What's Cooking? Rampin' it Up

I had never tried a ramp. My mother had gushed about them over the phone. Food sections of various newspapers discussed the flavor notes and debated the merits when cooked with eggs or grilled. Foragers went nuts over this little wild leek-like herb. Chefs and food critiques alike breathed a sigh of relief with something new and exciting en vogue in the culinary universe. Yet I had not tried a ramp.

What is this plant of which I speak? A short-lived (4-8 week season) early spring green, the ramp is a perennial wild onion native to the Appalachian mountain region of the United States. Historically, the greens provided a dose of vitamins and minerals after a long winter without fresh produce...of course, prior to the advent of the global food economy and supermarket shelves that currently abound. Like many edibles before them, ramps now face threats from over-harvest due to a rise in demand.

So when I gratefully accepted a small bunch from a fellow marketeer at Dupont on Sunday, I was at a loss of what to do with the slender white roots and dainty greenish-pink leaves. Could I chop them up and stick them in a salad with my armful of greens? Should they be roasted alongside the perfectly purple asparagus? 'Eggs', I was told. 'Oh wait, you're vegan!' Thankfully, my market friends are more creative than that, and quickly the egg idea evolved into tofu scramble.

Ramped-Up Scrambled Tofu

4 ramps, finely sliced

2 green garlics, sliced

1 package of firm tofu, drained and mashed

3 tbs nutritional yeast

1/4 cup pine nuts (toasting optional)

1 tsp basil

Salt to taste

Grapeseed (or other high-heat) oil for the skillet

1. Heat about 1 tbs oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add sliced whites of the ramps plus the bulbs of the garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes until beginning to soften. 

2. Add tofu and greens of garlic and ramps. Season with nootch, basil, nuts, and salt. Continue to saute until tofu browns. 

3. Remove from heat and serve with some crusty bread or home fries or something else wonderful...like asparagus! 

So what did I think? Nice mix between garlic and onion (so, really garlicky with the green garlic...). Adds nice color to a dish and is a little more exciting than the wayward shallot. I'm a fan!

Smitten Kitchen makes Ramp Pizza (feel free to omit the cheese...)

101 Cookbooks takes advantage of asparagus season with stir-fry (sub ramps for green onions)

Finally, Serious Eats grills up some ramps!

Check out other comestibles on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Wellness Weekends.

Thirsty Thursday: Because NPR Loves Coffee...

One of the primary reasons that I undertake to live below the line is that day in and day out I am confronted by the issue of small-scale farmers trying to earn a living, feed their families, and not compromise their land and livelihood for future generations. While many of those in developing countries are likely subsistence farmers (meaning they grow to eat not to sell), there are 30 million that grow coffee and cacao for export. So what better commodity to hone in on than coffee (ok, maybe chocolate...)?

Apparently NPR's Morning Edition had the same idea last week. An interview with author Mark Pendergrast, of the new book Uncommon Ground, elucidated the ironic nature of coffee historically as both a convener of revolutionary ideas and the impetus for enslavement. Pendergrast also made the link between the social, economic, and environmental elements of commodity colonialism (is this a term?)..."In Brazil — where slavery was legal until 1888 — coffee plantations would use slash-and-burn agriculture, tearing down rain forests and planting coffee trees that depleted the nutrients in soil. Once the soil had been sapped, growers would move on to another place."

And this confluence of all three legs of the sustainability stool (social, economic, and environmental facets) was the topic of another segment on labels that indicate good behavior on the part of farmers and companies. Zooming in on Costa Rica, where one can find a wealth of coffee certifications, tradeoffs become evident. Cooperatarrazu was highlighted as operating as a collective, and striving towards meeting the standards of many of the certifications discussed. It was also one of the sites I visited last July!

Coffee may be nowhere close to falling within my food budget this week, but it is also not accessible to those who grow the coffee, either. And while it is unlikely that a farmer in rural Costa Rica will be sipping a latte anytime soon, there is headway being made in terms of making the production and sale of the beverage (or rather, the bean) more equitable and responsible. Keep on sipping your coffee, however, make sure to think carefully before pouring.

Also see: Step Aside, Gents. Witness the Rise of Women in Coffee

Photo credit: Neil Palmer (CIAT)

My Munchable Soapbox: The Meaning of Fast

Hunger is a product of a lack of food, and particularly a lack of nutritious and filling food. Chronic hunger is often linked to malnutrition, largely because the body just isn't getting adequate nutrition nor are the few calories its getting high quality ones. Most people who experience chronic hunger because they don't get enough food are not doing this willfully. However, "fasting" is different. This is the purposeful abstention from food, and sometimes drink, for any number of purposes.

Why am I bringing up fasting, when the whole point is to eat on a $1.50 per day and not avoid food entirely? Yesterday a coworker raised the topic of my "fast". When I tried to correct him, noting that I am in fact eating, he argued that I am on a fast in the broader sense of the word. By not consuming in my usual way, by abstaining from higher cost foods, in a way I am fasting.

