Garden of Eating: A Blog Review
Friday, January 16th, 2009Since I am a food person, I naturally gravitate to other food blogs and food websites. My friend, Honey Friedman, directed me to this site called the Garden of Eating authored by Eve Fox of Berkeley, CA (With a name like Eve, it’s a perfect blog title.) I enjoy Eve’s weekly recipes, both for ideas and for experimenting in my own kitchen.
We have a similar philosophy, which is to buy seasonal, local, organic food whenever possible. Eve lives in California, so she has an easier time obtaining locally grown food than those of us in the East, but I still embrace the philosophy in theory and whenever possible, in practice. This week’s recipe sounds delicious and is reprinted below with Eve’s permission. For more of Eve’s delicious dishes and food ideas, please go to her blog: http://gardenofeatingblog.blogspot.com/ and subscribe.
Here is a note from Eve about Eatwell Farm, where she obtains locally grown produce.
Thanks to northern California’s mild climate, the growing season lasts year-round here so it is totally feasible to begin a venture like this in the middle of the winter! We are now signed up to receive a box of locally-grown, organic produce once every two weeks (we had felt a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of produce when we were receiving a box each week and figured this would be a more manageable amount for us.)
Ingredients
1 large bunch spinach, washed and dried (if the leaves are really large you may want to shred or cut them a little bit to make them easier to deal with)
1 large onion, peeled and chopped (I personally think you can’t use too much onion in this recipe so feel free to use more than this if you have it on hand!)
2-3 cups organic cheese, shredded (I recommend using either cheddar, monterey jack, or pepper jack if you like a little more spice)
1 package of organic whole wheat tortillas (you’ll need at least 8 tortillas – some packs come with 8 and some come with 10)
2 Tbsps olive or canola oil
1-2 tsps sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1-2 tsps ground cumin
Pinch of chili flakes or powder (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy pan and sautee the onions until translucent and sweet. Add the spinach (you may have to add it in batches to get it to fit in the pan) and stir for several minutes until it is fully cooked down. Season to taste with salt, pepper, cumin and chili – you want it to be very flavorful. It’s okay to make it a little on the saltier side since the cheese will provide a much more neutral, unsalted counterpoint.
3. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat and rub it with a little oil. While you’re waiting for it to heat, prepare your first quesadilla for cooking by spreading a layer of the spinach and onion filling, add a layer of cheese (keep in mind the number of quesadillas you have yet to make when you use the filling and cheese so that you can dole it out equally amongst them), and then top another quesadilla.
4. Put the quesadilla in the pan and cook for several minutes until the bottom is nicely browned, then press the top down gently to get the cheese to help stick it in place and flip it over to brown the other side for another two minutes or so.
5. Once done, remove to a plate and keep warm in a low oven until ready to serve. When all the quesadillas are done, cut them into triangles (as big or small as you like) and serve with the salsa (See Eve’s recipe below. I plan to try this in the summer, when I serve outdoors. es) and sour cream. ¡Buen provecho!
Ingredients
2 ripe mangoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 small jicama, finely diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, washed, dried and chopped
Juice of two ripe limes
Sea salt
Directions
Combine the first four ingredients, then add the lime juice, stir thoroughly, and add sea salt to taste!
