Sunday, April 4, 2010

Green Holiday: Easter

I really like Green Holidays - it's a great opportunity for me to stretch my planning and culinary preferences and see how sustainable, organic, local and ethical I can make it. This year was particularly special, since our local family farm was able to offer us a whole lamb that was bottle-fed goat's milk and humanely slaughtered.

We also made our plans to enjoy our Easter feast in the park instead of inside our homes, using up electicity and breathing recycled air. The day was beautiful, with a little breeze and mid-70s, all of us got a wonderful dose of Vitamin Daylight! We conserved energy enjoying all that beautiful sunlight and we used cloth napkins and plastic beach plates so we didn't have any waste!

Though I played with family favorites last year, this year our menu was Mediterranean:

Stuffed Grapeleaves:

Tabouli

  • organic tabouli mix (I have to admit this is cheating: I usually make it fresh with cracked wheat bulgur)
  • organic American cucumbers
  • organic tomatoes
  • local, organic parsley
  • organic lemons

Falafels

  • falafel mix (this is my favorite: we bought fresh pressed garbanzo mix from our favorite Mediterranean cafe - Baladi's)
  • peanut oil

Hummus

  • organic garbanzo beans
  • organic tahini paste
  • organic olive oil
  • organic lemons
  • organic garlic
  • white pepper

Pita Bread

  • local fresh whole wheat pita (these we purchased fresh from Baladi's - who makes them in his store each morning)

Thursday, April 1, 2010

I Voted

I love voting.

I used to work with a woman who was obsessed with anything in the democratic process: voting, jury duty, traffic court, you name it. However, this post has nothing to do with politics.

I went to the library yesterday and they didn't have the books I wanted. (No biggie, you think.) But it is a big deal. I went to find the books on my Shelfari list for my thesis and most of them I couldn't find. I changed my topic from natural childbirth to the importance of the local food movement, eating organics and supporting small family farms. Of course this means I get to read fantastic books that I will find gloriously interesting, but I can't get my hands on them.

Tonight I got on the website for my local library and put holds on all the books I couldn't find and requested the purchase of books that weren't in the library system catalog. Gratefully, the resources I wanted were mostly there, but putting a hold on my text sends a message: people want to read this book. Sure, I could just keep visiting the library and keep searching and waiting, but I also know that librarians are crazy-interested in what people are reading. So, I wanted to tell them.

I also wanted to tell them that these topics are important to me and request the expansion of their collection by suggesting the purchase of other books that will appeal to other residents. I can imagine being a librarian and looking at lists of possible new-reads and just picking at random. Wouldn't it be great for a local resident to tell the librarian what books people want to read? The last time I went into the library there was an advertisement for a new class to learn anime (drawing, mind you, not reading) and a huge section of new Japanese comic books. I was really upset when I saw it, but I realized that's what people are reading. The people who are drawn to those books are sending their vote loud and clear to the library system: we want more.

The idea of voting is fantastic and it happens everywhere. My personal favorite is the grocery store because it's a great place to send corporate messages without having to dig out my letterhead. I shop almost exclusively at a natural food co-op. I love bulk bins and fresh local produce, but sometimes I get stuck somewhere and stop at a mainstream supermarket. This is when it counts.

I know that every item that passes to be scanned is being inventoried and it sends a signal of what is important to me. It is such a temptation being in a large supermarket, seeing items "I never get to buy" and having the notion that no one will notice my little mainstream purchase. But they do. In fact, it's the non-mainstream they notice more. Marketing and advertising groups desperately want to know how I shop and how well new products are selling. I went to a market the other day and saw unbleached, recycled parchment paper. I didn't need it, but I was delighted it was something the market was including in their offerings, so I bought it (Impulsive, I know. Some people buy designer handbags, I buy recycled parchment paper).

I know that my purchases at the grocery store are intentional, but so is political voting. Strategic groups watch demographic profiles very carefully and poll frequently to see what issues are important to them, anticipate their responses and (hopefully) ultimately meet their needs.

When I reach the check-out lane and they enter their inventory code for 5 cents off for each bag I bring in, I illustrate that consumers can be responsible enough to bring in reuseable containers and that the market doesn't have to invest as much money in plastic bags and processing of fossil fuels.

I love giving my opinion and sometimes just sliding certain items across the check-out scanner is my fastest and easiest way to do that. I love voting - it's my American duty and right and I've never been so delighted to do it!

