It's Fun and Frugal to Find Free Food

Often in the Youth Garden program, students will harvest & cook whole food snacks such as Kale chips, roasted veggies such as beets, parsnips and sweet potato.

Last Wednesday students from the MHC’s youth garden program prepared a meal using some of the sweet potatoes and kale they grew in the garden. As they prepared the food we talked about the differences between whole foods, minimally processed foods and overly processed foods. The students were asked to figure out how many whole foods they used to prepare the meal verses processed foods they used. The hope was that students would experience a tasty meal and recognize that eating whole foods actually taste great. Last we asked the students, “Why they thought it was important to eat more whole foods (real food) and less processed? The students soon began to share answer they had learned from previous weeks, “whole foods have more nutrients in them,” “whole foods give your body energy,”  “our bodies work harder to break down the processed foods,” and last, “processed food will not give you energy that lasts, but whole food will.”

As the students sat down to enjoy the meal they had prepared each student shared the things they were thankful for.  Several students included garden club, the garden and their worm bin to their list of thanksgivings.

The meal was a complete success! Everyone enjoyed all that was prepared with the exception of one student who said he doesn’t like anything that taste like tacos, but he liked everything else. Our meal consisted of Humus Tacos, baked sweet potato fries, Kale chips and an oatmeal apple crisp for desert. Look below for the recipes!

Terms they learned:

Whole food= A fresh grown or raised food that hasn’t been changed from its original form.

Example; Fresh vegetables, fruits, grains such as oats, and rye, eggs

Minimally processed food=a fresh food which has been changed or added to in order to preserve naturally

Examples; butter, milk, whole grain bread (debatable), organic yogurt, juices, cheese

Overly processed food= foods which have been changed a lot from their original form before they are cooked, or foods that have added chemicals or artificial ingredients.

Examples: cereal, most breads, crackers, frozen pizza, boxed mac and cheese, fruit roll ups, frozen prepared meals, fast foods

How many whole foods can you identify in our menu?

Taco Hummus

 Taco Seasoning Mix (spices, herbs and salt)

15oz Chickpeas

2 Teaspoon olive oil

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

¼ cup crumbled queso fresco cheese

1.     Drain chickpeas, reserving liquid. In blender or food processor, place chickpeas, oil, lemon juice, Garlic and remaining 1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix and cilantro (optional).

2.     Cover; blend until smooth. Add reserved chickpea liquid, 1 teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency.

3.     Spoon humus into corn or flour tortilla, add a sprinkle of cheese and serve cold or warmed.

4.     Toppings idea’s (salsa, spinach, lettuce, tomato

5.     This dish is also nice as a dip with tortilla chips or in a quesadilla.

Sweet Potato Oven Fries

 3 large sweet Potatoes (peeled)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

¼ Teaspoon salt

1 Pinch of Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Peel sweet potatoes and slice into thin fries. Toss oil, salt and pepper in fries and mix well. Place fries in a single layer on cookie sheet and bake 20 to 25 min. or until fries reach desired crispiness. 

Cooking Kale chips

1 bunch Kale

1 Tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon season salt or regular salt

1.     Wash and spin Kale

2.     Line cookie sheet with parchment paper

3.     Tear Kale into small pieces, remove stems

4.     Sprinkle olive oil and salt over kale and toss to evenly coat

5.     Bake on 350 until edges are browning (10 min.)

APPLE OAT CRISP

As tasty as an apple pie, but much easier to make, and lighter in calories.

4 cooking apples, such as Granny Smith (or use 2 cups of frozen apple slices)

1/8 cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

A pinch of nutmeg

Topping:

1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (or half whole wheat)

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

A pinch of salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 cup uncooked “old-fashioned” oatmeal

¼ cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 375° F. Peel and thinly slice the apples. If using frozen apples, don’t defrost. Mix them with the granulated sugar and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon. Spoon them into a 9-inch pie plate and press them flat. Mix the flour, brown sugar salt, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or 2 knifes until the consistency of cornmeal. Stir in the oatmeal and walnuts. Sprinkle the topping over the apples; press into a flat layer. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the topping is brown and the apples are tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Don't Throw That Away!

“Waste not, want not.” It’s an old fashioned idea, isn’t it? It really doesn’t have a place in today’s throw-away society. Or does it? Mother Hubbard sure thinks it does! Minimizing waste is even part of the Hub’s Vision Statement.

Minimizing waste shows up in practice, too. The Hub composts, and even collects compostables from a couple of local restaurants. They hold classes in composting. (Have you seen Jessica Sobocinski’s post about her experiences with composting? It’s great.) I’ve talked repeatedly about saving bones to make BONE BROTH and saving chicken skin to make CHICKEN CHIPS OR GRIBENES and I’ve given directions for ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS, too. Domestic Diva Barbara has demonstrated making yogurt with slightly old milk and kim-chi with past-their-prime veggies. The Tool Share program lends out driers and canners so you can dry and can extra fruits and veggies and has classes on food preservation. There was even a class last month on wild edibles (a.k.a. weeds).

In the summer, with all the fresh produce that's available, there tends to be even more vegetable waste than the rest of the year. It's a great time for adding to your compost pile. It's also a great time for finding alternative uses for parts of the fruits and vegetables that you usually toss. So, in the spirit of self-sufficiency, economy and sustainability, here are some recipes for using things that might otherwise be tossed out.

Did you know that there’s only about three-quarters of a cup of corn kernels on an ear of corn? The rest is the husk, the silk (not much of that) and, of course, the cob. I don’t have recipes for the husks (though I think they’re used in tamales) or the silk, but I do have a recipe for the cobs. CORN COB JELLY. I’ve never made it myself, but it’s supposed to taste like honey. Wildflower honey, to be exact, according to some.

There’s a lot of waste with a watermelon, too, what with the thick rind and all. The solution? WATERMELON PICKLES. They’re a lot of work, though, if you make it according to the traditional recipe, or at least the recipe I got in the 70s from Toni, an old Iowa farm girl.They're also very sweet - some recipes call them Candied Watermelon Rind.  Or you could make EASY PICKLED WATERMELON RIND, which are lots easier and much less sweet, though they only keep about 10 days in the fridge. And if you’ve got an old-fashioned watermelon with lots of black seeds, you can make ROASTED WATERMELON SEEDS, which are a popular snack in the Middle East. You can do the same thing with seeds from cantaloupe, honeydew and other melons, too. For that matter, you should be able to make pickles from other kinds of melons, too, though most rinds aren’t as thick as watermelon rind.

Somewhat similar to the Watermelon Pickles are RED HOT CUCUMBERS, that Toni, who would be in her 90s today, used to make. They use the huge overgrown cucumbers that get overlooked in the garden and suddenly appear way bigger than you want to use in a salad. They're crunchy and sweet and cinnamony and spicy and pretty. A lot like the spiced apple rings that used to be used as garnish, especially at Christmas. I can't find Toni's recipe, but I know it took several days. The recipe I'm giving here is one I found online and only takes two days. You can use overgrown zucchini instead of the cucumbers if that's what you happen to have. Just be sure, with either the cucumbers or the zucchini, that they'll fit in your canning jar if you want to keep them in rings.

Looking over this, I see an awful lot of sugar added to the throw away items, so, with the exception of the watermelon seeds, they're not exactly cheap. They are cheaper, though, than if you had to go out and buy the cucumbers or apples or whatever to make pickles out of. And they're something different. And they're easy (fiddly, perhaps, but easy) and good. So why not give them a try?