Kale Pomegranate Salad with purple cabbage, toasted pumpkin seeds and apple cider vinaigrette 

Sauerkraut: Day 1 and 3. Glass crock: $12 at Marshalls (Fiesta plates were separate).

Not many consumers realize that the FDA does not require genetically modified food to be labeled. That’s because the FDA has decided that you, dear consumer, don’t care if the tomato you’re eating has been cross bred with frog genes to render the tomato more resistant to cold weather. Some consumers may not be concerned with eating Frankenfood, but for those who are, here’s how to determine if the fruits and vegetables you’re buying are (GM) genetically modified.

Hat tip to Marion Owen for her valuable information. Here’s how it works:

For conventionally grown fruit, (grown with chemicals inputs), the PLU code on the sticker consists of four numbers. Organically grown fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 9. Genetically engineered (GM) fruit has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 8.

For example:

A conventionally grown banana would be: 4011

An organic banana would be: 94011

A genetically engineered (GE or GMO) banana would be: 84011

These tips are specially important now that over 80% of all processed foods in the US are genetically modified. Many countries in the European Union have been banning GM products and produce (including Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Luxembourg).  We say “Eat healthy, buy or grow organic”.

Fascinating and mostly delicious looking! Too bad brown rice hasn’t caught on in many places. Please note that I am currently underemployed and would love to help redesign school lunch menus.

Do you like your pie wild and a little tart?

Yesterday I made a wild green Mustang grape pie. I used this recipe, but substituted vegan margarine for the butter and coconut palm sugar (my new favorite low-glycemic sweetener - it tastes like brown sugar!) for the regular sugar. For the crust I used whole wheat pastry flour, vegan margarine, unsweetened soy milk and a little coconut palm sugar and sea salt. I picked the grapes on Red Bud Isle dog park, but they grow everywhere around here. Anyways, it tasted pretty good! A little sweet, but not too much and a little sour/tart. I took it to a friend’s BBQ and everyone liked it. Hell, even my dog stole the last piece off the counter. The grapes actually had little immature white seeds in them which gave it a nice little crunch (and fresh grape seed oil anti-oxidants!). I might try to make another before the grapes ripen.

The secret to a perfect pie crust: 3:2:1

3 parts flour:2 parts fat:1 part liquid by WEIGHT

This is a great blog post/article by Garrett Mize about healthcare reform and eating healthy. I agree that this country needs free universal healthcare, but we also need to eat better - a lot better. I also really liked the video clip of President Clinton talking about why he switched to a plant-based diet.

You’re welcome! It mixes well with orange juice and ginger soda (or OJ, ginger juice/powder and club soda/sparkling water). Let me know if you have any other cocktail ideas for it.

Today I finally “discovered” the perfect baking sheets/pans: USA Pans. These pans are made from aluminized steel (65% recycled steel - they’re heavy!) and coated with a clear, non-stick silicone coating. Screw those pans with toxic Teflon non-stick coatings. This coating doesn’t contain any PTFEs (polytetrafluoroethylene a.k.a. Teflon - overheating can kill birds) or PFOAs (perfluorooctanoic acid - a carcinogen). They’re kind of pricey, but Bed Bath & Beyond sells them, and if you’re like me you have a stockpile of Bed Bath & Beyond $5 off and 20% off coupons (they usually don’t care about the expiration date). And of course they’re made in the USA!

You can’t spell Chef Elizabeth without feliz! (I just noticed that).