Photo credit: Flickr - Denise Cross

Monday, March 29, 2010

Planting Season Begins

Last year was an interesting experiment. I placed starter plants and seeds in the ground in May and by the end of the summer had quite an overrun little deck. My cement garden worked well though I was really concerned that my plants wouldn't get enough sun. I arranged the plants by their need for sunlight and in the end the biggest issue was not having enough soil or big enough containers for the crops I tried planting.

I ambitiously attempted a couple of deep-root requirement plants like zucchini and cucumbers, as well as some serious sun-lovers like Brussels sprouts and peppers and I think I'll need to rethink those for this year. Of course, this year, instead of purchasing our produce weekly from our farmer's market, we will be driving out to our local family farm to pick up our bushel of fresh picked organic vegetables, herbs and flowers for our CSA portion. This alone will drastically reduce what I'll want to plant on my deck, since I know I'll be getting great quality deep-root vegetables, I can have fun planting I-can't-get-enough-of [fill in the blank].

I have so far been at a loss of where I was going to purchase seeds. I already know that I will be purchasing locally produced organic soil from New Earth Farms. In previous years, I purchased starter plants from local gardening shops (like McDonald's Garden Center) or family farms in the area (like Stoney's Produce - they sell really great "standard-items" but also fantastic varietals like lemon balm and eggplant. I love browsing around to get great ideas for the garden!). This year though, I'd love to use up all the unbleached egg cartons I've been saving up and teach Aoife about growing our own plants.

I bought some seeds last year from one of our farmer's markets but really wanted this year to use heirloom seeds only. Fortunately this morning while I was on Etsy, I found a great store that sells heirloom seeds - and I am so excited about it! I love Etsy - it's a great entrepreneurial start-up for home mamas and it's completely homemade, which means my items aren't made in a factory in China (which I love).

On my "for-sure" list to be planted this year are:
  • tomatoes: cherry or pear
  • summer herbs: basil, dill, Italian parsley, rosemary
  • greens: lettuce, Swiss chard, spinach
  • herbal flowers: chamomile, echinachea, and Virginia mountain mint

Just browsing around to find seeds makes me excited to get my hands in the dirt - it is always therapeutic! On a closing note, I found this super great remedy from an heirloom seed seller on Etsy, The Bear Foot Shaman:

"Recipe to alleviate almost anything that ails: First get some sunlight - and not behind sunglasses, next drink a big glass of water, and if you are all cooped up reading this, get out and get some fresh air, if when you do go outside the air is not fresh - find a way to get to some fresh air! Last, while you are out getting your fresh air, find a rock that likes you and carry it around for awhile."

Friday, March 26, 2010

Green Holiday: Anniversary

Joshua and I just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary this last weekend. We talked about a lot of options on where we wanted to go, but the consensus was ultimately that we wanted to try a "Stay-cation"... a Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown idea (Google it, it's huge). Heading out to the oceanfront during tourist season is something we haven't done in the five years we've lived here, but heading down in the beginning of spring seemed like a fair idea.

Joshua and I usually see our anniversary weekend as a great way to put our feet up, relax, eat great food, soak in a spa, get a massage, enjoy a celebratory drink and take it slow. Of course, with a toddler, all these things are not usually possible, but since Aoife is so much a part of our family and a part of our love we thought it would be great to make it a family getaway. Our prayers were answered as we woke up Friday afternoon to a weekend forecast of mid-70s and all sun.

The Accommodations:

  • We really love the attentiveness and individual personalities of small business bed and breakfasts. We decided on the Beach Spa Bed and Breakfast, an eco-friendly B+B just three blocks from the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. It won awards from B+B.com as the #1 spa in America. We can totally see why after we experienced such fantastic customer service, delicious breakfasts, lovely room and amazing spa shower (not to mention extreme graciousness with us for travelling with our toddler)!

The Food:

  • We wanted to eat at local small businesses that were tasty and close to our B+B so we could leave our car parked all weekend. Here's what we came up with: We ate Friday night at Pi-Zzeria, where we shared a great huge salad and a small pizza (sans pepperoni and mushrooms, of course). They brought out a little lump of pizza dough for Aoife to play with while we waited for food since it was so busy, but the wait went quickly and the company was fantastic (as always).
  • Saturday afternoon we picked up curried chicken sandwiches from Taste Unlimited for a picnic on the beach (that was the plan anyway... we were too hungry to walk any further so we gobbled it up on site!).
  • Saturday night, Joshua and I enjoyed a really amazing intimate dinner at Zoe's. A girlfriend came by to watch Aoife so we could enjoy our anniversary dinner alone. Steaks, Scotch, edamame hummus and chocolate souffle were the orders of the night and we had a wonderful time in their really funky and comfortable dining room.
  • Sunday afternoon we stole our first taste of frozen custard for the season at Kohr's at the beach. Unfortunately, Aoife missed the taste since she was already napping, but we were too happy to be driving in the car with the windows down eating custard to notice!

