Little Clover Salad

Late Spring Is {So} Exciting

Right now I'm munching on some strawberries. That is one reason why late spring is exciting. Who doesn't love strawberries? And a fresh, ripe local strawberry is like the queen of strawberries. Those giant ones you see in all grocery stores year round can't compare, they aren't even the same thing. And that is most likely because they aren't local, and they need to be picked before their delicious fibers have fully ripened to peak edibility. 

A little snippet about the science of ripening:

"The way fruits ripen is that there is commonly a ripening signal...a burst of ethylene production. Ethylene is a simple hydrocarbon gas (H₂C=CH₂) that ripening fruits make and shed into the atmosphere. Sometimes a wound will cause rapid ethylene production...thus picking a fruit will sometimes signal it to ripen...as will an infection of bacteria or fungi on the fruit. This ethylene signal causes developmental changes that result in fruit ripening.

New enzymes are made because of the ethylene signal. These include hydrolases to help break down chemicals inside the fruits, amylases to accelerate hydrolysis of starch into sugar, pectinases to catalyze degradation of pectin (the glue between cells), and so on. Ethylene apparently "turns on" the genes that are then transcribed and translated to make these enzymes. The enzymes then catalyze reactions to alter the characteristics of the fruit.

The action of the enzymes cause the ripening responses. Chlorophyll is broken down and sometimes new pigments are made so that the fruit skin changes color from green to red, yellow, or blue. Acids are broken down so that the fruit changes from sour to neutral. The degradation of starch by amylase produces sugar. This reduces the mealy (floury) quality and increases juiciness (by osmosis, a process we will study later). The breakdown of pectin, thanks to pectinase, between the fruit cells unglues them so they can slip past each other. That results in a softer fruit...at an extreme, pectin losses may make a fruit "pithy". Also enzymes break down large organic molecules into smaller ones that can be volatile (evaporate into the air) and we can detect as an aroma."

-Ross Koning, 'Plant Physiology Information Website'

So nice, juicy ripe fruits are one reason that I love spring. But the point of this post is not to gush on and on about how amazing fruits and vegetables are and talk about the chemical changes that make them so wonderful. Although if I can ever find a talk I heard on OPB a couple years ago on the subject that talked about it in a way that was... like syrupy ear candy... we can talk about this further.

But yes, LATE SPRING.

It is the greatest, because we just came out of winter with a sad bundle of root veggies... to early spring with tender greens that arrived just in time. After a couple weeks, the tender greens are alright, but the weather is warming up, it feels more like summer, and I start looking towards summer with greedy eyes.

And just in time, strawberries, asparagus, zucchini, and an assortment of herbs make their appearance known. See, the problem with winter is that all the veggies need to be cooked for a long time. Spring, the leafy veggies are great but they are so delicate, and I'm afraid to do more than gently saute them if anything.

But late spring, oh boy. Here come delicate fruits and berries that are just as tasty baked as they are raw, and veggies that can take a light saute or something as heavy as being baked or grilled. This is multi-use produce here.

Some things to expect soon:

 

-Strawberry and spinach salad.

-Grilled asparagus. Baked asparagus. Asparagus tacos.

-Spring ratatouille. 

 

And trust me, as soon as there is something new at the farmer's market, YOU WILL KNOW. Also, morels are in season but they are so beautiful and perfect and amazing and expensive, and I'm scared that I'll buy them and not know what to do with them and end up making something mediocre. We shall see...

 

 

Little Taco Salad Bowls

Ever since we got fresh masa a week ago we've been having tacos and tortillas non-stop it seems. Corn tortillas turn out to be really good with veggie stew spiced with chipotle, and due to their ability to puff up when heated, tortilla-pockets. We ate them like tacos, we ate them like tostadas, we ate them rolled up, and flat.

Of course making mini taco bowls would be the next logical step.

This recipe is really fun, really simple, and super customizable.

Little Taco Salad Bowls

Ingredients:

• Fresh corn masa (substitute with: dough made from dry corn masa, or premade tortillas)
• Optional filling: Avocado
• Veggie mix: radishes, red onion, cucumber, cilantro, rice vinegar
• Seasoned beans
• Salsa

Tools: Tortilla press (if using masa, not premade tortillas), muffin tin.

