Around the Table - The Food Co-op Newsletter Spring 2023

SPRING 2023

THE FOOD CO-OP QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

AROUND THE TABLE

REGENERATE!

SPRING RECIPES, REGENERATIVE FARMING PRACTICES, TACKLING FOOD WASTE AT THE CO-OP AND MORE!

General Manager

Kenna Eaton

Managing Editor

Andrea Stafford

Layout Christopher Bunch

Copy Editor

Lisa Barclay

Contributors

Cassandra Loftlin, Laura Schaeffer, Liam Cannon, Lisa Barclay, Kenna Eaton, Owen Rowe, PT Potential, Sidonie Maroon

Board of Directors

Juri Jennings, Claire Thomas, Michael Flowers, Dave Dunn, Lisa Barclay, Owen Rowe

Around The Table is published by The Food Co-op on a quarterly basis and comes out in the winter, spring, summer, and fall. If you are interested in contributing content for Around The Table, please contact marketing@foodcoop. coop to discuss your article idea. Articles should include stories about food, community, sustainability, or cooperation.

HOW MUCH FOOD DO WE WASTE?

BY KENNA S. EATON, GENERAL MANAGER

Food waste is a hot topic these days and for good reason. Not only does throwing food away waste money, but it also contributes to climate change by adding to our greenhouse gas emissions. Roughly one third of the food produced worldwide intended for human consumption is wasted or lost. This is enough to feed three billion people!

Forty percent of the food lost in industrialized countries occurs at the retail and consumer levels. The Food Co-op has worked for years to minimize the amount of food we throw into our dumpsters. Each department with perishables—grocery, food services, meat & seafood, and produce—has systems in place to redirect food. Usually, we begin by reducing the price of food approaching its “best by/sell by” date. If it doesn’t sell but is still fine to eat, we send that food to the PT Food Bank. These foods could be canned, fresh, or frozen (an example of frozen is meat). If the food is considered inedible (produce trimmings, for example), then it goes to farmers as compost. As a last resort, if it is inedible due to spoilage, we throw it into our dumpsters. This year staff hope to conduct a waste audit for the first time since Covid hit, where we literally sift through our garbage to verify that we’re still doing all we can to reduce, reuse, or recycle.

According to various web-based resources, food takes up more space in U.S. landfills than anything else. Did you know that every day our county sends three semi-tractor-trailer loads of trash to a massive landfill in Eastern Washington? Food spoilage is one of the biggest reasons people throw out food, often because we didn’t label our leftovers or because the “best by” dates are confusing, and we don’t want to risk the health of our family with a food-borne illness. We are also often impulsive in our food purchases and then underutilize leftovers. Some of that waste may also be due to a lack of composting opportunities, but current thinking suggests composting food should be a last step after other avenues have been tried. Check out the Food Recovery Hierarchy from the EPAOf course found later in this issue, composting is still a very important step!

To be sure, not all of this food waste happens at home, but 37% of all surplus food is generated by consumers, which means most of us can do better. The first step is to refine our shopping habits. This is the kind of thing our moms did: make weekly menus, create shopping lists, and look at ways we can re-use leftovers before they hit the waste bin or compost heap. My current fave is to make a bowl of left-over grains, beans, and veggies with a yummy sauce on top (I’m loving the Bitchin’ Sauce these days). Several members of our Board Community Engagement Committee are planning in-store demos this year on easy meal planning and using up what we have in our fridges— be sure to be on the lookout for announcements of those demo dates. Another step is to understand “best by” dates, which are usually very conservative and do not necessarily mean a food in inedible by that date. See the links below

explaining “best by” dates, and if you have any questions, check with the manufacturers.

There are some new web-based tools available to help us better manage our food. I haven’t yet found the perfect app, but I did come across a British website, Love Food Hate Waste, that had some great tips. So did The Eco Hub, which covers a variety of topics, such as sustainable living, zero waste, cleaning, and fashion. Our website also has helpful tips. Check out Sidonie’s blog on how to cook and use all of a whole chicken, for instance. Or see the zerowaste brochure on our website, which while not specifically about food waste, has tips on how you can reduce your waste while shopping at the Co-op. Check it all out and tell us what you find, Happy Earth Day!

Web-based resources used for data in this article:

https://www.rts.com/resources/guides/food-waste-america

https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/good-food-habits/how-do-I/make-sense-of-food-date-labels

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/confused-date-labels-packaged-foods

How to use a whole chicken: https://www.foodcoop.coop/blog/2023/1/30/5rcl1fdt3wcmonrjtinsuniegyboop

Zero WASTE resources: https://theecohub.com/

SUPPORTING LOCAL FOOD WITH OUR FARMER FUND!

BY THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE

It’s been a year now since we began our Farmer Fund at The Co-op. And what a year it’s been—another year of supply and cost issues due to the pandemic, plus that horrifically cold and wet spring, which really complicated the early planting season for farmers.

The Farmer Fund began almost spontaneously last spring as a way to help our farmers in these difficult times. This first year the fund has been a simple pass-through program—we collect money from our members to give to local farmers, and they use that money to pay for some of the food they give to the Food Bank, schools, and/or to subsidize CSAs.

