The Good, The Bad and The Yummy

I've fluffed off a bit over the holidays, I admit, but I've also had some successes and forward progress.

Christmas dinner centered around a modest 4.5 lb rib roast. Even though I didn't shop for it until Christmas Eve, Publix had a selection of their "Greenwise" beef roasts available, and at $35, quite reasonably priced. $7+ per pound? Reasonable? Absolutely. Their Greenwise beef met all the standards I was hoping for (except being local, which it may have been, but I couldn't tell), and was excellent beef. I'm ashamed to say I've spent far more on holiday roasts in the past, and this year's dinner left me with a clear conscience. Here's what Publix says about their Greenwise beef, so you know what I mean by that:

Publix GreenWise Market USDA Choice Beef

You can feel good about eating tender, flavorful Publix GreenWise Market Beef. Completely natural, with no artificial additives or preservatives, this beef comes from cattle raised humanely on a 100% vegetarian diet, never receiving any antibiotics or hormones. We "source verify" all of our Publix GreenWise Market Beef, keeping close track of the cattle all the way from birth, validating all feeding, handling, and living conditions, and ensuring that our strict standards are always maintained. Which means that you always get the very best quality, naturally delicious beef.

In addition to the beef, we had Yorkshire Pudding, which I made from scratch, sweet peas with no additives or preservatives or anything, and, um, I forget what else. To be honest, in our house Christmas dinner is all about the Yorkshire Pudding. The roast is really a means to that end, since you need good beef drippings to make it. All in all, it was a fairly natural meal, full of things that could have been found on Dickensian tables.

While I was shopping for the feast on Christmas Eve, our new Royal Berkey water filtration system arrived. I set it up, but had a hard time priming the optional fluoride filters. In fact, 3 days and many gallons of contaminated water later, we took the damn things off and are just using the regular black filters. I have an email into Berkey customer service and will update everyone when I hear back from them. Last night, however, 2 drops of water leaked onto my brand new iPod screen and etched the surface. I still have to wonder what's in my water. Just this morning I heard that ECUA (the local water company) is addressing the toxic chemicals in the water supply not by removing them, but by suing DuPont, whom they blame for the elevated levels of PTFE and other contaminants. DuPont may or may not be to blame, but as the public water provider, ECUA is most certainly responsible for providing safe drinking water immediately, with or without DuPont's bank account. When they get their greedy little paws on that, they can replace my iPod for a start.

Finally, on a happier note, I found (was shown, really) a wonderful source of farm fresh eggs today. I got 3 dozen and I can't wait to use them. Growing up, we always had a collection of cardboard egg cartons on the top of the fridge. Periodically we would go over to the Vento's and get some fresh eggs. That's where eggs came from - my best friend's family chickens. The only time we saw white eggs was when my mother would buy a dozen specifically to dye for Easter. My kids were tired after playing all day and didn't put up with my praises of eggs from "Happy Chickens" for long, and my husband simply thinks I'm a freak for driving any further than the supermarket for eggs, but I'm happy. And the chickens are happy. Of all the things I want to change about our family lifestyle, this is the first one that allows me to feel like I'm truly able to provide my family with the quality of life I took for granted as a kid. Other changes will be harder if not impossible to duplicate perfectly, but this one is settled. I'm a content and grateful Mother tonight for the generosity of a friend who introduced me to this (highly guarded, sorry) source.

Until next time, Happy New Year!

The Slow Boat to Sustainability

I admit it. I'm already completely overwhelmed with this. Over the weekend, I got off to a good start. The first few choices were simple. Now, a few days later, I'm struggling.

I went to my butcher twice this week, hoping to find grass-fed beef for Christmas dinner, but he wasn't available either time. There was no one, and no labeling, to tell me anything about the origin of the meat, and suddenly the food that has always been so appetizing there just seemed... off. Even the Prime beef seemed gray to me. It wasn't physically any different than it has been all along, but my new knowledge, and guilt, ruined it for me. So now, on December 23rd, I have no Christmas dinner and no idea where I'm going to find one.

Meanwhile, I'm still trying to use up and clean out the items already in our pantry and freezer. It's really been a bit of a junk food last hurrah this week. Normally, we'd only have these things once in a blue moon, as a special treat, but this week we've been eating worse than ever in our efforts to get rid of all this stuff. There have been a few small healthy breaks, of course, like homemade mac & cheese, and buttermilk pancakes, also made from scratch, but there have been other meals made entirely of frozen "snacks" and leftovers. Ugh.

