A Victory for the Victory Garden!!

I'm pretty excited!

When was the last time the First Lady and President of the United States actually acted on something you were totally and completely passionate about? I mean, an issue you've read about, petitioned for, fervently supported, and written about? Yeah, it feels pretty darn good!Oh, and the icing on the already sweet cake? (Or rather, sugar beets to top the arugula?) Local elementary school children will be hoeing, sowing, and watering these seeds of change. Fitting, as Mrs. Obama recently noted,

“When you grow something yourself and it’s close and it’s local, oftentimes it tastes really good... And when you’re dealing with kids, for example, you want to get them to try that carrot. Well, if it tastes like a real carrot and it’s really sweet, they’re going to think that it’s a piece of candy. So my kids are more inclined to try different vegetables if they’re fresh and local and delicious.”

Sustainable foodie Bloggers are all abuzz with the latest news about the Obama's vegetable garden on the White House lawn. Get the full scoop here in the New York Times or here in the Washington Post. Inspiration is growing already. Families can now get planting with the list of "10 Easy-Grow Veggies for Your Kids' Obama White House Garden".

If You Build It...

If the youth vote for President-elect Obama, and the enthusiasm his powerful election generated among young people, is any indication of how kids will be motivated and influenced by the 44th president, I feel good about the future.

If President-elect Obama accepts the call to lead by example (see video below), plants the nation's most important organic vegetable garden on the White House Lawn, and the children of America clamor to till the soil, water seedlings, and pick tomatoes from their own school and backyard gardens, I feel REALLY good about the future. (And the future of our citizens' health and the country's food supply.)

Back in October, in response to Michael Pollan's now famous article, Farmer In Chief, I wrote about the brilliant idea to turn the White House Front Lawn into a sustainable fruit and vegetable garden, and give school children on their annual field trip to the Capitol the chance to till the Presidential soil.

It looks like this idea really has, (sorry) germinated.

As described on http://www.change.org/ -- the website soliciting the top ten ideas for change to submit to the president:

Thousands of Americans and people from the around the world are asking the Obamas to lead by example on climate change, health policy, economic self-reliance, food security, and energy independence by replanting an organic food garden at the White House with the produce going to the First Kitchen and to local food pantries.

The many successes(1) of the first Victory Garden movement were the result of effective public policy, bold leadership(2) at a time of national crisis, and the commitment of millions of citizens who were ready to roll up their sleeves for the greater good. There' s no better, more symbolic place for launching a new National Victory Garden Program than at the White House, "America’s House". There's no better, more urgent time(3) than now. And there's NOTHING that can beat the fresh taste of locally-grown, home-cooked foods.

(1) Victory Gardens (behind homes, schools, in vacant urban lots, etc.) produced 40% of the nation’s produce at their peak, helped conserve food and natural resources at a time of crisis, resulted in the highest consumption rates of fruits and vegetables our nation has seen, and helped keep millions of Americans physically fit and active.

(2) First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a Victory Garden on the White House lawn in 1943 over the objections of the USDA, inspiring millions by her example.

(3) The UN estimates that 1 billion people will go hungry in 2009 while climate scientists predict this year will be one the five warmest years on record.

So please cast your vote for Victory Garden 2.0 today here: http://www.change.org/ideas/view/green_the_white_house
Learn more about the movement here: http://www.eattheview.org/
And certainly don't miss the video which might turn you, and Mr. Obama, into a green thumb.


This Lawn is Your Lawn from roger doiron on Vimeo.

Weather Report: Soup's On

It's raining in LA.

In fact, it's been raining in LA since about Friday. Wet. Cold. Rain. As a New England-er I shouldn't be so put out by this. (Especially since my in-laws are on day 5 without electricity toughing-out New Hampshire's ice storm.) But let me assure you it is quite easy to get accustomed to 70 degree sunshine 12-months of the year.

In truth, I love the rain. But I prefer the kind that comes in the depths of summer, that stirs-up the musty smell of dirt and just-mowed grass, that makes you want to run through puddles barefoot. Today's kind of rain -- the windy, damp kind that brings 45 degree temps to my coastal street, and heavy snow at 2000 feet -- is the kind of rain that makes you want to pull on your favorite sweats, curl up on the couch with a good (cook)book, and make soup.

