There are many things that make a meal saintly. It's really about eating thoughtfully. These are some of the things I think about when choosing the food I eat.
Locale: Close calories conserve fossil fuels, boost the local economy, and support local farmers and/or fishermen. The food is fresher, more nutritious, and tastier. Small family farms often use less pesticides, take better care of their land as well as their livestock, and have healthier work conditions for people too. Food security, diversity, soil health, heirloom seeds/breeds, and environmental health are also much more likely to be valued on these farms and by the local markets that sell their products.
Cruelty Free: Ingesting misery isn't good for anyone. Work conditions and wages should be healthy for humans and animals. Livestock deserve a clean, happy life and a quick end.
Poison Free: Pesticides are really bad for workers, consumers, and the whole world we live in.
Sustainability: Farming and fishery practices should be mindful and responsible for not only the long term health and sustainability of their harvest but also how they impact their environment and the planet at large.
Today's Sunday lunch, inspired by recipes from Amy Chaplin's Whole Food Cooking Everyday and Asha Gomez's My Two Souths was pretty saintly.
Sweet potatoes from
Uncle Don's Local Market and greens from
Potlikker Farm were the starting points for this meal.
Patrick's recipe search lead to sweet potato bhajia on page 130 of My Two Souths and green tahini sauce on page 247 of Whole Food Cooking Everyday.
Our adaptation of both these recipes.....
sweet potato and kohlrabi bhajia
3/4 cup lentil flour (grind dry lentils in a coffee grinder)
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 chili powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 pound sweet potato grated
1/2 pound kohlrabi chopped
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil plus more for frying
In a large bowl combine lentil flour and spices. Using your hands, toss sweet potato and kohlrabi with a tablespoon of oil. Then combine with lentil flour and spice mixture. Gradually add about 4 tablespoons of water to make everything stick together.
In a large cast iron skillet heat 1 inch of oil. Form small sweet potato patties with your hands and fry about 2 minutes on each side or until deep golden brown. Drain on lined cookie sheet. Serve warm with green herb sauce (recipe below).
Blend the following in a food processor until smooth.
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 cup fresh parsley
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt to taste
just enough water to make a thick liquid
But the green doesn't stop there! This pak choi salad was so good I could have eaten the whole bowl myself but I didn't. I shared.
pak choi and ramen salad
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 package ramen noodles broken into pieces (season packet omitted)
Melt butter in a cast iron skillet. Add ramen a cook until browned. Set aside.
3-4 cups chopped pak choi
1/4 large sweet onion
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
Toss together last 4 ingredients and top with browned ramen.
Saintly bonus points: Use local pottery and table linens.
Eat saintly and have a great week!
