Serving Up Memories

One thing Helaina and I love to do, is check out our local thrift shops. On a recent trip, we were both looking for things to craft into picture frames. I ended up coming across something perfect to hang on my wall that would hold mementos from my time traveling in Europe this past year. As necessary for this blog, yes, it relates to food! What I ended up buying was a wooden serving tray. In it, I arranged some favorite pictures from locales such as England and France. To spice it up, I hot glued some French lavender onto the arrangement, since it is a flower that will stand the test of time as it dries, and a quote reading, "you need not worry about the future" from a fortune cookie. I draped some beads over it, and voilà, a nice photo tray on my wall, which serves up some beautiful and delicious memories. So if you have a little time on your hands, an old serving tray or dish lying around, and pictures that long to be put on display, give it a try!

-Ianna 

Jalapeño Corn Bread

This recipe is a take on spicy corn muffins my Aunt Sue always makes for us when she comes to visit. I also include the way I prepare honey butter to cut the spice of the bread. I have only made this in a 7x11 glass cake pan, but my suspicion is that it will work just as beautifully if you put it in muffin tins, just try cooking for only 15-20 minutes or so if you do that. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1-14 3/4 oz. can sweet creamed corn
1 fresh Jalapeno, seeds removed and chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup corn flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease and flour a 7x11 baking pan.

In one medium bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, and eggs well. Once this is mixed together, add your milk, creamed corn, and jalapeno.

In another bowl combine the remaining dry ingredients. Add the dry mix to the wet ingredients gradually- I recommend doing it in thirds. After everything is mixed well pour it into your prepared baking pan and bake for about 50 minutes to an hour depending on your oven.

While the corn bread is in the oven, take however much butter you want to prepare and allow it to soften to room temperature. Once your butter has softened, just add honey. The ratio I use is about three parts butter to one part honey. So if you use about three tablespoons of butter, use about one tablespoon of honey. Whip the butter up until it is smooth and looks kind of like yellow frosting.

When your corn bread is out of the oven and slightly cooled enjoy it with a generous portion of soft honey butter. Trust me, its awesome. 

 -H!

Why is Corn Important?

Corn is important because, in this country, corn is everything. Corn is one of our main cash crops in America; we feed it to the cows we eat; we refine it to make a substitute for sugar; corn byproducts are found in toothpaste, paint, and a slew of other items that seem in no way related to corn.

Credit to: Osmani, Cagle Cartoons, 4/15/2008

So why is corn really important? Agriculture began to be subsidized during the New Deal in the 1930s in order to protect farmers who, in addition to the Great Depression, were also facing the devastation of the Dust Bowl and decades of hard times. Corn became heavily subsidized when the United States economy was on a downward spiral, and because these Depression era subsidies remain intact, current Agricultural policy no longer makes sense in a contemporary context. However, this may be hard to change: equal representation from each state in the senate, in addition to the sizable interests of agriculture in Southern and Midwestern states causes corn to have immense lobbying power in Washington. Taken this way, the problem becomes not the farmer or the crop necessarily- but the system and the American model of democracy.

Outdated agriculture subsidies reward the crop, and not necessarily the farmer. Their purpose was to facilitate the farmer in cheaply producing large quantities of corn, which is exactly what is accomplished. We have a handful of commodity crops that are heavily subsidized in this way, but corn may be the most important. Corn provides cheaper feed for the cattle and dairy industries than it would cost the farmer to produce his own feed. It can also be refined and processed to make an astonishing array of chemicals that pervade our grocery stores. It is therefore becoming the backbone of much of American industry, but this relationship is not a healthy one.

None of this is to say I am anti-corn in any way. I love corn. Corn chowder, corn bread, popcorn. I love it, corn is delicious and incredibly versatile. But has that blessing actually turned into a curse? Is the danger of corn its awesome utility, that has now turned it into a- farmers , forgive me- monster taking over the plains of America? How is America to restore balance?

When I talk about corn as a vacuum for federal subsidies, crop insurance, etc., I am referring to large corporate farms - think Monsanto, Cargill, who effectively monopolize the industry -not the small family farms we all might tend to envision when we think “agriculture.” This romantic image is at odds with reality, where corporate farms take the lion’s share of federally allocated aid. The top ten percent of agribusiness collected just under 75% of the total amount of government subsidies in 2010. These numbers indicate a trend similar to what we observe when we look at wealth distribution across our entire nation. The giants of the industry enjoy the well over the majority of agriculture subsidies, while small scale and family farms are left to struggle to make ends meet.

