Wild Ramps (© Derekpunar... | Dreamstime.com)

Written by Linda West Eckhardt, Everybody Eats News

This is a meal that can be ad-libbed by what you find in your early spring Farmer’s market. Here in the New York area, people begin to come out of their cold winter ideas when the first-of-the-season peas and ramps show up in the market.

Ramps are a wild green that are a cross between an onion and garlic in flavor. They’re like big scallions, but with a burst of springtime flavor like no other.

Fresh garden green peas in the spring are good enough to eat raw, but if you’ll sit down, relax and put a basket in your lap and pick the peas you’ll find your day just got better.

We stir fried radishes and baby spinach with those ramps, then mixed in the fresh cooked peas. Now that was good.

Feel free to substitute what you find in your farmer’s market. The idea is to cook what your market sells.
This is springtime on a plate. Yum.

Pacific Cod with Spring Ramps & Mint

Ingredients for 4 Servings

• 4 (6-ounce) Pieces skinless Pacific cod fillet (1 inch thick)
• 1/4 Cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus additional for drizzling
• 1 Cup first of the season spring peas
• 1 Cup water
• 1 Bunch green onions or ramps, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 Bunch baby spinach
• 1 Bunch radishes
• 1/4 Cup mint leaves, coarsely chopped

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.

2. Put fish in a 4-sided sheet pan, then drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil and season with sea salt and cracked black pepper.

3. Roast until just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes, turning once. Meanwhile, heat a small pot of water to boiling and cook peas until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain.

4. While the fish and peas cook, heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then cook ramps (or green onions), spinach, and radishes, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes.

5. To assemble the dish, serve fish over vegetables and drizzle with oil then garnish with mint.

Linda West Eckhardt

About the Author

Linda West Eckhardt, is an award winning journalist, food writer, and nutritionist. Her more than 20 cookbooks have garnered prizes including the James Beard prize for the best cookbook for a text she wrote with her daughter, Katherine West DeFoyd, entitled Entertaining 101, Doubleday. Their follow-up book, Stylish One Dish Dinners, Doubleday, was also nominated for a James Beard prize. Their next book, The High Protein Cookbook, Clarkson Potter, remains a best seller after 12 years.\

To learn more about Linda’s amazing new website, go to: Everybody Eats News

To get a look at a book of Linda’s quick and easy recipes for a low carb diet, go to: The High-Protein Cookbook: More than 150 healthy and irresistibly good low-carb dishes that can be on the table in thirty minutes or less

To learn more about a world class, hand-picked olive oil from Mendocino, California, go to: L'Autunno Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil

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Written by Jeffrey M. Smith, Institute for Responsible Technology

It’s been a year since we started watching BP’s oil spew into the Gulf day after day. Although that’s been plugged and cleanup is underway, a more insidious form of pollution continues without containment, with much longer term consequences. You might think I’m talking about Fukushima’s nuclear catastrophe. Actually, the pollution I’m referring to about can outlast even thousands of years of active nuclear waste.

Watch this two-minute video Cap the Gene Spill, directed by Alex Bogusky, to find out how genes from genetically modified crops self-propagate and permanently alter the gene pool—for all future generations.

CAP THE GENE SPILL from NO GMO on Vimeo.

Alex is described by Fast Company as “the Elvis of advertising,” a “pop-culture Houdini,” and the “daddy of 21st-century advertising.” He designed the Truth Campaign for tobacco, brought the king to Burger King, was crowned “Creative Director of the Decade” by Adweek, and was a partner at a $1.5 billion company that Advertising Age named “Agency of the Decade,”…and then he walked away. Alex realized he could no longer speak his truth.

Now, under his own banner of The Fearless Revolution, he’s harnessing the power of truth to create “an educated and empowered consumer,” who will act as “a sudden and powerful counterbalance to corporate power.”

Alex and I would like you to know the truth about genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Enjoy this first in a series of videos, appropriately released on Earth Day.

After viewing, please consider making a donation to our Institute for Responsible Technology, which works everyday to help cap the gene spill. Your donation will be doubled this month by a generous matching grant from Nutiva.

