Gardens and girth,
the real French Paradox
June 1, 2009
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Pardonnez-moi, Monsieur le Voisin
My own observational research about kitchen gardens leaves me puzzled as to how folks that grow kilos upon kilos of fresh produce become so perfectly round. No, I haven’t ‘had the opportunity’ yet to ask, so I’ll have to guess.
Are these gentlemen taking the lettuces home and turning them into candy and doughnuts? One of my neighbours used to be a pattissier so I wouldn’t put it past him. Are these large fellows storing the potatoes and carrots in their root cellar in vats of pork fat, and each day pulling out a handful, wrapping it in a tiny leaf of spinach and then coating this in camenbert and breadcrumbs? What’s the cause of all the girth? These are physically active gents.
Sorry round neighbours for making you the sujet of my first entry in a while, and thank you for watering my gardens while I’m away! It’s good exercise!
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Vous aussi Monsieur le Voisin au Coté du Moulin
debra at 14:13 | Comments (5) | post to del.icio.us
Slim Pickins
restaurant review
May 5, 2009
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Ground-elder ravioli & goutweed pesto with locally foraged kale flower, spinach and mint
Within hours of the posting Slim Pickins was already fully booked. Plagued at its very inception with limited seating, the urban kitchen garden restaurant located on the edge of a raised bed was forced to devise a waiting list to accommodate the throngs of curious eaters. Recalcitrant guests unable to obtain an invitation to the first seating announced outrageous plans by SMS to drop by a day early, creating extra pressure on the kitchen staff. And due to the mid-week test run, in-situ stocks of chamomile blossom were running too low to serve the requisite four cups of tea. Menu adjustments at the opening would have to be made.
To further up the stress levels, the weather, which during the preceding week could have been described as balmy, began Sunday with rain showers. Trying at all costs to avoid cancelling the opening, satellite photos of the weather conditions were repeatedly consulted and Slim Pickins opened nearly three hours later than originally scheduled.
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But like most projects blessed with the loving attention of perpetual worry, it all came together, some sunny weather, smiley faces, pink prosecco, and newly innovated techniques for preparing unwieldy ravioli in a rice cooker. Nectar sweet kale flowers foraged from the neighbour’s plot and a few plucks of Slim Pickin’s own bright lights chard complimented an opening amuse gueule of ground-elder ravioli with goutweed pesto. Another neighbour’s garden unwittingly supplied a handful of mint leaves for the tea when Slim Pickins’ own chamomile stocks proved insufficient.
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Children’s seating available upon request
At the kids’ table, guests enjoyed their ravioli and the experience of using a spork for the very first time. Later the youngsters got busy transforming a recently prepared bed into a mud pool, bringing in extra water to get the consistency just right. When the mud was deemed perfect, the young guests took turns standing up against a wall while the other one slung a sloppy hand full straight at his face.
Tea was served.
Slim Pickins garden restaurant receives a score of 8,75 watering cans (out of 10) for delicious food and ambience. The ravioli was perfect in all respects despite early predictions of disaster due to a bit of backpack-mushing during the bike and ferry ride over. Bonus points for the ad hoc addition of kale blossoms to the ravioli plate brings the score to a total of 9 watering cans (out of 10). Improvements can be made in the area of decreasing preparation hecticity and amplifying garden food production, but there is every reason to believe that these hiccoughs will disappear by next Sunday. Reserve now via this blog as seating and in-situ chamomile supplies remain limited.
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Concentrated ravioli enjoyment
Slim Pickins menu for Sunday, May 10th 2009
- a tabouleh of bishop’s weed and locally foraged mint served on a
- micro salad of bright lights chard, borage flowers and radish sprouts
- a cup of full blossom tea with chamomile and borage flowers and a hint of locally foraged mint and fennel leaves
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Culiblog author bowing her head, humbled by the unabating deliciousness of goutweed pesto
Slim Pickins serves cuisine végètal amuses gueules and is happy to accommodate vegans. Vegan (and other) guests may be requested to bring organic fertiliser or worm castings as a form of payment.
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debra at 14:03 | Comments (9) | post to del.icio.us
Slim Pickins,
the occasional garden restaurant
April 21, 2009
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Slim Pickins garden staff help with the weeding
Studio Culiblog is proud to announce the opening this Sunday of it’s new minimalist concept restaurant in Amsterdam Noord. Slim Pickins is an outdoor micro-eatery situated on the edge of a raised bed, in an urban kitchen garden, serving up the occasional amuse gueule from whatever the tiny garden has to offer, even and especially when that’s not very much.
Sunday’s (April 26, 2009) menu fixe for max 4 ppl:
- chamomile tea
- nettle gazpacho
- leafy greens and bitter herbs ravioli in a puddle of extremely light ground elder pesto
And that’s it!
Reservations obligatory via this blog, maximum 4 guests, weather permitting.
All home grown vegetation is organic, but due to the current small harvest, Slim Pickins will also be serving foraged and rummaged vegetation from the surrounding area.
COMING SOON
RADISH CARPACCIO!
(in 18 days)
Slim Pickins
(Amsterdam Noord, next to the Buikslotermeer Ferry)
open: Saturdays or Sundays for amuse gueule, weather permitting
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Slim Pickins, an occasional garden restaurant
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Homegrown chamomile, steeping
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In situ chamomile tea in the kitchen garden
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Young nettles, Carpe effing Diem
 growing in situ at Studio Culiblog's Northern Kitchen Garden in Amsterdam Noord, Debra Solomon, culiblog.org'))
Ground elder, it’s what’s for dinner
debra at 23:49 | Comments (7) | post to del.icio.us
