The Farmers Markets (@ Lexington, MA, and elsewhere!)

Hello everyone,

I wanted to express my love for the Lexington Farmers Market (and all farmers markets, in general!)

The Lexington Farmers Market has a diverse array of farmers and vendors, including gelato from Giovanna Gelato, rotational artisans, and fresh, daily caught fish from Globe Fish Co.

To honor the bikers, the first 100 people to ride to the Lexington Farmers Market and check in with the Bike Valet receive a $2 Market Gift Certificate, which can be used to purchase any food items at the LFM!

There was even music entertainment on the day that I stopped by the farmers market (June 16th).

And at the LFM, I was very glad to meet Charlie from Rad Urban Farmers, who farms and maintains the land at homes in Arlington, MA and Lexington, MA, in order to sell goods at farmers markets. In exchange, the host families/individuals are provided with fresh produce that was grown in their own backyard! This concept is great!

I tried some carrot cake muffins from Glutenus Minimus, which sells gluten-free baked goods, and they were delicious! (You can see that I ate the muffin top on the right before I took this picture :) )


And I could not help but buy some fresh baby spinach from Butterbrook Organic Farm. I love baby spinach! MmMm...


I am continually impressed with my hometown's farmers market, and I love visiting! I would encourage anyone to stop by if they are in the area- the Lexington Farmers Market runs every Tuesday (6/6-10/27) from 2-6:30 pm, at the corner of Mass. Ave. and Fletcher Ave. You can check out the LFM's Calendar of Events here.

On another note, I am very happy to announce that Boston University (which I am currently studying at) has begun a farmers market with local vendors and farmers for the first time! Read more about Boston University's Farmers Market.









More and more farmers markets are popping up everywhere, which I am very excited about! If you do not currently have a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), or if you already have a CSA and would like to supplement it with more locally produced food items, look at Mass Farmers Markets, LocalHarvest, MassGrown's listing, and Edible Boston's listing for farmers markets that are in the area.
In addition, see when various fruits and vegetables are in season, and watch Edible Boston's video and tour of Opening Day at Copley's Farmers Market.
Have a good week, and enjoy the farmers markets while fresh produce is in season!

The Future of Food Conference & Michael Pollan!

My apologies for not posting in awhile...I always seem to get busy no matter what time of year it is!

In any case, I had a wonderful end to finals week with the conference The Future of Food: Transatlantic Perspectives on May 8th and 9th. And the next Tuesday, I finally saw Michael Pollan speak at the West Roxbury Branch Library!

The Future of Food Conference, organized by the Institute of Human Sciences, was meant to encourage people to think more consciously about the food they buy and eat. It discussed some of the present problems regarding our food systems and sustainability, and also presented some potential solutions to these problems.

The two day conference began with the workshop "Wild Fermentation," which featured Sandor Ellix Katz, author of the books Wild Ferementation and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved. Katz taught us about fermentation and how easy and simple it is to make sauerkraut. In vinegar or acetic acid fermentation, yeasts convert carbohydrates -> alcohol + CO2, and bacteria subsequently convert the alcohol -> acetic acid + water, producing vinegar (1).

After Katz, Bryant Terry, whose latest book is Vegan Soul Kitchen, talked to us with a lecture, cooking-demo, and dinner. Terry, also an eco-chef and food justice activist, spoke with us about his experiences; and the menu included recipes featured in his book, such as citrus collard greens with raisins.

Next up was a free screening of King Corn, with an introduction by filmmaker Ian Cheney and subsequent discussion with film director Aaron Woolf. The film discusses how corn has become a commodity and is in almost everything we eat. Additionally, corn is one of the U.S.'s most over-produced and over-subsidized crops. If you have not seen this film yet, I highly recommend it!

Saturday was comprised of five panels and two keynote addresses. The presenters included Satish Kumar, editor of the magazine Resurgence; Mark Winne, author of Closing the Food Gap; Benedikt Haerlin, president of Save our Seeds; Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fair Trade Foundation; Michael Ableman, farmer and author of Fields of Plenty, and many more!


Numerous thought-provoking facts and comments were made, such as:

• 40% of greenhouse emissions are food related
• 30-50% of food produced in the U.S. is thrown away
• 30-40% of the cereal production in India is rotting after harvest
• The food crisis is the product of cheap food/food subsidies
• Many genetically modified plants are marked with antibiotic-resistant marker genes, which has led to some controversy.
• In the Union of Concerned Scientists report "Failure to Yield" by Doug Gurian-Sherman, genetically engineered crops actually do not increase yields! See the press release here.

