I have missed posting, but I have had some other writing that was actually for a deadline! Not just for my enjoyment and/or your two minutes of distraction.
What I have been dying to write is an ode to my new vita-mix! I have been wanting this super-blender for several years, and since I'm a little frugal I have only now decided that I can't live without it.
What surprises me most (besides the way it beautifully shreds a coconut) is how free I feel with it in my kitchen. I know longer have to base my juice/coconut milk/nut butter choices on which inane supplier has the least precentage of unlabeled corn processing agents in its products! :)
Now, I'm like, who cares! I bought a bag of organic lemons, scrubbed the skins with baking soda, peeled them, dropped them into the vitamix with some water, agave, and ice cubes, and LEMONADE! My son actually proclaimed me the best chef ever, because I made him delicious lemonade. Go figure! He doesn't even know how much fiber and other goodness he was getting, because the vitamix is so powerful it basically turns the whole lemon into a slightly pulpy liquid.
I will rave about this machine and what it can do another time, I guarantee!
Until then,
Lemonade:
1 and 1/2 peeled lemons
3 cups of water
1 cup of ice
1/4 cup agave nectar
Blend on high for 30 seconds (in a vitamix if you decide you don't need to buy a working dvd player or a modern tv!). I don't know about other blenders. My practically defunct cuisinart would just make chunky lemon soup out of this mixture.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Chocolate apologies!!! (Old post edit!)
I'm sure I will lose all credibility here, but I have to correct myself: Equal Exchange dark chocolate bars do NOT have soy lecithin. They may have changed the recipe since we last ordered, or my memory failed me. (I'm sure that wasn't it!)
These chocolate bars are amazing: Allergy-friendly, fair-trade, & organic!
PS They cost an arm and a leg...good for weight management!
These chocolate bars are amazing: Allergy-friendly, fair-trade, & organic!
PS They cost an arm and a leg...good for weight management!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Corny pecans!
My youngest son and I had a bad reaction a week and a half ago. Until today, I had not been able to figure it out. I had a hypothesis, but the evidence has been unfurling throughout the week.
I knew that MY reaction came from pecans. I ate them, and I felt the lump in my throat growing. (I used to think everyone had that practically permanent lump in their throats!) I started to worry, but thought I would wait it out and see how it would go.
These pecans had been in the freezer for at least six months. THERE WAS A REASON! I must have eaten a few once (the bag was almost full), questioned their safety, and thrown them in the freezer. Should have labeled them "TOM ONLY."
I DO know that nuts are often coated with zein (it's an edible film), but it's one of those things you can kind of forget. Well, today I researched zein. Surely if the concept takes up more space in my brain I won't be able to forget!
In case you are curious, zein is the most prevalent protein in corn, making up 3.6% of its dry weight. I know this because a lab at the University of Illinois is heralding its comeback for many more uses (think compostable dishes and plastic wrap-type films). Apparently when extracted from corn, zein is a great water barrier!
These nuts must have been coated with zein... The real revelation, though, is that now, I know for sure, that my littlest boy, too, has the corn allergy. I racked my brain thinking of any other new food we ate that day. Nothing but the pecans! Poor boy, he was miserable all night...I guess it's good to know.
By the way, we aren't allergic to pecans. We ate raw organic pecan butter all summer with no problem. I had some left in the fridge that I hadn't eaten since fall. I ate a lot of it for breakfast and I feel fine...totally normal.
I knew that MY reaction came from pecans. I ate them, and I felt the lump in my throat growing. (I used to think everyone had that practically permanent lump in their throats!) I started to worry, but thought I would wait it out and see how it would go.
These pecans had been in the freezer for at least six months. THERE WAS A REASON! I must have eaten a few once (the bag was almost full), questioned their safety, and thrown them in the freezer. Should have labeled them "TOM ONLY."
I DO know that nuts are often coated with zein (it's an edible film), but it's one of those things you can kind of forget. Well, today I researched zein. Surely if the concept takes up more space in my brain I won't be able to forget!
In case you are curious, zein is the most prevalent protein in corn, making up 3.6% of its dry weight. I know this because a lab at the University of Illinois is heralding its comeback for many more uses (think compostable dishes and plastic wrap-type films). Apparently when extracted from corn, zein is a great water barrier!
These nuts must have been coated with zein... The real revelation, though, is that now, I know for sure, that my littlest boy, too, has the corn allergy. I racked my brain thinking of any other new food we ate that day. Nothing but the pecans! Poor boy, he was miserable all night...I guess it's good to know.
By the way, we aren't allergic to pecans. We ate raw organic pecan butter all summer with no problem. I had some left in the fridge that I hadn't eaten since fall. I ate a lot of it for breakfast and I feel fine...totally normal.
Friday, February 5, 2010
"Food Security"
I woke up today thinking I would start a casual conversation about food security...ha! Who was I kidding?! Boy, do I have a lot to learn...but I have to say FOOD SECURITY on the household level has been my primary, no primal, objective since we discovered our multiple food allergies. (God, how naive I was, as an employed Westerner having such easy access to food all my life...)
