'The beginning of Wisdom is to call things by their right names' ~ Chinese proverb

A most interesting discussion the other day around the topic: 'You Are What you Eat' disturbed me and left me thinking for days afterward about what labels on our food say, what they don't say, and how the truth is presented in a fashion that isn't honest at all.  Later, walking down the aisle in a grocery store, I started to randomly pick up products to read their labels and it was quite an alarming exercise.  I have done it before of course, to check for this coloring, or that nasty preservative, but never have I read through the whole list and thought about what label is actually saying.

For example, on a box containing serving packets with oats, blue berries, peaches, bananas and strawberries I found that actually, there were no strawberries, blueberries or peaches inside that box and the 'banana' was in the form of 'banana flake powder'.  Imagine that?  Strawberry oats with no strawberries - even though it says Strawberries & Cream on the front of the box.  So what did it have?  Dehydrated apple, artificial strawberry flavor and red 40 lake coloring.  The peach and blueberry oats had dehydrated apples or figs, artificial flavors, red 40 coloring, blue 2 lake coloring or annatto color.

The other thing that struck me is how much sugar is in everything.  And they are clever about it too, they don't put 'sugars' and lump them all together - oh no!  Then it would appear too early in the list of ingredients and people wouldn't want to eat it, so they separate them in out - the same box of oats contains sugar, corn syrup solids and dextrose - all sugars.  Another product, Worcestershire Sauce contains molasses, high fructose corn syrup and sugar (and anchovies, but that's another blog). 

A popular Italian olive oil is a product of Italy, Spain, Tunisa and Turkey - and a 'healthy' cooking oil promoting 'healthy cholesterol' is a 'natural blend of canola, soy and olive oils'.  Natural.  How natural is GMO canola and soy?  It's not natural at all, it's Frankenfood.  And while we are on the topic of NATURAL, let's just agree that every Tom, Dick and Harry are adding this word to their branding to capture some of the conscientious shopper market but regrettably, there are no enforced guidelines for the use of this word.  You can put it on anything.

I don't know how you feel, but I get frustrated and upset that making good choices for our families is made so hard.  I get tired of all the cloak and daggery and carefully worded and presented brands and marketing ploys.  Just tell me what I am eating!  Somebody said last week: we shouldn't be labeling food that is GMO free, or Organic.  That is food in its truest form.  We should be labeling everything else - the front label (not the back small print) should say Contains GMO's, Not Organically Grown, or Made With No Organic Ingredients or how about Contains Three Types of Sugars.  Maybe then as a nation we will be empowered to make healthy choices instead of being empowered to choose foods that promote weight gain, heart disease or diabetes!

Savoring the Snow

As I sit and write this post, I am looking out at a gently blanketed landscape and the snow flakes are dancing like butterflies.  Today has a meloncholic feel to it, the forests always go quiet when it snows and so do the roads as we, like the animals, huddle down.  Maybe we are not as far removed from primal instincts as we think.

I also feel a particular appreciation for the snow today as this might be one of the last gentle dustings we get this year, and then no more until next year when we hope and pray our Christmas will be a white one!  What lies around the corner is long days starting with early mornings, farmers have already been planning the growing season and taking stock of their 'to do' lists, taking trips out to the green house or the barn with a combination of anticipation for how much needs to be accomplished and excitment to get underway. 

Knowing Spring is on our door step and she brings all her craziness and energy with her, I think today is the perfect day to putter around inside and wear your slippers or just your socks all day and appreciate one of the last quiet days we will have this year.  And, as promised, in celebration of the snowy day, I have included a recipe for some cookies.  A sweet friend, Ashley, baked these last week (using organic ingredients) to share and they were DELICIOUS!  It is Martha Stewart's recipe, Ashley added cranberries and I loved them so much I ate more than my share and didn't regret a thing!  They are absolutely worth a quick trip to the store for any ingredients you don't have!

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• Coarse salt
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup finely grated zucchini
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt into a bowl. Beat 1 stick butter and the sugars until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
2. Beat flour mixture into butter mixture. Mix in zucchini, oats, and walnuts. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop (about 2 tablespoons), drop dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden, about 17 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
4. Beat together remaining 1/2 stick butter, the cream cheese, and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread 1 heaping tablespoon filling onto the flat side of 1 cookie, and sandwich with another cookie. Repeat with remaining filling and cookies.

