iEat Green - Diego Gerena-Quinones, Cargo Bike Solutions

Diego Gerena-Quiñones, is the founder of Cargo Bike Solutions Inc - CBS is all about building up the profile of medium-heavy weight, rapid and sustainable urban logistics on bikes. CBS naturally grew out of 7 years of bicycle courier experience here in New York City both in the street and in operations. As bicycle delivery work has grown exponentially over the last 10 years through the use of on demand delivery applications, there are still very few companies meeting the needs of high volume transportation on bikes, often still relying on cars. That’s where cargo bikes come in - with a 400 lb capacity, Diego's small but growing fleet of bikes can transport high volumes of goods with out emissions, cutting right through traffic and never worrying about parking tickets. 

 

In 2017, Diego met Hannah Dehradunwala, co-founder and CEO of Transfernation Inc. at the City's first ever Food Waste Expo in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Together, they instantly found synergy and complemented each other perfectly. Diego was looking to introduce cargo bikes as a viable transport solution to food waste, and Hannah was looking to create a service that could employ people to do the work of recovering excess food from cafeterias, restaurants and big events instead of sending it to landfills where it contributes to climate change emissions. Since then, their combined efforts have built out a robust operation in New York City, partnering with some of the biggest names in corporate catering, like Flik, and restaurants like Dig Inn. Diego has rescued over 80,000 lbs of food, via bicycle, and that food wasput into community food pantries and regenerative compost programs.

 

 

Szechuan Vegetables and Tofu with Cashews

1 cake extra firm organic tofu, cut into cubes

1 onion, cut in half, then sliced into crescent moons 

2 carrots, cut into small chunks   

1 stalk celery, diced   

1 head broccoli

1 zucchini

1 Japanese eggplant

2 cups purple beans (or green beans)

ginger, 1 inch piece grated

2 Tbs. minced garlic

olive oil 

2 Tbs. tamari (to taste)

1 Tbs. Dark sesame oil

2 Tbs. Aji Marin

1 red jalapeño pepper, diced small

(use gloves when dicing the pepper)

1 Tbs. cornstarch (non GMO)

1 Tbs. water

½ cup roasted cashews

 

 

1. Lay out tofu cubes on dry towel, cover with another towel, and press lightly, to dry.
2. Cover bottom of wok with oil. When oil is hot, add the onions, carrots, celery and eggplant. Add half the ginger and garlic. Cook for 7-10 minutes until vegetables are soft. 
3. Meanwhile, blanch the purple beans in boiling for a few minutes until al dente, and then transfer to boil of ice water to lock in green color. Drain and set aside. 
4. Push the vegetables to the outer rim of wok. Add another Tbs. of oil to the center of wok. When hot, add the tofu cubes. Allow the tofu to develop a golden skin by shaking the wok to prevent sticking, but not stirring until the tofu is golden on one side. Then turn tofu over and add the remaining garlic and ginger. 
5. Continue cooking at med. high heat, stirring as needed for 5 minutes. Then add the broccoli, zucchini and jalapeño peppers. Add a little water if needed to deglaze the wok.  Add the green beans to the wok.
6. In a small bowl, make a mixture of the cornstarch, water, tamari and mirin, and pour over vegetables. Cook for a few minutes more, allowing the beans to get hot and the sauce to thicken. 
7. Add the dark sesame oil and cashews, and combine. 
8. Taste and adjust according to your preference. Add more Tamari if desired
9. Serve with Brown Rice