Sustainable - Its Not Easy Eating Green

Rustic Sweet Onion Tart

May 15, 2013 - 10:42 pm | Appetizers, Baking, Breads and Doughs, Cheese, Grains, Main Dish, Meatless Monday, Recipe, Sides, Summer, Sustainable, Vegetables, Vegetarian

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I was a childhood cooking-show junkie. On sick days at home, while other children would spend their days watching music videos on MTV and “You Can’t Do That on Television” on Nickelodeon, I watched PBS. Hours spent watching Jeff Smith, Martin Yan, Justin Wilson and “The Great Chefs” series. “The Great Chefs” series made me want to become a chef; Martin Yan made me want to be an entertainer, and Justin Wilson just reminded me of my family (not at all cajun but they were a bit of a wacky southern group).

I hated most vegetables though, so I would watch the cooks make recipe after recipe looking for something wonderful that was free of onions, tomatoes, celery and peppers. There was a show I cannot remember the name of with a cook whose name and face are a distant memory; I distinctly remember watching him make a chicken fricassee. It looked so good, and I remember thinking that I would eat it, regardless of onions or no onions. Watching him make this dish made me realize that if I wanted to be a professional cook, that I was going to have to eat the things I did not like.

I’ve written before about teaching myself to like vegetables, one vegetable at a time, by learning how to properly prepare each one. To like onions, I started by teaching myself to make good caramelized onions; not just browned onions, but good and properly melty, gooey, sweet and sticky caramelized onions. Once I had that down, I was in love. Onions show up in just about everything of mine. I think my childhood self would H-A-T-E having me as their parent; and I think I would get really annoyed with my childhood self because the little brat wouldn’t eat anything I made for her. While not little kid-friendly, this tart will agree with older kids and pretty much everyone else. Sweet Vidalia onions, which are in season right now, are the onion of choice, but other sweet onions will work as well.

This recipe is all about balancing flavors. The sweet onions are balanced by briny feta, tangy balsamic vinegar, spicy black pepper and herby thyme. The crust is part of the flavor, not just a shell to hold it. It becomes part of the whole picture, so don’t cut corners and use a pre-made crust. The crust can be a little crumbly, but a rustic look works here, so just work with it until you have a roundish shape and it’s okay if it isn’t perfect; because that is perfect. Enjoy!

Caramelized Onion Tart with Feta and Balsamic
Serves 6

This tart is a fantastic snack, but also makes a wonderful meal when paired with a salad. I love the sheen of the egg wash on the crust, but you could easily leave that out to make this egg free.

1 Recipe Savory Pastry Dough
2 pounds Vidalia Onion (or other sweet onion)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, plus another 1/2 teaspoon to garnish
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1 egg yolk

Peel the onions and slice very thin; I used a food processor. Heat olive oil in a large skillet with a lid over medium-high heat. When the oil starts to shimmer add the onions and salt. Cover the onions and let cook until they release their liquid, about five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Uncover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook slowly, stirring frequently until evenly brown and greatly reduced; about another 25 minutes.

Add the thyme and balsamic vinegar and cook another two minutes to let the thyme release its flavor. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 375. Roll out the dough to form a roughly 15 inch circle.

Transfer the dough to a piece of parchment paper and spread the onion in a 12 inch circle in the middle of the dough. Sprinkle the feta on to the exposed onion filling.

Turn the edges of the dough over, tucking under any uneven edges to form a 1 1/2 inch edge over the top of the onion filling.

Brush the edges with a light coating of egg wash. Move the tart to a baking pan and bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is a nice even brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for five minutes. Serve warm or room temperature.

Field Trip: ReVision Urban Farm

March 28, 2013 - 7:36 am | Earth Friendly, Field Trips, Green, Healthy Planet, Local, Sustainable, Vegetables, Winter

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On a crisp March morning that was colder than it should have been I pulled up in front of the ReVision Urban Farm in the economically challenged Boston neighborhood of Dorchester. The half-acre site looks out of place nestled between the triple-decker homes in the neighborhood. A large greenhouse stretches most of the way across the rear of the lot, and the growing beds sit dormant, covered in a layer of late spring snow. As I step inside the greenhouse, everything changes. A biting wind gives way to warm, slightly humid air, and the cold, snow covered ground changes into early summer soil with rows of tables covered in baby plants. The smell of warm earth fills my lungs and the diffused sunlight filters in with surprising warmth.

Here I meet Jolie Olivetti, the Farm Manager. Bent over a giant salad spinner, Jolie is harvesting greens and radishes which are part of the new winter growing program made possible with the addition of the greenhouse. The bunches of radishes and bags of baby greens Jolie is packaging are as fresh as anyone can get anywhere. The produce she is preparing is for the attached shelter, whose tenants are eligible for free produce upon request from what is currently in season.

