White House Vegetable Garden - USDA Style

I thought this was prelly cool so thought I would share. Last week Mark Bittman, a hero of mine, posted this entry in his blog "What if the U.S.D.A Subsidized Gardens?". It included a graphic of the White House kitchen garden layout and what it would look like if it was planted with the crops that the USDA subsidizes. I know which garden I would eat from. Oh and the info comes from our friends at the Environmental Working Group - they've developed a Farm Subsidy Database, another reason to love and support them.

Backend/Frontend Report

OK kiddies, get your minds out of the gutter, what I really meant was back yard garden and front yard garden. Yay this is an actual garden post!

But first! I have one GMO update for you:  "Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified foods Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada", by Aris A, and Leblanc S.1 is a Canadian study that found traces of BT toxin in the blood of Pregnant Women, their Fetuses and Non- Pregnant Women... Here is the article info from PubMed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21338670 - unfortunately, I don't have access to the full article, however, the conclusion is mentioned in the abstract.

AND we have a new additions to our family...

LUKE!

OK back to the backend... I mean backyard. The veggies are coming along nicely. I'm thrilled with how the squash bed is looking, there's echinacea for bees and butterflies, corn, beans, cucumbers, zucchinis, spaghetti squash and an edible pumpkin I like to call calabaza. We even have our first calabaza flower!

I'm especially happy with this one since the seeds are from an actual pumpkin I bought at the Union Square Farmer's Market in NYC last fall. I don't know the variety but it's great hardy one. That sucker was planted in 30 degree weather with only the remains of a plastic vinegar jug to protect it from the cold.

Remember this...

March

Now looks like this...

Memorial Day Weekend

As usual the sunflowers are doing great too, these guys were also planted in March. They were in the portable greenhouse along with tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and other various flowers (calendula, zinnias, cosmos, wildflowers, sweet william, celosia). Some of the tomatoes came up, unfortunately none of the peppers or eggplants germinated. We had to buy a red pepper plant and a couple of hot peppers, we also bought some marigold and lobelia. Not bad though, the rest of the garden is grown from seed.

The greens bed isn't doing to shabby either considering it's been 80+ degrees here for a couple of weeks. Whatever happened to spring people?? We have collards and a few varieties of lettuces that I can't really identify or recall, sorry I suck as a farmer... 

But what really warms my hears are the rogues! Yes we have squashes and tomatoes growing like weeds in the greens bed. I attribute a diet high in fresh vegetables for that. Since we compost all of our food scraps the seeds were ripe for germinating. I haven't counted all of the rogue tomato plants but I think there about 10. We also have either cucumbers or zucchinis galore, Some around the sunflowers and some in the middle of the greens patch. We also had our italian chard self sow. We let it go to seed again in hope that it will come back, especially since what I planted didn't come up.

As for the new herb garden, I'm very happy with that as well.

Echinacea

Lemon Balm

Anise

Dill & Marjoram

Thyme

Sage

Clockwise from Bottom Left: Parsley/Cilantro, Spearmint, Oregano, Chocolate Mint, Borage

I can't wait for July and August when everything is in full splendor!!

Now in the front end things have been blooming like crazy.

The poppies looked amazing, they're gone now ;(

This purple flower is also doing lovely and blooms for most of the summer - oh and if anyone knows what this is please let me know, I have no clue.

Here's another one that 's growing in the garden, I think it's pretty but don't know what it is

Peonies came out but I need to divide this fall, we didn't get a bumper crop this year.

The miniature roses are also looking quite lovely.

And of course, my mother's rose and Pippin's rose are also looking great.

Mom's

Pippin's

Our goal is to make this more of an edible front yard so I planted a couple of fun things like sage, echinacea, chives and borage. 

And for shits and giggles I planted pumpkins seeds from the most awesome jack-o-lantern EVER!

It's going to be like the great pumpkin patch Charlie Brown!

1. Aris A, Leblanc S. Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada. Reprod Toxicol. 2011 May;31(4):528-33. Epub 2011 Feb 18. PubMed PMID: 21338670

5%

On Earth Day I listened to a podcast that featured a panel discussion with Vandana Shiva. My newest HERO.

Dr. Shiva is a PhD in Philosophy, she is also the founder of Navdanya International, a group that is fighting the patenting of the world's seeds. Dr. Shiva passionately and articulately speaks about the farce of the Green Revolution in the 1960s in India. And how we are once again being accosted by the likes of Monsanto, Bayer, Dow and other chemical companies with their seeds that contain genetically modified organisms (GMO) and terminator technology. Threatening the future of farmers and our food supply.

