Community Supported Agriculture

I don't know about you, but I am one of those people that really, really wants to eat healthy, local, fresh, organic food. This sounds amazing, and I support it for both health and ethical reasons. But there are these things called Digiorno Rising Crust frozen pizzas that are so delicious, so cheap, and so easy to make, that it can thwart any "eat health, local, fresh, and organic" plan in its path.

My point is that sometimes major lifestyle changes seem so difficult, and so overwhelming, that it prevents you from making any changes at all. But, a little over a year ago, we visited our friends Jeremy and Michelle in beautiful Palo Alto, California, and we were introduced to Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs). CSAs provide everyday folks like you and me with the opportunity to get healthy, local, fresh, and organic produce every week, with very minimal time or effort.

The concept is like this: you buy a membership to a local farm. In exchange for your membership fee, you receive a box of the farm's yield every week. It sounds simple, but this concept is literally changing the face of agriculture in our country and making local, sustainable produce possible.

We recently renewed our CSA with Johnson's Backyard Garden, an organic farm in East Austin. For $30 per week, we receive enough produce to feed a family of four for an entire week. Since there are two of us, we share with another couple and split the cost. And, the pick up location is actually closer than the grocery store where I shop. (Most CSAs recruit members to use their homes as distribution points to ensure that there are convenient pick-up spots throughout the city.)

I cannot tell you how excited we are to get to participate in something like this. We are blessed to live in a city where enough people care about organic produce that we have access to it. For more information on JBG and the state of agriculture in Texas, see this article from Sunday's Austin American Statesman.

To give you a little taste of the magic, I thought I would give you a tour of our CSA box from this week.


Lots of treasures to be found inside.


First up, collard greens. Not going to lie here, I thought it was bok choy. I was wrong.

Green onions.

Fresh spinach. Used this method at Simply Recipes to make this, and it was incredible.


Ummmmm. What the what? I think, I think that these are a different variety of collard greens. Jury is still out on this one.

This is where my mind was blown. This strange little guy is called a kolhrabi, and the flavor is similar to broccoli stems. Simply Recipes has an entire page dedicated to kolhrabi recipes here.

Lettuce.


Fresh broccoli. Still haven't made it, but am excited to.

Ok, this just got awesome.


To top it off, oranges, grapefruit, and avocado. These are actually not grown in the area, but JBG partners with other farms to be able to offer more variety.

I hope this inspires you to find a CSA near you.

Chicken Cacciatore

In looking over my posts, I am embarrassed to notice that almost every dang one of them includes a trying-to-be-artistic photo of a tin can. Maybe it's part of my recovery. Maybe it's that I'm cheap. You never can tell. To all of the real foodies out there: cut me some slack! Don't stop reading! Please?

Begging and pleading aside, I do actually have a recipe to share here. (It does include canned tomatoes. Oops.) From time to time, I travel for work. One of the hardest things for me about being away from my husband is knowing that he will not so much as set foot in the kitchen while I am gone. He won't make coffee. He won't grab a piece of fruit or yogurt. Don't even think for a second that he will put a frozen pizza in the oven. My husband, who devours everything I cook like he has never eaten before, just can't be bothered to eat food when I am gone. My only hope is to make food ahead of time that he might consider warming up in the microwave.


Enter this Chicken Cacciatore. Fancy Italian for chicken "hunter's stew", it basically is chicken braised in a tomato sauce with vegetables and white wine. What I love about this is that it really keeps its flavor and texture if eaten the next day. Or the next. And even the next one. I have been known to eat some very questionable leftovers, folks. This characteristic makes it a good option to take to a family with a new baby, take to work for lunch, or leave with your spouse while you are away. They may even eat it.


Chicken Cacciatore
Adapted from Ellie Krieger, Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger
Yields 4 Servings

A couple of notes: If you can make yourself go there, please try this with the skin ON the chicken breasts. The skin creates more flavor, and I promise you don't actually have to eat the skin. Also, if you prefer to avoid wine in your cooking, you can substitute chicken stock. However, white wine reduces the need for salt, so you may have to adjust for seasoning at the end.

Ingredients
4 chicken breast halves on the bone, about 2 pounds
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 (15 ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, chopped and juice reserved
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup italian parsley, chopped

Directions
Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Season the chicken on both sides with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (evenly divided among all 4 breasts)and black pepper.

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken on both sides, about 8 minutes. Remove the chicken.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and pepper, season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to brown, about another 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half. Add the tomatoes and juice, oregano, red pepper flakes and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and simmer the mixture covered for 10 minutes.

Return the chicken breasts to the pan and simmer, covered, until the chicken is fully cooked, about 25 minutes longer. Top with chopped parsley and serve.

Spicy Three Bean and Beef Chili

This will be a short post, given that I have some packing to do before getting on a plane to sunny Pasadena tomorrow.


This chili has become a staple in our house. It is inexpensive (see all of the canned goods above), easy, really tasty, and can feed a crowd without a lot of effort. The spiciness comes from the chipotle chilies with adobo sauce, and they can pack quite a punch. If you are sensitive to heat (read: a wuss), try using a couple of teaspoons of the adobo sauce instead of the actual pepper. Or, if you really can't handle any spice, omit the chilis completely.

Try it! I know you'll love it.


Spicy Three Bean and Beef Chili
Adapted from Ellie Krieger, Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound extra-lean ground beef (90 percent lean)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (fire roasted tomatoes preferred)
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15.5-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15.5-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
Grated cheddar cheese, for garnish (optional)
Sour cream, for garnish (optional)

Directions
Heat the oil in large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until the meat is no longer pink. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to season the meat. Remove the cooked meat with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the onion, bell pepper, carrots, and another 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the pot, cover and cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the cumin and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, chipotle, and oregano. Fill the empty tomato can with water and add to the pot. Simmer, partially covered, stirring from time to time, for 30 minutes. Stir in the beans and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and continue cooking, partially covered, 20 minutes longer. Add cracked black pepper to taste and serve with grated cheddar cheese and sour cream.