Millions of Peaches...

Millons of yummy ripe peaches...

A case of fuzzy, yummy, Georgia peaches sits behind me as I bounce in the passenger seat on I-16 on the way to the coast.  How can a road so damn straight be so relentlessly bumpy? I’ve had this hang up about I-16 since my first trip on this mind-numbing highway back in the early ‘90’s (a trip to visit Amy and her family at Jekyll Island).  I’m usually self-rliant when it comes to occupying my brain, but something about this stretch of pavement that runs from Macon to Savannah turns my thoughts to mush.  The fact that I’m able to string words together in any semi-sensical order is actually quite impressive.  My aversion to I-16 has nothing at all to do with the communities that the lie on either end or to either side.  In fact, any excuse to get off the highway is a welcome one and we’ve had some great trips to Lyons, Vidalia, Swainsboro, Statesboro, Register, Claxton, and the like.  And Savannah is an amazing city worth hacking your way through a jungle to reach.  In fact, maybe we’ll stop there for lunch.

This leg of our journey began near Fort Valley in a little community called Zenith at the Pearson family’s 5^th generation peach and pecan farm.  That kind of operation is somewhat common in Europe (though less and less it’s sad to say), but it’s almost unheard of in this country.  When Al Pearson talks about his farm and tells stories of his grandfather, there’s a sense of pride there that you can almost feel.  They may not be the largest peach orchard in the state, but they’re worth seeking out.  Al and his wife Mary disagree about what variety is their best peach (Mary prefers the white-meat varieties), but they know they have something special going there. 

I’ve eaten about 10 peaches since our stop in Zenith.  I rarely ever eat peaches at home, but I realize now that most of the grocery store variety peaches we have access to are over-hybridized and under-ripe.   These Pearson peaches are the kind that send juice running off your chin and down to your elbows.  Delicious!  I’m looking forward to cooking with them on the show.

The 'Hans Mobile' sits in the shade of a pecan tree at Pearson farm.  

Much to do…peaches to eat!  Gesundheit,

Hans

Another patch of blue...

Welcome to Alma, GA

You can't do a show on blueberries in Georgia without making a stop in Alma.  The blueberry capital of Georgia, Alma produces as much as a million pounds of berries a week during peak harvest season.  Georgia is the country's third largest producer of blueberries behind Michigan and Maine, but that fact seems to surprise most folks.  But when you stand in a field of blueberries that seems to stretch on forever in all directions, it's hard to imagine that anyone could produce more berries.  The fields contain two main varieties with the high bush types bearing first followed by the rabbit-eye bushes (though technically rabbit-eyes are also high bush plants).  The high bush plants have to be picked by hand and each bush gets visited as many as four or five times as the berries ripen in waves.  The rabbit-eye varieties can be machine harvested and the machines used to harvest them look like strange, land-locked houseboats.  

If someone put you in a mine full of loose diamonds and said "help yourself to all you want", would you ever leave?  That was the problem that Huitt and I had in Alma.  We were told to eat as many berries as we liked and I nearly had to pull Huitt away from an endless sea of blue.  And they were absolutely delicious blueberries too.  I found myself picking and eating with one hand while picking and holding berries with the other.  So even as I was walking back to the Explorer, I was still popping blueberries in my head like some addict whose willpower had long ago vanished.  

All you can eat...and t hen some.

So we shot our blueberry show on Thursday night and I'm still not sick of them.  I made a Blue-Blue salad with blueberries and blue cheese, a peach-blueberry chutney served with duck, blueberry cornbread, and a orange-blueberry "flancake" clafouti.  I haven't seen the footage yet, but I know my teeth have to be stained blue.

Much to do!  More soon.

Gesundheit,

Hans  

Vidalia

Mountains of sweet onions just waiting to be eaten

Oh my.  If you've never experienced the wonder that is the Vidalia onion, you're probably curious as to how anyone could get excited about an onion.  Truth be told, I get excited about a good many ingredients, but these things are extra special yummy.  It seems the sandy, somewhat rocky soil in and around Vidalia is blessed with a naturally low sulfur content which keeps the onions from developing that stinging, almost hot quality that most onions possess.  It also means less gas for the consumer, which ain't a bad thing either.  Vidalia onions contain a higher natural sugar content than most apples and you truly can pick one up and eat it just like an apple.  Some of you may remember my face on the Food Network when I took a bite of what was SUPPOSED to be a Vidalia onion, but in fact was an onion cast from the bowels of Hades.  It was by far the hottest damned onion I've ever eaten.  I should've been wary of a Vidalia in January, but I'm not always none for my quick intellect.

