Taking stock: What to do with a whole chicken.

We’ve really enjoyed being a part of the meat CSA program at North Mountain Pastures over the past year. We receive one box each month, with a variety of beef, pork, and chicken. We’ve had the chance to try several kinds of steaks, roasts, and ribs that we’d never had before. We also had a traditional Oktoberfest sausage that was especially delicious with their homemade kimchi. Although the selection is mostly a surprise, one thing we always get is a whole chicken. At first, we were really intimidated. But, over time, we have learned just how easy it can be to cook a whole chicken, and how much food we can get from this one bird. For about $30, we can make dinner for two people for three nights and almost 2 quarts of chicken stock to freeze for later. Here’s how we do it.

Slow-cooker chicken.

Our first task is to cook the whole chicken. We use a slow-cooker, one of the world's greatest inventions for busy people who still want to eat well. We typically eat the legs and thighs one night and the breasts the other night, along with a couple of vegetable side dishes. There is usually enough meat left over to incorporate into a third meal as well. A little leftover chicken makes a great addition to a veggie-laden salad or even a stir-fry.

Ingredients:

• A whole chicken (4-5 pounds)
• Approx. 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• To taste – pepper, salt, rosemary, sage, and thyme

1. Place chicken in slow cooker.
2. Add left-over chicken stock or vegetable stock, enough to cover about ½ the bird (at least enough to enter the cavity of the bird).
3. Salt and pepper the outside of the chicken. You can also add about a teaspoon each of rosemary, sage, and/or thyme.
4. Cook for 4 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low.
5. Remove chicken from slow cooker, and cut off the meat to use for dinner. Place the carcass in a large sealable bag or container, and store it in the refrigerator for a few days or freeze it until you are ready to make the stock.

Vaguely Mediterranean chicken. 

Last time we made a whole chicken, I raided the pantry and fridge to make up this easy third dinner. This recipe can be easily modified to include any other veggies you may have lying around.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil, if needed
• Leftover chicken
• 1 can of diced tomatoes or 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 bunch lacinato kale
• 1/2 tsp each, Italian seasoning and garlic powder
• Rice

1. Rinse and coarsely chop kale. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces and dice tomatoes, if necessary. If you are making rice on the stovetop, start it now.
2. Add oil to the pan, and warm over medium-high heat. The amount of oil will depend on the kind of pan you have; you shouldn’t need more than a tablespoon.
3. Give the oil a minute or so to heat up, and then add the kale. Saute the kale for several minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the tomatoes, chicken, and spices. Reduce the heat to low and heat through. If you are making instant/frozen rice, start it now.
5. Once the chicken is nice and warm (about 10-15 min.), serve over rice.
Stocking up.

We mostly follow the chicken stock recipe in Deborah Krasner’s book, Good Meat, which is a wonderful resource for the ethical meat eater. We store our stock in the freezer in food-grade mason jars (like these) that we purchased at a local hardware store. When we're ready to use the stock, we place a jar in a bowl of water in the fridge overnight. Also, we add salt only when cooking with the stock, not in its preparation.

Ingredients:

• A whole chicken carcass
• 1 carrot, cut into chunks
• 1 stalk of celery, cut in half
• 1 onion
• 1 whole clove or 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 5 whole peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf

1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Add enough water to cover the ingredients (Krasner suggests at least 5 inches over the top).
2. Heat on medium-high heat, uncovered, until the stock begins to boil.
3. Reduce heat to the lowest setting at which you can maintain a simmer.
4. Let the stock simmer for 3-4 hours, until it is golden and fragrant. As it cooks, skim any foam the forms on the surface.
5. Use a strainer or large slotted spoon to collect all the solids; smoosh any veggies to get a bit more flavor and then discard.
6. Place the pot in the sink, surrounded by ice, for about half an hour (or just put in the fridge).
7. When cool, pour the stock into jars or other freezer-safe containers. Chill the stock in the fridge overnight. Then, if you plan to store it for more than a few days, move it to the freezer.

Food fixer-uppers.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve packed up my family and moved 2600 miles to Maryland. Although things have gone fairly smoothly, eating well is always an issue when I’m on the go. Between packing, moving, and unpacking, I’ve had to get creative in order to put together nutritious and at least marginally ethical meals. I hope these food fixes will come in handy anytime you lack access to a complete kitchen!

