Hip Chick Digs

Sometimes you visit a place so spectacular that no amount of pictures can capture its magnificence. This post is filled with way too many pictures, but nothing will compare with seeing Mount Vernon in person. You must visit if you ever get the opportunity.

Mount Vernon was the estate of George Washington and it is located right outside of Washington DC, about a 30-45 minute drive. A sign on the estate reads “While the world remembers him as a great military and political leader, George Washington would have told you he was first and foremost as a farmer.” He was so devoted to the garden that he would write letters with specific details on its care whenever he needed to be away for a period of time.

The above pictures is of the orangery, a structure popular back in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries on large estates. It is used today as a meeting space, but originally would have houses exotic citrus plants that Washington collected from around the world. The outside garden is a classic, formal knotted design. Next to is a wild ornamental flower garden where the large citrus trees have been rolled out for the summer months.

Crop rotation today seems like a no-brainer. You rotate what you grow to a new space each season to give the soil a chance to recover and use some cover crops to build it back up. This was a really new idea though back in the late 18th century and Washington was an early farmer to practice crop rotation.

Small details like fencing are pretty interesting on the estate. This rustic split rail fence was used to keep the sheep in a large field. Split rail fencing is movable and works well when you need to arrange it around trees or other obstacles.

We saved the best for last during our four hour visit to Mount Vernon: the vegetable garden. Amazing! Facing toward southern exposure, the space is enclosed with brick walls that protect the crops from critters and create a warm micro climate that extended the growing season.

There are 2-3′ high espalier fruit trees creating a hedge around the paths. Can you believe that? These trees have to been tightly pruned for so long! Bushy lavender and rosemary were other gorgeous plants used as hedges in this garden.

I probably don’t need to include two panoramas of almost the same spot in the garden, but I am going to anyway. Click on the pictures for a larger view. This one shows the water pool in the middle and the geometric design of the garden beds that hold vegetable crops. Grape vines loosely hang off the open fencing around the space.

And from another angle, here you can see the taller espalier fruit trees that grow along the brick walls that enclose the vegetable garden. I love all the vegetable crops planted in geometric patterns, the edible hedges, and the life that is bursting from this space. What an inspiring garden!

It is hot, hot, hot in New York City during the summer and I am all about spending as little time as possible over a stove. Pasta is something I never got too excited about until this summer because it always seemed bland to me. I have been experimenting with new recipes that taste delicious and minimize cooking time, so I have changed my tune about pasta for dinner.

This one is a creation of Mark Bittman’s, the Minimalist from the New York Times. It is tasty, quick, and something you can make should the apocalypse come leaving you with only basic cooking supplies. If you happen to be working with only 12″ of counter space and no measuring utensils, this recipe is even better for you!

The original video to this recipe can be found here and I suggest you watch it. Mark Bittman is always entertaining and very approachable when it comes to explaining how to cook his dishes. Here is the basic gist:

• Cook pasta noodles for two large servings in salted water according to the package
• Meanwhile, saute 1/4 c. break crumbs in 2 T. olive oil until crisp and light brown, about 2-3 minutes. Place toasted bread crumbs in a bowl and set aside.
• Add another 1-2 T. of olive oil to the pan and saute one chopped white onion until softened, about five minutes
• Add about 1 tsp lemon zest (or 2 T. lemon juice), 2 T. capers, and one can of sardines packed in olive oil and heat until just warm
• When pasta is done cooking, reserve 1/2 c. of the pasta water. Add pasta and 1/4 c. chopped parsley to the sardine mixture and toss. Add in some of the reserved water if needed so the noodles are shiny and well-coated.
• Dish onto plates, add bread crumbs to the top. Eat with a big green salad, sliced baguette and enjoy!

Okay, not totally. But after the first few days of moving into New York for the summer, I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t stand to have a perfectly sunny windowsill sitting empty. And fresh herbs from the grocery store never last as long as I want them too.

So I have the beginnings of a windowsill herb garden. Super simple - a basil planted in an unglazed ceramic pot. The window faces west, so it gets the heat of the day. That means I have to water it a bit more - like every other day. But there is at least one small corner of my world where I can brush my fingers over leaves and smell the deliciousness of summer.