As someone that always stresses organic, this got me thinking - I really need to talk more about GMOs...

According to the Institute for Responsible Technology,

"Currently commercialized GM crops in the U.S. include soy (91%), cotton (88%), canola (88%), corn (85%), sugar beets (90%), Hawaiian papaya (more than 50%), zucchini and yellow squash (small amount), and tobacco (Quest® brand). 

Products derived from the above, including oils from all four, soy protein, soy lecithin, cornstarch, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup among others. There are also many "invisible ingredients," derived from GM crops that are not obviously from corn or soy"

It might be surprising to learn that the vast majority of processed foods contain some form of the above ingredients, especially soy and corn. What may be even more surprising to some is that these foods have been released under a cloud of controversy over safety. Beginning in 1995 with Arpad Pusztai, of the Rowett Research Institute in Scotland's, testing of Monsanto GMO potatoes1. Dr. Pusztai's findings in 1999 were quite the opposite of what he was expecting. As a strong supporter of GMO food Dr. Pusztai's original intention was to show the safety of GMO foods, not the dangers.

Ten-plus years later and we are no better than we were in 1999. The safety of GMOs is still in question and the chemical companies reassuring the safety is almost reminiscent of the tobacco companies saying cigarettes were harmless... OH REALLY... What's not in question are the strong-arm tactics of the chemical companies in keeping the secrets of their patented materials, we know how they deal with farmers that save seeds - yes I'm talking to you Monsanto- this is why there is such little research out there, they need to protect their patents... OH REALLY... I love how proprietary information trumps public heath and safety - thanks FDA.

Rant aside, One can conclude that the lack of independent research on GMO foods is intentional. I'm sure we can find plenty of studies funded by the chemical companies, I'm not interested in those. I want the unbiased (un-bribed?) peer-reviewed academia version of the studies. Unfortunately, these are few and far between and the researchers that do undergo those studies do so under the threat of compromising their reputations (see Dr. Pustai's above). However they are out there. You just need to do a little searching and here's what I found at the Institute of Science in Society: a summary from The Independent Science Panel on GM Final Report and their more comprehensive report from 2003 that's called The Case for a GM-free Sustainable World, the panel concluded that:

"[Our] extensive review of the evidence has convinced us that GM crops
are neither needed nor wanted, that they have failed to deliver their
promises, and instead, are posing escalating problems on the farm.
There is no realistic possibility for GM and non-GM agriculture to coexist,
as evident from the level and extent of transgenic contamination
that has already occurred, even in a country like Mexico where an official
moratorium has been in place since 1998.

More importantly, GM crops are unacceptable because they are
by no means safe. They have been introduced without the necessary
safeguards and safety assessments through a deeply flawed regulatory
system based on a principle of ‘substantial equivalence’ that is aimed
at expediting product approval rather than serious safety assessment.
Despite the lack of data on safety tests of GM foods, the available
findings already give cause for concerns over the safety of the transgenic
process itself that are not being addressed."2

Luckily, consumers are doing more research and becoming more vocal:

According to the ABC News website,

"The U.S. government has insisted there's not enough difference between the genetically modified seeds its agencies have approved and natural seeds to cause concern. But Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, more so than his predecessors in previous administrations, has acknowledged the debate over the issue and a growing chorus of consumers concerned about what they are eating."

The demand is out there for more testing and more information, we deserve to know what we are putting into the mouths of our loved ones. According to Jeffrey Smith, author of Seeds of Deception and founder of the Institute for Responsible Technology, it would only take a boycott of 5% of the US population to make a significant economic impact on the GMO peddlers. And we all know that it's always about the bottom line. It's as simple as buying organic whole foods, by avoiding processed foods you drop your exposure to GMOs considerably.

Here are resources to help you join us in becoming part of that 5%, tell a friend or two!

Tips on Avoiding GMOs: http://www.responsibletechnology.org/buy-non-gmo
Non GMO Shopping Guide: http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/Non-GMO-Shopping-Guide.pdf
Join Millions Against Monsanto: http://organicconsumers.org/monsanto/index.cfm
Buy Organic: http://www.organicconsumers.org/
Books: http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/Products/Books/index.cfm


1. Effect of diets containing genetically modified potatoes expressing Galanthus nivalis lectin on rat small intestine Dr Stanley WB Ewen FRCPath,Arpad Pusztai PhD. The Lancet - 16 October 1999 ( Vol. 354, Issue 9187, Pages 1353-1354 ) DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(98)05860-7

2. Independent Science Panel. (2003, June 15). The Case For A GM-Free Sustainable World London: Author. Retrieved May 18, 2011, from http://www.psrast.org/caseforGMfreeW.pdf -
   Drafted byMae-Wan Ho and Lim Li Chingwith contributions fromJoe Cummins, Malcolm Hooper, Miguel Altieri,Peter Rosset, Arpad Pusztai, Stanley Ewen,Michel Pimbert, Peter Saunders, Edward Goldsmith,David Quist, Eva Novotny, Vyvyan Howard, Brian John

Recipe of the Month: Almond Milk

I haven't had almond milk in a long time. Why you ask? Because I'm cheap and I don't want to pay for all of those extra additives that you get when you purchase commercial almond milk.

