I am irritated by the debate, by well-meaning food folks, about whether eating local food is really a good way to reduce the impact of your food choices on carbon emissions. This debate suggests a phony choice - if food miles matter, then nothing else does. Nothing could be further from the truth.

“Food miles” are a measure of the distance food travels from farm to plate. As far as I know, this concept caught fire after a 2003 study came out from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture comparing food miles traveled by local produce in Iowa and conventional produce within the U.S. The study found that the non-local produce had traveled an average of 1500 miles, compared to 56 miles for local produce. Since then, there has been a lot of overgeneralizing of the 1500 mile statistic: the original study looked at only 16 crops, and excluded crops grown outside the U.S.

Local food advocates, including me, have suggested that one of the many benefits of eating from your local area is that it will, in general, reduce the carbon footprint of your food. Others have responded by finding all the other aspects of food production, including chemical inputs of conventional farming, the massive carbon footprint of factory meat production, processing, and food storage, to argue that local food is not important. They are right, of course, that there are many factors that influence how much carbon food contributes to the atmosphere. My answer is, so what? Of course there is often not a simple linear relationship between food miles and carbon emissions. But it does not follow that food miles don’t matter.

A recent study published in Environmental Science and Technology made the following claims:

1. Food accounts for 13% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Most greenhouse gas emissions (83%) from food come from the production phase, while only 11% come from transportation.
3. In an average U.S.household, meat and dairy account for about half of the greenhouse gas emissions from food.
4. Switching away from red meat and dairy to vegetables or even fish, poultry and eggs substantially reduces the carbon footprint of your food.

This is a useful study. But it has been used to argue that food miles are irrelevant, just because other food choices (factory farmed meat versus vegetables) are so important. And, it leaves out all the other factors that so often make locally produced food carbon friendlier. The local food at our farmer’s markets and grocery stores is mostly organic, unprocessed, and, if its meat, grass-fed.

Other articles have questioned the food miles concept, and have suggested it is very difficult to make good choices. I think this is silly.

If you stop for a minute to think, it obvious that many factors will affect the carbon emissions associated with a particular food. Conventional vs. organic techniques, use of fuel in cultivation, mode of transport, processing, storage, and on and on. Trucked, flown, or shipped? Refrigerated, frozen, cooked, or canned? Does this mean food miles are a useless concept? No. But it is overly simplistic as a complete guide of what to eat. I’m sure you can reason this out for yourself.

So rather than argue that food miles are irrelevant, we need to just use our brains a little bit when we decide what to put in our mouths.

Larry Lev, an agricultural economist at Oregon State University, told me once you can sum up the motto of industrial agriculture as: “Just eat it.” He was suggesting, I think, that our entire agricultural system is based on each of us, every day, not considering what we are eating, where it came from, how it was produced, how it makes us feel, what it does to our planet, or even, often, how it really tastes.

I believe he’s right. And once we start to think about these things when we eat, everything will start to change for the better.

I was stunned by what I learned last year - more importantly, I was stunned by what I didn’t know, and I consider myself a sustainable agriculture supporter! I’ve been trying to track the progress of this Bill in its fits and starts and controversial moments, but still find myself quite ignorant and ever-more surprised when I hear or read another piece of this hulking bulk of legislation.Today is my ‘recipe’ day, not that I’ve kept up with the schedule lately AT ALL, but after reading the NY Times article about the latest on the Farm Bill, I just had to write something about this. Sorry. Look for some lighter fare (perhaps easier to digest than the Farm Bill) Monday!

I know there are some great strides in terms of increasing aid for food stamps, food banks and nutritional programs - yeah! Forgive my total ignorance here, but what is up with these fat AND GROWING subsidy programs????

I realize that I have a long way to go to get my wee brain around the logic in these subsidies, but can somebody please explain why we are making these ‘direct’ payments of subsidies to individual farmer’s whose income is over $750k/year? By the way, I believe this relates to personal income rather than farm revenue . . .From that meeting last year, I also learned that nearly all subsidies go to the 5 main big-ag crops - wheat, corn, soy, cotton, ???? (can’t remember the last one, someone, please feel free to set me straight on this) - and that most of the stuff we buy at our local farmer’s markets or from our grocers - lettuce, cucumbers, strawberries, tomatoes, etc. - are specialty crops, AND that a large percentage of those big 5 are shipped out of the country, used for feed or are being made into ethanol or fuel.

While I believe there was progress made in support of smaller farms and farmer’s markets, it seems to me that most of the money is going to non-food subsidies.

I need to learn a LOT more. I feel very strongly that we ALL need to learn a lot more and get active NOW in order to have a greater effect on the next Farm Bill, which will come around in about 4 years.

There are some awesome posts here on the GreenOptions blogs from folks that are far more educated than me. Please visit them:

White House Signals Farm Bill Veto - Will Congress Bend?

Say What? President Bush Encourages Americans to Eat Local

Small Wind Remains in Farm Bill

Farm Bill Redux: A Second Change at Real Reform

Last week, the New York Times featured a few part-time professional urban farmers in areas of New York City where a high demand and low supply of produce cause dietary and health problems. Increasingly, residents are seeing their abundance of abandoned lots as a new kind of food wealth.

In places like East New York, Brooklyn and the South Bronx, neighbors are getting together to create community gardens. But instead of toiling away on shared crops, each group grows and tends to his or her own plot. This allows more autonomy in deciding what to do with those hard-earned veggies. While some groups eat or give away their crops, many others decide to bring the fruits of their labor to market as a secondary source of income. One couple featured in the article, Denniston and Marlene Wilks, made over $3,000 dollars last year from four allotments. But the farmers insist it is not about the money: a South Bronx farmer, Karen Washington told the New York Times: “We’re selling so that people in our neighborhood have good quality. There’s no Whole Foods in my neighborhood.”

The allotment gardens themselves are efficiently run, funded primarily by allotment rent checks (the Wilkses said they paid as little as $2 per 4′x8′ bed). The gardens also avoid expenses by using city services as much as possible. For example, the New York Parks Department has a seeding and soil testing service that is free, while the Bronx Zoo repackages their animal dung as free manure for city residents. As the creators of the SPIN-Farming method attest, municipal services make city farming a great deal cheaper than its large scale equivalent, where water drainage, pest control and regular soil testing are solely the farmer’s responsibility.

In addition to the increase in produce, low- and mid-income neighborhoods are enjoying an increase in farmer’s markets. Residents aren’t the only ones to notice, either. This week, a 60-person delegation from the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development took tours of several allotment and fully-functioning urban farms. It is nice to see some government and policy leaders acknowledge that the grassroots action of growing veggies on allotment may have a profound impact on the way we eat.

