Eating Wild

Onion grass - picked form my front yard and washed, looks a lot like scallions, but free!

As the weather has turned warm and life has begun to move outside, my urge to eat from the earth right outside my back door has emerged with force. My little garden is not growing much of anything yet, just a few seedlings started indoors, but as I wandered along the sidewalk and yard thinking of dinner, I started to notice food growing wild underfoot. New spring dandelions with their tender green leaves, perfect for a salad, and clusters of potent onion grass just waiting to be dug up from my unkept "lawn".  I hear people talking about foraging for ramps or wild mushrooms, but both of those involve a trip to the woods, (a welcome adventure, don't get me wrong), but not as convenient as my front stoop. So, I rallied my kids and we started digging and cutting, first showing them how to identify the dandelion greens with their distinctive jagged edges, and then the onion grass with it's unmistakable smell. They had a blast picking with me, and were so excited to share the food with our extended family for a special dinner that night.

Dandelion greens - still small and tender - (above)

Onion grass sprouting up in my front yard, the hollow stem and strong onion smell are unmistakable (above + below)

When picking wild plants be sure that you are 100% certain that you know what it is you are harvesting, so that you don't eat something poisonous. These two plants are pretty simple to identify, but please always know what it is you are putting in your mouth before you eat it! Also, be certain that the soil where you are picking is not contaminated or been treated with pesticides or toxic fertilizers.

For dinner we made Broiled Wild Salmon on a bed of french lentils and roasted wild onions, topped with super local dandelion greens and a dijon dressing. Delicious!

Dandelion Greens Salad

Dandelion Greens - large salad spinner full

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

3 tablespoons vinegar

1 teaspoon honey or sugar

1/2 teaspooon salt

pepper to taste

1/3 cup olive oil

1. Wash and dry dandelion greens.
2. Finely chop garlic clove. Whisk garlic, mustard, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper together. Slowly drizzle in oil, whisking continuously. 
3. Toss over greens just before serving. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Roasted wild onions

1 handful of wild onion grass, including bulbs.

olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Trim roots from onion bulbs and remove any brown or tough parts of stem and grass. 
2. Toss onions with a drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Place onions in a single layer on a baking sheet directly under the broiler for a very brief time until browned but not burned. 
4. Roughly chop roasted onions and add to any dish.

Note: The french lentils in the photo above were simmered in a large pot of water with a little salt. Once tender, drain the excess water, and toss with roasted onions and a drizzle of olive oil. Adjust seasoning as desired. The salmon was rubbed with olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice and cooked under the broiler, until cooked through but still moist. The fish was prepared about one hour before the meal and served at room temperature. 

Have you found any good wild edibles this spring?

Passover Reflections on Slavery and Racism

I just looked back at what I'd written last year for passover, and thought I'd share The Post with you again. The focus of this piece is not the food, but rather the subject matter of the Passover Seder. Many friends and family told me that they read parts of this post about racism and trauma as part of their Seder last year.  Good food for thought this year again.

And, there are some lovely recipes there as well....

Blessings to all,
Tagan

Passover a Time for Reflections on Slavery and Racism

Chocolate Cups for Birthday, Passover or Easter

This fun dessert created for my daughter's birthday last weekend could serve double duty as an excellent Easter or Passover dessert. My little girl has been dreaming up every kind of birthday cake she could think of for her 4th birthday. I knew however, that for all the long hours of baking and assembling I would do, she would just lick off the buttercream, pick the fruit out, and not even touch the cake.  So to make up for the lack of a big cake and all of the birthday dreaming she had been doing, I decided to make these fun homemade chocolate cups filled with whipped cream and berries, a desert perfectly crafted for her.

The cups are made by dipping small blown up balloons in melted chocolate ( I used those tiny water balloons). You can either dip them in straight like I did with the first batch, or dip them in on a diagonal repeatedly to make a tulip shape like the second batch. You can melt your chocolate by chopping it and setting it in a bowl set over simmering water. If you want to learn how to melt your chocolate so that it has a glossy finish check out this video on tempering chocolate.

This project is a little messy. The first two ballons popped a few seconds after we dipped them exploding chocolate all over us. I have no idea why they popped, but the rest were fine, and it just added to the fun of it all.  After dipping, put the balloons in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes, then cut a tiny hole in the top of the balloon, let it deflate and carefully pull out the rest of the balloon.

You can fill the cups with anything you like. I macerated some blackberries and raspberries with a little sugar, and made some flavored whipped cream by blending lemon verbena (one of my favorite herbs) with some sugar and them whipping it into the cream. Mint, vanilla bean, cinnamon, mashed berries, orange zest, even a little thick yogurt and honey would all make delicious additions to whipped cream. This is a desert to have fun with....somewhat remeniscent of easter eggs, and a flourless treat perfect for passover.

A glimpse at the rest of the birthday party:

Quiche for the grown folks

 Fancy decorate cookies my girl had been scoping out in a cookbook for months 

and fresh popcorn, a favorite family snack.

 apple slices with cinnamon & tea sandwiches

 veggie kebabs and a fun paper doll project (or paper ninjas)

 Yes, we covered these lovely treats with gaudy paper umbrellas, and she loved it!

What fun holiday or b-day foods you are making?

Happy Passover or Easter to those of you who celebrate!

