Oatmeal & Eggs - It's What's For Dinner, or Breakfast or Lunch

Dear Folks,

I have written about author Leanne Brown and her kickstarter first book called "Good & Cheap: Eat Well on $4 a Day."

I downloaded her PDF of the first book (and gave a donation).

She has now published the first public release of the book for the general public and is in Phoenix for a book signing at the Phoenix location of Changing Hands (300 West Camelback Road) (602-274-0067).

Book Signing by Ms. Brown at Phoenix Changing Hands, September 15th

I continue to be so impressed with her approach on how to solve the ongoing dilemma of eating healthfully on a budget.

I encourage you to buy her book - you are also in turn creating a donated book to a worthy person or family as she donates a book for each one sold.

This is a keeper of a cookbook.

The recipe which initially caught my eye in the first book was her Fried Egg on Oatmeal!  My kind of good-for-you-satisfying-food.  I have made savory oatmeal before -- you just need to think oatmeal (Old Fashioned kind cooks up in 5 MINUTES!) instead of rice, potatoes, pasta or polenta.  In fact my earlier post on her book and this recipe contains nutrient comparisons between polenta and oatmeal (also how to cook the perfect fried egg).

I did make the oatmeal / egg recipe but did not take a picture.  So last night thinking about giving her book another plug I made it for our dinner.  (Deane says he wants it for Breakfast next time and it is certainly suitable for any meal.)

A 'keeper' as Deane says, satisfying, tasty and the cost was less than $1.00 for our two meals (2 eggs, 1 cup of oatmeal plus flavorings).  I used dried onion and Mexican Oregano from my garden, salt and pepper, and a small amount of my homemade butter spread (made from organic butter and avocado oil) and a bit of grated Parmesan cheese.

So here is the picture and my recipe version of Ms. Brown's Oatmeal & Fried Egg meal.

About the picture.  My egg is done a bit more than Ms. Brown's - from top to bottom the oatmeal plated, topped with the cheese, and then the egg added (note the crisp edges on my egg because of the butter in my recipe).  The last picture is taken from Ms. Brown's first book - the PICTURE that caught my eye immediately wanting make this recipe.

Oatmeal & Egg
Makes 2 Servings

1 cup old fashioned oatmeal
1 3/4 cups water

1 tablespoon dried onion
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon butter spread divided
2 eggs

Set up small frying pan to cook eggs in - have lid handy, and heat the pan on medium high while you cook the oatmeal (the pan has to be screaming hot to cook the eggs).

In a pot add onion, oregano and sprinkle of salt, stir in water, oatmeal and 1/3 teaspoon of butter.  Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer stirring regularly - think polenta stirring, until thickened and water is absorbed - about 5 minutes.

Divide the oatmeal onto two plants and top with 1 tablespoon each of grated cheese.

Crack eggs in a small dish and add salt and pepper.

Add rest of butter to pan and swirl to coat, immediately slide eggs in, cover and set timer for 1 minute.  When timer goes off remove covered pan to cool burner and set timer again for 1 minute.  The 1 minute increments can vary up to 1:20 for each step depending on the size of the eggs and how hot the pan is.

Rest 1 egg on each mound of oatmeal and enjoy!

Normally monochromatic dishes are not what I recommend - you know the mantra of have a rainbow on your plate.  The next time I make this dish I will fold in slivered greens and fresh basil to make it colorful.

You can certainly saute some colorful peppers in the pot before adding the oatmeal ingredients.  Make it fun, delicious and CHEAP!

I am not able to make the book signing (darn) but a friend is going and will purchase a copy for me.

I hope you try this recipe, read up on Ms. Brown's story, buy the book and share this post with friends, family and anyone you think can find help with Good & Cheap recipes.

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Are You Growing, Can You Grow - Your Own Food?

Dear Folks,

My favorite subject - can you grow some or most of your own food?  If not - why not?  It is a simple question with far reaching consequences and benefits.  Through out most of recorded history, people working together created food access systems, whether through shared labor, barter or 3rd party (wholesale to retail sales).

In a modern effort to make ourselves so-called independent, we isolated our talents and knowledge into fractional skills - we can make money doing a job, but we have to PAY someone to grow our food.

This disconnect becomes frighteningly apparent when someone loses a job or becomes unable to work and feed themselves or their families.

This fascinating article from the New York Times - brings this issue of food and poverty into clearer perspective.

