go go greens

Thanks to a blissful afternoon visit with my old friend Harmony on her parents 17 acre farm, and a weekend produce run to my favourite organic farm on the Sunshine Coast, I've been up to my ears in delicious nutritious local produce - greens in particular.

I'm glad the local food movement is gaining steam. Eating locally is so much better for our planet, our communities, and ourselves than trucking produce in. But wait, buying locally from farmers is so much more expensive, isn't it? Well yes, the up front cost can be more but hidden costs add up. Your tax dollars go towards subsidizing fuel write offs for big companies, so you actually could be paying significantly more than you think for that pale tasteless tomato bouncing along in a refrigerator truck from California, not to mention the nutrient loss that started the second that tomato was picked in it's sad under ripe state (it never really reached it's nutritional peak in the first place). Plus, buying directly from local farmers means that 100% of the profit goes back to them, rather than the meager 19% most farmers get for their efforts, and anyone who has ever tried their hand at growing food knows that the $3 your local farmer is charging for a bunch of organic carrots is a freaking bargain for the back breaking labour it took to get them into your grocery bag.

So back to those greens - I left Harmony's place with a huge bag stuffed full of swiss chard and kale, munching on some of it during my drive back into the city. The following day for lunch I made myself "eggs in a nest" from Barbara Kingsolver's latest book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. If you liked the 100 Mile Diet, you'll love this book too. You can get in line to borrow it from me when I'm done.

For the eggs in a nest you chop up some onion, carrots, garlic, and tomato. Her original recipe called for rehydrated dehydrated tomatoes because that's what she was working with at that time of year. I had fresh ones in the house, so that's what I used instead. So saute all of the above until slightly soft, adding the tomatoes near the end. Then take one really big bunch of swiss chard, roughly chop and add to the pan. Put a lid on it and let the chard wilt down a bit, then using a spoon make some hollows in the veg mixture, careful not to expose the pan. I made this dish for one, so I had to push all the veg in the middle of the pan and then make my hollow, but if you were making this for a bunch of people you'd have lots more stuff in the pan and would just go around the pan making little hollows where you could. Crack one free range egg you got from your favourite local egg source (for me the north road egg lady on the coast), and replace the lid. Allow the egg to poach amidst the greens and veg until it is done to your likeness. Barbara Kingsolver served this over brown rice, but I had quinoa in the fridge that needed to be eaten so I used that instead. This was one of the most delicious and nutritious lunches I've had in a while, and will be a repeat item in my house for sure.

With the kale I made a huge fritatta by chopping up this awesome sweet onion I got from the farm, bulb and greens and all, sauteing it in the pan and then course chopping the mass of kale I had and adding it in. Kale doesn't wilt down quite as much as other greens, so it took 12 egg lady eggs scrambled up with a touch of milk to cover it all. I let this cook on the stove top and then chucked it in the oven to cook for while in there. When nearly done I added sliced tomatoes and some grated cheese to the top (the only non local ingredient, but I'm working on that) and finished it under the broiler. It made 10 servings, and was yumolicious.

And now I'm ready for more greens!