Safe eating,

Jeffrey Smith

© copyright Institute For Responsible Technology 2011.

To help choose healthier non-GMO brands, visit Non-GMO Shopping Guide.

Author Jeffrey M. Smith

International bestselling author and filmmaker Jeffrey Smith is the leading spokesperson on the health dangers of genetically modified (GM) foods. His first book, Seeds of Deception, is the world’s bestselling and #1 rated book on the topic. His second, Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods, provides overwhelming evidence that GMOs are unsafe and should never have been introduced. Mr. Smith is the executive director of the Institute for Responsible Technology, whose Campaign for Healthier Eating in America is designed to create the tipping point of consumer rejection of GMOs, forcing them out of our food supply.

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Tulips & Easter Eggs (© Alexander Raths | Dreamstime.com)

'Twas Easter-Sunday. The full-blossomed trees
Filled all the air with fragrance and with joy.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Spanish Student

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Ultimat Mom’s Martini (©photos courtesy of Ultimat Vodka)

Easter weekend has arrived and Mother’s Day will soon follow. It is never easy being a Great Mom. It’s a 24/7 job from which she never retires. So we’re happy to offer a cocktail recipe created just for those special women who cared for us when we were helpless, then inspired us to go out in the world and build lives of our own. She has surely earned it!

Ultimat is produced in Poland, where the vodka tradition dates back to at least 1405, when it was first mentioned in the Sandomierz Court Registry. Centuries of knowledge have been passed down through the generations by local craftsmen and our friends at Ultimat Vodka have put it to very good use.

Ultimat Mom’s Martini

Ingredients for 1 Drink

• 1 Ounce Ultimat Vodka
• 1 Ounce melon liqueur
• ¾ Ounce lime juice
• ¼ Ounce soda water
• 4-6 Cranberries
• 4-6 Strawberries
• Mint leaves
• Lemon wheel for garnish

Preparation

1. Muddle cranberries and strawberries with mint and ice in bottom of glass. Add Ultimat Vodka, melon liqueur, and lime juice. Top with soda water.

2. Garnish with lemon wheel.

To view all the cocktail recipes on the American Feast web site just scroll down after you go to: American Feast's Cocktail Collection

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Emeril Lagasse & Andy Ford

New Web Series Asks the Question: Is the Seafood Safe?

The Food Channel® (foodchannel.com) is releasing a WebTV video that takes a look at the future of seafood following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill which occurred a year ago, April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico. The crew shot in New Orleans, La., over a ten day period to catch up with what is happening.

“One of the goals of The Food Channel is to document what is happening in food,” said Kay Logsdon, editor of The Food Channel. “Obviously the story that has been unfolding over the past year in the Gulf has impact on the future of our seafood. We found out that the oyster is one of the most impacted products of the Gulf, and we wanted to bring that story to life.”

The program series, titled “Beneath the Surface: Gulf Seafood’s Fight for Survival,” is hosted by The Food Channel ’s Andy Ford, who spent time on the oyster boats, at the shucking house, and cooking with some of New Orleans’ finest chefs while researching the short-form series. “We uncovered a story of resiliency, combined with some of the creativity that is bringing the seafood back to the table,” said Ford. “We think it will give a different picture than a lot of the media coverage that focuses purely on the negative impact of the spill, and open people’s eyes to what the real impact is.”

The teaser is currently playing on foodchannel.com, with several segments set to air during the month of May. Additionally, features on some of the New Orleans’ restaurants, including recipes, will be available on the site.

About The Food Channel®

The Food Channel is a place for great food inspiration, the latest trends, the most compelling stories, and original perspective. This website offers insightful original content that is distributed to everywhere foodies interact with culinary creativity by influencing, contributing to, learning from, gaining inspiration through, and being a part of the experience around great food. For more information, visit foodchannel.com . Follow The Food Channel on Twitter at twitter.com/foodchannel or twitter.com/aford, or on Facebook at facebook.com/FoodChannel .