Image credit: Todd Heisler for the New York Times

No, this isn’t a pipe dream prompted by the current era of high fuel and food costs. “These statistics rang true in 1943 during World War II during the peak of the Victory Garden era,” explains Rose Hayden-Smith, a garden historian and leading expert on this amazing period of self-sufficiency over sixty years ago. “Victory Gardens provided multiple benefits back then, including improving American health and showcasing the nation’s stability and high morale.”

But Hayden-Smith isn’t a historian stuck in the past – she’s an advocate championing bringing the Victory Garden concept back to create a sustainable food system for future generations. Historically, World War II Victory Gardens were kitchen gardens planted to help relieve wartime food shortages. Hayden-Smith defines Victory Gardens more broadly: “A Victory Garden today can be any garden with a purpose that you define personally. That purpose can be a family project to raise food for your household or a community effort to grow produce for a local food bank or whatever else you see as a need.” Such mission based gardening moves our food choices beyond our own personal plate and into the political realm: Make a statement with your garden, vote by example for self-sufficiency and independence.

Why rekindle the Victory Garden concept today? “Victory Gardens showcase patriotism in its truest sense, with each of us taking personal responsibility for doing our individual part to create a healthy, fair and affordable food system,” Hayden-Smith sums up. Additional reasons for recreating Victory Gardens today include:

• Foster skill base among young people
“Victory Gardens provide an inspiring historic model for how we can reintegrate garden-based curriculum into our schools,” Hayden-Smith adds. “Our skills as a nation to be self-sufficient, especially amongst the younger generation, have declined considerably. Additionally, various studies prove that kids who garden eat healthier, which then leads to improved academic performance.” Additionally, a garden can be a base for teaching anything from literature to science to art, all with an appreciation for a healthy food system.

• Build community
Gardening connects people and can bridge cultural barriers. “When we gardened during World War II, we improved our cultural understanding and appreciation of diversity,” explains Hayden-Smith. “Historically, every culture gardens, even though they may be growing different things. During the Victory Garden era, people from diverse backgrounds connected through raising their own food, sharing harvest abundance, food traditions and, most importantly, building community.”

• Support national security
“With rising fuel and food prices, home gardens assure better access for all people, particularly those of lower income levels, to healthy, fresh food,” Harden-Smith concludes.

A University of California Cooperative Extension Advisor and Food and Society Policy Fellow, Hayden-Smith passionately gardens in her own home plot in Ventura, California and blogs on Victory Growers. She focuses on simple, fast recipes that showcase the fresh produce flavors. Her family’s favorite, “Garden Fresh Pasta Sauce,” can be made just with zucchini if tomatoes are not available.

Spaghetti with Zucchini, Tomatoes and Basil

1.5 pounds small or medium zucchini
4-6 Roma tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ cup olive oil
Handful of basil leaves, torn into small pieces
½ cup mixed grated or shredded Parmesan and Romano cheeses
½ cup half-and-half or milk
1 lb. whole grain spaghetti
Salt and pepper

Heat a large pot of water for the pasta. Quarter the zucchini and tomatoes lengthwise, then cut into ½ inch chunks. Warm the olive oil and garlic in a wide skillet. Add the zucchini and tomatoes; season with salt and pepper. Cook gently over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is soft and browned in places (about 15 minutes). Add the half-and-half and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Meanwhile, add salt to the boiling water and cook the pasta. Drain and toss the pasta with the zucchini, tomatoes, cheese and basil. Season to taste.

If tomatoes aren’t available, simply omit. This recipe works will with yellow squash, too!

I’m here to tell you there are a few tips and tricks to keeping that grocery bill down while still keeping ethics and the environment in mind. It takes a little more planning, some flexibility and creativity, but you can shave big bucks off your bill if you keep them in mind.

1. Quit eating meat. Buying meat, particularly non-industrial meat, can really break the bank. Animal agriculture is also one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions that exists. By replacing meat with plant-based protein sources, such as beans and lentils (cheap!) you can save money and lighten your footprint. Even cutting back to decrease the amount of meat-meals you eat in a week, and increasing your meat-free meals, will help.

2. If you do eat meat, look at cheaper cuts. Take a hint from Joel Salatin at Polyface Farms. His ethically-raised pork was a big hit with consumers–particularly the better cuts. The tougher cuts were harder to sell, so he’s selling them to Chipotle, who uses them in burritos, because shoulders and legs hold up well to the braising process Chipotle has in place. You can do the same. Braising, stewing, or slow-cooking cuts like shoulders, flank steaks, or  round roasts and steaks can add tasty

3. Plan ahead. Watching the sales, reading the circular, and planning menus ahead of time saves money by using more sale items into your diet.

4. Buy and cook in bulk–if you’ll eat it. A money and time saving practice that I rely on is making enough dinner to have leftovers for lunch. This works particularly well with soups and pastas, where it’s easy to stretch a meal out by adding more broth or noodles. This way, brown-bagging your lunch is a snap. You’ll save money by not eating out and by stretching ingredients, and time by cooking once and eating twice. However, this practice doesn’t work if you don’t eat the leftovers. The same goes for buying in bulk. You can often save a pretty penny by buying larger quantities of food items that you use frequently. For example, I buy olive oil in bulk because I use it all the time. The same goes for flour, pasta, beans, or lentils.  Do not invest in items that you won’t eat before they go bad, just because you’re getting a deal.  That gallon of mustard won’t seem so cheap when you have to throw half of it out. At the same time…

5. Don’t let your eyes be bigger than your stomach. Consumers lose a lot of money by buying food that goes bad before they use it. I know I’m guilty of this. By planning your meals carefully and eating according to what is fresh in the fridge, you can eliminate wasteful spending on food that never nourishes anyone, except maybe your compost pile.  Be thoughtful and deliberate in your meal planning to use everything in your fridge.

6. Coupons, coupons, coupons. It used to be that coupons for organic brands were few and far between in your Sunday newspaper. With the increase in organic brands on your conventional grocery shelves, more coupons for those products are ending up in circulars. However, there’s many other ways to find coupons that you can use for organic products. Mambo Sprouts puts out a coupon book that you can pick up at stores or have sent to your home if you live in certain areas. But the best way I’ve found to get coupons you’ll actually use is to contact companies whose products I enjoy. Most websites have a “Contact Us” link, and brands such as Quorn, Organic Valley, and NakedJuice sent me substantial coupons after I politely asked for them. That also puts me on their mailing list for free samples and coupons in the future. The Grocery Coupon Guide has a great list of brands with links to their websites.  An hour or two on the internet could save you many, many dollars.

7. Eat seasonally. Eat locally. It’s practically a mantra around here, but it’s true for your wallet as well as our planet. There’s a reason strawberries cost five dollars a pint in December. As fuel costs rise, so will the cost of your produce imported from other countries. I’ve found making friends at your local farmers market can save you cash, too. Not only are you eating much fresher, more flavorful fruits and veggies, but you can establish a relationship with the farmers. One of my absolutely favorite organic farmers on our farmers market circuit knows me by name, and since I faithfully give him business, he almost always knocks a buck or two off my total.

