Green Options

Lovin’ Fresh is a series of recipes designed to showcase produce gathered from local farms or grown in my own garden.

Homemade old-fashioned apple dumplings were a thing of sheer indulgence during my childhood.  We didn’t have them all that often, but when we did, it meant life was good.  Truth be told though, I’d almost forgotten about them until a month or so ago, when I was eating out and saw them on the menu.  Of course I ordered a dumpling for dessert, but it just wasn’t what I’d hoped it would be.  The apple dumplings of my childhood were large - gianormous really - made with a whole apple brimming with cinnamon sugary delight and snuggly down in a flaky sugary crust.  What I had at the restaurant was a small half apple with scant cinnamon and a dark egg-washed glossy crust around it.  I knew then and there that I’d have to recreate the apple dumplings of my memory. 

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends
We’re so glad you could attend
Come inside! Come inside!

– Emerson, Lake and Palmer, “Karn Evil 9 - 1st Impression, Part 2″

Welcome back to the Carnival of the Green, the weekly showcase of all things good and green around the blogosphere!  And welcome back to sustainablog, carnival-goers: this is our third time hosting the CoG! We’ve got a wide variety of green bloggy goodness to share with you this week.

Before we begin, we’ve got many thanks to extend: to TriplePundit and (the now defunct, but never forgotten) CityHippy for starting this party, to Treehugger for keeping it going, and to last week’s host Confessions of a Closet Environmentalist for serving as stop #147. When you’re ready to scratch that CoG itch next week, head over to Thoughts on Global Warming.

OK, now that the formalities are out of the way, let’s get this party started!  And, in what’s now a tradition for sustainablog and CoG, here’s a little music to put you in the mood…

Energy

• Paddy K has the lowdown on the politics and environmental impacts of Swedish nuclear energy.
• The Curious Cat Science and Engineering blog has a graphic representation of global installed wind power capacity (and it’s impressive!).

As summer rolls into fall and fall goes screaming into winter, one’s culinary palate yearns for the muted flavors of  braises and stews, the consoling warmth of roasts and for me, the comfort of fried chicken. Yes, I said Fried Chicken.

This isn’t your aunt Flo’s fried chicken. Call it Uncle Thomas’ fried chicken - Thomas Keller, that is.

I’ve adapted a Lemon-Brined, Buttermilk Fried Chicken recipe originally published in the October 2007 Food & Wine magazine from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc restaurant in Yountville, California.

This is a guest post by Meg Hamill, a freelance writer who also works at LandPaths in partnership with the Open Space District of Sonoma County, California.

California passes its first law protecting farmers who have not been able to prevent GE contamination of their non GE crops.

We’ve all heard the horror stories:  A farmer’s crop is contaminated by Genetically Engineered (GE) seeds, and that farmer is subsequently harassed and brought to court by the biotech patent owners (such as Monsanto) of those seeds.  In some cases, that farmer has also been held liable for contaminating other farmer’s crops with his own unintentionally contaminated crop.  Just this week, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a landmark piece of legislation, protecting California’s farmers from just such liability.

It is the first bill to be passed by the California Legislature that brings regulation to the Genetically Engineered (GE) crops.  The bill, AB541 (Huffman, D-Marin/Sonoma)  protects and compensates farmers who have not been able to prevent GE contamination of their non-GE crop.  AB541 was sponsored by a coalition of agriculture organizations and food businesses, including California Certified Organic Farmers, Earthbound Farm and the California Farm Bureau Federation.

Introducing your baby to real food takes time. Fortunately, there is no need to rush, In fact, going slowly gives your baby a chance to develop a taste for different types of food, and in the long run enables her to make healthier food choices. There is an enormous selection of fresh, natural food that your little one can eat, but there are also several foods that are not good for babies. Here is a list of many of the foods that you should avoid:

• Foods with sugar, salt and caffeine as a main ingredient – Avoid introduction as long as possible: As a general rule, foods containing high amount of these ingredients, usually do not contain much nutritional value and are not very healthy.

“Nobody is asking us to love others more than we love ourselves,” said the “poet president” of Tanzania Julius Nyerere. “But those of us who have been lucky enough to receive a good education have a duty also to help to improve the well being of the community to which we belong; is part of loving ourselves!”

