Bowl of Miso

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Potato Artichoke Gratin

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Serves 8

14 oz. of canned artichoke hearts, drained well and quartered.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 lbs. potatoes (I don't peel them), sliced (I use the processor)
8 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded (roughly 2 cups)
1.5 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper.

Preheat oven to 375. Butter a shallow baking dish. You can sautee the onion for ten minutes or I just add in raw, allowing them cook in the dish. Toss it all up and cook for 1 hour or until well browned and bubbling. Allow to set for 10 minutes before serving.

Peppercorn Poached Leeks

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From The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook. (Incidentally, I felt a little unsure of posting photos directly from the cookbook, but the page image came up in a Google Books search for the recipe, so they are readily accessible w/out my doing.)

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Recipe notes: I used more salt than the recipes calls for in the dressing, and added 1/4 teaspoon of smoked Spanish paprika. (Thanks, Mom!)

Zucchini Salad

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2 lbs. raw zucchini, washed, but not peeled; slice either in thin rounds or thin strips (I recommend using a either a mandoline or the food processing slicing blade). (I got away with 6 small zucchini here, counting on 1 per serving/person.)
1/4 cup sour cream (I use fat free)
1/4 mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon dried basil (or 1/2 teaspoon fresh basil, cut into chiffonade)
1/4 teaspoon salt + 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon orange or lemon zest (I prefer lemon)

Toss it up baby. Chill a bit before serving. Can prepare a day ahead.

Lickety Split

Recently while shopping at the Chef Emporium in Wallingford, CT, I spotted this box of Lekue (a Spanish brand) ice molds with caps, sitting unassumingly with other silicone goods. The design of the box alone warranted its purchase, but the function of the ice tubes made it worth posting. The four red "moldes" are intended for freezing ice cream, gelati, or (what we enjoyed) popsicles. We choose Tang mix, but I can easily see myself seeking refuge from Summertime heat by filling it with either pureed papaya or limeade and a splash of tequila. We left them to freeze overnight, although I'm not sure it really takes that long. Click here for more info (may require Google translation).

Incidentally, they were designed by Luki Huber.

(Incidentally, these cost $24.00, so I'm hoping they last awhile.)

Cranberry Coffee Klatsch Cake

A good Saturday morning, shoot-the-stuff cake:

Streusel Topping:
1/4 (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped (I actually like using dried cranberries)

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla expert
2 large eggs, at room temp
1 1/2 cups sour cream (I prefer using plain or french vanilla yogurt)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

Make the topping. Combine all the streusel topping. Stir until crumbly, then set aside.

Cake: in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt aside.

Using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice to ensure thorough mixing.

On low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and sour cream, then add another third of the flour, then the rest of the sour cream, then the remaining flour. Don't overmix.

Spread half of the cake batter in the pan. (It may not seem like enough, but don't worry.) Crumble half the topping over the top and spoon on the remaining batter. Crumble the rest of the topping over the batter and bake the cake for about 50 minutes, or until a tester in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool slightly on a wire rack. Invert the cake onto a serving platter or cake stand and remove the pan.

Interpreted from "cook what you love," by Bob & Melinda Blanchard.

A Food Truck Transformation

Check out the transformation of Mark & Ami Beach Shadle's creation - the gmonkey mobile food truck!

Introducing Our Nation's First Vegetarian, Eco-Friendly Food Truck: gmonkey™

Media Relations Contact & Owner, Raw Foods Chef and Holistic Nutritionist:
Ami Beach Shadle
ami@gmonkeymobile.com | cell: 860.989.5020

Executive Chef, Organic Farmer & Owner:
Mark Shadle
mark@gmonkeymobile.com | cell: 860.983.3831

LOCAL AWARD-WINNING ORGANIC CHEF MARK SHADLE & HOLISTIC NUTRITIONIST AMI BEACH SHADLE HIT THE STREETS IN THE COUNTRY'S FIRST VEGETARIAN, ECO-FRIENDLY FOOD TRUCK CALLED GMONKEY

gmonkey™ Serves Up Tasty Street Food While Strengthening Our Connection to Local Farm & Food Growers.

Owners Serve Up Organic Eats, from “FARM 2 STREET”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- DURHAM, CT, April 23, 2011 -- Chip canteen. Food truck. “Roach coach.” Whatever the preferred lingo, patrons don’t typically step up to mobile kitchens with the goal of fueling up on fresh, local ingredients. But two local organic food enthusiasts are looking to change your mind about that. Mark Shadle, award-winning chef and co-owner of It’s Only Natural Restaurant™ in Middletown, CT and his wife Ami Beach Shadle (the “The Detox Diva”) are taking farm-fresh vegetarian ingredients to the streets in a newly-outfitted, state-of-the-art commercial kitchen-on-wheels they're calling gmonkey™. The mobile truck is considered our nation's very first all-vegetarian, eco-friendly food truck. The mobile kitchen, fueled by Hale Hill Farm Biofuels of Chester, CT will first be spotted in the Greater Hartford region during lunchtime beginning in early May. Customers can track the truck's location each by visiting www.gmonkeymobile.com and by following the gmonkey™ team on Twitter: @gmonkeymobile. Customers can even order ahead by calling the truck's phone: 860.759.8880

gmonkey™ will feature fresh food, brought locally to hungry bellies throughout the region, and feature a diverse, seasonally-inspired menu sourced heavily from local farms and food producers. Menu ingredients are natural, organic, and fair-trade, whenever possible. The menu will have a strong focus on vegetarian, but also include a wide variety of vegan and gluten-free cuisine, although the fresh-food-focused menu is sure to appeal to a wide variety of palates. The make-your-mouth-water menu includes items such as vegan donuts, fresh squeezed juices, salads, wholesome warm soups, locally-produced cheeses, fresh-baked bread, and finger-licking sweet potato fries (cooked in 100% vegetarian canola oil). The menu, ever-changing according to what fresh produce is available each week, is posted each morning on www. gmonkeymobile.com.

