Breaking
FoodNerdy Recipes Management System
Author

Orlov David

Browsing
Food

Injera: Ethiopian Flatbread Recipe

Injera is a traditional flatbread from Ethiopia. It is characterized by a soft, sponge-like texture. Making injera at home is not difficult. All you need is a little time and patience.

In Ethiopian cuisine, injera is a common accompaniment to vegetable or meat dishes. The flatbread consists of a simple dough prepared with teff flour. Teff is an ancient Ethiopian pseudocereal also known as dwarf millet. It is naturally gluten free. In Germany, for example, you can get teff flour in well-stocked organic supermarkets or in shops that specialize in African foods.

Due to its sponge-like structure, Injera can absorb a lot of liquid. The flatbread can be rolled up or torn into smaller pieces, for example to dip in sauces and soups. In the traditional cuisine of Ethiopia, it also serves as an edible substitute for a plate.

If you want to make injera yourself, you only need three simple basic ingredients. However, the dough has to rise for a few hours before you can process it further. So you need a little patience for this recipe.

Injera: Basic Ethiopian flatbread recipe

Ingredients:

42 g fresh yeast (one cube)
700 ml lukewarm water
500 g teff flour
1 pinch(s) of salt

Directions:

Crumble the yeast cube into the lukewarm water. Stir the mixture until the yeast chunks are completely dissolved.
Put the teff flour in a bowl and add the yeast water.
Mix flour and water well to get an even batter. Then let the dough rest for at least 6 to 8 hours. It is best to cover the bowl with a kitchen towel.
Now you bake the flatbreads in the pan. To do this, heat a coated pan without fat and sprinkle some salt in it. Then add a ladleful of batter to the pan and toss it back and forth until the batter is evenly distributed and small bubbles form.
Put a lid on the pan and bake the flatbread in it until golden brown. Then repeat the process until the dough is used up.

Injera: tips and hints

It is best to buy the ingredients for Injera in organic quality. So you can be sure that they are not contaminated with harmful pesticides or fertilizers. Teff flour is also occasionally available from German cultivation. Because teff is a very resilient crop, it could also be of greater importance in Germany in the future due to the climate crisis.

Injera can be combined with many dishes. For example, it is often served as an accompaniment to the typical Ethiopian lentil stew Wot. But it also goes well with other stews or vegetable curries. You can also serve injera with various (vegan) dips.

By the way: Injera is traditionally prepared with sourdough and not with yeast. If you are not in a hurry, you can also use sourdough for the flatbread. Then simply replace the yeast in the recipe with seven times the amount of sourdough.

Keep Reading
By
Food

Fermenting Radishes: This is How You Preserve Them

Fermenting radishes is a quick and healthy way to preserve the tubers for a few months. You also benefit from their healthy nutrients in winter. We’ll give you a simple recipe to make yourself.

If you ferment radishes, you can enjoy them all year round. Root vegetables are usually in season from May to October. That’s when the little red bulbs taste best.

By fermenting you can preserve their taste and the valuable ingredients for the other months. Radishes owe their hot note to their mustard oils. They are good for the immune system and make radishes so healthy.

Radishes originally come from Asia. However, they are also available from regional cultivation. When buying, make sure that they come from organic farming. This protects your health and the environment, since no chemical-synthetic pesticides are used.

Tip: Prefer radishes and plant radishes yourself. This can be done in the garden or on the balcony.

Fermenting radishes: How to do it

Ferment radishes quickly with this easy recipe. You need for this:

  • Cutting board and knife
  • Sterile mason jar with a capacity of 1.5 l (tip: this is how you can sterilize jars)
  • Fermentation weight: the weight is important to keep the radishes covered in liquid. Purchase special glass or ceramic weights from specialty retailers. Alternatively, use acid-resistant items. It is important that you can take the weight off easily. For example, place the weights in a reusable freezer bag. There are also weights that come with a handle so you can take them out easily.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of radishes
20 grams of salt
1 liter of water
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp mustard seeds

Directions:

Mix the salt with the water and stir until the salt is completely dissolved. Here’s how to make 2% brine.
Remove the leaves from the radishes and wash the radishes thoroughly. Tip: reuse the radish leaves to avoid wasting food.
Cut off the tops of the radishes. Optional: Halve or quarter your radishes so you can enjoy them as a snack afterwards. Of course, you can also ferment them whole.

