The Vital Voice

Born in Halletesville, TX (10 miles outside Shiner, TX), Lick Honest Ice Creams Owner, Anthony Sobotik, was always fascinated by food.

He painstakingly perfected 30 flavors of ice cream over a year, experimenting with recipes from old family cookbooks and determined to focus on locally sourced ingredients. Flavors like Grapefruit Ginger, Roasted Beets with Fresh Mint and Homemade Eggnog with Brandy really showcase what local farmers have to offer.

“We use low-temperature pasteurized milk from Texas Daily Harvest and fruits and veggies from local farms,” he explained. “All the bowls and spoons are also bio-compostable.”

When it came to cones, Sobotik didn’t want a store-bought feel. “The edges aren’t perfect. Ours are more light, more delicate,” he said. Though most Lick Ice Creams don’t use eggs (there are also always a few dairy-free, vegan options) there are seasonal flavors (like Egg Nog) that do. Vital Farms eggs add an extra richness, courtesy of our South Austin, pasture-raised hens.

Visit Lick Ice Creams at 2032 South Lamar in Austin, TX to try their incredibly crisp, flavorful cones and super fresh, unique ice creams.

Garden Veggie Frittata

(We love this for breakfast with a side of fruit, or lunch/dinner with a small salad. Enjoy!)

Serves 6

To prepare: Gather your veggies & eggs and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Hundreds of pounds of cabbage

As of May 2011, 46 million, or 1 in 7 Americans are currently on food stamps. These astounding numbers go to show that food security is a real problem for a growing number of Americans.

Yesterday we took a tour of the Capital Area Food Bank, accompanied by John Turner, Senior Director of Marketing and Branding, Justin Spencer, Food Resource Manager, and Lisa Goddard, Online Marketing Director.

We learned that the food bank warehouse holds 25.3 millions lbs of food at any time, 365 days a year! Their refrigerated trucks can hold up to 40,000 lbs of food at a time. The food bank serves 48,000 people a week, (28,000 of those served are children). The food bank purchases 15 percent of their food stores, while 85 percent is donated.

Turner, Spencer and Goddard stressed that food safety is number one; many members in the community they serve do not have health benefits. Many are children or elderly, and are thus more vulnerable to food-bourne illness.

The organization has donation agreements with HEB, Target and Wal-Mart, as well as local farms (like Vital Farms) and the Sustainable Food Center’s Farmer’s Markets. Turner said organizations like HEB and Wal-Mart were paying to have food nearing its sell-by date shipped to landfills. Last year, the food bank rescued over 4.3 million pounds of food from organizations like these. Turner said there is a big difference between a sell-by date and a use-by date; many foods are often still tasty and edible after the sell-by date.

Corn

The food bank also has four nutritionists on staff, who teach workshops to children and adults about how to make healthy food choices (even with limited means) and to modify typical recipes in a healthy way. There is also a small teaching garden to the south of the building.

“Hunger is a symptom of many other things that we cannot control,” Turner said. Unemployment, the economy, poverty and lack of education all play a part in contributing to food insecurity.

When asked about boxes full of sodas and junk food mixed in with potatoes, onions, whole-grain cereal and vegetables, the

staff explained that in order to receive food from some large organizations, like Coca-Cola, who also bottle juice and water, they must also accept some of their sodas. They do understand that, “It’s not just about the volume of food, it’s also about what you put in your body,” Turner said.

Food inventory at the food bank is ranked on a level of 1, 2 or 3, with one being the highest level of nutrition, and donations to pantries or individuals are meant to contain 80% of food ranked at a level 1 and 2 and 20% of level 3 food products are allowed.

The food bank is open 6 days a week. Last year, they welcomed 16,000+ volunteers, which meant they didn’t have to hire the equivalent of 44 full-time staff members. They always welcome new volunteers, corporate groups, families and children as young as eight are welcome to come and help to make a difference.

Capital Area Food Bank and the Blanton Museum of Art are hosting a film screening of the Award-Winning Documentary Dive! on Thursday September 15 from 6-8pm. Tickets are free!

Laura Sawicki, Pastry Chef at La Condesa, was kind enough to let us into her kitchen to show us the basics of one of Summer’s most classic and refreshing desserts: homemade ice cream made with Vital Farms eggs!

La Condesa’s Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream (Yield: About 1 QT)

Ingredients: 1 ¼ c. Milk, 1 ¾ c. Cream, ¾ c. Sugar, 1 Vanilla Bean (Pop the bean and scrape out the pulp), 1 Pinch Salt, 7 Vital Farms egg yolks, (Finish with a splash of bourbon if you like).

You will also need: A stainless steel bowl. A whisk. A wooden spoon or rubber spatula. A strainer. A cooking or candy thermometer. A large bowl or bin to make an ice bath. An ice cream machine.

1. Scald milk and cream with half the sugar. 2. Whisk egg yolks in a stainless steel bowl. When dairy starts to bubble, add remaining sugar to yolks and whisk! 3. Temper (add) a portion of the dairy into the yolks, whisking. Be careful not to scramble the egg yolks. 4. Return all ingredients to a saucepan on the stove, stirring with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Cook on low to 160 degrees. Strain. 5. Cool in an ice bath. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add a splash of vanilla extract and bourbon, if using. 6. Store in a refrigerator overnight. 7. Spin according to your ice cream machine’s instructions.

(Tip from Laura: Ice cream requires lots of straining, especially if you have an infusion competing with the base. You want your base to be as smooth as possible. Laura recommends getting creative with infusions: nuts, herbs, liquors, whatever strikes your fancy.)

La Condesa changes their standard menu every few months, but specials change everyday or every few days. Sawicki says it can be difficult to plan pastry specials for a large restaurant when the seasons in Central Texas are so short. “If this were a 25 seat restaurant, a totally locally sourced menu would be no problem, but we have 150 seats,” Sawicki said.

Sweet potatoes and pecans are available year-round but berries, herbs and certain fruits can be harder to come by. However, the restaurant supports many local vegetable farmers, orchards and local meat producers; the fruit pie is always made from locally sourced ingredients, and the cheesecake is made with local Pure Luck Farms goat cheese. Sawicki says she really likes how golden, yummy and rich the Vital Farms egg yolks are. “You can tell the chickens ate well,” she said.

The restaurant also has a very strict composting system in place, as well as a water filtration system and pressurized water taps on all faucets. Sawicki says she doesn’t produce any waste besides egg flats and milk cartons. (She uses about 6 gallons of Organic Daily Harvest Milk a day). “On an emotional level we are practicing what we preach and encouraging other restaurants to do the same. I haven’t worked in a restaurant that wasn’t environmentally conscious in 6 years,” she said. “I am totally floored that there is still a lack of education.”

Sawicki and her team of cooks work extremely hard to produce food of the highest quality at one of Austin’s best restaurants. (She arrives every morning at 6am and will leave at 6pm on a good day, though usually closer to 8 or 9pm). Sawicki, Executive Chef Rene Ortiz and their fellow cooks’ dedication has paid off; since opening in 2009, the restaurant was nominated for the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in the US in 2010, arguably one of the most respected awards in the culinary world.

A year later, the main room still crackles with color, massive art sculptures and modern light fixtures (take a look at the American Institute of Architects’ nominated décor here) and the chefs all seem relaxed and happy to be at work.

“What’s a better way to build community than through food?” Sawicki said.