A word about Durian

I have been interested in this tropical fruit ever since hearing about it on a cooking show a few years ago. My fascination for this fruit continues due to it's mysterious qualities. As an American, I find it intruiging that a foodstuff described as smelling like "rotting garbage" has conjured both a loyal and enduring fanbase.

First things first: Durian is a fruit grown in hot asian climates such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Malyasia. Roughly the size of a football(but heavier), this fruit is covered in a green , spiny exterior. The interior reveals large seeds, distinct segments, and a cream-colored flesh.

The popularity of Durian comes from it's creamy custard-like flesh and taste. Others compare it to vanilla pudding or almond scented custard. This inner flesh is smooth, soothing, and reportedly very filling.

But then there is the smell. Trust me, the smell of Durian is the stuff of legends. Just google it and you'll see what I mean. In countries where Durian is plentiful, there are laws against opening one on public transportation or in hotels. While some liken this odor to garbage left in the hot sun, others find it to be reminiscent of stinky socks. Mmmmmmmmmm, yummy.

I asked my local Vietnamese grocer about Durian malodorousness and she seemed surprised. "We have always thought it smelled good" she reported, as though she wasn't sure why I brought it up. Obviously, "good" is in the olfactory processes of the beholder.

At approximately 90 feet tall, the Durian tree is a potential hazard to those in the vicinity. A fruit falling from this height has been known to cause both injuries and fatalities. Smelly, spiky, and deadly-What's not to love about the Durian?

Last week a friend brought me a bag of Durian 'chips'. They were at once both pleasantly surprising yet slightly disappointing. The smell in this form of the product was very much tamed. I wasn't horrified at all-very disappointing. But the flavor was quite nice- custard like, smooth, and vaguely vanilla.

Anyone living in the larger metropolitan areas can find Durian without too much trouble. Scour you local Asian markets but be prepared to pay up to $40 for a single fruit. Visitors and denizens of San Francisco can treat themselves to Durian icecream. I've been told its one of the best.

-Ellen

The Goat Meat Diaries

Some time ago I wrote a post about goat meat. I wrote of its growing popularity in the U.S. I told of how my teenage son had tried it during a mission trip to Jamaica and liked it. But as of today, I myself have never tried it. All that is about to change.
Friends have given us a "wether', (a neutered male) for butchering. My first thought was one of delight, my second thought was, "oh, now I am actually going to have to cook it and eat."

What is it in Americans that makes us so afraid of food beyond the conventional, pre-wrapped offerings of our sanitized supermarkets? This is certainly not an urban area we live in. Many of us in this town grew up eating deer, elk, or cows and chickens raised on our own properties. Still, I have to wonder, what will Chevon (goat meat) look like? What will it smell like? Taste like?

And so I offer up myself and my family as guinea pigs. Or perhaps a better word choice would be 'product testers'. When we are finally in possession of our chevon, I will document our findings on this blog. If you have any recipes or cooking tips, offer them now.

adventurously,
-E

Cold Snap

To say it has been cold here would be a gross understatement. In fact, it has been "Where the heck are my gloves-The car won't start-Does anyone know where the icescraper is?-I need a new coat , this one isn't warm enough, "MOM, I'm FREEZING" weather.

Keep in mind this is the temperate climate of the Oregon. We don't typically get extremes of weather on either end of the mercury. Thus, a week in the low 20's nearly caused county-wide panic.

1. Our woodstove just couldn't penetrate the cold on that level. It was miserable in the house.
2. Pipes froze and some folks went without water for days.
3. Broken pipes at the stable meant that workers had to haul water to the horses by hand: terrible work in frigid temps.
4. The homeless suffered even more than usual.

God Bless the Green Spot Event Center. They opened their doors during the worst of the cold snap and provided both food and shelter for anyone who needed it- NO questions asked.

As our church meets there, our family had the honor and privilege of helping out. We had so much fun I'm almost sorry the weather has warmed up again. Almost, but not quite!

The Green Spot owner John, and his employees Anthony and Richard, did an amazing job of meeting the needs of the community. They borrowed cots from the armory, provided sleeping bags, and kept hot soup and coffee available at all times.

Word spread to the community and the donations just poured in. Peope would walk in the door with arm loads of pillows, blankets, coats, and clothing. Dante' and I enjoyed sorting and folding clothes. Phil helped wherever needed and Max served as unofficial taste tester. He really enjoys Richard's cooking, which by the way is fantastic.

About the food: There was always a hot soup bubbling in the pot. Usually chicken with noodles or dumplings and plenty of veggies. Boneless turkey and ham were roasted and made in to sandwiches. Breakfast was often biscuits and gravy. We also enjoyed cupcakes, muffins and cookies. In fact, the food was so good I would nearly get homeless to have some. (Okay, a tad of an exaggeration. But just a tad)

So that is what we are eating in Oregon this week. Food, love, fellowship and compassion. When a community turns out to help it's own, it is a beautiful thing.

Love and God Bless,
-Ellen

A Shore Acres Christmas

Another wonderful aspect of life on the Southern Oregon Coast is the annual Christmas lights display at Shore Acres State Park.

Few sights pack the dramatic impact of these botanical gardens on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. In the glow of the park's thousands of holiday lights, the roar of the close but unseen surf is an appropriate "sound track".

Every year we pack the kids into car, play a Christmas music cd, and hit the coffee kiosk for caramel steamers before heading to the light display.

Cranberry Farm

One of the best things about life of the Southern Oregon Coast is the fall cranberry harvest.

