The Papaya That Changed My Life

Alright. I have a confession to make.

I am a fruit addict.

You think I’m kidding. But this is serious. My whole life I have loved fruit more than anything. I chalk it up mainly to the fact that when I was young if we were hungry before dinner, my parents would allow us to eat fruit but nothing else or we would ruin our dinners. That and the fact that I think fruit is the universal tastiest thing in the world. As a child, I brought fruit in my lunches, ate fruit after school, was treated with fuji apples straight off of a tree in my backyard, have had mango trees, orange trees, grapefruit trees, etc. And if you made me give up fruit for more than a week, I’m pretty sure I’d die. In Mexico last summer, we went about a week without fruit and I started to buy canned fruit because I missed fruit so much. And believe me when I say I don’t like canned fruit.

As far as I’m concerned, fruit is the only thing I need to live off of. Which is why I was so surprised when I met a girl who hated all fruit. She didn’t discriminate. She really disliked it all. And I have to say, I’m pretty sure that’s a testament to our present day food system. I admit that when it comes to fruit, it is very difficult for me to wait for strawberry season (I love them). It’s even harder for me to wait for that precious time of the year when peaches are juicy and sweet since I tend to think of peaches as my favorite fruit (but only at this time of the year). There’s nothing better than a watermelon on a summer day (even though as I stated in my last post they don’t really belong on our plates until late summer). And living a life without bananas would be really difficult for me (since they almost solely come from Ecuador and surrounding countries). But the other thing I have learned from buying these fruits off-season is that they don’t taste the same. In fact, sometimes I ruin an entire fruit for myself by refusing to wait for the right time of the year to partake in it. And this is what I think my elementary school friend was going through.

I don’t think she hated all fruit. I think she thought she did because her parents had fed her fruit that was grown in a country far away with bug repellants, fertilizers, and weed killers;  picked when it was not ripe so that by the time it made it all the way to America it would look correct; and eventually fed to her tasting exactly as you would think given that it was more chemical than fruit. I can honestly say that I am lucky we had fruit trees in our backyard, that my dad would stop at a strawberry stand during strawberry season, and that in summer we would buy crates of peaches that were so delicious they would be gone in a day.

But here’s my secret: I have always disliked one fruit (and no I’m not talking about tomatoes). I couldn’t understand how this fruit was still for sale in markets. It was the papaya. My most dreaded enemy. Papaya in salsas, papaya juice, papaya by itself… I just wasn’t that into it. In fact, the only memory I have of actually enjoying a papaya was when my family vacationed in Hawaii and I had a papaya salsa there.

So imagine my thought process when my neighbor came by with the load of fruit and along with everything else was a papaya as big as my face.

I wasn't kidding. That is the world's largest papaya.

I honestly thought I’d have to give the thing away. Or hide it in something with a really strong taste. But I decided to give it another try… if not solely because I thought I owed a papaya that big some sort of recognition. And here’s the crazy thing… I didn’t hate it… I actually really liked it… And I ate an entire half of that papaya in one sitting (which is a feat I am quite proud of).

So I guess this is the lesson: not that papaya is the most amazing fruit (I still vote for peaches) but instead that the reason your kids, or your friends, or potentially you yourself don’t like a fruit may be that you’re trying to force it to be good in an environment in which it is not accustomed. Either that, or you’re eating it after being sprayed with every chemical you can think of and shipped thousands of miles to get to you. I know I don’t feel or smell so great after a long plane flight. If you do, props to you. But why do we expect any different of fruit?

I am lucky enough to be in a country that has every type of fruit you can imagine year round. But they also have the weather and soil for fruit. I’ve had so many bananas and plantains (the staple foods on the Ecuadorian coast) that I may even have to take a little break from them. But here’s the crazy thing: I really miss vegetables. And yes, I really like vegetables. It’s not like my palate has changed away from fruit. I am a happy little fruit fly in Ecuador. But it’s difficult to find vegetables down here (sometimes they’re even imported from America).

So I guess here’s the thing: we all want what we can’t have. It’s true of heights (I know. I’m 6’0 and would love to shrink a little), hair color, skin color, eye color, houses, and yes. Even fruit. But just as we’re forced to make due with the our skin, eye, and hair colors, we also need to learn to stop pushing fruit season. It’s not helping us rid ourselves of a craving. It’s making us a culture that doesn’t enjoy fruit the way we used to. And if you don’t know what season each fruit is available in… there’s always google OR (and I recommend this method) heading down to your local farmer’s market (where you keep money in your local economy and can talk to farmers about produce and make relationships with them). Chances are, if a fruit is not available at the farmers market, it’s not the correct season for that fruit.

So yes. Papaya did change my life a little. I think next winter I’ll stick to the winter apples that are available, and enjoy eating some vegetables for a change.

To stop you from being too jealous of my land of plenty, I will admit that the land of plentiful fruit is also the land of plentiful hormigas (ants) which I really hate and which daily find their way into my apartment. So don’t get too jealous. But here’s a tip I learned down here: they really really really really really hate white vinegar. 

