Monthly Archives: March 2010

Roasted Beet Salad with Oranges & Raspberry Vinaigrette

30 Tuesday Mar 2010

Posted by in Dinner, Lunch, Recipe, Side, Vegan, Vegetarian

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INGREDIENTS

  • 1 1/2 lbs small beets (red, pink, or golden – or a variety)*, washed well with skins
  • 1 large head of green or red lettuce (such as Bibb & Red-Tinged Lolla Rose Lettuce)*, torn into pieces and rinsed and drained well with a salad spinner
  • 1 medium orange, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 tbsp raspberry vinegar (or freshly squeezed lemon juice or high quality bottled lemon juice such as Santa Cruz)
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
  • 1 small to medium garlic clove, minced*
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper, divided

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 400 degrees F. Place the beets into an 8X8 inch baking dish. Drizzle with 3 tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Toss to coat. Cover with foil and roast for 60-70 minutes, or until the beets are tender when pierced with a knife or fork. Remove from the oven, uncover and let cool. When cool enough to handle, rub off (or peel off) skins with your hands or a knife. Cut into 1/4-inch thick slices and cut the slices in fours or eights. Transfer the beets to a large bowl.
  2. Combine 3 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp raspberry vinegar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground pepper, and garlic in a small class container with tight fitting lid (such as an old jam or jelly container). Shake until well combined.
  3. Combine lettuce, orange and beet pieces in a large bowl. And evenly toss with about 2-3 tbsp of the salad dressing.
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Grilled Pizza with Onions, Garlic & Kalamata Olives

30 Tuesday Mar 2010

Posted by in Dinner, Entree, Lunch, Recipe, Vegetarian

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There is nothing like the taste and flavor of grilled pizza. Grilling the pizza may add a few more steps, but it’s definitely worth it. In the middle of the summer harvest, try adding grilled zucchini and yellow squash and grilled red bell pepper instead of the jarred roasted red bell pepper. Also try experimenting with different types of cheese and other toppings, such as thinly sliced bosc pear. Serve with a side salad, such as Roasted Beet Salad with Oranges and Raspberry Vinaigrette, and a glass of red wine. (*Indicates Star Hollow Farm produce.)

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 prepared pizza dough, divided into 3
  • 1 batch of basic pizza sauce
  • 3 medium organic yellow onions*
  • 4-6 cloves organic garlic*
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
  • 1/2 cup roasted red bell peppers, drained and sliced (optional)
  • 8 oz mozzarella cheese (or a combination of freshly grated parmesan and feta; or fresh cheese curds from your local italian market)
  • Freshly ground salt and pepper
  • Cooking spray

DIRECTIONS

  1. Prepare pizza dough and basic pizza sauce according to directions.
  2. Prepare grill (for a gas grill, turn on high; after 5 minutes, scrape clean with a grill brush; turn heat down to medium-high).
  3. Carefully peel and slice onions into 1/2 inch thick slices. Lightly coat both sides of each slice with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside and roughly chop.
  4. Peel garlic and place in the center of a 8 inch by 8 inch piece of aluminum foil along with 1 tbsp oil. Carefully form a little pouch with the foil.
  5. Grill onions until tender and evenly browned (about 10 minutes, 5 minutes on each side). Meanwhile, place pouch of foil with garlic on a corner of the grill. Grill until garlic is cooked through and very tender (about 10-20 minutes). Set aside and roughly chop.
  6. Using a rolling pin, roll out a third of the pizza dough on a large cutting board (if the dough sticks to the board, dust the cutting board with a little flour). Coat one side of the dough, evenly, with cooking spray. Place the rolled out dough (cooking spray side down) on the grill.
  7. Pre-cook the crust: Grill for 1-2 minutes, or until the cooking spray side of the dough forms a crust and starts to turn golden brown. Quickly and carefully spray the uncooked (top side) of the crust with cooking spray, and flip the crust, so that the top side is now touching the grill surface. Cook another 1-2 minutes, or until the crust just starts to turn golden brown. Remove from the grill and set aside.
  8. Repeat for the remaining 2/3 of the dough.
  9. Top the pre-cooked crust with sauce, grilled onions and garlic, kalamata onions, and slices of mozzarella cheese. Place on grill on top of a long piece of foil, to prevent the crust from burning on the grill and to give the cheese enough time to melt. Cover the grill, and cook for about 5-10 minutes or until the cheese melts (note: check often to make sure the bottom of the crust does not burn.)