My first fixer-upper was canned soup I found at Trader Joe’s. To give it a nutritional boost, I added chopped kale and sardines. Sardines are very mild; we hardly noticed they were there! Sardines are a great source of protein and omega-3 fats and are not a mercury concern for pregnant ladies like me. The kale was conventionally grown, but that’s the only kind TJs carries. The soup took less than 10 minutes to cook and made a hearty lunch for two people.

Black bean soup with a boost

Cooking implements required:
- Can opener
- Medium pot, preferably non-stick
- Spoon

Ingredients:
- 2 cans of Trader Joe’s organic black bean soup (vegan)
- 1 can of Trader Joe’s skinless and boneless sardines in olive oil
- ½ bag of Trader Joe’s chopped kale

Directions:
1. Drip oil from the sardines into the pot and warm over medium-high heat.
2. Add the kale and saute for several minutes.
2. Add black bean soup and mix well.
3. Break up the sardines with a fork and stir into the soup.
4. Heat through and enjoy!

Frozen, fixed-up

When we actually got to Maryland, eating got even harder because all our stuff was with the movers! Our first night, it was off to Safeway to see what we could find. Lucky for us, a microwave was all we needed to have a fairly healthy dinner. We each picked out an Amy’s Organic frozen entrée, which come in many meat, dairy, and gluten free varieties. We also picked up a frozen steamer bag of (conventional) Brussels spouts. We didn’t even have to cut the bag; it cooked up perfectly in the microwave. Fresh, homemade food is better than processed frozen dinners, but this meal was a much better choice for us than picking up a pizza or other fast food.

Nuked nutrients

Later, we found a Whole Foods only a short drive from our new place. I’d never shopped at Whole Foods before although I’d heard many good things. In fact, Whole Foods is the only grocery store that has committed to working with the Campaign for Fair Food that I discussed in my post on farm worker treatment. As an ethical eater, I was most impressed by the amount of information that Whole Foods provides. In the produce section, each product is marked with its state of origin (or country if it’s imported) and whether it was grown organically or conventionally. Local produce even has the name of the farm and the miles the food traveled. Local and organic produce was scarce, which may simply be due to the cold temperatures. I would always prefer to purchase seasonal, organic produce from a local farm via a farmers market or CSA, but it’s nice to have a good back-up, available 7 days a week! The more I learn about nutrition, the more clear it becomes that eating lots vegetables is the key to good health. Sustainability is important, but I wouldn’t sacrifice the nutrition I get from veggies if seasonal, organic produce is unavailable.

We were able to get a good variety of organic fresh produce at Whole Foods. But again, with few cooking implements available to us, we had to get creative. Luckily, many fresh veggies can be steamed or baked in the microwave. Adding steamed veggies is a great way to add vitamins to any meal.

Microwaving broccoli requires a knife, unless you can find a bag of chopped broccoli (Whole Foods and TJs offer organic versions). You will also need a small casserole dish with a lid or, in a pinch, a small bowl and a plate large enough to cover it.

Instructions:
1. Chop broccoli into bite-sized pieces.
2. Place broccoli into microwave-safe casserole dish or bowl. Add about a teaspoon of water. Cover with lid or plate.
3. Microwave on high for 3 minutes for a regular-sized bowl.

Microwaving sweet potatoes is even easier. All you need is a fork!

Instructions:
1. Pierce two potatoes several times each with a fork.
2. Cover with a paper towel (not strictly necessary).
3. Microwave for 5-6 minutes for medium-sized potatoes (about 6 inches long). You may have to experiment a bit with your microwave to get it just right. They are done when you can easily slide the fork in and out of the potato.

Single-skillet tacos.

Over the weekend, some awesome friends lent us a few kitchen essentials so we were finally able to cook a real meal. They also gave us grass-fed ground beef from a nearby farm (seriously awesome friends!). We had only one skillet, one knife, and a mixing bowl, but we were able to put together skillet tacos from some more ingredients we bought at Whole Foods. We were able to find organic refried black beans without any added vegetable oil, and we opted for pre-cut (conventional) veggies. We also added organic curly (also called dino) kale for extra nutrients.

