La Vida Local Blog!

How much beauty can you take?

2011-09-03T01:24:00.002-04:00

I end the day under the influence of a small amount of wine (2/3 of a bottle is small, right? Oh yeah, plus a beer...), relieveing me of the USUAL influence of my ego.

I find myself reflecting on the incredible beauty that was interwoven through my day. In awe. I see that if we were to live in the divine light every moment of every day, we simply could not have the experiences we came here to have. My personal awareness of the infinite beauty around me ebbs and flows. Tonight it is at high tide.

I am swept away by the sychronicity of events today. It is astounding and beautiful. At every turn, there was reason and love, beauty and meaning. I spent time with dear loved ones virtually, in person, and in spirit. I laughed raucously. I listened intently. I learned. I observed others laughing and listening and learning. I met old friends intentionally and coincidentally. I relaxed and let my true self emerge without reservation amongst new friends. I lived this day fully.

And now I finish my day quietly, with my dog by my side, a cherry-topped english muffin in my belly, and a wish to record this emotion forevermore. What emotion is this? Contentment seems too small a word. I am full of excitement, yet completely at peace. I glow.

Have you glowed lately? Are you radiating your peace, your love, your joy outwardly? Come join me! I'm not sure how much longer I may be here, since this adoration for everything I see makes me feel like I will just float up and out of my body, it's so overwhelming. How much beauty can I take? My knitting beside me, the chair I'm sitting in, this uncomprehensible piece of technology at my fingertips, the original painting on the wall--and that's just what my eyes perceive. Each object containing such perfection! It reminds me of when I first became a mother; the feeling of wonder and love and instinct were all so strong, I felt like I would burst--and the worry, the fear, the fight in equal parts felt. It consumes like fire, and I had to learn to suppress it, lest I not be able to function normally!

Euphoria. That's what it is! Euphoria. Experiencing the divine in all--the wonder of it all--and being at peace with its infinity.

It's like looking at the stars in the sky, with their multitudes of planets, their vast distances, and knowing your role is so ridiculously miniscule, but with full knowledge of the necessity for each tiny piece to play its role accordingly. It's an empowerment.

Pardon my rambling. I just had to try to put this in words. Perhaps now my brain will rest. Goodnight, all.

Product Review: Food For Thought Cherry Honey Mustard and Cherry Hot sauce

2009-01-11T20:09:00.003-05:00

So far everything I have tried from Food for Thought has been wonderful. I love their jams!! We have also had their Cherry Honey Mustard which is really good!! My Daughter loves it on her turkey sandwiches!!

We recently tried the Cherry Habanero Hot Sauce. It has a really great flavor and even though it is habanero, isn't overly spicey. It is hot, obviously but sometimes the habanero sauces can be so hot you really don't taste anything, not this one.

I love that this company is so "green" and committed to supporting the environment and our local MI economy as well as create a superior product!!

Lisa

Honey Laundering

2009-01-03T16:41:00.002-05:00

Had enough refined sugar this holiday season? If you're turning to honey, here's another reason to by local: Chinese honey. It's sometimes tainted, but not always labeled as Chinese. See Honey laundering - international trade increasingly rife with crime and If it's American honey, it's likely not organic.

Raid on Ohio home-based co-op!

2009-01-02T16:21:00.002-05:00

I find this situation VERY disturbing. It really scares both myself and my husband, and I urge you to read the article, watch the video, and donate to the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund.

This operation is much like my own. I am trying to advance my operations to move out of the house, but balancing out the financials without raising prices is proving to be a tricky task. Any helpful ideas are welcome. I will also be sending out new contracts soon...sigh.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=83865

Restaurant Review: Pekoe & Joe

2009-01-02T11:53:00.002-05:00

My family and I had lunch at a new restaurant the other day. It’s called Pekoe & Joe, and I think you’ll like it for a lot of reasons.

First, it used to be a KFC. The KFC failed, and the fellow who bought the place gutted it, and used recycled materials to turn it into a place that serves organic food. That fact alone got me through the door. It gets better.

The folks who work there are friendly and accommodating. The plates and utensils are all made from vegetable fiber and compostable*. The menu ingredients come from certified organic sources. Pekoe & Joe is certified by the Green Restaurant Association. The coffee is roasted on-site. The décor is retro, and you can sit on a stool at the counter, on a chair at a table, or in a couch or easy chair in a wee living-room-like setup. There are magazines and free wi-fi. The food’s pretty good, too. Here’s the menu.

I had the egg noodles with pesto and a cup of tomato basil soup, with Mexican hot chocolate to drink. Really, I should’ve picked a different beverage, because while the hot chocolate was delicious, it didn’t go well with the food I ordered. My fault. But the noodles were perfectly cooked, firm and not at all sticky. The pesto was flavorful, with bigger bits of basil than average. The tomato soup was substantial and hearty. The kids enjoyed their meals as well. Alex wasn’t quite able to finish his grilled cheese sandwich, which came with carrot sticks and cucumber slices instead of fries.

So is there anything wrong with the place? Well, it’s a bit pricey (lunch for four cost around $30, or about $10 more than at our favorite Coney Island place), but as locavores know, you get what you pay for. Quality ingredients are more expensive, and Pekoe & Joe charges accordingly. Fair enough, I say. There was also no place to hang up our coats, but I pointed this out to one of the crew and she said, “Hey, that’s a good point. We should fix that.” I fully expect to see a coat rack or two next time I visit. We didn’t see any high chairs or boosters for little ones, though they may have been available. Zack is big enough now that he doesn’t really need one, so we didn’t ask. Oh, and tomato soup in December? It may be organic, but it probably isn't local.

I think Pekoe & Joe can be forgiven for not buying local ingredients in the dead of a Michigan Winter. Face it, there isn’t much local produce to be had right now, and the place just opened. It’s not like they could go back in time, get a bunch of local produce, and preserve it for January use. Maybe next Summer, though. Plus, the Green Restaurant Association gives a ton of points for buying whole food ingredients from within 100 miles of your place. This may be the beginning of some beautiful friendships...

Drop in to Pekoe & Joe. It’s on M-59 at Voorhies, a couple blocks west of Telegraph. The food is good, and so is the karma. Maybe I'll see you there?

*I don’t really know if compostable disposable plates and utensils are better than the kind that get reused, but I imagine that when you take into account the energy, water, and chemicals used to clean reusable eating ware, it’s (forgive me) a wash.

Predicted food trends, 2009

2008-12-28T09:13:00.002-05:00

Fellow trendsetters: Here's what the Food Channel believes is the next wave for 2009. Some of these are good news, indeed--others, not so much. (The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch has the whole story, based on a press release from the Food Channel.)

1. Home on the Range — Downsized economy breeds new generation of home chefs, more food-savvy than their predecessors.
2. Foodie 2.0 — Growth of virtual and non-virtual food communities.
3. Going, Going Green — Kitchens go eco-conscious.
4. Living La Vida Locavore — Eating locally and seasonally, both at home and in restaurants.
5. TMI? — Is seeing the calorie count on the menu Too Much Information (TMI), or will it lead to healthier choices?
6. FrankenFood — The rise of bioengineering and genetically modified food; the next evolution of last year’s Functional Food trend.
7. Food Philanthropy — Individuals and companies address world hunger.
8. Food Insecurity — The call for tighter food controls, after the tomato and jalapeno scares of 2008.
9. Brewing Business — Striking a balance when cost is an issue; the divide widens between the exotic and day-to-day food needs.
10. Where in the World … — is the next flavor trend coming from? It’s all about globalization and variety.

Obama's choice for Secretary of Angriculture

2008-12-19T10:49:00.002-05:00

Interesting blog post on the upcoming Secretary of Agriculture. I would have chosen Michael Pollen, of course.

Another (happy) reason to shop with La Vida Local

2008-12-19T10:24:00.004-05:00

Compare the price Julie's apples from right here in Michigan to the organic apple gift boxes at Seeds For Change! Yikes!

I also just received as a gift a loaf of Zingerman's cranberry pecan bread. My generous gifter paid $15.00!! PLUS postage (probably another $15 to overnight it from Ann Arbor). It was good, but Avalon's is just as good if not better.

Another (disgusting) reason to avoid industrial meat

2008-12-19T10:16:00.004-05:00

Some Austin pork plant workers struggle with disease and its aftermath
by Sea Stachura
Minnesota Public Radio
December 18, 2008

A year after a neurological disease surfaced among workers at a pork plant in Austin, some workers still can't get worker's compensation for their illness. Doctors traced the disease to a mist of pig brains at Quality Pork Processing.

Food Additives, China

2008-12-16T09:33:00.002-05:00

This is beyond ridiculous. Lye, formaldehyde, boric acid, etc used as food addivites in China.

Read Associated Press article here.

Notice some of the language about not using some of them excessively...um...how 'bout not at all???

I think we really need some changes in our labeling laws so we know where our ingredients are coming from!

Or, we can eat local. : )

We Are What We Eat: The Movie

2008-12-06T10:47:00.002-05:00

Hi, all! I've just posted a link to a 15-minute short, which is serving as a preview to a full-length feature film still in production. This short has merit, although at times it feels like it doesn't have a lot of substance...stick with it, and there are some great snippets. It's basically a montage of interview clips. It was sort of annoying not knowing who the people were until the end--hang around for the credits so you can see the wonderful bios for the people interviewed--I was happy to see a face to put with Joel Salatin's name! : )

I was most moved by Brock Dolman--the guy with a cowboy hat speaking in front of some wild-looking shrubbery and grasses. I'm really looking forward to learning more about his work, and maybe even inviting him into our community in some way.

The link is over there to the right, but I'll put it here, too. Be well! Julie

http://wearewhatweeatthemovie.com/short.htm

What to do with all those cranberries?

2008-11-26T16:54:00.002-05:00

For nutritional benefits and recipes, see http://experiencelifemag.com/issues/november-2008/healthy-eating/cranberries.html

Local talk of interest

2008-11-18T18:31:00.003-05:00

"How might Detroit plan for health food for all?" Lecture

[I received this through my Wayne State email, but I'm sure it is open to all. Contact info at the bottom to double-check.--Lisa]

Faculty, staff and students are invited to attend a free lecture, “How might Detroit plan for healthy food for all?” with guest speaker, Wayne Roberts of the Toronto Food Policy Council. The lecture will be held on Thursday, November 20 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium in the Law School. The lecture is co-sponsored by SEED Wayne, Detroit Food and Fitness Collaborative, Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, and the C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems. A book signing will follow the lecture.

Wayne Roberts manages the Toronto Food Policy Council, a citizen body of 30 food activists and experts, which developed Toronto’s Food Charter and the Food and Hunger Action Plan. Roberts is the author of several books, including the No-Nonsense Guide to World Food (2008), Real Food for a Change (1999) and Get a Life (1995). In 2002, he received the Canadian Environment Award for his contributions to sustainable living. NOW magazine named Roberts one of Toronto’s leading visionaries of the past 20 years. In 2008, he received the Canadian Eco-Hero Award presented by Planet in Focus.

Roberts also serves or has served on several national and international boards such as the Coalition for a Green Economy, the Community Food Security Coalition, and Food Secure Canada. He is on the board of Green Enterprise Toronto, an organization of local eco-businesses that's associated with the Business Alliance for a Local Living Economy across North America. He is regularly invited internationally to speak on strategies that combine food security, community empowerment, environmental improvement, social equity and job creation.

The Toronto Food Policy Council partners with business and community groups to develop policies and programs promoting food security. Their aim is a food system that fosters equitable food access, nutrition, community development and environmental health.

