The Garden of Grace and Charity

On a recent trip to visit family in Norfolk, Virginia we found this lovely piece of sculpture in our favorite garden store in Olde Towne Portsmouth, Wright and Anderson. We thought instantly of the John Berendt novel, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil“. We will call Mezzacello the garden of grace and charity.

Of all the virtues to balance we strongly believe in the power and beauty of grace and charity. These two are the cornerstones of kindness and love. They deserve a spot in our gardens.

We’ll Call Her Charity

There is a story here. This statue was made famous for being on the cover of Berendt’s book and on the movie poster. The image is iconic: the young maid caught in a pose of reflective tranquility while balancing those two plates.

I have always thought of her as balancing grace and charity. These are very rare qualities and worth reflecting on. Mezzacello is also a non-profit 501(c)(3) so charity seemed appropriate.

Speaking Of Reflections

The statue reminds me of the physical manifestation of Mezzacello. The gracious formal gardens of the east and the applied STEM and production gardens of the west. This little statue is the fulcrum that those two realities are balanced upon.

The statue has a personal subtext for us as well. Richard is a Virginia boy and loves the culture and sensibilities of the gracious south. I had just finished reading “Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil” when I met Rick. The man truly made me think of one of the more charming and eccentric characters from that book!

Fate and Foundations

It’s fate that we walked into that garden store and discovered Charity. Now we are driving her home (all 91 Kg (200 lbs) of her!) back to Ohio. This week I will dig a foundation for her, pour it, cure it, and set her in her new home behind the bakki shower at the pond.

Come by and visit her. She will always be happy for the visit and to never meet a stranger. Grace and charity are always ready, willingly given and balanced at Mezzacello Urban Farm.

Energy and Culture on an Urban Farm

Today I emptied the chicken coops (mostly) of straw and manure and placed the straw and manure in the existing compost beds at Mezzacello. But I also need to work a full time job. so this is a reflection on energy and culture 101.

It took me three hours to muck the coop today. I was alone and I had to keep the animals happy as well. It’s not just moving stuff from one place to another, it’s also about placing it in the right area.

Read Your Notes

I have notes from last years harvest that I need to reference and adapt this year’s manure and compost to. What beds were fallow or infected? Where am I growing onions or peas?

It’s an easy thing to go to the grocery to buy what you need. It takes planning, effort and energy to make that food happen in real life. Last year I had a sever nematode infection that I would have died from; nothing could grow in half my beds.

Live requires diversity and adaptation. In such a small space as I have to optimize life, I really need to pay attention to what, where, when I am planting. I have help; the animals love to turn the beds for me, and it is really beneficial.

St. Patrick’s Day

This is the culture part. I have to get my day job done. I have friends that want me to come play.

Surely you can take a few hours off?

Anonymous

I have a dear friend whose show is opening tonight and I really want to see it, I have another friend who wants me to come to St Patrick’s Day Party tonight. I want to help my parents with their chores today. Yet another friend has invited us to a chorus show and lunch tomorrow.

When am I to get all of this time sensitive work done? It needs a month to rot down and draw life up into it. I have to get this done.

Time Sensitive

I know it sounds like I am humble-bragging. So many fun things to do. But the work also needs to get done.

In the 19th Century and even in the early 20th Century, people would have starved. This is important work that I need to do, or all the work on my proof of concept is for naught. Reflect on that: starve or be wrong.

Do The Work

I choose to think both ways. My mission is Grow, maintain, sustain, explain. I can’t commit to that – and pretend that half of my time is not committed to life, can I?

Cheating mother nature is a bad call. It’s the tale as old as time, and it is still as true as it can be,

Just The Right Light

This is a mid winter snap of Mezzacello from the landing of the stairs at the back of the house. What a sunset! This was taken in Just The Right Light.

This will very soon be a very different view. Over the past seven years we have transformed Mezzacello’s grounds into a true Urban Garden and Learning Lab. Now “The House” at Mezzacello is ready for her close up.

This is a poem 
to our house that began the
journey to now.

The house at Mezzacello is 168 years old. Her step-sister additions are not as resolute as our Cinderella and they need an upgrade. Stay tuned for more.