UPDATE: I have also been having way too much fun making fruit juices. So far: watermelon, watermelon-mint, watermelon-cantaloupe-mint, papaya, papaya-cantaloupe, and the cantaloupe, cantaloupe-mint concoctions of last post.

Fruit Juice

…and you thought that my next post would be about limes (so did I but I’m still trying to figure them out).

I can’t be sure without first asking my parents, but I am almost positive that my love of fruit juice started the day I was born. My sister and I were definitely the kids on the street with the lemonade stand (Koolaid too I will admit), I would beg my mom for jugo de manzana (apple juice-> yes I spoke Spanish… too bad I forgot everything until college-> it would be really helpful these days), I had a phase with fresh-squeezed orange juice (until I drank so much my tongue hurt), and though I will drink tea and the occasional soda, I would give them up in a heartbeat to save my precious fruit juices. So imagine my surprise when I get to Ecuador and find a variety of juices that I hadn’t even considered before. During almuerzo (lunch) restaurants here have pre-fixed menus (which is a bummer since it’s normally the meal I eat out) but each menu includes a daily juice (which is not a bummer at all). I’ve tried grapefruit, naranjilla (different than naranja which is orange juice), cherimoya, apple, orange (gotta have the normal ones), peach, raspberry, guava, oat (it was actually good), papaya, and my personal favorite cantaloupe.

Here’s the thing about cantaloupe… I love it. It’s refreshing and yummy and if you have a lot of it it doesn’t burn your tongue. When I was little, I’d eat around it and honeydew and head straight for the watermelon in melon dishes. These days, I still pick around the honeydew (solely because I don’t think it has much flavor), but I dive right for the cantaloupe. And here in Ecuador, it’s warm enough year round for local cantaloupe. But despite my love of cantaloupe, I’ve never considered having it in juice before. I’m sure it happens in the U.S. as well, but it’s just nothing I’d ever really thought about. And once I’d had it once, I was addicted. I had to get my hands on jugo de melón (cantaloupe juice).

I headed to the grocery store and beelined for the juice aisle but no matter where I looked in the shelves, I could only find orange, apple, and peach juice. It didn’t make sense! I’d had jugo de melón in friends’ houses, restaurants, it was everywhere! So of course I had to ask where to find it. I’m pretty sure the grocery worker was close to peeing his pants. He was trying to keep a straight face but kept breaking into a huge grin and finally called a coworker over to ask whether they carried jugo de melón. I’m pretty sure he just wanted to share the joke. They informed me that they did not carry cantaloupe juice and I was embarrassed for whatever joke I was not getting so I quickly headed out.

When I met some Americans working for the Peace Corps the next day, I asked them about this encounter. They all started laughing before informing me that here, they make all of the juices that they drink. I am still a little shocked that I had not thought of this possibility  but I’m from America. The land of the waste and prepackaged goods. When I want cranberry juice, I don’t squeeze cranberries… I head to the store.

Not to give in easily, I decided to learn how to make cantaloupe juice (since I assumed you couldn’t just squeeze the juice out of it). It turns out the process is quite simple:

Jugo de Melón

1. 1/4 Cantaloupe, cubed
2. 5 Ice Cubes
3. A dash of water
4. Sugar, to taste (they like to add a lot here but I kept it minimal so the flavors really popped).

Blend all of the ingredients together. Strain out the pulp. Enjoy. Makes 1 cup.

Like I said. Really simple. But not to be had, I decided to make the juice even better. Here are my additions:

• In lieu of sugar, ice, and water, heat 1/4 cup water with 1/4 cup sugar until the sugar melts. While still over low heat, add fresh mint and muddle for a minute. Let reach room temperature and then mix with other ingredients and 1 ice cube. May need extra cantaloupe. 

And yes. It is better. It’s refreshing with an air of superiority. So ha grocery man. And see if I help you find the juice aisle when you visit my grocery store.

Straight home from the Red Cross. Gross but so stoked on my Cantaloupe/Mint Juice.

I do ask that you promise to wait until cantaloupe season in the states. Which is the same as watermelon season. And since I know you know watermelons come out in summer, let me tell you a little secret: if you’re over the age of 30 and you wonder why watermelons are no longer as tasty as during your childhood, it is because the season for watermelons is not summer. It is late summer. The overly waterey watermelons you’re getting right now are actually sent to you from places like Ecuador where it is hot enough for them to grow. And since you’re satisfying your watermelon craving now, you’re going to miss the brief period at the end of summer where the watermelons taste so much better.

So promise me that you’ll wait to make this juice. I promise it’s going to taste even fresher in just another month (plus you won’t have extra oil attached to its transportation).

A Bushel of Plantains

As a person who enjoys cooking, I’ve learned that you never know when creativity and inspiration will strike. Which also means that, like a writer, there can be periods of time where you’re just completely blocked (welcome to my last year). And during those times, it’s ok to follow the recipes you know and to think inside the box because you can’t choose the be inspired. What this has meant for me is that for awhile I haven’t been cooking with heart as much as out of a need for food to eat. And it’s been a little disheartening to say the least. But as I stated, you never know when creativity will hit you and for me it was when I was gifted the world’s largest papaya…. oh ya… and a tree of plantains and about 100 of the largest limes you’ve ever set your eyes on.

