Monthly Archives

January 2013

Jan 23
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Membership has its rewards: Delicious Food and Education about Sustainable Seafood

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Chef Bill Bradley cooking for W2O members

W2O Member, Michelle Vilms weighs in on what she learned from a night out with members at the Sustenance for the “Sole” Event
For the novice fish buyer, the seafood counter can be daunting.  We are often paralyzed by the choices and a lack of understanding about what is a great sustainable seafood choice.  At the W2O members event this month, Heather Tausag, from the NEAq started off by saying,  “Buying seafood over meat is always the best choice. It is a choice that is better for the environment as well as for our health. Knowing the benefits should make us all want to experiment with new selections at the seafood counter.”  Heather and NEAq staff member, Elizabeth Fitzsimons, also talked about the great shellfish options available all year long.  They explained the strict US regulations for monitoring the bays where the shellfish is caught and NEAq Executive Chef Bill Bradley explained some cooking options.  The take-away “You can never go wrong ordering shellfish”.
Next, we learned that all canned fish can be a great trusted staple. Even canned tuna is a good choice.  That being said, not all countries adhere to the regulations and the fish do not see the boundaries. The package labeling will guide us toward the highly regulated sustainable USA products, which is a great choice for the environment.  It also sends a message of support to our local fishermen.

Anchovies are the underrated fish. Most often the anchovy is a food source for the larger fish and has not been cultivated as a dining option.  Chef Bradley provided tasty fried anchovy stuffed olives (recipe below!) as an appetizer.  Elizabeth and Heather explained the many health benefits of the fish which are packed with vitamins and selenium (which has benefits for a healthy heart and has been prescribed as a healthy food to cancer patients).  Because some view anchovy as “fishy” and associate it with what is served in a Caesar Salad, it is a not a typical choice for the home cook. The advice from Chef Bradley was to start out slowly by incorporating an anchovy paste (found at Wholefoods and other specialty shops) into a pasta dish for flavor and great nutrition.
Chef Bradley, cooked with ease as he explained how to poach fish.  Arctic Char was the choice for the evening. Delicious!  Check out the Neaq.com website for some recipes.
All the guests asked great questions and showed a thirst for knowledge about sustainable seafood choices. Overall the best advice was to “experiment with different fish and recipes to broaden the seafood menu in our homes”.  Events like this one helps share the important information regarding the choices that we make regarding our health and the health of our oceans. We should all continue to ask questions of our waitstaff, chefs, seafood counter help and owners.  Asking these questions about where and how the fish is raised or caught assists in menu choices, product lines and consumer information.
This event was fantastic.  The information was well thought out and provided useful tips for our everyday busy lives.
Michelle Vilms is a consultant and a member of W2O. She is also an Overseer at the New England Aquarium.

Fried Olives

 For the: Anchovy Filling

1 cup Italian parsley, chopped fine

4 anchovy fillets, chopped fine

2 garlic cloves, chopped fine

¼ cup panko bread crumbs

Extra virgin olive oil or butter as needed

Salt and pepper

Method: Combine all ingredients in a in a food processor and puree to a paste.  Add some extra virgin olive oil or butter as needed to make the paste smooth.  (You may add water instead to cut down on fat content.)  Place filling in a plastic pastry bag and set aside.

For the: Olives

24 green Sicilian olives

Anchovy filling

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs, whipped

2 cups Italian bread crumbs

Canola oil for frying

Method: Fill each olive with the anchovy filling. Roll each filled olive in flour (make sure the olive is completely covered with flour), then dip in the egg (again make sure the olive is completely covered in egg.)  Finally, roll the olive in the bread crumbs.  Place olives in the refrigerator for at least an hour so the breading adheres.  When ready to serve heat oil in a sauce pan to 325 degrees.  Place olives in the oil, 8 at a time, and fry until golden brown.  Serve warm.