For questions regarding the lecture, please contact Kami Pothukuchi at k.pothukuchi@wayne.edu or Will Ahee at w.ahee@wayne.edu.

We hope you will be able to attend this important lecture.

Help the Environment and the Homeless

2008-10-28T23:26:00.002-04:00

Hello,
My daughter, Catrina, and I are doing a project together to help out a few good causes and hopefully make a difference in our world.
We are encouraging everyone to both register to purchase and actually purchase some organic socks online from the Sierra Club (www.sierrasocks.com). You can register at any time your intention to buy the socks, then, on November 01, 2008, visit the website again to make the actual purchase. For each pair purchased, another pair will be donated to the National Coalition for the Homeless (www.nationalhomeless.org). When registering and/or making your purchase, please make mention of the fact that "Catrina Guenther" inspired you to do so. Please also send this email to all of your contacts in your address book, asking them to do the same.

By doing the above, we hope to achieve 3 objectives:
1) Provide warm socks to the homeless or those who might otherwise not be able to afford them
2) Help the environment, both by supporting the Sierra Club (whose mission is to "Explore, Enjoy and Protect" the planet) and by helping to eliminate some of the 5 billion or so pairs of synthetic socks that end up in landfills. Ten percent of the proceeds from the sock sales will benefit the Sierra Club directly.
3) Provide concrete evidence that one person has the power to evoke change. By tracking Catrina's name, we can see how many homeless people received socks as well as the amount of money benefiting the Sierra Cub (and ultimately, the environment). We can also infer how many nonbiodegradeable socks were prevented from ending up in landfills.

I hope to show Catrina that she can make a significant impact on her world by doing some very simple things. In addition to helping me gather email addresses, she is planning to make some fliers up describing the sock-a-thon on Nov. 01 and distributing them throughout our neighborhood and to local schools, community centers, etc. She is also looking up info on the Internet regarding important topics such as homelessness and the environment to better understand the issues and what can be done about them.

Thank you very much for your consideration and participation in this event. In today's world, we are constantly bombarded with things essentially out of our control -- war, bailouts, foreclosures, etc. Let's show our kids that good things happen as well.

So, please:
1. Register to buy a pair or more of earth-friendly socks at http://www.sierrasocks.com (or sierraclubsocks.com) referencing Catrina
2. Spread the word to your friends and family via email.
You'll get an email reminder if you've registered to order your socks on November 1, and help donate $ to the Sierra Club and socks to the National Coalition for the Homeless.
Please contact me if you have any questions.

Fondly,
Catrina Guenther and
Sharon Atma
SharonAtma@comcast.net

Homemade Peppermint Toothpaste

2008-10-27T19:51:00.002-04:00

In response to the call to buy peppermint oil, one of my customers sent me to this website to see a recipe for homemade peppermint toothpaste that she likes--a great use for this local oil!

http://www.tammysrecipes.com/homemade_toothpaste

Help Save a Local Mint Farm

2008-10-27T19:48:00.002-04:00

Most of you have already received my notice about this, but just in case we have some browsers the next few days...

Please visit getmint.com and purchase a bottle or two of peppermint oil by November 1st to help this family keep their farm from foreclosure! They have enough inventory to pay the bills...

This farm is in St Johns, MI, and you can view a video at the site above. Thanks!

Farmer-in-Chief by Michael Pollan

2008-10-13T16:44:00.002-04:00

Thanks to LVL members yet again for keeping me in-the-know on food-related articles. This latest one that I linked to on the side (under Food in the News: Politics) is a letter to the future President-Elect written by the great Michael Pollan (Omnivore's Dilemma, Botany of Desire, etc) and printed in the NYT. It's quite long--if you click on the "print" button they provide, you'll get a more reader- and printer-friendly version. It also might not be a bad one to study up on to be able to throw some arguments around in your food discussions.

Here's a link here, too!

Farmer in Chief by Michael Pollan

Product Review: Leelanau Cultured Veggies Dilled Carrots

2008-10-04T13:14:00.002-04:00

These sounded good and my family already loves their Ty's Spiced Beets.

These exceeded my expectations!! They are addictive. They are wafer thin slices of carrots which lend a beautiful color on your plate, with a bit of shredded cabbage mixed in and flecks of dill they are pleasing to the eye and make your tongue do a happy dance!! They have a wonderful sourness (like a pickle) from the natural fermentation but there is also a hint of sweetness from the carrots themselves that just go well together. They are great!! I eat them as a quick snack or on my plate with a sandwich, but really they are good with anything.

I think these are going to be my favorite!!

Lisa

Product Review: Creswick Farms Canadian Bacon

2008-10-02T08:46:00.002-04:00

Melissa: What is that?
Me: Yummy Canadian Bacon. M'm!
Melissa: You don't expect me to eat that do you?
Me: *sigh* I guess not, but that'll leave more for me, so...

[sounds and smells of cooking emanate from the kitchen]

Melissa: Hey, that smells pretty good.
Me: Dinner's ready, guys!
...
Alex: Can I have some more of that bacon stuff?
Me: If you ask politely, you may.
Alex: Please?
...
Melissa: Will you pass me a small piece please?
Me: Sure, here.
...
Melissa: Pass the bacon, please?

And we ate it all.

Grab your torch and pitchfork!

2008-09-19T08:25:00.002-04:00

Apparently we need to form a mob and march on the castle of Dr. Frankenchicken.

I just found out that the FDA is going to start considering proposals to sell genetically engineered animals as food. Here's an AP article from Thursday, Sept 18th.

Now, I'm not totally against people raising frankencows if they want to. But if they do, and they want to sell them as food, they should be required to label their frankenbeef as such. As of now, the FDA has no plans to require genetically modified meat to be labeled in any way, unless it makes some health claim, like, say, low-cholesterol T-bone steak. If they don't claim a health benefit, they don't have to label it as genetically modified.

I don't know about you, but I want to be able to decide for myself whether I eat a frankenburger or not, and I can't do that if the meat isn't labeled. We can't even trust the government to allow the non-GM meat producers to label their meat as franken-free. Remember the legal battles about whether dairies could label their milk as hormone-free?

So what do we do about it? Well, you can get a draft of the proposed rules for frankenmeat here. Scroll down to the line that says

Draft Guidance for Industry #187 - Regulation of Genetically Engineered Animals Containing Heritable rDNA Constructs | html | pdf |

and click on the format you like best to get a copy of the proposed rules. Once you've read them, you can go to this site and type "Docket FDA-2008-D-0394" in the search field. When the document comes up, click the link that says "Send a Comment or Submission." A page will appear with a bunch of blank fields for you to fill in. Whatever else you may have to say about frankencritters being sold as food, I hope you'll tell the FDA that any genetically modified animal product sold as food must be clearly and prominently labeled as genetically modified meat.

Of course, you can easily avoid GM meat by raising your own, buying all your meat directly from the farmer, or ordering it from La Vida Local.

The Future of School Lunch

2008-08-27T17:15:00.003-04:00

It time to speak up and we don't have much time, so act fast to make sure your voice is heard!

The Child Nutrition Act (read about it here) – a major piece of federal legislation that helps determine school food policy and resources – will begin reauthorization in 2009. The federal government and the USDA wants your opinion and is accepting public comments on the reauthorization of this act, but you have to comment by October 15, 2008.

So, what do we want? We request the USDA to start to make changes by doing the following:

Increase funding for school meals and provide incentives for schools to offer healthier foods.

Increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

Improve nutrition standards for school meals so they align with the most recent dietary guidelines.

Establish standards for food sold in schools outside of the school meals programs such as that sold at snack bars and cafeteria a la carte lines.

Personally, in addition, I want my boys to be able to choose from fresh in-season produce, hormone-free meats and dairy, whole grains and balanced menus. I also want the "fast foods" to disappear from the menu. My middle school aged boys can actually purchase whole pizzas brought in from an outside chain, Bosco brand cheese breadsticks (for a meal?!?!), nachos with fake "oil" cheese, canned fruits in HFCS, lemonade that contains 0% fruit juice, chicken nuggets using processed meats, salad dressings that have a higher fat content than a Big Mac, gatorade and donuts. Sound appetizing? To a 13 year old boy with $5 in his pocket, it's pretty hard to resist.

What can you do??

Well, it's very simple. Simply log on to this site and enter your comments which will be reviewed by the USDA. Has speaking up ever been so simple?? I think not! And, if you're really pressed for time, simply highlight, copy and paste the bolded text above and place it into the comments section.

Please don't delay, you only have until October 15th, 2008. Pass this along, tell your friends, post it at your school, spread the word through your PTA or neighborhood. Your children will thank you!

The Farm of Tomorrow

2008-08-22T15:54:00.002-04:00

Does anybody else remember the Tex Avery cartoon, Farm of Tomorrow?

It was a lot funnier in my youth, when the frankenfoods they describe were safely in the realm of comic fantasy. Cross a chicken with a centipede for more drumsticks? Hilarious, in 1978. Now, since GMOs have become reality, it's a lot more creepy.

Tex, you were a visionary.

Eating Local is so much fun this time of year.

2008-08-17T21:33:00.005-04:00

During summer and into fall, I don't have much trouble eating local, and I LOVE the journey!!

Every Saturday I go to the farmers market (Royal Oak every other week usually followed by a trip to the Clarkston Market and just Clarkston on the other weeks). I sometimes go by myself, which is pleasurable to stroll along and talk to all my farmer/vendor friends, including Julie (LVL) at Clarkston. Sometimes we take the whole family and my kids love the market. The smells, the sounds, the abundance of beaconing fruits and vegetables in all their glory, the multitude of colors. It is such a sensory and soul soothing experience!!

We belong to a CSA, so we have an abundance of fresh, local, organically-grown vegetables each week, but I can't resist the market experience. I still manage to spend a good amount on things we don't get enough of (or any of) from our CSA or other fun, yummy items that aren't produce but are local.

This past week I bought 2 dozen sweet corn, a watermelon, 2 canteloupe and a quart of organic, local peaches.

For dinner recently we had Nachos with local beef (from East River Organics) made into homemade taco meat (I don't use a spice/packet for the meat, but a recipe from Cook's Illustrated), Simmon's corn chips (from LVL, see my previous post), global warming salsa, locally bought sour cream and Rosewood cheese (which is produced in Ann Arbor area) and Eden refried beans. It was so good and very filling.

Breakfast this morning was Fritattas with local eggs (we get them from our CSA and they are locally produced by several area families for our CSA), veggies from our CSA (onions, garlic, summer squash, green bell pepper and carrots from east river organics, they are so good). Hubby made breakfast. We had the watermelon from the farmers market with the frittata.

So it isn't hard for me to do local meals this time of year, in fact basically all our meals are local as we try to use up our abundance of veggies. We had grilled pizzas tonight. The crust was homemade with flour from Westwind Mill (I did use a bit of other flour because Westwind is out of the heartier wheat varieties and I needed a bit more protein content in the dough). The dough only has salt, yeast, water, olive oil and flour in it. The sauce was made from homemade roasted tomato sauce (the peach and melon farmer at the Clarkston Farmers market gave us a bag of their imperfect tomatoes when they heard we wanted to make sauce--thats what I love about building relationships with your growers) with onion and garlic from our CSA added and some spices. The toppings were onions (CSA), pepperoni (Markowycz Meats in Detroit) and cheese. We had sweet corn with the pizzas!!

Yum, I will be sad when winter rolls around and the fresh green vegetables and the lucious fruits are gone. We do put up things like tomato sauce, corn (blanced and cut off the cob), berries, and pickles, kim chi and sauerkraut, and jam. We try to do more, but depends on what we can source.

Lisa

The Corn Chips are Amazing!!

