Fresh Food in the City

Say hello to Lauren! She's been nice enough to guest today, and I have to tell you: if Lauren tells you something about good food, you need to listen up. She's pretty much one of the best cooks around (last time I was at her place up up uptown, she made duck). (DUCK!) Show her some love, won't you?

Living in NYC, you have access to just about anything your little heart desires. And when it comes to food, you have your pick of cuisine, anytime, night or day. But when it comes to produce, sometimes you are stuck picking up your bananas from a fruit stand on the street, and you have NO idea where they came from. Sometimes it is hard to be particular about your produce in this city of sometimes-too-many options.

Entrance, CSA. For those of you who don't know what a CSA is, it stands for Community Supported Agriculture. And to quote the wonderful site JustFood.org: "When you become a member of a CSA, you’re purchasing a 'share' of vegetables from a regional farmer. Weekly or bi-weekly, from June until October or November, your farmer will deliver that share of produce to a convenient drop-off location in your neighborhood."

Although I don't live in Amy's awesome borough of Brooklyn, I do live in the awesome Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights. My best friend, Christy, lives about a block from me, and we split our weekly vegetable CSA share. Here is a Tuesday evening in the life of Lauren and Christy with a CSA:



Picking up our veggies:  Our drop-off location is in the beautiful Fort Tryon Park at the New Leaf Cafe (an awesome fresh food restaurant, by the way).  A short walk into this park on a Tuesday night after work is kind of a treat in itself.



But then we see the board for today and sneak a peak at the beautiful produce we have in store.



Look at our booty! (I mean our vegetable booty, of course.) Usually, we just split it between us; but tonight, we are cooking a meal together with some of our new fresh ingredients.

RECIPE
Pan-Grilled Tomato and Chicken Tacos

Step 1: Cut up the tomatoes (we decided to use three types: beefsteak, yellow juliet tomatoes, and a zebra tomato)--oh and a little wine always helps...

Step 2: Add a little olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat, and then add chopped tomatoes, cook for about 10-12 minutes until reduced





Step 3: Cut up chicken into one-inch cubes, dice a yellow onion, 2 cloves garlic, a chili pepper, chives, and cilantro

Step 4: in a large skillet, add olive oil over medium high heat, then add onion and garlic and let simmer for 3 minutes

Step 5: Once onion has softened, add chicken and chili pepper and stir until chicken is cooked through.



Step 6: Add tomatoes, chives, and cilantro and stir for another minute then remove from heat



Step 7: Serve chicken mixture in a warm tortilla with cheese and sour cream



Step 8: ENJOY!



Visit JustFood.org to find your local CSA.

Comments

[Rachel B.]

Great post! The pictures are excellent!

[leah]

Yum, that actually looks easy AND delicious! Love the step-by-step pix. Thanks Lauren! :)

[Steve]

I have to buy new socks because mine were just blown off!!!!

I can say personally that this recipe and very delicious.

[Anna]

Great recipe!!!

[Denise]

nice job, LB!

[Karen]

This is so fun - cannot wait to try the recipe. You're making me HUNGRY! I wonder if Amy will return with some Asian-flair recipes for us. :)