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Thursday, September 22, 2011

summer is really over! salad


I love my food policy class. It's small, the other students are knowledgeable and smart, and the pile of assigned reading is pleasurable to dig into, not a chore. This week, we're covering the locavore movement and the transportation cost of food, a topic much more controversial in scope than I had realized. Marion Nestle, a leading food policy advocate and nutritionist writes that her preferred buying philosophy when food shopping looks like this:

local + organic > local > organic > conventional + local > conventional

Buying local and organic is easy if you can journey to the farmer's market or food co-op for every one of your food purchases. I can't. But, I did buy beets and corn from my very tiny farmer's market...about three weeks ago. Because seasonal eating is tied to eating local, I had to finally use those ears of corn and what better time than after getting two rude awakenings: school started and it's getting cold!

Here's a simple salad to bid farewell to summer, summer produce, and sun!

2 ears sweet corn corn, husked & de-kerneled
1 large beefsteak tomato
2 cups spinach, chopped
1 cup quinoa
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
1jalapeno, diced
handful fresh chives, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
juice of one lime
to add: black beans, sauteed tofu, quinoa/wheatberries

Easy: Toss all ingredients aside from olive oil and lime juice, which serve as a simple dressing. To de-kernel the corn cobs, I like to hold cut off the ends of the cobs, giving me a resting place on a cutting board to slice downward with a knife, "shaving" the kernels off. Whisk lime juice and olive oil, dress. Salt and pepper to taste. Add in beans or tofu for protein and serve over grains.