2008-08-15T19:35:00.004-04:00

I avoided buying the heirloom corn chips from LVL at first as they seemed so pricey to me when I can get organic corn chips at Trader Joe's for MUCH cheaper. However, I tasted them at the Clarkston Farmers Market and they were very good, but I still held out due to the price. Well then I tried them again at our CSA (Rocky Gardens) and my kids really liked them. Still, I abstained from purchasing them. Well this week as I did my LVL order, they beckoned me to get them, don't know what prompted me as we have a couple of bags of other corn chips in the house.

I ordered them and the kids found them in the pantry today (I didn't really hide them, but didn't tell them they were there). They had a wee munch while my mom was here babysitting.

Well dinner tonight was Nachos and I planned to unveil the chips (well was I shocked to see they had already been discovered). We LOVED them.

First, they are very crunchy and have a great flavor. Secondly, they aren't overly salty as many chips can be. Third, Julie mentioned this to me and she is right, they are very filling. I ate a small amount with my nacho toppings and was STUFFED, so was my daughter.

However, as Jay and I were talking about how good they are and the price, we said that we just have to suck it up and make these our staple chip. It is just too good and the fact that we personally know the farmer who grows the corn as well as the fact they are made locally and with Prime ingredients (where else can you get a chip with primo Celtic Sea Salt on them and fried in a decent oil).

So we are sold on these, lock, stock and barrel. We have ended our quest for a great corn chip!!

Lisa

GMO Sugar Beets: Lighting a candle

2008-08-07T11:53:00.003-04:00

I'm really really good at cursing the darkness of industrial food and GMOs and stuff, as you may have noticed. I haven't been so good about lighting candles. Sorry about that. But here's a candle that burns pretty brightly, I think.

Julie just warned us about GM sugar beets, and advised us to buy sugar from cane. Unfortunately, sugar cane won't grow around here, which means refined sugar need to come from places like Louisiana. Now, we can argue about whether long-distance, non GM cane is better than local GM beets, and I don't know what the right answer is. If you absolutely need to have refined sugar in your recipe or coffee or wherever, I think non-GM cane sugar the way to go. But if refined white sugar isn't all that important to you, and you want to keep eating locally, consider the following:

I've just been reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder books, because Melissa is re-reading them, and I never read them as a kid. The Ingalls family used a lot of maple sugar in their cooking. Michigan produces quite a lot of maple syrup. Making sugar from syrup isn't hard. Here's one set of instructions. You can also just use the syrup to sweeten your morning brew. I put maple syrup in my coffee yesterday and in my tea today. Delicious! I figure if it's good enough for Pa Ingalls, it's good enough for me.

Plus, you can get maple syrup from LVL!

A few reviews

2008-08-03T14:18:00.002-04:00

I wanted to start by reviewing the No Sugar Added Mixed Berry Jam from Food for Thought. I have been purchasing this through LVL for a while and my kids love it. I ran out and had to use another brand of organic jam. My three year-old cried that he didn't want that jam he wanted the "grape jam". I couldn't figure out what he meant, I have never bought grape jam?? Turns out he meant the Mixed Berry. It is a dark purple color so he called it "grape". Well it really is just a "great" jam!!! It is not too sweet, but just sweet enough that it lets the berries shine through. It spreads great and really I could eat it just off the spoon. I really love this jam and so do my kids!! We make a PBJ sandwich with homemade bread, Naturally nutty butters and this jam and really you think you are eating dessert.

This leads to my second review. The naturally nutty butters are divine. I haven't tried one I don't like yet. Our hands down favorite is the Honey Roasted Cinnamon. However, the Vanilla Almond is amazing too. The Vanilla Almond smells like a sugar cookie. It is really a treat and I could just eat it plain right out of the jar, but paired with some yummy jam it makes a terrific sandwich.

The La Vida Local Thermal Mug. I saw this at the LVL booth at the Clarkston Farmer's Market and was really impressed. I went back this week and bought one. Now my husband wants one and so does my daughter. The carry case is mighty handy, it is so easy to drink from and does not leak. I used it just for ice water so far, but it kept it wonderfully cold. I love the tea strainer and the extra screw cap to make sure their are no leaks when traveling! I put ice water in it about 5:45 pm last night and we were outside at my in-laws pool. I brought it home and left it on the counter (I wanted to test how cold it would be). At 1:30 pm my daughter took a drink and said, "oh, it is really cold". I opened it to see if there was any ice left. The ice was gone, but the water was ice cold!! This is the best hot/cold mug I have ever seen!! Can't wait to try the hot in it.

Lisa

Product Review - Pet Soap!

2008-08-03T11:58:00.005-04:00

Let me start out by saying I have two doggies, one of which is a little too old and a little too hairy to groom ourselves - she is part lab - part husky and all FUR. She is also 11 years old and loves her groomer, so we leave that to the experts.

On the other hand, our puppy Tahoe, is mostly Dalmatian with a little of something else mixed in which leaves him with very short and manageable fur. We are not sure of the "something else" it's a mystery, the shelter had no idea and even the vet is stumped. So, he looks like a Dalmatian, but stunted and stocky. Strange.

He loves to roll in the clover and daisies which leaves him smelling distinctly of "farm" and since this happens on a regular basis, taking him to the groomer is out, it would cost us a fortune. We have used the traditional pet shampoos for awhile, but as the humans in our family switched to bar soaps a long time ago it was time to switch the puppy! We ordered the Creation Farm Pet Shampoo Bar a few weeks back and now have used it twice with excellent luck. My husband washed him outdoors in the grass without fear that chemicals would kill the grass, the dog smelled great and felt squeaky clean. The next time we bathed him, we decided just to use our regular bathroom tub because the shampoo bar didn't smell like nasty dog shampoo. Good luck again! Dog was clean, bathroom didn't smell like the grooming salon. We hate the smell of wet dog, it makes me gag, so this is a big plus!

I don't know about the flea repellent part of the soap, we don't have a flea problem, our dogs are indoors for 23.5 hours a day it seems. They potty and come right back in unless it's WALK time, they hate to be away from their humans. So I can't vouch for the fleas, I can only recommend the CLEAN!

Overall, I rate it a TWO PAWS UP!!

Product Review - Steel Cut Oats!

2008-08-03T09:20:00.002-04:00

I ordered the Westwind steel cut oats from LVL a long, long time ago. Like two months ago. They have been sitting in my pantry, not because I don't like them, I LOVE oatmeal, but because it takes 40 minute to cook them!

For my One Local Summer meal last week I decided to try to beat the system, making a double batch and storing it in the fridge in a resealable container. The last few mornings I have been scooping a single serving into a cereal bowl, microwaving them topped with a homemade blueberry sauce using berries my boys picked from a local U-Pick. Fast, delicious and healthy!

My double batch recipe is two cups of oats to 8 cups of water brought to a boil and simmered for 35-40 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. This makes thicker oats, we prefer them that way, but if you like thinner oats use 9 cups of water. Cool for 10-15 minutes stirring a few times. Transfer to a resealable container and store in the refrigerator to enjoy this healthy breakfast all week long - and it will only take a few second to prepare!

You can read the whole post about eating a healthy breakfast and doing it locally here.

GE Sugar Beets in MI--boycott Kellogg...buy sugar cane

2008-07-29T17:42:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Lisa for sending me this link about the genetically engineered sugar beets in MI this year--I've been crying inside about this for some time, and it seems like most people that I bring the subject up with have not heard of it. We should be SHOUTING in Michigan about this danger! Boycotting Kellogg is a start, but it should go far beyond that--and I doubt many of us at this blog eat much sugar-laden stuff anyway...it seems more like we should be boycotting Domino Sugar and Pioneer as well...choose natural sweeteners, like raw honey and maple syrup...and if you must have some sugar (I love it in my coffee), try Florida Crystals' organic sugar grown in the US from sugar cane...organicbythecase.com carries it in different sizes.

I implore you to learn about GMOs and tell everyone you know.

This article also has interesting comments following it...

Global Warming is here!

2008-07-23T17:26:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone! Dan Houston from Global Warming Salsa, wanting to let everyone know what we are working on...Our salsa had a nice live spot on Fox2 Morning News last Friday, July 18. We were working at our booth at the Quake on the Lake and we got the attention of the Fox2 news crew, some of whom remembered us from Milford Memories last year, our first day in business with the salsa.
Ben Bailey, the morning meteorologist, interviewed us on the air and showed off our label and mentioned our salsa plans. He seemed to really like the bottle and the label idea. He also liked our "Global" flavor idea...which we just started to launch this month.
The idea behind our name "Global Warming Salsa" is a subtle play on the fact that we plan to have 15 "Global" flavors of salsas (based on our award winning medium salsa) featuring spices and peppers unique to different "Global" cultures. If you know me, I love food, and really enjoy cooking; the global flavors are my home concoctions based on the styles of cuisine I enjoy.The first of the Global flavors was introduced last week, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. It is the Japanese version of our salsa, and I know that initially sounds odd, but the result has been our best seller of the month. A subtle infusion of fresh ginger, wasabi, and toasted sesame provide a unique essence to our classic medium, changing the character completely.
Of course, to be part of the Global Warming Salsa family, it has to be all natural, and it has to be mouthwatering. This is the first of many planned "Global" flavors, soon to follow: Italy, Spain, Brazil, China, Africa, Caribbean...all featuring the tastes of these unique culinary styles.We are still planning "Global Warming: Green" our first venture into organics. We are looking at a couple local producers of organic foods to see how the crops develop; it is important that we do not wait until the last minute to get the organic salsa going. We attempted it at the end of last summer when we started the company but organic crops did not look very promising when we shopped for them. We are optimistic we will be on track for this year.

Product review - Fiddlebump's All Purpose Cleaner

2008-07-23T08:25:00.003-04:00

Hello again all... Just wanted to give a quick review on Fiddlebump's All Purpose cleaner. This stuff is wonderful! I guess it is hard to say too much about a cleaner but I love this stuff...it does a great job at cleaning, smells wonderful (I happen to love the smell of mint), and does not make my nose, eyes, and lungs burn...BONUS! Well, have a great, healthy, and blessed day!!!

Rebekah

Bad Policy

2008-07-22T01:10:00.003-04:00

Apparently, under Michigan law, ten thousand pigs are exactly the same as ten pigs.

We have a law called the Right-to-Farm Act. It was a good idea to start with, and was conceived to keep new residents in a rural area from suing a farmer because his livestock smells like livestock. I'm in favor of this. The new folks knew they were moving to the country; they should have been prepared to smell a few cows, or hear an occasional rooster in the morning.

The problem is that, under the law, if a farm operates "using generally accepted agricultural and management practices," they can't be sued for polluting.

Further, there has been at least one ruling that "All evidence says that modern agriculture must grow to be competitive and economically viable."

Must it? A small farm cannot be economically viable? I bet some of LVL's suppliers would disagree.

And of course, modern "generally accepted agriculture" includes CAFOs and toxic manure lagoons.

So unfortunately, a law that was created to protect the small farmer from nuisance lawsuits now also grants immunity to giant industrial CAFOs.

Don't get me wrong: I think it's a Good Thing to protect farmers from annoying lawsuits when they get a new neighbor who doesn't like the smell of horses. But at the same time, the law makes no distinction between a family farm with a hundred hogs and an industrial operation with two or three thousand hogs. If you think there's no difference, you've never spent a week downwind of a hog confinement.

Here is an excellent article, with many linked end-notes, that explains the situation in much greater detail than I can.

So what's to be done? Not sure. I think this law should keep protecting small farms and stop protecting industrial-scale ones, but messing with it might do more harm than good. I'd love to hear what the growers who supply LVL have to say about this issue.

