Micklethwait Craft Meats, the New Q in Town June 17, 2013

I am neither a food critic, nor a barbeque aficionado, but I do like good Q, and having smoked my own for a while now, I know what goes into making it good.  After hearing lots of good things about Micklethwait Craft Meats, which opened in December 2012, I stopped by a couple weeks ago, and got some ribs and brisket, and brought it home for lunch.  The brisket was excellent.   The pork ribs were the best I’d had in a really long time.  The memory lingered.

When trying to decide what to do for Father’s Day, I thought my dad would enjoy having some delicious Q brought to their house for lunch.  So, I headed off to East Austin, to be there when they opened at 11:00.

Michlethwait is in a sweet yellow refurbished trailer, on Rosewood Avenue not far from East 11th.  The smoker trailer sits next to it, which is a familiar smoker/trailer setup.

View walking up to the trailer

Closer view

There is plenty of seating, in a park-like setting amongst the trees, should you desire to dine there.

seating

The menu changes daily, at least the variety of sausages and some of the sides.  I was expecting jalapeno mac and cheese, but was happy to find jalapeño cheesy grits today.  I love good grits, as every Southern gal should.   The sausage today was Beef and Pork Jalapeno Sausage.  I have read rave reviews about some less traditional sausage combinations, but was happy to try whatever they had.

Menu

Since was was taking my order to go, I ordered a lot, so that my folks could have leftovers for a couple of days.  I ordered pork ribs, brisket, sausage, grits, and coleslaw.

Once home with my haul, I took some, less than great photos.  My parents’ kitchen isn’t well lit for food pics, but here we go.

Brisket.

Brisket

I didn’t specify lean or moist, so cutter’s choice was a combination of both.  The brisket had a nice smoke ring, good fat to lean ratio, and had retained its juiciness.  I asked Mr. Micklethwait how long he smoked it, and he said generally about 14 hours.  This is my magic time when I smoke a whole brisket at home as well.  It was well seasoned, with a nice crust, and not overloaded with pepper.  It had enough pepper to lend spice, but not overpower the meat.  It was delicious.

The sausage was really tasty as well, with a nice grind, good seasoning and a casing that was just right.  The texture was fairly firm but moist – I really dislike mushy sausages.  Very flavorful.

Sausage

My favorite, this time again, was the ribs.  They were cooked perfectly, not sliding off the bone, but no longer clinging to it.  Slightly sweet, a little spice, good smoke, and just delicious flavor and texture.  They were very meaty, but not too fatty.  I brought some home for dinner tonight, they were good enough to eat twice in one day.

Ribs for the win!

My dad kept asking where they got their meat.  ”You can’t get ribs like that at the grocery store.”  They were the bomb.

The jalapeno cheesy grits were delicious as well, creamy, with lots of cheese and good pepper flavor, that yielded not too much heat.  I had to practice a little retraint on my helping, not to be thrown into a carb nap after lunch.

Jalapeño Cheesy Grits

The cole slaw was really different from what I make or what I’m used to.  It was light and lemony, with no hint of vinegar or mayo that I could detect.  Very fresh and crunchy and refreshing in the hot heat of our late Spring.

Delicious Cole Slaw

Sauce is hard for me to talk about, because I don’t use it.  I did taste it and it was very good; nice spice, a little sweet, a bit tart.   BBQ sauce is not my area, so you try it for yourself.

The food here feels elevated, well thought out, and smart.  I fear that a line will begin to form there, once the word gets out about how good it is.  But, people should know that there is amazing barbecue on Rosewood Avenue on the East Side.

Mid-June in an Austin Urban Garden June 16, 2013

For the second year in a row, I’ve planted tomatoes in February, and covered them on cold nights.  I don’t believe it ever froze at my house this winter, and the practice has paid off again, with lots of early tomatoes.  I have eaten lots of tomatoes, canned lots of crushed tomatoes, and made lots of salsa.  My larder is more than full with enough to last until next tomato season.  I will also freeze some before the season is over.

First wave of tomatoes

Canned Salsa

Fortunately, my anti-squirrel, anti-bird contraption worked, and I didn’t lose a single tomato to either.  I simply wrapped bird netting around a makeshift fence made from the foldable tomato cages.

