New post coming soon. Lots of garden pics to post from Walnut St. in Over-The-Rhine, Cinti., OH and the new Washington Park.

RIP MCA

Here is one Beastie Boys memory for ya'll

sitting in a parking lot for a grocery store in Grants Pass, Oregon in an 86 Camry that I was very proud of. Circa 2004 late winter/spring, listening to "Message to the 5 Burroughs" at full blast, trying to listen to what had been "going on" in the NYC Hip-Hop arena while I had been bumming around organic farms for three years and off the grid. Going through things with my girlfriend at the time, trying to make life decisions, etc. Thanks MCA, you guys kept it fun.

Via @TransWorldSKATE

On a side note its 1AM and some neighbors are having a party a few houses down. The rain is falling steadily outside my window, and I have some szechuan food and apple cider before me. I love living in Clifton because people are allowed to make noise late at night and people don't call the cops. Its a freedom thing. I don't partake in the parties, but at the same time they don't annoy me that much and I'm glad that its okay to let loose on the week-ends here.

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Back in the dirt

It is 1:30 on Saturday afternoon. (4/21/2012) and I am still on the couch. Went to Findlay Market earlier for coffee and to the West End community garden project to drop off my key from last year. I will be getting paid to garden this summer (PT hours) in historic Over-the-Rhine adjacent to downtown Cincinnati, OH. Above are some pictures of the garden in its early stages for summer production. I have been working a lot this week and going to interviews and my apartment is a wreck so only have time right now for a short post, but just want to say that I am proud of myself for getting this internship. Even though the pay is not great it is doing what I spent many years of my life learning how to do, and it is something I can do unsupervised and I enjoy the work. Also I feel like I am providing a living demonstration for the impoverished community surrounding the farm. It is my hope that eventually the local residents will be able to work this urban farm and I can move on to other projects once this one is established. I know that not many people can do this type of work in this place/time, so that makes me also proud. This is the kind of thing I was hoping to be involved with when I returned to Cincinnati in 2005 from my travels out west.
One thought I would like to leave you with before I tackle cleaning every dish in my kitchen is that, as a gardener, one must really respect the tenacity of weeds. I spent time weeding this urban farm this week and had the thought: name one garden annual that if you rip the top off and much of the root mass will spring back within days! Every gardener loves to hate weeds, and I have worked in some gardens where weeds were not a problem, but this takes lots of time and effort (especially if you are using organic methods). In any garden you will always be fighting weeds, but once you have them in check, gardening becomes a real delight, requiring only occasional light weeding.
This garden, named Relish the Garden will be supplying a handful of restaurants (including Local 127, Lavomatic) over the summer with fresh, organically grown produce. Its on Walnut St. just south of Liberty if you are familiar with downtown Cincinnati so feel free to drop by and check on the progress. Lately I have been working on Thursdays and Fridays.

Kitchen shoes: a response to Shuna Lydon at Eggbeater

I was reading one of my favorite food blogs, Eggbeater and saw an article about chef clothing and specifically footwear. After about 6 years of continuous if sporadic kitchen work, these are wear (get it?) I'm at now. World Industries skate shoes. They are not non-slip, but most kitchens don't care so much about that as long as you don't fall down. The primary black color gives the aura of professionalism while the boombox graphics win the respect of your hooligan co-workers. Not having non-slips takes some extra attention when walking through the dish tank, but I think non-slip shoes that are uncomfortable in the long run lose to your traditional comfy skate shoe, as long as the the out- and in-soles still have good life in them. I picked these Worlds up on clearance for under $15. They are a 1/2 size too big, but still fit my foot well. I did the rubber clog things for a while and I like them especially for the price point. Also they double as great farm-to-table garden shoes. It would be great to have one pair for the kitchen and one for the garden. Shuna mentions Keens, and I would mentioned that I love Keens for landscaping. They also do good double duty for kitchen and outdoor work.