Discussions

Chicken Scratch: It's Not Just a Restaurant, It’s a Destination

duchess348 — Wed, 16 May 2012 06:00:00 -0500

Chicken Scratch: It's Not Just a Restaurant, It’s a Destination

by Kacey Long

May 14, 2012

It’s different and original and the concept is from the same man (Tim Byres) that brought us the wonderful Smoke. I’m not just a little bit of a fan…I’m a HUGE fan of this guy’s work and what he stands for. Anyone that is trying to bring wholesome, local, garden fare and all natural, hormone-free meats to the masses is a hero in my book. Top it off with working towards having a 100% compostable restaurant, well that’s just a smart business plan when you’ve got a garden right next to you that will benefit from the nutrients anyways. Byres is truly an innovative leader in the restaurant industry.

When I found out that Joel Skipper had recently signed on as the Sous Chef at Chicken Scratch, I couldn’t quite put my finger on who was luckier….Byres for gaining such a wonderfully talented up and coming chef, or Joel for getting to be a part of Byres’ new vision. But then I thought about it for awhile, let’s be honest. We are the true lucky ones because we get to enjoy the fruits of their labor!

Chicken Scratch is not your typical eat and run restaurant; it is a true destination…the main event… and a place worthy of bringing your friends, pets, family, and whomever else piles into your car when you mention you’re heading out for some of the best chicken in Dallas. You will probably drive by the place on Pittman St. on your first attempt. From the road, it looks like a curious establishment, but one you most likely will end up making a U-turn to find. Once you park and walk around to the courtyard, with the garden to the left and cacti to the right, you know you’re entering something special. There are picnic tables and a large stage set next to The Foundry (a great bar hang out), bean bag toss, booths set inside rail cars, and generally enough space to feel like you’ve rented your own piece of the place all to yourself.

Chicken Scratch serves up lunch from 11:00-2:00pm and dinner from 4:00-10:00pm daily. At 4:30 on Sunday, I chose to eat inside and was promptly greeted by Joel Skipper, the Sous Chef, who gave Danny and I a personal tour of the property and happily answered all of our questions.

He was smart to save the tour to the end so I could spend most of the time gushing about how amazing the food was and how I’ve never tasted chicken so sweet. One of the things Joel really likes about his job is feeding people good food, and boy does he! From rotisserie to fried, the chicken was some of the best I’ve ever tasted. He mentioned it has to do with Tim Byres’ philosophy of using hormone-free meat and that the fresh-from-the-farm chicken hits the special brine as soon as it makes it through the doors of the restaurant.

I cannot stress it enough, but holy crap this chicken is good! Chicken is one of those things that I’m picky about as I like to know that the meat I’m eating grew up on a farm with a chance to see the sun and spread their wings. After just one bite you know…these chickens were loved.

I cannot forget to mention the wonder that are the homemade-fresh-daily chicken tamales! My husband, Danny, is quite the tamale connoisseur and he was very impressed at how much chicken was packed into this thing. It was the size of a burrito. I, for one, was excited that I was actually able to eat a tamale without fear (tamales have a tendency to be made with scary, unidentified meats). Not this plump little guy. One bite and it was no wonder that Texas Monthly recently came out to take pictures of these babies.

Come for the chicken, but try all the sides. Anytime you see a garden next to a restaurant, that’s a dead give away that they care about good side dishes (oh sides, my true love after dessert). Chicken Scratch cooks up collard greens, mac ‘n’ cheese, mashed potatoes, and fries like nobody’s business. I seriously think their elbow mac ‘n cheese will be in the running for The Dallas Observer’s Best of for 2012. Real cheesy goodnessly recently came out to take pictures of these babies.

They should also be on the radar for best biscuits, because this is the best biscuit you will ever have for $1. Hey, they could tack on a $3-4 price tag on one of these things, throw in some local honey, and serve them up as dessert with how sweet and texturally amazing they are. I saved one for breakfast the next day and Danny thought about just letting me have it all to myself, but after he watched me take a bite…he grabbed a knife and halved that sucker. So close.

I’m a little sad I forgot to try their Paletas (popsicles). It’s their only dessert on the menu, which is typically a good thing and means that the one-and-only dessert is of headliner caliber. Joel mentioned that these are a Chicken Scratch recipe made with chunks of real fruit and water. I saw a child blissfully nibbling away on one of these until she dumped herself out of her chair. No worries though, she was fine and obviously she valued her delicious popsicle because she was careful to make it stay upright the entire time and didn’t lose a single bite. It is the perfect choice in light dessert after a meal of comfort foods. It’s very hard to say that you don’t have room left over for a little fruit and water. Should be a sure-sell every time. Genius.

This place is so new I feel like I’m in on a secret. Before 2 months have passed since the doors open, before the menu even makes it to the website, and before this place becomes so wildly popular you need to bring your own picnic blanket just to have a place to sit, you should rush on over to Chicken Scratch and be a part of something special. So sure bring the kids (there’s an outdoor area, even the screamers are welcome), leash up the dog, and come and let Joel do the cooking for your next picnic.

*Special thanks to Joel Skipper, Sous Chef at Chicken Scratch, for the interview.

What to Order:

1. Fried Chicken, rotisserie chicken, chicken strips, chicken tamale….you get the picture

2. Elbow Mac ‘N Cheese

3. Biscuits (made fresh daily)

This blog has been contributed by Garden Inspirations and was written by Kacey Long, a food blogger.

You can follow Kacey by clicking here: http://whoscookingforkacey.com/

Butterfly Gardening

duchess348 — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:00:00 -0500

Butterfly Gardening FarmGirls Radio Show – Legends KAAM 770 AM

May 11, 2012 written by: Donelle Simmons

Last Friday's FarmGirls Radio Show was all about the fluttering butterflies. It was a light and fun topic. Sometimes we get into the foods we eat and raise and I leave the radio studio with a heavy heart, knowing how much more there is to accomplish. After Friday's show, we went out with a light hearted step, butterflies are just good for the soul. That’s what my mama always says.

To have butterflies, you must have an organic garden – Marilyn told the listeners. How does one create an organic yard? You get on an organic program. There are several to choose from, we have our own – the FarmGirls Organic Program. You can follow Howard Garrett or Lucy Harrell. If you take Garden Inspirations's 8 week vegetable course, you are taught in class how to turn your yard from chemical to organic. It’s probably one of Donelle's favorite lessons to teach - how to leave the nasty chemicals and learn the patience of being organic.

Marilyn talked about designing your landscape with host and nectar plants. The host plants will offer the catepillars a place to munch before they begin to change into the pretty little butterflies. The nectar plants are food for the butterflies. When thinking of attracting butterflies, make sure you add boulders and an element of water. The butterflies use the heat from the warm boulders for their wings and adding water not only creates a pretty scene but adds more for the butterfly’s new home.

You can tune in every Friday to the FarmGirls Radio Show, and like Garden Inspirations on Facebook to find out what the topic or special guest might be. The archived shows are on the website: www.gardeninspirations-tx.com under the radio tab.

Fireflies in the Gardens

tdmotleyart903 — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:05:24 -0500

Fireflies in the Gardens by Tom Motley

Our May gardens’ enthusiastic production of lettuces, spinach, rainbow chard, and sweet peppers provide us with multiple choices to enhance every meal. The basil is young and sweet, perfect for pesto. Pineapple sage is not in bloom yet, of course, but the leaves have ample flavor to turn any pork tenderloin into a memorable experience. The chocolate mint adds intense and natural surprises to any cake or brownie. Florentine fennel and rocket arugula will remain micro-sized for a bit longer, but the flavor of each is superb right now.

Recently, as we sat through a splendid sunset in the gardens with friends, we also enjoyed a current bumper crop of fireflies, courtesy of tall grasses and plants. Most of us have vivid childhood memories of fireflies. I’ve been painting fireflies for many years now, and I’ve talked with lots of clients and gallery visitors about those memories. Everyone has a firefly story about these magical creatures that put smiles on the faces of young and old alike. Children collected them in fruit jars with holes punched in the tin lid or just held them gently in hand and watched their light through the gaps between small fingers. We called them lightening bugs when I was a kid.

A couple of generations almost missed out entirely on fireflies, due to the ecological damage caused by excessive spraying of DDT. Hummingbirds and butterflies didn’t fare too well with this chemical either. As a boy, in Beaumont, I recall tanker trucks going through town at night, fogging the darkness with the chemical to kill mosquitoes. Even at the drive-in theater, the truck would move up and down the rows of cars, laying the chemical fog over all. In the thick of the mist, families sat in their cars, munching popcorn and relishing cold drinks with their windows wide open. My young friends and I liked the smell of the stuff and would actually chase the trucks so we could make streaks and waves in the smoke with our bodies. It took a few years, but the DDT wound up killing off a lot more than mosquitoes.

Because so much of the DDT (banned in the US, for now) has finally leached out from the soil, fireflies have made a significant comeback over the last ten years. A reduced use of pesticides on any property will result in more thriving populations of fireflies, hummingbirds and butterflies to enjoy. Fireflies mate and lay their eggs in tall grasses, usually at fence lines or the less mowed edges of trim yards. Weed-whackers have obviously played a role in destruction of firefly habitat. If you can live with some taller grass at the edges of your place, you’ll benefit from fireflies at night. There are many native Texas grasses which make attractive additions to walkway borders and fence lines.

Fireflies are not flies, actually. They are beetles. They eat lots of insects, many of the types that humans don’t care for. In Collin and Dallas counties, most fireflies will be seen from late evening to ten or so this time of year. That lone straggler you see blinking his heart out till after midnight, sadly, couldn’t get a date. It’s all about attraction. Each species of firefly has its own blinking code between male and female. The light is created by a combination of oxygen, an enzyme and a chemical within the beetle’s body. Bioluminescence is the result. There’s even a clever species in which the female firefly knows the code-sequence sought by another species’ male aspirants. When they respond to her signals and fly in for an assignation, she eats them.

Population levels of fireflies in North Texas gardens vary considerably from year to year, most often the result of heavy spring rains. Repetitive or unusually high rainfall amounts in early May will wash eggs out of their normal niches, preventing new generations from hatching. The shining beetles are most dramatic of course against a dark wood. The blinking lights are now hidden, now revealed in an instant, against the dark silhouettes of tree trunks and branches. Some nights this time of year, we sit in the twilight with neighbors and all our assorted reclining dogs, watching the fireflies move from garden to field and back again, across star-filled black skies. Fireflies are like moving stars. Sometimes we’re not sure if we’ve just witnessed a splendid falling star or an eager, swift firefly at just the right distance to fool the eye.

There’s nothing like fireflies dancing in the dark, with the scent of live basil in the garden air.

FarmGirls' Radio Show

duchess348 — Sun, 13 May 2012 11:11:12 -0500

FarmGirls' Radio Show

Written by: Donelle Simmons

Tune in every Friday at 1:00 PM on Legends KAAM 770 AM or www.kaamradio.com (stream online) to listen to Marilyn Simmons and Donelle Simmons - the FarmGirls of Garden Inspirations. Each week they will bring you organic garden topics that will help guide you with your gardening efforts. It's a challenge to garden in North Texas and throw in the organic methods, it takes time and patience to raise beautiful gardens, but is it worth it? Of course it is!

Marilyn and Donelle have had a variety of topics and guests on the show, from talking about the challenges of our soil to butterfly gardening, they anticipate to cover what they feel is deemed important in the organic gardening world. Guests on the show have been Lucy Harrell, an avid organic gardener friend and mentor of the FarmGirls she spoke about companion planting the weekend of the TOFGA Conference on the show, Amber Dietrich and Meghann Monsanto from Artizone came in to talk about Artizone and the DFW Truck Farm 5k, Dr. Deb Tolman spoke on the show about Keyhole Gardening, Mason Arnold and Aspen Lewis visited with the FarmGirls about Greenling, and Dr. Judy Griffin spoke to the listeners about herbs and her company Aroma Texas Health, but probably Marilyn's favorite guest was her 5 year old granddaughter, Rena, who was visiting from Seattle, Washington and cheered on the DFW Truck Farm Runners from the studio Friday before the run.

The show is an organic garden call in show and anyone is welcome to call into the show with gardening questions. Marilyn and Donelle, The FarmGirls, have an organic program for anyone to use to turn a yard from chemical to organic. With the constant news battle of chemicals in our food and how it is greatly affecting our bodies, becoming an organic gardener might not be a bad idea. You can call 972-445-0770. If you would like to know what the show topics are going to be, like the FarmGirls on Facebook: Garden Inspirations. They usually post what the topic is going to be ahead of time.

Tune in Fridays on Legends KAAM 770 AM or stream online at www.kaamradio.com to listen to this new and exciting gardening show. The show is currently sponsored by Redenta's and Nature's Guide.

“Food For Thought” Helps Troubled Tummies Heal - New Cookbook built around allergen-free diet

Kotsanis Institute — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:51:14 -0500

DALLAS, Texas (May 4, 2012)—From macaroni and cheese to battered and fried anything, Americans love comfort food. But, what if your comfort food is the source of your discomfort?

For author Beverly Kotsanis, her goal is to help people feel good with food that’s also good for them. That’s why she co-wrote “Food For Thought: The Free Food Cookbook” (CreateSpace, 2012)

“A large percentage of our population has a gluten intolerance,” Beverly said. “This book will help you become more aware of food allergens,” and help those affected learn to heal.

It’s a hefty paperback chock-full of recipes and information to help readers build a diet that’s free of gluten, casein (milk protein), and many common allergens and toxins, some of which are believed to produce the symptoms observed in children on the autism spectrum.

Using food to heal is something Beverly’s been working on for about 20 years with her husband, Dr. Constantine Kotsanis, a well-known Otolaryngic allergist and founder of the Kotsanis Institute, a holistic practice based in the Dallas suburb of Grapevine that fuses traditional healing, modern medicine, and nutrition to optimize patient health.

“Healthcare has gotten more technologically advanced,” Beverly said, “but it’s forgotten about its foundation.”

That foundation, as “Food For Thought” indicates, is the water you drink and the food you eat and all of the minerals and nutrients in them.

“We wanted to give people the benefit of all of this information,” said Beverly, who is the CEO of the Kotsanis Institute. Readers can learn to stock a pantry free of the “Great Eight Allergens,” and how to find items in restaurants and on the shelves that won’t disrupt a special diet.

Also inside “Food For Thought” are testimonials from patients whose lives were drastically changed by changing their diet. Some, overwhelmed with the symptoms of ADD, autism spectrum disorders, auto-immune disease, and side effects from cancer treatment, were able to find hope and recovery with specially-tailored diets.

But one testimonial you won’t find inside the book is Keller mom Kendra Jean Finestead’s. That’s because her name is on the cover.

Finestead, who co-wrote “Food For Thought” with the Kotsanis’, founded Greater Tots Organization after searching for a way to help her daughter, who is on the autism spectrum. She met the Kotsanis’ at an autism support group meeting and decided she was going to find a way to help other mothers. So she started developing recipes for gluten-free, casein-free foods that were kid friendly.

Or, as she says, Finestead is on a mission to “redefine the happy meal.”

In all, Beverly believes that the more people who discover the benefits of an allergen-free diet, the better.

“It’s about a more holistic way of living,” Beverly said. “[This cookbook] helps people understand that food can be medicine. The person who buys this cookbook is taking responsibility for their own health.”

You can find out more about the trio’s cookbook, available through Amazon.com, at www.foodforthoughtbook.com.

Below is a sample recipe, Beverly’s Pancakes, from “Food For Thought: The Free Food Cookbook.”

Ingredients:

2/3 cups rice milk
1 teaspoon Ener-G egg replacer powder
¼ cup brown rice flour
¼ cup potato starch
1 tablespoon tapioca flour
1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon honey
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
Blend rice milk and egg-replacer powder in blender until frothy, about 1 minute.

Add remaining ingredients.

Blend until just mixed.

Place large, nonstick skillet that has been lightly coated with oil over medium heat.

Pour batter into skillet and cook until tops are bubbly (2 to 3 minutes).

Turn and cook until golden brown (30 seconds).

Makes about eight 4-inch pancakes.

2260 Pool Road
Grapevine, TX 76051
817.380.4992

http://kotsanisinstitute.com | info@kotsanisinstitute.com

The Kotsanis Institute is located in Grapevine, Texas - close to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)

Attack Allergies & Win - Lunch & Learn May 9th at Kotsanis Institute

Kotsanis Institute — Thu, 03 May 2012 09:45:00 -0500

Do you suffer from allergies? Seasonal? Food? and/or Chemical?

If so, you will not want to miss this FREE Lunch & Learn at the Kotsanis Institute on May 9th at 12:00pm

The Kotsanis Institute
2260 Pool Road
Grapevine, TX 76051

Are allergies a sign of an imbalanced immune system? Learn what you can do to attack allergies with diet, nutrition, supplements and LDA (Low Does Antigen) treatments.

Enjoy a tasty nutritious allergen free lunch with recipes from our just published cookbook - Food for Thought: The Free Food Cookbook.

At The Kotsanis Institute, we practice better health through the integration of traditional medicine, functional medicine, nutrition and mind/body balance.

The focus of our FREE Learn & Learn series is to educate individuals to take control of their health regardless of their conditions. Feeling better and optimizing your health is at your fingertips. Join Us to Learn More!

2260 Pool Road
Grapevine, TX 76051
817.380.4992

http://kotsanisinstitute.com | info@kotsanisinstitute.com

The Kotsanis Institute is located in Grapevine, Texas - close to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)

Dr. Constantine A. Kotsanis MD complements traditional medicine with functional medicine and nutrition to optimize health, wellness, and the anti-aging process.

Dr. Kotsanis specialties include Insulin Potentiation Targeted Low Dose Therapy (IPTLDSM) in the treatment of Cancer, Comprehensive Cancer Care & AfterCare, Autism, Hormone Imbalances, Allergies, Digestive Disorders, Chronic Fatigue and Chronic Disorders.

Garden Harvests to Host Open House Saturday

brian — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:20:35 -0500

Garden Harvests Farm, a local producer of high-quality natural veggies grown to organic standards, will hold a Grand Opening of its new Farmhouse Bakery & Store on Saturday, April 28^th, from 9:00AM to 3:00PM. The public is invited to “come on down to the farm” to enjoy family and kid activities, music, drawings for prizes, a slice of homemade organic pizza, salad from the fields, artisan bread samples with Texas olive oil, samples of natural cheeses, salsa and chips, tamale bites, and more.

The new Farmhouse Bakery & Store is designed to complement the healthy harvest of the naturally-grown produce. It will feature a full bakery, allowing the production of a variety of artisan breads from organic ingredients. The bakery will also be able to turn out sweet breads, muffins, pizza crusts, pecan pies, and seasonal fruit pies. The kitchen will also be able to turn out the owner’s famous Salsa Fina, red and green salsas with a distinctive bite.

The storefront itself, linked to online ordering capabilities on the farm’s website and on Facebook, will feature offerings from local partner farmers and producers who provide artisan natural cheeses, Texas olive oils and balsamic vinegars, free-range organic eggs, a variety of healthy tamales, and local honey. Hormone-free meats and other natural products will be added in the future.

The new store building will also feature the event-centered LadyBug Café, which will serve healthy lunches for children attending the Farm Fun for Kids Day Camps and Summer Camps which teach about sustainable growing and the environment in a fun setting called “The Keyhole Garden.”

Garden Harvests Farm is located at 7441 FM 1387 in the north part of Waxahachie close to Midlothian, Ovilla, and Red Oak. The farm is only a 30-minute drive from many parts of Dallas.

Public Invited: Experts Gather In Southlake for Integrative Cancer Conference This Weekend

Kotsanis Institute — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:16:13 -0500

http://iptforcancer.com/conference

Cancer and chemotherapy are two words that have become almost synonymous in a country where half of all men and one-third of all women will develop cancer during their lifetimes.

Along with being well known for its use as a treatment for cancer, chemotherapy is also notorious for its harsh symptoms: hair loss, nausea, extreme fatigue, and pain among others. The patient’s body must endure not only the disease, but also a treatment that attacks the entire body-not just the cancer culprit.

That’s why many physicians, like Constantine Kotsanis MD of the Kotsanis Institute in Grapevine, Texas, have turned to IPT or Insulin Potentiation Therapy. IPT uses traditional chemotherapeutic drugs and insulin to more effectively transport the drugs across cell membranes and into the cancer cells, resulting in a treatment that is tougher on cancer and easier on the body.

Dr. Kotsanis’ main focus when treating his patients, no matter the illness, is focusing on their entire body. While many doctors prescribe a traditional high-dose chemotherapy treatment that can wreak havoc on other parts of the patient’s body, Kotsanis uses targeted low dose therapy, which results in a kinder, gentler, chemotherapy. In his book, “The Kinder, Gentler Cancer Treatment: Insulin Potentiation Target LowDose Therapy,” Dr. Kotsanis explains how patients can thrive and continue to live a life filled with dignity and productivity when choosing to undergo IPT over traditional cancer treatment approaches.

To learn more about IPT and the ways it can help you or someone you love in the fight against cancer, you can attend the 2012 Annual International IPT/IPTLD Integrative Cancer Conference. Held on Saturday, April 28 at the Hilton Dallas in Southlake Town Square.

This conference will feature presentations by noted experts, including Dr. Kotsanis, in their fields on different aspects of integrative cancer care with an emphasis on therapies that are kinder and gentler, but still very effective.

Two sessions are offered: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. or 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sessions are $25 each.

2260 Pool Road
Grapevine, TX 76051
817.380.4992

http://kotsanisinstitute.com | info@kotsanisinstitute.com

Dr. Constantine A. Kotsanis MD complements traditional medicine with functional medicine and nutrition to optimize health, wellness, and the anti-aging process. Dr. Kotsanis integrates both mainstream and complementary medicine. This practice, known as functional or integrative medicine embraces principles and treatment methods which may or may not be accepted or embraced by conventional medicine providers, individual physicians or other health care institutions.

Located in Grapevine, Texas - close to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)

Why A Dallas Medical Doctor is Considered A Forward Thinker

Kotsanis Institute — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:33:00 -0500

Constantine Kotsanis, M.D. and his staff at Kotsanis Institute combine traditional mainstream medical care with complementary medical treatment methods for a dynamic individualized approach to patient health. It is his passion for the practice of helping patients that keeps Dr. Kotsanis at the forefront of medical innovation.

Originally from Greece, Dr. Kotsanis' family immigrated to Chicago when he was a teen. He is an alumnus of Northern Illinois University and a graduate of medical school at the University of Athens. His residency in otolaryngology was completed at Loyola University in Chicago, where he met his wife Beverly.

Dr. Kotsanis has been in practice in the DFW area for almost 30 years. He is a board certified otolaryngologist (head and neck surgeon) and otolaryngic allergist and is also certified as a clinical nutritionist. Dr. Kotsanis' practice combines the best of traditional medicine, functional medicine and nutrition. This way of practicing medicine is called integrative medicine - a practice method that seeks to optimize your health, wellness, and the anti-aging process.

Dr. Kotsanis' medical practice represents the best of medical innovation -blending the relatively new discipline of modern conventional medicine with the age-old, time-tested wisdom of older disciplines to craft unique treatments for each patient. He has added methods such as homeopathy, nutrition, acupuncture, and structural medicine to conventional medical practice to benefit each of his patients.

All patients come to Kotsanis Institute with a unique set of symptoms, conditions, circumstances and needs. During the diagnosis process, Dr. Kotsanis listens carefully as patients explain their medical history. He asks questions to learn more about them. Next, he performs a physical examination and a series of diagnostic tests to determine specific treatment needs. He and his well-trained team then analyze the interactions of genetic make-up, environment, lifestyle and diet to provide a highly customized treatment strategy that addresses the root causes of illness, chronic condition or disease.

