Win a free Nourish Network T-Shirt!

Show the world you’re nourished!

If you happen to be at Taste of Sonoma on Saturday, you’ll see the Nourish Network crew working at our booth and sporting groovy new Nourish Network t-shirts!

The women’s white cotton short-sleeve “T” sports the Nourish Network logo on the front, along with the message “I am nourished.” On the back, you’ll leave peeps with the question, “Are you?” The shirt is available in medium or extra-large. It’s slightly fitted and runs true to size. You’ll share the Nourish Network message in style, kids!

We’re giving away one free Nourish Network t-shirt to a lucky Nourish Network member.

But, friends, you have to play to win this cool addition to your wardrobe.

So here’s the deal. Normally, we’ll have a link here where you can go to the Weekly Giveaway group forum and sign up to win. But we’re (still … Lisa, help!) having a bit of a glitch setting up new forums at the moment, so just leave a comment here to be entered to win (important: be sure you’re signed in to Nourish Network so we can find you … or sign up, if you haven’t already–only Nourish Network members are eligible to win).

Lia will announce the winner in next Friday’s Friday Digest!

Good luck!

Related posts:

1. Nourish Network Bag!
2. “Taste of the East”
3. Melissa’s Cookbook

Saturday. September 4th. 11-4. At the gorgeous MacMurray Ranch in Russian River.

More than 150 Sonoma County wineries will be pouring thousands of wines, and over 60 local chefs whipping up cool pairings. You’ll also get informative and entertaining wine seminars, lively cooking demonstrations (including several by yours truly), get-your-boots-dirty vineyard tours and more.

And Nourish Network will be there showing how to nourish body, soul and planet with live cooking demos featuring Alaska scallops and sablefish, and new Jovial Whole Grain Einkorn Pasta. Join us in the marketplace for a taste!

Buy your tickets here.

Related posts:

1. “Taste of the East”
2. “Thumbs up” for NN!
3. Sautéed Wheat Berries with Shrimp, Zucchini and Gremolata

Which is what I feel is happening with the organic versus local versus (now) low carbon footprint discussions. First of all, not everyone who sources their food locally is doing so because they think it will save the planet (as we found out when we asked you to weigh in, both here and on Facebook). That, in perfect bandwagon style, is lopping off big chunks of the big picture.

Many people I know, myself and other Nourish Network members included, buy food from local growers because it fosters community and connects us deeper to the place we call home. We also do it because we can ask farmers how they’re growing their food, and ranchers how they’re raising their livestock. Not to mention the fact that a locally-based food system (bear in mind this could mean regional sourcing … it doesn’t need to mean Farmer John down the street) may just be safer too.

So how do you keep from swaying from ‘got to buy local’ to ‘got to buy organic’ to throwing your hands up in exasperation? Ask yourself what’s important to you.

Is a low carbon footprint top on your list? Then you should probably start a garden of your own and, while you’re at it, seriously consider cutting down on how much meat you eat. Are chemicals and genetic modification what concern you most? Then you’ll want to stick with certified organic, or buy from farmers directly—organic or not—so you can ask them how they grow their food. Is supporting your community what excites you? Then suss out farmers markets and give a few CSAs a try.

This isn’t to say that you can’t challenge yourself to move in other areas as well. I’m awfully dialed in on sourcing food that’s free from conventional chemicals and manipulation, but I could certainly grow in the lowering my carbon footprint department. I drive to town all the time, for example, when I could easily bike the few blocks to market (I even bought a basket and pumped up my tires … now I just need to do it).

The important thing is to make an informed choice of your own, not blindly follow what someone else says … no matter how virtuous it may sound.

Related posts:

1. How Do You Define “Locavore”?
2. Seek Sustainability
3. Know Why Organic Matters

This chowder is a delicious way to showcase sweet end-of-summer corn and a perfect not-to-heavy soup to enjoy as the evenings start to cool off. Trim away the kernels with a sharp knife, propping the cob on end in a large shallow bowl to catch the kernels. Simmering a whole, pierced chile in the broth infuses the chowder with subtle heat that doesn’t overpower the sweet corn. This recipe serves 6 as an appetizer or 4 as an entree.

2-1/2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3-1/2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 pound Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 hot chile pepper (serrano, Thai bird or habanero, etc.)
12 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1-1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears)
1/2 cup half-and-half
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil to pan. Add onion; saute 2 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; saute 30 seconds or until fragrant. Stir in flour. Reduce heat to medium, and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add stock, stirring with a whisk until smooth; bring to a boil. Stir in wine. Add potatoes. Pierce chile pepper several times with a sharp knife; add to pan. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

While soup simmers, toss shrimp with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and black pepper. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from heat, and set aside.

When potatoes are tender, add corn to pan. Stir in half-and-half. Season chowder to taste with salt and black pepper. Cook over medium heat until warm. Discard chile pepper. Ladle chowder into soup bowls. Top evenly with shrimp. Garnish with parsley.