As she fills orders, I look around. The greenhouse is bursting with life. Rows of seedlings are in various states of growth. A table marked “winter greens” brims with baby greens ready for harvesting, while other tables are covered in seedlings that have barely sprouted. Everything is growing though, which is such a surprise in a winter laden with snow, snow and more snow. As she works, Jolie explains that certain beds are growing plants that will be sold as produce, others sold as seedlings and still others will be transplanted to the outdoor growing areas. It’s a busy place to be a plant.

Don’t let the size fool you though, this little farm does big things for the community. Although the plot of land is just barely over a 1/2 acre along with a new smaller plot down the street, they provide enough produce to support a farm stand in the neighborhood, a CSA in conjunction with Trustees of the Reservations’ Powisset Farm, produce sold at local farmer’s markets, seedlings sold into the community and produce free to those living at the attached homeless shelter. In addition, there is a job-training program and outreach programs to teach neighbors urban growing skills, like how to start a kitchen herb garden or the basics of composting.

While not certified organic, the farm follows organic practices, and Jolie and other growers use a common sense approach. To avoid contaminated soil, the farm land consists of about a foot of transplanted soil that sits over a barrier between the preexisting soil and the plants which essentially makes the farm one giant raised bed. Contamination from city life is only one challenge the farm faces though. A large farm has the opportunity to let fields rest for a season, an option not available on a small urban farm. Crop rotation at ReVision means moving the tomatoes from one place to another ten feet away, not two fields away which opens the crops up to greater pest and disease pressure. Of course, the biggest challenge for a small urban farm is space. They cannot easily grow some crops that require a lot of land, so popular vegetables like corn, potatoes, onions and winter squash are available through the farm’s partnership with Powisset Farm, a farm that is part of the Trustees of the Reservations program.

The success of ReVision Urban Farm is the result of over twenty years of hard work by volunteers, members of the community and employees. Before there was the farm, there was the homeless shelter for young pregnant women and mothers. Over time this has evolved into a home for about 30 families who live there for a few months while they get back on their feet. ReVision Farm and ReVision House together act as a vital support for the community, providing not only homes to many in the disadvantaged Boston neighborhood, but produce, training, support and a wide-ranging positive influence. In fact, when asked what the single most important need for the organization was, Jolie instantly answered that it was to continue to develop positive relationships with those in the community.

Everyone I met at ReVision seemed deeply interested in helping those around them, and the farm is simply an extension of that. While I was there, Shani Fletcher, a Grower at the farm, was proof-reading an upcoming cookbook that the farm is publishing. (As soon as the book is available, I will add a link.)

ReVision Farm is an asset to the community and the City of Boston. Jolie, Shani and everyone that works there, the hundreds of volunteers and all those in the community that have bonded together to make this improbably little place a success are proof of hope in a part of the city that needs it most.

The Fish Guy and Grilled Caribbean Spiny Lobster

February 24, 2013 - 11:23 pm | Caribbean, Field Trips, Gluten-Free, Healthy Planet, Main Dish, Recipe, Seafood, Sustainable, travel, Vacation

It’s Really Not Easy Eating Green on Vacation

February 14, 2013 - 8:00 am | Caribbean, Earth Friendly, Field Trips, Healthy Planet, Sustainable, travel, Vacation

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On Groundhog’s Day I packed up the family (I actually packed two weeks before that) and headed off to the breathtakingly beautiful island of Providenciales in Turks and Caicos. My main goal was to have no goal at all; to relax and soak in some winter warmth, but I was also in search of a sustainable Caribbean.

At first glance you would think a natural life would be easy. With water the color of topaz, sugar-white beaches, and sweet breezes it seems like everything is right in the world. It’s not as easy as it seems though. Most of the what the tourist sees, eats and does is anything but sustainable. Turks and Caicos is not an agrarian society, although there is a growing farming community. When flying into the island, it looks a lot like a flat sand-dune sticking up out of the ocean, hardly ideal farming conditions. Most of the produce and even most of the fish is flown in now creating a wallop of a carbon footprint. Resorts use water and electricity at alarming rates, and even our sunscreen damages the delicate coral reefs.

I wondered if it was possible to live an even-remotely sustainable life while enjoying paradise. The next few posts will be about my successes (and failures) at sustainable vacationing on heaven-on-earth Turks and Caicos in the British West Indies.

Field Trip: Adams Farm

October 10, 2012 - 9:45 pm | Earth Friendly, Field Trips, FOOD, Green, Healthy Planet, Local, Meat, Sustainable

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About two years ago we decided that it would be a good idea to go in with my husband’s parents to buy a side of beef. It’s not a new idea. Buying local grass-fed beef seemed an obvious choice for us, since we wanted to raise our children with as little exposure to antibiotics, hormones and GMO grains as possible. In the Boston area as in most places it can be an expensive and confusing process. We started talking to the beef purveyors at local farmers’ markets, but ended up more confused than we were when we started. Prices were all over the place, what you got with a side or quarter of beef was unclear, and many farmers had strange unknown names for cuts of beef that made it hard to tell what we were getting. When we found out that a new baby (then later learned it was babies) was on the way, we abandoned the process entirely. After all, if I had to have well-done beef to avoid any chance of getting toxoplasmosis, then I didn’t want beef at all.

