andrew plemmons pratt

Cattle grazing. flickr.com/yourdon

Generally speaking, meat production in the United States is produced in an environmentally unsustainable manner. An important personal rationale for sticking to a mostly vegetarian diet is that it reduces by some small amount demand for meat production processes that generate a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions and fertilizer runoff, and that demand pumping antibiotics into cows and pigs housed in feedlots. I do eat some meat occasionally; I don’t mind that other people eat lots of it; and I’m fully aware that my income and living situation allow me to make this choice. But a recent policy forum in Science presents some compelling research-based arguments for why there’s a lot of variation in the environmental impact of raising animals for slaughter:

However, the argument that all meat consumption is bad is overly simplistic. First, there is substantial variation in the production efficiency and environmental impact of the major classes of meat consumed by people (Table 2). Second, whilst a substantial fraction of livestock is fed on grain and other plant protein which could feed humans, there remains a very significant proportion which is grass-fed. Much of the grassland used to feed these animals could not be converted to arable, or could only be converted with significant adverse environmental outcomes. In addition, pigs and poultry are often fed on human food “waste.” Third, through better rearing or improved breeds it may be possible to increase the efficiency with which meat is produced. Finally, in developing countries meat represents the most concentrated source of some vitamins and minerals, which is important for individuals such as young children. Livestock also are used for ploughing and transport, provide a local supply of manure, can be a vital source of income and are of huge cultural significance for many poorer communities.

The whole piece is dense, but worth a read for foodies and anyone involved in a whole swath of disciplines from energy and environmental policy to human rights and foreign relations, as it takes a close look at the challenge of feeding everyone on the planet as the population increases, but more importantly, as populations grow wealthier and has more resources to buy pricier foods, including meat. So kudos to Science for archiving this outside the pay wall.

Removed the croissant dough from the fridge and prepared for baking this afternoon.

Was not sure how much the Sur la Table recipe would make so I attacked the whole batch. Twenty-two in all, half of which I made as chocolate.

Working with the dough is not a fast process. With a whole batch, the second half had started rising on the counter by the time I had the first dozen prepped. Should probably try to chill or freeze the other half next time.

Baking is absurd. So much butter just spills out of the croissants. Good luck that I used two pans with lips on the edges.

So one day at the farmer’s market over the summer I decided that it was time to learn how to cook with cabbage. I grabbed a tasty-looking specimen from one of the stalls and came home to find a recipe. The index in Bittman’s How to Cook Everything led me to “White Beans with Cabbage, Pasta, and Ham.” I took a chance on it and was genuinely surprised at how tasty it came out with minimal effort.

It’s now a staple go-to dinner dish because this is one of those recipes where you’ll tend to have most of the core ingredients on hand, but you can easily mix and adjust because it’s built on a core of mild ingredients seasoned with broth, onions, and thyme. As well, I make this as a vegetarian dish with small amounts of various fake meats—which I’ve found is a a great way to inject another jolt of flavor. The resulting portions are hefty and you can easily double or treble them, as cooking just involves two saucepans. I’ll run through the Bittman ingredient list and offer my substitutions:

• 3 cups chopped cabbage, preferably Savoy [Never used Savoy myself, which sounds pricey. Part of the point here is just to use a hunk of cabbage you might have left over from something else. One head goes a long way. I find that it only takes about one quarter of a normal size cabbage to get the 3 cups here.]
• 8 ounces small pasta, like cavatelli or orecchiette [Again, just use whatever you have open and want to finish off. You can also up the amount wildly without risk.]
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups chopped leak or onion [Leeks are really good here. Obviously regular onion will do just fine.]
• 1 celery stalk, chopped [I find that getting celery just for this creates a problem because then you have the whole rest of the stalk and, eh, what else are you going to do with celery? I usually use carrots, which help break up the monotone color of the dish anyway.]
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme [The thyme, surprisingly, is really the heart of the dish. I tend to only have dry chopped on hand and gusstimate a substitution—2 teaspoons or so. Again, you can increase that to taste without throwing off the balance. Herb substitutions are 3 fresh units to 1 dried unit according to Google.]
• 1/4 cup chopped prosciutto or 1/2 cup chopped ham [I always make this vegetarian by using fake Italian sausage instead. Trader Joes sells a spectacular house brand imitation Italian sausage and you only need 1/2 of a link chopped small to get a lot of meaty flavor into this dish.]
• 1 cup chicken or other stock [I use 1 cube of vegetable bullion in 1 cup of boiling water—just toss it in the microwave in a Pyrex cup for a few minutes.]
• 3 cups cooked or canned cannellini or other white beans, dried but still moist [That's three cans, which I feel is a little excessive. I'll use as little as 1 can depending on what I have around. Just as good, you can use garbonzoes.]
• Black pepper
• Parmesan or Romano [A crucial garnish. Bear in mind the concentrated stock will be salty, so sometimes a less salty cheese is better.]

Bittman recommends cooking the cabbage first then reserving that water for the pasta. Here are the steps, simplified:

1. Boil salted water for the cabbage. Cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Strain but save the water. Reboil the water and cook the pasta al dente—it’s going to cook some more when combined with the rest of the ingredients.
2. Heat the oil in a separate saucepan or large skillet that can hold all of the final volume of ingredients. Add the onions and celery/carrots. Soften, then add the thyme, imitation sausage, stock, beans, and cabbage. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss that for 5 minutes or so to blend flavors. Bittman reminds you to keep it moist but not soupy.
3. Toss the pasta in at the last and then move to your serving vessel. Serve with grated cheese.

Voila! A whole dish based around cabbage that’s not coleslaw. Hearty and just as good as leftovers the next day for lunch.