Margaret Riesen’s Post

The most frequently served side dish for all our events is a platter of grilled vegetables. Seasonal, locally available vegetables are cut into one-inch pieces, tossed with some olive oil and sea salt, and roasted in a hot oven (400-425 degrees). Root vegetables, available pretty much year-round, include yams (try purple yams), beets, carrots, turnips, and celeriac. In spring and summer, we add summer squash, eggplant or cauliflower. For some accent color, try some Brussels sprouts, cut in half, and tossed in oil and salt. The vegetables can be served alone or on a bed of seasonal greens, with a splash of balsamic and some fresh marjoram and rosemary. Remember -- food is like feng shui: if it's all beige, there's no energy!        #GrilledVegetables #SeasonalSides #LocalProduce #VegetablePlatter #FarmtoTable #HealthyEats #ColorfulPlates #RoastedVeggies #RootVegetables #FreshHerbs #HealthyLiving #EatYourVeggies #VeggieMedley #VibrantDishes #FarmersMarketFinds #BalsamicGlaze #FoodieGram #CreativeCooking 

The most frequently served side dish for all our events is a platter of grilled vegetables. Seasonal, locally available vegetables are cut into one-inch pieces, tossed with some olive oil and sea salt, and roasted in a hot oven (400-425 degrees). Root vegetables, available pretty much year-round, include yams (try purple yams), beets, carrots, turnips, and celeriac. In spring and summer, we add summer squash, eggplant or cauliflower. For some accent color, try some Brussels sprouts, cut in half, and tossed in oil and salt. The vegetables can be served alone or on a bed of seasonal greens, with a splash of balsamic and some fresh marjoram and rosemary. Remember -- food is like feng shui: if it's all beige, there's no energy!        #GrilledVegetables #SeasonalSides #LocalProduce #VegetablePlatter #FarmtoTable #HealthyEats #ColorfulPlates #RoastedVeggies #RootVegetables #FreshHerbs #HealthyLiving #EatYourVeggies #VeggieMedley #VibrantDishes #FarmersMarketFinds #BalsamicGlaze #FoodieGram #CreativeCooking 

The most frequently served side dish for all our events is a platter of grilled vegetables. Seasonal, locally available vegetables are cut into one-inch pieces, tossed with some olive oil and sea salt, and roasted in a hot oven (400-425 degrees). Root vegetables, available pretty much year-round, include yams (try purple yams), beets, carrots, turnips, and celeriac. In spring and summer, we add summer squash, eggplant or cauliflower. For some accent color, try some Brussels sprouts, cut in half, and tossed in oil and salt. The vegetables can be served alone or on a bed of seasonal greens, with a splash of balsamic and some fresh marjoram and rosemary. Remember -- food is like feng shui: if it's all beige, there's no energy!        #GrilledVegetables #SeasonalSides #LocalProduce #VegetablePlatter #FarmtoTable #HealthyEats #ColorfulPlates #RoastedVeggies #RootVegetables #FreshHerbs #HealthyLiving #EatYourVeggies #VeggieMedley #VibrantDishes #FarmersMarketFinds #BalsamicGlaze #FoodieGram #CreativeCooking 

Real garden fresh veggies are going to have dirt on them and may even have a couple critters. So you ALWAYS want to make sure you're cleaning your produce thoroughly. 🥕 Rinse them with warm water first 🥕 Sprinkle baking soda and either rub with your hands or use a veggie brush to get off any wax, residue and stubborn dirt off 🥕 Rinse with white vinegar 🥕 Rinse with warm water again For foods like lettuce or spinach you may want to separate the leaves first and submerge them in water to make sure you don't miss any dirt or bugs and anything with skin or a peel that you won't eat, you can just rinse and remove the skin or peel ! #FreshIngredients #FreshVeggies #FreshProduce #ChicagoFoodScene https://lnkd.in/gnM4KN7q

