It’s Earth Day! Go ahead – pop bubbles, bake an earthy cake, and eat your way to a happier planet. Even if you have never hugged a tree, you can celebrate simply by eating some planet-loving nosh.

We’ve pulled together some easy tips on eating your way to a happier planet. Many of our fellow Foodstanders have been celebrating Earth Day all year with their eats, so we had to include our favorite examples. Happy Earth Day y’all!

1. Eat closer to the source — Local.
When you eat local, your food doesn’t travel as far, so your choices result in fewer greenhouse gases. Produce also start losing nutrients the minute they are picked, so if you eat more freshly picked food, it’s usually packed with more nutrients. And if you’re craving strawberries in February, go for the frozen ones.

Foodielicioushi Got a busy weekend ahead of me. Went to my local egg farm, turned in my old trays & picked up more eggs. Recycling & supporting local. Carissas_Breads Wild Foraged Concord Grape Farm Pie

2. Eat less meat.
The global livestock industry produces more greenhouse gas emissions than all cars, planes, trains, and ships combined (The Guardian). Really. So whether you go totally veggie or just observe #MeatlessMondays, a little less meat goes a long way to keeping our planet calm, cool, and collected.

Shuchi Nice & easy – spiced Avo Toasties to kick off the first Meatless Monday of 2015! shannonvittoria Eggs, avo, hummus, and tomatoes. Just another meatless Monday.

3. Eat (and drink!) organic whenever you can.
For many reasons, but if nothing else, to save the bees! 

JenniferEmilson Nadan Mutta Curry. Dinner. Eggs, spicy curry sauce and smoked basmati rice. Oh yes. Just wish we had some appam to soak up the sauce dripping down my chin 😄 BrenneWhisky This is what our whisky looks like when it is fresh off the still! The dark amber color will come from the barrels after it’s aged for 7-8 years. Check out our organic barley field in the background!

4. Waste less food- eat the ‘ugly’ stuff.

40% of our food goes to waste, much of it discarded before it even gets to the consumer because it is ‘deformed’ or bruised.This food isn’t ugly — it’s unique and delicious – especially if you are cooking / juicing / canning / saucing it. So grab the ‘special’ pieces whenever you can.

ajporter A friend of ours gave us a bag of farm carrots and we found these two canoodling at the bottom #hugs Rachna Carrot shishito And potato At #misfits

5. Eat whole food

When you eat whole foods, those foods go through less processing = less greenhouse gases emitted.

AuntieM Mmmmmm. Figs…. AuntieM Root Veggies. Yes!

6. Compost!

Food waste is 15% of our waste stream (that’s a lot!)-much of which is compostable.  Almost anybody can compost, you can put it right on your countertop. It will add a ton of nutrients to your soil, and no, it won’t smell. =)

Emma This week’s compost off to Tompkins Sq Farmers’ Mkt

7. Nose to tail, tip to top, whatever you fancy.
Use the whole thing and waste less! This is possible with many foods you probably never realized, so get creative and find ways to utilize those scraps!

Mokalocks Roasted carrot soup with carrot top pesto. Great way to incorporate carrot tops into a meal. Recipe: cravingsinamsterdam.com ChrisCavanagh I never ever thought I would say this but … I ate a fish head. Prepared by Nancy Silverton the guest chef tonight at WastED. But yes … I ate a fish head.

8. Eat invasive species and sustainably farmed oysters.
Yep – oyster happy hour is a good idea! Sustainably farmed oysters can help improve the quality of oceans and bays, and buying these oysters will avoid depleting the wild at-risk oyster population. Also, we have an untapped resource in invasive species, which prey upon the local shellfish population that the local fishing industry depends upon. Look for menus that serve invasive species as a way to help keep our oceans happy.

inahalfshell #tbt Visiting an oyster farm in Duxbury, MA last summer. Nothing quite like slurping an oyster straight from its native waters. ChefAlli Simple food & beautiful friends

9. Eat sustainable fish.

Some fishing methods are better for the earth than others.  Use the handy Seafood Watch guide to find seafood options that have less impact on the environment.

Tara @MichaelHalle makin that ceviche on #cobbisland. Philbert The most sustainable tuna fish sandwich I ever made. Did not think mayo from cafe free eggs and pole caught tuna were an option a year ago.

You may have heard of a little thing called climate change… global warming… or as Thomas Friedman likes to call it, global weirding. Yes, we are doing some pretty crazy damage to our beloved mother earth, and we have to do something about it. So here’s your chance. 

