Savoring the Snow

As I sit and write this post, I am looking out at a gently blanketed landscape and the snow flakes are dancing like butterflies.  Today has a meloncholic feel to it, the forests always go quiet when it snows and so do the roads as we, like the animals, huddle down.  Maybe we are not as far removed from primal instincts as we think.

I also feel a particular appreciation for the snow today as this might be one of the last gentle dustings we get this year, and then no more until next year when we hope and pray our Christmas will be a white one!  What lies around the corner is long days starting with early mornings, farmers have already been planning the growing season and taking stock of their 'to do' lists, taking trips out to the green house or the barn with a combination of anticipation for how much needs to be accomplished and excitment to get underway. 

Knowing Spring is on our door step and she brings all her craziness and energy with her, I think today is the perfect day to putter around inside and wear your slippers or just your socks all day and appreciate one of the last quiet days we will have this year.  And, as promised, in celebration of the snowy day, I have included a recipe for some cookies.  A sweet friend, Ashley, baked these last week (using organic ingredients) to share and they were DELICIOUS!  It is Martha Stewart's recipe, Ashley added cranberries and I loved them so much I ate more than my share and didn't regret a thing!  They are absolutely worth a quick trip to the store for any ingredients you don't have!

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• Coarse salt
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup finely grated zucchini
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt into a bowl. Beat 1 stick butter and the sugars until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
2. Beat flour mixture into butter mixture. Mix in zucchini, oats, and walnuts. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop (about 2 tablespoons), drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden, about 17 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
4. Beat together remaining 1/2 stick butter, the cream cheese, and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread 1 heaping tablespoon filling onto the flat side of 1 cookie, and sandwich with another cookie. Repeat with remaining filling and cookies.

The Distinction of a Species

I watched a movie once when I was a little girl about a disease that swept through the world and turned people into dust.  I was so disturbed by it, I had one of those moments wherein your perception of the world is altered along with your relationship with it.  And not because nearly everybody the lead character knew died one-by-one leaving only him and the heroine to repopulate the earth, not because of the tragedy of whole families being wiped out virtually overnight, but because I realized for the first time that my whole world was vulnerable.  Does anybody else recall the moment when that realization came to them for the first time?

'Of course the world is vulnerable', my mom said, 'life is precious, a meteor, a plague or any one of hundreds of natural disasters could forever change the face of this planet and life on it' - but it was more than that.  I realized for the first time how dependant we humans are on each other.  Our skill sets have evolved over generations and become so specific, I realized how much knowledge and progression would be lost.  If I were the last person on earth, I couldn't run or repair a power station or build solar powered panels for my house, and if I could, supplies would eventually run out and I couldn't build more.  Where would I get gas for my car?  There would be plenty cars around so that wasn't a problem, but once gas stations ran dry?  What then?  I am not a doctor, and after all the supplies in the pharmacies expire, I don't know anything about using plants to treat illness and disease.  If we managed to propagate, I could teach children to read and write, but I couldn't teach them physics.  Back then we didn't have the Internet to answer our questions only the library, but how much knowledge gained since the inception of the computer would be lost forever?  And then the biggie:  once the stuff in the grocery store went bad, what would we do for food?  So in my little girl mind, even if you survived and everybody else was turned into dust, you quite possibly would end up starving to death or dying of disease so maybe dust was a better way to go.  As I get older, I realize we would endure.  We would gather, organize, plant crops and reform little communities - it would be a very different life, but not necessarily a bad one. 

There have been many movies since that portray the demise of the human race usually involving some sudden and hugely destructive force, but what if we, us humans, are the cause of our own demise?  What if we build, grow, expand and consume ourselves out of existence?  Extinction is nothing new, species have been coming and going and evolving on our planet since it's birth, a typical species becomes extinct within 10 million years of its first appearance.  We the people have only been around an estimated 250,000 years, that's like a nano-second in the grand scheme of things, and in that nano-second we have inflicted more change on our environment or adversely affected or displaced more living species than any other organism in earths 4.54 BILLION years.  We assume we have the right to permanently alter landscapes and think we are very clever for taking a year or two to develop new organisms in a genetic science lab when it takes Mother Nature hundreds of thousands of years to accomplish the same thing.  We are powerful, rulers of the planet and at the top of the food chain.