There were many great discussions, questions, and comments made on Friday and Saturday, and hopefully videos of the entire conference will be up on the Institute of Human Science's website soon!

For another take on this conference, read Slow Food BU's blog post or my friend Elizabeth's post.













Last year I had made a trip to Brown University in Rhode Island to see Michael Pollan, only to be told that the room was packed and that I could not get in. So on Tuesday, May 12th, I was very excited to finally see him in Roxbury!

Michael Pollan highlighted a few topics from his books, which include "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food."

In short, Michael Pollan suggests that we should "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." A few other things that Michael Pollan touched upon:

• Nutrition science- it started in the 1830's/1840's, so it's not very strong yet, and it's arguable at best. Most often, they are based on food frequency questionnaires, which are not the most reliable.
• Nutrition labels- can be off by ~20-30%!
• Companies/committees can say to eat less of a nutrient but not less of a food.
  -This caused the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition to recommend to ''Choose meats, poultry and fish that will reduce saturated-fat intake," and to not to give their original recommendation to "reduce consumption of meat," due to uproar from the meat and dairy industry (1).

The traditional Western Diet, which includes everything but vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, often leads to chronic disease. Thus, we need to rethink about what we're eating, and so Michael Pollan is currently collecting Food Rules to make this transition for Americans easier. Some rules he has already collected include:

• Don't eat anything you've ever seen on TV
• Eat all of the junk food you want, as long as you make it yourself
• The Japanese quotation: "Eat until you are 80% full"

If you have any other helpful food rules, e-mail them to Michael Pollan at foodrules[at]michaelpollan.com!

And if you would like to read another recap of Michael Pollan's visit to Roxbury, read my friend Elizabeth's blog post here.

For those of you in the area, hope you've enjoyed the long weekend and the lovely weather!

Raw Vegan Carrot Cake

This past Sunday, I attended a Boston Localvores potluck. There were so many good eats and I had a great time!

I decided to make a raw vegan carrot cake based off of this recipe, and it received rave reviews! At first I was worried that the cake was too sweet, but I found out there is no such thing! Here are the ingredients and directions that I used, and as you can see I just made a few substitutions (pecans instead of walnuts, and dates instead of prunes) and doubled the original recipe so I could fit the cake into a 9 by 5 inch pan.

Cake

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup pinenuts

1/4 cup cashews

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch cloves

1/4 tsp ginger

3 dates, soaked for 5-10 min. in warm water

6 dried apricots, soaked for 5-10 min. in warm water

1/4 cup raisins, soaked for 5-10 min. in warm water

2 tbsp unsweetened, shredded coconut

3 medium carrots

*A pinch of nutmeg and/or allspice would work great, too!

Grind up the nuts and spices in a food processor, blender, or Magic Bullet until it's crumbly. Add the rest of the cake ingredients and blend until everything is a sticky mass. (Don't be afraid to do some mixing by hand, as well!) Oil a 9 by 5 inch pan and fill with the cake filling. You can put the cake in the fridge to cool while you make the frosting.

Frosting

1/4 cashew butter

1 1/2 tbsp agave nectar

2 tsp coconut oil

-Process/blend/mix the ingredients until it's well combined. If you only have cashews on hand that can also work, but the frosting may not come out as smooth.
-Frost the cake.

Caramel Sauce

2 tbsp agave nectar

1/4 tsp. vanilla

pinch of cinnamon

~2 tbsp pecans, as desired

Mix together the vanilla, agave, and cinnamon. Stir in the pecans to coat. Place the pecans on the cake and drizzle the cake with caramel.

Makes 1 (9 x 5 inch) cake.

Yum!

Agave is a nectar made from various species of agave plants, most often Blue Agaves- spikey, desert plants that resemble cacti but are actually more closely related to the plant aloe vera (1, 2). Agave tastes sweeter than sugar, and is made by extracting the juice from the agave core, and then filtering, heating, and treating it with enzymes to convert the carbohydrate inulin into sugars (1).

Many people love agave for its taste. Some also choose to use agave because it has a low glycemic index, meaning that when it's eaten alone, it has a low effect on your blood sugar levels (1, 2). (When you start combining and cooking foods, the effects of them on your blood sugar levels are a whole other story). Although agave is a popular sweetener among raw foodists, there may be some controversy over whether or not agave is raw when it's labeled as such. (In the raw foods world, the enzymes in foods that can benefit digestion are destroyed at 112°F).