Hopefully I can resist the urge to bring home an Italian parsley, chives and thyme. Those are my cooking staples. With only a few short weeks left of summer in New York, I don’t want to drive west with pots crowded in the backseat. So for now, just basil.

Inspired by my earlier road trip this summer, I have been incorporating some new dishes into my cooking repertoire. By far the most challenging aspect is working in such a trimmed down kitchen. Our apartment has 12″ of counter space, very limited spices, no measuring spoons, and only a wooden spoon for cooking utensils. But I remain determined to make good food this summer, even in the heat of a New York summer.

I was first introduced to étouffée when I passed through New Orleans in June. After a nine hour drive to get there from Austin, a warm plate of richly flavored crawdads served over rice really hit the spot. I did some recipe searching and found a good starter recipe.

Étouffée is often made with shellfish, although some make it with chicken. I didn’t want to search New York for crawdads, so I chose a shrimp recipe instead. Here is how I modified it to serve four:

• 4 T. butter
• one white onion, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• two cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tsp. flour plus more
• 2 T. Old Bay seasoning, more to taste
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 lb. thawed and cooked small shrimp
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large skillet, melt butter and gently simmer the onion, celery and garlic for 45 minutes.
2. Stir in flour until combined, which makes a simple rue. Add seasoning.
3. Add water and wine and stir until well combined. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until it becomes a thick gravy.
4. Stir in cooked shrimp and simmer until just warm. Serve over white rice.

The people of Louisiana apparently get into heated debates at times over what makes an authentic étouffée. Some say it has to be butter while others insist on oil. Some say you need to brown the rue, but in the case of this recipe you do not let it brown. Cajun cooks refer to the combination of celery, onion and green peppers as the holy trinity. If I were to make this again, I would try to incorporate green pepper into the recipe.

I was in the other room working while this was simmering on the stove. I would check it periodically to make sure the heat wasn’t too high, but it didn’t need constant stirring. I was actually quite surprised by the depth of flavor you get by that 45 minutes of simmering celery, onion and garlic. Don’t rush that part!

This will become a regular in our recipe box and I hope it turns out well for you as well. If anything, it is a starting point that you can tweak to fit your taste.

Up the street from our apartment in Brooklyn is a community garden I have admired for awhile called 6/15 Green. Several community gardens are located throughout the New York area and it is always a delightful surprise to see them tucked in between tall buildings. This one has some fruit trees and many irregular-shaped garden plots focused on food production. (Click on the picture below for a larger view)

I was lucky enough to pass by recently when they were having an open house potluck. We didn’t stay to eat, but I did take a nice long walk through the winding paths to admire the plants I know and love. While there, I noticed some interesting gardening techniques.

A friend of mine actually did a major research project on community gardens of the US and shared some of her research with me recently. She mentioned that gardens in ethnically diverse areas will incorporate strategies people brought from this original homes outside the US.

This picture below was something she mentioned is common with community gardeners from Asia, although I know word has gotten out to the masses as well. It is a squash plant that is being trellised up over some Asian greens. The squash can grow bigger without taking up valuable ground space, while shading the Asian greens which would otherwise bolt in the direct hot sun.

Another cool thing that I am no stranger to is the three-bin compost system. We have a much more rustic version with ten bins at the Urban Farm, but this is a very tidy, well crafted design. The newest compost goes into the covered bin. Once it has partially broken down, it gets tossed into the middle bin. That aerates the compost, so it breaks down faster. It sits there for awhile until it is almost completely finished, then gets tossed into the furthest bin to finish up.

The great thing about a three-bin system is that you have three constant stages of compost: unfinished, partially finished, and fully finished. When you need compost for the garden, you empty that last bin and move the other two over into new bins. That first bin is then empty again and ready for a new compost pile.

They have wood slates on the front of their structure, which allows them to make the opening as high or low as they need based on the size of the pile and whether they need to get in there with a pitch fork.

Good ideas for just around the corner and a very productive garden for such a small space. It makes us look like land hogs out west!