Now put the pepper and mustard seeds in the glass. Add the radishes to weigh the spices down.
Place a fermentation weight on the radishes and top up the jar with the brine. Leave a small rim of about an inch so the jar doesn’t overflow when fermentation begins. Close your jar and label it with the contents and the date.
Store the radishes at room temperature for the first week to allow fermentation to begin. Then put them in a cool place or in the fridge for at least two weeks.
After three weeks, the radishes are fully fermented. Keep them cool and make sure they are always covered by the brine. Then the radishes will keep for a few months.
The fermented radishes taste delicious as a snack between meals and go great as a side dish with bread or in fresh salads.

Fermenting: why does it make sense?

Fermenting radishes and other foods is a traditional way of preserving fresh produce longer. As a result, important nutrients and vitamins are retained. This was particularly important in the past, when there was no imported food from the south in winter.

Fermented radishes are probiotic. This means that they contain living microorganisms that have a positive effect on the stomach and intestinal flora. The fermentation process is called lactic acid fermentation. Don’t let the name put you off. Lactic acid is formed when food begins to ferment. The product remains completely vegan. Also read: Is lactic acid vegan? You should know that.

If you want to ferment your radishes, use the right helpers. This allows you to ferment quickly and safely.

By the way: If you store your radishes properly, they will stay crisp longer. Freeze radishes to make them last longer.

Keep Reading
By
Food

Tofu From the Air Fryer: Crispy, Delicious and Fat-free

With the hot air fryer you can prepare tofu particularly crispy and low in fat. We’ll show you a simple, delicious basic recipe for crispy tofu from the Airfryer.

Tofu tastes best when fried crispy or fried in plenty of oil. But even without oil, your tofu will be crispy if you prepare it in the air fryer.

It is important that you use tofu that is as firm as possible and that you press it out before baking. You can do this with a tofu press or a heavy pan. Soft tofu with a high water content does not become crisp in the Airfryer either. Whether you use firm natural or smoked tofu is up to you. The result is spicier and tastier with smoked tofu.

Tofu from the air fryer: the basic recipe

Buy the tofu and the other ingredients in organic quality if possible. This is how you support organic farming that doesn’t use chemical-synthetic pesticides that could end up in your food and the environment. Recommended organic seals are, for example, Demeter, Naturland and Bioland. With tofu, you should also pay attention to the country of origin, because soybeans for tofu are also available from German or Austrian cultivation and are therefore more climate-friendly than soybeans, which have been transported a long time.

Note: You can also prepare the recipe without fat, but you will get the best result with a small amount of oil.

Ingredients:

400 g firm tofu
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (optional)
1 teaspoon garlic powder (or fresh garlic)
1 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp onion powder (optional)
0.5 tsp chilli powder (optional)
Salt
pepper
1 tablespoon starch

Directions:

First, you need to squeeze the tofu for at least 15 to 30 minutes. This can be done using a tofu press or a heavy cast iron skillet that you place on top of the tofu. Wrap the tofu in a clean kitchen towel beforehand to absorb the excess liquid.
Cut the tofu into bite-sized cubes and add soy sauce or tamari (a gluten-free soy sauce) as well as the vegetable oil (optional).

Mix in the spices. We use garlic, paprika, onion and chili powder, as well as salt and pepper. Mix well with the tofu. Then add the starch and mix thoroughly. Optionally, you can add more spices.
Preheat the Airfryer to 190 degrees Celsius and distribute the tofu evenly in one layer in the cooking basket. Make sure that no pieces of tofu are on top of each other. You may need to bake the tofu in two batches.
Bake the tofu for about 10 to 15 minutes until crispy. Shake the tofu once during the baking time so that all the pieces are evenly browned.

Crispy tofu from the Airfryer: tips for cooking

You can serve the tofu as a meat substitute with side dishes such as rice, vegetables or potato wedges (e.g. also from the hot air fryer) or as a soup ingredient or in flatbread. The crispy tofu also tastes very good with fresh salad and vegan dips.

