Broccoli Rising and Attention Earthlings
My husband’s a big sci-fi guy, so we’ve been watching 3-Body Problem. You too? Let’s talk. So many plot points including — SPOILER ALERT — other beings inhabit crap planets.
Earth, though, has a lot going for it. It’s Earth Day, so let’s show our planet some care and gratitude. That was why we created Earth Day in 1970. People were finally waking up to the inconvenient truth that the Earth’s resources aren’t infinite, and we’ve been wasting them. Earth Day was our chance to start making things right. Once dismissed as a hippie happening, now everyone's on board for Earth Day. It's just good business. Many companies are offering Earth Day promos, so you can celebrate by giving yourself a present and somehow the Earth gets a cut too.
Parties and presents are great, but once you hit 50, it’s time to seek substance as much as style. We’re more aware of our impacts on the planet than we were half a century ago. But we’re not taking appropriate action. We’ve only made things hotter — by at least 2℉ — since Earth Day began. We’ve increased atmospheric carbon by almost 100%. Honey, we’ve been kicking this can down the road for way too long.
Good things came out of that first Earth Day, including the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, and passing the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts. Since then, subsequent administrations and congressional actions have chipped away at some of those good initiatives, and we’re kind of back where we started. Then as now, we were in a time of war and social upheaval, even while facing an environmental, existential threat.
In 3-Body Problem — LAST SPOILER ALERT — we learn the Earth will befall a significant badness in a few centuries. In real life, we don’t have that kind of time. We’re already living with climate change.
The Biden administration is committed to addressing the climate crisis. You can too.
Our daily food choices affect the planet and matter more than any flimsy Earth Day gesture. The United Nations says so, I say so. A vegan diet has just a quarter of the environmental impact of a meatcentric diet. Give the Earth a gift it’ll actually appreciate. Go vegan. Show the Earth you love it by eating plants — produce, beans, nuts, whole grains the foods lowest in GHG emissions.
I can help. I’m pleased to be part of the Beans is How coalition, working to double global bean consumption by 2028. Beans are my favorite plantbased protein, and I want to make them yours too. For Earth Day, Beans is How is making my e-book, Beans: A Handful of Magic available as a free download. Download your free copy here.
Beans and seeds are nutrient-dense, low in carbon . . and the irony is, they’re off the menu for Passover. They fall into the category of kitniyot. Another pass for Passover is wheat and other leavened or fermented grains. Earth Day and Passover don’t need to be at war any more than we do. In the meantime, bright seasonal produce is welcome at Passover, Earth Day and every day. Spring asparagus and green beans, crunchy radishes, juicy tomatoes, sweet peppers, and more are gifts from the Earth. They’re each delectable on their own, and even more so when they play with others.
I put them all together for a gorgeous vegetable platter, added briny olives, savory walnuts, and glammed it all up with saffron yogurt. It’s Passover permissible, whereas hummus, with its double dose of kitniyot — chickpeas and tahini, luscious with sesame seeds, is not. Plantbased yogurt makes it vegan, and it’s my latest obsession.
Saffron comes from the stamens of a crocus. It must be harvested by hand, making it the world’s most expensive spice. But ah, the rewards. Just a few fragrant red threads of saffron takes creamy yogurt to another dimension — not in an astrophysical 3-Body Problem kind of way but in an enhanced flavor kind of way. Five ingredients, three minutes, and you have one of the most seductive dips on Earth.
Enjoy saffron yogurt as a dip, drizzle it on roasted vegetables or composed salad, stir it into pasta. For Passover, add a dollop to quinoa. Quinoa performs like a grain, but it’s a grass in disguise, and is suitable for seder.
More quick quinoa recipes you can have ready for seder tonight:
A nutrient-dense quinoa recipe I bunged together when I was sick
Saffron yogurt can’t solve 3-Body Problem but it does have body benefits. Yogurt is fermented, containing live cultures that support your microbiome, your own inner ecosystem. Saffron’s more than just a pretty flower. It may lift your spirits. It has proven anti-inflammatory properties, and honey, it’s time we cool things down.
Happy Earth Day, Earthlings.
Saffron Yogurt
pinch saffron threads *
1 tablespoon hot water
1/2 cup plain, unsweetened vegan yogurt, the creamier the better**
1 teaspoon lemon juice
pinch sea salt
Drop a few saffron threads into a small bowl or ramekin. Add the hot water and stir. Saffron blooms in hot liquid, releasing its heady scent and creating a golden glow. Stir in the plantbased yogurt, add a squeeze of lemon and pinch of sea salt, stir again and you’re done!
* Heray saffron is high-performing, sustainably grown, and fair trade — all nice things for the Earth
*Also nice, Forager Project plantbased yogurt, creamy from cashews and coconut for us, organic for the planet
I’m glad to recommend Heray spices, Olio Piro olive oil, Rancho Gordo heirloom beans, and other products I believe in and use, but I’m not on their payroll. So you can trust me. I’m poor but I’m honest.
Broccoli Confidential Earth Day Exclusive! Scroll down for your Earth Day extra video, short and sweet, that helps you make the most of all the wonderful foods of the Earth.
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