With a year of collecting and distributing funds under our belts, we’re ready to see how we can make the program better. The Food Co-op’s Community Engagement Committee is considering what improvements and changes we might make—How do we define farmer in this context? Should we limit the fund to growers or include value-added producers? Should there be a simple application process? Should we limit it to farmers who have an existing program

to give their food to the Food Band and/or schools? Should we have just one farmer per quarter so the funds we collect for them are more substantial? There are many questions to ask and answer.

When we’ve finished reviewing and revising our program, we’ll publish a blog detailing the changes, so keep an eye on the Co-op blog. You’ll also find blog entries on our local farmers—there are new entries every month or so. And remember, you can give any amount to the Farmer Fund at the register or go online to donate at https://www.foodcoop. coop/change-for-change.

The Community Engagement Committee (which includes staff, board members, and members-at-large) works on a variety of projects, from store demos on local foods to member surveys like the one that went out in February, plus community outreach events like 50th anniversary party.

If you are interested in participating in our work, email Lisa B. at coopboard@foodcoop.coop.

KODAMA FARM & FOOD FOREST

REGENERATIVE PACKAGING!

BY LAURA SCHAEFFER, WELLNESS MANAGER

Regenerative is a word like those clothes that come back in fashion after we’ve missed them or like the way a cobweb dangles from the light, how you didn’t see it before, but now you do and suddenly consider that pretty much everything is a network of what was made and longs to be remade. Upheaval and arrangement. A recipe for the body craving its nutrients, for example. Put regenerative with farming and something is materialized. Soil becomes whole again with biodiversity. Animals roam. Crops take polite turns and tillage is conservative. Somehow, we knew this long ago by experiment. Not the earth’s undoing, but our need to give some cooperative balance. Our old/new buzz word is bright orange, a delicious shade like grandma’s carrots born from rich compost: coffee grain, eggshell and apple core. Near sea level, aisles of bottles are touched and re-touched above ground.

Plastic is just on the tip of tongue and what can be done about it for the sake of soil and our appetites? I usually ask the reps I meet the same question: Why are you still using plastic? There is a pause, then an explanation, a sigh, but not always. Some people run straight into their webs. So, this is my note of gratitude.

Thank you Humble, for choosing cardboard packaging for our deodorant. Thank you, True Grace, for your regenerative farming, for reusing plastic and providing bulk vitamins for us. Thank you, Shepherd Moon, for bulk bath salts and Dr. Tung’s for dental floss without a trace of plastic. Thank you to so many others with a question and an answer, for paper and glass. And thank you, local farmers most of all, with your offerings of renewal and restoration that satisfy our memory as much as our health.

Humble Deoderant True Grace Supplements Shepard Moon Concoctions Dr.Tung’s

Navigating the Future

BY OWEN ROWE, BOARD TREASURER

As I write this at the beginning of February, the board is coming down from the excitement of our work session last weekend. With facilitation from a professional coach and consultant, the board, GM, and managers talked about our visions for the future of the Co-op and agreed on how we want to work together. And we shared delicious food, of course! We spent time talking about metaphors for our work. Mechanical and military metaphors don’t fit any more, if they ever did.

The Co-op isn’t a machine, not even the most precisely engineered watch, and we’re not battling anyone or anything using weapons and violence. We turned instead to organic metaphors, seeing the Co-op is a living organism. But are we a tree in an orchard, an animal in an ecosystem, or a mycelial network under the ground?

Here’s another metaphor: We’re all on a journey together— the Co-op’s board, GM, staff, and member-owners. The Co-op is traveling into the future. The GM is at the wheel. The staff keep the vehicle in top shape and moving forward at a safe speed. The board identifies the destination and milestones along the road—including opportunities to change direction or choose a different route.

The catch is that the road into the future is dark, and our headlights only shine a little ways ahead. If everyone works together as a team, it can still be a smooth and safe trip, even to the furthest destination. But if people are fighting over the map and the steering wheel and the engine is sputtering, we’ll never get there.

The board and staff are excited about the work ahead to refine our goals and build our plans for the future. To accomplish all the work we’ve got planned for the next

couple of years, we need to expand and reinforce our board team. If your vision of leadership is arguing with people to convert them to your position, don’t bring that to the Co-op board. We’re a collaborative and, yes, cooperative team—and we really enjoy working together. If your vision of leadership is continual learning and generating solutions, then board service might suit you. It’s not too late to run in the board election this summer. To be eligible to run, you need to be a Co-op member (duh), attend at least two board meetings, complete a board training webinar, and meet with board members to discuss board work and any additional concerns. The official candidate forms and statements are due at the beginning of May.If you think you’d be a good fit for our team, come to the April and May board meetings to see how we work together.

NUTRITIOUS FOOD SHOULD GO TO PEOPLE, NOT LANDFILLS

BY LAURA TUCKER, EDUCATION AND OUTREACH COORDINATOR JEFFCO PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Grocery bills are rising. Food banks are running short of donations. You’d never know it if you saw what was ending up in our landfill.

