It does sound a bit strange to frame this as plants’ rights, but the efforts to maintain a plants integrity and natural evolutionary progression benefit us all.

Doesn’t have “artificial ingredients” and “fine in moderation” my ass.

Here’s a description (from the Weston A. Price Foundation) about how this stuff is made:

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is produced by processing corn starch to yield glucose, and then processing the glucose to produce a high percentage of fructose. It all sounds rather simple–white cornstarch is turned into crystal clear syrup. However, the process is actually very complicated. Three different enzymes are needed to break down cornstarch, which is composed of chains of glucose molecules of almost infinite length, into the simple sugars glucose and fructose.

First, cornstarch is treated with alpha-amylase to produce shorter chains of sugars called polysaccharides. Alpha-amylase is industrially produced by a bacterium, usually Bacillus sp. It is purified and then shipped to HFCS manufacturers.

Next, an enzyme called glucoamylase breaks the sugar chains down even further to yield the simple sugar glucose. Unlike alpha-amylase, glucoamylase is produced by Aspergillus, a fungus, in a fermentation vat where one would likely see little balls of Aspergillus floating on the top.

The third enzyme, glucose-isomerase, is very expensive. It converts glucose to a mixture of about 42 percent fructose and 50-52 percent glucose with some other sugars mixed in. While alpha-amylase and glucoamylase are added directly to the slurry, pricey glucose-isomerase is packed into columns and the sugar mixture is then passed over it. Inexpensive alpha-amylase and glucoamylase are used only once, glucose-isomerase is reused until it loses most of its activity.

There are two more steps involved. First is a liquid chromatography step that takes the mixture to 90 percent fructose. Finally, this is back-blended with the original mixture to yield a final concentration of about 55 percent fructose–what the industry calls high fructose corn syrup.

There’s a couple of other murky things that consumers should know about HFCS. According to a food technology expert, two of the enzymes used, alpha-amylase and glucose-isomerase, are genetically modified to make them more stable. Enzymes are actually very large proteins and through genetic modification specific amino acids in the enzymes are changed or replaced so the enzyme’s “backbone” won’t break down or unfold. This allows the industry to get the enzymes to higher temperatures before they become unstable.

Consumers trying to avoid genetically modified foods should avoid HFCS. It is almost certainly made from genetically modified corn and then it is processed with genetically modified enzymes.

In truth,  I wanted gas to be $5 a gallon 15 years ago (and said so then).  If gas prices had been higher all along we would be much further along in alternative energy research and use, AND people would have long ago demanded better, more accessible, and more frequent public transportation.  Plus, if gas had cost more I don’t think we would have seen the sprawl into suburbia that has marked the last few decades.  Instead we would have been forced to consider ways to increase urban density, while also making urban living more affordable for families.  Mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods anyone?  Maybe if gas had been $5 a gallon all along Americans wouldn’t have convinced themselves in droves that they needed 4000+ square foot houses, or behemoth vehicles that are impossible to see around when I’m trying to turn left on my corner and one is parked in my line of sight (one of many reasons they are annoying).

With gas prices sky-rocketing, it seems that everywhere I turn people are talking about scaling back, going smaller, energy consumption, public transportation, and a host of other important things.

It’s obvious that higher gas prices are affecting food costs too.   Across the board, everyone is feeling the pinch, and the costs to consumers are rising.  Except less so with local foods.  I was at my grocery store the other day and noticed a HUGE price difference between local and non-local products.  I was buying flour and saw that Bob’s Red Mill (a favorite of mine for grains/flour) had their 5 lb organic brand of flour priced at $5.99 while the equivalent King Arthur’s product was $9.99.  I was shocked!  A $4 difference?  I was so taken aback by the difference I decided to talk to the poor guy stocking the shelves about it.  He said that Bob’s has a history of keeping prices lower, but that they were seeing huge price differences on local products throughout the store.  Finally, the little local companies have a way to stay a leg up on the big guy in their own market.  Seems like a good thing to me.  You?

In my quest for canning peaches I’m learning that nearly all peaches, even at the farmers market, are conventionally grown (=sprayed).  Even the organic ones are usually treated, just with those things legal to use on organic products, so more natural sprays and fungicides.  Berries, most at the farmers market, are sprayed too.  Because they’re like sponges for sprays many growers have taken to only spraying the plant before the flowers become fruit.  Then they spray the crop again only if they think they’ll lose it otherwise. This is better than conventionally-grown, but still not ‘organic’ or ‘spray-free’.

