Red Lentil Soup with Chard and Grilled Chapati

Some of you will know that our home was damaged in the Christmas tornado and that we’ve been staying in a hotel while repairs are made. During that time I’ve been returning home to tend our small winter vegetable garden, and once or twice a week bring back some kale or chard to add to our meals. While our suite nominally has a full kitchen, that kitchen includes only two small countertop burners and a microwave. I’ve been attempting to cook several times a week to try to maintain our regular eating habits, but the results have been a little disappointing. Tonight’s meal was one of my more ambitious efforts, Red Lentil Soup with Chard, and Chapati dry-grilled on our iron skillet. Not bad; it’s simple, warm, and filling.

A mix of freshly chopped chard and spinach.

The Red Lentil Soup comes from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and reminds me of the red lentil soup from my favorite Tibetan restaurant in Bloomington, and the Chapati from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. You can make chapati with regular whole wheat flour, but I picked up some chapati flour from Food Pak on Old Shell.

Tomato ‘Mortgage Lifter’, for sale at MBG’s Online Marketplace.

Many of the Gulf Coast’s best tomatoes are still available online at Mobile Botanical Gardens’ Online Marketplace. Choose from heirlooms like Cherokee Purple, hybrids, plums, grape, and even tiny currant varieties. They are selling out, however, so make your selections soon! Pickup will be on Saturday, February 23 from 9am – 1pm at the MBG Marketplace on the grounds. Getting your plants in early will allow you to get a head start on the growing season, before our stifling summer heat chokes off production. Read Bill Finch’s article on why you should at al.com.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Don’t miss the region’s best plant sale, which continues Friday through Sunday. A plant list (pending availability) is posted at the Botanical Gardens web site. We’re in the best time of year for gardening, the long mild seasons of fall, winter, and spring; as MBG Executive Director Bill Finch writes, Fall is the New Spring. You can read more, too, about Fall Gardening A-Z.

Edibles include vegetables and herbs, fruit and nut trees, bananas, berries, and grapes. You’ll find varieties you can’t get elsewhere, and plants selected specifically for their suitability to this region.

Even if you don’t go to buy, or to buy very much, it’s great fun to just stroll the field and look at the wonderful variety of plants. I love watching the butterflies flit around the impromptu flower garden that’s been set up on the tables. For best selection you’ll want to go early; the herbs and vegetables sell out quickly.

Event Registration Page

MORE INFORMATION:

Includes seminar, light lunch, and raffles. Hard to find herbs and gifts will be for sale.

The program this year will be “Classic to New Age…Culinary Adventures with Herbs.” Jason Lafferty, Executive Chef, Program Director for Culinard Institute at Virginia College and Consultant for The Kitchen on George will prepare several interesting dishes with an international flavor. Thai basil, lemongrass, and gingers as well as traditional herbs will be used. Members of the Gulf Coast Herb Society will be available to answer your questions, and locally grown herbs that are suited to the Gulf Coast during the fall and winter will be for sale. This is always a popular event and seating is limited, so get your reservations in early.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Registration forms and additional information can be found at the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

See a PDF of the anticipated menu.

To celebrate and support the agriculture and seafood businesses on the Alabama coast, local farmers, growers, producers, and seafood providers are joining with Mobile County chefs and Mobile County Master Gardeners to create an evening of seasonally fresh and delicious food, live music, and a silent auction at the Jon Archer Agricultural Center.

The evening includes starters, non-alcoholic specialty drinks, demonstration garden tours, a silent auction, and a four course farm-to-table dinner featuring a Food Guest at your table.

Proceeds from the event will be used to keep the Demonstration Gardens productive – its crops are donated to Haven of Hope in Mobile.

MORE INFORMATION:

Featured speaker Bill Finch will present a fun and interesting program on what he’s growing in his garden and what he might suggest for fall gardening.

MORE INFORMATION:

Cultivate the fruits of the cool season: lettuces, kale, root vegetables. Learn how and when to plant for high harvest and low maintenance.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The Alabama Food and Farm Forum is an annual event that brings together all those who produce and/or hunger for abundant and good local food.

The events consist of:

Local Farm Tours
Practical Workshops
Inspiring Speakers
A Youth In Agriculture Track
Sessions on Community Wealth Creation
Farm and Food Policy
Energy
Sustainable Farming Innovations
An Open-Mic Session
“Dirt! The Movie”
Our Traditional All Alabama Dinner Fest
And Honored Guests

We put together a (nearly) all-local traditional Fourth of July dinner with hardly an effort. Burgers made from Green Acres ground beef on homemade rolls (garnished with home grown tomatoes), corn from the farmers market, curried potato salad made with farmers market potatoes, and blueberry pie made from local berries.

What local foods were on your holiday table?