January 2019
AGuide to Eating Seasonally W hat to B uy and C ook T hroughout the Y ear
The ball has dropped, champagne corks have popped, glitter is in the air, and the new year is here. Welcome to 2019! Now is a time for fresh starts, turned leaves, and big aspirations. The trick is getting past January, the burial ground for new year’s resolutions. To help you make the leap, make sure your resolutions are SMART (as first coined by George T. Doran). MONTHLY MOMENTS Bettina’s
SPECIFIC - What exactly do you want to achieve?
MEASURABLE - Keep track, and hold yourself accountable!
This time of year, many people resolve to eat healthier. It’s a noble goal, but it can’t be accomplished through wishful thinking alone. There are infinite fad diets and eating challenges you can try in order to improve your diet, but more often than not, these methods produce fleeting results. It’s much more logical to transform your diet through simple, actionable steps rather than attempting a complete overhaul based on obscure methodology or marketing gimmicks. Fortunately, one of the biggest steps you can take to improve your diet is also a simple one: Increase the amount of local and seasonal produce in your pantry and on your plate. Fruits and vegetables are the cornerstones of nutritious eating habits, and sourcing from local purveyors guarantees you’ll get your produce at the height of freshness. In addition to the health and taste benefits of eating fresh produce that hasn’t traveled thousands of miles to land on a store shelf, seasonality and locality affect the sustainability and price of your food. “If people are prepared to eat locally and seasonally,” says philosopher and food theorist Peter Singer, “then they probably do pretty well in terms of environmental impact.”On the economic side of things, the shorter the distance between farm and store, the lower the price, which is why you can always find great deals at your local farmers market. To help make 2019 a year of seasonal eating, you’ll need to know what’s at peak ripeness each season. Of course, some of what’s available in your area will vary based on the climate where you live, but the vast majority of this guide will be applicable to the 48 contiguous states. WINTER
ACHIEVABLE - Unattainable goals are never reached.
RELEVANT - Make sure this is something you care about.
TIME-BOUND - When will you achieve your goals by?
With these guidelines in your pocket and a can-do attitude, you are on the path to success, whether you just want to form new habits or climb whole mountains. Share your resolution with a friend, hold each other accountable, or compete to see who can actualize their goals more successfully. Maybe you will form a new tradition to round out your holiday season and carry you into the next. Whatever you do, do it zealously, with crisp January air and warm apple cider to fuel the new! –Bettina Neumann
While you may not expect it, the coldest portion of the year produces a bounty of vegetables that are earthy and subtly sweet. At the top of this list is cabbage, which comes in many
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SUMMER
varieties and is at its peak during winter. Root vegetables like parsnips, turnips, rutabaga, and kohlrabi are also in abundance. On the fruitier side of things, winter in the warmer parts of the country yields delicious citrus harvests. At no other time of the year will you find such an awesome variety of oranges, lemons, limes, and more. Be on the lookout for exotic varieties like blood oranges and pomelos. SPRING asparagus and artichokes to snap peas and fava beans, you’ll find no shortage of delicious veggies to signal the blossoming of a new season. Spring is also the best time to eat strawberries, which is something even the pickiest of eaters can get behind. The downside with spring produce is that the season tends to be relatively short, so you’ll have to enjoy these treasures while you can. Unsurprisingly, spring is when bright green vegetables start to emerge en masse. From
Fall is also the best time of year for foraged mushrooms like oysters and chanterelles. As with the weather, autumnal foods are the bridge between the brightness of summer and the depths of winter. TOOLS FOR EATING SEASONALLY SeasonalFoodGuide.org is a great to tool to find up-to-the-minute lists of what’s in season in your state, from traditional favorites to obscure vegetables you’ve probably never heard of. When it comes to seasonal cookbooks, you can do no better than Joshua McFadden’s “Six Seasons,”which divides the calendar beyond our traditional four quarters for maximum specificity. Here’s to a year of enjoying seasonal, local produce. It will expand your horizons and improve your health — a win-win by any measure.