8. Grow your own. Seeds and plants, even organic, can cost next-to-nothing, and gardening is a therapeutic and rewarding hobby. Even apartment-dwellers can grow plenty of produce in containers. I’ve found that  those with the blackest of thumbs can successfully grow all the fresh herbs they need, and if you buy fresh herbs at the store, you know they can be expensive.  Think about expanding to tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, or radishes.

9. Join a CSA.   CSAs, or Community Supported Agriculture, are programs where you buy shares of a harvest from a farmer. In return for your investment, you get regularly-scheduled boxes of produce, which may include other items such as dairy, meat, flowers, or grains. Although CSAs can be expensive, many are reasonably prices, particularly in comparison to buying items individually, and many CSAs offer half-shares at reduced cost. They’re worth looking into by asking at your local farmers market.

What are some money-saving tips you’ve found in your quest to eat better?

Quiche is something I covet, particularly for brunch.  I personally enjoy it more when chilled, but any and all quiche is welcome to apply within (my mouth).   When my partner and I met, he was trying to go from vegetarian to vegan (a mission since abandoned due to our mutual “interest” in ice cream).  Being especially eager to prove my culinary prowess in those first few months of dating, I gave my first tofu quiche a whirl.   While I didn’t miss the eggs in the least, I did lament the absence of cheese.  So we compromised and now I have a “standard” tofu quiche recipe that I typically make with spinach.

Now, if you’re scrunching up your nose at the idea of an eggless quiche, don’t despair.  I’m sure if you have a standard quiche recipe of your own (or care to do a quick search for one), you can easily use the flavor components of this recipe with an egg base instead.

Sorrel has a lovely tangy/tart lemony flavor.  It’s often used in salads, soups, spinach and fish dishes.  Technically it’s both an herb and a salad green so it has dual value - taste and texture.  While sorrel’s flavor can be overwhelming if used in excess, when placed on the often-bland canvas of tofu, the tart bite works superbly in its favor.   Paired with chevre (goat cheese), it accentuates the tang while masking some of the tart.   Sorrel was such a fine addition to my standard quiche recipe, I’ve since generally replaced the spinach with sorrel all summer long while it’s in season.

One word to the wise about this recipe before we get started - if you don’t drain the blanched sorrel well and/or add too much milk to the tofu, the quiche might not set up as firmly as you’d like.  If this is the case, lower the heat in the oven to around 300 and cover the crust edges with foil to keep them from burning.  Bake for an additional 15 minutes than directed.  Quiche will also firm up more as it cools; hence my preference for chilled quiche. 

~

EGGLESS SORREL & CHEVRE QUICHE

30 leaves of sorrel, de-stemmed and cut into thin ribbons
3 large garlic cloves, finely minced
4 large scallions, thinly sliced
4 oz. chevre (goat cheese), room temperature
1/2 C. sharp white cheddar cheese
1/4 C. parmesan cheese
1/4 C. finely chopped flat leaf parsley
12 oz. extra firm tofu, drained and roughly cubed
1/2 to 3/4 C. nonfat milk
1/2 t. salt (don’t skimp, trust me)
1/2 t. pepper
dash of freshly grated nutmeg
1 unbaked 9 inch deep dish pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 F and cover edges of pie cruse with tin foil.  Place pie crust in oven to lightly bake as you prepare ingredients.

Bring a cup of water to boil and quickly blanch the sorrel, removing as soon as it wilts and darkens.  Place in strainer to remove as much liquid as possible.  Place sorrel in a medium bowl and mix in garlic, scallions, chevre, cheddar and parmesan.

Remove pie crust from oven and take off foil from edges.  Allow to cool for a minute.

In a blender, combine tofu and 1/2 cup of milk.  Blend for a minute and then add salt and pepper and blend some more.  If mixture is not smooth, add more milk as necessary to create a smooth silky texture.  Combine tofu with sorrel and cheese.  Mix well before filling pie crust.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until set and golden brown on top.  Let stand 5-10 minutes before cutting.  Serve with slices of tomato.

(makes one quiche)

Before I’d left the market, I’d snapped up two bunches of ramps and a bag full of stinging nettles among my regular staples. In fact, the stinging nettles purveyor was kind enough to write out a recipe for tea (pictured below). It was my first ever stinging nettle experience.

More on that and other recipes inspired by my wild green windfall after the jump.

Ramp Frittata (Pictured above)

One bunch of ramps - about 9 stalks, finely chopped. Separate the chopped leaves from the stalks and bulbs

6 new potatoes

4-5 eggs

1/2 cup milk

2 oz raw milk cheddar, thinly sliced

handful of dill

a few sprigs of thyme

salt and pepper

Steam potatoes until tender, then cut into small cubes. Sauté the potatoes with the ramps (stalk and bulb) in a cast iron or copper skillet until both have good color. In a bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, herbs and spices. Pour over the potato and ramp mixture. When the edges of the frittata start to become solid, place cheddar across the top and then put the pan in the oven for about 5 minutes, checking often.

Sautéed Fiddleheads, Japanese Style

2 cups fiddleheads

2-3 ramp stalks and bulbs, chopped finely

coarsely chopped ramp leaves from the above stalks

1 tbs oil

1/2 tbs butter

soy sauce

rice wine vinegar

aji-min (optional)

salt and pepper

Thoroughly wash the fiddleheads in changing baths, making sure all grit has been removed. Steam them for 5-7 minutes and then rinse them again in cold water. While they are steaming, heat the oil and butter in a pan and let the ramps sweat. Put the steamed and bathed fiddleheads into the pan, turn up the heat to a simmer and add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and aji-min sparingly. The key is to highlight the fiddlehead’s taste - not mask it. When the fiddleheads have turned a deep green and are to satisfying doneness (5 - 10 minutes), add the ramp leaves until they are wilted. Salt and pepper to taste, transfer to a plate and serve!

Note: The CDC issued a warning about fiddlehead ferns after a 1994 outbreak of gastrointestinal maladies that was attributed to undercooked fiddlehead ferns. This has led some to advocate overcooking the fiddleheads, to which most fiddlehead lovers say, “sacrilege!” Tomato, tomahto. You can read about it here and decide for yourself.

Stinging Nettle Tea

While I can’t say this is delicious, I did feel healthier for drinking it. Many herbalists and naturopathic practitioners believe that it is a blood builder and cleanser, digestion aid and anti-inflammatory tonic. It is often used to treat arthritis and anemia, but France’s herbal medicine guide also indicates stinging nettle tea as a treatment for acne and eczema. Placebo or otherwise, I thought it was a worth a try!

