The Curious Autodidact

November 12, 2011

Have you Kissed a Teacher Today?

Filed under: kitchen tips,media related,social justice,women heroes — Honilima @ 12:48 pm

With all the discouraging news drifting about these days it’s a good idea to focus on some good news and applaud those in this world who are quietly making a difference.

Take a break tonight and sit down to watch the 99 minute documentary Pressure Cooker” and you will be inspired by the difference teacher Wilma Stephenson has made in the lives of her inner-city students, at Frankford High School.  Ms. Stephenson teaches Culinary Arts, in a North Philadephia all-black high school, and her passion and determination to provide choices for her students is nothing short of inspirational. This movie is well-paced and will reminder viewers that one person can make a difference.

January 15, 2011

The Food we Waste in America

What a heartache to consider the number of people go without adequate nutrition in our country and the amount of food that is pitched into the landfills and compost bins daily. It has been reported by the New York Times that 27% of the food in America is wasted. Europeans are much more careful about food because they shop daily and have limited space in which to store it in their smaller refrigerators, things tend not to be misplaced.

Two articles that are worth reading from the New York Times are Tera Parker-Pope’s article “From Farm to Fridge to Garbage Can” and Andrew Martin’s article ” One Country’s Table Scraps, Another Country’s Meal” written a few years past.

Just think of what we could do to stop hunger if we took even half of what we spent on wasted food and gave it instead to the local food pantry so all could eat?

December 19, 2010

Cool Visual Display of Information

Filed under: environmental ideas,helpful hints,kitchen tips,social justice — Honilima @ 4:06 pm

Swiss Art in the Alps

I am a HUGE fan of well done visual display of information. These are a terrific way to show people data they might absorb less easily in written form. Here’s one that is a great look at Food Consumption in America.

Here’s another look at consumption from Erin Hanson featuring the difference between needs and wants in a chart that is called NEED TO WANT LESS that we could all take a moment to study more carefully. “When I was 6 I wanted a puppy…” If you want more check out some of her other work called One Minute Photoshop Thoughts—smart and sassy!

July 4, 2010

Ceviche: Let your Tastebuds Dance

Filed under: kitchen tips — Honilima @ 10:48 am

Ceviche served cold will give your tastebuds a dance

Ceviche served cold will give your tastebuds a dance


This is a recycled post. We had ceviche last weekend and it reminded me so much of warm weather and great food I had to re-post. Apologies to loyal CA readers…

Having discovered a marvelous ceviche shop I began to wonder how hard it could be to make this flavorful cool answer to dinner or lunch on a hot day. I discussed it with a friend who’d gone to the same shop and then replicated the flavors at home. The tastes were so vivid but with the high price and small portions to make one crave a home created variety for a fraction the price.

This recipe seemed to most closely duplicate the fresh flavors I was served, it’s simple to make and super good if you use fresh ingredients. I used mahi-mahi and served it with some organic corn chips and it was the perfect meal to eat on the deck on a summer evening with a friend.

Ceviche

Recipe serves four.

1 pound Ahi tuna (or other fish, mentioned above)*

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1/3 cup coconut milk

1 jalapeno, minced

Large pinch of salt

1/4 cup diced yellow bell pepper

1/2 cup diced cucumber

1 large ripe tomato, diced

1/2 bunch green onions, trimmed and sliced

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1. Dice the fish into 1/2-inch chunks.

2. In a large, non-reactive bowl (glass or ceramic), combine the lime juice, coconut milk and salt. Stir to mix. Add remaining ingredients and mix them gently to coat the fish.

3. Cover the mixture and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes, then taste it and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Refrigerate until time to serve.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Eat within four hours or the fish will “overcook” and become dry.

February 27, 2010

Modern Cooking with a “TNT” pot

Filed under: book related,helpful hints,kitchen tips — Honilima @ 8:52 am

Fagor a great pressure cooker brand

Many people have memories of old fashioned pressure cookers that were a danger for their ability to blow up from excess pressure. They have come a long way and it’s time for your to explore pressure cooker cooking as a way to prepare healthy fresh foods inexpensively. Your food will be more tasty and you will cook with way less fat.