So, I did just that. The best thing about making soup is that you really don't need a recipe at all.

1. Grab a nice big pot.

2. Saute some onions and maybe some carrots in a bit of olive oil.

3. Throw in whatever you've got hanging out in the pantry-- beans, potatoes, pasta, squash. (I was recently delighted by the variety of Trader Joe's 17 Bean and Barley mix.)

4. Now see what's lying around the fridge-- tomatoes, zucchini, greens, some herbs.

5. Add some liquid -- stock's nice, but water will do.

6. Let it simmer.

7. Depending on the ingredients, smooth it out with an immersion blender -- but only if you wish.

8. Serve it up in deep bowls, maybe topped with a little olive oil and some nice grated Parmesan.

9. Dust off an old movie, a favorite book, or round up your kids and re-tell the tale of the two beggars in Stone Soup.

10. Savor every moment of the comfort and warmth this little bowl provides you and your family. And don't be surprised to discover it's even better tomorrow.

And when the rain stops, soup may still be your family's security blanket. As Ad Age reports, selling soup is the number 1 recession-proof marketing strategy.

Same ol' Veggies + Fun New Twist = "More Cabbage, Please!"

Some may call the combination of tomatoes, cucumbers, shredded lettuce, sprouts, and carrots a salad. But paired with a bagel in Kitchen Kid's after-school enrichment "Books for Cooks" class, it's aptly called a Brown Bear Bagel Face. (Even if these bears look more like a team of crazy bearded clowns with whiskers.)

After an animated reading of We're Going on a Bear Hunt, this class of kindergartners got right to work adding cabbage eyebrows, egg yolk eyeballs, and shredded carrot beards to their sprouted whole wheat bagels. The 5-year olds loved being so creative with these unlikely art supplies.

Better yet, they loved eating them. Every. last. bite. Even a mom told me, "I never knew bagels with vegetables could taste so good." This was the perfect after-school snack for these budding young chefs, who discovered red peppers really are sweet, and how kids can be real chefs 'chopping' them up with tiny craft scissors. The bagel's complex carbs boosted their energy level, and the kids were well on their way to eating enough fruits and veggies to meet the recommended 5-a day.
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But don't worry, kids don't need to create artistic masterpieces every time you want them to eat their vegetables. It only takes one delicious Bagel Face for them to discover how tasty and crunchy veggies can be. The next time, your kids might be plenty content eating them straight from their plate...

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Recipe: Brown Bear Bagel Faces

1 whole wheat bagel, halved

2 tbsp cream cheese

1 hard-boiled egg, sliced or crumbled

Assorted crunchy, tasty, and nutritious vegetables, (chopped into appropriately-sized facial features) such as: shredded carrots, sprouts, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, purple cabbage, and black olives

They'll Even Eat Radishes

There's been a lot of research lately which suggests children involved in preparing their own meals are far more likely to cultivate a diverse and nutritious palate.

Of course, those of us who cook with children don't need fancy studies to prove this. We see it every day. Like when a self-proclaimed salad hater devours his "Let-Us Rap" romaine leaf, stuffed with dried fruits and nuts, and quickly makes a second.

Today's New York Times has gone ahead and called "sending children out of the kitchen during meal time [to be one of] the most common food mistakes parents make". In fact, parents who choose to make dinner in the cloak of secrecy are actually doing their children a considerable disservice. In this latest study from Teachers College, children who learned to prepare their own whole grains and vegetables were even more likely to choose those same foods in the cafeteria. Yup, bitter radishes included.

So don't get stuck as a short-order cook, get cooking with your kids today.

What I Did on Summer Vacation

It's almost August... you've been to the beach, the park, the fair, and to see Grandma. Twice. Your kids took horseback riding lessons and learned to write HTML at computer camp. You've picked them up and dropped them off from more places than you can remember and more times than you can count. And yes, they are driving you crazy. And yes, there are still 42 MORE DAYS UNTIL SCHOOL STARTS!

Who's idea was this staycation anyhow?

But wait... there's a way to keep your kids busy AND have fun AND learn a thing or two along the way. (Oh, and in the process they may even help you make dinner -- and a margarita.)

