iEat Green with Bhavani

iEat Green - An Interview with Tess Masters, “The Blender Girl” - 08/14/14

my guest is Tess Masters, also known as The Blender Girl. Tess is an actress, writer, cook and author of TheBlender Girl Cookbook.  She also hosts a blog on theblendergirl.com. As a recipe developer, Tess collaborates with leading food, culinary and lifestyle brands, and has been featured in many publications. 

iEat Green - An Interview with Deborah Madison, Author of “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone” and “Vegetable Literacy” - 08/07/14

I am so excited to welcome Deborah Madison, who wrote one of my favorite cookbooks back in 1997, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, and who just released a revised edition, called The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. The new edition has all of the old favorites, but has been updated to include important changes in our collective food knowledge, such as the use of coconut oil (which was considered a bad saturated fat when we both started cooking) and is now an excellent choice for oil, along with 200 additional recipes introducing many of the new ingredients we have available today. This was an exceptionally busy year for Deborah, because she also released her groundbreaking book, Vegetable Literacy. which won her the 2014 James Beard Award, and is a beautiful book celebrating the diversity of the plant kingdom, and introducing us to many different vegetables within the same family. Please join me on Thursday, as I interview Deborah and learn more about her life story and the important contributions she has made to the culinary world.

iEat Green - Robert Musil - 07/30/14

An Interview with Robert Musil, President and CEO of the Rachel Carson Council and Author of “Rachel Carson and Her Sisters: Extraordinary Women Who Have Shaped America’s Environment”

This week, I am honored to be interviewing the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize winner for Peace, Dr. Robert Musil, who has helped to change the world during his 14 year tenure as the Director andCEO of Physicians for Social Responsibility and now, President and CEO of The Rachel Carson Council. His latest book, Rachel Carson and her Sisters: Extraordinary Women, explores Rachel Carson’s collaboration with some of the other women leaders in the Environmental Movement at that time. Dr. Musil specializes in contemporary, global, sustainability issues along with health issues, and is the perfect person to carry on the legacy of Rachel Carson. Please join me on Thursday, for what promises to be an extraordinary interview!

Blueberry Raspberry Pie

 

 

Preheat oven to 425*

For a 10 inch pie

 

Crust-

2 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour

2 cup organic unbleached white flour

2 t. salt

2 sticks, plus 2 Tbs. unsalted butter,

½ cup, plus 2 Tbs. cold water

 

Filling-

4 pints fresh or frozen organic blueberries, stems removed

2 pints fresh or frozen organic raspberries

2 organic Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin

1/3 cup honey or org. sugar (or substitute 1/3 c maple syrup)

 2 Tbs. lemon juice

1 ½ t. cinnamon

3 Tbs organic white flour

 

To make Pie Crust:

Put flour in large bowl. With pastry knife, cut in butter, until all the butter is incorporated into the flour (it will look like little pebbles) Make a well in center of bowl, and pour in water. Using your hands, mix the flour and water together, until it forms a dough. Form two balls for crust. Sprinkle counter with flour, and roll out one ball. Add more flour onto the counter, as needed, to prevent the crust from sticking. Start rolling in the center, and work out, keeping the crust circular. Fold bottom crust in half, and transfer to pie pan. Trim crust, so that in hangs over the edge by 3/4”. Repeat process for the top crust, except after rolling it out, cut slits in crust (to allow steam to escape)

 

For Filling:

Combine all ingredients in large bowl. Add to bottom crust.

 

To Finish:

Cover with top crust, and trim the top crust to match the bottom crust. Roll both crusts under together, and then pinch for decoration and to seal. Brush the crust with an egg wash. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, lower oven to 375* and bake for 45 minutes more or until juices bubble thru top.

iEat Green - An Interview with Vincent Simeone, Director of Horticulture at the Planting Fields Arboretum - 07/24/14

This week, my guest on the Progressive Radio Network is Vincent Simeone, the Director of Horticulture at the Planting Fields Arboretum, where he oversees over 400 acres of  both cultivated and natural landscape, 22 display gardens, historic plant collections, 2 ½ acres of greenhouse collections and nearly 22 historic buildings. Vincent has written and contributed to various gardening magazines and newspapers, and has written 5 books, including his latest one,  Grow More With Less: Sustainable Garden Methods. I have invited him on to talk about his most recent book, which has so many tips on how to grow and create a sustainable garden and landscape in your own home, no matter how small or large your space is. Please join us, this Thursday, for what promises to be an informative and inspiring show!

