to learn from the experts, take in the beauty, and grab a bite. Or are you looking to try something new in your own back yard? A “lasagna gardening” technique tutorial might be for you. We did both and we are here to report back!

San Antonio Botanical Garden

I hadn’t been to the San Antonio Botanical Garden in years. And, wow, have they created wonderful new additions! The whole day was a delightful experience. SABG has a beautiful new section dedicated to culinary gardening and a restaurant offering a full menu and wine list.

We started the day by getting some insight from Andrew Labay, their Director of Horticulture.

“April is by far one of the best times to plant plants in the garden in a general sense: whether it be vegetable garden, ornamentals, or trees. This is a time we transition from our cool season crops to our warm season crops. Things like tomatoes, okra, tomatillos, eggplant, squash, and peppers of all type – it’s a great time to plant those items,” says Andrew.

Andrew invites you to come enjoy their one-acre vegetable garden. With a chef on staff and an outdoor kitchen they can pull items right out of the garden and display different recipes. If you’re interested in planting ornamentals, the Botanical Garden is opening a brand-new water saver garden which features over 100 different types of native and adaptive plants that are great for Texas and help save water in the landscape.

When you visit SABG, I highly suggest you stop at their farm-to-table café, Jardin. We sat on the patio, surrounded by tulips and rosemary listening to soft music. Our divine plates came out and we were transported to a European café right in South Texas for a little while.

Lasagna Gardening:

Back to reality in my own yard, my mind is focused on vegetables. A new technique has piqued my interest this year: low maintenance “lasagna gardening”. Bob and Karen Taylor, who live in the rough and tumble Hill Country have utilized this method successfully for several years.

Lasagna gardening is a no-dig, no-till organic method of gardening that results in rich fluffy soil. Advantages of this method are fewer weeds, better water retention, less need for fertilizer, and loose soil that is easy to work. Bob and Karen are also passionate about the benefits of composting. Are you compost curious?

Composting returns important nutrients to the soil. It reduces your household trash. It’s better for the environment. When kitchen scraps go to the landfill, they create methane. When composted, they do not. Essentially, you need a balance of nitrogen (greens – including food scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags, fresh grass clippings) and carbon (browns – which can be dry leaves, straw, paper napkins, and newspaper).

For the “Lasagna Garden” recipe and for specific information on how to compost – see the recipe below:

Texicureans has given you two routes to take to ground yourself in the garden this Spring. So, friends, ask yourself this: What do you want to grow?

Recipe for Composting

Reasons to Compost:

Compost returns important nutrients to the soil. It reduces your household trash. It’s better for the environment. When kitchen scraps go to the landfill they create methane. When composted they do not. Saves money! Instead of purchasing compost, you make your own for free.

You need to have a balance of nitrogen (greens) and carbon (browns):

Greens include:
Food scraps
coffee grounds
tea bags
fresh grass clippings

Browns include:
dry leaves
straw
paper napkins
newspaper

You can also compost:
eggs shells
hair
nail clippings
wool
pure cotton
manure

You should not compost:
meat
dairy
bones
pet feces
diseased plants
magazine paper

If you have an open compost pile, be sure to cover your greens with browns to prevent odor and pests.

It’s good to throw some soil or manure in your compost pile/bin from time to time as it will introduce more organisms to your compost.

You need to make sure the compost is properly hydrated, not too dry and not too wet. It should feel like a wrung out sponge.

Compost should be turned at least once a week to aerate it.

Finished compost takes a few months. It should be dark brown, crumbly and have an earthy smell.

Recipe for Lasagna Gardening

Lasagna gardening is a no-dig, no-till organic method of gardening, that results in rich fluffy soil. It’s best to start in the fall, but can be planted immediately if you started late.

Advantages of Lasagna Gardening are:

• Fewer weeds
• Better water retention
• Less need for fertilizer
• Loose soil that is easy to work

Equipment/Tools you’ll need:

• Garden hose
• Shovel
• Gardening gloves

Materials you’ll need:

• Cardboard or newspaper
• Brown leaves (optional)
• Compost
• Manure
• Peat moss
• Mulch
• Cinder blocks, rocks or other material to create raised beds

Process:

• Create the side of your beds, they should be about 18” deep.
• Line the bottom with cardboard or newspaper (No need to take out weeds and grass as this will create a weed block)
• Start layering material in 3” to 5” layers, starting with the brown leaves, followed by compost, manure and peat moss. After plants are in end with a layer of hardwood mulch. Water well and you’re done!