🌻🍴 Cooking Sunflower Heads 🍴🌻 Have you ever wondered what to do with those large, vibrant Sunflower heads besides admiring their beauty? Believe it or not, you can cook Sunflower heads similarly to Artichokes, and the results are absolutely delicious! Here’s a simple and scrumptious recipe to get you started. Ingredients: 1 large Sunflower head (young, unopened buds are best) 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced Juice of 1 lemon Salt and pepper to taste Fresh herbs (like Parsley or Thyme) for garnish Instructions: Begin by cutting the Sunflower head from the stem, leaving about an inch of stem attached. Remove any outer green leaves to expose the tender inner bud. Rinse the Sunflower head thoroughly under cold water to remove any dirt or insects. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the Sunflower head and boil for about 15-20 minutes, or until the bud is tender when pierced with a fork. Similar to Artichokes, you want the inner parts to be soft and edible. While the Sunflower head is boiling, heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté until fragrant and golden brown, being careful not to burn it. Once the Sunflower head is tender, remove it from the boiling water and let it drain. Place the Sunflower head on a serving plate, drizzle with the garlic-infused olive oil, and squeeze the lemon juice over the top. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh herbs like Parsley or Thyme for an extra burst of flavour. Pull apart the petals and dip them in the seasoned oil, just like you would with Artichoke leaves. Enjoy the tender, nutty flavour of the Sunflower bud’s core, savouring each bite! 🌻✨ Cooking Sunflower heads is a fantastic way to make the most of this versatile plant. Plus, it’s a great conversation starter at any meal! Try it out and let us know how you like it. #SunflowerRecipe #EdibleFlowers #HerbalCuisine #GardenToTable #PlantBasedCooking #Herbalism #Plants #PlantRecipes #PlantLife #PlantLovers #HerbalMedicine #Gardening #Harvesting

Back on my Eat More Plants theme! One simple thing is to aim for a wider variety of plants. The more diverse the better. Every plant food is a little parcel of interesting nutrients and fibre compounds so the more variety over the course of the week means a the number of beneficial things you stack up is greater. Even variety within a theme - cabbage can be white, red, savoy, Brussels, green etc Peppers come in different colours and shapes. Different varieties of apples and grapes and oranges - not only do the different types have slightly different nutrients they also taste different and have different textures, giving more interest to your meals. #morecolour #moreplants #eatmoreplants

Tomato and Wild Garlic Soup 🍅🌿 Indulge in the vibrant flavours of Spring with this delightful Tomato and Wild Garlic Soup! Bursting with the freshness of ripe tomatoes and the subtle garlicky aroma of foraged wild garlic, this soup is a celebration of the season's first greens. 🌱 Ingredients: 500g ripe tomatoes, chopped 1 onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 potato, diced Handful of wild garlic leaves, chopped 500ml vegetable stock Salt and pepper to taste Olive oil for cooking Fresh basil leaves for garnish Instructions: Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic, sauté until softened. Add the diced potato and chopped tomatoes to the pot, cook for 5 minutes until the tomatoes start to break down. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let it cook for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Once cooked, use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth. Alternatively, transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth, then return it to the pot. Stir in the chopped wild garlic leaves and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let the soup simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve hot, garnished with fresh Basil leaves and an extra drizzle of olive oil if desired. 🌿 Remember, wild garlic is one of the first foraged greens of the year, appearing in early Spring. When foraging, it's essential to practice conscious harvesting. Only take what you need, leaving enough for the plants to regenerate and for wildlife to feed on. Harvest with care, ensuring you're not depleting the stock in one area, and always respect the natural environment. Happy foraging! 🍃 #WildGarlicSoup #ForagedGreens #ConsciousHarvesting #TomatoSoup #ComfortFood #Herbs #Herbalism #HerbalMedicine #Plants #Seeds #PlantRecipes #Recipe

