Chef on the Farm

Blueberry Marinade

2013-05-06T13:45:00.000-04:00

Lately, I've been challenged to create meals outside of my comfort zone as a chef. These same ingredients I've used my entire career, but in different ways. I've had to step back a bit, learn a few new tricks and educate myself on the true basics of food and rethink everything I know about nutrition and health. I've gone back to the roots of real food and, I must say, created many tasty dishes!

Welcome South Tampa Magazine Readers

2012-08-29T17:28:00.006-04:00

If you've found your way to Chef on the Farm through the South Tampa Magazine or its email newsletter, Welcome! ~Chef John

Summer Time!

2012-08-26T20:27:00.000-04:00

Summer is almost over... finally. Just the other day, Dave turned to us and said, "The taste of Fall is in the air." I, for one, could not be happier. I wish this meant the rains would stop, but they'll keep on coming for weeks to come. With this Hurricane Isaac threatening another 3-feet of water, the farm expansion will again be postponed to a drier date. So we wait... We have been

Friendly Faces

2012-03-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

Every so often, I come across a few friendly faces hidden among the rows of vegetables throughout the farm. Sometimes they literally jump out at, or even on, me! When I get the opportunity to take the time to admire them, I'm transported away from everything, lost in the world they live. The beauty of the world from their perspective blows me away. I am reminded of just how sweet life is, and I

Introduction to Cooking

2012-03-03T23:14:00.001-05:00

For my inaugural class, I decided to offer a little bit of everything. Come out to The Barn at Urban Oasis March 17th at 11:30am and learn basic knife and saute skills, time management, and safety and food handling. Class will run 1 1/2 - 2 hours, and I'm offering it at the iintroductory price of $40 per person. Urban Oasis members get $5 off. Please email chefonthefarm@gmail.com or call

Best Idea Ever

2012-03-03T22:24:00.001-05:00

Some time ago, I made chocolate ice cream with Guinness, and let me just say how awesome it turned out. Loved it! Afterwards, I had a few extra cans sitting in my beer fridge, waiting to be consumed. What to do? What to do? I got it! Guinness Broccoli Cheddar Soup! ....................YES!.................... A fairly easy recipe, this soup is not too hard to make

The Barn is born!

2012-02-10T19:38:00.000-05:00

There is a space in front the house at Urban Oasis that I called at one time "the front yard". Over the years, it became an unused space where dust and weeds came to settle, and piles of unwanted artifacts were as abundant as the stories behind them. In my mind, I saw past missing floors and dirty walls into the heart of its potential. I kicked around some ideas for a few days, then brought my

New blog update!

2012-02-04T19:37:00.002-05:00

The About Me page is up! Please take a minute to look over my culinary journey and feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.

Demo Day - Creamy Kale & Artichoke Dip

2012-01-30T13:33:00.000-05:00

Kale has been growing in full strength this season, and members of Urban Oasis have been lucky enough to get a bit each week. Yet, I still hear the question "What can else I do with kale?" The truth is, you can get tired of the same old thing all the time, so I set out each growing week to come up with something different to put on your plate. As I slowly walk though the rows of kale,

Beef & Cabbage

2012-01-26T23:07:00.000-05:00

As I sit here typing up tonight's dinner recipe, I noticed this would make two posts about cabbage in a row - and I'm perfectly ok with that. Farming is seasonal work. I know these cabbages will only be around for a short while, and I'm taking full advantage! As consumers, we're used to heading on over to the grocery store, at any time of year, and find pretty much every type of produce

Demo Day - Bacon & Cabbage

2012-01-21T15:00:00.001-05:00

Bacon & Cabbage by Chef John N Carminati Ingredients3 strips of your favorite bacon, sliced thick Julianne 1 medium cabbage diced 1 medium bok choy diced, separate top from bottom½ bunch chopped mustard greensMethod In a large saute pan, over medium high heat, render out bacon until it starts to crisp up. Add in cabbage and cover for about 10 to 15 minutes, mixing often. Add the bok choy

Parsley & Tomato Salad

2012-01-21T03:30:00.000-05:00

At Urban Oasis, we have many different varietals of tomatoes. Varying in size, color, sweetness and acidity, these different characteristics all play a large part in food paring. I really wanted to showcase the quality of the farm’s fresh vegetables, so I chose a simple lemon juice dressing. Bringing in the green flavor of celery leaves and the earthiness of parsley gives this salad just what

First Demo at the Farm - Swiss Chard Caprese Wraps

2011-12-30T22:31:00.000-05:00

So, as I mentioned previously, I occasionally perform demos at the farm, themed by a particular ingredient. Dave and Cathy approached me the first time a few weeks ago to demo ways to serve Swiss chard to the members as they came to pick up their weekly produce. I was pretty excited about the demo and spent the night before researching Swiss chard, its nutritional values, and ways to eat it.

Demo Day - Turnips!

2011-12-13T23:00:00.002-05:00

Turnips have been the talk around the farm lately, we've been waiting and watching, then waiting some more for them to be ready. Now, the wait is over! The beautiful greens rise from their pots, the colorful bulbs reaching from the soil. Much to our excitement, they are ready. Every member has been getting a few turnips in their goodie bags over the past couple weekends, and the question on

Today at the Farm

2011-12-01T15:30:00.000-05:00

I arrive at the farm this morning with a chill in the air, the sun-kissed green blinding my way. It's the start of a beautiful day. My chores are calling me, and I've got the rest of the day to soak it up. I take a small moment to say hello, and I'm off. Today's a big prep day for market tomorrow. I must pluck kale and snip Swiss chard. The collard greens are ready, and Dave's got a few

Warm Kale Salad - Dedicated to Cathy Hume

2011-11-29T15:30:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, when I did the demo with kale, this was something I threw together on the fly. It wasn't anything I thought would be very impressive, but as I ran through the recipe, my mind changed about the whole thing! It turned out to be a big hit with Dave and Cathy. In fact, they have been begging me to post this recipe ever since. Short of procrastinating, finally I've got it for you.

At the Farm

2011-11-27T12:31:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a great day at the farm. We had a very busy member day - so great to see everyone pick up their shares when you know they've all got Thanksgiving leftovers filling up the fridge! I heard more than one person say they "needed their greens" to supplement all the corn and mashed potatoes at home. Love hearing that! One member in particular told me she was excited to try out

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T00:36:00.001-05:00

The day before "Turkey Day" has been a busy one for as long as I can remember - things to do, people to see, and food to make. Needless to say, my day and evening has been spent in my own kitchen, making all kinds of things. My big contribution to the big dinner tomorrow, an apple compote, was a fairly easy task if you ask me. I kicked it up, and added a few little things that really made it my

Kale & Pomegranate Salad

2011-11-22T23:15:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, out at the farm, I performed a demo of kale recipes to the members at the market. I hadn't really decided exactly what dish I'd be creating, but knew I wanted to utilize all seasonal produce. Items like kale, pomegranates, and cranberries were on my mind, and I was very happy with the results! Kale & Pomegranate Salad inspired by this recipe serves 2-4 Ingredients 6-8

The Beginning

2011-11-21T11:23:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! I'm John N Carminati, a professional culinarian who happens to spend part of my time working at a local farm. I was given the chance to grow and nurture the food I love to cook with, and I jumped at the opportunity! This has resulted in the beautiful marriage of my love food to the ability to grow it in my own back yard. Understanding the origin of each ingredient and its journey