Folks from the Angel Family Farm CSA tried mashed turnips- their kids loved them (and they swore they hated turnips!). Enjoy!

Mashed Turnip Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 8 medium sized turnips
• Water
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• ¼ cup milk (regular or soy)

1. Peel turnips, trim ends and cut into quarters. Put in large stockpot, cover with cold water and bring to boil. Boil until fork tender, about 10 minutes.
2. When cooked, pour pot contents into colander to strain. Return empty pot to low heat and add olive oil.
3. Add drained turnips to oil, season with salt and pepper and mash with potato masher.
4. If you don’t have a potato masher, use a blender, food processor or the back of a heavy spoon.
5. (Turnips can also be served quartered at this point rather than mashed.)
6. Add milk and continue to mash until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot. Can be held in pot for an hour or so and re-warmed just prior to service.

We learned about this delish recipe from our friend, the Light Hearted Locavore:

“RUSTIC” Peach Crumble — A Healthy (Juicy and Spicy) Treat
You’ll need an 8×8 pan or a deep dish pie pan (I love my blue and white Emile Henry)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Fruit:

• 2 pounds ripe peaches
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup sugar in the raw
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch or flour

Topping:

• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup sugar in the raw
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Remove the peach skins by boiling water and drop several peaches in at a time for 40 seconds, let cool — skins come right off. “Rough cut” the peaches into bite sized pieces and place the chopped fruit into a bowl. Be sure to reserve the juices along with the fruit. Add juice of a lemon right away to prevent the peaches from turning brown.
2. In a separate small bowl blend the 1/4 cup raw sugar and corn starch (or flour). Sprinkle over the fruit, toss gently to coat the peaches. Transfer the peaches to the baking dish.
3. To make the topping combine the oats, flour, sugar, and cinnamon, allspice and vanilla together. Stir in the butter and mix until everything comes together (texture should be doughy). Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the fruit.
4. Place the baking dish on the middle rack, and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the topping is begins to brown.
5. Delicious, and juicy either warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream and or homemade whipped cream.

Health Note:
Peaches provide vitamin A as beta-carotene, some vitamin C, potassium and fiber plus many phytonutrients. Beta-carotene promotes eye health and a strong immune system and phytonutrients (nutrients from plants) contain antioxidants that help your body stay strong. Research has proven that phytonutrients may help to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, arthritis and eye ailments. Buy organic if you can, as peaches top the latest list of fruits most contaminated with pesticides.

Did you know…

That a can of soda contains 10 teaspoons of sugar?

That in one day a honey bee can fly 12 miles and pollinate up to 10,000 flowers?

That the average person eats 53 pounds of bread a year?

That an ear of corn never has an odd number of rows?

That the average chocolate bar has eight insect legs in it?

That it takes 20 minutes for your brain to know your stomach is full?

That there are 61,269 pizzerias in the USA?

That lettuce is a member of the sunflower family and apples are members of the rose family?

That pumpkin flowers (and other squash blossoms) are edible?

That a hard boiled egg spins but a soft cooked or raw egg does not?

Neither did we until we looked it all up! Send us your food questions at admin@aubinpictures.com and we’ll see if we can answer them…..

Try out this yummy beet salad recipe from our friend and advisor, Bryant Terry!

• 4 medium beets, scrubbed, tops trimmed, root tails left intact
• Coarse sea salt
• 4 tablespoons plus 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 12 teaspoon agave nectar
• Freshly ground white pepper
• 3 large bunches arugula, trimmed and roughly chopped (6 to 7 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups candied walnuts

