Being Gentle on the Earth

Aprill 22 is Earth Day.  That would be today.  It almost passed me by.

I did partake in one Earth Day activity: the Origins face wash exchange where I went into an Origins store, traded in an empty face wash bottle and in return, got a full-sized Checks and Balances frothy face wash for free.  Being "green" does have its perks, especially on Earth Day.

I wouldn't consider myself to be a "green" goddess, but I do try to be gentle on the earth and it's quite easy.  Here are five simple things that you can do as well:

1. Use a recycled aluminum water bottle, such as a SIGG (I like their fun designs). Plastic water bottles are horrible for the environment and are contributing to the notion that water is a commodity. Water is free. Everyone should have access to it.  If we continue paying for it, companies will continue to sell it and only those who can afford it will be able to get it.  A downward spiral, if you ask me.
2. Use power strips for your electronics and shut them off when you leave the house. This has saved me mucho dinero on my electric bill.
3. Recycle. Paper, plastic and metal. All the cool kids are doing it.
4. Reuse. I have a cabinet full of takeout containers that I use as Tupperware.  Plastic is horrible for the earth. Did I say that already?
5. Reduce. Quit buying stuff. Or if you're going to buy stuff, give something away to someone who needs it. Or re-sell it at PPF Consignment (my sister's store). And when you do buy stuff, bring your own bag with you.

One of my favorite "green" activities is my farm-share, otherwise known as a CSA or Community Supported Agriculture.  What is a farm-share?  Well, it's quite different from a timeshare or a Hamptons share, although it does take place over the summer.  A farm-share a community that financially supports a local farmer and in return, CSA members receive a share of the crops that are harvested from the farm.  My CSA has a membership option for people who use food stamps.  I really, really value the notion that fresh, organic produce should be affordable/accessible and am happy to be subsidizing the membership cost for lower-income folks.  Goodness knows that Hampton summer shares are not built this way!

In my CSA, the farmer's name is Zaid and he owns Norwich Meadows Farm in Norwich, NY.  From June through November, Zaid and his team harvest crops for the CSA as well as local NYC Greenmarkets, like the one in Union Square.  Each week, Zaid delivers a portion of those crops to my CSA pickup location.  So, during harvest season, I get a weekly share of fresh, organic veggies from the farm.  I stop in at the location, pick my own vegetables, weigh them and bring them home with me. Cucumbers, kale, tomatoes, squash, onions, potatoes, carrots, fava beans... It's like a weekly culinary adventure because I never know exactly what I'm going to get.  Sort of like ChatRoulette with produce.  Horrible joke.

Being a part of the farm-share has allowed me to experiment with new recipes and familiarize myself with vegetables I have never heard of (like purslane) and would never have the courage to cook on my own.  A few years ago, I was extremely intimidated by eggplant and now I can pan-fry it like a pro.  In the coming months, you will be seeing many of my farm-share goods featured in future recipes.  Yum!

Please allow me to step onto my soapbox for a moment, I will be quick. CSAs are good for the earth and for you because it reduces your carbon footprint in many ways: local vegetables don't need to travel as far to make it to your dinner plate, organic farming reduces the amount of harmful chemicals in the atmosphere and because you're picking up the veggies from a central distribution point, there is no need for storing or warehousing inventory.  Most importantly, the nutritional value of the produce is much higher because the crops you receive are seasonal and literally, fresh from the farm. Okay, I'm done. If you'd like to learn more about CSAs in the NYC area, please visit JustFood.org

Happy Earth Day everyone!  We all share this space.  Let's be good to it and let's be good to each other.

Guest Blogger: Chronicles of the DC

The beauty of having this blog is that I can invite people to write about their own cooking experiences. My dear friend whom I will call Tagz moved from NYC to China and now has a blog of her own to document her adventures behind the Great Firewall. Tagz is today's guest blogger in the creation of a delicious fatty pork dish.

A few years ago, I visited Tagz in Shanghai and she was kind enough to host me. Upon my arrival at her apartment, Tagz was leaving for work but gave me strict instructions to stay put, as she did not want me wandering the streets alone. At first, I was fine with these instructions. I was extremely jetlagged and decided to take a long nap. But a few hours later, I woke up and realized that she had left me in her tiny studio apartment with nothing but bread and Nutella. I was not allowed to leave her place nor did I have a way to contact her or call for takeout. When she finally returned in the evening with a few of her colleagues (J and M who she references below), the first thing out of my mouth was "FEED ME!"

Since then, Tagz has come a long way, learning not just to feed her guests, but also mastering the art of authentic Chinese cuisine. Hope you enjoy her entry!

東坡肉 - Five Layers of Fat (Happiness)!