Orzo Salad 

Ingredients

1 lb Orzo, cooked 

Olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 large bunch of Broccoli Rabe

1 Tbs chopped garlic

1/2 cup white wine

1 cup oven roasted organic tomatoes

1/3 cup chopped parsley

1/3 cup chopped dill

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 t. Moltan Salt flakes

freshly ground pepper

1 8oz. package of feta cheese, cut into cubes

Juice of 1 lemon

Cook the orzo according to directions in salted water. Drain, drizzle with

olive oil to prevent clumping, and set aside. Meanwhile, sauté the onion in olive oil with a little salt, until caramelized. Set aside.  Sauté the Broccoli Rabe in Olive oil with 1 Tbs. garlic, until wilted. Add the white wine, and continue cooking until soft. Remove from heat. In a large bowl, combine the orzo, parsley, dill, tomatoes, onions, broccoli rabe, feta cheese, pine nuts, salt and pepper. Mix well. Squeeze the juice of one lemon onto the salad. Taste and adjust seasonings. Garnish with fresh parsley

 

iEat Green - An Interview with Nicholas Freudenberg, Author of “Lethal But Legal” - 07/17/14

My guest this week is Nicholas Freudenberg, a distinguished Professor at Hunter College and the CUNY School of Public Health. He is a public advocate, working for over 30 years to promote policies that increase public health and reduce racial and socio-economic health inequalities. His latest book, “Lethal But Legal: Corporations, Consumption, and Protecting Public Health“, focuses on the influence corporations have on public health, through their marketing and production of unhealthy foods and products, and how governments have stepped back from their responsibility to protect the public, by cutting funding and regulations that were meant to protect us. Please join me on Thursday, and learn about the connection between business-dominated politics, the push from food companies and pharmaceutical companies to increase their bottom line, the increases in health care costs, and what consumers can do about it.

iEat Green - An Interview with Jo Robinson, Author of “Eating on the Wild Side” - 07/10/14

 I am very excited to introduce all of you to my guest, Jo Robinson, a health writer and author of therevolutionary new book, Eating on the Wild Side. Jo Robinson has researched which varieties of fruits and vegetables have the most nutrients, how to store them to enhance their nutritional value, and how to thaw berries to increase their anti-oxidents. This book is full of so many interesting facts that are all new to me, that I am thrilled to share them with you. Please join me on Thursday, as Jo shares her knowledge, and her stories with all of us.

Vegan BBQ Tempeh

 

1 package 3-Grain Tempeh

Safflower or Canola Oil

BBQ sauce (recipe below)

 

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped (2 ½ cups)

1 Tbs. grated ginger

2 large green peppers, chopped

¼ cup olive oil

2 celery stalks (1 ½ cups)

4 Tbs finely chopped garlic

1 Tbs Dijon mustard

½ t. dry wasabi mustard

2 Tbs horseradish

½ cup Worchester sauce

¾ cup White Vinegar

½ cup honey

1Tbs chili powder

2 t. sea salt

1 t. marjoram

2 tsp. thyme

2 t. oregano

1 Tbs Tarragon

2 t. Basil

3 Tbs molasses

1 tsp. liquid smoke

1 t. cayenne pepper

11 shots of Tabasco sauce

2 cups water

2 small cans of organic tomato paste

1- 28 oz. cans organic diced tomatoes

1- 18 oz jars of TJ BBQ sauce

2 cans Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Chipotle peppers

 

 

Sauté all veggies in the olive oil with garlic and ginger, until soft. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 45 minutes.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, cut the tempeh in half, then into quarters, then down the middle to make each piece thinner. You should have 8 pieces. Sauté each piece of tempeh in the oil until golden brown on each side. Lay tempeh out on a paper towel to absorb the oil. Cover bottom of a 9” x 13”  baking dish with BBQ sauce and lay out tempeh. Cover the top of the tempeh with BBQ sauce and marinate for 30 minutes.

 

Bake in 350 oven for 30 minutes or cook on grill

 

iEat Green - An Interview with Stefanie Sacks, Author of “What the Fork Are You Eating?” - 07/03/14

For some more tips on healthy eating, join as I interview Stefanie Sacks, Certified Nutritionist and author of “What the Fork Are You Eating?” Stefanie also has her own radio show on the Hamptons NPR, is a graduate of Columbia University with a Masters of Science in Nutrition and attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts. Stefanie works hands-on with individuals and groups, in helping them transition to a healthier way of eating. Join us as she shares some of her knowledge, talks about her new book, and gives you some insight in reading those confusing food labels!

