The Cellar and the Pantry Blog

The New York Times reports that the White House has yielded its first harvest.  The peas and greens are no surprise.  My own broccoli hasn't come in yet, but that's due to rabbits more than anything else.  It's the "one cucumber" that surprises me.  That's got to be one early-ripening cucumber, even down there in Zone 7 with a staff of full-time gardeners.  The article also lists the specific lettuces they've been growing, and at least two of them, red oakleaf and lolla rossa, are heirloom cultivars.

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Salon today has a short but interesting interview with Robert Kenner, the director of the new film Food, Inc., starring Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, opening today in limited release.  My favorite part is his explanation of how Monsanto refused to participate in the film while maintaining their ability to claim that they didn't refuse to participate.  Expect a review here once it goes nationwide.

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A great piece in the New York Times today about urban foraging from neighborhood fruit trees, all over the country.  Sadly, other than some Japanese wineberries that grow in an abandoned lot (I checked the other day and they're just about ready to flower), my own neighborhood features mostly inedible ornamentals like Bradford pears.

 To find out what's growing in your neighborhood, try one of the sites mentioned in the article: neighborhoodfruit.com or veggietrader.com.

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