JBG Organics volunteering

Just so you don't miss the takeaway: Please think about what you eat and how it got there. Try not to waste food. And use less plastic/throwaway packaging whenever you can. 

The other day I didn't have to head into my internship because my coworkers were out of town for a meeting. I decided to sign up to volunteer at Johnson's Backyard Garden farm because when you volunteer for 5 hours, you get a box of veggies. I also have become more curious about farming since my mom grew up on a farm, going back to Kansas for my grandpa's funeral reminded me that I wanted to get a better sense of what it entailed, and visiting California for work and seeing the farms and fresh food pushed me the extra mile. I understand farming conceptually, but I have very little experience with the actual labor and science of it.

I worked at the greenhouse, which meant that I started out by seeding Kohlrabi into 46 little planters with 128 little seeds. There was this little suction board with 128 little holes on it, and I shook the seeds out until there was one in each and then poured off the extras. Then I set it on top of the tray with some soil in it, turned off the suction, and then set everything back up again. Repeat 46 times. Once the seeds were all in, I got my hands real good and dirty filling up the rest of the planter boxes (excuse my incorrect terminology) until they were level with the top. I made a grid on the pavement of all the planters so that we could water them a few times. Because I was doing winter seeds, the greenhouse guy took them back to store in a cooler until it was time for them to actually start growing.

My next task was to weed out in the greenhouse itself. This got... hot. It was about 100 degrees while I was working (8 am - 1 pm), which meant, I'm guessing, that the greenhouse was 110+. I certainly felt it. I got a bit woozy in there, especially being in jeans and such. The planters covered the floor of the greenhouse, so in order to get back and pull weeds, I had to drag out a row hop over alternating clear patches I created, and balance while I pulled weeds and then came back. I did not love it, but I think it was because I was getting tired and very hot. It was nice to get a big bucketful of weeds though, in terms of seeing your work make a difference. That was definitely one bonus of the work as a whole. I was a bit surprised at how many dead butterflies, moths, and crickets there were, but it made sense once I thought about how enticing it would be in there but then hard to get out and then very, very hot to survive in. I also pulled weeds outside around the greenhouse, and while it was a big relief to have some wind movement and less humidity, the direct sun wasn't too much of a break.

My last little task was to move out some peppers that had grown up enough that they were almost done with the greenhouse. I set them out on this pallet area so they could get some water while they adjusted to the sunshine and spent more time in the greenhouse (I think) before they got sent full-time to the fields. Good luck little guys!

Finally, at 1, after drinking two 32 oz gatorades and my water bottle, I picked up my veggies (transferring them to my reusable bags, of course) and headed home. Phew! My neck and back were very sore, and I was pretty excited for my shower. I think I will definitely volunteer again when my schedule allows (and perhaps when it is a little cooler) to get experience in the sorting/loading space as well as out in the fields for a harvest or something.

More than anything, it really made me appreciate even more how much, I mean an incredible amount, of work goes into every single thing I eat. I already work so hard not to waste and to buy exactly what I'll eat, whether at the grocery store or restaurants, but this was further incentive to do my best. And it also made me feel like food was so cheap even though sometimes I bemoan prices in my head while I shop. I know organics and local foods are sometimes a little more expensive, but you're paying to have people take care of your food, and people just need a little bit of money. And as the guy I worked with said, JBG was great because Johnson pays a little more than minimum wage. Where would we be without people farming our food, and yet they only get minimum wage most of the time? I'm not going to get into the politics of it all and subsidies and all that headache, but I do think there are serious, sad problems with our value system of work in this country (and probably around the world). Farming and education are two of the most important jobs that exist, the end, and while teachers make more, there is such a low level of respect and tribute paid, financially, to those absolutely integral jobs.

Please think about what you eat and how it got there. Try not to waste food. And use less plastic/throwaway packaging whenever you can. 

Also, tell me what kind of veggies I got! I'm not 100% sure about exactly what's what, so I welcome any insights. 

austin restaurants, part 2

I've been eating out a bit more in Austin, so I thought I would briefly mention some places I have tried out. I'm sure there are several others that I have been to, but these are the ones that came to mind easily.

