Winter Warm-Up

We might have survived the coldest weekend of the year, but it's not spring yet!  If you need something to thaw you out and get you through the week there's nothing like a big pot of chili.  The secret to good chili is, of course, the meat.  Ground beef is all well and good but I like a nice pork butt (actually cut from the shoulder) slow cooked with lots of jalapenos!  

Pulled Pork Chili

2lb Pork Butt

2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Oil

2 Yellow Onions

6 Cloves Garlic

4 Jalapenos

2 Bell Peppers

2 Cans Diced Tomatoes

2 Cups Frozen Corn

2 Cans Black Beans

2 Cups IPA

2 Tbsp. Chili Powder

1 Tbsp. Red Pepper Flakes

2 tsp. Turmeric

2 tsp. Cumin

1 tsp. Coriander

Salt & Pepper

Rub the pork with a little bit of olive oil and the brown sugar.  Cover and set aside.  In your chili pot 

saute onions and garlic in the oil until golden brown.  Add the jalapenos and peppers and continue to cook until soft.  Add the pork, sear on all sides.  Add the tomatoes and enough water to cover the meat, turn the heat down and let it simmer for 2 hours, turning the pork occasionally.  

Remove the pork and tear apart with a pair of forks.  Return to the pot with the rest of the ingredients and let it simmer for another hour.  

Serve with cheese or sour cream!

Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe

By Gail Winning, KITCHEN volunteer

As a former collegiate athlete, I look forward to playoff seasons and the Olympics because these events epitomize players' love for their sport and the passion that has driven them through endless practices to arrive at this point. We get to show our support by watching the games and celebrating with friends, often involving food.  Every year I make my college roommate's Spinach Artichoke Dip and the bowl is always wiped clean.   I'm not sure where the recipe originated from but it'll be something I continue to pass along and so can you. 

Spinach Artichoke Dip

1 tbl butter

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 shallot finely chopped

1 box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed/dried

1 can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and chopped

1 package (8oz) of cream cheese

1 tub (8oz) sour cream

1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated)

Splash of Worcestershire Sauce

1. In a medium to large pot, melt butter and saute garlic and shallots until soft and fragrant (5-7min).

2. Add the spinach and artichokes to warm up for 2-3min.

3. Cut the cream cheese into smaller cubes and add to the pot, stir, allowing cheese to melt.

4. Add sour cream and continue stirring to combine everything.

5. Add parmesan cheese and Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm with tortilla chips or bread. 

What's the Scoop on Food and Arts: A Marriage in The Public Market?

BostonAPP/Lab: Art in Public Places

Food and Arts: A Marriage in The Public Market

This blog is an invitation to artists: via BostonAPP/Lab, find out about the Kitchen – a 3200sf demonstration area that serves as a key part of The Boston Public Market itself -- open since August 2015 as a major new destination in Boston: the only locally-sourced market of its kind in the US, with 38 vendors offering everything from poultry to eggs to shellfish to baked goods to flowers. On the menu: a challenge to discover/invent/create new opportunities to activate the space in and surrounding the Kitchen!

With the support of The Trustees of Reservations, the Boston Public Market’s outreach and programming partner, The Kitchen has already witnessed skill-building workshops that highlight The Trustees’s focus on community, sustainability, excellence, and collaboration.

Next course: a search for ways in which artists from all disciplines can contribute to further the reach and impact of The Market and its Kitchen:

• What kinds of installations, what kinds of performances, what kinds of interactive engagement?
• What does, or could, a marriage between food and art look like?
• Are there ways to incorporate into this new generation of activation other elements within the Trustees’ portfolio of community gardens and open space?

Helping to frame up this brainstorming workshop will be: John Vasconcellos, Senior Regional Director, Boston and the Southeast, for The Trustees; Cheryl Cronin, CEO of The Boston Public Market; andMackenzie Sehlke, Assistant Market Manager, Programming. This will be the start of a long-term initiative, and we’ll be announcing next steps at the workshop itself.

To register and to learn more about the BostonAPP/Lab Art in Public Places, visit architects.org/committees/bostonapplab-art-public-places

Do You Know the Muffin Man? (or Woman)

There's nothing better on a cold winter morning than a warm, chewy muffin.  And as it turns out there's nothing easier to bake either.

(Our delicious Chocolate Gingerbread Muffins)

Muffins are a great recipe to make as a family.  Start with a basic batter and try all sorts of creative combinations.  Think beyond blueberries and walnuts.  Dried cherries and chocolate?  Candied ginger and apples?  Bacon and scallions?  The possibilities are endless and your mornings will never be the same.  

