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.

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A colony of giant African bats has made a dramatic return from the brink of exctinction, thanks to a conservation drive discouraging people from eating them as delicacies.

As recently as 1989, the Pemba Flying Fox, one of Africa’s largest bat species, was critically endangered, with only a few individuals left on Pemba Island, off the coast of Tanzania. Since an intervention by Flora and Fauna International (FFI), numbers have soared to a staggering 22,000.

According to conservation worker, Joy Juma, “At one time roast bat was a very common dish on Pemba. Now people value the bats for different reasons.”

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Beth’s blog is The Expatriate’s Kitchen, “Musings on food and life, with my original recipes, and a cynical wit as sharp as my ten-inch French knife”.

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Summer Vegetable Risotto
Use this recipe as a model for many of your favorite seasonal vegetables, so long as those on the sturdy side (bell peppers, artichoke hearts, broccoli, beets) are precooked until not quite tender, either by blanching, steaming, or roasting. As a general rule, for every cup of rice, you will need about 3 cups of simmering broth.

Cooking time: The total cooking time from the first addition of liquid to the rice to the completion of the risotto containing vegetables is typically about twenty-five minutes. But let your taste buds be the guide. Risotto is not as complicated as many think. It just requires some time at the stove. Use that time as an opportunity to engage in "cooking meditation." It really is very therapeutic!
Makes 4 main course servings

INGREDIENTS
6 cups vegetable broth, plus additional (if necessary)
½ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped, about 1 cup
3 garlic cloves, crushed or chopped
1 yellow summer squash, diced
1 or 2 zucchini squash, diced
4-5 ears corn enough for 3-1/2 cups kernels (you may used canned or frozen)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mixed herbs (basil, dill, sage, etc.)
1-1/2 cups arborio rice
Salt and pepper to taste
Toasted pine nuts (optional)
Yellow pear tomatoes, for garnish (optional)
Fresh herbs, finely chopped (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Remove husks and silk from corn. Working over a large bowl to catch the corn kernels and juices, cut kernels from corncobs with a sharp knife. (If using canned or frozen, just drain the water.)
2. Heat the broth in a large pot.
3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat and saute the zucchini and yellow squash until lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
4. Sauté the onion and garlic in the remaining oil until tender but not brown, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
6. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add ½ cup of the simmering broth mixture to the skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until almost all of the liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding the broth mixture ½ cup at a time, cooking and stirring until it is almost completely absorbed and the rice begins to soften, about 15 minutes.
7. When down to last two cups of liquid, add corn kernels. Continue cooking, adding liquid 1/2 cup at a time.
8. Stir in the squash and another ½ cup of the broth mixture. Continue to stir constantly until the liquid has almost been absorbed, until the mixture is creamy, not runny, the rice is tender yet firm to the bite, and the vegetables are heated through, about 5 minutes.
9. Remove from the heat and stir in the herbs. Serve at once, garnished with the pine nuts, pear tomatoes, and finely chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, parsley, and tarragon, if using.

Optional: Add non-dairy butter in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Earth Balance is the best non-dairy butter out there! No GMOs, no hydrogenated oil, no saturated fat, no animal protein, no cholesterol. Some variations (like the whipped) are organic.

More recipes and resources at Compassionate Cooks.

A new study American Journal of Preventive Medicine confirms this: Americans are eating fewer vegetables than ever. Researchers evaluated data from two large national health surveys and reviewed how many people ate three or more servings of vegetables a day. (French fries counted!).

In the first survey, 35% met the goal; in the second survey, 10 years later: 32%. So, why are we ignoring the most consistent message of our childhood? I have a few ideas.

In the many years I have been teaching vegan cooking classes, I have discovered that so few of my students know what to do with a head of broccoli or a bunch of kale. Many don’t know why white rice is white or that vegetables contain protein (38% of the total calories in asparagus, for instance, is protein). Most of us were raised on a meat-centered diet, where vegetables played a minor role and either came from a can, were boiled to death, or were drowned in cream sauces and butter. It’s no wonder we didn’t get hooked on veggies.

We’re also ridiculous creatures of habit, and as the researchers discovered, most people demonstrate very little diversity when choosing vegetables. Here’s a secret: when I switched to a plant-based diet, I actually found more options. With meat, dairy, and eggs out of the way, a world of plant foods opened up. There is an inaccurate assumption that a plant-based diet is limiting, and vegans are often asked – in exacerbated tones – “What do you eat?” The implication is that non-vegetarians eat a huge variety of foods, but in truth, most of us rotate the same dishes over and over - and over again.

We tend to look in one direction when it comes to how, what, and who we eat. We order the same things in the same restaurants, we prepare the same meals at home, and we rarely use those spices that are collecting dust on those cute little spice racks hanging on our kitchen walls. We're often completely unaware of what's even in the other direction. That's one of the reasons the transition to a plant-based diet can be daunting and exciting at the same time: an entire world of new foods, cuisines, ingredients, menu items, and recipes open up that weren't in view before. People often feel overwhelmed by the process, but that's what's so exciting about it: the options are endless.

I've seen so many people discover how much more expansive a plant-based diet is than an animal-based one, as they realilze that animal-based products continually displaced plant foods in their daily meals. They discover that every time they chose meat, dairy, or eggs, they were not choosing healthful plant foods.

In the many years I've been doing the work of empowering people to make informed food choices and debunking myths about veganism, I have had the pleasure and privilege of witnessing thousands of people change their diets, change their minds, and change their lives. And as I guide them through this process of transformation, I remind them that as we begin to make new food choices, not only do our options expand but our palates (as do our perceptions and minds) change as well. When we get heavy, fat-laden, processed products out of our diets and replace them with healthful, whole vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, grains, herbs, and spices, our palates become resensitized to taste and we begin to crave the things we never thought we would.

Here are a few other tips and tricks I give to my students and podcast listeners about incorporating more plant foods into their diets:

1. Shop by color. (Ketchup doesn’t count!) The health-promoting antioxidants are in the colors of plant foods.

2. Add diversity. Try a new vegetable from the farmer’s market each week.

3. Buy a steamer basket. Steaming veggies is a healthful age-old method of cooking vegetables.

4. Make vegetable-rich stews. Add a can of beans (rinsed and drained) and a veggie bouillon cube.

5. Prep in advance. If we chop up vegetables before storing them in the fridge, we’re more inclined to eat them. Take 10 minutes to chop when you arrive home from the market.

6. Prioritize. We all complain about how we’re too busy to cook, but I wonder: if we don’t have just 15-30 minutes a day to nourish our bodies and create healthful meals for our families, then perhaps we need to re-structure our priorities.

7. Re-sensitize your palate. Our palates may need some time to become re-sensitized to less fat and salt. Remember: it takes 3 weeks to change a habit. Just stay committed and trust that a process is taking place.

8. Keep essentials on hand, including various vinegars, tamari soy sauce, dried herbs, dried spices, fresh herbs, garlic bulbs, fresh ginger root, lemons. Simple ingredients are all you need for delicious vegetable preparation.

9. Increase pounds. Aim for a pound of raw and a pound of fresh vegetables every day; even if you fall short, you’ll be way ahead of the curve.

10. Be reasonable. Though fresh is always best, frozen vegetables (and sometimes canned) are better than no vegetables at all.

Finally, call your mother and give her the opportunity to say “I told you so.”

(Visit Compassionate Cooks' website for resources and recipes on healthful eating.)