From Grit and Grime to Glitz and Glam...

Traveling from Ghana to Croatia after a couple of months is a bit of a culture shock. From bumpy rides on dusty, rubbish-lined roads and to harbours filled with yachts of the rich and famous. The extravagant waterfronts, lavish night life, and tourist-centred activities were neither what I expected nor sought after my summer in rural communities. The contrast was stark, though not quite to the extent that my title suggests. And while the views of the Adriatic were spectacular, I could not suppress a desire to be back on a farm. 

The good news is that Croatia actually has a quite strong agricultural and culinary culture, steeped in history and tradition. While the coastal economy relies more heavily on tourism, you don't have to venture far beyond the downtown area of a city before olive groves and vineyards start cropping up. The landscape reflects its Mediterranean climate, with figs and herbs growing well in the semi-arid, sea-side region. Traditional Croatian communities, essentially through much of the 19th century, centred around land on which multiple generations of extended family lived and worked. Even these days, the majority (some figures as high as 98%) are family farms.

One of the well-documented and seemingly (based on poor signage and overgrown paths) little  frequented wonders of Hvar island is the ancient character of the land. The Starigrad Plain, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has remained in cultivation since Greek colonization in the 4th century BCE. While the fact that grapes and olives have grown in the fertile plain for over two millennia is pretty incredible, the draw is the ancient land parcel system still evident today. Stone walls in various states of disrepair delineate the geometrical distribution of land common in the Mediterranean. Despite various threats from consolidation, mechanisation, and economic change in recent history, the landscape still maintains much of its historic character.

Remnants of bygone agriculture shaping fields today

What's astounding to me is the contrast with other agricultural systems. Starigrad Plain represents an agricultural approach that has proven to be sustainable in the long-term. While I am unsure what type of chemicals and fertilizers now are used, the same crops have grown continuously on the same land for 24 centuries! I cannot even fathom the conventional industrial agriculture in the United States, for example, sustaining such a long period of trials and tribulations.

The other thing it demonstrates is the stability of the region. Thinking about my recent discussions with farmers in Ghana, it is clear that what is possible in somewhere like Croatia, Italy, Greece, or other Mediterranean countries would not work in much of the world. Variability of rainfall, temperature, wind, etc. makes it essential to be flexible and constantly adapt. If you held firmly to planting the same crop in the same place year after year, at some point the crop would fail, and repeatedly. We are celebrating an agricultural heritage site because evidence of its longevity it's still visible. I suppose this is a constraint we face, where we believe and value what we see. One can hope that we also find ways to appreciate long-standing agricultural traditions that may not have such a public face.

Read more about other agricultural heritage systems.

Frugal Foodie on a British Pound: Back to School Edition

Why hello! As you can see, Monday has a new title (though same great theme), to reflect my current state of starving studenthood. A couple of years ago, I wrote a post titled 'A Frugal Foodie', in which I laid out my manifesto for eating well on the cheap. As low effort as it may seem to just make rice and beans every day, there is also so much room for creativity and exploration, even on a slim food budget. Now, more than ever, that mentality will come in handy, and I'm going to take you along for my culinary journey.

One of my rules of thumb is to always opt for dried legumes. In the States you can buy a pound of black beans (a solid 6 cups cooked or 3 cans) for less that $2; similarly 500g (1.1 lbs) of garbanzos are about £1.5. Plus, you avoid all the fillers, preservatives, and salt by cooking your own. Innevitably, beans lead to hummus. The funny thing, and unbeknownst to me, is that the Brits apparently have a thing for the beany dip. An article in the Guardian noted how 41% of households  harbour some in the fridge, and it is definitely a picnic staple. 

While perhaps veering away from traditional Middle East preparation and consumption, it is still a reliable and reasonable lunch or snack. I've added a bit of greenery with some local arugula (better known as rocket on this side of the Pond) to spice things up. 

Rocket Hummus

1 cup garbanzo beans, soak overnight and then cooked until very tender

2 cloves garlic, roasted (if you have time)

1/4 cup olive oil (good quality!)

1/2 cup arugula (or more for spicier/greener hummus)

1/4 cup walnuts, raw (optional)

Juice of half a lemon

Water from the beans as needed

Sea salt to taste

Hummus is such a simple dish to make. Toss all the ingredients in a food processor (or use an immersion blender) and puree until smooth. Note that this recipe does not have tahini (a pricier ingredient), but adding some of the sesame paste would make it a little creamier. Regardless, enjoy with crackers, pita, or some good ol' crudites (e.g. celery sticks)!

What's Cooking? Smoky Staples

I have a lot of food in my kitchen right now. Besides the usual Sunday farmers market haul, there are perhaps unnecessary quantities of lentils, quinoa, polenta, and the like in the pantry. My argument generally is that these dry goods last practically forever in a cool dry place, and it ensures that I will never find myself stranded in the house without at least some form of sustenance. However, I now find myself in a peculiar position of trying to use up all of my staple grain and legume reserves over the summer. Why you ask? Well, come September 8th, I will no longer reside in my humble abode nor the United States more generally (more on this and seasonal produce in later posts)!

This recipe came about a bit by accident. I needed a potluck dish in a pinch, and not failing to disappoint, my lentils and quinoa stores came to my rescue. A little olive oil and salt, and it was all I could do to not consume the entire batch! So in prepping for the week ahead, I made another pot of quinoa and lentils, but this time decided to add in a few more pantry items ... my fave smoked Spanish paprika and nutritional yeast "nootch." Quinoa and lentils are pretty much the bees knees of vegan dishes - high proteins, high fiber, and very tasty. Plus the petite black lentils I ended up add a nice slightly chewy text to complement the creamy quinoa.

