things we dig: mom’s organic market

April 5, 2011

MOM’s Organic Market is the Washington-Baltimore region’s premiere chain of locally owned and operated organic grocery stores. They’re a Sweetlife Festival sponsor too, and their tent will feature 100% organic snacks and produce like offered in their store.

MOM’s is often recognized as a leader among green businesses with a strong mission to protect and restore the environment.  In fact, over the past year, they have:

• Recycled over 11,000 batteries, 10,000 pounds of plastic bags, 2,000 light bulbs, and 890 cell phones

• Composted 100,000 pounds of what would have otherwise been waste material

• Donated 400,000 pounds of produce clippings for composting or animal feed

To learn more about MOM’s organic market and what they have done for the environment, check out their new blog or their founder’s blog.

krispy kale recipe of the week

March 7, 2011

What about krispy kale for breakfast?  We spent some time in the test kitchen and produced this baby.  It’s a baked frittata with our to-go pack of krispy kale, zucchini, and goat cheese.  Start your morning off right with hearty vitamin-packed greens or wow your guests for brunch. 

serves 6

6 large eggs

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. cream

6 oz. goat cheese

1 to-go pack sweetgreen krispy kale

salt, pepper

1 zucchini, sliced thinly

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Grease an 8×8 baking dish and layer the bottom with sliced zucchini

3. Whisk together eggs, milk, cream, salt and pepper cream in a bowl

4. Stir in goat cheese and krispy kale

5. Pour liquid mixture over the zucchini in the pan

6. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown around the edges 

nutritional info: 190 calories per serving, 13g fat, 11g protein, 120% vitamin A, 30% vitamin C, 15% calcium, 8% iron

krispy kale recipe of the week

February 23, 2011

Now that you can enjoy krispy kale on the go, we have been experimenting with ways to add a little kale pizzazz at home.  Stay tuned for our weekly suggestion. 

This week:  krispy kale takes soup to the next level!  The initial crunch makes for a satisfying spoonful, and as the kale heats up, the distinctly spicy seasoning adds a flavor kick and cranks the nutritional notch.  Here the kale pairs almost too well with sweet potato chowder, but will mingle with any wintry soup.

indigo frisee salad a warm bacon (lardon) vinaigrette

January 12, 2011

This is sweetgreen’s take on the classic Lyonnais salad. It’s hearty and fulfilling making for a great winter salad.  The poached egg breaks and releases the warm yoke all over the salad and mixes with the warm bacon vinaigrette. Also, lets be honest, who doesnt love bacon and eggs? Frisee can be pretty hard to find, so we used mesclun but any sturdy green that can stand up to a warm dressing will do.

Recipe:
1/2 pound frisée (French curly endive)
6 ounces slab bacon or thick-cut bacon slices
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons chopped shallot
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

Tear frisée into bite-size pieces and put in a large bowl. Cut bacon slices crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick sticks (lardons).
In a heavy skillet cook bacon over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden and remove skillet from heat. 

Have ready another skillet with 1 inch warm water. Half-fill a 4-quart saucepan with water and stir in white vinegar. Bring liquid to a bare simmer. Break each egg into a teacup. Slide 1 egg into simmering liquid and immediately push white around yolk with a slotted spoon, moving egg gently. (Egg will become oval, with yolk completely covered by white.) Add remaining 3 eggs in same manner. Simmer eggs about 1 1/2 minutes for runny yolks to about 3 minutes for firm yolks.
Immediately transfer eggs to skillet of warm water.

Reheat bacon in its skillet over moderate heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add red-wine vinegar and boil 5 seconds. Immediately pour hot dressing over frisée and toss with salt and pepper to taste.

Divide salad among 4 plates and top with drained poached eggs. Season eggs with salt and pepper and serve salad immediately.

roasted brussels sprouts with cabbage and pine nuts recipe

January 10, 2011

Food & Wine Magazine published Nic’s recipe for roasted brussels sprouts with cabbage and pine nuts.  It’s a true winter salad sure to keep you warm and cozy.

things we dig: food-lover’s cleanse

January 4, 2011

If you are looking for a plan to kick start a new year’s resolution to eat right, BonAppetit magazine has planned a unique 2-week cleanse.  You won’t find a meal-replacer shake here- only creative and inspired dishes leaving you dazzled and cleansed like Garam Masala Tofu Scramble or Fresh Salmon and Lime Cakes.  Each day outlines a tantalizing menu complete with recipes, tips, and introductions to new ingredients.  If a more flexible nutritional cleanse is more your style, a list of recommended “detox-friendly” foods can guide your own plan.  Nearly all of these items can be found at your local sweetgreen making it easy to incorporate a personalized salad cleanse into your nutrition upgrade in 2011.

www.bonappetit.com/recipes/food-lovers-cleanse

snowed-in ice cream

December 27, 2010

The east coast went a little overboard with the white Chrsitmas and now the northeast is especially buried under blizzard-like piles of snow. Why not make the best of it and turn your dusting into delicious snow ice cream? Now it’s not quite sweetflow, but if you’re snowbound away from your local sweetgreen, it might tide you over until you get home. First, look for a patch of fresh untouched snow (yellow snow doesn’t make the best ice cream). Take 1/2 gallon of snow inside and toss it with 1/2 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Get creative and toss in a few uneaten Christmas cookies for a snow ice cream upgrade.

things we dig: freshfarm markets recipe finder

October 27, 2010

Have you ever returned home from a farmers’ market, with reusable bags fulls of fresh, seasonal produce but have no clue what to make with all that stuff? Our friends at FRESHFARM Markets have found the perfect solution: the market recipes generator! It’s super simple. All you have to do is click on the ingredients you want to use and voila! A long list of solutions by our local heroes! The next challenge is deciding which recipe to use…

roasted baby eggplant salad recipe

August 31, 2010

1 lbs of Baby Eggplant
2 Tblsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tsp of Garlic Salt
1 Tsp of Chili Powder
4 Rosemary Sprigs

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash eggplant, then slice eggplant in half and layout on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, garlic salt, chili powder. Layout Rosemary sprigs on top.
Roast at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until soft.

You can just eat these roasted eggplant as a side dish or snack, But here at sweetgreen, we like to make everything into a salad. Heres the salad we made with them: (serves 2-3 ppl)

1/2 lb of Baby Arugula
1 large Heirloom Tomato, diced
1/2 cup Sprouts
1/2 cup Tofu, chopped
1 Tblsp of Fresh Basil, chopped.
8-10 of the Roasted Baby Eggplant Halves
Lemon Tahini Dressing (You can use any simple lemon vinaigrette.)
Extra fresh squeeze of lemon to top it off.

sweet corn: eat it raw

August 25, 2010

Its that time of the year: sweet corn is abundant at farmers markets. When most people think of eating a good piece of corn on the cob, they immediately imagine hot corn just boiled or grilled and slathered in butter. While there’s nothing wrong with that, next time try it RAW! That’s right, you can eat it directly off the cobb without cooking it. The first bite is completely unexpected as you get a mouthful of super sweet crisp corn. Literally, just shuck it, wash it , and BITE it. So shucking good.

You can also use sweetcorn off the cob, just slice it off and use it in this recipe.

Raw Sweet Corn & Avocado Salad
3 large ear of raw sweet corn
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 large ripe tomato, diced
2 Tblsp. parsley, minced
2 Tblsp. of cilantro, minced
1/4 cup sweet red onion, chopped
2 ripe avocados, cubed.
2 Tblsp of fresh lime juice
2 Tblsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon of chili powder

Wash all vegetables, remove kernels of corn from cob and combine with all other ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.

-Nic