I just got back from the annual Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) conference which took place in Des Moines, Iowa, or as some call it, “the belly of the beast.” Iowa grows the majority this country’s food but, strangely, Iowans import 80% of the food that lands on their dinner table.  Doesn’t make sense, right?

This is the crux of what’s happened to our food system – our farmers are super efficient at growing food but can’t use their crops of corn and soy to feed their own families. I’ve been reading about these issue for years – but let me tell you, reading about it and standing in a farmer’s field next to hogs are two entirely different experiences. My field trip entitled, “Farmers Tell It Like It is,” which took us on a tour of Iowa farms, was extremely enlightening.

A chasm has been growing between writers like Michael Pollan and farmers who work in the field. I have to admit that I didn’t quite understand why the farmers are so angry with Michael Pollan. But as I listened to Jerry Peckumn, a farmer, stand in his fields explaining how difficult it would be to shift from large, conventional farming to small, organic farming, I realized how complicated it really is. And this is the interesting part: Jerry is into eco-friendly farming practices – he raises what are essentially free-range, organic cattle. Yet, he has concluded that it just isn’t economically feasible to switch over to a more sustainable way of farming. He said he’d be more likely to try it if he had more data but he couldn’t find it. Currently, our government gives farmers only one real option: grow conventional soy, corn or wheat – or go broke. Check out this video of one of the farmer’s we visited, George Naylor, describe why big farms keep getting bigger. (This picture is from a conventional farm – you can see how huge the equipment is.)

Farmers are SMART. They can do something that most of us can’t: grow enough food to feed others. Second, they have an incredible grasp of food politics and the complicated legislation that goes along with crop subsidies. And third, they have mastered the intricate, ecological connection between land, animals, and water – I had to ask Jerry several times to explain why simply planting prairie grass improved a host of environmental problems.  And this was just in the first 2 hours of the field trip!

I could wax on about all of the issues that farmers are facing right now – but I will let someone with more expertise do that for me. Jill Richardson, who I had the pleasure of meeting while on the Farmer Field trip, writes the blog, La Vida Locavore and covers all of these topics and more. I bought one of her books, Recipe for America: Why Our Food System is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It, right there on the bus. (And please note, that I still think that Michael Pollan’s work is brilliant – it’s important that we see both sides of the issue.)

The best part of the whole day, of course, was being fed a home cooked meal by Chris Henning, one of our lovely tour guides, at the Wilbeck farm, aptly named Farmhouse Life. We sat down to a mouthwatering meal made from local foods: Corn Bread, Beef and Vegetables, Black Beans and Corn Salad, Jack’s Favorite Biscuits, Grandma’s Rye Bread and my all-time favorite dish, Squash Casserole – which was divine.

We then visited a dairy farm, Picket Fence Creamery where Jill Burkhart and her husband sell dairy products and other locally produced food items at their country store. I found it amazing that as her customers walked away with their food, she called out to them by name. What a concept that we have lost in this country: knowing the people who grow and prepare our food by name.

The Burkharts served us each a huge piece of homemade apple pie and their homemade ice cream. (YUM.) Ordinarily, I can’t eat ice cream – it causes me tummy problems. But the Picket Fence Creamery ice cream? I was just fine. This is something that I’m going to continue to investigate: the fact that much of our food intolerances and other health problems may not be linked to the actual food but how it was grown, produced and prepared.

The rest of the conference was incredibly informative and I met some extremely dynamic people who are doing everything that they can to make sure that the food you put on your table is of the highest quality possible.

In the mean time, I will leave you with some wonderful insight from a cookbook I bought at the Burkhart’s country store, Grandma’s Recipes – Recipes from the 20′s, 30′s and 40′s. Here is advice from Grandma Horst and Grandma Hoover:

“There is one important point to remember: Do not feed a child too many cakes and cookies, so that plain foods are slighted.”

You tell it like it is, Grandma!

