Boh Bon Soap Review

OK, first of all, I swear I have no affiliation with the Boh Bon Soap company. Really. This is going to sound like a sales pitch, so I figured I better get that out of the way first!

I love this soap. My kids love this soap. My husband with the itchy-scratchy-rashy skin loves this soap. We were the ones who stumbled upon them at the Plymouth festival and bought a few bars. Then we ordered a few more bars. Then I recommended them to Julie because I thought the product was so superb and the idea of zero-plastic packaging just so awesome.

The Bayshore Blues is a family favorite, the fresh and spicy scent really is like a fresh, Grand Traverse Bay breeze. The littlest boy just plain loves it because it's blue. I love it because my boys actually use it, which means they get semi-clean. I have 4 boys, I will take what I can get!

I have been trying the Earth Mama Goat to wash my face. I read this article about the amount of plastics in face washes and cream cleansers and got completely icked out. Though, I really didn't want to pay $8 for a bar of burt's bees either. Then, I heard from a friend that goat's milk soap is great for your complexion, so I thought I would give it a go. I've got to tell you, in the world of soap, this bar for $3.25 is a darn bargain compared to fancy-schmancy face washes and designer bar soaps! I'm betting it will last longer too. It's been doing a great job of washing up my sweaty, oily face each night after spending the day in the heat and dirt watching my boy's playoff baseball games. It's not dried out or itchy and I think I smell pretty darn good when I go to bed at night too! And, I sleep a little better knowing it's all natural and didn't come to me wrapped in any plastics at all.

This week I am going to make the foray into the world of shampoo bars, I am ordering a bar this week. As a die-hard Aveda hair product user, this will be the ultimate test of the shampoo! I will keep you updated!

Product Review: Creswick Farms Hickory Smoked Bacon

This is what bacon is meant to be.

It fries up nicely with a savory aroma that makes you want to just eat the stuff as you're cooking it and never mind the meal. The hickory aroma fills the kitchen and blends very well with the salt. This is uncured bacon, with no nitrites added. The slices are not uniform like corporate bacon--they're generally wider on one end and a bit thicker--and they have a much better meat-to-fat ratio. This is seriously meaty bacon, and the thickness makes it nice and toothsome. If you like your bacon to be really crisp and crunchy to the point of being crumbly you'll have to cook this a bit longer than you're used to. If, like me, you enjoy bacon that's crisp but still needs to be chawed on some, you'll love it.

We had breakfast for dinner last night. Our oldest, Alex, did the pancakes. We used an organic mix**, alas, but we put in an egg and some strawberries from the farmer's market. While he was flipping the pancakes, I fried the bacon. After the bacon was done (I cooked the whole package--couldn't stop myself!) I used the grease to fry up a few eggs (from Hampshire Farms; I'm pretty sure LVL offers these). The bacon grease lent a nice hickory undertone to the eggs, and they needed no salt or pepper. Next time, though, I'll turn down the heat a bit before cracking the eggs in. The edges got a bit crisper than I usually like.

We really missed bacon. We haven't indulged ourselves in a long time, though, now that we know a bit about what happens to corporate bacon before it becomes bacon. This bacon is everything bacon should be and more, without the baggage. It passes our cost test, but even if it didn't, its superior taste and quality would make it worth the extra cost. We don't eat a lot of bacon--or meat in general, for that matter--but the next bacon we buy is going to be from Creswick Farms. I really hope they also do ham.


**Does anyone have a good scratch recipe for buttermilk pancakes? We made butter out of some Calder's cream (also from LVL!) it was delicious on the pancakes, but now we've got all this buttermilk and nothing to do with it.

Dinner that even the kids wolfed down!!

A few nights ago we planned to grill some steaks. Well it was pouring out at dinner time, so instead we pan-seared some Filet Mignon steaks with a sprinkle of Penzey's Chicago Steak Seasoning. We paired it with some sauteed greens, carrots and onions and garlic scapes (veges from either our CSA or the farm market) to which we added some garlic, ginger, tamari and salt and pepper. We also made some of the Mannomin (wild Rice) from LVL, I cooked it with a bit of broth, salt, pepper and water. It was delicious just plain!!! The kids LOVED the rice. It was the tastiest wild rice I have ever had. It will become a staple in our house!!

We had homemade chocolate custards for dessert. Great Meal!!

