What a treat to be able to eat the fresh greens of summer. The field lettuce has come in, in a wide range of colors and shapes. It tastes so good after a winter and spring mostly on stored foods. And the "braising greens" are also ready to go.
We all know what to do with lettuce, but I had to hunt for a few new recipes for Greens. Braising greens are more robust than salad greens, and need some cooking to be at their best. Lettuce is not generally included; although you can cook lettuce, I've never had the heart to do so.
Braising greens can include endive, escarole, radicchio, bok choy, mizuna, chard in green, red, or rainbow colors, larger spinach, kale in their variety, collards, turnip greens, beet greens, and more. Even radish greens, if very fresh, can also be in the mix.
Kale is the most robust of them, and if your kale leaves are fairly good sized, slice them thin so that they cook along with the others. If you are using chard in a quick-cooking greens recipe, cut the ribs out and slice them thin, then chop the leaves. That'll give the ribs a chance to catch up on getting tender.
Chock-full of vitamins and minerals, greens are a great addition to your family table.
Braised Greens with Butter and Ginger
1 lb whatever braising greens you have on hand
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons tamari
1 finely sliced garlic scape (curly flowering top) or one
garlic clove minced
1 tablespoon peeled minced ginger root
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
Bring a kettle of water to boil, meanwhile cutting up your washed greens in 1" lengths. Drop greens into boiling water, cook for about three minutes. Meanwhile, in another large skillet, have the butter melted with tamari, garlic, and ginger. Don't let it cook down. Drain the greens, then put in the skillet with the seasonings. Cook and stir a few minutes until mixed. Stir in
the chopped cilantro and serve. Unless your kids are really allergic to greens, they should like this one.
Summer greens with tomato and spring onion
1 lb washed and chopped greens
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium sized spring onion (small bulb with its greens) sliced (or you may use about 4 scallions sliced)
3 slices dried lemon (optional)
3/4 cup stewed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon Thai-style curry paste, or more to taste
salt to taste
In a large skillet, heat oil and simmer onion till soft. Stir in the washed drained greens, and cook over medium heat until they start to soften and braise. Tear up and add the lemon slices if you have them. Stir in the stewed tomatoes and the curry paste. Reduce heat, put a lid on, and let simmer for 5-10 minutes until greens are tender.
Spiced White Beans
1 cup small white beans, such as navy or Great Northern, soaked overnight
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic granules or powder
1 teaspoon mild to medium chili powder (to your taste)
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Drain the beans, then add fresh water and cook for 2 hours or until tender. (You should always soak and cook beans well to avoid digestive upsets.) When beans are done, drain and reserve most of the remaining liquid. Add the curry powder, the cumin and chili powder, salt and pepper to taste, and the olive oil. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes to get the flavors to meld. If they get dry, add a little of the reserved liquid.
This makes a nice side dish. For a double treat, serve with one of the above greens recipes. For a vegetarian, that's a meal. For meat-eaters, accompany with freshly-cooked sausage or on-hand cooked chicken pieces.
And enjoy the green leaves of summer!
PS: FINALLY I put labels on the Recipes posts, so you can find them more easily.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Just Say No
I haven't posted for quite a while, due to a number of issues that took some time to deal with. And we were pretty much finishing the Food Storage year. Now that the CSA has started, I plan to post more recipes to use that wonderful produce.
But today, I just want to discuss getting our power back.
1. I read recently that the airlines have reconfigured their planes to give you even LESS legroom than before. There are no meals, except that you can pay money for a little tray of junk food. You pay for checking luggage, which must be causing even more problems with oversize carry-ons. Many flights are being cancelled so that the remaining flights are even more crowded, if possible.
The answer: Just Say No. Don't fly, unless it is an absolute necessity. Don't play their game. Wait until they price their flights fairly to cover their costs and don't try to nickel-and-dime you to death. Wait until they treat you like honored customers instead of suckers.
2. I've stopped donating to many of the nationally-known nature and wildlife organizations. I've gotten terminally tired of getting unsolicited calendars, greeting cards, address labels, keychains, postcards, etc. etc. etc. The first calendar is OK. The 7th one is just a disposal problem. Just think of the forests that are cut down, and the petroleum wasted to get this unsolicited stuff mailed to you in order to pry some more money out of you.... Certainly at the costs of mailings, and the pounds of it I receive, they have spent five times my donation just asking me for more money.
The answer: Just Say No. I have stopped donating to these organizations. I save my donations for the few that don't continually dun me for more money. I donate to smaller groups, local groups, our food bank, Spikenard Farms to help save the honeybee, and similar organizations.
I wouldn't mind donating to the larger well-known organizations if they had a class of membership where they would ask you once a year for a donation, and tell you what they did with last year's donations, and leave you alone the rest of the time. I could feel good that my hard-earned donations are actually going to help the egret or the sea turtle or what-have-you, instead of wasting resources.
3. Credit cards. Congress can't seem to pass meaningful credit legislation that takes effect this year when people need it. The financial industry lobbyists are pretty powerful. Even the weak bill that did get passed, to take effect in 2010, caused tremendous threats and fulminations from credit card companies.
Now they're threatening to add yearly or monthly fees to every card, to punish those who pay their balances each month. Do you know what they call people who pay their balance every month? Deadbeats. I'm proud to be a deadbeat!
The answer: Just Say No. Put your credit card in your dresser drawer. Keep one or maybe two going by charging a few small items each month. Pay off the rest and let them go. You can get along with cash or checks for practically everything you buy. Vacations can be a problem booking airfares (Just Say No) or rental cars, I know, but for daily life you really don't need a credit card. I'd like to see the credit card throughput in the U.S. drop to about 1/4 or less of what it is now. Perhaps then we would be regarded as valued customers instead of suckers. We have the power; let's use it.
4. The statement: If you save and don't spend, you're contributing to the recession. I get highly annoyed at these claims that you encounter every day in the news. "We could get over the recession if only the consumers would open their pocketbook." This is worse than idiocy. It is self-serving commercialism plain and simple. Media needs to sell advertising. Advertisers need to sell products. So if they can guilt-trip you into buying more stuff you don't need and going further into debt, it'll help THEIR bottom line. Not yours, obviously.
