The iridescent colors reflected off an oil slick are like a twisted and distorted rainbow.

There is a special correlation between this week’s Torah portion and the rainbow covenant of Noah’s time. And there is a foreboding contrast between the rainbow covenant and what’s happened in the Gulf of Mexico. The tension between these dynamic relationships in many ways defines the predicament of our time.

Just as this week is the week we read about the central covenant of the Torah encoded in the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, it is also the week when the anniversary of the rainbow covenant falls. It is no random happenstance: the covenant represented by the Jubilee is in many ways a response to the covenant with Noah and the animals.

How so? The covenant of Noah’s time—the first covenant recorded in the Torah—includes the land and the animals as covenant partners with God alongside the human family. This is also the case with the Jubilee covenant: the land is promised her Sabbaths as a condition for the Israelites to settle upon the land, while the people are required in the Sabbatical year, when the land is resting, to open their fences to allow the wild animals in to eat their fill.

The first condition—to let the land rest—is a fulfillment of the promise in the rainbow covenant that God will no longer destroy the land because of humanity: here God promises to exile humanity in order to save the land from being destroyed. The second condition—allowing the wild animals into the fields—is a tikkun for what happened after the rainbow covenant: even though the animals were partners in God’s covenantal promise not to destroy the earth, they afterwards became fodder for the humans (“like green plants I give you them all”).

Instead, here, in the Sabbatical year, the humans are required to allow their agriculture to go wild and to invite the wild animals to share what grows. This is not only a tikkun for the permission granted to human beings to eat animals. It is also a return to the Garden of Eden, where animals and human beings shared the same food.

And the Gulf of Mexico? In the rainbow covenant God promised not to destroy the Earth because of us, but God did not promise that we wouldn’t destroy the Earth. As the oil laps at the shore and threatens vast ecosystems, important food sources, and endangered species, we must realize that God’s covenant is not enough to save us. The iridescent colors reflected off an oil slick are like a twisted and distorted rainbow. The tragedy and horror of this accident remind us that we have reached a point where we can undo God’s rainbow covenant at the expense of our own lives and the lives of other creatures.

These are the worst of times, because the threat is that close and that enormous. And these are the best of times, because we can wake up to our potential for love and righteousness and create a sustainable world, a world that reflects the rainbow covenant as it was meant to be: a promise to honor and cherish all beings, as God does, and so to act in God’s image.

Then, to quote a medieval prayer (from Pri Eitz Hadar), may we be privileged to see “the whole return to its original strength…and to see the rainbow, joyful and beautified with his colors.” Yashuv hakol l’eitano ha rishon, v’niratah hakeshet, sas umitpa’er b’govanin.

David Seidenberg is the creator of neohasid.org and a teacher of Judaism and ecology.

This week, as Earth Day came and went and I attended a fair here or an Earth celebration there, it also donned on me that Spring is here!

So, beyond my environmental excursions, I also attended of variety of events held on my very own Columbia University. Yet, what I found was an inability to fully appreciate some of the events due to the ubiquity of plastic water bottles. Some may laugh, but I find myself becoming more and more annoyed with these obnoxious bottles that I suddenly see everywhere. As I have previously written about bottled water, my awakening began when seeing the movie “Blue Gold: World Water War’s” on instant play on Netflix. Then, I really became irked when seeing “The Story of Bottled Water,” which I posted on this blog.

Last week though, I attended another water documentary screening, this one a full length feature exclusively focused on the water bottle industry. Now, the movie does a lot of pointing fingers. Most obviously, the manufacturers, NESTLE, Coca-cola, and Pepsi Co., bear a large portion of the blame.

Yet, beyond these stormtroopers, the film also criticizes the manufacturing of plastic bottles, or specifically the type of plastic used for water bottles. Called “PET” or “PETE”, this plastic has traces of all sorts of toxins linked to all kinds of health hazards. The most common and perhaps scariest is the link between the toxins in the plastics and fetal development. You would think the Right-to-Life community would be all over this one?

We remember the BPA discovery that destroyed Nalgene and made SIGGs cooler than Uranus, but what we don’t realize is that much of the plastic in your “Poland Spring” “Dasani” “Deer Park” or “Aquafina” contains some trace of BPA, benzene, or some other kind of harmful toxins. Though it seems impossible to escape simply breathing in toxins because of the pollution we all breathe daily, it is more distressing that we choose (most of the time out of ignorance) to put these poisons in our body.

