Autumn Reflections & A Special Thanksgiving Menu
- At October 22, 2012
- By Katherine
- In News, Recipes
0
Autumn Leaves in Georgetown by Robert Arnold
Don’t miss the special Thanksgiving Menu below…
“This poem reminds me of how Autumn is a threshold—in the midst of the abundant autumn landscape of color and light, there is also a sense that the grey bare days of winter are just around the corner,” says Terri Lynn Simpson, Consultant for Contemplative Programming, Washington National Cathedral Center for Prayer and Pilgrimage.
“These liminal times are like open doorways that invite us to a particular kind of mindfulness where we are aware that we’re moving from one way of being to another. One foot is in the past and one foot is in the future, and in the midst of the two is the present. We can put our weight on one foot or another, superficially living in the past or the future, but true balance comes only when we live deeply in the moment.” Learn more about the health benefits of mindfulness…
Song for Autumn
by Mary Oliver from New and Selected Poems: Volume II (Beacon press)
In the deep fall
don’t you imagine the leaves think how
comfortable it will be to touch
the earth instead of the
nothingness of air and the endless
freshets of wind? And don’t you think
the trees themselves, especially those with mossy,
warm caves, begin to think
of the birds that will come — six, a dozen — to sleep
inside their bodies? And don’t you hear
the goldenrod whispering goodbye,
the everlasting being crowned with the first
tuffets of snow? The pond
vanishes, and the white field over which
the fox runs so quickly brings out
its blue shadows. And the wind pumps its
bellows. And at evening especially,
the piled firewood shifts a little,
longing to be on its way.
Katherine’s Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes
Recipes Excerpted From: Diet Simple Farm to Table Recipes: 50 New Reasons to Cook in Season!
Appetizer:
Najmieh’s Yogurt and Spinach Dip
First Course Options:
Najmieh’s Winter Salad of Orange and Pomegranate
Butternut Squash Soup with Curry and Ginger
Side Dish Options:
Kale and Spinach Gratin with Garlic, Rosemary & Thyme Smothered in Olive Oil Bechamel Sauce
Warm Potato Salad with Haricots Verts with a Lemony Garlic Mayonnaise
Main Course:
Turkey!
Dessert Options:
Katherine’s Market Recipe: Butternut Squash Soup with Curry and Ginger
- At October 15, 2012
- By Katherine
- In News, Recipes
- 0
“A ‘comfort soup’ with just the right spices to make it interesting; my ‘go to’ soup for the Fall!” says my neighbor, Constance Chatfield Taylor, president of Flying Colors Broadcasts. “Great to serve with h’oeuvres in simple demitasse cups or on Thanksgiving day.”
Winter squashes, particularly butternut, are far superior to the summer squashes and zucchini in taste and nutrition because of their deeper color and higher carbohydrate and nutrient content. The most potent squashes are the more deeply colored varieties, especially pumpkin and butternut. Their color is provided by one of the most powerful nutrients: beta-carotene.
Characterized by a chubby bowling pin shape, a buff/beige color on the outside and a deep orange on the inside, the butternut is an exceptional source of beta-carotene, an antioxidant which converts to vitamin A in your body. Beta-carotene is critical for your immune system, your skin, your vision, bones, reproduction, and more. Studies show that people who eat foods high in beta-carotene and people with high blood levels of beta-carotene have a lower incidence of certain cancers. But you won’t get the same results with a beta-carotene supplement. Study after study has shown disappointing results with the supplements. So, only the food will do! But that’s a good thing for us squash lovers.
Apparently, each squash is a bustling little factory of nutrients and phytochemicals, the plant compounds with potent powers of healing. When acting synergistically in a food, these nutrients provide a more powerful health punch than the individual nutrients alone. Some of the most important nutrients in squash are antioxidants, such as beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and vitamin C, which are powerful substances believed to reduce inflammation, improve immune function and help prevent heart disease and cancers, among other benefits.
But there are other good reasons to eat butternut squash.
Butternut squash is also a great source of fiber (good for your gastrointestinal system), potassium (important for your heart and lowers blood pressure), vitamin C (a great antioxidant important for your skin, bones and healing), magnesium (important for muscle function, the heart, bones, blood clotting, and improves diabetes),manganese (important for metabolism and bone formation) and calcium (important for your heart and bones). And a big plus: it’s low in calories, only 82 calories in a cup (7 ounces) of baked squash cubes.