Dancing with the Universe--to inspire hope

2008-07-15T16:05:00.003-04:00

This video will make you laugh, cry, and feel silly.

But it's so much more than that...treat yourself and watch this video. Read the article after.

http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2008/06/27/2396/dancing_with_the_universe

What does it have to do with living locally? Thinking globally, perhaps, or is that too cliche? Maybe it's just healing to know that we all laugh, we all dance, we all love, and we share this pretty planet.

Industrial Insanity

2008-07-15T07:50:00.003-04:00

I'm starting this post as a place to archive information about industrial insanity...as our global food system continues to disintegrate due to non-sustainable methods, the floundering scientists will attempt to fix their problems with additional technological "advances" because the alternative, small organic food production, is not an option for them. As Scooby-Doo would say, "Ruh-roh".

Genetic Modification particularly freaks me out. This is very scary stuff, folks. Once the modified genes are unleashed, there may be no going back...

I begin with a link to an article about a GM corn being tested now that will help keep phosphorus out of pig poop, which is a problem in watershed...

http://www.scidev.net/en/news/gm-corn-improves-animal-feed-cuts-pollution.html

Note how they make it sound like they're tree huggers, wanting to cut down on pollution...

The next is about another genetic modification, but this time of grass, to reduce methane in cow poop...

http://www.newwayswiki.org/blog/2008/06/gm-grass-helps-cows-reduce-methane/

I feel like I need to collect all of these so we can better be aware of how quickly our environment is being endangered. Sorry folks, but when you buy conventional food, you have no way of knowing if it contains GM ingredients. I feel like we need some screaming to get politicians talking about this...wanna join me? "Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh...!"

One Local Summer Check In!

2008-07-12T14:35:00.005-04:00

So, how are you all doing? Too busy enjoying local produce from the Farmer's Markets and your garden to check in with your local meal? Me too! Things have been busy in our household with summer camps, vacation planning and all around just being outdoors soaking up the sunshine.

Last week when we had a couple of cool days I decided to make some chili for my One Local Summer Challenge. Remember, if you make an all local meal feature it here on the the LVL blog or email it to me and I will post it for you! If you are looking for some great recipes and delicious ideas from the One Local Summer Challenge, you can always visit the Farm To Philly site for more drooling! No licking your computer screen please, it's not local! :o)

Here is my white bean chicken chili with yellow summer squash and smoked Gouda. You can see the whole post by clicking here (the recipe is in the comments section). Can anyone identify the white containers used to store the excess soup for the freezer? I am betting that they look familiar to a few LVL members!

Chicken - Crestwick Farms

Stock - Homemade

Squash, onion, garlic - Farmer's Market

White Navy Beans - Hampshire Farms

Gouda - Grassfields Organics

Flour - Westwind Mill

Cream - Calder's Dairy

Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Chile Powder - Not Local

Local Food and Meeting Katie

2008-07-07T20:13:00.003-04:00

Our family went up north this weekend. When I say up north, I mean 3 cities (not really near each other) in 3 days. We started out here in Waterford and went to Tawas to visit my family who was in town and staying at my Aunt and Uncle's lake front vacation home. It was wonderful to see all my cousins and their children. They are all scattered around the country (CA, MI, FL, WI, etc.) and this is the first time we have seen them all in one place!! We took a cooler full of food and made at least some of the meal local.

We had a big family BBQ on Friday evening. We contributed greens from our CSA and other salad fixins that were local (carrots, kale, radishes, tomatoes, etc.) We took our own homemade salad dressings too.

The next morning we went over to visit again and made lunch. We took two local chickens and grilled them with a bit of seasoning, steamed local asparagus and broccoli and had Kombucha and Kim Chi too.

My cousin's wife (who I adore) is from Mexico, she made a fresh salsa and some other yummy mexican specialties. We were talking about food and some of the work I do in the local food arena and she told me stories of going to her grandmother's farm in Mexico when she was a child. She grew up on a ranch, but her grandma's farm was old-fashioned without electricity, etc. They would get to take turns catching the chickens running in the yard to "catch dinner". She said the chickens tasted so good and she doesn't really eat much chicken now as it taste so poor to her. She raved about our chicken (as did everyone else). She wants to try and source local meat in her area (South Florida). She would get farm fresh eggs and milk and all kinds of other delights at her grandma's farm too. She thought our eating local and sustainable was great!!

We then drove to Rodney, MI (near Big Rapids) for a family get-together on my husband's side of the family. Had a blast there too and then left Saturday night for Traverse City. We stayed at my husband's uncles house on the bay. We brought eggs and some kale and onions and garlic scapes (all local) and cooked breakfast. They had local MI strawberries and bread from a local bakery with local Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam. It was a great breakfast.

After we left his uncle's on Sunday afternoon we went to the National Cherry Festival for a few hours with my Brother-in-law and his family. It was crowded and hot, but interesting. We were hungry so didn't hit too many vendors before we went to find a restaurant to eat dinner. However, I ran into the Naturally Nutty Booth and met Katie!! She was so nice and they had samples of some new flavors. We picked up several jars (the kids liked them finally after taste testing). We got a Chocolate Cherry Peanut Butter, a Chocolate Cinnamon, the Butter Toffee and the Honey Roasted Cinnamon.

So far we opened the Honey Roasted Cinnamon and it is so good!!! I must say that LVL sells the product for cheaper than what we paid at the festival, but it was worth it as I got a cool free tote bag. I will definitely be ordering more of these from LVL!! They are so delectable, I so far haven't made it to a sandwich, just ate it right off the spoon.

Lisa

More Product Reviews: My thoughts

2008-07-07T16:00:00.002-04:00

Here’s an update on some new products I’ve tried:

The Honey Roasted Cinnamon peanut butter is awesome! If you haven’t already noticed, I love PB and this one has a wonderful hint in the background of cinnamon—nothing overpowering, but you can definitely tell it’s there. These PB’s are so yummy, there’s no reason for jelly.

Put some Vanilla Almond Butter on top of some toast with a squeeze of honey and you have your very own Graham Cracker! This stuff is to die for!

The McClure’s Pickles are good, but not crunchy enough for me—there isn’t the “snap” when you bite into them. The flavor of the spicy ones is really good, although they are a bit salty for me. My SO (significant other) loves salty food, so he raves about these.

Sansonetti Grilled Portabella Pasta Sauce: Nice flavor and has some nice pieces of mushroom throughout. I always add a few ingredients to any jarred sauce, like extra garlic, hot pepper flakes and some fire-roasted tomatoes, and with these little additions, this one is our favorite. The marinara one is good as well, but we like the chunks of mushrooms.

The meat from Creswick Farms:

This is the first time I’ve ever had organic ground beef and the biggest surprise for me was that there is NO GREASE after browning it! What a total shocker! Nothing to drain and no need to rinse (which I normally do with regular ground beef). The hamburger patties are very convenient and cook up quick. (Hurry up and get them back in, Julie! LOL!)

The Filet Mignon is wonderful! Our only ‘seasoning’ is a bit of kosher salt before grilling—these are top notch and I highly recommend them. They are way cheaper then a steakhouse and much better tasting. Cooked these up with some of that yummy asparagus and some corn on the cob…YUM-O!

Tried the Jalapeno & Cheddar summer sausage, unfortunately, I am not a big fan of it. There wasn’t much of a bite as I’d hope for. Put them out with some cheese for a small get together before the 4th—the cheese was gone, but the sausage remained L.

The cottage cheese is really creamy. It’s usually on my list every week.

The butter: Holy TUB O’BUTTER! That’s a lot of butter for 2 people! I split it up with a person I work with, so it works out perfect.

Happy eating!

L

Movie Review: WALL*E

2008-07-07T11:00:00.002-04:00

Okay, so, what the heck is a movie review doing in a blog about local and sustainable food?
Plenty.

My oldest and I went to see WALL*E the other day. He loved it for the story and the characters. I enjoyed it for those reasons as well as others. Generally speaking, I am in agreement with Professor Tolkien in that “I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence.” WALL*E is chock full of allegory, and if I were a different person, I'd probably hate the movie for being too preachy. But since I'm me, I enjoyed it, and since you folks are here, you will probably take a certain amount of comfort, as I did, in the fact that other people understand the importance of sustainable living, and those people have a big audience.

WALL*E lives on a desolate, toxic future Earth that has been abandoned by humanity some centuries ago. He is, as far as we know, the only functioning robot on the planet. His only companions are a cockroach and a collection of relics he has painstakingly assembled. One day, he finds a plant. He's never seen one before. He puts it in his collection.

Later, Earth is visited by another robot, whose mission is to find proof that Earth is habitable again. WALL*E follows the new robot back to her mother ship, which turns out to be the home of what's left of the human race.

These people are the product of a processed-food diet taken to the extreme. They don't move much, all their food comes in a cup, they never see dirt, they communicate entirely electronically. They don't seem to have touched one another in a long time. And that's the way it's always been for them.

When WALL*E and his friend show up with their plant, though, things change for the better.

What are these preachy messages that I was talking about?

Blind obedience is bad.
Big box stores are not to be trusted.
Dirt isn't something to be afraid of.
Go play outside once in a while.
Food comes from farms.
If we don't start living sustainably, we're going to wreck the planet.

There are probably others in there that I either missed or else have forgotten. If you like being in the choir and feel the need for a little affirmation, you should go see WALL*E. If you like an entertaining story with many sympathetic characters, ditto. If you have kids, bring them. They might not notice the allegory, and if they do get the message, well, it's a message you want to send anyway, right?

Shampoo bar and crystallized honey review!

2008-07-03T10:45:00.002-04:00

Hello all, hope everyone enjoyed our beautiful summer day before we turned back into Seattle ;)

Just wanted to give a little review on a couple of things regarding skin care... Skin care? I thought you said shampoo & honey?!?!

That's right...I said skin care...

I have been trying different combinations of natural products lately for my oily/blemish prone skin (no, I am NOT a teenager...). So, here is what I found that has worked wonders...really. The tea tree/mint shampoo bar from Boh Bon is WONDERFUL for my hair, face, and chest/back. (I use the green tea/green clay soap from Creation for the rest of my body and LOVE it too) I also got a tip from a friend in the honey business that honey is really good for your skin...honey, I thought?!?! rather sticky, isn't it? Not in the shower...and Crystallized honey is even better. It is a wonderful scrub for all your blemish prone/ blocked pore/ and generally rough skin problems. Next I use the jewelweed spray from Creation, which is not just for itch, it is a toner too! Ready for the big finish?!?!... Virgin coconut oil for moisturizer! A little goes a LONG way, it smells awesome, and it does not make my face oily or clog the pores. In fact, some research has shown it is a good sunscreen.

So, there you have it...I finally found the right skin care for my teenager-like skin. Hope this helps someone in need;)

Let's have a chat...!

2008-07-02T20:40:00.004-04:00

From what I can discern, there are a LOT of LVL members. Shoot, I even met one at my son's friends birthday parties! I know you're out there, I can see you lurking, reading the blog and I know you are green! So, let's talk. I have linked all the terms about composting in the following paragraph for those (like me!) that would like to learn more.

I am on the fence about composting, worm bins and the like. I am afraid to build a compost heap outside for fear I will become the Old Country Buffet for the raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, ground hogs and possums I see roaming my neighborhood. The vermicomposting (worm bin) also makes me nervous because I have 4 boys, two dogs, 1 cat and a husband to keep alive. How would I also add 87 worms to the list? And, I would feel terrible if they died. I have also looked into contraptions like Nature's Mill where is nice and convenient under the counter with a neat little pull out drawer for the composted soil. I am just a little apprehensive about the possible smell. I just do not want my kitchen to smell like rotting food. And, it's not an inexpensive item to invest in, just to find out you don't like it!

