Eat. Drink. Better.

I’m a firm believer in moderation.  It is through moderation that we are able to make big changes in the lives of our families, society as a whole and improve the well being of our planet.  Our family strives to eat at least 50% Raw, over time we will slowly increase the amount of Raw foods and reduce the amount of meat.  Reducing meat is easy for me (a former vegetarian) and nearly impossible for my omnivore husband.  Baby steps are vital if I hope to create change in this house.

Here’s a simple recipe for Raw Nut Butter & Raw Jam to enjoy on a warm slice of whole wheat or whole grain gluten free bread. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s 85 degrees in my house (because we do without A/C, but that’s another story!).  Despite the heat I’m still in the kitchen because there’s nothing like a slice of fresh, whole wheat bread topped with nut butter and homemade jam.  Yum-o!  Today I made a double batch of organic raspberry and a single batch of organic marionberry.

Normally, we make a low sugar jam recipe, but that still takes about 4 cups of sugar!  This year, I opted to make a no sugar variety and a lower sugar variety.  Our resulting jams are tart, tangy and fabulous (not to mention better for your health!).  Here’s how to make jam without a canner, because it’s not so cost effective if you have to buy expensive tools! Read the rest of this entry »

Check at the farmer’s market for squash blossoms. They are a fresh savory treat waiting to happen in your kitchen! Here are a few squash blossom recipes I like. The Barefoot Kitchen Witch shares a great squashblossom hushpuppy recipe as well:

Just add any kind of flour (I think gluten-free rice flour works well), with an egg batter and fry the squash blossoms with cheese. The pairing possibilities of this dish are delightful… Read the rest of this entry »

July ushers in the epitome of summer garden abundance here in Wisconsin. So I was disappointed to see my local supermarket in town selling a teeny “fresh” box of basil from California, a quarter of an ounce for $2.49. With these high ingredient prices, it’s no wonder making your own pesto hasn’t evolved to higher home culinary status.

But ignore that price tag. With a little planning, you can make the amazing homemade, local pesto that will keep you savoring summer all winter long. Here are a few frugal tips to get you started:

1. Grow Your Own Basil

There’s a reason why fresh basil comes with such a high price tag: the herb is incredibly hard to keep fresh. From the moment it is cut, the leaves start to wilt, making transport very difficult. One of the most economical ways to get your feet wet in gardening is to grow basil (or any fresh herb you use frequently), which can readily be grown in a container or pot. Read the rest of this entry »

Every mid-July, I hit a culinary rut. An odd confession, I realize, given that right now fresh garden fare is edging on peak abundance and gifts me with a daily cornucopia of seasonal produce for ingredients. But as the zucchini harvest piles up on the kitchen counter this time of year, I feel a bit overwhelmed and uninspired. I crave a fresh cooking groove.

However, I’ve learned that just like any artist needs to at times rekindle a creative muse, we foodies too need a dose of cooking inspiration, especially during this time when we have a bounty of fresh fare to savor.

Here are three tips I’ve discovered for shaking up a peak summer cooking rut, followed by a summer breakfast classic we serve at our Wisconsin B&B, Inn Serendipity: Zucchini Feta Pancakes, that will cure any summer cooking rut that ails you:

1. Flip Savory and Sweet

Twist the expected menu and serve a familiar item category a new way. For example, most folks expect pancake to be bread-like and sweet, swimming in a pool of syrup. Read the rest of this entry »

June on our Wisconsin farm and B&B, Inn Serendipity, ushers in a few weeks of chaos.  Tending everything from gardens to B&B guests, June packs in a cornucopia of duties that take time away from the kitchen and savoring the abundance of the early summer season.

Don’t get me wrong as I truly relish this time of year, when both the days and work lists are long but satisfying.  Which is why we need quality fuel, good food to provide energy for the day.  This Spring Spinach and Asparagus Pasta ranks our new seasonal favorite, as it blends the tender seasonal flavors of asparagus and spinach with a filling dose of pasta, nuts and cheese, seasoned up with a unique, savory soy sauce-based dressing.  Plus it makes a sizeable batch, perfect for easy leftovers throughout the week.