The answer: Just Say No. I'm gratified to see that savings is way up in this country. It shows that we can take back our power. When unemployment is high and looks to get higher, saving is the only sensible thing to do. If you save enough, by not buying useless consumerist schlock, then you may be able to weather a spell of unemployment or, the latest, furloughs.
I'll tell you a secret. Money that you put into banks and safe investments (there are a few) actually goes to work in the system. Deposited money will eventually go out in loans to those that can use them. That's why banks were invented.
I recommend locally-owned and financially-stable credit unions. They tend to lend in your local community, benefiting your neighbors and your local merchants. Just Say No to those national bank conglomerates. They're too big already. They don't need your money, either as a depositor or a taxpayer. If a financial organization is too big to fail, it's too much of a danger to the country. So, help them get smaller by removing your money.
But today, I just want to discuss getting our power back.
1. I read recently that the airlines have reconfigured their planes to give you even LESS legroom than before. There are no meals, except that you can pay money for a little tray of junk food. You pay for checking luggage, which must be causing even more problems with oversize carry-ons. Many flights are being cancelled so that the remaining flights are even more crowded, if possible.
The answer: Just Say No. Don't fly, unless it is an absolute necessity. Don't play their game. Wait until they price their flights fairly to cover their costs and don't try to nickel-and-dime you to death. Wait until they treat you like honored customers instead of suckers.
2. I've stopped donating to many of the nationally-known nature and wildlife organizations. I've gotten terminally tired of getting unsolicited calendars, greeting cards, address labels, keychains, postcards, etc. etc. etc. The first calendar is OK. The 7th one is just a disposal problem. Just think of the forests that are cut down, and the petroleum wasted to get this unsolicited stuff mailed to you in order to pry some more money out of you.... Certainly at the costs of mailings, and the pounds of it I receive, they have spent five times my donation just asking me for more money.
The answer: Just Say No. I have stopped donating to these organizations. I save my donations for the few that don't continually dun me for more money. I donate to smaller groups, local groups, our food bank, Spikenard Farms to help save the honeybee, and similar organizations.
I wouldn't mind donating to the larger well-known organizations if they had a class of membership where they would ask you once a year for a donation, and tell you what they did with last year's donations, and leave you alone the rest of the time. I could feel good that my hard-earned donations are actually going to help the egret or the sea turtle or what-have-you, instead of wasting resources.
3. Credit cards. Congress can't seem to pass meaningful credit legislation that takes effect this year when people need it. The financial industry lobbyists are pretty powerful. Even the weak bill that did get passed, to take effect in 2010, caused tremendous threats and fulminations from credit card companies.
Now they're threatening to add yearly or monthly fees to every card, to punish those who pay their balances each month. Do you know what they call people who pay their balance every month? Deadbeats. I'm proud to be a deadbeat!
The answer: Just Say No. Put your credit card in your dresser drawer. Keep one or maybe two going by charging a few small items each month. Pay off the rest and let them go. You can get along with cash or checks for practically everything you buy. Vacations can be a problem booking airfares (Just Say No) or rental cars, I know, but for daily life you really don't need a credit card. I'd like to see the credit card throughput in the U.S. drop to about 1/4 or less of what it is now. Perhaps then we would be regarded as valued customers instead of suckers. We have the power; let's use it.
4. The statement: If you save and don't spend, you're contributing to the recession. I get highly annoyed at these claims that you encounter every day in the news. "We could get over the recession if only the consumers would open their pocketbook." This is worse than idiocy. It is self-serving commercialism plain and simple. Media needs to sell advertising. Advertisers need to sell products. So if they can guilt-trip you into buying more stuff you don't need and going further into debt, it'll help THEIR bottom line. Not yours, obviously.
The answer: Just Say No. I'm gratified to see that savings is way up in this country. It shows that we can take back our power. When unemployment is high and looks to get higher, saving is the only sensible thing to do. If you save enough, by not buying useless consumerist schlock, then you may be able to weather a spell of unemployment or, the latest, furloughs.
I'll tell you a secret. Money that you put into banks and safe investments (there are a few) actually goes to work in the system. Deposited money will eventually go out in loans to those that can use them. That's why banks were invented.
I recommend locally-owned and financially-stable credit unions. They tend to lend in your local community, benefiting your neighbors and your local merchants. Just Say No to those national bank conglomerates. They're too big already. They don't need your money, either as a depositor or a taxpayer. If a financial organization is too big to fail, it's too much of a danger to the country. So, help them get smaller by removing your money.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Burden Is On You?
I just read an online article about the safety of industrial frozen food: With frozen food, the burden of safety is on you.
The problem gained public awareness with contamination of frozen pot pies in 2007. Investigators never figured out which of the more than 25 ingredients was contaminated with salmonella. The company (ConAgra) more or less threw up their hands. They said if they cooked the vegetables enough for safety, they turned to mush. So they put directions on the label to cook until internal temperatures were 165 degrees, nearly impossible to do in a microwave. Oh well....
And the article went on to say that these problems would become more serious, due to aggressive cost control. This involves sourcing of ingredients such as dough from a multitude of smaller suppliers, and importing vegetables and other ingredients from other countries with no testing procedure for pathogens. Manufacturers say the costs of testing and tracebacks are too high. Too high for what? Profit? How much is too high for thousands of people who get sick, and dozens who could die?
Oh What to do? What to do? (this is a trick question)
Locals know: start cooking fresh food for yourself. Avoid anonymous-ingredient packaged processed food. Not even the manufacturers of these foods know where the ingredients are coming from, or how they have been treated along the way.
This means learning how to cook, for those who are weak on that skill. But just think of what you'll gain! Really fresh, tasty food, from ingredients that you are sure of, saving money, and enjoying the creativity of turning high-quality ingredients into tasty dishes. And think of what you'll lose: high-fructose corn sweetener (almost ubiquitous in processed foods), cheap fats, too much sodium, artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives. And a little time.
The most surprising thing for DH and me when we started cooking and eating local food is how great the flavors are. Food that really tastes like something. Beans that cook quickly with lots of flavor. Really fresh vegetables. Fruits with a perfumed sweetness rather than a pithy cardboard consistency. Pizza that sits lightly on the stomach and the waistline, but is fully satisfying.
Don't consider that cooking is necessarily the job of the "wife" or "mother" of the family. The art of cookery is something for everyone in the family to know, including responsible children and teens. Teaching your kids to cook will have lifelong benefits to them in terms of improved health and decreased food budgets.
