CSA: Greensgrow Farm Share

Posted by Erin L. in CSA - Community Supported Agriculture and tagged with aubergine, basil, beet, beets, blog, brown rice, carrot, carrots, cheese, cooking, csa, cucumber, dinner, eggplant, eggs, entree, farm, farm share, farms, farmshare, feta, food, greensgrow, herbs, kale, mushroom, mushrooms, onion, parmesan, pasta, peach, peaches, pepper, Philadelphia, photo, pics, pictures, plum, plums, produce, radish, red pepper, rice, saute, scallion, scallions, shrimp, snap peas, spicy, squash, strawberries, strawberry, stuffed, Superior, tomato, tomatoes, vegetables, white wine, wine, yellow August 25, 2010

This summer, I had an especially good reason to be in my kitchen – my share from Greensgrow Farms. An urban farm tucked amongst residences off of Port Richmond’s Aramingo Ave., Greensgrow Farms is a shining gem of hope in the effort for more farm to table/home options. Lush latticed chain link fence surrounds a full city block of greenhouses, vegetable starters, fresh herbs, flowering & fruit plants – just about anything you could imagine to fulfill your urban gardening needs.

Every other week, my sister and I split a surplus of vegetables, fruit, & dairy from the self-serve farmstand. I had alot of fun exploring the freshest of ingredients, especially those I’ve never cooked with before. Along the way, I managed to capture some moments for your viewing pleasure and in the hopes of encouraging you to eat & buy local.

Urban Greenhouse

Courtesy of Cactus Dan

Plant Pots

Welcome to the Greensgrow CSA

CSA Week 1

(1) bunch each of Scallions & Asparagus - Week 1

(1) bunch of Radishes - CSA Week 1

Greensgrow CSA - Week 3

Beet, Carrot, & Squash Saute w. Brown Rice

CSA Week 9

Spicy Red Pepper Pasta (Superior Pasta Co.) & Pesto

Spicy Shrimp Stuffed Aubergine

I love every part of the current surge in farmer’s markets, CSAs, urban farms, eating local, and eating fresh. It feels good to be a part of the Greensgrow CSA and to cook with meaningful ingredients. I’m just as excited to be hosting a Farm to Table Dinner at Marathon in early October with produce supplied by and benefiting Emerald Street Urban Farm.

To Taste: Balsamic Chicken w. Sauteed Spinach & White Beans

Posted by Erin L. in To Taste ~ Recipe and tagged with balsamic, cannellini, cannellini beans, chicken, chicken breast, chicken stock, dinner, fiber, garlic, healthy, iron, low calorie, low carb, olive oil, onion, parmesan, protein, S&P, saute, spinach, sriracha, stock, thyme, vinegar, white beans, Worcestershire April 27, 2010

I got alot accomplished today considering I spent Monday sick in bed, so I needed something quick & healthy for tonight’s dinner. A “buy one get one” spinach sale had left me with a whole bag to get through before it spoiled. I’ve been trying to get more protein, less carbs into my diet so lean chicken breast & white beans seemed like perfect accompaniments. I poked around the pantry for some added flavors and got to cooking. With the richness of balsamic vinegar and the aroma of thyme, I came up with a delicious, filling dish that was rich in iron, protein, & fiber and only 550 calories per serving. Enjoy!

Balsamic Chicken w. Sauteed Spinach & White Beans

Balsamic Chicken w. Sauteed Spinach & White Beans

2 Servings – 550 Calories each

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast – (2) breasts, about 4 oz each
Olive Oil – (0.5) T + (0.5) T
Balsamic Vinegar – (2) T
Dried Thyme – (0.5) tsp
Chicken Stock – (0.75) cup
S&P
Garlic – (2) cloves, minced
Onion – (1) medium, sliced thin
Fresh Spinach – (1) pre-rinsed bag or (0.5) lb
White Beans – (1) 15.5 oz can, drained & rinsed
Worcestershire Sauce – (1) tsp
Sriracha – a few squirts of your fave hot sauce