Quite Comforting Quinoa

1/4 onion, diced

2/3 cup quinoa, dry

1/2 cup black lentils, dry

2 cups water or vegetable broth

2 tbs good olive oil

1/4 cup nootch (I used flaked)

1 tsp smoked Spanish paprika

Salt to taste

1. Heat 1 tsp of the olive oil in a medium pot. Sautee the onion until starting to become translucent. Then add the water, a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil.

2. Cook quinoa and lentils for about 20-30 minutes until water is consumed and lentils are tender. Remove from heat. 

3. Mix in olive oil, nootch, paprika, and salt to taste. Enjoy immediately with some sauteed garlicky greens or refrigerate for an excellent meal of leftovers.

Catch some other tasty meals (and treats!) on Wellness Weekends :)

What's Cooking? Nature's Spaghetti

As half Italian, I almost feel like I have a duty to make and consume pasta. Now, I don't really eat pasta very often, and even less frequently spaghetti (don't worry, olive oil and crusty bread is a different story). But it is really a very versatile staple food item, to which you can add just about any vegetable for a fun or interesting meal. So what is a girl to do in this situation? Luckily, I picked up a goodie at the farmers market...enter winter squash.

Cucurbita pepo, the spaghetti squash, is not your typical pumpkin in that once cooked, the flesh becomes stringy and spaghetti-like. In exploring this peculiar veggie a bit further, I discovered that it was developed in Manchuria, China during the 1890's. Introduced in the US in the late 1930's, it didn't find much popularity until World War II, and then not again until the 1960's. (Check out the timeline at the very end of this article). But it would not be the historical element that draws people to spaghetti squash. It can be a nutritious alternative to pasta if you dress it up with marinara, and has a really subtle flavor so that you can have a lot of fun with different ingredient combos. Here's what I did last night:

Spaghetti a la Pomodoro e Cavoletto

1 spaghetti squash, cooked and gutted

3/4 cup sundried tomatoes (I had some preserved from the summer!)

15 Brussels sprouts, quartered

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt to taste

1. Roast Brussels sprouts tossed in 1 tbs olive oil and salt to taste in an oven at 375F, for about 15-20 minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, mix sundried tomatoes and the rest of the olive oil. Once sprouts have roasted to tenderness, remove. Sprinkle the scooped out squash with nutritional yeast and then toss with olive oil, sprouts, and tomatoes. Add salt to taste. 

3. ENJOY!

Want more tasty morsels? Check out Wellness Weekends, and below are a few more spaghetti squash recipes:

Moroccan Spices Spaghetti Squash - Smitten Kitchen

Spaghetti Squash w/Chard, Cranberries, and Dijon Vinaigrette - Cookin' Canuck

Spaghetti Squash w/Sage and Lemon - Whole Living

Produce of the Weeks: Olives...sort of

On the third week of Vegan MoFo and we’re still going relatively strong. This week we will be traveling to the Mediterranean, to take a peak into cuisine and food issues centered around one of my favorite regions of the world. And one cannot venture into this culinarily wealthy realm without talking olives. Sadly, these puppies are by no stretch of the imagination local to the mid-Atlantic. However, it is the harvest season in regions in which olives grow well, so let’s celebrate this amazing produce item!

This small tree species is native to eastern Mediterranean coastal areas. While it may be pretty, we are most interested in the fruits. The olive has figured prominently in classic literature and historic records that document the fruit’s importance to diet and culture of the region’s inhabitants. It holds significance for both war and peace, polytheistic and monotheistic religions, ancient athletic competitions and modern body care. The commercial production predates the Greeks, making an important contribution to Minoan civilization on Crete. In fact, the oldest olive tree has been radiocarbon dated to 2000 years old! At present, olive trees spans the globe in location of Mediterranean climates, such as California and parts of Australia.

Six subspecies and thousands of “cultivars” or varieties make up the group we call olives. In that respect, your local gourmet market’s olive bar is a sorry representation of the true diversity of this fruit. Even with all this variation and globe-trotting, over 2/3 of olive production takes place in Spain, Italy, and Greece (and Spain is more than half of that).

Deriving its Latin name, Oliva, from its Greek origins, the olive also inspired the words for “oil” in many languages. Olive oil is one of the pantry staples that no good Italian (or half) can do without. While I don’t actually like olives in their whole form, I use the oil for almost all my cooking (and some of my baking). That said, it’s difficult to find recipes where the oil itself is the star of the dish.

Why-Should-I-Ever-Buy-Premade-Again Hummus

Hummus is one of those side dish/appetizers that makes or breaks an evening at a Mediterranean restaurant. It is also ridiculously easy to make at home! There are all sorts of variations, but I like the classic. You can also easily reach the desired consistency with water and lemon juice instead of lots of oil, however, the best hummus experiences I’ve had resulted largely from the fragrant olive flavor that builds depth in a good hummus.

1 cup dried garbanzo beans, soaked and cooked until very soft.

1-2 large cloves of garlic

juice of one lemon

1 heaping tbs of tahini (sesame paste)

salt to taste

olive oil to desired consistency

Other tasty recipes:

101 Cookbooks once again delivers with olive oil crackers and kale and olive oil mashed potatoes!

Diet, Desserts and Dogs provides a tasty beans, garlic, and olive oil recipe (classic Italian!). Also, while I'm on the topic of DD&D and Italy, Ricki is giving away a gourmet Italian food basket from Lucini...mmm...

Roasted kabocha squash with olive oil sounds fantastic and sauteed kale with garlic and olive oil is perfect for this time of year.

And if you are looking for some dessert, try the toasts with chocolate, olive oil, and sea salt or lemon rosemary olive oil cake.

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive

http://www.oliveoilsource.com/page/timing

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3967357,00.html