Last night in an attempt to use up greens (we get more today from our CSA) we made a delicious vegetable, chicken, egg drop soup! Used homemade chicken stock as a base and boy was it good.

Lisa

Sweetening One Local Michigan Summer

Our attempts to document our version of “one local Michigan summer” is off to a slow and pathetic start due to the long interruption of power at the Whitfield house and the resulting disheveled schedules not to mention we're really bad at taking pictures and even worse at taking the time to write a blog entry. What seemed easy when we signed up for it now seems a bit challenging under these circumstances however, rest assured we're giving it the old college try - even if local means slapping a couple poached eggs on a plate courtesy of five cage free/free ranging hens loving life 50 feet from our back door. In the mean time, please accept this suggestion from Whitfield Apiaries (the Simply Raw Honey people) to help you meet your goals of eating “local” this summer.

Honey has been used for centuries as a natural sweetener and was a much coveted staple known to be present in every king or pharaoh’s pantry. Whatever happened to honey as our preferred sweetener? That is another story but for now, pure, naturally produced honey combined with local flour from Westwind Milling Co. is a sure way to complement those “local Michigan summer” meals with your favorite baked sweets.

To make the substitution, simply follow these guidelines that have been tried and proven for years by the food scientists at the National Honey Board. You can make good recipes even better using local, naturally produced honey:

• Substitute honey for up to half the sugar called for in the recipe. With a little experimentation, honey can replace all the sugar in certain recipes.
• Reduce the liquid in the recipe by ¼ cup for each cup of honey used.
• Add ½ teaspoon baking soda for each cup of honey used.
• Reduce oven temperature by 25 deg F to prevent over-browning.
• Remember, honey has a higher sweetening power than sugar. It will take less to sweeten your recipe.
• For easy measuring and fast clean-up, coat measuring cups and spoons with oil before measuring honey.
• 12 oz honey equals 1 cup.

If all this brings back bad memories of high school chemistry class, go to The National Honey Board and pick from the 1400 proven recipes offered. This is one of the best honey information resource for consumers, food industry professionals and beekeepers alike.

Best of luck with your “one local Michigan summer” and let Honey make your good food even better.

Bryan & Judy
Whitfield Apiaries
Ortonville, MI

Easy Cherry Sauce

Looking for some ideas for frozen fruit? Fruit that's getting just a bit overripe? Or, fruit your kids might not eat in it's original form? This is an idea I have been using for times when I can figure out what to do with yet another bushel of peaches or fruit hanging out in the fridge just a little too long.

Cherry Sauce:

1 qt. bag of frozen tart cherries

1/2 cup organic sugar (more or less to taste)

few drops vanilla

touch of corn starch (not necessary for peaches, pears, apples)

Combine all ingredients and boil rapidly for 2 minutes, stirring and "squooshing" the fruit a little. Turn down heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Cool and pour into glass jar. I save pasta jars for this purpose.

Serve over pancakes, ice cream, shortcake - you name it! It's a great way to get an extra serving of fruit in my kids at breakfast and cut back on the maple syrup! YUM!

More Local Food and a rhubarb recipe

On my own blog, I posted about (and some pictures) the breakfast and lunch I had today. I also posted a recipe for a fabulous Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp I made Sunday night. I saw that Julie posted some more rhubarb recipes on her website, so I thought this might be a something useful for those who have some extra rhubarb (I love to put it away in the freezer to use all year!!).

Dinner tonight was local too, We had roasted chicken (we get our chickens from Cloverlawn Farm--Jackie and Steve Good who I think live near Imlay City), Kim chi (homemade) and some of the Leelanau Cultured Veggies Ty's Spiced Beets which are oh so good, for the side dish my hubby whipped up some sauteed greens which was a combo of swiss chard and some unknown asian green both from Cinzori's Organic Farm. He added a bit of garlic, ginger, sesame oil and organic tamari sauce to the greens. Yummy!!

Lisa

Product Review: VitaSpelt Organic Spelt Spaghetti

We have several packages of VitaSpelt products in our cupboard at the moment, and we tried the "Pasta d'Abruzzo" (lighter in taste and color!) style spaghetti the other day. Here's how it worked out for us.

We've been using Meijer's store brand organic pasta* for some time now. It's tasty, but certainly not local (the box says "product of Italy"), so we were very pleased to find pasta that comes from nearby. The fact that it's made from spelt instead of wheat made little difference to us; we're not concerned with gluten allergies or anything like that.

