A good thermometer is key when making your own yogurt. (Photo by Dvortygirl.)

The following recipe comes from Vanessa Barrington’s book, D.I.Y. Delicious (Chronicle Books, 2010).

It’s very easy to make yogurt without a yogurt maker. For equipment, you’ll need a two-quart saucepan, a candy or dairy thermometer (optional but helpful), a one-quart mason jar, and a whisk that will fit into it. You also need a method for keeping your yogurt warm while it cultures. Read the FAQ below before getting started.

Makes one quart. Requires 20 minutes active time; 20 minutes passive, but watchful; and eight to 10 hours passive.

Ingredients:

1 quart of the best milk available (I use non-homogenized full-fat organic milk from a local dairy)
2 tablespoons plain yogurt with active cultures or 1 teaspoon powdered yogurt starter

Pour the milk into a large saucepan and turn the heat to medium-low. Heat it slowly, stirring occasionally until it is just below the boiling point, about 20 minutes. Watch carefully and do not allow it to boil. If you have a thermometer, the milk should be about 185 degrees. If you don’t have a thermometer, there are some visual and olfactory cues: Tiny bubbles will form just under the skin that covers the surface of the milk. The surface will undulate slightly but the bubbles shouldn’t break the surface. The milk will have a cheesy, scalded aroma. Once the milk reaches this state, hold it there for five minutes.

While you wait for the milk to come up to temperature, sterilize a one-quart Mason jar and its lid with boiling water. Let air-dry. Warm a large pot of water for a water bath, if you’re using one. (See FAQ below for incubation methods.)

Once the milk has remained at 185 degrees for five minutes, remove it from the heat and let it cool down to 115 degrees, stirring occasionally. This will take about 20 or 30 minutes

Put the yogurt or starter in the bottom of the sterilized mason jar and add about 1/2 cup of the cooled milk. Whisk to blend well. Add the remaining cooled milk, stirring well to distribute the cultures throughout. Fasten the lid and place the jar in your incubator of choice (see FAQ) for eight to 10 hours.

Remove from incubator and refrigerate it until cool before eating. If your yogurt is a little lumpy, simply whisk it smooth before eating. If you would like thicker yogurt, strain it to desired thickness in a coffee filter or tea towel set in a strainer over a bowl. The whey that drains off can be used to soak grains, cook beans, ferment pickles, or make fermented drinks.

Frequently asked questions:

Q. Why make yogurt?

A. It’s easy, and organic milk is less expensive than organic yogurt, so you’ll save money too. You can buy a yogurt maker if you want to go completely foolproof, but all you really need is a starter and a method for keeping your yogurt at a steady 90 to 100 degrees for eight to 10 hours. [Also, see the Grist post, Not your grandma's yogurt for more on why more people are making their own.]

Q. What kind of starter should I use?

A. In can be as simple as adding 2 tablespoons plain yogurt to a quart of milk. You must make sure the yogurt contains active cultures and is free of additives. You can also buy powdered yogurt culture in some grocery and natural food stores. This method adds an air of predictability and consistency to the process (and is necessary if you forget to hold back some yogurt for the next batch). I’ve found it in small jars in the refrigerated section where dietary supplements are sold. Natren is a good brand and will keep for several months in the refrigerator. The directions on the jar will tell you how much to use. I use 1 teaspoon per quart of milk. You may also purchase yogurt starter from a cheese supply house.

Q. What’s the best way to incubate yogurt?

A. There are several ways to go about keeping your yogurt at a constant incubation temperature: I like to put a quart mason jar of ripening yogurt in a large pot of water heated to about 90-100 degrees. Then I put the yogurt in this water bath in my oven overnight with the light on. This works perfectly. A gas oven with the pilot light on is also a good way to accomplish the same thing. The pot of water helps keep the yogurt at a constant temperature. I’ve also wrapped the jar in a black plastic garbage bag and left it in the sun on an 80 to 85 degree day. Some people put the yogurt in a warm water bath and then set the whole thing in an insulated cooler with towels wrapped around it. Others use a heating pad. You may have to experiment a couple of times until you find the method that works best for you.