Fence of Bird Netting

So, today is June 16, 2013, and the summer heat has set in, and the stink bugs are just starting to appear in one of my tomato beds.   I’m good on tomatoes, so I’ve begun pulling up those plants that weren’t good producers, and those who appear to be done for the season.  It isn’t cost effective for me to continue to water, more than a couple of plants that will bear fruit for another month.  And, its hot, and gardening isn’t fun in this heat.   By the end of today, I’ll only have 2 -3 tomato plants in the ground; 2 hybrids that will march through this heat, seemingly unaffected, and one hearty heirloom that is still producing new fruit.  I’ve  come to the conclusion that planting early is the only way to go.

The tomatillos grew into hearty plants, formed their lanterns, then made very few tomatillos.  I will baby these through summer, and expect to be greatly rewarded in the fall.

Tomatillos

The pepper bed is happy as can be and has given me lots of wonderful peppers.

Yesterday’s pepper harvest

I used some of these in salsa I canned yesterday, but will need to get creative to eat them all.  I will start pickling some next week.

The cucumber and watermelon beds are wild right now, and probably over crowded.  I’m literally tripping over cucumbers, that are well hidden under the big leaves.  Cucumber plants never stay in the bed, they creep over the sides and into the lawn/pathways.  It’s pretty fun finding cucumbers that I didn’t even know were there.

Cucumber bed

Cucumber and melon bed

Yesterday’s cucumber harvest

Watermelon!

So far there is just one watermelon with any size.  I’m really crossing my fingers for Moon and Stars melons, because I’ve never seen one in person.

That’s the state of my garden as we head into the dog days of summer.  I learn something new every season, and its nice to have this blog to look back and compare from season to season.  Remember, if you want pumpkins for Halloween, you’ll need to plant seeds around July 4, which is quickly approaching.

Happy Gardening!

Eden East at Springdale Farm – Farm to Restaurant June 15, 2013

Last night, I had my second dinner at Eden East, Sonya Cote’s new al fresco restaurant, located on Springdale Farm.  The meal was, each time, outstanding and the setting, as beautiful as one might imagine, on a working East Austin farm.

Our Prix Fixe dinner, came with a complimentary cocktail, of grapefruit juice, Topo Chico, Deep Eddy Vodka, lime juice, and garnished with rosemary and a slice of shishito pepper.  It was super light and refreshing to start the evening.

The first course, was Fresh Made Mozzarella with Heirloom Tomato Marmalade, Balsamic, Herbs and cherry tomatoes.

Mozzarella with Heirloom Tomatoes

Next up was a savory Watermelon, and Cucumber Soup with Pickled Vegetables, and Chili oil.  I expected the soup to be sweet from the watermelon, but it was savory, with a bit of kick from the chili oil.  It was light and refreshing as well.

Watermelon Cucumber Soup

Next up was my favorite dish of the evening, simply titled Deviled Hen Egg with Rabbit Cioccoli, House Mustard.

Deviled Hen Egg

Rabbit confit was made in to  a patty, breaded and fried, and it was topped with deviled egg yolk, and garnished with chopped egg white, fresh herbs and house made mustard.  It was amazing, and I hope to have this again some day.

The dish that followed was a Rocket Arugula Salad, with Candied Pecans, Texas Peach, and Strawberry Honey Viniagrette.  The salad was a light and refreshing and the strawberry vinaigrette provided a slightly sweet balance to the peppery arugula.

Rocket Arugula

After the salad came a palate cleanser, Tomato Sorbet, which was melting quickly in the warm air that we just drank it out of the bowl.  It was cold and refreshing and everything a palate cleanser should be.

Tomato sorbet

The sixth dish was a Sweet Corn Souffle with Oyster Mushcooms, and Creme Fraiche.  The soufflé was shaped as a muffin, but light as could be and delicious.

Corn Souffle

The next dish was Smoked Goat Ribs with Rye Whiskey Peach Jam, and Gaufrette Potatoes.  The Windy Hill Farm ribs were smokey and slightly sweet, and really good.

Smoked Goat Ribs

Last, but not least was an Angel Food muffin, with Lime Curd and Lime Zest.  Another light and refreshing dish to end the evening.

Dessert

This was one of the best meals I’ve had in a while, and the setting is one of my favorite places on Earth.  The tables, made from reclaimed trees from the Bastrop fires, are beautiful; the lighting hangs from the trees, along with wind chimes that were silent last night in the still air.  The seatings are staggered, to provide continuous service throughout the evening.  The music was provided by Chris Denny, who sits backlit by the mobile kitchen, in which the chefs create this amazing food.

