NO MEAT MONDAYS

mdablog002, originally uploaded by thompswl.

I am not a vegetarian, but I have been looking for ways to reduce my environmental impact. Usually this is reduced to turning off lights and recycling but after reading a letter from Paul McCartney on Goop I thought I would pass this idea along. Everyone should be able to give up meat for 1 day, especially when a recipe like this one from Mr Chow is included. The first time I went to New York City with my parents we went to Mr Chow uptown, I still remember that incredible trip and these amazing lettuce wraps. I've been back since that trip (I lived in NYC for 3 years) and ordered these lettuce wraps every time I was every lucky enough to dine there. Enjoy the recipe and the informative letter from Mr. McCartney.


Ok, here’s the story on Meat Free Monday. In 2006, the United Nations issued a report which stated that the livestock industry as a whole was responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the whole of the transport sector put together. I found this interesting particularly because people at the UN are not a vegetarian society and therefore, could not be accused of bias. They pointed out the following facts:

The Livestock industry produces gases that are extremely dangerous for the future of our environment.

The two main gases, methane and nitrous oxide, are considered to be more harmful than CO2 (methane is 21 times more powerful than CO2 and nitrous oxide is 310 times more powerful than CO2) so the data suggests that this is causing a highly dangerous situation for ourselves and, more importantly, for future generations.

Methane also remains in the atmosphere for 9 to 15 years; nitrous oxide remains in the atmosphere for 114 years, on average, and is 296 times more potent than CO2 - the gases released today will continue to be active in degrading the climate decades from now.
Livestock production is land intensive: a recent report by Greenpeace on land use in the largest meat producing state in Brazil found that livestock (cattle) production was responsible for vastly more deforestation than soya.

A third of all cereal crops, and well over 90% of soya, goes into animal feed, not food for humans. Eating less meat will free up a lot of agricultural land which can revert to growing trees and other vegetation, which, in turn, will absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Livestock production is water intensive: it accounts for around 8% of global human water use. The estimated 634 gallons of fresh water required to produce one 5.2 ounce (150g) beef burger would be enough for a four-hour shower. For comparison, the same quantity of tofu requires 143 gallons of water to produce.

Livestock production is the largest source of water pollutants, principally animal wastes, antibiotics, hormones, chemicals from tanneries, fertilizers and pesticides used for feed crops, and sediments from eroded pastures.

The meat industry is set to double its production by 2050 so even if they manage to lower emissions by 50%, as they have promised to, we will still be in the same position.

Vegetarian ‘Squab’ with Lettuce

Serves 4 - 6
75 grams zucchini
75 grams bamboo shoots
4 Dried Shitake Mushrooms (reconstituted in water for 20 minutes )
2 spring onions
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch dried red chilli peppers
1 tablespoon Chinese wine
½ teaspoon white pepper
½ teaspoon sesame seed oil
3 - 4 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Iceberg lettuce
Plum sauce to serve

Finely dice the zucchini, bamboo shoots, spring onions and shitake mushrooms. Heat the oil in a wok to a medium heat. Add all the vegetables and stir fry until cooked ‘al dente’ Add the salt, white pepper, chilli peppers, Chinese wine and Sesame seed oil to finish. Reduce without overcooking the vegetables. If there is still too much liquid, drain before serving. Trim the individual iceberg lettuce leaves to 10 – 11 cm diameter, dry and serve cold and crispy. Place a little plum sauce in the lettuce cup, add a spoonful of the vegetable mixture, and roll up into a parcel.

*Also don't you just love this photo taken from the window of the Hotel on Rivington (in my old neck of the woods) I found it on the blog "our labor of love"

A TART FOR MARIAH

Summer 09', originally uploaded by thompswl.

My friend Mariah just bought her first tart pan and was asking for a good recipe, I think this one by Ina Garten is the best. It's pretty straight forward and doesn't take too long. I like to make the shell ahead of time as that can sometimes be stressful (i.e. cracked tart shells, tart shells that collapse and in general do not turn out quite right) Hoping the pictures from last summer bring some warm weather to Charleston. Fingers crossed!

Ingredients
For the tart shell:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch salt

For the lemon curd:
4 lemons, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the tart shell:
Directions
Mix the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Press the dough into a 10-inch-round or 9-inch-square false-bottom tart pan, making sure that the finished edge is flat. Chill until firm.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter 1 side of a square of aluminum foil to fit inside the chilled tart and place it, buttered side down, on the pastry. Fill with beans or rice. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and beans, prick the tart all over with the tines of a fork, and bake again for 20 to 25 minutes more, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool to room temperature.

For the lemon curd:
Remove the zest of the lemons with a vegetable peeler or zester, being careful to avoid the white pith. Squeeze the lemons to make 1/2 cup of juice and set the juice aside. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the sugar and process for 2 to 3 minutes, until the zest is very finely minced. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugar and lemon zest. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Mix until combined.

