September 21, 2023, the first episode of The Road Less Eaten will be available on 国产吃瓜黑料 Watch. In this five-episode series, recreational cyclist and chef Biju Thomas visits his friends 鈥� athletes and celebrities alike 鈥� in cities across America to learn about their outdoor passions and enjoy hometown flavors.

鈥淚 wanted to go to middle-America cities that people 诲辞苍鈥檛 often think of as outdoor destinations,鈥� Thomas says. 鈥淕reenville, SC is a perfect example. For years, it seemed like no one went downtown to hang out. But when they started cleaning up bike paths and trails, it became a hotspot for families walking and cycling.鈥�

In the series, Thomas visits Vail, CO, Nashville, TN, Greenville, SC, Bentonville, AR, and Wimberley, TX. At each destination, he鈥檚 met by an old friend who shows him the ropes, leading him through their favorite activities (like cycling, HIIT, and drumming), and dining at hidden gem restaurants.

鈥淲e鈥檙e showing off these destinations, peeling back a couple of layers,鈥� Thomas says. 鈥淎nd showcase what everyday Americans are doing to elevate their quality of life.鈥�

Beyond highlighting these cities, The Road Less Eaten hopes to show those living athlete-inspired, healthy lifestyles that they have permission to enjoy good, delicious food. Thomas founded Base Camp Canteen, which supplies food for outdoor recreation and endurance sports, so he鈥檚 a firm believer that nutritious food can still be flavorful and fun.

鈥淭hese friends I visit on the show are famous athletes and high performers,鈥� Thomas says. 鈥淲e show that they鈥檙e just normal people who try to enjoy food when they can. Even high achievers are willing to be silly, enjoy good food, and try out something different.鈥�

Thomas hopes The Road Less Eaten encourages people to get out and explore not only the cities featured in the show, but to examine their own hometown behind a new lens.

鈥淵ou can carve out a little bit of time everyday and enjoy something right in your own community,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou 诲辞苍鈥檛 have to go on these big cruises or expensive vacations, because you can find something amazing and fulfilling in your own neighborhood.鈥�

Biju鈥檚 Favorite Bites From The Road Less Eaten

Key Lime 鈥淧ie鈥�

| Edwards, CO

This deconstructed pie is made with key lime filling with coconut and pineapple jam, topped with toasted meringue, a ginger crumble, and lime zest.

鈥淲e’ve all at some point had that clawingly tart and over-sweetened version of key lime pie with the bright notes of fake lime juice and entirely too much of everything else,鈥� Thomas says. 鈥淭his, by comparison, is light and rich, with just the notes of crumble you want with each bite, an airy key lime creme. The pineapple jam with toasted notes of coconut and meringue ties it all nicely back to the tropical and sunny roots of South Florida and the Keys.. a lovely surprise in the heart of the rockies!鈥�

24 Hours Beef Short Rib

| Vail, CO

A tender short rib simmered in a sherry black garlic glaze and served with Colorado grits, ancho mole, avocado puree, and charred scallions. How it’s prepared rotates, so sometimes you might get short rib with celery root, roasted carrot, and gremolata.

鈥淭his dish captures all the things for me. The notes of really long, slow braised meats that are just a bit 鈥榮ticky鈥� from the hours it takes to render down the fat and collagen, to meld in marrow and wine for that perfect bite that is rich but flavorful and.. craveable,鈥� Thomas says. 鈥淭he combination of textures and flavors from the grits, scallions and ancho chile’s wraps the dish up nicely with a few surprising, yet very CO flavors.鈥�

The Sasquash

| Greenville, SC

A fan-favorite at Swamp Rabbit Cafe is this roasted squash sandwich, stacked with a mushroom medley, pepper jack cheese, pesto, and a roasted red pepper hummus on toasted french bread.

