Food and Drink

Parents Need to Eat Too

One thing I hear – a lot – when I talk about living a more conscious lifestyle is that, yes, that’s all fine and good. Until you have kids. Babies have a way of interrupting things, don’t they? Less time for yourself, less time for tackling things like recycling or gardening or even cooking. Well, take heart. Debbie Koenig may not be able to help with your recycling or gardening or any of the myriad other chores that often go by the wayside when you are raising kids. But cooking? She’s got you covered. Her book, Parents Need To Eat Too is filled with healthy, easy to make recipes that just might prevent you from falling into the fast food trap. My kids are teens now and do much of their own cooking. I’m beyond the oh-my-gosh-when-will-I-ever-sleep stage. And yet, thumbing through the review copy that the publisher sent, I found a ton of recipes that I’d actually make. Zucchini and Spinach Risotto? Why, yes please! And the fact that the meals are so easy to pull together means I’ll have time to spend in the garden growing some of the ingredients. I’ve got my eye on a few...

Radish Leaf Pesto

By Kris Bordessa

Radishes are one of the fastest ripening crops a gardener can plant. If you’re aching to have something – anything – that you grew yourself on the dinner table, radishes are a good bet. They’re one of the earliest crops you can plant, and are ready in just 3-4 weeks from planting date. But don’t stop at eating the rosy roots. I discovered a couple of years ago that the radish leaves are edible too. (I have no idea how I grew up without knowing this!) My writing colleague, April Paffrath, shared a recipe for radish leaf pesto on Wicked Tasty Harvest a couple of years ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Spicier than pesto made with basil leaves, radish leaf pesto is a fabulous way to stretch the harvest from an early spring garden. I’ve served it over pasta, and my kids love to spread it on crackers or in mozzarella grilled cheese sandwiches. It has a tendency to maintain its bright green hue without discoloring like traditional pesto does, so it’s a nice bet for a pretty springtime appetizer, too. If you know me at all, you know that I didn’t make this without modifying April’s...

Is that Banana Irradiated? Here’s How to Tell.

By Kris Bordessa

You know how you start out innocently on the internet and see something of interest so you click? And pretty soon you’ve disappeared down a rabbit hole and your dishes still need to be washed and laundry needs to be hung and you never planted those seeds? That’s how this started. I don’t recall how I came across this information, what prompted me to say, “Hey, wait a minute!” and dig a little deeper. I had no intention of writing about irradiated food but here I am. Will this make you more self-sufficient? Maybe in a roundabout way, if you decide that you’d just as soon avoid treated food. Maybe not. Maybe you don’t care if you’re eating irradiated food. Me? I want you to at least know what you’re putting in your mouth and have the opportunity to make a conscious decision. That benign looking graphic up there indicates that a food product has been irradiated. This FDA website says: FDA requires that irradiated foods bear the international symbol for irradiation. Look for the Radura symbol along with the statement “Treated with radiation” or “Treated by irradiation” on the food label. Bulk foods, such as fruits and vegetables,...

What’s in Your Vinegar?

By Kris Bordessa

Truly, is nothing sacred? If you’ve been grabbing the same vinegar off the shelf for years, not giving it a second thought, it’s time to do a little label reading. Apple cider vinegar? Depending on your brand, it may now be ‘apple cider flavored‘ vinegar. Ditto for what you thought was white wine vinegar. Heinz doesn’t address the ‘apple cider flavored’ vinegar on its site, but here’s what they have to say about the clear stuff that used to be white wine vinegar: Heinz® Distilled White Vinegar is made from sun-ripened grain and crystal clear water. Sun-ripened grain. That sounds nice, doesn’t it? But the picture that accompanies that statement shows an ear of corn. And you can bet that corn is GMO.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

By Kris Bordessa

Those little individual packets of taco seasoning mix? Expensive, plus you generate trash every time you use them. The big bulk bottles at Costco? Less expensive, but plastic. Happily, once you have the ingredients on hand, it takes just a few minutes to make your own. Buy your spices in bulk at the natural food store using your mini bags to tote them home – you’ve made some, right?? – and you’ll save on trips to the supermarket, avoid adding to the landfill, and save some cashola. Taco Seasoning 1/2 cup dried minced onions 1/2 cup chili powder 1 tablespoon salt 2 tablespoons organic cornstarch 2 tablespoons garlic powder 2 tablespoons ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) Measure ingredients into a glass jar. Screw on a lid and shake to mix ingredients thoroughly. That’s it. To use: Stir 2-3 tablespoons of taco seasoning into a pound or so of browned ground meat along with 2 cups of water. Simmer until liquid is absorbed.

