French lentils differ from brown lentils, as they are smaller and denser. They hold their shape better, making them the perfect choice for summer salads, rather than soup.
Read more: French lentils with roasted red peppers, goat feta and mint
 
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One damp day in November, I opened the door to pick up the mail and… lo and behold, there sat a fairly limp, slightly damp brown paper bag slumped against the door. What kind of goodies appeared out of nowhere? 
Today I’m here to glorify the food phenomenon we know as salad: that combination of greens and vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds that’s savory and sweet and bitter with all different textures thrown in, and topped with any type of sauce from thick and creamy to a simple oil and vinegar. 
Looking back, this last month has been a little roller-coaster ride. Ian and I have taken on a number of new challenges, some individual and some joint. I took on a new job while he took on more practice hours in preparation for his recital. I launched a new website and we started saving our food scraps for compost. As I mentally ticked off the events of the last few weeks, it was clear that we weren’t wasting time. In between each hiccup we celebrated little successes, and even our low points left us with lessons learned. 
When it comes to gift-giving, I try to do homemade as much as possible. Things like knit hats, Christmas cookies, photographs you’ve taken… it means more when you know the giver has put real time and thought into it. 
Provender… the simple definition is food. From October 6-8, Provender meant a gathering of hundreds of people who grow, harvest, prepare, and love good, healthy, local food. There are few events with the energy level, connection, and camaraderie that Provender Alliance’s annual conference delivered. 
I’m starting off with the idea… no, the belief… that food can be all at once delicious, healthy, and affordable. I mean healthy in the minimally processed, as-natural-as-possible kind of way and I mean delicious in the easy-from-scratch cook-at-home meals kind of way. I’ve got a good start with many years experience cooking delicious meals on a budget. What I’m aiming to do is add organic and local to the equation, educating myself (and readers) along the way. 
It is illegal to “adulterate” food products. The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938 set up civil and criminal liability for those who do. So why aren’t we seeing the courts and prisons filling up with the guilty parties in the recent outbreaks of food borne illnesses? 
The E. coli outbreak reported yesterday (August 8) linked to Oregon-grown strawberries shows how food safety is a becoming a problem for local growers. It has been reported that as many as 16 people have been sickened by eating the strawberries grown on a 35-acre farm, Jaquith Strawberry Farm in rural northwest Oregon, and 1 person has died. 
Bill Marler, a nationally recognized food safety attorney, says “It really is long past time to put me out of business.” Listen to his comments on the audio. |
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