[THANK YOUS to the Greene County folks who coordinated our tour: Chris Henning, Jerry Peckumn, George Naylor, Chris & Kevin Wilbeck]

I love teaching all kinds of recipes but it always makes me especially happy to share my Sephardic family dishes like I did this past spring at my cooking class at PCC Natural Markets.

“Sephardi” means Spanish in Hebrew. A quick explanation is that Sephardic Jews originally hailed from Spain but were booted out during the Inquisition and moved to different locations all over the world. My maternal great-grandparents’ families landed in Greece and Turkey. The Sephardic culture was so strong, that my great-grandparents still spoke Ladino (a Spanish dialect, our version of Yiddish) hundreds of years later when they ended up in Seattle in the early 1900′s.

Ladino was my Papu’s (my maternal grandpa, born in 1915) first language. Unfortunately, speaking a foreign language was not so cool in those days so he didn’t speak it much unless he wanted to get beat up. So, although I missed out on learning the language of my ancestors, I was raised with lots of terms like “huevos” for eggs and “deseo” for desiring something (usually in reference to food – of course). Sephardic Jews take their food very seriously.

My great-grandmother, Nona, was known for being a fantastic cook and baker. She made borecas and many other Sephardic pastries without following a recipe. According to family lore, she was always in the kitchen preparing something. Since many of the dishes, especially borecas, take a long time to prepare, it was common to make them in groups. It doesn’t happen often these days, but my brother and I try to make them with my mom and his kids whenever we can. It’s a wonderful way for different generations to share an activity together.

Many recipes refer to borecas with a “k” as in “borekas” but for some reason, my Grandma and Papu wrote it as “borecas” on the 1960′s recipe index card that our family still uses today – so that’s why you see me spelling it that way. Serve your borecas with an Israeli salad (diced cucumber and tomatoes), bagels and lox, and some fruit and you have a lovely brunch menu!

Borecas (Potato and Cheese Filled Pastries)

In Sephardic households, borecas are like gold. They take a couple of hours to prepare so whenever someone takes the time to bake them, they disappear quickly. Sephardic families from different areas of the world have their own versions – some use different cheeses, some add spinach in their filling and many use filo dough. This dough is very easy to make but you have to prepare it right before you use it – it does not keep well – and you can’t alter it or double it.

Filling

2 cups russet potatoes, mashed (around 1 pound of raw potatoes)
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon olive oil
3 beaten eggs
2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
½ cup feta (or any other strong-flavored cheese – my aunt likes Kashkaval)

Dough
4 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup canola oil
1 cup water

1 egg for brushing
Garnish: 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Filling: Thoroughly scrub potatoes with vegetable brush and water. Cut in half and add to a large pot. Add enough water so that potatoes are fully submerged. Cover pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium so that a soft boil will continue until potatoes are soft (about 40 minutes). To test softness, poke a fork; they should be soft all the way through. Place potatoes in a strainer and cool.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Peel potatoes (discard skin) and place in a medium bowl.  Mash by hand until smooth. Measure out 2 cups. Add salt, olive oil, eggs, and cheeses. Set aside (or store in refrigerator in sealed container for up to 2 days).

Dough: In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour and salt. Push flour to the side to create a crater in the middle and add canola and water. Thoroughly mix together until moist. Knead gently to combine into a dough consistency.

Rolling: Prepare flat area for rolling borecas. Roll a small amount of dough into a ball (the size of a strawberry) and roll out with a rolling pin, smooth glass or your fingers. Make sure that the dough is thin – otherwise it will get too thick in the oven.

Scoop a small amount of filling into the middle of each dough circle. Fold over into a half-moon shape.

Pinch edges together and press fork on the edge to decorate and ensure full closure.

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or is lightly oiled. Lightly brush each boreca with extra beaten egg. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

Sometimes, I’ll make a bunch of filling and then keep making the dough, one batch at a time, until I run out of filling.

*If you’re worried this looks too hard, note that these pictures were taken in my cooking class where my students were making them for the first time!

