Cultivating Food Justice 2001~ Unlocking Your CSA Bakset

I spent a wonderful morning participating in Cultivating Food Justice; San Diegan will came together in City Heights to attend workshops, share knowledge, and discuss the sustainability, accessibility, and the health of our food system in San Diego and around the world.

The 2 amazing cooking demonstrations should not be limited to those who could attend! For those out you unable to attend the event here is the recipes and some of the information I discussed int class.
UNLOCKING YOUR CSA
San Diego has a CSA for everyone and there is a CSA right for you, check out these websites to find your perfect match (keys to look for- size of the box, drop off points, contents of the box, organic or non-organic, farm, etc.). Edible San Diego Magazine has an amazing list of CSA's, http://www.ediblecommunities.com/sandiego/markets-and-csas/local-csas.htm.


Suzie’s Farm- http://www.suziesfarm.com/index.php?/site/sanDiegoCSA/


Be Wise Ranch- http://www.bewiseranch.com/csa.htm

Garden of Eden Organics- http://www.goeorganics.com/

Tierra Miguel Foundation Farm- http://www.tierramiguelfarm.org/

Seabreeze Organics- http://www.seabreezed.com/

Beef CSA!! Green-Beef CSA-www.eatgreenbeef.com

Recipes:

Cold Beet Soup

Serves 6

1 ½ lb Whole beets, tops removed boiled or roasted* till soft, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp Olive oil
1/3 cup Shallot, peeled and chopped
1 cup Celery, chopped
1 tbsp Agave syrup
1 cup Water
1 cup Cranberry juice, no sugar added
2 cups Vegetable broth
1 tbsp Red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp Fresh herbs (dill, chives, etc)
¼ cup Crema or sour cream

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add shallots and celery. Sauté till shallots are translucent. Add water and cook until soft, approximately 10 minutes.
Stir in agave syrup.
In a food processor or blender place beets, cranberry juice, vegetable broth, red wine vinegar, shallots, celery and cooking liquid; process till smooth.
Season with salt and pepper. Add water till desired texture is reached.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving, for flavors to blend.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with sour cream and herbs.

*To roast beets-

Preheat oven to 400°F. Trim greens from beets. Cut off and discard stems. Coarsely chop leaves and reserve. Wrap each beet in foil. Place beets directly on oven rack and roast until tender when pierced with fork, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Cool. Peel beets, then cut each into 8 wedges. Place beets in medium bowl.

Greens and Swiss Chard

Serves 4

2 tbsp Olive oil
2 cloves Garlic, minced
3 cup Fresh spinach, washed tough stems remove
5 cups Swiss Chard, Monarch Kale, Collard Greens, and Beet Greens; soaked, tough separated- (stems chopped into small pieces and leaves coarsely chopped)
¼ cup Water
1 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Pine nuts
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and garlic, cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds and add water and chard stems. Cover and reduce heat to low, cook for 5 minutes. Remove cover and add chard and other greens, season with salt and pepper ; cook for 5 to 7 minutes over medium heat or until chard just starts to become tender. Add spinach and honey; stir and cover.
Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until spinach is tender.
Add pine nuts and taste for seasoning and serve.

Strawberry, Arugula, Sprouts, Fennel, and Carrot Salad with Cider Shallot Vinaigrette

Makes 3/4 cup dressing

2 tbsp Cider vinegar
1 tbsp Shallot, minced
2 tsp Honey
½ cup Olive oil

“Shake” together vinegar, honey, and shallots.
Then add oil and until combined well.
Season salad with salt and pepper; toss together salad ingredients and dressing.