And just to reiterate, Dasani and Aquafina are JUST PURIFIED TAP WATER. It is exactly what you drink out of the sink! Only it’s less healthy because there are some other salts and chemicals in it, as well as, whatever has mixed into the water from the plastic bottles.

And this is the danger. We don’t know why and how these poisons leak into the water contained in the bottle. Now, we know not to drink a bottle if it has been sitting in your car in the heat, yet none of us know where that bottle came from before we bought in the store. Perhaps it was sitting in a heated area. Or perhaps, simply long liquid exposure with the plastic releases some of the toxins into the water. I don’t know, but either way, tests (from the film) found that the water in plastic water bottles is often highly polluted and/or toxic.

So, take all this information and then attend some University events I did this past weekend. Every event had an assortment of drinks, including plastic water bottles. The BBQ on Saturday Afternoon on the South Lawns, in the middle of the heat of the day, had plastic water bottles to drink.

Forget everything I have just written about the health dangers of bottled water. Consider this:

Imagine the price of a 6-pack of .5 L bottled water to be about $6 (let’s say 1 dollar for every bottle)
Multiply that by however many people are coming to your event (let’s say 50 ppl): $300

Already you have spent several hundreds of dollars on something you can get essentially FREE:
84 oz pitcher (from wal-mart.com): around $20
Igloo 10 gallon water cooler: Around $80

So it is obviously much cheaper to have someone refilling the water at your event, then buying bottled water for “convenience” (I’m sure your constituents won’t mind the poison you serve with that “convenient” bottled water).

One good thing about Tapped: The Movie was contact it made with another organization – Food and Water Watch – about how to “get off the bottle” and reclaim the TAP. The produced a brochure about how public events can easily be ran without plastic bottled water. The more we refuse to serve it in our public events, the more people will stop using it.

Please, if you are reading this and you are organizing an event soon, DON’T BUY PLASTIC BOTTLED WATER. There are other, healthier ways of keeping your peeps refreshed.

To read more astonishing facts, here is the No Impact Man’s opinion.

If you didn’t know, this past week featured World Water Day. A brief internet search can tell you more about this, but the general idea is for people to focus on water consumption and stress the importance of water conservation. Last summer, when I was wwoofing in Israel, water conservation was at the forefront of everyone’s minds. It only rains in the winter there, and farming in the summer meant that water had to be very seriously considered in its allotment. Luckily, farmers utilize gray water and drip irrigation methods to maximize water usage.

However, for those of us who do not live in the Middle East or on a farm, usually we are pretty unconcerned with our water usage. We shower everyday, run dishwashers, run laundry machines, brush our teeth and leave the water running (I never understood this one) and other daily mundane activities that consume our fresh water supply. In NYC, our fresh water is being threatened by drilling for natural gas near the reservoirs upstate, where our tap water comes from. The danger of losing our tap water is one of the most serious issues facing the future of the city.

Yet, as a nation, we also face the dangers of losing our tap water and its high quality because of preference in bottled water and then investment in cleaning up the mess that the bottled water system leaves. To sum up check out this really important video:

The Story of Bottled Water

So please STOP BUYING BOTTLED WATER!!! The tap water is tasty tasty tasty!!!

Buy eco-friendly reuseable bottles made from metal or glass. I love buying sweet tea (I think Arizona) that comes in glass bottles and they become great water bottles after the ice tea runs out!

Now that you have considered this one aspect of the fresh water dialogue, you should see “Blue Gold: World Water Wars”. If you have NetFlix, you can watch it instantly. It is a Food, Inc. style documentary about fresh water, where it comes from, and where it goes…definitely check it out and learn the importance of the next HUGE issue the world faces.

Finally, though DISNEY does a lot of morally questionable things regarding artistic freedom, they are producing this movie, which premiers on Earth Day 2010, April 22. There are a lot of celebrations going on across America. In NYC, there will be a huge event at Grand Central Terminal on April 23 and 24, featuring environmental orgs and musical performances.

