Growing Power Workshop at Lynchburg Grows

Will Allen of Growing Power, a recent MacArthur Fellowship Recipient, came to Lynchburg Grows last weekend to talk about urban gardening. LG asked me to donate my time to do the food, and so 4 of us (Keith, Addison, Thadd, and I) set to work getting a lot done with very little time or money. I had about a week-and-a-half’s notice to plan and cook, and had to work 4 of those days. The budget was tiny, and there was a stated goal to source as much locally as possible.

It was a zoo, but it went off spectacularly well!

Above: my most requested recipe of the event (see sidebar) was Three-Potato salad, with gold, sweet, and redskin potatoes dressed in a vinegar, oil & sea salt dressing with fresh garlic, rosemary, and thyme. Below: fresh ciabatta rolls made by Thadd. No par-baking here! These are hand-kneaded from scratch.

Above: Vegetarian lasagna, with hand-made noodles and sauce.

There was 100% gress-fed beef from Pannill’s Gate Farms, fresh ground & roast coffee from World Bean Roasthers, amazing breakfast smoked turkey & veggie casseroles from Keith & Addison’s children’s fresh eggs, local bagels from Bagel’licious (I can’t find their website, so if you know it, please send it to me!), fresh homemade applesauce, organic salad, vegan black bean burgers with baba ganoush sauce, creamy apple & peach oatmeal, and more.

Thanks to everyone who helped out and made it great. If you’re interested in any of my producers, just drop me a line and I’ll get you in contact with them if there’s no website listed here! You can see more of the food and read some of the story behind it here!

Monsanto Investigated in 7 States

And, I am happy to say, Virginia is among them. Reat the story at Bloomberg Business Week.

I realize it’s only for possible anti-trust violations, but it’s a start. And, it’s one in what is becoming a long string of bad news items for Monsanto, which is just fantastic (and long overdue).  GMOs that cause organ failure,  India rejecting Monsanto’s GMO seeds after mass protests, the superweed they’ve created killing millions of dollars in crops. 2010 hasn’t been a good year for this company that not only puts profits over people, it outright falsifies data to the detriment of environment, humans, and animals alike to maintain it’s hold on market share.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this is just the beginning!

While You’re Waiting…Foodie & Frugal Update

Thadd made off with the camera again, which unfortunately includes the pictures from this weekend. So, while you’re eagerly awaiting the post about the Growing Power workshop, I’ll entertain you instead with this week’s menu. For those of you who are new to my blog (and according to my stats, there’s a goodly number), a quick summary:

Thadd (sometimes referred to as “UC” or “Undercomplicated”) and I strive to eat a a healthy, diverse, tasty diet on a reasonabl budget. In that budget, we try to stuff as many local goods as possible. We also work with our fairly opposite caloric needs. At 6′6″, he needs something like 5000-6000 calories a day to maintain his weight at this active lifestyle. Since I am only 5′0″, my caloric needs are–even with the intense 500-600 calorie workouts I do almost daily–is closer to 1200.  To accomplish this, we do some pretty serious meal planning so we don’t break the bank. He makes up a lot of his calories in snacks, shakes, and bigger portions.

Dinners

Week 1

Monday: Cabbage rolls. This is the last ground-beef you’ll see on our menu for a while. We’re getting some amazing, 100% pastured, grass-fed beef in a few weeks.

Tuesday: Cajun Swai with brussel sprouts & cheese sauce, and asparagus. This swai is sustainably farmed, and available pretty much everywhere now.

Wednesday: Bean Bolegnese. This is a vegetarian take on the pork version, and it’s incredibly yummy. The beans (northern, red, and pinto) soaked overnight, and are cooking in the crockpot now.

Thursday: Crockpot Jambalaya. We’re hoping to get more leftovers in the freezer, and this should be great.

Friday: Samosa Pie. Another vegetarian recipe, this one from Vegetarian Times. We are suckers for Indian food, and I especiall love samosas. A whole meal of veggie samosa is my idea of heaven.

Saturday: Miso Chicken. We’re hosting our friends Dave and MJ overnight, and I think they’ll like this recipe. I am making it with skinned chicken to save on the fat, so it’s really health-friendly, but rich and warm. And it has a pound-and-a-half of shitakes in it, which automatically ups the “Yum” factor.

Sunday: Laotion eggplant. One of my current favorites, this super-healthy version of a stir fry from Laos combines eggplant, tomato, onion, mint, and a few other things for a light but filling meal. Served over rice or couscous, it’s weight-friendly, easy, and really different.

Week 2

Monday: Stroganoff & salad. If we have our good beef, it’ll be beef. Otherwise, it’ll be kidney bean & mushroom stroganoff.

Tuesday: Spicy Fish Stew. Thadd’s been wanting this, so he’s going to give the recipe a go.

