NEST … a few favorites lately, EWG, + cooking inspiration from the library

I’m slowly making and savoring my way through these classic Alice Waters cookbooks. I’m a huge fan of her work for the The Edible Schoolyard Project in Berkeley (basically my dream job to work there). I’ve followed her work for several years and can’t believe I am just now sitting down to read her two classic cookbooks. So many great cooking lessons fill the pages and some fantastic recipes I can’t wait to try. I really love her use of herbs and seasonal food to create simple dishes. The section on sauces is amazing and a few on my list are her gremolata (a blend of parsley, lemon zest, and garlic cloves), the harissa (ancho chiles, garlic, red wine vinegar, and olive oil), and the chermoula (ginger, serrano chili, parsley, cilantro, lemon, and garlic). I’m getting a little better about meal planning lately thanks to my sous chefs (more about that in a later post), but there are still those nights when I have to think quick on my feet.  Having some of the above ingredients in the pantry to make these quick sauces to liven up a simple dish would be invaluable. I almost always have garlic, lemon, and ginger on hand and now that the herb garden is growing strong I should be well supplied throughout the summer months.

Here’s another great article on Alice Waters.

Now that the Farmer’s Markets are opening for the season (here’s a list of local ones), it’s easier to find healthier produce grown locally. For shopping at grocery stores and farmer’s markets, one list I reference often is this handy Shoppers guide to pesticides in food from the Environmental Working Group. You can always ask the farmer you are buying food from what their growing practices are.

They  EWG also has a very handy app to keep with you while you shop to reference the foods to buy organic. The Dirty Dozen plus 2 new ones, kale/collard greens and hot peppers(foods with the most pesticides) and the Clean 15 (foods with the least amount of pesticides).

Environmental Working Group has a wealth of great information, but the areas that I reference the most are the Guide to Healthy Cleaning (safer product options for all areas of  the home), Skin Deep (safer products for your face and body), and their Safer Sunscreen Guide. Just type in the cleaner or beauty product that you are using and see how it rates. On the Skin Deep and and the Safer Sunscreen guides the ratings are 0-2, lowest hazard and 7-10, highest hazard. The guide to Healthy Cleaning give A – F ratings on products and some seemingly healthy products are not so healthy, which is no surprise. These guides are invaluable and this section on all purpose cleaning products is a great place to start. I was so excited to see that my favorite powder cleaner from Bon Ami, (a local Kansas City company), is on the list and has an “A” rating.

One more very important issue, a new bill introduced to Congress about Genetic Engineered food labeling. The bill has been deemed by opponents “The Deny Americans the Right to Know, or DARK act”  and would block states from requiring GE labels and even let foods with GE ingredients be labeled as natural. – EWG

Here’s a form from the Environmental Working Group that can be passed on to your state’s representative. Take a moment to voice your opinion about knowing what is in the food you feed to your family. Please send this form to your local representative to oppose this bill.

I know this is a heavy post today but such important information to have. I have links to the EWG shoppers guide and Skin Deep in my resource pages for reference.

I’ll end on what brings me the most joy lately. Watching my little chefs cook and create! 

my sous chefs

May Day  was the perfect day to take some of our extra seedlings to our neighbors and make these super easy May Day baskets from Imagination Childhood. These would also make a great Mother’s day gift too and really a gift for any other day to brighten someone’s mood.

Enjoy this Mother’s Day weekend!

Julie