Eco Conscious Bio Diversity by Kori Bubnack

Guest Blogger Kori Bubnack discusses the importance of bio diversity in our crops today;

“In other environmental issues we tell people to stop something, reduce their impact, reduce their damage,” states US Ecologist Gary Nabhan in a recent interview. Nabhan is a ethnobotanist/gardener whose promotion of biodiversity has caught the attention of many over the years. He is known for his work in biodiversity as an ethnobotanist. Since Coming Home to Eat was published in 2001, the local food movement has ignited, causing a worldwide green epidemic.

Over the past few years there has been a dramatic rise in the number of organizations and businesses that have promoted sustainability through conservation. The Earth Day Network has been playing a large part in bringing conservationist and green enthusiasts together, sharing ideas and discussing new ways to support the planet. Other large organizations and non-profits like Doug Band and the CGI (Clinton Global Initiative) have been working on successful emission reduction projects in the San Francisco Bay area. While climate control has continued to worsen, collaborative and individual acts are vital for any successful green campaign. As human beings, we’re constantly told to reduce our carbon footprint, consume less unhealthy foods, and buy energy conserving appliances! But let’s take a minute to step back and look at this from a different perspective; one that Gary Nabhan strongly suggests.

According to The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, only about a quarter of crop diversity is left and that a dozen species now gives 90% of the animal protein eaten globally. In addition to that, just 4 crop species supply half of plant based calories in the human diet.

Nabhan suggests that eating foods that are home-grown will have a greater impact on sustainability for our planet as a whole, or “eat what you conserve”. A well-established theory in that by eating the fruits and vegetables that we are attempting to conserve/save, we’re promoting the granular dissemination of various plant species.

Agriculturist Marco Contiero also mentions that “biodiversity is an essential characteristic of any sustainable agricultural system, especially in the context of climate change.”[1] According to Conterio’s theory, this would suggest that as individuals we tend our own crops/plants, and should make sure to purchase localized farm products at supermarkets and groceries. This condenses export/import reliance, thus reducing our carbon footprint.

Nabhan and Contiero’s theories both rely profoundly on an action oriented approach at conservation and sustainability. With an abundance of green movements following Earth Day 2010, organizations and individuals have taken a stronger following to expert opinions like the ones demonstrated by both of these highly influential agriculturalists. So remember, as the fall season approaches, make a point to visit your local farmers marketing to purchase your fresh fruits and vegetables. Also, as eco-conscious individuals, don’t hesitate to stop the next time you drive by a yard stand with fresh crops. Promoting biodiversity and localized farming is a crucial piece of the conservation puzzle.



Image: Pixomar / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Graze at your desk

Just discovered this amazing food order service called Graze (thank you Rachel) and thought I should share this with you all. For only £2.99 per box and delivery (that's cheaper than most of the extortional boxed sandwiches in your local Centra, and a hell of a lot healthier) you can get four punnets of healthy food, from a choice of nuts, crackers, dried fruit, olives, flapjacks and granola, to name but a few.

And what's even better? You can have them delivered weekly to your place of work or home, meaning that daily trips to the convenience store, with all it's temptations, can easily be avoided.

These are a great way to make sure your lunch or daytime snacks (or those of your children, friends or partner, as boxes can be ordered as gifts for other people) are of a healthier option, and you can have boxes delivered anywhere, they don't need to be signed for as they fit through a standard letter box and there is no contract or commitment. And whats more, the boxes themselves can be recycled and the company has a commitment to reducing food waste, stating:

"We buy and prepare all the fresh produce for your box on the day we send it. This means we're really accurate with our buying keeping food waste to a minimum. The same is true of our longer life 'dry products', which we pack in small amounts to ensure we use it all. Anything left over we give to our local farm. And because all our food comes in individual portions it means no food waste for you (and no extra waist)."

Check out the website for more information and how to get started picking your favourites:

http://www.graze.com

Where have all the blueberries gone?

I try my best to buy local and seasonal whenever I can, but I will admit that due to my son's addiction for blueberries more often than not, I would have opted for the supermarket staple that is the Chilean Box Set. In fact, there is seldom an alternative, and I thought little of this until recently. In the wake of the the earthquake that struck Chile earlier this year there has been a vast reduction in the amount of blueberries available on UK shores, and the price has sky rocketed (so long Sainsbury's Basics).

It sometimes takes something like this to remind you of the over-reliance we have on foods from overseas. Blueberries aren't native to our shores and our climate simply doesn't promote their mass commercial growth in the UK and Ireland. This can be said of many things, yet food fashions come and go, making some international ingredients quite literally flavour of the month and very much in demand.

Perhaps be seen as a sign to stick to more local produce? Or maybe not -  consider the sobering thought that while we moan about the lack of Chilean produce on our shelves, the people of Chile are still very much suffering the effects of the earthquake, either through water pollution, homelessness or the destruction of business. We still need to support the Blueberry Farmers of Chile, whose very livelihood has been effected by this natural disaster, which hit way back in February and in the wake of Haiti, didn't get half the media attention. It's a vicious circle in many ways, and to quote a fellow blogger, we are faced with a decision between buying local, and buying helpful. But given that we don't really grow our own, I'd say when buying blueberries, buy Chilean for the time being, and help get the industry back on it's feet.

