Green Options

When I was in college I briefly dated a boy whose idea of a meal was eating cold meat chili from an open can. In retrospect, how and what he chose to feed himself provided a very telling insight into his character and values. How and what we eat shapes our lives and who were are. Nothing we do is more intimate; our meals sustain our very existence. When we choose to grow our own food, buy from local farmers markets and not eat highly processed packaged food, we are not only taking positive steps toward building and sustaining a locally based economy, but we are also lessening our collective carbon footprint upon the planet.

If you are starting to feel inspired to create some simple, affordable, tasty meals from locally available seasonal food, but are a bit clueless how to begin, Lisa Jervis‘ new book, Cook Food: A Manualfesto for Easy, Healthy, Local Eating, may provide just the help that you need.

Sometimes when I think about what to cook for dinner, my brain hurts.  There are just too many factors to consider, including:  what’s in the pantry, what I feel like, what needs to be used up, what my picky husband will actually touch, what I would actually prefer.  This is a result of living in a country where our choices and options regarding food are so mind-bogglingly vast for many of us.  It’s terribly easy to fall into a rut of only eating five or six different dishes that you know you’ll like, but that can get so tiring.  So what’s a conscious cook to do when looking for fast, healthy, meal ideas?  Find out, after the jump…

The name pesto derives from tradition of making this sauce in a mortar with a pestle. The following recipe, which I encourage you to use a food processor for, unless you have a few spare hours, proves that you absolutely don’t need cheese to make a fantastic pesto. Purchase fresh basil (or grow it yourself!), and find a nice fruity olive oil.

Advance Preparation: Pesto freezes very well. Defrost pesto at room temperature, about

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