This week's dose of organic headlines, updates, resources, goodies, and recipes courtesy of Doug Snodgrass...

My mom used to scare the bejeezus out of me. No, she wasn't a strict disciplinarian nor was there any Mommy Dearest situation. The woman never had a malicious bone in her body.

It was dinner.

Actually it was a specific meal that we had on several occassions when I was a young child, one of Mom's unique creations which she called shipwreck. Shipwreck was a casserole composed of several items, including potatoes, green beans, kidney beans, tomato sauce and ground beef. She had a story that would go along with the serving of shipwreck, in which she would painstakingly describe the aftermath of a disaster: "The casserole dish is the ocean, the potatoes are the sails of the wrecked ship, the green beans are pieces of the ship's body, the kidney beans are the people who were on the ship, the tomato sauce is the bloodied water..."

I have absolutely no recollection of what the ground beef represented. Maybe my mind has successfully and mercifully blocked it out. But we frequently take comfort where we can find it, and even on on those nights when we had shipwreck, dessert was angst-free. So today let's pay tribute to desert with a selection of organic recipes that serve as the anti-shipwreck.

(For maximum benefit, use as many organic ingredients as possilbe, even in cases where organic ingredients are not specified).

My grandma, the constant organic gardener, planted many fruits and vegetables in our yard, and apples were in nearly constant supply at our house.

Baked Organic Apples Stuffed with Winter Fruit Compote (recipe here)

Ingredients:

6-8 of your favorite apples such as “Pink Lady”

1/2 tablespoon of sweet organic butter

1 ripe pear cored, chopped into ˝ inch pieces

1 ripe soft persimmon, seeds removed and chopped into ˝ inch pieces (if you can’t find persimmons, feel free to leave them out or substitute something else)

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup dried blueberries

1/2 cup dried mixed berries, like strawberries, raspberries, blackberries

1/2 cup of pitted prunes chopped

1/2 cup dried apricots

1/4 cup honey

1 cup of dry white wine

1/2 cup raw sugar

1 sprig of rosemary

1 sprig of sage

1 vanilla bean split

1/2 cup Amaretto, brandy, cognac or calvados

Ambrosia. No, not the 70's one-hit wonder know for their song "How Much I Feel". If my editor ever changes his mind and approves my proposed weekly column, "Wicked Cool World of 70's One-Hit Wonders", we'll finally have that lengthy examination of Ambrosia the band, but remember, this column is about food.

Modern Ambrosia (recipe here)

Ingredients:

½ cup plain, organic whole milk yogurt, drained for 30 minutes to thicken

2-3 tablespoons local honey (or to taste)

1 organic Asian pear, (or local equivalent) sliced thinly

1 organic Fuyu persimmon (or local equivalent), sliced thinly

1/3 cup toasted organic pecans

1 cup organic grapes, halved

¼ cup pomegranate seeds (optional””or currents)

½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Very healthy recipe here, the presence of flax seed provides mucho benefit.

Vegan Organic Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (recipe here)

Ingredients:

3 large ripe organic bananas

1 tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with 3 tablespoons water (this replaces the egg)

1 cup organic granulated sugar

4 tablespoons melted Earth Balance margarine

1 ½ cups unbleached organic all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon organic vanilla

½ teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon organic cinnamon

½ cup vegan chocolate chips (such as Enjoy Life’s semisweet)

My late brother Larry was convinced that the world revolved around pecan pie. Sure, there are scientists who insist the world actually revolves around the sun, but if you knew Larry, you knew that he could convince you of just about anything. 

Fair Trade Pecan Pie (recipe here)

Ingredients:

Crust: 
1 1/4 cups flour 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/2 cup shortening 
3 tablespoons cold water 

Filling: 
3 large eggs 
1/2 cup packed brown sugar 
1/2 cup maple syrup 
1/2 cup dark corn syrup 
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 
5 oz. (1 1/2 cups) coarsely chopped 
Equal Exchange Roasted Salted Pecans 


*Variation: Fair Trade Mocha Pecan Pie: 
1/3 cup Equal Exchange Panama Extra Dark 
Chocolate, broken into pieces 

2 tablespoons strong brewed Equal Exchange coffee

Related Reading:

San Francisco, Newsom Usher In Organic Composting Laws
Feed Yourself, Meet Your Neighbor: Start a Garden

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