La Vida Locavore is the blog for anyone whose crazy life includes planting, growing, weeding, fertilizing, raising, picking, harvesting, processing, cooking, baking, making, serving, buying, selling, distributing, transporting, composting, organizing around, lobbying about, writing about, thinking about, talking about, playing with, and eating food!
Agriculture
Chair: Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
- Max Baucus (D-MT)
- Michael Bennet (D-CO)
- Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
- Bob Casey (D-PA)
- Kent Conrad (D-ND)
- Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
- Pat Leahy (D-VT)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
- Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- John Cornyn (R-TX)
- Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
- Mike Johanns (R-NE)
- Dick Lugar (R-IN)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Pat Roberts (R-KS)
- John R. Thune (R-SD)
Appropriations
Chair: Daniel Inouye (D-HI) Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: Herb Kohl (D-WI)
- Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
- Dick Durbin (D-IL)
- Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Tim Johnson (D-SD)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Jack Reed (D-RI)
- Robert Bennett (R-UT)
- Christopher Bond (R-MO)
- Sam Brownback (R-KS)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Arlen Specter (R-PA)
Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions
- Chris Dodd (D-CT)
Agriculture
Chair: B Collin Peterson (D-MN)
V. Chair: B Tim Holden (D-PA)
B Joe Baca (D-CA)
- John Boccieri (D-OH)
B* Leonard Boswell (D-IA)
- Bobby Bright (D-AL)
B* Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)
- Travis Childers (D-MS)
B Jim Costa (D-CA)
- Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
- Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA)
B Brad Ellsworth (D-IN)
- Debbie Halvorson (D-IL)
B Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD)
- Steve Kagen (D-WI)
- Larry Kissell (D-NC)
B Frank Kratovil (D-MD)
- Betsy Markey (D-CO)
B Jim Marshall (D-GA)
P Eric Massa (D-NY)
B Mike McIntyre (D-NC)
- Walt Minnick (D-ID)
B Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)
- Mark Schauer (D-MI)
- Kurt Schrader (D-OR)
B David Scott (D-GA)
B Zachary Space (D-OH)
- Timothy Walz (D-MN)
- Frank Lucas (R-OK)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- K. Michael Conaway (R-TX)
- Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)
- Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
- Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
- Sam Graves (R-MO)
- Timothy Johnson (R-IL)
- Steve King (R-IA)
- Robert Latta (R-OH)
- Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)
- Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
- Jerry Moran (R-KS)
- Randy Neugebauer (R-TX)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Mike Rogers (R-AL)
- Jean Schmidt (R-OH)
- Adrian Smith (R-NE)
- Glenn Thompson (R-PA) *=House Organic Caucus member B=Blue Dog Democrat
Appropriations
Chair: Dave Obey (D-WI) Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: P Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
- Sanford Bishop (D-GA)
* Allen Boyd (D-FL)
- Lincoln Davis (D-TN)
*P Sam Farr (D-CA)
*P Maurice D. Hinchey (D-NY)
P Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
P Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
- Jack Kingston (R-GA)
- Rodney Alexander (R-LA)
- Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
* Tom Latham (R-IA) *=House Organic Caucus member
P=Congressional Progressive Caucus
Education and Labor
P Chair: George Miller (D-CA)
- Jason Altmire (D-PA)
- Robert Andrews (D-NJ)
- Timothy Bishop (D-NY)
P Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
- Joe Courtney (D-CT)
- Susan Davis (D-CA)
P Marcia Fudge (D-OH)
P Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
P Phil Hare (D-IL)
- Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX)
P Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
- Rush Holt (D-NJ)
- Dale Kildee (D-MI)
P Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
P Dave Loebsack (D-IA)
- Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
P Donald Payne (D-NJ)
- Jared Polis (D-CO)
- Robert Scott (D-VA)
- Joe Sestak (D-PA)
- Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)
P John Tierney (D-MA)
- Dina Titus (D-NV)
- Paul Tonko (D-NY)
P Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
- David Wu (D-OR)
- Buck McKeon (R-CA)
- Judy Biggert (R-IL)
- Rob Bishop (R-UT)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- Michael Castle (R-DE)
- Vernon Ehlers (R-MI)
- Luis F Fortuno (R-PR)
- Brett Guthrie (R-KY)
- Peter Hoekstra (R-MI)
- Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA)
- John Kline (R-MN)
- Kenny Marchant (R-TX)
- Tom McClintock (R-CA)
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
- Thomas Petri (R-WI)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Todd Russell Platts (R-PA)
- Tom Price (R-GA)
- Mark Souder (R-IN)
- GT Thompson (R-PA)
- Joe Wilson (R-SC) P=Congressional Progressive Caucus
I don't cook hamburgers at home, but every so often I like to make veggie burgers. My recipe doesn't contain eggs, because while I love them, I eat plenty of them in other dishes. I've adapted this dish from Moosewood's Low-Fat Favorites. I prefer them with cannellini (white kidney) beans, but you can also use pinto beans. All quantities are approximate; I don't measure carefully, and this recipe is flexible.