That’s why Thompson’s is such a treat.  He manages to be spray-free by using crop rotation, cover crops that provide natural insectary habitats, managing irrigation, and keeping soils fertile.  

They have a table at the following farmers markets: Gresham, Portland, Hollywood, Milwaukie, Sandy. Also, you can call the crop line (503-658-4640) to see what they have at the farm stand in Boring, worth a trip if you’re getting a lot because the prices are lower.  But go early because things sell out.  You can also place larger orders on the crop line and have them brought to your market (if it’s one of the 5 listed above).

FYI: This week he’s having a special on marionberries (sweet, juicy and delicious!!).  You can get a lug (12 pints) for $15 if you buy 2 or more lugs (each is normally $30).  That’s $1.25 a pint – and that’s cheap!. Perfect for freezing. Or, if you’re like us, eating til you’re sick and then freezing the rest.

But, in an effort to use them in more creative ways, I stuck them in a “greek frittata”. It’s a good brunch item, easy and quick to make. It can even be made the night before and served chilled. Here’s the basic recipe.

Ingredients
6-ish eggs (depending on size of pan)
1/2 cup milk (more or less…depending on number of eggs)
minced garlic, 2-3 cloves
black pepper (1/4 teaspoon)
nutmeg (1/4 teaspoon)
beet or turnip greens (chopped), could also use spinach or chard too
green onions, sliced (3-4)
feta cheese, crumbled
tomatoes, sliced
Parmesan cheese, grated (to sprinkle on top)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Beat eggs and add milk, pepper and nutmeg. Mix well.
3. In an oven-proof pan (I used my cast-iron skillet), saute washed greens (with the water that clings to them) and the green onions in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Saute until leaves are softer but not withered. (If using chard, the stems need a bit more sauteing than the leaves, so add them first and cook for a bit before adding leaves and green onions).
4. Pour egg mixture over the top of sautéed greens/onions.
5. Crumble feta into pan.
6. Place sliced tomatoes on top.
7. Sprinkle grated paremsan to finish.
8. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until firm throughout.

I finally remembered to take a picture of our haul from the CSA this week. Really, aren’t these veggies beautiful?

This week’s box contained: green onions, swiss chard, broccoli, lettuce, salad mix, carrots, beets, and radishes.

Each week we get incredible box notes with recipe ideas and tips for storing our veggies so they keep for the whole week, or longer. I’ll include some of those tips in future posts, but for recipes, feel free to check out their notes.

Except for the dried tomatoes, these are all ingredients you can currently find at your farmers market, and even the dried tomatoes can be substituted for fresh ones if your market has those (although I have to admit a slight preference for the dried ones in this recipe). We got some carrots and chard in our CSA box this week, so Eggs in a Nest were on the menu last night. Delicious.

My CSA gives us box notes each week with some suggested recipes for the major items in the box. I also have a few good books I got last summer when I decided to eat only the veggies we could buy at the farmers market. I’d kind of forgotten about these books until a few weeks ago when I saw green garlic at the market and remembered a favorite recipe from Local Flavors (Madison) for a green garlic and leeks risotto. Another favorite book for veggie recipes is The Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without (by Katzen, of Moosewood fame). Both are good go-to books when you have a vegetable and need inspiration about what to do with it.

I needed such inspiration last week when, for the third week in a row, we got a bunch of radishes. Unfortunately, I’ve never been much of a radish fan. I guess a hold-over from some experience with them as a kid. So I turned to the radish recipes in Local Flavors and found a recipe for radish butter for radish sandwiches and another for a a radish salad with Dry Jack (or parmigiano-reggiano) cheese. Both have been quite tasty, and have made me completely rethink my aversion to radishes.

Do you have any favorite farmers market and CSA-friendly cookbooks?

We actually got two big heads of lettuce, and we haven’t even polished off the two we got last week. And that does not take into account the 15 or so full heads of lettuce out in the garden. Why did I plant 15+ heads of lettuce you might ask? Why not? So, it is fair to say we have altogether too.much.lettuce.

Lettuce, unfortunately for us, is one of those things you can’t preserve. You can’t freeze it, or can it, and it doesn’t keep too long in the fridge, so you pretty much have to just eat it…and pawn it off on unsuspecting friends and family.