The Distinction of a Species

I watched a movie once when I was a little girl about a disease that swept through the world and turned people into dust.  I was so disturbed by it, I had one of those moments wherein your perception of the world is altered along with your relationship with it.  And not because nearly everybody the lead character knew died one-by-one leaving only him and the heroine to repopulate the earth, not because of the tragedy of whole families being wiped out virtually overnight, but because I realized for the first time that my whole world was vulnerable.  Does anybody else recall the moment when that realization came to them for the first time?

'Of course the world is vulnerable', my mom said, 'life is precious, a meteor, a plague or any one of hundreds of natural disasters could forever change the face of this planet and life on it' - but it was more than that.  I realized for the first time how dependant we humans are on each other.  Our skill sets have evolved over generations and become so specific, I realized how much knowledge and progression would be lost.  If I were the last person on earth, I couldn't run or repair a power station or build solar powered panels for my house, and if I could, supplies would eventually run out and I couldn't build more.  Where would I get gas for my car?  There would be plenty cars around so that wasn't a problem, but once gas stations ran dry?  What then?  I am not a doctor, and after all the supplies in the pharmacies expire, I don't know anything about using plants to treat illness and disease.  If we managed to propagate, I could teach children to read and write, but I couldn't teach them physics.  Back then we didn't have the Internet to answer our questions only the library, but how much knowledge gained since the inception of the computer would be lost forever?  And then the biggie:  once the stuff in the grocery store went bad, what would we do for food?  So in my little girl mind, even if you survived and everybody else was turned into dust, you quite possibly would end up starving to death or dying of disease so maybe dust was a better way to go.  As I get older, I realize we would endure.  We would gather, organize, plant crops and reform little communities - it would be a very different life, but not necessarily a bad one. 

There have been many movies since that portray the demise of the human race usually involving some sudden and hugely destructive force, but what if we, us humans, are the cause of our own demise?  What if we build, grow, expand and consume ourselves out of existence?  Extinction is nothing new, species have been coming and going and evolving on our planet since it's birth, a typical species becomes extinct within 10 million years of its first appearance.  We the people have only been around an estimated 250,000 years, that's like a nano-second in the grand scheme of things, and in that nano-second we have inflicted more change on our environment or adversely affected or displaced more living species than any other organism in earths 4.54 BILLION years.  We assume we have the right to permanently alter landscapes and think we are very clever for taking a year or two to develop new organisms in a genetic science lab when it takes Mother Nature hundreds of thousands of years to accomplish the same thing.  We are powerful, rulers of the planet and at the top of the food chain.

I can't help but wonder, will another intelligent species be uncovering our bones and the remains of our cities, a 'lost civilization' out of earth one day?  Will they sadly shake their heads and say: How unusual, they destroyed the world that supported them and designed their own demise.

Dark Knight Moon

I have a confession to make - it is about a newly . . . revealed . . . fettish.  Its the radishes. I can't help myself and may need the help of family and friends in the form of an intervention.  They are organic and beautiful.  They grow underground, and you can smell the earth, they are demure to look at and all pepper and spice to taste.  I am so enamored with all the different radishes you get, and so when this one appeared on our farmers harvest list for South Shore Organics this week, I just had to have some.  I had to. 

I am of course, talking about the winter root - Black Radish.  They are Spanish in origin, and are bigger than the little red ones we are used to seeing, and talk about sexy!  Dark velvety skins hiding pale white flesh - these are the vampires of the underground: one bite and you're hooked!  Here you go - this is my take on a photo for the cover of a Twilight themed radish novel:

Last month I wrote about a radishing princess with a beautiful heart and the mattador who won her love with his beautiful heart, well, the Chiogga matador that beet all other admirers to gain her affection better watch out!  A new man arrived in town this week and he is ruthless, hungry and dangerous! 

Oh the drama, promise of romance, intrigue and suspense - what will happen next?  Will the radishing princess fall for the dark knights charms?  Is it any wonder I am infatuated?