You may think I’m kidding about the papaya being the largest ever. But I’m pretty certain that if it’s not the largest, it’s definitely somewhere near the top. The thing was literally the size of my head. I did, however, over-exaggerate a tiny bit when I said a tree of plantains and 100 limes (there were probably 10 plantains and probably 20 limes). But regardless of the size of the papaya or the number of limes, it is important to note that I was overwhelmed.

You see, about a week ago, I set out for a two and a half month journey to Guayaquil, Ecuador where I will be working for the Red Cross for the vast majority of my summer. And though I have taken some Spanish courses and have tried to bone up on the language for my trip, nothing could have prepared me for the experience of entering a country where very few people speak the language. And maybe more importantly, nothing could prepare me for a country where people order food for you without asking your preferences (after five years I ate my first meat on my first day in the country->luckily it was steak…. mmmm… my favorite). But the thing about that is it also shows just how amazing the people here are. They may not realize I was a pescetarian for five years and a vegetarian for seven months,  but they’re the type of people who take you to lunch and want to show you the food of their culture. I have no regrets having eaten that steak nor the many others, chicken, and fish that have followed in the past week. I am here not only to work for the Red Cross, but also to fully experience the culture of this amazing country. And if that means eating some meat (and what seemed to be stomach-> I didn’t want to know) while I’m here, I have no qualms with that. Plus, the food is pretty darn good. Fried plantains left and right, bananas like you’ve never tasted before, cherimoyas, GIANT papaya (and I didn’t like papaya… but down here it really has flavor), fruit I’ve never seen before, yuca bread, cheesy everything, fresh-caught fish, and yes… rice and beans.

Like I said, the people here are also amazing. I came down here knowing no one and although I live in my own apartment, I feel like I’m a part of an Ecuadorian family. My friend (whose mom I work for) has a girlfriend whose aunt found me my apartment and it happens to be in the building where her mother and daughter and daughter’s adorable family live. I’ve been to two birthdays, multiple lunches, and I’ve really seen the city from the eyes of someone who lives here. My coworkers have taken me walking through beautiful parts of the city, make sure I get home safely every day, and have introduced me to exotic and crazy foods. And everyone here has made sure that I know how to stay safe.

I know this is a food blog, but I’m really in love with it here and it’s hard to stay on subject. Finding my inspiration. Going back quickly to how nice the people are here, yesterday my neighbor/landlord dropped by just to give me the world’s largest papaya, a tree of plantains (verde) and a giant bag of gigantic limes. I thanked him before heading back into my apartment wondering what the heck I was going to do will all of the limes (seriously I could’ve made ceviche for a 300 person party and would still have left-over limes). And I’ve loved the fried plantains I’ve been getting everywhere, but they’re normally breaded and I have very limited supplies in my little kitchen (and I keep forgetting to pick up pepper and salt and sugar when I’m at the store->though I do have my staples of cayenne and paprika). And like I said… I really didn’t think I liked papaya.

So today, after the jelly debacle of 2011, I was forced to call into work and tell them I could not make it. Since they don’t need my help with patients until tomorrow (I do desk work too), it went over smoothly and I went back to cleaning up the mess (since those of you who read this are my family or friends I assume you already know about the jelly debacle of 2011). This clean-up inspired me to clean my whole apartment and soon I was facing the giant bag of limes and the question of what the hell I was supposed to do with them. So I started to google. Key lime pie, key lime pie ice cream, fish tacos, ginger lime salad dressing, cilantro lime mayonnaise, etc. Well, since my oven is not working yet and I don’t have an ice cream maker… and I don’t have fish or ginger or cilantro or mayonnaise…. maybe I’d look into plantains. Fried plantains, sweet fried plantains, breaded fried plantains, coconut shrimp and fried plantains, plantain chips, etc. Alright then, looks like I’ll fry some plantains. But once again a lot of the recipes called for a flour coating and I don’t have flour. And at the very least they call for salt. So I decided to brave my limited resources and throw the recipes out the window for the first time in almost a year. What I came up with was a hodge podge of different options for plantains, all fried (I’m going to try to mash them up later) and all in need of a little salt or sugar (next time I go to the store I won’t forget). They’re not the best things I’ve ever made, but I’m happy to say my block has finally lifted. Up next, finding a way to use a thousand limes.

Fried Plantains

It is important to makes sure the oil is steaming before you put the plantains in. You don’t want them to be oily when you go to eat them. On that note, remember to put them on a paper towel when you take them out of the oil to get any excess oil off of them.

Option 1

Sprinkle cayenne pepper on one side of the plantain slices (to taste). When the oil (I used olive but I think vegetable would work as well or better) is smoking hot, drop them in cayenne side down and wait until a light golden. Flip them over until lightly golden on both sides. Serve with hot sauce (I like Cholula) and cheese (dairy eliminates the spice factor plus added the salt I didn’t have myself).