Veggie burgers (suitable for vegans)
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon mustard (I like coarse-ground, but dijon or other smooth kinds work well too)
1 tablespoon tomato paste (or ketchup)
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 medium or two small onions
1 large or two regular cloves garlic
1 carrot, shredded
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
about 3/4 cup rolled oats
In medium bowl, mash beans with potato masher. Add mustard, tomato paste or ketchup, and soy sauce and mash together.
Chop onion and saute in vegetable or olive oil. After a few minutes, add the shredded carrot. When onion and carrot are soft, add cumin, chili powder and pressed garlic cloves. Stir for another two minutes or so, adding a tablespoon or two of water if you need to prevent sticking. Stir sauteed vegetables into bowl with bean mixture. Add rolled oats and mix well. I like to leave this to sit in the refrigerator for a while to let the oats soften.
At dinner time, heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook on both sides for 5-8 minutes.
Share your own favorite burger recipes--vegan, vegetarian or carnivore--in this thread.
What do you like for dinner when winter just dumped more than a foot of snow on your house? My first choice would normally be home-made soup, but we're out of bread, and I just made curried pumpkin soup over the weekend.
Yesterday I baked brownies while the kids were playing in the snow, and I finally tried my friend's trick of stirring a can of black beans, pureed, into the brownie mix (instead of oil, butter, eggs or water). They turned out great, and my kids never suspected a thing. Good way to sneak protein and fiber into a treat.
This thread is for any comfort food recipes or inspiration.
In part one I covered the history of the olive oil and how it's made and now comes the promised recipes. But first, here's a secret: it is incredibly easy to make your own herb or spice flavored olive oil. There is no point buying an expensively decorated bottle of olive oil that has a sprig or two of herb swimming into it. It's more fun to make one's own, and cheaper. Much cheaper.
There are basically two ways of making infused oils: hot and cold. I much prefer to go the cold way for the simple reason that I have burnt oils in the past. Even if you know how to use a thermometer, you might still get it wrong as it is a delicate process. The cold way is dead easy: select your desired herb or spice, add it to the (extra) virgin oil and store in your pantry for two weeks before use.
Just finished reading Michael Pollan's story in today's NYT Magazine. It's about Julia Child and her effect on 1960s home cooking, empowering women to attempt scary-sounding haute cuisine; about Julie and Julia, the new movie; and about the deleterious effects of our recent move out of the kitchen and toward more industrial prepared foods (whether from McD's or from the just-nuke-it freezer section). He's spot-on in his assessment of the Food Network's programming, imho. All in all, well worth the read:
**cross-post from Food & Water Watch's Smorgasbord blog**
Who ever said you have to give up quality of life to eat sustainably? In fact, it’s the opposite—and Food & Water Watch’s partner chef, Chef Rocky, can prove it. Whether you’re just venturing into the world of healthy, sustainable cooking or have been home-canning since before it was cool, our new Edible EcoUnderground site is full of recipes, advice and fun tidbits to help turn your summer meals into fun and delicious experiences.
The Edible EcoUnderground starts off with a 10-week sustainable summer cooking school. Each week, Chef Rocky will pick a fresh, seasonal ingredient and share recipes of his own creation—and then we hope you’ll share your experiences with trying them out! The cooking school is divided into three levels of expertise: “cooking for nourishment” is for those who are curious but not very experienced in the kitchen; “cooking for pleasure” will be fun for intermediate cooks; and “cooking for transcendence” will challenge and satisfy kitchen pros. You’ll also be able to write in to Chef Rocky’s cooking advice column and check out charts and guides to get you started with cooking basics and seasonal ABCs.
Finally, the summer will end up with a contest to Take Chef Rocky Home for a Day! You just have to tell us why you are the best candidate, and, if you’re chosen as the winner, Chef Rocky will come to you and help you plan and throw your own Edible EcoUnderground dinner party! Check here for more info on the contest.
We hope you’ll join us in the Edible EcoUnderground, try out the fun ideas, and let us know what you think! Happy cooking!
I watch the Food Network sometimes while I'm exercising, and in the past two weeks I've seen Giada and the Barefoot Contessa make risotto on their shows. They both insisted that you "have" to put cheese in your risotto, and I think they added cream as well.
To make risotto with no milk or cream, I use a tip from the Moosewood Collective's Low-Fat Favorites cookbook. In a food processor or blender, combine a cup or two of frozen corn kernels with whatever kind of stock you will use to cook the risotto. This creates a creamy consistency, but without being as heavy as risotto with cream. It's good for vegans or anyone cutting back on calories.
I like to stir basil pesto into my risotto right before serving, but you can make that without cheese as well.
