Finish the Squash!

As you may recall from a prior post, we had a huge squash and unlimited possibilities for the leftovers. What we settled upon was a recipe for squash and avocados in a sweet chili salsa. This was a good recipe, but not necessarily for a main course. It's like -2 outside, we need something a little more substantial sometimes.

Yeah. Nothing else to say about this one really. We made it. We enjoyed it. We took pictures. And then we snacked afterwards because we were still hungry.

Swing and a miss!

Spiced carrot and feta gnocchi sounds like a sure bet for an amazing dinner. The picture in the recipe book inspired me to give this recipe a shot, and although it looked like a somewhat daunting effort, I thought it would be well worth the work.

As I was making the gnocchi and watching all of the dishes accumulate (I dirtied more dishes than anything else we've cooked recently. It was ridiculous!), the thought crossed my mind that this might not work out. Casting this thought aside, I pressed on. The sauce called for two tablespoons of mint, but I only added one. This still turned out to be too much mint and overwhelmed our palates. The gnocchi (sans sauce) was pretty good, except it was hard to perceive any of the feta cheese. It was a carrot and mint dominant dish.

It was not an altogether terrible recipe. I don't see us making this again any time soon, but with a few modifications, including volume as this recipe made about 8 times as much as the two of us ate, we could try this one again.

Green Stimulant: Organic, Fair Trade, Shade Grown Coffee

I am borderline addicted to coffee. I feel that I am noticeably more irritable if my day does not start with a cup of that magical bean juice (Mmmmm....bean juice. Makes it sound appetizing, doesn't it?). At the commencement of my coffee drinking days, how I got my coffee and where I got it from were seemingly irrelevant factors in my mind. Starbucks? Dunkin' Donuts? Sure. Paper cup? Eh, why not.

Nowadays, as I am trying to actualize more of my environmental beliefs, I find it imperative to only support suppliers of coffee who are committed to certain standards. If I can help it (when I'm traveling it is more difficult to do so) I only purchase and brew organic, fair trade, shade grown coffee. It is a mouthful to say, and a hassle to explain to someone similar to me a few years ago.

"Why does it matter where you get your coffee from? It all tastes just about the same anyway, and why pay extra money to get a bunch of little stamps on it?" It matters because coffee is a complex thing; not only in terms of flavor, but in terms of politics as well. You can bet brands like Folgers, Starbucks, and Dunkin' Donuts have decimated large areas of rainforest to clear space to exclusively grow fields and fields of coffee. I understand the concept of supply and demand, but clearing huge areas to grow coffee is detrimental to both that eco-system and, much less important in the grand scheme of things, quality of the bean. Before these large brands emerged, all coffee was shade grown, as that was how the plant evolved over time. Genetics have since allowed for new hybrid plants to be grown that are more tolerant of sunlight and have a higher yield of coffee beans. To top it all off, these new hybrids became dependent on pesticides and chemical fertilizers to grow to their potential. Now we have a trifecta of environmental devastation: habitat clearing, loss of biodiversity, and contaminated soil.

So there's why I support shade grown coffee. The reason I support fair trade is pretty simple: a higher share of the dollar I spend on my much-needed caffeine fix goes to the farmer and the community at the source, where that money is much needed. Much of the world's coffee is grown in regions where poverty is rampant, and large corporations such as Nestle, Sara Lee, and Kraft are buying huge amounts of coffee with no regard for hard-working people struggling to make a living producing sustainable coffee.

Last but certainly not least, is the organic label, which I will not even delve into. We all know why supporting organic practices is a more ecologically suitable option.

One of my recent favorite quotes is from Michael Pollan who says, "You can vote with your fork three times a day." Well, I think you might as well make it four, and vote with your coffee. Support brands that adhere to shade grown, organic, and fair trade standards. Now, I make my coffee with a french press, which not only tastes significantly better than drip coffee, but does not generate paper waste in the form of used coffee filters. I also began buying my coffee in bulk and putting it right in a vacuum container. The Stevens Point Co-Op has a myriad of different blends in bulk, and are ecstatic to see people bring in their own containers. We can all do something to reduce our impact, and researching what you can do to help can be a rewarding experience and make you feel like you're making a difference.

Baked Baked Potatoes Potatoes

Baking things twice always makes them better, right? Last night for dinner was twice baked potatoes, which was twice as good and twice as filling as boring old ordinary potatoes. This recipe was quite simple, and my only complaint was how long we had to wait for them to bake the first time through. The recipe also frightened me into whipping the potatoes for an insufficient amount of time with a threat of glue-tasting mush! Here is the link to the recipe.

Now, on to the matter of potatoes nutritionally. Did you know that potatoes have more potassium than bananas? Shocking! They also have a surprising amount of vitamin C. See, who needs to ship oranges and bananas hundreds and hundreds of miles in the middle of the winter when we can have potatoes! Hooray!!!

