Video - Organic Swiss Chard Quesadillas

Here is a great video which is also a fun one for you sustainable gardeners, as it shows you one possible yummy outcome from your garden!  This shows the whole process, garden to table, so it's an entertaining as well as educational video. I think I'm going to try this one with some of the abundance of Swiss Chard I have in the fridge right now from my CSA....  I have really come to love Swiss Chard this winter - it's so sweet and tender, and as long as you cook the stems a little longer, you can use the whole thing (in this recipe, I would have sliced the stems up, and cooked them with the onion, and then they should have been nice and tender by the time it was all done - adding both nutrients and color).

Check it out, and be sure to come back and let us know how you liked it!

Swiss Chard Quesadillas Recipe
Swiss chard straight from the garden makes a quesadilla a hearty, nutrient-rich meal. Discover ways to grow and prepare greens with helpful hints from an organic gardener in this free video on garden-to-table cooking.

More Organic Recipes

Image via WikipediaSince I shared one of my recent concoctions with you on Monday (don't worry - I will follow up later with Meals #2 and 3 of the "3-meal chicken" rule!), I thought I'd find a couple of other good organic recipes to share with you. As some of you know, organic and local foods are one of my passions - both cooking and eating them! These recipes will show you just how yummy organic food can be, so check them out next time you're in the mood for a tasty and healthy meal (or snack).

Organic Egg Salad Recipe | Health Blog
A good egg salad combines the creamy texture of boiled eggs with chunky, crunchy bits of veggies and sets it all off with a tangy punch. This recipe for Organic Egg Salad puts a delicious twist on an old favorite and fits the bill but ...
Publish Date: 04/18/2011 4:00
http://healthishblog.com/organic-egg-salad-recipe/

Big T's Big Green Egg Recipe Blog: Chili Rubbed Pork Chops (organic)
...and occasional ORGANIC, GREEN or SUSTAINABLE cooking tidbits as well as the occasional off topic post. Selected as one of the "100 Best Blogs for Healthy and Delicious Recipes" by Nursing Schools.net ...
Publish Date: 04/28/2011 19:28
http://bigtsbge.blogspot.com/2011/04/chili-rubbed-pork-chops-organic.html

Recipe: Organic Bacon and Greens Snack Wrap | My Journey to Lean
This recipe was my first real success with the lovely, leafy vegetable. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Organic Bacon and Greens Snack Wrap. by Melissa McKinnon. Ingredients: 3 strips organic bacon, chopped; 1 bunch organic ...
Publish Date: 04/21/2011 21:04
http://myjourneytolean.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/recipe-organic-bacon-and-greens-snack-wrap/


More Organic Recipe Resources:
    

Recipe - Organic Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables

Since I get all my meat through a local CSA program, I find myself frequently faced with a whole chicken. As a single person, a whole chicken can seem a bit daunting to cook and eat, but I subscribe to the "3-meal rule" - one chicken can be made into 3 meals. The first is roasted chicken, the second is leftover meat pulled from the bones (and whatever you choose to make from this), and the third is soup made from the chicken bones. When you break it down this way, you can get quite a lot of food from one chicken (and remember, the chicken bones/carcass can be wrapped in foil and frozen, if you don't have the time to make soup right away. Chicken broth also freezes well - I like to freeze mine in yogurt cups, to have handy 1-cup measurements of broth ready when needed.)

This recipe is for Meal #1. Feel free as always to experiment and change up seasonings and ingredients! You can try other root vegetables as well if desired. All ingredients in mine, except for the lemon, oil, and onion, were locally raised and organic!

Organic Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 1 4-5 lb organic (or naturally raised) chicken

Snipped rosemary from my bush

• 1 TB extra-virgin olive oil (I used flavored rosemary & lemon olive oils, but plain would work as well)

• 2 large sprigs or 1 TB fresh minced or snipped rosemary (or 2 tsp dried, crushed)

• 1 cup chicken broth, or 1/2 cup water + 1/2 cup white wine (or some other combination of these)

• 3-4 carrots, peeled and cut in 2" pieces

• 2 medium turnips, peeled & diced (I also used one rutabaga)

• 2 medium potatoes, peeled & diced

• 1 onion, peeled & cut in small wedges

• 2 halves fresh lemon peel (optional)

• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:
1. In bottom of roasting pan, arrange all vegetables evenly.

Root veggies in roasting pan.

2. Rinse chicken inside and out, and drain well. Rub all over outside well with olive oil (flavored oils make a tasty variation!). Place on top of vegetables in roasting pan. (Tip: To avoid burned wing-tips, tuck under the drumsticks! See picture below for example.)

3. Sprinkle chicken all over with rosemary, pepper, and sea salt. Tuck the stripped rosemary sprigs, and lemon halves, if using, into cavity. (I just tried this as an experiment, since I used lemon-flavored olive oil on the outside. I had 2 lemon halves I had previously juiced for another purpose, so I just stuck both juiced halves of the peel inside for a subtle lemony flavor - it was great!)

Chicken ready for oven.

4. Gently pour broth or water/wine mixture into pan around edges. Add a sprinkle of sea salt over all.

5. Bake in 350-degree oven for 1-1 1/2 hours, until internal temperature with meat thermometer reaches 160-degrees (F). (Check a couple of times and if it starts getting brown too early, tent with foil until the last 10 minutes of cooking time. This recipe does NOT require basting.)

6. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving.

Dinner's on!

7. Remember to feed the compost!  :-)

Recipe: Black Beans with Brown-Sugared Ham

Here is a new recipe I came up with last week, when cleaning out my freezer to make room for the next round of meat from my CSA. This one is a hearty, healthy, and delicious recipe great for these long, cold winter nights! You could use other kinds of meat as well - venison would probably work well, or a tougher cut of beef. I cooked it in the crockpot for maximum tenderness and minimum work, but you could do it on the stove-top as well - it will still probably need a couple of hours, for the meat to fall apart as it should.

Feel free to improvise as you wish, and share your outcomes below!

But here is the way I did it:

Black Beans with Brown-Sugared Ham

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups black beans (dry), rinsed and soaked 8 hours
1 ham hock, or small ham, bone-in (organic/naturally raised)
1 large onion, diced
3 TB brown sugar
2 tsp ground cumin
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 fresh (or frozen) jalepeno peppers
1/2 tsp salt
Water, to cover

Instructions:

1. Spread diced onion in bottom of 2-qt (or larger) crockpot.
2. Rub ham liberally with brown sugar on all sides, and set on top of onions. Sprinkle minced garlic over.
3. Drain black beans and rinse well. Fill beans in around ham. Sprinkle with the cumin.
4. Pour diced tomatoes over all. 
5. Gently pour in water until beans are completely covered (it is okay if ham sticks up a little above the beans).
6. Cover crockpot tightly, and cook on High for 4 hours. Lower heat to Low, and continue to cook 2 more hours. 
7. Mince jalepenos (or other small hot peppers) finely, add to crock pot with salt, and stir well. Cook 1-2 more hours, til done. Beans should be tender, and ham falling off the bone. 
8. Using a fork, shred meat, and remove the bone.
9. Serve hot, with green salad or steamed greens, and cornbread.