Then, a few months before the babies were born, I picked up a copy of edibleBoston in my doctor’s office and came across an article on Adams Farm in Athol, MA. The article, written by Margaret Leroux, was about a slaughterhouse that put the humane treatment and welfare of the animal as well as sanitation above all else. It told of a family business that rebuilt from the ground up after a terrible fire. The Adams family enlisted the help of Dr. Temple Grandin in designing the new slaughterhouse to ensure that humane practices were unequaled in every step of its operation. I highly recommend you read the article which can be found in the Fall 2011 issue of edibleBoston.

Fast forward to this year. Articles all over the web are talking about the rising cost of beef due to the drought in the Midwest. Whole Foods is selling grass-fed ground beef, one of the cheaper cuts of beef, for $7 a pound. After discussing the rising costs of beef and food in general, my husband and his parents we decided it was time to look into buying a side of beef again. We were unsure of how to go about it but knew that we wanted local beef, raised without antibiotics, and fed only grass. I remembered the article on Adams Farm and looked it up.

One of the things that has bothered me in the past about other grass-fed farms that I’ve looked into is that the cows are still slaughtered in the same slaughterhouses as grain-fed beef. As I understand it, all beef sold for human consumption in the USA must be slaughtered in a USDA inspected slaughterhouse. So you are spending a lot of money for a product that is raised humanely and sustainably only to have it shipped off and processed in the same manner as all the other animals. Adams Farm was the perfect solution for us because they slaughtered their own animals. Not only are they USDA inspected and certified, they are HACCP certified which means that sanitation is important to them. It’s important to note that they also process meat for other farms. I am not sure if all the farms they process meat from are all grass-fed, antibiotic free. However, the humane treatment and safe-food practices of handling the meat is a priority there, and I believe that the more informed you are about where your food came from, the better off you are going to be.

When you buy a side of beef in most places, you pay by the pound for the hanging (untrimmed and butchered) weight of the animal. That means that even though the hanging weight of the side of beef might be 400 pounds, you may only get 50 to 60% of that as finished product. The amount you take home also varies based on the amount of fat on the animal, how you want it butchered and whether or not you want your steaks and cuts bone-in. Since Adams Farm not only raised the animal, but butchered it too, we had complete control over how we wanted every piece of beef. There is also probably a cost savings since most farmers have to pay for a third party to process the meat.

The order sheet is organized by primal cut with a few basic questions at the top; this is the fun part. How many pounds of stew meat do you want (usually cut from trimmed beef not used for other cuts). How many pounds do you want per package, do you want butcher paper or vacuum packaging, how thick do you want your steaks. Do you want the chuck cut as all roasts, all ground or a combination. Do you want your rib-eye bone-in (yes please!). Do you want porterhouse/T-bone steaks or do you want strip and filet; do you want cube steak; do you want London broil? You get the idea. The wonderful people at Adams Farm made ordering so very easy. We were able to get exactly what we wanted and knew exactly what to expect.

There were other benefits to using Adams Farm over others we looked at. Not only was the beef raised and slaughtered there on the farm, but the prices were almost half the price we had been quoted in the Boston area. We ended up paying $2 a pound less by buying from Adams Farm than some of the others we had looked at. For our side of beef that came to a $830 savings; more than enough to justify driving the hour and half from the Boston area to Athol–otherwise known as the farthest side of nowhere.

A view from Adams Farm’s parking lot

It is important to note that Adams Farm is not selling organic meat. Organic is not always the most important rating to me. Here is what was important: our meat was almost 100% grass-fed with no antibiotics. If you noticed that I said almost 100%. When doing my research I found a lot of farms that supplemented with grain during the lean winter months or finished the animal on grain. Finishing is the process of fattening an animal before slaughtering to affect the flavor and weight of the animal. However, at Adams Farm the cows are occasionally given other vegetables such as pumpkins but no grain. No grain means less GMO’s, less dependency on fossil fuels, and more nutrition into the animal. Healthy food in, healthy food out.

After placing the order we were told to expect the meat to be ready in about four to six weeks. Then less than three weeks later, I received a call saying that the meat was ready. The next day we drove out to picturesque and, oh yes, VERY remote Athol, MA. You pick up the meat at the storefront where they sell their meat as well as local produce, cheese, eggs and spices. It’s a pretty neat place. If you’re ever near Athol (which is near the Mohawk Trail) then you should stop by. What? Not going to be near there? Hmm, can’t say I’m too surprised.