I'm sure the normal stress of the holidays is part of my frustration as well. Honestly, while my family loves our traditional roast beast with Yorkshire pudding, we're not having any guests this year, and the kids will be more concerned with whatever Santa brings. Still, not knowing what I'm serving them is stressful to me. In fact, my new awareness of the global picture is really messing up everything for me. We all know that we need to "go green" to save the Earth. It's a big, sweeping generalization that we accept, and then get back to our lives. This time, when the blinders came off, I got the whole picture at once, and I can't get it out of my mind. I need environmental sunglasses. Do I put Chapstick in the kids' stockings, or spend $6 on Burt's Bees lip balm? How many of these ingredients are corn derivatives? I can't believe I threw out those greens - I really should have composted them, shouldn't I? But we don't own our land, and a plastic compost bin seems hypocritical. And what about my diet coke addiction? I can't make all these changes and survive the holidays without my coke fix! It's OK as long as I recycle the cans, right?

Everywhere I look, I see chemicals. I feel like Monk, only dumber. And at least his germs are natural! I'm about ready to freak out and run to the hills like some crazed mountain mama, which I'm pretty sure would put a real damper on the ol' holiday spirit.

In an effort to regain my sanity and preserve my small children's Christmas magic, I'm going to try one more (high-end) grocery store for the makings of Christmas dinner. If they have good stuff, great. If they don't, they don't. Fine. The new water filter should be here today or tomorrow. I was only hoping to have it in place by the beginning of the New Year, so anytime soon is still well ahead of schedule. I will clean my home with the natural, and chemical, cleaners I have been using right along so that I have a clean home and mind. And I will try to get a bit more quiet time and fresh air, both of which are green and good for the soul. That's all I'm planning to accomplish this week, people. That's all my feeble mind (I'm also about to have another birthday) can handle in the midst of the holiday madness.

Breathe in, breathe out. Take one baby step at a time. Enjoy the present, and look forward to a brighter future. Merry Christmas, Everyone.

Crispy Kale

Yesterday I bought some beautiful kale at Superganic Farms, and I was excited to try a recipe for Crispy Kale with it. The recipe makes the kale into light, crispy "chips", which are great to eat as a snack, a garnish, or crumbled over other foods. I think it tastes ok - a nice change from leafy greens raw in a salad. My husband is on his second bowl, in effect eating an entire head of kale in one sitting. The kids, however, whom I had hoped would really go for it, didn't. They both like salad greens, but the crispy kale got less than stellar reactions. My 6 year old munched a few pieces and that was it. The 3 year old burst into tears at the sight of it and declared it "dee-gusting!". To be fair, that's her thing lately. She's also called every other vegetable, animal and mineral "dee-gusting" at least once in the past few weeks, so I really can't trust her judgment of the kale.

Ultimately, the recipe didn't get any more leafy greens into my kids, but my husband and I both like it, and you might well too. It's super-simple, and a great way to enjoy a crunchy, salty snack while still eating healthfully. Like so many other simple, delicious recipes, this one is from Jacques Pepin.

1 lb kale, washed and dried thoroughly
2 Tbsp good olive oil
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 250F. Remove kale stems, and cut leaves into 2-inch pieces. Toss with olive oil and salt. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. (For a pound of kale, I use 2 baking sheets.) Bake kale for 20-25 minutes without stirring. Leaves should remain green - if they start to brown, they'll become bitter, so check them frequently after about 18 minutes.

The most interesting thing about this snack is that it doesn't taste like it looks! It looks like a dressed, raw leaf, as in a salad, but it tastes more like, well, a chip, or a bread stick maybe? I bet it would be good with a dusting of Parmesan cheese, too, now that I think about it. Give it a try yourself! I hope you like it like my husband and I, if not our kids, do.

Superganic Farms

It's been less than a week since I decided to go local & sustainable in the coming year, yet everyone has been so helpful that I've already had my first farm adventure. Since I'm a lazy slug, spoiled by convenience foods from megamarts, I'm exhausted. I feel like I grew the stuff myself, only without the sense of accomplishment. I'll give the brief rundown here, and perhaps elaborate specific points in the future.

Today I visited Superganic Farms. It's not so much a farm as a small plot of raised beds. Farmer Bill has been practicing biodynamic farming at the plot I visited today and at a second, larger farm for 25 years. The place is a bit hard to find, and kind of a mess - if you don't have a clue how composting and collecting rain water and other sustainable farming works. I grew up in the 70s in rural Maine, so I recognized the seeming disorder as part of the farming process. In case I hadn't, Farmer Bill was more than happy to give me the grand tour and discuss the inner workings of his farm in great detail. He's obviously deeply passionate about his produce and process, and it shows in the herbs and veggies he grows. They're freakin' beautiful. I can't even pronounce kohlrabi, but I bought some because it was so gorgeous. I also bought some kale, and a rutabaga. The leeks weren't ready yet, so he threw in some scallions for free to tide me over. I hand-selected all my produce, and he cut it out of the ground for me and washed it in rainwater. Final cost for my 3 lb rutabaga, my 2 lb kohlrabi with all its gorgeous greens, a large head of kale and my scallions: $ 9.40. All organic, local, and beautiful.