Serves 4-6

Related posts:

1. Spicy Sweet Shrimp
2. Glass Noodle Salad with Spicy Sweet Shrimp
3. Sautéed Wheat Berries with Shrimp, Zucchini and Gremolata

Related posts:

1. Salmon Terroir
2. USDA Steering Organics to the Center of the Plate
3. Farm Fresh Fish

1 pound zucchini
1 pound sweet onion
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 cup minced parsley
salt and pepper
8 large eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to broil with rack in top third of the oven.

Slice the zucchini and onion crosswise very thinly, preferably on a mandolin. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté vegetables for 10 minutes, until tender and just softening but not yet brown. Stir in parsley, season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool for 5 minutes. When slightly cooled, pour vegetables into a large bowl, add the eggs and mix thoroughly. Season again with salt and pepper.

Heat a large, nonstick sauté pan (if using the same one you used to saute the veggies, wipe it out thoroughly) over high heat. When the pan is hot, add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Swirl the oil around the pan, then pour in the egg mixture, tilting the pan to spread it evenly. Reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, running a spatula around the edges and shaking occasionally, until the center of the frittata is just about set.

Transfer pan to the oven (if your handle is rubber, cover it with aluminum foil before doing so) and broil for 3-4 minutes, until the top of the frittata is evenly browned.

Invert the frittata onto a large serving plate and serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 6

Related posts:

1. Zucchini Fritters
2. Sautéed Wheat Berries with Shrimp, Zucchini and Gremolata
3. Easy Rice Pilaf

Wright County Egg and the rest of serial offender Austin “Jack” DeCoster’s operations are not farms, but factories. They’re the textbook example of everything that’s unhealthy and unsustainable about the industrial model that has hijacked American agriculture.

The conditions in which these chickens “live” are, to put it mildly, inhumane and unsanitary. The variety of salmonella involved in this recall, s. enteritidis, is present in these chickens and infects the eggs even before they form shells. It results from what they are fed and how they live.  Just as disease breaks out when thousands of humans are crammed into a very confined space, so it is for these birds.  Feed them contaminated food, which likely occurred here, and you only exacerbate the problem.

Add to this poor sanitation and handling of the eggs in transit all over the country, and you have the recipe for the thousands who were affected by this outbreak. It takes a large concentration of the bacteria to sicken all but the most seriously compromised immune systems. But if you allow raw fresh eggs to sit for extended periods of time at temperatures above 45 degrees F, a colony of bacteria can double its population roughly every 20 minutes. A single cell can become millions in just 24 hours.

So the Food and Drug Administration is once again scrambling to shut enormous barn doors after the proverbial horses have run off to a couple dozen other states prompting (again) the outcry for stricter government regulations over our food. But industry regulations don’t help much after the fact–just look to the Gulf, where “drill, baby, drill!” turned into “spill, baby, spill!”

The solution, however, is not simply stricter federal oversight, though clearly that’s needed. It’s also a stronger reliance on a smaller, more localized food system – one that doesn’t produce food the same way it produces microchips. This also has the bonus of being easier to regulate as the need arises. Shorter supply chains inside confined geographical regions are easier to oversee and investigate than national or international ones regulated (if at all) by bureaucrats thousands of miles away. They’re also harder for large agro-industrial conglomerates to dominate.

That’s not to say food-borne illnesses can’t occur with eggs from the small, sustainably minded family farmer down the road. They sometimes do, though when an outbreak does occur, it’s isolated and sickens dozens countywide, not thousands nationwide. But outbreaks are far less common because the birds are healthier and the farmers simply care more. They know that it’s not just their own livelihood that depends on the food they produce, but also the health and well-being of their family, friends and neighbors.

Until we achieve that idyllic world, there are a few things you can do to reduce your risk from eggs:

• Know the source. You should know where your eggs come from and how they were produced. Use our guide to egg labeling and health claims.
• Keep eggs cool. Refrigerate all eggs immediately upon getting them home (at 45 degrees F or below, but not freezing), and keep them that way until moments before cooking them.
• Cook eggs thoroughly. I still eat eggs over easy and make Hollandaise from raw yolks, but that’s because I know and trust the farmer who raises my eggs. If you don’t, make sure they’re cooked until the white and yolk are firm.
• Keep it clean. It’s not just the particular tainted egg that can sicken you, but anything that touches that egg.  If you whisk a few eggs to scramble for breakfast, set the whisk on the cutting board and cut a melon on that cutting board, you can get sick even though your scrambled eggs were cooked until dry. It’s called cross-contamination and it’s is a common cause of food-borne illness.

Meanwhile look for a local source of eggs from a farmer you’ve met and can trust, rather than a factory foreman like Jack DeCoster.

Kurt Michael Friese is the founding leader of Slow Food Iowa, serves on the Slow Food USANational Board of Directors, and is editor and publisher of the local food magazine Edible Iowa River Valley. He’s also Chef and co-owner of the Iowa City restaurant Devotay, a freelance food writer and photographer, and author of A Cook’s Journey: Slow Food in the Heartland.