I had tried to make my own almond milk last year and it was a complete, messy, almondy chunk, FAIL... I used cheesecloth, which is great for sprouting but not so much for milking. Now fast forward 6 months, I have commercial almond milk in the freezer for guests and none for me.

This past weekend I went to my local big box hardware store and decided to pick up a few paint strainer bags. My raw foodie friends on sparkpeople.com swear by these. Well, now they have another convert. I made almond milk last night and liked it so much I decided to make it May's recipe of the month.

Ingredients

1 cup Almonds (soaked for at least 4 hours)
3 cup Water
3 Dates (soaked and pitted)
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Tsp Almond Extract (optional)

You can use Vanilla Extract too, I didn't like the one I had at home so used almond instead. You can also use real vanilla beans or let the pods soak in the milk over night. I'm cheap, see above, so I'll use the extract for now.

Tools

Blender
Bowl
Paint Strainer Bag

Directions

Put the almonds, water and dates in the blender and process until the almonds are fine. Add the other ingredients adjusting for your personal preferences. Some people will add agave or other sweeteners. I prefer sticking to dates. You can experiment with other dried fruits

Once everything is processed as much as possible pour it into the strainer bag over a large bowl and squeeze until you get all of the liquid out. Pour into a sealable container and enjoy it cold.

I recommend that you double the quantities, like I said, I made this last night and already went through it! So I'm back to commercial almond milk in the freezer for guests and none for me, but that's OK, I can make more.

Sprouting 101

Sprouting is really easy. I mean it's super easy. The best part is that you don't need any fancy tools to sprout. All you need is a large jar, cheesecloth, a decent rubber band and a trusty guide for soaking time and sprouting days. I like the one in The Raw Food Book

It's pretty easy to follow and doesn't have too many crazy things to sprout.

So this week I am sprouting alfalfa sprouts in one jar and a mix of green peas and French green lentils in an other.  I chose the pea and lentil mix because they both have the same amount of sprout days.

Step 1

Determine your quantities

1 TBSP Alfalfa = 1 CUP Alfalfa Sprouts
1 CUP Green Peas = 2 CUP Pea Sprouts
1 CUP Lentils = 2 CUP Lentil Sprouts

I used 2 tbsp of Alfalfa and a half cup each of the peas and lentils

Step 2
Cover your jars

Cut a double swath of cheesecloth large enough to cover the mouth of the jar. Hold it in place with a rubber band

Step 3
Soak your seeds - yes everything you soak is a seed!

Alfalfa = 4 - 6 hours
Green Peas = 10 - 12 hours
Lentils = 6 - 8 hours

Sometimes I follow the soak times and sometimes I just let them go overnight. This week I let them go overnight.

Step 4
Wash & Rinse

This is why you cover the mouth of the jar with the cheesecloth. Rinse the seeds with fresh clean water then place in a bowl at about 45 degree angle. You want them to drain to prevent them from getting moldy. You need to do this at least twice a day. Each seed takes a different amount of time to sprout.


Alfalfa = 5 days
Green Peas = 2 - 3 days
Lentils = 2 - 3 days

Step 5
EAT!

Once your sprouts have reached your desired sproutiness you can enjoy in a salad, a sandwich, soup or on their own with a little lemon juice. I've heard of people having them in their smoothies.

I guarantee that once you have homemade sprouts you won't want to spend your hard earned cash on expensive sprouts. Especially not when they are so easy to grow at home.

mother's little helper

NYC Vegetarian Food Festival!

Two weeks ago was the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival. I went there with my friend Amy -  WoW, say what! 3-hour lines!

It was a real hit. There were about 70 vendors that included:

Sweet & Sara vegan marshmallows...  and more marshmallows. This was a big hit with Amy.






There were also lots of ferments like kombucha and kimchis and slaws



I ended up getting a great fermented Green Slaw from the very nice guys at BAO  It's the third row from the left.





To my utter delight there was also lots of raw junk food, Yippee!

