Foraging for Wild Greens: Lambsquarters & Purslane

The most healthful vegetables growing in your backyard could be weeds. Lambsquarters and purslane, described by Michael Pollan as “two of the most nutritious plants in the world,” are common wild greens. They thrive in urban environments, popping up in garden plots and sidewalk cracks from Toronto to Texas.

Interview: Debbie Thomas of Thomas Hill Organics

Joe and Debbie Thomas began as a teacher and marketing executive, respectively. But today, they run a ten-acre organic farm in the east hills of Paso Robles, California. With more than 900 fruit and nut trees, a vineyard of Italian varietals, and beds of specialty greens, garlic, tomatoes and herbs, they began a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program, sharing baskets of fresh produce weekly with their neighbors. A few years later, they opened Thomas Hill Organics, a market bistro and wine bar, where they serve seasonal, organic produce from the farm, wines from the Central Coast, and locally-sourced beef, poultry, and fish.

Farmers Determined to Defend Right to Grow Food

File Appeal in OSGATA vs. Monsanto

Battle over Farmers’ Rights Against Monsanto Continues to Brew

NEW YORK – March 28, 2012 – Today, in Federal District Court in Manhattan, family farmers filed their Notice of Appeal to Judge Naomi Buchwald’s February 24th ruling dismissing Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association et al v. Monsanto. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hear the farmers’ appeal, seeking to reinstate the case, which has received worldwide attention. The farmers are determined to move forward with their lawsuit challenging Monsanto’s patents on genetically engineered seed technologies in order to continue their pursuit of Declaratory Judgment Act court protection from Monsanto’s claims of patent infringement should their crops become contaminated by Monsanto’s seed.

Eat Local on Vacation – Charleston, SC

Reposted from Charlotte Locavore

In early December, my family spent a wonderful weekend in Charleston, South Carolina, a delightful culinary road trip that was a feast to our senses.

On Friday evening, after exploring the French Quarter neighborhood, we headed to Bowens Island Restaurant. Located in the marshlands, Bowens Island Restaurant serves the freshest seafood in Charleston. The oysters, shrimp, fish, and crabs that make up the menu are sourced from the river and creeks that surround the island. You can’t get more local than that!

Are Organic and Biodynamic Wines Worth It?

Joe Dressner, the revered wine importer and veritable poster child for the “natural wine” movement in the United States, passed away recently, bringing a wash of sadness over the wine world, but also inciting a flurry of pointed discussions centered around natural wine—including what that designation really means, and whether natural wines actually taste better than “un-natural” or commercially produced wines.
I’m an ardent proponent of natural wines not because of the philosophical or environmental connotations that they carry, but because of what’s in the bottle. It’s as simple as that. Mr. Dressner was of the same persuasion.

Gimmicks and shticks are good for marketing, but in the end, the juice in the bottle speaks louder than any sort of larger validation. So what sets natural wines apart from their commercial or “un-natural” counterparts and what makes them taste better—or, shall we say—taste more interesting?