Three Sisters Kitchen ReFresh Newsletter
Welcome to your ReFresh newsletter! We hope you are having a wonderful April.
In this newsletter, you will:
– Find ReFresh 4/22 online cooking class information.
– Learn more about microgreens and their health benefits in “Ask a Registered Dietitian” with Lisa.
– Learn more about planting tomatoes in “Ask a Farmer” with Tiana.
– Find a few simple recipes that you can make with the fresh ingredients in your ReFresh bag!
– Find a community resource section for using SNAP EBT to purchase food-producing plants and seeds.
We hope you enjoy this newsletter and thank you for your participation as we work together to build a healthy local food system.
Next ReFresh distribution: 5/5/21
Last ReFresh distribution: 5/19/21
Text your questions, photos, and comments to: (505) 226-3707.
Click HERE to register for the online cooking class!
Sign up today for you and your family!
Ask a Registered Dietitian
With Lisa Chen
What are microgreens and what are their health benefits?
Microgreens are the baby forms of plants such as peas and sunflowers. They are small in size but pack in different nutrients and flavors. Microgreens have plant compounds, polyphenols, a family of compounds that are important for heart and brain health and cancer prevention.
Check out our featured recipes for this month’s online cooking class (don’t forget to register via the link in the previous section!):
Vegetarian Tortilla Bowl with Garlic Herb Vinaigrette
Ingredients (makes 1 tortilla bowl)
-
2 cups combination of spring mix and microgreens
-
1 avocado, pit removed, flesh scooped out, diced
-
1 cup fingerling potatoes, cubed
-
1 whole wheat flour tortilla
-
1 Tbsp. olive oil (or any oil you have), plus a little more for coating the tortilla
-
Parmesan lemon dat spice- The Blast, to taste
-
1/2 cup cooked pinto beans (optional)
-
Cheese crumbles (optional)
Garlic Herb Vinaigrette
-
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar (or any vinegar you have)
-
6 Tbsp. olive oil (or any oil you have)
-
1 clove garlic, grated
-
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 400F.
-
Lightly coat both sides of the tortilla with oil and put it in a large oven-safe bowl.
-
Bake the tortilla until the edges are lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
-
Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add oil and cubed potatoes to the pan.
-
Pan fry until potatoes are light browned. Sprinkle parmesan lemon dat spice on potatoes and stir. Set aside.
-
Chop or tear spring mix and microgreens into bite-size pieces.
-
Remove the oven-safe bowl from the oven and allow it to cool a little bit.
-
Add greens, avocados, potatoes, and cooked beans to the tortilla bowl.
-
Pour vinegar and oil in a small bowl, add grated garlic, a few pinches of salt and pepper (this is where you can add honey, mustard, onions, shallots, or fresh herbs, if using).
-
Whisk the dressing until mixed (or pour into a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake it!). Drizzle on top of the tortilla bowl.
-
Top with cheese crumbles and enjoy!
Do you have a question about food and nutrition for us to answer in future newsletters and Q&A videos?
Send your questions to [email protected].
Disclaimer: The information shared by Three Sisters Kitchen (TSK) is for general informational purposes only, and is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by a doctor or other health care provider.
Ask a Farmer
With Tiana Baca
Tomatoes come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, colors and are an easy plant to grow! The tomatoes that will be coming to each of you are a mix of some of our favorite varieties we’ve found that grow well here in the desert. Tomatoes grow well in full sun, but if you’ll be growing in a pot, try to find a slightly shady spot for your plant to grow. This is because pots can become much warmer than soil and will require more watering to keep your plant healthy and happy. Now is a great time to start thinking of where you’d like to grow your plant.
When your tomato plants arrive, they’ll need a few days to adjust to the outdoors before you plant them. To help your plants adjust, you’ll simply keep them outside in a shady spot for a few hours a day. Be sure to check on them and give them water throughout the day. After 2-3 days you’ll be ready to plant your tomato!
Recipes We Love
-
This corn pancake recipe is simple and delicious. You can use the blue cornmeal in your ReFresh bag to make this pancake and top it with tangelo or other fruits and nuts.
-
This bean and green recipe is packed with fibers! Use the greens you have in the ReFresh bag such as bok choy and chard to make this saute. You can add the spice from The Blast to make this dish tastier! If you have questions for future recipes, please send them to [email protected].
Photos by 1) The Diabetes Food Hub, 2) Emmett Paul
Community Resources
With Blythe Maunders
Gardening season is here! Did you know that SNAP benefits can be used to purchase food-producing plants? Pick up a plant of your own at any retailer that accepts SNAP benefits, which includes farmers markets. Click here to learn more.
This week your Refresh bag will include many of the following delicious fresh and staple items:
-
Tomato starts from Silver Leaf Farms*
-
Spring mix (spinach and mizuna) from Vida Verde Farm*
-
Microgreens (sunflower or pea), fingerling potatoes, and bok choy OR chard from Tesuque Pueblo Farm*
-
Pinto beans from Ness Farms*
-
Cheese from Tucumcari Mt. Cheese Factory*
-
Blue cornmeal from Cooking Post- Tamaya*
-
Whole wheat flour tortillas from Sabroso Foods*
-
Parmesan lemon dat spice from The Blast*- Graduate of the Three Sisters Kitchen’s Food Business Program
The Blast products are New Mexico-born seasonings based on the love of local ingredients. You can find their products at Nexus Blue Smokehouse.
-
Avocados, tangelos, and garlic from Quality Fruit & Veg
* NM grown / NM made. We raise money to purchase these foods from local farmers and food producers as a concrete way to invest in our local food system and get delicious, fresh, local food to our ReFresh families. Keep an eye out for these local farms and food businesses when you do your food shopping. ReFresh boxes will always include local food items.
Thank You!
Special thanks to all of the farmers and food producers working so hard to feed our communities; our partner organizations who help recruit ReFresh families: Kids Cook!, YES Housing, Together for Brothers, SWOP, Centro Savila, Encuentro, and Mandy’s Farm; to the staff, volunteers, donors, and ReFresh families who make the program work, and to our partners at MoGro Mobile Grocery, who pack these beautiful ReFresh bags each week for us, and who do so much important work connecting communities to healthy food throughout New Mexico. There would be no ReFresh program without all of you – we love our partners!
– All of us at Three Sisters Kitchen