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

Cover tortilla press with wax paper or plastic wrap. Roll a egg-sized piece of dough, place it in the center, and press down to flatten.

Heat tortillas in dry pan on both sides until sides of tortillas curl up slightly.

Optional: grease muffin tin.
Press tortilla down into muffin tin.

Place in oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until edges are crisp and hold their form.

Slice up radishes, onions, cucumbers, and cilantro. Add 1-2 tbsp rice vinegar and mix.

Wiggle a butter knife or spoon around the edge of shells and nudge them out gently. Angle the knife/spoon underneath shells to lightly pry the bottom of the shells off of pan without breaking them.

 

 

 

On Personal Responsibility & Food

 

Today I want to talk about an issue that is often left out of discussions about food: the flaws within the argument on personal responsibility. This narrative can be found in many arenas, from food industry lobbyists and special interest groups, to the articles by food activists proclaiming the need for individuals to take action (buy local, buy organic), and doctors, nutritionists, diet gurus, and food bloggers who characterize health problems and obesity as an issue that individuals are directly in control of and a moral issue at that.

The flaw of personal responsibility is that it is aimed at the average consumer and often ignores other influencial factors such as socioeconomic status, governmental policies, and the realm of business.

The Myth Of Voting Through Dollars

 Voting with dollars has become a very popular slogan in response to increased awareness of corrupt business practices. For those who have the privilege of a stable income that covers basic needs and allows for extra spending afterwards, this is something that is do-able. It feels very good to know that you aren't contributing to these corrupt systems personally. Certainly this is a nuanced issue, where if you have the money to buy something ethically and sustainably sourced, you should by all means do so rather than monetarily supporting companies that do not value human and natural capital.

However, a great portion of the population of the United States and an even greater portion of the world's population cannot easily make these same decisions. Food from unethical sources is substantially cheaper due to subsidies for corn, soy, sugar, and so on. It is substantially cheaper due to the use of an exploited labor force that gets paid very little. It is substantially cheaper because of free trade regulations that make it illegal for WTO member countries to pass protective legislation that is seen as a barrier to trade (which is basically every social and environmental law that is brought to the WTO). 

Because this food is cheaper, those who are low income, often the same populations that are being exploited, often have no choice but to be consumers of products that involve exploitation.

A Matter Of Sacrifice 

 

Everyone is likely familiar with being in a position of having to make sacrifices monetarily regardless of socioeconomic status. Our economy is built on a complex system of perpetual debt, credit, and loans as economies have since their humble beginnings. Even those who are rich must occasionally take out loans and owe debts to another, perhaps when in a stage of making a business deal or starting a new project. For middle income and lower income people, sacrifices are slightly different however.

Someone who fits into a middle class income bracket may still have an insurmountable amount of debt from mortgages, car loans, medical bills, or student loans. To a certain point, those in lower income and middle income brackets both must worry about making difficult sacrifices monetarily that have very real and uncomfortable consequences. The consequences are definitely more dire for those who cannot even cover their basic needs and live month-to-month trying to have a house to live in and avoid starvation. Whether you're worrying about keeping the roof over your head or your tuition bills from going to the collections agencies, these situations are there for the majority of Americans now and it's unfair to tell people in this situation that all the world's problems would be saved if they stopped focusing on staving off these personal crises by focusing on using their money to 'vote'. 

 

If Not Individuals, Then Who?

 

So you might be wondering how exactly are we supposed to tackle these huge issues if not for personal responsibility. At first realizing that not everyone has the same privilege and oppourtunities may make you feel like we're all pretty powerless. And this is where something beautiful emerges.


We are strong together (a sentiment so real it's adopted by advocates for co-ops). We are strong together as co-op co-owners. We are strong together as advocacy groups. We are strong together as activists. We are strong together in our communities. 

We can form groups to help our peers. We can ask our neighbors how they are doing and ask them if they need help. We can lend a hand to friends and family. We can join the many already existing organizations that make healthy food more accessible to communities, like emergency food banks, community gardens, and kitchens providing free meals or if our communities are lacking in these sorts of groups we can create them. 

Community responsibility.

