There’s a new CSA forming in the Morristown area!  This is great news as shares are sold out in several other area CSAs.  What is a CSA?  CSA stands for community supported agriculture.  The basic idea is that a farmer grows for a group of members who have purchased shares in the harvest in advance of the season — when the farmer needs the money.  When the crops come in, the farmer delivers a weekly assortment of organic vegetables, herbs and some fruit.

Now that's farm fresh!

John Krueger is the owner/operator of Starbrite Farm.  He has a BS in environmental science from Cook College and has been farming organically since 2002.

Vegetables are grown in western New Jersey and delivered to Morristown every week for pick up.  The season is 22 weeks long and begins June 18th and runs through November 12.  Membership includes a weekly assortment of 6-10 varieties of organic produce, and members are expected to contribute one 4-hour shift to help with distribution (that sounds like fun!) — hanging out with other folks who enjoy fresh, organic, NJ grown produce.  Interested?  Hurry before the shares are all sold out.   

Call Jamie at 973.699.1913 or Liz at 973.984.2432.

Want to find one in your neck of the woods?  Go to LocalHarvest.org

Yummy Thai Coconut Fish Soup

Wayne and I have been going to Princeton, NJ one Sunday a month for a couple of months to a unique, healthy dinner club. It was founded by the mama earth of Princeton area herself, Dorothy Mullen - local vegetable garden educator, holistic nutritional advocate and certified addictions counselor. She and co-founder of Suppers for Sobriety, Cindy Foss have launched several ‘Suppers for’ programs to help people find ways to employ ‘nutritional harm reduction’ to address problems relating to blood sugar, ADHD and recovery from alcoholism and addictions.

These dinner/meetings are a wonderful blend of social interaction as the group works together to prepare a meal, informational, sharing about concerns or questions relating to food/nutrition/health, and of course always a fabulous and healthy meal.

We’ve joined in a group of ‘couples’ that are exploring additional ways to support their recovery through ‘nutritional harm reduction’. Wayne and I consider ourselves fairly informed (well, at least I do) about nutritional issues, but there is ALWAYS something new and interesting. However, these dinners are cleverly designed to accomodate people with all levels of nutritional knowledge.

This past meeting we talked about blood sugar and the consequences of consistently allowing it to drop severely. Yikes. But, we also had an extraordinary meal. Following are the recipes that Wayne and I replicated two weeks later and shared with the kids with great results.

Healthy & Colorful Chopped Salad with Dried Fig Dressing

Ingredients
Veggies
2 cups jicama (chopped into 1″ cubes)
1 yellow pepper (chopped)
1 red pepper (chopped)
1/2 head cabbage (chopped finely)
1 bunch kale (stems stripped out and chopped finely)
2 cups sprouts
1/2 red onion (chopped finely)
1 cup walnuts (chopped finely)
1/2 cup chives (chopped)
1/2 cup parsley (chopped)
1/2 cup cilantro (chopped)

Dressing
About 10 dried figs
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup flaxseed oil
Juice of 1 orange
2 cloves garlic
Stevia (sweeten to taste)
Salt (to taste)

Instructions
The chopped veggies are kind of self explanatory – wash, chop and put in large bowl. The dressing is best done in a food processor. Put the figs in with some of the vinegar and run for 30 seconds or so, then add the other ingredients pouring the oil in slowly towards the end. Mix the dressing in with the veggies and voila! Of course, you can substitute some of the veggies or herbs to accomodate your or your family’s taste.

Thai Fish Soup

Ingredients
Olive Oil to coat bottom of pot
3 onions (chopped)
3 red peppers (chopped)
2″ piece of fresh ginger root (grated or minced finely)
1 1/2 lbs. salmon, (cut into 1″ cubes)
1 lb. cod (cut into 1″ cubes)
2 cans coconut milk
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 tsp. red pepper flakes OR 3 hot chili pepper (chopped)
1 lb. firm tofu (cubed)
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp. sea salt (or to taste)
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
1/4 cup (Thai) basil (chopped)
10 oz. spinach chopped)

Instructions
Coat the bottom of a large soup pot with olive oil and add chopped onions and saute till soft. Add red and hot peppers and ginger and cook till soft and onions are transparent. Add fish, coconut milk and broth and cook till fish is cooked through. Add tofu, lime juice and salt to taste. At the very end of cooking add spinach and basil and cook till just wilted, then add the chopped cilantro.

eat. blog. be merry!
GD Meg

In addition to being a nut job, I am a nut lover. I really haven’t tasted a nut I didn’t like – even the peanut, which is technically a legume. I feel dreadfully sorry for those who have the dangerous nut allergy. My fiance has an allergy to chocolate, which I’m actually jealous of, but that’s for another post . . .