Wednesday: Indian Chicken. This is a crockpot recipe from crockpot365.com that I’ve modified fairly heavily (we like a lot more spice than the original recipe). I love that site, so check it out if you haven’t already.

Thursday: Gumbo. We’ve been meaning to do this for a while, and I found a recipe I want to try. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Friday: Etheopian. Thadd’s baking the injera, which is the flatbread one uses to eat with instead of a fork. We’ll be doing a few different dishes here, mostly vegetarian.  We’re definitely doing lentils, potatoes, and cauliflower. I may try to scrounge a chicken dish. And, we may try to scrounge up some friends to help us eat it all! Etheopian cuisine is very unique and inexpensive, and it’s ideal to share with friends.

Saturday & Sunday: leftovers!

Breakfasts: local eggs from The Eggery (Keith & Addison Hatch’s children sell amazing eggs! Contact me for information, while I bother them to get a website). Greek yogurt. Oats (steel cut and rolled). Granola.

Lunches: leftovers. Sandwhiches (tuna, coldcuts from Anderson’s, homemade breads).  Eggs (see above).

And, that’s it. Hopefully, there’ll be some pictures up soon of food and fun; but, first I have to wrestle the camera from Thadd.

Update.

I gave up thinking for a good title for this post. I am still exhausted from the very long, though fun and incredibly interesting, weekend.

Pictures should be up by Wednesday afternoon, along with a full blog of the food and the experience of Growing Power at at Lynchburg Grows. There will also hopefully be an exciting announcement.

For now, there’s just tired. While I recoup, take a minute to check out my friend Gaylin, who wears a Chef’s Jacket at least as much as  I do (and usually looks better in it!). Here she blames myself and a few of our friends for her latest foodie invention (what can I say, smoked sea salt will make you do bad things). Enjoy!

Healthy Alternatives

We all love comfort food, especially when it’s cold outside. Mashed potatoes, fried chicken, hearty soups…they’re good for the soul, so to speak. They’re not so good for the waistline, cholesterol count, or antioxidants, though. The answer isn’t to give up your favorites, it’s to change how they fit into your life.

Fried chicken is time-consuming and fatty. This version, made with Panko bread crumbs, is much healthier and a snap to make. Marinade boneless, skinless thighs or breasts in your favorite marinade overnight in a covered bowl or bag. A fun one is a southern sweet-tea brine, but you can do Italian dressing, honey mustard…whatever. Dry chicken, then coat with flour (seasoned if you like, and I use whole wheat), an egg wash (whites or egg beaters will do just fine), and press into panko crumbs to coat. Bake at 400 until done (it’ll depend on the cut of chicke, but about 25-35 minutes). Voila!

Chili, the ultimate winter soup. Anyone from MI knows that deer season, and winter in general, means lots of the spicy stuff.  The good news is that there’s already a lot to love about chili. It’s often got beans for fiber, and protein and tomatoes for lycopene. But, all that meat can put a strain on the fat meter if you’re using 80/20 ground beef. Since it’s deer season, replace it with venison. If you don’t have a hunter in the family, look up a local farm and get some grass-fed ground beef. It’s got about half the calories of store-bought. Or, turn it into a chicken chili, as I did above. This is my “Black and White Chicken Chili,” so named for the black and canellini beans I use.  A homemade veggie stock gives a warm, rich base for the zesty peppers (I use green, red, and chilis in adobo sauce!), spicy onions, creamy beans, and tender chicken.

Meatloaf is a childhood memory. For some of us, it’s even a good one. It reminds me of home and big family meals. It also is often just plain unhealthy. Fortunately, it’s an easy leap from unhealthy to tasty and good for the body. The big step is to make sure you use lean meat, like grassfed beef, 90/10 from the store, or venison. Use egg whites instead of whole eggs as a binder, toss in oats and TVP for the bulking agents, then add tomatoes, zucchini, and other fun veggies. You want the tomatoes and zucchini to keep it moist. I usually toss in black beans, spinach, and some other goodies! Cover with fresh or canned crushed tomatoes and bake, then serve with smashed golden or sweet potatoes and it’s a good-for-the-hips meal that is better than the old stand-by.

Swai Did You Say?

While shopping for whitefish for a client’s menu this week, I noticed a new fish on ice at the local fish market. It was called “Swai,” and the little sign they stuck into it said it was sustainable and eco-friendly, and tasted a lot like catfish. And, it was only $3.99/lb. Since I had to buy a LOT of it for this large family, the price was a bonus, but I was worried about the “sustainable,” thing. That means different things to different people (read: Monsanto considers GMO, Round-Up-Ready to be sustainable. I don’t).

So, I checked out a site I trust, the Monteray Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch site. If you’ve never been there, it’s a great resource, and they have a little pocket guide you can print out to help you select fish that are eco-friendly. I was pleasantly surprised that they list Swai as a “Good Alternative” fish.

I got a filet for myself to try, too, and it’s delicious! We’re having it tonight, and I suspect once a week from now on until Thadd gets tired of it.

