On cherries, fish and barter

I had the privilege of working with a project where we identified and examined "business models for social change." Now, mind you, this was before everybody was using the language of "innovation" combined with "social change." The patterns that I noticed in these innovative models, were generally practices that have been around for a long, long time. I always called them, "things folks have to do to make it work or get by."

Shana's fiddlehead confessions

I feel like a bad locavore. A few posts ago, I wrote about my excitement for asparagus season. I got a few comments here and on Facebook telling me I should write about fiddleheads. I did a virtual smile and nod to cover one of my deepest shames.

Young Urban Farmers unite!

You know that we're dancing on the spectrum of real cultural shift concerning food security when young entrepreneurs, eager to build business and get rolling with profit, analyze the market and see the greatest opportunity and potential contribution in this space. I just read a fantastic piece in The Globe and Mail's Report on Business featuring a new company in Toronto called Young Urban Farmers.

Feeding the future

I don't know how I made it to age 36 without becoming a liberal cynic like many folks I know. I am still filled to the brim, overflowing actually, with hope and excitement for this world, and the creativity, commitment and real innovation that will lead to a more just, sustainable future. This morning, I read about the U.S. Government's new implementation strategy for its global hunger and food security intitiative, "Feed the Future." And, as it's Teach Me Tuesday, I'll share it with you.

Just TapIt

By the time this post goes live, I'll already be pushing through a single-day, 14-hour drive to the rural Ozarks in Missouri. In preparation for the journey, I have snacks - oh, so many snacks. Don't forget the music - there is a lot of music in the queue (the usual staples...Hendrix, Black Keys, Radiohead, Neil Young, Rolling Stones...). Now the water - as I reached for the SIGG refillable, stainless steel water bottles, I remembered a phenomenal project Mr. P sent my way last week - TapIt.

Shana's rhubarb goodness

Growing up, we had a huge rhubarb patch in our yard - it provided more than enough rhubarb for every pie and crumble we could ever eat. We froze bags of it for the winter and my grandmother made an interesting sounding, but completely delicious, rhubarb, strawberry and pineapple jam. It was my favourite breakfast on an English muffin, and it was great on top of vanilla ice cream.  She hadn't made it in years, and when I'd asked all the jam makers I know if they had ever heard of a recipe for rhubarb pineapple jam, I got a lot of raised eyebrows - I think it was the pineapple. 

More things you can't eat

Have you ever read an article or report about food safety and come away thinking, "What the hell am I supposed to eat then?" Lucky for me, I love to cook and have access to amazing local, organic foods, so I can generally answer that question myself. However, I just had another one of those "what the hell" moments after reading a piece on Planet Green called, "7 Foods So Unsafe Even Farmers Won't Eat Them." Folks, there are a few surprises on the list.

Dan Barber on falling in love with fish

I'll be honest with you, folks, I have a new crush on a chef/food security guru. I know, I know, first it was Michael Pollan, and then I couldn't stop talking about Tom Philpott, and all the while, my poor man here at home had to listen to me ramble on and on about what so-and-so said about fertilizer, or what so-and-so thinks about subsidies. Yet, here I am again, crushing on Dan Barber. 

New "pay what you want" cafe in St. Louis

Tom Philpott on class and food

It's a rare occasion when I will shamelessly cut and paste the entirety of an article or interview from another publication or blog. However, when folks are talking about class and food security, I want to feature it. Besides, I'm not sure I could be as eloquent or insightful as Tom Philpott in this recent piece from the Columbia Journalism Review.

Solving the problem of childhood obesity

Ontario Asparagus!

My picky-eater husband didn't always like asparagus - or many green vegetables for that matter. The list of food he still doesn't eat is long.  Mashed potatoes - really?  Chickpeas, or well ANY legume?  Mind boggling.  I see him now loving asparagus as one of my own best personal victories.

