Dear Angeles Central Group Member,
In this newsletter, we focus on food. We interview a local author about her book, "Bad Manners," full of easy, delicious, plant-based recipes, good for both you and our planet. We then highlight local farmers markets - how to find ones close to you, and why you should get your food there. Then we learn where to bring our food scraps for composting, as well as what goes into our blue bins.
Mathieu Bonin interviews recipe creator of Bad Manners
Michelle Davis is the recipe creator of Bad Manners. Michelle has published several books, among them Bad Manners: The Official Cookbook (#1 New York Times best seller) and Hungry as Hell (October 2023). With Matthew Holloway (photographer), she animates, with great sense of humor, an Instagram account and a wonderful website where you can find mouthwatering recipes via a user-friendly search engine. Basmati Stuffed Grilled pepper is already on my menu! Finally, you can also follow Michelle Davis with her new weekly newsletter called Stir the Pot and be part of a community on Substack.
Michelle is dedicated to the art of crafting vegan recipes, using fresh and seasonal ingredients. However, for Michelle, the conversation about cooking goes far beyond the kitchen table, as you will see. Food is a good entry to reflect on today’s world. But the first word that comes to my mind after the interview is “kindness”. As Bad Manners says, “It's OK to be soft”. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Can you tell us a little bit more about the philosophy behind your title “Bad Manners”?
I'm glad you picked up on that because the food that I cook is all vegan. I want to be conscious of the earth and my carbon footprint and all these things, but I don't want it to be pretentious. When people hear about vegan food, they think it's some snobby sort of thing. I wanted to counteract that with the swearing and the kind of goofy talk that I use in the recipe to make it more down to earth. You don't have to be a different kind of person to care about what you eat and to care about the planet. You can be you, just somebody with a silly sense of humor and who doesn't take themselves too seriously.
Buying fresh, locally sourced produce in just the amount you need reduces food and packaging waste. Your nearby Certified Farmers Market (CFM) is a great place to start. From the Los Angeles County Certified Farmers Markets website:
About Farmers Markets: The term "certified" used in the phrase "Certified Farmers Markets" means that the produce is brought to the market straight from the farm, either by the farmer personally, a family member, or by an employee. Only California grown produce may be certified.
Not all outdoor markets are CFMs. Some are for-profit ventures, organized to bring produce from the wholesale produce market downtown. Many of the same CFM advantages will apply, but the goods will not come straight from the farm.
Shopping a CFM means that, without the middleman, more of your grocery dollars go into the farmers’ pockets. To be sure, you will find less variety without imported goods (like Chilean peaches in December). But your seasonal fruits and vegetables will be fresher and unlikely to be treated for preservation or cosmetics.
By Elena Lopez, Communications Manager for LA Compost
LA Compost was born in 2013 from the passion and collaboration of volunteers, friends, and families, driven by a shared desire to raise awareness about the environmental impact of organic waste. Initially, our dedicated collection crew pedaled through the streets with bike trailers, ferrying food scraps, leaves, paper, and other organic materials from various establishments to local compost centers. While successful in other cities, this approach proved challenging to sustain in the vast expanse of Los Angeles.
HAVE YOU HUGGED YOUR RECYCLING (OR COMPOST) BIN TODAY?
By Sarah Lawton
Every time you finish unpacking groceries in Los Angeles, do you give your recycling bin a little pat on the lid? It's a routine for many Californians – toss the plastic produce bags in, flatten the to-go container, and feel good about doing your bit for the environment.
But hold on a minute – are you sure everything you're tossing in there is actually recyclable? Turns out, navigating LA's recycling rules can be trickier than assembling furniture from IKEA. And to make matters worse, LA Sanitation keeps changing the rules, leaving us scratching our heads about what goes where.
Lately, they've tightened things up even more. Now, only plastics labeled with codes 1, 2, and 5 get the green light for recycling. All other plastics? Straight to the trash. It's enough to make your head spin. So, here's a quick guide from LA Sanitation & Environment (LASAN), and a summary of what the codes meaning:
The Central Group is the heart of the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter, representing the areas from West Hollywood through East LA, and Griffith Park through South LA, and several Gateway Cities.