So, what do you all do? Compost heap? If so, how did you build it, how do you maintain it and do you have a critter control problem? Worm Bin? Can you actually keep them alive and do they really have to stay in your house over the winter? Let's start a discussion. Add your comments to the post and I bet we can all learn something here. I feel guilty as sin every time I throw out a cabbage leaf or avocado pit. There must be something I could be doing just a little better!

Boh Bon Soap Review

2008-06-28T15:13:00.003-04:00

OK, first of all, I swear I have no affiliation with the Boh Bon Soap company. Really. This is going to sound like a sales pitch, so I figured I better get that out of the way first!

I love this soap. My kids love this soap. My husband with the itchy-scratchy-rashy skin loves this soap. We were the ones who stumbled upon them at the Plymouth festival and bought a few bars. Then we ordered a few more bars. Then I recommended them to Julie because I thought the product was so superb and the idea of zero-plastic packaging just so awesome.

The Bayshore Blues is a family favorite, the fresh and spicy scent really is like a fresh, Grand Traverse Bay breeze. The littlest boy just plain loves it because it's blue. I love it because my boys actually use it, which means they get semi-clean. I have 4 boys, I will take what I can get!

I have been trying the Earth Mama Goat to wash my face. I read this article about the amount of plastics in face washes and cream cleansers and got completely icked out. Though, I really didn't want to pay $8 for a bar of burt's bees either. Then, I heard from a friend that goat's milk soap is great for your complexion, so I thought I would give it a go. I've got to tell you, in the world of soap, this bar for $3.25 is a darn bargain compared to fancy-schmancy face washes and designer bar soaps! I'm betting it will last longer too. It's been doing a great job of washing up my sweaty, oily face each night after spending the day in the heat and dirt watching my boy's playoff baseball games. It's not dried out or itchy and I think I smell pretty darn good when I go to bed at night too! And, I sleep a little better knowing it's all natural and didn't come to me wrapped in any plastics at all.

This week I am going to make the foray into the world of shampoo bars, I am ordering a bar this week. As a die-hard Aveda hair product user, this will be the ultimate test of the shampoo! I will keep you updated!

Product Review: Creswick Farms Hickory Smoked Bacon

2008-06-28T12:33:00.002-04:00

This is what bacon is meant to be.

It fries up nicely with a savory aroma that makes you want to just eat the stuff as you're cooking it and never mind the meal. The hickory aroma fills the kitchen and blends very well with the salt. This is uncured bacon, with no nitrites added. The slices are not uniform like corporate bacon--they're generally wider on one end and a bit thicker--and they have a much better meat-to-fat ratio. This is seriously meaty bacon, and the thickness makes it nice and toothsome. If you like your bacon to be really crisp and crunchy to the point of being crumbly you'll have to cook this a bit longer than you're used to. If, like me, you enjoy bacon that's crisp but still needs to be chawed on some, you'll love it.

We had breakfast for dinner last night. Our oldest, Alex, did the pancakes. We used an organic mix**, alas, but we put in an egg and some strawberries from the farmer's market. While he was flipping the pancakes, I fried the bacon. After the bacon was done (I cooked the whole package--couldn't stop myself!) I used the grease to fry up a few eggs (from Hampshire Farms; I'm pretty sure LVL offers these). The bacon grease lent a nice hickory undertone to the eggs, and they needed no salt or pepper. Next time, though, I'll turn down the heat a bit before cracking the eggs in. The edges got a bit crisper than I usually like.

We really missed bacon. We haven't indulged ourselves in a long time, though, now that we know a bit about what happens to corporate bacon before it becomes bacon. This bacon is everything bacon should be and more, without the baggage. It passes our cost test, but even if it didn't, its superior taste and quality would make it worth the extra cost. We don't eat a lot of bacon--or meat in general, for that matter--but the next bacon we buy is going to be from Creswick Farms. I really hope they also do ham.

**Does anyone have a good scratch recipe for buttermilk pancakes? We made butter out of some Calder's cream (also from LVL!) it was delicious on the pancakes, but now we've got all this buttermilk and nothing to do with it.

Dinner that even the kids wolfed down!!

2008-06-27T08:27:00.003-04:00

A few nights ago we planned to grill some steaks. Well it was pouring out at dinner time, so instead we pan-seared some Filet Mignon steaks with a sprinkle of Penzey's Chicago Steak Seasoning. We paired it with some sauteed greens, carrots and onions and garlic scapes (veges from either our CSA or the farm market) to which we added some garlic, ginger, tamari and salt and pepper. We also made some of the Mannomin (wild Rice) from LVL, I cooked it with a bit of broth, salt, pepper and water. It was delicious just plain!!! The kids LOVED the rice. It was the tastiest wild rice I have ever had. It will become a staple in our house!!

We had homemade chocolate custards for dessert. Great Meal!!

Last night in an attempt to use up greens (we get more today from our CSA) we made a delicious vegetable, chicken, egg drop soup! Used homemade chicken stock as a base and boy was it good.

Lisa

Sweetening One Local Michigan Summer

2008-06-20T18:38:00.005-04:00

Our attempts to document our version of “one local Michigan summer” is off to a slow and pathetic start due to the long interruption of power at the Whitfield house and the resulting disheveled schedules not to mention we're really bad at taking pictures and even worse at taking the time to write a blog entry. What seemed easy when we signed up for it now seems a bit challenging under these circumstances however, rest assured we're giving it the old college try - even if local means slapping a couple poached eggs on a plate courtesy of five cage free/free ranging hens loving life 50 feet from our back door. In the mean time, please accept this suggestion from Whitfield Apiaries (the Simply Raw Honey people) to help you meet your goals of eating “local” this summer.

Honey has been used for centuries as a natural sweetener and was a much coveted staple known to be present in every king or pharaoh’s pantry. Whatever happened to honey as our preferred sweetener? That is another story but for now, pure, naturally produced honey combined with local flour from Westwind Milling Co. is a sure way to complement those “local Michigan summer” meals with your favorite baked sweets.

To make the substitution, simply follow these guidelines that have been tried and proven for years by the food scientists at the National Honey Board. You can make good recipes even better using local, naturally produced honey:

Substitute honey for up to half the sugar called for in the recipe. With a little experimentation, honey can replace all the sugar in certain recipes.
Reduce the liquid in the recipe by ¼ cup for each cup of honey used.
Add ½ teaspoon baking soda for each cup of honey used.
Reduce oven temperature by 25 deg F to prevent over-browning.
Remember, honey has a higher sweetening power than sugar. It will take less to sweeten your recipe.
For easy measuring and fast clean-up, coat measuring cups and spoons with oil before measuring honey.
12 oz honey equals 1 cup.

If all this brings back bad memories of high school chemistry class, go to The National Honey Board and pick from the 1400 proven recipes offered. This is one of the best honey information resource for consumers, food industry professionals and beekeepers alike.

Best of luck with your “one local Michigan summer” and let Honey make your good food even better.

Bryan & Judy
Whitfield Apiaries
Ortonville, MI

Easy Cherry Sauce

2008-06-20T18:33:00.007-04:00

Looking for some ideas for frozen fruit? Fruit that's getting just a bit overripe? Or, fruit your kids might not eat in it's original form? This is an idea I have been using for times when I can figure out what to do with yet another bushel of peaches or fruit hanging out in the fridge just a little too long.

Cherry Sauce:

1 qt. bag of frozen tart cherries

1/2 cup organic sugar (more or less to taste)

few drops vanilla

touch of corn starch (not necessary for peaches, pears, apples)

Combine all ingredients and boil rapidly for 2 minutes, stirring and "squooshing" the fruit a little. Turn down heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Cool and pour into glass jar. I save pasta jars for this purpose.

Serve over pancakes, ice cream, shortcake - you name it! It's a great way to get an extra serving of fruit in my kids at breakfast and cut back on the maple syrup! YUM!

More Local Food and a rhubarb recipe

2008-06-17T20:19:00.002-04:00

On my own blog, I posted about (and some pictures) the breakfast and lunch I had today. I also posted a recipe for a fabulous Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp I made Sunday night. I saw that Julie posted some more rhubarb recipes on her website, so I thought this might be a something useful for those who have some extra rhubarb (I love to put it away in the freezer to use all year!!).

Dinner tonight was local too, We had roasted chicken (we get our chickens from Cloverlawn Farm--Jackie and Steve Good who I think live near Imlay City), Kim chi (homemade) and some of the Leelanau Cultured Veggies Ty's Spiced Beets which are oh so good, for the side dish my hubby whipped up some sauteed greens which was a combo of swiss chard and some unknown asian green both from Cinzori's Organic Farm. He added a bit of garlic, ginger, sesame oil and organic tamari sauce to the greens. Yummy!!

Lisa

Product Review: VitaSpelt Organic Spelt Spaghetti

2008-06-16T12:01:00.003-04:00

We have several packages of VitaSpelt products in our cupboard at the moment, and we tried the "Pasta d'Abruzzo" (lighter in taste and color!) style spaghetti the other day. Here's how it worked out for us.

We've been using Meijer's store brand organic pasta* for some time now. It's tasty, but certainly not local (the box says "product of Italy"), so we were very pleased to find pasta that comes from nearby. The fact that it's made from spelt instead of wheat made little difference to us; we're not concerned with gluten allergies or anything like that.

We prepared the spaghetti just like any other kind, and it cooked up nicely al-dente, and was easy to serve. After it cooled, it did stick together a bit, but not as much as our usual brand. We used the Meijer organic* sauce to top it, with some locally grown onions and basil mixed in for fun and flavor. The taste and texture were somewhat lighter than our usual pasta, and the flavor was almost unnoticeable in the background under the sauce. Most importantly, our 3-year-old ate it happily (without sauce) and had seconds. All in all, it was like replacing the coffee we usually serve with Folger's crystals--we didn't even taste the difference.

The one drawback is the price. At $2.25 for 8 oz of noodles, VitaSpelt spaghetti costs more than double the Meijer organic pasta ($1.99 for 16 oz). Ouch.

If you have gluten allergies, and value local food, VitaSpelt is definitely the way to go. But we have a policy about cost-benefit when it comes to our shopping. If an item costs double the nonlocal price (or more), then there needs to be an additional benefit to buying it (animals pastured and humanely slaughtered, for example, or markedly superior quality). The VitaSpelt spaghetti is perfectly good; there's nothing at all wrong with it. But for the price, well, we're going to try our hand at making our own noodles with local flour instead before we decide it's worth the extra expense. We have a recipe. I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes.

As mentioned above, we have some more varieties of the VitaSpelt pasta that we haven't tried yet, including whole grain angel hair and wide Amish style. I'll let you know how we like those as well.

Cheers!

*We know, industrial organic is only marginally better than agri-corp food, but those acres aren't sprayed or fertilized, so we reckon that's a gain. A small gain, but every little helps. And we can use the extra couple bucks at the Farmers' Market or other LVL products.