I roasted the rutabaga tonight with the scallions, some garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper. Although I'd never served it before, all 3 pounds were gone by the end of dinner, which is obviously a ringing endorsement. I trimmed the greens off the kohlrabi and, I confess, threw them out. I know they can be prepared like mustard greens, but, well, I'm a Yankee. I don't know how to cook greens and I'm already pushing the envelope this week with all this fresh produce. So sadly, the greens and scallion tops are already gone. The kale took a while to clean. I let it soak in ice water during dinner, then cleaned and trimmed all the leaves individually. The kale in particular came with lots of extra, um, protein, in the form of 2 spiders and 3 caterpillars, so I was extra-cautious washing it. My husband, annoyed at being asked to take yet another bug outdoors, said, "This is what happens when you get organic!", but I pointed out that even if we bought organic at the megamart it would have been power washed. These bugs were natural predators of the bugs that would have eaten our lovely produce, and thanks to them, we have these fantastic vegetables. So nah. The man didn't complain when he was eating, I noticed.

So my first adventure was a good one. Thanks to my dear friend J for helping me find the place and showing me the ropes! Yes, I had to get up earlier than usual on a Saturday. Yes, Farmer Bill was very social and talkative, so I spent more time shopping than usual. Yes, my produce took more work to prepare than usual. However, it is local, organic, sustainable, and beautiful. My children raved about their vegetables, and can't wait to eat more. The quality and quantity of the produce I bought blew the organics at the area grocery stores or health food stores out of the water, and at half the cost, if that. I trust Farmer Bill to let me know what's in season, so I'm giving my family an ever-changing variety of vegetables at the peak of their nutrition and flavor. Will I do this every night? No, I'm pretty sure I won't. It's a lot of work. But if I do this 3 or 4 nights a week, think how much better off my family and the environment will be.

Click here for a segment Channel 3 News did on Bill and organic produce.

Time for a Change

After a late-night fur-to-face conversation with my cat, I was online googling organic homemade cat food recipes when I received an email from my sister. She had attached a link to a listing of the best and worst tap water in the country. My home tap water was deemed the worst in the entire country. Here we are, in the greatest country on Earth, and our water is toxic. It's loaded with chemicals, metals, and pesticides, and just plain tastes awful. Of course, it's within the government guidelines, at least for the toxins they monitor, but what about the rest? The organic cat food would have to wait. I had a much more urgent and basic matter to address: clean water.

Yes, I read The Omnivore's Dilemma. Yes, the New Year is just around the corner, and I've got a few inches to lose. Yes, I've got kids, and I don't want to leave them an environmental disaster, or let them become obesity statistics. But none of these things was enough on its own to push me to change our diet and lifestyle. Nope. It wasn't until I learned about our water supply that I got mad enough to take on the way we live. That's huge. It's hard enough for most of us to get dinner on the table, let alone shop consciously, eat healthfully, and make everything from scratch while reducing our carbon footprint. OK, maybe we try it for a week, but by day 3 or so, most people are overwhelmed and exhausted. I know I'd fall into that category, and I don't want to fail. So what can I do?

First, let me state right now that I will fail, slip up, and cheat periodically. But when I do, I intend to make better choices at the next meal, and I'll try not to beat myself up for it.
Second, I'm asking for help left and right. I've googled and asked friends and family and healthy-looking strangers for direction and suggestions. One by one, I'm going to check out all my options.
Third, I'm not going to change everything all at once. I'd love to, but I don't have the knowledge or resources to overhaul everything at once. The game plan is that I'll take on one change at a time and by the end of 2010, we'll be living a healthy, local, sustainable lifestyle.
Fourth and finally, I'm going to be flexible. The more I learn, the more my expectations change. A month ago, I thought "organic" was the way to go. Now I know how often that term is used & abused, and "local & sustainable" might better describe what I'm looking for. What matters most to me is the final result, not the terminology or marketing.

So where did I ultimately start? How have I kicked off this adventure? I started by asking for help. As suggestions are offered, I'm keeping them with other information I've found online together in a folder on my computer (soft copies save trees, of course). I've ordered a water filtration system, which I'll discuss when it arrives and I've had a chance to try it out. I've made plans to visit a local farm with a friend tomorrow, and of course, I've created this blog.

I've already heard back from many people that they'd love to hear what I discover, and that they want to live a more sustainable lifestyle too. Hence this blog. I'll let you know what I'm finding, learning, and learning to avoid. Some entries may be detailed reviews of a specific product or service, others may be painfully brief (e.g. Hal's Pretty Good tofu and watercress hot dog substitutes = bad!). Either way, I hope you'll find something here to benefit you and your family.