My first encounter with 東坡肉 (dong po rou) was during orientation week at SHSID in 2007.  I remember sitting in the cafeteria with J and M and biting into the juicy, succulent piece of fatty pork.  To the other foreigners, it was a disgusting block of fat, jiggling in the middle of our trays and oozing with oil.  But to those of us who grew up eating chicken feet, thousand-year-old eggs and beef tripe, this piece of pork was simply divine - it melted in our mouths and the sweet soy sauce coated our lips.  Mmmm...

Recently, I watched Anthony Bourdain travel to Harbin, China in his show No Reservations.  His travel buddy took him to a local Chinese restaurant that served 東坡肉, in which Anthony described it as "5 layers of happiness."  As I was watching the two men devour the pork, I decided to make it myself.  After all, my mom has been lecturing me about why I should cook Chinese food instead of fattening my waist line with cakes and macarons.

So here we go - I'm going to fill my tummy with pork belly instead.  I went to the Bookworm (a foreign library/book store/cafe) yesterday, bought the cookbook The Food of China: A Journey for Food Lovers (btw, it's an awesome Chinese cookbook), walked over to our local Chinese supermarket, Jingkelong, and picked up the ingredients.  Here's the recipe (and a picture of my dinner!) -

Dong Po Pork (東坡肉)

Ingredients:
1 kg of pork belly, rind on
2 TB of oil
6 spring onions, sliced
8 slices of ginger
100 g of rock sugar (I used slab sugar from my cupboard instead)
2 1/2 TB of dark soy sauce
2 1/2 TB of light soy sauce
1/2 cup of Shaoxing rice wine

Scrape the pork rind to make sure it is free of bristles.  Blanch the pork in a pan of boiling water for 10 minutes, then drain well and dry thoroughly.

Heat a wok over high heat, add the oil and heat until very hot.  Add the pork to the wok.  Run across the kitchen and hide when the oil pops and the pork explodes from intense heat.  Cook the pork until well browned and the skin is crisp and brown.  Drain the pork.

Put the spring onion, ginger, sugar, soy sauces, rice wine and 1/2 cup of water in a clay pot.  Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.  Add the pork, cover and simmer for 2 1/2 - 3 hours, or until very tender.  Remove the pork and drain, straining the liquid.

Enjoy the pork with a bowl of steamed white rice.  Break the pork into small bite size pieces and let it melt in your mouth.  Don't forget to drizzle your rice with the sauce!

And btw, did I mention M (To)Fu made ma po tofu tonight?

Dinner is served!

Streetball, From Us With Love

Tonight, I saw a film. It was incredible, amazing, riveting... It featured true stories of hope and heartbreak captured by stunning images, punctuated by beautiful music. The documentary is called Streetball and it screened tonight at the NY African Film Festival. It will be screening again on Tuesday at 1pm, if you want to catch it for yourself. I highly recommend that you do.

Streetball follows the lives of eight South African guys who are homeless - ex-convicts, former gangsters, orphans - and who find themselves in a position of representing their country through sport, in the 2008 and 2009 Homeless World Cup soccer games.

Rather than me telling you all about it, you can view the trailer for yourself:

Streetball - Trailer from Demetrius Wren on Vimeo.

What struck me the most about the film was its ability to powerfully convey universal human truths - our innate desire to find our place in this world, the desire to be loved and accepted, the desire to be part of something bigger than ourselves - through the voice of the homeless, who often do not have a voice in society and certainly not one that is openly heard.

In the film, we watch as these guys train for the Homeless World Cup, develop friendships and are inspired to change their lives. We watch as they travel to Melbourne, Australia and then to Milan, Italy to meet and play against other soccer teams from other countries - all of them also homeless, all of them also representing their countries, all of them in this together through sport.

Photo from Streetball Personal Stories

I am particularly moved by the film because it was created by a crew of two 25 year olds.  One of them is my amazing friend and former colleague, Tina Ghubril, who only two years ago began working on this project after leaving our company. Watching her labor of love on the big screen made me so utterly proud of her. She is truly changing the world.  She has inspired me to do the same.

On my way home from dinner, I did something that I often do - I gave my leftovers to a homeless person on the street. But tonight, I looked the person in the eye, smiled and said, "How are you doing?"

Photo from Streetball Personal Stories

Thank you, Tina and Demetrius, for helping me to see a perspective that I never would have had the courage to see on my own.  Thank you also for giving me a bit more faith in humanity and more importantly, a bit more faith in myself.

Streetball is sponsored by From Us With Love, a nonprofit organization that uses football (soccer) as a means of involving children and youth that live, work and sleep on the streets in positive activities that will assist them in moving off the streets to better lives. In the Q&A panel tonight, it was very apparent that From Us With Love is in need of funds and resources to sustain their program. Please visit their website to learn about how you can get involved or to contact them to offer your services.

And again, definitely check out the film at the NY African Film Festival on Tuesday at 1pm or in future film festivals.  It truly is a masterpiece.