Native Bush Tucker MUNTRI are one of the most delicious native fruits coming from the barren interior. Small, blueberry-size fruit have a juicy interior and taste sweet and fresh, somewhere between the flavour of a granny smith apple and a eucalypt. Muntries' woody branches and tough leaves make them exceptionally drought and pest tolerant. Muntries (aka emu apples, muntaberry, monterry). For the Ngarrindjeri people of the Coorong, they’re an old favourite in the historical diet, and were often traded with other tribes. You’ll find these low-growing plants most commonly along the southern coast of Australia. This woody plant bears clusters of green berries that turn purplish/red and fragrant as they ripen. Berries are about 1cm in diameter and crunchy in texture with the flavour of a spicy apple. Perfect for eating raw in salads and cheese platters, or cooked in jams, pies, muffins, puddings or with meats. They contain up to four times more antioxidants than blueberries. Small white flowers (resembling gum blossom) will appear in the Spring. Little maintenance is required to get this plant going, but for best results, keep the soil moist throughout the flowering and fruiting season and avoid disturbing the roots. For an easier harvest, you might want to grow your muntrie upright on a low trellis. Muntrie is a dense groundcovering plant that handles full sun or dappled shade, as well as sandy soil and some salinity. As a ground cover, it can be used as an effective weed-suppressing species in a garden bed. Leaves are petite and bright green, and grow along upright stalks. #naseematravels #aboriginalland #aboriginalculture #aboriginal #muntrie #bushfood #nativeplants

If you're already battling garlic mustard in your garden, check out this pesto recipe from Jenna Perlman's April 16 Boston Globe story, ‘If you can’t beat them, eat them.’ Why foraging for invasive plants is good for you — and the planet. Garlic Mustard Pesto recipe From Ryan Ralston, chef and general manager at Bread & Roses in Hyannis Ingredients: 2 cups fresh, and boiled garlic mustard leaves, or 1 cup frozen garlic mustard puree, thawed 2 cups fresh basil 1 cup sunflower seeds 2 to 3 cloves garlic 1 cup olive oil 2 tsp kosher salt 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground Pour 2 cups of boiling water over 1 cup sunflower seeds. Let soak for 30 minutes, and drain well. Combine all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor and blend on high for 60 seconds. While the food processor is running, slowly drizzle the olive oil until fully combined. Season to taste. Photo: Garlic mustard, second year, Shutterstock. #nativeplanttrust #nativeplants #newenglandnativeplants #newengland #invasivespecies #invasiveplants #eatinvasiveplants #foraging #foraginginvasives #eatinvasives #garlicmustardpestorecipe #garlicmustardpesto #forageinvasives #invasiveplantrecipe #lookdown #makelemonade #cookinvasives

Native Bush Tucker MUNTRI are one of the most delicious native fruits coming from the barren interior. Small, blueberry-size fruit have a juicy interior and taste sweet and fresh, somewhere between the flavour of a granny smith apple and a eucalypt. Muntries' woody branches and tough leaves make them exceptionally drought and pest tolerant. Muntries (aka emu apples, muntaberry, monterry). For the Ngarrindjeri people of the Coorong, they’re an old favourite in the historical diet, and were often traded with other tribes. You’ll find these low-growing plants most commonly along the southern coast of Australia. This woody plant bears clusters of green berries that turn purplish/red and fragrant as they ripen. Berries are about 1cm in diameter and crunchy in texture with the flavour of a spicy apple. Perfect for eating raw in salads and cheese platters, or cooked in jams, pies, muffins, puddings or with meats. They contain up to four times more antioxidants than blueberries. Small white flowers (resembling gum blossom) will appear in the Spring. Little maintenance is required to get this plant going, but for best results, keep the soil moist throughout the flowering and fruiting season and avoid disturbing the roots. For an easier harvest, you might want to grow your muntrie upright on a low trellis. Muntrie is a dense groundcovering plant that handles full sun or dappled shade, as well as sandy soil and some salinity. As a ground cover, it can be used as an effective weed-suppressing species in a garden bed. Leaves are petite and bright green, and grow along upright stalks. #naseematravels #aboriginalland #aboriginalculture #aboriginal #muntrie #bushfood #nativeplants