Joe Underhill, one of the SBS 100 instructors, said he, Michael Lansing, and the students in the class had a lot of fun with the project but are also glad it’s done now. “My favorite comment was from two of our students, one of whom said he felt ‘warm inside’ after the meal, and the other who felt ‘full in a different way than I usually do’ after the meal, and in a good way. I think a lot of people have rarely or never really eaten this kind of fresh, really nutritious food.”

Here are the recipes for the Apple Pie, Shepherd’s Pie, and Radish Soup. The chicken recipe was handled by Brian Stansberry, and the salad was just (really fresh) mixed greens and a vinaigrette that Tracy (super nice staff from A’viands) made.

Tom Rixen’s Grandmother’s Caramel Apple Crumble Pie

FOR THE CRUMBLE TOPPING

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed

FOR THE PIE

• 1 (9 inch) single pie crust
• 6 apples cored and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup caramel sauce

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. To make the topping, combine the oats, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour, slivered almonds, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside.

3. Roll out the pie dough into a circle and transfer it to a 9-inch pie plate. Trim the pastry and crimp the edge. Toss the apples with the lemon juice in a bowl to prevent browning. Combine the 1 tablespoon flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 2 teaspoons cinnamon; toss with the apples to coat. Drizzle 1/4 cup of caramel sauce over the bottom of the pie shell. Add the spiced apple mixture; drizzle with remaining 1/4 cup of caramel sauce. Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the apples.

4. Bake the pie in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the crust is browned.

Shepherd’s Pie with Winter Vegetables

• 2 pounds baking potatoes (about 4), peeled and cut into large pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 cups sliced mixed winter vegetables, such as celery, turnips, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, fennel, cabbage, or celery root
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock

1. Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan of salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and put them back into the saucepan along with 1 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Mash the potatoes over very low heat, gradually incorporating the cream and 4 tablespoons of the butter. Cover and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over moderately low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the sliced mixed vegetables, carrots, thyme, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Mix well.

3. Stir in the broth and bring to a simmer. Cook over moderate heat, covered, until the vegetables start to soften, 5 to 10 minutes. Uncover, increase the heat to moderately high, and cook until the vegetables are tender and almost no liquid remains in the pan, about 10 minutes longer.

4. Heat the broiler. Transfer the vegetables to a 9-inch pie plate, spread the potatoes over the top, and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Radish Soup (from cooks.com)

This isn’t exactly the recipe we made–our student, Luom, improvised his own recipe when we couldn’t find our recipe list on Wednesday morning. This can be made vegetarian by using vegetable stock instead of chicken.

• 12 radishes
• 4 sm. onions
• 2 cans chicken (or vegetable) broth
• 1 can water
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 2 c. half and half
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper

Cook radishes and onions in chicken broth and 1 can water with bay leaf until radishes are soft. Remove the bay leaf. Put radishes and onions in blender and puree. Return to broth.

In separate pan melt butter, add flour and cook about 1 minute. Slowly add milk, stirring until smooth. Add radish mixture, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Serve hot.

The post Recipes from SBS 100 appeared first on News and Media.

This semester, students in SBS 100: Environmental Connections have studied how food fits into both our socio-economic and ecological systems. This Wednesday, they will put that knowledge into action as the class members will serve a meal that they helped the A’viands staff prepare. The entire Augsburg community is invited to share this “grub” with the class. The menu was chosen based on how the food was produced and transported.

Some of the ingredients were grown on campus. Almost all of the items were produced locally. Special consideration was placed on supporting suppliers that use environmentally friendly practices and pay employees a fair wage.

The meal–which is part of the final exam for the students–is meant to inform members of the Augsburg community about the environmental and social impact of the food we eat.

The course syllabus spells out rather simply the goals of the class: This year our focus is on food–what we eat, where it comes from, and the effects of food production and consumption on bodily, community, and planetary health.

To reach that point, students in Environmental Connections, the introductory course to Augsburg’s new environmental studies major, have learned about the history, economics, sociology, math, and science behind food and food production. They planted seeds in Augsburg’s greenhouse and are harvesting the fruits of their labors on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning prior to the lunch. The class also visited local farmers markets and co-ops.

Richmond Appleton, a senior environmental studies major and Peter Klink [pictured left], a first-year studying marketing and environmental studies, said the class has been enlightening. “Most of the food we eat has a huge impact on the environment, like just one cup of coffee,” Appleton said. The class visited the Peace Coffee Company in Minneapolis to learn about the impact of coffee and the company’s efforts to promote sustainability and fair/free trade. Peace Coffee delivers all coffee within 20 miles of its South Minneapolis location by bike and delivers the remainder in a van powered by biodiesel. All employees receive a fair wage and are able to travel to the countries where their coffee is grown and produced in order to learn firsthand about its production.

Appleton and Klink also said the class was surprised to learn that more than 60 percent of the carbon found in our hair comes from corn. This is due to the preponderance of corn additives, particularly the ubiquitous high fructose corn syrup, found in our food. (http://asap.sustainability.uiuc.edu/)

The class, which is being co-taught by Michael Lansing (history) and Joe Underhill (political science), has featured guest lectures from professors across campus. For example, John Zobitz, an assistant professor of mathematics, talked about the carbon cost of food. “Determining ‘how far’ food travels from farm to plate is a challenge to quantify because of the many different ways food can be transported and processed,” Zobitz said.

Prior to Zobitz’ lecture, students analyzed their diet for a week and determined what proportion came from particular food groups. They then calculated the average distance their food traveled based on a recent published study. Students also determined the carbon footprint (or total emissions) for their food choices and discussed how different diet choices affect the emissions output of food and how to quantify a local diet.

The course also focused on food justice issues such as “food deserts” and out-of-balance food environments. In neighborhoods without grocery stores where most readily available food comes from fast food restaurants and convenience stores, residents are unable to make healthy choices. One study conducted by the Mari Galagher Research & Consulting Group in Chicago found that in these areas residents are more likely to die prematurely and at greater rates from diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases and to suffer from obesity and hypertension.

Students have also spent a lot of time in class talking about changing habits. “Changing what you eat is hard when you are a student,” Klink said. “We’ve struggled with how to do that,” Klink said, “because making one change hurts others. For example, if we all quit eating meat, people in the meat industry lose jobs.”

Wednesday’s menu (some items subject to change)

• Radish soup
• Mesclun salad with local greens & spinach
• Free range chicken
• Walleye chowder
• Shepherd’s pie with winter vegetables (kale, beets, chard, winter squash)
• Pumpkin ice cream from Izzy’s and Kemps
• Caramel apple crumble pie
• Apple cider (hot and cold) from Nesbitt’s Orchard

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