This Sunday, Foodstand will join the largest Climate March in history on the streets of Manhattan to show the world its world leaders (who conveniently are in town for the UN summit on the climate crisis) that we need to work together to dramatically reduce global warming pollution. Why? Not only we believe climate change is a real thing, but also because one of the largest contributors to climate change is our food system. Oh, and one of the largest threats to our food system is climate change. 

Funny how that works. 

So, that means WE as food lovers need to (and CAN!) do something about it so we can continue to nosh on our favorites. So what is that “something,” you ask? 

March with us! 

– March this Sunday at 11:30 am at 73rd and Central Park West

– #walkthewalk and share on vine / instagram to bring your social media fam on board

Check out what you are eating

– Reduce meat consumption and eat more greens

– Waste less food, and find ways to make the most of what you have (here are some hacks to cut down on food waste)

– Eat more local and seasonal food. The payoff?  You get to rediscover your community, make new friends, and find more delicious food. 

At Foodstand, we are building the largest community of savvy eaters, makers, and growers who want to bring the joy and happiness back to food. That includes celebrating food that makes people happy and keeps our planet happy. 

Want to get involved? Our new mobile app is coming soon and we are on the hunt for the savviest eaters to help paint the canvas of what better food looks like in the NY Food Shed. Sign up to find out more and follow us on Instagram to see the latest pioneers of good food. 

#thefoodstand

See you Sunday! 

On August 4th, the Foodstand team was invited up to Stony Point Center in upstate New York to see, among the center’s other activities, the progress the center has made with farming and sustainable food in general.

We set out from the Upper West side bright and early in the morning, but not before first stopping at Absolute Bagels on Broadway, near Columbia University. Fresh reached a whole new level of meaning when we saw this batch of egg bagels piping hot out of the oven as soon as we stepped through the door:

If only we could embed smells in blog posts…

Anyway, off we went to Stony Point, enjoying the gorgeous day. When we arrived, we met Kitty Ufford-Chase, co-director of the center, gave us a warm greeting and immediately took us on a very cool tour of the center, while also narrating its storied history.

Today, the center is a subsidiary of the Presbyterian Church of the USA, “offering delicious, locally sourced food, simple accommodations, sustainable values, and a spirit of hospitality.” Stony Point “welcomes people of all faiths and nations to discern, discover, learn and lead…to create pathways to peace, nonviolence and justice.” It’s a unique place – part conference center, part natural getaway, part spiritual retreat, part social justice activism hub.

Towards this vision, Stony Point is also home to what is called the Community of Living Traditions, a multifaith residential community dedicated to nonviolence. Every summer, the CLT holds a program for Muslim, Jewish, and Christian college students interested in sustainable living, interfaith dialogue, and social justice. When, on our tour, we stopped by Stony Point’s farm, we found the students in the summer program hard at work weeding and watering.

Stony Point also has a small chicken coop, and we got up close and personal! We also visited their gorgeous greenhouse.

Shortly there after, we headed to the mess hall for a delicious lunch, many of the ingredients of which were home grown. Check it out!

We spent the rest of the day working outside on the lawn, and taking some time out to relax, meditate,  walk, do some yoga, walk the on-site stone labyrinth, and more. We absolutely loved our trip, and went back to the craziness that is New York City with heavy hearts, but also, with recharged batteries and a renewed resolve to mainstream good food awareness for all.

If you’re interested in visiting Stony Point, or learning more about their work, please visit stonypointcenter.org.

New York City’s fabled Restaurant Week is going right now until August 15th, and the Foodstand team compiled the following short list of some Restaurant Week joints that have also demonstrated a commitment to wholesome food, whether that be in the form of fair wages, organic and/or local sourcing, etc. Shoutout to the Slow Food’s Snail of Approval and Clean Plates‘ Restaurant Guide – without their information, we wouldn’t have been able to share with you those restaurants out there that are down with the good food grind. See the map and list below, with a link to their Restaurant Week profile page!

Craftbar – 900 Broadway (20/Bway) Manhattan, NY 10003. American, Italian.

Casa Mono -52 Irving Pl. (Irving Pl/17 St) Manhattan, NY 10003 . Spanish.

Gotham Bar and Grill – 12 E 12th St Manhattan, NY 10003. American.

Esca – 402 W 43rd St New York, NY 10036. Italian.

Lupa Osteria Romana – 170 Thompson St New York, NY 10012. Italian.

Left Bank – 117 Perry St New York, NY 10014. American.

Mas (la grillade) – 28 7th Ave S New York, NY 10014. American.

Maialino – 2 Lexington Ave New York, NY 10010. Italian.