Some history about our hard-shelled friends
There is evidence that nuts have been around feeding us and our ancient ancestors since prehistoric times. The oldest evidence are some walnut remains which were found in Iraq and are thought to be over 50,000 years old!  

The almond dates back to 3100-1100 BC in the region around Turkey, Cyprus and Greece. By the way, did you know that almonds are related to peaches?

Pine nuts have been providing powerful nutrition to those living in the ‘Great Basin’ region of the US for many thousands of years. According to PineNut.com,

“Understand that the pine nut was to the people of the Great Basin what the buffalo was to the plains people.”

Another popular nut (other than me with some of my friends) is the pistachio. These also have been getting cracked open and savored for thousands of years, dating back to 7000 years or so to the Middle East. Long used along with almonds by travelers because of the compact, but potent nutritional value, this nut inspired some interesting legends, including the one that says the Queen of Sheba declared it an exclusively ‘royal’ food forbidding commoners to grow and eat it.

1.  Nutritional Power Food- High in protein, fiber, antioxidants and monosaturated fat (good fat) – good for the heart, lowering blood pressure AND reducing risk for type 2 diabetes.
2.  Weight Control – According to an article found in Johns Hopkins Health Alert, people who eat nuts are more likely to weigh less than those that don’t. (just remember moderation is key here)
3. Easy, Awesome Snack Food – I like to roast my own favorites and mix them up with dried fruits to make a custom trail mix.
4. Vegan and Raw Foodie Approved – If you are eating vegan or raw for reasons of health, ethics or to reduce your carbon stamp on the earth, nuts are essential. (but, I really don’t know about ‘locally’ grown in some regions – I think those of us in the north east would suffer a bit on this one) See my cashew yogurt recipe.
5. Excellent Party Food- Tis the season, so get creative or keep it simple! (Just make sure to let your guests know in case someone has an allergy)

Some nutty links:

Detailed Nutritional Chart for Various Nuts
More Details on Various Nuts + Recipes
My Favorite Nut Loaf Recipe (based on Crank’s cookbook)

Is there anyone NOT sucked into the whirlwind of earth day hype?
Is there anyone that isn’t thinking of how they can get their green on?
Is anyone else feeling overwhelmed by it all?

Us Green Divas area all about easy does it! If we make earth day more of a lifestyle and simply start by making one green improvement from wherever we are on the big green super highway, sustainable living habits seem to sprout like hearty organic weeds and multiply. Before you know it, you’re talking local sustainable agriculture at your favorite new potluck dinner club!

I started with food. Yum.

The low-stress way of doing this, is to know you don’t have to do it ALL. Just pick one that resonates with you and start there. It should be fun and bring you some joy. This is NOT about adding stressful activities to your lifestyle, but adding some thoughtful and hopefully more meaningful activities to the things you already do anyway.

·         Learn about your local farmers – find them, meet them or at least read up on what they are growing and producing and what methods they employ.

• Join a CSA – Consider buying a share in a local Community Supported Agriculture, which helps a local farmer or farmers and you get delicious very fresh, local veggies regularly throughout the growing season! Here is a website to learn more about CSAs and search for a CSA near you!
  
• Go to your local farmers markets – there are so many new local farmers markets springing up everywhere. The season is just about to begin. Find a farmer’s market near you!

·         Question your local supermarkets – talk to the manager or produce manager about the source of their produce, how much of it is locally produced, organic, etc. If you ask them nicely to use more local growers (and get some friends to pester them as well), they might just do it!

·         Get educated about regional, seasonal foods – It is difficult to go totally seasonal, but there is evidence that it is better for our health to eat regionally and seasonally. Just becoming more aware is a start. One New Jersey natural foods caterer, Burden Free Foods is working on a delicious 100-mile menu that will highlight and use food within a 100-mile radius!

