I feel fertile (ladyparts excluded)

Hello all, this is but a proto-post with a teaser of what is to come. Many of you are aware of my produce-my-own-produce endeavours 2009, an experiment in taste and frugality. I have decided to build on the success of yesteryear: a fun hobby, but also a very gastro-relevant practice what with the growing importance put upon sourcing local/fresh/organic goods. WELL, this year my little urban garden is back in full force with french beans, mesclun mix, swiss chard, strawbs, raspberries, eggplants, bell peppers, chilis, watermelon, cucumber, all manner of herbs, 4 varieties of tomatoes, brussel sprouts and bottle gourds. I've found that heirloom varieties are pretty easy to source what with specialty seed vendors, community markets, and my generous Italian neighbors. Here are a few photos of a first leafy harvest and the good things to come.

One of my strawberry pots with stuff on the go in May. May!!!

Raspberry buds

Mesclun mix of arugula, mustard, endive and mizuna.

Vietnamese corriander which is now happily taking over the box in which it lives

Proof that my lemongrass is actually GROWING, and not just defoliating in the cold.

Chard!!!

By the way, all of these close-ups are not me trying to showcase some kind of photographic artsyness - that would be rather dumb seeing as I can only operate Pete's SLR in the automatic setting. It just so happens that I am sparing my dear readers from an ugly truth: my patio is still scattered with the mess of last year's bottle caps and two quietly decomposing ikea chairs. Once June's BBQtasticity rolls around I'll make a trip to the dump and have some some good, authoritatively panoramic garden photos.

Father knows be(ef)st

A few years ago my dad served me a pot roast which I was more than a little reluctant to try. Now, before I write anything more you should first know this: my dad is fucking awesome. He is an amazingly resilient person full of the kind of wisdom and old-country surlyness which one cannot acquire without having lived through multiple immigrations and life-endangering shenanigans. That having been said, he is a godawful cook. His past offerings have included red cabbage juice and maple-beansprouts, so you can understand my surprise when I was faced with something which was both delicious AND cooked by my pops. Unheard of! His original was done with lamb and without the rub, but the simplicity and "death by onion" technique remains in my recipe.

Armanowski pot roast

- 3-4 lbs beef chuck roast
-6 large vidalia onions, diced
(or whatever it takes to cover the roast given your meat and your cooking vessel)
-3 large cloves of garlic
-2 tbsp fresh rosemary
-12 pitted prunes
-2 tbsp olive oil
-1/2 tsp whole peppercorns
-Salt + pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees and toss the diced onion with a 1/2 tsp of salt (you can always add more later if that isn't quite enough). Season your beef with salt and pepper, and don't bother remove the strings tied around the meat. Puree the garlic, 1/4 tsp salt, olive oil, rosemary, and prunes together with your weapon of choice. Ever seen a pile of bear droppings? That's pretty much the look you're going for. Put a little bit of oil on your fingers and proceed to smear the paste onto all sides of the beef, whence it should resemble a larger pile of bear droppings. Arrange a handful of onion for your roast to sit on at the bottom of a dutch oven or other heavy lidded cooking vessel and cover the meat with the remaining heap of onions and peppercorns. Place the lid onto the pot and leave it in the oven for 3 hours, or until good and tender. Don't worry about massive pungency from the onions, they lose their bite as they cook down and get surprisingly sweet.




No broth, water, or wine needed - that bit of salt you added to the onions will help bring out their own moisture and when you eventually uncover this awesomeness you will find it swimming in its own de-licious juices. Once cooked, Sweep any remaining onion from the top of the meat and brown it uncovered underneath a broiler for a little extra colour. Slice up the beef and serve it swimming in au jus. Props, dad. Serious props.