Bring 1 Liter (4.25 cups) of filtered water to a boil in a saucepan. Once the boil is rolling, remove the saucepan from the burner and add one large bunch (about 2 cups) of stinging nettle. Allow the nettle to steep for 2-3 hours in the water and then strain the resultant tea into a glass jar or other non-reactive container.

I added some honey to mine, which I don’t recommend doing because the flavor is savory.

Notes: When handling the nettles, use tongs or wear gloves - the spiny thorns of the plant puncture your skin and release formic acid, which smarts.

The tea will last for a week in the fridge, but it is best to consume it all within a two day span to get the maximum health benefits.

Happy eating - enjoy these heralds of spring!

A day that’s supposed to celebrate Mexican patriotism, instead conjures up images of frat boys in factory-made sombreros, red, white, and green beads, drinking out of plastic margarita cups. All of this festive decor will find itself in the dumpster tomorrow. (And we had just finished getting rid of all the plastic Easter eggs and St. Patrick’s Day streamers.)

This year instead of wallowing in holiday cynicism, I decided to let it inspire me to create a great meal. Luckily, my neighborhood has dozens of small Mexican shops and produce stands, where the veggies are a steal. (I bought my supplies for this entire meal for under $10!)

I decided, rather than serving up some seitan, or veggie crumbles, which are taco staples in my vegan household, to go with something a bit more authentic and light: black bean tacos with mango salsa. Here’s my recipe:

For the salsa, chop up the following:

1 mango, peeled and pitted
1/2 cucumber, peeled and seeded
1/3 Cup red onion
1/2 Cup jicama
1/2 Cup red pepper
8 mint leaves (most people would use fresh cilantro, but I have an allergy to large quantities of it, and the mint works well.)
Also add: juice of one small lime, a few shakes of cayenne pepper, and salt. Combine all in a large bowl.

You’ll want to prepare the salsa ahead of time and let it chill in the fridge for an hour or so. I also pre-prepared some of my tomatillo sauce. You can find my sauce recipe here. (Full Gringo disclosure: this time around, I added 1/4 block of tofu, medium firmness, to make it a bit creamier.)

To prepare the beans, I just heated them up in a sauce pan and seasoned with a Mexican blend I have on hand. (Cumin, chili pepper, black pepper, onion or garlic powder would all be good in a blend if you want to make your own.)

I used two fresh corn tortillas per taco, for… structural support. I layered on some chopped lettuce and tomato, and then topped with a scoop of black beans, a spoonful of mango salsa, and then I squeezed on some tomatillo sauce. My husband and I gobbled up two tacos each, and were stuffed. We’ll have plenty leftover, so this recipe could easily serve 4.

In the meantime, we dress warm and console ourselves with purple and green asparagus, arugula, spring onions, herbs, lettuces and spinach.

Around the country, other markets are filled with spring’s freshest. Entries for this week’s Farmers Market Fare after the jump.

CSA

Lisa Spinelli presents The 100 Mile Diet | Greener Pastures: Personal Finance posted at Greener Pastures: Personal Finance, saying, “How a novice slowly comes to terms with eating locally.” The post includes a link to the 100 Mile Radius Finder for the USA and Canada.

Farmers

Sahara Reins presents What to do with Rooster Spurs posted at Fowl Visions.

Farmers Market

Sara Ost presents Seasonal Eating: Roasted Beets (Plus Seven Tasty Suggestions) posted at Eco Salon.

Joy Weese Moll presents How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Whole Chickens posted at The Spiral of Seasons.

valereee presents Sorrel soup posted at Cincinnati Locavore, saying, “Sorrel is in season now and available at the farmers’ markets!”

Jen at Modern Beet is making Quick Kohlrabi Pickles this week.

Manjula Jain presents Vegetable (Navratan) Korma posted at Manjula’s Kitchen.

Sarah presents Eating Well On Your Budget Vacation posted at The Eclectic Female. The post offers a reminder that it can be rewarding to look for local foods even when you are far from your home market.

Rose at A Little Bit of Green is serving “All Purpose Farmers Market Dip” this week. The recipe is for a delicious dip that can be served with almost any of the vegetables in season right now.

Thanks, everyone, for participating. You can share your eating local journey with us each week by submitting your post url on local food to farmerfare [at] gmail [dot] com. Or, you can submit at the tool on blog carnival.

As a quick snack for my pop-over friends, I made a modified Bahn Mi sandwich (you know, those incredibly complex Vietnamese sandwiches of liver pate, chicken and pork pieces, and pickled veggies between crusty slices of baguette).

To take the place of the liver pate, I used homemade hummus. The beat salad stood in for the usual daikon-and-carrot mixture. Instead of meat, I used some extra-firm, marinated tofu (a.k.a. the best tofu ever). The crusty baguette, veggies and tofu are all locally grown/made and picked up at the farmer’s market. Recipe after the jump:

Veggie Bahn Mi (for 4)

4 4-inch piece of fresh baguette, sliced horizontally

1 cup of hummus (recipe below)

1 cup of extra-firm marinated tofu pieces (see details below)

2 cup of pickled veggies (beet salad recipe here…just leave out the cheese and seeds and use rice wine vinegar in place of apple cider vinegar)

8 romaine lettuce leaves

Chili oil to taste

1. Heat baguette for ten minutes in a 250 degree oven. While it is heating, drain the pickling veggies and pan fry the marinated tofu.

2. Spread the prepared hummus on the top side of the baguette and place two romaine lettuce leaves on the bottom half.

3. Using tongs, shake the veggies free of their pickling juice and place them on the lettuce side of the baguette.

4. Remove the tofu and place on the pickled veggies

5. Drizzle some chili oil over the hummus and turn the hummus-ed side of the bread onto the bottom half to form a sandwich.

Cut in half and eat!

Tofu and Hummus:

On Tofu: If you can’t get your hands on Ying Ying Soy Foods (serious tofu geniuses), try to find another tofu that is made with Nigari instead of the synthetic coagulants found in most (even healthful) tofus. As a marinade, I usually stick to this base, improvising as I see fit.

• Soy Sauce
• Aji-Mirin
• Melted brown sugar in oil
• minced garlic
• Lemon juice (or rice wine vinegar)
• Red pepper flakes

On Hummus:

1 can chickpeas, drained (reserve some water)

1/4 cup chickpea water

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 Tb tahini

2 Tb roasted garlic

salt, pepper and cumin to taste

Chop top off of a head of garlic, drizzle with oil and bake at 450 F for 20-30 minutes. Take out and let cool.

Add all ingredients into food processor, including the roasted garlic, which should be gooey and squeezed out of its casing and blend until desired consistency is reached.

Filling and healthful!

(Photo not my own. It’s from excellent blog, foodite)

But just as awareness is growing about food issues in general, people all over the country are trying to change school food into something we actually WANT our children to eat. So far, these efforts are local, occurring mostly by school or district. But they show that change is possible, and provide some great inspiration to parents and others who want to make things better.

