Edible Austin

In keeping with a literary theme, this spring issue features some favorite local authors in our new Edible LIt department—Sarah Bird writes about, well, books and Homesick Texan blogger Lisa Fain interviews author Carol Dawson about her book House of Plenty: The Rise, Fall and Revival of Luby's Cafeterias, with an excerpt included. You'll also find Marion Winik stalking our pages in a nostalgic food-funk, and an excerpt from Jim Hightower's newest book, Swim Against the Current.

 And to wash it all down, make yourself a seasonal cocktail from David Alan's debut "Tipsy Texan" column. Salud!

This winter, we invite you to dig a firepit and cook a seasonal dish of grassfed ground lamb, fresh mint, onion and parsnips over an open fire (see Homegrown Gourmet). Celebrate Edible Austin Eat Local Week with us at local markets and restaurants. And if, like us, you plan to experiment more with chocolate, try this recipe, which was handed to me surreptitiously at a recent farmers market by chocolatier Tom Pedersen. According to chef Jesse Griffiths of Dai Due supper club who created it, this Italian-style frozen custard is great for three reasons: it's easy, it doesn't require an ice cream machine and it's perfect for improvisation.

It's also the perfect finish to a celebratory meal.

We have beautiful products in Central Texas, especially on the seam of the two seasons that coincides with Thanksgiving. Winter squash and lettuces are available, but tomatoes aren’t out of the question, either. Persimmons and apples are easy to find, and, with a little ingenuity, you can arrange for ducks, turkeys, pheasants and doves (think of them as little turkeys.) There’s no need to use words like “bounty” or “cornucopia”—just take a look around and see what’s growing, swimming or flying.

Our Thanksgiving menu reflects what’s available now and here. If you’re a traditionalist, mix a few new dishes in with your old favorites. Either way, I don’t think there’s a better way to celebrate.

Also, Honor the Animal with Hugh Fitzsimmons as he field harvests his bison with compassion and grace. And learn about Brenton Johnson who started a garden in his backyard and now has a thriving CSA. 

First let us define local. We’ve already been amazed at how many meanings that word can have. Within our 30-county area called Central Texas, local is the organic-vegetable-and-lemonade stand run by seven-year-old Alabel Chapin, her five-year-old brother Henry and their six-year-old friend Ford Martin. (We happened upon them in Austin’s Travis Heights neighborhood—see “1,000 Words,”)  Local is the family ranch outside of Fredericksburg owned by Chuck and Teppi Schmidt, who raise pastured, grassfed beef using organic principles. Local is the soon-to-open Big Top Candy Shop on South Congress Avenue—independently owned by Brandon Hodge—featuring an old-fashioned soda fountain. It may appear counter-intuitive, but lingering over a rare treat of a real egg cream soda counts as the art of slow food. Local is Jesse Griffiths and Tamara Mayfield’s Dai Due supper club where lucky diners are served an all locally sourced menu, family style, at Rain Lily, a gem of an urban farm in East Austin. Tamara met Jesse delivering Rain Lily’s vegetables to Vespaio where he used to work as a chef. Local is exactly about making that kind of connection.