Tertulia – 359 6th Ave New York, NY 10014. Spanish.

Telepan – 72 W 69th St New York, NY 10023. American.

Happy eats!

On Thursday, the Foodstand team headed to North End Grill in Lower Manhattan to meet Chef Eric Korsh and his restaurant’s fabled rooftop garden. We arrived on a sleepy Friday afternoon, just before the post-work hustle and bustle. Chef Korsh greeted us warmly, and took us through his busy restaurant full of sous chefs, pastry makers, kitchen hands, and other staff members, up a freight elevator, up three flights of stairs, and finally: the top of his building, set to the background of the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

Credit: Andrew Hinderaker

Credit: Melissa Hom

What we saw blew us away. On the roof, North End Grill had laying in full view of the Manhattan sun massive beds of dozens of different crops – from strawberries to spicy herbs to the notoriously difficult to find Aji dulce pepper. Using these homegrown fruits and veggies, Chef Korsh is able to serve hundreds of customers a day, and he never has a surplus.

When asked what the one food-related change he could make in the world would be, Chef Korsh immediately responded saying how wonderful it would be for more restaurants to keep urban rooftop gardens, and to use these gardens to grow fresh ingredients, keep prices down, and strengthen local ties between restauranteurs. Chef Korsh is big on local, and proudly stands by partners such as Pino’s Prime Meat Market, with whom he had a relationship for several years. Many of other suppliers can be found here in the city, and elsewhere in the tristate area.

Credit: Melissa Hom

Credit: Melissa Hom

Some of Chef Korsh’s local NYC food picks:

Favorite Chinese spots: Wo Hop, Lucky 8, Spicy & Tasty

Favorite Cheese: East Village Cheese

Favorite Meats: Pino’s

We had a blast at North End Grill, and hope to be back very, very soon.

Get excited! Our Local Chef’s Pop-Up event tonight is SOLD OUT! Find our last full length interview with Chef Jin of Jin’s Journey below, and then be sure to come ticket in hand tonight to taste her creations yourself!

Q: When did you know you wanted to be a chef?

A: It was actually quite late in my life, when I was about 27. I’m 34 now. Basically, I was approaching 30, and the discussion was, “What have I done with my life? What am I doing? Am I happy?” And the thing that made me happy that was in front of my face all my life was cooking, but I was not doing that professionally, I was working in sales, and it just took me a while to realize that that’s where my passion actually lies. When I was 27, I started to change my direction to focus on food.

Chef Jin spreading joy.

Q: Describe to me your most cherished food memory. 

A: It wasn’t an eating memory, it was more of a gardening memory. When I was around six years old, I’d go to my grandmother’s house in Brooklyn, in Crown Heights, in her backyard…she would be gardening every single day. Just going back there and watching her, and not really understand what she was doing and why she was doing it, but watching her enjoy gardening. And my grandmother is still alive, and to this day, every single morning at 6AM, she goes in her backyard – she’s now in Florida – she goes in her backyard in Florida she is messing around in her garden. All day. Like, she is over 80 years old, and this is what makes her happy, and it is just a beautiful thing to see her enjoy that, to be strong and vibrant, and getting up early every day, and out there all day working in her garden. And when I was a kid, I didn’t understand it, and now I’m an adult, and I do it, and I understand now why it was so important to her, why she still does it to this day, and it’s now something I love. Just growing food, and watching it, and being proud of the food that you can produce in your own home.

Q: Any comfort foods or guilty pleasures?

A: A pint of rocky road ice cream. I’d eat it every day if I could. 

Q: When you develop new dishes, where do you get your inspiration?

A: Everything around me inspires me. It could be from having conversation with someone, it could be from watching TV and seeing someone eat something, going to a restaurant and trying something new…pretty much everything I come across in life daily inspires me, whether it’s colors, or something I actually ate, etc. And then the actual process of what I actually wanna do with those flavors, that usually comes to me in…the shower. The formula actually comes to me when I’m getting ready to go, that’s when everything comes together. I go about my daily life, and that’s when the formula develops. 

Q: How would you describe your cooking style? 

A: I don’t know the answer to that. In general, my personality is really welcoming and homey, and I feel like when I host people in my own home, I like to decorate and make a whole big production of it, and I like to make people feel super comfortable. And I think that comes out in my food too, I like family-style a lot, for example. I like to to incorporate the people too, I like to talk to them about their whole experience, where food comes from, the whole idea behind the dish I’m serving. I would describe the feeling you get when you eat my food as a homey, welcoming, comfort food. But, you know, when people think comfort food, they’re thinking macaroni & cheese and fried chicken. That’s not what I’m saying. It’s more of a feeling that you’re getting, like a family gathering, intimate feeling.

