Reason number 342 why I should not read The New York Times online before going to bed: I get too excited. It seems that Mrs. Obama has taken to heart the advice of the rising tide of agricultural and culinary activists who have been clamoring for an executive gesture that would signal this administration's commitment to health and responsible agricultural policies.
Yes, it's really happening. Fast approaching Eleanor Roosevelt as my favorite first lady of all time, Michelle Obama, it seems, is behind the effort to dig up part of the White House lawn to plant a garden. A vegetable garden. An organic one. And the first shovelful of dirt is to be cast tomorrow. (I'm so excited I can barely type!) I wonder if they'll need help with the weeding? Now let me check my schedule... yep, I'm free.
P.S.- Apparently the president doesn't like beets. I'll bet he'd change his mind after having my roasted beet salad with goat cheese and lemon viniagrette. And I have a wicked good recipe for sauteed beet greens, inspired by my best friend, Felicity. (Actually, I think I would faint from excitement if I ever got near the presidential kitchen.)
I think Obamas' personal chef Sam Kass has been pushing for the organic garden for a long time. He was the one that got me very excited about fancy cooking when he was an apprentice sous chef in Vienna, Austria (back before his Obama days).
ReplyDeletePresident O. and I have something in common--beets are the only vegetable I don't eat (but I've never tried Ibti's...)
Roasted beets are awesome. It is sad that beets are so misunderstood.
ReplyDeleteHow can the man eat chard and rhubarb but not beets? I wonder if our nation's beet farmers are now experiencing a drop in sales.
ReplyDeleteFYI, localharvest.org has posted a list of what Michelle and Co. will be planting this year: http://www.localharvest.org/store/garden.jsp?k=obama&srt=4&r=nl. Not bad.