Beehives from Five Seed Farm and Apiary, one of the farms expected to begin production on Baltimore city land in 2012. Photo: Courtesy of Five Seed Farm and Apiary

Like Detroit, and other cities known for their class and race disparity, Baltimore has been losing population and gaining vacant land at a fast pace in recent decades. The result is vast swaths of neighborhoods located far from grocery stores. Baltimore gave itself a D on its own 2010 Health Disparities Report Card, which found that 43 percent of the residents in the city’s predominantly black neighborhoods had little access to healthy foods, compared to 4 percent in predominantly white neighborhoods. Meanwhile, more than two-thirds of the city’s adults and almost 40 percent of high school students are overweight or obese.

In other words, the situation is a dire one. But it’s not all bad news; in fact, the city of Baltimore is going to great lengths to make a change.

Speaking on a panel at the recent Community Food Security Coalition Conference in Oakland, Calif., Abby Cocke, of Baltimore’s Office of Sustainability, and Laura Fox, of the city health department’s Virtual Supermarket Program, outlined two approaches to address the city’s food deserts. Both were presenting programs that have launched since Grist last reported on Baltimore’s efforts to address food justice. And both programs come under the auspices of The Baltimore Food Policy Initiative, a rare intergovernmental collaboration between the city’s Department of Planning, Office of Sustainability, and Health Department. They also show how an active, involved city government and a willingness to try new ideas can change the urban food landscape for the better.

According to Cocke, Baltimore’s Planning Department has a new mindset. She calls it a “place-based” model. “In the past,” she says, “growth was seen as the only way to improve the city, but we’re starting to look at ways to make our neighborhoods stronger, healthier, and more vibrant places at the low density that they’re at now.”

Intercropping farms within the urban landscape

In cities like Oakland — where well-known urban farmer Novella Carpenter was slapped with a large fine recently, resulting in a public push for changes to the zoning laws  – shifts in urban policy have been largely reactive. Other cities, like Detroit, have taken a hands-off approach. Thanks to Baltimore’s Office of Sustainability, however, the city is actively encouraging the creation of small entrepreneurial farms on vacant lots to bring more healthy fresh food to city residents.

In 2010, planning officials met with urban farmers to find out what they would need to grow food in the city. Planners mapped out 20 publicly owned parcels (ranging from one to 12 acres) that met the farmers’ criteria. City officials then encouraged experienced commercial and nonprofit groups to submit a business plan. Of the 10 initial responses, four commercial farms — including Five Seeds Farm and Seed and Cycle — and one nonprofit, Real Food Farm, were qualified to start farming.  

The parcels will be leased to the would-be farmers for a mere $100 a year, and the city will make start-up capital available for those who need it. Baltimore is also rewriting its entire zoning code, one major goal of which is to facilitate farming within city limits. In addition to making its citizens healthier, says Cocke, the city hopes to “transform vacant lots, increase environmental awareness among its citizens, create green jobs, and raise its profile as a leader.”

Image: Center for a Livable FutureBringing the supermarket to libraries and other public spaces

Urban farming is a useful way to make more people aware of where their fruit and vegetables comes from, but it can only provide so much food. That’s where Baltimore’s Virtual Supermarket program — a creative public-private partnership that utilizes the city’s libraries to bring fresh groceries to remote neighborhoods — enters the picture.

According to Fox, the original idea was to launch the program in churches in underserved areas. But city officials quickly found that most people didn’t feel comfortable going into unfamiliar churches. Not to be deterred, and recognizing a good idea, the city began looking at other easily accessible neighborhood spaces, and eventually settled on public libraries.

Working with The Center for a Livable Future at nearby Johns Hopkins University, the health department conducted a mapping project to target neighborhoods with no access to fresh food, low vehicle ownership, low income, and high mortality rates from diet-related diseases. They found that as much as 18 percent of Baltimore qualifies as a food desert, using these criteria. (This data is the basis of the city’s first official “food desert map,” which will be released in January 2012).

Partnering with Santoni’s, a local, family-owned grocery chain, the city launched Virtual Supermarket in March 2010 in two public libraries. Users place orders from the city’s free-to-use library computers, and Santoni’s staff members deliver the food. Customers can pay with EBT cards, cash, or credit/debit cards.

Today the program includes three libraries and one school, and its success has enabled the city to hire a full-time community organizer to recruit potential customers at senior centers and public housing complexes. To date, 150 different customers have made 700 orders.

