less (food) waste

We are not always aware of the abundance we live in, and grateful and thankful for it. As a result we create a lot of waste, personally and as a culture. This is the first of several blog posts on becoming more aware of the abundance that surrounds us and at the same time reducing waste in different area of our lives. Why waste reduction? When we respect something, when we are truly appreciative of it, then we handle it with a certain reverence and wouldn't carelessly throw it away. That goes for food as it does for other things in life. Sometimes one of my kids will come home and put their school sandwich back in the fridge. Now what? I have repackaged them the next day but often end up eating them myself so they don't go to waste. When my son was much much younger he threw out a perfectly good (wrapped) sandwich he did not care for. I was so incensed that I made him take it out and eat it - he still talks about it.

With a bit more reverence for all the food we have (just today it struck me at the supermarket how much food we have access to so easily, what abundance!) let's try to reduce food waste, the first of the wastes I will be addressing. One rule is to be a good leftover processor - eat them, freeze them, or cook them up with something new, but don't let them go bad. I save leftover bread pieces in the freezer until I have enough to make a sweet or savory breakfast strata. My mom makes a "tapas" meal every so often with all the little frozen leftover dishes. If you do buy produce in bulk, like I do, process those vegetables you can't eat right away by blanching and freezing them as meal building blocks for later use, or cooking them up in a soup or stew to be frozen. If food does go bad in your fridge reduce how much you buy or space your supermarket trips further apart. And how about going through your fridge once a week and either making a meal from all the leftovers right then or freezing what you can't use immediately?

We have so much, let's be grateful for it.

healthy eggs from healthy chickens

I go out of my way to buy healthy eggs from healthy chickens from sane farmers, which means I avoid buying eggs, even organic ones, from the supermarket if I can help it at all (organic eggs don't necessarily come from better treated chickens, they only eat a different diet). That has not been so easy lately as chickens naturally reduce their egg production during the cold dark months and our family's need for eggs goes up with all the holiday baking between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Commercial chicken labeling, such as cage free, free range and even pasture raised, is pretty meaningless once you delve deeper (follow the link for more info). These terms mean next to nothing and it's all about laying more and more eggs at the expense of the chickens' health and wellbeing (the horrors the horrors, so sad - follow this link for more info on that).

Pretty much the only way to assure that the chickens whose eggs you eat are tended to respectfully, and that their egg production is not exploitative but cooperative, is to get them locally. We have several farmers in the area who sell eggs, and I also buy them from chicken keeping friends when they have a surplus (but that is not in the winter time). So I know how those chickens live, how they are treated and what they eat.

This past week we were out of eggs and I couldn't get myself to buying them from the supermarket, although that would have been more convenient. Instead, I called the local farmer I usually go to, preordered 4 dozen eggs (they keep), and waited a few days until he had gathered enough, then finally drove to the farm to pick them up (and return the old egg cartons so they can be reused). Sometimes it's a bit of a pain in the neck to live by what you believe in.

pie night

Family traditions are wonderful. They have so much meaning because they are particular to each family and therefore unique. You can even create your own, modify the ones from your family, or simply keep the ones you like and pass them down to your children.  Holiday traditions also ground you in your cultural heritage. And what's best about beloved family traditions is that you can look forward to them each year because they will keep coming back again and again. There is comfort in knowing that and traditions give you a sense of belonging, something that is even more important for children than for adults. My husband's family used to do Pie Night on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. All the pies for Thanksgiving dinner for 35 or so people would be made that night. Crazy! It was my husband's dad who was in charge. Pie night was his thing. It was a beloved family tradition for many many years, especially the children loved it of course. So many pies would be made that people could take leftovers home.

We have been trying to keep Pie Night, but seem to have to modify it each year to accommodate busy work schedules. This year we are having three Pie Nights. It is important for us that everything gets made from scratch, and since the crusts are all different there is no way to shorten the process assembly line style - hence three nights.  Last night, on Pie Night #1, we made cranberry tartes. Tonight, on Pie Night #2, we will make maple syrup pie and pumpkin pie with hazelnuts, and tomorrow,on Pie Night #3, we will make apple galettes.

What Thanksgiving traditions do you cherish?

yummy soil

Big-food (the industrial food producers) attempts to compare the difference between organic and non-organic food by asking the wrong questions (on purpose) - whether organics taste any different from non-organics, and whether there is a difference in the nutritional content. Tastewise there may or may not be much of a difference. Regarding the nutritional content, if you simply count the calories and other building blocks you may not find that much of a difference either. The most important difference between organics/biodynamics (a sort of Über organics - see a previous post on that) and non-organics has to do with soil and micronutrients.

