Brown Rice Bowl with Roast Pork

For me, for a long time ignorance was bliss. My food came from “Aisle 2” at the grocery store, and all that mattered was how good (or bad) it tasted and how much it cost. I would visit farmer’s markets from time to time, but I cared more about what cookies were for sale rather than who grew the produce and how they grew it.

That began to change a bit as I delved into my Master’s project, but I still did most of my shopping with blinders on. I patted myself on the back for shopping at Whole Foods, deceiving myself into believing that a bell pepper grown in Mexico and sold at Whole Foods was somehow “better” than a bell pepper grown in Mexico and sold at D’Ags.* I never realized that there was a difference between peppers grown in Mexico and sold in February and peppers grown in Jersey and sold in July, nor that I should care about this difference.

My ignorance peaked at the meat counter. Setting aside the fact that I barely know one cut of meat from the other, I was pretty unclear on the difference between organic and regular meat (though again, organic seemed “better”), and signs screaming “local” and “grass-fed” and “cage-free” and their number rating system only added to my confusion. Ultimately, price trumped all, so I grabbed the cheapest version of whatever meat I wanted, blissfully unaware of where that meat came from, how those animals were raised, and the ethical and environmental impacts of my purchase.

I recently finished reading Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, in which Pollan delves into the politics of food. His visit to a factory beef farm was an eye-opener. I knew factory farms were “bad” in the generic way that I knew the Soviet Union during the Cold War era was bad, but the why’s and the how’s were a mystery — one that I had been previously uneager to solve.

Pollan explains the process of factory farming in his book (and to a lesser extent, in this essay), and you can find plenty of resources online, though many have very obvious agendas. I’m certainly not going to tell anyone how they should feed themselves, but after learning a bit more about the way most of the meat in America is produced, I’m trying to be more conscious of the meat that I buy — making an informed decision about the farm my pork or beef or chicken was raised on or, on occasion, making an informed decision that it doesn’t matter.

I know that I certainly won’t be eating sustainably or ethically 100% of the time (def used those Mexican peppers in this recipe), but I’m making an effort to remove my blindfold whenever possible. There are a million different issues concerning what we eat — Mili and I talked about several of them in an epic Gchat conversation this morning — but all of them begin with knowledge of what’s going on. I’ll be doing a lot more reading on this, but in the meantime, would love to know what you think too!

*Don’t get me wrong — I still do 99% of my grocery shopping at Whole Foods. And it is better than D’Ags, for snobby bougie reasons that I will completely own up to.

Brown Rice Bowl with Roast Pork
Pork recipe adapted from Epicurious

I bought this pork from Whole Foods (obvi), who got it from Lucki7 Farm in upstate New York. While their farming practices were not explicitly stated on their website, they do seem to be much better than a standard factory farm, so … (Also, this is the first time I’ve ever looked up a farm for something that I’ve bought. Baby steps.)

And in case you came here for an actual recipe and not just random musings, just FYI — this is bananas good. The vegetables and rice are like a wholesome combination of a stirfry and fried rice, and the meat is salty and a little bit sweet — like the best Chinese food you’ve ever had, and then some.

– 1 pound pork chops, rinsed and cut into 2-inch strips

– 1-1/2 inches ginger, roughly chopped

– 1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

– 5 tablespoons soy sauce

– juice of half of a lemon

– 1 tablespoon sugar

– 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce

– 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

– 1 tablespoon flavorless oil (like canola or safflower)

– 1 clove garlic, minced

– 1 small onion, sliced thinly

– 1 bunch kale, rinsed, dried and torn into small pieces (I used Tuscan, but any kind will do)

– 2 bell peppers, cut into 2-inch strips

– 1/2 cup frozen edamame

– 1 cup frozen broccoli

– 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

– 1-1/2 cups cooked brown rice

– salt and pepper, to taste (I didn’t use any salt, since the hoisin and soy sauce were plenty salty on their own)

1) Combine the ginger, cilantro, soy sauce, lemon juice, sugar, hoisin and five-spice powder and mix well. Marinate the pork for 1 hour, or overnight.

2) Preheat the oven to 350F. Place a wire rack on a lined baking sheet, and brush lightly with oil. Place the pork slices on the rack and roast for 10 minutes. Flip and roast for an additional 10 minutes. Then raise the oven to 450F and roast for 5-7 minutes, until the pork has browned nicely.

3) In a small saucepan, heat the marinade on medium. Let the marinade boil for 5 minutes, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the sauce has thickened slightly. Taste and adjust for seasonings.

4) While the pork is cooking, heat the oil in a large wok or sauté pan. Add the garlic and onions, and saute until the onions have softened slightly, about 5 minutes. Add the kale and cook for an additional minutes, tossing occasionally, until the kale has begun to wilt.

5) Add the bell peppers, edamame, broccoli and red pepper flakes. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are cooked. Add the rice and the cooked marinade sauce, tossing to coat evenly. Taste and adjust for seasonings. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, then stir in the pork and serve.