Option 2

Mix lime juice, cayenne, and paprika and coat the plantains. Fry (but be careful-> the water in the lime juice and oil do not mix well) until golden brown on both sides. Less cayenne will stick to these, so just add salt.

Option 3

This was my favorite decision because it allowed me to do so much with the plantains. Fry the plantain slices in oil until golden brown on both sides. Serve with fruit for a delicious fruit salad (I ate it with part of my papaya grande), a light white cheese for an Ecuadorian favorite, the lime/paprika/cayenne sauce from the previous option, or anything you have lying around. But don’t forget the salt :).

Option 4

I did not get to make them this way, but I will as soon as I get to the store and I’ll update you all on how they tasted: rub the plantain slices with cinnamon and sugar and fry until golden brown for platano dulce mmmm.

Eco-Benefits

I’ll admit that in the states, plantains are not going to be grown locally and will have some long food miles attached to them. I could get off saying that at least you’re not eating fish or meat and therefore you’re being more sustainable, but I’ve used that a number of times and each time I do I feel a cringe of guilt for leading you to believe that food miles don’t count as much. Plus, this is a side dish and I can promise it’d taste good with a macadamia nut crusted halibut with a papaya salsa. So instead, I’m just going to tell you this: one of the great things about traveling is that you get the chance to try exotic foods like plantains, cherimoyas, and damn good papayas. And as in the case with the papaya and the banana (and all fruits and vegetables), they taste better when they’re locally grown and in season because they are not picked early so they can be shipped, they’re fresher, they’re juicier, and they’re just freaking amazing. So maybe instead of trying to recreate this dish, which is only really sustainable where I am, you’ll be inspired to go check out some of your local fruits and vegetables and find a couple of new options for how you can cook them and really enjoy them the way and at the time they’re meant to be enjoyed. Plus, when you’re on vacation, you’ll really appreciate the produce that comes from the location you’re visiting. It will be another experience of your trip instead of just a side note. I’ve been reading a boo,, Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, who speaks to this. Americans have lost their love of food because we can have whatever we want whenever we want it. Our grocery stores are stocked with fruits and vegetables from around the world and though we get them at any time of the year, we’re not really experiencing them because they’re don’t taste up to par with the flavor they could have if we would wait until the right season.

Happy Summer and I wish you all amazing travels and amazing food experiences.

My Gardening Project and Garlic Knots

So I told you all a while ago that I had an herb garden started to cut back on trips to the grocery store and to avoid huge transportation costs (I know my herbs and vegetables are locally grown 🙂 ). So here’s the update:

• My mint keeps dying and I cut it back and then it dies again. It was doing very well for a while but it’s super water intensive and I went away for a couple of weekends in a row without getting someone to water it for me. I’m working on getting it back in shape but it’s taking a lot of work.
• My tomato plant is successfully growing some tiny awesome looking tomatoes regardless of how cold it’s been in Santa Barbara recently.
• My basil keeps getting eaten! Does anyone have any suggestions for how to keep the bugs away? It’s being devoured! 
• My bell pepper plant hasn’t done much since I was forced to cut off its few leaves due to death. Any clues for this one?
• My rosemary and thyme are doing well though it’s kinda hard to tell with these two whether they’re actually doing well or just look good.
  
• And of course my succulent is thriving. They don’t need much work. Though the heavy rains we had a few weeks ago took away a lot of the soil covering the roots so I need to go out and get some more of that.

Ya. If anyone out there in internet land has a green thumb I’d love some thoughts and suggestions. I know I’ve always had a bit of a brown thumb unfortunately haha.

Keep up your good work on your own little gardens! The more things you can grow yourself, the less you have to depend on grocery stores and the less gas is being guzzled up to get the vegetables/herbs to you.

As for food, I had a huge craving for garlic knots a while ago, and stumbled upon this recipe from Food Mayhem

Garlic Knots

• 3/4 cup +1 tablespoon Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/3 cup water at room temperature
• 5 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, divided
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 packed tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Parmesan Cheese, to taste

Instructions –

1. Whisk together flour, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl. Whisk in salt last (preventing direct contact with yeast). Make a well in the center and pour in water. Stir together to moisten the flour, just until dough begins to form, about 20 seconds. The dough will look shaggy and bumpy, not smooth. If you do not want to make your own dough, ignore Steps 1 and 2, get Whole Wheat Pizza Dough, and continue with Step 3.

2. Pour 4 teaspoons oil in a 2-cup sized bowl or cup (bigger if you are increasing recipe size). Place dough in and turn to coat. Cover tightly and rest on the counter until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

3. Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F at least 30 minutes before baking. Meanwhile, stir together 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, garlic, some parmesan, and kosher salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

4. When the dough is ready, place it on a board and gently press into a rectangle. There will be left-over oil in the cup/bowl that the dough was rising in. Spread that oil over a baking sheet. If using pizza dough, just drizzle a little oil onto a baking sheet as there will not be any extras.

