A Farm to Table Dinner and a Recipe! Pasta Alfredo with Fresh Peas, Spinach and Eggplant

 CSA Event, Events, Farming and Food Sustainability, Slow Food  1 Response »
Nov 182011
 
Farm to Table Dinner at the Floridian in St Augustine
featuring

First order of business….a glass of wine.

And a peek at the restaurant, pre-event…

My Mom getting a glass as well before the guests arrive…

The Guests of Honor, Francisco and Vivian from KYV Farm

My friends Courtney and Anthony were there for the first seating!

My only regret is that I didn’t get any photos of the vegetarian dishes as I started eating them too quickly! (ok and the other regret is that I didn’t have someone else taking photos. I barely got any.).
End of Summer Rolls

Tracy from Slow Food, MJ and Kathleen from Timberlin Creek (remember the school garden I visited?)

Autumn Greens Salad

Green Tea Brined Cartwheel Ranch Pork Chop with KYV Winter Squash Hash with Satsuma Reduction and Radish Slaw

Tracy, MJ, Kathleen, Vivian and me!

Tracy said a few words at the event about Slow Food and thanking everyone for coming…

Francisco stood up to give a touching and heartfelt speech about the trials, tribulations and rewards of running a farm…

I love this photo of everyone watching as he spoke…

The peas featured in the Autumn Salad inspired this pasta recipe.

This dish includes all veggies that are in season right now in Florida.  Simple, comforting and delicious. This combo can’t be beat!
Pasta Alfredo with Fresh Peas, Spinach and Eggplant
Inspired by nothing other than the fresh veggies from the farm
Vegan and Gluten Free
Makes about 8 1-cup servings

Peas
2 cups uncooked, shelled peas
1 bay leaf
2 tsp salt

Pasta
8oz brown rice (or whole wheat) pasta

Veggies
2 small eggplant (I used white Japanese), chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
5 cups Chinese spinach (or baby spinach)

Alfredo (half this if you don’t like a lot of sauce)
2 cups plain, unsweet non-dairy milk (or milk of choice), I used rice milk
1/2 cup vegan mozzarella shreds (or shredded cheese of choice), such as Daiya
1/4 nutritional yeast (optional)

Directions

1. Fill a medium pot about 2/3 full of water; bring to a boil; add peas, bay leaf and salt.  Reduce heat and simmer about 35 minutes or to desired tenderness.  Drain and set peas aside in a large bowl.

2. In the same pot cook pasta to package directions; spray with cooking spray and toss to prevent sticking; pour into pot with peas.

3. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medim heat; add eggplant and onion; cook stirring frequently for 10 minutes; lower heat, add garlic and cook an additional two minutes; stir in spinach, season all with salt and pepper and toss until spinach is wilted. Toss vegetables in with peas and pasta.

4. Pour milk, cheese and nutritional yeast into pot peas were boiled in.  Heat over medium low heat until just bubbling, stirring frequently until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes.  Pour over pea, pasta and vegetable mixture, toss to coat.  Taste and add seasoning if necessary.
 Posted by at 1:33 am

Reminder for two upcoming events for my local friends!

 Events, Farming and Food Sustainability  No Responses »
Oct 242011
 
Join KYV Farm and Yoga Den for
                 Free Range Yoga
Benefiting Slow Food First Coast
Saturday, November 5th at 10:30AM
KYV Farm 1670 Borrow Pit Road, Switzerland, FL

http://slowfoodfirstcoast.com/
Workshop will be an all-levels appropriate 1-hour class.
Bring your grocery bags as fresh, organic veggies will be for sale after!
Pricing
** Please bring cash or check made out to Slow Food First Coast
$10 KVY farm share members
$15 non- KVY farm share members
What to bring:
Mat
Towel
Water
Weather appropriate clothing
Contact Info:
Organizer          Dawn Hutchins              904-534-4252 www.floridacoastalcooking.com
KYV Farm          Vivian Bayona                 (787) 232-2234
Yoga Den          Alyson Foreacre            (904) 268-8330
**Please note that workshop will be weather permitting and will be canceled in inclement weather.
__________________________________________________