One Local Michigan Summer - Week 2

2008-06-15T22:48:00.004-04:00

Here we are, the second week of our challenge. A few storms, a couple power outages - nothing can keep us down! Here are the submissions:

Lisa made Father's Day a local affair with waffles, berries, syrup and a frittata - Oh my! I am guessing my husband wishes he was at her house! Read all about it (and see it too!) here. And, Lisa also made a yummy salad for lunch last week, which you can read and see here.
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The eco 'burban mom (that's me!) made an egg salad sandwich on a pita with a local beer on the side - yes, you read that right - beer. From Atwater Brewery in Detroit folks, totally local and part of the challenge! You can read all about it and sneak a peek at my beer here.
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Julie, our fearless LVL leader, rocked this challenge more than once this week and even sent in journal style food entries. Now, stop making us all look bad Jules! And, send us a picture so we can drool along with you!! ;o)

Thursday, June 12th - Manoomin Wild Rice (this is ok as a local ingredient, right? Let me know if not), served with olive oil (Organic, Fair Trade Holy Land Olive Oil!) and sprinkled with Redmond Sea Salt (from ancient sea beds in Utah).I was planning to have a smoothie with frozen blueberries I put up last summer from BlueRidge Organic Blueberry Farm in Capac, local raw milk from my cow share, raw egg from East River Organic in Snover, and frozen organic tart cherries from North Star Organic in Traverse City--but I got lazy, and had a cup of Leelanau Licorice tea (licorice root and peppermint from Light of Day Organics in Traverse City, which is also certified biodynamic) sweetened with honey from John Simmons' organic grain farm in North Branch. I usually use Whitfield Apiaries' honey, but John gave this honey to me as a gift, and I go back and forth between the two. :)

Friday, June 13 2008: Lunch Again, I won't be impressing anyone with my creativity here--I'm often looking for something quick and easy. Today's lunch was kefir I made from my raw cow's milk in St Johns...a very strong kefir, I might add...mixed with blueberries from Blueridge Organic Blueberry farm in Capac that I froze last summer and honey from Whitfield Apiaries in Brandon Twp. Not quite hitting the spot, I sliced up a Geronimo tomato from Zenner's hydroponic tomatoes up north...I'm not an advocate of hydroponics, as I feel food needs to grow in the ground, and the solution used to mix into the water is another layer of commercial production making what should be simple, complicated, but it was given to me as a sample. Why waste it? So, I chopped up the tomato and poured olive oil on it and sea salt and pepper. I wanted to drizzle some vinegar on it, too, but wasn't sure of its origin! STILL not quite satisfied, I eyed the organic white popcorn that Farmer Brown grew in the thumb, and John Simmons helped to separate and hull, popping it on the stove with olive oil and sea salting it. I topped it off with another cup of tea...the Relaxation Blend from Light of Day Organics in Traverse City, made from chamomile, spearmint, and raspberry leaf.

Saturday, June 14th - Rib Steak from East River Organic (Snover, approx 70 miles) pan-fried in lard from my pig, Our Farm and Dairy (St John's, approx 100 miles) seasoned with Redmond Sea Salt (Utah) and pepper (unknown origin)Sliced Geronimo tomato from Zenner Farms/Hydroponics (Kingsley, MI) drizzled with Holy Land Olive Oil (Palestine to CA to MI) seasoned with Redmond Sea Salt and pepperHomemade kefir Raw Milk from Our Farm and Dairy Frozen tart cherries from North Star Organics (Frankfort, MI) Maple Cream from Food for Thought (Honor, MI)
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We're still looking for more challenge participants! Join in, leave a comment here at this post, or to read about the challenge and rules, click the icon that says "One Local Michigan Summer" with the tomatoes in the right hand column and add your name there. We will sign you up and I will recap your meal every Sunday night, right here on the blog. Now, go get cooking! ~ Mandi

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T09:38:00.004-04:00

We are having my family over today for a Father's Day "Brunch" which is more like breakfast but at 11 am. I am making my "famous" waffles (which is a recipe from Deborah Madison, that I changed to make more healthy). They are made with all local flours and grains (from Westwind Mill), local eggs and homemade kefir. They also contain salt, baking powder and soda and vanilla extract and coconut oil. I also made a tart cherry sauce and a blueberry sauce. Both have some sugar in them, but the fruit is all local (blueberries are from our freezer from last summer and come from Blueridge farm in Capac, cherries are from Northstar Organic). I also plan to serve real maple syrup from Arnold's Sugar Bush (which is near North Branch) and whipped cream made with Calder's cream (from LVL). I am also making two different frittatas. The fritattas are based on a formula/recipe by Mollie Katzen from her book Sunlight Cafe (they are mostly a formula and directions with many variations, you can really put anything and substitute as needed).

The first Fritatta is made with local eggs, asparagus (local), garlic (local--I got it from Cinzori's Organic Farm at the Royal Oak Farmer's Market yesterday), parsley and dill from our CSA, and the spiced gouda cheese from Grassfield's. It also contains non--local onions (can't source local ones yet this year) and salt and pepper.

The second frittata is made with red potatoe slices (from White Pine Farms in North Branch), swiss chard and garlic (from Cinzori's), kale from our CSA and then these non-local ingredients --red onion, salt, pepper and goat cheese.

We plan to also have some great fresh strawberries I got from Maple Creek Farm in Yale, MI at the farmer's market!!

We are going to my In-laws for dinner, so we are taking a local chicken (cut up) and my homemade BBQ sauce along with a salad made with lettuce and greens from our CSA and local radishes and carrots (farmer's market find yesterday) we will also put local grassfield's cheese and some dried cherries on the salad.

Hope everyone has a yummy and wonderful Father's Day!

Lisa

P.S. I thought it funny when my 6 year old son was watching us cook and commenting on how it smelled good, etc. and we got around to "yucky food" in the conversation and he said that at school he didn't eat the apple. I said "Apples are good for you", and he said "Well I didn't eat it because it was sprayed with poisons". I guess I can't argue with that logic!!

I edited the post after our meal to include the picture.

Product Reviews: My thoughts

2008-06-14T11:01:00.007-04:00

Here's just a few of my thoughts on the products I've been ordering...

Yogurt: Wonderful!

I eat it for breakfast over fresh berries, granola and some raw honey (from Julie!) for breakfast and it has actually 'cured' my hayfever--NO JOKE! Google "probiotics hayfever" and you'll get a whole bunch of articles about the benefits of the "good bacteria" found in the yogurt. Usually this time of year, when the white fuzzies are flying around, I'm stuck in the house with a box of kleenex and a handful of Benedryl...not this year--I haven't taken an allergy pill since the beginning of May. That's 60+ pills I have not had to take, not to mention the $$ it's saved me as well. My other half has become a believer and he's starting to eat it too...he has his for dessert after dinner. I'll keep you posted on how it's working for him.

Sour Cream: Really good--fantastic consistency and taste. I can't buy this too often though, as I find myself creating dinners around the sour cream! :-)

Half & Half: Makes a great cup of coffee in the morning even better!

Peanut Butter: one word YUM! Both are really good! The toffee one is a bit sweeter (but that's how I like it when I eat it right out of the jar!) :-)

Global Warming HOT salsa: Like the other review here, the salsa's have a really unique flavor, a bit smokey, but not so much that it overpowers the rest of the flavors. The HOT is our favorite. I make 'deli' quesadillas in my paninni maker; lunch meat (turkey breast or chicken), cilantro, jalapenos and cheese and then top with sour cream & the salsa. It's a perfect light dinner on hot nights when I don't feel like "cooking".

Well, that's enough for now...I'm off to enjoy this great weekend!

kids...

2008-06-14T08:00:00.002-04:00

Hello all you local eaters... I just wanted to share a funny story with you about growing healthy kids. My little guy was about 4 at the time and went to a friends house to play. He was offered a pb&j and accepted. When the sandwich was served however he said "no, thanks, I'm not really hungry". When he returned home later I found out why. He said "mom, did you know there is white bread with no outside...and pb that looks funny!?!". It was apparently white bread w/ no crust and Jif or something like that... He has only ever had whole grain bread, natural pb, and preserves.

By the way, when the same boy came over to our house he wanted nothing to do with our version of pb&j!!! (I forgot that part when I told you, Julie)

Next up....how healthy is your skin care?!?!?

Op-Ed in NYT about food inspection and safety

2008-06-13T20:29:00.003-04:00

Hope you enjoy this article about food inspection and safety, including some history. A couple of new pieces of info here I hadn't heard before...pretty short article. Thanks to L.I. for sending it to me!

Local Lunch

2008-06-11T22:19:00.003-04:00

This is the lunch my husband and I had today. It was salad greens from Rocky Gardens CSA in Davisburg, the eggs are from local farms (we get them from Rocky Garden's but they don't produce them, they are local however), the dried cherries are from the farm up north where LVL gets them, the chicken is from Cloverlawn Farms and the cheese is Grassfields spiced Gouda that we got from LVL!! The only thing not totally local was the dressing (which isn't on the salad in the picture) it was made with Kefir (which we make from local raw milk) and a spice mix from Penzey's (which is a WI company, but the spices are sourced thorughout the world by them) but it has mayo in it which isn't local (but does mayo count as an oil, cause here that is really it's role???).

Anyway, it was so delicious and very filling.

Bon Appetite!!

Lisa

Upcoming Events

2008-06-10T18:35:00.003-04:00

Hi--I'll edit this as I come across others (to keep them in order by date), and you can send them my way, too...we'll get a queue going....

Green Cuisine in Honor, MI (Traverse City area). Tour Food for Thought's organic farm and green buildings at this zero-waste event. Learn about Northern Michigan's local food economy and taste local food and beverage artisans. Free! July 16th, 5-8 pm

Yule Love It Lavender Festival in Leonard, MI, July 18 & 19

Where it comes from, where it goes, and what you can do about it...

2008-06-09T19:52:00.003-04:00

In case you haven't seen these yet, they are entertaining and informative videos about what's wrong with the way things work in this country (and globally).

The Story of Stuff is about, well, our stuff, and why we should try to use less of it, and how.

The Meatrix is a brilliant parody of The Matrix (duh). It explains how factory farms work, and why they're allowed to keep working. (Hint: "Why oh why didn't I swallow the blue pill?")

And my favorite: Store Wars (the link will redirect you to youtube). Learn the ways of the Farm, and resist the evil Darth Tater!

It can be hard to preach the gospel of local eating without coming across as, well, preachy. These films are funny as well as informative, and get the message across in a non-holier-than-thou way (though as a member of the choir, I may be a bit biased on that score). All the films linked above (well, not The Matrix) are made by Free Range Studios, who take on other issues, like biodiversity, fair wages, and endangered species. If you haven't seen them, give them a click. Share the links with your friends. The more people know, the harder it will be for agri-business to keep poisoning our people, and the easier it will be for local farmers to sell you the good stuff.

Poland, EU's CAP, and GMOs

2008-06-07T22:08:00.002-04:00

Here's an article about what may happen to the 2 million farms in Poland under the EU's CAP, Common Agricultural Policy. Also discusses Poland's fight against GMOs. Long, and takes a while to get going, but worth the time. I haven't heard a lot about agricultural changes in Poland, so this is opening my eyes to that issue a bit...

Here's an excerpt:

How ironic it is that the hell bent US development of biofuels has played into the hands of the proponents of cheap GMO feed for meat production by forcing up the price of conventional feeds, such as barley based products, through displacing cereals from millions of acres planted with GM maize to produce fuel for motor-cars and trucks. Now GM soya and maize, previously avoided by most European animal feed importers, suddenly look like the only cheap option available. We have consistently lobbied for government to encourage farmers to grow their own traditional feed products, but in a world hooked on the global trade of cheap proteins, such advice has fallen on deaf ears.

Fork in the Road TV show

2008-06-07T20:03:00.002-04:00

A huge thanks to one of our members for introducing me to "Fork in the Road", a PBS cooking show starring a MI chef who travels around MI cooking with his unique finds!

I've already contacted the producer about possible collaboration opportunities and the publisher of his cookbook about getting bulk pricing for our buying club!

Check out the website which features lots of recipes!