For the carnivores in the La Vida Locavore community: on Thursday I cooked a flank steak (local and 100 percent grass-fed) using a recipe from Cynthia Lair's article on grass-fed beef in the March-April 2009 issue of Mothering magazine. It comes from her book Feeding the Whole Family. You use a little of the dressing as a marinade; the rest is supposed to go on a noodle salad, but I saved it to pour over the leftover meat:
It only took a minute to stir together the ingredients, and if you don't eat meat, you could use this dressing for a vegetarian or vegan stir-fry or noodle salad.
My kitchen tonight is a mess! I went a little crazy today on my day off and made almond flour pancakes, homemade granola, guacamole, stir-fried veggies with chickpeas (soaked and cooked THEN added to stir-fry) served with homemade hoisin sauce and brown rice, and iced green tea. Yes I was in the kitchen all day!
Let's start with my favourite granola - loosely based on a recipe in The Garden of Vegan cookbook.
It was an idea I'd been toying with for a few weeks: I have enjoyed Southeast Asian food for decades, and have tried to recreate it at home on occasion. Usually, this would be some sort of stir-fry served over jasmine rice, and sauced according to the culture whose food I was attempting to reproduce: Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai, or whatever.
The La Vida Locavore community gave me good ideas when I posted a diary on favorite food substitutions a few months ago. Now I would like your input on favorite shortcuts in the kitchen.
I'm not talking about picking up take-out or eating a peanut-butter sandwich instead of a hot meal. For the purposes of this thread, I am seeking ideas that save preparation time or cooking time when you are making the meal.
After the jump I've posted my chili recipe, which incorporates three shortcuts. This won't win you a prize at the chili cookoff, but it is tasty and highly adaptable to your own preferences or what you have in your kitchen. I'm all for cooking with what you have rather than slavishly following recipes.
I don't mean to sound like Miss Manners, but my cousin who has invited our family to a Passover seder this week has sent me an "assignment" (her word) of what side dish to bring and told me how to cook the vegetables.
She did the same thing last year. When I offered to bring a side dish, she sent me a specific recipe for a beet salad that I'd never made before. I don't care for one of the ingredients, so I asked if I could bring one of my own favorite beet dishes instead, which worked out fine.
I don't want to create any grief for this cousin, so this year I think I will just make what she's suggesting. Her mother is a caterer, and that's probably why menu planning is important to her. But I think that if friends or relatives ask what they can bring to dinner at your house, you should just give general guidance such as, "A veggie side dish (or salad, or dessert) that goes with chicken would be great." If you need to avoid duplication, you can say something like, "Someone's already bringing a pasta salad, but if you could bring some other kind of salad or side dish, that would be wonderful."
Obviously it's ok to ask people not to bring certain foods if you have vegetarians or food allergies in the mix, but otherwise I believe in letting your guest bring something he or she is comfortable cooking and serving to others.
Please share other do's and don'ts in this thread.
Do you always follow the recipe, and make dishes that look like the picture? Or are you a kitchen improviser? Do you put nutrition and health first, maybe at the sacrifice of taste?
As kids I'm sure most of you were told to eat your greens and your grains. I sure was. Whole grains are a good source of B vitamins, Vitamin-E, magnesium, iron and fiber, as well as a myriad of valuable antioxidants not found in some fruits and vegetables. ~Why whole? All grains are composed of three parts: bran, germ and endosperm. Most of the antioxidants and vitamins are found in the germ and the bran.
However not all grains are created equal: all grains contain complex carbohydrates and various vitamins and minerals, but unrefined (whole) grains such as brown rice, quinoa, and oats are an even better source of fiber, selenium, potassium, and magnesium.
"Eat well on a tight budget" articles are all the rage in this tough economy. I have a few of my own diaries in mind on that topic, but today I felt inspired to write about one of my favorite winter foods.
You don't need to soak wild rice before cooking. Just rinse and add to a pot with approximately 2 parts water (or a little less) to 1 part rice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until some of the grains have split, about 25-40 minutes depending on the type of wild rice. Don't wait until all the grains are split--you'll overcook it. If there is any extra water in the pot, drain the rice before proceeding with your recipe.
After the jump I've posted recipes for my two favorite wild rice dishes.
We all have our favorite herbs. Personally I could not imagine a world without Thyme. Being a son of Provence, one of my earliest childhood memory is running through scented hills covered in wild thyme (something to avoid in spring as I discovered, with bees being very keen on its subtle flowers too!) and collecting huge bundles for my great grandmother who would turn them upside down and allow to dry for a few days in her little wooden outhouse. She would use its dried leaves for a number of preserves (one of her many recipes appears below) and she'd brew her own "tisane" (herbal tea) by adding a sprig of rosemary and a handful of common verbena to a handful of thyme.
The other one I can't live without either is Rosemary. Cross-posted on the Big Orange!
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