Great Depression Cooking with Clara

Celebrity cooking is HOT and, lately, so is the Great Depression.

93 year old Clara reminisces about the Depression while showcasing cheap, nourishing food. I love this online cooking show. Maybe it's because I'm a big fan of history, food, frugality, and stories.

Here she makes "Poorman's meal" which is potatoes with hotdogs (her grandkids love it, she says). Clara, peeling potatoes, explains she had to drop out of high school because she couldn't afford socks.


And here's episode 1 where she makes pasta with peas. Enjoy!


More episodes on the Youtube Channel

Interested in becoming more self-sufficient

but live in an apartment? or don't have time to make that commitment? How about trying self-sufficientish living?

The idea behind self-sufficientish-ism is although many of us would love to live on a farm, grow all our own food, brew pea pod wine, live the 'Good-Life'. Not all of us have the means the space or are perhaps unwilling to give it all up and suffer the highs and lows of going it alone on a smallholding.

Although total self-sufficiency is appealing the thought of giving up the little luxuries in life may not be. I grow a lot of my own food eat wild foods and when I have the money buy organic fruit and vegetables but I still enjoy beer in a pub and like to go to the cinema or eat out occasionally.

Self Sufficientish-ism was created for these reasons. It is for all those who have limited time, space or money but would like to have a go at growing their own food or brewing their own alcohol or want to know which wild foods are good to eat. We also aim to offer advice on a whole host of other subjects from a low-ecological impact perspective.

Benefits include saving money, sustainability, good healthy eating, a chance to play farmer in the city, and it's kinda fun!

You'll find tips like 66 uses for a bread bag, natural pest control, flat dwellers guide to being self-sufficientish, lots of recipes, and how to brew. I want to try making sage and seed bread. mmmm

Via eco worrier

Love Food Hate Waste

My new favourite site: Love Food Hate Waste

Around a third of all the food we buy ends up being thrown away and most of this could have been eaten – it's not just peelings, cores and bones.

90% of us just don't realise how much good food we throw out, yet in the UK we throw away 6.7 million tonnes of food each year.

It's not just an issue of good food going to waste, or that this costs us as consumers a significant amount of money, but that there are serious environmental implications.
...
The amount of food we throw away is a waste of resources. Just think about all the energy, water and packaging used in food production, transportation and storage. This all goes to waste when we throw away perfectly good food.

I really hate wasting food, and I can't compost at the moment, living in an apartment not yet serviced by the city's green bin collection. I try to eat everything I buy. I freeze leftovers if I know I won't be able to finish them before they go bad. I make stock out of vegetable scraps (keep a bag in the freezer until it is full, then pop it in my crockpot with some water and herbs overnight... mmm). I make muffins out of overripe bananas and not-so-fresh yogurt. But sometimes I just don't know what to DO with my leftover food.

This site has all kinds of great tips. They have a portion planner for those who never know how much to cook, ideas on how to make food stay fresh longer, and all kinds of recipes to help you use up those odds and ends in the fridge.

Chicken Wild Rice Soup, a Yummy & Responsible Recipe

Although soup season is really over, it was so cold and rainy here today I felt the urge for the kind of comfort that comes in a bowl of fragrant steaming soup. So, while it's cooking, let me give you my recipe.

Chicken Rice Soup
2-3 Cups Homemade Vegetable Broth¹
1 cup of leftover chopped organic chicken²
2 carrots and 2 stalks celery, or other vegetables (preferably in-season)
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
1 c cooked brown or wild rice³
parsley, thyme, salt and pepper to season

Chop all the veggies. Then throw everything in a pot and let simmer while you go do something else for 20 minutes. Should make about 2 servings.

Why is this recipe responsible?

1. Vegetable Broth
Save your scraps! I keep a bag in the freezer to which I add my veggie scraps: carrot and potato peels, celery tops, onion skins, etc. When the bag starts getting full, put the scraps into the crockpot and cook overnight, or simmer on the stove for at least an hour. Strain the broth and store in the freezer. This is how people recycled in the old days. It's basically free, full of vitamins, and tastes lovely.

2. Organic Chicken
I think most of us in the West need to reduce our consumption of meat - for many reasons, including our own health, for the health of the Earth, and in solidarity with those for whom meat is a luxury or even an impossibility. However, I eat fish or chicken a couple of times a week. I buy my chicken from this farm where the animals are "organic", treated humanely, and use land that is unsuitable to growing crops. Of course, this meat is a little more expensive than grocery store meat (only slightly since it comes directly from the farmer) so the best thing on a budget is simply to use less of it. Organic chicken in small amounts is healthier, and better for the environment than scary industrial chicken.

3. Rice
Wild rice is nutritious, high in fibre and protein, and has a nice texture that holds up well in soup. It is also native to Canada. On a budget? Bulk brown rice is cheap and also quite good in soup. Because it is dried, it takes up less space and so it can be transported using less resources, and stored without refrigeration, making it a fairly environmentally sound food.

Mediterranean Lentil Salad, A Yummy Responsible Recipe

I confess. I'm a food addict. In fact, I eat every single day, and if I go too long without food I begin to have withdrawal symptoms, such as growling in the tummy and lightheadedness.

I figure, since I have to eat, I might as well be as responsible as possible with my food choices. That means eating a varied, fresh, and healthy diet to fortify the ol' bod, and trying to make the best choices possible for the environment and social justice.

It's really not that hard to eat like this most of the time. To illustrate that, I thought I might try posting a recipe today. After the recipe, I'll analyze what makes it responsible.

If you like this idea, please let me know (you can vote in the poll to the right), and I'll make it a regular feature.

The Recipe:
Lentil Salad
The perfect lunch. Best prepared the night before so the flavours can blend overnight.
Serves 4

1 1/2 cups dried brown (aka green) lentils
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
pinch salt & pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 cups chopped in-season vegetables, chosen from this list: tomatoes, cucumber, celery, green or red pepper
Optional, but highly recommended: 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled, and a couple of sliced olives
Lettuce

Place lentils in a large pot. Cover with water to 2 inches above lentils, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until tender. Drain well, and set aside to cool.

Combine lemon juice, olive oil, herbs, and garlic. I like to shake everything until it is mixed really well.

Mix lentils, vegetables, and cheese (if using) with the dressing. Toss gently to coat. Chill to allow flavours to blend. Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves.

Health Benefits:
Vegetables are like nutritional superstars, with tons of vitamins, fibre, potassium, antioxidants, and few calories (something we generally have too much of in our land of plenty). The more you can eat, the better off you'll be. Olive oil provides a splash of healthy monounsaturated fat. The lentils add protein, and a nice balance of soluble and insoluble fibre. All in all, this is a recipe that is good for overall health, weight loss, high cholesterol, and hypertension (if concerned about the salt, avoid the Feta).

Environmental Benefits:
Reducing consumption of meat means you are reducing your consumption of fossil fuels, since meat is generally far more resource-intensive than legumes. Try to get your vegetables locally and in season to use even less fossil fuel. Here in the big Canadian city in May, that means hothouse tomatoes, peppers and cukes, new baby greens or living lettuce, but no celery yet.