Likewise, governments and businesses need to be held accountable for the impact of their practices. We must work to dispell the myths that allow for the creation of laws that put the burden on those who are helpless rather than than lifting it from their shoulders. Governments and businesses are filled with people, and those people are our neighbors. Those people are our peers. They are not exempt from the duty of community responsibility regardless of whether or not the people they wish to associate live in mansions in the hills whose windows look down upon the rest of the city filled with those of less privilege. 

Those in government and those in business are stronger together as well. They have strength in numbers and strength in money. But these people do not live in a bubble. Their lives are interconnected to the lives of people worldwide and everything that they own and everything they gain is in some part due to another person. 

A government policy or a change in a business practice can make a large change much faster than the general public can. Businesses produce more waste than the average consumer, businesses control the amount of waste the average consumer wastes, businesses control how much CEOs get paid and how much farmworkers are paid, businesses control how sustainable their practices are and the sustainbility of businesses has a larger effect than that of an individual consumer because there is a lot more waste initially. Our government helps determine what businesses succeed and which ones fail. Our government helps pass regulations that keep businesses from adopting fully self-maximizing practices that disregard the experiences of all others. 

This is where things get complicated and go beyond voting for politicians. This requires a complex system of whisteblowing, consumer advocacy, petitions, strikes, direct actions, boycotts, drafting bills and referendums, independant journalism, and many other tools in the activist toolbelt. Exactly what method someone chooses is up to their own personal preference and ability. However, it is important to say this, that in order for larger change to happen there needs to be a focus on the responsibility of governments and businesses instead of the personal responsibility of the average person.

 

Curry-Spiced Cauliflower Casserole

Curry-Spiced Cauliflower Casserole

Ingredients:

Cauliflower Topping:

• 1 head cauliflower
• 1/2 can full fat coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp red curry paste
• 1 tbsp curry powder

Filling:

• 1 kohlrabi, diced
• Kohlrabi greens, shredded (if your kohlrabi doesn't have greens or you are substituting another vegetable, feel free to use kale or collard greens instead)
• 1/2 large onion
• 1 tbsp curry powder

Additional: salt, pepper, as desired.

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Steam cauliflower until soft.

While cauliflower is steaming, heat a pot and then add chopped onion, saute with a couple tbsp water. Add water when pot becomes dry and stir often for 5-10 minutes. When onion becomes translucent and sweetly fragrant, add in chopped kohlrabi and curry powder. Stir. 

In this recipe I tried to use less oil since there would be plenty of fats from the coconut milk. When cooking vegetables in water, make sure not to add to much. A few tbsp should be good. The vegetables will break down and their juices will help cook them. All you need to do is keep adding a little water and stir every now and then to make sure the vegetables are not sticking.

Cook for 10 more minutes then remove from heat. 

Mash cauliflower with a fork. When cauliflower is mashed well, add in coconut milk. Mix well. Add in curry paste and curry powder and stir.

Mix kohlrabi greens in with onion and kohlrabi mixture. Spread into baking dish and flatten evenly. Layer cauliflower on top like you would brownie batter (spread evenly and flatten). 

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for 30 minutes or until filling underneath bubbles up on the side and the top has browned. Remove from oven, let cool 15 minutes, and serve.

 

Farmer's Market Post: Seventies and Sun

Fall and spring are my favorite seasons because the weather is usually the most mild then. No blistering heat or cold. Gentle sunlight, gentle breeze. 

The farmer's market was bustling full of people today and there were mini-pedestrian traffic jams all over and all sorts of rubbernecking going on. I had thought about bringing my camera before I left to post pictures of the actual farmer's market for once, but when I got there I was glad that I had decided to leave it at home. 

This week we focused on only buying produce and nothing premade and fancy. I got drip coffee for $1.75 instead of a latte, and we got some baked goods at the end when we had $6 left. 

Groundworks Farm's booth was especially busy with a long line stretching out into the walkways presumably for their fresh and fragrant strawberries. I saw what I thought were zucchinis and ran over to get them while Tyler stood in line with some other produce but they turned out to be cucumbers which was just as great. When we left the stall I realized there were actually zucchinis too but dreaded getting in line again. I'll just have to be patient for zucchini to come into season at more farms, but it was really exciting to know that it's getting to be that time. 

Spring!

