iEat Green with Bhavani

iEat Green - 01/09/13

Adam Weissman is the founder of Global Justice for Animals and the Environment, an organization that works to defend animals, the environment, the human rights of environmental defenders and the safety of our food against so-called free trade agreements that only benefit the 1%. He also represents Global Justice for Animals and the Environment in TradeJustice New York Metro, a coalition of grassroots organizations from diverse social justice movements united in opposition to the NAFTA/WTO/TPP model of corporate globalization.

iEat Green - 01/02/14

My guest on the Progressive Radio Network is Rona Fried, the founder and CEO of SustainableBusiness.com, an online service that informs us of the latest news in sustainable business technology and environmental regulations. I always look to SustainableBusiness.com to keep me informed on the news about renewable energy, LEED certification changes and trade regulations, as well as their online “Green Dream Jobs,” which has the most complete listing of jobs in the green market today! Please join me on Thursday, to learn about some of the latest changes that will effect the job market and business of the future.

Hearty Winter Lentil Soup

16 cups of water
3 Tbs. olive oil
4 carrots, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
4 parsnips, diced
15 cloves of garlic, minced
2 inch piece of ginger, minced
2 cans diced organic tomatoes
1 ½ cups potatoes, diced
2 cups French lentils, rinsed
2 t. cumin
2 bay leaves
2 cups prepared tomato sauce
2 cups collard greens, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon

In large pot, sauté onions, celery, parsnips, and carrots in olive oil for 5 min. Add garlic and ginger. Add lentils, potatoes, diced tomatoes, cumin, bay leaves and water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 40 minutes until lentils are soft. Add tomato sauce and collard greens. Simmer for 10 more minutes. Add more water if too thick. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Add the juice of 1 lemon before serving. Enjoy!

iEat Green - 12/26/13

My guest for this week on the Progressive Radio Network is Leeann Lavin. Leeann is a writer for the Food & Drink column for Examiner.com, curating the food spectrum of the New York food world. She writes two blogs: “Master Chefs and their Gardens” which chronicles the making of the book, “The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook,” as well as “Garden Glamour” which highlights the best practices, lectures, garden book reviews, romantic and glamorous gardens. I am looking forward to speaking with her about our mutual love for sustainable, local food, and learning more about how her book came about. Please join us!

iEat Green - 12/19/13

My guest this week on the Progressive Radio Network is Joe Mollura, from the Brooklyn Brewery. Joe has been working with the company since 1997, and is in charge of spreading their delicious beer in our area. Please join me as we discuss the history of the BrooklynBrewery and the rise of craft beers nationwide. Find out what the difference is between a craft beer or a commercial beer, and whether or not your craft beer is really owned by Anheuser Busch, or one of the other big conglomerates!

iEat Green - 12/12/13

My guest this week is Nancy Romer, the Founder and Chair of the Board for the Brooklyn Food Coalition, and Professor of Psychology at Brooklyn College. This year, Nancy has been on sabbatical, and has been traveling theBrooklyn-Food-Coalition world, looking at sustainable models of food sovereignty. I am very excited to have her on my show, to discuss her last trip to Guatemala, and her upcoming trip to India. I hope you can join us for this very exciting discussion. Tuscan Fall Stew 1 onion 1 Tbs minced garlic 4 carrots, chunked 2 celery, chopped 1 orange pepper 6 baby eggplant 2 cups sliced mushrooms 2 med potatoes, cubed 1 can organic chickpeas 1/2 cup white wine 2 plus cups chopped tomatoes 1/4 t. marjoram 1/4 t. thyme 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil 1 Bay leaf 2 t. salt 1/2 t. pepper Olive oil Cover the bottom of a heavy stock pot with olive oil. Saute the onion until translucent. Add the carrots, garlic and baby eggplant, and continue cooking, until the eggplant gets soft. You may need to add more olive oil, because the eggplant absorbs so much. (If you prefer, you can pre-roast the eggplant in the oven, to reduce the amount of oil needed.) Add the celery, peppers, mushrooms, chickpeas and potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, making sure it is not sticking at the bottom.

