Is there more to this?

I started this blog with an idea that I wanted to think about where the origins of the  food I eat.  My thinking focused on environmental issues, personal health, and also thinking about knowledge that we need to be effective consumers (this is both an economic issue and a scientific issue).   I could write pages and pages about each of these issues, but I want to take a moment and consider another issue that was highlighted for me recently:  how food and sustainable agriculture is a cultural issue.  I’ve always been frustrated by the multicultural food fairs because to me these are superficial considerations of food in culture. While I listened to speakers at Elon’s Fall Environmental Forum, I came to understand that there is more to sustainable food than just tamales, spring rolls, and dahl.  Now I want to think more about this issue in this blog.

Here’s the argument made by multiple speakers, ‘ agriculture is at it’s core culture.’  From their views, it is an etymological, social, and ethical issue.

Etymology

First, the origins of the word refer to cultivation of fields.  And culture can be thought of as social mechanisms the cultivate the human enterprise.  The point is that growing food – agriculture – etymologically includes culture.

Socially

As we have evolved socially, the word culture has taken on new meaning.  But if we think about the food that sustains us, there is a social dimension that shares this new meaning.  Growing food is hard, there are many things against the effort to grow food.  Blights, pests, climate, weather, and many other natural and man-made factors of life impact growing food. This year our tomatoes have not done well, we think it has to do with the summer weather.  But the point is, it brings humility and gratitude when you grow food to know first-hand about the challenges.  That definitely cultivates my own life experience.

Moreover, we build culture when we begin to know and speak with the people  who grow our food; we begin to build relationships and understand one another.  How is this not culture? I always remember when we visited friends in Sweden and following along on trips to the farmer’s market.  There was one farmer there who they knew personally and always shopped from him.  It was interesting because there was a bond between them.  We learned later that at times our friends went to his farm and worked with him.  I really believe that this was building the culture of that space and time, and it was important.  It makes me want to go back to the market and talk more with the people I buy from.

Ethically

This part gets a little hard, but thinking about the ethics of our culture and how that is reflected in food choices is another issue.  I’m reading, with my students, The way we eat (I’ve listed it in Good Reads), but this also came up from the speakers.  The issue is this, what does it say about our culture if we are willing to poison the earth from overuse of pesticides and fertilizers in order to have cheap food?  OK, this is a big generalization and readers might not like that, but it is an important point to worry about.  However,  we can also think about the ethics of using petroleum products to make fertilizers, packaging and fuel to transport food when we know that petroleum is a limited resource and one that when used results in environmental degradation.  What would this say about our culture?  Again, another generalization, but it is hard to not consider the ways that our choices about food reflect something about the ethics of our culture.

Wrapping this up…

I could write more about these issues, challenges, and questions.  But my point is to suggest that this blog might be more than I started.  I now am thinking about both impacts and reflections of culture that arise as I consider the origins of my meal.  Many readers don’t read for my pontificating, so I’ll get back to foods soon.  Tonight is stuffed giant marconi peppers from the garden (a different take on that dish) and I’m planning a trip to the market on Wednesday.  Maybe I will talk with a farmer about this ask their view on the issue.

…hunger for bread.

This week I am taking a slight departure, though not entirely.  I was out of town over the weekend and had a busy week last week, so I never made it to the market.  But I realized that baking bread deserves a post.  Here’s today’s loaf:

So first, let me give credit.  The recipe comes from a great website: http://whiteonricecouple.com/recipes/wheat-oatmeal-sandwich-bread/.  I modified and skipped the molasses and substituted honey. While Molasses works great in whole wheat bread, I wanted more control over the source of sweetener in the bread.  But, otherwise the recipe is great, easy to follow, and has helpful tips for first time bread makers.  Everyone should try it, baking bread is not as hard as you might think.

Why does this relate to this site?  Let me review the ingredients:

• 1 c (240ml) Water – I don’t count this in the locally sourced items.
• 1 c (240ml) Milk – Local milk is readily available here; I use milk from a local dairy.
• 1 pkg (1 T or 10g) Active Dry Yeast – hmm this deserves more thinking
• 3 T (20g) Honey – Local honey is most places; I have honey from Durham.
• 2 1/2 c (350g) Whole Wheat Flour – Another point deserving more discussion.
• 2 c (300g) Bread Flour – Again, more to talk about
• 1 c (120g) Rolled Oats – Yet more to talk about
• 4 T (60g) unsalted Butter, melted and cooled slightly Butter should be available, haven’t seen it
• 1 T (15g) Sea Salt –  I don’t count this in the locally sourced items.

Starting with the yeast, my first question is whether yeast is cultured locally.  I don’t know of anywhere or anyway to get local yeast.  I think yeast is interesting.  The most relevant point here is that yeast is somewhat emblematic of how we distance ourselves from food. When I learned to bake bread, we used live cakes of yeast.  Now I don’t think that I could find live yeast in any local store.  All the yeast I can find is Active Dry Yeast. This kind of yeast has to be brought back to life through re-hydration.   So not only is the yeast removed and distant, it has been dried to suspend its activity until we use it.

Flours are interesting for a different reason.  At one time in this country, even not far from my home, there were active mills grinding grains into flour.  In fact, there is a mill that still does occasionally grind flour not far from my home.  But in general, operating mills are rare and offering a very limited selection of milled grains.  Admittedly, this loaf used good old King Arthur Flour.  But, I do know that I can get locally grown and milled whole wheat flour.  However, I am lucky that I have that option.  I could make the same argument about oats.  The bigger question there is why are grains grown in fewer and fewer places?