Heat (0.5) T of Olive Oil on medium in a non-stick saute pan (with lid for later).
Rinse chicken breasts under cool water & pat dry. Sprinkle one side with S&P.
Place seasoned side down in hot pan. Sprinkle other side.
Brown for about 4 min. Flip & brown other side.
Add Balsamic & Thyme to pan. Bring to boil & flip chicken to other side. Reduce liquid for about 3 min.
Add Chicken Stock. Bring back to boil. Reduce liquid to half for about 5 min.
Remove chicken from pan & set aside.
Add (0.5) T of Olive Oil to pan & heat on medium. Add garlic & saute for 1 min.
Add onion & reduce heat to medium low. Allow onions & garlic to simmer for 5 min, stirring occasionally.
- If you want to add chopped tomato or bell peppers, this would be a good time. Saute for about 5 min before moving on to the next step.
Add a few handfuls of spinach & place lid on top. Return heat to medium.
Once spinach reduces by half, stir & add more handfuls. Return lid.
Continue adding handfuls of spinach until all is wilted
Add Worcestershire & Sriracha. Add White Beans. Stir.
Simmer on medium for about 5 min.
Place chicken on top of Spinach & White Bean mixture. Return lid & heat for about 1 min.
Serve & Enjoy!

Balsamic Chicken w. Sauteed Spinach & White Beans

Restaurant Rewind: Varga Bar w/ Sunshine

Posted by Erin L. in Restaurant Rewind and tagged with apple, baguette, blue cheese, cheddar, cheese, crab, crab meat, dinner, fries, goat's milk, gouda, grapes, jumbo lump, parmesan, Philadelphia, platter, restaurant, Varga Bar April 11, 2010

Easter came & went and I’m finally resurrected from the blogging dead. Between a full hardrive and an external crash, I was graciously interrupted by a perfect vacation to Miami with Dre. I’m back in Philly now with some catching up to do, so here goes!

In early March, Sunshine suggested meeting up for dinner snacks at Varga Bar. I’ve been wanting to give it a try and surely looked forward to catching up with one of my favorite people. There was some Yelp! drink special going on so I went for the Cadillac Margarita & Sunshine chose the Renegade Root Beer, both $4 apiece.

Soon after our cocktails arrived, the waitress presented a marble slab with 5 cheeses & accoutrements. I’ve blanked on the specific cheese varieties, but I know we had (2) raw goat cheeses, a goat’s milk sharp cheddar, a creamy blue, and a gouda that was definitely not a gouda (but still delicious!). The platter included pairings of garlic dolce de leche, some other dolce de leche, bourbon honey mustard, grapes, granny & gala apple slices, & a fruit relish. We each had our favorites and surely appreciated the server who graciously brought us a 3rd plate of baguette.

Next up, a tower of crisp fries topped with melted white cheddar, parmesan, & tender jump lump crab. With or without the peppery homemade ketchup, they were quite tasty. Overall, the service & ambiance were ok, the food was good, & the company was certainly great!

Cheese Plate & Jumbo Lump Cheese Fries - Varga Bar

To Taste: Baked Toni

Posted by Erin L. in To Taste ~ Recipe and tagged with baked, basil, blog, broccoli, butter, canned tomatoes, casserole, cheese, cooking, crushed, dinner, dish, food, garlic, mozzarella, mushrooms, olive oil, one dish, onion, parmesan, pasta, red pepper glakes, ricotta, rigatoni, S&P, shredded, tomatoes, ziti February 28, 2010

I prefer to cook what my dinner guest craves, so I indulged Dre’s request for baked ziti. I was low on spaghetti sauce and had some veggies that needed to be eaten. I blanched broccoli florets, sauteed mushrooms, onions, & garlic, opened a large can of crushed tomatoes, and warmed them together with seasonings in a saucepan.

