Lots of people, in an effort to curb their consumption of red meat, watch calories, and generally protect their health, have added more seafood to their diets. With fish, of course, logically, comes shrimp–but maybe not for long. Like most of you, we’ve seen the price of shrimp rising, but last week, while shopping at a local grocery store chain, we were suddenly struck by the cost of one of our favorite sea creatures.
As many of you already know, most of the shrimp sold in the US are raised on shrimp farms in Southeast Asia and imported to the US. These shrimp come with a variety of contaminants, from antibiotics to pesticides to banned chemicals to bacteria, and even insects and rodent hair. Ugh. The farms where the shrimp are raised are pretty filthy, as are the plants in which the shrimp are processed and packed. It’s so dirty, in fact, that shrimp account for 26 to 35% of all imported seafood that gets rejected, according to Food and Water Watch. Double ugh. You may be thinking that you’re not so sure you want to eat domestic, wild-caught shrimp either since the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Valid point; tests are still being conducted to test levels of oil and other chemicals in seafood from that area, but you have other domestic choices, say, shrimp from the Pacific Northwest, for example–and this brings us to our original point.
We were shrimp shopping and found a bag of EZ-Peel, wild-caught, domestic shrimp, and we thought–SCORE! But in reaching for it, we glanced down to see the price–$34.99 for a pound of shrimp–and we froze. After more investigation, we saw that even shrimp from Southeast Asia were pretty pricey, and so we consulted everyone’s favorite oracle, Google. Did you know that there’s a worldwide shrimp shortage? Prices for shrimp have jumped to a 14-year high, and prices in March of this year were 61% more than the year before, due to a bacterial disease called “early mortality syndrome.” This disease kills 90% of the shrimp it infects by destroying the digestive systems of young shrimp. It started in Southeast Asia and devastated shrimp populations there, and cases have now been reported in Mexico.
As if that weren’t disheartening enough, meat-eaters of the world be warned–meat prices are on the rise, as well. There’s a disease affecting pork that has spread to 30 states and killed 7+ million pigs so far. The price of bacon is already up 13.1% from last year, and by the end of 2014, Americans may be spending as much as 20% more for pork. Because of the drought in the Western portion of the country, beef herds are at their lowest numbers since 1951, and the price of ground chuck is up 5.9%. If this mega-drought continues, expect beef prices to continue to rise–a lot. Even chicken is up 12.4% over the past year!
So, what do you do? Now may be a better time than any to cut your meat consumption. Do you take part in Meatless Monday? Maybe you should. Maybe you should create your own Meatless Tuesday, too. There’s no doubt that as food prices increase, especially in meat, dietary changes will have to be made. What do you make of it? Do you take a “glass half-empty approach” and worry about pending social unrest, or a “glass half-full” approach that includes a hope for healthier eating habits across the nation? Let us know on our Facebook or Twitter pages! Whatever your thoughts, we all hope this drought defies predictions and ends soon. There’s more than your favorite filet mignon to be lost if it persists.
Usually, people think of spring and summer as prime growing seasons and may lament the temperature drops that come with fall and the loss of fresh produce. But all is not lost! Autumn is actually an amazing time to grow vegetables! If you’re thinking of starting now, your best is to buy already established plants (but check local planting dates to see which veggies are out of reach this year) and get them in quick; it’s just too late to start your own plants from seed. Here’s a list of some our favorite fall vegetables–for the garden and the table.:)
1. Broccoli: It’s a dark-green veggie (which is always a plus!), so it’s full of vitamins and minerals. Another bonus: Pests aren’t fans of broccoli, so growing it is usually pretty painless. Boil it, broil it, sauté, bake or grill it–broccoli is extremely versatile!
2. Cabbage: In general, the cabbage family is found of cool temps, so spring and fall are the perfect seasons for them to flourish. Cabbage plants are very hardy and store well (as long as a few months), and it’s chock full of vitamins K and C and fiber. We’re thinking sauerkraut and New York Reubens. How about you?
3. Beets: Beets make food pretty–that’s just the truth–but beyond their aesthetics, they’re super healthy and easy to grow. Beets are root vegetables, but you can actually eat both the root and the leaves. They’re also loaded with vitamins A and C. You can top your salad with them or use them in soups (Borscht, anyone?); a quick internet search will yield a stack of great recipes.
4. Collards: These tasty greens are one of a very few veggies that get tastier with the cold (even frost). There are varieties that can be harvested in 60 days (score!), and they’re a very laid-back crop–they can even weather drought (though it may change the taste). Generally, they prefer cool weather, moist soil and lots of sunshine, but they can roll with what they get.
5. Lettuce: You might have thought your garden salad days were over, but they’re not! Most lettuces love cool temperatures, so they are best planted in early spring and harvested before summer’s heat really kicks in (once the heat takes hold, the plants bolt and leaves become bitter tasting), but fall brings a second wind for lettuce! Plant in late summer and you’ll be enjoying fresh salads well into the fall months.