Recent discussions by some politicians about reducing or eliminating 'safety nets' like food stamps begs the question - where do the hungry obtain food - and further - WHAT IF you lost your job - can you grow your own food, can you work with others to grow your own food, do you know where to get food without money?

If you believe your only skill and talent is how to make money, then you have set yourself and your family up for unfortunate consequences if life throws you a curve, badly.
 


Learn how to grow some or more of your own food, read, take a class, attend lectures, join a local gardening club.

"The difference between you and the hungry is not production levels; it’s money. There are no hungry people with money; there isn’t a shortage of food, nor is there a distribution problem. There is an I-don’t-have-the-land-and-resources-to-produce-my-own-food, nor-can-I-afford-to-buy-food problem."

"Claiming that increasing yield would feed the poor is like saying that producing more cars or private jets would guarantee that everyone had one."

Don’t Ask How to Feed the 9 Billion

By Mark Bittman

At dinner with a friend the other night, I mentioned that I was giving a talk this week debunking the idea that we need to grow more food on a large scale so we can “feed the nine billion” — the anticipated global population by 2050.

She looked at me, horrified, and said, “But how are you going to produce enough food to feed the hungry?”

I suggested she try this exercise: “Put yourself in the poorest place you can think of. Imagine yourself in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example. Now. Are you hungry? Are you going to go hungry? Are you going to have a problem finding food?”

The answer, obviously, is “no.” Because she — and almost all of you reading this — would be standing in that country with some $20 bills and a wallet filled with credit cards. And you would go buy yourself something to eat.

The difference between you and the hungry is not production levels; it’s money. There are no hungry people with money; there isn’t a shortage of food, nor is there a distribution problem. There is an I-don’t-have-the-land-and-resources-to-produce-my-own-food, nor-can-I-afford-to-buy-food problem.

And poverty and the resulting hunger aren’t matters of bad luck; they are often a result of people buying the property of traditional farmers and displacing them, appropriating their water, energy and mineral resources, and even producing cash crops for export while reducing the people growing the food to menial and hungry laborers on their own land.

Poverty isn’t the only problem, of course. There is also the virtually unregulated food system that is geared toward making money rather than feeding people. (Look no further than the ethanol mandate or high fructose corn syrup for evidence.)

If poverty creates hunger, it teams up with the food system to create another form of malnourishment: obesity (and what’s called “hidden hunger,” a lack of micronutrients). If you define “hunger” as malnutrition, and you accept that overweight and obesity are forms of malnutrition as well, than almost half the world is malnourished.

The solution to malnourishment isn’t to produce more food. The solution is to eliminate poverty.

Look at the most agriculturally productive country in the world: the United States. Is there hunger here? Yes, quite a bit. We have the highest percentage of hungry people of any developed nation, a rate closer to that of Indonesia than that of Britain.

Is there a lack of food? You laugh at that question. It is, as the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner David Kessler likes to call it, “a food carnival.” It’s just that there’s a steep ticket price.

A majority of the world is fed by hundreds of millions of small-scale farmers, some of whom are themselves among the hungry. The rest of the hungry are underpaid or unemployed workers. But boosting yields does nothing for them.

So we should not be asking, “How will we feed the world?,” but “How can we help end poverty?” Claiming that increasing yield would feed the poor is like saying that producing more cars or private jets would guarantee that everyone had one.

And how do we help those who have malnutrition from excess eating? We can help them, and help preserve the earth’s health, if we recognize that the industrial model of food production is neither inevitable nor desirable.

That is, the kind of farming we can learn from people who still have a real relationship with the land and are focused on quality rather than yield.

The best method of farming for most people is probably traditional farming boosted by science. The best method of farming for those in highly productive agricultural societies would be farming made more intelligent and less rapacious. That is, the kind of farming we can learn from people who still have a real relationship with the land and are focused on quality rather than yield. The goal should be food that is green, fair, healthy and affordable.

It’s not news that the poor need money and justice. If there’s a bright side here, it’s that it might be easier to make the changes required to fix the problems created by industrial agriculture than those created by inequality.

There’s plenty of food. Too much of it is going to feed animals, too much of it is being converted to fuel and too much of it is being wasted.

We don’t have to increase yield to address any of those issues; we just have to grow food more smartly than with the brute force of industrial methods, and we need to address the circumstances of the poor.

Our slogan should not be “let’s feed the world,” but “let’s end poverty.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/12/opinion/dont-ask-how-to-feed-the-9-billion.html?_r=1 

. . .

 

Desert Gardening Tip - here is a beginner tip or one to add to your garden know-how.

Plant Sugar Peas - RIGHT NOW!

I'm going to do a separate post on sugar peas and what is so wonderful about them next.  But in the meantime.  Find a sunny spot - I mean SUNNY, not partial shade and sometimes sun.  The spot should be at least 2 foot by 2 foot.  Erect something to serve as a trellis on the North or West side of the area.

Plant 2 seeds for each person in your household, 6 inches apart.  In 3- 4 weeks plant 2 more seeds for each person, arranged between the now growing plants.  Once the plants start producing (in about 5-6 weeks) pick the pods each day when they measure 3-4 inches.  Keep them picked and the plants keep producing.

More in the next post.

. . . 

I have a book - a  beginners guide to when to plant in the desert garden.

Coming up at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum on December 6th, I with a whole bunch of authors will be there for an Author's Day, where you can visit with the author's and purchase books.

If that won't work for you, you can find my books in print and some versions of e-book on the internet.

Don't put off starting or adding to your edible garden - you CAN control where some or much of your food comes from and it is not a store which can't or won't take good intentions, instead of money!

-- Catherine

The Herb Lady

 . . .

My Books:

Ibook

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/catherine-crowley/id372564893?mt=11

amazon - print

http://www.amazon.com/Catherine-Crowley/e/B002C1HWG0/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1367065857&sr=1-2-ent


Barnes & Noble - print and Nook ebook

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/catherine-crowley

Kobo

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Search?query=Catherine%20Crowley&fcsearchfield=Author



Lulu

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/herbs2u

The Face of Hunger in America - July 2014 - Food Insecurity

Dear Folks,

This may be one of the most important posts I have ever put together.  Please read and share.  You don't have to live in a run-down neighborhood to be hungry, nor do you have to be unemployed.  You can be on social security, working multiple jobs,  a single parent, or the victim of a tragedy.

Wealth or a good paying job can be a great barrier to understanding, really understanding, what it means to be food insecure.  Someone on the outside looking at a clean, neat appearing, slightly overweight person at the check out stand of a grocery store using an EBT card (food stamps) and think, "hmmm, why does that person need food stamps?"  Likewise they may look at a messy looking individual using the same kind of EBT card and buying colored water flavored with sugar (substitute for real juice), white bread, cheap hot dogs or peanut butter and jelly and think "hmmm, trash, these people need to get a job and stop mooching."

The real trash is the quality of the food they are buying, because they have limited resources and limited knowledge on what to buy, so they give in to the children asking for food and drink and fill them up with what is filling but not anywhere near nutritious enough to help them -- in school, at work, get a job.

If you do not eat nutritious food you do not think well. Period.

And, if you think hunger won't happen to you because you feel secure in your job and life, keep in mind many before you have discovered through tragedy, sickness, or loss of a major career job that it only takes one major life-changing-event to change everything.


If YOU know how to feed yourself and your family in reduced/stressed circumstances, you will always, always be able to keep more of your life together and under control.

You may know someone ,or some people, who can use this information to help themselves and/or to help others.

On the heels of reading an article in National Geographic (NG) on Food Insecurity in America, I came across a free (PDF) cookbook aimed at the working poor and poor who survive on food stamps (SNAP) and food banks.

I read, with disgust, the frequent comments criticizing SNAP recipients for being overweight (there is a reason for that, that nothing to do with too much money); lazy and moochers.

Sure there are those who take advantage of any program, non-profit group, or the government.

But when people who work hard or who are disabled can't get the right foods in enough quantity to keep them out of ER rooms and hospitals there is something wrong with our national conscience.  And, using examples of jerks to keep food and information from those who need it is just plain wrong!

Did you ever look in a donation box of food collections going to food banks?

I have, and they bear out the NG article stating the donations are high calorie, low nutrition, high salt and sugar foods = Cheap!  Mostly that is what people donate, cheap food.

The same kind of cheap food most food insecure families buy for themselves - when they have the money or food stamps.

Boxes of sugary cereal; cans of green beans or corn, some peanut butter and high fructose corn syrup jelly, a rare can of meat like tuna and soups - cans and cans of soup.

Did you ever look at the nutrition label on a can of Cambell's soup?  I have.  In fact I started, but have not completed, a cookbook aimed at eating more healthy from pre-packaged foods, because the basic can of soup, even the ready-to-eat versions, have more salt than protein or fiber.