While I have been focused some on the ingredients, why worry about bread?  There are a couple of answers.  First, bread is a staple in most of our lives.  I’ll toast a piece for breakfast and might make a peanut butter sandwich for lunch.  The real point though is that baking bread is not that hard and I can control what is in the bread.  Just to make this clear, check out this list of ingredients from a really healthy version of store bought whole wheat bread:

WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, WATER, SUGAR, WHEAT GLUTEN, YEAST, RAISIN JUICE CONCENTRATE, WHEAT BRAN, MOLASSES, SOYBEAN OIL, SALT, MONOGLYCERIDES, CALCIUM PROPIONATE (PRESERVATIVE), CALCIUM SULFATE, DATEM, GRAIN VINEGAR, CITRIC ACID, SOY LECITHIN, WHEY, NONFAT MILK

There sure are a lot of things in this bread that I am not confident I would choose to eat.

As a final word,

The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.
Mother Teresa

Read more at brainyquote 

If the hunger for bread is not so difficult to remove, lets all work on making that happen. That way we can work on the more difficult, but more important problem.

Eat good, do good

The last couple days I have been away at a professional conference. Traveling and thinking about food choices can present a dilemma. I now pack our food when going on a road trip. Not out of convenience or thriftiness, but just simply options on the road are limited. This weekend before I left town, I did a little internet searching for dining options. I wanted options that would not compromise my dietary goals and hopefully allow me to act responsibly in terms of knowing where the food I ate came from. Little did I know that I would land on much more.  Tonight’s choice helped me realize the value and importance of eating this way. I had never thought that choices for meals when I travel could also do greater good.

Last night I organized dinner with a small band of people interested in a meatless alternatives. I sold the place on the additional point that they use local foods. A short walk, only getting confused once by the smartphone map, and we arrived. I’d had an idea this was a different kind of place, but no idea at all what I was getting into. AS220 Foo(d) didn’t initially look like a place to eat. But I trepidatiously pulled the door handle and was surprised. Looking around, I was unsure. There was a bar on one side and a grill on the other. It looked like an old soda fountain or diner. Initially we were confused about ordering, but then we figured it out and began to notice what was around us. There were vegetarian and vegan options and such a wonderful array of options it was hard to choose. I finally settled on Mac and Cheese with a green salad:

The food was tasty and soothing after a long day of sitting in conference rooms. Smells and flavors wafted about. The presentation of our varied choices was amazing. It wasn’t fine dining or shocking presentation; it was VERY nicely done and included generous portions. I waddled back to the hotel for the evening speaker and as we sat waiting, one of my dinner colleagues began to elaborate on what she had learned about the location. What she shared made me appreciate my dinner even more.

AS220 is a local non-profit that works to support local artists and youth in the arts. They have a range of programs including visual and dramatic arts. In addition, they make an effort to support people making positive transitions in life. We learned, which I would have known had I read the website more closely, that the profits from food sales support the youth empowerment program AND the restaurant also employes youth who are making transitions in their lives.

So the moral of the story is that my efforts to eat well, eat vegetarian, and eat locally have more than the obvious benefits. The choice in this case also benefitted the community and youth in added ways.

Eggplant Sandwich with Roasted Green Beans

I got really close on this one, but missed one crucial bit of information this week. So first some thoughts on this meal and some admissions. First, I wanted something fun, tasty, and not like the normal vegetarian fair. Something more fast-foodish, but also with taste. Second, I can’t claim full inspiration for this meal. In West Virginia The Secret Sandwich Society offers a Fried Eggplant Sandwich that inspired me. I’ve never been thrilled about eggplant, so I had to try to replicate it. Here’s the plated up meal:

So here’s the stuff and where it came from:
Focaccia Bread from Loaf in Durham, purchased at the Durham Farmer’s Market
Eggplants from Sunset Farms in Snow Camp, NC. That means the eggplants travelled about 45 miles to the market and then a couple miles to my home. To fry them I used an egg (not local), flour & spices (not local) and panko bread crumbs (not local)
Green Beans from a small farm in Stem, NC. I didn’t get the farm name, but I know that Stem is 20 miles from Durham.
Peppers (yes this is the secret ingredient) came from a local grower at the Elon Farmer’s Market and also our back yard.

In this case, it will be good to write through some of the details for each item. Starting with the bread – sure I could have baked it, maybe I’ll post about baking another day – but I didn’t. I figured that I was going out on a limb with the whole sandwich idea and didn’t want to add one more step to my prep work.

Starting with the Fried Eggplant, I peeled and sliced the Eggplant. Then sprinkled it with salt to draw out the moisture. Each slice was dredged in flour and spices (salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, cumin, and garlic powder), then an egg wash, and finally panko bread crumbs. OK, some tips here. First, peeling the eggplant is really important; I don’t like the skin. Next, salt and then drying the eggplant is important. Finally, the oil needs to be hot, about 375F.

So here is the trick, the pickled peppers. I was inspired by the sandwich shop that spicy flavors go well with eggplant. I took habanero, banana, purple and jalapeño peppers and chopped them. Then I marinated the peppers in vinegar, sugar, salt and garlic (that also came from the Durham Farmers Market). Basically, you cover the peppers in vinegar with the spices for 24-48 hours. It makes a nice light pickling and you have a lovely sour, spicy combo.

The focaccia was sliced, a piece of fried eggplant, topped with spicy pickled peppers – YUM! And goat cheese is DIVINE on this sandwich.

Finally, the green beans, a super easy treatment that makes a better alternative to french fries. Toss the green beans with olive oil and salt, spread them on a cookie sheet and roast in a 400F oven until caramelized. They are crunchy, yummy, and I think most people (kids too) would munch them down like french fries.

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