Attention to Seasonal and Local Produce Transforms Cooking
by Alex Ball, the UW Farm Dani Elenga Scholar, Food Systems, Nutrition, and Global Health Senior
I have always loved to cook. I remember when I would stand on a step stool just to see the pot of simmering pasta sauce that my mom was cooking in the kitchen. I remember the first meal that I cooked all by myself for my family: a lemon-shrimp pasta with a side of sautéed vegetables. My interest in cooking has since blossomed, and I now cook almost all of my meals. I’ve made everything from full holiday dinners, to fresh fish tacos, to warming soups and stews.
After becoming a Food Systems, Nutrition, and Global Health major at UW, as well as starting work as a student intern on the UW Farm, I started learning about the sources of all of this food, as well as how we produce it. Our production practices have a profound impact on the state of our natural resources, our society’s economic vitality, our social well-being, and whether or not we can maintain or even enhance these things for future generations. Learning about these things, in particular how we steward our invaluable natural resources, had a profound impact on my cooking style and philosophy.
When we cook, most of us start with a recipe, and then create a shopping list of the fresh ingredients needed. We’re free to create any dish, with whatever ingredients we want, thanks to the globalization of our food system. It’s wonderful, and we can sauté fresh asparagus in October, get a zucchini in January, and eat tropical fruit in Washington State! But this comes with the negative consequences of using massive amounts of energy, both to transport these ingredients, and create the inputs needed to sustain high levels of production.
A year ago, I read Dan Barber’s The Third Plate, a book offering an alternative perspective: What if instead of following our recipes with a shopping list, we followed our shopping list with a recipe? Or rather, a shopping list of what ingredients are local and in-season at a particular time? While he frames this in the much broader context of environmental sustainability on a global level, and matching our consumption patterns to best utilize our local agricultural production, I think we can apply the concept to our personal cooking practices.
I’ve been much more intentional in making sure that my weekly cooking reflects whatever I can get at the UW Farm. Over the summer, I was cooking zucchini nearly every week. I made zucchini bread, added zucchini to vegetable stir-fries, and even made a great zucchini tart (also using UW Farm dill and garlic, featured in a previous Weekly Dirt article)!
As we’ve transitioned to fall, my cooking has become heartier, reflecting our bounty of carrots, winter squash, and potatoes. Now I make a different stew or soup each week out of whatever I can get at the farm! The added bonus is that in-season produce, grown in healthy soil, tastes a lot better than the alternative that I could buy somewhere else. Obviously, I still purchase most things from the store, and it’s tough to create a complete meal out of just farm vegetables. But I think my adapted approach to cooking has made me more comfortable, creative, and flexible in the kitchen.
To others with access to seasonal produce, whether a gardener, or a CSA shareholder, I challenge you to put the ingredients before the decision on what to cook. Let your creative juices flow, and see if what you eat can reflect what’s available to you.
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for serving
2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, divided, plus more
½ tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. ground cumin
1 13.5-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
1 medium sweet potato, peeled, sliced into ¼”-thick rounds
1 large bunch Mustard Greens ribs and stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped (in this week’s CSA!)
½ lb pre-soaked Wolverine’s Orcas / Jacob’s Cattle Dried Beans (in this week’s CSA!)
½ lb canned butter, gigante, or cannellini beans, rinsed
2 Tbsp. (or more) fresh lemon juice
1 baguette, sliced on a diagonal 1″ thick
Flaky sea salt
Instructions:
Purée 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped, 1 plum tomato, coarsely chopped, 3 garlic cloves, one 1″ piece ginger, scrubbed, and 2 red Thai chiles or 1 Fresno chile in a blender until smooth.
Heat 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium. Add onion mixture and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until moisture is evaporated and mixture is paste-like in consistency and beginning to stick to bottom of skillet, 12–16 minutes.
Stir in ½ tsp. ground coriander, ½ tsp. ground cumin, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt. Pour in one 13.5-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk and 2 cups water; stir to combine. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
Add the beans and cook until tender, the larger Jacob’s Cattle beans will take longer than the Wolverine’s Orca (45min-1hr).
Add 1 medium sweet potato, peeled, sliced into ¼”-thick rounds, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 10–12 minutes.
Add canned beans and 1 large bunch of greens, and the beans and cook, stirring occasionally, until greens are wilted, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice. Taste and add more kosher salt and/or lemon juice if needed.
Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Working in 2 batches and adding 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil between batches, fry 1 baguette, sliced on a diagonal 1″ thick, until golden, about 2 minutes per side. Set aside.
Divide stew among bowls. Season with flaky sea salt and drizzle with more extra-virgin olive oil. Serve with toasts.
News and Noteworthy:
Volunteer & Support Beacon Hill Food Forest!
Beacon Food Forest is a haven for any person who needs food, community, and the solace of nature. Many of the people who love BFF are not able to donate. If you are, I hope that you can generously give at this critical juncture. Think about the hours of joy, comfort, and inspiration you find in the food forest. Think about how your funds can make that experience possible for the children picking berries, the adults learning about pollinators, and the elders sharing wisdom under the arbor in the food forest.
This year BFF is experiencing a significant financial shortage. In previous years we have received several local government grants that we were not awarded this year. Individual donations are down, as we all cope with inflation and post-pandemic finances. Unless they receive significant donations they will have to let go of their two staff. Please use this link to give generously and keep Beacon Food Forest growing strong!
Upcoming Events at BFF:
November 16th 10am-2pm
Third Saturday Work Party – Remote option!
Thursday November 21st, 6:30pm-8pm
Cultivating Connections Event #2
Food Forest Fridays 12pm-4pm
Volunteering & Tours
Rainier Beach Youth Conference
Saturday, November 23rd
10:00 AM – 2:15 PM
Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands
This event is organized by youth for youth and will feature workshops and activities that explore topics such as climate change, food access, and supporting wildlife. This conference will empower not just our youth but all people to engage with these critical issues and take meaningful action in their communities. Though this is a youth-centered event, all are welcome to attend.
There will be free lunch catered by local restaurants, a variety of learning opportunities, and a tabling session for opportunities related to the environment.
The UW Farm donates regularly to the UW Food Pantry. During peak season we also donate to nearby food banks. The links below are resources to help you or someone you know with food access.
Every year, we have the capacity to grow more food and increase our educational and research program at the UW, but not without your support. Every contribution goes to work immediately, helping us better serve students. Your support can sustain our momentum and help seed new opportunities for student internships, academic work, and future growth. Please consider making a gift to the Farm online
The Weekly Dirt is produced once a week by the University of Washington Farm, a program of the UW Botanic Gardens, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, College of the Environment. It is published nearly year-round for educational purposes and the majority of the content is written or contributed by students and farm staff.
This issue’s contributors:
Managing Editor: Erica Fong, 2024-25 Americorps Education and Outreach Lead at the UW Farm
Around the Farm: Erica Fong & Perry Acworth, Farm Manager Recipe of the week: The Communal Feast & I’d Rather Be a Chef Contributing Editors: Perry Acworth, Farm Manager; Rebecca Alexander; Librarian, Manager of Reference and Technical Services, Elisabeth C. Miller Library Photo Credits: Perry Acworth. Other photos retrieved from the internet and noted in sections
natural resources, had a profound impact on my cooking style and philosophy.
zucchini to vegetable stir-fries, and even made a great zucchini tart (also using UW Farm dill and garlic, featured in a previous Weekly Dirt article)!