Farm to school programs are being started in many communities across the country. These programs connect schools to local farms. Their goals are multifaceted and ambitious. They try to serve healthier meals in cafeterias, improve student nutrition, educate kids about health and nutrition, and support local small farms. The national Farm to School web site is a great source of information about these efforts, and also serves as a registry for Farm to school programs. According to this web site, Farm to School programs have been started in an estimated 1,986 districts in 38 states. If you want to locate programs in your state or region, this is the best place to start.

The Community Food Security Coalition also has a great web site with resources for those interested in starting a Farm to School program. It has information, funding sources, and success stories.

Two other good sources of inspiration are www.betterschoolfood.org, an online community supporting efforts to improve school food in local communities, and The Center for Ecoliteracy’s Rethinking School Lunch project.

Some states are now getting involved in trying to promote healthier school lunches and promote local and organic foods in school cafeterias. The Illinois state Senate passed a ban on trans fats in school lunches recently. California has this restriction in place, and has some of the most far-reaching and ambitious programs anywhere, including Alice Water’s work with the Berkeley schools. Washington recently passed a bill to promote Washington-grown food in schools. And Oregon has hired a renowned chef to head up the State’s Farm to School efforts.

At this point, finding healthy school food that is sustainably grown, supports local farms, and is good to eat is still a rarity. Where it exists, it seems to depend mostly on a highly motivated, inspired person or group. But these people are growing in numbers and strength. Two angry moms have made a film about some of the worst elements of the National School Lunch Program, and the publicity it has generated is amazing. And, in small school districts with less red tape, wonderful things can happen. I know a woman who grows the most wonderful organic apples. She told me that when she has them, the Corvallis school district will buy her smallest apples, and the kids love them. That is the best thing I’ve heard about school lunches in a long time.

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

I tip my hat to the plate in the picture below - without it I likely wouldn’t have made cake with sweet little Purple Haze and Kinko carrots, making the best carrot cake ever thanks to the intense natural flavors of the farm fresh carrots grated right before I tossed them in the batter. I give the plate credit because looking at it sitting empty on my counter made me think of cake. With young carrots being one of the early birds to show up in the farmers market in spring, carrot cake makes a perfect seasonal dessert that a clever eater can justify as getting his or her daily dose of vitamin C.

Carrot cake’s nothing new or exciting for me, but I’ve usually “cheated” in the past by using the bagged shredded carrots from the supermarket since I’m a little lazy and usually pressed for time. I’ll not make that mistake again. If you haven’t tried getting local carrots to put in your cake, you’d be well advised to do so. The other key, of course, is the freshness of your spices. People, if you’re aren’t grating your own nutmeg by now, get yourself a microplane and see what you’re missing!

Let’s talk about the dried fruit and nut component of the traditional carrot cake recipe, shall we? The nuts, in my opinion, are easy. Skip them. This sentiment is just a personal preference. Please feel free to beg to differ, but that’s my two cents for what it’s worth. As for the dried fruit, most carrot cake recipes call for raisins. I’ve found that adding a more diverse selection of dried fruit makes for a richer mix of flavors - sweet raisins, tangy cranberries, tart cherries, and floral blueberries. Always give the dried fruit a quick soak in hot water while you mix up the rest of the ingredients before draining and adding to the batter. This soak plumps them up a bit and resorts some of their juicy flavors.

On a final note, I should warn you that this cake is prone to cause household fighting by times. D. and I both wanted the last piece and it wasn’t pretty…he got it in the end. Lucky for me, carrots are a root vegetable that’ll be around for several weeks in the spring and then again in the fall (not to mention they keep for awhile too), so I’ll have plenty of opportunities to make more of this extraordinary carrot cake.

EXTRAORDINARY CARROT CAKE
Adapted from The Metropolitan Bakery Cookbook

Cake

1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
2 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground allspice
1 t. freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 C. extra virgin olive oil
3/4 C. pear sauce (or apple sauce)
1 1/2 C. sugar
4 eggs
3 C. grated carrots
3/4 C. mixed dried fruit (mine were raisins, cranberries,and blueberries)
1 C. toasted pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)
2 T. hot water

Cream Cheese Icing

6 oz. cream cheese
3 T. butter
1 t. vanilla extract
1 C. confectioners’ sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 F and prepare a bundt pan with a good coat of nonstick baking spray. Set out the ingredients for the icing so they come to room temperature.

Sift together the flour, spices and baking powder and soda and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, pear sauce and sugar until everything is well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Slowly stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Do not over mix! Add the carrots, dried fruit and pecans (if using). Finally add the hot water.

Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake on the center oven rack for 45 minutes. Test with a skewer inserted into the center to see if it comes out clean. When the skewer is clean, remove cake from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

While the cake is cooling, make the icing by beating together the cream cheese and butter. Add the vanilla and beat again. Add half the confectioners’ sugar and stir slowly to start and then beat well to get rid of lumps. Taste the icing to determine if it’s sweet enough for you. If not, add more sugar until you’ve reached your desired sweetness.

When cake is completely cooled, remove from bundt pan and put on a nice plate. Spread icing over top and sides. Garnish with a very light dusting of cinnamon and a few chopped nuts if desired.

(serves 12 - or two if you’re at my house)

The publication profiles several weddings every year. I highly recommend picking up a copy (because I also love their recipes and features.) If you can’t find it at your newsstand, here’s a scan of the article where I’m featured.

I’m not just posting this to brag (but seriously, squeeeeee!). I also wanted to point you towards some green catering resources. Whether you’re planning a wedding, a fundraiser, or any other special event, we all know that large groups of people can create a lot of waste. So choosing caterers who specialize in local, organic food is one way to lower your event’s carbon footprint.

When shopping around, we were excited to find just that type of service with our caterers, Back to Earth located in Berkeley, CA. In addition to our buffet dinner, they made our fabulous cake pictured here (flowers, courtesy of Oak Hill Farm). While our menu was all vegan, they work with all kinds of menus. From their website:

“You can taste every element of our food - the organic free-range chicken roaming free in Marin, perfect strawberries from Fully Belly Farm, the fresh spring greens from Riverdog Farm in Mendocino, Wild Salmon caught just miles from the San Francisco Bay, juicy portobellos from Solano Mushroom, artisan organic cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery, and a rustic fresh baked organic bread from the Acme bakery, a local Berkeley treasure.”

Not only is their food spectacular, but a number of the vehicles they use for transportation run on biodiesel, and they can help you “green” a number of aspects of your event.

Some other catering companies I’ve found from across the U.S. with a commitment to the environment include:

Seedling Catering in Los Angeles focuses on vegan and macrobiotic menus.

Gail’s Vegetarian Catering in Washington, D.C. does a variety of events, but specializes in vegetarian weddings.

Eco-Goddess Edibles in Aspen, CO bills itself as “organic vegetarian cuisine” although their sample menus featured a number of fish dishes.

