Spring Recipes

In case you're interested in making those tasty recipes I mentioned in my previous post, I've posted them here.

Arugula Walnut Pesto

Ingredients:

 4 cups arugula, packed

 ½ cup shelled, chopped walnuts 

 6-8 garlic scapes, tender part only, chopped*

 ½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese

 ½ to 1 lemon, squeezed

 ½ cup extra virgin olive oil or more as needed

   salt and pepper, to taste

• tender scapes can be used raw, tougher scapes should be tossed with olive oil and roasted in the oven to tenderize.

Instructions:

Over medium-high heat, toast the walnuts in a saucepan until fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. You can alternately toast them on a baking sheet in an oven heated to 350° F. 

In a food processor, combine the arugula, walnuts, and garlic scapes. Pulse while drizzling in the olive oil until the mixture forms a smooth paste. Remove the pesto from the food processor and put into a bowl. Stir in parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and a big squeeze of lemon to taste.

Recipe by Shelly Guzman

Thyme Crackers

Ingredients:

 500 grams (about 2 cups) whole wheat flour

 ½ cup olive oil

 1 cup water

 2 tsp salt

 2-3 tbsp dried thyme

 1 tbsp agave nectar

  2 tbsp olive oil

   salt and pepper

   fresh thyme

Instructions:

Mix whole wheat flour, olive oil, water, salt, dried thyme, and agave nectar together. Roll out dough until it is very thin (about ¼ inch). Cut into squares or long flat sticks. Add salt and pepper to olive oil. Brush each cracker with olive oil mixture. Press fresh thyme leaves into each cracker. Bake on a cookie sheet for 12 to15 minutes at 325°F

For a softer flatbread, roll out dough a bit thicker and pan fry in olive oil for 3 minutes each side.

Recipe by Nanna Meyer

The Big Debut

On Saturday, June 23, The Flying Carrot project made its big (well big-ish) debut at Bob's Bash 5K, 9K, and 20-mile race. The race was held at Aspen Valley Ranch in Woodland Park. After many trials at finding the right location to position the bus, we found the perfect shady spot. From there set-up began as we decked out the inside of the bus with educational artwork created by students from the Food, Culture, Community and Health class at UCCS. While the bus remains unpainted for now, we printed a large poster of The Flying Carrot logo to add pizzaz to the outside of the bus. 

The interactive educational piece included a taste testing of fresh, seasonal produce (peas, broccoli, turnips, beets, garlic scapes) from Venetucci Farm and arugula walnut pesto made with arugula and garlic scapes from Harlan Wolfe Ranch. Homemade thyme crackers (made with thyme from my own garden) made a tasty accompaniment to the pesto and served as a salty treat for the 20-mile runners. Recipes for the pesto and crackers were provided as well. Another activity involved something called the healthy plate, which is a guide to how to eat to support optimal health. Depending on your level of activity, there are 3 options: the healthy plate for those who are only lightly active or focusing on weight management, the fitness plate for those who are moderately active, and the performance plate for athletes who regularly train and compete at a high level. We provided paper plates and a variety of art supplies with the idea that people (mainly children) would create their own healthy plate. Hard to tell if this activity is a total success yet because there were only 2 children at the event and I could only convince one to participate. :) Nonetheless, she seemed to have a great time! My favorite part of her plate was when she used watercolors to represent her favorite fruits and vegetables (i.e. a stripe of red for strawberries, a splash of purple for eggplant, and green for salad). Additionally, there was a colorful handout on how to identify a whole food. 

While we knew the event was going to be small, it was even smaller than expected. This was partly due to the Waldo Canyon Fire that started just before the race, creating less than ideal conditions for the runners in addition to the already challenging elevation, heat, and difficulty of the course. Despite the low turnout, we took advantage of the few spectators we had and shared the purpose of the Flying Carrot project and got ideas for future events. The feedback seemed positive (the event photographer particularly liked the crackers and pesto)! Overall, it was a great place to start as we prepare for bigger events. 

Drumroll please... the "Veggie Bus" has a new name!

After many months of brainstorming and debate, the bus has a new name! Drumroll please... "The Flying Carrot" 


Check out the new logo. What do you think? Pretty fun if you ask me! 

Artwork by Nanna Meyer.