We prepared the spaghetti just like any other kind, and it cooked up nicely al-dente, and was easy to serve. After it cooled, it did stick together a bit, but not as much as our usual brand. We used the Meijer organic* sauce to top it, with some locally grown onions and basil mixed in for fun and flavor. The taste and texture were somewhat lighter than our usual pasta, and the flavor was almost unnoticeable in the background under the sauce. Most importantly, our 3-year-old ate it happily (without sauce) and had seconds. All in all, it was like replacing the coffee we usually serve with Folger's crystals--we didn't even taste the difference.

The one drawback is the price. At $2.25 for 8 oz of noodles, VitaSpelt spaghetti costs more than double the Meijer organic pasta ($1.99 for 16 oz). Ouch.

If you have gluten allergies, and value local food, VitaSpelt is definitely the way to go. But we have a policy about cost-benefit when it comes to our shopping. If an item costs double the nonlocal price (or more), then there needs to be an additional benefit to buying it (animals pastured and humanely slaughtered, for example, or markedly superior quality). The VitaSpelt spaghetti is perfectly good; there's nothing at all wrong with it. But for the price, well, we're going to try our hand at making our own noodles with local flour instead before we decide it's worth the extra expense. We have a recipe. I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes.

As mentioned above, we have some more varieties of the VitaSpelt pasta that we haven't tried yet, including whole grain angel hair and wide Amish style. I'll let you know how we like those as well.

Cheers!

*We know, industrial organic is only marginally better than agri-corp food, but those acres aren't sprayed or fertilized, so we reckon that's a gain. A small gain, but every little helps. And we can use the extra couple bucks at the Farmers' Market or other LVL products.

One Local Michigan Summer - Week 2

Here we are, the second week of our challenge. A few storms, a couple power outages - nothing can keep us down! Here are the submissions:

Lisa made Father's Day a local affair with waffles, berries, syrup and a frittata - Oh my! I am guessing my husband wishes he was at her house! Read all about it (and see it too!) here. And, Lisa also made a yummy salad for lunch last week, which you can read and see here.
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The eco 'burban mom (that's me!) made an egg salad sandwich on a pita with a local beer on the side - yes, you read that right - beer. From Atwater Brewery in Detroit folks, totally local and part of the challenge! You can read all about it and sneak a peek at my beer here.
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Julie, our fearless LVL leader, rocked this challenge more than once this week and even sent in journal style food entries. Now, stop making us all look bad Jules! And, send us a picture so we can drool along with you!! ;o)

Thursday, June 12th - Manoomin Wild Rice (this is ok as a local ingredient, right? Let me know if not), served with olive oil (Organic, Fair Trade Holy Land Olive Oil!) and sprinkled with Redmond Sea Salt (from ancient sea beds in Utah).I was planning to have a smoothie with frozen blueberries I put up last summer from BlueRidge Organic Blueberry Farm in Capac, local raw milk from my cow share, raw egg from East River Organic in Snover, and frozen organic tart cherries from North Star Organic in Traverse City--but I got lazy, and had a cup of Leelanau Licorice tea (licorice root and peppermint from Light of Day Organics in Traverse City, which is also certified biodynamic) sweetened with honey from John Simmons' organic grain farm in North Branch. I usually use Whitfield Apiaries' honey, but John gave this honey to me as a gift, and I go back and forth between the two. :)

Friday, June 13 2008: Lunch Again, I won't be impressing anyone with my creativity here--I'm often looking for something quick and easy. Today's lunch was kefir I made from my raw cow's milk in St Johns...a very strong kefir, I might add...mixed with blueberries from Blueridge Organic Blueberry farm in Capac that I froze last summer and honey from Whitfield Apiaries in Brandon Twp. Not quite hitting the spot, I sliced up a Geronimo tomato from Zenner's hydroponic tomatoes up north...I'm not an advocate of hydroponics, as I feel food needs to grow in the ground, and the solution used to mix into the water is another layer of commercial production making what should be simple, complicated, but it was given to me as a sample. Why waste it? So, I chopped up the tomato and poured olive oil on it and sea salt and pepper. I wanted to drizzle some vinegar on it, too, but wasn't sure of its origin! STILL not quite satisfied, I eyed the organic white popcorn that Farmer Brown grew in the thumb, and John Simmons helped to separate and hull, popping it on the stove with olive oil and sea salting it. I topped it off with another cup of tea...the Relaxation Blend from Light of Day Organics in Traverse City, made from chamomile, spearmint, and raspberry leaf.