Serves 8 to 10
Preparation and baking time: 1½ hours
Recipe adapted from Sephardic Cooking – Sephardic Biker Holim Ladies Auxiliary of Seattle © 1960s (exact year unknown)

Have you ever tried planting lettuce on a farm in the middle of a thunderstorm? Well, neither had I – until last week. This was no ordinary farm either. It sits on top of a large Brooklyn building that’s used for filming movies most of the year – and aptly named, Rooftop Farms.

There have already been some great articles and blog posts about the farm, so I won’t regal you with too many details of their amazing feats but just imagine this: a lush 6,000 square foot organic farm grown in a just a few short months – it all started by using a crane to haul the correct amount of soil so that it wouldn’t weigh too much for the roof. How’s that for innovative? I’m excited if I can get a few tomatoes to grow in a pot! My lack of gardening knowledge is something I hope to rectify very soon – but I’d always assumed that I’d have to live somewhere like Seattle to grow food. I was wrong. Rooftop Farms offers volunteering opportunities and classes so that children and adults living in an urban setting can plant, pick, and eat fresh, local produce. Rooftop Farms grows lettuce, kale, eggplant, beans, tomatoes and more – which you can buy on Sundays between 9am-4pm. If you can’t make it on Sunday, you can taste their succulent goods at several nearby restaurants.

Who is behind this progressive endeavor? Annie Novak, farmer and Ben Flanner, business-man-turned farmer. Annie has a very impressive resume (she has farmed in a half a dozen countries including growing chocolate in Africa). She loves sharing her incredible knowledge and hopes that she can inspire others to find ways to grow food in alternative settings. Both her and Ben work very hard to make the farm accessible to everyone – especially kids. She also holds classes and workshops for kids through Growing Chefs and at The New York Botanical Garden.

I had the pleasure of coordinating a field trip to the farm last week for my students (HealthCorps coordinators). The plan was for us to farm for a couple of hours and then walk over to a wonderful new restaurant, Anella – where Annie and Ben arranged to have the produce we picked for our dinner. The weather, however, did not cooperate – a major thunderstorm hit that day. We all braved the rain to plant lettuce, stake tomato plants, and have a tour of the farm. I could have stayed there all day, even in my drenched clothes – maybe for the same reason I love cooking – there is something so fulfilling about working with food…especially when it means digging in the dirt.

We then shuffled over to the restaurant, Anella for what ended up being a VERY memorable meal of roasted beets with fresh herbs, pesto pasta with tomatoes, sautéed chard, truffled white pizza pie (yes, it was as good as it is sounds!),  bruschetta smothered in goat cheese and drizzled with a balsamic reduction – I have to stop now or I will put myself in a food coma just thinking about it. Let’s just say the meal was DIVINE.

The best part, for me, was witnessing the astounded looks of discovery and pleasure on my students’ faces. I’d spent a full month waxing on to them about how we should eat as many whole foods as possible – and that if we consume deliciously prepared meals made with “real” ingredients, we will feel so nourished and satisfied that we won’t crave junk food. Our lovely meal was the perfect ending to their training -  hearing me say the same thing over and over again was no where near as powerful as TASTING it.

The next day, I was thrilled to hear my students say, “After that dinner, I just felt so happy all evening” and “I was full but not stuffed and felt so satisfied” and my favorite, “I had no idea I could enjoy a vegetarian meal and feel full from it.” As an educator, my goal is to help my students make connections. I think (and hope) that my main message was made clear that evening: Pollan’s sage advice – eat real foods, mostly plants, and not too much. Okay, so, none of us did so well on the last one but I told them that if we were to eat those kind of meals ALL of the time (like many Europeans), we wouldn’t gorge on it! Instead, we’d eat small amounts and feel full and most importantly – feel happy.

For a new recipe for all of your summer vegetables, check out: Farmer’s Market Ragout (see blog post below).

For more information about urban farms, visit Rooftop Farms, Growing Chefs and Will Allen’s extraordinary successes as a city farmer.

I admit it. I’ve been a little distracted since arriving in New York a few weeks ago to teach for HealthCorps. Not only have I been busy teaching and developing curricula for my wonderful students, (HealthCorps Coordinators that will be teaching nutrition and health education to high school kids next year), I’ve also been enjoying New York City (FOOD) and seeing old friends. It hasn’t left me much time to write here or anywhere else!