Today is the 9th of “Katherine’s Market Recipes,” all of which are designed to be delicious, easy, quick, family-friendly, nutritious (heart-healthy & diabetes-friendly), and to highlight produce found at our local Farmers Markets this week. At your Farmers Market, you’ll find produce picked at peak ripeness, which means maximum flavor, texture and nutrition. You’re also helping save the environment when you buy at your Farmers Market. Here’s how…
I recommend you buy the butternut squash, “candy”onion, and garlic at Georgetown’s own Rose Park Farmers Market on Wednesday, the Glover Park – Burleith Farmers Market on Saturday, or Dupont Circle’s Fresh Farm Market on Sunday. Incredibly, you can even buy locally grown ginger at the Dupont Circle Farmers Market or other Fresh Farm Market locations from Next Step Produce, Tree and Leaf Farm, The Farm at Sunnyside, Radix Farm and Mountain View Farm. It’s simple to preserve this fresh, tender and exquisite ginger so you can have it all year long. Learn how with my step-by-step instructions for Preserving Ginger…
Butternut Squash Soup with Curry and Ginger
By Katherine Tallmadge, M.A., R.D.
About 6 servings
Ingredients:
1 Small Butternut Squash
4 Cups Water
2 Tbsp Canola Oil
1 Cup Chopped Sweet Onion (about 1 medium)
1 Clove Garlic, crushed (2 cloves, if you like it spicy)
1 tsp Curry Powder (2 tsp, if you like it spicy)
1 Tbsp fresh Ginger, about 2 inches, grated (2 Tbsp, if you like it spicy)
1 Cup Chicken or Vegetable Stock
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to taste
Optional Garnish: A few fresh Cilantro sprigs per bowl
Cut Butternut Squash in half, lengthwise. Scoop out seeds. Place squash face down in baking pan with 4 cups water. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until soft when pierced by a fork. (If you cannot slice a raw squash, as an alternative … Bake the squash whole, then slice it in half when relatively cool – add the water to the soup pot later…)
While the squash is baking, prepare the aromatic vegetables and spices: Place the oil in a large iron skillet or soup pot on medium-high. Add onions and garlic and fry until golden. Stir in curry powder, ginger, and a pinch of salt and simmer on low for a few minutes.
When the squash has cooled to the touch, pour all the water in which the squash was cooked into the skillet and stir to scrape up the bits of aromatic vegetables and spices. When squash has cooled, scoop out the butternut squash meat, leaving the skin, and stir into the mixture in the skillet. When room temperature or cool, puree the vegetable and spice mixture in a blender or food processor with the broth. Better yet, use my favorite immersible hand blender and puree right in the cooking pot: The Cuisinart Smart Stick… No mess, no fuss!
NOTE: Adjust seasonings by adding more salt, pepper or spices, if desired. Adjust consistency by adding more water or broth. Also, any similar winter squash will work well if Butternut is not available.
The entire pot of soup makes about 6 cups and is about 500 calories
Ginger: At Your Local Farmers Market NOW and Preserving it for Later
- At October 15, 2012
- By Katherine
- In News, Recipes
- 1
I’m delighted! I’ve never experienced such tender, juicy ginger as I found at the local Farmers Market recently. Turns out, several farmers from Fresh Farm Markets grow it, and it’s in season now, but for a very short time. Which left me with the question: What am I going to do for the rest of the year when local ginger is no longer in season? The hard, dry, woody variety found in the stores just won’t do!
I got my answer from Phyllis Frucht, my cooking teacher from whom I’ve been taking classes for years, and who contributed many recipes to “Diet Simple.” Phyllis said to place the ginger in jars of sherry and it’ll last forever in my refrigerator. Well, I started taking her advice a few years ago, and I’ve enjoyed fresh, juicy locally-grown ginger year-round! Here’s how I do it:
First, gather your ingredients. Phyllis and I recommend a cheap dry sherry, such as Taylor’s. But Heinz Thomet, of Next Step Produce, who has been growing ginger for years and sells it at the Dupont Circle Fresh Farm Market, among others, uses rice vinegar “because it is a traditional Asian ingredient.” You can also use plain, distilled vinegar.
Cut the ginger into manageable pieces:
Place the ginger pieces in a jar, cover completely with sherry or vinegar, and place in the refrigerator:
Enjoy all year long!
Ginger is not only grown by Next Step Produce, but new growers include: Tree and Leaf Farm, The Farm at Sunnyside, Radix Farm and Mountainview Farm, all sell at Fresh Farm Markets’ Farmers Markets.
Authentic Italian Chunky Tomato Sauce
- At October 01, 2012
- By Katherine
- In News, Recipes
- 0
Salsa Pic-Pac
(Chunky Tomato Sauce)
From “The Heart of Sicily” by Anna Tasca Lanza, adapted and translated by Ann Harvey Yonkers
Ingredients:
1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 pounds fresh plum tomatoes, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped*
1/2 cup basil leaves, torn
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions:
Peel the tomatoes by placing them in boiling water for 10 seconds or so. Pull them out of the pot, wait until they are cool enough to handle, and slip the peels off.* Core with a sharp knife.
