By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author
This week’s intuitive culinary creation was inspired by beautiful Winter Veggies from The Farm at South Mountain Soil & Seed Garden CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). The Farm, a local urban farm in Phoenix, Arizona, is a few minutes walk from my home and I enjoy the simple beauty of The Farm, along with the beautiful produce grown on the property.
As much as I love roasted root veggies, we can enjoy raw roots (like radishes, beets, and kohlrabi) and a quick arugula salad to elevate simple olive tapenade appetizer.
Let’s take a look at the Winter beauty of The Soil & Seed Garden, passionately farmed by urban farmer Billy Anthony.
The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona, Winter 2019
The Greens, Purples and Citrus in this week’s Winter CSA from the Soil & Seed Garden at The Farm at South Mountain.
The Farm at South Mountain Soil & Seed Garden Winter CSA: Greens, Purples, and Citrus.
And, the beauty of the purple kohlrabi growing at the Soil & Seed Garden.
The Farm at South Mountain Purple Kohlrabi.
Olives and Tomato Tapenade Recipe
Sun-dried or dehydrated tomato and olive spread is a tasty topping for farmers’ market fresh raw veggies.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ cups Kalamata olives, pitted
- ½ cup sun-dried or dehydrated tomatoes, soaked in water (Used previously dehydrated Campari tomatoes from McClendon Select Farm in Arizona)
- 2-3 green onions, sliced (I’itoi’s onions)
- 2 tbsp capers
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley (Blue Sky Organic Farms)
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil, as needed (Chris Bianco, Pane Bianco Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Mise en Place: Olive Tomato Tapenade
SIMPLE STEPS
- Gather your mise en place.
- Roughly chop the sun-dried or dehydrated tomatoes; drain oil, if needed.
- Mince garlic.
- Add garlic and olives to food processor and pulse until fine, not paste-like.
- Remove olive and garlic mixture from the food processor.
- Place sun-dried or dehydrated tomatoes in food processor and process until fine.
- Add capers and parsley and pulse a few times.
- Mix olive/garlic mixture with sun-dried tomatoes/capers/parsley mixture with a fork.
- Add olive oil until you reach desired consistency.
- Fold in green onions.
- Enjoy the tapenade on veggies or raw crackers.
Olive Tomato Tapenade
Quick Marinated Root Veggies Recipe
With fresh veggies, a little olive oil, salt, and fresh herbs, create a beautiful olive tapenade appetizer.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
- 3-5 red or purple radishes
- 1 purple kohlrabi
- 1 purple daikon radish
- 2 cups arugula
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil (Chris Bianco / Pane Bianco Italian Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
- 1-2 green onions (I’Itoi Onions)…sharp peppery flavor
- 1 spring fresh dill (Blue Sky Organic Farms)
- Pinch sea salt
Soil & Seed Garden: Radishes, Purple Daikon, Purple Kohlrabi, I’itoi Onions, Wild Arugula.
SIMPLE STEPS
- Thinly slice radishes and kohlrabi with a mandoline.
Thinly slice radishes with a mandoline.
The beauty of Red Radishes, Purple Daikon & Purple Kohlrabi.
- Spread the veggies flat on unbleached parchment paper.
One view of mindfulness in the kitchen.
- Gently spread a drop of olive oil on each veggie.
- Sprinkle a few grains of sea salt onto each veggie.
- Sprinkle onions and dill onto the veggies.
- Let the veggies marinade for about 15 minutes.
In awe of the marinating veggies.
- Plate tapenade with the veggies.
- Enjoy with arugula tossed in a simple salad dressing (lemon, olive oil, sea salt)
A look at the final Tapenade & Marinated Veggies
Olive Tomato Tapenade. We eat with our eyes first.
Enjoy the Olive Tapenade, Marinated Veggies, Wild Arugula.
The Soil & Seed Garden Arugula. Tapenade. Marinated Veggies.
Purchase Melanie Albert’s award-winning cookbook, “A New View of Healthy Eating: Simple Intuitive Cooking with Real Whole Foods”
COOKING CLASSES AT THE FARM AT SOUTH MOUNTAIN IN PHOENIX, ARIZONA
Thanks to Natural Awakenings AZ magazine for featuring my Plant-Based Chocolate Pie on the cover and Plant-Based Dessert recipes in the January 2019 issue.
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