But I’ve been inspired this week – I was lucky enough to hear both Dr. Oz and Dr. David Katz speak and I also brought in a wonderful presenter, both friend and brilliant pediatric neurologist, Dr. Maya Shetreat-Klein. She uses nutrition and a holistic approach to improve behavioral and cognitive function in children based on medical studies – she is doing amazing work, as are Dr. Oz and Dr. Katz.

It was so encouraging to hear three medical doctors promote such cutting-edge nutrition information and theories. After years of studying at a naturopathic school (Bastyr University) and teaching about the healing power of food, it’s gratifying to see that alternative medicine is finally going mainstream. (I was so excited to see a recent article in TIME magazine promoting prevention of disease but upon reading it, I was dismayed to discover a continuous reference to vaccinations  – which is strange because vaccinations don’t prevent heart disease, cancer, and diabetes which is what’s causing most of our health problems…). Clearly, we still have a long way to go – all three doctors admit that it’s often hard for them to convince their colleagues that there is better path than drugs and surgeries – but, fortunately, that hasn’t stopped any of them from doing everything they can to improve the health of our children.

And these doctors aren’t just talking – they are taking action. Both Dr. Katz and Dr. Shetreat-Klein work on clinical studies to prove the connection between nutrition/nutrition education and health. And while Washington D.C. is scrambling to create policy and legislation to help staunch the worsening childhood obesity epidemic, Dr. Oz and Dr. Katz have been developing pragmatic programs within the school system to help hundreds of children and teens learn more about nutrition and fitness.

Dr. Oz has been focusing on educating high school students for the last 4 years through HealthCorps and is now in 50 schools throughout 9 states. Dr. Katz and his wife, Catherine have been working hard to bring nutrition education to elementary school kids by developing innovative and effective programs called Nutrition Detectives (the kids learn how to read food labels) and ABC Fitness (Activity Bursts in the Classroom). And the best part about these two programs? They generously offer the entire curriculum and DVD free of charge on Dr. Katz’s website!

Just like I wrote about in my You Have the Power to Change the Food System post, Dr. Katz and Catherine Katz believe that we all have an opportunity to make a difference – they refer to it as “sandbags” against a flood. If each of us picks up just one sandbag, we have a chance at improving the health of this generation of children. So, if you have children, know people with children or work in education, order these wonderful resources at Dr. Katz’s website and give them to parents you know and your local elementary school staff. And if you know any recent college grads looking for rewarding work, have them look into becoming a HealthCorps Coordinator.

This is also a great time of year to get involved in a School Wellness program at your local school – many educators feel overwhelmed with too much work, so people from the community who are willing to step in and help promote nutrition education and fitness to kids is very needed. Are you a yoga instructor? A personal trainer? A homecook? A gardener? Help pick up a sandbag by calling your local school and seeing how you can help teach kids a new skill that will keep them healthy and fit for life.

And for those of you who are interested in learning more about food labeling, Dr. Katz has created a new and inventive nutritional scoring system to be placed on food packages so that busy consumers can quickly figure out if it’s a healthful, nutrient-dense product that’s worth their hard-earned money. It’s called NuVal – it’s already in 18 states and expanding throughout the country. Check it out at www.nuval.com.

Have a fantastic weekend!

P.s. I promise recipes next post!

I apologize for not posting lately. I’ve been preparing for a consulting job in New York City where I landed a few days ago. I am working for a wonderful organization, HealthCorps, founded by Dr. Oz. HealthCorps sends recent college grads (called “coordinators”) into low-income area high schools around the country for the school year to teach fitness, health and nutrition education. In order to be prepared to teach all year long, the coordinators attend a summer training – which is where I fit in. Starting on Monday, I will be teaching them nutrition and how to teach nutrition to kids – it’s a dream job and I’m looking forward to meeting my students on Sunday!

