Vegetable Broth & Abraham Mignon

Did you know that global food loss and waste amount to between one-third and one-half of all food produced? In the United States alone, 40 percent of food gets tossed every year—and that amounts to $162 billion in waste annually, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. While food waste is a global systemic issue, there are things that we can all do at home to minimize our personal food waste: creating efficient grocery lists, saving food scraps to make your own broth, or composting are a couple of examples of how you can have an impact on an individual level.

Every couple of weeks Nick and l make vegetable broth. We’ll take our vegetable scraps and freeze them for broth. We eat a limited amount of meat so don’t have bones very often, but when we do, we save those as well for bone broth. 

Broth, also known as bouillon is a savory liquid made of water in which bones, meat, or vegetables have been simmered. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, gravies, and sauces.

With a rich history, Broth has been an integral part of both eastern and western cooking traditions. In the east, More than 2,500 years ago, in Chinese medicine, bone broth was used to strengthen the kidneys and support digestive health. It subsequently became a staple of traditional Asian meals, and nowadays it is frequently used as the base for various Chinese, Korean and Japanese soups.  Alternatively in the west, "Broth" was noted in a fifth-century book of Roman recipes. 

I’ve paired our vegetable broth recipe with the work of Abraham Mignon.  Mignon was a still-life painter, best known for his lush compositions, Mignon developed a distinct style marked by precise detail and drawing.

Food waste or food loss is food that is not eaten. The causes of food waste or loss are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during production, processing, distribution, retail, and consumption.

Broth Ingredients: 

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil 

4 cups of water 

1 cup of Vegetable Scraps 

1 bay leaf 

Any herb scraps you may have 

Salt 

Recipe: 

In a large saucepan add your olive oil on medium heat 

Add in onion, garlic, and leek scraps set a timer for 5 min 

Add in the rest of the vegetables, stir and set a timer for 10 min 

Add in water, salt and herbs, let boil for two-three hours on low-medium heat 

Strain the broth and Voila - you have vegetable broth! 

Let broth cool off before storing.

<3 Hazelnut Cookies

valentines day (!) despite it's hallmark stamp has always been a very special holiday for me. as a kid, i was often in between traditions, but valentines day was especially exciting.  there was a shared enthusiasm both in school and at home! the little things in life bring so much joy and much of mine came via my mum and lala. (in urdu the word for mothers sister is khala, i lost the k somewhere & since it's been lala!) my lala would send send me elaborate cards (some were even embroidered) this was my favorite winter tradition. the week before and after valentines day, i would wait for the post and when it arrived, the smiles were wide and the excitement lasted for weeks.  share some love with this quick and simple hazelnut cookie recipe!

prep time: 10 min

cook time: 10- 12min

yields: 10-12 cookies

ingredients:

• 1 cup of your choice of hazelnut spread (i used nutella!)
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of flour 

directions:

• preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• line a baking pan with a strip of parchment paper.
• in a mixing bowl, combine the nutella, eggs and flour. 
• make shapes of the batter and set the cookie batter to bake for 6 min
• depending on the density of the cookies and your preference adjust the remaining time.
• voila (!) delicious and easy cookies.
• add jam/jelly preserves or ice cream as a topping! (i used a raspberry-lemon preserve i had on hand.)

spicy honey bbq tofu + Alma Thomas

the super bowl is this weekend and i couldn't be more excited. i'm not much of a football fan but i love the spirit of the super bowl, the anticipation, the communal bonding, and obviously the food. it is estimated that americans will eat 1.25 billion wings during this years super bowl on february 2 reports the national chicken council. if you are looking for something different, try my spicy honey bbq tofu. 

Alma Woodsey Thomas was an American artist and educator whose distinctive color field paintings recall the techniques of Pointillism and Abstract Expressionism. Alma was 80 years old when she became the first African-American woman featured in a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1972.