The individual treatment plan Dr. Kotsanis creates helps patients reach specific health goals and serves to elevate their health and wellness.

“I strongly believe that the human body represents the ultimate biosphere and ideally all of its systems are in dynamic balance. But if one of the work horses – endocrine (hormonal) system, immune (defense) system and the metabolic/digestive system – are not in sync, attaining optimum heath becomes a challenge. Treating symptoms is only one part of the equation and to truly elevate heath and wellness, the whole body must be considered,” says Dr. Kotsanis.

To learn more: www.kotsanisinstitute.com

2260 Pool Road
Grapevine, TX 76051
817.380.4992

http://kotsanisinstitute.com | info@kotsanisinstitute.com

Located in Grapevine, Texas - close to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)

Run a fun, "green," family 5K at Earth Day Dallas

duchess348 — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 07:00:00 -0500

By Sara Johnson

Pack a picnic and bring the whole family for fun and educational run at this year’s Earth Day Dallas. On April 22, the city’s Earth Day festival will host The DFW Truck Farm 5K Fun Run prior to its Sunday kickoff at Fair Park. Proceeds from the race will benefit the DFW Truck Farm, which is used to teach kids and the community about growing local foods and gardening in small spaces.

Truck Farm began in Brooklyn in 2009 when a mini-farm was planted in the bed of a 1986 Dodge pickup truck. Now, the farm is a fleet of 25 trucks located in 25 different cities across the U.S., including Dallas. Donelle Simmons, runner and owner/operator of Garden Inspirations and DFW’s Truck, says she wanted to do a 5K with Truck Farm to bring fitness enthusiasts and healthy eating enthusiasts together.

“The truck farm teaches you can garden anywhere!” says Simmons. “Everyone can garden, and making healthy choices will help with energy levels, for runners and for everyone.”

The DFW Truck Farm provides non-profit garden education to schools and other groups in the DFW area. Simmons says one of her main goals with the truck is to help connect real food with kids.

“It’s fun to see kids discover that there are so many vegetables out there other than what it in the grocery store. I want them to realize that there is more to eat out there than macaroni and cheese and hot dogs.”

Simmons says that part of their presentation includes making salads for the kids or sending home produce from the truck that the kids can enjoy at home. She says that she hears from parents who say their children are more likely to try vegetables after seeing them on the Truck Farm.

“We grow climbing spinach on the back of the truck. The kids are often surprised when they try something from the truck that they have heard of but only had it one way, like spinach, and now they like it!” Simmons says.

Simmons, an experienced runner who has lived and ran around the world, says some of her favorites runs were in such places as Sarajevo and along the Nile in Egypt. She’s added some special touches to this non-competitive, non-timed 5K that will help families have fun and learn about growing healthy food. The run will have optional farming challenges along the course of the run such as planting seeds, gathering eggs or moving worms from bin to bin. The race bibs will be seed embedded. Participants can take it home and plant it or donate it back to the DFW Truck Farm and they will plant it at a school in the upcoming season. The race “goodie bag" has been made out of repurposed, donated t-shirts.

Registration for the fun run is online now at dfwtruckfarm.com. The first 100 registrants will receive a picnic blanket, personally made by Simmons, to use during the attempt to break the record for the world’s largest simultaneous picnic after the run during the Earth Day Dallas festivities. Day-of-race registration begins at 7:30 a.m. at Fair Park, with the race kicking off at 8:30 a.m. Proceeds from the event will benefit the DFW Truck Farm. Participants are welcome to stay and enjoy the rest of the day’s Earth Day Dallas activities.

For more information on DFW Truck Farm and to find out how to bring the truck to your event, visit dfwtruckfarm.com. To learn more about the 2012 Picnic for the Planet, the attempt to break the world’s record for the world’s largest simultaneous picnic, visit The Nature Conservancy’s web site at www.nature.org. Visit www.earthdaydallas.org for a full schedule of Earth Day Dallas events on April 21-22 at Fair Park.

2012 Market Season Gathers Steam

brian — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 22:04:48 -0500

The 2012 farmers market season gathers steam Saturday as the McKinney and Coppell Farmers Markets get underway for the summer and the Four Seasons Richardson market returns after a brief hiatus. They join Cowtown Market in Fort Worth, the Grand Prairie Farmers Market and the Grapevine Farmers Market which kicked of their seasons last week.

Also debuting for the season Saturday is Market Day at Eden’s Organic Garden Center and CSA Farm in Balch Springs

Coppell ‘s opening day will feature some new farmers and producers including Eagle Mountain Cheese, which will be bringing a Gouda and Trappist style hand-crafted cheese to the market and naturally grown produce vendor, Chris Buckalew from Weathertop Farm.

Amanda Vanhoozier, the Coppell market manager advises that early onions are coming on the farmers market scene while greens, like chard, arugula Chinese cabbage and kale are still around. Also look for radishes, beets, turnips, hot house tomatoes and cut herbs.

In addition to the new arrivals, the Downtown Arlington Farmers Market is open and the Dallas Farmers Market remains open daily.

Integrative Cancer Conference To Be Held at Hilton Dallas/Southlake Town Square

Kotsanis Institute — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:41:34 -0500

If you have cancer, know someone with cancer, or work in the profession of treating cancer, you should attend the IPT/IPTLD Integrative Cancer Conference in Southlake, Texas on April 27-28, 2012.

Top physicians, naturopaths, chiropractors, acupuncturist, researchers, and the general public will be gathering to share the best integrative cancer care there is to offer.

Sponsored by the Best Answer for Cancer Foundation, this conference will feature presentations by experts in their fields on different aspects of integrative cancer care and oncology with an emphasis on therapies that are kinder and gentler, yet still powerfully effective.

IPT Targeted Low Dose, or IPTLD, is a targeted cancer therapy that delivers the power of conventional chemotherapy directly to the cancer. The rapid expansion of integrative medicine, traditional medicine complemented with alternative medicine (functional, alternative, and nutritional), has lead the search for effective cancer care that encompasses whole body healing.