Pour the mixture into a 2-quart saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 10 minutes. The lemon curd will thicken at about 175 degrees F, or just below a simmer. Remove from the heat.

Fill the tart shell with warm lemon curd and allow to set at room temperature.

AUTISM UPDATE

DSC00392, originally uploaded by thompswl.

A picture of the kids I taught for 3 years in NYC (I miss them so much!) and a great article from the New York Times.

Retracting a Medical Journal’s Autism Study
By TARA PARKER-POPE

Last week, the highly regarded medical journal, The Lancet, retracted a much debated 1998 study that had linked the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to autism.

The study was retracted after concerns about ethical breaches by one of the study authors. In addition, 10 of the 13 co-authors have disavowed the study’s conclusions. ”We fully retract this paper from the published record,” The Lancet editors said in a statement.

But the damage has been done. The paper has fueled fears about the risks of childhood vaccinations and autism, particularly the M.M.R. vaccine, despite numerous studies showing no link.

This week, National Public Radio’s “On the Media” explored the role the media played in inflaming fears about vaccines and autism, asking how “bad science” made its way into The Lancet and the “collective psyche.” Dr. Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, responded:

This was a system failure. We failed. I think the media failed. I think government failed. I think the scientific community failed, and we all have to very critically examine what part we played in this. I think the media certainly did sustain the story over a decade. It became a political story with “Did Tony Blair have his son vaccinated with M.M.R. or not?” Suddenly a huge media furor around that. … I think we all have to look very carefully at ourselves and say, “We really messed up here.”
Dr. Horton also discussed how the episode has changed The Lancet’s policies as well as the potential for open scientific debate.

We used to think that we could publish speculative research which advanced interesting new ideas which may be wrong, but which were important to provoke debate and discussion. We don’t think that now. We don’t seem able to have a rational conversation in the public space about difficult controversial issues without people drawing a conclusion which could be very averse. … The 19th-century days where you could sit in the salon at the Royal Society and have a private conversation amongst your fellows just doesn’t exist anymore. So I think yeah, too much information in this particular case is a bad thing, which seems to go against every kind of democratic principle that we believe in. But in the case of science, it seems to be true.
He also commented on whether the retraction even matters at this point, and whether it’s too late to make a difference in the debate about vaccines.

I certainly hope that our retraction today will help to reassure parents that there really isn’t anything to be concerned about with the vaccine. I think there’s a history over many hundreds of years of anti-vaccine movements. We are going to see many, many more vaccines available to the general public, and we all have to be very vigilant about making sure that we build trust and confidence in these vaccines which are going to transform the landscape of health over the next generation.

RUSTIC APPLE TART

Rustic Apple Tart, originally uploaded by thompswl.

Adapted from Jacques Pépin's recipe featured in Food and Wine and Pomi's Pizza in Cincinnati, OH.

This is a great pie crust but you can just as easily use a pre-made dough. The original Food and Wine recipe was a pretty basic rustic tart, good but nothing too over the top. By taking a page from the awarding winning "Apple Pizza" at Pomi's in Cincinnati I added some ricotta and a streusel topping and made something pretty spectacular. Hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I did. The whole thing takes about 15 minutes to assemble if you have the dough pre-made. You can make it ahead of time and just re-heat it before serving.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
4 large Golden Delicious apples—peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 tablespoons melted and strained apricot preserves
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons instant oatmeal
2 tablespoons of butter (softened)
pinch of cinnamon
4 tablespoons Ricotta
1 egg (white only)
sprinkling of turbino sugar (raw sugar)

Directions
In a food processor, pulse 1 1/2 cups of the flour with the salt. Add the cold butter and process just until the butter is the size of peas, about 5 seconds. Sprinkle the ice water over the mixture and process just until moistened, about 5 seconds. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead 2 or 3 times, just until it comes together. Pat the dough into a disk. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 16- to 17-inch round about 1/4 inch thick.
Line a large unrimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough around the rolling pin and unroll it onto the prepared baking sheet.

After placing the dough on a baking sheet generously spread Apricot preserves over the dough. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl. Toss the apples in the mixture, then arrange the apple slices on top in overlapping concentric circles to within 3 inches of the edge. Fold the dough over the apples in a free-form fashion. In a new bowl mix the brown sugar, butter and oatmeal until it forms a streusel. Crumble this mixture over the top of the tart, then top with ricotta. Make an egg wash with the egg white and brush the edges of the tart. Finally sprinkle some turbino sugar over the edges and you're ready to put it in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Bake the tart in the center of the oven for 1 hour, or until the apples are tender and golden and the crust is deep golden and cooked through. Slide the parchment onto a wire rack and let the tart cool slightly before serving.

Make Ahead
The baked tart can be stored overnight at room temperature. Reheat in a 325° oven before serving.

I WOULD RATHER BE...

Library, originally uploaded by thompswl.

Here, curled up in that delightful antique chair reading The Beautiful and the Damned with a warm blanket and some green tea instead of at home studying for my business associations quiz tomorrow morning.