·         Become a conscious carnivore – look for meat that is humanely, naturally, regionally (if possible) and consciously produced. It will likely be more expensive – eat less meat, add more whole grains and veggies (won’t hurt you). Read my post ‘6 Reasons to be a Conscious Carnivore‘

·         Grow something – even if you don’t have a yard or even a balcony or deck to pot some veggies, you can grow herbs on a window sill. It’s fun, it’s miraculous, and is a great reminder of the connection of where food comes from and how good it is fresh. Or as an alternative, you can volunteer for a public garden group and help green your community.

·         Start a dinner club – this has all kinds of possibilities and potential implications. You can do it in connection to an organization or just a social group of friends – either way, it is fun and has a way of growing (organically of course) into something interesting and nourishing both physically and mentally. This idea was inspired by my favorite foodie organization, Sustainable Table, who made buttons for Farm Aid 2007 that said, ‘Bring back the potluck!’.

·         Patronize restaurants that use locally grown, organic foods – this makes a statement. There are more and more chefs coming around to the concepts of sustainable, local agriculture. Three local, sustainable food chef activists that are worth learning more about (and eating in their delicious establishments!) — Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, Michel Nischan of the Dressing Room and Judy Wicks of the White Dog Cafe. 

·         Love the food you prepare – find a way to de-stress, slow down and enjoy the food preparation process. CAUTION: this may produce heightened awareness about the quality of the food you use and create a desire for higher-quality food sources!

·         Eat at least one meal per week with your family – whatever type of family you have, whether it is traditional or a group of friends. Create a sense of family around a well-loved and thoughtfully prepared meal (you don’t have to do it all yourself, remember POT-LUCK works).

eat. blog. be merry!

GD Meg

When one stands before a hive of bees, one should say quite solemnly to oneself, ‘By way of the hive the whole cosmos enters man and makes him strong and able’

Rudolf Steiner

I wrote this post last year and sadly, it is still quite relevant. Not much has changed . . . still no answer to the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Please read to find out how we all can help the honey bees!

What is Happening to Our Honey Bees?
I have been fortunate enough to make friends with my local ‘bee lady’, Landi Simone of Gooserock Farm in Montville, NJ. Her place is magical and represents to me a sustainable lifestyle that is in harmony with nature. The flowers all around are of course amazing. She has helped to educate me and countless others about what is happening with the honey bees.

There has been a lot of concern for continued decline in honey bee populations. The Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) Survey found the colony losses continue and the effects of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) have not abated.

A little perspective on how important honey bees are: According to the AIA, Honey bees in the US are responsible for pollinating more than 100 different crops worth $15 billion annually.

“It’s disheartening to have to report that the honey bee colonies continue to die at unsustainable levels,” said AIA president and Häagen-Dazs® Ice Cream Bee Board member Dennis vanEngelsdorp. “At least 70 percent of all colony deaths can be attributed to non-CCD causes, underlying the need for research, not only into CCD, but into pollinator health in general.”

AHHHHHH – don’t mess with my Haagen-Daz!!!!

What We Can Do to Help Honey Bees
I’m loving my Haagen-Daz even more now, because for the past two years, they have been very involved in supporting research and assisting in various ways to help promote growth among the honey bee population. They have a cool website dedicated to helping the honey bees that is a wonderful tool for learning more about how you can help, but most importantly, it is a fun site that has a marvelous audio component that sounds as if you are in a meadow with the bees. I have been leaving it on in my office during the day and it has a much-needed soothing quality.

One of the things Haagen-Dazs among others are suggesting we can do is to start planting bee-friendly plants. Landi said that while it does help if we plant some additional flowers in our gardens and let the dandelions grow freely (bees aparently love these), the bees need help on a much larger scale. She suggests that we need to get more bee-friendly trees, such as Linden or Black Locust trees, planted and that landscape architects and city planners needed to start to use more of these and less of some of the more popular ones, such as Bradford Pear, which are lovely, but don’t help the honey bees at all. The DailyGreen has a wonderful list of bee-friendly flowers, shrubs and trees for anyone interested.