Braised Greens

 

Braised Greens

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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 bunch greens - Kale, Collards, Chard, Spinach
  • 1-2 tbsp EVOO - Texas brand preferred for freshness
  • 1 Leek or 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 2 tsp garlic

Instructions
 

  • Wash greens. Remove tough stems if desired. Cut into 2 inch lengths.
  • Heart a pan over high heat; reduce heat to medium-high and add the oil. Add the garlic and leeks and sauce for a minute or so. Add the greens and sauté for 1 minute.
  • Add the water, cover and cook for 7 - 8 minutes.

Video

Texas French Legation

Perched on a hill in east Austin, with a laser view of the State capitol, lies the adopted center of current French culture in Texas. The oldest documented home in the former “Waterloo” township, was built as the home and diplomatic outpost for the French charge d’affaires to the Republic of Texas – Alphonse Dubois. France was one of the first countries to recognize the Republic of Texas as a sovereign nation.

Open 11 am to 4:30 pm, Tuesday – Saturday, the museum grounds are an ethereal retreat from bustling downtown Austin. A fun Saturday outing would be to arrive after 11:00 AM, grab lunch at the newly opened café, and then enjoy a stroll around the grounds and home. Newly restored, the home’s interior offers significant historical context in the form of maps, written history, and pictures.

Texicureans caught up with Kyle Walker, Outreach Specialist for the Texas Historical Commission at the French Legation to get the skinny on colorful Dubois and his infamous “Pig War”. (read more at Texicureans.com) Ultimately he washed his hands of this frontier town and headed back home to France, never actually living in the home he designed.

A few Texans with a French heritage have a regular Wednesday afternoon Petanque play date on a gravel court in the Legation’s garden. Resembling Bocce, but played with steel balls, the goal is to throw them as close as possible to the target jack.

If you would like to create your own French lunch, Cindi Anthony of Dallas, shares recipes from the region of France where she spends a portion of each year.

Garlic Soup, inspired by the pink garlic of Lautrec, is yummy and has healing qualities as well. This is not a soup you would find in Paris or other large cities, but in the countryside where the famed pink garlic of Lautrec is raised.

The legend surrounding garlic soup is that it has the ability to cure hangovers and provide energy. Thus it is traditionally served the morning after banquets with heavy drinking, and to newlyweds the night of their wedding, as well as to grape pickers during the harvest season.

An ancient rural tradition in southwest France is to “faire chabrol” as you reach the bottom of a bowl of soup. The translation of “faire chabrol” is literally “drink like a goat.” This involves pouring a little red wine to the remains of your soup and drinking it straight from the bowl. Today it is performed mostly by older folks living in rural areas, but it is still sometimes done elsewhere in a spirit of conviviality and friendship.

This recipe is for 6 and uses ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. Give the “fair chabrol” a try!

Salad of Endive and Roquefort perfectly compliments Garlic Soup and stars the “King of Cheese” – Roquefort.

Find both recipes at texicureans.com and scroll down to watch a short video of our tour!

 



Country French Garlic Soup

Cindi Anthony, Dallas resident, and lover of all thing’s French shares this recipe. Cindi and her husband have spent part of the year in the southwestern corner of France for several years. This is not a soup you would find in Paris or other large cities, but in the countryside where the famed pink garlic of Lautrec is raised. This garlic makes a large clove and is so mild that you can grate it fresh to use in salads and other sauces.

The garlic is harvested in the Spring. It is laid out to dry and in early August and is braided for sale in the market.

The Village of Lautrec has a garlic festival that takes place on the first Friday of August to celebrate this famed crop. The highlight is making a huge vat of garlic soup for 3000 people, and everyone attending the festival can have a taste!

The legend surrounding garlic soup is that it has the ability to cure hangovers and provide energy. Thus it is traditionally served the morning after banquets with heavy drinking, and to newlyweds the night of their wedding, as well as to grape pickers during the harvest season.