Cooking tips:

Freeze the tofu beforehand: For an extra crispy result, you can freeze the tofu beforehand and let it thaw and pat dry before further processing. When thawing, the tofu loses water and becomes particularly crispy.
Use fresh garlic: You can also replace the garlic powder with freshly pressed garlic. This makes the aroma even more intense.
Add more spices: You can modify the basic recipe as you like and add more spices. Variants with cumin, dried Italian herbs or curry powder, and turmeric are particularly tasty. Sesame oil also gives a very fine taste.
Marinating the tofu: Marinating the tofu makes it particularly flavorful. Let it soak in the marinade for 30 minutes before frying. However, since most marinades are very runny, the tofu will be a little less crispy.

Optionally, you can serve the tofu with a sauce after baking. However, you should then adjust the salt content and the spices, because the sauce is already seasoned.

Keep Reading
By
Food

Zucchini Bread: Juicy Recipe to Bake at Home

Zucchini bread is juicy and aromatic and adds variety to your diet. We’ll show you how to make the healthy bread yourself at home.

Zucchini bread is a tasty change from traditional bread recipes. With just a few ingredients you can make a juicy bread that you can serve with snacks, soups or as a snack in between.

Incidentally, you can get zucchini from German cultivation between June and October. For all other ingredients, too, we recommend using regional products wherever possible. This saves long transport routes and thus CO2 emissions.

When buying the ingredients, also pay attention to organic quality. In this way you support sustainable agriculture that does not use chemical-synthetic pesticides.

Zucchini Bread: This is how you make it yourself

Ingredients:

0.5 package(s) dry yeast (for 500g flour)
1 tsp sugar
40 ml lukewarm water
200 g flour
200 gzucchini
150 g almonds, ground
20 gflaxseed (crushed)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pinch(s) of salt
2 teaspoons bread spice
1 tbsp flour for the mold

Directions:

Mix the dry yeast with the sugar, the water and half of the flour. Mix everything together until there are no more lumps in the batter. Now let the mixture rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile: Wash the zucchini. Cut off the two ends and grate them roughly with a kitchen grater. Squeeze them lightly with your hands and drain off the excess liquid.
Now mix the remaining flour, the almonds, flaxseed, and the olive oil into the dough. Knead the dough thoroughly.
Now mix the dough with the grated zucchini, the bread spice, and a pinch of salt. If the dough is too wet or too dry, add a little more flour or water.

Let the dough rise again in a warm place for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle a loaf tin (length 26 cm) with some flour so that the bread can be removed more easily later. Bake the bread with top/bottom heat for 40 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.
Tip: To ensure that the zucchini bread lasts as long as possible, you should follow a few tips when storing it. You can find out more about this here: Storing bread – you should pay attention to this.

Serve zucchini bread: This goes well with it

Zucchini bread tastes especially good fresh out of the oven with a little margarine or butter. And the bread is also a good side dish for soups and dips:

  • You can serve zucchini bread with zucchini soup, butternut squash soup, pea soup, or wild garlic soup, for example.
  • On warm days, the bread is suitable as an accompaniment to a cold gazpacho.
  • You can make vegetable dips from fresh vegetables and herbs such as beetroot, wild garlic, or tomatoes and serve them with the bread.
  • The bread tastes particularly delicious with a light salad.

If you can’t finish the zucchini bread, freeze the bread. This way you avoid food waste and always have some homemade bread in the freezer.

Keep Reading
By
Food

Chickpea and Avocado Salad: High-protein Recipe for Spring

A chickpea and avocado salad goes well with springtime. It provides you with vegetable proteins, healthy fats and a large portion of fresh seasonal vegetables. We present you a vegan recipe.

Spring brings an abundance of fresh local vegetables. These include radishes, spring onions and spinach. They look particularly good in a nutritious and quick-to-make chickpea and avocado salad.

Chickpeas provide you with an extra portion of vegetable protein and the avocado contains many valuable unsaturated fatty acids in addition to vitamins and minerals. The avocado is considered a superfood – just one avocado a week can reduce the risk of heart attack.

