Kale seeds are tiny and my fingers are big. Getting a single kale seed planted and spaced several inches apart, as all the guides suggest, is a particular challenge for me. I try scattering the seeds along neat rows. In past years, I’ll follow up the initial over-planting with a pass with scissors – cutting out seedlings so that the remaining plants are several inches apart.
As I’ve learned, the more space each plant has, the bigger it grows. The plants don’t have to work as hard to spread their roots to grab nutrients and water from the soil. This is a classic example of “less is more.” The less I crowd the plants the more vegetables I harvest.
This year, I tried a new experiment. Instead of cutting out seedlings, I let the plants grow half a dozen leaves. At this point, the hardy plants have already announced themselves, and the runts are starting to whither. I still have to thin, but instead of cutting out healthy plants, I dug them up and replanted them several inches away.
I worried that the kale plants would still be too fragile and would not survive the disruption. Though they did wilt briefly, within several hours and a gentle rainfall, they perked up quite nicely.
Lacinto (or dinosaur) Kale has made an appearance in my garden for the last several years. For the most part it grows very well – providing a consistent bounty of fresh leaves from June through the first snowfall (November). In fact, it does so well, that I have enough for dinner most nights with leftovers to freeze for the winter.
Though it does grow well, I think I can do better. For starters, I’m still trying to figure out a way to mitigate the aphids. They loooove the brassicas…. Up until last year, they were just a nuisance… trying to rid the leaves of the glue-like mites before cooking up the leaves. And I got pretty good at it.
But last year, things got out of control. In addition to covering the kale plants, the Brussels sprouts plants died entirely. I did not harvest a single one. And this, despite repeated sprayings with organic, anti-aphid spray and a introduction of ladybugs, which supposedly feast on the aphids. And I thought I was taking drastic measures!
This year, I’m trying another strategy…planting rows of marigolds around the kale and Brussels sprouts. I’ve been told that marigolds repel insects… we shall see if it works. But at the very least, it adds a new level of beauty to the garden.
Do you have a strategy to protect your garden against insects?
Later on Wednesday, I headed over to EVOO Restaurant where I was guest-chef for the night. I prepared a special menu featuring lots of recipes from our cookbook. The turnout was great and the food well received. More on that in a minute.
I love EVOO Restaurant for many reasons… They are strong supports of local farmers, and their menu reflects that commitment – featuring meats and produce from dozens of local farms: Verrill Farms in Concord, Eva’s Herbs in Dartmouth, Drumlin Farm in Sudbury, Pete and Jen’s Backyard Birds in Concord, and so on.
And I really connect with Chef/Owner Peter McCarthy’s style of cooking. People have often asked what type of food I cook, and I tell them that if I had a restaurant, the food would be just like EVOO. So it goes without saying that one of the big reasons I love EVOO is indeed the food. The Smoked Rabbit Confit salad is one of my top 10 favorite restaurant dishes in Boston.
It’s been about 3 years since I worked in a professional kitchen, and at least 10 years since I worked in a kitchen in the style of EVOO. To say I was a little nervous would be an understatement. Would I work fast enough to get everything done? Could I create refined restaurant presentations? How would the straightforward recipes from the book translate into fine-dining dishes?
When I get nervous like this, I make lists and do everything I can to be super-organized. I write the menu weeks in advance, write prep-lists in 5 different formats – by which day I would prepare each component, from where I will order all the ingredients, how long each item will take to prepare, what quantities I need of every dish, and a master-list of all the lists.
But because the menu was based on what was in season, I couldn’t write the menu (or my lists) until three days before – I was pretty sure strawberries would be available, but what if the weather was cold and wet. Would the beets be available? Would the asparagus season have ended? Given the uncertainty of the menu, I could not make all the lists that would have calmed my nerves until just two short days before I had to get to work.
On Tuesday, I headed into the restaurant to start my preparation. I made crepe batter, and kohlrabi salad. I sautéed mushrooms and wilted greens. I peeled asparagus and julienned radishes. I marinated the chicken and blended vinaigrettes. I worked at a somewhat leisurely pace because I knew I could prep late into the night and still have Wednesday to finish things up.
Wednesday’s pace was a bit more frenetic. I had a hard-deadline of 5 pm to finish everything. Thankfully, Peter and his staff pitched in to make sure I was ready. And indeed, by 5.00 pm, I was. We made sample dishes so the cooks would know how they were prepared, and the wait staff could taste.
Yes, the regular line-cooks at EVOO would be putting the finishing touches on my food. Peter and I agreed that having me cook “on the line” would be a disaster for so many reasons. Instead, I made sure all the food tasted and looked as I wanted, and then his cooks would actually prepare the dishes to order when the diners came in.