5. Spread half of the garlic mixture across the rectangle dough. Cut into 3/4″ strips (6″ long).

6. Tie any type of knot and lay on baking sheet with about 2″ space in between. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden and crispy on the outside (it will be doughy in the middle still). Meanwhile, add the remaining teaspoon of olive oil and parsley to the garlic mixture. Stir.

7. When garlic knots are done baking, toss in the garlic, parmesan, and parsley mixture and serve immediately.

***My changes are in RED***

eco-benefits

1. Whole wheat flour goes through less processing than bleached white flour.
2. Parsley is a great and useful herb to grow!
3. You can find garlic and parsley organic at any grocery store year round! But definitely check for where they are coming from. Remember, organic is good because it means no pesticides getting into our waterways and diets, however, local is better if coming from very far due to the fossil fuels used to get the food to your plate.
4. Most to all of these ingredients should already be in your pantry so you don’t need to use fossil fuels to go to the store to get a great garlic knot.

 

Vegetable Quiche

So you expect to go back to school with leftovers from Thanksgiving. I was given pretty much a full vegetable garden. Tomatoes, bell peppers, avocados, lettuce, spinach, the list goes on and on. Since four of us share one tiny little fridge, I HAD to get rid of some of those veggies or else. I mean, I have a mini fridge because I always having more food than everyone else but this IS college, so it’s a little full of beer right now. What to do? Make a delicious quiche of course! They’re super easy, super cheap, and a great way to get rid of leftovers or your excess vegetables.

• 1 Pie Crust-if you make them yourself PROPS! I haven’t yet mastered that art.
• 3-4 Eggs, organic! 🙂 You can make this a little less fatty by using just the whites, but don’t forget that the nutrients are in the yolk–>so I recommend at least leaving one whole egg.
• Whatever vegetables you have on hand, cut in small uniform pieces. I used Canned Corn, Bell Pepper, Tomato, Onion, and Mushroom. Super yummy.
• Cheese, organic–>again, you can use whatever type that you like but I really recommend doing as I did–>Shredded Mexican mixed with Parmigiano Reggiano.
• A couple shakes of Cayenne
• A couple shakes of Paprika

I know this is going to seem insanely easy but you seriously just put the egg in the bottom of the pie crust and fill it up with your veggies (cut uniformly) and top it all with your cheese. Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes.

Eco-benefits

1. It’s a super easy way to get rid of leftover vegetables so they don’t go to waste (which is a huge environmental issue in America).
2. Eggs can only be labeled organic if the food fed to the chickens is organic as well. This means that they are being fed produce that was not sprayed with pesticides. Since pesticides get washed into our waterways, this is a super great way to help avoid pesticide pollution and keep our limited water resources clean. The same goes for the organic cheese.
3. If you use organic vegetables you’re furthering this chain of removing pesticides from our waterways.
4. Use seasonal vegetables for a fuller flavor and so you can get them locally which helps cut out the travel fuel and reduces greenhouse gases.
5. If you can make pie crusts and you know how to make them whole wheat that would be an amazing way to make this recipe even more sustainable! Whole wheat is not processed as much as bleached flour so it uses less energy.

 

Thanksgivegetarian

I’ve finally done it. I am a full-blown vegetarian… and let me tell you: I definitely do miss sushi and fish tacos and salmon of any kind… I really really do. And I’m pretty sure any vegetarian or vegan that tells you they don’t is lying to you. It’s only been two days and I’ve definitely craved fish more often than I did when I ate fish… I think it’s one of those you want what you can’t have moments. To mark the occasion (not really but they happened on the same day), my hair is now auburn. Yes… I chose to become a ginger.

That was completely besides the point. Here’s the point: I know if you’ve read my blog you know these things, but if you’re new to the Green Bean, here are my reasons for going vegetarian.

1. I was already a pescetarian. Cow flatulence is one of the leading causes of methane emissions. Methane is a greenhouse gas 20x as powerful as carbon dioxide. It takes more to feed one cow to be of size than it would to multiple people for a year. The steroids and antibiotics fed to the cows end up in our water sources, making them unsuitable for consumption. Check out this post for more on why the meat industry hurts the environment.
2. Overfishing. It’s a huge problem affecting our waterways and farming fish is not yet a suitable alternative. There are some ways to be better about eating farmed fish, such as using US Raised fish, however, there are many kinks in the system that need to be worked out. Check out this post for more about that.
3. I really eat mostly vegetarian these days anyways. I rarely eat fish, though I am a huge shrimp fan… but I will learn.
4. I really needed a change. (Hence the hair). This is something I’ve been working towards for a long time so I figured I might as well do it already.
5. I feel like I got worn out writing this blog and part of that was because I felt no one was really following what I said… but I wasn’t either. I need to practice what I preach and be a good example. Cutting back on fish is a good step, but the ocean is one of the most overused resources. As an Environmental Science major emphasizing in Aquatic Biology, I heard my professors talk about this all the time and I did not heed their advice. I didn’t know how to continue writing this blog without stopping eating fish.