Cooking implements required:
- Can opener
- Skillet
- Spatula or spoon
- Knife (if using avocado)

Ingredients:
- 1.5 lbs grass-fed, pasture-raised, happy cow ground beef
- Organic black beans (refried or whole)
- 2-3 cups sliced veggies (such as bell pepper, onions, squash, or zucchini)
- ½ bunch of curly kale
- Organic corn taco shells or corn chips (optional)
- Amy’s organic salsa
- Taco seasoning mix

Instructions:
1. Rinse kale. I especially like using curly kale because you don’t even need a knife to work with it. Pull the leaves off the stems, and rip any large leaves into smaller pieces.
2. In large skillet over medium-high heat, break up ground beef and begin to sauté. When the meat has cooked to pinkish, add the taco seasoning mix and stir well.
3. Add kale and sliced veggies. If you have a smaller skillet, add the veggies slowly allowing them to cook down to preserve space before adding more.
4. When the meat is fully cooked (no pink) and the veggies are crisp-tender, remove from heat.
5. Microwave the beans, if you prefer them hot. The easiest way to do this is to spoon the beans into the bowls you will be eating from and nuke those.
6. Break up the taco shells or chips over the beans (if desired). Add the meat and veggie mixture. Top with salsa and avocado, to taste.

These tacos were a big hit. We had more meat and kale than we actually needed for 4 dinner servings, so we added the mixture to take-out veggie bowls from Chipotle. We also added the leftover kale to various meals throughout the week. It’s pretty tasty raw and goes well in scrambled eggs or with lentils. Just one cup of chopped kale has over 200% of your RDA of Vitamin A, 134% of your Vitamin C, 684% of you Vitamin K, and is high in folate, B-vitamins, manganese, copper, potassium, and calcium. It also has 2g of protein and 1g of fiber. (Read more about this awesome vegetable here.)

Moving, traveling, a busted pipe, or a broken stove… Many things can take you out of your normal cooking routine. Even so, there are easy ways of preparing healthy nutritious food. I hope this post helps you navigate these tricky situations in the future. Get creative, and get cooking!

Savory summer stew.

Eating seasonally means getting fresh fruits and vegetables that are easily grown within your local food landscape. That means fewer resources are needed to grow the food and, because it's local, you can get it fresher and with far fewer food miles. In the SF Bay Area, we are in the midst of nightshade season. My CSA box was chock full of them: tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers. Nightshades have a “shady” reputation because they contain substances that can be inflammatory or even toxic. If you find that you are sensitive to nightshades, then it's best to avoid them as much as possible. I find that, especially if they are well-cooked, nightshades are delicious and totally edible foods!

With all the farm fresh nightshades around, I was inspired to pull together a dish that would use eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers. Ratatouille came to mind immediately, but I am neither French nor a culinary genius. So I will say that this stew is merely inspired by ratatouille. It is also delicious and nutritious!

Prep time: 15 - 25 minutes depending on chopping efficiency
Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 medium tomatoes (I used 2 huge heirlooms)
• 3-4 medium zucchini
• 2-3 bell peppers (I used 1 green bell pepper and 2 gypsy peppers)
• 1 large eggplant
• 2T olive oil
• Basil, oregano, and thyme (to taste)
• Black pepper (to taste)
• Garlic powder or fresh diced garlic (to taste)

1. Cut the eggplant into quarters (or a few more pieces). Remove the skin. Place pieces into a colander and rub with sea salt.

2. Chop the zucchini into bite-sized pieces. Slice the peppers into strips. Coarsely chop the tomatoes preserving the drippings.

3. Rinse the salt off of the eggplant and pat the pieces dry. Chop the eggplant into bite-sized pieces.

4. In a large (non-stick) skillet, heat the olive oil on medium-high. If you are using fresh garlic, saute it for a few minutes. Add the eggplant, stirring enough that the oil coats the eggplant. The eggplant will soak up the oil pretty quickly, but as long as you use a non-stick pan, it should cook just fine. Cover the pan and allow the eggplant to cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Add the other vegetables and spices. I used about half a teaspoon each of garlic, basil, oregano, and thyme. Mix well. Cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes on medium-low or until the eggplant is mushy and the peppers have softened.

6. Enjoy!



Acknowledgements: This recipe was informed by a great blog post by Therese and a recipe from About.com.

Hearty black bean stew.

This is a hearty, flavorful dish that can be varied with the season. It can be made with sausage, or use mushrooms to create tasty vegetarian fare. To design your perfect stew, use the general ingredient list and add the ingredients from the variation that fits with your local food options and personal taste. I have also listed optional ingredients to kick up the spice.

Timing: About 30 minutes.

General ingredients:

• 2T olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 cans black beans
• 1 lb. cooked chicken sausage or 8 oz. mushrooms
• 1 T dried oregano
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• Winter variation: 2 cans diced/stewed tomatoes, 2 carrots, and 4-5 chard leaves
• Summer variation: 4-5 medium tomatoes, 1 red bell pepper
• Spicy variation: Dash of cayenne pepper, 1 jalapeno pepper

1. Chop the sausage. Dice the garlic and the jalapeno pepper (if applicable). All other vegetables should be coarsely chopped. If using fresh tomatoes, be sure to keep the juice. Drain and rinse the black beans.

2. Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add sausage and any veggies other than the tomatoes and garlic. Cook about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender.

3. Add garlic, and cook ~1 minute.

4. Stir in beans, tomatoes, and spices. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low.

5. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Enjoy!

Very veggie cassoulet.

Servings: About six bowlfulls.
Scraps for worms: About 4 cups.
Prep time: 25 min.
Cook time: 35 min.

This dish is easy to make and chock full of vitamins and minerals. There are a lot of veggies to chop, which can take a while especially if you are also cleaning them as you go. Hence, I would recommend this recipe for a weekend night. Alternatively, you could chop the veggies in advance (perhaps the night before), and then it would be easy to make the following night. This recipe is vegan and gluten free.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
10 cups coarsely chopped vegetables
8 oz sliced mushrooms or 2 portabella mushroom caps
3-4 cloves of minced garlic
8 cups of coarsely chopped greens
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
4 cups (3-4 cans) white beans
4 cups diced (3-4 cans) or chopped (fresh) tomatoes with liquid
2 cups broth
Pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper, to taste

Notes:
- For our 10 cups of veggies, we used: 1 leek, 1 yellow onion, 3 small red potatoes, 3 small carrots, and 4 medium zucchini.
- Our greens were a combination of collard greens, chard, and kale.
- We usually use veggie broth, but we had some leftover beef broth in the freezer that we made from special Marin Sun Farms beef bones for Thanksgiving. Another alternative to broth would be to add an extra can of tomatoes or just add water.
- We used pinto beans; I don’t know if they are technically white beans - the traditional sort for a cassoulet.
- We have a really big skillet with high sides. If you don’t have a huge pan, you should probably halve the recipe or at least leave out the mushrooms.

Directions:
1. Chop everything! Keep the vegetables, mushrooms, and garlic separate from the greens and the herbs. Drain and rinse the beans.
2. Warm olive oil over medium heat. Add the greens. Saute until greens wilt, about 5 minutes.
3. Add vegetables and garlic. Saute until veggies begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Stir often to cook evenly. Add pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper to taste.
4. Add tomatoes, herbs, and about half a cup of the broth. Stir well. Bring to a boil.
5. Add beans and the rest of the broth. Stir well. Bring to a boil; then, reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Pasta Perry.

The produce stand run by J. E. Perry Farms (Fremont, CA – 880 & Decoto Rd.) is my new favorite place to buy fresh fruits and vegetables! They grow most of the organic produce on-site so it’s about as “fresh & local” as you can get! Plus, they have a wide variety of organic and conventional produce so customers can still get all the produce they need in one place. One thing I especially appreciate is the labeling. They clearly mark all organic produce and those items grown on the farm. The boxes holding the fruit are from the farms that grew them so it’s easy to know how far the food traveled. Another perk is that the produce stand is open normal store hours: 9am – 7pm everyday from June 1st – Nov. 29th (those dates may vary year-to-year, I’m not sure). This means I can pop in on my way home from work or whenever I can fit in my weekend grocery shopping. The prices are reasonable and the variety is outstanding! On my most recent trip to the produce stand, I purchased all of the following:

Organic -
White peaches
Apricots
Plums
Limes
Lemon cucumber – Tastes like a regular cucumber but juicier.
Zucchini, yellow, and grey squash - The grey was a first for me!
Cheddar cauliflower – It’s orange and, when added to a sauce or casserole, makes everything taste sort of cheesy. Yum!
Eggplant
Red bell pepper
Tomatoes

Conventional –
Turnips

With all these awesome veggies, I decided to whip-up an impromptu pasta dinner. Here’s what I made using all organic vegetables from the produce stand:

Pasta Perry

This easy pasta dish uses long-lasting vegetables so it can be made up to a week after a trip to the grocery store. Makes 4-6 servings.

Timing: 30 min. or less
Type: (Mostly) pantry meal

3 small squash
1 small onion
1 head cheddar cauliflower
1-2 T olive oil
1 pkg. Whole Wheat Fettuccine (from Trader Joe’s)
1 jar Roasted Garlic Spaghetti Sauce (also TJs)

I also added a ½ lb of baked organic chicken from Marin Sun Farms that I had leftover from the night before. This dish is hearty enough without meat, but the chicken was fine and sausage would probably go well too. If you use fully cooked meat, add it at the end of step 2. Otherwise, cook it first (step 0), then go through the following steps and either add it to the sauce while the pasta is cooking or just top the off the bowl with meat. Additional veggies that would blend well are bell peppers or mushrooms added at step 1.

