A Book Recommendation

Recently I finished "Gaining Ground" by Forrest Pritchard.  It documents the first years of his efforts to save his family farm in Virginia by becoming an organic farmer.  Having grown up on a family farm, with both parents also from a family farm, this subject is near and dear to my heart.  It does my heart good to see that organic farming can be yet another way to preserve this important, and fast disappearing, part of our heritage.  The book was fun to read - written with both humor and humility.  I recommend it to anyone who is interested in family farms, organic farming on a small scale, or for someone who simply wants to learn more about where their own food comes from.  

"The family farm will continue as long as its existence is valued."  --Forrest Pritchard

Happy Reading!  

Here's a link to Forrest Pritchard's blog:  http://forrestpritchard.com/

Healing Multiple Sclerosis | Kelly the Kitchen Kop

I thought I'd share this story on my own blog:
Healing Multiple Sclerosis | Kelly the Kitchen Kop

FREE Child Nutrition and Cooking Online Course

As if I have nothing to do, I've signed up for this course:  https://www.coursera.org/course/childnutrition
Looking forward to learning more about child nutrition and healthy cooking ideas for my daughter!

Bhutan leads the way

I came across this article from NPR recently:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/07/31/157645902/bhutan-bets-organic-agriculture-is-the-road-to-happiness (photo from article)

Bhutan has pledged to become a 100% organic country, banning the use of all synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, etc.  Although there is some opposition within the government, I am impressed that they are even having this conversation.

And it turns out that Sikkim State in India is also on track to be 100% organic by 2015.

 

Support your local farmers!

My family is so lucky to live in a heavily agricultural state, and this year I have seen more farmer's markets than ever in the Atlanta metro area.  I am excited to visit as many as possible and enjoy fresh vegetables all summer long.  Here are a few tips that I have learned over the years (the hard way).  Maybe you all are much smarter than me, but it has taken me some time to be a savvy shopper at farmer's markets and produce stands.  Trial and error seems to be my modus operandi.

http://www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com/

1.  Be careful of roadside stands, especially this time of year.  Often the produce they are selling is not grown locally and is not organic.  I have seen lots of "hydroponic" tomatoes from Florida and California at roadside stands in Georgia, and lots of peaches from California, Alabama, or South Carolina sold at stands in the Peach State.

2.  Look around the sales table and note whether there are produce boxes with name brand labels, it may be a clue that the produce you are buying is not local.

3.  Ask whether the person selling the produce actually grew it.  They're usually honest about it.

4.  Locally grown produce is usually smaller in size than mass-produced food.  That's okay with me, it means its real.

5.  Smell it, squeeze it, and check the bottom of the basket for rotten items.

6.  Locally grown produce is usually dirtier and dingier than produce in the grocery store, so it will need to be washed.  That's also okay, because it was grown this year and it hasn't been gassed or submerged in chemical baths to keep it fresh.

7.  If you want organic, be sure to confirm with the seller.

8.  Ask questions and talk to the seller or the farmer - you'll usually learn something and have a better buying experience.

9.  This one is hard for us:  go early.  The best produce at a farmer's market goes first, and the early birds do get the best items.  Even if I have arrived late, I don't usually get discounts for buying the last items available.

10.  Don't be a sucker.  Last year I wanted fresh sweet potatoes badly, and ended up paying $1.00 for a tiny little potato!  Darcy enjoyed it, but looking back, it wasn't worth my $1.00.

Lastly, my goal for this year is to try to cook with new vegetables, so I plan to look for items that our family doesn't normally eat and making menus starting with those ingredients.  If that doesn't work out, I'll be happy with tomatoes every day.  

To find a farmer's market near you, try the internet!  Atlanta Magazine has a great guide for our area:
http://www.atlantamagazine.com/guides/localfoods/browse.aspx

I couldn't resist:    

Experts Say Food May Contribute To Anger, Violent Behavior « CBS Boston

Experts Say Food May Contribute To Anger, Violent Behavior « CBS Boston

An interesting article to start my week - it will make me feel better about salad for lunch every day!



(SimplyRecipes.com)

Small Oil from Small Farms

Oil.  When you hear that word, do multi-country corporate conglomerates pop into your head, reminding you of oil spills, high gas prices, and sandy places?  Well, this post has nothing to do with big oil, it's about the 1/4 cup of cooking oil you may use in one recipe - let's call it "small" oil.  Where does that come from?     

Last month it was brought to my attention that cooking oil is commonly made from GMO plants, such as corn, canola, soybeans, etc.  Even plain old vegetable oil is not exempt from containing GMOs, to my surprise and dismay.  The lesson again is that GMOs are everywhere, they keep showing up in common foods that I thought were "safe"!

Since that time I have been thinking about how to get rid of this "hidden" GMO in my family's diet, including finding an oil that is typically not GMO, possibly one that is already on my conventional grocery store shelf.  I really like canola oil, but I thought I may even need to switch oil types.  We use oil for all sorts of things including baking mixes, cakes, sauteeing, frying, etc. so I needed something that was versatile.

Last night I found my own solution that tics some important boxes to me:  non-GMO, locally owned and processed, and sourced from small farmers in our region.  Solio Family Canola Oils are made from canola plants grown on small farms in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina.  Apparently it's brand new (the website is still under construction) but I was impressed that the cost was the same as the health food store's own generic brand product that contains GMOs.  I'm looking forward to trying it out, and I can't wait to post the results.

http://soliofamily.com/