For one, non-organic produce has pesticide residue on the outside. But perhaps more importantly, non-organic produce grows in depleted soil that must be enhanced with chemical fertilizer. And to top if off (pun intended), it gets treated topically with fungicides, pesticides and herbicides, all of which seep into the soil. The produce then absorbs this chemical cocktail through the roots, which becomes part and parcel of the produce you eat, an issue the two questions diplomatically leave aside.

rich soil

Soil that gets enhanced naturally with manure and compost is inherently much richer in minerals and trace elements and devoid of chemical toxins. You know if you have such soil in your home garden if it is dark and crumbly and full of happy little creepy crawlies. It should look like Mississippi Mud Pie. Produce that grows in such Mississippi Mud Pie soil is in turn much richer in minerals and trace elements. It is this richness that makes such food packed with real nutritional value.  Not only is it much more nourishing, we also need to eat less of it (!) to feel satisfied. No empty calories here.

mud pie

So even though our soil has been depleting steadily with the advent and the spreading of industrial agriculture over the past hundred or so years, it is still better for our health to opt for organically, or better yet, biodynamically grown produce and grains.

ditch your microwave

In the name of speed we often enthusiastically adopt new technologies without fully knowing their effects and implications. Microwave ovens are ubiquitous in office pantries and kitchens, and are practical for quickly heating up a cup of soup or leftovers, or thaw frozen food you forgot to take out last night. Some people are even cooking in their microwave to reduce kitchen time, such as for making baked potatoes, which would otherwise take well over an hour in the oven.

Growing up in Europe we never had a microwave at home. And I ditched the one and only I ever owned about 20 years ago and don't really miss it.   At the time it hadn't been proven that microwaved foods were safe to eat.  Now we know that microwaving food alters its molecular structure, rearranging the food's biochemistry, and with it our blood chemistry (!!). In addition to what it does to your food, which has of course an effect on your body, we also know that the electro-magnetic field of a microwave, even if it doesn't leak, has health implications. See a comprehensive article in the HuffPost on the whole microwave issue.

  It's no big deal to live without a microwave oven. I reheat a single cup of tea or soup in a very small casserole on the stove on simmer - doesn't take much more than the minute it takes in the microwave.  I try to remember to take my frozens out ahead of time so they can thaw in the fridge. But if I do forget I either thaw them in a big bowl in room temperature water, or I simply leave it out on the counter to thaw (I know I know, those bacteria scare tactics, but I am alive and well, and I don't make a habit of it). Soup or broth can be thawed on the stovetop on simmer as well. And frozen vegetables go right into a casserole with a bit of water or butter on low. Leftovers, such as casseroles without liquid, go in the oven to reheat. As for popcorn - put a generous tablespoon full of oil in a large casserole, add 1/3 cup of popping corn, close the lid, put on the stove on high, and in less than five minutes your popcorn au naturel is ready. Sprinkle with some salt, some parmesan cheese, some nutritional yeast, or whatever else strikes your fancy (cumin gives it a TexMex taste). It doesn't get much faster than that (and it won't rearrange your blood chemistry).

why heirlooms?

Heirloom fruit and vegetables are older varieties that will reproduce exactly the same kind of plant again from its seeds (hybrids can't).   Biodiversity is also a very important reason to choose heirlooms over hybrids (and let me not even mention the G word), as we need as many plant varieties around as possible, and especially those that grow well under specific local or strained weather conditions. As a matter of fact, I read somewhere that Peruvians have almost as many potato and corn varieties as growing places, because these plants were all developed for very specific local conditions, and would not perform as well if planted elsewhere. Now that is biodiversity!  In addition, heirlooms are often more disease resistant and have more intense flavors - think intensely flavorful strawberry or tomato instead of those watery spongy supermarket kinds. There are now even seed libraries to preserve heirloom varieties for future use and generations. Sometimes you can draw from them, but you have to return seeds at the end of the season in exchange for your loan. Lastly, it is infinitely more interesting to taste many different pepper or tomato or apple or carrots kinds (love the purple carrots) than the one or two same old same old you get at the supermarket.

Hybrids, in comparison, while having some desirable characteristics, can't reproduce from their seeds - think of seedless watermelons or grapes.

And by-the-way, heirloom breeds exist among animals as well, and some farmers are now bringing these older breeds back for the same reasons heirloom produce is desirable.

3-course meal in 25 minutes

Fast Food is nothing new apparently. When I recently unpacked my cookbooks I found a slim little French cookbook from 1930 (!!!) that I had forgotten all about. It's called La Cuisine en 10 Minutes, roughly translated as 10-Minute Recipes, and was written by 10-minute Maestro (as the Guardian called him) Edouard de Pomiane. This book proves that you can cook and eat well on a busy schedule during the week without having to toil in the kitchen for hours. 10-minute meat or fish - I have become a 10-minute master at sautéing some meat or fish quickly in butter and olive oil (cod, sole, shrimp, calf liver, thin pork chops, chicken strips), then deglazing the bits on the bottom with whatever you have around - more butter, wine (white is good with fish, add some capers), cream (add some mustard), other liquor (brandy, sherry, even vinegar), broth - the whole thing takes minutes and tastes very French. Instead of serving the sauce over the meat you can also throw your cooked/steamed vegetables (corn, greens, cauliflower, whatever you have on hand - frozen is ok, leftovers are ok) into the deglazed sauce - et voilà, tasty vegetables.

