Happy Earth Day

Now that the oil spill continues to dump thousands of barrels into the Gulf of Mexico with no end in sight, more people are starting to think about all the oil we use.  I’ve been thinking about it longer than most because I’ve been learning about peak oil over the last few years: what it means to our food system and our daily way of life.

While many of my nutritional and dietetic colleagues are focused on calorie counts, I’ve been focusing my energy on a different type of calorie count: one that involves the burning of fossil fuels. We have an oil dependent food chain.

Michael Pollan boils it all down to just 15 minutes. Get comfy and watch this. I especially like his oil stunt with the burger. Enjoy!

Veggie Lasagna, all set for the freezer

My family loves this lasagna, its easy to make and delicious to eat. There is no need to cook the noodles beforehand! Moisture from spinach and other ingredients does it for you.

This is a great recipe to prepare ahead and freeze. When you’ve got one of those crazy busy days, pop it into the oven and dinner is on it’s way.

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package lasagna noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 zucchini, finely chopped

i jar tomato sauce

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, organic if possible
1 (16 ounce) container organic ricotta cheese
¾  cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Procedure:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the chopped onions, mushrooms, garlic, and zucchini in the oil until soft.
• Meanwhile, mix frozen spinach with cottage cheese
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Spread 1   cup sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish.
• Layer 1/3 of the noodles, the zucchini onion mixture, 1/3 of remaining sauce, and 1/3 cheese/ spinach mixture.
• Repeat layers with remaining ingredients.
• Sprinkle top with shredded mozzarella
  Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

This stew was adapted from a recipe I found in Bon Appétit | December 2009
photo credit: WordRidden

Barley is a hearty grain that works great in soups and stews, add some mushrooms and you won’t even notice that this is a vegan dish. Great for a Meatless Monday.  I made a pot of this  earlier this week while doing research for my upcoming Grains Cookbooklet. You can turn it into a soup by adding more broth.  This stew works well as leftovers too. The  Slow Food Westchester leadership team enjoyed it the next day during our planning meeting for 2010.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 cups chopped leeks (about 2 small stalks; white and pale green parts only)
• 1 8-ounce container sliced crimini (baby bella) mushrooms
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 2 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 cup pearl barley
• 6 cups  vegetable broth or mushroom broth
• 1 bunch kale (about 8 ounces), trimmed, center stalks removed, leaves coarsely chopped (about 8 cups packed)

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add leeks; sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté until leeks begin to soften, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, garlic, and rosemary; increase heat to medium-high and sauté until mushrooms soften and begin to brown, stirring often, about 7 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice; stir 1 minute. Add barley and 4 cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until barley is almost tender, about 20 minutes. Add kale; stir until wilted, about 1 minute. Cover and simmer until kale and barley are tender, adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls as needed for desired stew consistency, about 10 minutes.