Archive for month: September, 2016

Once the weather starts to cool down a bit, Sunday afternoons turn into my most cherished part of the week. In my opinion, it is hard to top a day that revolves around family, food, and fun! Whether we are preparing for the week ahead, trying out a new recipe, or cooking our favorite pot of chili, I almost always get to spend some time in the kitchen with my family on Sunday afternoon.

With Fall finally deciding to show its face this past weekend, we kicked off our season of Sundays with an afternoon of yard work, football, and a healthy dose of cooking together in the kitchen. All three of our children helped bake a batch of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies and my 7-year-old was the self-appointed sous-chef for the evening. She is extremely independent, especially in the kitchen, so I tried to choose a menu that would complement her skills and allow her to do a large amount of the preparation on her own. We ended up making grilled shrimp, Oven-Roasted Rosemary Potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and a large salad for dinner, and she was an excellent assistant!

Kennebec potatoes and rosemary were part of my Seasonal Roots basket this week, so I decided to make one of our family’s favorite fresh and easy sides: Oven-Roasted Rosemary Potatoes. I love this recipe because it is easy to make, it goes with almost anything, and everyone will eat it. My daughter was able to make this dish with very little assistance on my end, and she was extremely proud of the final result.

Kennebecs are a hefty, universal potato with an oblong shape and stouted ends. They have a thin skin, a firm and starchy flesh, and minimal water content, making them a popular choice for potato chips and French fries. Fans of the Virginia-based Route 11 Potato Chips can vouch for their yumminess!

Kennebec potatoes can also be baked, mashed, or roasted, and work perfectly in potato salads, curries, soups, and stews. Just remember to leave the skin on the potato so you can take full advantage of the nutritional benefits that it has to offer, including potassium, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin C, and fiber.

Oven-Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds Kennebec potatoes                                                                                                                            (you can also use red, fingerling, or a mixture)

1/8 to ¼ cup of olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

¾ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Chop potatoes into uniform bite-sized pieces and place in large bowl with olive oil, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Toss until potatoes are evenly coated and spread out evenly onto a baking sheet.

Bake for at least 1 hour, tossing a couple of times throughout, until browned and crisp. Season to taste and enjoy!

*If you aren’t already a Seasonal Roots member, come join us. It is the easiest way to ensure that your family has access to fresh, locally grown food on a weekly basis, and we deliver to your doorstep for free!

Sarah Young is a wife, mother of three, Certified Health Education Specialist, and healthy living advocate. She has a background in Dietetics and a B.S. in Health, Fitness, and Recreational Resources with a concentration in Health Promotion. She is also a writer for several local and online publications, an ambassador for the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation, and a health contributor for ABC 7 News/WJLA. In her spare time, she enjoys running, hiking, gardening, and spending time with her family and their dog, Maple.

When you think of traditional Southern food, what comes to mind? Sweet tea, collard greens, black-eyed peas, fried chicken, hushpuppies, okra, Smithfield ham, and sweet potato pie are at the top of my list. In fact, I just described what a traditional Sunday dinner used to look like at my great grandmother’s house. I can still remember sitting at a small table tucked into a side corner of her kitchen, watching her cook and taking in all of the wonderful smells that she was creating in the process.

While sweet tea, fried chicken, and hushpuppies haven’t made it to the Seasonal Roots market, I have come across several other traditional Southern favorites, including collard greens, black-eyed peas, and one of this week’s basket items, okra. I don’t remember eating the okra that was on my great grandmother’s dinner table, but I have had it throughout the years in soups or stews and maybe once or twice when eating out. It has been hanging out in my “take it or leave it” vegetable file. I would probably have never picked it up at the grocery store to bring home and cook, but I wouldn’t turn it away if it was offered to me, either. Fortunately for my taste buds, I was sent me home with a bag of Okra this week to experiment with in my own kitchen. Thank you, Erin!

I think that just about everyone thinks of fried okra when they think about traditional Southern foods, and with good reason. It is one of the easiest ways to prepare this vegetable and avoid the dreaded “slime” that is often associated with okra. I’m personally not a fan of fried foods, so I decided to find a healthier cooking alternative while experimenting this week. In the end, I tried out two methods: Oven-roasting and sautéing. Both turned out to be successful in our house and peaked my interest in cooking more with this interesting and versatile vegetable. Grilled okra is next up on my list. How do you prepare okra in your kitchen?

Easy Oven-Roasted Okra

It doesn’t get much easier than this, friends! For a delicious, slime-free side of okra, simply chop okra into 1/3” pieces and place onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, toss, and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10-12 minutes, until slightly tender.

Indian-Inspired Okra

Ingredients:

1 pound sliced fresh okra                               ½ teaspoon ground coriander

1 medium onion, chopped                              ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

2-3 tablespoons butter                                   Salt to taste

½ teaspoon ground cumin                           ½ teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook until tender.
2. Add okra and remaining ingredients to the skillet and cook for a few minutes, stirring to combine ingredients. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until tender (stirring occasionally). Enjoy!

Nutritional Benefits of Okra: There are a lot of healthy reasons to love okra. It is low in calories (just 30 calories per 100 grams) and full of dietary fiber, vitamins (A, B, E, C, and K), and minerals (iron, zinc, magnesium, potassium, and calcium).

Come join Seasonal Roots today!

Sarah Young is a wife, mother of three, Certified Health Education Specialist, and healthy living advocate. She has a background in Dietetics and a B.S. in Health, Fitness, and Recreational Resources with a concentration in Health Promotion. She is also a writer for several local and online publications, an ambassador for the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation, and a health contributor for ABC 7 News/WJLA. In her spare time, she enjoys running, hiking, gardening, and spending time with her family and their dog, Maple.