Plant Based

Recipe: Three Bean Salad with Charred Scallions & Smoked Tomato Vinaigrette

March 18, 2020 Food, Plant Based, Recipes, Vegetables

If you’re like anyone these days, your pantry is full o’ beans (and pasta, and rice, and…). Now that you’ve got the beans, what are you going to do with them?

We’ve got at least one tasty solution—this three-bean recipe by our Head Chef Andrew Werblin! With a flavorful smoked tomato vinaigrette and charred scallions for a little kick, you won’t make this one just once.

Ingredients

Bean Salad

1 can Pinto Bean, rinsed and drained

1 can Black Bean, rinsed drained

1 can White Beans, rinsed and drained

Or substitute above beans with 1/3 lb your choice of 3 beans, simmered until tender

1/4 cup Caper

1/2 cup Scallion, charred, sliced

1/2 cup Cucumber, seeded and diced

1/2 cup Smoked Tomato Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

Smoked Tomato Vinaigrette

1 ea Tomato, diced small

1/2 cup Olive Oil

1 clove Garlic, minced

1 ea Shallot, minced

1 tsp Liquid Smoke

1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar

1 tbsp Dijon Mustard

1 tbsp Honey

1 tsp Worcestershire

1 tsp Smoked Paprika

2 sprigs Parsley, rough chopped

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

Let’s Get Cooking!

Toss scallions with 1 tbsp olive oil. Heat a saute pan over high heat and saute until browned. Place all ingredients in a bowl together. Whisk to mix and slowly whisk in olive oil. Enjoy!

Produce Pick: A Different Side of Rhubarb

March 12, 2020 Farmtotable, Plant Based, Vegetables

(Photo: E.G. Richter Farm INC.)

Most folks think of rhubarb as a warm weather phenomenon, and they’re not exactly wrong. Rhubarb as it grows in the wild is a spring crop, so why do we have it in Provisions—a store that prides itself on seasonality—weeks before spring even officially begins?

As it turns out, hothouse rhubarb is a delicacy we’re lucky to get. EG Richter Family Farm in Puyallup, WA, just outside of Seattle, commits to the backbreaking work it takes to make it happen. The plants spend two summers outdoors storing energy, after which Richter’s farmers dig up root systems that can weigh a hundred pounds. Once it’s re-planted in dark, 55°F hothouses, things get going in a hurry. Tricked into spring growth, the rhubarb grows so fast that farmers swear they can hear it popping, and the darkness means the rhubarbs retain a prized crimson color, with yellow leaves. They’re even more tender than traditional field rhubarb!

Whether you’re itching to make early rhubarb pie, or just want to try Tim Richter’s favorite sour snack of rhubarb stalks with sugar, you’re going to want to hurry in and grab some of this remarkable rhubarb before it’s gone!

Need it delivered, as a precaution or otherwise? We offer same-day gloved home delivery in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill and by van delivery elsewhere. If an item is unavailable online, call us at (718) 233-2700 and we’ll make it happen for you.

The Women Who Make Us Grape: Laura Rose

February 28, 2020 Farmtotable, Featured Farmer, Local, Plant Based, Spotlight, Vegetables

Throughout Women’s History Month, we’re featuring some of the women who make the Greene Grape the amazing place it is. The Greene Grape family of businesses is woman-powered, both historically and currently, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t shine a well-deserved spotlight on at least a few of these grape women.

This week, we’re chatting with our Produce Buyer, Laura Rose Dailey. Laura Rose and her department make sure anyone’s first impression of Provisions is a beautiful one as they step through our front door! With her agricultural background and passion for growing green things, she’s a perfect fit for the job, and we couldn’t do it without her.

What got you into the world of agriculture and produce?

I took a course on coffee ecologies and livelihoods in college and had the opportunity to travel to El Salvador to spend some time with the coffee farmers there. That experience rocked my world, and truly opened my eyes to the injustices of our food system. A few years later I decided I wanted to learn how to grow food, and took a farming apprenticeship at Amber Waves, a mixed vegetable production farm on the East End of Long Island. It was on that land where I fell in love with farming and spent the next four years (plus two winters on the other side of the equator!) growing vegetables.