Saturday, June 14th - Rib Steak from East River Organic (Snover, approx 70 miles) pan-fried in lard from my pig, Our Farm and Dairy (St John's, approx 100 miles) seasoned with Redmond Sea Salt (Utah) and pepper (unknown origin)Sliced Geronimo tomato from Zenner Farms/Hydroponics (Kingsley, MI) drizzled with Holy Land Olive Oil (Palestine to CA to MI) seasoned with Redmond Sea Salt and pepperHomemade kefir Raw Milk from Our Farm and Dairy Frozen tart cherries from North Star Organics (Frankfort, MI) Maple Cream from Food for Thought (Honor, MI)
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We're still looking for more challenge participants! Join in, leave a comment here at this post, or to read about the challenge and rules, click the icon that says "One Local Michigan Summer" with the tomatoes in the right hand column and add your name there. We will sign you up and I will recap your meal every Sunday night, right here on the blog. Now, go get cooking! ~ Mandi

Happy Father's Day

We are having my family over today for a Father's Day "Brunch" which is more like breakfast but at 11 am. I am making my "famous" waffles (which is a recipe from Deborah Madison, that I changed to make more healthy). They are made with all local flours and grains (from Westwind Mill), local eggs and homemade kefir. They also contain salt, baking powder and soda and vanilla extract and coconut oil. I also made a tart cherry sauce and a blueberry sauce. Both have some sugar in them, but the fruit is all local (blueberries are from our freezer from last summer and come from Blueridge farm in Capac, cherries are from Northstar Organic). I also plan to serve real maple syrup from Arnold's Sugar Bush (which is near North Branch) and whipped cream made with Calder's cream (from LVL). I am also making two different frittatas. The fritattas are based on a formula/recipe by Mollie Katzen from her book Sunlight Cafe (they are mostly a formula and directions with many variations, you can really put anything and substitute as needed).

The first Fritatta is made with local eggs, asparagus (local), garlic (local--I got it from Cinzori's Organic Farm at the Royal Oak Farmer's Market yesterday), parsley and dill from our CSA, and the spiced gouda cheese from Grassfield's. It also contains non--local onions (can't source local ones yet this year) and salt and pepper.

The second frittata is made with red potatoe slices (from White Pine Farms in North Branch), swiss chard and garlic (from Cinzori's), kale from our CSA and then these non-local ingredients --red onion, salt, pepper and goat cheese.

We plan to also have some great fresh strawberries I got from Maple Creek Farm in Yale, MI at the farmer's market!!

We are going to my In-laws for dinner, so we are taking a local chicken (cut up) and my homemade BBQ sauce along with a salad made with lettuce and greens from our CSA and local radishes and carrots (farmer's market find yesterday) we will also put local grassfield's cheese and some dried cherries on the salad.


Hope everyone has a yummy and wonderful Father's Day!

Lisa

P.S. I thought it funny when my 6 year old son was watching us cook and commenting on how it smelled good, etc. and we got around to "yucky food" in the conversation and he said that at school he didn't eat the apple. I said "Apples are good for you", and he said "Well I didn't eat it because it was sprayed with poisons". I guess I can't argue with that logic!!

I edited the post after our meal to include the picture.

Product Reviews: My thoughts

Here's just a few of my thoughts on the products I've been ordering...

Yogurt: Wonderful!

I eat it for breakfast over fresh berries, granola and some raw honey (from Julie!) for breakfast and it has actually 'cured' my hayfever--NO JOKE! Google "probiotics hayfever" and you'll get a whole bunch of articles about the benefits of the "good bacteria" found in the yogurt. Usually this time of year, when the white fuzzies are flying around, I'm stuck in the house with a box of kleenex and a handful of Benedryl...not this year--I haven't taken an allergy pill since the beginning of May. That's 60+ pills I have not had to take, not to mention the $$ it's saved me as well. My other half has become a believer and he's starting to eat it too...he has his for dessert after dinner. I'll keep you posted on how it's working for him.

Sour Cream: Really good--fantastic consistency and taste. I can't buy this too often though, as I find myself creating dinners around the sour cream! :-)

Half & Half: Makes a great cup of coffee in the morning even better!

