KarmaFree Cooking

Siembra Tres Vidas – Puerto Rico’s first CSA Farm

I recently joined a CSA… a community supported agriculture farm. Not only that, it’s ORGANIC too!!

I can’t really remember how I found out about it… but I was doing a search on the internet and it showed me that in Puerto Rico there was a weekly organic farmer’s market in Rincón at a vegetarian restaurant. We also have one in San Juan at la Placita Roosevelt, but it’s only 2 weekend a month and if I do not write it down in my calendar I usually forget.

Back to our story… I wrote the people at the vegetarian restaurant in Rincon to ask them if they knew of any CSA’s in Puerto Rico. They immediately directed me to Silka and Siembra Tres Vidas. Silka runs, what we believe to be, the first organic CSA farm in Puerto Rico.

LOGO_UNIDO

The cool thing about joining a CSA program is it brings together community members and farmers in a seasonal relationship of mutual support. Community members pay the farmer a seasonal fee to cover cost of production. As a benefit to their sponsorship, community members receive an equal share of the weekly harvest during each season. This mutually beneficial arrangement provides the community member of the freshest, sustainable produce and assures financial support to the farmer.

The SIEMBRA TRES VIDAS Mission is to use farming methods that work with nature to produce healthy food and improve the quality of the soil with which we have been entrusted. Neither chemical pesticides nor fertilizers are used on the land or the crops. They grow food to enhance people’s health, and the health of our land and our planet, hoping to set an example to other local farmers and farmers-to-be on the island.

grown Siembra Tres Vidas is located in Aibonito and offered their crops at the farmer’s market in Rincón, which is basically 3 hours away from San Juan, where I live. The travel time was definitely not attractive… STV started coming to the Placita Orgánica Roosevelt in San Juan and I kept reassuring Silka she would have great success with a route in San Juan, which finally started last March.

I get a box each week for a period of 12 weeks. Each week I get the seasonal crops. As you can see here, we’ve been getting lettuces (arugula, romaine, “lechugas del pais”, Japanese Mizuna, mesclun greens, among others), carrots, radishes, cabbages, fennel bulbs, broccoli… This week we received for the first time French green beans (haricots vert), grapefruits and cucumbers. I also get some complimentary herbs – like basil, tarragon, flat leaf parsley, lemongrass, cilantro, among others.

CSA 1 CSA 2

CSA - Brocoli CSA - Zanahorias CSA - Tarragon

What’s cool about this project is that:

I am seeking inspiration from the seasons to develop recipes for me (and ultimately you, KarmaFree readers)
I am eating more organic produce than before – it’s not as readily available in most supermarkets here
I get a full box of produce “almost delivered” to my door – can literally walk to where I pick up my box each week
I get to share the bounty with our YOGA center as a karma yoga act – they now benefit from weekly organic produce which is sometimes too expensive when we donate groceries each week
I am contributing to the local agriculture community and ultimately to the local economy, supporting the small business owner
I am also contributing to a greener environment by eating both locally and organic

In the weeks to come, I will be sharing some of the dishes I have created based on the bounties of my CSA basket each week. It will become a series titled – FROM MY CSA BASKET…

A few of the recipes I have done already are:

Mashed Potatoes with Broccoli

Chunky Tomato Sauce

Silka is always in search of crop-sharing sponsors who will gain satisfaction from knowing they are part of our small effort to minimize global warming thru local sustainable agriculture in Puerto Rico. If you would like more information about Siembra Tres Vidas, you can contact them at:

siembratresvidas@gmail.com

And you can also get their produce at these Organic Markets in Puerto Rico

Mercado Orgánico Madre Tierra
La Placita Roosevelt, Hato Rey, San Juan, 8 am – 1pm – all year.
1st & 3rd Sunday of month

Mercado Agro-Ecológico de Rincón
Town square, Rincón, 8 am – 1 pm
1st & 3rd Sunday of month. We participate from October thru March.

Tags: csa, organic

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Categories MY EDITORIAL

Mexican Lasagna

5 May

Today we celebrate 5 de Mayo… which many US people think it’s the celebration of the Mexican Independence and of great consequence to Mexicans, but it’s not so… I believe 5 de Mayo it’s a nice holiday to them but not nearly as important as the celebration of their Independence, celebrated on September 16. I know… I moved to Chicago around that time and it was impressive the amount of Mexicans with huge flags riding on their cars up and down the main avenues. However, on 5 de Mayo, not nearly enough…

I think it’s just easier in English to say “5 de Mayo” than to say “16 de Septiembre”… you know, that issue with the rolling r’s. So if the US wants to celebrate Mexican culture, let them do it at the beginning of the Spring/Summer season… it’s more festive anyhow.