Related posts:

1. Eat Some Eggs
2. Label Lingo: A Guide to Eggs
3. Dying Onion Easter Eggs – The Beauty of Imperfection

“What’s that?” I asked, not sure what she meant.

She looked at me with her I’ll-be-patient-with-you-because-I-love-you-Mama look and said, “Miss Emma says we have to eat our grow food first.”

And then it dawned on me.

We’ve all encountered it; we pack a nice healthy sandwich and apple slices and a bag of Goldfish crackers. At school, that translates into goldfish first, then a couple bites of the sandwich … and then they run out of steam before the apple sees the light of day.

So, as Noemi explained it, Miss Emma set a rule that the kids have to eat their “grow food”–the healthy stuff–first.

Brilliant, that Miss Emma.

It has become a practice we use at our table too and has opened up a new door for me to talk with Noemi about the basics of sound nutrition as we pack her lunch. I’ll even admit to a certain amount of parental pride on the days I can report to Noemi that all the foods in her lunchbox are grow foods.

Anatomy of a Lunchbox

So what makes something a grow food? Here are four things to look for:

• Healthy fats. Kids, like adults, need healthy fats. Omega-3 fatty acids are particularly important at early ages for neurological development and brain function. Foods like walnuts and flaked wild-caught salmon are great sources of omega-3s, and avocado and olive oil are full of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. Fats also add flavor and mouthfeel to food … important for picky eaters.
• Whole grains. Breads, crackers and pasta made from refined wheat flour  can cause blood sugar levels to spike (and, in response, insulin and adrenaline levels) because our bodies absorb it so quickly. That energy spike also leads to a midafternoon slump that makes hard for kids to concentrate in the classroom. But pasta made from whole grain uses all three parts—endosperm, germ and bran—to provide protein, micronutrients and fiber in a much healthier package for sustained energy throughout the day. It might take a period of turned-up noses, but kids’ palates can adapt. Look for whole grain breads and crackers with a fine crumb to make the transition easier. And remember, corn chips and corn tortillas count too!
• Smart proteins. Proteins are a natural for kids … they’re the body’s building blocks, after all. Lean lunch meats like turkey and ham are alright, but think outside the deli too. Edamame and hummus (even better, the hummus-like edamame dip below) are fun foods that transport beautifully. Quinoa salad, beans and lentils also make great lunches for kids and grown-ups alike.
• Whole foods. Any kind of whole vegetable or fruit (whole meaning not processed; you can cut it up) is a welcome lunchbox grow food. Cherry tomatoes are great at this time of year, and we mix up the fruit depending on what’s in season.

Sure, you’ll have other elements in your kids’ lunchbox too—cheese sticks, pretzels, an occasional sweet. The idea is, though, to load in as many grow foods in as many different guises as possible, and then encourage your kids to feel good about eating them … first.

Related posts:

1. Think of Food as Food
2. Get Your Flax Straight
3. Beware the Box

2 cups frozen edamame beans (removed from pod)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook edamame for 4 minutes. Drain and transfer to a food processor.

Add garlic, Parmigiano-Reggiano and lemon juice to the bowl and process until smooth. Drizzle in extra virgin olive oil and blend until emulsified. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and spoon into a serving bowl or onto toasted baguette slices.

Makes roughly 2 cups, about 8 servings

Related posts:

1. Grilled Crostini with Fava Bean Spread
2. Spanish Leaning Spinach and Chickpea Dip
3. Roasted Cauliflower with Meyer Lemon Fauxaioli

Win a free copy of The 30-Minute Vegan’s Taste of the East (DaCapo Press)!

Always looking for exciting Meatless Monday inspiration? Curious about vegan cuisine? This week’s giveaway is for you.

Much of Asian cuisine is inherently vegan (or really easy to adapt for vegan dishes), and that’s only part of the reason why we love this cookbook by Mark Renfield and Jennifer Murray. It’s packed with 150 mouthwatering recipes, divided by country (India, Thailand, China and Japan). Plus, there’s a really cool “Fusion” section that spotlights flavors from other parts of Asia with recipes like Uzbekistani Chickpea Salad and Tibetan Dumplings. They even have directions to make key condiments, like Fish-Free Sauce.

Renfield is the founding chef of the vegan Blossoming Lotus Restaurant (originally in Hawaii, now in Portland, Oregon); Murray is an expert in vegan and raw cuisine. Many of the book’s recipes are inspired by their world travels.

We’re giving away one free copy of The 30-Minute Vegan’s Taste of the East to a lucky Nourish Network member.

But, friends, you have to play to win all this bold flavor.

So here’s the deal. Normally, we’ll have a link here where you can go to the Weekly Giveaway group forum and sign up to win. But we’re having a bit of a glitch setting up new forums at the moment, so just leave a comment here to be entered to win (important: be sure you’re signed in to Nourish Network so we can find you … or sign up, if you haven’t already–only Nourish Network members are eligible to win).

Lia will announce the winner in next Friday’s Friday Digest!

Good luck!

Related posts:

1. Nourish Network T-Shirt!
2. Melissa’s Cookbook
3. “The Homesteader’s Kitchen”