My Farm Share

A few weeks ago I received a gift in my gmail inbox. It was from Adam. He had ordered a basket of organic vegetables from a local farm to be delivered in a box right to my apartment. I was out in midtown with my girlfriends for cocktails, when I checked my gmail via blackberry and saw my surprise. I read the email carefully and laughed. “How awesome is this?” I said out loud to my girlfriends while I held my cell phone towards them. I won’t carry on about this part though, because he doesn’t like getting too much attention and I don’t want to embarrass him. I will however, carry on about the box of vegetables that arrived outside my apartment door this week. When I woke up Wednesday morning, it was sitting there in the same spot at my door as my neighbors “New York Times” spot at their doors. In my pajamas, I stood there and looked down. I saw “keep refrigerated” looking back at me. As if living in New York City doesn’t spoil you enough with the ability to have Thai food delivered at 2am, now I am actually getting organic produce right from the ground, to the upper east side before even changing out of my PJs. Some may say that whoever thought of me when ordering this, is a genius.

Inside the box was eggplant, lettuce, green and yellow beans, squash, zucchini, cucumber, apricots (fruit pick), and purslane. So many vegetables, so little time to finish all by myself. I decided to start whipping up any recipes that could use the above, and then decided to have a charming “farm like” dinner with Adam to top off the rest. From the farm, to my table, for us. Below is what we cooked for our vegetarian(me)/gluten free(him)/organic local meal (we’re a blast at restaurants together).

Drinks: Ok, so the farm didn’t send me any wine, but that never stopped a girl. Red wine worked with everything that was made (but I think red wine goes with everything anyway, who says I need to eat beef to enjoy my pinot noir?)

For starters: Salad, using all the mesculin greens, cucumber and lettuce. I added goat cheese and candied pecans to the bowl, and drizzled a honey dijon vinaigrette dressing over.


Nature moment: “hey little buddy. I figured I would find someone like you while going through this box”. (My inch worm friend. He was not invited to dinner though).


Dinner: Veggie burgers made from quinoa and walnuts with a slice of monterary jack on top of lettuce (no buns), with blue corn chips and zucchini fries.



Zucchini Fries: Look at this, we can make (almost) any vegetable turn into a modified version of our greasy favorite. Cut the zucchini into strips, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. (When I first started to prepare these, I cut and worked on one of the cucumbers for at least 15 seconds before realizing I was actually cutting a cucumber, and not a zucchini. I think we started drinking wine a tad too early).


Dessert: Apricot cobbler. Every fall I make an apple cobbler, and I thought apricots would make my favorite dessert more “summer like”. So, being I know this recipe like the back of my hand, and I also know it is possible to make it gluten free (and it still tastes amazing); I made this dessert with apricots instead of apples. I baked this a few hours before dinner so it could cool and settle.


In the end, I could not have asked for more of a perfect meal. I highly recommend not only the farm share, but also trying these recipes, and cooking at home as much as possible. After I eat fresh, whole food I feel satisfied, but even more so, clean. When you eat out, you never really know what ingredients/cooking sprays/preservatives are going into our foods. At home though, we have complete control. It is fresh, it is healthy, it is economical, and I do believe when you need to put the time into preparing complete meals like this, it always will taste that much better. And if you have someone to drink the wine and slightly mess up the zucchini fries with, it’s even better.

www.myfarmshare.com for information on how you can get farm food to your table as well.


Love & Apricots,

Lets Fight Hunger

Today was my first day as part of the Food Bank of NYC’s pilot “Community Cookshop” Program. Taking place in their multiple food service locations, Community Cookshop offers education and healthy cooking lessons to entire families (kids and adults). It is the next phase in expanding the cookshop program, which was originally launched in public schools to grades k-2. In 2009 I was a cookshop instructor in the Bronx, and I could not be happier that I have the opportunity to return to this program in a new light. This morning, we taught the basics on creating a food budget, and then we made a three color salad with raisins. All of the families took home the recipe, and the ingredients to make the recipe again at home. The children were amazing. They drew on paper plates their favorite foods. One 5 year old girl drew for me a piece of chicken, broccoli, blueberries, and a good ol fashioned milkshake. “Broccoli is my favorite vegetable” she said. We hadn’t even started the lesson yet, she was already going for the A+ in class. I will be assisting with this program for the remainder of the summer, and I will admit the launch this morning has prompted me to write about food security in our city, and in our country.
One in five New Yorkers are relying on emergency food services to get a meal. Emergency food services include soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, or free food such as the free breakfast/lunch program that is offered in nyc public schools. Each day, the Food Bank of NYC serves over 400,000 meals in the 5 boroughs to people who, if not for an emergency service, would not be eating at all. Three years ago, this number was around 250,000 meals. We all know that three years ago our economy plummeted, and so began the unemployment rise, housing crisis, and jokes on Saturday Night Live about financial men and their bonuses. However, we often only know either what we see on TV, or what we personally experience ourselves. So, I write this evening to assure you that the crisis is much closer to your home than you think. I wasted a lot of food as a child. I picked the cheese off my pizza, scraped many a meatloaf dinners into the trash can because I refused to have that for dinner (only to pour myself a bowl of cereal after), and I was a picky eater. I used to think that a child could never grasp how important it is to not waste food, but I am very very wrong here. You see, there are thousands of children in New York City (about 75 who I have personally worked with) who understand entirely that there is no food available to waste. For such adorable little ones, they certainly are grown up.
The sources of the hunger problem include the fact that food is expensive, housing is expensive, jobs are few, and nutrition education is barely standing on its tippy toes to be seen. Access to food is another main concern. How can we expect someone to buy fresh produce, if their supermarket does not carry it, and the nearest supermarket that does carry it is more than 10 miles away? In a suburban area, if more than 500 people, or 33% of the population(whichever is less) lives more than 10 miles from the nearest supermarket, than the area is classified as a “food desert”. In urban areas, it is classified if the distance is more than one mile (Defined by the Dept. of Agriculture). Combined with low income, (some less than 10,000 dollars a year), food deserts have a real impact on how Americans are eating.