Every day, families and businesses throw out high-quality, delicious food. It could be imperfect produce, or food past its “sell by” date at the grocery store, or food that was prepared but not eaten at the end of the day at a restaurant, or forgotten leftovers in the back of a refrigerator. The point is, it’s food that could feed people rather than landing in the landfill.

Did You know …

in the U.S., up to 40% of the food we produce ends up in landfills 10% of the nation’s total energy budget, 50% of its land, and 80% of all U.S. freshwater consumption is dedicated to the production and distribution of food it’s not just the food itself that’s wasted when it gets thrown away.

The average family of four throws away this much food each month, about one pound per person, and adds up to $1,500 a year!

The Connection Between Food Waste and Climate Change

When food ends up in the landfill, it decomposes and releases methane – a greenhouse gas between 24 and 87 times more

potent than CO2. This makes reducing food waste one of the top three ways to reverse climate change!

The Problem of Hunger

You may not see it, but hunger is a problem in our community. According to Northwest Harvest, as many as 1,000,000 Washington residents visited a food bank in the past year. 1 in 10 Washingtonians consistently struggle with hunger. In Jefferson County, over 50% of the students in our schools live at or below the poverty line. Yes, over 50%!

What You Can Do

• Only buy the food you can reasonably eat in a week, or before the food might go bad

• Look at the dates on your food. Did you know that there’s a HUGE difference between “best before” and “use-by” and “sell by” dates? Depending on the label, a lot of food is safe to eat well after the “best before” date, potentially up to two weeks to a month.

• Make friends with your freezer: preserve food longer when you freeze it

• Love your leftovers! After you cook a meal and realize that you often have loads of leftovers, consider having one or two meals a week designated as Leftover Night!

• Make an “Eat me first” shelf or box in your refrigerator

• Donate food and funds to our county food banks

Tuesday April 18 Noon to 1:30PM

Thursday April 20 3 to 4:30PM www.foodcoop.coop

PAY DIRT

The power of Niman Ranch, Regenerative Argriculture and Small Family Farms

BY CASSANDRA LOFTLIN

April Wilson began raising show pigs at the age of nine. By the time she completed high school she was a two-time winner in the 4-H Swine Show. After graduating from college, she left the farm and lived in the city for over a decade.

“My father called to tell me that he was getting rid of the pigs because no one was interested in raising them,” Wilson said. “I had never forgotten about my love of raising pigs. I came back because I missed the farm.” Wilson is now a thirdgeneration hog farmer and works alongside her mother and father, her two brothers and their wives at Seven W Farm— where they are also using hog manure-based compost to support their farm and protect the planet.

While each farm in the Niman Ranch network looks a bit different, they all strictly follow the animal care protocols,

one of which requires bedding for the pigs. “We use wheat, oat and barley straw,” Wilson shared of her family’s farm. “They love to root around and lay on it.” The sows also use the bedding to build nests when they are ready to have piglets.

As the bedding is soiled, a fresh layer of straw is applied and eventually the straw and pig waste begin to break down or compost, with the help of the little hooves above naturally turning and aerating the compost. The compost has an added benefit: The heat generated from decomposition helps to keep the pigs warm through the winter. In the spring, the compost is transferred to a windrow, a large open container, for months until completely decomposed. This results in a nutrient-rich fertilizer that can be used on the farm to recondition the soil and increase its ability to retain

moisture, preventing water runoff and soil erosion. This method of manure management is quite different than conventional scale hog production. On industrial pig operations, pigs are raised on slatted floors, allowing waste to fall into a pit below. The pig waste is then stored in massive lagoons; as it breaks down, ammonia is released into the air. The untreated waste, which has a high nitrogen content, is sprayed directly on surrounding crops. The excess nitrogen can contaminate drinking water by either leaching underground or through water runoff during heavy rains.

“It is difficult for an industrial farm to practice regenerative agriculture with the animals confined and overcrowded,” Wilson said. During a recent storm, the Wilsons were able to clearly see water runoff from area farms that implement less sustainable practices.

“The answer for a better environment is more farmers and smaller farms,” Wilson continued. Niman Ranch and its network of U.S. family farmers and ranchers are focused on regenerative farming practices, and holistic and dynamic approaches to revitalize the environment. In addition to composting, Wilson uses rotational grazing, cover crops and organic practices for healthier soils.

New research from the Rodale Institute indicates that largescale ecological rehabilitation can be achieved through regenerative agriculture. Carbon dioxide makes up the majority of the greenhouse gases contributing to the warming trend, and agricultural soil naturally has the ability to sequester or stabilize and store carbon emissions at lower depths. Increasing healthy soil mass through

regenerative practices including compost usage reduces climate-damaging levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide while improving soil structure and eliminating soil erosion.

The Wilsons’ radically traditional approach to farming through composting and other regenerative practices delivers a sustainably sound solution to both family farms and consumers.

PLASTIC: REDUCE AND REUSE, THEN RECYCLE

BY PT POTENTIAL

Are you committed to more sustainable practices in 2023? Are you thinking of stepping up your recycling or zero-waste game? Then let’s take a deep dive into plastic waste!

