Thanksgiving Leftovers

After hours and days and weeks of planning, Thanksgiving has come and gone, leaving in its wake several days worth of leftovers.  While one could just eat the same plate of leftover goods day after day, the IFFS Nutrition Team has a few recipes for those looking for a little more pizzazz:

Turkey and Rice Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
•  1 medium onion, diced
•  3/4 cup celery, diced
•  1 medium potato, diced
•  4 1/2 cups of Easy Turkey Stock recipe
•  1 1/2 cups shredded cooked turkey
•  1 cup or cooked brown rice *
•  Coarse salt and fresh pepper

Directions

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, potato, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 2 minutes.
2. Add stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in turkey and rice, and cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.

* For extra-delicious rice, cook in Easy Turkey Stock, as opposed to regular old water!

Nutrition Facts per Serving (Makes 4 Servings): 265 Calories, 23 grams of carbohydrates, 9 grams of fat, 23 grams of protein, 211 milligrams of sodium, and 3 grams of sugar.

 Easy Turkey Stock

Ingredients

• Bones of 1 cooked turkey
• 5 quarts of water
• 2 onions, quartered
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 carrot
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns

Directions

In a large stockpot, combine turkey bones, water, onions, celery, carrot, bay leaf, and peppercorns.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, skimming occasionally, about 2 hours. Strain into airtight containers; cool completely.  Cover, and refrigerate up to 3 days, or freeze up to 6 months.

For Breakfast:

Turkey Hash and Sunny-Side Up Eggs

Ingredients

• 1 pound red potatoes, diced
•  1 1/2 teaspoons salt
•  2 tablespoons olive oil
•  4 teaspoons olive oil
•  1 small yellow onion, diced
•  3 cloves of garlic, minced
•  1 bell pepper, diced
•  1 1/2 tablespoons fresh herbs, chopped
•  1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
•   3 cups diced leftover roast turkey
•   8 large eggs

Directions

1. In a medium pot of water over high heat, bring potatoes and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes, drain potatoes, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tbs oil over medium-low heat. Sauté onion and garlic, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add bell pepper, fresh herbs, pepper, and remaining salt, and sauté for 3 minutes more.
3. Increase heat to medium-high, add 1 tbs more oil, potatoes, and turkey and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water and stir to mix. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes more. Remove hash from heat and cover loosely with foil.
4. In two large nonstick skillets over medium heat, heat 2 teaspoons oil in each. Add 4 eggs to each pan and fry until whites are cooked, about 4 minutes. Divide hash among serving plates and top each with a fried egg, taking care not to break yolks. Garnish with remaining herbs.

Nutrition Facts (Makes 8 Servings): 230 calories, 10g Total Fat, 481mg Sodium, 17g ,Carbohydrates, 18g Protein

 For Lunch

"Thanksgiving Leftover" Sandwich

The best Thanksgiving leftover sandwich is one WITHOUT a recipe.  The recipe provided is really flexible; substitute what you have on hand to make a delicious sandwich the day after .

Ingredients

• 2 slices of whole wheat bread
•  Slices of leftover turkey
•  A small scoop of stuffing
•  A small scoop of sweet potatoes
•  A small scoop of cranberry sauce
•  A handful of leftover salad lettuce

Directions

Toast bread.  Spread on cranberry sauce, sweet potato, and stuffing on one side of bread.  On the other side, layer on a light bed of lettuce, then place meaty pieces of turkey on top.  Carefully place the sweet potato stuffing side on top of the turkey side.  Cut in half and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts ( Makes 1 Serving): Dependent upon ingredients used.