An ancient rural tradition in southwest France is to “faire chabrol” as you reach the bottom of a bowl of soup. The translation of “faire chabrol” is literally “drink like a goat.” This involves pouring a little red wine to the remains of your soup and drinking it straight from the bowl. Today it is performed mostly by older folks living in rural areas, but it is still sometimes done elsewhere in a spirit of conviviality and friendship.

This recipe is for 6 and uses ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. Give the “fair chabrol” a try!

Country French Garlic Soup

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Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 20 cloves garlic, minced (about 1/3 cup)
  • 5 tbsp olive oil (divided use)
  • 4 eggs

For Garnish

  • Garlic croutons
  • Chives and/or fresh sage

Instructions
 

  • Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a soup pot over a low flame Add onion and sauté lightly.  After a minute or two, add minced garlic and stir until garlic and onion are soft, being careful not to brown the garlic.
  • Add chicken broth and simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and allow broth to cool a bit.
  • While the broth is simmering, separate eggs, adding yolks to a small mixing bowl.  Slowly drizzle remaining 3 Tbsp olive oil into the yolks, whisking as you go.  Add a few tablespoons of cooled broth to the yolks, making a liaison.  The goal is to have the egg yolks and the broth in the pot close to the same temperature so that the eggs don’t cook when they are added.  Gradually add the egg yolk mixture to the broth. Whisk or use an immersion blender.  Continue whisking/blending and add the egg white. Reheat gently but do not let the mixture boil.
  • Place garlic croutons in the bottom of each soup bowl, and ladle hot soup over the top. Garnish with snipped chives, chopped fresh sage and a grind of fresh pepper.
    Bon appetit!

Video

King of Cheese

Roquefort cheese is considered the “King of Cheese” in France. It was the first cheese to actually have an AOC designation. Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée, or AOC, is a French food-labeling term that protects the style, ingredients, and origin of a product. The milk has to come from a certain breed of sheep called Lacaune Sheep. The sheep have to be raised within a radius of 60 miles of the village of Roquefort. The milk must be collected and delivered to the cheesemakers within 24 hours. At that point it is treated with rennet and a special bacteria called penicillin roqueforti.

A fun legend is that Roquefort Cheese was first discovered by a shepherd who was in one of the Roquefort caves who took a break and had a sandwich of rye bread and cheese. He saw a beautiful shepardess wandering by and thereby followed her out the cave.

He came back 3 – 4 weeks later to discover that his sandwich had formed mold, but in the cheese were these beautiful blue veins which are typical of Roquefort cheese. So that is the legend of how Roquefort Cheese was first discovered.

In fact, the village of Roquefort is built on a plateau where there are some huge natural caves that have fluerenes which allows cool air from the outside to ventilate the cave. So in the cave, penicillin is produced naturally. So they will place rye bread in the caves and allow it to grow the penicillin which they will then use to inject in the cheese. In modern times, laboratory techniques are used to create the penicillin, but it is still the same technique that has been used for hundreds of years.

The milk arrives, its treated with the bacteria – rennet. The whey is placed into bowls which are penetrated with spikes of metal which allow more air to circulate. They are treated in salt and left to rest on a shelf for 3 – 6 months. To be called Roquefort cheese, it must be from this village and go through this specific procedure. It’s considered to be one of the greatest delicacies among cheese.

This salad highlights Roquefort cheese and is served on Endive, which is a popular lettuce in France. It’s a little easier to find in the winter here in Texas.

Salad of Endive and Roquefort

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Prep Time 10 minutes
Course Salad
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 3-4 heads endive – a mixture of red and green makes a colorful salad
  • 4 oz Roquefort or other blue cheese – the creamier, the better
  • 1 Apple, chopped
  • ½ cup Candied walnuts, chopped
  • ½ cup Pomegranate seeds
  • 4 tbsp French walnut oil – I find French walnut oil to be much more flavorful

Instructions
 

  • Trim the base of the endives and fan the leaves on the serving platter so that they overlap.
  • Spread chopped apple and crumbled Roquefort evenly over leaves.
  • Sprinkle with candied walnuts and pomegranate seeds. 
  • Drizzle platter with walnut oil.  Give it a good grind of salt and pepper. Enjoy!