sweet miscellany

So this is about the seventh post in a row that has not involved baking due to the lovely (but not really lovely) summer heat. I hope everyone isn’t too upset about the lack of baked goods, but I’m guessing that you also groan at the thought of turning on your oven when the mercury is already topping 100 degrees. I have been trying to test recipes for my shop and it’s been a game of strategy to figure out what time of day is best to turn on the oven and how high I have to crank my fan and AC. Such is life when you live in Texas.

And now to change the subject and bring the focus back to this post instead of mentioning how hot it is outside for the umpteenth time. I’ve been trying to reduce my overall waste in the past year and in doing so, I’ve learned a lot about how to use things that we normally throw away. I think it first started with beet greens. Did you know you can eat beet greens, as long as they weren’t sprayed with pesticides? They are very similar to chard and can be prepared in the same ways. Carrot greens, the lovely parsley-like greens on the tops of carrots, can be eaten, too! The same rule applies with pesticides, though. Make sure your carrots haven’t been sprayed with pesticides (the best way to do this is to buy organic or at a farmer’s market where you can ask the grower).

Having bought a bunch of carrots at the farmer’s market several weeks in a row, I was left with a mound of carrot greens. I remembered seeing this post on happyolks a while ago, so it seemed like the perfect way to start using up the carrot greens was in a simple and tasty pesto. Voila. Carrot greens pesto was born. Since pesto is a really versatile addition to your fridge and pantry, there are about a million ways to use it. I ended up eating some of it with pasta (naturally), spreading it on sandwiches, using it as a marinade and sauce for simple grilled veggies, and eating a few bites straight out of the jar with a spoon. If you feel like you can’t finish it all in a timely manner, simply put it in an ice cube tray and freeze it for safekeeping.
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I usually don’t bring up major news or anything happening outside of my kitchen on this blog, but today I will gladly be breaking away from the norm. You might already be a bit thrown off by the title of the post, and that’s ok. If you stick around, I’ll explain it to you, and if you hang in until the end, a delicious recipe awaits.

Were you aware that roughly 90% of out of season tomatoes at your local grocery store chain are grown in Southern Florida? Were you also aware that this area has been referred to as “ground zero” for modern day slavery in the United States? Yes folks, slavery still occurs on American soil. The nearly 1 billion pounds of out of season tomatoes arrive on grocery shelves at the cost of human rights abuses of migrant workers and child laborers who only see less than one cent per pound of tomatoes. Unbelievable. Unacceptable. Ridiculous.

From this point on, it is within our best interest, as a nation, and as human beings interested in respecting the human rights of others, to seek out slave-free tomatoes or none at all. This summer, the International Justice Mission formed a parternship with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers as well as the Fair Food Standards Council in order to start “Recipe for Change”. This is a campaign that will raise awareness about the injustices occurring in tomato fields across the United States. The goal is to develop a zero tolerance policy for slavery, child labor, and abuse. Through both of the organizations mentioned above, and consumers like you and me, it is our intention to ask major supermarket chains to support the Fair Food Program which would provide you with slave-free tomatoes. Supporting this means a slight increase per pound of tomatoes (1.5 cents) and a promise to purchase from farmers abiding by the aforementioned standards. Trader Joes and Whole Foods are already on board, as are local farmers markets and CSA programs.

You might feel helpless in this matter, but spreading the word about this problem is the best way to get it out into the public. You can support this cause simply by purchasing your slave-free tomatoes from the locations mentioned above, but if you want to take it a step further, I encourage you to contact your local supermarket and demand that they sell slave-free tomatoes. As human beings, we should put the welfare of others first above profit.

In order to spread awareness about this issue, the Giving Table initiated a day long awareness campaign for food bloggers on July 24th in which they could share slave-free tomato recipes. So, even though I’m a few days late, I’m sharing a recipe for a slave-free tomato and coconut bisque in hopes that this will spread awareness about this issue, and also put something yummy in your belly.
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Carrot Greens Pesto

Slave-Free Tomato & Coconut Bisque