In this weekly series we have been discussing the benefits of a vegetarian diet including: better health, animal rights, food safety, frugal living, public health, global food and water insecurity, and the staggeringly huge contribution of meat/livestock production to climate change/resource depletion (pdf)
World Preservation Foundation: Black carbon or soot is produced with the burning of vegetation and fossil fuels and is 680 times more heat trapping than CO2.
One of the biggest problems that black carbon creates is its absorption of heat from the sun's rays, thus also warming the surrounding air. When this sooty residue lands on the snowy regions of our planet, not only does it melt the snows faster but it also darkens the surface, consequently causing less reflection of the sun's rays back into the atmosphere.
Over 90 percent of the black carbon emitted by nations in the Arctic region comes from agriculture, forest or peat fires. Scientists found that 60% of the black carbon particles in Antarctica were carried there by the wind from South American forests which are burned to clear land mainly for livestock grazing or the growing of soy for animal feed. Because over 80 percent of agriculture in the Amazon is for cattle grazing and raising soya for animals, reducing consumption of animal products is possibly the fastest way to reduce shorter lived climate forcers.
With black carbon staying in our atmosphere for a matter of a few weeks as opposed to CO2, which remains for 100 years or more, addressing black carbon is a key to mitigating climate change.
Macca's Meatless Monday/Meatless Advocates is a solution-oriented activist group, with solutions for some of the most pressing issues of our time, including: climate change, global food/water insecurity and public health. Here we don't just talk about the severity of the crisis. Armed with knowledge about how our actions can contribute, we become part of the solution.
I was inspired to create this series by former Beatle and vegetarian advocate Paul McCartney (Macca) who partnered with the Meatless Monday campaign to promote less consumption of meat. We not only discuss the advantages of a less meat diet, we also do some cooking, share recipes and listen to great Beatle music!
I have been writing about the fast solution to reducing greenhouse gases through livestock production for several years. Last year I submitted an entry to the MIT Climate Colab contest: The Planet or Your Plate which won a special judges' commendation and resulted in an MIT-sponsored trip to the United Nations in New York City and to the U.S. Congress Natural Resources committee in D.C. to present my paper along with co-presenter Gerard Witterburn Bisshop.
This year we have joined together again to build upon that presentation with our new entry Cool Food: empowering climate friendly choices on a daily basis. Our entry has reached the finals and we are now in the voting phase. I hope you'll take a look at the entry and support it with your vote. To vote, just log in, which requires only a username and password. The key to reducing short-lived climate pollutants is education—informing people about which foods are the greatest contributors to greenhouse-gas emissions.
Now on to the food! Today it's all about corn, because even though corn is everywhere this season, it's my opinion that you can't have too much. Enjoy!
BLUEBERRY CORN PANCAKES
Pancakes are not just for breakfast; the kids will love them for dinner and so will you!
1 1/2 cups vanilla soymilk
1/2 t. lemon juice
1 t. olive oil
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup coarse cornmeal
1 1/2 T. sugar
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 cup fresh blueberries (optional)
1. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the soy milk, lemon juice and olive oil, set aside. In another mixing bowl, sift together the remaining ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until just combined (DO NOT OVERMIX!). Gently mix in blueberries just to coat with batter.
2. Heat a lightly-oiled skillet or non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the batter to the pan 1/4 cup at a time, cooking until the edges and surface are bubbly and the underside is golden brown. Using a spatula, flip the pancake and cook for about 1 minute more until both sides are golden brown. Repeat with remaining batter and serve hot with syrup, sugar, or fruit.
TORTILLA SOUP with BLACK BEANS and CORN
Never too hot for a one-pot healthy meal.
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder or more to taste
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes in juice
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) vegetable broth
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup crushed tortilla chips, plus more for serving (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium. Cook garlic and chili powder until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes (with juice), beans, broth, corn and 1 cup water; season with salt and pepper.
Bring soup to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Add tortilla chips; cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in lime juice, and season with salt and pepper. Serve soup with lime wedges and, if desired, more chips.
CORN MUFFINS
Perfect with the soup above.
2 cups cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup agave syrup
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
Replacer for 2 eggs
2 cups soy milk
Combine and pour into pan or molds-bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned.
THAI CORN FRITTERS (Tod Man Khao Pod)
Addictive. Makes about 30 2" fritters
4 ears of corn
1 quart vegetable oil for deep-frying
1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
1 large egg
3/4 cup rice flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tablespoon salt
3 kaffir lime leaves or 1/4 cup Thai basil leaves
Store-bought or homemade Thai sweet chili sauce
Remove corn kernels from cobs. Heat oil to 300°F in a wok or Dutch oven. Line a large platter or cookie sheet with paper towel and keep it nearby.
Reserve half of corn kernels and place the other half in the blender or food processor along with red curry paste, egg, rice flour, baking powder, and salt; blend until smooth and transfer mixture to a bowl.
