Many kitchens are full of single purpose, occasional use gadgets that tend to reside in the dark corners of cupboards and drawers. They are forgotten about until you look for something else and then . . . there it is. You use it once or twice and then back it goes into hiding. Oftentimes, the gadget is flimsy, rattles loudly, shakes then falls apart. Maybe it is difficult to clean or complicated to setup and in the end you don’t save any time. Perhaps it is large and takes up too much storage space. Whatever the reason, these items can end up as clutter.
There is, however, one gadget worth owning: the Vidalia Chop Wizard. It’s sturdy, well designed, and easy to clean; just use a toothbrush. A little effort produces a gigantic result. This gadget truly saves time and makes the task of chopping much easier. It chops or dices onions, peppers, celery, zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, apples, and other firm vegetables and fruits (nuts and eggs too) into perfect little cubes of uniform size. This uniformity makes your creations look as if you are a talented professional chef who has superb knife skills.
This gadget seems more like a toy than a utilitarian workhorse. It’s FUN to use! You put pieces of the fruit or vegetable on the cutting surface, then slam the top down and it makes this very satisfying loud “womp” sound, and then – abracadabra! The thing just got chopped as if by magic. These little moments of perfection where everything is just right, even for fleeting half second, are quite precious and add so much delight to life.
My little friend Katie, age 6, loved to help me in the kitchen. I taught her how to use the Chop Wizard. She would stand on the stool next to me and cut up vegetables, place them on the grid, and with both hands and the full force of her tiny body slam the top down. Wham! And then she would get a very smug and satisfied look on her face that was cute beyond words.
Efficient as this gadget is, it does take a bit of practice to get the hang of it. It works best when the pieces are extra-large bite size. It helps to stand on a footstool to get additional leverage. This would be the perfect gift for a cook who has everything, including a cupboard full of single purpose, occasional use gadgets. Take a look . . . www.chopwizard .com, $27.95, including shipping. Or, for $32.95 get the Chop Wizard Pro Max that also slices potatoes into fries.
Do you have a favorite time-saving gadget? If so, I’d love to hear about it.
Who likes sweet potato fries? I think of these as regular French fries on steroids. Sweet potatoes are delicious and filling and they are a superfood too, loaded with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants. They act as a time-release fuel because they are slower to digest than regular potatoes and will evenly sustain your energy throughout the day or evening.
You can easily make these at home without any gadgets. No deep-fat fryer or air fryer is required. All you need is a baking sheet or jelly roll pan and a piece of foil or parchment paper.
Here is what you need:
2 pounds sweet potatoes 2 tablespoons olive oil Salt (I like kosher) Optional spices: chili powder or paprika and garlic powder
Here is what you do:
Preheat the oven to 400⁰. Peel the sweet potatoes, or, leave the skins on. Cut in half lengthwise down the middle. Then lay the halves on the flat side and cut lengthwise several times again in ¼ or ½ inch thickness, depending on how thick you like them. Lay them flat again and slice them lengthwise a couple more times. They will be slightly different sizes but don’t fret, they will cook uniformly. Place tin foil or parchment paper on the pan. Pour the olive oil, spices and salt onto the pan and toss to coat. Spread them evenly in a single layer; you may need two pans. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until soft.
Sweet potatoes are a long-lasting storage vegetable and it’s easy to keep these on hand. They are best stored in a cool room or cupboard. I put mine in a basket that has a lid. This encourages air circulation which prevents the accumulation of moisture which leads to spoilage. I just read that if you wrap them in brown paper or newspaper and put them in a cardboard box, they will last six months. I am going to try this as an experiment; I’ll get back to you in May to let you know how it goes.
True story: a friend gave me a Cinderella pumpkin in the fall. I put it on the cold floor of the pantry. I finally got around to baking it for the Fourth of July. The pumpkin had dried out a bit but was still surprisingly good. I made a pumpkin pie for a party. The pie looked quite out of place sitting next to all the berry pies, quite funny! If a pumpkin lasts that long, maybe a sweet potato can too and you can enjoy these all year long.