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Arizona Cacti (©photo by Kevin Connors , courtesy of morgueFile.com)

Written by Aaron Drew, The Nature Conservancy

Long ago in southern Arizona, the Hohokam people tapped the waters of the San Pedro River to irrigate their food crops. Today, so does third generation rancher Mike Mercer. Though Mercer runs a modern cattle operation—with tractors and center pivot irrigation rigs—you might say he’s gone “native.”

Eyes squinting in the mid-morning sun, Mercer jabs his boot at a clump of emerging grass. “Plains lovegrass is my favorite,” he says. “I’d like to grow more of that.”

Mercer’s ranch is nestled in the shadow of the Galiuro Mountains near the tiny town of Mammoth.
“There were Hohokam camps on all these buttes overlooking the river,” said Mercer. Below the most prominent of these buttes— Sombrero Butte—Mercer, like the Hohokam before him, is raising a crop on the river’s floodplain.

His 75-acre field is “greening up” with 14 native grasses, including Arizona cottontop, sacaton and plains bristlegrass.

Conserving Water and Growing Food in the Desert

Mercer began planting the native grass seed in the spring of 2008, purchased with financial assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. The Conservancy helped secured the financing.

The switch to native grass—after years of growing non-native sudangrass and sorghum grain—has been a big win for Mercer, and for the environment.

He estimates he uses about half the water that his father did. The perennial grass, once established, is low maintenance: No need for annual plowing, re-seeding or harvesting, except for occasional baling of some of the grass for feeding elsewhere on the ranch.

Using hay from these native grasses creates a new seed source in the grazed uplands, as the cattle spread the seed through their manure.

“We’re saving millions of gallons of water on this grass, and we are cutting our use of equipment and fuel,” says Mercer, whose family has ranched here since the 1920s.

Mike Mercer, Arizona Rancher

The Land Responds

The switch to native grass wasn’t risk free. The first year, coming off a decade of drought, “the grass didn’t look that great. I was sweating it. But I decided to plant some more last year, and so far this year, it’s really taking off.”

The land is responding in kind. “Since we planted this I’m seeing less run-off of water, because the grasses are helping the ground soak it up. I figure if times get tough again and there isn’t enough water in the river to irrigate, this seed will just go dormant and then sprout when the moisture is available again.”

Mercer learned of the Partners program through Rob Burton, the Conservancy’s former Lower San Pedro preserve manager. Rob had planted the grasses at the preserve, restoring what were once catfish ponds.

“We’re pleased at how well this has worked out,” says Kris Randall, state coordinator for the Arizona Partners program. “Grasslands are a declining plant community in Arizona. We are interested in providing financial and technical assistance to private landowners who want to do restoration projects.”

Dan Wolgast, who now manages some of the Conservancy’s properties, echoes the benefits of native grasses. “We’ve had some successes and challenges, but this grass is helping us control weeds. It’s very adaptable to unpredictable weather systems, and it’s a good thing for the river because it improves the health of the floodplain,” says Wolgast.

Seeding the Future

Something as seemingly simple as planting native grass is actually part of a paradigm shift for the Mercers. Not only is it a change in how they operate, but also who they work with.

One change is the market for their beef. By feeding their cattle native grass, the Mercers are tapping into the grass-fed, locally grown beef market. The Mercers sell their beef—under the name Sombrero Butte Beef—at local farmers’ markets and at a gourmet Tucson restaurant.

Mercer’s cattle are Brahman cows bred by Angus-Charolais bulls, which makes them genetically well suited for the desert; they withstand heat well, according to Mercer, and they eat desert plants like cat claw, cholla and jojoba leaves. Two months before they are butchered, Mercer grazes them on the native grasses to tenderize their meat.

“My cows love it,” he says. “They see me coming to open the gates, and they run to get there.”

Grazing issues have historically been a point of contention between ranchers and conservationists. The Conservancy, in Arizona and around the country, has been working to improve its relationships with those who produce the food we eat.

