Stove-top Ratatouille

We moved to a small town in Northern Arizona

 about 18 months ago. 

I needed a change of pace and a better housing situation. I'm still close enough to the city that I can take a short day-trip if I need to be in Phoenix for work meetings or TV shoots, but far enough away from the crazy heat and hustle of the city to enjoy a more country life.  I've always been a very simple gal, and I don't really need anything fancy. It's been a perfect fit and we're thriving here. It's a whole new world.  We bought an acre and are really enjoying the cooler weather and totally different growing zone for our garden as well.

Many of you are aware of my avid love of gardening and this new part of the state has been just what this gal needs. We've had a couple of very successful gardening seasons compared to Phoenix where the heat is just relentless and well...evil. This year, around March, my youngest son (now 17 years old and in college) helped build a greenhouse to extend our growing season a lot and also to get experience with a greenhouse ecosystem. He's seriously considering a career in Botany and Horticultural Science...and I couldn't be more thrilled about that! So really the greenhouse is for school right? I mean I learn something everyday and this has been a learning experience for sure. 

So here's the journey. We started with a 16 foot by 20 foot greenhouse kit. Some good soil, 100 cinder blocks and lots of anchors (about 6K pounds worth of cord and screw-in-the-ground things) to keep it from flying away in our very, very windy mountain town. 

Face worked really hard to make this happen. 

Then we installed soak hoses and planted all the seedlings that we had been nurturing inside under the grow-lamps. We planted 3 carrot varieties, beets.  Peas that will climb. There are 25 varieties of heirloom tomatoes.  There are herbs like mad for my shenanigans in the kitchen including basil, cilantro, tarragon, dill, oregano, thyme, lemon balm, chives and 3 varieties of sage. I also wanted to try my hand this year with leeks. 

Things started to grow really well! 

We even put in solar powered lamps so I could just weed in the middle of the night if I wanted to do so. Don't judge me. I really love being in this place. Sometimes I say I'm weeding, but I'm just sitting out here reading a good book or listening to some good Gospel tunes. It's really good for my soul. 

Now everything is pretty huge! We had to take out the zucchini and we're putting in our second crops for Fall. Other things like the broccoli have bolted like mad, but I'm saving the seeds so I'm just using the extra leaves for coleslaw and low-carb enchilada or lasagna bakes. Our cilantro went to seed so I harvested the large branches with seed pods to dry for spices and also to replant seeds in the spring (or indoors during the winter). 

As our adventures in gardening continue I decided that I really needed to be a chef and actually make a version of Ratatouille that didn't require using and oven. I wanted one that also used a lot less oil than most traditional recipes, since they tended to be heavy. So with our Japanese eggplant, zucchini and honkin' huge load of heirloom tomatoes coming into full ripeness...this was a must! 

Pick the eggplants young and tender to avoid lots of thick seeds and to minimize the sponge effect it has on oil in cooking. If you aren't growing your own tomatoes, be sure to pick firm and ripe varieties. I used both large chopped tomatoes as well as the smaller cherry varieties. 

We have a few things outside the greenhouse too...

Face built a few grow-boxes in the yard. There is space for all his side projects. Yes. He built all of these from scratch. I'm so proud. 

Now. For the recipe...

My Stove-top Ratatouille 

1 medium globe eggplant, peeled, coarsely chopped

1 large zucchini, sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more

¼ cup olive oil

1 Tbsp fresh thyme

1 large onion, halved, sliced ½ inch thick

1 red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 pints cherry tomatoes

2 large tomatoes, chopped 

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup fresh torn basil leaves 

Directions:

Toss eggplant, zucchini, and 2 tsp. salt in a colander. Let sit 30 minutes, then pat dry with paper towels. 

Heat oil in a large heavy Dutch oven or other heavy ovenproof pot over medium-high. Add eggplant and zucchini and cook, stirring constantly, until vegetables begin to take on color, about 10 minutes. Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook another 5 minutes until clear. Add thyme and tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to soften, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Cover and slow cook on very low heat for 10-15 minutes more. 

Transfer to a serving platter and top with basil.

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess

The Power of Indoor Micro-Green Farming

Photo Courtesy of IOGP website

One of the perks of doing what I do, is that sometimes I get to interview some remarkable individuals. This week I had one of those experiences.  I had a very unique opportunity to spend about an hour interviewing one of the pioneers in the indoor organic micro-greens farming industry  from Indoor Organic Gardens of Poughkeepsie named Brud Hodgkins. After over 20 years as a chef who is passionate about childhood education, empowerment and nutrition, it is still awesome to connect with someone who shares that same vision.  As the daughter of a greenhouse manager and Master Gardener, I relish the opportunity to bend the ear of an urban farmer. 