Before we talk about better recycling, you may want to know that only 9% of plastic has ever been recycled. Plastic was never meant to be a reusable material. In fact, the campaign to convince us that we could save our planet from plastic waste by recycling was constructed by the plastic industry. They were well aware at the time that most plastic could not and/or would not be recycled. Therefore, let’s look at ways to avoid these plastics in the first place. After all, Reduce and Reuse do come before Recycle!

First, take a look at where you and your neighbors are up against the metaphorical “plastic wall.” Is it diapers? Sour cream? Deli containers? Meal boxes? Prescription bottles? Some folks getting started on their personal plasticreduction journey make a list of all plastics they encounter

in a day. Others even stuff their plastic waste into a jar to visually measure their progress. Self reflection and individual responsibility are an important beginning, but there’s more to your plastic-reduction journey. Next, reflect on ways you are able to make change. Can you make your own hummus, soda pop, or potato salad? Can you make extra for the neighbor who is unable to cook for themselves? Can you buy salad greens or dry foods like rice in bulk? Is there a business you could start to reduce the consumption or import of plastic into our community? Is it a reusable diaper service, a local sour cream producer, or a delivery service focused on local producers committed to using sustainable materials? Can you start a travel mug library at your local coffee shop or the break room at work? Make a list for yourself of the personal and community changes that feel realistic. This can seem overwhelming, but remember to give yourself a break—you didn’t start this avalanche of plastic and you aren’t alone in trying to solve it.

Finally, take action! Try asking neighbors what they need in order to start reducing their plastic use and show up to help in the ways you can. Have a conversation with the pharmacist about alternatives to disposable pill bottles. Write to your representatives to ask them to sponsor bills putting the financial and disposal burdens of plastic onto the companies that manufacture it. We want to shift these burdens from the consumer, who often doesn’t have much other choice, to the corporations profiting from the waste crisis. Push for local policies and zoning that promote local, recirculating businesses over outside corporations without a connection to our community. Participate in a mail-back protest by sending your plastic packaging from online retailers back to them with a note stating they have a responsibility to come up with better, plastic-free packaging. And, of course, bring your reusables with you when you shop!

At the Food Co-op, check out the recycling area near the North Door for recycling options. Be sure to bring back Co-op deli containers (the thicker ones, not the thin clam shells), because the deli can sterilize and reuse them. And bring in you wide-mouth glass jars with lids (and no labels!!— they clog the dishwasher), which can also be sterilized and reused. You can even bring clean and dry plastic to be recycled into plastic lumber. Outside, you’ll find bins to put clean packaging materials for other members to use.

Last but not least, plastic recycling isn’t completely dead. Plastic waste is a resource and we can find ways to reuse or sequester the plastic we can’t avoid. Plastic also serves as a great indicator of where and how much our community relies on cheap imports. In any case, there is currently too much of this resource, and we need to strive to reduce individual consumption, identify where plastic is fulfilling our community’s needs, and take action to address the root causes.

Online resources:

In the meantime, PT Potential will continue to upcycle the plastic that the collective “we” can’t avoid at the moment. We work to take plastic out of the waste stream and make it into products our community can use. Most recently, our team has invested donated monies towards a 20-ton hydraulic press, and we have been experimenting with our new machine, working towards producing tile for interior use in kitchen and bathrooms. So drop by one of our upcoming “Pop-Up DropOffs” to check out our new tiles, talk about how to contact our representatives, or brainstorm the opportunities for our community to reduce plastic where we can. We’re at the Coop every third Saturday of the month from 2 to 4 pm and at the Marine Science Center on the first Saturday.

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/31/822597631/plastic-wars-three-takeaways-from-the-fight-over-the-future-of-plastics https://www.goodrx.com/healthcare-access/medication-education/what-to-do-with-empty-prescription-pill-bottles https://www.foodcoop.coop/blog/homemade-sodas https://pugetsoundkeeper.org/2022/01/06/renew-act-2022/

For more on PT Potential: https://ptpotential.mystrikingly.com/ “Plastic Waste Can Be A Local Resource” in the fall 2022 Co-op newsletter at https://www.foodcoop.coop/newsletter

VIETNAMESE AND CHINESE FUSION INSPIRED SAUCES

An excerpt of our Vietnamese Community Cook

by Sidonie Maroon

A cuisine is defined by its seasonings, techniques, and basic ingredients, but intangible qualities are equally important, such as a cook’s spirit of creative adaptation and cultural resilience.

Beginner’s Mind

I’m a beginner at Vietnamese cuisine. Sure, I’ve made some pho and spring rolls, eaten at restaurants, and read cookbooks, but I haven’t braved the deep end of the pool. Well, I’m ready to dive in and explore the territory. Vietnamese is our spring Community Cook, an opportunity to expand our repertoire and learn from an ancient and sophisticated culture.

What’s Exciting About Vietnamese Cooking?

Fresh Flavors Every Day Viet cooking is straightforward— you’ll end up with delicious results by using seasonal produce, homemade sauces, fresh herbs, and simple guidelines. I’m not interested in complicated, once-a-year, recipes that rest on an aura of authenticity and expensive ingredients. Instead, I want to incorporate tastes and techniques that fit my cooking year round and enjoy making the ordinary extraordinary within the hour.