Q: What role did food play in your life growing up?

A: Well, I’ll keep it real with you. Growing up, I did not like cooking. I had to cook, because my mom was a single mom, I had younger brothers, so I had to cook when she wasn’t home. Maybe that’s where the nurturing and family part comes in, because I made them sit at the table, and we always ate together, we never ate separately, and then every Sunday my mom did make a huge meal, and we all sat together at three o’clock in the afternoon to eat dinner. So, that’s something I try and do in my own house, with me and my husband. It’s more of gathering, talking, communicating, that’s what it means to me, just being able to gather everyone together and feeling happy, upfront, open, and comfortable to discuss anything everything, and feel safe. 

Q: What are some of your favorite simple dishes to make at home? 

A: I make tacos a lot, and the reason why is because I always have tortillas in the fridge. Whenever there are random things in the fridge, I pile it in a tortilla and eat it. If anything, I always have eggs. So I usually make myself a breakfast burrito, and it’ll be like, a fried egg, goat cheese, and some greens, such as sautéed kale or collard greens. If I come home late, that’s like the go-to thing for me. Because, a lot of chefs, you know, if you’re cooking all day, you don’t feel like cooking more when you come home. So that’s why, real quick, within 10 minutes, I can whip this up. And then, also, I’m really heavy on salad. I have a variety of nuts, and dried fruit, and there are always greens in my fridge

Only a few days left until our Local Chefs Tasting Pop-Up in conjunction with The Welcome Table! Buy your tickets quickly, as tears will not be accepted at the door.

Today we’re featuring Chef Florvil “Flo” Valdez of ServeMeNow.org. We asked him to talk to us about himself for a little bit in anticipation for Monday, and his passion for food and community really shone through. 

Q: When did you know you wanted to be a chef?

A: I made the decision that I wanted to be a chef right in my junior year of high school. Up until then, I actually wanted to go into the medical field, into anesthesiology, and cooking was just something that I had just always done. And in the back of my mind, just like any young chef, I wanted to open my own restaurant, manage the business, etc, but, being raised in a Filipino household, it was always about the medical field, or business, or some kind of accounting, something like that. That’s what I always grew up with. Cooking was a whole other kind of thing, and that’s when I decided to look into it, and I decided, you know what, there’s a university in Rhode Island where they had a Bachelor’s Program in Culinary Arts, and that was the only way I could convince my family to agree to it, because there was a degree involved. And the rest is really history, I just dived right into it and love it to this day.

Q: Describe to me your most cherished food memory. 

A: Yes, actually the first time learning how to make a traditional Italian gravy, which was basically a sort of tomato sauce. One of my best friends growing up was Italian-Cuban. His mom would always cook her traditional Sunday gravy, and I remember I came over one time and watched her, and at first I didn’t understand why she would have the pot on stove simmering all morning. I then why things were done that way, I saw how it was partly nostalgia for her too, because that’s how she learned to make the gravy – to simmer low and slow, to give it such a good flavor – and that’s how I started wanting to cook, to learn how to make good Italian food from my friend’s mom, and that’s actually why my specialty is in Italian and Mediterranean cooking. I still remember that same pot and all the ingredients that went into the gravy. To this day, I actually still use the same recipe that she used on that day about 15 years ago. She loves that story, she loves it when I tell her it and when I tell other people. I was definitely influenced by what she did.

Chef Flo’s skills with a knife.

Q: What role did food play in your life growing up?

A: It was the center of everything. Growing up in a Filipino household, whenever we had food on the the table, that is when we would always sit down together as a family, and not just our immediate family, but our extended family as well. When any family came over, it was always about the food. Everyone would bring a dish over, it was all potluck, and everyone was known – all my aunts, all my family members – for their respective speciality dishes which they’d always bring with them, up to this day. So, food always reminds me of that, because that’s how I started learning how to cook, from my own parents. I learned that whenever there is food out, that is when people come together. Even now, when I get together with family and friends, it is always centered around food. 

Q: Any comfort foods or guilty pleasures?

A: There’s a Filipino noodle dish called Pancit, it reminds me of my childhood. Noodles, tons of vegetables in there. Traditionally there is usually some ground poultry or meat as well. We eat in our celebrations because it’s a sign of long life, we always have to have it at birthday parties for its long noodles. 

Q: Where do you get your inspiration?

