This was our first time to the new Living Kitchen location in Depew; when we visited in summer 2009 they were still in Bristow. Linda and Lisa are such relaxed hosts; both places had a great vibe. Check out Living on this Farm, where Lisa blogs about her experiences as an “accidental farmer.”

More photos from our Living Kitchen visits are here and here.

Conventional wisdom taught Lisa Becklund, a chef and native Washingtonian, that when it came to food, the more exotic and well-traveled—the better. But since taste is paramount, Lisa found her clients receptive and excited about the fresh, local ingredients she sought out, which led to her toying with the idea of a farm-restaurant enterprise. She fell in love with Oklahoma while accompanying a friend on a family visit. Shortly after returning to Washington she decided to leave her Seattle restaurant and start farming here. She raises vegetables, chickens, goats (for milk), and sheep (for meat) on a 7-acre farm.

We went to one of Lisa’s Farm Table Dinners last weekend. It happened to be my birthday. We were greeted with refreshing mojitos and were given a farm tour where I learned that llamas deter coyotes and they poop in the same spot. Fascinating! So, their poo can be efficiently gathered for compost. I thought I took a picture of the wheelbarrow o’ poo, but alas, I did not. Just use your imagination. And speaking of poo, the Living Kitchen facilities offer a “hippie bathroom,” which features a groovy composting toilet.

Lisa and Casey on the farm tour. Casey is the “much-more-than-an-intern” and lives in the yurt.


The probable origin of “the grass is always greener on the other side.”

I loved the peaceful, friendly vibe of the Living Kitchen and the food was absolutely a-mazing. Every. Single. Bit. I can’t wait to go back. Maybe it will become a birthday tradition.

the menu:

second
everything-in-the-garden salad with homemade goat milk feta tossed in a lavender balsamic vinaigrette, studded with fresh lavender leaves

entree
pork shoulder crusted with lavender salt and slow smoked over lavender wood
served with tender Italian flat beans and Yukon gold potatoes in pan juices

dessert
lavender-lemon pound cake with peach ice cream
Tidal School Oklahoma Gold served in lavender-smoked glass

soul food
chocolate lavender truffle

I love making pizza! I also love that Matt worked at Papa John’s for 3.5 years, so he’s a pro at rolling out the dough. We get whole wheat dough balls from Earth Elements. They are yummy and convenient. I’ve tried making my own, but it didn’t turn out so well. If you have a good recipe for whole wheat pizza dough, please share! I need to learn how to make tomato paste so that I can have a 100% Oklahoma pizza. That will be a goal for next summer.

Our most recent pizza was amazing. I added some fresh thyme and sage and a little cream to the pizza sauce. We used mushroom slices, copious amount of goat cheese, and  left-over caramelized red onions. The garlic-flavored goat cheese was freakin’ awesome, I might add. However, maybe we went a little bit overboard, or maybe it’s just that we’re not used to goat cheese, but our tummies hurt the next morning. On second thought, maybe it was too much red wine? Oh, well. I suppose it was worth it, because it’s the second-best pizza we’ve ever made. No. 1 had sausage, goat cheese, mozzarella, and pickled jalapenos and mushrooms. A flavor explosion!

Matt’s favorite pizza toppings are hamburger, mushroom, and pineapple, though we’ve never had a homemade version. My favorite toppings are caramelized onions, tomatoes, and goat cheese. Something wonderful happens to the tomato slices when they are baked on a pizza. What are your favorite toppings? And what are some good pizzerias in Oklahoma? The best pizza I’ve ever had was at my beloved Tomato in Denton, Texas. But, it’s closed (much sadness) now, so I need to find a surrogate.

“Because the food chain has become so long now, and it’s a global industry, we want to know the origin of our food as consumers,” says Monahan. “Consumers nowadays want to know the story of their food.”

-Dr. Frank Monahan, a scientist at University College Dublin, from the Forbes article: “What’s Really In Your Fast Food?“

Speaking of long food chains. Source: Oklahoma State University Extension

The demand is there. McDonald’s serves more than 47 million people around the world every day. I can’t say I’ll never again eat fast food. I swore it off after reading the book and…well, it didn’t stick. It’s generally a problem of convenience and craving that requires a certain disassociation from my meal.

