sustainable

After such a deep winter, it was surprising to see almost a dozen people happily pruning trees in early March, wearing light sweaters and sunglasses, and most importantly, showing palpable joy in the task. 

For me, there was an extra level of happiness during the event, since the workshop was Sandbox Cooperative’s kickoff for the "rent your own farm classroom" program that aims to provide farmland and resources for sustainability-focused workshops. Along with co-founders Libby London, Josh Adrian, and Jeny Lai, I envisioned a place where people working toward a healthier food system would have room to play and create — think of it as a farm-sized sandbox — and weren't hindered by small classroom space. 

Let me tell you about my new office. The view of the lake is amazing, the ceiling is so high as to seem nonexistent and the breeze can be just superb on a warm summer day. The only real problem is when I get distracted and find myself fishing or sailing instead of working. But nobody's workplace is perfect. 

Thoughts of revolution were in the air at the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota’s twentieth annual conference, The Routes of Sustainability: Food, Farming & Fellowship, held February 18 - 19 at the College of St. Benedict. SFA MN is a farmer-led organization that works to connect farmers with eaters across the state.

When I see a 3/50 project sign in a store window, I know that I have the opportunity to support a small, local, independent business. (The 3/50 project encourages consumers to pick 3 independent businesses that they would miss if they were suddenly gone and commit to trying to spend $50 per month at one of those businesses or others like them.) Just such a sign greeted me when I stopped in at Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply for the first time. 

My original trip to Egg|Plant was to pay for a class about using my new Pickl-It lacto-fermentation jars that I got through a group buy with some friends. That was when I met Audrey Matson, one of the store’s owners.

We at Simple, Good, and Tasty write, think, talk, and meet with people about local, sustainable, organic, good food all the time.

A few weeks ago, I got a text from my brother-in-law Jeff. He'd just discovered a restaurant he thought I'd love, and the message said, "it was awesome. Put it on your highly recommended list." Jeff has great taste -- I can't think of a time he's steered me wrong -- and I take his recommendations seriously. But Jeff doesn't get all hung up on how his food is sourced the way I do, and I didn't assume that his "it was awesome" meant that I'd feel good about it. I needed to ask.

 The simple act of putting a shovel into the ground and tucking in the first seeds (or seedlings) without doubt means you’ve already decided to do things differently. Feeding yourself – with the efforts of your own two hands and contributions of a mostly organic nature – is an exercise in science, nature, tradition, history, politics and not just a little bit of faith. Not such a simple act, after all. 

A wise friend once said “awareness rocks!” I couldn’t agree more. When I started down the detox path myself, I realized that all of my researching, experimenting and learning about less toxic eating was coagulating into a new form of awareness. If I cared so much about how hard my poor liver was working, I reasoned, I should probably find a way to bring all of this glorious non-toxicity into the rest of my world as well. What we consume certainly plays a big role in how we bring toxins into our bodies, but the air we breathe and what touches our skin matters too. With this in mind, I started looking around my house for sources and solutions.

Alice Waters Photo Courtesy of Chezpanisse.comHere's a terrific opportunity to eat magically delicious local, organic food, prepared by some of the world's greatest chefs in support of a great cause. If only I had $500 and lived in Washington D.C.! But maybe you do? Check out the recent press release I received from the good folks at Chez Panisse:

The time has come! Dave and Don brought over the pig last night - an 80 pounder from Hidden Stream Farm, purchased from Clancey's in Linden Hills, MN. Within an hour, we had prepared the pig with a bunch of tasty seasonings and enclosed it in a homemade China Box. I think Dave and Don - both experienced pig roasters) are getting sick of my nervous quips, but what do you do when you come face to face with your first dead pig? Frankly, getting to know my food makes me a little bit uncomfortable.

Here are a few pictures from last night's preparation. They're not for the squeamish, but I think they're worth seeing and thinking about. Here goes.

This is my friend Dave Micko, getting the pig ready. In the absence of a table, we made due with an old door from my house, covered with foil and resting on the China Box.