For Dinner:

Turkey Tacos with Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, sliced
•  1 bell pepper, seeded and sliced
•  1 large red bell pepper, sliced
•  2 tablespoons olive oil
•  3 cups shredded roasted turkey
•  2 garlic cloves, minced
•  Salt to taste
•  8 taco shells
•  1 cup refried black beans
•  Cranberry Sauce
•  1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
•  1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
•  8 lime wedges

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 400°. Sauté first three ingredients in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 6 to 8 minutes or until onion is golden. Stir in turkey and garlic; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Season with salt to taste.
2.  Spread shells with refried beans; top with turkey mixture. Drizzle with a small amount of Cranberry Sauce. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
3. Bake at 400° for 10 to 12 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve with fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and remaining sauce.

Nutrition Facts ( Makes 8 Servings) 296 Calories, 18g Carbohydrates, 14g Fat, 21g Protein, 337mg Sodium, 1g Sugar

A Turkey Day Surprise

Some Triangle families will be receiving a Turkey Day surprise this year thanks to area nonprofits. Inter-Faith Food Shuttle (IFFS) held our annual "Turkey Takeout" event this morning to distribute turkeys and all the fixings to local agencies who will then distribute them to families they serve. “When we called one of our patients to tell her she had been selected to receive the turkey dinner, she  broke down and cried,” said William Massengill, CEO for Benson Medical Center.   Massengill’s community health center is one

of 15 agencies serving low-income families selected to participate in the free turkey giveaway.

“We asked our physicians to identify the 17 patients most in need of fresh, healthy food.  These families are the poorest of the poor. They were not going to have Thanksgiving if it weren’t for this event.”

IFFS holds a fresh food Mobile Market every month at the medical center.  The center’s physicians write a “prescription” for fresh produce for their patients most in need, which they then use at the monthly market  to shop for free.

At this year's Turkey Takeout, over 30 volunteers helped load vehicles from 15 area agencies full of  turkeys  and veggies from US Foods, collard greens gleaned by IFFS volunteers at Burch Brothers farm, cabbage and apples from Ford's Produce,  sweet potatoes from FarmPak, and  rice and pies from other IFFS local donors - all for the families they serve.  Thanks to these generous folks, 250 more families will now be able to have a Thanksgiving meal.

Looking for a way you can help? Here's a list of more ways to help families in need this holiday season.

Protein Power and Portions

As Inter-Faith Food Shuttle works to increase access to fresh and local produce in low-income communities, Food Matters ensures that people have the knowledge and skills to utilize it by presenting this information at Inter-Faith Food Shuttle Mobile Markets. In November, our Food Matters Nutrition Education team is focusing on protein options and their corresponding portion size at our Mobile Markets.

For meat and seafood, the portions are fairly simple to regulate:

• 3 oz of seafood is the size of a checkbook
• 3 oz of poultry or meat is the size of a deck of cards.

For plant-sources of protein (nuts, beans, and dairy) there is a different requirement. In order to receive the full benefit of these proteins, they need to be paired with a grain. Examples of this include:

• rice and beans
• peanut butter and whole wheat toast
• string cheese with whole grain crackers

The serving size for nut butters is usually about the size of a golf ball (2 tbsp); compared to a serving size of nuts being about 1/4 cup. A portion of beans is 1/2 cup, and a portion of cheese is about 1 1/2 oz, or 3 stacked dice.

We'll also be have a recipe demo of Black Bean Chili Dip for participants to sample! Yum!

Endless Sun Produce: Hyper-Local Lettuce Grown by IFFS Incubator Farmers Chase Werner and Matt Spitzer

Chase Werner and Matt Spitzer have been friends since middle school. Now, they’re business partners in Endless Sun Produce, growing salad greens and culinary herbs hydroponically through Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s Incubator Farm Program, located at the IFFS Teaching Farm on Tryon Road in Raleigh. Why lettuce?

