Photo by Steve Bailey, under a Creative Commons license

I love this quote from Susan Rubin, co-producer of the film Two Angry Moms and founder of the advocacy group Better School Food, from an article excerpted by CalorieLab:

You get angry when your boundary has been violated, and the food industry has violated our boundaries with what they are offering out kids. I’m just trying to protect my cubs.

I think every penny is worth it. To me, food is health care. You can pay the farmer or the doctor.

(Emphasis is mine.)

I can really attest to that—since I started cutting back on processed junk for mostly local, organic food two years ago, I haven’t been sick once. (Well, other than my regular migraines, for which no earthly balm can abate.) My friend Felicia trumps me with THREE.

This post is part of One Local Summer: Week 7

I’m madly trying to keep up with my CSA’s vegetable bounty. This scrumptious carrot, ginger, and beet soup, adapted from a recipe in Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons, can be savored hot or chilled—and is perfect for helping pare down beet and carrot inventories in fridges everywhere.

Local: Organic beets, organic onions, organic carrots, organic garlic, organic parsley
Non-local: salt, vegetable bouillon cube, canola oil
Unknown: Organic ginger

Carrot, Ginger, and Beet Soup
Serves 4

• 4 medium-size beets, cut into chunks
• 1 tbs canola oil
• 1 medium-size onion, chopped
• 1 pound carrots, coarsely chopped
• 1 tbs minced fresh ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups water or basic vegetable stock

1. Heat oil, saute onions.
2. Add carrots, ginger, and garlic—cook for 5 mins.
3. Add beets, then water or stock.
4. Simmer covered for 50 mins.
5. Puree soup in batches in food processor or blender.
6. Salt and pepper to taste.

Photo by Paul Goyette, under a Creative Commons license

Fresh-pesto lovers with an abundance of basil from their farmer or gardens can take a tip from chef Jacques Pepin, author of Chez Jacques: Traditions and Rituals of a Cook, who freezes basil puree into ice cubes for future pesto-making machinations. Here’s his method:

1. Submerge basil leaves in boiling water and cook until soft, about one minute.
2. Drain in a colander and cool with cold water.
3. Drain again and press gently to remove excess water.
4. Place in a food processor with a dash of salt and some olive oil.
5. Process until pureed and freeze in small packages.

You can also choose to make the pesto beforehand and then freeze it in its entirety in an ice-cube tray. This trick works just as well with leftover wine, which you could then use for cooking at a future date, you lush, you.

[via Care2]

This post is part of One Local Summer: Week 6

Potato-and-pesto croquettes with yogurt-cucumber sauce; a side of roasted wax beans and caramelized onions

Local: organic potatoes, organic basil, organic yogurt, organic cucumber, organic wax beans, organic onions, organic garlic
Non-local: breadcrumbs, organic olive oil, organic cumin, salt, pepper

The recipes were adapted from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, a massive tome I borrowed from the library but am considering purchasing. I can’t recommend this cookbook enough, even though it skimps on accompanying photographs. The best part is the section on commonly used vegetables, which Madison lists alphabetically, along with information about differentiating among varieties, storage, and preparation—terribly useful when you find yourself faced with bag of greens from your CSA (kohlrabi, anyone?), with no clue what to do with them.

The yogurt-cucumber sauce, which you keep refrigerated, is wonderfully cooling and the perfect companion for fritters and croquettes. Here’s my modified recipe:

Yogurt Sauce with Cucumber and Cumin
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

• 2 cups yogurt
• 1 small cucumber, peeled if waxed, and cubed
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste
• freshly milled white pepper to taste

Stir all ingredients in a bowl and let stand at least 15 mins for the flavors to develop.

Husband: How did you get the tea to taste like honey?

Me: I added … honey.

Husband: Touché.

A Slice of Organic Life by Sheherezade Goldsmith (Ed.)

Novices taking their first toddling steps toward a more sustainable lifestyle should look elsewhere for a reassuring hand and the soft coo of encouragement. A Slice of Organic Life, edited by Sheherezade Goldsmith, dives headlong into the often baffling business of eco-friendly living by rattling off a series of instructions, without framing them in any kind of context that might make sense to a greenie-to-be.

A foreword by acclaimed chef, author, and food activist Alice Waters is followed by an introduction by Goldsmith. But just when you think you’re on solid, navigable terrain, the ground suddenly opens up below your feet and you find yourself inexplicably rushing past an edict to “Grow Salad Leaves in a Window Box.” Immediately after, you’re asked to “Save Energy the Easy Way,” and then to “Shop Ethically,” as if you were flipping through a stack of flash cards, each bearing little relation to its neighbors.

It would be unfair, however, to say that no effort at organization has been made—the book is ostensibly split into three sections based on your living situation: 1. No Need for a Yard, 2. Roof Terrace, Patio, or Tiny Yard, and 3. Yard, Community Garden, or Field. It might be easier to think of Slice as a collection of homesteading projects, from making and freezing baby foods to—I kid you not—raising a couple of young pigs.

The large type, vibrant and generously laid-out photographs are certainly appealing, and so this is the kind of glossy picture book you could strategically place on your coffee table to pique the curiosity of non-environmentally inclined guests. Slice makes for an easy, non-threatening read—and you really do emerge from its pages believing that yes! you could grow sweet peas on a teepee or become a bee keeper—but the book also tries to toss too many balls in the air at the same time, and keeping track of all them can leave you feeling dizzy. ($25, cloth)

Want to snag my free copy of the book? Comment below about something you never thought you’d DIY, but you did. I’ll pick a winner at random on August 1.

This review refers to a first American hardcover edition, courtesy of DK Publishing. A Slice of Organic Life can be found in stores now.

Photo by Viva Terra

At the Union Square farmers’ market on Saturday, I saw a couple breeze through the crowd while carrying a basket much like the one by Viva Terra pictured above—incredibly stylish; far chicer than the medley of plastic bags the hordes of produce hunters were clutching. I found some really fetching fair-trade African baskets here, as well as a large assortment of styles handwoven by a woman in Vermont.

Tip: When buying bread from your farmers’ market, take with you a used bread bag (from your previous supermarket loaf) so you can save some extra plastic.

Related posts:
1. Big Brown Bags
2. Neither Paper Nor Plastic: An Ecological Intervention
3. Plastic Bag Ban: Friend or Faux Pas?

This post is part of One Local Summer: Week 4

A dutch baby filled with an apple-and-peach compote. Is there a joy greater than having the juices of a perfectly ripened peach run down the sides of your mouth as you scrape the pit clean?

Local ingredients: apples, peaches, spelt flour, organic free-range eggs
Non-local ingredients: organic butter, organic soy milk, organic/fair-trade sugar, organic cinnamon powder