Food In Many Forms

Our farm share is a labor of love.  It's a labor to pick up the food, store the food, prepare the food, eat the food. Sometimes I will talk with my clients about farm shares, and I will actually try to scare them off a bit. "It's a lot of work," I say, "There is no need to work this hard to eat healthy food." When we started with this farm share, I felt a lot of pressure as the dietitian in the house to use everything and come up with ideas all the time. I pickled cucumbers, carrots, jalapenos and radishes. I blanched and froze broccoli, and bagged up spinach and chard to store in the freezer. It stressed me out every summer. Each year, I do less and less and find a better balance. There are 3 key things that have decreased the stress around this farm share and allowed me to enjoy it more: - We have always shared the farm share with my in laws, but now we also share the veggies with a co-worker. One farm share now feeds 6-7 people. - I used to be afraid to b...

As recently as last week there were probably 4 different types of oranges in my refrigerator. Sumos are a crowd favorite, Cara Cara's are consistently sweet and delicious, and clementines are fun and easy to peel. Oranges are the only fruit that my husband will consistently eat, and so we often end up with too many, or oranges that are too tart to eat. With the baby, there is an additional factor in the mix - we have been supreme-ing all of her oranges so she doesn't choke, and not all oranges are so easily supremed. With all those extra oranges, I needed a solid cranberry orange bread recipe that I could make without running to the store. Subsituting the fresh cranberries for craisins makes this an easy option for most of the year. INGREDIENTS 1 cup fresh cranberries or 3/4 cup craisins 2 tablespoons fresh orange zest (from 1 medium orange) 3/4 cup orange juice (2 medium oranges) 2/3 cup AP flour 2/3 cup whole wheat 2/3 cup almond flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspo...

  Baby's first birthday is coming up next month, and I have been working towards 100 foods for quite some time. I think I have definitely gone "hard mode" with this list because, unlike some lists, I don't count pancakes and waffles as two different foods, and I don't count herbs and spices. In looking at other people's lists, I felt like there is a lack of content giving specific brands and products to lend diversity to the diet. I definitely made homemade purees, but I also bought applesauce at the store, and sampled the different finger foods on the market. I hope to share some of the specific products that were helpful for busy parents.  The foods we have tried so far are in black, and the foods we plan to try are in grey (subject to change). I am really hoping we can try more shellfish on our upcoming vacation, since we really only have done shrimp. Baby led weaning has been so weird because it seems great for individual foods at the beginning, but the re...

It's been five years since I updated this recipe and my love for poppy seeds is unchanged. This time around, I'm excited to introduce them to my 11 month old so she can develop a love for them too. I used five different citrus flavors - lemon zest, orange zest, lemon juice, lemon extract AND lemon yogurt, so I am excited for all the lemon-y flavor. I've also moved since I last updated this recipe, and there must be something different about my oven, because it took a little bit longer to bake. I will just have to repeat this again soon and verify that it needs closer to 50 minutes. INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup whole wheat or oat flour 1/2 cup almond flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt Freshly grated zest of 2 large lemons 1/2 orange zest 3/4 cup Greek or other strained yogurt 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/4 cup poppy seeds 1/3 cup avocado oil 1/2 lemon's juice 1 teaspoon lemon extract 2 1/2 tablespoons milk o...

 I had every intention of doing monthly CSA check in's this year, but ultimately it got away from me... again! However, I do have time today to talk about our end of season haul, and how I stretch our farm goodies for as long as possible. First, I took 6 white onions and 5 red onions and hung them in a dark closet tied up in an old pair of panty hose. I throw in a knot between each onion to keep them separate and dry.  Then, I did the pickling. I have been saving tomato sauce and salsa jars for pickles all year. I thinly sliced watermelon radishes, daikon radishes, carrots, and hot peppers that have accumulated over the past 2-3 weeks. I also made a mix of matchstick carrots and daikon to sprinkle on sandwiches. I sprinkled in mustard seeds, black peppercorns, garlic cloves and crushed red peppers, and then covered them in boiling hot water & vinegar, mixed with salt. I used a 1/2 gallon of vinegar, and I made 3-4 tall jars and at least 3 small jars. This was also a great ...

 I have a busy week ahead with early start times and lots of demands at work. I have been stressing for days about what breakfast food I can grab and run out the door to make my 7 am start time. Today, I decided to re-make these delicious morning glory muffins, with a few adaptations. I love that these recipes has so many fruits and vegetables, but how many servings does each one have really? Let me break it down... 1 apple - 1 serving 1/2 cup applesauce - .5 serving 3/4 cup raisins - 3.8 servings 6 carrots - 12 servings 8 oz pineapple - 1.4 servings / 18.7 servings per recipe, .6 servings per muffin So, if I have two muffins for breakfast, I'm getting > 1 servings of my fruits and vegetables for the day. It's not great, not terrible. As I said before, I do want to figure out how to add more protein to this - maybe next time I can add some flax seeds or something. Ingredients 1/2 cup spelt flour 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour ½ cups sprouted wheat flour ¾ cup almond flour 1 ...