Changing the Way You Eat

eggs from a local farm

If you're reading a food blog, you probably have some interest in the quality of your food. On the surface, this might mean that you want to make meals that taste good. You might also consider what is nutritious for you and your family. 

Does it go deeper than that? For quite some time, I have been learning more about the food industry and how it works. I am not going to gross out anyone but I will say it was very enlightening to learn about the way animals and crops are treated to get the "best" product. 

As I mentioned in my entry on food goals for 2010, one of my goals is to find local sources for more of my food. Since reading books like Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver) and Eating Animals (Jonathan Safran Foer) and seeing documentaries like Food, Inc., I have been working toward becoming more of a locavore - that is, eating more locally made and locally produced foods. My list below is based on my location ( Delaware / Chenango counties, southern tier of New York state)

Some changes in my food purchases:

• eating more locally raised meats, (through farmers' markets and Chenango Bounty's website). If not locally raised, then organic, hormone-free and antibiotic-free. (My new favorite at the grocery store is Meyer's angus beef.)

• our yogurt at home is now Chobani greek yogurt (produced in Norwich, NY without the use of rBST-treated milk) 

• anytime we need sour cream, we buy Friendship brand, to the delight of Dan the Man (produced in Friendship, NY, near his hometown, about three hours from us)

• our eggs now come from a local family farm (Guilford, NY) 

• I still make my own jams - 2010 jams are blackberry and concord grape. This year both fruits were grown locally. (I picked the blackberries myself!)

As winter sets in, it can be more difficult to find local fresh produce in New York. I hope to provide more recipes using winter produce, like potatoes, winter squashes, carrots, and apples.

Have you made any changes in your food habits, whether toward becoming more of a locavore, trying to eat more meals made at home, or purchasing less junk food?

Real Food.

I've been thinking a lot about my philosophies on food in the past few months. Having issues with low blood sugar, I have grown to see food as a fuel that is necessary for me to enjoy my life instead of viewing calories as bad. I want things to taste good because, why bother eating if you're not going to eat well? Being an artist has also made me want to eat things that are aesthetically pleasing.

photo by HelenPalsson on Flickr

I have realized that one of my life food goals is to make everything I eat from scratch, at least once. Think about all the things you buy prepackaged or premade. Often, it takes as little effort to make it from scratch, just a little extra time. I've found that most of the time things taste so much better that I don't go back to the prepackaged stuff.

Things I've made from scratch, at least once:

• pizza dough
• soft pretzels
• artisan breads, baguettes, rolls
• blackberry jam, peach jam, strawberry jam, elderberry jelly
• dill pickles, bread and butter pickles
• applesauce
• salsa
• mustard
• spice mix - Mexican
• french fries, sweet potato fries
• tomato sauce
• smoothies - peanut butter + banana
• naan (Indian flatbread)
• granola bars
• trail mix
• cakes, cupcakes, pie crusts

Things I'd like to make from scratch:

• English muffins
• bagels
• macaroni, including ravioli and tortellini
• sausage, bacon
• chicken, beef, veggie stock
• ice cream
• mayonnaise
• yogurt
• cheese, especially mozzarella
• wine, beer, limoncello
• honey (with Uncle J)
• marshmallows

Are there other things that should be on this list?

Borscht. Yes, Really.

One of my 2010 food goals was to make borscht, if for no other reason than to say that I tried it. I'm not a big fan of cold soups, so I was very excited to find that there are many different ways to serve borscht. In many cultures, borscht is served cold like gazpacho but it is just as often served hot. In the same fashion, some recipes recommend pureeing the vegetables so the soup is a creamy consistency, while others want the vegetables left chunky. 

The recipe offered below is a chunky soup, served hot. The potatoes are cut into small, bite-sized pieces for ease in both cooking and eating. The beets and onion are shredded, so a food processor's shredder attachment will make your life easier for that step. No matter what type of vegetables you add, they'll all be stained purple by the end for a very unique dish. Also, the lemon juice is necessary to create the acidic or sour taste that is essential to the overall flavor of the dish.

Based on a recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.

Ingredients

(for gluten-free meal, use gluten-free broth)

(for vegan or dairy-free meal, omit sour cream) 

• olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3-4 potatoes, chopped into small pieces (regular or sweet potatoes)
• 6 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
• 1 bunch beets (6 or so), peeled and greens removed
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 tsp kosher salt (less if using table salt) 
• 10 grinds freshly ground pepper (about 1 tsp)
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp. dried dill
• 1 egg
• sour cream, for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat. 
2. Add garlic and potatoes. Cook for about a minute.
3. Add broth. Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil, then turn heat back to medium-low. Cook for about 7-8 minutes.
4. While potatoes are cooking, shred beets and onion in food processor. Add to soup when ready.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook on medium low until all vegetables are tender.
6. Add lemon juice.
7. Scramble egg in small bowl. Add spoonful of soup to egg, stir well, then drizzle back into pot of soup while stirring. 
8. Serve immediately with sour cream if desired.

2010 Food Goals

(image by danielflower)

Food Goal #1 - Make Julia Child's Beef Bourgignon

I'm sure many of you have seen the movie Julie & Julia, starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. One of the challenges Julie faces while attempting to make every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking is beef bourgignon. I'm not a big fan of beef but it seems like a fun challenge, especially after watching what happened in the movie!

Food Goal #2 - Make Borscht

It's one of those things I've always wanted to try, and as of this week I can check this off my list! I'm not a fan of cold soups so I served it hot, and actually really enjoyed it. Recipe to come soon.

Food Goal #3 - Find an easy and delicious smoothie recipe

I love the idea of smoothies - fresh fruit, yogurt, maybe some honey or ice - but have yet to find a recipe that feels easy. Part of it is that I'd like to use ingredients I normally keep around. No weird protein powders for me. Perhaps I just haven't looked hard enough?

Food Goal #4 - Make my own yogurt

My friend Jen posted a recipe for homemade yogurt back in January and I have been waiting for some time to really try it out. I think August will be that time!

Food Goal #5 - Find local sources for beef, chicken, eggs, and cheese

After seeing the documentary Food, Inc. and reading books like Animal, Vegetable Miracle (by Barbara Kingsolver) and Eating Animals (by Jonathan Safran Foer), I've been a lot more conscious about many of the ingredients I purchase for meals. Barbara Kingsolver's book was her record of their family's challenge to eat only locally produced foods for one year. For them, this included growing their own vegetables, raising their own turkeys, learning to make their own fresh mozzarella, or purchasing foods from sources within 100 miles. 

Beef and chicken - still working on these. Any suggestions?

Eggs - currently purchasing them from the local Mennonite farm stand on Route 7 in Bainbridge, NY. Not sure where I'll go when they close for the winter season.

Cheese - I believe the Masonville General Store in Masonville, NY carries cheeses made local to the area. I know for sure they carry locally made yogurt and fresh local vegetables. I will report back on my findings.

A great general source for locating products local to you is Local Harvest. Additionally, Kingsolver's site provides recipes for eating produce at its freshest - when they are in season.

What are some of your food goals or interests this year?