However, you should not eat avocados in large quantities. The drupe is associated with a poor ecological balance, which is partly due to the high water consumption in cultivation and the long transport routes.

Recipe: This is how you prepare the chickpea and avocado salad

It is therefore best to only buy avocados as an exception and for special dishes – such as this chickpea and avocado salad. We also recommend that the avocado and other ingredients are organic if possible. Organic farming does not use synthetic chemical pesticides that can be harmful to the environment and health.

Ingredients:

265 g cooked chickpeas
200 g fresh spinach
3spring onions
200 g radishes
1avocado
4 tablespoons soy yoghurt
1 tbsp lemon juice
0.5 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
sweetener to taste (optional)

Directions:

If you are using jarred chickpeas, give them a quick wash in a colander. Wash the spinach, spring onions and radishes. If necessary, remove the hard stems from the spinach.
Cut the spring onions into rolls and the radishes into slices. Peel and cut the avocado into chunks.
Place the chickpeas, greens, and avocado in a bowl. For the dressing, whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Pour the dressing over the chickpea and avocado salad and mix well.
Season the chickpea and avocado salad with salt, pepper and, if necessary, a little sweetener. Let the salad sit for half an hour before serving.

Chickpea and Avocado Salad: This makes it even tastier

The chickpea and avocado salad taste particularly good if you add vegan feta and a homemade baguette. You can also vary the salad as you like:

  • Fresh herbs such as mint and chives add variety to the taste.
  • You can also choose other vegan yogurt alternatives for the dressing, such as coconut yogurt.
  • Or you try a completely different salad dressing for the chickpea and avocado salad.
  • You can also use lamb’s lettuce instead of spinach.
Keep Reading
By
Food

Dirty Dozen: 12 Fruits and Vegetables You Should Buy Organic

Many pesticides: beware of the “dirty dozen”

Critics like to argue: “Organic vegetables and fruit do not have more vitamins and nutrients than conventional products and are therefore not healthier.” And even if organic contains fewer traces of pesticides – for conventional products there is still a legal one Limit.

In fact, many pesticides are still insufficiently researched, especially in combination with each other. Despite only a few studies on pesticides, not only are the maximum values controversial, they are also often exceeded – as studies by the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL), among others, show again and again. We explain which foods are particularly affected – you’d rather buy our “Dirty Dozen” organic.

1st place in the dirty dozen: fresh herbs

Strictly speaking, herbs are neither fruits nor vegetables. But the latest figures from the BVL from 2020 clearly show that you have to be careful when shopping here. Residues of several pesticides were found on almost two thirds of the 120 samples examined – up to fourteen different types on a single sample!

More than 12 percent even contained more residues than permitted by law. Pennywort from Sri Lanka was particularly often the subject of complaints, but coriander and parsley were also affected.

Pomegranates: Every 10th above maximum level

Pomegranates exceed the pesticide limit value more often than any other fruit, according to the latest study by the BVL from 2022: almost 11 percent of the 118 samples analyzed in 2020 were above the maximum residue level.

In addition, exotic fruits often have to be imported over long distances. Therefore, buy them rarely and only in organic quality. Or rather grab regional fruit in the supermarket. You can read when something is in season in the Utopia season calendar.

Extremely loaded frozen blackberries

Blackberries are only in season from July to September. The rest of the time we either use imported goods – or frozen blackberries. But both have disadvantages:

Imported berries can have a lousy carbon footprint, depending on the route and vehicle used. And you have to be particularly careful with frozen blackberries: According to the BVL, 3 out of 4 are contaminated with multiple pesticides. Up to 11 different pesticide residues were found on individual samples, 9 percent even exceeded the legal maximum. It is better to plant blackberries yourself and then freeze them – preferably without plastic.

Pesticides on Vegetables: Beans

Legumes are actually healthy. Unfortunately, the vegetables often contain more pesticides than permitted. In the case of beans (with pods), 6 percent of the samples tested by the BVL were above the legal limit. For dried beans it was over 4 percent.