So those are my reasons. If you have any questions, you are more than welcome to leave a comment about them. Other than that, I’m no longer going to discuss my eating habits. I’m just going to help you be more sustainable with yours. As always, if I ever make dinner for my family or friends, I’ll throw up those recipes (especially if they involve fish or meat) so don’t think it’ll be only bunny food from here on out.

As for Thanksgiving, I really hope you all had great ones! I hope you celebrated with your families, too much food, and too much laughter. If you’re looking for a great recipe, check out  from my friend Lauren’s blog, Whole Wheat or Bust! It’s for Pumpkin Pecan Muffins and they look delicious! I reviewed them for sustainability below.

As for my Thanksgiving, I spent it with my mom, dad, sister, two dogs, and three cats. We ate delicious mashed root veggies that my mom has passed me the recipe for (stay tuned), crab legs (my last meal), stuffing, butternut squash cubes, vegetarian gravy (stay tuned for this as well), and so much pie–> apple, pumpkin, pumpkin cheesecake, and cookies (my mom makes Christmas cookies over Thanksgiving every year). So basically, we had a delicious feast. And of course my parents had some turkey breast. Since my mom was the one who got me into cooking, it was obviously delicious. Happy Thanksgiving weekend! Keep relaxing and sleeping off the turkey :).

Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

ECO-Benefits

1. Whole wheat means no extra processing means less energy used. And of course healthier for you.
2. Lauren adds tips to make these muffins vegan which means no animal production involved means less energy and less vegetation being used to feed these animals meaning more sustainable quality!
3. This recipe includes mostly pantry staples meaning no extra car trips to the grocery store to make these. And anything you don’t have can probably be changed to something you do. Don’t have pecans? Use almonds! Don’t have pumpkin? Make them banana nut muffins and use this recipe for a base.

Asian Shrimp with Coconut Quinoa

Yummy yummy yummyness! I seriously made this is maybe ten minutes and it is one of my new favorites! My best friend since forever, Kyle, came over and since I was being super tired and not very fun I made him some dinner to make up for it. You have to try it at some point because it was so delicious! The picture does no justice to the food itself.

On another note, I have dedicated this Thanksgiving crab dinner to the end of my pescetarian days. From November 25th until I change my mind, I will be a full blown vegetarian. And I’m pretty sure this blog is the deciding factor in that switch. As much as I love sushi (I really really do), and shrimp, and tuna, and salmon… it’s just not worth the devastation of our fish populations. And as much as you can find healthier farmed options, it’s always difficult to make a decision towards eating farmed fish when there is so much negative media about them and so much has yet to be learned about future effects of farmed fish on ecosystems and human health. So enjoy this shrimp recipe while you can. I’ll definitely try to post up some other more eco-friendly fish recipes before Thanksgiving. And I’ll keep posting good recipes past the time that I stop eating fish. Because as I’ve shown in the past, there are definitely ways to be “greener” while eating fish and meat. Keep up your great work on being eco-friendly with your eating! Cut back a little on fish and when you do eat fish (and other meats) think about some of the tips I’ve given you to be more sustainable in your eating :). Here’s to fish and keeping them in our waterways!

• 1/2 lb. Shrimp
• Turmeric
• Cayenne
• Paprika
• Coriander
• Fresh ginger
• Tamari Soy Sauce
• Honey
• Orange Juice
• Sriracha
• Dijon Mustard
• 1/4 cup Quinoa
• 1/2 cup Water
• Coconut Butter
• 2x Soy Milk

Shell and devein your shrimp. Mix together the turmeric, cayenne, paprika, coriander, chopped fresh ginger, tamari, honey, orange juice, sriracha, and dijon mustard, to taste. Definitely be careful about how much tamari you add as it can get really salty and you’ll need to counter-act the salt with honey and orange juice which will result in adding more of each of the spices. (Believe me… I learned this). Place the mix in a bag with the raw shrimp. Bring to boil the 1/2 cup water. Add the quinoa, cover, and turn to a simmer. Meanwhile, mix a heaping spoonful of coconut butter with double that amount of soy milk and place in the microwave until melted. While the quinoa finishes cooking, (it takes about 15 minutes or until the water is completely absorbed by the quinoa) place a tiny bit of EVOO in a pan and add the shrimp with their sauce (it’s a great topping). Cook for about 2 minutes a side, or until pink. Top the quinoa with your coconut sauce and some of the shrimp marinade and add the shrimp on top for a super easy, yummy, asian dinner!