Another one of my favorite three/four ingredient recipes is a German pancake. It’s a cross between a crepe and a pancake, only it’s baked in the oven not cooked on a griddle. This simple recipe is easy to make, has an impressive presentation, and is elegant enough to serve to guests on a special occasion. I’ve made it many times yet still gasp with delight every time I open the oven and see it big and puffy and golden brown on the edges. This recipe also makes a fast breakfast for dinner when you are too tired to eat, let alone cook. Here is what you need, per pancake:
2 eggs ½ cup dairy or non-dairy milk ½ cup high-quality bleached or unbleached flour 2 tablespoons of butter
Toppings: powdered sugar, lemon, syrup or honey A 9” or 10” skillet that you can put in an oven or a glass or ceramic pie plate
Here’s what you do:
Preheat the oven to 450⁰ and put the skillet or pie plate in the oven while it is preheating. Mix the batter. Take the skillet or pie plate out of the oven when it is done preheating. Add the butter and put the pan back into the oven until the butter is melted. Remove it and swirl the butter around the sides of the pan. Add the batter and bake for 12 minutes until the edges are golden brown and it has risen above the sides of the pan. Loosen the pancake from the sides of the pan and slide it out onto a plate. Squeeze ½ lemon and put some syrup or honey on it, sprinkle with powdered sugar. To make the sugar look like snow, put the sugar in a fine mesh strainer and use a spoon to dust it.
I get the best result in a cast iron skillet; it holds the heat and makes the edges nice and crispy. The secret to this recipe is getting the pan very hot before adding the batter.
A berry syrup is a lovely flavor with lemon. It’s utterly divine when served with bacon, made with bacon fat instead of butter, and doused with real maple syrup. This is my favorite version.
When I was growing up, my family made this pancake for a quick and elegant Christmas breakfast. This could become a family tradition for you, too. Or, a quick and favorite breakfast or dinner anytime.
In the wintertime, a lovely afternoon treat is to make a gingerbread cake. But I can hear you saying “Yeah, right. Like I’m going to drop everything in the middle of the day to bake a cake”. Yes, you can. Here is how: you cheat!
Here’s your cheat sheet:
One box gingerbread cake mix One 15 ounce can of pumpkin or 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree One egg One tablespoon molasses (light or dark, depending on how dark you like it) 1 tablespoon ginger
When using pumpkin, the moisture content can vary in consistency, so I recommend adding a tablespoon of water to the mixture. If it seems too dry, add another tablespoon or two.
You can also add other spices: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, or cardamom. I use a tablespoon of cinnamon and a generous ½ teaspoon of the others. Cardamom is expensive so I buy the seeds in bulk and grind them myself (a heaping teaspoon of cardamom in a pot of black tea is utterly delicious).
Mix all ingredients together with a fork, an electric mixer, or even your hands – think playdough. Put the batter in an oiled or buttered 8 x 8 pan or muffin tin. Bake in a preheated oven at 350⁰. Muffins will take about 35 minutes and a pan about 40. Ovens vary in temperature so yours may take a longer or shorter time than mine.
How will you know it’s done? A few cracks will appear on the top and it will start to pull away from the sides and when you insert a knife, no batter will be on it. And, you will smell the aroma. The fragrance will suddenly fill the room, as if the cake is shouting “I’m done!”
I like it best served warm. You can fancy this up by topping it with whipped cream and crystalized ginger. I like to sweeten the whipped cream with honey and vanilla (whipped cream sweetened with honey will stay whipped for several days). Or simply pour some cream directly on top of the cake. When topped with chopped crystalized ginger, it becomes special occasion food. Oh, you’re not having a special occasion? Sure you are, even if you are by yourself you can have a party for one. Think of something to celebrate and savor every bite. Crystalized ginger stores for years when kept in an airtight container.
Sometimes cheating is okay, especially if it warms your tummy. Using the cake mix saves you time but more importantly it inspires you to get in the kitchen. When you bake something on a cold winter day, this warms the kitchen and the aroma fills the house and your spirit.
Do you have a recipe for doctoring up a cake mix? If you’d like to share it, please send it to me at Isabel@plentymethod.org
I can make an extraordinarily delicious tomato soup in three minutes with three main ingredients and three things to wash. My friends and family often tell me it’s the best tomato soup they have ever eaten.
You will need:
28 ounces of canned tomatoes, either whole, stewed or cut. That is one big can or two 14 ounce cans. One onion, yellow or sweet Four ounces (one stick) of butter (I like the Irish butter Kerrygold, made from the milk of grass fed cows. I am fairly certain that the reason this butter is so good is that the cows are tended by leprechauns). Splash of vinegar (any kind except white distilled)
A slow cooker, pressure cooker or a saucepan.
Open the can and pour the tomatoes and the juice into a pot. Peel the onion and cut it into very large chunks (for those inclined to be accurate, cut it into sixteenths). Cut the butter into pieces then give the mixture a quick swirl.
