Kale and winter greens will be the featured vegetables at our next [1] Winter Farmers’ Market, and we asked Jennifer Purrenhage for some new ways of using them. You may have met Jennifer at the Winter Farmers’ Market, where she can be often found helping out at the Seacoast Eat Local booth. A biologist by profession, Jennifer is also trained as a Holistic Health & Nutrition Coach, and will be co-leading the upcoming workshop, “[2] Shopping & Cooking from the WInter Farmers’ Market,” on January 7th. Her website and blog, [3] Get Well Grounded, is where Jennifer offers wellness information and easy ways to cook with whole foods, including recipes from this week’s guest post. In the following December menus, Jennifer demonstrates her intuitive approach to cooking, how to create delicious meals from a well-stocked pantry, and the benefits of having intentional leftovers, all with infectious enthusiasm. Thanks, Jennifer, for sharing your week with us!

[4] [5] [6]

I first started thinking about what and how I wanted to eat around age 10; I came home one day and declared that I was a vegetarian, and my mother graciously obliged. Since then, I have used various labels to describe my eating habits including vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, and locavore. As a Holistic Health & Nutrition Coach, I help people discover the unique set of food, cooking, and lifestyle habits that support them as individuals, and these days I avoid wearing a food label of my own. That said, my intention is to eat food that: (1) is grown as close to home as possible; (2) best supports my health, which to me means plant-based with animal proteins/fats as garnishes, organic or low-spray when possible, and largely seasonal; and (3) is mostly whole and unprocessed.

I currently live in an apartment with a galley kitchen and no space to grow my own food. I do the majority of my food shopping at the year-round farmers’ markets, but I supplement from the grocery store to indulge my cravings for lemons, limes, avocados, and almond butter. I have no formal training as a chef, but for 20 years I’ve loved experimenting and cooking creatively to develop new personal recipes. This year I did a lot of canning – diced and roasted tomatoes, roasted peppers, fruit preserves, peaches, and applesauce – and I’ve enjoyed cooking with my canned local fruits and veggies this winter.

Here’s the list of my lunches and dinners for the past week. I typically cook for 1-2 people, but I love to cook once and eat (at least) twice. Whenever I make soup, I make a huge pot and freeze half of it in single serving jars – it’s great to just grab a jar for lunch or dinner when you’re low on the time or energy to cook. My goal is not to cook fancy, complicated meals, but rather to eat real, whole foods from as nearby as possible. You can access recipes for several of this week’s dishes using the links below. All are gluten free, most are dairy free (except the potato soup), and all have vegetarian options. Enjoy.

Sunday:

L – This afternoon I made roasted delicata squash with sautéed swiss chard, garlic and sweet onions (all from Heron Pond Farm). Shared this at a potluck with my neighbors and had several recipe requests. It’s beautiful and tasty.

D – For dinner, I was invited to my neighbors’ for some homemade local lobster bisque. It was wonderful. I love soup this time of year and enjoy it at least twice each week.

Monday:

L – I love leftovers. Ever notice how many dishes actually taste better the second time around? For lunch I had leftover squash and chard from yesterday’s lunch with leftover brown rice.

D – For dinner, I sautéed some kale, chard, asparagus, shallots, and onion (from Meadow’s Mirth Farm), added some canned summer tomatoes and fresh parsley, and served it over brown rice.

Tuesday:

L – Leftovers from dinner last night.

D – I’ve been eating heavier, hot meals for the past couple days and was in the mood for something raw, so I made raw kale (purple and lacinato kale from Farmer Dave’s) salad with olives, tomatoes, carrot, green tahini dressing (parsley, celery, dulse, tahini, lemon juice, and olive oil) and garbanzo beans. For the sweet taste and a little extra protein, I had roasted delicata seeds with salt, olive oil, and coconut palm sugar for dessert.

Wednesday:

L – Leftover kale salad with garbanzos; apple.

D – After a very busy day with some unexpected twists, I arrived home not feeling up to cooking, so it turned out being a throw-something-together night. I grabbed some of my favorite salad greens mix (from Applecrest Orchard), some hummus and shredded carrot, and made a couple of salad wraps with nori sheets. Totally hit the spot!

Thursday:

L – Last of the kale salad and garbanzo bean leftovers – still tasted great.

D – Kale/chard-sausage (from New Roots Farm)-white bean stew with oyster mushrooms.

Friday:

L – Quinoa with roasted red peppers (canned), black turtle beans (from Touching Earth Farm), and roasted delicata squash, onions, and garlic (from Meadow’s Mirth Farm).

D – Leftover kale/chard-sausage stew – always better the second day (and shared with a friend)! Sweet and salty roasted delicata seeds for dessert.

Saturday:

L – Leftover quinoa, beans, and veggies.

D – Potato-leek soup with sage & thyme (almost every ingredient in this soup was local or regional, except the olive oil and white wine); watermelon radish-apple salad (radishes from Riverside Farm/Garen’s Greens and apples from Applecrest Farm; shared with friends).

Links for recipes from Get Well Grounded:

• [7] Roasted Delicata Squash with Sweet & Savory Greens

• [8] Raw Kale Salad with Tahini & Garbanzos

• [9] Kale/Chard-White Bean-Oyster Mushroom-Sausage Stew

• [10] Potato-Leek Soup with Sage & Thyme

• [11] Watermelon Radish Salad

Photographs courtesy of Jennifer Purrenhage/Get Well Grounded. From left to right: delicata squash with greens; roasted sweet-and-salty delicata seeds; kale salad. Items marked in bold indicate food sourced from Seacoast farmers’ markets, with a few ingredients from regional producers.