Fat Rigatoni

While the sauce simmered, I decided on large rigatoni and boiled them until al dente in salted water. I like fat noodles when making baked pasta dishes as they tend to fill with your sauce when tossed. The jumbo macaronis for my Smokey Bacon Mac & Cheese worked great! I folded ricotta cheese & shredded mozzarella into the warm sauce, tossed it with the cooked rigatoni, and dumped it into a greased casserole. Once the sliced mozzarella I tiled on top began to brown & bubble, I pulled it from the over and served Dre a big, hot scoop of Baked Toni.

Baked Toni

Baked Toni

Crushed Tomatoes – (1) large can
Broccoli – (0.5) head, trimmed into small florets & blanched
Mushrooms – (1) cup, sliced
Garlic – (1) T, minced
Onion – (1) medium, sliced thin
Dried Basil – (1) T
Red Pepper Flakes – (1) tsp
S&P – to taste
Ricotta – (1.5) cups, part skim
Shredded Mozzarella – (1) cup, low moisture – part skim
Fresh Mozzarella – (6) oz, sliced (or enough to cover most of the dish)
Grated Parmesan – to taste
Rigatoni – (1) lb, cooked al dente & tossed w/ olive oil
Olive Oil – as needed

Heat about (2) T of Olive Oil in a saute pan. Add garlic & onion and cook until caramelized, about (5) min.
Add mushrooms & saute until browned on both sides, about (3) min per side.
Dump entire contents of the canned crushed tomatoes into a sauce pan. Add cooked mushrooms mixture, blanched broccoli, dried basil, red pepper flakes, and S&P. Stir and bring to a simmer.
While sauce simmers, bring a large stockpot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook rigatoni until al dente, about (10-12) min.
Drain rigatoni and return to stock pot. Add a bit of olive oil & toss to prevent sticking.
Remove sauce from the heat and dump into a large mixing bowl.
Fold in ricotta & shredded mozzarella cheeses unti combine.
Add rigatoni and toss to coat completely.
Pour the rigatoni & sauce mixture into a greased casserole dish.
Tile sliced fresh mozzarella on top.
Bake at 350 degrees for (25) min or until the cheese is browned & the casserole is bubbling.
Let cool for about (3) min and serve with grated parmesan cheese.

Quickie: Grilled Stuffed Peppers

Posted by Erin L. in Quickie, To Taste ~ Recipe, via Blackberry and tagged with brown rice, dinner, garlic, grill, grilled, ground turkey, Italian spices, olive oil, parmesan, recipe, red bell peppers, red onion, soy sauce, sriracha, stuffed peppers, summer, to taste, tomatoes, turkey bacon, Worcestershire July 27, 2009

Grilled Stuffed Peppers

red bell peppers, ground turkey, turkey bacon, brown rice

tomatoes, garlic, red onion

soy sauce, Worcestershire, Sriracha, olive oil, Italian spices, & Parmesan

Grilled Stuffed Peppers via Blackerry

Check out my Flickr for some better, non-BBerry shots of my Grilled Stuffed Peppers!

“Recipe” after the jump…

Continue reading →

First & FAIL: Pesto

Posted by Erin L. in To Taste ~ Recipe and tagged with basil, cooking, fail, flair, garlic, mint, olive oil, parmesan, pesto, pine nuts, recipe, recipe notes, thai basil, to taste, win July 2, 2009

It took 24 hours to ponder my first blog post before I realized it shouldn’t take so much thought… I just needed to start cooking for it to come to me & it did!

Monday night I dove into my first experience making homemade pesto; seemed easy enough. I’ve been so excited to start an herb garden to kick off the first summer with our big patio & my Siam Queen Thai Basil went wild! Well, I went a bit wild too… with the garlic. You’ll find in my food ventures that I’m not big on following recipes (will explain my philosophy in its own post soon enough!) & for once, my absentmindedness paired with a disregard for proportions turned into an initial flop.