1. Combine the beets, 3 quarts cold water, and 1 teaspoon salt in a medium pot over high heat. Boil uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the beets are easily pierced with a knife. Drain. Peel the beets by holding them under cold running water and rubbing their skins off with your fingers or a clean towel.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 F
3. Trim the tails off the bottom of the beets. Reserve two of them for the vinaigrette and compost the others. Cut the beets into 1/4-inch dice. In a medium bowl, toss the diced beets with 4 teaspoons of the olive oil. Transfer them to a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to ensure even cooking. Remove the beets from the oven, transfer them back into the bowl just used, and toss with 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Return to the baking sheet and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Set them aside to cool.
4. In a blender, combine the reserved roasted beet tails with the remaining red wine vinegar, mustard, agave nectar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and white pepper to taste. Blend while slowly pouring in 4 tablespoons of olive oil. If needed, add more salt to taste.
5. Place the arugula pieces in a large serving bowl, add the roasted beets on top, and add the candied walnuts on top of that. Immediately before serving, toss well with just enough of the vinaigrette to coat.

Help kids in schools, daycare centers, and whose families use public assistance,  have access to healthier local food!

The Child Nutrition Act reauthorization is the perfect opportunity to enable more schools—and more children—to benefit from the healthy meals and educational opportunities that farm to school programs can provide.

Please join the NYC Alliance for Child Nutrition Authorization! Show your support here!

And find out more about this important piece of legislation and what you can do to ensure healthier school food here, at the website of our partner Farm to School.

Here at “What’s On Your Plate?” headquarters, we are huge Michael Pollan fans.  Michael is a hero of the food reform movement, and his books, such as The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto have got a lot of people thinking about what could be better about the food we eat and the food systems that impact our lives.  Michael has served on our Advisory Council throughout production, and we were incredibly flattered when he said that “‘What’s On Your Plate?’ is exactly the film we need right now.”  We just wanted to take a moment to thank him for his support for the film, and his work with food reform issues.  If you haven’t checked out Michael’s books, you should pick one up immediately.  And if you can’t get to a bookstore just now, we recommend you check out his website in the meantime.

Michael Pollan

Our friend Hope Sandrow has been keeping chickens for about three years now, ever since she ran into Shinnecock, a Paduan rooster, while looking for her cat in the woods near her home.  Hope now tends to Shinnecock and his descendants, all of whom have become part of Hope’s work as a visual artist.  Hope has set up webcams to watch her chickens, and her albumen prints (a photographic process which uses egg whites to bind the light-sensitive chemicals to the paper) of her chickens have been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art’s P.S. 1 gallery, and recently Hope and her chickens were featured in a New York Times article.

Back yard chickens like Hope’s are becoming more and more common, even in big cities where there is simply no space for a farm.  Many of these backyard farmers have set up websites like Back Yard Chickens and Urban Chickens to help foster communities and share advice.

Kids and Chickens

One of Hope's Paduan chickens

Our friends at Food Democracy Now let us know about an Ohio law that would make it impossible for consumers to tell whether or not their milk contains artificial bovine growth hormone.

Right now regulations are being considered in Ohio that will make it illegal for milk labels to tell you the real story about how your milk was produced.Last year a handful of corporations helped pass a law in Ohio making it illegal for our dairy farmers to label their milk rBGH-free. They don’t want U.S. consumers to know when artificial bovine growth hormone (rBGH) is used in producing milk for America’s consumers.On July 23rd the International Dairy Foods Association and Organic Trade Association will have a joint mediation with the Ohio Department of Agriculture to decide whether this rule will go into affect.Call Ohio Governor Tom Stickland and tell him that this anti-labeling law is unfair and un-democratic.We think it’s important that Americans know what’s in their food, especially when it contains artificial hormones. Right now other states are considering similar regulations – but – We need to stop this in Ohio before it spreads!The Ohio labeling law prohibits statements like “rBGH-free” or “no-rBGH” on all milk cartons. This takes away a basic right for organic companies and dairy farmers to properly label how their milk was produced.Milk from Organic Valley’s cooperative of 1,300 family dairy farmers is always completely free of rBGH and we believe consumers have a right to make an informed choice in the milk they purchase for their families.If Ohio’s regulation continues, many dairy producers will be forced to remove all their rBGH-free labeling.This means you will no longer be able to choose how you want your milk produced.What can you do? click here.