Did you know that 90% of the lettuce consumed on the east coast is grown on the west coast in just two locations? Turn over a package of salad greens and you’ll see that it was grown in either Yuma, AZ in the summer or Salinas, CA in the winter.  Yet it’s such a huge market staple – every restaurant has a salad on their menu. Chase and Matt are currently in the process of transitioning to growing all Rex Buttercrunch lettuce – a type of lettuce bred for hydroponic growing. When they harvest the head of lettuce, they stick it in a clamshell container, root ball and all, so it’s actually still living at the time of purchase.  They aim to sell the lettuce hyper-locally – ideally all within Raleigh. They can sure beat west-coast lettuce on freshness and carbon footprint.

Why hydroponics?

It makes sense for growing lettuce year-round. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants that uses no soil, just nutrient-enriched water.

There are sustainability benefits to using this method as well. It’s easier to grow organically in a greenhouse, as the contained space allows for the introduction of beneficial insects to control pests instead of chemicals.  Hydroponics uses 70% less water and 60% less fertilizer than it would to grow lettuce in traditional soil-based systems, and it’s 3-5 more space efficient. With hydroponics, the contained system means less evaporation and no fertilizer run-off. It takes a gallon of water to grow a head of lettuce – but the water in this system re-circulates from a 45 gallon reservoir that they only have to top off every few days, powered by a low-wattage pump that operates 24/7.

Hydroponics systems are adaptable and can be operated in a variety of small urban spaces. He sees them as a key part of the future of farming, as arable land decreases and farming in cities increases. Because the systems are often built at waist height, they’re more accessible for folks in wheelchairs and mean less bending over to harvest for able-bodied folks as well.

It’s also a great way to create a dependable revenue stream for urban farmers – all it takes is math to figure out how much you can produce on a weekly basis, and it’s a low input but high output system. According to Chase, one farmer can make a living off of a ¼ acre. Chase and Matt currently produce 60 heads of lettuce per week, growing on a 6 ft X 12 ft hydroponic system. From seed to harvest, they can finish a head of lettuce in just five weeks.

Plans for the future

Chase and Matt are not newcomers to entrepreneurship or to hydroponics. Now holding a business degree with a minor in horticulture science from NC State, Chase actually built his first hydroponic system when he was in high school out of his parents’ garage and sold lettuce door-to-door. Knowing that he wanted to make a living farming, Chase had heard about the IFFS Teaching Farm from various friends, and stopped by one day to talk to Farm Manager and Educator Sun Butler. Chase shared pictures of the system he had built, and soon after, he and Matt were officially part of the Incubator Program and setting up shop in the greenhouse.

They sold their lettuce at the IFFS farm stand this summer, plan to participate in IFFS’s winter CSA, and operate a home-delivery service in University Park. Eventually, they plan to sell at other farmers markets, to restaurants, and in local grocery stores as well.

Chase currently works full-time as store manager at Fifth Season, a hydroponics, homebrew, and organic gardening store. Matt works there part-time, and spends the rest of his time on the Endless Sun Produce endeavors. The team’s goal is to eventually make farming their full-time job. They’ve got a business plan worked out and are in the process of looking for land to farm on more permanently.

The IFFS Incubator Farm Program supports and grows new viable, independent farm businesses and helps build a healthy, hunger-free local food system  by serving as a model new-farmer program. The knowledge of how to grow food is an important step toward developing a locally-owned food system that builds self-sufficiency and community power. The more we understand about growing and preparing food, the more access we have and the healthier we are. 

Kids Can Help End Hunger

Campbell Bue and Joe Thomas Williams were born just hours apart. This past September 17th, the two friends had a joint birthday party as the turned eleven, but instead of asking their friends to bring gifts, they asked for donations to Inter-Faith Food Shuttle instead. How awesome is that?

Campbell and his mom Rebecca had gleaned broccoli with IFFS earlier in the year, and when the boys decided they wanted donations for their birthdays instead of presents, they chose us as the recipient.

How much did they raise? Almost $350, enough to sponsor a kid - not much younger than them - through BackPack Buddies for an entire school years. These two generous eleven-year-olds made sure another kid will have enough to eat this year.