If you use a slow cooker, cook it on high for about three hours. On a stove, simmer it for about half an hour, stirring occasionally. If you use a pressure cooker, 12 minutes should do it.
After it’s finished cooking, blend the soup. I use an immersion blender. If you use a standard blender, cool the soup, so it’s not steaming. If the soup is hot, when you remove the lid it will explode. The soup will go all over the place – the ceiling, walls, cupboards, the floor, your face, apron, and jeans. I should know – I have done this twice (and years later, there is still some soup on the ceiling; a friend pointed this out to me recently).
After blending, stir in a splash of vinegar. My favorite is white balsamic. White balsamic vinegar is also excellent on green salads that contain fruit. Aged sherry vinegar works well too. Other additions can be a tablespoon or so of Grand Mariner liqueur which adds a subtle orange flavor, or basil, either fresh or dried.
Add a grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough bread and you have a quick and easy meal that has a comfort food feel on a chilly central Oregon night.
Do you have a simple three-ingredient recipe you’d like to share? If so, please send it to me at Isabel@plentymethod.org
Parsley: For many people, it’s just a garnish on a dinner plate. Some people probably don’t even know they can eat it. But did you know that parsley is an under-rated nutrient-dense superfood, packed with many vitamins and anti-oxidants that promote enhanced immune function? Building up your immune system is vitally important now to shield us from a variety viruses and diseases.
Instead of focusing on what you don’t want to happen to your health, try focusing instead on what you can do to create vibrant health and aliveness. Eating parsley can fortify your body so it becomes strong and resilient. Our bodies have self-healing abilities, and are capable of defending against sickness. Sometimes we forget that.
If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, a bunch of parsley can keep two doctors at bay. How can you eat that much parsley and enjoy it enough to drink a glass several times a week? Easy, use a blender.
Start by getting a bunch of parsley and using scissors, cut it up over the opening of the blender. Cut up an apple and a banana, add some water and give it a whirl. The banana masks the taste of the greens, whether those are parsley, kale, spinach or watercress. If you’d like it sweeter, add a tablespoon or so of frozen orange juice or any other kind of juice.
Pour the drink into a clear glass so you can enjoy the vibrant green color as you sip your way to health. If you can’t drink it all, make sure you put it in an airtight container and drink it within a day.
I buy several bunches of parsley and freeze them in Ziploc bags. This way you will always have an ample supply on hand. I find the psychological benefit of drinking this several times a week is huge, because whenever the thought of sickness crosses my mind I remind myself “I ate my parsley. I am healthy, strong and resilient.” Not only is parsley good for your health and mind, it can make your complexion glow too.
Think of this green elixir as low cost inner peace and protection in a glass. The best part of making this parsley drink is you can you make it the way you like it. You can add kiwi, grapes, cucumber or celery too. Next time you are at a restaurant, don’t forget to eat the parsley!
By now, you may have heard the news that the Environmental Working Group (EWG) tested 21 oat-based foods and they all tested positive for the Roundup/glyphosate pesticide. The real tragedy of this is that many of these foods are fed to children whose detoxification systems are not yet fully developed so the health effects are much worse for them than adults.
The EPA responded a day later to the EWG’s findings, but they left out some important parts of the story. I wrote what they aren’t telling the public in brackets. Here is their statement:
“EPA has established a tolerance (maximum legal residue level) for residues of glyphosate in oats at 30 parts per million (ppm) or 30,000 parts per billion (ppb). The EWG samples listed in the linked article are all well below the EPA tolerance. Residues of glyphosate on any food or feed item are safe for consumers if they are below the established tolerances. The presence of a detectable pesticide residue does not mean the residue is at an unsafe level.” [Never mind that the EPA has raised the glyphosate tolerance level allowed on oats to now be 300 times higher than it was in 1993.]
“Due
to its widespread use, trace amounts of glyphosate residues may be found in
various fresh fruits, vegetables, cereals, and other food and beverage
commodities. However, these trace amounts are not of concern for the consumer.”
[New scientific studies show that even trace amounts of glyphosate can
disrupt the endocrine system and gut microbiome, and is strongly linked to
fatty liver disease and diabetes, just to name a few.]
