Green Mapping

Do you know about Green Mapping?

Green maps are maps that provide locations of restaurants and businesses that address local and environmental issues. The maps offers sites on community's natural, cultural and sustainable resources such as recycling centers, heritage sites, community gardens, toxic waste sites and socially conscious businesses and restaurants.

The goal of green mapping is to encourage individuals to use sustainable living solutions and creating sustainable communities around the world. This is a great tool for current residents or visiting tourist. I personally like the restaurant tool. I think food is a great way to get learn about a city or community, and when it addresses efforts to be sustainable the result is even better.

Green Map's tagline is “Think Global, Map Local!”
Anyone can get involved in the organization and efforts. Green maps are being created around the world.
Visit the website for more ideas and maps in your community at www.greenmap.org

I've created a green map location in college for a class on Food Management Theory. The restaurant is called Nanoosh. You can find a multitude of places to visit in your area if you follow the map.
Some of my favorites in New York City are:

Birdbath Bakery 223 1 Ave, which is designed with all renewable, recycled and biodegradable products (example, the walls are made of wheat and the cups from corn). Their pastries and foods are made from locally grown ingredients and tastes delicious.

http://16handles.com/ is a one of the many popular frozen yoghurt place in NYC. The different with 16 Handles is that they use biodegradable packaging and spoons made from cornstarch. They are also addressing efforts to use locally grown, natural ingredients to make their yoghurt.

Pure Food and Wine is a raw vegan food restaurant in Gramercy, around the corner from my old apartment. If raw scares you, then rest assured that the food is incredible down to the organic wine. The restaurant uses all locally grown, unprocessed, organic raw food. You will leave the table feeling full and healthy.

One Lucky Duck is a store/ cafe affiliated with Pure Food and Wine. They are also vegan and raw. I recommend the guacamole with rosemary chips. Guacamole is my favorite food and this is the best guacamole I've ever tasted. Their many pure juices are also delicious. One Lucky Duck also sells books on raw living, organic body products and some grocery items like their brand of granola, buckwheat and almonds.
As a note I am not a raw foodist, these two restaurants just happen to be in my neighborhood and I found them delicious.

Josie’s East is one of four restaurants (Josie’s West, Josephina and Citrus) that serves New American Cuisine that used organic, free range and food and meat and eco-friendly seafood.

Websites on eating locally

These websites may be helpful in learning more about eating sustainably

www.eatlocalchallenge.com
www.100milediet.org
www.slowfoodusa.org
www.eatlocal.net

Benefits of Eating Locally

Why eat locally?
1. Eating locally reduces carbon emissions. Food has less transportation time to get from the farm to your plate, thus the amount of C02 is reduced.
2. It supports farmers. Farmers are able to continue their business and produce quality foods when we support their business. Furthermore, they receive full profit from their work since the middle man or broker is cut out.
3. Foods are allowed to mature to their proper state. Produce isn't picked before ripeness, thus foods are able to develop fully in nutritional value and in texture.
4. They may be healthier in that they have a high nutritional value.
5. Locally grown foods taste better than foods that have had to travel across the country because they are fresher, more recently grown, have forgone the need for preservatives to keep them fresh and haven't been sitting in a truck being exposed to fumes.
6. Varied verities. Locally, small farmers produce different varieties of foods, like heirloom produce. Large corporations that need to feed masses generally only produce a select few of hybrid crops, so that they can be massed produced easily.
7. Finally, eating locally supports your community. There is always a benefit to eating a meal prepared by food grown on the land you live near.

Beef Stew

This is my mother's recipe. I've varied it by adding cayenne pepper.

Ingredients:
2-3 cups water
1 pound beef sirloin, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup carrots, sliced, 1-inch
1/2 cup potatoes, sliced, 1-inch
1/2 cup celery, sliced 1-inch
1/4 cup leeks, sliced
1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 of one onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 boullion cubes
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation:
In a pan cook beef, onion, garlic with olive oil.
Bring water to a boil in a large pot.
Once boiled add carrots and potatoes. Cook for half an hour.
Add celery, leeks, mushrooms into the pot and cook for another 15 minutes.
Add meat, onions, garlic, mushrooms, red wine bay leaves, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and boullion cubes to the pot. Close with a lid and cook for an hour.
The longer you cook the stew, the tender it gets. Don't cook for over 2 1/2 hours.

Warm Goat Cheese Spinach Salad

Ingredients:
2-3 cups spinach, washed
2 oz. goat cheese
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes or sun dried tomatoes
1/4 cup mushrooms, cut length wise
1/4 cup dried cranberries
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

Procedure:
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and saute garlic for one minute. Add spinach and mushrooms. Cook until spinach has just wilted.

In a separate saute pan sautée tomatoes remaning oil, salt and balsamic vinegar for about 2 minutes, just until the skin of the tomatoes starts to shrivel.

Combine the spinach and tomatoes on a plate.

Add dried cranberries and goat cheese.

Drizzel remaining olive oil over salad.

Season with salt and pepper.

Peach Roasted Chicken

I came up with this recipe after buying peaches from the farmers market.

Ingredients:
5 peaches
2 lemons
3 clove of garlic
3 chicken breasts, skinless
1/4 cup olive oil
fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons pepper

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut 2 slits into each chicken breast. Cut the cloves of garlic in half. Place one half of the garlic into each chicken breast slit. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in a baking dish. Cut the peaches into quarter slices. Place the peaches all around the chicken. Pour the olive oil over both the chicken and peaches. Sprinkle fresh rosemary over the dish.

Cook for half an hour. Serve with a fresh farmers market green salad.

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Puree

This recipe I had on my previous blog that is one of my favorites so I want to feature it agian. It is perfect for the fall season, when pumpkins are in season. No more canned pumpkin mix for those holiday pies! This puree can also be used in muffins, breads, or soups.

Ingredients:
One 3-4 lb Sugar pumpkin, seeded and sliced into 2-inch wedges
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon each:
ground nutmeg
ground cinnamon
ground cloves

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Arrange pumpkin wedges on baking sheet, skin side down, and bake until tender enough to pierce with a fork, appx. 45- 60 min.

Wait until cool enough to handle. Remove skin from pumpkin. Place wedges, sugar, and spices into blender or Cuisinart. Puree until smooth.