The act of fasting seems to surface on many occasions - for religious reasons (e.g. the Day of Atonement in Judaism), to make a political statement (e.g. Ghandi's hunger strike), or perhaps as a form of bodily 'cleanse'. But regardless of the reasoning, I think the abstention from a normal practice promotes thinking in a slightly different way. You suddenly have to think more about what you put in your body, have to critically assess why it is you are even doing this. Seeing as one of the motives for the Live Below the Line challenge is to foster empathy and discussion around a particularly tough issue, 'fasting' in this broader sense of the term is really rather appropriate for the physical and mental challenge that takes place.

Thanks for indulging. Happy May Day!

What's Cooking? Meals Below the Line

Today is the first day of the week-long Live Below the Line Challenge. Having heard me harp on about endeavor for over a month, most of you are aware that for the next five days I will be eating on $1.50 per day. Why? It is part of an effort to raise awareness and money to combat poverty and hunger (more on those topics later). So stop for a moment, and think. How much did that coffee run this morning cost? Or the salad you threw together for lunch? Or maybe that impulse purchase of a pack of gum at the checkout counter. Now think - I have $7.50 for five days, 50 cents, five dimes, two quarters per meal, if I stick to three solid meals. 

Last year's experience taught me a few lessons that I incorporated into this year's plan - and yes, a plan is an extremely helpful luxury that if I were really living day-to-day, I likely would not have. First of all, variety is key. Changing things up, even just alternating the same two meals from lunch to dinner, makes a huge difference psychologically. Second, I'm OK sacrificing a few calories for some vegetables that make more feel overall more nourished, rather than an unsatisfied "full." With these two breakthroughs as a base, what am I actually eating for the week?

The week, with five bananas MIA....that white bowl is salt, FYI.

16 oz bag carrots (organic), Trader Joe's - $0.89

5 bananas, Trader Joe's - $0.95 

16 oz green split peas (dry), Target - $0.99
16 oz brown rice, Target - $0.92*
10 oz rolled oats (bulk dry), Whole Foods - $0.95

5 oz hulled barley (bulk dry), Whole Foods - $0.46
10 oz black beans (dry), Best World - $0.92

3 chayote squash, Best World - $0.99

5.5 oz onion, Farmers Market - $0.35
35 g salt (scaled price), Trader Joe's - $0.07

Total: $7.49

Nutritionally, this clocked in at 1230 calories, 8 grams fat, 58 grams protein, and 65 grams fiber (plus some vitamins and minerals...). While not ideal, I'm really excited to have some flavor with the onion and some greenery with the squash. But while I could prove that it is possible to eat whole foods (as in not highly processes) and incorporate vegetables on a very small budget, it is clear that the biggest bang for your buck is in starchy staples and protein-dense legumes.

While the week is supposed to mirror the experience of one of the millions living below the poverty line in the developing world, an NPR article last week reminded me how close to home this issue can hit. 47 million people (that is close to 16% of the population) in the United States are on food stamps, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as it is now called. On SNAP, individuals receive on average between $1 and $1.50 per meal, and a family four is considered below the domestic "poverty line" when making less than $22,113 per year. In this country, poverty tends to correlate with risks of diabetes and obesity, because access to fresh and healthy food is much more limited. SNAP definitely helps improve this disparity by supplementing income, and even opening access to farmers markets for low-income households. However, there is along way still to go in order to ensure that food price more accurately reflects price for production as well as cost to society (e.g. health and environmental.

As this week progresses, I expect this very element, the choice between cost and nutrition, will come very much into the forefront. Stay tuned for more posts related to this topic in the coming days, and check out my Live Below page to learn more about the challenge.

*note - brown rice includes the hull of the rice. White rice was ten cents cheaper, but has less fiber, and lacks the magnesium, manganese, vitamin E, and zinc found in brown rice.

My Munchable Soapbox: Loving the Lentils

This post has sat in my drafts folder for many weeks now, waiting for the right motivation to hit. In fact, it has languished since the NPR article on lentils came out nearly two months ago. But now, with the Live Below the Line Challenge less than a week away, lentils are very much on my mind. Why does the prospect of subsisting on $1.50 per day conjure up visions of little legumes? Well, lentils happen to provide a whole lot of calories, protein, and fiber for very little cost. 

Lentils are particularly attractive for the poor and hungry - they are high in protein; don't require much, if any, added fertilizer (they fix their own nitrogen); store easily when dried; and can grow in poor soils and harsh environments. A testament to this, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) estimates that 70% of the lentils produced stay in developing countries. And people have relied on the little lentil for sustenance for over eight millennium!

While there are many ways to cook a lentil, a common thread seems to pervade dishes throughout the world. In Praise of the Humble Lentil begins with an anecdote of a simple lentil-rice dish, Mudardara. Variations of this exist around Mediterranean regions, but also legume+grain dishes are the staple of most people around the globe. Think maize and beans in Latin America. Or cowpeas and sorghum in Africa. Or, mung beans (or lentil dal, yum) and rice in South Asia. Regardless of where you are on the planet, however, this mix of protein and carbs is generally satisfying and nourishing. While not providing the slew of micronutrients that colorful vegetables bestow, it is a critical contributor to feeding a hungry population.

Check back in on Monday to see what's on the menu for the week! And consider contributing to my efforts to raise funds for the Rainforest Foundation.

Photo Credit: ICRISAT