This also appears on my blog: www.yoavguttman.blogspot.com

Many camps have begun to implement green practices, taking action to decrease their carbon footprint, and impart a positive environmental message to their campers.  Steps have included forgoing paper, plastic, and Styrofoam in favor of using reusable tableware and reducing non-biodegradable waste, using solar power for heating, providing campers and staff with environmentally friendly water bottles, changing light bulbs to reduce carbon emissions, and more!  Several camps have also planted gardens and are teaching their campers about healthy cooking and organics.

This summer a new, innovative, Jewish camp is opening that will make and teach environmentalism as a lifestyle.  Eden Village Camp is a pluralistic, co-ed, overnight camp rooted in the Jewish vision of an environmentally sustainable, socially just and spiritually connected world.  The camp experience will include organic farming, wilderness trips, natural building and service projects, art, music, and sports.  Campers will have fun while deepening their appreciation for themselves, their communities, and the natural systems sustaining us.  Eden Village is one of six nonprofit overnight camps that will open in summer 2010 as a result of the Specialty Camps Incubator run by the Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) and funded by the Jim Joseph Foundation.

Much like its partners and associates, FJC strives to be, and helps its community be, more environmentally conscious.  At the biennial FJC Leaders Assembly, March 14-15, 2010, the Foundation is taking steps to be environmentally-minded.  From sending out invitations made with soy-based inks and printed on 30% post-consumer waste, to limiting the use of handouts, paper, and other materials.  In addition FJC has chosen a hotel that is mindful of being green, will not be handing out bottled water or providing plastic cups (instead, asking everyone to bring water bottles which were sent out in advance), is creating sustainable menus, using naturally grown food, and sourcing as much local food as possible, has been asking registrants what they are doing to help the environment, will hand out reusable bags made from recycled material, and is making recycling bins available all over the conference.

Of the dozens of sessions offered at the Leaders Assembly, one touches on the commitment to environmentalism. The Greening of Your Camp, will address how the treatment of camps and the earth affects campers’ overall summer experience.  It will explore how camps impact the planet, running a camp in a sustainable manner, and how camps can make even more changes than what they are currently doing.

Would you like to attend Leaders Assembly?  Join hundreds of camp staff, community professionals, lay leaders, and philanthropists March 14-15^th, 2010 at the Westin Jersey City Newport, in Jersey City, New Jersey for a singular experience filled with learning, sharing, and innovation.  www.JewishCamp.org/leaders

Last week, The Washington Post‘s On Faith blog published a piece of mine inspired by the Hazon Food Conference. Specifically, I was inspired by the session “What Would Moses Drive?”

Entitled “Can Judaism save the planet?”, this piece presents one perspective that answers the question with a resounding “Yes!” We at least have the tools to do it. Judging from the number of people at the conference, and their passion and dynamic visions, we have the resources as well.

Check out the post–and feel free to comment here or on the site. One commenter brought up the argument that Moses may not have even existed. Does that change this argument? Or did that person, as one Facebook friend put it, totally miss the point? What do you think of the whole thing? New voices welcome. And thank you for reading!

Photo: The Jewish Climate Change Campaign Tour bus as photographed by your loyal blogger

What would Moses drive? This was the title of a session on climate change at the Hazon Food Conference, held December 24 to 27 in Pacific Grove, Calif. Indeed, this is a question for the ages. Or for right now.

The conference came just a few days after the close of the United Nations’ climate talks in Copenhagen, Denmark. The conference also marked the end of a journey by a very wacky school bus, which cruised across the country on used vegetable oil to raise awareness about the Jewish Climate Change Campaign [read more about that here and here]. So it made sense for Jewish educator and environmental visionary Adam Berman to ask the question.

As it turns out, it didn’t really matter when this conference on a Jewish food movement that emphasizes sustainability took place. Really, Jews should be asking themselves what the quintessential member of the Tribe would do about climate change every day, and modeling solutions themselves. Luckily, Jewish practices translate beautifully into concrete tactics.

Or so says Berman.

He also says every Jew should be able to stand on one foot and tell your uncle at your Passover Seder what’s what with climate change-and why he should put down his gefilte fish and take action.

This presented a twist on that old story about Rebbe Hillel summing up the Torah in that flamingo-like stance. Intrigued with this idea, I decided to sit down with Berman and find out more about his views on the Jewish response to climate change.

