Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet (45 page)

honey (to taste)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 2/3 tablespoons tapioca

1 pound tofu

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

Easy “Pat-In” Dessert Pie Crust

Squeeze lemon juice over apples, just enough to coat them, and combine apples, cranberries, 1/3 cup honey, cinnamon, and tapioca. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°F. In a blender or food processor, process tofu, remaining honey, salt, and vanilla until smooth. (Or mix tofu with a fork or electric mixer until fairly smooth, then blend in remaining ingredients.) Fill pie crust with fruit mixture and then spread with topping. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake until golden, about 25 minutes more.

Complementary protein: soy (tofu) + wheat

Easy Apple-Cheese Pie

6 servings

This simple-to-make pie is very special. It goes well with many different types of dinners—from the traditional to the exotic.

3 to 4 tórt green eating apples

Juice of ½ lemon

Easy “Pat-In” Dessert Pie Crust

8 ounces ricotta cheese

Up to ½ cup brown sugar (to taste)

1 egg

½ cup low-fat yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F. Peel, core, and slice the apples and sprinkle with lemon juice. Arrange slices on pie crust in circles, overlapping slightly. In a bowl, beat with a fork (
not
an electric mixer) the ricotta cheese, sugar, egg, yogurt, and vanilla. Pour over the apples and bake until pie is lightly browned and a knife comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool and chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Complementary protein: wheat + milk product

Soybean Pie

6 servings

This tastes incredibly like pumpkin pie.

1½ cup very well-cooked soybeans (½ cup uncooked)

¾ cup honey

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

¾ teaspoon nutmeg

2 eggs, slightly beaten

¾ cup low-fat milk

4 tablespoons instant dry milk

Easy “Pat-In” Dessert Pie Crust

Preheat oven to 450°F. Purée soybeans in a blender or with the fine blade of a food grinder. Combine with remaining ingredients except pie crust and pour into crust. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake until a knife comes out clean, about 30 minutes more.

Complementary protein: wheat + soy + milk

Frozen Peach Treat

8 to 10 servings

My children did a blind taste test of four versions of this recipe. They loved them all, but this one was the winner. It’s from Claire Greensfelder (see Betty the Peacenik Gingerbread), who once wrote a food column for the
East Bay Voice
.

6 ripe peaches, peeled and chopped

1 quart plain yogurt

Juice of ½ lemon

Honey to taste

In a large bowl, mash peaches with a potato masher or pastry cutter. (If you use a blender, more of the water will be drawn from the fruit and you will have more crunchy water crystals.) Add yogurt, lemon juice, and honey and stir. Ladle into serving bowls or paper cups. Set in the freezer for at least 2½ hours. An incredibly refreshing treat.

^*
An unmessy way to measure margarine: fill a cup two-thirds full of water, then add margarine until cup is brimming. Drain off water.

Appendixes

Appendix A. Education for Action: Recommended Books and Periodicals

It is hard to sustain hope and energy for change when we are bombarded each day by the media. War, crime, AIDS, poverty, environment.… We easily feel overwhelmed. To develop an understanding of how one’s own efforts can make a difference, to learn about work for positive change, we need to expand the news and analysis coming into our lives. We can select analyses as well as news about citizen initiatives that would rarely appear in the daily paper or on the evening news.

Here are some reading suggestions you might consider from the two organizations I have helped to found:

From the Institute for the Arts of Democracy, 36 Eucalyptus Lane, Suite 100, San Rafael, California 94901:

Building Citizen Democracy: Concepts and Citizen Arts for Renewing Public Life
. A lively booklet presenting the philosophy behind citizen democracy and its practical implications for renewing public life. Includes questions for group discussion. Frances Moore Lappé $4.00

Rediscovering America’s Values
. Written as a lively dialogue about freedom, democracy, and fairness, this book is sparking discussion about the values that shape our society. Frances Moore Lappe Paperback, $12.95 Please write for a complete list of publications and membership information.

From the Institute for Food and Development Policy (Food First), 145 Ninth Street, San Francisco, CA 94103.

World Hunger: Twelve Myths
, 208 pages with photographs. A good next-step for understanding world hunger after reading
Diet for a Small Planet
. It also includes a resource guide. Frances Moore Lappé and Joseph Collins, 1986. Paperback, $9.95

Alternatives to the Peace Corps: A Directory of Third World and U.S. Volunteer Opportunities
. Brings together resources and information that will help the prospective volunteer find an appropriate placement abroad. 1991 Edition. $6.95

Don’
t
be Afraid Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart
. A gripping narrative that tells about courage and hope in face of injustice and violence, it captures powerful lessons about the causes of third world poverty and the role of U.S. foreign policy. Elvia Alvarado. Translated and edited by Medea Benjamin, with photographs by Susan Meiselas. 1987. $7.95

Taking Population Seriously
. Explores the critical lessons to be learned from third world societies most successful in bringing down birth rates. Frances Moore Lappé and Rachel Schurman. 1990. $7.95

Please write for a complete list of publications and membership information.