G'raj mahal
I didn't really eat here since I didn't have a full meal, but I got some naan and a yogurt sauce (because I was missing Bulgaria a bit and snhezhanka) and it was delicious. I had read about it in the eat.shop austin book, and I really want to go back.

Clive Bar
This bar is across the street from G'raj Mahal and I actually ate my G'raj mahal food in the bar with a friend while having some specialty drink the bartender suggested, who then taught me about bitters and other things that were interesting but that I have clearly forgotten already. It was a cool environment though. The only downside is that it is among a group of establishments smack in the middle of a neighborhood, so there is a limited and terrible parking situation.

Toastie's Sub Shop
I went here because I was running errands and checked Living Social/Groupon for now! deals for lunch and both had something for Toastie's and it was pretty nearby where I was. I am going back. This place was delicious. Also, the people were super friendly.
Confession: I had never had a Cuban sandwich before. But, I do not regret that this was my first one. I had read about how good theirs was in a review, so I decided to try it out. I could only eat half at the time and had the second half for dinner, and both times it was just incredible. They had delectable pulled pork in it with cheese and ham and the bread was good. It definitely isn't healthy, but I want more.

Kome
I went to this sushi place for a lunch date, and it was really good. Granted, we only had two rolls, but I enjoyed them, and they had a lot of lunch specials with ramen and udon that looked good, albeit embarrassing to eat, so I really want to go back and slurp my way through one of those specials. I also just love sushi pretty much any opportunity I have to eat it.

Sago
This was a cool restaurant, and if you are into nouveau Mexican, you will probably like it. The food was good, but it was a lot of smoky flavors, and I am not the biggest fan of that sort of thing. It's in the Triangle, which is a cool little area near Hyde Park, where I live, so it was nice to try out somewhere there besides the Office Max and yogurt place.

Bouldin Creek Cafe
After a 5:30 am crew meeting that lasted until 7 am, I had an awkward amount of time to kill and could no longer go back home to bed, so I met a friend for breakfast. He suggested this place as he is obviously a regular, and I liked it. It definitely had a hip, local feel to it, and I didn't even catch on immediately that it was vegetarian/vegan. I got a mushroom, leek, garlic omelet and orange juice and was totally satisfied. He had some granola and a breakfast taco that looked pretty intense and delicious.

The Local Pub and Patio, Taco N Todo
There is a taco truck in the back patio of this bar, and it is awesome! I got a taco there one of my first days in Austin, and it was really delicious, but not as delicious as my friend's taco al pastor. I need to go back and get like 4 of those... Also the pub is nice because it has a lot of couches and tv, so we would go to watch Rangers games.

Man Bites Dog
Welcome to the hip hot dog party! I came here with the guys because, duh, they love meat, and actually, turns out I really like eating it on a regular basis too. Who knew? These hot dogs are gigantic and usually hard to finish. But they are pretty good. I tried the lamb one my first time and I didn't really love it. The Hair of the Dog was really intense, but I'm a fan of the egg on random other items trend. I also had a chili cheese dog, which was good. The guys also really love their fries. I also just realized I already posted about this. Oh well! Why bother deleting this now that it's written? We all know it is so hard for me to write anything.. ha.

Jo's
I went here today with a friend after we saw Margin Call at the Violet Crown (and sat in lazboys!), and we got Cuban sandwiches, as I now love them in spite of their unhealthiness. I actually had also been here with my mom and Clarke and Ebe when they were in town and we were wandering around a little street festival on 2nd. I can say that their hamburgers and cuban sandwiches are pretty big and pretty yummy.

restaurant week austin

I was driving home from the gym a couple weeks ago and saw that there were a bunch of banners hanging over Lamar advertising various events (home tours, etc), one of which was Restaurant Week 2011. I was curious to check it out. I got someone to agree to go with me, and we made two different reservations. Both were really delicious and felt like such a treat to get to experience. I also went to dinner with my parents for my sister's birthday, and the restaurant was participating in restaurant week and had their menu as an option. A quick recap of all three:

Fabi and Rosi
This is the restaurant I went to with my family. First of all, it is an adorable setting - it's in a house and it has a lovely front yard seating area and really nice indoor ambiance. I ate off the regular menu, but my stepdad and sister ate of the restaurant week menu. He got the Short Ribs Sauerbraten and it was heavenly delicious. My sister got the Truffle Ravioli, but my heart was taken by the short ribs. Amazing. Their dessert, Crack Pie with hooch cream (check the website if you don't believe me) was crazy, incredibly delicious.