Link for Details: http://www.iptforcancer.com/conference/

2012 Tenth Annual International IPT/IPTLD Integrative Cancer Conference

Flyer: IPT_Flyer

Conference: April 27-28 2012

Hilton Dallas/Southlake Town Square
1400 Plaza Place, Southlake, Texas 76092
Start: Friday, April 27 at 7:00am – Ends: Saturday, April 28 at 5:30
note: 16 CME Credits

Optional Introductory Training

Kotsanis Institute
2260 Pool Road, Grapevine, Texas
Wednesday, April 25 and Thursday April 26
note: 12 CME Credits

IPT Think Tank

Kotsanis Institute
2260 Pool Road, Grapevine, Texas
Thursday, April 26

2260 Pool Road
Grapevine, TX 76051
817.380.4992

http://kotsanisinstitute.com | info@kotsanisinstitute.com

The Kotsanis Institute is located in Grapevine, Texas - close to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)

Dr. Constantine A. Kotsanis MD complements traditional medicine with functional medicine and nutrition to optimize health, wellness, and the anti-aging process.

Correction: Just Cowtown and Grand Prairie Will Kick Off Their 2012 Seasons Saturday

brian — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:09:17 -0500

Correction: Two area farmers markets— Grand Prairie and Cowtown in Fort Worth—will kick of their 2012 seasons this Saturday, March 31, with festivities ranging from live music and an Easter egg hunt at the Cowtown Market and live music and barbecue food trucks at Grand Prairie.

Contrary to our earlier report , Coppell will open for business April 7 and will hold a Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting in honor of the market’s 10^th anniversary on April 14.

Cowtown is billing its opening as a “Spring Festival” and-- in addition to music by singer-songwriters Barbara Taylor and Jeff Gibbons and an Easter Egg Hunt-- will feature demonstrations by Tarrant Area Master Gardeners and Leigh Rhodes of Harvest Supply; a food drive for Tarrant Area Food Bank; a coloring contest for kids; a garden seed giveaway; and a Kettle Corn vendor.

Products available at the market include local produce and locally produced gourmet foods such as handmade bread and pastry, tamales, cakes, goat cheese and cow’s milk cheese.

Grand Prairie kicks off its new season with the band Double Ace, which will begin performing at 11 a.m. The market will also feature Soljah’s BBQ and Hammer and Dick Slow Smoked Pit Barbeque food trucks.

Products available for purchase at Grand Prairie include locally grown fruits and vegetables, plants, tamales, breads, salsas, dips, relishes, soy candles, eggs, meats, soaps, honey, wines, chips, cookies and more.

Produce to expect in April will be leafy greens, like lettuces, spinach, kale, chard, collards and mustards, plus spring onions, radishes, new potatoes and herbs.

Other markets operating this weekend include the Downtown Arlington Farmers Market, the Grapevine Farmers Market and the Dallas Farmers market.

Market Roundup: Final Coppell Winter Market, White Rock Chili Cook-Off Highlight Weekend

brian — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:26:42 -0500

Coppell reports that it continues to have winter market produce such as Swiss chard, buttercrunch lettuce heads, arugula, mustard, kale, Valentine Mesclun salad, romaine, and other leaf lettuces and several varieties of radishes. Also cut herbs: dill, chives, oregano, and cilantro. Possibly available are Chinese cabbage, onions, pecans, pepper spread, beets, turnips, and hot house tomatoes.

Coppell will also have several artisan food producers, like Jill Holden who offers homemade breads and scones baked just the day before, plus her homemade jellies and jams along with butter from her neighbor’s cows. Savoy Sorbet reports they will have a return of their original Triple Lemon made with lemongrass, lemon balm and lemon thyme, not to be confused with their distinctively different Lemon Thyme Balm variety. Paul Wackym will be bringing a new cookie variety, Cinnamon Kettle Corn made from corn meal and corn flour with sweet and salty additions. Salted Sour Lemon is the other newish variety he will bring along with some returning favorites.

White Rock, which is hosting its annual Chili Cook-Off Saturday, expects to have organic growers Farmer Jones Plants and Produce, Texas Worm Ranch and Good Earth Organics, as well as Kitchen Pride Mushrooms. Juha Ranch returns with grass fed beef, chicken, lamb, pork and eggs; Homestead Heritage will be there with their wide variety of meats and cheeses. Eagle Mountain Cheese, Grapevine Grains, The Tamale Company, Lucido's Pasta, and Texas Olive Ranch. Empire Baking and Village Baking Company will be there, along with Tough Cookie Vegan Bakery and newcomers The Bread Crumb and EMA Baking. Corked in Texas will bring wines from Lone Oak Winery in Burleson, including the 2010 Texas Viognier, which won double gold at the prestigious San Francisco Wine Competition last month.

In addition to Coppell and White Rock, look for local products at The Grapevine Farmers Market, The Downtown Arlington Market and Cowtown Market in Fort Worth.

Eat Green To Go for the Gold at the White Rock Chili Cook-off

brian — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:38:24 -0500

We’re taking up the White Rock Local Market’s Chili Cook-off challenge Saturday with our own entry—Eat Green’s “Purely Local (or as local as we can get it) Chili.”

Our entry is based on a recipe we developed several years ago that came in second in a local gourmet club cook-off. We think we’ve made the necessary tweaks to make a respectable run at first place this go-round.

But the competition could be stiff if the entry names are any indication. According to market manager Sarah Perry, competitors who had signed up by mid-week included Come and Take It; Peace Love Chili; SpeakEZ Chili; and Smokin' Haute Red among others.

For our entry we decided to keep it as local as possible. At its core is pastured Berkshire pork shoulder and grass-fed chuck roast from JuHa Ranch in Barry. JuHa is also one of the vendors who will be at White Rock market.

We were also able to talk Fina Longoria-Johnson from Garden Harvests in Waxahachie out of some of her smoked jalapeños which she prepared and froze last season, as well as some fresh scallions she pulled from her garden Thursday morning. To add some additional spice, we’re including the fresh jalapeños from Walnut Creek Farm in Alvarado that came in this week’s Local Box from Greenling.

