Posts filed under ‘Fair Trade Helps People’
Call me Bananas
Hi fair trade friends. I’ve been traveling a lot the past few weeks so forgive my lack of posting. As you may recall, we’re on the trail of food and fair trade. Today, I want to talk bananas.
They are the most commonly bought grocery item in the United States. And, they are becoming more noticed as organic, fair trade or eco-certified.
But, rather than tell you about the little I know about the banana industry, I’m going to send you to an article on another blog. The article is written by Phyllis Robinson and she sums it up nicely, being well acquainted with the industry.
Request organic fair trade bananas at your local grocery store. And when you pick some up, you can try these recipes. 
Recipe by Jamie G. Dougherty
Almost Vegan Banana-Pecan Pancakes with Honey Syrup
Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, taken from Transfair’s Get Involved Blog
Makes 14 pancakes
•1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
•Sea salt
•1 teaspoon baking soda
•1 teaspoon baking powder
•Dash of Fair Trade Certified Nutmeg
•1 1/2 cups organic whole milk or almond/other non-dairy milk
•1 1/4 tablespoons white vinegar
•2 flax eggs (made with 2 TBS ground flax seed + 6 TBS warm water): equivelant to 2 eggs
•3 tablespoons earth balance butter, melted (or extra virgin coconut oil) plus a little extra for the griddle
•1 tablespoon Wholesome Sweeteners organic honey or agave nectar•1 teaspoon Fair Trade Certified vanilla extract
•2 Fair Trade organic bananas, thinly sliced
•1/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped
Honey Syrup
•1/4 cup Wholesome Sweeteners organic honey•1/4 cup water
•Dash of Fair Trade Certified vanilla extract
Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl. In a mug or glass add the milk and stir in the vinegar. Let stand for 10 minutes. It will curdle a bit. In a second bowl beat the eggs and add the butter, honey, vanilla and milk/vinegar mixture. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined. Fold in the sliced bananas and chopped pecans.
For each pancake, drop 1/4 cup of batter onto the buttered griddle or skillet set over medium-high heat. Cook, without disturbing until bubbles appear over the surface after a few minutes. Flip them over and cook until browned on the second side, about 1 minute. Refrain from patting them or turning them a second time. Both actions will make the pancakes lose their lightness.
To make the syrup, combine the honey, water, and vanilla in a small sauce pan. Warm through over low-medium heat, about 5 minutes, making sure not to boil the syrup. Remove from the heat and drizzle a few tablespoons over the pancakes. Enjoy!
Source: Transfairusa.org
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4 ripe fair trade bananas
1 3/4 cups Billington’s Fair Trade Demerara Sugar
Juice of a large lemon
1/4 cup fresh (or frozen) cranberries, chopped cooking apple or green gooseberries
Peel, halve lengthways, and slice the bananas.
Put the cranberries or other fruit in a saucepan with 2-3 tablespoons of water, and cook until they are soft.
Add the lemon juice and the sugar. Cook gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to boil, add the bananas and boil for 10-15 minutes until the jam sets when dropped on a cold plate. Pour into hot, clean jars, seal and label. Makes two 12oz jars. Serve on toast or scones, perfect spooned over ice cream or hidden away in a crepe.
Source : Billington’s Recipe Collection , wholesomesweeteners.com
Quin-o what?
Quinoa. A Peruvian staple and quite commonplace here at our office (since we do work with artisans in Peru). But, I admit… i had never heard of the stuff until working here. And so, on my Fair Trade Food quest, i was delighted to discover Alter Eco Fair Trade, who specializes in various types of organic and carbon-nuetral quinoa, chocolate, and jasmine rice. They get their quinoa from Bolivia, but I assure you – it’s good. You can even make this gluten free grain in the rice cooker in about 20 minutes.
And on Alter-Eco’s website, they have a community Fair Trade Cookbook, which i thought was a great idea! You can sign up here.
You can also find Alter Eco at Whole Foods and a variety of specialty stores. They wanted to tempt you with this rainbow quinoa salad…. and they even gave us the recipe. 
Rainbow Quinoa Salad
- 3 TBS olive oil (from Canaan Fair Trade!)
- 2-3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic
- 2 TBS diced shallot
- 1 C Alter Eco Rainbow Quinoa
- 1.5 C veggie stock
- 1 C asparagus, 1/2″ dice
- 1 C radish, 1/4″ dice
- 1 C cucumber, 1/4″ dice
- 3 scallions, diced
- 1 C chopped roasted almonds or toasted pine nuts
- 1 large carrot, 1/4″ dice
- 1 bunch arugula, sliced into ribbons
- 1/2 sun-dried tomatoes, 1/4″ dice (in oil is fine)
- 1 C total of basil, mint or parsley
- 1/8 to 1/4 Each of lemon juice and olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
1. Saute over medium low heat in 2 TBS of olive oil, the garlic and shallot. Let flavors meld slowly for 10-15 minutes. Add quinoa and toast the quinoa in the melded oil mixture for 10 minutes or so. Then turn up the heat to high and add stock. Bring liquid to a boil and lower heat immediately to low/ medium low, trying to retain a simmer. Cover and cook for 25 minutes lifting the lid every now an dthen to make sure there is enough liquid and that simmer is maintained. If not, adjust.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, saute the asparagus over medium heat in remaining oil for 5 minutes.
3. While the quinoa is cooking, prepare all other ingredients, tossing all, except lemon and olive oil into a large mixing bowl.
4. When quinoa is cooked, remove from heat and allow to cool a bit, tossing to allow air to permeate. Once it has cooled enough, toss together the quinoa with all the other ingredients until evenly distributed. Then, add lemon juice and olive oil with a few good sprinkles of sea salt and fresh black pepper. Voila. Taste spring.
There’s another wonder in the World… Heirloom FT rice
Eigth Wonder Banaue Terraces - courtesy Heirloomrice.com
Have you ever wondered what a rice terrace looked like? Or wondered how it’s grown?
Rice planting. Courtesy heirloomrice.com
No wonder they call themselves the Eighth Wonder of the world. I fell in love with Eighth Wonder’s heirloom rice at year’s Fair Trade Federation Conference. My bosses brought back some bags and lucky me - got to try some. There’s something about eating good, whole foods so rich in color and substance, that is uniquely satisfying.
And you know what else is satisfying? Helping people. According to the CIA worldfact book over 32% of the population live below the poverty line. This rice supports farmers in the Philipines. Yes, because it brings in a living wage. But also, farming this way allows indigenous rices and farming techniques to thrive – which is a very important aspect of fair trade – (according to the WFTO) “Fair Trade recognizes, promotes and protects the cultural identity and traditional skills of small producers as reflected in their craft designs, food products and other related services.”
Mature Tinawon Rice. courtesy heirloomrice.com
So find fair trade rice in your local store or ask restuarants to carry it! And here’s a recipe from their site to go along with that rice. Personally, we’d serve it alongside a nice veggie & pineapple stir fry.
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Ulikan Red Rice with Cilantro, Lime & Coconut
Courtesy of and adapted from Indian Harvest, Eighth Wonder’s distributor to the food service sector
Ingredients:
1 cup Ulikan Red Rice
1-½ cups vegetable stock
1 cilantro (amount to taste), chopped
½ Tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4-cup coconut milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Rinse rice vigorously 2 to 3 times in cold water, or until water runs clear.
2. Bring 1 1/2 cups veggie stock to a boil, stir in Ulikan Red Rice. Simmer covered on low for 15 minutes.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients and let rest covered for 10 minutes, or until desired texture is achieved.
4. Season to taste and serve with a main of your choice.