But the worriers will say: what if my ingredients are contaminated? To start with, if you source local foods as much as possible, it's much less likely. Wash your veggies well, and peel such foods as carrots. Spices won't be local, but you use such a small amount. Buy staples from a high-quality supplier. The food (such as a meat pie) doesn't sit around for months in warehouse freezers, possibly thawing and refreezing several times and allowing bacterial growth before you eat it. You prepare it, pop in the oven, and eat it. So pathogens from minute quantities of ingredients don't get a chance to grow.
I really see nothing on the horizon that will make industrial processed foods safer for us. The manufacturing chains are too long, and too inadequately policed. If they were adequately policed, the costs would be too high to make these low-end foods economical.
It is up to us to figure out how to source and fix good healthy food for our families. The burden IS on us, but we can also get the benefits of changing our food buying and preparation habits in terms of flavor, nutrition, and enjoyment.
Bon Appetit!
The problem gained public awareness with contamination of frozen pot pies in 2007. Investigators never figured out which of the more than 25 ingredients was contaminated with salmonella. The company (ConAgra) more or less threw up their hands. They said if they cooked the vegetables enough for safety, they turned to mush. So they put directions on the label to cook until internal temperatures were 165 degrees, nearly impossible to do in a microwave. Oh well....
And the article went on to say that these problems would become more serious, due to aggressive cost control. This involves sourcing of ingredients such as dough from a multitude of smaller suppliers, and importing vegetables and other ingredients from other countries with no testing procedure for pathogens. Manufacturers say the costs of testing and tracebacks are too high. Too high for what? Profit? How much is too high for thousands of people who get sick, and dozens who could die?
Oh What to do? What to do? (this is a trick question)
Locals know: start cooking fresh food for yourself. Avoid anonymous-ingredient packaged processed food. Not even the manufacturers of these foods know where the ingredients are coming from, or how they have been treated along the way.
This means learning how to cook, for those who are weak on that skill. But just think of what you'll gain! Really fresh, tasty food, from ingredients that you are sure of, saving money, and enjoying the creativity of turning high-quality ingredients into tasty dishes. And think of what you'll lose: high-fructose corn sweetener (almost ubiquitous in processed foods), cheap fats, too much sodium, artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives. And a little time.
The most surprising thing for DH and me when we started cooking and eating local food is how great the flavors are. Food that really tastes like something. Beans that cook quickly with lots of flavor. Really fresh vegetables. Fruits with a perfumed sweetness rather than a pithy cardboard consistency. Pizza that sits lightly on the stomach and the waistline, but is fully satisfying.
Don't consider that cooking is necessarily the job of the "wife" or "mother" of the family. The art of cookery is something for everyone in the family to know, including responsible children and teens. Teaching your kids to cook will have lifelong benefits to them in terms of improved health and decreased food budgets.
But the worriers will say: what if my ingredients are contaminated? To start with, if you source local foods as much as possible, it's much less likely. Wash your veggies well, and peel such foods as carrots. Spices won't be local, but you use such a small amount. Buy staples from a high-quality supplier. The food (such as a meat pie) doesn't sit around for months in warehouse freezers, possibly thawing and refreezing several times and allowing bacterial growth before you eat it. You prepare it, pop in the oven, and eat it. So pathogens from minute quantities of ingredients don't get a chance to grow.
I really see nothing on the horizon that will make industrial processed foods safer for us. The manufacturing chains are too long, and too inadequately policed. If they were adequately policed, the costs would be too high to make these low-end foods economical.
It is up to us to figure out how to source and fix good healthy food for our families. The burden IS on us, but we can also get the benefits of changing our food buying and preparation habits in terms of flavor, nutrition, and enjoyment.
Bon Appetit!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Spring! Ahhhhh!
Spring again today, after yet another spell of cold, rainy weather. Everything is green, except for the daffodils (yellow) and apple trees (pink). And the wild plum is a mass of white blossoms.
I went to the first Farmer's Market of the season. As last year: bedding plants, gourmet dog biscuits, baked goods, pasta, kettle corn, more bedding plants. No greens yet. But the lovely Honeyacre hydroponic tomatoes and English cucumbers were there again. I bought some of each. We've been eating the tomatoes I put up last year, steadily through the winter, and enjoying them greatly. But fresh will be really wonderful.
Compared to last year, I don't have the "empty" feeling I did. We're still eating nectarines and peaches in light honey syrup I put up last fall. We're still eating green beans and snap peas from the freezer (though they are somewhat mushy). The last few Winesap apples have gotten totally mealy and are about to be compost, but they held out a good 6 months, which is a great track record for unwaxed home-stored fruit. We still have dried home peaches and prunes, apples, and fruit rollups, in case we run out of fruit before late summer.
The apple trees are covered with blooms. I'm glad we have a warm day today, since it's been too cold for the bees to fly. Sprinkling of blossoms on the cherry trees. No sign from the peach trees--it may have been too dry over the winter. Two front-yard euonymus shrubs look *really* bad--poor things. I should have winter-watered them. I'm just hoping they'll pull through. Everything else looks OK.
I've been buying the occasional head of celery or broccoli--not local, but U.S. grown. We're mostly through the lactofermented veggies: still some carrots, some sauerkraut, half a 1/2 gallon jar of salsa. Note to self: make more pickled green beans and more salsa next year.
We still have some onions from our CSA, but everything else is gone. I managed to cook up all the pumpkins before they got soft.
I tried to grow Lady Godiva pumpkins last year (they're grown for the seeds, which are "naked" without a hard shell). The ones I planted did very poorly; too shady. But I had a volunteer "something" which made a large orange and green striped fruit. I thought it was a hybrid of something, picked it before frost, and left it alone. Looking through a seed catalog, there was a picture of exactly my squash, and it was, ta-da, Lady Godiva. It has a hard shell compared to most pumpkins, which is why it kept so well. You don't eat the flesh, which is thin and stringy. It was filled with beautiful green seeds in a very light transparent coating. I saved and dried some for next season and roasted the rest. They were Delicious! I'll definitely try that one again. We do love home-roasted pumpkin seeds.
I've been getting sprouts in the store (hatched in Denver), and they taste SOOoo good in the spring. If I was better organized, I could sprout my own. I've still got a load of black oil sunflower seeds in the shell, which are what is used for sunflower sprouts.