Although the city prohibits tobacco, it doesn’t regulate what types of foods people can buy. Nonetheless, 60 percent of the Virtual Supermarket customers polled reported that their diets have improved. Most importantly, according to Fox, the program keeps Baltimore residents from having to travel an hour by bus to the nearest store, or pay to take one of the numerous unofficial cabs that line up outside the city’s grocery stores. She says she sees it as a “health equity program,” adding, “why should someone have to pay $15 to get their groceries home in a cab when someone in a wealthier neighborhood who owns a car would pay 25 cents?”

What’s next for Baltimore? For one, the city is upping its focus on cooking. They’ll soon be staging cooking demonstrations at farmers markets and other locations, and launching a program to get citizens talking to their neighbors about nutrition and cooking.

Last March, Baltimore also became one of the first cities in America to hire a full time Food Policy Director. Holly Freishtat works out of the Office of Sustainability in the Department of Planning. As Fox sees it, embedding healthy food policy into the planning department makes complete sense. After seeing some city residents endure an ongoing ordeal simply to get fresh food on their tables, she says, “Where you live affects your whole being.”

By now it’s become conventional wisdom that eating low on the food chain is more sustainable. In the case of fish, that means sardines, anchovies, sand-dabs, and other small, short-lived fish.

Despite recent news that our small forage fish need to be better managed to avoid future problems, if you’re going to eat fish at all, it’s still best to stick with the small fry.

Pacific sardines are a particularly good choice because they are high in omega-3s, low in environmental pollutants, economically priced, and delicious. Cleaning them, however, might be a hurdle. For some it’s the ick factor while others might just lack confidence. I can’t help you with the ick, but I can give you easy, step-by-step instructions for getting the job done.

Here’s how:

Off with their heads: Holding the fish firmly in one hand, grasp the head and pull it toward the back of the fish. If you’re lucky, most of the guts will come out with the head. Discard the head and guts.

Grasp the top dorsal fin firmly and pull it toward the back of the fish. The bone along the top should come out with it.

Place the fish on a firm work surface or hold it in one hand, belly side up. Run an index finger gently down the belly beginning at the opening where the head was and open the fish all the way up flat.

Rinse well under running water.

Gently grasp the backbone at the top and carefully lift it up, while sliding a finger underneath to make sure the bone comes free of the flesh, leaving it intact.

Once the bone is mostly separated, with only the bottom still attached to the tail end of the fish, grasp the fish firmly in one hand and pull the backbone sharply to remove it and the tail.

You should now have two attached, clean filets. I like to trim the edges for a neater look and to remove some of the tiny bones.

To avoid waste, I like to feed the heads to my dog (she loves them).

The fish can now be seasoned or marinated and then grilled, sautéed, or broiled.

Here are a few recipes to get you started:

• Baked Stuffed Sardines
• Fresh Sardines on Grilled Bread
• Escabeche of Fresh Sardines

Frank Baylis.

Johanna Rosen from Mill Creek Farm.Farmers like Frank have paved the way for today’s new lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) farmers, who, with their own reality TV show, blogs, a film project, a Google group (called Rainbow Chard, no less), and a dating site, are enjoying increased visibility. But it’s about more than visibility.

The current back-to-the-land movement is drawing a lot of different people for a number of reasons: a desire to live more sustainably, engage in the hands-on work of food production, and participate in a process that requires creative problem solving. These characteristics make it attractive to those who share an iconoclastic bent and a set of values around both community and independence — values common in the queer community.

The LGBT community has a history of organizing collectively and revitalizing urban spaces. Is it possible that queer farmers are invigorating farming with a new vision that is less restrictive, and more creative? From the looks of it, many queer small-scale farmers seem to think so, even as they face the same day-to-day struggles that other farmers do to make food production viable.

Courtney Skeeba and Denise Whitesides of Homestead Ranch. Photo: Jonah MossbergMaking it work

As very small-scale producers, Baylis and his partner Chris Oldt, who has farmed with him for the past 22 years, have stayed in business by raising extremely rare heritage livestock breeds such as English Longhair Cattle, and African Hairsheep. They also raise and show purebred dogs on the side for extra income and sell only occasional livestock animals for breeding purposes (so as not to create competition). The business requires a careful balance between sales of breeding stock and sales of meat animals to local, specialty buyers.

“I don’t want to raise commercial, mass-produced animals,” says Baylis. He recognizes that his reliance on heritage breeds can seem gimmicky at times, but he’s driven enough to make it work. Laughing, he says, “I live my life like Gypsy Rose Lee in the movie Gypsy … ‘you gotta have a gimmick to get ahead.’”