I am not a raw foodist, although I love and am really interested in the concept of raw and living foods! Look for more posts in the future about raw foods!

Vegan Quiche #1 and #2

I love making crustless, vegan quiches! They are so easy to make and so healthy! They also are a great variation to eating tofu and give you the wonderful benefits of nutritional yeast!

Yeasts have long been used as supplements. While brewer's yeast is a by-product of making beer, nutritional yeast is made specifically for human consumption (1). It is a rich source of B-complex vitamins, trace minerals, and some protein (1)! Nutritional yeast has a cheese-like taste- sprinkle some on your popcorn, or substitute nutritional yeast for parmesan. However: nutritional yeast is not a good source of vitamin B12 (a vitamin of particular concern for vegans), unless it's been fortified with it (2)! You can find nutritional yeast in the bulk section of Whole Foods or the Harvest Co-Op.

The first recipe I made was the Crustless Spinach and Mushroom Quiche from Happy Herbivore. You cannot compare vegan quiche to quiche made from real cheese, but I was happy with my first attempt at making a vegan quiche!

My second quiche was adopted from Fat Free Vegan's Asparagus and Mushroom Quiche with a Brown Rice Crust. However, I doubled the tumeric so it was more yellow, and I substituted some of the veggies. I think it was the addition of tahini in this recipe that won me over, and so this is probably a recipe that I will be returning to. I may have also liked this recipe better because it did not have lemon juice, as the other one did. I did not make the brown rice crust this time, but I definitely need to try that the next time around- it sounds great! Here is my crustless, modified, and simpler version of the recipe:

Servings: 5
Cooking time: 45-60 min

Ingredients:
One 14-ounce package firm tofu
1/4 cup plain soy milk
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon tahini
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3/4 teaspoon salt
10 oz spinach (fresh, frozen, or defrosted frozen is fine)

Directions

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. 2. Add the first eight ingredients in a blender, and puree until smooth.
3. 3. -If you already defrosted some frozen spinach, skip this step!
   -If you are using still frozen spinach: put the spinach in a bowl. Boil some water, and pour the boiled water over the spinach. Ta-da! The spinach is ready to use. It should be soft and not icy. A little ice is ok. Alternatively: steam the spinach, or add some water to a pot and cook the spinach until it's wilted.
   -If you are using fresh spinach: steam the spinach, or add some water to a pot and cook the spinach until it's wilted.
   -Note: feel free to substitute or add any veggies as you wish!
4. 4. Drain and press the spinach to remove the extra water.
5. 5. In a bowl, combine the tofu mixture with the spinach/vegetables.
6. 6. Pour the mixture into a greased pie dish. (Psst- feel free to add a garnish, now or at the end, for some nice visual appeal!)
7. 7. Bake for 45-60 min. The quiche should be slightly crusty around the edges, and when you cut through the quiche it should be somewhat solid.

Note: this quiche is light. It makes a good snack, or an accompaniment to a meal. I divided it into 5 servings, because each 14-oz package of firm tofu is about 5 servings, with 70 calories, 3 g total fat, 2 g carbohydrate, and 7 g protein each.

And I apologize that I am not the world's best photographer. But I promise you that the quiches tasted delicious! :)

Enjoy!

Juicing Power

For many months I have been DREAMING OF JUICING CELERY. (Weird, I know). But last week I finally got a juicer! Oh wow it was so worth it! I got the Breville BJE200XL juicer from Amazon and so far it has been performing wonderfully. Plus, clean up is not hard at all!

WHY JUICE?

• Juices from raw vegetables is great, because when vegetables are cooked, some of the nutrients are lost, and some of the proteins become denatured, making them undigestable! (Meyerowitz, 14)
• Fresh juices are predigested, in that they are more easily digested, because they lack the fiber. This gives your body easier access to nutrients, improves your body's assimilation of nutrients, and conserves your body's energy, giving you more energy, and increasing your ability to fight disease! (Meyerowitz, 14-15)
• Fruits and vegetables have numerous phytochemicals, which help prevent against disease!
• The complex vitamins and minerals that are in plants cannot be replicated or reproduced with nutrition supplements (Meyerowitz, 16). Juices come from whole foods, while nutritional supplements are anything but!
• Juicing can concentrate pounds of produce and their nutrients in just a few glasses!
• In one study, scientistists analyzed the antiviral activity of fresh apple juice to apple cider, apple wine, and apple juice from concentrate. The most antiviral activity was seen in the fresh apple juice. Why? Because pasteurization in commercial juices destroys protective enzymes, and thus, decreases antiviral activity (Murray, 9). So drink some fresh, raw, unpasteurized juice!
• If you have digestive problems, juicing could be your answer!
• Juicing has helped some people with weight loss.