ECo-benefits

1. Make sure to get US farm-raised shrimp so it is sustainable and not filled with the chemicals that other countries’ farms can add in.
2. Quinoa is a quick cooking grain so it’s way better for your gas bill and the environment than it’s long-time counterpart, rice.
3. Soy milk is a great alternative to cows milk for your health and the environment. Cows release a lot of methane through flatulence and pasteurization of milk takes a lot energy (as well as gets rid of most of the benefits of the milk).
4. The coconut butter/soy milk mix can be substituted for coconut milk (add more soy milk for a less dense consistency) and both are in resealable containers (whereas coconut milk comes in cans and recipes rarely call for the whole can=food waste).
5. Fun fact: honey and turmeric both dry up mucus which is great for cold/flu season. I know because I have bronchitis and they’ve really helped me out a lot! Use a 1:2 ratio (1 tsp of turmeric per 2 of honey), mix them together, and it’s really not so gross to eat. Or add them to your spicy tea (I recommend a spiced black chai–>but definitely not a chai tea latte).

Back In Action

Hey everyone! It’s been forever… believe me I know… and I have a thousand excuses for why that is… but I’m not going to go through those. Instead, I’m going to try to make it up to you by giving you some awesome recipes over the next weeks, by giving you some good information on how to eat eco-friendly, and by telling you a little bit about my life outside of the blog world.

As for my life outside of the blog world… I have recently been hired as the Promotions Coordinator for Santa Barbara’s only community radio station, KCSB 91.9FM. That by itself has been a huge part of my life this year. I really live, eat, and breathe the station. I love my job, I love the people I work with, and I love the the people who program at the station. Everyone is beyond passionate about their music, public affairs, and sports programs. It’s really inspiring. My show, The Left Lane, airs every Sunday from 2-4pm (and live streams online at KCSB.org if you aren’t in the Santa Barbara area). It’s a surf and psychedelic rock show on which I tend to have themes or interviews with local bands. Everything about the radio station really is a de-stressor and when I’m having a bad day, it’s the only place I want to be.

As for the Environmental aspect of my life, I am taking two upper division ES classes this quarter, along with a Philosophy class (about ethics) and my last Physics course (thank goodness!). I’m inspired by my ES130A class which is Humans in the Environment. It’s a cross-listed course in both the Environmental and Anthropology disciplines. I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot about it in the near future.

As for the rest of my life, I finally feel like I’ve found my niche at UCSB. It was difficult at first with a lot of trial and error moments, but the radio station, my housemates last year, and this amazing open mic night known as Bean Night have really shown me a group of people that are not concerned with looks or views or gender… they’re real and only ask that you are too. In Santa Barbara that’s really a breath of fresh air (no hard feelings to my friends outside of that who are amazing and make my life wonderful as well…you guys rock too!).

As for recipes: get ready. I have some wonderful foods coming your way as soon as I charge my camera battery :). Talk to you all soon!

Right after being in a pie-eating contest (it was disgusting). I got third place!

Spring (Eli), Summer (me), Fall (Raisa). Happy belated Halloween!

 

Environmental Studies 190

Hey guys! So I had a quick homework assignment for my Environmental Studies 190 class to write about my career path and how my major will help with it. I thought you may be interested in what I wrote (mom and dad:)). So, here it is:

My Career Path

I entered UC Santa Barbara in the Fall of 2008 having chosen to be an Environmental Studies B.A. major. I chose this major with limited reasoning. I saw it as an interesting subject matter and a way to get my bachelors degree so I could move on to receiving my teaching credentials. The day I stepped into Environmental Studies 1, everything changed. I no longer looked into my future and saw myself teaching first-graders. I saw myself in the Peace Corps teaching people the importance of the environment. I saw myself fighting for human rights such as clean air and water. I saw myself diving at the Great Barrier Reef and studying the impact of climate change on the coral and the aquatic species that inhabit it. I saw myself opening a restaurant to promote eco-friendly cooking and sustainable eating. I saw so many new career paths that I could take. The day I stepped into Environmental Studies 1, I realized that I had somehow ended up where I needed to be.

Since that day, I have changed my course to Environmental Studies B.S. with an emphasis in Aquatic Biology and I have realized that my whole life I have been on this path. I love hiking, surfing, and camping. I have been a vegetarian for five years. I have an addiction to animals of all types. And I have been studying the world and human interactions with it since I was born. For my tenth birthday, I asked my parents for a compound light microscope that I used for hours a day to look at sand, dead bugs, and plants. When I was seventeen, I went camping for the first time. Since then, I have gone around three times a year, including a two and a half week stint in Baja where I researched whale sharks.

In the future, I know only a few things for certain. I want to help people and I want to change the way people view the environment. Therefore, I will be applying for the Peace Corps next year in the field of Environmental Conservation. My major will help me achieve this dream by instilling me with the knowledge I will need to teach others about the environment. Once I have finished my time in the Peace Corps, I will decide whether I want to continue traveling and teaching others about environmental degradation or whether I will change my path to a more stable living situation. If I choose a more stable living situation, I intend to use my education to open a sustainable restaurant that will focus on using local, seasonal, organic ingredients and organic and sustainable meat and fish products. I believe that being a B.S. major will help with this because cooking is a lot like chemistry. You need to be okay with experimenting and failing with those experiments (which I did a lot of in General Chemistry lab).

