It is no secret that I love to cook. I love growing our food and preparing a meal to be eaten at home. I am also interested in sustainable living. One tenent of sustainable living is eating vegetarian or vegan two to three times a week. While I do like lean meats and fish and think they are a good part of a balanced diet, minimizing their consumption is better for your health and better for the environment.
The downside is that unfortunately, the one creative cuisine I have not mastered is vegetarian or vegan cooking. I am pretty good with salads, casseroles, etc. But the neo V cusine is far more creative and is taking the use of vegetables to a whole new level. It is my goal to learn more about the cooking methods and the possibilities so I can incorporate more creative vegan and vegetarian dishes in my repitoire. Until then, I rely on creative chefs to provide vegan delights. So when I had the opportunity to eat at Dragonfly here in Columbus, I was very excited. They are a vegan restaurant that grows their own produce in a little potager in the back of the restaurant!
Dragonfly and its quick stop lunch spot On the Fly are located in Columbus’ Victorian Village and have won numerous distinctions, such as being on Columbus Monthly’s top 10 list and being mentioned in US Today and Veg News. Their menus are seasonal, ecclectic and amazingly delicious!
I also got a chance to tour the garden with the owner Magdiale Wolmark. He showed a friend and I his specially designed raised bed garden. Designed by Wolmark and Jennifer Bartley (Author of Designing the New Kitchen Garden), the garden is an elegant and efficient use of space. With espaliered fruit trees, and 24 inches of rich soil in a modified U shape that makes it compact, productive and very urban.
Wolmark is a subscriber to the Biodynamic method of gardening. Biodynamics is a science of life-forces, a recognition of the basic principles at work in nature, and an approach to agriculture which takes these principles into account to bring about balance and healing. Magdiale uses the Stella Natura planting planner and calendar to successfully manage the potager along the principles of Biodynamics (http://www.stellanatura.com/ ).
One of the new amazing things in the Dragonfly garden is the mushroom area. Magdiale has inoculated white oak logs to grow Shitake mushrooms in a cool nook between the kitchen and the restaurant. I cannot wait to see what he comes up with to use those delicious mushrooms!
Check out their website at http://www.dragonflyneov.com/ but better yet, stop in and experience it yourself!
Happy Gardening…and Eating!!
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