the family table: May 2014

May 19, 2014

in the garden: spinach

The spinach came up in droves this year. The beds were covered with cold frames and underneath the mountains of snow was spinach, hibernating, readying itself for a great spring arrival. One of the coldest winters in the Chicagoland area, it was a huge surprise to see such beautiful plants emmerging.

We have a mixture of spinaches: bordeaux, a red veined type; a flat leaf spinach; and bloomsbury, a ruffled variety. All of them taste great as a salad or sauteed simply and quickly in olive oil with salt and pepper (sauteed shallots or onions and fresh lemon juice can also add a lot). The spinach is magic as the more you pick, the more it grows.

I have been cooking it weekly at Mary Lou's place. Some tasty recipes are linked below.

Lemon Couscous Salad with Spinach and Dill:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lemon-Couscous-Salad-with-Spinach-Scallions-and-Dill-11838

Spinach Quiche
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/09/spinach-quiche-revisited/

Wilted Spinach Salad with a Burst Tomato Vinaigrette
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/wilted-spinach-salad-burst-tomato-vinaigrette.aspx

Asparagus, Tofu and Spinach Stirfry
I add many other vegetables to this, delicious, my go to healthy dinner recipe. A crowd pleaser
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/asparagus-stirfry-recipe.html

IN THE GARDEN

Four years ago, after generous donations from local garden clubs, we launched the Urban Garden at the YWCA. It started as 6 raised beds and we grew tomatoes, herbs, lettuce, kale, swiss chard, cucumbers, zucchini, collard greens, okra, eggplant and yellow squash. In 2012, thanks to an exciting donation from CoBank, we were able to increase the beds by 3, then 2 the next year 2 more in 2014. In our growing season, from April to December (thanks, global warming), I harvest the vegetables and prepare them in my weekly cooking sessions with the women at Mary Lou’s Place. It has been a great experience for all of us: planting seeds, then seeing them pop up from deep dark soil, then harvesting and eating the vegetables. It is magical. Each week I showcase a seasonal vegetable by using simple and easily repeatable recipes and preparations. As our garden unfolds, I will offer those recipes up to you, entitled “In the garden”.

In 2013, we started offering classes to Evanston women participating in W.O.W. (women out walking) sponsored by the Health Department. I held three part series where we would plant seeds; three weeks later tend the seeds and talk about nutrition; and three weeks later harvest and cook with the vegetables.

In 2014, we continued the outreach classes to the Latino Advisory Committee, to clients at Connections for the Homeless, and to families in Y.O.U.'s community schools. It has been a great journey and I hope to add new cooking groups this year.

A big thank you to those who have helped me along the way: to Margaret, Betta, Missy and Laurel for helping me in the kitchen way back when; to Amy A. for being there, for 4 years now; to Kim F. who helped maintain the garden that first summer; to Courtney and Jean who are so lovely to cook with; to Cie, my outreach cooking companion; to Amy D. who is the green thumb behind garden care 2014 and 2015; to Kim C. for making this blog; to Charles without whom the garden would not exist and to all of the many family table cookers, crock pot buyers and garden waterers who have made my years working with the YWCA possible. Thank you.

FAVORITE COOKBOOKS

River Cottage Veg, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Vegetable Literacy, Deborah Madison

Roots, Diane Morgan

Food Matters, Mark Bittman

Super Natural Everyday & Super Natural Cooking, Heidi Swanson

Plenty, Yotam Ottolenghi

Ancient Grains for Modern Meals, Maria Speck

Tender, Nigel Slater

The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, Judy Rodgers

Simply Ming, One Pot Meals, Ming Tsai

Bills Food, Bill Granger

Art of the Slow Cooker, Andrew Schloss

Slow Cooker Revolution, America's Test Kitchen

Any books by Jamie Oliver

Sunday Suppers at Lucques, Suzanne Goin

Braise, Daniel Boulud

Hello.

I created the Family Table in late 2010 with the goal of helping families, of all backgrounds, share low cost, nutritional family meals. From my distant days of cooking in restaurants in San Francisco, I had learned the joys of braising: simmering pots, filling your house with the anticipation of dinner. Braising is simple, inexpensive, full of vegetables, and provides comfort food for the whole family. When I overcame my snobbism of slow cookers just last year, I realized that they were the missing link that could enable families to eat together, even with the crazy pace of life we all seem to lead.

Over the past years, through my bi-weekly cooking with women, I have discovered that we all share the primal desire to eat fresh, healthy and good tasting food. Standing together at a kitchen counter, peeling, chopping, grating, enables us to connect to one another as we share stories of our lives, our hopes, our insecurities in a safe way. We are nurturers by nature and as we gather together to create food for our family, we are brought closer together.

I choose my recipes for their simplicity, affordability and flavor. Wherever I can, I omit extra fats, add extra vegetables, within reason. I want to confess: I am not a health food fanatic. I believe in real food that people will enjoy sharing every night of the week. Most recently, I have started an edible garden where I plan to cook with the fresh produce as it blooms. I encourage people to visit my blog, read the recipes, and maybe even gather some friends and neighbors to cook together.

alex