My recommended alternatives to mass-media news includes:

Broad coverage:

Weeklies:

The Nation
, Box 1953, Marion, OH 43306. Hard-hitting analysis. Short pieces.

In These Times
, 1300 W. Belmont, Chicago, IL 60657. News providing critical perspective.

Monthlies/bi-monthlies/quarterlies:

The American Prospect
, quarterly, EO. Box 7645, Princeton, NJ 08543-7645. New journal from the country’s most creative liberals; insightful, in-depth pieces.

Mother Jones
, monthly, 1663 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94103. Social, cultural, political analysis.

New Options Newsletter
, monthly, 2005 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC 20036. Analysis of trends, books, organizations, and ideas leading to a sustainable society.

Organize Training Center Clipping Service
, quarterly, Organize Training Center, 1095 Market, #419, San Francisco, CA 94103. You get a well-organized compilation of newspaper and magazine articles from around the country—all about citizens making change. It’s a terrific service for busy people.

The Progressive
, monthly, 409 E. Main St., Madison, WI 53703. Provides valuable in-depth critical coverage of current events and social issues.

Sojourners
, monthly, 1321 Otis NE, Washington, DC 20017. Progressive analysis of social issues grounded in a commitment to living religious values.

Tikkun
, 5100 Leona St., Oakland, CA 94619, bi-monthly. More than progressive and Jewish—particularly thoughtful essays on a broad range of critical social issues.

Utne Reader
, bi-monthly, Box 1974, Marion, OH 43305. Reprints the best articles from a wide cross-section of the alternative press and features guides to other alternative periodicals.

Specific concerns:

Monthlies/Quarterlies:

Building Economic Alternatives
, quarterly, c/o Coop America, 2100 M. St. NW, Suite 403, Washington, DC 20063. Focuses on how to spend, save, invest, boycott, and change our habits to contribute to a healthier world.

Democracy in Education
, quarterly, The Institute for Democracy and Education, 119 McCracken Hall, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701-2979. Inspiring articles about teaching for active citizenship, for teachers and non-teachers alike. A great antidote to despair about public schools.

Dollars and Sense
, 38 Union Square, Room 14, Somerville, MA 02143. Easy-to-understand, short pieces demystifying economics.

The Ecologist
, Whitehay, Withiel Bodmin, Cornwall UK. The best single source of in-depth, critical looks at environmental problems and activism.

Multinational Monitor
, EO. Box 19405, Washington, DC, 20036. Gripping exposés of multi-national corporations’ role here and abroad.

Nutrition Action
, Center for Science in the Public Interest, 1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009. Highly usable, cutting-edge info on healthy, ecological eating. Zesty writing. Fun to read.

Vegetarian Times
P.O. Box 570, Oak Park, IL 60303. A broader focus than you might think from the title. Makes non-meat eating an adventure into a variety of social arenas.

Focusing on hunger, poverty and international development:

New Internationalist
, 113 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Published in England. Popularly accessible, moving writing.

Seeds, 222
East Lake Drive, Decatur, GA 30030. Approaches development from a Christian values base.

WHY, Challenging Hunger and Poverty
, 261 West 35th Street, #1403, New York, NY 10001-1906. Excellent source about hunger here and abroad. The voice of World Hunger Year, co-founded by Harry Chapin, who you’ll read about in
Part IV
,
Chapter 1
.

Appendix B. Basic Cooking Instructions for Beans, Grains, Nuts, and Seeds

Definitions

Soy grits (or soy granules) = partially cooked cracked

soybeans. Soy powder = soybean flour.

Bulgur wheat = partially cooked (parboiled) wheat, usually cracked.

Ground sesame seed = sesame meal. (Can be easily made at home; see cooking instructions below.)

Seasoned stock = any leftover liquid from cooking beans, vegetables, etc.,
or
water with a small amount of powdered or cubed vegetable seasoning. (Available without additives in health food stores; can be substituted for stock in any recipe.)

   Here are instructions for preparing the basic ingredients often called for.