Exciting Ingredients to Use With What You Have Already

Fish sauce, lemons, limes, coconut milk, rice noodles, and rice paper Fresh herbs like cilantro, dill, mint, and Thai basil Aromatics like garlic, onions, shallots, chives, ginger, galangal, tamarind, and lemongrass Chinese five spice, curry powder

Waste Not

Viet cooks, with a long history of war and occupation, haven’t had the luxury of wasting food. Parts of plants and animals that we’d typically throw away end up as valuable flavor components in Viet cuisine. Pho stock, using snout to tail ingredients, is an excellent example.

Worldwide Impact

A cuisine with expatriates across the globe must adapt and innovate. Immigrant cooks use what’s local and seasonal to make, as closely as possible, their traditional dishes, and end up creating new favorites. Vietnamese-American cookbook writer Andrea Nguyen, in her book Vietnamese Food Any Day, uses available U.S. ingredients with Vietnamese cooking techniques.

Sophisticated Identity

Living between other cultures is where innovation thrives. Shaped like a long S, Vietnam is the size of Italy. China is to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west, and the South China Sea to the east. China occupied Vietnam for almost a thousand years. Its influences include the use of wheat in noodles and dumplings, the base sauces used in Viet cooking, stir-fry techniques, the use of chopsticks, the five flavor philosophy, and the concept of balance through yin and yang foods. The French, whose occupation lasted less than 100 years, provided fusion opportunities with bread, pastries, pâté, and charcuterie. Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia added coconut, ginger, galangal, and lemongrass, while traders from Malay and India brought spices and a love of curried dishes. This is a simplified description, but I hope it shows how dynamic the flavor combinations are!

Bahn Mi: A Famous Example of Viet-French Fusion

This sandwich consists of crisp bread, succulent filling, pickled vegetables, chilies, and fresh herbs.

Flavor Philosophy

Like other Asian cuisines, Vietnamese meals combine five tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami. This five-pronged philosophy extends to the use of color, arrangement of the meal, seasonal use of ingredients, and so on. I find this flavor philosophy helpful in recipe development and my everyday cooking.

Outstanding Feast for the Senses

Last but not least, a hallmark of Viet cuisine is the use of fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables in cooked dishes. It’s an enticing layering of aromatic herbs, crunchy textures, and vibrant colors. The marriage of utility, weconomy, tradition, innovation, and the creative use of ingredients make this an outstanding cuisine to incorporate into our lives. I can’t wait to learn more!

Hoison Sauce

Makes 1 cup (gluten free and vegetarian)

Ingredients

¼ cup Bragg’s liquid aminos

¼ cup raw cashews

2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon raw honey

1 tablespoon dark miso or fermented black beans

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon Chinese five spice (recipe follows)

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup raisins

¼ cup boiling water

Directions

1.Grind pepper and make the Chinese five spice mix (see below).

2.Soak the raisins in the boiling water.

3.Using a powerful blender, combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth.

4.Refrigerate and use within a month.

Shiitake Mushroom Sauce

Plant based substitute for oyster sauce

Instant Pot or stovetop pot

Makes 1 cup

This sauce has super umami powers. Use it as an ingredient in other sauces or as a dipping sauce.

Ingredients

30g (1 ounce) dried shiitake mushrooms

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup Bragg’’s liquid aminos

2 tablespoons dark miso or fermented black soybeans

3 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon black strap molasses

2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

Directions

1.Blend the ingredients together in a high-speed blender until smooth. You will need to scrape down the sides of the blender several times.

2.Line an Instant Pot steamer basket with parchment paper. Pour the sauce into the basket. Set in the Instant Pot filled with 1 cup of water. Close the lid and set to High Pressure for 5 minutes. Allow a natural release. To cook on the stove top, add the sauce to a small saucepan and let it come to a low simmer. Simmer until the garlic has mellowed and the flavors have melted, 10 to 15 minutes.

3.Cool and store in a labeled jar in the fridge. The sauce will keep for several weeks.

What’s That Sound?

BY LIAM CANNON

What do you think of when you hear the word pop? Do you think of a paternal figure in your life? The sound of a cork gun, Snap and Crackle’s friend, or maybe a weasel? There is much speculation around the meaning of the famous 1800s dancing jig, “Pop Goes the Weasel for Fun and Frolic.” The most plausible, is that it’s just a nonsensical phrase noting that weasels do pop their heads up when disturbed. But no, today we are talking about soda pop.

The first maker of carbonated beverages was Mother Nature. Mineral and spring waters are very similar. They both can be non-carbonated or carbonated from exposure to volcanic carbon dioxide gasses. The main difference is that mineral water comes from a protected underground source collected through a borehole whereas spring water flows naturally to the surface.

It was not uncommon that spring water sites were considered magical and were a place of worship by ancient cultures. Archaeological studies have found that offerings were thrown into these springs as sacrifices for fertility and rebirth.