Recipe of the Week: GOOP

One of my all-time favorite role models is Gwyneth Paltrow. We have a lot in common.  She is slender (as am I). She loves yoga (as do I). She's attends Coldplay concerts (as have I). She was once engaged to Brad Pitt. (Okay, I wrote a lot in common, not everything in common).

I am an avid reader of Gwyneth's blog, GOOP, not only because I want to be just like her, but also because it's filled with really fun, creative ideas, solutions and recipes. In her last post, she featured Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (as did I). Coincidence? Or proof that perhaps my aspirations are attainable? I'll let you decide.

In channeling my inner Gwyneth, I stayed pretty close to the original recipe and I am so glad that I did. After all, this woman does know what she's doing...

Spicy Moroccan Stewed Fish with Couscous
Serves 2 (or 1 Gwyneth wanna-be who enjoys leftovers)
Original recipe and interview with Jamie Oliver

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup quick-cook couscous (leftover from previous meal)
• olive oil
• 2 lemons
• sea salt and freshly ground
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 fresh red chili
• a bunch of fresh basil (reserve leftovers for pesto over eggs this weekend - yum!)
• I teaspoon ground cumin
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 x 8-ounce salmon fillets, skin off and bones removed
• Handful of Trader Joe's frozen langostino tails (um, if you forget to buy shrimp too)
• 14 ounces, or half a can, of Trader Joe's whole plum tomatoes (reserved tomatoes can be used in egg/pesto dish too)
• 2 handfuls of frozen French cut green beans from Green Giant

INSTRUCTIONS:

Take an amazingly great yoga class. Appreciate life. On your way home, realize that nearly a week has gone by and you have not yet conducted your weekly culinary experiment and will therefore be lagging behind with your blog. Recall an interesting recipe that Gwyneth sent earlier in the week. Take out iPhone and pull up her newsletter, which informs you of ingredients needed. Use iPhone as your shopping list as you peruse your local gourmet market. Briefly wonder how you ever functioned without an iPhone.

1. In a tea kettle, bring water to boil. Put the couscous into a bowl and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Halve the lemons and squeeze in the juice from two of the halves. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour in just enough boiling water to cover the couscous, then stir and cover the bowl with a plate. Let stand.

2. While couscous is soaking, take out your iPhone again to reference the recipe. Peel and finely slice your garlic. Finely slice your chili. Pick the basil leaves off the stalks. Put the smaller ones to one side and roughly chop the larger ones. Enjoy the amazing aromas of the fresh basil. Mmmm... make a mental note to register for your CSA so you can continue to get fresh basil from your farm this year. Yum. Decide to make fresh pesto with the remaining basil leaves. Double yum.

3. Get a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add a couple of lugs of olive oil to the hot pan. Add the garlic, chili, basil, cumin and cinnamon. Give it all a stir and put the fish fillets on top. Read the recipe and notice that the next step says, "Scatter over the shrimp." Crap. Notice that you did not purchase shrimp and that you do not have shrimp! Open your freezer. Grab the langostino tails. Decide that they look like shrimp. Decide that they probably taste like shrimp. Scatter two handfuls of frozen langostino tails into pan. Exhale.

4. Add tomatoes and use spatula to break them up into chunky bits. Notice that canned whole tomatoes are so much more fun to cook than diced tomatoes. Add two handfuls of frozen green beans. Notice that frozen beans are never fun to cook. Squeeze in the juice from the two remaining lemon halves. Put a lid on the pan. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 8 minutes.

5. While fish is stewing, return to your iPhone. Send a few WhatsApp messages. Check email. Check Facebook. Try to figure out the hype about iemoji. Feel genuine gratitude for the best device ever. Wonder if Gwyneth has an iPhone too and venture to guess that perhaps that is how she keeps it all together. Re-read her newsletter and sign Jamie Oliver's petition to save cooking skills and improve school food. Feel like you can contribute towards the greater good just by cooking and being in your own kitchen, thanks to your iPhone.

6. Check to see that the fish is cooked through and flakes easily. Taste, and season with salt and pepper. Fluff couscous with a fork. Wonder if you will ever truly be able to make couscous the way it tastes in Morocco. Spoon the couscous on to a large dinner plate. Top with the fish, vegetables, and juices from the pan, sprinkle with the reserved basil leaves. Savor its aromas and flavors. Be amazed that this dish took no more than 15 minutes to make. Be inspired by Jamie and Gwyneth.

Optional step: Place iPhone on your sound dock and put on some Coldplay to truly create a Gwyneth and Chris Martin-inspired atmosphere in your home. Realize that the stew is very hearty and that you'll have ample leftovers, being able to extend this experience for another day. Wonder if Gwyneth and Chris will be able to extend their marriage as well.