What goes better with pizza on a summer day?

That would be BEER of course!  We're really lucky to live within walking distance of the Artscape Wychwood Barns.  In fact it was a huge selling point for us giving up on finding our dream home in Leslieville and buying a house here in the west end.  We spend a lot of time there.  When the farmers market is outside we go almost every weekend.  It's a perfect place for multi tasking: the dogs get their walk on the way there and then some off leash time in the dog run, we get our shopping done and a little exercise in ourselves and with the gardens and playground we've make it the meeting place for our friends with kids for coffee dates.

Election 2.0 - What's at stake?

I was cooped up in a film studio this weekend helping out my brother on a project, but mostly sitting aimlessly for 15 hours. To bide my time, I did what any masochistic environmentalist would do: I followed the Ontario PC party convention on twitter. All day. 

The first harvest of 2011

Just 5 weeks after I direct sowed some cold tolerant seeds in the garden and I've got my first harvest!  I was doing some weeding and noticed the radishes looked a bit crowded and some were poking right out of the garden.  I swear when I was poking around in there last week they were only the size of a dime.  Now they are as big as any radishes you'd find in the grocery store!

Hell yeah, I'm a foodie!

Over the last months, I've wrestled with my role in the "foodie" culture, and whether or not it's a good thing to be so damned concerned with every morsel I put into my mouth. To paraphrase Mark Bittman in a recent interview on Edible Radio, the folks concerned about food, health, and food security exist across such a broad spectrum that it's impossible to label this movement (made up of thousands of policies, activists, local projects, and regular folks) as elitist or fleeting. Along those lines I wanted to share a couple of fantastic stories/projects with you that inspire me to keep learning, writing, and sharing about food policy and security.

Time for a field trip!

Since it's a long weekend (that would be Victoria Day dear American readers - and we get Monday off because we are a Constitutional Monarchy Yo - or whatever I'm just happy for one more day I get off work) I wanted to tackle our front yard.  Tis our plight as new homeowners that every long weekend usually involves a project.  My dream is to eventually get rid of all of the lawn in the front and have it all be landscaped perennial gardens.  

Ideas for nourishing the planet

Over the years I've come to the personal conclusion that we are not born with rights, but that collectively, we agree to certain essential standards that, when applied justly, benefit humanity as a whole. I tend to refer to these standards as human rights. I believe that clean water and nutritious food are part of these essential standards, and thankfully, I'm not the only one.

Underground markets: for the love of food

Black markets intrigue me. When I was little, I pictured them as dark little alleyways filled with bent over old men, who would signal you to come into their cavernous booths where they would haggle over Aladdin-esque forbidden wares. It's all a little romantic, isn't it. But the black market just got a little bit more interesting for me, making space for the love of my life: food. 

Getting dirty

Get your minds out of the gutter people!  I'm obviously talking about a busy week in the garden.  The yard has once again become the best and most satisfying time suck ever. I'm finding myself out there in the mornings before work with my coffee and it's the first place I want to go when I get home.  When I'm not in the garden I'm likely parked on the couch watching some procedural crime drama and reading about gardening or surfing websites about gardening.  What I'm finding most inspiring is how people are making the most of their small spaces.  One of the best examples I've seen this week is the folks over at Well Preserved who are making the most of the extra space in their parking space and making raised beds out of old skids!  

How we waste food

For the last few weeks, my paid work universe has been chaotic, to say the least. Coming off of that ride, I'm finally getting to my normal chores. This morning as I tackled the refrigerator, I was angry at myself for letting so many things go to waste. Earlier this week, Shana sent me an infographic from Sustain Ontario on said topic - how we waste food. (Shana knows how much I love infographics.)

Good things don't just grow on stage...

Over at my day job we've been writing a lot about greening lately and recently announced our Toronto's Green Theatres project, an initiative to start a movement towards energy efficient, low carbon footprint theatre facilities.  While my peers here at Folks Gotta Eat navigate the complex issues around food policy I tend to contribute posts that are a bit more homespun - like recipes highlighting seasonal produce and documenting my urban gardening misadventures.

Best basil salad dressing

Who will feed the world?

The main reason I started blogging is so I would have an excuse to read about food policy/food security. I wanted, and still want, to understand why so many people are undernourished/starving or undernourished/obese in the world. One of the central questions that I've encountered, but that goes unanswered, is "Who will feed the world (and how)?" A recent report from Oxfam attempts to answer this question.