• prep time: 20 min

• cook time: 20 min

ingredients:

• 1 block extra firm tofu, pressed and cubed (to press, place the tofu block on a plate and cover with a few paper towels or a clean kitchen towel then place a heavy pan on top of the towel for at least 30 minutes.)

• 3 tablespoons of cornstarch

• 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil

• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder

• salt and ground black pepper (to taste)

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup honey

• 4 tablespoons of sriracha (or to taste)

• 1/4 cup of bbq sauce

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• juice of 1 lime

super bowl sunday is the second-largest day for u.s. food consumption after thanksgiving day. 

directions:

• preheat the oven to 350°F

• line a baking sheet with parchment paper

• heat 1½ tablespoon of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat

• add the cornstarch, garlic and salt and pepper to the tofu in a small bowl and toss to coat

• add the tofu to the skillet and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.

• while the tofu is cooking: heat 1½ tablespoon of oil in a skillet on medium heat: combine the honey, sriracha, bbq sauce and lime juice, bring to a boil; simmer until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes.

• when the tofu is cooked add it into the honey bbq sauce, mix well and let the tofu simmer for a min. 

• place the mixed tofu on the parchment let it bake for two min and then broil for 2-5 min. (till the tofu starts to crisp.)

chili sin carne (vegetarian chili) & Mardonio Magaña

it's been a wonderful winter! cold with lots of snow and warm food. tis the season for soups and stews. chili has become a go to winter recipe for me. the recipe is simple, packed with flavor, and keeps well. go figure, I'm not the first to notice that chili keeps well: on the American frontier settlers often brought chili with them for the trip. before traveling the chili was dried into bricks and could easily be heated on the road.

I paired this chili recipe with the work of Mardonio Magaña, A Mexican sculptor was known for his folk art and stone direct carvings, he was also known to work with wood and mud. A self-taught artist inspired by nature. His work represents the vigorous persistence of the rural and campesino tradition in twentieth-century Mexican art.

ingredients: 

• 2 tablespoons of olive or vegetable oil

• 1 medium red skinned onion, chopped

• 1 large red pepper, seeded and chopped

• 1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped

• 1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

• 5 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

• 1 cup of vegetable stock/broth or pale beer 

• 1 can of crushed or diced tomatoes

• 1  can of black beans

• 1 can of red kidney beans

• 1 can of corn 

• 1 tablespoon of ground cumin

• 2 tablespoons of chili powder (or to taste)

• 1 tablespoon of cayenne hot pepper sauce (or to taste)

• 1 teaspoon of salt

toppings:

• chopped scallions, whites and greens 

• 2 cups shredded spicy monterey jack (your preference)

• corn tortilla chips (your preference)

prep time: 10 min

cook time: 23- 30 min

total time: 40 min

directions: 

• over moderate heat, add oil to a deep pot and combine onion, peppers, and garlic. saute for 3 to 5 minutes to soften vegetables.

• deglaze pan with broth, add tomatoes, black beans, red kidney beans, and stirring to combine.

• season with cumin, chili powder, hot sauce,& salt.

• thicken chili by using a potato masher to mash the beans.

• simmer over low heat about 5 min

• stir in the corn to the chili, let the chili simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes.

• serve bowls of chili and top with chopped scallions. (add cheese and tortillas if you so choose!)

• voila! bon appétit!

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a spicy scallion scramble with apple sauce

lots of eggs, any day and any way is my breakfast motto. a weekday breakfast for me needs to be three things, simple, delicious and filling. this recipe is just that.

prep time: 5 min

cook time: 5 min

total time: 10 min 

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ingredients: 

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of butter 

1 teaspoon of milk 

sriracha (to taste)

1/2 a tablespoon of diced scallions

a tablespoon of applesauce 

instructions:

1. scramble eggs and milk in a bowl

2. in a small frying pan heat the butter, add the eggs, 1/2 of the scallions. fry for about one min.

3. serve the eggs and top with applesauce, sriracha and rest of scallions to taste.

4. add salt and pepper to taste and voila! 

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