To bring all the flavors together and add some depth we turned to Deep Ellum Brewery for the liquid base. Zack Fickey, the Event Planning Stuff Ninja at the brewery, recommended we go with the brewery’s IPA pale ale, so we had the folks from The Bottle Shop on Lower Greenville pull us a growler of the IPA from the tap. We’ll reveal the rest of the ingredients (sorry, none of them are local) after the contest (unless we’re booed off the stage).

Judges for the contest are chefs Jeffery Hobbs (Sissy's, Suze), Graham Dodds (Central 214) and Brian Luscher (The Grape).

The Chili Cook-off will help the market launch its first ever membership program. Member benefits range from discounts at area businesses, to a custom-shopping tote designed by Dallas' Banner Theory, exclusive workshops and farm tours.

Contestants are supposed to be set up by 9 a.m. and have been asked to bring two gallons so market visitors can get a taste. We’ll be ready to go by then so stop by and give us a try.

Patients Want More From Their Doctor Today

Kotsanis Institute — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:23:14 -0500

Is it selfish to want a collaboration with your doctor focused on the big picture of your health and anti aging process? It seems not!

More patients are seeking patient centered care with an integrative approach to medicine – combining conventional care with non conventional, non Western therapies, ancient healing wisdom with modern science, and the whole person – mind, body and spirit to achieve optimal health.

A recent study, conducted by the Bravewell Collaborative, reveals the core values that integrative medical centers embrace. Constantine A. Kotsanis, MD with the Kotsanis Institute in Grapevine, Texas embraces these same philosophies and recently commented on the Bravewell Collaborative Study.

2260 Pool Road
Grapevine, TX 76051
817.380.4992

http://kotsanisinstitute.com | info@kotsanisinstitute.com

Dr. Constantine A. Kotsanis MD complements traditional medicine with functional medicine and nutrition to optimize health, wellness, and the anti-aging process.

Located in Grapevine, Texas - close to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)

Wilted Salad and Weeds

tdmotleyart903 — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 09:48:56 -0600

It’s about time you decided what you want to eat from the garden in 2012 and get it in terroir, tout de suite! Don’t procrastinate too long as some of your favorites may take awhile, especially if you’re planting seed. We’ve enjoyed fresh lettuce, arugula and spinach all winter. I never covered anything this year, nor did any of my gardening neighbors in Collin County. Winter just never got serious this season in North Texas.

We made a favorite dish during a cold March night recently, maybe celebrating a breath of chilly air and putting thoughts of hot, dry summers on the back burners of our brains. We roasted Peruvian purple fingerlings in a bit of olive oil and fresh garlic and set aside, while wilting fresh winter rainbow chard, French rocket arugula and Greyhound spinach from our garden, adding a bit of fresh rosemary and tarragon. Stir the roasted potatoes into the wilted greens and serve with crusty bread.

Becca is not a fan of oaked wines (red or white), so we enjoyed a bottle of Castillo De Jumilla 2009 Monastrell with the hot salad. This is a clean, level-headed Spanish stainless we get from Andy Doyle at McKinney Wine Merchants, downtown on the Square. The wine has lots of berry in the nose, lovely purple color, with a nice classy finish. It’s great for veggie casseroles.

Our own planting from seed includes Nantes carrots, which are thick and sliceable in 65 days, but I can never resist pulling the sweet orange treasures while babies, around 40 days. Plant Napa type cabbage now. It will take about 50 days, but won’t bolt on you as soon as others, so it’s better, in case we should get a lot of hot days early this year..

My experience with growing all kinds of beets over many years in this part of Texas has been greatly rewarding (remember I’m growing everything in raised beds or untilled, elevated gardens on organic soil and compost). Striped Chioggia and Golden beets are beautiful on the table, but they have never come through for me like Detroit Reds and Bull’s Blood. You can’t beat the rich taste of Bull’s Blood, for the fat root itself, or the delicious greens. Bulls Blood beets will get big in about 60 days, and the green leaves can be harvested for salads in about 40 days. Your guests will love the flavor.

Plant lettuce and spinach now, which ever variety you prefer. North Texas gardens produce spectacular greens these days, with prolific early winter and early spring crops. Plant Swiss Chard, Kale, greens, radishes and spinach today. Some folks are just now getting those seed-potatoes into soft, mounded soil with plenty of organic compost, leaves and straw piled up on the mound. They’ll be okay (but should have been planted on Valentine’s Day).

Dignified and costly organic plants such as arugula, salad burnet, chervil, French sorrel, lemon thyme, Florentine fennel, and Greek oregano grow fat and green, perched high up and proud in their penthouse-like raised beds. These are pampered plants, the elite. Gourmet-gardeners don’t want these beauties threatened at the sight of their ugly cousins who will soon try to scale the walls and break into the elevated mansions of fine families like the Lovages. Unwanted in-laws, weeds such as Little Barley, Yellow Sweet Clover, Johnsongrass, Prostrate Knotweed and Mimosa Vine are forbidden to show themselves in proper, tended gardens.

A lawyer friend once told me he thought weeds were simply flowers without representation. Maybe that’s so.

Edward Lowe’s nineteenth century drawings and prints of grasses and weeds are magnificent examples of the beauty to be found in those plants “without representation.” Lowe’s images are precise, linear silhouettes, emphasizing the delicate formations of wild flora, especially the diversity of the shapes of ferns.

The German Renaissance artist, Albrecht Durer, known as the “Leonardo of the North,” drew and painted many studies of native flora and fauna during his travels, including weeds. A single watercolor by Durer, Tall Grass, (also titled The Great Piece of Turf) has provided countless art history doctoral candidates with a winning topic. It is a richly detailed description of every blade and tendril within Durer’s cropped view of a simple tuft of grass in an open field.

If Will Rogers never met a man he didn't like, then you might say that Euell Gibbons never met a weed he didn’t like. Gibbons is frequently resurrected and very popular on YouTube, where you can see him in an old TV commercial, hawking Grape Nuts cereal. A favorite food book of mine, “Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink,” is a compilation of tasty pieces by various New Yorker food writers over the years. “Secret Ingredients” includes a delightfully hefty 1968 article by John McPhee, titled “The Forager.” It’s one of those tales that the reader really doesn't want to end too soon.

