Empty Space: Hunger Fast

There's going to be a brief pause in four foodie's lives today. We're putting down the bowl/tortilla/meat/sugar spoon. As former fellows with the Congressional Hunger Center we join Ambassador Tony Hall's HungerFast which calls attention to vulnerable people in our communities and the impact that federal cuts could have on their lives.

The four fasters all love food differently. The range extends from revering funky shaped vegetables grown in native climates to plates carefully stacked with tastes so stunning the server reminds patrons to breathe. Appreciation for real food, food grown to heal the earth, meals shared and celebrated runs deep among us. We consume food, but food also consumes much of our mental, emotional and political lives. Such are our food-lover merits. And so as advocates for social change through a food revolution we want fellow eaters to digest these (not really crazy) radical thoughts:

--Hunger/poor nutrition is a matter of unequal economic distribution, not a lack of production
--Programs that provide food to hungry families should be considered a temporary solution; work that pays everyone enough to eat well is the end to hunger
--Those who earn less should have equal access to choosing nutritious and consciously grown food

--Collectively we have the ability to raise the bar. For our communities to be abundant, the vulnerable deserve more than just unhealthy leftovers and grocery store overstock. They too deserve to thrive.

--In solidarity, we remember today that hunger and poor nutrition impact everything we do, not just our stomach pains: ability to focus in school, stress, attitude, engagement in the community and many other basic functions.

--We are hopeful because this is solvable. Unlike other national and international problems, we have the resources right now to ensure that every person has enough food to eat. It's a matter of where we choose to place it in our national priorities.

--Perhaps we can begin where most, if not all, Americans agree with heart and mind: no child, anywhere in the world, should suffer from a lack of adequate, nutritious food. Let that principle, recognized in religions and moral codes across the world, guide our initial conversations.

Much of America's conception of what food means to someone who is hungry comes packaged in national food drives, local food pantries and donated meals at church halls. Non-profits and religious institutions should be commended for ensuring that when someone is hungry in this country there is an offering of something to eat. Let's assume however that if you are reading this blog then you are an eater who cherishes the opportunity to choose what to eat (and not to eat) and too, enjoys the act of being a subversive/careful eater. This is the essential distinction between the emergency food system and many of the federal programs which provide families the ability to make that essential decision: what to put on their tables. Charity has it's place in meeting immediate food shortages. Acts of justice that change the system where farmworkers can't afford the organic produce they pick is where we need to be. We need to be at a farmer's market where low-income families are provided financial assistance to put crooked-neck squash and viking potatoes in their bags. We need to be at grocery stores where a mother with WIC benefits isn't pushed into the processed food aisle because sugar cereal is cheaper than keifer. We need to be at restaurants that buy the majority of their produce from small farms where labor is paid a living wage and profits stay among those who work the land.

It is not remarkable to forgo three meals.
But the empty space today hopefully will be filled with thought provoking meals beyond our fast.

So that when we eat again we are reminded of how great an act it is to consume food.
It is remarkable that when good food divides us, it can bring us back together again.

Moon-shined

It's foreseeable that I will always pick basil with a headlamp before a farmer's market. I accept this destiny, hovering above herbs in the moonlight, not hugely willing. Not because it's unpleasant to spend dawn with ocimum basilicum. No, I quite enjoy singing Italian love songs with spot lighting on a captive/planted audience. But darn is it an expensive nocturne. Yes fine, my record actually selling the harvested basil is less than impressive.

This year's plan (after our basil grew like chopsticks with green wings and I sold one bunch in three markets) involved harvesting 500 feet of the plant to make pesto. A friend - lovely lady cradling basil/zinnias - helped defy fate on a foggy morning before work; we drank a cup of tea and filled our bags after sunrise. And oh the pesto we made! I'll leave the recipe to someone else, though I'll say ours was generous on garlic, Romano cheese, roasted almonds and organic extra virgin olive oil.

My sister and her husband are responsible for the delight which featured our chopstick basil many moons later. Their strategy: Kenny's flavorful breakfast sausage stacked on and under great ingredients will convince anyone they should support future (inevitable) moonlight basil excursions.

Goat and Pork Sausage with Pesto Sandwiches

1 pound goat and pork ground sausage, formed into 4 round patties Heritage Ranch
4 focaccia roll, sliced in half
4 tblspoon basil pesto
1/4 pound asiago cheese, sliced long and thin
10-12 crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 tspoon butter

Directions

Saute sliced muchrooms in butter until slightly brown.
Shape ground sausage in desireable patties.
Divide 1 tbspoon of pesto on either side of each focaccia roll.
Layer desired amount of asiago cheese on one side of each focaccia roll.
Heat heavy skillet on medium heat and cook sausage patties for 5-7 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Place pattie on bun, adding mushroom and quickly closing focaccia roll to advantage heat of meat to melt cheese.

This is beamed through the Hearth and Soul blog hop . . .

Found Soup

Deep night in our farm kitchen many months before winter, Kenny slipped layers of spices to the bottom of ball jars. Stacked unevenly, sloping colors and textures mimicked synsedimentary folds carved through canyons. Contents of the jars destined for his handcrafted sausage cause reflection: heritage pigs, organic and locally sourced seasonings are the esteemed Italian sausage below. It's not that Kenny found my (grandfather's) knife frozen in the snow that prompts gushing. [I lost the knife, he found the knife, I'm indebted to the finding of said knife.] But the soup crafted with his sausage is deserving of public attention. This is no favor to Kenny, it's merely hopping along the kindness via Hearth and Soul.

What tempted my guests to lay their entire bodies in this soup, teetering above their bowls on the high ledge of temptation poised to let it all go, was the smooth and bright flavor of the sausage and mature, but sweet squash. These ingredients make the recipe and thus I've included the grower in case you can support their craft.

Italian sausage and butternut squash soup (adapted from Emeril Lagasse)

1 squash, halved with seeds removed (Larga Vista Ranch)
1.5 pound ground Italian sausage (Heritage Ranch)
4 tblspoons butter
2 tblspoons olive oil
1 tsp salt
Ground pepper
6 cloves garlic (Hobbs Family Farm)
1 tblspoon dry sage
1 tblspoon crushed marjoram
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Coat squash halves with melted butter; season squash with salt and pepper.
Bake until very tender, about 45 minutes.
Remove flesh by scooping away from the peel which is then discarded. Set squash aside.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, lightly brown garlic in olive oil adding sausage.
Cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes.
Add the sage and marjoram, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Add the cooked squash and stock, stir well to combine bringing to a boil.
Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

In a food processor or blender, puree soup in batches. Caution: do not process too long, keeping some texture to sausage.
Return to large saucepan.
Add greek yogurt and stir to incorporate evenly throughout soup and adjust seasoning to taste.
Reheat until served.

If you didn't hop above, do it now.
This recipe is shared with the Hearth and Soul hop.