Honey: Important Health & Healing Aid
Aside from being a vital part of our agricultural system, honey bees are the producers of one of the original wonderful tasty, nutritional and healing products ever discovered – honey, of course.

These industrious and productive little fellows work hard to bring us a substance that has been touted for its healing qualities for centuries. The ancient Egyptians used honey as an embalming material and treated cuts and burns with it. The Greek physician Hippocrates cured skin disorders with honey, and the Romans cleaned wounds with it. Even as recently as World War I, doctors treated wounds with honey. With the advent of antibiotics, honey fell out of use for its healing properties, but scientific research is now rediscovering honey’s natural healing power.

Medical science is coming back around and there are numerous studies now showing how effective honey is in wound care in particular. Once ScienceDaily report, Healing Honey: The Sweet Evidence Revealed is worth a quick read.

Another great article on NaturalNews.com has an extensive list of the various ailments and health problems honey has been known to help with, including: anemia, osteoperosis, stress, conjunctivitis, burns and quite a few others.

A Case of Mistaken Identity
It is important to learn to recognize a honey bee and be able to distinguish her from a yellow jacket, bumblebee or other insect. People frequently refer to yellow jackets as ‘bees’ when they’re actually a species of wasp. This particular case of mistaken identity causes a lot of problems. Yellow jackets are highly defensive insects and are involved in a multitude of unpleasant human-bug encounters. Honey bees get blamed for the stings of their ornery cousins. In truth, unless a person lives near a beekeeper, there’s a good chance they’ve never even seen a honey bee; they’ve become that rare. Here’s the wikipedia page on honey bees.

Ah, the Sweet Nectar of the Gods
Of course, one cannot talk (or write) about honey and not discuss its delicious qualities. There are so many wonderful recipes out there. As it turns out the the National Honey Board has a section of their website devoted to honey recipes!

I learned that local honey can help in combating pollen-related allergies, so I drink raw honey from Landi’s bees every morning with hot lemon water and it seems to keep the allergies away!

Please send along any great honey recipes, honey bee stories, or honey healing stories.

And, don’t forget to be grateful to our busy little friends, educate yourself about the crisis and do what you can to help – hey, having a great excuse to plant more flowers or not fight with the deandelions or isn’t so hard!

We had a hankerin for something different for our sunday dinner this weekend. Then I had a timely conversation with a dear friend who fell in love and moved to Tennessee and now owns and runs a restaurant called Papa Boudreaux’s Cajun Cafe & Catering Company.

I did some research and decided to try and create a vegetarian Gumbo. I had no idea what I was in for.  After getting excellent instructions from my friend and reading a few intense suggestions about creating the critical roux, I sorely underestimated how lost I would feel in my first roux-making adventure. It seemed to work out. Everyone loved it! I’ll do my best to recount what I did. I’m certain I broke all kinds of tradition and rules, but whatever I did it was delicious!

Ingredients
3/4 cup + 2 Tbls. of canola oil
1 cup all purpose white flour
1 medium yellow onion (diced)
1 red pepper (diced)
1 green pepper (diced)
several celery stalks (diced)
1 small eggplant (diced)
1/2 pound mushrooms (sliced)
4 – 5 carrots (sliced)
Tofu sausage (sliced)
several cloves of garlic (crushed)
2 – 4 Tbls. Cajun Creole seasoning
2 – 3 quarts good chicken stock
salt to tastse
brown rice pilaf*

This picture reminds me of a little cherry convention. I’ve been asked to review a new cherry drink, but I thought I would indulge in a little cherry 101 first.

Did you know . . .

• Cherries are related to apricots
• Cultivation of cherries dates back to 300 b.c.
• Prunus avium, the common cherry tree is related to the rose bush!
• The name originates from Greek (of course) and in Latin means ‘of or for the birds’
• While America produces 90% of cherries today, the varieties we know and love were originally brought here by our European settlers
• The popular Bing cherry was named after the farm foreman, who happened to be Manchurian, of the farm in Oregon that developed it

The Little Healer
These little buggers offer a potent dose of antioxidants, but beyond that it is a type of antioxidant not found in most other fruit. Research shows that cherries contain anthocyanins, which protect against heart disease, cancer, and inhibit enzymes that cause inflammation. Health food store shelves are lining up with various ‘cherry’ products that tout the amazing benefits, primarily for pain relief, speedy recovery from exercise, improved sleep and even as the new anti-hangover cure.