What’s a Service Look Like, Anyway?

I keep meaning to get some pictures of the meals I make for clients posted here, so you can see what it might look like if I was cooking for you! Each client’s meals are made especially for them, so each week I may be cooking up to 20 totally unique meals, not including what we eat at home.

One of the reasons I haven’t gotten many photos of services is that I move pretty fast. Food safety means keeping things at specific temperatures, and I’m also usually doing 3-5 meals at once. Getting distracted could mean ruining an entire dinner. Also, though, it’s because I am just not comfortable taking my awesome-but-huge camera into my client’s homes sometimes. To remedy this, I am going to start carrying the little one we have. I’m still learning to work it, and the pics aren’t likely to be as good as those I’d get with my uber-camera; but, at least I’ll get them! I’ll save the Big Fella for the cooking I do for special occasions, or at home.

Above:  These meals feed two ladies for dinner, and I package leftovers for them (out-of-frame to right) as lunches. From front to back are tandoori-spiced whitefish with curried chickpea & vegetable salad, barbeque tempeh and vegetables over seasoned brown rice, and goat cheese & charred tomato burritos with black beans & rice. Below: Black & White chicken chili, which gets its name from the mixture of black and canellini beans used to make it. It will be served with moist, sweet cornbread full of golden corn kernels.

I had a bunch more photos, but it seems the camera just lost them. I have no idea why. Another mystery for me to figure out.

Seeking to Overhaul the School Lunch Program

School lunches are, for the most part, abhorrent. In the vast majority of school systems, the lunches provided offer little in the way of nutrition, and a lot in the way of empty calories, additives, chemicals, fats, and sugars. Research has shown, again and again, that the diet most schools serve is a direct pathway to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, disorders such as ADD/ADHD and depression, and a slew of other things.

There’s a new program being pushed out of the White House that hopes to change this. It’s not perfect, but it would be a huge step in the right direction. Farm-to-school programs have been hugely successful in the areas in which they’ve been implemented, and children who eat better are not only phsically healthier, but are more likely to succeed academically, too.

Let’s hope this can withstand the pressure by the all-powerful vendors like Aramark and Monsanto. If you’re worried about you child’s nutrition, and the growing rates of childhood obesity, diabetes, and other illnesses, call your local government officials and let them know you support programs like these.

Recipe Review: Chicken Tagine

I’ve really been enjoying preparing some uncommon (at least in the US) ethnic dishes. Moroccan has become a particular favorite of late, and I’m also experimenting with Loation more.  Tagines are essentially very aromatic, hearty stews. Like the curries of India, there are as many tagine styles and recipe as there are people cooking them.  This one filled the house with a mouth-watering aroma, and the flavors were rich but bright.

• 2lbs. Of chopped chicken meat – We prefer brown meat.
• 2 Medium onions chopped.
• 1lb. Carrots chopped into bite size peices.
• 6 Cloves of garlic – chopped.
• 4ozs. Sultanas.
• 8ozs dried apricots.
• 1 Tablespoon of cumin seeds.
• 2 x 2″ pieces of cinamon stick.
• 3 Bay Leaves.
• 1/2 Pint of chicken stock.
• 1/2 Pint of fresh tomato sauce.
• 3 – 6 Dried chillis (depending on how hot you like it).
• 2 Tablespoons of honey
• 1 Lemon – juice of.
• 1 Bunch of coriander leaves – chopped.
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. Now this is the Really Easy Bit.
2. Mix all the ingredients together (no browning) in the Tagine or Casserole.
3. Put the lid on the Tagine (or seal the casserole with a lid or some aluminum foil.
4. Place in a hot oven 400º for 30 Minutes.
5. Then reduce the heat to 300º and cook for a further 2 Hours.

This recipe calls for service over couscous, but I did this over bulgar and enjoyed it.  It’s as easy as it claims to be, very healthy, and really flavorful. I’ll be making this more often, and hopefully next time I’ll get some pictures!

What I Need to Do

What I need to do is start keeping my camera close by again. I am forgetting to take pictures before we completely ruin the table.  I also need to make more of the black bean and banana empanadas we made last night–which I, of course, did not get pictures of.  They were simply amazing. Oh, and more of the clay pot miso glazed chicken. I did’t get pictures of the chicken (though I am going to try to get some tonight when we reheat the leftovers), but I did get the broth:

There’s no real way to make this broth look as yummy as it tasted, but at least I remembered the camera; so, I had to share. To make up for the general browness (hey, it was miso and mushrooms, what else would it be but brown?), I took a minute to snap one of my current favorite lunch items:]

No-fat Greek yogurt, homemade granola, blueberries, strawberries, flax meal, and roasted almonds make a perfect lunch. Lots of fiber and protein, not to mention all the antioxidants and omegas! The almonds keep you full. Mostly, though, I eat it because it’s incredibly tasty.