Recently, there’s been a local story about a school district trying to recoop owed lunch money fees by throwing out food. Okay, so that’s over generalizing, but really? Throwing out food to try to get paid? Seems petty and that’s probably part of the reason there’s been such an uproar. Kids are always being told, “Clean your plate; there are starving people in Africa/Asia/America/Russia/you-name-the country.” So, a school tosses out food in front of them to prove a point? I don’t get it, and apparently neither do a lot of other people. The uproar around this practice has lead to some changes in it. Sure, the schools are under-funded and don’t have the funds to feed the world, but can they really afford to try to teach this lesson by tossing out hot lunches?
Bob With Corn for Dinner
In a world where people are starving despite the fact, “…all the world’s farms currently produce enough food to make every person on the globe fat.” (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver), I have guilt about what it takes to produce our food. It takes petroleum, and a lot of it to produce, refine, and ship most of the food that is consumed in the United States. So, like many others, I’ve been trying to curtail my consumption of this wallet-cheap-environment-spendy diet. Here, on our small city lot, we grow some of our food. We buy about 95% of our meats from local ranchers and as much of our other goods as possible from the farmer’s market. I can’t get sugar, tea, flour or coffee locally, and I do stray from time-to-time, buying a mango from Hawaii or can of hearts of palm from Ecuador. But, for the most part I stay local. And, we eat our leftovers. And, we put all the waste we can in our worm bin. When that’s at capacity, we put the remaining waste in a curbside pick up yard waste container. The coffee grinds, egg shells, apple cores and cucumber skins are then converted to composted mulches that are later returned to the earth. So, when I hear that a school is tossing out hot lunches, I feel pretty defeated. (Probably much like the poor kid who wonders why they didn’t tell him he couldn’t have the lunch before he got to the dumpster.)
Just-picked Sweet Corn Warming for Dinner
So, what do we eat around here? Well, in August we’re blessed with a bounty. This year we have an abundance of herbs, corn and even tomatoes. The corn is flowing in so fast, we’re eating it at almost every meal. Either we eat it, or the rats and squirrels will be fattening up on it soon. I guess that’s something to consider as well, dealing with rodents and other wildlife in an edible city garden. We have the problem every year. Seattle is known as “rat city”. We have a serious problem, but should that deter me from growing my own food? I don’t think so. Rats are everywhere. If farmer’s can work around them, why can’t I? Hmmm…maybe it’s time to get an outdoor cat on the job!
Tomato and Hearts of Palm Salad
This year the rats are also foraging for tomatoes. In the past, they haven’t even given them a try, but this year, I’ve been picking more tomatoes green or just with a blush of color. Otherwise, I find them with little nasty nibbles, and those go into the compost. Rats and squirrels carry diseases that I prefer to avoid, thank you very much! We eat tomatoes in many ways. One of my guilty pleasures is tomatoes with hearts of palm salad. I doubt very much that I could grow edible hearts of palm in Seattle, so I do give in and buy a few cans each summer. They’re a special treat for this fantastic, easy recipe that includes local tomatoes and herbs (plus imported olive oil and pepper):
Ingredients:
- 1 can hearts of palm, sliced
- Olive oil
- Fresh ground pepper
- 3-4 T. chopped fresh parsley
- 3 T. Torn fresh basil
- 3-4 large, ripe tomatoes chopped or 2 cups sliced cherry or pear tomatoes (mix whatever you’ve got!)
Put tomatoes and hearts of palm in a medium-sized bowl. Sprinkle with pepper and herbs. Drizzle with about a Tablespoon of olive oil. Toss very gently. Serve.
Clean Your Plate!
Hungry yet? Well, in addition to eating a lot of local vegetables (and some imported condiments), we do indulge in breads that are made locally from organic materials that are mostly not grown locally. Wheat just isn’t a crop in our area. Last night I made some tasty sandwiches that were sorta local/sorta not. Together with corn-on-the-cob and tomato salad, we had a fabulous meal that left nothing to waste. (Oh, and I should confess that the wine is also an import from Portugal — Broadbent Vino Verde)
-
2 large sandwich rolls (I use Bolo Rolls from Grand Central Bakery)
- 2 Slices Cheddar cheese (I used Tillamook sharp, from Oregon)
- condiments of choice (mayo, mustard)
- Thinly sliced sweet red onion
- Sundried (or oven roasted) tomatoes (How to Dry or roast tomatoes)
- Thin sliced Black Forest Ham (I used some from Skagit River Ranch)
- 2 Leaves lettuce
Preheat oven to 400F. Layer all ingredients except lettuce on sliced bread. Close sandwich. Cook in oven for about 15 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is melted. Remove from oven. Insert lettuce. Enjoy!
Corn-Crazy!
So, yes, we eat very well. We eat real food, and we eat a lot of local food. We clean our plates. We eat leftovers. We also give in and eat somethings that we just can’t get locally. When Bob came in last night with an armful of corn, he told me that growing corn this year was probably the most satisfying thing he’s grown. I was sort of surprised because he does quite a bit of gardening, but he said it was because in the past it hasn’t been a good crop for us. (And, frankly, there’s a world of guilty-issues related to corn that I’ll discuss some other time.) When he planted it, he really didn’t think anything would come of it. Now he’s able to eat the tastiest corn ever, knowing he planted it, weeded it, watered it and cared for it. No way this corn-crazy guy would let the lunch lady take this food out of his mouth!
[...] when they’re done, consider making the sandwiches from this earlier post. They’re divine! rhaglund posted this entry on Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 at 8:38 am. [...]