Hungry Times Two

That's carrots and eggs for all you gringos who aren't into practicing your Spanish.  We harvested a handful of  Scarlet Nantes carrots from our garden recently, so here's the harvest.  Erin botched up the French pronunciation (she said "nan-tees", correct is "non-t" with super-soft French hint of "t"), so we had a good laugh at that.  And I, of course, am not a French speaker, and have been known to say "Salad Nick-o-zee" for Salad Nicoise - ain't nobody perfec t. Also, here's a side-by-side comparison of grocery store brown egg vs. a backyard heirloom egg.  We got the heirloom egg as $1-change on a table we bought from a guy in Matthews, NC, the southeast suburban edge of Charlotte.  Aren't country purchases the best?

The last great chestnut trees of the Southern Appalachians died off by the 1950s, but they're coming back with the help of Dolly Parton .  Yes, that's right.  Our Lady of Seviersville just put out a song on the American Chestnut Foundation (ACF) website. And what's this got to do with food?  Roasted chestnuts are a human treat and they're a valuable food source for wildlife as well .  That, plus the fact that chestnuts were often referred to as "Redwoods of the East" for their massive size and rot-resistant lumber.  Here's hoping the ACF will pull off the restoration of this valuable tree, some of which I hope to see on future hikes in the Appalachians.

I just had a moment. After retrieving my leftover brown rice and veggie stir fry from the microwave, and tossing out the empty shells of edamame I just snacked on, something occurred to me as I grabbed my reusable bamboo silverware . I am eating so freakin' crunchy right now.

Yes, the term "sustainable"gets tossed around like a mo- fo these days, and it's enough sometimes to make even the most pro-green of us to want to strangle the everlovin ' mud out of the next Fair Trade- lovin ', recycling, patchouli-scented Prius driver we see. Now that I have that vitriol out of the way, I admit to my own hypocrisy - I love Christmas and all the trimmings, but I am super tired of the waste and the consumerist hype. And as much as I am weary of trying to be "green," I want to consume less and encourage others to do the same. For the past two years, Scott and I have shunned the malls and the online sites, tracking down "the perfect gift" for friends and family, and instead have made our own silly yet practical gifts from what we have on hand or have made by hand. Exhibit A: Christmas 2009 . I can't give away all of our secrets, but I can show you how we're packaging our gifts. Don't mock me now, but we collected...

I saw this article today and felt compelled to post it. Whole Foods is phasing out unsustainable seafood , so this will make it easier for people to do the right thing! If you enjoy having seafood, and want to keep on enjoying it, consider Whole Foods or simply consulting these resources .