If I can get a garden going, and a season extender (cold frame, hoop, or such like), we can have fresh greens probably from March on, and in the fall up through mid-December. Eliot Coleman's book "Four Seasons Gardening" is a good resource.
I went to a nice class at the Larimer County extension for pressure canning. In some ways it was encouraging. I got my pressure gauge tested and it is nearly correct. In other ways, not. The vegetables need to be cooked for a really long time, and then you're supposed to cook them some more before eating them. By that time, there wouldn't be much left. I may look into canning meat or poultry, to have quick meals that don't require electricity to store, carefully following the USDA rules. But for vegetables, I think I'd rather lactoferment them: beans, carrots, etc. They will keep 9 months to a year in the frig, and don't require cooking. You can put up a jar of them in 10-15 minutes, instead of the all-day siege of pressure canning.
I haven't been posting recipes lately. Our food choices are fairly simple these days, using stored food and a little fresh, so I haven't discovered anything particularly new and exciting. Once the CSA starts up in June, I'll be sharing some more ideas.
I went to the first Farmer's Market of the season. As last year: bedding plants, gourmet dog biscuits, baked goods, pasta, kettle corn, more bedding plants. No greens yet. But the lovely Honeyacre hydroponic tomatoes and English cucumbers were there again. I bought some of each. We've been eating the tomatoes I put up last year, steadily through the winter, and enjoying them greatly. But fresh will be really wonderful.
Compared to last year, I don't have the "empty" feeling I did. We're still eating nectarines and peaches in light honey syrup I put up last fall. We're still eating green beans and snap peas from the freezer (though they are somewhat mushy). The last few Winesap apples have gotten totally mealy and are about to be compost, but they held out a good 6 months, which is a great track record for unwaxed home-stored fruit. We still have dried home peaches and prunes, apples, and fruit rollups, in case we run out of fruit before late summer.
The apple trees are covered with blooms. I'm glad we have a warm day today, since it's been too cold for the bees to fly. Sprinkling of blossoms on the cherry trees. No sign from the peach trees--it may have been too dry over the winter. Two front-yard euonymus shrubs look *really* bad--poor things. I should have winter-watered them. I'm just hoping they'll pull through. Everything else looks OK.
I've been buying the occasional head of celery or broccoli--not local, but U.S. grown. We're mostly through the lactofermented veggies: still some carrots, some sauerkraut, half a 1/2 gallon jar of salsa. Note to self: make more pickled green beans and more salsa next year.
We still have some onions from our CSA, but everything else is gone. I managed to cook up all the pumpkins before they got soft.
I tried to grow Lady Godiva pumpkins last year (they're grown for the seeds, which are "naked" without a hard shell). The ones I planted did very poorly; too shady. But I had a volunteer "something" which made a large orange and green striped fruit. I thought it was a hybrid of something, picked it before frost, and left it alone. Looking through a seed catalog, there was a picture of exactly my squash, and it was, ta-da, Lady Godiva. It has a hard shell compared to most pumpkins, which is why it kept so well. You don't eat the flesh, which is thin and stringy. It was filled with beautiful green seeds in a very light transparent coating. I saved and dried some for next season and roasted the rest. They were Delicious! I'll definitely try that one again. We do love home-roasted pumpkin seeds.
I've been getting sprouts in the store (hatched in Denver), and they taste SOOoo good in the spring. If I was better organized, I could sprout my own. I've still got a load of black oil sunflower seeds in the shell, which are what is used for sunflower sprouts.
If I can get a garden going, and a season extender (cold frame, hoop, or such like), we can have fresh greens probably from March on, and in the fall up through mid-December. Eliot Coleman's book "Four Seasons Gardening" is a good resource.
I went to a nice class at the Larimer County extension for pressure canning. In some ways it was encouraging. I got my pressure gauge tested and it is nearly correct. In other ways, not. The vegetables need to be cooked for a really long time, and then you're supposed to cook them some more before eating them. By that time, there wouldn't be much left. I may look into canning meat or poultry, to have quick meals that don't require electricity to store, carefully following the USDA rules. But for vegetables, I think I'd rather lactoferment them: beans, carrots, etc. They will keep 9 months to a year in the frig, and don't require cooking. You can put up a jar of them in 10-15 minutes, instead of the all-day siege of pressure canning.
I haven't been posting recipes lately. Our food choices are fairly simple these days, using stored food and a little fresh, so I haven't discovered anything particularly new and exciting. Once the CSA starts up in June, I'll be sharing some more ideas.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Worry and Hope: Two Sides of the Same Coin
I have been doing a lot of reading recently, trying to wrap my mind around the economic meltdown and its connection with exponential growth. A post to come soon on this subject. It's not "cooked" yet.
Meanwhile, I want to spend a little time on "worry" and "hope". In our mythologies, worry is supposed to be "bad", and hope is supposed to be "good". But aren't they the same thing?
I have recently seen worry described as "a way to avoid admitting powerlessness over something, since worry feels like we are doing something" (Gavin DeBecker, The Gift of Fear, quoted by Jill Fredston in Rowing to Latitude, a truly fine book).
And hope has been defined as the wish for an outcome that we cannot directly control. (If we could control it, we would do so, and not have to rely on hope to do it for us.)
The two meanings are not too much different, actually, except that in the former case we are focused on the glass half-empty, and in the latter case we are focused on the glass half-full. But it's the same glass, and the same water.
So I can say I "worry" about the future, for example regarding peak oil. I worry that the lights will go out, and we'll be cold, and it'll be dark, and we won't be able to get to town. (And I do worry about these things sometimes.) Or I can say that I "hope" that we'll quickly implement alternate and sustainable energy sources, or that we'll convince a meaningful percentage of our citizens to really take steps to conserve, postponing and moderating the inevitable downward slope. But in each case, I am putting my energy into wishful thinking rather than something practical.
And because these wishful feelings do nothing but cause a stress reaction in me, and perhaps wear out the patience of those who are obliged to listen to me, neither worry nor hope do any good for me, my family, my friends, my community, or the world.
What is the alternative to worry? There are at least two: practical action, and fearlessness. Fearlessness frees us for action. What is the alternative to hope? Again, practical action, and hopelessness. Hopelessness frees us for action.
Why is that?