Tangerine Ginger Jam

By Kris Bordessa

My neighbor has a tree that is dripping with ripe tangerines. He came out and hollered at me the other day to pick some – lots of them – so I filled my market basket with about 15 pounds. It barely put a dent in his crop. It’s tangerine central around here right now. Let me be honest: I’m not a fan of marmalade. Those little bitter bits of peel? Very off-putting to me. Yeah, ick. I decided to modify the orange marmalade recipe from Pomona Pectin just a bit to see if I could come up with a less bitter citrus spread. I peeled the fruit before chopping it up, and of course used tangerines instead of oranges. Where the recipe called for water, I used tangerine juice for more flavor, and I added a bit of ginger and vanilla. It’s like marmalade, but without the peels. Let’s just call it jam. Tangerine Ginger Jam Yield: 8 pints 16 tangerines, peeled and seeds removed (this should net about 12 cups of segments) 6 cups tangerine juice 6 cups sugar juice from a 2″ piece of fresh ginger 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 package Pomona pectin Prepare the calcium water...

Plan Now to Share the Harvest Later

By Kris Bordessa

It’s that time of year when – for many of us – scouring seed catalogs for potential garden additions stands in for actually getting our hands dirty. While you’ve got time (and not dirt) on your hands, you might want to consider organizing a method to share your eventual harvest right in your own community. Just imagine back fence trades – your abundance of zucchini in exchange for some of your neighbor’s prized turnips – a little bit larger in scale. Call it vegetable commerce if you will. Sonia Martinez and Kim Hoffman, both part of the leadership team for Slow Food Hawaii, envisioned a way for backyard gardeners to barter their abundance with others in the area. Share the Harvest is the result. Modeled after the successful Freecycle program, interested parties sign up to become a member of Share the Harvest and swap, trade, or barter anything that is food related. Fresh produce, baked products, preserves, dairy products, or even plants and seeds are fair game. Members who have an abundance send in an ‘offer’ listing what they have available and what they’d be interested in trading for. The message goes out to the list and anyone can...

Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce

By Kris Bordessa

It’s been years since I’ve had a hot fudge sundae. Two? Three years? It likely came in a waxed cardboard cup from Baskin-Robbins. Inexplicably, the other night I was craving one. Never mind that I was bundled up in my warm fuzzy bathrobe trying to stay warm. Ice cream and hot fudge sauce was on my mind. “Where are you going to get a hot fudge sundae?” my husband asked. There’s not an ice cream shop anywhere nearby. “The stuff at the store all has high fructose corn syrup.” (Here, let me interject how pleased I am that my husband is taking this into consideration these days. He’s come a long way, baby.) A quick internet search pulled up a number of options, but this recipe seemed like a good place to start. I changed it up a little bit (cinnamon? Why yes, thank you!) and it turned out wonderfully. It made enough for us to indulge ourselves plus there was a full jar left over to give away. Hot Fudge Sauce Less than half an hour from start to sundae 1 cup butter 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 3 cups white sugar 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated...

Tangerine Syrup

By Kris Bordessa

December means citrus around here – lots and lots of citrus. Two of my neighbors have trees that they can’t keep up with, so we’re eating tangerines and oranges hand over fist. When I ran across a recipe for tangerine syrup over on the hip girl’s guide to homemaking, I wondered if it was something we’d use. (I’m famous for going all gung-ho and canning a bunch of stuff that seems like a good idea, but in retrospect is just not something my family will eat – hello, mint jelly!) The list of possible uses that the hip girl included with her recipe sold me. Add it to sparkling water for a citrus-y soda! Make a marinade! Sweeten granola! How could I not try it? The recipe was really very simple and easy to do. Since this was the only canning project I had going on, I processed the small jars in my stock pot, rather than heating up my big canner. The cute little jar you see up above was not processed; it will go into the fridge for my neighbor. Hip girl suggests using 3 cups of tangerine juice, or up to 4-5 cups juice for a...

Best Fudge Evah!

By Kris Bordessa

I have the best recipe in the world for fudge. Seriously. You know those fudge booths at the fair where they charge one million dollars for a half pound? Hubby insists on breaking our bank every time he has the opportunity, then proceeds to say, “yours is better.” My kids concur. I was gifted with the recipe eons ago, and now in the holiday spirit, I share with you. This makes about five pounds of fudge, so plenty to share and still have some left over for yourself. Andrea’s Fudge 3 Cups semi sweet chocolate chips 1 Cup butter 4-1/2 Cups sugar 1- 7 oz. jar marshmallow cream (Avoiding high fructose corn syrup? Check out my hfcs-free marshmallow success!) 1 -12 oz. can evaporated milk 2 Tblsp. vanilla 1-2 Cups chopped nuts Put chocolate chips, butter, and marshmallow cream in a large bowl. Set aside. In heavy dutch oven, bring milk and sugar to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a full rolling boil. Continue stirring frequently for exactly 8 minutes. Pour hot mixture over ingredients in bowl. Stir until well mixed, then beat with an electric mixer until fudge begins to hold its...

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Food and Drink

Parents Need to Eat Too

Radish Leaf Pesto

Is that Banana Irradiated? Here’s How to Tell.

What’s in Your Vinegar?

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Tangerine Ginger Jam

Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce

Tangerine Syrup

Best Fudge Evah!

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