鈥淭raveling through the southeast, you get used to seeing squash on menus everywhere 鈥撀� squash soup, squash casserole, roasted and baked squash, all the many variations of last minute saut茅s and grills,鈥� Thomas says. 鈥淏ut this was the first time I’d ever had it on a sandwich, and I was blown away. The texture and dense flavors of summer squash mellowed and softened from roasting, layered onto fresh baked bread crusty on the edges, soft and pillowy everywhere else, the mushroom medley and red pepper hummus that perfectly accented it all.鈥�

Smoked Fish Toast

| Nashville TN

This unexpected dish is made with grouper that鈥檚 been cured and smoked, drizzled with sunflower puree and lemon, and topped with kalamata olives, parsley, dill, fennel, and braised radicchio.

鈥淭he chef found a way to focus in on the highlights of a recipe her father made when she was growing up 鈥� simple 鈥榮ardines on toast 鈥� on make this wonderfully balanced, light, flavorful, and delicious grouper with layers of flavor from sunflower, lemon, fresh herbs, and just a touch of kalamata olives,鈥� Thomas says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a nod to a far away time and place, and is a beautiful fish I could eat everyday.鈥�

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On September 12, 2023, Arby鈥檚 is headed into the great outdoors. To celebrate the launch of their new Big Game Burger, the fast-food restaurant is inviting a limited number of fans on a hike in the Colorado Rockies.

A spin on their 2017 limited-edition venison sandwich, the Big Game Burger patty is made with a blend of 34% venison, 33% elk, and 33% beef, and topped with onions, pickles, Swiss cheese, and a dark cherry steak sauce. Though we haven’t tried the burger yet, we do know that venison alone is often described as having an earthy, rich flavor, and elk can be compared to a leaner beef. Because the Arby’s venison meat will be blended with elk and beef, it’s unclear whether those subtleties will come out in their recipe.

Ellen Rose, Arby鈥檚 chief marketing officer, says the burger is 鈥淎dventurous,鈥� and 鈥淒eserves to be enjoyed in the great outdoors.鈥� For this reason, Arby鈥檚 has decided to host a meat up with burger fans.

According to Rose, Arby鈥檚 partnered with a private landowner in the Colorado Rockies and dubbed a 4.1-mile stretch, . On September 12, the restaurant will host a hike along the trail with a free Big Game Burger as a post-adventure snack. Hikers will admitted on the trail first-come-first-serve.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a moderate hike with a max elevation of 10,700 feet,鈥� says Rose. 鈥淲ith checkpoints along the trail, guests will have opportunities throughout the hike to relax, quench their thirst at refreshment stations and enjoy the views.鈥�

When you think of Arby鈥檚, however, you might not pull visions of beautiful mountain scenery and the smell of fresh air. But Rose says the restaurant has seen a passion point between people who love the outdoors and who eat Arby鈥檚, so they wanted to blend the two with this hike.

If you can鈥檛 make the outdoor excursion, you can still try the Big Game Burger at Arby鈥檚 locations across the country for $8.79.

To make your own venison-based meals, check out the recipes below:

Venison Steak Frites

Three-Minute Venison Steaks with Mushroom Marsala Sauce

Venison Stew with Barley and Root Vegetables

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Crispy, pan-seared quail are the easiest game meat to cook. Whether hunted or purchased from a purveyor like , quail are small, mild-tasting birds that cook in mere minutes and take well to a wide array of flavor profiles. Spatchcockting the birds, or butterflying them by removing the backbone so they lay flat while cooking, shortens the cook time to ensure the meat stays juicy. Here, chef and butcher Elias Cairo finishes the crispy quail with a lemony garlic-spiced honey glaze and pairs it with Spiced Biryani from chef Biju Thomas.

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Steak frites is a classic pairing of steak (in this case, venison backstrap) and fries (in this case, duck fat-roasted fingerling potatoes). The recipe calls for either duck fat or butter, but chef Elias Cairo recommends using duck fat because it鈥檚 packed with flavor. The venison steaks cook quickly because they鈥檙e so lean, but even so, 诲辞苍鈥檛 be afraid to get them really close to the flame for awesome char.

Find venison loin .

