Organic Eating in New York

If you live in New York State and want to learn more about the organic farms in your area, check out the NOFA-NY website.  It's full of information about both certified and non-certified organic farms in your area in addition to all kinds of great links and resources.

A Better Cup of Joe

via babble.com

While at the library last week I picked up a copy of Christopher Kilham's Whole Food Bible.  It's been an interesting read and is perfect for life with a 3 year old because it's read and absorbed best in small sections.  Yesterday I read the section on beverages and wanted to share some important and new-to-me info about coffee.  Being about 7 months pregnant, I've gotten used to starting my morning without that glorious brain fuel that regular coffee is.  I now spend most mornings fueling up on water and juice, but every now and again I'll order a decaf somewhere and think that I'm getting a real treat.  Turns out I should just be buying my own decaffinated beans and brewing it at home again.

According to Kilham, the process that is most often used to extract caffeine from coffee beans uses the toxic solvent methylene chloride.  While most of the toxic substance is removed along with the caffeine, residues remain.  Back in the mid 80s the FDA stopped the use of methylene chloride as an additive in hairsprays because it caused cancer in animals, but here we are today still drinking the stuff in our decaf coffee.

What's a coffee lover wanting to avoid caffeine to do?  Spend a little more and get the good stuff.  Yep, there are methods that remove caffeine from coffee without toxic solvents.  A process called the Swiss Water Process uses water to remove 97% of the beans' caffeine and then runs that water through a carbon block filter to remove it without removing the flavor.  The water is then added back to the beans before they're dried.  A process called the CO2 method has a much more scientific technique that I don't quite understand using carbon dioxide to extract caffeine from moist beans several times until it reaches a point where it is deemed to be 99.9% caffeine free.  Both of these methods result in decaffeinated coffee that is solvent free.

While we're on the topic, and as an obvious side note, organic and fair trade coffee is always best.  Unlike some products that "require" few pesticides, coffee beans are grown in areas that are heavy on the pests and therefore get sprayed a lot.  Additionally, the dioxin that is used to bleach most coffee filters is one of the most toxic cancer causing agents around.  Better yet, forgo the energy sucking coffee maker and use a french press or take it strong like the Italians and go for espresso!

Where to find clean decaf (if you know of other brands, please share):
Longview Coffee Company
Equal Exchange
Coffee Bean Direct
Summit Coffee

If you really want to feel good about your decaf (or regular) coffee purchase, visit the Just Love Coffee Store and help our amazing neighbors as they continue on their journey to adopt two young boys.  All of the coffees listed at Just Love are 100% fair trade and help to unite orphans across the globe with their forever families here in the US.

p.s.  Decaffeinated teas are  processed the same ways, so don't think you're safe there either (bummer, huh?).

Capitalism - The Root of Our Economic and Social Problems

What's wrong with Capitalism?  Everything!  If you haven't seen this yet, I encourage you to add it to your queue and give it a watch.  My favorite (if you can call anything so frustrating favorite) parts were actually in the extended footage, so be sure to take the time to watch those as well.  If you're like me you'll leave the couch with renewed convictions and freshly inspired to make some serious lifestyle changes.

Read more on the topic here.

Dumb Luck or the Best Idea EVER

I don't actually remember planting the small patch of strawberries that started outside our kitchen door.  It must have been right before Leif was born because the patch has been getting bigger and bigger every year since.  Regardless of what I remember, it was the best idea EVER.  We've enjoyed picking fresh strawberries for breakfast every morning and are putting them on salads for lunch - it's going to be a sad day when the berries stop coming.  

When I worked in the gardens at Mackenzie-Childs (if you don't know about this place, check the link - it's pretty unique) I was in charge of the vegetable and kitchen gardens.  The kitchen garden was located right behind the restaurant and was full of herbs that smelled so good.  Ever since that summer, I've been thinking that putting the herbs next to the place where they are used is such a smart and obvious idea.  I'm thinking that a perennial herb garden just might have to replace some of the more traditional flowers on the other side of our kitchen door.  I'm going to start with the obvious (and those that I already have):  basil, cilantro, parsley, fennel, dill, thyme and chives.  I tried some sorrel at the local farmer's market and loved it (it's surprisingly citrusy and delicious) and I'd also like to get my hands on more lavender.  Do you have any other perennial favorites to suggest?

Loads of Laundry

Thanks to a challenge from my sister-in-law, one of my Earth Day resolutions was to stop machine drying Leif's diapers (yes, he's 3 and still needs them...).  Jodi promised to make me a really great clothes line to replace the really lousy and long one we'd had in the back yard for too long.  He chose the wood, made some cuts and thanks to his busy schedule, it's still sitting in a pile by the shop.  Faced with a full drying rack and a load of wet but clean diapers, I did what I had to do and strung up a new line.  The location is not great - it's closer to the road than it is to the house, but for now it works and has kept me from having to use that energy sucking, heat producing dryer.  

A few interesting laundry links:

 Can you believe that line drying is banned in many places around the country? 

Thanks to Project Laundry List, you can calculate your energy savings here.

And have you tried making your own laundry powder yet?  My latest batches have been made with Dr. Bronners bars and I'm in love.

DIY Upside Down Tomatoes

Ever since the blight killed all but one of our tomato plants last summer, I've been wondering how we'd avoid the same fate this year.  I knew it would probably involve containers, but until last night, I still had no solid plan.  Thanks to this post at Dinosaur Dry Goods and a NY Times article, I'm sold - they're going upside down.  

I'll admit, I saw the silly commercially made bags around last year and didn't know what to think.  Apparently most tomatoes grow well this way and the tops of the containers can be used to plant the basil and cilantro that are inevitably going to be pared with them.  I love the idea of creating my own hanging baskets out of the old plastic planters that have been building up in my garage for years.  I'm going to get my tomatoes started today and will let you know how it goes.  Until then, here are some photos from around the web for inspiration...

 the photo that sparked my interest via this post
 

all in a row via this post

  a pretty version via this post

 a similar plan, but upside up via this post