Eating Green: Sustainable food in PDX

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we love tomatoes.

Unfortunately, our season is much shorter and later than other places in the country, so while the peak of the season is here for most, we are still waiting for our little backyard patches of green to turn to red.

However, you can find some wonderful heirloom tomatoes now (that have been grown in greenhouses) in specialty grocery stores everywhere.

I am really looking forward to Thursday’s virtual Tomato Fest with Deb over at Dinner Tonight and Margaret at A Way to Garden. I have just stumbled upon these sites and could not be more excited about it!

One idea for those tomatoes: make a pie. Pie, you say? Yes. Tomato Pies are a Southern specialty, as far as I can tell, the recipe originated from the Lowcountry, or coastal region, of South Carolina—and they are amazing. I have only been able to find a recipe for this delicacy in a few cookbooks - and both of them were from the Lowcountry area.

Being from South Carolina myself, I have my own variation on this recipe (see below). Two of my sisters and my stepmother have their own variations, too, and they are all to die for.

We recently started selling Tomato Pies at the Montavilla Farmer’s Market in our neighborhood (see photo), and the response has been incredible. Most people that walk by our booth and ask, “What’s a Tomato Pie?”

Our answer: Tomato pie is made with a traditional pie crust filled with tomatoes and basil, then topped with a mixture of cheese and mayonnaise, topped with caramelized onions.

The best part about these pies: they freeze like a dream!

Using the local ingredients of the season is not only satisfying, but cheaper and healthier, too. What a great way to use up all those extra tomatoes!

Tomato Pie Recipe
-5 large tomatoes, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
-1 10-inch pie crust
-1/4 Teaspoon dried basil
-1/2 Cup medium cheddar cheese, shredded
-1/4 Cup mayonnaise
-2 Tablespoons butter
-1 1/2 Large sweet onions, sliced in 1/4 inch rings (Vidalia or Walla Walla sweets work best)
-1 Teaspoon sugar
-1/2 Packet Good Seasons® all-natural Italian Dressing Mix
-1/2 Teaspoon cracked pepper
-Salt to taste

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Melt butter in a saute pan and add onions. Cook at medium low for about 30 minutes until carmelized, stirring every few minutes to avoid burning.
3) Lightly salt tomatoes and drain in colander for 20 minutes.
4) Mix cheddar with mayonnaise and 1/4 Teaspoon of the cracked pepper and set aside.
5) Pre-bake pie shell for 10 minutes in 350 degree oven with pie weights to avoid bubbles.
6) Add one layer of tomatoes to pie shell and cover with, dash of salt, pepper, sugar and basil. Add the rest of the tomato slices and seasonings in layers.
7) Spread cheese mixture evenly on top of tomatoes.
8) Sprinkle dressing mix on top of cheese.
9) Add carmelized onions to the top of the pie in an even layer.
10) Bake pie at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cover with foil if the crust begins to burn.
Makes 6-8 servings.

I have heard recently that there are compostable products on the market (plates, bowls, cups, etc.) that use chemical binders in their creation processes.

These chemicals, when the product is heated, can then seep into food. Who knew? On top of that, compostable products from a popular local producer, Trellis Earth, are not allowed in Portland’s commercial composting bins, because the Cedar Grove facility (where they take the compost, 160 miles away) will not accept them.

So what’s a person to do when looking for compostable products? Check out VerTerra. This company says their plates, bowls, and platters from fallen leaves and water. That’s it.

But how durable can that be? One of the FAQs on their Web site explains:

Is it safe to put VerTerra dishes in the microwave, oven, or fridge?

Yes, within reason. VerTerra dinnerware is significantly more durable than plastic or paper plates. It’s perfectly safe to heat VerTerra in the microwave for up to 2 minutes or in an oven up to 350 degrees for 45 minutes. You can also store VerTerra products with food in a fridge or freezer.

Really? I mean, really. IN THE OVEN?

We’ll see. I just ordered some samples to try them out for myself, and have thought about using them in trial run at some upcoming catering events. Check back for updates.

In the meantime, check out write ups by TreeHugger and Paul Smith of GreenSmith Consulting.