What’s been part of your experience as a woman working in agriculture?

At Amber Waves, it often felt like we were in a bubble all our own, being owned and staffed by women. On the other hand, the people delivering our farm equipment, seeds, and other necessary items were usually men, and some of them broke that bubble with their questions. “Who’s really in charge here? Are you really farmers?” It was a reminder that a farm run by women is considered an anomaly, but we were never discouraged. Owners Amanda Merrow and Katie Baldwin showed me how far women could go in agriculture—I really look up to them.

What’s your favorite produce?

I can’t pick just one! I have three. Radishes: The feeling and sight of pulling a bright red, snackable root out of the ground is so satisfying and beautiful. Also, they’re a fast growing crop (~40 days seed to harvest) AKA almost instant gratification. Baby greens: Another fast growing crop, and there’s nothing like a salad made with crispy flavorful right outta the ground greens! And finally, eggplant: As a farmer on Long Island, growing eggplant is a lot of work because of the Colorado Potato Beetle. This pest feeds on the young tender leaves, and if left alone will completely destroy the plant and therefore the crop. For farmers, this meant that every other day, we’d have to check each plant on every leaf for signs of infestation. If we managed to beat the bugs and have a successful eggplant crop, we were eating eggplant parm for weeks. 🙂

Have You Herb? Herbal Teas to Soothe the Soul

February 20, 2020 Health & Wellness, Local, Plant Based

In the American pantheon of hot drinks, coffee usually claims the throne, but tea is our unsung hero. Whether chasing away sniffles, winding down after a hard day, or soothing ourselves to sleep, tea does a lot of heavy lifting! This week, Produce Buyer Laura Rose Dailey is excited to bring a plethora of herbal teas to our shelves.

Coming to us from Lancaster Farmacy and Full Kettle Farm, these herbal teas are for everything from getting better sleep to aiding in the fight against the common cold. Both are locally sourced from Pennsylvania and Massachussetts, on small, family farms.

Lancaster Farmacy was founded in 2009 by Elisabeth Weaver and Casey Spacht, who saw the need for reclaiming health care and making it accessible at the local level. Their background of grassroots activism, community organizing, cooperative models, farming, herbalism, and rewilding gave them the tools needed to grow natural medicine.

Follow them on Instagram: @lancasterfarmacy

Full Kettle Farm is a one acre herb farm in Sunderland, Massachusetts that grows a diversity of vibrant herbs for their exclusive line of delicious herbal teas. The herbs are grown and harvested by hand at peak vitality, then dried on site in their wood framed herb drying room.

Follow them on Instagram: @fullkettle

Game Day Grub: Don’t Fumble That Feast!

January 30, 2020 Butcher, Cheese, Food, Grocery, Local, Plant Based

From the most faithful sports fiend to the folks throwing together snacks with friends, it’s hard not to get swept up in the fanfare of the biggest game day in American sports. There’s something electric in the air, and there’s something on the table, too! You’ll want an epic spread to match an epic game, and our Game Day collection will make sure no one goes hungry.

Every party needs chips and dip; be the MVP when you bring Xochitl Tortilla Chips and our neighborhood-famous guacamole. Of course, this feast won’t be complete without sandwiches, and our signature sandwiches will feed both the most ravenous meat-lover and the strictest vegan. Load up on sides like pulled chicken or farro salad, too, to keep from making mid-game snack runs.

If you’re looking to bring a centerpiece to the party, swing by our cheese counter, where our expert cheesemongers will help you perfect your snacking strategy. Put together a winning cheese and charcuterie platter with their help (and don’t forget any of the accompaniments!), or order ahead and let us take care of the details.

For those doing most of their hosting from the kitchen, our whole animal butcher counter’s housemade sausages and short rib burgers will make cooking for the whole team a snap. (Don’t worry, we didn’t leave out plant-based partiers.)

We’re placing our bets, though, that party prepping might be overwhelming some folks. Local delivery is always an easy option! But our head chef, Andrew Werblin, has put together a game day catering menu guaranteed to kick things up a notch. Classics like loaded potato skins are real crowd-pleasers, and so is our elevated take on seven layer dip. Our catering team delivers beyond our local zone, so you’ll never have to worry about being too far from the end zone.