Homegrown beans are guaranteed pesticide-free. They grow in semi-shade, either in beds or on the balcony.

5th place in the Dirty Dozen: peppers and chillies

According to the BVL, more than 4 percent of the paprika and chilli samples examined contained higher pesticide residues than permitted. More than half was also repeatedly contaminated – with up to 32. Different pesticides.

It is therefore better to buy paprika in organic quality: Organic farmers are not allowed to use synthetic pesticides. Here you can find out what the EU organic seal is all about.

Grapefruit, pomelos, sweeties

Grapefruits are a critical case: the BVL examined them together with grapefruits and sweeties. In the tests, more than 3 percent of the samples were above the legally regulated maximum value for pesticides. In addition, 66 percent of the brands examined contained several chemicals at the same time. In 2019, the values were even higher. If you use organic grapefruit instead, you are on the safer side.

Many do not know how to store grapefruit properly and have to throw the fruit away after a few days. That won’t happen to you with our tricks: store food properly.

Black and green tea

Pesticides are not only sprayed on fruit and vegetables. Tea from conventional cultivation is also often affected – according to the BVL study, around 3 percent of the more than 300 samples were above the permitted pesticide content.

So do yourself and your body a favor and grab certified varieties with an organic seal – and preferably a fair trade product. Because there are practically no living wages in the tea industry, trade unions and works councils are hindered and even prevented in many places. More information: The bitter truth about tea.

Pesticides on vegetables: lamb’s lettuce by the dirty dozen

If you have your own vegetable garden, you can easily plant lettuce yourself. Otherwise, it’s best to use organic lettuce, because vegetables like lamb’s lettuce often contain a colorful mix of pesticides.

Almost half (46 percent) of the varieties examined by the BVL contained traces of various pesticides. Lamb’s lettuce samples were even several times above the permitted maximum level.

Tip: Even without a garden, you can grow lettuce for the balcony.

Exotic Fruit: Oranges by the Dirty Dozen

Anyone who buys oranges is probably buying a cocktail of pesticides, because more than 70 percent of the almost 300 samples examined showed several pesticides at the same time – up to 16 different ones were found on the fruit. Some also contained more residues than allowed.

It is therefore better to buy oranges (and orange juice) organic – and with a Fairtrade seal. This stipulates, among other things, that harvest workers receive at least the minimum wage and excludes many particularly dangerous pesticides.

Pesticides on vegetables: zucchini

Organic is also the better choice for zucchini. This is also shown by figures from the Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Office (CUVA) in Stuttgart. More than half of the conventional zucchini examined in 2021 was repeatedly contaminated with pesticides. Just as with the investigation by the BVL, some samples had to be rejected.

In 2019, the CVUA Stuttgart proved that organically produced fruit and vegetables are actually much less polluted. But organic is also recommended for meat, milk and eggs.

Cherries: Pesticide mix to almost 90 percent

No other fruit was so often contaminated with several pesticides: around 89 percent of the cherries examined by the BVL contained up to 15 different pesticide residues. Some of the samples contained more residues of certain pesticides than permitted by law. The effect that such a pesticide mix can have on our body has not yet been sufficiently researched.

Since cherries are native to Germany, you can use local products in season. Or plant your own cherry tree in the garden. You can can your harvest and make it durable.

#12 in the Dirty Dozen: Kiwis

Before kiwis end up in our supermarket, they often travel long distances. The fruits are mostly imported from Italy, but many also come from New Zealand.

For the sake of the environment, you can pay attention to the country of origin when shopping. An organic seal for the sake of your health, because: The BVL has also repeatedly complained about kiwis because they contained more pesticide residues than permitted. That’s why you should never eat conventional kiwis with the skin on – even though it’s actually edible.

Especially popular: be careful with strawberries

In the 13th place, another tip: you can’t snack on conventional strawberries without worrying. Too many fruits are hanging from the overgrown plants and they are too close to the ground. Only with a lot of chemicals can the berries survive against pests. Therefore, the BVL found residues of various pesticides in almost 80 percent of the 529 samples. So be especially careful with strawberries – and when in doubt, go for organic.