The Entertainment:

  • Friday evening, we went to the Virginia Beach Convention Center to check out the sports expo for the annual Shamrock Marathon. The marathon took place on Sunday, but on Saturday they ran some shortie fun races, including an 8k. Our B+B was only two blocks from the race route, so runners and family members and friends were jogging up our street both Saturday and Sunday morning, making it exciting to sit back on our deck and enjoy our coffee.
  • Saturday morning, Aoife got to dig her little shovel in the sand and make sandcastles at the oceanfront with her favorite friend, Amanda, while Joshua and I enjoyed a couples' massage in our suite. The married couple that performed our massages made us melt into the spa tables and completely soothe away all our stress and knots. It was completely delightful.
  • Saturday afternoon, after we got Aoife all cleaned up from her beach excursion and we nibbled a bite to eat, we headed out for a round of putt-putt at Jungle Golf, just three blocks from our B+B. We loved showing Aoife the elephant, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, giraffe and gorilla! Of course the sunny weather drew out huge crowds of people, but it was fun playing around with the family!
  • After loading up Sunday, we enjoyed a little picnic in a local park and decided we weren't quite ready to head back home, so we called up our local family farmers at Pungo Naturals to see the newborn baby sheep and baby goats. There's nothing quite so sweet as newborn animals!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Our Local Family Farm

Last year I frequented several farmer's markets. I learned a lot about the need for local family farms after reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food and after seeing them week after week, I became rather familiar and friendly with them. It was a really beautiful routine: every Saturday, we would throw Aoife on our back, grab a couple of bags and walk through the farmer's market. Sometimes we would buy a fresh pastry from a local baker or a locally roasted cup of organic coffee, but it almost always included buying our eggs, dairy, (sometimes) beef or chicken, fresh herbs and browsing the farm tables for that week's produce that was picked fresh that morning.

One little stand I particularly liked was that for a goat's milk soap offering. Tasha's Own was the name of the sign in front and week after week I would walk up and smell the really amazing essential oils that came from the neat stacks of bars. One week there was a stack of newspaper articles and following the encouragement of the lady standing at the table, I put one in my bag to read later.

Having located my farmer's market late in the season, I was too late to invest in their CSA, but the article detailed about the goat's milk soap, their goat share, the beginnings of their organic farm and investing the time to teach our children about food and raise a community of people who want to do likewise. I was hooked.

The next week, I put my name on their CSA waiting list. I thought that was the end of it.

The summer ended and fall came, winter came and then my phone rang. Did I still want in? Yes: to the organic CSA, the goat share, and a large stack of really fantastic smelling soap. They had just opened up their CSA list for the season and as Joshua and I had just found out we were expecting, we were only too delighted to know we were going to be getting organic local produce all summer long!

Since we signed our CSA and goat share contracts, we've fallen in love with our local family farm. Joshua went up to hold milk bottles for the newborn sheep and goats, help mend horse fences, and learn about modern homesteading. Aoife loves the animals, especially the dalmatian Great Danes, the guinea hens, the barn kitty and lots of running room! I love the long drive into the country to pick up the creamiest milk imaginable, the warm hospitality and the incredible sense of community.

The hardest part of being connected to our local family farm is driving away. Aoife can't bear the thought of leaving the "puppies" behind, Joshua loves getting his hands dirty and doing work he can actually see the results of and I am still wanting to sit, drink tea and learn all the incredible knowledge that can be gleaned from a mama with eight children who makes her own cheese, homesteads her own farm, homeschools her sweeties and still looks lovely doing it all. (I would move into the barn if they'd let me!)

Don't know where to start finding your local family farm? Check out Local Harvest to jump start your search for farmer's markets, farms, locally-sourced restaurants and co-ops.

Live in Tidewater? Check out Pungo Naturals, Mattawoman Creek Farm, New Earth Farm, and Weeping Radish Eco-Farm for organic favorites!

Saturday, February 27, 2010

On the Library List

I've been completely consumed with the topic of food lately. I get the question all the time: what do you eat? "Food" is my standard reply.