The Foodist: Sauteed Portabello Mushrooms

Some of you are going to disagree with me on this one right out the gate! You’ll say, The Foodist: Sauteed Portobello Mushrooms?” I hate mushrooms. This is not about the mushrooms, but the umami.

Substitute ANY protein in this recipe and it will work (with tweaks for texture and heat) and your house will love you! It smells so amazing and it is endlessly useful. Chop it up and freeze it as an additive, create an infused oil, or liquor, or just eat it! On a cold -12C winter night, this is delight!

This is a terrific vegetarian alternative. Even if you hate mushrooms, the transformation in flavor and texture in this dish is nothing short of alchemy. If you are allergic to mushrooms, try dried and pressed tofu with a dusting of cornstarch!

Lastly, a good BIG Cast iron pan is optimal here. It holds heat in well and provides and excellent sear! I have quite a few recipes here at #TheFoodist that show that pan.

INGREDIENTS

• 16 oz. white or baby portobello mushrooms, cleaned and cut in half if large
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large sauté pan (you want the mushrooms — any protein — to fit in a single layer), heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.
3. Toss to coat all mushrooms with the oil and then spread them into a single layer.
4. Cook for four minutes on medium-high heat without stirring.
5. Add wine and stir, and then cook for 2 more minutes without stirring.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low and add butter and garlic.
7. Cook for 3-4 more minutes, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are fully cooked, butter is melted, and garlic is fragrant.
8. Remove from heat, stir in thyme and serve immediately.

NOTES

• Make ahead tip: Wash and slice the mushrooms, refrigerating them until you’re ready to prepare this recipe. 
• Storage Tips: Refrigerate mushrooms for up to a week in a tightly covered container.
• Reheating Suggestions: For best results, put the mushrooms back into a skillet and reheat them over low heat until they’re warmed through. Alternatively, reheat them in the microwave for 30-45 seconds or until warm.
• Protein Alternative Tips: If you use meat, slice the meat in thin strips to increase surface area and insure adequate cooking.

In 2017 we decided we were going to create a website for Mezzacello. We had a list of things that we wanted it do. What we did not have was a clue, or content. I had the site built. I was advised at the time that what I really needed was content. That was only partially true. The site needed blogposts, yes. But what I also needed was to think about what people thought when I sent them to the website. I thought it was enough that we were capturing and curating content in the blogs. Now I see that I have been asking people to curate my message from blogs. That is a lot to ask of anyone. It all came to a head when I submitted for a grant last summer. The committee came back to me and said, You have a nice website, but there is no there there. Arrrgghhh! Gertrude Stein was right! I was Oakland in 1910! This was my website last week.

So I culled together the data that lives in my heart and in my mind. But that doesn’t get to people through OSMOSIS. So I had to grow my site. It was a group effort though. Several of my friends came through and told me what I need to do. It was an effort – an ecosystem of experience and insight. My website is a garden. The blogs were the seeds. I added time and energy and I harvested the best of the crop to show you at market, and keep Rick and I sane. Now when I send people to the website, there will be a there there, Madam Stein.

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Come on! If you are going to have a champion it might as well be Gertrude. She had ZERO F@<#s to give WAY BACK in 1933. She had wisdom, insight and she KNEW who she was and did not pretend. I do not pretend to be a farmer. I farm in three dimensions; the earth, the culture, and in the innovation. It’s good enough for me, and I believe it is the way forward. If you choose not to see this, well, you’ll find there will be no there there as well. This is the new now.

Welcome to Mezzacello 2.0

The Foodist: Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

One of my favorite food memories as a child was road trips to Virginia Beach, Prince William Park, Mount Vernon, or Williamsburg with a basket of Mom’s fried chicken served cold. Somehow she managed to make it up front, and serve it later, still crunchy good at room temperature, or right out of the cooler.

I have not been able to come close to her genius…until now. I found this recipe in Cooks Country and served it to several friends. All of which gave it a hearty thumbs up.

It takes me back to childhood and Virginia AND if you use peanut oil it can be compost friendly!

