Berry picking and new summer recipes

July Newsletter

Dear MMN Participant, 
 
We have a treat for you this month! Jessica Weiss, a long time friend of the Needham Community Farm, has created a 10 minute video for us in which she demonstrates how to make Celery Salad with Fresh Seasonal Herbs. Jessica uses veggies and herbs from the Farm to make the salad, which also features green peppers, cucumbers and radishes. We have the recipe for you, too. 

FOCUS ON FORAGING 
From Meatless Monday Needham's Rebecca Waber

Berry time!

Now in July is a very fun time for foraging.  This month is all about segmented berries. Think of a raspberry or blackberry - it's not just round, there's lots of little pieces - "drupelets." All segmented/aggregated berries you can find around New England are edible, and there are many varieties.

Black raspberry: These are my favorite, and not something you can find in a grocery store. They are found at the edges of fields and woodsy areas. They are a lot more common in the wild around here than red raspberries, so if you see red-looking raspberries, they might actually be unripe black raspberries. When they are ripe they will come easily off the plant. They are already starting to get ripe as of July 5, so now's the time to seek them out!

Blackberry:  These ripen later than black raspberries, so I only saw green ones on July 5 - keep an eye on them. The difference between a blackberry and a black raspberry is that with a raspberry, you could put them on your fingers like little hats, whereas blackberries don't have those little "holes." They grow in about the same spots as black raspberries.

Mulberry: If you see something that looks like a "blackberry tree," it's a mulberry. Taste-wise I wouldn't choose it over the berries above, but it's still super fun and unique to make jam or dry them. The trees I've found have always been near a school, for some reason (do you recognize those tennis courts in the picture?). They have a pretty long season compared to the berries above, you can keep coming back for a while to find more and more ripe to a deep purple. 

Seriously, if you go foraging once per year, now's the time - enjoy!

LOCAL NEWS AND EVENTS

The Surveys Are In!
 
Many thanks to those who took our Meatless Monday Survey! We received 49 responses, which is 27% of all participants (183 individuals or households).

In answer to the question, “During the 12 weeks of the Meatless Monday Needham Campaign, how often did you go meatless?”, all 49 responders indicated a least once a week, including every Monday (24%), most Mondays (18%), at least once a week (41%), or stopped eating meat entirely (16%).

We learned that 15 (31%) participants had a lasting reduction in meat consumption when comparing frequency before the pledge to current frequency (mostly post-pledge), with none reporting an increase. Of note: two reduced from every day to 3-5 days per week, six went from six days to 3-5, and five reduced from 3-5 days a week to never, rarely, or once a week.

Turning to the present, usually after the 12-week pledge period, no one responded that they eat meat every day, and one (2%) responded that they eat meat every day except Monday, while 55% responded they eat meat 3-5 days a week, 20% once a week, and 22% rarely or never. 

The top three resources that responders found most useful were the monthly newsletter, Meatless Monday with Dave Becker, and the website.

Suggestions in the comments included requests for recipes, cooking classes, restaurant suggestions, hosting meatless potlucks, a Meatless Monday club at Needham High School, and more information on the health and environmental aspects of plant-based food choices.

We recognize that there is non-response bias that may favor the more interested and successful participants, and we don’t know what the other 75% would have reported. Even so, we feel we can effectively use these results to guide us in our future programming.

What Does the Survey Tell Us and What’s Next?

We are making a difference in reducing meat consumption, which encourages us to continue the program and try to expand in some of the ways indicated by the survey. As a start, we are working on testing and recommending recipes in every newsletter, starting with this one. If you have a recommendation, please email us at info@meatlessmondayneedham.org. Meanwhile, we will continue to highlight recipes every Monday on our Facebook page. 

Stay tuned for more new programming involving Dave Becker and other local restaurants!

Sierra Club - Plant-based Cooking Demonstration
Learn how to make healthy plant-based food with the Sierra Club’s Plant-based Planet Team. In this free demonstration, the team will demonstrate how to make various plant-based dishes at home. Questions are welcome. To participate, sign up here. 

The Needham Farmers Market is open every Sunday from 12 - 4pm on the Needham Town Common. In addition to fruits and veggies, vendors sell nuts, breads, condiments and more. Click here to learn more about the Market and here to sign up for the weekly newsletter.

WEB RESOURCES
Recipes We Like

Chinese Eggplant in Garlic Sauce
Do you always order Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce when you have the chance?

Try making it at home with this delicious recipe! 
 
Not surprisingly, the recipe calls for Chinese eggplant, which is thinner and lighter colored than the eggplant we see most often, and has fewer seeds.

You’ll be able to get Chinese eggplant at Volante Farms in August. Regular purple eggplant works fine, too, although you may want to remove the tougher skin and some seeds.
 
Love eggplant? We originally found this recipe on the website mydarlingvegan.com, along with 11 other eggplant recipes.

Summer Pasta with Zucchini, Ricotta, and Basil
This yummy recipe is perfect when the farmers’ markets are overflowing with zucchini and fresh basil! Pair it with cherry tomatoes for color and texture. 
We’ve found the recipe in a couple of places. It’s in the New York Times food section, here, and also on the website of the DaVinci food company, here. 

CHECK OUT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE... 
to see dishes prepared by your Needham neighbors and to share yours!

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