Overall, I believe that my major has opened many doors that I did not even consider. I have always loved traveling but never really considered it as an option for my career. Now, I look into my future and see myself in South America fighting against deforestation. I see myself in Africa teaching people about the economic incentives for eco-tourism. I see myself all over the world. And when I finally decide to settle down (if that ever happens), I believe I will continue my environmental work at home helping businesses get “green”. I envision raising my family in a house that I helped to design to be completely sustainable. I picture myself camping with my family in a national park that has not been completely degraded due to overpopulation and resource use. I can only hope that my work with the environment will help that picture come true. The way things are going right now, there will not be a national park to camp with my family in. That image is why I am choosing the career path I described. Environmental Studies B.S. is the major that will help me get there.

The Craziness We Call Life

Wow. It has been a very long time since I’ve written anything! And I know I’ve been using all sorts of excuses for it lately… but this time it’s legit. I have very little to no time… AND SCHOOL IS JUST STARTING!!! Don’t think I’m complaining though. I have a feeling this is going to be an awesome year! I love my classes:

1. Environmental Ecology: A study of principles of ecology and their implications for analyzing environmental problems. Focus on understanding the processes controlling the dynamics of populations,communities and ecosystems. Specific examples emphasize the application of these concepts to the management of natural resources.
2. Anthropology and the Environment: Examines human dimensions of global environmental change in developing countries from an interdisciplinary social science perspective. Compares and contrasts alternative conceptual and analytical models of dynamic, interrelated human-environmental systems and presents recent approaches to understanding risk, vulnerability, resilience, and disasters.
3. Environmental Current Topics: Six public lectures dealing with environmental topics. Weekly discussion sections on the lectures and brief written evaluations of six lectures.
4. Philosophy: Intro to Ethics: An examination, at an introductory level, of such ethical issues as: why bemoral, moral relativism, the nature of virtues and vices; and possibly consideration of practical ethical problems such as abortion or war.
5. Physics 6C: Presents concepts and methodologies for understanding physical phenomena, and is particularly useful preparation for upper-division study in the life sciences. Electromagnetic waves. Geometric optics, optical instruments. Interference and diffraction. Quantum theory of the atom. Nuclear physics. If time permits: Special relativity, elementary particle physics.
6. Physics 6C Lab

So… aside from Physics (which I’m finally in my last quarter of!) it’s a bomb schedule! But supppper crazy. And then on top of that I have the worlds best job:

• KCSB 91.9 FM, Santa Barbara Promotions Coordinator.
• Aside from sounding really important, I basically get paid to look up upcoming shows for awesome bands and do cross-promotional opportunities with local venues and promoters… plus, I’ve expanded our ticket giveaways to include a ton of shows that are happening in LA and SLO.
• Like I said… BEST JOB EVER. Plus, we get staff passes to most of the events so I get to go to shows for free (when I have time).
• And our radio station is a commercial-free college station so we don’t play any of the super commercial stuff you hear all of the time. No Top 40 for us! We are a station dedicated to alternative views and promoting lesser-known genres. My show, for instance, is a CA-local surf and psychedelic rock show… but we also have people playing different world musics, classical, electronica…anything you can think of. Plus we have super cool public affairs shows that showcase lesser-heard views on important issues. Basically it’s just an awesome place to be.

Anyways, that’s why I’ve been so M.I.A. Plus I’ve been hyping Surf Club to all of the new freshmen and hitting up Environmental Affairs Board meetings.

I am finally getting a hang of balancing it all so look out for awesome new recipes and environmental tips… just not as often as they used to come at you. For a teaser:

Corn Risotto

• 2 ears of Corn
• 2/3 cup Rice
• 2 cups Veggie Stock
• 1/3 cup White Wine
• 1 sprig Thyme
• Any fresh herbs
• 1/3 cup Onion, minced
• 2 tsp. EVOO
• 2 tbsp. Butter
• 1/4 cup Parmiggiano Reggiano, grated
• 1/3 Large Tomato, diced

Cut the corn off of the cob and place half into a food processor. Process until smooth. Bring the veggie stock to a simmer. Meanwhile, sweat the onion in the olive oil and add the rice until opaque. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan and cook until most cooks off. Add 1/3 of the veggie stock stirring continuously. When most has been absorbed by the rice add another third. Test the rice and if still not cooked add the final third of the veggie stock. Make sure the rice stays al dente. Add the butter, parmiggiano reggiano, tomato, herbs, salt/pepper, and both types of corn.

eco-benefits

1. When I made this dish, corn was still local, organic, and in season! You can change it up depending on the season to keep the veggies eco-friendly.
2. Rice normally takes forever to cook and uses a lot of energy that way. I found that this allowed the rice to cook quicker (though I could have been imagining things).
3. If you leave out the cheese and switch the butter to vegan margarine it becomes a vegan masterpiece! And we all know that going vegan is like riding a bicycle in the eco world.
4. The green bean side dish is super easy to make and if you find the beans local and organic it’s also super eco friendly. Just saute them with onion and garlic and top them off with some parmiggiano reggiano. Yum yum yum!