The Melting Pot
Being that I love cheese, it shocks me a bit that it took me this long in life to eat fondue. Well let me say, I won't go that long again. I got a groupon for it in my inbox this morning and promptly bought it, so see you again soon. To be honest, it was the cheese and dessert courses that really did me in. They were totally incredible. We had the spinach artichoke cheese and a dessert off the regular menu, dark and dulce chocolate fondue. It was really right up my alley. The restaurant week menu was a three course meal, as they all are. The entree course is a bit interesting as they have a broth at the table and bring you raw meats/veggies to cook in it. It was good, but next time I'm just doing the cheese + dessert. To note: I would not go on this as a date unless you are looking forward to a few hours with someone. Just a warning, not for blind/potentially awkward dates. I had a great time though.

Jasper's Restaurant
This was the last one that I went to (last night). I had some trouble locating it within the maze that is The Domain, but I got there eventually. They had a really amazing menu that was pretty similar to their normal menu. We got the crab cakes, prosciutto wrapped shrimp + grits (yum!), ribs (2nd in the country), salmon, molten chocolate cake, and cherry bread pudding. I was very full and very happy. 

austin foods

I know I have been terribly MIA lately. I haven't really made many new recipes lately and have been trying to take advantage of some of the great food out and about in Austin. I don't think I have written down every restaurant I've been to, but several are definitely worth mentioning. I probably forgot a few, but here are several that I have sampled lately. In order of fanciness of establishment (obviously a very technical classification), but not necessarily flavor:

Barley Swine
My mom's best friend recommended this, so we went for my 25th birthday (exactly!) a month ago. Our waitress told us that the judges from Top Chef had been in the week before and she got to wait on them. The food was so incredibly delicious. We ordered 7 dishes for the 4 of us and every one was really, really good. I definitely recommend it.

Texas French Bread
My mom gave me a book about local restaurants and stores in Austin (eat.shop Austin), and this restaurant was one of the ones listed. Ebe took me out for my birthday and we had a really good meal. We got some ravioli, black drum fish, salad, and some wine that we brought from the next door quick mart.

Dart Bowl Steakhouse
Another restaurant in the book was the Dart Bowl Steakhouse, which theoretically was a restaurant that had really good steak and enchiladas but also had a bowling alley. So I used it as a first date, which thankfully was with someone who has a good sense of humor. Why? Because when we pulled up, it was definitely a bowling alley. We walked through the slightly disheveled main area and past the lanes to the cafe. Luckily, it was separate from the bowling alley area and so it seemed more like a restaurant. Sort of. Anyway, the food was fine, not great, but the date was fun and then we were already somewhere to bowl, so that worked.

Now for some low key places:

Torchy's Tacos
One of our friends works here, so we went the other day to try it out. Man, these were some delicious, filling tacos. I had the taco of the month, a pulled pork taco with sour cream, cheese, pickles, avocado, and bbq sauce. It was very good. They also have tricks like getting a tortilla "trailer park," meaning that it had queso on it.

Man Bites Dog
Note: I actually mistyped God, ahaha. We went here last night for dinner and it was really delicious. I got a lamb dog with tzatziki sauce, cucumbers, tomatoes, feta cheese, and a really soft, fluffy bun. I liked it, but I really liked the boys' beef dogs. On the hair of the dog, the beef dog wrapped in bacon, deep-fried with chili, and then covered with cheddar cheese, chili, a fried egg, and tabasco. It was a little spicy for me, but I liked it a lot. I am starting to appreciate fried eggs on a lot of different foods.

P. Terry's
This is a fast food burger place with really delicious, affordable burgers. Yum! And they are everywhere in Austin, or at least where I drive a lot