Hopefully, I will have time post about my adventures in New York – I’m happy to be back here and enjoying every minute of it so far….

To Dad:

Thanks for making the best scrambled eggs with cheese ever. Thanks for trying to convince me that yams tasted like candy even though, at 4 years old, I already knew better. Thanks for buying huge vats of blueberries and strawberries from the local farmer every summer. Thanks for making me eat our homemade raspberry jam from 1975-1988 even though I desperately wanted Welch’s jelly instead. Thanks for giving me the Salad Loving gene. Thanks for always liking whatever meal I made for you – even if it didn’t always turn out, well…edible. Thanks for always washing the dishes and cleaning up afterward. Thanks for being such an awesome dad.  I appreciate everything you do for me. Love you and Happy Father’s Day!

For the past few years, it’s been easy to find expensive, cool gadgets to buy dad for Father’s Day. This year, give the gift of spending time with dad in the outdoors. All you need is some great food, a frisbee and an afternoon.

Planning for a picnic is easier than it looks – the key is to prepare finger foods that store and travel well. I recommend making a few gourmet sandwiches in wraps for easy handling or take advantage of crusty, sourdough bread from your local bakery. For “easy-to-eat without utensils” side dishes, prepare Insalata Caprese Skewers, a White Bean Dip and some chocolate chip cookies and you are good to go.

Try combining ingredients of your favorite meal into a sandwich – like  Roasted Turkey with Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade, Grilled Chicken with Corn and Avocado Salsa, Roast Beef with Horseradish Dressing, Seared Ahi Tuna with a Wasabi Aioli and Picked Cucumbers, or Sautéed Vegetables and Mozzarella with Walnut-Almond Pesto. For more gourmet sandwich ideas, check out Top Chef host, Tom Colicchio’s new book, ‘wichcraft: Craft a Sandwich into a Meal–And a Meal into a Sandwich.

Remember to store your food properly in a sealed cooler on ice. Wrap each sandwich well in saran wrap and then in a ziploc and place on the top of the rest of the food in the cooler to ensure that it doesn’t get wet.

To prepare Insalata Caprese Skewers, buy bamboo skewers (found at most grocery stores) and thread bocconcini (bite-sized mozzarella balls), a basil leaf, and a grape tomato – repeat this until skewer is full. Prepare at least one skewer per person and lay in a long, flat tupperware. Drizzle with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with salt and pepper. It will take only 10 minutes to prepare and is a cinch to serve. Enjoy!

Roasted Garlic White Bean Dip

1 head garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans (or any white beans), rinsed, drained
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
1-2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon of kosher or sea salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
5 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
Garnish with extra cilantro

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Slice the root end of the head of garlic so that the cloves are exposed and drizzle with oil. Wrap in foil and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the garlic is very tender. Remove garlic from the oven and allow to cool. You can squeeze out cloves by squeezing cloves or scoop each clove out with a small spoon or knife. Transfer the roasted garlic to a small bowl.

In a food processor, purée beans and lemon juice. Add oil, cumin, lemon zest and roasted garlic cloves. Season with salt and pepper. Add 3 or more tablespoons of cilantro (depending on taste) and pulse briefly into mixture. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Transfer to large bowl and serve or prepare 2-3 days in advance and store in sealed container in the refrigerator.

Preparation time: 20 minutes (plus roasting time)
Serves 6-8
Recipe by Julie Negrin © 2006

Crispy Pita Chips

2 pitas, preferably whole wheat
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt or sea salt
Optional: dried herbs like oregano, basil, parsley

Preheat oven to 350° F. Slice each pita into eight triangles and pull apart so that each pita yields 16 pieces. Lay each piece flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. Brush each one liberally with oil and then sprinkle with herbs and salt. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until crispy and brown. Serve immediately or store at room temperature in a ziploc bag.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Yields 16 chips
Recipe by Julie Negrin © 2008

And if you haven’t bought a present yet and would like to buy food-related gifts for your dad, check out these grilling cookbooks and Williams-Sonoma kitchen tools.

Happy Father’s Day!