The concept that is hardest to define at this point in American cultural history is what is food? I have thoroughly enjoyed the ideas presented in Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, that helped me over a year ago really formulate proper ideas on how to feed my family. Ideas that weren't entirely foreign: I knew to shop the perimeter of the grocery store and skip the aisles, I knew it was important to eat food seasonally (it's cheaper and fresher) but what surprised me was the politics. Yes, the Nixon conspiracy that drove prices down but gave us less real food to eat. I didn't know about the corporate group lobbyists that created the US Food Pyramid or the sugar lobbyists that helped persuade for a higher RDA of sugar in our diets to increase their economic benefit.

As an American consumer, I was prompted to ask, "why don't I know this?" Simply put, I didn't care. I had other worries, the food was there, I didn't care how it arrived there, who had picked it, how long it's been there, what had been done to it to preserve it in near-ripe state... I didn't ask and most people in the market were just like me. I'm learning more about sustainable agriculture, family farms, fair-trade and equal-trade organizations that support farmers and workers. I'm learning about the effects of conventional farming, both on the land, on the air, the watershed, the farmer, the consumer and on the product itself. Most of what I've found has been alarming, but looking at such an overwhelmingly large system of consumerism and apathy, I can't change the system, but I can change what my household eats and how we consume.

I know that every time I purchase something (or choose to not purchase something else) it's a vote. I make a selection with my cash that informs the corporations, my government and my fellow citizens which things are important to me. It's been a year since I started attending pick-your-own farms for local seasonal produce, seeking out farmer's markets, foraging in my local woods, supporting family farms and began reviving the ideas of canning and preserving that I grew up with, into my own home.

This summer, we are share holders into a local organic farm that offers us a weekly CSA of vegetables, fruits, berries, herbs and flowers and cares for our goat, through which we get fresh unpasteurized milk and cheese weekly. We will be increasing the amount of pick-your-own farms we attend this year and I will be more closely monitoring the local growing calendar to choose which weekends I will be canning, dehydrating, freezing or eating the selected seasonal crop. My daughter needs to know where food comes from, and she will learn it by first understanding the food shed that is around her: what grows seasonally, locally and most of all, sustainably.

As I keep pursuing knowledge about food, how we grow it, how we eat it, how to keep it, etc. I started looking to a couple of books to add to my library bag the next time I'm out in town. I've added them to my side bar, so you can quickly click to their Shelfari page and read about them, but I'm including a couple of highlighted texts that I'm particularly interested in.


Sharon Astyk wrote several books that are on my "must read" list, but this one is my "must-read before things start growing this summer" list. Astyk contributes this book as a practical guide to eating locally and seasonally, not just as a fringe movement, but on a community scale. "Independence Days tackles both the nuts and bolts of food preservation, as well as the host of broader issues tied to local diets. It includes: how to buy in bulk and store food on the cheap, techniques: from canning to dehydrating, tools: what you need and what you don't. In addition, it focuses on how to live on a pantry diet year-round...and how to reduce reliance on industrial agriculture by creating vibrant local economies."



Robyn O'Brien is a mama whose daughter suffered a violent allergic reaction and spurned her on to investigate the "toxicity of America's food supply, and trace the relationship between Big Food and Big Money that has ensured that the United States is one of the only developed countries in the world to allow hidden toxins in our food--toxins that can be blamed for the alarming recent increases in allergies, ADHD, cancer, and asthma among our children". This looks like a really great book for information for anybody who eats food in America. It is important for us to be informed instead of surprised when the ails of the system make us ill.



Recently, I took a history class just for the joy of it. The course reminded me of such incredible changes in our landscape in recent past and this book excites me because I forget at times that Americans didn't always eat the way they do now and that for the greater part of our history, all peoples ate locally and seasonally; it wasn't just a hip new concept driven out of California. The tag for this book says it all: "A portrait of American food - Before the National Highway System, before chain restaurants, and before frozen foods, when the nation's food was seasonal". What perhaps interests me most would be any conclusion that Kurlansky would make about the continued effects of globalization and out-sourcing our food. This book would be incredible research in studies supporting regional agriculture.


Kingsolver wrote this book as a nonfiction narrative regarding her year of going counter-mainstream and moving north to start a locavore lifestyle. She chronicles her studies of "you are what you eat" and her journey "away from the industrial-food pipeline to a rural life in which they vow to buy only food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it". Her focus of putting the kitchen back in the center of family life and non-monoculturing farms back in the center of the American diet makes this a book I can't wait to read!


*Note: Quotes in italics are taken from the book descriptions given on Shelfari.