Persimmon Creek

Rolling hills at Persimmon Creek vineyard

A grape is a bit like a time capsule,  each berry faithfully recording the story of the season in which it was reared.  From the sun, wind, and rain down to the microbes in the soil, every nuance of the grapes' growing conditions effect the flavor and complexity of the fruit.  And when the grapes are processed into wine, those subtleties are transferred into glass bottles where they will once again be subject to light, temperature, and time.  When you really think about the amount of effort that goes into each bottle, wine starts to look less like fermented grape juice and more like a feat of pure alchemy.

Having never visited a vineyard, and especially not a Georgia vineyard, I really had no expectations.  I am by no means a wine snob, but I can appreciate quality.  Mary Ann Hardman is quick to point out that wine doesn't grow on the vine, and behind every bottle is a vineyard.  At Persimmon Creek, each bottle is the result of dedication, hard work, patience, a unique microclimate, and a whole bunch of love.  The Hardmans have created something larger than the wine and I'd encourage you to make the journey to Clayton, GA if you get the chance.  Persimmon Creek and its North Georgia peers are working hard to create great wines that the whole world can enjoy. 

Of course the next harvest at Persimmon Creek will be a few grapes shy after I made the rounds at the vineyard.   The grapes are so abundant and so delicious that I was starting to wonder if the bird netting was there to protect the vines from marauding birds or hungry visitors like myself.  And each variety has such unique characteristics, so sweet, sour, and burstingly juicy, that it's hard not to sample them all and imagine how those qualities will manifest in each of their respective bottles.  It's a long, labor intensive process, but I think it's worth the wait.

Be well...gesundheit!

Hans

Tilapia in Georgia?

1 fish, 2 fish, white fish...white fish

When my friends at the department of agriculture told me I needed to visit a tilapia farm in Valdosta, I did one of those sitcom double takes.  In Georgia?  Tilapia are tropical fish that are native to Egypt and while it can brutally hot in south Georgia, the mercury can drop to below freezing in the winter, which would certainly wipe out most tropical fish.  The answer: keep 'em inside!  The fish farmers can raise 250,000 pounds of live tilapia in 12 tanks about the size of a small swimming pool over the course of a year.  The tanks are on a closed water system that cycles and recycles the water, using biological filtration to keep the nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia in check and huge oxygen reactors to keep the water fully oxygenated.  Being the aquarium nerd that I am, I was impressed to see that all of their gadgets were just over sized versions of the equipment I use in my home tanks.  And the fish I keep in my tanks are actually closely related to the tilapia (in the cichlid family), but we tend not to eat ours.  

Feeding frenzy!

I was really impressed with the cleanliness of the operation.  Plus the fact that it only takes 1.5 pounds of feed to produce 1 pound of fish.  Compare that to beef at 8 to 1 or chicken at 3 to 1 and you see that tilapia is an extremely efficient source of protein  This particular farm only sells live fish to markets that typically cater to Hispanic or Asian clientele.  I've seen their live tilapia at my favorite Asian market (Super H Mart!) and the fish always look bright and healthy.  As an ingredient, tilapia is an excellent, firm and mild fish that holds up to all kinds of cooking methods.  

I have to say, it was all I could do not to smuggle (rescue) a couple of the baby fish back home to my aquarium.  But tilapia get huge and, like all cichlids, aggressive which would've caused an all-out war in my aquariums.  It was a rare moment of refrain.  

The season is winding down and we only have a few more shows to shoot.  I have my eye on season 2, but we're going to have to get the first one finished before we can look too far ahead.  Huitt has done an amazing job with both the camera work and the editing and I can't wait to share the episodes with everyone.  Fun stuff...

Be well...gesundheit!

Hans

 

More incredible cheese...

Apparently goats like Sony XDCAM cameras.  I don't know what the goat thought it was going to taste like, but she was ready to leap the fence to find out!  It gives me an idea for a new Sony commercial though:  "Sony...quality you can taste!"

Cutting the curd at Sweet Grass Dairy

Our latest adventure brought us down to south-west Georgia to the thriving little town of Thomasville.  Not only did we get to sample some of the world's best cheeses at Sweet Grass Dairy, we also sampled even MORE cheese at a fun little restaurant downtown called Liam's.  And when lunch was over, we went back to the dairy and ate even MORE cheese.  There's very little you can complain about when you have that much cheese on the agenda.    

Beautiful cheese aging in one of the cellars at Sweetgrass...

I know I've said it before, but there's something downright magic about the cheese making process.  The very notion that you can transform something as liquid as milk into something as complex and intricate as cheese is simply remarkable.  The amount of time and energy that goes into each handcrafted batch of cheese at Sweet Grass translates directly into the number of awards their cheeses have received.  

Much to do...time for cheese!  More soon...

Gesundheit,

Hans

Uh....

It's been a little bit since I've posted about the show, but that doesn't mean we're not working on it.  In fact, we're making a dash to the finish line with 10 of 13 shows shot and some big field pieces to shoot next week.  It's been a tremendous experience and I can't wait to share it with you.

