The Hunt For Plant Based Meats

 Any vegan will tell you - the IMpossible burger is exquisite. A vegan will also tell you it's becoming harder and harder to find. It seems grocery stores are not carrying any of the plant based meats.anymore. They're becoming harder to find than a -  plant based unicorn.

It's a phenomena of sorts that I've been noticing for a while. It started  - for me - in my favorite Lidl. They were selling Impossible chicken nuggets and dino nuggets for a the longest time. It was great to pick up a package and have t for two meals during the week. However like some of their items (such as the Duc du Couer potato and vegetable gratins) Lidl stopped carrying them. The alternative was my local Acme. They're three times the size of Lidl and there was bound to be something there - nuggets burgers  - bacon. Nothing. The pickings were so slim. THey do have a vegan deli section but even that's limited to veggie hot dogs, and cold cuts. Luckily and thankfully Wal-Mart has come to the rescue. They sell all kinds of Impossible Plant based meats and fish . Gardein is also there offering such plant based main courses as sweet and sour chicken and nd battered cod fillets. I stocked up on IMpossible Burgers and Nuggets. and , Beyond Steak Tips. All are going to be used in various dishes for the next week or more.

The question is why have the other stores stopped selling these plant based meat?Why is Wal=Mart  close to being the only one? I did read that Wal-Mart  was catering to the younger and hipper vegetarian crowd, hence the wide variety of  products. They want to expand their customer base and this was one way of doing such.Is it working? Most likely. A shopper enters Wal-Mart with one product on his or her mind and walks out with several. It's also a great way of introducing first time visitors to take a look at the store's other products  like computers, appliances or clothes to name a few . Trader Joes' does carry some plant based meats and a few creations of their own.  Target and Shop Rite also has a selection but I don't think they're as extensive as they used to be. It could be the stores themselves. It's much more cost effective to carry the real thing  such as twelve dollar real  burgers  and whole chickens for fifteen dollars each. Stores will always cater to the carnivores. Yet they're losing out on catering to other important sectors , the vegans and vegetarians.

What's to be done of vegan and vegetarians can;t get their plant based meats. Switch to Wal-Mart? Write to the bigwigs at local groceries. Just get that vegan main course for those who need it.

Home Chefs In The Making

 One of the best gifts  parents can give ther kids is a love of good food and cooking. Sometimes, though , you can't do it on your own. That's where a new and fun cookbook comes in. Kids Can Cook Anything : The Complete How To Cookbook For Young Chefs with 70 Kid Tested Kid Approved Recipes (America's test Kitchen  Publishers 2022).

This is not your typical kid's cookbook, Yes there are recipes for cupacakes and cookies but that's where it ends. It's an international mix of all sorts of recipes from Greek to Korean. This will give any young home chef a broader and worldier palate. where it does resemble a traditional children's cookbook is in the hwo too. This being from the great PBS TV show America's Test Kitchen. There are how to and hints. I commned the how topictures which show young cooks chopping and cutting with curved fingers to preven any serious wounds. There are pages about fresh herbs like basil and rosemary  and how to use them as well as a step by step prep process (which includes tying back yoru hair!) Another plus is a pictorial guide to kitchen gadgets and apppliances. This is very handy and helps kids to differentiate what's what. There are videos that they or parents can key into their phones to show them how to test to see if butter has softened or how to properly cut avocados.THere's also secrets to kitchen success too, like allow yourself to make mistakes and read focused and stay focused.

Again the recipes are for the sophisticated palate.The sections are breakfast, snacks,lunch dinner, sides and sweets, Breakfast and the sweet section are the most traditional. Breakfast starts with yummy buttermilk pancakes and fancy scrambled eggs, fun treats that would be great in a weekend brunch. The sweets range from scratch chocolalte cookies to red velvet cupcakes with creamc cheese frosintg. There is the interesting English posset, a rich cooked cream dessert and a fruit crisp. Yet' it's the main and side dishes that are different. Kid home chefs can learn how to make the famed Greek chicken soup,avologemo. There is sizzling beef zinged up with sriracha and soy sauce , and stuffed into lettuce leaves. Quick pickled cucumbers are served with it for an Asian vibe.Little foodies will get a kick out fo the rosemary socca or chickpea flour pancakes, orginally from Genoa. It's a nice alternative to foccaccia, There's a yummy mashed potato gnocchi made with instant mased potatoes kids can whip up instead of spaghetti. They may like the ramen with kimchi recepe too along with the roasted carrots.

Kids Can Cook Anything: The Complete How To Cookbook For Young Chefs with 70 Kid Tested Approved Recipes is the perfect book for baby home chefs.It's the equivalent of lessons at a Cordon Bleu school. Add it to their library of important books.

Foodie Footprint

Today is Earth Day, the day when we have to honor our planet as well as cleaning up our land and water. Yet foodies and home chefs can honor the planet all year round as well as reducing their carbon footprint.

One of the best ways to cut down on energy and pollution is buying local. This is easy as we head into the Spring planting and summer harvest season. Many groceries such as Stop & Shop, Acme and Shop Rite, here in New Jersey all by from local family farms. However, they also buy from South American and Mexican farms out of season too. Try to avoid these when you can. Another good place to source locally ground fruit and veggies is your local farmer’s market. They should be opening soon in cities and towns across America and offer a wide and delicious variety of garden variety and even unusual produce. Farmer’s markets are also great places to buy honey and all natural baked goods from family owned apiaries and bakeries , along with cheese and butter from local dairies. Of course the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint is planting your own. Add more green to the environment by growing tomatoes and lettuce along with onions and carrots. Include some herbs too  to add zing to your organic meals. One of the most impactful gestures is canning. Preserving your fruits and vegetables for eating during the winter is a great idea. You don’t have to rely on foreign imports when winter comes. Just go to your pantry and pull out the green beans or cherries you preserved back in July and August.

How do you make your kitchen more energy efficient? Use your microwave instead f your oven. It takes less energy to cook food because the appliance uses heat to cook the food not the atmosphere around it as a traditional oven would. A microwave can save up to eighty per cent of power used to cook or warm up meals in an oven. Yet many eschew microwaves because of the health controversies surrounding them. This is fine because there are ways to make a stove and oven more energy efficient. Just make sure that the flame is fully underneath the cookware. This also applies to electric stoves too.Also use appropriate size pans for the job. Oversized ones will eat up too much energy and heat. They’re also cheaper too.Another must-do is don’t pose in front of the open fridge , wondering what to eat or drink.It accounts for up to seven per cent of refrigerator’s energy used. Opening the door lets warm air in which makes the fridge’s compressor has to drive it out while returning to a normal temperature for storing food.Decide what you want before you open the door.Also have an organized one too. Rooting around in it is the same as posing in front of it.Put the more popular items up front and don’t overload both the top and bottom.

Foodies can also do their part in saving the planet. Buy local. Be resourceful .Most importantly  - DON’T waste energy when you cook or store food!