parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme...

I've reclaimed the sad wooden boxes on the side of our building and turned them into quite the herb garden for the Hillel Cafe to proudly tout homegrown seasonings on our menu this September!

So far, I have lavender (which will feature prominently on the Espresso Cart menu, think Lavender & Vanilla Latte), basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley, cilantro, dill, cumin, tarragon, and sage.

 lavender simple syrup

If you have an interest in permaculture/horticulture and would like to take an active role in helping me with this project, please contact me at fromthehearthfood@gmail.com

Do you already have your own herbs to use up somehow?  Here is an awesome recipe for Argentinean inspired chimichurri sauce that goes great on grilled meats and is a great way to use a bunch of parsley & cilantro.

CHIMICHURRI SAUCE

INGREDIENTS
1 small bunch parlsey, stemmed and finely chopped
1 small bunch cilantro, stemmed and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/8 C red wine vinegar
1/4 C olive oil
red chile flakes, to taste
salt and fresh ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS
Combine herbs, garlic, and red wine vinegar in a small bowl.
Whisk in olive oil in a steady stream, stir in salt and pepper.

Alternately, place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse to combine.

Serve with grilled steaks or your favorite meat (I like to serve this with grilled flank steak). Enjoy!

keep it kosher, organic, local, seasonal, green, non-gmo, blah, blah, blah...

I want to run an idea I have by you.  Last year I started a Hillel CSA (community supported agriculture), where you could come and pick up a share of vegetables from a local organic farm (Green Things Farm) at Hillel.  The catch is you have to pre-pay and you can't be afraid of radishes and kohlrabi. I sold out of the 15 shares I had allotted to us in no time.
Now it's time to brainstorm again with how to keep this going, gain traction, and help our active Hillel community keep kosher, eat healthy, and invest in community.
The idea:
Keep the vegetable part of the CSA basically the same which is 15 weeks of fresh produce depending on what the farm is harvesting each week.
ADD into the mix:
-1 bunch of fresh herbs from Chef Emil's herb garden
-1 one pound loaf of house made challah bread
-1 whole glatt kosher chicken, in Chef's marinade of the week and ready to roast at home

This would change the price from $400/15 weeks to $600/15 weeks.

Do you think students & community members like yourself would sign up?
Please leave me any feedback or your email if you'd be interested in a comment or email me @ fromthehearthfood@yahoo.com!

homemade samosas with mint coconut chutney

Monica and I found an awesome new hole-in-the-wall restaurant on Ford Rd near canton called "Indian Flavors".  It's all vegetarian and run by the cutest old man and his family.  So, I'm posting my recipe for homemade samosas and chutney to give you a taste of Indian flavors if you don't have time to make it to the restaurant.

Samosa dough
1/4 C canola oil
2/3 C water
2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Whisk together the oil and water in a small bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Slowly stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until the dough is moistened and comes together in a ball. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 1 minute.  Wrap dough ball in plastic and let rest at room temp. for 1 hour.

Mix a couple tablespoon of cornstarch with enough water to make a thick paste for gluing the edges of the dough together later.

Samosa filling
3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 white onion, diced
1 jalapeno or green chile, seeded & diced
1/3 C frozen green peas
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. coriander
2 T canola oil

Boil the cubed potatoes until soft, meanwhile, heat 2 T canola oil in a skillet and add all of the other ingredients.  Saute on medium high until very fragrant, then add the boiled potatoes and continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes.  Remove from the heat and mash the potatoes a bit to really incorporate the spices and garlic.

Assembly & Finishing
Heat 3 Cups canola oil over medium heat in a heavy duty saucepot or cast iron skillet with high sides.
Lightly flour your work surface.
Roll out the dough by making a "snake" shape and cutting that into 8 equal pieces. then form a ball and roll out each into a circle. Put about 1/3 cup filling in the middle and brush the edges with cornstarch and water mixture.  
Fold three sides up to meet in the center and make a triangle shape. Make sure to seal all edges.

Pinch a bit of dough off and drop in the oil to see if it's hot enough before starting with the samosas, if it bubbles in the oil it's ready.

Fry each samosa until golden brown and keep warm on a sheet pan in the oven on 200F.

Coconut Mint Chutney
1 bunch mint
1/2 C shredded coconut
1/4 medium white onion, chopped
1 green chile or jalapeno, seeded
1 tsp. ground ginger
water
salt to taste

Put first 4 ingredients in blender on high and drizzle in water until desired a paste is formed, and water to desired thickness.  Add salt to taste & enjoy with your crispy homemade samosas!!!

put