So, what’s the best way to keep lettuce longer? I’ve looked into it, and there seem to be two methods that speak to me:
1) Soak the leaves in cold water, rinsing off the dirt, and then spin them completely dry in a salad spinner. Once done, put them in a plastic bag, squeeze out all the air, and seal it. Should keep about a week (or more) this way.

2) Don’t wash the lettuce, leave the leaves on the stem, cut off a small slice of the stem and cover that with a folded (many times), cold, wet paper towel. Place the whole thing in a plastic bag, squeeze out the air, seal it. Then you wash the leaves when you’re ready to eat them. This also, should keep for about a week (or more).

I guess, given my abundance of lettuce, I should conduct a little study and see which method works better. Um. Maybe next week.

Then I went to Africa, and lived in Niger for two years. To say that I was exposed to a different way of including meat in my diet would be an understatement. There, as I suppose was once the case here, meat is something savored on special occasions. It isn’t expected to be part of one’s daily diet, much less part of every meal. The animals live in harmony with the people, providing milk, labor, and sometimes income. When meat is eaten, it is with the knowledge that something has been sacrificed, and every part of the animal is consumed or used (and I mean every part). There is no factory-farming or meat-packing, no hormones or cages (though I did see a fair number of goats that seemed to subsist entirely on black, plastic bags). We were nervous about eating meat there for other reasons, images of fly-covered meat at the market danced in our heads. But something about the way meat was consumed there made it, well, more palatable to me.

So there was that, and the fact that we (Seth and I) were hungry and craving protein. So, towards the end of our time in Niger, I began to eat the occasional brochette. It took some time for my body and mind to adjust to the change, but eventually I eased back into my omnivorous ways. As my old friend David would say, “it’s a slippery slope to eating human babies”…but I digress.

When we came back to the U.S. I learned more about cooking meat and found that it is a surprisingly simple way to make a meal. Vegetarian recipes, what with all their cutting and spicing are a bit more challenging generally than grilling/broiling/sauteing up a hunk of meat. So I started cooking meat more and more. At a point recently, I realized that some form of meat (usually chicken breasts, ground turkey/chicken, or fish) are part of our dinners 5 or so nights a week. I rarely cook red meat, though an occasional burger, pork chop, or slice of bacon has been known to grace our table. This is not to say we don’t eat red meat, we do, just mostly when we’re out, so not as frequently.

Why, oh why am I writing all of this? As you know from a previous post (and countless other news stories), there is a shortage of rice and other global food staples. People have been going hungry all over the world and my diet has changed very little. What bothers me about this is that part of the reason folks are going hungry has to do with our (and other rich nations) meat consumption. I recently heard another show about this issue on NPR, and was left feeling like it is very unjust that I am feeling little to no repercussion for my compatriot’s over-consumption while those around the world are suffering severely as a result of it. The old vegetarian reasoning creeps back: the production of meat leads to increased greenhouse gas emissions, and the land that was once used to grow food for people is now used to grow feed for animals who will later become food (in some places). This is all very ‘Diet for a Small Planet’ stuff. Not new news, of course.

So, here’s the thing. The meat that we eat (with the exception of that in some restaurants) is faithfully more responsible, local, free-range, grass-fed, all those good things. So, in theory my actual meat is probably not eating feed grown in African fields that should be used to grow food for African people. Also, in theory, my meat does not quite contribute the same amount of greenhouse gas to our global climate crisis. Not that my animals don’t produce methane, but I’m not supporting the overproduction of animals through factory-farming, and I’m not eating meat that was shipped from another state – or country. But, I am, most certainly over-consuming meat by any historical standard. Yes, many argue, we were created omnivores; but I’m hazarding a guess that we were not intended to eat this much meat this often. And, meat, no matter how it’s raised does lead to less food production of other types and more pollution.

I really appreciated Kingsolver’s assessment of meat consumption in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Forgive the over-simplification, but essentially, all food production involves death of some kind, and eating local meat is probably better for the earth than eating foreign bananas (she said it much better). True. And still, I don’t think she was suggesting support for eating (local) meat every day, or even a few times a week. It is clear that our meat consumption is just another sign of the American tendency towards over-consumption in general.

So, we’re cutting down drastically; pulling out the old veggie cookbooks, enjoying the growing variety of fresh produce for summer, and figuring out how to make it less of a staple and more of a special occasion food.