A Little Wellness Pick Me Up That Won’t Put You Down

December 31, 2019 Food, Health & Wellness, Local, Plant Based

Could your January use a little hair of the dog, a little boost, a little wellness? A cure for what ails ya might be in order after a December full of holiday parties, relatives, and a work life balance that might as well have been a see-saw. All you want to do is hibernate until spring! Making a list of resolutions feels trite; it takes on a different flavor, though, when you rename it self-care.

Maybe you’re cutting out dairy—don’t worry, we’ve got Oatly in stock, though Elmhurst also makes a range of great non-dairy milks. If you’re trying to chase away the last of a 2019 cold, Monfefo’s tried and true ginger and turmeric shots now come in glass bottles to reduce their plastic production. Turmeric is also known to boost joint health, but if you’re looking for a bigger batch than a few ounces, you can make your own healthful brew at home with Diaspora Co’s single-origin turmeric, sourced directly from the family farmers that grow it in India.

The most classic resolution, naturally, is starting a new exercise regimen. It can seem like most fitness-oriented food and drink is full of unpronounceable ingredients that only weigh you down. Your standard energy bar often feels like chewing on putty dipped in faux chocolate. Energy drinks come in colors not found in nature and can taste more like the factory they were bottled in. Luckily, we’ve got the goods to keep you moving and focused.

Pack your gym duffel, hiking pack or even just your everyday bag with dairy-free, gluten-free energy bars like O.W.L., Yes, and Kuli Kuli moringa bars—O.W.L., made locally, has been a cashier favorite for years. Ingredients like protein-rich peanut butter, coconut nectar, and noted super-green moringa will fortify you, while being so delicious you’ll be looking forward to snack time. For the more serious gym goers, Siren Protein Bites pack 12 grams of plant-based protein into every serving! Don’t forget to hydrate—our current pick is Recoup, a more natural take on energy drinks with revitalizing local maple water, and a healthy dose of muscle-soothing organic ginger that gives it a kick. You’ll want to pick up every flavor!

Of course, there’s no one way to focus on health in the new year. So let’s drink—or eat—to your health in 2020, no matter what wellness trail you blaze.

In Through The Oat Door

January 4, 2019 Plant Based, Recipes

How to survive the 2019 Oatly, oat milk, shortage.

Oatly, the oat milk brand, is in high demand, and finding this popular new milk substitute in NYC has just gotten harder! While we may have been one of the early adopters of this fantastic beverage, it has become so popular that the supplier just can’t keep up! Not to worry though, we also stock Elmhurst Milked Oats! Made with whole grain oats, cane sugar, filtered water and a touch of sea salt, Elmhurst is a great brand making some delicious dairy alternatives. Of course, if you’re feeling really adventurous you can try making your own oat milk, with this simple recipe:

Ingredients:

1 c Steel Cut Oats
6 c Filtered Water
1 tsp Date Syrup
1 pinch Sea Salt

Tools required:

Nut milk strainer (You can substitute Cheesecloth or a Cold Brew Bag)
Blender
Fine mesh strainer

Soak the oats overnight in two cups of filtered water. Strain the oats through a mesh strainer, and place them into your blender. Add 4 cups of filtered water to the oats, and purée the mixture as much as possible. Pour the contents of the blender into a nut milk strainer, brew bag, or over several layers of cheesecloth. Be careful to reserve as much liquid as possible whilst straining out the oat pulp over a large bowl or pitcher. Once the oat solids are removed, pour the liquid back into the blender and add the date syrup and sea salt. Blend to incorporate, and use as desired. At this stage, you can add other flavors and sweeteners to the oatmilk. Some like to add turmeric, chocolate, vanilla, and even chocolate.

Ingredients

Bean Salad

Smoked Tomato Vinaigrette

Let’s Get Cooking!

(Photo: E.G. Richter Farm INC.)

What got you into the world of agriculture and produce?

What’s been part of your experience as a woman working in agriculture?

What’s your favorite produce?

How to survive the 2019 Oatly, oat milk, shortage.

Keep In Touch