BUT- What about the lack of fiber?! The big juicing controversy.

• Fiber is indigestible. It is actually the juice that provides nourishment. (Murray, 8)
• Juicing is not meant to replace eating. Eating has its own role, and so does juicing. (And I'm sure that supplementation has its own role, too).
• Plus, you can still use the pulp (which has lots of fiber) that is left behind! Use some leftover carrot pulp to make carrot cake, replace a little bit of the flour in your recipe with leftover pulp, or use the pulp in some baked goods or dehydrated breads! (If none of these options appeal to you and if you're up for it, the pulp would also make some great compost!)
• If you are looking for some fiber, beans pack a punch! (Sorry, this is a somewhat unrelated side note!) :)

My first concoction:











Salad in a glass! I actually used a third of the ginger that's in the picture, and the drink was a little strong on the kale. But it was still delicious and nutritious, and you can see a bit of orange foam on the top of the drink from the carrots!

Some good things about:

• Kale- rich in calcium, chlorophyll, vitamins: C, E, B6, K, & folic acid, high in minerals: iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, and zinc; possesses cancer protective compounds, oxygenates the blood, improves red blood cell counts, the list goes on! (Meyerowitz 337-338)
• Carrots- great source of beta-carotenes (pre-vitamin A), contains B-vitamins & coenzyme Q10, good for dry skin problems, protects the respiratory system...(Meyerowitz, 313-314). They are also super sweet and great for juicing!
• Celery- used as a diuretic and laxative, helps to break up gallstones and heal wounds, rich in potassium, one of the best sources of coumarins, which help to inhibit various forms of cancer (Meyerowitz, 315-316)
• Ginger- stimulates digestion, releavies abdominal bloating, vomiting, and diarrhea, has anti-inflammatory properties, supports a healthy cardiovascular system, etc. (Meyerowitz 327-328)

I am going to be consuming so many vegetables with my lovely juicer! Juicing is DELICIOUS, it's EASY, and it makes it easy to consume LOTS OF VEGGIES! What more could you want? (You can juice fruit, too!)

Sources:

1. Meyerowitz, Steve. Power Juices Super Drinks. New York, NY: Keningston Publishing Corp., 2000.
2. Murray, Michael T. The Complete Book of Juicing. Rocklin, CA: Prima Publishing, 1992.

The Art of Making Masala Chai - Part II

OK, so here I will try to explain the factors that will affect the boiling time and the ingredients that you put into your masala chai!

Apparently, the spices typically used to prepare masala chai are pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and ginger (1).

Partly why I didn't include any measurements is because I never use any, and I do everything according to taste. Two things to remember: there is no standard recipe for chai (everyone's recipe is unique). Additionally, any recipe you read is the author's best approximations. So when you prepare a recipe, you may have to add little more of this, and a little less of that. People also have different preferences, so don't be afraid to adjust recipes to your liking!

In any case, here are my tips/advice on making masala chai:

MILK TYPE:

• Nut/seed milks- it's possible, delicious, and healthy!
  *I don't drink cow's milk that often. I usually use soy milk, and it turns out very well!
  *I made masala chai for Slow Food BU's potluck last week (which unfortunately was cancelled due to the weather), and actually made the chai out of unsweetened almond milk because a friend was allergic to soy. I was really happy with the result- I put the spices in with approximately the same ratios that I do for soy milk, and the almond milk masala chai came out great!
  *Note- I tried making masala chai out of homemade sesame seed milk once, and it did not come out very well. When heated, the milk separated and was somewhat grainy. I do not know if this doesn't happen to the seed milks that are sold in stores, because they are typically homogenized/pasteurized.


• *If you decide to make masala chai out of regular cow's milk (the traditional way!), the ratio of spices you put in will differ (different spices dilute out at different rates, and the rates will also vary according to the type of milk, because each milk has a different chemistry). You will also need to boil for a longer time and put in more spices, because the flavor of cow's milk is stronger than that of nut/seed milks.
  *It takes me quite awhile to get my chai made out of cow's milk to taste right. I'm so used to making masala chai out of soy milk, that making it out of cow's milk is a whole new game!