Organic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

29 Monday Mar 2010

Posted by in Dessert, Recipe, Vegetarian

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Don’t be intimidated by this 2 layer, 99.9% organic cake! It is probably one of the easiest cakes to make – even my husband with is rudimentary baking skills can make this delicious dessert. And one of the best things about this recipe…it has half the fat of the typical carrot cake recipe, because it substitutes all-natural organic apple sauce for half of the canola oil. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
  • 2 cups all-purpose, organic flour
  • 2 tsp organic cinnamon
  • 2 tsp organic baking powder
  • 2 tsp organic baking soda
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup organic walnuts or pecans

Wet Ingredients

  • 3 cups peeled and grated organic carrots
  • 1/2 cup all-natural, organic applesauce
  • 1/2 cup organic canola oil
  • 2 free-range, organic eggs*

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 tbsp organic butter, chilled
  • 1 (8 oz) package organic cream cheese (preferably Neufchatel cheese – also called 1/3 less fat cream cheese)
  • 1 lb package organic powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp grated organic lemon rind

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using cooking spray, evenly coat 2 round, 8-inch cake pans and lightly dust with flour.
  2. Mix all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Mix all wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well (note: batter will be very stiff).
  4. Spread the batter evenly into TWO round, 8-inch baking cake pans.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of each cake pan comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 5-10 minutes on a wire rack. Loosen cake layers from sides of pans using a narrow spatula or plastic knife; turn out onto wire racks; and let cool completely (about 30 minutes to 1 hour).
  6. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Beat butter and cream cheese at high speed of a mixer in a large bowl until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, vanilla and lemon rind; beat at low speed until just blended (do not overbeat, or icing may become runny). Cover and chill.
  7. To frost the cake, place 1 cake layer on a large plate. Spread about 1/3 the cream cheese icing on top of the layer; spreading carefully from the center out to just the edges of the cake layer (it is easiest to use a large knife). Top with the second cake layer and repeat, however this time use all the remaining icing and spread the icing over the sides/edges of the cake layer, making sure to evenly spread the remaining icing over the sides and top of the cake.

Chowing Down in Asheville, NC

28 Sunday Mar 2010

Posted by in Food System, Restaurant, Travel

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This post is long overdue. For our 2010 New Year’s celebration, my husband, two friends, and I piled into my friend’s Honda for a little road trip to Asheville, NC to see The Avett Brothers in concert. Armed with a fabulous list of restaurants we headed to Asheville ready to take on the local music, food, and fabulous microbrews.

For those of you thinking about going to Asheville in the near future, these were some of our favorites places:

Bouchon

Early Girl Eatery

Laughing Seed Cafe

Tupelo Honey Cafe

For fabulous local brews and much more, check out these wonderful places:

The Thirsty Monk

For a map of these great restaurants and more, check out: http://tinyurl.com/ashevillefoodsystem.

Creamy Stewed Chicken with Multi-Colored Root Vegetables

28 Sunday Mar 2010

Posted by in Entree, Recipe

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This is a great autumn or late winter recipe that uses a variety of root vegetables and even some new spring vegetables, such as fingerling potatoes. The combination of cream, chicken and savory/sweet root vegetables creates a delicious, hearty dish. Serve over rice or with a big piece of fresh sourdough bread. Recipe adapted from Chicken in Riesling at epicurious.com. (*Indicates Star Hollow Farm produce.)

(Cook’s Note: The recipe from epicurious.com indicates that the chicken dish should braise in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. The first time I cooked this it took more like 1 hour before the carrots and parsnips were tender. I recommend sauteing the carrots and parsnips with the onions (as I indicate in my version of the directions below) to speed up the cooking process.)