We stayed with the Stanley family who are third generation farmers in Lyons, GA just outside of Vidalia.  Apart from being extremely nice people, they're also foodies and took us to an amazing restaurant in downtown Lyons called Elements.  You'd have to see this place to believe it and even then, you won't believe it's in the sleepy downtown of Lyons.  If you find yourself in South Georgia, you owe it to yourself to go there.  In addition to farming, the Stanleys also produce food products from their famed, certified sweet onions at their Vidalia Valley processing plant.  They make salsas (the Peach Salsa is incredibly delicious), BBQ sauces, relishes and such, plus you can order fresh onions from them.  I suggest you get some...now!

Neat Wheat!

One of the things that surprised me about Vidalia was just how much wheat was being grown there.  There's just something magical about standing in a field of wheat.  Beautiful stuff.  

One delicious onion after another...

I'll leave you with a picture of a field of onions, which to me is just downright impressive.  Delicious onions stretch out as far as the eye can see, and then some!  It's onion season people...let's eat!

More soon...gesundheit!

Hans

Production Journal Entry 1

Here's the first of our production journal entries for Hans Cooks the South. The idea is to give a little behind the scenes look at the production leading up to the January 2009 debut. Let me know what you think.

Be well...Gesundheit!

Hans

Bluberries

The beautiful Satilla River in Nahunta, GA

Following food will take you to the most unlikely places.  Our search for blueberries led us to the little town of Nahunta, which I’m told was either named for a man named N. A. Hunter or it was derived from a native American word.  Nahunta has historically been dominated by the timber industry and you simply cannot go a nanosecond without seeing pine trees.  Tobacco was also a large part of the area’s economy, but that industry has all but dried up.  Along with the rest of Brantley county, Nahunta’s focus has recently turned to blueberries and the industry is thriving.  We had a chance to visit the Southern Blue packing shed where, during peak season, they process up to 35,000 pounds of blueberries a day.  Amazing.  They grow several varieties of blueberries throughout the region and the different types come into season at different times, allowing for a much longer harvesting season.  While the city of Alma my have claims on being the blueberry capital of Georgia, the unique microclimate of Brantley county gives them a jump start on the season with berries turning ripe a full two weeks ahead of the other growing regions.

21,000 pounds of blueberries were packed the day we visited

Fresh berries on the bush...all you can eat!

I was asked to judge the blueberry dessert competition at the Taste of Brantley festival and of course I said “yes”.  You’d almost be an idiot not to!  I’m going to try and get some of those recipes to share with you, but there were things like Blueberry Pecan Crunch, Lemony Blueberry Muffins, Blueberry Coffee Crumb Cake, and a fabulous Blueberry Kuchen  (which took home the honor of first prize).  It’s tough to be a judge at a tasting when you only have half a stomach, but I do my best.  I literally just take a small bite and then move on, which takes a ton of will power when you’re eating glorious blueberry desserts.  

The winning dessert entry by Tom and Michelle Raulerson: Blueberry Kuchen

We also visited a great herb farm near Nahunta run by Vince and Debbie Baker.  Mint, rosemary, oregano, chives, lavender, sorrel, basil, thyme, salad greens (including one  seriously peppery arugula) and even some baby root vegetables are all carefully tended to produce a crop that any cook worth their weight in salt would covet.  It’s tough work, to be sure, but Vince and Debbie never seem to stop smiling.  

 

Baby white and red turnips from the herb farm

Nahunta is also extremely proud of their award winning Circle R beef jerky, produced by Tom and Michelle Raulerson (the same folks who made the winning blueberry dessert).  I’m actually finishing off the last of the Caribbean style beef jerky as I write this, but luckily folks in the state of Georgia can order directly from their website.  Most beef jerky you find these days is so highly processed that it scarcely resembles food, but this stuff is hand crafted, honest-to-goodness beef jerky.  Good stuff.

I don't know that I would've every found Nahunta without the help of the Boland family and the fine folks at the Brantely Telephone Company.  If you ever find yourself in extreme southeast Georgia, make sure you stop in Nahunta.

Be well...gesundheit!

Hans

Glorious pokeweed...

Dr. Sams and a mess of pokeweed

There's no finer example of a Southern gentleman than Dr. Ferrol Sams.  If you don't know who he is, I implore you to find out (click on his name for a link to his biography) and read his books.  His first novel Run with the Horseman was is one of those novels that will become a part of your life, his memories become yours.   He and his beautiful and fully charming wife Dr. Helen Sams were kind enough to let us take over their kitchen and invade their sanctuary with our cameras, lights, cables and cords.  It would be an act of heresy to do a show about Georgia and not include dear old Dr. Sams.  