Peanut Butter: one word YUM! Both are really good! The toffee one is a bit sweeter (but that's how I like it when I eat it right out of the jar!) :-)

Global Warming HOT salsa: Like the other review here, the salsa's have a really unique flavor, a bit smokey, but not so much that it overpowers the rest of the flavors. The HOT is our favorite. I make 'deli' quesadillas in my paninni maker; lunch meat (turkey breast or chicken), cilantro, jalapenos and cheese and then top with sour cream & the salsa. It's a perfect light dinner on hot nights when I don't feel like "cooking".

Well, that's enough for now...I'm off to enjoy this great weekend!

L

kids...

Hello all you local eaters... I just wanted to share a funny story with you about growing healthy kids. My little guy was about 4 at the time and went to a friends house to play. He was offered a pb&j and accepted. When the sandwich was served however he said "no, thanks, I'm not really hungry". When he returned home later I found out why. He said "mom, did you know there is white bread with no outside...and pb that looks funny!?!". It was apparently white bread w/ no crust and Jif or something like that... He has only ever had whole grain bread, natural pb, and preserves.

By the way, when the same boy came over to our house he wanted nothing to do with our version of pb&j!!! (I forgot that part when I told you, Julie)

Next up....how healthy is your skin care?!?!?

Op-Ed in NYT about food inspection and safety

Hope you enjoy this article about food inspection and safety, including some history. A couple of new pieces of info here I hadn't heard before...pretty short article. Thanks to L.I. for sending it to me!

Local Lunch

This is the lunch my husband and I had today. It was salad greens from Rocky Gardens CSA in Davisburg, the eggs are from local farms (we get them from Rocky Garden's but they don't produce them, they are local however), the dried cherries are from the farm up north where LVL gets them, the chicken is from Cloverlawn Farms and the cheese is Grassfields spiced Gouda that we got from LVL!! The only thing not totally local was the dressing (which isn't on the salad in the picture) it was made with Kefir (which we make from local raw milk) and a spice mix from Penzey's (which is a WI company, but the spices are sourced thorughout the world by them) but it has mayo in it which isn't local (but does mayo count as an oil, cause here that is really it's role???).

Anyway, it was so delicious and very filling.

Bon Appetite!!

Lisa

Upcoming Events

Hi--I'll edit this as I come across others (to keep them in order by date), and you can send them my way, too...we'll get a queue going....

Green Cuisine in Honor, MI (Traverse City area). Tour Food for Thought's organic farm and green buildings at this zero-waste event. Learn about Northern Michigan's local food economy and taste local food and beverage artisans. Free! July 16th, 5-8 pm

Yule Love It Lavender Festival in Leonard, MI, July 18 & 19

Where it comes from, where it goes, and what you can do about it...

In case you haven't seen these yet, they are entertaining and informative videos about what's wrong with the way things work in this country (and globally).

The Story of Stuff is about, well, our stuff, and why we should try to use less of it, and how.

The Meatrix is a brilliant parody of The Matrix (duh). It explains how factory farms work, and why they're allowed to keep working. (Hint: "Why oh why didn't I swallow the blue pill?")

And my favorite: Store Wars (the link will redirect you to youtube). Learn the ways of the Farm, and resist the evil Darth Tater!

It can be hard to preach the gospel of local eating without coming across as, well, preachy. These films are funny as well as informative, and get the message across in a non-holier-than-thou way (though as a member of the choir, I may be a bit biased on that score). All the films linked above (well, not The Matrix) are made by Free Range Studios, who take on other issues, like biodiversity, fair wages, and endangered species. If you haven't seen them, give them a click. Share the links with your friends. The more people know, the harder it will be for agri-business to keep poisoning our people, and the easier it will be for local farmers to sell you the good stuff.

Poland, EU's CAP, and GMOs

Here's an article about what may happen to the 2 million farms in Poland under the EU's CAP, Common Agricultural Policy. Also discusses Poland's fight against GMOs. Long, and takes a while to get going, but worth the time. I haven't heard a lot about agricultural changes in Poland, so this is opening my eyes to that issue a bit...