 In full disclosure, Brud's company reached out to me to see if I would be interested in sampling their products for this blog. As a chef who has used micro-greens extensively as an Executive chef in a French bistro as well as catering venue, I already was a huge fan of what they could do for any dish. Add to that, the desire to continue to incorporate micro-greens in my at-home cooking, this seemed like an ideal marriage of product use. They are not paying me to endorse their products. They're just giving me some greens.  So, I will be sharing their stuff here on my blog. Don't let that freak you out. I'm always trying to share good nutrition with y'all. I think this is pretty daggum interesting to hear about.

This is what I found out about this amazing food source and this indoor farm.

Photo Courtesy of IOGP website

Bringing Farming to the Inner City
First of all...Brud explained  that his crop is farmed exclusively indoors using a commercial property that was sitting vacant after the downfall of one of the neighborhood retail marketplaces. In a seventeen thousand square foot facility that originally started out as a K-Mart-type store, they're using this space to produce a powerful nutrition source in the middle of the city. At the first mention of this, my mind actually starting racing, thinking of all the vacant buildings in my own town that could easily be converted to such a use. It was a brilliant use of space, not to mention providing clean food and employment opportunities to the "at risk" segment of society usually found in the parts of the city he is focusing on in Poughkeepsie. In fact, just before our meeting, Brud had been meeting with some local high-functioning autistic teenagers who would be coming to work at his farm. This of course, got us talking about the need for education of children in the school system.

Photo courtesy of IOGP website

Kids Love Them!
Micro-greens are sweet and nutrient dense. They are easy-to-absorb nutrition...and one of the simplest things to get kids to eat. For example, cabbage Micro-greens have 260% more vitamin A than fully grown cabbage, and they don't taste like cabbage. They taste sweet.  That's just one of many examples of the powerful punch of nutrition in micro-greens.  They grow to mature micro-status in just a few days! Why wouldn't we teach kids how to grow these? They want to eat them because there's ownership.  Well...Brud is doing that. They're launching local school STEM programs teaching kids first hand how to grow this crop...and they're giving them the power to be able to grow a crop that is financially sustainable. 

So here's the skinny on Micro-greens. 

*What are microgreens?
 Microgreens are older than sprouts, but younger than baby vegetables. Almost any edible vegetable or herb can be enjoyed as a microgreen, such as lettuce, radish, basil, beets, celery, cabbage and kale. Many microgreens are four-to-six times higher in vitamins and antioxidants than their adult forms and can provide a nutrient boost in just a few calories.

Eating them
Many people enjoy the tiny leaves of microgreens for their fresh taste, crisp crunch and bright colors, including:

• Raw, as an addition to a salad. Drizzle with a little lemon juice or low-fat dressing or eat them on their own.
•  As a garnish to meals. Add them to your breakfast plate. Top fish, chicken or baked potatoes with microgreens.
• Added to a sandwich or wrap.
•  Sprinkled into soups, stir fries and pasta dishes.
• Blended into a fruit drink or cocktail.

Growing them

•  If you grow your own microgreens or purchase them in soil, snip the healthy stems and leaves above the soil when they are seven-to-14 days old. 
• Eat them fresh, or store them in the refrigerator.

Finding them

• Microgreens are available at local health food stores or whole foods markets. Look near the lettuce for packages of greens that are a few inches in length and have tiny stems and leaves. Check the local farmers market as well. Microgreen growing kits can be ordered online or found in some kitchen stores. (May I suggest just getting them from here. )
• Selections may change from time to time so keep an eye out for your favorites.
• Once cut, they can last in the refrigerator for five-to-seven days, sometimes longer depending on the type.

*Source: here

As for me and Brud Hodgkins, we are clearly on the same page regarding organic plant based nutrition, clean food, providing opportunities for the "at risk" segment of society, environmental Awareness, etc, etc.  They at IOGP are working toward the Financial Sustainability end by spreading the word so folk's know there is a Source of Nutrition Dense Vegetables within 24 hours of Harvest to fill their Personal and/or Commercial needs.  

 The website for info and ordering:  indoororganicgardensofpoughkeepsie.com

Photo courtesy of IOGP facebook page

There you go. Awesome Micro-greens. Great Brand. I'm a fan. 

Always My Very Best,

Your Friend Chef Tess