John Davey, CEO of CherryPharm discovered the benefits after eating cherries and realizing an old tennis injury. Being inspired, he created this yummy drink that packs 50 cherries in every 8oz. bottle! It is extremely tasty. I drank it for a week and am convinced it helped with my aches and pains. Look for it in your local natural food store or go to their website, where they have specials for direct ordering!

I’ve never really cooked with cherries, but I buy bags of them in the summer for Wayne and the kids.

Please share your favorite cherry recipes!

eat. blog. be merry!
GD Meg

There are a few ‘nutritious’ chocolate bars and candies appearing on the health food store shelves touting the benefits of calcium and various vitamins and minerals combined with lovely dark chocolate. I’ve tried a few of them with mixed results.

When GD Jen brought me a goody bag for my birthday, among the treats which included a box of my favorite organic earl grey tea, I immediately gravitated to the large candy bar with the words, ‘Nutritious Chocolate’ on it. It was all VERY well timed. Let’s face it, for women, there are times of the month when chocolate saves lives – keeping raging hormones at a dull roar and the homicidal outbursts to a minimum.

Having tried some ‘nutritious’ chocolate, I didn’t expect much, but I tucked it into my work bag and figured it would make a sweet treat after lunch.

I’m not sure how he does it, but Gary Null has done it beautifully with this amazing chocolate! The list of ingredients in this slice of heaven are downright unbelievable. Among the first few listed (other than cocoa, soy protein, vanilla, sugar cane) are the following: Green Algae Powder, Wheat Grass Powder, Green Barley Powder, Alfalfa Leaf, Oat Grass, Broccoli, Parsley, Kale, Aloe Vera, Cranberries, Strawberries, Apples, Cherries, Red Raspberries, Peaches, Pears, Papayas, Mangoes, Watermelons, Red Currants, Nectarines, Pink Grapefruits, Blood Oranges, Pomegranate, Pineapples, Lemons, Limes, Tangerines, Apricots.

While these bars are promoted as Vegan, Kosher, High Protein, No Trans Fat and are made with ‘natural’ ingredients, they are not organic and there is no mention of fair trade, which with chocolate is something I do generally look for. However, I will put aside my concern for cocoa farmers in this one instance in favor of this relatively healthy selfish indulgence. I promise to write my old friend Gary and push him to create a fair trade, organic version. Of course, the price might be high, but perhaps some of us are willing to pay it for an occasional treat.

You can purchase the Gary Null Nutritious Chocolate bar online, but GD Jen found mine in one of our local health food stores.

eat. blog. be merry!
GD Meg

Brown rice has always been a staple in our household. From fall to spring, we cook at least one pot of brown rice per week. My kids have come to regard it is the basis of a quick and delicious meal and have since they started eating solid food and I mashed it up for them, which was a fairly long time ago, since my baby is 16 and my oldest is 24. So, as I ate my 12,526th bowl of left-over brown rice for lunch, I was inspired to consider a wee bit more on this potent grain.

Great for girls!
There are many reasons to love brown rice. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition who published a Harvard Medical School / Brigham and Women’s Hospital study, women who consumed regular whole grains, including brown rice weighed consistently less and were 49% less likely to gain weight compared to those eating foods made from refined grains.

Good for everyone
1 cup of brown rice offers over 27% of the DV of selenium, which is essential to thyroid hormone metabolism, antioxidant defense systems, and immune function. Selenium has been shown to repair DNA and synthesis in damaged cells, it inhibits the production and spread of cancer cells, and induces an awesome self-destruct sequence that the body uses to eliminate bad or abnormal cells. Go Selenium! But wait, there’s more! Selenium teams up with vitamin E to create a powerful antioxidant system that not only helps to prevent cancer, but also heart disease, and decreases symptoms of asthma and the pain and inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis. Oh yea, the oil in whole brown rice lowers cholesterol. Can it eliminate cellulite and bad hair days too?????