I was humbled by how many friends and clients came in to support me. And so grateful that the food was well received. We sold out of my two favorite dishes – The Kohlrabi Salad with Grilled Bun Cha (which is also the most popular recipe on this blog) and The Chick Pea Crepe filled with Wilted Greens, Spinach Flan and Smoked Tomato Coulis.
Here's the menu. Page numbers refer to where the recipes are in the cookbook.
First Course Options
Grilled Asparagus and Greens Salad with Dreamy Green Goddess (page 246) and Easter Radishes
Kohlrabi Salad (page 155) with Grilled Bun Cha – Vietnamese Pork Meatballs
Second Course Options
Chick Pea Crepe Stuffed with Wilted Greens (page 136), Spinach – Flan and a Drizzle of Smoked Tomatoes (page 226)
Grilled Korean Style Free Range Chicken with Spinach Salad (page 147), Fresh Kim Chi (page 73) and Scallion Pancakes
Sautéed Sea Scallops with Sautéed Mushrooms and Greens (page 135) and Beet Vinaigrette (page 247)
Dessert Options
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (page 268) with Sour Cream Ice Cream
Chocolate Molten Cake with Minted Berries (page 276)
Thanks again to Peter and Colleen for hosting me in the restaurant. And to all the good wishes.
Mat Schaffer wrote a lovely review of my book, The Farmer's Kitchen, in today's Boston Herald. You can read it here.
In other promotional news:
I will be guest-chef at EVOO Restaurant on Wednesday, June 8th. Menu has yet to be written as I'm waiting to see what's available at the farmers' market; but you can be sure I will cook recipes from the book. Three-course, prix-fixe dinner is $38 ($55 with wine and $70 with wine and an autographed copy of the book). For reservations, click here.
Boston-based food writer, Annie B. Copps enthused about the book on her radio show.
Cook bacon until crisp and then drain really, really well. Coarsely chop.
While bacon is cooking, melt chocolate over a double boiler. Stir with a rubber spatula. When about 80% of the chocolate is melted, remove the chocolate from the heat and keep stirring until the remaining chocolate melts.
3. Fold the bacon into the chocolate and continue stirring for a minute or two more. Pour the chocolate into molds and let set.
During high school summer vacations, I worked in a gift catalogue warehouse. I loved climbing up the racks to pull inventory off the shelves and then packing them in boxes. The machine that filled the boxes' empty space with peanuts was particularly fun. I couldn’t have made more than $8/hour, but as a high school kid this was great. I loved the organization of the work flow and the sense of accomplishment when the UPS man came everyday to ship off our hard work.
The warehouse was in an industrial park just outside DC, on the other side of the Potomac River from Anacostia. There were no grocery stores, cafes or even food trucks. If you wanted lunch, you either had to bring it from home or rely on the vending machine in the staff lunchroom. I was lucky… I came from a home where dinner was cooked every night, and groceries were bought every week. I had access to a full refrigerator every morning to make a full meal with two mid-day snacks.
For my colleagues, this was less than ideal. The warehouse manager was an older man, in his late 50s or 60s. He had been with the company for years and his wife packed his lunch every day. The sticking memory for me was a big, black woman. She had 5 kids at home and a husband who worked a similar blue collar job. Though I had little concept of this at the time, it’s hard to imagine she made more than $12/hour. A fine wage for a single person, just getting her start in the world. But for a 40-something woman with significant responsibilities at home, this would barely cover the rent, much less put a satisfying, warm meal on the table.
Every day at lunch, I would pull out my bag, brimming with delectable treats. And she would slip 2 quarters into the vending machine for a packet of peanut butter crackers. I had no concept of hunger, but I knew the basics of a healthy diet. And as I watched her waddle around the warehouse, I would think that for the same 50 cents, she could get an apple – a more healthy choice for her money.
But if you’re hungry, you’re not thinking about which choice is healthier. You’re thinking about which choice will ease the hunger pangs a little longer. I would have made the same choice. I was too ashamed to ask more about her home-life. As much as I enjoyed working with her, I was uncomfortable with the disparities of our “financial realities” (a term I co-opted from business school).
After I graduated from cooking school, I started teaching cooking classes to low-income families in danger of hunger and malnutrition as part of Share Our Strength’s direct service program Operations Frontline (now Cooking Matters). My former colleague would have been an ideal candidate for this program.