Another problem: Even if you bought the fruit locally – if possible without plant toxins – they usually don’t last very long.

Keep Reading
By
Food

5 Common Arguments to Eat Meat or NOT

As a vegetarian or vegan, you are often confronted with arguments as to why a meatless diet is unhealthy, unnatural or even harmful to the environment. What is it about these statements? We have collected five of the most common arguments for meat and formulated counter-arguments.

Claims like “The rainforest is on fire for tofu!”, “Athletes need meat!” or “If God hadn’t wanted us to eat meat, he wouldn’t have made it so delicious!” probably every vegetarian has heard before. We can do no more than arguing about God and his plans. But if statements are demonstrably false, you don’t have to let them rest. How to dispassionately counter some of the most common arguments for eating meat:

Humans are carnivores?

Some of the most popular arguments against vegetarians and vegans revolve around how natural a meat-free diet is. Sentences like “People are carnivores, you can see that from their teeth” are also often used. But: Humans are definitely not pure meat eaters (= carnivores). After all, even the biggest meat lovers eat a piece of fruit or vegetable from time to time. This is also important, because unlike carnivores, humans cannot produce vitamin C themselves and have to get it from food.

Furthermore, if we were pure carnivores, we could swallow large chunks of meat almost without chewing. In carnivores, digestion begins in the stomach, while humans start digesting in the mouth. An enzyme in the saliva that breaks down starch helps us with this. And starch is not in meat, but in plants.

Admittedly, from a biological point of view, people are not herbivores (=herbivores) either, but omnivores (=omnivores). That is, our physical characteristics—including how our teeth are constructed and how they work—allow us to eat both animal and plant-based foods, depending on what is available.

Unlike our ancestors who hunted and gathered, today we have choices. We don’t starve if we don’t eat meat, thanks to farming and storage facilities. We also don’t have to put as much energy into foraging – and making up for that loss with food. We’re also getting older, which is why it’s important to look not only at short-term satiety, but also at the long-term health pros and cons of a diet.

If you want to be physically fit, do you need meat?

“If the construction worker only gets meat once a week and only salad, he falls off the scaffolding on the third day.” This quote from the Bavarian Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger made the rounds in the summer of 2020. The politician is right on one point: You cannot have a balanced diet from lettuce alone. Fortunately, there are a lot of other plant-based foods, that also to provide us with the proteins that are so popular with athletes.

The documentary “The Game Changers” shows that you can also achieve top performance with a purely plant-based diet using the example of various top athletes. The science journalist Bas Kast even comes to the conclusion in his book “The nutrition compass: The conclusion of all scientific studies on the subject of nutrition” that vegetable proteins are healthier than animal ones. Various studies provide evidence that meat consumption increases the risk of various lifestyle diseases.

The vitamin B12 thing

If you have to take vitamin B12 as a dietary supplement, it cannot be a sensible diet – many have certainly heard this argument as well. It’s true, vegans should supplement with vitamin B12. Some plant-based foods also contain vitamin B12, but in a form that, according to experts, cannot be used by the human body.

But where does the vitamin B12 in meat come from? For poultry and pork, the answer is: from dietary supplements. Because just like in humans, vitamin B12 is formed in the large intestine of animals, but they excrete it without using it.

Ruminants, on the other hand, can use the vitamin B12 they produce in their own bodies. To do this, they must be sufficiently supplied with the trace element cobalt. In industrial agriculture, cows often lack this requirement, which is why they are often dependent on nutritional supplements.

On this basis, it is entirely justified to ask the question whether one cannot simply take vitamin B12 oneself in the form of food supplements and skip the detour via the animals.

Do vegans eat industrial goo?

Does vegan food consist of flavor enhancers, artificial flavors, and other additives? This is true for some plant foods, as it is for many processed animal products. And as with an omnivorous diet, such products should be the exception rather than the rule when it comes to eating healthily.

