by Alice Miro

One of my favorite authors, David Orr, once remarked: “The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have little to do with success as we have defined it.”

After spending a week in New Mexico, the Hopi nation and the Navajo nation, I think the planet needs more people like Roberto, Lillian, Andrew, Coda, Pati, and Terrie. Like the corn of the Black Mesa, these are diverse, wholesome, beautiful guests of planet Earth– people who are deeply rooted in their communities and whose strength and ability to survive with little, almost nothing, is a miracle worth the deepest reverence.

When we visited Roberto’s family, I was enthralled by the simplicity of his house and lifestyle. My 70-sq-ft bedroom contains more useless junk i.e. electronic gadgets, clothing-I-never-wear, made-in-China stationery, than his entire 87,120-sq-ft (~2-acre) farm. When we visited Lillian’s home, I was intrigued by the way a group of children was handling water, with the greatest care, as if it was a treasure. I live in Vancouver BC and definitely take water for granted. I just realized that today, when I used one gallon of water to rinse a not-so-dirty cup, and the images of the Black Mesa suddenly came to my mind.
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by Monica Pless

As the BLAST (Building Local Agricultural Systems Today) Program Coordinator, I’m always looking for new films about sustainable food issues. So I was excited to see that The Media that Matters Film Festival just put out “Good Food,” a DVD on food. As a compilation of 12 short films, it examines the many issues facing our food system from a variety of perspectives and via a variety of styles. I watched these films with our Urban Education and Outreach interns at The Food Project, and this is what we thought. You can also check the films out online at: http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/mtm_good_food/. Enjoy!

“The Luckiest Nut in the World” started the DVD off on a high note. A barbershop quartet cartoon musical was the backdrop as peanuts and groundnuts explained the effect of trade policy on the economics of different countries. I loved the throwback style and found the history clear. In a longer version, I would want a bit more about the economics.
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by Katie Fiorella

Perusing the markets of downtown Bangkok, I encountered a multitude of new snacks, drinks, and fruits. I had assumed that the pineapples, mangoes, coconuts and papayas I had tried before had well exposed me to tropical delicacies. And, considering that these fruits are mainstays in most US supermarkets, I had presumed there would be no surprises. But when I gazed upon the large spiky outer shell that gave way to fragrant durian or caught site of the green tentacles emerging from tiny, red rambutan I was in unfamiliar territory. The Thai markets featured a full array of fruits I had never seen before, including longan (lamyai), pomelo (som-o), rambutan (ngoh), mangosteen (mangkhud), durian (turian), jackfruit (kha noon), and dragonfruit.

As a longtime fruit lover, I was thrilled to discover a new plethora of varieties. I eagerly tried each kind and found each more delicious than the last. More often than not, I could buy the fresh fruit already sliced for easy consumption; a real boon considering the removal of some shells required a machete and the shells of others had to be removed from grape-sized pieces. Even the fruits I had tried before came in new varieties. Different types of papaya and new varieties of mango, often eaten unripe, soon ascended my list of favorites as well.
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by Monica Pless

VICHYSSOISE: This is a fantastic leek and potato soup, served cold. (Coincidentally, it is a wonderfully satisfying food when you get your wisdom teeth removed and can’t eat solid foods).

INGREDIENTS:
2 leeks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup thinly sliced potatoes
2 1/3 cups chicken stock
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 1/8 cups heavy whipping cream
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