(y)our food choices™

Not Pretty!

We’ve been troubled by the amount of plastic we use in the kitchen and throughout our apartment. Last year, we reduced the amount of glass we use by saving and reusing old bottles and containers. We use the containers for storing bulk items like beans, rice, flours, and other items we purchase in bulk from Rainbow market. We use the bottles for olive oil, maple syrup, and other liquid items. But reducing plastic seems to be difficult. We feel like crack addicts jonesing for the next fix whenever we can’t find a plastic Ziploc bag, but instead of crack we’re addicted to plastic. For years we have used Saran Wrap and Ziploc bags without giving a second thought to where it all ultimately ends up. We know it goes to the trash dump but where does it go after that?

We heard about the giant mass of plastic in the Pacific Ocean a few years ago, but thought that it was someone else’s problem, not ours. We recycle. We compost. We reuse plastic bags from the grocery store. This fall, we paid a visit to Sharon Beals’ studio in the Hunters Point Shipyards where we were blown away by her sadly beautiful photographs of the plastics and other detritus and flotsam she’s gathered on our local beaches. We then took a good hard look at our lives and realized we are part of the problem and the only way to be part of the solution is to reduce our plastic consumption to the point of eliminating plastics from our household.

Even though our blog is about food, it’s also about the choices we make. We’re not going to preach and stand on a soapbox about the evils of plastic, god knows we’re just as guilty as everyone else, but part of this year’s commitment to living a more sustainable life includes an effort to reduce the amount of plastic we use and to change how we dispose of it So, starting today we will be documenting our reduction of plastic as well as what we’re eating. For all those out there reading our blog, please give us any suggestions you may have for plastic-free food storage. We hope that by the end of this year we will be plastic free. We know it’s going to be a hard habit to kick, so wish us luck.

Potato Leek Soup w/ Sandwich and Salad

Potato Leek Soup

It’s winter and the air has been cold. We’re expecting a rainy week and I’ve got a feeling we’ll be eating a lot of soup to keep us warm. When we make soup, we like to make a big batch so we have extra to freeze for another day. This potato and leek soup never made it to the freezer. It was just too good and with the weekend upon us, leftovers mean easy lunches. The heavy cooking can wait for evening.

Potato leek soup is a simple, hearty meal made all the better with the added rich flavors of bacon fat and savory homemade chicken stock. An enriching dollop of crème fraiche or sour cream, a grind of black pepper and a dash or five of Tabasco round out the steaming bowl of thick, savory yum.

The stock used for this beauty was made from the leftover bones of a Limon Rotisserie chicken be brought home for an easy takeout meal. We love the restaurant’s Peruvian take on roasted chicken and we love what the extraordinary mix of herbs and spices used to flavor the birds adds to the stock we create with what most folks would discard (a terrible waste, in our opinion).

With a small sandwich (goat cheese and prosciutto on our no-kneed loaf pictured) and a romaine salad with a simple bleu cheese dressing (bleu cheese, a bit of sour cream, mayo, white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper whisked together) made for a perfect after-run lunch this afternoon.

The Recipe:

2 slices of bacon

3 leeks washed and trimmed of darkest green parts (save them for stock!), chopped

1 lb. organic Russet potatoes, peeled and diced

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 bay leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat large straight-sided frying pan over medium high heat and add bacon strips. Fry until crisp to render fat. Remove to a plate to drain on paper towels. (The bacon can be put aside for another use or crumbled on top of the hot bowl of soup at serving time.)

Add leeks to pan and sauté in bacon fat until wilted. Add stock, potatoes and two bay leaves. Cover and simmer on low until potatoes are tender, approximately 15 minutes.

Remove the bay leaves. In batches, puree the potatoes, leeks and broth in a blender. Pour each blended batch into a clean pot and continue to puree until all of the soup has been well blended.

Serve soup in warmed bowls and top with your favorite condiments – crème fraiche, sour cream, plain yogurt … you get the picture.