At a later date we can get back to the age old local/overseas debate.

Image: Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Quick Sausage Stew

It may be raining today, but there's been plenty of BBQs recently, and as such I've come up with a quick dish that uses left over sausages as well as a whole load of store cupboard ingredients that seem to be lying around. In this sample I've used Bulgar Wheat, but Barley, Buckwheat, even risotto rice could be used instead. This served two adults and one child for a fairly substantial lunch.

Allow 2-3 pre-cooked sausages (pork, beef, veggie or other) per person, cut up into small bite sized pieces
3 young small turnips, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic glove, crushed
1 small red apple, diced
1/2 tin of chopped tomatoes
50g Bulgar Wheat
Glug of red wine vinegar
2 tsp vegetable bouillon powder
1 tsp of whole grain mustard
Pinch of dried sage
Pinch of dried basil
300ml of boiled water.
Olive Oil for frying

Gently fry the onion, garlic and turnip in some olive oil until soft and browning. Add the sausages, Bulgar Wheat and red wine vinegar, mustard, bouillon powder and herbs, stirring quickly to ensuring that all the wheat is coated, before adding the chopped tomatoes and around 100ml of water.  Bring to the boil, then reduce heat, cover and leave to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a little more water as and when required. After 10 minutes add the apple and remaining water, turn up the heat and allow to bubble for 5-7 minutes uncovered.

Sort of Bread and Butter Pudding with Raspberry and Lemon

Every now and again we get some malt loaf or scotch pancakes for the wee man's breakfast. However the pancakes in particular can have a fairly short shelf life, while the malt loaf runs the risk of going stale if not stored properly, and as a result I've found myself having to use up these items quickly before they spoil and have to be thrown out. One way I came up with was this this dessert which is fairly simple to make and can be dressed up with a few fresh raspberries for a little extra tartness.



Left over scotch pancakes, raisin pancakes and/or malt loaf, buttered if you like, but not essential. Enough to line the bottom of a small pie dish, plus another layer.
300ml whole milk
100ml double cream
25g sugar
2 eggs
Juice of half a lemon (grated peel optional)
Pinch of Cinnamon
Ground or shaved nutmeg
Raspberries
Sultana or raisins

Pre-heat oven to 200C
Line the bottom of the pie dish with the pancakes/fruit loaf. Cut to fit, don't worry about gaps. Sprinkle with a half the lemon juice, peel and some cinnamon. Add some raspberries and a few sultanas or raisins. Add second layer, using up the remaining sprinkling ingredients. Cover and set aside.

Whisk up the eggs and sugar in a bowl with some nutmeg (to personal taste, but remember whole shaved nutmeg can be quite strong) until pale and bubbly.

Heat up the milk and cream in a pan and remove from heat just before boiling point. Gentle stir in the egg mix then pour over the pancakes until brim is reached. Throw in a few extra berries if desired and sprinkle a little sugar on to if you want.

Bake for 30 mins or until custard has set and is browning.
Can be served with cream or ice cream

Variations: For extra lemony taste you can use lemon and raisin pancakes or substitute ordinary sugar for lemon sugar.

How to reduce food waste

The council have been round today with their mini food caddies (or 'slop' bins as most people will know them as) and bio degradable bags to encourage us to separate our food waster from our run of the mill rubbish. My sister was quite critical of the small size, but I imagine that this is so that you don't have a huge well of rotting matter building up in your kitchen - not good at best of times and certainly to be avoided in the summer - but also to prompt us to reduce the amount of waste full stop.

As a result I've decided to compile a list of some tried and tested methods to reduce food and packaging waste, and tips on how to re-use some items. These are just a few, feel free to add your own comments.