Growing up there were times when we might have been classified in the new term for hungry - food insecure.  My mom was creative, having spent a good part of her childhood and teenage years on a farm.  I hated a lot of the 'creative' things she made, but she was trying to feed 5 kids plus my dad and her.

She would take a can of Campbell's vegetable beef soup.  Add cups and cups of water and toss in barley and cook until the barley was done and that was dinner.

It was not always like that for us, but I remember it all to this day and food still becomes a source of fear - fear of not having enough or of not having the 'right' things, so I learned how to grow food and keep the pantry stocked with go-to-things so that 'fear' does not get triggered.

Most of today's food-insecure families do not have either the knowledge or the time to learn how to be creative, and they do not know where to go for help.  Food banks are the most wonderful and generous of society's conscience, but they usually are under-staffed with little 'wiggle' room for tutoring on how to put foods together to make them more nutritious and also appealing.

From the NG article:

When she learned that SNAP benefits could be used to buy vegetable plants, she dug two gardens in her yard. She has learned about wild mushrooms so she can safely pick ones that aren’t poisonous and has lobbied the local library to stock field guides to edible wild plants. “We wouldn’t eat healthy at all if we lived off the food-bank food,” Reams says. (emphasis added)

I can't say enough about learning how to grow some or most of your own food.  You take the control of what and when of food out of the hands of other people and into your own hands.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/hunger/

Read the NG article to learn about the real face of the hungry in America, then check out Leanne Brown's cookbook.

Leanne Brown's Kickstarter Program.

Ms. Brown has generously made this PDF file available for anyone to use and share.  Print it out, distribute it to groups that help others, and READ it for yourself and your family.

As a graduate school project Ms. Brown went about developing recipes around the SNAP monthly allocation of $4 a day using healthy ingredients.  $4 a day - that is a Starbucks coffee and people need to eat sustaining meals on that amount.

The challenge for many folks is these recipes require cooking - I'm not being mean here - I'm being practical - to eat better and cheaper means doing some prep work and actually cooking.  It is certainly possible to do many meals in the crock pot.  Make use of limited time to cook large batches up and freeze or save for the next couple of days.

And about the over-weight / poor health thing.

says Melissa Boteach, vice president of the Poverty and Prosperity Program of the Center for American Progress, “people making trade-offs between food that’s filling but not nutritious and may actually contribute to obesity.”  Not to ignore diabetes and other health issues directly related to poor nutrition.

People who are hungry eat to fill themselves up: cheap fast food (very high fat); white bread (some vitamins and maybe some minerals but practically no protein); cheap dairy - I'm not talking milk here, I'm talking fake cheese that has added calcium but no protein.  So they put together a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches for a total calorie content exceeding 500+ calories (estimate) and maybe, maybe a total of 3 grams of protein and no fiber when a meal should have between 12 and 20+ of protein for an adult.

They ate a meal of sugar, salt, flour a few minerals, no fiber and someone outside looking at them figures they are doing just fine. NOT!

Download here

Her recipes are the kind I love to see when teaching cooking.  She uses inexpensive protein sources like eggs to create satisfying, healthy foods - savory oatmeal with scallions topped with a fried or poached egg!

I have touted the benefits of making oatmeal a side dish, not just a breakfast dish - use it in place of rice, pasta or potatoes.

I have used my savory oatmeal leftovers to make patties which can be heated up in the skillet the next morning (or microwave) and served with eggs, some meat or cheese for a filling and fast breakfast.  (Think hash browns only way better for you.)

She makes great suggestions for leftovers, and bases most of the dishes around seasonal vegetables (aka cheaper and better for you).  The recipes are to serve 2 or 4 but can easily be doubled.

Here is one of my Canned Meals recipes - I put together on a camping trip some years ago.  Try for low salt options - if you have the money (it is so interesting that when they leave out things like too much salt or sugar they charge more for it? - I know there is a production reason for this but still . . .)

CATHERINE'S CAMPING SALAD NICOISE
This is enough for 2-3 people, depending on appetites

1 6 oz. can of water packed tuna
1 8 oz (apprx) can of cut green beans in water
1 8 oz (apprx) can of stewed tomatoes
Italian-type salad dressing/vinaigrette (homemade, dry packaged, or bottled)
Optional:
1 small can of potatoes
1-2 tablespoons of capers
Other options include canned anchovies, olives, hard cooked eggs, red peppers, shallots, artichoke hearts and you might enjoy a rustic/crusty bread with it also.