Here's an excerpt:

How ironic it is that the hell bent US development of biofuels has played into the hands of the proponents of cheap GMO feed for meat production by forcing up the price of conventional feeds, such as barley based products, through displacing cereals from millions of acres planted with GM maize to produce fuel for motor-cars and trucks. Now GM soya and maize, previously avoided by most European animal feed importers, suddenly look like the only cheap option available. We have consistently lobbied for government to encourage farmers to grow their own traditional feed products, but in a world hooked on the global trade of cheap proteins, such advice has fallen on deaf ears.

Fork in the Road TV show

A huge thanks to one of our members for introducing me to "Fork in the Road", a PBS cooking show starring a MI chef who travels around MI cooking with his unique finds!

I've already contacted the producer about possible collaboration opportunities and the publisher of his cookbook about getting bulk pricing for our buying club!

Check out the website which features lots of recipes!

Scenes from the kid's room

This happened at my house the other day:

Zack is 3 years old, and he's playing with an Ertl farm set. He's got a wagon hooked up to a tractor, and in the wagon is a bunch of loose change from his brother's piggy bank.

Me: What's going on there, Zack?
Z: The farmer is taking his money home from the farmer's market!

Are you gettin' local with it?

Sign ups for the One Local Michigan Summer are still going on, so if you want to get a chance at winning some of the fabulous prizes Miz Jules is giving away, get your name on the list and make sure to read the rules, email me your local meal of the week! Sign up here.

Just to show you how easy it can be... Here is my all local lunch from today. All 4 of my boys were gone, my husband had a lunch meeting and the dogs were sleeping. I had the kitchen all to myself...

• Eggs - East River Organics
• Butter - Calders
• Jam - Cherry Republic - Cherry Peach
• Bread - Westwind Milling
• Cheese - Gouda from Grassfields

Quick, easy and pretty darn good. See, you can do it. It's this easy - sign up and don't miss out on all the fun we will be having this summer! Read this blog post for the rules, leave your name and email address in the comments section, or email me (mmankvitz@yahoo.com) for more information. Come on, get local with it!

Product Review: Global Warming Salsa

LaVidaLocal introduced us to Global Warming Salsa at Oakland University's Earth Day fair. (Full disclosure: we bought our salsa direct form Global Warming at the fair, not through LVL, but that's how we found out about it.) We took home a jar each of Classic Mild and Classic Hot.
Here's how they worked out for us:

Classic Mild has a very rich, complex flavor that reminds one of hardwood smoke bubbled through balsamic vinegar. The texture is smooth, and the heat level is like the charcoal in the barbecue after you've cooked and eaten your dinner and go out afterward to make s'mores: it's definitely there, but it's more noticed than felt. Your average salsa-eater will enjoy this one but might want to go with Medium; folks who fear spicy food will be just about able to tolerate the heat. But the heat is not what makes this salsa worth the money. There's a lot going on in this jar. We're not sure if the complexity of flavor comes from roasting, the various ingredients, or some combination thereof, but wherever they get it, it's good.

Classic Hot is a lot like Classic Mild, but full of eye-watering, sinus-clearing, slow-burning heat. This is not the kind of hot salsa that warns you to "keep away from children and pets" or cautions cardiac patients not to eat it. Both of those things are probably advisable, but the flavor is more important, and more impressive, than the heat, which starts hot, slowly builds, and fades even more slowly. This salsa and some good tortilla chips would be a great complement to grilled steak and/or veggies, and might go well with your favorite brand of Scotch (though we didn't get to experiment with that last pairing).

Global Warming does various local events and has a Salsa of the Month club for the more adventurous. Their ingredients are not local (face it: Michigan has the wrong climate for really good chilis) but the sauces are all made nearby. At the Earth Day event, Global warming owner Dan Houston was talking about a wasabi-based salsa he was experimenting with. We hope to try it soon.

CSA Info

I've been asked often lately, "What is a CSA?" CSA stands for "Community Supported Agriculture" (some sources say "community sustained..."). A consumer buys a share of the farm in the Spring for a set price (usually $500-$700) and receives produce during the growing season, typically 16-20 weeks. Some CSAs require work, some have working on the farm as an option for a reduced rate, some do not. Some CSAs deliver food to drop-off points, some require pick-up at the farm. Most CSAs are organically grown, some certified organic.

It's a beautiful model in many ways--you know your farmer, you know how the food is grown, you learn about eating seasonally, your inspired to "put up" food for the winter for those crops which grow abundantly for the season's unique weather. There's some risk that gets transferred from the farm's shoulder's to the consumers--if it's a tough season, the yield may not meet your expectations, but having a community carry some of that burden is much better than our current food model, which makes life so difficult for the growers that the profession is less appealing or not financially sustainable!

