Surprise! We are working at trying to bring all our blog posts up to date. So, you may be asking, “What has been going on with WellStone Gardens for the past year?” Here is a quick and condensed version on the nutrition side.
We had a busy summer on the farm with a bus load of inner-city students and their mentors coming out for an afternoon of fun and food. We created a new name for the farm – South Grand Farms – which has its own facebook page and group, (links are below) as well as YouTube channel. We do have a video of our church coming out for a picnic and a day of fun. If you haven’t seen it you can log into you tube and type in southgrandfarms in the search bar; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiBQ3lc11zU. We continued to have college kids come out on Friday Nights and Nicole organized staff members to help with all events. We completed our third annual Plunger Games with new events down on the river. More video’s are coming soon!
WellStone Gardens hosted a six week long healthy cooking class series at the Cass Career Center. We are now hosting those classes here on the farm twice a month, as well as in other locations as opportunities arise. Workshops include food samples, recipes, demonstrations, instruction and interaction. LiveBlueKC also hired WellStone to teach a couple of healthy cooking session for children in Prairie Village and Zona Rosa. It was great fun making healthy power balls with kids!
This month we had fifteen new people join our classes here on the farm. We started sending out post workshop surveys This Saturday, February 28th, beautiful Casa Somerset in Paola, KS will be featuring WellStone Gardens Healthy Cooking 101 from 11:00am – 1:00pm! Final registration ends this Wednesday, February 25th.
We have started sending out post workshop surveys and having the participants give feedback on their favorite recipe. The favorite chicken pot pie recipe winner this month is listed below (we tasted 3 different ones and a fabulous shepherd’s pie, as well as sides and dessert! If you want all the recipes we are working on a way for you to purchase them online. Many are original. To TASTE these yummy foods, come to a workshop!)
Paleo Chicken Pot Pie
Adapted from: peleoinpdx.com
For the filling:
- 2 Tbsp grass-fed butter (I used ghee- clarified butter)
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 large stalks of celery, chopped
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced (I used crushed)
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 1.25 cups butternut squash cubes ( I have used it with and without the squash- both are good)
- 1/4 cup chicken bone broth
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk ( I used Trader Joe’s heavy coconut cream)
- 3 cups leftover shredded boneless skinless chicken thighs (I used organic from Costco)
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley (I used 2 tbls. dried)
- 1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1 or 2 inch pieces (I used French cut)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrots and celery, and stir. After a few minutes, add the squash. Stir and continue to cook.
- Stir in the chicken and add the broth. After a minute or two, add the sea salt, pepper, turmeric and fresh parsley.
- Next, add the coconut milk and green beans, and stir well. Cook 3-4 more minutes and if mixture seems like it needs more liquid, add a bit more broth.
Remove from heat and pour mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle almond flour topping evenly over the top (recipe below) and place in oven, uncovered. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
For the topping:
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 3 Tbsp grass-fed butter
- Pinch of sea salt
In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the almond flour and a pinch of sea salt. Mix well, until almond flour is coated in the butter (it will be in small clumps). Remove from heat and use atop of the filling, once it’s been poured into the casserole dish
Our March Healthy Cooking Workshops are moving to Tuesday nights here at the farm on the 3rd and the 10th from 6:00 – 8:00. Our workshops are always fun and interactive! See it, taste it, live it! Get healthy!
Friday Nights Facebook Group Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/312671425556409/
South Grand Farms Page Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/southgrandfarms