Ancient Romans believed that drinking and bathing in spring waters provided them with curative properties. They created public baths for health, hygiene, and recreation. As their empire grew so did the prevalence of these bath houses throughout Europe. Some of the modern thermal resorts today were built on or near these original sites. The Romans used aqueducts to bring this water closer to their cities. They would also use clay vessels and bags made of animal pelts or bladders to carry the water.

Although there was some commercialization of mineral and spring water in the mid 16th century, it didn’t become widespread until much later. Spa in Belgium (the namesake for the current general term “spa”), Vichy in France (Vichy water), Ferrarelle in Italy (using carbon dioxide from the extinct volcano Roccamonfina) and Apollinaris in Germany were among the first to attempt this.

In the early 1900s when legal restrictions relaxed, soda was found outside drug stores and became sweeter. Soda makers realized that there was more money to be made in proprietary brands than in generic flavors. By 1920 cola became the biggist competitor to herbal drinks. Ten years later this country would be producing 6 billion bottles of

soda a year. By 2010 Americans drank more that fourty-six gallons of soda drinks per person every year.

The belief of mineral water’s curative properties made a resurgence in the 18th century when medical help was considered lacking and people hoped for miracle cures for their ailments. By the 19th century, thermal resorts became a fashionable place for the wealthy to bathe and enjoy the therapeutic benefits.

This was at a time when water borne illnesses such as typhoid and cholera were on the rise and people would seek out sources for uncontaminated waters. People would carry some of this curative wonder back home primarily in clay jars and stoneware bottles sealed with corks. This was not the best way to hold carbonated liquids as the gasses would quickly escape around the corks and the drink would become flat. Glass bottles were available, but not a good choice because they were handblown and often exploded while being filled.

To capitalize on people’s desire for fizzy water, Joseph Priestley developed processes for artificially carbonating water with carbon dioxide. Within three years, he owned soda parlors in New Haven and New York City that sold his mineral water. It was still considered therapeutic, but around 1820 he started adding flavored syrups to the water for a more appealing flavor. About twenty years later John Matthews of New York City discovered a different technique by combining sulfuric acid with marble chips for that extra special fizz. By using all of the marble scraps left from the construction of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, he was able to produce 25 million gallons. After that source ran out he bought marble from tombstone cutters and sculptors.

France invented the first mechanical corking machine in 1840 which provided a relatively quick and reliable source of water to the people. By the late 19th century, this process of bottling water at the source spread throughout Europe. In 1840, Malver was the first in England. Germany’s Appolinaris in 1892 and the Italian mineral water San Pellegrino in 1899 followed. Because bottled waters were sold as medicinal treatment, it could only be dispensed by physicians and apothecaries. It was advertised to be a curative for just about anything including obesity.

In 1870 Hiram Codd, a mechanical engineer from Suffolk came up with a way to solve the “leaky gas” issue. He patented a glass bottle that he called the Codd bottle (I wonder how he came up with that name?) that used a marble and rubber gasket to seal the beverage in. Ironically at the time he was a salesman for the British and Foreign Cork Company and his invention would reduce the need of the corks that he sold. The bottles would be filled upside down and the pressure of the gas in the liquid would force the marble to the sealed position. It worked so well that nearly all mineral water and soda pop manufacturers in England licensed his process. Codd created a tool that would push in the marble, making a distinctive “pop” sound, when you opened the bottle. You could just use your finger as well. If you wanted to save some of your drink for later, all you had to do was shake the bottle a little and turn it upside down and it would reseal. It has been documented that some Codd bottles have remained sealed for more than 100 years. It’s rare for bottle hunters to find these because a great number of Codd bottles were destroyed due to children breaking the bottles to extract the marbles.

Soda fountains, which quickly became social hubs, sprouted up like weeds in this country in the late 1800s to the tune of 50,000. Because a druggist could oversee the operation, most of these were located within drug stores served by “soda jerks.” Drinks were dispensed into glasses from urns or pipes. They concealed the machinery for carbonating and cooling water beneath elaborate counters. Pumps for adding syrups provided for a multitude of flavors. A good portion of the early soda drinks were herbal in nature and not the sweet liquid that we know today. Ginger ale, spruce beer, and sarsaparilla were favorites. We didn’t know what to do with the “r” so we just pronounces it Saa-Spuh-Ril-Uh. And let’s not forget the big one; root beer. It was a nutritious “small beer” (low-alcohol) drink made from sassafras roots that was directed toward children, women and the elderly for it’s health benefits. In 1876 Charles Elmer Hires began selling Hires Root Beer flavoring kits that people used to make their own home brew. It contained sixteen roots, herbs, barks, and berries which required fermentation with yeast. Shortly after that he produced liquid concentrates and soda fountain syrups as well as bottled drinks. By 1892 he was selling 3 million bottles of Hires Root Beer a year. Root beer manufacturers had to scramble to change their recipes in 1960. The flavor changed considerably when the FDA banned the key flavor component in sassafras, safrole when it was found to cause cancer and liver damage.