Because hope shackles us to inaction. We feel that somebody else, some organization, or some governmental entity will solve it all for us, and keep us from having to make the hard decisions and do the hard work. We feel that we are owed security in our lives, and we give up our time and some of our freedom for it. But the unavoidable fact is that the our lives are insecure. No government, no promises, can change that.
Pema Chodron, in When Things Fall Apart, says, "Hope and fear come from feeling that we lack something; they come from a sense of poverty." She suggests that we put "Abandon Hope" on our refrigerator door. She says, "Abandoning hope is an affirmation, the beginning of the beginning."
I have a long way to go before understanding and internalizing this wisdom. From a practical standpoint, I know that action is an antidote to useless worry. That is one reason why we started eating local food, started the LoveLandLocal food cooperative, got an energy audit, changed our lightbulbs, drive a high-effiency car. That is why I talk to groups about local food and our experiences, and post on this blog.
Making the internal changes to stop worrying, to stop my idle hopes that we can wriggle out of the problems that our generation and several before us have caused, is not as easy. To the extent that we rely on hope for the future, we are not facing the truth. And when we do not face the truth, see it clearly, and learn to deal with it, we set ourselves up for a lifetime of suffering. Facing the truth is painful and disconcerting, but not nearly as painful as trying in every way to evade the truth until it slaps us in the face so hard that we can no longer ignore it.
I'm seeing way too much wishful thinking ("hope") in the corridors of power these days. No matter how much money the Feds print, it cannot reinflate the bubble caused by criminally negligent speculation. We cannot "hope" that things will go back to how they were, because the truth is they never were that way; it was speculation, gambling, a delusion that we were running too fast to see, a vast Ponzi scheme. And it came to the same end as all Ponzi schemes; a few rich people get even richer, and the rest of the participants get poorer.
What I want to hear is the truth, and people courageous enough to tell us: this is the way it is. It's not the end of the world, it's the end of a dreamworld. Life will be different. It'll be worse if you define the quality of life by the quantity of goods you have and the amount of energy you can waste. It can be rich in the intangible ways, the ways that matter, in love, caring, community; in meaningful work; in responsibility and integrity.
Meanwhile, I want to spend a little time on "worry" and "hope". In our mythologies, worry is supposed to be "bad", and hope is supposed to be "good". But aren't they the same thing?
I have recently seen worry described as "a way to avoid admitting powerlessness over something, since worry feels like we are doing something" (Gavin DeBecker, The Gift of Fear, quoted by Jill Fredston in Rowing to Latitude, a truly fine book).
And hope has been defined as the wish for an outcome that we cannot directly control. (If we could control it, we would do so, and not have to rely on hope to do it for us.)
The two meanings are not too much different, actually, except that in the former case we are focused on the glass half-empty, and in the latter case we are focused on the glass half-full. But it's the same glass, and the same water.
So I can say I "worry" about the future, for example regarding peak oil. I worry that the lights will go out, and we'll be cold, and it'll be dark, and we won't be able to get to town. (And I do worry about these things sometimes.) Or I can say that I "hope" that we'll quickly implement alternate and sustainable energy sources, or that we'll convince a meaningful percentage of our citizens to really take steps to conserve, postponing and moderating the inevitable downward slope. But in each case, I am putting my energy into wishful thinking rather than something practical.
And because these wishful feelings do nothing but cause a stress reaction in me, and perhaps wear out the patience of those who are obliged to listen to me, neither worry nor hope do any good for me, my family, my friends, my community, or the world.
What is the alternative to worry? There are at least two: practical action, and fearlessness. Fearlessness frees us for action. What is the alternative to hope? Again, practical action, and hopelessness. Hopelessness frees us for action.
Why is that?
Because hope shackles us to inaction. We feel that somebody else, some organization, or some governmental entity will solve it all for us, and keep us from having to make the hard decisions and do the hard work. We feel that we are owed security in our lives, and we give up our time and some of our freedom for it. But the unavoidable fact is that the our lives are insecure. No government, no promises, can change that.
Pema Chodron, in When Things Fall Apart, says, "Hope and fear come from feeling that we lack something; they come from a sense of poverty." She suggests that we put "Abandon Hope" on our refrigerator door. She says, "Abandoning hope is an affirmation, the beginning of the beginning."
I have a long way to go before understanding and internalizing this wisdom. From a practical standpoint, I know that action is an antidote to useless worry. That is one reason why we started eating local food, started the LoveLandLocal food cooperative, got an energy audit, changed our lightbulbs, drive a high-effiency car. That is why I talk to groups about local food and our experiences, and post on this blog.
Making the internal changes to stop worrying, to stop my idle hopes that we can wriggle out of the problems that our generation and several before us have caused, is not as easy. To the extent that we rely on hope for the future, we are not facing the truth. And when we do not face the truth, see it clearly, and learn to deal with it, we set ourselves up for a lifetime of suffering. Facing the truth is painful and disconcerting, but not nearly as painful as trying in every way to evade the truth until it slaps us in the face so hard that we can no longer ignore it.
I'm seeing way too much wishful thinking ("hope") in the corridors of power these days. No matter how much money the Feds print, it cannot reinflate the bubble caused by criminally negligent speculation. We cannot "hope" that things will go back to how they were, because the truth is they never were that way; it was speculation, gambling, a delusion that we were running too fast to see, a vast Ponzi scheme. And it came to the same end as all Ponzi schemes; a few rich people get even richer, and the rest of the participants get poorer.
What I want to hear is the truth, and people courageous enough to tell us: this is the way it is. It's not the end of the world, it's the end of a dreamworld. Life will be different. It'll be worse if you define the quality of life by the quantity of goods you have and the amount of energy you can waste. It can be rich in the intangible ways, the ways that matter, in love, caring, community; in meaningful work; in responsibility and integrity.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Stovies
The Sausage and Vegetables recipe in the Rutabaga post is rapidly turning into one of my favorites. It is actually a Stovie, a Scottish dish resembling a casserole, but cooked on the stovetop. Stovies come in all kinds of flavors, but usually involve leftover meat and potatoes. From there on, the sky's the limit!
Making a Stovie
Choose some form of meat. Possibilities include:
Some form of appropriate cooking fat, a tablespoon or two. Consider:
Onion--a necessity. Peel and chop.
Root vegetables. Your choice of:
Herbs and spices. You don't want strong flavors here, which would overwhelm the flavor of the meat and roots. Some ideas:
Salt and pepper to taste.