2 Cups Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

2 tsp. Baking Powder

½ tsp. Salt
1 Cup Buttermilk

¼ Cup Honey

1/3 Cup Canola Oil

1 Egg

1 tsp. Vanilla

In separate bowls mix together the dry and wet ingredients.  Fold the wet into the dry until combined. Divide into muffin pans and bake at 350 for 15-20 min.  

Come by The KITCHEN Sun. 1/17 and 1/31, 11-1pm to make some ingenious muffins of your own!

Smart Snacking

Short days and cloudy skies always make me hungry.  Give me a continuous supply of coffee and I'll snack all winter long.  Rather than try to kick the habit, we in The Kitchen are making an effort to snack healthier this year.  We're kicking this off with "Make Your Own Market Mix" days.

We've collected the tastiest bits we can find around The Market for you to pick and choose from.  Mix up some Q's Nuts, Taza Chocolate, Sweet Lydia's Marshmallows, and much more!  You'll have a (mostly) healthy snack to curb your hunger.  

Market Mix will be Wed, 1/20 12-1pm, Sun, 1/24 11-1pm, and Wed. 1/27 12-1pm.  

Hope to see you there and stay tuned for more smart snacking ideas.  

Food Allergies by Gail Winning, RN-BC

 This week we have two well acclaimed guests joining us to talk about food allergies and how to cook great tasting food while still adhering to the parameters set by the allergy. This event made me think of all the people I know with food allergies, more than a handful, and I'm sure you can think of more than a handful.  According to the CDC, 4-6% of kids and 4% of adults live with food allergies.  Now, we aren't talking about those who chose to be vegan or are cutting gluten out as means to curb carbs but those whose bodies chemically respond to the allergen.

Selfishly, having those people over for dinner can be difficult, goodbye mixed nuts to accompany your great cheese platter, no pasta as a side dish, and definitely no chocolate mousse for dessert.  But it does force me to be more creative when it comes to cooking which maybe is a blessing in disguise.  The most common food allergies are milk, egg, fish, shellfish, nuts, wheat, and soy.  Learning more about cooking without certain allergy triggering foods sounds like a daunting undertaking but can definitely be done.

As a nurse, I've taken care of patients who have had reactions, which can range from hives to full out anaphylaxis.  It can be scary knowing that even just peanut dust in the air can make it hard to breathe and requires a hospital visit for help.  Avoidance of the trigger is the only prevention which requires vigilance by the individual.   So how can we help those with food allergies? Awareness is the first step towards making changes. 

Ready? Here are great places to get started:

http://www.foodallergy.org/http://www.foodallergy.org/

http://www.foodicinehealth.org/http://www.foodicinehealth.org/

https://www.ming.com/food-and-wine/food-allergy-awareness.htmhttps://www.ming.com/food-and-wine/food-allergy-awareness.htm

Bakeology 101: Poori

It's a New Year and it's time to stop using your oven for extra storage space.  While baking can seem more complicated than savory cooking, it's also a lot more fun!  So we're going back to basics here in The Kitchen to help you ease into it.

Poori is a wonderfully versatile Indian flat bread with only 4 simple ingredients.  It's traditionally fried in ghee (clarified butter) which gives it an extremely rich, flaky texture.  But plain vegetable oil will do just as well, and give you a light, crisp base that's a great base for pizza, roll-ups, and desserts.

  1 Cup Flour
  1/4 tsp. Salt
  1 1/2 tsp. Oil
  1/2 Cup Water

Mix flour and salt.  Drizzle in the oil and rub it into the flour.  Add a little water at a time until a sticky ball forms.  With a little extra flour knead for 5 min. or so until a smooth ball forms.  Coat in oil and cover. Let it rest for 15 min while heating 1 in. oil in a deep frying pan.  Divide the dough into 6 even pieces.  Roll one ball at a time into a 4in. round disc leaving the others covered while you work to keep them from drying out.  Keeping the dough as flat as possible lay it into the oil.  Don't be afraid!  It may sink but should float almost immediately and begin to bubble.  Fry until lightly tan and puffy, flipping once.  Transfer to paper towel line baking sheet to drain.  Repeat with the others.

If your confidence needs a personal boost check out our upcoming Bakeology classes.  The next one's Saturday, Jan. 30th from 4-6pm and we'll be whipping up some delicious quick breads.  Hope to see you there!