You’ve been active with sustainability issues for many years. What has made you so passionate about the issue of climate change?

We can eat organic, and reduce the amount of pollution that goes into rivers, but if climate change continues, it would make life inhospitable to the majority of the life on the planet. If we don’t focus on climate change, then success in all other issues will become irrelevant.

How does the “What Would Moses Drive?” session fit into a Jewish food conference?

It’s clear that what we eat has climate implications. The tagline of the worst thing someone in the developing world can do is drive an SUV to the steakhouse.

What WOULD Moses drive?

A camel. Although they might not have had those in Egypt at the time, but we don’t have to get into that.

In that session, you said something about standing on one foot and talking to your uncle. What was that all about?

I think it’s every Jew’s responsibility to be able to stand on one foot and tell their Fox News-watching uncle at their family Seder how climate change works, why it’s important, and what we can do about it. I think it’s the responsibility of all human beings in the 21st century to articulate what we can do about this issue.

What are stabilization wedges?

It’s this idea [developed at Princeton and reported here] that there are a number of policies and practices we could adopt given the technology we already have to help hold back climate change. Adopting seven of these technologies and policies would bring our carbon emissions to 450 parts per million by 2021 and it would go down from there. Even with existing technologies, we can radically change the projectile.

What are some steps people can take immediately to combat global climate change?

No one should have an incandescent light bulb in their house, and everyone should eat less meat. And know that the next time you make a big purchase, you can make a big impact by buying consciously.

Even if you don’t do any of those things, don’t be afraid of politics, because if you don’t step into politics, the arena will be filled with people who disagree with your values.

Why should Jewish people be interested in fighting climate change? Are we uniquely qualified to do this work?

The Jewish imperative is no different than the human imperative to fight climate change. But we have built in mechanisms to create shifts.

Like Shabbat–what would happen if one day a week we didn’t emit carbon?

How great would it be if we expanded our idea of kashrut to expand our awareness of the foods we consume?

Or tzedakah. How great would it be if we gave 10 percent of our income to solve climate change?

Then there’s brachot, which connect us to the things in our world that we’re grateful for. They remind us that we have enough and we are enough, and that alone is as important as any technology.

Adam Berman served as executive director of the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center from 2002 to 2008, during which time he became the founding director of ADAMAH: The Jewish Environmental Fellowship. He currently serves on the board of Hazon, and also plays music and practices and teaches qi gong, a Chinese self-healing art. If you want to know more, feel free to email him.

Photos: (Top) The topsy-turvy Jewish climate change bus fresh from a cross-country jaunt on used vegetable oil; (bottom) Adam Berman discussing a Jewish response to climate change. Photos by the author.

The  Climate Change Bus Tour, a joint project of The Teva Learning Center and Hazon,  is now in its final leg of the their cross-country tour!

It has been an incredible journey so far. Hundreds of Jewish students, teachers, and families have engaged with environmental education programs and activities. Many have also signed the Jewish Climate Change pledge committing themselves to sustainable action and advocacy.

Check out the latest video of the bus tour’s Chanukah out west and the latest press in The Jewish Exponent.

The Topsy-Turvy bus is equipped with a vermicompost system (worm bins), a human powered bicycle generator, solar ovens and a centrifuge system to convert used vegetable oil to fuel. Partnered with Teva and Hazon on this, is MASA Israel Journey which recently launched its Go Green in Israel Campaign to encourage Jews, aged 18 to 30 to take a year “on” and prepare themselves for the new green American economy by interning, volunteering or studying in Israel for five to 12 months.

As I write this post, the bus is running a program in Scottsdale, Arizona and then it will be heading to California, ending at the Hazon Food Conference on December 24th. See more updates, pictures, and videos of the tour by visiting the tour’s blog and become of the tour on facebook.

Late on Friday we received the following letter from Pete Cohon, founder and moderator of VeggieJews, an international, real-world and online, Jewish, vegetarian organization.  He has been a vegan and animal rights activist for 22 years and a vegetarian for 27 years.  A former San Francisco trial lawyer, Pete now lives in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Below his letter is the response from Hazon.  We encourage a vibrant debate, but please ask commentators to refrain from personal attacks on any views.  We reserve the right to remove  any comments that violate our Community Guidelines.