Variety is at an all-time high during the summer months, but a few categories of produce deserve particular attention. Nightshades, including tomatoes, peppers, chilis, and eggplant, shine during this time of year. In fact, eating a tomato in December is a pale imitation of what you’ll get in July, making it one of the best examples of the stark difference between eating seasonally and grabbing whatever is languishing on the shelves at the grocery store. The same goes for corn and stone fruit like peaches, which are summer-barbecue staples for a reason. FALL Think of the Thanksgiving color palette, and you’ll have a good idea of what’s in season. Hearty greens like kale and Swiss chard will begin appearing more frequently, as well as unique varieties of carrots and apples.
BALANCE BORN OUT OF HARDSHIP The Origin of the Pilates System
When most people think of Pilates, they think of the exercise trend that was the butt of a hundred ’90s sitcom jokes. In reality, this system of stretches and workouts is a great option for people of all ages looking to stay active, tone their muscles, and improve their balance, all with minimal space and equipment requirements. One need only look at the history of Pilates to understand how this century-old discipline has helped shape exercise science today. UNLIKELY BEGINNINGS The man for whom the Pilates system is named, Joseph Pilates, was no stranger to health challenges. Born in Germany in the late 19th century, Joseph suffered from both asthma and rickets, making any form of physical activity difficult. But rather than shy away from exercise, he enthusiastically followed his father into gymnastics, later picking up bodybuilding and martial arts. Instead of being held back by his body, Joseph made it his life’s mission to help himself and others live healthy lives. Eventually, he would begin developing his own fitness theories. LIGHT IN A DARKTIME
in 1912. Then the First WorldWar broke out. Despite having worked closely with English law enforcement, Joseph’s nationality was enough to land him in an internment camp alongside fellow German citizens. As the world was consumed by the bloodiest conflict it had ever seen, the young fitness instructor did what he did best: He helped those around him get stronger and healthier. KNOWLEDGE THROUGH ADVERSITY In this internment camp, the system that would eventually become Pilates was developed. Because of the constraints of captivity, Joseph had to devise exercises that didn’t rely heavily on equipment and could be performed in tight, confined spaces. To this day, Pilates remains one of the most flexible, scalable fitness methods around. The techniques first developed by Joseph Pilates are still practiced today, helping thousands of people develop their core postural muscles, gain better fitness, and improve their balance. As a result of his forward- looking techniques and steadfast spirit of personal development, Joseph Pilates remains an inspiring figure in the world of physical fitness.
Joseph became a known quantity in the fitness world, going as far as training Scotland Yard officers in self-defense after moving to England
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PUTTINGTHE‘PAIN’ IN CHAMPAGNE Spontaneously Ejecting Cork Causes Lawsuit
For many people, preparing for the New Year’s countdown is the most exhilarating part of the holiday season. You tune your TV to the Times Square ball drop, hand out party hats, confetti, and noisemakers, and meticulously line up some champagne flutes. What’s left to do? Pop open the champagne! There are many partiers who pop the cork with enthusiastic and careless abandon, while others point the bottle away from their faces and anxiously twist the cork until they hear those bubbles surge to the surface. Turns out, while the latter practice may be slightly less fun, it’s certainly the safer approach. On April 8, 1978, Charles J. Murray was injured when a natural cork stopper spontaneously ejected from a bottle of previously unopened Almaden Blanc de Blancs champagne and struck him in the left eye. He was preparing to serve the bubbly to a party of 40 people, so he placed 12 bottles on a rolling cart and removed the foil and wire retainer from three or four bottles — including the one that eventually injured him. Once he started to roll the cart toward the guests, the cork shot out of the bottle all on its own. Due to the severity of his injury, Murray sued Almaden Vineyards, Inc., National Distillers and Chemical Corporation, and Carbo, Inc., alleging that they were responsible because they failed to include a proper warning label on the bottle. The defendants, however, argued that the cork stopper did not and could not spontaneously eject unless Murray
had handled the bottle improperly. The case was argued by both sides for two years, but eventually, Murray won. Almaden Vineyards now prints the following on its bottles: “WARNING: THIS BOTTLE IS UNDER PRESSURE. THE STOPPER WILL EJECT SOON AFTER THE WIRE HOOD REMOVAL. TO PROTECT AGAINST INJURY TO FACE AND EYES, POINT AWAY FROM SELF AND OTHERS WHEN OPENING.” When it comes to bubbly-induced mayhem, the greatest potential trouble lies in the eye of the beholder — literally. With an estimated velocity of 60 miles per hour, uncontrolled corks do in fact fly faster than the blink of an eye. To avoid having to explain a not-so-fashionable eye patch at work on Monday, handle those fizzy drinks with care.
