Garden to Table Salads: Spring Nasturtiums and Organic Arugula with Citrus Zest

nasturtium salads by lucille chi

Spice up salads this season with spring nasturtiums! The lovely flowers are easy to grow and have a slight peppery taste and spicy notes to them. They also contain Vitamin C. It is delightful to discover these common nasturtium flowers and leaves are edible so long as no pesticides are used. They’re from the watercress [...]

Not Just for Ceramic Pets: First Certified-Organic Chia Introduced to United States

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If I asked you to identify quinoa, kamut, spelt and amaranth, you’d probably reply — correctly — that each of those are a type of ancient grain.  But if I asked you to identify chia, you might be more likely to respond by pointing to a ceramic, grass-topped pet. Navitas Naturals, a California-based organic and [...]

Fountain of Youth-The Anti-Aging Top 8

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We are bombarded everyday with images of what we are supposed to think is beautiful. A young, super skinny, airbrushed model is what many of us compare ourselves to on a regular basis. In a world where youth is idolized and aging is seen as something, well, less favorable, we are all searching for that [...]

Organic or Local? Eat Both with this Apple Blueberry Honey Yogurt Ginger Tart

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Grocery shopping can be complicated when you’re trying to make ethical choices. You’re faced with a lot of difficult questions: Is it better to buy the organically grown blueberries trucked across the country from California or the conventionally grown apples from a local farm in Western Massachusetts? In my case, the more vexing question is [...]

Local Food Movement: Are We There Yet?

Sitting across the breakfast table, and the world’s biggest pancakes ever, from Jeff at Sustainablog, we both nod our heads in an observation — green is only going to work if it goes mainstream, becomes normal. An every day thing. Does that mean my tenure is done as a local food activist and writer? Well, [...]

Spring Sugar Cookies: Yum-O!

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The European Union has been considering a ban on food colorants because of a link between artificial dye and ADD/ADHD. I certaintly hope our great nation follows in their foot steps.  In the meantime, I will continue making our goodies in order to avoid over-processed, chemical laden foods. Today we made sugar cookies for Easter.  [...]

Cabin Fever? Start Planning the Garden!

A Garden Plan

April showers may bring May flowers, but they also bring some very anxious, antsy gardeners! Before you pick up a shovel or plant a single seed, there’s much to be done while you wait for the spring planting season. Planning your garden during the winter and early spring can help you get a jump start [...]