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Across the country, spring can’t come soon enough and the call to garden is getting louder and louder. We had the opportunity to speak to Lisa Taylor, author of Your Farm in the City, and get a little advice for new and beginning gardeners. It’s never too early – or too late – to tuck a few seeds in some soil and get growing! 
It’s the end of March, thank goodness! We won’t have winter much longer, though right now summer seems like years away… Even in the middle – or late winter – gardeners dream about their gardens as they pore over the dozens of plant and seed catalogs that have arrived in the mail. How else do we get through these last weeks of cold, slush, rain, and grey days? 
This recipe is modified from a soup made by the Ovens of Brittany in a small cafe on a busy business thoroughfare in Madison WI. For nearly five years, I ate this soup at least once a week; it’s still my very favorite tomato soup. 
Why would I make noodles when I can pop into my neighborhood grocery and get them for less than $2 a pound? And that question has a logical answer: Because if I make them, they are fresh, and I know exactly what goes into them. 
Chances are your family’s daily bread is just another item on your list when you shop at your favorite supermarket. Let’s take a closer look at what you’re bringing home; your bread may be “in disguise.” It’s pretty clear that fluffy loaves of mass-produced soft, damp, nutritionally deficient, chemical-laced bread made in large industrial “bread factories” and sold in tightly sealed plastic bags contain additives and preservatives to make them easy to process and to give them a long shelf life. But what about the rest of those loaves lined up just asking to be dropped into your shopping cart? 
At this time of year in Vermont the animals are devoting what energy they have to staying warm. When the hens do lay eggs, they’re often frozen before we get to them. Some chickens have even developed frost-bite, so we stopped opening the doors for them in the mornings – they’re literally cooped up. 
Kate and Ian are WWOOFing in the North East; their advice for others wanting to try it: “It’s likely you’ll also come out of it with a couple of good stories, some delicious recipes, a few great friends, and at least one place you’ll always remember.” 
We’ve been slowly moving away from any processed foods in our household, and crackers have been a holdout. I never could seem to get something that was crisp enough and with enough flavor. These are yummy, crispy, and soooo easy to make with real ingredients! 
Ian and I set off on our cross-country honeymoon. First stop: Chico Hot Springs, Montana, known for the natural springs that warm the pool and hot tub. And where we discovered gardens and greenhouses and hyper-local food! 
Devil’s Club is a deciduous shrub related to the healing herb ginseng and common ivy. It is an unmistakable denizen of Seattle’s wet ravines and unsuspecting hikers regularly fall victim to its barbed spines. The surprise is that its roots and young are rather tasty. |
 
Book of the MonthStand Together or Starve Alone: Unity and Chaos in the U.S. Food Movement
 “The Food Movement” is a pretty big concept – it can incorporate anything and everything from farming and food production to distribution, marketing, and retail sales. Then toss in farmers markets, food co-ops, and CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) and it’s a topic that is hard to get your mind around.
In Stand Together or Starve Alone, Mark Winne uses the term “food movement” as an over-arching concept, however he rounds it up into a more straightforward description: “Food Security.” Read on... A Video You Don't Want to Miss!As a member of the Blackfeet Nation, Mariah Gladstone, IndigiKitchen, shares the importance of an Indigenous-based diet. 
Gladstone poses the question of whether a nation can truly be soverign if they are unable to provide for themselves. Something we should all ask ourselves as we move farther from being able to do so. LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW YOUR FOOD GETS TO YOUR PLATE
Select any collection from above; each contains multiple articles on a single topic. |
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