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Winter Cocktails

By David Alan
Photography by Jenna Noel

In The Physiology of Taste, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin writes, “To invite people to dine with us is to make ourselves responsible for their well-being for as long as they are under our roofs.” Such a notion would seem to be self-evident, but I often find that hosts, whether amateur or professional, seem to miss this basic element of hospitality. Though the home entertainer’s livelihood isn’t dependent on expert handling of guests, it is nonetheless wise to think of Brillat-Savarin’s words when planning your holiday get-together.

In Dry Times

By Jeremy Walther
Photography by Holly Henderson 

When traveling east to west along Interstate 10 somewhere near Sonora, the transition is sensed more than observed. The color of the spring-fed woods and rolling grasslands gradually dissolves, quietly and subtly, like a loved one aging. The ashe junipers still blanket the hills and the prairie grasses still sway in the breeze, but something just feels different about the land. It’s older, more weathered, and the desperate, harsh reality of the land’s true self is slowly exposed.

And On That Farm

Last July, in the middle of the worst drought Texas had seen in a hundred years, Kathleen Mooney of Wimberley’s EIEIO’s Organic Farm was out amid her struggling crops. “I just sat down between some thirsty-looking eggplants and started crying,” she recalls. “I asked God to help me figure out some kind of revenue that would not be weather-related. It really sounds like a bad country-western song,” she says with a laugh, “but I had half-dead crops in the field and a young son to feed, a mortgage, blah, blah, twang.”

Cliff Bingham has a Farm

By Jessica Dupuy
Photography by Amanda Grace

If you’re a fan of Texas wine, you’ve probably heard of grape grower Cliff Bingham. There’s a decent chance you’ve at least tasted wines made from his grapes. Bingham Family Vineyards & Farm is one of the largest grape-growing establishments in the state, nestled comfortably among other grand vineyards that are led by producers Vijay Reddy, Neal Newsom, Jet Wilmoth and Andy Timmons.

Culture Club

By Elif Selvili 
Photography by Whitney Arostegui

What happens when good-natured bacteria meets warm milk? Yogurt! Or yoghurt, yoghourt, yogourt or yogurt (based on the archaic Turkish verb yogmak meaning “to thicken or coagulate”). No matter how you spell it, when it comes to making this creamy, tangy delight, there’s one simple and foolproof method that requires little more than a food thermometer and a lukewarm location.

Grazing America's Texas

The American Grassfed Association’s (AGA) fourth annual conference will be held in Austin, November 1-3, and, according to Carrie Balkcom, executive director of AGA, will have something for everyone—inspiring speakers, field trips to local grassfed beef producers, and even a set of butchering seminars and chef demos expected to be so popular that pre-registration is required.

The spirit of the conference will be one of bridge building, says local host rancher Don Davis. “We want to educate the producer that what they’re raising is food. And educate the end-users about how that food is raised and how it can be used. You don’t go into the store and buy the middle of a tomato. We’ll be teaching people how to utilize the whole animal, because the producer raised the whole animal.”

An additional agenda at the conference will be an ongoing discussion of how to work with the USDA to expand existing regulations to limit animal confinement and supplementation, and support overall animal health and welfare. This is more than a moral imperative—AGA members have good reason to believe that beef produced this way just tastes better. Spreading that message to the public will be another key goal of the conference.

Another highly anticipated event is the American Food Traditions Picnic, hosted by the Renewing America’s Food Traditions Project (RAFT) and the Chef’s Collaborative, a national network of chefs, producers and educators working to build a more sustainable food supply. Though RAFT has held picnics all over the country as a way to expose chefs, foodies, and healthy-food consumers to local heirloom and heritage foods, this will be the first joint effort with the Chef’s Collaborative. The idea, says Leigh Belanger, program and communications manager of the Collaborative, is to leave the conference with “a full belly and an understanding of the food traditions of the region.” 

Gary Nabhan, founder of RAFT and director of the Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University, sees the Austin conference as “a trial run, the first multi-city event we’re trying. Austin has a reputation for local produce, historic food traditions, and great chefs.”

Nabhan will speak at the conference, along with Linda Faillace, Jo Robinson, and chef legends Rick Bayless, Peter Hoffman, and Monica Pope, among others.

Attendees won’t be expected to learn on an empty stomach, either—the conference will kick off with an opening reception featuring local chefs making locally sourced specialities—and Whole Foods Market founder and CEO John Mackey as the keynote speaker.

Visit americangrassfed.org for registration information and fees.

Making Meatless Meals

By Will Packwood
Photography by Jenna Noel

Some of you may know me and you might be asking yourself, Why would he be writing about vegetarian dishes? I’m not, really. We all know the health benefits of eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins; however, this isn’t about that either. Instead, I want to talk about the idea of truly celebrating seasonal foods and not missing what’s not on the plate. 

Eat Drink Local Week 2013

Our 7th Annual Eat Drink Local Week! 

Join us for our annual homage to local food. We urge you to dine out, cook in, and celebrate the ingredients, landscape and people behind our plates through our events, restaurant meals and plenty of cooking and drinking at home.

Find a restaurant near you that sources predonimantly from local farms and artisans using our handy map!

Stubborn Gets a Second Chance

By Nicole Lessin
Photography by Jo Ann Santangelo

CORRECTION: We regret that we made a mistake in our printed issue and identified the wrong plant as Yaupon. Please see corrected image below. If you're ever interested in foraging for wild edibles, please use these tips. 

