Welcome to day 21 of 30 Days to a Food Revolution. Today’s guest blogger is Karen. Karen Schuppert is a Certified Nutrition Educator and Natural Chef in the fertile land of the Napa Valley. Karen blends her lifelong focus on sustainable food with inspiration she gained while managing the St. Helena Farmers’ Market and applies these principles in her teaching and culinary practice.
While the core of her work centers on whole foods wellness, Karen brings to the table her skill as an accomplished chef with sensitivity to factors that often derail our health. She has taught many cooking classes at Whole Foods Napa and in private kitchens on the benefits of SOUL Food: Seasonal, Organic, Unrefined and Local. To support her commitment of promoting seasonal eating, she created the website “Cook 4 Seasons,” offering healthy recipes and techniques for the busy person, fresh from the farm to your table.
Karen’s recipe- Curried Cauliflower
Karen’s tip- How to bring more locally grown food into your lives
In case you haven’t heard…there’s a revolution going on! It starts in the ground, is grown to feed the earth and to nourish its inhabitants. Food. A precious yet vital source and the key to sustainable health. For some, access to food is more difficult than others. Here in the Napa Valley, we live in a climate that is temperate and suitable for planting a variety of crops. Sure, we’re known for our grapes, but there are so many possibilities for additional food production that we are just beginning to uncover…
This week I am honored to be part of The W.H.O.L.E. Gang’s Food Revolution where 30 fellow bloggers have come together to continue the momentum Jamie Oliver has created, ‘saving our health by changing the way we eat.’ And as a matter of fact, the Napa community has answered that call by launching its first annual “Napa Local Food Forum,” which was held April 28th at the Expo Fairgrounds.
This event was the brainchild of a diverse group of people led by our Agricultural Commissioner with a common vision: to ensure our local food system is socially equitable, environmentally sensitive and economically stable, by producing more food locally and providing access to all. That means from individuals like you and me, to institutions like our hospitals and schools.
Getting there is no small task and now is when the real work begins. Through a rich network of panelists, the discussions were loaded and lively. The range of topics included:
*Enhancing Agricultural Opportunities in Napa County
*Small Scale Food Production
*Sourcing Local and Sustainable Food
*Distributing Food Locally
*Matching Local Foods to Institutions
There was an informative presentation by our County Public Health Officer who laid the groundwork on our current ‘un’healthy state of the union ; a local, seasonal lunch provided by many generous donors throughout the Bay Area, followed by a public town-hall platform where many could express their interests on how to move this agenda forward.
You might be asking how this applies to you…or better yet, how can you get involved? The challenge is open to anyone who wants to see healthier food in your home, your community. It can be as easy as planting an herb garden, to an entire acre of tomatoes and beans. For example, I have just begun the process of replacing our lawn with planter boxes of leafy greens and root vegetables to accompany my oregano and parsley.
Here are additional ways :
Plant an herb garden. This doesn’t require much time or space. You can use a box or several pots. And you can buy the starts at nurseries or farmers’ markets.
Buy produce in season – you’ll get maximum flavor, nutrients, and bang for your buck.
Support your local farmers – right now is the beginning of peak season at the farmers’ markets. If you don’t have the space or the time to grow your own produce, at least you’re supporting agricultural diversity and keeping transport to a minimum.
For those with land who want someone else to manage it, there a wonderful resource called Farmlink that will connect landowners with aspiring farmers.
Become part of a community garden, or start one of your own. There are many tips on how to go about it.
If you do have the inkling to reconfigure your personal landscape – check out this video by a family in Pasadena who has turned cement into a green cornucopia. They now produce much of their own food on less than 1/10th of an acre!
Let your voices be heard in schools. I think we all know how processed foods have infiltrated kids’ lunches…but it takes a village to demand fresh choices and affect change. Just look at all the comments that Jamie Oliver receives, in addition to offering recipes and other resources for healthy lunches.
If you would like more information on the Napa Local Food movement, please visit us here. We are working on a permanent site, complete with additional resources and networking opportunities.
Recipe – Curried Cauliflower – Serves 4
Tip – Support SOUL Food = Seasonal, Unrefined, Organic and Local
Cauliflower is in ‘bloom’ at the farmers markets and now it comes in glorious colors. They all have the same flavor and will take on whatever spices you add in cooking. I love curry for its exotic taste and its anti-inflammatory properties.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 cups cauliflower florets, washed and dried
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup organic coconut milk
1/4 cup vegetable broth or water
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1. In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and sauté onion, garlic, and ginger for about 3 minutes. Add curry powder, cumin and sauté for an additional 3 minutes, until fragrant.