Picnic Fried Chicken from Cook’s Country

SERVES Serves 4

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

For fried chicken that’s crispy and delicious even when it’s cold, we pull out a few tricks. A combination of Wondra flour and cornstarch make for a coat that keeps its crunch, and dredging the chicken twice with a water dip in between creates a thick, craggy crust. Double-frying the chicken lets extra moisture evaporate from the skin, and chilling it uncovered further guards against sogginess. Finally, since cold dulls flavors, brining and extra seasoning are in order.

INGREDIENTS

• Salt and pepper
• 3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (split breasts cut in half crosswise, drumsticks, and/or thighs), trimmed
• 1 ½ cups Wondra flour
• 1 ½ cups cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons white pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried sage leaves
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 quarts peanut or vegetable oil

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

We like it best the day it’s made, but you can refrigerate this fried chicken for up to 24 hours. Use a Dutch oven that holds 6 quarts or more.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Dissolve ¼ cup salt in 1 quart cold water in large container. Submerge chicken in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Whisk flour and cornstarch together in large bowl. Transfer 1 cup flour mixture to shallow dish; set aside. Whisk 1 tablespoon pepper, white pepper, baking powder, thyme, sage, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and cayenne into remaining flour mixture. Add ¼ cup water to seasoned flour mixture. Rub flour and water together with your fingers until water is evenly incorporated and mixture contains craggy bits of dough. Pour 2 cups cold water into medium bowl.
3. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Working with 2 pieces of chicken at a time, remove chicken from brine and dip in unseasoned flour mixture, pressing to adhere; dunk quickly in water, letting excess drip off; and dredge in seasoned flour mixture, pressing to adhere. Place chicken on prepared wire rack and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
4. Add oil to large Dutch oven until it measures about 2 inches deep and heat over medium-high heat to 350 degrees. Fry half of chicken until slightly golden and just beginning to crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Adjust burner, if necessary, to maintain oil temperature between 300 and 325 degrees. (Chicken will not be cooked through at this point.) Return parcooked chicken to wire rack. Return oil to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining raw chicken. Let each batch of chicken rest for 5 to 7 minutes.
5. Return oil to 350 degrees. Return first batch of chicken to oil and fry until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs/drumsticks register 175 degrees, 5 to 7 minutes. Adjust burner, if necessary, to maintain oil temperature between 300 and 325 degrees. Transfer chicken to clean wire rack. Return oil to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining chicken. Let chicken cool to room temperature, transfer to paper towel–lined plate, and refrigerate uncovered until ready to eat, up to 24 hours in advance. (Serve cold or let chicken come to room temperature.)

New Mezzacello Portrait

We are unveiling the new Mezzacello portrait! After five years of plugging along on our mission to Grow, Maintain, Sustain, and Explain we decided we needed an official portrait. We commissioned a fabulous local artist, Gabriel Gatton.

He asked a ton of questions and then ran away in fear. Six sustainable ecosystems. Two gardens, formal and potager.

Animal husbandry and botanical greenhouses. Lots of science, art, architecture, agriculture, education, and systems engineering. How do you tell all that story?

Gabriel Gatton is a Story Teller

Well Gabriel came back with this iteration and I love it. It is modeled after Grant Woods’ “American Gothic” and subtly tells our story. Have a look.

Reach out and tell me what you think. As we begin to transition our role on the farm into more and more social engagement this was an important step. Also, be sure to check out Gabriel at ArtbyGeez.com

Y’all remember the Smurfs? When I was in middle school every Saturday morning I would watch “The Smurfs”. I loved the message of community and resourcefulness. The singular villain, Gargamel, was a stand in for the cruel world and later on I would learn was me as well. I was enchanted by their village that they created from found materials. LOL! There was one thing about the Smurfs that I did not connect with and it is coming back to haunt me in my adult professional life, ironically enough. Why were Smurfs so one dimensional?