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Elias Cairo, a dedicated hunter and the chef of Olympia Provisions in Portland, Oregon, fills his freezer with lean venison stew meat 鈥� cuts from a deer鈥檚 shoulder, hindquarters, and belly. Paired with root vegetables, red wine, and barley, this elemental stew is hearty and warming without being too heavy. A dollop of savory whipped cream adds just enough richness to finish the dish. For the deepest flavor, make this stew a couple of days ahead and refrigerate it until ready to reheat and serve.

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Chef and butcher loves cooking game, and uses a whole turkey broken down into parts and cooked separately for his smoked turkey cabbage rolls. The legs and wings are braised in homemade turkey stock until tender, then the pulled meat is folded with hearty vegetables for the cabbage roll stuffing. He brines and smokes the turkey breasts until tender and juicy. Finally, the assembled dish is briefly smoked to bring all of the flavors together.

This smoked turkey recipe will work with a farm-raised or wild turkey. If you鈥檙e fortunate to cook a wild turkey, it鈥檚 important to note that the bird bears little resemblance to the domestic version you pick up at the grocery store. Wild birds are structurally different and have tiny bones and tendons in their legs that need to be removed before eating. This is a lengthy recipe but the results are worth it鈥攁nd nothing goes to waste. The braised turkey legs and wings can be made a day ahead and stored in their braising liquid. The breasts should be brined the night before smoking.

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A rustic Italian hunter鈥檚 stew, Elias Cairo鈥檚 rabbit cacciatore features wild mushrooms, bacon lardons, and hearty vegetables in a red wine sauce. Wild rabbit picks up the herby terroir of its environment, and cacciatore is the perfect way to showcase the meat. Rabbit meat can be quite lean, so take care to gently simmer the stew until the meat is just tender. Serve over mashed potatoes and pair with an Italian red wine.

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(Editor鈥檚 note: This is an adapted excerpt from , courtesy of Human Kinetics Publishers.)

I grew up in northern Arkansas, working on my family鈥檚 apple orchard. My earliest memories include running around the orchard, climbing trees, and eating fresh apples.

From an early age, I had a unique glimpse into what an ideal relationship with food could look like. For me, it looked like working side-by-side with my grandfather at the farmers market, chatting with folks who were buying their groceries, and helping them pick the perfect type of apple for their pie or their kid鈥檚 sack lunch.

My dad, a professor who specialized in researching sustainable and organic crop development, let me follow him around on his research farm, picking berries, weighing root balls, and falling more in love with how food is a meaningful way to engage with climate action. At age 17, I swore off meat and became a vegetarian (though the idea of swearing off nachos permanently was too scary.)

That relationship with food soured as I grew older. My body changed in ways I wasn鈥檛 comfortable with, and a bent towards perfectionism in college manifested in anxiety, depression, and an eating disorder (ED). ED鈥檚 can manifest differently for everyone, and mine was much more associated with a drive to be seen as the 鈥減erfect鈥� student. I overcommitted myself academically, signing up for more classes and extra credits than I had any business saying yes to, which led to me feeling overdrawn and overwhelmed.

I coped with that feeling of overwhelm, and of not being enough, by restricting food, using exercise as a way of avoiding negative feelings (exercise bulimia) and setting strict boundaries around the perceived healthiness and purity of certain foods (what I would later come to understand as orthorexia). Rather than athletic performance, my restriction was driven by anxiety around my academic achievement.

In my experience, ED鈥檚 have a way of sinking their teeth into whatever you鈥檙e most vulnerable about.

Food, which had once been a nourishing point of connection, became a source of anxiety and fear. I started telling people I was vegan as a way of worming out of scenarios where I might have to eat with other people, or eat something I didn鈥檛 think was 鈥渉ealthy鈥� enough. I avoided whole food groups like dairy or anything I thought was too processed. But this fear was based so much more on a perception of myself than any reality of how healthy that food actually was.

While there are perfectly good reasons to omit foods from your diet, I skipped them out of fear. What originally was an empowering dietary choice to eschew animal products got twisted up in mental illness and distorted by my inability to reconcile the two. My days were dominated by rules I set for myself around food that made connection a challenge, and healthy functioning on a day-to-day basis nearly impossible.

