You Got Oatmeal on My Hyacinth

Recall, if you will, those old commercials in which someone with a jar of peanut butter crashes into someone with a chocolate bar—serendipity that results in the perfect combination. Something similar happened recently at Texas State University when two separate ideas unexpectedly collided, leading to something even better than a peanut butter cup—a better environment.

Associate professor of horticulture Tina Cade and graduate student John Montoya were busy working on a project to eradicate the pesky water hyacinth. “The plant is very pretty,” says Cade, “but it’s a worldwide invasive species, choking off waterways and messing up ecosystems.”

The hyacinths were being pulled from the San Marcos River and left stacked on the riverbank for collection. But because the plants are 98 percent water and nitrogen-rich, and since both water and nitrogen are vital to decomposition, Montoya had the idea to compost them instead of simply tossing them in the trash.

Garrett Weber-Gale

By Robin Chotzinoff
Photography by Marc Brown

The Today Show was filming in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics and plenty of high-profile guests were on hand—among them, swimmer Garrett Weber-Gale who had not only just won a gold medal as part of an American relay team, but had broken the American record for the 100-meter freestyle. Renowned chef Daniel Boulud, who had just opened a restaurant in Beijing, was also there.

Farmers' Favorite Recipes

Warm Season Recipes

NO-SLIME SKILLET OKRA  
Courtesy of Carol Ann Sayle, Boggy Creek Farm

Olive oil or butter
Enough fresh small to medium okra pods to cover the bottom
of an iron skillet (Leave the caps and stems on the okra.)
Sea salt, to taste

Add the olive oil or butter to the iron skillet—just enough to lightly coat it. Add the okra, uncut, to the skillet. Sprinkle with sea salt. Turn the heat on low and cook until the okra is tan on the bottom. Then turn the okra over, tanning each side. When all sides are lightly browned, approximately 20 to 30 minutes, the okra is ready. Eat the caps and the stems also. Best eaten with your fingers.

Absinthe Minded

By David Alan
Photography by Jenna Noel

There is no spirit veiled in more mystery and misinformation than absinthe. Known as the “green fairy,” this potable is famously alleged, and widely believed, to be hallucinogenic and has been accused of making men go mad—driven to commit unthinkable acts. Vincent Van Gogh was supposedly in an absinthe-induced stupor when he cut off his ear, and absinthe was deemed the culprit in the notorious 1905 Absinthe Murders (even though the murderer had ingested large amounts of several other types of alcohol prior to, and after, the absinthe).

Drew and Mary Catherine Curren

By Robin Chotzinoff
Photography by Marc Brown

Such accomplished chefs, such big careers, such a tiny kitchen! Nothing but a sink, a teeny oven and a few cabinets lined up in the hall next to the back door.

“The oven is ridiculous,” admits Mary Catherine Curren. As an executive pastry chef, she prefers the kitchen equipment on the job at Easy Tiger, but her husband, Drew, executive chef and partner at Easy Tiger, 24 Diner and Arro (opening early 2013), likes the challenge.

The Family Dinner Essay Contest: Winning Story

A few weeks ago we sent out one of our bi-monthly E-Newsletters with a request for stories written by our readers on the theme of The Family Dinner. The contest was inspired by The Family Dinner cookbook by Laurie David, a book full of not just delicious recipes but also (and we think even more importantly) full of great reasons to sit down and enjoy a home cooked meal with loved ones. The winning story would receive a signed copy of the cookbook for their kitchen library!

Going Fourth

In a traditional business model, the quest for profit might be the only bottom line. However, in a worker-owned cooperative, there are three equally important factors that must be considered with every business decision. “The triple bottom line means, yes, we are concerned with profits,” says Jimmie Lundie, one of the founders of 4th Tap Brewing Co-op, a new worker-owned brewery slated to open early next year.

A Royal Welcome

You hear the Royal Blue Grocery, at the corner of 3rd and Lavaca, before you see it. Merengue beats and breathy jazz vocals emanate from beneath its blue steel canopy. Next come the voices of passersby. Whether or not they enter the store, its many patrons make a point of greeting their grocer, George Scariano. Scariano, who knows most of them by name, never fails to return their greetings.

A Trip Through Kolache History

The following is a legend every Central Texan ought to know.

Long ago, in a corner of the Austro-Hungarian Empire now known as the Czech Republic, Maminka was trying to bake bread, but her daughter, Lebuse, kept interrupting her. So Maminka gave her a piece of dough to play with. Happily, Lebuse rolled and flattened her dough, added some plums from the table, and slipped her creation into the oven with the rest of the bread.

Cold Treats for Endless Summers

By Jessica Maher;
Photography by Carole Topalian

With summer right around the bend, our minds wander to simpler times of swimming pools and flip-flops, as well as simpler food: grilled hamburgers, warm blackberry cobbler and homemade ice cream. Why not invite some friends and neighbors over for hot dogs and watermelon sorbetto?

I learned to make ice cream when I was nine years old, and there just wasn’t much to it. We used coffee cans, ice and a ton of salt, and were pleased to roll it back and forth for 30 minutes, producing a melty, milky, dreamy spoonfuls.

Stars of Winter

By Carol Ann Sayle

Winter…our favorite culinary season! Even the Boggy Creek chickens cluck in joyous anticipation for the cold-season greens that take over the farm from November to April.

Just after dawn on a December day, the harvest ladies (the mother-daughter Marias, Andrea and I) head out to the field to cut broccoli and cauliflower, pull root crops, and bunch greens. But first we have to pause and admire the beauty before us.