Music on the farm

As darkness fell, the kitchen becomes one of the main illuminations on the farm, and you can watch the chefs cook and plate the food.  I poked my head in to say “thanks” and they allowed me to snap their photo.

Sonya and team

Eden East is BYOB, aside from the complimentary cocktail, but glasses and ice are provided to keep your libations cool.

Ice for wine

As I visited the Springdale Farm farmstand this morning, Sonya’s team was arriving to begin prepping for dinner tonight.  They picked up their order from the farmstand and walked it to their mobile kitchen, literally steps away.  As I was getting ready to leave, they were putting goat ribs on the smoker for tonight.

Goat ribs

Eden East is opening tomorrow for their first Brunch service, which I believe is sold out.  They are booking in advance for dinner and brunch, so if you want to go, you need to make your reservation.  It is by reservation only, through Open Table directly, or via the restaurant’s website.

 

Charred Salsa June 4, 2013

The tomato season is in full swing, and I’m doing my best to eat as many fresh as I can, and also get lots of them canned for future use.  Paula from Springdale Farm wanted to make some shelf stable salsa, and looked for a good recipe that didn’t call for vinegar.  Vinegar has no place in salsa, in my opinion, but since tomatoes need additional acid for canning, especially when mixed with non-acid vegetables, like peppers and onions, I was determined to find a recipe using lime juice.  For flavor, lime juice seemed like a much better option.  (I was surprised at  how many fresh salsa recipes called for canned tomato sauce or paste.)

After much research, I found the following recipe from another blog:

http://lanikae.blogspot.com/2011/01/salsa-with-cilantrono-vinegar.html

7qt diced, seeded, peeled, cored tomatoes
4c  long green chili peppers, seeded & chopped (about 12)
5c  onion, chopped (5 med)
1/2c  jalapeno peppers, seeded & chopped (about 2)
6 cloves garlic, minced
2c. bottled lime or lemon juice
2 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp cilantro

I took a tomato class last year from Jesse Griffiths, from Dai Due, and one takeaway from that class which I’ve never forgotten, is that salsas will taste much better if the tomatoes and vegetables are charred.  So we made a screaming hot mesquite fire, and started charring a variety of heirloom and hybrid tomatoes from the farm.  This is difficult, because the tomatoes collapse and you lose part of them if you don’t act quickly.

Charring Tomatoes over Fire

Working in batches, we got all of the tomatoes charred and into a bowl to cool for peeling.

The onions and peppers got their turn over the fire as well.  We substituted jalapenos for the green chiles called for in the recipe, because jalapenos were the variety available on the farm that day.  The charring concentrates the flavor, and I think makes the peppers hotter.

Charred peppers and onions

Once the tomato skins were removed, the tomatoes, onions, peppers, lime juice and salt went into a pot.   (We forgot the garlic.)  I used the immersion blender to chop up the chunks for a smoother salsa.  We brought the salsa to a boil and let it cook for about 10 minutes as we prepared our hot jars.  We then added the cilantro to the salsa and allowed it to cook another 5 minutes.

In an abundance of caution, we added 1/4 teas. citric acid to each of our jars, before filling them with the hot salsa.

Chopping and Blending

The result was delicious, non-vinegary salsa.  I worried that the lime juice would be too prominent in this recipe, but it was just right.

Canned Salsa

If you don’t grow your own tomatoes, and want to can some, in whatever form, ask your farmers  for the ugly tomatoes and you likely will get perfectly good tomatoes at a discount.  This is also true of peaches, and other fruits.

Savoring Summer with Peach and Cilantro Salsa June 3, 2013

This has been a rough year for peaches, due to the late season freezes which harmed the Hill Country crops.  I knew I wanted to preserve some, and wanted to do something different than my usual jam.  I procured some peaches from Lightsey Farms, from Mexia, from the SFC Farmer’s Market downtown.

My favorite canning book, Canning for a New Generation, had a recipe for Peach and Cilantro Salsa,and it sounded delicious, so I decided to give it a whirl.

Peaches!

The first part is the most labor intensive, peeling the peaches.  In the past, I’ve scored and blanched them, but this time I just cut them in half, removed the pit, and peeled off the skin.

After that, I chopped them into a very non-uniform dice.

Pitted, peeled, and chopped

Much of of the acid component of the recipe, came from lime juice, a full cup. (I doubled the recipe)

Fresh squeezed limes

The recipe called for sweet onion, however, I used red onions from my garden, thinking they would ad some complexity.  Or maybe I just hate to follow directions.