Adams Farm’s retail store

Our 415-pound side of beef yielded 114 pounds of ground beef, plus all the roasts, steaks, and other cuts we had requested. The little over 300 pounds of finished meat was packaged in a series of twenty plastic bags, each bag containing dozens of smaller packages. Several bags contained nothing but one pound packages of ground beef. As we had requested, steaks were individually sealed, and every sealed package was marked with its contents. We filled every cooler we owned with the meat and headed back home. As I had a huge empty freezer waiting, I was not worried that it would all fit, but I was surprised at how much room in the freezer it did take.

Lots of beef in lots of coolers

A side of beef in the freezer

With the exception of Saturday, which is frequently steak night, we usually only eat beef one other night a week. This meat is going to last us a long time. According to the USDA, meat kept at 0ºF will remain safe indefinitely, but quality will start to diminish after 12 months. I think that we will almost surely go past that 12 month marker.

If we will do this again is up in the air. Although there is a huge savings per pound by buying the whole side of beef, it is a very significant investment up-front. If we find that we eat meat more frequently than we would traditionally, or if we have a significant power outage the investment may not be worth it. However, in addition to the savings there are the other benefits; we are helping our local economy; we are helping the local farmer; and we are buying local sustainable meat that was raised in a humane and thoughtful way.

Our meat is arguably healthier and safer than meat raised in the feed-lot system. I’m not a scientist and I cannot speak to or prove one way or other that it is or isn’t. However, I can say this. From what I have had so far, the meat we purchased is far tastier than the meat we buy in a typical grocery store, grass-fed or otherwise. I do not know if this is luck; maybe we just got a particularly tasty animal, but it’s just better!

Useful links:
http://www.grass-fed-beef-101.com
http://www.eatwild.com/
http://adamsfarm.biz/
http://edibleboston.com/
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/switching-to-grass-fed-beef/

Beans, beans, the more you eat…

February 10, 2012 - 9:01 pm | Earth Friendly, Sustainable, Uncategorized, Vegetables, Winter

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Remember when you were in school and just the word “bean” would send you into a fit of giggles. Well, the bean gets the last laugh because during the long winter months, it’s the start of the affordable earth -friendly dinner table.

Coming up with fresh healthy meals for the family in the middle of summer is easy. Inspiration is found easily when so much beautiful produce is all around. Winter is more challenging. Meal planning seems a chore when finding any sort of local produce is near impossible, and organic produce is vastly inferior or priced out of the budget. One staple, however, is my menu savior during the cold winter months: legumes. These dried little jewels are the perfect answer to dinner on any cold winter night. From humble baked beans to the rich and complicated Cassoulet, beans are the center of so many perfect meals.

Until a few years ago, I never bothered with dried beans. Actually, I never bothered with beans very much at all (except black-eyed peas, which for a southerner is just plain obvious!). I knew they were good for me and my family, but just not something I took the time to learn to prepare correctly. After quitting my job I started to really focus on feeding my family healthy meals that were also good for the planet. Out went the prepared foods and a lot of the meat we ate. Then beans just naturally started to creep into our diet. I always had a can or two of chick peas and white beans on hand, but not much else. Then I noticed the price difference. A 15.5 ounce can of organic chick peas costs 1.25 at a grocery store near me. Dried organic chick peas from Whole Foods cost 2.39/lb. A pound of dried chick peas is equivalent to 4 cans of beans; $5.00 worth, more than twice the price. For more information on the cost benefits of dried beans, read this article at MSN.

Even after I started using beans on a regular basis, I still shied away from dried beans. My culinary experience had taught me that dried beans were preferred, but I didn’t understand why. After all, I could open a can of beans and have dinner ready in minutes, and the dried black-eyed peas that I had eaten always seemed overcooked and falling apart. However, after reading about the amounts of BPA in canned foods, I decided to start trying dried beans over canned. Besides, the bulk section of Whole Foods is just too much fun to pass up. Old tomato sauce and jam jars started finding new jobs as bean containers. I still keep an emergency can of black-eyed peas and chick peas for nights when time is just too rushed, but the health and cost benefits not to mention the superior flavor and texture just can’t compare.

So, I’ve decided to provide a series of posts on beans. Each post will feature a different bean and a recipe to please the whole family. My header picture above provides a hint at what beans and legumes will be featured. Can you name them all? Post a comment trying to name all of them, and I’ll mention the first person to get all of them correct.

*It is important to note that not all canned beans are in cans that contain BPA. For example, Eden Organics has been using BPA free cans for all of it’s bean products since 1999. For more information on BPA in canned foods, I highly recommend this study.