Jumping on the bandwagon myself, I decided to treat my friend AnnieMariel to lunch the other day with a Mexican-inspired lunch. The theme had dual-purpose – to celebrate the upcoming 5 de Mayo and to support our Mexican friends whose been getting such a bad rap lately with all this “swine flu” news. They’ve been hurting health wise and they will continue to hurt due to decreases in travel to Mexico. It’s just unfortunate that the level of poverty over there just prevents people to seek medical health as easily or rapidly as we do here in the US and probably that’s part of the increased severity of the cases there.

Both AnnieMariel and I had trips planned to Mexico that were abruptly cancelled or postponed. So we want to support them symbolically with our lunch…

mexican-lasagna

MEXICAN LASAGNA

About 8 corn tortillas

4 tomatillos, washed well and quartered

1 medium onion, chopped into large pieces

6 garlic cloves

The Juice of 1 lemon/lime

¼ cup textured soy protein, re-hydrated in about 1 cup of water

2 tbs sofrito

1 vegetable bouillon cube, divided in half

¼ cup red-wine vinegar

¼ tsp Herbamare

1 cup Italian-blend grated cheese

½ cup Parmesan Cheese

½ cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas), toasted

Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Canola Oil Spray

This is a simple recipe, but we need to take care of a few steps before we assemble.

First you need to re-hydrate the textured soy protein. Place the soy protein in a medium bowl or measuring cup and fill it with water and wait for it about 30 minutes to re-hydrate well.

For the tomatillo salsa…

In a pyrex pan, place the tomatillos, onion and garlic. Drizzle a bit of olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Mix them all together to make sure everything is well-coated with the oil. Roast in a 350F oven for about 30 minutes, or until you see the onions and tomatillo getting caramelized on top.
Wait a few minutes until the tomatillos/onion mixture cools down a bit. Transfer the contents of the pyrex to the bowl of a food processor. Add the juice of a green lemon and pulse a few times to make a thick sauce. Set aside.

While the tomatillos are roasting in the oven, we can make the soy picadillo… but this soy picadillo is dryer than the versions I have showed you before…

In a small skillet over medium heat, drizzle about 1 tbs of olive oil, add ½ of the vegetable bouillon cube and the sofrito. Cook for a few minutes and add the soy protein after you’ve squeezed out as much water as you can from it. Mix it all together to combine. I want to add some moisture to help it cook along… so I add the vinegar at this point. Season it with a bit of pepper and Herbamare.
Cook over medium-low heat until the soy looks cooked, about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Set aside too.

In a medium tall-sided skillet, warm up about ½- ¾ cup of water with the other ½ vegetable bouillon cube to make a vegetable “broth”. Add about ¼ cup of the tomatillo salsa to this broth and whisk well to combine.
In a medium-sized glass dish sprayed with canola oil spray we’ll start layering the lasagna…
Take the tortillas and cut in half 4 of them. This will help you layer them as evenly as possible in the glass dish.
Take about 1/4 cup of the thinned tomatillo salsa and place it at the bottom of the dish. Now dip in the thinned tomatillo salsa one whole tortilla and 2 halves. Place them on the bottom of the dish.
Now spread intact tomatillo salsa on top of the tortillas to create a layer and sprinkle a third of the cooked soy picadillo.
Sprinkle parmesan cheese, a layer of the grated Italian cheeses and sprinkle a third of the pepitas.
Now we start all over again, starting with the tortillas, creating 3 layers and finishing off with wet tortillas covered with parmesan cheese, Italian blend cheese and pepitas.
Place in a 350F oven for about 30 minutes until the cheese on top is golden brown.

mex-lasagna-4

I always turn off the heat in the oven and leave it there for a few minutes until the lasagna settles a bit.

It takes a few steps, but your hard work will be rewarded… it tastes very Mexican because of the corn tortillas, but the tomatillo salsa gives it a nice tang, different than a regular tomato-based sauce.

Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did… and ¡¡VIVA MEXICO LINDO Y QUERIDO!!

Tags: cheese, corn tortillas, soy crumbles, tomatillo

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Categories main courses

Cashew and Tofu Stir-Fry

4 May

I’ve always loved Chinese food. Ever since I was little my parents have been taken us to Chinese restaurants regularly… past favorites were always Sweet and Sour (fill in the blank), Pepper (fill in the blank), BBQ (fill in the blank)…

When I first moved to NYC, I went to lunch with my dad and he suggested I should try the Chicken with Cashew Nuts… Cashew Nuts!!! What are those?? Well a few minutes later, I was a convert for life. And after that day that became my usual order at Chinese restaurants.

When I decided to become vegetarian, I would order at restaurants Chicken with Cashew Nuts WITHOUT the Chicken. It was the simplest way for me to describe to Chinese waiters that I wanted sautéed vegetables with cashew nuts. I even ordered it so often at a restaurant close to my former place of employment that I stopped describing it – just ordered the usual – Sautéed Broccoli with Onions, Peppers, Carrots and Cashew Nuts.

