Good Food News Archive - September 3, 2002

Articles: What's Growing in the CAMH Garden?
Featured this Week... SWISS CHARD
Recipes: Minestrone Soup, Fall Tomato Salad

What's Growing in the CAMH Garden?

The garden at the Centre for Addiction & Mental Health (CAMH) is in the midst of its late summer harvest. Some of you might have found interesting looking carrots in your boxes last week. These small, sweet, round carrots are called Thumbelina carrots, grown in the CAMH gardens and harvested by the program’s participants. Since it is also prime tomato time in Ontario, many of you will get to try some of CAMH's Heritage variety tomatoes, which come in many different sizes, colours and shapes.

The CAMH garden has grown out of the Growing Green Jobs project. With the help of Foodshare and Field to Table, the participants have made this urban garden a great success. Not only have they been able to grow a large amount of food, they have also had the opportunity to learn about composting, garden pests, and harvesting. Along with the food grown for the Good Food Box, some of which you have already had a chance to try, each participant gets a small plot of land to grow anything they want.

CAMH project coach Helene May has many stories to share about the garden now that it is up and running. There is the story of one client and his watermelon. He had been watching his watermelon grow everyday and had been getting more and more excited for the time when he could harvest and eat it. A tour was recently going through the garden and someone on the tour picked his watermelon. The client happened to be close by and saw his watermelon getting picked. He spoke up about how the watermelon was part of his garden and how difficult it was to grow. When it was offered back to him, he decided to generously donate it to the group , so they could all share it together.

Another great story is that of the garden harvest. People came together for meals of corn and salad grown from their own plots to share with one another. The clients wanted to share their produce as well as their stories and experiences growing food. Helene says that eating together, socializing and sharing has been an extremely positive outcome of the garden. Another example of sharing is that of several clients taking produce from their garden plots to their doctors. When neighbours come by to see what's been growing in the garden, they often ask about the unusual things they see, like the green zebra tomatoes or the Thumbelina carrots. The clients always give them one to try. We have heard from the forensic nursing staff that they are huge supporters of the project-they think it's the best program they have seen because it has accommodated their clients and involved them in a worthwhile project.

What's in store for fall?

The next few weeks in the garden will be busy ones. The rest of the crops will be harvested. Everyone will be shown how to compost the left over plants--another wonderful learning opportunity says Helene. There will also be a market for CAMH staff and clients where sprouts and other harvested produce will be sold. Once the summer harvest is done and the soil is ready and prepped, participants will start planting the fall crops. We look forward to more delicious produce from the CAMH gardens in the coming months.

Featured This Week...SWISS CHARD

Swiss chard is another one of those leafy green vegetables you will often come accross at this time of year. It is a great addition to many dishes including the featured minestrone soup recipe.

Swiss chard has long, flat celery-like stalks that can be wide or narrow depending on the variety. The large leafy green parts are often either flat or frilled at the edges. The stems should be crisp and the leaves perky and green. You should try to use your chard sooner rather than later and store it in your refrigerator’s crisper in a perforated plastic bag if possible.

On the health side of things. a 1/2 cup serving of cooked Swiss chard contains only 18 calorie.s and no fat. It is also a good source of fibre, like much of the other leafy greens out there. Swiss chard is also an excellent source of beta carotene (most commonly found in carrots) as well as high in Vitamin C and Potassium.

If you are wondering how to cook Swiss chard, here are some simple tips: Always seperate the leaves from the stems before cooking as the stems often take longer that tne leaves to cook. If the stems seem tough or stringy, you can peel them lightly.

You can use chard just like spinach. Sautée in olive oil and squeeze on some lemon to serve hot or cold. Swiss chard also tastes great in omelettes, frittatas, quiches and casseroles. You can easily add chard to your pasta dishes such as ravioli, lasagne or even tomato sauce. Because of its mild taste, it doesn’t take over in the flavour department. Swiss chard also tastes great in stir-frys with ginger, garlic and sesame oil. So, whatever your culinary preference, chard can fit into it!

Recipes

Minestrone Soup

Anything goes in this hearty soup. If you don't know what to do with Swiss Chard, you can try adding it to this soup.

1 medium onion-sliced
1 clove of garlic-minced
1 carrot-sliced
1 stalk celery-sliced
1 pepper (green or red)-diced
1 bunch Swiss chard-shredded
1 tablespoon olive oil 3 cups beef broth (or vegetable broth)
1 cup tomato sauce (feel free to add fresh tomatoes too!)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 19 oz can kidney beans-rinsed (you can use fresh ones if you have them)
½ - ¾ cups macaroni (elbows, shells, etc.)
1 zucchini sliced 1 bay leaf salt and pepper to taste

Sautée onion, garlic first, then carrots, celery and pepper. Add broth and tomato sauce and oregano, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Let cook for a little while. Add kidney beans, zucchini and Swiss chard. Cook pasta separately and add to soup once it's ready.

Tomato salad

An summer favourite is tomato salad that can be made entirely of fresh, local ingredients and with any type of tomato you happen to have around.

6 ripe tomatoes--largely diced
2 sprigs fresh basil--chopped
2 cloves garlic--minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon balamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, combine tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and salt and pepper. Mix together and add more olive oil to taste. You can also add a tablespoon of water to tone down the oil flavour. The tomatoes will taste best if you let them sit for a while (about 15 minutes) before serving.