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Raw Baba Ganouj

You have probably heard of the Raw Food Movement. If not, in short it involves a vegan diet, taken to the next level. No food is cooked above 118 degrees (some say 116…). Nuts and seeds are sprouted and only raw, unpastuerized ingredients are used. This type of diet is great if you can keep [...]

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Asides

  • I made my first extended visit to the Moore Square Farmers Market in downtown Raleigh. It's only three or four blocks from my office. There's produce (about 5 or 6 farms there), but really tries to cater to the downtown lunch crowd... sandwiches, pastries, bread, strawberries. Picked up some tatsoi from Hilltop Farms. It's a more robust, thinner stalked cousin of bok choi that held up really well in a stir-fry I made tonight. #
  • Mike and I went to the Durham Food Co-op to see what they might have to offer that our CSA and the Durham Farrmer's Market doesn't right now. Mike had been once before and was disappointed at the general lack of stuff to buy. Sorry to say, our experience this time was no different. Most of what they seemed to have wasn't locally produced as far as we could tell. We did find some organic, local onions and garlic. We also bought some pasta and tofu. I was excited when I saw a fridge that was supposed to contain bulk tofu. Unfortunately, they didn't actually have any, so we had to go for a package we could have gotten anywhere. They did have bulk beans, flour, sugar and spices in stock and the website says you can make special orders. In the end, we still managed to support the local co-op and got the few items we would have otherwise gone to Harris Teeter or Whole Foods for. But it was a good thing we had already bought veggies, a whole chicken and eggs at the farmer's market and local milk at Parker and Otis. I figure the problem is that they don't actually get enough traffic to move really perishable items fast enough. Of course, the solution to that is simple: people need to go and buy what they can. Hopefully, all the rest would follow. #
  • Mike and I had lunch at a great new Italian panini place in downtown Durham called Toast. Mike had the panini with local farm egg, tallegio, chives, while I went forthe spicy tuna, olivada, fennel, lemon. It's definitely worth checking out. #
  • Last Saturday, Mike and I visited the Durham Farmers Market to see how it's faring in its new Durham Central Park Pavilion. It was good to see the place so packed. The new digs definitely seem to have attracted more vendors and buyers than I ever remember in its former parking lot location. Of course, we knew we had stuff coming from Vollmer (not to mention some veggies left from the week before), but we nevertheless were tempted into several purchases. We came home with baby bok choy, sunflower sprouts, asparagus, baby beets and pea shoots. But they had more than produce. We also picked up some Italian pork sausage from Fickle Creek Farm in Efland, bison burgers from Sunset Ridge Buffalo Farm in Roxboro and, of course, a block of feta cheese (actually they call it Pheta) from Chapel Hill Creamery. Looks like we'll be eating well--and almost entirely local--for a while. #
  • Ran into Paul Jones, my former professor at UNC and director of ibiblio at the Weav over the weekend. I was professing my love for collards and he suggested I try his recipe for Caldo Verde, a hearty spring soup. This version has kale but also works with collards. If you've got a ton of kale and collards and are running out of ideas, it seems worth a try. #