Cooking Under Pressure: A Great Cookbook

My dear neighbor Mary gave me the courage to begin to use my pressure cooker by lending me Lorna Sass‘s book COOKING UNDER PRESSURE. It’s a great cookbook and gave me the courage to just move ahead into this great method of cooking good foods quickly. Once you’ve made risotto using her method you may never make it another way. I have bought several friends pressure cookers including a friend in Chicago that refers to it as his TNT pot. He is a convert but I always give the book with the pot. You can find a FAGOR brand pot and that’s what I’d recommend. Be sure to get at least a six quart size or larger.

modern pressure cooker

February 22, 2010

Eating for the Season: Seasonality Chart

Filed under: environmental ideas,helpful hints,kitchen tips — Honilima @ 1:55 am

Awesome illustration from the UK Guardian Newspaper

These colorful illustrations of information fascinate me. This chart from the Guardian is another great example of an artistic way to get a message across. Eating with the seasons is a commitment to the environment and it begins with awareness.

Slate has an article on-line call Sustainable Salads, by Brendan Borrell, that details which fruits and vegetable have the most modest environmental footprint.

It’s a wise choice to shop where you can determine the origin of the produce you purchase and to keep in mind how far it has come to get to your plate.

September 30, 2009

How “Green” are you at Home?

Photo by Fruggo, august 2004, garbage. Picture taken in Groningen, the Netherlands.  Ruby Ann City Parliament House. dumpster

Photo by Fruggo, august 2004, garbage. Picture taken in Groningen, the Netherlands. Ruby Ann City Parliament House. dumpster

This National Resource Defense Council page is an interesting look at the paper products we use in the home and which brands we buy that are best for spaceship earth.

Tom Watson, is the local hero and on the solid waste website for the hyper-recycling King County provides these waste calculators to determine how much you add to the waste stream.

Here’s a list of one hundred ideas of things you can do that will help reduce your impact on our planet, you likely could come up with a hundred more.

As if this isn’t enough take a glance at the ever dynamic world clock.

September 19, 2009

Food Choices: A Diet Post

In and Out Burgers: a meal on the run

In and Out: a meal on the run

For those of you who made it to see Food Incorporated this post may not have added appeal. I call Food Inc. the perfect “diet” movie, if you are trying the change your eating habits to a little lighter it’s the perfect flick to view. If you are interested in eating more locally take a look at Local Harvest’s site that details where you can buy food closer to home including a tab that details Community Supported Agriculture.

This posting that shows the difference between fast food advertising and the actual product is quite something to see also. Keeping some healthy snacks in the car, such as dried fruit and nuts at hand, will allow you to think twice before making one of these high calorie stops, the actual calorie counts can be looked up here or this list of the highest calorie foods on the run.

August 25, 2009

More Podcasts worth a Listen

Filed under: helpful hints,kitchen tips,media related,social justice — Honilima @ 2:55 am

Pommes frites

Pommes frites


Snacks, Overeating, and Sensory Science (broadcast on NPR’s Science Friday, July 10th, 2009)

Got a weakness for chocolate chip cookies? Kettle chips? Pizza? Ira talks with former FDA commissioner David Kessler about how tasty foods change your brain, and how the food industry designs the fat, salt, and sugar-laden snacks you crave. Kessler, the former head of the FDA during the Bush and Clinton administrations, is the author of the new book “The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite.” Is overeating a lack of willpower, or a disease?

From KUER in Salt Lake City an interview with Ellen Rupple Shell author ofCheap the High Cost of Discount Culture.
You’ve probably heard stories of people standing in line for an amazing sale or fights breaking out over a bargain table. Chances are – you may have gone to some great lengths for a rock-bottom price yourself. “Cheap” has become part of the American way, but journalist Ellen Ruppel Shell says it comes at a cost. Tuesday on RadioWest, she joins Doug for a look at discount culture and what it means for our homes and our economy.

From KUOW in Seattle: Marjane Satrapi: ‘Growing up in Iran’

We talk a lot about the Middle East, but what was it really like to grow up there? What does it mean to be a woman in Iran? How do people in Iran feel about their Iraqi neighbors? Marjane Satrapi grew up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution of 1979. What was occurring at that time? What were the fears and the hopes? What is the human cost of war? How do those events play into present day? How did Saddam look from the other side of the border?
Satrapi records the events of her childhood in two graphic novels, “Persepolis” and “Persepolis 2.” She joins us on “Weekday” to share her story. Additionally here’s a short YouTube film with Satrapi speaking on a panel about her film, based on her book, that was nominated for the best animation category.

August 22, 2009

Sorting Out Fruit and Vegetables by Season

Filed under: environmental ideas,kitchen tips — Honilima @ 1:54 am


In today’s modern world it’s hard to keep track of what foods are in season and what have been shipped from halfway around the world.

Here’s a neat listing that shows the seasons of various foods that you may have lost track of. It is helpful to keep you eating more locally and aware of how far things have traveled to get to you table.

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