Bean Tostadas

August 16, 2011 - 10:24 am | FOOD, kid-friendly, Main Dish, Meatless Monday, Mexican, Recipe, Salad, Sustainable, Uncategorized

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In many foods quality and popularity come from the simplicity of flavors. A perfectly in-season, ripe fruit comes to mind, a grilled steak with nothing but salt and pepper, a egg fried in butter, a hunk of warm bread with extra virgin olive oil for dipping, or a summer tomato with nothing but a little salt. Other foods, however excel when flavors build layer by layer to create a delightfully complex combination of textures and tastes. Tostadas win big by being literally and figuratively layered.
A traditional tostada from Mexico is not much more than a crispy fried corn tortilla with a few small bites of meat and toppings on it. It’s a snack not a meal. However, while the Mexican tostada is street food, the Texas tostada is a meal. When I was growing up there, almost every taqueria in Houston had tostadas on the regular menu of favorites. Tucked in between the flautas, tacos and enchiladas were the less popular, but none the less ubiquitous tostada plate. It was usually a pair of flat and crispy corn tortillas topped with beans (usually refried), ground beef, cheese, sour cream and fresh chopped tomatoes all buried under a mountain of thinly shredded iceberg lettuce. A bowl of salsa, sometimes two different kinds, were always on the table for topping off the tostadas. They were light enough to keep you from hating life the rest of the day, but more than enough to make a meal.
Now that I live in New England, I have to make them at home. I’ve noticed that with all the toppings, it’s easy for the meat to get lost. Which of course means that if the beans and other toppings are flavorful enough to make up for it, you won’t even miss the meat if it’s not there. To make them meatless, I use a combination of beans and avocado to take the place of meat. Then I top them with finely chopped romaine, greek yogurt (or sour cream) shredded Colby jJack cheese and fresh salsa roja. It may not be the most authentic tostada you will ever have, but it’s very good, and it’s a great Meatless Monday meal. Enjoy

Mild Salsa Roja – click here for a printable version of this recipe
Makes 1 cup
I love this salsa because it’s easy, authentic (except for the lack of heat) and tastes good on so many different things. It will keep for several days and is very good served cold or warm. To make a hotter salsa leave the seeds in the jalapenos, or substitute hotter chilis such as Serrano for the poblano.

½ onion, peeled and quartered
2 large tomatoes, halved and cored
1 jalapeno pepper, halved with seeds removed
2 cloves garlic
1 poblano pepper, halved with seeds removed
½ teaspoon salt
1 large handful cilantro, leaves only

Heat a large skillet over high heat for two or three minutes until hot. Add the peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and onions.

(I should have halved and seeded the poblano before charring; it would have been faster)

Rotate the vegetables in the pan until all sides are slightly charred.

(I should have grabbed the full-sized processor, it would have been faster)

When charred, move the vegetables to a food processor, add cilantro and pulse until well blended, but with some texture still remaining. Add salt (season to taste). Serve warm or cold.

Simple Ranchero Beans - click here for a printable version of this recipe
(based on Rick Bayless Brothy Beans found in Authentic Mexican, by Rick Bayless. William Morrow and Company, 1987.)
makes 2 cups

1 cup pinto beans, soaked overnight or simmered for 5 minutes and then left to soak for 1 hour.
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon taco seasoning (I prefer Penzey’s)
½ teaspoon salt or more to taste

Once beans have soaked, drain off liquid and cover with 2 cups of fresh water. Place over medium heat and add garlic, onion and olive oil. Once the beans come to a simmer, cover and cook until very tender, about 1 ½ hours, adding more water as necessary to just cover the beans. Season with taco seasoning and cook for another five minutes. Season with salt to taste.

Ranchero Bean Tostadas with Salsa Roja – click here for a printable version of all the recipes in this post

Many of these toppings are optional. You can build your tostada with anything you think sounds good. There is no reason you can’t use pre-made salsa and beans, but it tastes so much better when you make it yourself.

8 6-inch corn tortillas
oil for frying tortillas
1 recipe simple ranchero beans (recipe above)
mild salsa roja (recipe above)
sliced avocado
sliced romaine lettuce
shredded Colby Jack cheese
sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
chopped fresh tomatoes

Pour one inch of oil into a medium skillet and heat on medium-high heat until hot, but not smoking.

Drop tortillas in one at a time and cook until golden brown on each side; about a minute a side. Remove to a pan lined with paper towels for draining.

Build your tostadas starting with beans, salsa roja, cheese, avocado, lettuce, sour cream (or yogurt) and chopped tomatoes. Serve immediately.

Grilled Polenta with Mushrooms

August 12, 2011 - 10:03 pm | Earth Friendly, FOOD, Main Dish, Meatless Monday, Recipe, Sustainable, Uncategorized

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One of my earliest memories is eating raw mushrooms. Like so many of my really early memories, this one is fuzzy. What I clearly remember is that I was in the kitchen in my family’s house in Baltimore, MD. My mom was cooking, and I was pulling at her apron strings, probably bored and trying to get her attention in the same unrelenting way that Little Guy does now to me when I’m trying to cook. To shut me up, my mom gave me a raw mushroom to munch on. I loved it and ate several more. But what I find so strange about this memory is that other than that one memory, I grew up hating mushrooms: raw or cooked.