Scenes from the kid's room

2008-06-06T00:21:00.002-04:00

This happened at my house the other day:

Zack is 3 years old, and he's playing with an Ertl farm set. He's got a wagon hooked up to a tractor, and in the wagon is a bunch of loose change from his brother's piggy bank.

Me: What's going on there, Zack?
Z: The farmer is taking his money home from the farmer's market!

Are you gettin' local with it?

2008-06-04T15:59:00.005-04:00

Sign ups for the One Local Michigan Summer are still going on, so if you want to get a chance at winning some of the fabulous prizes Miz Jules is giving away, get your name on the list and make sure to read the rules, email me your local meal of the week! Sign up here.

Just to show you how easy it can be... Here is my all local lunch from today. All 4 of my boys were gone, my husband had a lunch meeting and the dogs were sleeping. I had the kitchen all to myself...

Eggs - East River Organics
Butter - Calders
Jam - Cherry Republic - Cherry Peach
Bread - Westwind Milling
Cheese - Gouda from Grassfields

Quick, easy and pretty darn good. See, you can do it. It's this easy - sign up and don't miss out on all the fun we will be having this summer! Read this blog post for the rules, leave your name and email address in the comments section, or email me (mmankvitz@yahoo.com) for more information. Come on, get local with it!

Product Review: Global Warming Salsa

2008-06-03T14:31:00.002-04:00

LaVidaLocal introduced us to Global Warming Salsa at Oakland University's Earth Day fair. (Full disclosure: we bought our salsa direct form Global Warming at the fair, not through LVL, but that's how we found out about it.) We took home a jar each of Classic Mild and Classic Hot.
Here's how they worked out for us:

Classic Mild has a very rich, complex flavor that reminds one of hardwood smoke bubbled through balsamic vinegar. The texture is smooth, and the heat level is like the charcoal in the barbecue after you've cooked and eaten your dinner and go out afterward to make s'mores: it's definitely there, but it's more noticed than felt. Your average salsa-eater will enjoy this one but might want to go with Medium; folks who fear spicy food will be just about able to tolerate the heat. But the heat is not what makes this salsa worth the money. There's a lot going on in this jar. We're not sure if the complexity of flavor comes from roasting, the various ingredients, or some combination thereof, but wherever they get it, it's good.

Classic Hot is a lot like Classic Mild, but full of eye-watering, sinus-clearing, slow-burning heat. This is not the kind of hot salsa that warns you to "keep away from children and pets" or cautions cardiac patients not to eat it. Both of those things are probably advisable, but the flavor is more important, and more impressive, than the heat, which starts hot, slowly builds, and fades even more slowly. This salsa and some good tortilla chips would be a great complement to grilled steak and/or veggies, and might go well with your favorite brand of Scotch (though we didn't get to experiment with that last pairing).

Global Warming does various local events and has a Salsa of the Month club for the more adventurous. Their ingredients are not local (face it: Michigan has the wrong climate for really good chilis) but the sauces are all made nearby. At the Earth Day event, Global warming owner Dan Houston was talking about a wasabi-based salsa he was experimenting with. We hope to try it soon.

CSA Info

2008-06-03T10:50:00.002-04:00

I've been asked often lately, "What is a CSA?" CSA stands for "Community Supported Agriculture" (some sources say "community sustained..."). A consumer buys a share of the farm in the Spring for a set price (usually $500-$700) and receives produce during the growing season, typically 16-20 weeks. Some CSAs require work, some have working on the farm as an option for a reduced rate, some do not. Some CSAs deliver food to drop-off points, some require pick-up at the farm. Most CSAs are organically grown, some certified organic.

It's a beautiful model in many ways--you know your farmer, you know how the food is grown, you learn about eating seasonally, your inspired to "put up" food for the winter for those crops which grow abundantly for the season's unique weather. There's some risk that gets transferred from the farm's shoulder's to the consumers--if it's a tough season, the yield may not meet your expectations, but having a community carry some of that burden is much better than our current food model, which makes life so difficult for the growers that the profession is less appealing or not financially sustainable!

An article appeared in The Times Herald yesterday (a St. Clair County, MI paper) about Maple Creek CSA, the largest CSA in MI that I'm aware of. Click here to read it. You can find CSAs near you at localharvest.org. Les Roggenbuck of East River Organic, where we get our eggs and some beef, has a CSA--look for Maggie's post here on the blog!

naturally nutty comes to Detroit

2008-06-02T20:51:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone!
I guess I am a little behind on learning all of this blogging stuff, so please bear with me! I have no idea as to how to read questions posted to me!!!! I had a little help on this one!
Mandi, to answer your question, yes, I have thought about an organic chocolate pb!!!! I actually am going one step further with a specific kind of chocoate as soon as it hits the US. It's been in the European market for some time, but will not be introduced here for a few months yet! Stay posted and I will eventually share with you all what this might be.... For the time being, I have a semi-sweet chocolate cherry pb coming out in 2 weeks. Along with that, I have a cinnamon pb and a white chocolate cherry almond butter! The plain and vanilla almond butters are already out... YUM!
I can't remember if I told you all, but I will be under the Zacarro's tent in front of the DIA this Friday and Saturday! I will have all kinds of samples and info, and I would love to meet as many of you as possible!
Have a great night,
Katie

Organic by the Case Coupon Code for June

2008-06-01T22:17:00.003-04:00

My friends, Kevin and Yvette Berman, have launched organicbythecase.com--a great place to buy those organic pantry staples (Annie's, Clif, Luna, cereal, beverages, pet food, Tom's of Maine, EcoCover, etc)! Now they've been kind enough to offer a coupon code for La Vida Local for 10% off--use coupon code "lvl", for La Vida Local, of course!

Thanks, Kevin and Yvette!

Everything Rhubarb

2008-06-01T22:09:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to let you know that I've posted lots of info about rhubarb on my website! I will try to continue to do this with each food we cycle through in MI, but it could get daunting, come September!

Some teasers--did you know that rhubarb is a good source of Vits A and C? It is perhaps a good blood detox, and was used in Chinese medicine for years and years. You can "force roots" of rhubarb in the winter to get fresh food in January! You can also make a rhubarb syrup that doesn't require canning--just some old-fashioned bottles and corks! Rhubarb also freezes very well--as a very affordable vegetable that is nutritious, pull it out all winter to make yummy pies or pancake topping, or try cooking it in some maple syrup or honey, and making a sweet smoothie!

We'll be getting organic strawberries by the case this summer (as long as the harvest is abundant), and you'll want to put many of them in the freezer as well to pair this winter with your frozen rhubarb! Plan ahead for a local winter!!!!

Welcome from Whitfield Apiaries

2008-06-01T17:42:00.005-04:00

A warm Whitfield Apiaries welcome to the LaVida Local Community! We are proud to be one of Julie’s local farmers and a very satisfied customer as well. Some of our LaVida Local favorites have been the dried cherries, pork chops, whole wheat flour and of course, the asparagus. ..yummm yummm!

Our family produces raw, natural honey using sustainable, biological beekeeping methods. Most describe us as “fringe” beekeepers because our honey is produced in hives that remain completely untreated with the usual toxic chemicals that have become standard practice for the commercial and hobby beekeeper alike. We never have and never will use antibiotics and chemical pesticides. To learn more about our approach to beekeeping, visit http://www.simplyrawhoney.com/biological.html.

LaVida Local has been an important part of our growth this past year and we appreciate every member who is committed to eating local and supporting small farms like ours. We are very fortunate to be part of the movement to naturally and locally produced food as it is important for our health and environment. I tell Julie that organizations like LaVida Local are the sustainable and healthful future of food in America.

Judy and I would like to share one of our favorite honey recipes for the “Best Barbeque Sauce” that was shared by one our beekeeping friends. The name says it all. Enjoy!

Best Barbecue Sauce

1 ½ c ketchup
¾ c Whitfield Apiaries Honey
1 tbsp. Black pepper
1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. Liquid smoke

Mix altogether and baste your favorite free range chicken or grass fed beef ribs. We keep some aside to use at the table.

Let us know what you think. If you have any questions about our honey or our beekeeping methods let us know. We want you to know where your honey comes from.

Judy, Bryan, Miles and Mia
www.simplyrawhoney.com

Want a Challenge?

2008-05-31T18:19:00.007-04:00

The Eco 'Burban Mom - that's me, otherwise know as Mandi and a LVL club member, is challenging you all to a little fun this summer. I love challenges! I have bought nothing, cut the clutter, read great green books, been a giver and eaten local - all as part of a challenge sponsored by one of by blog pals. This month alone I am part of a bookworm challenge, a peak oil crisis challenge and One Local Summer.

For those new to One Local Summer - it's a nationwide challenge to cut carbon emissions and support local economy by asking each member to cook one local meal per week, all summer long. Absolutely fun and 100% delicious at the same time! At the end of the week, a regional sponsor will visit each of our blogs to read about our meal and recap the meal on the main website. We all get great ideas for meals and some new recipes and end up meeting some new friends who are all locavores, just like us.

Unfortunately, One Local Summer closed to new members last month, so I would like to create "One Local Michigan Summer" for all of us La Vida Local members. Here are the rules:

1. Create one ALL local meal each week.
2. This meal can be any meal, breakfast lunch or dinner.
3. Weeks run Sunday to Sunday - starting tomorrow June 1st, ending with the first Sunday in October - though sign up anytime during the summer, as it gets warmer, it will get easier!
4. All ingredients MUST be from our own state, or very close borders to IN, OH & Canada with the only exceptions being salt, spices, oil.
5. After you have cooked your meal, email me (mmankvitz@yahoo.com) with your meal story and maybe even a photo and recipe. Where did you get your ingredients, did you meet the farmer personally? What did your kids think? That sort of thing - funny stories, tips, new farms or even secret off the roadside blackberry patches. Whatever floats your boat.

6. I am going to go with the "beg for forgiveness instead of asking for permission" rule here and guessing that Julie and I can cook up a little prize for the member who contributes the most entries... Thanks, Jules! ;o)

At the end of each week, I will post a recap - right here on the La Vida Local Blog - of the meals, recipes and tips found and contributed by all of the members. I would assume we could all use some great local ingredient recipes and I am betting Julie wouldn't mind seeing all of her great products made into darn right tasty concoctions...

So, are you up for it? Are you game or just an organic, free range, local CHICKEN? Come on, I dare you... This will be fun and delicious! Just add your name and email address to the comments section following this post and I will put you on the list of participants.

One Local Michigan Summer has officially begun! For more information, email me or head on over to my blog and leave me a comment. Click the link above to visit One Local Summer too, they will have great recipes each week, if you need a little boost to get your local cooking skills humming!

Politics and Law Enforcement vs Farm-to-Consumer Sales

2008-05-30T14:19:00.002-04:00

If you've really done your homework on how many small farmers have been harassed by government regulation, this article won't be news to you. But if you're new to the scene, you may be skeptical, but believe me, it's overwhelming how often this stuff goes on.

This is an editorial by David Gumpert appearing in "The Nation". It's about the attack on raw milk, which I'm afraid to even post here, because it's a red flag to Big Brother. But there, I've said it! Lol...it also expands on several examples of using undercover agents to infiltrate buying clubs as well (that deal with said dairy products, which I don't mess with under MI law, save the cheese, which is legal to sell when aged an appropriate length of time).

Don't we have more important issues to deal with at both the state and federal level than interfering with consumers buying from farmers directly (or even indirectly, as through me) when the consumer understands exactly what they're purchasing? Buying local is totally accountable and transparent. Buying food at a grocery store is a big mystery--but the government gives it a seal of approval, and that's supposed to make it safe, right? HA!