Phresh Organic Catering in Portland, OR caters to a more omnivorous crowd, and features a “commitment to sustainability” on its website.

Chowgirls in Minneapolis, MN has an adorable website, and puts a unique spin of things, with a section of “Retro Fare” on their diverse menu.

Pharm Catering in Chatanooga, TN was a bit light on the veggie options, but specializes on organic, local foods.

Herban Feast in Seattle, WA was my favorite of the caterers I looked at in Seattle, which has a number to choose from! Also worth a look is Ravishing Radish.

Lucid Food in New York, NY seems to have primarily done large upscale events, but also does corporate lunches.

There are dozens more in the Bay Area, and plenty more around the world. I’d love to hear your recommendations if you know of any. In the mean time, I’m going back to drooling over pictures of my vegan chocolate wedding cake… mmmm…

Photo by Donya Photography

When one stands before a hive of bees, one should say quite solemnly to oneself, ‘By way of the hive the whole cosmos enters man and makes him strong and able’

Rudolf Steiner

What is Happening to Our Honey Bees?
I have been fortunate enough to make friends with my local ‘bee lady’, Landi Simone of Gooserock Farm in Montville, NJ. Her place is magical and represents to me a sustainable lifestyle that is in harmony with nature. The flowers all around are of course amazing. She has helped to educate me and countless others about what is happening with the honey bees.

There has been a lot of concern for continued decline in honey bee populations. The Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) Survey found the colony losses continue and the effects of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) have not abated. There was a 14% loss over the last year and this represents an unsustainable trend.

A little perspective on how important honey bees are: According to the AIA, Honey bees in the US are responsible for pollinating more than 100 different crops worth $15 billion annually.

“It’s disheartening to have to report that the honey bee colonies continue to die at unsustainable levels,” said AIA president and Häagen-Dazs® Ice Cream Bee Board member Dennis vanEngelsdorp. “At least 70 percent of all colony deaths can be attributed to non-CCD causes, underlying the need for research, not only into CCD, but into pollinator health in general.”

AHHHHHH - don’t mess with my Haagen-Daz!!!!

What We Can Do to Help Honey Bees
I’m loving my Haagen-Daz even more now, because they are getting very involved in supporting research and assisting in various ways to help promote growth among the honey bee population. They have a very cool website dedicated to helping the honey bees that is a wonderful tool for learning more about how you can help, but most importantly, it is a fun site that has a marvelous audio component that sounds as if you are in a meadow with the bees. I have been leaving it on in my office during the day and it has an amazing soothing quality.

One of the things Haagen-Daz among others are suggesting we can do is to start planting bee-friendly plants. Landi said that while it does help if we plant some additional flowers in our gardens and let the dandelions grow freely (bees aparently love these), the bees need help on a much larger scale. She suggests that we need to get more bee-friendly trees, such as Linden or Black Locust trees, planted and that landscape architects and city planners needed to start to use more of these and less of some of the more popular ones, such as Bradford Pear, which are lovely, but don’t help the honey bees at all. The DailyGreen has a wonderful list of bee-friendly flowers, shrubs and trees for anyone interested.

Honey: Important Health & Healing Aid
Aside from being a vital part of our agricultural system, honey bees are the producers of one of the original wonderful tasty, nutritional and healing products ever discovered - honey, of course.

These industrious and productive little fellows work hard to bring us a substance that has been touted for its healing qualities for centuries. The ancient Egyptians used honey as an embalming material and treated cuts and burns with it. The Greek physician Hippocrates cured skin disorders with honey, and the Romans cleaned wounds with it. Even as recently as World War I, doctors treated wounds with honey. With the advent of antibiotics, honey fell out of use for its healing properties, but scientific research is now rediscovering honey’s natural healing power.

Medical science is coming back around and there are numerous studies now showing how effective honey is in wound care in particular. Once ScienceDaily report, Healing Honey: The Sweet Evidence Revealed is worth a quick read.

Another great article on NaturalNews.com has an extensive list of the various ailments and health problems honey has been known to help with, including: anemia, osteoperosis, stress, conjunctivitis, burns and quite a few others.

A Case of Mistaken Identity
It is important to learn to recognize a honey bee and be able to distinguish her from a yellow jacket, bumblebee or other insect. People frequently refer to yellow jackets as ‘bees’ when they’re actually a species of wasp. This particular case of mistaken identity causes a lot of problems. Yellow jackets are highly defensive insects and are involved in a multitude of unpleasant human-bug encounters. Honey bees get blamed for the stings of their ornery cousins. In truth, unless a person lives near a beekeeper, there’s a good chance they’ve never even seen a honey bee; they’ve become that rare. Here’s the wikipedia page on honey bees.

Ah, the Sweet Nectar of the Gods
Of course, one cannot talk (or write) about honey and not discuss its delicious qualities. There are so many wonderful recipes out there. As it turns out the the National Honey Board has a section of their website devoted to honey recipes!

I learned that local honey can help in combating pollen-related allergies, so I drink raw honey from Landi’s bees every morning with hot lemon water and it seems to keep the allergies away!

Please send along any great honey recipes, honey bee stories, or honey healing stories.

And, don’t forget to be grateful to our busy little friends, educate yourself about the crisis and do what you can to help - hey, having a great excuse to not fight with the deandelions or plant more flowers isn’t so hard!

But I’m forever reformed and now proudly flaunt my Midwest roots after bonding with The Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook: Local Food, Local Restaurants, Local Recipes. A new release from Renewing the Countryside, a Minnesota-based non-profit organization that champions the positive stories of rural revitalization, this photography rich book is a love song for local food. Through narrating the stories of 31 of Minnesota’s chefs and restaurants, the Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook offers 100 recipes that celebrate locally grown, organic and sustainable cookery.

The passion these chefs - and the farmers they work with - sings throughout the pages of this book. I want to hang out with these people, share some Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler over a lingering pot of coffee. We’re part of the same tribe, share the same love for fresh food and go nuts over the first greens of spring. There’s no celebrity aura of cheekiness in these pages, just smiling faces next to fresh food prepared with real ingredients by people who love what they do.

“The chefs and growers featured in the Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook support local agriculture because its the right thing to do for both flavor and future generations, ” explains Jan Joannides, founder and executive director of Renewing the Countryside and one of the visionaries behind this book. “They’re not jumping on some hip, green marketing bandwagon. These are the principles and values by which they have always led their lives and businesses. We hope these stories, along with the delicious recipes, help inspire others to follow these Minnesota culinary leaders.”

The leaders portrayed in the Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook may span the state geographically, yet they share common values that can serve as mantras in our own kitchens and approach to food:

• Don’t be fanatical — explore your options.

