Haymarket--bang for your buck and good luck

Haymarket: it's not organic. it's not fair trade. it's not always fresh. But it is cheap and boisterous, making it completely and totally Boston. Nestled behind the Haymarket mbta station where the orange line and green line intersects, people from all over the city elbow through the throng in search of two things: produce and deals.

Only at Haymarket can you find pounds of produce for dollars. Vendors are all ages, races and generations and they haggle for your business. But don't try to haggle prices or quality--what you see is what you get, and when you can get 10 baby artichokes for $1, so what if half of them are moldy? Pick off the bad parts and throw the rest in a pot of boiling water. And don't even think about picking out your own oranges, your hand may get slapped and your dollar returned.

Shoppers check their manners at the door and don't be afraid of being pushed or pushing back. Watch your toes for suitcases and grocery baskets, as people navigate the crowd and the narrow streets. But the abuse is well worth the heavy bags full of deals that laden your arms as you walk home.

The best time to go to Haymarket is around noon on Fridays. If you are searching for the good stuff, that's when the produce still looks the best and the crowd is thinner. If you are searching for deals, check it out on Saturdays around 4pm, because by then the are giving the raspberries away by the box. Don't wait until Sunday because the tents, the vendors and the produce will all be gone.

And when you get home, stick it all in the fridge--it will last longer.

An ode to you, Haymarket,
with your rude attitudes,
bent tents and
boxes of berry...
no where else can you buy like that
for 10 bucks all you can carry

What's the deal with vegetable soup?

To make an amazing vegetable soup, you need not possess culinary prowess. You don't need a lot of time or energy or money, just a little bit of creativity. My first roommate in my first apartment in Boston, who would have made a great husband except for the fact that he liked men and didn't understand the concept of paying the rent, taught me a few years ago how to make a delicious, healthy meal out of nothing.

Look in the fridge and in the freezer. What vegetables do you have? Anything works. I like fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned because of they have no preservatives.

Toss whatever vegetables you want to into a pot on the stove. I can go as far to say that the pot may be the most important part of the soup. I have a stainless steel 5.5 quart pot that I love. It makes enough soup to feed a few friends and me, or just me for a few days, and it goes from stovetop to fridge easily.

I prefer to make my own broth (again, less preservatives and sodium) but you can also use canned vegetable broth. You want the broth or the water to cover the vegetables in the pot.

To make my own broth, I add to the water vegetable bouillon and seasoning. For red soups, add freshly diced or canned diced tomatoes. For chowders, add soy or rice milk later.

Add two bayleaves and allow vegetables and broth to boil. I like to add beans or pasta or rice to my soup to make it more hearty and add protein. Also consider adding quinoa or barley. Usually, I cheat and get beans from a can because they are quicker, but boiling your own beans is obviously the best way to ensure the freshest flavor and healthiest soup. I use this time while the soup pot is boiling, to boil any pasta or beans I plan to add to the soup. Cook pasta until al dente. (Pasta will continue to cook in the soup and it will dissolve and get too mushy when over-cooked.)

Add beans and/or pasta or rice to the soup at this time and turn down the heat so that it is no longer boiling. Stir all ingredients together.

At this time seasoning begins. For seasoning a quick and easy soup made from a meager spice cabinet, feel free to sprinkle salt, pepper and Mrs. Dash mixed italian seasoning.

For more variety, try including oregano, thyme, parsley, garlic powder, sage, taragon, and allspice. I prefer minced and leaf spices in soups to powders, but season to your own tastes and liking.

For sweet soups, add sugar, oregano, parsley and taragon.

For spicy soups, add curry powder or chilli powder.

Bring soup to a boil once more and allow the spices and ingredients to mingle.
Turn off the stove and leave pot covered until ready to serve.

Soup is so easy, but it fills you up with vitamins and healthy foods and it's a great way to get your vegetables. I love how it tastes differently after each bowl as flavors mingle and ingredients change. It is a perfect vegan meal because it includes so much variety. This is a basic recipe, but make it your own by adding your flair for your own tastes.

I have a penchant for enjoying it with whole wheat toast smeared with smart balance butter.

If your soup lasts for any longer than the evening, the vegetables/beans/pasta may soak up some of the broth. At that time add water and more seasoning to taste.

What is wrong with the AMERICAN DIET?

In 2007, TIME Magazine pointed out that Breast Cancer is spreading around the world because of the American Diet. Imagine the ways in which health would improve if people reduced or eliminated the consumption of the following foods...

The American Diet consists of:

• Too much white sugar
• Too much white flour
• Too much dairy products (like milk, cream, butter, cottage cheese, yogurt, especially ice cream)
• Too much processed foods
• Too much french fries
• Too much salad dressing
• Too much chips
• Too much honey
• Too much chocolate
• Too much of any type of sweeteners
• Too much spices
• Too much alcohol
• Too many birth control pills
• Too many drugs (over the counter or under)
• Too many medications
• Too many chemically grown, processed and treated foods
• Too much meat
• Too many eggs
• Too much chicken
• Too much baked cakes, cookies and bread

You are what you eat. Who wants to grow up to be a cinnamon bun???
I'd much rather be a cauliflower.

TONIGHT, NO CHILD WILL GO TO BED HUNGRY

BOSTON, MASS. 2050

Leading nations have been fighting for 2050 years to lead capitalist societies, but due to recent peace meetings discussing discussing poverty and starvation, First and Third-World countries have built a coalition to end global hunger. Today the program will launch, as a first step to solving world-wide hunger and poverty, filling children's stomachs from Africa to Mexico to Washington, D.C.

For 40 years a coalition, including one member from each nation has discussed a plan to solve the problem of unequal distribution of resources and not until this month has the coalition agreed to a solution: share--don't waste--resources.

With all the livestock in the United States eating the equivalent of 2 billion people, irresponsible practices have deepened inequality and poverty gaps. Top countries, including the USA, Britain and China have agreed to adopt Robin Hood's notion of taking from the rich and giving to the poor.

The plan will include a gradual reduction of livestock in favor of agricultural farming and institute a waste-not, want-not program.

According to Al Gore, who was the leading champion of Global Warming prevention in 2000, old technology and old ideas equal past results. New technology and old ideas equal failed results. This will be a new idea using new technology with amazing, world-changing results.

What is Mae Chop Suey?

Make something out of nothing. You can take the same ingredients and make hundreds of different meals. You can make the same meal hundreds of times and it tastes different each time. To me, food nourishes your mind, body and soul.

This blog will highlight a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. I'm a cheap vegan. I'm a recent vegan and I'm still trying to figure it all out, but I invite you to explore the vegan lifestyle with me.

It's about saving the world.
It's about saving yourself.

My signature dish is Mae Chop Suey, which is a dish of something I make out of nothing, using any ingredients I find in my kitchen. Usually it becomes a soup or a pasta, but it is always vegan and always delicious. I am a poor college student and I try not to spend money on food, so I go to Farmers' Markets and borrow my roommates food for ingredients and I have yet to disappoint a palate...

Why be a vegan?
The better question is, why not?
And the most important question is, HOW?

Visit Mae Chop Suey to follow my journey of how to make being a vegan work for you. Three years ago I was eating steak and potatoes. Two years ago I was eating manicotti. And now I eat vegetable soup. Join me in a quest for better food and better health, leading toward a better world.