The incredible surpluses created by this subsidized agriculture  industry in America affect not only our own farmers and consumers- it goes beyond our borders to affect world trade and the global food supply. To put this in perspective, think about soda, something we are all familiar with. Americans drink soda which would taste better, be cheaper, and most importantly be healthier, if it had been produced with sugar cane, not the heavily processed and refined sweetener we know as high fructose corn syrup. Because we import little sugar, impoverished Haitian or Jamaican farmers are forced to burn their surplus crop when they find they have little to no market for American consumers. Subsidizing the corporate farms while the working poor of any nation- American or otherwise- go hungry and are forced into debt is unacceptable, and future agricultural policy in America would do well to recognize this.

Credit to: Huffaker, Cagle Cartoons, 4/25/2008

-H. BOMB

To learn more:

Farm Subsidy Database, "The United States Summary Information," Environmental Working Group, last updated June 2011, http://farm.ewg.org/region.php?fips=00000&regname=UnitedStatesFarmSubsidySummary .

Jedediah Purdy & James S. Salzman, "Corn Futures: Consumer politics, health, and climate change," Duke Law School Faculty Scholarship Series, Paper 145, 2008, http://lsr.nellco.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1146&context=duke_fs .

Kari Hamerschlag, "Farm Subsidies in California: Skewed Priorities and Gross Inequalities," Environmental Working Group, accessed October 25 2011, http://farm.ewg.org/pdf/california-farm.pdf .

"Top Ten Things You Didn't Know Were Made From Corn," Agriculture Corner, March 15 2011, http://www.agricorner.com/op-ten-things-you-didn%E2%80%99t-know-are-made-from-corn/

Sweet and Savory Baked Pumpkin Seeds

Taste the Fall! Sweet and Savory Baked Pumpkin Seeds!

Nothing else quite makes you feel like fall has arrived until the leaves begin to turn color, and you find yourself surrounded by perfect, big, round, hard, pumpkins! I found myself in the presence of many pumpkins recently, and after carving mine up in good company, I knew I didn’t want the seeds to go to waste so I decided to set my mind to developing a baked pumpkin seed recipe. There were so many seeds, that I decided that making both a sweet and a savory recipe would be a good idea. I had about two cups of seeds to work with, so I divided up the seeds and here’s what I came up with!

Honey Brown Sugar Baked Pumpkin Seeds:

1 cup pumpkin seeds

About 4 tbsp honey

Brown sugar

-Preheat oven to 300 degrees F

-Rinse seeds of all the gooey orange fibers, and lay out to dry

-Once dry, mix the seeds and honey in a bowl

-Spread over a baking sheet – do not spread on tinfoil etc., honey will stick!

-Place in oven, and after 30 minutes remove to sprinkle desired amount of brown sugar – overcooking brown sugar can result in bitterness!

-Place back in oven, and bake for about anther 30 minutes

I recommend taste-testing seeds sporadically, because everyone prefers a different level of crunch to their seeds.

Sriracha Baked Pumpkin Seeds:

3 tbsp olive oil

Sriracha – amount depends on spice level desired

1 tbsp seasoned salt

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp cayenne

-Preheat oven to 300 degrees F

-Rinse seeds of all the gooey orange fibers, and lay out to dry

-Once dry, mix the seeds and olive oil in a bowl

-Mix in seasoned salt, pepper, and cayenne, and I also added a couple generous squirts of Sriracha

-Spread over a baking sheet

-Bake for about 1 hour – Again, I recommend taste-testing seeds on occasion to reach desired level of crunch

These recipes are just meant to inspire different ways of flavoring pumpkin seeds, and don’t need to be strictly followed. Have fun with it and enjoy!

-Ianna

Becoming an Omnivore

It was an incredibly hot day, and three friends and I had gone to 6 Flags Magic Mountain on our shared day off. After one or two rides, we became hungry and settled on an ominous looking Mexican restaurant outside of Gotham City. Coincidentally, we all ordered a chicken burrito. And then everything started to go downhill...

As the day became hotter, we realized these burritos  were probably a little less than thoroughly cooked. I remember feeling progressively sicker, and this was compounded by the blistering summer heat in an overcrowded area of screaming children. I blame the feeling on the chicken burrito because all of us felt sick almost simultaneously with that same uneasiness in our stomachs.

So that was that. This chicken burrito, I decided, would be my last. I had been flirting with the idea of giving up meat altogether for quite some time, and this was the final straw. The processed meats preserved with sulfates, salts and Bog knows what else not only grossed me out but tended to trigger the migraines I was prone to. Add to this the fact I had just finished reading The Jungle for an English paper, and now was absolutely horrified at industrial manufacturing and meat processing. Call it the placebo effect if you will; but for me the burrito was a material confirmation of what I had been reading and thinking about. I no longer wanted to be a part of an exploitative, unhealthy and polluting food system; so I tried my best from there onwards not to be.

I abstained from meat for five years, and during this time I only found out new things that confirmed my position. Cramped factory farms and industrialized agriculture not only harmed animals, I learned, but also harmed the earth.  I didn't even miss meat, and I would find the same to be true for eggs and dairy products.  I tried my best to abstain from these as well, because I figured if I was not going to eat meat, why eat other animal byproducts? My reasoning went something like this: if you consume eggs, you are still consuming a part of the chicken. Similarly, if you consume milk, you are still consuming the cow in some respect. 