SPICES AND TIME

• You can make homemade masala chai in as little as 10-15 minutes. However, to make it this quickly, you will need to add more spices, in a little different ratios than if you slow-cooked it, and you might not be getting the most use out of your spices. See the section "save your spices!" below.


• I enjoy the process of boiling the tea for a long time (at least an hour). It's relaxing and makes me appreciate my chai even more! I also feel that it gives the masala chai more depth and complexity, and I get more use out of the spices this way.


• Save yourself some time and use up your spices- make a big batch of masala chai at once! You can refrigerate your leftovers and warm them up wherever, and whenever you want! (Or better yet, share it! :) )
  


• The newer and higher quality the spices are, the better flavor they will impart and the stronger their flavors will be (they will be more expensive, but will lead to less cooking time). Or if you have older or less quality spices, you will just have to boil longer or use more spices. Some places to buy spices: Whole Foods (check out their bulk section!), the Harvest Co-Op in Cambridge and Jamaica Plain (bulk section!), and Christina's Spice and Specialty Foods in Cambridge (even though it will be more expensive from here).

SAVE YOUR SPICES!

• Buying all of the spices for chai is expensive!!! Save your used spices in a container and put it in the fridge. Then whenever you're ready to make your next batch of chai (hopefully within a week or so- the spices might not last much more than that), you'll be prepared! You may need to add various amounts of different spices when you make your next batch, however.


• When I was at the farm, we actually stuck the whole pot (spices included) in the fridge for the next day (we made it everyday)! We were so addicted. :)


• If you don't have the time or the spices- you can buy chai tea bags or tea mixes in stores. They typically have black tea leaves and some of the common spices added to it. Like any tea, you boil water, add the tea bag, and add milk and sugar as desired, and there you have it! Chai in less than 5 minutes! However, these tea bags or pre-sold mixes will typically be less complex and will not have the same depth and intensity of home-made masala chai!

VARIATION

• Looking for a caffeine-free version? Make masala chai w/o the tea leaves, and you have spiced milk. It's delicious and GREAT before bed!!! MmMmMm...
• Someday I want to try making chai/spiced milk w/ rosehips. That will be fun!
  

Sorry for cheating and not actually giving a real recipe here >.< ...but how to make masala chai is so personal and depends on so many factors and your own opinion! If there is enough demand for it, I may come up with a recipe someday. In the meantime, if you absolutely need a recipe to follow, here are some starting points: Culinary Teas - Masala Chai and chai-tea.org.

Have fun!!! ^.^

The Art of Making Masala Chai - Part I

When I WWOOFed at the farm Artisans de la Terre in Canada over the summer (I had an AMAZING experience by the way. WWOOF is a program in which you volunteer on a farm, in exchange for food and housing), I had the great opportunity of learning how to make masala chai from a fellow worker who had spent a couple of years in India.

Chai is simply the word for tea in used in many cultures (1). However, in the U.S., the term chai generally refers to Indian masala chai, a tea made with a sweetner, milk, and spices (1). There is no one recipe for masala chai. Masala chai in India is like coffee in the U.S., is often sold in the streets or by street vendors known as chai wallahs in India, and Indian families each have their own unique way to prepare it (2).


How I make masala chai:

• I put milk in a pot and add water to the dilution desired.
• I put in the following (from top to down and left to right as seen in the picture): black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, freshly ground nutmeg, star anise, ginger, a little sugar (usually, but not always, sucanut), black tea, green cardmom, and coriander seeds.
• Stir everything together, than cover the pot and bring it to a boil.
• I leave the pot to simmer, usually for at least an hour. (Be careful that it doesn't boil over!)
  -I usually taste the tea every now and then. I sometimes adjust the amount of spices, add a little milk, or add a little water, according to taste. I leave it on the stove until I like the taste.
• Strain the spices out.
• That's it! Enjoy!

Ok, so that is the simplified version...and you may have noticed that I didn't put in any measurements or specific times. Um, and don't expect me to give you those, either. Sorry! Unfortunately, I am leaving it up to you to figure out these specifics (joy!), which will differ depending on how you like your chai. Look for my advice tomorrow- when I will try to explain the different factors that will influence the amount of ingredients that you put in and the time that it takes for you to make masala chai!