An article appeared in The Times Herald yesterday (a St. Clair County, MI paper) about Maple Creek CSA, the largest CSA in MI that I'm aware of. Click here to read it. You can find CSAs near you at localharvest.org. Les Roggenbuck of East River Organic, where we get our eggs and some beef, has a CSA--look for Maggie's post here on the blog!

naturally nutty comes to Detroit

Hi everyone!
I guess I am a little behind on learning all of this blogging stuff, so please bear with me! I have no idea as to how to read questions posted to me!!!! I had a little help on this one!
Mandi, to answer your question, yes, I have thought about an organic chocolate pb!!!! I actually am going one step further with a specific kind of chocoate as soon as it hits the US. It's been in the European market for some time, but will not be introduced here for a few months yet! Stay posted and I will eventually share with you all what this might be.... For the time being, I have a semi-sweet chocolate cherry pb coming out in 2 weeks. Along with that, I have a cinnamon pb and a white chocolate cherry almond butter! The plain and vanilla almond butters are already out... YUM!
I can't remember if I told you all, but I will be under the Zacarro's tent in front of the DIA this Friday and Saturday! I will have all kinds of samples and info, and I would love to meet as many of you as possible!
Have a great night,
Katie

Organic by the Case Coupon Code for June

My friends, Kevin and Yvette Berman, have launched organicbythecase.com--a great place to buy those organic pantry staples (Annie's, Clif, Luna, cereal, beverages, pet food, Tom's of Maine, EcoCover, etc)! Now they've been kind enough to offer a coupon code for La Vida Local for 10% off--use coupon code "lvl", for La Vida Local, of course!

Thanks, Kevin and Yvette!

Everything Rhubarb

Just wanted to let you know that I've posted lots of info about rhubarb on my website! I will try to continue to do this with each food we cycle through in MI, but it could get daunting, come September!

Some teasers--did you know that rhubarb is a good source of Vits A and C? It is perhaps a good blood detox, and was used in Chinese medicine for years and years. You can "force roots" of rhubarb in the winter to get fresh food in January! You can also make a rhubarb syrup that doesn't require canning--just some old-fashioned bottles and corks! Rhubarb also freezes very well--as a very affordable vegetable that is nutritious, pull it out all winter to make yummy pies or pancake topping, or try cooking it in some maple syrup or honey, and making a sweet smoothie!

We'll be getting organic strawberries by the case this summer (as long as the harvest is abundant), and you'll want to put many of them in the freezer as well to pair this winter with your frozen rhubarb! Plan ahead for a local winter!!!!

Welcome from Whitfield Apiaries

A warm Whitfield Apiaries welcome to the LaVida Local Community! We are proud to be one of Julie’s local farmers and a very satisfied customer as well. Some of our LaVida Local favorites have been the dried cherries, pork chops, whole wheat flour and of course, the asparagus. ..yummm yummm!

Our family produces raw, natural honey using sustainable, biological beekeeping methods. Most describe us as “fringe” beekeepers because our honey is produced in hives that remain completely untreated with the usual toxic chemicals that have become standard practice for the commercial and hobby beekeeper alike. We never have and never will use antibiotics and chemical pesticides. To learn more about our approach to beekeeping, visit http://www.simplyrawhoney.com/biological.html.

LaVida Local has been an important part of our growth this past year and we appreciate every member who is committed to eating local and supporting small farms like ours. We are very fortunate to be part of the movement to naturally and locally produced food as it is important for our health and environment. I tell Julie that organizations like LaVida Local are the sustainable and healthful future of food in America.

Judy and I would like to share one of our favorite honey recipes for the “Best Barbeque Sauce” that was shared by one our beekeeping friends. The name says it all. Enjoy!

Best Barbecue Sauce

1 ½ c ketchup
¾ c Whitfield Apiaries Honey
1 tbsp. Black pepper
1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. Liquid smoke

Mix altogether and baste your favorite free range chicken or grass fed beef ribs. We keep some aside to use at the table.

Let us know what you think. If you have any questions about our honey or our beekeeping methods let us know. We want you to know where your honey comes from.

Judy, Bryan, Miles and Mia
www.simplyrawhoney.com