A little broth or water.
Proportions
Here you have a good deal of latitude. More meat? Less meat? Use about one onion per 1/2 lb of meat, and amounts of vegetables to suit yourself and what you have on hand.
Putting It Together
Peel and chop your onions. Wash, (peel), and chop your vegetables. Have the meat of your choice ready. Cut link sausages in half, cut bacon into chunks, cut leftover meats into pieces.
If you are using bacon, fry the bacon lightly to let it release some fat. Otherwise heat the oil or drippings. Stir in the onions and saute for about 5 minutes. If you are using sausage, add it now and stir for another 5 minutes. Then add the vegetables, stir a few minutes. Add the herbs, spices, salt and pepper and a little broth or water, appropriate to the amount of other ingredients. At least 1/2 cup liquid. You don't want to continue to fry the ingredients, but you aren't making stew either. After adding the water, stir in any leftover meats that you are using.
Cover the pan, let it simmer on the stove 20-30 minutes, until roots are tender. Voila!
My Favorite Stovie
This makes a generous one-dish serving for one, or enough for two people with some other dishes on the table.
1 tbs CA olive oil
1 medium CSA onion, peeled and diced
6 oz local pork sausage, raw, cut into 4 pieces
1/2 lb CO fingerling potatoes, cut in slices
1/4-1/2 lb CSA rutabaga, peeled and cut in chunks
1/4 lb CSA carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
2 tbs dried CO parsley
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt, some grinds of pepper
Saute the onion in the oil for a few minutes, then brown the sausages lightly. Stir in the vegetables and spices, add 1/2 cup water, cover and simmer 25 minutes.
Making a Stovie
Choose some form of meat. Possibilities include:
- Leftover roast beef, pork or lamb, cut into smallish pieces
- Leftover roast poultry
- Thick-sliced or chunk bacon, cut into pieces
- Uncooked mild-flavored link sausage
- NOT hamburger or ground meat; that would change the dish totally
Some form of appropriate cooking fat, a tablespoon or two. Consider:
- olive oil, always a favorite
- bacon fat or drippings (traditional Scottish), especially those from the roast you are using for the meat
- chicken fat (if it's roast chicken you are using)
- home-rendered lard, if you have it (commercial lard is nasty)
- butter, especially with chicken
Onion--a necessity. Peel and chop.
Root vegetables. Your choice of:
- Potatoes--traditional. Almost all stovies have potatoes; some have only potatoes. If you're Irish, you want "floury" potatoes. I've been using fingerlings. Some people like baking types, some people like boiling types. Wash, then peel or not as you see fit. Cut into chunks. Don't use already-cooked potatoes for this dish.
- Rutabagas. Peel and cut into chunks.
- Carrots. Peel and cut into chunks. Use less carrot than the other roots, so its sweet flavor does not overpower the dish.
- Turnips, celery root, parsnips (a light hand on the parsnips), if you have them. Don't use beets because it'll turn a strange color of pink.
Herbs and spices. You don't want strong flavors here, which would overwhelm the flavor of the meat and roots. Some ideas:
- dried or fresh parsley, a good handful.
- other dried or fresh herbs, with a light hand.
- ground allspice
- garlic cloves, peeled and sliced, with a light hand.
- ground cumin or coriander
- nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste.
A little broth or water.
Proportions
Here you have a good deal of latitude. More meat? Less meat? Use about one onion per 1/2 lb of meat, and amounts of vegetables to suit yourself and what you have on hand.
Putting It Together
Peel and chop your onions. Wash, (peel), and chop your vegetables. Have the meat of your choice ready. Cut link sausages in half, cut bacon into chunks, cut leftover meats into pieces.
If you are using bacon, fry the bacon lightly to let it release some fat. Otherwise heat the oil or drippings. Stir in the onions and saute for about 5 minutes. If you are using sausage, add it now and stir for another 5 minutes. Then add the vegetables, stir a few minutes. Add the herbs, spices, salt and pepper and a little broth or water, appropriate to the amount of other ingredients. At least 1/2 cup liquid. You don't want to continue to fry the ingredients, but you aren't making stew either. After adding the water, stir in any leftover meats that you are using.
Cover the pan, let it simmer on the stove 20-30 minutes, until roots are tender. Voila!
My Favorite Stovie
This makes a generous one-dish serving for one, or enough for two people with some other dishes on the table.
1 tbs CA olive oil
1 medium CSA onion, peeled and diced
6 oz local pork sausage, raw, cut into 4 pieces
1/2 lb CO fingerling potatoes, cut in slices
1/4-1/2 lb CSA rutabaga, peeled and cut in chunks
1/4 lb CSA carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
2 tbs dried CO parsley
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt, some grinds of pepper
Saute the onion in the oil for a few minutes, then brown the sausages lightly. Stir in the vegetables and spices, add 1/2 cup water, cover and simmer 25 minutes.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Late Winter Update
We're into March now, into the "hungry time" of the old days, when the winter stores are getting low and the new spring growth isn't out yet.
It's been very enjoyable to have a nice stock of fruits and vegetables put up from last summer and fall. So far we haven't run out of anything, but there are some things I just haven't used, or used fast enough. Here's a run-down of our stores:
1. Tomato sauce, juice, stewed tomatoes. We have really been enjoying the home-canned tomato sauce I made in large quantities last year. The flavor is superlative. I put a little tomato sauce into a pan, add a little olive oil and Italian herbs, and simmer it for 10 minutes to thicken up a bit, as pizza sauce. I also take a pint jar of tomato sauce, add bits of sausage or ground beef, herbs, and olive oil, and serve over pasta, GF pasta, or spaghetti squash. We may have enough to last until next summer's tomato season.
2. Nectarines. Still just to die for, the nectarines canned in a light honey syrup. This is a special treat for us, which we have about once a week for dessert. I put up over 40 jars, and the supply is holding out well. It might make it until the next harvest.
3. Frozen snap peas. I haven't served these much; they turned out a little mushy even when frozen in vacuum-sealed bags. But they're tasting better and better to me, as it's been many months since we had fresh.
4. Frozen green beans. Again, somewhat mushy. DH wants me to make more lactofermented green beans next year, and less frozen.