He’s also committed to raising his animals on pasture, a choice that makes ecological sense because he lives in an area rich in native grasses. “One of my neighbors turned his pasture to corn. Now all I see is corn when I look out there,” he says. “Maybe that’s where the money is, but I’m a livestock farmer, not a crop farmer.”

Johanna Rosen presents another interesting example of a queer farmer pursuing an alternative model. She and her farm partner Jade Walker run Mill Creek Farm, a community-based, nonprofit, educational farm in Philadelphia, where they grow and sell produce while running three farm stands and several youth programs. Though their farm is a nonprofit, they must remain relevant to the community where access to healthy food isn’t always easy. Johanna says it’s a challenge not to stretch too thin, or expand to the point that they become part of the “nonprofit industrial complex.”

“Our main goal is to stay competitive with the other food options for residents in the neighborhood, which are mostly trucks selling bags of cheap produce from the wholesale mart,” says Rosen. “Ours are fresher and we don’t use chemicals. We’re also able to respond to feedback directly … for example, when we realized that we were selling out of okra really quickly, we started planting more. Now we plant three times more okra than we used to.”

Is Rosen’s commitment to the community indicative of a queer approach to farming? Yes and no, she says, “I don’t make my work about me or being gay,” she says. “But I feel like urban farmers are queering the food system. Just by bringing fresh food to this neighborhood we’re mixing it up.”   

Queering farming

Jonah Mossberg, farmer, filmmaker, and creator of The Queer Farmer Film Project, says he thinks there’s a natural connection between the instincts involved in rethinking food production and those involved in rethinking human relationships.

“For a queer person, farming is like looking in a mirror. There’s room for experimentation and for things to shift and change,” he says. The film, now in post-production, will profile farms all over the country — urban, rural, for-profit, and nonprofit — run by individuals, groups of friends, and queer families.

The farmers featured in the film are pouring fresh energy into their field, whether through providing food to inner city neighborhoods, specializing in something nobody else offers, or just creating a community of like-minded people.

“A lot of people want to get back to the roots of growing and producing wholesome food and knowing where it comes from,” says Courtney Skeeba. She and her partner Denise Whitesides of Homestead Ranch in Lecompton, Kan., raise goats and produce products such as hand cream and soap with goat’s milk. She believes this active curiosity comes naturally to LGBT folks. “As a group of individuals, queer people have a tendency to be a bit more aware and active,” she says.

Farming also appeals to a desire to work autonomously, free of the rigid expectations of most workplaces.

“There’s a lifestyle appeal to urban farming in particular,” adds Rosen. “You get to live in a city and keep your queer community but still be a farmer.”  And, she adds: “You don’t need to conform, or wear anything in particular.”

The visibility of out queer farmers like Rosen, Skeeba, and Baylis, and the work of Mossberg, all help to promote acceptance, safety, and mainstreaming for other LGBT farmers. Beyond acceptance, however, it’s possible that their work will lead to changes in farming itself — making it less restrictive, and more fertile with possibility. While working on The Queer Farmer Film Project, Mossberg spent
time shooting footage at Montview Neighborhood Farm in Northampton, Mass. He describes it as “a hand-cultivated, permaculture, queer operation” that sums up the stamp many LGBT folks are already putting on the food system. “Contrasted with that, right next door,” he adds, “there’s a farm with all these straight rows, run by straight people. Farming can definitely be an expression of people’s minds and orientations.”

In addition to mediocre tomatoes, it makes good use of an underutilized green. Escarole comes in big heads with pale, ruffled leaves. It looks a little like lettuce but its part of the chicory family. It is flavorful, but not bitter, and it cooks down to a delightful tenderness, unlike some of the stringier kales. The saffron in this soup adds a touch of elegance but it isn’t necessary. For a heartier soup, add cubed potatoes or 1/4 cup of basmati rice when you add the tomatoes and broth and cook an extra 5 minutes until tender.

And if you’ve still got great tomatoes in your garden? I’m envious. But don’t let that stop you from making this soup. It will be even better.

