May 2nd, 2009 Newsletter

Bardstown Road Farmers’ Market Newsletter

Sarah’s Corner

From our friend Sarah Fritschner

 Wendell Berry has called eating an agricultural act. But it’s so much more complicated than that. It’s a political act, an environmental act, a moral act, and often a religious act.

I know there are vegetarians who don’t eat any animal products. They are motivated by a variety of reasons, often environmental, and I admire them. But I can’t buy into a system that prefers genetically modified soybeans over grass-fed cows from Oldham County.

 I know people who avoid meat yet eat fish. But the Worldwatch Institute reports that due to overfishing and other issues, “76 of the world’s fish stocks fully exploited or overexploited, and many species severely depleted.” So fish, for the most part, is off my menu.

It seems that every food choice is fraught with moral uncertainty. Do I eat white grits from corn grown in Kentucky, or brown rice grown far away? Do I insist on organic when free-range is just as good except for how the feed was grown, which could have been with lots of pesticides, or even contain Round-Up ready corn?

Virtue has a different definition for everyone who considers it. As with much of life, the journey is as  important than the goal. I still buy an embarrassing amount of conventionally produced dairy products at the supermarket (no BST though), but I am relieved when I can buy most of what I eat (and all the meat) from local farmers. 

Couscous primavera

It’s the couscous salad of spring, with peas and mint and parsley.

1 cup couscous

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1 ½ cup cooked green peas (thawed, frozen will work)

1 cup crumbled feta, optional

1 cup chopped mint

1 cup chopped parsley

¼ cup finely minced green onions or red onion

Combine couscous and salt with 1 ¼ cup boiling water. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and let it stand 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine couscous with olive oil and lemon juice. Stir in peas, feta, mint, parsley, and onion. Serves 4. Serve on top of dressed salad greens if desired.

 Mint syrup for juleps and tea

Many recipes for simple syrup call for two times the measure of sugar as water (2 cups sugar to 1 cup water).

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 cup (lightly packed) mint leaves

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan or in a large bowl in the microwave. Heat on high, stirring often to dissolve sugar. When the water boils and the sugar is dissolved, add mint and stir until it wilts and is submerged in the liquid. Allow it to stand several hours or overnight. Strain into a jar and refrigerate until using. Makes one cup. Add to iced tea or bourbon for juleps.

To make a single mint julep: Mix 1 teaspoon of mint syrup with 1 jigger bourbon and pour over ice. (This is not a sweet drink: add more syrup to taste.)