By Mary Ellen Psaltis
Be part of a nationwide celebration and a movement for healthy, affordable and sustainable food. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), powered by people from all walks of life, uses Food Day to bring attention to the critical issues of hunger, agricultural policies, animal welfare and farm worker justice. Many of us are concerned about our own health, the health of our family and friends. How do we extricate ourselves from the temptations and abundance of cheap, salty, overly processed foods, sugary drinks and poor quality fast food? It not easy – but it is not that hard.
It happens with the choices you make every day. It is about eating “real.” We all want to avoid obesity, heart disease and diabetes while gaining vitality and health.
Make plans for dinner with friends on Wednesday Oct. 24th. Slow Food of Olympia has selected a menu of Northwest Heritage foods. Find recipes for the following:
- Roasted squash crescents
- Ozette Potato and Chanterelle Mushroom Gratin
- Braised Rabbit with Prunes
- Huckleberry Salmon
- Ground Cherry Pear Rustic Tart
- And don’t forget the Olympia Oysters
All the recipes can be found here.
If this sounds too exotic, grab a pizza dough from the San Francisco Street Bakery, roll it out, top it with a little goat cheese, tomatoes and basil and have a salad with local greens. It’s also squash time – and squash soup is surprisingly easy to make.
Squash Soup: Cut squash and seed. Spritz with olive oil and roast pieces at 400 degrees for about an hour. While the squash is in the oven, dice onions and sauté. When squash is really soft, remove from oven and remove the skin. Add to cooked onions. Add sufficient water and soup base (chicken or vegetable stock) to get to a thick consistency. Before serving at a splash of cream or eggnog and top with cinnamon and/or nutmeg. I can eat it every day.
Still looking for other recipes? FoodDay.org not only has recipe cards to download but a lovely cookbook with tasty, affordable and fun recipes from celebrated chefs. It’s free.
Your party can have any menu that you choose but keep it as local and fresh as possible. You can find locally sourced food at:
- The Olympia Farmers Market
- Olympia Local Foods
- Boston Harbor Marina
- Ralph’s Thriftway
- Bayview Thriftway
- Olympia Food Coop
Remember that the priorities of Food Day are to
- Promote safer, healthier diets
- Support sustainable and organic farms
- Reduce hunger
- Reform factory farms to protect our environment
- Support fair working conditions for food and farm workers
Make every day a Food Day.
For local information contact goslowfood@gmail.com.
Eat Well – Be Well.
