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Getting Beyond the Bagel Platter

by · April 28th, 2008
Cooking, Featured, Food Justice, Hazon, Kosher, Participate!, Recipes

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Last January, Hazon began an organizational soul-search to explore how we could model our values by sourcing and serving healthy and sustainable food at our meetings and events. Our ultimate goals are lofty – we want to serve food that is:

  • sustainable to the highest extent possible (local, organic, fair trade, etc.)
  • healthy (nourishing, whole foods)
  • kosher (accessible to all participants across the kosher spectrum)
  • delicious!

In other words, we want to nix the obligatory bagel, cream cheese and unseasonal fruit platter (like the one we served at January’s board meeting) in favor of something that looked more like the menu we served at our April board meeting…

Board Meeting Menu 4.9.08

  • Quinoa Beet Salad with Orange Segments, Cucumbers, and Chives (see recipe bel0w)
  • Miso Honey Sesame Salmon / Organic Tofu
  • Herb-Roasted Local Butternut Squash
  • Garlic Asparagus, Broccoli and Peppers
  • Rich chocolate brownie with nuts
  • Local Apple Cider

*Beets, greens, squash, and cider sourced from the farmers market
*Brownies made with organic flour, sugar, and eggs
*Vegetable scraps from preparation of this meal were vermicomposted

Looking at a meal this *amazing* – served to Hazon’s board members (to rave reviews) on bio-compostable plates and cooked by our friend and kosher natural foods chef, Linda Lantos – it might seem like we’ve achieved all our goals. But while we certainly jumped way beyond bagels, we were left with one nagging problem: the cost.

Linda (bless her!) made it clear to Hazon’s staff that, as our friend, she would make the board meeting dinner work with our budget. She made it equally clear, however, that our per-person budget was substantially less than she – or any other natural foods and/or kosher caterer – would charge for a creating a comparable meal in the future. No particular menu item broke the bank (especially since we decided on farmed salmon instead of the significantly more expensive wild salmon), but the combination of local, organic, kosher, and whole foods added up. Eating Linda’s delicious dinner simultaneously gave us a taste of what could and couldn’t be – unless we are willing to spend significantly more on food costs. The conundrum left us wondering:

- Should Hazon just bite the bullet and pay the extra cost to “eat our ethics?”
- What about larger events or meetings when we’re serving 100 (or 400) people, instead of 15? Where’s our limit?
- If we have to compromise on one or more values, which ones should go first?
- Are there other ways to meet all of our food values without breaking the bank?

These questions are not rhetorical – in fact, we’re pulling little bits of our hair out over them as we work to find the balance between our many (sometimes competing) values. Hazon welcomes any advice, suggestion and creative thinking on the subject – if you have any ideas, please be in touch below!

As thanks, here are two recipes -Linda’s amazing recipe for Quinoa with Oranges and Beets and another recipe for Herb-roasted Butternut Squash.

Quinoa with Oranges and Beets
Recipe by Linda Lantos
Serves 6-8

2 cups quinoa
4 medium beets
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup chopped chives
1/2 large, seedless cucumber, diced
1 cup orange segments
Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse quinoa thoroughly. Cook according to package directions until quinoa is tender. Allow to cool.

Meanwhile, place beets in a large saucepan, cover with cold water, and add 1 tsp. salt; bring to simmer. Cook until beets are tender when pierced with a fork, 35-45 minutes. Drain and cover with cold water. Allow to cool. Peel and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

In a small bowl, mix lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in oil. Pour dressing over beets and allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, marinated beets, and cucumber. Gently fold in the orange segments and chives. Taste and adjust for seasoning, adding more lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper as needed.

Herb-roasted Butternut Squash
Serves 4

2 medium butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed, dried rosemary
1 teaspoon crushed, dried thyme
1 teaspoon crushed, dried za’atar
3 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place butternut squash halves on a large baking sheet flesh side up. Mix the oil, crushed herbs and garlic in a bowl. Drizzle one teaspoon of the mixture over each squash half, spreading the oil and herbs evenly across the surface. Season with salt and black pepper. Roast 25 minutes, or until flesh is fork-tender.

Related Post
Sustainable Eating on a Budget – at Home click here.