Serves four as a first course.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes
2 pinches saffron
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 a medium onion, peeled and diced
1 celery rib, diced
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 bunch escarole, torn or chopped into bite-sized pieces and thoroughly washed
4 cups broth (chicken or vegetarian) homemade if you can swing it
Bread for croutons (stale bread is fine)
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional) for serving
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. While waiting for the water to boil, remove the stems from the tomatoes and, using a paring knife, cut a small “x” into the bottom of each one. When the water comes to a boil, carefully lower the tomatoes into the water and boil for about 30 seconds or until the peels begin to separate from the tomatoes. Drain and cool.

2. Meanwhile, put the saffron in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons of water.

3. Cut the cooled tomatoes in half and gently squeeze out most of the seeds (you don’t need to go crazy getting them all). Transfer the tomatoes to the bowl of a food processor or blender and pulse gently until you have a coarse purée. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can chop them thoroughly with a knife)

4. Warm the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and garlic, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes.

5. Add the escarole and 1 cup of the broth, along with a pinch of salt. Lower the heat and stir to coat all of the escarole. Cover loosely and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10-15 minutes, depending on the toughness of the escarole; you want it to be melted and soft.

6. Add the tomatoes, saffron with its water, the remaining broth, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes to blend flavors.

7. While you’re waiting, toast some bread for croutons. When your ready to serve the soup, top with croutons, grated cheese if desired, and drizzle with olive oil.

Photo: michelle@TNS

Time to cook: less than an hour

The ingredients: fresh summer vegetables from a weekend visit to the farmers’ market

Secret ingredient: a jar of harissa 

The result: a hit

I admit it. I would normally have added feta or some other type of super flavorful cheese to this salad. And honestly, I love cheese; but it can be a bit of a cop out. So I’m always a little excited when I’m asked cook vegan because it forces me to be more creative in the kitchen.

For this recipe, I deployed two little tricks to up the flavor quotient.

Toasted crunchy things: Toasted nuts or seeds are great for adding that savory flavor that’s often missing from all-veg concoctions. I chose pumpkin seeds for their color and size, and because they are technically part of this classic New World foursome (corn, squash, bean, peppers), so it just seemed right.

Harissa: I wanted the dressing to be a little spicy and a little exciting. To achieve this I added just a spoonful of homemade harissa to my basic shallot vinaigrette. I’d made it myself earlier in the week, but you could certainly also use a good store-bought version.

This recipe may look it requires a lot of steps but if you do them in order, you can get it done pretty quickly by multi-tasking, as I’ve suggested in the instructions.

Serves: 6 to 8 as a side

Ingredients

2 medium zucchini
Pinch of kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
4 small mixed peppers
1/2 pound green beans
4 ears corn
2 tablespoons parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

For the dressing:
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
1 tablespoon harissa paste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation

Photo: Vanessa BarringtonThe finished salad1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil.

2. Wash and trim the zucchini and then grate it coarsely into a colander in the sink. Add a generous pinch of salt, toss, and then let the zucchini sit as it releases excess moisture. (This will keep your salad from getting watery).

3. Arrange the pumpkin seeds in a single layer on a small sheet pan and toast in the oven for 10 minutes until brown, crisp, and fragrant. Set aside to cool.

4. While the zucchini drains and the seeds toast, roast the peppers directly over the flame of a gas stove, turning them often with tongs, until they are evenly blackened all over (if you don’t have a gas stove, use the broiler in your oven). Then place them in a bowl, covered with a towel, to steam.

5. Snap the ends off the green beans and blanche them in boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes, until crisp-tender. Drain immediately, rinse with cold water and plunge into an ice water bath to stop the cooking. Set aside.

6. With all the other ingredients in a holding pattern, shuck the corn, cut the kernels off the cob, and place them in a large bowl. Then whisk together the dressing, adding the olive oil last, in a slow stream, so it blends in without separating. Add salt and pepper to taste.

7. Rinse the drained zucchini in cool water and squeeze well with your hands. Add it to the bowl with the corn.

8. Drain and pat the green beans dry. Cut them into bite-sized pieces and add them to the bowl with the corn and zucchini.

9. With your fingertips, peel the blackened skins off the chiles and remove the stems and seeds. Cut them into a medium dice and add them to the salad.

10. When you’re ready to serve the salad, add the pumpkin seeds, parsley, and dressing to the vegetables in the bowl and toss thoroughly. Then add more salt and pepper to taste. This salad can be refrigerated and eaten the next day, but its best eaten the day it is made.