For Easter: Jacqueline, the "Dusty Baker" has a recipe for beautiful pastel-dyed tea eggs, achieving beautiful tones with an assortment of teas and herbs such as raspberry earl grey and chamomile. Caveat: this recipe dyes peeled, hardboiled eggs, rather than shells; no doubt the same ingredients could be used for natural dyes, however, just like more traditional sources such as onion peels, beets, etc. If you try it, share your results here with us. (Photograph courtesy of The Dusty Baker.com.) And while we're on the subject of naturally-colored easter eggs, Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. tells us how to how to do it naturally with this easy recipe. Her handy chart offers several coloring options, most of which are found readily at the co-op or are already in your cupboard. So you're a veganista, or vegan-curious, and looking for some fresh Easter recipes? Take a look at some of these at at VegKitchen. The crustless tofu quiche with mushroom and herbs is hitting my sweet spot; while the spring greens salad with endive and oranges (I would use blood oranges, myself) would be a great way to use the red endive we have at FH right now. I would use blood oranges for this recipe. Because not all of us will be able to sit down to an easter feast (and that's an increasing number of us): Check out the Neighboring Food Co-op Association's (NFCA) "Food Co-ops and Healthy Food Project". The project focuses on ways that co-ops can serve the needs of all community members but especially those at low-income levels, who often have the least access to fresh, healthy food. Our recent member survey tells us that FH customers tend to be more highly-education than the general population as a whole, which may also indicate but does not guarantee higher income levels. The survey also reminds us that we still have a lot of work to do in the community at all income and education levels. How can we best achieve that goal? (Thank you Ellen Anthony for sharing the link): "In the U.S. 23.5 million Americans (including 6.5 million children) live in areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, particularly in low-income neighborhoods and communities. The recent recession and its aftermath have had a dramatic impact on communities across our region, affecting people’s ability to provide themselves and their families with healthy food... "Food co-ops would appear to be an effective tool for supporting healthy food access, locally rooted economic infrastructure and ownership opportunities due to the values and principles of the movement...For many food co-ops, there is the central challenge of being affordable to all sectors of the community while also facilitating economic support of food systems that provide high nutrition, protect human and ecological health, and promote fair relationships with producers and farmworkers."
0 Comments
(Above: Wild rice pilaf with butternut squash; recipe and photograph copyright Cathy Elton, 2011.)
A few weeks back I'd posted a link on the Fiddleheads FB page to Cathy Elton's Healthy Thanksgiving Challenge on her blog What Would Cathy Eat? that's worth a revisit. 25 people, including yours truly, submitted recipes that are new twists on old classics, all vegan or vegetarian and healthier than the traditional versions and offerings: lower in fat, sugar, gluten-free and so forth. Then again, when I think about what appeared on our holiday tables back when I was growing up - gelatinous "gravy" from a can or jar, dehydrated "stuffing" from a box, potatoes cloaked with margarine and dolloped with sour cream, plus the ultimate triumph of corn syrup, the pecan pie - perhaps it isn't such such a challenge after all. Thanksgiving is over of course but another set of holidays is "around the bend". (As your brain will most likely be by the end of January, particularly if you work in retail.) But these recipes don't need the excuse of a "holiday" to give them a go; they are their own reason for being. Most utilize the wonderful, earthy ingredients particular to the season, (brussels sprouts, cranberries, winter squash, pears, etc); others make the most of items available throughout the year, such as garlic, quinoa and other grains.) I'm particularly intrigued by the vegan-apple pear, the quinoa bake, the variations on stuffed winter squash, the persimmon-arugula salad (I'm guessing that the escarole at the co-op from Hidden Brook Gardens, or any bitter green, would probably work as well), the wild-rice pilaf with butternut squash pictured above, the...well, you get the idea. Instant classics, every one. Of course if you really wanted to add meat or eggs or dairy or, a cup of butter to any of them, that's easily enough done, but I doubt you will once you give the originals a try. If you try any of these, do share your experience. (Rocked your world? Not so much?) And if you have a favorite seasonal recipe to share, especially along the lines of Cathy's challenge, and particularly using fresh ingredients available at Fiddleheads or whatever co-op is near you (but not exclusively so in either case) do drop me an line (see my addy in the sidebar) or share it in the comments. |
/recipe-archive.htmlPrintable pdf files of the recipes on this blog can be found on our Recipe Archive Page.
Archives
August 2014
Categories
All
Text and photos copyright 2011-2013 Janice Janostak unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
|