An open letter to Nigel Savage, Executive Director of Hazon, and the groups members:

The Hazon group claims that it works to create a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community, fight climate change and promote a more sustainable world for all.  I understand that the group even hosts vegetarian meals at which it promotes its programs.

That sounds great.  But I’m concerned that Hazon is not living up to the promise.

Three years ago, during your group’s 2007 Jewish Food Conference, Hazon publicly slaughtered three goats despite numerous appeals that the cruel demonstration of shechita be canceled.  I am disappointed that Hazon remains unapologetic for its cruel and unnecessary slaughter.  But I am truly offended that you are planning a similar demonstration again at this year’s Jewish Food Conference which will begin on December 24 near Monterey, California.

According to Hazon’s Web site, this year’s conference will include:

Chicken Shechita at Green Oaks Creek Farm:

We will meet on the farm early in the morning on Wednesday, December 23 to observe the shechita (ritual slaughter) and to help pluck, clean, soak, and salt pasture-raised chickens.  If you are old enough to be a bar or bat mitzvah, you are old enough to volunteer.  No experience is necessary.  Wear warm work clothes and be prepared to get your hands dirty.

In other words, Hazon is again promoting unnecessary animal cruelty in the name of Jewish environmentalism.

It looks like, contrary to its claims, Hazon is not really a Jewish environmental group at all.

While claiming to fight climate change and support a more sustainable environment, Hazon completely ignores the 2006 report of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization that found animal agriculture responsible for almost 1/5 of all global warming.

Hazon also continues to ignore the 2009 report of the NGO World Watch, which found that the UN’s figures were incorrectly tabulated and that the actual contribution of animal agriculture to global warming is 51%.

But, apparently, Hazon doesn’t care about the facts.  Your group continues to pretend to be a Jewish environmental organization  and even hosts misleading vegetarian events to promote itself while also continuing to promote cruel and environmentally unsustainable lifestyles.  If Hazon believes that a few chickens running around freely on small, sustainable farms can feed the demand of billions and billions of people living mostly in urban areas on this planet, then Hazon is truly living in a dream world.  As long as people eat animals, mass production of animal foods will require massive operations that cannot  possibly be environmentally sustainable.

Please be advised that your planned slaughter of chickens at this year’s Jewish Food Conference is unacceptable.  The conference will only encourage the continuation of a meat-based diet despite the negative health, environmental and ethical consequences.  I urge you to stop the bloodletting and start healing the planet by promoting to the Jewish community a diet based solely on plant-based foods.  It’s time for Hazon to include compassion for animals in its mission as well as real-world environmental sanity.

- – -

Dear Pete,

Thank you for your thoughtful response to our work.  Nigel is out of town this weekend, but he wanted to make sure we responded to you.

Before I go into Hazon’s pedagogy, I want to comment on your climate change comments.  As you note, animal husbandry is a significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.  We know that data and have used it to guide aspects of our Jewish Climate Change Campaign.  In this campaign, we ask Jews to reduce their meat intake by 50% within the next shmita cycle – September 2015.

But we go past the concerns of climate change.  Hazon engages on the issues that arise from the industrialization of our food – period.  We examine how we eat all foods and what we’re eating.  Through the Hazon CSA (community supported agriculture) program, hundreds of Jewish families across the US are sourcing their weekly vegetables from local organic farmers.  Countless people have been inspired by Hazon to shop at their local farmer’s market.

Now, to address the issue of shechting animals at the Food Conference.  I am not going to address whether shechita is cruel – that is a conversation on Jewish tradition that I will not address here.  But I will address how participating in the shechita process impacts the community that has become the Food Conference participants.  Hazon does not tell people how to be Jews, let alone how to be environmentalists.  We do provide the richness of education and experience that enables and empowers personal decision.  For too many people, animal consumption is disguised by neat packaging and the neutral term “meat.” By shechting animals at the Food Conference, we provide the space for people to engage with the intimate reality of eating animal flesh. And that experience has proven, time and time again, to do more to influence long-term changes in personal consumption behavior.

Again, thank you for taking the time to engage us on this important issue.

All the best,

Liore
Assistant to the Executive Director
Hazon

 

“I grew up in a family that emphasized food and used it as an organizing principal for family gatherings – which is probably not unfamiliar to The Jew & The Carrot’s readers,” says anti-food-waste activist Jonathan Bloom.