Be thankful when you turn on that tap

"Water, water everywhere, but nary a drop to drink." Do you think Coleridge, back in the late 1700's, could have imagined that the world would experience fresh-water scarcity only a few hundred years later? I mean, sure, if you were out to sea back then and ran out of fresh-water supplies you'd be up S**t Creek without a paddle, but these days, we're talking about standing next to the once raging Colorado River in the U.S., or the famed Yellow River in China, and wondering where the hell all the water went.

Eating local this season

Even though it's cold and rainy in Toronto, folks say it's spring. I have to take their word for it, 'cause I'm not buyin' it. Assuming it really is spring, there is nothing more enticing than the thought of farmers' markets soon to open and all the wonderful foods coming into their season. There is also nothing more political than where and how we get our food.

Oh, Wal-Mart. You confuse and dismay me.

NPR reported earlier today that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. plans to "significantly ramp up its donations to the nation's food banks to total $2 billion over the next five years." It will more than double its annual rate of giving in the coming years. They claim that they are responding to the dramatic increase in the amount of Americans using food stamps (SNAP) and relying on food banks on a regular basis.

More on raw milk

Following up on our earlier discussions of raw milk products and the increasingly heated debate surrounding them, I thought I'd share a little piece that came across my desk yesterday via @phillipadsmith (also known as my honey). It seems some folks over in Boston decided to teach us all how to have a "Raw Milk Drink In" in response to an effort by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) to restrict the delivery of raw milk to thousands of consumers throughout Massachusetts.

President's Cancer Panel gettin' it right

I just read a hopeful piece in the New York Times claiming that the President's Cancer Panel (apparently a pretty mainstream entity with 2 of its 3 members chosen by ol' G.W. himself) just released a "landmark" 200-page report, warning that "our lackadaisical approach to regulation may have far-reaching consequences for our health." May have, they say. Duh. Do you ever feel like children in grade 5 could run the U.S. and Canada better than those in power? At least they'd be more honest. 

On mothers and food

I've noticed in the blog-o-sphere that everyone is writing something profound and joyful in celebration of Mother's Day. I suppose I could do that, as my mom is pretty darn cool and tough as nails, but in relationship to food, I often can only associate her with one thing: the Schwan's truck.

Do you understand farm subsidies?

I was reading in the Huffington Post this morning about U.S. farm subsidies and how rich farmers are still getting most of the cash. They made reference to the Environmental Working Group's "Farm Subsidy Database." As one of millions of folks who barely understands the complexities of farm subsidies, yet still has a physical reaction when I hear the words "corn subsidy," I thought I'd go take a look at the EWG database.

Shana's big pancetta reveal

As we packed up the old house (my husband and I just moved), the very last things we snagged from the basement were the last-minute pancettas I'd cured. Why yes, in amongst packing up eight years of my life to move into my first home, I decided to cure pork products. Crazy, you say? No - because it's really that easy - it takes like twenty minutes of toasting spices, trimming pork belly, mixing and rubbing in cure - the rest is just hanging and waiting. Besides, I was doing it for the blog - for all of you. You're welcome.

On hipsters and policy makers

In my Sunday evening reading, I noticed that The 2010 TIME 100 (TIME's list of the people who most affect our world) includes Deputy Secretary of Agriculture for the USDA, Dr. Kathleen Merrigan. In the same hour, I read a fun little article in the most recent issue of Toronto's NOW magazine that refers to young-ish folks who are growing food in their backyard, curing meats, making their own beer and cheese, and raising chickens as "hipsters." 

Farmer Jane enters the scene

Yesterday evening, as I was putting off my yoga practice and surfing the Web for distractions, I came across the National Resources Defense Council's 2010 Growing Green Awards winners. Don't get me wrong, Russ, Karl, Fred and Mike are doing some fantastic work, but they're all older white men. Feeling a little deflated, I surfed on. Redemption came in the form of a new book released just yesterday: Farmer Jane.

Shana and her shiitake log

Last fall I read an article in the Toronto Star about growing your own mushrooms. We love shiitakes at our house - they are woodsy and meaty and great roasted with garlic and olive oil. We serve them warm as a salad over spinach, or sautéed with more garlic to use on top of a white pizza.  The idea of growing my own in my backyard was very intriguing.