If you spend enough time watching yourself on TV, you really start to critique your every movement and noise.  Back in my high school debate years, I used to pride myself on my ability to run my mouth without the use of filler noises like "uh".  Somehow I've picked up the "uh" bug and it's driving me insane to hear it.  I don't script the show per se, so much of (or most of) my monologue is stream of consciousness, a bit of thinking aloud as I go through the preparation.  I'm a bit like William Shatner in my delivery, pausing as I speak not only for effect, but to take just a second to capture the correct word from my head.  Of course hindsight is 20/20, and there's not much I would change about the show, but the "uh"s need to stop.  Perhaps we can rig up some sort of electro-shock system to cure me of the affliction.  If I can beat cancer, I can sure as hell rid myself of the dreaded "uh".

Much to do!  More fun photos and videos soon,

Gesundheit!

Hans

On figs...

Today's little harvest of okra, beans, and burstingly ripe figs

If you've been keeping up with my personal blog, you're probably sick to death of pictures of figs.  If so...I'm sorry.  But it's fig season and I think they're one of the most perfect foods on this planet.  Figs have long been a symbol of fertility and fecundity and the leaves were apparently used to cover Adam and Eve's naughty bits.  What more could you ask for?  I've seen recipes using the fig leaves much the same way you would use grape leaves in dolmas, but fig leaves have a bit of a funky smell to them.  I love foraging in the fig tree for the ripe fruits/flowers, but the leaves always smell a wee bit like cat urine.  Even the cats look affronted when I'm rustling through the leaves.  Unless you live in a damn cold place, you should plant a fig tree in your  yard.  They're exceptionally hardy and will reward you year after year.  We have three small trees and our snap frost last Easter killed one of them to the ground.  It's main trunk may be dead, but it's shooting a fresh spray of new branches from its tenacious roots.  My sister and I gave my parents a fig tree for their 30th anniversary.  It was killed by a rogue frost about 6 years later, but came back the following year with fresh vigor.  It now stands about 40 feet tall and is littered with near-ripe figs.  It lives in a somewhat shady spot so it ripens a little slower than most, but that just means we can extend the fig season by about a month.  

We visited a fig orchard last week near Stockbridge, GA called Taylor Organics.  There were around 75 mature fig trees on the property and each one was studded with dark brown, red, or lime green figs.  I had a bit of fig envy.  I'm preparing the menu for the Fig episode that we're shooting this week but it's a bit hard to do when I keep eating the ingredients.  

I'm working hard on my cookbook and can't help but be inspired by pictures like this one.  The arugula in the garden is too bitter to eat now, but it's put its energy into the next generation.  These miniature ivory flowers will spend the rest of these warm days dancing about on the wind, providing rich nectar for the neighborhood bees, and then magically give way to little black seeds that will burst out next spring and do it all over again.  Pretty cool...

Another reason to love Arugula...it's beautiful!

Much to do...time for a fig.  Gesundheit!

Hans

Gaia and Oakhurst

Ladybugs are always welcome at Gaia

My hunt for tomatoes in the Atlanta area led me to the fine folks at Oakhurst gardens.  Oakhurst is a really groovy community garden in Decatur and its heart is larger than its actual square footage.  Locals can lease garden plots, but it's really about much more than that.  There's a sense of community here that you don't find in many places, and it's the garden that glues it all together.  One of the garden's community projects is the All Girls Green Team and you've never met a more enthusiastic group of young gardeners.  Many of them came to the garden with no previous farming experience and a couple of them had never eaten a cherry tomato before that morning.  But that didn't take away from their excitement, each of them scurrying from plant to plant like they were looking for diamonds or opals.  

The Green Team showing off the day's harvest

The girls take their harvest to local markets twice a week and they get to keep a portion of the proceeds.  But I get the feeling that the money isn't the motivation here.  These girls have discovered the thrill of the garden and it's something that will stay with them through old age.  And hopefully it's something they can pass on to their children and their children to come.  

It's all about the bees...

Eat well, be well...gesundheit!

Hans

Vegetable or Fruit?

A basket full of history...

Scientifically it's a fruit, but as a commodity it's a vegetable.  The very fact there is such a debate illustrates the versatility of this amazing garden gem.  Today's field trip took us to the garden of heirloom tomato aficionado/fanatic Bill Yoder, a man whose knowledge of tomatoes borders on the encyclopedic.  Bill and his family grow about 250 varieties of historic heirloom varieties and are part of an international seed exchange program that ensures the future of these seldom seen tomato breeds.  While many of these varieties were once hugely popular and readily available in seed catalogs, they didn't quite make the cut when it comes to either ship-ability or long-term storage and are therefore rarely seen in mass markets. 

Intense, bite-sized tomatoes

There is really no comparison between these vibrant, sweet, acidic heirlooms and their over-bred, often gassed, industrial counterparts.  And nothing rivals a thick-sliced tomato sandwich lathered with thick mayonnaise and a slice of Vidalia onion.  'tis the season for tomatoes, so hit your local farmer's market and see if you can find someone growing some heirloom varieties.

Homegrown 'maters

We're growing a handful of plants in our backyard, most of which are  pithy thanks to this year's shy supply of rain.  We do have one "self-watering" container that has produced an amazing crop of these odd little, yellow-shouldered roma tomatoes.  They're extremely firm, but full of flavor.  We had about 12 of them turn ripe today and we'll need to eat them before the fruit flies in the neighborhood find out about them.  Our fruit flies have good taste in tomatoes.

Be well...gesundheit!

Hans