Read on for the recipe and enjoy: Read the rest of this entry »

dvGreen designs sustainable events without sacrificing style. They show clients that they can reduce their ecological footprint while still throwing a beautiful party - one that just happens to be Green. By featuring organic food, flowers, and table linens; tree-free paper invitations; donating or composting leftover food; purchasing carbon offsets, and more, dvGreen creates incredible events that you can be proud of forever.

Danielle, founder and CEO of dvGreen spent several years as Event Director and later General Manager of L’Olivier, one of New York’s premiere floral design houses. The driving force in Danielle’s event work has always been her belief that parties are important. They are essential celebrations of life that allow us to freeze time and honor meaningful milestones. If we don’t mark these moments, then they risk going away forever.

It is this belief, coupled with Danielle’s very parallel feeling about the environment (if we don’t take care of it, the planet as we know it will also go away forever), that led her to launch dvGreen in 2006, a company that combines excellence in event design with the latest in sustainable practices.

Here’s is some great advice from dvGreen on how to go green for your next event.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wendell Berry once proclaimed:  “Eating is an agricultural act.”  In this spirit, recipes can serve a broader purpose than just a means to filling our stomachs at mealtime.  Think of recipes as edible blueprints for change. Think of the whole culinary process, from ingredient selection to end result, as an opportunity to showcase how our individual food choices can help both our nation and the world cultivate self-reliance through sustainable agriculture by focusing on what’s local and seasonal.

“Food Independence” champions this idea by celebrating and sharing summer’s bounty as we head towards the Fourth of July holiday.  The Food Independence Day campaign promotes this idea by encouraging folks to eat local on July 4, as well as petitioning our country’s state governors to do the same.

How do you define “Food Independence”?  What things do you do (or would like to start) that, from your perspective, make a statement about fostering a healthy, local food system?  Starting a Victory Garden?  Shopping at your farmers’ market?  Which of your favorite recipes celebrate the flavors and bounty of your region and also manifesto your values and beliefs?

The Spinach Balls (which can be made with various greens) we serve at our Wisconsin B&B, Inn Serendipity, for me exemplify my take on food independence and how conscious eating can inspire a new take on “edible activism.”    Three symbolic reasons why I think eating Spinach Balls can change the world: Read the rest of this entry »

Before I can fully jump into savoring all the tempting, fresh flavors of the spring garden, there’s one last chapter I need to wrap up from last year’s growing season:  finishing up what’s left in the freezer.  My taste buds may be craving that tender new asparagus, but my rational mind reminds me to first finish that shredded zucchini, Swiss chard and whatever else may be lingering in my freezer first.

Frozen shredded zucchini is not a bottle of nice red wine.  Age does not improve the zucchini, it only ushers in freezer burn.  On my family’s Wisconsin farm and B&B, Inn Serendipity, I typically freeze most of our garden harvest for the simplicity and efficiency.

All summer long I shred, blanch, or tray freeze my garden goodies, packing the produce into square freezer containers and lining them up in our thirteen cubic foot chest freezer in the basement.  Chest freezers, when full, can run quite energy efficiently as not as much cold air escapes when you lift open the lid, versus the vertical type freezers.  All winter long we defrost and eat through our garden harvest, ideally letting these freezer containers slowly defrost for a few days in the refrigerator, using the defrosting process to cause our refrigerator to run less.  As we “eat through” the freezer and space opens up, I fill the empty space with recycled milk jugs filled with water to help the freezer run more efficiently.

By this time of year, I’m down to the last few freezer containers and a freezer in need of a good clean out, but need a dose of culinary motivation to use up those last lingering items from last year.  Here are three strategies I use for that that final “freezer finale”: Read the rest of this entry »

Shown here is a simple organic baby bok choy dish with fresh local shiitakes I was lucky enough to find at the farmer’s market last weekend.  Shiitake mushroom happens to be a well studied, potent healing medicinal super food known in the orient for many millennia. If you can’t find them at your local organic farmer’s market stand, then there are plenty of organic growing kits online. Shiitake is known to be a:

• Kidney and Liver Supporter
• Cholesterol Reducer
• Libido Booster
• Adaptagen
• Immune Enhancer
• & Antiviral

Read the rest of this entry »