Cultivating Sustainability

Need a quick and tasty recipe to use up some leftover winter or spring greens? This simple recipe yields a savory and subtly sweet hearty stew. It calls for french lentils, which maintain there shape, color and texture in the cooking process. You can find french lentils at Whole Foods or other grocery stores that have a bulk section.

French Lentils

INGREDIENTS

• 4 links organic turkey or chicken chorizo or andouille sausage, sliced thin
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4-5 garlic cloves*, minced
• 1 large onion*, chopped
• 3 small to medium sweet potatoes*, peeled and diced into small 1/4″ cubes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup french lentils, picked over
• 5 cups organic chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 large bunch red russian kale*, stems and center ribs discarded and leaves sliced thin
• 2 tablespoon balsamic or red-wine vinegar

DIRECTIONS

1. In a stock pot brown sausage over moderate heat and transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. If there is more than 1 teaspoon fat in pan pour off excess; if there is less, add enough oil to measure 1 tbsp. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened.
2. Add sweet potatoes, bay leaves, lentils, water, broth, and sausage and simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Add kale and simmer, uncovered, until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

Spring is here! While most CSA subscribers in the region do not start receiving their weekly bounty until the beginning of June, Star Hollow Farm started this weekend. As a Star Hollow Farm CSA member, every Wednesday from the beginning of April through end of December I will be able to order a weekly CSA harvest box and additional a la carte items (produce and dairy).

Here’s what was in my April 3, 2010 harvest box:

Baby Mizuna (a variety of Japanese mustard, usually served raw in salad mix)

Claytonia (aka miner’s lettuce that grows wild in California, usually served raw in a salad)

Mixed Carrots (yellow, orange and purple varieties)

Parsnips

Onions

Bibb Lettuce

Romaine Lettuce

Fingerling Potatoes

Granny Smith, Golden Delicious & Honey Crisp Apples

I also ordered:

Tuscarora Mesclun

Garlic Greens

Chives

Dill

Last Saturday marked the sixth meeting of a cooking club Kim and I are involved in with our significant others and one other couple.   We’ve done Indian, Irish, Mexican, Greek…it was never intended to be a trip around the world, but it’s ended up that way.  This month I decided to take us to the continent of Africa for an Ethiopian feast.  The menu:

Doro W’ett (Chicken Stew)

Beet and Potato Salad with Lemon

Atar Allecha (Spiced Green Pea Puree)

Stewed Kale

Misr Allecha (Stewed Red Lentils)

Yemiser W’ett (Spicy Yellow Lentils)

Yetakelt W’ett (Vegetable Stew)

Served with Honey Wine and Injerra

I didn’t make the Injerra, I purchased it from a shop on 18th street in Adam’s Morgan.  Everyone really enjoyed the meal, and there was enough left over for lunch all week (and dinner on Sunday).  It was delicious and economical.

Stay tuned throughout the week for the recipes!

These are super easy to make and make a delicious side for Grilled Blue Cheese Burgers and veggie burgers. (*Indicates produce from the Next Step Produce at the Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market.)

INGREDIENTS

• 1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2-3 large sweet potatoes, regular potatoes or a combination, peeled and sliced into 3 inch strips
• 1 tsp montreal steak seasoning (a spice blend made of coarse salt, black pepper, red pepper, garlic, fennel and other spices and herbs)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 425 degrees F.
2. Toss sweet potatoes with oil and seasoning. Place on a 9X13″ baking dish, coated with olive oil. Bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender in the middle and crispy and brown on the edges.

These burgers are so easy to make, but oh so delicious. They taste fabulous on fresh rolls with mayo, mustard, and caramelized onions. Serve with Sweet Potato Fries and Sauteed Swiss Chard or a salad.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb organic, grass-fed ground beef
• 1/4 cup blue cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
• Propane grill

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine beef, blue cheese, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Combine well with hands.
2. Form into 4 evenly sized patties. Using your thumb, make an indentation in the center of each burger so that it doesn’t plump up in the middle when you grill it.
3. Grill hamburger patties on medium to medium-high for about 4 minutes on each side, or until the centers are just barely pink.
4. Remove from heat, and let stand for 5 minutes for eating.