Stack up kaffir lime leaves (or basil leaves) and roll them up tightly into a roll. Slice the roll crosswise as finely as possible. Fold in kaffir lime leaf strips into corn batter along with reserved whole corn kernels.
Drop corn batter very gently into oil by the tablespoonful. Do not over-fill pot. Once the fritters float to the top, flip them around to make sure they're browned evenly. Once they're golden brown and the start to darken around the edges, fish them out onto the paper towel-lined platter with a slotted spoon. Repeat until all fritters are cooked.
Allow the fritters to cool slightly. Serve them with Thai sweet chili sauce.
CORN, BLACK BEAN and TOMATILLO SALAD
Satisfying and refreshing summer salad. Serves 2
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups corn kernels
1 cup chopped tomatillos (about 8 small or 2 large, fresh)
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
3/4 cup chives
1 avocado, chopped
handful chopped cilantro
1 jalepeno, seeded & chopped (optional)
For the dressing:
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
sea salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
SWEET CORN TOMATILLO PUDDING
Maybe you can tell I'm really enjoying tomatillos this summer.
2 cups corn kernels (may use frozen, defrosted)
½ cup non-dairy milk
½ cup sugar
3 Tablespoons non-hydrogenated margarine (I use Earth Balance)
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
2 Tablespoons brown rice syrup
2 teaspoons arrowroot powder or tapioca starch
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon lime juice
¾ cup corn flour
¾ cup cornmeal
½ teaspoon non-aluminum baking powder
1 cup corn kernels
½ cup chopped tomatillo
1)
Preheat your oven to 250F (121C). Lightly grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish and set aside. If you are using frozen corn kernels, measure frozen before using, thaw under heat then drain excess water. In a food processor or blender, add 2 cups of the corn kernels, non-dairy milk, sugar, margarine, nutritional yeast flakes, brown rice syrup, arrowroot powder or tapioca starch, salt and lime juice. Process for about 2 minutes. Set aside.
2)
In another large mixing bowl, whisk together the corn flour, corn meal and baking powder.
3)
Add the wet ingredients to the bowl containing the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of corn kernels and ½ cup of chopped tomatillos.
4)
Pour the mixture into a baking dish and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Poke several holes in the aluminum foil to allow steam to escape.
5)
Place the baking dish inside a larger baking dish such as a 9 x 13 inch size and fill it with water until the water level is 1 inch up the outside of the 8 x 8 inch baking dish. This is to ensure that the mixture stays moist and heats evenly. Bake for 1 ½ hours. Scoop out portions of the pudding and serve hot.
SOUTHWEST SALAD with CORN and BLACK BEANS
This comes from Mollie Katzen so you know it's going to be fantastic and it's awesome with the corn pudding above. Nobody's looking so use as many short cuts as you need; such as canned beans, frozen corn etc.
2 cups dried black beans
2 cups cooked corn
2 to 3 medium-sized cloves garlic, finely minced
A heaping 1/2 cup well-minced red onion (I just used one small red onion.)
1 medium-sized red bell pepper, minced
1 medium-sized carrot, minced (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 - 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus an optional 1 to 2 tablespoons for the tortillas) (I used the lesser amount and didn't miss the rest.)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (3 to 4 limes)
2 to 3 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
2 teaspoon crushed red pepper(adjust this to your taste)
A moderate amount of freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 corn tortillas (optional)
Soak the beans for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight. Drain off any excess soaking water, place the soaked beans in a soup pot, and cover with fresh water. Bring just to a boil, then cover and turn the heat way down. Cook at a very slow simmer—with no agitation in the water—until the beans are tender. This should take 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours. Check intermittently to be sure there is enough water, and add more if necessary. When the beans are cooked, drain them well. Then rinse them thoroughly in cold water, and drain them well again.
In a large bowl, combine beans, cooked corn, minced garlic, red onion, bell pepper, optional carrot, salt, 1/2 cup olive oil, and lime juice.
Roast the whole cumin seeds, either in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat, stirring for several minutes, or very carefully in a toaster oven. Add the toasted seeds to the salad, along with the cilantro, parsley, basil, and red and black pepper, and mix thoroughly but gently.
Lightly brush both sides of each tortilla with olive oil, and cut the tortillas into strips approximately 1/4 inch wide and 1-1/2 inches long. Cook the strips slightly by toasting them in an oven (350 degrees) or a toaster oven for only about 2 minutes, or in a heavy skillet over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Ideally, they should be partly crispy and partly chewy. Stir these into the salad shortly before serving, or, if you prefer, scatter them on top as a garnish
"Come Together" The Beatles "one thing I can tell you is you got to be free"
"With a Little Help From my Friends" The Beatles
What have you all been cooking? Please share your recipes and fave Beatles music here!