The King of Urban Agriculture

This is Will Allen. A man like this has the ability to change the world. His company, Growing Power Inc., provides a great example of how to work smarter instead of harder. He has taken a retail perspective on farming. Use your space wisely. He is growing over 60% more food per acre than the traditional farm, grows year round and uses very little fossil fuel. He's able to do this by creating multiple tiers of growing surface in well managed green houses. Oh yea, and he does this downtown in the city of Milwaukee. Let's all learn a little bit from this man. More of his story to come soon...

For information on Urban Farming in Denver visit:

Denver Urban Gardens - www.dug.org

Feed Denver - Urban Farms & Markets - http://www.feeddenver.com/

Ever heard of aquaculture?

Calling All Winter Recipes

Roasted squash with rosemary

Submit Your Perfect Winter Recipe

Leave it as a comment or link to where you have it posted online.

Ah...winter time. It's a great time of the year in Colorado for all of us who enjoy spending time on the slopes, knee-deep powder anyone? However, when it comes to food, i'm always left scratching my head. Sure, I look forward to eating big bowls of chili as the weather gets colder every year. But lets face it, winter is not nearly as bountiful as summer when it comes to food. I do my best to eat locally and seasonally, but it becomes much more difficult when the white flakes begin to fall.

I've decided to write a cook book devoted to cooking seasonally. Do you have a favorite winter recipe? Would you like to contribute? What dishes get you through the winter time? I'd love to hear about them.

Rustic Mushroom Soup

Serves 2

Mushrooms growing at Hazel Dell Farm in Fort Collins, Colorado

Ingredients

1 jalapeño, diced
5 oz wild mushrooms sliced (anything other than white buttons will work)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp paprika
½ cup white wine
3 cups delicious beef stock
1 sprig fresh rosemary or 2 tsp dried
1 tbsp ginger, grated
Fresh ground pepper
Good hunk of bread


Instructions

Sauté jalapeño and mushrooms over medium high heat for 3-5 minutes until soft. Then add fresh ground pepper, garlic, ginger and paprika, sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine, let cook for 2 minutes then add beef stock. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer and cook uncovered for 20 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Serve with good bread.

A Score for Community Gardens

Community gardens are a win win for everyone involved. This article was posted on the Denver Urban Gardens(DUG) blog last week:

Let's Move--and Garden!

This past weekend, the National League of Cities hosted the “Congress of Cities” at the Denver Convention Center. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack spoke at the event, presenting praise and a challenge to the city officials in attendance as he represented the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign to combat childhood obesity.

Among other things, Vilsack noted the importance of community gardens in creating healthy communities and setting a foundation for success of the campaign. He encouraged officials in attendance to practice coalition building and map out food deserts in their cities, but also to take note of where community gardens were having successes.

According to the article in Food Safety News, Vilsack also announced that

USDA offices around the county are now providing ground for 700 gardens that this

growing season produced 90,000 pounds of fresh produce. Most went to local food banks.

Here in Denver, DUG’s extensive community of gardeners donate a hefty portion of produce each year to our area food banks, including non-profits like Project Angel Heart, which exists to ensure that the metro area’s very ill receive free, consistent and appropriately nutritious meals.

Another hot topic during the USDA Secretary’s speech was the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 that recently passed in Congress. This act, coupled with cities committing to make nutritional food available throughout the school districts, has the potential to really make an impact on what Vilsack sees as a matter of national security.

These girls get moving as they bicycle around the Fairview Harvest Festival. Community gardens are great spaces for both nutrition and exercise.

Caraway Beer Bread

Ingredients

2 and 3/4 cups(345 g) all purpose flour, sifted
3 Tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 - 12 oz dark beer(I used Deschutes Jubelale)
1 tsp whole caraway seeds
Egg wash (whisk 1 egg and 2 tbsp water)


Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix together sifted flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and caraway. In a separate bowl mix together honey and beer. Stir into dry mixture until just combined, do not over mix. Brush with egg wash.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Note: This recipe is very versatile. Try using maple syrup instead of the sugar. Just mix it into the beer before you add it to the dry ingredients.

Try Rosemary and Feta
Garlic and thyme
Sage and brown sugar

Chili Beer Collard Greens

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 bunch collard greens
1 smoked turkey leg or ham hock
2 whole cloves garlic, peeled
½ onion, sliced
3-4 Tbsp hot sauce
1 - 12 oz bottle Billy’s Chilies, chili beer
3 cups stock(chicken, vegetable, beef or water)

Directions

Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Sear turkey leg or ham hock on all sides. Add onions and garlic and cook until fragrant about 2 minutes. Add collard greens, beer, stock and hot sauce. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 1 hour. Taste liquid to check salt. If it is not salty enough remove the lid and reduce. If it is too salty add more liquid. Serve with fried chicken.

Pearl Street Porter Braised Short Ribs

Recipe by Terroir Restaurant

Ingredients

1 – 12oz bottle Pearl Street Porter
¼ cup molasses
2 dried ancho chilies
3 cloves of whole garlic
¼ cup of tomato paste
1 cinnamon stick
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 daikon radish, chopped
1 stalk of celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 onion, peeled and cut into quarters
64oz stock (vegetable, chicken or beef) (low sodium)
salt and pepper to taste
2 ½ pounds of bison short ribs (beef if you can't get bison), bones separated

Directions

Cut the ribs between the bones creating individual bone-in pieces of rib. Rub with salt and pepper and set aside.

Heat a large skillet pan or pot with vegetable oil (about 1/8 inch deep). When hot, add bison pieces, brown on all sides over high heat and remove from pot.
Drain hot oil from pot and add 1 tablespoon of new oil, add carrots, daikon, onions, celery, and whole garlic cloves. Brown lightly.

Add porter and bring to a boil. Add tomato paste, molasses, ancho chili, and cinnamon stick. Stir to incorporate everything. Add the ribs back into the pot with the liquid.

Add enough stock to cover the ribs by 1/2 inch. Bring the mixture to a simmer, cover with a lid or aluminum foil, and lower the heat to medium low. Cook on low covered for 3 hours or until the meat pulls away from the bone. With a slotted spoon, remove the ribs and strain the liquid into a new sauce pan. Reduce the liquid by half and taste for salt. Add the ribs back into the liquid to hold until you are ready to serve. At this point you can serve right away or place in the refrigerator. The fat will naturally rise to the surface overnight and can easily be removed.

Serve with green chili and sweet corn polenta or mashed, roasted or boiled potatoes.

Brown Ale Mussels

Recipe by Laurent Méchin, Executive Chef St Julien Hotel

Ingredients

12oz Twisted Pine Honey Brown Ale
2 lbs mussels
1Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic (chopped)
1 shallot (finely diced)
1 Tbsp parsley (washed and chopped)
4 oz tomato sauce
1 Tbsp butter
1 ea French Baguette (sliced and grilled)


Directions

Pour yourself a beer in a thick chilled pint glass, enjoy!
Thoroughly wash mussels, discard open and broken shells.
Add 1 Tbsp of oil to a sauce pot and sauté the mussels for 2 minutes over medium heat. Next add garlic, shallots and ale, cover with a lid and cook until shells open (3-4 minutes).
Add tomato sauce and stir in butter. Adjust seasoning as needed with salt and pepper.

To Serve

Scoop mussels into deep soup bowls, discard unopened mussels, pour 3 oz of sauce over the mussels and sprinkle fresh parsley. Serve with grilled bread slices to soak up the sauce and chilled brown ale.