Thankfully, I had a dear friend who convinced (read: forced) me to get help. He dragged me to our college鈥檚 counseling office, and sat with me while I waited for my first appointment. After years of hard work, therapy, and support from loved ones, I identify as proudly in recovery. I 诲辞苍鈥檛 know that I鈥檒l ever be fully recovered, but letting go of an idealized process or endpoint has been really healing for me.

I still eat in a way that aligns with my environmental values, but I no longer resonate with any particular 鈥渄iet鈥� or stick to hard and fast rules. Rigid rules and labels 诲辞苍鈥檛 work for my brain, which is all too likely to fall into traps of perfectionism or black and white thinking. If you let yourself have ranch dressing this one time, what鈥檚 next? An entire cow? Why 诲辞苍鈥檛 you go ahead and eat a baby polar bear while you鈥檙e at it? Scared that one little slip up meant I was good and fully compromised, I did whatever I could to avoid 鈥渓ittle slip-ups,鈥� and a lot of the time, that meant restricting.

But I do strive to live out my love for the planet and people in the nutrition choices I make, even if that means not adhering to strict guidelines.

What You Eat鈥攁nd What You Don鈥檛 Eat鈥擬atters

Think about everything you鈥檝e eaten today. The almond milk you poured over your cereal. The blueberries you mixed into your yogurt. The arugula you plucked for your salmon, even the chocolate bar you had for dessert.

Now, think about what it took to get each of those products from whatever field or stream they came from, and into your mouth.

Where were they grown? How were they raised? How were they harvested, transported, stored, shipped, washed, displayed, hydrated, and purchased? What kind of soil did they grow in? What kind of water did it live in? Who picked, caught, or harvested it? When were they picked, where, and by whom?

Whew. It can be overwhelming to consider the number of climate factors that contribute to even a small decision like sprinkling a few strawberries on your oat-gurt. The science behind food鈥檚 climate footprint can feel confusing, and the problem of climate change too unwieldy.

RELATED: Bill McKibben Can鈥檛 Solve the Climate Crisis Alone

Taking just a few simple steps to alter your eating habits can have a big impact. Roughly one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food production, and about half of that comes from animal agriculture. Food production also taps about and occupies And it鈥檚 not just about what you do eat, but what you 诲辞苍鈥檛 eat (and throw out!) as well.

Food production is the largest factor threatening species with extinction, according to a 2017 study published in the journal , contributing to deforestation, desertification, eutrophication (an excess of nutrients in water due to runoff), coastal damage, and degradation of reefs and marine ecosystems.

Agriculture isn鈥檛 just a driver of climate change, but also a victim of its shifting conditions as the climate grows less stable and increasingly unpredictable. As Jonathan Safran Foer wrote in his book , 鈥淐hanging how we eat will not be enough, on its own, to save the planet, but we cannot save the planet without changing how we eat.鈥�

While global food systems, as they exist, may not be sustainable, there is hope. Because at least three times a day, we athletes can rethink this relationship to the planet, starting with what鈥檚 on our plate. Experts have identified two simple actions as being some of the most impactful actions individuals can take. Minimizing food waste and reducing consumption of animal products are healthy and cost-effective measures that are accessible to most runners. In many cases, the actions we most need to take are small and unsexy. Composting a bit more here, buying a bit less there, writing lists, and planning ahead.

鈥淭he good news is that a lot of things that are good for the planet are good for athletes, too,鈥� says Kylee Van Horn, a who specializes in working with endurance athletes.

Waste Not

According to the , if food waste was a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gasses behind China and the U.S. Another study by , a multidisciplinary coalition of experts on climate-change solutions, ranks food waste reduction as the single most impactful climate action we can take. Some studies show that as much as if food waste was brought to zero.

According to the National Resources Defense Council, upwards of each year in the U.S. is wasted. While some food is wasted as part of agricultural processes and throughout the supply chain, consumers are actually responsible for the majority of food waste. An estimated of the planet鈥檚 agricultural land is used to grow food that ends up in the garbage. Food waste is the 鈥攁n estimated 80 billion pounds!鈥攁nd emissions from it are equivalent to the greenhouse gas output of 33 million cars. This is an environmental and food justice disaster.