10-minute spinach - épinards à la créme - melt butter in a saucepan, add frozen spinach right out of the package (unless you have had time to take it out in the morning), heat up, add cream (sour, heavy) or more butter, season.

5-minute dessert - coeur à l'ananas - mix some farmer's cheese or Greek yogurt (whole milk, please) with some cream or mascarpone, add sugar and some clear kirsch brandy (the French touch that makes the difference), pineapple pieces (fresh or canned, whatever you have), and a cookie.

Start out with some saucisson sec, some nuts and a glass of wine, and there is your 3-course meal prepared in 20-25 minutes.

As luck would have it the book is available in an English translation. It may be the best $8.97 you'll ever spend. Bon appétit!

break/brake for lunch

I realize that many of my posts are about slowing down and being more mindful. That's because our lives have become so incredibly fast and overscheduled in the name of profitability. So here goes another one. Taking the time to eat slowly, especially at lunch time, and enjoying your meal goes a long way. Not only do you truly taste what you eat, even savor it, it also helps to keep your weight in check and aids the digestion, and then some. How so?

When you wolf down food quickly to get it over with and get on with the next task the brain doesn't have time to keep up with what's going on in the stomach, there is a communication delay. It actually takes the stomach about ten minutes to communicate to the brain that it has had enough to eat. Eating slowly permits mind and body (or mind and stomach) to remain in sync; when you eat too fast the stomach (and eyes and taste buds) get ahead of the mind and gobble up more than you need to feel satisfied. Hence, eating too fast can lead to weight gain.  In addition, slowing down and chewing longer not only predigests the food and helps the body to assimilate the nutrients much better, it also aids the digestive process.  And lastly, what about actually enjoying and savoring what you put into your mouth? May as well, since it's more pleasurable.

Slowing down for lunch during a hectic day - I know, "sometimes it's just not practical," you'll say - helps to refocus your attention from the scatteredness of multi-tasking back to one specific thing.  It powers you down, gives you time to realign with yourself, and regroup for a more productive afternoon.

my cup of tea

I am not a coffee person, at least not most of the time (I do enjoy an espresso after a big meal, but that's just about as far as my coffee love goes). Especially early in the morning coffee tastes harsh to me and I like to wake up gently and ease myself into the day. And no, I'm not an herbal tea kind of a person, barely even a green tea person. Those don't have enough oomph for me. I like my tea black and strong, forget the teabags. Assam, English or Irish Breakfast and such, Earl Grey, too, but more in the afternoon or evening than earlier in the day. I buy my tea in bulk and hang a special canvas tea brewing bag with a generous amount of tea into my pot and let it steep to a deep dark color that looks almost like coffee. Tea is a comfort beverage for me. I drink it all day long, always with milk, no sugar.  In the morning I make a big pot full and warm up cup after cup throughout the day. When we go away to someplace with a kitchen I bring my whole tea paraphernalia with me, and I miss it dearly when we go on vacation and I can only get teabag tea. When we moved recently the tea supplies went into a carton marked "Open First," like a first aid kit.

Although this post is more about the emotional benefits of having a "nice cup of tea," black tea incidentally has all sorts of health benefits, such as promoting heart health, lessening type 2 diabetes risk, and its potent antioxidants are anti-inflammatory and supposedly counter visible aging effects. A good cup of strong tea makes everything "all better" for me.  But most of all tea for me is about slowing down, while coffee is for speeding up.

whatever happened to that breadbox?

When I came to this country in the early 1980s I was surprised to find that people stored their bread in the refrigerator, and that people's refrigerators were huge compared to the ones I was used to from Europe.

Oddly enough, despite our technical ability and being able to afford to refrigerate so much more than formerly we still waste lots of food.  But food waste and spoilage nowadays happen at the end of our food's journey, right in our own backyard, aka refrigerator.

In a recent NY Times article Dartmouth professor Susan Freidberg wrote that surprisingly all that expensive refrigeration doesn't necessarily reduce food waste, it merely shifts where the food waste occurs.

In former times most food spoilage happened between harvest and sale because the lack of refrigeration rotted some of the produce and meat before it ever got to the consumer.  We live in such overabundance and tend to buy more than we can realistically consume, lulled by the belief that it'll keep - and then it won't. Things also have a tendency to disappear in our large fridges, and when you finally find that piece of cheese, that yogurt or slice of ham- low and behold it has grown mold or is way beyond its prime. I am certainly guilty of that. Recently, I ended up with three open salsa jars (not sure how that happened), one of which became moldy before we finally discovered it. I also have three big packages of blanched beet greens in the freezer. Every time I open the freezer they say "hello" to me as I rediscover them, and they remind me that I should cook them up instead of "storing" them in the freezer forever (well, at least they won't go bad).

We could save on all fronts, refrigerator size, energy consumption, and food quantities purchased, if we became more aware of our habits and realistic needs. After all, bread can go into the breadbox, jam in the pantry, the pretty red peppers on the table, and maybe we'll use them up quicker if we see them around instead of hiding them in that icebox.