“If residues are found above the established tolerance level, the commodity will be subject to seizure by the government.” [But they only test four foods! The USDA and the FDA are the regulatory agencies responsible for monitoring the pesticide residues in our food. The FDA conducts tests for the residues of hundreds of pesticides via its Pesticide Residue Monitoring Program. But prior to 2016, the FDA didn’t test for glyphosate residues (and only then due to enormous public pressure).[1] In the most current report (2016) only corn, soy, milk and eggs were tested. The USDA annually tests hundreds of foods for pesticide residues through their Pesticide Data Program. But as of 2017, they do not test foods for glyphosate residues, a notable omission.[2] That’s why organizations in the private and non-profit sectors are now testing foods for glyphosate residues, to fill in the gap. Here is the link to the FDA’s explanation about why they did not test for glyphosate prior to 2016: https://www.fda.gov/food/pesticides/questions-and-answers-glyphosate]
“EPA has concluded that glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans. EPA considered a significantly more extensive and relevant data set than the International Agency on the Research for Cancer (IARC). EPA’s database includes studies submitted to support registration of glyphosate and studies EPA identified in the open literature.” [Most of those additional studies were funded by the chemical companies and were not available to the public. Studies paid for by the agricultural chemical companies are fundamentally biased. The IARC used only publicly available, peer-reviewed studies conducted by independent experts who are free from vested interests.[3]]
“EPA’s
cancer classification is consistent with other international expert panels and
regulatory authorities, including the Canadian Pest Management Regulatory
Agency, Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority, European Food
Safety Authority, European Chemicals Agency, German Federal Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health, New Zealand Environmental Protection Authority,
and the Food Safety Commission of Japan.” [Regulatory
agencies are often infiltrated by high level executives who were once employed
by the agricultural chemical companies. These executives can then make the rules,
such as 1) not monitoring Roundup/glyphosate residues in food and 2) raising
the allowable limits. These rules allow the chemical companies to declare that
the public is safe from health impacts even in the face of increasing evidence
that public’s health is at risk.]
If you doubt the truth of what I am saying here, please read the paper, “Supercide Me”, free and downloadable on our website: https://www.isabelmontclaire.com/books/supercide-me/. My physician, Steven Rotter, MD and I explain the untold part of the Roundup/glyphosate story and include links to credible primary source documents. And I highly suggest you open and scan the links to the FDA and USDA reports included here, to get a general idea of the huge number of pesticides applied to our food. These will make for good reading in the morning while you eat your oat-based breakfast cereal. Just suggestin’.
The EPA raises the amount of Roundup/glyphosate allowed on our food as the amounts farmer’s use rises. The vertical red lines denote the rise in the allowable amounts since 1993 and the yellow background shows the rise in the amount of glyphosate that farmers use. Chart created by Politico Pro.
The amount of plastic the world consumes has increased
dramatically since 1980 and 40% of it is used just once. (National
Geographic, June 2018) The majority of this plastic comes from food
packaging. The next time you are in a grocery store, take a look. Notice all
the single use packaging then envision it ending up in the landfill. It’s
actually somewhat horrific when you step back and really see the stark truth of
this.
The Plenty Method can help you reduce your plastic footprint
and food packaging in general. How does it do this? First, food is made from “scratch”
ingredients that are bought in bulk
whenever possible. You learn that it’s actually quite easy to make something simple
and delicious out of scratch ingredients so you purchase less and less packaged
food. And when you buy food in bulk, more of your money goes to buy the food,
and not the packaging, so you’ll be able to buy higher quality food. Your
pantry will be full of nutrient dense, whole foods that are usually organic. I
call this “superstar food”. It stands on its own and doesn’t need much “do” to
prepare so putting food on the table is quick and simple.
Each of these scratch ingredients has its own airtight container or other permanent location. This makes working with food so much more pleasurable. The airtight containers replace all the food stored in single use, mismatched packages that don’t seal properly, which may invite staleness and attract bugs, moths, mold, mites, and rodents. It’s much nicer to handle a substantial glass jar that opens easily than flimsy single-use packages that usually don’t close properly. You can see the food through glass jars which is visually more pleasing than a collection of opaque food packages. Your food will be clearly visible and labeled. No more “UFO”s – Unidentified Food Objects! You can say goodbye to random food clutter. The kitchen stays clean, organized, and fresh.
Together, we can stop this crazy overuse of plastic. Every little bit helps and small steps can add up to radical change. Transformation starts with awareness. Just say “no” to single use packaging, one buying decision at a time. This will make a world of difference and a different world.