Chop red onion and garlic. Sautée in the olive oil.
Add the tomatoes and cook.
Add the basil, sugar, salt and pepper, to taste.
Partially cover the pan and continue to cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The time it takes the sauce to thicken will depend on how juicy the tomatoes are and how thick you prefer it.
* My Grandmother Tallmadge’s tip: Peeling tomatoes easily is done by dropping them into boiling water for about 10 seconds. Pick them out of the boiling water (carefully with a fork or slotted spoon), wait for them to cool down enough to handle, and the peel slips off easily.
If possible, use 50 pounds of end-of-season, vine-ripe, locally-grown tomatoes, multiply the recipe by 25 and gather an assembly line of friends to help!
Charlie Yonkers, Richard Flax, Kathy Alley in the Yonkers' St. Michaels, MD Kitchen
Ann Yonkers’ tip: “If you dont have time to make tomato sauce now, wash and freeze the tomatoes whole in a ziplock bag. Take them out and the skin will slip right off.”
Ann Harvey Yonkers and Kathy Alley
NOTE: Ann Yonkers, co-founder of Fresh Farm Markets, tested and adapted Anna Tasca Lanza’s recipes, careful to preserve the authenticity of the Italian recipes in “The Heart of Sicily,” visiting Sicily four times for the project.
Katherine’s Weekly Market Recipe: Silvestro’s “Italian” Gazpacho
- At September 10, 2012
- By Katherine
- In News, Recipes
- 0
New Tomato Lover, Keonte Murphy, with Kevin and Sheri Tuckey at the CHEW Farmer's Market in Anacostia
On Saturday, I demonstrated and gave free samples of my Fresh Tomato Salsa with Watermelon at the “Community Harvest for Education Ward 7,” a new Farmers Market in the middle of Anacostia, a beautiful part of the city with rolling hills, classic homes, huge, ancient trees, and some of the most lovely people you’ll ever meet. There, I had the pleasure of meeting Keonte, his family and others, who were amazed at how easy and delicious fresh, home-made salsa can be. Keonte and other children were especially delighted with the salsa, which confirmed my belief and experience that children do love vegetables, if they are prepared well and offered positively. Keonte, his Dad and others promised they’d make my salsa at home and bought plenty of the vine-ripe tomatoes abundant at the CHEW Market where I have the honor of volunteering periodically.
When I was young, one of my most vivid memories is the taste of my Grandmother’s vine-ripened tomatoes. I’ll never forget how soft, plump, sweet and deep red they were. Definitely not today’s traveling kind. They were the kind you picked and ate, still warm from the day’s sun.
The memory of these delectable treats makes tomato season my favorite time of year – for eating, that is. Nothing is as delicious as a vine-ripened, field-grown tomato, which, lucky for us, we can get from our local farmers at the Rose Park Farmers Market on Wednesdays, Burleith on Saturdays and Dupont Circle on Sundays.
Today is the 7th of “Katherine’s Weekly Market Recipes,” all of which are designed to be delicious, easy, quick, family-friendly, nutritious (heart-healthy & diabetes-friendly), and to highlight produce found at our local Farmers Markets this week. At your Farmers Market, you’ll find produce picked at peak ripeness, which means maximum flavor, texture and nutrition. You’re also helping save the environment when you buy at your Farmers Market. Here’s how…
Silvestro’s Gazpacho
This recipe was provided to me by Burleith resident, and authentic Italian, Silvestro Conte.
Tomatoes, technically a fruit, are rich in vitamin C, potassium, and a powerful antioxidant called “lycopene,” which gives the tomato its red color. Lycopene in tomatoes may help prevent prostate cancer and heart disease.
Men who consumed 10 or more servings of tomato products a week had a 35% decrease in risk of prostate cancer relative to those who consumed 1.5 servings or fewer per week, according to a major Harvard study. This benefit is largely attributed to the pigment lycopene found in the tomatoes, a phytochemical or a beneficial plant compound. Lycopene can also be found in other red fruits such as watermelon, pink grapefruit, and guava. Lycopene is a potent scavenger of gene-damaging free radicals. Men with lycopene levels in the top 20% had a 46% decrease in risk of heart attack compared to those in the bottom 20%.
Apparently, each fruit and vegetable is a little factory of nutrients and chemicals called phytochemicals (“phyto” meaning plant in Greek). These chemicals end up in your body’s tissues, where they have potent disease-preventing and life-enhancing properties. The phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables, when eaten whole, have antioxidant effects, stimulate the immune system, enhance cancer-fighting enzymes, positively influence hormone metabolism, and even have an antibacterial and antiviral effect. These important properties help reduce the incidence of cancer, heart disease, and other diseases of aging.
