I just finished reading “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan (thanks to Jennifer Vuillemot for lending it to me!).   Before finishing this book, I also read his other book “In Defense of Food” and watched a documentary that he’s featured in called “Food Inc.”.

If you’re concerned about the food you’re eating, how its produced, how the animals are treated and how the land is used, these three are must read/views.   If you’re a farmer, an animal rights activist, vegetarian, an environmentalist, a worker for a factory farm or slaughterhouse, or just a regular person, these books and documentary will speak to you.

None of these are extremist propaganda in case you’re worried.  You’ll come away with the tools you need to make informed choices about the food you eat…and to support the producers you trust and respect.

Its written from an American perspective but it still applies to our Canadian food supply.  If you want to know how to shop for REAL food and how to stay healthy without memorizing all the “food science” out there, then its for you.  It will serve you well for the rest of your life.

Here’s the author’s website:  http://www.michaelpollan.com/indefense.php

Our environment is becoming more and more saturated in chemicals made by companies that want to keep making profit off their sale.  Why should we have to prove that organic farming is healthier?  Why don’t we err on the side of caution and reduce or eliminate the use of these chemicals?  What’s the worst that can happen from choosing organic foods?  I may spend a little extra money, but I know that the people that produce the food aren’t exposed to toxic chemicals and I know that the wildlife near those farms isn’t being adversely affected either.   I would hate to eat non-organic and find out that a chemical used to grow it was responsible for killing our bees, or causing disease in people and animals.

People need to change their way of thinking about food.  Its about the planet and all its inhabitants.

• 2 large green tomatoes (unripe)
• 1 onion
• half a green pepper
• half a pack of mushrooms, sliced.
• 5 slices of bacon.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• a dash of herbes de provence or Italian herb mix if you like.

Cut the bacon into small squares and fry till crispy.  Set the bacon aside.  Drain the bacon fat that’s left over, leaving a table spoon or so in the pan.

Add the veggie ingredients.  Fry until everything is soft and starts to crisp a bit.  Add the bacon back in, mix, and serve!  Makes a great sidedish and its a great way to use your extra green tomatoes.

Cranberry Salsa Dip with Cream Cheese

1 (12-ounce bag) or 3 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup minced green onions
2 small (approximately 2 tablespoons) jalapeno peppers, cored, seeded and minced
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese
Cranberries and/or cilantro sprigs for garnish

Rinse, drain, and pick over cranberries, (discarding all that are soft or bruised). Place them in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped but not mushy.

Place crushed cranberries in a bowl; mix together with onions, jalapeno peppers, sugar, cilantro leaves, ginger, and lemon juice. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours so flavors develop (salsa will be too sharp and tart to begin with).

On a serving plate, place cream cheese; cover with the dip. Garnish, if desired, and served with crackers.

For those of you that don’t know what dulse is (just about anyone from Ontario), its a red seaweed. Grand Manan, a small island off the coast of New Brunswick, is where a lot of the world’s dulse comes from. Its picked at low tide, dried, and bagged. Its salty, chewy and occasionally has periwinkle shells in it. Its so tasty that you’ll overlook the occasional shell.

Learn all about it here: http://www.grandmanannb.com/dulse.htm#Dulse

Pick yourself up a bag the next time you’re at the grocery store! Atlantic Mariculture is the brand I bought, although anything from Grand Manan should be high quality stuff!

Sub it in this recipe. Seamless.

1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
½ cup peanut butter
1 ½ cup icing sugar
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoon instant coffee
1/3 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
3 cups of crumbled, unsalted soda crackers
Salt to taste

Melt chocolate chips in double boiler or over low heat. Blend peanut butter, icing sugar, butter and salt in. Combine instant coffee and boiling water and stir into chocolate mixture.

Remove from heat, cool, stir in egg, crackers and vanilla. Mix well. Pack firmly in greased 8 inch brownie pan. Chill in refrigerator for several hours.

Cut into squares.