Food Bloggers Against Hunger: Cheesy Egg Muffin Sandwich

This past summer, with the help from Nicole of The Giving Table, bloggers joined together and dedicated their posts to fight for slave-free tomatoes.  After posting a Gluten-Free Tomato Tart last July, we were asked to participate in the Food Bloggers Against Hunger event.  Of course, we couldn’t wait to participate!

Nearly 1 in 4 children in America lives in households that struggle to put food on the table.  Millions of Americans who participate in the nation’s food stamp program are limited to an average of $4 per person, per day to supplement their food budget.  As a result, they struggle with hunger at some point during the year.  Rates of food insecurity are substantially higher than the national average among households with incomes near or below the federal poverty line, and among households with children headed by a single parent.  In Washington D.C., 30.7% of children experience limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods at some point during the year.

For a little homework, we watched A Place at the Table.  It’s a documentary that examines hunger in America by focusing on 3 families which struggle to put food on the table for their children.  It discusses how U.S. government subsidies favor products that require processing (e.g., soy beans, wheat, and especially corn) over fresh fruits and vegetables that can be consumed with little or no processing.  As a result, the most affordable food is often calorically dense, processed food, lacking nutritional value.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation’s food stamp program, is at risk for severe cuts that would impact millions of families and children who rely on school meals and food stamps to survive.  A number of anti-hunger organizations: Share Our Strength, Bread for the World, Feeding America, The Food and Research Action Center– are asking supporters to spread the word.

Our nations policies need to change in order for this problem to be solved.  Here are a few ways you can help and participate:

1) Send a letter to Congress asking them to support anti-hunger legislation.  The more letters we send, the better.  Send this letter, it’ll take less than 30 seconds to fill out.

2) Go see A Place at the Table!  Screenings will be held in select cities through mid-June.  You can also view it on iTunes and Amazon.  Spread the word on what you have learned from the documentary.

3) Volunteer with Share Your Strength‘s Cooking Matters program.  The No Kid Hungry campaign educates and empowers low-income families to stretch their food budgets.

The documentary points out that many children and adults do not have access to low-cost, healthy breakfasts, and many go to school or work without eating anything.  With that in mind, Sam and I decided to post our favorite breakfast- it’s easy, fast, healthy, and low-cost.  Over 200 bloggers are participating in this event, check out what recipes others have posted.

I stopped by a local Safeway to pick up food for our breakfast, and to make sure we were on budget:

 Old Tyme English Muffins: $1.29 for 6; $0.22/English Muffin
 Lucerne Grade A Eggs: $2.49 for a dozen; $0.21/egg
 Lucerne Extra Sharp Cheddar: $4.39 for 16 oz; $0.27/ounce
 Green Onions: $1.39 for a bunch (approx. 8); $0.17/onion

Total Cost for one Cheesy Egg Muffin Sandwich: $0.87

 Total Calorie and Fat content per sandwich:
 Calories: 341*
 Fat: 17

*We used unsalted butter, but feel free to substitute with cooking spray.  We are assuming that everyone has one of these two items in their kitchen.

Cheesy Egg Muffin Sandwich
A Fifth Floor Kitchen blog
Servings: 2

2 English Muffins (preferably whole wheat)
2 eggs
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1 tsp butter or cooking spray
1-2 green onions, chopped
2 oz cheddar cheese, sliced or shredded

The trick with making omelets is to use a smaller pan, so that the omelet has enough depth to allow for folding over.  An 8-inch, non-stick pan is perfect for this.

While cooking the eggs, toast 2 English muffins in a toaster.

Crack two eggs into a small bowl, add a pinch of salt and pepper and beat with a fork until well incorporated.  Coat the pan with butter or cooking spray, and put it over medium heat.  Once the pan is hot, pour in the scrambled egg mixture.  Sprinkle green onions on one half of the egg mixture, wait until it begins to firm up.  When the omelet is firmed up, and only slightly liquidy on top, add the cheese slices on top of the green onions.  With a rubber spatula, gently fold the omelet in half.  Turn the stove top off, wait for about a minute to allow the cheese to melt.  Then cut the omelet in half, and serve each half on an English Muffin.

Tomato Tuesday: Gluten-free Tomato Tart

Today, July 24th, 2012, bloggers are donating their posts to the fight for slave-free tomatoes.  Check out participating bloggers here.   A special thanks to Nicole, of The Giving Table, for putting this call to action together!

This event was created by The Giving Table to support the International Justice Mission‘s summer campaign- Recipe for Change.  IMJ is a human rights agency committed to fighting modern day slavery and exploitation around the world.  Forced labor is happening on U.S. tomato fields.  Check out Tomatoland if you’d like an inside story (a great book!).

This summer, IMJ has partnered with The Coalition of Immokalee Workers and The Fair Food Standards Council to sponsor a campaign to raise awareness about the treatment of workers on U.S. tomato fields.  In addition, the campaign is asking CEO’s of large supermarket chains to endorse The Fair Food Program, ensuring that tomatoes sold in their stores are slave-free.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is a community-based organization of migrant workers that advocates for rights of farmworkers in Immokalee, FL.  The program was developed to protect Florida’s tomato pickers from exploitation.  The corporations that join the Fair Food Program agree to pay a small price increase for harvested tomatoes (1.5 cents more per pound) and shift purchases to Florida tomato growers who abide by the higher standards.  The 3 supermarket chains targeted this summer are: Ahold (Giant, Peapod, Martin’s, Albert), Publix, and Kroger.

Where can you find slave-free tomatoes?
CSA’s
Farmer’s Markets (DC’s FreshFarm Markets)
Whole Foods
Trader Joe’s

Please join Evi and Sam in signing the petition- Recipe for Change Letter.

Gluten-Free Tomato Tart
Adapted from: Anja’s Food 4 Thought & Simply Whole Kitchen

The best tomatoes for this tart are the juiciest, and most colorful one’s.  Find a heirloom variety at your local farmer’s market and slice them.  If there are any leftover tomato slices, enjoy them with some fresh mozzarella, salt, pepper and olive oil!

Crust:
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup almond flour
3 tbsp whole-grain oat flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 oz cold butter, cut into cubes
1 tbsp ice cold water
1 egg, lightly beaten

Filling:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 oz Gruyere cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
1/4 cup basil, finely chopped

In a food processor combine buckwheat flour, almond flour, whole grain oat flour, and salt.  Once it’s mixed well, add in the butter and pulse under the mixture is crumbly.  Next, add in the water and egg.  Keep pulsing until the mixture turns into a ball (it might be a bit sticky).  Shape it into a disk, then wrap it with parchment paper, keep in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  With cooking spray, grease a 9-inch tart pan.

Roll out the dough, and press all of it into the tart pan.  Bake it for 15 minutes.  Allow to cool off for at least 20 minutes.

To make the filling, heat olive oil in a saute pan.  Once the olive oil is hot, add in the onion.  Cook it until it is translucent, then add in the garlic.  Stir in the onion, garlic and cheese in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper.  Then pour the mixture into the cooled-off tart.  Arrange the tomato slices on top of the tart.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Bake the tart for 20 minutes, or until the cheese melts.  Allow to cool off before sprinkling basil over the top.  Divide into pieces, share with friends!

Want to learn more about this topic?  Check out some of these books and articles:
Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit (Barry Estabrook)
Join Michael Pollan in Ending Slavery of Tomato Workers
Did a Slave Grow Your Tomato?
Slavery in the Tomato Fields