Red Onions

The recipe also called for red bell pepper, but I wanted heat, so I substituted jalapeno pepper for the bell pepper and also used the serrano the recipe called for.

Jalapeño

One of the reasons I was so drawn to this recipe, was because it included mint and cilantro.

Mint and Cilantro

The recipe called for sugar “to taste” , but I omitted the sugar and substituted honey, as the sugar was not meant as part of the preservative, but merely to add flavor.

The whole mixture was then brought to a simmer, for a while as I prepared my jars.

Simmering

The end result was more savory that sweet, which was my goal.  It has a kick from the jalapeno, that likely has  become more pronounced, since being heated up in the water bath for 10 minutes.   I’m imagining that this salsa will be great over grilled chicken or fish, or just on its own on a tortilla chip.  It sure is pretty!

Peach Cilantro Salsa

Recipe from the book “Canning For A New Generation”

Ingredients:

6 pounds ripe peaches, pitted

6 oz sweet onion

3 oz red bell pepper

6 jalapenos, seeded with membranes removed

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoon salt

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup lime juice

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup mint, chopped

Preparations:

1. Chop peaches, onion, bell pepper, and jalapenos in food processor.
2. Add all ingredients except cilantro and mint to a large pot and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until onion is tender and peaches are easily mushed on side of pot.
4. Stir in cilantro and mint.
5. Ladle into sterile jars and process in water bath.

The Quest for Tomato Security has Begun May 30, 2013

It’s late May, and the tomatoes are quickly ripening on their vines all over town.  I’ve been harvesting 3-5 big tomatoes per day and the Springdale Farm farmstand tables are overflowing with all kinds of heirloom tomatoes.  Time to start canning!

I picked up some gorgeous ripe tomatoes from Springdale, to supplement my own garden tomatoes for my first canning of the season.  In the last few years, I’ve made tomato sauce with basil, salsa, tomatoes and green chiles, and I can’t even remember what else, but when it comes time to pull our a jar of tomatoes in the Winter, its usually just plain old crushed tomatoes that I reach for.  They can be the base of anything, and you can always build a sauce later by adding herbs, onions, and whatever else you want.

So, for my first canning of this tomato season, I decided on simple crushed tomatoes.

Each tomato gets scored on both sides, to facilitate peeling of the skin.

Scored

Then, working  in batches, each gets a quick turn in boiling water to loosen the skin.

Once they are cool enough to handle, each tomato gets peeled and cored.

I don’t use a knife to chop them,  I just de-seed with my hands and crush the tomatoes into a pan, where they get simmered for about 5 minutes, while I line up the sterilized jars.  You always want hot product to go into hot jars.

This year, I used citric acid (leftover from cheese-making), rather than a Tbls. of lemon juice.  1/4 teas. in each pint jar should raise the acidity without adding flavor.  I also added some salt for flavor.

Fill the jars leaving a quarter of an inch of head space, then water bath process for 35 minutes.  I started with nearly 12 pounds of tomatoes, which yielded 5 pint jars.  There will be more canning sessions like this, until my pantry is filled with tomatoes for the long season until they are back.  Tomato security.

Lightsey Farms at the Market Means Summer Goodness! May 25, 2013

Someone mentioned to me last week that Mary Lightsey was back at the SFC Farmer’s Market downtown.  Just the mention of Lightsey Farms, filled my head with visions of plums, green ones, like I’ve seen nowhere else, peaches, blackberries, figs, cream peas, okra – all in their seasonal succession.

Mary was at the Triangle Farmers market this week, and I was happy to see her kind face, and stock up on peaches, having been forwarned of a sketchy peach season due to our late Central Texas freezes.  Her’s were gorgeous, as were the blackberries and green plums on her tables.

Lightsey Farms is located in Mexia Texas, NE of Waco and approximately 145 miles from Austin.   The Lightsey family has grown produce on their property for around 65 years.  They use sustainable practices for everything but the peaches, which are conventionally grown.  (as are most.)  To bring their produce to the Austin Farmer’s Markets, Mary gets up at 2:00 in the  morning, to load up and make the two and a half hour drive to Austin.  Next time you are at the SFC Farmer’s Market downtown or at the Triangle, pick up some delicious Lightsey Farm produce, and introduce yourself to Mary.  She is a sweetheart.

Green Plums

Beautiful Peaches

Blackberries

Lightsey Farms