5. Fresh apples. Stored in our garage, the November Winesaps from the Western slope. I bought a whole case, which was packed in dimpled trays to keep the apples from touching each other. They are still holding out marvelously. One has rotted, out of a box of 40 lbs. We're still enjoying them tremendously. Fruit makes up our dessert for all but holiday meals. We have about 15 pounds left. The Winesaps are tremendous keepers. The Macintoshes that I had earlier, with their delicate skins, become wrinkled quickly.
6. Bread and butter pickles. I made 7 pints (water-bath canned), and have opened up and used one. They're OK, but just don't taste as good as my mother's bread and butter pickles did when I was a child.
7. Fresh pumpkins. Yes, I still have three pumpkins from my CSA awaiting me. It's amazing that they have kept this well. I need to get busy and not tempt fate. We have been enjoying the spicy pumpkin soup I posted in a previous article; we've had some pumpkin pies over the holidays; and I've used chunks in stews and chili. We've really enjoyed the toasted seeds too.
8. Frozen pesto. Somehow, I just haven't remembered to use the pesto. I have a number of small jars in the freezer; it's just a matter of getting them out. Pesto is good on pizza in place of tomato sauce, it's good on roasted or braised chicken, it's good on boiled potatoes, pasta, rice, etc.
9. Spaghetti squash. Finally got busy and cooked the spaghetti squash. The seeds are good toasted, like pumpkin seeds. You really can have it under pasta sauce, and hardly notice the difference. Spaghetti squash keeps amazingly well, often well into March, with their hard shells.
10. Onions and potatoes. Although I've been using them and enjoying them, I haven't been able to keep up with the supply of potatoes from our CSA. The potatoes have figured out spring is well on the way, and are all sprouting. BTW, you can use sprouted potatoes, as long as they are not green. Green potatoes should just be tossed, as they are somewhat poisonous. Our onions are holding out fine in the garage (which is cold but never freezes). I store onions and potatoes (separately) in paper bags on the ledge by the stairs into the garage, with the top of the bag folded over to prevent light from getting in. Onions and potatoes should not be kept in the same bag, as they do not get along and cause each other to spoil faster.
11. Lactofermented veggies. I outdid myself with lactofermentation last summer and fall. We've been through 5 jars of cucumber pickles (DH really loves them), 2 1/2 jars of green beans, one jar of tomato salsa, half a jar of sauerkraut, and half a jar of vegetable medley (tomatoes, onions, green pepper, ruby chard stems, cabbage, and dandelion greens). I haven't yet tried the bok choy kim chee or the collards, and we have one jar of cucumbers and one of salsa left. I also get lactofermented veggies from the CSA, including carrot and Napa, and delicious daikon and Napa kim chee, so we're not running out.
12. Dried vegetables: zucchini, green beans, green peppers. I've used the green peppers from time to time, though there are still some left. I don't seem to get into green beans and zucchini.
13. Dried herbs: parsley, thyme, marjoram, oregano. I've been using the parsley, though I still have plenty after making a miscalculation in ordering for the food coop which meant I bought and dried 15 bunches for home use. It doesn't really take that large a quantity of dried herbs to have enough for daily cooking.
14. Frozen broccoli: I froze extra from our CSA share, and we've used it all up. It turned out very nice.
15. Dried apples: not really using, since we still have fresh ones to eat. But when the fresh are gone, we'll enjoy them.
16. Canned plums and spiced peaches. These are both fine; I canned a smaller quantity of them than the nectarines, but I'm sure we'll use and enjoy them.
17. Carrots from our CSA. Carrots keep a really long time in the frig. Our CSA was bursting with carrots for the winter share. I put them into salads or soups, pureed with parsnips or turnips, or just peeled and cut for fresh eating. They're part of nearly every day's food. I have a multitude of carrot recipes waiting for some time and initiative on my part, too.
18. Dried plums, prunes, apricots and peaches. I bought Colorado plums (Santa Rosa variety), prune plums and apricots from the coop. We have Siberian peaches in the yard which had a nice crop last year. I dried all of these; the fruit dryer was busy seven days a week last August and September. I've been using them as snacks, but we still have plenty left. I dried them very carefully this year, picking through the partially dried trays to pull out the ones that were dry enough, continuing to dry the others. This means that the early ones were not OVERdried, hard and flavorless. It's a bit more work but the quality of the product is much better.
I put the dried fruit in quart jars this year, so if any got moldy I wouldn't lose a whole half-gallon jar of them (which is just TOO depressing). So far they have been holding out fine, and will probably make it through to the table.
If I made more desserts, we'd use more of the dried fruits. But both of us are watching our weight, and we don't need the carbohydrate-rich calories of sweet desserts. Dried fruit is sweet enough for me.
19. Staple legumes. I've started serving legumes with most dinners, cooking up black-eyed peas, baby dry limas, or other beans to have as a side dish. Another alternative is bean soups or split pea soup. They are particularly nice in winter and early spring. I'm planning to do more with the lentils that I have on hand. Lentils make good European-flavored dishes (like soups and stews), as well as Indian curry-style dishes, and spicy Mediterranean dishes.
20. EXCEPTIONS--This year I loosened the reins a bit for the winter season, and have been occasionally buying celery, escarole, and swiss chard. The cooked chard tastes really wonderful this time of year. I make salads from the escarole, a nice lightly-bitter winter green. (You can also make soup from it.) And celery is such a nice touch in salads, soups, etc., that I decided a modest quantity of California organic celery wouldn't be a bad thing to have.
This year the local eating is going much more easily than last year. This is my reward from the many hours of canning, lactofermenting, freezing and drying that I did last summer and fall. It's a pleasure to put together a meal from our stores. And my recipe research has turned up a number of favorite dishes that we enjoy, many of which I've shared with you.
It's been very enjoyable to have a nice stock of fruits and vegetables put up from last summer and fall. So far we haven't run out of anything, but there are some things I just haven't used, or used fast enough. Here's a run-down of our stores:
1. Tomato sauce, juice, stewed tomatoes. We have really been enjoying the home-canned tomato sauce I made in large quantities last year. The flavor is superlative. I put a little tomato sauce into a pan, add a little olive oil and Italian herbs, and simmer it for 10 minutes to thicken up a bit, as pizza sauce. I also take a pint jar of tomato sauce, add bits of sausage or ground beef, herbs, and olive oil, and serve over pasta, GF pasta, or spaghetti squash. We may have enough to last until next summer's tomato season.
