Day one

Posted on February 25, 2010 | 10 comments

Whoops, forgot that I’m addicted to Lapsong Souchong tea. Feel very tired and grumpy. No headache, but I’m so sluggish. In fact, I took a nap on the hard tile floor of my office this afternoon.

Also, as I munch down my amazing! delicious! geotrichum-rind cheese (thanks, Allison) made from Bebe’s ever-loving udder, I’m wondering if this will be cleansing at all. Will find out. Maybe I’ll patent an all-cheese diet.

Ate an entire jar of plums and am wondering about the consequences of that. Followed by a lot of broccoli. Then more cheese. Hmm.

Decided the salt thing is too much work, I don’t have the time to go to the ocean. So I’m sticking with the Red Diamond. Next time, I promise!

Have a rabbit defrosting in the fridge. Will be frying that tonight in duck fat. Served with greens and some ‘kraut.

Best discovery: nettle tea is really lovely.

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End of Winter Challenge

Posted on February 24, 2010 | 18 comments

Dudes. My pants don’t fit! I think I’ve been eating too much. It’s really gross. So, for the next two weeks, I’ll be revisiting my lovely 100-yard diet from the summer of 2007.

Rules and motivations are slightly different. Let me explain.

Motivations:

1. Too much Chinese food giving me a muffin top, and extra fat layer is making a strange rippling feeling when I walk.

2. Almost spring, time to clean out the whole system. I’ll be using an herbal “deep cleanser” if you know what I mean. It’s been at least five years since my last intestinal cleanse.

3. Bill’s on vacation so I can stay focused.

4. Not getting any younger.

5. Reading Tom Brown, the wilderness survival guru and loving it. Though he looks a little pudgy in his author photo (how can this be if he’s eating acorns and wild nettles all day long?), he’s reminding me that my body is a tool for living, not a carcass for hiding out in. Or something like that.

Rules:

1. Food from the garden only. No Chinese take-out. This includes: rabbit, vegetables, Bebe’s ever-loving milk, cheese, and sorbet (maybe this won’t work to melt pounds). I am going over to Hank’s for dinner, so that’s my one exception.

2. Wild-foraged food okay. Includes ‘shrooms, branches, nettles, and sea salt.

3. Pantry food okay that I’ve grown or picked myself: applesauce, tomatoes, pickles, olives.

Don’t worry: I’m no longer drinking coffee, this is going to be painless.

There, I told you, so don’t let me cheat!! This starts tomorrow, Thursday, February 25, ends March 11.

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Winter Bunnies

Posted on February 19, 2010 | 61 comments

Got a lovely gift upon my return from Africa: baby bunnies!

I had forgotten that on New Year’s Eve, I put mama Sasquatch into Mr. Bunny’s cage. He’s my new buck, and I just love him. He’s such an enthusiastic eater–munches down all the grass and vegetable stalks from the garden. Likewise, he was quite an enthusiastic suitor, glad to see Sasquatch and spend some quality time with her.

A month later, out came the little ones.

Only four of them. Last spring, Sasquatch had 8, so I wonder if it’s the new buck, or perhaps that it’s winter and still a little bit cold. As you can see, one of the babies is white! An albino. Which is funny because when I was in Africa, I heard there’s a cult surrounding albinos. That witch doctors believe they will bring money. In fact, it’s become a problem with albino people getting kidnapped. Anyway, I hope my little white one will bring good luck to Ghosttown Farm.

Speaking of rabbits, there’s a bunch of rabbit-related activities going on in the Bay Area.

Meatpaper magazine and OPEN restaurant are hosting a series of rabbit-related celebrations, calling it rabbit week.

East Meats West II
You might have heard about our exciting November events in Brooklyn with our friends at Diner and Diner Journal. We collaborated to produce an amazing rabbit feast, and now, the Diner folks are flying west for a rabbit redux so you, too, can taste the magic!

WHAT
Chefs Chris Kronner of Bar Tartine in San Francisco and Sean Rembold of Diner in Brooklyn team up to create a 4-course dinner featuring Devil’s Gulch rabbits. There will be signature cocktails and wine pairings. A portion of the proceeds will go toward the Pasternak’s fund to help the community in Haiti that they serve.

WHEN
February 22
Two seatings, 6pm and 9pm

WHERE
Bar Tartine
561 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

There are two spots left in the rabbit hide tanning class March 6 and 7 at Ghosttown Farm with Tamara Wilder. Email me: novellacarpenter@gmail.com if you want to register. It is not a class for the faint of heart.

Also, I’m teaching a raising rabbits class at the Biofuel Oasis March 21.

Also, I was featured in Good Magazine, talking about rabbits and urban farming.

Yay bunnies!

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Black Panthers and me: Friday

Posted on February 10, 2010 | 2 comments

These days, what with the whole financial crisis and all, fundraising is getting tight for all kinds of cool projects. One of them is the Commemorator, a newspaper put out by some former Black Panthers, who I really like a lot. They run a literacy program, too. As I mentioned in my book, Farm City, the BP started school gardens long before it became the fashion. So when Melvin Dickson called and asked me to have a fundraiser for his group, I was more than happy to oblige.

I’ll be talking for the first part, reading from Farm City and maybe showing some slides about urban farms. I will also discuss my recent trip to Kenya and things I learned while there. After a break with refreshments,  Melvin will take the stage and discuss a history of self-empowerment that the BPs promoted. I think he’s going to show this video of the school started by the Panthers, which makes you think about history in a very different way.

Here’s the 411:

Neibyl Proctor Library

6501 Telegraph Ave, Oakland

February 12, 7pm

Free: but donations are gladly accepted to support the CCBPP’s literacy program. Books will be available for sale, and all proceeds go to the literacy program.

Hope to meet you there!

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Back from Africa

Posted on February 3, 2010 | 6 comments

I’m back safe and sound, although still jet-lagged even days after touching down.

Since I was on assignment for Food and Wine, I can’t let out too many juicy details. You’ll have to wait until July to read the article. But in the meantime, here are a few photos…

This is one of the farmer’s markets in Nairobi. Patrick from Micato Safari is in the background.

This is the chef I was profiling, with two half-wild cheetas. They were amazingly vocal, letting out purrs and chirps. So gorgeous. They were rescued from a sure death outside of Somalia.

Though this is kind of a boring photo, it’s how I’ll remember Kenya. I took quite a few bush planes to get from here to there. Looking down, all you see are little farms, or shambas, making a mosaic out of the land, with small charcoal fires burning.

I’m incredibly happy to be back home, and will start posting about the farm again soon.

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Haiti and Africa

Posted on January 18, 2010 | 11 comments

I’m leaving soon for Kenya. I’m doing a story about a chef who is sourcing from local tribes and supporting organic farm and garden operations all over Kenya. Lucky me, I’ll avoid all this rain. I’ll be away from the blog for about two weeks…

In the meantime, I wanted to let you know about a bake sale to raise money for Haiti relief. It’s a great idea–who doesn’t want to help Haitians? and who doesn’t want to eat the most delicious bakery items ever made? I wish I could attend, but I’ll be long gone. Here are the details:

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