6. Onions: Onions love the cool weather almost as much as they love to grow with friends (plant onions with other veggies like peas and turnips and watch them thrive!). They need plenty of time to mature though, so don’t wait too late to get them started. There are plenty of varieties to choose from, but even if you get a late start, you can enjoy scallions on salads and in your favorite fall soups.
7. Radishes: Radishes are a very gratifying veggie to grow. Another root vegetable, they are almost a garden fail-safe. Think your thumb is black instead of green? Plant some radish seeds and build some confidence. In the summer, they can help protect your cucumbers and squash from pests, if planted close, but be sure to plant some late summer for a fall harvest!
8. Spinach: No one should be without spinach–really. It’s packed with iron and vitamins A and C, it’s easy to grow and you can use it fresh in salads and smoothies, or grill/sauté/broil etc. it. It’s great in soups, too! It’s one of our fall favorites, so plant plenty of it! It doesn’t always keep so well in the fridge, but when it’s ready to be harvested, throw it in the freezer and take it out as you’re ready to use it. Eazy peezy!
9. Chard: This little gem is both heat and frost tolerant, so if you’re looking for fresh greens to take into winter, then this is the plant for you. They’re easy to grow from seed, and they’re a great source of phytonutrients and antoxidants. And honestly, they’re really pretty. They have dark green leaves but different varieties have different brightly-colored stalks.
10. Kale: All hail the kale! Kale is another green that’s high on the list of super foods we love. It loves cool weather, keeps growing after frost, and it maintains its distinctive flavor extremely well with freezing, so holding on to the goodness of kale through the winter months is an easy feat!
Even if you’re not a gardener, it’s easy to keep your fridge full of fresh vegetables well into fall (or even winter!) at your local farmer’s market. Farmers close to you will be growing these and other cold-hardy veggies, and hauling them to your local market all the time, so there’s no need to hit the supermarket for veggies shipped in from Peru. Look at cooking with the food that’s in-season locally as a new adventure! If you’re dying for a fresh tomato (albeit the hot-house variety), you can always hit Safeway and get a fix. At Brown Bag, we’re gearing up for fall and winter soups! Soups are a winter favorite of ours here, so keep an eye out in the coming months for our new soup menu!
Some of you may still be bringing in those late-summer tomatoes and thinking, “What am I supposed to do with this many tomatoes?” I mean, a person can only eat them so fast, right? Stop stuffing yourself and save them for a rainy/cold/snowy day! Imagine how delish your winter soups and sauces will taste with those vine-ripened, summer tomatoes! While we’re grateful that hothouse tomatoes exist–I mean, who could go nine months of the year without a tomato?–we all know that they just don’t taste as good as a tomato grown out in the sunshine during the summer months. The taste of sun-ripened tomatoes really can’t be imitated or beaten. So, carry that taste into the winter months by preserving your extras!
When most people think of preserving tomatoes, they think of canning–a long, arduous process that takes a lot of time and energy. But have you ever considered freezing your tomatoes instead? It’s faster and easier, and you still get that summer taste in the cold months! What are you waiting for? Get your tomatoes ready!
Here’s how you do it:
You want ripe, but not overripe tomatoes for freezing, meaning that you want the tomatoes to be ripe but still firm. Once you’ve selected your mateys, wash them and dry them. Now, you’re ready to freeze!
You can freeze tomatoes in a couple of different ways–with skin or without, whole, sliced, chopped, pureed, in sauce, etc. Tomatoes are very versatile in freezers. We’re going to focus on freezing them peeled and unpeeled. To freeze whole, unpeeled tomatoes, just cut away the stem scar, put them on cookie sheets and put them in the freezer. You don’t have to blanch tomatoes before freezing. When the tomatoes are frozen, put them in freezer bags or other containers and seal them up. When you want to use them, simply take out as many as you need and run them (still frozen) under warm water, then peel them. The peel should come right off. You can use them in any sauces you’d like, but note that their texture will be more mushy than when they were fresh. They are best used in sauces, etc. after they’ve been frozen.
If you want to freeze peeled tomatoes, dip them in boiling water for about a minute (or until the skins split) and they will peel very easily. At that point, you can either freeze them whole, chop, puree, etc. them and freeze the same way as above. If you want to stew your tomatoes first, cook them for 10 to 20 minutes (or until tender), then cool the pan by placing it in another pan of cold water. Fill your containers (but leave some headspace), then seal them and put them in the freezer!
To get the most (and the most time) out of your frozen tomatoes, use containers and bags that are intended for freezing and store them at the back (the coldest part) of the freezer. The freezer temperature should be set to 0 degrees Fahrenheit or colder, and frozen veggies shouldn’t ideally be frozen for more than 8 months–that’s just enough time to get you to the next tomato season! Happy freezing, folks!