Wrapping up the behemoth project that was our photo book from African Family Vacation made me nostalgic for Kenya. It also made me slightly hostile toward my dueling shutter bugs, Kendall and Dan, for capturing one billion or so images that hijacked my laptop and from which we (I) culled 1700+ must-keep images that I then attempted to cull futher into the book until my iPhoto announced cannot add additional pages. this book already contains 100 pages – you idiot no one needs that many photos in a book, your life is not that interesting.

Editor of family history is not without its advantages. For instance, the photo of Griffin and me and my muffin top belly making a sand river on the beach will not make it into the album. Or my insistence that as a learning experience we work a tea plantation that became nothing more than a laborious drive to a shoddy factory where we were given a meek tour by a man we couldn’t understand, sipped a cup of tea and then were sent on our way – that non-story will not make it into the family history books. And being editor gave me another opportunity of looking over each photograph with intimate eyes and thus discovering the magic of animals uninhibited and the magic of children unsupervised.

Within our collection, I found photos of foods; the only photos I had taken on the trip. I was either really hungry or I really marveled at the fresh cuisine served in the isolation of the African plains.

The images of the silky soups that we were served twice daily, motivated me to try out the basic soup preparation that Chef Jackson from Governors’ Camp shared. Most of the his soups are dairy free, so he used a few strategies to give them a creamy texture without cream: add potatoes to the vegetables, blend the cooked soup in a blender, pass the blended soup through a sieve. He also starts with a mirepoix which is a combination of chopped vegetables such as onions, carrots and celery that are sauteed to heighten their flavor before adding liquids. He also punched up the flavor with some spicy heat.

celery and apple soup from chef jackson’s kitchen at governors’ camp

carrot and ginger soup from governors’ camp

I concocted broccoli soup below with Chef Jackson’s guidance in mind. Broccoli is perhaps the mightiest of all foods in nutrients and general health benefits.

Broccoli packs more vitamin C than an orange, more calcium than a glass of milk, three times more fiber than a piece of wheat bran, and cancer-fighting properties. I figure that if I can work broccoli into a meal in some way, it’s a good day. And this simple soup recipe let’s broccoli be the star, but gives you a vegetable serving that’s easy to prepare, even easier to freeze and reheat, and one the kids will like (well some. the girl with the horns liked it, the boy with the jaw bone -not so much)

The recipe begins with sautéed celery and onions to bring out the caramelized flavors. We add in most of the remaining ingredients to cook until tender and ready for blending, seasoning, and eating.

Here’s what I love about putting fruit in a salad, you get to put fruit in a salad – genius. Not my genius, but rather all of you out there who know better and have been raspberry dressing us for years. The truth is that the balance of flavors is near utopian and almost a crime of riches with sweet fruity fleshes, bitter lettuces and vegetables combined with savory cheese and coarse salts – stop before my mouth explodes.

Another genius is Mario Batali. I ache for that Molto Mario show because Mario is one of the few master chefs who is also a master host and lecturer. Remember how he could rattle off a lesson about the proper aging of parmesan reggiano while thumbing garlic gnocchi off a butter knife. His slight, albeit deserving, attitude of superiority used to intimidate me. Even from the safety of my living room sofa, where even though I knew he couldn’t see or judge me, I felt shame for not knowing the difference between a brodetto and a zuppetta. I miss that angst and the orange crocs. read more

When I left the corporate world and packed up my skirts and shirts, I had visions of cultivating a backyard orchard while growing seasonal vegetables in raised beds. Together, with my children, we would harvest the yield and then I would prepare farm fresh fare for our family dinners while we talked about our love for each other. And, I would preserve the remainder of our yield into succulent jams and pickled foods. I would be Diane Keaton, the tiger lady, in Baby Boom who escapes to the Vermont farmhouse and invents the Country Baby brand applesauce from her own harvest and then the Food King buys her out and she’s forever rich in life and love.

Turns out, I am not a farmer. I cannot grow anything, shy of the irrepressible rosemary mostly because growing something requires tending and my tendency is to forget to tend and funny story, things die after that. But, I can prepare the farm fresh fare and thanks to my CSA, the endless farmers markets in LA that pop up like Starbucks, and friends like Vivian who bring me their fallen fruit, I get my bounty.

Vivian gave me more fabulous figs from her mother’s fig tree and this time, it was time to preserve, because we love our fig jam and goat cheese in this house. But, I was not about spend hours sterilizing jars to ensure a bacteria doesn’t fester; that’s too much pressure and remember I’m the one who forgets to water tomatoes.

Refrigerator preserves are more my speed. I was inspired by a few online sources, including Cooking Light and then crafted this quick concoction.

An unbeatable appetizer: cracked pepper wafer with a slather of goat cheese spread (lighten with milk) and topped with fig & ginger preserves.

Chili peppers have been stalking me.

They found me first in Africa in most soups and savory dishes. African chefs use hot peppers, just like Latin chefs, to boost comfort in hot climates: peppers help stimulate sweating and salivation which keep our bodies cool. I found that the warmth from the chili peppers lingered, not quite in my mouth not quite in my belly but somewhere in my system for hours. Like Motel 6, they kept a light on.

Chili pepper powder is the florescent pink. It's as vibrant on the palate as it is in the powder.

At the spice market in Mombasa, bags of ground chili pepper and other spices are sold by the gram. Off the coast of Mombasa, there is an island Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean that produces most of spices for Africa and beyond. We brought home eight different spices including the chili pepper – surprising, they were not a bargain, but worth having for the authenticity and I suppose so I can say without shame this was made with curry from Mombasa.

Thai chili peppers from our CSA box of produce.

The next week, while the spicy heat and memories simmered, our CSA delivered a bag of seasonal fresh hot peppers with the standard produce.

Again, those hot stalkers were begging me to take notice. I did. Chili peppers containcapsicum which has been shown to be an anti-oxidant, an anti-carcinogenic, to reduce bad cholesterol, and to offer antibacterial properties. I can take the heat, so I got into the kitchen and made one of my favorite soups –Tom Yum it’s sometimes called, but it’s just Thai shrimp soup to me.

[recipe]

Most of you know about CSA’s (community support agriculture) and likely participate. About a year ago, I signed up for Farm Fresh to You at Unique LA craft fair, mostly to force myself into eating produce that I wouldn’t likely purchase – seeCan we Love a Fava Bean?.

The produce comes fresh-picked from the owners’ farms and is delivered every other week. FFtY offers options for delivery schedule, box size, fruits, vegetables or combinations and the best part, an elimination chart. I vow someday to eliminate my eliminations page, but for now I cannot make friends with brussel sprouts, eggplant or beets – unless someone provides me with sure-fire recipes.

The produce is so fresh, honestly, leafy greens last for weeks in my refrigerator.

Safflowers on display at Farm Fresh to You's storefront at the Ferry Building in San Francisco

On Tuesday mornings, I watch out of the window for the delivery truck to pull up and then I accost the poor driver who has to tolerate my comments. “I tried kale in a frittata last week,” I shout at him. Like he hasn’t heard that before. There’s at least something new for me within each box. This week, it was an assortment of hot peppers . Come back to see how I used the peppers for breakfast and in Thai Shrimp Soup.

I encourage you to try a CSA in your hometown. It’s a great way to stay local, seasonal, and healthy and you a boxed present delivered right to your doorstep.