iEat Green - 12/05/13

This week, my guest is Randi Dresner, the President and CEO of Island Harvest, the largest hunger-relief organization on Long Island, and a colleague of mine on the Suffolk County Food Policy Council. Randi’s knowledge and Screen Shot 2013-12-03 at 6.47.37 PMcompassion for Food Insecurity, has helped her grow Island Harvest from an organization that served 2.1 million meals in the early days, to well over 9 million meals last year. The face of hunger is not only for the homeless, it consists of millions of working families that can not make ends meet, its our children, it’s our seniors, it could be your next door neighbor! This has never been more apparent to me then this past week, when we served our Thanksgiving Meal to a huge, diverse crowd. Due to the cutbacks in SNAP (Food Stamps,) the lines were longer than ever! Please join me to learn about the work of Island Harvest, and to find out how we can encourage our representatives to tackle the problem of Hunger in America! Gluten-Free Granola Ingredients ¼ cup sunflower or coconut oil ½ cup maple syrup 1 t. salt 1 Tbs. vanilla 1 cup almonds 1 cup pecans 6 cup GF oats ½ cup walnuts ½ cup sunflower seeds ½ cup pumpkin seeds ½ cup coconut ½ cup organic raisins and/or dried cranberries Directions In a small saucepan, warm the oil, syrup, and salt. Add the vanilla and stir. Mix all of the other ingredients, except raisins or dried cranberries, in a large bowl and stir together. Gradually add the warm oil and syrup, and mix all the ingredients together. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and lay out the granola. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven, for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and add raisins or cranberries, if using. Let granola cool before storing in glass jar.

iEat Green - 11/21/13

My guest is John Halsey, a real hero for Long Island’s farm land. He is the Founder and President of the Peconic Land Trust , a non profit land conservation organization that has saved thousands of acres of farm land from further development, while securing the perpetual protection of that farm land. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of watching a new documentary film called,Growing Farmers, that was produced by the Peconic Land Trust, and talked about our Long Island Farmers, and the struggles that face our new generation of farmers. Basic Seitan 4 cups unbleached white flour 10 cups Whole Wheat flour 2 boxes Vital Wheat Gluten 9 cups water 1 ½ cup tamari 2” ginger piece 3 pieces kombu Mix together flour, Vital Wheat Gluten and water to make a dough. Knead until stiff, approx 10 min. Place in bowl and cover with cold water. Allow to rest for 10 min. Meanwhile, bring 10 cups of water to a boil. Add tamari, ginger and kombu. Boil for 15 min. and remove from heat. Allow broth to cool. Immerse dough in a bowl of warm water and knead to remove starch, constantly changing the water, until it runs clear. (It will take about 8 water changes or more) The final rinse should be in cold water, to tighten the dough. Separate into 4 equal pieces. Place dough in oiled loaf pans and let rest for 10 minutes. Bring 10 quarts of water to a boil. Add seitan dough and cook for 45 minutes, until the seitan floats in the water. Drain. Place Seitan in cooled Tamari broth, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 hours. Drain, saving liquid for storage. Experiment with different flavors, adding garlic and oregano for Italian food, or more ginger and cilantro for Asian food etc.

iEat Green - 11/14/13

Lisa Levart is an award winning photographer and frequent contributor to the Huffington Post, where her blogs explore the intersection between art, the divine feminine, women’s empowerment and current issues. Her book “Goddess on Earth, Portraits of the Divine Feminine”, won the GOLD Nautilus Book Award in 2012. Goddess on Earth is also a traveling, multi-media installation which has been seen in a variety of venues across America including; art galleries, community centers, malls, women’s conferences, spirituality centers and more.

 

Lisa’s photographs have appeared in numerous publications including Fast Company, New York Magazine, Oprah Magazine, Time Magazine, The New York Times and The Washington Post, and been featured in exhibitions worldwide including The Kiek de Kok Photography Museum, Tallin, Estonia; Gallery Verita, Tokyo, Japan; The Alternative Museum, The Burden Gallery and Art in General, of New York City; and Riverspace, Nyack, New York. 

 

Her passion includes photographing and supporting Maloto; a non profit organization in Africa that helps feed and educate the women and children in northern Malawi.      

 

Five Bean Chili

 

1 can organic pinto beans

2 cans organic red kidney beans

1 can organic black beans

1 can garbanzo beans

1 can cannellini beans

½ can small tomato paste

2 organic onions, chopped

2 organic red pepper, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

5 cloves garlic

1 can organic fire roasted diced tomatoes

2 t. salt

1 t. chili powder (add more if you want it spicier)

3 t. cumin

2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

2 Tbs. fresh, chopped cilantro

1 cup marinara sauce

Olive oil

 

Sauté the onion in oil for 5 minutes and then add the carrots, red pepper and garlic. After 5 minutes, add the remaining ingredients. Let simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve with organic brown rice, or over brown rice pasta!

