Colin Emerges from Hiding to Garden

Everyone was really pleased to see that Colin and Cristen feel that they are able to move more freely now that the timber industry lawyers and their henchman have left town. Colin surprised us at Lapham Garden last night showing up with some root beer and ready to dig! Isis transmogrified into human form and brought her husband and daughter. Corinne is a chip off the old block, bringing a unicorn in a box for our night helping out. It punctured the box several times but didn't get out. Corinne is the result of Isis' coupling with mortal Chris Stephens in a moment of weakness. We turned the compost, weeded the daffodils, and dug over some winter wheat.

Recipe for Banh Mi Chay (Vegetarian Banh Mi) Serves 3-4

You will need: Fresh baguette♥Aioli or mayonnaise♥Baked lemongrass tofu ♥Carrot/Daikon slaw (do chua) ♥Cucumber in thin slices or matchsticks♥Cilantro sprigs♥Optional: Bird chili peppers in slices

Lemongrass Tofu:

1 pkg of firm tofu
1/2 C peanut or vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
5 T soy sauce
2 t salt
2 t fresh ground black pepper
1 t turmeric
1 t sesame oil
1-2 bulbs of fresh lemongrass. When chopped should be about 3 tablespoons.
Optional: crushed dried chili to taste

Instructions: Drain tofu. Slice into ¼ inch pieces. Smash chopped lemongrass in mortar & pestle or with rolling pin in plastic bag. Marinate with rest of ingredients for at least an hour. Pan fry or bake at 350° for 15 minutes.
Carrot/Daikon Pickle (Do Chua)

1 C Daikon radish
1 C Carrot
¼ C white vinegar
¼ C white sugar
pinch salt

Instructions:
Heat in saucepan until dissolved. Place in icebath or fridge to cool.

Matchstick radish and carrot by hand or on mandolin. Pour cooled marinade over slaw.


Assemble in above order♥♥♥ Veggie Variations: Roasted eggplant, mushrooms, celery, variety radishes, peppers. Meat Variations: Lemongrass beef, minced pork, ham, pork liver pate, scrambled egg.

Banh Mi Chay or The Bahn Meatless

The Bahn Mi has garnered quite a bit of attention lately in the press (e.g., cover of NYT dining section 2 weeks ago). We are getting ready to demo our vegetarian version for Isthmus' Green Day event this Saturday, April 25th, at 4 p.m.
What IS a Bahn (or Banh) Mi? Bahn Mi are Vietnamese sandwiches served on a baguette. They are hybridized French-Vietnamese street food. While the ingredients of the sandwich vary widely and, now, wildly, the essentials seem to be: mayonnaise, crusty baguette, daikon/carrot pickle (do chua), and cilantro. Add to that many, many different things: hot peppers, ham, beef, pork, pork paste, cucumber, tofu, egg, mushroom, eggplant, on and on. This is what makes this sandwich the perfect Farmer's Market food! With the basics readily available (daikon is available at the Willy St. Coop & Woodman's, as well as the huge variety of Asian food marts here in Madison on Park St. and a new one on Monona Drive) the possibilities for extreme tastiness stretch to the horizon. I saw a lemongrass-tofu recipe while searching the net and I'm almost convinced to change our tofu marinade.
I'm beginning to come around to changing up our bahn meatless a bit if the season allows...I also saw an eggplant recipe that made my mouth water. Chay means vegetarian, BTW. We are looking forward to a great Farmer's Market season and some really nice loaded boxes from Driftless Organics. Here's hoping folks are interested in learning about this sandwich and seeing how it is put together...

Mermaids Swim in Lapham Garden

Today was the first day that I saw the garden at the school and saw what it could be. Spring has a way of doing that, anyway. It's hard not to get too excited. We had our first Merfamily outing to the Lapham Garden today. One way the cafe is trying to invest in our community this year is by helping in the school garden at Lapham. Of course this is double dipping for those of us who have children at Lapham-- Isis has a 1st grader, I have a kindergartner, my niece is a 2nd grader, and of course the Just Coffee folks have a kindergartner and a 1st grader as well. The cafe will be contributing some coffee grounds in the coming months as well as labor and perhaps some composting scraps.
Jim Hansen is a Lapham parent who has been coordinating the garden this year and I couldn't be more wowed by the progress-- we had compost to screen today and there were 8 or so new raised beds. I AM SUCH A FAN OF RAISED BEDS! The kids handled some fat, sassy worms and I did some path digging. Sophia, Asher, and Hazel were put to work pushing the compost through the screens and making garden stakes. Volunteering in the garden is easy...Tuesdays at 5:30. There is lots to do.