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You’re fried from work, your child is cranky, you’re both starved and looking at imminent meal meltdown. This is not the kind of eating adventure you’d imagined having with your child. You wave the white flag, take the path of least resistance, and go for quick and kid-pleasing or what author Matthew Amster-Burton calls “the McNugget route.” Read More→
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A slightly adventurous spin on fried rice, Korean japchae marries slurpy shirataki noodles and a blizzard of vegetables in a rich soy and mirin broth. Easy and kid-friendly to make and restorative to eat whether served hot or cold. Recipe and photo by Ellen Kanner. Read More→
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A vegan walks into a bar, gets a glass of the house red and says, barkeep, there’s fish bladder, pig hoof, egg and milk in my wine. Read More→
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This sweet and savory jewel-tone red onion jam, which can be made a day or several days ahead. This is what you want to serve with Chickpea-Zucchini Farinata. Read More→
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In Liguria, they call it farinata, in Provence, they call it socca. In both cases, it’s a Mediterranean pancake made with garbanzo flour, so it’s not just luscious, it’s gluten-free. Crispy crusted with a tender inside, it’s great by itself or with the red onion jam linked to this recipe in the ingredient list following. Read More→
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When the produce is fresh and locally grown, fabulous food comes together easily and fast. This summer pasta with a salsa cruda — a simple, no-cook sauce — makes the most of fresh summer tomatoes and peppery arugula. Recipe and photo contributed by Ellen Kanner. Read More→
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Chef and Zen priest Edward Espe Brown says we should treat our food like our eyesight — as something both precious and personal. We don’t. According to a recent study in Tomkins County, New York, we toss uneaten a quarter to half of all food produced in this country.
This would be wrong at any time. It’s especially so now, a time of economic hardship for all of us, and when more of us are hungry than you might realize. Thirty-seven million Americans rely on Feeding America, the national network of food banks. Wasting what we have is an insult to people who have to choose between eating or paying the rent. It is also an insult to the people who work hard (often for low wages) to produce our food.
We waste food in our homes, buying more than we need, so we end up throwing out fresh produce when — or well after — it starts to fade. We’re quick to flip out over the latest E.coli breakout and demand greater government oversight for food safety but meanwhile, some of us have science projects growing in our fridges.
Waste is not green, guys. And it’s not sustainable. Most of us don’t compost, so the waste goes into landfill and sits there producing methane, further contributing to climate change.
If you think you’re guilty, imagine the waste that happens in your favorite restaurants. Multiply that by 500. By 5,000. Think of the mountain of landfill when you multiply that waste by 55 million — roughly the number of meals a food service company like Sodexo serves in a day.
We’ve got to do better, both on a grand scale and small one. The desire is there, believes Mitchell Davis, vice president of the James Beard Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving — not wasting — America’s culinary heritage and its future. “People want to do more,” Davis says and so recently, the Beard Foundation and the Sustainable Food Laboratory hosted the industry symposium The System on Our Plates.
Underwritten by groups including the Pew Charitable Trust and the Grace Foundation, those fine folks who started the Meatless Mondaycampaign, The System on Our Plates included Sam Kass, who cooks for the Obamas, divine chef Eric Ripert and the likes of guys from Ruby Tuesdays and food service companies like Cysco and Sodexo. The goal, says Davis, was “sit down together and start the conversation” about how we all make sustainability central. People talked. And more importantly, people listened. The dialogue made everyone realize that whether you’re responsible for feeding millions or just feeding yourself, “we are all part of one food system.”
A Beard Foundation chef survey reveals though your average Joe is interested in how our food is sourced, we’re less conscious of the energy and resources — and waste — that goes into producing food. Well, that makes sense — we don’t understand or appreciate it at home, either. So where does the change start? With the government? With food system overhaul? Nah. It begins with you.
Pay attention. Are you a repeat offender, buying fresh fruit every week that goes uneaten? Buy less. Enjoy more. Use what you have. Mindfulness works on the yoga mat, in food service and in your kitchen. Be mindful of and grateful for the food you have. Maybe the earth takes note of such things. Food companies do.
Whether it’s buying into the food fad du jour or creating farmers markets that allow greater access to better food for all, “it all comes from consumer demand,” Davis believes. “One decision impacts the other. You create the catalyst for change. Sodexo serves 55 million meals a day. If one of them included an organic tomato, it would change the universe. It’s like the meatless movement — one simple thing you can do has such a big impact.”
Turns out Edward Espe Brown’s concept of valuing yourself and what you eat is more than just a Buddhist concept.
- Link here to Ellen’s Arugula Pasta with Salsa Cruda.
- See more of Ellen’s Meatless Monday Musings on VegKitchen.
Ellen Kanner is the Huffington Post’s Meatless Monday blogger, the syndicated columnist The Edgy Veggie, and contributor to publications including Culinate, Bon Appetit, and Every Day With Rachael Ray as well as her own blog.
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To honor Jason and the Argonauts and seasonal eats, here’s a briam — a Greek casserole of seasonal summer veggies. Many traditional recipes are oil guzzlers (fancy that). This has less oil but loads of flavor from the veggies themselves, and the produce and time does the work for you. Crusty on top, juicy on the bottom, it’s good over brown rice, quinoa or with crusty bread for soaking up sauce. Serve with a Greek—or any—salad.
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