Hunger cannot be seen. Children look like children. I see them playing in the parks, jumping up and down on the subway, and coming out of schools in the afternoon. But 30,000 of these same kids in our city are being given free food at school every day. 30,000 in new york city.
I ask of you; if you are going to spend the few minutes it took to read this blog, then please remember the following:

1.We are not born knowing fruits and vegetables are great for us, and that fast food is not. We need to be taught. This is why we need nutrition education to be in every school, community center, street fair, wherever. If we are not teaching people about food, how can we expect anyone to change their eating habits? Lets push for nutrition education.

2.Food is expensive. It is a big money game. But there is a lot of food going uneaten every day as well. We need to take the extra food whenever we can, to a place or person who needs it. Trust me, there is food to spare. Do not throw away.

3.I have said this before, but I will say it again and again. If our children cannot gain access to nutritious food, it will affect their mental and physical growth, their grades in school, and their eating habits for the rest of their lives. They are not old enough yet to look at us and say “leave me alone, I choose to be fat and unhealthy”. Until they are old enough to make that choice, we are accountable.

4.It is easier, and cheaper to prevent disease, than to treat disease.

5.And finally… do not forget that hunger cannot be seen. Support your local food banks by donating, volunteering, or advocating. Because in this economy, any one of us could be on the other side of the table tomorrow. Whether you are serving food, or eating food, we are all the same.

www.feedingamerica.org/hunger
www.foodbanknyc.org
*for anyone who is interested, it always helps to spread the knowledge :)

You dont look a day over fast cars and freedom.

Today, I want to share with you a bag of quotes. Literally. I have this lulu lemon bag that my new yoga mat came in, and today for the first time I started reading all the quotes that are printed on it. I had read my favorite one weeks ago: "dance. sing. floss. travel". And I thought...how appropriate for me. But there are so many more I never bothered to glance at. Today, they clicked for me...I think this lulu chick is onto something. So, think about the below. I don't preach lifestyles to people (or at least I try not to) but I certainly know what I believe in, and I think lulu and I are on the same page.

"Drink fresh water and as much water as you can. Water flushes unwanted toxins from your body and keeps your brain sharp".

"Life is full of setbacks. Success is determined by how you handle setbacks"

"Creativity is maximized when youre living in the moment. Nature wants us to be mediocre because we have a greater chance to survive and reproduce. Mediocrity is as close to the bottom as it is to the top, and will give you a lousy life"

"Visualize your eventual demise. It can have an amazing effect on how you live"

"Live near the ocean and inhale the pure salt air that flows over the water"

(me breathing the salt water air, and living life in the moment)

"Sweat once a day to regenerate your skin"

"Children are the orgasm of life. Just like you did not know what an orgasm was until you had one, nature does not let you know how great children are until you have them"

"The conscious brain can only hold one thought at a time. Choose a positive thought"

"What we do to the earth, we do to ourselves"

"Your outlook on life is a direct reflection on how much you like yourself"

~Hope this can be of use to you today. Now breathe deeply, and feed yourself well.
xxx

Strawberries, Shortcakes, & Cream (oh my)

Another rainy summer day means “plan b” for how to spend free time. Some go to the movies, or do arts and crafts. I have spent some recent rainy days painting walls in my apartment, reading, and most commonly cooking and baking. Baking can be therapeutic, but unlike cooking needs to be done accurately (please, no “a little of this, a little of that”)… baking is chemistry. A beach or a park was the original plan for this day, but when the thunder and lightning woke me up, baking happened instead. It is a “semi” from scratch creation that fit in well for Fourth of July weekend. Individual strawberry shortcakes with a homemade whipped cream took less than 45 minutes to make and reminded me of a southern comfort dessert. There are three simple steps:
1. Make biscuits. A friend and I made the biscuits using Bisquick mix (there is the “semi” homemade explanation). I love Bisquick. I feel Bisquick, just like Kraft, are the kinds of food products that bring you back to childhood. This is the first time in three years I have used Bisquick for cooking, so I do not want to send the wrong message that these products are super healthy. (But boy are they delish).
2. Beat one cup of whipping cream until soft peaks form
3. Pour ¼ cup of sugar over sliced strawberries and set aside. The sugar will dissolve and the strawberries will start to appear “glaze-y” and “gooey”.
After the biscuits are cooled, slice them open and layer strawberries and cream as you wish. For the holiday, feel free to stick little American Flags in them also, because they can help hold the shape of the crumbly dessert while also looking adorable.

What I noticed about this dessert, was that while I made it in my apartment, I was planning on traveling with them to a BBQ that evening. This dessert is not easy to travel with. What I ended up doing was bagging all of the ingredients separately and assembling them together at the BBQ right before serving. Other than that, this recipe was easy as shortcake.


Happy Fourth of July. Hope yours was filled with red, white, and blue foods….and fireworks (whether literally, or metaphorically).
Love love love.