There was The Raw IceCream Company that is probably one of the best ice creams, including cow's milk, I have ever had. Gnosis Chocolates where also there, I had heard of them but never had the chance to sample them before - it was out of this world!

After we had our fill of vegan cheeses, salty snacks and more sweets we went to check out the speakers.


The first one we caught was Victoria Moran, she was a motivational speaker and talked about the greatness of a plant-based diet, the good karma and how it's better for you, the animals, the earth. I liked the positive attitude she exuded. I agree with her philosophy. I may not have a lot of material things but I think I lead a pretty charmed life.




Next was Jared Koch from Clean Plates, I thought he looked familiar then realized I had seen him at the FRESH movie showing last summer. Jared spoke about vegan nutrition and while he isn't a vegetarian he did promote a healthy vegan diet by eating an array of food. He addressed the soy question by suggesting the eating of more fermented soy products rather than tofu (especially if it's GMO).

Ha! well good thing the next speaker was Doc Rob - A fermented food freak! I love fermented food so I was really looking forward to hearing him talk about the benefits. Well I was not disappointed, he talked about a whole lot of bacteria and how it's good for your gut. He's also inspired me to try my hand a some fermenting at home, should be interesting...



The grand finale was Keynote Speaker Dr. Neal Barnard, the President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). They are the ones that head the 21-Day Kickstart, it's a 3-week challenge to eat a strictly plant-based diet. The idea is that it takes 3 weeks to develop a habit... well I don't know about you but I think it takes me more like 3 years... Anyhoo, Dr. Barnard gave a presentation with some scary stats on Type-2 diabetes and heart disease, both of which are predominantly lifestyle diseases and on the rise. It wasn't all doom and gloom, he also showed us some of his success stories.

All in all it was a good day, we finished it off with a very yummy dinner at Bonobos.

First day in the garden

Sunday was a pretty nice day and it was my target date for starting to get the garden in order and maybe planting a few seeds in cold weather protection.

So this is what the garden has looked like in the last few weeks/months

<-------- That's our compost pile

<-------- Not to be confused with the honey pile






  And

The garden plot is 20 x 8 ------------------->

As you can see lots of leaves and dead plants from last year, but not for long!




We unraveled the compost and managed to spread it across the space of the garden. It took a while but not as long as I would have thought considering it was all of the veggie scraps and garden clippings since the fall - yikes!

In Bed #1 I planted greens. I think I am a bit late in the game but it's worth a try. There are 4 different variety of lettuces: Red Romaine, Romaine, Black Seeded Simpson and Green Oak, our beloved Collards and some Chard sprinkled about. I tried to pack it in nicely to keep the weeds out and ground moist.

The next bed (Bed #2) has more fragile seeds and therefore has a greenhouse. I am crossing my fingers that the seeds do OK. I planted a lot of seeds of each variety with the hopes that the hardy ones would reign supreme - one can dream right!

Here we have: Ugly Tomatoes, Purple Peppers, Roma Tomatoes, Yellow Peppers, Eggplants, Banana Peppers, Brandywine Tomatoes, Beefsteak Tomatoes, Black Krim Tomatoes, Oxheart Tomatoes... Oh yeah and since this year I am trying my hand at companion gardening there are also Cosmos, Zinnias, Sunflowers and Wildflowers mixed in. I'm crossing my fingers that the 20 degree nights we've had won't be too horrible.

On to Bed #3. This is our squash bed...

Remember the two greenhouses I was so excited about, well I only had one of them in the box. So I improvised with all the jugs and bottles I could find. Good luck in a household that doesn't drink bottled water, milk by the gallon or soda. I made do and we have Cucumbers, Zucchinis, Butternut Squashes, Spaghetti Squashes and Calabazas. I also want to plant companions, maybe more Sunflowers, some Nasturtium and Tansy.

I've been reading this book and learning a lot about companions - it makes me love bugs!

I definitely want to include more red and blue flowers in the vegetable garden to attract the beneficial insects and hummingbirds. Jared saw one in one of our sunflowers last year and now it's a mission to get it back.

This is what the garden looks like now

Bed #4 has a couple of Chards popping up which is great, that bed is still TBD we have lots of seeds yet we just need to figure out what to put in there.



If I don't see anything popping up by mid April then I will go and plant my lovelies again. Hopefully I'll also have that second greenhouse by then.

Jared is also starting an allium garden and a curry garden - how cool is that. We may need to reseed but since these are seeds in our pantry it's not a big deal. Also all of the seeds I used were either from produce we ate, like the yellow and purple peppers or seeds that friends gave us like the cucumbers and zucchinis. Some of the seeds are from last year so I hope they do OK.

I guess we'll know soon enough!