Well, my grandmother had a saying that your taste buds change every seven years. Mine did change, and now mushrooms are one of my favorite foods; my husband’s too. We eat a lot of them. Expensive cosmetic companies tout that mushrooms will keep you young forever; if that’s the case then Hubby and I are here to stay! I add them to pasta and soup, saute them to top off steaks, stuff them, puree them, and put them in and on almost anything.

This recipe is one of my all-time favorite ways to eat them. I love how the mushroom texture feels in my mouth combined with the creamy center and crispy edges of the grilled polenta, and I love the umami taste of the mushrooms. Sometimes I’ll drizzle a little truffle oil over this, but it doesn’t really need it. You can use any combination of mushrooms you like, or keep it simple and just use crimini mushrooms.

When I first started making this recipe I used premade, tubed polenta. However, polenta is just so easy to make; you can add so much flavor to it; and your finished product is greatly improved over the store-bought product. It is just fantastic that you can make almost all of it ahead of time – even a few days ahead, including the sauteed mushrooms. Then the night you are going to eat it, all you have to do is slice and grill the polenta and heat up the mushrooms in the microwave. I know you are going to like this; it’s one of those meals that guarantees even the toughest meat eater will not miss his moo. Enjoy!

Grilled Polenta with Mushrooms – Click here for a printer-friendly version of this recipe
serves 4
I use a combination of crimini, also known as baby bella, and shitaki, but any mushroom combination would work. For a real treat, replace all or some of the vegetable stock with cream.

For Polenta:
1 cup polenta (yellow corn grits)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 ounce grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

For Mushrooms:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 shallots, thinly sliced (about ½ cup)
1 pound sliced mushrooms (crimini (baby bella), or any combination of mushrooms)
½ teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
¼ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1 ½ teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 ½ teaspoon fresh sage, finely chopped
½ cup dry vermouth, or dry white wine
1 cup vegetable stock

Chopped parsley and additional grated cheese for serving

Cut a piece of parchment or waxed paper to fit in a loaf pan coming up the sides to create a sling. Spray the inside lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat 3 ½ cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt over high heat until boiling. Using a wire whisk, slowly whisk in polenta and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring frequently to prevent the bottom from sticking for about 20 minutes.

The polenta is done when it is very thick, soft and creamy. Remove from heat and stir in butter and cheese. Pour polenta into pregreased loaf pan. Smooth the top so that it is even. Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least three hours or up to two days.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it starts to shimmer add the shallots, mushrooms and ½ teaspoon salt.

Saute until all liquid is gone and mushrooms are starting to brown, stirring frequently so the bottom does not burn. Add the garlic, herbs and black pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add vermouth and cook until liquid has almost evaporated. Add vegetable stock and cook until liquid has reduced by half, about fifteen minutes. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Mushrooms can be used right away or covered and refrigerated for up to two days.

Heat grill to medium high heat (about 400 degrees).

While grill is heating, remove polenta from loaf pan and slice into ½ inch slices, laying the slices out on a pan. Brush both sides with olive oil.

When the grill is hot place the polenta slices on the grill at a slight angle (this just makes the grill marks look nicer). Cook until the bottom side has dark golden-brown grill marks, about 5 minutes. Carefully slide a spatula under the polenta slices and turn them over. Cook for an additional 5 minutes on the second side and then remove to the serving platter or plates. Top each serving with about a half cup of mushrooms, grated cheese and freshly chopped parsley.

Field Trip: Valley View Farm

August 7, 2011 - 1:42 am | Earth Friendly, FOOD, Green, Healthy Planet, Local, Sustainable, Uncategorized

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Lately I’ve been looking into local, pasture-raised meats. My research made me want to find out how the food on my table is raised; and since I’m in Pennsylvania visiting my family this week, I took a field trip to a local farm to see what happy, pasture-raised animals are all about.

My parents live in Pennsylvania on the northern edge of the Lehigh Valley, an area that has been prime farm land since William Penn advertised his colony to German immigrants and the Lenape indians got fed up with the Europeans in the 1760s and left. It still is great farm land; the word bucolic comes to mind a lot around here. It only took a quick search on AgMap to find a long list of local farms in the area. Valley View Farm in Northampton, PA was close and seemed to raise their animals according to what I knew I wanted. Their animals receive no antibiotics, are pasture-raised and seem to live low-stress, happy lives. I called and asked if I could come by to see the place as well as pick up some eggs and meat.