Bandon is a small town with breathtaking coastal views, a vibrant art community and a wealth of not-so-obvious cranberry bogs. I say this because they appear, to the casual observer, to be unassuming little plots of land. If I were driving past on highway 101, (and didn't know better) I'd wonder what the heck was growing in those concave square lots.

Earlier this month, Max and I had the pleasure of getting up close and personal with some cranberry bushes. My husband was visiting a client at a small mobile home park in Bandon. Max and I took our leave to walk a gravel county road adjacent to the park. We admired the homes in the cute residential area and marveled at the Chanterlle mushrooms growing right in peoples yards when a woman in a large SUV stopped next to us.

"Can I help you find something?", she inquired. I suspect she was being protective of her neighborhood. I explained we were just out for a walk. "Follow this road to the end and you'll find the cranberry bogs" she said with a nod towards my four-year-old. Well you don't have to ask me twice! I thanked her, said goodbye, and hustled down the road.

We were still surrounded by houses with no fields in sight when Max noticed small red berries on the ground by the road. Sure enough, cranberries. They must have fallen from a delivery truck?

We hadn't walked far from the Highway and I was skeptical that a whole cranberry farm could just pop up in this little residential area when we turned a corner and VOILA!- Acres and Acres of fields. It was amazing. A little like finding a sunny beach in the middle of Times Square.

The sunken plots of low growing cranberry bushes were surrounded by canals of water. This is to help with the picking. You see, cranberry bushes are small, dense, and difficult to pick from. Flooding the canals with water brings the berries to the top. As they float on the surface, a special machine culls them from the plants. Brilliant!

We were gamboling about and taking it all in when a large, white farm truck approached. My first thought was to wonder if we would get in trouble for being there. Turns out, the workers were super friendly and more than happy to give Max a sort of private tour. They even crawled into a bog and plucked fresh berries from the plants for him.

I don't remember the gentleman's name, but he explained to us that all thier berries are sent out to be cleaned, then frozen in large bags and finally shipped to OceanSpray. They don't really do anything with them here.

He also explained the myster of the 'white' cranberry. On the East Coast, where I lived previously, the cranberries were a pale color. That is because they have a shorter growing season there and must be picked before the cold weather. At that point, they have not yet turned their characteristic hue.

So Max and I returned with our greedy hands full of cranberries plus a few mushrooms
we harvested roadside. My husband just laughed when we got in the truck with our treasures.

I was so fired up I bought a few pounds of Bandon Cranberries, took them home and made cranberry sauce. I canned whole berries first, and then tried the recipe for the jellied sauce. For Thanksgiving dinner we tried both. The vote was split, My hubby and I like the whole berry sauce, while the kids seem to prefer it jellied.

If you haven't ever liked cranberry sauce, try making it fresh. The diffence is remarkable. It isn't necessary to do any canning. Making just enough sauce for a meal, (such as Christmas dinner) is super easy and quick. It requires just one bag of berries from the store. Most bags have the recipe right on them. You basically just add a lot of sugar and stir until they pop. (that's not a real recipe so don't take me literally)

So there it is. Happy holidays,
-E

What didn't work

So here's a hard look at the some of my less than productive efforts:

1. The goats- Despite my lofty declarations of a future filled with goat cheese and goat's milk soap, I produced nothing. The problem? As they say in the real estate world, Location..Location...Location. As I live in the city(no backyard goats allowed), driving several miles a day to milk a goat ain't gonna happen.

2. Growing eggplant didn't produce more than 2 small fruits. The miniature pomegranate died, and the mini blueberry plant has yet to do much of anything.

3. Home made bath soaps- Lots of fun, but too time consuming for me to do very often.

4. Our rabbits- We certainly aren't going to eat them, but we don't really have time to play with them. They just sit there creating fertilizer all day. Which I suppose isn't entirely a bad thing.......

Live and learn what works for you. Lackluster results give us valuable information that we can use to our advantage.

Never give up, always try something new. And don't forget to have fun!
love,
-EJ

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle Revisited

It's been more than a year since I read Barbara Kingsolver's book. It details a year of their lives spent growing and raising their own food. Anything they couldn't produce themselves they obtained from local farmers.

While I admit such a stringent endeavor isn't for everyone, I still recommend the book. It is honest, thoughtful, and at times, quite funny.

In our family's journey , we have made some great discoveries, achieved some exciting goals, and experienced some failures as well.

Below, some things that worked well:

1. Gardening- Now that we are getting the hang of it, the results are considerable. The food coming out of our garden is far superior to anything at the store.

2. Canning- Although still a relative beginner, I am really getting comfortable with the process. We achieved our goal this year of canning enough produce to line several shelves in our pantry.

3. "Make-your-own" - Laundry detergent, non-chemical household cleaners, candles, soaps, etc. My hubby is so hooked on our homemade firestarters it's a drag when we run out.

4. Whole foods- It can be hard to get excited about adding more beans, brown rice, and other whole grains to your diet. The good news is, they are delicious. The trick is finding good recipes. Search the internet and you'll find many innovative cooks have done the work for you.

5. Juicing- I admit I'm not in love with the prep time for this, but it is so worth it. Nothing compares to fresh juice. And I'm hooked on the instant "rush" I feel after downing a glass of fresh carrot juice first thing in the morning.

6. Foraging- This year we did a lot better at 'cashing in' on our natural Oregon resources. The cupboard is full of blackberry jam, we have blackberries in the freezer as well. We also have several quart size ziploc bags full of sauteed Chanterelle mushrooms in the freezer. Dried porcini are in the cupboard as well.

Next time I post, I will admit to things that didn't work out to well for us. But for now, I thought I'd just leave you with the positive. :)

Peace and love,
Ellen