As a freelance writer for the Boston Globe and the Washington Post, Bloom wrote about food and travel. (“My travel articles were about going somewhere else to eat,” he jokes.) Like many Americans, Bloom became increasingly attuned to environmental issues and, he says, “My interests in food and the environment came together for me in 2005, when I volunteered at D.C. Central Kitchen, an organization that rescues food that would otherwise go to waste, and trains homeless people to be chefs using that food.

“Volunteering there opened my eyes to the amount of food that isn’t used in this country, and I was kind of surprised by the high quality of stuff that would have been thrown out if the food rescue groups weren’t using it.”

His interest in the issue grew, and in January 2007, the now-32-year-old Bloom, who currently lives in Durham, NC, with his wife and baby, launched his website, WastedFood.com.

“I saw food waste as a topic that didn’t receive the attention I thought it deserves, and a topic where I could do good by writing about it – and I wanted to write a book about it. The blog was conceived both as a way to raise awareness of the topic and also as a way to help me get a book deal.”

It has succeeded on both counts: Bloom’s book American Wasteland will be published next fall by Da Capo Press, and the website receives more than 5,000 hits a month from viewers interested in its mix of news, suggestions and humor. With everything from reports on college cafeterias’ efforts to go “trayless” (since most students can carry more than they can eat, food piled on trays ends up being wasted in staggering amounts) to recipes, environmental news, product launches and (to raise awareness of the good food that is thrown out merely because it isn’t ready for its close up) pictures of the wackiest-looking vegetables in Great Britain, WastedFood.com manages to encourage virtue without coming off as preachy or judgmental.

I recently spoke with Bloom about why we Americans (and American Jews) waste so much food, and how we can make small changes that will have a huge impact on the amount of food available to feed the hungry, and on the global warming that is exacerbated by food waste.

What is the most important thing individuals can do to cut down on waste?

I tell people that the way they can most impact food waste in their life is by thinking about it – thinking about what you’re buying and what you’re eating, and what is going to waste. The #1 way to do that is to plan your meals and then to make a detailed grocery list and actually stick to that list. Serve sensible portions at home, knowing that people can always take more if they want. Save leftovers after a meal and then actually eat the leftovers. A lot of people end up just delaying the waste. They put something in the fridge and feel virtuous that night, but if a week later you’re just throwing it out you’ve just delayed the waste. If you know you don’t like leftovers, then don’t cook as much.

What would you like to see the government do to cut down on the amount of food we waste as a country?

I’d like to see the USDA get involved, again, in matching up farmers and gleaners and helping promote farm food recovery. There was actually a gleaning coordinator under the Clinton administration, but that position was eliminated in 2001 when the Bush administration took over. Even though it would have fit in with the Bush administration’s rhetoric because it’s something that can be faith-based – they didn’t go for it. There’s just this ingrained idea in Washington you don’t do what your predecessor did even if it’s in line with your values.

What is the “inconvenient truth” about waste – i.e., what should we be doing that no one wants to do?

The so-called inconvenient truth is that in addition to wasting money and creating a generation of Americans who don’t value food, we are contributing to global warming by throwing out food. By sending food to landfills we’re essentially creating methane, a greenhouse gas that is more than 20 times more harmful than CO2.

Are there any waste issues that are actually created as negative consequences of positive lifestyle changes – sustainable eating culture, locavore-ism, etc. – and if so, how does one weigh the tradeoffs?

Well, the downside of fresh, unprocessed food is that it’s perishable. When you go to the supermarket or farmers market, the produce is really attractive, and it’s easy to buy too much. I’m someone who enjoys eating so I’m not trying to be the food Grinch. If you go to the farmers market, enjoy that experience and buy interesting, new things. Just don’t go overboard on quantities.

Are there particular problems of waste in the Jewish community, and if so, what can we do to minimize those issues?