Cooking Beans

1. Regular cooking:
wash beans in cold water, and soak overnight in three times the volume of water;
or
bring the beans and water to a boil, cover tightly, and let sit for 2 hours. Simmer the beans, partially covered, adding water if necessary, for about 2 hours, depending on the type of bean and the consistency you want. If you want to mash or purée the beans, you will want to cook them until they are quite soft.

2. Pressure cooking:
a pressure cooker is a real advantage in cooking beans as well as grains. Since the foods cook so much more quickly, a meal doesn’t require as much forethought. Pressure cooking also gives you a more tender bean. Soaking or precooking saves a little time, but with pressure cooking it really is not necessary. Bring the washed beans, and three to four times their volume in water, to a boil in the cooker. Cover and bring to 15 pounds pressure. Cook beans for 25 to 45 minutes. Cool immediately. Don’t attempt to cook split peas, or any bean that tends to foam, in a pressure cooker or you may find yourself with a clogged cooker and a big mess.

3. Roasting:
cook beans by one of the above methods for a firm bean. Spread the beans on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt, if desired, and bake at 200°F for about 1 hour, until they are well browned. When they are hot, they will be crunchy outside and tender inside. When they are cool, they will be hard and crunchy throughout. You can also roast the beans in a lightly oiled frypan over medium heat on top of the stove. Stir constantly. Soybeans, when roasted, or when chopped or ground in a blender, can be eaten alone. They make a garnish to be sprinkled on a variety of dishes; or use them when nuts or nutmeal are called for.

4. Making tofu (soybean curd):
tofu is now widely available throughout the United States at most natural food stores and at many supermarkets. Tofu has the best flavor and is least expensive when made at home. For an easy to follow recipe that gives consistently good results see
The Book of Tofu
(Ballantine paperback, $2.95), which also contains over 250 recipes for using the eight basic types of tofu, plus detailed nutritional information and a list of U.S. tofu shops.

Cooking Grains

1. Regular cooking:
wash the grains in cold water. Bring stock or water, equal to twice the volume of the grains, to a boil (for millet or buckwheat, use three times the volume). Put in the grains, bring to a boil again, lower heat, and simmer (covered) for 30 to 45 minutes, until all of the liquid is absorbed.

2. Pressure cooking:
in the pressure cooker follow the same method, but instead of simmering the grain bring to 15 pounds pressure and cook for about 20 minutes. Cool under cold water when cooking time is up. You may wish to vary the amount
of
water in order to create the texture of grain you prefer. If you have
trouble
with sticking, here’s the trick I use: put about 1 inch of water in the bottom of the pressure cooker. Put the grain into a stainless-steel bowl that will fit easily into the pressure cooker (with plenty of room between the top of the bowl and the lid of the pressure cooker). Add water to the level of about ¾ inch above the level of the grain. Put the bowl inside the pressure cooker, cover, and begin cooking. This method is also handy when I need to cook both grains and beans at the same time, but separately. I merely put the small stainless-steel bowl inside the pressure cooker. I then put the beans with adequate water around the outside of the bowl, and the grains inside the bowl.

3. Sautéing:
this method is most frequently used in cooking bulgur wheat and buckwheat groats, but can be used with any grain to achieve a “nuttier” flavor. Wash the grains and put in a dry saucepan or pressure cooker over low heat. Stir until dry. Add just enough oil to coat each kernel. Sauté the grains, stirring constantly, until all of the grains are golden. Stir in boiling water or stock (amounts as for regular cooking, above) and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and simmer 30 to 45 minutes; or, if using a pressure cooker, bring to 15 pounds pressure and cook 20 minutes. Cool cooker immediately.

Cooking Nuts and Seeds

1. To roast whole seeds or nuts:
place in a dry pan and roast over medium flame until they have desired brownness; or spread them on a baking sheet and toast them in a 200°F oven. Use the seeds whole, or grind them in a blender, a few at a time, or with a mortar and pestle. Add salt if desired.

2. To roast or toast ground seeds or nuts:
buy the meal or, to make it yourself, grind the seeds or nuts in a blender. Then roast the meal in a dry pan, stirring constantly, adding salt if desired. Or spread the meal on a baking sheet and bake at 200°F, stirring often. (You can also grind small quantities of whole grains in your blender.)

3. Nut and seed butters:
it is easy to make your own fresh nut and seed butters if you have a blender. From whole roasted or raw seeds or nuts: grind as for meal, adding a little oil to “start” the butter; continue adding as many nuts or seeds as your blender can handle. From roasted or raw ground nuts or seeds: stir a little oil, and honey if desired, into the meal, and you will have creamy nut or seed butter.