Even the best-intentioned among us have ordered too much at a restaurant or bought too much at the grocery store. Sometimes our athletic ambition is only rivaled by the drive in our stomachs when we鈥檙e on the hunt for post-run food, and our appetite can get ahead of us.

RELATED: The Best Thing You Can Do for the Planet Is So Easy: Stop Throwing Away Food

鈥淓veryone can minimize the amount of food they waste,鈥� says Emily Olsen, trail runner and director of the , an environmental and food-justice nonprofit based in Leadville, Colorado. 鈥淚f you want to make a difference at the intersection of climate and social justice, just eating the food we buy is it.鈥�

Van Horn urges runners to start by thinking about their shopping and meal planning habits. 鈥淗aphazardly making a shopping list or going to the grocery store without a plan can cause you to overbuy things like produce or even things that are not needed (i.e. repeat items that you may already have in the house).鈥� She also recommends doing a cursory pantry and fridge check so that you鈥檙e not buying items you already have. (Anyone else have a shelf full of baking soda?)

鈥淚f you do overbuy, think about ways to prolong the life of the food you may have in excess. For instance, if you bought too much bread, put it in the freezer, or if it is going bad, make croutons out of it,鈥� says Van Horn. 鈥淔or produce, blanch, freeze, or dehydrate it to be able to use in soups or smoothies later.鈥�

Leftovers are an economically conscious way to eat, as well as climate-friendly. Reinforce leftovers by adding rice or tofu, depending on if you need a bit more carb or protein. Turn last night鈥檚 pizza into tomorrow’s breakfast and BAM! Climate action.

The absolute last-ditch effort: compost it. Compost is a great way to reduce the amount of food waste that you send to the landfill, and it can even be used in your home garden. Find out if your community has a compost option (some communities even have subsidized or sliding scale payment options) to help divert some of your household waste. It鈥檚 fun to know that your coffee grounds, paper towels, and orange peels can go on to feed a garden and give life to something new.

Cut Down on Meat

A study at the World Resources Institute (WRI) calculated the greenhouse gas emissions associated with producing a gram of edible protein of various foods. Foods like beans, fish, nuts, and eggs have the lowest impact. Poultry, pork, milk, and cheese have medium-size impacts. Far and away the biggest impacts (in terms of greenhouse gas emissions鈥攚e鈥檙e not even accounting for habitat loss, land use, or other external costs) were associated with beef, lamb, and goat.

, the planetary impact of Americans鈥� meat and dairy consumption accounts for nearly 90 percent of all the land used to produce food, and 85 percent of diet-related greenhouse gas emissions. Basically, we need a lot of land to feed and produce the meat we eat, and we are quickly running out of land to sustain livestock.

鈥淩educing meat consumption reduces both our carbon emissions and our agricultural footprint,鈥� says Peter Newton, professor of environmental sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder and an accomplished trail runner. According to a 2016 study published in the projected global greenhouse emissions could be reduced as much as 70 percent if everyone on earth adopted a vegan diet and 63 percent for a vegetarian diet.

鈥淔rom purely an environmental perspective (i.e., ignoring human health and animal welfare for a minute), most of the problem could be solved without anyone needing to become vegan. Rather, a dramatic reduction in meat consumption would suffice,鈥� says Newton.

Try to make meat a treat rather than a dietary default. If living without burgers or nachos feels like too big of an ask, let yourself have them on special occasions. Enough people making a lot of imperfect decisions and committing to action will have more impact than throwing up your hands at the thought of never eating another cheesesteak.

According to a in Frontiers in Nutrition, a diet that is vegetarian five days a week and includes meat just two days a week would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and water and land use by about 45 percent. Eating organic, grass-fed, free-range beef doesn鈥檛 let you off the hook either. Meat is still a heavy emitter, no matter how it鈥檚 raised.