Drain canned foods (Arizona Dun-Deane likes to drink the water from everything but the tuna - the bean and tomato water/juice are a cheap V8 sub - might as well use everything!), fold together gently - you don't want to mash the food - add capers if desired, toss with enough dressing to coat well but don't make it soggy. Eat and enjoy. Protein, Fiber, Lycopene, Vitamins, Minerals and some salt and fat - this is the kind of meal that is healthy and satisfying - just watch the salt content of the canned foods.

This not the best example of fresh is best, but canned can be a second option if combined properly.

I hope this post gives you some new information, helpful ideas and please, please share this around.

Thank you

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Greening -- Practical Ecnomy - The Home Garden

Dear Folks,

"Practical Economy" is the term I like to apply to growing your own edibles either by yourself or in conjunction with neighbors for your own "neighborhood community garden."

Who does not need 'practical economy' now - if you do not know someone who was downsized, reduced to a restricted income, or struggling to raise a family on low wages, you are very, very lucky.

I just learned about the extent of the food and nutrition program or Nutrition Assistance (formerly called food stamps) for those who qualify for the EBT card version (this is a debit-type card) of the food purchasing supplement. For those who qualify (can include seniors, working 'poor', disabled, unemployed, and other limited/low-income folks) the EBT - where accepted can be used to purchase not only food, but also seeds and plants to grow your own food at your home! How neat is that! See the government site here for information and what is covered by the EBT.

So what retailers will accept the EBT card? Well that is an interesting question posed to me by a reader, a single mother raising children on her limited salary. So I went searching and asking questions of not only the Mesa Farmers Market where I sell plants, cuttings and seeds, but I also started to inquire around the valley.

Here is the basic information. If your local farmers market and/or the individual farmers and food producers accept the EBT then you can purchase food plants and seeds for food plants from them.

Click here to find markets in Arizona and look for the words "foods stamps" under the Market Name. Currently the ability to purchase plants and seeds is NOT available to those receiving only WIC supplements - I understand that is supposed to be reviewed by the government sometime in the future.

How about plant nurseries?

Jay Harper at Harper Nurseries and Landscaping - one of the valley's oldest family-owned (3 generations), locally run nurseries, told me no one has asked as of yet, but he is pretty sure their systems will accept the EBT card for food plant and food seed purchases. Since each retailer or group (like the farmers markets) have to apply to be able to accept EBT, not everyone who sells plants and seeds may be able to take the EBT card. Check with your neighborhood retailer.

I am getting this information out in hopes that all local retailers of food plants and seed for food plants will consider becoming qualified to accept EBT. Instead of grass-roots we can call this a "food-roots" effort. Even if you personally do not need EBT, nor know anyone who does, this is about helping as many people as possible grow some of their own food -- Practical Economy for now and in the future.

I am working on seeking out other possible sources for those wishing to use some of their EBT supplement to garden with - the potential bounty and food savings of a cared-for-food garden far exceeds the cost of seeds and some plants, a huge potential that should be considered by any one, but particularly by those living on fixed or limited incomes.

Kimber Lanning the founder and president of LocalFirstAZ is excited about this idea and is going to get the word out to members. Click here to go to LFA for information on any product or service you need (not just food sources), and support your local community businesses and neighbors.

You CANNOT use the EBT card to purchase food through the Internet - another reason to find close-by local producers and another win/win situation supporting local producers of not only food, but food plants and food plant seeds.

For Arizona residents click here to learn how someone you know may qualify for the program.

For more general information and frequently asked questions see here - one common misconception is that this program is "welfare" - it is not - no longer called welfare, the "Cash Assistance" recipients may also qualify for the nutrition assistance program but the two programs are different, separately managed and have different qualification criteria.

One last note about growing some of your own food - in her book Animal Vegetable Miracle, Barbara Kinsolver comments about their trip through Italy and how every single home in the areas they visited had some form of vegetable garden, no matter how small, nor location -- it is simply the way it is done there and has always been. Modern times have given us many benefits, but let's go backwards to the time our grandparents always had a kitchen garden, it was the way it was done, and then came TV dinners -- if you want TV dinners you can make your some from your own backyard! Now that is a real benefit.

And, just so you know, I may sell a couple more packages of seeds or a few more plants, but this really about my basic passion and mission - I want YOU, who ever you are, to garden successfully and enjoy the thrill and taste of food from your own backyard.

Have a great day in the garden, (early morning and evening of course, right now),


-- Catherine, The Herb Lady