365 Days & Stroke Free

A year ago today my husband had a stroke. Actually, he had two. He was 42 and I was 31.

I suppose I should say, though I am not sure it matters, that Rob, my husband, is an athlete. He has a resting heart rate of 50 to 60/per minute and very low blood pressure. He has no family history of stroke or any genetic mutations that can increase risk for stroke. His cholesterol is low (shockingly low).

The stroke just happened. And it put a bend in the road so sharp for a long time we couldn’t see the path ahead.

While I don't have the writing skills to capture how terrifying this experience was - we were luckier than we could have imagined. Rob has recovered beautifully. Though he is still working on his rehab - he able to enjoy life and do all that he loves. I believe that he has himself to thank for his recovery. He worked so hard and embraced this challenge with an open heart and great spirit. One day after the stroke I found Rob doing yoga in his hospital bed, already focused on getting better. Four days after the stroke, Rob had himself on his indoor bike trainer (see below) slowly moving the pedals.

2/7/11

It should be said right away that Rob and I owe our survivals to our mothers, Nancy Rees and Mary Burgholzer. Both found the strength to bravely put their pain to the side to help their children. I couldn't begin to count all the ways that they have supported us, helped us find our way. So, I will just say that we wouldn't be here without their love and support.

Looking back I see that we had the good fortune to be able to pair our recovery with several wonderful and tasty adventures.

• At Rob's insistence, we kept our reservations at Volt scheduled for just weeks after his stroke. This is Bryan Voltaggio's restaurant, of Top Chef fame, located in Frederick, MD. We had lovely lunch with my folks. And, though I didn't know it at the time, it was just what we needed.

• I joined the Richmond Food Collective! I feel so fortunate to have met these beautiful, generous, smart women....and even luckier to count them as friends.
  

• Gardening really was key part of Rob's recovery. This year we enjoyed tons garlic, beautiful cabbages, more eggplant than we ever knew what to do with. And lots of peppers! Here are just a few pics of the delicious things Rob grew this year.
  

Fixins for kimchi!

• We traveled to France and Belgium. This, planned way before the stroke, was a two week vacation. That we were able to go (at all) was a amazing. We biked for a week through Alsace, France.
  

These, of course, were the larger moments of 2011. But, I must say, the quiet moments were just as precious, perhaps even more so. Going on walks, sitting on the couch, making dinner together...

To celebrate the end of this chapter, Rob and I are going to enjoy doing things he couldn't do a year ago: take a walk through the museum and enjoy a delicious meal. We will take a deep breath, toast the end of this chapter, and happily set out to begin the next.

In closing, to our family and friends, we love you and thank you from the very bottom of our hearts.

Drawn by Rob, 2/11/11

Planning a Vegetable Garden...

So as our spring-like winter drags on I keeping finding myself day dreaming about real spring in the vegetable garden...okay so I've mentioned this before. February is here, did you know it's already time to get started?

Here are a few resources I have found helpful in my planning,

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange is a RFC regular feature, something just feels right about sourcing seeds locally, just seems like they'd be happier near home right?

Four Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman is my go to year round gardening book, he knows all!

Recently discovered Sprout Robot, its a great way to stay on task with email reminders about what to plant when. Ahem.... Richmond gardeners start your broccoli seeds!

The Vegetable Gardener's Bible is also a staple around here.

Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens offers seed starting and organic gardening classes among others.

I also suspect some of the other members of the RFC may have some things to add to this list and we'd love to learn about your favorite gardening inspiration.

A night with Pizza Tonight

Sunday night, (thanks to my friend Christina) I got to attend a Women Chefs and Restaurateurs event hosted by Pizza Tonight.  I have been wanting to go to one of PT's pizza making classes, and getting the chance to talk with women in the RVA food business was not one I was going to pass up!

That is Chef Ellie Basch and Slow Food's Stacy Luks  wrangling their pizza dough. 

The owner of Pizza Tonight, Victoria DeRoche, gave us some fantastic tips on making pizza dough, which can be extremely tricky. Pizza Tonight dough is made with high gluten flour from Italy (though they make a gluten free version too) and a very precise method.  I believe cooking techniques are best taught in person, and Victoria was a fantastic teacher.  She is funny and even though I am sure she has told the stories and taught the process loads of times, she still seems to genuinely enjoy it.

Extraordinary toppings!

After we took what we learned from Victoria and coaxed our dough into perfect circles, (ahem, most people did- I went for a more 'neopolitan' look.  By that I mean that mine wound up looking like a football.) we got to top them and fire 'em up.  The folks at Pizza Tonight set out the most amazing spread for topping pizzas you could ever imagine.  Sausage from Sausage Craft, salami from Olli Salumeria (local love), fresh white sauce, fig preserves- egg and cheddar, (which I was totally fascinated by) fresh herbs and arugula, all kinds of amazing cheeses- I mean, it was a dream!  I made one with thin roasted blue and white potatoes (!) and mushrooms, white sauce, roasted red peppers and several kinds of cheese.

Jannequin is showing me how to slide the pizza off the peel.  If you wait too long, the flour on the peel incorporates into the dough, and it won't release!  (Very important lessons learned here.)

We fired (Evan fired, we chatted nearby) our pizzas in Pizza Tonight's very own mobile pizza oven.  This bad boy (the oven, not Evan) can be rented out for catering (with the knowledgeable staff from PT, of course) and makes its way regularly to area farmers markets.  As much as I like making pizza at home, it really is better from a wood fired oven.

Never mind the shape y'all, it tasted fantastic.

 Pizza Tonight let us make as many pizzas as we wanted, and we ate ourselves silly.  Fig and Pig, the vendor's special (egg and cheddar with mushroom and sausage), white, vegan, classic- you name it.  If that wasn't generous enough, they gave us each a pizza making kit to take home!  I can practice my skillz  with their dough, marinara and some 'magic sprinkles'.  I guess you know what I am having for dinner tonight...

Inspiring Resources

We often talk about how our generation is self-taught, trying to recreate the crafts mastered by our grandparents. Right? We are teaching ourselves how to bake bread, can, raise chickens, and so on. While this is true - we have something that our grandmothers didn't: we can access information so readily. Often I think we forget how extraordinary this truly is...if you don't know how to do something, you can find out the how-to from a reputable source almost instantly. Here are a couple of my favorite resources du jour....for inspiration, cooking tips, and health information.

• V.K.Rees Photography - Yes, she is my sister, but she is way talented. Check out her site for dreamy photographs and delicious recipes.

• Healthy Roots, Happy Life. This is a great resource developed by a dear friend, Katie Haines. I use this site for new approaches to managing our busy lives with stress reduction strategies and whole foods.
  

• Radically Simple: Rozanne Gold - I love Gold's approach to food. Simple, healthy, whole foods. Her recipes have a wow-factor, but are so deliciously simple.

Enjoy! P.S. What are you enjoying these days? Please share!

Eat More Kale

We're eating a lot of kale around here... thought I'd share my favorite way to eat my greens right now. This version is adapted from a Food52 recipe. (if you don't know about Food 52 it's a great resource, check it out)

(and the image above is from a book by a favorite artist, Collect Raindrops by Nikki McClure)

I could have titled this piece "Massage your Kale" because that's what makes this work, Erin showed us this technique a while back in a post here, but it totally bears repeating and if you haven't try it yet, do it!

Anyway, it's super easy, I think about it as a three ingredient salad. Basically kale, or whatever other greens you have lying around (or if you are a little low on greens go forage for some dandelion to add to the mix.) Add a cubed and roasted orange (or yellow) vegetable like squash or sweet potato- I used butternut squash. Then add the nuts of your choice. I had walnuts for this but pecans, almonds or whatever you've got will work.

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of kale (or other greens)

1 Butternut squash (or sweet potato)

1 Cup of nuts

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar (or any other vinegar)

One small shallot (or half of a large one, you could also use red onion)

One egg white

Pinch of sugar

Pinch of salt

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Peel, cube and then roast squash, 15-20 min

2. Toss nuts in one egg white, with a pinch cayenne (or other seasoning of choice) a pinch of sugar and a pinch of salt. (You could also skip the egg step but it gives the nuts a nice crunchy coating.)

3. Roast nuts for about 6-8min checking every couple minutes after that. (I always burn the nuts/)

4. Wash and chop one large bunch of kale into shreds or bite size pieces.

5. Add 2TBS balsamic vinegar (or any other kind) into kale with about half of a finely chopped shallot. Massage the kale and shallot mixture with your hands a bit until it gets well coated and starts to wilt.

6. Toss in squash and nuts with about 2 tbpn olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

This was so delicious I only remembered to take a pic after we'd devoured most of it!

Now go- eat more kale!

Plan now for an Ample Harvest

Here is a story that starts in tragedy, and ends, hopefully, in joy and abundance.  Last spring, I planted a huge amount of lettuce in my median strip garden with the idea that I'd share it with all of my neighbors.  Figuring out if they wanted lettuce grown in a garden in the middle of their road before planting it would have been a clever move, because I could not give it away no matter how much I begged them to take whatever they wanted. I wound up pulling and composting all the gorgeous lettuce in June because it was time to plant tomatoes. Tragic!  What else could I do?

Disclaimer: This is not my garden.  It is beautiful and bountiful Swiss Chard though,  oui?

Well, this year I know what I will do with the extra produce.  AmpleHarvest.org has made it easy to find food pantries in my neighborhood who want (and are able to handle) veggies from home gardens.  Check the Find a Pantry page to see if there is one near you!  There are about ten pantries who have signed up in Richmond so far.  Each one has listed days and times (or have given contact info to find out) when you can drop off your garden extras.  I have talked with several food pantries in my neighborhood, and they are so excited to be able to include fresh produce for their patrons.

So, as you order seeds, please think about planting a little more for your neighbors, those you know and those you don't yet know.  Also, if your place of worship or community center has a food pantry, please encourage them to sign up on Ample Harvest so that neighborhood gardeners can share the bounty once it starts rolling in!

Local Produce Farms

There are so many great options for local produce in our area.  Here are are few of the ones we are most familiar with.  Have a favorite produce vendor?   Let us know about them!

Amy's Garden

Dave and Dee's Mushrooms
Epic Gardens
Tricycle Gardensardens' Urban Farm -Farm Stand

Frog Bottom Farm

HaaShrooms

Eli's Greens
Trails End Farm: produce and eggs plus.  (Provides products to  Ellwood Thompson's, Acacia Midtown and Six Burner restaurants.)
Kruize Family Farm

Manakintowne Specialty Growers

Victory Farms
Root Force Collective

Bill's Produce: South of the James Market.