According to the Rome Declaration on World Food Security (World Food Summit, 1996), "food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life." (from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's website) This seems to be the prevailing definition for many.
If you haven't stopped reading, yet, you'll know why this calls me. We're seeking justice here on an individual level for ourselves, for our families, and for every individual and community around the world. Safety from contaminants, poisons, and allergens (!), freedom from the constrictions of poverty, freedom from the global domination of agri-business. I think I'm starting to get my head around it.
At this point, "food security" is intensely meaningful to me on a gut level, but intellectually and practically it's complex. It will need days, weeks, years, a lifetime, to parse out. Hang in there, readers, we are in for a long and wild ride!
According to the Rome Declaration on World Food Security (World Food Summit, 1996), "food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life." (from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's website) This seems to be the prevailing definition for many.
If you haven't stopped reading, yet, you'll know why this calls me. We're seeking justice here on an individual level for ourselves, for our families, and for every individual and community around the world. Safety from contaminants, poisons, and allergens (!), freedom from the constrictions of poverty, freedom from the global domination of agri-business. I think I'm starting to get my head around it.
At this point, "food security" is intensely meaningful to me on a gut level, but intellectually and practically it's complex. It will need days, weeks, years, a lifetime, to parse out. Hang in there, readers, we are in for a long and wild ride!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
CSF: Consumer Supported Fishery!
I'm shifting focus a little, partly because it is February, and it's a little too early to start tilling the soil...or laying the ground in a truck bed. But, mostly, I have to write about the CSF because I have such joyful memories of the Maine mussels I cooked from the Seacoast Winter Farmers' Market last weekend. I am lamenting the fact that our next farmers' market isn't until February 13th.
Consumer Supported Fishing is an awesome idea! I missed the shrimp subscription, but next year, I'm on it. You get local shrimp every week in January and February--shrimp you know is local and ethically acceptable. And it's at a great price!
Having shrimp right now might make me forget that we are eating potatoes, carrots and frozen spinach every single day!
P.S. Click on the title of this post to get to "nhseafood.com"!
Consumer Supported Fishing is an awesome idea! I missed the shrimp subscription, but next year, I'm on it. You get local shrimp every week in January and February--shrimp you know is local and ethically acceptable. And it's at a great price!
Having shrimp right now might make me forget that we are eating potatoes, carrots and frozen spinach every single day!
P.S. Click on the title of this post to get to "nhseafood.com"!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Imagining a new farm future...
As you can see from the comment on my last post, Ian is a super-gracious guy...AND he has a truck farm. Do you even know what a truck farm is?
The truck farm is literally a farm in the back of a truck. I'm going to attempt to link to Ian's short video about the truck farm on his website to give you the idea. (Click on the title of this post to go to "wickedelicate.com.")
By the way, my kids think this is the coolest thing...they might be disappointed if we get a garden planted in the ground! Just kidding, they are way excited about digging in the dirt. And as we saw last summer in our friends' gardens, they will eat anything that comes right off the plant. (They might regret that choice they made to eat the banana peppers but not the handful of raspberries growing by the side of the street in New Jersey. Mmmm...)
So, if we can't find appropriate land/decide on appropriate land for the community garden, I'm off to buy a used pick-up truck (Can you believe that Brian E.?). Might have to take a trip back to see some friends in central PA, and maybe Exeter will have a roving community garden. Can you imagine the possibilities? We could at least make the rounds to all the local preschools!
Ian's truck farm is also a CSA. He lives in something of an urban food desert and sells small shares to neighbors. I also think the truck farm would be great for someone who is unsure whether they will be moving across town mid-season. Take the farm with you! Might it also be possible to take it on a summer trip...we could have some good tomatoes if we showed up in Atlanta for a couple weeks this summer!
My imagination runs wild, I hope yours does, too...
The truck farm is literally a farm in the back of a truck. I'm going to attempt to link to Ian's short video about the truck farm on his website to give you the idea. (Click on the title of this post to go to "wickedelicate.com.")
By the way, my kids think this is the coolest thing...they might be disappointed if we get a garden planted in the ground! Just kidding, they are way excited about digging in the dirt. And as we saw last summer in our friends' gardens, they will eat anything that comes right off the plant. (They might regret that choice they made to eat the banana peppers but not the handful of raspberries growing by the side of the street in New Jersey. Mmmm...)
So, if we can't find appropriate land/decide on appropriate land for the community garden, I'm off to buy a used pick-up truck (Can you believe that Brian E.?). Might have to take a trip back to see some friends in central PA, and maybe Exeter will have a roving community garden. Can you imagine the possibilities? We could at least make the rounds to all the local preschools!
Ian's truck farm is also a CSA. He lives in something of an urban food desert and sells small shares to neighbors. I also think the truck farm would be great for someone who is unsure whether they will be moving across town mid-season. Take the farm with you! Might it also be possible to take it on a summer trip...we could have some good tomatoes if we showed up in Atlanta for a couple weeks this summer!
My imagination runs wild, I hope yours does, too...
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