 

Jan 11
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W2O Member’s Only Event-Sustainable Feasting

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W2O members crowding in to enjoy NEAq's Chef Bill Bradley's cooking demo

On January 10th, W2O Board member, Pam Holding, graciously opened up her lovely home to a W2O members only night, “Sustance for the “Sole.” NEAq Chef Bill Bradley and NEAq’s V.P. of Conservation and Sustainable Seafood expert (and W2O board member), Heather Tausag, treated W2O members to a free cooking demonstration and discussion about Sustainable Seafood. Beautifully presented delicious fish was served up and Heather and conservation staff member, Elizabeth Fitzsimons, helped W2O members navigate through the myths and facts about what to look for and questions to ask about sustainable seafood when purchasing at a restaurant or for cooking in your home. Bill Bradley spoke about easy plan ahead recipes to prepare for your family or guests (some linked here from the NEAq website).

Fish and Shellfish were generously donated by North End Fish Market.  

Don’t miss out! Join Nowand find out why W2O members have so much fun learning about a variety of topics concerning protecting our life sustaining oceans.

NEAq Chef Bill Bradley with Host Pam Holding

Jan 09
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The Other Cliff-Tap the Breaks on Climate Change

By | Action today, Sustainable Living, Uncategorized | No Comments

The big new today, of course, is not new news at all. We are all feeling the effects of climate change and thankfully it is a “hot” (pun intended) topic in the press.  Graphs and headlines that show that 2012 was the hottest ever on record are scary but hopefully will squelch the skepticism that still exists about whether or not our own actions are contributing to last year’s extreme heat and drought. Scientists are convinced that last year’s record temps are caused by “natural variability but “many of them express doubt that such a striking new record would have been set without the backdrop of global warming caused by the human release of greenhouse gases” (NY Times 1/9/13).

Tucked away in the Op-Ed section of the NY Times Thomas Friedman makes the analogy that we need to “tap the breaks” on climate change because we are “driving towards a cliff in a fog.”  I won’t get political here but we all know that a cliff is a cliff and we can’t go over it-whether financially or environmentally.  Mr. Friedman puts it eloquently: “Indeed we are actually taunting the two most powerful and merciless forces on the planet, the market and Mother Nature, at the same time. We’re essentially saying to both of them: “Hey, what’ve you got, baby? No interest rate rises? A little bitty temperature increase? Thats all you’ve got?  I just hope we get our act tougher before the market and Mother Nature each show us what they’ve got.”

Jan 07
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January Board Member Profile: Meg Kelly “Live to Wimp Again”

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Meg Kelly and Dovey

When adventure calls for quick action and you must decide whether or not to take that tempting risk or to walk away, Meg Kelly tells her three daughters “Live to wimp again” a motto that she has carried with her for almost thirty years from her days as a National Outdoor Leadership (NOLS) participant.

W2O Board member Margaret Carter Holliday Kelly (I give you the long version of her name because it seems as impressive as her resume) graduated from Williams College with a degree in Economics but it is telling that she was a teaching assistant in Environmental Studies, a foreshadowing of things to come. After college and a few years in banking, she took a hiatus to do the NOLS program and lamented to one of her instructors that she wasn’t fulfilled and was searching for her vocation. That instructor, Steph Kessler, wife of current NOLS director John Gans (and that same instructor that gave her the “live to wimp again” motto) recommended that “she do something that she loves.”  The door opened to conservation starting with a Masters of Environmental Studies from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and followed with a life long passion for stewardship of the natural world.

Meg is vital to the board of W2O. She brings expertise from her positions of President of the Weston Forest and Trail Association (merged recently with the formally named Weston Land Trust) and her work with the New England Aquarium as an Overseer.
Meg celebrates a big birthday this week and I asked her what that meant to her as it applies to her work in conservation.  “I feel like there is some unfinished business-that I have work to do, work that will make a difference. I want to leave the world in a better place than it was in when I was born.”