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Find Out How We Are Squandering Our Fish Stocks

Did you know that we feed 10lbs of one very nutritious fish to another species of less nutritious fish in order to get 1lb of the latter back as food?

Are we collectively insane, or what?

via Cooking Up a Story by Cooking Up A Story on 16/04/10

Sustainable, abundant, inexpensive, and healthy to eat

Update: April 16, 2010

I recently read the New York Times article, In Maine, Last Sardine Cannery in the U.S. Is Clattering Out about the sardine processing plant that was to close it’s doors, and can it’s last sardine. It’s final day was to be this Sunday, April 18th. Fortunately an undisclosed entity recently made an offer on the facility, great news for the community and the longtime employees of the Stinson Plant in Prospect Harbor, though they have stated they will no longer will be processing sardines.

No reprieve for the canned sardine, but what about fresh sardines? Since sardines are especially healthy to eat, are in large natural abundance, and can be fished sustainably – I wanted to find out more why they weren’t readily available for purchase. I understand the Pacific sardine populations have returned, and in California it is one of the top landed fish for the commercial fishing industry (the other being squid, aka calamari). But I can’t find sardines at my local grocery store, nor at my local farmers market. A nearby seafood market carries them on occasion, but only when they are available from the California fishery.

I spoke with Mike Sutton, Vice President of the Monterey Bay Aquarium., and when I asked about the lack of sources to purchase sardines, he said, “The secret that nobody seems to recognize is that the fishery, which was depleted back in those days has fully recovered, sardines are back, and we’re still fishing the heck out of them, but we don’t eat them anymore. Instead, most of the sardines that we fish today go for livestock feed, or tuna. Increasingly the sardines goes for aquaculture feeds.

“But Americans have stopped eating sardines, and it’s one of the tragedies of seafood today, really, because sardines are among the best possible seafoods for human consumption. Not only are they good for the environment because they are low on the food chain, they’re abundant, but they’re also good for you, good for us! They’re high in Omega 3’s, they’re not contaminated unlike tuna, swordfish, et al. Pregnant women can eat sardines until the cows come home.”

Sutton continued, “we have a new Super Green list on our Seafood Watch program. We’ve always had the Green, Red, and Yellow list; but super Green means good for the environment and good for you. Healthy and environmentally friendly choice. And sardines are at the top of that list.”

He also mentioned the Sardinistas – an underground guerrilla movement to “return the Pacific sardine to the American palette.” A big task for such a small group: himself, a businessman, a fisherman, and a filmmaker. But they are determined. “Like any guerrilla movement it’s an uphill battle. And that’s because most people do not like sardines. [why is that?] I think it’s because they taste fishy. People now, when they think of sardines, they think of a tin of sardines in oil. They don’t smell good, they don’t taste good, people have just gotten used to not liking sardines. We need the mass market to be interested in sardines the way it’s interested in canned tuna. And that’s a long haul.”

In an earlier time, Sutton related, Americans consumed fresh sardines; they were one of the principle foods fed to our World War 1 soldiers. Maybe it’s time to re-enlist the sardine back into the American culinary diet.

From a talk at the recent Cooking For Solutions conference, Dr. Geoff Shester, the Senior Science Manager, Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative describes a sustainably managed fish, high in protein and healthy nutrients, abundant, inexpensive to produce, that could feed a large number of people, affordably. So, what’s the problem?

See related videos: Seafood Watch A program of the Monterey Bay Aquarium began about 10 years ago to help raise consumer awareness and promote business practices to protect the ocean’s fish populations from overfishing, pollution, and native habitat destruction. State of the Oceans Health: In Crisis Alison Barratt, from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program discusses the health of the oceans in relation to native fish populations, and the decline of their ecosystems.

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With Meat or Without

This is a neat hot-pot recipe for vegetarians that could also work for meat eaters with just a little adjustment. Simply brown some lamb chops or cutlets in a little oil and use them as the first layer in your baking dish. Everything else stays exactly as in the recipe.

via vegan-food.net on 8/04/10

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

    • 1 x 395 g / 14 oz can chopped tomatoes
    • 1 cup chopped walnuts
    • 1 T oregano
    • Salt and pepper
    • 4 large potatoes, peeled, cut into 7 mm / 1/4 inch slices, parboiled (once boiling, allow to simmer furiously for eight minutes and then drain immediately)
    • 2 green peppers sliced
    • 2 onions, sliced
    • 2 T olive oil

    METHOD:
    Mix tomatoes, walnuts and oregano. Season with salt and pepper. In a baking dish, put in a layer of potatoes, then peppers, then onions, then some of the tomato mixture. End up with potatoes again. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for an hour and a half at 180C/350F, taking the foil off for the last half an hour.

Good News on Sucralose

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener widely used in commercial food production, including baked products. It often appears on the label as additive E955.

For some time there has been concern with regard to its safety for human consumption, thanks to some negative results when it was tested on lab animals. Now human tests appear to show that it is a safe food, which is good news for those wishing to avoid excess sugar in their diets.