The Unofficial Guide to

Getting Your Kids Cooking During the Dog Days of Summer

Teach your kids to...
juice limes

salt glass rims (see where I'm going here...)

zest lemons
tear basil

cut mint
wash veggies

wash lettuce

tear lettuce

spin lettuce

peel veggies

remove herb leaves from stems

slice cucumbers with a plastic knife

chop zucchini with a plastic knife

make pizza

dry-rub a steak for the grill

remove the seeds from red peppers

make hamburger patties, and wash their hands after

whisk a marinade

break eggs

pound chicken breasts
measure ingredients

taste-test the spice cabinet

make popsicles

make a salad dressing

blend smoothies

grate cheese

and....

Take a field trip to...

a u-pick farm for blueberry season

the Farmers' Market

a local dairy farm

the grocery store for an A-Z scavenger hunt (hey, it is air-conditioned!)
the grocery store for a global foods scavenger hunt

an ethnic neighborhood's market

a different Farmers' Market

On back-to-school-night, how pleased will you be to read your son's essay hanging on the classroom wall: "This summer vacation was the best ever! I helped make dinner for my family."

Dinnertime Challenges for Mom, Top Chef Style

Is it just me, or was the elimination challenge on Bravo's Top Chef last night hardly, well, a challenge? The task: cook a nutritious, simple, and kid-friendly dinner that American families would be happy to re-create. Oh, and spend $10 or less. If this seems an impossible feat, as Chef Andrew quipped, it's worth noting these astounding figures reported in Chef Tom Colicchio's blog: 10% of Americans rely on food stamps. Food stamps allocate just $1/meal per person. That means cooking a simple, nutritious, and kid-friendly dinner for your family of 4 for just $4. And the cost of food continues to rise...

Anyhow, it seems this 'challenge' -- or should I call it a 'regularly nightly task' for most American moms -- really stumped these talented chef-testants. So I've decided to critique each of the chefs so they'll be ready when they have hungry kids of their own.

Mark: I agree with the judges on this one. Your sweet curry entree lacked essential carbs and protein. Gail was right, sweet potatoes are a great source of vitamins, but a dinner of "just vegetables" doesn't work on the family table. How about mashed sweet potatoes with turkey burgers?

Dale: Good thinking. Pre-cooked sausages are a quick, inexpensive staple in the family kitchen. But your kids may find brats and cabbage to be the 'worst'. How about smoked chicken and apple sausage instead? Or an Italian turkey sausage kabob with sauteed red peppers and broccoli, with a side of brown rice?

Spike: Few kids get excited about olives and capers. But pasta with red sauce will always be a quick, inexpensive, and nutritious family meal. Jessica Seinfeld's been known to sneak some unique vegetables in there, too. I loved your idea for carrot soup -- I wish more American moms knew how easy and rewarding it is to make homemade soup.

Nikki, Richard, Stephanie, and Lisa: Lots of roasted chicken. Definitely a healthy, delicious way to feed a family. Think outside the BSB (boneless, skinless breast): it's a lot cheaper to buy whole chicken, thighs, or even bone-in breast. I liked Nikki's easy clean up plan and wished more chefs had considered using just 1 pan. Richard did a nice job introducing hot pink beets. Kids love the sweet taste and bright color when they are roasted. But left whole the texture is intimidating. Try running the beets through a food processor and toss with pasta and cheese. Though Stephanie's dish was deservedly on the bottom, whole wheat couscous is a great, quick kid-friendly grain. Mixed with some leftover chicken, chickpeas, and snow peas, it's one fast dinner.

Andrew: I loved this take on a 'kid classic': chicken parm. Your salad of fennel, orange, and apple was sweet and full of vitamin C. But Spike, no dad in his right mind would dare serve it on top of the chicken!

Antonia: How fitting that you, the single mom, knew how to "stir-fry" up a healthy, tasty, inexpensive kid-favorite. It's no surprise that this includes whole wheat pasta, chicken, and sweet veggies like bokchoy and edamame. I'm sure your daughter is proud!

I applaud Top Chef for inviting kids into the kitchen to help put dinner on the table: note to viewers, try this at home! And I know moms across the nation smiled in victory last night, confident their "Wednesday night chicken" or "surprise pasta bake" would have earned gushing praise from the Judges Table in this "challenge".