That’s the plan, according to Gary Hirshberg of Stoneyfield Farms. In his book, Stirring it Up: How to Make Money and Save the World, Hirshberg recounts the “greening” of his company and multiple others—and provides many examples of how business and sustainability can work hand in hand in this increasingly eco-conscious climate.

I was on the waiting list to get this book before it came out, because this book represents something near and dear to my heart. I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur, and I’ve always cared deeply about the enviroment, yet for years these two worlds have clashed. Until now.

Businesses can thrive by being “green.” Not only will their products be of higher quality (especially in the food world), but the costs they will save by reducing energy use and choosing other green companies for raw materials will have a huge impact.

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a model by which to make their business sustainable AND profitable.

I have been working with many brides this summer who want to reduce their wedding’s ecological footprint. They realize that a wedding is one of the biggest largest events they’ll plan in their lives, and therefore (possibly) the most wasteful. Never fear, brides! There are a host of resources available to you.

One book I purchased recently, Eco-Chic Weddings, has a host of useful information, including sources for many of the products cited in the book. The author also has a website if you want to get some of her tips without purchasing the book.

Many other resources are available on the web:

• Best green hotels
• greenKarat: Ecologically Responsible Jewelry
• Organic wedding cakes
• Green event planning
• TreeHugger’s Green Wedding Tips
• TerraPass Wedding Offsets and Carbon Calculator

One way we reduce impact when serving food is to offer all compostable or recycled plates and utensils. We also compost as much food as possible during preparation, and purchase foods from a variety of local vendors.

Keep in mind that planning a wedding can be a stressful event in itself, and do what you can to reduce, reuse and recycle. A wedding may not be completely carbon-neutral, but every little bit helps.

I just signed up for Pioneer Organics, one of the local organic produce delivery services. I’m hoping that this will save me time at the grocery store shopping for produce, plus force more fruits and veggies into the diet. I will report back on this.

A friend of mine just signed up for Organics to You, another similar service, and we plan to compare notes on the two.

I’m looking forward to seasonal goodness delivered to my door!

Update: Pioneer Organics has now been changed to Spud! Portland - or “Small Potatoes Urban Delivery.” I have been very satisfied with the service so far, and the customer service has been incredible.

When demand for foods you want is high and supply is low, the price goes up. Take salmon in the Pacific Northwest, for example. I’m catering a wedding in late May, and the bride wants wild salmon to showcase all that the Pacific NW has to offer - her soon-to-be in-laws are from Kentucky.

Now, we could switch to farm raised, which has been touted to have 10 times more toxins than wild, but neither one of us would choose to go that route.

I’ve mentioned to friends before that I truly think the price of sustainable foods will go down once the demand goes up, as we’ve already seen happening, but sometimes nature just intervenes and you’re left with either paying the price or changing the menu.

I am in search of some great tasting, cost-effective sustainable wines to serve customers. I was surprised to find that Salmon-Safe, a certification usually associated with wines, can actually apply to beer too. Who knew?

One question - how do you find out which sustainable wines really taste good? By drinking them, of course! Please post if you have a favorite sustainable Oregon, Washington or California wine - I’m interested in hearing what other folks are drinking.

Sustainable wine resources:

www.liveinc.org
www.vineatrust.org
www.tilth.org
www.demeter-usa.org
www.oregonwine.org
www.wallawallawine.com

I was told yesterday that shrimp is one of the worst foods you can serve if you’re trying to create a sustainable food business. Since shrimp is a main ingredient in one of my best selling dishes, I was bummed to hear this.

Then my friend Nan came along and told me about an article about sustainable seafood in the Oregonian yesterday. Apparently, Oregon’s commercial pink shrimp fishery is the first in the world to be certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. I can now serve shrimp again, I just have to charge more for it.

Today I met with a representative of the Redirect Guide, and I’m excited to say that I purchased my first ad. It was scary, and hard to swallow, but worth it I’m sure.

What I’m really excited about is their networking events, as well as the education. I’m hoping to find out about more sustainable food vendors just by being a part of the guide.

I have to keep telling myself that building a sustainable business will not result in a zero carbon footprint from day one. Although this would be great, it’s just not reality. It’s more about knowing where you create the most impact on the earth’s natural resources, prioritizing these, then working to reduce these impacts.

That being said, we can always aim for perfection, right?