Simple Living: Stephanie Morrison, IFFS Incubator Farmer

Stephanie Morrison knows the value of being out in nature and keeping things simple. It makes sense, then, that her plot as an Incubator Farmer at the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle Teaching Farm is called “Simple Living Farm.” This fall, she’s growing broccoli, cabbage, garlic, onions, and a lot of winter greens including kale and collards

Stephanie originally started growing with a home garden composed of two raised beds, but says “it’s one of those things -- you just get addicted to it!”

She wanted to expand her growing operations, but lacked space at her house. So she began farming with the Incubator program at the PLANT @ Breeze Farm, but when IFFS’s program opened up, she decided to switch. Now, she can farm just 10 minutes away from where she lives, instead of commuting an hour away.

Stephanie and her husband are currently looking for land, and she says being part of the Incubator Farm has been helpful with that process in terms of knowing how much land to look for and how much they can actually handle.

She is currently working full-time with the Autism Society at a residential home in addition to her farming work, so it can be a difficult balance at time, but she hopes to eventually transition to full-time farming.

“After a day you just come out here and relax,”  she says, while separating garlic cloves to plant. She enjoys coming from work to the farm -- out from the office and the daily grind into nature. She works the 3^rd shift, so her after-work days are often actually mornings.

If you sign up for the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle Teaching Farm’s CSA this winter, you’ll likely be getting some of Stephanie’s produce. By utilizing  IFFS’s already existing connections, Incubator Farmers connect to markets, and Stephanie hopes to sell at farmers markets in the spring.

Stephanie says she’s thankful to be farming at the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle Teaching Farm.

“My experience here has been very good – Sun and Kay are so helpful. It really does help a new farmer who has some knowledge, but not a lot, to get started. With family farms, you learned how to farm on the farm, with others – so the Incubator Farm Program helps people who want to farm but don’t know how to actually put it all together.”

She also bounces ideas around with our farm managers and the other Incubator Farmers. “It’s great to have that network. We’re all learning, so we all figure it out together.”

You can follow Stephanie's farming adventures at SimpleLivingFarm.com!

The IFFS Incubator Farm Program supports and grows new viable, independent farm businesses and aims to serve as a model new-farmer program. What does training new farmers have to do with hunger relief?  More local farmers mean more local food!  The knowledge of how to grow food is an important step toward developing a locally-owned food system that builds self-sufficiency and community power. The more we understand about growing and preparing food, the healthier we are.

You can help support our agricultural training programs by donating today, or help sustain them year-round by becoming a monthly Ground-Level Giver! Or want to get your hands in the dirt, connect to where your food comes from, and help grow wholesome produce? Volunteer on our Teaching Farm!

Farming for the Future: IFFS Incubator Farmer Vann Fussel

Vann Fussel, an NC State student, first got involved with the IFFS Teaching Farm through a volunteer project for his Agroecology class. When looking for a summer farm internship or apprenticeship to get more hands-on experience farming, he happened to run into IFFS Farm Manager Sun Butler, and now Vann has a plot of his own at the IFFS Teaching Farm as part of our Incubator Farm program.

This summer,  Vann is grew lots of tomatoes and basil, along with some other summer produce – squash, eggplant, peppers, and a few flowers. He’s looking forward to testing out new techniques he learns in his classes, continuing to grow and share vegetables, planting more beneficial flowers, and maybe even planting some blueberry bushes.

Farming is definitely in Vann’s long-term plans. His grandmother owns an old family farm currently not in use, and Vann hopes to move out there one day to start a larger, sustainable farm

The IFFS Incubator Farm Program supports and grows new viable, independent farm businesses and aims to serve as a model new-farmer program.

You can help support our agricultural training programs by donating today, or help sustain them year-round by becoming a monthly Ground-Level Giver! Or want to get your hands in the dirt, connect to where your food comes from, and help grow wholesome produce? Volunteer on our Teaching Farm!