I can't help but wonder, will another intelligent species be uncovering our bones and the remains of our cities, a 'lost civilization' out of earth one day?  Will they sadly shake their heads and say: How unusual, they destroyed the world that supported them and designed their own demise.

Dark Knight Moon

I have a confession to make - it is about a newly . . . revealed . . . fettish.  Its the radishes. I can't help myself and may need the help of family and friends in the form of an intervention.  They are organic and beautiful.  They grow underground, and you can smell the earth, they are demure to look at and all pepper and spice to taste.  I am so enamored with all the different radishes you get, and so when this one appeared on our farmers harvest list for South Shore Organics this week, I just had to have some.  I had to. 

I am of course, talking about the winter root - Black Radish.  They are Spanish in origin, and are bigger than the little red ones we are used to seeing, and talk about sexy!  Dark velvety skins hiding pale white flesh - these are the vampires of the underground: one bite and you're hooked!  Here you go - this is my take on a photo for the cover of a Twilight themed radish novel:

Last month I wrote about a radishing princess with a beautiful heart and the mattador who won her love with his beautiful heart, well, the Chiogga matador that beet all other admirers to gain her affection better watch out!  A new man arrived in town this week and he is ruthless, hungry and dangerous! 

Oh the drama, promise of romance, intrigue and suspense - what will happen next?  Will the radishing princess fall for the dark knights charms?  Is it any wonder I am infatuated?

Food Guilt!

No, not 'loosen-the-top-button-I-ate-too-much' guilt,  I am talking about something else entirely!  I am talking about Responsible Grocery Shopping - read this:

"Do you take home the certified organic, cage-free dozen from California, or the non-organic but vegetarian-fed eggs from the family farm nearby?  Do you spring for the Omega-3 eggs at a dollar more a dozen, or wait for your next trip to the Feed & Seed, where you can by 9-year-old Nathan's mismatched rainbow of uncleaned eggs packed into re-used cartons?  Not to mention large or extra large, Grade A or Grade AA.  Is the notion that brown eggs are healthier real, or is the difference from their white counterparts only shell deep?

So here's my question: does a quick trip to buy eggs turn into a "nerve-wracking test of your personal belief system"? 

When I first read this passage from 'Organic, Local and Everything Else' written by Zoe Bradbury I honestly felt she was inside my head, writing from my very own experiences.  I have these debates with myself all - the - time, and not only standing in front of the array of choices at the egg fridge but at the fish counter (is it farmed or wild caught?  loaded with mercury?  from local waters or far off seas? how much energy was consumed in capturing, processing and transporting?), looking for a steak (organic from the other side of the US, or local? pasture raised or grass fed or grass finished - and what's the difference? what about antibiotics?  hormones?  how many cows are in this one packet of ground beef?)  and then there is chicken, milk, produce, bread, cooking oil . . . sometimes I think I might spontaneously combust from all the friction caused by the to and fro of the constant debate as I wrestle with . . . myself!

Who knew grocery shopping would become an anxiety laden two-hour event as we try to make socially and environmentally conscientious choices?  All the while food corporations are working harder than ever to convince us that what they put in front of us is exactly what we want - even when it's not!  Product messaging cleverly targets our desire to make good choices, for instance, I picked up a bottle of milk the other day that was labelled 'no added hormones' and thought I had made a good decision.  It was only as I was standing in the check out line mulling over my bounty that I realized they just guaranteed no hormones were added to the milk, but they never said they didn't give them to the cows!  I had been duped and I was so ANNOYED! 

After more and more of these experiences I am thankful to have my fresh produce and egg dilemma resolved, and it makes me happy to be able to extend the peace of mind to others through South Shore Organics, and I feel collectively we will address meat, fish, cheese, bread and butter dilemma's too in time to come.  In the meantime, just make the best choice you can using the following guidelines:

• first choice: local, sustainable, conscientious, humane, organic
• second choice: from further afield and certified organic
• third choice: from further afield and sustainable practices
• everything else

And then quiet that relentless voice in your head, you have made the best choice you can -  besides, the last thing we need is people bursting into flames throughout the store! 

Don't Play With Your Food!