1. Wash all vegetables. Remove the leafy bits on the bottom of the cauliflower and discard. Chop the squash, onion, and cauliflower. Begin heating oil over medium heat in a skillet.

2. Add veggies to skillet. Let cook ~5 minutes or until the onions become translucent, stirring occasionally. Add the pasta sauce, mix well, and reduce heat to low.

3. Boil the water. Add the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package. Continue to occasionally stir the veggies.

4. When the pasta is done, drain and rinse. Put some in a bowl, top with veggie sauce, and enjoy!

A char(me)d life.

Okay, it’s a bad pun, but chard is actually pretty terrific. According to The Local Foods Wheel, chard is in season all year long in the SF Bay Area. One cup of chard provides 374% of your daily recommended intake of vitamin K, 44% of A, and 18% of C along with a few percent each of many other important vitamins and minerals and some protein and fiber. Amazingly, all this goodness is packed into only 7 calories!

I will admit I didn’t even know what chard was the first time I saw it at a farmers market. It looked kind of like a cross between romaine lettuce and bok choy. Some have red stalks, others green, or even white. I’m not sure the differences between varieties, but they are all yummy! Chard is easy to prepare. You can toss some into soups and stews or make a simple sauté of chard, garlic, and olive oil. We have mixed sautéed chard with quinoa (a terrific grain), tomatoes, and feta cheese for a nutritious side dish or lunch. My absolute favorite chard recipe is for chard chips. They are easy to make in the oven and have a smoky, almost meaty, flavor with just enough crunch. I can easily eat a whole bowl of chard chips, and they go great with (ethical) burgers or fajitas.

We took such a liking to chard that we decided to grow some on our front patio. We have only a tiny space, but these plants took up very little room and have been providing a steady supply of chard for the past month or so. Recently, I harvested some of our chard to make chard chips, and I decided to share the recipe (complete with pics!) with all of you. Enjoy!

How to make chard chips:

0. Pick up some chard (or kale) from your local farmers market. Here's what the separated and cleaned leaves look like:



1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Separate leafy bits from stems and discard stems (extra points if you compost them).



3. Toss leaves in olive oil, sea salt, and ground black pepper to taste. I also like to add a pinch of cayenne pepper or paprika for an extra kick. I used a teaspoon of olive oil for the all of the chard in these photos.

Tip: My favorite method for tossing is to put everything in a big Tupperware container, close it, and shake it up while dancing around the kitchen. I think it tastes better this way, but I guess you can choose your own favorite method.

4. Spread out leaves on a non-stick cookie sheet, and bake for about 5 minutes or until the chard is just beginning to brown. Chard releases a lot of moisture as it cooks so you may want to turn on the exhaust fan, if you have one, or leave a window open.

Tip: I try to place all my chard with the shiny side up. It’s then a lot easier to keep track of which leaves I have turned over (see next step).

5. Remove from oven, turn chard leaves over, and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until they look like this:



6. Eat 'em up!

Vegetarian Chili Over Baked Potato

This hearty, veggie chili recipe makes about six servings. If spread over multiple nights, cook the potatoes each night as needed.

Timing: 30 minutes or less
Type: Pantry meal

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium onion, chopped
6 baking potatoes (e.g. Russet, Yukon gold)
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
½ cup A1 steak sauce
3 large tomatoes, chopped (about 3.5 cups) OR 2 cans (28 oz, total) diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 pkg taco seasoning mix OR the following spices:

1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp crushed red pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp dried oregano
(If you don’t like spicy foods, halve this part of the recipe)

Shredded cheddar cheese, to taste (optional)

1. Chop onion, garlic, and tomatoes (if fresh). Drain and rinse beans. Rinse and scrub potatoes, remove any eyes (read: odd protrusions).
2. Warm oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic; cook until onions become glossy and translucent.
3. Stir in steak sauce, tomatoes, beans, and seasoning mix. Heat to a boil.
4. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10-15 minutes. The chili should thicken a bit.
5. While chili is simmering, stab potatoes in multiple places with fork or knife. Place on plate in microwave, and cook on high for 6-8 minutes for two potatoes, 12-15 minutes for six potatoes. They are fully cooked when a fork can easily be inserted and removed.
6. Slice a potato, top with chili, top that with shredded cheese, and serve!