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: Grilled Hoisin Chicken w. Truffled Mushrooms & Noodles

Posted by Erin L. in To Taste ~ Recipe and tagged with blog, bunashimeji, chicken, chicken breast, cook, cooking, dinner, entree, food, grill, grilled, herbs, hoisin, mushroom, mushrooms, oil, pan, portobella, saute, shallot, shallots, thyme, truffle, truffle oil, truffled June 17, 2010

On Day 4 of my staycation between jobs, I whipped up an umami-packed dinner for Dre & me. On Day 2, I took an Asia Mart adventure with Sarah in search of fun ingredients for the meal. I try to be somewhat adventurous each time I go to an ethnic market, so I picked up some bunashimeji (aka beech mushrooms), fresh vegetable noodles, & a new jar of hoisin. The beech mushrooms are so tiny and too cute! I filled them out with sliced creminis and enhanced them with the depth of fresh thyme from my Slug City.

Bunashimeji, Cremini, & Fresh Thyme

I begin by sweating shallots with a bit of olive oil in a pan and added the mushrooms & thyme. I tossed them as they sauteed for about 10 min and finished it with white truffle oil. I love truffle. I love the smell. I love the taste. I LOVE TRUFFLE!

Truffled Mushrooms

While my mushrooms cooked, I heated an awesome new grill skillet that Sunshine passed along to me. I marinated some chicken breasts in hoisin, ginger, & soy and seared them for deep grill marks on both sides until cooked through. The noodles took a quick dip in boiling water and were a perfect pillow for a pile of savory truffled mushrooms. This may be one of my favorite dishes I’ve made… and 5 years ago you couldn’t dare get a mushroom near my plate!

UMAMI!

Grilled Hoisin Chicken w. Truffled Mushrooms & Noodles

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!