This I Believe
In the end, I, too, will succumb to the laws of nature and commend my body to the dust from which it came. Nonetheless, I will, in gratitude to its Creator, seek to feed and care for my body with chemical-free, unprocessed, and unmodified foods and herbs. Mother Nature makes perfectly unaltered, nutrient-rich foods for my consumption.
By learning about them and using them in moderation, I hope to avoid, or at least to minimize, illnesses that may be due more to my choices than to God’s design for me.
I owe this to those who love me and wish me well. I also owe this to those I have accepted the responsibility to care for.
We must educate our governments so they can be our partner in this endeavor and enact no laws that hinder our access to whole, raw, and unprocessed food and herbs, especially from small, family-owned farms, ranches and dairies. These providers are an important source of superior food that can satisfy the hunger of a nation and the desire of jobless peoples for meaningful work.
If I have been a good steward of this precious gift and later am visited by a serious illness, I may confidently know that it was beyond my power to prevent. Divine Providence, who deigns these things, will then give me the grace to accept it peacefully or expect the miracle of healing.
-Maria Atwood
Real Food: Masitas de Puerco Frita
Succulent, crisp Cuban fried pork chunks with black beans and mojo criollo (Creole garlic sauce)..
Adapted from recipes by Mary Urrutia Randelman
Rinse, pick over and soak dried black beans overnight in filtered water.
Cut boneless pastured pork into large (1 1/2 inch) chunks and season liberally with seal salt and freshly-ground pepper. Crush fresh garlic into a paste and rub into the meat. Place into a glass bowl and pour fresh orange and lemon juice over the top. Enhance with dried citrus peel and herbs if you like (I do). Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Meanwhile, prep Creole garlic sauce by crushing fresh garlic into a paste and adding thinly-sliced onion, a medium-hot pepper of your choosing, sea salt, orange and lemon juices and olive oil. Allow to sit a room temperature while the pork is marinading.
Cook black beans until just under done and set aside. Cook chopped bacon, bell peppers and garlic in olive oil until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add beans, a little of the cooking liquid, bay leaf, cumin and S&P and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat an inch of unrefined peanut oil in a deep, heavy over medium heat until shimmering hot. Carefully ad the pork to the hot oil one piece at a time and allow to sizzle undisturbed for 5 minutes. Increase the heat incrementally, if necessary to keep the oil hot (but not smoking).
Turn the pork over with tongs or a slotted spoon and fry another 5 minutes undisturbed.
Continue to cook, now turning often, until pork is cooked through and golden brown on all sides. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
Pour off all put a generous tablespoon of the hot oil, return the pan to the heat and quickly fry the Creole onions until tender.
Serve pork alongside black beans and dress with Creole garlic sauce.
Genetically Modified Rice
“Rice is daily food for half of the world’s population. Genetically modified (GM) rice, on the other hand, is a threat to our agriculture, our biodiversity and a possible risk to our health.
At present, GM rice is not grown commercially anywhere in the world. But Bayer, the German chemical giant, has genetically manipulated rice to withstand higher doses of a toxic pesticide called glufosinate, which is considered to be so dangerous to humans and the environment that it will soon be banned from Europe.
In just a few weeks, the European Union will decide whether or not this GM rice can enter EU countries, appear on supermarket shelves and end up on our dinner plates. If the EU approves the import of Bayer GM rice, farmers in the US and elsewhere may soon start planting it.”
Ain’t no God in this garden..