Spices can be bought in bulk and stored in jars retrieved from recycle bins
One of The Joy of Plenty’s goals is to help reduce the amount of food the world wastes. Every day America wastes enough food to fill the Rose Bowl. Yes, that Rose Bowl—the ninety-thousand-seat football stadium in Pasadena, California.[1]You read that right; that’s every day, not every year. The Natural Resources Defense Council claims Americans lose up to 40 percent of our food from farm to fork to landfill.[2] Reducing the amount of food waste (or, waste as food) will dramatically help create planetary health since agriculture leaves a huge footprint on our planet.
While The Plenty Method can’t do anything about the food that rots in a farmer’s field or deteriorates in a warehouse, it can help you trim your household food waste. How does The Plenty Method do this? By helping you learn how to:
Purchase
Make a focused Master Ingredients List that encourages you to purchase fewer but more versatile kinds of food. Less variety leads to less waste. Creatively transform the ingredients you already have on hand instead of buying a new single-use item that could end up as half-eaten food waste.
Buy food close to the source so it is fresh and lasts longer.
Buy longer-lasting foods instead of those that rapidly spoil.
Store
Learn how to store food properly to prevent premature spoilage.
Store and preserve food properly, then retrieve it from storage as
needed. This is a flip-flop from buying food, thinking that you will use it,
but then your plans change. You forget the food; it spoils and gets tossed.
Store staple ingredients in clear, airtight glass containers so
they are visible; no out-of-sight, out-of-mind food left to rot.
Learn to extend the life of food by removing oxygen by using a
vacuum-packing machine and other methods.
Sense
View manufacturer’s expiration dates as suggestions only; tune
into your senses to determine if a food is safe to eat.
Understand the shelf life of foods to know when to watch for
subtle changes in flavor, texture, and smell that tell you to use it soon.
Connect
Experience more connection with your food by learning to
appreciate and respect it. This awareness encourages you to tune into your food
to prevent spoilage.
Share or exchange food with others before it spoils.
Use
Use or preserve avoidable waste, such as peelings, meat bones, and
overripe fruits. For example, freeze cream in ice cube trays. Use old bread for
breadcrumbs, croutons, French toast, or bread pudding. Transform carrot tops
into carrot-pesto. Use Parmesan cheese rinds to flavor soups, and so on.
Redefine what fresh
means, and resurrect foods that are thought of as “bad.” For example, a
cauliflower with brown spots is usually perfectly edible when you trim them
off. A mealy apple is delicious when you bake it. Try putting a soggy banana in
a smoothie or banana fritter.
Please consider learning The Plenty Method to reduce your
household food waste. Every little bit helps! Or, as I like to say “Big is
just a whole bunch of little”. One small step, one small footprint can add
up to huge progress down the road. One person can make a difference and that
person is you!
Half-eaten and expired condiments create alot of wasted food
[1]
Jonathan Bloom, American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of its Food (and What You Can Do About It)
(Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2010), xi
I am so thankful
for the bees ‒ the fragile agents ‒ who work tirelessly on our behalf. Much of
our food chain depends on pollinators, yet many people are unaware of the
essential role they play in creating our food supply. Part of The Joy of
Plenty’s mission is to educate people about the role pollinators play in food
production and to sound the alarm about the enormous pressure all pollinators
are under from overuse of agricultural pesticides.
Last week, the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released a report on the current state of the biosphere (please see previous post). The report estimates that up to US$577 billion of the crops the world produces are at risk without bees to pollinate them. Bees are the linchpin of our food system and overuse of agricultural pesticides are one of the reasons they are weakening.
In a perfect world, if everyone ate organic food, the need for toxic agricultural chemicals would diminish and this would greatly help the bees. The Plenty Method gives people the tools they need to increase their purchases of organic food, so they can eat well and support the pollinators, too. Over time, this will help foster a robust food chain and vibrant ecosystems, and we can do this now. In a landmark decision in May of 2018, the European Commission banned three neonicotinoid insecticides linked to bee death. This is an encouraging sign that vast numbers of people are becoming aware of the need to protect our pollinators and it’s a huge win for the bees. We can join the crescendo of voices that created that legislation and add to the momentum. Our collective buying power can create massive transformation, one buying decision at a time.
Please consider using The Plenty Method to spend your food dollars wisely and well and to help protect our food supply for future generations. As I conclude writing this, the Beatles song “With a Little Help From My Friends” repeats in my inner ears. But I’ve added a word! “I get by with a little help from my little friends.” Dear bees, what true friends you are. You are our unsung heroes! Let’s join together to give them all the help they need.