There are many good nutritional reasons to eat more brown rice, but I’m not going to get into all of them here and now, but I will offer you a good link to learn more about the nutritional analysis of brown rice. And of course a couple of recipes . . .

GD Meg’s Favorite Brown Rice Recipes

Easy Brown Rice Pilaf

Ingredients
1 – 2 Tbs. olive oil
1 bunch scallions – cleaned and chopped, using as much green as you like
several mushrooms – sliced (optional)
1 red pepper – chopped finely (optional)
2 – 3 cloves garlic  – crushed (not optional as far as I’m concerned, but amount certainly is)
2 cups long grain brown rice*
2 – 4 cups chicken broth*

Instructions
Saute the veggies till they wilt slightly (adding scallions last unless you are using only scallions). Add the crushed garlic with the rice and stir it all well so that oil is relatively evenly distributed. Don’t wait too long to get the chicken broth in there. I use the ‘knuckle’ method for figuring out how much fluid to cook my rice in as taught to me by my big sis Lisa – have enough fluid so that when you stick your first finger (pointer) straight into the mix, the very tip of your finger should touch the top of the rice and the fluid should come to your first knuckle. I know you’ll want to know how to adjust for different sized fingers, but honestly, it seems to work for ALL sizes. I have no idea what magic makes this work, but it does – every time.  Bring the mixture to a good rolling boil and jam a good tight lid on and reduce the heat to it’s lowest setting and set the timer for 1 hour. Don’t peek at the rice until it is done.

*don’t really have to measure if you use the knuckle method described above.

What to do with leftover brown rice you ask?

Meg’s Leftover Fried Rice!

Ingredients
Scrambled Eggs – enough for each person being served to have at least 1
1 Tbs. Fresh Ginger – or as much as you like
1 – 2 Cloves Garlic – or as much as you like crushed
1 – 2 Tbs. Coconut Oil (the kind best for high-heat cooking)
Veggies! (choose your family favorites – we like carrots, peas, onions, mushrooms, peppers and sometimes even corn – try to proportion slightly less than amount of brown rice)
Cooked Brown Rice – as much as you like, proportion according to veggies
Cilantro – chopped to taste
Chopped/Slivered Almonds or Nuts – to taste

Instructions
First thing, whip up your scrambled eggs as per your favorite method and put aside in a covered dish to keep warm. If you have a wok, this is a great time to use it. If you don’t, just get out your biggest, best saute pan. Warm up the garlic and ginger in the coconut oil and add in the veggies one at a time till they are all cooked, but not overly so. Add the rice and eggs and stir it good making sure everything is heated thoroughly. After done cooking, add cilantro and slivered almonds or nuts as you like.

Please share your favorite easy brown rice recipes!

eat. blog. be merry!
GD Meg

This delicious wintry salad/slaw was concocted by committee – myself, Dorothy Mullen and Cynthia Mutterperl – a couple of Sundays ago. We were all in Dor’s kitchen on a very snowy Sunday for her monthly Suppers dinner. Usually there is a larger group, but Cindy and I were the only silly (and fortunate because we had an awesome dinner!) souls that didn’t stay home because of the weather.

We had a great discussion about blood sugar issues and the benefits of being gluten free. We are all working on eliminating wheat and gluten from our lives. Dor has developed some fascinating curriculum about her work with nutrition and blood sugar among other health concerns. Go to the Suppers website to learn more about what she is up to.

The rest of the meal consisted of delicious jazzed up rice and beans and roasted butternut squash with roasted onions and garlic – yum. But, here’s the recipe for:

Sunday Supper’s January Root Veggie Slaw Recipe

Ingredients
4 – 5 cups shredded root veggies cleaned/scraped (carrots, parsnips, beets – we threw in green beans for fun. I suspect kale would work too.)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sesame oil
2 T. ginger
3 T. toasted sesame seeds
10 drops liquid stevia (or to taste)
1/2 head roasted garlic

Instructions
We used a food processor with the shredding thing to pretty quickly get the veggies prepared. We happened to have roasted garlic prepared for another part of dinner, so if you don’t have time to roast garlic (which takes almost an hour), just use a couple of heads of crushed raw garlic. Mix it all up and enjoy!

eat. blog. be merry!
GD Meg