Food is a large part of our culture, and when you throw a big party, be it a birthday or a bar mitzvah, you want to please your guests. There’s a “good provider syndrome” (hat tip to William Rathje, founder of the Garbage Project, for the term) where you have to be sure you have more than enough, and at any catered events – not just Jewish ones – the amount of food and waste can get out of hand. I think we can do a better job of enjoying food and celebrating food as part of our culture while at the same time not being so profligate. If you can donate uneaten food to a soup kitchen after the event, that’s great. But because there are legal issues with donating food that has been out on a buffet table, I would urge people to work with your caterer in advance, to tell them that you don’t want the buffet to still be full at the end of the event. We have to start asking ourselves, why is it normal to expect have a full choice of all the food items – all still in abundance – if you show up five minutes before the event ends?  If we can start asking those questions, then hopefully we’ll see the beginning of a cultural shift.

If my summer were a cookbook, it would be called What to Expect When You’re Expecting— Expecting Company, That Is, and It’s a Heat Wave.

Yes, welcome to life in the global warming oven.  We are on at least heat wave #3 of the summer here in usually temperate Portland, and I’ve had a potluck to attend or guests to host for all of them.  And while the hot weather makes me want to eat ice cream three meals a day, I know I really shouldn’t.

Especially not when “eating” means “bringing to a potluck where it will sit out in the sun.”

So what has been on the menu?  Lots, and I figured I’d share it in case you can’t stand the heat but still need to be in the kitchen.

Before we get too far along, remember, I am not generally somebody who follows recipes, so that means my offerings are going to be rather slapdash.

Occasion #1:  potluck 4th of July block party

Recipe #1: Watermelon Soup

Chop a seedless organic watermelon into chunks, removing the rind.  Puree in a blender with organic fat-free yogurt, plus juice (I used a cranberry blend that’s 100% juice and happened to be lurking in the back of our fridge), plus ground cinnamon and ground ginger.  Pour into a large bowl (it may take several blenders full to puree it all).  Mix in seedless grapes that have been quartered.  Chill.  Forget to garnish with mint before serving and enjoying.  Later, enjoy re-refrigerated leftovers with a shot of liqueur and think “I am a culinary genius!  When is Meryl Streep playing me????”

Occasion #2:  dinner party to which I promised to bring dessert

Recipe#2: Tofu chocolate mousse*

*adapted from The Complete Soy Cookbook by Paulette Mitchell (adapted means she has a great recipe but I am a chocolate fiend, so I up the cocoa powder and triple the recipe because seriously, has anyone ever made too much chocolate mousse?)

Combine 3 packages of firm shelf stable tofu (i.e., not the stuff that’s packed in water and refrigerated), 1 cup maple syrup, 1.25 cups cocoa powder, 1 Tablespoon vanilla and cinnamon to taste in a food processor.  Whir like mad.  Refrigerator before you eat it all yourself.

Occasion #3:  clients over for drinks in the backyard when it is 104 degrees

Recipes #3-#4: Cold soup

The laziest way to impress someone with cold soup:  pour several containers of shelf stable tomato soup into a large pot or bowl and chill. As you ladle each serving into a cup or bowl, garnish with tzatziki, which being lazy you bought in the deli section of the same market where you bought the soup 30 minutes before the guests arrived.

A slightly less lazy and more healthy way:  eyeball organic produce languishing in your fridge, google “raw food broccoli” and find this recipe.  Use way more garlic than it calls for, and also that shallot that, like your broccoli, has been languishing.

Occasion #4:  weekend at a friend’s house on the river

Recipes#5-#6: Herring Spread and Cabbage Salad

What kind of person always has a couple cans of herring in the cupboard?  The kind who can make this dish, so long as she picks up a couple of containers of cream cheese to go with.  Put ingredients in that trusty food processor.  Don’t add cocoa though, that would be gross.  A bissel horseradish, however, couldn’t hurt.  Or dill, if you’ll be with WASPs.  Refrigerate before departing the sweltering city, and keep on ice in the cooler as you drive to the slightly less sweltering country.

Upon arrival, shred 1.5 heads of cabbage (i.e. all that will fit in the host’s largest bowl, and if you have 1 green and 1 purple head, it looks great).  Mix in wasabi mayonnaise (available at Trader Joe’s and transported unopened so it wouldn’t go bad), raisins, and caraway seeds.  Don’t bother refrigerating; it’s so good you’ll just eat it now.

The weather’s supposed to break tomorrow, but just in case it doesn’t . . . what have you been serving on the sultriest days of summer?