Meat substitutes make it easier for many people to switch to a plant-based diet. They are practical if you want to prepare a vegan alternative to a meat dish without much effort. In the long run, however, many health-conscious vegans refrain from replacing meat, sausage and cheese 1:1 with vegan substitutes. Instead, there is, for example, Bolognese made from lentils, vegetable skewers when grilling and hummus on bread. Tofu is also available in its natural state, and even with processed meat substitutes, the list of ingredients is not always as long and cryptic.

Even if vegans treat themselves to a few vegan sausages at a barbecue party (if they are possible again): Before calling them industrial goo, one should consider whether it is really being vegan that decides how natural or unnatural one eats. Didn’t you just eat a bratwurst with a similarly long list of ingredients, plus ready-made barbecue sauces, chips and cola? If so, then maybe it’s best to keep your mouth shut.

Does the rainforest burn for tofu?

Grilled striploin sliced steak on cutting board over stone table

If we all stop eating meat, where are we supposed to grow all the vegetables to keep us full? Some people are probably asking this question. If rainforests are already being cut down to plant soy, wouldn’t the problem get worse with a switch to a plant-based diet?

Many who ask these questions forget that pigs, cattle and chickens also have to eat. Very few of these animals graze on green mountain meadows that are unsuitable for growing food. Instead, large areas of arable land are required for the cultivation of animal feed. This means that the area required for animal food is higher than for plant food. As animal husbandry decreases, areas are freed up on which we can grow food for human consumption or on which we can reforest.

The increasing hunger for cheap meat has led to forests being cut down in order to grow animal feed in huge monocultures. Depending on the source, 75 to 85 percent of the soy harvested worldwide is fed to animals. So much for the claim that vegetarians and vegans are destroying the rainforest. Incidentally, the soy for meat and milk substitutes often comes from Europe.

After years of eating meat and other animal products, it can be difficult to reduce or even stop eating them altogether. But hiding behind false arguments no longer counts as an excuse.

Keep Reading
By
Food

Mushroom Salt for Seasoning: Do-it-yourself Recipe

Mushroom salt is versatile. It goes well with warm dishes, refines salads, or seasons your bread. We’ll tell you how to make it yourself with just three ingredients.

Mushroom salt is an interesting alternative to conventional table salt. The mushrooms give the salt an earthy, nutty note. It goes particularly well with vegetable dishes or salads, and the salt also tastes good on bread and butter.

Herb salt or chili salt are already known in many kitchens. With this mushroom salt you bring variety to your dishes. It is also a great gift for family and friends.

If you buy the ingredients, then pay attention to organic quality. Organic seals such as Demeter, Naturland, or Bioland are good indicators of ecologically sustainable cultivation. Choose the products from regional trade. This saves long transport routes and thus reduces the ecological footprint of your food.

Make mushroom salt yourself

WHO recommends eating salt in moderation. Therefore, use the mushroom salt carefully and use a salt substitute if necessary. Gomasio, Japanese sesame salt, is also suitable for this.

Ingredients:

  • 60 coarse salt
  • 60 g dried mushrooms of your choice
  • 1 teaspoon of colored peppercorns

Directions:

  • Place the mushrooms, salt, and peppercorns in a mortar or high-powered blender.
  • Grind the ingredients very finely.
  • Pour the finished mushroom salt into clean screw-top jars.

Tip: Store the mushroom salt airtight and protected from moisture. Then it can be kept practically indefinitely.

The mushroom salt consists of two main ingredients: mushrooms and salt. There are many different types of salt. In this recipe, we recommend using a fairly coarse one. Simply choose your favorite varieties for the mushrooms in this recipe. Dried porcini, oyster mushrooms or chanterelles taste particularly good.

You must dry the mushrooms before preparing the mushroom salt. You can find dried mushrooms in an organic supermarket or gourmet specialty store.

You can also collect or grow your own mushrooms. You should note a few things:

Wild mushrooms are in season in autumn. Then they grow in the forest and garden.
Choose local edible mushrooms for your recipe. In this way, you avoid high CO2 emissions due to long transport routes.
If you are collecting edible mushrooms, use mushroom identification tools.
Grow mushrooms yourself to be absolutely sure it’s the right kind.
Air or oven-dry the mushrooms. Then they have a long shelf life and you can use them for the mushroom salt.

Keep Reading
By