Novella's Book, and the Trinity Alps

It's been awhile since I last posted here but I wanted to write that I finished Novella Carpenter's Book, Farm City, about 3 weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.  This is an entertaining first-hand account of Novella's quest to establish a garden - or if you will, an Urban Farm - to sustain herself and her neighorhood with fresh healthy food.  It was personally interesting reading this book because I know a few of the characters that appear (including the author) and the location (I once visited the site, several years ago.  It's only about 1 mile from the office where I work downtown Oakland.)  Beyond that, the book is an entertaining read because of Novella's humble, witty style and her ability to tell stories within the story.  It's also educational and taught me several things about gardening, for instance, that bees and turkeys are difficult, ducks and chickens less so, and not to get all bent out of shape if one or more plants get damaged by an animal or human intruder.  Novella basically attributes these events to karmic law, in that what you lose today, you will gain tomorrow.

I look forward to her next book and hope you get a chance to pick this one up at a library or bookstore near you.  (I got mine at Pegasus in Berkeley.)

Also I can report that I had a fantastic time hiking in the Trinity National Forest in northern CA (near Redding) with a group of folks from the local Sierra Club.  The scenery was truly beautiful and it was a treat to be able to get to an area where no cars, campers, RVs or fireworks were allowed!  My shoulders and legs are still a bit sore, but that is part of the deal with backpacking.  I'm not 25 anymore ...

Though it was over 100 degrees only 1 hour away by car, in the mountains where we were, temps were cool and we looked up at the snow and swam in an icy cold mountain lake.  There were a lot of backpackers up there and it was impressive that everyone picked up after themselves (well, almost everyone) and the place was so clean and spotless.  California is truly a beautiful place, and I think most folks who live here do appreciate  it.

A most hardy garden perennial

Everybody knows about California's most famous weed, but what about the other kind that is used commonly for cooking and will take over an abandoned garden if left to its own devices?  That's right, I'm talking about oregano, which I am lucky to have growing in ample supply just down the street.  Some of you loyal readers may recall my efforts to plant a garden behind my former apartment in 2005.  Well, that garden has been laying fallow now for 3 or more years with the result that only the most hardly, drought resistant plant survived.  That would be ... oregano!  Now, in 2010, there is a regular weed-patch of oregano growing back there, especially now after the wetter than normal spring we had here in Northern California.  The plant has completely choked off all other growth (sorry, I don't have a picture of it handy).

Last week I walked over to the old garden, scissors in hand, and was able to harvest a whole bunch of the weed without really making a dent in the overall patch.  Below is a picture of my home drying operation:

Note: no electricity was used for this operation.  The drying all occurred in the open air / on top of the oven.

The other night, I made a pork tenderloin (purchased at Mandela Foods Cooperative in West Oakland) in wine sauce according to an online recipe and used some of the above leaves as a substitute for the recommended basil.  It was heavenly.  The oregano that grows here, especially in the un-watered state, appears to be especially pungent and aromatic.  I normally don't go to great efforts to prepare food at home - I'm a lazy cook.  But, this time, the spice made the difference.  Since I ate the entire roast myself, though, nobody else can vouch for it - you'll just have to believe me.

UPDATE (6/6/10): I tried to send some of my finished, dried oregano in plastic baggies in the mail as gifts.  Sensing this might seem suspicious, I talked to the clerk in the post office before trying to send it.  The clerk, who used to work in the mail sorting center, advised me not to do it.  He said that a "post inspector could come knocking on your door asking why you are trying to send this weed."  So I will have to give out my "gifts of spice" the old-fashioned way...