North Dakota

Sauteed Veggie Brunch

Tegan L. (original recipe)

They say you are the least-visited state, but here I am! And they say you are "not extraordinary" but I studied your grasslands and I think they are pretty extraordinary.

When you think of North Dakota, you may think of shale oil. I'm reading an article about the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians enacting one of the first U.S. fracking bans to protect their reservation in North Dakota. Fun fact, the first two fracking bans in New York, which eventually led to the statewide ban, were in my home of Dryden, NY and in the Hudson Valley. I like to take some responsibility because I was in Montana at the time, but I sent emails to influential individuals in both places, warning them about the (at the time little-known) extraction technology.

I don't want to waste a whole essay on fracking, merely to observe, it is a little tricky. Where there is widespread agreement about the dangers and senselessness of fracking, we can ban it, fine. But what about Red states, where short-sighted energy development is potentially popular? What about environmentalists living in those states? We can't turn our backs on you, can we? A boom is a boom and then it's bust so there isn't really time to debate the issue. I think most of us in Blue states are pretty complacent when it comes to Red states fracking themselves, we think it keeps you out of trouble and perhaps cynically to win elections, but it's an uncomfortable position to hold.

I told myself I wasn't going to write about fracking, but here I am. I won't make the case against fracking, merely urge you to read about it if you haven't, it's bad and we shouldn't be doing it. Even if we enact a national cap-and-dividend program, etc., people just gonna export to other countries (and I don't need to tell North Dakota about pipelines). So I will say the unpopular thing, that we need to wind down domestic fossil fuel production, keep it in the ground, and when it comes to fracking fluid, keep it out of the ground. I think being "technology agnostic" is kind of like intentionally ignoring information but in this case, sure, let's stop other forms of energy extraction too, with equal diligence. How exactly to phase it out is a fun question, but let's agree we must.

I am thinking we should ban fossil fuel exports, continue to produce for domestic use while we clean up the grid by amping up green energy production. There are a lot of moving parts here. I am just thinking as I type but I like it. Lowering demand is great but inevitably the owner of a resource will find a way to cash in (especially if society invests in infrastructure to facilitate exports). If we do succeed in lowering domestic GHG emissions (and we must), exports could erase those gains. There may be an energy security argument for domestic fossil fuel production while we are in the process of switching to renewable sources, but you can't justify exports in this same way.

My biggest concern is the equity issue around continuing to produce fossil fuels for domestic use while reducing access to cheap energy in less-wealthy countries that currently buy our oil such as Mexico or countries who might in the future. As I said, a lot of moving parts, but if we are mindful we can be sure they all work in harmony as we wrestle with our economic system and even the global economic system to achieve societal goals of great importance.

I have about 2 votes left in North Dakota maybe but I value you both and we know that we are looking out for everyone else and one day they will realize too.

Tortilla Chips

• 1 Tortilla

• 1/2 tsp. Honey

• Ground Cinnamon

Omelet

• Olive oil

• 1 to 2 Shiitake mushrooms, fresh, or dried and soaked 30 minutes in warm water, sliced thinly

• 4 Asparagus, chopped

• 1/3 cu. Just Egg

• Sprinkle of Nutritional yeast

• Pepper

• 3 Cherry tomatoes, diced

• 1 Tbs. Almonds, ground

Fruit and Yogurt

• 1 container vegan Yogurt, preferably lemon (I used peach)

• 1 Banana, sliced

• Several Blackberries

Preparation

Place a tortilla in a baking pan. Drizzle with honey, then sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for at least 7 minutes, until crisp. Break into pieces.

Warm oil in a medium pan. Over medium-high heat, saute the mushrooms for 2 minutes, then add asparagus and saute 4 minutes more. Empty pan into a bowl and set aside.

Add some more oil to the pan and warm again. Now add Just Egg to pan and sprinkle with nutritional yeast and pepper. Allow Just Egg to set for 1 minute over medium heat, then add mushrooms, asparagus, tomatoes, and almonds, cover the pan and remove from heat. Allow to sit covered for 2 minutes. Then remove cover and fold eggs over in half. Transfer to a plate, along with tortilla chips and yogurt topped with fruit.

Discussion

Tegan was a vegetarian and hopefully still is, so that is cool! This was a very nice and comforting lunch/brunch, although I think the tortilla could have baked a little longer. I usually just eat tortilla chips but here she is doing something interesting with it so baking it yourself is the way to go. Without naming brands, I like coconut-based yogurt, but try whatever is available in your area, keep trying and keep an open mind even if some vegan products along the way are pretty off the mark.

The vegetables were supposed to be grilled instead of sauteed (Tegan loves grilled food) but I couldn't get fresh mushrooms and I didn't think rehydrated mushrooms would grill very well. I thought about grilling the asparagus and sauteing the mushrooms but really didn't want to waste energy across two pans. Next time I do grill I'll think of North Dakota and your extraordinary grasslands.

District of Columbia

North Dakota The only U.S. state with a state bank

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