• First up, don't go shopping hungry; be it food shopping, where you'll be prone to giving into your cravings or even just clothes shopping in town, where you'll be more likely to snack on convenience foods. Can be harmful to the environment and your waist line.
• When buying fruit and veg, don't bother putting loose produce into those wispy clear plastic bags. After all they do nothing to protect the fruit from squashing in the trolley or on the way home, and are pretty pointless when you think about it. If you have concerns about soft or delicate produce getting squashed or damaged, leave until last and place on top. So long as you rack like items up together on the conveyor belt, it shouldn't bother the cashier either when it comes to weighing and payment.
• Re-usable shopping bags or bags for life are a must.
• If you have a 'Scoop and Shop' near you (where items such as grains, cereals, detergents etc can be weighed out) take old boxes, tubs and containers with you to re-use.
• If you feel that your supermarket is irresponsible in the amount of packaging that it uses for some items, unpack and leave the rubbish at the till. If it becomes their problem to dispose of they will eventually deal with the issue. On the same note, don't be afraid to complain about packaging issues to stores and manufacturers.
• Don't dismiss peel and skin. Many shops now offer items such as carrots that don't need to be peeled, but so long as they are clean, fresh and particularly if they are young, most carrots don't need to be peeled anyway. In fact, roasted unpeeled carrots have a far nicer texture and taste than peeled in my opinion. I also leave potatoes unpeeled in most dishes, including mash. There is also no harm in adding most peels to a stock pot, if you are planning to sieve it out anyway, giving them an alternative use before you throw them out.
• Use left over meat carcasses for stocks. Both the stock and the bones can be frozen if you don't want/need them immediately.
• Avoid nylon tea bags, they can't be thrown into the compost like ordinary tea bags can. Loose tea leaves are even less wasteful.
• Portion control. Observe the packet/recipe guidelines. They are there for a couple of reasons, one being to make sure that there isn't a mountain of food left over.
• Use egg shells and orange peel as natural pest preventives in the garden. Slug and snails will avoid plants surrounded by egg shells, while most cats will avoid orange peel for a few days at least.
• Keep old take away and ice cream tubs and containers for left overs, rather than buying new Tupperware. They take up less room in the fridge than a plate would, can be washed and reused multiple times (unlike cellophane or foil), are more hygienic than keeping things in tins, can be frozen in most cases and if they are clear you have a visual indicator if things have spoiled. They also make good containers for sandwiches and packed lunches.
• Feed the birds. As a kid I would throw out pieces of bread for the birds and wait in anticipation as they made their way into my garden to feed. When it snowed heavily this winter me and my niece did this again, and I've been trying to remember to do this with her crusts (she doesn't like the crunchy bits) when ever she's been round our house for food. 
• Be creative with leftovers. Over the next few weeks I'll be posting some of my favourite left over recipes, starting tomorrow with Sort of Bread and Butter Pudding.
  

Best Guides: Eating Seasonally

With so much available on the internet you could be forgiven for thinking that you no longer need to buy cookbooks, choosing instead to look up recipes and information as and when you need it. However, there are distinct advantages to having a quality cookbook or two to hand:

• Unless you have internet access in your kitchen, you still have to print recipes off or which you'll be running from room to room every five minutes to make sure you're getting things right.
• Even if you have a laptop that you can take with you into the kitchen, do you really want to risk spills and other kitchen related damage?
• A concise cookbook will provide more than just the recipe, they will often contain tips and advice on sourcing and preparation that you can turn to time and time again, adding your own notes as you go. 
• They are long lasting and you know where you'll always be able to find your favourites. You don't have to run the risk of loosing recipes that may stored on your computer and in the case of print offs, all over the place.

So I'm hoping once a month to give a round up of some of the best cook books I've come across in my time, with links to Amazon if any are of interest (though always keep an eye out in your local charity book shop for some classics).

I'll start off for the end of May with a round up of my favourite Seasonal Cookbooks. These are invaluable if you want to try your hand at eating seasonal, or simply want to make the most of local and current produce every once in a while. Please not these tend (though not always) to be UK and Ireland centred books, suiting UK and Ireland climate and produce, but feel free to add your own recommendations if you are not from this area:

                                                    

Great for those new to seasonal cooking, with a helpful A-Z guide of what to eat when. Each month gets it's own comprehensive write up, with tip and advice. Most recipes assume a certain level of know how, so not recommended for complete novices and while it is compact and easily stored in your kitchen, in it hardly bursting with recipes. Rather Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall has been more selective, going for quality rather than quantity.
Tried and Tested: November's French Onion Tart. Really tasty and great at the time of year. I remember making it a few times over the winter months, adding personal touches such as a little Branston Pickle to the base.

                                                    
I actually have a slightly older version of this, though many of the recipes remain the same. Quite simply one of the best cook books I own. Stacked with month by month, course by course seasonal recipes, it includes sections on meat cuts, vegetable types, methods for baking, confectionery and basic skills, in addition to menu suggestions for all kinds of events and festivals. Sturdy as hell, my sister and I own copies that date back to the 1970s which despite a few loose pages, still help us out on at least a weekly basis. I would warn you though, as with all classic cook books, the language in the earlier copies is soooo very dated.
Tried and Tested: June's two recipes for British Asparagus, either naked or Mornay, they are both excellent and with the basic recipe well understanding that the flavour of the vegetable often speaks for itself.

                                                    
Marked out in terms of the seasons, rather than month by month, this fine book is full of interesting and alternative vegetarian dishes from the American Chef. For those tried to go for the double whammy of vegetarian and seasonal, this will certainly give you a wide range of ideas and inspiration, even if you can't get all the ingredients here in the UK.
Tried and Tested: Spring's Curried Carrot-Apple Soup with Golden Tofu. Had this made for me by a friend and it was at once comfort food and refreshing. Yum.

                                                     
Great read, not just as a cook book but also as a food guide to Ireland. The recipes are plentiful and in addition to standard dishes and traditional twists, there are also instructions on how to re-create traditional market fayre, such as breads, pickles and cakes.
Tried and Tested: I must admit that I've not long had this book and have yet to try anything from it. Like I said, though it's a great read and come vegetable and berry picking season, I'll be trying my hand at chutney and preserves for the very first time, using this book as my guide.