Archive for The Organic Corner
Welcome back to the Planet Forward blog for another edition of our weekly green news highlights. This week: the fight for food labels saying ‘genetically engineered’ so you know what you’re eating; 5 winners of 2012 Green Car Awards from the Detroit Auto show; and 5 awesome Apps for healthy green eating guaranteed to help your sustainable lifestyle. Just click on the links to learn more.
On January 18, 2012, a new video by Food, Inc. director underscores the need to label genetically engineered food. We have previously reviewed the documentary Food Inc. from filmmaker Robert Kenner and we wanted to learn more about the Just Label It campaign that inspired the video and his participation. The Just Label It campaign “empowers consumers to fight for their right to know what is in their food. The video, “Labels Matter,” is the result of collaboration between the Just Label It campaign and Kenner’s new project, FixFood, a social media platform that aims to empower Americans to take immediate action to create a more sustainable and democratic food system.” The Just Label It campaign has already assembled 500,000 consumer comments demanding the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) label genetically engineered (GE) foods. The video is an awareness campaign hopes to get one million consumers to comment to the FDA by mid-April. Check out the video at the bottom of this post.
Acura NSX Hybrid Concept (Image Credit: Acura)
It’s time for the 5 Detroit Auto Show 2012 Green Car Awards. There are some pretty cool green cars on this list of winners. For example: “The Can’t Miss Award: Toyota Prius C Hybrid - Americans have already taken to the original Prius, a sluggish, not-too-handsome lump of a car, so when Toyota begins offering the smaller, cuter, cheaper model C this spring, things can only get better. The C boasts an awesome 53 mpg, paint options including Habanero (!), Moonglow (!!) and Summer Rain (!!!) and a base price of around $19,000. Home. Run.” Other categories included the ‘It Followed Me Home, Can I Keep It? Award’ (Smart), the ‘Maybe Next Time Award’ (Lincoln), the ‘Even Better As An Electric Award’ (VW) and the ‘Money No Object Award’ (Acura).
5 Phone Apps for Healthy Green Eating. A more sustainable lifestyle includes buying locally sourced organic foods. Now, you can use your smartphone, iPad or iPod Touch to download apps that help you locate and choose fresh produce and local and seasonal fruits and vegetables. Plus, you can learn about food additives and they’ll teach you what to make with your groceries. Recommended apps include: Harvest, Food Additives 2, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch and Locavore.
I don’t see how anyone can disagree with the Just Label It campaign; consumers should know what they are putting in their mouths to feed themselves and their families. Are you going to download some healthy green eating apps? How about those green car award winners? Comment below and stay tuned for more green news.
January 19, 2012
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My Organic Garden and The Long Life of Celery and a Zucchini update
Posted by: | CommentsHello my fellow garden enthusiasts and welcome (back) to the Planet Forward blog. Even though the growing season has technically come to an end, I wanted to write about my celery. I haven’t written about it all season and it was my experimental crop this year. I know celery, like many root vegetables, is not glamorous nor does it get the attention of the flashier garden residents like tomatoes and zucchini; however, it is integral to many fall dishes. Celery is part of what some call the holy trinity or the Italian soffritto or mirepoix in French. No matter the name it consists of celery, carrots and onions, and really is the basis for cooking in many cultures.
It was a day in early November when I was making a beef stew when I realized I didn’t have enough celery for the recipe. I decided to take a gamble and go out to my garden to see if my celery was still viable. Though I had closed up the rest of the garden I left the celery behind because it was small and not worth cutting. I was shocked to find that my celery had lived despite the cold weather we had experienced here in the northeast. So I cut down the celery and brought it in the house.
Young celery image courtesy of veggiegardeningtips.com
Yes, the celery stocks were very thin, I admit to that, but each head had an ample number of stocks. A few stocks had to be discarded due to either bug bites or they had wilted and withered in the cold, but over all the celery was firm and crisp. I was very impressed with the resilience of my celery. I have no clue what happened to my garden this year, but a few of the plants were able to survive long past their growing season.
My Martha Stewart organic zucchini that I cultivated from seed grew well into October and just before November they finally succumbed to the elements and withered. It is sad now that we don’t have fresh zucchini flowers in the fridge or actually zucchini to sauté and add to various dishes. However, I will not go into zucchini withdrawal because any summer stews I made were in large batches and I froze some to enjoy for the winter.
Now that the season seems to really be over (although I do still have some parsley tented in a tarp) I can start to plan for next year. I look forward to putting my new knowledge to the test and embracing whatever challenges the growing season throws at me. If you have any tips, tricks, stories or advice to share please contact me.
Until next time, happy gardening or happy garden planning.
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My Organic Garden and Drying Your Harvest to Preserve its Flavours
Posted by: | CommentsHello once again my fellow garden enthusiasts. Wow – two garden blogs in one week. I thought I would get another one posted before the season is officially over and planning for the 2012 begins. On Wednesday I wrote about how my zucchini plants flourished well into October despite the odds and today I’d like to discuss drying the herbs from the garden.
Some herbs (like parsley) tend to be heartier than others (like basil). However, if you have herb planters you can extend their growing season by placing a tarp over them at night and on cool days. The growing season has been generous to my parsley and it has taken off like a weed. So I decided to try something different and dry it. I cut and washed the parsley then plucked each leaf off the steam and placed them in the dehydrator. I then ground up the dried leaves and kept it in an airtight container.
Image of dried herbs in bowls courtesy of foodandstyle.com (click to enlarge)
I’ve since tried the parsley in a variety of recipes and was astounded by its amazing flavour. It may seem obvious that freshly dried herbs will be more flavourful than those purchased at the store, but this was my first time drying my own parsley so I had no idea just how much more flavourful. I chopped some up and mixed it with butter (you can also use the vegan if you prefer), and then froze the mixture into logs so now I even have fresh (and delicious) compound parsley butter ready to go.
I also dried my chives, as I do every year, because dried chives can be used in a multitude of dishes. In addition to drying chives and parsley, I also dried my sage and used it on (Canadian) Thanksgiving. It gave a fresh and robust flavour to my stuffing—I’m now looking forward to using it at Christmas. Herbs are not the only things that one can dry; in addition to tomatoes you can even dry hot peppers. If you wash them then cut them in half lengthwise they will dry nicely in your dehydrator or oven. When the peppers are dry you can crumble them and they become the perfect accompaniment to pasta dishes or anything that needs a little “hot” kick.
These are ways of preserving the fresh flavours of summer so you can enjoy them all year long. So when you are wondering what to do with your surplus harvest think about drying as a viable option.
Do you any of you dry or dehydrate anything from your garden? If you have any tips, tricks, or stories please share in the comments.
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Planet Forward is an online retailer of ethically-made, earth-friendly products designed for everyday use with a distinctly urban feel. Products include reusable stainless steel bottles, stainless steel thermal travel mugs, waste-free lunch bags, reusable shopping bags, Make-it-Yourself toxin-free Green Cleaning kits, organic fashions and other accessories. SALE 50% OFF ALL PRODUCTS – SHOP NOW !
