Foodbuzz 24×24: A Vegetarian Gulf Coast-Inspired Meal, For the Environment’s Sake

Hello! We got back from our road trip through the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec yesterday, and since then have been busy with many things, among them weeding the garden, cleaning up our camping supplies, doing laundry, and hosting a lovely meal. Tomorrow I’ll get into many details of foods and events from the trip.

I was given the wonderful opportunity to participate in the July Foodbuzz 24×24, a showcase of 24 meals in 24 hours by 24 bloggers. When I found out that the July 24×24 was to be inspired by the oil spill in the Gulf Coast, I was immediately motivated to apply, especially because Foodbuzz would be donating $250 to the Greater New Orleans Foundation in each chosen blogger’s name. I was thrilled to be picked as a participant of this event.

Every time I think about what’s happening on the Gulf Coast, it makes my heart sink. The environmental damage, the economic damage, the emotional damage – the Gulf Coast has had so many hardships already, of course, and here’s another unexpected one to add to the list. I am mostly disturbed by this event as an environmental atrocity. How can such an oil spill occur today, in 2010? As a long-time environmentalist, I have struggled to find the right balance in my life between caring and making choices that impact the earth positively, and living a lifestyle that is enjoyable and not too removed.

One of the main choices I make regularly is to avoid most meat and seafood products. While I realize that this choice does not support the seafood and fish industry on the Gulf Coast, I feel that as a whole this choice eliminates much water, land, and labor use. Though I do have cravings occasionally for fish, most of the time I subside on vegetarian foods to lessen my carbon footprint.

Thinking about this personal slant of mine, I decided that in honor of the saddening state of the Gulf Coast, I would make a vegetarian dish of a meal that is typically not: jambalaya. And the meal would be fully vegetarian, consisting of the vegetarian jambalaya, cornbread, a black-eyed pea spread, sweet tea and lemonade, and peach cobbler for dessert. All of these foods make me think of the South and the Gulf Coast.

Steve and I invited a few close friends over for lunch at our house, which is in the woods in New England, a far cry from the coast. I made the jambalaya by tweaking a few recipes I found online, and made the black-eyed pea spread as I went. The cornbread recipe was from the side of my old cornmeal tub (that I refill with organic cornmeal), and I used the Easy Fruit Cobbler recipe from my favorite baking cookbook, The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion.

Many thanks to Foodbuzz for this great opportunity, and for their donation to the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

Lisa’s Foods’ Vegetarian Jambalaya:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup zucchini or yellow squash, diced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp Creole seasoning, to taste
• 2 cups long grain rice
• 4 cups water

Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat, and add the onions and pepper and saute until soft, about five minutes. Add the zucchini and squash and saute until tender, another five minutes. Add the tomatoes, then add salt, Creole seasoning, and black pepper. Pour in the rice and stir for three minutes.

Add the water, stir, and cover, and cook on medium low for 30-35 minutes. Do not stir the jambalaya while cooking. Remove from the heat and let stand for a few minutes before serving. (Serves six.)

Lisa’s Foods’ Black-Eyed Pea Spread:

• 1 15-ounce can black-eyed peas
• 1 small handful basil
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender, and mix until nearly smooth. Serve with bread, crackers, or tortilla chips.

Black-Eyed Peas