In last week’s food issue of the New York Times Magazine, Michael Pollan addressed these issues and more in an open letter to our next president (our farmer-in-chief). Pollan’s sun-food agenda is informative and inspirational. Where can I sign up for the School Lunch Corps?

• decentralize our food supply as a matter of national security
• enhance the prestige of farming
• more farms, more farmers; sun-food will require many more hands
• cultivate (pardon the pun) young farmers schooled in sustainable agriculture programs at land-grant colleges
• food regions and food culture
• can sustainable ag feed the world?
• “edible education”

Edited to add: Pollan on Fresh Air

I learned of the restaurant on a morning bike ride. I can’t remember your name—but thank you so much, Patience from Austin, Texas, for telling me about this treasure, for I was growing tired of fried seafood poboys.

Cochon, I learned, means “pig” in French. And this makes sense since they cook up an assortment of pig parts. On an almost daily basis, local pigs are delivered to the in-house boucherie. The restaurant has a bit of a diner feel to it on account of the spartan booths and bar. All the furniture is made of sleek, nude wood and the walls are warm shades of orange and yellow. I imagine the place takes on a different vibe at night when the bar’s main function is for drinking bourbon, rather than watching the chef. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten at a restaurant that boasts a James Beard award recipient. One of the chefs, Donald Link, was the 2007 Best Chef of the South; Cochon was nominated for best new restaurant. The restaurant opened in April 2006.

Everything on the menu sounded adventurous and tasty. I settled on the pig cheeks (yes, facial cheeks) at the recommendation of my waitress, Julie. I also ordered smothered greens and an Abita amber.

For dessert, the house-made buttermilk blueberry ice cream was very tempting, but when I waffled between the ice cream and the custard, there was no contest. Julie gave me a quick, decisive, “The custard.” Chocolate and chicory custard with cayenne whipped cream. It was luscious; the cayenne didn’t add much taste-wise, but it imparted a nice warmth to the chilled, creamy custard.

I loved it so much I went back the next day! I had green tomato and craw fish casserole and jalapeño spoon bread with okra and lima beans. Odd combination now that I think of it.

PERFECTION ON A PLATE!

I asked the bartender if I could have their empty wine bottles and he was happy to help out. I got about seven last night and later in the week I will go back for more. I love the juice, but not enough to get this project done anytime soon! I’m using the bottles for a landscape border; pictures will eventually be posted.

Food costs are making headlines. Industrial food prices are getting high enough that local food prices might seem comparable—but that doesn’t mean that it will be any more of an option for poor people, or any more attractive for people that don’t have a sizable food budget. Tom Philpott of Grist.org addresses other options in his article that takes Michael Pollan and Alice Waters to task. He thinks that high industrial food prices will push people to McDonald’s, rather than to the farmers’ market. I’ve been analyzing my food budget and have been shocked at the amount of money it takes to feed 2 people. What will we do when we have a kiddo? Some ideas have been to buy larger cuts of meat, buying and cooking in bulk, spicing up leftovers, and freezing meals. We already do some of this, but I want to kick it up a notch. Another thing, it wouldn’t hurt to just eat less. I don’t want to seem like I am romanticizing poverty; I am grateful that at this point, I have the choice to eat less—that it isn’t a necessary tactic to survive.

A complementary article comes from Governing, a magazine for local and state governments. I hope lots of policymakers read this and see the potential and the increasing demand for local food. I feel pretty optimistic about Oklahoma, especially with House Bill 2833, the farm-to-school program, the statewide food cooperative, and the success of retailers specializing in local products.

The menu:

Seared Catfish with Buttermilk Spoon Bread
with Mixed Field Greens in a Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette

Pork Chops Two Ways (braised and grilled)
with Whipped Potatoes, and Asparagus on Ratatouille

We also sampled a Cabernet Sauvignon from Sand Hill Vineyards in Calumet and a red from Chapel Creek Winery in El Reno. Chapel Creek wines are produced by students at the Redlands Community College.

And for dessert:

Cherry-Pecan Tarts
with Southern Comfort Whipped Cream

The catfish, which was freaking awesome—flavorful, buttery, non-fishy—was from Henryetta; the pork from Guymon; the pecans from Shawnee.