Step 1: Click once a day at TheHungerSite.com.

You’ll fund the donation of 1.1 cups of food. While you’re there, take a look at their equally worthy sister sites.

Step 2: Play at FreeRice.com.

Study for the GRE, test your English abilities, or simply bone up on your vocabulary. While you do, your clicks will generate funding for donating free rice to the hungry. Better yet, share this online game with students you know.

Step 3: Sign the petition at HelpSweden.org.

This tongue-in-cheek organization turns our concepts of poverty around and asks for a renewed commitment to the Millennium Development Goals. Read more about what makes HelpSweden a good idea.

Step 4: Put some of your paycheck into Kiva.org.

You’ll get your money back and you’ll have helped somebody to build a business or a home.

William J. Garry, editor of Bon Appetit magazine in the September 1997 issue wrote:

The view is put forth that chefs, at least when they are at home or at play, are indeed much like everyone else: They have husbands and wives (or not), kids and dogs (or none), chores and hobbies, good times and bad times and even death and taxes and cable TV.

So far, I don’t disagree. I’ll even go further: Most chefs of my acquaintance are certifiable members of Homo Sapiens, though I have met some who would give Professor Darwin pause. And most chefs put on their white tunics one arm at a time: the fact that those tunics bear more than a passing resemblance to straitjackets is probably not worth mentioning. Without the tunics and the silly hats, most chefs look quite normal.

But they aren’t. They’re different. They’re a breed apart. And they’re mysterious.

A new global project is screening food crops for useful traits that can be adapted for reversing the effects of climate change and boost their diversity and sustainable production.

This will involve the setting up of crop banks and seed vaults, so to speak, in developing countries that depend on staples such as corn and rice, to tap on their valuable ’sustainability traits’ as a way of conserving the diversity of the world’s food crops.

In attempts to boost food security, crops from banana to sweet potato will be screened to identify material that plant breeders can use to produce varieties adapted to conditions associated with climate change.

Lately, I’ve been noticing food. Yes, but not in the usual places like the grocery store, farmer’s markets, produce stands, et cetera. No, I’ve been noticing food in unusual places. On the ground. Under trees. In the street.

While many people these days may think that apples, pears, plums and walnuts only come from pristine orchards in pastoral valleys, there is food among us. Right under our noses. And often, it’s going to waste.

I’ve been a HUGE fan of the freestone Italian Prune Plum, sometimes called “Stanley” plums, since one of the farmers from my previous restaurants invited me to have a look around his orchard. Sweet and tangy at the same time without being cloying or astringent. They are at their peak right now, at least here in the Pacific Northwest.

A Claflouti is one of my favorite country French desserts. This crustless-custard based fruit flan originated in the Limousin region of central France.  The classic Clafloutis is made with cherries but almost any fruit can be used.

My recipe, close to the classic, is simplistic and easy to make without being boring or flavorless. As a bonus, (for the gluten-free) it does not contain any flour or starch thickener.

Editor’s Note: This post was provided by one of our paid sponsors, the Ethanol Promotion Information Council (EPIC). EPIC is a nonprofit alliance of ethanol industry leaders who have come together to grow consumer demand for ethanol energy through targeted marketing.

The Ethanol Promotion Information Council (EPIC) is working to get the word out that ethanol is actually helping to keep gas prices lower. The following is from an interview with Toni Nuernberg, executive director of EPIC.

If you’ve been exposed to the media lately you’ve probably heard the phrase “renewable fuels.” What exactly are renewable fuels? According to Wikipedia, “renewable fuels are alternative fuel sources such as biofuels (ethanol, biodiesel -e.g. soy, vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled restaurant greases-) or hydrogen.” Texas Governor Rick Perry recently petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to lower ethanol mandates, saying that the production of ethanol was causing food and fuel prices to go up. The EPA rejected Gov. Perry’s request in August, saying that the Renewable Fuels Standard “remains an important tool in our ongoing efforts to reduce America’s greenhouse gas emissions and lessen our dependence on foreign oil.”