Back (or front) Yard Gardening

It's that time of year again...time to get some seeds started, or start thinking about where you can grow a little food on your stoop, in a window box, or in your front or backyard. Lettuce and strawberries grow wonderfully in a window box, tomatoes, herbs, cucumbers, eggplants and many other things grow well in large pots, and without too much effort or money, you can set up a raised bed over a small plot of yard in the front or back of your home or apartment building. A raised bed allows you to plant above the existing soil, so you don't have to worry if there is lead or other soil contamination, and if your beds are at least 12 inches deep, you can grow just about anything.

 Before: 

After:

Growing food is much easier than you might think, and there are tons of online, and local resources to help you. Community gardens, master gardener programs, and local schools and organizations teaching people about urban agriculture and offering assistance to people wanting to grow food. I started out with a few pots, then some mounds of dirt in my yard (when I finally lived somewhere with a yard) and now have 6 small raised beds. Start small and try something new each year, don't be afraid to ask questions, and before you know it, you will be harvesting your own cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes and so much more...

Here is a link about how I built my raised beds a few years ago with detailed instructions to help you get started. And, a little info on starting seedlings as well.

Are you going to try growing some food this year? Let me know if you have any questions!

Mac and Cheese - a quick and healthy twist on an old favorite

I know for a purist, this twist on Mac and Cheese would be considered sacrilege. There is hardly any cheese in it, and there are actually vegetables snuck into it too. There is a time and place for the delicious super cheesy version, just ask my friend Jason Sobocinski of Caseus and The Big Cheese and he will pontificate about it. The only catch is, too much of the old stand by (or even the fancy locally sourced four cheese variety) and I'll have a stomach ache, not to mention, a big stomach.

I invented this paired down Mac and Cheese one night for my son. This version still has the crispy melted cheese on top, but forgoes the loads of cheese from inside the dish. But don't worry, it is creamy, flavorful and totally satisfies your Mac and Cheese craving, without all the heaviness of the original. If you have some leftover pasta in your fridge, it is quick to make, and much cheaper too, since there is less cheese in it, so it's great for a simple weeknight dinner. We'll save the rich Mac and Cheese loaded with atisnal curds for a special occasion, and enjoy this one whenever we feel like it.

Too many "cooking words" like rue, or buerre blanc can seem intimidating and difficult. This is one of those recipes that is actually very simple, and works just as well if you have a little less, or a little more of any ingredient, so I'm including simple instructions for those of you that like to cook by feel. There is a recipe below with measurements as well if you are more comfortable with that.

In a nutshell, here's how you do it:

Melt a pat of butter in a frying pan.

Add a spoon full of flour, stir around until it is bubbly, about 30 seconds.

Add milk to reach 1/2 inch up the pan edge, and stir until the flour dissolves and the milk thickens.

Season well with salt (and pepper if desired)

Stir in any veggie you like: fresh spinach, peas, chopped cooked broccoli, etc

Stir in cooked whole grain pasta*, enough to fill the pan and be coated with the sauce.

Cover with thin slices of extra sharp cheddar cheese.

Place under the broiler until the cheese is melted and crispy.

Enjoy!

Measured Recipe:

Simple Healthy Mac and Cheese

8-10" frying pan with oven safe handle

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup milk 

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1 cup cooked broccoli or 1+ 1/2 cup raw spinach or other vegetable

3 cups cooked whole grain pasta* 

Extra sharp cheddar thinly sliced, enough to cover the top of the noodles
Follow directions above....

  

  

   

           

Use any noodles you like for this dish....and let me know how it works for you! Enjoy!

* Noodle Notes: The best, inexpensive whole grain noodles that I have found are the Stop & Shop, natures Choice brand, or Barilla pasta which often goes on sale for $1. For a gluten free pasta, the Trader Joe's brown rice noodle, penne shape is very good.

Big Food Exhibit at The Peabody Museum

Lately I have been very busy with a whole range of food justice projects, and I'm eager to get them up onto the blog to share. Time being the limited substance it is, we'll have to settle for this little bit here....for now. There is a great new exhibit at the Peabody Museum, in New Haven, CT called Big Food. It's a fun, interactive exhibit about the history of food and the rise of obesity. I helped out with with a few parts of this exhibit as it was taking shape, and it was a very interesting experience to see how a museum exhibit is created; man is that a lot of planning and work!! A few cool highlights are the hall of food eaten by the average American in a year, the teaspoons of sugar in sodas and sweet drinks, and this super fun computer game called Smash Your Food. The exhibit will be up from now until December 2nd, and is excellent for adults and kids, and well worth the trip. There is a fee to enter the museum, and it is open free to the public on Thursday's from 2-5pm. This project is lead by CARE and the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. 

Did you know that a medium movie popcorn and soda is the nutritional equivalent of eating 4 hamburgers with 12 pats of butter?!

Do you know how much sugar is in that iced tea or soda you like to drink?
And, what about all the marketing $ that goes into getting little kids to crave a lot of unhealthy food?

The coolest teens ever from Common Ground High School, making delicious smoothies with bicycle blender power! I couldn't stop drinking their samples....The scary thing though was to watch some kids try the smoothie and say "yuck fruit". We have a long way to go....

The New Haven Food Policy Council set up a table and handed out fresh fruits and veggies, along with information about the work we are doing to write a Food Action Plan for New Haven.  It is always exciting to get a people to try new things! The big winner this day was fresh papaya with a squeeze of lime, delicious and great for digestion!  People loved it!

Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers who made the opening day a great one! Special thanks to Cara, the Vista/Americorps staff at CitySeed for all her help!

Check out this exhibit and all the up coming events that are happening around it!

And, let me know what you think!