Mike Mercer’s willingness to work with the Conservancy signifies a sea change for his family. In the early 1990s, Mike’s father, Virgil, filed an appeal with the Bureau of Land Management to gain grazing access to the Conservancy’s public land leases at Aravaipa Canyon Preserve and the Muleshoe Ranch Cooperative Management Area. The Conservancy found itself on the opposite side from the Mercers in the judicial process. That appeal was tied up within the BLM for several years, and Virgil didn’t prevail.

So, the result has been that the Conservancy and BLM have continued a limited grazing regime at Aravaipa and no grazing at the Muleshoe in order to restore the properties. In the meantime, Virgil passed away in 2006, and his son Mike took over the ranch. Now he not only actively works with the Conservancy, he is also our neighbor—the Conservancy manages the 3,100-acre 7B Ranch adjacent to the Mercer property.

To learn more about this vital organization, go to: The Nature Conservancy

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Virginia Pasture (©photo by Nightwind23, courtesy of morgueFile.com)

Plans are underway for a unique project in Loudoun County, Virginia that will bring together and showcase some of the best locally grown and raised food and wine agricultural products that the county has to offer, and culminate in an 11 day event.

“Farm-to-Fork Loudoun “ will take place from Thursday, July 21 to Monday, July 31, 2011 with 21 restaurants and food related entities committed to using at least 70% local product and ingredients during that timeframe. It is a new concept to this area, conceived by Loudoun County marketing entrepreneur Miriam Nasuti who saw the need for a county-wide collaborative celebration between agricultural growers, vintners and chefs in Loudoun County.

Working Together

“I observed particular restaurants growing or buying local these past years, but nothing done on a county-wide, collaborative scale on site at the various restaurants. The process has been so rewarding, as I’ve spoken to many vintners, farmers and Chefs who’ve not done this in the past and expressed that they always wanted to but, either didn’t have the time or know-how to begin. Bringing everyone together has been a tremendous experience,” explained Nasuti. Her hope is that through this initial collaboration, growers, chefs and the vintners will establish new relationships that will last well beyond the project.

She established committees early on, which included representatives from the agricultural, wineries and restaurant communities, who met often at the onset to set the project dates, protocol and guidelines, issues such as supply and demand of agricultural products, participation fees and such. Once those guidelines were set the project moved forth quickly toward a successful February ‘Meet & Greet’ where all participants came together for the first time, to begin establishing the important relationships intended toward working together.

“This is a wonderful way to introduce the diversity of Loudoun agriculture to like businesses and the public,” stated Beverly Morton Billand, owner of The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm, a Farm-to-Fork Loudoun participant and leader in the farm to table movement.

Organic, Local & Seasonal!

Serving organic, seasonal cuisine and supporting local growers has been Billand’s commitment since opening the restaurant on their farm just outside Lovettsville. “This event will allow wineries, farms and restaurants to collaborate and bring the very best to the table that Loudoun County has to offer.”

Farm-to-Fork Loudoun dining participants include Clyde’s Willowcreek, Aiyara Thai Restaurant, Lightfoot Restaurant, ‘On the Potomac’ at Lansdowne Resort, Palio Ristorante, Shoes Cup & Cork Club, Tenderjacks, The Wine Kitchen, Tuscarora Mill, Vintage 50, Market Table Bistro, The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm, The French Hound, Goodstone Inn & Estate, Market Salamander, Red Fox Inn, Grandale Farm Restaurant, Magnolia’s at the Mill, Catch 52, Vintage 51, and Cookology.

“Farm-to-Fork” will allow the public to experience Loudoun’s diverse culinary community and enjoy its healthy, locally grown and raised foods they otherwise may not have,” Nasuti added. “And the program allows our restaurants to serve fresh, locally grown food through the new and existing menu items they’ll offer. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

For more information on the participants, program, or to become a Corporate Sponsor, visit Farm To Fork, or contact Miriam Nasuti at 703-771-8893.

Farm-to-Fork Loudoun is a collaboration between Loudoun’s dynamic and growing culinary, farming and winery communities. This new project was envisioned to bring those involved together to drive the local economy and begin, or further, meaningful relationships, while raising visibility of these three Loudoun entities so patrons will come back again and again. Event sponsors include Fortessa, a leading tableware company based in Loudoun and The Dulles Greenway.