Eating for Performance and Planet

Van Horn recommends that athletes interested in transitioning to a plant-based diet start small. 鈥淚f you are wanting to transition to a more plant-based diet, yet you lead a busy lifestyle and are training a lot, consider transitioning to a couple of days per week that meet your plant-based expectations so you can see how well it fits,鈥� she says. 鈥淜eep in mind that dietary changes should never feel like a burden or cause you mental stress that affects the rest of your life.鈥�

She recommends runners who want to reduce their meat consumption start by eliminating meat at one or two meals a day, rather than going, excuse the pun, whole hog right away.

For athletes concerned about getting enough protein, Van Horn is a huge fan of lentils, which contain twice the protein of most beans per serving. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about balance,鈥� says Van Horn. Protein recommendations for athletes range from 98 grams of protein a day for casual competitors to 176 grams for serious endurance athletes, depending on weight.

鈥淵ou can still get plenty of protein while minimizing meat,鈥� says Van Horn. Beans, while less protein-packed than lentils, still pack a punch, depending on the variety. Soybeans, split peas, and white beans are some of the highest in protein per serving.

Like any run, climate action starts with a lot of small steps. Committing to reducing food waste where you can, and cutting out red meat while reducing animal products are the most impactful climate choices an individual can make. It doesn鈥檛 have to be perfect, and a few simple adjustments can go a long way.

鈥淵our health is linked to the health of your neighbors, your community and your planet. And that鈥檚 powerful,鈥� says Olsen.

Saving the planet begins at breakfast. Let鈥檚 do this.

You can order a copy of 丑别谤别.听

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Foil-pack meals are essentially a cheat code to grilling or cooking hearty campfire meals. For the unacquainted, making a foil-pack meal involves piling either protein or vegetables on to a piece of aluminum foil, wrapping it up, and tossing it on the grill or grate to cook. The ease of the process and the flavorful results have made this method of cooking perfect for outdoor grilling and camping.听

According to legendary cookbook author and American food authority, James Beard, the foil-wrap method was developed way before campers started using it.听聽

In 1955 he wrote, “Cooking with aluminum foil is the latest thing in outdoor cookery and yet it is but an adaptation of a very old method-that of wrapping food in wet leaves, husks, seaweed, or even wet clay before cooking,鈥� in , co-authored by Helen Evans Brown. 鈥淭his method keeps the juices in but allows the food to cook evenly. It must be remembered, however, that just as it keeps the juices in, so does it keep the charcoal flavor out.鈥�

Cooking vegetables in a foil is great for camping because of the individual portions you can dole out, as well as the little clean-up and hassle involved in the process. There are a few things to keep in mind when foil-pack cooking: always, and I mean always,聽 use heavy-duty foil. The thicker material will withstand high temperatures, especially if you鈥檙e cooking on a grate over a campfire. Additionally, heavy-duty foil holds its pinch better when you seal the packet, eliminating air leaks. The foil won鈥檛 tear while folding the ends over the vegetables into tight seams, nor will it break open if it catches on the grate. And when you play with fire, you 诲辞苍鈥檛 have to get burned! Always remember to poke a small hole in聽 the foil when the vegetables are done cooking. This will release a burst of steam so when you unwrap the packet, you 诲辞苍鈥檛 get a face-full of heat.听

Most importantly, 诲辞苍鈥檛 forget to brush your vegetables with olive oil and season with salt and pepper! We 诲辞苍鈥檛 want bland vegetables. You may be cooking outdoors, that doesn鈥檛 mean you have to eat like an animal.

If you want a recipe to make your own foil-pack veggies,

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Perpetual stew, otherwise known as forever soup, sounds straight out of a fairytale. Remember Strega Nona, the children鈥檚 book about an old woman whose magical-pot made never ending pasta?

But we assure you perpetual stew is very real, and Brooklyn resident 23-year-old Annie Rauwerda has been cooking hers for 46 days.

Once a common dish in medieval times, perpetual stew鈥檚 origins can be best described in British historian Reay Tannahill鈥檚 book, Food in History. In the Middle Ages, Tannahill writes, pubs and inns always had a cauldron of stew boiling in case weary travelers or guests wandered in, day or night. Tannahill says that the hearty soup was commonly made with cabbage, hare, and pigeon.