Local Foods Meet Federal Foes

It's discouraging to know the federal government is getting in the way of feeding your family fresh, local, and organic produce -- which is typically much healthier and more nutritious than the mass-produced varietals.

If you were disturbed and dismayed to read farmer Jack Hedin's editorial "Forbidden Fruit (and Vegetables)" in the New York Times earlier this month, you won't want to miss Evan Kleiman's interview with him this week on KCRW's show Good Food. You can listen online with their new media player, Tuned In. Despite the fact that the local foods movement is growing, and the demand for pesticide-free vegetables increasing, the government would much rather support the monoculture farmers who reap rows and rows of corn, while your zucchini is trucked in from a thousand miles away.

But there's hope. Read the Fresh Mouth blog, which chronicles "a family of 5, with 1 mission to eat only fresh food or processed food with 5 ingredients or less for 30 days". This Mom's mission:

We're an average American family trying to eat better and enjoy it more. We'll convince our three little kids that fresh food is about pleasure, rituals and family - and not about red dye #40, high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils.

Boxes of Fun Straight from the Farm

A tightly sealed package filled with wonderful goodies... euphoric aromas seeping from the kitchen...

No, it's not Christmas. It's your CSA box arriving weekly with freshly harvested local bounty!! But with spring's sweet treats like green peas and asparagus, it sure does seem like Christmas in March.

Community Supported Agriculture is one of the best ways you can inspire your tot-chef to chow down on mysterious vegetables and juicy fruit. And is there a better opportunity to discuss where food comes from (Albertson's? the can?) than when your delivery arrives straight from the local farm? Anticipation and wonder will radiate from your kids as they peel open the box to see what will be on the menu this week. And with truly the tastiest produce at their finger-tips, they'll be clamoring to help you cook up new recipes for carrots and beans.

If you live in the Los Angeles or San Diego area, sign up for a CSA box from J.R. Organics. The Escondido based family farm is committed to providing its members with the freshest, most nutritious vegetables around. Try them out by picking up a few veggies from their stand at many local Farmers' Markets.

Coming soon... kid-friendly recipes inspired by the weekly harvest.

No Super Supper Tonight

Silly me. I was under the hopeful impression Americans were pining away for Norman Rockwell-style family dinners, when the whole family enjoyed mom's homemade roast chicken, and kids actually responded with engaging answers to the time-worn question, "so what'dya learn at school today." Studies even purport that family meals dramatically improve academic performance and reduce drug-use and other at-risk behavior amongst teens.

But Wednesday's story in the New York Times tells us that even when moms are given every opportunity to put a home-cooked dinner on the table with ease and convenience, they'd just... well, rather not. The Times reports that meal assembly stores, the fastest growing trend in small businesses and franchising during the last three years, is on an unexpected steady decline. Companies such as Dream Dinners, My Girlfriends' Kitchen, Super Suppers, and Dinner by Design seemingly provide the busy mom's perfect answer that harkens back to more family-oriented times. In under 2 hours and with little cash, even a self-proclaimed 'bad cook' can pull up to a mini-mall storefront, prepare 24 meals with her closest friends and a glass of merlot, bring them home in freezer-ready packages, and sleep happily knowing her family of five will be eating healthy, delicious dinners for the next 3 weeks. But as the industry experiences a sharp decline in revenue and charts store closings across the country, it seems mom just isn't motivated enough. As the Times explains, last-minute convenience (think Wendy's on the way home from soccer practice and those ready-in-2-minutes dino nuggets) is about all busy families have time for.

As obesity rates in children continue to rise, and edible food-like substances overwhelm our grocery store shelves, it's unfortunate that more Americans aren't taking advantage of the easiest and quickest way to get home-cooked meals on the dinner table.

Veggies: How Many are Too Many?

I can't tell you how disappointed I was to still see Jessica Seinfeld's book, Deceptively Delicious, on the bestseller rack in Barnes and Noble this week. I've long maintained that sneaking food is merely a recipe for distrust -- one that will yield even more picky eaters who harbor an illusory relationship with healthy foods.