FARM TO TABLE DINNER
Benefiting Slow Food First Coast
 NOVEMBER 15TH
  “It’s going to be the freshest and tastiest event of the fall!”
Vivian Bayona, KYV Farm
Four course meal will be served at
The Floridian, St Augustine.
Participating farms include
KYV Farm, Cartwheel Ranch and Terks Acres Goat Farm.
Call The Floridian for Reservations:   904-829-0655
First seating at 6pm followed by a second seating at 8pm.
$35* for meat option
       $25* for vegetarian option
         *Price increases $5 after Nov. 8th
Questions?
      Call the Floridian at 904-829-0655 or Dawn Hutchins at 904-534-4252
 “Events like this are great for bringing more awareness of the farm to table movement on the First Coast.” – Genie Kepner, The Floridian
 Posted by at 2:28 pm

Table for Two. A Giveaway!

 Events  24 Responses »
May 202011
 
Last weekend was spent camping in St Augustine and doing “the usual” which consisted of hitting the farmers market before lunch and then heading back to the campground to relax in the afternoon.

This time at the market something special happened.

I got to meet Warren Caterson, the writer of Table for Two!  It is a fabulous cookbook that features recipes with smaller servings for, you guessed it, two people.  I have so many now marked off I wasn’t sure where to start.  Should it be the Thai Spiced Grilled Shrimp?  The Rice with Pine Nuts and Raisins? Flat Iron Steak with Honey and Balsamic Vinegar? Vegetarian Korma?

Since it was my two year old and I for dinner as the “table for two” that night I let her choose as I read a few of the recipes aloud thinking she would want one of the rice dishes.  In the end I should have guessed it.

Buttered Noodles. 

Ok then.  Buttered Noodles it is.  I would typically use olive oil but, as I’ve said in the past, sometimes everything is better with a little butter and keeping it simple is one of the best ways to showcase each ingredient.  I really struggle with the whole keeping it simple thing so this would be a good exercise.
Since she is allergic to wheat and dairy I used brown rice noodles and soy free Earth Balance.

After I prepared this I remembered why keeping it simple is so great.  You miss out on some of the best recipes when you continue to complicate things and throw a bit of this and bit of that.  I loved it.  Simple. Delicious. 
There are so few versatile cookbooks that can offer dishes I am dying to try like Sweet Potato Burritos and Malaysian Quinoa, that my husband will love like Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Dijon Mustard, and, that my daughter loves, like these hot buttered noodles.
In the spirit of keeping it simple I dressed mine up with grilled veggies and a bit of goat cheese and that’s it.

For the giveaway I have great news.  Warren has generously offered to send an autographed copy of Table for Two to the lucky winner!
Table for Two is the perfect cookbook for young couples, empty nesters, and everyone in between. This easy-to-read resource features over 235 classic and nouveau recipes scaled down for two people so there is a minimum of leftovers and each recipe is made with fresh and readily available ingredients. The best news? Dinner can be on the table in well under an hour – some entrees in as little as 15 minutes. As an added bonus, suggested menus and prep and cooking times are also included to help you plan each meal. So…explore and enjoy cooking with your special someone. After all, this is the cookbook for couples.
Table for Two is available on-line: www.tablefortwocookbooks.com, amazon.com, target.com, walmart.com or at your favorite bookseller.

Here are the rules:
1. Leave me a comment telling me what your current favorite meal to cook for your “table for two” is.  
2. Nab a second entry by “liking” Florida Coastal Cooking on Facebook, signing up to follow at this site and/or following dhcooks on twitter and letting me know you did in the comments.
3. Tweet, Facebook and/or post about this giveaway for a third entry!
The winner will be chosen by Random.org on Tuesday, May 31st 5pm Eastern time.  I will contact the winner via email to get your mailing address so don’t forget to include that!
  
Hot Buttered Noodles for a Table for Two;
One Mommy and One Two Year Old
Altered from Table for Two Cookbooks “Buttered Noodles” pp. 235

Ingredients

1/4 lb brown rice pasta, cooked to package directions
1 Tbsp Earth Balance (soy free), room temp
Sea salt and garlic powder, to taste

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients.
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