Quiche fit for Popeye

The other night, I decided to cook one of my favorite dishes that my Nana would always make. Spinach quiche is a fantastic dish, easy to make, and nutritious and not very costly. When I opened my recipe box to look for the 3"x5" card that held the recipe for this glorious meal, I discovered that only the ingredients were listed, with no further instructions. Having helped both my mother and my Nana make this meal in the past was quite beneficial that night, as the only aspect of cooking the quiche I had to guess about was the cooking temperature (which, I can definitively say after cooking this, I still am unsure of).

I made some variations to what I knew the instructions would have told me, and I believe they helped the dish. I'm pretty sure the recipe calls for the frozen spinach to be defrosted in the microwaved, then squeezed of all juices and mixed with the liquid ingredients. This time, with some successful improvisational cooking under my belt, I decided to sautee some garlic with the onions that the recipe called for (both locally grown), and added the frozen spinach (organic) after those were soft. The quiche had a noticeable amount of additional moisture, but the aroma and flavor of the onions and garlic brought a new dimension to the quiche.

Hubbard Squash Squares in Cream

I have a pretty cool girlfriend who made a great meal for us the other night and wrote about it in her Brown Bear Blog. Here is the post and some pics of the process!

Every week, Matt and I each pick a recipe that is totally new and challenging to us. Last week we found what was probably the last of the local winter squash at our Co-Op and I decided that I would use it for my dish. I've never cooked squash before but I was romanced by the idea that I could eat local produce in the depths of a Wisconsin winter.

After I figured out what type of squash I had (gray hubbard... I think) and a recipe, we went back to the Co-Op and picked up a local onion and some organic sour cream. I've been looking forward to making this meal all week and let me tell you, it was an adventure.

One of the things I have learned from this experience is that squash is not easy to peel. I was stabbing and grunting and just trying to get at this thing anyway I could. Eventually though I got the hang of it and the rest was easy. I didn't butcher it too bad.

The end result was delicious but oh so filling. We only used half the squash and still had leftovers. Guess I'll be making squash again soon.

Hubbard Squash Squares in Cream

4 cups cubed, peeled hubbard squash
dash of pepper
2 tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 med. onion, sliced
1 cup sour cream
dill weed
Cook squash in boiling, salted water, covered for 10 min. or until tender. Drain well. Sprinkle with pepper.
Meanwhile, cook onion in small saucepan in EVOO for 3 min or until tender. Remove from heat.
Mix sour cream and onion with salt, stirring well.
Place cooked squash in serving bowl. Pour cream mixture over top. Sprinkle with dill weed.

Tuesday January 19th - Grilled Cheese and Creamy Tomato Soup

One of Amanda and I's favorite quick meals, and one of the best things to have on a chilly Wisconsin evening. The tomato soup, though still store-bought, was leagues ahead of Campbell's in terms of flavor and quality. We used our homemade bread and the local cheese (both of which keep making appearances in this blog) for the grilled cheese sandwiches. I feel way better about simple meals like this now that we're using less ingredients such as processed cheese individually wrapped in plastic and bread baked somewhere nowhere near here.

Monday, January 18th - Portobello Mushroom Sandwiches

In lieu of a grease-laden CAFO burger, Amanda (read her blog!) and I opted for a healthful and scrumptious meat alternative. Portobello mushrooms are low in saturated fat and cholesterol, while being rich in phytochemicals and minerals such as folate, zinc, and magnesium. Also, instead of following a recipe, I decided to ultimately just wing it and briefly marinated the mushroom caps in a mix of olive oil with minced (locally grown) garlic, thyme, fennel seeds, and a dash of cayenne pepper, before cooking them. We then topped them with local cheese and ate them on our homemade bread. A mouthwatering, local, healthy, and simple meal!

Homemade Bread - Attempt 2

After the first semi-failed attempt at homemade bread, I was eager for another opportunity to prove myself a worthy baker. I feel like I was slightly more patient while waiting for the dough to rise, and leaving the house while that happened proved itself to be a decently successful strategy. However, the anticipated two loaves once again ended up being one. The bread is still fantastic, just very filling.

I made a couple of adjustments to the recipe this time. I really shouldn't be tweaking recipes that I can't really make correctly yet, but I threw caution to the wind and just went for it and made...two minor adjustments. In a not-quite-groundbreaking fashion, I added two tablespoons of flaxseed meal and a teaspoon of local honey. Flaxseed is a quite potent supplement to, well, anything really. It is loaded with all kinds of good stuff; omega-3 fatty acids in the form of alpha-linolenic acid, loads of both soluble and insoluble fiber, and lignans which act as powerful antioxidants. There are innumerable studies that show that flaxseed plays a role in the prevention of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and even the severity and frequency of hot flashes. It's an amazing ingredient that you can throw into any number of things while you're cooking, and I think I will do just that with many more recipes.

Friday Night - Pizza!