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9 Responses to “Getting Beyond the Bagel Platter”

  1. Avi Says:
    April 28th, 2008 at 5:20 pm

    You’ve already compromised your principles by using farm raised salmon instead of wild line caught salmon.

    Instead of debating between spending more vs. eating your principles, I think you should examine the need for food at every event/meeting? Why not ask people to eat before/after so that your limited budget resources can go to better uses than feeding people.

  2. lux Says:
    April 28th, 2008 at 5:24 pm

    The obvious option for Board meetings is to simply not serve a meal, and either invite Board members to bring their own food or extend the lunch break time to allow for people to go out and buy a meal elsewhere.

  3. shev Says:
    April 28th, 2008 at 8:51 pm

    This is great. A reflection of real life.

    How can I, in my ordinary kitchen, with the small amount of time and money I have, make a kosher, healthful, local, delicious meal for my family of 6? Oh, make that every night. And breakfast and lunch-boxes too.

    Glad to hear you’re thinking about it.

  4. Catharine Says:
    April 29th, 2008 at 7:27 am

    I agree that you are in a tough spot between two real issues – sustainable food and the organization’s food budget. I don’t think that the solution, though, is not to serve food at your board meetings. Eating together from communal food helps create an atmosphere of care and cooperation.

  5. mollyjade Says:
    April 29th, 2008 at 11:22 am

    What about a grazing menu instead of a full meal? Not only will this mean less food, but it might mean less need for serving pieces because you won’t need silverwear if it’s all fingerfood. Also, real plates instead of the bio-degradable disposables. It’s cheaper in the long-run and even more environmentally friendly. And a vegetarian menu will almost always be cheaper than one that includes meat or fish (I bet even farm-raised salmon was significantly more expensive than organic tofu.) And tap water is a better budget choice than cider.

  6. Leah Koenig Says:
    April 29th, 2008 at 11:39 am

    Thanks, all for these truly thought-provoking comments!

    It’s true Avi, we did compromise on the salmon…it may turn out that we pick 1-2 “ethical standards” to uphold at every meeting, instead of being able to do absolutely everything, every time…

    lux, while I think you might be right in some cases about not serving a meal (e.g. for smaller meetings, events, etc.), when it comes to a board meeting, I think it’s necessary. The board does so much for Hazon, including taking time out of their schedule to attend these quarterly meetings. It seems like the least we can do in thanks is feed them!

    It’s true Shev, these concerns certainly extend beyond the board room and into our homes.

    That’s an interesting thought, Catharine – maybe there are ways to get everyone involved in a more communal-style meal. That would certainly work for some of our meetings and events, though I’m not sure about the board.

    Thanks for the suggestions mollyjade – a grazing menu is a great idea. We are thinking about buying real plates, though there are some potential issues around keeping them kosher. If we stick to veggie/fish meals, however, that might not be a problem.

  7. Eric Schulmiller Says:
    April 29th, 2008 at 12:33 pm

    This may be too pie-in-the-sky, but what about a pot-luck option? This shows the board members that you value not only their time and ideas, but appreciate them sharing their own personal relationship with sustainable food.

  8. Kryss Says:
    April 29th, 2008 at 12:33 pm

    You could always buy a seperate set of plates that were slightly different (blue rimmed, but mostly white vs. white or something) to signify non kosher plates, so it wouldn’t get confusing in the long term if that were an issue.

    Doing something like a kabab might be cheaper? Where each person gets 2-3 oz of meat in 3 one oz pieces, with organic veggies and fruits in between. (I’m unsure of this, but, it might be something to look into)

    Also- reusing veggies- you have 6 different veggies on your menu. Reducing that to 4 may be an option, and using the four you choose in different ways if you wanted to remain with the same number of dishes.

    Desert- it can be expensive, unfortunately. Nixing that with the organic flour, eggs, and nuts, and just serving the main meal might be an option. The question is- how important is the sweets to you?

  9. mollyjade Says:
    April 30th, 2008 at 9:05 am

    Leah, what about glass plates? They’d be different enough from whatever other plates are floating around the office that people will remember they’re kosher, and the kashrut rules about glass are more lenient.

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