Here's a snippet from the article...come on! Was the guy really so dangerous that they needed all the drama? Those Mennonites...they're violent, I hear!!! Intimidation is the name of the game, and with the moles they're planting, they're trying to divide us by eliminating trust:

What are these cases really about? It might be argued that, individually, these are mostly harmless cases of low-level bureaucrats gathering evidence by posing as consumers. But taken together, something more is definitely going on.

For one thing, the use of undercover agents tends to be accompanied by other questionable investigative techniques. Meadowsweet Farm has filed suit against the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets, alleging in part that a search warrant used by the agency before filing its undercover-agent-inspired complaint was deficient because of its open-ended time frame and vague language about the amount of force that could be used in confiscating evidence.

The week before Mark Nolt's trial, a caravan of law enforcement vehicles arrived unannounced at his farm, carrying eleven PDA employees and four state police officers. The officers secured a perimeter around the farm to prevent any neighbors, including Nolt's elderly father who lives down the road, from gaining entrance. They handcuffed Nolt and took him away in a police car to be arraigned without allowing him to alert his family. And while a search warrant limited the officials to confiscating milk processing equipment, the authorities also took Nolt's expensive cheese-making equipment and cream separator.

Do you trust imported "organic" food?

2008-05-30T14:01:00.002-04:00

The short answer to that questions is...not sure. And since I take my organic food seriously, I'll try to stay away from it when I have alternatives. I am under the impression (from light research) that China is a very polluted country (not just the cities, but watershed and farmland as well), and I do feel that there's not much accountability for unsound business practices.

I thought you might like to see this investigative reporting video about all of the imported Chinese "organic" that Whole Foods carries and the certification process.

The Importance of Eating Earnestly

2008-05-28T22:28:00.002-04:00

I have for a long time been vaguely dissatisfied with the food that's generally available in supermarkets. Most of it doesn't really look like food, and the stuff that does is shipped in from some other hemisphere and doesn't taste like itself. Then there are all the problems with the meat industry. I didn't really know about those problems until fairly recently, but I felt them.

My early summers were spent in rural Iowa, where my dad grew up. Back in the 70s and early 80s, my grandparents' neighbors had working farms, and there was a pleasant, farmy smell to the air. That was before the caged animal feeding operations moved in. Nowadays the air in my dad's hometown smells like poison, and the well water must be filtered or it will eventually kill you.

This vague dissatisfaction was pretty much my entire reaction to the national food problem until a few years ago, when my wife discovered the books of Barbara Kingsolver--first her fiction, and then her more activist work. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle led us to read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, which led us to Joel Salatin's Everything I Want to do is Illegal. And trips to the grocery store became...complex.

We knew too much.

Nothing looked like food to us anymore. It was all wrong, even the "fresh" produce. (Asparagus in January!?) We couldn't look at grocery store meat without thinking about what happens in the CAFOs and the meatpacking plants. We didn't want to give that stuff to our kids. We wanted to eat real food that had been grown by real farmers on a real farm, but where would we find it, especially in the middle of a Michigan winter?

Then we discovered La Vida Local.

Okay, we still couldn't get fresh local lettuce in January (there's a limit to Julie's miracle-working), but we could get ground beef that had been allowed to act like a cow all its life, cheese that didn't have a z in it, and that had been made right here in Michigan, and all manner of other stuff made or grown or raised less than a couple hundred miles away. It takes a little extra planning, but it's so worth it. The food tastes more like itself, it's better for you, our grocery dollars stay in Michigan (which, face it, in this economy can't be a bad thing), and there are fewer ethical questions about whether our dinner is wrecking the world.

Now that spring is here, we're going to farmers' markets (one in Pontiac, one in Royal Oak), and we've got a nice crop of veggies started, but we're still using La Vida Local. Watch this space for our thoughts about the various products that we've tried and meals we've cooked with
La Vida Local products.

I'll leave you with a thought from Pixar's Ratatouille: "If you are what you eat, then I only want to eat the good stuff." You can find the good stuff right here.

naturally nutty

2008-05-28T20:51:00.002-04:00

Hi to all!
Thank you so much to whoever e-mailed/invited me on this blog site...I love all of the wonderful information! It's so nice to know that there are so man wonderful, consciencious people out there!
Will anyone be coming up to the cherry fest here in TC? This will be my first year selling product there and it would be so nice to chat with some friendly people.... if you're there, please come and visit for a bit!
Have a beautiful day,
Katie

East River Organic Farm - Les Roggenbuck

2008-05-28T15:16:00.003-04:00

Warm hello to everyone living La Vida Local ~

We are a 400-acre family farm 7 miles west of Sandusky, Michigan, and close to Marlette, the “Heart of the Thumb.” The Roggenbuck family has farmed in this area for the better part of a century and has farmed this land in particular since the early 70s. In the 90s we transitioned to organic grain and beans and let go of many rented acres to account for the extra time and attention required by organic production.

Les says, “Six or seven years ago I decided that if this farm were going to last, it would have to diversify. I made a list of the things we could provide that would work around here. One of my goals was to put food on people’s tables. I was tired of measuring things out in bins and bushels and trucking them off here and there. So I made a list from simpler to more complicated products to provide. Eggs, vegetables, chicken, beef, and pork were at the top of the list. Dairy was near the bottom because it was too big a change and too much infrastructure, but I also think about what a one-cow dairy would look like!”

We started the herd of Devon cattle in 2002 and the vegetable CSA with 5 families in 2003. The chickens showed up along the way and now enjoy their sunny yard and tidy red coop-on-wheels, laying about 25 dozen rainbow eggs a week! Our diversifying family farm enterprise has begun to look a lot more like it did in the 50s, supported by beef and egg customers throughout the Thumb and Southeast Michigan, local CSA members, and direct sales of organic grains both domestically and overseas. Some goals for the next couple of seasons are to provide homes for honeybees on the farm, and to continue experimenting with yogurt and cheese-making courtesy of Pansy, our young one-cow home dairy.

PFC Exposure Widespread

2008-05-27T09:37:00.000-04:00

Here's a link to an article posted on the University of Massachusetts Amherst website/newsfeeds. It's sharing a discovery about PFCs in human breastmilk, but also has good general information about PFC danger (scotch-guarded material, teflon coating, microwave popcorn bags, etc).

Healthy Traditions Network Events

2008-05-27T09:19:00.001-04:00

Click here to see this Friday (May 30)'s "Friday Night Live", sponsored by the Detroit and Lapeer chapters of the Weston A Price Foundation, Healthy Traditions Network, commonly known as HTN. This Friday's topic is about common, everyday toxins we expose ourselves to...in food, body care products, etc.

There will also be a Farmers' Market where you can get toxic-free food for impeccable sources.

If you follow this link there's info on getting two tickets for $25 (buy one, get one free)!

Sources for grass-fed meat, as published by the Free Press

2008-05-26T21:48:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Catherine P. for sending me this link to a Free Press article about sources for grass-fed meat. Some of these are new to me, some tried and true. I encourage you to do your own research. Some research questions to begin with would be:

1. Is your pasture certified organic, and if not, please tell me your grass management methods?
2. How often are they pastured?
3. What feed do you supplement with? Bear in mind that the only animals designed to eat grain, in many experts' opinions, are birds. Cows are not meant to eat grain (corn is a grain)! Although it can be very hard to obtain organic feed through the winter, and very expensive, so sometimes we have to be more forgiving. If corn is not organic, it is probably genetically modified (GM). Also watch out for GM soy. Winter feed should be dried, not fermented, as lysteria is a threat with fermented "silage".
4. Do you grow your own supplemental feed? A self-sustaining farm is a farm that will not be privy to rapidly changing (increasing!) global commodity prices.
5. Please tell me about your butcher. How is the meat packaged (paper or plastic, if it matters to you)? Are they USDA-inspected? If not, please tell me about why you've chosen them (sometimes the best butchers are not inspected...it doesn't mean that they have something to hide, it just might not be feasible for them).
6. Is your meat aged? Where can I get a sample to try?
7. What time of year should I order, and when and how do I get delivery/pick-up? (usually, you'll pick-up from the butcher).
8. What options do I have for butchered cuts? (Usually there's a sheet you can fill out to specify how you'd like your cuts done and packaged...thickness, quantity per package, etc)

These questions are just a start--off the top of my head. I'm sure I'm missing something important! :)

I highly recommend the book "Holy Cows and Hog Heaven" by Joel Salatin--a quick, important read that will help you go "local meat" in many ways, and give you a better perspective of the farmer's point of view. Not sure you want to go local for your meats? Then you must read Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

I encourage you to buy in bulk, directly from the farmer...better for them (usually--some don't like the aspect of marketing their products, and would rather do without), and cheaper for you. Shooting myself in the foot? Nope, I just don't see it that way. All work to guide us to a more sensible, sustainable local food economy is going to benefit us all!

Julie

Info on Higher Grounds coffee

2008-05-26T20:56:00.001-04:00

Hi--I just wanted to give you all some great resources for learning about Higher Grounds Trading Company, our coffee supplier in Traverse City. You couldn't ask for a more heart-centered company that is making big changes in the world! And it's delicious to boot!

Here's aninterview with Chris Treter, co-founder (with his wife, Jody)...scroll down to April 5th, Part II...ok, I can't get that link to work. Let me try this... ok, this one works! :)

Here's an article about Chris and Jody that appeared in the Detroit Free Press.

And lastly, an article about their delivery person, who delivers coffee by bicycle and trailer, year-round...in Traverse City!!!

Thanks to club members Mandi M and Judy W for these great sources of info!

Julie

Earth Day Expo: Thank-you to all!

2008-05-25T19:52:00.001-04:00

Thank-you for an Amazing Earth Day Expo!

All I have to say is, "Wow." I am in awe of where we are at on this planet. There is a heightening of awareness that has such potential to unite us and take us to new places. Thank-you for being my partners on this journey toward a New Earth.

Peace to all,

Julie

Frozen Tart Cherries Recipe: Cherry Muffins from Mandi M!

2008-05-25T19:50:00.000-04:00

Frozen Tart Cherries Recipe: Cherry Muffins from Mandi

Thanks for this one, Mandi--sounds delicious! And a cherry muffin might just be something my kids will eat!

"Using the yummy cherries I bought from you, I made this recipe. Of course, organic eggs from Les, organic brown sugar, organic oats, organic butter, organic milk... you know the drill! This made about 15 muffins - strange # I know, but they were good! So, here it is if you want to pass it on (or use yourself!). I literally scooped the frozen cherries right from the bag and into the recipe! Have a good one! - Mandi

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk; low fat is fine
1 1/2 cups cherries

Mix dry ingredients & sugar - set aside. Melt butter, whisk in eggs and vanilla. Mix w/ dry ingredients and milk. Bake 375 for 20-24 minutes. Makes about 15 muffins."

Asparagus Recipe: From Julie!

2008-05-25T19:48:00.000-04:00

Asparagus Recipe: From Julie!

This is such a simple way to enjoy your asparagus. I can't claim to have invented it, as it's come to me several times from a variety of people...

Simply mix olive oil, sea salt, and pepper in a cup--don't be tempted to add other spices, as simple is better for this yummy appetizer or side dish. Grill your whole asparagus spears while brushing with your oil mixture. Done when it looks done! Lol..sorry to be obscure! It should be slightly browned and tender-looking. :)

Enjoy as a finger food snack/appetizer or as a side dish. I bet it'd be great chopped up in 1 1/2 inch lengths and laid over salad! I particularly like asparagus when paired with pork as well.

Love! Julie

PS--Asparagus is also awesome with risotto and parmesan cheese!