To many, yaupon holly is considered an ornery weed. Cut it down and it’ll grow right back; try to dig it out and you’ll probably unearth a root as thick as your forearm, and its Latin name, Ilex vomitoria, is hardly inviting. “Cows don’t eat it and even deer don’t really eat it,” says Andrea DeLong-Amaya, the director of horticulture at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. “They are just really vigorous growers.”

A Chef Is Born

By Johnny Els
Photography by Marla Camp 

My adventures seem to always start in the kitchen. I started being interested in cooking and baking by watching my mother in the kitchen, because she is a wonderful cook and loves to bake all kinds of traditional South African dishes. Our family is originally from South Africa. When I was about three years old, I started to make sugar cookies. I had so much fun making them and giving them to my friends and family. I was amazed and proud when I saw how much they all loved them and asked for more!

Frontage to India

The Whip In convenience store—long known for its vast beer and wine selection and commitment to local foods—recently added another non-7-11 amenity: down-home cooking.

“If by down-home, you mean India,” says Arden Yingling, who runs the store with husband Dipak Topiwala, and if by India, you mean the Gujarat region—ancestral home of Dipak’s parents, who moved from there to Zambia and finally to Austin.

“Dipak’s mom is our consultant,” Arden says. “She’s busy translating the recipes she keeps in her head. It’s food you can’t always find at an Indian restaurant, a sort of Indian-African-American fusion—I’m thinking of a fresh corn dish she makes, sautéed with spices. And we’ll hand-roast the spices, because it makes the difference between tasty and WOW!”

“This food is intensely flavored and cooked for a long time,” Dipak adds. “The spices need time to meld, and that’s why it makes such good leftovers. It’s even better the next day.”

The Little Pie That Could

Jen Biddle was pursuing a graduate degree in social work when she stumbled, accidentally, into the pie business

“I was working part-time at Waterloo Records,” she remembers, “and Lyle Lovett came in to sign some autographs. I’m a big fan, so I made him a pecan pie—my aunt’s recipe—but I changed it up a little. He seemed really excited about it.”

A few weeks later, Willie Nelson came in, and Jen’s coworkers suggested she make a pie for him, too. After that, more pies were made for employees and customers, and before long a new enterprise, Texas Pie Kitchen, was cooling on the windowsill. 

Clearly, these weren’t just any pies. Or just any pie maker.

Dai Due Butcher Shop

By Jardine Libaire
Photography by Andy Sams

On a recent dove hunt, Jesse Griffiths, the red-bearded, easy-spoken chef of Dai Due fame, foraged for greens while he walked the fields with his gun—picking pigweed for sautéing and purslane for a salad to make once the doves were grilled.

“It doesn’t get any better than that,” he says.

The Myth of More

By Helen Cordes
Art by Fatima Ronquillo

Do you love local foods but fear that prices for fresh produce and other farmers market offerings will bust your food budget? Think again. You don’t have to give up fresh, local favorites that are unquestionably better for you, your family, local farmers and the planet. Simply take a few minutes to examine your total food costs and spending habits to see where your food dollars actually end up.

Wild Fruit Wines

By Amy Crowell

Joel Welch

By Roberto Ontiveros
Photography by Marc Brown

Always hungry to explore new directions in food, Joel Welch—executive chef of hipster/home-style haven Kerbey Lane Cafe—dabbles in everything from food science to cultural anthropology. “I have traveled extensively throughout Mexico to places such as Oaxaca, and several beach towns in the state,” he says. “I’ve been to the Yucatán and the Pacific west coast. My favorite things about these places are the unique culture, friendly people and, of course, the food.” 

Robert Mayberry

By Roberto Ontiveros
Photography by Marc Brown

Third-generation Texan and executive chef of the University of Texas’s Jester Hall, Robert Mayberry loves the grounds of his beloved South Austin Community Garden (SACG). “We have eight acres of grass and trees in the middle of South Austin . . . hard to beat!” he says. “It's nice to know that everyone is there for the same reason: to connect with the earth and grow some food. We try to keep the politics to a minimum.” 

Kate Payne

By Shannon Oelrich
Photography by Jo Ann Santangelo 

Alfie, an orange and white tomcat, saunters onto the kitchen table and inspects the offerings: orange vanilla buttermilk muffins (gluten-free) and a bounty of homemade jams, jellies and preserves. He doesn’t seem impressed, but then, he sees it all the time. Kate Payne, author of The Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking, lays out a fine spread, but it took her years to be confident doing so.

On a Roll

By Kate Payne 
Photography by Jo ann Santangelo

For many years, my income map has included caring for children—from the just-months-old to the too-cool-for-school teenager. Last year, when I handed a birthday present to the five-year-old I care for, he squealed with delight, tore off the lime-green wrapping paper, lifted the quilted jelly jar high in the air and asked his mom, “Can I eat one now, please?” His mother pulled out two little fruit leather rolls from the jar and handed one to him and one to his nearly three-year-old sister. Between bites he told me this is his favorite thing that I make.

Just Beesweet

By Elizabeth Winslow
Photography by Knoxy

Nine-year-old Mikaila Ulmer might be adorable, but you’d be a fool to underestimate her. This is a girl on a mission who’s already the owner of a thriving bottled-lemonade business with product on the shelves at Whole Foods Market and devoted customers all over Austin. Oh, and she aims to save the American honeybee, too.

Several years ago, Mikaila was stung by bees twice in one summer. Her parents, D’Andra and Theo, encouraged her to conquer her fear of bees by making a recipe with honey. Since Mikaila was already signed up for the Acton Academy’s Children’s Business Fair and had plans to sell lemonade there, she decided to incorporate local honey into the recipe and BeeSweet Lemonade was born.