Let’s look at three of the major soda players that did not fizz out over time. To preface this it is important to understand that cocaine was once a legal substance in this country. The use of the coca leaf has been found on pottery fragments dating back to 5000 bce. We now know that when cocaine and alcohol are imbibed together it creates a third unique drug inside the body called cocaethylene. Cocaethylene works like cocaine, but with more euphoria and lasts longer. 1863, a Parisian chemist Angelo Mariani combined coca and wine and started selling it as “Vin Marian.” It was popular amongst upper class intillectualls of the period such as Jules Verne, Alexander Dumas, and Arthur Conan Doyle, believing that it made them smarter. Even Pope Leo XIII carried a flask of it and gave Mariani a medal.

Pharmacist Dr. John Stith Pemberton of Georgia served in the Civil War and became a morphine addict while recovering from painfull wounds. When he returned to civilian life, he attempted to find a cure for his addition. It was thought at the time that cocaine was this cure. He created a drink from French wine, coca, kola nut, and damiana calling it Pemberton’s French Wine Coca. He insisted that it helped him with his addition. He created a profitable business, selling 720 bottles a day, and marketed it as a panacea to cure just about anything. Even former US President Ulysses S. Grant drank it to fight the pain from his throat cancer. Pemberton knew that Georgia’s temperance law was about to be inacted so he scrambled to keep his business alive. The French wine was removed from the recipe and sugar syrup was added. This new drink debuted in 1886 which he called “CocaCola: The temperance drink.” In 1888 Asa Griggs Candler purchased the Coca-Cola recipe for $238.98. When cocaine was to become illegal in 1914, Candler developed a process to use the coca leaves without the cocaine component and continued to make a successful product.

You guessed it, the other big soda pop at the time was “Brad’s Drink.” Invented in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and was sold in his drugstore in New Bern, North Carolina. It was renamed Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and was advertised to relieve indigestion and boost energy. The name was shortened to just Pepsi in 1961, It primarily consisted of sugar, carbonated water, caramel, lemon oil, kola nuts, nutmeg, and vanilla. Pepsi was one of the first soda pop makers to use celebrity endorsements and it soon became a household name. The company was doing great until 1923, when they filed for bankruptcy. This was primarily due to to wildly fluctuating sugar prices as a result of World War I. The company was sold twice after this. Garles Guth owned Loft Candy which was a chain of candy stores that also contained soda fountains. He originally sold Coca Cola in his fountains, but when they refused to give him his desired discounts on their syrup, Guth dropped them and bought Pepsi. His chemists reformulated the Pepsi formula and brought life back in to the brand.

Coca-Cola was offered to purchase the Pepsi Company on three occasions, but they refused. Competition was so

bitter that the “P” word was not allowed to be used in any of their facilities.Lastly, I would like to draw your attention to the non-cola giant. It all started in 1920 when Charles Leiper Grigg, who already had a popular orange soda drink, wanted to make a lemon-lime drink. Even though there were already 600 different versions on the market. He tested eleven recipes until he came up with one that he said, was a “glorified drink in bottles only,” knocking the soda fountain. “Seven natural flavors blended into a savory, flavory drink with a real wallup.” He called it Bib-Label Lithiated LemonLime Soda. Yes, one of the seven ingredients was lithium citrate, a mood stabilizing drug. In 1948, the lithium was removed from the recipe. In 1937, the name was change to 7-Up which was much easier to say. Originally it came in brown bottles with eight bubbles and a lady in a swimsuit on the label. In 1938 they changed the amount of bubbles to 7, keeping in line with the 7-Up name. Shortly after, the bottle glass became green. Their marketing department established that people found the green color to be more appetizing than brown. It was also more applicable to the lemon-lime flavor. From 1953 to 1964 the swimsuit was remove (along with the lady).

We now have seemingly endless choices for carbonated drinks. Not just water, but we find it in our juice, energy drinks, kombucha, and even coffee. When it comes to soda “pop,” how about trying Lester’s Bacon Soda with Maple Syrup, Rocket Fizz’s Dirt Soda (yes, with real dirt flavor), or a refreshing glass of Grandpa Joe’s Ketchup Soda?

Bon Appétit!

PLANT POWER

Protein is the hidden superpower in an array of plant-based foods.

Plant-based eating emphasizes meals where meat is not the main attraction, and goes well beyond salads and veggie burgers. Along with fruits and vegetables, plant-based foods put the focus on whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.It may be surprising to learn that plant-based dishes can be a powerful source of protein — especially when the ingredients include beans, quinoa or tofu — in addition to fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. And who couldn’t use more vegetables in their diet? Whether you’re trying to reduce the amount of meat in your diet, exploring the “flexitarian” style of eating, or enthusiastically vegan, give these flavorful, protein-rich recipes a try.

Jerk Tofu with Pineapple

Serves: 4. Prep time: 1 hour.

1 pound extra firm tofu, pressed to remove water and cut into 1- to 2-inch cubes

1 pound fresh pineapple, cut into 1- to 2-inch cubes

1⁄2 cup diced red pepper

Jerk Sauce

1⁄4 cup fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons tamari

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon hot sauce or habañero sauce

2 tablespoon fresh chives, minced (reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish)

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon ground allspice

Pinch of salt and pepper

1. To press tofu: Wrap it in a clean, lint-free towel or place it between two plates, then add a 2 to 3 pound weight on top (a cookbook works well) and let it sit for 15 minutes or more to remove excess water.