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 lb free-range, organic chicken breast on bone with skin
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
  • 3 medium yellow onions, chopped*
  • 6 medium carrots (red, orange, golden, purple and red varieties), peeled and sliced*
  • 2-4 medium parsnips, peeled and sliced*
  • 1 cup dry white wine (such as Riesling)
  • 1 1/2 pound small (2-inch) fingerling potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
  • Fresh lemon juice to taste

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350F with rack in middle.
  2. Pat chicken dry and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and a rounded 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat oil with 1 tablespoon butter in a wide 3 1/2- to 5-quart heavy ovenproof pot over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then brown chicken in 2 batches, turning once, about 10 minutes total per batch. Transfer to a plate.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare onions, carrots, and parsnips and pat dry. Wash fingerling potatoes well and cook until just tender in a pressure cooker according to the directions of your pressure cooker (approximately 5 minutes at high pressure). Set potatoes aside and then after about 5 minutes, using just your hands, carefully peel skins off the potatoes.
  4. Pour off fat from pot, then cook onions, carrots, and parsnips and 1/4 teaspoon salt in remaining 2 tablespoons butter, covered, over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are pale golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Add chicken, skin sides up, with any juices from plate, and wine and boil until liquid is reduced by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Cover pot and braise chicken in oven until cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. (Note: this may take longer, depending on the root vegetables you use.)
  5. Stir crème fraîche into chicken mixture and season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, then add potatoes.

Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

27 Saturday Mar 2010

Posted by in Dinner, Lunch, Recipe, Soup, Vegetarian

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This is probably one of the best butternut squash soups I’ve ever had. It’s creamy, subtly sweet, and extremely savory. The combination of roasted butternut squash and thyme and rosemary make for a delicious soup that can be devoured for dinner or lunch. It reheats very well, so makes a perfect lunch or light dinner with a side salad. (*Indicates Star Hollow Farm produce.)

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 (4 lb) butternut squash*, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 large onion, chopped*
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced*
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 3 cups organic, free-range chicken broth (or organic vegetable broth)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup organic skim milk
  • 3 tbsp organic half and half
  • 1 tbsp balsamic cream vinegar

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Combine 1 tbsp oil with cubed butternut squash, thyme and rosemary in a 9×13″ baking dish. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
  3. Meanwhile, in a large stockpot saute onions and garlic in 2 tbsp oil over medium-high heat. If the garlic begins to stick, add 1/4 cup chicken (or vegetable) broth. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes, until onions are translucent and evenly browned. Set aside.
  4. When the butternut squash is done, add roasted butternut squash to onion mixture in stock pot. Add remaining chicken (or vegetable) broth and water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add skim milk and half-and-half. Stir well. Then add balsamic cream vinegar. Remove from heat.
  5. Using a food processor or blender, blend in batches until smooth. Season with freshly ground salt and pepper.

Simple Vinaigrette

23 Tuesday Mar 2010

Posted by in Recipe, Sauce, Vegan, Vegetarian

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This is an extremely easy and simple vinaigrette. It tastes fabulous on all sorts of salads.

INGREDIENTS

  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp high quality bottle lemon juice such as Santa Cruz or Lakewood (or 1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice)
  • 1 small to medium garlic clove, minced
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS

  1. Combine all ingredients into a glass jar with tight fitting lid.
  2. Shake well, until ingredients are well combine.
  3. Toss with a green salad.

Hominy, Chipotle Chili

22 Monday Mar 2010

Posted by in Dinner, Recipe, Stew

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This is a wonderful variation of chili. The chipotle creates a subtly smoky chili and the hominy adds a nice, unexpected texture. Serve with cornbread, sour cream, and chopped green onions and cilantro. (Recipe adapted from the New York Times.)

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground organic, grass-fed beef
  • 1 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 large onions, chopped*
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 1 to 2 jalapeño peppers, to taste, seeded and chopped (note: for extra heat, keep half of the seeds)
  • 1 28-ounce can crushed organic tomato (such as Muir Glen)
  • 2 15-ounce cans white hominy, drained
  • 2 15-ounce cans pinto beans, drained
  • 1 12-ounce bottle beer (such as Leffe)
  • 2 to 3 chipotles in adobo sauce, to taste, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Sour cream, for serving
  • 5 scallions, white and light green parts, sliced, for serving
  • 1 bunch chopped cilantro, for serving
  • Lime wedges, for serving

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon oil. Brown the ground beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, stirring occasionally until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and the chili powder and sauté for another 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl.
  2. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to pot and sauté onions, bell peppers and jalapeño peppers (and half of the seeds if you want extra heat) with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.
  3. Return ground beef and any liquid in bowl to pot and add tomato, hominy, beans, beer, chipotles, oregano and bay leaves with 3 cups water. Simmer chili, partly covered, until it is thick enough for your taste, about 1 hour. Serve hot, garnished with sour cream, scallions, cilantro and lime wedges.

Farmers’ Market Purchase

21 Sunday Mar 2010

Posted by in Farmers' Market

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I visited my favorite farm stand at the Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market today – Next Step Produce. Because I already had quite a bit from my last Star Hollow Farm CSA harvest box, I only got a few items:

Curly Kale

Mustard Greens

Gold Rush Apples

Mesculin Greens

Urban Farming at Lynchburg Grows

21 Sunday Mar 2010

Posted by in Food System

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On Friday, March 5 and Saturday, March 6, I attended an Urban Agriculture Workshop at Lynchburg Grows in Lynchburg, VA, facilitated and lead by Will Allen‘s team–Growing Power. Professionals, farmers, high school students, food security advocates and homemakers from the Mid-Atlantic region gathered in the warmth of a greenhouse at Lynchburg Grows to learn about aquaponics, compost, vermicompost, and the basics of starting an urban farm. Below are a few images from the 2 day workshop and a brief description of each workshop activity. All the materials and handouts that were used during the workshop are now available for free at Lynchburg Grows. To view all the images from the workshop, click here.

LYNCHBURG GROWS

WORKSHOP | DAY 1

The workshop began with introductions and an inspirational speech by Will Allen. Following a strict urban agriculture time protocol (translation: a very loose agenda with little attention paid to the clock, and all attention focused one of several hands-on activity, relationship building, and the enjoyment of delicious, freshly prepared food that featured local farms and businesses), the workshop commenced with the hands-on building of an aquaponics system.

AQUAPONICS

BUILDING AN AQUAPONICS SYSTEM

FEASTING

After an amazing lunch featuring grass-fed beef burgers and a savory sweet potato salad with fresh herbs, Will Allen provided a hands on compost and vermicompost lesson to eager and energetic participants.

COMPOST & VERMICOMPOST 101

URBAN POULTRY FARMING

WORKSHOP | DAY 2

The evening concluded with another fabulous meal – vegetarian and omnivore lasagna options and apple crisp – and a presentation about Growing Power. The second and final day of the workshop included a presentation by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Ann Carroll and Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality’s Meade Anderson about the importance of testing not only the nutrient quality of the soil before beginning any type of urban agriculture activity, but most importantly the testing for contaminants, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asbestos, heavy metals, solvents, lubricants, acids, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Brownfields, or abandoned or underused sites where redevelopment or reuse is complicated by the presence or perceived presence of contamination, can be found in the commercial, as well as in some residential, areas in most cities, suburbs and towns across the country. Lynchburg Grows discovered early on in the redevelopment process that much of the land within the existing greenhouse structures was contaminated. Through a remediation process with EPA funding, Lynchburg Grows was able to clean up the soil and use the existing structures to create a successful urban farming operation. For more information about brownfields redevelopment and urban agricultures see How Does Your Garden Grow? Brownfields Redevelopment and Local Agriculture and Cornell Waste Management Institute’s Guide to Soil Testing and Interpreting Results.

Following the presentation, Martin Bailkey, Co-Coordinator of Metro Ag: Alliance for Urban Agriculture and Growing Power Consultant, lead the workshop participants in a discussion about the importance of planning (developing a vision, goals, objectives, and implementation strategies) for a successful urban agriculture program.

BROWNFIELDS REDEVELOPMENT

The 2 day workshop concluded with a tour of an adjacent brownfields facility that is scheduled for redevelopment in the next few years.