Serves 16+
Ingredients
6.5 lbs Vine Ripe Tomatoes, washed, cored and chopped, with skin and seeds
2 Green Bell Peppers, seeded and chopped
4 Red Bell Peppers, seeded and chopped
4 Celery Stalks, Including leaves, chopped
4 lbs. Peeled and seeded Cucumbers, chopped
1 Yellow Onion, peeled and chopped
4 Garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar (more if you like it tart, but be careful)
6 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to taste (Optional)
Sprinkling of Cumin (Optional)
Instructions
After careful washing, cut all vegetables into chunks to make them easier to blend. Blend with a food processor or Hand Blender, until you have the consistency you enjoy. My friend, Silvestro likes it a little chunky (as do I).
Once blended, add the olive oil, the vinegar, and, if you wish, the salt, the black pepper, and the cumin. Silvestro says “Cumin is optional : I like that extra richer flavor it adds.” I’ve made this gazpacho without adding salt or pepper and it is delicious. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator for later. If you want a denser product, add bread crumbs.
Makes one gallon of Gazpacho, about 2,000 calories for the entire pot. Divided into 16 servings, that’s 125 calories per serving… And if you don’t add salt, it contains 0 sodium!
Katherine’s Labor Day Recipe: Fresh Summer Salsa with Watermelon
- At August 30, 2012
- By Katherine
- In News, Recipes
- 0
My Aunt Betse has been making fresh salsa since the 1960s when she and her engineer husband lived in South America. So I have been exposed to fresh salsa long before its popularity took off in the United States. In fact, I suppose I could have been a multi-gazillionaire by now if my college roommate and I decided to go ahead with our idea of packaging and selling my fresh salsa in the early 1980s. Oh well…
Salsa is traditionally made with tomatoes, onions, hot pepper, cilantro, lime juice and salt. But I like to add seasonal fruits and vegetables to keep it interesting. In the spring, I add strawberries, in the summer, it’s watermelon, which is especially sweet this year. You could even add celery, carrots, greens, mangos – really, anything goes. In the winter, use canned Italian plum tomatoes.
Today is the 6th of “Katherine’s Weekly Market Recipes,” all of which are designed to be delicious, easy, quick, family-friendly, nutritious (heart-healthy & diabetes-friendly), and to highlight produce found at our local Farmers Markets this week. At your Farmers Market, you’ll find produce picked at peak ripeness, which means maximum flavor, texture and nutrition. You’re also helping save the environment when you buy at your Farmers Market. Here’s how…
So that your salsa is enjoyed for Labor Day festivities, I recommend you buy the tomatoes, watermelon, onion and peppers at the Glover Park – Burleith Farmers Market on Saturday, Dupont Circle’s Fresh Farm Market on Sunday, and Georgetown’s Rose Park Market on Wednesday.
Salsa with watermelon in a rare Butternut Wood Bowl found at a Pennsylvania Flea Market
excerpted from “Diet Simple: 195 Mental Tricks, Substitutions, Habits & Inspirations” (LifeLine Press, 2011)
I usually use vine-ripe tomatoes for my fresh salsa, excerpted from my book, Diet Simple. But watermelon is a surprising and exotically delicious substitute for all the tomatoes, or just half of them – as in this version. Serve this salsa with grilled salmon, chicken or beef… even tortilla chips… whatever you may traditionally use salsa with. My friend, Marc Marzullo, said this salsa was “refreshing, light, and delicious, and I especially like the vegetables chopped in larger chunks.” Since this salsa is getting eaten up today, I didn’t bother adding the lime juice. If you would like your salsa to last longer in your refrigerator, use vinegar instead of lime juice.
22 servings
Ingredients:
1 lb vine-ripe, fresh tomatoes, coarsely chopped (start with about 1-1/2 lbs)
1 lb chopped watermelon, seeds removed
1 large candy onion, peeled and chopped (about ½ pound)
3 – 4 jalapeno peppers (1 – 2 ounces) – or other hot seasonal peppers, to taste
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ tsp salt, or to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 – 4 Tbsp fresh lime juice (1 – 2 limes), optional, or vinegar if you wish for the salsa to last longer in your refrigerator
Add the onion to the tomatoes and watermelon. Finely chop 2 of the jalapeno peppers to start with. Taste. If you desire more heat, add 1 – 2 more jalapenos. Mix in the cilantro. Add the salt and pepper, depending on your taste. Mix in the lime juice, if you wish.
