Green Holiday Entertaining -- and a Recipe for Vegan Latkes

When you throw a dinner or party for the holidays -- whether for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or New Year's -- you use a lot more of the earth's resources than you do in day-to-day life. How can you reduce the ecological footprint of your feast without compromising on hospitality? Follow the game plan in Holiday Entertaining for a Small Planet, the December issue of This Green Life.

One of many recommendations is reducing the amount of animal products you serve -- not just meat, but dairy and eggs. If you celebrate Hanukkah, try this recipe for vegan latkes (potato pancakes):



Here's a printable version of the whole article:



Please share your own green holiday tips and recipes.

Local foods in March: Jerusalem artichokes and fava greens

The big greenmarket at Union Square in Manhattan was jammed yesterday due to the pseudo spring weather. I went there hoping for a taste of the real thing, and while disappointed in that regard -- most of the produce still came from winter storage -- I got the usual lift from buying, and later cooking, ingredients straight from the farm.

What was available? In the fruit department, still nothing but apples. The vegetables were divided into two camps:

1) Roots, roots and more roots, including potatoes, onions (many
varieties), parsnips, celeriac, carrots (yellow and orange) and Jerusalem artichokes.

2) Sprouts and micro-greens, including fava greens, pea shoots, corn
sprouts and sunflower sprouts, among others.

I chose the Jerusalem artichokes, also known as sunchokes, and fava greens.

There are countless ways to prepare Jerusalem artichokes. One that I learned from Marcella Hazan is a gratin with butter and parmesan. But I like them even better raw, in which state they are crisp and crunchy like water chestnuts, but with a slightly sweet, nutty taste.

Combined with the fava greens in a salad, they actually do taste of spring. Here's the recipe:

3 c. fava green leaves (stems removed)
1 c. Jerusalem artichokes, peeled (or well-scrubbed) and sliced
1 tbsp. minced red onion
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Toss the greens with enough olive oil to lightly coat the leaves, a few drops of lemon juice and salt and pepper. Scatter the slices of Jerusalem artichoke on top, and then the red onion. Drizzle with a little more olive oil. Serve and enjoy.

Local foods, even in December

Humans have been importing foods from far-off places throughout recorded history, so we're not likely to stop now. But perhaps we could strike a better balance, as of old, choosing local foods when available, and thinking of imports more as supplements for what we can't get at home.

My December This Green Life addresses this topic and points out that seasonal eating with local foods is possible even at this time of year up north. It includes a wonderful seasonal recipe for Green Gumbo, created by the green New York caterer, Mary Cleaver of The Cleaver Company. Here it is again in printable form. (Click the iPaper down arrow in the top band for the print and email controls.)

Green Gumbo Serves 12 8 T. 6 T. 2 ½ bunch 2 1 cup 1 T. 1 tsp 1 tsp ¼ tsp 3 8 cups 2T 2 quarts 1 To taste 4T Grapeseed or Olive oil Flour Medium onions, chopped Celery, chopped Green bell peppers, chopped Scallions, chopped (plus ½ cup for garnish) Garlic, minced Ground white pepper Aleppo pepper Cayenne pepper Medium turnips, diced Three or more of the following winter greens, chopped: Turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, spinach, kale, or chard Fresh thyme leaves Vegetable broth Bouquet Garni (parsley stems, bay leaf & thyme) Salt, pepper & Tabasco sauce Chopped Italian parsley 1. In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat 8 T. oil and whisk in the flour. Whisk over mediumhigh heat until the roux is the color of peanut butter. 2. Add the onion, bell pepper, celery, turnips, scallions, garlic, white pepper, Aleppo and Cayenne. Stir to coat with the roux. Add the Cover and sweat over medium low heat for 5 minutes or until beginning to soften. 3. Add the turnips and greens, stir and cook for about 10 minutes or until wilted. Add thyme. Stir in the vegetable broth, 2 cups at a time, bringing the mixture to a boil after each addition. 4. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the bouquet garni and simmer gently for about an hour. Cool and refrigerate. Reheat gently when ready to serve. 5. Garnish with chopped parsley and scallions.

Seasonal doesn't mean local

My refrigerator is filled with seasonal food -- by which I mean food that is ready for harvest now in the northeast where I live (or is harvested earlier and stored) -- yet only a fraction of it actually comes from local sources.

Beets are in season in the northeast, but I had to make this beet, goat cheese and walnut tart for Thanksgiving with wilty, store-bought beets that came from parts unknown. Happily, the cheese was local, as were the eggs. Great recipe, by the way, from Gordon Hamersley's Bistro Cooking at Home.

This is one of the things I find most frustrating about the food business. Most supermarkets do not make a point of purchasing local food in season. The broccoli in our market, for instance, almost always comes from California -- even in the fall when it is broccoli season here. So, if I want local broccoli, I have to go to the Greenmarket. And I do go whenever I can. But if I can't make it on the two days a week the Greenmarket comes to my neighborhood, I am out of luck.

That doesn't mean there is no local food in our supermarket. The situation is better than it used to be -- especially since a Whole Foods moved in nearby, presenting competition. Today, for instance, I managed to snag local greens, apple cider and half-and-half. As I said, better than before, but not good enough.