Guest Chef for Prairie Farm Corps 2017

It was such an honor to guest chef with the Prairie Farm Corps team last week and help them set the farm crew's lunch table! It's my favorite food education location to teach and learn in Lake County!

Introducing this Summer's PFC Kitchen Lead, Chef Aleks Semova (there she is instructing with measuring cup in hand!) She taught us all how to make vegan mayo and a 6 ingredient quick bread. I cannot wait to make them for my home plates!!!

Stay tuned... Her recipes are coming soon:)

I taught the kitchen team how to make my "I Lime You Very Much Tuna Salad" and "Sriracha Egg Salad".  I decided not to bring in the recipes to look at and copy. We simply eyeballed, taste tested and followed our instincts. These two salads are pretty fun to free-wheel (I like to call it "gumption" cooking) and it was really fun to watch them taste, add more and make it their own!

Sriracha = YES PLEASE!

Aleks: "How in the world shall we cut this beautiful loaf!?"

We looked at each other and said almost simultaneously, "ANYWAY WE WANT!"

Before serving the guests and PFC crew, the kitchen team introduces the lunch. They take turns explaining the ingredients, fun facts about the food, how they prepped it all, and perhaps some tid bits on what they learned in the kitchen for that day. Each kitchen team spends two weeks in the kitchen over two months. The rest of the time is spent in the fields learning how to cultivate and grow food seed to farmer's market + plate!

A quick snap shot of my PFC lunch plate.

We also whipped up a simple Radish Butter recipe from Mardi Michel, one of our Food Revolution Super Ambassadors from Canada! A MUST TRY!

Needless to say, there was no bread or radish butter left. Just a little egg salad for leftovers the next day:)

After lunch, Jen and Jeff Miller, the owners and farmers of Prairie Wind Family Farm, presented to the PFC team about their journey into becoming organic farmers. I think I jumped up and down when I found out their team were our lunch guests!

Cheers to becoming a little more food savvy (inside + outside) every day! 

I love everything about you PFC! Thanks so much for having me for the third year running; Time sure flies when you're working hard and having fun. YOU GUYS ROCK!!!

It all starts at home plate!

To the Mullies we go...

xoxoL

Soffritto Sister Diaries | A Prairie Farm Corps Reunion in Pictures

Once again, the Prairie Farm Corps lit me up! 

Terri and I were so excited to come for a day and help prep for their annual Celebration Dinner - Terri made several vinaigrettes and a gorgeous hand chopped pesto with the students while I made two batches of homemade ice cream and prepped a bunch of ice cream starters for later freezing + churning.

Veronica, your Celebration Dinner kitchen team rocked out an epic feast and it was crazy fun to help you prep for it all. I am in awe of each one of you and the beautiful spread you shared with your friends and family to honor the incredible Summer you created together. 

Thank you Eric, Veronica, Amanda, Natalie, Shannon, Miya, Karina and Natalie for always inspiring me to cook with more vege and for rocking out a group of incredible students who will continue "waterfalling" out the importance of organic farming and the love of cooking from scratch!

Nurture the soil - Nurture the food - Nurture the soul - Nurture the community

I get goosebumps just thinking about how many people each one of you will inspire after you tell them about your Summer on the farm. We may never know how far and wide our impact will go... so keep sharing and passing down your favorite recipes and the skills you learned!

The Lake County Food Revolution = YOU!

To the mullies we go,

xoxoL

Soffritto Sister Diaries | A Fremont Garden Tasting - Lemon Zucchini Ribbons

 

Zucchini noodles are one of my favorite things to make and eat. And it was certainly one of the favorite dishes at our Fremont Community Garden tasting event! Garnished with garden flowers and pantry item staples from Mundelein's very own Corner Health Foods Store it was truly a work of edible art!

I hope you enjoy Terri's beautiful Lemon Zucchini Ribbon recipe today and we hope you are inspired to eat a little more from the garden each week - "More guts more glory" I say!

Feel free to tag us in your zucchini ribbon creations on Facebook or Instagram - We'd love to see what you make - it lights us up to see YOUR plates!

Zoodles up Terri!!

To the Mullies we go,
xoxoL


ps

After I bought the above zucchinis from the Prairie Farm Corps stand at the Libertyville Farmer's Market, we powered down some of dear Jared's Nomad Food Company pies today... man were they good. And the Aqua Frescas?!?!?  Pure raspberry, farm honey and lemon balm heaven in a jar.

Part 5 | #FoodRevontheFarm + The Kitchen Notebook

Dear Terri and Prairie Farm Corps crew,

It is so weird having you all gone. These are my favorite pictures from our celebration dinner cooking marathon and my last day with you guys harvesting vegetables for the Libertyville Farmer's Market.

Now that we have cooked and dug in the mud together, I just want to do it over and over again.

So that's what I have done. Made some videos so we can relive our Summer together whenever we want! HA! I dreamt of making these videos when I started meeting with Eric and Erin over a year ago in the yellow farmhouse. 

...Terri, how many times have we said "we've known each other from a past life"!?  

A JOFR Ambassador Avalanche | Terri + Lindsey Connect Continents 

I could write for days upon days about our 8 weeks together. Terri, I'm looking forward to writing more about the favorite recipes we cooked (I'm going to make these dishes with my kids!) over the next year from The Kitchen Notebook. It'll surely be something to keep us warm when the weather turns cold:) 

OH Crew, what fun we had cooking and eating together! Here is my mini film, made around music in hopes of capturing the magic that grew in each of us. It's my gift to each of the Prairie Farm Corps crew members, for the Liberty Prairie Foundation and for everyone around the globe who is inspired... 

to gather more often at our family tables together,

to cook more often from scratch,
and

to spread farm to table food education.

Prairie Farm Corps 2015 

I give HUGE big love to each and everyone one of the crew. I miss you dearly and I'll be thinking of our Summer together every time I cook, for you are now part of my connected and wonderfully cooked life.

To the mullies we go...

xoxoL

ps

Thank you Food Revolution for the honor of hosting the first #FoodRevTakeOver on Instagram. We had a blast sharing it all with YOU!