TODAY ONLY! Our friends at Just Food sent this important alert- contact your representative in New York!

On June 30, NYC Council Member Bill de Blasio introduced a groundbreaking resolution in the City Council that calls for a citywide “FoodprintNYC” initiative to create greater access to local, fresh, healthy food, especially in low-income communities as well as city-run institutions (see resolution background below).

So far 11 City Council members have signed on as co-sponsors. Make sure your representative shows their support!

Tomorrow, take action to support FoodprintNYC! 

Calling your representative is fast, easy, and effective. You can call on your way to the subway, while walking your dog or on your way home from the office. Every call that you make in support of or against a policy issue gets recorded. 
 
Calls are usually short and you are rarely asked questions, as staffers are busy and want to take down your position and get you off the phone!  
 
Here are three quick steps to calling your representative and voicing your support for the FoodprintNYC resolution:
 
1) Find your City Council representative.

2) Find out if your City Council representative has signed on as a co-sponsor of the FoodprintNYC resolution.

3a) If your city council representative has not yet signed on as a co-sponsor of the resolution, please call their legislative office and urge him or her to support the resolution. Feel free to use the following simple script:
 
·        Hello, my name is ______________ and I am a constituent.
 
·        I live at/in ___________ (give street address or neighborhood so they know you are a constituent).
 
·        I’m calling to urge Council Member _______ to support Resolution 2049 calling for FoodprintNYC.
 
At this time you’ll likely get thanked for calling, and then the purpose of your call will be recorded.  If they do ask for more detailed information, here are the key points:
 
·        The resolution was introduced in the City Council by Bill de Blasio on June 30, 2009.
 
·        It is the first resolution in NYC or any other US city to exclusively address climate change through our food system.
 
·        It calls for a citywide initiative to create greater access to local, fresh, healthy plant-based food, especially in low-income communities as well as city-run institutions.
 
·        Increasing availability and use of local, healthy food decreases significant pollution caused by the growing, packing, processing and shipping of food.
 
If you’re calling after hours you can leave a message, state your name, where you’re from, your phone number and that you’d like your representative to co-sponsor Resolution 2049 calling for FoodprintNYC. 
 
3b) If your city council representative is one of the 11 members who have already signed on as a co-sponsor of the resolution, please call and thank him or her for their support. Feel free to use the following simple script:
 
·        Hello, my name is ______________ and I am a constituent.
 
·        I live at/in ___________ (give street address or neighborhood so they know you are a constituent).
 
I’m calling to thank Council Member _______ for their support of Resolution 2049 calling for FoodprintNYC! I am so glad to see the connection between food and climate change being taken seriously.

Thank you!!

Brooklyn cannot get enough What’s On Your Plate? screenings. We went to Fort Greene Park and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) for two incredible screenings.

First up was the New York Premiere of What’s On Your Plate? at Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn on June 27th. About 600 people showed up for an evening of music from the likes of Saffire (from the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls) Aurora, Three Random Words (featuring Henry Angel from the movie) Brown Rice Family, and Beth Arentesen, and a screening of What’s On Your Plate? right there in the park. All part of BAM Cinemafest and the Afro-Punk Festival.

Next up, we went over to BAM for a cool indoor screening on July 7th, as part of Afro-Punk. This time, we brought along a panel of experts to discuss the movie, namely Kimberly Perry from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation (an initiative of the Clinton Foundation), Jennifer Clapp from the office of Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, and Maritza Owens, founder of Harvest Home Farmers Markets.

We had a great time in Brooklyn, thanks entirely to all the people who came out to see the movie, hear the music, and ask the panelists questions.  For those of you who missed it, don’t worry: we’ll be in NYC for another screening, this time in Manhattan at Stuyvesant Cove Park on September 25th.