The owners, Jim and Audrey Ayoub, were very pleasant and accommodating, and soon we were touring the beautiful farm. It’s a real working farm, unlike the agritourism places I’d visited in the past where you see only carefully staged parts of farm life. This farm has only been raising animals for a few years, so in place of historic barns and outbuildings, there are trailers for the pigs to live in and a school bus for the chickens (the school bus was my favorite, but more on that later). The best way for me to tell you about this farm is to show you the pictures.

Cows:

This is a shot of the farm looking down on one of the cows’ pastures. Notice the dark spot in the road across from the herd of cattle. It’s a bull that had escaped from the fencing. This seemed to really upset the herd since several of them kept calling to him.

When we got down to the area with the loose bull, Mr. Ayoub and his son came and got him back in his pasture.

I never expected to be quite this close to the bull, but he seemed very docile as he walked around our car.

The rest of the herd seemed much more upset than he did. Most of them were keeping an eye on us.

Pigs:

The pigs lived in a separate pasture which included a trailer for cover and an wooded area with mud and water which the pigs clearly enjoyed.

There were a few large hogs, some very young piglets and several slightly older immature pigs that were very curious.

By piggy standards this is the perfect place live and be happy. Look at the hog in this the trailer closely–you can see her smiling!

Chickens:

The baby chicks live in the barn until they are old enough to survive in the pasture. Some of these are turkeys which are already being raised for Thanksgiving. I don’t know which ones are which, but it isn’t necessarily just the larger ones. Little Guy came with us for the tour and he loved the chicks and kept talking about them. However, later when we asked him to tell what he liked about them, all he could come up with was that they were stinky. They were stinky, but they were also stinkin’ cute!

Once the chicks are old enough they make their way over to the pasture to enjoy the most interesting chicken coup I’ve ever seen.

That’s right, not only are these happy chickens, they go to school too! Not really. The bus has been retrofitted with egg-laying boxes and it provides an enclosure to protect the chickens at night. Even happy pasture-raised chickens like to come home to roost at night because there are a lot of animals that like nothing more than a chicken dinner in the middle of the night. The bus provides protection from wild animals and also from the elements. The tarp reduces the wind against the side of the bus.

However, the chicken story gets even better. The bus alone is not enough protection against the wild animals. These chickens also have a faithful, ever vigilant body guard. The guard is the newest member of the farm. We were told he’s working out so far. When he sees a wild animal he creates a commotion and scares it off. In return he gets to spend his days munching away on clover with several dozen chickens. Not really the worst life ever. We expected him to get annoyed by our presence too, but I think he was just hoping for a snack because he seemed pretty happy to see me.

Meat from the farm is processed by a local meat processor and packaged for sale. The farm sells chicken, beef, goat, lamb, turkey and pork at local farmers’ markets. They have a mobile store which goes from market to market.

Seeing the farm was a fascinating experience. As more of us become focused on how our food is produced, the market for places like Valley View Farm will grow. The benefits to us all go far beyond just having healthy food:

Pastured animals distribute their manure directly back to the pasture instead of it going into a pile and running off into creeks in the next rain.
Pastured animals require less fossil-fuel consumption.
Pastured animals use little or no grain feed, thus reducing the burden on cultivated crops.

Please visit and support your local, sustainable farms.

Oh, and in my next post I will show you what I did with some of my purchases from the farm. Stay tuned!

Chicken and Chickpea Curry with Bread Machine Naan

June 17, 2011 - 2:19 am | Cooking, FOOD, Home, kid-friendly, Local, Recipe, Sustainable, Uncategorized

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Dinner is a minefield with my toddler. I try to make a meal that my husband and I will like and my son will also eat. When he first started eating normal food, I would make him a separate dinner from what my husband and I ate because I was concerned that my food would be too spicy, too crunchy, too anything. When we went out to eat, we immediately gravitated to the children’s menu. Then, while watching last season’s Top Chef season wrap-up, I heard Antonia Lofaso comment that she thinks kids’ menus are insulting to kids. When I heard this a bell went off. I’ve been thinking about it ever since. She’s right, of course. Kids’ menus, like television and strollers, are a crutch for us to lean on instead of doing the hard parenting. It’s much easier to say, “Okay son, tonight you can have a hot dog,” than to order or make something that will challenge his palate and help him grow to enjoy healthier options. I think that I’ll be a better parent if I abandon the kids menu at restaurants and in my own home and let my son eat from the regular menu or even my husband’s and my plate.

There are already a few meals that are home-runs for everyone in the house, and most of them are no surprise. I don’t think anyone would find it amazing that meatloaf is a hit, same with meatballs and chicken pot pie. But what about chana masala? This is my son’s favorite restaurant meal, hands down. My kid, the one that the restaurants think should be eating hot dogs and chicken fingers, loves the stuff. Pair it with the brown rice he loves, and he’s eating a good meal that I’m proud of.