No one is suggesting you give up your morning coffee or daily chocolate fix and go hardcore local. But as lauded in the book’s introduction, do “protest a little when someone tries to sell you an apple from New Zealand in October. French and California wines are great, but try one of the new Minnesota wines . . . this isn’t about being fanatical but rather about using common sense - the sense that tells you when something tastes good and is good for you and your community.”

• Embrace authentic specials

In our 24/7 world where we can eat just about anything anytime, too often we give up flavor and taste for bland, average food. In reality, the food chain runs on its own schedule, not ours. When foods are in season and available, relish and savor the experience. The owners of the Angry Trout Cafe in Grand Marais, Minnesota, dedicate the restaurant to sustainable operations, while showcasing local fish, produce and even microbrews. Fresh whitefish only comes from members of the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, the only commercial fishermen who can fish for whitefish in Lake Superior. “If you ever see fresh whitefish on the specials board, order it right away because it won’t be there very long,” owner George Wilkes advises.

• Share the local love

Passionate about food, these chefs want customers to cook with local ingredients in their own homes. If a customer likes a certain menu item, the restaurants can help direct them to finding their own local products. This happens all the time at Chez Jude, a restaurant also in Grand Marais. “Last week I made a pumpkin and apple soup that used maple syrup,” writes chef Judi Barsness in the book. “I was able to tell people where to find the sugar pumpkins, Haralson apples and Caribou Cream maple syrup.”

In celebration of spring fruits, here’s a tasty treat that’s a menu favorite at the Birchwood Cafe in Minneapolis, showcasing the flavors of local strawberries, rhubarb, cornmeal and butter:

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Filling

3 pints strawberries, quartered

2 1/4 lb. rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 big pinch nutmeg

Toss fruit into cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pout into 9×13-inch greased pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly around the edges and juices are thickened and clear. Prepare topping while fruit is baking.

Topping

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup yellow ground cornmeal

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup heavy cream

Combine dry ingredients. Add butter and cut in until the mixture has the consistency of coarse sand. Gradually add cream until dough pulls together. Break off pieces and spread evenly over fruit. Return to oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.

Serves 8 - 10

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

I know that my timing might seem a little off for writing a post about soup in April when most folks are soup-happy in November.  But the way I see it, there are still plenty of reasons to talk about soup right now.  For starters, spring colds are common, at least at my house.   There are still some root vegetables languishing away, desperate to be used up before the onslaught of spring veggies.  However, that onslaught hasn’t come just yet so there’s all the more reason to use up the winter stores.   And finally, as the garden gets churning away again in the new season, it’s good to have soup at the back of your mind; I find it’s a good way to use up the bounty to freeze for winter. 

So, all that being said, let’s talk about the basic principles behind soup making.  I’ll be so bold as to call this a “blueprint” and promise you that you’ll be able to make just about any soup your little heart desires without so much as a recipe clipping or blog post print-out (excpet this one, of course; you’ll need this one).

The Blueprint
1. Heat your fat (oil or butter or lard) in a large soup pot
2. Sauté any combination of garlic and onions
3. Add pinches of salt and pepper with each addition of ingredients in order to build your flavor
4. Add any combination of vegetables and continue sautéing
5. Add your dried herbs and spices and continue sautéing
6. Add your stock, at least enough to let the vegetables swim freely
7. Bring to a boil
8. If you want any pastas or grains, add them now.
9. Reduce to a simmer and cook until everything’s soft and happy – usually about 30 minutes
10. Add fresh herbs during the last ten minutes of cooking
11. Blend if you want a smooth soup and/or add cream if you want
12. Taste and season with more salt and pepper
13. Taste again!
14. If you wanted meat in there somewhere, depending on if it’s cooked or raw, add it in either step two (to brown beef), six (to cook chicken), or ten (for cooked anything)

With this blueprint in hand, you can make up a soup just like I did in the recipe below.  It’s something I totally made up as I went along, scouring the cupboards for whatever seemed fair game in the soup making business. 

Now tell me, what are some of the concoctions you think you’ll try, or have you already made up any soups on your own that you find particularly outstanding? 

Herbed Tofu and Vegetable Soup

2 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 small onions, chopped
1 c. chopped carrots
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 c. diced tomatoes (I used canned)
2 t. dried marjoram
1 t. dried oregano
1 T. frozen basil puree or 2 T. fresh chopped
4 c. vegetable stock
1 c. small noodles or other pasta
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, finely minced
1 package of extra firm tofu, drained and diced
1 large scallion, sliced thin
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large heavy sauce or soup pot over medium heat.  Add the garlic and onion.  Stir and add a pinch of salt.  Keep an eye on the onion and garlic while you chop the carrots and celery; when onion is translucent and garlic is browned, add the carrot and celery.  Stir and add a pinch of pepper this time.  Saute vegetables for about four minutes until they are beginning to soften.  Add the diced tomatoes, oregano, marjoram and basil (if using frozen, otherwise save any fresh herbs for later in the process), stir and cook for another minute or two.  Add another pinch of salt and pepper.

Add vegetable stock, raise heat and bring soup to a boil.  Add pasta and turn down heat to medium again.  After pasta begins to soften up (about 2 minutes), add the tofu, white parts of the scallion, and rosemary (if using fresh basil, add now too).  Allow soup to simmer for about 10 minutes so the flavors meld.  Taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed.   Serve garnished with the green slices of scallion.

(serves 3-4)

I have to admit that my 3rd grader doesn’t eat school lunches. She has tried what the kids call “hot lunch” exactly 3 times in her entire public school career. She doesn’t like them. At all. Every morning, I fix her lunch, and although I sometimes grumble a little, I am glad to get to choose what she can eat for her midday meal.

But lately, I have been thinking a lot about those hot lunches. For one thing, they feed a lot of children. Many of my daughter’s friends eat them frequently or always. In 2006, more than 30 million children in the U.S. each day ate school lunches. And the school lunch program has been all over the news lately. From downer cows that end up in our kids’ lunches to efforts in districts across the country to combat obesity and bad eating habits in school cafeterias, school lunches seem to be a metaphor for all the bigger issues about food in America today.

Depending on who you talk to, school lunches might be described as anything from a program that nourishes our kids and provides a safety net for poor children to a dumping ground for surplus commodities that promotes childhood obesity, poor health, and lifelong addictions to fast food. I’ve been wanting to write about this since the start of Eat.Drink.Better., but its been hard to know where to start.

Last Sunday, I went to a Forum titled “What’s for Lunch?” about school lunches and farm-to-school programs, which I hoped would clarify things. What it clarified was this: school lunch programs vary by school, district, and state. The federal program does affect what your child is likely to be offered at school, but there are a lot of other factors too. Every evil and inspiring story about food imaginable you can probably find somewhere in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The thing that really struck me was this: school lunches are a reflection of our society, and our society’s relationship to food. And right now, that relationship is kind of crazy.

So this is the first of several posts on the national school lunch program, explaining some of what I’ve learned about how we feed our kids in school at lunch time, and why.