In “The Forager,” John McPhee accounts several days’ hiking with Euell Gibbons in the immense northern woods near Troxelville, Pennsylvania, then Gibbons’ farm home. The two trekkers ate only wild food during the trip. They ate lots of herbs and weeds.

They ate cattail sprouts, dandelions, and burdock root. They also ate wild poke, sorrel, persimmons, walnuts, and ground cherries, foods more familiar to most of us. I was pleased to read about the ground cherries, also called “paper-husk tomatoes,” as we grow these tiny delicacies. The little ‘tomato’ inside the paper-thin shell is sweet and tart, producing a “pop” of flavor in your mouth. It has always been a top favorite with my market customers.

John McPhee’s opening sentence of “the Forager” starts the reader off on a wild food adventure with gusto in even an urban setting. McPhee reports that Gibbons “…..once reached through the fence that surrounds the White House and harvested four edible weeds from the president’s garden.” Yum.

Just remember that ground cherries, delights to human palates and health, are poison to horses. Let them eat oats at the barn.

Tom Motley

Letter from The Prairie, March 9, 2012

Market Roundup: White Rock, Coppell, Arlington and Cowtown Tomorrow: Pick One

brian — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:32:27 -0600

White Rock Local Market is getting a jump on the 2012 season with an "Everything Market" this weekend while Coppell holds its penultimate winter market and the year-round Arlington and Cowtown markets continue. Four Seasons Market at Richardson, which has been open all winter will not be open tomorrow, but will return in early April, according to manager Vincent Hirth. (And don't forget the Dallas Farmers Market)

White Rock is the first of the markets to kick off the season. Coppell's spring season starts April 7 as does McKinney. Keller doesn't get underway until the first Saturday in May We haven't heard from the other markets about when they plan to open.

Whichever market you plan on attending this weekend, you'll probably be able to find some produce--winter greens including Swiss chard, kale and lettuces, beets, herbs and onions--eggs from free range chickens; grass-fed beef, pork and chicken; artisinal food like soup, bread,tamales, pasta, rolled oats, granola, honey, cookies, jellies, pickles, salsa and Texas olive oil.

Gulf seafood will also be available at Coppell and White Rock and wild-caught Alaska salmon is still available at Coppell. Also look for non-food items like doggie treats,custom soaps, soy candles, and crafts at Coppell and White Rock.

White Rock Local Market Season Begins this Saturday

brian — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:17:10 -0600

White Rock Local Market begins its fourth season Saturday, March 10, with an "Everything Market' that includes art, clothes, jewelry, toys, furniture and more - all made by North Texans.

This year, the market is instituting a new "growers only" policy where farmers will only bring what they've grown themselves, or what they can accurately label from other farmers. Also new this year, according to market director Sarah Perry, is the opportunity for backyard farmers to attend. We're excited to invite backyard farmers to join us at our Gardeners Table - no harvest is too small," she said.

New vendors this year include Latte Da Dairy, Three Happy Cows, Citas Salsa, The Bread Crumb, EMA Baking, Hypnotic Donuts, Noble Coyote Coffee Roasters and Corked in Texas. Corked will be bringing wines from Lone Oak Winery in Burleson, including the 2010 Texas Voignier, which won double gold at the prestigious San Francisco Wine Competition last month.

Returning vendors include organic growers Farmer Jones Plants and Produce, Texas Worm Ranch and Good Earth Organics as well as Kitchen Pride Mushrooms. Later in the spring Perry said the market will be joined by Rae Lilli Farm, Sachse Heritage Farms, Larken Farms and Lightsey Farms.

Also amongthe returning vendors are Juha Ranch with grassfed beef, chicken, lamb, pork and eggs; Homestead Heritage with a wide variety of meats and cheeses, Eagle Mountain Cheese, Grapevine Grains, The Tamale Company, Lucido's Pasta, Texas Olive Ranch, Empire Baking, Village Baking Company and Tough Cookie Vegan Bakery.

Market customers can also enter White Rock's 2012 Spring Chili Cook-off that starts its new membership program. Judges for the March 24 contest are chefs Jeffery Hobbes (Sissy's, Suze), Graham Dodds (Central 214) and Bryan Luscher (The Grape).

Negative Comments Force DSHS to Rescind Proposed Farmers Market Rules

brian — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:47:41 -0600

You did it.

The rule-writing bureaucrats at the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) caved.

In an e-mail message “sent to a number of legislative offices” Olivia Garnett Walker, the Legislative Liaison for the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), said that the department was withdrawing their proposal to regulate all farmers markets as food establishments due to the “number of comments expressing concerns about the proposed rule language.”

In our story last Friday, we pointed out how DSHS was pulling a bureaucratic move to undermine newly enacted legislation (SB81) designed to make it easier for farmers markets to operate. Instead of writing rules to enact that legislation, a DSHS proposed to classify farmers markets as “food establishments” thus subjecting them to pages upon pages of rules designed for restaurants and grocery stores.

And we asked our readers to support the request of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA) to let the department know how they felt. Apparently many of you did.

FARFA director Judith McGeary announced at today’s luncheon at the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (TOFGA) conference in Mesquite today, that Kathryn C. Perkins, the Assistant Commissioner for the Division for Regulatory Services at the Texas Department of State Health Services alerted her to the change in the agency’s position.

“I’m really pleased the agency has dropped the proposed regulations. Their actions show that the grassroots can bring the pressure needed to change the regulatory process. I want to thank all of the people who let DSHS and their elected officials know of their opposition to the proposed rule.”

Even with the change of heart by the DSHS, the rules governing farmers markets remain inconsistent across the state and whether and how farmers markets can operate is subject largely to the whims of local municipalities and county health departments.

As the Department of Agriculture said in a response to our request for comment last week, “TDA wants to ensure farmers and ranchers have diverse markets in which to sell their products and that consumers have access to freshly grown Texas food. “

To achieve that wish, there needs to be significant changes not only at the state level but in every one of Texas’ 254 counties.