Meatless, Flourless Monday

There’s nothing like seeing an Al Gore movie to make you feel like you can’t waste another single thing or another second more. 

That was (and still is) my exact situation after having the opportunity to watch “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” last Friday night. Check out the trailer or this video of the film's theme song to see for yourself just how dire the earth’s situation is.

Yet, despite a last minute re-write of the film’s ending after the president pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement, the message of “Truth to Power” is a positive one. Vice-President Gore manages to convince viewers that is still possible for the citizens of the world, wherever they live, to make the change planet earth needs (even without their leader’s support). Change starts with us.

As I try to map out what my next bigger steps will be, I am implementing some small ones, starting with being even more careful not to waste or take for granted any of the resources I already have on hand.

During my recent stay in a cottage colony on Cape Cod, I had the opportunity to buy a dozen eggs laid by hens who live on the premises. I brought home the ones I had not used and needed a special way to put them to good use.

A good friend sent me a recipe in the mail (yep, that’s not a typo) thinking I might like to try it it in one of my cast iron skillets. The tiny newspaper clipping contains “A Recipe for Pan Baked Lemon-Almond Tart” from Mark Bittman’s “Here to Help” column in the New York Times. It called for 4 eggs, just what I had on hand. 

I ran out for some cream and a lemon (sadly no lemon tree in my CT back yard). I used Trader Joe’s almond meal for the ground almonds. The greatest work was juicing the lemon and grating its peel.

I melted the butter on the stovetop in my number 8 cast iron pan, poured in the batter, and cooked it on low until the edges set. After 20 minutes in the oven, the cake tester showed it was done. I skipped the broiler step, content to dust with powdered sugar and sprinkle with more almonds. 

It made for two decadent and delicious breakfasts, perfect fuel to power us on for the hard work ahead.

On Mondays I often blog on food, food issues, or gardening in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”