I had a candid conversation with another working mom the other day about meal times and menu choices and children.  I have one child, who will eat anything you put in front of her, except mushrooms.  And if she hasn't seen it before, she eats first and asks questions later.  She gobbles down soups, stews, anything roasted, and even prefers vegetables to fruit, which is unusual I think.  Then I have a boy who has a hundred questions before he will even pierce the suspicious item with a fork, doesn't like anything of color and usually responds with 'do I HAVE to?’   

Of course, he has a hard life because he seldom gets his pick of menu choices, and 'so-and-so' from school is so lucky because he gets DINOSAUR chicken and SMILEY face potatoes!  This gives me pause to consider the correlation between food and entertainment - which have gone hand in hand for centuries, after all what is a feast without a court jester?  Dancing?  Live Music?  Even to this day, many other cultures seem to manage this combination beautifully, they embrace the day with a slow breakfast and lunch is a laid back affair in which bread is broken and conversations are the table centerpiece.  Good quality, fresh food, well made or simply and casually combined is appreciated - even expected. 

Most families I know barely have time to defrost something let alone actually make it from scratch, and a languid lunch with some wine and conversation is about as foreign to us as France.  So what are we doing wrong?  Our lives are busy, mine is too as a working mom, and although I have blamed 'the world we live in' or 'this day and age' with a frustrated sigh, it doesn't end there.  Food corporations have taken advantage by playing on our time constraints with campaigns around making meals fun AND quick.  Enter dinosaur chicken.  So it comes to pass that with each trip to the grocery store, we have given up ground in 'savoring supper' while walking down the path to convenient and well-marketed.   The paradox here is that at the end of the day, we don't have more time on our hands, we are still discontent, and the food we eat is no longer all that good for us (made with profit as a goal, not nutrition).

Perhaps it's time that we as a nation stop being lured by 'fun and quick' - being entertained by food is a grossly inadequate placebo for a culture of casual, simple meals and appreciation for the taste of freshness and quality. 

Let's find away to kick 'fun food' out the door, and bring food pleasure back instead!

Impossible is a word full of possibilities!

The season of self indulgence is drawing to a close and I am already squeezing myself into my wardrobe and trying various diets on for size.  I am considering New Years Resolutions at the same time: try harder to save, treat each day as a gift, do six impossible things before breakfast, save the day at least once, be more adventurous with food etc. etc.

Or, maybe I should be more specific and have one particular goal to accomplish this year, and since we are embarking on this local and organic produce delivery journey, maybe it DOES have to do with food.  A food adventurer . . . oooh . . . an EXPLORER!  And I am not talking about exotic foods, far off flavors and foreign fragrances.  Just vegetables.  I mean, there has to be at least one great recipe out there for each and every vegetable!  Don't you think?  I love veggies, but there are some I just don't like to eat, so maybe that will be my mission for 2011.  Find a way to eat everything, and savor the experience.

So, that being said, here is a little recipe that I thought I would share with you all, it is the 'little black dress' of sauces!  Everything looks great in it and its perfect for every occasion.  Need something for seafood or fish?  This is it!  Asparagus or brussels sprouts need a little dressing? Look no further!  It is a French Butter Sauce, and tonight we are eating it on roasted brussel sprouts, yum!  Enjoy.

1. Bring 1/4 cup white wine vinegar, 1/4 cup white wine, 1tblspn minced shallots, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper to the boil in a deep saucepan.
2. Continue to simmer until the sauce is reduced by half, the larger the saucepan the quicker the ingredients will reduce.
3. While the wine mixture simmers, cut 1 and 1/4 cups of chilled butter into small squares and once the sauce is reduced, add half the squares and beat with a metal whisk until the mixture forms a creamy paste.
4. Reduce heat to low and continue beating in one piece of butter at a time, adding a new piece as soon as the previous piece is nearly incorporated.
5. The sauce should now be about 1 1/4 cups and have the consistency of a light hollandaise.  Remove from heat and strain.
6. Season with salt and pepper, add a squeeze of lemon.

Voila!

'Tis the Season

Let me just start by saying that nature is a wonderful thing!  

Imagine a finely tuned, well-oiled food system that produces exactly what you need right at the moment you need it!  And no, I am not talking about our grocery store with its carefully appointed displays, or the incredible network of transportation mediums that bring the food to our tables, I am talking of course, about Mother Nature.

