The Salty Blog » organic

Something to Curl Your Tongue At

stacey — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:19:45 +0000

Some great things for you to check out this week!

Extensive Veggie Garden Resource: Dave’s Garden
Local Cheer!: West Barnstable’s Yummy Goods studio on the cover of Cloth Paper Scissors’ annual Studios magazine
New Yoga Studios: Blooming Lotus Yoga Studio in Falmouth and The Sanctuary in Sandwich
Great New Dog Supply: New site, MollyMutt, produces dog beds with great style and great eco-consciousness!
New Farm & CSA: Cape Cod Organic Farm

Loco for Local

stacey — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:49:58 +0000

I’m currently reading the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle from Barbara Kingsolver. It’s an immediately-inspiring story of a family vowing to live and eat off their local environment for a year. Kingsolver tells her story like the great author she is, but she throws in useful sections about how to grow a certain vegetable or what the industry is doing to damage our cultivation and healthy consumption.

One of her tips that helps me grasp the issue best is making your own salad dressing (which I do a lot of in the summer, thanks to this shaker). Think about how much work and fuel is required to bring all those little contents from around the world and into a $3 jar, when you could have just mixed it up quickly at home.

I’m already very eager for our own gardening this year! I want to make sure I track down the right seeds since six companies – Monsanto, Syngenta, DuPont, Mitsui, Aventis and Dow – now control 98 percent of the world’s seed sales. Oh, and the chemicals that go along with them.

A couple of great resources mentioned in the book:

Barbara Kingsolver’s own Animal, Vegetable, Miracle website, where she shares tips, resources and recipes mentioned in the book
Seed Savers Exchange: A non-profit organization of gardeners dedicated to saving and sharing heirloom seeds passed down for generations.
Slow Food International: A global, grassroots movement that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment.
Local Harvest: Helps you find a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program near you, typically involving a membership fee and then access to weekly or monthly basket of produce.

Stay tuned for more as our garden grows!

A Whole Life

stacey — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 19:46:00 +0000

I just came across a witty blog today called “Whole Foods for a Whole Year.” A woman my age in Maine is documenting her attempt to completely overhaul and eat no refined, processed, hormone-boosted, chemically enhanced, genetically altered, etc., foods in 2008. A great real-life example and a fun way to learn about what “whole” really means.

I spent a good three years eating as “clean” as possible, and I was actually darn successful at it when living between Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s in Newton, MA. I went all the way, cutting out most coffee and booze too. I drank obscene amounts of water, and my energy levels were through the roof.

(What changed? I fell in love, and with love came wine and ice cream…)

Well, I didn’t actually stray that far over the last few years of marriage – many of you know how I can be sometimes, particularly about the Purdue brand and grocery-store baked goods. But it’s not always easy to find meat free of growth hormones or to have to toss milk and bread that last less than a week because it doesn’t have preservatives.

2008 has marked a gradual upgrade in our kitchen cabinets, however. I’m walking the extra distance to pick up the right groceries during work days in Boston and commute home with them. We’re trying new food options (thanks to Mom Hedman for the quinoa tip!), and always making everything we can from scratch.

I encourage everyone to go whatever tiny distance you can. A great resource is: http://www.whfoods.com/