I mean really! All of the Smurfs were one dimensional (except for Papa Smurf, the mysterious wise daddy with all the answers). They were all one note characters that were useless without the specific skill they brought and useless without the care, recognition, and aid of the others. I always saw that as a weakness; even as a child. Today as I navigate the world as a 21st Century Mentor, Data Scientist, Hobby Anthropologist, Inventor, Poet, Activist, Educator and Farmer I find that the world is really far more like the Smurfs than I had ever imagined. Everyone wants to be a specialist and being a Thomas Jefferson, DaVinci, Hedy Lamar, or Buckminster Fuller is anomalous. Those people are my heroes. We all need to be more like them or at least Papa Smurf. We sure as hell need more Smurfettes in STEM. It boggles my mind that people think they have to be one thing really, really well, or one thing just good enough. I knew even as a kid that I would need a “Ride or Die” team of Smurfs to effectively exist in the real world.

My dream team was always Brainy, Brauny, Farmer, Handy, Happy, Poet, Smurfette, and Papa Smurf. That’s who I am today (Smurfette in spirit) and it boggles my mind that people are frustrated — especially on LinkedIN — that I take credit for being all of those things. It seems without fail every time I post on LinkedIn about my “other” interests I get confused comments or messages along the lines of “what is it you do again?” I chose the job title “Sultan of Systems” ON PURPOSE. I know the entire universe – empirical, quantum or relativistic or hell, even a holographic data projection – is a system. I knew even then that it was really a sustainable ecosystem. To act instinctively with coherent laser focus is to take without giving and renders you useless in a world that deals in analog and incoherent light and a web of life.

One should be as useful and engaged as your mind, body and community will allow. I happen to believe that every interest is an opportunity to change the world. And I act on that impulse. Don’t be a Smurf; Be a dimensional, interested and interesting person. Surround yourself with challenges, vibrant community, and fabulous colleagues and friends. Feel love and give it freely. Accept your inner Gargamel and be patient with it and the world at large. I am enough. I am a Smurf Village. I hope you all are too. Cheers!

We finally have built up the urban farm we call Mezzacello to be a functional enclosed ecosystem. After four years of building infrastructure, and planning we thought we were almost there. Urban farms, urban problems.

We’d been busy planting, composting, improving soil, preparing beds, buying (and rebuying tools). Many of the tools were stolen by transients and thieves. We were digging and building a fish pond, and getting all the animals and systems in place.

I was busy getting situated for a City of Columbus Health Department-approved farmyard with all the necessary outbuildings and components. We thought we’d identified all of the obstacles in our way to completing our vision of an enclosed urban ecosystem. You can probably guess it went awry.

The First Three Years

During these past three years when we found that neighbor dogs, raccoons, and groundhogs were attacking our animals, we managed that problem. When thieves and transients walked away with our tools, we bought new tools and installed security cameras and better locks on our fences and outbuildings. Gates, fences and technology were the tools for combating these omnipresent threats.

We never dreamed we’d have a new predator: malicious teenage kids with a penchant for vandalism. In hindsight, we should have known better.

The Neighbor You Don’t Know

It started midsummer 2017. We’ve always had young kids from the neighborhood coming to visit and explore the ideas of Mezzacello. We’d never had a problem of them coming uninvited onto the grounds of Mezzacello. The kids were often curious about the animals and all of the work we’d been doing.

We welcomed them. After all, it is part of our mission as an urban farm agricultural learning laboratory. But then they started coming and destroying property. That quickly escalated to freeing and harming the animals. It ended with them stealing and killing several of the animals with nothing but malicious intent. That was a devastating shock.

It  had never occurred to us to lock up the animals – they’d been perfectly fine for the past three years. But we  did not think like vandals. It did not occur to us that someone would want to come in and just hurt defenseless animals. We had to change our mindset.

Not Living in Fear

I refuse to live in fear, and I won’t paint all young people with a broad brush. We knew vandalism was going to be an issue but we underestimated their capacity for destruction and cruelty.

Do not lose your love of your mission, nor your respect and concern for the community you live in.

Jim Bruner

Luckily, we had built up a lot of goodwill in our community, and several of those young people came forward and identified the vandals and we dealt with the issue very quickly and decisively, but with compassion and concern for these kids as well.

The lesson here is that in a garden you will have multiple threats. Be prepared for a lack of empathy and value for innocent life to be one of those threats. But do not lose your love of your mission, nor your respect and concern for the community you live in.

Evil exists in the world. Be a force for good, and believe in that good. Bitterness and anger will poison any garden. It will also make you a bit wiser and better prepared for any new threats in the future.