Take a Break!
Citrus and Avocado Salad
Winter is the height of citrus season, so it’s a perfect time to experiment with oranges and lemons. Roasting the fruits concentrates their flavor and makes the skins edible, creating a blast of flavor for this winter salad.
Ingredients
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1 blood, cara cara, or navel orange, sliced 1/8-inch thick and deseeded 1 Meyer or regular lemon, sliced 1/8-inch thick and deseeded
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1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
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2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
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1 bunch arugula
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1/2 cup freshmint leaves
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1 avocado, cut into wedges
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4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
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Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
1. Heat oven to 425 F. 2. In a rimmed baking sheet, toss citrus slices with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast citrus until lightly charred and caramelized, about 10–15 minutes. Let cool. 3. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine onion and lemon juice. Season with salt and let sit for 5 minutes. 4. Add citrus, arugula, and mint to onion mixture. Drizzle with remaining oil, season with salt and pepper to taste, and toss thoroughly. 5. Add avocado, combing very gently to not crush avocado.
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Recipe courtesy of Bon Appétit
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE Bettina’s Monthly Moments PAGE 1 The Value of Seasonal Eating PAGE 1 The Origin of Pilates PAGE 2 Watch Out for Rogue Champagne Corks This Year PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Citrus and Avocado Salad PAGE 3 Put MLK Jr.’s Message of Love Into Practice PAGE 4
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A MESSAGE OF UNIVERSAL LOVE
Commemorating MLK Jr.
3. SHARE THE MESSAGE OF NONVIOLENCE AND GIVE BACK TO YOUR COMMUNITY. At the center of King’s message was the principle of nonviolence. Consider how you can advocate for nonviolence in your community. You could donate your time or money to a local shelter for victims of abuse, or volunteer your home to foster abandoned pets. If you’re part of a PTA or another school organization, encourage students to put an end to bullying. The Mix It Up program has anti-bullying lessons and activities that support King’s message.
In many of his speeches and sermons, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about love. He wasn’t talking about the romantic kind, though. King often used the term“agape,” an Ancient Greek word used to refer to the unconditional love of God for man, to talk about universal love for all people, regardless of race, religion, or circumstance. We commemorate King on Jan. 21. It’s a celebration and a National Day of Service, so take the opportunity to honor King’s message of universal love. Here are three ways to put agape into practice.
from the King Center in Atlanta, Georgia, to Selma, Alabama, where protest marches were held in 1965. After all, if we don’t know our past, we are doomed to repeat it. 2. EDUCATE YOURSELF AND OTHERS ABOUT THE STRUGGLES PEOPLE HAVE FACED. someone across cultural or subcultural boundaries, it helps to reduce prejudice. Promote positive interactions in your community by hosting a film night or book club focused on the civil rights movement. You can feature a movie like “Selma” or “13th.” For a book club, select an autobiography or biography that puts yourself in someone else’s shoes, like Maya Angelou’s “I KnowWhy the Caged Bird Sings,” or Rebecca Skloot’s “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” Learning about the experiences of others cultivates empathy. When you interact with
1. PAY A VISIT TO A HISTORICAL SITE.
Take some time to reflect on Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision this month and take part in the universal message of love. Don’t we all want more of that?
Immerse yourself in King’s message this month by visiting the places where these historic events occurred. Our nation is full of opportunities to become better acquainted with the birth of the civil rights movement,
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