Veggie Landscape Garden
by Catherine Haug, April 2014 (Photo, right, from Mercola: Who Knew Vegetable Gardens Could Be So Revolutionary?)
Did you know the UN has designated this year, 2014, and the International Year of Family Farming, to bring attention and recognition to the family farmers that are helping to nourish the world? This includes all of us who have gardens in our front or back yards.
Read on for:
Dill Essential Oil in Glass Vial
By Catherine Haug, April 2014 (Image, right, from Wikimedia Commons)
Thanks to Bev for this intriguing hint. Caution: as Bev points out, use the tiniest amount of essential oils as they are extremely potent.
I used this tip last year when I was canning pickles. I couldn’t find any fresh dill in any of our local stores so I used Dill Essential Oil in its place. I used one drop per pint jar and two drops for quart jars. If you don’t have enough fresh dill and you have to use what you have sparingly, Dill Essential Oil can be used to help stretch your fresh dill further. The key is to use only a pure, therapeutic essential oil.
Essential oils can be used in many areas of cooking. For example you could use a Basil or an Oregano Essential Oil in Spaghetti Sauce. (Caution, Oregano Oil is considered a hot oil and it will burn your skin if you are not careful.)
Essential Oils are very, very concentrated; [for flavoring a sauce] you would dip a tip of a tooth pick into the oil and then into the sauce. (It goes without saying that you would use a clean toothpick every time you insert it into the oil.)
Swan Valley Herbs in Bigfork carries some pure essential oils; Withey’s in Kalispell has a wider selection. Bev also provided an online source: essential-oils-farmacy.com.
Read on for other herb options. (more…)
by Catherine Haug, April 2, 2014
ESP and BERT (Bigfork Emergency Resource Team) are co-hosting this event:
Additional Information: read on for more info about the event, and a link to a flyer.. (more…)
Frankenfood
by Catherine Haug, April 23, 2014 (Image, right, used with permission from the Organic Consumers Association)
We all want to eat plant food that is healthful, not only for us but also for the soil in which it is grown, for the water that quenches its thirst, and for the air which provides the carbon dioxide for photosynthesis.Yet most of the food in grocery stores and supermarkets does not meet that criteria. Instead, it contains GMO ingredients and as a consequence is contaminated with plant-killing chemicals like glyphosate (Roundup) and animal-killing chemical pesticides.
So we turn to foods that are raised organically – both plant and animal foods. Some of us raise our own. However, in our quest for organic, healthful food, we may be shooting ourselves in the foot. For example: (more…)
2014 Food Label
by Catherine Haug, March 2014
By now you’ve probably heard about the proposed new FDA food label that emphasizes calories and added sugars. That’s all well and good, I suppose, but there is something that should be on the label that is not there.
The current food label can be confusing, I’ll admit. For example:
The FDA hopes to clear up some of that confusion with the proposed new label as pictured, right (from First Look: The FDA’s Nutrition Label Gets A Makeover).
But something is definitely missing. Can you think what it is? Read on to find out, and what you can do about it. (more…)
Chickens at feed
by Catherine Haug, March 2014 (photo, right by Keith Blaylock)
Check out a very informative and entertaining series of short videos that explores new vocabulary associated with farming, food security, and other sustainability topics. From the Lexicon of Sustainability home page:
“For the past three years we have conversed with the foremost practitioners of sustainability in food and farming. They have shared their insights and experiences… and contributed their words to our rapidly growing Lexicon of Sustainability. To spread their knowledge our photography project has grown to include short films, study guides, traveling shows, a book and lastly a website where people can add their own terms to this ever-evolving lexicon.”
Read on for more about, and links to the videos. (more…)