Sunday in the Park (Grant Park, Atlanta)

Sunday morning we woke early and hopped on our bikes. We by-passed the Grant Park Farmer's Market and headed 8 miles out to Your DeKalb Farmer's Market. With paniers in place we planned to do our weekly grocery shopping while also getting a work out and enjoying the mild sun of an early summer morning. 

 Back home a few hours later, we rested a bit with lemonade-beers before heading out into the now blazing sun. Our goal: rip out our fading summer plants and clean up the yard. After prepping the soil I planted seeds for a few late-summer/early fall vegetables. Fingers crossed for brussel spouts and radishes!

 In the evening Oliver canned the dozen remaining banana peppers that had been harvested earlier that day. He paired them with our homegrown carrots, okra and grape tomatoes. (I'm hoping they'll make a great Bloody Mary mix/garnish later this fall.) 

 Dinner was grilled Amber Jack, brussel sprouts, okra and a Founder's jalapeno mango beer. As of tonight, Tuesday, our little lettuce seeds have already started to sprout!  I'd write more - but I'm exhausted... Good night.








Sunday Morning at the Grant Park FarmersMarket

Our cupboards were bare this morning so we packed up our bikes and headed to the park to find breakfast. At the Grant Park Farmers market we found and shared a flaky, delicious sausage turnover from Little Tart Bakeshop and a tasty chocolate croissant from H&F breads. After an hour we biked home, jumped in the car and drove to YDFM for our weekly groceries.  

 We impressed ourselves by spending only $57. The only things not on the reciept* (below) that we should count towards the food costs are a $1.75 container of dried black beans and a dozen eggs; both of which we already had at home.  $11 of the $57 is coffee. $5 is raw almonds (Oliver's favorite snack). Check back throughout the week to see how we make it work.

 $60 5 day, real food meal plan for two adults:
Breakfast - oatmeal (weekdays), bacon and eggs (weekend)
Lunch - black beans
Dinner - London Broil (on salad, on a sandwich and on it's own) with YDFM and homegrown vegetables

*click to enlarge

Happy Birthday YDFM!


Happy 35th Birthday to Your DeKalb Farmer's Market! (YDFM to us)


We're going to change things up for the month of June. In place of photos of meals we're going to share specifics on our favorite ways to cook certain foods. In addition to the garden photos we'll go a little more in depth about our (amateur) tactics for keeping everything alive. Check back for mini lasganas, grilled okra, toasted kale, fish emulsion and how to win the battle with cabbage worms!

This week's YDFM haul

This week's groceries from YDFM (from left to right):
- 1.5lbs of tomatillos
- 3lb bag of onions
- 3 lemons
- 8 bananas
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 3 avocados
- 2 heads of broccoli
- whole bean coffee from Costa Rica
- half and half
- Silk soy milk
- goat cheese
- cottage cheese
- 1 shallot
- bone-in pork shoulder
- Greek yogurt
- golden raisins
- one bag of raw, shelled almonds
- bag of limes
- 5 jalapenos
- 6 clementines
Total: $65.00


Will pick up a bag of baby spinach from Trader Joes. Already have plenty of oats on hand. Check back to see what we make with all this food!

Home ground chuck roast burgers and collard greens

Oliver picked up this chuck roast from YDFM today. Rather then tossing it into the crock pot he ground it with the Kitchenaid attachment. The ground meat was then formed into very loose patties and grilled over charcoal in the backyard. 


He paired the burgers with collards greens; a choice prompted by a conversation we had last week about the "worthiness" of some leafy greens. It started when Oliver wanted to add cabbage to our kale soup. I objected explaining that I found cabbage on par with iceberg lettuce. (In my opinion iceberg lettuce is completely worthless; at best it's a vehicle for blue cheese and bacon). When it comes to leafy greens I'm only interested in the darkest leafy greens (hence why I wanted to make kale soup). Though we disagreed about where cabbage should fit into my ratings he ultimately convinced me that cabbage does have many nutritional benefits. That and it was actually good in the soup. 

With the home ground, loosely formed burgers and collard greens we enjoyed our first taste of the home brew Oliver and his sister made the day after Thanksgiving. Vanilla bourbon porter - delicious! We were even able to eat dinner on the back patio because it is still so unbelievably warm here in Atlanta. 
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It drives me nuts that I don't have more control over the type size, kerning and leading on this blog. My sincere apologies to all the other designers who are also irked by the occasional, awful spacing.

Covert peek into YDFM

If you've been a reader of And Topher Too since the beginning then you know the majority of our groceries come from YDFM (Your DeKalb Farmers Market). We go there instead of the big box grocery stores because it's both cheaper and has a wider selection of local and organic fruits and vegetables. When I have to choose between organic and local I always choose local. This time of year its easy to find vegetables grown in the southeast (YDFM posts the orgin of the item in large letters directly above the bin). In the spring and summer YDFM tends to have more items from California so we then tend to eat things we've grown at home or purchased from our neighborhood farmers market (Grant Park). 


My reasons for choosing local food are simple: 1. I want to actively support smaller farmers that are directly related to my city's economy. 2. I'm aware of how much gasoline and pollution are involved with transporting food from the west coast to Atlanta and I don't want to personally contribute to it. 3. GMO's and BigAg creep me out and I associate them with giant factory farms and big box grocery stores.