2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the jerk sauce ingredients. Reserve 4 tablespoons of the sauce for dressing the tofu when cooked.

3. Marinate the pressed, cubed tofu in the jerk sauce for 30 to 60 minutes or overnight.

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

5. Place the tofu and marinade onto an oiled sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes; then gently stir or flip the tofu and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until the tofu is firm and the sauce is absorbed. On a separate oiled sheet pan, bake the pineapple cubes for 20 to 25 minutes until they just start to brown.

6. Toss the pineapple and tofu together. Drizzle with the remaining 4 tablespoons of jerk sauce and garnish with chives and diced red pepper. Serve over a bed of greens, crisp lettuce or rice noodles.

Marinated tofu soaks in the fullflavored sauce and pairs wonderfully with the sweet, baked pineapple. Each serving gives you 10 grams of protein.

White Bean and Vegetable Paella

Serves: 6. Prep time: 45 minutes.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cups vegetable stock or water

1⁄2 teaspoon saffron, crumbled

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1 1⁄2 cups paella or risotto rice (or medium- or short-grain white rice)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1⁄2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced

1 can artichoke hearts, quartered

1 15-ounce can navy beans, drained

1⁄2 cup frozen peas, thawed

1. In a large skillet or paella pan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil and saute the onion until clear and soft, about 5 minutes. While the onion cooks, measure the vegetable stock or water and crumble the saffron into the liquid to infuse.

2. To the pan, add the garlic and peppers and stir for a minute, then add the rice, tomato paste and paprika, and stir to mix well. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan, for about 2 minutes. Add the stock mixture, salt and pepper to the rice mixture and stir well. Reduce the heat to medium-low after it comes to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, artichokes, navy beans and peas and cook for 5 more minutes.

4. Test the rice. If it is still a little crunchy, cover the pan and take off the heat to steam for 5 minutes or so. Serve hot.

Creamy Artichoke-Spinach Dip

Serves 6. Prep time: 4 hours, 55 minutes; 20 minutes active.

1 cup raw cashews, soaked and drained

1⁄2 cup water

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, pressed

1⁄4 cup nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1⁄4 teaspoon turmeric

10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry

1 14-ounce can small artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons panko (optional)

Toast or crackers

1. Place cashews in a bowl of cool water in the refrigerator at least 4 hours prior to preparation.

2. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly oil an 8-inch square or 1-quart round baking dish and reserve.

3. Place the drained cashews, water, lemon juice and olive oil in a blender and blend until very smooth, scraping down as necessary. When smooth, add the garlic, nutritional yeast, salt and turmeric and blend to mix well.

4. Scrape the puree into a large bowl and stir in the spinach and artichoke hearts. Spread in the baking dish and sprinkle with panko, if desired.

5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until hot and slightly browned on top. The dip can be prepared and refrigerated, tightly wrapped, up to 2 days before baking. Once baked, cover and refrigerate the cooled dip for up to 4 days.

Egg Roll Bowl with Brown Rice

Serves: 5. Prep time: 25 minutes.

1⁄2 block extra-firm tofu, drained and patted dry

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

2 cups shredded cabbage

1 large carrot, halved and thinly sliced

4 ounces button mushrooms, sliced

1 large yellow onion, slivered

1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

3 cups cooked medium-grain brown rice

2 large scallions, diagonally sliced

1. Slice the drained tofu into cubes.

2. In a large saute pan, over medium-high heat, drizzle the vegetable oil. Add the tofu and stir, and then add the cabbage, carrots, mushrooms and onions. Stir frequently, scraping the pan to keep the vegetables from sticking, for about 4 minutes, until the cabbage is browning and the vegetables are crisp tender.

3. Add the ginger, garlic, tamari and sesame oil and stir for a minute, until the pan is nearly dry. Serve over brown rice, topped with scallions.

In this flavorful bowl, tofu and brown rice combine with crisp-tender stir-fried veggies to provide 11 grams of protein per serving.

Curried Chickpeas in Coconut Milk

Serves 6. Prep time: 30 minutes.

2 teaspoons vegetable oil or ghee (clarified butter, frequently used in Indian cooking)

1 inch ginger root, peeled and sliced

2 cloves garlic, peeled

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1⁄2 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne

1 cup coconut milk (or light coconut milk)

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1⁄4 cup cilantro, chopped

1. Heat a large skillet over high heat. When hot, add the vegetable oil or ghee, the ginger, garlic, cumin, turmeric, coriander and cayenne and stir until the spices are fragrant.

2. Add the coconut milk, brown sugar, tomato paste and salt, and mash and stir to incorporate the tomato into the sauce as it comes to a simmer. Add chickpeas and stir. Reduce heat as needed to maintain a simmer, stirring often, until thick.

With 8 grams of protein in each serving, this simple chickpea dish is silky with coconut milk and flecked with spices and fresh cilantro.