Chana Masala is one of those dishes that just plain-and-simple doesn’t need meat. All by itself it’s rich, flavorful and satisfying, but when you add some chicken, it becomes a hybrid dish that really starts to sing to you. This recipe isn’t really a true chana masala because of the addition of chicken, so we’ll just call it Chicken and Chickpea Curry. There are so many reasons I love this dish; not only because my son will eat it, but also I love the simplicity of using all-in-one curry powder instead of a list of fifteen ingredients, I love that it is very low in fat, and I love that is dairy free. Most of all I love this dish because it is so luscious and savory without being overly spicy that I could eat it all night long. Believe me, this is one of those curry dishes that will make picky eaters into Indian-food converts, and it’s easy enough to make on a week night!

Chicken and Chickpea Curry

serves 4

This dish is very good as a vegetarian dish; just leave out the chicken and use veggie broth. Without the chicken it serves 3; with the chicken it serves 4.

2 tbs olive oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken pieces (I use chicken breast, but chicken thighs would be oh so delicious!)
1 lg onion, diced
1 tsp plus 1/2 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 15 oz cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
2 cups low sodium chicken broth or stock (or veggie broth)
1 tbs sweet curry (I use Penzeys – which you can get here)
1 tsp garam masala (I use Penzeys for this too)
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 tbs lemon juice

Heat olive oil over medium heat until it shimmers. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add to pan. Brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and set aside to cool. Add onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt to remaining oil in pan. Turn heat down to medium low and cover pan, cook until very soft (about 10 minutes) stirring once or twice. It is okay for the onion to get lightly brown, but if it starts to get very dark, reduce the heat. When onion is soft add garlic and ginger; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook for another five minutes.

Now, if you are cooking for a group of non-picky normal adults and not toddlers (or adults) in the “ew, yucky” stage then you can skip this next step. As for the rest of us, scrape the onion and tomato mixture into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the mixture is almost smooth. Return to pan.

Once the chicken has cooled, use a fork to shred the meat into bite size pieces. Add chicken, chickpeas, chicken broth, curry powder and the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt to the pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low. You can simmer the curry for a little as 1/2 hour or as long as 2 hours. The longer you let the curry simmer, the more tender your chicken will get and the better the flavors will blend.

Right before serving, stir the garam masala, cilantro and lemon juice into the curry. Serve over rice or with Naan.

And here’s the play by play (scroll down below this for the naan recipe!)

Sautee onions with tomatoes, garlic and ginger

Size up your crowd and decide if you want to pull out the food processor. If you have a toddler, it is highly suggested!

You don’t need the chicken to make this curry scrummy, but it does send it over the top!

Add the garam masala (the spice in the middle of the picture) right before serving so you don’t mute the flavors.

Bread-Machine Naan

Makes 6 naan (but the picture only shows 4 because two didn’t last that long!)

For ten years now, I have used a Madhur Jaffrey recipe for Naan that I modified for a bread machine. The original recipe can be found in her book, Indian Cooking, which is about all you need if you want to learn how to cook Indian food. The original recipe is also here. This dough is very versatile, and can be used to make a million different things, but if you make it, why would you want anything other than Naan. You can add pretty much anything you want when you are forming it right before baking. Some people have told me they add carmelized onions, sauteed garlic, nigella seeds, and lots and lots of us just cook it plain and slather it with a little butter and sprinkle of salt when it comes out of the oven.

2/3 cup warm skim milk
2 tsp melted butter
2 tsp instant yeast
1 lb all-purpose flour (approx. 4 cups)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbs olive oil
2/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 large egg
2 teaspoons sugar

In the mixing bowl of your bread machine, add ingredients as suggested by your bread machine manufacturer. Set the bread machine to the dough setting and let it run through the cycle. Depending on humidity and air temperature, you may need to add extra flour, so about halfway through the mixing cycle check to dough to see if it is too sticky to work with. It should be sticky, but workable with floured hands. Add extra flour one tablespoon at a time if needed.

When the cycle has finished, transfer dough to a bowl and let double in size, about 30 minutes, and preheat oven to 500 F. I have a convection oven and like to use it when baking this bread, but I’ve made this in the past in a thirty year old electric oven in a dumpy apartment kitchen and it worked just as well. I will say that if you have a baking stone use it – it makes a huge difference, just be sure to preheat it.

Once the dough has risen, separate it into six equal sections. Using a rolling pin or your hands, flatten dough out to ovals about 1/3 inch thick.

When the oven has pre-heated, place ovals on pre-heated stone or heavy baking sheet. Bake on top shelf of the oven for two minutes; the naan should start to puff. If you want dark, crispy naan or do not have a convection oven, switch the oven from bake to broil for an additional minute or until the top starts to brown. When brown on top, remove from oven and cover with a towel while you finish baking the remaining loaves. Before serving, brush the naan with melted butter.

Category Archives: Sustainable

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Chicken and Chickpea Curry with Bread Machine Naan

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