Those who go, know, the first rule of YDFM: No photography! Even so, I've really wanted to share a glimpse into our great market with our new non-Atlanta friends. Tonight I took advantage of a rare night with no crowds. Apologies for the angles of many of the photos; they were taken from my pocket!

What's for dinner? Homemade butternut squash soup

 
As the days grow shorter and colder it becomes harder for me to think of in-season vegetables. Fortunately the two I always think of  - kale and butternut squash - I also find delicious!


Today Oliver made a big pot of butternut squash soup. He started with a giant squash from YDFM which he then diced and browned (in batches because our baking pan just isn't that big). From there it went into our ceramic lined cast iron dutch oven along with leeks and shallots. Once it was all fairly mushy he added garlic and homemade chicken stock. It was cooked til soft, pureed with the immersion blender and seasoned with cayenne, nutmeg, and cinnamon. For dinner Oliver served the soup drizzled with maple syrup, goat's milk and sliced apples. Plenty for lunch tomorrow too!


Just one cup of cubed butternut squash provides HALF of your daily recommended amount of Vitamin C. It is also high in vitamin A, has a fair amount of fiber, is low in calories (45 cal per 100 g.) and contains no saturated fats or cholesterol.

Nutritional information from: http://www.livestrong.com/article/111690-butternut-squash-nutrition/#ixzz1fLHzeJJj

Heart Healthy - the rest of it

I dedicate a lot of blog space to the food side of heart health. The truth is, as a family we put as much emphasis on exercise as we do food. But talking about exercise habits seems even more pretentious then talking about being a foodie. People may joke about their pant size but they don't talk about their physical fitness (unless they're a certain male from the New Jersey coast). That is why I find it very hard to press the importance of cardiovascular exercise on anyone. Starting now I'm going to make an effort to change all of that - at least on this blog.
The foundation of our exercise regime is three weekly visits to the gym. Oliver also commutes to Georgia Tech on his bike. When we travel to Baton Rouge to visit family then we go to the gym there (our membership is nationwide).  No excuses, we go to the gym.
This weekend Oliver challenged me with a bigger workout then usual. He suggested we ride bikes from our house to Stone Mountain (16 miles away), then hike up the steepest (mostly unknown) mountain path, walk down the easy path and bike home again. Three years ago I would have said no because I would have known I wasn't strong enough. Today I said yes because I wanted to find out if I was as strong as I think I have become.
The ride is along a 19 mile state bike PATH that starts at Piedmont Road in downtown Atlanta and goes to Stone Mountain (a giant bubble of granite east of the city). Oliver started at our house, two miles from the actual start. I skipped the first ten miles by driving my bike to YDFM and jumping in there. We met up, shared a lunch of left over homemade pizza and then got on our way.
It was great. The bike ride was almost easy. The steep backside of the mountain was a piece of cake compared to the first time I tried it two years ago. I know I have the countless hours on the elliptical to thank for the bike ride and the weight lifting to thank for the hiking. Three years ago either activity would have left me breathless. This time I had the strength of heart and body to not only keep going but to also truly enjoy it.

















Pizza night!

 

Oliver made a homemade pizza for dinner tonight. He mixed up the dough last night and let it ferment in fridge overnight. All the toppings are from YDFM: fresh mozzarella, eggplant, basil, hot coppa and baby portabella mushrooms. Out of the oven, then drizzled with olive oil, a bit of grated Parmesan and some red pepper flakes.

TGIF! Boiled Peanuts

Earlier this week Oliver picked up a bag of fresh green peanuts from YDFM. The result, a tasty (read: salty) local snack that probably does NOT count as heart healthy. These bad boys had our ring fingers swollen within 24 hours. Oh well, everything in moderation. Enjoy your weekend!

























And a "Thank Goodness its Friday" from Topher too!

Tuesday night grocery shopping - YDFM

The majority of our food shopping is done at YDFM (Your DeKalb Farmer's Market). The expansiveness and variety of YDFM borders on indescribable. But amazingness aside, I do have two minor complaints: 1.They rarely stock leafy greens grown closer to home then California. 2.The chickens could be more genuinely free range. Fortunately those are both problems I can solve on my own. The first by growing my own greens (which we do) and the second by finding a local free range chicken vendor (something on our to-do list).

 I'll expand more on YDFM's greatness in the future. For this evening, I'd like to leave you with -

 THE RULES OF YDFM
The first rule of YDFM is - don't talk about YDFM!














No, no, no. That's not right. The first rule of YDFM is:
1. NO PHOTOGRAPHY!!!
2. The second rule of YDFM is, BRING A SWEATER!!! Even in the summer I need a hoodie. In the winter I need a winter's coat, hat and gloves. It's freezing in there.
3. The final rule of YDFM is, BE VERY WARY OF WHEN YOU GO. Tonight, a Tuesday after 7:30pm, it was great. A Saturday afternoon or Sunday after church - forget it. It's bananas. If you go when it's at maximum capacity your best bet is to bring a buddy, leave the cart in a stationary location, and tag team the shopping list.