While her soup doesn鈥檛 contain hare nor pigeon, it has been cooking in her trusty Crock-Pot (give that poor thing a raise!) since June 7. Rauwerda, owner of the Instagram account, first became interested in perpetual stew after discovering it during one of her internet deep-dives.

鈥淚鈥檇 never heard of it until I saw the Wikipedia article when I was browsing during quarantine in 2020,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something so charming about a stew that never dies. I can鈥檛 really explain it.鈥�

Rauwerda started with some inoffensive classics: potatoes, leeks, salt, and pepper. Over time, she introduced more ingredients, including celery, carrots, bean sprouts, rice, garlic, onion, and dill. (But boy, says Rauwerda, that last one was a mistake.) There鈥檚 certainly been a learning curve.

鈥淥n days when I鈥檓 not going to eat a ton, I add in just broth, water, or coconut milk,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 try to add in more liquids than solids nowadays,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ecause it burns more easily if it鈥檚 thick.鈥�

She鈥檚 been documenting the stew鈥檚 progression from the get-go, sharing clips on TikTok. Rauwerda opens her undying stew up to the public most Sundays in a New York City park called 聽Fermi Playground. Rauwerda didn鈥檛 anticipate the attention her documented journey garnered. 鈥淭he response has been pretty crazy,鈥� Rauwerda says. 鈥淚 was hoping some people would pay attention, but I never expected this much attention. I鈥檓 not doing this to make money or anything 鈥� I鈥檓 actually losing money. But it鈥檚 my joy, my burden, and my obligation.鈥�

If you haven鈥檛 checked out Rauwerda鈥檚 daily stew blog, here are a few of our favorite posts:

June 16, 2023: Keeping stew levels low. The broth is so unique and complex and yet I can’t bear to eat another bite. I’m kind of sick of stew, but definitely not sick from stew. Important distinction.

June 23, 2023: Added a ton of sweet potato. Initially, this terrified me. Didn’t want another dill situation. But I’m feeling tentatively optimistic.

June 27, 2023: Some new ingredients had their stew debut: endives and cascatelli, a pasta shape invented in 2019 designed for prime sauce holdability! Can it hold stew, however? Tune in this Sunday to find out.

Before these events, Rauwerda prepares fresh stew and mixes it into the original recipe to increase the volume so everyone can try it. and bring an ingredient to ceremoniously add to the stew (no meat or dairy, so everyone can enjoy it no matter their dietary restrictions). Every addition is welcome, although Rauwerda was seriously scared when someone plopped a bunch of turnips and radishes into the pot. Turns out, it was actually pretty tasty.

A lot of people ask her, before taking a bowlful, if the stew is any good. Her response? It depends on the day.

鈥淭here were shockingly good reviews last Sunday,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 never promise it鈥檒l be good. Sometimes it鈥檚 actually really bad.鈥�

At its best (July 16, day 41), the perpetual stew had a tangy, spicy, paprika-heavy flavor.
鈥淚 was really mindful of the flavor. I put in so much smoked paprika, it was amazing,鈥� she says. And its worst?

鈥淛uly 11,鈥� Rauwerda says almost immediately. 鈥淚t was at the end of the Sunday stew event, people had pretty much eaten all of the good stuff in the stew, so there was only broth left. Then someone added a whole can of unsalted crushed tomatoes, someone else added canned chickpeas, so it was just globs of spiceless, bland tomatoes and chickpeas.鈥�

So how long will this stew live? The death date, Rauwerda says, is August 6.听 But she鈥檚 thinking about freezing a bit of it and reviving it one day in the future. We’ll end this never-ending stew story with a bit of wisdom from Rauwerda herself:

July 18, 2023: I used to spend my afternoons click clacking at a computer, eating hot chips, lying, buying $7 iced lavender lattes, living in sin. Now I spend my afternoons chopping up an eggplant and searching “how to know if a yuca root has gone bad.” Everyone should spend a month continually cooking a stew, and I mean that.

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The post This 鈥淧erpetual Stew鈥� Has Been Cooking for Almost Two Months appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.