Eating Local, Buying Local

Not long ago I was in North Carolina visiting a beautiful garden at the Biltmore estate. I asked the gardener if it was organic and he got very agitated. "Let me get on my soap box" he said. He then proceeded to explain that most pesticides in the US were organic and that just because something is organic doesn't mean it is free of pesticides and that some organic pesticides are not very effective. He said that sometimes he would have to use an organic pesticide 6 or 7 times instead of using a non-organic pesticide once. The gardener then told me about an integrated insect approach that he used, attracting beneficial insects to do the work to help keep his garden as healthy as possible. But when he must resort to pesticides he chooses whatever he thinks is best, organic or not. Is organic always best? Clearly, it's not that simple. Because a few years back I was critical of a campaign to "eat only local food", I left some people under the impression th......

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A Super Market

What did you do during Summer vacation? I went to a supermarket. Actually, I seek out all kinds of markets every time I travel. I try to visit farmers markets, covered indoor markets, tailgate markets, you name it. I like seeing what's on offer, what people are buying and I usually find some great souvenirs. In France I bought rhubarb and prune jam, in Mexico dulce de leche, in Vietnam lotus-scented and flowering teas, in Spain bitter orange marmalade, in Asheville sourwood honey. The last supermarket I visited was nothing like any supermarket I'd ever seen before. While I didn't actually purchase anything, I did check out every department. What sets this supermarket apart from the rest was that it's an interesting reflection of where many supermarkets might just be heading. So what does the supermarket of the future look like? It looks a lot more like a high-end specialty market. It features many distinctive departments such as a bakery that continually bakes fre......

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Grilled Summer Vegetable Salad Recipe

Today is National Salad Day. Would I make that up? Actually I got several emails reminding me about it. I was going to post a vegetable salad when I realized, it was also an all local dish which fits nicely with the One Local Summer event where participants make one meal a week with local ingredients. It's an early version of a recipe I made for my recipe development client. The vegetables--zucchini, corn, peppers and eggplant all came from Capay Organic , the lemon from Los Gatos and the olive oil from Napa. Voila! One local Summer Vegetable Salad. I served it with Sonoma lamb chops. While the idea is to eat at least one local meal a week, I actually had another meal that was primarily local this week. Ok, the rice and spices weren't but the Spicy Eggplant and Tomatoes dish had Capay Organic eggplant and Greenbrae backyard-grown tomatoes. Delicious stuff and so fresh tasting. I got the recipe from 5 Spices, 50 Dishes , a terrific book written by local food writer and cooki......

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All About Mangoes

Did you know that mangoes are the most popular fruit in the world? There are more than 2,500 varieties of the fruit and when you consider where they are grown it's really no surprise. Mangoes are grown throughout Asia and Southeast Asia, India, Africa, Australia, the Caribbean, and Latin America as well as Florida, Hawaii and California. Mangoes come in a variety of shades including red, orange, yellow and green, so you can never tell by color alone if a mango is ripe. Some are tiny as plums and others are big as pineapples. Some mangoes are best eaten firm, though most should be slightly soft to the touch. In many parts of the world mangoes aren't exported much, because the locals eat them all. Mangoes can be challenging to grow commercially and are never grown on a large scale. Filled with vitamins A and C and many trace minerals, they are healthy, refreshing and sweet, and their orangy colored flesh is uplifting and cheery. During a recent visit to the Fairchild Botanic......

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