A type of black mushroom, really tasty raw. Has kind of a spiced flavor to it.

Tender baby tatsoi.

Microgreens.

Asian salad greens mix. Not sure what the individual types of greens these are.

Ramps, AKA Wild Leeks. 

These leeks looked so funny. They're so pointy, short, and squat. I picked out a small one that would fit in the fridge but I was really tempted to get one that was really wide, really short, and dare I say.. voluptuous. It was hilarious..

Fresh corn masa! We've made corn tortillas with powdered masa from the store before but never fresh masa. Three Sisters Nixtamal is a new stall that is at the Saturday Farmer's Market and the Wednesday one at People's Co-op. Tortillas made from this amazing dough are heavenly and I don't think we can ever go back to not using fresh corn masa. 






These spring onions were so big! They're longer than my forearm and about the size of my calves!

A humble kohlrabi and a bag full of sunchokes. Sunchokes are prebiotics (and so is chicory root and dandelion root which is often used as a coffee replacer).
"A prebiotic is a selectively fermented ingredient that allows specific changes, both in the composition and/or activity in the gastrointestinal microflora that confers benefits upon host well-being and health" 
Prebiotics along with probiotics are important parts to healthy nutrition for pretty much anyone regardless of their particular diet. Our bodies are composed mostly out of bacteria and eating the right kinds of foods can give healthy bacteria a boost and help them do great things for your body :).


 
Walnut levain from Pearl Bakery. Their breads are like works of art with the browned crust dotted with bubbles and the pretty scoring. Almost too pretty to eat.. almost.


Coffee in my glass mug. Food Action Collective represent. :D 

Slow Cooker Spiced Carrot Oatmeals

Last night I made myself a present. I dumped a few ingredients in a slow cooker and then spent about 2 minutes tops to clean up after the prep before I went to sleep.


 
I woke up a little more than 7 hours later. I remembered that I had a present waiting for me.

There was a sweet spiced smell in the kitchen. The slow cooker glowed in the dim light of dawn. I heard a faint bubbling. 

I opened the lid and the most heavenly scent ever wafted up into my face.

 



This slow cooker oatmeal was the best present that past Heather could have ever made for future Heather. The flavor of this oatmeal is so complex from cooking for so long. This is probably one of the greatest breakfasts I've ever eaten.

Slow Cooker Spiced Carrot Oatmeals

Ingredients:

• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 4 cups coconut milk/almond milk (unsweetened)
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 1 tsp cardamom
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• extras: trail mix topping, pistachios, raisins, maple syrup, extra milk (add after cooked)

Directions:

Add steel cut oats, coconut milk, shredded carrot, cardamom, and cinnamon to a crock pot. Set on low heat, cover, and let cook for 7-8 hours. 

7-8 hours later, stir well and serve. Add in whatever toppings you want (I used a little coconut milk, a couple tbsp maple syrup, and a handful of trail mix).


Recipe from  http://fatfreevegan.com/blog/2011/02/23/slow-cooker-carrot-cardamom-oatmeal/

 

Post-Farmer's Market Noms: Italian Herb Tempeh with Mustard Greens in Marinara

Ingredients:

Italian-herbed Tempeh, sliced in strips.

 

Marinara.

Onions (diced)

Carrots (diced)

Mustard Greens

Fresh oregano

All purpose seasoning

Garlic powder

Olive oil

 

Heat olive oil in pan. Toss in onion and carrot, cook on medium, stir in oregano & seasonings. When onions are translucent, add in mustard greens and marinara. Cover and cook for a few minutes until greens are tender and bright green but still hold a crisp.

 

Heat olive oil in pan, add in tempeh, cook on medium and turn each strip until all sides are browned. Cover in between cooking. Toss over marinara mustard greens and serve.

Farmer's Market Post: Goodbye root veggies, hello greens!

Sunflower sprouts. They have a nice nutty flavor.

A pretty 'baby-sized' red cabbage.

Fresh mint! Drinking some mint tea right now (sweetened with maple syrup, mm mm).

Wild garlic chives.

Pea strings.

Mustard greens.

Shiitake mushrooms.

Oregano.