"The appeal of food truck fare is, of course, the immediate gratification of stepping up and ordering delicious, hit-the-spot food," said owner Mark Shadle. "But this is no ordinary food truck; this mobile kitchen is an extension of our philosophy about the food revolution: that people should have access to healthy, tasty, eco-friendly food choices."

“The ingredients that go into our dishes are of the same top-notch quality and freshness of the ingredients at fine restaurants,” explains Chef Mark, who has more than 20 years extensive gourmet restaurant experience. “Our goal is to break any stereotypes of typical street vending foods and redefine them in a totally green, provocative, and innovative way.”

The Shadles invite customers to join the gmonkey™ chefs on a food adventure for their taste buds. The Shadles consider the mobile kitchen a way to shorten your connection between the field where the food is grown and your plate. Moving into the spring, will begin to appear during local festivals, farmers’ markets, and fairs as well as available for private parties and small catering events.

“We are passionate about delivering fresh, eco-street food that is pure and delicious, and we’ll never skimp on the integrity of ingredients or taste,” notes gmonkey™ co-owner Ami Beach Shadle. “We handcraft our food daily from scratch. Our mantra is to serve delicious, healthy, and fun food that honors the environment and harms not a single animal in the making. Our goal is to make food you love and food that makes you feel good. It’s that simple. "

In the early morning hours, the Shadles begin prepping the food for gmonkey™ in their sleek commercial kitchen, but if you step just outside the kitchen door, you'll find them harvesting greens, herbs, and honey. While the gmonkey™ Mobile team hopes to have a high impact in terms of delicious food, the delivery system will be as low impact on the environment as possible. They do this by serving customers on biodegradable, vegetable-based plates, napkins, and utensils, and implementing recycling and composting of kitchen food scraps, which are brought back in their home base kitchen, located at Shadle Farm in Durham, CT. (www.ShadleFarm.com).

As for the origin of the “gmonkey” moniker? Ami explains..."The monkey has been depicted for centuries throughout ancient Indian, Chinese, African and Egyptian cultures as representing a highly social being that is witty and possess a magnetic personality. The monkey represents an insatiable curiosity, extreme cleverness, inventiveness and playfulness about life that we at gmonkey™ can really identify with. The “G” in gmonkey™ also stands for 'green,' where we practice what we preach in terms of business ethics.

In June 2010, Mark Shadle had the honor of being invited to the White House by First- Lady Michelle Obama and is currently involved with the “Chefs Move to School” initiative that involves working directly with schools and helping to bring awareness to healthier food choices for the children. His vision is exposing kids and adults of all ages to community gardening, local farmers markets, giving them a hands -on experience and educating in a way that is fun, interactive and life changing. gmonkey™ will be a key part of this mission, traveling to schools to teach kids about healthy eating and farming.

About Chef Mark Shadle: Mark Shadle, a vegetarian for 26 years, co-owns It’s Only Natural Restaurant (ION) in Middletown, CT. Mark’s commitment to vegetarianism occurred a bit earlier when he took up cycling in the mid 1980's. He noticed when he followed a Vegetarian and organic diet that his performance and endurance when he was cycling was at its peak. Mark’s extensive knowledge, hands-on experience, and deep respect for food and nature are an integral part of his holistic cuisine.

Over the past 22 years of his culinary career, Mark has achieved much recognition for both his extraordinary talent and impact on the local, sustainable and natural foods movement. As a member of the American Natural Foods team, his team placed two Gold medals, Silver and Bronze in the Culinary Olympics in Germany in 1992 & 1996. As a Vegetarian team battling against 60 countries and all genres of food, this is no small feat to say the least. Mark was most recently bestowed with Edible Nutmeg's Local Hero 2011 Award.

About Ami Beach Shadle, The “Detox Diva”
Ami, also known as the Detox Diva, is the owner and founder of the Colonic Institute in West Hartford. Ami is an IACT Colon Hydrotherapist, Certified Holistic Nutritionist from Integrative School of Nutrition (IIN in NYC), Certified Raw Foods Chef & Author. She and her husband, Mark Shadle, live on an historic 1730’s property where they are nurturing the organic Shadle Farm in Durham, CT, which is also Gmonkey headquarters. She is currently working on two non-fiction books focusing on Anti-aging, Holistic lifestyle, Detoxification and Self empowerment. Her book, "Nectar in the Raw," will be published sometime in the upcoming year. Find her on Twitter: @mydetoxdiva.com.

For more information about Shadle Farm, visit www.shadlefarm.com.

Middletown Patch, "The Things You Can Do With Poo," April 6, 2011

Poo Poo Paper? Cow Pots? Learn more from Alice Blair's article in a recent Middletown Patch edition. Photo credit: Alice Blair

The Wesleyan Argus, "From Curd to Co-Op: Behind the Scenes at Cato Corner," March 29, 2011

Check out this lovely feature on Cato Corner Farm, by Benjamin Soloway of the Wesleyan Argus.