Dr. Sams is one of the few "old-timers" around that still enjoys the pleasures of the native pokeweed.  Pokeweed pops up in the spring and people have been eating its tender leaves and stalks since colonial times.  The weed has a reputation for being toxic, but if you prepare it correctly it's a remarkable Spring treat.  Dr. Sams spent hours preparing the greens and shared his preparation techniques with us for the show.  Delicious.

It's quite possible that no one on planet Earth enjoys fresh calves liver as much as Ferrol and Helen Sams and that dish was the real focus of our visit.

Fresh calves liver with Vidalia onions, dandelion greens & cider vinegar

Liver is one of those things that people either love or hate.  I found out that my crew aren't big fans of it.  I love it, but don't eat it too often.  I added the dandelion greens for a nice hint of bitter, and a splash of apple cider vinegar adds a nice twang of sour.  My dad likes to eat it raw with a bit of sea salt and coarse ground pepper.  I've tried it that way, but the texture is a bit to unique for me.  

It was a pleasure to cook for the Doctors Sams and I think it'll make for a nice way to end that particular show.  It was one of those days I'll remember until I stop remembering.  

The story of how my father met Dr. Sams is as good as any friendship tale you'll ever hear.  I won't tell it here in the hopes that he takes the hint and finally begins to write his own stories before they're forgotten.  

Next stop, Nahunta Georgia and the year's first blueberry harvest.  More soon,

Gesundheit!

Hasn  

Stalking asparagus...

Ultra-fresh asparagus spears at Full Moon

The first show we're putting together is really about the harbingers of spring.  Things like ramps and greens and, of course, asparagus.  Yes we all know asparagus makes your pee smell a little funny, but that's a small consequence on what is an otherwise amazing ingredient.  Even while the rest of the garden tries to shake off the winter blahs, asparagus shoots pierce the soil like bayonets in an attempt to harvest that early spring sunshine.  If you've never snapped off an asparagus spear and eaten it raw straight from the garden, you're missing something.  Compared to the grocery store variety, garden fresh asparagus is plump and full of liquid. 

 

Huitt stalking the asparagus in High Definition

Growing asparagus does require a bit of an investment on the farmer's behalf.  The plants take a few years to mature, are hungry for nutrients (good, rich organic material), and only produce usable spears for a short amount of time.  So a lot of time, space, and energy go into producing a relatively small crop, but thankfully enough farmers make the effort.  

Our search for asparagus brought us to a little farm in Athens that's doing things right.  The Full Moon Cooperative not only practices sustainable farming, they also have a CSA (community supported agriculture) that grows for about 100 families AND they have a restaurant whose menu utilizes the farm's bounty.  Pretty groovy.  It sounds like somewhat of a radical concept (and in today's market, perhaps it is), but ultimately it's a return to form on how food was once raised.  The farmer had a constant dialogue with his consumer and treated the land as the biodynamic, living, organic thing that it really is.  For whatever political, economic, or social reasons (and there are many), many farmers had to make the switch to large scale, single crop agriculture in order to survive.  That mode of farming requires an abundant supply of water, fertilizers, and fuel and is taxing on the soil.  It's nice to see that there is a movement to return to that more biodynamic, sustainable model of agriculture and Full Moon's CSA and restaurant example is one worth supporting.

Thunk...thunk (that's the sound of me getting off of my soapbox)

What was I talking about...oh yeah...asparagus!  Farm 255 (the restaurant face of Full Moon) invited us over for some chilled asparagus soup with chervil (both harvested that day at the farm).  If you're ever in the Athens area (made famous by the B-52's and REM...oh and I think there's some University there), make it a point to go to Farm 255.  You will scarcely find a fresher experience unless you harvest and prepare your own produce.  They also do all of their own animal husbandry, which means that any meats on the menu were sourced from their own animals.  The menu is dictated by what is available, which means it may only be limited to four or five items each day, but that's the point.  The menu is created each and every day from what the farm has provided or what can be sourced from other local farmers.  What a concept.  And to top it all off, it's downright good.  These are people that take pride in their craft and respectfully utilize the resources they're so fortunate to have.

Chilled asparagus soup at Farm 255

Once again I've gotten away from asparagus.  Let's talk about what to do with them.  I loathe limp asparagus.  As with any food, you'll find sweeping differences of opinion, but I'm somewhat of a purist when it comes to most things green.  Butter or olive oil, sea salt, maybe a bit of onion or garlic (or both), lemon and some fire and you're done.  My kids love them, possibly because they're allowed to eat them with their fingers, but more likely because it makes their pee smell funny...

Be well...gesundheit!