This World Is Large: My Relationship With Food & Equity

So I've been developing this theory in my head for the past year. This theory is that when anything in this world exists on a large scale, it becomes more complicated and may have more negative repercussions than anything that exists on a smaller scale. Large scale food systems inherently have more problems than smaller scale food systems (this doesn't mean that local food systems are problem free however, utopias don't exist). 

The problem is that the larger scale something becomes, the more detached it becomes from individuals. People's narratives fall away, and may be ignored completely. Obviously, the larger something becomes, the more issues it encompasses. The more issues, the more problems. Some of these problems may be addressed, but some of them may go unnoticed at large. Another problem that comes with anything on large scale is that people come from different backgrounds and have different needs. 

In this country, which is so large, and so complicated, we all seem to share the same food supply. Grocery stores in Portland are stocking the same products as grocery stores in New York City and Pheonix. Tomatoes from California, citrus from Florida, potatoes from Idaho, mushrooms from Oregon. Food that may be local for you also shows up in grocery stores thousands of miles away. 

 

 

What are some problems with this?

 

Detachment. Narratives of food disappear into the shadows. 

We've all heard this before. Children that don't know how food grows. Neither do us adults, it seems. We get peanuts from gas station mini marts, but what does a peanut plant look like? Where do peanuts grow? The answer is that they are part of the legume family and grow like beans on the ground. Wikipedia can tell you the complicated story of where they are supplied from.

Food is an essential part of life. We cannot live without it. It is so critical for our survival. In the United States and other developed countries, many of us are so privileged that we don't even have the knowledge of how to cultivate this food that is so necessary for life. Instead this essential knowledge lays in the hands of the people who grow and pick our food. 

What are the narratives of those people? The tea that we drink, the bread that we eat, the butter that is spread on it. These things have been provided to us with the help of many hands. In a large scale food system, there are many steps involved from making the food (growing the tea, raising dairy cows) to the end where we consume it.

In this increasingly hyperactive busy world that many of us live in, it becomes increasingly difficult just to consider the last step, which is acquiring food and finding time to make it and eat it. So many of us are so busy with school and work and leisure time to relieve stress (and possibly time spent just stressing out) that it feels so much easier to cut down the steps needed and just simply eat our food and not bother with the other steps.

In this last step, you still have so many questions and concerns. Is this food healthy? Will this food make me gain weight? Will this food cure cancer? Will this food be ready fast enough? Will this food make me full? Does it taste good? Does it feel good? Can we afford it?

My First Bread (Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Vegan)

This is my first bread! Isn't it beautiful? Isn't it at least somewhat mediocre? I can honestly say I'd be just fine eating this bread every couple days with some strawberry jam smothered all over it so it must be pretty decent.

I ended up accidentally making it gluten free by using a bag labeled 'all purpose flour' that was actually gluten free all purpose flour, so now my friends with gluten intolerances can eat it too!

I celebrated this occasion by remembering (and watching) an anime & manga series that I love, Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture.

Here is cute little yeast microbe from the show.

Alcohol is basically yeast poop, and bread is from yeast farts.

Now that I've mentioned that, let's get to the recipe!

Gluten Free Bread

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup soy milk, warm
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 3 cups gluten free all purpose flour

 

Directions:

Add warm water and yeast together on a bowl, let sit for a few minutes.

Add in warmed soy milk (not hot though), maple syrup, salt, and coconut oil. Stir.

Add in 2 cups of flour and mix with spatula or by hand. Then mix in the last cup and knead together by hand in bowl until all flour is incorporated into the dough. It should be a consistent color all over and dough should not stick to hands very much. Place a clean, warm and wet towel over bowl and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour (I placed it in the oven w/ no heat).

After an hour, take out the dough and knead it a little more. Then turn on the oven heat very slightly (very very slightly), place warmed wet towel on bowl again, and place dough in oven to rise a second time for about an hour.

Once the dough has doubled in size, take it out of the bowl and place it on a greased baking sheet. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Score or glaze your bread now. I made criss cross scores over my bread simply for the reason that it looks cool, and then dusted it with flour also because it looks cool (I wet the bread before I stuck on the flour).

Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes (until crispy and golden). I placed a metal muffin pan underneath with water and let it create steam in the oven for a crispier crust. I think it worked pretty well.

Let cool and serve.