2. Add cauliflower and lime juice and stir-fry on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat, add coconut milk and broth or water, cover partially, and simmer on low heat for about 5 more minutes, until cauliflower is crisp-tender. Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
This recipe was inspired by nutritionist James Rouse.
Read more about a Local Food Revolution.
Don’t forget:
In order to be entered to win one of 7 cookbooks, here’s what you need to do to gather entries into the drawing. The more you do, the more chances you have to win!
- Leave a comment on this blog on as many of the 30 guest food bloggers as you like. Each comment is an entry.
- Sign up for The W.H.O.L.E. Gang newsletter.
- Visit that guest blogger’s site and leave a comment there too.
- Tweet about this project using both of these in your tweet so I’ll find you #30days2 #foodrevolution
When the initial 30 days of guest posts are over on June 4th, we’ll pick the winners.
Mmm, your curried cauliflower recipe sounds absolutely divine Karen! 🙂
Yum – that sounds delicious! Mmmm……
I absolutely love this post. It's just full of wonderful, inspiring info, photos, and a very tempting recipe. I've admitted I've not been a fan of curry to date, but I'll give this one a try. That colored cauliflower is gorgeous. Love the painting of you, Karen, and all the terrific advice. And, SOUL food … I will remember that for sure–thank you for that alone, Karen. Hope to see you at BlogHer Food in October and one day I'll have to visit you in Napa!
Shirley
Great tips! I have a few herbs growing I love to frequent the farmers markets. We don't quite have cauliflower here in the PA's markets, but when we do I'd love to try this yummy recipe!
I love the SOUL food approach. I'll try my best to stick to it 🙂
~Aubree Cherie
Yum! and look how beautiful the different colors are 🙂
I want to plant my own garden but know I don't that the time to keep up, so I will keep shopping at the famers markets.
Thanks for your post.
Yum, the cauliflower recipe looks delicious! I’m trying it this weekend. Thanks!
Ali – this recipe is one of my favorites and the colors make it even better.
Janette – let me know how you like it!
Deanna – thanks for stopping by!
Shirley – you could go light on the curry for starters and add to taste. And yes, A Napa visit is in order – perhaps you could extend your SF visit in October…
Aubree – herbs add so much to otherwise ordinary dishes, and are so easy to maintain (save basil, which requires constant pinching…)
Sarah – I sure get that and your farmers will be so grateful!
We now have a yard so we'll be starting a vegetable garden this year. It will take some time to be able to produce enough to feed our family all summer, plus we need to learn what we are doing, so we've joined a shared agriculture farm. We bought a share in a local farm where we will help out during the summer and benefit from the contributions of other local families.
That Pasadena video should be interesting – we tore up a bunch of grass in our front yard two years ago for a vegetable garden. I try to make it attractive since we do live in an HOA neighborhood, but so far I've gotten nothing by interested and supportive comments!
Thank you for the recipe! And thanks for the tips about accessing fresh, local produce. I know where to buy locally, but I really wanted a vegetable garden of my own this year. It’s taking us a while to get our back yard in shape, and I thought I was going to miss out. But I really like your idea of growing my garden in pots for now, and I know that a lot of what I want to grow is available in starter pots at the local farmer’s market. I’ll have to give it a try!
This is exactly what I needed to read! We are in the process of going whole foods eating and I need all the info/help I can get!
For the longest time, my husband has been talking about replacing the grass in our front yard with wildflowers. I'm going to suggest that we go one step further and plant a vegetable garden in addition to the wildflowers. We'll be renegades on our block, maybe in our neighborhood, and probably in our city, but what the heck, I'm inspired. The thought of being able to grow our own vegetables is so appealing. Thank you for your inspiration. And the Curried Cauliflower looks great!
Ellen
The colors of the cauliflower are amazing! I will have to try this recipe as I have never actually ate cauliflower! Thanks for sharing.
Awesome – I love the cauliflower – definitely going to have to try.
Karen, I will HAVE to give this a go. Maybe for meatless Monday. I am a big fan of any food with Asian flair—like curry! And thank you for mentioning community gardens. When I lived in Seattle I had a little plot in one just north of the city. The community, the peace, the satisfaction one feels working with others in the soil is priceless. Great post!
Great post, great tips and the cauliflower recipe looks wonderful. I'm definitely trying that recipe. Good one, Karen!
Melissa
I looove curry, and my husband loves cauli, I'll be trying this one.
This sounds sooo good! I love curry and I love cauliflower, so how could it not be great? 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
I love the idea of buying local produce and supporting co-ops/farmers locally. We are gone from our home from the end of may through june and that make for difficult farming. next best is our co-op. Can't wait!