A: My inspiration actually all just comes whenever I shop. It never starts in my desk or on a notepad. It starts when I go out and seeing what inspires me to make something new, whether it’s something at the market or at the grocery store. It usually starts at the produce department, whatever I see there that seems the freshest right then and there, that’s when I’ll decide, let me just work with this new ingredient. I always start from what’s available right now. Seasonal foods really get me going, it really does. Because that’s the only time when something that looks good on a market stand or a grocery store even that looks beautiful and also tastes good. Most my food centers around good fruits and vegetables, it always starts out that way. I actually used to work for Whole Foods Market for quite some time, and grocery stores are actually designed that way – whenever you go into the store, the produce department is usually the first department that you run into, and that’s the way I start my recipes. I think, “What’s good out there?”, and then I build around that.

Q: How would you describe your cooking style? 

A: My style is simple, good food. I was just creating a menu for a client, and however simple I can make it, that’s better. It’s usually just 3-4 ingredients per dish, aside from the regular herbs and seasonings, in order to highlight the main ingredients. That’s definitely the way that I always cook, and how I market myself. Whenever I cook on my own or for my clients, I always focus on the simplicity of the food in order to highlight the main ingredients. 

Q: What are some of your favorite simple dishes to make at home? 

A: Once a week usually, I make a gravy. I have the recipe I mentioned earlier, but recently I have been transitioning to removing the added fat from my diet, so I actually create my own gravy now without any added oil, all vegetables. It’s a kind of stew, no added salt, and no added oil, so that is my go-to dish these days. It acts as a sort of “mother-sauce” to any other dish I may make, as a kind of base component for things like pasta sauce. It’s a staple in my kitchen that I almost always have to make.

Q: Anything else you’d like to add?

A: It’s not about the recipes or the food that I create when I work, it’s not about me. It’s always about the food itself, and serving the client, and what it is they like to do. I’m not the kind of chef that likes to highlight my food, yknow? It’s not about *my* recipes or anything like that. It’s just about creating a space for great food and just enjoying it. I’m never opposed to just picking up any cookbook and just taking from it if that’s what the client wants, what they’ll actually enjoy.

This Monday (6/30), Foodstand is partnering with The Welcome Table to put on the Local Chefs Tasting Pop-Up! Click here to buy your ticket before they all run out.

We’re interviewing each local chef that will make magic happen on Monday in the lead-up to the event! Today’s feature is Chef Mukti of Mukti’s Kitchen!

Q: When did you know you wanted to be a chef?
A: I started this in 2006, before that I worked as a biologist for 23 years. I’ve always loved to cook and loved to feed people, that is my passion, but I never thought it could be the source of my livelihood until 2006.

Chef Mukti in her element.

Q: Describe to me your most cherished food memory. 
A: I grew up in a food hub, in Calcutta, India. It’s a big city. I learned my cooking from my mother and aunt, and every time we had a big festival in our house, I was the taste tester. Every time, I would observe how they cooked, and I used to tell them whether anything needed to be added. So I grew up seeing these big festivals in my house, and how everyone would prepare the food.

Q: What is your comfort food?
A: Rice and fish curry. 

Q: Are your dishes new and unique, or would you say they’re more traditional sorts of foods?
A: No, I improvise my own dishes, I think they’re new and unique and not commonly found in restaurants.

Q: So how do you think up new dishes then?
A: You know, cooking is an art, so you can improvise your stuff if you have good knowledge about your food and your ingredients, then you can mix and match this with that, and I think that’s really the best thing you can do. Once you get more skill and experience, new things come from trial and error.

Q: Where do you get your inspiration?
A: When I see other chefs, and they’re doing really good work and are involved and doing really good work in the food movement, and giving a sense of pleasure and encouragement to others. It inspires me to believe that I can do the same.

Q: How would you describe your cooking style? 
A: I think my cooking style is very much an art. When people see my cooking, they’ve told me that it seems like I’m playing music, or that I’m a conductor of an orchestra. It’s like I’m doing this thing and mixing that thing, and doing all the various things I do in my cooking, a lot of multitasking. Cooking is a sort of therapy, and when you’re concentrated on many differing things, such as chopping, or grinding your spices, I feel it’s a sort of very fun multitasking sort of exercise, and I feel it’s very therapeutic.
 
Q: What are some of your favorite simple dishes to make at home? 
A: Most of the time, when I make food for myself at home, it’s very simple. Things like lentils with rice, fish curry, a vegetable side. I grew up with fish, so we have to have fish pretty much every time we eat!

Get excited! And make sure to buy your ticket if you haven’t already!