Cooking Lentils? You’re Doing It Wrong!

I’ll admit, I’m not the world’s best cook, I didn’t grow up surrounded by cooks – but I can sure tell you when I’ve managed to cook something wrong! Peas, beans, whole grains, and lentils are supposed to be good for you. So I blundered ahead and made lentil mush. Hmmm… definitely not doing this right!

Do we really need industrial agriculture to feed the world?

Have you heard the myth that we need industrial agriculture to feed the world? Can sustainably grown food deliver the quantity and quality we need – today and in the future? This Food MythBusters film answers these questions and more in under seven minutes.

Why Some Like It Hot by Gary Paul Nabhan

Gary Nabhan is an ethobiologist who studies nutritional ecology. What exactly does that mean? Nabhan is at the center of the convergence of genes, diets, ethnicity and place. He has researched food allergies and intolerance, dietary diseases, and the “ghosts of evolution” hidden in every culture.

Back to the Future – Redux

Mark Bittman’s A Simple Fix for Food is an examination of a new study that produces results some farmers knew 30 years ago (even as long as 70 years ago). The conclusions? Organic farming – or at least very low chemical input – practices work.

Squashed!

When you hear the word squash, do you say: “Yuck!”, “Yum!”, or “What do I do with it?” As a seasonal cook, and lover of vegetables, I’d be remiss if I wasn’t honest about my enthusiasm regarding fall foods, and in particular, squashes.

Keeping Goats

Goats… what makes goats so fascinating? Is it their friendly inquisitiveness? Their obvious affection and sense of humor? The odd horizontal pupils in their eyes? Or is it simply the fact that they have been part of our lives for thousands of years?

A Dose of Gardening as the New Social Medicine

When Meaza Birhanu, 39, learned she was HIV positive seven years ago, she was already bed ridden surviving on food donations from the World Food Program. The death of her husband prompted her to get tested and she was convinced that her death was next. By mid-2010, Maeza took up her new vocation as an urban farmer, and her outlook changed dramatically. In May, the group—known as Kalehiwot—planted corn. The rains came, the crop grew, and bushels of corn were sold on the market.

My Affair With Unpopular Produce, Episode 1: Red Cabbage

I’m from a generation that grew up with a meat-and-potatoes mindset. The good news is that variety is making a comeback. People are learning all about heirloom tomatoes, local berries, and new varieties of beets and squash – at farmers markets, in restaurants, and at home. We are seeking out the wallflowers and asking them to dance.