Tempeh Portobello Pepper Steak

Pre-heat oven to 450*

Serves 15

4 packages gluten free 3 grain tempeh, cubed

3 Tbs. olive oil

2 onions, sliced

¾ cup chopped celery

¾ cup chopped carrots

1 Tbs. plus 2t. minced garlic

1 Tbs. plus 2t. minced ginger

6 cups broccoli florets

6 portobello mushrooms, sliced

2 cans fire roasted tomatoes

3 assorted bell peppers, sliced

1 Tbs. cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbs. water

½ cup red wine vinegar

3 Tbs. tamari

½ cup of parsley, chopped

1 t. red pepper flakes (optional)

2 Tbs. sherry

2 lbs. gluten free pasta

 Cut the tempeh into quarters, then slice each quarter in half, lengthwise, to make it thinner. Then cut each piece into cubes, (about ½” x ¼“ pieces) . Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place tempeh cubes on baking sheet and toss with olive oil, 1 t. garlic, 1 t. ginger, and salt. Roast tempeh on baking sheet in oven for about 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Meanwhile, bring large pot of salted water to boil. Cook gluten free pasta according to directions.

 Cover bottom of wok with olive oil. Sauté onion until translucent. Add carrots, celery, ginger and garlic. Then add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add broccoli, and cook for 5 minutes more. Add the fire roasted tomatoes, red wine vinegar, sherry, tamari, cornstarch, and bell peppers Add the pepper flakes, if desired. Simmer for 5 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken.

Serve with the gluten free pasta, rice, or potatoes. 

iEat Green - An Interview with Danielle Nierenberg, President of Food Tank - 06/26/14

I am thrilled to have Danielle Nierenberg returning to my show, this time as the President and Co-Founder of Food Tank. Back in 2012, I met Danielle at the launch party of “Eating Planet”, a book she edited while working at Nourishing The Planet, on the food challenges of today’s world. Danielle is an expert on sustainable agriculture and food issues. She has written extensively on gender and population, the spread of factory farming in the developing world and innovations in sustainable agriculture. She Co-Founded Food Tank (501C3) in 2013, as an organization focused on building a global community for safe, healthy, nourished eaters. Please join me to learn more about Food Tank, and the community they are building, to influence our global food movement.

iEat Green - An Interview with Wes Jackson, Founder of The Land Institute - 06/19/14

My guest is Wes Jackson, founder and president of The Land Institute. The Land Institute is a research facility, working to develop an agricultural system with the ecological stability of the prairie and a grain yield comparable to that from annual crops. Sounds difficult, I know, but using Wes’s knowledge and background in both botany and genetics, The Land Institute has been working hard to develop their Natural Systems Agriculture, which uses nature as a model to replicate a sustainable production of food. This means growing perennial grains instead of annual grains, which creates an ecosystem that reflects the resiliency and productivity of prairies. Natural Systems Agriculture would put an end to soil erosion and the need for chemical inputs, would restore the health of the soil, curtailing carbon emissions and creating greater food security. Please join me this Thursday, as Wes explains how this new agricultural system works, and how it could be the answer to growing enough food for all the people on the planet, while restoring the soil to its natural healthy state.

Coconut Crusted Tofu with Mango Curry

Pre-heat oven to 375*

1 cake extra firm organic tofu, sliced in 12 slices

3 cups organic shredded coconut

¼ t. cardamom

¼ cup rice milk or almond milk (optional)

Coconut oil

1 Tbs. Red Curry Paste

1 can coconut milk

1 onion, chopped

½ cucumber, peeled, deseeded and chopped

2 T. peppers (jalapeno, serano)

2 Tbs. cilantro, chopped

Juice of 1 lime

1 Tbs. chopped cilantro for garnish

2 mangos, peeled and chopped

1 Tbs. sugar - optional

Lay out tofu slices on a dry towel, cover with another towel, and press lightly to dry.

Combine coconut and ¼ t. cardamom in a shallow dish. Dip tofu in rice milk and then in coconut mixture. Bread both sides of the tofu with mixture.

Fry ½ of tofu cutlets in 1Tbs. of coconut oil until golden brown on both sides (add more coconut oil if needed). Repeat with remaining half of tofu cutlets.  Remove from pan and lay out on paper towel to absorb oil.

In food processor, blend 1 mango with coconut milk and curry paste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sauté onion in coconut oil. Add cucumbers and peppers, then add coconut mixture and cook for 5 minutes. Add remaining mango, 1 Tbs. cilantro, and juice of 1 lime. Taste and add more salt, pepper, and 1 Tbs. sugar (if desired).

Pour curry over tofu cutlets on platter and serve. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

 

iEat Green - An Interview with Carolyn Cohen, Co-Founder of FoodFight - 06/12/14

 I am very excited to be interviewing one of the Co-Founders of FoodFight, an organization who’s mission is similar to mine, to revolutionize the way we eat and think about food. They use schools as their platform, and give teachers, students, and school staff the tools and knowledge they need to make healthier choices and become role models and agents of change for their families and communities. How great is that! Please join us on Thursday, to learn more about their work, and find out how you can bring those principles to your school and help lead the change in your community.