On My Radar 3.16.14

Recent News. Happenings. Discoveries…Here are some of the items on my radar.

SEISMOLOGICAL NEWS:

Earthquakes in the Midwest, where they have been uncommon until recently, have fueled concerns that fracking is to blame. 

NEWS from NEW HAVEN:

Tree lovers spoke and Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) listened. Hundreds turned out at the Technical Meeting and Public Info Session hosted by PURA at the Hamden Middle School on March 6. PURA has asked UI and CL&P, the state’s two utility companies, to voluntarily “scale back” their aggressive tree trimming plans while PURA considers the case further. This is good news, but only a temporary halt. Those who would like to register their thoughts on the utilities’ new “Vegetation Management Plans” can still email  comments to: pura.executivesecretary@ct.gov. Don’t delay. PURA expects to make a preliminary ruling in early April.

The Rock to Rock Earth Day Ride, a fundraiser for environmental causes in New Haven, is less than two months away. The snow should be gone by then, and organizers are urging all past and future riders to commit — now! Join a team and start collecting pledges!

FOOD NEWS

We celebrated Pi Day on Friday with a homemade root vegetable pie. It may not look like much, but it was really good. We ate over half for dinner. Pi (and pie) lovers are super excited about next year’s Pi Day. Take one look at this graphic and you will see why.

The recently published book The Meat Racket: The Secret Takeover of America’s Food Business, by Christopher Leonard received quite a bit of press coverage last week, including an op-ed piece by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times. Here is an excerpt from the description of the book on the Amazon site: “The American supermarket seems to represent the best in America: abundance, freedom, choice. But that turns out to be an illusion. The rotisserie chicken, the pepperoni, the cordon bleu, the frozen pot pie, and the bacon virtually all come from four companies…In The Meat Racket, investigative reporter Christopher Leonard delivers the first-ever account of how a handful of companies have seized the nation’s meat supply. He shows how they built a system that puts farmers on the edge of bankruptcy, charges high prices to consumers, and returns the industry to the shape it had in the 1900s before the meat monopolists were broken up… We know that it takes big companies to bring meat to the American table. What The Meat Racket shows is that this industrial system is rigged against all of us. In that sense, Leonard has exposed our heartland’s biggest scandal.”

St. Patrick’s Day is Tomorrow. Yearning to serve some green food to celebrate? Here is a link to Martha Stewart’s 28 Kale Healthy Recipes. 

Special thanks to Dan, Don, Kevin, and Pam for their contributions to this edition of On My Radar. I couldn't do it without you.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

March 19th

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Chipotle, 900 Chapel Street, New Haven

New Haven Green Drinks 

Chris Schweitzer (New Haven/León Sister City Project) and 

Joel Tolman (Common Ground High School) will speak on 

the Rock to Rock Earth Day Ride

Chipotle will donate half of all sales, including Margaritas and beer purchases, between 5 pm and 9 pm to support Rock to Rock.

Meatless Monday: Going Russian

In her blog post last Wednesday my good friend and gardening mentor, Rachel Ziesk, shared this beautiful photo of part of her day’s gorgeous harvest.

Photo by CT Advanced Master Gardener Rachel Ziesk

Stacked up neatly on the far left is a variety of kale known as Red Russian, or Siberian.

Just by coincidence, earlier that same day I had been talked into purchasing a bunch of this variety at the downtown farmer’s market by my usual kale vendor from Waldingfield Farm. 

He promised it was tender enough to “chomp” without cooking, stems and all.

I tried munching a piece as he had suggested but found the stems a bit much, so I cut them short before ripping up the leaves to use with my salad mix. We found the kale to be tender and flavorful, with a mild, sweet taste.

I am so glad to have discovered it. Just like other varieties, Russian Kale stores well in the fridge. A hardy crop, it does best in cool weather and should be available at the market well into the winter. The Seed Ambassadors site states that Russian Kale originated in Russia possibly before 1865, is improved by frost, and is hardy to -10°F. 

Like its kale cousins, Red Russian is packed with vitamins and nutrients.  It is thought to have particular benefits in helping to prevent age-related macular degeneration. 

Most sources suggest that Russian kale is also rich in taste when steamed or stir-fried. 

For tender kale, go Russian! Save stewing for the thicker-stemmed variety.

Happy Monday! 

Have a great week. Eat well. 

I often blog on food, food issues, or gardening on Monday 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.”

Meatless Monday: Kale Day is Almost Here!

National Kale Day is just days away — Wednesday, October 2.

Get your mind off the dysfunction all around you, and celebrate instead!

National Kale Day, observed annually on the first Wednesday in October, “celebrates kale’s incredible health benefits, highlights kale’s culinary versatility, and promotes eating, growing and sharing kale throughout America.” 

You can read about Kale Day’s founders here. Be sure to check out the story of Pittsburgh native Kristen Beddard “the Kale Crusader,” who launched the Kale Project in Paris (yes, Paris, France) in May, 2012. Kristen’s story was recently reported in the New York Times. Kristen is a woman with a mission, “to make kale as common as lettuce.”

Why celebrate kale? 

Here are just a few reasons:

• One cup of raw kale has just 33 calories, yet is packed with all these nutrients.

• It is a cool weather vegetable with a long growing season.
• If you have space for a garden, kale is easy to grow.
• It can be locally sourced when warm weather crops have disappeared from the market.
• It is relatively inexpensive.
• It is “hearty.” When stored in a loose bag in the refrigerator crisper, it can last up to a week. 
• It comes in dozens of colorful varieties.
• As an ingredient, it is very versatile.

Here is one recipe from the many in my Kale Hero tool kit —perfect for a Kale Day party!

  

I discovered kale bout three years ago. I had a few failures as I learned to “deal with kale,” but I have been a huge fan of this superfood ever since. 

This year I became a Kale Hero. You can become one, too.

Join me in celebrating this remarkable food. 

Happy Kale Day! 

Have a great week. Eat well. 

I often blog on food, food issues, or gardening on Monday 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.”