A few days ago, I was stressed out and was carried some negative energy to work. Luckily, a coworker called me out on it and taught me a few helpful techniques for calming myself, like listening to my breathing and the sounds around me. Focusing on my walking, making each step as controlled and purposeful as possible. Strengthening my awareness of myself in my surroundings.

Sounds weird, right? Well, it worked.

Awareness. Gaining it re-establishes control. And isn’t that a guiding principle of a sustainable diet, whether it’s vegetarian or not? I want to know what I eat. How each ingredient was grown and delivered to me. I’m not wealthy, so each dollar I spend says something about me and what I value. Do I choose to look for and spend my money on sustainable, wholesome food, or do I choose to buy cheap, convenient food in colorful packaging?

Yesterday, I chose the latter. Looking to relieve my hunger, I grabbed a bag of chips all of us probably have had before. Hint: think triangles. Immediately after eating the last chip, I was aware of two things: 1) my fingers were an unnatural shade of orange and 2) I was still hungry. We’ve all looked at the ingredient lists of our favorite junk foods. It’s a little scary, right? I don’t keep track of my daily percentages (that’s a full-time job), so I try to recognize the ingredients in what I eat and file them into rough categories. Have I eaten my carbs, my fiber, my protein? How would you file disodium guanylate? Fiber? Hmmm… even my computer’s spell-checking tool doesn’t recognize that one.

I want my food to sustain me, to deliver the nutrients my body needs. As a newbie vegetarian I have to think about my meals more than ever before. I want to take back control of my diet. It’s a little embarrassing to admit that this way of thinking is new to me. But I’m excited too. Multi-dimensional foods! Yes.

And why is it important to know how my food arrives to me? That’s a huge question with too many answers for this vegetarian to write about in one day, but the answer begins with awareness. Awareness of the chemicals and fertilizers (or lack thereof) used to grow the vegetables that will end up in my body. Awareness of the quality of life of the people that have touched what I eat and energy that was used to transport my food from the field to me. Did my food know a processing plant, or did it know a farmers’ market or neighborhood co-op?

I am a selfish eater. I want it all. I want food that tastes good, nourishes my body, contains no added chemicals, keeps the earth clean, and doesn’t abuse her natural resources. Is that so wrong?

As children, we’re told not to judge a book by it’s cover, but by it’s content. Beauty is skin deep, and inside the frog awaits a prince. Hunger is primal, though, so we’re often tempted to abandon our higher culinary ideals in favor of instant gratification. In the produce section, I’ll admit that sometimes I’m seduced by asparagus over squash, even in January when I know that the former is feeling jet-lag after it’s long journey from South America. It’s easy to visualize the transformation of asparagus from shelf to plate. Squash? Not so much. It takes more work to make a squash dinner.

Doesn’t it?

Safely away from asparagus-spear temptation, I love that winter squash is tender and sweet under it’s hard, bumpy surface. I relate. And when I’m cooking a squash, it actually does all the work for me. A friend of mine recently marveled how tasty a butternut squash was that I had roasted simply with salt and olive oil. I took all the credit, although I’m not sure I deserved it. But who was going to challenge me on it? The squash?

Recently, I went out to dinner with another vegetarian, at Flatbush Farm, a non-vegetarian restaurant committed to supporting local farms with sustainable practices. They post their food suppliers on their homepage, something that any sustainable diner should appreciate. Meat is still hard for me to deny, and believe me when I say I could have managed the grass-fed Steak-for-Two as my own Steak-for-One. In times of weakness, it’s good to have someone to keep you in check, and I had that someone sitting across from me. And the menu offered plenty of winter squash. Acorn here. Butternut there. Who needs meat when you can have a hearty serving of squash? The wine was nice too.

My frog, winter squash, is getting me through this cold weather. I’ll wait patiently for local asparagus – and the sun.

Vegan Butternut Squash Risotto

Serves 6
I like to cook on a budget, so I omitted white wine (a common risotto ingredient). I was more than happy with the result and so was my wallet.

1/2 Butternut Squash, peeled and cut into 1/2″ pieces
2 T olive oil
3/4 t salt ( 1/4 t for squash and 1/2 t for risotto)
1/2 t pepper
1 shallot, finely diced
2 T garlic, minced
2 T rosemary, rough chopped
16 oz (1 box) Arborio Rice
64 oz (8 cups) vegetable stock
Juice and zest of lemon half

Heat oven to 400°F. Toss squash in 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in oven until fork tender, about 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring vegetable stock to simmer. Heat medium pot over med-high heat and add 1 T olive oil, shallot and garlic and stir frequently until shallots are translucent and garlic is fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Add rice and rosemary, stir to coat with oil. Add enough stock to cover rice (about 2 ladles) and stir rice until the pot looks almost dry. Repeat the process several times until rice is cooked. Risotto should be done in about 30 minutes.

Once squash is removed from oven, place half of cooked squash in a blender with 2 ladles of vegetable stock. Puree until smooth.

Combine risotto, squash pieces, puree, lemon juice and salt in pot and stir to mix evenly. Serve immediately and garnish with lemon zest.

seasonal food, local food, flatbush farms, squash, asparagus, squash recipe, risotto, joseph baker, eating well on a budget