Especially If you strictly adhere to a Vegan diet. Many years ago I followed a Vegan diet. I recall learning that figs are not suitable for vegans, but my recollection was fuzzy regarding WHY. I thought it was because the wasps that pollinate the trees were laying their eggs in the figs. So, when eating the fig you were eating wasp eggs. This topic came up when I was reading a blog post for WHCP titled Garden Bounty. I offered up a New York Times recipe of roasted chicken a

In this particular situation most of you will cringe in disbelief that the process was, indeed trusted. In fact those of you that have children will understand we clearly went against sane and solid parental advice. We are adults so we can make our own irrational decisions! I have to give us some credit, we did follow the “safety in numbers” rule. Three of us embarked on this unique adventure together. The adventure was the 15-Ton Sound Bath that made its way to DC from

Recently Colleen commented about how concerned she was that we weren’t seeing a lot of pollinators in the garden at Out of the Fire. She is a keen observer of nature since she spends a lot of time in observation with her husband, Jim Brighton who founded the Maryland Biodiversity Project along with Bill Hubick. I became concerned as well until the bumble bees were spotted buzzing around in the purple flowers of the cardoons. It is as if she conjured them up to pay us a visit.

If you have visited the restaurant recently it is hard not to notice the other worldly and prehistoric presence of the cardoons in the garden. They stood a foot tall when they were planted last year. They survived the icy and cold winter and emerged this spring with intensity. They beckon you to look at them as you approach the entrance of the restaurant showing off the glory of their grandeur. I have had many conversations about these cardoons. Some people think they are