In a world where we cultivate only the best-selling produce and import what’s out-of-season, we have forgotten what 'seasonal' means, and have lost the fine balance of meeting our bodies needs.  When it comes right down to it, by eating seasonally we are doing just that.  Winter vegetables like brocolli, brussel sprouts, kale, leeks, squash, turnips and cauliflower are all rich in Vitamins A and C - to help us keep colds and flus at bay.  They also have iron and calcium as well as many other minerals, and fibre too.  They are not as high in starches and sugars as some of you might think, certainly nowhere near as high as some of the summer fruit and vegetables – but then, we aren’t as active in winter are we? 

If we eat seasonally not only will we improve the variety in our diets over the course of the year because we are no longer just eating our ten favorite things all year round regardless of where it comes from or how far it travels, but we will have healthier bodies that are fed less excessively too.  So add the following fresh produce to your shopping list this season: beets, broccoli, broccoli rabe, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, collards, kale, leeks, mushrooms, parsnips, salad greens, sprouts, winter squash, swiss chard, spinach, turnips, cranberries, apples, pears and quince – and be merry!

Happy Holidays!

It's cold outside, but it's warm in here . . .

We have a family member visiting from Sunny South Africa this week – he is not used to the cold – or the dark for that matter (it is not called sunny SA for no reason!)  His first few days here he was just miserable about the awfulness of it all, however, after some rest and the opportunity to acclimatize he has settled in.  Last night he was saying how he can appreciate the benefits of our ‘resting season’ as he called it, and he is right isn’t he?  That’s just what it is.

I too would love to just ‘settle in’ for the ‘resting season’ – and for those of you who would like to join me, here is a good soup recipe for the slow cooker (or just stick it on low on the stove if you are around to keep an eye on it).  Potter around at home, scratch the cats belly, or chin which they likely prefer, decorate the tree if you haven’t already, walk around in your socks all day and if you want to go all the way, you can even stay in your jammies – just for one day, shhhh, I won’t tell. . .

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes

4 carrots

1 red pepper

2 bunches green onions

1 bunch kale

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 squares vegetable bouillon or a quart of vegetable/chicken broth

cilantro

Water

1 stick organic sweet cream butter

Method

Chop all vegetables into bite sized pieces. Be sure to use all of green onion, including chives. Tear leafy parts of kale into salad size pieces, discarding stem. Toss vegetables, vinegar, bouillon, and butter into a 5 qt slow cooker. Add water until pot is full. Cook on high for 5-6 hours, then reduce heat and let simmer until serving time. The longer it cooks, the more the flavor comes out.  Settle in and enjoy.

Is Organic Food a Fad?

The definition of a fad is: ‘a temporary fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., esp. one followed enthusiastically by a group’.  And the answer is: No.  The phrase ‘organic’ was first coined by Lord Northbourne, an agriculturist, educator and writer.  In his influential book ‘Look to the Land’ first published in 1940, Lord Northbourne introduced the concept of organic farming by recognizing the farm as an organism – each part of the whole (soil, water, fauna, flora and air) being interdependent.  ‘The farm as an organism’ concept though, goes beyond just abolition of harmful pesticides and invasive genetic meddling, it recognizes that we are custodians of the earth in every sense, and our health and survival is connected intricately to the health of the soil and the survival of all living things, what better place to start than where we grow our food?

Thankfully, today organic foods is the fastest growing agricultural market, with Bloomberg recognizing many new ‘organic and wholesome food’ start ups as ‘most promising’.  Organic enthusiasts have over the years extended from free-spirited hippies to include a much broader spectrum of the population who care about what they eat, and want to raise healthy families in healthy communities (thank you Generation Y).  And by healthy communities I mean local farms, open spaces and indian summer hayrides or autumn apple picking. 

So here we are, 70 years later and it is still a popular and growing topic, centering more and more around lifestyle choices, and our choices as custodians of our land, and our childrens future.  We can't all grow our own food and eat from our gardens, but our choices today influence growers of tomorrow.  Is it a fad?  No, I don't think so.  Is it a growing movement that will restore goodness to our fresh foods, reduce obesity and chronic disease and leave a legacy we can be proud of?  Absolutely!