I was teaching a group of women originally from the Caribbean. I had heard rice and beans were popular in their culture. So I pulled out a New Orleans cookbook, found a great recipe and then adapted it to be healthier and more economical. The class was a flop! My version of stewed beans over a bed of rice was night and day away from their tradition of rice cooked together with beans. The message of adapting recipes was lost. (I’m sure you saw that coming)
Twenty-five years after my first encounter with food security and hunger, these challenges still plague families across the country. But as I’ve learned over the years, the issues are complex. They range from access to affordable, healthy choices to understanding the needs and traditions of the local communities to education.
I still don’t know the answer.
Two people working on solutions in Massachusetts are Dave Jackson and Glynn Lloyd.
Dave owns and manages Enterprise Farm in Western Massachusetts. He primarily sells his organic produce through his farm-stand and CSA subscriptions. This year, he’s starting something new. He purchased an old school bus which he retrofitted with display shelves. Throughout the growing season he will drive his bus around the Boston-area food deserts selling his impeccably fresh produce at discounted prices to people who may not otherwise have access.
Glynn tackles the issues from both educational and access perspectives. Having grown up in the underserved neighborhood of Roxbury, he understands the needs and traditions of this community. His first company, City Fresh Foods, is a leading meal delivery food service provider in the Metropolitan Boston Area. They serve meals to children enrolled in child care, school students, guests in various residential programs and homebound elders. Based in the neighborhood where Glynn grew up, he employs people from the community – not only giving them a good job, but also educating them in how healthy, affordable food is prepared.
Glynn’s second business, City Growers, is creating access to fresh food by converting inner-city brown spaces into viable green spaces that grow produce to be distributed within the community.
Aside from word of mouth, a restaurant's menu is perhaps their best marketing tool. When diners consider where to eat on any given night, they might peruse menus on the web, or in your window. It should be easy to read (both graphically and linguistically) and convey your style and personality.
Know your type.
Typography is the visual expression of you, your food, your voice, the type of food you serve, and even how you serve it. If you can't afford a graphic designer to lay out your menus, familiarize yourself with these important do's and don'ts:
DO use simple fonts. Helvitica Thin and Garamond are elegant and easy to read. Overly used and decorative typefaces such as Freestyle Script are harder to read and less original.
DON'T use Multiple Typefaces: It's okay to use 2 different fonts maximum.
DO use a hierarchy. The dish name should be larger or bolder than descriptor, and additions should be the smallest.
DON'T USE ALL CAPS. It reads like you're yelling. And no one likes to be yelled at.
DON'T Underline.
DON'T use Teeny-weeny type sizes. If you have a candle-lit ambiance, increase the point size just a bit for easier reading. If you see a customer pick up the candle to read the menu, it's time for a reprint.
DO keep the lines short. And do not justify the text. A ragged right edge helps with readability and word-spacing issues.
DON'T use photos of food.
Lastly,
DO spell check! Most diners will catch the spelling mistakes that you have overlooked. These small gaffes reflect poorly on your attention to detail.
Choose your words carefully.
Highlight the key ingredients in the first line and save the more lengthy descriptions for a second (and third) line.
Avoid trite descriptions. For example, "Fried to Perfection" or "Grilled to Perfection" is overused. Every restaurant has the goal of cooking foods to perfection. And if you need to let your diners know you're doing this, chances are you are not.
Highlight your strengths: is it seasonal only? Is it an original recipe? Your mom's?
While naming farmers and sources of ingredients is trendy right now, be careful as to not overdo it on your menu. If every item has its source listed, diners will struggle to know what's in a dish. Instead, consider listing farmers and sources at the bottom of the menu.
Make sure you have diversity of ingredients and preparations – at least one vegetarian item, a balance of meat and fish, and a balance of fried, grilled, raw and sautéed dishes (unless, of course, your specialty is in one of these areas).
Keep it simple. This is your résumé. It should not overwhelm. You should have a core group of items that your kitchen does well. If it becomes a laundry list of everything you think you should cook to get customers, this will actually turn customers off.
Keep offerings relevant. Ditch the mozzarella sticks, jalapeño poppers, grande nachos and chicken fingers. UNLESS you have an ironic take on has-been food, retire it for something a little original that reflects you!
For help refreshing your menu's content and increasing customer satisfaction, please contact me.
This article was co-written with Dan Banks, owner of Project Design Company. For help refreshing your menu's context, email Dan. You can also follow his tweets at @pdctweet.
Spring in Boston has been spectacular, and winter faded into a distant memory. Even the leeks forgot the 80+ inches, standing tall in the garden as if nary a flake of snow covered their leaves.
