Food In Many Forms

When I worked closer to Mission Hill, one of the best lunch options was a local Mexican restaurant - Chilacates. I loved that you could order 1 tostada and they would sneak an extra tostada shell underneath so you could take your leftover toppings and make a second one!  So when we went tomato picking last week and brought home beautiful sun-ripened tomatillos, I knew I wanted to make a version of Chicken Tinga. I did overlook the fact that Patrick has both a spicy and non-spicy version, but as per usual, what I wanted was somewhere in between. Ingredients 4-5 chicken thighs 2 plum tomatoes 5-6 tomatillos 1/2 onion 4 garlic cloves 3 chipotles in adobo 2 tablespoons adobo sauce 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano dash of cumin (optional) 1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste) freshly cracked black pepper 8-10 tostadas sliced Jack cheese (approx. 1 cup) lime slices olive oil For the Black Bean Puree: 1 can black beans 1/2 onion 2 garlic cloves 1 chipotles in adobo 1 tablespoon adobo sauce 1/2...

Late July is when we really start to feel the abundance of the farm share. We marvel at the beautiful heirloom tomatoes, and our jaws drop at the quantity of zucchini and yellow squash they provide. Wildlfowers are plentiful, and sunflowers are not so carefully rationed as they are at other times of year. We can never seem to eat the beets with enough consistency to get through them, and are constantly enlisting help. Last time we were picking veggies in the fields, I overhead the other members talking about zucchini bread, and I figured I'd give it a try this week.   Week 7           Week 8       Week 9       Week 10  Week 11  Week 12 Beets Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Chard Cucumbers Head lettuce Kale Napa cabbage Onions Radicchio Salad mix Scallions Yellow squash Zucchini PYO flowers PYO herbs Beets Cabbage Carrots Chard Cucumbers Eggplant Head lettuce Kale Napa cabbage Onions Radicchio Salad mix Sc...

I had this memory from previous summers of suffering under the excessive quantity of zucchini and summer squash, so I was surprised when I cooked a simple squash saute and it was AMAZING. This year, to prevent the overwhelm, I found recipes where I could shred and freeze squash in 1 cup portions for zucchini bread or use the blender method. Ingredients 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa or unsweetened cocoa 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled 1/4 cup canola, vegetable oil, or melted coconut oil 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups packed shredded zucchini 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided Instructions Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, add the eggs, melt...

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...