I never went full-fledged Vegan, but I definitely wasn't far off. I tended to cook mostly Vegan anyways, but every once in a while I would indulge in some pizza, a bean rice and cheese burrito, homemade cookies, those sorts of things.  I even got really good at cooking Vegan; and even better I became skilled in the elusive art of Vegan baking. All it takes really, is creativity, curiosity, and an open mind, I learned.

And then somewhere along the way, in no sudden or obvious fashion, my politics about food and the world began to change. If my abstinence from meat and other animal products focused on concern for the environment, humane conditions, and big business, who was I to eat tofu made of genetically modified soy beans imported under Free Trade agreements with, say, Brazil? How much smaller is my carbon footprint, really, if I continued to consume such items? Even more- if I was so concerned about humane conditions for the animals, why was I not more concerned with the welfare of the humans that produced this food? Yes, I was still quite firmly against most aspects of the meat and dairy industry, but I gradually grew more concerned with the conditions of farmers and laborers producing what I ate as a Vegetarian. 

Try to think about our food system as an hourglass: there are millions of farmers making hardly sustainable incomes who must sell their crop to an alarmingly small number of buyers and processers owned by a few large corporations. These corporations in turn make an incredible profit redistributing this food to millions of consumers at cheap prices.

Clearly this is unfair for about a million reasons I won't go into just here- but this idea played into my decision to reintegrate meat, eggs and dairy into my regular diet. The way I began to see it, locally produced, fresh, hopefully organic, free range and grass fed food items are more in line with my sensibilities than are items like the tofu I describe above. If I don’t want to support corporate industrialized agriculture, I don’t have to. And being a Vegetarian or even a Vegan doesn't necessarily guarantee this.

For me, one of the key items to pay attention to is just how I use my dollars to support food systems I am politically, ethically, or otherwise aligned with. I mean, this is capitalism after all, and the flow of capital is what counts. In our American version of democracy, one of the best ways to exercise your political compassions is to pay attention to where you put your dollars. We often feel powerless in this nation, as if our votes don't count and those who write policy are completely out of touch with our needs. But think of it this way: in our capitalist system, our dollars are our votes. Food is incredibly political, and it’s a decision we all make consistently at least 3 times a day. If we all begin to vote with our health, the environment, and local economies in mind, we will begin to see the affects soon enough.

For me, some free range chicken from a family farm two hours away is ultimately a healthier, more humane and more aware choice than some Vegetarian options that may be imported from who knows where. Additionally, the former choice supports a domestic local economy, as opposed to a multinational corporation that doesn't care for the environment or the laborers it employs. I don't mean to knock all you Vegetarians and Vegans out there, I understand and truly sympathize with your perspective. And to tell the truth, I will continue to consume soy products; but the important thing now for me to consider is where the soy originated from.

So. In principle is there really anything that horrible about eating meat? I mean, we out competed Neanderthals and got these big brains somehow- and a protein rich diet had something to do with it! I’m not saying I’ve done a 180 and disagree with Vegetarianism now, I’ll still take a black bean patty over a beef one any day of the week, but what I mean to say is that indiscriminately abstaining from meat will no longer suffice to communicate my perspective.  My political and ethical views on food have changed appreciably since I was 17, and although they are not entirely different in effect, they are now quite different in shape from my early days as a young anarchist.

-H. BOMB

Foodie Ideas! A Fruit Treasure Map

If we had to say what we enjoy more than food, it would have to be free food.  Someone recently gave us an idea to enjoy food in this most enjoyable way: Making a fruit map of the area that we live. Or, what we would like to call a Fruit Treasure Map. Since we thought this was a fantastic idea that appealed to our deep-rooted foodie sensibilities, we decided that this idea must be shared. The act is simple: Construct a map of your area, and go explore. Mark on your map where easily attainable, free fruit is growing, and you will eventually develop a selection of places to return and collect your fruity treasure. 

Here is one of the fruits Helaina and I have marked on our map, and have been collecting recently - a Pineapple-Guava:

Its sweet and lightly tart, complex flavor is truly addicting. Even if it is not growing in an area near you, we highly recommend giving it a try. We’re sorry we can’t tell you the location of our finds though. Everyone knows, pirates don’t share their treasure!