(I think the state flower of Massachusetts should be the "Bleeding Heart" in honor of all the liberals.)
Just as I harvested last fall’s leeks, I also cut my first salad of the season.
And to bring it full circle, I served them with smoked tomatoes from last summers’ harvest. How neat to have a completely fresh ingredients with 3 seasons on one plate and in harmony!
Leek and Goat Cheese Tart with Smoked Tomato Coulis This is a great dish as an appetizer, or served with pork or chicken for a main meal.
pie dough 3 slices bacon 4 leeks, cut into rounds and washed 1/2 tsp. curry powder 4 oz. goat cheese 1 cup half -n- half (or milk) 3 eggs 4 smoked tomatoes 1/2 cup chicken broth salt and pepper to taste
1. Roll out pie dough and form into pie tins, or 1 8” pan. Blind bake for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over a medium flame, render the bacon with the leeks. Cook until the bacon is crisp and the leeks are soft. Drain off any excess fat. Add curry powder and cook for 1 minute more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Dot the goat cheese in the bottom of the pie tarts. Evenly divide 1 smoked tomato and the leeks among the tarts.
4. Mix eggs and half -n- half. Season with salt and pepper. Add enough custard to fill tarts.
5. Bake for 20 minutes at 425 for small tarts, or 40 minutes for a large one.
6. Puree remaining smoked tomatoes with chicken broth. Warm gently on the stove top. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Add a touch of cream, just before serving, if you’d like.
My second attempt at composting is faring much better than my first. When I checked on it, 6 weeks after I started, I was thrilled to see only a banana sticker remained. All the food scrapes, newspaper shreds and coffee filters were finely ground into rich soil.
The next step is to separate the worms from the soil so that I can use it in my garden. I will leave the lid off the bin for a bit – the worms don't like light so they will burrow into the soil. As I harvest off the top layer into a separate bin, the worms will dig deeper and deeper.
I will harvest the soil into a plastic bag and seal it for a few days. This will kill off any remaining worms before I add the compost to my garden.
Business owners need to know a few basic terms for evaluating the health of their business: Revenue (how much money you earn), Cost of Sales (cost of the product you are selling) and Net Income (what's left after you pay all your other operating expenses such as labor, occupancy and marketing).
Being shy of numbers is no excuse when you're talking about the success of your business. Simply put, when your Net Income is positive, that means you're doing okay but, in reality, it is much more complicated to extract useful information because there are often many revenue streams to consider.
Does your catering business add to your bottom line? Is attending a weekly farmers' market worth the added labor? Does it make sense to open your restaurant for lunch? All of these activities add to your (top-line) revenue, but do they increase the dollars left at the end of the day (bottom line)?
To answer these questions, you must evaluate all the expenses involved in each revenue stream.
Catering
For a restaurant that wants to add off-premise catering to its customer offerings, there are more expenses beyond the actual food and labor of executing the event. These incremental expenses decrease profits.
Corporate expenses – If your managers spend hours marketing and planning for catering events then they are not working on running your restaurant. Do you need to hire more workers for the restaurant because your managers are otherwise occupied?
Sales materials – Do you print menus and/or brochures? Who designs these materials?
Advertising – If part of your advertising budget is used to promote your catering business then this needs to be accounted for.
Have you purchased special equipment or supplies to support the catered events?
Attending a Farmers' Market
Farmers choose between many different options to sell their produce – wholesale to restaurants or retail to customers at a farm-stand, farmers' market and/or through CSA programs. Each sales channel has its own associated costs, and perhaps different revenue as well (most restaurants get discounts based on retail prices).
How much time do you spend selling your products through each sales channel? Remember that making phone calls, sending emails or directly interacting with customers at the market all need to be considered.
How much fuel to you use to drive to each of the different markets?
Do you need to purchase tables, tents and signage for the market?
Selling to different markets also requires different packaging – wholesale cases versus retail boxes.
Opening for Lunch
Many restaurateurs justify opening for lunch because they already have to turn on the gas for the evening prep crew. Beyond paying for food, kitchen and front-of-the house expenses, opening for lunch means an increase in other operating expenses:
Do you need more uniforms and linens for the additional lunch staff?
If you increase your staff, then the administrative time spent on payroll, recruiting and hiring is also increased.
Yes, the lights are on for the prep staff, but additional utilities are used to fully open a restaurant.
This is not to say that these revenue streams do not add to overall profit of the business. But understanding how profitable they are can affect decisions to invest more or less energy into each line of business.
Do you know how profitable each business line is? For help answering these questions, please contact me. I can help you streamline your operations and increase your Net Income.