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(Photos by Theo Wargo/WireImage for Saks)

The In Good Taste event at Saks Fifth Avenue last night had an unbelievable turn out at the 50th street store. Four hundred guests attended and enjoyed an unforgettable night of fashion and food to benefit City Harvest.

Saks partnered with New York Magazine and dedicated one night to fashion and food. Customers received a $100 Saks Fifth Avenue gift card in honor of their kind donations of $100 to City Harvest. Designers partnered with some of our favorite New York City restaurants to create a unique brand experience that connected New York fashion and food lovers and encouraged shopping to raise money for City Harvest.

Notable chefs and fashion designers such as German Lucarelli from Da Silvano, Dan Kluger from ABC Kitchen, designer Chris Benz attended. Kudos to all the partners who made the worthy event such a success:

Agnona partnering with Serafina
Akris Punto partnering with Bouchon Bakery
Armani Collezioni and Armani/Ristorante
Brunello Cucinelli and Eatalian Style
Burberry London and Gordon Ramsay at The London
Calvin Klein Collection partnering with Philippe Chow
Carcharel partnering with Asellina
Chris Benz partnering with The Hurricane Club
Donna Karan partnering with L’Artusi
Escada partnering with Gusto
The Fur Salon partnering with Limani
Lida Baday partnering with Café SFA
Max Mara partnering with Da Silvano
Michael Kors partnering with ABC Kitchen
Moschino partnering with Avara
Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti partnering BLT Steak
Piazza Sempione partnering with Stuzzicheria
Ralph Lauren Black Label partnering with 10 Downing Food & Wine
St. John partnering with Fulton
Stella McCartney and B.E.S
TSE partnering with Pan American
Yigal Azrouel partnering with Park Avenue Café

To learn more about City Harvest’s wonderful work to feed New Yorkers in need of a helping hand, go to: City Harvest

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All-American Chili (©photo courtesy of Oxmoor House, Inc.)

The calendar says it is spring, but here in the northeast we have had plenty of chilly weather of late. It has been the kind of weather where you can't help but think about digging into hearty comfort foods. A big favorite a steaming bowl of chili, so we're happy to provide a recipe that you can enjoy without worry about your waistline.

The collection of recipes should dispel the notion that you have to give up your favorite comfort foods in order to eat healthy. There are only 286 calories in a serving of this chili, and there’s not a breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert or sides recipe in the book that will endanger a diet for weight loss.

All-American Chili

Ingredients for 8 Servings

• 6 Ounces hot turkey Italian sausage
• 2 Cups chopped onion
• 1 Cup chopped green bell pepper
• 8 Garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Pound ground sirloin
• 1 Jalapeño pepper, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons chili powder
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
• 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 Tteaspoon dried oregano
• 1⁄2 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1⁄4 Teaspoon salt
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 1⁄4 Cups Merlot or other fruity red wine
• 2 (28-ounce) Cans whole tomatoes, undrained and coarsely chopped
• 2 (15-ounce) Cans kidney beans, drained
• 1⁄2 Cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation

1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage, onion, and next 4 ingredients to pan; cook 8 minutes or until sausage and beef are browned, stirring to crumble.

2. Add chili powder and next 7 ingredients, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, tomatoes, and kidney beans; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

3. Uncover and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaves. Sprinkle each serving with cheddar cheese. Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 11/4 cups chili and 1 tablespoon cheese).

CALORIES 375; FAT 12g (sat 4.6g, mono 4.1g, poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 28.9g; CARB 33.7g; FIBER 8.2g; CH OL 59mg; IRON 5mg; SODIUM 969mg; CALC 165mg

To learn more about the book in which this recipe is included, go to: Cooking Light Comfort Food, Home-Cooked, Delicious Classics - Made Light

To view all the recipes on the American Feast web site just scroll down after you go to: American Feast's Recipe Collection

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