Consumption of sucralose and sucralose-sweetened products does not affect gut hormones linked to hunger, or detrimentally affect blood sugar levels, says a new study from Australia.

Vegan three layer cake

Although this cake looks a little complex, in fact the whole thing can be prepared in a food mixer, taking care to keep the layers separate. It uses tofu, which is a cheap spun protein, to give body to one of the layers, so now is your chance to find out how to use it in an elegant, healthy and tasty way.

via vegan-food.net on 30/03/10

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

      First Layer

  • 1 cup unbleached flour
  • 1/2 cup granulated sweetener
  • 2 T oil
  • 1 1/2 T orange zest
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

    Second Layer

  • 450 g / 1 lb tofu
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup granulated sweetener
  • 2 T cornstarch
  • 1 T vanilla
  • 1/2 t salt

    Third Layer

  • 2 cups unbleached flour
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 2 t baking powder
  • 1/2 t baking soda
  • 1/2 t cinnamon
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1/8 t nutmeg
  • 1 1/2 cups soy milk
  • 1 cup granulated sweetener
  • 2 T oil
  • 4 T orange juice

    • METHOD:
    Preheat oven to 180C/350F.

    For the first layer, combine the flour, sweetener, oil, orange zest and salt in a food processor until blended. Add the walnuts and process until chopped. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a bundt pan.

    For the second layer, blend the ingredients for the second layer together in a food processor or blender until smooth and creamy. Pour and spread on top of the first layer.

    For the third layer, mix together the flour, walnuts, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Beat together the soy milk, sweetener, oil and orange juice, add the dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Pour and spread this mixture over the second layer, being careful not to stir the second and third layers together.

    Bake for 40-45 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes, then loosen the edges and turn out onto a rack to cool.

Are you a junky?

The results of these recent studies may come as no surprise to you if you are a junk food avoidee. On the other hand, you may be surprised to learn that you are, in fact and not just in description, a addict in the true sense of the word.


Too much fatty food raises the threshold for feelings of satisfaction, just like addictive drugs, sparking a cycle of compulsive overeating

Asparagus laid bare

Ever wondered why fresh asparagus has that distinctive after smell, or seems to taint your wine? Here's one answer.


The same natural chemistry that makes asparagus so notoriously hard to pair with wines also gives it a fresh grassy flavor that makes it an excellent match for so many foods.

The "New" Local Store

Even if you don't live in Portland - or the USA itself for that matter - the chances are a farmer's market is on its way to you. They are growing rapidly in Australia, for example. This is no protest movement, this is real people demanding real produce from real farmers at realistic prices. And for the farmers it's a new lease on life, unshackled from the giant supermarkets' price squeezes.

Am I alone in finding it extraordinary that here we are in 2010 winding back the clock a hundred years or more? If you have the facility and if you can afford it, support these markets. The food is on the whole fresher, the produce often tastes a whole lot better and you are helping to maintain your community.

via Cooking Up a Story by Cooking Up A Story on 22/03/10

Opening day at the Portland Farmers Market brings thousands of visitors, and customers looking for fresh, local food, drink, music, and just plain fun. But how do the farmers feel about the market, especially the first early morning of the year when they are unloading, and readying their products for sale, and gearing up for their first day of business (and social interactions) at the public market?

Opening Day, Vendors Setting Up, Portland's Farmers Market, March 20, 2010

CUpS showed up in the early morning while the farmers were setting up, and they were gracious enough to answer a few of our questions. I have to say, this is certainly a pleasurable way to spend a few hours, and also meet with a friend, Tara Austen Weaver, author of the new book, The Butcher and the Vegetarian: One Woman’s Romp Through a World of Men, Meat, and Moral Crisis who we also interviewed for an upcoming Food News show.

You may want to check if the farmers market has opened up in your area. What a great way to welcome in the Spring season!

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Main Meal or Side Dish

This vegan/vegetarian dish is a snip to make and delicious to eat. It would be especially good, I think, on a cold winter's day. But it's also incredibly versatile. For example, meat eaters could also add spicy sausage, chicken or even pork for a wonderful stew. You can also serve it as a side dish and accompaniment to any roast. I know that's not the idea with vegan dishes, but I'm not on a crusade here. Eat what you want, in my view, but make it healthy and nutritious. This meal is both.

via vegan-food.net on 26/03/10

Daily Random Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

    • 1 T oil
    • 2 cups chopped leeks (white part only)
    • 2 cups raw sweet potatotes, cubed
    • 2 tomatoes, peeled & chopped
    • 1 T herbes de provence
    • 1/2 cup dry white wine
    • 2 T tomato paste
    • 2 t cinnamon
    • 1 1/2 cups lentils
    • 3 cups vegetable broth
    • Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper

    METHOD:
    Preheat oven to 400F/205C. In a large heavy oven proof casserole, heat the oil. Saute the leeks, sweet potatotes, tomatoes and herbs for 5 minutes.

    Stir in wine, tomato paste, cinnamon, lentils, seasoning and broth. Cover & bake 90 minutes.

    Yield: 4 servings.