2. Nectarines. Still just to die for, the nectarines canned in a light honey syrup. This is a special treat for us, which we have about once a week for dessert. I put up over 40 jars, and the supply is holding out well. It might make it until the next harvest.
3. Frozen snap peas. I haven't served these much; they turned out a little mushy even when frozen in vacuum-sealed bags. But they're tasting better and better to me, as it's been many months since we had fresh.
4. Frozen green beans. Again, somewhat mushy. DH wants me to make more lactofermented green beans next year, and less frozen.
5. Fresh apples. Stored in our garage, the November Winesaps from the Western slope. I bought a whole case, which was packed in dimpled trays to keep the apples from touching each other. They are still holding out marvelously. One has rotted, out of a box of 40 lbs. We're still enjoying them tremendously. Fruit makes up our dessert for all but holiday meals. We have about 15 pounds left. The Winesaps are tremendous keepers. The Macintoshes that I had earlier, with their delicate skins, become wrinkled quickly.
6. Bread and butter pickles. I made 7 pints (water-bath canned), and have opened up and used one. They're OK, but just don't taste as good as my mother's bread and butter pickles did when I was a child.
7. Fresh pumpkins. Yes, I still have three pumpkins from my CSA awaiting me. It's amazing that they have kept this well. I need to get busy and not tempt fate. We have been enjoying the spicy pumpkin soup I posted in a previous article; we've had some pumpkin pies over the holidays; and I've used chunks in stews and chili. We've really enjoyed the toasted seeds too.
8. Frozen pesto. Somehow, I just haven't remembered to use the pesto. I have a number of small jars in the freezer; it's just a matter of getting them out. Pesto is good on pizza in place of tomato sauce, it's good on roasted or braised chicken, it's good on boiled potatoes, pasta, rice, etc.
9. Spaghetti squash. Finally got busy and cooked the spaghetti squash. The seeds are good toasted, like pumpkin seeds. You really can have it under pasta sauce, and hardly notice the difference. Spaghetti squash keeps amazingly well, often well into March, with their hard shells.
10. Onions and potatoes. Although I've been using them and enjoying them, I haven't been able to keep up with the supply of potatoes from our CSA. The potatoes have figured out spring is well on the way, and are all sprouting. BTW, you can use sprouted potatoes, as long as they are not green. Green potatoes should just be tossed, as they are somewhat poisonous. Our onions are holding out fine in the garage (which is cold but never freezes). I store onions and potatoes (separately) in paper bags on the ledge by the stairs into the garage, with the top of the bag folded over to prevent light from getting in. Onions and potatoes should not be kept in the same bag, as they do not get along and cause each other to spoil faster.
11. Lactofermented veggies. I outdid myself with lactofermentation last summer and fall. We've been through 5 jars of cucumber pickles (DH really loves them), 2 1/2 jars of green beans, one jar of tomato salsa, half a jar of sauerkraut, and half a jar of vegetable medley (tomatoes, onions, green pepper, ruby chard stems, cabbage, and dandelion greens). I haven't yet tried the bok choy kim chee or the collards, and we have one jar of cucumbers and one of salsa left. I also get lactofermented veggies from the CSA, including carrot and Napa, and delicious daikon and Napa kim chee, so we're not running out.
12. Dried vegetables: zucchini, green beans, green peppers. I've used the green peppers from time to time, though there are still some left. I don't seem to get into green beans and zucchini.
13. Dried herbs: parsley, thyme, marjoram, oregano. I've been using the parsley, though I still have plenty after making a miscalculation in ordering for the food coop which meant I bought and dried 15 bunches for home use. It doesn't really take that large a quantity of dried herbs to have enough for daily cooking.
14. Frozen broccoli: I froze extra from our CSA share, and we've used it all up. It turned out very nice.
15. Dried apples: not really using, since we still have fresh ones to eat. But when the fresh are gone, we'll enjoy them.
16. Canned plums and spiced peaches. These are both fine; I canned a smaller quantity of them than the nectarines, but I'm sure we'll use and enjoy them.
17. Carrots from our CSA. Carrots keep a really long time in the frig. Our CSA was bursting with carrots for the winter share. I put them into salads or soups, pureed with parsnips or turnips, or just peeled and cut for fresh eating. They're part of nearly every day's food. I have a multitude of carrot recipes waiting for some time and initiative on my part, too.
18. Dried plums, prunes, apricots and peaches. I bought Colorado plums (Santa Rosa variety), prune plums and apricots from the coop. We have Siberian peaches in the yard which had a nice crop last year. I dried all of these; the fruit dryer was busy seven days a week last August and September. I've been using them as snacks, but we still have plenty left. I dried them very carefully this year, picking through the partially dried trays to pull out the ones that were dry enough, continuing to dry the others. This means that the early ones were not OVERdried, hard and flavorless. It's a bit more work but the quality of the product is much better.
I put the dried fruit in quart jars this year, so if any got moldy I wouldn't lose a whole half-gallon jar of them (which is just TOO depressing). So far they have been holding out fine, and will probably make it through to the table.
If I made more desserts, we'd use more of the dried fruits. But both of us are watching our weight, and we don't need the carbohydrate-rich calories of sweet desserts. Dried fruit is sweet enough for me.
19. Staple legumes. I've started serving legumes with most dinners, cooking up black-eyed peas, baby dry limas, or other beans to have as a side dish. Another alternative is bean soups or split pea soup. They are particularly nice in winter and early spring. I'm planning to do more with the lentils that I have on hand. Lentils make good European-flavored dishes (like soups and stews), as well as Indian curry-style dishes, and spicy Mediterranean dishes.
20. EXCEPTIONS--This year I loosened the reins a bit for the winter season, and have been occasionally buying celery, escarole, and swiss chard. The cooked chard tastes really wonderful this time of year. I make salads from the escarole, a nice lightly-bitter winter green. (You can also make soup from it.) And celery is such a nice touch in salads, soups, etc., that I decided a modest quantity of California organic celery wouldn't be a bad thing to have.
This year the local eating is going much more easily than last year. This is my reward from the many hours of canning, lactofermenting, freezing and drying that I did last summer and fall. It's a pleasure to put together a meal from our stores. And my recipe research has turned up a number of favorite dishes that we enjoy, many of which I've shared with you.
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