Thankfully, two outstanding food writers continue to remind us that the anti-sneak dialogue is resounding loudly. In this month's Bon Appetit column, "Health Wise", author Mark Kurlansky compares the veggie-laden diet of China's youngsters to the "eat your spinach... or else" rhetoric echoed by desperate moms in many American homes. He considers Missy Chase Lapine's (The Sneaky Chef) and Seinfeld's cookbooks to be "the worst possible response" to the problem of kids refusing to eat their vegetables. Kurlansky poses worthwhile solutions which "foster an appreciation for vegetables," such as growing a vegetable garden. (Think Alice Waters' Edible Schoolyard on a household scale.)

And yesterday Mark Bittman wrote on his new blog Bitten, that "the funniest thing about these two books is that the public uproar wasn’t over their approach to cooking but over which author had the idea first."

With the Bon Appetit article titled, "Eat Your Broccoli", and Bittman begging "Eat you veggies", I can't help but be optimistic that the next food-fad in kids' health will be "Veggies: How Many are Too Many?"

To Sneak or Not to Sneak?

Is that really still the question?!

With the controversy surrounding Jessica Seinfeld's book, Deceptively Delicious, tricking kids into eating spinach and sweet potatoes sure piqued the media's attention recently! As you might guess, I am a firm member of the "DON'T SNEAK" camp! Why hide foods that are already delicious? You'll find my argument furthered in last month's 805 Living Magazine, where I up against Missy Chase Lapine, author of the popular cookbook, The Sneaky Chef.

If you still need a reason to roast broccoli with parmesan instead of blending it up for pasta sauce, tune in to Bon Appetit's pod-cast with editor and gastrokid.com founder Hugh Garvey, and family cookbook author Lauren Bank Deen. Listen online, or read more about an "honest kitchen" in this Boston Globe article.

It's All About the Color!

We all know green is good. And it seems like everything is 'green' these days. Lunch boxes, toilet paper, cars, lightbulbs, even fully furnished homes. Green foods are good too: spinach, broccoli, asparagus, avocados, lettuce, and peas are all rich in antioxidant vitamins, follate, and iron.

Being eco-friendly is great. But green isn't the only color your kids should be learning about. Red and pink foods (peppers, grapefruit, watermelon, tomatoes, strawberries) are filled with nutrients such as beta carotene, lycopene, and powerful cancer-fighting carotenoids. Orange and yellow foods (carrots, squash, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, apricots, melons) are high in beta-carotene, and citrus fruits are full of vitamin c. And dark blue and purple foods (blueberries, grapes, blackberries, figs, plums) are also packed with cancer and disease fighting antioxidants.

Snack time is a great time to make sure your kids are eating through the rainbow. Keep baggies -- or in the spirit of being green -- small containers in your fridge stocked with fruits and veggies of different colors. Throw a "green snack" and a "red snack" into your daughter's backpack for a pre-soccer pick-me-up, and grab a "blue snack" and an "orange snack" for nibbles in the car. At the grocery store, choose by color: assign each child a color and see what nutritious fruits and veggies they bring back to the cart!

Me-Oh-MY Minestrone

This quick minestrone is a perfect Saturday afternoon kitchen adventure. Even the youngest chefs can exercise ownership and make choices about what they are eating -- a very powerful concept indeed!

On the stove, heat 4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth with a can of diced tomatoes. Season with herbs like rosemary or oregano, if desired. On the counter, place heaping bowls of delicious "toppings" like frozen corn, kidney beans, alphabet pasta or orzo, shredded carrots, green peas, tofu cubes, spinach leaves, and Parmesan cheese. Invite your tot-chef to top their bowl of broth with the yummy vegetables. Children will help themselves to their favorites, and may even be motivated to try something new. With a little encouragement, I've seen the most hesitant bean-eater be enthusiastic about stirring in at least 1 bean! Top with a little Parmesan and a touch of olive oil to make the soup sophisticated enough for mom and dad. Make floating “croutons” by cutting-out fun shapes of whole-grain bread with cookie cutters. Brush the bread with olive oil and bake until crispy.

Your kids will love this simple cooking adventure, perfect for a winter's day. You’ll love knowing their bellies are full of healthy nutrients. And the whole family will love spending time together in the kitchen!