I just looooooove the combination of soy-based sauce with the crunch of the nuts… This is the version I make at home. This version has tofu, but most of the time I leave it out. The protein in the nuts is enough for me.

cashew-stri-fry

CASHEW AND TOFU STIR FRY

1 medium onion, chopped into medium sized pieces

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped into medium sized pieces

1 small carrot, peeled and sliced thin using a vegetable peeler

1 tbs canola oil

Canola Oil Spray

Marinated Tofu slices

¼ cup tamari sauce

1 tsp cornstarch

The juice of 1 lime

1 handful of roasted cashews

1 cup of whole grain basmati rice – to serve

For the Marinated Tofu:

Take half a block of Extra Firm Tofu and slice it into ¼” slices. I take a baking sheet, line it with 2-3 layers of paper towel, place the tofu slices on top of the paper towel, cover them with 2-3 more layers of paper towels, top with another baking sheet and apply some weight on top. Press it for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
In a medium skillet, sprayed with canola medium-high heat we need to get the tofu pieces golden. Just place them on the skillet until they get some color.
While that is happening, mix together in a shallow pyrex dish the tamari sauce, the lime juice and a bit of water. Dip the tofu pieces in the tamari/lime mixture and let them soak the seasoning. Soak them for about 15-20 minutes and set them aside.

Now on to the stir-fry…

Prep the vegetables while the tofu pieces are marinating.
In a medium-sized skillet, over medium-high heat again, heat up the canola oil. Add the onions, peppers and carrots and sauté them until they begin to cook, but are still crunchy. Add the tofu pieces so they can dry up a bit and get hot. Stir everything together.
Mix the leftover tamari/lime mixture with the cornstarch. If you have little sauce left (less than ¼ cup) just add a bit more tamari or lime juice, whatever you prefer.
After a few minutes, add the cashews to the skillet. Mix well the tamari/cornstarch mixture and add to the skillet. The sauce will thicken as it heats up. When the sauce gets somewhat thick, turn the stove off. Don’t let the sauce get too thick on you.

Serve over whole-grain basmati rice.

Tags: carrots, cashews, cornstarch, green pepper, onion, tamari, tofu

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Categories main courses

Chunky Tomato Sauce

1 May

I started making this sauce because I wanted to try some techniques I learned from one of my favorite chefs, Jamie Oliver. When I was at London’s Heathrow Airport doing a stop over a few years ago, I bought this cooking magazine with a small booklet inside with various Jamie Oliver recipes.

Jamie talked about frying the basil and adding balsamic vinegar to the sauce to give it a special kick… I have always seen chefs add wine to sauces and it was very welcoming to me to know I could also do it with vinegar and get a similar result. BTW – This was the same magazine where my favorite whisk came with…

This is also one of the recipes made with basil from my CSA box…

chunky-tomato-sauce1

CHUNKY TOMATO SAUCE

1 jar of whole peeled tomatoes

1 jar of fire-roasted tomatoes

1 tbs olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced thin

1 handful of basil, washed well and leaves removed from the stems

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

Salt and Freshly cracked pepper

In a tall skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic slices and the basil stems. Sauté for a few minutes to infuse the oil with garlic and basil taste. Add the basil leaves and sauté a bit.
Add the tomatoes to the skillet. Stir to combine well. Season with salt and pepper, and add the balsamic vinegar.
When the sauce starts to boil, lower the heat to medium low and cook uncovered for about 25-30 minutes, until the sauce reaches your desired consistency. I like it chunky… If you prefer it more liquidy, cook for less time.
Remove the basil stems before serving.

Toss with your favorite noodle pasta or use it in a Pita Pizza Margherita.

Tags: balsamic vinegar, basil, garlic, tomato

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Categories sauces

Fresh Strawberry Sauce

30 Apr

This is another of the recipes related to my Foodbuzz’s 24,24,24 April event… A Very Veggie Experiment.

Recently, my goddaughter Kamila told me she loved strawberry ice cream. So when this idea of making dinner for her and her siblings started, I decided to make strawberry ice cream from scratch for her. Unfortunately, I live this crazy life that I did not have time to fix it. So I decided to do the next best thing I knew… prepare a fresh strawberry sauce to top vanilla ice cream.

This is great with any berry, in fact, the original recipe I learned from Ina Garten in her Barefoot in Paris book. I had made it with raspberries, but strawberries are cheaper and more readily available.

VANILLA ICE CREAM WITH FRESH STRAWBERRY SAUCE

1 pint of fresh strawberries, hulled and cut in quarters

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup water

½ cup strawberry preserves

In a small saucepan over medium heat, place strawberries, sugar and water and cook them for about 5 minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the fruit starts to breakdown a bit.
When the fruit has cooled down a bit, add them to the bowl of a food processor. Add the preserves and pulse a few times to combine.
Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate for a few hours until ready to serve.

Surprisingly, the little ones loved this strawberry sauce, not so much the older ones. Kamila even wanted hers with a fresh strawberry as a garnish. Her older brothers exchanged theirs for plain ice cream.