Today, some basic facts:

The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program which provides “nutritionally balanced” low cost or free lunches. School districts that participate get cash subsidies and donated commodities from the USDA for each meal they serve. They must offer free or reduced price lunches to eligible children. And they must meet federal nutritional guidelines (two sets) that, according to some, make it difficult to provide healthy affordable meals.

Who qualifies for free or reduced price meals? Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the poverty level qualify for free meals. Those with incomes between 130 percent and 185 percent qualify for reduced price meals, which can cost them no more than 40 cents. (This information comes from the Pennsylvania Department of Education fact sheet on the school lunch program.) In Oregon, where I live, 53% of children in public schools qualify for free or reduced price meals. The other 47% may buy the meals for full price. At my daughter’s school, full price lunches cost $1.75.

How much money do schools get from the USDA per child? If the food served to our children is low quality, a major reason is cost. Here is what the federal government gives schools per meal: $2.47 per free lunch, $2.07 per reduced price lunch, and .23 cents per paid lunch.

Beyond these basic facts, the program varies by state and district. Many parents across the country have protested the poor quality of the food in the NSLP, and many have been working for healthier, tastier, fresher food in school lunches. Next time I’ll focus on some examples of inspiring efforts to improve school lunches, including state legislation, farm-to-school projects, school gardens, and chefs taking over as school lunch coordinators.

The farmers’ market season may not yet be in full swing so we don’t see — nor appreciate — the flurry of farm activity going on across the country as growers get ready to keep us freshly stocked all summer. But Bradbury, a fledgling Oregon farmer starting her growing venture this season, along with thousands of small-scale, family farmers across the country, have been putting in long work days for weeks.

At busy times like these, a farmer needs fast food. “After a twelve hour day in the field, my body needs good food fast to refuel,” Bradbury says with a smile. Twenty-eight year old Bradbury exemplifies the vibrant spirit of a new generation of young farmers leading the sustainable agriculture movement nationwide. “Yes, farming is a physically exhausting profession, but it’s also incredibly satisfying. After a twelve hour day in the fields, I still usually come into the house with a grin on my face.”

Replanting roots on the family farm where she grew up, Bradbury now farms in cooperative partnership with her mother and sister, each responsible for different crops that they sell to restaurants and loyal customers in the local area. “At the end of the day my body may feel tired, but my soul is satisfied and nourished. I draw enormous energy from being surrounded by these hills, the rush of Floras Creek cutting through the valley, the fresh coastal air,” adds Bradbury.

Bradbury and her family especially prioritize eating well during the spring season. “It’s important to take good care of your body this time of year,” adds Bradbury. “If we start letting our bodies get run down now, we’re never going to have the energy to make it through the season ahead.” In addition to farming duties, Bradbury also serves as a Food and Society Policy Fellow through which she writes and advocates for healthy food systems and provides a voice for young farmers. Share her farming journey through her “Diary of a Young Farmer” blog through Edible Portland.

Here’s some tips from Bradbury for quick healthy menu staples when time is short and appetites run high:

• Create a hearty quesadilla

“We live on quesadillas this time of year,” confesses Bradbury. To make a filling meal between two grilled tortillas, Bradbury adds scrambled eggs for protein and shredded cabbage for a cowl slaw inspired crunch.

• Super-size your salad

Bradbury’s sister Abby specializes in greenhouse salad greens, so there’s an abundance of lettuce mixes to eat. “Sometimes we need a bit more bulk in our salad so we’ll jazz it up with feta cheese, nuts or local dried cranberries,” notes Bradbury. The self-appointed family salad dressing queen, Bradbury keeps the pantry stocked with the basic staples to make a daily batch of fresh dressing: olive oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar, tahini, tamari and ginger (either fresh or powdered). “I generally use a three to one oil to vinegar ratio as a base, then add a splash of something else for flavor, depending on what I’m in the mood for. Maple syrup will add a sweet touch and mayonnaise gives dressings a creamy base.”

• Freeze single portions

Think convenience food without the packaging and processing. “My mom makes a big batch of homemade refried beans, then freezes them in individual servings,” Bradbury explains. “Each tin makes one burrito-sized serving, which we can quickly defrost whenever we need fast fuel.”

• Cook in bulk

“When we do cook more of a main dish this time of year, we make sure leftovers can last for several days,” sums up Bradbury. Chicken Tamale Pie ranks a farm favorite in this category, something Bradbury might cook for a Sunday dinner and have hearty leftovers for the week.

Groundswell Farm’s Chicken Tamale Pie

Ingredients
4 cups (1 quart) chopped fresh ripe tomatoes, or 1 can (28 oz)
Italian style plum tomatoes, with their juices
1 can (16 ounces) cream-style corn
3 to 4 teaspoons salt
1 medium sized onion, chopped
½ cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons chili powder, or to taste
1 cup milk
½ cup yellow cornmeal
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup pitted ripe olives
2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Olive oil for drizzling

Directions
• Combine tomatoes, corn, salt, onion, olive oil and chili powder in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes.

• In a mixing bowl, stir together the milk, cornmeal, and eggs; add the tomato mixture and cook, stirring constantly to prevent scorching, until thick, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the olives and chicken.

Pour mixture into a lightly greased shallow oven-proof dish. Top with the cheeses. Drizzle with oil, and bake at 350 degrees until the pie is firm and the cheese is crusty, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve piping hot. Serves 6

Then my mom bought me Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert’s Simply in Season for Christmas this year. The concept seemed so logical, I couldn’t believe I didn’t already posses a cookbook organized by season. In fact, there are a few other seasonally-organized cookbooks, but my mom picked this up while they were on vacation this summer, knowing it would be right up my alley. She was right. This vegetarian/vegan-friendly tome is packed with recipes that are easy enough for most home cooks, even beginners, and look (and taste!) downright tasty. Right now, I’m planning both the Lemon Asparagus pasta and the Spring Quiche Trio for upcoming meals, and I’m positively salivating for June’s strawberries, so I can make the Strawberry Brunch Souffle

Simply in Season is more than just a collection of recipes. It’s a wonderful starting point for anyone looking to eat more slow foods or cook using local, seasonal produce, and a reliable reference for more experienced cooks. The book has extensive informative section on various fruits and vegetables, their uses, nutrients, storage methods, and preparation suggestions. Each season’s section (including the “all seasons” section, contains recipes for every course, and most of the recipe pages contain blurbs at the end of each page–cooking tips, information on agriculture, poetry, or interesting quotes on food. These added touches–the above and beyond the recipes–make this book one of my favorites on the shelf. My very favorite of these touches is the “Invitation to Action” at the end of each season–action to eat in a more healthful, sustainable way and convince others to do the same.

Simply In Season is commissioned by the Mennonite Central Committee, retails for $20.99,and can be purchased at the MCC’s website.