iEat Green - 11/07/13

This week on the Progressive Radio Network, I am thrilled to have as my guest, Carl Safina, the Founding President of The Blue Ocean Institute at Stony Brook University, where he alsoco-chairs the University’s Center for Communicating Science. Carl Safina is responsible for bringing ocean wildlife into the modern mainstream of environmental Conservation. Dr. Safina co- founded the Marine Fish Conservation Network for U.S. Fisheries Reform and the Ocean Wildlife Campaign for International Reform. Risking his science career, he helped lead campaigns to ban high-seas driftnets, re-write and overhaul U.S. Federal Fisheries Law, use international agreements toward restoring depleted populations of tunas, swordfish and sharks, achieve passage of a United Nations Global Fisheries Treaty and reduce fishing-gear drownings of seabirds and turtles. Dr. Safina holds a PhD in ecology from Rutgers University and honorary doctorates from Drexel University, Long Island University and the State University of New York. Please join me for what promises to be an exhilarating conversation with an ocean wildlife expert. Green Chile Sauce 2 onions, chopped 2 Tbs. olive oil 2 tbs. garlic, minced 1 1/2 cup assorted green chili peppers (Anaheim, Fresno, Banana, Jalapeno), chopped 2 Tbs. & 1 t. green cayenne peppers, pureed 1/2 cup white vinegar juice of 3 limes 1/2 t. salt 2 Tbs. cilantro 1/4 cup water Preheat oven to 400°. Roast peppers for 10 to 15 minutes or until skin is blackened. Place in bowl and cover with lid. Let peppers sweat for 10 minutes. Remove cayenne peppers from bowl and keep separate from assorted peppers. De-seed and puree cayenne peppers in food processor Remove the remaining peppers from the bowl, peel off skin, de-seed, and roughly chop. Add 2 Tbs. of olive oil and chopped onion to a sauté pan. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the chopped assorted peppers, cayenne pepper puree, and garlic. Cook for 5 more minutes. Add the vinegar, lime juice, salt, cilantro and water. With an immersion blender or regular blender, puree the mixture until smooth. Red Chile Sauce 1 onion, chopped 2 Tbs. olive oil 2 tbs. garlic, minced 4 cups assorted red chili peppers (Anaheim, Fresno, Banana, Jalapeno), chopped 2 Tbs. & 1 t. green cayenne peppers, pureed 2/3 cup white vinegar juice of 3 limes 1 t. salt 2 Tbs. cilantro 1/4 cup water Preheat oven to 400°. Roast peppers for 10 to 15 minutes or until skin is blackened. Place in bowl and cover with lid. Let peppers sweat for 10 minutes. Remove cayenne peppers from bowl and keep separate from assorted peppers. De-seed and puree cayenne peppers in food processor. Remove the remaining peppers from the bowl, peel off skin, de-seed, and roughly chop. Add 2 Tbs. of olive oil and chopped onion to a sauté pan. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the chopped assorted peppers, cayenne pepper puree, and garlic. Cook for 5 more minutes. Add the vinegar, lime juice, salt, cilantro and water. With an immersion blender or regular blender, puree the mixture until smooth.

iEat Green - 10/31/13

Frederique Keller is a NY licensed Acupuncturist, Medical Herbalist in a private practice that also incorporates classical homeopathy and bee venom therapy as well as utilizes honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly and bee bread where applicable. She is the current President of the American Apitherapy Society Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating about and promoting the use of the products of the hive for health and healing. Frederique also works in a second office specializing in sports and spinal injuries. Recently, Frederique started teaching people how to cook healthy, fantastic dishes easily and with passion. Frederique and her husband have been beekeepers for 20 years and thoroughly enjoy the apiculture and apitherapy experiences it provides. She has been a member of the American Apitherapy Society since 1985 and has never grown weary in the endeavor of sharing knowledge and educating people on the healing energy of the honeybees. Falafel with Tahini Sauce Falafel 2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked for 24 hours 5 cloves of garlic 1 onion, chopped 1 ¼ t. ground coriander 4 t. cumin ¼ t. cayenne 1½ t. salt ½ t. white pepper ¾ t. baking powder 4 t. lemon juice 1 Tbs. chickpea flour 2 Tbs. water 2 cups olive oil Tahini Sauce: ¼ cup tahini ½ cup water 2 gloves garlic 1 Tbs. tamari 1 Tbs. aji mirin cooking wine 1 t. dark sesame oil ¼ t. hot sesame oil (optional) 4 sprigs parsley 1 slice ginger, size of a quarter 2 cups safflower oil Put the beans in a large bowl and cover with water. They will expand. Soak for 24 hours, adding water if needed to keep beans covered. Drain beans well and transfer to a food processor. Add remaining ingredients except for oil. Pulse until well chopped. Scrape down sides of bowl and pulse again. Taste and adjust spices (can add up to 1 Tbs. more chickpea flour if needed to form ball.) Put the oil in a large pot, 2 inches deep. Turn heat to medium-high and heat oil until it shimmers. Make balls with the batter, 1 inch in diameter. Fry one as a tester and taste. Add more salt or cumin if necessary. Continue frying a few at a time, until golden brown. Drain on paper towel. For the tahini sauce, process all of the ingredients in a food processor or hand mill.