iEat Green - 03.18.21 - Laura Lengnick

My guest is  Laura Lengnick. 

Author- Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate

 

Laura Lengnick is an award-winning soil scientist who has explored agriculture and food
system sustainability for more than 25 years as a researcher, policy-maker, educator,
activist, and farmer. She is founder and principal consultant at Cultivating Resilience,
LLC, an Asheville, NC-based firm that works with organizations of all kinds to integrate
climate change solutions and resilience thinking into operations and strategic
planning.  Laura’s work in soil health and sustainable farming systems was nationally-
recognized in 2001 with a USDA Secretary’s Honor Award, she served as a lead author
on the USDA input to the 3 rd  National Climate Assessment, and she has led federal, state
and local research and policy-making projects to identify win-win agricultural climate
solutions that both reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and also cultivate
resilient communities.  The second edition of Laura’s award-winning 2015
book, Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate, will be
released in June 2021.  She is a Visiting Professor in the College of Agriculture, Forestry
and Life Sciences at Clemson University and a member of the Planetary Health Lab at
the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). You can learn more about Laura and her work
at www.cultivatingresilience.com.

 

Miso Matzo Ball Soup

Matzo Balls – Makes 25
4 eggs
2 t salt
½ t pepper
¼ t nutmeg
4 Tbs. coconut oil
1 cup Matzah Meal
4 Tbs ice water
Beat eggs, salt and pepper and nutmeg together in a bowl. Add coconut oil and mix until it
dissolves into little pieces. Add matzo meal gradually. Add water, a little at a time, until it
reaches the right consistency. Refrigerate overnight. Form into balls and carefully drop into
boiling salted water. Cook for 20 minutes in slow boil. Remove one Matzo ball from water with
slotted spoon to taste. The center of the Matzo ball should have the same consistency as the
outside of the Matzo ball. If fully cooked, remove all Matzo balls with slotted spoon and place in
a flat Pyrex dish to cool. Add to favorite broth.
Miso Soup
2 onions- cut in quarters
4 parsnips- peeled and cut in half
4 carrots- peeled and cut in half
2 turnips- washed
2 sprigs each of parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme,
dill
12 cups water
5 cloves garlic
1- 2”-3” piece of ginger
2-3 additional carrots
6 Tbs white or red miso
¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
In a large pot, add the 12 cups of water, onions, parsnips, 4 carrots, turnips, sprigs of thyme,
Rosemary, sage and dill. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer. Cook for 2 hours with
cover on. Strain. You should have 8 cups remaining.
Return strained stock to clean large pot. Add the additional carrots and cook until soft. Remove 1
cup of broth and in a separate bowl, dilute the 6 Tbs of miso with the 1 cup of broth. Add the

miso mixture back into the soup pot. Taste. Add more miso if desired for taste preferences. DO
NOT BOIL THE SOUP ONCE THE MISO IS ADDED!
Add the matzo balls to hot miso broth to re-heat.
Garnish with chopped parsley and Serve with Matzo balls!

Vegan Matzo Balls

1 cup matzo meal
½ cake of silken tofu (12 oz package, use 6 oz )
3 Tbs. coconut oil- softened
¾ t. salt
½ t. baking powder
¼ t. white pepper
¼ t. nutmeg
1 Tbs. minced carrots
1 Tbs. minced onions
2 Tbs. potato starch
2 Tbs. besan flour- (chick pea flour)
Juice of 1 can of chick peas- “Aqua Fava”
4 Tbs. ice water
In food processor, puree the tofu.
In another bowl, beat the aqua fava until white and doubled in volume. Add the softened
coconut oil, salt, pepper, nutmeg, baking powder and pureed tofu. Mix well.
In another bowl, combine the matzo meal, potato starch and the besan flour. Add the minced
carrots and minced onions. Slowly add the wet ingredients.
Blend together.
Add the ice water 1 Tbs. at a time until you get the right consistency, mixing after each addition.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Form into balls and carefully drop them into boiling salted water.
Cover with lid and let them cook for 10 minutes.
When finished, remove from water with slotted spoon.
Add to miso vegetable broth right before serving.