I don't know why anyone would order pizza from Pizza Hut or Domino's. We've been making pizza like this the whole year, and it absolutely trumps anything you can order for delivery. Aside from tasting better, a can of dough, marinara, and cheese is way cheaper than ordering a pizza of equivalent size. We also tried something new this time, by glazing the dough with an olive oil-garlic mixture and sprinkling basil and oregano over the crust and sauce. Washing it down with a locally brewed stout with Fair Trade coffee roasted blocks away, this was a great Friday pizza night.

Now, as this blog is also about food sources, it seems appropriate to address that aspect for this meal. We used a can of Pillsbury dough, a jar of Prego marinara, and a bag of cheese. As we were devouring our delectable pizza, Amanda and I decided that making our own dough from scratch would be infinitely more rewarding than having to get the dough from who-knows-where. I also would enjoy making my own tomato sauce, but it is difficult to think of things such as using fresh, local produce in central Wisconsin in the dead of winter. We're definitely committed to making positive changes in our diet, and the first step is to recognize what needs changing.

The Homemade Bread Experiment

A major part of eating more sustainably is making things that you would normally buy from the store which are wrapped in plastic and shipped across the country. The food miles that these items have associated with them are not only from shipment. Each ingredient has it's own food miles, and these can add up quickly in the finished product. I thought if I could find an easy bread recipe, and find local ingredients to use, I will be one step closer to my gastronomical sustainability.

The bread I made today was, from an experimental perspective, somewhat of a failure. The recipe claimed to make two loaves of bread. I ended up getting one Muggsy Bogues-esque loaf. The dough did not rise nearly as much as it should. Fortunately, the bread tasted fantastic! This recipe, with some modifications coming soon, will likely be used at least once a week in our household in the weeks, months, and years to come.

Pecan-Crusted Eggplant and Roasted Aioli Potatoes

This meal was indubitably our piece de resistance of our first week of cooking a meal every day. Pecan-crusted eggplant is a dish that my grandmother a.k.a. Nana invented (to the best of my knowledge) last year when she wanted to prepare a vegetarian entree for my girlfriend and I. My Nana passed away recently, and she must have been helping me in the kitchen tonight, as the quality of the final product far surpassed any attempt at the recipe that we have made in the past. The roasted aioli potatoes (using locally grown organic red potatoes - yay environment!) were Amanda's idea, and I must say a good one. They complemented the eggplant quite well and made for a fantastic dinner.

Pecan Crusted Eggplant:
1 large eggplant
1 cup crushed pecans
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
Seasoned salt
Flour
Olive oil (for frying)

Cut skin off of eggplant and slice into 1/4 inch-thick slices. Cover with seasoned salt and then roll in flour. Combine the egg and milk, and dip the eggplant slice in the combination. Roll eggplant in bread crumb and crushed pecan mixture, and place in pan with oil on medium heat. Fry until golden brown.

Whole Wheat Penne with Mushroom Marinara

(Unfortunately) pre-packaged. This was still a good meal, and it's good to have a quick, nutritious dinner to turn to when in a hurry. Cooking with ingredients that come pre-packaged makes me yearn for some culinary creativity. Amanda added some onions, chives, and spices to the sauce, but there was a certain sense of satisfaction lacking when we were actually eating the pasta. Cooking your own food is such a fulfilling process; both an art and a science, an interaction between a person and their food - an interaction that has been all but removed from our society by a myriad of fast food chains and "easy bake" dinners. Even if you can only cook one night a week, take the time to plan out a meal. Shop for fresh ingredients and feel free to improvise when in the kitchen. People are intimidated by cooking because they feel that they cannot follow a recipe, when all you really need to cook successfully is a sense of what you like and the gall to try something new.

Sundried Tomato Risotto

Last night, Amanda and I made a wonderfully flavorful risotto with sundried tomatoes. And you know what else? It is completely vegan (that is, until we added parmesan cheese). I think that many people have a tendency to believe that there are many a negative connotation associated with vegan food. This dish assuredly would shatter any of those beliefs. It will undoubtedly become a trusty standby in our regular dinner repertoire.

First Post!

Hello! So this is my first post on this blog, Green Grub: Food for Your Health and the Environment! The purpose of this blog is to undertake an initiative to eat better, not only in terms of my health, but in terms of the environment as well. I love to cook, but up until recently have fallen victim to the excuse that seems to plague all of our lives: "I just don't have time!" I (with the help of my girlfriend Amanda) will seek to cook a meal every day that is not only healthful, but delicious. As I get better at this cooking every day thing, I will try to add more sustainable ingredients to our meals, while cutting out those ingredients that are environmentally harmful. All the while, I will try and share some of the knowledge I have gained regarding our food, as well as providing you with links and resources to make some positive food changes of your own.

Whew! Okay, enough of explaining why I'm here. Every day I will try and update you with a description of a meal from the night before, along with pictures and recipes (as much as possible). Last night, we had a wonderful butternut squash soup with herb and cheese biscuits. An amazingly simple and quick meal (as the soup was store-bought - this is the type of thing I hope to wean myself off of), but quite delicious.