*Disclaimer – We are not promoting going into people’s gardens or something along those lines and taking fruit that people have put long and hard work into. Sometimes, fruit gets neglected in more public spaces. Just use your best judgment, and please, pick responsibly. :)

-Love Handing Food

Cous Cous Stuffed Peppers

PEPPERS:

2-3 large Bell Peppers

1 6 oz. box Cous Cous, prepared to box directions

1/2 large Yellow Onion

2-3 cups Spinach

3 cloves Garlic, coarsely chopped

8 oz. Whole Corn Kernels

4 oz. Green Chilies

8 oz. can Tomato Sauce

8 oz. can Black Beans

Pepper Jack Cheese, crushed Tortilla Chips, Cayenne, Salt, Pepper, and Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce to taste

*Makes enough stuffing for 2 peppers plus leftovers, or 3 generously filled peppers.

SIDE SALAD:

Coarsely chopped Red Leaf Lettuce

Pumpkin Seeds

Cherry Tomatoes

1 chopped Carrot

1/2 ripe Avocado, cut into chunks

DRESSING:

1 tbsp. plain Greek Yogurt

Juice of 1 lime

Cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste

We started with the idea of using cous cous to stuff peppers and bake them in our oven. Simple enough of a start, right? Using cous cous as a base for stuffing appealed to us because of its grainy texture and neutral flavor, not to mention it only takes minutes to cook! With a simple bare bones idea of what to cook for dinner, we headed to the market.

Walking up and down the isles we stared to zero in on tastes, textures and colors we wanted to incorporate into our dish:

"Orange and yellow peppers, definitely."

"Something chunky!"

"Let's make it spicy!"

"It needs to have a crunch to it..."

"Let's layer  the cheese throughout it."

After looking at what we had to work with, pulling items from the shelf here and there, and collaborating on what we already had in the pantry back home, it came to us: Baked peppers, stuffed with a bouquet of yummy ingredients to channel the flavors of American Southwest cuisine. To compliment the smokiness and spice of the peppers, we decided to make a side salad that would cool the tongue and add a little extra crunch and freshness. With our mouths beginning to water, we gathered up the remaining ingredients to add to our cart and headed home.

With our knives in hand- and a little soul music for atmosphere- we got to cooking! We began by preheating our oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Next we started chopping up our veggies to pan fry and cooking a box of cous cous according to the box directions. Once the veggies and cous cous were cooked, we combined them in the frying pan adding spices and cans of green chilies, corn, black beans, and tomato sauce. While the stuffing mixture continued to cook down, we cut our peppers in half the long way, and added a little bit of grated pepper jack cheese in the bottom. We stuffed the peppers with our mixture from the pan and let them cook for 20 minutes on a baking sheet lined with tin foil. 

While our peppers baked in the oven, we prepared the salad. We chopped up fresh red leaf lettuce then added some crunchy carrots and pumpkin seeds, smoothly ripe avocado chunks, and juicy gold heirloom cherry tomatoes. To contrast the spice of our main dish, we went with a cool and creamy dressing. With the tang of yogurt, the tartness of lime, and just a hint of spice, this easy to make dressing is a great compliment to any spicy dish.

Just as we finished preparing our salad, our peppers were ready to remove from the oven. With a little extra pepper jack cheese and crushed tortilla chips to garnish the top, our peppers were ready to be enjoyed!

We set our table with flowers and napkins, and of course,  a new bottle of Crispin Hard Apple Cider served over ice and honey. While the apple flavor did diverge slightly from the rest of our flavor pallet, it was a delicious enough choice for us! For us, cooking is about using what you already have, complimented by a few fresh items from the market. What we had to work with on this night was hard cider, we are not ones to leave a bottle unopened for long!

The smell and presentation of our meal intrigued a few of our housemates, and they were welcomed to share our dinner with us. Although we thought we were making a meal for two, this recipe easily could have fed three adults generously. While Diego was utterly speechless upon trying our dish, Dina fondly proclaimed, "well, this is just awesome." But don't take our word for it- in fact, don't even take Dina or Diego's word or it- try this yourself! Don't be afraid to substitute some of our ingredients for some you might like better, or whatever you have handy in your own pantry. Cooking is about experimenting with what YOU have to make a meal for YOU to enjoy. And if you can show a couple people you love in the process, by filling their bellies with something warm and delicious, all the more reason to get in the kitchen and get cookin'!

-Love Handling Food

The Sprouting of Ideas

We have been living together for nearly three years now, and it is highly likely that a fat portion of that time has revolved around a very specific topic: FOOD. And when we say we talk about food often, we do not just mean about eating it. What we mean is how our conversations regularly revolve around how food encompasses so much of our daily lives beyond the immediate actions of preparing and consuming it. It seeps into other areas of our human existence: the social, political, economic, and so on.

In our day-to-day conversations, the batter of this blog truly began to rise. It was not until recently though, that we gave more consideration to looking for a medium to share our ideas about food related topics and experiences with our friends, family, and anyone else who would be interested. This blog will deal with an array of avenues that are associated with food, such as cooking it, eating it, buying it, growing it, living out your creativity through it, and simply appreciating it. You name it. Because we love handling food.

-Ianna and Helaina