Emerald Greens

This week's PA produce bundle included collard greens. My first thoughts went to collard greens simmered with turkey neck bones. The flavor of collards cooked this way is always delicious but the color leaves much to be desired. With extra celery and shallots at my disposal I searched for a new way to prepare the greens. And then, Chef Valerie Erwin came to mind.

Chef Erwin of the Geechee Girl Rice Cafe in Philadelphia was featured on a local morning show sautéing collard greens with bell peppers and onions. Her greens turned out such a vibrant green that left me so intrigued I had to experience these collards in person. A few days later, I stopped in for dinner at Geechee Girl Rice Cafe for an appetizer of sweet potato tostones followed by beautifully broiled rainbow trout served with the infamous collard greens and mashed sunchokes. What a treat!

The collards were a brilliant bright green that is acquired by blanching them in boiling water before sautéing them. While I love the flavor and look of these greens, I was disappointed at the thought of the collards' powerful nutrients being left behind in the cooking water. I decided that if I replicate the dish at home, I would have to save the cooking liquid.

At home this week in my kitchen, I blanched my collards, sautéed them with celery and shallots and seasoned them with ground cumin and lemon juice. What a flavorful combination!

I used the green broth from blanching the greens to then cook polenta. When the polenta reached its creamy serving point, I finished it with a little smoked sea salt and cayenne pepper. Surprisingly, I perceived no remnant of the mild bitterness of the collard green water. Just simple hearty sweet polenta.

Blanching collard greens is a way to experience their vibrant emerald green color. Just be sure to cook polenta, short-grain brown rice or other grains in the green cooking liquid to take full advantage of the rich nutrients collards possess.

Thank you, Chef Erwin, for the inspiration!

Collard Greens with Cumin and Lemon Juice over Cayenne Sweet Potatoes and Stone-Ground Polenta

Local Foods in Local Stores

Earlier this year, I wrote a piece on finding locally produced food on a budget because I recognize that shopping for seasonal, locally grown and produced food on a small budget can be very challenging in the US. As Josh, Viertel of Slow Foods USA recently told President Obama, sugary cereals like Fruit Loops are less expensive than a whole piece of fruit in many communities around the country. In Philadelphia, fortunately, there are grocery stores, small markets and community supported agriculture programs offering local produce for affordable prices, even during the winter.

In response to questions from new acquaintances this week, I have listed below, a few sources for seasonal, local and sometimes organic produce at reasonable prices around the city. Some of the vendors like Fair Food Farmstand and Greensgrow accept SNAP benefits as well. If you live in another city or state, search your zipcode on LocalHarvest.com for farm markets and retailers of local foods in your area.

Be vocal at your regular grocery store as well. Ask the store manager and produce team to find local produce from your area.

Here's a clip of President Obama's recent interview where he talks about US grocery stores offering local foods from local farms. We must ask ourselves, folks: What are the factors that lead our neighborhood grocery stores to buy foods from halfway around the globe instead of goods from down the road?

Seasonal local produce around Philadelphia:

Almanac Market, Northern Liberties

Fair Food Farmstand, Reading Terminal, Center City

Farm to Families, distribution sites in North Philadelphia,

Greensgrow Farm, Fishtown/Kensington

Healthy Bites to Go, Graduate Hospital

Kauffman's Lancaster County Produce, Reading Terminal

Mugshots Cafe (Family Harvest Buying Club), Art Museum, Brewerytown, Manayunk

PhilAbundance, distribution sites in north and west Philadelphia

Share, North Philadelphia central distribution center

Steve Bowe's Family Farm (Organic), Reading Terminal-Piano Court, Center City

Weaver's Way, West Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill

Whole Foods Market, Callowhill

Whole Foods Market, South Street

Philadelphia Metro's Winter Gems

Winter time vegetables and meats can be paired in various delicious ways. Even in the 9 degree temperatures we've endured, local farmers and artisans are still producing bright colorful foods to enjoy. The pictures below show just a taste of the wintertime vegetables, cheeses and meats from the Philadelphia metropolitan area and a few warming dishes they inspired this week. All of the farms and food artisans are listed at the bottom of this page.

To the farms and hands that crafted these winter gems, thank you for nourishing us!

From Left to Right

Greensgrow Farm CSA Winter Produce and Artisanal Foods Bundle

Golden Beet and Lamb Meatball Soup with Fresh Dill

Sandwich of Allegheny Goat Cheese, Baby Spinach, Pea Shoots and Fresh Dill on Foccacia

Organic Pennsylvania Red Skinned Potatoes, Garlic and Red Onions

From left to right

Cinnamon and Maple Baked Sweet Potato Treat

Salad of Baby Spinach, Fresh Dill and Pea Shoots in Balsamic Vinegar

Hearty Winter Vegetable and Kamut Soup in Tomato Broth

Koch's Smoked Turkey Breast with Spicy Sweet Potato Salad and Boston Lettuce

Featured farms and artisans:

Arc Greenhouses, Shiloh, NJ - Boston Lettuce

Firefly Farms, Accident, MD - Allegheny Chevre Goat Cheese

Gehman Family Farm, Ulysses, PA - Pea Shoots

Landisdale Farm, Jonestown, PA - Carrots

Meadow Run Farms, Lancaster County, PA - Ground Lamb

Metropolitan Bakery, Philadelphia, PA - Foccaccia Bread

Olivia's Organics, Chelsea, MA - Baby Spinach

Steve Bowe's Family Farm, Milton, PA - Organic Celery, Red Skin Potatoes, Parsnips, Red Onions and Sweet Potatoes

Winter Food Combinations for Good Digestion

The more I learn about food, the more I respect the wisdom and culture of my parents. As a child, my Mom taught me that a meal was a not a meal without a salad. Her salads began with a base of romaine lettuce, followed by large cuts of raw carrots, purple cabbage, cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms and cooked bacon bits or diced chicken and hard-boiled egg – and yes, I do mean hard, with the grey yolk and striking odor. Mom, please smile if you are reading this.

To coat the colorful medley, she generously poured Wish Bone Italian dressing over everything for a shiny final touch.

My mother’s insistence upon eating a salad with every meal came from her innate craving for raw vegetables. She used to tell me how she could taste the sweetness in raw broccoli. She also emphasized that eating a salad would help ensure that I had enough roughage in my system. Translation: I would have good bowel movements from eating salads. Somehow the moment I left her home, that lesson, like so many others, went in one ear and out the other.

Today, with my culinary journeys being so closely aligned with health, wellness and nutrition, I find myself face-to-face, once again, with my Mom’s wisdom on salads for optimal digestion and elimination. Funny how wise parents are.

Hydrotherapists that offer colon cleansing treatment tell how keeping the digestive system in optimal function keeps the total body clear, free of infections and in great condition. Infinity Health and Wellness Center in Philadelphia, found that in 2002 the American Medical Association reported that 400 million dollars were spent on laxatives by the American public. Chronic bowel disorders, polyps in the colon and cancers of the colon, liver, stomach and pancreas are among the major chronic diseases that take the lives of millions of Americans each year.

Keeping the digestive system healthy requires more than salad but eating the raw vegetables in salads is a step in the right direction. First, let’s consider what our digestive organs are and what they collectively do. The digestive system includes the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine and large intestine. The colon, a key member of the group, is located in the last five and half to six feet of the digestive tract. The liver, pancreas, gallbladder and salivary glands are complementary organs that work with the digestive system to filter out the unnecessary, and often toxic, substances we put in our bodies. These organs combined ensure that we digest, absorb and metabolize the nutrients in our foods.

So how can we make theirjobs easier? Consider combining foods for optimal digestion. Thus, we avoid the build up of unassimilated and undigested matter that becomes harmful as it floats throughout our bodies.

How do we know what foods to eat together? Alder Brooke Healing Arts of Eugene, Oregon offers a colorful visual guide on how to combine foods for digestive ease. Four basic guidelines and explanations she offers are:

Eat carbohydrates and proteins separately. Why? Carbohydrates and proteins, she says, need the most energy of all foods to digest and require different enzymes to break them down. This means that roasted chicken and mashed potatoes eaten together may be difficult to digest. But if chicken and potatoes are what’s for dinner -- here comes Mom’s salad lesson again -- eating a mixed raw vegetable salad with the protein and carbohydrate helps the digestive organs process the complex combination.

Raw vegetables contain important enzymes that help break down concentrated proteins, like chicken, and complex carbohydrates, like potatoes. It is not surprising that the incredibly filling common Latin America and Caribbean meals involving some type of meat with rice and beans, is usually served with a salad of raw cabbage, onionsand tomatoes dressed in vinegar. The salad helps speed up and ease the digestion of the heavy meal.

Eat fruits by themselves. Eat fruits before other foods or alone. Fruits have the highest water content and are quickly digested. Eating fruit before a meal helps clean and prepare the digestive tract for nutrient absorption according to Alder Brooke.

Starchy carbohydrates should be eaten with steamed vegetables and/or raw salad. Raw and to some degree steamed vegetables are high in water, enzymes and fiber content which makes starchy carbohydrates digest more easily.

Drink water, juices and teas separate from food as they interrupt the work of digestive enzymes.

Although hearty meat and potato stews may appeal to our needs for warm comfort and cozy naps this time of year, winter vegetables can keep your digestive tract in top condition. Eating the right combination of foods for the season will also aid your immune system in avoiding colds and flus. Consider the following meal ideas to keep your digestive system in shape:

• Spinach, celery leaves, purple cabbage, pumpkin seeds, and almonds dressed in fig vinegar
• Swiss chard and mushroom stuffed red potatoes
• Roasted Haddock or other white fish over hearty sauteed mixed winter greens (i.e. collards, turnip greens, Swiss chard, spinach, chicory leaves, radicchio)

Here’s to taking advantage of the winter to keep the body in top condition for the warm months to come!

Helpful Websites for Digestive Health

Infinity Health and Wellness, Philadelphia, PA www.infinityhealthwellness.com

Alder Brooke Healing Arts, Eugene, OR http://www.alderbrooke.com/chart.php