The first dish we watched in action. How does this delicious meal come alive? It starts with the patience to prepare food from scratch, using whole ingredients and 3 burners on the stovetop at once. And it involves a balance of taste, texture and nutrition that's not calculated but intuited.
It comes from the heart and experience of Helen Abwoch, a Sudanese grower who participates in Cultivating Community's New American Sustainable Agriculture Project. She has been farming for several years and sells her produce as a Fresh Start Farms grower at Deering Oaks Farmers' Market in Portland. She begins by slicing onions, prefering to chop them in her hands instead of on a cutting board.
Next comes the collard greens, with the stems minced and the greens sliced extra thinly. These leaves are among the healthiest foods on the planet. Grab a whole bunch when you cook - they shrink to a fraction of their initial volume.
The beef is added to sauteed onions, cooked together to capture the flavors together, then later mixed with tomato and curry powder. Not just any curry powder, though! Each blend has a unique combination of spices.
Shredded cabbage cooks in the juice of fresh tomatoes, making them more palatable for those among us who are typically adverse to cabbage. Let it become very soft and tender.
By the time Helen posed here, the trace of a homecooked lunch had completely filled our office air. Needless to say, our mouths were watering!
Looking for the recipe? Join our food community here with a CSA share and look forward to new recipes and photos throughout the season :)
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We have a lot to learn from each other. Sharing food is among the earliest and most basic ways we build relationships. Growing, cooking, and eating it together makes us realize that there may be a thousand and one ways to prepare greens - but we can all relate to that sense of satisfaction we get from the first bite. Bon Appétit!
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