Protect your health and environment by making conscientious food choices. According to the Center for science in the Public interest, “eating healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way” is important to repair our food system. spending some of your food dollars on food produced locally secures our food system by decreasing pollution from long-haul transportation and health scares created by cheap, industrial-scale agriculture. The advantage of knowing where your food comes from, who grows it and how they treat the land, and knowing your money is going right back into your community is significant. The freshest, ripest, best-tasting foods are easy to find right now at your local farmers’ markets and community farms.
June
Asparagus, edible flowers, fava beans, garlic scapes, greens (lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, kale), green onions, herbs, horseradish root, kohlrabi, peas, peppers, radishes, strawberries, tomatillos, turnips,
wild mushrooms
July
Apricots, blackberries, blueberries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, cherries, cucumbers, eggplant, endive, garlic, gooseberries, grapes, green beans, huckleberries, peaches, raspberries, summer squash
August
Apples, beets, cauliflower, celeriac, corn, cucumbers, grapes, muskmelon, nectarines, onions, pears, plums, potatoes, tomatoes, watermelons
Shrimp with Wilted Greens and Romesco Sauce
Chef Brandon Johns, Grange Kitchen and Bar, Ann Arbor
romesco sauce
1 whole head fresh garlic
2 red bell peppers, halved and seeds removed 2 whole roma tomatoes, halved and seeded 1⁄2 cup blanched almonds
1⁄2 cup aged sherry vinegar
1⁄2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1⁄8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
shrimp
2 tablespoons olive oil
24 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups fresh greens (such as arugula, mustard, young kale or spinach)
1. Preheat oven to 425°. Cut 1⁄4 inch of top of garlic head. Place on a small square of aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and wrap loosely in the foil. Bake for about 45 minutes or until garlic is tender. Set aside to cool, then squeeze out roasted garlic.
2. Preheat oven to broil and raise the oven rack to the highest level. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and top with prepared peppers and tomatoes. Broil until all pieces are evenly charred. Remove from oven and place peppers in a sealed container for 10 minutes, then remove skin. Set aside tomatoes to cool.
3. Place roasted garlic, skinned peppers, roasted tomatoes, almonds, vinegar, oil, salt, pepper and cayenne in a blender. Purée until smooth; set aside.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauté pan. Cook shrimp 1 to 2 minutes per side or until fully pink in color. Toss cooked shrimp in a medium bowl with 1 cup of the prepared romesco sauce; set aside.
5. Reheat the same sauté pan. Cook greens, 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper in pan until greens are wilted, 1–2 minutes. Place greens on 4 serving plates and top each with 6 shrimp. Drizzle with extra sauce, if desired. Remaining sauce can be tossed with hot or cold pasta or served with grilled chicken, fish, pork or beef.
Yield: 2 3⁄4 cups romesco sauce and 24 shrimp to serve 6 with extra sauce.
Knickerbocker Crepe
Owners and Staff of the Flint Crepe Company, Flint
crepe batter
4 tablespoons butter, melted
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 1⁄2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt
4 ounces heavy whipping cream
5 ounces graham crackers (about 9 full sheets)
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1⁄4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt24 large strawberries, sliced1. Combine milk, eggs, flour, butter, vanilla and pinch of salt in a blender. Mix well on a medium speed, scraping down the sides as needed. Set aside batter while assembling the other ingredients.
2. Combine cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, water and pinch of salt in a food processor; set aside. Place cream in a cold bowl and whisk until so peaks form. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Place graham crackers, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and pinch of salt in a food processor until it forms crumbs; set aside.
4. Place a prepared crepe on a dessert plate and spread 1 tablespoon
of cream cheese lling on half of crepe. sprinkle 2 teaspoons of graham cracker crumble over lling and top with 1 large sliced strawberry. Fold over half of crepe and fold over again. sprinkle with additional graham crumble and serve.
This piece was originally published in Edible WOW’s Summer 2012 edition and written by Pam Aughe, R.D.. Contact [email protected] for more information.