Food tips

Buy Local Food : Cultivate an awareness of how far your food travels. When Rich Pirog, Food Systems Program Leader for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, tracked the miles traveled for 16 types of produce, he found that locally sourced fruits and vegetables such as apples, lettuce and tomatoes traveled an average of 56 miles, compared to 1,494 miles — nearly 27 times farther — for the same fruits and vegetables delivered through conventional retail channels. Things get stickier with combination foods, strawberry yogurt for example. Pirog came up with 2,216 miles by adding up the distance traveled for the yogurt’s milk, sugar and strawberries. That figure could be slashed by 90 percent if you buy plain yogurt and stir in some locally grown honey and fruit.


Time for cooking is often in short supply, but you can cut cooking time in half by making large batches and eating the leftovers another day. In an age when the average American spends only 32 minutes a day preparing food, strategy is crucial to increasing your consumption of local food.


Kitchen Tip : On electric stovetops, use flat-bottomed pans that make full contact with the element. A warped or rounded pan may be a conversation piece, but will waste most of the heat.












Spicy Meatball Soup Recipe
Spicy Meatball Soup Category Spicy Recipes 
Views 91 
Ratings 0 
Ingredients And Procedures

-----FOR THE MEATBALLS----- 1 lb Extra-lean ground beef

1 cn Yellow sweet corn, drained,

-divided use (11 oz) 1/3 c Hot salsa

1/2 c Thinly sliced green onions

-with tops 2 tb Chopped fresh cilantro

1 t Salt

1 t Cumin

1 t Minced garlic

1 Egg white

-----FOR THE SOUP----- 1 cn Whole tomatoes, undrained,

-cut up (28 oz) 1 cn Dark or light red kidney

-beans, drained (15 1/2 oz) 1 c Beef broth

2/3 c Hot salsa

2 tb Chopped fresh cilantro

1 c Chopped green bell pepper

1 t Cumin

1 t Chili powder

1/2 ts Minced garlic

-----TOPPINGS (OPT----- 1/4 c Chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 c Chopped green onions with

-tops 1/4 c Dairy sour cream

In large bowl, combine ground beef, 1/2 cup of the corn and remaining meatball ingredients; mix well. Shape into 1" balls; place on cookie sheet. Refrigerate 30 minutes, or until set. In 5-quart Dutch oven or stockpot, combine remaining corn and all soup ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; carefully add uncooked meatballs. Simmer uncovered 45-60 minutes or until flavors blend and meat is no longer pink. Garnish individual servings with toppings as desired.

 
Rate this recipe!
1   2   3  4   5  
 
Post this recipe to your site




Search Recipe Database: